Author: Holland, James, 1970- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 940.54
Format: Books
Summary: "On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion eleven months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its drama and its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, very little has been written about the 38-day battle for Sicily. Based on much new research, Sicily '43 offers vital new perspective on a major turning point in World War II. The characters involved-General George Patton and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery among many-were as colorful as the battles across the scorching plains and above the peaks of Sicly were brutal. Among Holland's great skills is incorporating the experience of on-the-ground participants on all sides-from American colonel Jim Gavin, British major Hedley Verity, and Canadian lieutenant Farley Mowat to brigade commander Wilhelm Schmalz, Luftwaffe fighter pilot Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff, and Italian combatants, civilians, and mafiosi alike-giving readers an intimate sense of what occurred in July and August 1943. Emphasizing the significance of Allied air superiority, Holland overturns conventional narratives that have criticized the Sicily campaign for the slowness of the Allied advance and that so many German and Italian soldiers escaped to the mainland; rather, he shows that clearing the island in 38 days against geographical challenges and fierce resistance was an impressive achievement. A powerful and dramatic account by a master military historian, Sicily '43 fills a major gap in the narrative history of World War II"--
Author: Clark, Heather L., author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: B PLATH
Format: Books
Summary: With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials--including unpublished letters and manuscripts; court, police, and psychiatric records; and new interviews--Heather Clark brings to life the brilliant daughter of Wellesley, Massachusetts who had poetic ambition from a very young age and was an accomplished, published writer of poems and stories even before she became a star English student at Smith College in the early 1950s. "An engrossing new biography of Sylvia Plath focuses on her remarkable literary and intellectual growth and achievement, restoring the vivid creative woman behind the longtime Plath myths perpetuated by a pathology-based approach to her life and art. With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark here brings to life the brilliant daughter of Wellesley, MA who had poetic ambition from a very young age, and was an accomplished, published writer of poems and stories before she became the star English student at Smith College. Determined not to read Plath's work as if her every act, from childhood on, was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark presents new materials about Plath's scientist father, her juvenile writings, and her psychiatric treatment, and evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century, in the shadow of the atom bomb and the Holocaust, as she explores Sylvia's world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; her conflicted ties to her well-meaning, widowed mother; her troubles at the hands of an unenlightened mental health industry; her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes, a marriage of true minds that would change the course of poetry in English; and much more. Clark's clear-eyed sympathy for Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and other demonized players in the arena of Plath's suicide promotes a deeper understanding of her final days, with their outpouring of first-rate poems. Along with illuminating readings of the poems themselves, Clark's meticulous, compassionate research brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women poets the world over"--
Author: Berg, Elizabeth, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: B BERG
Format: Books
Summary: "For as long as Elizabeth can remember, she has watched her father trail after her mother, kissing her multiple times a day and holding her hand. She watched her mother smooth the lines in her father's face and pay attention to his every move, even when she was desperate for some time to herself. When her parents began to age, Elizabeth and her siblings are placed in the difficult position of taking over more and more supportive roles and tasks. They fix their parents' home, negotiate finances, eventually weather the back and forth of will they or won't they move into a nursing facility; finally they do. Berg gracefully takes readers through navigating the emotional and physical challenger of guiding parents through the final stages of life. In this touching and heart-warming memoir, Berg includes raw accounts of disagreements, encouraging stubborn parents, and dealing with her own heartache and loss. Berg confront both the realities of the situation and the brighter, happy, funny and endearing moments and memories"-- Berg's father was an Army veteran who was a tough man in every way but one: He showed a great deal of love and tenderness to his wife. Their marriage was a romance that lasted for nearly seventy years; Berg grew up watching her father kiss her mother upon leaving home, and kiss her again the instant he came back. When he developed Alzheimer's disease, Berg's parents were forced to leave the home they loved and move into a facility that could offer them help. She discusses how she and her siblings managed to parent the people who had for so long parented them. It was a hard transition, mitigated at least by flashes of humor and joy. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Weissmann, Andrew, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 342.7307
Format: Books
Summary: In May 2017, Robert Mueller was tapped to lead an inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, coordination by foreign agents with Donald Trump's campaign, and obstruction of justice by the president. Mueller assembled a "dream team" of top prosecutors, and for the next twenty-two months, the investigation was a black box and the subject of endless anticipation and speculation--until April 2019, when the special counsel's report was released. In Where Law Ends, legendary prosecutor Andrew Weissmann--a key player in the Special Counsel's Office--finally pulls back the curtain to reveal exactly what went on inside the investigation, including the heated debates, painful deliberations, and mistakes of the team--not to mention the external efforts by the president and Attorney General William Barr to manipulate the investigation to their political ends. Weissmann puts the reader in the room as Mueller's team made their most consequential decisions, such as whether to subpoena the president, whether to conduct a full financial investigation of Trump, and whether to explicitly recommend obstruction charges against him. Weissmann also details for the first time the debilitating effects that President Trump himself had on the investigation, through his dangling of pardons and his constant threats to shut down the inquiry and fire Mueller, which left the team racing against the clock and essentially fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. In Where Law Ends, Weissmann conjures the camaraderie and esprit de corps of the investigative units led by the enigmatic Mueller, a distinguished public servant who is revealed here, in a way we have never seen him before, as a manager, a colleague, and a very human presence. Weissmann is as candid about the team's mistakes as he is about its successes, and is committed to accurately documenting the historic investigation for future generations to assess and learn from. Ultimately, Where Law Ends is a story about a team of public servants, dedicated to the rule of law, tasked with investigating a president who did everything he could to stand in their way. In May 2017, Robert Mueller was tapped to lead an inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, coordination by foreign agents with Donald Trump's campaign, and obstruction of justice by the president. For the next twenty-two months the investigation was a black box and the subject of endless anticipation and speculation--until April 2019, when the special counsel's report was released. Weissmann-- a key player in the Special Counsel's Office-- pulls back the curtain to reveal exactly what went on inside the investigation, including the heated debates, painful deliberations, and mistakes of the team-- not to mention the external efforts by the president and Attorney General William Barr to manipulate the investigation to their political ends. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Kinsella, Sophie, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: LP F KINSELLA
Format: Large print
Summary: "Call Ava romantic, but she thinks love should be found in the real world, not on apps that filter men by height, job, or astrological sign. She believes in feelings, not algorithms. So after a recent breakup and dating app debacle, she decides to put love on hold and escapes to a remote writers' retreat in coastal Italy. She's determined to finish writing the novel she's been fantasizing about, even though it means leaving her close-knit group of friends and her precious dog, Harold, behind. At the retreat, she's not allowed to use her real name or reveal any personal information. When the neighboring martial arts retreat is canceled and a few of its attendees join their small writing community, Ava, now going by "Aria," meets "Dutch," a man who seems too good to be true. The two embark on a baggage-free, whirlwind love affair, cliff-jumping into gem-colored Mediterranean waters and exploring the splendor of the Italian coast--stretches of beaches, architectural wonders, aromas of olive groves and lemon trees, signature orecchiette pasta, and rainbow-colored houses that line the shore. Things seem to be perfect for Aria and Dutch. But then their real identities--Ava and Matt--must return to London. As their fantasy starts to fade, they discover just how different their personal worlds are. From food choices to annoying habits to sauna etiquette . . . are they compatible in anything? And then there's the prickly situation with Matt's ex-girlfriend, who isn't too eager to let him go. As one mishap follows another, it seems while they love each other, they just can't love each other's lives. Can they reconcile their differences to find one life together?" --
Author: Lehrer, Riva, 1958- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: B LEHRER
Format: Books
Summary: "What do we sacrifice in the pursuit of normalcy? And what becomes possible when we embrace monstrosity? In 1958, Riva is one of the first children born with spina bifida to survive. Her parents and doctors are determined to 'fix' her, sending the message over and over again that she is broken. That she will never have a job, a romantic relationship, or an independent life. Enduring countless medical interventions, Riva tries her best to be a good girl and a good patient in the quest to be cured. Everything changes when, as an adult, Riva is invited to join a group of artists, writers, and performers who are building Disability Culture. Their work is daring, edgy, funny, and dark; it rejects tropes that define disabled people as pathetic, frightening, or worthless. They insist that disability is an opportunity for creativity and resistance. Emboldened, Riva asks if she can paint their portraits--an intimate and collaborative process that will transform the way she sees herself, others, and the world. With each portrait, and each person's story, the myths she's been told her whole life--about her body, her sexuality, and the value of normalcy--begin to crumble. Written with the vivid, cinematic prose of a visual artist, and the love and playfulness that defines all of Riva's work, Golem Girl is an extraordinary story of survival and creativity. With the author's magnificent portraits featured throughout, this memoir invites us to stretch ourselves toward a world where bodies flow between all possible forms of what it is to be human"--
Author: Duncan, Elizabeth J., author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: DUN
Format: Books
Summary: "The island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales is the perfect place for an idyllic midsummer painting holiday. Penny Brannigan is enjoying the retreat enormously-- until she discovers the body of a New Zealand journalist on a secluded beach. The death is ruled accidental, but Penny discovers a link to a mysterious disappearance several years earlier." --Provided by publisher.
Author: Wood, Jake, 1983- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: B WOOD
Format: Books
Summary: "The powerful story of one Marine who found healing and renewed purpose after returning from combat, for himself and tens of thousands of fellow veterans. When Marine sniper Jake Wood came home in 2009 from grueling tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, his country asked yet more of him: to compartmentalize his traumatic memories, put his elite military training on a shelf, and adjust to living outside high-stakes situations. Jake feared he would join the huge population of veterans struggling to reintegrate. Since 2001, more service members have died by suicide than have been killed in Afghanistan. One activity helped Jake and his friend and fellow Marine Clay Hunt find a measure of hope: helping communities after disasters, where their training rendered them unusually effective in high-stakes situations. But as their new organization struggled to get off the ground and the VA tied up Clay's meds in red tape, Clay committed suicide. Reeling, Jake resolved to help as many disaster-affected communities and provide a mission to as many veterans as possible. Over the past 10 years, with no money or experience, he and his team have recruited over 100,000 volunteers to his organization Team Rubicon. It's established a reputation for delivering desperately needed aid faster and better than other organizations hindered by bureaucracy. Racing against the clock, veteran volunteers utilize their military training to untangle complex problems quickly and keep calm under pressure in catastrophic scenarios. What's more, Team Rubicon gives meaningful direction to men and women who need the disaster response work as much as the work needs them. Having a continued purpose--a mission that matters--can be the key to a veteran's successful transition from war to peace"--
Author: Kissileff, Beth, editor. Lidji, Eric, editor.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 364.152
Format: Books
Summary: "On October 27, 2018, three congregations were holding their morning Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood when a lone gunman entered the building and opened fire. He killed eleven people and injured six more in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. The story made national headlines for weeks following the shooting, but Pittsburgh and the local Jewish community could not simply move on when the news cycle did. The essays in this anthology, written by local journalists, academics, rabbis, and other community members, reveal a city's attempts to cope, make sense of, and come to terms with an unfathomable horror. Here, members from the three impacted congregations are able to reflect on their experiences in a raw, profound way. Local reporters who wrote about the event professionally contribute stories that they were unable to articulate until now. Activists consider their work at a calm distance from the chaotic intensity of their daily efforts. Academics mesh their professional expertise with their personal experiences of this shattering event in their hometown. Rabbis share their process of crafting comforting messages for their constituents when they themselves felt hopeless. By bringing local voices together into a chorus, they are raised over the din of national and international chroniclers who offer important contributions but do not and cannot feel the intensity of this tragedy in the same way as locals. The essays in this anthology tell a collective story of city shaken to its very core, but determined that love will ultimately win. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Jewish Family and Community Service of Pittsburgh." --
Author: Tablet Magazine (Firm), editor.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 296.4
Format: Books
Summary: "Every year, Jews, and the folks who love them, gather around the Seder table with family and friends to read from the Haggadah, the story of Jewish ancestors who were enslaved in Egypt and their journey to freedom. It's a time not only to remember the past but also to make the Seder experience relevant, relatable, and personal, incorporating new and up-to-date interpretations and interests. It doesn't matter if you've read the entire Talmud ten times in Aramaic or if your religious education consists of a few episodes of Seinfeld-The Passover Haggadah is for everyone. It's about making the Seder experience one's own. Ask the Four Questions in Hebrew or English. Learn about the Ten Plagues and "The Modern Ten Plagues" as told by Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan. Other contributions include "My Big Gay Seder Wedding" by Wayne Hoffman, Tablet's executive editor, and "The Blessings of an Interfaith Passover" by Molly Yeh, award-winning food blogger. Sing "Dayenu" together and take turns answering the question "What do you have in your life that, if you had nothing else, would be enough?" Encouraging messages can be found throughout the book, including a very important one that follows the second cup of wine, which is "Take a big, happy sip. Food is nearly at hand." Original illustrations round out this beautiful package. From start to finish, the Seder is a joyful gathering that will only be enhanced by this special keepsake"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Amis, Martin, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: F AMIS
Format: Books
Summary: "From one of the most highly acclaimed writers at work today: his most intimate and epic work yet--an autobiographical novel of sex and love, family and friendship. Inside Story had its birth in the death of Martin Amis's closest friend, the incomparable Christopher Hitchens, and it is within that profound and sprawling friendship that the novel unfurls. From their early days as young magazine staffers in London, reviewing romantic entanglements and the latest literary gossip (not to mention ideas, books, and where to lunch), Hitchens was Martin's wingman and adviser, especially in the matter of the alluringly amoral Phoebe Phelps--an obsession Martin must somehow put behind him if he is ever to find love, marriage, a plausible run at happiness. Other significant figures competing as Martin's main influencers are his father, Kingsley, his hero Saul Bellow, the weirdly self-finessing poet Philip Larkin, and significant literary women from Iris Murdoch to Elizabeth Jane Howard. Moving among these greats to set his own path, Martin's quest is a tender, witty exploration of the hardest questions: how to live, how to grieve, and how to die. Along the way, he surveys the horrors of the twentieth century, and the still-unfolding impact of the 9/11 attacks on the twenty-first--and considers what all of this has taught him about how to be a writer. The result is a love letter to life--and to the people in his life--that achieves a new level of confidentiality with his readers, giving us the previously unseen portrait of his extraordinary world"--
Author: Kotb, Hoda, 1964- author. Lorenzini, Jane, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 170.44
Format: Books
Summary: "In this all-new collection of beloved quotes, This Just Speaks to Me, #1 New York Times bestselling author Hoda Kotb offers inspiration, wisdom, and hope 365 days a year"-- Kotb shares quotes and stories, one for each day of the year. In writing about the people and moments that have enriched her life, she discusses everything from motherhood and friendship to love and loss. Her book also celebrates the countless acts of kindness that unfolded during these uniquely challenging times. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Philyaw, Deesha, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: F PHILYAW
Format: Books
Summary: "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions"--
Author: Igharo, Jane, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: F IGHARO
Format: Books
Summary: "When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother's heart, she must choose between love and her family. At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture, even after immigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping--well, forcing--her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and . . . white. When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Soon, Azere can't help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness, or continue to be the compliant daughter"--Publisher's description.
Author: Douglas, John E., author. Olshaker, Mark, 1951- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 364.152
Format: Books
Summary: John Douglas, the FBI's pioneering, first full-time criminal profiler, presents a timely, relevant book that goes to the heart of extremism and domestic terrorism, examining in-depth his chilling pursuit of, and eventual prison confrontation with Joseph Paul Franklin, a White Nationalist serial killer and one of the most disturbing psychopaths he has ever encountered.
Author: Fletcher, Jessica, author. Land, Jon, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: F FLETCHER
Format: Books
Summary: "Christmas has come to Cabot Cove, but a peaceful holiday season is not in the cards after Jessica Fletcher is pulled into a centuries-old mystery in the latest entry in this USA Today bestselling series. With work on the reconstruction of her beloved home almost complete, Jessica Fletcher is in high holiday spirits, spearheading the annual Christmas pageant, supervising the Friends of the Library's toy drive, and preparing for her nephew Grady and his family to come to town. The only thing dampening the holiday cheer is the discovery on Jessica's property of two sets of bones: one set ancient, the other only a few weeks old. It's concluded they were placed there during the construction, and Jessica suspects that despite the centuries between them, the bones might be connected. Soon, tabloid reporter Franklin Joy arrives in Cabot Cove to write a story about what he calls "Murder Cove, USA." But when Franklin himself is murdered, Jessica speculates that his arrival, his death, and the discovery of the bones are all connected. As Jessica digs deeper to find the connection between the bones and the murder, everything seems to come back to a mystery that has long plagued Cabot Cove. If she wants to solve the case, she'll need to delve into her beloved town's dark history, or else this holiday season may be her last..."--
Author: Bliss, Harry, 1964- illustrator. Martin, Steve, 1945- author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 741.5
Format: Books
Summary: "'I've always looked upon cartooning as comedy's last frontier. I have done stand-up, sketches, movies, monologues, awards show introductions, sound bites, blurbs, talk show appearances, and tweets, but the idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me. I felt like, yeah, sometimes I'm funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny. You can understand that I was deeply suspicious of these people who are actually funny.' So writes the multitalented comedian Steve Martin in his introduction to A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection. In order to venture into this lauded territory of cartooning, he partnered with the heralded New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Steve shared caption and cartoon ideas, Harry provided impeccable artwork, and together they created this collection of humorous cartoons and comic strips, with amusing commentary about their collaboration throughout. The result: this gorgeous, funny, singular book, perfect to give as a gift or to buy for yourself"--
Author: Dabiri, Emma, author.
Published: 2020 2019
Call Number: 391.5 DABIRI
Format: Books
Summary: A BBC presenter and contributor for The Guardian describes the stigmatism of black hair and its encoded racism through history, from pre-colonial Africa through the Harlem Renaissance, to the modern Natural Hair Movement. Despite increasingly liberal world views, black hair continues to be erased, appropriated, and stigmatized to the point of taboo. Through her personal and historical journey, Dabiri gleans insights into the way racism is coded in society's perception of black hair--and how it is often used as an avenue for discrimination. Dabiri takes us from pre-colonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, and into today's Natural Hair Movement, exploring everything from women's solidarity and friendship, to the criminalization of dreadlocks, to the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian's braids. Through the lens of hair texture, Dabiri leads us on a historical and cultural investigation of the global history of racism--and her own personal journey of self-love and finally, acceptance. Deeply researched and powerfully resonant, Twisted proves that far from being only hair, black hairstyling culture can be understood as an allegory for black oppression and, ultimately, liberation. -- adapted from back cover
Author: Godin, Seth, author.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 153.3
Format: Books
Summary: "From the bestselling author of Linchpin, Tribes, and The Dip comes an elegant little book that will inspire artists, writers, and entrepreneurs to stretch and commit to putting their best work out into the world. Creative work doesn't come with a guarantee. But there is a pattern to who succeeds and who doesn't. And engaging in the consistent practice of its pursuit is the best way forward. Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and share creative work. Godin insists that writer's block is a myth, that consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the imposter syndrome is a sign that you're a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a productive contribution, the one you've been seeking to share all along. With this book as your guide, you'll learn to dance with your fear. To take the risks worth taking. And to embrace the empathy required to make work that contributes with authenticity and joy"--
Author: Sedaris, David, author. Sedaris, David. Glen's homophobia newsletter vol. 3, no. 2. Sedaris, David. Front row center with Thaddeus Bristol. Sedaris, David. Christmas means giving. Sedaris, David. Incomplete quad.
Published: 2020
Call Number: 818.54
Format: Books
Summary: "For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing. Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say "give it to me" in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird."--Amazon.com
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