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In Black And White
by Donald McraeIn 1936 athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics and, two years later, boxer Joe Louis won a crushing victory to become heavyweight champion of the world. Despite their fame and success, both men would find themselves barred from certain hotels and would have to eat outside restaurants because of the colour of their skin. However. by their example, they gave hope to millions of black people around the world as they became the first black superstars. In Donald McRae's William Hill prize-winning dual biography, which includes a brand new chapter, he compiles a brilliant portrait of the two men, who became close friends despite their very different career paths: within days of Olympic glory, Owens was banned from competing again, and was forced to spend his days racing against horses to earn a living before becoming a spokesman for the sporting ideal. Meanwhile Louis won and lost a fortune, eventually battling with drug addiction and mental illness. His vivid account of their lives away from the public eye, and the era in which they lived, is compelling and tragic.
In Black and White
by Donald McraeJesse Owens and Joe Louis have been hailed as American icons for the last sixty-five years, yet they were unfailingly human in everything they achieved and endured: as vulnerable as they were courageous; as troubled as they were brilliant; as restless in themselves as they are now rooted in history. In Black and White tells, for the first time, the story of the shared political legacy, extraordinary personal links and enduring friendship between 4-times Olympic gold medallist Jesse Owens, and Heavyweight World Boxing Champion Joe Louis, black athletes born in an America demeaned by racism and poverty.
In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story of Race and Class in a Broken Justice System
by Alexandra Wilson**NOW WITH NEW AFTERWORD AND READING GROUP QUESTIONS**'An absolute triumph; a compelling and courageous memoir forcing the legal profession to confront uncomfortable truths about race and class. Alexandra Wilson is a bold and vital voice. This is a book that urgently needs to be read by everyone inside, and outside, the justice system.' THE SECRET BARRISTER Alexandra Wilson was a teenager when her dear family friend Ayo was stabbed on his way home from football. Ayo's death changed Alexandra. She felt compelled to enter the legal profession in search of answers. As a junior criminal and family law barrister, Alexandra finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. A world in which fellow barristers sigh with relief when a racist judge retires: 'I've got a black kid today and he would have had no hope'. In her debut book, In Black and White, Alexandra re-creates the tense courtroom scenes, the heart-breaking meetings with teenage clients, and the moments of frustration and triumph that make up a young barrister's life. Alexandra shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin, or someone you suspect is guilty. We see what it is like for children coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers. Alexandra's account of what she has witnessed as a young mixed-race barrister is in equal parts shocking, compelling, confounding and powerful. 'An inspirational, clear-eyed account of life as a junior barrister is made all the more exceptional by the determination, passion, humanity and drive of the author. Anyone interested in seeing how the law really works should read it.' SARAH LANGFORD'This is the story of a young woman who overcame all the obstacles a very old profession could throw at her, and she survived, with her integrity intact.' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH(P)Octopus Publishing Group 2020
In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story of Race and Class in a Broken Justice System
by Alexandra Wilson'An absolute triumph; a compelling and courageous memoir forcing the legal profession to confront uncomfortable truths about race and class. Alexandra Wilson is a bold and vital voice. This is a book that urgently needs to be read by everyone inside, and outside, the justice system.' THE SECRET BARRISTER 'A riveting book in the best tradition of courtroom dramas but from the fresh perspective of a young female mixed-race barrister. That Alexandra is "often" mistaken for the defendant shows how important her presence at the bar really is.' MATT RUDD, THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE'This is the story of a young woman who overcame all the obstacles a very old profession could throw at her, and she survived, with her integrity intact.' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAHAlexandra Wilson was a teenager when her dear family friend Ayo was stabbed on his way home from football. Ayo's death changed Alexandra. She felt compelled to enter the legal profession in search of answers. As a junior criminal and family law barrister, Alexandra finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. A world in which fellow barristers sigh with relief when a racist judge retires: 'I've got a black kid today and he would have had no hope'. In her debut book, In Black and White, Alexandra re-creates the tense courtroom scenes, the heart-breaking meetings with teenage clients, and the moments of frustration and triumph that make up a young barrister's life. Alexandra shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin, or someone you suspect is guilty. We see what it is like for children coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers. Alexandra's account of what she has witnessed as a young mixed-race barrister is in equal parts shocking, compelling, confounding and powerful. 'An inspirational, clear-eyed account of life as a junior barrister is made all the more exceptional by the determination, passion, humanity and drive of the author. Anyone interested in seeing how the law really works should read it.' SARAH LANGFORD'The personal narrative of a young female lawyer of mixed heritage who is defying the soft bigotry of low expectations by sharing her journey inspires us all to do the same in our own way, and this is a powerful message which needs to be shared.' DR TUNDE OKEWALE MBE, FOUNDER OF URBAN LAWYERS'A refreshingly honest account of the challenges faced by a young female barrister of mixed heritage' JUDY KHAN QC, JOINT HEAD OF GARDEN COURT CHAMBERS
In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
by Wil HaygoodHe was, for decades, one of the most recognizable figures in the cultural landscape, his image epitomizing a golden age of American show business. His career spanned a lifetime, but for years he has remained hidden behind the persona he so vigorously generated, and so fiercely protected. Now, in this surprising, illuminating, and compulsively readable biography, we are taken beyond the icon, into the extraordinary, singular life of Sammy Davis, Jr. In scrupulous detail and with stunning powers of evocation, Wil Haygood takes us back to the era of vaudeville, where it all began for four-year-old Sammy who ran out onstage one night and stole the show. From then on it was a motherless childhood on the road, singing and dancing his way across a segregated America with his father and the formidable showman Will Mastin, struggling together to survive the Depression and the demise of vaudeville itself. With an ambition honed by poverty and an obsessive need for applause, Sammy drove his way into the nightclub circuit of the 1940s and 1950s, when, his father and Mastin aging and out of style, he slowly began to make a name for himself, hustling his way to top billing and eventually to recording contracts. From there, he was to stake his claim on Broadway, in Hollywood, and, of course, in Las Vegas. Haygood brings Sammy's showbiz life into full relief against the backdrop of an America in the throes of racial change. Sammy grew up trapped between the worlds of blacks and whites, with so much invested in both. He made his living entertaining white people but was often denied service in the very venues he played. Drafted into a newly integrated U.S. Army in the 1940s, he saw up close the fierce tensions that seethed below the surface. Dragged into the civil rights movement, he witnessed a hatred that often erupted into violence. In his broad and varied friendships and alliances (with Frank Sinatra; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Richard Nixon; Sidney Poitier; Marilyn Monroe, to name just a few), not to mention his romances (his relationship with Kim Novak and his marriage to the blond beauty May Britt drew death threats), he forged uncharted paths across racial lines. Admired and reviled by both blacks and whites, he was tormented all his life by raging insecurities, and never quite came to terms with his own skin. Ultimately, his only true sense of his identity was as a performer.Based on painstaking research and more than 250 interviews, Wil Haygood brings us a sweeping and vivid cultural history of the twentieth century, chronicling black entertainment from its beginnings and the birth of popular culture as we know it. In Black and White transcends simple biography to become an important record, both celebratory and elegiacal, of a vanished America and its greatest entertainer.
In Byron's Wake: The Turbulent Lives Of Lord Byron's Wife And Daughter: Annabella Milbanke And Ada Lovelace
by Miranda Seymour'A masterful portrait' The Times'Vastly enjoyable' Literary Review In 1815, the clever, courted and cherished Annabella Milbanke married the notorious and brilliant Lord Byron. Just one year later, she fled, taking with her their baby daughter, the future Ada Lovelace. Byron himself escaped into exile and died as a revolutionary hero in 1824, aged 36. The one thing he had asked his wife to do was to make sure that their daughter never became a poet. Ada didn't. Brought up by a mother who became one of the most progressive reformers of Victorian England, Byron's little girl was introduced to mathematics as a means of calming her wild spirits. Educated by some of the most learned minds in England, she combined that scholarly discipline with a rebellious heart and a visionary imagination. As a child invalid, Ada dreamed of building a steam-driven flying horse. As an exuberant and boldly unconventional young woman, she amplified her explanations of Charles Babbage's unbuilt calculating engine to predict, as nobody would do for another century, the dawn today of our modern computer age. When Ada died - like her father, she was only 36 - great things seemed still to lie ahead for her as a passionate astronomer. Even while mired in debt from gambling and crippled by cancer, she was frenetically employing Faraday's experiments with light refraction to explore the analysis of distant stars.Drawing on fascinating new material, Seymour reveals the ways in which Byron, long after his death, continued to shape the lives and reputations both of his wife and his daughter. During her life, Lady Byron was praised as a paragon of virtue; within ten years of her death, she was vilified as a disgrace to her sex. Well over a hundred years later, Annabella Milbanke is still perceived as a prudish wife and cruelly controlling mother. But her hidden devotion to Byron and her tender ambitions for his mercurial, brilliant daughter reveal a deeply complex but unsuspectedly sympathetic personality. Miranda Seymour has written a masterful portrait of two remarkable women, revealing how two turbulent lives were often governed and always haunted by the dangerously enchanting, quicksilver spirit of that extraordinary father whom Ada never knew.
In Byron's Wake: The Turbulent Lives Of Lord Byron's Wife And Daughter: Annabella Milbanke And Ada Lovelace
by Miranda SeymourA masterful portrait of two remarkable women, revealing how two turbulent lives were always haunted by the dangerously enchanting, quicksilver spirit of that extraordinary father whom Ada never knew: Lord Byron. In 1815, the clever, courted, and cherished Annabella Milbanke married the notorious and brilliant Lord Byron. Just one year later, she fled, taking with her their baby daughter, the future Ada Lovelace. Byron himself escaped into exile and died as a revolutionary hero in 1824, aged 36. The one thing he had asked his wife to do was to make sure that their daughter never became a poet. Ada didn’t. Brought up by a mother who became one of the most progressive reformers of Victorian England, Byron’s little girl was introduced to mathematics as a means of calming her wild spirits. Educated by some of the most learned minds in England, she combined that scholarly discipline with a rebellious heart and a visionary imagination. As a child invalid, Ada dreamed of building a steam-driven flying horse. As an exuberant and boldly unconventional young woman, she amplified her explanations of Charles Babbage’s unbuilt calculating engine to predict—as nobody would do for another century—the dawn of the modern computer age. When Ada died—like her father, she was only 36—great things seemed still to lie ahead for her as a passionate astronomer. Even while mired in debt from gambling and crippled by cancer, she was frenetically employing Faraday’s experiments with light refraction to explore the analysis of distant stars. Drawing on fascinating new material, Seymour reveals the ways in which Byron, long after his death, continued to shape the lives and reputations both of his wife and his daughter. During her life, Lady Byron was praised as a paragon of virtue; within ten years of her death, she was vilified as a disgrace to her sex. Well over a hundred years later, Annabella Milbanke is still perceived as a prudish wife and cruelly controlling mother. But her hidden devotion to Byron and her tender ambitions for his mercurial, brilliant daughter reveal a deeply complex but unexpectedly sympathetic personality. Miranda Seymour has written a masterful portrait of two remarkable women, revealing how two turbulent lives were often governed and always haunted by the dangerously enchanting, quicksilver spirit of that extraordinary father whom Ada never knew.
In Capable Arms: Living a Life Embraced by Grace
by Sarah KovacSarah Kovac was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC), a rare congenital birth defect that left her with arms that she could barely use. Growing up, she was the only one in her class with a disability, setting her apart as “different” and unpopular. Realizing her unique place in the world, Sarah began adapting, working to her strengths, and eventually learned to use her feet to do such activities as changing her son's diapers, making dinner, putting on makeup, and even typing on the computer--even as she grew in spiritual and emotional maturity and independence in exceptional ways. Picked up by national news network CNN, Sarah’s story went viral and she was suddenly presented with a platform from which to share her love for God. In Capable Arms brings readers on Sarah’s journey, crying with her through intense frustration and the desire to be perfect, cheering her through physical training and pain, and admiring her eventual spiritual surrender as she let go of her insecurities and let God use her . . . even her crippled arms. Sarah brings readers face to face with their own struggles, challenges them with questions about self-worth and fear, then offers guidance, wisdom, and inspiration for finding hope—and healing—in the arms of the One who loves them no matter what.
In Case We Die
by Danny BlandDanny Bland's fictional prose novel about a doomed junkie couple is given depth by his first hand experiences in the '90s grunge rock scene. "It wasn't the pounding headache or the all too familiar taste of blood in my mouth that woke me that morning, but the stink of cat piss. They all have cats. Cats and bad tattoos and mops of dyed black hair that reek of cigarettes and watermelon Bubblicious." This debut novel by veteran Seattle musician Danny Bland follows a pair of outsiders who find themselves locked in the palpable, dizzy grunge-rock scene of early-'90s Seattle. Vulnerable to the high relief of heroin addiction, Bland's characters -- Charlie Hyatt and Carrie Finch -- are unapologetic protagonists whose epiphanies are as blinding as their weaknesses. Finch, 21, beautiful and dangerous, drowns out the voices in her head and the consequences of a misled life with electric guitars, booze and petulant misbehavior. Her single abiding faith takes the form of an unlikely savior -- '60s psychedelic musician Roky Erikson. At the ripe old age of 28, Hyatt attempts to make sense of the cards he has been dealt: a miserable job in a porn shop, a drug habit he cannot afford and the wildly unstable woman he had chosen to love. Two damaged people can balance a seesaw for a long time, even finding the illusion of safety; but when one gets off unannounced, the other will fall. As Finch finds sobriety, her sanity and her relationship with Hyatt falter until an inevitable event brings the two back together a decade later.
In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream
by Eric DregniEric Dregni&’s great-grandfather Ellef fled Norway in 1893 when it was the poorest country in Europe. More than one hundred years later, his great-grandson traveled back to find that—mostly due to oil and natural gas discoveries—it is now the richest. The circumstances of his return were serendipitous, as the notice that Dregni won a Fulbright Fellowship to go there arrived the same week as the knowledge that his wife Katy was pregnant. Braving a birth abroad and benefiting from a remarkably generous health care system, the Dregnis&’ family came full circle when their son Eilif was born in Norway. In this cross-cultural memoir, Dregni tells the hair-raising, hilarious, and sometimes poignant stories of his family&’s yearlong Norwegian experiment. Among the exploits he details are staying warm in a remote grass-roofed hytte (hut), surviving a dinner of rakfisk (fermented fish) thanks to 80-proof aquavit, and identifying his great-grandfather&’s house in the Lusterfjord only to find out it had been crushed by a boulder and then swept away by a river. To subsist on a student stipend, he rides the meat bus to Sweden for cheap salami with a busload of knitting pensioners. A week later, he and his wife travel to the Lofoten Islands and gnaw on klippefisk (dried cod) while cats follow them through the streets. Dregni&’s Scandinavian roots do little to prepare him and his family for the year in Trondheim eating herring cakes, obeying the conformist Janteloven (Jante&’s law), and enduring the mørketid (dark time). In Cod We Trust is one Minnesota family&’s spirited excursion into Scandinavian life. The land of the midnight sun is far stranger than they previously thought, and their encounters show that there is much we can learn from its unique and surprising culture.
In Concert
by Carl A. VigelandAn intimate, moving, dramatic story about the musicians in a great orchestra who make music come alive in performance and recording. The musicians here are members of the fabled Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Seiji Ozawa, during a season highlighted by Mahler's Second Symphony, The Resurrection.
In Contempt
by Jesse Walter Christopher DardenIn 1994, everyone knew who Christopher Darden was. Everyone knew he was one of the prosecuting attorneys in the famous, or infamous OJ Simpson trial. Now hear about Darden in Darden's own words. How did he feel during the trial? How does he feel now?
In Days to Come: A New Hope for Israel
by Avraham Burg Joel Greenberg"The first childhood memory I have of my father is linked to the destruction of empires--the collapse of a world order that had once seemed eternal."So begins Avraham Burg's authoritative and deeply personal inquiry into the ambitions and failures of Israel and Judaism worldwide.Born in 1955, Burg witnessed firsthand many of the most dramatic and critical moments in Israeli history. Here, he chronicles the highs and lows of his country over the last five decades, threading his own journey into the story of his people. He explores the misplaced hopes of religious Zionism through the lens of his conservative upbringing, explains Israel's obsession with military might while relating his own experiences as a paratrooper officer, and probes the country's democratic aspirations, informed by his tenure in the Knesset.With bravery and candor, Burg lays bare the seismic intellectual shifts that drove the country's political and religious journeys, offering a prophecy of fury and consolation and a vision for a new comprehensive paradigm for Judaism, Israel, and the Middle East.
In Deep: How I Survived Gangs, Heroin, and Prison to Become a Chicago Violence Interrupter
by Angalia Bianca Linda Beckstrom Kevin GatesBefore Angalia Bianca became one of Chicago’s foremost authorities on violence interruption and prevention, receiving international recognition and a Resolution for Bravery from the City of Chicago, she was a criminal, a master manipulator, and a brilliant con artist. Bianca spent twelve years in prison for forgery, embezzlement, drug dealing, and theft. But now she has gone far beyond the expectations for recovery to a life of service fueled by an unrelenting determination to make a difference. <P><P> Bianca was once a gang member; now she puts her life on the line to interrupt gang violence. For thirty-six years she was a heroin addict; now she mentors people in recovery. She was homeless; now she appears as an invited guest to speak at events across the country and around the world. Bianca crawled out of the deepest hole imaginable; now through her work with the renowned violence prevention group Cure Violence, she climbs back down to change lives. <P><P> In Deep is a blunt, honest look at Bianca's life. Her mind-blowing stories take readers deep into a world of grit and gang violence that seems inescapable. Her story is at once fascinating, terrifying, and ultimately full of hope. Readers will be inspired by Bianca's escape from the depths of depravity, and by her commitment to those facing the worst that the city of Chicago has to offer.
In Defense of Andrew Jackson
by Bradley Birzer“I’m not an Andrew Jackson fan, but I’m definitely a Bradley Birzer fan. His case for Old Hickory is as strong as any I’ve seen and deserves to be reckoned with.”- THOMAS E. WOODS JR., author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. “Most discussion of Andrew Jackson falls into predictable ruts, defaulting automatically to clichés that reflect more on our own time than his. Whether America is entering another ‘Jacksonian’ period depends upon understanding the first one more clearly, and we have Bradley Birzer to thank for taking up a spirited defense of this complicated man and his legacy.” - STEVEN F. HAYWARD, author of The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution 1980-1989. “Liberal revisionists have pounded Andrew Jackson down to the point where Democrats are ashamed to admit he founded their party. In Defense of Andrew Jackson sets the record straight on America’s first populist president.” - JAMES S. ROBBINS, author of Erasing America: Losing Our Future by Destroying Our Past. “As a man and a military hero, Andrew Jackson is as American as they come. But in this timely biography, Bradley Birzer has managed to peel back layers of cliché and reveal our seventh president as a more complex human being than current textbooks allow.” - GLEAVES WHITNEY, director of Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. "He was a man of the frontier, self-made but appreciative of those who gave him their loyalty and support. He was, pure and simple, and American..." He was controversial in his time—and even more controversial in our own. Indian fighter, ardent patriot, hero of the War of 1812, the very embodiment of America’s democratic and frontier spirit, Andrew Jackson was an iconic figure. Today, Jackson is criticized and reviled – condemned as a slave-owner, repudiated as the president who dispatched the Indians down the “Trail of Tears,” dropped with embarrassment by the Democratic Party, and demanded by many to be removed from the twenty-dollar bill. Who is the real Andrew Jackson? The beloved Old Hickory whom Americans once revered? Or the villain who has become a prime target of the Social Justice Warriors? Using letters, diaries, newspaper columns, and notes, historian Bradley Birzer provides a fresh and enlightening perspective on Jackson —unvarnished, true to history, revealing why President Donald Trump sees Andrew Jackson as a political role model, and illustrating the strong parallels between the anxieties of Jacksonian America and the anxieties of the "Hillbilly Elegy" voting bloc of today. In this brilliant new book, Bradley Birzer makes the case that Jackson was… The epitome of the American frontier republican. Passionately devoted to individual liberty. A staunch proponent of Christian morality. Not only dedicated but also vital to the preservation of the Union. A significant and influential role model to President Donald J. Trump. In Defense of Andrew Jackson sets the record straight on our seventh president, revealing a radically new but historically accurate perspective on Jackson.
In Defense of Loose Translations: An Indian Life in an Academic World (American Indian Lives)
by Elizabeth Cook-LynnIn Defense of Loose Translations is a memoir that bridges the personal and professional experiences of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. Having spent much of her life illuminating the tragic irony of being an Indian in America, this provocative and often controversial writer narrates the story of her intellectual life in the field of American Indian studies. Drawing on her experience as a twentieth-century child raised in a Sisseton Santee Dakota family and under the jurisdictional policies that have created significant social isolation in American Indian reservation life, Cook-Lynn tells the story of her unexpectedly privileged and almost comedic &“affirmative action&” rise to a professorship in a regional western university. Cook-Lynn explores how different opportunities and setbacks helped her become a leading voice in the emergence of American Indian studies as an academic discipline. She discusses lecturing to professional audiences, activism addressing nonacademic audiences, writing and publishing, tribal-life activities, and teaching in an often hostile and, at times, corrupt milieu. Cook-Lynn frames her life&’s work as the inevitable struggle between the indigene and the colonist in a global history. She has been a consistent critic of the colonization of American Indians following the treaty-signing and reservation periods of development. This memoir tells the story of how a thoughtful critic has tried to contribute to the debate about indigenousness in academia.
In Defense of Martin Luther: Essays by John Warwick Montgomery
by John Warwick MontgomeryIn these seven engaging essays, renowned Lutheran scholar and Christian apologist John Warwick Montgomery presents a firm defense of Martin Luther, the leader of the Reformation. Republished for the 500th anniversary of that influential movement, this book helps readers discover Luther's true beliefs by letting the Reformer speak for himself on a variety of hotly contested topics. Through this book, you will better understand and appreciate the work Luther did to proclaim the pure Word of God, even in the face of constant opposition.
In Defense of Politicians: The Expectations Trap and Its Threat to Democracy (Controversies in Electoral Democracy and Representation)
by Stephen K. MedvicPoliticians are reviled. From jokes on late-night TV talk shows to radio show rants and from public opinion polls to ubiquitous conventional wisdom--politicians are among the most despised professional class in modern society. Drawing on seminal work in political science, Stephen K. Medvic convincingly argues to the masses that this blanket condemnation of politicians is both unfair and unwarranted. While some individual politicians certainly deserve scorn for misjudgments, moral failings, or even criminal acts, the assumption that all of them should be cast in a similar light is unjustified. More importantly, that deeply cynical assumption is dangerous to the legitimacy of a democratic system of government. Politicians, as a class, deserve respect, not out of blind obedience to authority but because democratic deliberation requires it. Medvic explains how cognitive biases in the way people reason often lead us to draw unjustified conclusions of politicians in general based on the malfeasance of some. Scandals involving politicians are likely to be remembered and to serve as "evidence" of the belief that "they all do it. " Most politicians, in fact, care deeply about their cities, states, and nation. But they face a trap of unrealistic and contradictory expectations from the public about how politicians should behave. Medvic, in turn, demonstrates the necessity of ambition, the utility of politics for resolving conflicts peacefully, and the value of ideology in framing political choices. In the end, citizens must learn to tolerate the inherent messiness of politics as the only viable alternative to violent conflict. In the process, we must embrace our role in the political system as well.
In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal
by William G. Hyland Jr.The belief that Thomas Jefferson had an affair and fathered a child (or children) with slave Sally Hemings---and that such an allegation was proven by DNA testing—has become so pervasive in American popular culture that it is not only widely accepted but taught to students as historical fact. But as William G. Hyland Jr. demonstrates, this "fact" is nothing more than the accumulation of salacious rumors and irresponsible scholarship over the years, much of it inspired by political grudges, academic opportunism, and the trend of historical revisionism that seeks to drag the reputation of the Founding Fathers through the mud. In this startling and revelatory argument, Hyland shows not only that the evidence against Jefferson is lacking, but that in fact he is entirely innocent of the charge of having sexual relations with Hemings.Historians have the wrong Jefferson. Hyland, an experienced trial lawyer, presents the most reliable historical evidence while dissecting the unreliable, and in doing so he cuts through centuries of unsubstantiated charges. The author reminds us that the DNA tests identified Eston Hemings, Sally's youngest child, as being merely the descendant of a "Jefferson male." Randolph Jefferson, the president's wayward, younger brother with a reputation for socializing among the Monticello slaves, emerges as the most likely of several possible candidates. Meanwhile, the author traces the evolution of this rumor about Thomas Jefferson back to the allegation made by one James Callendar, a "drunken ruffian" who carried a grudge after unsuccessfully lobbying the president for a postmaster appointment---and who then openly bragged of ruining Jefferson's reputation. Hyland also delves into Hemings family oral histories that go against the popular rumor, as well as the ways in which the Jefferson rumors were advanced by less-than-historical dramas and by flawed scholarly research often shaped by political agendas. Reflecting both a layperson's curiosity and a lawyer's precision, Hyland definitively puts to rest the allegation of the thirty-eight-year liaison between Jefferson and Hemings. In doing so, he reclaims the nation's third president from the arena of Hollywood-style myth and melodrama and gives his readers a unique opportunity to serve as jurors on this enduringly fascinating episode in American history.
In Defense of Women
by Nancy GertnerFrom a "Human Rights Hero," a memoir of her illustrious career litigating groundbreaking cases In the boys' club climate of 1975, Nancy Gertner launched her career fighting a murder charge on behalf of antiwar activist Susan Saxe, one of the few women to ever make the FBI's Most Wanted List. What followed was a storied span of groundbreaking firsts, as Gertner threw herself into criminal and civil cases focused on women's rights and civil liberties.Gertner writes, for example, about representing Clare Dalton, the Harvard Law professor who famously sued the school after being denied tenure, and of being one of the first lawyers to introduce evidence of Battered Women's Syndrome in a first-degree murder defense. She writes about the client who sued her psychiatrist after he had sexually preyed on her, and another who sued her employers at Merrill Lynch--she had endured strippers and penis-shaped cakes in the office, but the wildly skewed distribution of clients took professional injury too far. All of these were among the first cases of their kind.Gertner brings her extensive experience to bear on issues of long-standing importance today: the general evolution of thought regarding women and fetuses as legally separate entities, possibly at odds; the fungible definition of rape and the rights of both the accused and the victim; ever-changing workplace attitudes and policies around women and minorities; the concept of abetting crime. In Defense of Women is the one-of-a-kind memoir of an exceptional, self-proclaimed "outsider lawyer."
In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry
by Carla Killough McClaffertyOn August 4, 1940, an unassuming American journalist named Varian Fry made his way to Marseilles, France, carrying in his pockets the names of approximately two hundred artists and intellectuals – all enemies of the new Nazi regime. As a volunteer for the Emergency Rescue Committee, Fry's mission was to help these refugees flee to safety, then return home two weeks later. As more and more people came to him for assistance, however, he realized the situation was far worse than anyone in America had suspected – and his role far greater than he had imagined. He remained in France for over a year, refusing to leave until he was forcibly evicted. At a time when most Americans ignored the World War II atrocities in Europe, Varian Fry engaged in covert operations, putting himself in great danger, to save strangers in a foreign land. He was instrumental in the rescue of over two thousand refugees, including the novelist Heinrich Mann and the artist Marc Chagall.
In Disguise on the Underground Railroad: A Graphic Novel Biography of Anna Maria Weems (Barrier Breakers)
by Myra Faye TurnerAnna Maria Weems was just a teenager when she was given the opportunity to escape her enslaver in the mid-1800s. The journey would be dangerous, but she would have the help of abolitionists along the way. One of those supporters had a novel idea—Anna Maria would escape to freedom disguised as a boy. Learn about her brave journey on the Underground Railroad in this inspiring graphic novel.
In Disguise!: Undercover with Real Women Spies
by Ryan Ann HunterInvestigate real-life adventures of espionage in this collection of impressive and inspiring profiles.Spanning more than 300 years and numerous countries, In Disguise! details the lives of some of history’s most daring women, all of whom risked their lives to stand up for their beliefs. Originally published a decade ago, this fully updated and expanded edition of In Disguise! profiles twenty-eight daring international secret agents, from Harriet Tubman, who freed hundreds of slaves during the Civil War, to Eva Wu, who hid secret messages in her hair to aid the Chinese Revolution, to the modern-day exploits of former CIA agent Valerie Plame. With riveting narratives, fun quizzes to determine if you have what it takes to go undercover, secret-agent trivia, and short spotlight bios, In Disguise! is sure to engage and inspire.
In Due Season: A Catholic Life
by Paul WilkesThe noted author recounts the struggles and triumphs of his search for spiritual meaning in this &“exquisite memoir that often reads like a novel&” (Publisher&’s Weekly). Acclaimed for his writings on religious belief and spirituality, Paul Wilkes now recounts his lifelong search for God. Starting with his working class upbringing in Cleveland, his story continues through lonely nights in a factory; working his way through college; a surprising confrontation during the Cuban Missile Crisis; a torrid romance on the Indian Ocean; acceptance into an Ivy League school; and entering the &“perfect&” marriage, which would eventually fail. A man who seemingly had everything, Wilkes gave it all up to live with the poor. Then, in a dizzying turnabout, he became a person he could hardly recognize—a celebrity author. Spending his summers in the Hamptons, he knew Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, and Kurt Vonnegut, but not himself. He sat at the feet of the Dalai Lama. He was an avowed hedonist. He lived as a hermit at a Trappist monastery. He found true love and ran from it. He was a true son of the Church and a sinner beyond anything he might have imagined. In Due Season is Paul Wilkes's candid and probing memoir of seeking and getting lost, of abysmal failure and ultimate triumph, with a faith in God battered and tried in the crucible of his life.
In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart
by Ruth Graham Stacy MattinglyThis book deals with the troubles in Ruth Graham's life and she provides hope for those hurting.