December 2011 Book Recommendations from Multnomah County Library

evergreen_web_banner.png

KBOO is open to the public! To visit the station, contact your staff person or call 503-231-8032.


December 2011's booklist for KBOO listeners includes ...

This month's selection has books on domestic abuse, Native Americans, women, parenting, business, corporate marketing, psychology, sociology, law, religion, philosophy, labor, and not a small amount of politics and US history. With your Multnomah County Library card in hand, you can check to see if these are on the shelf at a library near you, or put them on hold. Most titles listed have few or no holds on them, so you can get them quickly for near instant gratification.

To see previous book lists, just go to http://kboo.fm/Blogs/Multcoliborg

Many thanks to Multnomah County Librarian Steve Casburn, who prepares these lovely book lists.

cover, Taking Liberties by Susan Herman

Taking liberties : the war on terror and the erosion of democracy
by Susan Herman. (New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.)
CALL # 344.7305325 H5518t 2011.

In this eye-opening work, the president of the ACLU takes a hard look at the human and social costs of the War on Terror. A decade after 9/11, it is far from clear that the government's hastily adopted antiterrorist tactics--such as the Patriot Act--are keeping us safe, but it is increasingly clear that these emergency measures in fact have the potential to ravage our lives--and have already done just that to countless Americans.

 

cover, Republic, lost by Lawrence Lessig

Republic, lost : how money corrupts Congress--and a plan to stop it
by Lawrence Lessig. (New York : Twelve, 2011.)
CALL # 328.73078 L639r 2011.

In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government-driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission-trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.

 

cover, A Safe Place for Women by Kelly White

A safe place for women : surviving domestic abuse and creating a successful future
by Kelly White. (Alameda, CA : Hunter House, c2011)
CALL # 362.8292 W5857s 2011.

A Safe Place for Women tells a harrowing, but ultimately hopeful, story of one woman's ordeal with an abusive husband and how she gained the strength to leave him and thrive in a new life with her children. Noted women's advocate Kelly White unsparingly revisits the dark periods of her husband's irrational, violent moods. Her narrative makes clear why women often stay in such situations — and also how to end them.

 

cover, Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom

Brandwashed : tricks companies use to manipulate our minds and persuade us to buy
by Martin Lindstrom. (New York : Crown Business, c2011.)
CALL # 658.8343 L753bw 2011.

Marketing visionary Martin Lindstrom has been on the front lines of the branding wars for over twenty years.  Here, he turns the spotlight on his own industry, drawing on all he has witnessed behind closed doors, exposing for the first time the full extent of the psychological tricks and traps that companies devise to win our hard-earned dollars.

 

cover, No room of her own by Desiree Hellegers

No room of her own : women's stories of homelessness, life, death, and resistance
by Desiree Hellegers. (New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.)
CALL # 362.5092 H4771n 2011.

This moving collection brings together the stories of fifteen women who share the common experience of homelessness. Drawing on interviews conducted in Seattle, Washington over the course of nearly two decades, these accounts range across the United States, from New York to Louisiana to Los Angeles. Included here are memories of living in the South at the tail end of Jim Crow, of growing up gay and Black in the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s, and of surviving childhood abuse in Harlan...

cover, Collision Course

Collision course : Ronald Reagan, the air traffic controllers, and the strike that changed America
by Joseph A. McCartin. (New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.)
CALL # 331.8928 M1236c 2011.

The PATCO strike of 1981 has long been regarded as a pivotal moment in recent US history. It helped transform class politics in the US, and, in conjunction with Thatcher's attack on the miners' union in the UK, signaled a broader shift in advanced industrial democracies toward neoliberal economic policies and conservative class politics. Put simply, employers took Reagan's firing of the air control workers union as a signal that US labor policy would tilt toward owners rather than...

cover, Gender Born, Gender Made

Gender born, gender made : raising healthy gender-nonconforming children
by Diane Ehrensaft ; foreword by Edgardo Menvielle. (New York : Experiment, 2011.)
CALL # 649.13 E335g 2011.

Gender Born, Gender Made is a comprehensive guidebook for the parents and therapists of children who do not identify with or behave according to their biological gender. Drawing on the case histories of several children, each "gender creative" in his or her own way, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft offers concrete strategies for understanding and supporting children who experience confusion about their gender identities. She also discusses the latest therapeutic advancements available to...

cover, Taking a Stand

Taking a stand : the evolution of human rights
by Juan E. Méndez with Marjory Wentworth. (New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.)
CALL # 323.092 M5385t 2011.

Juan Méndez has experienced human rights abuse first hand. As a result of his work with political prisoners in the late 1970s, the Argentinean military dictatorship arrested, tortured, and held him for more than a year. During that time, Amnesty International adopted him as a “Prisoner of Conscience.” After his release, he moved to the United States and continued his lifelong fight for the rights of others, and the lessons he has...

 

cover, The atheist's guide to reality

The atheist's guide to reality : enjoying life without illusions
by Alex Rosenberg. (New York : W.W. Norton, c2011.)
CALL # 211.8 R8134a 2011.

We can't avoid the persistent questions about the meaning of life-and the nature of reality. Philosopher Alex Rosenberg maintains that science is the only thing that can really answer them--all of them. His bracing and ultimately upbeat book takes physics seriously as the complete description of reality and accepts all its consequences. He shows how physics makes Darwinian natural selection the only way life can emerge, and how that deprives nature of purpose, and human action of...

 

cover, All indians do not live in teepees

All Indians do not live in teepees (or casinos)
by Catherine C. Robbins. (Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c2011.)
CALL # 970.00497 R632a 2011.

Both a tribute to the unique experiences of individual Native Americans and a celebration of the values that draw American Indians together, All Indians Do Not Live in Teepees (or Casinos) explores contemporary Native life.


 

cover, Workers Unite!

Workers unite! : the American labor movement
by Kevin Hillstrom. (Detroit, MI : Omnigraphics, c2011.)
CALL # 331.880973 H6557w 2011.

One of a series of works on defining moments and trends in American history, Workers Unite! presents a narrative history of the American labor movement followed by a collection of biographical essays on labor leaders such as Eugene Debbs, Samuel Gompers and Mary Harris "Mother" Jones. It also includes a collection of relevant primary source documents including trial transcripts and union position papers.

cover, Why some politicians are more dangerous than others

Why some politicians are more dangerous than others
by James Gilligan. (Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, 2011.)
CALL # 320.97309049 G4815w 2011.

"The Republicans and Conservatives are bad for your health. They should come with the same warning that took years to become emblazoned on cigarette packets. This book goes a long way in working towards that."
Tribune