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  The Book of Nonexistent Words

  Anonymous

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  The internationally acclaimed author harnesses his brilliant imagination and masterful storytelling ability to create a catalog of new words inspired by stories of real people in this wondrous book reminiscent of Italo Calvino's mesmerizing Invisible Cities. 
  How many times have words not been enough? 
  How many complex feelings don’t have a corresponding noun that properly describes them? 
  How many times has language left us like an archer without arrows in the labyrinth of our emotions? 
  Award-winning author Stefano Massini, a master of expression,, made a discovery that shot new life into his writing practice. To his surprise he found that the ancient rules of language were not quite as restrictive as he had long envisioned them to be. With so many emotions and states of mind missing modern descriptors and definitions, Massini stumbled across a simple but artistry-altering idea. Instead of compromising honest expression through perfunctory verbiage, he decided language was, if anything, a flowing palette of colors he could use to paint all things. Words are meant to be invented.  
  To reconfirm his belief in the magic of words, Massini returned to the wondrous mechanism that has fed dictionaries from time immemorial. If he could not find the precise word he wanted, he created one. In this delightful compendium, he introduces his personal vocabulary; every chapter mentions a new word that comes from a story about a real person, from Louis XIV to an American gangster. 
  The Book of Nonexistent Words is a beautifully illustrated collection of linguistic origin stories wrought from the mind of an internationally renowned storytelling icon. Massini effectively liberates our human capacity for using language creatively and shows how we can embrace storytelling to fine tune our way of being in the world. Massini encourages us to be imaginative; if the language in the dictionary cannot adequately match the reality of the here and now, we must create new words that ring true. 
  Translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon 

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  The Mediatization of the OJ...

  Tatjana Neubauer

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  F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: »Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy.« In the 1990s, nobody fell deeper than O.J. Simpson. Once considered a national treasure, the athlete was accused of brutally slaying his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994. Within days, the media and public developed an unprecedented obsession with the story, turning a murder investigation and trial into a sensationalized reality show. Tatjana Neubauer examines the mediatization, deliberate manipulation, and the simplification of popular criminal trials for profit on television. She demonstrates that TV conflated legal proceedings into entertainment programming by commodifying events, people, and places.

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  Slave Breeding - Sex Violence...

  Gregory D. Smithers

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  For over two centuries, the topic of slave breeding has occupied a controversial place in the master narrative of American history. From nineteenth-century abolitionists to twentieth-century filmmakers and artists, Americans have debated whether slave owners deliberately and coercively manipulated the sexual practices and marital status of enslaved African Americans to reproduce new generations of slaves for profit. 
   
   
   
  In this bold and provocative book, historian Gregory Smithers investigates how African Americans have narrated, remembered, and represented slave-breeding practices. He argues that while social and economic historians have downplayed the significance of slave breeding, African Americans have refused to forget the violence and sexual coercion associated with the plantation South. By placing African American histories and memories of slave breeding within the larger context of America's history of racial and gender discrimination, Smithers sheds much-needed light on African American collective memory, racialized perceptions of fragile black families, and the long history of racially motivated violence against men, women, and children of color.

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  The Pharaoh's Cities - Urban...

  Omar Khalil

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  The emergence of ancient Egyptian cities was a direct result of environmental, political, and cultural forces that converged around the Nile River. The geography of Egypt—with its fertile riverbanks and harsh surrounding deserts—encouraged people to settle in concentrated areas where water and arable land were accessible. These early settlements began as small agricultural communities but gradually expanded into organized urban centers. 
  The Nile River played an essential role in this transformation. It provided not only irrigation for crops but also a natural transportation route that linked various parts of the country. The regular flooding of the Nile deposited nutrient-rich silt onto the land, ensuring a reliable agricultural cycle. This dependable environment allowed food surpluses to develop, leading to population growth and the specialization of labor—both critical components for urbanization. 
  As Egypt became unified under strong rulers, cities took on new roles beyond agriculture. Administrative centers emerged to coordinate the collection of taxes, the management of resources, and the oversight of large-scale projects like irrigation canals and temple construction. Memphis, established as the first capital of a unified Egypt, became a powerful political and religious hub. Likewise, Thebes rose in prominence as a center of worship and royal authority, especially during the Middle and New Kingdoms.

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  Grim Paradise - The Cold Case...

  Rod Sadler

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  The true crime story of a 1960 murder that rocked a tranquil Michigan vacation spot and the search for justice that followed. 
   
  When widow Frances Lacey was murdered in July 1960 on Mackinac Island, only a few meager clues were found by police, and the case soon turned cold. But more than sixty years later, will those same clues finally solve the mystery?  
   
  On July 24, 1960, the quaint charm and serenity of Mackinac, nestled between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, was shattered by Lacey’s brutal death. Despite a massive manhunt and thousands of pages of police reports, her killer was never caught.  
   
  Now, in Grim Paradise, true crime author Rod Sadler (Killing Women) delves into the secrets of one of Michigan's most perplexing murder cases. Offering an in-depth and suspenseful account of the long-standing mystery, he poses the question: Could advancements in DNA technology lead to the identity of the Mackinac Island murderer as it did in the case of the Golden State Killer?

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  Listen to HSK1 - Listen to and...

  Letitia Wu

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  Are you looking to take your Chinese language skills to the next level? Listen to HSK1 is here to help! This audiobook was designed with the needs of serious Chinese learners in mind.With fifteen audio files, you’ll learn all the words from the HSK 1 vocabulary and their English translation. To make sure that you can really understand and perfect your pronunciation, each audio file also includes example sentences with an accompanying English translation. For better learning, the teacher reads these example sentences twice: the first time slowly, so learners can get used to the sound of Chinese and match it with its English translation; the second time quickly, so learners can challenge themselves with faster-paced conversation. Plus, this one-time investment will serve its purpose for a long time – once learned, these words won’t go out of style any time soon! Invest in Listen to HSK1 now and experience rapid progress in your listening and speaking skills.

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