| Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women by Ellen AtlantaIn Pixel Flesh, Ellen Atlanta holds a mirror up to our modern beauty ideal and the pressure to present a perfect image, to live in an age of constant comparison and curated feeds. She weaves in her personal story with others’ to reconfigure our obsession with the cult of beauty and to explore the reality of living in a world of paradoxes: We know our standards are unhealthy, but following them helps us succeed. We resent social media but continue to scroll. We know digital beauty is artificial, yet we strive for it. |
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Native Nations: a Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuValIn this magisterial history, Kathleen DuVal tells the story of Native nations, from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to the present, reframing North American history with Indigenous power and sovereignty at its center. Before and during European colonization, Indigenous North Americans built diverse civilizations and lived in history, adapting to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. As DuVal explains, no civilization came to a halt when a few wandering explorers arrived, even when the strangers came well-armed.
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Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sports by Madeleine OrrSport is massively exposed to climate hazards, and a slew of health, business, but with billions of participants and fans around the world who rely on the sector for entertainment, fitness and health, and jobs, this is one industry we can't afford to lose. There are ways to mitigate, and perhaps counter, even the worst elements of climate change. A world-leading climate scientist, Madeleine Orr interviews athletes, coaches, politicians and thought-leaders about how climate change is already impacting sport, and what the sports world can do to fight back.
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The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster
by John O'Connor
From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions, a journalist and self-diagnosed skeptic embarks on a quest in search of Bigfoot, its myth and meaning, alongside an eccentric cast of characters, while examining the forces behind our ever-widening belief in the supernatural.
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The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned by John StrausbaughIn the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories--starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following--that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power. But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones.
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The Book-Makers: a History of the Book in Eighteen Lives
by Adam Smyth
Through profiles of 18 individuals who defined Western culture's most important object, this 500-year-old history of printed books celebrates those who first experimented in the art of printing, design and binding, changing the course of history.
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Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: the Murky World of Online Romance Fraud by Becky HolmesOnline romance fraud is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. This is the story of one middle-aged woman in a cardigan determined to understand this growing phenomenon. No other woman has had so many online romances--from Keanu Reeves to Brad Pitt to Prince William. By winding up scammers and investigating the truth behind their profiles, Becky shines a revealing, revolting and hilarious light on a very shady corner of the internet.
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A History of Ghosts, Spirits and the Supernatural by Dorling KindersleyA History of Ghosts, Spirits, and Other Supernatural Phenomena explores stories from around the world, from the Japanese onryo ("vengeful spirit") to the Irish banshee, and the dybbuk of Jewish folklore to La Llorona ("the weeping woman") of Latin America.The perfect introduction to the subject, this fascinating volume charts the various ways in which spirits and the spirit world have been depicted in myth and religion, folklore, art, and literature, and recounts infamous real-life tales of haunted houses and ghost ships, séances and mediumship, poltergeists, possessions, and demonic encounters.
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Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers by Frank FigliuzziFrom the FBI’s former assistant director, a shocking journey to the dark side of America’s highways, revealing the FBI’s Highway Serial Killings Initiative’s hunt for long-haul truckers who account for an astonishing 850 murders across the nation. In 2004, the FBI was tipped off to a gruesome pattern of murders along America’s highways and interstates. The crisis was such that the FBI opened a special unit, the Highway Serial Killings Initiative. The Long Haul is a gripping exploration of a violent, disordered world hiding in plain sight, and the heroes racing to end the horror. It will forever unsettle how you travel on the road.
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That Librarian: the Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda JonesPart memoir, part manifesto, the inspiring story of a Louisiana librarian advocating for inclusivity on the front lines of America's vicious culture wars. Mapping the book banning crisis occurring all across the nation, That Librarian draws the battle lines in the war against equity and inclusion, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our readers.
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