Other books that might interest you

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  Callings - The Purpose and...

  David Isay

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  In Callings, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay presents unforgettable stories from people doing what they love. Some found their paths at a very young age, others later in life; some overcame great odds or upturned their lives in order to pursue what matters to them. Callings is an inspiring tribute to rewarding work and the American pursuit of happiness.   We meet a cancer nurse who is able to teach others the meaning of love. We meet an African American NASCAR driver who found the courage to compete during the Jim Crow era. We meet a young man on the South Side of Chicago who became a teacher in order to help at-risk teenagers. Together they demonstrate how work can be about much more than just making a living, that chasing dreams and finding inspiration in unexpected places can transform a vocation into a calling. Includes StoryCorps segments originally broadcast by NPR, plus:Exclusive interviews with StoryCorps participants in careers ranging from gardener to forensic scientist.An insider's view of the heroic work at the Veteran's Crisis Hotline.Witness to an Execution, an award-winning documentary featuring first-hand accounts from the guards, chaplains and reporters who witness executions as part of their jobs.

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  The Philosophy of Science...

  Steven M. Sanders

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  Thought-provoking essays on movies from Metropolis to The Matrix.   The science fiction genre, through films such as Blade Runner, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Terminator, not only entertains us but makes us think—about the implications of new technologies, the parameters and possibilities of space and time, and, in the age of artificial intelligence and robotics, the meaning of humanity itself.  The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film explores the storylines, conflicts, and themes of fifteen science fiction film classics. Editor Steven M. Sanders and a group of outstanding scholars in philosophy, film studies, and other fields raise science fiction film criticism to a new level by penetrating the surfaces of the films to expose the underlying philosophical arguments, ethical perspectives, and metaphysical views.

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  Running: Volume 1 - Team Sweat

  Antonio Smith

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  Smith Show Media presents Running: Volume 1 written by Antonio Smith. This collection of fitness music is perfectly mixed, set at just the right pace to help you perform a high-energy, body-moving workout.

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  When Writing Met Art - From...

  Denise Schmandt-Besserat

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  An archaeologist and art historian examines the impact of literacy on visual art during the early urban period in the Near East. Denise Schmandt-Besserat opened a new chapter in the history of literacy when she demonstrated that the cuneiform script invented in the ancient Near East in the late fourth millennium BC—the world's oldest known system of writing—derived from an archaic counting device. Her discovery, was published in Before Writing: From Counting to Cuneiform and How Writing Came About, which was named by American Scientist as one of the “100 or so Books that shaped a Century of Science.”  In When Writing Met Art, Schmandt-Besserat expands her history of writing into the visual realm. Using examples of ancient Near Eastern writing and masterpieces of art, she shows that between 3500 and 3000 BC the conventions of writing—everything from its linear organization to its semantic use of the form, size, order, and placement of signs—spread to the making of art, resulting in artworks that presented complex visual narratives in place of the repetitive motifs found on preliterate art objects. Schmandt-Besserat then demonstrates art's reciprocal impact on the development of writing. She shows how, beginning in 2700-2600 BC, the inclusion of inscriptions on funerary and votive art objects emancipated writing from its original accounting function. To fulfill its new role, writing evolved to replicate speech; this made it possible to compile, organize, and synthesize unlimited amounts of information.  Schmandt-Besserat’s pioneering investigation documents a turning point in human history, when two of our most fundamental information media reciprocally multiplied their capacities to communicate. When writing met art, literate civilization was born.

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  Becoming Tom Thumb - Charles...

  Eric D. Lehman

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  An “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug). 
   
  When P. T. Barnum met twenty-five-inch-tall Charles Stratton at a Bridgeport, Connecticut hotel in 1843, one of the most important partnerships in entertainment history was born. With Barnum’s promotional skills and the miniature Stratton’s comedic talents, they charmed a Who’s Who of the nineteenth century, from Queen Victoria to Charles Dickens to Abraham Lincoln.  
   
  Adored worldwide as “General Tom Thumb,” Stratton played to sold-out shows for almost forty years. From his days as a precocious child star to his tragic early death, Becoming Tom Thumb tells the full story of this iconic figure for the first time. It details his triumphs on the New York stage, his epic celebrity wedding, and his around-the-world tour, drawing on newly available primary sources and interviews.  
   
  From the mansions of Paris to the deserts of Australia, Stratton’s unique brand of Yankee comedy not only earned him the accolades of millions of fans, it helped move little people out of the side show and into the limelight.

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  N B C University Theater - The...

  Henry James

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  'NBC University Theater’ initially started in Chicago with a remit to bring adaptations of classic novels, usually Anglo-American, to a radio audience.   
   
  Additionally, if listeners signed up they received college credit to a radio-assisted correspondence course.  A study guide, The Handbook of the World's Great Novels, was available for 25 cents.   
   
  In its later years it also included short stories and plays and went on to win the distinguished Peabody award. 
   
  Unlike many other radio shows University Theatre did not pursue the glamourous stars for its productions but instead relied on excellent distillations of the novels and first class acting alongside high production values. 
   
  But now its time to enjoy these timeless novels. Let’s begin.

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