Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Challenger and Columbia: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  In the decades after the Apollo program, American space shuttles flew over 130 missions and successfully completed over 98% of them, but unfortunately, the two most famous missions were the ones that ended tragically aboard the Challenger and Columbia.  
  The Space Shuttle Challenger was the most heavily used space shuttle in the three years it was operational, carrying the first minority astronaut and woman astronaut into space. Challenger was also the first space shuttle to complete a landing at night. 
  On the morning of January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger launched for the 10th time, beginning mission STS-51-L. Space shuttles had already successfully completed 24 missions, and no American spacecraft had ever failed to reach orbit during an official mission. On this mission, the Challenger was carrying a satellite for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites system, which was to be deployed in orbit. Ascent seemed to be going normally during the first minute, but about 75 seconds into the ascent, a plastic O-ring used to seal a joint in one of the solid rocket boosters failed, causing a breach of hot gas. That gas spread to the other rocket booster and the external fuel tank, causing an explosion. When the spectators saw the explosion, many of them started cheering, unaware of what was really happening.  
  The notorious date of the Challenger disaster was commemorated by the crew of the Columbia while they were in space in 2003, and a few days later, on February 1, the Columbia was due to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 09:16. Only a few members of the press were present to watch the landing - this was, after all, supposed to be a routine return from a routine mission, the 113th for the shuttle program and the 28th for Columbia, one of the oldest Space Shuttles.

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  The Völva’s Apprentice - A Norse...

  Living History

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  I had heard tales of women with secret knowledge and powers, but I never imagined that there would be one standing right in front of me.“You’re a Völva?” the word rolled off my tongue strangely...I only knew faintly what a Völva was. They were said to be strange women with strange powers. Not only could they protect and ward against ill omens, but they could also travel the realms and reach into places untapped by most humans. As such, they were often spoken of in whispers of both reverence and mystery.“Yes, I am. And an old one at that,” she said, getting up from her chair.It seemed so casual as if she was just talking about a mindless chore that she was doing. Like it was nothing special that she had just performed some form of magic right in front of me.For two years, I learned everything I could on runes, protections, herbs, medicines, and anything else that Dagmar deemed necessary. In the few moments I had that were not dedicated to lessons from Dagmar, I would seek out Ivar for his quiet presence. There was just something about being near him that set my mind at ease.All that consumed my thoughts was avengement and how close Ulrik was. Soon he would taste the bitter sting of defeat.In the realms of Norse Mythology, a girl sets out to avenge her village, only to meet a powerful teacher on her journey into the abyss of forbidden knowledge.

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  Squirrel Pie - A memoir

  Deborah Brannigan

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  Detroit is a thriving blue-collar town in the 1970s, an era when alcoholism and dysfunction thrive behind closed doors. When fifteen-year-old Debbie accepts a new babysitting job she has no idea that it will forever alter her life.  Mac, father of the young children she cares for, slowly begins to groom Debbie with words of praise and flattery. 
  Longing for emotional connection she agrees to run away with Mac, only to find herself trapped in desperate poverty with a violent alcoholic.  She raises three children on roadkill meals and makes herself small and compliant, waiting for someone to save her. 
  When Mac’s violence threatens more than just Debbie's life, she discovers the strength to say, “No more.” Little does she know, however, that leaving her abuser will involve a kidnapping, a murder, and an interstate FBI manhunt. 
  Squirrel Pie is a true story of the painful realities around abuse, addiction, mental illness, and generational trauma. It is also a success story; a story in which perseverance, resilience, compassion, and unexpected allies lead Debbie to a life of healthy connections and choosing joy.

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  Eating While Black - Food...

  Psyche A. Williams-Forson

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  Psyche A. Williams-Forson is one of our leading thinkers about food in America. In Eating While Black, she offers her knowledge and experience to illuminate how anti-Black racism operates in the practice and culture of eating. She shows how mass media, nutrition science, economics, and public policy drive entrenched opinions among both Black and non-Black Americans about what is healthful and right to eat. Distorted views of how and what Black people eat are pervasive, bolstering the belief that they must be corrected and regulated. What is at stake is nothing less than whether Americans can learn to embrace nonracist understandings and practices in relation to food. 
   
   
   
  Sustainable culture—what keeps a community alive and thriving—is essential to Black peoples' fight for access and equity, and food is central to this fight. Starkly exposing the rampant shaming and policing around how Black people eat, Williams-Forson contemplates food's role in cultural transmission, belonging, homemaking, and survival. Black people's relationships to food have historically been connected to extreme forms of control and scarcity—as well as to stunning creativity and ingenuity. In advancing dialogue about eating and race, this book urges us to think and talk about food in new ways in order to improve American society on personal and structural levels.

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  A Realistic Path to Peace - From...

  Dee Charles Knight

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  This book delves into genocide in Palestine, and the war crisis in eastern Europe, West Asia and East Asia. It examines the role of the Big Lie in blunting popular opposition, and describes ways countries around the world and the general public are pressing for peace.  
  The world is in a crisis now. As its empire declines toward collapse, the United States leadership is making a series of disastrous errors. The “neocons” in Washington, DC, are determined to maintain U.S. global domination regardless of what it might take. The stakes are high for them. They seem to believe that if they “allow” any other 
  country to challenge their global leadership, their whole system could fall apart. 
  So they are prepared to do whatever it takes. Supporting genocide in Israel—by providing weapons, money, and a bizarre “moral justification” for horrific genocidal bombing—is a sign of what it takes. Blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline was another sign of what it can take. 
  Western European leaders have been rounded up and bludgeoned into a unified NATO alliance against Russia, and in support of Israeli genocide against Palestinians. This alliance—originally composed of “north Atlantic” countries under U.S. leadership at the end of World War II—is now also being extended to Asia. It’s a quest to curb China’s historic economic success, which threatens Western domination of global trade. 
  A new peace movement is emerging. It faces enormous obstacles, including a gigantic wave of war hysteria engineered in Washington, magnified exponentially by a captive mainstream media that seems to have abandoned all pretense of critical journalistic independence and objectivity. But as facts emerge and truth surfaces, the movement for peace will intensify. 
  Combined with the horrific results of sanctions and war, these facts and truths can be expected to bring ever greater waves of opposition and resistance into the fray.

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  Triumph Over Turmoil - Thriving...

  Oscar. L. Allen Jr.

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  Triumph Over Turmoil: Thriving Beyond Abuse and Adversity tells the powerful story of Oscar.L. Allen, Jr, a man who turned his painful beginnings into a life of achievement. Born as the result of a tragic event, Oscar faced numerous challenges from the start. Growing up in a difficult environment, he encountered poverty, abuse, and the stigma of being an illegitimate child. Despite these obstacles, Oscar’s journey is one of hope and resilience. He shares how he dealt with the challenges of his upbringing, finding strength within himself and support from those around him. Through hard work and determination, he earned a B.A. Degree, Business Administration, and built a successful career in the insurance industry. This book is not just a personal narrative but a guiding light for others who have faced similar struggles. Oscar’s story serves as a reminder that, regardless of where you begin, it’s possible to rise above your circumstances. With honesty and clarity, he aims to inspire others to embrace their own journeys and to educate readers about the realities faced by many. Join Oscar on this remarkable path from pain to power, and discover the strength in survival.

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