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Roughing it in the bush: or, life in Canada
By Susanna Moodie. 2006
Restoring Democracy in an Age of Populists and Pestilence
By Jonathan Manthorpe. 2020
“This global affairs veteran has carved out a solid, mature path, including for ‘flawed democracies’ like the U.S. We’d all…
be wise to follow.” — Vancouver SunFrom the author of the Globe and Mail bestseller, Claws of the Panda, comes a book quite literally for our times. Restoring Democracy in an Age of Populists and Pestilence is a thoughtful account of how we can save democracies from the despots and populists who provide easy answers to complicated situations, dumbing political discourse down to sandbox antics. Manthorpe argues that democracy is more resilient than it appears, and is capable of overcoming the attacks from within and without that have sapped its vigour since the end of the Cold War. He begins with a description of the events of 1989, one of the seminal years in modern history. This saw the end of the Cold War, and the apparent conclusive victory of democracy and its civic values. But the view of these changes as a triumph of democracy — as summed up in Francis Fukuyama’s essay "The End of History" — was short-lived. Russia, shorn of its Soviet empire, and the Chinese Communist Party, re-examining its survival after the Tiananmen Square Massacre, began devising ways to counter-attack the West’s triumphalism and these met with considerable success. Internal pressures and contradictions — wealth disparity being chief among them — threaten the survival of many democratic systems. Abandoned industrial workers turn to the repeated platitudes designed to appeal to those left behind without actually offering them the ways and means to catch up. Immigrants, refugees, and the reformist fixations of isolated liberal elites have provided ammunition for would-be despots. Adding to the pressures building on the political norms of our democracies, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought economic and social stand-still for which no country is prepared.On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times
By Michael Ignatieff. 2021
Timely and profound philosophical meditations on how great figures in history, literature, music, and art searched for solace while facing…
tragedies and crises, from the internationally renowned historian of ideas and Booker Prize-finalist Michael Ignatieff.When someone we love dies, when we suffer loss or defeat, when catastrophe strikes--war, famine, pandemic--we go in search of consolation. Once the province of priests and philosophers, the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary, and the places where it was offered, houses of religion, are often empty. Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts, humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science, ideology, and the therapeutic.How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief? In a series of lapidary meditations on writers, artists, musicians, and their works--from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus, Anna Akhmatova, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Primo Levi--esteemed writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience. Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid, On Consolation takes those stories into the present, movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of our precarious twenty-first century.The Gutenberg galaxy: the making of typographic man
By Marshall McLuhan. 1977
Controversial when first published, this classic book theorizes that the invention of printing has shaped our lives. McLuhan looks at…
politics, economics, philosophy, literature and post-Newtonian physics. Winner of the 1962 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. c1962, 1977."A delightful intellectual feast from the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time One…
of the world's most prominent physicists and fearless free spirit, Carlo Rovelli is also a masterful storyteller. His bestselling books have introduced millions of readers to the wonders of modern physics and his singular perspective on the cosmos. This new collection of essays reveals a curious intellect always on the move. Rovelli invites us on an accessible and enlightening voyage through science, literature, philosophy, and politics. Written with his usual clarity and wit, this journey ranges widely across time and space: from Newton's alchemy to Einstein's mistakes, from Nabokov's lepidopterology to Dante's cosmology, from mind-altering psychedelic substances to the meaning of atheism, from the future of physics to the power of uncertainty. Charming, pithy, and elegant, this book is the perfect gateway to the universe of one of the most influential minds of our age." -- Provided by publisherProfessional chef and trained scientist examines the lure of pseudoscience when it comes to nutrition and health. Topics include the…
way the "correlation implies causation" fallacy feeds false beliefs, instances where the science behind health fads is wrong, the influence of pseudoscience, the harm it does, and fighting back. 2018Happiness is a choice you make: lessons from a year among the oldest old
By John Leland. 2018
A New York Times journalist examines what life is like for the very old. He interviews six men and women,…
all over the age of eighty-five, who share the importance of focusing on enjoying all one still can do, rather than mourning things now out of reach. 2018Civil wars: a history in ideas
By David Armitage. 2017
Historian's analysis of what defines a war as "civil." Discusses how the identity of those fighting plays a role and…
how calling a conflict a civil war can affect whether outside powers choose to involve themselves and the very outcome of events. Examines specific conflicts, such as the American Revolutionary War. 2017The master algorithm: how the quest for the ultimate learning machine will remake our world
By Pedro Domingos. 2015
Computer scientist examines the concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning by the use of algorithms--a defined process used in…
problem-solving or calculations. Discusses the use of algorithms in the twenty-first century, human-computer interactions, theories of learning, the impact of smart computing on future innovation, and more. 2015How to survive the Apocalypse: zombies, cylons, faith, and politics at the end of the world
By Robert Joustra, Alissa Wilkinson. 2016
Using lessons provided by television shows like Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead, the author discusses ways…
to navigate the intersection of religion and politics while retaining a Christian identity. Examines philosophy, linguistics, and theology. 2016Reality is not what it seems: the journey to quantum gravity
By Carlo Rovelli. 2017
Author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (BR 21539) examines the ways thinking about the universe around us and the…
interpretation of it by physicists have changed since ancient times. Discusses the concept of quantum gravity. Translated from the original 2014 Italian edition. 2016Homer
By Barbara Graziosi. 2016
A classicist analyzes the literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues surrounding Homer's epic poems The Iliad (DB 66356) and The…
Odyssey (DB 72052). Discusses the world of Homer, his potential influences, the impact of ancient and historical criticism on translations, and ways to interpret the poems. 2016Alive, alive oh!: and other things that matter
By Diana Athill. 2016
The author of Somewhere towards the End (BR 19178) continues, at ninety-seven years old, to write about aging. Topics include…
cherished memories of her grandmother's garden, her experience of miscarrying a child in her forties, and her decision to move into a retirement home. 2004The givenness of things: essays
By Marilynne Robinson. 2015
Collection of seventeen essays exploring contemporary society by the author of Gilead (DB 59561). Examines questions of humanism, grace, servanthood,…
fear, memory, value, theology, experience, and more, through the lens of her Christian faith. 2015Grandma Gatewood's walk: the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail
By Ben Montgomery. 2014
Biography of Emma Gatewood (1887-1973), who left her family in Ohio in May 1955, saying only that she was going…
for a walk. Four months later she completed a solo hike of the Appalachian Trail, from south to north--the first woman to do so. Details her trip and subsequent celebrity. 2014Caring economics: conversations on altruism and compassion, between scientists, economists, and the Dalai Lama
By Matthieu Ricard, Tania Singer. 2015
Neuroscientist Singer and Buddhist monk Ricard collect fourteen essays examining the connections between behavioral science research, altruism, and economics. Discusses…
the impact of altruism on the brain, the mind-body connection, and the economic benefits of acting without ego. Includes a foreword by the Dalai Lama. 2015A force for good: the Dalai Lama's vision for our world
By Daniel Goleman. 2015
A psychologist and longtime friend of the Dalai Lama discusses the exiled Tibetan leader's message of compassion. The Dalai Lama…
believes the guiding principle of compassion can be used to transform individual lives and solve societal issues involving violence, inequality, education, and the environment. 2015If you feel too much: thoughts on things found and lost and hoped for
By Jamie Tworkowski. 2015
In 2006, the author wrote an essay online that went viral about a friend's struggle with drug addiction and depression.…
It led to his starting a suicide-prevention organization called To Write Love on Her Arms. This collection of essays offers encouragement to those suffering from depression. 2015The soul of an octopus: a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness
By Sy Montgomery. 2015
Naturalist and documentary writer explores the world, intelligence, and consciousness of octopuses. Describes her interactions with captive giant Pacific octopuses…
named Athena, Octavia, Kali, and Karma at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and her field investigations in French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico. 2015Just freedom: a moral compass for a complex world (Norton global ethics series #0)
By Philip Pettit. 2014
Philosophy professor examines the concept of freedom from the perspective of civic republicanism. Provides a historical construct of freedom, and--using…
the Roman Republic as a model--discusses the implications of nondomination and noninterference. 2014