CNU Library Blog - LibGuides at California Northstate University

Title: Stitching a Revolution.

Author: Cleve Jones and Jeff Dawson.

Publication info: HarperOne, 2000. Memoir, 304 pages.

Available: For checkout at our Rancho Cordova campus library.

Topics: AIDS Epidemic, LGBTQIA+ history, activism, San Francisco, CA.

Description: "Against the turbulent backdrop of politics and sexual liberation in San Francisco during the seventies, Jones recounts his coming-of-age alongside friend and mentor Harvey Milk--and, later, Milk's assassination and the ensuing riots that threatened to tear down all they had accomplished. But Jones's political aspirations were put on hold after the emergence of an insidious, unexplainable "gay cancer" that would soon become known throughout the world as AIDS. Demoralized by the tide of death and despair sweeping his community, brutally assaulted by gay-bashing thugs, and faced with the specter of his own positive diagnosis, Jones sought a way to restore hope to a world falling apart beneath his feet.

What started out as a simple panel of fabric stitched for his best friend now covers a space larger than twenty-five football fields and contains over eighty thousand names. The Quilt has affected the lives of many people, bridging racial, sexual, and religious barriers to unite millions in the fight against AIDS.

Stitching a Revolution is a compelling, dramatic tale with a cast of memorable characters from all walks of life. At times uplifting, at times heartwrenching, this inspiring story reveals what it means to be human and how the power of love conquers all--even death."

Title: Everything That Rises: A Climate Change Memoir.

Author: Brianna Craft.

Publication info: Chicago : Lawrence Hill Books. 2023. eBook.

Location: Academic eBook Collection.

Description: One of Ms. Magazine's 'Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2023.' Authentic and inspiring, Everything That Rises personalizes the realities of climate change by paralleling our relationship to the planet with the way we interact within our own homes. Nineteen-year-old Brianna Craft is having a panic attack. A professor's matter-of-fact explanation of the phenomenon known as 'climate change' has her white-knuckling the table in her first environmental studies lecture. Out of her father's house, she was supposed to be safe. This moment changed everything for Brianna. For her first internship, she jumped at the chance to assist the Least Developed Countries Group at the United Nations' negotiations meant to produce a new climate treaty. While working for those most ignored yet most impacted by the climate crisis, she grappled with the negligent indifference of those who hold the most power. This dynamic painfully reminded her of growing up in a house where the loudest voice always won and violence silenced those in need. Four years later, Brianna witnessed the adoption of the first universal climate treaty, the Paris Agreement. In this memoir that blends the political with the personal, Brianna dives into what it means to advocate for the future, and for the people and places you love, all while ensuring your own voice doesn't get lost in the process. It will take all of us to protect our home.

Left: Anna Atkins. Middle left: Alaria esculenta. Middle right: Cystoceira granulata. Right: Ferns, specimen of genotype.

Check out Anna Atkins's cyanotypes! Anna is often credited as the first female photographer, although this is not definitively proven. A family friend of hers, John Herschel, invented the cyanotype method of photography in 1842. Anna then published three volumes of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions between 1843 and 1853.

One copy of this book is at the Natural History Museum in London. You can view the original book and flip through its pages on their website.

It's difficult to say for certain that Anna is the first female photographer. However, her publication has left a lasting impression on botany as a scientific field, and her use of both art and science uniquely captures the beauty of botany.

Read more:

JSTOR Daily: The Artful Science of Anna Atkins
Natural History Museum: Anna Atkins's cyanotypes: the first book of photographs
Natural History Museum: Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (the digitized version of her original book!)

On this day in 1960, for the first time, Dr. Belding Scribner (Scrib) inserted a shunt into a man's arm to connect an artery to a dialysis machine. The operation was successful and enabled the man, Clyde Shields, to survive on dialysis for over a decade. This shunt (shown in the images below) was the last piece of technology needed to provide long-term dialysis for patients with failing kidneys. The impact of this successful procedure was immediate -- kidney failure was no longer a death sentence.

Left: A diagram naming parts of the original 1960 shunt. Middle: The shunt inserted into Clyde Shields's arm in 1960. Right: Dr. Belding Scribner.

How it works: The shunt consists of two extension tubes, a stabilizer, and a "U tube" (which takes on a U-shape closer to the patient's elbow). When dialysis is needed, the "U tube" is removed and the dialysis machine connected in its place. (The original 1966 article below explains how this shunt works in more detail.)

Today: Now there are more options for dialysis. Patients may undergo surgery to have a fistula or graft in their arm, or a catheter in their neck, all of which improve access to the bloodstream for dialysis. At-home dialysis is also possible. The patient education webpages listed below offer general overviews of dialysis, including its types, steps, effects, risks, and outlooks.

Read more:

Book Highlight: Stitching a Revolution

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