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The republic of imagination : America in three books / by Nafisi, Azar.;
Part I. Huck -- Part II. Babbitt -- Part III. Carson -- Epilogue."A passionate hymn to the power of fiction to change people's lives, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran. Ten years ago, Azar Nafisi electrified readers with her million-copy bestseller, Reading Lolita in Tehran, which told the story of how, against the backdrop of morality squads and executions, she taught The Great Gatsby and other classics to her eager students in Iran. In this exhilarating followup, Nafisi has written the book her fans have been waiting for: an impassioned, beguiling, and utterly original tribute to the vital importance of fiction in a democratic society. What Reading Lolita in Tehran was for Iran, The Republic of Imagination is for America. Taking her cue from a challenge thrown to her in Seattle, where a skeptical reader told her that Americans don't care about books the way they did back in Iran, she energetically responds to those who say fiction has nothing to teach us. Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favorite American novels-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Babbitt, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, among others-she invites us to join her as citizens of her 'Republic of Imagination, ' a country where the villains are conformity and orthodoxy and the only passport to entry is a free mind and a willingness to dream"--rd
Subjects: Nafisi, Azar.; Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.; Lewis, Sinclair, 1885-1951.; McCullers, Carson, 1917-1967.; English teachers; Iranian American women; American fiction; Books and reading; National characteristics in literature.;

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;

Twenty-one days / by Perry, Anne,author.;
"As a new series debuts, a young lawyer races to save his client from execution, putting him at odds with his own father: Thomas Pitt, head of London's Special Police Branch. 1910: Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Pitt is a junior barrister in London and eager to prove himself, independent of his renowned parents' influence. And the new case before him will be the test. When his client, arrogant biographer Russell Graves, is found guilty of murdering his wife, Daniel is dispatched to find the real killer before Graves faces the hangman's noose--in only twenty-one days. Could Mrs. Graves's violent death have anything to do with her husband's profession? Someone in power may be framing the biographer to keep damaging secrets from coming to light. It is a theory that leads Daniel's investigation unexpectedly to London's Special Branch--and, disturbingly, to one of his father's closest colleagues. Caught between duty to the law and a fierce desire to protect his family, Daniel must call on his keen intellect--and trust his natural instincts--to find the truth in a tangle of dark deception, lest an innocent man hang for another's heinous crime"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Historical fiction.; Death row inmates; Murder; Lawyers;

Is rape a crime? : a memoir, an investigation, and a manifesto / by Bowdler, Michelle,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Alice Sebold meets Roxane Gay in Michelle Bowdler's literary debut, telling her story of rape and recovery while interrogating why one of society's most serious crimes goes largely uninvestigated The crime of rape sizzles like a lightning strike. It pounces, flattens, destroys. A person stands whole, and in a moment of unexpected violence, that life, that body is gone. Award-winning writer and public health executive Michelle Bowdler's memoir indicts how sexual violence has been addressed for decades in our society, asking whether rape is a crime given that it is the least reported major felony, least successfully prosecuted, and fewer than 3% of rapists ever spend a day in jail. Cases are closed before they are investigated and DNA evidence sits for years untested and disregarded. Rape in this country is not treated as a crime of brutal violence but as a parlor game of he said / she said. It might be laughable if it didn't work so much of the time. Given all this, it seems fair to ask whether rape is actually a crime. In 1984, the Boston Sexual Assault Unit was formed as a result of a series of break-ins and rapes that terrorized the city, of which Michelle's own horrific rape was the last. Twenty years later, after a career of working with victims like herself, Michelle decides to find out what happened to her case and why she never heard from the police again after one brief interview. An expert blend of memoir and cultural investigation, Michelle's story is a rallying cry to reclaim our power and right our world"--
Subjects: Bowdler, Michelle.; Rape victims.; Rape; Rape.;

The tsarina's daughter : a novel / by Alpsten, Ellen,1971-author.;
"Ellen Alpsten's stunning new novel, The Tsarina's Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal. Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, a former serf, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the envy of the Russian empire. She is insulated by luxury and spoiled by her father, who dreams for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule in Versailles. But when a woodland creature gives her a Delphic prophecy, her life is turned upside down. Her volatile father suddenly dies, her only brother has been executed and her mother takes the throne of Russia. As friends turn to foes in the dangerous atmosphere of the Court, the princess must fear for her freedom and her life. Fate deals her blow after blow, and even loving her becomes a crime that warrants cruel torture and capital punishment: Elizabeth matures from suffering victim to strong and savvy survivor. But only her true love and their burning passion finally help her become who she is. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth finds herself in mortal danger and must confront a terrible dilemma--seize the reins of power and harm an innocent child, or find herself following in the footsteps of her murdered brother. Hidden behind a gorgeous, wildly decadent façade, the Russian Imperial Court is a viper's den of intrigue and ambition. Only a woman possessed of boundless courage and cunning can prove herself worthy to sit on the throne of Peter the Great"--
Subjects: Biographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, 1709-1762;

The art of clear thinking : a stealth fighter pilot's timeless rules for making tough decisions / by Lee, Hasard,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Based on a career of making high-stakes, split-second decisions as a U.S. fighter pilot, The Art of Clear Thinking teaches readers to apply Hasard Lee's combat-tested techniques in everyday life. The training to become a fighter pilot is among the most competitive and difficult in the world with fewer than one in a thousand succeeding. Pushing a cutting-edge jet to its limits at over 1,000 mph means that every split-second decision can have catastrophic consequences. This extreme environment has forged a group of warriors who for the last fifty years have been considered at the apex of decision-making theory and practice. In The Art of Clear Thinking, Hasard Lee distills what he's learned during his career flying some of the Air Force's most advanced aircraft. With gripping firsthand accounts from his time as a fighter pilot and fascinating turning points throughout history, Hasard reveals powerful decision-making principles that can be used in business and in life, including: * HOW TO LEARN BETTER AND FASTER * CULTIVATING MENTAL TOUGHNESS * DEVELOPING THE SKILLS TO QUICKLY ASSESS, CHOOSE, AND EXECUTE * AND MUCH, MUCH MORE. Hasard has used and taught these techniques across the full spectrum of human endeavors and proven their effectiveness in both the cockpit and the boardroom. Those who have already benefited include CEO's, astronauts, CIA agents, students, parents, and many others. The Art of Clear Thinking is a book that will change how you interact with the world around you"--
Subjects: Decision making.; Problem solving.;

Barbieland : the unauthorized history / by Hitt, Tarpley,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.The secret history of Barbie and what Mattel has done to keep her on top. For nearly seven decades, Mattel billed Barbie as the first adult doll -- a revolutionary alternative to the baby dolls before her, which had treated little girls as future mothers rather than future women. But Barbie was no original. She was a knockoff: a nearly identical copy of a German doll now erased from the narrative in favour of Mattel's preferred version of history. It was Barbie's first secret but far from her last. In Barbieland, journalist and The Drift editor Tarpley Hitt exposes the long-hidden backstory of the world's most famous doll. After snuffing out her predecessor, Barbie climbed to the throne of global girlhood and stayed there, fending off rivals with a mix of strategic marketing, government influence, ruthless litigation, and covert tactics worthy of a classic spy novel. This lively, authoritative ride through the underbelly of American business pulls back the curtain on the corporate titans, cultural influencers, and toyland rivals who shaped this icon's world -- from flawed founder Ruth Handler to convicted Wall Street fraudster (and improbable Barbie saviour) Michael Milken to the Bratz doll empire, which once put the brand on life support. Along the way, Hitt delves into the stories of the eccentrics and autocrats who brought Barbie to life through sheer force of will: a pair of ex-Nazi toymakers, a toy mogul friend of J. Edgar Hoover's, a swinging missile designer turned Barbie executive married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Mattel's mid-century Freudian marketeer, who saw the doll as a psychosexual skeleton key to controlling the American mind. Through investigative reporting, global archival research, and interviews with key players from across the Barbie extended universe, Barbieland lays bare the unseen -- and so often absurd -- work that made Mattel a multibillion-dollar business and turned Barbie into an institution: a symbol as synonymous with American soft power as Coca-Cola and McDonald's french fries.
Subjects: Barbie (Fictitious character); Mattel, Inc.; Barbie dolls; Barbie dolls; Feminism.; Popular culture.; Toy industry.;

The shadow of war : a novel of the Cuban Missile Crisis / by Shaara, Jeff,1952-author.;
"From the bestselling author comes the story of rising conflict between the super-powers that gripped the world, a global war that almost happened: The Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1961, the new president John F. Kennedy, inherited an ill-conceived, poorly executed invasion of Cuba that failed miserably and set in motion the events that put the U.S. and the Soviet Union on a collision course that nearly started a war that would have enveloped much of the world. Extensively researched and vividly imagined, The Shadow of War brings to life the many threads that lead to the building crisis between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1962. Told from a multitude of perspectives and voices, from the Russian engineer attempting the near impossible task of building the missile launch facilities in Cuba, to the U.S. Navy commanders who ships are sent to "quarantine" Cuba, to the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, desperately trying to maintain a challenging balancing act between the conflicting demands of various powerful forces, to the brothers Kennedy (Bobby and JFK) who can't allow Russia to land nuclear missiles in Cuba, or to appear weak in confronting Khrushchev, but keenly understand how close they are dancing to the edge of war. Shaara brings to life all the action and actors, famous and little known, that embodied a war that almost happened, the Cuban Missile Crisis"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Nuclear warfare;

Chasm / by McEwan, Stacey,author.;
"Chasm follows on from the heart-stopping smash-hit beginning, Ledge. Dawsyn's fight to save the people of the Ledge is far from over ... Dawsyn's miraculous escape from the Ledge was just the beginning. In the queens' dungeon, Dawsyn awaits her execution while reliving the death of her lover, Ryon. There is no hope for mercy. But hope finds her in the form of rescue by her village friends. Now on the run and struggling to tame her newly-gained and greatly unstable powers, Dawsyn's journey continues. Facing betrayal anew, she must learn patience and trust as she builds strength on all fronts, while she and her comrades recover and ready themselves for what's to come. As they ascend the perilous mountain slopes once again to the Glacian kingdom, in a desperate attempt to save those remaining on the Ledge, Dawsyn must battle wills as well as weapons, before discovering an entirely new evil awaiting her ... "--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Novels.; Ability; Adventure and adventurers; Good and evil; Magic; Quests (Expeditions); Rescues; Women heroes;

The naked eye / by Johansen, Iris.; Johansen, Roy.;
"How can you catch a killer when everyone thinks he's dead? Kendra Michaels was instrumental in bringing serial killer Eric Colby to justice. And yet, despite his apparent execution at San Quentin, Kendra is convinced that Colby is still alive. The problem is that she can't prove it. Even her razor-sharp powers of observation-developed to an amazing capacity during the twenty years she spent blind and now in constant demand by law enforcement agencies-have gotten her nowhere. But then a reporter who very publicly humiliated Kendra is murdered. Visiting the crime scene in search of anything that might link the brutal homicide to Colby, Kendra instead finds evidence that points to her. Finally Colby's master plan becomes clear to her: he is framing Kendra for murder.Suspicions mount and Kendra is thrust into deadly pursuit to clear her name and catch the killer no one believes exists anymore. A killer who is always nearby, watching, waiting to make his next move, even as everyone believes him to be dead. A killer whose trail of destruction is invisible to the naked eye, despite the carnage he leaves in his wake. It will take everything Kendra has to find and stop Colby-and save her own life one more time"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Suspense fiction.; Mystery fiction.; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation; Blind women; Conspiracy; Murder; Serial murderers;

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