National Network for Equitable Library Service

An electrifying memoir that braids together the urgent issues of Indigenous rights and environmental policy, from a nationally and internationally recognized activist and survivor.

Six years ago, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti spent 200 days orbiting around Earth on the International Space Station. In this riveting memoir, she tells the story of her extraordinary journey: from gruelling years of training to daily life in space, from great events to small discoveries, from old rituals to jokes about the meaning of life. With honesty and warmth, Cristoforetti chronicles her journey to becoming an astronaut - the many years spent travelling around the world, from Star City to Houston, always between languages and cultures, technology and nature.

"Fun and gossipy." — The Wall Street Journal * "A masterful history." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) * "Engaging." — Newsweek A "brisk, insightful, and deliciously detailed take" ( Kirkus Reviews ) on a transformative decade on Broadway, featuring behind-the-scenes accounts of shows such as Rent , Angels in America , Chicago , The Lion King , and The Producers— shows that changed the history of the American theater. The 1990s was a decade of profound change on Broadway.

The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson—made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures —who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon! Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn't have the same rights as others—as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses—as wrong as 10-5=3.

Meet Audrey Hepburn as you've never seen her before in Little Audrey's Daydream: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, an empowering children's book by her son and daughter-in-law, Sean and Karin Hepburn Ferrer. Little Audrey's Daydream tells the story of Audrey Hepburn's life from her own perspective as a child growing up in Belgium and Holland, and into her adult life as an actress, mother, and humanitarian.

What happens when a person's reputation has been forever damaged? With archival photographs and text among other primary sources, this riveting biography of Mary Mallon by the Sibert medalist and Newbery Honor winner Susan Bartoletti looks beyond the tabloid scandal of Mary's controversial life. How she was treated by medical and legal officials reveals a lesser-known story of human and constitutional rights, entangled with the science of pathology and enduring questions about who Mary Mallon really was. How did her name become synonymous with deadly disease?

At nine years old, Eugenie Clark developed an unexpected passion for sharks after a visit to the Battery Park Aquarium in New York City. At the time, sharks were seen as mindless killing machines, but Eugenie knew better and set out to prove it. Despite many obstacles in her path, Eugenie was able to study the creatures she loved so much. From her many discoveries to the shark-related myths she dispelled, Eugenie made wide scientific contributions that led to her being nicknamed Shark Lady.

In the mid- to late-nineteenth century, a burgeoning science called electricity promised to shine new light on a rousing nation. Inventive and ambitious minds were hard at work. Soon that spark was fanned, and a fiery war was under way to be the first to light—and run—the world with electricity. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC), engaged in a brutal battle with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC). There would be no ties in this race—only a winner and a loser—and the prize was a nationwide monopoly in electric current.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron's mad love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics poetical science. Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in programming his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world's first computer programmer.

The fascinating, little-known story of how two brilliant female physicists' groundbreaking discoveries led to the creation of the atomic bomb. In 1934, IrEne Curie, working with her husband and fellow scientist, Frederic Joliot, made a discovery that would change the world: artificial radioactivity. This breakthrough allowed scientists to modify elements and create new ones by altering the structure of atoms. Curie shared a Nobel Prize with her husband for their work.