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A Week in Paris: A Novel
by Rachel HoreThe City of Light hides a dark past...When talented young violinist Fay Knox arrives in Paris from England, the city feels familiar to her. But not because Fay has visited Paris before. Back home, she finds an old canvas bag with a mysterious luggage tag hidden in her mother's old trunk, and soon starts to realize her connection with the streets of Paris runs deeper than she ever imagined. As Fay traces the past, she is taken back to 1937 Paris - and the eve of a war that changed her mother's life forever. When she discovers a dark secret buried years ago, Fay begins to question who she really is and where she belongs.Filled with romance, family secrets, and the allure of Paris, Rachel Hore's A Week in Paris is the compelling story of two women living in two very different worlds who share far more than a passion for music.
The Weekend Effect: The Life-Changing Benefits of Taking Time Off and Challenging the Cult of Overwork
by Katrina OnstadEncroaching work demands—coupled with domestic chores, overbooked schedules, and the incessant pinging of our devices—have taken a toll on what used to be our free time: the weekend. With no space to tune out and recharge, every aspect of our lives is suffering: our health is deteriorating, our social networks (the face-to-face kind) are dissolving, and our productivity is down. The notion of working less and living more, once considered an American virtue, has given way to the belief that you must be “on” 24/7.Award-winning journalist Katrina Onstad, pushes back against this all-work, no-fun ethos. Tired of suffering from Sunday night letdown, she digs into the history, positive psychology, and cultural anthropology of the great missing weekend and how we can revive it. Onstad follows the trail of people, companies, and countries who are vigilantly protecting their time off for joy, adventure, and most important, purpose. Filled with personal and professional inspiration, The Weekend Effect is a thoughtful, well-researched argument to take back those precious 48 hours, and ultimately, to save ourselves.
Welcome Home: A Memoir with Selected Photographs and Letters
by Lucia Berlin"As the case with her fiction, Berlin's pieces here are as faceted as the brightest diamond." --Kristin Iversen, NYLONNEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE. Named a Fall Read by Buzzfeed, Vulture, Newsday and HuffPostA compilation of sketches, photographs, and letters, Welcome Home is an essential nonfiction companion to the stories by Lucia BerlinBefore Lucia Berlin died, she was working on a book of previously unpublished autobiographical sketches called Welcome Home. The work consisted of more than twenty chapters that started in 1936 in Alaska and ended (prematurely) in 1966 in southern Mexico. In our publication of Welcome Home, her son Jeff Berlin is filling in the gaps with photos and letters from her eventful, romantic, and tragic life. From Alaska to Argentina, Kentucky to Mexico, New York City to Chile, Berlin’s world was wide. And the writing here is, as we’ve come to expect, dazzling. She describes the places she lived and the people she knew with all the style and wit and heart and humor that readers fell in love with in her stories. Combined with letters from and photos of friends and lovers, Welcome Home is an essential nonfiction companion to A Manual for Cleaning Women and Evening in Paradise.
Welcome Home: Following Your Soul's Journey Home
by Sandra IngermanSandra Ingerman's deeply moveing debut, Soul Retrieval, captivated readers with its introduction of shamanic journeying, an ancient tradition of healig. With the characteristic warmth, passion, and authenticcity that have earned her worldwide recognition, Ingerman now continues to share her lifework with Welcome Home, an empowering action plan for creating a more positive future by truly letting go of blame and guilt.
Welcome to Beach Town: A Novel
by Susan WiggsBeloved New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs returns with a compulsively readable tale of an idyllic California beach town forced to reckon with scandal when a high school valedictorian’s speech reveals secrets that shake the town to its core."Readers will savor sunny skies and perfect surf in this stunning new novel, but one thing is for sure: In this Beach Town, there is always more happening than meets the eye. Don’t miss this expansive beauty of a summer book!" --Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Summer of SongbirdsEvery town has its secrets...In idyllic Alara Cove, a California beach town known for its sunny charm and chill surfer vibe, it’s graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy. At Thornton, the students are the worldly and overindulged children who live in gated enclaves with spectacular views. But the class valedictorian is Nikki Graziola, a surfer’s daughter who is there on scholarship. To the shock of everyone in the audience, Nikki veers off script while giving her commencement address and reveals a secret that breaks open the whole community. As her truth explodes into the light, Alara Cove will face a reckoning.Nikki Graziola’s accusation shakes the foundation of Alara Cove, pitting her against the wealthy family whose money runs the town. Her new notoriety sends Nikki into exile for years, where she finds fame—but not fortune—overseas as a competition surfer...until a personal tragedy compels her to return to Alara Cove. As Nikki struggles to rebuild her future, she finds that the people of the town have not forgotten her. But time has changed Alara Cove, and old friendships, rivalries, and an unexpected romance draw her back into the life of the beach town she’s never quite forgotten, and where joy and redemption may be possible after all.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 8 (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun #8)
by Osamu NishiA Tricky TestThe end of terminus break from classes at Babyls is right around the corner! Now, there&’s only one thing standing between Iruma and vacation: a set of dreary exams. But just as Iruma gets ready to hit the books, he runs right into a fearsome teacher and a sticky situation he never saw coming! Will he be able to wing his way out of this one?!
Welfare for Markets: A Global History of Basic Income (The Life of Ideas)
by Anton JägerA sweeping intellectual history of the welfare state’s policy-in-waiting. The idea of a government paying its citizens to keep them out of poverty—now known as basic income—is hardly new. Often dated as far back as ancient Rome, basic income’s modern conception truly emerged in the late nineteenth century. Yet as one of today’s most controversial proposals, it draws supporters from across the political spectrum.In this eye-opening work, Anton Jäger and Daniel Zamora Vargas trace basic income from its rise in American and British policy debates following periods of economic tumult to its modern relationship with technopopulist figures in Silicon Valley. They chronicle how the idea first arose in the United States and Europe as a market-friendly alternative to the postwar welfare state and how interest in the policy has grown in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis and COVID-19 crash.An incisive, comprehensive history, Welfare for Markets tells the story of how a fringe idea conceived in economics seminars went global, revealing the most significant shift in political culture since the end of the Cold War.
We'll Always Have Summer: The Summer I Turned Pretty; It's Not Summer Without You; We'll Always Have Summer (The Summer I Turned Pretty #3)
by Jenny HanNow an Original Series on Prime Video! Can Belly make a final choice between Jeremiah and Conrad? Find out in the conclusion of the New York Times bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy from the author of To All the Boys I&’ve Loved Before (now a major motion picture!).Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she&’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost. While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it&’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts. This paperback edition features bonus content, including Conrad&’s letters to Belly and an excerpt of Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian!
The Wellness Puzzle: Creating optimal well-being one piece at a time
by Andrew JoblingImagine if you found a dead angel by the side of the road. What would you do? Perfect for fans of The Alchemist, this charming novel is set against the warmth, challenges, and love of everyday family life. It illustrates how angels can be messengers for peace and love. The story gently unfolds after Raphael begins his quest to bring an angel he finds by the side of the road back to life. Readers will become immersed in the characters' lives as they move along an incredible journey of love, loss, and hope. This transformational novel works like a self-help text, affecting readers long after they've finished it.
The Welsh Witch
by Jixie DyeJamie Trent couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw two tiny people flying on feather dusters! But that was just the beginning of his magical adventure. When Jamie meets Tesni, a real-life witch, on top of Greycott Hill, they become the best of friends. Together, they explore make-believe worlds, ride on flying buses, and search for hidden pirate treasure. But why must Tesni travel from place to place, and why does the Queen of the Witches want Tesni and her mother gone? Join Jamie and Tesni as they uncover the secrets behind Tesni's life and discover the power of friendship and bravery in this enchanting story filled with wonder and excitement. The Welsh Witch is the perfect book for young readers who love magic and adventure!
Wer braucht schon einen Herzog (Schicksalhafte Schurken #5)
by Amanda MarielZwischen all den übereifrigen Kupplungsbemühungen im Viktorianischen England finden sich die auf Wohltätigkeit bedachte Lady Catherine Breckenridge und der charismatische Herzog von Bedford in einer vorgetäuschten Liebesgeschichte wieder, wobei sie ihre Überzeugungen auf einem schmalen Grat zwischen Verstellung und wahrer Leidenschaft zu enträtseln versuchen. Lady Catherine Breckenridge hat sich dem guten Zweck verschrieben und hält die Verlockungen von Liebesdingen und Hochzeiten auf Distanz. Und doch hat ihre Familie andere Pläne. Als Catherines zweiundzwanzigster Geburtstag bevorsteht, werden die Bemühungen ihrer Verwandtschaft um eine baldige Verlobung entschlossener. Unerwartet trifft die Rettung in Form eines berüchtigten Frauenhelden, dem Herzog von Bedford, ein. Charles De Vere, der hinreißende Herzog von Bedford, vereint sowohl Charme als auch ein unverschämt großes Vermögen, das ihn zu einem von Englands am heißesten begehrten Junggesellen macht. Trotz seines wenig rühmlichen Rufs findet er sich zu jedem gesellschaftlichen Anlass inmitten einer Traube eifriger Mütter und deren heiratsfähiger Töchter wieder. Doch für diese Saison hat er sich eine meisterhafte Strategie zurechtgelegt. Als der Herzog Lady Catherine eine heimliche Allianz vorschlägt, erkennt sie mit ihrem Pragmatismus die Gerissenheit seines Plans. Obgleich er sich einen Ruf als Schürzenjäger erarbeitet hat, ist und bleibt er einer der engsten Vertrauten ihres Bruders. Außerdem ist sie fest davon überzeugt, dass sie sich dem Zauber dieses Schurken widersetzen kann. Keiner der beiden hegt Heiratsabsichten, und ihre Herzen sind einander nicht zugeneigt. Der Plan ist scheinbar tadellos – bis das Schicksal eine unerwartete Wendung für sie bereithält. Tauchen Sie ein in eine Welt der verbotenen Leidenschaft, strategischer Unionen und einer Liebe, die mit sämtlichen Konventionen bricht.
Werkstoffkunde und Werkstoffprüfung für Dummies (Für Dummies)
by Rainer SchwabDrum prüfe, wer den Werkstoff findet Werkstoffkunde und Werkstoffprüfung sind für viele Studierende eher Pflicht als Leidenschaft. Rainer Schwab zeigt Ihnen, dass es auch anders geht: Mit Humor und Präzision, mit einfachen Erklärungen und passenden Beispielen erklärt er Ihnen in dieser aktualisierten Auflage die Werkstoffkunde und Werkstoffprüfung so spannend es nur geht. Von den Grundlagen zieht sich der Bogen über die Prüfmethoden hin zu den wichtigen konkreten Werkstoffen und Wärmebehandlungen. So ist dieses Buch das Rundumwohlfühlpaket für jeden, der sich mit dem Thema beschäftigt. Sie erfahren Was die wichtigen Eigenschaften der Werkstoffe sind Wie Sie Härteprüfungen, Zugversuche und Co. richtig durchführen Warum Eisen und Stahl so vielfältig sind Welche wichtigen Werkstoffe es gibt, die nicht aus Eisen sind
West of Sex: Making Mexican America, 1900–1930
by Pablo MitchellSex can be an oppressive force, a tool to shame, divide, and control a population. But it can also be a force for change, for the legal and physical challenge of inequity and injustice. In West of Sex, Pablo Mitchell uses court transcripts and criminal cases to provide the first coherent picture of Mexican-American sexuality at the turn of the twentieth century, and a truly revelatory look at sexual identity in the borderlands. As Mexicans faced a rising tide of racial intolerance in the American West, some found cracks in the legal system that enabled them to assert their rights as full citizens, despite institutional hostility. In these chapters, Mitchell offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of ethnicity and power in the United States, placing ordinary Mexican women and men at the center of the story of American sex, colonialism, and belonging. Other chapters discuss topics like prostitution, same-sex intimacy, sexual violence, interracial romance, and marriage with an impressive level of detail and complexity. Written in vivid and accessible prose, West of Sex offers readers a new vision of sex and race in American history.
Western Corporations and Covert Operations in the early Cold War: Re-examining the Vogeler/Sanders Case
by Margaret Murányi ManchesterThis book examines the Vogeler/Sanders espionage case that ruptured ties between the US and UK and Hungary in 1949, and analyses this as an example of Western covert operations in the early Cold War. The work focuses on the 1949 case of ITT in Hungary, where two of its executives, the American Robert A. Vogeler and the Briton Edgar Sanders, were arrested by the secret police, tortured, forced to confess, put on a public show trial, and found guilty of espionage. This happened at a time that the US and the UK were cooperating in numerous operations to undermine the credibility of the communist regime and to encourage local resistance by “all means short of war.” Using the case as a lens to examine the dynamics of the early Cold War, the book integrates business history, diplomatic history and intelligence history, and thereby traces the impact of the case on Anglo-Hungarian, American-Hungarian, and Anglo-American relations during the critical period of 1949-1956. Vogeler’s case had a strong impact on the growing criticism of the Truman Administration’s containment policies and contributed to the demand for a more activist policy of ‘liberation of captive peoples’. His experiences also rallied the business community, especially trade associations such as the National Foreign Trade Council, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers, to support the anti-communist crusade both abroad and at home. Vogeler’s wife also waged a personal campaign to secure her husband’s release and exemplifies the activism of conservative and Catholic women who waged their own anti-communist crusade. The book thus tells the “rest of the story” often omitted in traditional works.This book will be of much interest to students of Cold War history, intelligence studies and European political history.
The Western Front: A History Of The Great War, 1914-1918
by Nick Lloyd“A tour de force of scholarship, analysis and narration.… Lloyd is well on the way to writing a definitive history of the First World War.” —Lawrence James, Times The Telegraph • Best Books of the Year The Times of London • Best Books of the Year A panoramic history of the savage combat on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 that came to define modern warfare. The Western Front evokes images of mud-spattered men in waterlogged trenches, shielded from artillery blasts and machine-gun fire by a few feet of dirt. This iconic setting was the most critical arena of the Great War, a 400-mile combat zone stretching from Belgium to Switzerland where more than three million Allied and German soldiers struggled during four years of almost continuous combat. It has persisted in our collective memory as a tragic waste of human life and a symbol of the horrors of industrialized warfare. In this epic narrative history, the first volume in a groundbreaking trilogy on the Great War, acclaimed military historian Nick Lloyd captures the horrific fighting on the Western Front beginning with the surprise German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and taking us to the Armistice of November 1918. Drawing on French, British, German, and American sources, Lloyd weaves a kaleidoscopic chronicle of the Marne, Passchendaele, the Meuse-Argonne, and other critical battles, which reverberated across Europe and the wider war. From the trenches where men as young as 17 suffered and died, to the headquarters behind the lines where Generals Haig, Joffre, Hindenburg, and Pershing developed their plans for battle, Lloyd gives us a view of the war both intimate and strategic, putting us amid the mud and smoke while at the same time depicting the larger stakes of every encounter. He shows us a dejected Kaiser Wilhelm II—soon to be eclipsed in power by his own generals—lamenting the botched Schlieffen Plan; French soldiers piling atop one another in the trenches of Verdun; British infantryman wandering through the frozen wilderness in the days after the Battle of the Somme; and General Erich Ludendorff pursuing a ruthless policy of total war, leading an eleventh-hour attack on Reims even as his men succumbed to the Spanish Flu. As Lloyd reveals, far from a site of attrition and stalemate, the Western Front was a simmering, dynamic “cauldron of war” defined by extraordinary scientific and tactical innovation. It was on the Western Front that the modern technologies—machine guns, mortars, grenades, and howitzers—were refined and developed into effective killing machines. It was on the Western Front that chemical warfare, in the form of poison gas, was first unleashed. And it was on the Western Front that tanks and aircraft were introduced, causing a dramatic shift away from nineteenth-century bayonet tactics toward modern combined arms, reinforced by heavy artillery, that forever changed the face of war. Brimming with vivid detail and insight, The Western Front is a work in the tradition of Barbara Tuchman and John Keegan, Rick Atkinson and Antony Beevor: an authoritative portrait of modern warfare and its far-reaching human and historical consequences.
We've Already Gone This Far: Stories
by Patrick DaceyA heartfelt, vital collection; the debut of an exciting new talent already hailed as one of George Saunders' "favorite young American writers"In Patrick Dacey's stunning debut, we meet longtime neighbors and friends--citizens of working-class Wequaquet--right when the ground beneath their feet has shifted in ways they don't yet understand. Here, after more than a decade of boom and bust, love and pride are closely twinned and dangerously deployed: a lonely woman attacks a memorial to a neighbor's veteran son; a dissatisfied housewife goes overboard with cosmetic surgery on national television; a young father walks away from one of the few jobs left in town, a soldier writes home to a mother who is becoming increasingly unhinged. We've Already Gone This Far takes us to a town like many towns in America, a place where people are searching for what is now an almost out-of-reach version of the American DreamStory by story, Dacey draws us into the secret lives of recognizable strangers and reminds us that life's strange intensity and occasional magic is all around us, especially in the everyday. With a skewering insight and real warmth of spirit, Dacey delivers that rare and wonderful thing in American fiction: a deeply-felt, deeply-imagined book about where we've been and how far we have to go.
Whalefall: A Novel
by Daniel KrausA USA TODAY BESTSELLER Named a Best Book of 2023 by Book Riot, Shelf Awareness, and NPR The Martian meets 127 Hours in this &“astoundingly great&” (Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who&’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool&’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it&’s a long shot, but Jay feels it&’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad&’s death by suicide the previous year. The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid&’s tentacles and drawn into the whale&’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale. Suspenseful and cinematic, Whalefall is an &“powerfully humane&” (Owen King, New York Times bestselling author) thriller about a young man who has given up on life…only to find a reason to live in the most dangerous and unlikely of places.
What-a-Bummer Camp (The\nhia Normal Ser.)
by Sheelue Yang"Eleven-year-old Nhia is nervous about summer camp in this installment of The Niah Normal graphic novel series. Eleven-year-old Nhia “Silver” Lee is headed to summer camp. Unfortunately, she’s packing her nerves along for the trip. Can she build a fire? Will she be able to fall asleep in a tent? And what if the other campers don’t like her? This Hmong American girl will need to overcome her own self-doubt to make summer camp less of a total bummer. Written by Sheelue Yang, this graphic novel is a darkly humorous, normalizing exploration of coming-of-age anxiety through the lens of an authentic preteen girl. More Books in This Series: Losing It in Translation School of (Negative) Thought Talent Show of Nerves"
What a Hippopota-Mess! (Orca Echoes)
by Pat Lamondin SkeneThe poems in this book tell stories of animals and nature. From two sweaty hippos, a smiling lizard and some creepy crawlers to a few tricky dandelions. At the end of each poem, find out more in an interview with a key character or a list of fascinating facts. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
What a Philosopher Is: Becoming Nietzsche
by Laurence LampertThe trajectory of Friedrich Nietzsche’s thought has long presented a difficulty for the study of his philosophy. How did the young Nietzsche—classicist and ardent advocate of Wagner’s cultural renewal—become the philosopher of Will to Power and the Eternal Return? With this book, Laurence Lampert answers that question. He does so through his trademark technique of close readings of key works in Nietzsche’s journey to philosophy: The Birth of Tragedy, Schopenhauer as Educator, Richard Wagner in Bayreuth, Human All Too Human, and “Sanctus Januarius,” the final book of the 1882 Gay Science. Relying partly on how Nietzsche himself characterized his books in his many autobiographical guides to the trajectory of his thought, Lampert sets each in the context of Nietzsche’s writings as a whole, and looks at how they individually treat the question of what a philosopher is. Indispensable to his conclusions are the workbooks in which Nietzsche first recorded his advances, especially the 1881 workbook which shows him gradually gaining insights into the two foundations of his mature thinking. The result is the most complete picture we’ve had yet of the philosopher’s development, one that gives us a Promethean Nietzsche, gaining knowledge even as he was expanding his thought to create new worlds.
What a Woman Ought to Be and to Do: Black Professional Women Workers during the Jim Crow Era (Women In Culture And Society Ser.)
by Stephanie J. ShawStephanie J. Shaw takes us into the inner world of American black professional women during the Jim Crow era. This is a story of struggle and empowerment, of the strength of a group of women who worked against daunting odds to improve the world for themselves and their people. Shaw's remarkable research into the lives of social workers, librarians, nurses, and teachers from the 1870s through the 1950s allows us to hear these women's voices for the first time. The women tell us, in their own words, about their families, their values, their expectations. We learn of the forces and factors that made them exceptional, and of the choices and commitments that made them leaders in their communities.What a Woman Ought to Be and to Do brings to life a world in which African-American families, communities, and schools worked to encourage the self-confidence, individual initiative, and social responsibility of girls. Shaw shows us how, in a society that denied black women full professional status, these girls embraced and in turn defined an ideal of "socially responsible individualism" that balanced private and public sphere responsibilities. A collective portrait of character shaped in the toughest circumstances, this book is more than a study of the socialization of these women as children and the organization of their work as adults. It is also a study of leadership—of how African American communities gave their daughters the power to succeed in and change a hostile world.
What a Woman Wants: Contains The Playa's Handbook, No More Playas, What A Woman Wants (Playas Series #3)
by Brenda JacksonAfter a close friend commits suicide, Faith, Monique, and Shannon head to the beach cottage on Hilton Head Island. Determined to heed her advice and make the most of their lives, they make a pact to spend the summer embracing new adventures. They also embrace new men and a new best friend along the way.Filled with profound passion and sensuality, witty dialogue and richly drawn characters, this is a story of women having fun, embracing life, taking charge, and doing the things they want –and discovering in the process that everyone deserves to kick the routine every once in a while, let their hair down and explore new things. And if the right man comes along, especially one who is willing to make an already hot summer even hotter, then pushing the envelope just might give her life the jolt it needs.
What About Mozart? What About Murder?: Reasoning From Cases
by Howard S. BeckerIn 1963, Howard S. Becker gave a lecture about deviance, challenging the then-conventional definition that deviance was inherently criminal and abnormal and arguing that instead, deviance was better understood as a function of labeling. At the end of his lecture, a distinguished colleague standing at the back of the room, puffing a cigar, looked at Becker quizzically and asked, “What about murder? Isn’t that really deviant?” It sounded like Becker had been backed into a corner. Becker, however, wasn’t defeated! Reasonable people, he countered, differ over whether certain killings are murder or justified homicide, and these differences vary depending on what kinds of people did the killing. In What About Mozart? What About Murder?, Becker uses this example, along with many others, to demonstrate the different ways to study society, one that uses carefully investigated, specific cases and another that relies on speculation and on what he calls “killer questions,” aimed at taking down an opponent by citing invented cases. Becker draws on a lifetime of sociological research and wisdom to show, in helpful detail, how to use a variety of kinds of cases to build sociological knowledge. With his trademark conversational flair and informal, personal perspective Becker provides a guide that researchers can use to produce general sociological knowledge through case studies. He champions research that has enough data to go beyond guesswork and urges researchers to avoid what he calls “skeleton cases,” which use fictional stories that pose as scientific evidence. Using his long career as a backdrop, Becker delivers a winning book that will surely change the way scholars in many fields approach their research.
What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds
by Jennifer AckermanAn instant New York Times bestseller!A New York Times Notable Book of 2023Named a Best Book of 2023 by Publishers WeeklyFrom the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, a brilliant scientific investigation into owls—the most elusive of birds—and why they exert such a hold on human imaginationWith their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Some two hundred sixty species of owls exist today, and they reside on every continent except Antarctica, but they are far more difficult to find and study than other birds because they are cryptic, camouflaged, and mostly active at night. Though human fascination with owls goes back centuries, scientists have only recently begun to understand the complex nature of these extraordinary birds. In What an Owl Knows, Jennifer Ackerman joins scientists in the field and explores how researchers are using modern technology and tools to learn how owls communicate, hunt, court, mate, raise their young, and move about from season to season. Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations; the result is an awe-inspiring exploration of owls across the globe and through human history, and a spellbinding account of the world&’s most enigmatic group of birds.
What Are Museums For? (What Is It For?)
by Jon SleighThe days when museums were dusty, stuffy institutions displaying their wealth and wisdom to a reverential public are over. Museums today are a cultural battleground. Who should decide what is put on display and how it is presented? Who gets to set the narrative? In this passionately argued book, Jon Sleigh maintains that museums must be for all people and inclusion must be at the heart of everything they do. But what does good inclusion look like in practice? Cleverly structured like a museum tour, Sleigh uses seven illustrative museum objects from seven very different museums to explore such wide-ranging issues as trust-building, representation, digital access, conflicting narratives, removal from display and restitution.