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Artworks: Meaning, Definition, Value (G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects)
by Robert SteckerWhat is art? What is it to understand a work of art? What is the value of art? Robert Stecker seeks to answer these central questions of aesthetics by placing them within the context of an ongoing debate criticizing, but also explaining what can be learned from, alternative views. His unified philosophy of art, defined in terms of its evolving functions, is used to explain and to justify current interpretive practices and to motivate an investigation of artistic value.Stecker defines art (roughly) as an item that is an artwork at time t if and only if it is in one of the central art forms at t and is intended to fulfill a function art has at t, or it is an artifact that achieves excellence in fulfilling such a function. Further, he sees the standard of acceptability for interpretations of artworks to be relative to their aim. Finally, he tries to understand the value of artworks through an analysis of literature and the identification of the most important functions of literary works.In addition to offering original answers to major questions of aesthetics, Artworks covers most of the major issues in contemporary analytic aesthetics and discusses many major, as well as many minor, figures who have written about these issues, including Stanley Fish, Joseph Margolis, Richard Rorty, and Richard Shusterman.
Art’s Properties
by David JoselitA revisionist reading of modern art that examines how artworks are captured as property to legitimize powerIn this provocative new account, David Joselit shows how art from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries began to function as a commodity, while the qualities of the artist, nation, or period themselves became valuable properties. Joselit explores repatriation, explaining that this is not just a contemporary conflict between the Global South and Euro-American museums, noting that the Louvre, the first modern museum, was built on looted works and faced demands for restitution and repatriation early in its history. Joselit argues that the property values of white supremacy underlie the ideology of possessive individualism animating modern art, and he considers issues of identity and proprietary authorship.Joselit redefines art’s politics, arguing that these pertain not to an artwork’s content or form but to the way it is “captured,” made to represent powerful interests—whether a nation, a government, or a celebrity artist collected by oligarchs. Artworks themselves are not political but occupy at once the here and now and an “elsewhere”—an alterity—that can’t ever be fully appropriated. The history of modern art, Joselit asserts, is the history of transforming this alterity into private property.Narrating scenes from the emergence and capture of modern art—touching on a range of topics that include the Byzantine church, French copyright law, the 1900 Paris Exposition, W.E.B. Du Bois, the conceptual artist Adrian Piper, and the controversy over Dana Schutz’s painting Open Casket—Joselit argues that the meaning of art is its infinite capacity to generate experience over time.
Arundel: A Chronicle Of Arundel, Of Privateering, And Of The Circular Prison On Dartmoor (Chronicles of Arundel)
by Kenneth RobertsThis is the classic series from Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist Kenneth Roberts, all featuring characters from the town of Arundel, Maine. Arundel follows Steven Nason as he joins Benedict Arnold in his march to Quebec during the American Revolution. Rabble in Arms continues with the exploits of Benedict Arnold, and includes many of the characters from the first book. The Lively Lady is a novel about the War of 1812 and tells the story of U. S. sea captain Richard Nason as he is captured by the British and sent to Dartmoor Prison. Captain Caution is another seafaring tale of the War of 1812.
Aryan Cowboys: White Supremacists and the Search for a New Frontier, 1970-2000
by Schlatter Evelyn AEvelyn Schlatter's startling analysis describes how many of the new white supremacist groups in the West have co-opted the region's mythology and environment based on longstanding beliefs about American character and Manifest Destiny to shape an organic, home-grown movement.
Aryan and Non-Aryan in India (Michigan Papers On South And Southeast Asia #14)
by Madhav M. Deshpande Peter Edwin HookThe history and mechanisms of the convergence of ancient Aryan and non-Aryan cultures has been a subject of continuing fascination in many fields of Indology. The contributions to Aryan and Non-Aryan in India are the fruit of a conference on that topic held in December 1976 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under the auspices of the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies. The express object of the conference was to examine the latest findings from a variety of disciplines as they relate to the formation and integration of a unified Indian culture from many disparate cultural and ethnic elements.
Aryans and British India
by Thomas R. Trautmann"Aryan," a word that today evokes images of racial hatred and atrocity, was first used by Europeans to suggest bonds of kinship, as Thomas Trautmann shows in his far-reaching history of British Orientalism and the ethnology of India. When the historical relationship uniting Sanskrit with the languages of Europe was discovered, it seemed clear that Indians and Britons belonged to the same family. Thus the Indo-European or Aryan idea, based on the principle of linguistic kinship, dominated British ethnological inquiry.In the nineteenth century, however, an emergent biological "race science" attacked the authority of the Orientalists. The spectacle of a dark-skinned people who were evidently civilized challenged Victorian ideas, and race science responded to the enigma of India by redefining the Aryan concept in narrowly "white" racial terms. By the end of the nineteenth century, race science and Orientalism reached a deep and lasting consensus in regard to India, which Trautmann calls "the racial theory of Indian civilization," and which he undermines with his powerful analysis of colonial ethnology in India. His work of reassessing British Orientalism and the Aryan idea will be of great interest to historians, anthropologists, and cultural critics.
Aryans: The Search for a People, a Place and a Myth
by Charles AllenFew themes in history have had as strong a hold on people's imagination. Fewer still have managed to alter the course of civilization.This is Charles Allen's definitive account of the Aryans, offering a grand sweep of language, mythology, contested histories and conflict. Spanning continents, cultures and societies: from the Russian steppe to the Indus valley, the Iliad to the Mahabharata, Greek to Sanskrit, Putin to Trump, and Müller to Vivekananda, Aryans astonishes with its scope. Allen, true to a style that has endeared him to a legion of admirers, weaves a narrative that is startling and illuminating. Product of a great investigation and meticulous scholarship, , Allen's last book, is his crowning achievement and marks the end of an illustrious career. 'PRAISE FOR COROMANDEL'Coromandel is lively and its stories well chosen.' – The Economist 'An engaging and meaningful account of a very long and complex history.' – Times Literary Supplement '[Makes] history interesting by combining natural storytelling vim with a magpie-sharp eye for shiny detail.'– India Today PRAISE FOR ASHOKA'Like an explorer in a jungle, stripping away the foliage from a long-forgotten city, Charles Allen brings to light the most extraordinary ruler in Indian history.'– Tom Holland, author of Rubicon 'A labour of love and notable scholarship, Charles Allen's Ashoka is a fitting testament to a forgotten epic of discovery. . . All who relish India's antiquity should read this book.' – John Keay, author of Midnight's Descendants'Read this and you will see how absorbing history can be.'– Lord Meghnad Desai, author of Rediscovery of India
As Above, So Below: A Novel of Peter Bruegel
by Rudy RuckerPeter Bruegel's paintings---a peasant wedding in a barn, hunters in the snow, a rollicking street festival, and many others---have long defined our idea of everyday life in sixteenth century Europe. They are classic icons of a time and place in much the same way as Norman Rockwell's depictions of twentieth-century America. We know relatively little about Bruegel, but after years of research, novelist Rudy Rucker has built upon what is known and has created for us the life and world of a true master who never got old. In sixteen chapters, each headed by a reproduction of one of the famous works, Rucker brings Bruegel's painter's progress and his colorful world to vibrant life, doing for Bruegel what the best-selling Girl with a Pearl Earring did for Vermeer. We follow the artist from the winding streets of Antwerp and Brussels to the glowing skies and decaying monuments of Rome and back. He and his friends, the cartographer Ortelius and Williblad Cheroo, an American Indian, are as vivid on the page as the multifarious denizens of Bruegel's unforgettable canvases. Here is a world of conflict, change, and discovery, a world where Carnival battles Lent every day, preserved for us in paint by the engaging genius you will meet in the pages of As Above, So Below.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto
by Joan ReardonThis revealing correspondence between the legendary French chef Julia Child and her dear friend is &“a delicious read&” (People).With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known by her first name alone. But how much do we really know of the inner Julia? Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent memorably introduced in the hit movie Julie & Julia, open the window on her deepest thoughts and feelings.This riveting correspondence chronicles the blossoming of a unique and lifelong friendship between the two women and the turbulent process of Julia&’s creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of the most influential cookbooks ever written. Bawdy, funny, exuberant, and occasionally agonized, these letters show Julia, first as a new bride in Paris, then becoming increasingly worldly and adventuresome as she follows her diplomat husband in his postings to Nice, Germany, and Norway. With commentary by food historian Joan Reardon, and covering topics as diverse as the lack of good wine in the United States, McCarthyism, and sexual mores, these letters show America on the verge of political, social, and gastronomic transformation.&“An absorbing portrait of an unexpected friendship.&”—Entertainment Weekly&“Two housewives, each in her 40s ... let rip about all kinds of things, from shallots, beurre blanc and the misery of dried herbs to politics, aging and sex ... Funny and forthright opinions about food and life.&”—The New York Times &“Entirely irresistible.&”—The Boston Globe
As An Oak Tree Grows
by G. Brian KarasThis inventive picture book relays the events of two hundred years from the unique perspective of a magnificent oak tree, showing how much the world can transform from a single vantage point. From 1775 to the present day, this fascinating framing device lets readers watch as human and animal populations shift and the landscape transitions from country to city. Methods of transportation, communication and energy use progress rapidly while other things hardly seem to change at all. This engaging, eye-opening window into history is perfect for budding historians and nature enthusiasts alike, and the time-lapse quality of the detail-packed illustrations will draw readers in as they pore over each spread to spot the changes that come with each new era. A fact-filled poster is included to add to the fun.
As Bright as Heaven
by Susan MeissnerFrom the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Bridge Across the Ocean comes a new novel set in Philadelphia during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which tells the story of a family reborn through loss and love.In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.
As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust: The gripping seventh novel in the cosy Flavia De Luce series (Flavia de Luce Mystery #7)
by Alan BradleyIt all began with that awful business about my mother...Flavia de Luce's world is turned upside down when she is banished to Miss Bodycote's Female Academy in Canada - her mother Harriet's old boarding school. With its forbidding headmistress, intimidating teachers and bizarre rules, adapting to Miss Bodycote's could be a matter of life and death.But Flavia is soon on familiar ground when she is presented with a gruesome puzzle to solve. And the mystery of a withered corpse is only the beginning. Girls have been disappearing from Miss Bodycote's, leading Flavia to wonder what exactly the academy's true purpose is, and why were her father and Aunt Felicity so keen that she enrol?Praise for the historical Flavia de Luce mysteries: 'The Flavia de Luce novels are now a cult favourite' Mail on Sunday 'A cross between Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle and the Addams family...delightfully entertaining' Guardian Fans of M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, Frances Brody and Alexander McCall Smith will enjoy the Flavia de Luce mysteries: 1. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 2. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag 3. A Red Herring Without Mustard 4. I Am Half Sick of Shadows 5. Speaking From Among the Bones 6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches 7. As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust 8. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd 9. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place If you're looking for a cosy crime series to keep you hooked then look no further than the Flavia de Luce mysteries. * Each Flavia de Luce mystery can be read as a standalone or in series order *
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: A Flavia de Luce Novel (A Flavia de Luce Novel #7)
by Alan Bradley<P>Flavia de Luce--"part Harriet the Spy, part Violet Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (The New York Times Book Review)--takes her remarkable sleuthing prowess to the unexpectedly unsavory world of Canadian boarding schools in the captivating new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Alan Bradley. <P>Banished! is how twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce laments her predicament, when her father and Aunt Felicity ship her off to Miss Bodycote's Female Academy, the boarding school that her mother, Harriet, once attended across the sea in Canada. The sun has not yet risen on Flavia's first day in captivity when a gift lands at her feet. Flavia being Flavia, a budding chemist and sleuth, that gift is a charred and mummified body, which tumbles out of a bedroom chimney. <P>Now, while attending classes, making friends (and enemies), and assessing the school's stern headmistress and faculty (one of whom is an acquitted murderess), Flavia is on the hunt for the victim's identity and time of death, as well as suspects, motives, and means. <P>Rumors swirl that Miss Bodycote's is haunted, and that several girls have disappeared without a trace. When it comes to solving multiple mysteries, Flavia is up to the task--but her true destiny has yet to be revealed. <P>Acclaim for Alan Bradley's beloved Flavia de Luce novels, winners of the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, Barry Award, Agatha Award, Macavity Award, Dilys Winn Award, and Arthur Ellis Award.
As Death Draws Near: A Lady Darby Mystery (A Lady Darby Mystery #5)
by Anna Lee HuberThe latest mystery from the national bestselling author of A Study in Death tangles Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage in a dangerous web of religious and political intrigue. July 1831. In the midst of their idyllic honeymoon in England’s Lake District, Kiera and Gage’s seclusion is soon interrupted by a missive from her new father-in-law. A deadly incident involving a distant relative of the Duke of Wellington has taken place at an abbey south of Dublin, Ireland, and he insists that Kiera and Gage look into the matter. Intent on discovering what kind of monster could murder a woman of the cloth, the couple travel to Rathfarnham Abbey school. Soon a second nun is slain in broad daylight near a classroom full of young girls. With the sinful killer growing bolder, the mother superior would like to send the students home, but the growing civil unrest in Ireland would make the journey treacherous. Before long, Kiera starts to suspect that some of the girls may be hiding a sinister secret. With the killer poised to strike yet again, Kiera and Gage must make haste and unmask the fiend, before their matrimonial bliss comes to an untimely end...From the Trade Paperback edition.
As Desventuras de Lady Ophelia (Série Debutantes Intrépidas #3)
by Christina McKnightTímida e reservada, Lady Ophelia Fletcher está sempre com seu nariz enfiado em um livro; foi por esta razão que ela não testemunhou a queda de sua amiga na trágica noite de sua morte. Agora, ela escreve a coluna Mayfair Confidential para expor homens desagradaveis como uma forma de compensar o fato de não apoiar as acusações de sua outra amiga de assassinato.Quando um lindo estranho chega para encontrar seu pai, Ophelia é incapaz de se impedir de investigar o belo cavalheiro. Colin Parnell, Lord Hawke, tem uma promessa a cumprir: encontrar o livro que prova que seu avô trabalhou como um espião para o Rei George II e não morreu como um contrabandista sem valor da costa de Kent. Envolta em mistério e escândalo, a família Parnell tem estado em guerra uns com os outros por décadas, e Colin está determinado a dar um fim nisso tudo descobrindo a prova do passado honrado de sua família. Infelizmente, o livro que ele procura esta nas mãos de uma beldade de cabelos de fogo, e ele vai precisar conseguir a ajuda de Ophelia para descobrir a verdade. Ophelia está mais do que feliz em usar suas habilidades para ajudar Lorde Hawke. Mas irá sua busca leválos à desventura, ou eles vão ganhar algo muito maior do que imaginavam: a verdade e um ao outro?
As Far As I Can See: As Far As I Can See (My America)
by Kate McMullanIn Kate McMullan's first My America book, the drama and adventure of the American prairie come to life when Meg must leave her family and move to Kansas to avoid the St. Louis cholera epidemic.Margaret Cora Wells is a resilient young girl living in St. Louis where cholera has become an epidemic. When her mother and sister get sick, Meg wants only to tend to them. But, in an effort to protect his children, her father sends Meg and her brother, Preston, to their relatives on the Kansas prairie for the summer. After an adventurous journey, Meg and Preston arrive in Kansas where they learn about life in another part of the country, and even more about the politics of the time. Meg is sweet and strong with a deep moral sense and a real sense of humor.
As Far As the Eye Can Reach: Lewis and Clark's Westward Quest
by Elizabeth Cody KimmelAn account of the journey across the unexplored territory west of the Mississippi River undertaken by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 1800s by order of President Jefferson.
As Far as I Can See: Meg's Prairie Diary, Book 1 (My America)
by Kate McmullanMargaret Cora Wells, known as Meg, is a resilient young girl living in St. Louis where cholera has become an epidemic. When her mother and sister get sick, Meg wants only to tend to them. But, in an effort to protect his children, her father sends Meg and her brother, Preston, to their relatives on the Kansas prairie for the summer. After an adventurous journey, Meg and Preston arrive in Kansas where they learn about life in another part of the country, and even more about the politics of the time. Meg recounts her growing understanding of the evils of slavery, and the daring part she and her family play in sheltering a slave before the "conductors" come to place the runaway in the Underground Railroad. Meg is sweet and strong with a deep moral sense and a real sense of humor.
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Escape from a Siberian Labor Camp and His 3-Year Trek to Freedom
by Josef M. BauerIn 1944, German paratrooper Clemens Forell was captured by the Soviets and sentenced to twenty-five years of labor in a Siberian lead mine. In the Gulags, this was virtually a death sentence. Driven to desperation by the brutality of the prison camp, he staged a daring escape. For the next three years, Forell traveled 8,000 miles in barren, frozen wilderness, haunted by blizzards, wolves, criminals, the KGB, and the fear of recapture and retribution. Only a remarkable will to survive, and a bit of luck, allowed him to reach the safety of the Persian border. The resulting story is a rare document of the horrors faced by POWs in the Soviet Union, and a testament to the human spirit.
As Flies to Whatless Boys: A Novel
by Robert Antoni<P>In 1845 London, an engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and bold-faced charlatan, John Adolphus Etzler, has invented machines that he thinks will transform the division of labor and free all men. He forms a collective called the Tropical Emigration Society (TES), and recruits a variety of London citizens to take his machines and his misguided ideas to form a proto-socialist, utopian community in the British colony of Trinidad. <P>Among his recruits is a young boy (and the book's narrator) named Willy, who falls head-over-heels for the enthralling and wise Marguerite Whitechurch. Coming from the gentry, Marguerite is a world away from Willy's laboring class. As the voyage continues, and their love for one another strengthens, Willy and Marguerite prove themselves to be true socialists, their actions and adventures standing in stark contrast to Etzler's disconnected theories.Robert Antoni's tragic historical novel, accented with West Indian cadence and captivating humor, provides an unforgettable glimpse into nineteenth-century Trinidad & Tobago. <P><b>Winner of the 2014 OCM Bocas Prize!</b>
As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West
by Guido Alfani"In this masterly book, [Alfani] offers an insightful long-run perspective and fascinating lessons for the future. A must-read!"—Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyA sweeping narrative that shows how the rich historically justified themselves by helping their societies in times of crisis, why they no longer do, and what that may mean for social stabilityThe rich have always fascinated, sometimes in problematic ways. Medieval thinkers feared that the super-rich would act 'as gods among men&’; much more recently Thomas Piketty made wealth central to discussions of inequality. In this book, Guido Alfani offers a history of the rich and super-rich in the West, examining who they were, how they accumulated their wealth and what role they played in society. Covering the last thousand years, with frequent incursions into antiquity, and integrating recent research on economic inequality, Alfani finds—despite the different paths to wealth in different eras—fundamental continuities in the behaviour of the rich and public attitudes towards wealth across Western history. His account offers a novel perspective on current debates about wealth and income disparity.Alfani argues that the position of the rich and super-rich in Western society has always been intrinsically fragile; their very presence has inspired social unease. In the Middle Ages, an excessive accumulation of wealth was considered sinful; the rich were expected not to appear to be wealthy. Eventually, the rich were deemed useful when they used their wealth to help their communities in times of crisis. Yet in the twenty-first century, Alfani points out, the rich and the super-rich—their wealth largely preserved through the Great Recession and COVID-19—have been exceptionally reluctant to contribute to the common good in times of crisis, rejecting even such stopgap measures as temporary tax increases. History suggests that this is a troubling development—for the rich, and for everyone else.
As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age
by Matthew CobbThe thrilling and terrifying history of genetic engineering In 2018, scientists manipulated the DNA of human babies for the first time. As biologist and historian Matthew Cobb shows in As Gods, this achievement was one many scientists have feared from the start of the genetic age. Four times in the last fifty years, geneticists, frightened by their own technology, have called a temporary halt to their experiments. They ought to be frightened: Now we have powers that can target the extinction of pests, change our own genes, or create dangerous new versions of diseases in an attempt to prevent future pandemics. Both awe-inspiring and chilling, As Gods traces the history of genetic engineering, showing that this revolutionary technology is far too important to be left to the scientists. They have the power to change life itself, but should we trust them to keep their ingenuity from producing a hellish reality?
As Goes Bethlehem: Steelworkers and the Restructuring of an Industrial Working Class
by Jill A. SchennumThe steel industry played a central role in building post–World War II economic success in the US and in defining the parameters of the post–World War II social contract. As these long-term processes both preceded and contributed to the Great Recession, a new capitalism—one in which banks and the credit system took precedence over industrial production—changed the lives of many American workers, including steelworkers. As Goes Bethlehem raises important questions about why workers and their unions were not able to successfully contest this attack on industrial labor, instead settling for best navigating a long downward trajectory. Through the experiences and reflections of steelworkers, Jill A. Schennum demonstrates the significance of work, and particularly of industrial work, in giving meaning to people&’s lives, identities, and sense of worth. She uses workers&’ narratives and voices to show the importance of work space, time, and social relations, rejecting dominant interpretations of blue-collar workers as alienated from their work but well-paid and co-opted by a middle-class standard of living. Schennum covers thirty-five years of investment and disinvestment, managerial initiatives, transfer decisions, layoffs and downsizings, external transfers, the eventual bankruptcy of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and movement into retirement, unemployment, and new postindustrial jobs. The very solidarities, rights of citizenship, and rule of law forged in the mill and built on by the union were constructed, in part, through exclusions based on race, ethnicity, gender, and region. These lines of fracture were mobilized to undermine working-class strength in the postindustrial period. Through the experiences of African American, Puerto Rican, coal country, and women workers in the steel mills, this book explores these issues of fracture and solidarity.
As Good As Dead: The Daring Escape of American POWs From a Japanese Death Camp (American War Heroes)
by Stephen L. MooreThe heroic story of eleven American POWs who defied certain death in World War II--As Good as Dead is an unforgettable account of the Palawan Massacre survivors and their daring escape. In late 1944, the Allies invaded the Japanese-held Philippines, and soon the end of the Pacific War was within reach. But for the last 150 American prisoners of war still held on the island of Palawan, there would be no salvation. After years of slave labor, starvation, disease, and torture, their worst fears were about to be realized. On December 14, with machine guns trained on them, they were herded underground into shallow air raid shelters--death pits dug with their own hands. Japanese soldiers doused the shelters with gasoline and set them on fire. Some thirty prisoners managed to bolt from the fiery carnage, running a lethal gauntlet of machine gun fire and bayonets to jump from the cliffs to the rocky Palawan coast. By the next morning, only eleven men were left alive--but their desperate journey to freedom had just begun. As Good as Dead is one of the greatest escape stories of World War II, and one that few Americans know. The eleven survivors of the Palawan Massacre--some badly wounded and burned--spent weeks evading Japanese patrols. They scrounged for food and water, swam shark-infested bays, and wandered through treacherous jungle terrain, hoping to find friendly Filipino guerrillas. Their endurance, determination, and courage in the face of death make this a gripping and inspiring saga of survival.From the Hardcover edition.
As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns (Images of Baseball)
by David Alan HellerWorld War II threatened to ruin Major League Baseball. By 1945, over 500 major leaguers and 3,000 minor league prospects had been enlisted for the war effort, leaving a dearth of talent for the Big Leagues. The St. Louis Browns, like other AL and NL clubs, would be forced to fill holes in their roster with scrubs-4-F players (those dismissed from the military due to physical ailments), retired major leaguers, and youngsters not yet ready to leave the minors. But there were still some top level players to be had, and 1944 Browns manager Luke Sewell assembled the franchise's most successful team ever, taking the St. Louis ball club to its first and only Fall Classic.