government launched "Operation Babylift," a highly publicized plan to evacuate nearly three thousand displaced Vietnamese children and place them with adoptive families overseas. Chaotic from start to finish, the mission gripped the world-with a traumatic plane crash, international media snapping pictures of bewildered children traveling to their new homes, and families clamoring to adopt the waifs.Often presented as a great humanitarian effort, Operation Babylift provided an opportunity for national catharsis following the trauma of the American experience in Vietnam. Now, thirty-five years after the war ended, Dana Sachs examines this unprecedented event more carefully, revealing how a single public-policy gesture irrevocably altered thousands of lives, not always for the better. Though most of the children were orphans, many were not, and the rescue offered no possibility for families to later reunite. With sensitivity and balance, Sachs deepens her account by including multiple perspectives: birth mothers making the wrenching decision to relinquish their children; orphanage workers, military personnel, and doctors trying to "save" them; politicians and judges attempting to untangle the controversies; adoptive families waiting anxiously for their new sons and daughters; and the children themselves, struggling to understand. In particular, the book follows one such child, Anh Hansen, who left Vietnam through Operation Babylift and, decades later, returned to reunite with her birth mother. Through Anh's story, and those of many others, The Life We Were Given will inspire impassioned discussion and spur dialogue on the human cost of war, international adoption and aid efforts, and U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

    . . Inspiring . . . Important.” —Library Journal, starred review “A marvelous yarn, loaded with near-calamitous adventures and characters as memorable as Singer creations.” —The New York Post      “What began as a quixotic journey was also a picaresque romp, a detective story, a profound history lesson, and a poignant evocation of a bygone world.” —The Boston Globe “Every now and again a book with near-universal appeal comes along: Outwitting History is just such a book.” —The Sunday Oregonian As a twenty-three-year-old graduate student, Aaron Lansky set out to save the world’s abandoned Yiddish books before it was too late. Today, more than a million books later, he has accomplished what has been called “the greatest cultural rescue effort in Jewish history.” In Outwitting History, Lansky shares his adventures as well as the poignant and often laugh-out-loud stories he heard as he traveled the country collecting books. Introducing us to a dazzling array of writers, he shows us how an almost-lost culture is the bridge between the old world and the future—and how the written word can unite everyone who believes in the power of great literature.A Library Journal Best Book A Massachusetts Book Award Winner in Nonfiction An ALA Notable Book

    Wrigley, the great chewing-gum mogul and owner of the Chicago Cubs, who feared the effect of WWII on the major leagues, many of whose players weren't waiting to be drafted before joining up.Women answered the recruiters' call from all over the U.S. and Canada.They were drawn by the lure of bankable money and an escape from dead-end jobs and small towns.- Mary "Bonnie" Baker - the well-groomed stylish player from Regina, Saskatchewan who embodied the virtues of the All-American girl- Alma "Gabby" Ziegler - the great morale booster and captain of the Grand Rapids Chicks- Dorothy "Kammie" Kamenshek - rated the best all-round player in the League- Dorothy Schroeder - she lied about her age to join in the league's first year and played every year until the league ended 12 years laterThey were all superb athletes, but they also had to be perfect ladies.Chaperones directed their every move. Feminine uniforms included a knee-length skirt, and Charm School to teach them everything they needed to know about how to dress and act like a lady.Through all this, the All-American was a magnificent success.In its heyday, stadiums packed in fans and players were shipped off to spring training in Cuba and Florida. The All-American League teams played their first game in 1943 and their last game in 1954.

    To most Westerners the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appear utterly bewildering. Palestinians want to bomb Israelis that force them at gunpoint to live in restricted parts of the country. Arab leaders are furious about this situation and want Israelis “wiped off the map” and their land given back to Palestinians, even though the real estate of the Holy Land looks something like rural Utah. And nearly all the world’s leaders see fit to chime in on this dispute over the two tiny lands. To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events. By the end you will know as much about Middle East history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as you would after a year-long college course. You will also sound highly knowledgeable about world affairs to your friends and associates. If you want to understand this part of the world completely in as short a time as possible, then "From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa" is for you!

    Many pilots, including Douglas Bader, thought it was superior to the Spit--but together they saved Britain from Nazi invasion and possible defeat.Adrian Stewart has produced a gloriously atmospheric and nostalgic book capturing the spirit of these great aircraft and the pilots who flew them. It tracks the aircraft as it was developed and improved, and follows it to the many theaters of the war where it saw service. Among the lesser-known are Burma and hazardous convoy protection in the Arctic and Mediterranean, flying from makeshift carriers. This book will fascinate specialist aviation historians and those who enjoy a rattling good war story, and includes a superb selection of rare photographs.

    With her groundbreaking honest and passionate lyrics, her unusual and innovative rhythms and melody, Nyro's influence is still felt by singers and songwriters today.Beginning with her childhood and teen years in the Bronx, and ending with her untimely death from ovarian cancer in 1997, Soul Picnic details how Nyro was "discovered" as a prodigious eighteen-year-old songwriter, had her songs covered with great success by other singers (most famously, the Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Three Dog Night, and Barbra Streisand), and created her own remarkable albums, such as Eli and the Thirteen Confession and New York Tendaberry. It also tells how a young David Geffen, as her agent and then manager, helped boost her career, but how she ultimately rejected both Geffen and the glare of stardom for a quieter rural life. Nyro was a very private person, and Michele Kort has uncovered aspects of her life offstage never previously revealed, including a romance with famed rock musician Jackson Browne and the love affair that led to the birth of her son, Gil. It also fleshes out her long, loving relationship with painter Maria Desiderio.Kort features Laura Nyro's music, the making of each of her albums, the musical influences that informed her work, and the important legacy she has left behind. She interviewed nearly all of the producers and arrangers Nyro worked with, and many of the musicians who played on her albums. The book also includes a discography of both Nyro's recordings and many covers of her songs by well-known artists.With passion and style, acclaimed journalist Michele Kort has seamlessly joined thorough research with oral history in this beautifully rendered biography of an important, often-overlooked music icon.

    He served for over a decade with the US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq, Nicholas participated in the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, hunted Iraq's Most Wanted and experienced brutal street combat, including 160 night-time missions over one 90-day deployment in the insurgent stronghold of Mosul. While serving in Afghanistan, he was also part of the search and rescue operation for Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell (author of Lone Survivor), and was on the ground again when a Chinook helicopter was shot down resulting in the death of 38 men and one military working dog. It was the single greatest loss of special operations personnel to date.

    From Dandy Don Meredith, Roger Staubach and America's Team to the dynasty of the mid-nineties that won three Super Bowls and the glitzy soap opera team of today, the Cowboys have been delighting their fans and infuriating their rivals since 1960.What sets the Cowboys apart from all other NFL franchises is that they have never been just about football. With their overbearing, ego-driven owner, players who can't stay out of the tabloids, a palatial new home field that sets the standard for modern stadiums, fans as enthusiastic as cheerleaders, and cheerleaders who are nearly as famous as the team itself, the Cowboys have become a staple of Americana. There is enough star power in the history of the team to drive an entire narrative, but THE DALLAS COWBOYS will be more than that.Cowboys' stories abound, involving everything from the team's founder to its coaches, from running backs to quarterbacks. Joe Nick Patoski will plumb all these anecdotes, going to the locker rooms as well as to the boardrooms and the backrooms, and writing a book that will be not just an account of the team, but a very rich portrait of a time, a place, and a culture.