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Ameera, Unveiled
by Kathleen VarnAt the age of forty-eight, happily remarried and retired from her legal assistant, gerbil wheel, Kat decides to break out of her shell and try her hand at belly dancing. What begins as a hobby leads her to filling a coveted spot in Palmetto Oasis Middle Eastern Dance Troupe. With less than eight weeks to prepare, Kat's thrown into a world of performing she is terrified to face, all leading to a week of giving lessons and performing in Jamaica. Traveling with eight glittery strangers, she forges deep bonds under outrageous circumstances at what they'd soon all discover was a clothing-optional resort. Struggling with paralyzing stage fright and searching for the deeper root of her fears, Kat feverishly seeks a way to release Ameera, her inner dance queen. By the end of the week, the audience is mesmerized by the powerful presence and synchronicity of women joined at the hip by scares and some glitter. Kat soon knows, with the help of eight sisters in dance, that she is finally part of a tribe, discovering an oasis to refresh her thirst to be a part of a circle of wome
Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age
by Kathleen Waters Sander&“[A] richly detailed biography of a formidable nineteenth-century woman who worked in a man&’s world to help women attain education, suffrage, and equality.&” —Journal of American History As youngest child and only daughter to B&O Railroad mogul John Work Garrett, Mary was bright and capable, well suited to become her father&’s heir apparent. But social convention prohibited her from following in his footsteps, a source of great frustration for the brilliant and strong-willed woman. Mary turned her attention instead to promoting women&’s rights, using her status and massive wealth to advance her uncompromising vision for women&’s place in the expanding United States. She contributed the endowment to establish the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with two unprecedented conditions: that women be admitted on the same terms as men and that the school be graduate level, thereby forcing revolutionary policy changes at the male-run institution. Believing that advanced education was the key to women&’s betterment, she helped found and sustain the prestigious girls&’ preparatory school in Baltimore, the Bryn Mawr School. Her philanthropic gifts to Bryn Mawr College helped transform the modest Quaker school into a renowned women&’s college. She was also a great supporter of women&’s suffrage. Kathleen Waters Sander recounts in impressive detail the life and times of this remarkable woman, through the turbulent years of the Civil War to the early twentieth century. At once a captivating biography of Garrett and an epic account of the rise of commerce, railroading, and women&’s rights, Sander&’s work is the first to recognize her monumental contributions to America while also reexamining the great social and political movements of the age.
Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age
by Kathleen Waters SanderA captivating look at the remarkable life of this nineteenth-century suffragist, philanthropist, and reformer.Mary Elizabeth Garrett was one of the most influential philanthropists and women activists of the Gilded Age. With Mary's legacy all but forgotten, Kathleen Waters Sander recounts in impressive detail the life and times of this remarkable woman, through the turbulent years of the Civil War to the early twentieth century. At once a captivating biography of Garrett and an epic account of the rise of commerce, railroading, and women's rights, Sander's work reexamines the great social and political movements of the age.As the youngest child and only daughter of the B&O Railroad mogul John Work Garrett, Mary was bright and capable, well suited to become her father's heir apparent. But social convention prohibited her from following in his footsteps, a source of great frustration for the brilliant and strong-willed woman. Mary turned her attention instead to promoting women's rights, using her status and massive wealth to advance her uncompromising vision for women's place in the expanding United States. She contributed the endowment to establish the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine with two unprecedented conditions: that women be admitted on the same terms as men and that the school be graduate level, thereby forcing revolutionary policy changes at the male-run institution. Believing that advanced education was the key to women's betterment, she helped found and sustain the prestigious girls' preparatory school in Baltimore, the Bryn Mawr School. Her philanthropic gifts to Bryn Mawr College helped transform the modest Quaker school into a renowned women's college. Mary was also a great supporter of women's suffrage, working tirelessly to gain equal rights for women.Suffragist, friend of charitable causes, and champion of women's education, Mary Elizabeth Garrett both improved the status of women and ushered in modern standards of American medicine and philanthropy. Sander's thoughtful and informed study of this pioneering philanthropist is the first to recognize Garrett and her monumental contributions to equality in America.
Maria Baldwin's Worlds: A Story of Black New England and the Fight for Racial Justice
by Kathleen Weiler“This well-written biography of an intriguing black educator is strong on narrative, recovering Baldwin’s life from obscurity with sound scholarship” (Jeffrey Aaron Snyder, author of Making Black History).In the late nineteenth century, Maria Baldwin established a unique place for herself as a highly respected educator at a largely white New England school. She also used her social standing to advance the African American cause. As an activist, she carried on the radical spirit of the Boston area’s renowned abolitionists. In Maria Baldwin’s Worlds, Kathleen Weiler reveals both Baldwin’s victories and what fellow activist W. E. B. Du Bois called her “quiet courage” in everyday life, in the context of the wider black freedom struggle in New England.African American sociologist Adelaide Cromwell called Baldwin “the lone symbol of Negro progress in education in the greater Boston area” during her lifetime. Baldwin fought alongside more radical activists like William Monroe Trotter for full citizenship for fellow members of the black community. And, in her professional and personal life, she negotiated and challenged dominant white ideas about black womanhood.
Boundless: Tracing Land and Dream in a New Northwest Passage
by Kathleen WinterThe long-awaited follow up to Annabel and Kathleen Winter’s first work of narrative nonfiction.In 2010, bestselling author Kathleen Winter took a journey across the storied Northwest Passage, among marine scientists, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, and curious passengers. From Greenland to Baffin Island and all along the passage, Winter bears witness to the new math of the melting North — where polar bears mate with grizzlies, creating a new hybrid species; where the earth is on the cusp of yielding so much buried treasure that five nations stand poised to claim sovereignty of the land; and where the local Inuit population struggles to navigate the tension between taking part in the new global economy and defending their traditional way of life.Throughout the journey she also learns from fellow passengers Aaju Peter and Bernadette Dean, who teach her about Inuit society, past and present. She bonds with Nathan Rogers, son of the late Canadian icon Stan Rogers, who died in a plane crash when Nathan was nearly four years old. Nathan’s quest is to take the route his father never travelled, except in his beloved song “The Northwest Passage,” which he performs both as anthem and lament at sea. And she guides us through her own personal odyssey, emigrating from England to Canada as a child and discovering both what was lost and what was gained as a result of that journey.In breathtaking prose charged with vivid descriptions of the land and its people, Kathleen Winter’s Boundless is a haunting and powerful story, and a homage to the ever-evolving and magnetic power of the North.
Undersong
by Kathleen Winter&“A stunning, spellbinding, poetic triumph." —Toronto Star From Giller-shortlisted author Kathleen Winter (author of the bestseller Annabel): A stunning novel reimagining the lost years of misunderstood Romantic Era genius Dorothy Wordsworth.When young James Dixon, a local jack-of-all-trades recently returned from the Battle of Waterloo, meets writer Dorothy Wordsworth, he quickly realizes he&’s never met another woman anything like her. In her early thirties at the time of the meeting, Dorothy has already lived a wildly unconventional life. As her famous brother William Wordsworth&’s confidante and creative collaborator—considered by some in their circle to be the secret to his success as a poet—she has carved a seemingly idyllic existence for herself, alongside William and his wife, in England&’s Lake District. One day, Dixon is approached by William to do some handiwork around the Wordsworth estate. At William&’s urging, he takes on more and more chores—and quickly understands that his real, unspoken responsibility is to keep an eye on Dorothy, who is growing frail and melancholic. The unlikely pair of misfits form a sympathetic bond despite the sometimes troubling chasm in social class between them, and soon Dixon is the quiet witness to everyday life in Dorothy&’s family and glittering social circle, which includes literary legends Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincy, William Blake, and Charles and Mary Lamb. Through the fictional James Dixon—a gentle but troubled soul, more attuned to the wonders of the garden he faithfully tends than to vexing worldly matters—we step inside the Wordsworth family, witnessing their dramatic emotional and artistic struggles, hidden traumas, private betrayals and triumphs. At the same time, Winter slowly weaves a darker, complex &“undersong&” through the novel, one as earthy and elemental as flower and tree, gradually revealing the pattern of Dorothy's rich, hidden life—that of a woman determined, against all odds, to exist on her own terms despite societal norms. But the unsettling effects of Dorothy&’s tragically repressed brilliance take their toll, and when at last her true voice finally sings out, it is so searing and bright that Dixon, compelled equally by love and grief and fear, must make an impossible choice.
Ordinary Life: A Memoir of Illness
by Kathlyn ConwayThis book is a striking departure from the literature of illness as well as a remarkable literary work in its own right. The stories we typically hear about people coping with serious illness are set up as heroic tales that emphasize the victim's triumph over adversity or even portray the experience of illness as a transformative event that makes the survivor "a better person."In this compelling account written from within an illness, Kathlyn Conway gives us a deeply honest description of her own struggle with breast cancer and its many reverberations through her everyday life, bringing us to the heart of the experience of illness without preachiness or sentimentality.Conway did not experience breast cancer as a means for reevaluating her life, but rather as a terrible threat to her future and that of her family. Making difficult choices among treatment possibilities, dealing with nurses, doctors, and lab technichians, undergoing a mastectomy, and enduring chemotherapy, Conway discovered that although she wanted to play the part of the brave, long-suffering patient, she could not. Angry and upset much of the time, overwhelmed by her situation, she found it difficult to cope even with the support her family and friends provided.In her willingness to share this story of herself as a frightened, sometimes selfish, often despairing human being, Kathlyn Conway gives us not only an unsettling portrait of our everyday mortality but a renewed appreciation of life itself.
Mao Zedong's China (Dictatorships)
by Kathlyn GayIn 1949, Mao Zedong came to power in China after a long and brutal civil war. He and his Chinese Communist Party immediately set out to transform their nation into a Communist state. They seized land from wealthy and middle-class farmers and distributed it to poor peasant farmers. The government also took over ownership of all industries. Citizens who resisted these changes were branded ?counterrevolutionaries, ? and thousands were imprisoned or executed. Within a few years, Mao had turned China into a totalitarian state, controlling all aspects of his citizens? daily lives. In the 1960s, he sought to wipe out what remained of traditional Chinese society by launching the Cultural Revolution. Millions died as the country erupted into spasms of mob violence. Yet, despite the tumult, Chairman Mao remained a revered, almost godlike figure, worshiped by his people. How did he do it? Learn more about one of the most powerful and controversial figures of the 20th century.
Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day
by Kathlyn J. KirkwoodThis brilliant memoir-in-verse tells the moving story of how a nation learned to celebrate a hero. Through years of protests and petition, Kathlyn's story highlights the foot soldiers who fought to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday.Ain&’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me &’Round is a deeply moving middle grade memoir about what it means to be an everyday activist and foot solider for racial justice, as Kathlyn recounts how, drawn to activism from childhood, she went from attending protests as a teenager to fighting for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday to become a national holiday as an adult. A blueprint for kids starting down their own paths to civic awareness, it shows life beyond protests and details the sustained time, passion, and energy it takes to turn an idea into a law. Deftly weaving together monumental historical events with a heartfelt coming-of-age story and in-depth information on law making, Ain&’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me &’Round is the perfect engaging example of how history can help inform the present.
As Good as Gold
by Kathryn Bertine Kathrine SwitzerImagine George Plimpton. Except with real athletic ability. And he's a woman. And she's taken on a challenge that makes Paper Lion look like a brisk game of Go Fish. Meet Kathryn Bertine, elite triathlete, former professional figure skater, and starving artist. Just as her personal and professional dreams begin to crumble in the summer of 2006, ESPN stakes her to a dream: Take two years to make the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. As Good As Gold is the heroic, hilarious account of Bertine's serial exertions in the realms of triathlon, modern pentathlon, team handball, track cycling, road cycling, rowing, open water swimming, racewalking, and--fasten your seatbelts--luge. On her journey, the obstacles range from jet lag to jellyfish, flat tires to floundering relationships, repeated rejection to road rash. But, as time is running out, Bertine doesn't sweat the small stuff, only the large--like scouring the globe for a tiny nation to adopt her, and pushing her body and mind as far as it will go. Maybe all the way to China. Between harrowing, often laugh-out-loud episodes of triumph and humiliation, Bertine takes short "Water Breaks" to contemplate the ins-and-outs of fan mail, failure, rehydration, nasal reconstruction, and how best to punish steroid users. Kathryn Bertine swims, runs, and rides--and writes--like a champion. In As Good as Gold, Bertine proves she has something more valuable than an Olympic medal. She's got Olympic mettle. When it comes to the human heart, she takes the gold.From the Hardcover edition.
Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports
by Kathrine SwitzerIn 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run what was then the all male Boston Marathon, infuriating one of the event's directors who attempted to violently eject her. In what would become an iconic sports image, Switzer escaped and finished the race. This was a watershed moment for the sport, as well as a significant event in women's history.Including updates from the 2008 Summer Olympics, the paperback edition of Marathon Woman details the life of an incredible, pioneering athlete, and the lasting effect she's had on women's sports. Switzer's energy and drive permeate the pages of this warm, witty memoir as she describes everything from the childhood events that inspired her to succeed to her big win in the 1974 New York City Marathon, and beyond.
No Man's Land: The Life and Art of Mary Riter Hamilton, 1868-1954
by Kathryn A. Young Sarah M. McKinnonWhat force of will and circumstance drove a woman from a comfortable life painting china tea services to one of hardship and loneliness in the battle zones of France and Belgium following the Great War? For western Canadian artist Mary Riter Hamilton (1868-1954), art was her life’s passion. Her tale is one of tragedy and adventure, from homestead beginnings, to genteel drawing rooms in Winnipeg, Victoria and Vancouver, to Berlin and Parisian art schools, to Vimy and Ypres, and finally to illness and poverty in old age. "No Man’s Land" is the first biographical study of Hamilton, whose work can be found in galleries and art museums throughout Canada. Young and McKinnon’s meticulous research in unpublished private collections brings to light new correspondence between Hamilton and her friends, revealing the importance of female networks to an artist’s well being. Her letters from abroad, in particular, bring a woman’s perspective into the immediate post-war period and give voice to trying conditions. Hamilton’s career is situated within the context of her peers Florence Carlyle, Emily Carr, and Sophie Pemberton with whom she shared a Canadian and European experience.
The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh: A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood
by Kathryn AaltoLoved “Goodbye Christopher Robin”? Learn more about the real place that inspired the beloved stories. Delve into the home of the world’s most beloved bear! The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh explores the magical landscapes where Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends live and play. The Hundred Acre Wood—the setting for Winnie-the-Pooh’s adventures—was inspired by Ashdown Forest, a wildlife haven that spans more than 6,000 acres in southeast England. In the pages of this enchanting book you can visit the ancient black walnut tree on the edge of the forest that became Pooh’s house, go deep into the pine trees to find Poohsticks Bridge, and climb up to the top of the enchanted Galleons Lap, where Pooh says goodbye to Christopher Robin. You will discover how Milne's childhood connection with nature and his role as a father influenced his famous stories, and how his close collaboration with illustrator E. H. Shepard brought those stories to life. This charming book also serves as a guide to the plants, animals, and places of the remarkable Ashdown Forest, whether you are visiting in person or from the comfort of your favorite armchair. In a delightful narrative, enriched with Shepard’s original illustrations, hundreds of color photographs, and Milne’s own words, you will rediscover your favorite characters and the magical place they called home.
Dancing into the Light: An Arab American Girlhood in the Middle East
by Kathryn Abdul-BakiSet against the backdrop of the early American presence in Iran under the Shah, and the burgeoning years of Kuwait&’s early oil boom, Dancing into the Light is Kathryn Abdul-Baki&’s memoir of growing up within both the expatriate Western communities and the larger Middle Eastern society of Kuwait and Jerusalem. Hers is a story of belonging to two vastly different cultures and finding her place within both, and the search to find the inherent harmony in worlds at odds with each other. She is already caught in both the joys of and the struggle to be both Arab and American, yet not fully either, when her young life of promise is disrupted by tragedy. But instead of derailing her life, her mother&’s death opens the door to deeper love and support from other places within Kathryn&’s family. Dancing into the Light is a story of love, loss, and renewal, and of overcoming devastating early trauma through music, dancing, and the love and devotion of strong American and Arab women.
King of the Lobby: The Life and Times of Sam Ward, Man-About-Washington in the Gilded Age
by Kathryn Allamong JacobKing of the Lobby tells the story of how one man harnessed delicious food, fine wine, and good conversation to the task of becoming the most influential lobbyist of the Gilded Age.Sam Ward was a colorful character. Scion of an old and honorable family, best friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and charming man-about-Washington, Ward held his own in an era crowded with larger-than-life personalities. Living by the motto that the shortest route between a pending bill and a congressman’s "aye" was through his stomach, Ward elegantly entertained political elites in return for their votes.At a time when waves of scandal washed over Washington, the popular press railed against the wickedness of the lobby, and self-righteous politicians predicted that special interests would cause the downfall of democratic government, Sam Ward still reigned supreme. By the early 1870s, he had earned the title "King of the Lobby" and jokingly referred to himself as "Rex Vestiari." Ward cultivated a style of lobbying that survives today in the form of expensive golf outings, extravagant dinners, and luxurious vacations. Kathryn Allamong Jacob's engaging account shows how the "king" earned his crown through cookery and conversation and how this son of wealth and privilege helped to create a questionable profession in a city that then, as now, rested on power and influence.
King of the Lobby: The Life and Times of Sam Ward, Man-About-Washington in the Gilded Age
by Kathryn Allamong JacobA biography of the “influential and engaging character” who courted Congress with food, wine, and gifts in the post-Civil War era (The Washington Post Book World).King of the Lobby tells the story of how one man harnessed delicious food, fine wine, and good conversation to become the most influential lobbyist of the Gilded Age.Scion of an old and honorable family, best friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and charming man-about-town, Sam Ward held his own in an era crowded with larger-than-life personalities. Living by the motto that the shortest route between a pending bill and a congressman’s “aye” was through his stomach, Ward elegantly entertained political elites in return for their votes.At a time when waves of scandal washed over Washington, the popular press railed against the wickedness of the lobby, and self-righteous politicians predicted that special interests would cause the downfall of democratic government, Sam Ward still reigned supreme. By the early 1870s, he had earned the title “King of the Lobby,” cultivating an extraordinary network of prominent figures and a style that survives today in the form of expensive golf outings, extravagant dinners, and luxurious vacations. Kathryn Allamong Jacob’s account shows how the king earned his crown, and how this son of wealth and privilege helped to create a questionable profession in a city that then, as now, rested on power and influence.“Her extensive research is reflected in her recounting of Ward’s life, successfully putting it into the context of the history of lobbying…will appeal to American history buffs.” —Publishers Weekly
Dorking in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
by Kathryn AthertonFrom Zeppelin raids to housing refugees and evacuees or from men volunteering to fight or women working in the local Gunpowder factory, Dorking in the Great War looks at how the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German Kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Dorking were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.
Suffragette Planners and Plotters: The Pankhurst, Pethick-Lawrence Story
by Kathryn AthertonThis true story about the British fight for women&’s suffrage &“looks at the tumultuous relationship between two couples who led the militant movement&” (Publishers Weekly). In early twentieth-century England, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was treasurer of the Women&’s Social and Political Union, founded by the famed militant Mrs. Pankhurst. Emmeline&’s husband, Fred, was the only man to achieve leadership status in the organization. Without their wealth, determination, and skills we might never have heard of the suffragettes—yet the couple has been largely forgotten while Mrs. Pankhurst and her daughters are still renowned. Emmeline was always at Mrs. Pankhurst&’s side, while Fred was the &‘Godfather&’ who stood bail for a thousand women. Both were imprisoned and force-fed. They provided the militant movement with its home and much of its vision, and it was their associates who initiated the hunger strike and who brought force-feeding to national attention. But in 1912, the couple was dramatically ousted from the organization by the Pankhursts in a move that has often been misrepresented. This book is the first in-depth portrait of the couple and their relationship with the Pankhursts—and of their inspirational fight not just for the vote for women but for freedom and equality across the world.
Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent
by Kathryn Atwood Pearl Witherington CornioleyPearl Witherington Cornioley, one of the most celebrated female World War II resistance fighters, shares her remarkable story in this firsthand account of her experience as a special agent for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Told through a series of reminiscences--from a difficult childhood spent in the shadow of World War I and her family's harrowing escape from France as the Germans approached in 1940 to her recruitment and training as a special agent and the logistics of parachuting into a remote rural area of occupied France and hiding in a wheat field from enemy fire--each chapter also includes helpful opening remarks to provide context and background on the SOE and the French Resistance. With an annotated list of key figures, an appendix of original unedited interview extracts--including Pearl's fiancé Henri's story--and fascinating photographs and documents from Pearl's personal collection, this memoir will captivate World War II buffs of any age.
Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics
by Kathryn AtwoodA commemoration of brave yet largely forgotten women who served in the First World War In time for the 2014 centennial of the start of the Great War, this book brings to life the brave and often surprising exploits of 16 fascinating women from around the world who served their countries at a time when most of them didn't even have the right to vote. Readers meet 17-year-old Frenchwoman Emilienne Moreau, who assisted the Allies as a guide and set up a first-aid post in her home to attend to the wounded; Russian peasant Maria Bochkareva, who joined the Imperial Russian Army by securing the personal permission of Tsar Nicholas II, was twice wounded in battle and decorated for bravery, and created and led the all-women combat unit the "Women's Battalion of Death" on the eastern front; and American journalist Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, who risked her life to travel twice to Germany during the war in order to report back the truth, whatever the cost. These and other suspense-filled stories of brave girls and women are told through the use of engaging narrative, dialogue, direct quotes, and document and diary excerpts to lend authenticity and immediacy. Introductory material opens each section to provide solid historical context, and each profile includes informative sidebars and "Learn More" lists of relevant books and websites, making this a fabulous resource for students, teachers, parents, libraries, and homeschoolers.
Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue (Women of Action)
by Kathryn AtwoodOrganized by country, this historical exploration includes stories of girls and women from across Europe and the United States who risked their lives to perform extremely dangerous acts against the Nazis during World War II. The 26 profiles bring to life courageous women such as Noor Inayat Khan, a radio operator who parachuted into occupied France and transferred crucial messages; Johtje Vos, the Dutch housewife who hid Jews in her home and was repeatedly interrogated by the Gestapo; and Hannie Schaft, a Dutch law student who became involved in the most dangerous resistance work--sabotage, weapons transference, and assassinations. The profiles are written using dialogue, direct quotes, and document excerpts to lend authenticity and immediacy. Each profile includes one or more informative sidebars and is followed by a list of relevant books, websites, and films, making it an attractive resource for teachers, parents, and libraries.
All the Sundays Yet to Come: An Athlete's Journey
by Kathryn BertineIn her hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Kathryn Bertine tells the strange-but-true story of what life is really like behind the glitz and glamour of professional figure skating. Bertine's childhood dream came true when she earned a place in a touring ice show. But as she traveled through the back roads of Chile and Argentina in a rickety bus with the international cast of Hollywood on Ice, she wondered if this was exactly the dream she had in mind. Gone were the days of athleticism and artistry. Hollywood on Ice was half Disney, half Playboy. The skaters apply false eyelashes the size of caterpillars and wriggle into progressively more revealing costumes. Some performers dress up as animals; some real animals actually skate. The undeniable showstopper was the Michael Jackson number, starring a middle-aged blonde with a beer belly that is barely contained by his flashy spandex costume. Bertine was no quitter, and she stuck it out--with laugh-out-loud humor and unfailing grace. But as she came to fully understand the differences between showbiz and sports, Bertine had to make the hardest choice of her life. Anyone who has known--or dreamed of becoming--a skater, dancer, or professional athlete will find here a poignant, funny, and utterly winning story of a young woman's courage, resolve, and grace under pressure.
As Good As Gold: 1 Woman, 9 Sports, 10 Countries, and a 2-Year Quest to Make the Summer Olympics
by Kathryn BertineAt the age of thirty, elite triathlete Kathryn Bertine had no job, no home of her own, no direction, a canceled wedding, and just over $200 in her checking account. Just as she was about to renounce her athletic dreams, the phone rang. ESPN The Magazine made her an offer she couldn't refuse: Bertine would have two years to make the 2008 Summer Olympic Gamesby any means necessary - as long as she survived to tell the tale.
Creating Carmen Miranda: Race, Camp, and Transnational Stardom (Performing Latin American and Caribbean Identities)
by Kathryn Bishop-SanchezCarmen Miranda got knocked down and kept going. Filming an appearance on The Jimmy Durante Show on August 4, 1955, the "ambassadress of samba" suddenly took a knee during a dance number, clearly in distress. Durante covered without missing a beat, and Miranda was back on her feet in a matter of moments to continue with what she did best: performing. By the next morning, she was dead from heart failure at age 46.This final performance in many ways exemplified the power of Carmen Miranda. The actress, singer, and dancer pursued a relentless mission to demonstrate the provocative theatrical force of her cultural roots in Brazil. Armed with bare-midriff dresses, platform shoes, and her iconic fruit-basket headdresses, Miranda stole the show in films like That Night in Rio and The Gang's All Here. For American film audiences, her life was an example of the exoticism of a mysterious, sensual South America. For Brazilian and Latin American audiences, she was an icon. For the gay community, she became a work of art personified and a symbol of courage and charisma.In Creating Carmen Miranda, Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez takes the reader through the myriad methods Miranda consciously used to shape her performance of race, gender, and camp culture, all to further her journey down the road to becoming a legend.
Creating Carmen Miranda: Race, Camp, and Transnational Stardom (Performing Latin American and Caribbean Identities)
by Kathryn Bishop-SanchezCarmen Miranda got knocked down and kept going. Filming an appearance on The Jimmy Durante Show on August 4, 1955, the "ambassadress of samba" suddenly took a knee during a dance number, clearly in distress. Durante covered without missing a beat, and Miranda was back on her feet in a matter of moments to continue with what she did best: performing. By the next morning, she was dead from heart failure at age 46. This final performance in many ways exemplified the power of Carmen Miranda. The actress, singer, and dancer pursued a relentless mission to demonstrate the provocative theatrical force of her cultural roots in Brazil. Armed with bare-midriff dresses, platform shoes, and her iconic fruit-basket headdresses, Miranda stole the show in films like That Night in Rio and The Gang's All Here. For American film audiences, her life was an example of the exoticism of a mysterious, sensual South America. For Brazilian and Latin American audiences, she was an icon. For the gay community, she became a work of art personified and a symbol of courage and charisma. In Creating Carmen Miranda, Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez takes the reader through the myriad methods Miranda consciously used to shape her performance of race, gender, and camp culture, all to further her journey down the road to becoming a legend.