East Tennessee State University

Interested in learning about the history of East Tennessee State University. Check out the recent gift book we received. It is located in special collections.

Williams, Frank B. East Tennessee State University : A University's Story, 1911-1980. Johnson City, Tenn.: East Tennessee State University Press, 1991.

Call no.: T 378.76897 W671e

Ordinary Grace

Krueger, William Kent. Ordinary Grace. New York: Atria, 2013.

Call No.: F KRU

Publisher's Description: “That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.”
 

New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family— which includes his Methodist minister father; his passionate, artistic mother; Juilliard-bound older sister; and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother— he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

Women Saints

Compton, Madonna Sophia, et al. Women Saints: 365 Daily Readings. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2006.

Call no.: FDC 270.092 C739w

Publisher's Description: Daily inspiration from women of great spirit. Madonna Sophia Compton recounts the mysterious and faith-filled lives of women saints—from St. Germaine Cousin, the humble, French shepherd with a withered hand, to the world-renown Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.

Mountaineers and Rangers

The library has received a book about forest management in the Southern Appalachian region.

Mastran, Shelley Smith and Lowerre, Nan. Mountaineers and Rangers : A History of Federal Forest Management in the Southern Appalachians, 1900-81. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 1983.

Call no.: T 333.75 M395m

Chapters include:

• Conservation movement comes to the Southern mountains
• National forests organized in Southern Appalachians
• The Depression and the New Deal
• The Civilian Conservation Corps
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway
• World War II through the fifties: from FDR to JFK
• Federal development of the Southern Appalachians, 1960-81
• Recreational development of the Southern Appalachians, 1960-81

Upper Laurel and Her People

The library has received as a gift a book about the Madison County, North Carolina community of Upper Laurel.  It contains sketches of families in the community, including the English, Tipton, Willis, Porche, Phillips, and Putnam families as well as information on the community itself.  It is located in our Special Collections.

Brittain, Delia Tipton. Upper Laurel and Her People. Ill. by Gerry Girard. Mars Hill, N.C.: Southern Appalachian Center, Mars Hill College, 1987.

Call no.: T 975.6875 B777u

Starting Now

Macomber, Debbie. Starting Now. New York: Ballantine Books, 2013.

Call No.: F MAC

Publisher's Description: Debbie Macomber returns to Seattle’s beloved Blossom Street in this heartfelt tale of friendship, renewal, and discovering what’s truly important in life.

For years Libby Morgan dreamed only of making partner in her competitive, high-pressure law firm. She sacrificed everything for her career—her friends, her marriage, her chance at creating a family. When her boss calls Libby into his office, she assumes it will finally be good news, but nothing can prepare her for the shocking reality: She’s been let go and must rebuild her entire life . . . starting now.

With no job prospects in sight, Libby reaches out to old friends and spends her afternoons at A Good Yarn, the local knitting store. There she forms a close bond with Lydia, the sweet-natured shop owner; Lydia’s spirited teenage daughter, Casey; and Casey’s best friend, Ava, a shy yet troubled girl who will shape Libby’s future in surprising and profound ways.

As A Good Yarn becomes a second home—and the women a new kind of family—Libby relishes the different person she’s become. She even finds time for romance with a charming and handsome doctor who seems to be her perfect match. But just as everything is coming together, Libby must make a choice that could forever change the life she holds so dear.

Warmly told and richly textured, Starting Now is filled with the promise of new beginnings and the unending delights of companionship and love.

Tinsel Tales

Tinsel Tales: Favorite Christmas Stories from NPR. Minneapolis, Minn.: HighBridge Audio, 2010.

Call no.: ACD 232-233

Description: Ho ho ho! Here’s what to listen to while driving to the mall, wrapping gifts, entertaining friends, or relaxing in front of a crackling holiday fire.

In Scott Simon’s modern version of the Christmas story, Jesus is born in an abandoned factory near Cleveland and the Three Wise Persons bring Chipotle gift cards. Claudia Sanchez gives a Latin accent to “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores what Christmas means for the boy choristers of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (Hint: Handel.) In a treasured 1974 recording, humorist, author, radio personality, and blacklisting victim John Henry Faulk tells of “the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of America.” A son believed missing in action during WWII is found in time for his family to celebrate the holiday. And a Vietnam veteran tells Weekend Edition Sunday about a “Silent Night” that brought hope to patients in a military hospital.

And that’s just the star-topped tip of the tree. Each year, listeners tune into NPR for holiday offerings of all kinds: funny, touching, insightful, and surprising. Now anyone can listen anytime to these evergreen delights.

Tapestry of Fortunes

Berg, Elizabeth. Tapestry of Fortunes. New York: Random House, 2013.

Call No.: F BER

Publisher's Description: In this superb new novel by the beloved author of Open House, Home Safe, and The Last Time I Saw You, four women venture into their pasts in order to shape their futures, fates, and fortunes.

Cecilia Ross is a motivational speaker who encourages others to change their lives for the better. Why can’t she take her own advice? Still reeling from the death of her best friend, and freshly aware of the need to live more fully now, Cece realizes that she has to make a move—all the portentous signs seem to point in that direction.

She downsizes her life, sells her suburban Minnesota home and lets go of many of her possessions. She moves into a beautiful old house in Saint Paul, complete with a garden, chef’s kitchen, and three housemates: Lise, the home’s owner and a divorced mother at odds with her twenty-year-old daughter; Joni, a top-notch sous chef at a first-rate restaurant with a grade A jerk of a boss; and Renie, the youngest and most mercurial of the group, who is trying to rectify a teenage mistake. These women embark on a journey together in an attempt to connect with parts of themselves long denied. For Cece, that means finding Dennis Halsinger. Despite being “the one who got away,” Dennis has never been far from Cece’s thoughts.

In this beautifully written novel, leaving home brings revelations, reunions, and unexpected turns that affirm the inner truths of women’s lives. “Maybe Freud didn’t know the answer to what women want, but Elizabeth Berg certainly does,” said USA Today. Elizabeth Berg has crafted a novel rich in understanding of women’s longings, loves, and abiding friendships, which weave together into a tapestry of fortunes that connects us all.

Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture

Reynolds, Laura and Nierenberg, Danielle. Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production. (Worldwatch Report ; 188). Washington, D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 2012.

Call no.: 631.5 R335i

Publisher's Description: Higher temperatures and unpredictable weather events are disrupting lifesustaining agriculture in many parts of the world, derailing efforts to reduce hunger and poverty in the world’s poorest regions. Because agriculture relies on healthy soil, adequate water, and a delicate balance of gases in the atmosphere, farming is the human endeavor most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. At the same time, agriculture is a major driver of humancaused climate change, contributing anywhere from 25 to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The good news is that agriculture, when done sustainably, holds an important key to mitigating climate change. The United Nations estimates that the global agricultural sector could potentially reduce and remove 80 to 88 percent of the carbon dioxide that it currently produces. Practices such as using animal manure rather than artificial fertilizer, planting trees on farms to reduce soil erosion, and growing food in cities all hold huge potential for shrinking agriculture’s environmental footprint and mitigating the damaging effects of climate change.

 

By tapping into the multitude of climate-friendly farming practices that already exist, agriculture can continue to supply food for the human population, as well as income for the world’s 1.3 billion farmers. Climate-friendly agriculture also can play a critical role in the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the mitigation of climate change.

Publisher's Book Page: http://www.worldwatch.org/bookstore/publication/worldwatch-report-188-innovations-sustainable-agriculture-supporting-climate-f

Iron Knights

Blaker, Gordon A. Iron Knights: The U.S. 66th Armored Regiment in WWII. (Stackpole Military History Series.) Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2008.

Call no.: 940.541273 B584i

Publisher's Description:

Combat history of the U.S. Army's oldest armored regiment

Tank battles in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge

The 66th Armored Regiment is still active today and has served in Iraq 

From its baptism of fire in the mud of the Western Front in 1918 to its triumphant march into Berlin in July 1945, this is the story of the U.S. 66th Armored Regiment. It was the only American heavy tank unit to see combat in World War I, and between the two wars, the regiment served as a laboratory for new ideas and equipment. After training under Gen. George S. Patton, the 66th distinguished itself in numerous battles during World War II, earning six battle streamers for the unit and a Medal of Honor for one of its officers.

 


Publisher's Book Page: http://www.stackpolebooks.com/productdetails.cfm?sku=3470&isbn=9780811734707&title=iron-knights