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  Breakthrough Community Change -...

  Paul Born, John McKnight

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  Discover a powerful methodology for bringing communities together to uncover hidden assets and transform deep-rooted challenges. 
   
  Veteran community organizer Paul Born's work has contributed to lowering cancer rates in Maine, improving mental health for young people in Florida, and reducing poverty rates in Canada by 20 percent. In this much-needed new book, he shares stories of how he was able to catalyze local communities and guide them to make significant progress on seemingly intractable community problems. 
   
  Born has found that the secret to success is to organize and unite around a common agenda. This is not a list of topics, like a meeting agenda, nor a strategic plan. He offers a process for bringing leaders from businesses, human service organizations, and governments together with people who have a lived experience of a specific community problem. A common agenda is a statement of shared aspirations, a map of the assets in the community, and a road map for how to work together to make those aspirations a reality. 
   
  Part I of this book describes how to identify your community's readiness for change; form leadership, action, and strategy teams; create a common agenda; and establish plans for community engagement. Part II presents the approaches and skill sets needed to do the work described in part I. 
   
  Remarkably, enormous systemic problems such as climate change, poverty, disease, racism, housing, and many more issues can be best addressed at the local level. Communities can develop solutions tailored to their unique circumstances and can collaborate at a magnitude that can result in a truly transformative impact. This book shows how to make change happen.

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  The Digital Paradigm Shift - A...

  John Harpoon

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  The journey into the digital age began with the spark of human ingenuity and the desire to simplify complex tasks. Early civilizations laid the groundwork for computation by devising systems to manage trade, record history, and calculate astronomical events. These early tools, such as the abacus and mechanical calculators, may seem rudimentary by modern standards, yet they were the building blocks of a monumental transformation. 
  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the seeds of the digital age began to take root. Pioneers like Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace envisioned the potential of programmable machines long before the technology to build them existed. Lovelace's notes on Babbage's Analytical Engine contained the first algorithm intended for implementation on a machine, earning her recognition as the world’s first computer programmer. Their ideas laid a conceptual foundation that would inspire future innovators. 
  The advent of World War II catalyzed the development of modern computing. The need for advanced cryptography, ballistics calculations, and logistical coordination drove governments and researchers to invest in computational technologies. Alan Turing, often referred to as the father of computer science, developed the Turing Machine, a theoretical construct that became a cornerstone of computer science. His work at Bletchley Park, cracking the German Enigma code, not only shortened the war but also showcased the immense potential of automated computation.

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  Joan Lady of Wales - Power &...

  Danna R. Messer

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  The history of women in medieval Wales before the English conquest of 1282 is one largely shrouded in mystery. This misfortune touches even the most well-known royal woman of the time, Joan of England (d. 1237), the wife of Llywelyn the Great of Gwynedd, illegitimate daughter of King John and half-sister to Henry III. With evidence of her hand in thwarting a full scale English invasion of Wales to a notorious scandal that ended with the public execution of her supposed lover by her husband and her own imprisonment, Joan's is a known, but little-told or understood story defined by family turmoil, divided loyalties and political intrigue. 
   
   
   
  From the time her hand was promised in marriage as the result of the first Welsh-English alliance in 1201 to the end of her life, Joan's place in the political wranglings between England and the Welsh kingdom of Gwynedd was a fundamental one. This first-ever account of Siwan, as she was known to the Welsh, interweaves the details of her life and relationships with a gendered re-assessment of Anglo-Welsh politics by highlighting her involvement in affairs, discussing events in which she may well have been involved but have gone unrecorded and her overall deployment of royal female agency.

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  The Everyday Stoic - Simple...

  William Mulligan

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  Navigate the obstacles of contemporary life and find happiness by following in the footsteps of the classical tradition of Stoicism in this empowering and accessible book written by the founder of the popular The Everyday Stoic account. William Mulligan, founder of The Everyday Stoic, transforms principles from ancient Stoic philosophy into a contemporary guide for overcoming the challenges of modern life and cultivating an unshakeable sense of inner calm, so that you too can live like a Stoic. Rediscover ancient wisdom and join the Stoic movement: From Marcus Aurelius to Seneca, the Stoics have a long and rich history. The Everyday Stoic draws on these timeless teachings and offers a chance to be part of a growing stoic community. Inside you'll discover how to: Cultivate Resilience: With practical tips and actionable advice, this is the perfect guide for anyone looking to gain resilience and overcome adversity, no matter what modern life throws their way. Follow Simple Rules for a Good Life: Explore key concepts such as confronting life's unpredictability and how thoughts create reality, which will empower you to not only be comfortable in the face of adversity but also to thrive. Boost Your Mental Health: Taking the lessons of Stoic Philosophy and applying them to your life can have positive effects on mental health, teaching you how to transform your mindset and shift how you perceive life's obstacles. Channel Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman thoughts and teachings in this accessible, life-transforming guide to making a better, calmer, and less stressed life.

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  Superstition in All Ages

  Jean Meslier

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  "Superstition in All Ages" is a book written by French priest and philosopher Jean Meslier in the early 18th century. The book is a critique of religion and an argument for atheism. Meslier argues that religion, particularly Christianity, is based on superstition and that its claims cannot be proven. 
  Meslier's book is divided into two parts. The first part examines the origins of superstition and religion, arguing that they are based on fear, ignorance, and the desire for power. Meslier claims that the belief in supernatural beings and forces is a result of humanity's inability to explain natural phenomena, and that religion is a way for those in power to control and manipulate the masses. 
  The second part of the book is a direct attack on Christianity. Meslier argues that the Bible is a collection of myths and legends, and that its moral teachings are inconsistent and often immoral. He also critiques the Christian concept of God, arguing that it is illogical and contradictory. 
  Meslier's arguments were highly controversial in his time, and he was forced to keep his atheism a secret to avoid persecution. After his death, his manuscript was discovered and published, making him one of the earliest and most influential atheist thinkers in history.

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  Architects of Terror: Paranoia...

  Paul Preston

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  A TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 
  From the preeminent historian of 20th century Spain Paul Preston, Architects of Terror is a new history of how paranoia, conspiracy and anti-Semitism was used to justify the military coup of 1936 and enabled the construction of a dictatorship built on violence and persecution. 
  It is the previously untold story of how antisemitic beliefs were weaponised to justify and propagate the Franco overthrow of liberal Spain. 
  The Spanish military coup of 1936 was launched to overturn the social and economic reforms of the democratic Second Republic, and its educational and cultural challenges to the established order. The consequent civil war was fought in the interests of the landowners, industrialists, bankers, clerics and army officers whose privileges were threatened. However, a central justification for a war that took the lives of around 500,000 Spaniards was that it was being fought to combat an alleged scheme for world domination by a non-existent ‘Jewish- Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy’. Despite the fact that Spain had only a tiny minority of Jews and Freemasons, Franco and his inner circle were ardent believers in this fabricated conspiracy and spread the notion that the survival of Catholic Spain, as well, of course, of the establishment ’ s economic interests, required the total annihilation of Jews and Freemasons. 
  Architects of Terror is the story of how fake news, mendacity, corruption and nostalgia for lost empire generated violence and hatred. The book presents vivid portraits of the key ideologues who propagated the myth of the Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy and of the military figures who implemented the atrocities that it justified. Among the convictions shared by these individuals was their belief in the idea that Freemasonry was responsible for Spain ’ s loss of empire and in the factual veracity of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the notorious fiction about the global domination of the Jews. 
  This is a history that reverberates in our own political moment 
  In his latest work, Architects of Terror, Paul Preston presents a compelling narrative of the Spanish military coup of 1936, a historical event marred by paranoia, conspiracy, and anti-Semitism. The book, a must-read in the biography and historical genre, uncovers the role of fake news, corruption, and nostalgia in generating violence and hatred. 
  For fans of Antony Beevor (Arnhem), Giles Tremlett (The International Brigades), Adam Hochschild (American Midnight), Anne Applebaum (Red Famine), and Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway on Writing). 
  HarperCollins 2023

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