"A hilarious and inspiring story of academy survival." The California Highway Patrol Academy is by far one of the toughest law enforcement training facilities in the world. Completing the rigorous six month curriculum is not an easy task and many people fail to graduate. Cadet Blues is the story of one cadet who is desperately trying to survive the experience so he can earn the right to wear the seven point badge and call himself an officer."--Page [four] of cover.
This wide-ranging book shows how to create quilts with an authentic antique look, collect period textiles, while revealing the history of American fabrics. Learn the fascinating true story of fabrics in America and make your own period quilts with this comprehensive guide to fabrics and their influence on American quilts, from the machine age to the atomic age. From quilt historian Barbara Brackman, author of America's Printed Fabrics 1770–1890,Making History not only includes 9 quilt projects inspired by vintage quilt designs and fabrics, but is packed with historic photos, stories, and insights into the role of fabrics in everyday life.
Contains alphabetically arranged entries that provide information on the cities of origin, members, and music of some of the most popular rhythm and blues and doo wop groups.
British blues fan Mike Leadbitter launched the magazine Blues Unlimited in 1963. The groundbreaking publication fueled the then-nascent, now-legendary blues revival that reclaimed seminal figures like Son House and Skip James from obscurity. Throughout its history, Blues Unlimited heightened the literacy of blues fans, documented the latest news and career histories of countless musicians, and set the standard for revealing long-form interviews. Conducted by Bill Greensmith, Mike Leadbitter, Mike Rowe, John Broven, and others, and covering a who's who of blues masters, these essential interviews from Blues Unlimited shed light on their subjects while gleaning colorful detail from the rough and tumble of blues history. Here is Freddie King playing a string of one-nighters so grueling it destroys his car; five-year-old Fontella Bass gigging at St. Louis funeral homes; and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup rising from life in a packing crate to music stardom. Here, above all, is an eyewitness history of the blues written in neon lights and tears, an American epic of struggle and transcendence, of Saturday night triumphs and Sunday morning anonymity, of clean picking and dirty deals. Featuring interviews with: Fontella Bass, Ralph Bass, Fred Below, Juke Boy Bonner, Roy Brown, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Joe Dean, Henry Glover, L.C. Green, Dr. Hepcat, Red Holloway, Louise Johnson, Floyd Jones, Moody Jones, Freddie King, Big Maceo Merriweather, Walter Mitchell, Louis Myers, Johnny Otis, Snooky Pryor, Sparks Brothers, Jimmy Thomas, Jimmy Walker, and Baby Boy Warren.
In Clues in the Calico Barbara Brackman unveils a much-needed system for dating America's heirloom quilts. She tells how, by collecting and observing quilts and finally analyzing her computer file on close to 900 date-inscribed specimens, she arrived at the system. And through this telling she also imparts a colorful, stunningly illustrated history of quiltmaking along with a good bit of entertaining social history and the newest findings in textile research.
Ray Hill was a cook and machine gunner who survived the sinking of a PT boat by a kamikaze. German forces in the middle of the Siegfried defensive line captured Robert Corbin, a forward artillery observer officer who later escaped after 140 days of captivity. Arthur Ensley, a B-25 pilot, was shot down on his 79th mission into the Brenner Pass. He was helped by Italian partisans. Don Barrett, a Marine, was involved in three Pacific campaigns--Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu, where he was badly wounded. Fellow World War II veteran Robert G. Thobaben gathered their reports and others from men who were young soldiers in the war. This book presents 30 oral histories, 14 from the Pacific Theater and 16 from the European. In addition to describing their individual experiences, these Marine, Army, Navy and Air Forces privates, sergeants and officers also discuss such questions as why men fight, how soldiers cope, why it is important to record their stories, and what they think about the ethics of war.
As she did so provocatively with military spouses in Army Wives, Tanya Biank gives us the inside story of women in today’s military—their professional and personal challenges from the combat zone to the home front... Since 9/11, more than 240,000 women have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan—more than 140 have died there, and they currently make up fourteen percent of the total active-duty forces. Despite advances, today’s servicewomen are constantly pressed to prove themselves, to overcome challenges men never face, and to put the military mission ahead of all other aspects of their lives, particularly marriage and motherhood. In this groundbreaking, insider’s look at the women defending our nation, Tanya Biank brings to light the real issues—of femininity, belonging to an old boys’ club, veiled discrimination, dating, marriage problems, separation from children, questions about life goals, career trajectories, and self-worth—that servicewomen are facing by focusing on four individual stories. Brigadier General Angela Salinas, the Marine Corps’ first Hispanic female general, faces the challenge of commanding an all-male institution. Second Lieutenant Bergan Flanagan finds herself on the frontlines in Afghanistan, serving in the same military police company as her husband. As a marine drill instructor, Sergeant Amy Stokley demands the very best from the recruits at Parris Island. And Major Candice O’Brien deals with deployment to Afghanistan, with two young children and a strained marriage back home. Undaunted is the story of these courageous trailblazers—their struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs in the name of serving the country they love.
