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Passions and Impressions
by Margaret Sayers Peden Pablo NerudaPablo Neruda is known first as a poet, but the prose pieces in this collection reflect the enormous hunger he demonstrated throughout his career for new modes of expression, new adventures, new challenges. "Passions and Impressions" is both a sequel to and an enlargement of Neruda's "Memoirs", recording a lifetime of travel, of friendships and enmities, of exile and homecoming, of loss and discovery, and of history both public and personal. Above all, it is a testament to Neruda's love for Chile-for its citizens, its flora and fauna, its national identity. His abiding devotion pervades these notes on a life fully lived.
We Die Alone
by David HowarthLeft Jacket: "David Howarth's book opens as the small fishing boat containing Jan Baalsrud and the three other members of his sabotage group closes with the Norwegian coast. From that moment everything goes wrong. The plan is betrayed by a Quisling. A German warship appears in the fjord where they are hidden, and all but Jan are killed or taken prisoner. Alone, wounded, wet to the skin and woefully ill-equipped to withstand the rigours of the Arctic blizzards, Baalsrud fights to retain his freedom. As the pace quickens and the fugitive grows weary and progressively unable to cope with his surroundings, the writing takes on an urgency that makes the reader turn the pages with tense excitement. From now on Jan is hidden by a succession of heroic men and women who risk their lives and the lives of their families to help him get away. This is indeed a story of quiet heroism, of the triumph of human courage, fortitude and charity over the forces of oppression."
One Small Candle: The Pilgrims' First Year in America
by Thomas J. FlemingOne Small Candle focuses on the vivid, deeply moving drama of the Pilgrims' first year in the New World. The book begins in London as Pilgrim representatives sign a contract with Christopher Jones, the crusty captain of the old freighter Mayflower. We accompany them on their harrowing voyage across the Atlantic, and march with them over the barren, wintry landscape of Cape Cod in their desperate search for the homesite they eventually find at Plymouth. Howling Indians harass this reconnaissance party, while the weary women and children left aboard the Mayflower struggle against despair. Plymouth at last discovered, we watch "Saints" and "Strangers" forge a common solidarity in their struggle against brutal weather and epidemic disease. But the story is by no means entirely grim and solemn. Young explorers get lost in the woods and climb trees to escape "roaring lions." There is a comic duel for the hand of a headstrong fifteen-year-old. We are present at a bizarre visit to the great Indian chief, Massasoit. With masterly skill, Mr. Fleming gives us life-size portraits of the Pilgrim leaders. The Pilgrims' unique achievements--the Mayflower Compact, their tolerance for other faiths, the strict separation of church and state--are discussed in the context of the first year's anxieties and crises. Special attention is given to the younger men who emerged in this first year as the real leaders of the colony--William Bradford and Miles Standish. And new insights are provided into the deep humanity and tolerance of the Pilgrims' spiritual shepherd, Elder William Brewster. The book ends with the first Thanksgiving. Already in the Pilgrim mind there is a dawning consciousness that they are the forerunners of a great nation. It is implicit in William Bradford's words, "As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light kindled here has shone unto many...."
Multiple Journeys to One: Spiritual Stories of Integrating from Dissociative Identity Disorder
by Judy Dragon Terry PoppThis book compiles the accounts of eight women who developed dissociative identity disorder or DID (also called multiple personality disorder, or MPD) as a means of surviving horrific child abuse. The narratives focus on the process of healing and becoming integrated. In addition to traditional psychotherapy, these women report receiving help from spiritual healers and hypnotherapists.
Lady from Savannah: The Life of Juliette Low
by Gladys Denny Shultz Daisy Gordon LawrenceBased on extensive research, this is a detailed biography of Juliette Low and a portrait of her family and background. Known throughout her life as "Daisy," Low was born in Savannah, GA, in 1860 and grew up amid privilege and comfort. She married into the British aristocracy. In midlife, after her husband's death due to alcoholism, she determined that she wanted to make a contribution to the world and hurled herself into the British Girl Guide movement. In 1912 she brought the movement to the U.S. as the Girl Scouts. The book draws upon Low's rich correspondence and the letters and diaries of her parents and siblings. /
Beyond a Boundary
by C. L. R. JamesIn C.L.R. James' classic "Beyond a Boundary", the sport is cricket and the scene is the colonial West Indies. Always eloquent and provocative, James shows us how, in the rituals of performance and conflict on the field, we are watching not just prowess but politics and psychology at play. Part memoir of a boyhood in a black colony, part passionate celebration of an unusual and unexpected game, "Beyond a Boundary" raises, in a warm and witty voice, serious questions about race, class, politics and the facts of colonial oppression. Originally published in England in 1963 and in the United States twenty years later, this edition brings back in to print this emphatic statement on race and sport in society.
Blackberry Winter: My Earlier Years
by Margaret MeadThe autobiography of a pioneer, this is Margaret Mead's story of her life as a woman and as an anthropologist. An enduring cultural icon, she came to represent the new woman, successfully combining motherhood with career, and scholarship with concern for its role in the lives of ordinary people.
Darby's Rangers: We Led The Way
by William O. Darby William H. BaumerHistory of Darby's Rangers from North Africa to Italy.
One Man's Meat
by E. B. WhiteCollection of essays on the author's personal life written for The New Yorker Harper's Magazine.
My Life
by Golda Meir"My Life" by Golda Meir is a compelling autobiography of an amazing woman, from her early days in poverty-stricken Kiev to her tenure as Prime Minister of Israel. This is a frank portrayal of her personality, motivations and goals.
Mission Jupiter: The Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft
by Daniel FischerThe Galileo project is one of the most spectacular undertakings in the history of unmanned space flight.. This book details the planning of the Galileo mission to Jupiter, its arrival and release the Atmospheric Probe, summarizes 400 years of Jupiter research and its findings about the giant planet and its moons. A lot of attention is paid to the exciting discovery of an ocean of water on the Galilean moon Europa.
Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years (Volume III, The War Years 1864-1865)
by Carl SandburgThe War years, 1864-1865, examines the bitter election of 1864, the conclusion of the War, the evolution of Lincoln's reconstruction policy, and finally the terrible assassination. Concluding volume of the 3-volume set.
Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years (Volume II, The War Years 1861-1864)
by Carl SandburgHe was a natural to write a biography of the prairie president. Sandburg has his roots there as well, and understood the plain speech, the wry humor, and the hard work. His portrayal of Lincoln had a quiet dignity about it and kept to the point, which was to describe how Lincoln grew up, read the law, took his ethics into the city, ran for office, waged war, and died just before he got to the promised land. Later biographies have emphasized Lincoln's psychology, or the rigors of his personal life, but Sandburg's portrait comes from two people of the prairie, himself and Lincoln.
Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party
by George R. StewartThe tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people -- men, women, and children -- set out for California, persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras, only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers.
Charles Sumner and the Coming of the Civil War
by David Herbert DonaldIn a period when senators exercised more influence than presidents, Senator Charles Sumner was one of the most powerful forces in the American government. His uncompromising moral standards made him a lightning rod in an era fraught with conflict.<P><P> Pulitzer Prize Winner
Kate: The Life of Katharine Hepburn
by Charles HighamWith Charles Higham, Katharine Hepburn first authorized a writer to interview her closest friends and colleagues about her career, life, and behind-the-scenes romantic involvements from Leland Hayward to Spencer Tracy. And she herself tells the deeply moving story of her twenty-five-year love affair with Tracy. Here is a vivid portrait of the most elegant, independent, and tempestuous star to grace the screen.
My Ten Years as a Counterspy
by Boris Morros Charles SamuelsBoris Morros was a successful Hollywood producer and a highly regarded musician and impresario. His life had been a legendary success story even in the flamboyant annals of show business. What chain of events in 1936 led him into serving the interests of a Soviet spy ring? What even more dramatic events brought him into the office of the FBI in 1947 to take on the role of a United States counterspy? How did Morros manage to deceive Communist agents and help provide the evidence which resulted, in the exposure and conviction of the, leaders of the spy ring? This book, for the first time, unfolds the entire drama of the ten-year ordeal of Boris Morros.
That Summer in Paris: Memories of Tangled Friendships with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Some Others
by Morley Callaghan"That Summer In Paris" brings to the fore the fabulous summer of 1929 when the literary capital of North America moved to La Rive Gauche--the Left Bank of the Seine River--in Paris. Ernest Hemingway was reading proofs of "A Farewell to Arms", and a few blocks away F. Scott Fitzgerald was struggling with "Tender Is the Night". As his first published book rose to fame in New York, Morley Callaghan arrived in Paris to share the felicities of literary life, not just with his two friends, Hemingway and Fitzgerald, but also with fellow writers James Joyce, Ford Madox Ford, and Robert McAlmon. Amidst these tangled relations, some friendships flourished while others failed.
I Know How It Feels to Fight for Your Life
by Jill KrementzThis book presents first-person accounts by fourteen children (ages seven to sixteen) who live with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities. The conditions include leukemia, spina bifida, juvenile diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and kidney failure. The stories are very positive and pubeat. Most of the children emphasize the importance of the support they have received from family and friends.
With Love from Karen
by Marie KillileaWhat happened to Karen, a little girl with cerebral palsy, in the years after her original story was published in the award-winning book "Karen."<P><P> This sequel, undoubtedly greeted with joy by all of us who loved "Karen," in one sense surpasses the first work. Karen, delightful and positive though she is, is depicted far more realistically than in the initial book, which tended to make her a bit of a picture book saint. Her struggles, decisions, and (in all honesty) unquestionable confusion with the expectations of her wonderful family are quite vividly portrayed. (As an example of the last - one wonders why Marie does not realise that much of Karen's dilemma over "walking vs wheelchair" undoubtedly stems from Marie's constant insistence on Karen's walking - she fought the idea of Karen's having a wheelchair at all earlier in the book.) The Killilea family clearly had an unusual and blessed balance - tough-minded, persistent, deeply religious, but hospitable and joyous to the point where their home seemed a favourite stopping place for all whom they knew. Yet many new questions remained unanswered. "Karen," though it did not include many extended family members at length, mentioned a large family - in "With Love from Karen," even the most special occasions include many "honorary" family members but no blood relatives.
Karen
by Marie KillileaAs told by her mother, the inspirational story of Karen, who--despite a handicap--learns to talk, to walk, to read, to write. Winner of the Golden Book Award and two Christopher Awards. THERE WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT MY CHILD... I knew it from the moment she was born... A minute morsel, she weighed under two pounds, and measured nine inches from the tip of her tiny head to her infinitesimal toes.... I lay back still, bathed in happiness. It was like a brittle shell, this happiness, and I felt that motion or sound might shatter it.... I could still feel the surge of unbelievable wonder and joy evoked by the baby's lusty yell. "What do you think of our child? Is she as pretty as Marie? Did you count her fingers and toes?"... He sat down at the foot of the bed and I waited for him to express his delight. "You must realize"--John spoke gently-- "she's not out of the woods yet." A gust of cold air entered my sun-drenched room and I shivered.... The sequel is available in this library.
The Forgotten Memoir of John Knox: A Year in the Life of a Supreme Court Clerk in F.D.R.'s Washington
by John Knox Dennis J. Hutchinson David J. GarrodEvents during the critical period relating to Court packing.
The Snake Pit
by Mary Jane WardBased on the author's experiences as a psychiatric patient in the early 1940's, this novel tells the story of Virginia Cunningham as she wends her way through the frightening and mystifying world of a hospital called Juniper Hill. Her memory clouded by a series of electroshock treatments, Virginia struggles to make sense out of her situation, though the senseless rules and the perplexing behavior of the staff and patients around her are all the more unfathomable as her mind begins to clear. The Snake Pit is the basis for a classic movie of the late 1940's. The book and film helped to bring mental illness out of the closet. Apart from its social significance this is a compelling novel, told with wonderful ironic humor.