Ocean State Libraries

The author dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors he feels are responsible for history's broadest patterns.

"Have you ever wondered why we stop to watch the orange glow that arrives before sunset, or why we flock to see cherry blossoms bloom in spring? Is there a reason that people -- regardless of gender, age, culture, or ethnicity -- are mesmerized by baby animals, and can't help but smile when they see a burst of confetti or a cluster of colorful balloons? We are often made to feel that the physical world has little or no impact on our inner joy. Increasingly,...

"For all curious readers, a lively introduction to radical ideas and discoveries that are transforming our knowledge of the universe." --

Wall street millionaire Carl Trudeau purchases an unsuspecting Mississippi State Supreme Court judge candidate when a lower court rules against one of his chemical companies for dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply causing a cancer cluster.

"It is 1994, and in the desert near Tillman, Arizona, forty miles from Tucson, a grand experiment involving the future of humanity is underway. As climate change threatens the earth, eight scientists, four men and four women dubbed the "Terranauts," have been selected to live under glass in E2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony. Their sealed, three-acre compound comprises five biomes -- rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh -- and...

In an eye-opening sequence of personal meditations through the cycle of seasons, Diane Ackerman awakens us to the world at dawn-drawing on sources as diverse as meteorology, world religion, etymology, art history, poetry, organic farming, and beekeeping. As a patient and learned observer of animal and human physiology and behavior, she introduces us to varieties of bird music and other signs of avian intelligence, while she herself "migrates" from...

"Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men-era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out and wanted up. Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5'3" and 5'9", between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire....

This book identifies two fundamental categories of bad leadership ineffective and unethical and highlights the seven types of bad leadership that are most prevalent. Through absorbing examples of high-profile contemporary figures from business and politics, the author helps us to understand how and why particular leaders went bad, how their followers aided and abetted the process, and what lessons these stories hold for how bad leadership can be stopped...

"Communication expert Lani Arredondo will help you understand what it is that makes negative people behave the way they do. He will give you advice on how to blunt their harmful effects and even suggest ways to reverse their attitudes." --

"The story of a group of Goodyear Tire and Rubber workers fatally exposed to toxic chemicals, the lawyer who sought justice on their behalf, and the shameful lack of protection our society affords all workers. A gripping narrative in the tradition of A Civil Action and Toms River"--