Fiction and Non Fiction

Brief Summary It Takes a Village tells the heartwarming and universal story of a diverse community coming together to make a difference. All kinds of people working together, playing together, and living together in harmony makes a better village and many villages coming together can make a better world. Together we can build a better life for one another. Together we can change our world. The book will resonate with children and families and through the generations as it encourages readers to look for a way they can make a difference. It is a book that you will surely want to read again and again, a book you will want to share and a book that will inspire. ISBN:9781847390561 Author:Hillary Clinton

Brief Summary Since We Fell follows Rachel Childs, a former journalist who, after an on-air mental breakdown, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel’s marriage. As does Rachel herself. Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths. By turns heart- breaking, suspenseful, romantic, and sophisticated, Since We Fell is a novel of profound psychological insight and tension. It is Dennis Lehane at his very best. ISBN:9780062129383 Author:Dennis Lehane

Brief Summary The Irish Midlands, 1859. An English nurse, Lib Wright, is summoned to a tiny village to observe what some are claiming as a medical anomaly or a miracle - a girl said to have survived without food for months. Tourists have flocked to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, and a journalist has come down to cover the sensation. The Wonder is a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil. ISBN:9780316393874 Author:Emma Donoghue

Brief Summary When people ask Elizabeth Pisani what she does for a living, she says, "Sex and drugs." As an epidemiologist researching AIDS, she's been involved with international efforts to halt the disease for fourteen years. With swashbuckling wit and fierce honesty, she dishes on herself and her colleagues as they try to prod reluctant governments to fund HIV prevention for the people who need it most—drug injectors, gay men, sex workers, and johns. Pisani chats with flamboyant Indonesian transsexuals about their boob jobs and watches Chinese streetwalkers turn away clients because their SUVs aren't nice enough. With verve and clarity, she shows the general reader how her profession really works; how easy it is to draw wrong conclusions from "objective" data; and, shockingly, how much money is spent so very badly. "Exhibit A": the 45 billion taxpayer dollars the Bush administration is committing to international AIDS programs. ISBN:9780393066623 Author:Elizabeth Pisani

Brief Summary Eight writers, including Joanne Harris, Marie Phillips, and Irvine Welsh, spent time with a charity promoting the development of women and girls—and were inspired to write an extraordinary array of stories and essays that statistics cannot convey Irvine Welsh tells a story of prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, while Xiaolu Guo tells of a policeman with a Khmer Rouge past. Marie Phillips takes on the sexual abuse of Ugandan schoolgirls—and the outcome of the abuse. Seven authors have visited seven different countries—Brazil, Togo, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Uganda, Ghana, and the Dominican Republic—and spoken to young women and girls about their lives, struggles, and hopes. The result is an extraordinary collection of writings based on the girls' true stories, about prejudice, abuse, and neglect, but also about courage, resilience, and changing attitudes. ISBN:9780099535928 Author:Tim Butcher, Xiaolu Guo and Joanne Harris

Brief Summary Between 1974 and 1990 more than thirty countries in southern Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe shifted from authoritarian to democratic systems of government. This global democratic revolution is probably the most important political trend in the late twentieth century. In The Third Wave, Samuel P. Huntington analyzes the causes and nature of these democratic transitions, evaluates the prospects for stability of the new democracies, and explores the possibility of more countries becoming democratic. The recent transitions, he argues, are the third major wave of democratization in the modem world. Each of the two previous waves was followed by a reverse wave in which some countries shifted back to authoritarian government. Using concrete examples, empirical evidence, and insightful analysis, Huntington provides neither a theory nor a history of the third wave, but an explanation of why and how it occurred. Factors responsible for the democratic trend include the legitimacy dilemmas of authoritarian regimes; economic and social development; the changed role of the Catholic Church; the impact of the United States, the European Community, and the Soviet Union; and the "snowballing" phenomenon: change in one country stimulating change in others. Five key elite groups within and outside the nondemocratic regime played roles in shaping the various ways democratization occurred. Compromise was key to all democratizations, and elections and nonviolent tactics also were central. New democracies must deal with the "torturer problem" and the "praetorian problem" and attempt to develop democratic values and processes. Disillusionment with democracy, Huntington argues, is necessary to consolidating democracy. He concludes the book with an analysis of the political, economic, and cultural factors that will decide whether or not the third wave continues. Several "Guidelines for Democratizers" offer specific, practical suggestions for initiating and carrying out reform. Huntington's emphasis on practical application makes this book a valuable tool for anyone engaged in the democratization process. At this volatile time in history, Huntington's assessment of the processes of democratization is indispensable to understanding the future of democracy in the world. ISBN:9780806125169 Author:Samuel P. Huntington

Brief Summary 50 Great Myths of Human Evolution uses common misconceptions to explore basic theory and research in human evolution and strengthen critical thinking skills for lay readers and students. • Examines intriguing—yet widely misunderstood—topics, from general ideas about evolution and human origins to the evolution of modern humans and recent trends in the field • Describes what fossils, archaeology, and genetics can tell us about human origins • Demonstrates the ways in which science adapts and changes over time to incorporate new evidence and better explanations • Includes myths such as "Humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs;” "Lucy was so small because she was a child;” "Our ancestors have always made fire;” and "There is a strong relationship between brain size and intelligence” • Comprised of stand-alone essays that are perfect for casual reading, as well as footnotes and references that allow readers to delve more deeply into topics ISBN:9780470673928 Author:John H. Relethford

Brief Summary Nothing is more personal than a name and the naming of a baby is taken very seriously by all parents-to-be. With an extensive, easy-to-use alphabetical listing of every boy's and girl's name imaginable, 40,001 Best Baby Names, unique among the plethora of baby name books on the market, also includes fun, individualized lists, such as: good names for race-car drivers, names that spawn nasty nicknames, names for children who are handsome or beautiful, nerd/dork/wallflower names, death row names, names for smart kids and much, much more! With 40,001 baby names to choose from, in an accessible, enjoyable format, 40,001 best Baby Names is the essential resource for all parents-to-be. ISBN:9780091900007 Author:Diane Stafford