Barack Obama discusses the importance of empathy in politics, his hopes for a different America with different policies, and how the ideals of its democracy can be renewed.With intimacy and self-deprecating humour, Obama writes about his experiences as a politician and balancing his family life and his public vocation. His search for consensus and his respect for the democratic process inform every sentence. A politician and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a sceptic, Barack Obama has written a book that has already inspired people the world over. At the heart of The Audacity of Hope is his vision of how his country can move beyond its divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families and the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and considers the nature of threats from outside America's borders. By returning to the principles that gave birth to the US Constitution, he says, Americans have a chance to repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Obama's politics are rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” (448 pages)
Level: Library/Depot/Interdisciplinary projects/SRP

In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir (written even before Barack Obama had won his seat in the Senate), the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. The story begins in New York, where Obama receives a phone call from Nairobi: his father — a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man — has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and his divided inheritance — first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother's family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father's life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Written at the age of thirty-three, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read which illuminates not only Obama's own journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history and what makes us the people we are. (442 pages)
Level: Library/Depot/Interdisciplinary projects/SRP

Magic surrounds us ... the Enlightenment did not kill it with science, nor did the Industrial Revolution extinguish its usefulness with mechanisation. There exists in this magic world, things that logic and reason cannot explain, and there are beings that have never been captured or catalogued. Explore this world of mystery, wonder, danger, and horror in this collection of short stories. You may find it to be not unlike the world in which you live. Modern Magic contains twenty-six short stories of fantasy and horror.

Contents: Here be Dragons — Kelley Armstrong; Stock Management — Sarah A. Hoyt; Kindled Morphogenesis — Alexa Grave; Salvation in a Plastic Bag — P. Kirby; Joy, Unbottled — Ron Horsley; Souls of Living Wood — Eugie Foster; Peter I am Lost — Kelly Hale; Zauberkrieg — Stephen D. Rogers; The Apprentice — Joy Marchand; Office Magic — Jon Sprunk; Raven — Elaine Cunningham; Beauty, Sleeping — Melissa Frederick; Unsung Hero — Michael A. Pignatella; Swan Dive — Christe M. Callabro; Feast of Clowns — Robert Guffey; Subversion Clause — Richard Parks; Love's Consequence — Rhonda Mason; The Healer's Line — Jill Knowles; The Lamia — James S. Dorr; Midnight Snack — Ken Brady; Pavlov's Breast — Steve Verge; Golden Rule — Donna Munro; Wishbone — Erin MacKay; No Worries, Partner — Jim C. Hines; Pentacle on His Forehead, Lizard on His Breath — James Maxey; Undead Air — John Passarella; The Woman Who Walked with Dogs — Mary Rosenblum.

Author: Christopher Cumo. Hardback. (182 pages)
Level: Library/Depot — a great resource especially for 2nd and 3rd years of the gymnasium/HTX

The stories in this collection deal with life and experience in Scotland and are by well-known authors such as Brian McCabe, Alan Spence, Lorn McIntyre and Janice Galloway. They represent a diverse range of literature. Activities include Understanding and evaluation; Analysis; Group discussion and individual presentation; Writing; Suggestions for Critical Essay. Hardback. (121 pages)
Level: Gymnasiet

Contents: All That Glisters — Ann Donovan; Rupert Bear and the San Izal — Alan Spence; Feathered Choristers — Brian McCabe; The Only Only — Candia McWilliam; Fearless — Janice Galloway; The Lighthouse — Agnes Owens; Saskatchewan — Lorn McIntyre; The Homecoming — Sheila Douglas; Mossy — Audrey Evans; Striker — Matthew Fitt; Napoleon and I — Ian Crichton; Smith All the Little Loved Ones — Dilys Rose

This book features lively, and often humorous, entries that illuminate Jane Austen's world.
Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility) drives a curricle not a gig — what does this say about him? Captain Wentworth (Persuasion) and Fanny's brother William (Mansfield Park) follow the 'King's Service' at sea — what sort of life did they find there? Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Pride and Prejudice) is called Lady Catherine, not Lady de Bourgh — what does this very important distinction signify? More than 70 alphabetically arranged entries provide fascinating historical details on the form and function of everyday and obscure objects that are mentioned in her novels. Jane Austen's first readers would have needed no help in understanding references to their everyday lives. But early nineteenth-century card games, dining habits, social etiquette, occupations and dozens of other topics are not immediately clear to her readers nearly two hundred years later. In this encyclopedia, students of Jane Austen will become familiar with what her characters ate, wore and did for recreation. You can learn here about the domestic items, the social scene, the workplace, the church, special events and rituals, and everyday customs that constituted life in Jane Austen's England. Author: Kirstin Olsen. (400 pages)
Level: Libary/Depot/For any teacher with a love of Jane Austen

This series takes a fresh look at history by using original documents as the starting point for studying major events or periods in the past. The author draws on a wide range of sources, from diaries and letters to speeches and legal documents. Each document is set in context and fully annotated. The books are highly illustrated with photographs, reproductions and maps:

The Industrial Revolution tells the story of the revolution that created the modern, industrial world in which we live in today, charting the move of industrialisation from 1850 in Western Europe and the USA, right up to the end of the 19th Century when it reached Russia and Japan. It also looks at the effects, good and bad, on how people lived and worked. (62 pages/Large format)

Contents: Introduction: Looking at Documents — What Revolution?;  Why Britain?: Stability — More of Everything — A Revolution in Farming — Machines and Nature — The Global Adventure;  Take Off: Spinning and Weaving — Mill and Factory — Power — Coal and Iron — Workshop of the World — Canals and Railways — King Cotton;  Consequences: Making a Fortune — The Environment — Slums and Sweat — The Labour Movement — Reform — Trade and Imperialism;  The Revolution Spreads: Expansion — Germany and Russia — The Industrialisation of America — The American Way — Japan's Cultural Borrowing — An Industrial World; Glossary.

Level: Beginning of the Gymnasium

The media — television, films, video games, rap music — are often blamed for acts of violence committed by young people. Is there a clear connection, a certain connection, or none at all? The experts do not agree. This volume brings together the opposing viewpoints. Editor: David M. Haugen. (114 pages)
Level: Mainly Second and Third year Gymnasium

Now in a cheaper edition! The Oxford Companion to Black British History is an essential resource for understanding the long history of black people in the British Isles, from African auxiliaries stationed on Hadrian's Wall in the 2nd century AD to Mary Seacole, the “Black Florence Nightingale”, Walter Tull, footballer and First World War officer ... and our own day. 400+ articles consider key concepts such as Racism, Emancipation, and Reparations; historical events; literature; music; organizations; leading figures; publications; politics; religion; slavery and much more. This book provides a fine overview of the black presence in Britain and its contribution to British society. (562 pages)
Contents: Introduction; Editors, Advisory Editors, and Contributors; Note to the Reader; Thematic Contents List; A-Z entries; Timeline; Select Bibliography
Level: Library/Depot (partnership with: Historie)

In the first decades of the twentieth century, virulent racism lingered from Reconstruction, and segregation increased. Hostility met the millions of new immigrants from Eastern and southern Europe, and immigration was restricted. Still, even in an inhospitable climate, blacks and other minority groups came to have key roles in popular culture, from ragtime and jazz to film and the Harlem Renaissance. This volume has a decade-by-decade organization to help students understand the crucial race relations of the recent past. It provides comprehensive reference coverage of the key events, influential voices, race relations by group, legislation, media influences, cultural output, and theories of inter-group interactions. The volume covers two decades — coverage for each decade includes Timeline, Overview, Key Events, Voices of the Decade, Race Relations by Group, Law and Government, Media and Mass Communications, Cultural Scene, Influential Theories and Views of Race Relations, and a Resource Guide. This format allows comparison of topics through the decades. The style and layout are clear and accessible. Historical photographs, a selected bibliography, and index complement the text. Author: John F. McClymer. Hardback. (173 pages + Introduction)
Level: Library/Depot — a great resource especially for 2nd and 3rd years of the gymnasium

Race relations in the 1920s ranged from an epidemic of lynchings of African Americans, race riots, and the execution of Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti to citizenship for American Indians but not for Mexican immigrants. As the 1930s unfolded, there was more discrimination of Latinos and a legal lynching in the Scottsboro Boys trial, and German Jewish children were refused refuge from Hitler's Germany. This volume has a decade-by-decade organization to help students understand the crucial race relations of the recent past. It provides comprehensive reference coverage of the key events, influential voices, race relations by group, legislation, media influences, cultural output, and theories of inter-group interactions. The volume covers two decades — coverage for each decade includes Timeline, Overview, Key Events, Voices of the Decade, Race Relations by Group, Law and Government, Media and Mass Communications, Cultural Scene, Influential Theories and Views of Race Relations, and a Resource Guide. This format allows comparison of topics through the decades. The style and layout are clear and accessible. Historical photographs, a selected bibliography, and index complement the text. Author: Leslie V. Tischauser. Hardback. (173 pages + Introduction)
Level: Library/Depot — a great resource especially for 2nd and 3rd years of the gymnasium

The 1940s and 1950s were decades of far-reaching change and mobilization in the United States. White culture strove to make nonwhites invisible with segregation and discrimination as Southern blacks continued the Great Migration north and the government brought in Mexican labor via the Bracero Program to take up labor slack while U.S. troops were overseas. The rise of the civil rights movement and Brown v. Board of Education (which struck down segregation in schools 1954) were some results. This volume has a decade-by-decade organization to help students understand the crucial race relations of the recent past. It provides comprehensive reference coverage of the key events, influential voices, race relations by group, legislation, media influences, cultural output, and theories of inter-group interactions. The volume covers two decades — coverage for each decade includes Timeline, Overview, Key Events, Voices of the Decade, Race Relations by Group, Law and Government, Media and Mass Communications, Cultural Scene, Influential Theories and Views of Race Relations, and a Resource Guide. This format allows comparison of topics through the decades. The style and layout are clear and accessible. Historical photographs, a selected bibliography, and index complement the text. Author: Thomas J. Davis. Hardback. (173 pages + Introduction)
Level: Library/Depot — a great resource especially for 2nd and 3rd years of the gymnasium

Science in Society is an attractive advanced “reader” that explores important areas where science impacts upon our society. It is designed to help students understand the underlying principles of science and explore these key scientific principles in the context of historic and modern society. There are “in-text” and review questions for each chapter which test knowledge and encourage students to engage with the issues, promoting discussion.

Contents: Chapter 1: The germ theory of disease; Chapter 2: Infectious diseases now; Chapter 3: Transport issues; Chapter 4: Medicines to treat disease; Chapter 5: Ethical issues in medicine; Chapter 6: Reproductive choices; Chapter 7: Radiation: risks and uses; Chapter 8: Lifestyle and health; Chapter 9: Evolution; Chapter 10: The universe; Chapter 11: Are we alone in the universe?

Level: 3rd year of the gymnasium/HTX

This series takes a fresh look at history by using original documents as the starting point for studying major events or periods in the past. The author draws on a wide range of sources, from diaries and letters to speeches and legal documents. Each document is set in context and fully annotated. The books are highly illustrated with photographs, reproductions and maps:

Slavery Charts the history of 24 million people taken from their homes in West Africa by force, and their journey across the Atlantic Ocean to start their new lives in the Americas. This book also looks at their constant fight against enslavement, as well as examining the developments in Europe and the USA that brought slavery to an end. (63 pages/Large format)

Contents: Introduction: Looking at Documents;  Origins: West Africa — The Americas — Agriculture and Trade;  The Triangular Trade: Slaving — Crossing the Atlantic — Slaves for Sale — Growth and Profit;  Slave Life: Farms and Plantations — Domestic Slavery — Slave Families — Slave Religion — Slave Laws and Punishments — Runaways;  Revolution and Rebellion: The American Revolution — North and South — Free Blacks — King Cotton — Rebellion in the USA — Rebellion in the Caribbean;  Abolition and After: The End of the Slave Trade — Freedom and Apprenticeship — The Caribbean after Abolition — The Road to War — The American Civil War — Reconstruction — Conclusion; Glossary.

Level: Beginning of the Gymnasium

Revelations about U.S. torture and prisoner abuse in blatant violation of the long-established and universally recognized Geneva Conventions have horrified most Americans. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the high stakes of the “War on Terror” have made the protections offered by the Conventions obsolete — or that the abuses are the work of a few rogue soldiers and officers. This book reaches past the headlines into the historical record to document POW torture and also domestic prisoner abuse dating well back in American history as well as government and military knowledge of and collusion in such. Is torture and prisoner abuse justified in the name of some greater good? America has to decide. This book can provide the basis for an informed discussion. Author: Laura L. Finley. Hardback (187 pages).

Level: A/Interdisciplinary projects/Library-Depot

Table of Contents: Chapter 1: Introduction: Describing the Problem; Chapter 2: Torture and Its Origins; Chapter 3: Prison Abuse in the U.S. Pre-Civil Rights Era; Chapter 4: The Central Intelligence Agency and Torture; Chapter 5: Domestic Prison Abuse Today; Chapter 6: Abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq; Chapter 7: Summing It Up; Appendix: Timeline of Significant Events in the History of Torture and Prisoner Abuse; Further Readings; Bibliography

This selection covers 55 years of Indian poetry in English. It is the first anthology to represent not just the major poets of the past half-century — but also the different kinds of poetry written by the great range of younger poets who live in many countries as well as in India. It is a groundbreaking global anthology of 70 poets writing in a common language responding to shared traditions, different cultures and contrasting lives in the changing modern world. The starting-point is Nissim Ezekiel who published his first collection in London in 1952. It pays homage to major influences, including Ezekiel, Dom Moraes and Arun Kolatkar, who died within months of each other in 2004. It rediscovers forgotten figures such as Lawrence Bantleman and Gopal Honnalgere, and it serves as an introduction to the poets of the future. The book also shows that many Indian poets were mining the rich vein of Indian English long before novelists like Rushdie and Upamanyu Chatterjee started using it in their fiction. While some of the poets may have little in common in terms of culture (a number of them have never lived in India), this anthology shows how they are all bound by the intimate histories of a shared English language. Editor: Jeet Thayil. (422 pages)
Level: Gymnasiet

There is September 11 and then there are the days after, and finally the years. Falling Man is a magnificent novel about the event that defines turn-of-the-century America. It begins in the smoke and ash of the burning towers and tracks the aftermath of this global tremor in the lives of a few people. First there is Keith, walking out of the rubble into a life that he'd always imagined belonged to everyone but him. Then Lianne, his estranged wife, memory-haunted, trying to reconcile two versions of the same shadowy man. And their small son Justin, standing at the window, scanning the sky for more planes. These are lives shaped by loss, grief and the enormous force of history. Falling Man traces the way the events of September 11 have reconfigured our emotional landscape, our memory and our perception of the world. Author: Don DeLillo. (246 pages)
Level: Second and third years of the Gymnasium/A-B/Linjefag/Reading groups

Set in a small town in the wake of an horrific school shooting, “Nineteen Minutes” is an immensely readable novel that asks hard-hitting questions about the nature of justice:
Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens — until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. Or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families. This is a novel that asks simple questions that have no easy answers: Can your own child become a mystery to you? What does it mean to be different in our society? Is it ever okay for a victim to strike back? And who — if anyone — has the right to judge someone else? Author: Jodi Picoult. (592 pages + Reading Club Discussion Questions)
Level: Gymnasiet/HF (kan læses i uddrag)

My name is Sam. I