Download or read book The Stories that Shape Us written by Teresa Jordan and published by W. W. Norton. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty personal essays by contemporary women writers range across cultures and regions of the West

Download or read book Black Sheep and Kissing Cousins written by and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When someone says, at a holiday dinner table, “Oh, those Lawrence cousins lose control all the time,” or the Davises always had more talent than luck,” you can be sure there's a lesson being passed along, from one generation to another. Who tells stories to whom and about what is never a random matter. Our family stories have a secret power: they play a unique role in shaping our identity and our sense of our place in the world. They give us values, inspirations, warnings, and incentives. We need them. We use them. We keep them. They reverberate throughout our lives, affecting our choices in love, work, friendship, and lifestyle. Elizabeth Stone, whose grandparents came from Italy to Brooklyn, artfully weaves her own family stories among the stories of more than a hundred people of all backgrounds, ages, and regions—clarifying for us predictable types of family legends, providing ways to interpret our own stories and their roles in our lives. She examines stories of birth, death, work, money, and romantic adventure—all in the context of the family storytelling ritual. And she shows how stories about our most ancient ancestors may provide answers at milestone moments in our lives, as well as how stories about our newest family members carve out places for them so that they will fit into their families, comfortably or otherwise. Upon its initial publication in 1988, Studs Terkel said that the book is “A wholly original approach to an ancient theme: family storytelling and its lasting mark on the individual.” Judy Collins noted that “Elizabeth Stone's marvelous book on family myths and fables is irresistible. It lets us in on our own secrets in a provocative and exciting way.” And Maggie Scarf wrote, “What a clever topic, and how beautifully Elizabeth Stone has written about it! I recommend Black Sheep and Kissing Cousins for everyone who has ever been raised in a family.”

Download or read book The Written World written by Martin Puchner and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The story of literature in sixteen acts, from Alexander the Great and the Iliad to ebooks and Harry Potter, this engaging book brings together remarkable people and surprising events to show how writing shaped cultures, religions, and the history of the world"--

Download or read book The Storytelling Animal written by Jonathan Gottschall and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2012 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative scholar delivers the first book on the new science of storytelling: the latest thinking on why we tell stories and what stories reveal about human nature.

Download or read book Alma and How She Got Her Name written by Juana Martinez-Neal and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 2019 Caldecott Honor Book What’s in a name? For one little girl, her very long name tells the vibrant story of where she came from — and who she may one day be. If you ask her, Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela has way too many names: six! How did such a small person wind up with such a large name? Alma turns to Daddy for an answer and learns of Sofia, the grandmother who loved books and flowers; Esperanza, the great-grandmother who longed to travel; José, the grandfather who was an artist; and other namesakes, too. As she hears the story of her name, Alma starts to think it might be a perfect fit after all — and realizes that she will one day have her own story to tell. In her author-illustrator debut, Juana Martinez-Neal opens a treasure box of discovery for children who may be curious about their own origin stories or names.

Download or read book The Inner Lives of Markets written by Ray Fisman and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's economic revolution isn't just driven by technology. It's about markets. The past twenty-five years have witnessed a remarkable shift in how we get the stuff we want. If you've ever owned a business, rented an apartment, or shopped online, you've had a front-row seat for this revolution-in-progress. Breakthrough companies like Amazon and Uber have disrupted the old ways and made the economy work better -- all thanks to technology. At least that's how the story of the modern economy is usually told. But in this lucid, wry book, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan show that the revolution is bigger than tech: it is really a story about the transformation of markets. From the auction theories that power Google's ad sales algorithms to the models that online retailers use to prevent internet fraud, even the most high-tech modern businesses are empowered by theory first envisioned by economists. And we're all participants in this revolution. Every time you book a room on Airbnb, hire a car on Lyft, or click on an ad, you too are reshaping our social institutions and our lives. The Inner Lives of Markets is necessary reading for the modern world: it reveals the blueprint for how we work, live, and shop, and offers wisdom for how to do it better.

Download or read book Shape written by Jordan Ellenberg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An instant New York Times Bestseller! “Unreasonably entertaining . . . reveals how geometric thinking can allow for everything from fairer American elections to better pandemic planning.” —The New York Times From the New York Times-bestselling author of How Not to Be Wrong—himself a world-class geometer—a far-ranging exploration of the power of geometry, which turns out to help us think better about practically everything. How should a democracy choose its representatives? How can you stop a pandemic from sweeping the world? How do computers learn to play Go, and why is learning Go so much easier for them than learning to read a sentence? Can ancient Greek proportions predict the stock market? (Sorry, no.) What should your kids learn in school if they really want to learn to think? All these are questions about geometry. For real. If you're like most people, geometry is a sterile and dimly remembered exercise you gladly left behind in the dust of ninth grade, along with your braces and active romantic interest in pop singers. If you recall any of it, it's plodding through a series of miniscule steps only to prove some fact about triangles that was obvious to you in the first place. That's not geometry. Okay, it is geometry, but only a tiny part, which has as much to do with geometry in all its flush modern richness as conjugating a verb has to do with a great novel. Shape reveals the geometry underneath some of the most important scientific, political, and philosophical problems we face. Geometry asks: Where are things? Which things are near each other? How can you get from one thing to another thing? Those are important questions. The word "geometry"comes from the Greek for "measuring the world." If anything, that's an undersell. Geometry doesn't just measure the world—it explains it. Shape shows us how.

Download or read book A Shape in the Dark written by Bjorn Dihle and published by Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2021-02-15 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Shape in the Dark, wilderness guide and lifelong Alaskan Bjorn Dihle weaves personal experience with historical and contemporary accounts to explore the world of brown bears--from encounters with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, frightening attacks including the famed death of Timothy Treadwell, the controversies related to bear hunting, the animal’s place in native cultures, and the impacts on the species from habitat degradation and climate change. Much more than a report on human-bear interactions, this compelling story intimately explores our relationship with one of the world’s most powerful predators. An authentic and thoughtful work, it blends outdoor adventure, history, and elements of memoir to present a mesmerizing portrait of Alaska’s brown bears and grizzlies, informed by the species’ larger history and their fragile future.

Download or read book The Shape of Us written by Lisa Ireland and published by Macmillan Publishers Aus.. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A wonderful story, full of emotional depth and heart." Rachael Johns FOUR DIFFERENT WOMEN. THE SAME BIG PROBLEM. ONE MAGICAL SOLUTION? Mezz is overweight and overworked: she's convinced it's only a matter of time until her husband starts to stray. Jewels is fat and fabulous, but if she wants the baby she craves, the Tim Tams have to go. Ellie's life looks perfect to her London friends on Facebook: she keeps her waistline out of the photos and her loneliness to herself. Kat will do anything to keep her daughter Ami happy and safe. If she can just lose that baby weight, she's sure Ami's dad will stick around. In this heartwarming, heartbreaking story, four women who meet online in a weight loss forum learn that losing weight might not be the key to happiness, but believing in the ones you live - and yourself - just might be. MORE PRAISE FOR THE SHAPE OF US 'Lisa Ireland gets right to the heart of female friendship, exploring topics every woman can relate to.' Rachael Johns, author of The Art of Keeping Secrets 'Every so often a book comes along which captures your thoughts so well it could have been written with you in mind. The Shape of Us is a thought-provoking and perceptive glance into the lives of women (and men) grappling with confidence and self-image problems and the impact it has on their lives.' Queensland Times 'The Shape of Us is a heart-warming, heart-breaking tale of women's friendship.' Daily Examiner 'Will make you both laugh and cry...Lisa Ireland believes people are worth so much more than numbers on a scale or what clothing they can fit into - and her book shows how important that is.' The Weekly Times 'A highly relatable story on many levels...ultimately, a book about friendship and support.' Beauty & Lace

Download or read book Truth written by Hector Macdonald and published by Black Swan. This book was released on 2019-04-04 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: _________________ 'Macdonald zeros in on the slipperiness of factuality, offering an array of case studies from the worlds of history, commerce and - of course - politics.' New York Times True or false? It's rarely that simple. There is always more than one truth in every story. Eating meat is nutritious but it's also damaging to the environment. The Internet disseminates knowledge but it also spreads hatred. As communicators, we select the truths that are most useful to our agenda. We can select truths constructively to inspire nations, encourage children, and drive progressive change. Or we can select truths that give a false impression of reality, misleading people without actually lying. Others can do the same, motivating or deceiving us with the truth. In Truth, communications strategy expert Hector Macdonald explores how truth is used and abused in politics, business, the media and everyday life. Combining great storytelling with practical takeaways and a litany of fascinating, funny and insightful case studies, Truth is a chilling and engaging read about how profoundly our mindsets and actions are influenced by the truths that those around us choose to tell. For fans of Factfulness,A Field Guide to Lies and StatisticsandThe Art of Thinking Clearly, a fascinating dive into the many ways in which 'competing truths' shape our opinions, behaviours and beliefs.

Download or read book Invisible Influence written by Jonah Berger and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You think that your choices and behaviors are driven by your individual, personal tastes, and opinions. Our own personal thoughts and opinions is patently obvious. Right? Wrong. Other people's behavior has a huge influence on everything we do, from the mundane to the momentous. Berger integrates research and thinking from business, psychology, and social science to focus on the subtle, invisible influences behind our choices as individuals

Download or read book The Big Ones written by Dr. Lucy Jones and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the world-renowned seismologist, a riveting history of natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to come Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes--they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves. In The Big Ones, leading seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of the world's greatest natural disasters, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. At Pompeii, Jones explores how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged prevailing views of religion. She examines the California floods of 1862 and the limits of human memory. And she probes more recent events--such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the American hurricanes of 2017--to illustrate the potential for globalization to humanize and heal. With population in hazardous regions growing and temperatures around the world rising, the impacts of natural disasters are greater than ever before. The Big Ones is more than just a work of history or science; it is a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future.

Download or read book The Shape of My Heart written by Mark Sperring and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-17 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is filled with shapes. A bird, a car, the stars in the sky - what shapes can you see? Children will love spotting familiar shapes on every page. With bright illustrations and a heartwarming message about the shape of something very special - love. Brilliantly read by Katy Ashworth. Please note that audio is not supported by all devices, please consult your user manual for confirmation.

Download or read book Mouse Shapes written by Ellen Stoll Walsh and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three mice make a variety of things out of different shapes as they hide from a scary cat.

Download or read book Shapes of Native Nonfiction written by Elissa Washuta and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2019-06-28 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just as a basket’s purpose determines its materials, weave, and shape, so too is the purpose of the essay related to its material, weave, and shape. Editors Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton ground this anthology of essays by Native writers in the formal art of basket weaving. Using weaving techniques such as coiling and plaiting as organizing themes, the editors have curated an exciting collection of imaginative, world-making lyric essays by twenty-seven contemporary Native writers from tribal nations across Turtle Island into a well-crafted basket. Shapes of Native Nonfiction features a dynamic combination of established and emerging Native writers, including Stephen Graham Jones, Deborah Miranda, Terese Marie Mailhot, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Eden Robinson, and Kim TallBear. Their ambitious, creative, and visionary work with genre and form demonstrate the slippery, shape-changing possibilities of Native stories. Considered together, they offer responses to broader questions of materiality, orality, spatiality, and temporality that continue to animate the study and practice of distinct Native literary traditions in North America.

Download or read book War How Conflict Shaped Us written by Margaret MacMillan and published by Random House. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is peace an aberration? The New York Times bestselling author of Paris 1919 offers a provocative view of war as an essential component of humanity. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Margaret MacMillan has produced another seminal work. . . . She is right that we must, more than ever, think about war. And she has shown us how in this brilliant, elegantly written book.”—H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war—organized violence—comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity. Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control? Drawing on lessons from wars throughout the past, from classical history to the present day, MacMillan reveals the many faces of war—the way it has determined our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves.

Download or read book Palm Sunday written by Kurt Vonnegut and published by Dial Press. This book was released on 2009-09-30 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[Kurt Vonnegut] is either the funniest serious writer around or the most serious funny writer.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review In this self-portrait by an American genius, Kurt Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and poignant wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, a dead marriage, and various cockamamie aspects of his all-too-human journey through life. This is a work that resonates with Vonnegut’s singular voice: the magic sound of a born storyteller mesmerizing us with truth. “Vonnegut is at the top of his form, and it is wonderful.”—Newsday