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Ten windows: how great poems transform the world
By Jane Hirshfield. 2015
A collection of ten essays on the power of poetry. Poet Hirshfield looks at poems of varied styles and time…
periods and uses them to show how reading poetry can transform readers, inviting reflection about their own lives and the wider world. 2015Essays after eighty
By Donald Hall. 2014
Former United States Poet Laureate and author of Unpacking the Boxes (DB 68474), Hall (born 1928) ruminates on the life…
he has lived, as well as lives of his ancestors. Discusses writing, smoking and drinking, and traveling through post-WWII Europe. 2014The misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
By Issa Rae. 2015
Creator of the YouTube comedy series Awkward Black Girl discusses a childhood spent in Los Angeles, Senegal, and Maryland; family…
relationships; career ambitions; and her experience of blackness. Humorously analyzes racial, cultural, and personality stereotypes. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2015Chasing Utopia: a hybrid
By Nikki Giovanni. 2013
Collection of seventy-eight poems and essays by the author of The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998 (DB 69494). "Artichoke…
Soup" is a paean to a favorite meal. Other subjects examined include nature, music, friends, and family. 2013Sightlines: a conversation with the natural world
By Kathleen Jamie. 2013
Fourteen essays explore connections within the natural world. In "Pathologies" the author reflects on her mother's death and examines the…
role of diseases in our lives. "Three Ways of Looking at St Kilda" details three trips the author took to the island off the coast of Scotland. 2012Best American travel writing: 2013 (Best American series)
By Elizabeth Gilbert, Jason Wilson. 2013
Author of Eat, Pray, Love (DB 61789) edits nineteen previously published travel essays infused with a sense of marvel and…
wonder. In "The Way I've Come" author Judy Copeland describes backpacking along the border of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. 2013Every day is an atheist holiday!: more magical tales from the author of God, no!
By Penn Jillette. 2012
Twenty-five essays from comedic magician about the theme of holidays and what they mean to atheists. Jillette also discusses being…
a celebrity and atheist in a culture that he claims places a high value on religious beliefs. Strong language. 2012Letters to a young scientist
By Edward O Wilson. 2013
Pulitzer Prize winner and biology professor reflects on what it takes to succeed in science. Discusses his own career's ups…
and downs, ways to be creative in the field, the day-to-day life of a scientist, and the importance of understanding the big picture. Young adult appeal. 2013Thinking in numbers: on life, love, meaning, and math
By Daniel Tammet. 2013
Author of Born on a Blue Day (DB 63862) explores "the math of life" in twenty-five essays. Topics covered include…
the calendar created by Omar Khayyám in 1074 CE and the concept of zero in Shakespeare's work. Also discusses why years feel shorter as we age. 2012On the noodle road: from Beijing to Rome, with love and pasta
By Jen Lin-Liu. 2013
Chef makes a pilgrimage in 2010 from Beijing to Rome, tracing the evolution of food and culture along the ancient…
Silk Road. Focuses on the migration of noodles as a menu staple and explores other foods, including saffron and rhubarb. Includes recipes she learned from cooks along the route. 2013Why we write: 20 acclaimed authors on how and why they do what they do
By Meredith Maran. 2013
Twenty essays by popular authors on the reasons behind their pursuit of writing. Sue Grafton, author of A is for…
Alibi (DB 35069), ruminates on the source of "writer's block" and David Baldacci discusses his compulsion for writing. Also includes Isabel Allende, Jodi Picoult, and others. 2013The writer who stayed
By William Zinsser. 2012
Collection of fifty-eight of journalist Zinsser's essays previously published on the American Scholar website. Topics include culture and arts, the…
craft of writing, the tech age, and language. In "Hats Off" Zinsser ruminates on the state of men's hats and where to store them. 2013Les raisons de la colère
By Yves Michaud. 2005
Les raisons de la colère propose un Michaud par les textes. Figure tantôt auréolée de courage lorsqu'il se porte à…
la défense des petits épargnants (ce qui lui a valu le surnom de Robin des banques), tantôt controversée lorsqu'il doit se défendre d'une accusation de délit d'opinion par l'Assemblée nationale: chaque fois le nom d'Yves Michaud occupe le haut du pavé de l'actualité. Pour autant, a-t-on lu Yves Michaud? Sait-on assez ce que le grand reporter, l'homme politique, le diplomate, le nationaliste [...] a écrit au cours des cinquante dernières années?L'étreinte fugitive
By Daniel Adam Mendelsohn. 2009
« Dans Les Disparus, Daniel Mendelsohn partait en quête de l'histoire de sa famille ; avec L'Étreinte fugitive, il s'est…
livré à une quête infiniment plus intime. De l'écriture rhapsodique et classique qui est la sienne, il fait revivre son enfance entre sa mère, « l'institutrice », la toute-belle, et son père, « le mathématicien », celui qui répare, construit et se collette aux choses ; une enfance peuplée d'êtres, frères et soeurs, parents juifs âgés, avec, au centre, son grand-père, ce dandy mystérieux et raconteur d'histoires. C'est pendant ses années d'étudiant dans l'exotique Sud américain que le jeune homme se découvre une passion jumelée pour les langues anciennes et les beaux garçons. Dès lors, la recherche de la « grammaire de son identité », de ce que veut dire être un homme, suivra des méandres surprenants, bouleversants. Car, lorsqu'une amie lui propose d'incarner une « figure paternelle » auprès de l'enfant qu'elle porte, il accepte et se prend à s'attacher si fort à lui qu'il va, petit à petit, partager sa vie entre Chelsea, le quartier où vivent les « garçons » de New York, et la banlieue où habitent son amie et leur petit garçon. » -- 4e de couvInflight science: a guide to the world from your airplane window
By Brian Clegg. 2011
A guide to the science of an airplane trip, focusing on the passengers' experiences. Begins at the airport with bag…
checking and body scanning, then proceeds to takeoff, covering fueling, navigation, and wing work; cabin life, including jet lag and in-flight technology; and exploring the landscape below. Includes experiments. 2011Award-winning journalist examines the twenty-first-century social landscape of America, reflects on its past, and ponders its future. Provides profiles of…
Americans he calls "unconventional thinkers and doers," including the wife of a seriously wounded soldier, an inner-city school principal, a major league baseball pitcher, and others. Bestseller. 2011The diabetes manifesto: take charge of your life
By Lynn Crowe, Julie Stachowiak. 2011
Public-health specialist Stachowiak and veteran diabetes educator Crowe provide advice for living with diabetes and managing setbacks. They explain possible…
complications, emotional and psychological issues, and the importance of health literacy, and discuss ways to optimize medical care and take charge of one's life. 2011Wit and wisdom from Poor Richard's almanack (Modern Library humor and wit)
By Benjamin Franklin. 2000
Selections from Benjamin Franklin's almanacs, which were published for a quarter-century beginning in 1732 and included agricultural predictions, meteorological data,…
and maxims. This edition focuses on observations and aphorisms such as "eat to live, not live to eat." Introduction by humorist Dave Barry. 2000Lamentations of the father: Essays
By Ian Frazier. 2009
Thirty-six essays by American humorist and New Yorker magazine contributor. In the title piece Frazier adopts an Old Testament tone…
for a wrathful father chastising his children about table manners. "What I Am" recounts an ongoing argument between husband and wife over loading the dishwasher. Thurber Prize. 2008The lonely man of faith
By Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. 2006
Essay originally published in the journal Tradition discusses the loneliness of a person of faith in a utilitarian world. References…
scripture, including contradictory accounts of Adam's creation, to explain the human dilemma of opposing needs--transcendental solitude and existential togetherness--and the turmoil that results. Foreword, 2006, by David Shatz. 1965