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Showing posts from May, 2023

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern is a 2011 book by Stephen Greenblatt

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  The Swerve: How the World Became Modern is a 2011 book by Stephen Greenblatt that tells the story of how the rediscovery of a single book, Lucretius's On the Nature of Things, changed the course of Western history. Chapter 1: The Garden of Epicurus The book begins with a description of the Garden of Epicurus, a real place in Athens where the ancient philosopher Epicurus and his followers lived and taught. The Garden was a place of peace and contemplation, where people could come to escape the cares of the world. Epicurus believed that the goal of life was to achieve happiness, and he taught that this could be done by living a simple life of moderation and by avoiding pain. Chapter 2: The Dark Ages The next chapter tells the story of how the Garden of Epicurus was lost to the world. In the centuries after Epicurus's death, his teachings were suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Church believed that Epicurus's ideas were dangerous, because they challenged the author...

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch

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  Here is a chapter-wise summary of the book Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch: Chapter 1: The Brightest Yellow Bird In the first chapter, Murdoch introduces the reader to Lissa Yellow Bird, a Native American woman who was released from prison in 2009 after serving time for drug possession. Yellow Bird returns to her home on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, which has been transformed by the Bakken oil boom. The reservation is now home to thousands of oil workers, and the influx of money has led to a surge in crime and addiction. Chapter 2: The Missing Man In the second chapter, Murdoch tells the story of Kristopher Clarke, a white oil worker who disappeared from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in 2011. Clarke's disappearance is a mystery, and no one knows what happened to him. Yellow Bird becomes obsessed with finding Clarke, and she begins to investigate his disappearance. Chapter 3: ...

Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino

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  Here is a chapter-wise summary of the book Wilmington’s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino: Chapter 1: The Rise of Black Power In the first chapter, Zucchino introduces the reader to Wilmington, North Carolina, in the late 19th century. Wilmington was a thriving city with a large and prosperous black population. Black people held elected office, owned businesses, and sent their children to school. Chapter 2: The White Backlash In the second chapter, Zucchino describes the rise of white supremacy in the South in the late 19th century. White supremacists believed that black people were inferior to white people and that they should not have the same rights as white people. They used violence and intimidation to suppress black voting and political power. Chapter 3: The Election of 1898 In the third chapter, Zucchino tells the story of the 1898 election in Wilmington. The election was a contest between a biracial Fusionist coalition and ...