At the Library: Learn and discover new worlds by reading books
Sweet Heaven When I Die: Faith, Faithlessness, and the Country in Between
by Jeff Sharlet
“No one explores the borderlands of belief and skepticism quite like Jeff Sharlet. He is ingenious, farsighted, and able to excavate the worlds of others, even the flakiest and most fanatical, with uncanny sympathy. Here, he reports back from the far reaches of beliefFrom Dr. Cornel West to legendary banjo player Dock Boggs, from the youth evangelist Ron Luce to America’s largest “Mind, Body, Spirit Expo,” Sharlet profiles religious radicals, realists, and escapists. Including extended journeys published here for the first time, Sweet Heaven When I Die offers a portrait of our spiritual landscape that calls to mind Joan Didion’s classic Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” *
Delayed Justice: Inside Stories from America’s Best Cold Case Investigations
by Jack and Mary Branson
“In 1988, a 29-year-old preschool fitness teacher, Julie Love, left the Atlanta home of her fianc and was never again seen alive. A year later her skeletal remains were found in a trash dump. In 1995, the body of 42-year-old Gary Clark was discovered in a wooded lot about three miles south of Madisonville, Kentucky. He had been killed at another location by a single gunshot wound and his body dumped in the woods. In both cases, the police initially found no leads or physical evidence. These are just two examples of cold cases-crimes that stymie investigators and sometimes remain unsolved for many years. But for the painstaking, dedicated work of law enforcement professionals who reinvestigate and revive cases that others once abandoned, justice might never be served and lack of closure forever torment the families and friends of crime victims. Delayed Justice documents the heroic efforts of some of the nation’s most prolific cold case detectives. In collaboration with authors Jack and Mary Branson, these professionals share their insights, skills, and resources, using their most compelling cold cases as illustrations. The authors examine how cold case investigations differ from standard investigations and why cold case detectives sometimes have success where earlier investigators failed. They also discuss some of the pitfalls of reopening long-unsolved crimes, such as lost or compromised evidence and the difficulty of getting accurate information from witnesses who must rely on fading memories. Looking to the future, the authors discuss new technology that may someday allow investigators to drastically enhance surveillance videos and create a facial recognition database as accurate as DNA analysis and fingerprints. Both true crime readers and fellow law enforcement professionals will find the stories and expert insights described in this book to be fascinating and instructive.” *
Forbidden Lessons in a Kabul Guesthouse: The True Story of a Woman Who Risked Everything to Bring Hope to Afghanistan by Suraya Sadeed and Damien Lewis
“From her first humanitarian visit to Afghanistan in 1994, Suraya Sadeed has been personally delivering relief and hope to Afghan orphans and refugees, to women and girls in inhuman situations deemed too dangerous for other aid workers or for journalists. Her memoir of these missions is as unconventional as the woman who has lived it. Born the daughter of the governor of Kabul amid beautiful gardens and peace, Suraya fled to the United States with her husband and daughter in the aftermath of the 1979 Soviet invasion. In America, she became a prosperous workaholic, but a personal tragedy led her to question the direction of her life. Now, dedicated to the education and welfare of Afghan women and children, she founded Help the Afghan Children (HTAC) to fund her efforts. Here, she shares her story of passion, courage, and love, painting a complex portrait of Afghanistan and its people that defies every stereotype and invites us all to hope.” *
There Are Things I Want You to Know About Stieg Larsson and Me by Eva Gabrielsson
“Here is the real inside story-not the one about the Stieg Larsson phenomenon, but rather the love story of a man and a woman whose lives came to be guided by politics and love, coffee and activism, writing and friendship. Only one person knows that story well enough to tell it with authority. Eva and Stieg shared everything, starting when they were both eighteen until his untimely death 32 years later. Here, Eva accepts the daunting challenge of telling the story of their shared life, steeped in love and sharpened in the struggle for justice and human rights. She chooses to tell it in short, spare, lyrical chapters, like snapshots, the inside account of how he wrote, why he wrote, who the sources were for Lisbeth and his other characters-graciously answering Stieg’s readers’ most pressing questions-and at the same time telling us about love and loss, death, betrayal, and the mistreatment of women” *
The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers by Scott Carney
“An in-depth report that takes readers on a shocking tour through a macabre global underworld where organs, bones, and live people are bought and sold on the red market Investigative journalist Scott Carney has spent five years on the ground tracing the lucrative and deeply secretive trade in human bodies and body parts-a vast hidden economy known as the “red market.” From the horrifying to the ridiculous, he discovers its varied forms: an Indian village nicknamed “Kidneyvakkam” because most of its residents have sold their kidneys for cash; unscrupulous grave robbers who steal human bones from cemeteries, morgues, and funeral pyres for anatomical skeletons used in Western medical schools and labs; an ancient temple that makes money selling the hair of its devotees to wig makers in America-to the tune of $6 million annually. The Red Market reveals the rise, fall, and resurgence of this multibillion-dollar underground trade through history, from early medical study and modern universities to poverty-ravaged Eurasian villages and high-tech Western labs; from body snatchers and surrogate mothers to skeleton dealers and the poor who sell body parts to survive. While local and international law enforcement have cracked down on the market, advances in science have increased the demand for human tissue-ligaments, kidneys, even rented space in women’s wombs-leaving little room to consider the ethical dilemmas inherent in the flesh-and-blood trade. At turns tragic, voyeuristic, and thought-provoking, The Red Market is an eye-opening, surreal look at a little-known global industry and its implications for all our lives.” *
Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America’s Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It by Jeff O’Connell
“Every five seconds, one more person develops diabetes.285 million people worldwide are affected by type 2 diabetes. Many of them have no idea. Here is the personal story of one man who has unearthed the mysteries of this global epidemic and offers hard-won, practical advice for how readers can take control of their lives and combat this deadly disease” *
* book jacket/publisher description