Against the Grain by
When famine, drought, and malnutrition plagued their communities, these farmers tried something revolutionary--and managed to nourish their families and their land in the process. Farmers in some of the world's oldest agricultural areas--Africa's Great Rift Valley, India's Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Highlands of Central America, and the Great Plains of the U.S.--were toiling year after year, only to find that modern industrial agriculture was turning on itself. The very practices that they were using to grow food yesterday were making it more difficult to grow food today. Pesticides used to protect their crops were killing off beneficial biodiversity. Monocropping was depleting the soil of necessary nutrients. And deforestation was making the land hotter and drier. Industrial agriculture's effects on our climate and environment were multiplying and worsening, until the very families growing the world's food were starving. But some of these farmers took a gamble and changed their practices to work with nature rather than bending nature to their will. They terraced the land to catch more rainwater and prevent soil runoff; they planted a diverse range of vegetables that would balance the nutrients in the soil; they replaced commercial fertilizers with organic matter from their own farms; they planted more trees and drought-resistant grains; and, perhaps most importantly, they taught their communities by example that these regenerative farming methods paid off--both in nourishing their families and in bringing their land back to life. Award-winning author and journalist Roger Thurow has traveled to Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, India, Guatemala, Peru, and the United States to share their stories, highlighting the conflicts inherent in our most important human endeavor: feeding the world using the methods of industrial agriculture is stripping the land of its ability to feed future generations. But, as Thurow points out, these farmers are starting a new kind of revolution, nourishing both humans and the land, and following their lead could help us solve one of the great crises of our time.
An Honest Woman by
Through the lens of her years spent as a sex worker, Charlotte Shane offers a "rigorous and compulsively readable memoir" (New York magazine) exploring what it means to be a heterosexual woman and a feminist in a misogynistic society. "A memoir of sex work that is also a poignant love story" --The Washington Post In her early twenties, Charlotte Shane quit her women's studies graduate program to devote herself to sex work because it was a way to devote herself to men. Her lifelong curiosity about male lust, love, selfishness, and social capital dovetailed with her own insatiable desire for intimacy to sustain a long career in escorting, with unexpectedly poignant results. Shane uses her "unsparing honestly" (The New York Times Book Review) and her personal and professional history to examine how men and women struggle in their attempts at a romantic and sexual bonding, no matter how true their intentions. As she takes stock of her relationships--with clients, with her father, with friends, with married men, and later, with her own husband--she tells a candid and haunting tale of love, marriage, and (in)fidelity, as seen through the eyes of the perpetual "other woman." Braiding the personal and the universal, An Honest Woman is a merciless and moving love letter to men and an indictment of habitual dishonesty, a condemnation of every social constraint acting on heterosexual unions, and a hopeful affirmation of the possibility for true connection between men and women.
An Introduction to Linguistics Through Popular Music by
This textbook introduces the field of linguistics, demonstrating syntactic categories, morphological structures, phonological/metric structures, syllable structures, and varieties of English in an accessible way by using portions of song lyrics from popular music. The varieties of English covered include Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American, as well as some features of Australian English, southern US varieties, and Scottish English. Drawing on shared characteristics between language and music, including metrical structure, the author suggests a different approach to linguistic analysis and the description of spoken language. The book introduces both students and instructors to a novel and engaging method of description, and provides a fresh vocabulary with which to start thinking about language. It demonstrates complex topics by using music as a fun and familiar starting point, and will be an ideal resource for introductory linguistics courses worldwide.
Black Pill by
This tour de force of investigative journalism--in the vein of The Next Civil War and Why We're Polarized--reveals how the battle between the right and left is spilling out from the darkest corners of the internet into the real world with often tragic consequences. Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right. This ongoing battle, long fought mainly on the internet, had arrived in the real world with greater and greater frequency. With a sharp eye for detail and a dash of dark humor, Reeve explains the origins of this shocking sweep of political violence. Drawing on countless interviews with sources in the white nationalist movement as well as hundreds of as-yet-unseen documents, she takes us on a surreal journey from the darkest corners of the internet to the most significant and chilling scenes of real-world political violence in generations. A stranger-than-fiction odyssey into the dark heart of what American politics has become, Black Pill is necessary reading for any supporter of democracy.
Beginning C++23 by
Begin your programming journey with C++ , starting with the basics and progressing through step-by-step examples that will help you become a proficient C++ programmer. This book includes new features from the C++23 standard. All you need are Beginning C++23 and any recent C++ compiler and you'll soon be writing real C++ programs. There is no assumption of prior programming knowledge. All language concepts that are explained in the book are illustrated with working program examples, and all chapters include exercises for you to test and practice your knowledge. Free source code downloads are provided for all examples from the text and solutions to the exercises. This latest edition has been fully updated to the latest version of the language, C++23, and to all conventions and best practices of modern C++. This book also introduces elements of the C++ Standard Library that provide essential support for C++23. After completing this book, you will have the knowledge and skills needed to build your first C++ applications. What You Will Learn Begin programming with the C++23 standard Carry out modular programming in C++ Work with arrays and loops, pointers and references, strings, and more Write your own functions, types, and operators Discover the essentials of object-oriented programming Use overloading, inheritance, virtual functions, and polymorphism Write generic function and class templates, and make them safer using concepts Learn the ins and outs of containers, algorithms, and ranges Use auto type declarations, exceptions, move semantics, lambda expressions, and much more Who This Book Is For Programmers new to C++ and those who may be looking for a refresh primer on C++ in general.
Coming Out Republican by
A revelatory and comprehensive history of the gay Right from incisive political commentator Neil J. Young. ​ One of the most maligned, misunderstood, and even mocked constituencies in American politics, gay Republicans regularly face condemnation from both the LGBTQ+ community and their own political party. Yet they've been active and influential for decades. Gay conservatives were instrumental, for example, in ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and securing the legalization of same-sex marriage--but they also helped lay the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. In Coming Out Republican, political historian and commentator Neil J. Young provides the first comprehensive history of the gay Right. From the 1950s up to the present day, Young excavates the multifarious origins, motivations, and evolutions of LGBTQ+ people who found their way to the institutions and networks of modern conservatism. Many on the gay Right have championed conservative values--like free markets, a strong national defense, and individual liberty--and believed that the Republican Party therefore offered LGBTQ+ people the best pathway to freedom. Meanwhile, that same party has actively and repeatedly demonized them. With his precise and provocative voice, Young details the complicated dynamics of being in--and yet never fully accepted into--the Republican Party. Coming Out Republican provides striking insight into who LGBTQ+ conservatives are, what they want, and why many of them continue to align with a party whose rank and file largely seem to hate them. As the Republican Party renews its assaults on LGBTQ+ rights, understanding the significant history of the gay Right has never been more critical.
Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing by
Deep Learning is becoming increasingly important in a technology-dominated world. However, the building of computational models that accurately represent linguistic structures is complex, as it involves an in-depth knowledge of neural networks, and the understanding of advanced mathematical concepts such as calculus and statistics. This book makes these complexities accessible to those from a humanities and social sciences background, by providing a clear introduction to deep learning for natural language processing. It covers both theoretical and practical aspects, and assumes minimal knowledge of machine learning, explaining the theory behind natural language in an easy-to-read way. It includes pseudo code for the simpler algorithms discussed, and actual Python code for the more complicated architectures, using modern deep learning libraries such as PyTorch and Hugging Face. Providing the necessary theoretical foundation and practical tools, this book will enable readers to immediately begin building real-world, practical natural language processing systems.
Digital Media Production for Beginners by
Written for the non-specialist media producer, this book offers a practical and engaging guide to basic digital media production using modern equipment and software. As media production tools and software become more pervasive and traditional media jobs scarcer, today's media professionals are now expected to be content creators across multiple forms of media, often working with little more equipment than a smartphone. In this accessible manual, Griffey explains how well-crafted media can help sell products, bolster subscriptions, and influence public opinion--and how to go about crafting it in a landscape of high-speed social media consumption. Topics covered include the basics of photography, film, video, and audio production, as well as animation and building websites. Readers will learn not just how to shoot or record content, but also how to edit, compress, and share it, considering the most appropriate file types, equipment, software, and platforms to use for each scenario. After reading this book, students will understand best practices associated with almost every area of media production and possess the essential skills to get the job done. This book is an essential companion for students in communication disciplines, including PR, advertising, journalism, and marketing, looking for a solid grounding in digital media production to prepare them for the competitive job market.
Down with the System by
THE *INSTANT* NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER An exhilarating, thoughtful, and beautifully written memoir by musician, songwriter, and lead singer-lyricist of Grammy award-winning metal band, System Of A Down, Serj Tankian. Serj Tankian will be the first to admit that his band, System Of A Down, was "unlikely a chart-topper as had ever existed in modern music history: a band of Armenian-Americans playing a practically unclassifiable clash of wildly aggressive metal riffs, unconventional tempo-twisting rhythms, and Armenian folk melodies, with me alternately growling, screaming, and crooning lyrics that could pivot from avant-garde silliness to raging socio-political rants in the space of a single line." After all, as Serj concedes, "it's not easy listening." Even so, there's no doubt that System's music had struck a chord with millions of listeners across the globe ever since they burst on the scene in the mid-1990s. With nearly 40 million album sales, three albums topping the Billboard charts, and a devoted legion of fans, the band dominated the alt-rock and metal scenes just as the world hurtled into a new millennium, redefining the very idea of what rockstars could and couldn't talk about, could and couldn't do, could and couldn't represent. In DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM, Serj presents readers with a memoir that is far more than just a rock 'n' roll fable. It's an immigrant's tale, it's an activist's awakening, and it's a spiritual journey from darkness toward light. And all of this comes down to the fact that Serj himself has had the chance to live an extraordinary life--thanks to a combination of luck, circumstance, struggle, talent, and spiritual awakening. Born to Armenian parents in Beirut, Serj grows up hearing bombs drop outside his childhood home during the country's civil war, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of seven. As a young man, he is immersed in the SoCal community of "Little Armenia," learning more and more about the brutal genocide faced by his ancestors while helping his parents adapt to the constraints and contradictions of the American Dream. Then, during a pivotal drive home from an LSAT class, Serj decides to turn away from a promising future in business and law to make music instead--a decision that leads him to touring five continents as the lead singer of a hugely popular rock band, hitting number #1 on the Billboard album charts the morning of 9/11, and then having the hit single from the same album banned from radio two days later. In the years that follow, his uniquely singular story continues, as he evades glass bottles hurled at a cancelled show by angry Slayer fans, teams up with Tom Morello to push social justice causes on unsuspecting metalheads, argues with LAPD officers over the best way to quell rioting fans, and defines new sounds and singing tactics with Rick Rubin. Braiding together Serj's thought-provoking insight with heartfelt and poetic prose, DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM retraces Serj's remarkable and unlikely journey, and explores what it's taught him--about music, about art, about activism, and about himself. It's an unforgettable ride that will leave you breathless--and an absolute delight for new fans and old ones alike.
Foreign Agents by
A stunning investigation and indictment of a segment of the United States' foreign lobbying industry, and the threat to end democracy. For years, one group of Americans has worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the process, they've not only entrenched dictatorships and spread kleptocratic networks, but they've secretly guided U.S. policy without the rest of America even being aware. And now, some of them have begun turning their sights on American democracy itself. These Americans are known as foreign lobbyists, and many of them spent years ushering dictatorships directly into the halls of Washington, all while laundering the reputations of the most heinous, repressive regimes in the process. These foreign lobbyists include figures like Ivy Lee, the inventor of the public relations industry--a man who whitewashed Mussolini, opened doors to the Soviets, and advised the Nazis on how to sway American audiences. They include people like Paul Manafort, who invented lobbying as we know it--and who then took his talents to autocrats from Ukraine to the Philippines, and then back to the White House. And they now include an increasing number of Americans elsewhere: in law firms and consultancies, among PR specialists and former lawmakers, and even within think tanks and universities. In Foreign Agents, Casey Michel shines a light on these foreign lobbyists as some of them--after decades of installing dictators and corrupting American policy--embark on their next mission: to end America's democratic experiment, once and for all.
Free Time by
The history of leisure time, from the earliest societies to the work-from-home era Free time, one of life's most precious things, often feels unfulfilling. But why? And how did leisure activities transition from strolling in the park for hours to "doomscrolling" on social media for thirty minutes? Today, despite the promise of modern industrialization, many people experience both a scarcity of free time and a disappointment in it. Free Time offers a broad historical explanation of why our affluent society does not afford more time away from work and why that time is often unsatisfying. Gary S. Cross explores the cultural, social, economic, and political history, especially of the past 250 years to understand the roots of our conceptions of free time and its use. By the end of the nineteenth century, a common expectation was that industrial innovations would lead to a progressive reduction of work time and a subsequent rise in free time devoted to self-development and social engagement. However, despite significant changes in the early twentieth century, both goals were frustrated, thus leading to the contemporary dilemma. Cross touches on leisure of all kinds, from peasant festivals and aristocratic pleasure gardens to amusement parks, movie theaters and organized sports to internet surfing, and even the use of alcohol and drugs. This wide-ranging cultural and social history explores the industrial-era origins of our modern obsession with work and productivity, but also the historical efforts to liberate time from work and cultivate free time for culture. Insightful and informative, this book is sure to help you make sense of your own relationship to free time.
From Blue to Red by
On the morning of Election Day 2010, Democrats occupied three of the four Arkansas seats in the US House of Representatives, both US Senate seats, all state constitutional offices, and decisive majorities in both chambers of the Arkansas General Assembly. By the time votes were counted that evening, it was clear that the balance of power had shifted. Within five years, Arkansas Republicans would hold all six US congressional positions and every state constitutional seat and claim growing supermajorities in both state chambers. Since then, Republicans have enjoyed robust electoral success in Arkansas--formerly the last remaining state of the "Solid South" held by Democrats. John C. Davis's From Blue to Red: The Rise of the GOP in Arkansas provides a rigorous yet accessible study of this partisan shift, tracking changes in voter preference at the top of the ticket in the 1960s, generational replacement in Arkansas' political power structure in the 1990s, and the emergence of a more nationalized and polarized electorate in the 2000s, among other developments. From Blue to Red is a fascinating look at how Arkansas went from being one of the country's most solidly Democratic states to one of its most ardently Republican in just a few years.
How Economics Can Save the World by
Our world is in a mess. The challenges of climate change, inequality, hunger and a global pandemic mean our way of life seems more imperilled and society more divided than ever; but economics can help! From parenting to organ donation, housing to anti-social behaviour, economics provides the tools we need to fix the biggest issues of today. Far more than a means to predict the stock market, economics provides a lens through which we can better understand how things work, design clever solutions and create the conditions in which we can all flourish. With a healthy dose of optimism, and packed with stories of economics in everyday situations, Erik Angner demonstrates the methods he and his fellow economists use to help improve the lives of people and the society in which they live. He shows us that economics can be a powerful force for good, awakening the possibility of a happier, more just and more sustainable world.
Oppenheimer by
In OPPENHEIMER Christopher Nolan has fashioned a story of discovery bathed in the light of a thousand suns - but one that is darkened by govrrnment surveillance and the travesty of a trial to which Oppenheimer was subjected.
Polished by
An illuminating look at the emotional costs of mobility faced by first-generation and low-income college students. While college initiates a major transition in all students' lives, low-income and first-generation students attending elite schools are often entering entirely new worlds. Amid the financial and academic challenges of adapting to college, their emotional lives, too, undergo a transformation. Surrounded by peers from different classes and cultural backgrounds, they are faced with an impossible choice: turn away from their former lives to blend in or stay true to themselves and remain on the outside. An ethnography that draws on in-depth interviews with one hundred and fifty first-generation and low-income students across eighteen elite institutions, Polished uncovers the hidden consequences of the promise of social mobility in today's educational landscape. Sociologist Melissa Osborne reveals how the very support designed to propel first-generation students forward can unexpectedly reshape their identities, often putting them at odds with their peers and families. Without direct institutional support, this emotional journey can lead to alienation, mental health challenges, poor academic outcomes, and difficult choices between upward mobility or maintaining authenticity and community. Whether you're an educator, advocate, or student, Polished provides a powerful perspective on the uncharted challenges of social mobility and personal identity during college.
Python for Chemists by
This accessible and self-contained guide provides a comprehensive introduction to the popular programming language Python, with a focus on applications in chemistry and chemical physics. Ideally suited to students and researchers of chemistry learning to employ Python for problem-solving in their research, this fast-paced primer first builds a solid foundation in the programming language before progressing to advanced concepts and applications in chemistry. The required syntax and data structures are established, and then applied to solve problems computationally. Popular numerical packages are described in detail, including NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, SymPy, and pandas. End of chapter problems are included throughout, with worked solutions available within the book. Additional resources, datasets, and Jupyter Notebooks are provided on a companion website, allowing readers to reinforce their understanding and gain confidence applying their knowledge through a hands-on approach.
Rebel Health by
An action-oriented and radically hopeful field guide to the underground, patient-led revolution for better health and health care. Anyone who has fallen off the conveyer belt of mainstream health care and into the shadowy corners of illness knows what a dark place it is to land. Where is the infrastructure, the information, the guidance? What should you do next? In Rebel Health, Susannah Fox draws on twenty years of tracking the expert networks of patients, survivors, and caregivers who have come of age between the cracks of the health care system to offer a way forward. Covering everything from diabetes to ALS to Moebius Syndrome to chronic disease management, Fox taps into the wisdom of these individuals, learns their ways, and fuels the rebel alliance that is building up our collective capacity for better health. Rebel Health shows how the next wave of health innovation will come from the front lines of this patient-led revolution. Fox identifies and describes four archetypes of this revolution- seekers, networkers, solvers, and champions. Each chapter includes tips, such as picking a proxy to help you navigate the relevant online communities, or learning how to pitch new ideas to investors and partners or new treatments to the FDA. On a personal level, anyone who wants to navigate the health care maze faster will want to become a health rebel or recruit some to their team. On a systemic level, it is a competitive advantage for businesses, governments, and organizations to understand and leverage the power of connection among patients, survivors, and caregivers. Proactive, optimistic, and innovative, Rebel Health is a guiding light for anyone who wishes to join the health rebel alliance and become the hero of their own story.
Singing the Land by
Singing the Land: Hebrew Music and Early Zionism in America examines the proliferation and use of popular Hebrew Zionist music amongst American Jewry during the first half of the twentieth century. This music--one part in a greater process of instilling diasporic Zionism in American Jewish communities--represents an early and underexplored means of fostering mainstream American Jewish engagement with the Jewish state and Hebrew national culture as they emerged after Israel declared its independence in 1948. This evolutionary process brought Zionism from being an often-polemical notion in American Judaism at the turn of the twentieth century to a mainstream component of American Jewish life by 1948. Hebrew music ultimately emerged as an important means through which many American Jews physically participated in or 'performed' aspects of Zionism and Hebrew national culture from afar. Exploring the history, events, contexts, and tensions that comprised what may be termed the 'Zionization' of American Jewry during the first half of the twentieth century, Eli Sperling analyzes primary sources within the historical contexts of Zionist national development and American Jewish life. Singing the Land offers insights into how and why musical frameworks were central to catalyzing American Jewry's support of the Zionist cause by the 1940s, parallel to firm commitments to their American locale and national identities. The proliferation of this widespread American Jewish-Zionist embrace was achieved through a variety of educational, religious, economic, and political efforts, and Hebrew music was a thread consistent among them all.
The Occasional Human Sacrifice by
The Occasional Human Sacrifice is an intellectual inquiry into the moral struggle that whistleblowers face, and why it is not the kind of struggle that most people imagine. Carl Elliott is a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota who was trained in medicine as well as philosophy. For many years he fought for an external inquiry into a psychiatric research study at his own university in which an especially vulnerable patient lost his life. Elliott's efforts alienated friends and colleagues. The university stonewalled him and denied wrongdoing until a state investigation finally vindicated his claims. His experience frames the six stories in this book of medical research in which patients were deceived into participating in experimental programs they did not understand, many of which had astonishing and well-concealed mortality rates. Beginning with the public health worker who exposed the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and ending with the four physicians who in 2016 blew the whistle on lethal synthetic trachea transplants at the Karolinska Institute, Elliott tells the extraordinary stories of insiders who spoke out against such abuses, and often paid a terrible price for doing the right thing.
The Privacy Fallacy by
Our privacy is besieged by tech companies. Companies can do this because our laws are built on outdated ideas that trap lawmakers, regulators, and courts into wrong assumptions about privacy, resulting in ineffective legal remedies to one of the most pressing concerns of our generation. Drawing on behavioral science, sociology, and economics, Ignacio Cofone challenges existing laws and reform proposals and dispels enduring misconceptions about data-driven interactions. This exploration offers readers a holistic view of why current laws and regulations fail to protect us against corporate digital harms, particularly those created by AI. Cofone then proposes a better response: meaningful accountability for the consequences of corporate data practices, which ultimately entails creating a new type of liability that recognizes the value of privacy.
White Man's Work by
In the financial chaos of the last few decades, increasing wealth inequality has shaken people's expectations about middle-class stability. At the same time, demographers have predicted the "browning" of the nation's middle class--once considered a de facto "white" category--over the next twenty years as the country becomes increasingly racially diverse. In this book, Joseph O. Jewell takes us back to the turn of the twentieth century to show how evidence of middle-class mobility among Black, Mexican American, and Chinese men generated both new anxieties and varieties of backlash among white populations. Blending cultural history and historical sociology, Jewell chronicles the continually evolving narratives that linked whiteness with middle-class mobility and middle-class manhood. In doing so, Jewell addresses a key issue in the historical sociology of race: how racialized groups demarcate, defend, and alter social positions in overlapping hierarchies of race, class, and gender. New racist narratives about non-white men occupying middle-class occupations emerged in cities across the nation at the turn of the century. These stories helped to shore up white supremacy in the face of far-reaching changes to the nation's racialized economic order.
Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America by
The electoral college is the extraordinarily complex mechanism by which Americans choose their president. Is there any justification for such a system, which may elect the candidate who does not receive the most votes? Today, with two of the last five presidential elections having gone to the popular vote loser and the debacle following the 2020 election, the electoral college's flaws are more apparent than ever. In this fourth edition of the definitive book on the electoral college, George Edwards employs rigorous analysis and systemic data to show how the system violates core democratic principles and does not provide the benefits its advocates claim. With a new chapter focusing on the 2020 election, Edwards addresses justifications for the electoral college that were popular among Trump supporters following the 2016 and 2020 elections. Edwards concludes by offering a straightforward approach to selecting the president that maximizes political equality.
Wings of the Gods by
Birds have a larger place in religions than any other non-human animal, from their role as messenger between humans and gods among the ancient Mayans, to the Christian Holy Spirit taking flesh as a dove. More than symbols, birds gained divine status by guiding humans to water and food, replanting forests after ice ages and fires, and living with humans as they settled into farming and urban life. With the natural world facing multiple crises--climate change, epidemics of disease, pollution, famine--Peter (Petra) Gardella and Laurence Krute argue that humanity needs a new religion, a religion of nature in which birds and other animals are treated as equal inhabitants and citizens of Earth, to save the beauty and wonder that has inspired belief in God.Wings of the Gods surveys the many roles that birds have played in the development of religions, from legends, rituals, costumes, wars, and spiritual disciplines to the current ecological crisis. It also explores the relations between birds and humans from an evolutionary perspective, starting with the roles of birds in creating the human world. Gardella and Krute, both scholars and birdwatchers, transcend a narrow focus on humanity to instead explore the agency of birds in world history.