A comprehensive biography of a dedicated civil rights activist and distinguished South CarolinianCivil rights activist, writer, theologian, preacher, and educator, Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894-1984) was one of the most distinguished South Carolinians of the twentieth century. He influenced the lives of generations of students as a dean and professor of religion at Howard University and as longtime president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. In addition to his personal...

This collection of essays examines the contributions of some of the most notable interpreters of southern history and culture, furthering our understanding of the best historical work produced on the region.Historian Glenn Feldman gathers together a group of essays that examine the efforts of important scholars to discuss and define the South's distinctiveness. The volume includes 18 chapters on such notable historians as John Hope Franklin, Anne Firor Sco...

In the fall of 1969, Gary Bray landed in South Vietnam as a recently married, freshly minted second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. His assignment was not enviable: leading the platoon whose former members had committed the My Lai massacre—the murder of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians—eighteen months earlier. In this compelling memoir, he shares his experiences of Vietnam in the direct wake of that terrible event.After My Lai documents the war’s horrific effects on both side...

A "highly entertaining" culinary and social history of five immigrant families living in a turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York City tenement house ( New York Times )."A unique and aromatic narrative of New York's immigrant culture: with bread in the oven, steam rising from pots, and the family gathering round." —Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World

Never has the world come as close to the catastrophic destruction that nearly came to pass in October 1962. The United States and the Soviet Union, uneasy allies in World War II but Cold War rivals after the defeat of Germany, squared off over the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. This launched 13 days of tense negotiations between the two nations, as both President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev prepared for the possibility of nuclear war.While ne...

"Just Another Kid is not just another book. This remarkable teacher's memoir reminds us that love takes many forms." -The New York TimesFrom the bestselling author of One Child comes the true story of six children impossible to reach and the amazing teacher who embraced them all.Torey Hayden faced six emotionally troubled kids no other teacher could handle—three recent arrivals from battle-torn Northern Ireland, badly traumatized by the horrors of war; eleven-year-old Dirki...

The very letters of the two words seem, as they are written, to redden with the blood-stains of unavenged crime. There is Murder in every syllable, and Want, Misery and Pestilence take startling form and crowd upon the imagination as the pen traces the words." So wrote a reporter about Five Points, the most infamous neighborhood in nineteenth-century America, the place where "slumming" was invented.All but forgotten today, Five Points was once renowned the world ov...

At once "a pop culture phenomenon" ( Publishers Weekly) and "screamingly funny" ( Booklist), Educating Esm é "should be read by anyone who's interested in the future of public education" ( Boston Phoenix Literary Section).A must-read for parents, new teachers, and classroom veterans, Educating Esmé is the exuberant diary of Esmé Raji Codell's first year teaching in a Chicago public school. Fresh-mouthed and free-...

This look by a former patient gives an idealized view of the conditions at the lunatic asylum on Blackwell's island, which was also home to a poor farm and a prison during the mid 19 century. Short, entertaining reading.

History retold for children, with lots of anecdotes. According to Wikipedia: "Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 –1864) was an American novelist and short story writer... Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity and his works often have moral messages and d...

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania was the center of the world of Steel at the beginning of the 20th century. Take a look at Steel and Steel making in the industrial powerhouse of turn of the century Pittsburgh.