social aspects

"On January 20, 2021, Amanda Gorman became the sixth and youngest poet, at age twenty-two, to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential inauguration. Her inaugural poem, 'The Hill We Climb,' is now available to cherish in this special edition"--Provided by publisher.

From St. Louis to New Orleans, from Baltimore to Oklahoma City, there are poor and minority neighborhoods so beset by pollution that just living in them can be hazardous to your health. Due to entrenched segregation, zoning ordinances that privilege wealthier communities, or because businesses have found the 'paths of least resistance,' there are many hazardous waste and toxic facilities in these communities, leading residents to experience health and wellness problems on top of the race and class discrimination most already experience. Taking stock of the recent environmental justice scholarship, Toxic Communities examines the connections among residential segregation, zoning, and exposure to environmental hazards. Renowned environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor focuses on the locations of hazardous facilities in low-income and minority communities and shows how they have been dumped on, contaminated and exposed.

"In this hybrid memoir, Alberto Ledesma wonders, at what point does a long-time undocumented immigrant become an American in the making? From undocumented little boy to "Hyperdocumented" university professor, Ledesma recounts how even now, he sometimes finds himself reverting to the child he was, recalling his father's words: "Mijo, it doesn't matter how good you think your English is, la migra will still get you." Exploring Ledesma's experiences from immigrant to student to academic, "Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer" presents a humorous, gritty, and multilayered portrait of undocumented immigrant life in urban America"--Back cover.

"A dramatic untold 'people's history' of the storied event that helped trigger the American Revolution"--Provided by publisher.

Describes disgusting details about daily life during the U.S. Civil War, including housing, food, and sanitation.

Presents an examination of the daily life of the people living in the colonies at the time of the American Revolutionary War, from 1775-1783, and includes information on the civilians, Patriots, Native Americans, British Loyalists, and women.

"The . . . story of a small, makeshift library in the town of Daraya, and the people who found hope and humanity in its books during a four-year siege"--Amazon.

From injuries caused by lead poisoning to the devastating effects of atmospheric pollution, infectious disease, and industrial waste, Americans of color are harmed by environmental hazards in staggeringly disproportionate numbers. This systemic onslaught of toxic exposure and institutional negligence causes irreparable physical harm to millions of people across the country--cutting lives tragically short and needlessly burdening our health care system. But these deadly environments create another insidious and often overlooked consequence: robbing communities of color, and America as a whole, of intellectual power. The 1994 publication of The Bell Curve and its controversial thesis catapulted the topic of genetic racial differences in IQ to the forefront of a renewed and heated debate. Now, in A Terrible Thing to Waste, award-winning science writer Harriet A. Washington adds her incisive analysis to the fray, arguing that IQ is a biased and flawed metric, but that it is useful for tracking cognitive damage. She takes apart the spurious notion of intelligence as an inherited trait, using copious data that instead point to a different cause of the reported African American-white IQ gap: environmental racism--a confluence of racism and other institutional factors that relegate marginalized communities to living and working near sites of toxic waste, pollution, and insufficient sanitation services. She investigates heavy metals, neurotoxins, deficient prenatal care, bad nutrition, and even pathogens as chief agents influencing intelligence to explain why communities of color are disproportionately affected--and what can be done to remedy this devastating problem. Featuring extensive scientific research and Washington's sharp, lively reporting, A Terrible Thing to Waste is sure to outrage, transform the conversation, and inspire debate.

"An argument for why the United States and the West should accept more immigrants, and would benefit from doing so"--Provided by publisher.