Sociology

Radical Suburbs

Radical Suburbs

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"Radical Suburbs is a revelation. Amanda Kolson Hurley will open your eyes to the wide diversity and rich history of our ongoing suburban experiment."--Richard Florida

America's suburbs are not the homogenous places we sometimes take them for. Today's suburbs are racially, ethnically, and economically diverse, with as many Democratic as Republican voters, a growing population of renters, and rising poverty. The cliche of broad lawns and white picket fences is well past its expiration date.

The history of suburbia is equally surprising. Rather than bland, sprawling cookie-cutter developments, some American suburbs were once fertile ground for utopian planning, communal living, socially conscious design, and integrated housing. In Radical Suburbs, Amanda Kolson Hurley, an editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, takes us on a tour of some of these radical communities, including:

- the co-housing commune of Old Economy, Pennsylvania

- a tiny-house anarchist community in Piscataway, New Jersey

- a government-planned garden city in Greenbelt, Maryland

- a racially integrated subdivision (before the Fair Housing Act) in Trevose, Pennsylvania

- experimental Modernist enclaves in Lexington, Massachusetts

- and the mixed-use, architecturally daring Reston, Virginia.

Here you will find blueprints for affordable, walkable, and integrated communities, filled with a range of environmentally sound residential options. It's a timely reminder, as NPR put it, that "any place, even a suburb, can be radical if you approach it the right way."

An insightful study that will make you rethink your assumptions about suburbia and possibly remake its future.

Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History

Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History

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In America, lipstick is the foundation of empires; it's a signature of identity; it's propaganda, self-expression, oppression, freedom, and rebellion. It's a multi-billion-dollar industry and one of our most iconic accessories of gender. This engaging and entertaining history of lipstick in America throughout the twentieth century and into the present will give readers a new view of the little tube's big place in modern America; marching with the Suffragettes, building Fortune 500 businesses, being present at Stonewall, and engineered for space travel.

Send a Runner: A Navajo Honors the Long Walk

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Society in America (Rare 1837 publication!)

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Scarce 3-volume set of British author Harriet Martineau's comprehensive study of American society undertaken during a two-year visit, 1834-1836. Her work encompasses politics, economics, and civilization, including the role of women in society. Martineau was a vocal opponent of slavery, and this important publication is a fascinating glimpse into a still-divided America during this time period. She even delves into the prevalence of dueling in the U.S., citing the Hamilton-Burr duel as an unfortunate example.

Text is clean and bright; volumes are disbound. Original boards, with remnants of original spine labels visible on each volume. Signature of previous owner, English Unitarian minister Samuel Bache (1804-1876). Housed in custom-made clamshell box. End papers and title pages foxed. G-

Spare Change

Spare Change

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In closing, I can honestly say I enjoy my time working with all the volunteers and agency staff. I have worked alone in the field most of the time. However, anything I did concerning housing applications was passed off to housing coordinators who went out of their way to make sure the paperwork and information on the unsheltered person was correct.

I pray for peace to all I walk in faith.

TEAM BUILDING: A MEMOIR ABOUT

TEAM BUILDING: A MEMOIR ABOUT

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From the author of Clean Time comes a firsthand account of the organizing effort inside one of the world's largest tech companies and its impact on one Pittsburgh family.In 2019, Ben Gwin played an integral role in organizing the contract workers at Google's Pittsburgh offices. In Team Building, he takes us inside the employees' fight for better benefits and more flexible scheduling, offering us a candid account of today's labor movement and the forces in America that aim to divide workers and maintain the status quo. But this is also a personal story of struggle and triumph. As Ben works with the union, he's suddenly faced with the prospect of raising his teenage daughter alone after her mother dies of a drug overdose. As he juggles work and the challenges of single fatherhood, he offers us a frank portrait of daily American life, where it sometimes feels like every moment is an uphill battle. Expertly crafted and tightly structured, Team Building artfully explores the ways our working conditions reach deeply into our lives outside the office. It's an honest and ultimately hopeful look at the importance of building solid foundations with the teams that matter most.

The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me

The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me

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From the disability rights advocate and creator of the #DisabledAndCute viral campaign, a thoughtful, inspiring, and charming collection of essays exploring what it means to be black and disabled in a mostly able-bodied white America. Keah Brown loves herself, but that hadn't always been the case. Born with cerebral palsy, her greatest desire used to be normalcy and refuge from the steady stream of self-hate society strengthened inside her. But after years of introspection and reaching out to others in her community, she has reclaimed herself and changed her perspective. In The Pretty One, Brown gives a contemporary and relatable voice to the disabled--so often portrayed as mute, weak, or isolated. With clear, fresh, and light-hearted prose, these essays explore everything from her relationship with her able-bodied identical twin (called "the pretty one" by friends) to navigating romance; her deep affinity for all things pop culture--and her disappointment with the media's distorted view of disability; and her declaration of self-love with the viral hashtag #DisabledAndCute. By "smashing stigmas, empowering her community, and celebrating herself" (Teen Vogue), Brown and The Pretty One aims to expand the conversation about disability and inspire self-love for people of all backgrounds.
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia

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In 2016, headlines declared Appalachia ground zero for America's forgotten tribe of white working class voters. Journalists flocked to the region to extract sympathetic profiles of families devastated by poverty, abandoned by establishment politics, and eager to consume cheap campaign promises. What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia is a frank assessment of America's recent fascination with the people and problems of the region. The book analyzes trends in contemporary writing on Appalachia, presents a brief history of Appalachia with an eye toward unpacking Appalachian stereotypes, and provides examples of writing, art, and policy created by Appalachians as opposed to for Appalachians. The book offers a must-needed insider's perspective on the region.

You Just Need to Lose Weight

You Just Need to Lose Weight

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
AN INDIE BESTSELLER

"One of the great thinkers of our generation . . . I feel fresher and smarter and happier for sitting down with her."--Jameela Jamil, iWeigh Podcast

The co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast and creator of Your Fat Friend equips you with the facts to debunk common anti-fat myths and with tools to take action for fat justice

The pushback that shows up in conversations about fat justice takes exceedingly predicable form. Losing weight is easy--calories in, calories out. Fat people are unhealthy. We're in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Fat acceptance "glorifies obesity." The BMI is an objective measure of size and health. Yet, these myths are as readily debunked as they are pervasive.

In "You Just Need to Lose Weight," Aubrey Gordon equips readers with the facts and figures to reframe myths about fatness in order to dismantle the anti-fat bias ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. Bringing her dozen years of community organizing and training to bear, Gordon shares the rhetorical approaches she and other organizers employ to not only counter these pernicious myths, but to dismantle the anti-fat bias that so often underpin them.

As conversations about fat acceptance and fat justice continue to grow, "You Just Need to Lose Weight" will be essential to ensure that those conversations are informed, effective, and grounded in both research and history.