Frank Carlson Library

We live in the Age of the Gun. Around the globe, firearms are ubiquitous and define countless lives; in some places, it's even easier to get a gun than a glass of clean water. In others, it's legal to carry concealed firearms into bars and schools. In [this book], Iain Overton embarks on a ... journey to understand how these weapons have become an integral part of twenty-first century life, beyond the economics of supply and demand.

"In America, lipstick is the foundation of empires; it's a signature of identity; it's propaganda, self-expression, oppression, freedom, and rebellion. It's a multi-billion-dollar industry and one of our most iconic accessories of gender. This engaging and entertaining history of lipstick in America throughout the twentieth century and into the present will give readers a new view of the little tube's big place in modern America; marching with the...

"The first full account of the Slenderman stabbing, a true crime narrative of mental illness, the American judicial system, the trials of adolescence, and the power of the internet. On May 31, 2014, in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two twelve-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier's violence was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they committed their crime under...

In Suspicious Minds, Rob Brotherton explores the history and consequences of conspiracism, and delves into the research that offers insights into why so many of us are drawn to implausible, unproven and unproveable conspiracy theories. They resonate with some of our brain's built-in quirks and foibles, and tap into some of our deepest desires, fears, and assumptions about the world.

"By the face of The Big Ten Network, the story of the creation of the college football nation from 1890 to 1915, the intense media coverage, the academic fraud, recruiting scandals, shocking violence, new sports superstars, and the manifest destiny of football out of the Ivy League and to the Great Midwest"--

LANGUAGE, TRUTH AND LOGIC is the classic work of philosophy by Alfred Jules Ayer published in 1936 when Ayer was 26 (though it was in fact completed by age 25). This book defines, explains, and argues for the verification principle of logical positivism, as it relates to the use of objectives and methods in determining truths and probabilities. And whether or not one agrees that emperical evidence is the only basis for proof, there is no denying that...

The news is everywhere. We can't stop constantly checking it on our computes, but what is this doing to our minds? We are never really taught how to make sense of the torrent of news we face every day, writes Alain de Botton, but this has a huge impact on our sense of what matters and of how we should lead our lives. Here, de Botton takes twenty-five archetypal news stories--including an airplane crash, a murder, a celebrity interview and a political...

From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Matt Richtel, a brilliant, narrative-driven exploration of technology's vast influence on the human mind and society, dramatically-told through the lens of a tragic "texting-while-driving" car crash that claimed the lives of two rocket scientists in 2006. In this ambitious, compelling, and beautifully written book, Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, examines the impact of...

"Breathtaking tales of climbers and hunters, runners and racers, winners and losers by the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. New York Times reporter John Branch's riveting, humane features on ordinary people doing extraordinary things at the edges of the sporting world have won nearly every major journalism prize. Sidecountry gathers the best of Branch's work for the first time, including classic pieces like "Snow Fall," about skiers caught in an avalanche...

Why do the heavenly bodies behave in a contrary fashion to what we are familiar with on earth? Before a wheel can turn, we must ensure rim is joined to axle; before a couple can dance in circle, their hands must be joined. In contrast, the planets circle the sun and the moons circle the planets without any securing mechanism, and so precisely that their movements can be predicted to a millisecond. Again, why is it that, released from the effects of...