by Joan Didion, Where I Was From Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Where I Was From books, In this moving and unexpected book, Joan Didion reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history, and ours. Where I Was From, in Didion’s words, “represents an exploration into my own confusions about the place and the way in which I grew up, confusions as much about America as about California, misapprehensions and misunderstandings so much a part of who I became that I can still to this day confront them only obliquely.” The book is a haunting narrative of how her own family moved west with the frontier from the birth of her great-great-great-great-great-grandmother in Virginia in 1766 to the death of her mother on the edge of the Pacific in 2001; of how the wagon-train stories of hardship and abandonment and endurance created a culture in which survival would seem the sole virtue. In Where I Was From, Didion turns what John Leonard has called “her sonar ear, her radar eye” onto her own work, as well as that of such California writers as Frank Norris and Jack London and Henry George, to examine how the folly and recklessness in the very grain of the California settlement led to the California we know today–a state mortgaged first to the railroad, then to the aerospace industry, and overwhelmingly to the federal government, a dependent colony of those political and corporate owners who fly in for the annual encampment of the Bohemian Club. Here is the one writer we always want to read on California showing us the startling contradictions in its–and in America’s–core values. Joan Didion’s unerring sense of America and its spirit, her acute interpretation of its institutions and literature, and her incisive questioning of the stories it tells itself make this fiercely intelligent book a provocative and important tour de force from one of our greatest writers.
by Joan Didion, Miami Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Miami books, This is a surprising portrait of the pastel city, a masterly study of Cuban immigration and exile, and a sly account of vile moments in the Cold War. Miami may be the sunniest place in America but this is Didion's darkest book, in which she explores American efforts to overthrow the Castro regime, Miami's civic corruption and racist treatment of its large black community.
by Josie Coghlan, Josie Released From Within Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Josie Released From Within books, Josie Released from Within is based on a true story about a young woman who had her whole life ahead of herfamily, security, popularity, beauty, and a bright future. But amongst the most vulnerable set of circumstances, she faced serious trauma caused by a set of events that would change her life forever. This is an inspiring story covering three decades of one womans life, a success story worth reading, with a message for those who struggle with mental illness and with great insight into her world when it crumbled around her.
by Peter Orner, Underground America Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Underground America books, Underground America tells the stories of men and women who have come to the United States seeking a better life for their families, only to be subjected to dehumanizing working conditions. Supporting myriad industries, these workers form an essential part of our economy — often by working the least desirable jobs without the most basic legal protections. Underground America allows this largely ignored part of our country to finally share its experiences.
by Miriam Potocky-Tripodi, Where Is My Home Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Where Is My Home books, Rarely does one persons family history intersect dramatically with a countrys momentous events. In Where Is My Home? A Refugee Journey, Miriam Potocky-Tripodi describes the Czech Republics decades-long struggle for freedom and how it affected her own life. Only after the fall of Communism in 1989 could the author reclaim her homeland by visiting Prague and discovering her Czech heritage. This family history, written with both poignancy and unwavering honesty, is the story of how the Nazi and Soviet invaders tried to destroy the soul of the Czech people. Yet the story also contains vignettes of triumph, from the authors fathers defiance of Communist officials to an uncles dreams of escape. Like Czech history, this family account has moments of aching sadness. The author relates how she searched for any scrap of information about her grandparents, who were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Yet, this book also reveals glimpses of radiance, from a painters sly humor to the author's feelings of connection to her fellow Czechs. Can an exile ever return home after decades of living in America? This difficult question reverberates throughout this book, leaving the reader with a richer understanding of Czech history and one person's quest for self-identity.
by Margaret L. Lively, I Don T Look Like Where I Ve Been Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download I Don T Look Like Where I Ve Been books, This is my life's story presented to you on the pages of this book. I believe this book will help someone who is about to quit, or maybe help you to realize that you can make it in spite of circumstances. I would like to encourage that young parent who is raising a family alone or you may even be married. Whatever the case may be, life experiences and challenges can be hard. I made it through hard times as a young girl living in the south, working in the fields and picking cotton. I had no education, but I was determined not to allow the lack of education to stop me from being successful.
by Lynne Christy Anderson, Breaking Bread Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Breaking Bread books, "Lynne Anderson's portraits of recent immigrant families capture a crucial truth about how real food connects us to our culture, our memories, and to one another. This is an important book." —Alice Waters, Chez Panisse Restaurant "Everyone loves talking about food. In this remarkable book, Lynne Anderson lets recent immigrants to America speak in their own words about the foods they most loved from their homelands. Her cook-storytellers use recipes for cherished foods as a way to recall childhood memories, the events that caused them to emigrate, and their efforts to assimilate—the bitter along with the sweet. For a delicious introduction to the immigrant experience in America, I can't think of a better starting point than Breaking Bread." —Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat and Food Politics "Good ol' home cooking that's not chicken and apple pie. A feast of stories and flavors." Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club and the Bone Setter's Daughter "What's so lovely to me about this book is hearing the actual voices of the people and the unpredictable way their conversations about food capture life issues and truths that extend far beyond the kitchen. More than ever it seems critical to be finding and celebrating what we have in common and the connections between people."—Nikki Silva, co-author of Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes, and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters "Breaking Bread throws open a delightful window on the immigrant kitchen in America, capturing the voices, traditions and--yes!--recipes of a couple dozen different food cultures in a single volume." —Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food "In 25 deeply moving first-person accounts from a wide range of immigrant families, each one sensitively introduced by the author, Lynne Anderson takes us straight to the heart of our common humanity. Sharing food and stories are what bind us all across differences in time, space culture, gender and identity. Apart from being an important cultural document, Breaking Bread is a rich, wisdom-packed experience for the scholar, for the casual reader and for all cooks who demand more than just recipes."—Niloufer Ichaporia King, author of My Bombay Kitchen
by Pyong Gap Min, Struggle For Ethnic Identity Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Struggle For Ethnic Identity books, Essays discuss cultural conflicts, identifying with all-Asian American or larger groups, biculturalism, weakening ties to the ancestral culture, and other responses
by Richard Dan Hill, Proud Of What I Was A Soldier Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download Proud Of What I Was A Soldier books, Anyone who ever served in the military can tell a similar story. The circumstances change and the names are different, but when you deal with young soldiers anything is probable. Hill tells the reader about many of these young men and women in some very funny situations. He also details what it is like to be the commander of a unit with 200 or more of these soldiers, in peacetime and in war. In telling the story of his long and varied career, he offers some real leadership gems that carry over to industry. As one observer quipped, every Lieutenant should read this book before spending a day with troops; he will either resign his commission or stay in the military until they kick him out. The author refers to the family members of military members as the real heroes in the military. You will gain a whole new appreciation of what it is like to be an Army spouse. Hill and his wife, Carla, moved 16 times during his 24 year career. Once children came along, it meant new adventures, along with new schools and new friends. The term Army Brat is worn with pride, but it is a title that is hard earned. One knows that military families are nomads, but the author explains how assignments happen and the consequences of decisions on careers and promotion. He tells the reader about dealing with the ubiquitous assignment offi cer. The citizen who has never been around the military will learn a great deal about the inner workings of the career Army Officer and those who support them. You will laugh out loud at some of these tales and cry when you learn about the sacrifices these soldiers and the families make. You will swell with pride when you hear how some of these men respond from unspeakable adversity. Hill is unabashedly proud of all veterans and as the title states, he is proud of his many years of serviceHe is Proud of What he wasA soldier.
by Jack East, The Truth About Me Books available in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Docs and Mobi Format. Download The Truth About Me books, The Truth About Me is a synthesis of prose and poetry that bring the readers along on a voyage of a young man searching for where he is in the world. The work illustrates the agonizing search that young men undergo to understand the loves that make them who, and what, they are. It describes the conflicts with nature that help men to understand the world and the battles within them that color their actions. Men are loathe to risk heart, soul, and body by opening themselves up and canvassing the world around them with the art and poetry that flow through them. This work makes known the disjointed, difficult to understand, and vague thinking that lead men through their journeys. The work's gallant mission is to paint for women what men cannot; the wondrous art that exist in men's thoughts. The hope is that as our society struggles to redefine the role of man within it, The Truth About Me will add to the body of understanding driving the evolution of men in our culture. The work is an assemply of poetry and prose written during the middle and high school years of the author. It purposely retains the flow, style, and feel constructed at the time of the writing. To be clear, these are the thoughts that existed within a man's man moving through the world in silence of what was battling within him. The author is reflecting on the world of violence, sex, poverty, destruction, longing, and fear that exists within a young man fighting the world alone. Know for certain that the young teenage men in your life have poetry and prose that is even deeper, more beautiful, and even more heart-wrenching than that presented within this work.