New Titles Tuesday, May 15

In the past week, 32 items were added to the library’s catalogue, including 21 more from the A very short introduction series. Here is a selection. Click on a title for more information. TWU login may be required.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The best American essays. 2016 & 2017 A yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States. In 2016, guest editor Jonathan Franzen   used “risk” as his main criterion for selecting The Best American Essays.  Whether the risks involved championing an unpopular opinion, the possibility of ruining a professional career, or irrevocably offending family, for Franzen, “the writer has to be like the firefighter, whose job, while everyone else is fleeing the  flames, is to run straight into them.”

 2017’s guest editor Leslie Jamison selected essays that were “political—and politically useful.”  From the Iraqi desert to an East Jerusalem refugee camp, from the beginnings of the universe to the aftermath of a suicide attempt, the genetic makeup of the eclectic and electric selections in The Best American Essays 2017 “thrill toward complexity.”

EDUCATION

Dive into inquiry: amplify learning and empower student voice /Trevor MacKenzie ; [foreword by Alec Couros].

The google infused classroom: your step-by-step guide to making thinking visible and amplifying student voice /Holly Clark, Tanya Avrith.

 Thinkertoys: a handbook of creative-thinking techniques /Michael Michalko. In this revised and expanded edition of his groundbreaking Thinkertoys, creativity expert Michael Michalko reveals life-changing tools that will help you think like a genius. From the linear to the intuitive, this comprehensive handbook details ingenious creative-thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways. Through fun and thought-provoking exercises, you’ll learn how to create original ideas that will improve your personal life and your business life. Michalko’s techniques show you how to look at the same information as everyone else and see something different.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Gospel Jesuses and other nonhumans: Biblical criticism post-poststructuralism /Stephen D. Moore.

An inn called Welcome [electronic resource]: the story of the Mission to Lepers, 1874-1917/A. Donald Miller. This book tells the story of forty-three years of compassionate service to leprosy sufferers. It begins in a drawing room in a Dublin suburb, and ends in places as far apart as India, China and Korea. Miller’s service to those who suffered from leprosy began in 1922 when he was posted by The Mission to Lepers to its largest home, at Purulia, in West Bengal, India. He is eminently fitted, by experience and ability, to write the story of the Mission.

 The straight mind in Corinth: queer readings across 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 /Gillian Townsley.

VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS

 Alloway Library now has over 350 of the 602 Very Short Introductions in print. Published by Oxford University Press the Very Short Introductions (VSIs) offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects–from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides trenchant and provocative–yet always balanced and complete–discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every VSI gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society. Many have a Reading Guide written by expert authors to provoke discussions and help you to question again, why you think what you think.

 The conquistadors: a very short introduction /Matthew Restall and Felipe Fernández-Armesto.  Chapters explore New World civilizations prior to the invasions, the genesis of conquistador culture on both sides of the Atlantic, the roles black Africans and Native Americans played, and the consequences of the invasions. The book reveals who the conquistadors were and what made their adventures possible.

 The Dead Sea Scrolls: a very short introduction /Timothy H. Lim. Lim discusses the cultural significance of the finds, and the religious, political and legal controversies during the seventy years of study since the discovery. He also looks at the contribution the Scrolls have made to our understanding of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, and the origins of early Christianity. Exploring the most recent scholarly discussions on the archaeology of Khirbet Qumran, and the study of the biblical texts, the canon, and the history of the Second Temple Period, he considers what the scrolls reveal about sectarianism in early Judaism

 Evolution: a very short introduction /Brian Charlesworth, Deborah Charlesworth.

Modern France: a very short introduction /Vanessa R. Schwartz.

Pandemics: a very short introduction /Christian W. McMillen.  McMillen provides a concise yet comprehensive account of pandemics throughout human history, illustrating how pandemic disease has shaped history and, at the same time, social behavior has influenced pandemic disease. Extremely interesting from a medical standpoint, the study of pandemics also provides unexpected, broader insights into culture and politics. By assessing the relationship between poverty and disease and the geography of epidemics, McMillen offers an outspoken and thought-provoking point of view on the necessity for global governments to learn from past experiences and proactively cooperate to prevent any future epidemic.

 Voltaire: a very short introduction /Nicholas Cronk. In a fresh and modern examination of his writings, Cronk examines the nature of Voltaire’s literary celebrity, demonstrating the extent to which his work was reactive and practical, and therefore made sense within the broader context of the debates to which he responded. The most famous living author in Europe in the 18th century, Cronk emphasises Voltaire’s skills of ‘performance’ as a writer and his continued relevance today. He concludes by looking not only at Voltaire’s impact in literature and philosophy, but also his influence on French political values and modern French politics.