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Why we're polarized / by Klein, Ezra,1984-author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-296) and index.America's political system isn't broken: it's working exactly as designed. But Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us -- and how we are polarizing it -- with disastrous results. In examining the structural and psychological forces behind America's descent into division and dysfunction, he shows that everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Now our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together.
Subjects: Polarization (Social sciences); Right and left (Political science); Identity politics; Political culture;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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We meant well : a novel / by Hasan, Erum Shazia,author.;
"A propulsive debut that grapples with timely questions about what it means to be charitable, who deserves what, and who gets the power to decide. It's the middle of the night in Los Angeles when Maya, a married mother of one, receives the phone call. Her colleague Marc has been accused of assaulting a local girl in Likanni, where they operate a charitable orphanage. Can she get on the next flight? When Maya arrives, protesters surround the compound. The accuser is Lele, her former proťǧ and the chief's daughter. There are no witnesses, no proof of any crime. What happened that night? And what will happen to the orphanage if this becomes a scandal? Caught between Marc and Lele, the charity and the villagers, her marriage and new temptations, and between worlds, Maya lives the secret contradictions of the aid worker: there to serve the most deprived, but ultimately there to govern. As Maya feels the pleasures, freedoms, and humanity of life in Likanni, she recognizes that her American life is inextricably woven into this violent reality -- and that dishonesty in one place affects the realities in another."--
Subjects: Political fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Humanitarian aid workers; Humanitarianism; Orphanages; Sex scandals;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The ditch : a novel / by Koch, Herman,1953-author.; Garrett, Sam,translator.; translation of:Koch, Herman,1953-Greppel.English.;
"When Robert Walter, popular mayor of Amsterdam, sees his wife toss her head back with laughter while chatting to one of his aldermen at a New Year's reception, he immediately suspects the worst. Despite their long and happy marriage, Robert is convinced that Sylvia is cheating on him--with the respectable alderman who is dedicated to the environment, no less. The man who wants to spoil the capital's skyline with wind turbines. The New Year's reception marks the end of the "happy family" era that the mayor has enjoyed for so long. His wife and their daughter, Diana, however, are not aware of his suspicions and carry on as usual. Robert starts spending a lot of time and energy "behaving normally." Naturally, his normal behavior is far more suspicious. Normally Robert's not really present when he's at home--he's preoccupied with his phone, the newspapers, and his own thoughts. But now Robert is so sure he'll miss the clues if he doesn't pay attention that he starts to be almost alarmingly attentive and interested--ultimately losing himself in increasingly panicked and paranoid trains of thought"--Publisher's description.
Subjects: Psychological fiction.; Political fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Spouses; Man-woman relationships; Adultery; Mayors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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A fire so wild : a novel / by Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah,author.;
"With the emotional echoes of Little Fires Everywhere and the lush atmosphere of Disappearing Earth, a riveting debut novel in which a wildfire creeps toward Berkeley, California, igniting tensions as characters from all walks of life confront the injustices growing beneath the city's surface. As a wildfire threatens Berkeley, the city's inhabitants are forced to reckon with the cracks in the lives they've built. Abigail, a wealthy white woman, decides to throw a lavish birthday in a hillside mansion to raise money for the city's newest affordable housing project-and prove to her family that she's made something worthwhile of her life. Sunny, a construction worker who sleeps in a van along the bay's shore, is in the running for an apartment in the complex-but only if enough funds are raised at the party to subsidize low-income rentals. As the heat and smoke from the approaching blaze descend upon the town, tensions rise and residents-young and old, haves and have nots-confront the inequities laid bare, and the fragility of building a life in a world on fire. Alternating among a colorful cast of characters, A Fire So Wild is a timely, tautly paced novel that questions why when everything burns, not everyone is left with scars"--
Subjects: Political fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Interpersonal relations; Low-income housing; Wildfires;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The lover : a novel / by Sacks, Rebecca,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.The story of Allison and Eyal unfolds primarily in Tel Aviv where Allie, a thoughtful and intelligent academic searching for a sense of where she belongs in the world, falls deeply and unexpectedly in love with a young Israeli doing his military service. Their love story is sensual, filled with pleasure, longing, fear, moments of deep connection, failures of communication, and ultimately, a quiet and devastating betrayal. Their romance has a rhythm private and unique to them: when he is away on military missions, they write love letters; when he returns home for weekends, they are entwined and inseparable. Allie is embraced by Eyal's family, and their acceptance is very important to her. But when Eyal returns home from an invasion of Gaza, to which he has a surprising emotional response, Allie has changed so radically that her betrayal of her lover feels both shocking and tragic. The Lover is a provocative, immersive, gorgeously written love story reminiscent of Marguerite Duras' classic novel. Both books portray a seductive love affair in a colonial setting, atmospheric and rich with foreign detail, that raises unsettling questions about inequality, conflict, intensity, war, and danger. At once beautiful and disturbing, propulsive and poignant, The Lover will entrance readers and hold them spellbound.
Subjects: Political fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Love-letters; Man-woman relationships; Soldiers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Psych : the story of the human mind / by Bloom, Paul,1963-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."How does the brain-a three-pound wrinkly mass-give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of emotions such as disgust, gratitude, and shame? Renowned psychologist Paul Bloom answers these questions and many more in Psych, his riveting new book about the science of the mind. Psych is an expert and passionate guide to the most intimate aspects of our nature, serving up the equivalent of a serious university course while being funny, engaging, and full of memorable anecdotes. But Psych is much more than a comprehensive overview of the field of psychology. Bloom argues that a number of widely accepted theories in the field are probably wrong, and he reveals what psychology can tell us about the most pressing moral and political issues of our time-including belief in conspiracy theories, the role of genes in explaining human differences, and the discussion around implicit racial bias. Bloom also shows how psychology can give us practical insights into important issues-from the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety to the best way to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Psych is a riveting guide to the most important topic there is: it is the story of us"--
Subjects: Intellect.; Psychology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The hormone myth : how junk science, gender politics & lies about PMS keep women down / by DeLuca, Robyn Stein,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Although the idea that women become raving lunatics when their hormones fluctuate is firmly entrenched in American culture, a thorough examination of the evidence overwhelmingly tells us otherwise. This provocative book exposes the pervasive myths about women's hormones--which lead to false beliefs about women's competence--by illustrating how flawed, obsolete research and sexism have combined to keep women "in their place," and skillfully shows how women can reject the "hormone myth" and own their emotions in a healthy and realistic way"--
Subjects: Women; Women; Hormones.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Death of a nation : plantation politics and the making of the Democratic party / by D'Souza, Dinesh,1961-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Who is killing America? Is it really Donald Trump and a GOP filled with white supremacists? In a major new work of historical revisionism, Dinesh D'Souza makes the provocative case that Democrats are the ones killing America by turning it into a massive nanny state modeled on the Southern plantation system. This sweeping alternative history of the Democratic Party goes back to its foundations in the antebellum South. The slaveholding elite devised the plantation as a means of organizing labor and political support. It was a mini welfare state, a cradle to grave system that bred dependency and punished any urge to independence. This model impressed northern Democrats, inspiring the political machines that traded government handouts for votes from ethnic immigrant blocs. Today's Democrats have expanded to a multiracial plantation of ghettos for blacks, barrios for Latinos, and reservations for Native Americans. Whites are the only holdouts resisting full dependency, and so they are blamed for the bigotry and racial exploitation that is actually perpetrated by the left. Death of a Nation's bracing alternative vision of American history explains the Democratic Party's dark past, reinterprets the roles of figures like Van Buren, FDR and LBJ, and exposes the hidden truth that racism comes not from Trump or the conservative right but rather from Democrats and progressives on the left.
Subjects: Democratic Party (U.S.);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The killing game : martyrdom, murder and the lure of ISIS / by Bourrie, Mark,1957-author.; Berger, J. M.(John M.),1967-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Here is an examination of the lives of two men, framed by the war that lured them from comfortable, ordinary lives in a quiet corner of Ontario. Why were both of these men radicalized - one by the most extreme form of Islam, the other by a desire to fight it? Why did they travel to the most dangerous part of the world to fight against each other as members of foreign armies? Bourrie delves into the lives of these two young men as a framing device to examine what draws young men and women to join violent social/political movements. It looks at the psychology of young men and women today and the propaganda used by all sides in the Middle East conflicts, as well as the security laws and the political initiatives that have been designed to stop Canadians from being radicalized. This book also investigates what it is that draws young people to join and fight for causes as different as the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s and the Red Brigades of the 1970s, but with an emphasis on the attraction of ISIS and radical Islam in our own time.
Subjects: ISIS (Organization); Jihad.; Terrorism; Terrorism; Terrorists; Terrorists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Uncle : race, nostalgia, and the politics of loyalty / by Thompson, Cheryl,1977-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Jackie Robinson, President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, O. J. Simpson, and Christopher Darden have all been accused of being an Uncle Tom during their careers. How, why, and with what consequences for our society did Uncle Tom morph first into a servile old man and then into a racial epithet hurled at African American men deemed, by other Black people, to have betrayed their race? Uncle Tom, the eponymous figure in Harriet Beecher Stowe's sentimental anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was a loyal Christian who died a martyr's death. But soon after the best-selling novel appeared, theatre troupes across North America and Europe transformed Stowe's story into minstrel shows featuring white men in blackface. In Uncle, Cheryl Thompson traces Tom's journey from literary character to racial trope. She exposes the relentless reworking of Uncle Tom into a nostalgic, racial metaphor with the power to shape how we see Black men, a distortion visible in everything from Uncle Ben and Rastus the Cream of Wheat chef to the first interracial dance partners in Hollywood, Shirley Temple and Bill ‘Bojangles' Robinson. In a post-truth North America, where nostalgia is used as a political tool to rewrite history, Uncle makes the case for why understanding the production of racial stereotypes matters more than ever before."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.; Uncle Tom (Fictitious character); African Americans in mass media.; African Americans in popular culture.; African Americans; Stereotypes (Social psychology);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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