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The Better Half: On the Genetic Superiority of Women
by Dr. Sharon Moalem MD, PhDA Guardian Book of the WeekAn award-winning physician and scientist makes the game-changing case that genetic females are stronger than males at every stage of lifeHere are some facts: Women live longer than men. They have stronger immune systems. They're better at fighting cancer and surviving famine, and even see the world in a wider variety of colors. They are simply stronger than men at every stage of life. Why is this? And why are we taught the opposite?To find out, Dr. Sharon Moalem drew on his own medical experiences - treating premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit; recruiting the elderly for neurogenetic studies; tending to HIV-positive orphans in Thailand - and tried to understand why in every instance men were consistently less likely to thrive. The answer, he discovered, lies in our genetics: two X chromosomes offer a powerful survival advantage.With clear, captivating prose that weaves together eye-opening research, case studies, diverse examples ranging from the behavior of honeybees to American pioneers, as well as experiences from his personal life and his own patients, Moalem explains why genetic females triumph over males when it comes to resiliency, intellect, stamina, immunity and much more. He also calls for a reconsideration of our male-centric, one-size-fits-all view of medical studies and even how we prescribe medications - a view that still sees women through the lens of men.Revolutionary and yet utterly convincing, The Better Half will make you see humanity and the survival of our species anew.
Better Homes of South Bend: An American Story of Courage (American Heritage)
by Gabrielle RobinsonIn 1950, a group of African American workers at the Studebaker factory in South Bend met in secret. Their mission was to build homes away from the factories and slums where they were forced to live. They came from the South to make a better life for themselves and their children, but they found Jim Crow in the North as well. The meeting gave birth to Better Homes of South Bend, and a triumph against the entrenched racism of the times took all their courage, intelligence and perseverance. Author Gabrielle Robinson tells the story of their struggle and provides an intimate glimpse into a part of history that all too often is forgotten.
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World
by Christian CooperNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Central Park birder Christian Cooper takes us beyond the viral video that shocked a nation and into a world of avian adventures, global excursions, and the unexpected lessons you can learn from a life spent looking up.&“Wondrous . . . captivating.&”—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of An Immense WorldChristian Cooper is a self-described &“Blerd&” (Black nerd), an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper was engaged in the birdwatching ritual that had been a part of his life since he was ten years old when what might have been a routine encounter with a dog walker exploded age-old racial tensions. Cooper&’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.In Better Living Through Birding, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today. From sharpened senses that work just as well at a protest as in a park to what a bird like the Common Grackle can teach us about self-acceptance, Better Living Through Birding exults in the pleasures of a life lived in pursuit of the natural world and invites you to discover them yourself.Equal parts memoir, travelogue, and primer on the art of birding, this is Cooper&’s story of learning to claim and defend space for himself and others like him, from his days at Marvel Comics introducing the first gay storylines to vivid and life-changing birding expeditions through Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Himalayas. Better Living Through Birding recounts Cooper&’s journey through the wonderful world of birds and what they can teach us about life, if only we would look and listen.
A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son
by Michael Ian Black&“Raw, intimate, and true . . . A Better Man cracked me wide open, and it&’s a template for the conversation we need to be having with our boys.&” —Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of Boys & Sex A poignant look at boyhood, in the form of a heartfelt letter from comedian Michael Ian Black to his teenage son before he leaves for college, and a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love. In a world in which the word masculinity now often goes hand in hand with toxic, comedian, actor, and father Michael Ian Black offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Part memoir, part advice book, and written as a heartfelt letter to his college-bound son, A Better Man reveals Black&’s own complicated relationship with his father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to &“man up,&” and searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. &“If we cannot allow ourselves vulnerability,&” he writes, &“how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?&” Honest, funny, and hopeful, Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men?
Better Must Come: Exiting Homelessness in Two Global Cities
by Matthew D. MarrIn Better Must Come, Matthew D. Marr reveals how social contexts at various levels combine and interact to shape the experiences of transitional housing program users in two of the most prosperous cities of the global economy, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Marr, who has conducted fieldwork in U.S. and Japanese cities for over two decades, followed the experiences of thirty-four people as they made use of transitional housing services and after they left such programs. This comparative ethnography is groundbreaking in two ways--it is the first book to directly focus on exits from homelessness in American or Japanese cities, and it is the first targeted comparison of homelessness in two global cities.Marr argues that homelessness should be understood primarily as a socially generated, traumatic, and stigmatizing predicament, rather than as a stable condition, identity, or culture. He pushes for movement away from the study of "homeless people" and "homeless culture" toward an understanding of homelessness as a condition that can be transcended at individual and societal levels. Better Must Come prescribes policy changes to end homelessness that include expanding subsidized housing to persons without disabilities and experiencing homelessness chronically, as well as taking broader measures to address vulnerabilities produced by labor markets and housing markets, as well as the rapid deterioration of social safety nets that often results from neoliberal globalization.
Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology
by Eric BrendeIn this social experiment, author Brende and his wife live in a primitive and remote community and rid their lives of anything motorized or electric. Describes how the author feels that such a life can decrease stress and increase one's happiness and health.
Better Off Dead: A Sordid True Story of Sex, Sin and Murder
by Michael FleemanThe true story of the love triangle murder of Robert Limon—from the New York Times bestselling author of Missing . . . and Presumed Dead.In Better off Dead, Michael Fleeman strips away the pleasant veneer of the Silver Lakes neighborhood in California&’s high desert to tell a shocking story about a headline-grabbing crime. A conversation with handsome young firefighter Jonathan Hearn leads Sabrina Limon, a vivacious blond mother of two, into a steamy affair that has them hooking up once and twice a week at her home, his home, and out in hidden spots in the vast Mojave. To the outside world, Sabrina and her husband Robert, a hard-working railroad mechanic, seemed matched by their love of family, friends and good times.But the partying had gotten out of control for Sabrina. There was boozing and wife-swapping and group sex. Once a turn-on, it now left Sabrina feeling debased, dehumanized, spiritually adrift. Robert won&’t talk about it, consumed by his work, boat, truck and porn. Until one hot August night, Robert is found dead of two gunshots in a pool of blood. False leads send police into dead ends until a tip arrives from a most unexpected place. For Sabrina, it&’s a stunning betrayal that hurtles the case back to a perfect little place in the desert. With informants, undercover cops and wiretaps, investigators discover a romance fueled by lies and dangerous fantasies—ultimately leading to a devious murder plot . . .
A Better Place: Death and Burial in Nineteenth-Century Ontario
by Susan SmartA Better Place describes the practices around death and burial in 19th-century Ontario. Funeral rituals, strong religious beliefs, and a firm conviction that death was a beginning not an end helped the bereaved through their times of loss in a century where death was always close at hand.The book describes the pioneer funeral in detail as well as the factors that changed this simple funeral into the elaborate etiquette-driven Victorian funeral at the end of the century. It includes the sources of various funeral customs, including the origins of embalming that gave rise to the modern-day funeral parlour. The evolution of cemeteries is explained with the beginnings of cemeteries in specific towns given as examples.An understanding of these changing burial rites, many of which might seem strange to us today, is invaluable for the family historian. In addition, the book includes practical suggestions for finding death and burial records throughout the century.
Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire
by Lori Brotto Emily NagoskiA groundbreaking look at improving desire, arousal, and sexual satisfaction through mindfulness. <P><P>Studies show that approximately half of all women experience some kind of sexual difficulty at one point in their lives, with lack of interest in sex being by far the most common―and the most distressing. And when sex suffers, so do all other areas of life. <P><P>But it doesn’t have to be that way. In Better Sex through Mindfulness, acclaimed psychologist and sex researcher Lori A. Brotto, offers a groundbreaking approach to improving desire, arousal, and satisfaction inside―and outside of―the bedroom. A pioneer in the use of mindfulness for treating sexual difficulties, Brotto has helped hundreds of women cultivate more exciting, fulfilling sexual experiences. In this accessible, relatable book, she explores the various reasons for sexual problems, such as stress and incessant multitasking, and tells the stories of many of the women she has treated over the years. She also provides easy, effective exercises that readers can do on their own to increase desire and sexual enjoyment, whether their goal is to overcome a sexual difficulty or simply givetheir love life a boost.
Better Than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream
by Carl ElliottPsychology aspects of medical options
Better to be Feared: Jail Life in the Raw
by Sean BridgesBetter To Be Feared is the true story of a 48-year-old businessman who, having pled guilty to perpetrating a fraud involving a fake business contract, was plunged into the dark world of life inside some of Britain's hardest jails.Never having had any contact with criminal justice previously, Sean Bridges' adjustment to life behind bars raised many questions and forced him to confront the daily round of violence and drugs abuse within these maximum-security prisons. His life inside exploded when he witnessed another con being badly beaten by three fellow prisoners. He planned revenge and exacted it in spectacular fashion. Bridges became a problem by challenging the inadequacies of an antiquated system which effectively feeds itself - never to be short of repeat customers.This is not the story of another white-collar criminal's time inside. It is a shocking personal account of the reasons why the criminal justice system fails society today. That system has changed Sean Bridges forever.
Better Together
by Robert D. Putnam Donald J. Cohen Lewis FeldsteinIn his acclaimed Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam describes the United States as a nation in which we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and in which our social structures have disintegrated. But in the final chapter of that book he detects hopeful signs of civic renewal. In Better Together Putnam and coauthor Lewis Feldstein tell the inspiring stories of people who are reweaving the social fabric by bringing their own communities together or building bridges to others. Better Together examines how people across the country are inventing new forms of social activism and community renewal. An arts program in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, brings together shipyard workers and their gentrified neighbors; a deteriorating, crime-ridden neighborhood in Boston is transformed by a determined group of civic organizers; an online "virtual" community in San Francisco allows its members to connect with each other as well as the larger group; in Wisconsin schoolchildren learn how to participate in the political process to benefit their town. As our society grows increasingly diverse, say Putnam and Feldstein, it's more important than ever to grow "social capital," whether by traditional or more innovative means. The people profiled in Better Together are doing just that, and their stories illustrate the extraordinary power of social networks for enabling people to improve their lives and the lives of those around them.
A Better World for Children?: Explorations in Morality and Authority
by Michael KingBy exploring such diverse issues as the management of child abuse, legal reforms following sex abuse enquiries, moral explanations for the actions of child murderers, the impossible task faced by social workers and the limitations of children's rights campaigns, Michael King examines the revolutionary ideas of the social theorist, Niklas Luhmann. He demonstrates how Luhmann's theory of authopoietic systems compels readers to re-examine exactly what they mean by society. Questioning the relationship between personal morality and political will, it challenges the assumption that changing society is merely a matter of changing attitudes and highlights the pitfalls associated with formulating social reform.
Betting for and Against EMU: Who Wins and Loses in Italy and in the UK from the Process of European Monetary Integration (Routledge Revivals)
by Leila TalaniThis title was first published in 2000: An analysis of the extent to which the outcomes of the process of European monetary integration and, particularly, of the development of the debate over the establishment of EMU, have been influenced by domestic politics and by domestic economic interest groups in Italy and in the United Kingdom. From an empirical point of view, the work provides an account of the development of Italian and British socio-economic interest groups towards the issue of European monetary union from the making of the EMS until the establishment of EMU.
Betting for and Against EMU: Who Wins and Loses in Italy and in the UK from the Process of European Monetary Integration (Routledge Revivals)
by Leila S TalaniThis title was first published in 2000: An analysis of the extent to which the outcomes of the process of European monetary integration and, particularly, of the development of the debate over the establishment of EMU, have been influenced by domestic politics and by domestic economic interest groups in Italy and in the United Kingdom. From an empirical point of view, the work provides an account of the development of Italian and British socio-economic interest groups towards the issue of European monetary union from the making of the EMS until the establishment of EMU.
Betting on Famine: Why the World Still Goes Hungry
by Jean Ziegler&“The seminal book on global poverty and hunger . . . How rapacious speculators and complicit bureaucrats are starving a billion people&” (Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch and author of Foodopoly). Few people know that world hunger was very nearly eradicated in our lifetimes. In the past five years, however, widespread starvation has suddenly reappeared, and chronic hunger is a major issue on every continent. In an extensive investigation of this disturbing shift, Jean Ziegler—one of the world&’s leading food experts—lays out in clear and accessible terms the complex global causes of the new hunger crisis. Ziegler&’s wide-ranging and fascinating examination focuses on how the new sustainable revolution in energy production has diverted millions of acres of corn, soy, wheat, and other grain crops from food to fuel. The results, he shows, have been sudden and startling, with declining food reserves sending prices to record highs and a new global commodities market in ethanol and other biofuels gobbling up arable lands in nearly every continent on earth. Like Raj Patel&’s pioneering Stuffed and Starved, Betting on Famine will enlighten the millions of Americans concerned about the politics of food at home—and about the forces that prevent us from feeding the world&’s children. &“In this devastating book, [Ziegler] describes the horrors of food insecurity, the callousness of &‘crusaders of neoliberalism&’ who control food and land access, and the individuals and grassroots organizations fighting for subsistence farmers and the right to food.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) &“Passionate, well-researched, objective, and illuminating . . . When we close this book, indignant, we know that those who die of hunger are victims of money and power.&” —L&’Express
Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China's Consumer Revolution (Globalization and Community #35)
by Tim SimpsonA comprehensive look into how Macau&’s recent decades of gambling-related growth produced one of the wealthiest territories on the planetBetting on Macau delves into the radical transformation of what was formerly the last remaining European territory in Asia, returned to the People&’s Republic of China in 1999 after nearly half a millennium of Portuguese rule. Examining the unprecedented scale of its development and its key role in China&’s economic revolution, Tim Simpson follows Macau&’s emergence from historical obscurity to become the most profitable casino gaming locale in the world. Identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and renowned for its unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese colonial-era architecture, contemporary Macau has metamorphosed into a surreal, hypermodern urban landscape augmented by massive casino megaresorts, including two of the world&’s largest buildings. Simpson situates Macau&’s origins as a strategic trading port and its ensuing history alongside the emergence of the global capitalist system, charting the massive influx of foreign investment, construction, and tourism in the past two decades that helped generate the territory&’s enormous wealth. Presented through a cross section of postcolonial studies and social theory with extensive insight into the global gambling industry, Betting on Macau uncovers the various roots of the territory&’s lucrative casino capitalism. In turn, its trenchant analysis provides a distinctive view into China&’s broader project of urbanization, its post-Mao economic reforms, and the continued rise of its consumer culture.
Betty: The International Bestseller
by Tiffany McDaniel'Breahtaking'Vogue'So engrossing! Betty is a page-turning Appalachian coming-of-age story steeped in Cherokee history, told in undulating prose that settles right into you'Naoise Dolan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Exciting Times 'I felt consumed by this book. I loved it, you will love it' Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Everthing Under'I loved Betty: I fell for its strong characters and was moved by the story it portrayed' Fiona Mozley, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Elmet 'A girl comes of age against the knife.' So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words. 'Not a story you will soon forget' Karen Joy Fowler, Booker Prize shortlisted author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'Shot through with moonshine, Bible verses, and folklore, Betty is about the cruelty we inflict on one another, the beauty we still manage to find, and the stories we tell in order to survive' Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
Betty: The International Bestseller
by Tiffany McDaniel'NOT A STORY YOU WILL SOON FORGET' Karen Joy Fowler, author of Man Booker Prize finalist We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves'A girl comes of age against the knife.' So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words.
Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter (Jewish Lives)
by Rachel ShteirA new portrait of Betty Friedan, the author and activist acclaimed as the mother of second-wave feminism &“A lucid portrait of Friedan as a bold yet flawed advocate for women&’s equality.&”—Publishers Weekly The feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921–2006), pathbreaking author of The Feminine Mystique, was powerful and polarizing. In this biography, the first in more than twenty years, Rachel Shteir draws on Friedan&’s papers and on interviews with family, colleagues, and friends to create a nuanced portrait. Friedan, born Bettye Naomi Goldstein, chafed at society&’s restrictions from a young age. As a journalist she covered racism, sexism, labor, class inequality, and anti-Semitism. As a wife and mother, she struggled to balance her work and homemaking. Her malaise as a housewife and her research into the feelings of other women resulted in The Feminine Mystique (1963), which made her a celebrity. Using her influence, Friedan cofounded the National Organization for Women, the National Women&’s Political Caucus, and the National Association to Repeal Abortion Laws. She fought for the Equal Rights Amendment, universal childcare, and workplace protections for mothers, but she disagreed with the women&’s liberation movement over &“sexual politics.&” Her volatility and public conflicts fractured key relationships. Shteir considers how Friedan&’s Judaism was essential to her feminism, presenting a new Friedan for a new era.
Betty Shabazz: Sharing the Vision of Malcolm X
by Laura S. JeffreyProfiles the life of Betty Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, discussing her life as the wife of the outspoken civil rights leader and her role in the civil rights movement after his death.
Between a Man and a Woman?: Why Conservatives Oppose Same-Sex Marriage (Gender, Theory, and Religion)
by Ludger H. Viefhues-BaileyThrough a probing investigation of conservative Christianity and its response to an issue that, according to the statistics of conservative Christian groups, affects only a small number of Americans, Ludger Viefhues-Bailey alights on a profound theological conundrum: in today's conservative Christian movement, both sexes are called upon to be at once assertive and submissive, masculine and feminine, not only within the home but also within the church, society, and the state. Therefore the arguments of conservative Christians against same-sex marriage involve more than literal readings of the Bible or nostalgia for simple gender roles.Focusing primarily on texts produced by Focus on the Family, a leading media and ministry organization informing conservative Christian culture, Viefhues-Bailey identifies two distinct ideas of male homosexuality: gender-disturbed and passive; and oversexed, strongly masculine, and aggressive. These homosexualities enable a complex ideal of Christian masculinity in which men are encouraged to be assertive toward the world while also being submissive toward God and family. This web of sexual contradiction influences the flow of power between the sexes and within the state. It joins notions of sexual equality to claims of "natural" difference, establishing a fraught basis for respectable romantic marriage. Heterosexual union is then treated as emblematic of, if not essential to, the success of American political life-yet far from creating gender stability, these tensions produce an endless striving for balance. Viefhues-Bailey's final, brilliant move is to connect the desire for stability to the conservative Christian movement's strategies of political power.
Between Anthropology and Literature: Interdisciplinary Discourse
by Rose De AngelisThis collection suggests that the disciplines of literature and anthropology are not static entities but instead fluid sites of shifting cultural currents and academic interests. The essays conclude that the origins, sources, and intersections of the two disciplines are constantly being revised, and reconceived, leading to new possibilities of understanding texts.The authors address the ways in which the language of social science fuses with that of the literary imagination. The essays fit excellently with the current interest in interdisciplinary studies and challenge students to see texts as parts of a larger global and cultural matrix.
Between Ape and Human: An Anthropologist on the Trail of a Hidden Hominoid
by Gregory ForthA remarkable investigation into the hominoids of Flores Island, their place on the evolutionary spectrum—and whether or not they still survive.While doing fieldwork on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, anthropologist Gregory Forth came across people talking about half-apelike, half-humanlike creatures that once lived in a cave on the slopes of a nearby volcano. Over the years he continued to record what locals had to say about these mystery hominoids while searching for ways to explain them as imaginary symbols of the wild or other cultural representations. Then along came the &‘hobbit&’. In 2003, several skeletons of a small-statured early human species alongside stone tools and animal remains were excavated in a cave in western Flores. Named Homo floresiensis, this ancient hominin was initially believed to have lived until as recently as 12,000 years ago— possibly overlapping with the appearance of Homo sapiens on Flores. In view of this timing and the striking resemblance of floresiensis to the mystery creatures described by the islanders, Forth began to think about the creatures as possibly reflecting a real species, either now extinct but retained in &‘cultural memory&’ or even still surviving. He began to investigate reports from the Lio region of the island where locals described 'ape-men' as still living. Dozens claimed to have even seen them. In Between Ape and Human, we follow Forth on the trail of this mystery hominoid, and the space they occupy in islanders&’ culture as both natural creatures and as supernatural beings. In a narrative filled with adventure, Lio culture and language, zoology and natural history, Forth comes to a startling and controversial conclusion. Unique, important, and thought-provoking, this book will appeal to anyone interested in human evolution, the survival of species (including our own) and how humans might relate to &‘not-quite-human&’ animals. Between Ape and Human is essential reading for all those interested in cryptozoology, and it is the only firsthand investigation by a leading anthropologist into the possible survival of a primitive species of human into recent times—and its coexistence with modern humans.
Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora
by Sarah M. A. GualtieriThis book argues that questions about race were central to the construction of Syrian ethnicity in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. It examines how Syrian immigrants were racialized by American politics, culture, and law and, as a result, came to view themselves in racial terms and position themselves within racial hierarchies.