Running Out

Finalist for the National Book Award An intimate reckoning with aquifer depletion in America's heartland The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair. The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. Running Out offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force. Anthropologist Lucas Bessire journeyed back to western Kansas, where five generations of his family lived as irrigation farmers and ranchers, to try to make sense of this vital resource and its loss. His search for water across the drying High Plains brings the reader face to face with the stark realities of industrial agriculture, eroding democratic norms, and surreal interpretations of a looming disaster. Yet the destination is far from predictable, as the book seeks to move beyond the words and genres through which destruction is often known. Instead, this journey into the morass of eradication offers a series of unexpected discoveries about what it means to inherit the troubled legacies of the past and how we can take responsibility for a more inclusive, sustainable future. An urgent and unsettling meditation on environmental change, Running Out is a revelatory account of family, complicity, loss, and what it means to find your way back home.

When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1996 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

A Children’s Book Review Seven Middle Grade Books for African American History Month Pick Fans of Elijah of Buxton, Trouble Don’t Last, and Stealing Freedom will be drawn to this tale of the incredible journey of an abused twelve-year-old white girl and an escaped slave girl who run away together and form a bond of friendship while seeking freedom. Every day is a misery for a nameless, motherless Southern girl who is treated cruelly by her pa and brothers. Her life changes forever when a runaway slave named Zenobia turns to her for help and shelter. Longing for her own freedom, the girl decides to run away, and she and Zenobia set off on a harrowing journey. Along the way, Zenobia names the girl Lark, after the bird, for her ability to mimic its song. Running by night, hiding by day, the girls are pursued by Lark’s pa and brothers and by ruthless slave catchers. Brightwell, another runaway slave, joins them, and the three follow secret signs to a stop on the Underground Railroad. When the hideout is raided and Zenobia and Brightwell are captured, Lark sets out alone to rescue her friends. A CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book of the Year An International Reading Association Best Chapter Book of the Year A Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List Selection A Great Stone Face Book Award Nominee A New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Book Award Selection A Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards Selection "Lush, detailed, total-immersion storytelling."--Kirkus Reviews "Distinguished by lively descriptions and dialogue."--Publisher's Weekly "A gripping historical novel . . . heart-stopping, heart-racing and eventually heart-easing.--Library Voice "Powerful debut novel."--International Reading Association "An essential read for those interested in American history."--San Louis Obispo Tribune "A gritty, engrossing tale.--Slo Coast Journal

It's inevitable that all runners who have been pounding the pavement for a very long time will eventually slow down. Having run every day since November 30, 1978, Scott Ludwig certainly falls into this category. Considering that he can no longer run a single mile at the pace he ran 26 of them when he set his marathon best many years ago, Ludwig finds he is ready to accept the reality of slowing down with age. Now that he has entered the ranks of the "grizzled veterans," he seeks to offer runners all the wisdom and insight he gained from his many years—and miles—on the roads and trails. A "do as I say, not as I do" runner, Ludwig has compiled his advice for runners who find they may not run quite as fast as they used to in Running Out of Gas, a humorous take on aging gracefully. Relating his own personal running anecdotes, Ludwig prepares runners for what's to come, while sharing a few laughs along the way. Runners of all ages and mileage will enjoy Scott Ludwig's Running Out of Gas.

Water is the world's life source and essential to all living creatures. Although we live on the blue planet, only 3 percent of all our water is drinkable. Yet we've grown accustomed to using it with abandon – individuals consume about 80 to 100 gallons per day adding up to the equivalent of an Olympic sized swimming pool every year. By this decade's end, when the world population is predicted to reach 8 billion, we will face severe shortages. In this ground breaking and forward-looking book, Harvard professor Peter Rogers and former general manager of the San Francisco Utilities Commission, Susan Leal give us a sobering perspective on the water crisis—why it's happening, where it's likely to strike, and what puts the worst strain on our supply. They explain how water's unique status as a renewable but finite resource misleads us into thinking we can always produce more of it. They introduce exciting new technologies that can help revolutionize our consumption of water and explain how different areas of the world have taken the helm in alleviating the burden of water shortages. Rogers and Leal show how it takes individuals at all levels to make this happen, from grassroots organizations who monitor their community's water sources, to local officials who plan years in advance how they will appropriate water, to the national government who can invest in infrastructure for water conservation today. Informed and inspiring, Running out of Water is a clarion call for action and an innovative look at how we as a nation and individuals can confront the crisis.

John Morgan is a hired assassin. John, 42, is employed by Sam Adams, a retired military and CIA operative who now owns a private security firm in Franklin Park, Illinois. When John is targeted for assassination in a parking garage at O’Hare Airport, he has no time to think. He responds automatically, twenty years of intense training activating muscle memory, and he takes weapons away from the twelve assassins and kills them all in a life-and-death shootout. John survives despite overwhelming odds, a debilitating shoulder wound, and surveillance by persons unknown who hacked into the Chicago Police Department’s security camera network. While John is recuperating from shoulder surgery at the company’s private clinic, two additional teams of assassins destroy Sam Adams’ company headquarters in an old factory building a block away from the clinic and then attack the clinic. Sam and 43 other company employees were in the building when it exploded. Despite being weak from loss of blood and woozy from the effects of morphine, John and another assassin, code-named Jimmy Carter, travel across country in a desperate attempt to thwart a conspiracy that could destroy the world.

Running Out of Time: Chasing Red, White, and Blue (Color Interior) By: Robert Prah, Jr. Originally created for his daughter to detail his run for public office, Running Out of Time: Chasing Red, White, and Blue chronicles this pursuit by Robert Prah, Jr. during a very challenging time in a district that has been historically “blue” forever. It details his personal story of running for the Pennsylvania state legislature and all of the challenges that he faced, especially from previous relationships and social media. It talks about being the “underdog” running against a lifelong Democrat-turned-Republican, where, according to many polls, Prah was favored to win the special election. The author also highlights how several committee members, past candidates and elected officials have changed their political affiliation in recent years. This story is interesting in the sense that Prah ran in three elections (Special Election in March 2020, Primary in June 2020, General in November 2020) all during a global pandemic. It shares the ups and downs of running for office and how the pandemic and social media impacted the outcome of many races in November 2020. The author hopes that readers take away that social media has had an impact on our lives, both positive and negative, and especially in politics and elections. We tend to not look at candidates individually, but rather as a “D” or an “R.” We need to do a better job of evaluating candidates and asking questions rather than what we see on social media.

* Shows how our attempt to gain control through technology and interconnected systems actually leaves us more open to threat * Uses a concrete systems-theory approach to explain globalization’s impact on contemporary society * Presents approaches and strategies to correct the threats of a globalized world Is globalization reducing our ability to guide our futures? Hedley contends that although humankind has historically gained increasing power over its fate, the trajectory of control is now on a downward course. While our globalized systems provide greater scale, access, speed, and efficiency than ever before, we are paradoxically becoming more vulnerable to unseen risks thanks to the massive information and communication infrastructure. This book tells us how to take back control.