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![]() Genesee Country Senecas is an overview of the history of the Indigenous Seneca population of Western New York from their origin up to 1992. Straightforward and well researched writing begins with the Seneca Prehistory and their longstanding history upon the land. The most intriguing and useful parts for me were the descriptions of Seneca daily life and customs. I enjoyed deepening my knowledge of the traditional family structure, traditional foods, and house structures. I really loved the few stories that were shared, especially the story of hermit thrush and their song. From there, the history skips to the 17th century and the invasion of the Europeans. The interactions between the Indigenous people and the Europeans at this time set the stage for the treatment of the Seneca and other members of the Six Nations in the future. I was very interested in how the nations played the French and English off each other. The lives of three influential Seneca men were also highlighted: Cornplanter, Red Jacket and Handsome Lake who became a statesman, religious leader and orator, respectively and interacted with the Europeans on the Nation's behalf. With an underscoring narrative of the importance of the Indigenous people and their impact on the stewardship of land and relevance in history throughout modern day, Genesee Country Senecas is a great overview of the original people.
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![]() Finding the Fox is Norwegian author Andreas Tjernshaugen's observations and stories about the fox in his neighborhood. Andreas has often noted the evidence of the fox around him, but has not seen one. He is keen to find out more about the illusive mammal that shares his homeland. Throughout the book Andreas shares the natural history of foxes within Norway along with their trials and triumphs in survival with mange and the fur trade. I enjoyed reading about the foxes' role in the ecosystem, prey they hunt and interactions with other animals. The difference between North American and Norwegian foxes was also explained, which I was thankful for. Andreas' observations of the fox family whose den he finds near a hiking trail are definitely my favorite parts. Andreas is able to watch the foxes through a season and has the most observations about the vixen and her kits as they hunt, play and determine dominance. Finding the Fox is rounded out with information about foxes in captivity, zoos and being bred for fur giving a different view to the wild fox he spent so much time observing. While not the view of a scientist, the author is able to give a rounded view of foxes in his home country. ![]() Rossi offers up a reflective, heartfelt and comedic coming-of-age memoir in The Punk Rock Queen of the Jews. Through the writing, Rossi processes the trauma from her childhood and how she came to be her true self. From the beginning, I knew I would relate well to Rossi as she stated " Jews have a fear of showing too much joy, lest we jinx ourselves." Rossi begins her story in her childhood trying to fit in with her Jewish family where there is a clear expectation that she will act like a good Jewish girl in order to attract and marry a good Jewish boy. Rossi realized she didn't fit in with this ideal early on and acted out, eventually resulting in her running away and her parents forcibly kidnapping her and bringing her to a Chasidic rabbi known for reforming Jewish girls. Rossi was essentially a prisoner in the small neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn until she became 18. While in Crown Heights, Rossi endured the repressive culture of the Chasids while dealing with outright violence and persecution. Rossi also learned more about her faith, found friends that shared her sexuality and found things she was passionate about. Rossi's story is one of perseverance, showing that sometimes the worst experiences make you who you were meant to be. As Rossi becomes an adult, she reflects on her experiences and how they affected her relationships, especially with her parents. Rossi demonstrated the power of forgiveness and states that "Our broken hearts are part of who we are now." Rossi's memoir is written with raw emotion and is very real, nothing is contrived or strives to be more than the truth. ![]() Our Moon is a deep dive into the moon. Starting from how the moon was formed, the science of the effects of the moon on the Earth and how life and the moon interact and influence one another, Our Moon delves into the relationship between life and the moon. I enjoyed reading about the moon's origins and how scientists have determined that the moon was formed from the collision of two other planetary bodies and the unique rocks and minerals found there that tell of its history. Most interesting to me was the way humans have regarded the moon through history to the present. The moon helped to shape life on Earth and was our timekeeper, calendar and constant in the sky. I was intrigued by the long worship of the moon goddess, Sin and the women on Earth who worshipped her and her phases. I also enjoyed the archaeological data that supports multiple ancient cultures showing knowledge of the moon's cycles and utilizing that information for timekeeping and acting as a calendar. Most of all, Our Moon examined the moon's influence upon human culture and advancement. ![]() The Milkweed Lands is a love letter to all milkweed plants. Written as both a natural history primer of milkweed and its ecosystem as well as the author's personal memories of milkweed and the environments it grows in creates a more personal text than strictly science text, reminding me of a nature journal. The beautiful illustrations reinforce this with amazingly annotated watercolors to showcase milkweeds, animals, habitats and scientific illustrations. Broken up into four sections, one for each season, the author takes us through the entire lifecycle of a milkweed plant as well as the many factors that affect it. I learned about milkweed as a food to humans, homes to mice, the vast soil community it supports as well as a whole host of other insects dependent on milkweeds other than monarchs. I also learned about the many threats to milkweeds as well as, more importantly, it's incredible resilience and ability to survive in many different environments and conditions. This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ![]() Her Daughters is a collection of stories exploring the author's family history throughout several generations. Through the female gaze, the hardships, triumphs and emotional toll of being a black woman in California are emotionally investigated. The stories are written and read almost like fiction with fully formed stories and interesting characters. Though each of the stories focuses on a different family member, the connections of each woman to one another are clear and are sometimes part of one another's stories. I enjoyed reading about their relationships, advice and how they navigated a world that is not always kind to black women. I especially enjoyed seeing them excel through college and family relationships. I could feel the strong sense of community that was built, extending not only to blood relations, but beyond. As the stories continued into the present day, I was intrigued by the feelings of belonging and feelings of blackness in certain spaces and appreciated the perspective. Overall, a strong, heartfelt collection of stories that emphasizes family, strength over adversity and connection. ![]() Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us? is a beginners guide to understanding Artificial Intelligence. Written in plain language and with gentle walk -throughs of the math with plenty of graphics, you do not have to be a professional to understand. With the benefits, biases, and potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence explained, Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us? strives to build knowledge and responsible practice around this amazing technology in our lives. Beginning with early studies in understanding the human brain, the history and purpose of artificial intelligence unfolds, focusing on neural networks as a tool to help us solve problems, classify data and forecast problems. The math section is next, which I admittedly skimmed, but was also fairly easy to understand with many charts, graphics and broken down equations if this is not your strong suit. I found the section on training AI and bias in AI particularly interesting and will remember the point that models only learn patterns from the data that it is given and if we produce and input biased data, we will get biased results. Overall, a good overview covering the history, purpose, usefulness and potentials of Artificial Intelligence. This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ![]() Sonja Livingston grew up in poverty around Western New York during the 1970’s and 80’s. Her family lived in downtown Rochester, Albion, and the Tonawanda Reservation. While her experiences are unique, there are many who grew up in similar situations and still face the same issues. In this moving and passionate memoir, Sonja reflects on growing up in poverty in Rochester, having a single parent household with many mouths to feed and how community helped to support and hinder her growth all at once. As someone who lives in and near the location of this story, I was really interested in Sonja’s experience growing up in the same neighborhood. Unfortunately, not much has changed in the neighborhoods that she had grown up in; however, I do believe that there is much more opportunity for people in the inner city, especially young people. Sonja tells her story very matter-of-factly and from a child’s perspective. I loved to see Sonja’s grit and determination to overcome- even if she didn’t realize that was what she was doing. Sonja’s stories range from humorous to heartbreaking, but always with the theme of marching forward. I was very intrigued by her views of her mother and the absence of her father as well as her sibling’s fathers, so much so that father became an abstract term. The community feeling in each setting that Sonja lived in was also interesting to me, how streets and Church became close knit lifelines. While Sonja’s life was harsh, she fought to overcome and was able to get out of the cycle that she seemed to be destined for. ![]() The Loved Ones: Essays to Bury the Dead is a collection of essays about a series of deaths personal to the author. Madison Davis writes about the tragic and unexpected deaths of her cousin and brother, a long illness resulting in the death of her father and an uncle killed in action. The writing is cathartic and reflective with many thoughts on death, grief, processing emotions and being left behind. The first story, the double murder of the author's cousin and friend, was surprising, terrible and deeply absorbing, pulling my attention right away. From there, the differences in how Madison and her family dealt with the deaths of other family members is observed with outcomes of tragedy, relief and humor. If you are someone who has ever lost a person close to you, you are sure to find something relatable and empathetic in Madison's contemplations. Some thoughts that I felt were deeply comforting and worth contemplating include Madison's thoughts on an overgrown cemetery: It's a place where the earth has gently, but powerfully, overwritten our sense of death and life as being experienced by an individual. It's where human desire to memorialize the dead meets nature's ambivalence toward that need. As well as overcoming intense grief: I tell her to remember that we move through it. Sometimes with great effort- but remember that we do. This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ![]() In 2015, Tom Mustill went on a kayak sightseeing adventure of a lifetime. Off the coast of California in a two-person kayak, Tom was able to see a humpback whale breach- right on top of him. Lucky to survive, Tom, a wildlife filmmaker, began to look deeper into his experience. Several onlookers caught the breach on their phones. After looking at grainy footage, Tom seemed to agree that the whale seemed to change course in the air. This led him to a series of questions: did the whale change course on purpose? Can whales communicate with humans? and how? From these questions, Tom dove into the science of language, animal communication and cetacean behavior and biology. Tom's journey into whale communication goes down many different paths, eventually converging into the many reasons we should protect these amazing mammals of the ocean. Written with many personal stories and anecdotes sprinkled throughout with science, How To Speak Whale, is an easy and entertaining read for any whale lover. Beginning with human interaction with whales and answering the question of why we might want to study these amazing creatures. This leads to whale biology and the organs and methods that whales use to communicate with one another. I have always loved whale songs and I was amazed with the complexity of their vocal organs as well as how scientists get to study them. From there, Tom dives into the study of animal language and the amazing jumps in learning that we have taken to understand the other animal species around us. Technology and artificial intelligence have been a huge help in assisting humans to understand animal language and sound. This technology has the ability to hear and recognize patterns and sounds that humans can't hear and is helping scientists as well as the average person learn and appreciate more about animals every day. Overall, humans still don't know how to completely speak whale, but we have learned that whales may know more about communicating with us than we realize. |
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