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The Mesopotamian riddle : an archaeologist, a soldier, a clergyman, and the race to decipher the world's oldest writing / by Hammer, Joshua,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."It was one of history's great vanishing acts. As early as 3500 BCE, scribes in the mud-walled city-state of Sumer used a reed stylus to press tiny wedge-shaped symbols into clay. For three thousand years, the script chronicled the military conquests, scientific discoveries, and epic literature of the grand kingdoms of Mesopotamia-Assyria, Babylon, the mighty Achaemenid Empire -- along with precious minutia about everyday life so long ago. But as the palaces of these once great kingdoms sank beneath the desert sands, the meaning of these characters was lost. London, 1857. Colossal sculptures of winged bulls and alabaster bas-reliefs depicting cities under siege and vassals bearing tributes to Biblical kings lined the halls of the British Museum. In the Victorian era's obsession with the triumph of human progress, the mysterious kingdoms of ancient Mesopotamia -- the very cradle of civilization -- had captured the public imagination. Yet Europe's best philologists struggled to decipher the strange characters. Cuneiform seemed to have thousands of symbols -- with some scholars claiming each could be pronounced in up to eight, nine, even ten different ways. Others insisted they'd cracked the code and deciphered inscriptions that corresponded precisely to the Old Testament -- proving the veracity of the Word of God. Was it all a hoax? A delusion? A rollicking adventure through the golden age of archaeology, The Writing on the Wall tracks the decades-long race to decipher the oldest script in the world. It's the story of a swashbuckling young archaeologist, a suave British military officer, and a curmudgeonly Irish rector, all vying for glory -- from the ruins of Persepolis to the opulence of Ottoman-era Baghdad -- in a quest to unearth the relics of lost civilizations and unlock the secrets of humanity's past"--
Subjects: Assyriology; Cuneiform inscriptions.; Cuneiform writing.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Red line : the unraveling of Syria and America's race to destroy the most dangerous arsenal in the world / by Warrick, Joby,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Black Flags, the harrowing story of America's mission in Syria: to find and destroy Syria's chemical weapons and defeat ISIS--only to lose control of both In August 2012, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was clinging to power in a vicious civil war. Concerned that Assad might resort to chemical weapons, President Obama warned that any such use would cross "a red line," warranting an American military response. When a year later Assad bombed the Damascus suburb of Ghouta with sarin gas, killing hundreds, Obama was torn between living up to America's word and becoming mired in another unpopular Middle Eastern war. So when Russia offered to store Syria's chemical weapons, Obama leaped at the out. So begins a race to find, remove, and destroy 1,300 tons of chemical weapons in the middle of Syria's civil war. Told in harrowing detail, the effort is a tactical triumph for the Americans, but soon Russia's long game becomes clear: it has UN cover to assist a close ally, Assad. As the Russians block attempts to check for chemical weapons that might have been missed, American realizes that ISIS seeks to secure them for itself. Red Line is a classic Joby Warrick true-life thriller: a character-driven narrative with a cast of heroes and villains, including weapons hunters, politicians, commandos, diplomats, and spies. Through original reporting and eyewitness accounts from direct participants, Joby Warrick reveals how a well-intentioned effort to save Syrian lives touched off a chain of events that would rescue a dictator, sustain a terrorist movement, unleash torrents of refugees, humiliate two U.S. presidents, and empower Russia and Iran"--
Subjects: IS (Organization); Chemical weapons disposal; Chemical weapons; Terrorism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Indian Horse [videorecording] / by Peltier, Sladen,actor.; Goodluck, Forrest,1998-actor.; Kapashesit, Ajuawak,actor.; Huisman, Michiel,1981-actor.; Donovan, Martin,actor.; Murphy, Michael,1957-actor.; Campanelli, Stephen S.,film director.; Elevation Pictures,film distributor.;
Sladen Peltier, Forrest Goodluck, Ajuawak Kapashesit, Michiel Huisman, Martin Donovan, Michael Murphy.Follows the life of Canadian First Nations boy, Saul Indian Horse, as he survives residential school and life amongst the racism of the 1970s. A talented hockey player, Saul must find his own path as he battles sterotypes and alcoholism.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.MPAA rating: R; for language and a scene of violence.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Feature films.; Fiction films.; Indian hockey players; Off-reservation boarding schools; Ojibwa Indians;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Gently to Nagasaki / by Kogawa, Joy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Gently to Nagasaki is a spiritual pilgrimage, an exploration both communal and intensely personal. Set in Vancouver and Toronto, the outposts of Slocan and Coaldale, the streets of Nagasaki and the high mountains of Shikoku, Japan, it is also an account of a remarkable life. As a child during WWII, Joy Kogawa was interned with her family and thousands of other Japanese Canadians by the Canadian government. Her acclaimed novel Obasan, based on that experience, brought her literary recognition and played a critical role in the movement for redress. Kogawa knows what it means to be classified as the enemy, and she seeks urgently to get beyond false and dangerous distinctions of "us" and "them." Interweaving the events of her own life with catastrophes like the bombing of Nagasaki and the massacre by the Japanese imperial army at Nanking, she wrestles with essential questions like good and evil, love and hate, rage and forgiveness, determined above all to arrive at her own truths. Poetic and unflinching, this is a longawaited memoir from one of Canada's most distinguished literary elders."--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Kogawa, Joy.; Kogawa, Joy; Japanese Canadians; Japanese Canadians; Authors, Canadian (English);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Downing of a flag [videorecording] : the story of a symbol that has haunted American democracy for over 150 years / by Cooper, Duane,television producer.; Galloway, Scott,television director,television producer,screenwriter.; Godish, Don,television producer.; PBS Distribution (Firm),distributor.;
A documentary film that focuses on the Confederate Battle flag and its impact on the people, politics, and perceptions of South Carolina and beyond. Through firsthand interviews featuring various perspectives and a wealth of historical footage, Downing of a Flag traces the symbol's controversial relationship with the Palmetto State, exploring its true meaning and how an unspeakable tragedy catalyzed its long-debated removal. The story begins with the end of the Civil War and chronicles the flag's more than a 150-year journey from the blood-soaked battlefields of Virginia to its use in American popular culture in the 1970s and 1980s, to its final removal from the South Carolina State House grounds in July 2015. Preceded by the killing of nine black parishioners at Charleston's historic Mother Emanuel AME Church by a white supremacist, the Confederate Battle flag's furling and the days and actions that led to that event could represent the final shots and battles of the American Civil War.E.Closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.Subtitled for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH).DVD ; wide screen presentation ; 5.1 surround.
Subjects: Documentary television programs.; Nonfiction television programs.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Flags; National characteristics, American.; Racism;
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Agent of change : my life fighting terrorists, spies, and institutional racism / by Mukbil, Huda,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Mukbil, Huda.; Canadian Security Intelligence Service; Intelligence officers; Muslims, Black; Race discrimination; Terrorism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Uncomfortable conversations with a black boy / by Acho, Emmanuel.; Acho, Emmanuel.Uncomfortable conversations with a black man.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 302-312).Approaching every awkward, taboo, and uncomfortable question with openness and patience, Emmanuel Acho connects his own experience with race and racism--from attending majority-white prep schools to his time in the NFL playing on majority-black football teams--to insightful lessons in black history and black culture. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy is just one way young readers can begin to short circuit racism within their own lives and communities.LSC
Subjects: Racism; Anti-racism; African Americans;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Meet Viola Desmond / by MacLeod, Elizabeth.; Deas, Mike,1982-;
"Meet Viola Desmond, community leader and early civil rights trailblazer! On the night of November 8th 1946, Nova Scotia businesswoman Viola Desmond stood up for her right to be in the "unofficial" whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre . . . and was arrested for it. Supported by the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSCAACP) and the black-owned newspaper The Clarion, Viola took her quest for the right to freedom from discrimination to the courts. While she ultimately did not succeed, she was a beacon to other early civil-rights activists. Her sister Wanda worked hard to promote Viola's legacy, which has been finally honoured by Viola's inclusion on the new Canadian"--Provided by publisher.LSC
Subjects: Desmond, Viola, 1914-1965; Race discrimination; Civil rights; Black Canadians;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Cultural appropriation / by Hudak, Heather C.,1975-;
Includes bibliographical references, Internet addresses and index.Explores how non-Indigenous people have taken aspects of Indigenous culture -- clothing, music, art, food, symbols, and more -- and used them differently than their original purpose. Often these uses are seen as offensive or disrespectful to Indigenous people.LSC
Subjects: Cultural appropriation; Native peoples; Native peoples;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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10 times 10 / by Tullet, Hervé.;
Demonstrates different ways of counting to ten using such items as fingers, paints, racing cars, and fairy tales.LSC
Subjects: Colors; Shapes; Counting books.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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