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The heroine with 1,001 faces / by Tatar, Maria,1945-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."World-renowned folklorist Maria Tatar reveals an astonishing but long buried history of heroines, taking us from Cassandra and Scheherazade to Nancy Drew and Wonder Woman. How do we explain our newfound cultural investment in empathy and social justice? For decades, Joseph Campbell had defined our cultural aspirations in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, emphasizing the value of seeking glory and earning immortality. His work became the playbook for Hollywood, with its many male-centric quest narratives. Challenging the models in Campbell's canonical work, Maria Tatar explores how heroines, rarely wielding a sword and deprived of a pen, have flown beneath the radar even as they have been bent on social missions. Using the domestic arts and storytelling skills, they have displayed audacity, curiosity, and care as they struggled to survive and change the reigning culture. Animating figures from Ovid's Philomela, her tongue severed yet still weaving a tale about sexual assault, to Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, a high-tech wizard seeking justice for victims of a serial killer, The Heroine with 1,001 Faces creates a luminous arc that takes us from ancient times to the present"--
Subjects: Sex role in literature.; Women heroes in literature.; Women heroes; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Wild minds : the artists and rivalries that inspired the golden age of animation / by Mitenbuler, Reid,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In 1911, the famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted an animated version of his popular newspaper strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland. Loosely inspired by Sigmund Freud's research on dreams, the film was one of the very first of its kind. McCay is largely forgotten today, but his work helped unleash the creative energy of animators like Otto Messmer, Max Fleischer, Walt Disney, and Chuck Jones. Their origin stories, rivalries, and sheer genius, as Reid Mitenbuler skillfully relates, were as colorful and subversive as their creations-from Felix the Cat to Bugs Bunny to feature films such as Fantasia-which became an integral part of American culture over the next five decades. Before television, animated cartoons were often "little hand grenades of social and political satire" aimed squarely at adults. Early Betty Boop cartoons included nudity. Popeye stories slyly criticized the injustices of unchecked capitalism. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner were used to explore hidden depths of the American psyche. "During its first half-century," Mitenbuler writes, "animation was an important part of the culture wars about free speech, censorship, the appropriate boundaries of humor, and the influence of art and media on society." During WWII it also played a significant role in propaganda. The golden age of animation ended with the advent of television when cartoons were sanitized to appeal to a growing demographic of children and help advertisers sell sugary breakfast cereals. Alongside these stories, Mitenbuler incorporates the surprising contributions of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), voice artist Mel Blanc, composer Leopold Stokowski, and many others whose talents influenced the world of animation. Illustrated throughout in both black-and-white and color, with rare drawings and photographs, Wild Minds is an ode to our lively past and to the creative energy that would inspire The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman today"--
Subjects: Animated films; Animated television programs; Animated films; Animated television programs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Churchill and Orwell [sound recording] : the fight for freedom / by Ricks, Thomas E.,author.; Lurie, James(James Harrison),narrator.; Penguin Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by James Lurie."From #1 New York Times bestselling author Thomas E. Ricks, a dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, with a focus on the pivotal years from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, when their farsighted vision and inspired action in the face of the threat of fascism and communism helped preserve democracy for the world. Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's--Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them. At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini 'men we could do business with,' if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom--that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940'sto triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Audiobooks.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.; Orwell, George, 1903-1950.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965; Orwell, George, 1903-1950; Prime ministers; Authors, English; Fascism; Communism; World politics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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All that she carried : the journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake / by Miles, Tiya,1970-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called "Ashley's Sack," embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag -- including Rose's message that "It be filled with my Love always." Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them took to write a unique, innovative history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. The contents of the sack -- a tattered dress, handfuls of pecans, a braid of hair, "my Love always" -- speak volumes and open up a window on Rose and Ashley's world. As she follows Ashley's journey, Miles metaphorically "unpacks" the sack, deepening its emotional resonance and revealing the meanings and significance of everything it contained. These include the story of enslaved labor's role in the cotton trade and apparel crafts and the rougher cotton "negro cloth" that was left for enslaved people to wear; the role of the pecan in nutrition, survival, and southern culture; the significance of hair to Black women and of locks of hair in the nineteenth century; and an exploration of Black mothers' love and the place of emotion in history"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Ashley (Enslaved person in South Carolina); Middleton, Ruth Jones, 1903-1942; African American women; African American women; Enslaved persons; Enslaved women; Enslaved women; Memory; Mothers and daughters.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Wilde child / by James, Eloisa.;
Already notorious for the golden hair that proves her mother's infidelity, Lady Joan can't seem to avoid scandals, but her latest escapade may finally ruin her: she's determined to perform the title role of a prince--in breeches, naturally. She has the perfect model for an aristocratic male in mind: Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick, a man who scorned the very idea of marrying her. Not that Joan would want such a dubious honor, of course. For years, Thaddeus has avoided the one Wilde who shakes his composure, but he's horrified when he grasps the danger Joan's putting herself in. Staring into her defiant eyes, he makes the grim vow that he'll keep her safe. He strikes a bargain: after one performance, the lady must return to her father's castle and marry one of three gentlemen whom he deems acceptable. Not including him, of course.
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Historical fiction.; Man-woman relationships; Aristocracy (Social class); Love Stories;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The legacy of Louis Riel : leader of the Métis people / by Morrow, John A.(John Andrew),1971-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.The Legacy of Louis Riel provides an overview of the ideas that guided the leader of the Métis people. Louis Riel was a prolific writer. Based on a comprehensive review of Riel's writing, the author examines his views on a variety of vital subjects, including the definition of the term Métis; matters of Métis identity; the condition, characteristics, and future of the First Nations; Jewish people and their need for statehood; Islam, as an ally of liberalism and a threat to Christianity and Western civilization; Quebec, as a nation state and protector of the Métis people; French Canadians, as part of the Métis family; the exceptionalism of the United States; the place and role of women; liberalism as the most evil of ideologies; and the imperative need of Métis unity. These relevant and timely topics, some of which have been sidelined or entirely ignored, are sure to stoke considerable controversy in our current social context. In so doing, it is hoped that this study will increase our understanding of Louis Riel, his thought, and his writings, and help create greater cohesion among Métis communities throughout North America at a time when attempts are being made to divide them.
Subjects: Riel, Louis, 1844-1885; Métis;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Shanghai Grand : forbidden love and international intrigue on the eve of the Second World War / by Grescoe, Taras,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."On the eve of WWII, the foreign-controlled port of Shanghai was the rendezvous for the twentieth century's most outlandish adventurers, all under the watchful eye of the fabulously wealthy Sir Victor Sassoon. Emily 'Mickey' Hahn was a legendary New Yorker journalist whose vivid writing played a crucial role in opening Western eyes to the realities of life in China. At the height of the Depression, Hahn arrived in Shanghai after a disappointing affair with an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter, convinced she will never love again. After checking in to Sassoon's glamorous Cathay Hotel, Hahn is absorbed into the social swirl of the expats drawn to pre-war China, among them Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Harold Acton, and a colourful gangster named Morris 'Two-Gun' Cohen. But when she meets Zau Sinmay, a Chinese poet from an illustrious family, she discovers the real Shanghai through his eyes: the city of rich colonials, triple agents, opium-smokers, displaced Chinese peasants, and increasingly desperate White Russian and Jewish refugees--places her innate curiosity will lead her to explore first hand. Danger lurks on the horizon, though, as the brutal Japanese occupation destroys the seductive world of pre-war Shanghai, paving the way for Mao Tse-tung's Communists rise to power"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Hahn, Emily, 1905-1997; Hahn, Emily, 1905-1997; Sassoon, Elias Victor, 1881-1961; Cathay Hotel (Shanghai, China); Adventure and adventurers; Aliens; Americans; Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Miss Aldridge regrets / by Hare, Louise,author.;
"Nightclub singer Lena Aldridge had planned to jump ship before her past caught up with her-only to find a killer has followed her onboard the Queen Mary in this thrilling locked-room mystery. London 1936. Lena Aldridge is wondering if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn't worked out. Instead, she's stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho and her married lover has just dumped her. But Lena has always had a complicated life, one shrouded in mystery as a mixed-race girl passing for white, in a city unforgiving of her true racial heritage. She has nothing to look forward to-until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York. After a murder at the club, the timing couldn't be better and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. Until death follows her onto the ship and she realizes that her greatest performance has already begun. But who is writing the script?"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Aristocracy (Social class); Families; Murder; Ocean liners; Racially mixed people; Secrecy; Singers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The sweet spot : the pleasures of suffering and the search for meaning / by Bloom, Paul,1963-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.From the author of Against Empathy comes a different kind of happiness book, one that shows us how suffering is an essential source of both pleasure and meaning in our lives. Why do we so often seek out physical pain and emotional turmoil? We go to movies that make us cry, or scream, or gag. We poke at sores, eat spicy foods, immerse ourselves in hot baths, run marathons. Some of us even seek out pain and humiliation in sexual role-play. Where do these seemingly perverse appetites come from? Drawing on groundbreaking findings from psychology and brain science,The Sweet Spotshows how the right kind of suffering sets the stage for enhanced pleasure. Pain can distract us from our anxieties and help us transcend the self. Choosing to suffer can serve social goals; it can display how tough we are or, conversely, can function as a cry for help. Feelings of fear and sadness are part of the pleasure of immersing ourselves in play and fantasy and can provide certain moral satisfactions. And effort, struggle, and difficulty can, in the right contexts, lead to the joys of mastery and flow. But suffering plays a deeper role as well. We are not natural hedonists-a good life involves more than pleasure. People seek lives of meaning and significance; we aspire to rich relationships and satisfying pursuits, and this requires some amount of struggle, anxiety, and loss. Brilliantly argued, witty, and humane, Paul Bloom shows how a life without chosen suffering would be empty--and, worse than that, boring.
Subjects: Self-help publications.; Conduct of life.; Happiness.; Pain; Pleasure.; Suffering;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The first-time manager / by Belker, Loren B.,author.; McCormick, Jim(James Maxwell),author.; Topchik, Gary S.,author.;
"Faced with new responsibilities, and in need of quick, dependable guidance, novice managers can't afford to learn by trial and error. This book covers essential topics such as hiring and firing, leadership, motivation, managing time, dealing with superiors, and much more. "--Back cover.
Subjects: Office management.; Supervision of employees.; Leadership.; Industrial management.; Organizational effectiveness.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Results 91 to 100 of 169 | « previous |