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Nature and Science August 2017
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| The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand... by Peter BrannenSome say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. Based on Earth's five previous mass extinction events, it's more likely that carbon dioxide will kill us all. By consulting researchers and examining the fossil record, science journalist Peter Brannen discovers that although the delivery method may differ (volcanoes, ocean acidification, asteroid impacts), the result is the same: spikes in CO2 levels that render the planet uninhabitable. Brannen's accessible presentation of complex issues make this sobering book a good bet for fans of Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction. |
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How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Darwinian Stories Told Through Evolutionary Biology
by Léo Grasset
France’s brightest young scientist lucidly explains the intricacies of the animal kingdom through the lens of evolutionary biology. Why do giraffes have such long necks? Why are zebras striped? And why does the clitoris of the female hyena exactly resemble and in most respects function like the male's penis? Deploying the latest scientific research and his own extensive observations in Africa, Léo Grasset offers answers to these questions and many more. The human is, of course, just another animal, and the author's exploration of two million years of human evolution shows how it not only informs our current habits and behavior, but also reveals that we are hybrids of several different species.
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| Into the Gray Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Border Between Life and Death by Adrian OwenBlending science and autobiography, cognitive neuroscientist Adrian Owen recounts personal experiences (his mother's death from cancer, a former partner's brain aneurysm) that prompted him to explore the "gray zone" between consciousness and brain death. In addition to introducing readers to the basics of neuroscience, Owen shares intriguing research findings that reveal that 15 to 20 percent of patients in vegetative states are partially or fully conscious but physically unable to respond to stimuli. Into the Gray Zone is must-read for anyone fascinated by the human brain and its many mysteries. |
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The Pope of Physics: Enrico Fermi and the Birth of the Atomic Age
by Gino Segrè and Bettina Hoerlin
This biography of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi, the first such account in English, recounts the Italian-born Fermi's life from his upbringing in Rome to his flight to the U.S. in the 1930s (spurred by the rise of Fascism) and subsequent involvement in the Manhattan Project. Emphasizing his unusual facility in both theoretical and experimental physics, the book also explores his scientific contributions to areas such as statistical mechanics, nuclear physics, and quantum theory. For an examination of Fermi's wartime work, try Richard Rhodes' sweeping history The Making of the Atomic Bomb or Brian VanDeMark's group biography Pandora's Keepers.
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Focus on: Natural Disasters
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| What Stands in a Storm: Three Days in the Worst Superstorm to Hit the South's... by Kim CrossOver a three-day period in April 2011, a record 358 tornadoes tore through the southern and central United States. In this compelling account of the largest tornado outbreak in recorded history, journalist Kim Cross draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with survivors to depict both the event and its aftermath. For a similarly gripping blow-by-blow account of an extreme weather event, try Kathryn Miles' Superstorm: Nine Days Inside Hurricane Sandy. |
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| The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano that Darkened the World... by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. KlingamanWhen Indonesia's Mount Tambora erupted in 1815, locals couldn't help but be aware of the cataclysm, which killed 12,000 people and caused 100 million tons of sulfuric acid to rain down on the archipelago. However, the rest of the world barely noticed until the following year, when global weather patterns changed severely, causing famines and food riots, epidemics and mass emigration. This joint effort by a historian and a meteorologist uses documentary sources to trace the environmental and geopolitical impact of the volcanic eruption, as well as some of the disaster's less obvious consequences, such as Mary Shelley's decision to stay indoors and write Frankenstein. |
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| Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens by Steve OlsonThe single most powerful natural disaster in U.S. history occurred on May 18, 1980, when Washington's Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 people while scattering ash over 11 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Eruption provides a tense real-time account of the catastrophe, from the first seismic rumblings to the volcano's eruption and its deadly aftermath, while painting a vivid portrait of the Pacific Northwest's history and culture. |
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| The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of... by Al RokerThe category-four hurricane that descended on Galveston, Texas, in 1900 leveled the city, killing upwards of 10,000 people and causing millions of dollars worth of damage. Author and television personality Al Roker illustrates the devastation wrought by the storm by focusing on a cross-section of notable figures and ordinary citizens, including members of Galveston's then-thriving African-American community. For more on this epic disaster, pick up Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History. |
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Introduction to American Sign Language
Thursday, August 17, 4:00pm
Library Meeting Room
Registration required. This 8-week class will meet Thursdays weekly beginning August 17. The introductory American Sign Language (ASL) will be offered by Valeria Vaughn. A fee of $32.50 will be due at time of sign up. Call 219-873-3049 to register or for more information. Class space is very limited.
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Bookmarks: Into the Water
Friday, August 18, 2:00pm
Library Meeting Room
Jessica Hoffmaster will review Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged. Left behind is a lonely fifteen-year-old girl. Parentless and friendless, she now finds herself in the care of her mother’s sister, a fearful stranger who has been dragged back to the place she deliberately ran from—a place to which she vowed she’d never return. With the same propulsive writing and acute understanding of human instincts that captivated millions of readers of her explosive debut thriller, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present. Beware a calm surface—you never know what lies beneath.
The program will also be offered at the Westchester Township Historical Museum on Thursday, August 17 at 2:00 pm.
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Movies in Washington Park: The Lego Batman Movie
Friday, August 18, 8:15 pm
North Pointe Pavilion, Washington Park
The final summer Movie in Washington Park is The Lego Batman Movie. There are big changes brewing in Gotham, but if Batman (Will Arnett) wants to save the city from the Joker’s (Zach Galifianakis) hostile takeover, he may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up. Maybe his superhero sidekick Robin (Michael Cera) and loyal butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) can show him a thing or two. Rated PG. The movie starts at dusk at North Pointe Pavilion.
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Author David Wilgus
Saturday, August 19, 10:00 am
Library Meeting Room
Meet the author of Cub Fans Dream Come True, a sweet and poignant love letter to the Chicago Cubs. Wanatah resident David Wilgus wrote this story “for the express purpose of giving reading pleasure to baseball fans throughout the country.”
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Axis 360 eBooks
Find popular fiction, non-fiction, and picture e-books and e-audiobooks for children, teens, and adults! It's simple--just download the app on your device, search for "Michigan City Public Library", and log in with your library card number and PIN.
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Science in Context
An in-depth science database aimed at high school and college students. Includes articles and images covering earth science, life science, space, technology, mathematics and science history. Also includes detailed science experiments. Log in with your library card number.
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Library Catalog
Look up books and other materials, place items on hold, and more.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 219-873-3044mclib.org/ |
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