social science / general

Explores the connection between sense of smell and the appetites that move people and give them pleasure, focusing on cinnamon, mint, frankincense, ambergris, and jasmine. Includes recipes for fragrances.

United Airlines Flight 93, which took off from Newark Airport the morning of September 11th, 2001, is perhaps the most famous flight in modern American history. This book offers the most complete account of what actually took place aboard Flight 93 and provides a riveting and complete narrative of the lead-up, event, and aftermath of the flight, based on interviews, oral histories, personal tours of the crash site and evidence recently made public.

Michael Brick is one of those writers who never leaves your side, and what pleasurable company he provides.In reading this collection of his newspaper and magazine stories from Brooklyn, Houston, and beyond, picture the man. Tall, and lanky, and so proud to be Texan, wearing a brown vest and cowboy boots, his narrow reporter?s notebook in his back pocket slapping at his flat ass, as if urging him onward because these blank pages needed filling.Brick?s words breathe life into his subjects. Here is Willy, the world-weary lady bartender at a salt-air bar, and all you need to know is that Her daddy was William, who wanted a son.? Here is Minerva Ramirez, aging with Down syndrome, her hair tied in a floral bow, pretty like Tinkerbell.? And Danny Wimprine, a talented quarterback too small for the N.F.L., whose gorgeous touchdown throws for the New Orleans VooDoo arena football team makes women swoon. And Peter Carmine Gaetano Napolitano, the bartender at the Melody Lanes bowling alley in south Brooklyn, wearing suspenders and a red-trimmed cummerbund, an insurance policy for pants.?Brick brings his characters to life, and brings them along with him to the party. Make room for the Coney Island mermaids, wearing green-sequined bras and knocking back Buds. Another round, please.Proceeds from the book will benefit the Brick family.

"In one of the most optimistic books to come out of Washington during these trying times, Congressman Tim Ryan presents us with an inspiring and hopeful view of our country's future--and a roadmap for how to get there. Across America, people are feeling squeezed, exhausted, and running faster and faster while falling farther behind. The economy continues to struggle, wars rage on, and every week brings news of another environmental disaster. Everything seems broken and people feel helpless to make a difference. Despite this bleak outlook, there are strands of quiet hope and confidence. People are beginning to take action in a new way: they are slowing down, paying attention, and gaining an awareness of the inner resources at their disposal.This new way is based on the timeless and universal practice of mindfulness, the natural capabilities of our brains and minds, and the core American values of self-reliance, stick-to-it-iveness, and getting the job done. And it's manifesting in every sector of our society--it's helping sick people work with their pain, school children improve their learning, veterans heal from trauma, and CEOs become more inclusive and effective leaders. All these benefits--and more--are supported by scientific research on mindfulness that is regularly reported by the mainstream media, such as ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.In A Mindful Nation, Congressman Tim Ryan--an all-American guy from the heartland who is also a thoughtful, committed leader--takes this story about the benefits of mindfulness to the next level. He connects the dots between what's happening with mindfulness in the classrooms, hospitals, boardrooms, research labs, and army bases across the country by sharing his interactions with experts in education, defense, health care, criminal justice, and the environment. A Mindful Nation paints a picture of emerging solutions that both benefit the reader and address the societal difficulties we are facing. Ryan's folksy, warm, and encouraging voice uplifts us and shows that there is something we can do right here and right now to help ourselves and our country.Both inspiring and pragmatic, A Mindful Nation shows how the benefits of mindfulness apply to the current challenges that affect each of us in our own lives and in our communities, and thus have implications for our society as a whole. With a hard-nosed understanding of politics, government budgets, and what it takes to get something done, Ryan connects a practical approach--lead with the science, show the savings and show how this can help us educate our children to be competitive in the world arena--with a hopeful vision for how mindfulness can reinvigorate our core American values and transform and revitalize our communities. "--.

Chronicles the history of homosexuality in the United States from the Puritans through the twentieth century, examining the role of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgendered individuals in shaping American culture.