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The great degeneration: how institutions decay and economies die
By Niall Ferguson. 2013
An examination of institutional dysfunction in the Western world argues that such values as a free market and representative government…
are being compromised while future generations are inheriting unmanageable levels of debt. 2013.The great hill stations of Asia
By Barbara Crossette. 1998
In 1997 this New York Times journalist traveled across Asia, visiting the classic hill towns built by several colonial powers.…
She recalls her journeys to these remote locations, discusses their history, and describes how each has evolved since being inherited by an independent nation. 1998.The follow: a true story
By Linda Spalding. 1998
The author recounts her expedition into the forests of Borneo in search of a reclusive primatologist, who has devoted her…
life to protecting orphaned orangutans. Describes the beauty of the island, the local society, and the despoilment of natural resources through poaching, deforestation, and misguided ecotourism. 1998.The frackers: the outrageous inside story of the new billionaire wildcatters
By Gregory Zuckerman. 2014
In five years, the United States has seen a historic burst of oil and natural gas production, easing our insatiable…
hunger for energy. A new drilling process called fracking has made us the world's fastest growing energy power, on track to pass Saudi Arabia by 2020. But despite headlines and controversy, no previous book has shown how the revolution really happened. The Frackers tells the dramatic tale of how a group of ambitious and headstrong wildcatters ignored the ridicule of experts and derision of colleagues to pursue massive, long-overlooked deposits. Against all odds, they changed the world- and made astonishing fortunes in the process. Zuckerman's exclusive access enabled him to get close to men like George Mitchell, who developed a new way to drill for gas in shale rock; Harold Hamm, who discovered so much oil he's now worth more than the estate of Steve Jobs; and Aubrey McClendon, who lost more than billion on a misguided gambit. Zuckerman shows how the frackers are now using their wealth to shake up Hollywood, education, politics, sports, and other fields, much like the Rockefellers and Gettys before them. He also explores the debate over the environmental risks of fracking, and whether those risks are worth it for the United States to achieve energy independence and for the rest of the world to follow. 2014.The forgotten man: a new history of the Great Depression
By Amity Shlaes. 2007
Economics reporter analyzes the Great Depression era in the United States and posits that federal intervention in the economy lengthened…
its duration. Considers economic plans from members of Franklin Roosevelt's brain trust and alternate solutions of outsiders such as African American Father Divine and Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson. 2007.The doctor will not see you now
By Jane Poulson. 2002
Autobiography of Dr. Jane Poulson, the first blind person in Canada to become a practising doctor. Poulson suffered from diabetes…
and because of the disease, lost her sight and then experienced severe heart problems. Nonetheless she was an extremely accomplished doctor, published widely in leading medical journals, and showed great courage and endurance to all who knew her. She wrote this book during the last two years of her life. 2002.The far-off hills
By Rita Anton. 1979
Following her husband's death in 1976, Anton spent several years in India as a volunteer Jesuit Lay Missionary. Having travelled…
extensively in India, she presents a realistic look at this nation in transition. 1979.The end of elsewhere: travels among the tourists
By Taras Grescoe. 2003
Taras Grescoe plunges into the ruts where the tourists are thickest, starting at the tip of Spain's Land's End and…
finishing, nine months later, on the soldier-patrolled beaches of China's End of the Earth. Along the way, he crosses the entire Eurasian landmass, experiencing all sorts of travel such as all-inclusive resorts, pilgrimages, and bus tours. Some descriptions of sex and violence, some strong language. 2003.The end of growth
By Jeff Rubin. 2012
Economist and resource analyst Jeff Rubin is certain that the world's governments are getting it wrong - instead of moving…
us toward economic recovery, measures being taken around the globe right now are digging us into a deeper hole. Both politicians and economists are missing the fact that the real engine of economic growth has always been cheap, abundant fuel and resources, but that era is over. The end of cheap oil signals the end of growth - and the end of easy answers to renewing prosperity. c2012.The devil and the disappearing sea: a true story about the Aral Sea catastrophe
By Robert W Ferguson. 2003
The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest inland body of water, has lost over half its surface area and 80 percent…
of its volume since 1960, due to poorly planned irrigation systems. In January 2000, Canadian Rob Ferguson went to Uzbekistan to work on an environmental project to save the Aral Sea. After a year of dealing with corrupt officials, not only had the project gone nowhere, but Ferguson was under suspicion of murder. Some strong language. 2003.The heart of the world: a journey to Tibet's lost paradise
By Ian Baker. 2004
Recounts an extraordinary journey into one of the most inaccessible places on earth, and a pilgrimage to the heart of…
Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan prophecies proclaim that the greatest of beyul, or mystical sanctuaries, lies at the eastern edge of the Himalayas, veiled by a colossal waterfall in the forbidding Tsangpo gorge. After years of investigation, world-class climber and Buddhist scholar Ian Baker and his National Geographic-sponsored team made worldwide news by finding a magnificent 108-foot-high waterfall-the legendary grail of both Western explorers and Tibetan pilgrims. 2004.The great railway bazaar
By Paul Theroux. 1983
The Gurkhas
By Byron Farwell. 1984
Gurkhas are soldiers from Nepal who serve in the British and Indian armies. Recruiting practices, military training, religion, and home…
and family are analyzed to obtain insight into the nature of Gurkha character. 1984.The ecology of commerce: a declaration of sustainability
By Paul Hawken. 1993
Provides a blueprint for a marketplace where businesses and environmentalists work together, showing companies how to redesign and manufacture products…
in innovative ways, re-educate customers, and work closely with government toward a profitable, productive, and ecologically sound future. 2005, c1993.The education of Laura Bridgman: first deaf and blind person to learn language
By Ernest Freeberg. 2001
Chronicles the life of Laura Bridgman, who, born into a New Hampshire farm family in 1829, became deaf and blind…
at the age of two. Freeberg recounts Laura's transformation into a woman who voraciously absorbed the world around her under the tutelage of Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. 2001.The disheveled dictionary: a curious caper through our sumptuous lexicon
By Karen Elizabeth Gordon. 1997
The Darwin economy: liberty, competition, and the common good (Your coach in a box)
By Robert H Frank. 2011
Frank looks at how economic competition is actually hindering the "common good." He explains that Charles Darwin's theory on the…
clash between individual and group interests is a perfect analogy for today's economic landscape. 2011.The Chinese, portrait of a people: Portrait Of A People
By John Fraser. 1980
As a correspondent to the Toronto "Globe and Mail" in Peking, Fraser had the opportunity to meet a wide range…
of Chinese people and to learn of their culture and government. 1980.The cult of impotence: selling the myth of powerlessness in the global economy
By Linda McQuaig. 1998
McQuaig looks into the popular belief that the Canadian economy is beyond Canada's control, held at the mercy of globalization…
and technology. Instead, she argues, the international community has the tools to regulate the world financial system to everyone's benefit, as was done in the decades after World War II. 1998.The collapse of globalism: and the reinvention of the world
By John Ralston Saul. 2005
Globalism, where world markets would supplant nation-states, has failed even as it succeeded, by increasing GDP or individual wealth in…
some countries while allowing the paralyzing accumulation of debt in the third world. In the meantime, economies have artificially inflated and imploded. The author also faults a system where multinational corporations attempt to replace government infrastructure and "overly complex" management is mistaken for leadership. 2005.