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Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts

Thursday, September 14, 2023

National Hispanic Heritage Month.



National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15. This marks the anniversary of El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Ric, Nicaragua, and Honduras gaining their Independence from Spain in 1821.  Mexico and Chile celebrate their Independence on September 16th and 18th.  National Hispanic Heritage Month lasts through October 15th.    For more information, you can check out these sites:

hispanicheritagemonth.gov.

https://latino.si.edu/learn/teaching-and-learning-resources/hispanic-heritage-month-resources

https://www.ebsco.com/blogs/ebscopost/top-resources-national-hispanic-heritage-month



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




"For Ingrid Rojas Contreras, magic runs in the family. Growing up in the Colombia of the 1980's and 1990's in a house where "what did you dream?" was asked in place of "how are you?" her world was laced with prophecy and violence. Her maternal grandfather, Nono, was a renowned curandero, a community healer gifted with the ability to talk to the dead, tell the future, treat the sick, and move the clouds. As a young girl, Rojas Contreras eavesdropped on her mother's fortune-telling business from the stairs and waited eagerly for the moments when Mami appeared in two places at once. She was accustomed to "letting the ghosts in." So when Ingrid, now living in the U.S., suffered a head injury in her 20's that left her with amnesia-an accident eerily similar to a fall that had put her mother in a coma at the age of 8, from which she woke with not just amnesia, but the ability to see ghosts--the family assumes "the secrets" have finally been passed down to the next generation. But as Ingrid recovers her memories, they don't come with supernatural abilities. Rather, she is consumed by a powerful urge to learn even more about her heritage than she knew before the accident. Spurred by a shared dream among Mami and her sisters, wherein Nono communicates that he is unable to rest peacefully in the afterlife, Ingrid joins her mother on a journey home to Colombia to disinter her grandfather's remains. With her mother as her unpredictable, stubborn and often hilarious guide, Ingrid traces her lineage back to her indigenous and Spanish roots, uncovering the violent and rigid colonial narrative that would eventually break her family into two camps: those who believe "the secrets" are a gift, and those who are convinced they are a curse. Interweaving family stories more enchanting than any novel, resurrected Colombian history, and her own deeply personal reckonings with the bounds of reality, Rojas Contreras writes her way through the incomprehensible and into her inheritance. The result is a luminous testament to the power of storytelling as a healing art and an invitation to embrace the extraordinary"--. Provided by publisher.




"A book of essays spanning the author's career a[nd] reflecting upon the various homes she's lived in around the world"-- Provided by publisher.
Desde Chicago a México, los lugares en los que Sandra Cisneros ha vivido han servido de inspiración para sus trabajos ya clásicos de ficción y poesía. Sin embargo, una casa propia, un lugar en el que realmente pueda echar raíces, la ha eludido. En esta autobiografía rompecabezas, formada de ensayos e imágenes a través de tres décadas (algunas nunca antes publicadas) Cisneros ha llegado por fin a casa.-- Source other than Library of Congress.

 



"At the age of 8, Reyna Grande made the dangerous and illegal trek across the border from Mexico to the United States, and discovered that the American Dream is much more complicated that it seemed."--Provided by publisher.

"Cuando el padre de Reyna Grande deja a su esposa y sus tres hijos atrás en un pueblo de México para hacer el peligroso viaje a través de la frontera a los Estados Unidos, promete que pronto regresará; con el dinero suficiente para construir la casa de sus sueños. Sus promesas se vuelven más difíciles de creer cuando los meses de espera se convierten en años. Cuando se lleva a su esposa para reunirse con él, Reyna y sus hermanos son depositados en el hogar ya sobrecargado de su abuela paterna, Evila, una mujer endurecida por la vida. Los tres hermanos se ven obligados a cuidar de sí mismos. En los juegos infantiles encuentran una manera de olvidar el dolor del abandono y a resolver problemas de adultos. Cuando su madre regresa, la reunión sienta las bases para un capítulo nuevo y dramático en la vida de Reyna: su propio viaje a El otro lado para vivir con el hombre que ha poseído su imaginación durante años-- su padre ausente."--Book cover.



"From the New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, an utterly original memoir-in-essays that is as deeply moving as it is hilariously funny"--. Provided by publisher.
Growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in Chicago in the nineties, Erika Sánchez was a self-described pariah, misfit, and disappointment—a foul-mouthed, melancholic rabble-rouser who painted her nails black but also loved comedy, often laughing so hard with her friends that she had to leave her school classroom. Twenty-five years later, she’s now an award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist, but she’s still got an irrepressible laugh, an acerbic wit, and singular powers of perception about the world around her. In these essays, Sánchez writes about everything from sex to white feminism to debilitating depression, revealing an interior life rich with ideas, self-awareness, and perception. Raunchy, insightful, unapologetic, and brutally honest, Crying in the Bathroom is Sánchez at her best—a book that will make you feel that post-confessional high that comes from talking for hours with your best friend.



An inspiring and deeply personal coming of age memoir from one of Silicon Valley's youngest entrepreneurs-a second-generation Latino immigrant who taught himself how to code as a thirteen-year-old and went on to claim his share of the American dream.

As his parents watched their restaurant business collapse in the wake of the Great Recession, Michael Sayman was googling "how to code." Within a year, he had launched an iPhone app that was raking in thousands of dollars a month, enough to keep his family afloat-and in America.

Entirely self-taught, Sayman headed from high school straight into the professional world, and by the time he was seventeen, he was Facebook's youngest employe ever, building new features that wowed its founder Mark Zuckerberg and are now being used by more than half a billion people every day. Sayman pushed Facebook to build its own version of Snapchat's Stories and, as a result, engagement on the platform soared across all demographics. Millions of Gen Z and Millennials flocked to Facebook, and as teen engagement rose dramatically on Instagram and WhatsApp, Snapchat's parent company suffered a billion-dollar loss in value. Three years later, Sayman jumped ship for Google.

App Kid is the galvanizing story of a young Latino, not yet old enough to drink, who excelled in the cutthroat world of Silicon Valley and went on to become an inspiration to thousands of kids everywhere by following his own surprising, extraordinary path. In this candid and uplifting memoir, Sayman shares the highs and lows, the successes and failures, of his remarkable journey. His book is essential and affirming reading for anyone marching to the beat of their own drum.




[The author's] story begins in rural Puerto Rico, where her warring parents and seven siblings led a life of uproar, but one full of love and tenderness as well. Growing up, Esmeralda learned the proper way to eat a guava, the sound of the tree frogs in the mango groves at night, the taste of the delectable sausage called morcilla, and the formula for ushering a dead baby's soul to heaven. But just when Esmeralda seemed to have learned everything, she was taken to New York City, where the rules - and the language - were bewilderingly different. How Esmeralda overcame adversity, won acceptance to New York City's High School of Performing Arts, and then went on to Harvard, where she graduated with highest honors, is a record of a tremendous journey by a truly remarkable woman.-BooksInPrint.



""A beautiful, fiercely honest, and nevertheless deeply empathetic look at those who police the border and the migrants who risk - and lose - their lives crossing it. In a time of often ill-informed or downright deceitful political rhetoric, this book is an invaluable corrective."--Phil Klay For Francisco Cantú the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Haunted by the landscape of his youth, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners are posted to remote regions crisscrossed by drug routes and smuggling corridors, where they learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. They haul in the dead and deliver to detention those they find alive. Cantú tries not to think where the stories go from there. Plagued by nightmares, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the whole story. Searing and unforgettable, The Line Becomes a River makes urgent and personal the violence our border wreaks on both sides of the line"-- Provided by publisher.



Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning journalist who, for nearly thirty years, has reported on stories and communities in America that often go ignored by the mainstream media--from tales of hope in the South Bronx to the unseen victims of the War on Terror and the first detention camps in the US. Bestselling author Julia Álvarez has called her "one of the most important, respected, and beloved cultural leaders in the Latinx community."

In Once I Was You, Maria shares her intimate experience growing up Mexican American on the South Side of Chicago. She offers a personal and illuminating account of how the rhetoric around immigration has not only long informed American attitudes toward outsiders, but also sanctioned willful negligence and profiteering at the expense of our country's most vulnerable populations--charging us with the broken system we have today.

An urgent call to fellow Americans to open their eyes to the immigration crisis and understand that it affects us all, this honest and heartrending memoir paints a vivid portrait of how we got here and what it means to be a survivor, a feminist, a citizen, and a journalist who owns her voice while striving for the truth.


On-screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. He's been shot, stabbed, hanged, chopped up, squished by an elevator, and once, was even melted into a bloody goo. Off-screen, he's a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend.

Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled with heroin addiction and stints in some of the country's most notorious state prisons--including San Quentin and Folsom--from an early age, before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, and Machete. Now, in this funny, painful, and suspenseful memoir, Danny takes us through the incredible ups and downs of his life, including meeting one of the world's most notorious serial killers in prison and working with legends like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro.

An honest, unflinching, and "inspirational study in the definition of character" (Kevin Smith, director and actor), Trejo reveals how he managed the horrors of prison, rebuilt himself after finding sobriety and spirituality in solitary confinement, and draws inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that made him a household name. He also shares the painful contradictions in his personal life. Although he speaks everywhere from prison yards to NPR about his past to inspire countless others on their own road to recovery and redemption, he struggles to help his children with their personal battles with addiction, and to build relationships that last.

Redemptive and painful, poignant and real, Trejo is a portrait of a magnificent life and an unforgettable and exceptional journey.


In Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed, bestselling and award-winning authors as well as up-and-coming voices interrogate the different myths and stereotypes about the Latinx diaspora. These fifteen original pieces delve into everything from ghost stories and superheroes, to memories in the kitchen and travels around the world, to addiction and grief, to identity and anti-Blackness, to finding love and speaking your truth. Full of both sorrow and joy, Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed is an essential celebration of this rich and diverse community.

The bestselling and award-winning contributors include Elizabeth Acevedo, Cristina Arreola, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Naima Coster, Natasha Diaz, Saraciea J. Fennell, Kahlil Haywood, Zakiya Jamal, Janel Martinez, Jasminne Mendez, Meg Medina, Mark Oshiro, Julian Randall, Lilliam Rivera, and Ibi Zoboi.



"Latino" is the most open-ended and loosely defined of the major race categories in the United States. Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of "Latino" assembles the Pulitzer Prize winner Héctor Tobar's personal experiences as the son of Guatemalan immigrants and the stories told to him by his Latinx students to offer a spirited rebuke to racist ideas about Latino people. Our Migrant Souls decodes the meaning of "Latino" as a racial and ethnic identity in the modern United States, and seeks to give voice to the angst and anger of young Latino people who have seen latinidad transformed into hateful tropes about "illegals" and have faced insults, harassment, and division based on white insecurities and economic exploitation.

Investigating topics that include the US-Mexico border "wall," Frida Kahlo, urban segregation, gangs, queer Latino utopias, and the emergence of the cartel genre in TV and film, Tobar journeys across the country to expose something truer about the meaning of "Latino" in the twenty-first century.





Thursday, August 3, 2023

"Book" Your Flight

 



Some people love to fly.  

Some people are just perfectly happy to read about other people flying.  


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




New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan takes us to the gloriously windswept islands of northern Scotland, where we meet young Morag McGinty, who runs the puddle-jumper flights that serve the islands' tiny but proudly feisty population.

Morag MacIntyre is a Scottish lass from the remote islands that make up the northernmost reaches of the UK. She's also a third-generation pilot, the heir apparent to an island plane service she runs with her grandfather. The islands--over 500 dots of windswept land that reach almost to Norway--rely on their one hardworking prop plane to deliver mail, packages, tourists, medicine, and the occasional sheep. As the keeper of this vital lifeline, Morag is used to landing on pale golden beaches and tiny grass airstrips, whether during great storms or on bright endless summer nights. Up in the blue sky, Morag feels at one with the elements.

Down on the ground is a different matter, though. Her grandfather is considering and Morag wonders if she truly wants to spend the rest of her life in the islands. Her boyfriend Hayden, from flight school, wants Morag to move to Dubai with him, where they'll fly A380s and say goodbye to Scotland's dark winters.

Morag is on the verge of making a huge life change when an unusually bumpy landing during a storm finds her marooned on Inchborn Island. Inchborn is gloriously off-grid, home only to an ancient ruined abbey, a bird-watching station, and a population of one: Gregor, a visiting ornithologist from Glasgow who might have just the right perspective to help Morag pilot her course.



"Inspired by true events, a breathtaking WWII historical novel about the brave American women who trained the British Royal Air Force, by New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath. 1941. A talented flier, Jessie Lovelace yearns for a career in aviation. When the civilian flight school in her small Texas town begins to clandestinely train British pilots for the RAF, she fights to become an instructor. But the task isn't without its perils of near-misses and death. Faced with the weight of her responsibilities, she finds solace with a British officer who knows firsthand the heavy price paid in war . . . until he returns to the battles he never truly left behind. Rhonda Monroe might not be skilled in the air but can give a trainee a wild ride in a flight simulator. Fearing little, she dares to jeopardize everything for a forbidden relationship with a charismatic airman... Innocent and fun-loving Kitty Lovelace, Jessie's younger sister, adores dancing with these charming newcomers, realizing too late the risks they pose to her heart. As the war intensifies and America becomes involved, the Girls of Flight City do their part to bring a victorious end to the conflict, pouring all their energy into preparing the young cadets to take to the skies and defeat the dangers that await. And lives from both sides of the Atlantic will be forever changed by love and loss"--. Provided by publisher.




"In 1937 Montana, fourteen-year-old Houston "Huck" Finn finds a dead body in a local creek and steals the man's rare Lindbergh flight watch. Huck is an aspiring aviator, working to build his own airplane-a secret he has kept from his God-fearing mother. His cousin, Annelise, arrives from Los Angeles for a long stay with his family, and Huck is initially wary until he learns she has had flight lessons. As his airplane takes shape, and the young cousins avidly follow Amelia Earhart's voyage around the equator, so too does Huck's understanding of the world and his place in it-in particular the tension between heaven and earth, age and youth, tradition and the coming future, that stresses the bonds of both his and Annelise's families. And then there's the matter of the watch, which it turns out the dead man's cohort of gangsters would very much like back."--. Provided by publisher.



"From the beloved and best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and La's Orchestra Saves the World, a heartwarming tale of hope and friendship set during World War II, in which a British farm girl, an American pilot, and a German soldier are brought together by an unlikely hero: a (very cute) border collie. Val Eliot, a land girl working on an English farm during the war, finds herself in charge of protecting a rescued border collie named Peter Woodhouse from the owner who mistreated him. When Val meets Mike, an American Air Force pilot stationed nearby, she realizes that the safest place for the little dog is alongside Mike at the base. With the love and attention of the pilots, Peter Woodhouse becomes Dog First Class, the mascot of the U.S. Air Force, boldly accompanying the officers on their missions--until a disaster jeopardizes the future of them all. It is then that Peter Woodhouse brings Ubi, a German corporal, into their orbit, sparking a friendship that comes at great risk, but carries the richest of rewards"-- Provided by publisher.



"A pilot wants nothing more than to fly. Or so he thought, until he crosses paths with a mysterious thief whose tricks draw him into unchartered territory and new adventure. In a life where the truth changes as quickly as clouds in the sky, the pilot must decide for himself what freedom really means."--. Provided by publisher



Signing up to train military pilots in Hawaii when World War II breaks out in Europe, Audrey Coltrain joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and bonds with her fellow pilots to find hope and strength in the face of war.



After ten years as a flight attendant, Ava Greene's got one trip left before she bids her old life farewell, and she plans to enjoy every second of it. But then she discovers that former pilot Jack Stone is on her flight. And he has the nerve to flirt with her, as if he doesn't remember the role he played in the most humiliating night of her life. Good thing she never has to see him again after they land. But when their plane encounters mechanical problems, what should have been a quick stop at Belize airport suddenly becomes a weekend layover. The more time Ava spends with Jack under the hot Caribbean sun, the more she begins to second-guess everything she thought she knew about him.




It was the Golden Age of Travel, and everyone wanted in. As flying boomed in the 1960s, women from across the United States applied for jobs as stewardesses. They were drawn to the promise of glamorous jet-setting, the chance to see the world, and an alternative to traditional occupations like homemaking, nursing, and teaching.

But as the number of "stews" grew, so did their suspicion that the job was not as picture-perfect as the ads would have them believe. "Sky girls" had to adhere to strict weight limits at all times; gain a few extra pounds and they'd be suspended from work. They couldn't marry or have children; their makeup, hair, and teeth had to be just so. Girdles were mandatory while stewardesses were on the clock. And, most important, stewardesses had to resign at 32.

Eventually the stewardesses began to push back and it's thanks to their trailblazing efforts in part that working women have gotten closer to workplace equality today. Nell McShane Wulfhart crafts a rousing narrative of female empowerment, the paradigm-shifting '60s and '70s, the labor movement, and the cadre of gutsy women who fought for their rights--and won.




Author William "Bill" Norwood, a retired United Airlines captain, was the first African American pilot for United Airlines. He flew the "friendly skies" for 31 years before retiring in 1996. Bill, who was in ROTC at Southern Illinois University, flew the B-52 in the Air Force. His inspiration was his elementary school principal in his small southern Illinois town of Centralia, who was a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.




"A fast-paced look at the corporate dysfunction--the ruthless cost-cutting, toxic workplaces, and cutthroat management--that contributed to one of the worst tragedies in modern aviation Boeing is a century-old titan of American industry. The largest exporter in the US, it played a central role in the early days of commercial flight, World War II bombing missions, and moon landings. It remains a linchpin in the awesome routine of air travel today. But the two crashes of its 737 MAX 8, in 2018 and 2019, exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance, leading to the biggest crisis in the company's history. How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing? Flying Blind is the definitive exposé of a corporate scandal that has transfixed the world. It reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for disaster, losses that were altogether avoidable. Drawing from aviation insiders, as well as exclusive interviews with senior Boeing staff, past and present, it shows how in its race to beat Airbus, Boeing skimped on testing, outsourced critical software to unreliable third-parties, and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping pilots to fly them. In the chill that it cast over its workplace, it offers a parable for a corporate America that puts the interests of shareholders over customers, employees, and communities. This is a searing account of how a once-iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality, destabilizing an industry and needlessly sacrificing 350 lives"--. Provided by publisher.



"The incredible true story of John "Lucky" Luckadoo, who survived 25 missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in WWII. When Second Lieutenant John "Lucky" Luckadoo-a wide-eyed 21-year-old assigned to the Eighth Air Force's 100th Bomb Group-arrived in England, "Axis Sally," an American broadcaster employed by Nazi Germany to disseminate propaganda during World War II, welcomed his squadron by name. "This isn't your war," she told them. "You don't have any business being here, but as long as you're here we're going to teach you a lesson." And they did. Kevin Maurer's Damn Lucky tells the true story of "Lucky" Luckadoo who flew some of the deadliest missions of World War II during the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history. Lucky served with the 100th Bomber Group during the early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England. His story starts with his quest to join the Royal Air Force with his best friend before the war, through 25 missions in combat over Germany to the one mission-a raid over Bremen-where Luckadoo felt like his luck had run out. The statistical chances for a heavy Bomber crew in Europe to be lost on a mission were 1-in-10. At a 25-mission tour of duty, statistically, once a flyer made it to 10 missions they were literally on borrowed time. Anyone who served a full tour and survived was remarkably lucky. Drawn from Lucky's firsthand accounts, acclaimed war correspondent and bestselling author Kevin Maurer delves into this extraordinary tale, uncovering astonishing accounts of bravery during an epic clash in the skies over Nazi Germany"--. Provided by publisher.




"A fresh, unique insider's view of what it's like to be a woman aviator in today's US Navy--from pedicures to parachutes. Caroline Johnson was an unlikely aviation candidate. A tall blonde debutante from Colorado, she could have just as easily gone into fashion or filmmaking, and yet she went on to become an F/A-18 Super Hornet Weapons System Officer. She was one of the first women to fly a combat mission over Iraq since 2011, and she was the first woman to drop bombs on ISIS. Jet Girl tells the remarkable story of the women fighting at the forefront in a military system that allows them to reach the highest peaks, and yet is in many respects still a fraternity. Johnson offers an insider's view on the fascinating, thrilling, dangerous and, at times, glamorous world of being a naval aviator. This is a coming-of age story about a young college-aged girl who draws strength from a tight knit group of friends, called the Jet Girls, and struggles with all the ordinary problems of life: love, work, catty housewives, father figures, make-up, wardrobe, not to mention being put into harm's way daily with terrorist groups such as ISIS and world powers such as Russia and Iran. Some of the most memorable parts of the book are about real life in training, in the air and in combat--how do you deal with having to pee in a cockpit the size of a bumper car going 900 miles an hour? Not just a memoir, this book also aims to change the conversation and to inspire and attract the next generation of men and women who are tempted to explore a life of adventure and service." --Provided by publisher.

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Video Games







I never did get very far with Coleco's Smurf Rescue In Gargamel's Castle and I always made Qbert jump in the wrong direction. My Atari usage went from sore thumbs from moving Pinhead back and forth to getting run over in Frogger. I've died every death that Oregon Trail has to offer, made some futile searches for Carmen Sandiego, hunted for Ducks, badly, and was often brutally killed in Streetfighter and Mortal Kombat. However, none of these compared to my glorious failings when playing Goldeneye on the N64: I very much earned that Lemming award. These days a majority of my attempts at gaming revolve around spending hours building a decorating a house on Sims 4 only to abandon the sim I created shortly after.

Even without being as dedicated to video games as my children seem to be video games have had an everpresent role in my life, not necessarily one of triumphant glory but it's been a lot of fun just the same.

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







"You've got your dream job--making video games. You have a great project, great designs, and clever controls. One morning, you get a call from your producer. Turns out that wall-jumping trick won't work because the artists don't have time to design a separate animation just for the plumber to move that way. Also, your lead designer keeps micromanaging the programmers, which is driving them crazy. Your E3 demo is due in two weeks, and you know there's no way you can get it done in less than four. You'll have to cut out some of the game's biggest features just to hit your deadlines. And suddenly the investor is asking if maybe you can slash that $10 million budget down to $8 million, even if you have to fire a few people to make it happen? Welcome to video game development. In his years covering the industry, Jason Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Schreier takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. His reputation for great storytelling and fly-on-the-wall detail will provide readers with the clearest picture yet of what actually goes on behind the scenes. Each chapter will cover a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams. The chapters will also focus on a variety of subjects in the process, from building the basics to adjusting for fan reaction post-launch. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels will give readers an unparalleled inside look at one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world"-- Provided by publisher.






An engaging picture book biography based on the incredible true story of a Jewish refugee who pioneered home video games and launched a worldwide obsession.

Do you ever wonder how video gaming was invented? What came before your PlayStation or Xbox? This is the story of Ralph Baer, a refugee from Nazi Germany, who used his skills--and a lot of ingenuity and persistence--to make life a little more fun.

Television was new when Ralph returned from serving in World War II, but he didn't settle for watching TV. He knew it could be even more fun if you could play with it. He tinkered and tested, got help and rejected, but with perseverance and skill, he made his vision come true! This is the inspiring story of a fearless inventor who made TV video games a reality.






"Discover the women behind the video games we love--from the iconic games they created, the genres they invented, the studios and companies they built--and how they changed the industry forever. From classic games like Centipede and Solitaire to popular modern games like Final Fantasy, Uncharted, and Halo, this book explores the work and history of 25 influential women in the video game industry and how their contributions ultimately built and transformed the medium that we know today. Gamer Girls explores each woman's contributions to the industry, but also their inspirations and hardships as they worked to create the games that they wanted to play. Including smaller sidebars about other influential women, a glossary, additional resources page, and stunning profile and spot illustrations of influential pixel queens such as: Roberta Williams (creator of the adventure genre) * Mabel Addis Mergardt (the first person to write a video game) * Muriel Tramis (the French "knight" of video games) * Keiko Erikawa (the creator of the otome genre) * Yoko Shimomura (the composer for Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts) * Rebecca Heineman (first national video game tournament champion) * Jade Raymond (builder of the modern game engine) * and many more"--. Provided by publisher.









"It is, perhaps, the perfect video game. Simple yet addictive, Tetris delivers an irresistible, unending puzzle that has players hooked. Play it long enough and you'll see those brightly colored geometric shapes everywhere. You'll see them in your dreams. Alexey Pajitnov had big ideas about games. In 1984, he created Tetris in his spare time while developing software for the Soviet government. Once Tetris emerged from behind the Iron Curtain, it was an instant hit. Nintendo, Atari, Sega--game developers big and small all wanted Tetris. A bidding war was sparked, followed by clandestine trips to Moscow, backroom deals, innumerable miscommunications, and outright theft. In this graphic novel, New York Times--bestselling author Box Brown untangles this complex history and delves deep into the role games play in art, culture, and commerce. For the first time and in unparalleled detail, Tetris: The Games People Play tells the true story of the world's most popular video game."--Page [2] of cover.






"The life and career of the legendary developer celebrated as the "godfather of computer gaming," and creator of Civilization. Over his four-decade career, Sid Meier has produced some of the world's most popular video games, including Sid Meier's Civilization, which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. Sid Meier's Memoir! is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multibillion-dollar industry. Writing with warmth and ironic humor, Meier describes the genesis of his influential studio, MicroProse, founded in 1982 after a trip to a Las Vegas arcade, and recounts the development of landmark games, from vintage classics like Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon, to Civilization and beyond. Articulating his philosophy that a video game should be "a series of interesting decisions," Meier also shares his perspective on the history of the industry, the psychology of gamers, and fascinating insights into the creative process, including his rules of good game design"-- Provided by publisher.





GAME BOY MODDING will provide readers with a detailed process for purchasing, refurbishing, modding, and customizing several Nintendo handheld consoles. The consoles and customizations are widely available and affordable for all gamers to try on their own and require only limited tools and know-how. Readers learn basic soldering and hardware modification techniques, then move on to learn how to change speakers, buttons, screen lens, and even fix dead speakers and sticky buttons.






Traces the history and development of video games, providing information on the first games, influential developers, how the games have changed over the years, and the most popular games.







Check out the ultimate annual video game guide from Scholastic AFK! Level Up 2023 is full of the latest information on the hottest games of the last year, how they were developed, and how to beat them.Get ready for another awesome year of gaming with this ultimate guide to all your favorite games, including a definitive list of the biggest games of the past year and hottest new ones coming in 2023! Level Up 2023 is the most comprehensive guide to all the best games, tech, and streamers, featuring a bunch of the year's greatest gaming moments.This complete guide is packed with secrets, stats, tips, and tricks for all your favorite games. All games featured in AFK's Level Up 2023 are rated T for Teen or younger -- perfect for young gamers.







Find out about the fast and furious growth and evolution of video games (including how they are quickly taking over the world!) by looking at some of the most popular, innovative, and influential games ever, from Pong, the very first arcade game ever, to modern hits like Uncharted.

Learn about the creators and inspiration (Mario was named after Nintendo's landlord after he barged into a staff meeting demanding rent), discover historical trivia and Easter eggs (The developers of Halo 2 drank over 24,000 gallons of soda while making the game), and explore the innovations that make each game special (The ghosts in Pac-Man are the first example of AI in a video game).

Whether you consider yourself a hard-core gamer or are just curious to see what everyone is talking about, Game On! is the book for you!






Today, the video game industry keeps growing, with ever more platforms available to fans. But how did the very first system come about? This picture-book biography of Ralph Baer, whose family fled Nazi Germany for the US, introduces kids to a great inventor AND the birth of the first home console. Using wartime technology, Baer thought outside the box and transformed the television into a vehicle for gaming; Baer's invention, the Odyssey, is a precursor to the Atari gaming system. Today, interactive systems like Wii and PlayStation are descendants of Ralph's innovative "Brown Box," making this award-winning inventor the true "Father of Video Games."

















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October 2026

October is National Book Month! To celebrate all things books, the adult department will have some Book Bingo sheets available. Complete 5 i...