by Melanie Challenger
This book takes a look at how we’ve become estranged from nature and the cultural shifts that led to a dramatic rise in extinctions. The author travels to several different areas of the world that have been touched by extinction and traces the mindset that caused the destructiveness. She also proposes a path of redemption.
Call #: 576.8 CHA | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam K. | Review Date: March 2013
by John Broome
Broome is the Professor of Moral History at Oxford University and a member of Working Group III, the UN's leading international group for assessing climate change and effects of global warming. He cuts through the political stalement to offer a balanced new model for action. He reasons clearly through what morality requires (and doesn't require) of us, both as private citizens and governments. Exploring concepts of goodness and justice, he demonstrates how we can apply both to climate change. Not an easy read but very timely and thought provoking.
Call #: 179.1 BRO | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam K. | Review Date: January 2013
by Diane Morgan
225 recipes. Organized by root. Try the homemade ginger ale and the panko crusted goat cheese with roasted beet arugula salad.
Call #: 641.65 MOR | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Valerie | Review Date: December 2012
by Mark Obmascik
A ‘Big Year’ is a competition where people try to see the most birds in the US in a single calendar year. Competitive birding?! I know it seems like an oxymoron, but as a budding birder I was intrigued. Environmental journalist Obmascik blends humor and obsession as he recounts the adventures of the 1998 Big Year’s three main competitors. Now a motion picture starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson; this quick read will appeal to birders and beyond.
Call #: 598.07 OBM | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Tegan | Review Date: September 2012
by Chris Duhigg
From individuals to organizations thousands of habits are performed daily and unconsciously. The Power of Habit explores the science behind habits, their profound consequences, and how to change them. This book is well researched and Duhigg’s journalistic style creates an interesting easy read.
Call #: 158.1 DUH | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Tegan | Review Date: July 2012
by Harvey Sachs
Beethoven's 9th Symphony remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music. It amazed and confused listeners at its premier in Vienna yet became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists. The author treats this subject as part biography, part history, and part memoir - and explores the amazing talent of a composer who was already deaf but could produce such a masterpiece. Not an easy read but worth the effort.
Call #: 784.2 SAC | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam K. | Review Date: May 2012
by Gay Salisbury
This is one of the best books that I have read recently. It is the true story of an outbreak of diptheria in Nome, Alaska in 1925. During winter, Nome is completely isolated from the rest of the world, the only access is by dog sled over hundreds of miles of frozen tundra, across mountains and water. In order to get the life-saving serum to Nome's dying children, a relay of mushers and dog teams is organized to transport the medicine, at great danger to the men and dogs involved. It is an amazing and heart-warming tale of man's and dog's courage in the face of almost unimaginable conditions.
Call #: 614.5123 SAL | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Linda J. | Review Date: April 2012
by Freemon Dyson
Very interesting pieces that are well-written and informative. I had planned on reading just the stories that were interesting to me but actually read them all. If you have any interest in science and nature you won’t be disappointed.
Call #: 500 BES | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam | Review Date: September 2011
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
When the Taliban invaded Kabul, the Sidiqi family was forced to rearrange family roles. The men and of the family were forced to leave the city, and the women and girls were unable to continue careers or education, which was very devastating to them. Unable to work and provide for the family as they were shut in their home, the women joined together to start sewing in their home for tailors throughout the city. Not only were they able to form a successful business during those hard times, they also educated and helped many women in similar situations to start their own business ventures, which brought back the empowerment of women in a terrifying time.
Call #: 958.1 TZE | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Maggie | Review Date: August 2011
by Pat Conroy
Conroy revisits a life of reading by sharing anecdotes of humorous and touching stories of his love of books and reading since childhood and the influences they have had on his life and career. From the pleasures of his local library to his relationship with an English teacher, a bookshop owner,a book rep, and the authors he loves, his stories are amazing in their wisdom and honesty. He still reads 200 pages every day.
Call #: 813.54 CON | Category: Adult Non-Fiction | Reviewed by: Pam | Review Date: May 2011
