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It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita
by Heather ArmstrongHeather Armstrong gave up a lot of things when she and her husband, Jon, decided to have a baby: beer, small boobs, free time -- and antidepressants. The eighteen months that followed were filled with anxiety, constipation, nacho cheese Doritos, and an unconditional love that threatened to make her heart explode. Still, as baby Leta grew and her husband, Jon, returned to work, Heather faced lonely days, sleepless nights, and endless screaming that sometimes made her wish she'd never become a mother. Just as she was poised to throw another gallon of milk at her husband's head, she committed herself for a short stay in a mental hospital -- the best decision she ever made for her family. To the dedicated millions who can't get enough of Heather's unforgettably unique style and hilarious stories on her hugely popular blog, there's little she won't share about her daily life as a recovering Mormon, liberal daughter of Republicans, wife of a charming geek, lover of television that exceeds at being really awful, and stay-at-home mom to five-year-old Leta and two willful dogs. In It Sucked and Then I Cried, Heather tells, with trademark wit, the heartfelt, unrelentingly honest story of her battle with postpartum depression and all the other minor details of pregnancy and motherhood that no one cares to mention. Like how boring it can be to care for someone whose primary means of communication is through her bowels. And how long it can possibly take to reconvene the procedure that got you into this whole parenthood mess in the first place. And how you sometimes think you can't possibly go five more minutes without breathing in that utterly irresistible and totally redeemable fresh baby smell. It Sucked and Then I Cried is a brave cautionary tale about crossing over that invisible line to the other side (the parenting side), where everything changes and it only gets worse. But most of all, it's a celebration of a love so big it can break your heart into a million pieces.
It Takes a School: The Extraordinary Story of an American School in the World's #1 Failed State
by Jonathan StarrA story of David and Goliath proportions, how an American hedge fund manager created a unique school in Somaliland whose students, against all odds, have come to achieve success beyond anyone’s wildest dreamsJonathan Starr, once a cutthroat hedge fund manager, is not your traditional do-gooder, and in 2009, when he decided to found Abaarso, a secondary school in Somaliland, the choice seemed crazy to even his closest friends. “Why,” they wondered, “would he turn down a life of relative luxury to relocate to an armed compound in a breakaway region of the world’s #1 failed state?” To achieve his mission, Starr would have to overcome profound cultural differences, broken promises, and threats to his safety and that of his staff. It Takes a School is the story of how an abstract vision became a transformative reality, as Starr set out to build a school in a place forgotten by the world. It is the story of a skeptical and clan-based society learning to give way to trust. And it’s the story of the students themselves, including a boy from a family of nomads who took off on his own in search of an education and a girl who waged a hunger strike in order to convince her strict parents to send her to Abaarso. Abaarso has placed forty graduates and counting in American universities, from Harvard to MIT, and sends Somaliland a clear message: its children can compete with anyone in the world. Now the initial question Starr was asked demands another: “If such a success can happen in an unrecognized breakaway region of Somalia, can it not happen anywhere?”
It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us
by Hillary Rodham ClintonImproving how our nation raises its children
It Takes a Worried Man: A Memoir
by Brendan HalpinThis book is a horror story and a comedy, but, most of all, it is a love story written when the author's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the story of what happens to a man who fears that his best friend might leave him forever.
It Takes a Worried Man: A Memoir
by Brendan HalpinHilarious and heartbreaking, profane and profound, It Takes a Worried Man is the true story of a young husband and father whose life is changed forever by his wife's breast cancer diagnosis. Following Brendan Halpin's cranky, irreverent and lustful thoughts through the diagnosis and treatment of his wife, Kirsten, It Takes a Worried Man is an unflinching and raw look at how cancer transforms a family. It's also the funniest book about cancer you'll ever read.
It Takes Blood and Guts
by Skin Lucy O'Brien'One of the most important females in British music of my lifetime.' Colin Murray 'A beautiful, raw and exhilarating book that will leave you feeling empowered.' Fearne Cotton &‘The former Skunk Anansie singer pulls no punches in this heady trawl through her life from tough beginnings in Brixton to work as an LGBTQ+ activist and beyond&’ The ILead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, solo artist, LGBTQ+activist and all around trail blazer – Skin is a global icon, and she has been smashing stereotypes for over twenty-five years. Her journey from Brixton to one of the most influential women in British rock is nothing short of extraordinary. &‘It&’s been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it&’s been a fight and it will always be a fight. That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder… It&’s not supposed to be easy, particularly if you&’re a woman, you&’re black or you are gay like me. You&’ve got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be.&’ Born to Jamaican parents, Skin grew up in Brixton in the 1970&’s. Her career as an artist began in the &‘90s, when Skunk Anansie was formed in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London&’s pubs. Since then she has headlined Glastonbury and toured the world, both as lead singer of Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist. Her success has been groundbreaking in every way, which has come at a personal cost. She has always been vocal about social and cultural issues, and was championing LGBTQ+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay. Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a gay, black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the most influential women in British rock.
It Takes One to Tango: How I Rescued My Marriage with (Almost) No Help from My Spouse—and How You Can, Too
by Winifred M. ReillyWith a focus on self-empowerment and resilience, this refreshing and witty relationship guide has a reassuring counterintuitive message for unhappy spouses: you only need one partner to initiate far-reaching positive change in a marriage.Conventional wisdom says that &“it takes two&” to turn a troubled marriage around and that both partners must have a shared commitment to change. So when couples can&’t agree on how—or whether—to make their marriage better, many give up or settle for a less-than-satisfying marriage (or think the only way out is divorce).Fortunately, there is an alternative. &“What distinguishes Reilly&’s book is that she says a warring couple don&’t have to agree on the goal of staying together; it takes one person changing, not both, to make a marriage work&” (The New York Times).Marriage and family therapist Winifred Reilly has this message for struggling partners: Take the lead. Doing so is effective—and powerful. Through Reilly&’s own story of reclaiming her now nearly forty-year marriage, along with anecdotes from many clients she&’s worked with, you&’ll learn how to:-Focus on your own behaviors and change them in ways that make you feel good about yourself and your marriage -Take a firm stand for what truly matters to you without arguing, cajoling, or resorting to threats -Identify the &“big picture&” issues at the basis of your repetitive fights—and learn how to unhook from them -Be less reactive, especially in the face of your spouse&’s provocations -Develop the strength and stamina to be the sole agent of changeCombining psychological theory, practical advice, and personal narrative, It Takes One to Tango is a &“wise and uplifting&” (Dr. Ellyn Bader, Director of The Couples Institute) guide that will empower those who choose to take a bold, proactive approach to creating a loving and lasting marriage.
It Takes Two: Our Story
by Jonathan Scott Drew ScottA New York Times bestseller! Jonathan and Drew Scott, known for their wildly popular HGTV shows including Property Brothers and Brother vs Brother, follow up their New York Times bestseller, Dream Home, with a highly anticipated memoir. It Takes Two: Our Story shares never-before-revealed tales of the brothers&’ childhood and rise to fame—from starting their first business at 7 years old, their years modeling and acting, to their first house purchase at the impressive young age of eighteen. They soon found their true passion in life, combining their natural gifts for entertaining with the skills they learned from buying, renovating, and selling homes.Complete with hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from set, Jonathan and Drew discuss how their family and upbringing have led to their success in life. Throughout, the brothers keep fans laughing with the clever—and sometimes zany—sibling banter for which they&’re known best.
It Took Heroes: A Cavalry Chaplain's Memoir of Vietnam
by Claude D. NewbyThe soldiers in 1st Cav fought some of Vietnam’s fiercest battles— and Chaplain Newby was there right beside them. For grunts in Vietnam, the war was a jungle hell of sudden death, endless suffering, and supreme courage. For Chaplain Newby, it was an honor to be chosen to share it with them. In enemy-held highlands and fetid jungles, Newby regularly accompanied patrols, company-sized missions, chopper strikes, and air rescues—sharing the men’s dreams, their fears, and their dying moments. Searing, brutally accurate, and dedicated to the truth, Claude Newby’s account of brave men fighting a tragic war captures that time in all its horror and heroism. Newby doesn’t shrink from exposing the war’s darker side; his quiet description of the murderous events that came to be known as “the Mao incident” proves that justice can prevail. Ultimately, Newby’s riveting stories reveal the tremendous valor and sacrifices of ordinary Americans facing constant danger, shattering losses, and an increasingly indifferent nation. His book is a shining tribute to those who fought, those who died, and those who came home to a country determined to forget them. From the Paperback edition.
It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump
by Stuart Stevens<P><P>From the most successful Republican political operative of his generation, a searing, unflinching, and deeply personal exposé of how his party became what it is todayStuart Stevens spent decades electing Republicans at every level, from presidents to senators to local officials. He knows the GOP as intimately as anyone in America, and in this new book he offers a devastating portrait of a party that has lost its moral and political compass. <P><P>This is not a book about how Donald J. Trump hijacked the Republican Party and changed it into something else. Stevens shows how Trump is in fact the natural outcome of five decades of hypocrisy and self-delusion, dating all the way back to the civil rights legislation of the early 1960s. Stevens shows how racism has always lurked in the modern GOP's DNA, from Goldwater's opposition to desegregation to Ronald Reagan's welfare queens and states' rights rhetoric. He gives an insider's account of the rank hypocrisy of the party's claims to embody "family values," and shows how the party's vaunted commitment to fiscal responsibility has been a charade since the 1980s. When a party stands for nothing, he argues, it is only natural that it will be taken over by the loudest and angriest voices in the room. <P><P>It Was All a Lie is not just an indictment of the Republican Party, but a candid and often lacerating mea culpa. Stevens is not asking for pity or forgiveness; he is simply telling us what he has seen firsthand. He helped to create the modern party that kneels before a morally bankrupt con man and now he wants nothing more than to see what it has become burned to the ground. <P><P><b>A New York Times bestseller</b>
It Was Me All Along
by Andie MitchellA yet heartbreakingly honest, endearing memoir of incredible weight loss by a young food blogger who battles body image issues and overcomes food addiction to find self-acceptance. All her life, Andie Mitchell had eaten lustily and mindlessly. Food was her babysitter, her best friend, her confidant, and it provided a refuge from her fractured family. But when she stepped on the scale on her twentieth birthday and it registered a shocking 268 pounds, she knew she had to change the way she thought about food and herself; that her life was at stake. It Was Me All Along takes Andie from working class Boston to the romantic streets of Rome, from morbidly obese to half her size, from seeking comfort in anything that came cream-filled and two-to-a-pack to finding balance in exquisite (but modest) bowls of handmade pasta. This story is about much more than a woman who loves food and abhors her body. It is about someone who made changes when her situation seemed too far gone and how she discovered balance in an off-kilter world. More than anything, though, it is the story of her finding beauty in acceptance and learning to love all parts of herself.
It Was Never About the Ketchup!: One Life Can Make A Difference: The Life and Leadership Secrets of H. J. Heinz
by Steve LentzThe inspiring life of the visionary food mogul whose last name has become synonymous with America’s favorite condiment. In a world that has become increasingly complex, complicated and impersonal, it is easy to feel that each of our individual lives is relatively insignificant. But nothing could be further from the truth. Every life is unique! Each of us is created with the potential to make this world a better place because of our presence in it! The life of H. J. Heinz can inspire each of us to live a life that makes a difference. What makes his life so inspiring to me is his love for the common—the common place, the common man, today’s common tasks and work. H. J. Heinz built an empire by doing common things uncommonly well! In the process, he left his mark in this world and left a legacy—a fortune—for generations to come. But his focus was never on his fortune. It never was about the ketchup!
It Wasn't Always Easy, But I Sure Had Fun: The Best of Lewis Grizzard
by Lewis GrizzardFrom the book: On March 20, 1994, the day Lewis Grizzard died-America lost an important and opinionated and angry and loving and controversial voice. Worst of all, it lost a funny voice, a voice that saw the absurd and hilarious side of everyday life-from the battle between the sexes to the hypocrisy of political blather to the all important differences between good ol' Georgia bulldog-rooting Southerners and Harvard-attending Yankees. If Lewis Grizzard fought for anything, he fought for Americans to keep their sence of humor. He railed against political correctness-largely because it is nearly impossible to smile and to be politically correct. He ranted and raved against what he called the Thought Police-because it is surely not possible to laugh when someone is telling you what to think and how to act. There have been few writers whose points of biew were as personal and as direct as Lewis's.. Yet, there are few writers who have been as misunderstood as Lewis was. Yes, he was fierce in his beliefs, but Lewis didn't care if you shared his opinions. He was more interested in making his readers think. Or shaking them up. Or just plain getting them teed off. If he had to express an outrageous opinion to do so, so be it. It Wasn't Always Easy, but I Sure Had Fun, is a book of outrageous opinions, in fact it's full of Lewis Grizzard's most outrageous opinions. It is the book Lewis was working on when he died. It contains what he thought represented the best of the last decade of his writing. Over the years, there was nothing that Lewis shied away from talking-sex, Politics, culture, men, women, mothers, fathers, dogs, honor, racism, the past, the present, or the future. And rarely has there been a writer whose own presence so dominated his writing. So when you're reading this book, you're not just reading what Lewis Grizzard thought, you're reading what Lewis Grizzard was. As Lewis final word, It Wasn't Always Easy but I sure Had Fun is a fitting tribute. And yes, Lewis, we do promise that even without you to remind us, we will somehow manage to ignore the Thought Police and keep on laughing. Other books by Lewis Grizzard are available from Bookshare.
It Wasn't Roaring, It Was Weeping: Interpreting the Language of Our Fathers Without Repeating Their Stories
by Lisa-Jo BakerAn honest and lyrical coming-of-age memoir of growing up in South Africa at the height of apartheid, and an invitation to recognize and refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers—from the bestselling author of Never Unfriended&“Heartfelt, emotionally charged reflections . . . [a] bracing memoir.&”—Kirkus Review&“Important. Riveting. Unforgettable . . . a profoundly captivating story that can profoundly change your own story.&”—Ann Voskamp, New York Times bestselling author of WayMakerBorn White in the heart of Zululand during the racial apartheid, Lisa-Jo Baker longed to write a new future for her children—a longing that set her on a journey to understand where she fit into a story of violence and faith, history and race. Before marriage and motherhood, she came to the United States to study to become a human rights advocate. When she naïvely walked right into America&’s own turbulent racial landscape, Baker experienced the kind of painful awakening that is both individual and universal, personal and social. Yet years would go by before she traced this American trauma back to her own South African past.Baker was a teenager when her mother died of cancer, leaving her with her father. Though they shared a language of faith and justice, she often feared him, unaware that his fierce temper had deep roots in a family&’s and a nation&’s pain. Decades later, old wounds reopened when she found herself spiraling into a terrifying version of her father, screaming herself hoarse at her son. Only then did Baker realize that to go forward—to refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers—we must first go back.With a story that stretches from South Africa&’s outback to Washington, D.C., It Wasn&’t Roaring, It Was Weeping is a courageous look at inherited hurts and prejudices, and a hope-filled example for all who feel lost in life or worried that they&’re too off course to make the necessary corrections. Baker&’s story shows that it&’s never too late to be free.
It Will Yet Be Heard: A Polish Rabbi's Witness of the Shoah and Survival
by Leon ThorneNobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer once described Dr. Leon Thorne’s memoir as a work of “bitter truth” that he compared favorably to the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Proust. Out of print for over forty years, this lost classic of Holocaust literature now reappears in a revised, annotated edition, including both Thorne’s original 1961 memoir Out of the Ashes: The Story of a Survivor and his previously unpublished accounts of his arduous postwar experiences in Germany and Poland. Rabbi Thorne composed his memoir under extraordinary conditions, confined to a small underground bunker below a Polish peasant’s pigsty. But, It Will Yet Be Heard is remarkable not only for the story of its composition, but also for its moral clarity and complexity. A deeply religious man, Rabbi Thorne bore witness to forced labor camps, human degradation, and the murders of entire communities. And once he emerged from hiding, he grappled not only with survivor’s guilt, but also with the lingering antisemitism and anti-Jewish violence in Poland even after the war ended. Harrowing, moving, and deeply insightful, Rabbi Thorne’s firsthand account offers a rediscovered perspective on the twentieth century’s greatest tragedy.
It Won't Always Be Like This: A Graphic Memoir
by Malaka GharibAn intimate graphic memoir about an American girl growing up with her Egyptian father&’s new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country—from the award-winning author of I Was Their American Dream. &“What a joy it is to read Malaka Gharib&’s It Won&’t Always Be Like This, to have your heart expertly broken and put back together within the space of a few panels, to have your wonder in the world restored by her electric mind.&”—Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Book RiotIt&’s hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you&’re young, but even harder when you&’re in a country where you don&’t understand the language, culture, or social norms. Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself. It Won&’t Always Be Like This is a touching time capsule of Gharib&’s childhood memories—each summer a fleeting moment in time—and a powerful reflection on identity, relationships, values, family, and what happens when it all collides.
It Won't Be Easy: An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching
by Tom RademacherTom Rademacher wishes someone had handed him this sort of book along with his teaching degree: a clear-eyed, frank, boots-on-the ground account of what he was getting into. But first he had to write it. And as 2014’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Rademacher knows what he’s talking about. Less a how-to manual than a tribute to an impossible and impossibly rewarding profession, It Won’t Be Easy captures the experience of teaching in all its messy glory.The book follows a year of teaching, with each chapter tackling a different aspect of the job. Pulling no punches (and resisting no punch lines), he writes about establishing yourself in a new building; teaching meaningful classes, keeping students a priority; investigating how race, gender, and identity affect your work; and why it’s a good idea to keep an extra pair of pants at school. Along the way he answers the inevitable and the unanticipated questions, from what to do with Google to how to tell if you’re really a terrible teacher, to why “Keep your head down” might well be the worst advice for a new teacher.Though directed at prospective and newer teachers, It Won’t Be Easy is mercifully short on jargon and long on practical wisdom, accessible to anyone—teacher, student, parent, pundit—who is interested in a behind-the-curtain look at teaching and willing to understand that, while there are no simple answers, there is power in learning to ask the right questions.
It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership
by Colin Powell Tony KoltzNew York Times Bestselling AuthorColin Powell, one of America’s most admired public figures, reveals the unique lessons that shaped his life and careerIt Worked for Me is a collection of lessons and personal anecdotes that shaped four star-general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s legendary career in public service. At its heart are Powell’s “Thirteen Rules,”—notes he accumulated on his desk that served as the basis for the leadership presentations he delivered throughout the world.Powell’s short-but-sweet rules such as “Get mad, then get over it” and “Share credit,” are illuminated by revealing personal stories that introduce and expand on his principles for effective leadership: conviction, hard work, and above all, respect for others. In work and life, Powell writes, “It is the human gesture that counts.”A compelling storyteller, Powell shares parables both humorous and solemn that offer wise advice on succeeding in the workplace and beyond. “Trust your people,” he councils as he delegates presidential briefing responsibilities to two junior aides. “Do your best--someone is watching,” he advises those just starting out, recalling his own teenage summer job shipping cases of soda. Powell combines the insight he gained serving in the top ranks of the military and in four presidential administrations, as well as the lessons learned from his hardscrabble upbringing in the Bronx and his training in the ROTC. The result is a powerful portrait of a leader who was reflective, self-effacing, and grateful for the contributions of every employee, no matter how junior.Powell’s writing--straightforward, accessible, and often very funny--will inspire, move, and surprise readers. Thoughtful and revealing, his book is a brilliant and original blueprint for leadership.
An Italian Affair
by Laura FraserWhen Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school sweetheart, she takes off, on impulse, for Italy, hoping to leave some of her sadness behind. There, on the island of Ischia, she meets M., an aesthetics professor from Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be a casual vacation tryst turns into a passionate, transatlantic love affair, as they rendezvous in London, Marrakech, Milan, the Aeolian Islands, and San Francisco. Each encounter is a delirious immersion into place (sumptuous food and wine, dazzling scenery, lush gardens, and vibrant streetscapes) and into each other. And with each experience, Laura brings home not only a lasting sense of pleasure, but a more fully recovered sense of her emotional and sexual self. Written with an observant eye, an open mind, and a delightful sense of humor, An Italian Affair has the irresistible honesty of a story told from and about the heart.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Italian Days
by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison"Italian Days" is one of the richest and most absorbing travel books written--a journey that traverses the Italian peninsula and immerses readers in a culture which provides the reader with a definition of the good life. "Harrison's wonderful journal will make you update your passport and dream of subletting your job, home, etc. . . . "
An Italian Education: The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona
by Tim ParksA &“marvelous&” Mediterranean memoir of an expatriate father raising his children in Italy—from the author of Italian Neighbors (The Washington Post). Tim Parks offers another lively firsthand account of Italian society and culture—this time focusing on all the little things that turn an ordinary newborn infant into a true Italian. When British-born Tim Parks heard a mother at the beach in Pescara shout to her son, &“Alberto, don&’t sweat! No you can&’t go in the sea till eleven, it&’s still too cold, go and see your cousin in row three number fifty-two,&” he was inspired to write about parenting in Italy—which he was doing himself at the time after adopting the country as his own. In this humorous memoir, Parks offers an enchanting portrait of Italian childhood that shifts from comedy to despair in the time it takes to sing a lullaby. The result is &“a wry, thoughtful, and often hilarious book . . . a parable of how our children, no matter what, are other than ourselves&” (The New Yorker). &“Glimpses of Italy that are fond, critical, pithy and penetrating.&” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Italian Grows in Brooklyn
by Jerry Della Femina Charles SopkinA funny, touching, and bitter memoir about myths and misconceptions of being Italian American. Within a thirty-year span in the early 19th century, the Delia Femina family nearly empties their Italian village near Naples and migrates to Brooklyn's Gravesend neighborhood in the United States. The Italian's inability to let anyone leave the family meant the family moved intact to the United States as they kept their village habits and customs.
The Italian Home for Children
by Christopher F. SmallAs it ravaged the world, the influenza epidemic of 1918 devastated Boston's congested North End and left hundreds of orphans in its wake. Touched by this crisis, a Roman Catholic priest and a group of Italian Americans founded the first home for Italian children in Massachusetts. Franciscan Sisters devoted 24 hours a day to providing the children with a safe, loving, and spiritual environment. In addition, the home provided educational support for its residents. Over time, the changing needs of children mandated that the agency change the nature of its services from custodial care to treatment. In 1974, in response to the changing political and social climate, the agency became the Italian Home for Children. Today, it is a nonprofit, nonsectarian residential treatment facility with a capacity for 61 children of all races, nationalities, and religions. The images in The Italian Home for Children document milestones in the organization's history: the devastating influenza epidemic, the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas plays, a visit from Joe DiMaggio, trips to Canobie Lake Park in the summer, the Tony Martin benefit performance at Boston Garden, and the home as it is today--a refuge for children in the most severe crises.
Italian Hours
by Henry JamesIt is a great pleasure to write the word; but I am not sure there is not a certain impudence in pretending to add anything to it. Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times, and of all the cities of the world is the easiest to visit without going there. Open the first book and you will find a rhapsody about it; step into the first picture-dealer's and you will find three or four high-coloured "views" of it. There is notoriously nothing more to be said on the subject. Every one has been there, and every one has brought back a collection of photographs. There is as little mystery about the Grand Canal as about our local thoroughfare, and the name of St. Mark is as familiar as the postman's ring. It is not forbidden, however, to speak of familiar things, and I hold that for the true Venice-lover Venice is always in order. There is nothing new to be said about her certainly, but the old is better than any novelty. It would be a sad day indeed when there should be something new to say. I write these lines with the full consciousness of having no information whatever to offer. I do not pretend to enlighten the reader; I pretend only to give a fillip to his memory; and I hold any writer sufficiently justified who is himself in love with his theme.
Italian Oakland (Images of America)
by Rick MalaspinaOakland, the other city by the bay, was a magnet for Italian immigrants in the early decades of the 20th century. Some relocated from San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire; many more came to Oakland predominantly from Italy's northern regions of Piedmont, Liguria, and Lombardy in search of opportunity and prosperity. These pioneers worked hard, typically at backbreaking labor, to build new lives. They raised a generation of children who succeeded in their own right and contributed in various ways to their community and nation. As they established new roots and adopted new ways, congregating largely in north Oakland's vibrant and bustling Temescal neighborhood, these Italian Americans also nurtured their Old Country customs and traditions--many of which, along with rare glimpses of bygone days, are portrayed in this charming trip through time.