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Hope for cynics : the surprising science of human goodness / by Zaki, Jamil,1980-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Runaway cynicism is turning our world into a meaner, sicker place; director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Jamil Zaki, is about to disrupt this narrative. For thousands of years, people have argued about whether humanity is selfish or generous, cruel or kind. In 1972, half of Americans agreed that most people can be trusted; by 2018, that figure had fallen to 30%. Different generations, genders, religions, and political parties can't seem to agree on anything, except, perhaps, on one idea: that human virtue is evaporating. Cynicism is a perfectly understandable response to a world full of injustice, harm, and inequality. But in many cases, cynicism has become the first -- or only -- tool that people reach for these days. It is the psychological hammer of our age, and we are treating others more and more like nails. Knee-jerk cynicism worsens social problems because our beliefs don't just reflect the world -- they change it. When we expect people to be awful, we coax awfulness out of them. Cynicism is a disease, with a history, symptoms, and a cure"--
Subjects: Cynicism; Hope.; Social justice;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Hacking Darwin : genetic engineering and the future of humanity / by Metzl, Jamie Frederic,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-306) and index.From leading geopolitical expert and technology futurist Jamie Metzl comes a groundbreaking exploration of the many ways genetic-engineering is shaking the core foundations of our lives -- sex, war, love, and death.At the dawn of the genetics revolution, our DNA is becoming as readable, writable, and hackable as our information technology. But as humanity starts retooling our own genetic code, the choices we make today will be the difference between realizing breathtaking advances in human well-being and descending into a dangerous and potentially deadly genetic arms race.Enter the laboratories where scientists are turning science fiction into reality. Look towards a future where our deepest beliefs, morals, religions, and politics are challenged like never before and the very essence of what it means to be human is at play. When we can engineer our future children, massively extend our lifespans, build life from scratch, and recreate the plant and animal world, should we? Passionate, provocative, and highly illuminating, Hacking Darwin is the must read book about the future of our species for fans of Homo Deus and The Gene.
Subjects: Genetic engineering; Human genetics.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Silk Roads : a new history of the world / by Frankopan, Peter.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Our world was made on and by the Silk Roads. For millennia it was here that East and West encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas and cultures, the birth of the world's great religions, the appetites for foreign goods that drove economies and the growth of nations. From the first cities in Mesopotamia to the growth of Greece and Rome to the depredations by the Mongols and the Black Death to the Great Game and the fall of Communism, the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. The Silk Roads vividly captures the importance of the networks that crisscrossed the spine of Asia and linked the Atlantic with the Pacific, the Mediterranean with India, America with the Persian Gulf. By way of events as disparate as the American Revolution and the horrific world wars of the twentieth century, Peter Frankopan realigns the world, orientating us eastwards, and illuminating how even the rise of the West 500 years ago resulted from its efforts to gain access to and control these Eurasian trading networks. In an increasingly globalized planet, where current events in Asia and the Middle East dominate the world's attention, this magnificent work of history is very much a work of our times"--Provided by publisher.LSC
Subjects: World history.; Trade routes; East and West; Imperialism; Culture conflict; Acculturation;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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His truth is marching on : John Lewis and the power of hope / by Meacham, Jon,author.; Lewis, John,1940-2020,writer of afterword.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."John Lewis, who at age twenty-five marched in Selma and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, is a visionary and a man of faith. Using intimate interviews with Lewis and his family and deep research into the history of the civil rights movement, Meacham writes of how the activist and leader was inspired by the Bible, his mother's unbreakable spirit, his sharecropper father's tireless ambition, and his teachers in nonviolence, Reverend James Lawson and Martin Luther King, Jr. A believer in hope above all else, Lewis learned from a young age that nonviolence was not only a tactic but a philosophy, a biblical imperative, and a transforming reality. At the age of four, Lewis, ambitious to become a preacher, practiced by preaching to the chickens he took care of. When his mother cooked one of the chickens, the boy refused to eat it--his first act of non-violent protest. Integral to Lewis's commitment to bettering the nation was his faith in humanity and in God, and an unshakable belief in the power of hope. Meacham calls Lewis "as important to the founding of a modern and multiethnic twentieth- and twenty-first century America as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Samuel Adams were to the initial creation of the nation-state in the eighteenth century. He did what he did--risking limb and life to bear witness for the powerless in the face of the powerful--not in spite of America, but because of America, and not in spite of religion, but because of religion"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Lewis, John, 1940-2020.; United States. Congress. House; African American civil rights workers; Civil rights workers; Legislators; Protest movements;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Private rites : a novel / by Armfield, Julia,author.;
"From the award-winning author of Our Wives Under the Sea, a speculative reimagining of King Lear, centering three sisters navigating queer love and loss in a drowning world. It's been raining for a long time now, so long that the land has reshaped itself and arcane rituals and religions are creeping back into practice. Sisters Isla, Irene, and Agnes have not spoken in some time when their father dies. An architect as cruel as he was revered, his death offers an opportunity for the sisters to come together in a new way. In the grand glass house they grew up in, their father's most famous creation, the sisters sort through the secrets and memories he left behind, until their fragile bond is shattered by a revelation in his will. More estranged than ever, the sisters' lives spin out of control: Irene's relationship is straining at the seams; Isla's ex-wife keeps calling; and cynical Agnes is falling in love for the first time. But something even more sinister might be unfolding, something related to their mother's long-ago disappearance and the strangers who have always seemed unusually interested in the sisters' lives. Soon, it becomes clear that the sisters have been chosen for a very particular purpose, one with shattering implications for their family and their imperiled world"--
Subjects: Lesbian fiction.; Queer fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Family secrets; Lesbians; Sisters; Sisters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The witching year : a memoir of earnest fumbling through modern witchcraft / by Helmuth, Diana,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft. The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are. As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Helmuth, Diana; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women.; Witchcraft; Witches;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The NRA : the unauthorized history / by Smyth, Frank(Journalist),author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The National Rifle Association is unique in American life. Few other civic organizations are as old or as large. None is as controversial. It is largely due to the NRA that the U.S. gun policy differs so extremely--some would say so tragically--from that of every other developed nation. But, as Frank Smyth shows, the NRA has evolved from an organization concerned above all with marksmanship--not to mention one that supported most government efforts around gun control for a hundred years--to one that resists all attempts to restrict guns in any way. At the same time, the organization has also buried its own remarkable history. Here is that story, from the NRA's surprising roots in post-Civil War New York City to the defining event that changed its culture forever--the so-called Cincinnati Revolt of 1977--to the present day, where President Donald Trump is the most ardent champion in the White House the NRA has ever had. For anyone who has looked at access to guns in our society and asked "Why?", this is an unmatched account of how we got here, and who got us here."--Jacket flap.
Subjects: National Rifle Association of America; Gun control; Lobbying; Firearms ownership;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity. by Christian, David,actor.; The Great Courses (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
David ChristianOriginally produced by The Great Courses in 2008.How is it possible for the disciplines of cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to fit together? These 48 lectures by Professor David Christian of Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) answer that question by weaving a single story from accounts of the past developed by a variety of scholarly disciplines. The result is a tale stretching from the origins of the universe to the present day and beyond, in which human history is seen as part of the history of our Earth and biosphere, and the Earth's history, in turn, is seen as part of the history of the universe. It's no wonder that Bill Gates declared this to be his favorite Great Course!Like traditional creation stories told by the world's great religions and mythologies, this lecture series provides a map of our place in space and time. But it does so using the insights and knowledge of modern science, as synthesized by a renowned historian. While you may have heard parts of this story before in courses on geology, history, anthropology, biology, cosmology, and other scholarly disciplines, Professor Christian provides more than just a recap of those disciplines. "To understand ourselves," says Professor Christian, "we need to know the very large story, the largest story of all." And that, perhaps, is one of the greatest benefits of Big History: It provides a thought-provoking way to help us understand our own place within the Universe.Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Science.; Agriculture.; History, Ancient.; Social sciences.; Instructional films.; Documentary films.; History.; Earth sciences.; Universe.;
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Starry messenger : cosmic perspectives on civilization / by Tyson, Neil deGrasse,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time-war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, and race-in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity for us all"--
Subjects: Civilization; Cosmology.; Science and civilization.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Abominations : selected essays from a career of courting self-destruction / by Shriver, Lionel,author.;
Presents a collection of thirty-five works from the author's many columns, features, essays, op-eds, speeches, and reviews on a wide range of topics, including religion, politics, illness, mortality, family and friends, tennis, gender, immigration, consumerism, health care, and taxes.
Subjects: Essays.; American essays;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 181 to 190 of 316 | « previous |