Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Rise Fall and Rebirth of Chicago...

  Charles River Editors

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  Though it started as a 300 person settlement in 1832, Chicago’s location near the Great Lakes and its access to the Mississippi River turned it into a major trading city overnight. The city became even more important when railroads were constructed to connect the country, making it the first major city in the “West” during the mid-19th century. By 1871, the original 300 person settlement was now home to about 300,000 people, and Chicago had become the first major city built by Americans rather than European colonial powers  
  	Thus, it had taken less than 40 years for the new settlement of 300 to become a city of nearly 300,000, but it only took two days in 1871 for much of it to be destroyed. On the night of October 8, 1871, a blaze in the southwestern section of Chicago began to burn out of control. The popular legend is that a cow in Mrs. Catherine O’Leary’s barn had kicked over a lantern and started a fire. The story blaming the cow was a colorful fabrication, but the fire itself was very real, lasting almost two whole days and devouring several square miles of the city. The fire was so powerful that firefighters could not put it out, due to dry conditions, stiff winds, and the fact the city was mostly made of wood. 
  	Walking around Chicago today, it’s easy to forget about its past as a rural frontier. That’s due in no small part to the way Chicago responded to the Great Fire of 1871. Immediately after the fire, Chicago encouraged inhabitants and architects to build over the ruins, spurring creative architecture with elaborate designs. Architects descended upon the city for the opportunity to rebuild the area, and over the next few decades they had rebuilt Chicago with the country’s most modern architecture and monuments.  
  	Chicago recovered well enough within 20 years to win the right to host the World’s Fair in 1893.

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  Obama - The Greatest President...

  Frank J. Fleming

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  It's hard to remember the dark days before 2008. It was a time of hatred, racism, violence, obese children, war, untaxed rich people, and incandescent light bulbs -- perhaps the worst days we had ever seen. And at the heart of it all was a thuggish, thoughtless man, George W. Bush, who lashed out angrily at whatever he didn't understand -- and he understood so very little. Then there was that laugh of his -- that horrible snicker that mocked everything intelligent and nuanced. Also, he looked like a chimp.It seemed like the end for the United States of America. We would crumble in the hands of vicious, superstitious dimwits determined to hunt "ter'ists" or other figments of Bush's rotten mind. There was nothing left to do but head to Whole Foods to prepare our organic, sustainable, fair-trade last meal as the country ended around us. Despair had overtaken us, and we wondered aloud whether we could ever feel hope again.And then a man emerged who firmly answered, "Yes we can!"Oh, but Barack Obama was no mere man. He was a paragon of intelligence and civilized society. A savior to the world's depressed. A lightbringer. A genius thinking thoughts the common man could never hope to comprehend. And his words -- his beautiful words read from crystal panes -- reached down to our souls and told us all would be well. With the simple act of casting a ballot for Barack Obama, we could make the world an immeasurably better place -- a world of peace, of love, of understanding, of unicorns, of rainbows, of expanded entitlements. This was his promise. And now, having had him as president for more than two years, we can say without reservation that he has delivered all his promises and more and is the best president this country -- or any country -- has ever had or could even imagine to have.

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  Weapons of the Gods - How...

  Nick Redfern

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  In 1945, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki became the first and last victims of the atom bomb, the most destructive man-made force our planet has ever known. Or were they just the latest in a long line of Armageddon-level events? Is it possible that our civilization is, in reality, just one of many? Did previous cultures blossom, develop, and thrive, only to destroy themselves, tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago, with the same atomic technology? 
   
   
   
  These are the controversial and thought-provoking questions at the heart of Nick Redfern's Weapons of the Gods, which argues that many ancient civilizations cracked the secrets of the atom, only to become the victims of its awesome, terrifying power. Where is the evidence? The answer is shockingly simple: it's everywhere. It's just a matter of knowing where to look for it, from the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the ancient Pakistani culture of Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, to the Lonar Crater in India and the revelations in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, two ancient Sanskrit texts that describe nuclear warfare thousands of years ago.

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  The Channels of Student Activism...

  Amy J. Binder, Jeffrey L. Kidder

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  An eye-opening analysis of collegiate activism and its effects on the divisions in contemporary American politics.  
   
  The past six years have been marked by a contentious political atmosphere that has touched every arena of public life, including higher education. Though most college campuses are considered ideologically progressive, how can it be that the right has been so successful in mobilizing young people even in these environments? 
   
  As Amy J. Binder and Jeffrey L. Kidder show in this surprising analysis of the relationship between political activism on college campuses and the broader US political landscape, while liberal students often outnumber conservatives on college campuses, liberal campus organizing remains removed from national institutions that effectively engage students after graduation. And though they are usually in the minority, conservative student groups have strong ties to national right-leaning organizations, which provide funds and expertise, as well as job opportunities and avenues for involvement after graduation. Though the left is more prominent on campus, the right has built a much more effective system for mobilizing ongoing engagement. What’s more, the conservative college ecosystem has worked to increase the number of political provocations on campus and lower the public’s trust in higher education. 
    
  In analyzing collegiate activism from the left, right, and center, The Channels of Student Activism shows exactly how politically engaged college students are channeled into two distinct forms of mobilization and why that has profound consequences for the future of American politics. 

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  Embracing Crone Wisdom

  MD Jean Shinoda Bolen

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  What wisdom do you have that you can pass on? Have the difficult times in your life left you bitter, seeking someone to blame? Or have they left you juicy with self-awareness, purpose, and humor? Have you become a crone? Join author and Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen as she explores the enormous potential for wisdom in the last third of your life.

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  Signs of the Times - Unlocking...

  Ray Grasse

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  “A unique and extremely interesting examination of both history and the unfolding present as seen through the prism of astrological significance.” —John Anthony West, author of Serpent in the Sky 
   
  We may live in astonishing times, but they are not incomprehensible when you know how to read the signs. 
   
  Everybody says we’re entering the Age of Aquarius, but when does it start, and how will we know what it looks and feels like? Ray Grasse deciphers the signs and correspondences of our nearing Aquarian future, using the tools of astrology, synchronicity, and mythology. He draws richly from contemporary religion, art, politics, science, even current movies, to show how the cultural signs of Aquarius and our likely future are already apparent and changing our world. 
   
  The Aquarian Age will be marked by its intensely mental quality, when information will be the driving force of society and the biggest challenges we face will be those of the mind. Decentralization will be the order of business, either the empowered individual will reign supreme, or the collective interests of globalized society will predominate. It could be both. 
   
  We are all participants in the global drama and all aspects of our inner and outer lives are bound up with the new Aquarian themes. Signs of the Times is the authoritative travel guide for the trip into our future—don’t leave the present without it. 
   
  “An attempt, firmly anchored in the age-old tradition of spiritual symbology, to make sense of what often strikes us as utterly chaotic, arbitrary, and senseless.” —Georg Feuerstein, PhD, author of The Yoga Tradition

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