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Miracles and wonder : the historical mystery of Jesus / by Pagels, Elaine H.,1943-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From a renowned National Book Award-winning scholar, an extraordinary new account of the life of Jesus that explores the mystery of how a poor young man inspired a religion that reshaped the world. Over the past two thousand years, countless personalities have been projected onto the enigma we know as Jesus: a first-century rabbi, capable of miraculous healing, or a magician faking cures; a Prophet, or a deluded visionary; a heretical Jew, or God in human form. In this groundbreaking work of accessible scholarship, Princeton University professor and bestselling author Elaine Pagels explores a wide range of sources -- including the Bible, the earliest reports of Jesus's life, and the secret "gnostic gospels," discovered in the 20th century -- to break down these contradictions and paint a richer and more complex portrait of Jesus in his own time than ever before. As Christians became the largest community of any religious tradition in the world, Pagels argues, people have constructed and reconstructed Jesus through the lens of imagination, his image shaped by the social, political, and economic challenges of their own time. But the most fascinating years of all were the early ones when a young Jewish man with a scanty following, executed humiliatingly as an insurrectionist, was transformed by his followers into the Jesus of Christianity. Powerfully written and drawing on decades of research, Miracles and Wonder is an essential history for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of Jesus and his monumental afterlife"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Jesus Christ;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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In the midst of winter [sound recording] : a novel / by Allende, Isabel,author.; Boutsikaris, Dennis,narrator.; Jones, Jasmine Cephas,narrator.; Cuervo, Alma,1951-narrator.; translation of:Allende, Isabel.Más allá del invierno.English[sound recording].; Simon & Schuster Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Dennis Boutsikaris, Jasmine Cephas Jones & Alma Cuervo."Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil. In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident--which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster--a 60-year-old human rights scholar--hits the car of Evelyn Ortega--a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala--in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor's house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz--a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile--for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia. Exploring the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees, the book recalls Allende's landmark novel The House of the Spirits in the way it embraces the cause of "humanity, and it does so with passion, humor, and wisdom that transcend politics" (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post). In the Midst of Winter will stay with you long after you turn the final page"--
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Romance fiction.; College teachers; Women college teachers; Women illegal aliens; Human rights;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Spillane : king of pulp fiction : a biography / by Collins, Max Allan,author.; Traylor, James L.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The first-ever biography of the most popular and most influential pulp writer of all time, written by the collaborator who knew him best. Beginning in 1947 with I, the Jury, Mickey Spillane's crime writing career charted one of the most meteoric rises in modern letters. The author quickly amassed a readership in the tens of millions, which made him the bestselling novelist in the history of American publishing. His Mike Hammer private eye novels were tough, violent, and sexually suggestive, which made them a lightning rod for controversy in post-war America. Scorned by critics and by the literary establishment, Spillane's work was nevertheless beloved by readers, and his character soon spurred film and television adaptations that were as popular and as influential as the books on which they were based. His enormous success changed the course of popular fiction in the decades that followed and inspired scores of imitations. There is, however, more to the life of Frank Morrison Spillane than his books. Born in Brooklyn, raised in New Jersey, the young son of a bartender worked as a circus performer and fighter pilot before his writing career took off, and, through writing, he went on to a career as an actor, a crimestopper, and a Miller Light spokesperson in commercials so popular they ran for a quarter of a century. These stories and more are included in Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction, the definitive biography of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, written by the author's friend and collaborator, Max Allan Collins, and pulp fiction scholar James L. Traylor"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Spillane, Mickey, 1918-2006.; Novelists, American;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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An odyssey / by Mendelsohn, Daniel Adam,1960-author.;
"From award-winning memoirist and critic, and bestselling author of The Lost, comes a deeply moving tale of a father and son's transformative journey in reading -- and reliving -- Homer's epic masterpiece. When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate Odyssey seminar his son teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as profoundly emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematician's unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his "one last chance" to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth -- and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son, a writer and classicist. But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that the two men explore Homer's great work together -- first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his son's interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseus's famous voyages -- it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: Jay's responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last. As this intricately woven memoir builds to its wrenching climax, Mendelsohn's narrative comes to deeply echo The Odyssey itself, with its timeless themes of deception and recognition, marriage and children, the pleasures of travel, and the meaning of home. Rich with literary and emotional insight, An odyssey is a renowned author-scholar's most triumphant entwining yet of personal narrative and literary exploration"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Mendelsohn, Daniel Adam, 1960-; Mendelsohn, Jay.; Homer.; College teachers; Scientists; Fathers and sons;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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In the midst of winter : a novel / by Allende, Isabel,author.; Caistor, Nick,translator.; Hopkinson, Amanda,1948-translator.; translation of:Allende, Isabel.Más allá del invierno.English.;
"New York Times and worldwide bestselling "dazzling storyteller" (Associated Press) Isabel Allende returns with a sweeping novel about three very different people who are brought together in a mesmerizing story that journeys from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil. In the Midst of Winter begins with a minor traffic accident--which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected and moving love story between two people who thought they were deep into the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster--a 60-year-old human rights scholar--hits the car of Evelyn Ortega--a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala--in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn. What at first seems just a small inconvenience takes an unforeseen and far more serious turn when Evelyn turns up at the professor's house seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant Lucia Maraz--a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile--for her advice. These three very different people are brought together in a mesmerizing story that moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil, sparking the beginning of a long overdue love story between Richard and Lucia. Exploring the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees, the book recalls Allende's landmark novel The House of the Spirits in the way it embraces the cause of "humanity, and it does so with passion, humor, and wisdom that transcend politics" (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post). In the Midst of Winter will stay with you long after you turn the final page"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; College teachers; Women college teachers; Women illegal aliens; Human rights;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Writing of the gods : the race to decode the Rosetta Stone / by Dolnick, Edward,1952-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the world, attracting millions of visitors to the British Museum ever year, and yet most people don't really know what it is. Discovered in a pile of rubble in 1799, this slab of stone proved to be the key to unlocking a lost language that baffled scholars for centuries. Carved in ancient Egypt, the Rosetta Stone carried the same message in different languages-in Greek using Greek letters, and in Egyptian using picture-writing called hieroglyphs. Until its discovery, no one in the world knew how to read the hieroglyphs that covered every temple and text and statue in Egypt. Dominating the world for thirty centuries, ancient Egypt was the mightiest empire the world had ever known, yet everything about it-the pyramids, mummies, the Sphinx-was shrouded in mystery. Whoever was able to decipher the Rosetta Stone, and learn how to read hieroglyphs, would solve that mystery and fling open a door that had been locked for two thousand years. Two brilliant rivals set out to win that prize. One was English, the other French, at a time when England and France were enemies and the world's two great superpowers. The Writing of the Gods chronicles this high-stakes intellectual race in which the winner would win glory for both himself and his nation. A riveting portrait of empires both ancient and modern, this is an unparalleled look at the culture and history of ancient Egypt and a fascinating, fast-paced story of human folly and discovery unlike any other"--
Subjects: Young, Thomas, 1773-1829.; Champollion, Jean-François, 1790-1832.; Rosetta stone.; Egyptian language;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The summer pact : a novel / by Giffin, Emily,author.;
"In the wake of tragedy, a group of friends make a pact that will cause them to reunite a decade later and embark upon a life-changing adventure together. Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds: Lainey, a California party girl with a flair for drama; Tyson, a brilliant scholar and law school hopeful from D.C.; Summer, a recruited athlete and perfectionist from the Midwest; and Hannah, a mild-mannered southerner who is content to quietly round out the circle of big personalities. Soon after moving into their shared dorm, they strike up a conversation in a study lounge, and the seeds of friendship are planted. As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, a pact is made to be there for each other in their time of need, no matter how separated they are by circumstances or distance. Ten years later, Hannah is anticipating what should be one of the happiest moments of her life when everything is suddenly turned upside down. Calling on her closest friends, it soon becomes clear that they are facing their own crossroads. True to their promise, they agree to take a time out from lives headed in wrong directions and embark on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance. In this tender portrayal of grief, love, and hope, Emily Giffin asks: When things fall apart, who will be at our sides to help pick up the pieces?"-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Friendship; Identity (Psychology); Life change events;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 4
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The Company : the rise and fall of the Hudson's Bay empire / by Bown, Stephen R.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A thrilling new telling of the story of modern Canada's origins. The story of the Hudson's Bay Company, dramatic and adventurous and complex, is the story of modern Canada's creation. And yet it hasn't been told in a book for over thirty years, and never in such depth and vivid detail as in Stephen R Bown's exciting new telling. The Company started out small in 1670, trading practical manufactured goods for furs with the Indigenous inhabitants of inland subarctic Canada. Controlled by a handful of English aristocrats, it expanded into a powerful political force that ruled the lives of many thousands of people--from the lowlands south and west of Hudson Bay, to the tundra, the great plains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific northwest. It transformed the culture and economy of many Indigenous groups and ended up as the most important political and economic force in northern and western North America. When the Company was faced with competition from French traders in the 1780s, the result was a bloody corporate battle, the coming of Governor George Simpson--one of the greatest villains in Canadian history--and the Company assuming political control and ruthless dominance. By the time its monopoly was rescinded after two hundred years, the Hudson's Bay Company had reworked the entire northern North American world. Stephen R Bown has a scholar's profound knowledge and understanding of the Company's history, but wears his learning lightly in a narrative as compelling, and rich in well-drawn characters, as a page-turning novel."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Hudson's Bay Company; Fur trade;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Wrongfully convicted : guilty pleas, imagined crimes, and what Canada must do to safeguard justice / by Roach, Kent,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A top legal scholar explains Canada's national tragedy of wrongful convictions, how anyone could be caught up in them, and what we can do to safeguard justice. Canada's legal system has a serious problem: a significant number of people are in prison for crimes they didn't commit. There are famous cases of wrongful convictions, such as David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, and Donald Marshall Jr., who were all innocent of the murders for which they were found guilty. But there are lesser-known cases that illustrate just how widespread our issues are, and how they put everyone at risk. Kent Roach, law professor, government advisor, and award-winning author, has dedicated his illustrious career to documenting this phenomenon. His work reveals that, yes, some people are found guilty of crimes they didn't commit. But also there are two other kinds of wrongful convictions: people who feel they have no option but to plead guilty, and people convicted of crimes that were imagined by experts or the police that never, in fact, happened. Wrongfully Convicted raises awareness of these issues and makes a compelling case that injustices cannot be solved by DNA exonerations alone. The problems run deeper. But there are solutions, including the creation of a permanent federal commission to evaluate and address wrongful convictions. Kent Roach's research and vast knowledge point to systemic failings in our legal system. But he also outlines changes we can make to ensure a more fair and equitable society. Until we do, many of the wrongfully convicted are still waiting for the promise of justice. It is an issue that affects all Canadians."--
Subjects: False imprisonment; Judicial error;
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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