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Modernist Voyages
by Anna SnaithLondon's literary and cultural scene fostered newly configured forms of feminist anticolonialism during the modernist period. Through their writing in and about the imperial metropolis, colonial women authors not only remapped the city, they also renegotiated the position of women within the empire. This book examines the significance of gender to the interwoven nature of empire and modernism. As transgressive figures of modernity, writers such as Jean Rhys, Katherine Mansfield, Una Marson and Sarojini Naidu brought their own versions of modernity to the capital, revealing the complex ways in which colonial identities 'traveled' to London at the turn of the twentieth century. Anna Snaith's timely and original study provides a new vantage point on the urban metropolis and its artistic communities for scholars and students of literary modernism, gender and postcolonial studies, and English literature more broadly.
Moment of Battle
by Williamson Murray Jim LaceyTwo modern masters of military history make their case for the twenty most pivotal battles of all time, in a riveting trip through the ages to those moments when the fate of the world hung in the balance. In the grand tradition of Edward Creasy's classic Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, James Lacey and Williamson Murray spotlight only those engagements that changed the course of civilization. In gripping narrative accounts they bring these conflicts and eras to vivid life, detailing the cultural imperatives that led inexorably to the battlefield, the experiences of the common soldiers who fought and died, and the legendary commanders and statesmen who matched wits, will, and nerve for the highest possible stakes. From the great clashes of antiquity to the high-tech wars of the twenty-first century, here are the stories of the twenty most consequential battles ever fought, including * Marathon, where Greece's "greatest generation" repelled Persian forces three times their numbers--and saved Western civilization in its infancy * Adrianople, the death blow to a disintegrating Roman Empire * Trafalgar, the epic naval victory that cemented a century of British supremacy over the globe * Saratoga, the first truly American victory, won by united colonial militias, which ensured the ultimate triumph of the Revolution * Midway, the ferocious World War II sea battle that broke the back of the Japanese navy * Dien Bien Phu, the climactic confrontation between French imperial troops and Viet Minh rebels that led to American intervention in Vietnam and marked the rise of a new era of insurgent warfare * Operation Peach, the perilous 2003 mission to secure a vital bridge over the Euphrates River that would open the way to Baghdad Historians and armchair generals will argue forever about which battles have had the most direct impact on history. But there can be no doubt that these twenty are among those that set mankind on new trajectories. Each of these epochal campaigns is examined in its full historical, strategic, and tactical context--complete with edge-of-your-seat you-are-there battle re-creations. With an eye for the small detail as well as the bigger picture, Lacey and Murray identify the elements that bind these battles together: the key decisions, critical mistakes, and moments of crisis on which the fates of entire civilizations depended. Some battles merely leave a field littered with the bodies of the fallen. Others transform the map of the entire world. Moment of Battle is history written with the immediacy of today's news, a magisterial tour d'horizon that refreshes our understanding of those essential turning points where the future was decided. Advance praise for Moment of Battle "A riveting human story about how a few remarkable individuals changed 2,500 years of history."--Victor Davis Hanson, author of Carnage and Culture and The Savior Generals"Two world-class historians present, eloquently and persuasively, twenty battles that fundamentally changed the course of history. Moment of Battle is a must acquisition for anyone seeking to understand the nature of human development--and its turning points."--Dennis E. Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College, author of Armor and BloodFrom the Hardcover edition.
The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
by Arthur Schlesinger Stephen C. Schlesinger Andrew SchlesingerThis extraordinary collection gathers the never-before-seen correspondence of a true American original--the acclaimed historian and lion of the liberal establishment, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. An advisor to presidents, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and tireless champion of progressive government, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., was also an inveterate letter writer. Indeed, the term "man of letters" could easily have been coined for Schlesinger, a faithful and prolific correspondent whose wide range of associates included powerful public officials, notable literary figures, prominent journalists, Hollywood celebrities, and distinguished fellow scholars. The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. reveals the late historian's unvarnished views on the great issues and personalities of his time, from the dawn of the Cold War to the aftermath of September 11. Here is Schlesinger's correspondence with such icons of American statecraft as Harry Truman, Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, and, of course, John and Robert Kennedy (including a detailed critique of JFK's manuscript for Profiles in Courage). There are letters to friends and confidants such as Eleanor Roosevelt, John Kenneth Galbraith, Gore Vidal, William Styron, and Jacqueline Kennedy (to whom Schlesinger sends his handwritten condolences in the hours after her husband's assassination), and exchanges with such unlikely pen pals as Groucho Marx, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Bianca Jagger. Finally, there are Schlesinger's many thoughtful replies to the inquiries of ordinary citizens, in which he offers his observations on influences, issues of the day, and the craft of writing history. Written with the range and insight that made Schlesinger an indispensable figure, these letters reflect the evolution of his thought--and of American liberalism--from the 1940s to the first decade of the new millennium. Whether he is arguing against the merits of preemptive war, advocating for a more forceful policy on civil rights, or simply explaining his preference in neckwear ("For sloppy eaters bow ties are a godsend"), Schlesinger reveals himself as a formidable debater and consummate wit who reveled in rhetorical combat. To a detractor who accuses him of being a Communist sympathizer, he writes: "If your letter was the product of sincere misunderstanding, the facts I have cited should relieve your mind. If not, I can only commend you to the nearest psychiatrist." Elsewhere, he castigates a future Speaker of the House, John Boehner, for misattributing quotations to Abraham Lincoln. Combining a political strategist's understanding of the present moment with a historian's awareness that the eyes of posterity were always watching him, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., helped shape the course of an era with these letters. This landmark collection frames the remarkable dynamism of the twentieth-century and ensures that Schlesinger's legacy will continue to influence this one.Advance praise for The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "Arthur Schlesinger's letters are full of personal, political, and historical insights into the tumultuous events and enormous personalities that dominated the mid-twentieth century. Because he viewed them up close but with a historian's perspective, The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. helps us all to more fully understand recent history."--President Bill Clinton
Victory Over Trials: Encouragement From the Life of Job
by Lottie B. Hobbs[from the back page] If you have ever experienced discouragement, disappointment, pain, grief, doubt, or any other heartache, this book is for you. The author gleans enlightenment, strength, and direction from the most magnificent and soul-stirring drama of all time: the Book of Job. Job - an emotionally torn, suffering, grieving man - grappled with life's heaviest burdens and most perplexing questions. He triumphed! So can we! Victory Over Trials is not a tedious analysis. It is easily understood, up-to-date, and practical. Ideal for individual and class use. One reader concludes: "Each chapter is worth the price of the book." LOTTIE BETH HOBBS is acclaimed in international journals in the U.S. and Europe as a writer, speaker, and editor. Some of her books have had more than twenty printings in English and are still in demand. Some have been published in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and several languages of India. Many of her popular pamphlets, on a wide variety of topics, are distributed internationally.
19 Steps Up the Mountain
by Joseph P. BlankIt is the story of Dorothy and Bob DeBolt, who could not resist the appeal of children no one else wanted. Children of different races and nationalities, children with seemingly hopeless physical handicaps and bleak futures. It is the story of the children themselves, each learning what it meant to be loved, and what it was to overcome the most heart rending obstacles. Two parents. Nineteen children. And the single most unforgettable story that will ever leave you with mist in your eyes and joy in your heart. "A tonic for cynical and disheartened readers...This book tells clearly what it takes to be successful parents, especially when J.R.-a blind paraplegic-conquers his fear and makes it up the 19-step staircase 'mountain' alone"
Eugenia: A True Story of Adversity, Tragedy, Crime and Courage
by Mark TedeschiThis is the true crime account of Eugenia Falleni, a woman who in 1920 was charged with the murder of her wife. Eugenia had lived in Australia for twenty-two years as a man and during that time officially married twice. She lived a full married life with her first wife, Annie, for four years before Annie realized that her husband was a woman. Even after Annie knew, they lived together for eight months before they went on a bush picnic, when Annie mysteriously died. Her body was not identified for almost three years, and during this time Eugenia married again, this time to Lizzie. When Eugenia was finally arrested and charged with Annie's murder, the police attempted to tell Lizzie that her husband was a woman. She laughed at them - she was so convinced that her husband was a man that she thought she was pregnant to him. This is the story of one of the most extraordinary criminal trials in legal history anywhere in the world. The book traces Eugenia's history: from her early years in an Italian immigrant family in New Zealand, to her brutal treatment when she first tried living as a man. The story then follows the twenty-two years that she lived in Sydney as Harry Crawford - exploring how Harry managed to convince two wives that he was a man. The trial of Eugenia Falleni for Annie's murder is extensively analysed in a clear and easily understood way by the author, Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC, one of Australia's foremost criminal law barristers.
SNOWMOBILE: Bombardier's Dream Machine
by Jules OlderIn 1922, when Joseph-Armand Bombardier was fifteen years old he built his first snow vehicle. He had always loved to tinker with motors and make things go, and he dreamed of building a vehicle that could go over snow. His first attempt, using a Model T Ford engine and a wooden propeller, worked well. To Joseph-Armand’s mind, anyhow. Not so much his father, who made him take the contraption apart. Over the years, Joseph-Armand dreamed of becoming a great mechanic and inventing machines. But when his young son died of a fever because it was impossible to get to the hospital over the snow-covered roads, Joseph-Armand applied his single-minded determination to building a vehicle that could go over snow. It took years, but he accomplished his goal. His invention changed the way people in snow country lived. Inaccessible roads could now be travelled, taking patients to hospitals, doctors and priests to the needy, children to school, and even mail to residents.
Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains
by Jane Yolen Heidi E. Y. StempleFrom Jezebel to Catherine the Great, from Cleopatra to Mae West, from Mata Hari to Bonnie Parker, strong women have been a problem for historians, storytellers, and readers. Strong females smack of the unfeminine. They have been called wicked, wanton, and willful. Sometimes that is a just designation, but just as often it is not. "Well-behaved women seldom make history," is the frequently quoted statement by historian and feminist Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. But what makes these misbehaving women "bad"? Are we idolizing the wicked or salvaging the strong? In BAD GIRLS, readers meet twenty-six of history's most notorious women, each with a rotten reputation. But authors Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple remind us that there are two sides to every story. Was Delilah a harlot or hero? Was Catherine the Great a great ruler, or just plain ruthless? At the end of each chapter, Yolen and Stemple appear as themselves in comic panels as they debate each girl's badness--Heidi as the prosecution, Jane for context. This unique and sassy examination of famed, female historical figures will engage readers with its unusual presentation of the subject matter. Heidi and Jane's strong arguments for the innocence and guilt of each bad girl promotes the practice of critical thinking as well as the idea that history is subjective. Rebecca Guay's detailed illustrations provide a rich, stylized portrait of each woman, while the inclusion of comic panels will resonate with fans of graphic novels.
My Story
by Elizabeth Smart Chris StewartFor the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime for the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime. On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, he tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served. In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine.
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
by Candace FlemingFrom the acclaimed author of The Great and Only Barnum - as well as The Lincolns, Our Eleanor, and Ben Franklin's Almanac - comes the thrilling story of America's most celebrated flyer, Amelia Earhart. In alternating chapters, Fleming deftly moves readers back and forth between Amelia's life (from childhood up until her last flight) and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane. With incredible photos, maps, and handwritten notes from Amelia herself-plus informative sidebars tackling everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked to eat while flying (tomato soup) - this unique nonfiction title is tailor-made for middle graders.
Hidden Girl
by Lisa Wysocky Shyima HallAn inspiring and compelling memoir from a young woman who lost her childhood to slavery--and built a new life grounded in determination and justice.Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude--but her journey to true freedom was far from over. A volunteer at her local police department since she was a teenager, Shyima is passionate about helping to rescue others who are in bondage. Now a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and intends to one day become an immigration officer. In Hidden Girl, Shyima candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances and brings vital awareness to a timely and relevant topic.
Just Jesus
by Walter Wink Steven BerryUntil his death in 2012, Walter Wink was one of the most influential Christian intellectuals of our time. He was a pastor and theologian, a political activist and a writer. He first becme a practitioner of active nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement in Selma Alabama, and continued to seek social justice for all under dictatorships in Chile and the apartheid in South Africa. Always through the lens of Jesus, Wink's life and work demonstrate just how important the need to understand "the Son of the Man" is in today's modern world. Wink shows us that inspiration and insight can come from any source: a Pentecostal Church in Oklahoma, dreams, Buddhist meditation centers, childhood traumas, an empty forest, illness, and the Gospels. Wink's work in social justice and his life as a theologian are inextricably entwined, finding evidence for nonviolent resistance in the Bible and seeing the need for Jesus in daily struggles. "An autobiography of my interest in Jesus, perhaps that is too ambitious," writes Wink. "What I have done here is far less grand. I have simply written down vignettes, or excerpts of my life's story that I find interesting. These autobiographical reflections are in no way exceptional. Everyone has a life story. My story may, at the very least, show why I theologically think the way that I do." Just Jesus is the jubilant autobiography of the man who sought justice in all walks of life, including his own.
Cut Me Loose
by Leah VincentIn the vein of Prozac Nation and Girl, Interrupted, an electrifying memoir about a young woman's promiscuous and self-destructive spiral after being cast out of her ultra-Orthodox Jewish family Leah Vincent was born into the Yeshivish community, a fundamentalist sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. As the daughter of an influential rabbi, Leah and her ten siblings were raised to worship two things: God and the men who ruled their world. But the tradition-bound future Leah envisioned for herself was cut short when, at sixteen, she was caught exchanging letters with a male friend, a violation of religious law that forbids contact between members of the opposite sex. Leah's parents were unforgiving. Afraid, in part, that her behavior would affect the marriage prospects of their other children, they put her on a plane and cut off ties. Cast out in New York City, without a father or husband tethering her to the Orthodox community, Leah was unprepared to navigate the freedoms of secular life. She spent the next few years using her sexuality as a way of attracting the male approval she had been conditioned to seek out as a child, while becoming increasingly unfaithful to the religious dogma of her past. Fast-paced, mesmerizing, and brutally honest, Cut Me Loose tells the story of one woman's harrowing struggle to define herself as an individual. Through Leah's eyes, we confront not only the oppressive world of religious fundamentalism, but also the broader issues that face even the most secular young women as they grapple with sexuality and identity.
Confessions of Joan The Tall
by Joan Cusack HandlerFreedom and awakening of an adolescent, Bronx bred, Irish Catholic girl.
Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle
by Peter CoyoteIn his energetic, funny, and intelligent memoir, Peter Coyote relives his fifteen-year ride through the heart of the counterculture -- a journey that took him from the quiet rooms of privilege as the son of an East Coast stockbroker to the riotous life of political street theater and the self-imposed poverty of the West Coast communal movement known as The Diggers. With this innovative collective of artist-anarchists who had assumed as their task nothing less than the re-creation of the nation's political and social soul, Coyote and his companions soon became power players. In prose both graphic and unsentimental, Coyote reveals the corrosive side of love that was once called "free"; the anxieties and occasional terrors of late-night, drug-fueled visits of biker gangs looking to party; and his own quest for the next high. His road through revolution brought him to adulthood and to his major role as a political strategist: from radical communard to the chairman of the California Arts Council, from a street theater apprentice to a motion-picture star.
Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend
by Robert RossMike Myers thinks he was "a genius", while John Cleese regards him as "a true cultural icon". He was an architect of British comedy, paving the way for Monty Python, and then became a major Hollywood star, forever remembered as Igor in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. A writer, director, performer and true pioneer of his art, he died aged only 48.His name was Marty Feldman, and here, at last, is the first ever biography. Acclaimed author Robert Ross has interviewed Marty's friends and family, including his sister Pamela, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, and also draws from extensive, previously unpublished and often hilarious interviews with Marty himself, taped in preparation for the autobiography he never wrote. No one before or since has had a career quite like Marty's. Beginning in the dying days of variety theatre, he went from the behind the scenes scriptwriting triumphs of Round the Horne andThe Frost Report to onscreen stardom in At Last the 1948 Show and his own hit series Marty. That led to transatlantic success, his work with Mel Brooks, and a five-picture deal to write and direct his own movies.From his youth as a tramp on the streets of London, to the height of his fame in America - where he encountered everyone from Orson Welles to Kermit the Frog, before his Hollywood dream became a nightmare - this is the fascinating story of a key figure in the history of comedy, told in full for the first time.
Living Stones of the Himalayas: Adventures of an American Couple in Nepal
by Thomas HaleSince 1970, the team of Thomas Hale and his wife, Cynthia, have struggled to serve God as medical doctors in the remote storybook kingdom of Nepal. In the process they have experienced both the hardships and the blessings of bringing Western medicine to people who distrust -- even fear -- ideas differing from their own. n the same process, by their selfless love and caring, they have gained the affection and trust of their Nepali patients and neighbors. In this true story, the faith and humility of doctors Tom and Cynthia Hale are matched by the beguiling personality and character of the Nepalese people, the majority of whom are subsistence farmers who share much in common with the poor of all developing countries. Living Stones of the Himalayas, like its predecessors Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees and On the Far Side of Liglig Mountain, is a graphic portrait of the human condition and the growing pains of the unique and intriguing land of Nepal with its astonishing beauty that exists side by side with: - faith and superstition - sickness and death - ancient traditions and twentieth-century innovations - courage and joie de vivre Living Stones of the Himalayas is a fascinating account of everyday and sometimes incredible experiences mingled with humor, understanding, and love for humanity. Reading it will transport you to one of the most enchanting lands away -- first class.
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
by Rae BainsThis book focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of Harriet Tubman and the obstacles she overcame to achieve greatness. Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams.
Mother Seton and the Sisters of Charity
by Alma Powers-WaterThis Vision Book tells the inspiring true story of the life of Elizabeth Bayley Seton from her childhood in a distinguished New York family to her becoming a sister and foundress of an order of nuns. Born in 1774, Elizabeth Bayley grew up in a well-to-do Protestant family and seemed destined for a tranquil life.
The Snoring Bird
by Bernd HeinrichAlthough Gerd Heinrich, a devoted naturalist, specialized in wasps, Bernd Heinrich tried to distance himself from his "old-fashioned" father, becoming a hybrid: a modern, experimental biologist with a naturalist's sensibilities. In this extraordinary memoir, the award-winning author shares the ways in which his relationship with his father, combined with his unique childhood, molded him into the scientist, and man, he is today. From Gerd's days as a soldier in Europe and the family's daring escape from the Red Army in 1945 to the rustic Maine farm they came to call home, Heinrich relates it all in his trademark style, making science accessible and awe-inspiring.
Harriet Tubman: A Woman of Courage (TIME For Kids® Biographies)
by Renée Skelton Editors of TIME FOR KIDSAs a teenage slave, Harriet Tubman stood up to an overseer who was trying to harm another slave. From that time forward, Tubman fought against unfairness and for what she believed was right. She helped hundreds of African Americans escape on the Underground Railroad. TIME For Kids® Biographies help make a connection between the lives of past heroes and the events of today. Harriet Tubman's courage and ideals have inspired generations of Americans to fight for equal rights and to stand up for their convictions.
Who Was Paul Revere?
by Roberta EdwardsIn 1775, Paul Revere of Boston made his now-famous horseback ride warning colonists of an impending attack by the British. This event went largely unnoticed in history until Longfellow celebrated it in a poem in 1861. So who was Paul Revere? In addition to being an American patriot, he was a skilled silversmith and made false teeth from hippo tusks! This biography brings to life Paul Revere's thrilling ride as well as the personal side of the man and the exciting times in which he lived.
The Long Voyage
by Malcolm CowleyCritic, poet, editor, chronicler of the "lost generation," and elder statesman of the Republic of Letters, Malcolm Cowley (1898-1989) was an eloquent witness to much of twentieth-century American literary and political life. These letters, the vast majority previously unpublished, provide an indelible self-portrait of Cowley and his time, and make possible a full appreciation of his long and varied career. Perhaps no other writer aided the careers of so many poets and novelists. Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Kerouac, Tillie Olsen, and John Cheever are among the many authors Cowley knew and whose work he supported. A poet himself, Cowley enjoyed the company of writers and knew how to encourage, entertain, and when necessary scold them. At the center of his epistolary life were his friendships with Kenneth Burke, Allen Tate, Conrad Aiken, and Edmund Wilson. By turns serious and thoughtful, humorous and gossipy, Cowley's letters to these and other correspondents display his keen literary judgment and ability to navigate the world of publishing. The letters also illuminate Cowley's reluctance to speak out against Stalin and the Moscow Trials when he was on staff at The New Republic--and the consequences of his agonized evasions. His radical past would continue to haunt him into the Cold War era, as he became caught up in the notorious "Lowell Affair" and was summoned to testify in the Alger Hiss trials. Hans Bak supplies helpful notes and a preface that assesses Cowley's career, and Robert Cowley contributes a moving foreword about his father.
Your Life Without Limits (10-pk): Living Above Your Circumstances
by Nick Vujicic"As a teenager Nick Vujicic wondered how he ever could have a "normal life." Born without arms and legs, Nick questioned how he would finish school, find a job, enjoy relationships, and not be a burden to others. He even contemplated suicide before realizing that his challenges did not need to limit his life." In this book, the author encourages people to move forward despite the problems and limitations they have in order to reach their full potentials and live the lives that God meant them to live. He urges people to reach out to others for support when things get difficult for them. As he inspires others to live their lives, he wants his readers to encourage others to do the same. "Look for Nick Vujicic's inspiring story in his full-length books Life Without Limits and Unstoppable."
The Goat Lady
by Jane Bregoli"From the day we moved into our new home, we were fascinated by a nearby farmhouse. Most of the homes in our neighborhood were new, freshly painted, with neatly mowed lawns, but the old farmhouse on the corner of Lucy Little Road was different from the others. That house's paint was peeling, its doors hung crookedly from their hinges, and the yard was full of white goats. We liked to watch the frisky baby goats. They pranced up the porch steps, hopped onto rusty barrels, and even jumped onto their mothers' backs! ..."