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Albee--Dog Days of History
What is it we love about dogs so much? From ancient times to the present, dogs have guarded us, worked with us, marched off to war with us, and of course, just sat on the couch with us for a cuddle. Throughout the course of human history, this partnership deepened from dogs doing a service into friendship. Dogs have been by our side through it all, and this book tracks our common story from wild wolves in ancient civilizations to modern-day breeds, highlighting famous pooches of the past and present along the way. You'll chuckle through the ages as you catch up with the wonders of man's best friend.
•	ISBN-10: 1426329717
•	ISBN-13: 9781426329715
•	Release Year: 2018
•	Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books
America's Test Kitchen--Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
Using kid-tested and approved recipes, America's Test Kitchen has created THE cookbook every kid chef needs on their shelf. Whether you're cooking for yourself, your friends, or your family, The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs has delicious recipes that will wow! Chapters include how-to information, breakfasts, snacks, main dishes, food for parties, and themed-menu ideas for parties, all perfectly suited for the emerging cook. Photos and testimonials from kid test cooks will encourage young chefs that they truly are learning from the best.
•	Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Arikawa--The Travelling Cat Chronicles
An instant international bestseller, The Travelling Cat Chronicles has charmed readers around the world. With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe . . . With his crooked tail—a sign of good fortune—and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love..
•	Publisher: Berkley
Barry - This Land: America, Lost and Found
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and on the eve of a national recession, New York Times writer Dan Barry launched a column about America: not the one populated only by cable-news pundits, but the America defined and redefined by those who clean the hotel rooms, tend the beet fields, endure disasters both natural and manmade. As the name of the president changed from Bush to Obama to Trump, Barry was crisscrossing the country, filing deeply moving stories from the tiniest dot on the American map to the city that calls itself the Capital of the World. Complemented by the select images of award-winning Times photographers, these narrative and visual snapshots of American life create a majestic tapestry of our shared experience, capturing how our nation is at once flawed and exceptional, paralyzed and ascendant, as cruel and violent as it can be gentle and benevolent.
•	Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Boston--Go Kamado
You've got the grill—now get the skills. Learn how to grill, smoke, roast, and bake on the amazing, egg-shaped kamado grill. Backyard entertaining will never be the same once you unlock the potential of this versatile cooker. With thick ceramic walls that hold in and radiate heat, the kamado grill is the only device you need for smoking succulent brisket, grilling perfectly cooked steaks, roasting flavorful turkey, and even baking homemade bread. Grilling expert Chef JJ Boston has built his business around teaching people how to use kamado grills, and now you can learn his simple techniques to make mouthwatering meals on your kamado. Discover the difference between direct and indirect grilling, master the art of smoking with high and low heat, and learn how to infuse your food with irresistible smoked flavor. With step-by-step instruction on cooking techniques, tips on grill maintenance, and more than 100 delicious recipes, Go Kamado is the only guide you need to get the most from your grill.
•	ISBN-10: 146547353X
•	Publisher: Alpha
Brottman--Unexplained Death
"The poster is new. I notice it right away, taped to a utility pole. Beneath the word 'Missing,' printed in a bold, high-impact font, are two sepia-toned photographs of a man dressed in a bow tie and tux." Most people would keep walking. Maybe they'd pay a bit closer attention to the local news that evening. Mikita Brottman spent ten years sifting through the details of the missing man's life and disappearance, and his purported suicide by jumping from the roof of her own apartment building, the Belvedere. As Brottman delves into the murky circumstances surrounding Rey Rivera's death—which begins to look more and more like a murder—she contemplates the nature of and motives behind suicide, and uncovers a haunting pattern of guests at the Belvedere, when it was still a historic hotel, taking their own lives on the premises. Finally, she fearlessly takes us to the edge of her own morbid curiosity and asks us to consider our own darker impulses and obsessions.
•	Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Brown--Wild Robot Escapes
The sequel to the bestselling The Wild Robot, by award-winning author Peter Brown Shipwrecked on a remote, wild island, Robot Roz learned from the unwelcoming animal inhabitants and adapted to her surroundings--but can she survive the challenges of the civilized world and find her way home to Brightbill and the island? From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed sequel to his New York Times bestselling The Wild Robot, about what happens when nature and technology collide.
•	Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Burger--Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom
Elie Wiesel was a towering presence on the world stage—a Nobel laureate, activist, adviser to world leaders, and the author of more than forty books, including the Oprah's Book Club selection Night. But when asked, Wiesel always said, "I am a teacher first." In fact, he taught at Boston University for nearly four decades, and with this book, Ariel Burger—devoted protégé, apprentice, and friend—takes us into the sacred space of Wiesel's classroom. There, Wiesel challenged his students to explore moral complexity and to resist the dangerous lure of absolutes. In bringing together never-before-recounted moments between Wiesel and his students, Witness serves as a moral education in and of itself—a primer on educating against indifference, on the urgency of memory and individual responsibility, and on the role of literature, music, and art in making the world a more compassionate place. Burger first met Wiesel at age fifteen; he became his student in his twenties, and his teaching assistant in his thirties. In this profoundly thought-provoking and inspiring book, Burger gives us a front-row seat to Wiesel's remarkable exchanges in and out of the classroom, and chronicles the intimate conversations between these two men over the decades as Burger sought counsel on matters of intellect, spirituality, and faith, while navigating his own personal journey from boyhood to manhood, from student and assistant, to rabbi and, in time, teacher. "Listening to a witness makes you a witness," said Wiesel. Ariel Burger's book is an invitation to every reader to become Wiesel's student, and witness.
•	Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Camplin--Art of Reading
"Why do artists love books?" This volume takes this tantalizingly simple question as a starting point to reveal centuries of symbiosis between the visual and literary arts. First looking at the development of printed books and the simultaneous emergence of the modern figure of the artist, The Art of Reading appraises works by the many great masters who took inspiration from the printed word. Bringing together more than one hundred paintings that include books as part of their subject matter, this lively and companionable survey examines how the book became the single most ubiquitous feature of our cultural lives and, in large measure, of everyday existence. Authors Jamie Camplin and Maria Ranauro weave together an engaging cultural history that probes the ways in which books and paintings represent a key to understanding ourselves and the past. Paintings contain a world of information about religion, class, gender, and power, but they also reveal details of everyday life often lost in history texts—and all the more so when books are depicted. Such artworks show us not only how books have been used and valued over time but also how the significance and practice of reading have evolved in Western society. Featuring work by artists from across Europe and the United States and all painting genres, The Art of Reading explores the two-thousand-year story of the great painters and the preeminent information-providing, knowledge-endowing, solace-giving, belief-supporting, leisure-enriching, pleasure-delivering medium of all time: the book.
•	Publisher: Getty Publications
Carter--Invisible
She was brilliant, ambitious, and unafraid to break barriers. As the only member of a squad of twenty high-powered lawyers who was not a white male, she devised the strategy that in the 1930s sent Mafia chieftan Lucky Luciano to prison. She achieved so much—but what could she have accomplished if not for barriers of race and gender? Eunice Hunton Carter, Stephen Carter's grandmother, was the daughter of a distinguished African American couple and the granddaughter of slaves. A graduate of Smith College and Fordham Law School, she became a key member of the legal team charged with breaking up organized crime in New York City. By the 1940s, she was one of the most famous black women in America. But at every turn, Eunice encountered prejudice, and her triumphs were shadowed by tragedy. Greatly complicating her rise was her difficult relationship with her younger brother, Alphaeus, an avowed Communist who—together with his friend Dashiell Hammett—went to prison during the McCarthy era. Yet she remained unbowed: constantly reinventing herself, she somehow found a way forward. Moving, haunting, and written with dazzling power, Invisible tells the story of a woman who often found her path blocked by the social and political expectations of the age. But Eunice Carter never accepted defeat, and thanks to her grandson's remarkable book she is once again visible.
Chen--When I Grow Up
A little boy shares with his mom his dreams of what he might be when he grows up in this tender picture book from Julie Chen the host of Big Brother and formerly the host of The Talk and New York Times bestselling artist and Caldecott Honor recipient Diane Goode. One night while getting ready for bed a little boy starts to wonder what will life be like when he grows up. He could be a painter, a musician, a mountain climber, a mayor… He tells his mother all about his big ideas…and all of the other things he wants to do. But when will he grow up? And why does it take so long?
•	Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Davis--Corduroy Takes a Bow
Using her own experiences as a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress, Viola Davis writes the story of Corduroy and Lisa's first trip to the theater. As usual, Corduroy adventures off on his own, and readers follow his escapades as he explores all over—from the orchestra pit to the costumes rack to the props table and ultimately onto the stage itself, before being reunited with Lisa. A beautifully illustrated tale with a classic feel, sure to spark an interest in theater in children of any age.
•	Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
DiCamillo--Louisiana's Way Home
When Louisiana Elefante's granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn't overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana's life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny's heads. But that is a story for another time.)
•	Publisher: Candlewick
Dilts--The World the Trains Made
A richly illustrated guide to railroad architecture, in all its surprising variety James D. Dilts has written the first comprehensive study of the broad range of structures built in North America for the railroads during their heyday, from high-rise office buildings to resort hotels to roundhouses and shops. Dilts delves into the personalities of the people who conceived these structures and examines the creative new uses that have been found for many of them today. The railroads popularized such vogues in architecture as the Italianate style in the United States and the château style in Canada and pioneered the use of new materials and methods of construction. Included in this lavishly illustrated, full-color volume are more than a hundred of the finest examples of fourteen different building types. The World the Trains Made will appeal to railroad and architecture buffs, preservationists considering the adaptive reuse of historic structures, and anyone concerned about our transportation priorities in the age of climate change—particularly with regard to environmentally friendly railroads.
•	Publisher: ForeEdge
DK--Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story
Discover more than 70 of the most famous ballet dances, from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake to The Rite of Spring. Learn the stories behind renowned companies such as The Royal Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. Explore the lives and achievements of dancers across the centuries, such as Margot Fonteyn, Carlos Acosta, and Darcey Bussell. Meet composers and choreographers, from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to Matthew Bourne. From its origins at court and the first national ballet companies, to the contemporary scene and extraordinary venues that stage the productions, this book covers an impressive history of ballet and provides an invaluable overview of the subject. Filled with rarely seen photographs covering all the key figures, pieces, and performances, and compelling facts about each dance—the sources they draw from, their production history, and their reception over time—Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story is an essential gift for all ballet enthusiasts.
•	Publisher: DK
DK--Writers: Their Lives and Works
Introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured novelist, playwright, or poet, biographical entries trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each individual and influenced their work, revealing insights into the larger-than-life characters, plots, and evocative settings that they created. Each entry explains how the person's writing developed during their lifetime, and sets it in context, conveying a powerful sense of the place and the period of history in which they lived. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and paintings of writers' homes, studies, and personal artifacts—along with pages from original manuscripts, first editions, and their correspondence—this book introduces the key ideas, themes, and literary techniques of each writer, revealing the imaginations and personalities behind some of the world's greatest novels, short stories, poems, and plays. Covering an eclectic range of authors from the Middle Ages to the present day, Writers provides a compelling glimpse of the lives and loves of each great writer.
Dowsett--Disney Ideas Book
The perfect gift for kids who love Disney and enjoy crafting. Let their imaginations run wild with more than 100 amazing Disney inspired arts and crafts, party games, puzzles, papercraft and many more fun and practical activities. With stunning photography and clear step-by-step instructions, the Disney Ideas Book guides you through each exciting project, from growing grass hair on Frozen trolls and creating The Lion King animal masks to crafting festive Mickey Mouse hanging decorations and Winnie the Pooh party hats. Featuring family favorite characters from animation and live-action movies and TV, including Frozen, Toy Story, Moana, Inside Out and Cinderella.
The activities are suitable for kids and adults alike, whatever their level of ability. There are top tips on every page from expert crafters to help make your creations a success, as well as fun Disney facts to pore over. With the Disney Ideas Book, your family will never be bored again.
•	Publisher: DK Children
Ellis--American Dialogue: The Founders and Us
The story of history is a ceaseless conversation between past and present, and in American Dialogue Joseph J. Ellis focuses the conversation on the often-asked question "What would the Founding Fathers think?" He examines four of our most seminal historical figures through the prism of particular topics, using the perspective of the present to shed light on their views and, in turn, to make clear how their now centuries-old ideas illuminate the disturbing impasse of today's political conflicts. He discusses Jefferson and the issue of racism, Adams and the specter of economic inequality, Washington and American imperialism, Madison and the doctrine of original intent. Through these juxtapositions—and in his hallmark dramatic and compelling narrative voice—Ellis illuminates the obstacles and pitfalls paralyzing contemporary discussions of these fundamentally important issues.
•	Publisher: Knopf
Emmich--Dear Evan Hansen
When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend. Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be? No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself. A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.
•	Publisher: Poppy
Engel--Innumberable Insects
To date, we have discovered and described or named around 1.1 million insect species, and thousands of new species are added to the ranks every year. It is estimated that there are around five million insect species on Earth, making them the most diverse lineage of all life by far. This magnificent volume from the American Museum of Natural History tells their incredible story. Noted entomologist Michael S. Engel explores insects' evolution and diversity; metamorphosis; pests, parasites, and plagues; society and language; camouflage; and pollination—as well as tales of discovery by intrepid entomologists. More than 180 illustrations from the Rare Book Collection at the Museum's Research Library reveal the extraordinary world of insects down to their tiniest, most astonishing details, from butterflies' iridescent wings to beetles' vibrant colors.
•	Publisher: Sterling
Field--In Pieces
One of the most celebrated, beloved, and enduring actors of our time, Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated the nation for more than five decades, beginning with her first TV role at the age of seventeen. From Gidget's sweet-faced "girl next door" to the dazzling complexity of Sybil to the Academy Award-worthy ferocity and depth of Norma Rae and Mary Todd Lincoln, Field has stunned audiences time and time again with her artistic range and emotional acuity. Yet there is one character who always remained hidden: the shy and anxious little girl within. With raw honesty and the fresh, pitch-perfect prose of a natural-born writer, and with all the humility and authenticity her fans have come to expect, Field brings readers behind-the-scenes for not only the highs and lows of her star-studded early career in Hollywood, but deep into the truth of her lifelong relationships--including her complicated love for her own mother. Powerful and unforgettable, In Pieces is an inspiring and important account of life as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century.
•	Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Funk--Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable
Brrr! There's a frost in the fridge—and it's hardened Pudding Pond and frozen Yogurt Falls. Agent Asparagus is on the case, and she begs Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast to join her superspy team. But when the enemy snatches Asparagus, Pancake and French Toast have only one dough man to turn to for help: the evil Baron von Waffle! Will he help them save the fridge . . . or are they doomed to become frozen food?
•	Publisher: Sterling Children's Books
Gheorghiu--Angela Gheorghiu: A Life for Art
Angela Gheorghiu is one of the most passionate and talented artists working in opera today, a larger-than-life figure whose intensity and drive, on stage and off, have commanded the attention of the opera world. Largely composed of exclusive interviews with the artist, this authorized biography of the internationally acclaimed soprano, covers Gheorghiu's life and career from her childhood in Communist Romania to her spectacular Covent Garden debut in 1992 and up to the present day. In it, Gheorghiu shares new insights into the performance of many of her iconic stage roles and her collaborations with opera's leading lights. Also featured are commentaries and reminiscences by such celebrated figures in the music and art worlds as Grace Bumbry, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Bryn Terfel, and Franco Zeffirelli.
Glaser--Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It's practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are. And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home.
•	Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Grann--White Darkness
Henry Worsley was a devoted husband and father and a decorated British special forces officer who believed in honor and sacrifice. He was also a man obsessed. He spent his life idolizing Ernest Shackleton, the nineteenth-century polar explorer, who tried to become the first person to reach the South Pole, and later sought to cross Antarctica on foot. Shackleton never completed his journeys, but he repeatedly rescued his men from certain death, and emerged as one of the greatest leaders in history. Worsley felt an overpowering connection to those expeditions. He was related to one of Shackleton's men, Frank Worsley, and spent a fortune collecting artifacts from their epic treks across the continent. He modeled his military command on Shackleton's legendary skills and was determined to measure his own powers of endurance against them. He would succeed where Shackleton had failed, in the most brutal landscape in the world. In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton's crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape, life-threatening physical exhaustion, and hidden crevasses. Yet when he returned home he felt compelled to go back. On November 13, 2015, at age 55, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone. David Grann tells Worsley's remarkable story with the intensity and power that have led him to be called "simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today." Illustrated with more than fifty stunning photographs from Worsley's and Shackleton's journeys, The White Darkness is both a gorgeous keepsake volume and a spellbinding story of courage, love, and a man pushing himself to the extremes of human capacity.
•	Publisher: Doubleday
Hahn--Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story
A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier? Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.
•	Publisher: Clarion Books
Hesse--War Outside
It's 1944, and World War II is raging across Europe and the Pacific. The war seemed far away from Margot in Iowa and Haruko in Colorado--until they were uprooted to dusty Texas, all because of the places their parents once called home: Germany and Japan. Haruko and Margot meet at the high school in Crystal City, a "family internment camp" for those accused of colluding with the enemy. The teens discover that they are polar opposites in so many ways, except for one that seems to override all the others: the camp is changing them, day by day and piece by piece. Haruko finds herself consumed by fear for her soldier brother and distrust of her father, who she knows is keeping something from her. And Margot is doing everything she can to keep her family whole as her mother's health deteriorates and her rational, patriotic father becomes a man who distrusts America and fraternizes with Nazis. With everything around them falling apart, Margot and Haruko find solace in their growing, secret friendship. But in a prison the government has deemed full of spies, can they trust anyone--even each other?
Hoffman--Faerie Knitting
Featuring fourteen original fairy tales, Faerie Knitting is an entrancing collection of stories of love and loss, trust and perseverance. Seamlessly woven into the plot of each tale is a magical garment or accessory inspired by the bravery and self-reliance of the tale's heroine and brought to life through an imaginative and bespoke knit pattern. From the Blue Heron Shawl and the Love Never Ending Cowl, to the Three Wishes Mittens and Amulet Necklace, each project is as wearable as it is magical. Lush, atmospheric photography captures the enchanted faerie domain while beautifully rendered charts and instructions are well suited for beginner and advanced knitters alike. Presented in an elegant linen case with foil accents that evoke the fairy tale tradition, Faerie Knitting is a rare gift for creators—and lovers—of magic.
•	Publisher: Adams Media
Hosseini--Sea Prayer
A short, powerful, illustrated book written by beloved novelist Khaled Hosseini in response to the current refugee crisis, Sea Prayer is composed in the form of a letter, from a father to his son, on the eve of their journey. Watching over his sleeping son, the father reflects on the dangerous sea-crossing that lies before them. It is also a vivid portrait of their life in Homs, Syria, before the war, and of that city's swift transformation from a home into a deadly war zone. Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution, and he will donate author proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe. Khaled Hosseini is one of the most widely read writers in the world, with more than fifty-five million copies of his novels sold worldwide in more than seventy countries. Hosseini is also a Goodwill Envoy to the UNHCR, and the founder of The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
•	Publisher: Riverhead Books
Jackson--De Gaulle
"The finest one-volume life of de Gaulle in English." —Richard Norton Smith, Wall Street Journal
In the early summer of 1940, when France was overrun by German troops, one junior general who had fought in the trenches in Verdun refused to accept defeat. He fled to London, where he took to the radio to address his compatriots back home. "Whatever happens," he said, "the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished." At that moment, Charles de Gaulle entered history. For the rest of the war, de Gaulle insisted he and his Free French movement were the true embodiment of France. Through sheer force of personality he inspired French men and women to risk their lives to resist the Nazi occupation. Sometimes aloof but confident in his leadership, he quarreled violently with Churchill and Roosevelt. Yet they knew they would need his help to rebuild a shattered Europe. Thanks to de Gaulle, France was recognized as one of the victorious Allies when Germany was finally defeated. Then, as President of the Fifth Republic, he brought France to the brink of a civil war over his controversial decision to pull out of Algeria. He challenged American hegemony, took France out of NATO, and twice vetoed British entry into the European Community in his pursuit of what he called "a certain idea of France." Julian Jackson's magnificent biography, the first major reconsideration in over twenty years, captures this titanic figure as never before. Drawing on the extensive resources of the recently opened de Gaulle archives, Jackson reveals the conservative roots of de Gaulle's intellectual formation, sheds new light on his relationship with Churchill, and shows how he confronted riots at home and violent independence movements from the Middle East to Vietnam. No previous biography has so vividly depicted this towering figure whose legacy remains deeply contested. .
•	Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press
Jane--The Isle of Gold
The year is 1716—the Golden Age of the Pirates. An orphan who sleeps in the dusty kitchens of a quayside brothel, Merrin Smith is desperate to unravel the secrets of her past and find the truth about the events that brought her to Isla Perla as a child. Disguised as a sailor, she joins the crew of the pirate ship Riptide, helmed by the notorious Captain Erik Winters. Tenacious and rumored to be a madman, Winters is known as much for his ruthlessness as for his connection to the enigmatic and beautiful proprietress of The Goodnight Mermaid, Evangeline Dahl, who vanished from the island two summers before.This book is an epic, emotional adventure of two women—one desperate to save herself, and the other determined to be rescued—and the secret which binds them together.
•	Publisher: Black Spot Books
Jarnit-Bjergsø--Where to Drink Beer
Where to Drink Beer is the ultimate guide by the real experts - 500 of the world's most revered brewers reveal the little-known, eclectic, and surprising destinations they visit for their ultimate beer. With 1,600 listings in more than 70 countries - and detailed maps, reviews, key information, honest comments, and suggestions - there is nothing like it. Featuring more than 500 locations in 328 cities across North America! Designed in the same visually striking format as Phaidon's bestselling Where Chefs Eat, this book guides thirsty beer fans toward the best places across the globe to find the best examples of the world's most popular beverage.
•	Publisher: Phaidon Press
Jarnow--Wasn't That a Time
Following a series of top-ten hits that became instant American standards, the Weavers dissolved at the height of their fame. Wasn't That a Time: The Weavers, the Blacklist, and the Battle for the Soul of America details the remarkable rise of Pete Seeger's unlikely band of folk heroes, from basement hootenannies to the top of the charts, and the harassment campaign that brought them down. Exploring how a pop group's harmonies might be heard as a threat worthy of decades of investigation by the FBI, Wasn't That a Time turns the black-and-white 1950s into vivid color, using the Weavers to illuminate a dark and complex period of American history. With origins in the radical folk collective the Almanac Singers and the ambitious People's Songs, the singing activists in the Weavers set out to change the world with songs as their weapons, pioneering the use of music as a transformative political organizing tool. Using previously unseen journals and letters, unreleased recordings, once-secret government documents, and other archival research, Jesse Jarnow uncovers the immense hopes, incredible pressures, and daily struggles of the four distinct and often unharmonious personalities at the heart of the Weavers. In an era defined by a sharp political divide that feels all too familiar, the Weavers became heroes. With a class- and race-conscious global vision that now makes them seem like time travelers from the twenty-first century, the Weavers became a direct influence on a generation of musicians and listeners, teaching the power of eclectic songs and joyous, participatory harmonies.
•	Publisher: Da Capo Press
Kimball--Complete Milk Street TV Show Cookbook (2017-2019)
Featuring every recipe from every episode of the show, this cookbook is the perfect kitchen companion for every occasion and the ultimate guide to high-quality and low-effort cuisine. Packed with creative, comforting flavors and prepared with simple and smart techniques, this recipes are instant classics. You'll get to enjoy dozens of delectable dishes. Organized by type of dish--from salads, soups, grains, and vegetable sides to simple dinners and 21st-century desserts--this cookbook will deliver big flavors fast and change the way you cook forever. Welcome to the new home cooking. Welcome to Milk Street.
•	Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
King--The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers (1928–2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. As the creator and star of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness. Rogers was fiercely devoted to children and to taking their fears, concerns, and questions about the world seriously. The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this utterly unique and enduring American icon. Drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, Maxwell King traces Rogers's personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work, including a surprising decision to walk away from the show to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood with increasingly sophisticated episodes, written in collaboration with experts on childhood development. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by multiple generations.
•	Publisher: Abrams Press
Klutz--Air Blast Cannon
Ready, aim, blast! Using the fun and clear instruction book, construct a moveable, air-powered cannon and fire away at the included targets. Makers will explore the physics of projectiles, the mechanics of pneumatics, and how they work in everyday machines-like bicycle pumps!
Comes with: Chipboard parts, plastic fasteners, 5 plastic clips, 3 clear plastic syringes, punch out paper targets, PVC tubing in 3 colors, 3 foam darts
•	Publisher: Klutz
Krimstein--Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt
One of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century and a hero of political thought, the largely unsung and often misunderstood Hannah Arendt is best known for her landmark 1951 book on openness in political life, The Origins of Totalitarianism, which, with its powerful lessons for today, has once again ascended bestseller lists in the wake of the 2016 election. She led an extraordinary life. This was a woman who endured Nazi persecution firsthand, survived harrowing "escapes" from country to country in Europe, and befriended such luminaries as Walter Benjamin and Mary McCarthy, in a world inhabited by everyone from Marc Chagall and Marlene Dietrich to Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. A woman who finally had to give up her unique genius for philosophy, and her love of a very compromised man—the philosopher and Nazi-sympathizer Martin Heidegger—for what she called "love of the world." Compassionate and enlightening, playful and page-turning, New Yorker cartoonist Ken Krimstein's The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt is a strikingly illustrated portrait of a complex, controversial, deeply flawed, and irrefutably courageous woman whose intelligence and "virulent truth telling" led her to breathtaking insights into the human condition, and whose experience continues to shine a light on how to live as an individual and a public citizen in troubled times.
•	Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Leavy--Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created
From Jane Leavy, the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Boy and Sandy Koufax, comes the definitive biography of Babe Ruth—the man Roger Angell dubbed "the model for modern celebrity" He lived in the present tense—in the camera's lens. There was no frame he couldn't or wouldn't fill. He swung the heaviest bat, earned the most money, and incurred the biggest fines. He expanded notions of the possible. Like all the new-fangled gadgets then flooding the marketplace—radios, automatic clothes washers, Brownie cameras, microphones and loudspeakers—Babe Ruth "made impossible events happen." Aided by his crucial partnership with Christy Walsh—business manager, spin doctor, damage control wizard, and surrogate father, all stuffed into one tightly buttoned double-breasted suit—Ruth drafted the blueprint for modern athletic stardom. His was a life of journeys and itineraries—from uncouth to couth, impoverished to spendthrift, abandoned to abandon; from Baltimore to Boston to New York, and back to Boston at the end of his career for a finale with the only team that would have him. There were road trips and hunting trips; grand tours of foreign capitals and post season promotional tours, not to mention those 714 trips around the bases. After hitting his 60th home run in September 1927—a total that would not be exceeded until 1961, when Roger Maris did it with the aid of the extended modern season—he embarked on the mother of all barnstorming tours, a three-week victory lap across America, accompanied by Yankee teammate Lou Gehrig. This was Babe Ruth's Louisiana Purchase: a star turn through the American heartland, during which he annexed, for Major League Baseball, for the Yankees, and for his own sweet self, uncharted major league territories.
•	Publisher: Harper
Leibovitz--Annie Leibovitz at Work
Leibovitz addresses young photographers and readers interested in what photographers do, but any reader interested in contemporary history will be fascinated by her account of one of the richest bodies of work in the photographic canon. The subjects include photojournalism, studio work, photographing dancers and athletes, working with writers, and making the transition from shooting with film to working with digital cameras. Originally published in 2008, this revised and updated edition brings Leibovitz's bestselling book back into print.
Lennon--Imagine John Yoko
Features 80% exclusive, hitherto-unpublished archive photos and footage sequences of all the key players in situ, together with lyric sheets, Yoko's art installations, and exclusive new insights and personal testimonies from Yoko and over forty of the musicians, engineers, staff, celebrities, artists and photographers who were there-including Julian Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Jim Keltner, David Bailey, Dick Cavett and Sir Michael Parkinson. "A lot has been written about the creation of the song, the album and the film of Imagine, mainly by people who weren't there, so I'm very pleased and grateful that now, for the first time, so many of the participants have kindly given their time to 'gimme some truth' in their own words and pictures" -Yoko Ono Lennon, 2018 In 1971, John Lennon & Yoko Ono conceived and recorded the critically acclaimed album Imagine at their Georgian country home, Tittenhurst Park, in Berkshire, England, in the state-of-the-art studio they built in the grounds, and at the Record Plant in New York. The lyrics of the title track were inspired by Yoko Ono's "event scores" in her 1964 book Grapefruit, and she was officially co-credited as writer in June 2017. Imagine John Yoko tells the story of John & Yoko's life, work and relationship during this intensely creative period. It transports readers to home and working environments showcasing Yoko's closely guarded archive of photos and artifacts, using artfully compiled narrative film stills, and featuring digitally rendered maps, floorplans and panoramas that recreate the interiors in evocative detail. John & Yoko introduce each chapter and song; Yoko also provides invaluable additional commentary and a preface. All the minutiae is examined: the locations, the key players, the music and lyrics, the production techniques and the artworks-including the creative process behind the double exposure polaroids used on the album cover. With a message as universal and pertinent today as it was when the album was created, this landmark publication is a fitting tribute to John & Yoko and their place in cultural history.
Lepore--These Truths: A History of the United States
Written in elegiac prose, Lepore's groundbreaking investigation places truth itself—a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence—at the center of the nation's history. The American experiment rests on three ideas—"these truths," Jefferson called them—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, on a fearless dedication to inquiry, Lepore argues, because self-government depends on it. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise? These Truths tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation's truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore traces the intertwined histories of American politics, law, journalism, and technology, from the colonial town meeting to the nineteenth-century party machine, from talk radio to twenty-first-century Internet polls, from Magna Carta to the Patriot Act, from the printing press to Facebook News. Along the way, Lepore's sovereign chronicle is filled with arresting sketches of both well-known and lesser-known Americans, from a parade of presidents and a rogues' gallery of political mischief makers to the intrepid leaders of protest movements, including Frederick Douglass, the famed abolitionist orator; William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate and ultimately tragic populist; Pauli Murray, the visionary civil rights strategist; and Phyllis Schlafly, the uncredited architect of modern conservatism. Americans are descended from slaves and slave owners, from conquerors and the conquered, from immigrants and from people who have fought to end immigration. "A nation born in contradiction will fight forever over the meaning of its history," Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. "The past is an inheritance, a gift and a burden," These Truths observes. "It can't be shirked. There's nothing for it but to get to know it."
•	Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Lewis--Poetry of US
Celebrate the gift of language and the vibrant culture of the United States with this collection of classic and never-before-published poetry. Poems are arranged by region, from coast to coast, and among them you'll find works by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more. From the familiar to the surprising, subjects include people, places, landmarks, monuments, nature, and celebrations. Designed for sharing, but geared to younger readers, this beautifully illustrated treasury is a must-have for the whole family.
Lonely Planet--Travel Atlas
This is the ultimate world atlas for globetrotters. Combining our extensive mapping experience and unrivalled destination insight and knowledge, our first dedicated atlas makes it easy for you to plan adventures and discover remarkable places around the planet. With Lonely Planet's The Travel Atlas in your hands, you can explore every part of the world and plan upcoming trips with one simple and easy-to-use resource. Inside, you'll find detailed maps to every country on Earth, with popular regions and destinations presented at greater scale. Each large page of mapping is accompanied with the area's top sights and activities, while our themed itineraries, ranging from two days to two weeks, will ensure you don't miss the best sights. You'll also find trip planning tools like climate information and transport hubs to help you get there and away. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveler since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travelers. You'll also find our content on lonelyplanet.com, mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more.
•	Publisher: Lonely Planet
Love--Julián Is a Mermaid
While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he's seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself? Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love's author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality.
Love--Monstrous Devices
On a winter's day in a British town, twelve-year old Alex receives a package in the mail: an old tin robot from his grandfather. "This one is special," says the enclosed note, and when strange events start occurring around him, Alex suspects this small toy is more than special; it might be deadly. Right as things get out of hand, Alex's grandfather arrives, pulling him away from an attack—and his otherwise humdrum world of friends, bullies, and homework—and into the macabre magic of an ancient family feud. Together, the duo flees across snowy Europe, unraveling the riddle of the little robot while trying to outwit relentless assassins of the human and mechanical kind. With an ever-present admiration for the hidden mysteries of our world, Monstrous Devices plunges readers into a gripping adventure that's sure to surprise.
MAWER--PRAGUE SPRING
In the summer of 1968—a year of love and hate, of Prague Spring and Cold War winter—Oxford students James Borthwick and Eleanor Pike set out to hitchhike across Europe, complicating a budding friendship that could be something more. Having reached southern Germany, they decide on a whim to visit Czechoslovakia, where Alexander Dubcek's "socialism with a human face" is smiling on the world. Meanwhile, Sam Wareham, First Secretary at the British embassy in Prague, is observing developments in the country with both a diplomat's cynicism and a young man's passion. In the company of Czech student Lenka Konecková, he finds a way into the world of Czechoslovak youth, its hopes and its ideas. For the first time, nothing seems off limits behind the Iron Curtain. Yet the wheels of politics are grinding in the background. The Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev is making demands of Dubcek, and the Red Army is amassed on the borders. How will the looming disaster affect those fragile lives caught up in the invasion? With this shrewd, engrossing, and sensual novel, Simon Mawer cements his status as one of the most talented writers of historical spy fiction today.
•	Publisher: Other Press
Messenger--Keeper of the Lost Cities: Flashback
Sophie Foster doesn't know what—or whom—to believe. And in a game with this many players, the worst mistake can be focusing on the wrong threat. But when the Neverseen prove that Sophie's far more vulnerable than she ever imagined, she realizes it's time to change the rules. Her powerful abilities can only protect her so far. To face down ruthless enemies, she must learn to fight. Unfortunately, battle training can't help a beloved friend who's facing a whole different danger—where the only solution involves one of the biggest risks Sophie and her friends have ever taken. And the distraction might be exactly what the villains have been waiting for.
•	Publisher: Aladdin
Milford--Bluecrowne
Lucy Bluecrowne is beginning a new life ashore with her stepmother and half brother, though she's certain the only place she'll ever belong is with her father on a ship of war as part of the crew. She doesn't care that living in a house is safer and the proper place for a twelve-year-old girl; it's boring. But then two nefarious strangers identify her little brother as the pyrotechnical prodigy they need to enact an evil plan, and it will take all Lucy's fighting instincts to keep her family together. Set in the magical Greenglass House world, this action-packed tale of the house's first inhabitants reveals the origins of some of its many secrets.
•	Publisher: Clarion Teen
Millman--The Life You Were Born to Live
Bestselling author Dan Millman's Life-Purpose system, a modern method of insight based on ancient wisdom, has helped hundreds of thousands of people find new meaning, purpose, and direction in their lives.
•	Publisher: HJ Kramer
Mustich--1,000 Books to Read Before You Die
Celebrate the pleasure of reading and the thrill of discovering new titles in an extraordinary book that's as compulsively readable, entertaining, surprising, and enlightening as the 1,000-plus titles it recommends. Covering fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Dieranges across cultures and through time to offer an eclectic collection of works that each deserve to come with the recommendation, You have to read this. But it's not a proscriptive list of the "great works"—rather, it's a celebration of the glorious mosaic that is our literary heritage. Flip it open to any page and be transfixed by a fresh take on a very favorite book. Or come across a title you always meant to read and never got around to. Or, like browsing in the best kind of bookshop, stumble on a completely unknown author and work, and feel that tingle of discovery. There are classics, of course, and unexpected treasures, too. Lists to help pick and choose, like Offbeat Escapes, or A Long Climb, but What a View. And its alphabetical arrangement by author assures that surprises await on almost every turn of the page, with Cormac McCarthy and The Road next to Robert McCloskey and Make Way for Ducklings, Alice Walker next to Izaac Walton. There are nuts and bolts, too—best editions to read, other books by the author, "if you like this, you'll like that" recommendations , and an interesting endnote of adaptations where appropriate. Add it all up, and in fact there are more than six thousand titles by nearly four thousand authors mentioned—a life-changing list for a lifetime of reading.
•	Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
National Geographic--Almanac 2019
An almanac like you've never seen before, this arresting volume features key information on science, nature, history, and geography, spiked with cutting-edge ideas and spectacular visuals. Discover features that only National Geographic can deliver, including exquisite photography, explanatory infographics, illustrated timelines, and maps created by expert cartographers. Chapters include Exploration & Adventure, This Planet & Beyond, Life on Earth, and The Science of Us; featured topics range from the polar jet stream and how chameleons change colors to the world's biggest cities and the science of addiction. It includes top travel trends, new explorations, and recent discoveries, as well as fascinating trivia. Enlightening for young and old, exquisitely designed, each page of this special almanac reveals something new about today's world.
•	Publisher: National Geographic
Ngan--Girls of Paper and Fire
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest. Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
•	Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Nilsson--Nordic Baking Book
Nordic culture is renowned for its love of baking and baked goods: hot coffee is paired with cinnamon buns spiced with cardamom, and cold winter nights are made cozier with the warmth of the oven. No one is better equipped to explore this subject than acclaimed chef Magnus Nilsson. In The Nordic Baking Book, Nilsson delves into all aspects of Nordic home baking - modern and traditional, sweet and savory - with recipes for everything from breads and pastries to cakes, cookies, and holiday treats. No other book on Nordic baking is as comprehensive and informative. Nilsson travelled extensively throughout the Nordic region - Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden - collecting recipes and documenting the landscape. The 100 photographs in the book have been shot by Nilsson - now an established photographer, following his successful exhibitions in the US.
Ochs--Rock-and-Roll Woman: The 50 Fiercest Female Rockers
Award-winning radio personality Meredith Ochs takes an insightful look at 50 rock icons who indelibly shook up the music scene, whether solo or in a band. Profiling women from the 1950s to today, and from multiple genres, Ochs tells the dramatic stories behind their journeys to success, their music, and their enduring impact. More than 100 photographs make this a rich volume, and the idols include Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Heart, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Joan Jett and the Runaways, the Go-Go's, Karen O, Sleater-Kinney, Grace Potter, and more.
Ohiro--Anger Is a Gift
The debut YA from popular social media personality and critic Mark Oshiro, a story about the struggles of today's teens finding power to overcome racial and economic obstacles Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. The media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near-crippling panic attacks, as well as his grief. Now in his junior year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals in their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration. When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift. A story of resilience and loss, love and family, Mark Oshiro's Anger Is a Gift testifies to the vulnerability and strength of teens today.
•	Publisher: Tor Teen
Oliver--Be Bold, Baby: Michelle Obama
Celebrate Michelle Obama's most motivational and powerful moments, with quotes from the former First Lady, and vibrant illustrations by Alison Oliver. Be encouraging. Be brilliant. Be you. Each book ends with a mirror!
PENNY--KINGDOM OF THE BLIND
The new Chief Inspector Gamache novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
•	Publisher: Minotaur Books
Phaidon--Animal: Exploring the Zoological World
A visually stunning and broad-ranging survey that explores and celebrates humankind's ongoing fascination with animals. Since our very first moments on Earth, we have been compelled to make images of the curious beasts around us - whether as sources of food, danger, wonder, power, scientific significance or companionship. This carefully curated selection of images, chosen by an international panel of experts, delves into our shared past to tell the story of animal life. From the first cave paintings, extraordinary medieval bestiaries and exquisite scientific illustration, to iconic paintings, contemporary artworks and the incredible technological advancements that will shape our futures together, the huge range of works reflects the beauty and variety of animals themselves - including butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, frogs, tigers, dogs, jellyfish, spiders and elephants, to name a few. Arranged in a curated and thought-provoking sequence, this engaging compilation includes iconic works by some of the great names in zoology, such as Conrad Gesner, Charles Darwin and John James Audubon, as well as celebrated artists and photographers, indigenous cultures and lesser-known figures who have made important contributions to the study and representation of animals throughout history.
Philbrick--In the Hurricane's Eye
In 2012, a New York auction catalogue boasted an unusual offering: "a superb Tyrannosaurus skeleton." In fact, Lot 49135 consisted of a nearly complete T. bataar, a close cousin to the most famous animal that ever lived. The fossils now on display in a Manhattan event space had been unearthed in Mongolia, more than 6,000 miles away. At eight-feet high and 24 feet long, the specimen was spectacular, and when the gavel sounded the winning bid was over $1 million. Eric Prokopi, a thirty-eight-year-old Floridian, was the man who had brought this extraordinary skeleton to market. A onetime swimmer who spent his teenage years diving for shark teeth, Prokopi's singular obsession with fossils fueled a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens, to clients ranging from natural history museums to avid private collectors like actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But there was a problem. This time, facing financial strain, had Prokopi gone too far? As the T. bataar went to auction, a network of paleontologists alerted the government of Mongolia to the eye-catching lot. As an international custody battle ensued, Prokopi watched as his own world unraveled. In the tradition of The Orchid Thief, The Dinosaur Artist is a stunning work of narrative journalism about humans' relationship with natural history and a seemingly intractable conflict between science and commerce. A story that stretches from Florida's Land O' Lakes to the Gobi Desert, The Dinosaur Artistilluminates the history of fossil collecting--a murky, sometimes risky business, populated by eccentrics and obsessives, where the lines between poacher and hunter, collector and smuggler, enthusiast and opportunist, can easily blur. In her first book, Paige Williams has given readers an irresistible story that spans continents, cultures, and millennia as she examines the question of who, ultimately, owns the past.
•	Publisher: Viking
Putnam--Flower Color Guide
Planning a wedding, a dinner, a birthday party, a romantic evening, holiday entertaining, or just arranging flowers for the pleasure of having them, more often than not your creative process begins with thinking about the color of the flowers that you want. To help you find what you are looking for, Flower Color Guide is the first reference book to organize flower types by color, with an emphasis on seasonality and creative color schemes - and the results are stunning in their sheer variety. What Pantone is to color, Flower Color Guide is to flowers. Showcasing 400 flowers at their peak, with stunning photography taken by Putnam & Putnam in their Brooklyn studio, this guide includes an appendix featuring perforated pages, with tips on flower care, notes on how to prepare vessels and a list of suggested color schemes. A great gift to give, or to have for oneself, the book speaks to the most seasoned flower enthusiasts as well as those just beginning to explore the possibilities of arranging flowers. Michael and Darroch Putnam have built a reputation for romantic, dramatic floral arrangements and installations using color as their guiding principle - here, they share their knowledge with readers worldwide: "This is the book we wished we had when we started doing flowers."
Robins--Affordable Paleo Cooking with Your Instant Pot
Paleo princess Jennifer Robins is back with her fifth book, and second Instant Pot edition. Robins's first Instant Pot recipe book sold more than 38K copies, and her follow-up book keeps accessibility and budget in mind with the elimination of lesser-known ingredients such as uncommon Paleo flours like cassava or tigernut—making each meal simple and affordable. Broken down into breakfast options, chicken dishes, pork plates and more, this guide to easy Paleo also provides recipes adaptable to Keto, Whole 30, AIP, vegetarian and low-carb diets. Chapters promise savory bites like the Keto- and Whole 30-approved Scrotch Eggs, Chicken Marsala that fits well with the 21-Day Sugar Detox and Keto-friendly Lamb Kebabs—all made quick and easy in the Instant Pot without pricey specialty ingredients. Comfort foods are plenty, too, with Hamburger Soup, Bacon-Sriracha Brussels Sprouts and Southern Sausage and Cabbage—using cheaper but more flavorful cuts of meat and sans expensive condiments.
•	Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Rosenblat--Uberland
Silicon Valley technology is transforming the way we work, and Uber is leading the charge. An American startup that promised to deliver entrepreneurship for the masses through its technology, Uber instead built a new template for employment using algorithms and Internet platforms. Upending our understanding of work in the digital age, Uberland paints a future where any of us might be managed by a faceless boss. The neutral language of technology masks the powerful influence algorithms have across the New Economy. Uberland chronicles the stories of drivers in more than twenty-five cities in the United States and Canada over four years, shedding light on their working conditions and providing a window into how they feel behind the wheel. The book also explores Uber's outsized influence around the world: the billion-dollar company is now influencing everything from debates about sexual harassment and transportation regulations to racial equality campaigns and labor rights initiatives. Based on award-winning technology ethnographer Alex Rosenblat's firsthand experience of riding over 5,000 miles with Uber drivers, daily visits to online forums, and face-to-face discussions with senior Uber employees, Uberland goes beyond the headlines to reveal the complicated politics of popular technologies that are manipulating both workers and consumers.
•	Publisher: University of California Press
Russell--Dork Diaries 13: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Birthday
Nikki and her BFF's Chloe and Zoey have been planning a birthday party of epic proportions! There's just one problem—Nikki's mom says no way to the budget they need to make it happen. Nikki's ready to call the whole thing off, but some surprising twists might take that decision out of her hands, and help comes from the person Nikki would least expect. One way or another, this will be a birthday that Nikki will never forget!
Saint-Exupery--The Little Prince (75th Anniversary Edition)
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. This special edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's world-famous classic marks its seventy-fifth anniversary in print. Featuring a beautiful new cover and a special look at its history and making—including a biography of Saint-Exupéry, sketches, photos, and reviews from the first edition—this new anniversary edition of The Little Prince will capture the hearts of both devoted and new readers alike.
Samet--Annotated Memoirs OF Ulysses S. Grant
With kaleidoscopic, trenchant, path-breaking insights, Elizabeth D. Samet has produced the most ambitious edition of Ulysses Grant's Memoirs yet published. One hundred and thirty-three years after its 1885 publication by Mark Twain, Elizabeth Samet has annotated this lavish edition of Grant's landmark memoir, and expands the Civil War backdrop against which this monumental American life is typically read. No previous edition combines such a sweep of historical and cultural contexts with the literary authority that Samet, an English professor obsessed with Grant for decades, brings to the table. Whether exploring novels Grant read at West Point or presenting majestic images culled from archives, Samet curates a richly annotated, highly collectible edition that will fascinate Civil War buffs. The edition also breaks new ground in its attack on the "Lost Cause" revisionism that still distorts our national conversation about the legacy of the Civil War. Never has Grant's transformation from tanner's son to military leader been more insightfully and passionately explained than in this timely edition, appearing on the 150th anniversary of Grant's 1868 presidential election.
•	Publisher: Liveright
Sarkeesian--History vs. Women
Looking through the ages and across the globe, Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, along with Ebony Adams PhD, have reclaimed the stories of twenty-five remarkable women who dared to defy history and change the world around them. From Mongolian wrestlers to Chinese pirates, Native American ballerinas to Egyptian scientists, Japanese novelists to British prime ministers, History vs Women will reframe the history that you thought you knew. Featuring beautiful full-color illustrations of each woman and a bold graphic design, this standout nonfiction title is the perfect read for teens (or adults!) who want the true stories of phenomenal women from around the world and across generations whose lives and accomplishments impacted both their societies and our own.
•	Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Shepherd--Grim Lovelies
Seventeen-year-old Anouk envies the human world, where people known as Pretties lavish themselves in fast cars, high fashion, and have the freedom to fall in love. But Anouk can never have those things, because she is not really human. Enchanted from animal to human girl and forbidden to venture beyond her familiar Parisian prison, Anouk is a Beastie: destined for a life surrounded by dust bunnies and cinders serving Mada Vittora, the evil witch who spelled her into existence. That is, until one day she finds her mistress murdered in a pool of blood—and Anouk is accused of the crime. Now, the world she always dreamed of is rife with danger. Pursued through Paris by the underground magical society known as the Haute, Anouk and her fellow Beasties only have three days to find the real killer before the spell keeping them human fades away. If they fail, they will lose the only lives they've ever known…but if they succeed, they could be more powerful than anyone ever bargained for. From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd, Grim Lovelies is the glittering first book in a new, epic YA fantasy series. Prepare to be spellbound by the world of Grim Lovelies, where secrets have been long buried, friends can become enemies, and everything—especially humanity—comes at a price.
Smith--Just Kids (Illustrated Edition)
Patti's Smith's exquisite prose is generously illustrated in this full-color edition of her classic coming-of-age memoir, Just Kids. New York locations vividly come to life where, as young artists, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe met and fell in love: a first apartment in Brooklyn, Times Square with John and Yoko's iconic billboard, Max's Kansas City, or the gritty fire escape of the Hotel Chelsea. The extraordinary people who passed through their lives are also pictured: Sam Shepard, Harry Smith, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. Along with never-before-published photographs, drawings, and ephemera, this edition captures a moment in New York when everything was possible. And when two kids seized their destinies as artists and soul mates in this inspired story of love and friendship.
•	Publisher: Ecco
Sparks--Every Breath
Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she's been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family's cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future. Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother's early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways. Illuminating life's heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, EVERY BREATH explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties--while asking the question, How long can a dream survive?
Sports Illustrated Kids--The Story of Baseball
From the dead-ball era to the Major League moving west; from Babe Ruth to Clayton Kershaw; baseball has a rich history—and a camera has captured much of it. Now, in 100 memorable and often stunning photographs, Sports Illustrated renders the story of the sport's cultural heritage and uniquely American character. Inspiring events such as Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier, Lou Gehrig's Luckiest Man speech and one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott's 1993 no-hitter, live in a continuum with stirring, rarely-seen shots of the game's most beloved and largest personalities such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Cal Ripken Jr.. The book will showcase era-defining events like the great home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 (and the spectre of drug use in its aftermath) as well as the historic, curse-breaking championships of the Red Sox in 2004 and the Cubs in 2016. Each photograph will be paired with new reporting forming a rich narrative, done in SI's unmatched style, as the book spans from the Red Legs of 1869 to Aaron Judge's drive to the rookie home run record in 2017, delivering the complete story—as well as the heart and soul—of America's game.
•	Publisher: Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated Kids--The United States of Sports
The United States of Sports takes kids on a first-of-its-kind journey across the U.S. with stops in every state in the union. Super cool maps with unique hand-illustrated icons show where all the great sites can be found, including arenas, stadiums, halls of fame, championship golf clubs, the greatest ski mountains, Olympic cities, and more. Each state's Greatest Moments and homegrown heroes are profiled, and we wouldn't forget to run down all the numbers! Championships, pro teams, famous events, and more—spread by spread—it's the book to pore over this season.
•	Publisher: Sports Illustrated Kids
Storti--Why Travel Matters
Why Travel Matters explores the profound life lessons that await anyone who wishes to learn what travel has to teach. With engaging prose, delightful wit and a distinctive style, Craig Storti infuses his own experiences traveling the world for 30+ years with quotations, insights, reflections and commentary from famous travelers, great travel writers, historians and literary masters. Storti's vast knowledge of the literature makes him an expert curator of astute gems from the likes of: St. Augustine, Mark Twain, Somerset Maugham, D. H. Lawrence, Bruce Chatwin, Aldous Huxley and more.
•	Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Thuras--Atlas Obscura: Exporer's Guide
For curious kids, this is the chance to embark on the journey of a lifetime—and see how faraway countries have more in common than you might expect! Hopscotch from country to country in a chain of connecting attractions: Explore Mexico's glittering cave of crystals, then visit the world's largest cave in Vietnam. Peer over a 355-foot waterfall in Zambia, then learn how Antarctica's Blood Falls got their mysterious color. Or see mysterious mummies in Japan and France, then majestic ice caves in both Argentina and Austria.
Townsend--Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow
The captivating and heart-pounding sequel to the New York Times bestselling and #1 Kids' Indie Next Pick Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, as heroine Morrigan battles a new evil. Morrigan Crow and her best friend Hawthorne Swift are now proud scholars in the elite Wundrous Society, but life is far from perfect. Does Morrigan have what it takes to prove that she belongs in the Society?
Travers--Mary Poppins (Illustrated Gift Edition)
When the East Wind blows Mary Poppins over Cherry Tree Lane and into the lives of the Banks children, nothing is ever the same! This picture book adaptation of the original novel is full of Mary's unique brand of whimsical adventure: There's a tea party on the ceiling, a visit to the night zoo, and a trip to a mysterious shop that sells stars. Told in a lyrical text with fresh yet timeless art by Genevieve Godbout, this version of Mary Poppins is perfect for reading aloud. Young and old, longtime friends of Mary, and those meeting her for the first time, will revel in this colorfully illustrated version of the story that inspired the image of the beloved nanny of page, stage, and screen.
Trimmer--Snow Pony and the Seven Miniature Ponies
From Christian Trimmer and bestselling illustrator Jessie Sima comes an adorable and imaginative twist on the tale of Snow White…with lots more ponies! Sweet Snow Pony is loved by all for her beautiful coat as white as snow and her mane as black as ebony. Children come to her farm from all over just to have her braid their hair and teach them line dancing. But not everyone loves Snow Pony. Jealous Queenie hatches an evil plan to make Snow Pony run away from the stable by planting a trail of apples into the woods and before long Snow Pony is lost! Full of delicious apples but all alone in the woods, Snow Pony stumbles upon the home of seven miniature ponies. The mini-ponies couldn't be cuter, especially with Snow Pony's braids, but they don't have quite the same moves as the kids back on the farm. Will her new friends help her find her way home? Or will the evil Queenie get her way?
•	Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Trueit--Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret
Cruz leaves his tranquil home in Hawaii to join 23 talented kids from around the globe to train at the Explorer Academy with the world's leading scientists to become the next generation of great explorers. But for Cruz, there's more at stake. No sooner has he arrived at the Academy than he discovers that his family has a mysterious past with the organization that could jeopardize his future. In the midst of codebreaking and cool classes, new friends and augmented reality expeditions, Cruz must tackle the biggest question of all: Who is out to get him, and why?
•	Publisher: Under the Stars
Weinman--Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is one of the most beloved and notorious novels of all time. And yet very few of its readers know that the subject of the novel was inspired by a real-life case: the 1948 abduction of eleven-year-old Sally Horner. Weaving together suspenseful crime narrative, cultural and social history, and literary investigation, The Real Lolita tells Sally Horner's full story for the very first time. Drawing upon extensive investigations, legal documents, public records, and interviews with remaining relatives, Sarah Weinman uncovers how much Nabokov knew of the Sally Horner case and the efforts he took to disguise that knowledge during the process of writing and publishing Lolita. Sally Horner's story echoes the stories of countless girls and women who never had the chance to speak for themselves. By diving deeper in the publication history of Lolita and restoring Sally to her rightful place in the lore of the novel's creation, The Real Lolita casts a new light on the dark inspiration for a modern classic.
Winslow--Smart Ass
How do you resolve a midlife crisis? Margaret Winslow, an overworked college professor in New York City, answered a for-sale ad for a "Large White Saddle Donkey." Hilarity ensued, along with life-threatening injuries and spirit-enriching insight. Walk with Winslow and Caleb the donkey through training traumas, expert-baffling antics, and humiliating races, and share in Winslow's gradual understanding of Caleb's true, undeniable gifts: a willingness to be true to himself no matter the circumstances, to trust, and to forgive. As she and Caleb learn to thrive, you'll learn the importance of being true to your own pure and powerful self.
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Woodson--Harbor Me
It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat—by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them—everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes. When the six are together, they can express the feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. And together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.
•	Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books


text:
Freeze and evolve
Updating The Chilling Stars and Magic Universe
When cosmic rays freeze the world, you'd better evolve
2100 million year-old multicellular fossil found in Gabon. Image: Kaksonen CNRS
Transforming the story of life on the Earth is a report in Nature today about multicellular creatures more than 2 billion years old, at a time when single-celled bacteria supposedly reigned supreme. Fossils you can pick up with your fingers, found in Gabon, West Africa, are far, far older than the multicellular animals that become detectable about 600 million years ago (Ediacaran period) and conspicuous 542 million years in the "Cambrian explosion". The age is fixed with remarkable precision at 2070 to 2130 million years.
Exterior and interior of a fossil imaged by micro-tomography. Image: El Albani & Mazurier, CNRS
A team of 21 experts from France, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Germany and Belgium make the report. The lead author is Abderrazak El Albani, at the University of Poitiers, France. He tells Agence France Press that "More than 250 specimens have been found so far. They have different body shapes, and vary in size from one to 12 centimetres."
What excites me about the discovery is that here was a far-reaching evolutionary response to the rise of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere beginning more than 2000 million years ago. It occurred in the aftermath of a planet-wide freeze for which there is a cosmic explanation.
Chapter 6 in The Chilling Stars includes the story of "Snowball Earth" events. Here are some extracts.
In 1986, George Williams and Brian Embleton in Australia used the magnetism in grains of iron oxide dropped from ancient ice to show that they were released within a few degrees of the Equator. A few years later, Joseph Kirschvink of the California Institute of Technology confirmed this result in magnetism associated with other rock formations in Australia produced by ice action, and well dated as 700 million years old. He called it 'bullet-proof evidence'.
"It now seems clear that these extensive, sea-level deposits … were formed by widespread continental glaciers which were within a few degrees of the equator. The data are difficult to interpret in any fashion other than that of a widespread, equatorial glaciation."
Kirschvink invented the name Snowball Earth for that dire climatic state. You have to visualise ice sheets, glaciers and frozen seas even at the Equator itself. The degree of ocean freezing is still debated. Some investigators imagine vistas of ice a kilometre thick or more, others prefer a 'slushball'picture with drifting sea ice and icebergs. Either way the impact on life was severe.
Evidence from all the world's continents unpacks into about three separate snowball episodes in the interval 750 to 580 million years ago. Worms that survived by scavenging the sea-bed detritus evolved the body-plans that made possible the explosion of animal life mentioned in the previous chapter, when the world became reliably warmer again in the Cambrian Period that started 542 million years ago.
Those cold Neo-Proterozoic times, as geologists call them, were not the only occasion of such radical events involving ice and evolution. By the end of the 20th century, geologists had amassed evidence from South Africa, Canada and Finland that confirmed two Snowball Earth episodes between 2,400 and 2,200 million years ago, in Palaeo-Proterozoic times. Our planet was then only half its present age.
Remarkable souvenirs from around that time include the world's largest deposits of iron and manganese ore, produced by the action of oxygen on those metals dissolved in sea water. The whole planet rusted. Many ancient lineages of bacteria were wiped out on Snowball Earth, but novel microbes called eukaryotes survived the massacre. These were single-celled fungi, algae and animal-like grazers distinguished by their use of cell nuclei to encapsulate their genes. By 1,800 million years ago some eukaryotes had taken in oxygen-handling bacteria to serve as power stations, in cells of the modern kind now found in every plant and animal. The descendants of those bacterial lodgers are present in your body as mitochondria. Their antiquity is manifest. They originated before sex was invented, and you inherited them only from your mother.
The big geochemical and biological events associated with the climatic extremes of Snowball Earth prompt debates about cause and effect. One scenario for the Palaeo-Proterozoic freezes was that over-zealous production of oxygen by bacteria caused the rusting episode and somehow triggered the icing of the planet by altering the composition of the atmosphere.
But the main challenge for anyone wanting to account for the snowball events is to say why they occurred at particular times in the long history of the Earth, in two relatively brief windows of time around 2,300 million and 700 million years ago. A complete solution to the conundrum should also say why, between those occurrences, our planet was completely free from ice for a billion years.
The chilling stars provide the only explanation for Snowball Earth that specifies these timings. After Nir Shaviv in Jerusalem had accounted for the hothouse–icehouse alternations in climate in the past 500,000 years, by visits to the spiral arms of the Milky Way, his next step was to link the snowball events to episodes of star-making in the Galaxy. These boosted the cosmic rays to such exceptional levels that the Earth became cloudy and sunless enough to freeze over.
[An astronomical passage explains starburst events of exceptional star-making, and their detection in our own Milky Way Galaxy.]
Meanwhile, what stands out is the correspondence in time between the early Snowball Earth episodes of about 2,300 million years ago and Rocha-Pinto's starburst in the period 2,400 to 2,000 million years ago. There are reasons for suspecting that the two events were connected, by the unusually high cosmic rays to which the Earth was subjected. But if this was more than a chance coincidence, then the ice-free interval that followed should be associated with a scarcity of stars born at that time. For Shaviv this was a key point in his argument.
"The long period of 1 to 2 billion years before present, during which no glaciations are known to have occurred, coincides with a significant paucity in the past star formation rate."
And the later Snowball Earth episodes starting around 750 million years ago should also be linked to another stellar baby boom. Rocha-Pinto's census of Hipparcos stars does indeed show star-birth much reduced between 2,000 and 1,000 million years ago. But the rate of star formation that follows the lull, in this census, is not very impressive. More persuasive are the results of another survey announced in 2004 by Raúl de la Fuente Marcos of Suffolk University, Madrid, and Carlos de la Fuente Marcos of Universidad Complutense de Madrid. They used data on groups of stars called open clusters, as catalogued by astronomers over many years, to infer among their other results a starburst around 750 million years ago. The Fuente Marcos pair noted its timeliness for Shaviv's story.
"The Snowball Earth scenario appears to be connected with the strongest episode of enhanced star formation recorded in the solar neighbourhood during the last 2,000 million years."
Here is extraordinary support for the idea that cosmic rays have controlled the climate throughout the Earth's history. When a hypothesis is false, new experiments and observations will tend to quarrel with it, but with a good theory the reverse is true. It looks better and better as the facts become more exactly known.
Today's update adds here:
An uncanny twist to the story came in 2010, with the discovery of the earliest known multicellular creatures that you could pick up with your fingers. They incorporated two huge evolutionary leaps: modern cells with nuclei (eukaryotes) and the organization of those cells into functional bodies. And they are dated at 2,100 million years ago, in the aftermath of the second Palaeo-Proterozoic snowball 2,200 million years ago.
What's uncanny is the correspondence to the emergence of the oldest previously known animals, in the Ediacaran period about 600 million years ago, preceding the "Cambrian explosion" of animal life 542 million years ago. In both cases multicellular forms appeared in the wake of Snowball Earth events and a rise in oxygen in the atmosphere. If you're a smart critter and cosmic rays freeze the world, it seems that you'd better evolve quite radically.
As for Magic Universe, the most relevant passage is the opening of the story called "Tree of life: promiscuous bacteria and the course of evolution."
A stagnant pool was a treat for Lynn Margulis when, as a young biologist at Boston University, she liked to descant on the little green bugs that can so quickly challenge human notions about how a nice pond should look. Her favourites included the blue-greens, often called algae but in fact bacteria, which have played an outstanding role in steering the course of life on the Earth.
Margulis became the liveliest and most stubborn advocate of the idea that we are descended from bacteria-like creatures that clubbed together in the distant past. Others had toyed with this proposition, but she pushed it hard. In 1970 she published a book, Origin of Eukaryotic Cells, and she followed it in 1981 with Symbiosis in Cell Evolution. These are now seen as landmarks in 20th-Century biology, and the keywords in their titles, eukaryotic and symbiosis, go to the core of the matter.
You are the owner of eukaryotic cells. Each of the billions of microscopic units of which you're built safeguards your genes of heredity within a nucleus, or karyon in Greek. So, in the grandest division of living things, into just two kinds, you belong to the eukarya. That groups you with other animals, with plants, with fungi, and with single-celled creatures called protoctists, represented by 250,000 species alive today and often ambiguous in nature.
In the other great bloc of living things, the prokarya are all single-celled, and the genes just slop about within them. The earliest forms of life on the planet were all of that relatively simple kind, meaning bacteria and similar single-celled organisms called archaea. They ruled the world alone for half its history, until the eukarya appeared.
Symbiosis means living together. The proposition for which Margulis first marshalled all the available evidence is that small bacteria took up residence inside larger ones — inside archaea, one would say now — and so formed the ancestors of the eukarya. Instead of just digesting the intruders, the larger cells tolerated them as lodgers because they brought benefits.
The outcome was the microscopic equivalent of mermaids or centaurs. 'The human brain cells that conceived these creatures are themselves chimaeras,' Margulis wrote with her son Dorion Sagan, '– no less fantastic mergers of several formerly independent kinds of prokaryotes that together co-evolved.'
Oval-shaped units inside your cells, called mitochondria, are power stations that use oxygen to generate chemical energy from nutrients. They look like bacteria, they carry sloppy genetic material of their own, and they reproduce like bacteria. The same is true of chloroplasts, small green entities found in the cells of the leaves of plants. They do the work of harvesting sunlight and using water and carbon dioxide to produce energy-rich molecules that sustain plant life and growth. [Irrelevant sub-heading omitted]
In the Margulis scenario, the ancestors of the mitochondria and chloroplasts were indeed bacteria that took up symbiotic residence inside other single-celled creatures. The mitochondrial forebears were bacteria that had learned to cope with oxygen. When that element first appeared unbound in the ancient sea it was deadly dangerous, like bleach poured into the bacterial-archaeal communities. So bacteria that were adapted to it could offer their hosts protection against oxygen and also the ability to exploit it in new ways of living.
Blue-greens, formally called cyanobacteria, were the ancestors of the chloroplasts. In their separate, bacterial existence, they had hit upon the most powerful way of using sunlight to grow by. It involved splitting water and releasing oxygen, and so the blue-greens were probably responsible for the oxygen crisis. But this smart photosynthesis also conferred on the hosts the capacity to generate their own food supplies.
Host cell plus mitochondria made the ancestors of fungi and of protoctists. The latter included some distinguished by their capacity for swimming about, which became the ancestors of the multi-celled animals. Host cell plus mitochondria plus chloroplasts made single-celled algae, and among these were the forebears of the multi-celled plants.
Aspects of the scenario are still debated. Especially uncertain is how all of these cells came to organize their cell nuclei, and how they perfected the eukaryotic kind of cell division used in multiplication, growth and sex. The origin of the capacity for movement in protozoa, and its possible survival in the swimming tails of sperm, is also controversial.
The broad brush-strokes of the symbiosis story are nevertheless accepted now. Not just as a matter of taste, but by verification. The kinship of identifiable bacteria with mitochondria and chloroplasts is confirmed by similarities in their molecules. Fossil traces of early eukaryotes are very skimpy until 1200 million years ago, but the molecular clues suggest an origin around 2 billion years ago, at a time when free oxygen was becoming a major challenge to life.
Today's update inserts at this point.
The molecular tracing of evolutionary history was wonderfully vindicated in 2010 with the discovery in Gabon, West Africa, of the earliest known finger-sized creatures. As they were multicellular they had to be built of eukaryotic cells. And their fossils are 2100 million years old. Abderrazak El Albani at Poitiers, France, told a reporter, "More than 250 specimens have been found so far. They have different body shapes, and vary in size from one to twelve centimetres." The creatures he described as "cookie-like" gave fossil-hunters a new puzzle. Why did the multi-celled eukaryotes remain inconspicuous for 1500 million years?
There should probably be a sentence or two added also to another story, "Cambrian explosion: easy come and easy go, among the early animals", which refers to soft-bodied multicellular creatures appearing about 600 million years ago.
Abderrazak El Albani et al., Nature, 466, pp. 100-104, 2010
El Albani quote AFP http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j5tBsadjwEze-WH7rc2vhRgomesQ
H. Svensmark & N. Calder, The Chilling Stars, pp. 157-166, Icon Books, 2007
N. Calder, Magic Universe, pp. 681-683, Oxford UP, 2003
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 19:16 and is filed under 1a) Magic Universe, 3d) Updating The Chilling Stars.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to Freeze and evolve
Freeze and evolve « Calder's Updates faculty university says:
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Olaf says:
Very interesting. You say: "By 1,800 million years ago some eukaryotes had taken in oxygen-handling bacteria to serve as power stations, in cells of the modern kind now found in every plant and animal."
Could this mean that the new fossils were anaerobic?
The fossils are also assumed to be 2100 million years old. But even these organisms didn't evolve over night. It would be interesting to know when the biological breakthrough that allowed these organisms to evolve actually occured.
Since the Ordovician–Silurian extinction is assumed to have been caused by an ice age as well, even if it wasn't a snowball earth, it could have played a role in the next revolution in the history of life. Juding from the fossils, life didn't adapt to an existence on land before the Silurian period, after the extinction caused by the cold climate.
Not to mention that the last period of ice ages on earth is given credit as one of the major influences on the evolution of our ancestors, which resulted in modern man.
calderup says:
To me, Olaf, it seems almost certain that the new fossils were aerobic.
That's assuming that the danger posed by free oxygen was what drove the symbiosis with oxygen-handling bacteria to make eukaryotic cells. The 1,800 million-year remark is in the original text of Magic Universe, and will need updating one of these days. But as the discoverers of the Gabon fossils make no comment on aerobic versus anaeroblc I thought it would be presumptious to second-guess them on this point. Also, the invention of eukaryotes may have happened more than once, and the Gabon lineage could have simply died out.
Your reference to the Ordovician–Silurian freeze-up is very pertinent. Before long, a new acocunt of evolution may be able to blend the effects of major climate changes on biodiversity with the impacts of comets and asteroids causing mass extinctions.
Mind Ground says:
Your Genome: To know, or not to know?…
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Are atheist, non-criminal, homosexual, nocturnal, liberal monogamists more intelligent?…

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