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Thursday, June 8, 2023

Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month




June is recognized as Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. The hope is to get people focused on their cognitive health and to learn and discuss Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Dementia is defined as a decline in mental ability that affects daily life, while Alzheimer's is a specific disease. It is estimated that 6.7 million Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, other common causes listed are cerebrovascular disease, frontotemporal deregulation, Hippocampal Sclerosis, Lewy Body Disease, Mixed Pathologies, and Parkinson's Disease. (https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf).








Alzheimer's is a progressive disease with symptoms developing from mild to moderate and then severe. While there are medications to help treat the disease, there is no cure.
A protein build-up of beta-amyloid plaques clumping together outside of the brain's neurons along with the progression of tua tangles (another protein) inside neurons are just a couple of the changes that are associated with Alzheimer's. Neurons connect to each other via synapses, allowing them to send signals to each other. These signals control body movements, bodily functions, sensory functions, cognition, and memory. When neurons are damaged, communication from your brain to your body breaks down. Neurons in different areas of the brain control different functions. Although Alzheimer's can affect all parts of the brain, the temporal lobe, which is essential for memory, is the first to be affected. https://www.verywellhealth.com/






In 2020, a study by the National Institute of Aging (NIA) of 3000 participants was published. The study showed that the participants who adopted at least 4 of 5 specified healthy behaviors had a 60% lower risk of Alzheimer's. The behaviors promoted by this study were physical activity, not smoking, light to moderate alcohol use, a healthy diet, and cognitive activities. (https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/combination-healthy-lifestyle-traits-may-substantially-reduce-alzheimers-disease-risk)


Helpguide.org lists 7 pillars for maintaining a brain-healthy lifestyle: regular exercise, maintaining an active social life, a healthy diet, quality sleep, vascular health, stress management, and mental stimulation.








Copy describing the books listed below is provided by the publishers.









"Through five editions, The 36-Hour Day has been an essential resource for families who love and care for people with Alzheimer disease. Whether a person has Alzheimer disease or another form of dementia, he or she will face a host of problems. The 36-Hour Day will help family members and caregivers address these challenges and simultaneously cope with their own emotions and needs. Featuring useful takeaway messages and informed by recent research into the causes of and the search for therapies to prevent or cure dementia, this edition includes new information on: devices to make life simpler and safer for people who have dementia; strategies for delaying behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms; changes in Medicare and other health care insurance laws; palliative care, hospice care, durable power of attorney, and guardianship; dementia due to traumatic brain injury; choosing a residential care facility; [and] support groups for caregivers, friends, and family members. The central idea underlying the book--that much can be done to improve the lives of people with dementia and of those caring for them--remains the same. The 36-Hour Day is the definitive dementia care guide."--Publisher's description









"How to eat for maximum brain power and health from an expert in both neuroscience and nutrition. Like our bodies, our brains have very specific food requirements. And in this eye-opening book from an author who is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist, we learn what should be on our menu. Dr. Lisa Mosconi, whose research spans an extraordinary range of specialties including brain science, the microbiome, and nutritional genomics, notes that the dietary needs of the brain are substantially different from those of the other organs, yet few of us have any idea what they might be. Her innovative approach to cognitive health incorporates concepts that most doctors have yet to learn. Busting through advice based on pseudoscience, Dr. Mosconi provides recommendations for a complete food plan, while calling out noteworthy surprises, including why that paleo diet you are following may not be ideal, why avoiding gluten may be a terrible mistake, and how simply getting enough water can dramatically improve alertness. Including comprehensive lists of what to eat and what to avoid, a detailed quiz that will tell you where you are on the brain health spectrum, and 24 mouth-watering brain-boosting recipes that grow out of Dr. Mosconi's own childhood in Italy, Brain Food gives us the ultimate plan for a healthy brain. Brain Food will appeal to anyone looking to improve memory, prevent cognitive decline, eliminate brain fog, lift depression, or just sharpen their edge"-- Provided by publisher.









"Throughout our life, we look for ways to keep our mind sharp and effortlessly productive. Now, globe trotting neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta offers insights from top scientists all over the world, whose cutting-edge research can help you heighten and protect brain function and maintain cognitive health at any age. Keep Sharp debunks common myths about aging and cognitive decline, explores whether there's a "best" diet or exercise regimen for the brain, and explains whether it's healthier to play video games that test memory and processing speed, or to engage in more social interaction. Discover what we can learn from "super-brained" people who are in their eighties and nineties with no signs of slowing down-and whether there are truly any benefits to drugs, supplements, and vitamins. Dr. Gupta also addresses brain disease, particularly Alzheimer's, answers all your questions about the signs and symptoms, and shows how to ward against it and stay healthy while caring for a partner in cognitive decline. He likewise provides readers with a personalized twelve-week program featuring practical strategies to strengthen your brain every day. Keep Sharp is the only owner's manual you'll need to keep your brain young and healthy regardless of your age!"-- Provided by publisher.









"An easy-to-follow, research-based guide to the simple, low-cost lifestyle choices you can make to reduce the risk or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Develop a personalized plan, including recipes, brain-training games, exercises. Includes advice for caregivers"-- Provided by publisher.









"Brain imaging research demonstrates that memory loss actually starts in the brain decades before you have any symptoms. Learn the actions you can take to help not just prevent memory loss later in life . . . but to begin restoring the memory you may have already lost."--Amazon.com.








Although every day we read news reports linking health problems to diet and lifestyle, there remains significant confusion regarding the onset and progression of Alzheimer s disease. Worldwide, more than 35 million people are currently suffering from Alzheimer s, and that number is expected to increase substantially over the next decade. Understanding Alzheimer s introduces readers to the inner workings of Alzheimer s, how the disease progresses, and what patients and caregivers can do to live with the disease. Following the astonishing path sufferers take from being sharp-minded to cognitively impaired, the book reveals how patients and their loved ones can cope with its mental, physical, and economic effects. Dr. Naheed Ali sifts through the information currently available on Alzheimer s to clearly and accessibly illustrate how Alzheimer s works, how we can prevent it, and how we can address it once symptoms begin to appear. Covering diet and lifestyle, medical interventions and the stages of Alzheimer s, he draws readers into a fuller understanding of the disease. Providing an accessible starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about Alzheimer s, this book will prove to be an indispensable resource." -Provided by Publisher






"An all-in-one guide for helping the caregivers of individuals with brain injury or degenerative disease understand speech, language, voice, memory, and swallowing impairment and distinguish these problem areas from healthy aging"--. Provided by publisher.




"Caring for someone with dementia can be a challenging, heartbreaking experience ... but it can also be rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful. Most dementia caregivers find that the first, and sometimes most difficult step, is accepting the diagnosis and adjusting to a new normal. In Day-to-Day Living With Dementia, Angela Lunde, M.A., an expert in dementia care at Mayo Clinic, helps you take that first step and chart your path toward living well, even in the face of dementia. For over 20 years, Ms. Lunde has made it her mission to improve emotional well-being and quality of life for those living with dementia and their care partners. This book give you the researched-backed strategies Ms. Lunde applies in her work every day." -- Back cover.






"Elijah loves spending time with his grandma Eleanor. She knows all the best words to answer tricky crossword puzzles and to tell the most beautiful stories to her family and friends. Everyone calls her 'Never Forget Eleanor' because she remembers every word she reads and person she meets. Lately though, Elijah has started to notice Grandma Eleanor forgetting little things. So when Grandma Eleanor doesn't show up for her Saturday story session, Elijah will need to find a way to use her favorite words and become the storyteller himself to bring her home"--. Provided by publisher.






Tasha loves her grandfather, and she knows that PaPa loves her. But lately, PaPa has begun to forget things. He's often confused and upset. Sometimes, he doesn't even recognize his own family. How can Tasha's grandmother help her see that while PaPa is changing, his love for Tasha has not?'Remembering for Both of Us' is a touching story of a child's first glimpse of Alzheimer's and a reminder that ties of the heart transcend age and illness. - Provided by Publisher


Thursday, June 1, 2023

Pride





On August 29, 1867, former assistant attorney for the German civil service, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, spoke at a Congress of 500 German Jurists in Munich. It was here that Ulrichs made history by publicly declaring himself to be attracted to men while urging the jurists to repeal the laws against homosexuality (note: the word "homosexual" was coined a year later by journalist Karl-Maria Kertbeny in a letter to Ulrichs 150 years ago, the word ‘homosexual’ was coined in a secret correspondence GVGK Tang GVGK Tang). For his efforts, however, Ulrichs was shouted at and shut down before he could finish speaking. Ulrichs left Germany in 1880 to live in voluntary exile in Italy until his death in 1895. (Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825-1895) and the United States, by Jonathan Ned Katz, Ulrichs, Karl Heinrich (1825-1895) by Hubert Kennedy)




"Until my dying day I will look back with pride that I found the courage to come face to face in battle against the spectre which for time immemorial has been injecting poison into me and into men of my nature. Many have been driven to suicide because all their happiness in life was tainted. Indeed, I am proud that I found the courage to deal the initial blow to the hydra of public contempt.“ — Karl Heinrich Ulrichs



An Official State of Illinois charter was granted to the Society for Human Rights, on December 24, 1924, thus making it America's oldest documented gay rights organization. The Society was founded by Henry Gerber. While stationed in Germany, during WWI, Gerber, became inspired by Magnus Hirschfeld and the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, (the first LGBT emancipation organization), and their attempts to overturn anti-homosexual law in Germany. The Society for Human Rights created Friendship and Freedom, the first gay-interest newsletter in the United States. Only 2 issues were ever published. A few months after being charted the members of the group were arrested on "obscenity" charges, and while the charges were eventually dropped, political pressures forced the group to disband. (The Society for Human Rights, Friendship and Freedom). Gerber moved from Chicago to New York, and eventually re-enlisted in the Army, serving for 17 more years, and then retired to a Soldier's Home in Washington D.C., after WWII. From there Gerber offered his support to organizations such as the Mattachine Society and ONE. (https://www.gerberhart.org/meet-henry-and-pearl/)


January 1st, 1962, Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize homosexuality. -Celebrating Illinois’ LGBTQ History. In New York, however, they still had laws against serving gay and lesbian customers in bars and restaurants. Gay bars were frequently raided and shut down. Stonewall Inn of Greenwich Village, was one of these bars. The bar was owned by the Mafia and the cops were regularly bribed to stay away. They did not. Police would still come to the bar, make some arrests, and Stonewall Inn would be shut down for a few hours. Then on June 28, 1969 something changed. Instead of overall compliance the crowd fought back. Word spread and the crowd grew. Chants of "Gay Power" accompanied by the sounds of glass breaking as various items were thrown. Having lost control, to police retreated and barricaded themselves within the bar and waited for reinforcements. The Stonewall Riots lasted for six days. One month later a rally was held in New York promoting gay rights. -(Pride : an inspirational history of the LGBTQ+ movement by Caldwell, S. A.)

Copy describing the books listed below is provided by the publishers

  "The LGBTQ+ community is so much more than rainbow flags and the month of June. In this beautifully designed dynamic book, young readers will learn about groundbreaking events, including historic pushes for equality and the legalization of same-sex marriages across the world. They will dive into the phenomenal history of queer icons from ancient times to the present and read about Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson, Audre Lorde, and more. Including several personal current essays from inspiring young LGBTQ+ people, this book encourages readers to take pride in their identity and the identities of those around them. Don't just learn about LGBTQ+ history--take pride in it!"--. Provided by publisher.



After the riots, new groups were formed, such as the Gay Activists Alliance the Gay Liberation Front. Marches for liberation started to spread across the nation and throughout the world. -(Pride Day : celebrating community by Stevenson, Robin)






 For LGBTQ people and their supporters, Pride events are an opportunity to honor the past, protest injustice, and celebrate a diverse and vibrant community. The high point of Pride, the Pride Parade, is spectacular and colorful. But there is a whole lot more to Pride than rainbow flags and amazing outfits. How did Pride come to be? And what does Pride mean to the people who celebrate it? -Provided by publisher


One year later, on June 28, 1970, what is considered the first Pride parade was held to chants of "Say it clear, Say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud!", "Two, four, six, eight --gay is just as good and straight!", and "Three, five, seven, nine --lesbians are mighty fine!" ( What was Stonewall? by Medina, Nico) In Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, concurrent marches were being held.The stonewall riots weren't the first attempt at taking a stand, but it is considered the beginning of the Pride movement.


"In the early-morning hours of June 28, 1969, police arrived at the Stonewall Inn's doors and yelled, "Police! We're taking the place!" But the people in this New York City neighborhood bar, members of the LGBTQ community, were tired of being harassed. They rebelled in the streets, turning one moment into a civil rights movement and launching the fight for equality among LGBTQ people in the United States." -- Amazon.com.













Small Beauty tells the story of Mei, who in coping with the death of her cousin abandons her life in the city to live in his now empty house in a small town. There she connects with his history as well as her own, learns about her aunt's long-term secret relationship, and reflects on the trans women she left behind. She also brushes up against some local trans mysteries and gets advice from departed loved ones with a lot to say.





"When Darnell L. Moore was fourteen years old, three boys from his neighborhood tried to set him on fire as he was walking home from school. Darnell was tall and awkward and constantly bullied for being gay. That afternoon, one of the boys doused him with gasoline and tried lighting a match. It was too windy, and luckily Darnell's aunt arrived in time to grab Darnell and pull him to safety. It was not the last time he would face death. What happens to the black boys who come of age in neglected, poor, heavily policed, and economically desperate cities that the War on Drugs and mass incarceration have created? How do they learn to live, love, and grow up? Darnell was raised in Camden, NJ, the son of two teenagers on welfare struggling to make ends meet. He explored his sexuality during the height of the AIDS epidemic, when being gay was a death sentence. He was beaten down and ignored by white and black America, by his school, and even his church, the supposed place of sanctuary. He made it out, but as he quickly learned, escaping Camden, escaping poverty, and coming out do not guarantee you freedom. It wasn't until Darnell was pushed into the spotlight at a Newark rally after the murder of a young queer woman that he found his voice and his calling. He became a leading organizer with Black Lives Matter, a movement that recognized him and insisted that his life mattered. In recovering the beauty, joy, and love in his own life, No Ashes in the Fire gives voice to the rich, varied experiences of all those who survive on the edges of the margins. In the process, he offers a path toward liberation"-- Provided by publisher.







"A memoir of Karina Manta, the first female member of USA Figure Skating to come out as queer"--. Provided by publisher.








"Lake Geneva, 1816. Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley is inspired to write a story about a scientist who creates a new life-form. In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI and carrying out some experiments of his own in a vast underground network of tunnels. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with his mom again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryogenics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead ... but waiting to return to life. What will happen when homo sapiens is no longer the smartest being on the planet? In fiercely intelligent prose, Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realize. Funny and furious, bold and clear-sighted, Frankissstein is a love story about life itself"-- Provided by publisher.






Propelled by his best friend's impending move out of state and inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off, sixteen-year-old Harrison plans a farewell through Baltimore that includes a road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party.






"The acclaimed literary essayist T Kira Madden's raw and redemptive debut is a memoir about coming of age as a queer, biracial teenager within the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida, a place where cult-like privilege, shocking social and racial disparities, rampant white-collar crime, and powerfully destructive standards of beauty hide in plain sight. As a child in Florida, T Kira Madden lived a life of extravagance--from her exclusive private school to her equestrian trophies and designer shoes, she had plenty to envy. But beneath the surface, life in "the rat's mouth" of Boca Raton was dangerous. Left to her own devices as both parents battled drug addiction, Kira navigated the perils of coming of age too quickly, and without guidance--oblivious parents and misguided babysitters at home, tormentors at school, sexual predators at the mall, and the confused, often destructive, desperately loving friendship of fatherless girls. With unflinching honesty and moving, lyrical prose, and spanning from 1960's Hawai'i to the nip and tuck rooms of 1990s Florida to the present-day struggle of a young woman in a culture of harassment, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls is the story of families both lost and found, unmade and rebuilt, crooked and beautiful" -- Provided by publisher.








A novel in verse that captures the unbalanced experience of an all-consuming love between two unnamed, queer, Black teen girls who move rapidly from strangerhood into a protective best friendship before becoming dysfunctional lovers and mutually destructive partners in crime. -Provided by Publisher









"[A novel] about three women--transgender and cisgender--whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex..."-- Publisher's description.






"On a hot day in Bethlehem, a twelve-year-old Palestinian-American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgment will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother's response only intensifies a sense of shame: 'You exist too much,' she tells her daughter. Told in vignettes that flash between the U.S. and the Middle East--from New York to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine--Zaina Arafat's debut novel traces her protagonist's progress from blushing teen to sought-after DJ and aspiring writer"--Dust jacket flap.








A Jamaican woman leaves her daughter behind to immigrate to New York, where the happier life she expected is difficult to find as an undocumented worker -- adapted from jacket description.
When Patsy gets her long-coveted visa to America, she looks forward leaving Pennyfield, the beautiful but impoverished Jamaican town where they were raised. Her plans don’t include her overzealous, evangelical mother-- or her own five-year-old daughter, Tru. When Patsy arrives in Brooklyn, she survives as an undocumented immigrant, working as a bathroom attendant and nanny. Meanwhile, Tru builds a faltering relationship with her father back in Jamaica, grappling with her own questions of identity and sexuality, and trying desperately to empathize with her mother's decision. -- adapted from jacket






Who says you can't run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes--it would be too awkward--and you can't say no--it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world.

QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town?

ANSWER: You accept them all.

What would possibly go wrong? Arthur Less will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Saharan sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the (only) writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and encounter, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to face. Somewhere in there: he will turn fifty. Through it all, there is his first love. And there is his last.

Because, despite all these mishaps, missteps, misunderstandings and mistakes, Less is, above all, a love story.

A scintillating satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, a bittersweet romance of chances lost, by an author The New York Times has hailed as "inspired, lyrical," "elegiac," "ingenious," as well as "too sappy by half," Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy. -Provided by Publisher






"Ash has never thought much about being intersex. But when he gets his period and his parents pressure him to 'try being a girl,' he must fight for who he really is"--. Provided by publisher.


Thursday, May 25, 2023

Fashion History





The anniversary of when women were finally able to legally wear pants in the US may not seem like a big deal for some, but, having worn skirts outside during an Illinois Winter, pants have my utmost respect. I love pants, comfy ones, soft ones, and ones with pockets, real pockets like they give to men, where your whole hand, a wallet, a small animal, and snacks will fit inside.

The US Attorney General declared it legal for women to wear trousers anywhere on May 28th, 1923; just 100 years ago. That's not to say it was a free-for-all on pants-wearing after that. It wasn't until 1972, when the Title IX non-discrimination provisions, of the 1972 Education Amendments declared that dresses could not be required of girls in public schools. (Trousers as women's clothing) However, in France, the freedom to wear trousers wasn't given to women until 2013; not that the matter had been strictly enforced, but the ban on trousers existed all the same, and in 2019, female flight attendants on Virgin Atlantic were finally allowed to wear trousers. ( A brief history of women wearing trousers).



On Dec. 24, 1969, Washington Post reported a story that "hailed Rep. Charlotte T. Reid (R-Ill.) for showing up on the last day before recess 'in a black wool, bell-bottomed pantsuit. . . a first in the annals of the U.S. Congress.'...Many male colleagues ran to the floor to gawk, she told The Post, but all were kind. 'Gerald Ford [then the minority leader] told me he thought it was great, and I should do it more often.'" https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/update-first-woman-to-wear-pants-on-house-floor-rep-charlotte-reid/2011/12/21/gIQAVLD99O_blog.html

Also in 2019, Norwin High School in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania was taken to task when then senior Hannah Kozak, objected to the school's graduation dress code. The school sent out letters, stating that any female student choosing to wear pants at graduation would receive their diploma a week after graduation and not at the ceremony. After speaking out at school board meeting, Hannah Koziak, convinced the principal and the board of the need to modify the dresscode. The changed the terms to "professional attire". https://www.insider.com/norwin-high-school-senior-challenged-graduation-dress-code-to-wear-pants-2019-5

And in June of 2022, a federal appeals court ruled that a Charter School in. North Carolina was in violation of federal Title IX anti-discrimination law. (Federal court: NC school can’t require girls to wear skirts).

Clothing or fashion, has a long history. There are different tastes, styles, dress codes, and judgments made when it comes to what we wear. Fashion can be celebrated and it can be weaponized.






Every generation can recall and identify with the fashion icons and idols of their era. The crinoline-caged Victorian female, the Gibson girl, and the grunge-layered youth of the 1990s all reflect the influences and extremes of their life and times. The start of the 19th century marks the dawn of the designer, a sartorial influence that became a star-studded industry. Fashion: A Visual History charts those points in time when distinctive styles that began as extravagances of the very rich permeated through well-dressed society until a cut of cloth or choice of accessory defined fashion. This elegantly- dressed volume assesses the contribution of such innovative players as Worth, Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, Klein, Westwood, and Gaultier, as well as the effects of stage, screen, music, dance, and sports celebrities on our ever-changing sense of fashion. Each spread focuses on a definitive item--be it a bowler hat or little black dress, stiletto, or caftan--or identifies key shifts in fashion that reflect excess, liberation, austerity, nostalgia, and technology, displaying it in contemporary images ranging from paintings and illustrated fashion plates to cartoons and photographs. Evocative primary quotes complete a history that visually traces the revealing evolution of fashion in Western society. --front cover







"From simple to sophisticated, elegant to excessive, what we wear says who we are. "Fashion" is the ultimate visual guide to everything ever worn. From the extravagance of Ancient Egypt, through the legendary fashion houses of Chanel and Dior, to the latest cutting-edge labels, this gorgeous collection of costume and dress shows how fashion reflects people and places, and captures the times in which they lived."--p.[4] of cover.


"Style is not just the clothes on our backs--it is self-expression, representation, and transformation. As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he looked to for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that--because clothes are never just clothes. Men's heels are a statement of pride in the face of LGTBQ+ discrimination, while ribbon shirts honor Indigenous ancestors and keep culture alive. Allaire takes the reader through boldly designed chapters to discuss additional topics like cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice."--. Provided by publisher.






"Equal parts fab and frightening, Killer Style explores the ways in which make-up, clothing, and accessories have killed, maimed, or tormented those who wear and make them. From the story of hatters felled by mercury poisoning to tulle-burnt ballerinas to the victims of the modern craze for sandblasted denim, no one is safe from these crimes of fashion."-- Provided by publisher.





"Explores the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. Included are Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Sidebar subjects include: Elizabeth I, Marilyn Monroe, Rihanna, and Vivienne Westwood."--Provided by publisher.






"Covering everyone from Louis XIV to Prince, Bad Boys of Fashion looks at men across history who have broken the rules both in fashion and in life."-- Provided by publisher.








Fashion is ever-changing, and while some styles mark a dramatic departure from the past, many exhibit subtle differences from year to year that are not always easily identifiable. With overviews of each key period and detailed illustrations for each new style, How to Read a Dress is an authoritative visual guide to women's fashion across five centuries.

Each entry includes annotated color images of historical garments, outlining important features and highlighting how styles have developed over time, whether in shape, fabric choice, trimming, or undergarments. Readers will learn how garments were constructed and where their inspiration stemmed from at key points in history - as well as how dresses have varied in type, cut, detailing and popularity according to the occasion and the class, age and social status of the wearer.

This lavishly illustrated book is the ideal tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know their cartridge pleats from their Récamier ruffles. Equipping the reader with all the information they need to 'read' a dress, this is the ultimate guide for students, researchers, and anyone interested in historical fashion. --Provided by Publisher






"A look at fast fashion and its impact on the environment and social justice, based on the adult nonfiction title Fashionopolis and adapted for young readers"--. Provided by publisher.






"Discover how the Lane Bryant clothing brand changed the way we buy clothes forever by celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes in this inclusive picture book biography of a Lithuanian immigrant with a brilliant eye for fashion and business"--. Provided by publisher.














Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

June is recognized as Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. The hope is to get people focused on their cognitive health and to learn an...