The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine.The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year ofeach other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimoreneighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on streetcorners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police.How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decoratedveteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the otherended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore,the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer thisprofound question. In alternating narratives that take readers fromheart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, TheOther Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys tryingto find their way in a hostile world.
A superb accomplishment, maybe the finest book Pat Conroy haswritten. --The Washington Post Book World -- Review
A gripping chronicle of courage in captivity, of sacrifice andsurvival, Conduct Under Fire recounts the fierce, bloodybattles of Bataan and Corregidor through the eyes of the author’sfather and three fellow navy doctors taken prisoner by the Japanesein 1942. During their three and a half years of imprisonment, thedoctors struggled daily against disease and starvation, fightingfor their own lives as well as the lives of their fellow prisoners.Based on extensive interviews with American, British, Australian,and Japanese veterans, as well as diaries, letters, and war crimestestimony, Conduct Under Fire is an unforgettable account ofbravery and ingenuity, one that reveals the long shadow the warcast on the lives of those who fought it.
“This compelling memoir is a testament to how extraordinarycircumstances can transform a life—and how an extraordinary personreacts to difficult circumstances. What comes through is theimportance of courageous individual action in the most diresituations. This is the amazing story of a woman who lived throughone of the worst times in human history, losing family members tothe Nazis but surviving with her spirit and integrity intact.”—Publishers Weekly
An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible waythey intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author HarukiMurakami.While simply training for New York City Marathon would beenough for most people, Haruki Murakami's decided to write about itas well. The result is a beautiful memoir about his intertwinedobsessions with running and writing, full of vivid memories andinsights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become awriter. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich andrevelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly privatewriter and for the exploding population of athletes who findsimilar satisfaction in athletic pursuit.
Year after year, Rafe Esquith’s fifth-grade students excel.They read passionately, far above their grade level; tacklealgebra; and stage Shakespeare so professionally that they oftenwow the great Shakespearen actor himself, Sir Ian McKellen. YetEsquith teaches at an L.A. innercity school known as the Jungle,where few of his students speak English at home, and many are frompoor or troubled families. What’s his winning recipe? A diet ofintensive learning mixed with a lot of kindness and fun. His kidsattend class from 6:30 A.M. until well after 4:00 P.M., rightthrough most of their vacations. They take field trips to Europeand Yosemite. They play rock and roll. Mediocrity has no place intheir classroom. And the results follow them for life, as they goon to colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Possessed by a fierce idealism, Esquith works even harder than hisstudents. As an outspoken maverick of public education (his heroesinclude Huck Finn and Atticus Finch), he admits to significantmistakes a
Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson'sspellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--thebrilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair,striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunningserial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, ErikLarson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newlydiscovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.
Mindstorms is an insightful observation about children,computers and computer cultures and the role technology plays inlearning.. Mindstorms has two central themes: that children canlearn to use computers in a masterful way and that learning to usecomputers can change the way they learn everything else. Evenoutside the classroom, Papert had a vision that the computer couldbe used just as casually and as personally for a diversity ofpurposes throughout a persons entire life. Seymour Papert makes thepoint that in classrooms saturated with technology there isactually more socialization and that the technology oftencontributes to greater interaction among students and amongstudents and instructors.
An excellent,reassuring book for women and their partners. It carries the womanalong step-by-step in the rediscovery of her own sexuality and thepleasure it will bring her. Liberated or not, single or married,young or old, all women will find this book accessible andsupportive.
Book De*ion From Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of TheWind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, a work of literaryjournalism that is as fascinating as it is necessary, asprovocative as it is profound. In March of 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked theTokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty-six times as deadly ascyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds ofinterviews with the people involved, from the survivors to theperpetrators to the relatives of those who died, and Underground istheir story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamentalissues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts,Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as awarning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling andunique work of nonfiction that is timely and vital and aswonderfully executed as Murakami’s brilliant novels. From Publishers Weekly On March 20, 1995, followers of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyounleashed
Penis envy? P'shaw.From the bestselling author of How to Make Your Man Behave In 21Days or Less Using the Secrets of Professional Dog Trainers comes (ahem) The Clitourist , a witty and empowering guide tothe hottest spot on a woman's body. For something so important toso many, there is a shocking lack of information available on theclitoris. An intimate biography of a gal's best friend, TheClitourist boldly attempts to fill that void, educating andentertaining the reader on every level, from structure and functionto care and upkeep, not to mention handy dandy arousal methods. Andthough funny, The Clitourist is not afraid to tackle thereally tough questions like, if we can put a man on the moon, whynot on a woman's clitoris during intercourse? As revolutionary insubject matter as The Vagina Monologues , as frank as Sexand the City, The Clitourist is a celebration of the femalebody as well as just a plain hoot that women will delight in buyingfor themselves, their sisters, and their friends (and heck, m
