The Truth Behind Factory Foods

Quinlan, Julia J. and Paula Johanson. The Truth Behind Factory Foods. Part of the From Factory to Table: What You’re Really Eating series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1-49943925-0. Available at 641.2 QUI on the library shelves.

Most of the food we now eat comes pre-packaged and is purchased at the grocery store, or is purchased in bulk and prepared at a fast-food restaurant. Packages and menus are well designed, pictures are attractive, and food names are descriptive. What we are eating, however, is not clear as even the nutritional label can be very confusing, with multiple ingredients sporting names like propylene glycol and silicon dioxide, whose functions and properties are unknown to the general public.

Such foods, which are cheap and easily accessed and consumed, are made by industrial conglomerates who make millions of portions using the cheapest ingredients they can find, and fill them with preservatives to keep them on shelves longer, and with chemicals to render them visually attractive as well as tasty. These processing foods are not as nutritious as homemade meals, and can contain high amounts of sugars and sodium, which in turn affects the health of those who consume them.

Providing a great overview of the processed food industry, this book clearly demonstrates that not all foods are created equal, and that those buying food must be aware of what they purchase both for health and for environmental reasons.

Other books in this series include:

• The Truth Behind Manufactured Foods
• The Truth Behind GMOs
• The Truth Behind Soft Drinks
• The Truth Behind Antibiotics, Pesticides, and Hormones
• The Truth Behind Snack Foods

Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 10

Adachitoka. Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 10. 2016. 177p. ISBN 978-1-63236-213-1. Available in the Graphic Section of the library.

In Noragami: Stray God, Vol 9, Yato and his stray entered the underworld to help Ebisu, and he became trapped when Izanami refused to release him. Hiyori and Yukiné want to rescue him, but all efforts at entering the underworld fail. Despite her misgivings about Yato, Bishamon volunteers to retrieve him. But once in the underworld, she is forced to fight Izanami and realizes that Izanami is more powerful than she expected.

Hiyori is approached by a spirit that reveals that the only way bring Yato back from the underworld is to recall him using his real name. Searching her memory, she's able to discover it and manages to bring Yato back, and they are finally reunited. Yato is saddened, however, when a young new Ebisu is introduced to him. Yato takes it onto him to apologize to Ebisu for causing the death of his predecessor. Meanwhile, the crafter, the man in possession of a brush called the Word of Yomi, which can be used to craft Ayakashi, remains at large...

The story continues in Noragami: Stray God, Vol. 10.

Seeker

Rossi, Veronica. Seeker. Book 2 of the Riders series. 2017. 352p. 620 mins. ISBN 978-1-42728735-9. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

In Riders, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse worked with their seeker, Daryn, to prevent Samrael and his demons from the Kindred from taking over the world by opening a portal. Unfortunately, Sebastian, one of the horsemen, was dragged by Samuel through a dark dimension that Daryn opened and then sealed. Now eight months have passed, and Daryn has disappeared, plagued with the guilt of what happened to Sebastian and with the lost of her Sight.

Gideon, Marcus and Jod have been looking for Daryn since her disappearance after the epic confrontation with the Kindred. Working closely with a secret government entity, they hope to re-open the dimension and retrieve Sebastian from the clutches of Samrael. But Daryn is essential for their purpose and she must be found. Finally tracked to Wyoming the night that Daryn attempts to infiltrate the dimension by herself, the team reunites and develops a plan. An entire team of special forces will follow the three horsemen and Daryn in, retrieve Sebastian, and seal the dimension forever.

Unfortunately the plan goes awry. Some of the soldiers are killed, and many are wounded. Unable to successfully bring their mission to completion, the head of the operation cancels any other attempt. It is now up to Daryn, Gideon, and their friends to rescue Sebastian before it is too late.

Told in alternating chapters from Daryn and Gideon’s point of view, their attempts to bring Sebastian back is filled with tension and action. A page-turner, Seeker provides a satisfying conclusion to this duology.

The Islamic Caliphate

DeCarlo, Carolyn. The Islamic Caliphate. Part of the Empires in the Middle Ages series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1-68048-783-1. Available at 909.09 ISL on the library shelves.

Following the death of Muhammad, his closest allies created the Caliphate to settle who would lead Islam. Established both as a successor to the prophet and as his deputy, the Caliph was nominally in charge of both the political and religious side of Islam. Created in 632 CE, the Caliphate survived for over 600 years, until Mongol invasions sacked Baghdad and destroyed its remnants.

Over the course of centuries, the Caliphate evolved through four distinct phases. The Rightly Guided Caliphate transformed from a relatively remote, Arab-dominated religion to a vast Empire stretching from North Africa to India, and incorporating numerous prosperous cultures into a coherent Muslim civilization. The Umayyad Caliphate seized power away from members of Muhammad’s immediate family and expanded the borders of the Empire. Unfortunately, tribal rivalries and military conflicts with the Byzantine Empire forced another transfer of power. The Abbasid Caliphate led to a cultural boom and the growth of scholarship, as well as an improvement in administration, and is often considered the golden age of the Caliphate. Finally, the Fatimid Caliphate, first arising as a rival Caliphate to the Abbasid, eventually absorbed territories.

With crusaders coming from the West and Turks and Mongols pushing in from the East, the Caliphate was squeezed on all sides and was eventually defeated in 1258. The newly formed Ottoman Empire briefly revived the office of Caliph, to assert their claim of leadership over the Islamic world, but it soon lapsed again. The name Caliphate continues to enflamme passions. More recently, ISIS instaured a Caliphate over the areas it controlled in Syria and Iraq, but was ultimately defeated by the United States and its allies.

Titles in the Empires in the Middle Ages series include:

• The Byzantine Empire
• The Crusades
• The Holy Roman Empire
• The Mongol Empire
• The Ottoman Empire

Love and First Sight

SundQuist, Josh. Love and First Sight. 2017. 281p. 382 mins. ISBN 9780316305358. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Will Porter is excited about starting his junior year in high school. This is the first time he will be attending a public high school. He has spent his entire school career away from home, at a school for blind students. Will is completely blind. He has never seen colors, movies, or his own face. Being blind from birth means he can’t even imagine what darkness looks like, because he has no contrast to draw on. Wishing to gain independence, Will made the decision to step away from the comfortable environment he went to, and now looks forward to typical high school experiences.

His first day starts on the wrong foot when he accidentally gropes a girl while climbing stairs. Guided by the vice principal, who is uncomfortable with Will but attempts not to show it, Will locates all of his classrooms and memorizes the directions. In journalism, he makes a girl names Cecily cry because he was accidentally staring at her. His teacher informs the class that Will is blind, marking him as different. During lunch, Will finds what he thinks is an empty table but he ends up sitting on Nick.

Soon, however, Will becomes friends with a group of kids, including Cecily and Nick. As their relationship deepens, Will worries that having a girlfriend will undercut his independence. When his mother returns home one day with an incredible possibility, Will is torn. The hospital where his father works is conducting trials where stem cells are implanted in the eye along with new cornea, providing the blind the possibility to see for the first time. If Will accepts this opportunity, his entire life will change. He may never see very well, for his mind will not have a frame of reference for everything he sees. But he might see colors, shapes, and a general glimpse of the world. There is the danger that the operation could fail, however, leaving him blind again.

In a world dominated by the sighted, however, there is a lot of information that is visually acquired and that is never shared orally. What do his friends really look like? What visual signals do they send each other that Will cannot see? And is Cecily really as gorgeous as his fingers tell him she is? Being able to see will change his life, but it may not be as perfect as he imagined ...

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Hartfield, Claire. A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919. 2018. 208p. ISBN 9781328699046. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

On a sweltering July 27, 1919, five African-American teens left their Chicago tenements near the Union stockyard, and went to the 26th street beach on Lake Michigan. Racial tensions had been simmering in the city for years, but the United States’ entry in the First World War had triggered a labor shortage at the same time as a high demand for meat for troops, and the companies that ran the stockyard recruited heavily among new immigrant groups, and from African-Americans living in the South. Despite the hard living conditions in Chicago, life for African-Americans was generally better than in the South. The return of troops, however, meant that less jobs were available. Thus, race, class, and immigration issues were all intersecting in 1919, making Chicago a powder keg that a single match could easily ignite.

That match came in the form of Eugene Williams and his friends. The teens played in the warm waters, but they did not notice as their raft slowly drifted towards the White beach on 29th street. Though Chicago was not officially segregated, a division between Whites and Blacks had taken place. White beachgoers noticed the kids on what they considered their beach, and they threw rocks. One of them fatally struck Eugene, who did not know how to swim. His death by drowning triggered anger among African-American beachgoers, and this in turn fueled their resentment against the city and its other inhabitants.

Violence soon ensued, with gangs of immigrants chasing African-Americans, bombings rocking Black neighborhoods, and many people being injured and killed. With the city in full riot, thousand of police officers and state militia intervened, but since they mainly protected White neighborhoods, they only served to fuel the anger. Over the course of a week, 15 Whites and 23 African-American men were killed, while hundreds were injured and much property was destroyed. As the heat dissipated, the rioters’ energy also waned, but the anger would continue and eventually lead to the Civil Rights movement and African-American advocacy.

Fans of history will appreciate the details of this dark page and will enjoy explanations that can directly be related to social conditions today.

Archie, Vol. 3

Waid, Mike & Fiona Staples. Archie, Vol. 3. 2016. 176p. ISBN 978-1-68255-994-9. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Following his loss in his mayoral race in Archie, Vol. 2, Veronica's father decides to punish her and Archie by shipping her off to an elite private school in Switzerland and restrict her communications so that Archie can't get in touch with her. While there, she meets Cheryl Blossom, a red-haired girl who is almost as rich, and certainly more villainous, than herself. At first, Cheryl is thrilled to have someone like Veronica around, but when she realizes that Veronica is aiming for the top of the social order, the game is on between the two of them ...

Meanwhile, Archie and the gang continue their lives. Dillon creates an app that causes an uproar at school, and Moose has to clean up the mess Reggie instigated. Archie himself pins for Veronica, and is unable to move on ... until a secret admirer reaches out to him.

Can Veronica manage to convince her father to let return to Riverdale before it is too late? The story continues in Archie, Vol. 4.

Bob

Mass, Wendy and Rebecca Stead. Bob. 2018. 201p. ISBN 9781250166623. Available at FIC MAS on the library shelves.

It’s been five long years since Livy has been to Australia to visit her grandmother. Now that the family has a new baby, Livy, her mother, and Beth Ann are returning to her mother’s childhood home in a sun-parched land. Livy doesn’t like to sleep away from her mother, but she will be staying with Gran while her mom and the baby visit old friends. Livy doesn’t remember the house at all. Gran relates all of these stories about the house and the farm, and has kept many of the toys that Livy loved to play with five years ago. Livy doesn’t recall any of it, but something is nagging at her. There was something very important that happened five years ago.

It’s not until she opens the door to her mother’s closet that she remembers. In the closet is a short greenish creature, wearing a homemade chicken suit playing Legos. Bob has been living in the closet for the last five years, waiting for Livy to return. Five years ago, she told him she was leaving but would be right back, and so Bob has waited faithfully for her, staying hidden in the closet just like she told him to. But Livy doesn’t remember Bob. And Bob doesn’t remember who he is, what he is, where he came from, or even why he’s here. All he knows is that Livy promised him five years ago she would help him return home. As memories return, Livy and Bob find themselves involved in the biggest mystery of their lives. Did Livy save Bob, as Bob remembers, or is it Bob that saved Livy, as all evidence indicates?

A light-hearted yet powerful tale of magic and friendship that last forever, the adventures of Livy and Bob, told from alternating points of view, will stay with the reader for long afterwards. Beautiful illustrations add visual information and complement the story. Fans of light magic will love this story of a friendship not forgotten.

The Cold War

Grant, Reg. The Cold War. 2012. 48p. ISBN 978-1-61535-606-5. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

The Cold War was the defining feature of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Two powerful countries, the United States and the Soviet Union, faced each other, promoting and defending their interests throughout the world. Uncomfortable allies against Germany and Japan in the Second World War, these two countries became known as superpowers. Armed with nuclear weapons and mobilizing allies, each side sought to neutralize the other without resorting to actual warfare. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which symbolically and physically divided the two sides, and the fall of the Soviet Union two years later, the Cold War came to an end. Though tensions perdure between the United States and Russia, the risk of complete destruction is less than it was during the Cold War.

This short book highlights the roots of the Cold War, and its importance in world history. Weapons development, hot conflicts between proxies, advanced spying, and other aspects of the Cold War are examined. Famous and infamous individuals and their roles during this conflict are also explored. A fascinating period in history, the Cold War leaves no one indifferent to the fact that studying history is important to see where we came from and where we might be heading.

A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 2004. 470p. ISBN 0-7434-8760-5. Available at FIC DIC on the library shelves as well as an audiobook from Overdrive.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Thus begins Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, a story about the French Revolution and the impact it had on the world, as well as on two different families. The story begins in 1775, as Jarvis Lorry, one of the managers of Tellson’s Bank in London, is heading to Paris to collect a prisoner whom was secretly imprisoned in the Bastille, in Paris. That prisoner, Alexandre Manette, was a doctor who witnessed a horrific crime and was put away before he could share what he saw. His daughter, Lucie, always believed her father had perished, but when she is reunited with him she is relieved beyond belief.

Five years later, a French immigrant in London, Charles Darnay, is accused by the British Crown to provide material support to the American cause, as the Revolutionary War is in full swing. The prosecutor relies heavily on testimony from two men who find themselves discredited by Darnay’s lawyers, and Darnay is acquitted. In contact with Jarvis Lorry, Darnay meets Lucie Manette, and soon the two of them are wed.

France, meanwhile, undergoes its own bloody revolution. The Lafarge are revolutionaries who are connected to incidents involving Doctor Manette and which led ultimately to his imprisonment. Through circumstances, Darnay is tricked into returning to France, where he is arrested and put up in front of a revolutionary tribunal. He is saved by Doctor Manette’s impassionate speech, built on the strength of his imprisonment in the Bastille, but Darnay is soon arrested again. Assisted by his London lawyer, Darnay manages to escape Paris with his family and returns to London.

A condemnation of the terrors that follow revolutionary zeal, A Tale of Two Cities continue to be relevant in today’s fractured and violent world.

The World’s Most Powerful Submarines

Ross, David. The World’s Most Powerful Submarines. Part of The World’s Most Powerful Machines series. 2017. 229p. ISBN 978-149965860. Available at 623.82 ROS on the library shelves.

Submarines represent some of the most technologically advanced machines in the world. Designed to move stealthily in great depths and deliver powerful weapons thousands of miles away, submarines have evolved rapidly over the last hundred years from surface ships which could submerge for a few hours at shallow depths to underwater vehicles who can travel great distances on nuclear power without ever emerging from the waters.

From the invention of the Turtle in 1775 to the current crop of ballistic submarines, these underwater vehicles have evolved to provide military solutions to problems. Primarily designed to sink surface ships, submarines continued this role until the emergence of the Cold War, when the nature of military conflicts changed and so did the submarine’ mission. The goal of sinking ships by sneaking close and using torpedoes transformed into providing a devastating nuclear strike anywhere in the world, and hunting other submarines.

This book details the most important types of submarines built in the last two hundred years. Illustrations and photographs are provided for each submarines. Specifications are listed, as well as and extensive list of all armaments and defensive measures carried on board. A short history of the class is explained, and key features are highlighted. Naval and military fans will appreciate the level of details and the numerous observations about each ship.

Black Butler, Vol 16

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol 16. 2014. 163p. ISBN 78-0-316-36902-2. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Seeking to meet the elusive headmaster of the elite Weston College, Phantomhive enrolled and joined Blue House. But in Black Butler, Vol. 15, he made no progress towards getting closer. The June 4th cricket tournament between the four Houses, however, presents a golden opportunity as the winners are invited to meet the headmaster. Unfortunately, Blue House has not won since Vincent Phantomhive, Ciel’s father, was himself the House prefect.

Blue House has neither the brawns, nor the athletic abilities to compete with the other houses. What it has, however, is strategic thinking and initiative, and Ciel is determined to use these to the best of his ability. With Sebastian’s help, he prepares a fiendish plan to dispose of his opponents, but the arrival of the Earl’s staff, as well as his future family-in-law, threatens to throw everything into chaos!

The story continues in Black Butler, Vol. 17.

Wicked

Shepard, Sara. Wicked. Book 5 of the Pretty Little Liars series. 2009. 310p. ISBN 0-06-156610-1. Available at FIC SHE on the library shelves.

With the death of Mona and the arrest of Ian in Unbelievable, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer thought they were in the clear. “A,” after all, had now disappeared along with all of their secrets. As the winter semester starts, the girls head back to Rosewood Day, hoping things to quiet down so they can go back to their lives. That hope is quickly dashed, however, when the girls begin receiving more texts from someone identifying themselves as “A.” This person is clearly spying on them and know of many intimate details.

Panicked, the girls begin to make mistakes. Kate, Hanna’s stepsister, tries to get closer to Hanna, but worried about being undermined by her gorgeous rival, Hanna balks and decides to stab her in the back before it’s too late. Emily has broken up with Maya, and now finds herself attracted to Isaac. What team is she on? Even Emily doesn’t know. Aria is attracted to an older man again, but Xavier, an artist, has begun dating her mother and is sending her mixed messages. Spencer is in purgatory when she discovers that her dead grandmother’s will gives $2 million to each of her natural grandchildren, but Spencer is not listed in the will. What secrets are harbored by her family?

As the girls struggle to regain their footing, A keeps undermining their efforts. With Ian’s escape from custody, is A getting ready to kill them to exact his revenge?

Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase

Klepeis, Alicia Z. Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase. Part of the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion. 2018. 64p. ISBN 978-1502626394. Available at 917.8 KLE on the library shelves.

The new constitution of the United States described in details how states could join the fledgling country, but there were no directions on how to add territories not part of a state. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson had the opportunity of purchasing the Louisiana Territory, then controlled by France. There were no rules on how to do so, and no certainty there would be approval from the Congress, who controlled the purse strings. Jefferson forged ahead and struck a bargain with Napoleon to purchase over a million square miles of territory for $15 million, doubling the size of the country overnight with a largely unexplored and unknown area of the world for most Americans living on the East Coast.

Jefferson then commissioned a team to explore this new territory and exert American sovereignty over it. The Lewis and Clark expedition set out from St. Louis, then the westernmost point in the United States, and over the course of two years reached the Pacific in the Oregon territory and returned to St. Louis to report on their discoveries and the contacts they made with Native groups along the way. This expedition spurred western expansion and a race to the West Coast.

Fans of history will appreciate the quotes drawn from primary sources to support the text, and will see in their own words how people perceived these events at the time.    

Books in the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion series include Native American Resistance, Homesteading and Settling the Frontier, The Gold Rush, The Transcontinental Railroad, Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase, and Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War.

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant

Cliff, Tony. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. Book 1 of the Delilah Dirk series. 2013. 167p. ISBN 978-1-59643-813-2. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Born to a wealthy English ambassador father and a famous Greek artist mother, Delilah Dirk has lived all over the world. She trained with marksmen in France, hunted in the jungles of India, perfected her acrobatic skills in Indonesia, and spent seven years honing her fighting techniques in a Japanese monastery. A master of forty-seven different sword fighting arts, a member of three different European royal houses, and the proud owner of a flying ship, Delilah travels the world wherever her whimsies take her, looking for treasures or action. Oh, and no prison has ever held her if she didn't want to.

She meets Selim, a lieutenant in the service of a rich Sultan, when he comes to interrogate him in a prison cell. She tells him she plans on robbing several previous scrolls from the Sultan. Selim reports the result of his interrogation, and the Sultan derides the woman's abilities, until the alarm sounds and the palace goes under siege. Delilah managed to escape her bonds, stole the precious scrolls, and finds herself facing Selim again. The Sultan and his guards surprise them both, and demands that they both be killed. Faced with death, Selim follows Delilah and they escape Constantinople aboard her famous flying ship.

Traveling through the air, the two of them head to Delilah's next destination, the lair of fabled pirate lord Zakul, to retrieve some of the loot he stole from one of Delilah's extended friends, a merchant whose ships have been attacked in the Black Sea. In a series of amazing encounters, the two of them forge an unlikely friendship. Fans of graphic novels will enjoy this colorful and beautifully illustrated story.

Inheritance, or the Vault of Souls.

Paolini, Christopher. Inheritance, or the Vault of Souls. Book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle. 2011. 860p. ISBN 0375856110. Available at FIC PAO on the library shelves.

Eragon and Saphira have grown together and their skills since Brisingr have gotten better. However, there is still much doubt that they can defeat the King.  As the Varden marches towards Urû’baen, capital of Galbatorix’ empire. Always in the background, the King has sent Murtagh and his dragon Thorn to fight Eragon and Saphira, but at every step of the way Murtagh has failed to stop them. With the Varden on the move, though, the King reserves several surprises for Eragon and his allies.

Favorite characters are back, from Roran to Nasuarda to Arya, each engaged in mortal struggles against the forces of the King. As city after city falls, the Varden’s strength is dilapidated yet the army moves forward, with the siege of Urû’baen their ultimate goal, for only with this attack do they expect Galbatorix to take the field with his dragon Shruikan.

As the situation worsens, with Nasuarda a captive of Galbatorix, Eragon, Saphira, and their friends must come up with a plan, any plan, to confront the King and once and for all free Alagaësia. Even if they are successful, however, will they be able to restore order and justice throughout a continent abused and oppressed over the last hundred years?

Fans of fantasy will appreciate this masterful ending to the Inheritance Cycle.

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer

Swanson, James. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. 2009. 194p. ISBN 0-439-90354-8. Available at B BOO on the library shelves.

In April 1865, the United States had been at war for four years. Union and Confederate soldiers fought on battlefields throughout the country in a struggle that by this point the Union was clearly winning. By April 3rd, Union troops had occupied Richmond, the Confederate capital. On the 9th, General Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia. Everywhere the Confederacy was on the ropes. There were still ardent supporters, however, who would not surrender and sought to continue the struggle for the South.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer who hated President Abraham Lincoln and had conspired with others to kidnap him, entered the Ford theater box where Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and another couple sat, and fired a Derringer pistol at the back of Lincoln’s head, mortally wounding him. Booth escaped the theater and rode south, leaving Washington, D.C. and entering Maryland, with hopes of reaching Virginia and Confederate support.

What followed was the largest manhunt in the country’s history up to that time. Quickly identified as Lincoln’s assassin and easily recognizable, Booth thought that the decapitation of the government would rekindle the conflict. Instead it disgusted most Confederate supporters. As an injured Booth moved through Maryland and Virginia with the help of willing and sometimes unknowing accomplices, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton led the operations to find and capture Booth, but the assassin was eventually cornered in a tobacco barn and shot by a Union soldier.

Lincoln’s assassination changed the course of history and transformed the President into a beloved figure. The tale of this manhunt will interest any fan of history as well as of fast-paced criminal cases.