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George Washington's socks
Par Elvira Woodruff. 1991
Matthew and his friends form an adventure club so they can talk about real adventures from throughout history. But at…
their first meeting, in which they plan to discuss George Washington's crossing of the Delaware, the members suddenly find themselves back in the time of the American Revolution. For grades 4-7All aboard the schooltrain: a little story from the Great Migration
Par Glenda Armand. 2023
A Songbird in Wartime
Par Karen Dickson. 2021
A wartime family saga, perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Val Wood Shaftesbury, 1936. Mansfield House Hotel has…
been a refuge for Emily ever since she was orphaned at the age of 16. Not only did they give her employment as a chambermaid, but it&’s also where she met her fiancé Tom. When theatre agent Roland stays at the hotel and hears Emily singing, he is determined to take her away to Bristol and make her a star. But knowing she'd never leave her fiancé, he hatches a plan to get Emily away from Tom. Six years later, Emily has made a name for herself as 'The Bristol Songbird'. Her love for Tom is still as strong as ever, but she's not heard from him since that fateful night so long ago. And with the world enveloped in a war, it seems unlikely the two will ever meet again. Will Emily and Tom ever find their way back to one another? Or will the war – and Roland – succeed in keeping them apart? Praise for Karen Dickson: &‘A compelling saga that will hold you fast from the first page to the last. Loved it&’ VAL WOOD, author of The Lonely Wife 'This rollercoaster of a novel draws you in from the first page… I devoured this in one sitting and look forward to more from this author. In short a gem of a read' FIONA FORD, author of Wartime at Liberty's 'A delight to read... Lily Hayter is a wonderful heroine whose resilience and integrity shine through as she struggles to claim a life of her choosing and find a family. At the heart of the story is a warmth and humanity that makes it a truly uplifting read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sorry when I reached the end because I wanted to linger in Dickson&’s world. I eagerly await more from Karen Dickson' VICKI BEEBY, author of The Ops Room Girls &‘An exciting, fresh and talented new voice – a five-star read!&’ CAROL RIVERS, author of Molly&’s Christmas Orphans'The characters in this novel are so believable that I cared deeply about them from the first chapter. A heartfelt, hopeful account of one young woman&’s fight to keep her child safe when all the odds are against her. Atmospheric and beautifully written' JAN CASEY, author of The Women of Waterloo BridgeCrossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure
Par Julian Smith. 2012
Banff Mountain Book Awards WINNERThe spellbinding true story of retracing the extraordinary trek of Ewart "the Leopard" Grogan—the legendary British…
explorer who, in order to win the woman he loved, attempted to become the first person to cross AfricaIn 1898 the dashing British adventurer Ewart Grogan fell head-over-heels in love—but before he could marry, he needed the approval of his beloved's skeptical, aristocratic stepfather. Grogan, seeking to prove his worth and earn his love's hand, then set out on an epic quest to become the first man to cross the entire length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo, "a feat hitherto thought by many explorers to be impossible" (New York Times).A little more than a century later, American journalist Julian Smith also found himself madly in love with his girlfriend of seven years... but he was terrified by the prospect of marraige. Inspired by Grogan's story, which he discovered by chance, Smith decided to face his fears of commitment by retracing the explorer's amazing—but now forgotten—4,500-mile journey for love and glory through Africa. Crossing the Heart of Africa is the unforgettable account of these twin adventures, as Smith beautifully ineterweaves his own contemporary journey with Grogan's larger-than-life tale of cannibal attacks, charging elephants, deadly jungles, and romantic triumph.SOCIETY OF AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITERS WESTERN WRITING AWARDS WINNER: GOLD PRIZE (TRAVEL)BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK COMPETITION WINNER: SPECIAL JURY MENTIONAMERICAN SOCIETY OF JOURNALISTS AND AUTHORS AWARDS BEST-BOOK WINNER: MEMOIRThe long-awaited paperback reissue of the acclaimed Jamaican author's debut novel. The incredible debut novel from 2015 Man Booker Prize…
winner Marlon James Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize "A powerful first novel...Writing with assurance and control, James uses his small-town drama to suggest the larger anguish of a postcolonial society struggling for its own identity." --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice "A Brief History of Seven Killings might have won the Booker, and Black Leopard, Red Wolf might be the next Game of Thrones, but if you're looking for an entry point into the much-lauded, highly raucous mind of Marlon James, his 2005 debut could actually be the place to start: it's just as powerful and intricately written as James's later works, but it's quite a bit shorter, and easier to carry around with you everywhere you go, something you will surely want to do." --Literary Hub, 10 Debut Novels Nobody Reads Anymore--But Should "Elements coalesce in a Jamaican stew spicier than jerk chicken. First novelist James moves effortlessly between lyrical patois and trenchant observations...It's 150-proof literary rum guaranteed to intoxicate and enchant. Highly recommended." --Library Journal, Starred review "Set in James's native Jamaica, this dynamic, vernacular debut sings of the fierce battle between two flawed preachers...an exciting read." --Publishers Weekly "A mesmerizing treatise on the nature of good and evil, faith and madness, guilt and forgiveness, eloquently captured in a microcosm of society." --Booklist "John Crow's Devil engages the political legacy of Frantz Fanon without sacrificing the power of fiction...There's a temptation to compare John Crow's Devil to novels by Toni Morrison or Earl Lovelace, among others, and there are certainly similarities to those works in this one. There is even an echo of Faulkner in the meticulous, multi-vocal rendering of conflicts entrenched in village life. But more important than any comparison is that James' debut is very much its own book, and stands as tall on its own as it would with any other volume beside it." --Small Spiral Notebook This stunning debut novel tells the story of a biblical struggle in a remote Jamaican village in 1957. With language as taut as classic works by Cormac McCarthy, and a richness reminiscent of early Toni Morrison, Marlon James reveals his unique narrative command that will firmly establish his place as one of today's freshest, most talented young writers. In the village of Gibbeah--where certain women fly and certain men protect secrets with their lives--magic coexists with religion, and good and evil are never as they seem. In this town, a battle is fought between two men of God. The story begins when a drunkard named Hector Bligh (the "Rum Preacher") is dragged from his pulpit by a man calling himself "Apostle" York. Handsome and brash, York demands a fire-and-brimstone church, but sets in motion a phenomenal and deadly struggle for the soul of Gibbeah itself. John Crow's Devil is a novel about religious mania, redemption, sexual obsession, and the eternal struggle inside all of us between the righteous and the wicked.A Tall History of Sugar
Par Curdella Forbes. 2019
A haunting, epic Caribbean love story, reminiscent of García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.WINNER of the 2020 Hurston/Wright…
Legacy Award for Fiction!"A Tall History of Sugar is a gift for grown-up fans of fairy tales and those who love fiction that metes out hard and surprising truths. Forbes's writing combines the gale-force imagination of Margaret Atwood with the lyrical pointillism of Toni Morrison."--New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice"A mesmerizing love story that takes place over 50 years in Jamaica."--Tayari Jones in O, the Oprah MagazineA Tall History of Sugar has been longlisted for the 2020 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (Fiction shortlist)!"Curdella Forbes's A Tall History of Sugar is the most recent in an impressive new wave of novels by Jamaican writers--from Marlon James's Booker Prize–winning A Brief History of Seven Killings to Kei Miller's Augustown, Marcia Douglas's The Marvelous Equations of the Dread, and Nicole Dennis-Benn's Patsy, among others. Forbes provides an eclectic, feverish vision of Jamaican 'history' from the 1950s to the present glimpsed through the experiences of an abandoned mystic-child named Moshe, whose translucent skin and mismatched eyes defy racial category. Who he is and who he becomes--like the country itself--is a riddle that unfolds in episodic bursts and linguistic flourishes."--Vanity Fair, one of the Best Books of 2019"An epic tale of two soulmates: Moshe Fisher, born with mismatched eyes and pale skin that bruises easily, and Arrienne Christie, 'her skin even at birth the color of the wettest molasses, with a purple tinge under the surface.' Arrienne is his protector at school--and later his lover--but how they eventually wind up together is part of this unconventionally crafted story that spans decades, from the years before Jamaica's independence to the 2010s. Forbes' sentences are the stars here; it's a book that rewards slow, careful reading."--BuzzFeed, included in BuzzFeed's Fall 2019 PreviewA Tall History of Sugar tells the story of Moshe Fisher, a man who was "born without skin," so that no one is able to tell what race he belongs to; and Arrienne Christie, his quixotic soul mate who makes it her duty in life to protect Moshe from the social and emotional consequences of his strange appearance.The narrative begins with Moshe's birth in the late 1950s, four years before Jamaica's independence from colonial rule, and ends in the era of what Forbes calls "the fall of empire," the era of Brexit and Donald Trump. The historical trajectory layers but never overwhelms the scintillating love story as the pair fight to establish their own view of loving, against the moral force of the colonial "plantation" and its legacies that continue to affect their lives and the lives of those around them.Written in lyrical, luminous prose that spans the range of Jamaican Englishes, this remarkable story follows the couple's mysterious love affair from childhood to adulthood, from the haunted environs of rural Jamaica to the city of Kingston, and then to England--another haunted locale in Forbes's rendition.Following on the footsteps of Marlon James's debut novel, John Crow's Devil, which Akashic Books published in 2005, we are delighted to introduce another lion of Jamaican literature with the publication of A Tall History of Sugar.The Book of Harlan
Par Bernice L. McFadden. 2016
Bernice L. McFadden has been named the Go On Girl! Book Club's 2018 Author of the YearWINNER of the 2017…
American Book AwardWINNER of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction)2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee (Fiction)!A Washington Post Notable Book of 2016"McFadden uses the experiences of her own ancestors as loose inspiration for the life of Harlan, whom she portrays from his childhood in Harlem through imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and his struggles afterward to put his life back together."--Library Journal"Simply miraculous...As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance and cruelty, and at the center of The Book of Harlan is the restorative force that is music."--Washington Post"Bernice L. McFadden took me on a melodious literary journey through time and place in her masterpiece, The Book of Harlan. It's complex, real, and raw...McFadden intricately and purposefully weaves history as a backdrop in her fiction. The Book of Harlan brilliantly explores questions about agency, purpose, freedom, and survival."--Literary Hub, one of Nicole Dennis-Benn's 26 Books From the Last Decade that More People Should Read"McFadden's writing breaks the heart--and then heals it again. The perspective of a black man in a concentration camp is unique and harrowing and this is a riveting, worthwhile read."--Toronto Star"The Book of Harlan is an incredible read. Bernice McFadden...has created an amazing novel that speaks to lesser known aspects of the African-American experience and illuminates the human heart and spirit. Her spare prose is rich in details that convey deep emotions and draw the reader in. This fictional narrative of Harlan Elliot's life is firmly grounded amidst real people and places--prime historical fiction, and the best book I have read this year."--Historical Novels Review, Editors' Choice"McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth-century history: both World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Great Migration. Partly set in the Jim Crow South, the novel succeeds in showing the prevalence of racism all across the country--whether implemented through institutionalized mechanisms or otherwise. Playing with themes of divine justice and the suffering of the righteous, McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil."--Booklist, Starred reviewThe Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre--affectionately referred to as "The Harlem of Paris" by black American musicians--Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him.But after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald--the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany--irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life. Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan skillfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters.The Family Mansion: A Novel
Par Anthony C. Winkler. 2013
"The brutalities of Jamaica's past and the myriad social and cultural contradictions that contributed to it are conveyed with a…
genuine fondness for this complicated and conflicted place. A surprising, and surprisingly sophisticated, approach to historical fiction."--Publishers Weekly"Jamaica-born Winkler opens a door into a cultural period beset by an inhumane system that poisons relationships between whites and blacks."--Kirkus Reviews"[A] powerful and deeply moving tour de force. . . .Winkler submits imperialist dogma and the English aristocracy’s casual acceptance of violence and cruelty to punishing satirical critique. He takes special pleasure in redefining the idea of the 'English gentleman,’ embodied by his clueless and spoiled protagonist, Hartley Fudges, a terrifically rendered young English aristocrat who gets himself banished to Jamaica after attempting to kill his brother for his inheritance. VERDICT Essential reading for fans of literary fiction."--Library Journal"Winkler has a fine ear for patois and dialogue, and a love of language that makes bawdy jokes crackle."--New Yorker"A riveting social commentary on British nobility forced onto an undeveloped island, this isn't Robert Crawley meets Bob Marley circa 1800s--although one could imagine Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith uttering a few of the biting and sarcastic lines throughout this humorous page-turner."--Atlantan Magazine"Jamaican-born novelist Anthony Winkler’s forthcoming novel, Family Mansion, conjures up the cruelties of slavery with the author’s trademark irreverence and wit . . . The first two novels of Winkler’s captivating trilogy are rife with hypnotic imagery and fascinating historical asides. They evoke the colonial world with erudition, irony, and complexity, and should be read by anyone interested in the broader implications of empire."--Brooklyn Rail"The Family Mansion is written with the comic sensibility of Wodehouse and the insightful social comment of Orwell."--Midwest Book Review"In The Family Mansion, Anthony C. Winkler continues his exploration begun in God Carlos of Europe's colonization of Jamaica; whereas the latter focused on the brutality of the sixteenth-century Spanish invaders, this new (and surprisingly adventurous) novel sets its sights on the ravages of the more 'dignified' British conquistadors. Bringing history to life via the quixotic character of Hartley Fudges is an impressive enough feat, but it is Winkler's uncanny ability to add uproarious humor to this shameful history that sets The Family Mansion apart from the standard fare of historical fiction."--Colin Channer, author of The Girl with the Golden ShoesThe Family Mansion tells the story of Hartley Fudges, whose personal destiny unfolds against the backdrop of nineteenth-century British culture, a time when English society was based upon the strictest subordination and stratification of the classes. Hartley's decision to migrate to Jamaica at the age of twenty-three seems sensible at first: in the early 1800s Jamaica was far and away the richest and most opulent of all the crown colonies. But for all its fabulous wealth, Jamaica was a difficult and inhospitable place for an immigrant.The complex saga of Hartley's life is revealed in vivid scenes that depict the vicissitudes of ninteenth-century English and Jamaican societies. Aside from violent slave revolts, newcomers had to survive the nemesis of the white man in the tropics-namely, yellow fever. With Hartley's point of view as its primary focus, the narrative transports readers to exotic lands, simultaneously exploring the brutality of England's slavery-based colonization.Anthony C. Winkler was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1942 and is widely recognized as one of the island's finest exports. His novels include The Lunatic (1987; adapted into a feature film), The Duppy (1997), Dog War (2007), and God Carlos (2012). He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.Into the Jungle!: A Boy's Comic Strip History of World War II (Cultures of Childhood)
Par Jimmy Kugler. 2023
Near the end of World War II and after, a small-town Nebraska youth, Jimmy Kugler, drew more than a hundred…
double-sided sheets of comic strip stories. Over half of these six-panel tales retold the Pacific War as fought by “Frogs” and “Toads,” humanoid creatures brutally committed to a kill-or-be-killed struggle. The history of American youth depends primarily on adult reminiscences of their own childhoods, adult testimony to the lives of youth around them, or surmises based on at best a few creative artifacts. The survival then of such a large collection of adolescent comic strips from America’s small-town Midwest is remarkable. Michael Kugler reproduces the never-before-published comics of his father’s adolescent imagination as a microhistory of American youth in that formative era. Also included in Into the Jungle! A Boy's Comic Strip History of World War II are the likely comic book models for these stories and inspiration from news coverage in newspapers, radio, movies, and newsreels. Kugler emphasizes how US propaganda intended to inspire patriotic support for the war gave this young artist a license for his imagined violence. In a context of progressive American educational reform, these violent comic stories, often in settings modeled on the artist’s small Nebraska town, suggests a form of adolescent rebellion against moral conventions consistent with comic art’s reputation for “outsider” or countercultural expressions. Kugler also argues that these comics provide evidence for the transition in American taste from war stories to the horror comics of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Kugler’s thorough analysis of his father’s adolescent art explains how a small-town boy from the plains distilled the popular culture of his day for an imagined war he could fight on his audacious, even shocking terms.The Weather Girls
Par Sarah Webb. 2024
It’s 1944. Twelve-year-old Grace Devine lives at Blacksod Lighthouse and weather station in County Mayo with her parents and little…
brother. When a German plane crashes nearby, she and her best friend Sibby risk their lives to save the young pilot. Grace’s family take him in, but their neighbours are horrified at having an ‘enemy’ in their midst. Meanwhile, the Met Office in England suddenly asks Blacksod to send them weather reports every hour. But why? As the wind and rain howl outside, Grace begins to understand that something important is happening, something to do with the war – and she is right in the eye of the storm. A tale of bravery, adventure and a remarkable friendship, inspired by true events from World War 2.