Apocalypse never: why environmental alarmism hurts us all

By Shellenberger, Michael

Publishing Date: [2020]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 304.2 SHE

"Climate change is real but it's not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem. Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world's last unprotected redwoods. He cocreated the predecessor to today's Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions. But in 2019, as some claimed "billions of people are going to die," contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for more than a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of the Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions. What's really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs."--

Superabundance: the story of population growth, innovation, and human flourishing on an infinitely bountiful planet

By Tupy, Marian L

Publishing Date: [2022]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 304.6 TUP

"Generations of people have been taught that population growth makes resources scarcer. In 2021, for example, one widely publicized report argued that "The world's rapidly growing population is consuming the planet's natural resources at an alarming rate . . . the world currently needs 1.6 Earths to satisfy the demand for natural resources ... a figure that could rise to 2 planets by 2030." But is that true? After analyzing the prices of hundreds of commodities, goods, and services spanning two centuries, Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley found that resources became more abundant as the population grew. That was especially true when they looked at "time prices," which represent the length of time that people must work to buy something. To their surprise, the authors also found that resource abundance increased faster than the population, a relationship that they call superabundance. On average, every additional human being created more value than he or she consumed. This relationship between population growth and abundance is deeply counterintuitive, yet it is true. Why? More people produce more ideas, which lead to more inventions. People then test those inventions in the marketplace to separate the useful from the useless. At the end of that process of discovery, people are left with innovations that overcome shortages, spur economic growth, and raise standards of living. But large populations are not enough to sustain superabundance; just think of the poverty in China and India before their respective economic reforms. To innovate, people must be allowed to think, speak, publish, associate, and disagree. They must be allowed to save, invest, trade, and profit. In a word, they must be free"--

The bluestockings: a history of the first women's movement

By Gibson, Susannah

Publishing Date: 2024

Classification: 300

Call Number: 305.3094 GIB

"This illuminating group portrait delves into the lives of a circle of 18th-century women called the Bluestockings, who came together in glittering salons to discuss and debate as intellectual equals with men, fighting for women to be educated and have a public role in society. In England in the 1700s, a woman who was an intellectual, spoke out, or wrote professionally was considered unnatural. After all, as the wisdom of the era dictated, a clever woman--if there were such a thing--would never make a good wife. But a circle of women called the Bluestockings did something extraordinary: coming together in glittering salons to discuss and debate as intellectual equals with men, they fought for women to be educated and to have a public role in society. In this intimate and revelatory history, Susannah Gibson delves into the lives of these pioneering women. Elizabeth Montagu established one of the most famous salons of the Bluestocking movement, with everyone from royalty to revolutionaries clamoring for an invitation to attend. Her younger sister, Sarah Scott, imagined a female-run society and created a women's commune. Meanwhile, Hester Thrale, who also had a salon, saved her husband's brewery from bankruptcy and, after being widowed, married a man she loved--Italian, Catholic, and not of her social class. Other women made a name for themselves through their publications, including Catharine Macaulay, author of an eight-volume history of England, and Frances Burney, author of the audacious novel Evelina. In elegant prose, Gibson reveals the close and complicated relationships between these women, how they supported and admired each other, and how they sometimes judged and exploited one another. Some rebelled quietly, while others defied propriety with adventurous and scandalous lives." --

Invisible women: data bias in a world designed for men

By Criado-Perez, Caroline

Publishing Date: 2019

Classification: 300

Call Number: 305.42 CRI

Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development to health care to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives. The author investigates this shocking root cause of gender inequality. Examining the home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor's office, and more, the author uncovers a dangerous pattern in data and its consequences on women's lives. Product designers use a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to everything from pianos to cell phones to voice recognition software, when in fact this approach is designed to fit men. Cities prioritize men's needs when designing public transportation, roads, and even snow removal, neglecting to consider women's safety or unique responsibilities and travel patterns. And in medical research, women have largely been excluded from studies and textbooks, leaving them chronically misunderstood, mistreated, and misdiagnosed. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, this is an expose that will change the readers look at data and the world.--adapted from jacket.

Race Marxism: the truth about critical race theory and praxis

By Lindsay, James A.

Publishing Date: 2022

Classification: 300

Call Number: 305.8009 LIN

"Race Marxism exists to tell the truth about critical race theory in unprecedented clarity and depth. Across its six weighty chapters, Lindsay explains what Critical Race Theory is, what it believes, where it comes from, how it operates, and what we can do about it now that we know what we're dealing with. It exposes critical race theory for what it is by ranging widely across its own literature and a survey of some of the darkest philosophical currents of the last three hundred years in Western thought. Readers will come away understanding critical race theory and be able to speak the truth about it with authority: Critical race theory is race Marxism, and, like all Marxist theories before it, it will not work this time"--Publisher's description.

NEW RELEASE

The sirens' call: how attention became the world's most endangered resource

By Hayes, Chris

Publishing Date: 2025

Classification: 300

Call Number: 306.342 HAY

"From the NYT-bestselling author and television and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society"--

The interesting narrative and other writings

By Equiano, Olaudah

Publishing Date: 2003

Classification: 300

Call Number: 306.362 EQU

Relates the experiences of an African prince who was kidnapped into slavery in 1755 and followed his various masters from the Americas to Europe and through the Caribbean.

Building a wholesome family in a broken world: Habsburg lessons from the centuries

By Habsburg-Lothringen, Eduard

Publishing Date: [2024]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 306.85 HAB

"Let Archduke Eduard Habsburg guide you on the ultimate adventure of building a family. As a father of six and now a grandfather, the Archduke of Austria shares his own experiences and recipes for a wholesome family life, bolstered by 850 years of Habsburg family history. With his humorous and relatable style, Eduard dives deep into his family's storied past to give you true principles to live by and a Great Plan for lifelong joy. You will journey with the Habsburgs step-by-step through the centuries -- from falling in love to engagement, marriage, pregnancy, birth and Baptism, and everyday life, to seeing your children grow up and start families of their own. Through fascinating real-life stories and examples, he explores: Ways to strengthen family life through traditions -- The benefits of having a large family -- How to care for each other -- even in sickness and at the end of life -- Practical advice for new parents" -- Back cover.

Lucid dying: the new science revolutionizing how we understand life and death

By Parnia, Sam

Publishing Date: 2024

Classification: 300

Call Number: 306.903 PAR

"From internationally renowned expert in resuscitation and New York Times bestselling author Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, comes a From internationally renowned expert in resuscitation and New York Times bestselling author Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, comes a groundbreaking look at what happens to us when we die, based on the largest-ever research study run on recalled experiences of death" --

Drawing the line once again: Paul Goodman's anarchist writings

By Goodman, Paul

Publishing Date: 2010

Classification: 300

Call Number: 320.57 GOO

"To me, the chief principle of anarchism is not freedom but autonomy...behavior is more graceful, forceful, and discriminating without the intervention of top-down authorities, whether State, collective, democracy, corporate bureaucracy, prison wardens, deans, prearranged curricula, or central planning. These may be necessary in certain emergencies, but it is at a cost to vitality... By and large, the use of power to do a job is inefficient in the fairly short run. Extrinsic power inhibits intrinsic function."--From Drawing the Line Once Again.

Economics

By Schwartz, Elaine

Publishing Date: 2023

Classification: 300

Call Number: 330 SCH

A concise and fascinating guide to the areas covered by a first degree in economics. Fully illustrated with fascinating photographs and images. Handy timelines, information boxes, feature spreads and margin annotations will aid the reader in understanding terms and concepts easily and quickly. The Degree in a Book series has sold over 118,000 copies worldwide and has been published in 10 different languages.

Who cooked Adam Smith's dinner: a story about women and economics

By Marcal, Katrine

Publishing Date: 2016

Classification: 300

Call Number: 330.082 MAR

"When philosopher Adam Smith proclaimed that our actions are motivated by self-interest, he used the example of the baker and the butcher to lay the foundations for his "economic man." He argued that they gave bread and meat for profit, not out of the goodness of their hearts. It's an ironic point of view coming from a bachelor who lived with his mother for most of his life--a woman who cooked his dinner every night. Nevertheless, Smith's economic man has dominated our understanding of modern-day capitalism. Such a viewpoint disregards the unpaid work of mothering, caring, cleaning, and cooking. Essentially, the father of modern economics has based our whole concept of capitalism on a system that ignores half of its participants. ... Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner? charts the myth of the economic man, from its origins at Adam Smith's dinner table to its adaptation by the Chicago School to its disastrous role in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis."--Jacket.

NEW RELEASE

Labor unions

Publishing Date: 2025

Classification: 300

Call Number: 331.8809

"Labor unions created and fueled the workers? rights movement that has resulted in a minimum wage, the five-day workweek, the right to take time off for illness or family emergencies without being penalized, and access to many other benefits. Some politicians now claim that labor unions are corrupt and only interfere with the relationship between management and labor, but supporters argue that unions still have an important role to play and may be essential in the effort to combat income inequality. This issue of The Reference Shelf takes a look at labor unions and their evolving role in American politics and the economy."--

Trump: the art of the deal

By Trump, Donald

Publishing Date: 1988

Classification: 300

Call Number: 333.33 TRU

In this coast-to-coast bestseller, America's most glamorous tycoon offers a no-holds-barred account of how he runs his businesses, makes hisls and manages his life. A main selection of the Fortune Book Club. "Unrestrained Trump . . . his blueprint for rising to the top".--Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ratification: the people debate the Constitution, 1787-1788

By Maier, Pauline

Publishing Date: 2010

Classification: 300

Call Number: 342.7302 MAI

The dramatic story of the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, the first new account of this seminal moment in American history in years.

Keeping the faith: God, democracy, and the trial that riveted a nation

By Wineapple, Brenda

Publishing Date: [2024]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 344.768 WIN

"In 1925, hundreds of people descended on the sleepy town of Dayton, Tennessee, where a young schoolteacher named John T. Scopes was put on trial for including a reference to evolution in his teaching. Darwin's concept that species evolved over time through natural selection was misunderstood as challenging the Bible, faith in God, and as suggesting that men were descended from monkeys. Two legendary men, Clarence Darrow for the defense, and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution, drew massive crowds in a trial that quickly became a circus-like media sensation. Darrow argued for individual freedom including in religion and education, and Bryan argued from a fundamentalist Christian perspective that evolution undermined faith in God and the literal truth of the Bible. Historian Brenda Wineapple brings to life the entirety of this dramatic and colorful period that exposed foundation divisions in America across race, class, and religion. Bryan had run several times, unsuccessfully, for President, and his political efforts and ambitions, vividly chronicled in this book, culminated in Dayton. Darrow was a leader of the ACLU and known as a fervent defender of laborers, and his long history of legal defense in matters of individual rights also reached its apogee in this trial of the century. In his defense of Scopes and the First Amendment protection of individual liberty, Darrow said: 'No subject possesses the minds of men like religious bigotry, and hate, and these fires are being lighted today in America'"--

NEW RELEASE

Califailure: reversing the ruin of America's worst-run state

By Hilton, Steve

Publishing Date: [2025]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 351.794 HIL

"An examination of the failures of governance in California"--

Addiction by design: machine gambling in Las Vegas

By Schüll, Natasha Dow

Publishing Date: 2014

Classification: 300

Call Number: 362.25 SCH

Recent decades have seen a dramatic shift away from social forms of gambling played around roulette wheels and card tables to solitary gambling at electronic terminals. Slot machines, revamped by ever more compelling digital and video technology, have unseated traditional casino games as the gambling industry's revenue mainstay. 'Addiction by design' takes readers into the intriguing world of machine gambling, an increasingly popular and absorbing form of play that blurs the line between human and machine, compulsion and control, risk and reward. Drawing on fifteen years of field research in Las Vegas, anthropologist Natasha Dow Schull shows how the mechanical rhythm of electronic gambling pulls players into a trancelike state they call the 'machine zone', in which daily worries, social demands, and even bodily awareness fade away. Once in the zone, gambling addicts play not to win but simply to keep playing, for as long as possible--even at the cost of physical and economic exhaustion. In continuous machine play, gamblers seek to lose themselves while the gambling industry seeks profit. Schull describes the strategic calculations behind game algorithms and machine ergonomics, casino architecture and 'ambience management', player tracking and cash access systems--all designed to meet the market's desire for maximum 'time on device'. Her account moves from casino floors into gamblers' everyday lives, from gambling industry conventions and Gamblers Anonymous meetings to regulatory debates over whether addiction to gambling machines stems from the consumer, the product, or the interplay between the two. 'Addiction by design' is a compelling inquiry into the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance, offering clues to some of the broader anxieties and predicaments of contemporary life. At stake in Schull's account of the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance is a blurring of the line between design and experience, profit and loss, control and compulsion.

Relinquished: the politics of adoption and the privilege of American motherhood

By Sisson, Gretchen

Publishing Date: 2024

Classification: 300

Call Number: 362.734 SIS

"A powerful decade-long study of adoption in the age of Roe, revealing the grief of the American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real. Adoption has always been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as a mutually agreeable common ground in the abortion debate, but little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. Relinquished reveals adoption to be a path of constrained choice for those for whom abortion is inaccessible, or for whom parenthood is untenable. The stories of relinquishing mothers are stories about our country's refusal to care for families at the most basic level, and to instead embrace an individual, private solution to a large-scale, social problem. With the recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization revoking abortion protections and the upcoming decision in Brackeen v. Haaland likely to revoke the Indian Child Welfare Act, we are in a political moment in which adoption is, increasingly, being revealed as an institution devoted to separating families and policing parenthood under the guise of feel-good family-building. Rooted in a long-term study, Relinquished is an analysis of hundreds of in-depth interviews with American mothers who placed their children for domestic adoption. The voices of these women are powerful and heartrending; they deserve to be heard as a response to this moment"--

Out of the wilderness: escaping my father's prison and my journey to forgiveness

By Doerksen, Elishaba

Publishing Date: [2022]

Classification: 300

Call Number: 362.8292 DOE

"Elishaba Doerksen was the oldest of fifteen children born to ex-hippies Robert and Kurina Hale, also known as Papa Pilgrim and Country Rose. Elishaba grew up in a dilapidated 340-square-foot log cabin in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of New Mexico, isolated from civilization by a fundamentalist father intent on keeping his large family cloistered from a godless world. When she was nineteen, Papa Pilgrim began taking liberties with Elishaba in unimaginable ways and beating her, and her siblings, when he judged them to be "rebellious." The horrific sexual and physical abuse continued after the family moved to a remote valley in the Alaska wilderness. After ten years of terrifying mistreatment, Elishaba gathered her courage to make a run for it on a snowmobile. What happens next is the basis for a powerful, dramatic story about perseverance, faith, and redemption, as well as forgiveness."--Back cover.