"Founded in 1855 as the State Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, Michigan State University-"America's first agricultural college"-has a fascinating past, a history shaped by vacillating local and national contexts as well as by people from different walks of life. The first Black students arrived on campus during late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the first full-time Black faculty member was hired in the late 1940s. Before and after the modern Civil Rights Movement, African Americans from various backgrounds were transformed by MSU while also profoundly contributing in vital ways to the institution's growth and evolving identity. Forever in the Path offers a sweeping overview of the Black experience at Michigan State University from the 1890s through the late twentieth century. With explorations of countless personalities, important events, and key turning points, this book is a blend of intellectual history, social history, educational history, institutional history, and the African American biographical tradition. Dagbovie depicts and imagines how his numerous subjects' upbringings and experiences at the college and later university informed their futures, and how they benefitted from and contributed to MSU's vision, mission, and transformative role in the history of higher education"--

"Elyse Myers is known to her twelve million followers as 'The Internet's Best Friend,' sharing her relatable stories and comedic sketches and serving as an advocate for topics such as neurodivergence, impostor syndrome, body image, and more. Whether she's making people laugh with tales of disastrous dates or giving a voice to that awkward internal monologue many of us have, she has three simple goals behind everything she makes: To make people feel known, loved, and like they belong. In 'That's a great question, I'd love to tell you,' Elyse delivers a debut collection of deeply personal stories and hand-drawn illustrations, offering even more intimate reflections beyond what fans have seen on her social media"--

"What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service. In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds--the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events--are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency. While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind--a vital source of clean and "safe" power. Between these two poles--wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet--lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the "natural disasters" that are becoming more frequent and regular. Between these two poles--wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet--lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the "natural disasters" that are becoming more frequent." -- Dust jacket

"When the long-awaited day dawns and the aliens finally arrive on Earth, they might eat us and destroy the planet -- or, just maybe, they might share the secrets of the Universe with us. When that time comes, will we be able to cross the communication barrier to beg for our lives? If the aliens do hold out those precious jewels of knowledge, will we even be able to grasp them? It's long been assumed, in both science fiction and real scientific efforts to communicate with hypothetical aliens, that math and physics could serve as a universal language connecting us with extraterrestrial minds. But as humanity draws ever closer to the possibility of an interplanetary future and expands its agelong search for alien life and intelligence, beloved author and physicist Daniel Whiteson and best-selling cartoonist Andy Warner wonder if we should be so sure. In Do Aliens Speak Physics?, they take readers on a wild adventure to the edges of space-time, science, and the imagination to investigate whether an alien-human mind meld could ever be achieved. Deploying cutting-edge physics, deep philosophical insight, and plenty of cartoons, Whiteson and Warner explode what we thought we knew about talking to our cosmic neighbors -- and even science itself -- by asking and answering questions both lighthearted and profound. Would aliens even need science to build the technology that brings them to Earth? Is it possible that they could experience the Universe very differently from us -- tasting electrons and smelling photons? Would the extraterrestrials have to perceive "electrons" and "photons" at all, or are these particles only convenient concepts for our human minds? At bottom, does physics reveal fundamental truths about the Universe, as we so often believe, or might it in fact tell us more about ourselves?" --

"After a deadly mistake left her terrified of her own abilities, Zatanna found a home for herself in Las Vegas performing a free show full of sleight-of-hand and cheap card tricks at the crappiest casino on the strip. It's not exactly glamorous - or heroic - but it sure beats the risk of dabbling in real magic! That is, until a mysterious stranger plunges Zatanna's world into chaos, dredging up old wounds and cracking open an inter-dimensional rift in the process! Now, Zatanna will have to face her fears and embrace her powers whether she wants to or not! But will the magic words do the trick, or will it all collapse around her like a house of cards?"--

"An urban sociologist befriends a visionary Detroit craftsman, artist, and inventor. Over the course of the next several years Paul Draus records how Carlos Nielbock's life experiences act as a lens that refracts the key challenges facing the city of Detroit and presents the city's redevelopment as an evolving high-stakes drama. Combining sociological context and theory, Draus chronicles Nielbock's mixed-race upbringing in postwar Germany, his journey to find his Black father in 1980s Detroit, his struggles with racial and cultural adversity, and his ambitious artistic vision for Detroit's future. Direct observations, interviews, and historical research on Detroit's ascendance, decline, and resurgence underpin Nielbock's story. The book explores race and identity, craftsmanship and capitalism, and criminal justice and incarceration"--

"When the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, more than a ship and twenty-nine lives were lost. Wrecked tells the story of America's most infamous shipwreck, as well as an even larger one-the wreck of the American industrial economy during the last third of the twentieth century. The Fitzgerald disaster was both a human tragedy and an indictment of American industrial policies that eventually cost the nation thousands of jobs and hundreds of wrecked communities. Wrecked tells the story both about the reasons for the decline of manufacturing in the industrial heartland of the United States, centered in the upper Midwest, and also about the causes of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the legal machinations that followed for the survivors. The book conveys the sense of loss that still is felt by the survivors, along with the outrage over the disappearance of manufacturing and the jobs that went with it, and the inadequate maintenance and legal maneuvering over liability for the sinking of the ship. Wrecked captures a time that has passed and a critique of what went wrong, and why"-- Provided by publisher.

"Today it's routine to take photos from an airplane window, use a camera underwater, watch a movie, or view an X-ray. But the photographic innovations more than a century ago that made such things possible were experimental, revelatory, and sometimes dangerous--and many of the innovators, entrepreneurs, and inventors behind them were memorable eccentrics. In Flashes of Brilliance, writer and photo editor Anika Burgess engagingly blends art, science, and social history to reveal the most dramatic developments in photography from its birth in the 1830s to the early twentieth century. Writing with verve and an eye for compelling detail, Burgess explores how photographers uncovered new vistas, including catacombs, cities at night, the depths of the ocean, and the surface of the moon. She describes how photographers captured the world as never seen before, showing for the first time the bones of humans, the motion of animals, the cells of plants, and the structure of snowflakes. She takes us on a tour of astonishing innovations, including botanist Anna Atkins and her extraordinary blue-hued cyanotypes and the world's first photobook; Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey's famed experiments in capturing motion and their long legacy; large format photography and photographs so small as to be invisible to the naked eye; and aerial photography using balloons, kites, pigeons, and rockets. Burgess also delves into the early connections between photography and society that are still with us today: how photo manipulation--the art of 'fake images'--was an issue right from the start; how the police used the telephoto lens to surveil suffragists; and how leading Black figures like Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass adapted self-portraits to assert their identity and autonomy"--

Over the past twenty-five years, pop culture has suffered from a perplexing lack of reinvention. We've entered a cultural "blank space"--an era when reboots, rehashes, and fads flourish, while bold artistic experimentation struggles to gain recognition. Why is risk no longer rewarded, and how did playing it safe become the formula for success? Acclaimed cultural historian W. David Marx sets out to uncover the answers. In this ambitious cultural history, Marx guides us through the blur of the twenty-first century so far, from the Obama era to the rise of K-pop, from Paris Hilton to the Marvel cinematic universe, from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to . . . Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, whose enduring influence highlights both their adaptability and the broader shifts in pop culture. Combining sociological, economic, and political insights with a deep dive into art, street culture, fashion, and technology, Blank Space dissects the rise of profit-driven, formulaic trends and the shifting cultural norms that often prioritize going viral over innovation. He reveals how backlash against indie snobbery and nineties counterculture gave rise to a counter-counterculture--one marked by antiliberal sentiment, the celebration of business heroes, and the increasing influence of industry plants and the elite class. In a world of crypto bros, nepo babies, and AI-driven art, Marx offers readers a much-needed dose of clarity and context. Vibrantly narrated and sharply argued, Blank Space is an essential guide for anyone looking to understand the chaos of the twenty-first century, the trends, tastemakers, and icons who shaped it, and how we might push our culture forward over the next quarter century--through renewed emphasis on creativity, community, and the values that transcend mere profit.

"The Wolf-Moose Project is the world's longest running predator-prey study and is located on Isle Royale, Michigan. A portion of the scientific work is to collect as many dead moose as possible and, from the collected bones, reconstruct the moose population through the years. This reconstructed population is then correlated against other data such as data on wolves, weather, ticks, amount of browse available on the island, and so on. The effort to find dead moose is largely supported by volunteers who, for a week at a time, hike off trail on the island looking for dead moose. The book provides an overview of the predator-prey study as well as what it is to volunteer and hike off trail in support of the project"-- Provided by publisher.

"The Straits of Mackinac have been a tourist destination for more than 150 years. The story of how tourism developed on Mackinac Island and in the adjacent communities of St. Ignace and Mackinaw City is narrated in this book, with stories from the people who helped shape it. This work explores the factors that shaped this region into the tourist destination that it is today. It includes historical context of how conflicting ideas developed a seasonal tourist industry and examines how tourism at the Straits of Mackinac developed within regional and national contexts as the tourist industry boomed in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This volume also shows how the people at the Straits responded to various national trends, such as when the automobile transformed the tourist experience and when independently published travel literature painted a critical picture of the region"-- Provided by publisher.

"This biography of Roy Reuther examines his life, including his involvement in the labor and civil rights movements. As the brother of famed labor leader Walter Reuther, Roy was a key figure in the historic Flint sit-down strike that gave birth to the United Auto Workers (UAW). He became the political director of the UAW and was deeply involved in struggles to pass civil rights legislation. This book explores his passion for voting rights and his vow to help farmworkers"--

"Michigan's CON-CON 11 highlights the contributions of the eleven female delegates to the 1961-1962 Michigan Constitutional Convention. As the first female delegates to a state of Michigan constitutional convention, these pioneers demonstrated that women were more than capable of helping to revise Michigan's highest law. Their examples encouraged other women to enter politics during a time when few women held state or federal public office. Following the women's Con-Con journey over seven and a half months, the book offers a general overview of what a state constitutional convention is and what it means to be a delegate. CON-CON 11 both educates the reader on constitution-making and sheds new light on an exciting moment in Michigan political history"--

"In 1961, James Baldwin spent several months in William Styron's guest house. The two wrote during the day, then spent evenings confiding in each other and talking about race in America. During one of those conversations, Baldwin is said to have convinced his friend to write, in first person, the story of the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. 'The confessions of Nat Turner' was published to critical acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, and also creating outrage in part of the African American community. Decades later, the controversy around cultural appropriation, identity, and the rights and responsibilities of the writer still resonates. In 'Baldwin, Styron, and me,' Mélikah Abdelmoumen considers the writers' surprising yet vital friendship from her standpoint as a racialized woman torn by the often unidimensional versions of her own identity put forth by today's politics and media. Considering questions of identity, race, equity, and the often contentious public debates about these topics, Abdelmoumen works to create a space where the answers are found by first learning how to listen--even in disagreement"--Inside cover flap.

"Drawing on deep passion and personal experience, former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith demystifies the art form that has too often been mischaracterized as "inaccessible," "irrelevant," or "intimidating." She argues that poetry is rooted in fundamentally human qualities innate to our capacities to love, dream, question, and cultivate community. Lifting the veil on her own creative process, Smith shows us how reading and writing poetry allows us to better confront life's many uncertainties and losses, build camaraderie with strangers, and understand ourselves more fully. In six insightful chapters, she grounds readers in the technical elements of the craft and provides close readings of the works of contemporary poets such as Joy Harjo, Danez Smith, and Francisco Márquez, alongside classic poems by Dickinson, Keats, Millay, and others. By reimaging and reexamining the age-old art form, Fear Less is a warm invitation to find meaning, consolation, and hope through poetry for poetry fans and newcomers to the art form."

"At the turn of the eighteenth century, Indigenous nations designated Detroit as a "common bowl" and a crucial nexus where they shared resources, made compromises, and coexisted. As the century unfolded, Detroit continued as a polyglot community in the face of expanding Euro-American settlement. The region became a highly charged space where the rituals of political negotiation grew in importance alongside a constant threat of violence. British political and economic systems continued to operate long after the end of the American Revolution, creating a shared cultural border at the end of the eighteenth century that would endure even as the American empire reestablished rule on the north side of the river. Both Anishinaabe and Wyandot people set aside land for future occupation of their people, re-creating another transnational space in the region. A hundred years later, issues of race, economic development, political partisanship and overlapping national claims continued to resonate as the city commemorated and mythologized its origins. This book considers how larger watershed occasions impacted the Detroit region and how, in turn, the unique particularities of local custom impacted regional and national trade and politics and the very nature of how the city continues to view its past"--

"A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe. -Madeleine L'EngleGod loves stories. We understand the world and ourselves in light of His great story. And humans reflect Him in their love to tell and immerse themselves in story. But not all stories are equal-or even good.Good books awaken us to truth, warn us from falsehood, and provide unforgettable examples. They open our hearts to beauty and wonder. They shape us. In The Redeemed Reader, parents and educators find encouragement and guidance to raise readers who can engage both heart and mind with books and the culture surrounding them.This book offers insight into how to build discernment in children and provides practical tips, examples, and booklists for their literary journey. Passionate about shepherding imaginations and young hearts, the authors read ahead so that you can confidently choose books for your children.Readers will discover a deeper understanding of how the gospel shines into children's books and practical guidance for applying these principles. If you want the imaginations of your children to be formed by what is good and true, The Redeemed Reader will equip you-parents, librarians, and educators-to navigate literary culture in a fallen world and to nurture thoughtful readers."-- Provided by publisher.

"God whispers through a crease in the wallpaper, writes Patti Smith in this indelible account of her life as an artist. A post-World War II childhood unfolds in a condemned housing complex described in Dickensian detail: consumptive children, vanishing neighbors, an infested rat house, and a beguiling book of Irish fairy tales. We enter the child's world of the imagination where Smith, the captain of her loyal and beloved sibling army, vanquishes bullies, communes with the king of tortoises, and searches for sacred silver pennies. The most intimate of Smith's memoirs, Bread of Angels takes us through her teenage years when the first glimmers of art and romance take hold. Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan emerge as creative heroes and role models as Smith starts to write poetry, then lyrics, merging both into the iconic recordings and songs such as Horses and Easter, "Dancing Barefoot" and "Because the Night." She leaves it all behind to marry her one true love, Fred "Sonic" Smith, with whom she creates a life of devotion and adventure on a canal in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, with ancient willows and fulsome pear trees. She builds a room of her own, furnished with a pillow of Moroccan silk, a Persian cup, inkwell and fountain pen. The couple spend nights in their landlocked Chris-Craft studying nautical maps and charting new adventures as they start their family. As Smith suffers profound losses, grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life, and, finally, writing again-the one constant on a path driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the mundane into the beautiful, the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope. In the final pages, we meet Patti Smith on the road again, the vagabond who travels to commune with herself, who lives to write and writes to live"--

From 1960s pop stardom to spiritual awakening, Cat Stevens traces the extraordinary journey of one of music's most beloved artists. Rising to fame with hits like "Wild World" and "Father and Son," Stevens' career was transformed by a near-fatal illness that sparked a lifelong search for meaning. His exploration of faith and philosophy ultimately led him to Islam, a new name--Yusuf Islam--and a life devoted to peace, family, and humanitarian work. This inspiring story follows his evolution from chart-topping singer to spiritual seeker and global advocate for compassion.

"For Nicholas Thompson, running has always been about something more than putting one foot in front of another. He ran his first mile at age five, using it as a way to connect with his father as his family fell apart. As a young man, it was a sport that transformed, and then shook, his sense of self-worth. In his 30s, it was a way of coping with a profound medical scare. By his early 40s, Thompson had many accomplishments. He was the Editor in Chief of a major magazine; a devoted husband and father; and a passionate runner. But he was haunted by the recent death of his brilliant, complicated father and the crack-up that derailed his father's life. Had the intensity and ambition he'd inherited made a personal crisis inevitable for him as well? Then a chance offer gave him the opportunity to train for the Chicago Marathon with elite coaches. Giving himself over to the sport more fully than ever before, he discovered that aging didn't necessarily put you on an unbroken trajectory of decline. For seven years after his father died, Thompson transforms his body to perform at its highest capacity, and the profound discipline and awareness he builds along the way changes every aspect of his life. Throughout the narrative, he weaves in stories of remarkable men and women who have used the sport to transcend some of the hardest moments in life. The Running Ground is a story about fathers, sons, and the most basic and most beautiful of sports."-- Provided by publisher.

"Are some things you say to your child hurting them unintentionally? Experienced homeschooler and mother of nine shows how to speak words of life that grow your child's sense of self, bolster their budding faith, and nurture your relationship with them"-- Provided by publisher.

"From Karen Walrond, author of The Lightmaker's Manifesto and Radiant Rebellion, comes a joyful jaunt into doing the things you love even if you're not any good at them. Learn the Seven Attributes of Intentional Amateurism: curiosity, mindfulness, self-compassion, play, zone-stretching, connection, and awe. Resist grind culture: learn to dabble"--

"Experience 100 of the most sought-after train rides around the world"-- Provided by publisher.