Month: November 2011

Round 2 with Millennials

The generation known as Millennials (roughly, those born between 1982 and the late 90s) were already examined by authors Morley Winograd and Michael Hais (not to be confused with Michael “PS” Hays), when they predicted they would change the way American politics worked. After that prediction seemed to come true following the 2008 elections, they figured they’d take a second look at them.

Millennial Momentum: How a New Generation is Remaking America attempts to go beyond the influence on politics and into things like business, technology, education, and entertainment. Not mere observations, the authors use current data to support their findings. It should be an interesting look for those interested in generation studies, politics, or social sciences.

 

AIDs, beginning to present

The back page description for this book reminds us that people have only known about AIDs for about 30 years. Given it’s global impact, that’s pretty amazing. Jacques Pepin’s book, The Origins of AIDs, looks its initial spread from chimps to humans, and then how it rapidly infected people by many different means. One of the worst culprits in its spread was actually a massive vaccination program meant to prevent a different epidemic.

This book is a valuable read for anyone from those concerned with the current state of Africa to anyone in a health related field, and is available now on our new book shelf.

A look at Native American mascots in sports

Schools and professional sports teams who adopt Native American names and mascots are often questioned about the ethics of those choices. This librarian went to the University of Illinois during the time in which the mascot, a live-actor/dancing Chief Illiniwek, was officially retired. Other instances range from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins, and that’s just professional football.

Today’s book, The Native American Mascot Controversy: A Handbook, covers the depth and scope of the often-controversial topic. If you’re interested in a look at the history of Native American imagery in sports and a look at their potential impact on race relations in the United States, this is a valuable collection of primary documents and essays.