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Three Funerals for My Father: Love, Loss and Escape from Vietnam
By Jolie Phuong Hoang. 2021
What would you risk to save your children? Jolie Phuong Hoang grew up as one of ten children, part of…
a loving, prosperous Vietnamese family. All that changed after the communists took over in 1975. Identified as a potential “bad element,” the family lived in constant fear of being sent to the dreaded new economic zone. Desperate to ensure the family’s safety and to provide a future for his children, Jolie’s father arranged three separate escapes. The first was a failure that cost most of their fortune, but the second was successful—six of his children reached Indonesia and ultimately settled in Canada. He and his youngest daughter drowned during the disastrous third attempt. Told from the author’s perspective and that of her father’s ghost, Three Funerals for My Father is a poignant story of love, grief and resilience that spans three countries and fifty years. In an era when anti-Asian racism is on the rise and the issue of human migration is front-page news, Three Funerals for My Father provides a vivid and timely first-hand account of what it is like to risk everything for a chance at freedom. It is at once an intimate story of one family, a testament to the collective experience of the “boat people” who escaped communist Vietnam, and a plea on behalf of the millions of refugees currently seeking asylum across the globe.A Bucket of Stars
By Suri Rosen. 2023
A story of two kids trying to save the world they know and heal the families they have.It’s the summer…
of 2003 and thirteen-year-old astronomer Noah Cooper has just moved to Queensport, a small town with a vast amateur sky full of stars. There he meets Tara Dhillon, a lonely girl and aspiring filmmaker. When the two team up to produce an astronomy movie and enter a film contest, they discover a secret plan to turn their rural hamlet into a huge subdivision.Noah and Tara must use their unique skills to identify the culprits who plan on paving over the historic county — and try to save the infinite beauty of the stars. As if that’s not enough to have at stake, Noah needs to win the prize money to buy a new telescope for his unemployed father — an ex-astronomer who’s almost given up on the stars, as well as life on earth.Touching on themes of activism, environmental anxiety and mental health, A Bucket of Stars will have readers cheering for Noah, a boy whose head is in the stars, and Tara, a girl who lives in a world of digital images — and their special bond that just might mend the world around them.Reporting Under Fire: 16 Daring Women War Correspondents and Photojournalists
By Kerrie Hollihan. 2014
The tremendous struggles women have faced as war correspondents and photojournalists A profile of 16 courageous women, Reporting Under Fire…
tells the story of journalists who risked their lives to bring back scoops from the front lines. Each woman--including Sigrid Schultz, who broadcast news via radio from Berlin on the eve of the Second World War; Margaret Bourke-White, who rode with General George Patton's Third Army and brought back the first horrific photos of the Buchenwald concentration camp; and Marguerite Higgins, who typed stories while riding in the front seat of an American jeep that was fleeing the North Korean Army--experiences her own journey, both personally and professionally, and each draws her own conclusions. Yet without exception, these war correspondents share a singular ambition: to answer an inner call driving them to witness war firsthand, and to share what they learn via words or images.In the Fields and the Trenches: The Famous and the Forgotten on the Battlefields of World War I
By Kerrie Hollihan. 2016
From a Hall of Fame pitcher to a U.S. president, learn what an incredible impact World War I made on…
young men and women When it started, many thought the Great War would be a great adventure. Yet as those who saw it up close learned, it was anything but. In the Fields and the Trenches traces the stories of 18 young idealists swept into the brutal conflict, many of whom would go on to become well-known 20th-century figures in film, science, politics, literature, and business. Writer J. R. R. Tolkien was a signals officer with the British Expeditionary Force and fought at the Battle of the Somme. Scientist Irène Curie helped her mother Marie run 20 French field hospitals. Actor Buster Keaton left Hollywood after being drafted into the army's 40th Infantry Division. And all four of Theodore Roosevelt's sons fought in Europe, though one did not return. With World War I as a backdrop, readers will encounter heroes, cowards, comics, and villains who participated in this life-changing event. Author Kerrie Logan Hollihan uses extensive original material, from letters sent from the frontlines to personal journals, to bring these men and women back to life. And though their stories are a century old, they convey modern, universal themes of love, death, power, greed, courage, hate, fear, family, friendship, and sacrifice.Selections from the Journals: An Annotated Selection From The Journal Of Henry D. Thoreau (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy Ser.)
By Henry David Thoreau, Walter Harding. 1995
Noted Thoreau scholar offers rich selection of favorite excerpts from voluminous Journals. Masterly meditations on man, society, nature and many…
other subjects--expressed with verve and vigor in some of the most poetic prose in American literature. Perfect introduction to the great naturalist and his thought. Introduction.Dylan Thomas: A New Life
By Andrew Lycett. 2003
Dylan Thomas was a romantic and controversial figure; a poet who lived to excess and died young. An inventive genius…
with a gift for both lyrical phrases and impish humour, he also wrote for films and radio, and was renowned for his stage performances. He became the first literary star in the age of popular culture - a favourite of both T.S. Eliot and John Lennon. As his status as a poet and entertainer increased, so did his alcoholic binges and his sexual promiscuity, threatening to destroy his marriage to his fiery Irish wife Caitlin. As this extraordinary biography reveals, he was a man of many contradictions. But out of his tempestuous life, he produced some of the most dramatic and enduring poetry in the English language.Militant Visions: Black Soldiers, Internationalism, and the Transformation of American Cinema
By Elizabeth Reich. 2016
Militant Visions examines how, from the 1940s to the 1970s, the cinematic figure of the black soldier helped change the…
ways American moviegoers saw black men, for the first time presenting African Americans as vital and integrated members of the nation. In the process, Elizabeth Reich reveals how the image of the proud and powerful African American serviceman was crafted by an unexpected alliance of government propagandists, civil rights activists, and black filmmakers. Contextualizing the figure in a genealogy of black radicalism and internationalism, Reich shows the evolving images of black soldiers to be inherently transnational ones, shaped by the displacements of diaspora, Third World revolutionary philosophy, and a legacy of black artistry and performance. Offering a nuanced reading of a figure that was simultaneously conservative and radical, Reich considers how the cinematic black soldier lent a human face to ongoing debates about racial integration, black internationalism, and American militarism. Militant Visions thus not only presents a new history of how American cinema represented race, but also demonstrates how film images helped to make history, shaping the progress of the civil rights movement itself.Ancient Chinese Warfare
By Ralph D. Sawyer. 2011
The history of China is a history of warfare. Rarely in its 3,000-year existence has the country not been beset…
by war, rebellion, or raids. Warfare was a primary source of innovation, social evolution, and material progress in the Legendary Era, Hsia dynasty, and Shang dynasty--indeed, war was the force that formed the first cohesive Chinese empire, setting China on a trajectory of state building and aggressive activity that continues to this day. In Ancient Chinese Warfare, a preeminent expert on Chinese military history uses recently recovered documents and archaeological findings to construct a comprehensive guide to the developing technologies, strategies, and logistics of ancient Chinese militarism. The result is a definitive look at the tools and methods that won wars and shaped culture in ancient China.Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story
By Edward Heffron, William Guarnere, Robyn Post. 2007
Tom Hanks introduces the ?remarkable?(Publishers Weekly) story of two inseparable friends and soldiers portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of…
Brothers. William ?Wild Bill? Guarnere and Edward ?Babe? Heffron were among the first paratroopers of the U.S. Army?members of an elite unit of the 101st Airborne Division called Easy Company. The crack unit was called upon for every high-risk operation of the war, including D-Day, Operation Market Garden in Holland, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of Hitler?s Eagle?s Nest in Berchtesgaden. Both men fought side by side?until Guarnere lost his leg in the Battle of the Bulge and was sent home. Heffron went on to liberate concentration camps and take Hitler?s Eagle?s Nest hideout. United by their experience, they reconnected at the war?s end and have been best friends ever since. Their story is a tribute to the lasting bond forged between comrades in arms?and to all those who fought for freedom.I Am a Star
By Inge Auerbacher. 1986
Inge is a happy seven-year-old German girl when the nightmare begins. As the Nazis gain power, her family is subjected…
to greater & greater horrors. Ample background material provides a helpful context for understanding Inge's experiences. But it is Inge's own story, told from a child's point of view & sprinkled liberally with her poems, that makes this chapter of world history personal & compellingWorld War II: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House Super Edition #1: World at War, 1944 (Magic Tree House (R) Fact Tracker #36)
By Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce, Carlo Molinari. 2017
In the next Magic Tree House® Fact Tracker, track the facts about World War II—with Jack and Annie! When Jack…
and Annie came back from their adventure in Magic Tree House Super Edition #1: World at War, 1944, they had lots of questions. How did World War II begin? Why were so many innocent people killed? What was D-Day? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie learn all about one of the darkest hours of history. Filled with up-to-date information, photographs, illustrations, and tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discover in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. And teachers can use the Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House fiction companions to meet Common Core text pairing needs. Have more fun with Jack and Annie on the Magic Tree House website at MagicTreeHouse.com! Did you know there’s a Magic Tree House book for every reader? Find the perfect book for you: Classic: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just starting to read chapter books. F&P Level M. Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced Magic Tree House® reader. F&P Level N. Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure with Jack and Annie. F&P Level P. Fact Trackers: Non-fiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House® adventuresCity Room
By Arthur Gelb. 2003
When Arthur Gelb joinedThe New York Times in 1944, manual typewriters, green eyeshades, spittoons, floors littered with cigarette butts, and…
two bookies were what he found in the city room. Gelb was twenty, his position the lowliest-night copy boy. When he retired forty-five years later, he was managing editor. On his way to the top, he exposed crooked cops and politicians; mentored a generation of our most talented journalists; was the first to praise such yet undiscovered talents as Woody Allen and Barbra Streisand; and brought Joe Papp public recognition. As metropolitan editor, Gelb reshaped the way the paper covered New York, and while assistant managing editor, he launched the paper's daily special sections. From D-Day to the liberation of the concentration camps; from the agony of Vietnam to the resignation of a President; from the fall of Joe McCarthy to the rise of the Woodstock Nation, Gelb's time at the Times reveals his intimate take on the great events of the past fifty years. The raffish early days are long gone, the hum of computers has replaced the clatter of typewriter keys, but the same ambition, passion, grandstanding, and courage Gelb found at twenty still fill the city room.World's Best Soldiers (Special Forces: Protecting, Building, Te)
By C. F. Earl. 2011
Almost every country in the world has its elite units. These are the men and women who perform operations no…
regular soldiers will touch, who go deep into enemy territory to sabotage, attack, rescue, and observe. Take a look at life in five of the most prestigious military units--U.S. Airborne Forces, the Israeli Parachute Corps, Russian Spetsnaz forces, the British SAS, and the Australian SAS. Explore each force's history to understand why these units are respected and feared by their enemies. Discover: * How some elite units existed even in ancient times. * What recruiters look for in special forces. * How U.S Airborne troops parachuted into the jungles of Vietnam. * How Russian Spetsnaz sabotaged German trains during World War II. * How some U.S. amphibious ships can carry 1,700 troops.Inspiring Life of Eudora Welty, The
By Richelle Putnam, John Aycock. 2014
Eudora Alice Welty led an exciting and surprising life. Before she won a Pulitzer Prize, as a little girl she…
made her own books and won national poetry prizes. As a young woman during the Great Depression, she was a photographer and took pictures all over the South. These and other stories pack the life of one of Mississippi's most famous authors. With author and teacher Richelle Putnam, learn about the remarkable life of one of Mississippi's literary treasures, complete with vivid illustrations by John Aycock that are as colorful as Eudora's stories.Assignment: Rescue
By Albert O. Hirschman, Varian Fry. 1945
Marseilles, France...August, 1940 The Gestapo's blacklist was thousands of names long...How many people could he get out before Hitler sealed…
the frontiers? Varian Fry didn't know any more about being an undercover agent than what he'd seen in the movies. But, he was the one man who could get into Vichy France, where thousands of people had fled Hitler's Germany. Unless he could get them out, they'd be trapped-turned back to the concentration camps and death camps. An exciting, true story of World War II - Varian Fry describes the methods he used to get thousands of hunted men and women to safety.Who Is Jeff Kinney?
By Patrick Kinney, John Hinderliter. 2015
Even as a kid, everyone thought Jeff Kinney was talented. People loved his drawings, and when he went to college,…
his comic strip Igdoof was so popular that it spread to other universities! Still, Jeff faced challenges. His cartoons were rejected by syndicates that claimed his art was unprofessional. Then, an idea struck: Jeff would write a journal from the perspective of a child, illustrated with doodles just like a kid might do. And so, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was born--and it was a hit! In this biography, Jeff's brother, Patrick Kinney, provides a knowledgeable look at the life of this best-selling author/illustrator. From Jeff's childhood pranks to his job developing online games, kids will love the chance to learn more about the creator of the popular Wimpy Kid books.My Bridges of Hope
By Livia Bitton-Jackson. 2002
After liberation from Auschwitz, fourteen-year-old Elli, her brother, and their mother attempt to rebuild their lives in Czechoslovakia. But it…
doesn't take long for Elli to realize that even though the war is over, anti-Semitism is not, so she and her family decide to escape to America along with thousands of other Jews. Little do they know what agonies and adventures await them still.Elli's memoir of her experiences after Auschwitz will captivate readers as they follow her through heartache, frustration, adventure, excitement, love, and ultimately, triumph.Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir
By Penelope Lively. 2013
The beloved and bestselling author takes an intimate look back at a life of reading and writing"The memory that we…
live with . . . is the moth-eaten version of our own past that each of us carries around, depends on. It is our ID; this is how we know who we are and where we have been."Memory and history have been Penelope Lively's terrain in fiction over a career that has spanned five decades. But she has only rarely given readers a glimpse into her influences and formative years.Dancing Fish and Ammonites traces the arc of Lively's life, stretching from her early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain's twentieth century. She reflects on her early love of archeology, the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey--including a sherd of Egyptian ceramic depicting dancing fish and ammonites found years ago on a Dorset beach. She also writes insightfully about aging and what life looks like from where she now stands.Battle of Britain: Day by day Chronicle
By Patrick Bishop. 2010
The Battle of Britain is the epic story of the fight for control of the skies over England in the…
bitterly long summer of 1940. Bestselling author Patrick Bishop's compelling day-to-day chronicle is enhanced with eye-witness accounts, diary extracts and pilot profiles, as the horrific reality of air combat is vividly portrayed in this account of the life and death struggle between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. This is the story Britain's "finest hour," a fight for national survival that had a profound impact on servicemen and civilians alike, and ultimately proved to be a key a turning point in the course of the war.Muskrat for Supper
By Kenny Salwey. 2012
Muskrat for Supper inspires young people to explore nature's life cycles and understand the concept of the circle of life,…
as told through the tale of a family that embarks on a hunting and trapping adventure. It is an endearing story that weaves together such themes as sustainable living, our natural environment, and living closer to nature. The first book for children by this acclaimed storyteller and author, Muskrat for Supper includes questions young people have asked Kenny Salwey about his lifestyle as a river rat living off the land. The story will be illustrated with black-and-white photographs as well as nonfiction material to supplement the text. Kenny Salwey is the last of a breed of men whose lifestyle has all but disappeared in this fast-paced, high-tech digital world. For thirty years, this weathered woodsman eked out a living on the Mississippi River running a trapline, hiring out as a river guide, digging and selling roots and herbs, and eating the food he hunted and fished. Today Salwey is a master storyteller, environmental educator, keynote speaker, nature writer, and advocate for the Upper Mississippi River. He has presented his true-life adventures and words of natural world wisdom to both adult and young audiences across the upper Midwest. By sharing his hard-learned experiences, his respect for the Mississippi River, and his love of the natural world, Salwey hopes to inspire his audiences to protect this precious and fragile ecosystem.