Monthly Archives: March 2013

Library Highlights: African Americans and the Law

It worked for me

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

Colin Powell

E840.5.P68 A3 2012

From the Publisher: It Worked for Me is filled with vivid experiences and lessons learned that have shaped the legendary public service career of the  four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. At its heart are Powell’s “Thirteen Rules”—notes he gathered over the years and that  now form the basis of his leadership presentations given throughout the world. Powell’s short but sweet rules—among them, “Get mad, then get over it” and “Share credit”—are illustrated by revealing personal stories that introduce and expand upon his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and, above all, respect for others. In work and in life, Powell writes, “it’s about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet. It’s all about the people.”

Courage to Hope

The Courage to Hope: How I Stood Up to the Politics of Fear

Shirley Sherrod and Catherine Whitney

E901.1.S54 A3 2012

From the Publisher: In this “inspiring memoir about the real power of courage and hope” (Kirkus Reviews), lifelong activist Shirley Sherrod explains why she was fired from the USDA under false charges and how she stood up against the politics of fear.

End of the pipeline

The End of the Pipeline: A Journey of Recognition for African Americans Entering the Legal Profession

Carla D. Pratt and Dorothy Evensen

KF299.A35 E94 2012

From the Publisher: This book had its beginnings in a simple question: How have some African-American attorneys, recently admitted to the bar, successfully navigated what research suggests is a very precarious pipeline to the legal profession? The response to this question entailed a journey that spanned some three years, over fifty informants, and a dozen or so researchers and scholars who study the intersections of education, race, and efforts to achieve social equity.

Moving Diversity Forward

Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing

Verna A. Myers

KF300 .M94 2011

From the Publisher: “If you believe that your organization has done everything it can to enhance its diversity, and if you are still frustrated at how little progress you have made, Moving Diversity Forward is for you. It is an instructive read for all of those who wish to live and work in a multi-cultural world where everyone has a fair chance to succeed and contribute.”

parodies of ownership

Parodies of Ownership: Hip-Hop Aesthetics and Intellectual Property Law

Richard L. Schur

KF4757 .S38 2009

From the Publisher: Parodies of Ownership offers a broad analysis of post–Civil Rights era culture and provides the necessary context for understanding contemporary debates within American studies, African American studies, intellectual property law, African American literature, art history, and hip-hop studies. Weaving together law, literature, art, and music, Schur deftly clarifies the conceptual issues that unify contemporary African American culture, empowering this generation of artists, writers, and musicians to criticize how racism continues to affect our country.

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

RC265.6.L24 S55 2010

From the Publisher: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all  HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Staff Recommendation Corner: “America Again”

America Again

Title: America again : Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t

Author: Stephen Colbert

Popular Reading Humor and Personal Improvement Display (Popular Reading Collection, 4th floor)

Reviewed by: Hadas Livnat

Review: A humorous, satirical look at current social and political issues in America, including healthcare, the economy, food, Wall Street and elections.

5/5 stars

Library Highlights: Privacy & The Law

Offensive Internet

The Offensive Internet: Speech, Privacy, and Reputation

Saul Levmore (Editor)

KF390.5.C6 O344 2010

From the Publisher: In a field still dominated by a frontier perspective, this book has the potential to be a real game changer. Armed with example after example of harassment in Internet chat rooms and forums, the authors detail some of the vile and hateful speech that the current combination of law and technology has bred. The facts are then treated to analysis and policy prescriptions. Read this book and you will never again see the Internet through rose-colored glasses.

Nothing to Hide

Nothing To Hide: The False Tradeoff Between Privacy and Security

Daniel J. Solove

KF1262 .S663 2011

From the Publisher: In this concise and accessible book, Solove exposes the fallacies of many pro-security arguments that have skewed law and policy to favor security at the expense of privacy. Protecting privacy isn’t fatal to security measures; it merely involves adequate oversight and regulation.

Real ID Act

The Real ID Act: Privacy and Government Surveillance

William Eyre

KF4791 .E97 2011

From the Publisher: Eyre examines the Real ID Act in this context, as an example of laws passed since September 2001 restricting civil liberties. The Real ID Act facilitates the current and future surveillance regime. Real IDs and the database(s) to which they are linked represent a de facto national ID system facilitating monitoring citizens’ movements, speech and political activities when fully operational.

I know who you are and I saw what you did

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

Andrews, Lori

HM851 .A66 2011

From the Publisher: As leading expert on social networks and privacy Lori Andrews shows, through groundbreaking in-depth research and a host of stunning stories of abuses, as we work and chat and shop and date (and even sometimes have sex) over the Web, we are opening ourselves up to increasingly intrusive, relentless, and anonymous surveillance—by employers, schools, lawyers, the police, and aggressive data aggregator services that compile an astonishing amount of information about us and sell it to any and all takers.

Privacy in Context

Privacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life

Helen Nissenbaum

JC596.2.U6 N57 2010

From the Publisher: Arguing that privacy concerns should not be limited solely to concern about control over personal information, Helen Nissenbaum counters that information ought to be distributed and protected according to norms governing distinct social contexts—whether it be workplace, health care, schools, or among family and friends. She warns that basic distinctions between public and private, informing many current privacy policies, in fact obscure more than they clarify.

Privacy a very short introduction

Privacy: A Very Short Introduction

Raymond Wacks

JC596 .W33 2010

From the Publisher: Legal expert Raymond Wacks here provides a compact introduction to this complex and controversial concept. He explores the tension between free speech and privacy which is often tested by paparazzi, with their intrusive journalism and sensational disclosures of the private lives of celebrities. He also looks at laws in many nations that regulate the collection and use of personal information, whether highly sensitive– medical and financial information–or commonplace