An electrifying memoir from the acclaimed Nicaraguan writer(“A wonderfully free and original talent”—Harold Pinter) andcentral figure in the Sandinista Revolution. Until her early twenties, Gioconda Belli inhabited an upper-classcocoon: sheltered from the poverty in Managua in a world of countryclubs and debutante balls; educated abroad; early marriage andmotherhood. But in 1970, everything changed. Her growingdissatisfaction with domestic life, and a blossoming awareness ofthe social inequities in Nicaragua, led her to join theSandinistas, then a burgeoning but still hidden organization. Shewould be involved with them over the next twenty years at thehighest, and often most dangerous, levels. Her memoir is both a revelatory insider’s account of the Revolutionand a vivid, intensely felt story about coming of age underextraordinary circumstances. Belli writes with both strikinglyricism and candor about her personal and political lives: abouther family, her children, the men in her life; about her po

"Calm Birth is a sublime gift to all of us. It contains theblueprint for reconnecting with birth wisdom on all levels. Readingthough this book and doing the practices will transform the birthprocess and imprint a peaceful beginning on both mother and child.The positive impact of this on society can’t beoverestimated."-Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-DaughterWisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’sWisdom"Calm Birth: New Method of Conscious Childbirth successfullybridges ancient feminine healing wisdom and meditation tocontemporary birth practices…This book is a must for anyoneinterested in childbirth."- Barbara Findeisen, MFT, president ofthe Association fo Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health

Finally, homeschoolers have a comprehensive guide to designinga homeschool curriculum, from one of the country's foremosthomeschooling experts. , Rebecca Rupp presents a structured plan toensure that your children will learn what they need to know whenthey need to know it, from preschool through high school. Based onthe traditional pre-K through 12th-grade structure, Home LearningYear by Year features: The integral subjects to be covered within each grade Standards for knowledge that should be acquired by your child ateach level Recommended books to use as texts for every subject Guidelines for the importance of each topic: which knowledge isessential and which is best for more expansive study based on yourchild's personal interests Suggestions for how to sensitively approach less academic subjects,such as sex education and physical fitness

The cyberspace revolution, globalization, and the ever more rapid pace at which new knowledge is created are among the recent developments which challenge our universities. While they have adapted rather slowly in the past to changing circumstances, there is now an urgent need for them to adjust rapidly in order to fulfill their mission. Success will heavily depend on the presence of an appropriate system of governance, which is becoming more complex as the cyberspace revolution makes university structures less hierarchical. This book examines the contours and dimensions of university governance in research-intensive universities, seeks to develop cogent governance principles, and offers appropriate initiatives and recommendations. The authors, current and former heads of leading research-intensive universities in Western Europe and the United States, all share the defining concern that the fundamental changes of today pose serious challenges for universities and their system of governance. Contributors inclu

Does assigning fifty math problems accomplish any more thanassigning five? Is memorizing word lists the best way to increasevocabulary—especially when it takes away from reading time? Andwhat is the real purpose behind those devilish dioramas? The time our children spend doing homework has skyrocketed inrecent years. Parents spend countless hours cajoling their kids tocomplete such assignments—often without considering whether or notthey serve any worthwhile purpose. Even many teachers are in thedark: Only one of the hundreds the authors interviewed and surveyedhad ever taken a course specifically on homework duringtraining. The truth, according to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, is thatthere is almost no evidence that homework helps elementary schoolstudents achieve academic success and little evidence that it helpsolder students. Yet the nightly burden is taking a serious toll onAmerica’s families. It robs children of the sleep, play, andexercise time they need for prop

All those baby boomers who have embarked on the journey ofraising their second and third children have found themselves leftin the lurch by existing child care literature. Now child careexpert Nancy Samalin, who has earned a reputation for her forgivingand empowering approach to parenting, brings her inspiring outlookto this guide to the pitfalls and rewards of parenting two or morechildren. Parents who consider themselves pros after the first child are infor a surprise when the encounter life after the second child isborn and beyond. Suddenly their world is an exhausting haze ofcompeting demands, perpetual squabbling, sibling rivalry,complaints of unfairness and "you love him more" (and sometimes youdo), unrelenting stress, and a pervasive sense of guilt andinadequacy. Culled from her years of workshops with hundreds ofparents, Nancy Samalin shares the trials and joys of parenthood andprovides specific advice on steering your way through the parentingrapids. This is a must-read for today's harri

Following up on The Power of Nice, agent-attorney Shapiro andfellow negotiator Jankowski reiterate that book's tenets:Neutralize your emotions and stay rational; Identify the type ofdifficult person; Control the encounter; and Explore options. Usingexamples from their own lives as well as pop culture, they offeranecdotes and tips for analysis. The "situationally difficult"person may be temporarily overreacting, so empathy can be a sureroad to cordial defusion. The "strategically difficult" arecalculating (passive-aggressive, take it or leave it, etc.), butcan be countered if you pleasantly, even humorously make them awareyou're onto their game. The "simply difficult," using power as animperative (irrational, bullying, duplicitous, etc.) are thetoughest, but those facing them must recognize their ownpower—including the option to just walk away, a decision that mustbe approached carefully. While the title may be the best thingabout the book, its tips on steering toward win-win situations aremore than p

If you’ve been struggling with your weight, you know how hard itcan be to lose those extra pounds and keep them off. In thegroundbreaking Think Thin, Be Thin , nationally prominentpsychotherapist Doris Wild Helmering and award-winning healthwriter Dianne Hales assert that the true key to a healthy bodyweight is a healthy attitude toward food and exercise. Their logicis simple: Your brain ultimately controls what you eat and whetheryou work out. If you change the way you think, you can change theway you behave. And you can lose weight. Using proven psychological strategies and scientifically basedexercises, you will learn how to harness your thoughts to transformyour behavior, body, and life. With practical advice on suchtroublesome issues as curbing emotional eating, motivating yourselfto exercise, and overcoming diet plateaus, this book is the idealcomplement to any diet and weight-loss program.

“I like the surprise of the curtain going up, revealing what’sbehind it.” –John Schlesinger The British director John Schlesinger was one of the cinema’smost dynamic and influential artists. Now, in Conversations withJohn Schlesinger, acclaimed writer Ian Buruma, Schlesinger’snephew, reveals the director’s private world in a series ofin-depth interviews conducted in the later years of the director’slife. Here they discuss the impact of Schlesinger’s personal life on hisart. As his films so readily demonstrate, Schlesinger is awonderful storyteller, and he serves up fascinating and provocativerecollections of growing up in a Jewish family during World War II,his sexual coming-of-age as a gay man in conformist 1950s England,his emergence as an artist in the “Swinging 60s,” and theroller-coaster ride of his career as one of the most prominentHollywood directors of his time. Schlesinger also discusses his artistic philosophy and approach tofilmmaking, recounting stories from the sets of hi

One day in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a beautifuldiamond necklace in a jewelry store window and wondered: Why arepersonal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if weshared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, andone great leap of faith later, Jonell and twelve other women boughtthe necklace together–to be passed along among them all. The dazzling treasure weaves in and out of each woman’s life,reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for herfuture. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, thenecklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each ofthe thirteen women. With vastly dissimilar histories and lives,they transcend their individual personalities and politics to jointogether in an uncommon journey–and what started as a quirky socialexperiment becomes something far richer and deeper.

In 1960 the government of Trinidad invited V. S. Naipaul torevisit his native country and record his impressions. In thisclassic of modern travel writing he has created a deft andremarkably prescient portrait of Trinidad and four adjacentCaribbean societies–countries haunted by the legacies of slaveryand colonialism and so thoroughly defined by the norms of Empirethat they can scarcely believe that the Empire is ending. In The Middle Passage , Naipaul watches a Trinidadian movieaudience greeting Humphrey Bogart’s appearance with cries of “Thatis man!” He ventures into a Trinidad slum so insalubrious that thelocals call it the Gaza Strip. He follows a racially chargedelection campaign in British Guiana (now Guyana) and marvels at theGallic pretension of Martinique society, which maintains thefiction that its roads are extensions of France’s routesnationales. And throughout he relates the ghastly episodes ofthe region’s colonial past and shows how they continue to informits language, politics, a

“There are lives lost in this book, and there are lives saved,too, if salvation means a young man or woman begins to feeldeserving of a place on the planet. . . . What could be moresoul-satisfying? These are the most influential professionals mostof us will ever meet. The effects of their work will lastforever.” –from the foreword by Anna Quindlen Now depicted in a bestselling book and a feature film, theFreedom Writers phenomenon came about in 1994 when Erin Gruwellstepped into Room 203 and began her first teaching job out ofcollege. Long Beach, California, was still reeling from the deadlyviolence that erupted during the Rodney King riots, and the kids inErin’s classroom reflected the anger, resentment, and hopelessnessof their community. Undaunted, Erin fostered an educationalphilosophy that valued and promoted diversity, tolerance, andcommunication, and in the process, she transformed her students’lives, as well as her own. Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writerswent on to establish t

Syd, a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel on a photo shoot inHawaii, disappears. Fearing the worst, her parents travel to Hawaiito investigate for themselves, never expecting the horror thatawaits them. LA Times reporter Ben Hawkins is conducting his own researchinto the case, hoping to help the victim and get an idea for hisnext bestseller. With no leads and no closer to uncovering thekidnapper's identity than when he stepped off the plane, Ben gets ashocking visit that pushes him into an impossible-to-resist dealwith the devil. A heart-pounding story of fear and desire, SWIMSUIT transportsreaders to a chilling new territory where the collision of beautyand murder transforms paradise into a hell of unspeakablehorrors.

YA. Despite impoverishing his family because of his alcoholism, McCourt's father passed on to his son a gift for superb storytelling. He told him about the great Irish heroes, the old days in Ireland, the people in their Limerick neighborhood, and the world beyond their shores. McCourt writes in the voice of the child?with no self-pity or review of events?and just retells the tales. He recounts his desperately poor early years, living on public assistance and losing three siblings, but manages to make the book funny and uplifting. Stories of trying on his parents' false teeth and his adventures as a post-office delivery boy will have readers laughing out loud. Young people will recognize the truth in these compelling tales; the emotions expressed; the de*ions of teachers, relatives, neighbors; and the casual cruelty adults show toward children. Readers will enjoy the humor and the music in the language. A vivid, wonderfully readable memoir.?Patricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library, VA Copyright 19

A Step-by-Step Guide to Healing Your Heart and RebuildingYour Marriage Discovering that your husband has beenunfaithful can be emotionally devastating, leaving you reeling inpain and confusion. But take heart—this survival guide for womenoffers compassionate and practical solutions for coping with theaftermath of an affair. Drawing on their years of experience asprofessional therapists, authors Marcella Bakur Weiner and Armand DiMele explain how to heal the marriage bond andrestore trust between partners. Written with empathy andunderstanding, this book addresses such vital topics as: ·Coming to terms with the sense of loss and betrayal ·Coping with feelings of suspicion and the specter of "the otherwoman" ·Dealing with the children during and after the affair ·Understanding character traits of men who have affairs—and howdifferent women's personalities interact with them ·Finding the best sources of emotional support Also included are helpful exercises for self-healing andredeveloping mutual t

Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the UnitedStates, tells his personal stories about more than thirty years offighting for social change, from teaching at Spelman College torecent protests against war. A former bombardier in WWII, Zinn emerged in the civil rightsmovement as a powerful voice for justice. Although he's a fiercecritic, he gives us reason to hope that by learning from historyand engaging politically, we can make a difference in theworld.

A fascinating look at some fascinating people who show howdemocracy advances hand in hand with crime in Japan.--MarioPuzo In this unorthodox chronicle of the rise of Japan, Inc., RobertWhiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa, gives us a fresh perspectiveon the economic miracle and near disaster that is modernJapan. Through the eyes of Nick Zappetti, a former GI, former blackmarketer, failed professional wrestler, bungling diamond thief whoturned himself into "the Mafia boss of Tokyo and the king ofRappongi," we meet the players and the losers in the high-stakesgame of postwar finance, politics, and criminal corruption in whichhe thrived. Here's the story of the Imperial Hotel diamond robbers,who attempted (and may have accomplished) the biggest heist inTokyo's history. Here is Rikidozan, the professional wrestler whoalmost single-handedly revived Japanese pride, but whose ownethnicity had to be kept secret. And here is the story of theintimate relationships shared by Japan's ruling party, itsf

Examines the effectsof rapid industrial and technological changes upon the individual,the family, and society.

In Up from Slavery, Washington recounts the story of hislife—from slave to educator. The early sections deal with hisupbringing as a slave and his efforts to get an education.Washington details his transition from student to teacher, andoutlines his own development as an educator and founder of theTuskegee Institute in Alabama. In the final chapters of Up FromSlavery, Washington describes his career as a public speaker andcivil rights activist.

They invented slums. They invented child labor. They putSaddam Hussein in power. They burned Joan of Arc at the stake, andthey enslaved the globe to get their tea fix. We're talking aboutEngland, of course, and the terrible evils they've set loose on theworld. In The Evil Empire, American author Steven Grasse documentsthe 101 worst atrocities of Mother England everything fromfoxhunting to the invention of the concentration camp. With anirreverent mix of historical facts, smart commentary, andred-blooded American arrogance, Grasse offers a devastatingcritique of the country that gave us the machine gun, factorylabor, and the metric system. Publishing just in time for theQueen's birthday (April 21), The Evil Empire is essential readingfor true-blue Americans and others oppressed by the Englishthroughout history.

Juliet Schor breaks a taboo by exposing Americans' shoppinghabits to moral society. Schor disapproves of unfettered privateconsumption, not only because we already use up so much, but alsobecause overspending to bolster a sense of self does not lead tohappiness. Along with her critique, Schor suggests intriguing ideasfor making 'status' goods accessible for all--for example, imposinghigh taxes on expensive items to subsidize lines of affordable'luxury' goods. A firestorm of responses follow from economistRobert Frank and others. The New Democracy Forum is a series of short paperback originalsexploring creative solutions to our most urgent nationalconcerns. "A civic treasure. . . . A truly good idea, carried out withintelligence and panache." --Robert Pinsky

Geraldine Brooks is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and Year of Wonders and the nonfiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. Previously, Brooks was a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Bosnia, Somalia, and the Middle East. Born and raised in Australia, she lives on Martha's V'meyard with her husband Tony Horwitz, their son Nathaniel, and three dogs.

Based on the ancient healing tradition from India that datesback thousands of years, The Complete Book of Ayurvedic HomeRemedies offers natural alternatives to conventional medicinesand treatments with practical advice and easy-to-followinstructions. A leading authority in this field, Dr. Vasant Ladfirst explains the principles behind the science of Ayurveda,exploring the physical and psychological characteristics of each ofthe three doshas, or mind-body types--vata, pitta, and kapha. Onceyou have determined which type or combination of types you are, Dr.Lad helps you to begin your journey to the ultimate "state ofbalance" and well-being. The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies is aninvaluable guide to treating common ailments and chronic problemswith strategies tailored to your personal needs based on yourdosha. Dr. Lad explains why certain imbalances often result inillness and shows you how to restore your body to natural order.You'll learn which traditional Ayurvedic remedies--herbal teas andfor