Download or read book Soaring My Improbable Life written by Major Alphonso B Jones and published by Booklocker.com. This book was released on 2021-02-26 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soaring, My Improbable Life is the inspiring story of a poor, African American boy growing up in the Great Depression, who dreams of traveling the world. With audacity, focus, and resilience, he succeeds in getting a college education, finding love, journeying to distant lands, becoming a decorated war hero, and raising three successful children. Al's story provides valuable insights for dreamers everywhere determined to make their own dreams come true against the odds.

Download or read book North Star Over My Shoulder written by Bob Buck and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2005-01-03 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buck, the embodiment of commercial aviation in America, recounts his thrilling life in flight in this exhilarating volume, hailed as "absolutely brilliant" by the former director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Download or read book Improbable Scholars written by David L. Kirp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-13 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Improbable Scholars, David L. Kirp challenges the conventional wisdom about public schools and education reform in America through an in-depth look at Union City, New Jersey's high-performing urban school district. In this compelling study, Kirp reveals Union's city's revolutionary secret: running an exemplary school system doesn't demand heroics, just hard and steady work"--

Download or read book Our America written by Lealan Jones and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1998-05 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The award-winning creators of National Public Radio's "Ghetto Life 101" and "Remorse: The 14 Stories of Eric Morse" combine talents with a young photographer to show what life is like in one of the country's darkest places: Chicago's Ida B. Wells housing project. Photos.

Download or read book The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman written by Robin Gregory and published by Gatekeeper Press. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having won 21 awards, The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman is being lauded as a classic. A haunting, visionary tale spun in the magical realist tradition of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the profoundly unique voice and heart-stirring narrative recall great works of fiction that explore the universal desire to belong. Early 1900s, Western America. A lonely, disabled boy with a nasty temper and miraculous healing powers, Moojie is taken by his father to live at his grandfather's wilderness farm. There, Moojie meets otherworldly outcasts and wants to join them. Following a series of trials—magical and mystical—he is summoned by the call to a great destiny ... if only he can survive one last terrifying trial.

Download or read book Rifke written by Rosalie Sharp and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this memoir, the author casts a wry and self-deprecating look back on her childhood, with anecdotes about the chance events and comic ironies that make up a life. Rifke (Rosalie Wise Sharp) grew up in North Toronto, which felt to her like a foreign place because there were no other Jewish families there in the late 1930s. Yiddish was spoken in her household, and the food, dress, and customs of Ozarow—the Polish shtetl (small Jewish town) from which her parents emigrated—were all maintained. Rifke's peers took lessons in tap dancing, ice skating, the piano, and the flute—activities that didn't translate into the Yiddish vocabulary, where only hard work, no-nonsense, and book learning were permitted. Rifke secretly decided to pass as a gentile, joining a bible class and the Christmas choir, and she was guilty about her pursuit of these activities during the war, when her mother was frantic with fear that their family in Poland was being slaughtered by the Nazis. In high school, Rifke's life changed: it was there that she met and married her soul mate Isadore, who worked in the construction business, much to her parents' disappointment. Prosperity, took time however, and Isadore's audacious dream to build a world-class hotel chain, The Four Seasons, came to pass.

Download or read book The Boy Who Loved Math written by Deborah Heiligman and published by Roaring Brook Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it's true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn't learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made "Uncle Paul" a great man. The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman is a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013 and a New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013.

Download or read book Do Stand So Close written by Jeffrey Lee Campbell and published by . This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A small-town musician from North Carolina tries his luck on the biggest stage of all: New York City. And he hits the jackpot. Mere months into his NYC gambit, guitarist Jeffrey Lee Campbell is catapulted from selling candy in Broadway theaters to touring the world with rock legend Sting. Go behind the scenes with the provincial, wide-eyed rookie as he fakes his way around the globe, shoulder-to-shoulder with his longtime musical hero. Do Stand So Close is a layered, coming-of-age memoir, recounting Jeffrey Lee Campbell's glamorous (and grueling) twenty-five country, six-continent trial by fire on Sting's "Nothing Like The Sun" World Tour. Filled with humorous anecdotes and poignant revelations, Do Stand So Close follows Jeffrey's amazing odyssey--from relocating to NYC and miraculously landing the high-profile gig, to life on the road with one of the planet's biggest rock stars, to his humbling crash-and-burn after the tour. Buckle up

Download or read book The Monkey s Voyage written by Alan de Queiroz and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the world, closely related species are found on landmasses separated by wide stretches of ocean. What explains these far-flung distributions? Why are such species found where they are across the Earth? Since the discovery of plate tectonics, scientists have conjectured that plants and animals were scattered over the globe by riding pieces of ancient supercontinents as they broke up. In the past decade, however, that theory has foundered, as the genomic revolution has made reams of new data available. And the data has revealed an extraordinary, stranger-than-fiction story that has sparked a scientific upheaval. In The Monkey's Voyage, biologist Alan de Queiroz describes the radical new view of how fragmented distributions came into being: frogs and mammals rode on rafts and icebergs, tiny spiders drifted on storm winds, and plant seeds were carried in the plumage of sea-going birds to create the map of life we see today. In other words, these organisms were not simply constrained by continental fate; they were the makers of their own geographic destiny. And as de Queiroz shows, the effects of oceanic dispersal have been crucial in generating the diversity of life on Earth, from monkeys and guinea pigs in South America to beech trees and kiwi birds in New Zealand. By toppling the idea that the slow process of continental drift is the main force behind the odd distributions of organisms, this theory highlights the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the history of life. In the tradition of John McPhee's Basin and Range, The Monkey's Voyage is a beautifully told narrative that strikingly reveals the importance of contingency in history and the nature of scientific discovery.

Download or read book My Life My Look written by Carla Zampatti and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The compelling story behind a fascinating Australian legend - fashion designer Carla Zampatti. Carla Zampatti is an enduring Australian fashion icon. In 2015, in a remarkable feat of longevity, she celebrated the 50th anniversary of her fashion house in Australia. And despite the fact that so many of us have grown up with Carla Zampatti - loving, coveting and wearing her elegant, beautiful designs - very few of us know the private woman behind the brand. And yet it is a compelling, fascinating and ultimately moving story of one woman's determination, ambition, resilience and dreams. Carla was only five when her mother took her to visit the dressmaker in her local small town in Lombardy, Italy. It was then, in a sudden flash of inspiration, that she knew she would become a fashion designer. She was a feisty little girl who had two older brothers - she would run after them up the mountains on their adventures, while they called to her, 'Dai, Carla, e possible farlo,' come on Carla, you can do it! And she never lost that spirit of determination, even when, as an eight-year-old with no English, her family moved across the world to a tiny speck of a town in Western Australia, a place where her dreams of becoming a designer seemed almost out of reach... A household name, a true Australian legend, and an inspiring woman - this is Carla Zampatti, and this is her story. ‘It was Zampatti's enormous drive, flair and independence of mind that enabled her to become one of Australia's top fashion designers. In a market saturated with mediocre celebrity autobiographies, it's refreshing to find one that is well-written and down to earth' Sydney Morning Herald 'Carla's story is one of drive and determination, and well worth reading' Brisbane News 'From Australia's fashion iconoclast, you won't be able to put this tale of ambition down' Cosmopolitan

Download or read book Flying Against the Arrow written by H.-R. Patapievici and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 'unbearable 80s', as the last decade of the Ceausescu era has been called in Romania, are in the focus of this quasi-autobiographical work. The book vividly portrays the difficulties encountered by a young intellectual trying to shape himself under the oppressive regime and provides a stark depiction of a man's intellectual suffocation under hard-line socialist rule.

Download or read book Magic Carpet Flying written by Pamela Ryan and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magic Carpet Flying traces psychologist Pamela Ryan’s journey through her life’s adventures, from the rapture of achievement to the personal anguish of loss. Drawing on childhood lessons in rural Australia and later work in the Australian outback, Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world where she travelled to help others tackle the darkness of mental illness, suicide, and large-scale tragedy arising from terrorist attacks and natural disasters, Ryan reveals how she not only survived trauma but turned her journey into a "magic carpet ride." Exploring what it is to "live truth," to "make ourselves up as we go along," to aim for the stars, and to become the "pilot in command" of our own destiny, Pamela Ryan’s unforgettable journey in Magic Carpet Flying reveals what it means to be fully alive.

Download or read book If Research Were Romance and other implausible conjectures written by Manny Rayner and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2013-04 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is Fifty Shades of Grey like the Higgs boson? Who would Kristen Stewart play in a movie of Ulysses? Is the answer 42? Would Jane Eyre prefer Hamlet or Claudius? And is research really like romance? You will find the answers to all the above questions, and many others, in this book

Download or read book Flying Close to the Sun written by Cathy Wilkerson and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Flying Close to the Sun is the stunning memoir of a white middle-class girl from Connecticut who became a member of the Weather Underground, one of the most notorious groups of the 1960s. Cathy Wilkerson, who famously escaped the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion, here wrestles with the legacy of the movement, at times finding contradictions that many others have avoided: the absence of women’s voices then, and in the retelling; the incompetence and the egos; the hundreds of bombs detonated in protest which caused little loss of life but which were also ineffective in fomenting revolution. In searching for new paradigms for change, Wilkerson asserts with brave humanity and confessional honesty an assessment of her past—of those heady, iconic times—and somehow finds hope and faith in a world that at times seems to offer neither.

Download or read book Random Sh t Flying Through the Air written by and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The stakes couldn't be higher ... The suspense, the danger, and the rocket-fueled pace are all turned up to 11."―Kirkus "Furious, frenetic, fun, and "f**k you" —Robert Brockway on The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind Teagan Frost -- the girl with telekinetic powers and a killer paella recipe -- faces a new threat that could wipe out her home forever in the second book of Jackson Ford's irreverent fantasy series. Teagan Frost's life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a psychokinetic operative is going well. She might also be on course for convincing her crush, Nic Delacourt, to go out with her. And she's even managed to craft the perfect paella. But Teagan is about to face her biggest threat yet. A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles -- home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can't stop him, the entire city -- and the rest of California -- will be wiped off the map . . . For more from Jackson Ford check out:The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind

Download or read book Flying With One Wing written by Clifford Etheredge and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2019-09-26 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cliff Etheredge was born in Roscoe, Texas on September 21, 1942, to Pete and Hilda Etheredge. He had one brother, Jay. Cliff graduated from Roscoe High School and Texas Tech University. He then began farming with his dad in the Wastella community northwest of Roscoe. He was a member of the Texas National Guard for six years. In 1972, Cliff was severely injured in a farming accident resulting in the amputation of his right arm. He understood that attitude would determine success or failure. He has since spent his life overcoming the myriad of obstacles that have presented themselves daily. Reentry into society was a major step in Cliff's rehabilitation. He not only assumed his place in society but also became a prominent figure. He also developed the process of self-forgiveness, which gave him confidence. In 1975, Cliff married Judy, who brought two children, David and Kim, to his home on the farm. Son Scott was born in 1978. As the children grew, Cliff devoted himself more and more to his family, and each excelled in his or her area of interest. Cliff was a member of many local and regional organizations, holding leadership roles in most. In 1968, Cliff was selected Mitchell County Young Farmer of the Year, and Texas Governor John Connally presented him with the Texas Young Farmer Award. Cliff was also a recipient of Roscoe's Outstanding Citizen Award. Texas Governor Rick Perry presented him with the Individual Award from the Texas Council on Environmental Quality for his efforts in organizing the Roscoe Wind Farm. Cliff lives in San Antonio with his wife, Ann, where he is a member of Business and Professional Toastmasters. Most of his interests and efforts have been toward completing three books he began writing in 2003 to accompany the two he completed several years ago.

Download or read book Improbable Destinies written by Jonathan B. Losos and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new book overturning our assumptions about how evolution works Earth’s natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change—a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze—caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary flukes? And what does that say about life on other planets? Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology can tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. He takes us around the globe to meet the researchers who are solving the deepest mysteries of life on Earth through their work in experimental evolutionary science. Losos himself is one of the leaders in this exciting new field, and he illustrates how experiments with guppies, fruit flies, bacteria, foxes, and field mice, along with his own work with anole lizards on Caribbean islands, are rewinding the tape of life to reveal just how rapid and predictable evolution can be. Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution. Losos's insights into natural selection and evolutionary change have far-reaching applications for protecting ecosystems, securing our food supply, and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria. This compelling narrative offers a new understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world and the cosmos.