- Table View
- List View
A Child Called It: A true story of one little boy’s determination to survive
by Dave PelzerA harrowing, yet inspiring true story of a young boy's abusive childhood, from internationally bestselling author Dave Pelzer. Brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother - Dave became a slave; he was no longer a boy, but an 'it'. His bed was an old army cot in the basement, his clothes were torn and unwashed, and when he was allowed the luxury of food it was scraps from the dog's bowl. The outside world knew nothing of the nightmare played out behind closed doors. But throughout Dave kept alive dreams of finding a family to love him. This book covers the early years of his life and is an affecting and inspirational book of the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive. It is the first book in the My Story trilogy.'His child's voice is immensely powerful and is an extraordinary testament to the human desire for survival.' Daily Mail'This heartfelt true story of one child's courage to survive cannot fail to move you.' Heat'It takes a personal testimony like Dave Pelzer's to bring home the horrors of child abuse - the secrecy, the shame, the struggle to survive.' Bel Mooney, Mail on Sunday'Pelzer is able to continue his dreadful story in an admirably dispassionate style ... It is this cool tone that makes what he has to say even more compelling.' The Times
A Child in Palestine: The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali
by Naji Al-AliNaji al-Ali grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in the south Lebanese city of Sidon, where his gift for drawing was discovered by the Palestinian poet Ghassan Kanafani in the late 1950s. Early the following decade he left for Kuwait, embarking on a thirty-year career that would see his cartoons published daily in newspapers from Cairo to Beirut, London to Paris. Resolutely independent and unaligned to any political party, Naji al-Ali strove to speak to and for the ordinary Arab people; the pointed satire of his stark, symbolic cartoons brought him widespread renown. Through his most celebrated creation, the witness-child Handala, al-Ali criticized the brutality of Israeli occupation, the venality and corruption of the regimes in the region, and the suffering of the Palestinian people, earning him many powerful enemies and the soubriquet &“the Palestinian Malcolm X.&” For the first time in book form, A Child in Palestine presents the work of one of the Arab world&’s greatest cartoonists, revered throughout the region for his outspokenness, honesty and humanity. &“That was when the character Handala was born. The young, barefoot Handala was a symbol of my childhood. He was the age I was when I had left Palestine and, in a sense, I am still that age today and I feel that I can recall and sense every bush, every stone, every house and every tree I passed when I was a child in Palestine. The character of Handala was a sort of icon that protected my soul from falling whenever I felt sluggish or I was ignoring my duty. That child was like a splash of fresh water on my forehead, bringing me to attention and keeping me from error and loss. He was the arrow of the compass, pointing steadily towards Palestine. Not just Palestine in geographical terms, but Palestine in its humanitarian sense—the symbol of a just cause, whether it is located in Egypt, Vietnam or South Africa.&”—Naji al-Ali, in conversation with Radwa Ashour
The Child Is the Teacher: A Life of Maria Montessori
by Cristina De StefanoA fresh, comprehensive biography of the pioneering educator and activist who changed the way we look at children&’s minds, from the author of Oriana Fallaci.Born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori would grow up to embody almost every trait men of her era detested in the fairer sex. She was self-confident, strong-willed, and had a fiery temper at a time when women were supposed to be soft and pliable. She studied until she became a doctor at a time when female graduates in Italy provoked outright scandal. She never wanted to marry or have children—the accepted destiny for all women of her milieu in late nineteenth-century bourgeois Rome—and when she became pregnant by a colleague of hers, she gave up her son to continue pursuing her career. At around age thirty, Montessori was struck by the condition of children in the slums of Rome&’s San Lorenzo neighborhood, and realized what she wanted to do with her life: change the school, and therefore the world, through a new approach to the child&’s mind. In spite of the resistance she faced from all sides—scientists accused her of being too mystical, and the clergy of being too scientific, traditionalists of giving children too much freedom, and anarchists of giving them too much structure—she would garner acclaim and establish the influential Montessori method, which is now practiced throughout the world. A thorough, nuanced portrait of this often controversial woman, The Child Is the Teacher is the first biographical work on Maria Montessori written by an author who is not a member of the Montessori movement, but who has been granted access to original letters, diaries, notes, and texts written by Montessori herself, including an array of previously unpublished material.
Child No More: A Memoir
by Xaviera HollanderIn the early 1970s -- between the dawn of the sexual revolution and the disillusionment of Watergate -- a young Dutch woman named Xaviera de Vries was transformed overnight into an international celebrity and sex symbol as the author of The Happy Hooker, her racy chronicle of life as a high-class New York madam. As Xaviera Hollander, she became the voice of that era's new sexual freedoms even as her book was banned and she herself was deported to Amsterdam in the wake of the scandal. Yet sexual escapades have formed only a small part of this woman's remarkable life story -- a story she reveals for the first time in this thoughtful and involving memoir. It was a life begun in terror. Two months after her birth, Hollander and her mother were confined in a women's prison camp during the WWII Japanese occupation of Indonesia; her father, a doctor, was imprisoned nearby. By some miracle, the small family survived; yet the horrors of their treatment -- and the precious nature of their bond -- were imprinted forever on her psyche.From her childhood forward, Hollander traces her life, and sexuality, as it was shaped by the example of her parents: her father, a dapper and witty Jewish psychologist and intellectual, her mother, the gorgeous daughter of conventional German parents. With characteristic frankness, Hollander revisits how her parents' tempestuous marriage shaped the course of her own life. And as she chronicles her eventual departure for New York, her passionate affairs with men and women, and her years of international celebrity, she reveals how her parents' lives continued to entwine with her own -- the romantic ideal of her father coloring her relationships with men, her jealousy of her mother settling at last into a warm and abiding love. Told in the utterly honest and unquenchably inquisitive voice that has always distinguished her, Xaviera Hollander's Child No More recounts a surprising and ultimately uplifting voyage of discovery through three lives.
Child No More
by Xaviera HollanderIn the bestselling The Happy Hooker and subsequent books, Xaviera Hollander became famous for her unforgettably candid and racy stories of life as a New York madam catering to a sophisticated international clientele during the 1960s and 70s. Yet this remarkable woman's sexual escapades form only a part of her own remarkable life story--a story she reveals for the first time in the pages of this literary memoir, Child No More. It was a life begun in terror: Two months after her birth, young Xaviera de Vries and her mother were confined in a prison camp during the WWII Japanese occupation of Indonesia; her father, a doctor, was imprisoned in another camp. Two years later, summoned to treat a sick child, he operated on his own daughter without realizing her identity. But that story is just the start of an extraordinary memoir in which she traces her own life--and sexuality--as it was influenced by the example of her parents: her father, a dapper and witty Jewish psychologist and intellectual, her mother the gorgeous daughter of conventional German parents, and a target of Nazi enmity for her association with a Jew. With breathtaking but entirely characteristic--frankness, Xaviera revisits how her parents' own tempestuous relationship (and her father's licentious lifestyle) shaped her own life story. As she chronicles her eventual departure for New York, her entree into the world of prostitution, and her years of international celebrity, she reveals for the first time how her parents' lives continued to entwine with her own, as she endured years of separation from her father, and even stood by her mother as she entered a fulfilling lesbian relationship in the last years of her life. Told in the utterly frank and unquenchably inquisitive voice that marks all her work--yet from an entirely new and ultimately more honest perspective--Child No More recounts a surprising and ultimately uplifting "voyage of discovery through three lives."
A Child of Hitler: Germany in the Days When God Wore a Swastika
by Alfons HeckTen-year-old Alfons Heck attended a meeting of the Nazi regime. In this book he describes his rise to power as the leader of Hitler Youth.
Child of Light: A Biography of Robert Stone
by Madison Smartt BellThe first and definitive biography of one of the great American novelists of the postwar era, the author of Dog Soldiers and A Flag for Sunrise, and a penetrating critic of American power, innocence, and corruptionRobert Stone (1937-2015), probably the only postwar American writer to draw favorable comparisons to Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, and Joseph Conrad, lived a life rich in adventure, achievement, and inner turmoil. He grew up rough on the streets of New York, the son of a mentally troubled single mother. After his Navy service in the fifties, which brought him to such locales as pre-Castro Havana, the Suez Crisis, and Antarctica, he studied writing at Stanford, where he met Ken Kesey and became a core member of the gang of Merry Pranksters. The publication of his superb New Orleans novel, Hall of Mirrors (1967), initiated a succession of dark-humored novels that investigated the American experience in Vietnam (Dog Soldiers, 1974, which won the National Book Award), Central America (A Flag for Sunrise, 1981), and Jerusalem on the eve of the millennium (Damascus Gate, 1998).An acclaimed novelist himself, Madison Smartt Bell was a close friend and longtime admirer of Robert Stone. His authorized and deeply researched biography is both intimate and objective, a rich and unsparing portrait of a complicated, charismatic, and haunted man and a sympathetic reading of his work that will help to secure Stone's place in the pantheon of major American writers.
A Child of the Century
by Ben HechtFirst published in 1954, in this quintessential autobiography Ben Hecht recounts his childhood, education, and career as journalist, playwright, and screenwriter, describes famous political and literary acquaintances, and examines U.S. efforts to aid Jews in Nazi Germany and, after the war, in Israel.A remarkable memoir.
A Child of the Century
by Ben HechtBen Hecht’s critically acclaimed autobiographical memoir, first published in 1954, offers incomparably pungent evocations of Chicago in the 1910s and 1920s, Hollywood in the 1930s, and New York during the Second World War and after. “His manners are not always nice, but then nice manners do not always make interesting autobiographies, and this autobiography has the merit of being intensely interesting.”—Saul Bellow, New York Times Named to Time’s list of All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books, which deems it “the un-put-downable testament of the era’s great multimedia entertainer.”
Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria De Jesus
by David St. Clair Carolina Maria de JesusThe powerful firsthand account of life in the streets of São Paulo that drew international attention to the plight of the poor.
Child of the Dream: A Memoir Of 1963
by Sharon RobinsonAn incredible memoir from Sharon Robinson about the pivotal year of the civil rights movement -- and her unique role in it alongside her father, baseball legend and activist Jackie Robinson.In January 1963, Sharon Robinson turns thirteen the night before George Wallace declares on national television "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" in his inauguration speech as governor of Alabama. It is the beginning of a year that will change the course of American history. As the daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, Sharon has opportunities that most people would never dream of experiencing. Her family hosts multiple fund-raisers at their home in Connecticut for the work that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is doing. Sharon sees her first concert after going backstage at the Apollo Theater. And her whole family attends the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. But things don't always feel easy for Sharon. She is one of the only Black children in her wealthy Connecticut neighborhood. Her older brother, Jackie Robinson Jr., is having a hard time trying to live up to his father's famous name, causing some rifts in the family. And Sharon feels isolated-struggling to find her role in the civil rights movement that is taking place across the country. This is the story of how one girl finds her voice in the fight for justice and equality.
Child of the Holocaust
by Jack KuperThe harrowing true story of a young boy exiled in World War II Poland, this memoir of survival has been hailed as a quintessential classic, as powerful as Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, and celebrated for its rare beauty.Jack Kuper was only nine years old when he came home to find everyone in his family gone. The night before, Germans had come to his village in rural Poland and removed all the Jews. Now alone in the world, he has to change his name, forget his language, and abandon his religion in order to survive. Jack wanders through Nazi occupied Poland for four years, with no place to hide and no one to trust.
Child of the Jungle: The True Story of a Girl Caught Between Two Worlds
by Sabine KueglerIn 1980 seven-year-old Sabine Kuegler and her family went to live in a remote jungle area of West Papua among the recently discovered Fayu - a tribe untouched by modern civilisation. Her childhood was spent hunting, shooting poisonous spiders with arrows and chewing on pieces of bat-wing in place of gum. She also learns how brutal nature can be - and sees the effect of war and hatred on tribal peoples.After the death of her Fayu-brother, Ohri, Sabine decides to leave the jungle and, aged seventeen, she goes to a boarding school in Switzerland - a traumatic change for a girl who acts and feels like one of the Fayu. 'Fear is something I learnt here' she says. 'In the Lost Valley, with a lost tribe, I was happy. In the rest of the world it was I who was lost.'Here is Sabine Kuegler's remarkable true story of a childhood lived out in the Indonesian jungle, and the struggle to conform to European society that followed.
Child of the Silent Night
by Edith Fisher HunterThe story of Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind child to be taught to communicate with the outside world, some fifty years before Helen Keller. It covers her life before she learned to communicate with the Manual Alphabet and briefly tells about her life afterward.
Child of the South Dakota Frontier
by Lenna KolashIn this memoir, a woman shares memories of her childhood spent homesteading in early twentieth-century Midwestern America. When her family homesteaded in 1915, seven-year-old Lenna O&’Neill found her first love: the South Dakota prairie. Born in Wisconsin where her Irish immigrant father had come to study for the ministry, she discovered best friends in her pony Duke and her collie Fanny as she adapted to the harshness of prairie life. Eventually the hard times of drought drove the family back to live in a town, but she never forgot the wonders of her life as a child on the South Dakota prairie. Lenna recorded her life during these prairie years for her family. She opens her account with a return to the homestead years later with her husband, William Kolash, and her children. The lone tree remaining by a dilapidated front gate, planted by Lenna and her father decades before, recalls voices echoing from the past and memories that rolled away the years…Child of the South Dakota Prairie is an edited version of her recollections, published as a tribute by her daughter, B. J. Farmer.
Child of the Woods: An Appalachian Odyssey
by Susi Gott SéguretChild of the Woods is a uniquely beautiful collection of short stories and observations from Susi Seguret's experiences growing up in the natural settings of rural Appalachia. <P><P>Immerse yourself in the vibrant and exciting world of Appalachia! Child of the Woods is an exploration of the world through the eyes of a young child, whose life was defined and enriched by nature that surrounded her. <P><P>This collection of short stories and insights highlights the wonders of growing up in rural Appalachia, learning to live as one with the land. These stories embrace the universal themes of self-discovery, adventure, and finding one's place in a living world.
Child of War, Woman of Peace
by Le Ly HayslipThe inspiring story of an immigrant's struggling to heal old wounds as she makes a new life in the United States, this is the mesmerizing sequel to When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, Hayslip's award-winning memoir of life in wartime Vietnam--soon to be an Oliver Stone feature film.
Child, Please
by Ylonda Gault Caviness"We are different--white moms and me. Very different. More or less kindred as women, but as mothers we are disparate souls. Snaps and cusses of Twitter-trending 'Stuff black moms say' don't even scratch the surface." --from Child, Please In this wise and funny memoir, Ylonda Gault Caviness describes her journey to the realization that all the parenting advice she was obsessively devouring as a new parent (and sharing with the world as a parenting expert on NPR, Today, in The Huffington Post, and elsewhere) didn't mean scratch compared to her mama's old school wisdom as a strong black woman and mother. With child number one, Caviness set her course: to give her children everything she had. Child number two came along and she patiently persisted. But when her third kid arrived, she was finally so exhausted that she decided to listen to what her mother had been saying to her for years: Give them everything they want, and there'll be nothing left of you. In Child, Please, Caviness describes the road back to embracing a more sane--not to mention loving--way of raising children. Her mother had it right all along.
The Child Poet
by Homero Aridjis Chloe AridjisHomero Aridjis has always said that he was born twice. The first time was to his mother in April 1940 and the second time was as a poet, in January 1951. His life was distinctly cleaved in two by an accident. Before that fateful Saturday he was carefree and confident, the youngest of five brothers growing up in the small Mexican village of Contepec, Michoacán. After the accident - in which he nearly died on the operating table after shooting himself with a shotgun his brothers had left propped against the bedroom wall - he became a shy, introspective child who spent afternoons reading Homer and writing poems and stories at the dining room table instead of playing soccer with his classmates. After the accident his early childhood became like a locked garden. But in 1971, when his wife became pregnant with their first daughter, the memories found a way out. Visions from this elusive period started coming back to him in astonishingly vivid dreams, giving shape to what would become The Child Poet.Aridjis is joyously imaginative. The Child Poet has urgency but still takes its time, celebrating images and feelings and the strangeness of childhood. Readers will love being in the world he has created. Aridjis paints the pueblo of Cotepec -- the landscape, the campesinos, the Church, the legacy of the Mexican Revolution -- through the eyes of a sensitive child.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Child Soldiers: Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front
by Myriam DenovTragically, violence and armed conflict have become commonplace in the lives of many children around the world. Not only have millions of children been forced to witness war and its atrocities, but many are drawn into conflict as active participants. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Sierra Leone during its 11-year civil war. Drawing upon in-depth interviews and focus groups with former child soldiers of Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front, Myriam Denov compassionately examines how child soldiers are initiated into the complex world of violence and armed conflict. She also explores the ways in which the children leave this world of violence and the challenges they face when trying to renegotiate their lives and self-concepts in the aftermath of war. The narratives of the Sierra Leonean youth demonstrate that their life histories defy the narrow and limiting portrayals presented by the media and popular discourse.
Child Soldiers: From Recruitment to Reintegration
by Alpaslan �zerdem Sukanya PodderThis book examines the complex and under-researched relationship between recruitment experiences and reintegration outcomes for child soldiers. It looks at time spent in the group, issues of cohesion, identification, affiliation, membership and the post demobilization experience of return, and resettlement.
Child Star: An Autobiography
by Shirley Temple BlackShirley Temple writes of her life and accomplished career.
A Child Through Time: The Book of Children's History (DK Panorama)
by Phil WilkinsonWe know all about history through the eyes of adults, but what about children? Journey through the lives of 30 everyday children from the Ice Age to modern times.A history book that helps kids today understand the lives of someone their age in the past - what they wore, the food they ate, and the games they played. You will meet and discover the lives of the Aztecs, Romans, and Vikings in their ancient empires and medieval castles, and many more! This educational book explores the often-overlooked lives of children in the past. This history of children's book is filled with fun facts and includes specially commissioned illustrations of the children and maps of the places they lived. This educational book also explores the historic moments that children witnessed. A Child Through Time also includes visually stunning maps, timelines, and illustrations. Collections of archaeological objects have been thoroughly researched to make this book as historically accurate as possible. This history book for kids will provide an immersive reading experience and shape their perspective on the often-ignored topic of family life through the ages. A Child Through Time covers key curriculum topics in a new light. This visually stunning learning tool is perfect for children ages 7 and up.History Through the Eyes of Children Have you ever wondered how children lived in the past? A Child Through Time takes you on a historical journey through the eyes of children. Stunning illustrations by Steve Moon bring each child to life. The book is packed full of maps, timelines, and photographs revealing fascinating facts about kids who lived in the past.Inside the pages of this history book, you&’ll find: • Get to know 30 children from early civilizations through to the modern period. • Read all about the childhoods of famous historical figures like Tutankhamun, Pocahontas, and Marie Antionette. • Explore the toys, games, and food of everyday kids in the past.
A Child Upon the Throne: A Medieval Romance (The Knights of England Series #4)
by Mary Ellen JohnsonAs a Kingdom Trembles With Revolt, a Knight and His Lady Must Choose Between Duty and Love in the Medieval Historical Romance, A Child Upon the Throne, by Mary Ellen Johnson--Medieval England following the death of Edward III in 1377 through the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381--With a child king upon the throne and England’s lucrative martial victories a faded memory, Knight Matthew Hart wants only to reunite with his long-time lover, Margery Watson, and their son, to live out his days far away from the royal court.But Margery's loyalties are torn. To settle down with the knight she’s loved since childhood or commit treason and side with the commoners overburdened with servitude and taxes.When revolt sparks among the masses, thousands march on London, vowing to overthrow all those in power.Now Margery must choose between her place in society with a knight she loves and her true beliefs about freedom, justice and equality.From the Publisher: Readers with a passion for history will appreciate the author's penchant for detail and accuracy. In keeping with being authentic to the era, this story contains scenes of brutality which are true to the time and man's inhumanity. There are a limited number of sexual scenes and NO use of modern vulgarity. Fans of Elizabeth Chadwick, Bernard Cornwell and Philippa Gregory as well as Tamara Leigh and Suzan Tisdale will not want to miss this series."Author Mary Ellen Johnson strides through history with the reader in the front seat." ~Karen Lausa". . . it challenged my intellect as well as my heart." ~Margaret Watkins, eBook Discovery ReviewerFrom the Author: When crafting a story, I am ever mindful of the parallels between the past and present. Endless wars, indifferent rulers, rising taxes, and corruption, all of which inevitably resulted in a bloody insurrection. An insurrection that, while unsuccessful in the short term, was even referenced by our Founding Fathers during their struggle for freedom. As William Faulkner said, “The past isn’t dead; it’s not even past,” so a knowledge of history is imperative.THE KNIGHTS OF ENGLAND, in series orderThe Lion and the LeopardA Knight There WasWithin A Forest DarkA Child Upon The ThroneLords Among the Ruins
The Child Who Never Grew: A Memoir
by Pearl S. BuckA &“groundbreaking&” memoir about raising a special-needs daughter in an era of misinformation and prejudice—a classic that helped transform our perceptions (Publishers Weekly). It was my child who taught me to understand so clearly that all people are equal in their humanity and that all have the same human rights. Pearl S. Buck is known today for earning a Nobel Prize in Literature and for such New York Times–bestselling novels as The Good Earth. What many do not know is that she wrote that great work of art with the motivation of paying for a special school for her oldest daughter, Carol, who had a rare developmental disorder. What was called &“mental retardation&” at the time—though some used crueler terms—was a disability that could cause great suffering and break a parent&’s heart. There was little awareness of how to deal with such children, and as a result some were simply hidden away, considered a source of shame and stigma, while others were taken advantage of because of their innocence. In this remarkable account, which helped bring the issue to light, Pearl S. Buck candidly discusses her own experience as a mother, from her struggle to accept Carol&’s diagnosis to her determination to give her child as full and happy a life as possible, including a top-quality education designed around her needs and abilities. Both heartrending and inspiring, The Child Who Never Grew provides perspective on just how much progress has been made in recent decades, while also offering common sense and timeless wisdom for the challenges still faced by those who love and care for someone with special needs. It is a clear-eyed and compelling read by a woman renowned for both her literary talent and her humanitarian spirit. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author&’s estate.