That being said, I plan on making the time for these titles. What other nonfiction titles are you looking forward to this month?
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in
Ancient Egypt by Kara Cooney
Hatshepsut,
the daughter of a general who took Egypt's throne without status as a king’s
son and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty, was born into a privileged
position of the royal household. Married to her brother, she was expected to
bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her
failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the
way for her inconceivable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just twenty,
Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of king in an elaborate coronation ceremony
that set the tone for her spectacular twenty-two year reign as co-regent with
Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat
on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her political power
plays with the veil of piety and sexual expression. Just as women today face
obstacles from a society that equates authority with masculinity, Hatshepsut
had to shrewdly operate the levers of a patriarchal system to emerge as Egypt's
second female pharaoh.Hatshepsut had successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt’s most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her images were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power—and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation by Bill
Nye
"Evolution
is one of the most powerful and important ideas ever developed in the history
of science. Every question it raises leads to new answers, new discoveries, and
new smarter questions. The science of evolution is as expansive as nature
itself. It is also the most meaningful creation story that humans have ever
found."—Bill Nye
Sparked by a controversial debate in February 2014, Bill Nye has set off on an energetic campaign to spread awareness of evolution and the powerful way it shapes our lives. In Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, he explains why race does not really exist; evaluates the true promise and peril of genetically modified food; reveals how new species are born, in a dog kennel and in a London subway; takes a stroll through 4.5 billion years of time; and explores the new search for alien life, including aliens right here on Earth. With infectious enthusiasm, Bill Nye shows that evolution is much more than a rebuttal to creationism; it is an essential way to understand how nature works—and to change the world. It might also help you get a date on a Saturday night.
Sparked by a controversial debate in February 2014, Bill Nye has set off on an energetic campaign to spread awareness of evolution and the powerful way it shapes our lives. In Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, he explains why race does not really exist; evaluates the true promise and peril of genetically modified food; reveals how new species are born, in a dog kennel and in a London subway; takes a stroll through 4.5 billion years of time; and explores the new search for alien life, including aliens right here on Earth. With infectious enthusiasm, Bill Nye shows that evolution is much more than a rebuttal to creationism; it is an essential way to understand how nature works—and to change the world. It might also help you get a date on a Saturday night.
Posts
