Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Bookends - Collected Intros and...

  Michael Chabon

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  A brilliant, idiosyncratic collection of introductions and afterwords (plus some liner notes) by New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon—“one of contemporary literature’s most gifted prose stylists” (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times). 
  In Bookends, Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon offers a compilation of pieces about literature—age-old classics as well as his own—that presents a unique look into his literary origins and influences, the books that shaped his taste and formed his ideas about writing and reading. 
  Chabon asks why anyone would write an introduction, or for that matter, read one. His own daughter Rose prefers to skip them. Chabon's answer is simple and simultaneously profound: ""a hope of bringing pleasure for the reader."" Likewise, afterwords—they are all about shared pleasure, about the ""pure love"" of a work of art that has inspired, awakened, transformed the reader. Ultimately, this thought-provoking compendium is a series of love letters and thank-you notes, unified by the simple theme of the shared pleasure of discovery, whether it's the boyhood revelation of the most important story in Chabon's life (Ray Bradbury's ""The Rocket Man""); a celebration of ""the greatest literary cartographer of the planet Mars"" (Edgar Rice Burroughs, with his character John Carter); a reintroduction to a forgotten master of ghost stories (M. R. James, ironically ""the happiest of men""); the recognition that the worlds of Wes Anderson's films are reassembled scale models of our own broken reality (as is all art); Chabon's own rude awakening from the muse as he writes his debut novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh; or a playful parody of lyrical interpretation in the liner notes for Mark Ronson's Uptown Special, the true purpose of which, Chabon insists, is to ""spread the gospel of sensible automotive safety and maintenance practices."" 
  Galaxies away from academic or didactic, Bookends celebrates wonder—and like the copy of The Phantom Tollbooth handed to young Michael by a friend of his father he never saw again—it is a treasured gift.

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  The Inclusive Language Field...

  Suzanne Wertheim

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  Avoid inadvertently offending or alienating anyone by following six straightforward communication guidelines developed by a no-nonsense linguistic anthropologist and business consultant. 
   
  In today's fast-moving and combative culture, language can feel like a minefield. Terms around gender, disability, race, sexuality and more are constantly evolving. Words that used to be acceptable can now get you "cancelled." People are afraid of making embarrassing mistakes. Or sounding outdated or out of touch. Or not being as respectful as they intended. 
    
  But it's not as complicated as it might seem. Linguistic anthropologist Suzanne Wertheim offers six easy-to-understand principles to guide any communication-written or spoken-with anyone: 
    
  - Reflect reality 
  - Show respect 
  - Draw people in 
  - Incorporate other perspectives 
  - Prevent erasure 
  - Recognize pain points 
    
  This guide clarifies the challenges-and the solutions-to using "they/them," and demonstrates why "you guys" isn't as inclusive as many people think. If you follow the principles, you'll know not to ask a female coworker with a wedding ring about her husband-because she might be married to a woman. And you'll avoid writing things like "America was discovered in 1492," because that's just when Europeans found it. 
   
  Filled with real-world examples, high-impact word substitutions, and exercises that boost new skills, this book builds a foundational toolkit so people can evaluate what is and isn't inclusive language on their own.

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  Propaganda Girls - The Secret...

  Lisa Rogak

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  “Naeymi's mesmerizing narration takes listeners into the heart-stopping intrigue and action of nations at war and into the souls of women with cool demeanors and spines of steel.” —AudioFileThe incredible untold story of four women who spun the web of deception that helped win World War II.Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane Smith-Hutton was the wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo. Marlene Dietrich, the German-American actress and singer, was of course one of the biggest stars of the 20th century. These four women, each fascinating in her own right, together contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in WWII. As members of the OSS, their task was to create a secret brand of propaganda produced with the sole aim to break the morale of Axis soldiers. Working in the European theater, across enemy lines in occupied China, and in Washington, D.C., Betty, Zuzka, Jane, and Marlene forged letters and “official” military orders, wrote and produced entire newspapers, scripted radio broadcasts and songs, and even developed rumors for undercover spies and double agents to spread to the enemy. And outside of a small group of spies, no one knew they existed. Until now. In Propaganda Girls, bestselling author Lisa Rogak brings to vivid life the incredible true story of four unsung heroes, whose spellbinding achievements would change the course of history.A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

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  Development of Nuclear Weapons...

  Charles River Editors

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  Tens of millions died during World War II as the warring powers raced to create the best fighter planes, tanks, and guns, and eventually that race extended to bombs which carried enough power to destroy civilization itself. While the war raged in Europe and the Pacific, a dream team of Nobel Laureates was working on the Manhattan Project, a program kept so secret that Vice President Harry Truman didn’t know about it until he took the presidency after FDR’s death in April 1945.  
  The Manhattan Project would ultimately yield the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs that released more than 100 Terajoules of energy at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but as it turned out, the Axis were not far behind with their own nuclear weapons program. When the Nazis’ quest for a nuclear weapon began in earnest in 1939, no one really had a handle on how important nuclear weapons would prove to war and geopolitics, so the Germans were hesitant to expend resources on it. Moreover, they were hampered by the fact their policies had compelled Jewish scientists like Liz Meitner and Albert Einstein to flee before the war. 
  Although their project is typically overlooked given the American use of the bombs and then the Soviets following suit early on in the Cold War, the Japanese avidly pursued nuclear weapons as well. As with the Nazis, the lack of research and the general course of the war prevented them from making the necessary technological advancements that would result in a usable bomb.  
  	For their part, Stalin’s regime had been working on a nuclear weapons program since 1942, relying greatly upon successful Soviet espionage to help lead the way. With intelligence sources connected to the Manhattan Project, Stalin was able to keep abreast of the Allies’ progress toward creating an atomic bomb, so that by 1945, the Soviets already had a working blueprint of America’s first atomic bombs. 

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  A Sky Full of Kites - A...

  Tom Bowser

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  Shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award
  Red kites were once Britain's most common bird of prey. By the early 1900s they'd been wiped out in Scotland and England following centuries of ruthless persecution. When some reintroduced kites began roosting on their 1,400-acre farm at Argaty in Perthshire, Tom Bowser's parents, Lynn and Niall, decided to turn their estate into a safe haven. They began feeding the birds and invited the world to come and see them, learn about them and fall in love with them.
  A Sky Full of Kites is the story of the Argaty Red Kite project, and the re-establishing of these magnificent raptors to Scotland, but it is also much more than that. Ill at ease with the traditional rural values of livestock farming, Lynn and Niall's son Tom, who returned to work on the farm after a career in journalism, reveals his passion for nature and his desire to dedicate his family's land to conservation.

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  Abortion - a personal story a...

  Pauline Harmange

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  From the author of I Hate Men, a personal and political reflection on abortion rights. 
   
   
   
  Discussion about abortion and associated rights are often limited to either "anti-abortion" or "pro-choice," the latter of which focuses on the importance of having the right to choose, rather than on what that right means for real people. 
   
   
   
  In this timely essay, Pauline Harmange provides an intimate, detailed account of her abortion. Reminiscent of Annie Ernaux's Happening, Abortion is nuanced, complex, honest, and precise. Harmange gives voice to the emotions, reflections, and contradictions that someone could experience when they choose to terminate a pregnancy. 
   
   
   
  At a time in which women's reproductive rights are being called into question around the world, Abortion is a clarion call, a powerful personal testimony, and a resolutely political vision: to restore power to our experiences, all our experiences, by sharing them, and to transform society for the better.

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