![]() What distinguishes McPherson's work is his fluid writing style and his able use of anecdote and human interest to flesh out his portrait of the times. The author also addresses arguments about the root origins or that war and pinpoints major causes: hatred of slavery and blind regional prejudice. And McPherson's coverage of the Civil War is just as strong and clear. ![]() McPherson delineates the issues that galvanized and divided the American public from the end of the Mexican War in 1848 to the opening of the Civil War in 1861, providing thorough explanations of the pre-war period's gravest crises-the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the prairie guerrilla war it started the national clamor over the Dred Scott case anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant violence and the brief life of the nativist Know-Nothing Party and the panic over John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. ![]() ![]() From there, the narrative speeds through 28 chapters that draw a precise and lively picture of what America and Americans were like in mid-19th century. The volume begins with a deft description of the ragged American army trudging into Mexico City in 1847. With this major work, McPherson (History/Princeton Ordeal by Fire) cements his reputation as one of the finest Civil War historians. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Sam and Dave have entered a giant reality show. ![]() The sky isn’t the sky – it’s a giant dome with lighting orchestrated by Ed Harris. Basically, if you’ve seen the movie The Truman Show, it’s exactly like that. The boys fall into an underground world built to resemble their own. Theory #2: The Truman Show-esque Civilization Theory Oh, and what’s that on the first page of the book? An apple tree? *cue crazy guy voice* GARDEN OF EDEN ANYONE?! Thus when the dog/Jesus digs down at the end of the book, the boys land in purgatory. In this theory, the dog that accompanies Sam and Dave is Jesus, trying to lead the boys in the right direction (notice that the dog is always pointing the way to reach the jewels), yet they don’t listen and end up missing the precious stones every time. I will now present six theories on what exactly happens at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, from least likely to most likely. Really, one of the best open-ended picture book conclusions in recent memory. It has some excellent broad humor, as well as one heck of a challenging ending that will make readers think. ![]() ![]() Living in Bill Wynne's tent, sleeping on a piece of green felt salvaged from a card table,and sharing his rations, Smoky became the de facto mascot of the regiment. A mystery, she was adopted by Corporal William 'Bill' Wynne, an air-crewman with the US 5th Air Force's 26th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. The GIs who discovered her presumed she had been some kind of Japanese army mascot, but it soon turned out that she understood neither commands rendered in Japanese nor English. In February 1944, as Japanese military advances threatened to engulf Australasia, a tiny, four-pound Yorkshire terrier was discovered hiding in a Japanese shell scrape amidst the thick jungles of Papua New Guinea. ![]() ![]() Smoky the Brave is the extraordinary, touching and true story of a heroic dog and her adoptive masters in the jungles of the Pacific War. ![]() The World's Smallest Dog with the World's Biggest Heart ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie-and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper. ![]() ![]() She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent-and on a quest of her own. She will be punctual and logical-most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.ĭon Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Guided by Artemis's twin-the handsome and entirely-too-self-assured god Apollo-Daphne's journey will take her from the labyrinth of the Minotaur to the riddle-spinning Sphinx of Thebes, team her up with mythological legends such as Theseus and Hippolyta of the Amazons, and pit her against the gods themselves.Ī reinterpretation of the classic Greek myth of Daphne and Apollo, Daughter of Sparta by debut author Claire Andrews turns the traditionally male-dominated mythology we know into a heart-pounding and empowering female-led adventure. Daughter of Sparta (Daughter of Sparta, 1) Hardcover Jby Claire Andrews (Author) 4.4 552 ratings Book 1 of 3: Daughter of Sparta See all formats and editions Kindle 8.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 15.99 56 Used from 2.71 27 New from 11. Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods' waning powers will fade away, the mortal world will descend into chaos, and her brother's life will be forfeit. But an unexpected encounter with the goddess Artemis-who holds Daphne's brother's fate in her hands-upends the life she's worked so hard to build. Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, hoping to be accepted by the unyielding people of ancient Sparta. ![]() ![]() I haven't laughed this much since David Sedaris's last book." -Haven Kimmel, author of "A Girl Named Zippy ""Running with Scissors is a cut book celebrates Burroughs' resilient, upbeat spirit, which helps him surmount one of the weirder childhoods on record." -"USA Today "The anecdotes can be flippant, and so insanely funny (quite literally), that the effect is that of a William Burroughs situation comedy." -"The New York Times "Burroughs defies the 'woe is me' stigma of modern memoir with a raucous recounting of his loony teenage years." -"Entertainment Weekly "I was reminded of Roald Dahl's "Boy and "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. ![]() ![]() Running with Scissors is hilarious, freaky-deaky, berserk, controlled, transcendent, touching, affectionate, vengeful, all-embracing.It makes a good run at blowing every other out of the water." -Carolyn See, "The Washington Post "Funny and rich with child's eye details of adults who have gone off the rails." -"The New York Times Book Review "It is as funny as it is twisted." -"GQ "A childhood of electroshock high jinx." -"Vanity Fair "A hilarious and horrifying memoir." -"Los Angeles Times "Harrowing and hilarious. ![]() "I just finished reading the most amazing book. ![]() ![]() ![]() The book, however, looks at decades of scientists and mathematicians at NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) with the three women from the film tenuously holding the book together to create some “story.” There are dozens of employees at NACA who are featured, and it’s difficult to know who to remember and who’s just “passing through.” I kept highlighting the names of folks who never appeared on the pages again. The film follows the lives of three black female mathematicians at NASA in 1961-1962. The movie was based on a nonfiction work of the same title by Margot Lee Shetterly. If you’re from the United States, you know someone who has seen Hidden Figures and raved over the performances of leads Octavia Butler, Taraji P. Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi “Review/Comparison of #HiddenFigures film and book.” Grab the Lapels, 11 Feb. You may cite this blog post in your paper using the following MLA citation: Page, Melanie. ![]() Dear students: If you are here because your teacher asked you to write a comparison of the Hidden Figures movie and book, please be aware that using any part of this review - quotes, paraphrases, summaries, or taking my ideas - without proper credit constitutes plagiarism (which is illegal). ![]() ![]() ![]() “We’ve got a kitchen most restaurants would kill for. “Great.”īlowing a wayward strand of hair off his face, he grinned at me. ” Cooking was one of Cary’s joys, but it wasn’t one of his talents. I’m breaking in the new kitchen for dinner.” “If I make it through the day, that’ll be worth celebrating.” “How about tomorrow after work?” I offered as a substitute. No matter his expression, he was a knockout. I fully expected his million-dollar face to appear on billboards and fashion magazines all over the world one day. ![]() “Walk fast, work out faster.” Cary’s perfectly executed arched brow made me laugh. “After I time the walk to work, I’m going to hit the gym.” “I don’t know if I’ll make it back in time.” I gestured at my yoga pants and fitted workout tank. We can hit a happy hour and be in by eight.” “I’m not talking about a bender,” he insisted. I might have resented that if he hadn’t been the dearest person on earth to me. Leanly built, dark-haired, and green-eyed, Cary was a man who rarely looked anything less than absolutely gorgeous on any day of his life. We’d been unpacking for days, yet he still looked amazing. ![]() “Come on, Eva.” Cary sat on our new living room floor amid a half dozen moving boxes and flashed his winning smile. “I’m sure drinking the night before starting a new job is a bad idea.” I’d always considered it part of his charm. Cary Taylor found excuses to celebrate, no matter how small and inconsequential. I wasn’t surprised by my roommate’s emphatic pronouncement. ![]() ![]() It is certainly the first book I have read about that day and, even all these years later, even the smallest details can make me cry, even as I was frustrated by the writing itself. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede was published in 2002 and was, to my memory, one of the first books published concerning the events of 9/11. ![]() In the coming days and weeks, the story of Gander and the stranded travelers was featured prominently by both the Canadian and American media: at a time when everyone was shocked and terrified, it was a simple, heart-warming story of strangers reaching out to help those in need. All across Canada, airports were being overwhelmed by unscheduled landings but nowhere were the arrivals more extreme than Gander, where the town’s population grew from a modest 10,000 to almost 17,000 overnight and Newfoundlanders, both from Gander and the surrounding towns and villages, put their lives on hold to care for and entertain the unexpected arrivals. ![]() ![]() ![]() On September 11, 2001, more than 30 planes descended on Gander, Newfoundland when American airspace was closed in the wake of the attacks. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We’ve ordered this list in the order that we think these Robert Farrar Capon books should be read, and included excerpts of most the books via Google Books.ġ) The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflectionīy far this is Robert Farrar Capon’s most read book… From a passionate and talented chef who also happens to be an Episcopalian priest comes this surprising and thought-provoking treatise on everything from prayer to poetry to puff pastry. Capon described himself in the introduction to one of his books as an “old-fashioned high churchman and a Thomist to boot.” One of Capon’s primary themes is the radical grace of God. In 1965, he published his first book, Bed and Board, and in 1977 he left the full-time ministry to devote more time to his writing career. A lifelong New Yorker, for almost thirty years, Capon was a full-time parish priest in Port Jefferson, New York. ![]() Robert Farrar Capon (Octo– September 5, 2013) was an American Episcopal priest, author and chef. In honor of the occasion, we offer this introductory reading guide to some of the best Robert Farrar Capon books. This week marks the 95th birthday of the late Episcopal priest, chef, and author, Robert Farrar Capon. ![]() |