Call Me American
Call Me American

Author: Abdi Nor Iftin

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2019-05-07

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0525433023

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Abdi Nor Iftin first fell in love with America from afar. As a child, he learned English by listening to American pop and watching action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. When U.S. marines landed in Mogadishu to take on the warlords, Abdi cheered the arrival of these Americans, who seemed as heroic as those of the movies. Sporting American clothes and dance moves, he became known around Mogadishu as Abdi American, but when the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab rose to power in 2006, it became dangerous to celebrate Western culture. Desperate to make a living, Abdi used his language skills to post secret dispatches, which found an audience of worldwide listeners. Eventually, though, Abdi was forced to flee to Kenya. In an amazing stroke of luck, Abdi won entrance to the U.S. in the annual visa lottery, though his route to America did not come easily. Parts of his story were first heard on the BBC World Service and This American Life. Now a proud resident of Maine, on the path to citizenship, Abdi Nor Iftin's dramatic, deeply stirring memoir is truly a story for our time: a vivid reminder of why America still beckons to those looking to make a better life.

Maine's Jewish Heritage
Maine's Jewish Heritage

Author: Abraham J. Peck

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2007-03-07

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1439634572

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According to historian Benjamin Band, the first record of a Jew in Maine concerns Susman Abrams, a tanner who resided in Union until his death at 87 in 1830. Historical records beginning in 1849 also tell of a small Bangor community that organized a synagogue and purchased a burial ground. But it was not until the late 19th century that Jewish communities grew large enough to establish multiple synagogues, Hebrew schools for boys, kosher butcher shops, and Jewish bakeries. Eventually there were Jewish charitable societies, community centers, and social clubs across the state. Now, 150 years later, Jews serve every Maine community in every possible capacity, free from the barriers of social or religious discrimination. This book honors the accomplishments of Maines Jewish residents.

Maine
Maine

Author: Deborah Kent

Publisher: Children's Press(CT)

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780516209944

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Describes the geography, history, economy and industry, natural resources, arts and recreation, and people of the New England state of Maine.

Logging and Lumbering in Maine
Logging and Lumbering in Maine

Author: Donald A. Wilson

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738505213

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Known as the Pine Tree State, Maine once led the world in lumber production. It was the first great lumber-producing region, with Bangor at its center. Today, the state has nearly eighteen million acres of timberland, and forest products still make up a major industry. Logging and Lumbering in Maine examines the history from its earliest roots in 1630 to the present, providing a pictorial record of land use and activity in Maine. The state's lumber industry went through several historical periods, beginning with the vast pine and spruce harvests, the organization of major corporate interests, the change from sawlogs to pulpwood, and then to sustained yields, intensive management, and mechanized harvesting. At the beginning, much of the region was inaccessible except by water, so harvesting activities were concentrated on the coast and along the principal rivers. Gradually, as the railroads expanded and roads were constructed into the woods, operations expanded with them and the river systems became vitally important for the transportation of timber out of the woods to the markets downstate. Logging and Lumbering in Maine traces these developments in the industry, taking a close look at the people, places, forests, and machines that made them possible.

Franco-Americans of Maine
Franco-Americans of Maine

Author: Dyke Hendrickson

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738572802

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Nearly one-third of Maine residents have French blood and are known as Franco-Americans. Many trace their heritage to French Canadian families who came south from Quebec in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work in the mills of growing communities such as Auburn, Augusta, Biddeford, Brunswick, Lewiston, Saco, Sanford, Westbrook, Winslow, and Waterville. Other Franco-Americans, known as Acadians, have rural roots in the St. John Valley in northernmost Maine. Those of French heritage have added a unique and vibrant accent to every community in which they have lived, and they are known as a cohesive ethnic group with a strong belief in family, church, work, education, the arts, their language, and their community. Today they hold posts in every facet of Maine life, from hourly worker to the U.S. Congress. These hardworking people have a notable history and have been a major force in Maine's development.

The Grand Old Man of Maine
The Grand Old Man of Maine

Author: Jeremiah E. Goulka

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2005-10-12

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0807875856

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Best known as the hero of Little Round Top at Gettysburg and the commanding officer of the troops who accepted the Confederates' surrender at Appomattox, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914) has become one of the most famous and most studied figures of Civil War history. After the war, he went on to serve as governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College. The first collection of his postwar letters, this book offers important insights for understanding Chamberlain's later years and his place in chronicling the war. The letters included here reveal Chamberlain's perspective on military events at Gettysburg, Five Forks, and Appomattox, and on the planning of ceremonies to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Gettysburg. As Jeremiah Goulka points out in his introduction, the letters also shed light on Chamberlain's views on politics, race relations, and education, and they expose some of the personal difficulties he faced late in life. On a broader scale, Chamberlain's correspondence contributes to a better understanding of the influence of Civil War veterans on American life and the impact of the war on veterans themselves. It also says much about state and national politics (including the politics of pensions), family roles and relationships, and ideas of masculinity in Victorian America.

Maine Lodges and Sporting Camps
Maine Lodges and Sporting Camps

Author: Donald A. Wilson

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738537702

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Beginning in the mid-1800s and lasting for more than a century, Maine boasted a large number of lodges and sporting camps that catered to the pursuit of outdoor activities. While the primary interests of guests were fishing and hunting, many of the larger, more expensive resorts offered a variety of opportunities, including golf, horseback riding, tennis, boating, archery, and hiking, and some boasted gourmet dining and elegant parties. While some of these establishments survive, many have been demolished, existing only in memory and in photographs. Maine Lodges and Sporting Camps tells the story of the most prominent destinations, featuring nearly two hundred historic images that depict the life that existed when Maine was a sportsman's paradise, abounding in trophy game and fish.

Millinocket
Millinocket

Author: David R. Duplisea

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738556543

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The town of Millinocket rests at the junction where the West Branch of the Penobscot River and the Millinocket Stream converge. In 1898, settlers arrived in the area and carved a town out of the wilderness, constructing the Great Northern Paper Company, the largest paper mill in the world at that time. Utilizing the waterways, lumbermen floated the logs downriver to feed the mill and export paper around the globe. The town and mill sprang up practically overnight, built at a fevered pace to keep up with the paper demand, and gave Millinocket the nickname "Magic City in Maine's Wilderness." Today Millinocket is the closest town to the famous Baxter State Park and Maine's highest peak, Mount Katahdin. As the gateway to the Allagash region, Millinocket draws tourists year-round with its numerous outdoor activities.

Downeast
Downeast

Author: Gigi Georges

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2022-06-07

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 0063254263

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In Downeast, Gigi Georges follows five girls as they come of age in one of the most challenging and geographically isolated regions on the Eastern seaboard. Their stories reveal surprising truths about rural America and offer hope for its future. “It’s almost impossible not to care about these fierce young women and cheer for their hard-won successes” (Kirkus) in this “heartfelt portrait” and “worthy tribute” (Publishers Weekly). Nestled in Maine’s far northeast corner, Washington County sits an hour’s drive from the heart of famed and bustling Acadia National Park. Yet it’s a world away. For Willow, Vivian, Mckenna, Audrey, and Josie—five teenage girls caught between tradition and transformation in this remote region—it is home. Downeast follows their journeys of heartbreak and hope in uncertain times, creating a nuanced and unique portrait of rural America with women at its center. Willow lives in the shadow of an abusive, drug-addicted father and searches for stability through photography and love. Vivian, a gifted writer, feels stifled by her church and town, and struggles to break free without severing family ties. Mckenna is a softball pitching phenom whose passion is the lobster-fishing she learned at her father’s knee. Audrey is a beloved high school basketball star who earns a coveted college scholarship but questions her chosen path. Josie, a Yale-bound valedictorian, is determined to take the world by storm. All five girls know the pain and joy of life in a region whose rugged beauty and stoicism mask dwindling populations, vanishing job opportunities, and pervasive opioid addiction. As the girls reach adulthood, they discover that despite significant challenges, there is much to celebrate in “the valley of the overlooked.” Their stories remind us of the value of timeless ideals: strength of family and community, reverence for nature’s rule, dignity in cracked hands and muddied shoes, and the enduring power of home. Revealed through the eyes of Willow, Vivian, Mckenna, Audrey, and Josie, Downeast is based on four years of intimate reporting. The result is a beautifully rendered, emotionally startling, and vital book. Downeast will break readers’ hearts yet offer them hope, providing answers to what the future may hold for rural America.

Maine and American Art
Maine and American Art

Author: Michael K. Komanecky

Publisher: Rizzoli Publications

Published: 2020-03-10

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0847867048

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In this expansive volume devoted to one of the premier art collections in the U.S., the rich and full picture of Maine's central role in American art from the early nineteenth century to the present is chronicled. Published on the occasion of Maine's bicentennial, the book considers more than 200 major works of American art from the Farnsworth Art Museum's impressive holdings and details how the state has figured prominently in the development of American art. The volume includes artists as diverse as Andrew Wyeth, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Francesco Clemente, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alex Katz, among others. Through their work, a fascinating depiction of the state--and indeed of the development of American art--emerges. The volume will feature two historic sites: the Farnsworth Homestead (the National Register of Historic Places home of founder Lucy Copeland Farnsworth) and the National Historic Landmark Olson House, inspiration for some 300 works by Andrew Wyeth, including Christina's World. The book also considers Lucy Copeland Farnsworth's distinctive vision to create a museum, library, and historic house, placing her among the few and still under-recognized women who created museums throughout the United States in the early twentieth century.