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#nonfiction

35 posts24 participants1 post today
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MikeDunnAuthor

Today in Labor History March 12, 1928: The St. Francis Dam failed in Los Angeles, California, killing 431 people. It is the second deadliest disaster in California, after the 1906 earthquake, and one of the worst U.S. civil engineering disasters ever. A defective foundation and design flaws caused the failure. Yet, the inquest absolved chief engineer, William Mulholland, of all criminal responsibility, and he continued to earn a salary from the Bureau of Public Works (though his career was effectively ended). The authorities continued to find the remains of victims of the flood until the mid-1950s. Many of the victims were washed out to sea. Some washed ashore as far south as Mexico. Mulholland was also the designer of the 233-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct, which sucks water from the Owens Valley and is a major cause of the depletion of the fragile Mono Lake. As its water levels continues to decline, it threatens the world’s second largest gull rookery, home to up to 50,000 birds. The aqueduct’s construction, and the shady methods Mulholland used to acquire the water rights, led to the California Water Wars between L.A. County and Owens Valley farmers. Many of those same Anglo farmers (or their predecessors) usurped the land from Piute people during the 1863 Owens Valley Indian War, which was precipitated, in part, by the vast loss of human and cattle lives, and the displacements, caused by the Megaflood of 1861, which inundated much of the West, from Idaho and Oregon, down to northern Baja California. The corruption related to the construction of the aqueduct has been portrayed in the film Chinatown, and in the nonfiction book, “Cadillac Desert.”

For more on the Megaflood of 1861, please read my article, “Worse Than the Big One”: michaeldunnauthor.com/2023/01/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #flood #dam #mulholland #monolake #owensvalley #disaster #nativeamerican #indigenous #piute #ecology #chinatown #indianwar #habitatdestruction #books #nonfiction #author #writer #losangeles @bookstadon

View of the dam looking north, with water in its reservoir, in February 1927. By Stearns, H.T. USGS - This file was derived from: The St. Francis Dam.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10829037
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earthling

Digital Forensic by Nilakshi Jain, 2019

This book is for those who desire to learn more about investigating and fighting digital crimes. It covers latest challenges faced in digital forensic like email forensic, mobile forensic and cloud forensic. It also sequentially explains disk forensic, network forensic, memory forensic, mobile forensic and cloud forensic.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#DigitalForensics

The lucid content of the book and the questions provided in each chapter help the learners to prepare themselves for digital forensic competitive exams.
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earthling

Encyclopedia of Green Materials by Chinnappan Baskar et al, 2025

Encyclopedia of Green Materials covers comprehensive overview, recent research and development of Green Materials and Green Nanomaterials, and their applications in all areas, including electronics, sensors, textiles, biomedical, energy and energy storage, building constructions and interiors design, automotive, green plastic manufacturing, food packing
@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#reference
#encyclopedia
#GreenMaterials

...membrane technology, wastewater treatment, rubber technology, and tire manufacturing. The contents focus on sustainable development, renewable, circular economy, Chemistry 4.0: Chemistry through innovation in transforming world, green chemistry and green engineering, upcycling, and recycling.
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Bibliolater 📚 📜 🖋

🔴 📖 **Aramaic: Lingua Franca, Koine, or Both?**

_”The study investigates the historical roles of Aramaic as both a lingua franca and a koine, examining its development and usage across various periods. It identifies three main contexts: as the administrative and diplomatic language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, as the religious and scholarly language of Jewish communities in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and as the liturgical and literary language of Syriac Christianity.”

Healey, J. (2025) 'Aramaic: lingua franca, koine, or both?,' in Open Book Publishers, pp. 771–796. doi.org/10.11647/obp.0463.28.

#History #Aramaic #Language #OpenAccess #OA #Nonfiction #Academia #Book #Ebook #Bookstodon @bookstodon

Interconnected Traditions: Semitic Languages, Literatures, Cultures—A Festschrift for Geoffrey Khan: Volume 1: Hebrew and the Wider Semitic World - cover image
doi.orgAramaic: Lingua Franca, Koine, or Both?The study investigates the historical roles of Aramaic as both a lingua franca and a koine, examining its development and usage across various periods. It identifies three main contexts: as the administrative and diplomatic language of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, as the religious and scholarly language of Jewish communities in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and as the liturgical and literary language of Syriac Christianity. Aramaic’s adaptability allowed it to function as an international medium for communication, transcending local dialects and ethnic boundaries. The discussion contrasts the broader concept of a lingua franca, which includes ad hoc languages for specific purposes, with the more structured and culturally embedded nature of a koine, developed within linguistic communities for unified usage. The article highlights Aramaic’s persistence through historical shifts, its role in intercommunal exchanges, and its eventual decline with the rise of Arabic as a dominant language in the region.
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Noelle :verified:

I know in the past I've posted a lot about reading nonfiction but it turns out I prefer reading fiction. 🥴

The nonfiction I read tends to be depressing and enraging because I read about history and politics (humans haven't changed at all over centuries).

So I end up reading fiction to help me chill out and recover from the exhausting nonfiction. 😆

#reading#books#fiction
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earthling

Coping with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) by Mary Jordan, 2020

Adults are being increasingly diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and this book provides strategies for concerned individuals to help slow the onset of the condition. Around 50% of adults with MCI go on to develop dementia, but research shows that self-help through early intervention and preventative measures can hugely slow this down.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#MCI
#MildCognitiveImpairment
#dementia

The self-help measures in this book include memory aids, health and lifestyle changes, activities, therapies and technological aids. All of them are known to improve cognition and can be incorporated into daily life. Every measure is firmly based in current research, and this book is also applicable to those with early-stage dementia wishing to delay the onset of more severe cognitive impairment. Given the paramount importance of early intervention to prevent cognitive impairment worsening, this book is essential reading for any older individual wanting the best strategies to help with how to do this in practice.
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earthling

How to Astronaut An Insider's Guide to Leaving Planet Earth by Terry Virts, 2020

This book is a collection of essays, each one on a different subject related to spaceflight. Some short, some long. Some technical, some emotional. Some fact-based, and some purely speculative. Some funny, some tragic. All are written with two goals in mind: to make you laugh, and to make you say, “Wow!” Often.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#spaceflight
#astronauts
#humour

"There's something intriguing to be learned on practically every page... [How to Astronaut] captures the details of an extraordinary job and turns even the mundane aspects of space travel into something fascinating."––Publishers Weekly Ride shotgun on a trip to space with astronaut Terry Virts. A born stroyteller with a gift for the surprising turn of phrase and eye for the perfect you-are-there details, he captures all the highs, lows, humor, and wonder of an experience few will ever know firsthand. Featuring stories covering survival training, space shuttle emergencies, bad bosses, the art of putting on a spacesuit, time travel, and much more!
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earthling

Happy Wool Felt Animals by Makiko Arai

Craft a menagerie of miniature animals from simple materials! Author Makiko Arai's easy felting techniques are perfect for beginners or anyone who enjoys a relaxing handcraft. With a little wool roving and a felting needle in hand, you'll get step-by-step instructions to make 30 fuzzy friends, with a focus on shaping, color, and texture.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#handcraft
#wool
#felt

Sculpt wire structures for stability, finish faces with lifelike expressions, and turn your creations into adorable pins you can take anywhere! From palm-size pups and curious cats to bunnies, deer, squirrels, and more, it's time to let your imagination run wild!
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earthling

Handbook on Building Cultures of Peace by Joseph de Rivera, 2008

Mediation and negotiation, personal transformation, non-violent struggle in the community and the world: these behaviors – and their underlying values – underpin the United Nations’ definition of a culture of peace, and are crucial to the creation of such a culture.

researchgate.net/publication/3

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#peace

The Handbook on Building Cultures of Peace addresses this complex and daunting task by presenting an accessible blueprint for this development. Its perspectives are international and interdisciplinary, involving the developing as well as the developed world, with illustrations of states and citizens using peace-based values to create progress on the individual, community, national, and global levels. The result is both realistic and visionary, a prescription for a secure future.
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earthling

The 100 A Ranking Of Most Influential People In History by Michael H. Hart, 2004

Hart's yardstick is influence- not the greatest people, but the most influential, the people who swayed the destinies of millions of human beings, determined the rise and fall of civilizations, changed the course of history. With incisive biographies, Hart describes their careers and contributions.

archive.org/details/the-100-mi

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#history
#biography

Explaining his ratings, he presents a new perspective on history, gathering together the vital facts about the world's greatest religious and political leaders, inventors, writers, philosophers, explorers, artists, and innovators - from Asoka to Zoroaster. Most of the biographies are accompanied by photographs or sketches. Hart's selections may be surprising to some. Neither Jesus nor Marx, but Muhammad, is designated as the most influential person in human history. The writer's arguments may challenge and perhaps convince readers, but whether or not they agree with him, his manner of ranking is both informative and entertaining.
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idealist at heart

i never thought i’d enjoy a book on debt, but here we are!

in 'the paradox of debt' richard vague argues that government debt acts as a wealth creator for private households —backing it up with historical data and global comparisons. it’s clear, thought-provoking, and surprisingly engaging. if you’re interested in economics, finance, or policy, this one’s worth your time!

full review: idealistatheart.com/the-parado

cover of the nonfiction book 'the paradox of debt' by richard vague
#books#bookstodon#nonfiction
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earthling

Morality and Self-Interest Edited by Paul Bloomfield, 2007

Ever since "Know Thyself" was inscribed at Delphi, Western philosophers have struggled to understand the relations between morality and self-interest. This edited volume of essays pushes forward one of the oldest and most important debates in philosophy. Is morality a check on self-interest or is it in one's self interest to be moral?

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#philosophy
#essays
#morality
#SefInterest

Can morality and self-interest be understood independently of each other? Christopher Morris, The Trouble With Justice Mathias Risse, Nietzsche on Selfishness, Justice, and the Duties of the Higher Men Richard Joyce, Morality, Schmorality David Schmidtz, Because It's Right Thomas Nagel, The Value of Inviolability Samuel Scheffler, Potential Congruence Stephen Finlay, Too Much Morality Terence Irwin Scotus and the Possibility of Moral Motivation Ralph Wedgwood, Butler on Virtue, Self Interest, and Human Nature Julia Annas, Virtue Ethics and the Charge of Egoism W.D. Falk, Morality, Self, and Others Paul Bloomfield, Why It's Bad To Be Bad Joel Kupperman, Classical and Sour Forms of Virtue Michael Stocker, Shame and Guilt; Self Interest and Morality
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earthling

Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present by Nicholas J. Cull et al, 2003

A truly international, authoritative A–Z guide to five centuries of propaganda, in both wartime and peacetime, which covers key moments, techniques, concepts, and some of the most influential propagandists in history.

archive.org/details/propaganda

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#encyclopedia
#history
#propaganda
#MassPersuasion

This fascinating survey provides a comprehensive introduction to propaganda, its changing nature, its practitioners, and its impact on the past five centuries of world history. Written by leading experts, it covers the masters of the art from Joseph Goebbels to Mohandas Gandhi and examines enormously influential works of persuasion such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, techniques such as films and posters, and key concepts like black propaganda and brainwashing. Case studies reveal the role of mass persuasion during the Reformation, and wars throughout history. Regional studies cover propaganda superpowers, such as Russia, China, and the United States, as well as little-known propaganda campaigns in Southeast Asia, Ireland, and Scandinavia. The book traces the evolution of propaganda from the era of printed handbills to computer fakery, and profiles such brilliant practitioners of the art as Third Reich film director Leni Riefenstahl and 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose works helped to bring the notorious Boss Tweed to justice.
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