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Life of R Wagner Vol 3
by Ernest NewmanIn the vast literature on Richard Wagner, Ernest Newman's classic four-volume Life remains unsurpassed.Volume III covers the years 1859-66 including the Tannhäuser debacle in Paris, the crisis with Minna, the first production of Tristan und Isolde and the flight from Munich.
Life of R Wagner Vol 4
by Ernest NewmanErnest Newman's four-volume Life of Wagner, originally published between 1933 and 1947, remains a classic work of biography. The culmination of forty years' research on the composer and his works (Newman's first Study of Wagner was first published in 1899), these books present a detailed portrait of perhaps the most influential, the most controversial and the most frequently reviled composer in the whole history of western music. Newman was aware that no biography can ever claim to be complete or completely accurate: 'The biographer can at no stage hope to have reached the final truth. All he can do is to make sure that whatever statement he may make, whatever conclusion he may come to, shall be based on the whole of the evidence available at the time of writing.' In this aim he triumphantly succeeds.Volume IV completes the story from 1866 to Wagner's death in 1883. It covers the composition of Die Meistersinger and Parsifal, the completion of the Ring, Wagner's marriage to Cosima Liszt von Bülow, and the building of Bayreuth.
Life of Richard Wagner, Volume 1: 1813-1848
by Ernest NewmanFrom renowned music critic and musicologist Ernest Newman comes the first of four volumes chronicling the life of legendary German composer Richard Wagner. This first volume takes us through the early years of Richard's life: his birth in Leipzig; his childhood in Dresden and the sparks of his interest in music, opera, and theater; his musical education, including his studies at University of Leipzig; his early career, accompanied by his first compositions and first money troubles; and his six years spent in Dresden, including his involvement in left-wing politics. Originally published between 1933 and 1947, Newman's The Life of Richard Wagner, Volumes I-IV remains a classic work of biography. The culmination of forty years' research on the composer and his works, these books present a detailed portrait of perhaps the most influential, the most controversial and the most frequently reviled composer in the whole history of western music. Newman was aware that no biography can ever claim to be complete or completely accurate: "The biographer can at no stage hope to have reached the final truth. All he can do is to make sure that whatever statement he may make, whatever conclusion he may come to, shall be based on the whole of the evidence available at the time of writing." In this aim he triumphantly succeeds.
Life of St Columba
by Adomnan of IonaFounding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona, a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in 597, St Columba was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a time of immense expansion for the Irish Church. This account of his life, written by Adomnán - the ninth abbot of Iona, and a distant relative of St Columba - describes his travels from Ireland to Scotland and his mission in the cause of Celtic Christianity there. Written 100 years after St Columba's death, it draws on written and oral traditions to depict a wise abbot among his monks, who like Christ was capable of turning water into wine, controlling sea-storms and raising the dead. An engaging account of one of the central figures in the 'Age of Saints', this is a major work of early Irish and Scottish history.
Life of St. Columba
by Adomnan Of Iona Richard SharpeLife of St. Columba as related by Adomnan of Iona.
Life of Washington
by Anna ReedA rare, faith-filled historic biography of America’s first President, George Washington. Pull back the dark shrouds of secular revisionist history, and meet the humble believer, godly leader, and devoted son who became a fledgling country’s source of strength and inspiration. Constantly seeking to serve others and place God first in his life and in the struggle for American freedom, George Washington was a revered and reverent man. In this special edition of a vintage 1842 original, readers will go beyond today’s simple footnotes of this great leader, to discover the man behind the title of “Father of Our Country.” From letters and personal accounts, a fuller and more accurate picture emerges of a man who lived by, and was led by, a deep and abiding faith.
Life of a Bastard
by Damien BlackNato nella Harlem Spagnola nel 1972 da madre portoricana e padre afroamericano, Javier Soto non è altro che un difetto sul volto della società americana. Dopo essere scampato ad un incendio probabilmente causato da sua madre mentre suo padre è in prigione, Javier e le sue sorelle vengono rimossi dalla loro casa e inseriti nel sistema dell’affidamento. La storia vera della vita di Javier Soto, il suo viaggio di famiglia in famiglia tra brutalità e violenze, viene raccontata in questo libro in toni crudi ma toccanti. La sua storia, cominciata nei servizi sociali cattolici, illustra la sua evoluzione da bambino innocente ad adolescente arrabbiato, passando attraverso abusi, malnutrizione, abbandono, solitudine. Come migliaia di bambini americani gettati nel sistema dell’affidamento, Javier e le sue sorelle vengono ripetutamente scaricati in famiglie adottive, ciascuna delle quali ha lasciato cicatrici indelebili su di loro. Dopo essere stato brutalmente separato dalle sue sorelle, Javier deve continuare la sua battaglia per la sopravvivenza da solo. Un racconto indimenticabile sull’angoscia, sull’autodistruzione e su quel desiderio di essere amati che Javier non riuscirà mai a soddisfare. Con delle basi così esigue su cui fondare le sue speranze, quanta strada potrà fare Javier?
Life of a Klansman: A Family History in White Supremacy
by Edward Ball"A haunting tapestry of interwoven stories that inform us not just about our past but about the resentment-bred demons that are all too present in our society today . . . The interconnected strands of race and history give Ball’s entrancing stories a Faulknerian resonance." —Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book ReviewA 2020 NPR staff pick | One of The New York Times' thirteen books to watch for in August | One of The Washington Post's ten books to read in August | A Literary Hub best book of the summer| One of Kirkus Reviews' sixteen best books to read in AugustThe life and times of a militant white supremacist, written by one of his offspring, National Book Award–winner Edward BallLife of a Klansman tells the story of a warrior in the Ku Klux Klan, a carpenter in Louisiana who took up the cause of fanatical racism during the years after the Civil War. Edward Ball, a descendant of the Klansman, paints a portrait of his family’s anti-black militant that is part history, part memoir rich in personal detail.Sifting through family lore about “our Klansman” as well as public and private records, Ball reconstructs the story of his great-great grandfather, Constant Lecorgne. A white French Creole, father of five, and working class ship carpenter, Lecorgne had a career in white terror of notable and bloody completeness: massacres, night riding, masked marches, street rampages—all part of a tireless effort that he and other Klansmen made to restore white power when it was threatened by the emancipation of four million enslaved African Americans. To offer a non-white view of the Ku-klux, Ball seeks out descendants of African Americans who were once victimized by “our Klansman” and his comrades, and shares their stories.For whites, to have a Klansman in the family tree is no rare thing: Demographic estimates suggest that fifty percent of whites in the United States have at least one ancestor who belonged to the Ku Klux Klan at some point in its history. That is, one-half of white Americans could write a Klan family memoir, if they wished.In an era when racist ideology and violence are again loose in the public square, Life of a Klansman offers a personal origin story of white supremacy. Ball’s family memoir traces the vines that have grown from militant roots in the Old South into the bitter fruit of the present, when whiteness is again a cause that can veer into hate and domestic terror.
Life of an Anarchist: The Alexander Berkman Reader
by Alexander BerkmanAlexander Berkman was a twentieth-century American revolutionary. Like the abolitionist John Brown before him, Berkman was hugely idealistic, ready to go to the furthest extreme of self-sacrifice and violence on behalf of justice and civil rights. He decided to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick after reading in the newspaper that Pinkertons hired by Frick had opened fire on the Homestead strikers, killing men, women, and children. Berkman's bungled attempt cost him fifteen years in a federal penitentiary. Upon his release, he became an effective agitator against conscription and was again imprisoned and eventually deported to Russia, where he saw at first hand the early days of Bolshevism. Berkman's writings remain a lasting and impassioned record of intense political transformation. Featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, Life of an Anarchist contains Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, Berkman's account of his years in prison; The Bolshevik Myth, his eyewitness account of the early days of the Russian Revolution; and The ABC of Anarchism, the classic text on the nature of anarchism in the twentieth century. Also included are a selection of letters between Berkman and his lifelong companion Emma Goldman, and a generous sampling from Berkman's other publications.
Life of an Enslaved African in the Ottoman Empire and Iran: The Autobiography of Mahboob Qirvanian
by Mahboob QirvanianThe Life of an Enslaved African in the Ottoman Empire and Iran is a poignant and compelling account of one man’s journey through struggle, resilience, and unimaginable suffering. In the early twentieth century, Mahboob Qirvanian recorded his personal experiences of forced migration and enslavement as he navigated his path from captivity in Africa to full citizenship and a reconstructed identity in Iran. Written in Persian and Arabic, this remarkable autobiography serves as a powerful testament to Mahboob’s endurance, suffering, and ultimate transformation.Through insightful analysis, Behnaz A. Mirzai places Mahboob’s narrative – the only known account by a former African slave in Iran – within the context of the political upheavals of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran and the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. This book not only sheds light on Mahboob’s personal story and the historical injustices of slavery but also engages with broader themes of displacement, identity, and social justice. In doing so, it invites readers to reflect on the enduring legacies of racial inequality and the ongoing struggles for freedom and dignity in the modern world.
Life of the Party
by Bob Kealing'She was one of the most important businesswomen of the 20th century, the prototype for all these Facebook and Google women who are leaning in.' Before Martha Stewart and Mary Kay, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record breaking sales engine powered by ordinary housewives. Having started her own business after divorcing her alcoholic husband, the plucky Southern businesswoman caught the eye of Tupperware inventor Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves. The now legendary Tupperware Party that Wise popularised, a masterclass in the soft sell, drove Tupperware's sales to stratospheric heights. It also gave poorly educated and economically invisible postwar women, including many African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families - and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and in 1954 she became the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week. Then, at the height of her success, Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware's success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared - until now. Originally published as Tupperware Unsealed, Life of the Party is a revised and updated edition perfectly timed to take advantage of this trail-blazing dynamo returning to the spotlight where she belongs.
Life of the Party: A Political Press Tart Bares All
by Lisa BaronBehind our political leaders-yes, even the "moral" ones-is an army of young, horny, professional staffers scrapping it out. Lisa Baron should know-she used to be one of them. With the unerring candor of George Stephanopoulos and the uncensored wit of Chelsea Handler, Baron gives good anecdote on a world where Godaphiles and Press Tarts work together to keep their politicos from imploding...and reveals how a not-so-nice Jewish girl became spokeswoman for the head of the Christian Coalition until she had to kiss that career and its perks-a drunken night with Wayne Newton and a seemingly endless supply of narcotics-good-bye."Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, and Monica Crowley may think they're pretty bold. But when it comes to baring the secret ardor of a conservative woman, nobody undresses like Lisa Baron." -New York Daily News"Hysterical." -Hollis Gillespie, author of Trailer Trashed"Everything you wanted to know about what goes on behind the Christian GOP curtain but were afraid to ask. Funny, frank, hilarious. " -Michael Murphy, guest columnist for Time magazine"Sex, drugs, interns-rock stars have nothing on Bible-thumping politicos when it comes to sin and raunch." -Suzi Parker, author of Sex in the South"Primary Colors meets Coyote Ugly." -Gawker"Sex, scandal...this book has everything." -A. J. Jacobs
Life of the Party: Stories of a Perpetual Man-Child
by Bert KreischerA collection of outrageous stories by the standup comic, TV host, and inspiration for the movie National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.“Bert Kresicher is as fearless on the page as he is on the stage. Bert admits things in Life of the Party that most of us wouldn’t even admit to ourselves. Open to page one and let Bert Kreischer take you on a magical ride.” —Mick Foley, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Foley Is GoodBert Kreischer doesn’t know how to say “no.” If he did, he wouldn’t have gotten himself mixed up with a group of Russian mobsters on a class trip to Moscow, earning him his nickname, “The Machine.” He wouldn’t have wrestled with a bear or swum with sharks on national television. He wouldn’t have (possibly) smoked PCP with a star of Saturday Night Live. And he wouldn’t have been named the Number One Partier in the Nation by Rolling Stone, inspired the movie National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, or have become one of the most in-demand touring comedians in the world, performing to sellout crowds across the country.The stories Kreischer shares in Life of the Party are a guidebook on how not to grow up. From his fraternity days at Florida State University to his rise as a stand-up to his marriage and first brushes with fatherhood, Kreischer shows you a path that may not lead you to maturity or personal growth. But it will lead you to a shitload of fun.“[Kreischer’s] affability and self-deprecation only lead to his charm, and the result is a genuinely hilarious look at life in the fast lane.” —Publishers Weekly
Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire
by Bob KealingThe incredible story of Brownie Wise, the Southern single mother--and postwar #Girlboss--who built, and lost, a Tupperware home-party empireBefore Mary Kay, Martha Stewart, and Joy Mangano, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record-breaking sales engine powered by American housewives. In Life of the Party, Bob Kealing offers the definitive portrait of Wise, a plucky businesswoman who divorced her alcoholic husband, started her own successful business, and eventually caught the eye of Tupperware inventor, Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves. The Tupperware Party that Wise popularized, a master-class in the soft sell, drove Tupperware's sales to soaring heights. It also gave minimally educated and economically invisible postwar women, including some African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families--and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and she become the first woman to appear on the cover of BusinessWeek in 1954. Then, at the height of her success, Wise's ascent ended as quickly as it began. Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware's success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared--until now. Originally published as Tupperware Unsealed by the University Press of Florida in 2008--and optioned by Sony Pictures, with Sandra Bullock attached to star--this revised and updated edition is perfectly timed to take advantage of renewed interest in this long-overlooked American business icon.From the Hardcover edition.
Life on Delay: USA Today Book Club
by John HendricksonA NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • USA TODAY BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF AUDIBLE'S BEST BIOS AND MEMOIRS OF 2023 • &“A raw, intimate look at [Hendrickson's] life with a stutter. It&’s a profoundly moving book that will reshape the way you think about people living with this condition.&”—Esquire • A candid memoir about a lifelong struggle to speak. &“Life On Delay brims with empathy and honesty . . . It moved me in ways that I haven&’t experienced before. It&’s fantastic.&”—Clint Smith, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller How the Word Is Passed&“I can&’t remember the last time I read a book that made me want to both cry and cheer so much, often at the same time.&”—Robert Kolker, best-selling author of Hidden Valley RoadIn the fall of 2019, John Hendrickson wrote a groundbreaking story for The Atlantic about Joe Biden&’s decades-long journey with stuttering, as well as his own. The article went viral, reaching readers around the world and altering the course of Hendrickson&’s life. Overnight, he was forced to publicly confront an element of himself that still caused him great pain.He soon learned he wasn&’t alone with his feelings: strangers who stutter began sending him their own personal stories, something that continues to this day. Now, in this reported memoir, Hendrickson takes us deep inside the mind and heart of a stutterer as he sets out to answer lingering questions about himself and his condition that he was often too afraid to ask.In Life on Delay, Hendrickson writes candidly about bullying, substance abuse, depression, isolation, and other issues stutterers like him face daily. He explores the intricate family dynamics surrounding his own stutter and revisits key people from his past in unguarded interviews. Readers get an over-the-shoulder view of his childhood; his career as a journalist, which once seemed impossible; and his search for a romantic partner. Along the way, Hendrickson guides us through the evolution of speech therapy, the controversial quest for a &“magic pill&” to end stuttering, and the burgeoning self-help movement within the stuttering community. Beyond his own experiences, he shares portraits of fellow stutterers who have changed his life, and he writes about a pioneering doctor who is upending the field of speech therapy.Life on Delay is an indelible account of perseverance, a soulful narrative about not giving up, and a glimpse into the process of making peace with our past and present selves.
Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe
by Aomawa ShieldsA stunning and inspiring memoir charting a life as an astronomer, classically-trained actor, mother, and Black woman in STEM, searching for life in the universe while building a meaningful life here on EarthAs a kid, Aomawa Shields was always bumping into things, her neck craned up at the sky, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. A year into an astrophysics PhD program, plagued by self-doubt and discouraged by a white male professor who suggested that she—a young Black woman who also loved fashion, makeup, and the arts—didn&’t belong, she left astronomy and pursued acting professionally for a decade, before a day job working for NASA&’s Spitzer Space Telescope drew her back to the stars. She was the oldest and the only Black student in her PhD cohort. This time, no professor, and no voice in her own head, would stop her. Now an astronomer and astrobiologist at the top of her field, Dr. Shields studies the universe outside our Solar System, researching and uncovering the planets circling distant stars with just the right conditions that could support life—while also using her theater education to communicate the wonder and magic of the universe with those of us here on Earth. But it&’s been a journey as winding and complex as the physics she has mastered. Life on Other Planets is a journey of discovery on this world and on others, a story of creating a life that makes space for joy, love, and wonder while being driven by one of our biggest questions: Is anybody else out there? It is about the possibility of living between multiple worlds and not choosing—but instead charting a new path entirely.
Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe
by Aomawa ShieldsAs a child, Aomawa Shields was always bumping into things, her neck craned up at the sky, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. A year into an astrophysics PhD program, plagued by self-doubt and discouraged by a white male professor who suggested that she - a young Black woman who also loved fashion, makeup, and the arts - didn't belong, she left astronomy and pursued acting professionally for a decade, before a day job working for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope drew her back to the stars. She was the oldest and the only Black student in her PhD cohort. This time, no professor, and no voice in her own head, would stop her.Now an astronomer and astrobiologist at the top of her field, Dr Shields studies the universe outside our solar system, researching and uncovering the planets circling distant stars with just the right conditions that could support life. But it's been a road as winding and complex as the physics she has mastered.Life on Other Planets is a journey of discovery on this world and on others, a story of creating a life that makes space for joy, love and wonder while being driven by one of our biggest questions: is anybody else out there? It is about the possibility of living between multiple worlds and not choosing - but instead charting a new path entirely.
Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe
by Aomawa ShieldsAs a child, Aomawa Shields was always bumping into things, her neck craned up at the sky, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. A year into an astrophysics PhD program, plagued by self-doubt and discouraged by a white male professor who suggested that she - a young Black woman who also loved fashion, makeup, and the arts - didn't belong, she left astronomy and pursued acting professionally for a decade, before a day job working for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope drew her back to the stars. She was the oldest and the only Black student in her PhD cohort. This time, no professor, and no voice in her own head, would stop her.Now an astronomer and astrobiologist at the top of her field, Dr Shields studies the universe outside our solar system, researching and uncovering the planets circling distant stars with just the right conditions that could support life. But it's been a road as winding and complex as the physics she has mastered.Life on Other Planets is a journey of discovery on this world and on others, a story of creating a life that makes space for joy, love and wonder while being driven by one of our biggest questions: is anybody else out there? It is about the possibility of living between multiple worlds and not choosing - but instead charting a new path entirely.
Life on Planet Rock
by Lonn FriendFor fans of heavy metal music, RIP magazine was a cultural touchstone, every bit as crucial in its day as Kerrang, NME or Rolling Stone. Lonn Friend, RIP's legendary editor, helped launch and revive the careers of innumerable acts - including Guns n' Roses, Metallica and Pearl Jam - and created some of the most enduring rock journalism of the decade, rivaling the best work of Lester Bangs and Cameron Crowe. In Life on Planet Rock, Friend describes in lucid and lurid detail how he became the Zelig-like chronicler of the biggest musical moments of the 80s and 90s, providing revealing portraits of artists as varied as Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Axl Rose, Jon Bon Jovi, Kurt Cobain, and Steven Tyler, among others. A candid and humorous memoir to appeal to fans of Motley Crue's The Dirt and Seb Hunter's Hell Bent For Leather, Life on Planet Rock is a wormhole back to a fast-moving time in music, filled with Dionysian excess and bombastic egos, told as only someone who was there through it all could tell it.
Life on a Plate: The Autobiography
by Gregg WallaceThe star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF tells his story for the first time.Gregg Wallace, star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF, restaurateur and expert on all things pudding, shares his story for the first time. After leaving school at 14, he started his career as a greengrocer at the New Covent Garden market and went on to create his multi-million pound fruit and veg business a decade later. A star slot on BBC VEG TALK,and an award-winning television programme followed and, in 2005, the chance to front MASTERCHEF, a show that has drawn in over 4.5 million viewers and produced some of the nation's best up-and-coming chefs. He has since opened two restaurants, Wallace & Co and Gregg's Table, penned numerous cookery books, and has written for the national and trade press. In this, his first memoir, Gregg tells how his early passion for food growing up in Peckham, south London, led to a world of Michelin star restaurants, celebrity chefs and a mission to save Britain's produce - and in an extraordinary turn with more than a few life-changing hurdles - brought him back to his roots.
Life on a Plate: The Autobiography
by Gregg WallaceThe star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF tells his story for the first time.Gregg Wallace, star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF, restaurateur and expert on all things pudding, shares his story for the first time. After leaving school at 14, he started his career as a greengrocer at the New Covent Garden market and went on to create his multi-million pound fruit and veg business a decade later. A star slot on BBC VEG TALK,and an award-winning television programme followed and, in 2005, the chance to front MASTERCHEF, a show that has drawn in over 4.5 million viewers and produced some of the nation's best up-and-coming chefs. He has since opened two restaurants, Wallace & Co and Gregg's Table, penned numerous cookery books, and has written for the national and trade press. In this, his first memoir, Gregg tells how his early passion for food growing up in Peckham, south London, led to a world of Michelin star restaurants, celebrity chefs and a mission to save Britain's produce - and in an extraordinary turn with more than a few life-changing hurdles - brought him back to his roots.
Life on a Rocky Farm: Rural Life near New York City in the Late Nineteenth Century (Excelsior Editions)
by Lucas C. BargerLife on a Rocky Farm couples Lucas C. Barger's (1866–1939) eye for detail with a folksy, anecdotal style to give us a remarkable and memorable depiction of both the traditional ways of farm life, and the challenges the farmers faced as the times changed. Previously unpublished, Barger's first-hand account of farm life near New York City begins in the late nineteenth century. Little had changed for well over a century in the hilly and rugged terrain of Putnam Valley, where Lucas grew up as a member of the sixth generation of Barger farmers. But as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, industrialization and mechanization decreased the demand for farm labor and farmers had to come up with alternate ways to make money.For a long time, supplemental income came from varied means such as beekeeping and using the local forest resources to provide railroad ties, ship timber, and barrel hoops. Wealthy summer boarders from New York City also provided some extra income, but despite the short distance, transportation remained arduous, and population growth did not occur until high improvements were made in the 1930s.Peter A. Rogerson's transcription reflects the flavor of Barger's original writing, as Barger himself said when he was first attempting to publish back in 1939, "I read something along back, that a publisher wrote, and he said, 'Do not change your style.' He claimed the style was sometimes the best part. And I guess that is what you are getting at. If you can call my scribbling a style, and you think it 'odd' use it any way you like. For my main intentions were to write an odd book as I told you once before."
Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
by Gregory Howard WilliamsThe true story of a white boy who discovered he was black
Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
by Gregory Howard WilliamsAs a child in 1950s segregated Virginia, Gregory Howard Williams grew up believing he was white. But when the family business failed and his parents’ marriage fell apart, Williams discovered that his dark-skinned father, who had been passing as Italian-American, was half black. The family split up, and Greg, his younger brother, and their father moved to Muncie, Indiana, where the young boys learned the truth about their heritage. Overnight, Greg Williams became black. <P><P>In this extraordinary and powerful memoir, Williams recounts his remarkable journey along the color line and illuminates the contrasts between the black and white worlds: one of privilege, opportunity and comfort, the other of deprivation, repression, and struggle. He tells of the hostility and prejudice he encountered all too often, from both blacks and whites, and the surprising moments of encouragement and acceptance he found from each. <P><P>Life on the Color Line is a uniquely important book. It is a wonderfully inspiring testament of purpose, perseverance, and human triumph.
Life on the Death Railway: The Memoirs of a British POW
by Stuart YoungAs a young man Stuart Young endured the horrors of the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps and survived. Later in life, in graphic detail, he recorded the experience the dreadful conditions, the brutal treatment, the sickness and starvation, the merciless routine of forced labour. Yet he also recorded the comradeship among the prisoners, their compassion and strength, and the pastimes and entertainments that helped them to come through an ordeal that is hard to imagine today. First he was held at the notorious Changi camp in Singapore Island, then in the camps in Thailand that accommodated POWs who were forced to work on the Death Railway. Perhaps the most revealing passages of his memoir recall the daily experience of captivity - the ceaseless battle to survive the backbreaking work, the cruelties of the guards and ever-present threat of disease. His account gives a harrowing insight into the daily reality of captivity and it shows why he was determined to document and make sense of what he and his fellow prisoners suffered.