What made me write my book is the fact that when I would have no one to talk to. I would lie in my room and visualize how things would be if, I were to be in someone else shoes, as well as what I felt other people’s approach should be in different circumstances. So I think about that, and this is how I would come up with my characters and stories. My stories are religious based The Bible is my mirror, of what God likes or dislikes. These are my past experiences I am sharing to help those that are going through their obstacles.
At the age of eighteen, Chad Rowan left his home in rural Hawai'i for Tokyo with visions of becoming a star athlete in Japan's national sport, sumo. But upon his arrival he was shocked less by the city crowds and the winter cold than by having to scrub toilets and answer to fifteen-year-olds who had preceded him at the sumo beya. Rowan spoke no Japanese. Of Japanese culture, he knew only what little his father, a former tour bus driver in Hawai'i, had been able to tell him as they drove to the airport. And he had never before set foot in a sumo ring. Five years later, against the backdrop of rising U.S.–Japan economic tension, Rowan became the first gaijin (non-Japanese) to advance to sumo's top rank, yokozuna. His historic promotion was more a cultural accomplishment than an athletic one, since yokozuna are expected to embody highly prized Japanese values such as hard work, patience, strength, and hinkaku, a special kind of dignity thought to be available only to Japanese. He was promoted ahead of his two main rivals, the brothers Koji and Masaru Hanada, who had been raised in the sumo beya run by their father, the former sumo great Takanohana I. Perhaps the defining moment of the gaijin's unique success occurred at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, when Rowan, chosen to personify "Japanese" to one of the largest television audiences in history, performed a sacred sumo ritual at the opening ceremony. Gaijin Yokozuna chronicles the events leading to that improbable scene at Nagano and beyond, tracing Rowan's life from his Hawai'i upbringing to his 2001 retirement ceremony. Along the way it briefly examines the careers of two Hawai'i-born sumotori who paved the way for Rowan, Jesse Kuhaulua (Takamiyama) and Salevaa Atisanoe (Konishiki). The author shares stories from family members, coaches, friends, fellow sumo competitors, and of course Rowan himself, whom he accompanied on three Japan-wide exhibition tours. The work is further informed by volumes of secondary source material on sumo, Japanese culture, and local Hawai'i culture.
Quince Duncan is one of the most significant yet understudied Black writers in the Americas. A third-generation Afro-Costa Rican of West Indian heritage, he is the first novelist of African descent to tell the story of Jamaican migration to Costa Rica. Duncan’s work has been growing in popularity among scholars and teachers of Afro-Latin American literature and African Diaspora Studies. This translation brings two of his major novels to English-speaking audiences for the first time, Weathered Men and The Four Mirrors. The book will be invaluable for those eager to develop further their background in Afro-Latin American literature, and it will enable students and faculty members in other fields such as comparative literature to engage with the burgeoning area of Afro-Latin American literary studies.
DeLaine finds herself at home after the Christmas break with a whole new outlook. It’s the first time she can remember coming home without everything seeming so bleak. Her stepbrother Geoffrey and stepmother Clarice are nice to her, which is a surprise, but DeLaine doesn’t trust them. The main reason she is happy to come home is to see Kevin Strong and love him from afar. If Geoffrey weren’t so crazy jealous of her and Kevin being together, DeLaine thinks her world might be as close to perfect as possible. Perfection would be a real relationship with the most beautiful boy in the world. He provides strength and stability but mostly a feeling of love and protectiveness that DeLaine craves. The problem is that he is the “King” of Milam Junior High and she’s only a lowly peasant, albeit not on the lowest rung in the social hierarchy. She is happy this January because she has a new best friend who shouldn’t really care about her but because of the tornado, DeLaine has been tossed into the stratosphere of the beautiful Bailey Rains. She and Bailey find themselves getting closer as they walk home from Samson High School every day and Bailey takes a genuine interest in helping DeLaine find her voice and realize her beauty. Find out what new adventures wait for DeLaine in the last half of 7th grade. See what new things she finds out about friendship, love, sex, loss and grace.
Bringing together a collection of essays by writers with diverse knowledge of the US criminal justice system, from those with personal experience in prison and on patrol to scholarly researchers, What Is a Criminal? explores the category of "criminal" through the human stories of those who bear and administer that label. This book performs a rare feat in bringing together the perspectives of justice-impacted people, those who work in law enforcement and social services, and scholarly researchers. Each chapter is a compelling narrative sharing the experience and perspective of a unique person with knowledge of the justice system. The first section, "Incarceration, Reentry, and Rebuilding," gives a glimpse into the "black box" of prison, with firsthand accounts of daily life on the inside and the struggle to begin a new life after prison. Section 2, "Journeys in Law Enforcement," presents perspectives from police officers, school resource officers, and corrections officers who are working to better their communities. The third section, "Ripple Effects," addresses some of the broader impacts of the justice system, showing what it is like to be the child of an incarcerated parent, to be profiled, to be an undocumented immigrant, and to make art about the justice system. The final section, "Scholarly Perspectives," is comprised of accessible articles by academics who study law and crime. Each chapter stands alone as an individual story, but taken together they provide a uniquely nuanced view of the US justice system. This book will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about criminality, the US justice system, and the people involved in it. It is designed for a general audience, with accessible, compelling stories that will appeal to a variety of readers. It is an effective text for college and high school courses about crime and criminality, and provides excellent fodder for discussion in law enforcement and social services training programs or professional development workshops.
Once upon a time, everything was fine. Humpty Dumpty sat on his wall, Jack and Jill went about their lawful business, the Big Bad Wolf did what big bad wolves do, and the wicked queen plotted murder most foul. But the humans hacked, cried havoc, shut down the wicked queen's system, and corrupted her database-and suddenly everything was not fine at all. But at least we know that they'll all live happily ever after. Don't we?
The inspiration for the hit series on Starz, Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander novels blend rich historical fiction with riveting adventure and a truly epic love story. Now, with this convenient eight-volume eBook bundle, discover the novels that have won Gabaldon millions of fans and introduced readers to the brilliant Claire Randall and valiant Highlander Jamie Fraser: OUTLANDER DRAGONFLY IN AMBER VOYAGER DRUMS OF AUTUMN THE FIERY CROSS A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES AN ECHO IN THE BONE WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD The year is 1946. Claire Randall is a British ex-combat nurse on a postwar second honeymoon with her husband in the Scottish Highlands. Walking alone one afternoon, she passes through a circle of standing stones and is hurled back in time to a Scotland simmering with war in the year of our Lord 1743. Catapulted into an intrigue of rival clans and rising armies that threatens her life, she’s obliged to wed Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, as the only way to survive. Thus begins a series of unrivaled storytelling that has become a modern classic. Praise for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels “Marvelous and fantastic adventures, romance, sex . . . perfect escape reading.”—San Francisco Chronicle, on Outlander “History comes deliciously alive on the page.”—New York Daily News, on Outlander “Gabaldon is a born storyteller. . . . The pages practically turn themselves.”—The Arizona Republic, on Dragonfly in Amber “Triumphant . . . Her use of historical detail and a truly adult love story confirm Gabaldon as a superior writer.”—Publishers Weekly, on Voyager “Unforgettable characters . . . richly embroidered with historical detail.”—The Cincinnati Post, on Drums of Autumn “A grand adventure written on a canvas that probes the heart, weighs the soul and measures the human spirit across [centuries].”—CNN, on The Fiery Cross “The large scope of the novel allows Gabaldon to do what she does best, paint in exquisite detail the lives of her characters.”—Booklist, on A Breath of Snow and Ashes “Features all the passion and swashbuckling that fans of this historical fantasy series have come to expect.”—People, on Written in My Own Heart’s Blood
Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander series blends rich historical fiction with riveting adventure and a truly epic love story. Now, with this convenient seven-volume eBook bundle, discover the novels that have won Gabaldon millions of fans and introduced readers to the brilliant Claire Randall and valiant Highlander Jamie Fraser. “Great fun . . . marvelous and fantastic adventures, romance, sex . . . perfect escape reading.”—San Francisco Chronicle, on Outlander The year is 1946. Claire Randall is a British ex-combat nurse on a postwar second honeymoon with her husband in the Scottish Highlands. Walking alone one afternoon, she passes through a circle of standing stones and is hurled back in time to a Scotland simmering with war in the year of our Lord 1743. Catapulted into an intrigue of rival clans and rising armies that threatens her life, she’s obliged to wed Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, as the only way to survive. Thus begins a series of unrivaled storytelling that has become a modern classic. This bundle includes: OUTLANDER DRAGONFLY IN AMBER VOYAGER DRUMS OF AUTUMN THE FIERY CROSS A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES AN ECHO IN THE BONE “Diana Gabaldon is a born storyteller . . . the pages practically turn themselves.”—The Arizona Republic, on Dragonfly in Amber “A feast for ravenous readers of eighteenth-century Scottish history, heroism, and romance.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Outlander
