What should my next #nonfiction read be? I’m especially keen on sociology and espionage history.
Alex, the Hearth Fire
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Finished #nonfiction #audiobook The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum, which recounts the story of a heroic civil servant, chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley, who began the first testing for harmful food additives and championed the first safe food laws in the U.S. despite heavy opposition by industry and political appointees. If anything, this story reminds us that business has its own profit in mind and without limits set by a responsible government, business will happily sicken and kill the public if there's money in it. And this is why you don't want your politicians purchased by industry, and why capitalism must be fettered for the good of society. ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ #bookstodon #PublicHealth
Finished #nonfiction #audiobook The Poison Squad by Deborah Blum, which recounts the story of a heroic civil servant, chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley, who began the first testing for harmful food additives and championed the first safe food laws in the U.S. despite heavy opposition by industry and political appointees. If anything, this story reminds us that business has its own profit in mind and without limits set by a responsible government, business will happily sicken and kill the public if there's money in it. And this is why you don't want your politicians purchased by industry, and why capitalism must be fettered for the good of society. ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ #bookstodon #PublicHealth
The Golden Ratio by Gary B. Meisner, 2018
The Divine Beauty of Mathematics
The Golden Ratio examines the presence of this divine number in art and architecture throughout history, as well as its ubiquity among plants, animals, and even the cosmos. This gorgeous book features clear, entertaining, and enlightening commentary alongside stunning full-color illustrations by Venezuelan artist and architect Rafael Araujo.
See also:
The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, 2003
The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
Most readers will have at least dim memories from geometry class of the irrational number pi. Theoretical astrophysicist Livio gives pi's overlooked cousin phi its due with this lively account, the first on the subject written for the layperson.
The Golden Ratio by Gary B. Meisner, 2018
The Divine Beauty of Mathematics
The Golden Ratio examines the presence of this divine number in art and architecture throughout history, as well as its ubiquity among plants, animals, and even the cosmos. This gorgeous book features clear, entertaining, and enlightening commentary alongside stunning full-color illustrations by Venezuelan artist and architect Rafael Araujo.
Why Males Exist by Fred Hapgood, 1979
An Inquiry Into the Evolution of Sex
A provocative examination of why the male gender exists at all shapes up as something of an antidote to the more macho sexual tracts that have been appearing in the wake of sociobiology. (E.g., Wallace, below.) The Atlantic Monthly science columnist goes so far as to say that "males have been devised by females to aid them in their competition with other females."
#books
#nonfiction
#gender
#males
#sex
#evolution
Kevin Carson
and 1 other
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Today in Labor History February 1, 1912: The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) started the San Diego Free Speech Fight in response to a city ordinance preventing public speaking in and around the Stingaree neighborhood (now known as the Gaslamp Quarter). The authorities were trying to squelch labor and radical organizing in the multi-ethnic, working-class neighborhood, infamous for its houses of prostitution, gambling dens, opium dens and Chinese ghetto. Even as late as the 1980s, it still had a skid row feel, with its multitude of tattoo parlors, bars, sailors, junkies and fascination parlors. As a kid, I remember watching the con artists running games of 3-Card Monte on the sidewalks there.
The IWW had been active in San Diego since 1906. They organized timber workers and cigar makers, as well as workers at San Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company. Their strike at the power company led to the formation of a public service union, which disbanded in 1911, when many Wobblies flocked to Tijuana to join the anarchist Magonista revolution there. For more on this, read “The Desert Revolution,” by Lowell Blaisdell.
As the Free Speech fight progressed, anarchists, socialists and liberals joined the struggle, deliberately speaking in the restricted zone so that the jails would overflow. And they all demanded individual trials in order to clog up the legal system. Jail conditions were horrendous. Prisoners were crowded into the drunk tanks and forced to sleep on vermin-infested floors. Beatings were routine. 63-year-old Michael Hoy died from a police beating in jail. The IWW called on members from across the country to ride the rails to San Diego to join the fight. At least 5,000 heeded the call.
The local papers, of course, ran countless editorials attacking the radicals and glorifying the police. This encouraged vigilantes, who’d patrol the rail yards looking for incoming Wobblies. They deported many across county lines where they forced them to kiss the flag and run through gauntlets of men who beat them with pick axe handles. On May 7, the cops killed another Wobbly, Joseph Mikolash. And on May 15, vigilantes kidnapped Emma Goldman and her companion Ben Reitman, who had come to show their support. However, before deporting them, the vigilantes tarred and feathered Reitman and raped him with a cane. Ben Reitman was a physician who focused his practice on providing treatment for tramps, hobos, prostitutes and the most marginalized members of society. He also wrote the book “Boxcar Bertha.” The July 11, 1912 edition of the IWW’s “Little Red Songbook” included the song: “We’re Bound for San Diego:”
In that town called San Diego, when the workers try to talk,
The cops will smash them with a sap and tell them “take a walk.”
They throw them in a bull pen and they feed them rotten beans.
And they call that “law and order” in the city, so it seems.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #sandiego #freespeech #policebrutality #prison #IWW #anarchism #Revolution #socialism #strike #magonista #Tijuana #vigilantes #EmmaGoldman #acab #mexico #books #author #writer #fiction #nonfiction @bookstadon
Today in Labor History February 1, 1912: The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) started the San Diego Free Speech Fight in response to a city ordinance preventing public speaking in and around the Stingaree neighborhood (now known as the Gaslamp Quarter). The authorities were trying to squelch labor and radical organizing in the multi-ethnic, working-class neighborhood, infamous for its houses of prostitution, gambling dens, opium dens and Chinese ghetto. Even as late as the 1980s, it still had a skid row feel, with its multitude of tattoo parlors, bars, sailors, junkies and fascination parlors. As a kid, I remember watching the con artists running games of 3-Card Monte on the sidewalks there.
The IWW had been active in San Diego since 1906. They organized timber workers and cigar makers, as well as workers at San Diego Consolidated Gas and Electric Company. Their strike at the power company led to the formation of a public service union, which disbanded in 1911, when many Wobblies flocked to Tijuana to join the anarchist Magonista revolution there. For more on this, read “The Desert Revolution,” by Lowell Blaisdell.
As the Free Speech fight progressed, anarchists, socialists and liberals joined the struggle, deliberately speaking in the restricted zone so that the jails would overflow. And they all demanded individual trials in order to clog up the legal system. Jail conditions were horrendous. Prisoners were crowded into the drunk tanks and forced to sleep on vermin-infested floors. Beatings were routine. 63-year-old Michael Hoy died from a police beating in jail. The IWW called on members from across the country to ride the rails to San Diego to join the fight. At least 5,000 heeded the call.
The local papers, of course, ran countless editorials attacking the radicals and glorifying the police. This encouraged vigilantes, who’d patrol the rail yards looking for incoming Wobblies. They deported many across county lines where they forced them to kiss the flag and run through gauntlets of men who beat them with pick axe handles. On May 7, the cops killed another Wobbly, Joseph Mikolash. And on May 15, vigilantes kidnapped Emma Goldman and her companion Ben Reitman, who had come to show their support. However, before deporting them, the vigilantes tarred and feathered Reitman and raped him with a cane. Ben Reitman was a physician who focused his practice on providing treatment for tramps, hobos, prostitutes and the most marginalized members of society. He also wrote the book “Boxcar Bertha.” The July 11, 1912 edition of the IWW’s “Little Red Songbook” included the song: “We’re Bound for San Diego:”
In that town called San Diego, when the workers try to talk,
The cops will smash them with a sap and tell them “take a walk.”
They throw them in a bull pen and they feed them rotten beans.
And they call that “law and order” in the city, so it seems.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #sandiego #freespeech #policebrutality #prison #IWW #anarchism #Revolution #socialism #strike #magonista #Tijuana #vigilantes #EmmaGoldman #acab #mexico #books #author #writer #fiction #nonfiction @bookstadon
Dane 🇮🇪🇺🇦🇻🇪🖖⚛️☮️☸️🕉️
boosted
A new #Introduction for my 1-year anniversary on Mastodon. I find Mastodon much more welcoming than those corporate owned social media platforms. Currently living in beautiful #France with my lovely wife. I mostly share my love of #Movies and #Photography . I also love #Reading #Fiction (one of my 2026 projects is a slow re-read of Les Miserables) and #NonFiction and I do some #Writing on #Creativity and pop culture. Basically if you’re a decent person, I’m happy to connect here.
A new #Introduction for my 1-year anniversary on Mastodon. I find Mastodon much more welcoming than those corporate owned social media platforms. Currently living in beautiful #France with my lovely wife. I mostly share my love of #Movies and #Photography . I also love #Reading #Fiction (one of my 2026 projects is a slow re-read of Les Miserables) and #NonFiction and I do some #Writing on #Creativity and pop culture. Basically if you’re a decent person, I’m happy to connect here.
If you love science, PhD Joe Hanson visits a taste lab to figure out how smell works, and it… smells pretty interesting.
Smell by Matthew Cobb, 2020
Our sense of smell—or olfaction as it is technically known—is our most enigmatic sense. It can conjure up memories, taking us back to very specific places and emotions, whilst powerful smells can induce strong feelings of hunger or nausea. In the animal kingdom smell can be used to find food, a mate, or a home; to sense danger; and to send and receive complex messages with other members of a species.
#fedi #softwareConcept ( #StealThisIdea ):
Every public post references something #nonfiction like a book or paper as a more permanent topical anchor for #hashtags. IE hashtags get qualified, with context. Could be a #news article or a book or scientific paper or a famous quote. Basically anything published.
Catherine Shinners
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The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations by Ian Morris, 2013
In the last thirty years, there have been fierce debates over how civilizations develop and why the West became so powerful. The Measure of Civilization presents a brand-new way of investigating these questions and provides new tools for assessing the long-term growth of societies.
Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:
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Here is my #introduction because I’m #newhere.
Like so many others, I’m a refugee from Meta/X. Mastodon is giving me some hope that I might find a #community in social media. Happily married. Resident of Florida but currently on slow travel in Costa Rica. My passions are: #writing – my web site (link in profile) has info on my novels and occasional #popculture essays - #movies , #reading #fiction and #nonfiction , and #photography
I look forward to connecting with the Mastodon community!
The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations by Ian Morris, 2013
In the last thirty years, there have been fierce debates over how civilizations develop and why the West became so powerful. The Measure of Civilization presents a brand-new way of investigating these questions and provides new tools for assessing the long-term growth of societies.
Oh, there's something like #portfolioDay ! Okay, so, I'm an #author, #podcast host and data privacy expert with a strong focus on #ITsecurity awareness. I write #nonfiction, crime and #scifi in German and English. The last two years I mainly spent with making #books and podcasts for others, like the lovely Eltville #WeinSchreibereien anthology and podcast.
Michael Dexter
and 1 other
boosted
New year new #introduction!
My name is Ana! I’m an #artist with a #ComputerScience background working on a #GraphicNovel about #Latvians during #WWII.
I post a lot about #BlackMetal (my fav genre), #FountainPens and #journaling (my fav hobby). I read a lot of #fiction and #nonfiction, play a variety of #VideoGames ( #Rimworld, #Balatro, #Diablo4)
I’m also currently learning #ClassicalGuitar
Don’t be shy, say hi!!
Metamorphosis A Natural and Human History by Oren Harman, 2025
A search for the meaning of one of nature's greatest riddles: why do so many creatures transform?
“How many creatures walking on this earth / Have their first being in another form?” the Roman poet Ovid asked two thousand years ago. He could not have known the full extent of the truth: today, biologists estimate a stunning three-quarters of all animal species on Earth undergo some form of #metamorphosis.
