The presidential inaugural poet--and unforgettable new voice in American poetry--presents a collection of poems that includes the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States. Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, her poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has become...

"The University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the nine boys, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what beating the odds really meant. They defeated elite rivals from California and eastern schools to earn the right to compete against the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic Games in Berlin....

As companion to the PBS series airing in September 2007, "The War" focuses on the citizens of four towns--Luverne, Minnesota; Sacramento, California; Waterbury, Connecticut; Mobile, Alabama, following more than forty people from 1941 to 1945. Maps and hundreds of photographs enrich this compelling, unflinching narrative.

James Burke examines how various scientific, historical and social factors gave rise to technological advances, including atomic weapons, nautical navigation and a growing dependence on technology. Part 1: Beginning in Egypt the program explains how plowing, building, writing, taxation, and astronomy began and how they became interdependent. Man's present dependence on complex technological networks is illustrated with a reconstruction of the New...

A series presenting science as a detective story illustrating the connections between events of the past and inventions of the future. Part 9: Traces the discoveries and inventions which gave rise to the motion picture. Incredible events led to Thomas Edison's remarkable invention; the beginnings of limelight on an Irish mountain; George Eastman's production of celluloid; the "magic lantern" of an Austrian ballistics teacher. Concludes by posing questions...

"From one of the most gifted and beloved storytellers of her time comes a riveting new novel of suspense where one woman's picture-perfect island sanctuary reveals itself to be filled with dangers... At twenty-nine, Alison Marshall is ready to find a place to call home. With no family and no ties, she's drifted from one small Florida town to another since high school, working odd jobs, saving hard, and building a nest egg. Once she finds the right...

This immerses viewers in the extraordinary routines of children who live in the four corners of the Earth, whose sheer will to accomplish their dreams leads them onto a path that many have walked, but never like this.

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks...

"An eye-opening and soul-nourishing journey through Chinese food around the world. From Cape Town, South Africa, to small-town Saskatchewan, family-run Chinese restaurants are global icons of immigration, community and delicious food. The cultural outposts of far-flung settlers, bringers of dim sum, Peking duck and creative culinary hybrids, Chinese restaurants are a microcosm of greater social forces. They are an insight into time, history, and...

Birding is more popular than ever, and for good reason. Birds are infinitely fascinating and inspiring, and can be found everywhere from forests to city parks to suburban backyards. Birding not only grounds us in our natural environment but is shown to reduce stress and support our mental well-being. It's something that can be done alone or in community, by anyone, anytime. In Birding for a Better World, Feminist Bird Club organizers Molly Adams and...