Search:

Results 31 to 40 of 62 | « previous |

All that she carried : the journey of Ashley's sack, a Black family keepsake / by Miles, Tiya,1970-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Sitting in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is a rough cotton bag, called "Ashley's Sack," embroidered with just a handful of words that evoke a sweeping family story of loss and of love passed down through generations. In 1850s South Carolina, just before nine-year-old Ashley was sold, her mother, Rose, gave her a sack filled with just a few things as a token of her love. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter, Ruth, embroidered this history on the bag -- including Rose's message that "It be filled with my Love always." Historian Tiya Miles carefully follows faint archival traces back to Charleston to find Rose in the kitchen where she may have packed the sack for Ashley. From Rose's last resourceful gift to her daughter, Miles then follows the paths their lives and the lives of so many like them took to write a unique, innovative history of the lived experience of slavery in the United States. The contents of the sack -- a tattered dress, handfuls of pecans, a braid of hair, "my Love always" -- speak volumes and open up a window on Rose and Ashley's world. As she follows Ashley's journey, Miles metaphorically "unpacks" the sack, deepening its emotional resonance and revealing the meanings and significance of everything it contained. These include the story of enslaved labor's role in the cotton trade and apparel crafts and the rougher cotton "negro cloth" that was left for enslaved people to wear; the role of the pecan in nutrition, survival, and southern culture; the significance of hair to Black women and of locks of hair in the nineteenth century; and an exploration of Black mothers' love and the place of emotion in history"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Ashley (Enslaved person in South Carolina); Middleton, Ruth Jones, 1903-1942; African American women; African American women; Enslaved persons; Enslaved women; Enslaved women; Memory; Mothers and daughters.;

Soldiers : great stories of war and peace / by Hastings, Max,compiler,editor,writer of introduction.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.A collection of the most extraordinary stories of war, courage, tragedy, strategy and survival. Soldiers is a collection of the very best stories about soldiers, brought together by historian Max Hastings. In his almost sixty years of military study and his work in the midst of modern conflicts as a foreign correspondent, these are the stories that left a mark. In these pages you will find heroes and cowards; triumphs, tragedies and comedies. It illustrates, mostly through people's own words, what it's been like to fight in wars, to live and die as a warrior, from Greek and Roman times through to today's Iraq and Afghanistan. The characters include the Black Prince and Cromwell, Wellington at Waterloo, Siegfried Sassoon at the Somme, George Orwell in the Spanish Civil War and Evelyn Waugh as a commando. But there are also Americans, Frenchmen, Israelis, Russians, not to mention the women warriors of Dahomey, Queen Boudicca and the women who serve today in the US Marines. There are more than 300 stories in all, and an astounding variety of soldiers' experiences through the ages. Many have been responsible for wonderful achievements but a few, also, for dreadful crimes. Some relate horrors, while others tell terrific jokes. In modern writing, we hear from the titans of historical writing with Ben Macintyre and Anthony Beevor. This is a book that might make you feel as grateful that whatever the troubles of our own times, we are spared the mud and blood and anguish, if also the moments of glory, that the soldiers in these pages bring so vividly to life.
Subjects: Armed Forces; Battles; Civil war; Military history.; Soldiers; War; Women soldiers;

When the pine needles fall : Indigenous acts of resistance / by Gabriel, Katsi'tsakwas Ellen,author.; Carleton, Sean,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."There have been many things written about Canada's violent siege of Kanehsatà:ke and Kahnawà:ke in the summer of 1990 (the so-called Oka Crisis), but When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance is the first book from the perspective of Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, who was the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) spokesperson during the siege. When the Pine Needles Fall, written in a conversational style by Gabriel with historian Sean Carleton, offers an intimate look at Gabriel's life leading up to the 1990 siege, her experiences as spokesperson for her community, and her work since then as an Indigenous land defender, human rights activist, and feminist leader. More than just the memoir of an extraordinary individual, When the Pine Needles Fall offers insight into Indigenous language, history, and philosophy, reflections on our relationship with the land, and calls to action against both colonialism and capitalism as we face the climate crisis. Gabriel's hopes for a decolonial future make clear why protecting Indigenous homelands is vital not only for the survival of Indigenous peoples, but for all who live on this planet"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Gabriel, Katsi'tsakwas Ellen.; Government, Resistance to; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous peoples; First Nations activists; First Nations women activists; First Nations; First Nations; First Nations; Kanyen'kehà:ka women; Kanyen'kehà:ka;

JFK : public, private, secret / by Taraborrelli, J. Randy,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the New York Times bestselling Kennedy historian and author of Jackie: Public, Private, Secret comes the other side of the story-her husband's: JFK: Public, Private, Secret. In this deeply researched presidential biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli tells John F. Kennedy's story in a provocative new way by revealing how public moments in his life were so influenced by private relationships with not only his family, but also Jackie's. But it's the secret life that also surprises. As Congressman, Senator and finally President, JFK was a magnet for women. With exclusive interviews and meticulous research, Taraborrelli reveals not only the man's many affairs but also the strength and resolve his wife showed in coping with them."-- Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.; Presidents;

The lost apothecary / by Penner, Sarah,author.;
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientèle. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary's fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries. Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary's in a stunning twist of fate, and not everyone will survive.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Recipes.; Murder; Murder; Pharmacists; Secrecy;

The Stalin affair : the impossible alliance that won the war / by Milton, Giles,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From international bestselling historian Giles Milton comes the remarkable true story of the motley group of allied men and women who worked to manage Stalin's mercurial, explosive approach to diplomacy during four turbulent years of World War II. In the summer of 1941, Hitler did the unthinkable -- he invaded the Soviet Union, shattering what Stalin had until then considered an ironclad partnership. It was a shocking, urgent turning point in the war, in the wake of which a team of British and American men and women were assembled with one central goal: to keep the Red Army fighting on the Eastern Front. There were real fears that Stalin's forces would either be defeated (as looked increasingly likely as Hitler's army pushed forward at a merciless pace) or that the Soviet leader would once again strike a deal with Hitler. Either eventuality would spell catastrophe for both Britain and America. Hitler would be able to concentrate his vast military resources in Western Europe, making the continent's ultimate liberation virtually impossible. Enter Averell Harriman: a railroad magnate, and, at the start of the war, the fourth richest man in America. At Roosevelt's behest he traveled to Britain to serve as a liaison between him and Churchill and spearhead what became known as the Harriman mission. Together with his fashionable young daughter Kathy, an unforgettable cast of British diplomats, and Churchill himself, he managed to wrangle Stalin into the partnership the allies needed to finally defeat Hitler. Based on unpublished diaries, letters and secret reports, The Stalin Affair reveals troves of new material about the path to Allied victory, full of vivid scenes between celebrated and infamous World War II figures. Ultimately, it provides fascinating, richly nuanced portrait of one of history's most complicated and notorious dictators"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Stalin, Joseph, 1878-1953.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965.; Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986.; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;

The Sinners All Bow Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne [electronic resource] : by Dawson, Kate Winkler.aut; cloudLibrary;
One of Amazon’s Best History Books of January Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America. On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now. In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—including “forensic knot analysis” and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper)—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’s research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.
Subjects: Electronic books.; 19th Century; Women; Murder;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,

Crosses in the sky : Jean de Brébeuf and the destruction of Huronia / by Bourrie, Mark,1957-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."This is the story of the collision of two worlds. In the early 1600s, the Jesuits -- the Catholic Church's most ferocious warriors for Christ -- tried to create their own nation on the Great Lakes and turn the Huron (Wendat) Confederacy into a model Jesuit state. At the centre of their campaign was missionary Jean de Brébeuf, a mystic who sought to die a martyr's death. He lived among a proud people who valued kindness and rights for all, especially women. In the end, Huronia was destroyed. Brébeuf became a Catholic saint, and the Jesuit's "martyrdom" became one of the founding myths of Canada. In this first secular biography of Brébeuf, historian Mark Bourrie recounts the missionary's fascinating life and tells the tragic story of the remarkable people he lived among. Drawing on the letters and documents of the time -- including Brébeuf's accounts of his bizarre spirituality -- and modern studies of the Jesuits, Bourrie shows how Huron leaders tried to navigate this new world and the people struggled to cope as their nation came apart. Riveting, clearly told, and deeply researched, Crosses in the Sky is an essential addition to -- and expansion of -- Canadian history."--Front cover flap.
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Brébeuf, Jean de, Saint, 1593-1649.; Jesuits; Missionaries; Huron-Wendat; Huron-Wendat;

A concise history of Canada / by Conrad, Margaret,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Margaret Conrad's history of Canada begins with a challenge to its readers. What is Canada? What makes up this diverse, complex, and often contested nation-state? What was its founding moment? And who are its people? Drawing on her many years of experience as a scholar, writer, and teacher of Canadian history, Conrad offers astute answers to these difficult questions. Beginning in Canada's deep past with the arrival of its Indigenous peoples, she traces its history through the conquest by Europeans, the American Revolutionary War, and the industrialization of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to its prosperous present. As a social historian, Conrad emphasizes the peoples' history: the relationships between Indigenous peoples and settlers, French and English, Catholic and Protestant, rich and poor. She writes of the impact of disease, how women fared in the early colonies, and the social transformations that took place after the Second World War as Canada began to assert itself as an independent nation. It is this grounded approach that drives the narrative and makes for compelling reading. In its final chapters, the author explains the social, economic, and political upheavals that have bedeviled the nation in recent years. Despite its successes and its popularity as a destination for immigrants from across the world, Canada remains a cautious and contested country. This intelligent, concise, and lucid book explains just why that is"--

Every valley : the desperate lives and troubled times that made Handel's Messiah / by King, Charles,1967-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The epic, dramatic story of the 18th century men and women behind the making of Handel's Messiah, one of the world's most beloved works of classical music, from a New York Times bestselling historian and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. George Frideric Handel's Messiah is arguably the greatest piece of participatory art ever created. Adored by millions, it is performed each year by renowned choirs and orchestras as well as by fans singing along to the lyrics on their cell phones. But this work of triumphant joy was born in an age of anxiety. Britain in the early eighteenth century, the so-called age of Enlightenment, was a time of war, enslavement, political conspiracy, social polarization, and conflicts over everything from the legitimacy of government to the meaning of truth. Contrary to popular belief, the Messiah was not the product of a lone genius scribbling furiously on a musical staff. It came about because of a depressive political dissenter; an actress plagued by an abusive husband; an Atlantic sea captain and penniless philanthropist; an African Muslim man held captive in the American colonies; and Handel himself, once composer to kings but, at midlife, in ill health and straining to keep an audience's attention. Set amid royal intrigue and theatrical scandal, and exploring the rich ideas of its day, Every Valley is a cinematic drama of the entangled lives that shaped a masterpiece"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759; Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759.; Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759.;

Results 31 to 40 of 62 | « previous |