Biography: general Books

Book SynopsisA veteran Twin Cities journalist and raconteur summons the life of the city after reporting and recording its stories for more than thirty years Two or three times a week, as a columnist, hustling freelance writer, and genuinely curious reporter, Jim Walsh would hang out in a coffee shop or a bar, or wander in a club or on a side street, and invariably a story would unfold—one more chapter in the story of Minneapolis, the city that was his home and his beat for more than thirty years. Fear and Loving in South Minneapolis tells that story, collecting the encounters and adventures and lives that make a city hum—and make South Minneapolis what it is. Here is a man who drives around Minneapolis in a van that sports a neon sign and keeps a running tally of the soldiers killed in Iraq. Here is another, haunted by the woman he fell in love with, and lost, many years ago at the Minnesota Music Café on St. Paul’s East Side. Here are strangers on a cold night on the corner of Forty-sixth and Nicollet, finding comfort in each other’s company in the wake of the shootings in Paris. And here are Walsh’s own memories catching up with him: the woman who joined him in representing “junior royalty” for the Minneapolis Aquatennial when they were both seven years old; the lost friend, Soul Asylum’s Karl Mueller, recalled while sitting on his memorial bench at Walsh’s go-to refuge, the Rose Gardens near Lake Harriet. These everyday interactions, ordinary people, and quiet moments in Jim Walsh’s writing create an extraordinary picture of a city’s life. James Joyce famously bragged that if Dublin were ever destroyed, it could be rebuilt in its entirety from his written works. The Minneapolis that Jim Walsh maps is more a matter of heart, of urban life built on human connections, than of streets intersecting and literal landmarks: it is that lived city, documented in measures large and small, that his book brings so vividly to mind, drafting a blueprint of a community’s soul and inviting a reader into the boundless, enduring experience of Fear and Loving in South Minneapolis.Trade Review"As fine a writer as the Twin Cities has ever spawned."—Bob Collins, Minnesota Public Radio"Throughout this generous, sprawling, and haunted (yes, it is) volume, characters rise and descend, slip into still lake waters on dark summer nights and emerge luminous; they wail and sing, and we don’t need to know the difference between; for in Jim Walsh’s telling (and as his Irish ancestors knew too well) sorrow invariably moves into bright song, and song—no matter how buoyantly intoned—is forever laced with melancholy and loss. This is what it means to love profoundly and without condition, as Jim seems to love not only his town but us as well. The place he describes feels to be both lost to the past, and yet somehow still in the process of becoming. Jim is the most faithful of narrators, and as such, be prepared: the story he tells might just be your own."—Joe Henry, Grammy Award–winning producer/singer/songwriter/author"Jim Walsh gives us genuine affection in revealing the soul of growing up in South Minneapolis. Home to so many of us, born and bred. The treatment bound, the ain’t never gonna leave’s. Lapsed midwesterners, returning prodigal daughters and sons. Death, drunks, democrats. Dads and dogs. Brother Walsh is the ride or die guardian angel of all teenage prayers."—Mary Lucia"To some, Jim Walsh is a modern-day troubadour. To others, he's simply ‘The Dude.’ Whichever is the case, in this volume that is at times rollicking, irreverent, always poignant and even sentimental, though never maudlin, he writes beautifully about Minneapolis, the city he deeply loves. One can't help but see that love with each page and each vignette crafted by a master who knows that to best feel the soul of the city, one must spend time with its individuals, and to know them truthfully, one must ‘hear’ the stories they inhabit. In Fear and Loving in South Minneapolis, Jim shares with us his eyes and ears, along with his own soul that brings them all together."—William D. Green, author of The Children of Lincoln: White Paternalism and the Limits of Black Opportunity in Minnesota, 1860-1876"The essays and columns by Jim Walsh that resonate with me most in Fear and Loving in South Minneapolis center around his observations of the beautiful natural spaces in our city. Now more than ever, we are turning to our parks and lakes to find solace in these tremendously tumultuous and challenging times. We should all take time to savor these beautiful places like Jim does and renew our spirits."—Sarah McKenzie, former editor of the Southwest & Downtown Journals "He writes lovingly about how the light changes over the lakes, the human parade in public places, and his need to connect with the human condition."—St. Paul Pioneer Press "Readers will come to know and love the people and places of the author’s Lake Harriet neighborhood."—Star TribuneTable of ContentsContentsForewordTommy MischkePrologue1. Stay WarmJust Read the Newspaper“It Feels Like a Brighter Day”Citizen Berquist: The Man with the VanMisanthropes for $500, AlexConfessions of a CommodoreThe Santa Claus Diaries, 19892. Nature CityStop and Smell the Rose GardensLucky UsSummer of the Super SunsetsSeize the LightLoving Lake HarrietHarriet Lovejoy was HereNightswimming3. Family TiesFrom Colombia, with LoveThanks GivenFinding HenryPolice Off My Kid’s BackFire Alarm FluffyAn Ambulance Chaser Is BornLetter to a Young Soccer Parent4. I’m Only OneThanks for The Skerch, DadMy Hobby Is LonelyWhy Sylvia? Why Now?Gold Experience at First AvenueThe Tao of Spring Forest QigongKrista Tippett and the Wisdom of ‘On Being’Fear and Loving in South MinneapolisWalking the PathBeing the Buddha at Mile 85. HootenannyPeace, Love, and Bobby ShermanMad RippleRings of Fire (Brothers United)Sing Out!Minneapolis to MontanaThe First Dad Rock Column in the History of Rock CriticismHermitageThis Week’s Best Bet: Shhh . . .Crossroads AgainDan Israel and the StruggleGratitudeThat Thing You Do!HootInside the Hollow Square: Shape-Note Singing from the HeartGather ’Round Children, And Ye Shall Hear A Tale of Standing in Actual Physical Line for TicketsIn Praise of Great Expectations6. Famous Lasting WordsA Lesson before DyingFamous Lasting WordsWorking StiffsTears in HeavenFamily ManNotes from Karl’s BenchThe Day David Bowie DiedThe Funeral Singer7. Falling in Love with Everything I HaveTwo Hearts are Better than OneBrilliant DisguiseBecause the NightI Wanna Be where the Bands Are (The Autograph Man)She’s the OneReason to BelieveDrive All Night (Desperately Seeking Denise)Glory DaysBack to MinneapolisPublication History

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe remarkable eighty-five-day journey of the first two women to canoe the 2,000-mile route from Minneapolis to Hudson BayUnrelenting winds, carnivorous polar bears, snake nests, sweltering heat, and constant hunger. Paddling from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, following the 2,000-mile route made famous by Eric Sevareid in his 1935 classic Canoeing with the Cree, Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho faced unexpected trials, some harrowing, some simply odd. But for the two friends—the first women to make this expedition—there was one timeless challenge: the occasional pitfalls that test character and friendship. Warren’s spellbinding account retraces the women’s journey from inspiration to Arctic waters, giving readers an insider view from the practicalities of planning a three-month canoe expedition to the successful accomplishment of the adventure of a lifetime. Along the route we meet the people who live and work on the waterways, including denizens of a resort who supply much-needed sustenance; a solitary resident in the wilderness who helps plug a leak; and the people of the Cree First Nation at Norway House, where the canoeists acquire a furry companion. Describing the tensions that erupt between the women (who at one point communicate with each other only by note) and the natural and human-made phenomena they encounter—from islands of trash to waterfalls and a wolf pack—Warren brings us into her experience, and we join these modern women (and their dog) as they recreate this historic trip, including the pleasures and perils, the sexism, the social and environmental implications, and the enduring wonder of the wilderness.Trade Review"Ann and Natalie would be heralded for showing that adventure can still be had in a changing environment, and that women have not only a place in the landscape of adventure, but an important voice that needs to be heard. [Their] journey illuminates the physical landscapes, hardships, and human encounters; it also uncovers the heart of any good journey, the human spirit."—Ann Bancroft, from the Foreword"Hudson Bay Bound is a story of friendship forged on the river as two young women paddle 2,000 miles to the Arctic. With the candor and enthusiasm of a first grand adventure, Natalie Warren shares the joys and trials of living by water, propelled northward by muscle power and the belief that anything is possible."—Caroline Van Hemert, author of The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000–Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds"Natalie Warren's Hudson Bay Bound is part adventure-memoir, part nontraditional love story. Her adoration for the water and deep respect for the history of the land it weaves through is clear throughout the journey. Complemented by the intimacy of a friendship cultivated in motion, this is a refreshing, fun, and thoughtful read."—Gale Straub, author of She Explores: Stories of Life-Changing Adventures on the Road and in the Wild"Natalie and Ann’s story is classic example of how the exuberance of youth and a healthy dose of grit make any dream possible. From the foggy swirl of excitement as they launched their canoe into the flooded Minnesota River to their final paddle strokes down the Hayes River, Hudson Bay Bound provides a vivid account of an awesome adventure that we couldn’t put down."—Amy and Dave Freeman, authors of A Year in the Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters "A friendly, educational quest story for readers of everyone from Rachel Carson to Edward Abbey."—Kirkus Reviews "Hudson Bay Bound exudes female strength and resilience, and shares the obstacles women still face in the outdoors industry."—Rochester Post-Bulletin "An inspiration for young people everywhere to chart their own course."—The Christian Science Monitor "A delightful journey."—International Falls Daily Journal "Written in a storytelling style by Natalie, it’s about adventure, danger, fierce storms, winds, portages, running rapids, wild animals, friendship, humour and a window into the people and communities living along the urban and wilderness waterways."—Northern Wilds "In Hudson Bay Bound, Warren is spreading the gospel of outdoor adventure for teenage girls who feel like they don’t fit in."—Outside "This book is for anyone who wants to reminisce about their own past adventures, wants to understand why their own loved ones have gone or want to go on a nature expedition, and most importantly, to whet the palate of those who desire to set out on their own but are held back by other obligations."—Tower-Soudan Timberjay "You will be inspired as you paddle along with them on their adventure into the wild."—Northeaster "Sometimes that flow is filled with lightning storms, high winds, bears, and other tests of stamina, as Natalie Warren describes in Hudson Bay Bound."—Minnesota Women’s Press "The story takes readers on an engaging, fast-paced journey through both a physical space of interest and the lives of its young adventurers."—Anchorage Daily News "From planning the three-month expedition to completing the adventure of a lifetime, the author gives the reader an insider view of the perils and pleasures of wilderness tripping."—Ely Summer Times Table of ContentsForewordAnn BancroftPrologueFrom Palms to PinesThe Pack-OutFlooded UpstreamAgainst the WindMeet Me at the Popcorn StandRiver Races and Role ModelsLiving the Dream, DownstreamRapture Before the BorderAt Home on the Big LakeDon’t Wake the BeastWaiting for the WindEscape from Gull HarborA Tale of Tiny BoatsWindbound to Norway HouseYork Boats and Dog DaysInto the WildPancakes and PortagesSpring Break at Hell’s GateKnife RapidsPolar Bear ParadiseAfterwordNatalie Warren and Ann Raiho

Read more less

Book SynopsisTravel with Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins on her compelling journey from America’s heartland to international sports history, navigating challenges and triumphs with rugged grit and a splash of glitter Pyeongchang, February 21, 2018. In the nerve-racking final seconds of the women’s team sprint freestyle race, Jessie Diggins dug deep. Blowing past two of the best sprinters in the world, she stretched her ski boot across the finish line and lunged straight into Olympic immortality: the first ever cross-country skiing gold medal for the United States at the Winter Games. The 26-year-old Diggins, a four-time World Championship medalist, was literally a world away from the small town of Afton, Minnesota, where she first strapped on skis. Yet, for all her history-making achievements, she had never strayed far from the scrappy 12-year-old who had insisted on portaging her own canoe through the wilderness, yelling happily under the unwieldy weight on her shoulders: “Look! I’m doing it!” In Brave Enough, Jessie Diggins reveals the true story of her journey from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of the Olympics. Going far beyond stories of races and ribbons, she describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete; learning how to push through and beyond physical and psychological limits; and the intense pressure of competing at the highest levels. She openly shares her harrowing struggle with bulimia, recounting both the adversity and how she healed from it in order to bring hope and understanding to others experiencing eating disorders. Between thrilling accounts of moments of triumph, Diggins shows the determination it takes to get there—the struggles and disappointments, the fun and the hard work, and the importance of listening to that small, fierce voice: I can do it. I am brave enough.Trade Review "Jessie Diggins was an elite athlete long before she became an Olympic gold medalist. In Brave Enough, she shows world-class courage by sharing the truth about her eating disorder, her therapy, and the multitude of challenges, doubts, fears, and assorted bogeymen that are so often an untold part of the journey to greatness. She deserves another gold medal for her honesty and her inspiration."—Wayne Coffey, New York Times best-selling author of The Boys of Winter* "I’m honored to have played a role in inspiring Jessie on her journey to Olympic Gold. Brave Enough is a befitting title for this brutally honest and powerful story. As an athlete, Jessie was brave enough to win on the world’s biggest sporting stage. As a writer, she is brave enough to share a raw, heart-wrenching, nothing-held-back look at the struggles she went through to succeed. It’s an inspiring story, worthy of gold."—Jackie Joyner-Kersee "Already an inspiration to us all, Jessie once again shows her courage to leave it all on the track by sharing her deeply personal story. Readers will be encouraged by how one woman created a path forward for herself—and helped and uplifted so many in the process."—Ann Bancroft "Brave Enough is a powerful story that shows that striving for excellence can be essential in sport, yet not even Olympic champions are immune from its unforeseen destructive consequences. With admirable vulnerability, Jessie demonstrates how to be a leader and ‘best teammate’ while also being open to help and support from others. Her story motivates all of us, and she gives us hope and real tools to tackle our biggest challenges. I have never been more proud of my teammate and friend . . . not only has Jessie defeated foes on the race trails but she has courageously conquered the demons in her mind to become a true champion. She is an inspiration for everyone!"—Kikkan Randall, Olympic Champion and World Champion "Jessie has one of the most infectiously positive and bubbly personalities of anyone I have ever met. That, combined with her fierce drive and unwavering grit, is what makes her an inspiration to so many people, including myself, but I never realized just how inspiring she truly is until I read this book. World, meet the force that is Jessie Diggins."—Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic Champion and World Champion Table of ContentsContentsPrologue: I Can Do It Myself 1. Snow Baby2. Wild Child3. Super Speed4. Thunder Bay5. The Stillwater Way6. Pain Cave7. The Great Balancing Act8. To Ski or Not to Ski9. Slow Spiral10. The Emily Program11. Never Alone12. Blood, Sweat, and Tears13. The National Team14. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles15. Because 96 Isn’t 10016. From Sochi, with Love17. Give It All You Got18. Know When to Fold ’Em19. PyeongChang20. Brave Hearts21. Let’s Go Get It22. One Team23. Here Be Dragons24. Coming Home; or, The Week I Masqueraded As a Rock StarEpilogueAcknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisA retrospective and creatively collaborative review of this international feminist conceptual artist Young women victims of a garment factory fire in New York in 1911. An autobiographical progression through stages of womanhood. American veterans killed in Iraq. A giant trough filled with books and surrounded by an urban cornfield. The subjects of Harriet Bart’s art are as varied as the media and genres in which she works—sculpture, installation, textiles, painting, drawing, artist’s books. Harriet Bart: Abracadabra and Other Forms of Protection is a comprehensive look at the prolific and dynamic career of this international feminist conceptual artist. A founder of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (WARM, a nationally recognized feminist art collective in the Twin Cities) and of the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art in Minneapolis, Bart has sought deep and evocative expressions of memory through several decades of innovative artistic creation and collaboration. This book, which accompanies the first retrospective exhibition of her work at the Weisman Art Museum in 2020, features poetry and prose contributions by significant writers, artists, and curators who have been influenced by her art. Contributors: Betty Bright; Stephen Brown, Jewish Museum; Robert Cozzolino, Minneapolis Institute of Art; Elizabeth Erickson; Heather Everhart; Nor Hall; Matthea Harvey, Sarah Lawrence College; Joanna Inglot, Macalester College; Lyndel King, Weisman Art Museum; Eric Lorberer, Rain Taxi; Jim Moore, Hamline U; Diane Mullin, Weisman Art Museum; Samantha Rippner; Joan Rothfuss; John Schott; Sun Yung Shin; Susan Stewart, Princeton U.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn September 3, 1971, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker exchanged vows in the first legal same-sex wedding in the United States. Their remarkable story is told here for the first time—a unique account of the passion and energy of the gay liberation movement in the sixties and seventies. At the dawn of the modern gay movement (while New York’s Stonewall riots and San Francisco’s emerging political activism bloomed), these two young men insisted on making their commitment a legal reality. They were already crusaders for gay rights: Jack had twice been elected the University of Minnesota’s student president—the first openly gay university student president in the country, an election reported by Walter Cronkite on network TV news. They were featured in Look magazine’s special issue about the American family and received letters of support from around the world. The couple navigated complex procedures to obtain a state-issued marriage license. Their ceremony was conducted by a Methodist minister in a friend’s tiny Minneapolis apartment. Wearing matching white pantsuits, exchanging custom-designed rings, and sharing a tiered wedding cake, Michael and Jack celebrated their historic marriage. After reciting their vows, they sealed their promise to love and honor each other with a kiss and a signed marriage certificate. Repercussions were immediate: Michael’s job offer at the University of Minnesota was rescinded, leading him to wage a battle against job discrimination with the help of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. The couple eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court with two precedent-setting cases. Michael and Jack have retired from the public spotlight, but after four decades their marriage is still their joy and comfort. Living quietly in a Minneapolis bungalow, they exemplify a contemporary version of the American dream. Only now, with marriage equality in the headlines and the Supreme Court decision to make love the law of the land, are they willing to tell the entire story of their groundbreaking experiences. TIME magazine listed the twenty-five most influential marriages of all time and included Michael and Jack, and they were recently profiled in a cover story in the Sunday New York Times. Their long campaign for marriage equality and insistence on equal rights for all citizens is a model for advocates of social justice and an inspiration for everyone who struggles for acceptance in a less-than-equal world.Trade Review "A beautiful, well-written love story that is heartrending and ultimately heartwarming. Thank you, Michael and Jack, for opening the doors for the rest of us, for your integrity, for proving, yes: Love wins!"—Robert Alexander, New York Times best-selling author of The Kitchen Boy "In The Wedding Heard ’Round the World, chronicler Gail Langer Karwoski has fashioned a wonderfully compelling told-to story of triumph in the extraordinary lives of Michael McConnell and Jack Baker. A great and memorable read."—Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog "The only first-person account by the two visionary men who legally married, shortly after the Stonewall riot, and who recognized the importance of marriage in an era when it was disregarded by society and angrily rejected by gay activists."—Thomas Kraemer, founder, Oregon State University Foundation Magnus Hirschfield Fund "One of the great love stories of the past century, and one that jump-started the movement for LGBT marriage equality. The librarian and the law student—Mike and Jack—are all-American pioneers. Anyone interested in gay rights—or in romance—should read this book."—William N. Eskridge Jr., Yale Law School "Please read this very important book about the godfathers of marriage equality, especially if you want to know and appreciate gay history. Their proud, loving lives have always inspired me and my work."—Brian McNaught, author of On Being Gay and Are You Guys Brothers?* "Michael and Jack made history by getting married in 1971—and the letters they received reveal the impact this had on people all over the world. Their story is both universal and unprecedented, offering a riveting look into gay life, love, and activism in the late 1960s and 1970s and the fight for same-sex marriage."—Lisa Vecoli, curator of the Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries "The great appeal of McConnell and Baker’s recommended story is its simple style and the everydayness of their lives. Their appeal is how ordinary people can do extraordinary things. "—Library Journal"The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World serves as a gentle reminder that there were couples plotting this victory long, long before a consensus formed around marriage equality."—The New Republic"Michael McConnell’s easy, personable tone will make you feel like your uncle, father, or grandfather is telling the story of their younger years, and what queer life was like back in the day. His persona alone makes this book an instant classic."—Lambda Literary"A sweet story wrapped inside a righteous fight, told with charm and grace. Start The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World – and you’ll have no defense."—Washington Blade"Recommended for all LGBT-related and general history collections, and especially for readers with Minnesota ties and memories. While we can all justifiably laud 2015’s same-sex marriage Final Answer, we should also save a round of applause for Baker and McConnell, who helped forge the way."—American Library Association’s GLBT Round Table"A timely memoir."—Pioneer Press"Easy to read and good for a nice afternoon, The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World is definitely something to put on your must-read list."—The Spectrum"Theirs is a beautiful love story, fit for admission amongst history’s great classics. A tall tale filled with an enduring hunger for truth, long battles for justice against powerful, unwavering foes, filled with great challenges and crushing setbacks... And finally, a final victory for our two loves as they ride off into the sunset."—EDGE Media Network"The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World is a very important addition to GLBT history. It is a fascinating story of love and struggle GLBT rights. It is a true story that reads like a novel. It also shows that the struggle for equal rights for GLBT people is far from over."—Washington Book Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnlocking a vital understanding of how literary studies and media studies overlap and are bound together A synthetic history of new media reception in modern and contemporary Japan, The New Real positions mimesis at the heart of the media concept. Considering both mimicry and representation as the core functions of mediation and remediation, Jonathan E. Abel offers a new model for media studies while explaining the deep and ongoing imbrication of Japan in the history of new media.From stereoscopy in the late nineteenth century to emoji at the dawn of the twenty-first, Abel presents a pioneering history of new media reception in Japan across the analog and digital divide. He argues that there are two realities created by new media: one marketed to us through advertising that proclaims better, faster, and higher-resolution connections to the real; and the other experienced by users whose daily lives and behaviors are subtly transformed by the presence and penetration of the content carried through new media. Intervening in contemporary conversations about virtuality, copyright, copycat violence, and social media, each chapter unfolds with a focus on a single medium or technology, including 3D photographs, the phonograph, television, videogames, and emoji.By highlighting the tendency of the mediated to copy the world and the world to copy the mediated, The New Real provides a new path for analysis of media, culture, and their function in the world.Trade Review"In The New Real, Jonathan E. Abel brilliantly mobilizes the concept of mimesis to understand Japan’s media cultures as mimetic episodes and practices that not only shape specific instances of Japanese media culture but largely define it. At once erudite, rigorous, and inventive, The New Real reimagines Japanese media genealogies as a series of diverse historic interventions that vastly expand our sense of Japan and its media cultures."—Akira Mizuta Lippit, author of Cinema without Reflection: Jacques Derrida’s Echopoiesis and Narcissism Adrift"Jonathan E. Abel’s proposal that we leverage the dual nature of mimesis—as both representation and mimicry—to understand twentieth-century Japanese media culture helps explain Japan’s rapid transition from poster child of imitative modernization into the global vanguard of creativity. With the media–culture relation understood structurally, Abel cleverly pressures both the constant rediscovery of media’s newness as well as illusory efforts to reground our over-mediated lives in a puritanically analog body."—Steven Ridgely, author of Japanese Counterculture: The Antiestablishment Art of Terayama Shūji

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first woman to ski solo to the South Pole tells the story of what it took to get there At home in Norway it is eight o’clock on Christmas Eve night, but ahead, at the Amundsen–Scott base that has been visible for hours, it is already early in the morning of Christmas Day when Liv Arnesen, after skiing solo for 745 miles in fifty days, finally arrives. She had been dreaming of the South Pole for most of her forty-one years, and now, even in her joy at having reached her goal in December 1994, she has to ask herself: what took you so long? In Skiing into the Bright Open Arnesen describes the exhausting, exhilarating experience of being the first known woman to ski unsupported to the South Pole. She also answers her own question, framing her account of her historic expedition with her longtime struggle to find the freedom and confidence to follow her dreams into uncharted territory. From her childhood in Norway to the seasons she spent working as a guide on Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Arnesen courted the cold, and her memoir reflects the knowledge and passion for Arctic and Antarctic exploration that grew with her adventures in the wintry reaches of Norway and beyond. Tracing her path from the heroic stories of explorers like Fridtjof Nansen and Ernest Shackleton to her own crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap in 1992, Arnesen credits the inspiring feats of those who preceded her but also describes the obstacles—including niggling self-doubt—that tradition, convention, and downright prejudice put in her way as she endeavored to find the support and sponsorship granted to men in her field.A tale of solitary adventure in the bleak and beautiful bone-chilling cold of Antarctica, Skiing into the Bright Open tells a story of gritty determination, thrilling achievement, and perseverance in the face of near despair and daunting odds; it is, ultimately, an object lesson in the power of a dream if one is willing to pursue it to the ends of the earth.Trade Review"This account of a remarkable history-making solo adventure is told with understated grace by a no less remarkable woman. . . . Her towering inner strength, her courage and calm in the face of adversity, and her endless curiosity about what’s over the horizon all make for an amazing expedition."—Ann Bancroft, from the Foreword"Skiing into the Bright Open is an inspiration. In following Liv Arnesen from her childhood dreams of exploration in Norway to her historic solo expedition to the South Pole, we are drawn especially into the journey of Liv herself—bound to her dreams no matter the odds and obstacles, and as a woman in a field that too often tried to tell her no. This book will give strength to anyone fighting to follow their dreams. And the view from the ice is spectacular. I just listened to my own heart when thinking about the book."—Liv Ullmann"Skiing into the Bright Open by Liv Arnesen is a remarkable book that documents an incredible achievement. This gripping and personal narrative of Arnesen’s preparations and her solo journey on skis to the south pole is an unforgettable tale of focus and persistence. While hauling a 220-pound sledge across stastrugi and crevasses for 1200 kilometers, the author comes through as a person I would very much like to meet."—Arlene Blum, author of Annapurna: A Woman's Place and Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life"Skiing into the Bright Open is an inspiring memoir about the gritty determination that’s needed to achieve dreams and accomplish feats that once seemed impossible."—Foreword "Amid sundry accounts of other great polar achievements, overwhelmingly by men, Arnesen tells her story almost effortlessly, even chummily, sidestepping the usual tone of turmoil."—Star Tribune "There's something wonderfully perplexing about Norwegian adventurer Liv Arnesen's account of her solo ski journey to the South Pole."—The Daily Gazette "This humble telling of a remarkable accomplishment makes for a good read in a cozy spot, watching winter out the window. "—The Ely Winter Times"A tale of solitary adventure in the bleak and beautiful bone-chilling cold of Antarctica, Skiing into the Bright Open tells a story of gritty determination, thrilling achievement, and perseverance in the face of near despair and daunting odds; it is, ultimately, an object lesson in the power of a dream if one is willing to pursue it to the ends of the Earth. "—The Polar TimesTable of ContentsContentsForewordAnn BancroftPrologueFruit is Best Enjoyed when RipeSki-Touring between the Covers of a BookFinding My Own WayA First Test in GreenlandSkiing against the TideMy Provocative AnnouncementI Harden Myself in the Himalayas“Have you ever hauled a sledge, my dear?”Training with Tires and PavarottiThe EarthquakeYou Can Achieve What You WantFrom the Cold North to the Freezing SouthSteak and Red Wine in Chile—and We’re OffAlone at LastWind, Weather, and Proper ClothingI’m Enjoying Myself!Message No. 6: “Finish South Pole”And the Satellites Keep OrbitingA Quiet Toast Halfway

Read more less

Book SynopsisPart memoir, part cultural history, these memories of seven aunts holding home and family together tell a crucial, often overlooked story of women of the twentieth century They were German and English, Anishinaabe and French, born in the north woods and Midwestern farm country. They moved again and again, and they fought for each other when men turned mean, when money ran out, when babies—and there were so many—added more trouble but even more love. These are the aunties: Faye, who lived in California, and Lila, who lived just down the street; Doreen, who took on the bullies taunting her “mixed-blood” brothers and sisters; Gloria, who raised six children (no thanks to all of her “stupid husbands”); Betty, who left a marriage of indenture to a misogynistic southerner to find love and acceptance with a Norwegian logger; and Carol and Diane, who broke the warped molds of their own upbringing.From the fabric of these women’s lives, Staci Lola Drouillard stitches a colorful quilt, its brightly patterned pieces as different as her aunties, yet alike in their warmth and spirit and resilience, their persistence in speaking for their generation. Seven Aunts is an inspired patchwork of memoir and reminiscence, poetry, testimony, love letters, and family lore. In this multifaceted, unconventional portrait, Drouillard summons ways of life largely lost to history, even as the possibilities created by these women live on. Unfolding against a personal view of the settler invasion of the Midwest by men who farmed and logged, fished and hunted and mined, it reveals the true heart and soul of that history: the lives of the women who held together family, home, and community—women who defied expectations and overwhelming odds to make a place in the world for the next generation.Trade Review "Seven Aunts is a celebration of the women in Staci Lola Drouillard’s family who struggled to escape a daunting legacy with unsung courage, humor, and an unbreakable love for family. Far more than a family history, Seven Aunts is an honor song that reveals the everyday heroism of these women’s lives."—Diane Wilson, author of The Seed Keeper "Reading Staci Lola Drouillard’s Seven Aunts is a mesmerizing experience. A family story at once vast and intimate, it’s also a book about womanhood and mothering, the confluence of Native American and settler lives, and the resplendent, beautiful northern third of Minnesota, with all its warm homes and tangled family trees. Though these are not your aunts, you’ll wish they were; for all the wisdom and love they’ve shared in their remarkable, ordinary lives, you will."—Peter Geye, author of Northernmost "Seven Aunts gives us a unique and privileged insight to the intimate lives and history of a blended Indigenous and immigrant family in northern Minnesota. Staci Lola Drouillard has written with honesty and truth about ‘the treacherous beauty of life’ in a family rich in characters, in love and loss, all with great humor. Anaïs Nin wrote that reaching deep into the personal becomes universal. Seven Aunts is exactly that. It speaks to us of the universal love of family, the reality of historic social challenges, and the strength of the unbreakable bonds of knowing."—Hazel Belvo "Staci Lola Drouillard explores the lives of her seven Anishinaabe and European aunties with fierce and unflinching admiration. Like a quilter sewing the final layer of a quilt, her detailed stitches reveal patterns that honor their harsh yet resilient lives. In the end, the reader gains a deeper appreciation for women’s survival along Minnesota’s North Shore and beyond."—Nora Murphy, author of White Birch, Red Hawthorn "In this unique and compelling memoir, Staci Lola Drouillard tells the story of her seven aunts—Anishinaabe and European—whose strength, spirit, and determination to thrive illustrate that of so many other women throughout history."—Ms. Magazine "Staci Lola Drouillard's new memoir has many merits, none more important than its generous spirit."—Star Tribune "A must-read."—Northern Wilds "Superb."—ABC Newspapers "In this book, Drouillard turns her attention to the lives of her seven aunts- four maternal and three paternal- which together span most of the 20th century and adress many of the challenges faced by women, especially working class and rural women, of those years."—Minnesota Alumni Table of ContentsPrologue: My AuntiesFayeLilaDoreenGloriaBettyCarolDianeCoda: Seven LessonsAcknowledgmentsNotes

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe mystery of how an ordinary Minnesota girl came to be, briefly, one of the most wanted domestic terrorists in the United States Behind every act of domestic terrorism there is someone’s child, an average American whose life took a radical turn for reasons that often remain mysterious. Camilla Hall is a case in point: a pastor’s daughter from small-town Minnesota who eventually joined the ranks of radicals like Sara Jane Olson (aka Kathleen Soliah) in the notorious Symbionese Liberation Army before dying in a shootout with Los Angeles Police in May 1974. How could a “good girl” like Camilla become one of the most wanted domestic terrorists in the United States? Rachael Hanel tells her story here, revealing both the deep humanity and the extraordinary circumstances of Camilla Hall’s life.Camilla’s childhood in a tight-knit religious family was marred by loss and grief as, one after another, her three siblings died. Her path from her Minnesota home to her final, radical SLA family featured years as an artist and activist—in welfare offices, political campaigns, union organizing, culminating in a love affair that would be her introduction to the SLA. Through in-depth research and extensive interviews, Hanel pieces together Camilla’s bewildering transformation from a “gentle, zaftig, arty, otherworldy” young woman (as one observer remarked), working for social change within the system, into a gun-wielding criminal involved in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst.During this time of mounting unrest and violence, Camilla Hall’s story is of urgent interest for what it reveals about the forces of radicalization. But as Hanel ventures ever further into Camilla’s past, searching out the critical points where character and cause might intersect, her book becomes an intriguing, disturbing, and ultimately deeply moving journey into the dark side of America’s promise.Trade Review "Who are the shadows in the background of shocking events? Rachael Hanel’s compelling exploration of Camilla Hall, a likable Minnesota social worker turned Berkeley lesbian artist turned player in the most notorious political kidnapping of its time, grippingly illuminates the barely perceptible line between an unrelenting passion for justice and devastating choices from which one can’t return."—Barrie Jean Borich, author of Apocalypse, Darling and Body Geographic "In this captivating work of narrative journalism, Rachael Hanel explores how people can become radicalized in the face of governmental failure, charting the path from idealism to violence to tragedy. At its heart, this is a book about womanhood and belonging—and one woman’s quest to understand another, to find the empathy and humanity that live beyond the headlines if we only try hard enough to see."—Melissa Faliveno, author of Tomboyland: Essays "In this affecting account, creative writing professor Hanel delves into the life of Camilla Hall, who was raised in rural Minnesota by religious parents and died at 29 in a 1974 shoot-out between members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the radical group that kidnapped Patty Hearst, and the Los Angeles police. This nuanced portrait will resonate with many."—Publishers Weekly "The story’s relevant connections to the happenings in today’s political world will linger with you. You will keep thinking about Camilla’s life and her family long after you finish the book."—KYMN Radio "Hanel breathes new life and understanding into Hall, who was often ridiculed in mainstream media, and invites readers to understand one woman’s story through a lens less viewed."—Mankato Free Press

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn expansive and revelatory study of Robert Smithson’s life and the hidden influences on his iconic creations This first biography of the major American artist Robert Smithson, famous as the creator of the Spiral Jetty, deepens understanding of his art by addressing the potent forces in his life that were shrouded by his success, including his suppressed early history as a painter; his affiliation with Christianity, astrology, and alchemy; and his sexual fluidity. Integrating extensive investigation and acuity, Suzaan Boettger uncovers Smithson’s story and, with it, symbolic meanings across the span of his painted and drawn images, sculptures, essays, and earthworks up to the Spiral Jetty and beyond, to the circumstances leading to what became his final work, Amarillo Ramp.While Smithson is widely known for his monumental earthwork at the edge of the Great Salt Lake, Inside the Spiral delves into the arc of his artistic production, recognizing it as a response to his family’s history of loss, which prompted his birth and shaped his strange intelligence. Smithson configured his personal conflicts within painterly depictions of Christ’s passion, the rhetoric of science fiction, imagery from occult systems, and the impersonal posture of conceptual sculpture. Aiming to achieve renown, he veiled his personal passions and transmuted his professional persona, becoming an acclaimed innovator and fierce voice in the New York art scene.Featuring copious illustrations never before published of early work that eluded Smithson’s destruction, as well as photographs of Smithson and his wife, the noted sculptor Nancy Holt, and recollections from nearly all those who knew him throughout his life, Inside the Spiral offers unprecedented insight into the hidden impulses of one of modern art’s most enigmatic figures. With great sensitivity to the experiences of loss and existential strife that defined his distinct artistic language, this biographical analysis provides an expanded view of Smithson’s iconic art pilgrimage site and the experiences and works that brought him to its peculiar blood red water.Trade Review "Only someone who has immersed themselves in the life and art of Robert Smithson for forty years could have written a biography as deep and engaging as Inside the Spiral. Suzaan Boettger illuminates the artist’s religious thought, examines the complexities of his gender identity, and takes a psychoanalytic lens to his sources and esoteric symbolism, bringing coherence to our understanding of this remarkably complicated artist, his body of work, and his writings. A monumental achievement."—Jonathan Fineberg, University of the Arts, author of Modern Art at the Border of Mind and Brain "Suzaan Boettger’s long-awaited Inside the Spiral: The Passions of Robert Smithson is the first biography of this 'enantiomorphic' artist, whose oeuvre encompassed geological and sacred time alongside the moment of the snapshot, the 'dematerialized' theorizing and mapping of the non-site alongside the absolute site-specificity—viewable from outer space—of the Great Salt Lake. Boettger reveals fascinating and hitherto unexplored aspects of Smithson’s earliest formation, including his status as a 'replacement child' for a dead older brother, while her fearless exploration of the artist’s Christological bent, his hermeticism, and his difficult navigation of sexuality yields nuanced psychological insight. Unburdened by academic jargon, the work is supported by extensive reference to Smithson’s writings, notes, interviews, library, and other records, of which Boettger has long been recognized as the foremost scholar."—Judith Rodenbeck, University of California, Riverside "This book sheds important new light on Robert Smithson. Meticulously researched and wide-ranging in scope, it explores the intricate connections between Smithson’s personal history and his art. While revealing a great deal of new information about Smithson’s life and psychology, Suzaan Boettger also engages with his art in a focused and detailed way and writes about individual works with great perceptiveness. Readers will come away from this book with a fresh and enlarged understanding of Smithson’s life and art."—Jack Flam, editor of Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings"[An] extensive biography of an artist I have stood by for some fifty years which is impossible not to consider definitive, particularly in its investigation of the artist’s unconscious as well as conscious motives."—Joseph Masheck, The Brooklyn Rail "That his art appears larger after reading Inside the Spiral is as much credit to his own capacious imagination as it is to Boettger’s ingenious attempts to contain it."—Artforum"Inside the Spiral is one of the most informative and well written biographies I have ever had the pleasure of reading. To use the American vernacular, Suzaan Boettger can write like 'hot-damn'!" —Robert Maddox-Harle, Leonardo Reviews

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn extraordinary illustrated biography of a Métis man and Anishinaabe woman navigating great changes in their homeland along the U.S.–Canada border in the early twentieth century John Linklater, of Anishinaabeg, Cree, and Scottish ancestry, and his wife, Tchi-Ki-Wis, of the Lac La Croix First Nation, lived in the canoe and border country of Ontario and Minnesota from the 1870s until the 1930s. During that time, the couple experienced radical upheavals in the Quetico–Superior region, including the cutting of white and red pine forests, the creation of Indian reserves/reservations and conservation areas, and the rise of towns, tourism, and mining. With broad geographical sweep, historical significance, and biographical depth, Making the Carry tells their story, overlooked for far too long.John Linklater, a renowned game warden and skilled woodsman, was also the bearer of traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous heritage, both of which he was deeply committed to teaching others. He was sought by professors, newspaper reporters, museum personnel, and conservationists—among them Sigurd Olson, who considered Linklater a mentor. Tchi-Ki-Wis, an extraordinary craftswoman, made a sweeping array of necessary yet beautiful objects, from sled dog harnesses to moose calls to birch bark canoes. She was an expert weaver of large Anishinaabeg cedar bark mats with complicated geometric designs, a virtually lost art.Making the Carry traces the routes by which the couple came to live on Basswood Lake on the international border. John’s Métis ancestors with deep Hudson’s Bay Company roots originally came from Orkney Islands, Scotland, by way of Hudson Bay and Red River, or what is now Winnipeg. His family lived in Manitoba, northwest Ontario, northern Minnesota, and, in the case ofJohn and Tchi-Ki-Wis, on Isle Royale. A journey through little-known Canadian history, the book provides an intimate portrait of Métis people.Complete with rarely seen photographs of activities from dog mushing to guiding to lumbering, as well as of many objects made by Tchi-Ki-Wis, such as canoes, moccasins, and cedar mats, Making the Carry is a window on a traditional way of life and a restoration of two fascinating Indigenous people to their rightful place in our collective past.Trade Review "Well researched and touching, at the heart of Timothy Cochrane’s story of the north—of the deep woods, the Indigenous people, the settlers, and the fur trade—is the marriage of Tchi-Ki-Wis and John Linklater, a true traditional Ojibwe nabem gaye wiw partnership. The accompanying photographs admit the reader further into the lives and times of the Linklaters and the history of Minnesota’s Arrowhead region."—Linda LeGarde Grover, author of Gichigami Hearts: Stories and Histories from Misaabekong "This deep dive into the story of Jack and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater, a Métis and Anishinaabe couple, brings our beloved border north woods to life like nothing I've ever read. This remarkable pair were a living bridge a century back as the canoe country transformed during the twentieth century. You'll see the Boundary Waters in a whole new light."—Paul Schurke, founder and director, Wintergreen Adventures "I heard stories about Jack Linklater while I was growing up in Ely, Minnesota. The man I heard about was the consummate guide, hunter, trapper, musher, and game warden: all things that, as a boy, I aspired to. But all I heard were stories. Now, here is Timothy Cochrane’s biography, adding to the legendary Linklater’s extraordinary career. Jack, as revealed, was a commercial fisherman at Isle Royale, worked at the sawmills in Winton, and contributed his knowledge of the area’s biodiversity to science. His Lac La Croix Ojibwe wife, Tchi-Ki-Wis emerges in Cochrane’s book as Jack’s industrious helpmate and an extraordinary artist. Making the Carry is a valued contribution to Minnesota’s Indigenous history."—Carl Gawboy, artist and author "Local author Tim Cochrane hits all of the right notes with this book, a love story about a couple who lived through many hardships and significant changes that occurred in Canada, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Isle Royale. "—Cook County News Herald "Cochrane's rich depiction of the north country and the material conditions of this couple's life is greatly enhanced by dozens of illuminating photographs."—The Star Tribune "A meticulously researched and carefully documented microhistory of Indigenous presence and influence on the Boundary Waters region and beyond."—World History Encyclopedia "This fascinating biography also includes rarely seen photographs, maps, and the Linklater family tree, giving the reader a deeper look at the lives and time of the Linklaters and their place in history. "—Northern Wilds "Cochrane's storytelling is rich in historical facts, photographs and maps. His writing is conversational, easy to follow."—Chronicle Journal "Besides being well written, the book is generously illustrated — with 65 black-and-white period-piece photos, 21 colour plates and four historical regional maps. "—Winnipeg Free Press "A gripping biography that details the amazing lives of John Linklater and his wife Tchi-Ki-Wis."—Anishinabek News

Read more less

Book SynopsisA witty and humble tribute to the sometimes profane, sometimes profound world of waiting tables During a year on sabbatical from his university position, Matthew Batt realized he needed money—fast—and it just so happened that one of the biggest breweries in the Midwest was launching a restaurant and looking to hire. So it was that the forty-something tenured professor found himself waiting tables at a high-end restaurant situated in a Minneapolis brewery. And loving it. Telling the story of Batt’s early work in restaurants, from a red sauce joint possibly run by the mob to an ill-conceived fusion concept eatery, The Last Supper Club then details his experiences at the fine dining restaurant, a job that continued well past his sabbatical—that lasted, in fact, right up to the restaurant’s sudden and unceremonious closing three years later, shortly after it was named one of the best restaurants in the country by Food & Wine. Batt’s memoir conveys the challenge—and the satisfaction—of meeting the demands of a frenzied kitchen and an equally expectant crowd. Through training mishaps, disastrous encounters with confused diners, struggles to keep pace with far more experienced coworkers, mandatory memorizations of laundry lists of obscure ingredients, and the stress of balancing responsibilities at home and at work, The Last Supper Club reveals the ups and downs of a waiter’s workday and offers an insightful perspective on what makes a job good, bad, or great. For Batt, this job turns out to be considerably more fun, and possibly more rewarding, than his academic career, and his insider’s view of waiting tables extols the significance of our food and the places where we gather to enjoy it—or serve it. Told with sharp humor, humility, and a keen sense of what matters, The Last Supper Club is an ode to life in a high-pressure restaurant, the relationships that get you to the night’s close, and finding yourself through—or perhaps because of—the chaos of it all. Trade Review "Deliciously funny, vividly peopled, wise, and big-hearted, The Last Supper Club is a book you will devour in one sitting and wish you could go back for seconds. The memoir takes a behind-the-scenes look at the adrenaline-fueled world of restaurant life, reverently revealing all the care and thought that goes into a meal before the plate is ever lowered before you. If Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter had a love child, it would be this superb book!"—Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret, and Me "This book should come with a trigger warning for those of us who’ve ever waited tables. Matthew Batt describes restaurant work with such ferocious, sweat-inducing clarity that I feel like I’m right back there, in the weeds. Like any great dish, The Last Supper Club has so many layers and flavors: it’s a waiter’s memoir, it’s a vital history of a remarkable restaurant, it’s an incisive meditation on the nature of work, and it’s a heartfelt story of someone who went searching for a paycheck but found something else entirely—family, and purpose, and joy."—Nathan Hill, author of The Nix and Wellness "In his gloriously food-obsessed and mournful memoir The Last Supper Club, Matthew Batt channels the thrill of a seamless service, the tension of having no place to hide failure, and the implicit critique of academic jobs that require a second income. His ode to the chaos and thrill of the restaurant business is a hilarious, elegiac look at the all-too-brief gratification of being exactly where you want to be."—Michelle Wildgen, author of Wine People "Matthew Batt gets the details of high-end restaurant life exactly right in this personal story of becoming a server: the balance between home life and work life; the pressure inherent in the business; the symbiotic but fraught relationship between front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house. I love restaurant stories, and this one I didn’t want to put down. It’s a keeper."—Michael Ruhlman, author of The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection "Matthew Batt's elegiac The Last Supper Club is a tender yet clear-eyed portrait of a fiercely dedicated community of restaurant lifers and the dreams they build, nurture, and—often too briefly—inhabit. The most beautiful stuff in this book taps into the almost primal wonder and magic so many of us associate with our first experiences eating in restaurants and being waited on by complete strangers. This book understands the lingering spell of that experience better than anything else I've read, and Batt is almost Proustian in mining his early memories of food and restaurants. He also understands that alchemy is the one true, worthy goal of any dreamer who opens a restaurant—or throws themselves with real passion into working in one."—Brad Zellar, author of Till the Wheels Fall Off "There’s an impressive level of detail here, offering insight into the nitty-gritty of restaurant labor for those who’ve never worked in hospitality, while still feeling intimately familiar to those who have done their time in the service industry."—Eater "In this splendidly written book, Batt demonstrates a gift for capturing the essence of his coworkers."—Booklist "Catnip for anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant."—The Washington Post

Read more less

Book SynopsisOpen Mind, Open Heart Millions have found mindfulness to be a powerful practice for reducing stress, enhancing attention, and instilling tranquility. But it can offer so much more—it can transform you, make you more fully awake, alive, and aware of your connection to all beings. In Japanese, the character that best expresses mindfulness, 念, consists of two parts—the top part, 今, meaning “now,” and the bottom part, 心, meaning “heart.” Using stories from his own life as the son of an Irish father and a Japanese mother, a professor in Japan and America, a psychotherapist, a father, and a husband, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu describes eight “heartfulness” principles that help us realize that the deepest expression of an enlightened mind is found in our relation to others.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInspired by her own foremothers' legacies and the friendships formed throughout her life, Rozella Kennedy centres and celebrates the stories of 100 Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women-both famous and little-known-who changed the course of US history. In the beautiful pages of Our Brave Foremothers, discover an intergenerational, intercultural bouquet of Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women lifted into the significance that they deserve. From Etel Adnan to Mary Jones, Thelma Garcia Buchholdt to Pura Belpré to Zitkála-Šá, here are 100 women of colour who left a lasting mark on United States history. Including both famous and little-known names, the thoughtful profiles and detailed portraits of these women herald their achievements and passions. Following each entry is a prompt that asks you to connect your life to theirs, an inspiring way to understand their influence and the power of their stories. To consider on a deeper level the devotedness of Clara Brown, the fearlessness of Jovita Idár, the guts of Grace Lee Boggs, or the selflessness of Martha Louise Morrow Foxx. And to be as brave as we each can be-and then beyond that.Trade Review“An essential book that connects us to our past and current sisters and reminds us that each of our stories matters.” —Ruth Chan, illustrator and author “A long overdue portrayal of inspiring hidden figures whose stories needed to be told to the world.” —Rokhaya Diallo, journalist, writer, and award-winning filmmaker “Our Brave Foremothers sheds truth on old perceptions and gives us stories both informative and inspiring about women who paved the way for generations of women to follow.” —Audrey Edwards, former executive editor of Essence magazine and author of American Runaway: Black and Free in Paris in the Trump Years “Our Brave Foremothers is the book that every family should have on their coffee table. It’s a visual encyclopedia of greatness for our future generation to know about the work done by these important women.” —Joy Cho, author and founder of Oh Joy!"Kennedy compiles short, eminently readable biographies of one-hundred Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women in this interactive book…Activists, artists, athletes, and scientists all receive long overdue recognition in this attractive volume that is well-suited for public library and circulating reference collections. This engaging illustrated volume is well-suited to young scholars.” —Booklist “At a time when women’s history is being lifted up, this accessible work will edify casual and academic readers and may be used as a reference for some.” —Library Journal “An essential book that connects us to our past and current sisters and reminds us that each of our stories matters.” —Ruth Chan, illustrator and author “A long overdue portrayal of inspiring hidden figures whose stories needed to be told to the world.” —Rokhaya Diallo, journalist, writer, and award-winning filmmaker “Our Brave Foremothers sheds truth on old perceptions and gives us stories both informative and inspiring about women who paved the way for generations of women to follow.” —Audrey Edwards, former executive editor of Essence magazine and author of American Runaway: Black and Free in Paris in the Trump Years “Our Brave Foremothers is the book that every family should have on their coffee table. It’s a visual encyclopedia of greatness for our future generation to know about the work done by these important women.” —Joy Cho, author and founder of Oh Joy!Table of ContentsContents Ada Blackjack Mary Ellen Pleasant Rose Fortune Pura Belpré Fannie Lou Hamer Kateri Tekakwitha Angela Davis Chien-Shiung Wu Shirley Chisholm Bharti Mukherjee Bessie Stringfield Kalpana Chawla Anna May Wong Mary Ann Shadd Cary Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Clara Hale Mary Golda Ross Felicisima “Ping” Serafica Claudette Colvin Lili‘uokalani Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson Lozen Clara Brown Alice Augusta Ball Susan La Flesche Picotte Caterina de San Juan Kala Bagai Marie Laveau Marsha P. Johnson Emma Ping Lum Mary Fields Old Elizabeth Lydia Mendoza Florynce “Flo” Kennedy Umeko Tsuda Etel Adnan Martha Louise Morrow Foxx Tidye Pickett Red Wing Ellen Smith Craft Mabel Ping-Hua Lee Della Irving Hayden Sono Osato Mary McLeod Bethune Augusta Savage Xue Jinquin Sonia Sotomayor Katherine Johnson Komako Kimura Mary Kaye Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Elizabeth Key Grinstead Lorraine Hansberry Zitkála-Šá Pauli Murray Grace Lee Boggs Emma Naea Kaleleonalani Rooke Cicely Tyson Gwendolyn Brooks Wilma Mankiller Septima Poinsette Clark Mary Evans Wilson Dorothy Toy Bridget “Biddy” Mason Bernadita Camacho-Dungca Florence Ebersole Finch Sojourner Truth Phillis Wheatley Jovita Idár Mimi Jones Charlotte Forten Grimké Mitsuye Endo Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich China Mary Maria Montoya Martinez Mary Jones Charlotte E. Ray Sylvia Rivera Sue Ko Lee Ida B. Wells Rebecca Lee Crumpler Thelma Garcia Buchholdt Zarina Hashmi Mary Church Terrell Pablita Velarde Amelia Boynton Robinson Edmonia Lewis Jane Johnston Schoolcraft Mary Richards Sylvia Mendez Althea Gibson Mary Paik Lee Mary Jane Patterson Tsuru Aoki Madam C. J. Walker Buffalo Calf Road Woman Dolores Huerta Harriet Tubman Yuri Kochiyama

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the late editor, writer, and critic, one of the great chroniclers of the art, fashion, and celebrity scenes: an expansive collection of thirty-five essays that offer an intimate look into the worlds of some of the most important and well-known artists, designers, and actors of our time.For more than three decades, Ingrid Sischy''s profiles and critical essays have been admired for their keen observation and playful style. Many of the pieces that appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and Vanity Fair from the 1980s to 2015 are gathered here for the first time, including her masterful profiles of Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart, Miuccia Prada, Calvin Klein, Jeff Koons, Jean Pigozzi, Alice Neel, and Francesco Clemente, among others, as well as her exclusive interview with John Galliano after his career nose-dived in 2011. Whether writing about a young Alexander McQueen, the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe, Sebastião Salgado, Cindy Sherman, or Bob Richardson, or the Japanese musical theater group Takarazuka Revue, Sischy''s close attention to the unexpectedly telling detail results in vividly crafted, incisive portraits of individuals and their works. Here is a unique collection that gives readers unprecedented access to a dazzling range of artists from one of the greatest cultural critics of a generation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWitty and moving, this debut memoir in essays from the dynamic rapper and singer Dessa explores life in the van as a hard-touring musician.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat is genius? And why do people still think that geniuses are more likely to be men?

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor holding high at your next protest march, gifting to a feminist friend, or hanging on your classroom or dorm room wall, these progressive posters based on the New York Times bestseller include 20 portraits--each with a powerful female on the front and her inspiring quote on the back. Rad Women Worldwide shared fresh, engaging, and amazing tales of perseverance and radical success through riveting biographies and cut-paper portraits. Now here is the art ready for hanging or framing. Measuring 7x11 inches--perfect for an 8x10-inch frame--these colorful portraits feature widely acclaimed (and also less known) heroines alike. The Rad Women include:-Hatshepsut (The great female king who ruled Egypt peacefully for two decades) -Malala Yousafzi (The youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize) -Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft (Polar explorers and the first women to cross Antarctica)-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Novelist and writer)-Venus and Serena Williams (Tennis players and Olympic medalists) -Faith Bandler (Activist and Advocate for Indigenous Australians)-Kalpana Chawla (First Indian woman in space)-Policarpa "La Pola" Salavarrieta (Revolutionary hero of Colombian independence)-Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (A group of mothers and grandmothers who march weekly in honor of -their missing sons and daughters)-Nanny of the Maroons (National hero of Jamaica)-Frida Kahlo (Painter)-Queen Liliuokalani (First and final Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii)-Junko Tabei (First woman to climb Mt. Everest)-Miriam Makeba (South African singer also known as "Mama Africa")-Wangari Maathai (Nobel Prize winning environmental activist)

Read more less

Book Synopsis?A brave, powerful memoir? (People) that will change the way we look at identity and equality in this country, from the activistelected as the first openly transgender member of Congress in U.S. history?The energy and vigor Sarah has brought to the fight for equality is ever present in this book.??Vice President Kamala Harris ?If you?re living your own internal struggle, this book can help you find a way to live authentically, fully, and freely. . . . Let it show that we are all created equal and entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.??President Joe Biden, from the forewordBefore she became the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention in 2016 at the age of twenty-six, Sarah McBride struggled with the decision to come out?not just to her family but to the students of American University, where she was serving as student body president. She?d known she was a girl from her earliest memories, but it wasn?t until the Facebook post announcing her truth went viral that she realized just how much impact her story could have on the country.Four years later, McBride was one of the nation?s most prominent transgender activists, walking the halls of the White House, advocating inclusive legislation, and addressing the country in the midst of a heated presidential election. She had also found her first love and future husband, Andy, a trans man and fellow activist, who complemented her in every way . . . until cancer tragically intervened.Informative, heartbreaking, and profoundly empowering, Tomorrow Will Be Different is McBride?s story of love and loss and a powerful entry point into the LGBTQ community?s battle for equal rights and what it means to be openly transgender. From issues like bathroom access to health care to gender in America, McBride weaves the important political and cultural milestones into a personal journey that will open hearts and change minds.As McBride urges: ?We must never be a country that says there?s only one way to love, only one way to look, and only one way to live.?The fight for equality and freedom has only just begun.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn unforgettable account of a quietly remarkable life, Robert Brown''s memoir takes readers behind the scenes of pivotal moments from the 20th century, where the lessons he learned at his grandmother''s knee helped him shape America as we know it today.   Called "a world-class power broker" by the Washington Post, Robert Brown has been a sought-after counselor for an impressive array of the famous and powerful, including every American president since John F. Kennedy. But as a child born into poverty in the 1930s, Robert was raised by his grandmother to think differently about success. For example, "The best way to influence others is to be helpful," she told him. And, "You can’t go wrong by doing right."   Fueled by these lessons on humble, principled service, Brown went on to play a pivotal, mostly unseen role alongside the great and the powerful of our time: trailing the mob in 1950s Harlem with a young Robert F. Kennedy; helping the white corporate leadership at Woolworth integrate their lunch counters; channeling money from American businesses to the Civil Rights movement; accompanying Coretta Scott King, at her request, to Memphis the day after her husband had been shot; advising Richard Nixon on how to support black entrepreneurship; becoming the only person allowed to visit Nelson Mandela in Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town.   Full of unbelievable moments and reminders that the path to influence runs through a life of generosity, YOU CAN''T GO WRONG DOING RIGHT blends a heartwarming, historically fascinating account with memorable lessons that will speak to the dreamer in all of us.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe riveting biography of Burl Osborne, former chairman of The Associated Press and publisher of The Dallas Morning News, who waged and won one of the last great newspaper wars in the U.S.Burl is the story of one man’s unlikely rise from the coal mines of Appalachia to the pinnacle of journalism. After being diagnosed with a fatal kidney disease as a child, Burl Osborne pioneered home dialysis treatment and became the 130th person to undergo a live kidney transplant in 1966—then an unproven, high-risk operation.While managing his challenging illness, Burl distinguished himself early as a writer and reporter with The Associated Press, eventually rising to the top of the wire service’s executive ranks. Then, against the advice of his colleagues and the newspaper’s own doctors, he sought an even greater challenge: joining The Dallas Morning News to lead the fight in one of America’s last great newspaper wars. Throughout his life and career, he garnered respect from business and political leaders, reporters, editors, and publishers around the country. Burl thrusts readers into the improbable and remarkable life of a man at the forefront of both medicine and the golden age of journalism. Trade ReviewBurl Osborne was a man of talent, determination, and courage against obstacles. All those qualities are reflected in this book. He was a friend and valued colleague—a man I admired. (Walter R. Mears, Associated Press reporter for forty-five years and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist)"Wolfe (The Murchisons) does justice in this comprehensive biography to the inspiring life of journalist Burl Osborne (1937–2012), who during his career led both the Associated Press and the Dallas Morning News. Born in a Kentucky coal camp, Osborn suffered a bad case of strep throat at age six, wasn’t expected to survive his teen years, and suffered kidney disease, eventual failure, and frequent dialysis. He nevertheless overcame the odds and enrolled in college in 1956, where a chance question from a professor—“Anybody here want to be a cub reporter?”—sparked his career. In 1957, he joined The Ashland Daily Independent, which led to his job at the AP. He climbed the ladder, becoming managing editor in 1977 and being elected chairman by 2001. Meanwhile, his tenure at the Dallas Morning News, which started in 1980, was so successful it ran its city rival out of business. Photos and excerpts from Osborne’s own writing bring his colorful personality to life: he captured the nation’s attention, for example, with reports on a man in West Virginia who nearly lost his dog in a mine shaft but emerged “half laughing and almost crying as he carried his 3-year-old rabbit hound off the mountain.” The result is a moving testament to a consequential figure." (Publishers Weekly)Burl was wildly unique . . . I’ve never met anyone in the media business like him. He was the real deal. (Morton H. Meyerson, former executive of Electronic Data Systems and current chairman of 2M Companies, Inc)Today, more than ever, America needs more Burl Osbornes . . . tough, demanding but compassionate, a fighter, a competitor, and a newsman committed to reporting the news in a balanced, honest,and fair manner. (Dolph C. Simons, Jr., editor of The Lawrence Journal-World and chairman of the World Company)Burl served on the board of CPJ for fifteen years . . . [He] had an uncanny ability to identify the key issues, ask the relevant questions, and build a consensus around an informed decision. It was a marvelto watch him work . . . His service contributed enormously to . . . the defense of persecuted journalists around the world seeking to bring the truth to light. (Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists)Every word in Burl rang true to me. I could almost hear him speaking in my ear. I laughed many times and cried a few as well. (Linda Quick, Burl Osborne's longtime friend, business associate, and retired executive vice president of marketing for Foley's department store chain)

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 ‘The powerful story of a woman who was ahead of her time’ Mishal Husain, presenter at BBC News 'Terrific and necessary' Sonia Faleiro 'This book is brilliant and terrifying' Meena Kandasamy _________________________ A beautiful woman in winged eyeliner and a low-cut top lies on a bed urging her favourite cricketer to win the next match. In another post, she pouts at the camera from a hot tub. She posts a selfie with a cleric, wearing his cap at a jaunty angle. Her posts are viewed millions of times and the comments beneath them are full of hate. As her notoriety grows, the comments made about her on national talk shows are just as vitriolic. They call her Pakistan's Kim Kardashian, they say she'll do anything for attention. When she's murdered, they're transfixed by the footage of her body. Drawing on interviews and in-depth research, Sanam Maher pieces together Qandeel's life from the village where she grew up in the backwaters of rural Pakistan, to her stint in a women's shelter after escaping her marriage, to her incarnation as a social media sensation and the Muslim world's most unlikely feminist icon.Trade ReviewA breakthrough book, A Woman Like Her bracingly illuminates an increasingly global if yet under-covered phenomenon: the tragic collision between the forged selves of social media and the brute realities of ordinary life. It also describes, with rare intimacy, some profound cultural tumult in a society that is largely known for its political dramas -- Pankaj MishraThis fascinating portrait of Qandeel Baloch, Pakistan’s first big female internet sensation, is also a skillfully reported account of a country in which conservative mores conflict with the pace of social change, and in which women all too often pay the price * New York Times, Books of the Year 2020 *A terrific achievement. Sanam Maher’s sensitive, nuanced portrait restores humanity, in all its complexity, to her subject -- Olivia Sudjic, author of SympathyWritten without judgement, without pandering, without reducing its subject to a stereotype, this book is brilliant and terrifying -- Meena Kandasamy, author of the Women’s Prize shortlisted When I Hit YouA book about killing that tells us how we live now. Sanam Maher has her ear to the ground and a storyteller's voice that is intimate and yet soars to the skies. -- Mohammed HanifIn her excavation of the life of the defiant, glamorous Qandeel Baloch, Sanam Maher has put out the highest calibre of investigative journalism, written with tragedy, poetry and passion befitting of its subject -- Molly Crabapple, author of Drawing BloodOnly one of Pakistan's finest young writers could carry weighty themes like honour, fame, and violence with such deliberation and poise -- Fatima BhuttoQandeel was a marvellous blaze. She set our dark world on fire and made enough light to expose the hypocrisies of Pakistan's pious patriarchy. In Sanam Maher's terrific and necessary book, these flames burn brighter than ever -- Sonia Faleiro

Read more less

Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Powerful and profound' Esquire 'Unbridled and unapologetic' Vogue When Anthony Bourdain died in 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man. Laurie Woolever, Bourdain’s longtime assistant and confidante, has interviewed nearly a hundred of the people who shared Tony’s orbit in order to piece together a remarkably full, vivid, and nuanced vision of Tony’s life and work. From his childhood and teenage days, to his early years in New York, through the genesis of his game-changing memoir Kitchen Confidential to his emergence into fame and notoriety, and in the words of friends and colleagues including Eric Ripert, José Andrés and Nigella Lawson, as well as his family, we see the many sides of Tony - his motivations, his ambivalence, his vulnerability, his blind spots, and his brilliance. Deeply intimate, featuring a treasure trove of photos, Bourdain: In Stories is a testament to the life of a remarkable man in the words of the people who shared his world.Trade ReviewWith pages of personal Bourdain photos, this warm book about an ultimate cool guy — vibrant and vulnerable — is dished up with finesse by Woolever * FORBES *Woolever herself stays at arms length, to powerful effect, giving her cast of characters room to air their Bourdain grievances, both petty and life-altering, and unroots some rather profound conclusions - almost Parts-Unknown-narration-level profound - about the man * ESQUIRE *A fascinating account of Bourdain's childhood through his untimely death, conjuring him as he evolves from curious kid to punky teen to young, heroin-addicted cook ... A roundly true-feeling portrait of a captivating person. Bourdain's fans will find it impossible to put down * BOOKLIST, starred review *A chorus of candid voices creates an engaging biography * KIRKUS *Celebrated chef and author Anthony Bourdain cuts a charismatic yet enigmatic figure in this kaleidoscopic oral history ... This fascinating mosaic ... capture[s] the inimitable legacy he left behind * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *A candid, compelling look at the man and his work * TRAVEL & LEISURE *[Woolever’s] book is the first to begin to reveal [Anthony Bourdain]: It’s the most splintered, fractal, and complex portrait of the star that has yet emerged, an enormous compendium of individual observations gathered from 91 people who knew him, including his mother, his brother, his ex-wives and his daughter, friends from school and college, ex-girlfriends, fellow chefs, writers, editors, and television colleagues * EATER.COM *Laurie Woolever, a writer and editor who was Anthony Bourdain's longtime assistant, uses quotes to bring readers deeper into his world ... Through details shared by his friends and family, we learn more about Bourdain's kind heart, how much he wanted to be a writer, his habit of fidgeting when he was uncomfortable, and the dark world he inhabited, especially when traveling * FOOD & WINE *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIsambard Kingdom Brunel has always been regarded as one of Britain's great heroes and an engineering genius. His father Marc Brunel has not received the same degree of adulation, but this book will show just how important a part Marc played in his son's works and will also look at his own great achievements. Marc Brunel arrived in Britain as a refugee from revolutionary France, after a short time working in America. He was a pioneer of mass production technology, when he invented machines for making blocks for sailing ships. He had other inventions to his name, but his greatest achievement was in constructing the very first tunnel under the Thames. Isambard spent his early years working for and with is father, who not only encouraged him but throughout his career he was also able to offer practical help. The famous viaduct that carried the Great Western Railway over the Thames at Maidenhead, for example was based on an earlier design of Marc's. Isambard's greatest achievements were in revolutionising the shipping industry, where hew as able to draw on his father's experience when he served n the navy. The book not only looks at the successes of two great engineers, but also their failures. Primarily, however, it is a celebration of two extraordinary mean and their amazing achievements.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJim Elliot had a loving wife, a beautiful little girl, and a reason for real joy. God had called him to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the Auca Indians. The love of Christ not only thrilled him, but gave him peace. Jim would spend the rest of his life bringing Jesus to the lost Aucas … but the rest of Jim’s life was only a matter of months. Persecution and death are a reality for many Christians today. Jim Elliot and four other young men died in the middle of doing God’s work. The very people they had come to rescue came out against them with machetes and clubs. But Jim had realised for quite some time what serving God really meant. There is nothing that is worth more than Jesus – not even your life. ‘He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ This is the story of Jim’s love for a fighting people and of his fight for a loving God. When his life ended, the work went on and many of the Auca Indians today have the same reason that Jim Elliot had for real joy. Includes: Thinking Further Topics Timeline Map

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times bestseller and the definitive story behind the ITV factual drama White House Farm, about the horrific killings that took place in 1985. On 7 August 1985, Nevill and June Bamber, their daughter Sheila and her two young sons Nicholas and Daniel were discovered shot to death at White House Farm in Essex. The murder weapon was found on Sheila's body, a bible lay at her side. All the windows and doors of the farmhouse were secure, and the Bambers' son, 24-year-old Jeremy, had alerted police after apparently receiving a phone call from his father, who told him Sheila had 'gone berserk' with the gun. It seemed a straightforward case of murder-suicide, but a dramatic turn of events was to disprove the police's theory. In October 1986, Jeremy Bamber was convicted of killing his entire family in order to inherit his parents' substantial estates. He has always maintained his innocence.Drawing on interviews and correspondence with many of those closely connected to the events – including Jeremy Bamber – and a wealth of previously unpublished documentation, Carol Ann Lee brings astonishing clarity to a complex and emotive case. She describes the years of rising tension in the family that culminated in the murders, and provides clear insight into the background of each individual and their relationships within the family unit.Scrupulously fair in its analysis, The Murders at White House Farm is an absorbing portrait of a family, a time and a place, and a gripping account of one of Britain's most notorious crimes.Table of ContentsSection - i: Family Tree Section - ii: Floor Plans of White House Farm, 7 August 1985 Section - iii: Preface Chapter - 1: Prologue Chapter - 2: Sowing 29 December 1891 to 31 December 1984 Chapter - 3: Growth Chapter - 4: Harvest Chapter - 5: Winter Section - 6: Epilogue Section - iv: Appendix I: A reconstruction of events at White House Farm on 7 August 1985 Section - v: Appendix II: A message from Colin Caffell Acknowledgements - vi: Acknowledgements Section - vii: Bibliography Section - viii: Notes and References Index - ix: Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn international bestseller, the joys and challenges of a life dedicated to conservation are vividly described in The Elephants of Thula Thula by Françoise Malby-Anthony, owner of the Thula Thula reserve.'Enthralling' - Daily Mail‘Somehow, the elephants got into my soul, and it became my life’s work to see them safe and happy. There was no giving up on that vision, no matter how hard the road was at times.’Françoise Malby-Anthony is the owner of a game reserve in South Africa with a remarkable family of elephants whose adventures have touched hearts around the world.The herd’s feisty matriarch Frankie knows who’s in charge at Thula Thula, and it’s not Francoise. But when Frankie becomes ill, and the authorities threaten to remove or cull some of the herd if the reserve doesn’t expand, Françoise is in a race against time to save her beloved elephants . . .The search is on to get a girlfriend for orphaned rhino Thabo – and then, as his behaviour becomes increasingly boisterous, a big brother to teach him manners.Françoise realizes a dream with the arrival of Savannah the cheetah – an endangered species not seen in the area since the 1940s – and finds herself rescuing meerkats kept as pets. But will Thula Thula survive the pandemic, an invasion from poachers and the threat from a mining company wanting access to its land?As Françoise faces her toughest years yet, she realizes once again that with their wisdom, resilience and communal bonds, the elephants have much to teach us.Trade ReviewFrançoise’s descriptions of the empathetic behaviour of elephants, both towards each other and towards the humans who love them, are beguiling * Daily Mail *

Read more less