"Drowned young Asian girls start washing up onto a San Francisco beach and City District Attorney Investigator Mary Dinosa is determined to discover the truth behind their tragic deaths and bring those responsible to justice. Her ruthless investigation reveals ugly truths and sends her into the deep dark world of domestic and international sex slave trafficking and the sad epithet of literally millions of young innocent girls around the world. It also draws the attention of the 'Justice Foundation' who accepts the challenge and sends their operations team, led by former U.S. Navy Seal Commander Ian O'Farrell, from the Bay Area to Thailand and the Hong Kong. Their unrelenting search and destroy mission then turns south to Mexico and Guatemala and eventually to the jungles of Northeast Nigeria. At each stop they leave behind an indelible and explosive impression on the diabolical men and women who profit and engage in the sex slave business and liberate innocent young victims to pursue their 'fun-dee', the Thai word for 'dreams'."
The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series. “Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again “Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and The Black Box, and one of our most important voices on the African American experience, comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America. For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues. In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white supremacists: from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion. But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.
A group of friends use teamwork, creativity, and construction know-how to start their own fort building company in the first story in a new, fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers! Caleb could really use a bit more spending money—he needs to buy the next book in his favorite series so he can see what happens! But what can he do to raise funds once his allowance runs out? Caleb puts his head together with his best friend, Jax, and a couple other kids in their neighborhood, and come up with a brilliant idea. They’re going to start their own fort-building business! Good forts are always in demand, and who better to design and construct them than kids? But when Fort Builders, Inc., gets their first gig, the group has trouble agreeing on the right way to go about it. Can they learn to work together in time to build an incredible fort, or will their business be over before it even begins?
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.
As the railroads opened up the American West to settlers in the last half of the 19th Century, the Plains Indians made their final stand and cattle ranches spread from Texas to Montana. Eminent Western author Dee Brown here illuminates the struggle between these three groups as they fought for a place in this new landscape. The result is both a spirited national saga and an authoritative historical account of the drive for order in an uncharted wilderness, illustrated throughout with maps, photographs and ephemera from the period.
Including more than 300 alphabetically listed entries, this 2-volume set presents a timely and detailed overview of some of the most significant contributions women have made to American popular culture from the silent film era to the present day. The lives and accomplishments of women from various aspects of popular culture are examined, including women from film, television, music, fashion, and literature. In addition to profiles, the encyclopedia also includes chapters that provide a historical review of gender, domesticity, marriage, work, and inclusivity in popular culture as well as a chronology of key achievements. This reference work is an ideal introduction to the roles women have played, both in the spotlight and behind it, throughout the history of popular culture in America. From the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age to the chart toppers of the 2020s, author Laura L. Finley documents how attitudes towards these icons have evolved and how their influence has shifted throughout time. The entries and essays also address such timely topics as feminism, the #MeToo movement, and the gender pay gap.
Michener meets Grisham,on a mountain top in Tibet; hooked up by Hermann Hesse ;-) Chronicling the adventures of a modern-day Siddartha, this Historical 'fiction' novel is a parable with a heart.
Cupid's Little Helpers FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING Connor Winfield had serious money, serious power—and mind-spinning sensuality. No wonder gorgeous women constantly flung themselves at him. Still, Connor chose travel agent Mandy Richardson to arrange his business meetings in Tangier—then demanded she accompany him every step of the way…. Mandy steeled herself to resist the man and romantic, moonlit Morocco. But nothing prepared her for the miniature matchmaker on the scene. Connor's precocious preteen daughter schemed shamelessly to make Mandy her new mom. But why did the child think proud, penniless Mandy could claim the heart of a hard-hearted millionaire? CUPID'S LITTLE HELPERS… These matchmaking kids come with a happily-ever-after guarantee.
