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Rat city : overcrowding and urban derangement in the rodent universes of John B. Calhoun / by Adams, Jon,author.; Ramsden, Edmund,author.;
"How a landmark experiment in rat behavior changed the way we think about cities. In the decades following WWII, the American metropolis was in peril. Modern high rises hastily erected to replace slums became incubators of criminality, while civic unrest erupted across the nation. Enter John B. Calhoun, an ecologist employed by the National Institute of Mental Health to study the effects of overcrowding. Calhoun decided to focus his study on rats. From 1947 to 1977, Calhoun built a series of sprawling habitats in which a rat's every need was met -- except space. As the enclosures became ever more crowded, resident rats began to react to social stress, culminating in the terrifying world of Universe 25: a rodent habitat where escalating social disorder collapsed to violent extinction. Did a similar fate await our own teeming cities? Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden's Rat City is the first book to tell the story of maverick scientist Calhoun and his now-viral experiments. Following the rats from the baiting pits of Victorian London to the laboratories of NIMH, and Calhoun from rural Tennessee to inner-city Baltimore, Rat City is an enthralling mix of dystopian science and urban history. Social design, housing infrastructure, a burgeoning current of racism in city planning: Calhoun influenced them all, and Rat City connects Calhoun's work to the politics of personal space, the looming threat of global overpopulation, and the eclipsing of environmental psychology by pharmaceutical psychiatry. As the "war on rats" continues to be waged around the world, and our post-pandemic society reevaluates the necessity of urban living, the riveting story of Rat City is more relevant than ever"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Calhoun, John B.; Ethologists; Human beings; Human ecology.; Overpopulation.; Rats; Rats; Urban ecology (Sociology);

Age of anger : a history of the present / by Mishra, Pankaj,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."One of our most important public intellectuals reveals the hidden history of our current global crisis. How can we explain the origins of the great wave of paranoid hatreds that seem inescapable in our close-knit world--from American 'shooters' and ISIS to Trump, from a rise in vengeful nationalism across the world to racism and misogyny on social media? In Age of Anger, Pankaj Mishra answers our bewilderment by casting his gaze back to the eighteenth century, before leading us to the present. He shows that as the world became modern those who were unable to fulfill its promises--freedom, stability and prosperity--were increasingly susceptible to demagogues. The many who came late to this new world or were left, or pushed, behind, reacted in horrifyingly similar ways: intense hatred of invented enemies, attempts to re-create an imaginary golden age, and self-empowerment through spectacular violence. It was from among the ranks of the disaffected that the militants of the 19th century arose--angry young men who became cultural nationalists in Germany, messianic revolutionaries in Russia, bellicose chauvinists in Italy, and anarchist terrorists internationally. Today, just as then, the wider embrace of mass politics, technology, and the pursuit of wealth and individualism has cast many more billions adrift in a literally demoralized world, uprooted from tradition but still far from modernity--with the same terrible results. Making startling connections and comparisons, Age of Anger is a book of immense urgency and profound argument. It is a history of our present predicament unlike any other"--
Subjects: Anger; Civilization, Modern.; Civilization, Western.; Nationalism; Religion and politics; Social change; Terrorism; World politics; World politics; Youth;

The Museum of Lost Quilts An Elm Creek Quilts Novel [electronic resource] : by Chiaverini, Jennifer.aut; cloudLibrary;
Jennifer Chiaverini’s beloved and bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series returns with the first Elm Creek Quilts novel since 2019’s The Christmas Boutique. Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does. Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present. As Summer’s work progresses, quilt lovers and history buffs praise the growing collection, but affronted local leaders demand that she remove all references to Waterford’s troubled history. As controversy threatens the exhibit’s success, Summer fears that her pursuit of the truth might cost the Waterford Historical Society their last chance to save Union Hall. Her only hope is to rally the quilting community to her cause. The Museum of Lost Quilts is a warm and deeply moving story about the power of collective memory. With every fascinating quilt she studies, Summer finds her passion for history renewed—and discovers a promising new future for herself.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Small Town & Rural; Literary; Contemporary Women;
© 2024., HarperCollins,

Hum if you don't know the words / by Marais, Bianca,1976-author.;
"Perfect for readers of The secret life of bees and The help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy. Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred. Until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin's parents are left dead and Beauty's daughter goes missing. After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection. Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum if you don't know the words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family"--
Subjects: Apartheid; Family life;

The Museum of Lost Quilts An Elm Creek Quilts Novel [electronic resource] : by Chiaverini, Jennifer.aut; Moore, Christina.nrt; cloudLibrary;
Jennifer Chiaverini’s beloved and bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series returns with the first Elm Creek Quilts novel since 2019’s The Christmas Boutique. Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does. Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present. As Summer’s work progresses, quilt lovers and history buffs praise the growing collection, but affronted local leaders demand that she remove all references to Waterford’s troubled history. As controversy threatens the exhibit’s success, Summer fears that her pursuit of the truth might cost the Waterford Historical Society their last chance to save Union Hall. Her only hope is to rally the quilting community to her cause. The Museum of Lost Quilts is a warm and deeply moving story about the power of collective memory. With every fascinating quilt she studies, Summer finds her passion for history renewed—and discovers a promising new future for herself.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Contemporary Women; Small Town & Rural;
© 2024., HarperCollins,

Vanguard : how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all / by Jones, Martha S.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."According to conventional wisdom, American women's campaign for the vote began with the Seneca Falls convention of 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The movement was led by storied figures such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. But this women's movement was an overwhelmingly white one, and it secured the constitutional right to vote for white women, not for all women. In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha Jones offers a sweeping history of African American women's political lives in America, recounting how they fought for, won, and used the right to the ballot and how they fought against both racism and sexism. From 1830s Boston to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and beyond to Shirley Chisholm, Stacey Abrams, and Kamala Harris, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women who, although in many cases suffragists, were never single-issue activists. She recounts the lives of Maria Stewart, the first American woman to speak about politics before a mixed audience of men and women, African Methodist Episcopal preacher Jarena Lee, Reconstruction-era advocate for female suffrage Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Boston abolitionist, religious leader, and women's club organizer Eliza Ann Gardner, and other hidden figures who were pioneers for both gender and racial equality. Revealing the ways black women remained independent in their ideas and their organization, Jones shows how black women were again and again the American vanguard of women's rights, setting the pace in the quest for justice and collective liberation. In the twenty-first century, black women's power at the polls and in politics is evident. Vanguard reveals that this power is not at all new, but is instead the culmination of two centuries of dramatic struggle"--
Subjects: African American women social reformers; African American women suffragists; African Americans; Women;

Climate injustice : why we need to fight global inequailty to combat climate change / by Otto, Friederike,author.; Pybus, Sarah,translator.; David Suzuki Institute,sponsoring body.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Climate change does not affect everyone equally. While many scientists focus on studying climate change as a physics problem, Friederike Otto, one of the world's most renowned climate scientists, sees it as a symptom of the global crisis of inequality, not its cause. In this ambitious, fast-paced book, she offers concrete examples of how extreme weather events caused by climate change reveal uncomfortable truths about the failures of political and social infrastructures around the world. Comparing eight extreme weather events ... including heat waves in North America, floods in Pakistan, droughts in Madagascar, and wildfires in Australia ... Otto reveals how climate change is affecting the world's most vulnerable, whether they are women working on farms in Ghana during heat waves, or elderly people who died during floods in Germany. In particular, Otto examines the Global North's extractionist view of the Global South, a view that ensures elites are protected while others bear the brunt of the climate disaster. Climate Injustice shares the stories of real people, shining a light on the real damage inflicted on real lives. Above all, it shows how racism, colonialism, sexism, and climate change are interconnected, and how positive changes on one level can lead to positive effects on another. Authored by the co-founder of World Weather Attribution, a cutting-edge scientific method that pinpointed the role of climate change in extreme weather events for the first time, Climate Injustice offers a groundbreaking view on the fires, floods, heatwaves, and storms that are wreaking havoc at an alarming pace. Inequality and injustice are at the core of what makes climate change a problem for humanity. Fairness and global justice must therefore be at the core of the solution. Climate justice concerns everyone."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Climate justice.; Equality; Climatic changes; Climatic extremes;

That book is dangerous! : how moral panic, social media, and the culture wars are remaking publishing / by Szetela, Adam,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.An alarming exposé of the new challenges to literary freedom in the age of social media -- when anyone with an identity and an internet connection can be a censor. In That Book Is Dangerous!, Adam Szetela investigates how well-intentioned and often successful efforts to diversify American literature have also produced serious problems for literary freedom. Although progressives are correct to be focused on right-wing attempts at legislative censorship, Szetela argues for attention to the ways that left-wing censorship controls speech within the publishing industry itself. The author draws on interviews with presidents and vice presidents at the Big Five publishers, literary agents at the most prestigious agencies, award-winning authors, editors, marketers, sensitivity readers, and other industry professionals to examine the new publishing landscape. What he finds is unsettling: mandatory sensitivity reads; morality clauses in author contracts; even censorship of "dangerous" books in the name of antiracism, feminism, and other forms of social justice. These changes to acquisition practices, editing policies, and other aspects of literary culture are a direct outgrowth of the culture of public outcries on X, Goodreads, Change.org, and other online platforms, where users accuse authors -- justifiably or not -- of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other transgressions. But rather than genuinely address the economic inequities of literary production, this current moral crusade over literature serves only to entrench the status quo. "While the right is remaking the world in its image," he writes, "the left is standing in a circular firing squad." Compellingly argued and incisively written, the book is a much-needed wake-up call for anyone who cares about reading, writing, and the publication of books -- as well as the generations of young readers we are raising.
Subjects: Cancel culture; Censorship in literature; Culture conflict; Moral panics; Political correctness; Publishers and publishing; Social media;

Framed Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions [electronic resource] : by Grisham, John.aut; McCloskey, Jim.aut; cloudLibrary;
In John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, “the master of the legal thriller” (Associated Press) teams up with Jim McCloskey, “the godfather of the innocence movement” (Texas Monthly), to share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. “Each of these stories is told with astonishing power. They are packed with human drama, with acts of shocking villainy and breathtaking courage. But these are more than just gripping true stories—they are a clarion call for reforming the tragic flaws in our criminal justice system.”—David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system. A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse. Impeccably researched and told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of winning freedom when the battle already seems lost and the deck is stacked against you.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Murder; Penology;
© 2024., Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,

Love & courage : my story of family, resilience, and overcoming the unexpected : a memoir / by Singh, Jagmeet,1979-author.;
"Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal. Every part of Jagmeet Singh's full name reflects a part of his identity. Jagmeet--the intelligent, warm "friend to the world." Singh--the great grandson of a Punjabi freedom fighter who defended his people against injustice. Jimmy--the kid who grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Windsor. Dhaliwal--the son of immigrants who chanced it and uprooted themselves in Canada for a better life. With wisdom, warmth, and compassion, Love & Courage tells the stories behind each of those names. The son of Indian immigrants, Jagmeet Singh grew up in Windsor, and he learned at an early age that the world was not always be kind. Early experiences with racism and prejudice made Jagmeet question his place in the society around him as he fought on the streets and in the classroom to carve out a safe space for himself. But while the society around him sought to bring him down, Jagmeet's family lifted him up. Whenever Jagmeet returned home bruised or battered by the outside world, his mother repeated the same words: "We are all one. We are all connected." Drawing on his heritage and history, Jagmeet began to see the world through a new lens. To prove to a world that said, again and again, that he didn't have value, Jagmeet worked hard to be the best at everything he did. Martial arts, school, sports--he excelled at everything he tried. Still, he didn't want to simply push past others. He wanted to connect to them. Slowly but surely, Jagmeet learned the truth of his mother's words. As he broke down the barriers around him, Jagmeet came to define his life in two words: love and courage. Love & Courage is the story of how those two words came to define Jagmeet's life. It is a testament to the courage it takes to love those around us, and proof of the fact that we can't live without either one."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Singh, Jagmeet, 1979-; Lawyers; Politicians; Sikhs; South Asians;

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