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From the Periphery: Real-Life Stories of Disability
by Pia Justesen Tom HarkinFrom the Periphery consists of more than 30 first-person narratives of everyday people who describe what it's like to be treated differently by society because of their disabilities. The stories are raw and painful, but also surprisingly funny and deeply inspiring. The oral histories describe anger, independence, bigotry, solidarity and love—in the family, at school and at the workplace. Inspired by the oral historians Studs Terkel and Svetlana Alexievich, From the Periphery will become a classic oral history collection that will increase the understanding of the lived experiences of people with disabilities, their responses to oppression and their coping strategies. Readers will meet Andre, who felt different as a child because she was blind. Her father insisted that she could ride a bike, but neighborhood kids would still ask, "Can I catch what you have?" Marca Bristo acquired her disability after a diving accident and became invisible as a person. Men would only see her wheelchair and she started doubting her sexuality. Curtis Harris was treated like a piece of meat in school. He has come to accept autism as part of his personality: "You are who you are. . . . You reject normalism."
From the Projects to the Presidencies: My Journey to Higher Education Leadership (Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies)
by James E. Lyons Sr.Raised in a public housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, James E. Lyons Sr. overcame the difficult circumstances of his childhood to flourish academically, eventually becoming president of six universities—Bowie State University, Jackson State University, California State University Dominguez Hills, Dillard University, the University of the District of Columbia, and Concordia College Alabama. From the Projects to the Presidencies: My Journey to Higher Education Leadership charts Lyons’s personal and educational journey, from saving money for college by shining shoes in front of Yale University at fifteen to returning to the same building thirty-seven years later as president of Jackson State.Though his mother never graduated high school, she worked hard to provide opportunities for him. Championing his desire to escape what experts considered one of the worst areas of Connecticut, she helped him dodge pitfalls, change course when necessary, and reach his goal of achieving a successful career in higher education. Throughout his journey, there were as many friends supporting him as there were adversaries attempting to hold him back. He successfully navigated both the positive and negative influences in his life. A Jewish mother took him to college and wrote a personal check for his registration. Yet neighborhood “friends” stole all of his clothes so that he could not return to the university after the Thanksgiving recess. Classmates laughed at him because he could not afford to be on the university meal plan. But a track coach invited him over for dinner whenever he was in the neighborhood. Mistaken for a student by the board chair at one presidential interview, he was later embraced by a different board chair who told him, “We know you did a great job at that university, and we would like you to come and do the same for us.” Overcoming his difficult socioeconomic background and the institutional racism that denied educational opportunities to many young Black men, Lyons prevailed despite the odds. His inspiring story illuminates the success and hard work that lead him to dedicate his life to education and bettering the lives of students across the country.
From the Republic of the Rio Grande: A Personal History of the Place and the People
by Beatriz de la GarzaThe Republic of the Rio Grande had a brief and tenuous existence (1838–1840) before most of it was reabsorbed by Mexico and the remainder annexed by the United States, yet this region that straddles the Rio Grande has retained its distinctive cultural identity to the present day. Born on one side of the Rio Grande and raised on the other, Beatriz de la Garza is a product of this region. Her birthplace and its people are the subjects of this work, which fuses family memoir and borderlands history. From the Republic of the Rio Grande brings new insights and information to the study of transnational cultures by drawing from family papers supplemented by other original sources, local chronicles, and scholarly works. De la Garza has fashioned a history of this area from the perspective of individuals involved in the events recounted. The book is composed of nine sections spanning some two hundred years, beginning in the mid-1700s. Each section covers not only a chronological period but also a particular theme relating to the history of the region. De la Garza takes a personal approach, opening most sections with an individual observation or experience that leads to the central motif, whether this is the shared identity of the inhabitants, their pride in their biculturalism and bilingualism, or their deep attachment to the land of their ancestors.
From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War
by Robert M. GatesAs the only person to rise from entry-level analyst to Director of the CIA and to serve on the White House staffs of four Presidents, Robert Gates is uniquely qualified to tell the unprecedented inside story of the Cold War. Drawing on his access to classified information and top-level involvement in policy decisions, Gates lays bare the hidden wars and operations the United States wages against communism worldwide. Ever certain that the fifty-year struggle with the Soviet Union was indeed a war, Gates makes candid appraisals of Presidents, key officials, and policies of the period. From the Shadows is a classic memoir on the career of a CIA officer at the centre of power during a time when the threat of global annihilation informed America's every move.
From the Shtetl to the Stage: The Odyssey of a Wandering Actor
by Alexander GranachAlexander Granach, who died while he was acting on Broadway in 1945, brilliantly relates the remarkable story of his unlikely path from a poverty-stricken, rough-and-tumble childhood to success on the German stage. This is the account of a daring, curiosity-filled, and perceptive Jewish child from poor towns in Galicia who was seized with a passion for the theater when he saw his first show at the age of 14. He overcame great odds to become a leading stage and film actor in Weimar Germany - and he had to have both legs broken to do it! Born in what is now southern Ukraine, Granach began working at the age of six in his father's bakery, where his heavy tasks left him visibly knock-kneed. With very little formal education but open for adventure and willing to work hard, Alexander ran away several times, the last time to Berlin, at the age of 16, where his talent and charm won him a place in Max Reinhardt's theater school. His career was abruptly interrupted by World War I and his time as a prisoner of war in Italy, but after a daring escape and the end of the war he resumed his rise to prominence in German artistic life. A natural storyteller, Granach's autobiography captures equally the charms, adventures, and trials of his shtetl days, the horrors of trench warfare, and the glamour and excitement of the German theater before Hitler came to power.
From the Spitfire Cockpit to the Cabinet Office: The Memoirs of Air Commodore J F 'Johnny' Langer CBE AFC DL
by J. F. LangerAir Commodore John Langer's career has been eventful to say the least. During the Second World War he flew gliders in India in preparation for airborne assaults in Burma, one of the most perilous landscapes to pass across during this time. Post-war, he served on a fighter squadron in Germany and in Malaya, where he was recommended for an AFC. Later on, he commanded No 43 (F) Squadron, the famous 'Fighting Cocks', and was awarded the AFC. As a Group Captain, he commanded RAF Valley and was awarded the CBE. He ended his RAF career as director of Flying Training where he set up the first team of the Red Arrows. By careers end, he had flown fifty-six different types of aircraft.On leaving the RAF, he became the Civil Aviation Security Adviser to the UK Government, serving for eight years as a Crown Servant and a further seven years as a consultant. He was a frequent advisor to the Cabinet Office Briefing Room 'A' (Cobra), consulting with members of the cabinet on national and international aviation matters in the wake of a series of security and terrorist emergencies. In 1993 he was appointed Duty Lieutenant for Greater London, with responsibilities for the borough of Hillingdon, location of both Heathrow and Northolt airport. He looked after members of the Royal Family in their departures from these airports and became a good friend of Princess Diana, chaperoning her on a number of solo outings. Interesting details relating to some of their exchanges are included here. This is a unique autobiography, taking in a vast spectrum of events and experiences. It is also an important record of political, aviation and social history and should appeal to enthusiasts of all these areas of interest.
From the Streets of Shaolin: The Wu-Tang Saga
by S. H. Fernando Jr.This definitive biography of rap supergroup, Wu-Tang Clan, features decades of unpublished interviews and unparalleled access to members of the group and their associates.This is the definitive biography of rap supergroup and cultural icons, Wu-Tang Clan (WTC). Heralded as one of the most influential groups in modern music—hip hop or otherwise—WTC created a rap dynasty on the strength of seven gold and platinum albums that launched the careers of such famous rappers as RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and more. During the &‘90s, they ushered in a hip-hop renaissance, rescuing rap from the corporate suites and bringing it back to the gritty streets where it started. In the process they changed the way business was conducted in an industry known for exploiting artists. Creatively, Wu-Tang pushed the boundaries of the artform dedicating themselves to lyrical mastery and sonic innovation, and one would be hard pressed to find a group who's had a bigger impact on the evolution of hip hop.S.H. Fernando Jr., a veteran music journalist who spent a significant amount of time with The Clan during their heyday of the &‘90s, has written extensively about the group for such publications as Rolling Stone, Vibe, and The Source. Over the years he has built up a formidable Wu-Tang archive that includes pages of unpublished interviews, videos of the group in action in the studio, and several notepads of accumulated memories and observations. Using such exclusive access as well as the wealth of open-source material, Fernando reconstructs the genesis and evolution of the group, delving into their unique ideology and range of influences, and detailing exactly how they changed the game and established a legacy that continues to this day. The book provides a startling portrait of overcoming adversity through self-empowerment and brotherhood, giving us unparalleled insights into what makes these nine young men from the ghetto tick. While celebrating the myriad accomplishments of The Clan, the book doesn't shy away from controversy—we're also privy to stories from their childhoods in the crack-infested hallways of Staten Island housing projects, stints in Rikers for gun possession, and million-dollar contracts that led to recklessness and drug overdoses (including Ol' Dirty Bastard's untimely death). More than simply a history of a single group, this book tells the story of a musical and cultural shift that started on the streets of Shaolin (Staten Island) and quickly spread around the world.Biographies on such an influential outfit are surprisingly few, mostly focused on a single member of the group's story. This book weaves together interviews from all the Clan members, as well as their friends, family and collaborators to create a compelling narrative and the most three-dimensional portrait of Wu-Tang to date. It also puts The Clan within a social, cultural, and historical perspective to fully appreciate their impact and understand how they have become the cultural icons they are today. Unique in its breadth, scope, and access, From The Streets of Shaolin is a must-have for fans of WTC and music bios in general.
From the Tundra to the Trenches
by Eddy Weetaltuk Thibault Martin Isabelle St. Amand“My name is Weetaltuk; Eddy Weetaltuk. My Eskimo tag name is E9-422.” So begins From the "Tundra to the Trenches." Weetaltuk means “innocent eyes” in Inuktitut, but to the Canadian government, he was known as E9-422: E for Eskimo, 9 for his community, 422 to identify Eddy. In 1951, Eddy decided to leave James Bay. Because Inuit weren’t allowed to leave the North, he changed his name and used this new identity to enlist in the Canadian Forces: Edward Weetaltuk, E9-422, became Eddy Vital, SC-17515, and headed off to fight in the Korean War. In 1967, after fifteen years in the Canadian Forces, Eddy returned home. He worked with Inuit youth struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, and, in 1974, started writing his life’s story. This compelling memoir traces an Inuk’s experiences of world travel and military service. Looking back on his life, Weetaltuk wanted to show young Inuit that they can do and be what they choose. From the Tundra to the Trenches is the fourth book in the First Voices, First Texts series, which publishes lost or underappreciated texts by Indigenous writers. This new English edition of Eddy Weetaltuk’s memoir includes a foreword and appendix by Thibault Martin and an introduction by Isabelle St-Amand.
From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg: Memoir and Testimony
by Abraham SutzkeverIn 1944, the Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever was airlifted to Moscow from the forest where he had spent the winter among partisan fighters. There he was encouraged by Ilya Ehrenburg, the most famous Soviet Jewish writer of his day, to write a memoir of his two years in the Vilna Ghetto. Now, seventy-five years after it appeared in Yiddish in 1946, Justin Cammy provides a full English translation of one of the earliest published memoirs of the destruction of the city known throughout the Jewish world as the Jerusalem of Lithuania.Based on his own experiences, his conversations with survivors, and his consultation with materials hidden in the ghetto and recovered after the liberation of his hometown, Sutzkever’s memoir rests at the intersection of postwar Holocaust literature and history. He grappled with the responsibility to produce a document that would indict the perpetrators and provide an account of both the horrors and the resilience of Jewish life under Nazi rule. Cammy bases his translation on the two extant versions of the full text of the memoir and includes Sutzkever’s diary notes and full testimony at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Fascinating reminiscences of leading Soviet Yiddish cultural figures Sutzkever encountered during his time in Moscow – Ehrenburg, Yiddish modernist poet Peretz Markish, and director of the State Yiddish Theatre Shloyme Mikhoels – reveal the constraints of the political environment in which the memoir was composed.Both shocking and moving in its intensity, From the Vilna Ghetto to Nuremberg returns readers to a moment when the scale of the Holocaust was first coming into focus, through the eyes of one survivor who attempted to make sense of daily life, resistance, and death in the ghetto.A Yiddish Book Center Translation
From There to Here: 16 True Tales of Immigration to Britain (The Decibel Penguin Prize #2)
by Menaka Raman Cosh Omar Vesna Maric Kirti Joshi Zlatko Pranjic Nimer Rashed Anita Sethi Xenia Crockett Nina Joshi Toni Jackson Mimi Chan-Choong Cliff Walker Ali Sheikholeslami Marek Kazmierski Jade Amoli-Jackson Charmaine JoshuaWe asked people from any background to send us their true personal accounts of immigration to Britain. The response was significant, and the range of entries overwhelming. Six judges - including Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty and the novelist Kate Mosse - selected the best, most illuminating and most powerful entries to be published in this book.The result is the widest-reaching contemporary survey of the immigrant experience published in many years. In these pages you'll discover sixteen very different voices, each one presenting a very different point of view. In taking us around the world, each account shows a new side to the most complicated journey of all, Finding a place to call home.'The country's ethnic and religious make-up is already making a vivid mark on our literature. I am proud and delighted to be its patron' David Lammy MP
From These Roots: Bringing Light, Hope, and Transformation to Atlanta's Inner City—A Journey of Two Brothers
by Jeff DeelPart memoir, part inspirational, Jeff Deel&’s From These Roots tells of his sometimes michievous childhood as the son of a holiness preacher and the change of heart and events that led him as an adult to work alongside his brother, ministering to the lost and forgotten people of Atlanta&’s inner city.Through Jeff&’s stories from his own past, along with those of the countless transformations he has witnessed at City of Refuge, readers will see how being a follower can be just as important as being a leader. Jeff Deel has lived in the shadow of his older brother, Bruce, for his entire life. He wouldn&’t have had it any other way. While being the sons of a holiness preacher, they still found ways to get into their fair share of mischief, with older brother Bruce taking on the role of &“leader&”—for better or worse. Yet Jeff never questioned his place as his brother&’s follower and supporter—for better or worse. Then came adulthood and Jeff&’s turbulent search to find himself. Through a series of failed occupations and the desire to avoid ministry at all costs, Jeff was predictably led right back to his brother&’s side. This time, instead of finding mischief, Jeff and Bruce worked together building the City of Refuge in Atlanta. Through their work, COR has welcomed thousands upon thousands of individuals who have found themselves in dire straits, whether as victims of abuse and sex trafficking, or as people whose own choices have thrust them to rock bottom. Jeff and Bruce have found their experience watching their parents minister to the least of these and teaching them what it means to offer a person dignity, love, and hope, prepared them more than they ever could have realized.
From Things Lost: Forgotten Letters and the Legacy of the Holocaust
by Shirli GilbertIn May 1933, a young man named Rudolf Schwab fled Nazi-occupied Germany. His departure allegedly came at the insistence of a close friend who later joined the Party. Schwab eventually arrived in South Africa, one of the few countries left where Jews could seek refuge, and years later, resumed a relationship in letters with the Nazi who in many ways saved his life. From Things Lost: Forgotten Letters and the Legacy of the Holocaust is a story of displacement, survival, and an unlikely friendship in the wake of the Holocaust via an extraordinary collection of letters discovered in a forgotten trunk. Only a handful of extended Schwab family members were alive in the war’s aftermath. Dispersed across five continents, their lives mirrored those of countless refugees who landed in the most unlikely places. Over years in exile, a web of communication became an alternative world for these refugees, a place where they could remember what they had lost and rebuild their identities anew. Among the cast of characters that historian Shirli Gilbert came to know through the letters, one name that appeared again and again was Karl Kipfer. He was someone with whom Rudolf clearly got on exceedingly well—there was lots of joking, familiarity, and sentimental reminiscing. “That was Grandpa’s best friend growing up,” Rudolf’s grandson explained to Gilbert; “He was a Nazi and was the one who encouraged Rudolf to leave Germany. . . . He also later helped him to recover the family’s property.” Gilbert takes readers on a journey through a family’s personal history wherein we learn about a cynical Karl who attempts to make amends for his “undemocratic past,” and a version of Rudolf who spends hours aloof at his Johannesburg writing desk, dressed in his Sunday finest, holding together the fragile threads of his existence. The Schwab family’s story brings us closer to grasping the complex choices and motivations that—even in extreme situations, or perhaps because of them—make us human. In a world of devastation, the letters in From Things Lost act as a surrogate for the gravestones that did not exist and funerals that were never held. Readers of personal accounts of the Holocaust will be swept away by this intimate story.
From This Day Forward
by Cokie Roberts Steven V. RobertsAfter thirty years together, Cokie and Steve Roberts know something about marriage and after thirty distinguished years in journalism, they know how to write about it.In From This Day Forward, Cokie and Steve weave their personal stories of matrimony into a wider reflection on the state of marriage in American today.Here they write with the same conversational style that catapulted Cokie's We Are Our Mother's Daughters to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. They ruminate on their early worries about their different faiths -- she's Catholic, he's Jewish -- and describe their wedding day at Cokie's childhood home. They discuss the struggle to balance careers and parenthood, and how they compromise when they disagree. They also tell the stories of other American marriages: that of John and Abigail Adams, and those pioneers, slaves and immigrants. They offer stories of broken marriages as well, of contemporary families living through the "divorce revolution". Taken together, these tales reveal the special nature of the wedding bond in America. Wise and funny, this book is more than an endearing chronicle of a loving marriage -- it is a story of all husbands and wives, and how they support and strengthen each other.
From This Moment On
by Shania TwainNow in paperback from superstar Shania Twain, a poignant, heartfelt, and beautifully told account of her hard-scrabble childhood, rise to worldwide fame, and recent personal tragedies.The world may know Shania Twain as many things: a music legend, a mother, and recently, a fixture in the news for her painful, public divorce and subsequent marriage to a cherished friend. But in this extraordinary autobiography, Shania reveals that she is so much more. She is Eilleen Twain, one of five children born into poverty in rural Canada, where her family often didn’t have enough food to send her to school with lunch. She’s the teenage girl who helped her mother and young siblings escape to a battered woman’s shelter to put an end to the domestic violence in her family home. And she’s the courageous twenty-two-year-old who sacrificed to keep her younger siblings together after her parents were tragically killed in a car accident. Shania Twain’s life has evolved from a series of pivotal moments, and in unflinching, heartbreaking prose, Shania spares no details as she takes us through the events that have made her who she is. She recounts her difficult childhood, her parents’ sudden death and its painful aftermath, her dramatic rise to stardom, her devastating betrayal by a trusted friend, and her joyful marriage to the love of her life. From these moments, she offers profound, moving insights into families, personal tragedies, making sense of one’s life, and the process of healing. Shania Twain is a singular, remarkable woman who has faced enormous odds and downfalls, and her extraordinary story will provide wisdom, inspiration, and hope for almost anyone.
From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor
by Jerry Della Femina Charles SopkinIt was a meeting of the agency's top people to find an advertising theme for Panasonic, a major new Japanese electronics firm. Suddenly the new $50,000-a-year creative supervisor leapt to his feet in a frenzy of simulated inspiration. 'I've got it!' he cried, 'I see this big headline: FROM THOSE WONDERFUL FOLKS WHO GAVE YOU PEARL HARBOR!' From the publishers that brought you Homicide comes another classic piece of writing that inspired a hit TV show. Mad Men is the series that's got everyone talking - and with good reason, having won 9 Emmys, 5 Golden Globes and beating The Wire to the 'Best International Award' at the 2009 Baftas. Jerry Della Femina's advertising classic, first published in the US in 1971, is the original guide to life on Madison Avenue in the 1960s - and it was an inspiration for series one of Mad Men, with Jerry an advisor to the show. Packed full of eccentric characters and interesting anecdotes it is a gloriously gossipy and irreverent account. It is also full of fascinating advertising campaigns: the Volkswagen 'Think Small' campaign which gave the company their big break in the US ; the cake mix which relied on the breaking of a single egg; or Marlboro Man in Marlboro Country - an all time classic. With a new Mad Men inspired cover and a campaign to rival those of Madison Avenue this is the non-fiction treat of the summer.
From Under the Russian Snow
by Michelle A CarterAt age 50, Michelle Carter, a married mother of two adult children, left her job as editor of a suburban newspaper in the San Francisco Bay area to move to Russia for a year as a United States Information Agency Journalist-in-Residence. There she worked with newspaper editors who struggled to adapt to the new concepts of press freedom and a market economy. She became an on-the-scene witness to the second great Russian revolution. At the same time, she embarked on a personal journey that wrenched her life in a way she could never have anticipated when she accepted her husband's challenge to take the assignment.
From Valmy To Waterloo—Extracts From The Diary Of Capt. Charles François: A Soldier Of The Revolution And The Empire.
by Jules Arsène Arnaud Clarentie Robert B. Douglas Capitiane Charles FrançoisThe cannonade of Valmy (1792) ranks as one of the most significant battles of all time for its strategic results: the defeat of the Prussian invasion heralded the beginning of the French Republic. At the field of Waterloo in 1815, no less a battle ended once and for all the ambitions of Napoleon to dominate Europe under French hegemony. Throughout this period of strife and struggle, which would change the map of Europe forever, Capitaine François fought under the banners and eagles of France, a callow youth at the time of Valmy, a grizzled veteran by the time of Waterloo. His story stretches from the plains of Northern France, through the frozen wastes of Russia, the sunburnt sands of Egypt and to the rotting prisoner hulks of Spain. François was by his own account a ruthless, fearless fighter but tempered with a passionate and phlegmatic nature; of the many memoirs of Napoleon's troops, few are filled with such adventure and anecdote.An excellent from the ranks of Napoleon's army.Author -- Capitaine Charles François (1774 or 5-1853.)Preface -- Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie (1840-1913.)Translator -- Robert B. DouglasText taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1906, London, by Everett and Co.Original Page Count - 332 pages.
From Wall Street to the White House and Back: The Scaramucci Guide to Unbreakable Resilience
by Anthony ScaramucciLearn from the successes, the fights, and the failures of businessman and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.Have you just been fired? Did that job you were hoping to get not pan out? Did you recently end up embarrassing yourself in a major way in front of people you really wanted to impress? Not to worry. There&’s a way out of whatever you&’re going through, and Anthony Scaramucci—or &“The Mooch,&” as he&’s known to his friends—is the perfect person to point you in the right direction. Whatever you&’re going through, he&’s been through it already. Probably twice. And he&’s learned a whole lot of lessons along the way. In From Wall Street to the White House and Back, the Mooch sets down twenty-five of these lessons. Along the way, he tells wild tales from his time working in finance, politics, and a few strange places in between. Readers will spend time in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump, visit the Bahamas with the disgraced crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried, and encounter pearls of wisdom from a few other unlikely sources in the world of business, national politics, and publishing. If you&’re interested in Eminem, Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, or Tony Robbins—all of whom are mentioned at least once in these pages—and you want to learn from the mistakes of one of the all-time great mistake-makers of our age, jump in.
From War to Westminster
by Stefan TerlezkiA Ukrainian-born British MP&’s memoir of being sold into slavery by Nazis as a child—and the long journey that led to his career in politics and business. Born in a small farming town in Western Ukraine that was under Polish rule at the time—but would soon be occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union and then invaded by the Germans—Stefan Terlezki was torn from his family, abducted and sold by the Nazis into slavery in Austria. Eventually, after many adventures and misadventures, he made his way to a DP camp and, finally, the UK. He would go on to be elected as a Member of Parliament for Cardiff, and become a close friend of Margaret Thatcher and other major political figures. He was also an accomplished businessman and served as chairman of his local football club, Cardiff City FC. In this book, he tells his &“remarkable&” story (BBC News). &“A moving life story.&” —Wales Online
From Willard Straight to Wall Street: A Memoir
by Thomas W. JonesIn stark and compelling prose, Thomas W. Jones tells his story as a campus revolutionary who led an armed revolt at Cornell University in 1969 and then altered his course over the next fifty years to become a powerful leader in the financial industry including high-level positions at John Hancock, TIAA-CREF and Citigroup as Wall Street plunged into its darkest hour. From Willard Straight to Wall Street provides a front row seat to the author's triumphs and struggles as he was twice investigated by the SEC—and emerged unscathed. His searing perspective as an African American navigating a world dominated by whites reveals a father, a husband, a trusted colleague, a Cornellian, and a business leader who confronts life with an unwavering resolve that defies cliché and offers a unique perspective on the issues of race in America today. The book begins on the steps of Willard Straight Hall where Jones and his classmates staged an occupation for two days that demanded a black studies curriculum at Cornell. The Straight Takeover resulted in the resignation of Cornell President James Perkins with whom Jones reconciled years later. Jones witnessed the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 from his office at ground zero and then observed first-hand the wave of scandals that swept the banking industry over the next decade. From Willard Straight to Wall Street reveals one of the most interesting American stories of the last fifty years.
From Winchester to This
by William DonaldsonWilliam Donaldson reveals all in a frank and often scurrilous memoir where past and present collide in a hilarious vision of his extraordinary life. The author charts his course from his public school childhood, through production of the celebrated 1960s satire Beyond the Fringe, a riotous lifestyle in the company of pop stars, actors, models, and sundry celebs--sometimes in a brothel in which he lived for a time in Chelsea--literary success and on into his drug-fuelled slide into bankruptcy and lost love in the alleged present. Many will know Willie Donaldson and his friends behaving badly from his long-time column in the Independent. He writes in the tradition of Nabokov's "unreliable narrator," with his insightful contemplations on the memoir's often-scandalous indiscretions about--to list just a few--page-three girls, the aristocracy, former girlfriends Sarah Miles and Carly Simon, Peter Cook, Kenneth Tynan, drug dealers, and the criminal fraternity--even the rightful King of Spain. Moralist as well as mischief-maker, Donaldson writes with candor, wit, and style.
From X-rays to Quarks: Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries
by Emilio SegrèA leading figure in twentieth-century physics offers impressions and recollections of the field's development. Nobel Laureate Emilio Segrè (1905-89) knew and worked with many of modern physics' preeminent scientists. In this simple but elegant history, he offers compelling views not only of the milestones of scientific discovery but also the personalities involved--their attitudes and politics as well as their trials and triumphs. Highlights include a profile of Albert Einstein, from his unconventional youth to his role as science's elder statesman; the wonder year of 1932, which witnessed the discoveries of the neutron, positron, and deuterium; and the first steps in building particle accelerators.A student and colleague of Enrico Fermi, Segrè made numerous important contributions to nuclear physics, including participation in the Manhattan Project. Segrè is further renowned for his narrative skills as a historian. This book is a companion to the author's From Falling Bodies to Radio Waves: Classical Physicists and Their Discoveries, also available from Dover Publications.
Fromms: How Julius Fromm's Condom Empire Fell to the Nazis
by Götz Aly Michael SontheimerIf you wanted to buy a top-quality condom in prewar Germany, you bought Fromms Act, the first brand name condom and still a leading brand in the German market. The man behind this “pure German quality product” was Julius Fromm, a Jewish entrepreneur who had immigrated from Russia as a child. Fromm was in the right place at the right time: he patented Fromms Act in 1916, when the combination of changing sexual mores, awareness of sexual health, and the lack of reliable prophylactics meant a market primed for his product. In 1922 he began mass production and opened international branches. Sixteen years later, after building the brand into a best seller and the company into a model business, he was forced to sell Fromms Act for a fraction of its worth to a German baroness. In 1939 he emigrated to London. Aly and Sontheimer trace Fromm’s rise and fall, illuminating the ways Jewish businesses like his were Aryanized under the Nazis. The authors also recount the Fromm family’s quest for reparations, one that came to an end only in 2006. Through the biography of this businessman and the story of his unusual and fabulously successful company, we learn the fascinating history of the first branded condoms in Germany and the sexual culture that allowed them to thrive, the heretofore undocumented machinations by which the Nazis robbed German-Jewish families of their businesses, and the tragedy of a man whose great love for the adopted country that first allowed him to succeed was betrayed by its government and his fellow citizens. This captivating account offers a wealth of detail and a fresh array of photographic documentation, and adds a striking new dimension to our understanding of this dark period in German history.
Fromms
by Shelley Frisch Michael Sontheimer Gotz AlyIf you wanted to buy a top-quality condom in prewar Germany, you bought Fromms Act, the first brand name condom and still a leading brand in the German market. The man behind this "pure German quality product" was Julius Fromm, a Jewish entrepreneur who had immigrated from Russia as a child. Fromm was in the right place at the right time: he patented Fromms Act in 1916, when the combination of changing sexual mores, awareness of sexual health, and the lack of reliable prophylactics meant a market primed for his product. In 1922 he began mass production and opened international branches. Sixteen years later, after building the brand into a best seller and the company into a model business, he was forced to sell Fromms Act for a fraction of its worth to a German baroness. In 1939 he emigrated to London.Aly and Sontheimer trace Fromm's rise and fall, illuminating the ways Jewish businesses like his were Aryanized under the Nazis. Through the biography of this businessman and the story of his unusual and fabulously successful company, we learn the fascinating history of the first branded condoms in Germany and the sexual culture that allowed them to thrive, the heretofore undocumented machinations by which the Nazis robbed German-Jewish families of their businesses, and the tragedy of a man whose great love for the adopted country that first allowed him to succeed was betrayed by its government and his fellow citizens. This captivating account offers a wealth of detail and a fresh array of photographic documentation, and adds a striking new dimension to our understanding of this dark period in German history.From the Hardcover edition.
Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had
by Brad Cohen Lisa WysockyThe inspirational story of how one man overcome his challenges with Tourette syndrome to become Georgia’s First Class Teacher of the Year.As a child with Tourette syndrome, Brad Cohen was ridiculed, beaten, mocked, and shunned. Children, teachers, and even family members found it difficult to be around him. As a teen, he was viewed by many as purposefully misbehaving, even though he had little power over the twitches and noises he produced, especially under stress. Even today, Brad is sometimes ejected from movie theaters and restaurants.But Brad Cohen’s story is not one of self-pity. His unwavering determination and fiercely positive attitude conquered the difficulties he faced in school, in college, and while job hunting. Brad never stopped striving, and after twenty-four interviews, he landed his dream job: teaching grade school and nurturing all of his students as a positive, encouraging role model. Now a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie Event available on streaming platformsFront of the Class is now in e-book format for the first time and includes a new epilogue.