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  American in the Making the Life...

  Marcus Eli Ravage

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  “The sweat-shop was for me the cradle of liberty. . . It was my first university.” Attending lectures and the New York theatre at night; by day sewing sleeves into shirts in a ghetto shop, Marcus Eli Ravage (1884-1965) began his transformation from “alien” to American. His 1917 autobiography is a paean to the transformative power of education.  Ravage emigrated from Rumania in 1900, at the age of 16.  After working for several years as a “sleever” to save money, he enrolls in the University of Missouri (the least expensive school he can find), where culture shock overwhelms him at first.  “I was not sure whether it was a pig or a sheep that bleated, whether clover was a plant and plover a bird, or the other way around.”  But he adapts, and eventually embraces “the bigger and freer world” outside the immigrant ghetto.  He writes that, because of his university experience, he was no longer “a man without a country.”  He had become an American. - Summary by Sue Anderson

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  The Lengthening War - The Great...

  Michael Good

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  The First World War was an event so important, so catalytic, so transformative that it still hangs in the public memory and still compels the Historians pen. It was a conflict which, by the end of the struggle, had created a world unfamiliar to the one in existence before it and brought levels of destruction and loss all too unimaginable to the generation of minds which created it. Despite this, we still find it hard to picture what it was like to live through this war. Right from its start, Mabel Goode realised that the First World War would be the biggest event to take place in her lifetime. Knowing this, she took to recording it, taking us day by day through what living in wartime Britain was like. The diary shows us how the war came to the Home Front, from enrolment, rationing, the collapse of domestic service and growth of war work, to Zeppelin attacks over Yorkshire, and the ever mounting casualty lists. Above all else, Mabels diary captures a growing disillusionment with a lengthening war, as the costs and the sacrifices mount. Starting with great excitement and expecting a short struggle, the entries gradually give way to a more critical tone, and eventually to total disengagement. The blank pages marked for 1917 and 1918 are almost as informative as the fearful excitement captured at the onset of that tremendous conflict. This is a strong narrative of the war, easy to read, mixing news with personal feelings and events (often revealing gap between official news and reality). Also included are several poems written by Mabel and a love story in the appendix, giving a complete insight into the life of the diarist. Of note is the fact that Mabel and her brothers (the main serving protagonists in the diary) lived in Germany for some time, meaning they could all speak German and knew 'the enemy nation' as many Britons did not.

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  Ryan Adams - Losering a Story of...

  David Menconi

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  A chronicle of Adams’s rise from alt-country to rock stardom, featuring stories about the making of the albums Strangers Almanac and Heartbreaker.Before he achieved his dream of being an internationally known rock personality, Ryan Adams had a band in Raleigh, North Carolina. Whiskeytown led the wave of insurgent-country bands that came of age with No Depression magazine in the mid-1990s, and for many people it defined the era. Adams was an irrepressible character, one of the signature personalities of his generation, and as a singer-songwriter he blew people away with a mature talent that belied his youth. David Menconi witnessed most of Whiskeytown’s rocket ride to fame as the music critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, and in Ryan Adams, he tells the inside story of the singer’s remarkable rise from hardscrabble origins to success with Whiskeytown, as well as Adams’s post-Whiskeytown self-reinvention as a solo act.Menconi draws on early interviews with Adams, conversations with people close to him, and Adams’s extensive online postings to capture the creative ferment that produced some of Adams’s best music, including the albums Strangers Almanac and Heartbreaker. He reveals that, from the start, Ryan Adams had a determined sense of purpose and unshakable confidence in his own worth. At the same time, his inability to hold anything back, whether emotions or torrents of songs, often made Adams his own worst enemy, and Menconi recalls the excesses that almost, but never quite, derailed his career. Ryan Adams is a fascinating, multifaceted portrait of the artist as a young man, almost famous and still inventing himself, writing songs in a blaze of passion.“Menconi, a veteran music critic based in Raleigh, North Carolina, had a front row seat for alt-country wunderkind Ryan Adams’ rise to prominence—from an array of local bands, to Whiskeytown, and on to a successful and prolific solo career. Here, Menconi enthusiastically revisits those heady days when the mercurial Adams’ performances were either transcendent or tantrum-filled—the author was there for most of them, and he packs his book with tales of magical performances and utterly desperate train wrecks. . . . This interview- and anecdote-laden exposé of the artist's early career will doubtless find a happy home with Adams fans.” —Publishers Weekly

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  Summary: Leading with the Heart...

  Brooks Bryant

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  Disclaimer: This book is not the official, but a summary, nor does it accompany the official. 
  Get ready to dive into the mind of a coaching legend with our concise summary of 'Leading with the Heart' by Mike Krzyzewski. Discover the winning strategies and leadership insights that made Coach K a revered figure in the world of college basketball and beyond. 
  In 'Leading with the Heart', Coach K opens up about his leadership philosophy, revealing the principles he used to guide the Duke University basketball team to numerous national championships. He illustrates his approach through memorable anecdotes from his illustrious career, detailing his techniques for building trust, fostering teamwork, and inspiring his players to strive for greatness. 
  In our potent summary, you'll quickly grasp the core tenets of his leadership style. Learn how to effectively communicate your vision, build an environment of mutual respect and trust, and motivate your team to outperform expectations. Understand how love and authenticity can be the most powerful tools for leading any group towards their collective goal.

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  Transitional - In One Way or...

  Munroe Bergdorf

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  The wise, life-changing, ground-breaking book from writer and activist Munroe Bergdorf. 
  Transitioning is an alignment of the invisible and the physical. It is truth rising to the surface. It is one of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition—a part of our experience as a conscious being, no matter who we are. 
  As time goes on, we all develop as people. None of us ever becomes someone else entirely—regardless of how we identify—but nor do we stay the same forever. We all transition. It's what binds us, not what separates us. 
  In Transitional, activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf draws on her own experience and theory from key experts, change-makers and activists to reveal just how deeply ingrained transitioning is in human experience. 
  This is a book to help bring us closer to a shared consciousness: a powerful guide to how our differences can be harnessed as a tool to heal, build community, and construct a better society.

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  Confederate Women

  Mauriel Phillips Joslyn

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  True stories of Southern women in the Civil War for “any reader with an interest in women’s history . . . An eye-opening experience.” —ForeWord The women featured in this anthology refute the common belief that Southern women were delicate and fragile. These Confederate women started relief organizations and militia companies, learned how to fire a musket, and even worked as spies. One courageous woman disguised herself as a male officer and recruited troops from around the South. Confederate Women includes ten essays about the crucial role Southern women played during and after the Civil War, believing that the war was “certainly ours as well as that of the men.” Excerpts from correspondence with their sons, fathers, husbands, and other women shed light on their unique position in America’s past. Often women are left out of history books, only to fade into the shadows of time. Thanks to Mauriel Phillips Joslyn and her contributing authors, these women will remain a part of history, never to be forgotten.  “An affecting reminder that Southern women faced the challenges of the wartime era with courage and determination.” —Civil War NewsPreviously published as Valor and Lace: The Roles of Confederate Women 1861–1865

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