- Table View
- List View
To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)
by Viet Thanh NguyenFrom the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer (now an HBO series) comes a moving and unflinchingly personal meditation on the literary forms of otherness and a bold call for expansive political solidarity.Born in war-ravaged Vietnam, Viet Nguyen arrived in the United States as a child refugee in 1975. The Nguyen family would soon move to San Jose, California, where the author grew up, attending UC Berkeley in the aftermath of the shocking murder of Vincent Chin, which shaped the political sensibilities of a new generation of Asian Americans.The essays here, delivered originally as the prestigious Norton Lectures, proffer a new answer to a classic literary question: What does the outsider mean to literary writing? Over the course of six captivating and moving chapters, Nguyen explores the idea of being an outsider through lenses that are, by turns, literary, historical, political, and familial.Each piece moves between writers who influenced Nguyen’s craft and weaves in the haunting story of his late mother’s mental illness. Nguyen unfolds the novels and nonfiction of Herman Melville, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ralph Ellison, William Carlos Williams, and Maxine Hong Kingston, until aesthetic theories give way to pressing concerns raised by war and politics. What is a writer’s responsibility in a time of violence? Should we celebrate fiction that gives voice to the voiceless—or do we confront the forces that render millions voiceless in the first place? What are the burdens and pleasures of the “minor” writer in any society? Unsatisfied with the modest inclusion accorded to “model minorities” such as Asian Americans, Nguyen sets the agenda for a more radical and disquieting solidarity with those whose lives have been devastated by imperialism and forever wars.
To Save the Earth: The American Environmental Movement (Jules Archer History for Young Readers)
by Jules Archer Erin PeabodyWith today's climate change, our environmental problems aren’t going away any time soon.To Save the Earth looks at the lives of four extraordinary Americans who fought to save our earth. John Muir, a pioneer of conservationism, was the founder of our national park system. Rachel Carson, biologist and author, educated our country about the effects of pesticides and chemical waste. David McTaggart, the organizer of Greenpeace, introduced nonviolent protest into the struggle, while Dave Foreman, cofounder and former leader of the activist group Earth First!, shook up a movement that had grown complacent.The biographies of each of these figures, as well as personal interviews with David McTaggart and Dave Foreman, help us to understand the environmental movement specific to the United States. With current issues of excessive pollution and climate change, this is an excellent resource for introducing young readers to the cause. Upon first publication, To Save the Earth was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection, and now, this fascinating and important book is back in print to teach a whole new generation of readers the importance of environmental conservation and preservation.
To School Through The Fields
by Alice TaylorThrough the fields and in the cottages round about is where we view Alice Taylor's childhood in County Cork, Ireland. This gentle, witty memoir is told to the rhythms of nature and farm life as it cycles through the years. Reading it is like taking a vacation and better than any field trip you took to a farm. When the family slaughters a couple of hogs, all of the neighbours help and they all share in the meat. You'll see how it is processed from carcass to plate. You'll discover why Alice loves her quirky neighbours but isn't as fond of nuns. Sweating and happy, farmhands and children alike harvest the hay with the aid of a tumbling paddy, a huge comb like contraption made of wood. They wash off the sweat, hayseeds and insects in an icy refreshing stream. Then there's cold tea and apple cake to fortify them for another round of work. Alice's mother notices the best in everyone and oversees the daily recitation of the rosary. Her father is comforted more by the richness of life in his crops and farm animals. The children play freely outside not missing or needing toys. There are tragedies like the death of Alice's little brother, but most of Alice's memories of a time that is now lost to us, brim with joy humor and love.
To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters
by Suzanne Fagence Cooper'To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, religion, all in one'John Ruskin - born 200 years ago, in February 1819 - was the greatest critic of his age: a critic not only of art and architecture but of society and life. But his writings - on beauty and truth, on work and leisure, on commerce and capitalism, on life and how to live it - can teach us more than ever about how to see the world around us clearly and how to live it.Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper delves into Ruskin's writings and uncovers the dizzying beauty and clarity of his vision. Whether he was examining the exquisite carvings of a medieval cathedral or the mass-produced wares of Victorian industry, chronicling the beauties of Venice and Florence or his own descent into old age and infirmity, Ruskin saw vividly the glories and the contradictions of life, and taught us how to see them as well.
To See with the Heart: The Life of Sitting Bull
by Judith St. GeorgeKnown for his physical courage and skill in battle, "Sitting Bull" was also a shrewd negotiator and compassionate leader in a period when the Sioux were being driven from their lands by the whites. In this meticulous biography, Sitting Bull is seen as a warrior and family man, a fierce enemy and a dramatic showman, set in the context of his times.
To Selena, with Love
by Chris PerezOne of the most compelling and adored superstars in Latin music history, Selena was nothing short of a phenomenon who shared all of herself with her millions of devoted fans. Her tragic murder, at the young age of twenty-three, stripped the world of her talent and boundless potential, her tightly knit family of their beloved angel, and her husband, Chris Perez, of the greatest love he had ever known. For over a decade, Chris held on to the only personal thing he had left from his late wife: the touching and sometimes painful memories of their very private bond. Now, for the first time, Chris opens up about their unbreakable friendship, forbidden relationship, and blossoming marriage, which were cut short by Selena’s unforgivable death. Chris’s powerful story gives a rare glimpse into Selena’s sincerity and vulnerability when falling in love, strength and conviction when fighting for that love, and absolute resilience when finding peace and normalcy with her family’s acceptance of the only man she called her husband. While showcasing a side of Selena that has never been disclosed before and clarifying certain misconceptions about her life and death, To Selena, with Love is an everlasting love story that immortalizes the heart and soul of an extraordinary, unforgettable, and irreplaceable icon. Includes exclusive photos. .
To Selena, with Love
by Chris PerezOne of the most compelling and adored superstars in Latin music history, Selena was nothing short of a phenomenon who shared all of herself with her millions of devoted fans. Her tragic murder, at the young age of twenty-three, stripped the world of her talent and boundless potential, her tightly knit family of their beloved angel, and her husband, Chris Perez, of the greatest love he had ever known. For over a decade, Chris held on to the only personal thing he had left from his late wife: the touching and sometimes painful memories of their very private bond. Now, for the first time, Chris opens up about their unbreakable friendship, forbidden relationship, and blossoming marriage, which were cut short by Selena's unforgivable death. Chris's powerful story gives a rare glimpse into Selena's sincerity and vulnerability when falling in love, strength and conviction when fighting for that love, and absolute resilience when finding peace and normalcy with her family's acceptance of the only man she called her husband. While showcasing a side of Selena that has never been disclosed before and clarifying certain misconceptions about her life and death, To Selena, with Love is an everlasting love story that immortalizes the heart and soul of an extraordinary, unforgettable, and irreplaceable icon. Includes exclusive photos.
To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret
by Jedidiah JenkinsFrom travel writer Jedidiah Jenkins comes a long-awaited memoir of adventure, struggle, and lessons learned while bicycling the 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia. <P><P>On the eve of turning thirty, terrified of being funneled into a life he didn't choose, Jedidiah Jenkins quit his dream job and spent the next sixteen months cycling from Oregon to Patagonia. He chronicled the trip on Instagram, where his photos and profound reflections on life soon attracted hundreds of thousands of followers and got him featured by National Geographic and The Paris Review. <P><P>In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Jed narrates the adventure that started it all: the people and places he encountered on his way to the bottom of the world, and the internal journey that prompted it. <P><P>As he traverses cities, mountains, and inner boundaries, Jenkins grapples with the questions of what it means to be an adult, his struggle to reconcile his sexual identity with his conservative Christian upbringing, and his belief in travel as a way to "wake us up" to life back home. <P><P>A soul-stirring read for the wanderer in each of us, To Shake the Sleeping Self is an unforgettable reflection on adventure, identity, and a life lived without regret. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
To Sir, With Love
by E. R. BraithwaiteThis schoolroom drama that inspired the classic Sidney Poitier film is &“a microcosm of the racial issues . . . A dramatic picture of discrimination&” (Kirkus Reviews). With opportunities for black men limited in post–World War II London, Rick Braithwaite, a former Royal Air Force pilot and Cambridge-educated engineer, accepts a teaching position that puts him in charge of a class of angry, unmotivated, bigoted white teenagers whom the system has mostly abandoned. When his efforts to reach these troubled students are met with threats, suspicion, and derision, Braithwaite takes a radical new approach. He will treat his students as people poised to enter the adult world. He will teach them to respect themselves and to call him &“Sir.&” He will open up vistas before them that they never knew existed. And over the course of a remarkable year, he will touch the lives of his students in extraordinary ways, even as they in turn, unexpectedly and profoundly, touch his. Based on actual events in the author&’s life, To Sir, With Love is a powerfully moving story that celebrates courage, commitment, and vision, and is the inspiration for the classic film starring Sidney Poitier.
To Siri with Love: A Mother, Her Autistic Son, and the Kindness of Machines
by Judith NewmanA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017From the author of the viral New York Times op-ed column "To Siri with Love" comes a collection of touching, hilarious, and illuminating stories about life with a thirteen-year-old boy with autism that hold insights and revelations for us all.When Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple’s electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped Gus, her son who has autism, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from readers around the world. Basking in the afterglow of media attention, Gus told anyone who would listen, "I’m a movie star."Judith’s story of her son and his bond with Siri was an unusual tribute to technology. While many worry that our electronic gadgets are dumbing us down, she revealed how they can give voice to others, including children with autism like Gus—a boy who has trouble looking people in the eye, hops when he’s happy, and connects with inanimate objects on an empathetic level.To Siri with Love is a collection of funny, poignant, and uplifting stories about living with an extraordinary child who has helped a parent see and experience the world differently. From the charming (Gus weeping with sympathy over the buses that would lie unused while the bus drivers were on strike) to the painful (paying $22,000 for a behaviorist in Manhattan to teach Gus to use a urinal) to the humorous (Gus’s insistence on getting naked during all meals, whether at home or not, because he does not want to get his clothes dirty) to the profound (how an automated "assistant" helped a boy learn how to communicate with the rest of the world), the stories in To Siri with Love open our eyes to the magic and challenges of a life beyond the ordinary.
To Siri, With Love: A mother, her autistic son, and the kindness of a machine
by Judith Newman'Incredibly moving' Daily Mail'To Siri with Love is a beautifully honest and illuminating love letter to Gus, your typical atypical nonneurotypical human.' Jon Stewart'A moving and witty memoir with a big heart.' Nigella Lawson'An uncommonly riotous and moving book [that] will make readers laugh - yes, out loud - before sweeping them, finally, into a soul-spilling high tide . . . Technology's great promise may in fact be to summon, capture and display our most human qualities, both the darkness and the light, to pave avenues of deepened connections with others.' New York TimesWriter Judith Newman never had any illusions that her family was 'normal'. She and her husband keep separate apartments-his filled with twin grand pianos as befits a former opera singer; hers filled with the clutter and chaos of twin adolescent boys conceived late in life. And one of those boys is Gus, her sweet, complicated, autistic 13-year-old.With refreshing honesty, To Siri With Love chronicles one year in the life of Gus and the family around him -- a family with the same crazy ups and downs as any other. And at the heart of the book lies Gus's passionate friendship with Siri, Apple's 'intelligent personal assistant'. Unlike her human counterparts, Siri always has the right answers to Gus's incessant stream of questions about the intricacies of national rail schedules, or box turtle varieties, and she never runs out of patience. She always makes sure Gus enunciates and even teaches him manners by way of her warm yet polite tone and her programmed insistence on civility.Equal parts funny and touching, this is a book that will make your heart brim, and then break it. Warm, wise and always honest, Judith Newman shows us a new world where artificial intelligence is beginning to meet emotional intelligence -- a world that will shape our children in ways both wonderful and unexpected.
To Siri, With Love: A mother, her autistic son, and the kindness of a machine
by Judith Newman'A moving and witty memoir with a big heart' - Nigella LawsonFor fans of David Mitchell's Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8, Jem Lester's Shtum and Keith Stuart's A Boy Made of Blocks.No one would consider Judith Newman's domestic life normal. She and her husband keep separate apartments-his filled with twin grand pianos as befits a former opera singer; hers packed with the clutter and chaos of twin adolescent boys conceived late in life. And one of those boys is Gus, her sweet, complicated, autistic 13-year-old.With honesty and humour, To Siri With Love chronicles one year in the life of Gus and the family around him -- a family with the same crazy ups and downs as any other. And at the heart of the book lies Gus's passionate friendship with Siri, Apple's 'intelligent personal assistant'. Unlike her human counterparts, Siri always has the right answers to Gus's incessant stream of questions about the intricacies of national rail schedules, or box turtle varieties, and she never runs out of patience. She always makes sure Gus enunciates and even teaches him manners by way of her warm yet polite tone and her programmed insistence on civility.Equal parts funny and touching, this is a book that will make your heart brim, and then break it. Warm, wise and always honest, Judith Newman shows us a new world where artificial intelligence is beginning to meet emotional intelligence -- a world that will shape our children in ways both wonderful and unexpected.(P)2017 WF Howes Ltd
To Slip the Bonds of Earth: A Riveting Mystery Based on a True History (A Katharine Wright Mystery #1)
by Amanda FlowerInspired by the real-life sister of the Wright Brothers! While not as famous as her older siblings Wilbur and Orville, the celebrated inventors of flight, Katharine Wright is equally inventive – especially when it comes to solving crimes – in USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower&’s radiant new historical mystery series.December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright&’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she&’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing… Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend&’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it&’s Katharine&’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve. As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers&’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.
To Slip the Bonds of Earth: Sneak Peek (A Katharine Wright Mystery)
by Amanda FlowerBe one of the first to read this sneak preview sample edition before the full length novel comes out!While not as famous as her older siblings Wilbur and Orville, the celebrated inventors of flight, Katharine Wright is equally inventive—especially when it comes to solving crimes—in USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower&’s radiant new historical mystery series inspired by the real sister of the Wright Brothers.December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright&’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she&’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend&’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it&’s Katharine&’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers&’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.
To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest
by Diana Beresford-KroegerCanadian botanist, biochemist and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet.When Diana Beresford-Kroeger--whose father was a member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and whose mother was an O'Donoghue, one of the stronghold families who carried on the ancient Celtic traditions--was orphaned as a child, she could have been sent to the Magdalene Laundries. Instead, the O'Donoghue elders, most of them scholars and freehold farmers in the Lisheens valley in County Cork, took her under their wing. Diana became the last ward under the Brehon Law. Over the course of three summers, she was taught the ways of the Celtic triad of mind, body and soul. This included the philosophy of healing, the laws of the trees, Brehon wisdom and the Ogham alphabet, all of it rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. Already a precociously gifted scholar, Diana found that her grounding in the ancient ways led her to fresh scientific concepts. Out of that huge and holistic vision have come the observations that put her at the forefront of her field: the discovery of mother trees at the heart of a forest; the fact that trees are a living library, have a chemical language and communicate in a quantum world; the major idea that trees heal living creatures through the aerosols they release and that they carry a great wealth of natural antibiotics and other healing substances; and, perhaps most significantly, that planting trees can actively regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate. This book is not only the story of a remarkable scientist and her ideas, it harvests all of her powerful knowledge about why trees matter, and why trees are a viable, achievable solution to climate change. Diana eloquently shows us that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, and strengthen those connections, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive ways that are leading to drastic fires, droughts and floods.
To Stand and Fight Together: Richard Pierpoint and the Coloured Corps of Upper Canada
by Steve PittIn 1812, a 67-year-old black United Empire Loyalist named Richard Pierpoint helped raise "a corps of Coloured Men to stand and fight together" against the Americans who were threatening to invade the tiny British colony of Upper Canada. Pierpoint’s unique fighting unit would not only see service throughout the War of 1812, it would also be the first colonial military unit reactiviated to quash the Rebellion of 1837. It would go on to serve as a police force, keeping the peace among the competing Irish immigrant gangs during the construction of the Welland Canal. Pierpoint and the Coloured Corps are the central focus, but the sidebars featuring fascinating facts about the rise and fall of slavery in North America and the state of African-Canadians in early Canada provide an entertaining and informative supplement. Among other tidbits, readers will find out why "Good Queen Bess" launched the British slave industry and how Scottish pineapples are connected to the American Declaration of Independence.
To Stop a Warlord: My Story of Justice, Grace, and the Fight for Peace
by Shannon Sedgwick DavisOne woman’s inspiring true story of an unlikely alliance to stop the atrocities of a warlord, proving that there is no limit to what we can do, even in the face of unspeakable injustice and impossible odds“This compelling and inspiring book beautifully moves each of us to take action to help the most vulnerable among us.”—Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Late one night in the summer of 2010, Shannon Sedgwick Davis, a lawyer, human rights advocate, and Texas mom to two young boys, first met a Ugandan general to discuss an unconventional plan to stop Joseph Kony, a murderous warlord who’d terrorized communities in four countries across Central and East Africa. For twenty-five years, Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army had killed over a hundred thousand people, displaced millions, and abducted tens of thousands of children, forcing them to become child soldiers. After Sedgwick Davis met with survivors and community leaders, aid workers and lawmakers, it was clear that the current international systems were failing to protect the most vulnerable. Guided by the strength of her beliefs and convictions, Sedgwick Davis knew she had to help other parents to have the same right she had—to go to sleep each night knowing that their children were safe. But Sedgwick Davis had no roadmap for how to stop a violent armed group. She would soon step far outside the bounds of traditional philanthropy and activism and partner her human rights organization, the Bridgeway Foundation, with a South African private military contractor and a specialized unit within the Ugandan army. The experience would bring her to question everything she had previously believed about her role as a humanitarian, about the meaning of justice, and about the very nature of good and evil. In To Stop a Warlord, Shannon Sedgwick Davis tells the story, for the first time, of the unprecedented collaboration she helped build with the aim of finally ending Joseph Kony’s war—and the unforgettable journey on an unexpected path to peace. A powerful memoir that reads like a thriller, this is a story that asks us just how hard we would fight for what we believe in. 100 percent of the author’s net proceeds from this book will go to organizations seeking justice and protection for civilians in conflict zones.“This is an extraordinary memoir by an extraordinary leader—it’s impossible to read without feeling moved to do more to help those with less.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take
To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life Of Ida B. Wells
by Mia BayBorn to slaves in 1862, Ida B. Wells became a fearless antilynching crusader, women's rights advocate, and journalist. Wells's refusal to accept any compromise on racial inequality caused her to be labeled a "dangerous radical" in her day but made her a model for later civil rights activists as well as a powerful witness to the troubled racial politics of her era. Though she eventually helped found the NAACP in 1910, she would not remain a member for long, as she rejected not only Booker T. Washington's accommodationism but also the moderating influence of white reformers within the early NAACP. In the richly illustrated To Tell the Truth Freely, the historian Mia Bay vividly captures Wells's legacy and life, from her childhood in Mississippi to her early career in late-nineteenth-century Memphis and her later life in Progressive-era Chicago.
To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells
by Mia Bay“Finally, we have a biography worthy of one of the bravest and most influential activists in U.S. history.” ―Michael Kazin, author of What It Took to WinBorn to slaves in 1862, Ida B. Wells became a fearless anti-lynching crusader, women's rights advocate, and journalist. Wells's refusal to accept any compromise on racial inequality caused her to be labeled a “dangerous radical” in her day but made her a model for later civil rights activists as well as a powerful witness to the troubled racial politics of her era.Wells's fight for racial and gender justice began in 1883, when she was a young schoolteacher who traveled to her rural schoolhouse by rail. Forcibly ejected from her seat one day on account of her race, Wells sued the railroad. Though she ultimately lost her case on appeal in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the published account of her legal challenge to Jim Crow changed her life, propelling her into a career as an outspoken journalist and social activist.A fierce critic of the racial violence, Wells went on to launch a crusade against lynching that took her across the United States and eventually to Britain. Though she helped found the NAACP in 1910 after resettling in Chicago, she would not remain a member for long. Always militant in her quest for racial justice, Wells rejected not only Booker T. Washington's accommodationism but also the moderating influence of white reformers within the early NAACP.The life of Ida B. Wells and her enduring achievements are dramatically recovered in Mia Bay's To Tell the Truth Freely.
To Tell the Truth: Rosie Gilmour 2 (Rosie Gilmour)
by Anna SmithA three-year-old girl is snatched from a beach - Nobody heard a sound. Nobody saw a thing. Rosie Gilmour's much-needed holiday is cut short when the abduction story breaks and she's sent to cover it. Her instincts tell her something's wrong: such a crime must surely have its witnesses, and the girl's mother's story doesn't add up. With a child's life at stake, Rosie must dig deeper into the seedy depths of the area, making dangerous enemies. As she closes in on the truth, she realises the penalty for missing this particular deadline could be her own death.(P)2013 WF Howes Ltd
To The Bitter End: The Diaries of Victor Klemperer 1942-45
by Victor KlempererThe international bestselling record of a German Jew in Nazi Germany.'Deserves to stand beside the diary of Anne Frank as a day-to-day description of the sufferings of the victims of Hitler's evil regime' EVENING STANDARD'Few English readers will fail to be moved as I was - ultimately to the point of tears' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Packed with vivid observation, profound reflection ... they find hope, dignity and even tart humour in the jaws of hell' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYA sensation when first published, this is one of the most extraordinary documents of the Nazi period. The son of a rabbi, Klemperer was by 1933 a professor of languages in Dresden. Over the next decade he lost his job, his house and many of his friends, even his cat, as Jews were not allowed to own pets. Saved for much of the war from the Holocaust by his marriage to a gentile, he was able to escape in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Dresden and survived the remaining months of the war in hiding. Throughout, Klemperer kept a diary, for a Jew in Nazi Germany a daring act in itself. This volume covers the period from the beginnings of the Holocaust to the end of the war, telling the story of Klemperer's increasing isolation, his near miraculous survival, his awareness of the development of the growing Holocaust as friends and associates disappeared, and his narrow escapes from deportation and the Dresden firebombing in 1945.Shocking and moving by turns, it is a remarkable and important document, as powerful and astonishing in its way as Anne Frank's classic.
To The Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette
by Carolly Erickson“[A] smoothly written biography” of the misunderstood eighteenth-century French queen executed during the revolution (Publishers Weekly).“An extraordinary life. . . . Ms. Erickson gives us a likable, empathetic women and broadens our understanding of her.” —The New York TimesBook ReviewOne of history's most misunderstood figures, Marie Antoinette continues to symbolize the glamour, the extravagance, and the decadence of French society before the French Revolution. Yet there was a poignant innocence about Antoinette, sent away in her early teens from her home in Vienna to the chillingly formal French court.Married to the maladroit, ill-mannered dauphin and condemned to childlessness by his inability to beget an heir, Antoinette sought pleasure in costly entertainments and grotesque eccentricities of dress. Along with most members of the court, she spent lavishly while her husband’s subjects, overtaxed and increasingly hostile toward their sovereign and his mismanaged government, blamed her for France’s plight and accused her of every imaginable vice.In time Antoinette matured into a capable and courageous queen, though her husband, Louis XVI, remained timid and inept at a time when France needed bold and visionary leadership. When the forces arrayed against the monarchy finally closed in, however, Antoniette followed her husband to the guillotine, an aged, white-haired widow not yet forty.In To the Scaffold, acclaimed biographer Carolly Erickson provides an unusually nuanced portrait of a lost queen, a portrait that is psychologically acute, richly detailed, and deeply moving.“Erickson brings [an] immediacy and easy intimacy to her study.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review“For lovers of history or lovers of a great romantic story, this book is a must.” —Louisville Courier-Journal
To The Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei (Star Trek)
by George TakeiBest known as Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise™ and captain of the Starship Excelsior, George Takei is beloved by millions as part of the command team that has taken audiences to new vistas of adventure in Star Trek®—the unprecedented television and feature film phenomenon.From the program’s birth in the changing world of the 1960s and death at the hands of the network to its rebirth in the hearts and minds of loyal fans, the Star Trek story has blazed its own path into our recent cultural history, leading to a series of blockbuster feature films and three new versions of Star Trek for television. The Star Trek story is one of boundless hope and crushing disappointment, wrenching rivalries and incredible achievements. It is also the story of how, after nearly thirty years, the cast of characters from a unique but poorly rated television show have come to be known to millions of Americans and people around the world as family. For George Takei, the Star Trek adventure is intertwined with his personal odyssey through adversity in which four-year-old George and his family were forced by the United States government into internment camps during World War II. Star Trek means much more to George Takei than an extraordinary career that has spanned thirty years. For an American whose ideals faced such a severe test, Star Trek represents a shining embodiment of the American Dream—the promise of an optimistic future in which people from all over the world contribute to a common destiny.
To Timbuktu for a Haircut: A Journey Through West Africa
by Rick AntonsonTimbuktu: the African city known to legend as a land of scholars, splendor and mystery, a golden age in the Sahara Desert. But to many it is a vaguely recognizable name - a flippant tag for "the most remote place on earth." With this fabled city as his goal, author Rick Antonson began a month-long trek. His initial plan? To get a haircut. Aided by an adventuresome spirit, Rick endures a forty-five hour train ride, a swindling travel agent, "Third World, three-lane" roads, rivers, and a flat deck ferry boat before finally reaching Timbuktu. Rick narrates the history of this elusive destination through the teachings of his Malian guide Zak, and encounters with stranded tourists, a camel owner, a riverboat captain, and the people who call Timbuktu home.Antonson's eloquence and quiet wit highlight the city's myths--the centuries old capital and traveler's dream--as well as its realities: A city gripped by poverty, where historic treasures lie close to the sands of destruction. Indeed, some 700,000 ancient manuscripts remain there, endangered. Both a travelogue and a history of a place long forgotten, To Timbuktu for a Haircut emerges as a plea to preserve the past and open cultural dialogues on a global scale.The second edition of this important book outlines the volatile political situations in Timbuktu following the spring 2012 military coup in Mali and the subsequent capture of the city by Islamic extremists. Literally, it is a race against time to save the city's irreplaceable artifacts, mosques, and monuments, and to understand why Timbuktu's past is essential to the future of Africa.
To Try Men's Souls: A Novel (George Washington Series #1)
by Newt Gingrich William R. ForstchenThis biographical novel exploring America’s Revolutionary Era is “surely to become another popular book” for the New York Times–bestselling authors.The story follows three men with three very different roles to play in history: General George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Jonathan Van Dorn, a private in Washington’s army.The action focuses on one of the most iconic events in American history: Washington crossing the Delaware. Unlike the bold, courageous General in Emanuel Leutze’s painting, Washington is full of doubt on the night of December 25, 1776. After five months of defeat, morale is dangerously low. Each morning muster shows that hundreds have deserted in the night.While Washington prepares his weary troops for the attack on Trenton, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia, overseeing the printing of his newest pamphlet, The Crisis.And Jonathan Van Dorn is about to bring the war to his own doorstep. In the heat of battle, he must decide between staying loyal to the cause and sparing his brother who has joined up with the British. Through the thoughts and private fears of these three men, Gingrich and Forstchen illuminate the darkest days of the Revolution. With detailed research and an incredible depth of military insight, To Try Men’s Souls is a novel that provides a rare and personal perspective of the men who fought for, and founded the United States of America.