Autobiography: philosophy and social sciences Books

Book SynopsisFor the first time in English, a key work of critical geography Originally published in 1978 in Portuguese, For a New Geography is a milestone in the history of critical geography, and it marked the emergence of its author, Milton Santos (1926–2001), as a major interpreter of geographical thought, a prominent Afro-Brazilian public intellectual, and one of the foremost global theorists of space.Published in the midst of a crisis in geographical thought, For a New Geography functioned as a bridge between geography’s past and its future. In advancing his vision of a geography of action and liberation, Santos begins by turning to the roots of modern geography and its colonial legacies. Moving from a critique of the shortcomings of geography from the field’s foundations as a modern science to the outline of a new field of critical geography, he sets forth both an ontology of space and a methodology for geography. In so doing, he introduces novel theoretical categories to the analysis of space. It is, in short, both a critique of the Northern, Anglo-centric discipline from within and a systematic critique of its flaws and assumptions from outside.Critical geography has developed in the past four decades into a heterogenous and creative field of enquiry. Though accruing a set of theoretical touchstones in the process, it has become detached from a longer and broader history of geographical thought. For a New Geography reconciles these divergent histories. Arriving in English at a time of renewed interest in alternative geographical traditions and the history of radical geography, it takes its place in the canonical works of critical geography. Trade Review"For a New Geography presents an incisive critique of twentieth-century geography rooted in an anti-colonial, Third-Worldist perspective, and makes the case for a new geography linked to global social justice. As the perceptive translator’s introduction makes clear, this volume is an important historical text that continues to hold significant insights for today."—Ruth Craggs, King’s College London"It is great to see this commented translation of a key work by Milton Santos, one of the most iconic radical geographers from the Global South. This book anticipated several critical approaches to the philosophy and history of geography and is now available thanks to the commitment of Archie Davies, who is at the same time a great scholar and a great translator, two qualities that it is rare to see combined in today’s Anglophone scholarship."—Federico Ferretti, University of BolognaTable of ContentsContentsTranslator’s Introduction: The Newness of Geography Archie DaviesIntroduction: From a Critique of Geography to a Critical GeographyPart I. The Critique of Geography1. The Founders: Scientific Pretensions2. Philosophical Inheritance3. Postwar Renovation: “A New Geography”4. Quantitative Geography5. Models and Systems: The Ecosystems6. The Geography of Perception and Behavior7. The Triumph of Formalism and Ideology8. The Balance of the Crisis: Geography, Widow of SpacePart II. Geography, Society, Space9. A New Interdisciplinarity 10. An Attempt to Define Space11. Space: Reflection of Society or Social Fact?12. Space: A Factor?13. Space as Social OrderPart III. For a Critical Geography14. In Search of a Paradigm15. Total Space in Our Time16. State and Space: The Nation-State as a Geographical Unit of Study 17. The Ideas of Totality and Social Formation and the Renovation of Geography18. The Idea of Time in Geographical Studies Conclusion: Geography and the Future of Man AcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA young woman from Minnesota searches out the Colombian father she’s never known in this powerful exploration of what family really means He loved Colombia too much to leave it. The explanation from her Minnesotan mother was enough to satisfy a child’s curiosity about her missing father. But at twenty-one, Anika Fajardo wanted more. She wanted to know her father better and to know what kind of country could have such a hold on him. And so, in 1995, Fajardo boarded a plane and flew to Colombia to discover a birthplace that was foreign to her and a father who was a stranger. There she learns that sometimes, no matter how many pieces you find, fitting together a family history isn’t easy.With her tentative entry into her father’s world, Fajardo steps on a path that will take her in surprising directions, toward unsuspected secrets about her family and herself. Set against the changing backdrops of Colombia and the American Midwest, her journey carries her back to the 1970s and the beginnings of her parents’ broken marriage, and forward to the present day, where the magic and reality of love and heartache—and her own experience as a parent—await her. The way is strewn with obstacles, physical and metaphysical—from the perils encountered on a mountain road in Colombia to the death of a loved one to the birth of her own child—but the toughest to negotiate are the shifting place of memory and truth while coming to understand her place in her family and in the world.Vivid and heartfelt in the telling, Fajardo’s story is powerfully compelling in its bridging of time and place and in its moving depiction of self-transformation. Family, she comes to find, is where you find it and what you make of it.Trade Review"Incredibly well written and compelling, Anika Fajardo’s Magical Realism for Non-Believers is a remarkable memoir about the search for a father, a culture, a self. I felt like I was reading about my own life and the price I paid for assimilation and acculturation. I simply couldn’t put it down."—Pablo Medina, author of The Island Kingdom and Cubop City Blues"Bicultural experience is a dispassionate term for life lived across borders, identities, and even family trees. As Anika Fajardo makes clear in this searching and lyrical memoir, there is nothing dispassionate about flying back to one’s birthland, walking its soil again, or breaking bread with family who have become as good as strangers. Fajardo seeks to reconnect these missing and scattered pieces, and it is a privilege to journey beside her."—Lila Quintero Weaver, author of Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White"A rare read, you know the kind: you don’t want it to end but you can’t put it down. Bewitching and beautiful, bound to move anyone who was ever a parent or a child, and just as compelling (and magical) the second time around."—Dinah Lenney, author of The Object Parade"A forthright and sensitive tale of a daughter's quest."—Kirkus Reviews"Fajardo revisits interactions and places with intricately remembered emotion, making for a delicious dive into the complicated, beautiful messes that love can make."—Booklist"Fajardo describes the pain of yearning for something you can't quite articulate, of getting what you thought you wanted and finding it less than satisfying. She dives into her family's past and continues her story into her own adulthood, laying bare the many complicated ways our family informs who we are and how we interact with the world."—BuzzFeed"Anika Fajardo’s beautifully written memoir is a full, satisfying read."—Star Tribune"Anika Fajardo has written a wonderful, sensitive and compelling memoir about her journey to forge a relationship with the father she never knew. She uses her talents to spin a tale that could have been fiction but is all the more special because it is all true."—I Am Book Minded"Magical Realism for Non-Believers is filled with honest and authentic truths about the complex relationship between children and their neglectful parents and the struggle to find one’s place between two cultures."—School Library Journal

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Book SynopsisAn influential thinker’s fascinating reflections and meditations on reacclimating to his native Senegal as a young academic after years of study abroad The call to morning prayer. A group run at daybreak along the Corniche in Dakar. A young woman shedding tears on a beach as her friends take a boat to Europe. In African Meditations, paths to enlightenment collide with tales of loss and ruminations, musical gatherings, and the everyday sights and sounds of life in West Africa as a young philosopher and creative writer seeks to establish himself as a teacher upon his return to Senegal, his homeland, after years of study abroad. A unique contemporary portrait of an influential, multicultural thinker on a spiritual quest across continents—reflecting on his multiple literary influences along with French, African Francophone, and Senegalese tribal cultural roots in a homeland with a predominantly Muslim culture—African Meditations is a seamless blend of autobiography, journal entries, and fiction; aphorisms and brief narrative sketches; humor and Zen reflections. Taking us from Saint-Louis to Dakar, Felwine Sarr encounters the rhythms of everyday life as well as its disruptions such as teachers’ strikes and power outages while traversing a semi-surrealistic landscape. As he reacclimates to his native country after a life in France, we get candid glimpses, both vibrant and hopeful, sublime and mundane, into his Zen journey to resecure a foothold in his roots and to navigate academia, even while gleaning something of the good life, of joy, amid the struggles of life in Senegal. Trade Review"The following meditations are to be read so as to remind us that thought is not the product of some disincarnated spirit at rest but is rather a practice and activity of a body in movement."—Souleymane Bachir Diagne, from the Foreword"African Meditations speaks of the earth: how we inhabit it and connect to its most elementary forces. It aphoristically reflects on happiness but ponders its fragmentary nature and precariousness. Felwine Sarr shows us the good life and suggests that, in Senegal and beyond, it often takes the path of ‘motionless pilgrimages.’ A wise and richly evocative book."—Pierre-Philippe Fraiture, University of Warwick

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Book SynopsisThe true story of runaway child with a secret. A devastating discovery that changes everything.Melissa is a sweet-natured girl with a disturbing habit of running away and mixing with the wrong crowd. After she’s picked up by the police, and with nowhere else to go, she is locked in a secure unit with young offenders. Social Services beg specialist foster carer Angela to take her in, but can she keep the testing twelve-year-old safe? And will Angela ever learn what, or who, drove Melissa to run and hide, sometimes in the dead of night?The Girl in the Dark is the sixth book from well-loved foster carer and Sunday Times bestselling author Angela Hart. This is a true story that shares the tale of one of the many children she has fostered over the years. Angela's stories show the difference that quiet care, a watchful eye and sympathetic ear can make to children who have had more difficult upbringings than most.Trade ReviewA no holds barred insight into the reality of looking after someone else's children. A remarkable story from a remarkable woman, it brought back a lot of memories for me. -- Casey WatsonA moving story that testifies to the redemptive power of love. I hope Angela Hart inspires many others to foster. -- Torey HaydenPraise for Angela Hart: A true tear-jerking tale of love and compassion. * Sunday Mirror *

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Book Synopsis'Tense and intimate… an education.' Geoff Dyer'Written with sensitivity and humanity... a remarkable insight into prison life.' Amanda Brown'Authentic, fascinating and deeply moving.' Terry Waite'Enriching, sobering and at times heartrending... a wonder' Lenny Henry__________Can someone in prison be more free than someone outside? Would we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness?Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. Every day he has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings, and listens as they explore new ways to think about their situation.When Andy goes behind bars, he also confronts his inherited trauma: his father, uncle and brother all spent time in prison. While Andy has built a different life for himself, he still fears that their fate will also be his. As he discusses pressing questions of truth, identity and hope with his students, he searches for his own form of freedom too.Moving, sympathetic, wise and frequently funny, The Life Inside is an elegantly written and unforgettable book. Through a blend of memoir, storytelling and gentle philosophical questioning, it offers a new insight into our stretched justice system, our failing prisons and the complex lives being lived inside.__________'Strives with humour and compassion to understand the phenomenon of prison' Sydney Review of Books'A fascinating and enlightening journey... A legitimate page-turner' 3AM

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Book SynopsisAn Irish Times and The i Book of 2022'Tense and intimate . . . an education' - Geoff Dyer'Enriching, sobering and at times heartrending. A wonder' - Sir Lenny Henry'Authentic, fascinating and deeply moving' - Terry Waite__________Can someone in prison be more free than someone outside? Would we ever be good if we never felt shame? What makes a person worthy of forgiveness?Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. Every day he has conversations with people inside about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings, and listens as they explore new ways to think about their situation.When Andy steps into a prison, he also confronts his inherited shame: his father, uncle and brother all spent time behind bars. While Andy has built a different life for himself, he still fears that their fate will also be his. As he discusses pressing questions of truth, identity and hope with his students, he searches for his own form of freedom too.Moving, sympathetic, wise and frequently funny, The Life Inside is an elegantly written and unforgettable memoir. Through a blend of storytelling and gentle philosophical questioning, it offers a new insight into our stretched justice system, our failing prisons and the complex lives being lived inside.__________'Inspiring' - The Observer'Strives with humour and compassion to understand the phenomenon of prison' - Sydney Review of Books'Expands both heart and mind' - Ciaran Thapar'A fascinating and enlightening journey . . . A legitimate page-turner' - 3AMTrade ReviewAndy West’s tense and intimate book is an education . . . The Life Inside deserves the widest possible readership. -- Geoff DyerBy turns enriching, sobering and at times, heartrending. A tale centering on our inner critic or executioner and how to stifle its constant sniping. A wonder. * Sir Lenny Henry *An authentic, fascinating and deeply moving story about the different ways people search for freedom. -- Terry WaiteWritten with sensitivity and humanity... a remarkable insight into prison life * Amanda Brown, author of The Prison Doctor *West powerfully interweaves an account of teaching philosophy in prison with his own family’s history of imprisonment, creating an intellectually thrilling memoir of freedom and constraint. -- Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, author of The Fact of a BodyWeaving philosophical questions about free will, forgiveness, guilt and shame, with family history and the realities of incarceration. Beautifully written – honest, painful, absurd and sometimes joyful. -- Caitlin Davies, author of Queens of the UnderworldA book that every thinking person should read. -- Simon Critchley, author of Continental PhilosophyWritten with compassion and searing honesty. * The Tablet *The Life Inside is an honest, delicate memoir that doubles as an accessible handbook of philosophical ideas. It expands both heart and mind; I’ll never think about prisons - let alone my own freedom and family - the same way again. -- Ciaran Thapar, author of Cut ShortIt’s a rare feat for anyone who works in a prison to capture the smell, the flavour and the taste of the fetid air they share with the prisoners in a book . . . More and more compelling with every turn of the page. -- Erwin James, author of RedeemableThese are tender, complicated relationships, and there is candour and wisdom - and no little courage - in how West shows them to us. * The New Humanist *West incorporates philosophical, descriptive, and psychological elements as with a fine Dickensian brush he paints a picture of the gritty details of prison life... profoundly moving. * Philosophy Now *Insightful and sophisticated. * TLS *An astonishing, necessary book . . . brilliantly dispels damaging myths about those whose lives are lived inside. * Lucia Osborne-Crowley *Immersing, entertaining and wonderfully empathetic. * The Bookseller *Drawn with great tenderness. * Prospect *One of the best books I've read this year. Moving, witty and profound, it's a powerfully humane book about a part of life that's defined by inhumanity. * Matt Rowland Hill *Poignant, insightful, and full of philosophical substance. * The Philosophers' Magazine *The Life Inside is extraordinary. * Rob Doyle *

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Book Synopsis“We may not relight the fires that used to burn in our villages, but we can carry the embers from those fires in our hearts and learn to light new fires in a new world.” Ojibwe tradition calls for fathers to walk their children through the world, sharing the ancient understanding “that we are all, animate and inanimate alike, living on the one pure breath with which the Creator gave life to the Universe.” In this new entry in the Seedbank series, an intimate series of letters to the six-year-old son from whom he was estranged, Richard Wagamese fulfills this traditional duty with grace and humility, describing his own path through life—separation from his family as a boy, substance abuse, incarceration, and ultimately the discovery of books and writing—and braiding this extraordinary story with the teachings of his people, in which animals were the teachers of human beings, until greed and a desire to control the more-than-human world led to anger, fear, and, eventually, profound alienation. At once a deeply moving memoir and a fascinating elucidation of a rich indigenous cosmology, Walking the Ojibwe Path is an unforgettable journey.Trade Review"Milkweed's Seedbank series is one of the most exciting and visionary projects in contemporary publishing. Taking the long view, these volumes run parallel to the much-hyped books of the moment to demonstrate the possibility and hope inherent in all great literature." —Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books “Richard Wagamese is a born storyteller.”—Louise Erdrich Praise for For Joshua “Wagamese, who authored such classics as Indian Horse and A Quality of Light, was a singular voice in literature whose wisdom, openness, and incredible skill with sentences have lit up the lives of many readers. With For Joshua, Wagamese wrote of internal and external struggles with substance abuse and trauma, and crafted an expansive work about healing, resilience, humanity, respect, inheritance, Indigenous teachings, and most of all, love. This book is a wonderful place to start if you’ve never read Wagamese, a must-read if you have, and an indispensable read for everyone.”—Literary Hub “Told lyrically and unflinchingly, For Joshua is both a letter of apology and another attempt at self-identification for the writer. A must-read for Wagamese fans, and a good primer for his novels.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “[For Joshua] is revealing, open, and tragic. It is also a remarkably touching and well-written journey.”—The Globe and Mail “Wagamese is a writer of rough grace and fathomless humanity who has given so much more to the world than it ever gave to him.”—Literary Hub, “Most Anticipated Books of 2020” “These affecting essays are beautifully written, and his experiences resonate on many levels, from the little boy who is experiencing loneliness to the young adult longing to find his place in the world to the adult he became before his death at age 61. . . . A well-written, introspective book on fatherhood and loss that will especially interest readers and students of First Nations life and literature.”—Library Journal “Moving back and forth between the past and present, between struggle and insight, [Wagamese] weaves narrative and teaching into a powerful, inspiring whole.”—BookRiot “Before his death in 2017, Wagamese had earned renown in his native Canada for his memoirs and novels. He had also completed this book for his son, then 6 years old. . . . ‘As Ojibway men, we are taught that it is the father’s responsibility to introduce our children to the world,’ he writes to his son, and this posthumous publication is part of the legacy he passes along. A sturdy book of traditional wisdom and prescriptions for recovery.”—Kirkus “For Joshua is both beautiful and harsh, a guiding light for both Wagamese and his readers, a book that will stand the test of time.”—Andrew King, University Book Store “The late Richard Wagamese’s For Joshua builds on the growing tradition of epistolary memoirs as a deeply spiritual letter to his son. In stark language, Wagamese crafts scenes of memory, ritual, and narrative tradition so vivid they often made me pause to reread them three or four times over. By drawing on his truths as an Ojibwe man, recovering alcoholic, and father, this memoir walks the reader through a life journey as an example to call us back to our deepest purpose: to live in unity and become who we already are.”—Erin Pineda, 27th Letter Books “For Joshua is a tender and insightful letter to an estranged son. Richard Wagamese writes to Joshua and for himself to try to understand his journey, the challenges of his life and his estrangement from his son. The subjugation of Wagamese's Indigenous heritage during his childhood and much of his adult life is heartbreaking. I’m not sure if Wagamese was able to repair his relationship with his son, but in publishing this For Joshua readers will be better off for having read it.”—Jennifer Wood, East City Bookshop “What a beautiful book . . . In this letter to his son, Wagamese writes of his heritage, his drinking, his writing, and his love for the land. He also learns how to live with himself and his feelings with the help of others, and to face his demons and explain this struggle to his son. As he writes, we ‘really have two choices in life: to live in peace or to live in conflict, in harmony or out of balance.’”—Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books “Simply put, one of the most honest, beautiful, and heartbreaking books you’ll read this year. Written to a son he never had the chance to know, Wagamese tells his story of a life filled with struggles that would break most men. Many of these were hinted at in his novels but to hear him tell his own story with such bare and unflinching honesty puts his entire body of work in a whole new light. Rest in power Richard.”—Tom Beans, Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe “I hope that when Joshua does eventually read this book, he has the maturity to appreciate his father’s act of bravery, and to learn from it. For the rest of us, For Joshua is a fascinating and moving portrayal of one man’s search for his heritage, his true place in the world, and in the process, his discovery of himself.”—Hamilton Spectator “This well-written and perceptive book shows that it is possible for aboriginal people—for any person—to get back from there to here.”—Quill & Quire “Graceful and reverberating . . . A harrowing life story but also a ceremony, a gathering of traditional knowledge, and a love letter across the generations, For Joshua is a book we need, a book we can all treasure. Every page is infused with such tenderness and emotional intensity that I was shocked again and again with the thought: this is the true strength and reach and burden of love.”—Warren Cariou, author of Lake of the PrairiesTable of ContentsAuthor’s Note vii For Joshua 1 Initiation 9 Innocence 25 Humility 69 Introspection 109 Wisdom 155 For Joshua 183 Acknowledgments 205

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Book SynopsisJames Rahn has led the Rittenhouse Writers'' Group since he founded it in 1988, making it one of America''s longest-running independent fiction workshops. Hundreds of writers and would-be writers have sought out the group for its remarkable level of instruction and collaboration. Rittenhouse Writers is Rahn''s memoir of the workshop and how his own evolution as both a teacher and a writer -- and as a son, husband, and (somewhat reluctant) father -- has been intertwined with the establishment and growth of the RWG. In addition, Rahn includes ten short stories written by current and former members of the workshop. Rahn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MFA at Columbia. He then began to imagine a future that included more than just writing, one that would also tap his aspiration to offer other writers support and motivation, tough but gentle -- his self-described "Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove" approach. After all, as he says more than once, "Writing is hard. Over the years, James Rahn has witnessed every imaginable writing-group scenario, from awkward flirtations to suicide scares, catty critiques, near fistfights, and of course the satisfaction of watching someone''s writing soar. With insight gained through years of observation and participation, and a discerning eye for amusing detail, he takes us along for the journey. Rahn''s struggle to perfect his role as instructor runs throughout the narrative, as does his effort to balance that role with the friendships he forms in the group, and to keep up with his own writing while still giving the group the attention it needs to flourish. Through his eyes, we catch the spark of the workshop''s spirit and get to meet various spirits who have invigorated Rittenhouse Writers'' Group. Rahn cuts back and forth, reflecting, not only on the workshop, but also on his days as a high school dropout in Atlantic City, dead-end jobs and hopeless moves, the difficulty of his mother''s decline and death, and his own unexpected plunge into parenthood -- when, at age 51, he and his wife took on the responsibility of raising her two young nieces. His memoir serves, in a way, as an introduction to the short stories that follow; and the stories -- as surprising and varied as the writers Rahn describes working with -- stand as a fitting coda to Rahn''s tale and offer another window onto his life''s work.

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Book SynopsisA “wildly entertaining” and “masterly” memoir (Times Literary Supplement) now in paperback In The Lives of Michel Foucault, David Macey quotes the iconic French philosopher as speaking “nostalgically…of ‘an unforgettable evening on LSD, in carefully prepared doses, in the desert night, with delicious music, [and] nice people.’” This came to pass in 1975, when Foucault spent Memorial Day weekend in Southern California at the invitation of Simeon Wade—ostensibly to guest-lecture at the Claremont Graduate School where Wade was an assistant professor, but in truth to explore what he called the Valley of Death. Led by Wade and Wade’s partner Michael Stoneman, Foucault experimented with psychotropic drugs for the first time; by morning he was crying and proclaiming that he knew Truth. Foucault in California is Wade’s firsthand account of that long weekend. Felicitous and often humorous prose vaults readers headlong into the erudite and subversive circles of the Claremont intelligentsia: parties in Wade’s bungalow, intensive dialogues between Foucault and his disciples at a Taoist utopia in the Angeles Forest (whose denizens call Foucault “Country Joe”); and, of course, the fabled synesthetic acid trip on the multihued slopes of the Artist’s Palette at Death Valley, set to the strains of Bach and Stockhausen. Part search for higher consciousness, part bacchanal, this book chronicles a young man’s burgeoning friendship with one of the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers.Trade Review“A wildly entertaining memoir written by someone who helped curate, witness and then document a mind-altering experience in the life of one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. The act of witnessing, in fact, is what makes Wade’s account so masterly.”—Eric Bulson, Times Literary Supplement“Excellent and surprising.”—Scott Bradfield, Los Angeles Times“At times a gay, psychedelic Divine Comedy and at others a Plato's Symposium for the 1970s.”—Andrew Marzoni, The Baffler“Wade's poetic rendering of Foucault's LSD trip...manages to capture the philosopher's hesitations and fears but also conveys the spectacle of a towering intellect leveled by the visceral power of the drug experience.”—James Penner, Los Angeles Review of Books“Engagingly offbeat.”—Helmut Mayer, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“Foucault once declared that he had written nothing but fictions, and here we have a stylised account of a short moment in his life, written with the verve of a novel.”—Stuart Elden, author of Foucault's Last Decade“Very funny and endearing.”—Reviews by Amos Lassen

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Book SynopsisEarly in her tenure as president of Mount Holyoke College, Joanne V. Creighton faced crises as students staged protests and occupied academic buildings; the alumnae association threatened a revolt; and a distinguished professor became the subject of a major scandal. Yet Creighton weathered each storm, serving for nearly fifteen years in office and shepherding the college through a notable revitalization.In her autobiography, The Educational Odyssey of a Woman College President, Creighton situates her tenure at Mount Holyoke within a life and career that have traversed breathtaking changes in higher education and social life. Having held multiple roles in academia spanning undergraduate, professor, and president, Creighton served at small colleges and large public universities and experienced the dramatic changes facing women across the academy. From her girlhood in Wisconsin to the presidency of a storied women's college, she bears witness to the forces that have reshaped higher education for women and continues to advocate for the liberal arts and sciences.

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Book SynopsisAn Unlikely Scholar is a terrifying, funny, and triumphant roller coaster ride - from an assembly line to Madison Avenue, from a limo and couture wardrobe, to waiting on tables, and 27 years after high school, waking up in a college dorm room.Nancy VanDermark, the 16-year-old daughter of a Pennsylvania coal miner turned mechanic, saw stories in Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines as windows to the world. She worked a factory job afternoons and summers to afford modeling classes. With an SAT score double the nation's average, Nancy didn't apply to college. 'I just don't want to be poor anymore. I'm going to work full-time as a secretary.' Future in-laws furiously opposed the marriage of their brilliant son to the 19-year-old girl without a college education.Five years later Nancy became the stay-at-home mother of a bright and beautiful little boy. She was pregnant with their daughter when her happy life began to disintegrate. Her father died suddenly. Her infant daughter was born with a heart disorder, her six-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia, and her marriage fell apart. An Unlikely Scholar is the story of Nancy VanDermark's incredible journey from model to maven.

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Book SynopsisThe Line Becomes a River meets Tell Me How It Ends in this book about translation, storytelling, and borders as understood through the United States' "immigration crisis." Alejandra Oliva is Mexican American, her family lineage defined by a long and fluid relationship with the border between Texas and Mexico, each generation born on opposite sides of the Rio Grande. A translator advocating for Latin American migrants seeking asylum and American citizenship, Oliva knows all too well the gravity of taking someone's trauma and delivering it in the warped form the immigration system demands. In Rivermouth, Oliva focuses on the physical spaces that make up different phases of immigration and looks at how language and opportunity move through each of them. From the river as the waterway that separates the United States and Mexico, to the table as the place over which Oliva prepares asylum seekers for their Credible Fear Interviews, and finally, to the wall as the behemoth imposition that runs along America's southernmost border. With lush prose and perceptive insight, Oliva encourages readers to approach the painful questions that this crisis poses with equal parts critique and compassion. By which metrics are we measuring who "deserves" American citizenship? What is the point of humanitarian systems that dole out aid distributed conditionally? What do we owe to our most disenfranchised? Rivermouth is an argument for porosity. Not just for porous borders and a decriminalization of immigration, but for a more open sense of what we owe one another and a willingness to extend radical empathy. As concrete as she is meditative, sharp as she is lyrical, and incisive as she is literary, Oliva argues for a better world while telling us why it's worth fighting to get there.Trade Review"Amazing... a beautiful conversation about what immigration and migration looks like but also how we come to understand it, whose stories we get to hear and how."—Traci Thomas, NPR's Here & Now"I am fascinated by translation both in theory and practice and it is translation that serves as the foundation of this excellent book that is about borders, and migration and how migration experiences can be so different. It’s part memoir of growing up as the child of immigrants while working with migrants seeking asylum and harbor in the US. Oliva has prescient and deeply intelligent ideas throughout. It’s always a pleasure to see an excellent mind at work."—Roxane Gay“Oliva’s excellent debut recounts her experiences volunteering as a Spanish-English translator in an immigration detention center at the U.S.-Mexico border beginning in 2016….With uncut rage and breathtaking prose, Oliva edifies, infuriates, and moves readers all at once. This is required reading. “—Publisher's Weekly (starred review)“A timely book by a translator at America’s southern border, Rivermouth is one of the most thoughtful meditations on our nation’s immigration policy in recent memory. Oliva’s Kafkaesque portrayal of her work retelling the traumatic stories of migrants in English for asylum applications will linger long after you’re done reading." —The Boston Globe"Mexican-American translator and immigrant justice activist Alejandra Oliva is particularly situated to tell the stories of immigration at the US southern border. She has seen the suffering, the space and the struggles of the people firsthand as she interprets their words for them and now, their experiences for us." —Karla J. Strand, Ms. Magazine "Undeterred by complexity, Oliva presents an accessible narrative electrified by transcripts of official exchanges, raw with emotion, that lay bare the tragic inadequacy of a sterile bureaucratic setting to ever do justice to petitioners in any "credible threat interview." —Sara Martinez, Booklist"A graceful meditation on the unresolved traumas of life in a land where one is often not welcome . . . Evenhandedly and without sentimentality, Oliva urges that we can stand to be both more understanding and more generous."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Alejandra Oliva is a brilliant new voice of her generation, a writer of resistance with echoes of Simone Weil; her attention to immigration justice reaches us as a prayer. Translation in her hands becomes a deeper type of storytelling where bearing witness to injustices of immigration becomes not only a path of political reform but spiritual transformation. Rivermouth is a rich delta of braided essays where we are invited into spaces that break our hearts and carry us to a place of healing grace." —Terry Tempest Williams, author of Erosion: Essays of Undoing"Rivermouth is a supremely intelligent account of a translator's journey into the Kafkaesque machinery of U.S. immigration and asylum policy. Alejandra Oliva writes with great lucidity and empathy about the fractures at the U.S.-Mexico border and the human drama that plays out there."—Héctor Tobar, author of Translation Nation"Alejandra Oliva's Rivermouth is a document of witness and grace told with devastating clarity and beauty. A beautiful and important book." —Kate Zambreno, author of The Light Room"Rivermouth is a great gift in a time when migrants are demonized on the shores and borders of wealthy western countries, none uglier than the scar that is the US-Mexico border that was forged through US invasion and annexation, powered by societal white supremacy. Alejandra Oliva has not only written a poetic, gripping, and magnificent book, she is there, on the border, assisting the migrants in their attempts to escape hunger, deadly gangs, and dysfunctional governments, often due to U.S. coups, invasions, occupations, and economic sanctions."—Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, author of Not "A Nation of Immigrants""Subtle, personal, and deeply informative, this is one of those books that catapult you to a place you have never been. Translation is the author's vocation as well as a metaphor for the in-between spaces that her personal and professional identities compel her to traverse. Alejandra Oliva stands at a literal border and contemplates the metaphorical borderlines language creates, in terms of both the immigrant crisis and her own identity as a bilingual Mexican-American. Driven by a fierce sense of social justice, she is also an exquisitely controlled journalist. Her candid, intimate voice is irresistible." —2022 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant judges's commentsTable of ContentsPreface: The River, The Table, The WallPart I: Caminante No Hay CaminoPart II: SobremesaPart III: El AzoteAcknowledgments

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Book SynopsisAn intertwined tale of a boy’s world shattered by suicide and a man’s story rewritten by neuroscience. When Richard Brockman found his mother’s body, the simple narrative of his childhood ended. Life After Death tells the story of a boy who died and of a man who survived when the boy and the man are one and the same. It tells a very personal—yet tragically common—story of irredeemable loss. It tells the story of story itself. How story forms. How it grows. How it changes. How it can be broken. And finally, how sometimes it can be repaired. Now an expert in genetics, epigenetics, and the biology of attachment, Brockman chronicles his evolution from a child overwhelmed by trauma to a man who has struggled to reclaim his past. He lays bare the core of one who is both victim and healer. By weaving together childhood despair and clinical knowledge, Brockman shows how the shattered pieces of the self—though never the same and not without scars—can sometimes be put back together again.

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Book SynopsisMichael Ratner (1943–2016) was one of America’s leading human rights lawyers. He worked for more than four decades at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) becoming first the Director of Litigation and then the President of what Alexander Cockburn called “a small band of tigerish people.” He was also the President of the National Lawyers Guild. Ratner handled some of the most significant cases In American history. This book tells why and how he did it. His last case, which he worked on until he died, was representing truth-telling whistleblower and now political prisoner Julian Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks. Ratner “moved the bar” by organizing some 600 lawyers to successfully defend habeas corpus, that is, the ancient right of someone accused of a crime to have a lawyer and to be brought before a judge. Michael had a piece of paper taped on the wall next to his desk at the CCR. It read: 4 key principles of being a radical lawyer: 1. Do not refuse to take a case just because it is long odds of winning in court.2. Use cases to publicize a radical critique of US policy and to promote revolutionary transformation.3. Combine legal work with political advocacy.4. Love people. Compelling and instructive, Moving the Bar is an indispensable manual for the next generation of activists and their lawyers.Trade Review“If you care as deeply and passionately as Michael Ratner, the suffering of the oppressed forces you to become a radical.” — Chris Hedges “He was fearless. He was outraged by outrageous things. He was inventive when the law stopped short of providing justice. And working with Michael let you experience the exhilaration of taking the law to places where it had never been.” — Peter Weiss, former vice-president of the Center for Constitutional Rights “Driven by love and compassion, Michael Ratner was the most tenacious and brilliant of lawyers” — Amy Goodman “A fascinating read that covers much radical U.S. history.” —Ajamu Baraka “Reading Michael Ratner’s Moving the Bar shows just how unusual he was in the crowded room of radical lawyers… especially when other radical lawyers fell by the wayside, and opted for money, fame and notoriety.” — CounterPunch “An honest, poignant, sprawling, remarkable, and inspiring account” — LA Progressive “One of America’s foremost human rights lawyers” — The Guardian“[A] lively, thoughtful and remarkable memoir” — Morning Star “Inspiring” — Mondoweiss“Concise and easy to read for all who care about justice… Candidly offers a glimpse of the thoughtful soul behind the legal legend.” — The Indypendent“A beautiful and compelling account from one of the leaders of the legal left” — David Cole, The Nation“A vivid memoir of a storied attorney” — The Progressive“The memoir of a great constitutional lawyer” — Radio Woodstock“A valuable guide for activists and attorneys looking to use the law as part of larger movements for justice” — Against the Current

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Book SynopsisThe Dark Eclipse is a book of personal essays in which author A.W. Barnes seeks to come to terms with the suicide of his older brother, Mike. Using source documentation—police report, autopsy, suicide note, and death certificate—the essays explore Barnes’ relationship with Mike and their status as gay brothers raised in a large conservative family in the Midwest. In addition, the narrative traces the brothers’ difficult relationship with their father, a man who once studied to be a Trappist monk before marrying and fathering eight children. Because of their shared sexual orientation, Andrew hoped he and Mike would be close, but their relationship was as fraught as the author’s relationship with his other brothers and father. While the rest of the family seems to have forgotten about Mike, who died in 1993, Barnes has not been able to let him go. This book is his attempt to do so. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.Trade ReviewBarnes brilliantly understands the memoirist’s spiritual prerogative—we are able to bring the dead back to life in our prose. We can take the pictures off the wall and make them dance; we can take the facts of dry documents and make them into vivid stories. The Dark Eclipse is a beautiful example of this. — Susan Cheever, author of Home Before Dark and Note Found in a Bottle: My Life as a Drinker "Powerful, often devastating, and proof if proof were needed that personal essays can be immensely intelligent and profoundly moving."— Peter Trachtenberg, author of The Book of Calamities and Another Insane Devotion "Hard-won knowledge is the kind that matters most. In The Dark Eclipse, Andrew Barnes tracks the reverberations of his brother’s suicide through the long decades of aftermath. This is honest work—the bubble in the spirit-level rides at dead center."— Sven Birkerts, author of Changing the Subject: Art and Attention in the Internet Age A.W. Barnes radio interview with KMA Land (Iowa)— KMA Land KUCI 'Get the Funk Out Show' interview with A.W. Barnes— KUCI "Get the Funk Out Show" Interview on WRKF's "Talk Louisiana" interview with A.W. Barnes— WRKF "Talk Louisiana" "The story Barnes weaves in this memoir—a story of suicidal desires and success, of what drives siblings apart and could, at turns, bring them back together—is a lyric noir of family instability, personal revelation, and queer inheritance both genealogical and literary....Our job, as Barnes beautifully demonstrates here, is to take the ashes of our lives—not only our lived lives, but our lives as readers, too—and sculpt them into a new art."— Lambda Literary "Barnes' unencumbered language make this shortish book a breezy read. The subject matter, however--the exploration of death, family history, and the discovery of self--are not so easy; bu they are necessary." — Gay & Lesbian ReviewTable of Contents 1. A Complaint 2. The Letter 3. Salient Facts 4. Familial Bodies 5. Prospero's Books 6. Holiday Inn 7. Morta Sicura Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisWhen Hans Jonas died in 1993, he was revered among American scholars specializing in European philosophy, but his thought had not yet made great inroads among a wider public. In Germany, conversely, during the 1980s, when Jonas himself was an octogenarian, he became a veritable intellectual celebrity, owing to the runaway success of his 1979 book The Imperative of Responsibility. In the 1920s, Jonas studied philosophy with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, but the Nazi regime forced him to leave Germany for London in 1933. He later emigrated to Palestine and eventually enlisted in the British Army’s Jewish Brigade to fight against Hitler. Following the Israeli War of Independence, he emigrated to the United States and took a position at the New School for Social Research in New York. He became part of a circle of friends around Hannah Arendt and Heinrich Blucher, which included Adolph Lowe and Paul Tillich. This memoir, a diverse collection of previously unpublished materials—diaries, letters, interviews, and public statements—has been organized by Christian Wiese, whose afterword links the Jewish dimensions of Jonas’s life and philosophy. Because Jonas’s life spanned the entire twentieth century, this memoir provides nuanced pictures of German Jewry during the Weimar Republic, of German Zionism, of the Jewish emigrants in Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s, and of German Jewish émigré intellectuals in New York. Since Memoirs was first published in 2008, interest in the work of Hans Jonas has grown among American academics in recent years.Table of ContentsForeword – Rachel Salamander • Introductory Remarks – Lore Jonas • EXPERIENCES AND ENCOUNTERS • Youth in Mönchengladbach during Wartime • Dreams of Glory: The Road to Zionism • Between Philosophy and Zion: Freiburg – Berlin – Wolfenbüttel • Marburg: Under the Spell of Heidegger and Gnosticism • Emigration, Refuge, and Friends in Jerusalem • Love in Times of War • A “Bellum Judaicum” in the Truest Sense of the Word • Travels through a Germany in Ruins • From Israel to the New World: Launching an Academic Career • Friendships and Encounters in New York • PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY • Taking Leave of Heidegger • On the Value and Dignity of Life: Philosophy of the Organic and Ethics of Responsibility • “All this is mere stammering”: Auschwitz and God’s Impotence • Didactic Letters to Lore Jonas, 1944–45, – Ammon Allred, translator • Afterword: “But for me the world was never a hostile place” – Christian Wiese • Chronology • Notes • Bibliography • Index of Names • Illustrations follow page 134

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Book SynopsisWhen Alexandra attempts to end an abusive marriage, her husband Tareq abducts their infant daughters from their Montreal home and deposits them with his family in a primitive village in Jordan. Trying to retrieve them through legal means, Alexandra comes face to face with Arab cultures where children belong to the father's family and women have no rights to them. She puts a promising career as a medical researcher on hold, sets off alone to Jordan and succeeds in an audacious plan to smuggle her daughters back home. But upon returning to Canada, she finds a judicial system that is unable to protect her children from being kidnapped again -- this time for good, forcing her back to a life with the abusive husband. For the next twenty years, while achieving a PhD and working as a respected scientist, she submits to her husband's tyranny for the sake of her daughters. Her coping mechanism is to dissociate herself from constant verbal and emotional abuse and live as an observant stranger trapped in a life not of h

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Book SynopsisNobel laureate, world-renowned doctor and human rights activist, Dr Mukwege has dedicated his life to caring for victims of sexual violence. Over the past two decades living and working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he has stood up to soldiers and warlords and survived multiple assassination attempts, never swaying from his mission.In this book, Dr Mukwege interweaves his own story with the experiences of the women he has treated, the people he has worked with, and survivors of sexual violence whom he has met during his years of advocating for women's rights on the international stage.The Power of Women is a rallying cry to rid our societies of violence against women. It challenges us to think about our own experiences and how we all have a part to play in bringing about change.

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Book Synopsis'Fascinating...an enticingly interesting read' - Sayeeda Warsi. Born in rural Afghanistan, Shakardokht Jafari became a refugee aged just six, after a harrowing half-year trek to Iran. There, at twelve, she discovered she had been promised in marriage at birth to an older cousin. Resisting no fewer than three arranged marriages, she fought to choose her own husband, education and career, defying convention to study radiation technologies at Tehran University. Returning to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, she was asked to re-establish a cancer facility in Kabul, which meant studying first for higher qualifications in the UK. With Islamist insurgency on the rise again, her lawyer husband fled to join her, driving a minicab to make ends meet. The inventor of a method for improving outcomes of radiotherapy on cancer patients, Shakar has become one of Britain's leading medical entrepreneurs. Ironically, at the same time she has faced one of her biggest battles - to save her own health. This remarkable woman, winner of a string of awards for business innovation, is also a leading campaigner for girls' education in Afghanistan. She tells her extraordinary story with disarming candour.Trade Review'A deeply emotional and inspiring book that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. A must-read for anyone interested in the history, culture, and politics of Afghanistan and a timely reminder of the resilience and strength of Afghan women Dr Jafri's commitment to empowering women through education is a reminder of the power of empathy and courage. However, the book is also a wake-up call for the broken promises made to Afghanistan by the international community.' Waseem Mahmood, author of Good Morning Afghanistan

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Book SynopsisIn thirty years on the front line of British policing, there is very little that Iain Donnelly didn't do: from being a uniformed constable on the beat in London to running counter-terrorism and surveillance operations, combatting child sexual exploitation and overseeing the investigation of the most serious crimes. During that time, he saw the job change irrevocably, to the point where the public no longer knows what to expect from the police and the police service no longer knows what to expect of itself. Tango Juliet Foxtrot - police code for 'the job's fucked' - reveals how constant political meddling and a hostile media narrative have had a devastating impact on the morale of police officers and their ability to protect the public. With the organisation cut by 20,000 officers and 23,000 police staff, only 7 per cent of reported crime now results in a charge - compared with around 20 per cent ten years ago. By turns fascinating and funny, poignant and uplifting, this compelling account paints a vivid picture of what life is really like for those tasked with keeping us safe - and, crucially, explores what needs to change to secure the future of British policing.Trade Review"A damning verdict on politicians and political meddling in policing from a top cop with thirty years' experience on the front line. Laying bare the impact of manpower cuts and ridiculous targets, Iain Donnelly reveals the truth about the pressures of working in CID, in counter-terrorism and on harrowing child abuse cases. Theresa May, look away now!" - Jon Craig, chief political correspondent, Sky News "A passionate and provocative account of a life lived in blue." - John Sutherland, former police officer and author

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Book SynopsisZara H. Phillips seemed to live a charmed life - backing singer to the stars with an incredible career here and across the Atlantic - but her smile masked a difficult childhood and the reality that she was adopted as a baby in the 60s. Her life soon spiralled and as a teenager she suffered from drug and alcohol addiction, as she struggled to find her birth parents and her true identity.Somebody's Daughter is a fascinating and revealing account of how a beautiful woman's life has been dominated by her adoption and how it has affected her and those around her. Hard-hitting and emotional, Zara's memoir explores the needs of adopted children, with her characteristic warmth and wit, and the true journey it takes to find where you belong.

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Book SynopsisThese days, Geoff Parton resides in Tasmania with his wife, but over the years his life has been nothing short of an adventure. With highs and lows that have brought him all over the world, he sheds a light on his spiritual philosophy and connection with the world by recounting the many tales he must tell; all so that we can come to realise that it''s all down to us as a collective. We have the power necessary to change things. We can think negatively about each other, and if the thought is strong enough, we create war, as is happening right now. We can change this by thinking positively. Depending on the number of people collectively thinking about the same thing at the same time, we can change things straight away so let''s do it!

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Book Synopsis'A lifetime spend fighting the powers that be and turning personal pain into collective power. Take care of this book because you are holding our history in your hands.' - LOWKEY'Michael Mansfield is the greatest civil liberties lawyer this country has ever produced' - Baroness HELENA KENNEDY of the Shaws KC'Michael Mansfield has given power to the voiceless, the innocents ... For this, he too is a hero' - JOHN PILGER'Michael Mansfield combines rare humanity with a brilliant understanding of the law' - JON SNOW'A book of great importance ... Mr Mansfield's thoughtful reflections demand our attention' - KEN LOACH'An impressive and inspiring read' - DUNCAN CAMPBELL 'I want this book to inspire people, give them a blueprint for fighting their own battles, and challenge the status quo. To see that together, we are always stronger. To understand that those who stand in the way of change cannot do so forever.' Michael Mansfield, KCBarrister Michael Mansfield, KC, has spent his career fighting injustice, persecution and corruption. And be it the Birmingham Six, Bloody Sunday, Stephen Lawrence, the Marchioness, Hillsborough or Grenfell, he has come to learn one thing - that people power is unstoppable.Time and again he has witnessed governments, police forces, legal institutions and the establishment, try to block change and maintain the status quo in order to protect their interests. But almost every time he has seen that passion, perseverance, collectivity and courage create a powerful momentum which is increasingly difficult to stop.In this short but powerful book, the veteran barrister draws upon his 50 years of fighting for justice and revisits his most important cases and clients, proving without doubt that when people get together they can make lasting and positive change.The power is in the people - not the people in power.Trade ReviewMichael Mansfield is the greatest civil liberties lawyer this country has ever produced. He charts many of his cases in this extraordinary book. A titanic lawyer, a brilliant history of struggle for justice. What a legacy -- Baroness HELENA KENNEDY of the Shaws KCMichael Mansfield's work has often given the law undeserved distinction. In a remarkable career, he has given power to the voiceless, the innocents of a justice system corrupted by political miscarriage: from the miners to the Birmingham Six to the Hillsborough families: they who stand and fight and are the heroes of our society. For this, he too is a hero. -- JOHN PILGERMichael Mansfield combines rare humanity with a brilliant understanding of the law. Reading this book one realises the exceptional talent he was prepared to devote to the needs of those seeking his legal skills, whatever their status. -- Jon SnowThis is a book of great importance. It asks a simple but profound question: how can the law and legal process fulfil our demand for natural justice? Michael Mansfield examines notorious miscarriages of justice and the tenacity of those who fought to reverse them. Then he describes the long struggles to demand truth and accountability from those in power. The trials, the campaigns, and particularly the Public Enquiries are recorded here with the authority of someone who was a leading figure in most of them.What emerges is the necessity of struggle, and the strength, courage and determination it demands. Those in power resist being held responsible for their failures. How long did the victims of Bloody Sunday wait for justice? Or the families of those who died in Hillsborough? Or the Birmingham 6, Guildford 4, and so many others, including the survivors of the Grenfell fire?It is clear that the rule of law is only sufficient if the law will give us justice. This is a class issue. Those with wealth and property have their interests better served than the ordinary citizen.Mr Mansfield has spent a lifetime at the forefront of this struggle, and is considered by many to be the outstanding barrister of his generation. His thoughtful reflections on these questions demand our attention. This book is a challenge, certainly, but also an act of solidarity. -- Ken LoachPart-memoir, part-manifesto, The Power in the People, by one of our finest and most outspoken lawyers, should be read by anyone concerned about our justice system, our wilting democracy - and the planet. From his involvement in cases like the Birmingham Six and the Mangrove Nine, through those of Stephen Lawrence, Hillsborough and Grenfell, Mansfield has seen the world at its worst - and its best - and argues that we can learn much from the campaigns that fought against injustices and against the odds. An impressive and inspiring read. -- Duncan Campbell

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