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Just out of high school in 1977, her personal life already a mess, Tracy Crow thought the Marines might straighten her out. And sure enough, in the Corps she became a respected public affairs officer and military journalist—one day covering tank maneuvers or beach assaults, the next interviewing the secretary of the navy. But success didn’t come without a price. When Crow pledged herself to God, Corps, and Country, women Marines were still a rarity, and gender inequality and harassment were rampant. Determined to prove she belonged, Crow always put her career first—even when, after two miscarriages and a stillborn child, her marriage to another Marine officer began to deteriorate. And ...
There is little question about the incredible power of Bruce Springsteen's work as a particularly transformative art, as a lyrical and musical fusion that never shies away from sifting through the rubble of human conflict. As Rolling Stone magazine's Parke Puterbaugh observes, Springsteen 'is a peerless songwriter and consummate artist whose every painstakingly crafted album serves as an impassioned and literate pulse taking of a generation's fortunes. He is the foremost live performer in the history of rock and roll, a self-described prisoner of the music he loves, for whom every show is played as if it might be his last.' In recent decades, Puterbaugh adds, 'Springsteen's music developed a...
Although the novels of Walker Percy represent some of the most prominent work in 20th-century Southern fiction, the Percy family itself has a history that is arguably as compelling as anything he could have created. Behind Percy's prose lurks a legacy of wealth, literary accomplishment, political leadership, depression, and suicide that spans two centuries. In this compelling biography, Wyatt-Brown skilfully combines intensive research and telling insights to produce the unforgettable story of this gifted family. 48 halftones.
Sustainable development is the central challenge of the 21st Century. How can human civilization continue to develop without destroying the natural systems on which it depends?Environmentalists tell us that capitalism is the problem because it feeds our self-interest. They tell us that we have to restrain ourselves and only consume what the Earth can sustain. Or governments must tell us what we can and cannot buy. This book uses the science of complex systems to explain why governments cannot deliver sustainability or happiness and how self-interest can be used to make society sustainable. Capitalism won the Cold War; until the Great Recession of 2008, it seemed to be the perfect system. But...
Find Yourself by Helping Others—Life Lessons from an Extraordinary Story of Sacrifice and Survival In the winter of 1939, five-year-old Andrew Bienkowski was exiled to Siberia with his family. The two years of struggle that followed—especially his grandfather’s amazing act of sacrifice during their first long, cold winter—have informed the rest of Andrew’s life. Thanks to his devoted mother, his quick-witted grandmother, and the unexpected kindness of strangers, Andrew established an approach to life that emphasizes helping others as the essential path to finding our greatest human fulfillment.
Reprint of an internationally praised collection of essays by a team of cutting-edge La Fontaine scholars.
While being punished for writing a controversial article in her high school paper, Serena Albright is befriended by enigmatic loner Brodie Wiles. Serena witnesses the first time that Brodie meets Lance Royal, who is secretly rehearsing to compete in The Showdown, the biggest dance contest of the year. Immediately, Serena is drawn into their world, inspired by the love that she recognizes between them. Through her close friendship with Brodie and Lance, Serena finds comfort for the grief and guilt she feels over the brutal death of her gay older brother, the victim of a hate crime. Frustrated that her deep-in-denial parents spend endless hours in front of the television and refuse to acknowledge the death of their son, Serena accepts the challenge to have a face-to-face meeting with the boy who killed her brother. Set in the summer of 1986, this young adult novel explores the emotional aftershocks of a hate crime from the perspective of a young woman who finds renewed hope through two young men who are brave enough to love.
A study of how literary strategies illuminate the evangelical foundation of Southern culture. In Southern Strategies: Narrative Negotiation in an Evangelical Region, Michael Odom argues that through the narrative strategies of resistance, satire, and negotiation, a multigenerational group of twentieth-century white Southern writers provides unique insight into the central role evangelical religion has played in shaping the sociopolitical culture of the American South. Odom investigates how, in landmark works of nonfiction published in the 1940s, W. J. Cash and Lillian Smith confront both the racist culture of their time and the religious institutions that enabled white supremacy to flourish;...
Thirteen-year-old Karlene Bridges is the best speller in her family, her hometown, and maybe even all of Shirley County, South Carolina. The trouble is, every time she makes it to the final round of a spelling bee, she chokes. But when Mrs. Harrison, the new Latin teacher, offers to coach her, Karlene's spelling jinx miraculously disappears. The year 1969 is turning out to be her best ever, especially since she develops a surprising crush on her best friend, Billy Ray. But as soon as Karlene aims to compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D. C., her father's drinking begins to spell trouble. How is a girl supposed to hold her family together, savor her first kiss, and become the best speller in America before the end of eighth grade? Debut novelist Karon Luddy spells out adolescence with unwavering faith and sass in a novel about big dreams and the people who make them happen.
In a world of matter, how can we express what matters? This book examines a constellation of post-WWII authors who pose this question through both art and argument. Seeking to dramatize our highest words, these postwar sages raise essential questions about meaning, language, science, and modernity.