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Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away
by June CrossJune Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James "Stump" Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. Secret Daughter tells her story of survival. It traces June's astonishing discoveries about her mother and about her own fierce determination to thrive. This is an inspiring testimony to the endurance of love between mother and daughter, a child and her adoptive parents, and the power of community.
Along This Way
by James Weldon JohnsonThe autobiography of the celebrated African American writer and civil rights activist Published just four years before his death in 1938, James Weldon Johnson’s autobiography is a fascinating portrait of an African American who broke the racial divide at a time when the Harlem Renaissance had not yet begun to usher in the civil rights movement. Not only an educator, lawyer, and diplomat, Johnson was also one of the most revered leaders of his time, going on to serve as the first black president of the NAACP (which had previously been run only by whites), as well as write the groundbreaking novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Beginning with his birth in Jacksonville, Florida, and detailing his education, his role in the Harlem Renaissance, and his later years as a professor and civil rights reformer, Along This Way is an inspiring classic of African American literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Portable Jack Kerouac
by Jack Kerouac Ann Charters"The Portable Jack Kerouac" made clear the ambition and accomplishment of Kerouac's Legend of Duluoz, the story of his life told in his many true story novels.
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil
by Hannah ArendtHannah Arendt's authoritative report on the trial of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann includes further factual material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt's postscript directly addressing the controversy that arose over her account.
Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925
by Vera BrittainIn 1914 Vera Brittain was 20, and as war was declared she was preparing to study at Oxford. Four years later her life - and the life of her whole generation - had changed in a way that would have been unimaginable in the tranquil pre-war era. <p><p> TESTAMENT OF YOUTH, one of the most famous autobiographies of the First World War, is Brittain's account of how she survived those agonising years; how she lost the man she loved; how she nursed the wounded and how she emerged into an altered world. A passionate record of a lost generation, it made Vera Brittain one of the best-loved writers of her time, and has lost none of its power to shock, move and enthral readers since its first publication in 1933.
Mao Zedong
by Jonathan SpenceHistory of one of the most formidable and elusive rulers in modern history From humble origins in the provinces, Mao Zedong rose to absolute power, unifying with an iron fist a vast country torn apart by years of weak leadership, colonialism, and war.
Eichmann and the Holocaust
by Hannah ArendtInspired by the trial of the bureaucrat who helped the Holocaust, this radical work on the banality of evil stunned the world with its exploration of a regime's moral blindness and one man's insistence that he be absolved of all guilt because he was 'only following orders'.
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (Penguin Books - Great Ideas)
by Henry David ThoreauThoreau's account of his solitary and self-sufficient home in the New England woods remains an inspiration to the environmental movement--a call to his fellow men to abandon their striving, materialistic existences of 'quiet desperation' for a simple life within their means, finding spiritual truth through awareness of the sheer beauty of their surroundings.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by Ruth ReichlReichl knows that, as the most important food critic in the country, she must be anonymous - a charge she took very seriously by assuming the guise of a series of eccentric personalities.
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
by Koren ZailckasThe summer Koren turns 14, she is initiated into the world of drinking with a stiff sip of Southern Comfort. Eye-opening, wise, and gripping.
Let Me Go
by Shaun Whiteside Helga SchneiderUnforgettable and deeply arresting, Let Me Go is a haunting memoir of World War II that "won't let you go until you've finished reading the last page" (The Washington Post Book World). In 1941, in Berlin, Helga Schneider's mother abandoned her along with her father and younger brother. Let Me Go recounts Helga's final meeting with her ailing mother in a Vienna nursing home some sixty years after World War II, in which Helga confronts a nightmare: her mother's lack of repentance about her past as a Nazi SS guard at concentration camps, including Auschwitz, where she was responsible for untold acts of torture. With spellbinding detail, Schneider recalls their conversation, evoking her own struggle between a daughter's sense of obligation and the inescapable horror of her mother's deeds.
One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro
by Tim Hanna"All Burt Munro wanted was one perfect run on his highly modified Indian Scout Motorcycle- to see how fast it would really go. In a tiny home workshop in New Zealand, with the barest of tools, but a native engineering genius, he constantly rebuilt and modified a unique speed machine, bought brand newi n 1920 for $50. After running out of challenges at home and already aged in his sixties, Burt took his 'Munro Special' to the famous Bonneville salt flats in Utah where he became a legend."day. The life story of Burt Munro is one of triumph over limitation, achievement against all odds. Brave, funny, gritty and brilliant, he was quite literally one of the original speed freaks, whose exploits have now inspired the hit movie The World's Fastest Indian starring Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Angelique #2: The Long Way Home (Our Canadian Girl)
by Cora TaylorAngelique, along with her brother, Joseph, and friend François, is determined to bring their beloved horses home, even if she has to take on the raiders herself!
Holding the Man
by Timothy ConigraveThe mid-seventies – and satin baggies and chunky platforms reigned supreme. Jethro Tull did battle with glam-rock for the airwaves. At an all-boys Catholic school in Melbourne, Timothy Conigrave fell wildly and sweetly in love with the captain of the football team. So began a relationship that was to last for 15 years, a love affair that weathered disapproval, separation and, ultimately death. Holding the Man recreates that relationship. With honesty and insight it explores the highs and lows of any partnership: the intimacy, constraints, temptations. And the strength of heart both men had to find when they tested positive to HIV. This is a book as refreshing and uplifting as it is moving; a funny and sad and celebratory account of growing up gay.
Storm of Steel
by Michael Hofmann Ernst JungerThe memoir widely viewed as the best account ever written of fighting in WW1<P> A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic, but also disturbingly self-aware, Jünger exulted in the Great War, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but—more importantly—as a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Jünger kept testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure. Published shortly after the war’s end, Storm of Steel was a worldwide bestseller and can now be rediscovered through Michael Hofmann’s brilliant new translation.
The Portable Hannah Arendt
by Hannah ArendtThis biography includes generous selections from The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, and her controversial Eichmann in Jerusalem. It also includes selection of Arendt's letters to other formative thinkers of the century.
Oprah Winfrey
by Ilene CooperOprah Winfrey has been called the Queen of All Media for good reason. During her more than thirty-year career, she has left an indelible mark on radio, television and books. One of the influential people today, Oprah is also a committed humanitarian.
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa
by Veronica Chambers Julie MarenEveryone knows the flamboyant, larger-than-life Celia Cruz, the extraordinary salsa singer who passed away in 2003, leaving millions of fans brokenhearted. Indeed, there was a magical vibrancy to the Cuban salsa singer. To hear her voice or to see her perform was to feel her life-affirming energy deep within you. Relish the sizzling sights and sounds of her legacy in this glimpse into Celia’s childhood and her inspiring rise to worldwide fame and recognition as the Queen of salsa. Her inspirational life story is sure to sweeten your soul.
A Friend Called Anne
by Jacqueline Van MaarsenWhen Jacqueline met Anne on her way home from school in the 1940s, the two girls formed an instant friendship. But with every day came an increasing sense of fear, especially as the Nazis took over Amsterdam. Despite the impending war, the friendship between Anne Frank and Jacqueline van Maarsen would never be broken, even when Anne was forced into hiding.
Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci (Time Warp Trio #14)
by Jon ScieszkaDid you know that Leonardo da Vinci also invented an early version of a helicopter and a tank, and that he planned to execute the Time Warp Trio for spying on his inventions? Now it's going to take more bright ideas to get the guys safely back home...
Things Will Never Be the Same
by Tomie DepaolaAuthor-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experiences at home and in school in 1941 when he was a boy.
A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson
by Michelle Y. GreenMotivated by her love for the game and inspired by the legendary Jackie Robinson, Mamie Johnson is determined to be a professional baseball pitcher. But in a sport that's dominated by white men, there is no place for a black woman.
They Led the Way: 14 American Women
by Johanna JohnstonThe battle for equal rights began hundreds of years ago and there were many strong, influential women who fought hard for their freedom and for the freedom of others. Here are the stories of fourteen of these women who stood up for what they believed in. From Emma Willard, who started the first college for women, and Abigail Adams, who voiced her belief that women should have the same rights as men, to Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote a book that helped to abolish slavery, these are the inspiring stories of women who changed a nation.
America's Splendid Little Wars: A Short History Of U. S. Engagements From The Fall Of Saigon to Baghdad
by Peter HuchthausenFrom the evacuation of Saigon in 1975 to the end of the twentieth century, the United States committed its forces to more than a dozen military operations. Offering a fresh analysis of the Iranian hostage rescue attempt, the invasions of Granada and Panama, the first Gulf War, the missions in Somalia and Bosnia, and more, author and distinguished U.S. naval captain Peter Huchthausen presents a detailed history of each military engagement through eyewitness accounts, exhaustive research, and his unique insider perspective as an intelligence expert. This timely and riveting military history is “a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the nature of war today” (Stephen Trent Smith).
Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a Scientific Speculation
by Joao MagueijoCould Einstein be wrong and Magueijo right? Equally pressing for Magueijo, a lecturer in theoretical physics at London's Imperial College, is whether the physics editor at the preeminent science journal Nature is in fact "a first class moron" for rejecting his last paper. And did that cosmologist from Princeton steal his idea? What about all those hours wasted writing requests for funding from those "parasites," those "ex-scientists well past their prime" who dispense the monies that make contemporary science possible? Welcome to the world of career science, disclosed here in all its flawed brilliance. Magueijo's heretical idea-- that the speed of light is not constant; light traveled faster in the early universe-- challenges the most fundamental tenet of modern physics. Deceptively simple, the theory came to the author during a bad hangover one damp morning in Cambridge, England (many of the author's breakthroughs seem to arrive at unexpected moments, like while he's urinating outside a Goan bar). If true, Magueijo's Variant Speed of Light theory, or VSL, rectifies apparent inconsistencies in the Big Bang theory. Magueijo cunningly frames his journey with the stories of other famous, courageous heretics, notably Einstein himself, and one suspects an apologetics at work here. Magueijo, a 35-year-old native of Portugal, is opinionated and can seem immature and almost bratty in his diatribes against the banalities of academia or the hypocrisy and backbiting of peer review. But his science is lucidly rendered, and even his penchant for sturm und drang sheds light on the tensions felt by scientists incubating new ideas. This book shows how science is done-and so easily can be undone. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.