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New Book Alerts is a free online service that showcases the newest titles purchased by your local library. You can select to receive alerts via email and/or RSS feeds. If you see a new title that you are interested in, just click "check catalog" to place a hold on the item right away.
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Green Roofs and Rooftop Gardens (BBG Guides for a Greener Planet)
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Beth Hanson
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Brooklyn Botanic Garden (2012, Aug 7th).
Pages: 120
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has long been a leading advocate of urban greening and sustainable design--and a green roof is an exciting expression of these ideals. Vegetated roof systems prevent water pollution, cool and purify the surrounding air, extend roof life, and improve energy efficiency. Here are 13 of New York City's most remarkable examples--including the elevated lawn at Lincoln Center--along with a detailed historical overview, essays by industry experts, and practical advice readers can use to turn their own roofs green. more
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Instant: The Story of Polaroid
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Christopher Bonanos
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press (2012, Sep 26th).
Pages: 192
"Instant photography at the push of a button!" During the 1960s and '70s, Polaroid was the coolest technology company on earth. Like Apple, it was an innovation machine that cranked out one must-have product after another. Led by its own visionary genius founder, Edwin Land, Polaroid grew from a 1937 garage start-up into a billion-dollar pop-culture phenomenon. Instant tells the remarkable tale of Land's one-of-a-kind invention-from Polaroid's first instant camera to hit the market in 1948, to its meteoric rise in popularity and adoption by artists such as Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close, to the company's dramatic decline into bankruptcy in the late '90s and its unlikely resurrection in the digital age. Instant is both an inspiring tale of American ingenuity and a cautionary business tale about the perils of companies that lose their creative edge. more
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Photography: The Groundbreaking Moments
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Florian Heine
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Prestel (2012, Dec 3rd).
Pages: 208
Chronologically arranged, each chapter focuses on a particular work or idea that changed the course of photography. Presented in beautiful spreads and with informative text, the book opens with photography's genesis in the form of the camera obscura. Centuries later, Daguerre, Niepce, and Talbot invented their own means of capturing light on paper. The book covers groundbreaking genres such as still life, landscape, portraiture, and nudes. Sections on the role of photography in journalism illustrate how the camera's presence on battlefields, on city streets, and in factories helped inform and reform the modern world. Fashion, animals, Surrealism, and staged portraits are also explored. Perfect for perusing or reading from cover to cover, this book illustrates how photography developed from a concept to a world-changing force--one that attempted to shed light on truth yet can also obscure and alter reality in dazzling ways. more
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The Computer: An Illustrated History From its Origins to the Present Day
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Mark Frauenfelder
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Carlton Books (2013, Mar 5th).
Pages: 256
From handheld smart phones to vast scientific simulators, computers are integral to our lives and are developing at ever-increasing speed. In The Computer, uber-technogeek Mark Frauenfelder traces the evolution of this vital machine from its earliest roots through its exciting application in code breaking during the Second World War, and from its initial use in the workplace and home to its current status as a ubiquitous—and increasingly portable—part of twenty-first century life. This highly illustrated social history of the computer examines its profound impact on every sphere of life. more
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The Ultimate Super Bowl Book: A Complete Reference to the Stats, Stars, and Stories Behind Football's Biggest Game--and Why the Best Team Won - Second Edition
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Bob McGinn
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: MVP Books; Second Edition, Second, Revised Edition edition (2012, Sep 15th).
Pages: 416
With a television viewership of over 100 million people and hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year on tickets, concessions, and merchandise alone, the Super Bowl is the greatest game on Earth. Offering in-depth analysis, detailed statistics, play-by-play recaps, and post-game insights for every Super Bowl ever played, The Ultimate Super Bowl Book is the most definitive reference to this iconic sporting event, exploring all the high and lows from more than four decades of gridiron drama, with stories and quotes from the men who made history on football’s biggest stage. In addition to a comprehensive examination of each Super Bowl played since 1967, the book presents features on the greatest individual performances in Super Bowl history—from Joe Namath to Joe Montana, Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers, Marcus Allen to Emmitt Smith, Jack Lambert to James Harrison—and the best and worst decisions by some legendary coaches, including Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy, and more. more
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The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Natalie Goldberg
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Atria Books (2013, Mar 19th).
Pages: 256
Sit. Walk. Write. These are the barest bones of Natalie Goldberg’s revolutionary writing and life practice, which she presents here in book form for the first time. A whole new slant on writing that she developed since the publication of her classic Writing Down the Bones, True Secret workshops have been limited until now to small, intensive groups at a remote center in the rural Southwest. In The True Secret of Writing, Goldberg makes this popular seminar available to any reader. The True Secret is for everyone, like eating and sleeping. It allows you to discover something real about your life, to mine the rich awareness in your mind, and to ground and empower yourself. Goldberg guides you through your own personal or group retreat, illuminating the steps of sitting in silent open mind, walking anchored to the earth, and writing without criticism. more
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Finance and the Good Society
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Robert J. Shiller
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton University Press (2012, Mar 20th).
Pages: 304
The reputation of the financial industry could hardly be worse than it is today in the painful aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. New York Times best-selling economist Robert Shiller is no apologist for the sins of finance--he is probably the only person to have predicted both the stock market bubble of 2000 and the real estate bubble that led up to the subprime mortgage meltdown. But in this important and timely book, Shiller argues that, rather than condemning finance, we need to reclaim it for the common good. He makes a powerful case for recognizing that finance, far from being a parasite on society, is one of the most powerful tools we have for solving our common problems and increasing the general well-being. We need more financial innovation--not less--and finance should play a larger role in helping society achieve its goals. more
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Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Peter Gray
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Basic Books (2013, Mar 5th).
Pages: 288
Our children spend their days being passively instructed, and made to sit still and take tests—often against their will. We call this imprisonment schooling, yet wonder why kids become bored and misbehave. Even outside of school children today seldom play and explore without adult supervision, and are afforded few opportunities to control their own lives. The result: anxious, unfocused children who see schooling—and life—as a series of hoops to struggle through.In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that our children, if free to pursue their own interests through play, will not only learn all they need to know, but will do so with energy and passion. Children come into this world burning to learn, equipped with the curiosity, playfulness, and sociability to direct their own education. more
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Make a Movie! (Find Your Talent)
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Jim Pipe
Format: Library Binding
Publisher: Arcturus Pub (2013, Jan 1st).
Pages: 32
Making a film is creative, rewarding... and easier than you think. Why not give it a go? This book gives you all the advice and encouragement you need to take your first steps in the world of cinema. more
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Prepper's Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Jim Cobb
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Ulysses Press (2012, Dec 18th).
Pages: 224
DETER . DELAY. DEFEND! Does your disaster preparation plan include security measures? When civilization fails and the desperate masses begin looting, they will come for your food, water and life-sustaining supplies. This book shows you how to implement a complete plan for operational security and physical defense, including:• Perimeter Security Systems and Traps• House Fortifications and Safe Rooms• Secured and Hidden Storage• Firearms and Defensive Combat Techniques• Gathering Intelligence and Forming Alliances more
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