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"Take Six is a celebration of six remarkable Portuguese women writers: Sohpia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Agustina Bessa-Luís, Maria Judite de Carvalho, Hélia Correia, Teolinda Gersão and Lídia Jorge. They are all past mistresses of the short story form, and their subject matter ranges from finding one's inner fox to a failed suicide attempt to a grandmother and grandson battling the wind on a beach. Stories and styles are all very different, but what the writers have in common is their ability to take everyday life and look at it afresh, so that even a trip on a ferry or an encounter with a stranger or a child's attempt to please her father become imbued with mystery and humour and sometimes tragedy. Relatively few women writers are translated into English, and this anthology is an attempt to rectify that imbalance and to introduce readers to some truly captivating tales from Portugal"--Back cover.

Good habits are powerful. They bring about change one step at a time, until it becomes second nature. But when it comes to fat loss, too often the focus is on bad habits. We're bombarded with articles and videos telling us why this food is bad, or this food is good, or this food is poison, and so forth. It makes the internet a hard place to navigate when looking for basic nutrition advice, and it's not surprising that so many of us feel confused about what to eat. Ben Carpenter is a fitness coach, research nerd and trusted source of no bullshit fat loss information who has spent his entire adult life working in the fitness industry, researching the real science behind fat loss and answering questions with simple, unbiased answers. Ben's point is this: The best weight loss diet doesn't exist. Despite peoples' attempts to persuade us, no weight loss diet is clearly superior. Not low carb, not keto, not low fat, not intermittent fasting. They all work for weight loss in the short term and tend to fizzle out in the long term. So, it's important to have other stronger, longer-lasting motivators that make us want to keep physically healthy. And the easiest way to do this is by introducing simple, effective habits. If you want lasting success, you don't need yet another short-term crash diet. So, what do you need? You need healthy behaviours that you can actually sustain over a longer period of time. So, let's shift the focus towards what really matters. This book is Fat Loss Habits.

Become an Instagram aficionado and grow your business online Instagram For Business For Dummies shows you how you can tap into the social media platform with over 1 billion active users and the highest brand engagement of any social app out there. Businesses of all sizes have discovered how successful they can be when they take advantage of Instagram's powerful business tools--including shoppable posts, devoted business profiles, and advanced analytics. This beginner-friendly book helps you take advantage of this great opportunity to connect with a broader audience, tell a gripping story, and make your business an integral part of customers' lives. This new edition covers all of Instagram's latest features, including verified accounts, Broadcast Channels, and integration with Threads. You'll also learn everything you need to know about establishing brand partnerships with influencers, making the most of hashtags, and creating content that will get you noticed. Presented in straightforward language by Instagram and marketing gurus, this book will take you from setting up your account and profile to winning new business on Instagram. Set up your Instagram business account and link your sales to the Instagram Shopping feature Use analytics to understand your engagement and create better content Learn how to effectively use Instagram Stories, Broadcast Channels, and Threads Reach more people with brand partnerships, hashtags, and viral posts Even if you're a complete Insta-beginner, Instagram For Business For Dummies will help you market your brand on this powerful social platform.

"In the era of the First World War and its aftermath, the quest to identify, restrict, and punish internal enemy "others," combined with eugenic thinking, severely curtailed civil liberties for many people in Oregon and the nation. In Oregon's Others, Kimberly Jensen analyzes the processes that shaped the growing surveillance state of the era and the compelling personal stories that tell its history. The exclusionary and invasive practices ranged from multiple wartime registrations for women and the registration of "enemy aliens" to the incarceration of women with sexually transmitted diseases, the use of deportations, and forced sterilization at the Oregon State Hospital and other institutions. But some Oregonians resisted the restrictions and challenges to their civil liberties. Their fierce determination to maintain their rights and freedoms fueled movements for human rights, social justice, and dissent that still reverberate today. Oregon's Others examines the collision of civil liberties and persecution through the lens of gender, gender identity and presentation, ability, race, ethnicity, and class"-- Provided by publisher.

"Android Phones for Seniors In Easy Steps, 4th edition covers versions up to Android13--the most widely used version of Android--but it can also be used for most other versions of Android too. Throughout the book you will learn how to: Get started with the Android interface and become confident using the Home screen and its features. Learn about how Android can be customized to your own exact requirements. Make the most out of the Android apps on your phone and discover how to add more with a couple of taps. Keep in touch with family and friends using the web, email, messaging, and social media so that you are never out of the loop. Use your Android phone to take great photos and videos, and then make them even better with the editing features on the phone. Keep entertained with music and videos using the apps on your Android phone. Learn how to use the range of search options so that you can always find things on your phone and online. In addition to the impressive range of standard features on Android phones, the book also covers the latest innovations in Android version 13, including: Customizing apps so that their color, theme, and language matches the rest of the appearance of your phone. A new stylish media player for playing all your favorite songs and videos. Taming notifications so that you are only notified about the things that are most important to you, and all the rest are muted. A range of new security features, so you can feel confident when using your Android phone. Using your Android phone with other compatible devices for maximum flexibility and productivity. Spatial audio, so you can get the best sound wherever you are in a room. Android phones are not only powerful communication devices, but they are also great fun to use, and help to open up a wealth of online and digital possibilities. With your phone and Android Phones for Seniors in easy steps, 4th edition next to you, you will have the exciting world of Android at your fingertips." -- Provided by publisher.

"Brimming with behind-the-scenes stories, never-before-seen photographs, Tony Buttino's own first-person tales, and original interviews with those who worked on the series' development -- from local educators and librarians to the national production team -- Creating Reading Rainbow gives readers an inside look the foundational work, origin, and history of the beloved television show that still inspires readers today"-- Provided by publisher.

"This helpful, humorous handbook for the mathematically challenged uses author Ben Orlin's empathy, humor, and "bad drawings" to unravel the secrets behind the world's most confounding language"-- Provided by publisher.

"An anthology of brand-new poems inspired by Taylor Swift songs, from a powerhouse group of contemporary poets, including Kate Baer, Maggie Smith, and Joy Harjo"-- Provided by publisher.

"Charismatic, intriguing, and misunderstood: The Owl Handbook provides a beautifully photographed, thoughtfully researched, and accessible guide to these complex, captivating creatures. Spot an owl that's long been watching your every move and darker aspects of its reputation may spring to mind: harbinger of doom, guides through the spirit world, merciless bird of prey. Mythology and superstitions have projected our fear of the unknown onto these mostly night-dwelling creatures. But these wondrous birds are so much more than shadows or silent glides through the night. In The Owl Handbook, lifelong birding enthusiast John Shewey leads us through an exploration of owls' cultural impact as seen in folklore and mythology, provides in-depth investigations of 19 owls of North America and a survey of 200 owls across the globe, and gives advice on how to respectfully observe and protect these enigmatic birds, brought to life by hundreds of full-color photographs."--Publisher.

James Longman was a preteen in boarding school when his dad, who was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide. As he got older, James's own bouts of depression spurred him to examine how his father's mental health might have affected his own. He engaged with experts to uncover the science behind what is inherited, how much environmental factors can impact genetic traits, and how one can overcome a familial history of mental illness and trauma.

"Over the past two centuries, economic growth has freed billions from the struggle for subsistence and made our lives far healthier and longer. Yet prosperity has come at a price: environmental destruction, desolation of local cultures, the rise of vast inequalities and destabilizing technologies. Faced with such damage, many now claim that the only way forward is through 'degrowth,' deliberately shrinking our economic footprint. But to abandon humanity's progress would be folly. Instead, Daniel Susskind argues, we must keep growth but redirect it, making it better reflect what we truly value. In a sweeping analysis full of historical insight, Susskind shows how policymaking came to revolve around a single-minded quest for greater GDP. This is a surprisingly recent development: economic growth was barely discussed until the second half of the twentieth century. And our understanding of what drives it is more recent still. Only lately have we come to see how humankind emerged from its millennia of stagnation: through the sustained discovery of powerful and productive new ideas. This insight undermines the mantra that 'we cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet,' for the world of ideas in infinitely vast. Yet growth's critics are right to insist that we can no longer focus on its upsides alone. We must confront the tradeoffs, Susskind contents: sometimes, societies will have to deliberately pursue less growth for the sake of other goals. These will be moral decisions, not simply economic ones, demanding the engagement not just of politicians and experts but of all citizens."-- Jacket flap.

It Takes Chutzpah is an inspirational call to action by a senior U.S. politician, describing how Americans of all age groups, persuasions, and occupations can defy convention, chart new pathways for their communities, schools, at work and in life. US Senator Ron Wyden is widely praised for coming up with sensible-sounding ideas no one else had thought of and making the counter-intuitive political alliances that prove helpful in passing bills. In It Takes Chutzpah, he offers a progressive leader's manifesto for being a courageous warrior during turbulent times. -- provided by publisher.

"Shepherded by Toni Tipton-Martin and Cook's Country Executive Editor and TV personality Morgan Bolling, When Southern Women Cook showcases the hard work, hospitality, and creativity of women who have given soul to Southern cooking from the start. Every page amplifies their contributions, from the enslaved cooks making foundational food at Monticello to Mexican Americans accessing sweet memories with colorful conchas today"-- Provided by publisher.

"From the NYT-bestselling author and television and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society"-- Provided by publisher.

"A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue - and its fascinating role in Black history and culture - from National Book Award winner Imani Perry. Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong's question, "What did I do to be so Black and blue?" In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world's favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey--an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology."-- Provided by publisher.

"Be Love. Be Patience. Be Curiosity. Be Approachable. Be Supported. Being a grandparent to a trans child can feel isolating. Generational differences can make it challenging for you to understand what they're going through, and you might not have the vocabulary to discuss it with them, or have found peers who are experiencing something similar. At the same time - your love, understanding and acceptance will play a huge role in the flourishing of your trans grandchild. With up-to-date research on gender identity, letters and stories from grandparents on the same journey, resources for transgender youth and their families, and a selection of online and local support groups - this book provides uplifting, educational guidance on how to support your grandchild - and yourself!"-- Provided by publisher.

Lonely Planet's Hong Kong is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all the city has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Sample dim sum in the night market and cruise on the legendary Star Ferry; all with your trusted travel companion.

"In this new history, James Ball gathers together the ancient story of North American History, tracing it to today's many still-thriving native cultures. Records of the pre-Columbian era rely heavily on archeological evidence, showing the migrations across the Bering Strait from Asia, over 30,000 years ago when mammoth, then bison roamed freely across the continent. By 12000 BCE there are traces of people from Alaska to Mexico and by 3000 BCE, corn was cultivated in Arizona and Mexico. Early mounds (some in the shape of animals), and agricultural irrigation can be found from 300 BCE, as the Adenans were superseded by the Hopewellians, then the Mississippians after 500 CE, who, also called Temple Mound culture inhabited settlements of up to 20,000 people. Stone pueblos (dwellings) have been discovered in cliff faces, notably Mesa Verde in Colorado, from around 900 CE as people across the North American continent developed their cultures in concert with nature and the cycles of life. With no tradition of writing, such peoples brought to life their landscape and lives through oral traditions, and the re-telling of dreams, brought to an abrupt decline by the arrival of the Europeans with their diseases, and their desire for territory."--Amazon.com

Lonely Planet's Middle East is our most comprehensive guide that extensively covers all the region has to offer, with recommendations for both popular and lesser-known experiences. Wonder at the enchanting Petra, visit Ancient Egyptian sites and explore the ruins of Persepolis; all with your trusted travel companion.

"John Edgar Wideman's "slaveroad" is a palimpsest of physical, social, and psychological terrain, the great expanse to which he writes in this groundbreaking work that unsettles the boundaries of memoir, history, and fiction. The slaveroad begins with the Atlantic Ocean, across which enslaved Africans were carried, but the term comes to encompass the journeys and experiences of Black Americans since then and the many insidious ways that slavery separates, wounds, and persists"-- Provided by publisher.

"Whether you want to surf in Manuel Antonio, zip-line through the Monteverde Cloud Forest, or hike around Arenal Volcano, the local Fodor's travel experts in Costa Rica are here to help! Fodor's Essential Costa Rica guidebook is packed with maps, carefully curated recommendations, and everything else you need to simplify your trip-planning process and make the most of your time"-- Provided by publisher.

"The Evidence of Things Not Seen, award-winning author James Baldwin's searing 1985 indictment of the nation's racial stagnation, is contextualized anew by an introduction from New York Times bestselling author and political leader Stacey Abrams. In this essential work, James Baldwin examines the Atlanta child murders that took place over twenty-two months in 1979 and 1980. Examining this incident with a reporter's skill and an essayist's insight, he notes the significance of Atlanta as the site of these brutal killings-a city that claimed to be "too busy to hate"-and the permeation of race throughout the case: the Black administration in Atlanta; the murdered Black children; and Wayne Williams, the Black man tried for the crimes. In Baldwin's hands, this specific set of events has transcended its era and remains as relevant today as ever. Rummaging through the ruins of American race relations, Baldwin addresses all the hard-to-face issues that have brought us to a moment in history when we are forced to reckon with some of the country's most ingrained, foundational issues and when, too often, public officials fail to ask real questions about "justice for all." In this, his last book, Baldwin also reveals his optimistic faith in America's ability to move toward repair: "This is the only nation in the world that can hope to liberate-to begin to liberate-mankind from the strangling idea of the national identity and the tyranny of the territorial dispute. I know this sounds remote, now, and that I will not live to see anything resembling this hope come to pass. Yet, I know that I have seen it-in fire and blood and anguish, true, but I have seen it. I speak with the authority of the issue of the slave born in the country once believed to be: the last best hope of earth.""-- Provided by publisher.

"Mules and Men is a treasury of black America's folklore as collected by a famous storyteller and anthropologist who grew up hearing the songs and sermons, sayings and tall tales that have formed an oral history of the South since the time of slavery. Returning to her hometown of Eatonville, Florida, to gather material, Zora Neale Hurston recalls "a hilarious night with a pinch of everything social mixed with the storytelling." Set intimately within the social context of black life, the stories, "big old lies," songs, Vodou customs, and superstitions recorded in these pages capture the imagination and bring back to life the humor and wisdom that is the unique heritage of African Americans."-- Publisher's website

"A groundbreaking, sweeping overview of the great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts. This is the first book for non-specialists to explore the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history. Great Kingdoms of Africa aims to decenter European colonialism and slavery as the major themes of African history and instead explore the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent. This groundbreaking book offers an innovative and thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. Each chapter is written by a leading historian, interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including oral histories and recent archaeological findings. Great Kingdoms of Africa is a timely and vital book for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of Africa's rich history"-- Provided by publisher.

"Jane's 22-year-old daughter, Ashley, died in a flash flood while trekking in the Indian Himalayan mountains. Unexpected events before, during, and after the search for her unraveled some answers to Jane's lifelong search for what is real. Surprising gifts along the way helped bring peace in trying to resolve a death where Jane could not see, be with, or say goodbye to one she loves."--Back cover.

A story spanning two wars and three heroes -- Tara's grandfather Dick Harris, his brother, Easy Company Staff Sgt. Terrence "Salty" Harris, and Senior Airman Brian Kolfage -- ordinary men living and fighting in extraordinary circumstances

Learn more than 6,750 Japanese words and phrases for objects and scenes from everyday life, accompanied by full-color illustrations. An audio app is available from the Google Play store and Apple App Store to aid with pronunciation.

Learn more than 6,750 Arabic words and phrases for any situation, from home and office to dining out. Labeled drawings provide a wide range of everyday terms from the telephone to human anatomy in English and Arabic.

"'With its union of practicality and magic, a kitchen is a portal offering extended range and providing unlikely paths out of the ordinary. Offering opportunities to cook, imagine and create ways back into other times, other lives and other territories. Central Asia, Turkey, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, Russia, the Baltics and Poland. Places that have eased into my marrow over the years shaping my life, writing and thinking. They are here, these lands I return to, in this kitchen.' A welcoming refuge with its tempting pantry, shelves of books and inquisitive dog, Caroline Eden finds comfort away from the road in her basement Edinburgh kitchen. Join her as she cooks recipes from her travels, reflects on past adventures and contemplates the kitchen's unique ability to tell human stories. This is a hauntingly honest, and at times heartbreaking, memoir with the smell, taste and preparation of food at its heart. From late night baking as a route back to Ukraine to capturing the beauty of Uzbek porcelain, and from the troublesome nature of food and art in Poland to the magic of cloudberries, Cold Kitchen celebrates the importance of curiosity and of feeling at home in the world"--Provided by publisher.

Oregon is at a crossroads. Communities across the state continue to grapple with social and economic strains while they also find opportunities to make progress on key measurements. The 2024 Tracking Oregon's Progress Report from Oregon Community Foundation provides data and analysis in seven focus areas that define what makes a thriving and healthy community. The 2024 Tracking Oregon's Progress report suggests that many systems and structures that shape the critical conditions for well-being are struggling and not working for Oregonians consistently. The cost of Oregonians' daily lives is increasing faster than their incomes and other sources of wealth. For example, the cost of childcare in Oregon takes up nearly a quarter of household income, on average, which rivals housing and college expenses. More than half of Oregonians reported feeling left behind economically. The report adds that the social divides facing Oregon communities leave residents feeling disconnected and socially isolated. Yet, the report also points to promising opportunities that can have positive impacts on community well-being. For example, investing in early childhood education produces an array of benefits that stretch well into adulthood. The report also points to investments in specific pressure points can have a big impact, including building workforce and affordable housing and alleviating the cost of higher education.

"How to Change Your Body explores this provocative question through a rigorous yet playful collection of interviews with scientists, somatic workers, and artists from around the world to uncover the social-emotional aspects of so-called mental illnesses. Saga Briggs is our compassionate guide, pairing peer-reviewed research with moving personal vignettes about her journey away from alcohol dependence to draw a profound link between bodily awareness, social connection, and mental well-being. Interoception, regarded by some as our eighth sense, is fundamental to human health and, Briggs argues, lies at the heart of many techniques shown to improve our relationships to ourselves and others, including psychedelic-assisted therapy, synchronous movement, and energy work. Whether you are facing a mental health diagnosis or simply yearn for a deeper connection to yourself and your community, How to Change Your Body offers a potent antidote to alienation. Through remembering our bodies in all of their intricacy, we can increase our capacity for presence, reconnect with others, and begin to heal."--Back cover

"This is a complete ritual guide to working with Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk saint"-- Provided by publisher.

A fascinating introduction to the world of Korean myth and legend.

Through photography and essays, this book is a celebration of one of America's most valuable and iconic rivers and a warning demonstrating the river is a bellwether of overuse and climate change.

"The ultimate book for the sandwich connoisseur (or even the sandwich curious): nearly 100 recipes spanning the centuries, from the most well-known to obscure but delicious sandwiches. Ah, sandwiches. They're everywhere. But what's the story behind the club, the Cuban, or the hot brown? Through his various social media platforms, Barry Enderwick (@sandwichesofhistory) has been exploring all things sandwich for years. In Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook, for the first time, he has taken the source material for dozens of sandwiches and painstakingly recreated them--staying as faithful as possible to every original sandwich, while providing much more guidance on successfully making each one. From the classics, like the Cucumber Tea Sandwich or The Sophisticated Club Sandwich, to the out-of-the-box, like The Hot Chicken Tuna Sandwich and the Mock Banana Sandwich, Barry provides not only recipes, but interesting information and fun facts that pertain to them"-- Amazon.com.

"Beloved actress Naomi Watts opens up about the challenges she faced upon reaching early menopause in this empowering, fun, and practical guide to menopause and aging, all based on the latest advice from hormone experts, doctors, and nutritionists"-- Provided by publisher.

"The top 50 humorous, heartwarming, outrageous, and sometimes serious blog posts from the author of Crossings: McCullough's Coastal Bridges & The Oregon Coast Guide to the Unexpected!!!"-- Front cover.

"Just after October 7th 2023, David Grossman, a longtime voice of moral clarity in the Middle East, retreated inward to ask himself anew these urgent questions about his beloved nation: How could this massacre have happened? How could the Netanyahu government, tangled in its web of scandals, have failed to protect its citizens? And did October 7 and the senseless war that has followed take with it the last hope of a two-state solution? In these eleven essays, which appeared at key moments when Grossman wanted to hold the government accountable, he traces the failures leading up to that day and the ensuing war, enabled and abetted by a morally bankrupt party clinging to power. He documents the struggle between those committed to conflict, and those who want to live in peace and equality with their neighbors. He asks what the meaning and purpose of a Jewish state can be when the core values of Judaism are cast aside, and how his people, so accustomed throughout history to being in the minority, have not proved able to exist as a majority with the dignity and humanity that the job demands. Ultimately, Grossman arrives at the most important question of all: Will there ever be a lasting peace in the region?"--Page 4 of cover.

Discover popular and off the beaten track experiences from seeing the magnificent Rose City of Petra, to learning about Jordan's past through the ancient art of mosaic making, and bathing in the mineral rich waters of the Ma'in hot springs.

"Engaging teachings on the core Korean Zen practice of "don't-know mind" that encourage us to cultivate and apply a clear mind, improve our intuition, feel naturally at ease, and generate compassionate wisdom to face whatever arises"-- Provided by publisher.

"All kids occasionally space out, get sidetracked, run out of time, or explode in frustration--but some do it much more often than others. With over 425,000 in print, this encouraging, bestselling parent guide is now in a revised and updated second edition. The authors explain the crucial brain-based skills that 4- to 12-year-olds need to get organized, stay focused, and control their impulses and emotions. Handy questionnaires help parents home in on their own child's executive strengths and weaknesses. Armed with a better understanding of their "smart but scattered" kid, readers can use proven strategies to boost skills that are lacking, fix everyday routines that don't work, and reduce everyone's stress. Including new research, new and updated vignettes, and "A Good Place to Start" suggestions for each skill, the second edition features a new chapter on technology and a greatly expanded school chapter. Readers can download and print a wealth of practical tools. -- Keywords: functioning, functions, self-help, parenting guides, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, children, disorganized, time management, procrastination, emotion regulation, problems, learning disabilities, tantrums, neurodiverse, neurodiversity, schools, behavioral, underachievers, academic"-- Provided by publisher.

"A thrilling true saga of legendary Texas figure Judge Roy Bean and his brothers--and their violent adventures in Wild West America. Roy Bean was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos." He and his three brothers set out from Kentucky in the mid 1840s, heading into the American frontier to find their fortunes. Their lifetimes of triumphs, tragedies, laurels and scandals will play out on the battlefields of Mexico, in shady dealings in California city halls, inside eccentric saloon courtrooms of Texas, and along the blood-soaked Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to New Mexico. They will kill men, and murder will likewise stalk them. The Beans chase their American dreams as the nation reinvents itself as a coast-to-coast powerhouse, only to be tested by the Civil War. During their saga, the brothers become soldiers, judges, husbands, guerillas, lawmen, entrepreneurs, refugees, fathers, politicians, pioneers and--in Judge Roy Bean's case--one of the Old West's best known but least understood scoundrels. Using new information gleaned from exhaustive research, Four Against the West is an unprecedented and vivid telling of the intertwined stories of all four Bean brothers, exploring for the first time how their relentless ambitions helped create a new America"-- Provided by publisher.

"A notable editor's survey of the defining novels of the twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher.

"In A Life in the Garden, horticultural icon Barbara Damrosch imparts a lifetime of wisdom on growing food for herself and her family. In writing that's accessible, engaging, and elegant, she welcomes us to garden alongside her. Personal, thoughtful, and often humorous, this book offers practical DIY insights that will delight gardeners, cooks, and small-scale farmers. With a personal and sometimes irreverent tone, Barbara expresses the pleasure she takes in gardening, the sense of empowerment she finds in it, and the importance of a partnership with the real expert: nature."

"Still recovering from the heartbreak of infertility, memoirist Gail McCormick and her husband volunteer to host two Children of Chernobyl for a summer reprieve from radiation exposure. Fate pairs the Seattle couple with eight-year-old Ukrainian twin sisters from Belarus—and rekindles Gail’s childhood dream to build a bridge of peace between the US and the former Soviet Union. Over four summers of mayhem and magic with the twins, a deep relationship takes root. When the girls age out of the program that brought them to Seattle, Gail confronts her Cold War fears and travels with her husband to reunite with them in Ukraine and Belarus. On this soul-making trip to a land of unspeakable loss, she celebrates life in the homes of an accordion-playing Chernobyl hero and a barefooted babushka who distills her own vodka, and—behind the remnants of the Iron Curtain—finds her place as an honorary mother and babushka in a four-generation family of former Soviets. Poignant and culturally rich, her narrative transports readers to storied cities, villages, and dachas from Kyiv to Minsk. Written with reverence, insight, humor, and hope, Zoya’s Gift illuminates the complexities, joys, and importance of reaching across political, class, and cultural divides" -- From Publisher's web site.

"The Punk-Rock Queen of the Jews is filled with wonderfully rich characters, hilarious dialogue, and keen portraits of the secretive hothouse Orthodox world and the struggling New York City of the 1980s: dirty, on the edge, but fully vital and embracing."--Back cover.

"Socrates has been hiding in plain sight. We call him the father of Western philosophy, but what exactly are his philosophical views? He is famous for his humility, but readers often find him arrogant and condescending. We parrot his claim that zthe unexamined life is not worth living,y yet take no steps to live examined ones. We know that he was tried, convicted, and executed for zcorrupting the youth,y but freely assign Socratic dialogues to today's youths, to introduce them to philosophy. We've lost sight of what made him so dangerous. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard recovers the radical move at the center of Socrates' thought, and shows why it is still the way to a good life. Callard draws our attention to Socrates' startling discovery that we don't know how to ask ourselves the most important questions about how we should live, and how we might change. Before a person even has a chance to reflect, their bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on their behalf. To ask the most important questions, we need help. Callard argues that the true ambition of the famous Socratic methody is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways for survival, for pleasure, for comfort, but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your questions and challenge your answers. Callard shows that Socrates' method allows us to make progress in thinking about how to manage romantic love, how to confront one's own death, and how to approach politics. In the process, she gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by."-- Amazon.com.

What is so unique about Islam's scripture, the Quran? Who wrote it, and when? Can we trust its statements to be from Muhammad? Why was it written in Arabic? Does it command Muslims to fight Christians? These are a few of the thirty questions answered in this clear and concise guide to the history and contents of the Quran.