culture conflict

Sixteen-year-old Bernardo, who is eight feet tall and suffers from a condition called Gigantism, leaves the Philipines to live with his mother's family in London, much to the delight of his thirteen-year-old half sister Andi, a passionate basketball player.

"Our world was made on and by the Silk Roads. For millennia it was here that East and West encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas and cultures, the birth of the world's great religions, the appetites for foreign goods that drove economies and the growth of nations. From the first cities in Mesopotamia to the growth of Greece and Rome to the depredations by the Mongols and the Black Death to the Great Game and the fall of Communism, the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. The Silk Roads vividly captures the importance of the networks that crisscrossed the spine of Asia and linked the Atlantic with the Pacific, the Mediterranean with India, America with the Persian Gulf. By way of events as disparate as the American Revolution and the horrific world wars of the twentieth century, Peter Frankopan realigns the world, orientating us eastwards, and illuminating how even the rise of the West 500 years ago resulted from its efforts to gain access to and control these Eurasian trading networks. In an increasingly globalized planet, where current events in Asia and the Middle East dominate the world's attention, this magnificent work of history is very much a work of our times" --.

We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases. How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? Former New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm. In social media and literature, television, academia, and politics, Kakutani identifies the trends -- originating on both the right and the left -- that have combined to elevate subjectivity over factuality, science, and common values. And she returns us to the words of the great critics of authoritarianism, writers like George Orwell and Hannah Arendt, whose work is newly and eerily relevant.

When Bilal's family suddenly moves to America, his father stays in Pakistan, and Bilal embraces baseball, an unexpected friend, and a new language. But this new way of life does not feel so special without Baba--will he ever get to America to see Bilal pitch a game?.

Introduces the reader to all sides of contemporary controversies about, are there two Americas, in an objective and comprehensive way.

"Readers examine the widening gap between those who believe political correctness is an unnecessary affectation and those who believe a greater good can be achieved with increased sensitivity in how we talk to, and about, each other"--Provided by publisher.

Looks at bullying in the founding history of the United States, explores how that history may still be impacting children and families, and describes ways to use creativity and self-respect in the face of negative messages for marginalized communities. Presented in English and Spanish.

"In this timely, carefully reasoned social history of the United States, places today's heated culture wars within the context of a centuries-long struggle of right vs. left and religious vs. secular to reveal how, ultimately, liberals always win."--OCLC.

A portrait of the life and work of outspoken activity and feminist, Midge Costanza, who became the first female assistant to the president for public liason under the Carter Administration in 1977.