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  Katharine Hepburn - An Audio...

  Geoffrey Giuliano

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  Katherine Hepburn was the archetypical, no nonsense, all American independent, Yankee woman, but she was also a movie star. She is remembered here in this touching tribute as a woman who helped redefine what a woman was to be in the coming time and blazed new ground as a riveting, one of a kind, actor's actor.With exclusive interviews with Kate's brother, Dr. Robert Hepburn and a host of celebrated Hollywood friends. Featuring a very special interview with Ms. Hepburn's longtime producer friend and intimate confidant, John Dayton.

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  Surprised by Laughter - The...

  Terry Lindvall

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  An examination of the British author’s use of levity and wit in his writing reveals the uses of joy and humor in Christianity. 
   
  For C. S. Lewis, merriment was serious business, and like no book before it, Surprised by Laughter explains why. Author Terry Lindvall takes readers on a highly amusing and deeply meaningful journey through the life and letters of one of the most beloved Christian thinkers and writers. As Lindvall shows, the unique magic of Lewis’s approach was his belief that explosive and infectious joy dwells deep in the heart of Christian faith. Readers can never fully understand Lewis, his life or his legacy until they learn to laugh with him.

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  American Short Story The -...

  Herman Melville, Frances E W...

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  The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. 
   
  From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. 
   
  America prides itself on liberty, on justice for all and, if you are a wealthy white man, that is essentially true.  Sadly, many other segments of society find it difficult to feel or become part of this endeavour. 
   
  Within this chronological history of the American short story, that prejudice has helped shape the borders of those two endless questions about any anthology.  Why that story? Why that Author? 
   
  We made some hard choices.  We start with Uriah Derrick Dárcy, an unlikely American name and, to all intents, it appears to be a pseudonym, about whom little is known or can be verified. He leads our literary parade.  From here leviathans appear on a regular basis; Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Twain but also note how many women are here and not just Stowe, Alcott and Chopin.  Women’s status as writers is often neglected or undervalued, predominantly due to their second-class social status throughout much of history but their stories, their angles of approach to writing are both expertly crafted and refreshing.   
   
  Another stain on the social and cultural fabric of American has been that of Race.  Black people were harshly and unfairly treated as a matter of course.  The Civil War may have opened the door but in reality little changed.  The majority of the stories included here written by black authors are disturbing in the wrongs they were accused of, and the burdens they were forced to carry.  This eye-opening literature enables us to once more take stock and applaud and bring some glimmers of recognition to their struggles and their art.  
   
  There are some authors, liberally sprinkled throughout, both male and female who may previously have escaped your attention.  Enjoy them.  Adore them.  Make them part of your everyday reading and listening.  These forgotten voices are fine examples both of their craft, their art, and their take on society as it was then. 
   
  In the period we cover from the late 18th Century, around the time of the American Revolution, up until the catastrophe of World War 2, the printing press was creating a market to share words.  With industrialization and a large swathe of people eager to be distracted from hard working lives, a plethora of magazines and periodicals shot up, all clamoring for works to publish, to share those words, to introduce new ideas and explain how some of us view ourselves and each other.  Some of these authors were only published that way, one story wonders—hitched to the fading star of a disposable periodical.   
   
  And, of course, the elephant in the room was the English.  In its early days US copyright law was non-existent and didn’t recognise anyone else’s.  Publishers were free to take the talents of Dickens or Trollope and freely print it without permission or coin.   Competing against that, gave you a decided disadvantage. 
   
  Within these stories you will also find very occasional examples of historical prejudice.  A few words here and there which in today’s world some may find inappropriate or even offensive.  It is not our intention to make anyone uncomfortable but to show that the world in order to change must reconcile itself to the actual truth rather than put it out of sight.  Context is everything, both to understand and to illuminate the path forward.  The author’s words are set, our reaction to them encourages our change. 
   
  Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: The American short story Literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.  Which is here

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  On This Day: May 1

  Kurt Heintz

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  On This Day: May 1. Daily podcast of historical and noteworthy activity on this calendar day. May Day holiday; labor holiday; Occupy Wall Street; meaning of "mayday"

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  The Camera Lies - Acting for...

  Dan Callhan

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  Alfred Hitchcock is said to have once remarked, "Actors are cattle," a line that has stuck in the public consciousness ever since. For Hitchcock, acting was a matter of contrast and counterpoint, valuing subtlety and understatement over flashiness. He felt that the camera was duplicitous, and directed actors to look and act conversely. In The Camera Lies, author Dan Callahan spotlights the many nuances of Hitchcock's direction throughout his career, from Cary Grant in Notorious to Janet Leigh in Psycho. Delving further, he examines the ways that sex and sexuality are presented through Hitchcock's characters, reflecting the director's own complex relationship with sexuality.Detailing the fluidity of acting, Callahan examines the spectrum of treatment and direction Hitchcock provided well- and lesser-known actors alike, including Ingrid Bergman, Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Robert Walker, Jessica Tandy, Kim Novak, and Tippi Hedren. As Hitchcock believed, the best actor was one who could "do nothing well"—but behind an outward indifference to his players was a sophisticated acting theorist who often drew out great performances. The Camera Lies unpacks Hitchcock's legacy both as a director who continuously taught audiences to distrust appearance, and as a man with an uncanny insight into the human capacity for deceit and misinterpretation.

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  The Five Silent Years of Corrie...

  Pamela Rosewell Moore

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  Pam Roswell Moore had her doubts when she interviewed to be companion of the much-loved author Corrie ten Boom. Corrie's bestselling book The Hiding Place, which recounted how she and her family had hidden Jews during World War II in Holland until their betrayal and arrest by the Nazis, had launched for Corrie a worldwide ministry of travel and speaking. Awed by the spiritual challenge this companionship posed, Pam wondered how she could keep up with the energetic 83-year-old.But God knit a strong bond between the young Englishwoman and the remarkable Dutch evangelist. Then Corrie suffered a stroke. Hospitalization followed; physical therapy; then long, loving hours at home. Corrie regained a little mobility for a time--until the next strokes hit. She never regained her speech. But the ministry that had touched millions continued as Corrie communicated through her eyes, through elaborate guessing games with those around her, through silent intercession for people God brought to mind.For those five silent years of imprisonment, Corrie's spiritual depth offered mute testimony to her ongoing trust in her heavenly Father. The details of these years will move all who loved Corrie ten Boom. They will encourage those involved with the elderly or handicapped--and those who are themselves bedridden--that God is at work mysteriously in and through even the most incapacitated. This book attests to the truth Corrie loved so dearly: that, in spite of everything else, Jesus is always Victor.

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