Best of
Americana

2000

The Bottoms


Joe R. Lansdale - 2000
    In 1933, the year that forms the centerpiece of the narrative, Harry is 11 years old and living with his mother, father, and younger sister on a farm outside of Marvel Creek, Texas, near the Sabine River bottoms. Harry's world changes forever when he discovers the corpse of a young black woman tied to a tree in the forest near his home. The woman, who is eventually identified as a local prostitute, has been murdered, molested, and sexually mutilated. She is also, as Harry will soon discover, the first in a series of similar corpses, all of them the victims of a new, unprecedented sort of monster: a traveling serial killer.From his privileged position as the son of constable (and farmer and part-time barber) Jacob Collins, Harry watches as the distinctly amateur investigation unfolds. As more bodies -- not all of them "colored" -- surface, the mood of the local residents darkens. Racial tensions -- never far from the surface, even in the best of times -- gradually kindle. When circumstantial evidence implicates an ancient, innocent black man named Mose, the Ku Klux Klan mobilizes, initiating a chilling, graphically described lynching that will occupy a permanent place in Harry Collins's memories. With Mose dead and the threat to local white women presumably put to rest, the residents of Marvel Creek resume their normal lives, only to find that the actual killer remains at large and continues to threaten the safety and stability of the town.Lansdale uses this protracted murder investigation to open up a window on an insular, poverty-stricken, racially divided community. With humor, precision, and great narrative economy, he evokes the society of Marvel Creek in all its alternating tawdriness and nobility, offering us a varied, absolutely convincing portrait of a world that has receded into history. At the same time, he offers us a richly detailed re-creation of the vibrant, dangerous physical landscapes that were part of that world and have since been buried under the concrete and cement of the industrialized juggernaut of the late 20th century. In Lansdale's hands, the gritty realities of Depression-era Texas are as authentic -- and memorable -- as anything in recent American fiction.

Provinces of Night


William Gay - 2000
    Bloodworth has returned to his home - a forgotten corner of Tennessee - after twenty years of roaming. The wife he walked out on has withered and faded. His three sons are grown and angry. Warren is a womanising alcoholic; Boyd is driven by jealousy to hunt down his wife's lover; and Brady puts hexes on his enemies from his mother's porch. Only Fleming, the old man's grandson, treats him with respect and sees past all the hatred, realising the way it can poison a man's soul. It is ultimately the love of Raven Lee, a sloe-eyed beauty from another town, that gives Fleming the courage to reject his family's curse.In a tale redolent with the crumbling loyalties and age-old strife of the post-war American South made familiar to us by Cormac McCarthy, Gay's characters inhabit a world driven by blood ties that strangle as they bind. A coming of age novel, a love story, and a portrait of a family torn apart, Provinces of Night introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction and a superb cast of characters.

Call If You Need Me: The Uncollected Fiction and Other Prose


Raymond Carver - 2000
    From the blue-collar realism of his early writing to his expansive later stories, the cool-eyed intensity and steady witnessing of Carver's work remains an inspiration for readers and writers alike.Call If You Need Me traces the arc of Carver's career, not in the widely anthologized stories that have become classics, but through his uncollected fiction and his essays. Here are the five "last stories," discovered a decade after Carver's death. Also here are Carver's first published story, the fragment of an unfinished novel, and all of his nonfiction--from a recollection of his father to reflections on writers as varied as Anton Chekhov and John Gardner, Donald Barthelme and Sherwood Anderson. Call If You Need Me does not merely enhance the stature of a twentieth-century master; it invites us to travel with a singular artist, step by step, as he discovers what is worth saying and how to say it so it pierces the heart.

Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby


F. Scott Fitzgerald - 2000
    Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald wrote the novel as Trimalchio and submitted it to Maxwell Perkins, his editor at Scribner's, who had the novel set in type and sent the galleys to Fitzgerald in France. Fitzgerald then virtually rewrote the novel in galleys, producing the book we know as The Great Gatsby. This first version, Trimalchio, has never been published and has only been read by a handful of people. It is markedly different from The Great Gatsby: two chapters were completely rewritten for the published novel, and the rest of the book was heavily revised. Characterization is different, the narrative voice of Nick Carraway is altered and, most importantly, the revelation of Jay Gatsby's past is handled in a wholly different way. James L.W. West III directs the Penn State Center for the History of the Book and is General Editor of the Cambridge Edition of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is the author of William Styron: A Descriptive Biography (Random House, 1998).

High Cotton


Joe R. Lansdale - 2000
    Lansdale stories represents the best of the “Lansdale” genre—a strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humor, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdale—eerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In “The Pit,” modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods. An alternate-history tale called “Trains Not Taken” shows Buffalo Bill as an ambassador and Wild Bill Hickok as a clerk. Lansdale’s love of large lizards and humor are evident in the stories “Godzilla’s Twelve Step Program” and “Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland.”

The Second Amendment:: Preserving the Inalienable Right of Individual Self-Protection


David Barton - 2000
    Learn about the Founders' views on this important freedom and their solutions for averting the plague of violence that has disrupted communications.

God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia


Cornelia Walker Bailey - 2000
    Buzzard, and the Bolito Man recounts a traditional way of life that is threatened by change, with stories that speak to our deepest notions of family, community, and a connection to one’s homeland.Cornelia Walker Bailey models herself after the African griot, the tribal storytellers who keep the history of their people. Bailey’s people are the Geechee, whose cultural identity has been largely preserved due to the relative isolation of Sapelo, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia. In this rich account, Bailey captures the experience of growing up in an island community that counted the spirits of its departed among its members, relied on pride and ingenuity in the face of hardship, and taught her firsthand how best to reap the bounty of the marshes, woods and ocean that surrounded her. The power of this memoir to evoke the life of Sapelo Island is remarkable, and the history it preserves is invaluable.

Pass Thru Fire: The Collected Lyrics


Lou Reed - 2000
    This definitive collection includes lyrics to Lou's earliest work and to his most recent recording. Its brilliantly innovative interior design has brought it praise and awards.

The Big Hunger


John Fante - 2000
    Published here for the first time, this text presents a collection of recently-discovered stories by John Fante.

Great Speeches by Native Americans


Bob Blaisdell - 2000
    Beginning with a 1540 refusal by a Timucua chief to parley with Hernando de Soto ("With such a people I want no peace"), the collection extends to the 20th-century address of activist Russell Means to the United Nations affiliates and members of the Human Rights Commission ("We are people who love in the belly of the monster").Other memorable orations include Powhatan's "Why should you destroy us, who have provided you with food?" (1609); Red Jacket's "We like our religion, and do not want another" (1811); Osceola's "I love my home, and will not go from it" (1834); Red Cloud's "The Great Spirit made us both" (1870); Chief Joseph's "I will fight no more forever" (1877); Sitting Bull's "The life my people want is a life of freedom" (1882); and many more. Other notable speakers represented here include Tecumseh, Seattle, Geronimo, and Crazy Horse, as well as many lesser-known leaders.Graced by forceful metaphors and vivid imagery expressing emotions that range from the utmost indignation to the deepest sorrow, these addresses are deeply moving documents that offer a window into the hearts and minds of Native Americans as they struggled against the overwhelming tide of European and American encroachment. This inexpensive edition, with informative notes about each speech and orator, will prove indispensable to anyone interested in Native American history and culture.

Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes


Billy Collins - 2000
    Each starter activity consists of a simple effective activity involving minimal preparation, with answers and suggestions for differentiation. This book allows teachers to: target objectives that can be broken down into short, simple steps; introduce framework objectives in a clear and engaging manner; and cover framework requirements for each year group at Key Stage 3. This book can be used alongside the QCA Scheme of Work. The starters are all stand-alone and allow at-a-glance assessment by means of whole-class, interactive activities that take 10-15 minutes.

O Lost: A Story of the Buried Life (original version of Look Homeward, Angel)


Thomas Wolfe - 2000
    This powerful coming-of-age novel tells the rich story of Eugene Gant, a young North Carolina man who longs to escape the confines of his small-town life and his tumultuous family. At the insistence of Maxwell Perkins, the legendary editor at Charles Scribner's Sons, Wolfe cut the typescript by 22 percent. Sixty-six thousand words were omitted for reasons of propriety and publishing economics, as well as to remove material deemed expendable by Perkins. To be published for the first time on October 3, 2000 -- the centenary of Wolfe's birth -- O Lost presents the complete text of the novel's manuscript.For seventy years Wolfe scholars have speculated about the merits of the unpublished complete work and about the editorial process -- particularly the reputed collaboration of Perkins and Wolfe. In order to present this classic novel in its original form as written by Wolfe, the text has been established by Arlyn and Matthew J. Bruccoli from the carbon copy of the typescript and from Wolfe's pencil manuscript. In addition to restoring passages omitted from Look Homeward, Angel, the editors have corrected errors introduced by the typist and other mistakes in the original text and have explicated problematic readings. An introduction and appendixes -- including textual, bibliographical, and explanatory notes -- reconstruct Wolfe's process of creation and place it in the context of the publishing process.

More Stories from My Father's Court


Isaac Bashevis Singer - 2000
    B. Singer's classic memoir In My Father's Court, these stories, published serially in the Daily Forward, depict the beth din in his father's home on Krochmalna Street in Warsaw. A unique institution, the beth din was a combined court of law, synagogue, scholarly institution, and psychologist's office where people sought out the advice and counsel of a neighborhood rabbi.The twenty-seven stories gathered here show this world as it appeared to a young boy. From the earthy to the ethereal, these stories provide an intimate and powerful evocation of a bygone world.

The McCaffertys: Thorne


Lisa Jackson - 2000
    He never expects that Randi's E.R. doctor will be Nicole Stevenson.Nicole has never forgotten the teenage passion she shared with Thorne… or the sting of his unexplained rejection. Now she's all grown up—but he still affects her in the very same way. Will they both be able to move beyond their pasts for a second chance at a happy ending?

A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War


Harry V. Jaffa - 2000
    Jaffa. This long-awaited sequel to Crisis of the House Divided, first published in 1959, continues Jaffa's piercing examination of the political thought of Abraham Lincoln and the themes of self-government, equality, and statesmanship. Whereas Crisis of the House Divided focused on the famous senate campaign debates between Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, this volume expands and deepens Jaffa's analysis of American political thought, and gives special attention to Lincoln's refutation of the arguments of John C. Calhoun the intellectual champion of the Confederacy. According to Jaffa, the Civil War is the characteristic event in American history not because it represents a statistical frequency, but rather because through the conflict of that war we are able to understand what is fundamentally at stake in the American experiment in self-government.

The Best of Cemetery Dance, Volume 1


Richard ChizmarDouglas Clegg - 2000
    Braunbeck109 • The Pig Man • (1993) • short story by Augustine Funnell125 • Mobius • (1987) • short story by Richard Christian Matheson129 • The Rendering Man • (1994) • short story by Douglas Clegg147 • Weight • (1994) • short story by Dominick Cancilla159 • Layover • (1991) • short story by Ed Gorman169 • Johnny Halloween • (1992) • short story by Norman Partridge181 • Hope • (1993) • short story by Steve Bevan187 • The Mailman • (1988) • short story by Bentley Little197 • Silhouette • (1996) • short story by Stephen Mark Rainey215 • Roadkill • (1991) • short story by Tom Elliott221 • The Rifle • (1995) • short story by Jack Ketchum233 • Pieces • (1992) • short story by Ray Garton237 • Rustle • (1993) • short story by Peter Crowther255 • When the Silence Gets Too Loud • (1995) • short story by Brian Hodge269 • The Rabbit • (1990) • short story by Jack Pavey281 • The Flood • (1986) • short story by John Maclay287 • The Right Thing • (1994) • short story by Gary L. Raisor [as by Gary Raisor]305 • Pig's Dinner • (1991) • short story by Graham Masterton317 • Crash Cart • (1993) • short story by Nancy Holder329 • Wall of Words • (1994) • short story by Lucy Taylor337 • Metastasis • (1990) • short story by David B. Silva349 • Wrapped Up • (1981) • short story by Ramsey Campbell357 • Depth of Reflection • (1990) • short story by David L. Duggins369 • The Mole • (1990) • short story by David Niall Wilson375 • Saviour • (1991) • short story by Gary A. Braunbeck391 • Great Expectations • (1990) • short story by Kim Antieau397 • Shell • (1992) • short story by Adam Corbin Fusco

Mugging the Muse


Holly Lisle - 2000
    It contains many of the articles and workshops from this site, plus three articles written especially for the book: My Five Worst Career Mistakes and How You Can Avoid Them, Ten Keys to Designing a Series Character You Can Live With (Forever), and How to Make Every Story Better Than the Last." (from HollyLisle.com)

Montana Born and Bred


Alexis Harrington - 2000
    But her past follows swiftly behind, in the form of bounty hunter Zach Garrett, a man with a warrant to bring her little boy back to the powerful family that has laid claim to him. Yet, as they cross the treacherous expanse Montana, Sarah's fury begins to wane, as her rugged, powerful captor reveals the hidden side of a soul that is as shattered as her own...The Bounty HunterZach has one dream--to reclaim his ranch, and the price for the baby's return will pay off his debt. But somewhere along the way, his frozen heart starts to warm in the presence of beautiful, couragious Sarah. He can't stop himself from wanting her, from needing the kind of love he's been denied all his life, or ignoring the profound emotion he feels as he gazes into the innocent eyes of a baby. In the middle of this vast, untamed land, he discovers what matters most. Now, he'll do whatever it takes to keep it...A love as large as the big sky above them.

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst


David Nasaw - 2000
    He quickly learned how to use this media stronghold to achieve unprecedented political power.The son of a gold miner, Hearst underwent a public metamorphosis from Harvard dropout to political kingmaker; from outspoken populist to opponent of the New Deal; and from citizen to congressman.?With unprecedented access to Hearst’s personal and business papers, Nasaw details Heart’s relationship with his wife Millicent and his romance with Marion Davies; his interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and every American president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt; and his acquaintance with movie giants such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Irving Thalberg. An “absorbing, sympathetic portrait of an American original,” The Chief sheds light on the private life of a very public man (Chicago Tribune).

Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color


Sybil Kein - 2000
    Of European, African, or Caribbean mixed descent, they are a people of color and Francophone dialect native to south Louisiana; and though their history dates from the late 1600s, they have been sorely neglected in the literature. Creole is a project that both defines and celebrates this ethnic identity. In fifteen essays, writers intimately involved with their subject explore the vibrant yet understudied culture of the Creole people across time--their language, literature, religion, art, food, music, folklore, professions, customs, and social barriers.

Red Sox Century: The Definitive History of Baseball's Most Storied Franchise


Glenn Stout - 2000
    Their unlikely triumph became known instantly as one of the most thrilling, nerve-racking, and ultimately inspiring sports stories ever. And it also changed the course of history for a franchise that had long been known more for its failures than for its successes.In Red Sox Century, "the best of the Sox sages" (USA Today Baseball Weekly) chronicle the complete history of this enduring team with authority, insight, and high style. From the team's inception in 1901 and its early peak in 1918, when it won its fifth World Series, to the glory years, which saw the rise of such greats as Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Teddy Ballgame, and Yaz and the "impossible dream," to the near misses in 1975, 1986, and 2003, and finally to the glorious World Series victory in 2004 -- it's all here, drawn from countless interviews and extensive research and illustrated with more than 225 photographs, many never seen before.Now expanded and updated and featuring irresistible new keepsake pages where fans can record their own stories of the latest chapter in Red Sox lore -- replete with its fairy-tale ending -- Red Sox Century is a book no self-respecting fan should be without."All that anyone would care to know about this accursed yet lovable franchise." -- Sports Illustrated Glenn Stout has been the series editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception. Richard A. Johnson is the curator of the Sports Museum. Together they have written numerous critically acclaimed sports books, including Yankees Century: 100 Years of New York Yankees Baseball and The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball. Widely regarded as first-rate baseball historians, the authors have appeared on NPR, ESPN, HBO, the History Channel, and numerous regional television and radio stations. "The ultimate gift for Red Sox fans." -- Publishers Weekly"A definitive look at Fenway's finest . . . Artistic, well researched, and elegant." -- Boston Globe"A grand slam." -- Boston Herald

Who the Hell's in It: Conversations With Hollywood's Legendary Actors


Peter Bogdanovich - 2000
    He started out as an actor (he debuted on the stage in his sixth-grade production of Finian’s Rainbow); he watched actors work (he went to the theater every week from the age of thirteen and saw every important show on, or off, Broadway for the next decade); he studied acting, starting at sixteen, with Stella Adler (his work with her became the foundation for all he would ever do as an actor and a director).Now, in his new book, Who the Hell’s in It, Bogdanovich draws upon a lifetime of experience, observation and understanding of the art to write about the actors he came to know along the way; actors he admired from afar; actors he worked with, directed, befriended. Among them: Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Cassavetes, Charlie Chaplin, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, Ben Gazzara, Audrey Hepburn, Boris Karloff, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, Frank Sinatra, and James Stewart.Bogdanovich captures—in their words and his—their work, their individual styles, what made them who they were, what gave them their appeal and why they’ve continued to be America’s iconic actors.On Lillian Gish: “the first virgin hearth goddess of the screen . . . a valiant and courageous symbol of fortitude and love through all distress.” On Marlon Brando: “He challenged himself never to be the same from picture to picture, refusing to become the kind of film star the studio system had invented and thrived upon—the recognizable human commodity each new film was built around . . . The funny thing is that Brando’s charismatic screen persona was vividly apparent despite the multiplicity of his guises . . . Brando always remains recognizable, a star-actor in spite of himself. ” Jerry Lewis to Bogdanovich on the first laugh Lewis ever got onstage: “I was five years old. My mom and dad had a tux made—I worked in the borscht circuit with them—and I came out and I sang, ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’ the big hit at the time . . . It was 1931, and I stopped the show—naturally—a five-year-old in a tuxedo is not going to stop the show? And I took a bow and my foot slipped and hit one of the floodlights and it exploded and the smoke and the sound scared me so I started to cry. The audience laughed—they were hysterical . . . So I knew I had to get the rest of my laughs the rest of my life, breaking, sitting, falling, spinning.”John Wayne to Bogdanovich, on the early years of Wayne’s career when he was working as a prop man: “Well, I’ve naturally studied John Ford professionally as well as loving the man. Ever since the first time I walked down his set as a goose-herder in 1927. They needed somebody from the prop department to keep the geese from getting under a fake hill they had for Mother Machree at Fox. I’d been hired because Tom Mix wanted a box seat for the USC football games, and so they promised jobs to Don Williams and myself and a couple of the players. They buried us over in the properties department, and Mr. Ford’s need for a goose-herder just seemed to fit my pistol.”These twenty-six portraits and conversations are unsurpassed in their evocation of a certain kind of great movie star that has vanished. Bogdanovich’s book is a celebration and a farewell.From the Hardcover edition.

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World


Richard J.A. Talbert - 2000
    Book by

Laurel


Jane Peart - 2000
    Although adopted by a loving couple, she is eventually compelled to search for her roots.

The American West: A New Interpretive History


Robert V. Hine - 2000
    Hine and John Mack Faragher, present the American West as both frontier and region, real and imagined, old and new, and they show how men and women of all ethnic groups were affected when different cultures met and clashed. Their concise and engaging survey of frontier history traces the story from the first Columbian contacts between Indians and Europeans to the multicultural encounters of the modern Southwest.The book attunes us to the voices of the frontier’s many diverse peoples: Indians, struggling to defend their homelands and searching for a way to live with colonialism; the men and women who became immigrants and colonists from all over the world; African Americans, both slave and free; and borderland migrants from Mexico, Canada, and Asian lands. Profusely illustrated with contemporary drawings, posters, and photographs and written in lively and accessible prose, the book not only presents a panoramic view of historical events and characters but also provides fascinating details about such topics as western landscapes, environmental movements, literature, visual arts, and film.Following in the tradition of Hine’s earlier acclaimed work, The American West: An Interpretive History, this volume will be an essential resource for scholars, students, and general readers.

A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition


Lee Mendelson - 2000
    Year after year, fans of all ages tune in to the Emmy-winning Christmas special that has earned a permanent place in the nation's popular culture. This collector's treasury contains the entire script of A Charlie Brown Christmas, illustrated with full-color stills from the animated film. Producer Lee Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez pay tribute to the program with personal memories and reflections about the show, including charming anecdotes about their long friendship and working career with Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. Offering rare, behind-the-scenes insights, they also share memories of the late, great jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi and provide never-before-published background sketches, storyboards, production sheets, and other materials that bring the making of the show to life. A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition also brings the sound of the show home with the piano/vocal musical scores for Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Linus and Lucy," two songs that have become standards of American popular music.

B is for Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet


Marcia Schonberg - 2000
    Grant to John Glenn)! Brilliant illustrations by Bruce Langton and fascinating text by Marcia Schonberg bring Ohio history and information to life in the second of Sleeping Bear Press' state alphabet books.

The Day the American Revolution Began: 19 April 1775


William H. Hallahan - 2000
    A shot rang out, and the Redcoats replied with a devastating volley.But the day that started so well for the king's troops would end in catastrophe: seventy-three British soldiers dead, two hundred wounded, and the survivors chased back into Boston by the angry colonists. Drawing on diaries, letters, official documents, and memoirs, William H. Hallahan vividly captures the drama of those tense twenty-four hours and shows how they decided the fate of two nations.

St. Louis Then and Now


Elizabeth McNulty - 2000
    Then and Now features fascinating archival photographs contrasted with specially commissioned, full-color images of the same scene today. A visual lesson in the historic changes of our greatest urban landscapes.

Blood and Black Lace


Adrian Luther Smith - 2000
    Entertainingly and informatively written by Adrian Luther-Smith, Blood And Black Lace contains full reviews, and exhaustive cast and credit Information (including video, laserdisc and DVD release details) on over two hundred giallo movies, most of which have never been listed in any other movieguide!In this cutting edge volume you'll find expertly performed critical dissections of such classic thrillers as Dario Argento's "Bird With The Crystal Plumage", Antonioni's "Blowup", and Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now". And where else can you read all about such guilty treats as "The Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire", "One On Top Of The Other", "Strip Nude For Your Killer", and controversial banned movies like Lucio Fulci's stomach-churning "New York Ripper"?Illustrated with extremely rare full colour posters, video sleeves and stills from the movies in question, Blood And Black Lace is an essential purchase for anyone interested in the darker side of Italian exploitation cinema.

Allie's Moon


Alexis Harrington - 2000
    Desperate for help, she reluctantly turns to Jefferson Hicks, an ex-lawman who has fallen from grace-a man who unexpectetly awakens her to desire...and to dreams she believes she can never have. Jeff Hicks has fallen as low as a man can. But here at Allie's farm, his silent, numb heart suddenly begins to beat again. Drawn to this woman who is as much a prisoner of the past as he, Jeff discovers the healing power of love. But to claim it, they must confront spiteful enemies determined to keep them apart forever.

Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America


John McWhorter - 2000
    Now he dares to say the unsayable: racism's ugliest legacy is the disease of defeatism that has infected black America. Losing the Race explores the three main components of this cultural virus: the cults of victimology, separatism, and antiintellectualism that are making blacks their own worst enemies in the struggle for success.More angry than Stephen Carter, more pragmatic and compassionate than Shelby Steele, more forward-looking than Stanley Crouch, McWhorter represents an original and provocative point of view. With Losing the Race, a bold new voice rises among black intellectuals.

The Folklore of Capitalism


Thurman Arnold - 2000
    The basic premise of the book is that the thinking man, after learning the proper lessons of history, chooses wisely between Capitalism, Communism, and Fascism--provided he doesn't let emotion sway his reason or listen to the blandishments of demagogues.

Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones: The American Medicine Show


Ann Anderson - 2000
    Combining elements of the circus, theater, vaudeville, and good old-fashioned entrepreneurship, the showmen of the American medicine show sold tonics, ointments, pills, extracts and a host of other wonder-cures, guaranteed to cure what ails you. While the cures were seldom miraculous, the medicine show was an important part of American culture and of performance history. Harry Houdini, Buster Keaton, and P.T. Barnum all took a turn upon the medicine show stage. This study of the medicine show phenomenon surveys nineteenth century popular entertainment and provides insight into the ways in which show business, advertising, and medicine manufacture developed in concert. The colorful world of the medicine show, with its Wild West shows, pie-eating contests, clowns, and menageries, is fully explored. Photographs of performers and of the fascinating handbills and posters used to promote the medicine show are included.

The Crack In The Teacup


Joan Bodger - 2000
    A well-known storyteller and Gestalt therapist, she finds strength in stories – her own, other people’s, and the myths and legends of the world. She has lived a life that fell apart not once but several times. Each time, she pieced her life together again; she has learned to appreciate both the mosaic and the cracks.Joan’s father was an officer in the United States Coast Guard; her British mother came from a distinguished – and eccentric – shipping family. Because of her father’s job, she moved frequently from one tough American port town to another. But she also lived for a time in an English country house. Trying to fit herself into each new situation, she not only relied on the family stories she knew so well, but she also became an acute observer of the nuances of class shibboleth, racial prejudice, and regional and national differences. Her observations are always sharp, often funny.Graduating from high school shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she attended university for two years and then joined the army. After the war she returned to university, married, and attended Columbia University where she took – and was struck by – a course in storytelling. Although she refers to herself as a suburban wife and mother at this time, her suburb was Shanks Village, a community of veterans studying on the G.I. Bill, which was a hotbed of political activism and social experimentation. Joan read, wrote, and studied continually. She steeped herself in folklore and anthropology.When tragedy struck, in the form of mental illness, marriage breakdown, and the loss of her seven-year-old daughter, Joan drew on what she had learned during these years. She helped start a nursery school in a black neighborhood and became director of the first Headstart Program in New York State. She later directed a therapeutic nursery school in a New York City orphanage, taught at Bank Street Graduate School of Education, wrote How the Heather Looks, a book about British children’s literature, and became a book reviewer for the New York Times. In 1968-69 she was invited to become Director of Children’s Services, State Library of Missouri, only to be fired before a year was up – as a Communist pornographer. (Her name was subsequently cleared by the American library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee.) Stories saved her once again. Hired by the legendary Bennett Cerf, she became a liaison editor of children’s books – a sort of roving ambassador – for Random House-Pantheon-Knopf.It was in this role that she made a trip to Toronto, and fell in love with the Canadian who became her second husband. Moving to Canada, she again rebuilt her life on the foundation of story, training as a Gestalt therapist and helping to start the Storytelling School of Toronto. When tragedy struck once more, she continued to live her life with courage and resilience, sustained by these interests.Since childhood, Joan has had a fine eye for detail, and the ability to put her observations into words. She has lived in awareness of the history of her time, and has frequently been swept up in its events. She writes frankly of the discoveries of childhood, the mysteries of family life, the power of sexuality, the devastating effect of loss, and, through it all, the transforming influence of literature, of story. A remarkable old woman, she tells her story with honesty, candor, and wit. This courageous autobiography will be an inspiration to all readers – but particularly to women dealing with the poorly charted territory of their later years.

Huck Finn/Pudd'nhead Wilson/No 44 Mysterious Stranger other Writings


Mark Twain - 2000
    Mark Twain is perhaps the most widely read and enjoyed of American writers. His works span a remarkable range, from the enchantments of boyish fantasy to passionate political invective, and probe the complexities of postbellum life: the violent transformation of the old frontier, the American preoccupation with Europe, and the imperfect reckoning of slavery's terrible cost. Here are Twain's essential works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Pudd'nhead Wilson; No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger; Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog; The Private History of a Campaign That Failed; Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences; How To Tell a Story; The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg; and more.

Garth Brooks: American Thunder


Jo Sgammato - 2000
    Here's the story of an ordinary guy from Oklahoma who hoped to become an athlete until he discovered his own unique ability to harness the power of music and reach into people's hearts and souls. From his early days in clubs and honky tonks playing pop, rock, and folk music to his domination of the country music scene in the 1990s through his artistic experiment as rock icon Chris Gaines, this biography takes you backstage, into recording studios, and all around the world with the biggest-selling solo artist of all time.

Arthur Wesley Dow and the American Arts and Crafts Movement


Nancy E. Green - 2000
    This work explores the full range of Dow's artistry, including painting, photography and printmaking and seeks to illustrate Doe's continuing relevance to craft in America.

The Capitalist Philosophers: The Geniuses of Modern Business--Their Lives, Times, and Ideas


Andrea Gabor - 2000
    It is a book full of colorful stories and brilliant insights into why the business world is the way it is today.People in business are constantly besieged by supposedly revolutionary ideas. Any company that went on a crash diet in response to the trendy precepts of Reengineering the Corporation felt the enormous impact still exercised by one of the first capitalist philosophers, Frederick Taylor. By going back to the source, Gabor helps businesspeople make smart, informed decisions about the future.Featured in The Capitalist Philosophers are:Frederick Taylor: "Production went to his head and filled his sleepless nerves like liquor or women on a Saturday night."Mary Parker Follett, who understood that "only so far as business leaders . . . can identify themselves with the underlying social impulses of their time can they hope to plan and build great organizations."Chester Barnard, the philosopher king, who believed that management's job is to get things done by persuasion.Fritz Roethlisberger and Elton Mayo, the creative misfits who "invented" human relations and put Harvard Business School on the map.Robert McNamara, the "Whiz Kid," whose pioneering work in control and quantitative methods at Ford and the Department of Defense have had such a great influence on American management.Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor, the pathfinders of humanistic management.W. Edwards Deming, "the man who discovered quality" and the prophet of the learning organization.Herbert Simon, Nobel laureate, pioneer in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, renegade economist and management pathbreaker, whose ideas on decision making have been vastly influential.Alfred Chandler, who laid the basis for the way we think about corporate strategy, and Alfred Sloan, whose My Years at General Motors is the most important business book ever published.Peter Drucker, who "gives you thoughts that are large."As Andrea Gabor notes in her Introduction, "Contrary to common wisdom, it is possible for individuals to have a major impact on history. Just as FDR and Margaret Sanger changed the way we think about, respectively, politics and sexuality, so the capitalist philosophers have changed the way we look at the dominant institution in our society--the corporation."

Frommer's National Parks of the American West


Don Laine - 2000
    So we sent our authors out to hit the trails and campsites to figure out how to beat the crowds and enjoy an unspoiled experience of nature. Our authors take you to the most spectacular landscapes in the western U.S. and provide advice for every kind of park visitor, from the day-tripper who wants to see the highlights quickly to the back-country camper to the families traveling with kids. This incredibly detailed, complete guide covers every kind of activity available in each park, from hiking to bird watching, with a range of sports for visitors of all ages and skill levels.Frommer's National Parks of the American West also includes reviews of park lodges, camping, and nearby accommodations to help you plan all aspects of your trip. Exact prices are listed for every establishment and activity. No other guide offers such detailed, candid reviews...or such honest advice.Complete with maps of every park (including detailed maps of hiking trails in the major parks), plus a stunning 16-page full-color photo insert!