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  Under a Wild Sky - John James...

  William Souder

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  In this Pulitzer Prize–finalist biography, the author of Mad at the World examines the little-known life of the man behind the well-known bird survey. John James Audubon is renowned for his masterpiece of natural history and art, The Birds of America, the first nearly comprehensive survey of the continent’s birdlife. And yet few people understand, and many assume incorrectly, what sort of man he was. How did the illegitimate son of a French sea captain living in Haiti, who lied both about his parentage and his training, rise to become one of the greatest natural historians ever and the greatest name in ornithology? In Under a Wild Sky this Pulitzer Prize finalist, William Souder reveals that Audubon did not only compose the most famous depictions of birds the world has ever seen, but he also composed a brilliant mythology of self. In this dazzling work of biography, Souder charts the life of a driven man who, despite all odds, became the historical figure we know today.“A meticulous biography and a fascinating portrait of a young nation.”—San Francisco Chronicle “As richly endowed and densely packed as the forests of Audubon’s day.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Deftly weaves together the story of the self-taught artist and naturalist…with the development of scientific inquiry in the early years of the republic and the lives of ordinary Americans as the new nation spilled westward over the mountains from the Eastern seaboard.”—Los Angeles Times

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  Across the Universe - John...

  Geoffrey Giuliano

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  This is a uniquely, personal portrait of perhaps the greatest singer/songwriter of our times. From his early days with the Quarry Men to his triumphs with the Beatles and their subsequent bitter split, here is a fascinating portrayal of an extraordinary man.

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  The New Censorship - Inside the...

  Joel Simon

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   An examination of how the media is under fire and how to safeguard journalists and the information they seek to share with the public.Journalists are being imprisoned and killed in record numbers. Online surveillance is annihilating privacy, and the Internet can be brought under government control at any time. Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, warns that we can no longer assume that our global information ecosystem is stable, protected, and robust. Journalists are increasingly vulnerable to attack by authoritarian governments, militants, criminals, and terrorists, who all seek to use technology, political pressure, and violence to set the global information agenda.Reporting from Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Mexico, among other hotspots, Simon finds journalists under threat from all sides. The result is a growing crisis in information—a shortage of the news we need to make sense of our globalized world and fight human rights abuses, manage conflict, and promote accountability. Drawing on his experience defending journalists on the front lines, he calls on “global citizens,” U.S. policy makers, international law advocates, and human rights groups to create a global freedom-of-expression agenda tied to trade, climate, and other major negotiations. He proposes ten key priorities, including combating the murder of journalists, ending censorship, and developing a global free-expression charter to challenge the criminal and corrupt forces that seek to manipulate the world's news.“Wise and insightful. [Simon] offers hope to all who care about maintaining the free flow of information in a world full of would-be censors.”—Ann Cooper, Columbia Journalism School

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  By Hellship to Hiroshima

  Terence Kelly

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  Taken prisoner in Java, Terence Kellys captivity was full of incident.  He was witness to barbaric cruelty and suffering particularly on the journey packed into a filthy cargo ship under atrocious and inhumane conditions.Once in Japan, he was a slave in the Hitachi shipyards where he got to know other Japanese and learn their language.  His book reveals more about the psyche of his captors than other similar works.  His Hiroshima camp was unique and was possibly the best camp in which the Japs held POWs.  Many of the inmates were influential men, who knew the Far East and had held important posts.  The interaction between POWs and captors was fascinating and his book offers a rare insight into the Japanese character, as unthinkable defeat and humiliation became a reality.Kellys account of the A-Bomb attack and the chaos that followed it is fascinating and rare.

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  Tony Benn - A Biography

  Jad Adams

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  Tony Benn has been portrayed as both hero and villain, as a creative and as a destructive force. This comprehensively revised edition of Jad Adams's classic biography, is written with unparalleled access to Benn's private records, and describes the long and turbulent career of one of the most charismatic politicians of the last hundred years. The first biography to have been written with full access to the Benn archives chronicles the behind-the-scenes story of Benn's bitter battles with every leader of the Labour Party since Gaitskell. It details his service in the governments of Wilson and Callaghan, his role as a champion of the left during the Labour Party's long period in opposition, his retirement from Parliament, to spend more time involved in politics in 2001, and his subsequent emergence as a leading figure of the British opposition to the war in Iraq.

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  Remembering Emmett Till

  Dave Tell

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  Take a drive through the Mississippi Delta today and you'll find a landscape dotted with memorials to major figures and events from the civil rights movement. Perhaps the most chilling are those devoted to the murder of Emmett Till, a tragedy of hate and injustice that became a beacon in the fight for racial equality. The ways this event is remembered have been fraught from the beginning, revealing currents of controversy, patronage, and racism lurking just behind the placid facades of historical markers. 
  In Remembering Emmett Till, Dave Tell gives us five accounts of the commemoration of this infamous crime. In a development no one could have foreseen, Till's murder—one of the darkest moments in the region's history—has become an economic driver for the Delta. Historical tourism has transformed seemingly innocuous places like bridges, boat landings, gas stations, and riverbeds into sites of racial politics, reminders of the still-unsettled question of how best to remember the victim of this heinous crime. Tell builds an insightful and persuasive case for how these memorials have altered the Delta's physical and cultural landscape, drawing potent connections between the dawn of the civil rights era and our own moment of renewed fire for racial justice.

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