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Sally Ride: Life on a Mission (A Real-Life Story)
by Sue MacySally Ride was more than the first woman in space—she was a real-life explorer and adventurer whose life story is a true inspiration for all those who dream big. <p><p> Most people know Sally Ride as the first American female astronaut to travel in space. But in her lifetime she was also a nationally ranked tennis player, a physicist who enjoyed reading Shakespeare, a university professor, and the founder of a company that helped inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science and math. Posthumously, she was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. <p><p> From Sally Ride’s youth to her many groundbreaking achievements in space and beyond, Sue Macy’s riveting biography tells the story of not only a pioneering astronaut, but a leader and explorer whose life, as President Barack Obama said, “demonstrates that the sky is no limit for those who dream of reaching for the stars.”
Sally's Story
by Sally MorganSally Morgan’s My Place is an Australian classic. Since first publication in 1987, My Place has sold more than half a million copies in Australia, been translated and read all over the world, and been reprinted dozens of times. Sally’s rich, zesty and moving work is perhaps the best-loved biography of Aboriginal Australia ever written.My Place for Young Readers is an abridged edition, especially adapted for younger readers, that retains all the charm and power of the original. It is published as three separate books. Sally’s Story focuses on Sally’s childhood, and her growing realisation of the truth her family has been hiding.
Salma Hayek: Actress, Director, and Producer
by Kerrily SapetSalma Hayek is the first and only Mexican actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She has broken down racial barriers in Hollywood, establishing herself as the most influential Hispanic woman in the movie industry. A Mexican actress of Lebanese and Spanish descent, Salma has faced racism and stereotypes throughout her life. But she is proud of her multi-cultural heritage, and has worked hard to become a respected actress, producer, and director. With her production companies, Salma also provides opportunities for other Latin-American actors. However, her movies tell stories that appeal to people of all races and cultures. This book tells Salma's story. It offers a look at her early struggles as a biracial actress in the U.S. and her rise to fame. She has overcome great challenges to achieve success. A glamorous and talented star, Salma plans to keep following her dreams for years to come.
Salma Hayek: An Unauthorized Biography
by Patricia J. DuncanThe long road to Hollywood success was never easy for Mexican-born beauty Salma Hayek-but it was never dull either! Starting out in her late teens starring in the Mexican hit soap opera Teresa, Salma lived a comfortable life, but she wanted more. So she packed her bags and headed to Hollywood. A Mexican woman with a heavy accent who barely spoke a word of English, Salma had hurdle after hurdle to overcome. Plenty of times she came close to giving up, but she was determined to make it big in America, and after a lot of bit parts and hard work, she did it.After landing a role in Desperado, alongside heart-throb Antonio Banderas, the movie parts finally started coming in, including From Dusk Till Dawn with George Clooney, and Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry. Now, gracing the style pages of all the major magazines and working as a Revlon spokesperson, Salma is the most sought-after Latina actress in Hollywood. And that's just the beginning. She has several huge movie projects on the horizon, and continues to fight for Mexican rights as an outspoken member of the NAFTA generation. Find out all about this talented Latina actress, from her love life, to the formula of her success, to her fabulous fashion and beauty secrets.
Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln's Vital Rival
by Walter StahrFrom an acclaimed, New York Times bestselling biographer, a timely reassessment of Abraham Lincoln&’s indispensable Secretary of the Treasury: a leading proponent for black rights both before and during his years in cabinet and later as Chief Justice of the United States.Salmon P. Chase is best remembered as a rival of Lincoln&’s for the Republican nomination in 1860—but there would not have been a national Republican Party, and Lincoln could not have won the presidency, were it not for the vital groundwork Chase laid over the previous two decades. Starting in the early 1840s, long before Lincoln was speaking out against slavery, Chase was forming and leading antislavery parties. He represented fugitive slaves so often in his law practice that he was known as the attorney general for runaway negroes, and he furthered his reputation as an outspoken federal senator and progressive governor of Ohio. Tapped by Lincoln to become Secretary of the Treasury, Chase would soon prove vital to the Civil War effort, raising the billions of dollars that allowed the Union to win the war, while also pressing the president to emancipate the country&’s slaves and recognize black rights. When Lincoln had the chance to appoint a chief justice in 1864, he chose his faithful rival, because he was sure Chase would make the right decisions on the difficult racial, political, and economic issues the Supreme Court would confront during Reconstruction. Drawing on previously overlooked sources, Walter Stahr sheds new light on a complex and fascinating political figure, as well as on the pivotal events of the Civil War and its aftermath. Salmon P. Chase tells the forgotten story of a man at the center of the fight for racial justice in 19th century America.
Salo Baron: The Past and Future of Jewish Studies in America
by Rebecca KobrinIn 1930, Columbia University appointed Salo Baron to be the Nathan L. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Literature, and Institutions—marking a turning point in the history of Jewish studies in America. Baron not only became perhaps the most accomplished scholar of Jewish history in the twentieth century, the author of many books including the eighteen-volume A Social and Religious History of the Jews. He also created a program and a discipline, mentoring hundreds of scholars, establishing major institutions including the first academic center to study Israel in the United States, building Columbia’s Judaica collection, intervening as a public intellectual, and exerting an unparalleled influence on what it meant to study the Jewish past.This book brings together leading scholars to consider how Baron transformed the course of Jewish studies in the United States. From a variety of perspectives, they reflect on his contributions to the study of Jewish history, literature, and culture, as well as his scholarship, activism, and mentorship. Among many distinguished contributors, David Sorkin engages with Baron’s arguments on Jewish emancipation; Francesca Trivellato puts him in conversation with economic history; David Engel examines his use of anti-Semitism as an analytical category; Deborah Lipstadt explores his testimony at the trial of Adolf Eichmann; and Robert Chazan and Jane Gerber, both once Baron’s doctoral students, offer personal and intellectual reminiscences. Together, they testify to Baron’s singular legacy in shaping Jewish studies in America.
Salt Story: Of Sea-Dogs and Fisherwomen
by Sarah DrummondIn this warm, lively account of living on and by the sea, Sarah Drummond writes of life as an apprentice fisherwoman. Through her firsthand experience with small-scale commercial fishing in the Great Southern, Drummond documents a way of life—fishing—that is slowly dying as waters become politicized and fished out. She writes of fishing, of feuds, and of all the fish that got away. Salt Story is a tribute to sea-dogs, fisherwomen, oystermen, and storytellers everywhere.
Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life
by Mallory Smith'I could title my memoir Ode to Salt since salt is part and parcel of the cystic fibrosis experience. I've noticed the healing effects of the ocean since I was a little girl... I feel as if there's salt in my soul.'Mallory Smith was three when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Despite understanding from a young age that she would never lead a normal life, Mal was determined to 'live happy', a mantra she carried in her heart as she excelled academically, trained as an athlete and had a profound impact on all who knew her. Even when she contracted a lethal superbug at the age of fifteen, Mallory continued to rage against the illness that tried to bind her to a life of hospital rooms and respiratory tubes - so she would not 'just end up as ashes scattered in the ocean and nothing else.' After her death, she left instructions to her mother to publish her secret diaries - revealing untold struggles, teenage dreams, wisdom beyond her years and a deep, primal desire to leave her mark on this world.Equally uplifting and heart-rending, devastating and inspiring, Salt in My Soul is the extraordinary story of a girl who wanted to be nothing but ordinary, and changed the lives of others through her hope, resilience and boundless empathy.
Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life
by Mallory SmithThe diaries of a remarkable young woman who was determined to live a meaningful and happy life despite her struggle with cystic fibrosis and a rare superbug—from age fifteen to her death at the age of twenty-five“Captures the heartbreaking beauty of being alive.”—Beck Dorey-Stein, New York Times bestselling author of From the Corner of the Oval Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of three, Mallory Smith grew up to be a determined, talented young woman who inspired others even as she privately raged against her illness. Despite the daily challenges of endless medical treatments and a deep understanding that she’d never lead a normal life, Mallory was determined to “Live Happy,” a mantra she followed until her death. Mallory worked hard to make the most out of the limited time she had, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, becoming a cystic fibrosis advocate well known in the CF community, and embarking on a career as a professional writer. Along the way, she cultivated countless intimate friendships and ultimately found love. For more than ten years, Mallory recorded her thoughts and observations about struggles and feelings too personal to share during her life, leaving instructions for her mother to publish her work posthumously. She hoped that her writing would offer insight to those living with, or loving someone with, chronic illness. What emerges is a powerful and inspiring portrait of a brave young woman and blossoming writer who did not allow herself to be defined by disease. Her words offer comfort and hope to readers, even as she herself was facing death. Salt in My Soul is a beautifully crafted, intimate, and poignant tribute to a short life well lived—and a call for all of us to embrace our own lives as fully as possible.Advance praise for Salt in My Soul“This is a deeply moving book full of wisdom about health, life, and love—and about the importance of finding happiness wherever and whenever we can. It broke my heart but also inspired me to make the most of every day.”—Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club “A beautiful, brave, unsparingly insightful account of a courageous girl who becomes a woman warrior and fights for her life while living it fully.”—Eric Lax, author of The Mold in Dr. Florey’s Coat
Salt in Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman's Wife
by Michele Longo EderIn 2000, Michele Longo Eder began a journal to record what daily life was like for her while her husband and sons were out commercial fishing off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and northern California. But personal tragedy struck just before Christmas 2001. This book is an offer of healing to her family, her community, and to fishing families everywhere.
Salt the Snow
by Carrie CallaghanAmerican journalist Milly Bennett has covered murders in San Francisco, fires in Hawaii, and a civil war in China, but 1930s Moscow presents her greatest challenge yet. When her young Russian husband is suddenly arrested by the secret police, Milly tries to get him released. But his arrest reveals both painful secrets about her marriage and hard truths about the Soviet state she has been working to serve. Disillusioned and pulled toward the front lines of a captivating new conflict, Milly must find a way to do the right thing for her husband, her conscience, and her heart. Salt the Snow is a vivid and impeccably researched tale of a woman ahead of her time, searching for her true calling in life and love.
Salt to Summit: A Vagabond Journey from Death Valley to Mount Whitney
by Daniel ArnoldFrom the depths of Death Valley, Daniel Arnold set out to reach Mount Whitney in a way no road or trail could take him. Anything manmade or designed to make travel easy was out. With a backpack full of empty two-liter bottles, and the remotest corners of desert before him, he began his toughest test yet of physical and mental endurance.Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. Mount Whitney rises 14,505 feet above sea level, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Arnold spent seventeen days traveling a roundabout route from one to the other, traversing salt flats, scaling dunes, and sinking into slot canyons. Aside from bighorn sheep and a phantom mountain lion, his only companions were ghosts of the dreamers and misfits who first dared into this unknown territory. He walked in the footsteps of William Manly, who rescued the last of the forty-niners from the bottom of Death Valley; tracked John LeMoigne, a prospector who died in the sand with his burros; and relived the tales of Mary Austin, who learned the secret trails of the Shoshone Indians. This is their story too, as much as it is a history of salt and water and of the places they collide and disappear.Guiding the reader up treacherous climbs and through burning sands, Arnold captures the dramatic landscapes as only he can with photographs to bring it all to life. From the salt to the summit, this is an epic journey across America's most legendary desert.
Saltwater Buddha
by Jaimal YogisFed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue.
Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea
by Jaimal YogisFed up with his suburban teenage life, at age sixteen, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard.
Saltwater Chronicles: Notes on Everything Under the Nova Scotia Sun
by Lesley ChoyceThe award–winning author celebrates the everyday disasters and discoveries that shape a life in this memoir of love, loss, and adventure in Nova Scotia. If Lesley Choyce was not a surfer, he would not have dropped out of graduate school in Manhattan in 1978 and moved to Nova Scotia—a decision that made all the difference. In Saltwater Chronicles, he reflects on the ambitious, idealistic, and brash young man he once was, while the older man ahead of him beckons him forward with a mischievous grin. In between, Choyce adapts to the crisis of becoming a respectable citizen. He experiences the death of his father and of his family dog. He helps guide his wife through cancer as they ride the North Atlantic waves and record a most human range of sorrows and joys. In this, his one-hundredth book, Lesley Choyce takes readers along as he writes about nearly everything under the sun from his home by the sea on the North Atlantic coast of Canada—all of it most ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.
Saltwater Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of a Marijuana Empire
by Ralph Berrier Jr. Tim McBride“A wild and entertaining true story by one of the biggest pot haulers in American history . . . Tim McBride’s tale of excess is a thrill to read.” —Bruce Porter, New York Times–bestselling author of BlowIn 1979, Wisconsin native Tim McBride hopped into his Mustang and headed south. He was twenty-one, and his best friend had offered him a job working as a crab fisherman in Chokoloskee Island, a town of fewer than 500 people on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Easy of disposition and eager to experience life at its richest, McBride jumped in with both feet.But this wasn’t a typical fishing outfit. McBride had been unwittingly recruited into a band of smugglers—middlemen between a Colombian marijuana cartel and their distributors in Miami. His elaborate team comprised fishermen, drivers, stock houses, security—seemingly all of Chokoloskee Island was in on the operation. As McBride came to accept his new role, tons upon tons of marijuana would pass through his hands.Then the federal government intervened in 1984, leaving the crew without a boss and most of its key players. McBride, now a veteran smuggler, was somehow spared. So when the Colombians came looking for a new middle-man, they turned to him.McBride became the boss of an operation that was ultimately responsible for smuggling 30 million pounds of marijuana. A self-proclaimed “Saltwater Cowboy,” he would evade the Coast Guard for years, facing volatile Colombian drug lords and risking betrayal by romantic partners until his luck finally ran out.A tale of crime and excess, Saltwater Cowboy is the gripping memoir of one of the biggest pot smugglers in American history.
Saltwater Mansions: The Woman Who Disappeared and Other Untold Stories
by David Whitehouse'A proper read-it-in-one-go book, opening up an advent calendar of lives behind the doors of a block of flats'ADAM KAY, author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT'I inhaled it in a sitting - what an exhilarating book. Brave, revealing and unexpected'CATHY RENTZENBRINK, author of THE LAST ACT OF LOVEMargate is in the grip of a heatwave when David Whitehouse stumbles across the mysterious story of a local woman who lived on the ground floor of Saltwater Mansions, a block of flats not far from the sea. On paper, Caroline Lane was unremarkable. She paid her mortgage every month. She always paid her bills. But nobody had seen or heard from her for 13 years, and no one had ever come looking. She had disappeared completely.David quickly becomes as fascinated by this missing woman as the residents of Saltwater Mansions, all of whom have their own theories to share, and their own unique stories to tell. As his obsession grows, David unearths vital clues that private detectives and amateur investigators alike have failed to spot. But the closer he gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that this mystery was never meant to be solved, and that some stories don't want to be told. What if this one was never about Caroline Lane at all?From acclaimed and award-winning author David Whitehouse, Saltwater Mansions is an astonishing work of creative non-fiction blending reportage and memoir to explore the extraordinary hidden lives of ordinary people, the impact of grief, and the dangerous allure of taking true crime stories into our own hands.
Saltwater Mansions: The Woman Who Disappeared and Other Untold Stories
by David Whitehouse'A proper read-it-in-one-go book, opening up an advent calendar of lives behind the doors of a block of flats'ADAM KAY, author of THIS IS GOING TO HURT'I inhaled it in a sitting - what an exhilarating book. Brave, revealing and unexpected'CATHY RENTZENBRINK, author of THE LAST ACT OF LOVEMargate is in the grip of a heatwave when David Whitehouse stumbles across the mysterious story of a local woman who lived on the ground floor of Saltwater Mansions, a block of flats not far from the sea. On paper, Caroline Lane was unremarkable. She paid her mortgage every month. She always paid her bills. But nobody had seen or heard from her for 13 years, and no one had ever come looking. She had disappeared completely.David quickly becomes as fascinated by this missing woman as the residents of Saltwater Mansions, all of whom have their own theories to share, and their own unique stories to tell. As his obsession grows, David unearths vital clues that private detectives and amateur investigators alike have failed to spot. But the closer he gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that this mystery was never meant to be solved, and that some stories don't want to be told. What if this one was never about Caroline Lane at all?From acclaimed and award-winning author David Whitehouse, Saltwater Mansions is an astonishing work of creative non-fiction blending reportage and memoir to explore the extraordinary hidden lives of ordinary people, the impact of grief, and the dangerous allure of taking true crime stories into our own hands.
Saltwater in the Blood: Surfing, Natural Cycles and the Sea's Power to Heal
by Easkey BrittonPowerful feminist nature writing by the pioneer of women's big-wave surfing in Ireland. Easkey Britton provides a rare female perspective on surfing, exploring the mental skills it fosters, and the need to recognize the value of the ocean and of nature's cycles in our lives.This is an incredibly inspiring exploration of the sea's role in the wellness of people and the planet, beautifully written by Easkey Britton – surfer, scientist and social activist. She offers a powerful female perspective on the sea and surfing, explaining what it&’s like to be a woman in a man's world and how she promoted the sport to women in Iran, surfing while wearing a hijab. She speaks of the undiscussed taboo around entering the water while menstruating – and of how she has come to celebrate her own bodily cycles. She has developed her own approach to surfing, which instead of seeking to dominate the waves, works in tune with the natural cycles of her body, the moon and the seasons. In a society that rewards busyness, she believes that understanding the influence of cycles becomes even more important – and we all have them, men and women. For Easkey, the sea is a source of mental and physical wellbeing. She explores the mental toughness needed in big-wave surfing, and presents surfing as an embodied mindfulness practice in which we can find flow and connect with the movement of the waves. She stresses the need to recognize the ocean as our most powerful ally when addressing our greatest global challenge: the climate crisis. Above all, Easkey&’s relationship to the sea has taught her about the need to meet life and evolve with it, rather than seeking to control it. By such wisdom our planet might just survive and thrive.
Saltwater: Winner of the Portico Prize
by Jessica AndrewsSHORTLISTED FOR THE PORTICO PRIZE 'This book is sublime. It dares to be different, to look in a different way. Andrews is not filling anyone's shoes, she is destroying the shoes and building them from scratch.' Daisy JohnsonWhen Lucy wins a place at university, she thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars, cool girls and neon lights illuminating the Thames at night. At least this is what Lucy expects, having grown up seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland, amid legendary family stories of Irish immigrants and boarding houses, now-defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market. Yet Lucy's transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from East London warehouses to South Kensington mansions, she still feels like an outsider among her fellow students. When things come to a head at her graduation, Lucy takes off for Ireland, seeking solace in her late grandfather's cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it, wondering if she can piece together who she really is. Lyrical and boundary-breaking, Saltwater explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the challenges of shifting class identity and the way that the strongest feelings of love can be the hardest to define.(p) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Salute of Guns
by Donald BoydA British World War I veteran details artillery’s role in the Great War, life on the Western Front, and soldier morale in this classic memoir.Salute of Guns covers a story that is almost forgotten: Artillery was the decisive weapon of the Great War. The developments in artillery tactics, equipment and shells played a major role in the final Allied victory. British artillery was in the forefront of all those changes. This book gives the reader a dramatic insight into the story of artillery in the First World War.Donald Boyd joined his local Territorial Force artillery unit in September 1914. Commissioned in 1915, he learnt his trade in France from unsympathetic pre-war Indian Army regulars who did not understand how war was changing. From 1916 to 1918 he took part in the Western Front’s major battles, including the Somme, Third Ypres, Cambrai and the 1918 offensives. The stress of an artillery subaltern’s existence, observing in the front line, keeping the guns in action at a battery position or leading ammunition columns up tracks exposed to shellfire brought him to nervous collapse twice. The author is frank about his problems and convincingly conveys the relationships within his sub-unit which helped or hindered his struggle to stay in the front line.A new foreword by Michael Orr sets Boyd’s memoir in context and documents its reliability from the archives.Praise for Salute of Guns“If I had to name the best record of Western Front fighting I should, on the whole, choose Donald Boyd’s Salute of Guns as the one that has dealt most faithfully with the most difficult to recall of all its aspects—contemporary morale.” —Robert Graves“An excellent account of service by a man dealing with the fear and mental fatigue of a long war who yet describes his military activities with great clarity. It is particularly valuable as such memoirs from the Royal Regiment are few. Pen & Sword are to be congratulated.” —British Commission for Military History
Salvador Luria: An Immigrant Biologist in Cold War America
by Rena SelyaThe life of Nobel-winning biologist Salvador Luria, whose passion for science was equaled by his commitment to political engagement in Cold War America.Blacklisted from federal funding review panels but awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on bacteriophage, biologist Salvador Luria (1912–1991) was as much an activist as a scientist. In this first full-length biography of Luria, Rena Selya draws on extensive archival research; interviews with Luria&’s family, colleagues, and students; and FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to create a compelling portrait of a man committed to both science and society.In addition to his work with viruses and bacteria in the 1940s, Luria broke new ground in molecular biology and cancer research from the 1950s to the 1980s and was a leader in calling for scientists to accept an educational and advisory responsibility to the public. In return, he believed, the public should rely on science to strengthen social and political institutions.Luria was born in Italy, where the Fascists came to power when he was ten. He left Italy for France due to the antisemitic Race Laws of 1938, and then fled as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Europe, making his way to the United States. Once an American citizen, Luria became a grassroots activist on behalf of civil rights, labor representation, nuclear disarmament, and American military disengagement from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Luria joined the MIT faculty in 1960 and was the founding director of the Center for Cancer Research. Throughout his life he remained as passionate about his engagement with political issues as about his science, and continued to fight for peace and freedom until his death.
Salvados por Francisco: Cómo un joven sacerdote se arriesgó para ayudar a perseguidos por la dictadura
by Aldo DuzdevichTestimonios inéditos, cartas y reflexiones de aquellos que lograron sobrevivir a la dictadura argentina gracias al coraje de Jorge Bergoglio. Una faceta totalmente desconocida del Papa Francisco. La figura del Papa Francisco ha generado un gran impacto en todo el mundo. Sin embargo, es muy poco lo que se conoce acerca de su vida durante los convulsionados años setenta en la Argentina, cuando se desempeñaba como Provincial de los jesuitas. ¿Qué ocurrió con el secuestro y posterior liberación de los sacerdotes jesuitas Orlando Yorio y Francisco Jalics? ¿Qué relación tenía Bergoglio con los jóvenes volcados a la guerrilla? ¿Qué demandas realizó ante la Junta Militar? ¿Podría haber hecho más de lo que hizo? ¿Tuvo miedo? Hoy es difícil pensar que esa persona que ocupa el trono vaticano desde 2013 haya podido moverse como un experimentado militante revolucionario, pero Bergoglio no dudó en implementar una estrategia de simulación y silencio, ni en valerse de todos los instrumentos a su alcance, para ocultar o facilitarles la salida del país a muchas personas sin medir los riesgos a los que se exponía. Este libro revelador presenta testimonios inéditos, cartas y reflexiones de aquellos que lograron sobrevivir gracias al coraje del actual Pontífice.
Salvage: Readings from the Wreck
by Dionne BrandIn her first full-length non-fiction since the influential A Map to the Door of No Return, Dionne Brand explores 17th, 18th and 19th-century English and American literature—and the colonial aesthetic that shaped her sense of self and world, of what was possible and what was not."Coloniality constructs outsides and insides—worlds to be chosen, disturbed, interpreted, and navigated—in order to live something like a real self."In Salvage, internationally acclaimed poet and novelist Dionne Brand offers a bracing account of reading, life and what remains in the wreck of empire. Uniquely and powerfully blending criticism and autobiography-as-artifact, Brand explores her encounters with colonial, imperialist and racist tropes in famous and familiar books, looking particularly at the extraordinary implications and modern-day reverberations of stories such as Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Austen's Mansfield Park; the ways that the practices of reading and writing are shaped by those narrative structures; and the challenges of writing a narrative of Black life that attends to its own consciousness and expression. Making and remaking the self in relation to these dominant cultural narratives, Brand learned to read the literature of two empires, the British and the American, in an anti-colonial light—in order to survive, in order to live.The scene is the act of reading; the book, another kind of forensics—a forensics of the literary substance of which the author is made and from which she must recover. Or, if not recover, then piece together as artifact. Much more than autobiography, and much more than a work of literary criticism, Salvage is gripping, witty, revelatory and essential reading by one of our most powerful and brilliant writers.
Salvage: Readings from the Wreck
by Dionne BrandOne of Literary Hub's most anticipated books of 2024Dionne Brand explores English and American literature, and the colonial aesthetic that shaped her sense of self and the world, of what was possible and what was not.In Salvage: Readings from the Wreck, Dionne Brand’s first major book of nonfiction since her classic A Map to the Door of No Return, the acclaimed poet and novelist offers a bracing look at the intersections of reading and life, and what remains in the wreck of empire. Blending literary criticism and autobiography-as-artifact, Brand reads Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, among other still widely studied works, to explore encounters with colonial, imperialist, and racist tropes from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries—tropes that continue in new forms today. Brand vividly shows how contemporary practices of reading and writing are shaped by the narrative structures of these and related works, and explores how, in the face of this, one writes a narrative of Black life that attends to its own consciousness and expression.With the power and eloquence of a great poet coupled with the rigor of a deep and subtle thinker, Brand reveals how she learned to read the literature of two empires, British and American, in an anticolonial light—in order to survive, and in order to live.This is the library, the wreck, and the potential for salvage she offers us now, in a brilliant, groundbreaking, and essential work.