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The Feminist Utopia Project: Fifty-Seven Visions of a Wildly Better Future
by Edited by Alexandra Brodsky and Rachel Kauder NalebuffThis &“incredible addition to the feminist canon&” brings together the most inspiring, creative, and courageous voices concerning modern women&’s issues (Jessica Valenti, editor of Yes Means Yes). In this groundbreaking collection, more than fifty cutting-edge feminist writers—including Melissa Harris-Perry, Janet Mock, Sheila Heti, and Mia McKenzie—invite us to imagine a world of freedom and equality in which: An abortion provider reinvents birth control . . . The economy values domestic work . . . A teenage rock band dreams up a new way to make music . . . The Constitution is re-written with women&’s rights at the fore . . . The standard for good sex is raised with a woman&’s pleasure in mind . . . The Feminist Utopia Project challenges the status quo that accepts inequality and violence as a given, &“offering playful, earnest, challenging, and hopeful versions of our collective future in the form of creative nonfiction, fiction, visual art, poetry, and more&” (Library Journal).
Transforming Japan: How Feminism and Diversity Are Making a Difference
by Kumiko Fujimura-FanselowA volume of essays by Japan&’s leading female scholars and activists exploring their country&’s recent progressive cultural shift. When the feminist movement finally arrived in Japan in the 1990s, no one could have foreseen the wide-ranging changes it would bring to the country. Nearly every aspect of contemporary life has been impacted, from marital status to workplace equality, education, politics, and sexuality. Now more than ever, the Japanese myth of a homogenous population living within traditional gender roles is being challenged. The LGBTQ population is coming out of the closet, ever-present minorities are mobilizing for change, single mothers are a growing population, and women are becoming political leaders. In Transforming Japan, Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow has gathered the most comprehensive collection of essays written by Japanese educators and researchers on the ways in which present-day Japan confronts issues of gender, sexuality, race, discrimination, power, and human rights.
A History of Jews in Germany Since 1945: Politics, Culture, and Society
by Michael BrennerA comprehensive account of Jewish life in a country that carries the legacy of being at the epicenter of the Holocaust. Originally published in German in 2012, this comprehensive history of Jewish life in postwar Germany provides a systematic account of Jews and Judaism from the Holocaust to the early 21st Century by leading experts of modern German-Jewish history. Beginning in the immediate postwar period with a large concentration of Eastern European Holocaust survivors stranded in Germany, the book follows Jews during the relative quiet period of the 50s and early 60s during which the foundations of new Jewish life were laid. Brenner&’s volume goes on to address the rise of anti-Israel sentiments after the Six Day War as well as the beginnings of a critical confrontation with Germany&’s Nazi past in the late 60s and early 70s, noting the relatively small numbers of Jews living in Germany up to the 90s. The contributors argue that these Jews were a powerful symbolic presence in German society and sent a meaningful signal to the rest of the world that Jewish life was possible again in Germany after the Holocaust. &“This volume, which illuminates a multi-faceted panorama of Jewish life after 1945, will remain the authoritative reading on the subject for the time to come.&” —Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung &“An eminently readable work of history that addresses an important gap in the scholarship and will appeal to specialists and interested lay readers alike.&” —Reading Religion &“Comprehensive, meticulously researched, and beautifully translated.&” —CHOICE
UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens: What Science Says
by Donald R. Prothero Timothy D. CallahanA wide-ranging survey offers &“entertainment as well as wisdom for everyone who&’s ever wondered what&’s behind so many conspiracy theories and paranormal phenomena&” (Publishers Weekly). UFOs. Aliens. Strange crop circles. Giant figures scratched in the desert surface along the coast of Peru. The amazing alignment of the pyramids. Strange lines of clouds in the sky. The paranormal is alive and well in the American cultural landscape. In UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens, Donald R. Prothero and Tim Callahan explore why such demonstrably false beliefs thrive despite decades of education and scientific debunking. Employing the ground rules of science and the standards of scientific evidence, Prothero and Callahan discuss a wide range of topics including the reliability of eyewitness testimony, psychological research into why people want to believe in aliens and UFOs, and the role conspiratorial thinking plays in UFO culture. They examine a variety of UFO sightings and describe the standards of evidence used to determine whether UFOs are actual alien spacecraft. Finally, they consider our views of aliens and the strong cultural signals that provide the shapes and behaviors of these beings. While their approach is firmly based in science, Prothero and Callahan also share their personal experiences of Area 51, Roswell, and other legendary sites, creating a narrative that is sure to engross both skeptics and believers.
Looking After Minidoka: An American Memoir (Break Away Bks.)
by Neil NakadateA &“clear-eyed, carefully researched but nonetheless passionate book&” that is &“rich with the closely observed details of internment camp life&” (Lauren Kessler, author of Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family). During World War II, 110,000 Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and incarcerated by the US government. In Looking After Minidoka, the &“internment camp&” years become a prism for understanding three generations of Japanese-American life, from immigration to the end of the twentieth century. Nakadate blends history, poetry, rescued memory, and family stories in an American narrative of hope and disappointment, language and education, employment and social standing, prejudice and pain, communal values and personal dreams. &“Poetic yet sharply honest, the family story unfolds within the larger context of the national saga. You&’ll wince but read it anyway. Your soul will be better for it.&” —Nuvo &“This book is highly readable and contains fascinating details not usually covered in other books on Japanese-American history.&” —Oregon Historical Quarterly
From Eve to Dawn: The Masculine Mystique from Feudalism to the French Revolution (Origins #2)
by Marilyn French&“Filled with fascinating detail . . . this second volume of French&’s massive and valuable work is an example of scholarship and clear vision.&” —Publishers Weekly This volume of New York Times–bestselling author Marilyn French&’s monumental history analyzes and evaluates the lives of women in societies around the world between feudal times and the French Revolution. Drawing upon fifteen years of collaboration with a team of researchers and prominent historians, the volume opens with fascinating chapters comparing medieval Europe and Japan, disparate cultures which nevertheless shared traditions of male dominated aggression and competitiveness. French then shows how, in Europe, this tradition led to colonialism and imperialism, and the horrific subjugation of indigenous societies, just as women were subjugated in the conquerors&’ home countries. As French makes clear in this impassioned women&’s history, only with the French Revolution did the political force women exerted powerfully change the course of history. &“French gives us grand theory at its best, wading through copious amounts of scholarly data on the histories of civilizations and offering up, in readable prose, an important synthesis.&” —Library Journal
The Great Fossil Enigma: The Search for the Conodont Animal (Life of the Past)
by Simon J. KnellA fascinating, comprehensive, accessible account of conodont fossils—one of paleontology&’s greatest mysteries: &“Deserves to be widely read and enjoyed&” (Priscum). Stephen Jay Gould borrowed from Winston Churchill when he described the eel-like conodont animal as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The search for its identity confounded scientists for more than a century. Some thought it a slug, others a fish, a worm, a plant, even a primitive ancestor of ourselves. As the list of possibilities grew, an answer to the riddle never seemed any nearer. Would the animal that left behind the miniscule fossils known as conodonts ever be identified? Three times the creature was found, but each was quite different from the others. Were any of them really the one? Simon J. Knell takes the reader on a journey through 150 years of scientific thinking, imagining, and arguing. Slowly the animal begins to reveal traces of itself: its lifestyle, its remarkable evolution, its witnessing of great catastrophes, its movements over the surface of the planet, and finally its anatomy. Today the conodont animal remains perhaps the most disputed creature in the zoological world.
The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present)
by Rush Loving Jr.An award-winning account of a crisis in railroad history: &“This absorbing book takes you on an entertaining ride.&” —Chicago Tribune A saga about one of the oldest and most romantic enterprises in the land—America&’s railroads—The Men Who Loved Trains introduces the chieftains who have run the railroads, both those who set about grabbing power and big salaries for themselves, and others who truly loved the industry. As a journalist and associate editor of Fortune magazine who covered the demise of Penn Central and the creation of Conrail, Rush Loving often had a front-row seat to the foibles and follies of this group of men. He uncovers intrigue, greed, lust for power, boardroom battles, and takeover wars and turns them into a page-turning story. He recounts how the chairman of CSX Corporation, who later became George W. Bush&’s Treasury secretary, managed to make millions for himself while his company drifted in chaos. Yet there were also those who loved trains and railroading—and who played key roles in reshaping transportation in the northeastern United States. This book will delight not only the rail fan, but anyone interested in American business and history. Includes photographs
We, Too, Must Love
by Ann AldrichA literary lesbian landmark that &“will transport today&’s readers . . . to the 1950s homosexual scene&” (Marcia M. Gallo, author of Different Daughters). Three years after the publication of her groundbreaking 1955 bestseller, We Walk Alone, Ann Aldrich expanded on her journalistic portraits of lesbian subcultures in and around New York, in We, Too, Must Love. Inspired by the hundreds of letters she received by women from around the country (many reprinted here), Aldrich tackled questions of class division; explored the diverse careers lesbians held; guided readers through the social cliques and bar scenes; set the record straight on gay stereotypes; observed the differences among the &“Village,&” &“Uptown,&” and Brooklyn lesbian communities; and hinted at the growing consciousness that would fuel later lesbian and gay rights movements. We Walk Alone and We, Too, Must Love are, in effect, &“indispensable guides to a hidden world&” (Advocate.com). &“Simultaneously intimate and investigative, subjective and discerning&” (UTNE Magazine), &“Aldrich touched innumerable lives and gave hope to lesbians mired in a harsh and ignorant era. Read these books to learn what it was like back then, what we believed and how we made a start in the struggle against prejudice.&” —Ann Bannon, author of The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
Into the Go-Slow
by Bridgett M. DavisA young black woman visits Africa on a quest for peace, meaning, and love in &“a beautiful allegory at the heart of a realist novel . . . A strong book&” (Chris Abani, author of The Secret History of Las Vegas). In 1986 Detroit, twenty-one-year-old Angie is still mourning the death of her brilliant, radical sister, Ella, when she impulsively decides to pack up and go to the place where Ella tragically died four years before: Nigeria. There, Angie retraces her sister&’s steps, all the while navigating the chaotic landscape of a major African country on the brink of democracy and careening toward a coup d&’état. At the center of her quest is a love affair that upends everything Angie thought she knew about herself. Against a backdrop of Nigeria&’s infamous &“go-slow&”—traffic as wild and unpredictable as the country itself—Angie begins to unravel the mysteries of the past, and opens herself up to love and life after Ella.
Mr. Tuba
by Harvey PhillipsThe autobiography of &“possibly the greatest tuba player of all time&” (New York Times), the man who &“put class in the low brass.&” (Clark Terry, jazz trumpeter) With warmth and humor, tuba virtuoso Harvey Phillips tells the story of his amazing life and career—from his Missouri childhood through his days as a performer with the King Brothers and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses, his training at the Juilliard School, a stint with the U.S. Army Field Band, and his freelance days with the New York City Opera and Ballet. A founder of the New York Brass Quintet, Phillips served as vice president of the New England Conservatory of Music and became Distinguished Professor of Music at Indiana University. The creator of an industry of TubaChristmases, Octubafests, and TubaSantas, he crusaded for recognition of the tuba as a serious musical instrument, commissioning more than 200 works. Enhanced by an extensive gallery of photographs, Mr. Tuba conveys Phillips&’s playful zest for life while documenting his important musical legacy. &“Mr. Tuba is not only a memoir, but it is a history of the twentieth century American music world and a resource for all music teachers and music lovers.&” —NBA Journal &“A lively and informative read.&” —Herald-Times &“[Phillips&’s] autobiography is a fitting end to his life&’s works, underlined with the same sense of inspiration and integrity that informed all of his musical activities.&” —Bloom Magazine
William Faulkner: A Life through Novels
by André Bleikasten&“Accessible . . . Engaging . . . May well be our fullest account to date of what Bleikasten calls Faulkner&’s &‘energy for life&’ and &‘will to write.&’&” —Theresa Towner, author of The Cambridge Introduction to William Faulkner Writing to American poet Malcolm Cowley in 1949, William Faulkner expressed his wish to be known only through his books—but his wish would not come true. He would go on to win the Nobel Prize for literature several months later, and when he died famous in 1962, his biographers immediately began to unveil and dissect the unhappy life of &“the little man from Mississippi.&” Despite the many works published about Faulkner, his life and career, it still remains a mystery how a poet of minor symbolist poems rooted in the history of the Deep South became one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century. Here, renowned critic André Bleikasten revisits Faulkner&’s biography through the author&’s literary imagination. Weaving together correspondence and archival research with the graceful literary analysis for which he is known, Bleikasten presents a multi-strand account of Faulkner&’s life in writing. By carefully keeping both the biographical and imaginative lives in hand, Bleikasten teases out threads that carry the reader through the major events in Faulkner&’s life, emphasizing those circumstances that mattered most to his writing: the weight of his multi-generational family history in the South; the formation of his oppositional temperament provoked by a resistance to Southern bourgeois propriety; his creative and sexual restlessness and uncertainty; his lifelong struggle with finances and alcohol; his paradoxical escape to the bondages of Hollywood; and his final bent toward self-destruction. This is the story of the man who wrote timeless works and lived in and through his novels.
Folly: A Novel
by Maureen BradyA modern classic of race, labor rights, and lesbian love written &“with an authenticity, a force, a caring that deepens and enlarges us" (Tillie Olsen, author of Tell Me A Riddle). Brought together by the tragic death of an infant, black and white women at a North Carolina textile factory join together to strike against the plant&’s unfeeling management. A story of race relations and the power of grassroots organizing, this absorbing novel becomes a love story when two very different women in the group fall for each other. Speaking first to the value of labor and the realities of homophobia and racism, this story also celebrates the transformative power of love in the lives of maginalized women. Library Journal praised Folly for the &“depth and reality of its characters.&” And as the Washington Blade said, &“this book effectively reminds readers that, although we have made many gains, we have a long way to go.&”
Streb: How to Become an Extreme Action Hero
by Elizabeth StrebAn inspiring memoir and self-help guide to greatness by the dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov calls &“fearlessness and intelligence combined . . . potent and beautiful.&” Called &“the Evel Knievel of Dance,&” Elizabeth Streb has been pushing boundaries and testing the potential of the human body since childhood. Can she fly? Can she run up walls? Can she break through glass? How fast can she go? With clarity and humor—and with her internationally-renowned dance troupe STREB—she continues to investigate what movement truly is and has come to these conclusions: It&’s off the ground! It creates impact! And it hurts trying to stop! Here, Streb combines memoir and analysis to convey how she became an extreme action dancer and choreographer, developing a form of movement that&’s more NASCAR than modern dance, more boxing than ballet, and more than most people can handle &“in this dizzying, inspirational self-help&” books (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
And the Spirit Moved Them: The Lost Radical History of America's First Feminists
by Helen LaKelly HuntThe New York Times–bestselling author of Getting the Love You Want sends out a &‘call for renewed feminist action, based on &“the spirit and ethic of love&’&” (Kirkus Reviews). A decade before the Seneca Falls Convention, black and white women joined together at the 1837 Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in the first instance of political organizing by American women for American women. Incited by &“holy indignation,&” these pioneers believed it was their God-given duty to challenge both slavery and patriarchy. Although the convention was largely written out of history for its religious and interracial character, these women created a blueprint for an intersectional feminism that was centuries ahead of its time. Part historical investigation, part personal memoir, Hunt traces how her research into nineteenth-century organizing led her to become one of the most significant philanthropists in modern history. Her journey to confront her position of power meant taking control of an oil fortune that was being deployed on her behalf but without her knowledge, and acknowledging the feminist faith animating her life&’s work.
Girl: My Childhood and the Second World War
by Alona Frankel&“An impressionistic memoir of a Polish Jewish girl&’s survival hiding as a Gentile in Nazi-occupied Poland . . . truly moving and bravely rendered.&” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review Alona Frankel was just two years old when Germany invaded Poland. After a Polish carpenter agreed to hide her parents but not her, Alona&’s parents desperately handed her over to a greedy woman who agreed to hide her only as long as they continued to send money. Isolated from her parents and living among pigs, horses, mice, and lice, Alona taught herself to read and drew on scraps of paper. The woman would send these drawings to Alona&’s parents as proof that Alona was still alive. In time, the money ran out and Alona was tossed into her parents&’ hiding place, at this point barely recognizing them. After Poland&’s liberation, Alona&’s mother was admitted to a terminal hospital and Alona handed over to a wealthy, arrogant family of Jewish survivors who eventually cast her off to an orphanage. Despite these daily horrors and dangers surrounding her, Alona&’s imagination could not be restrained. Faithful to the perspective of the heroine herself, Frankel, now a world-renowned children&’s author and illustrator, reveals a little girl full of life in a terrible, evil world. &“A wonderful contribution to the canon of Holocaust literature—the story of a hidden child that is told with indelible images and tender words.&” —Thane Rosenbaum, author of How Sweet It Is!
Elie Wiesel: Jewish, Literary, and Moral Perspectives (Jewish Literature And Culture Ser.)
by Steven T. Katz and Alan Rosen&“Illuminating . . . 24 academic essays covering Wiesel&’s interpretations of the Bible, retellings of Talmudic stories . . . his post-Holocaust theology, and more.&” —Publishers Weekly Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, best known for his writings on the Holocaust, is also the accomplished author of novels, essays, tales, and plays as well as portraits of seminal figures in Jewish life and experience. In this volume, leading scholars in the fields of Biblical, Rabbinic, Hasidic, Holocaust, and literary studies offer fascinating and innovative analyses of Wiesel&’s texts as well as enlightening commentaries on his considerable influence as a teacher and as a moral voice for human rights. By exploring the varied aspects of Wiesel&’s multifaceted career—his texts on the Bible, the Talmud, and Hasidism as well as his literary works, his teaching, and his testimony—this thought-provoking volume adds depth to our understanding of the impact of this important man of letters and towering international figure. &“This book reveals Elie Wiesel&’s towering intellectual capacity, his deeply held spiritual belief system, and the depth of his emotional makeup.&” —New York Journal of Books &“Close, scholarly readings of a master storyteller&’s fiction, memoirs and essays suggest his uncommon breadth and depth . . . Criticism that enhances the appreciation of readers well-versed in the author&’s work.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“Navigating deftly among Wiesel&’s varied scholarly and literary works, the authors view his writings from religious, social, political, and literary perspectives in highly accessible prose that will well serve a broad and diverse readership.&” —S. Lillian Kremer author of Women&’s Holocaust Writing: Memory and Imagination
Women Who Kill: With Previously Unpublished Material On The "battered Women's Syndrome"
by Ann JonesThis landmark study offers a rogues&’ gallery of women—from the Colonial Era to the 20th century—who answered abuse and oppression with murder: &“A classic&” (Gloria Steinem). Women rarely resort to murder. But when they do, they are likely to kill their intimates: husbands, lovers, or children. In Women Who Kill, journalist Ann Jones explores these homicidal patters and what they reflect about women and our culture. She considers notorious cases such as axe-murderer Lizzie Borden, acquitted of killing her parents; Belle Gunness, the Indiana housewife turned serial killer; Ruth Snyder, the &“adulteress&” electrocuted for murdering her husband; and Jean Harris, convicted of shooting her lover, the famous &“Scarsdale Diet doctor.&” Looking beyond sensationalized figures, Jones uncovers different trends of female criminality through American history—trends that reveal the evolving forms of oppression and abuse in our culture. From the prevalence of infanticide in colonial days to the poisoning of husbands in the nineteenth century and the battered wives who fight back today, Jones recounts the tales of dozens of women whose stories, and reasons, would otherwise be lost to history. First published in 1980, Women Who Kill is a &“provocative book&” that &“reminds us again that women are entitled to their rage.&” This 30th anniversary edition from Feminist Press includes a new introduction by the author (New York Times Book Review).
Geographies of the Holocaust (The\spatial Humanities Ser.)
by Anne Kelly Knowles Tim Cole Alberto Giordano&“[A] pioneering work . . . Shed[s] light on the historic events surrounding the Holocaust from place, space, and environment-oriented perspectives.&” —Rudi Hartmann, PhD, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado This book explores the geographies of the Holocaust at every scale of human experience, from the European continent to the experiences of individual human bodies. Built on six innovative case studies, it brings together historians and geographers to interrogate the places and spaces of the genocide. The cases encompass the landscapes of particular places (the killing zones in the East, deportations from sites in Italy, the camps of Auschwitz, the ghettos of Budapest) and the intimate spaces of bodies on evacuation marches. Geographies of the Holocaust puts forward models and a research agenda for different ways of visualizing and thinking about the Holocaust by examining the spaces and places where it was enacted and experienced. &“An excellent collection of scholarship and a model of interdisciplinary collaboration . . . The volume makes a timely contribution to the ongoing emergence of the spatial humanities and will undoubtedly advance scholarly and popular understandings of the Holocaust.&” —H-HistGeog &“An important work . . . and could be required reading in any number of courses on political geography, GIS, critical theory, biopolitics, genocide, and so forth.&” —Journal of Historical Geography &“Both students and researchers will find this work to be immensely informative and innovative . . . Essential.&” —Choice
Valerie Solanas: The Defiant Life of the Woman Who Wrote Scum (and Shot Andy Warhol)
by Breanne FahsThe authoritative biography of the 60s countercultural icon who wrote SCUM Manifesto, shot Andy Warhol, and made an unforgettable mark on feminist history. Valerie Solanas is one of the most polarizing figures of 1960s counterculture. A cult hero to some and vehemently denounced by others, she has been dismissed but never forgotten. Known for shooting Andy Warhol in 1968 and for writing the infamous SCUM Manifesto, Solanas became one of the most famous women of her era. But she was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent much of her life homeless or in mental hospitals. Solanas&’s SCUM Manifesto, a sui generis vision of radical gender dystopia, predicted ATMs, test-tube babies, the Internet, and artificial insemination long before they existed. It has sold more copies and been translated into more languages than nearly all other feminist texts of its time. And yet, shockingly little work has investigated the life of its author. This book is the first biography about Solanas, including original interviews with family, friends (and enemies), and numerous living Warhol associates. It reveals surprising details about Solanas&’s life: the children nearly no one knew she had, her drive for control over her own writing, and her elusive personal and professional relationships. Valerie Solanas reveals the tragic, remarkable life of an iconic figure. It is &“not only a remarkable biographical feat but also a delicate navigation of an unwieldy, demanding, and complex life story&” (BOMB Magazine).
Joss and Gold: A Novel
by Shirley Geok-lin LimA piercing tale of a Malaysian woman&’s quest for independence that combines &“the nuance of a poet with the ear of a born storyteller&” (Julia Watson, coeditor of Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader). Li An, a young Malaysian woman of Chinese descent, seeks to understand herself as the country around her struggles to determine its own identity. And much like the politically charged atmosphere of 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Li An must confront the contradictions within. While she supports her nation&’s fight to break free from the influence of British colonial rule, she cannot deny her love for the English poetry that she teaches. While she aspires to be an independent woman, she still finds herself married to the dependable Henry—until she meets an American Peace Corps volunteer named Chester Brookfield. Their encounter propels Li An on a quest of self-discovery, one that spans the divide between East and West, women and men, freedom and responsibility. Told with insight and wit, Lim&’s sweeping debut novel demonstrates that while the journey is never easy, all roads lead, ultimately, to our true selves. &“This elegantly crafted tale places Lim among the most imaginative and dexterous storytellers writing in the English language today.&” —Rey Chow, author of Primitive Passions &“A gripping novel centered around a strong, language-struck, culture-crossing Asian woman&’s quest for independence.&” —Rob Wilson, author of Reimagining the American Pacific &“This felicitous novel is several books in one—Madame Butterfly transplanted to Malaysia, a feminist manifesto, and a commentary on the new Southeast Asia that has been emerging in recent years. Lim has woven these strands together in a colorful batik that is dazzling.&” —Hisaye Yamamoto, author of Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories
The Dance of the Demons: A Novel (The\helen Rose Scheuer Jewish Women's Ser.)
by Esther Singer KreitmanA semi-autobiographical portrait of the original Yentl and &“an important contribution to the vastly neglected genre of feminist Yiddish literature&” (Booklist). In this autobiographical novel—originally published in Yiddish as Der Sheydim Tanz in 1936—Esther Kreitman lovingly depicts a world replete with rabbis, yeshiva students, beggars, farmers, gangsters, seamstresses, and socialists as seen through the eyes of the girl who served as Isaac Bashevis Singer&’s inspiration for the story &“Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy.&” Barred from the studies at which her idealistic rabbi father and precocious brother excel, Deborah revels in the books she hides behind the kitchen stove, her brief forays outside the household, and her clandestine attraction to a young Warsaw rebel. But her family confines and blunts her dreams, as they navigate the constraints of Jewish life in a world that tolerates, but does not approve, their presence. Forced into an arranged marriage, Deborah runs away on the eve of World War into a world that would offer more than she ever dreamed . . . This edition includes memorial pieces by Kreitman&’s son and granddaughter.
Praying with the Senses: Contemporary Orthodox Christian Spirituality in Practice (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology)
by Tom Boylston Angie Heo Jeffers Engelhardt Vlad Naumescu Jeanne Kormina Daria Dubovka Simion Pop&“These essays advance the understanding of Eastern Orthodox spiritual practices from a religious studies perspective.&”—Reading Religion How do people experience spirituality through what they see, hear, touch, and smell? In this book, Sonja Luehrmann and an international group of scholars assess how sensory experience shapes prayer and ritual practice among Eastern Orthodox Christians. Prayer, even when performed privately, is considered as a shared experience and act that links individuals and personal beliefs with a broader, institutional, or imagined faith community. It engages with material, visual, and aural culture including icons, relics, candles, pilgrimage, bells, and architectural spaces. Whether touching upon the use of icons in the age of digital and electronic media, the impact of Facebook on prayer in Ethiopia, or the implications of praying using recordings, amplifiers, and loudspeakers, these timely essays present a sophisticated overview of the history of Eastern Orthodox Christianities. Taken as a whole they reveal prayer as a dynamic phenomenon in the devotional and ritual lives of Eastern Orthodox believers across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. &“Precisely by looking at so varied a group of locations home to Orthodox practice, this book conveys the fragility―and durability―of traditional religion in a postmodern, secular age.&”—Nadieszda Kizenko, author of A Prodigal Saint: Father John of Kronstadt and the Russian People
Mourning Headband for Hue: An Account of the Battle for Hue, Vietnam 1968
by Nha Ca&“An intimate―and disturbing―account of war at its most brutal, told from the point of view of civilians trying to survive the maelstrom.&” —Publishers Weekly Vietnam, January, 1968. As the citizens of Hue are preparing to celebrate Tet, the start of the Lunar New Year, Nha Ca arrives in the city to attend her father&’s funeral. Without warning, war erupts all around them, drastically changing or cutting short their lives. After a month of fighting, their beautiful city lies in ruins and thousands of people are dead. Mourning Headband for Hue tells the story of what happened during the fierce North Vietnamese offensive and is an unvarnished and riveting account of war as experienced by ordinary people caught up in the violence. &“A visceral reminder of war&’s intimate slaughter.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“[A] searing eyewitness account . . . It makes for an intimate―and disturbing―account of war at its most brutal told from the point of view of civilians trying to survive the maelstrom.&” —VVA Veteran
Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana
by James H. MadisonThe story of this Midwestern state and its people, past and present: &“An entertaining and fast read.&” ―Indianapolis Star Who are the people called Hoosiers? What are their stories? Two centuries ago, on the Indiana frontier, they were settlers who created a way of life they passed to later generations. They came to value individual freedom and distrusted government, even as they demanded that government remove Indians, sell them land, and bring democracy. Down to the present, Hoosiers have remained wary of government power and have taken care to guard their tax dollars and their personal independence. Yet the people of Indiana have always accommodated change, exchanging log cabins and spinning wheels for railroads, cities, and factories in the nineteenth century, automobiles, suburbs, and foreign investment in the twentieth. The present has brought new issues and challenges, as Indiana&’s citizens respond to a rapidly changing world. James H. Madison&’s sparkling new history tells the stories of these Hoosiers, offering an invigorating view of one of America&’s distinctive states and the long and fascinating journey of its people.