In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake


Tiya Miles - 2021
    Soon after, the nine-year-old girl was separated from her mother and sold. Decades later, Ashley’s granddaughter Ruth embroidered this family history on the bag in spare yet haunting language—including Rose’s wish that “It be filled with my Love always.” Now, in this illuminating, deeply moving new book inspired by Rose’s gift to Ashley, historian Tiya Miles carefully unearths these women’s faint presence in archival records and draws on objects and art, to follow the paths of their lives—and the lives of so many women like them—in a singular and revelatory history of the experience of slavery, and the uncertain freedom afterward, in the United States.All That She Carried is a poignant story of resilience and of love passed down through generations of women against steep odds. It honors the creativity and fierce resourcefulness of people who preserved family ties even when official systems refused to do so.

Blue Man Falling


Frank Barnard - 2006
    Above all, Frank Barnard lays bare the meaning of war, and the selflessness of those prepared to fight until the end. The perfect read for fans of Band of Brothers. In September 1939, war is declared and Europe holds its breath. For RAF fighter pilots patrolling the Franco-German border it is a bizarre time: one moment they are chasing an elusive Luftwaffe, the next ordering champagne in Paris. Then, in May 1940, Hitler launches Blitzkrieg and the Hurricane squadrons find themselves engulfed in battle. Blue Man Falling follows the fortunes of two RAF pilots; Englishman Kit Curtis, and American Ossie Wolf, who clash not only with the Germans, but also with each other, fighting for different reasons and employing different methods as France collapses and the Allies face humiliation and defeat. They also encounter the insidious Fifth Column, the enemy within, and those intent on profiting from chaos...What readers are saying about Blue Man Falling:'Brilliantly conceived and superbly written. There is humour and a fascination throughout. Without doubt this is a must-read book - one that grips you from start to finish' 'Captures the harrowing, insidious shadow of despair that swept across Franceand the civilised world in the wake of Blitzkrieg. Each character is drawn with touching, intimate detail and it is the many finely portrayed action scenes that gives this novel a life of its own''Takes you to another world effortlessly. Pacy, gripping and full of unexpected twists and turns'

Heartbreak in the Valleys


Francesca Capaldi - 2020
    For young housemaid, Anwen Rhys, life is hard in the Welsh mining village of Dorcalon, deep in the Rhymney Valley. She cares for her ill mother and beloved younger sister Sara, all while shielding them from her father’s drunken, violent temper. Anwen comforts herself with her love for childhood sweetheart, Idris Hughes, away fighting in the Great War.Yet when Idris returns, he is a changed man; no longer the innocent boy she loved, he is harder, more distant, quickly breaking off their engagement. And when tragedy once again strikes her family, Anwen’s heart is completely broken.But when an explosion at the pit brings unimaginable heartache to Dorcalon, Anwen and Idris put their feelings aside to unite their mining community.In the midst of despair, can Anwen find hope again? And will she ever find the happiness she deserves?

A Captivating Lady's Love Storm


Bridget Barton - 2020
    After her first dance with a charming gentleman, her instinct tells her that he might be the one. While she can't stop daydreaming about her life by his side, everything is about to change when she discovers that his family is her father's lifelong feud. When her father announces that he will never allow her to see him again, Marianne's life falls into pieces. Desperate to escape her grim future, she tries to find the cause of her father's hate and soothe his resentful heart. Will she manage to put an end to an endless clash? Will she finally have the happy ending she has always been dreaming of?Edmund Stapleton is a kind gentleman with an intrepid mind. Even though he has never enjoyed balls and such social events, he has no choice but to fulfil society's expectations. When he first sees Marianne, he cannot help being smitten by her beauty. But a storm is brewing when he learns that the woman who is about to haunt his dreams would be the daughter of his father's most obnoxious enemy. Will Edmund stick to his father's demand to forget about Marianne, or will he start a relentless pursuit of claiming the woman he loves?Against all odds, Marianne and Edmund do everything in their power to spend a few moments together. But when her father finds out about their secret meetings, furious as he is, he forces her back to the countryside. To make matters worse, he finds an eligible man to betroth her at the earliest opportunity. In the end, will the two romantic souls escape from a terrible fate? Will their love withstand the obstacles that keep them apart?"A Captivating Lady's Love Storm" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Dishes & Beverages of the Old South


Martha McCulloch-Williams - 1913
    Proper dinners mean so much-good blood, good health, good judgment, good conduct. The fact makes tragic a truth too little regarded; namely, that while bad cooking can ruin the very best of raw foodstuffs, all the arts of all the cooks in the world can do no more than palliate things stale, flat and unprofitable. To buy such things is waste, instead of economy. Food must satisfy the palate else it will never truly satisfy the stomach. An unsatisfied stomach, or one overworked by having to wrestle with food which has bulk out of all proportion to flavor, too often makes its vengeful protest in dyspepsia. It is said underdone mutton cost Napoleon the battle of Leipsic, and eventually his crown. I wonder, now and then, if the prevalence of divorce has any connection with the decline of home cooking? A far cry, and heretical, do you say, gentle reader? Not so far after all-these be sociologic days. I am but leading up to the theory with facts behind it, that it was through being the best fed people in the world, we of the South Country were able to put up the best fight in history, and after the ravages and ruin of civil war, come again to our own. We might have been utterly crushed but for our proud and pampered stomachs, which in turn gave the bone, brain and brawn for the conquests of peace. So here's to our Mammys-God bless them! God rest them! This imperfect chronicle of the nurture wherewith they fed us is inscribed with love to their memory Almost my earliest memory is of Mammy's kitchen. Permission to loiter there was a Reward of Merit-a sort of domestic Victoria Cross. If, when company came to spend the day, I made my manners prettily, I might see all the delightful hurley-burley of dinner-cooking. My seat was the biscuit block, a section of tree-trunk at least three feet across, and waist-high. Mammy set me upon it, but first covered it with her clean apron-it was almost the only use she ever made of the apron. The block stood well out of the way-next the meal barrel in the corner behind the door, and hard by the Short Shelf, sacred to cake and piemaking, as the Long Shelf beneath the window was given over to the three water buckets-cedar with brass hoops always shining like gold-the piggin, also of cedar, the corn-bread tray, and the cup-noggin. Above, the log wall bristled with knives of varying edge, stuck in the cracks; with nails whereon hung flesh-forks, spoons, ladles, skimmers. These were for the most part hand-wrought, by the local blacksmithThe forks in particular were of a classic grace-so much so that when, in looking through my big sister's mythology I came upon a picture of Neptune with his trident, I called it his flesh-fork, and asked if he were about to take up meat with it, from the waves boiling about his feet. The kitchen proper would give Domestic Science heart failure, yet it must have been altogether sanitary. Nothing about it was tight enough to harbor a self-respecting germ. It was the rise of twenty feet square, built stoutly of hewn logs, with a sharply pitched board roof, a movable loft, a plank floor boasting inch-wide cracks, a door, two windows and a fireplace that took up a full half of one end. In front of the fireplace stretched a rough stone hearth, a yard in depth. Sundry and several cranes swung against the chimney-breast. When fully in commission they held pots enough to cook for a regiment. The pots themselves, of cast iron, with close-fitting tops, ran from two to ten gallons in capacity, had rounded bottoms with three pertly outstanding legs, and ears either side for the iron pot-hooks, which varied in size even as did the pots themselves."

Copycat Recipes: Making Restaurants’ Most Popular Recipes at Home


Lina Chang - 2017
    There’s just something about eating out that, whether alone or with company, which makes eating all the more enjoyable. Maybe you think that you’ll never be able to recreate the food you order at Outback Steakhouse, Starbucks, or McDonald’s. So, you go in there, wait in line for what seems like an eternity, and then pay for food that you know is way overpriced. But what if you didn’t have to go through all that? What if you could be munching on a Cinnabon you made right in your own home? No leaving the house, no waiting in line, and no spending money on expensive food—just the amazing taste of your beloved restaurant dishes and the satisfaction that you were able to recreate them all by yourself (or with friends or family). And, with the help of this cookbook, you’ll be able to do just that in no time. Inside, you’ll find: • Delightful breakfast recipes such as the French Toast from Denny’s and the Copycat Power Breakfast Sandwich from Panera • Incredible snack recipes like the Cracker Barrel’s Biscuits and the Avocado Eggrolls from The Cheesecake Factory • Traditional soup recipes such as the Copycat Olive Garden Creamy Zuppa Toscana and the Healthy Minestrone Soup from Carrabba’s • Wholesome chicken recipes like the Panda Express’ Crispy Orange Chicken and the Homemade Chili’s Boneless Buffalo Wings • Bountiful pork recipes like the Cafe Rio’s Sweet Shredded Pork and the Chipotle’s Pork Carnitas • Satisfying beef recipes such as the Copycat Wendy’s Beef Chili and the Copycat Swedish Meatballs from Ikea • Amazing seafood recipes like the Red Lobster’s Famous Shrimp Scampi and the Chi-Chi’s Seafood Chimichanga • Tasty vegetarian recipes like the Outbacks' Blooming Onion, Applebee’s Low Fat Veggie Quesadilla, and the DIY California Quinoa Salad from Whole Foods • Easy-to-prepare burger and sandwich recipes like the Sonic’s Signature House Burger and the Chick-Fil-A’s Sandwich • Delicious pasta recipes such as the Homemade Pesto Cavatappi from Noodles & Company and the Rattlesnake Pasta from Pizzeria Uno • Luscious dessert recipes such as the Cinnabon’s Classic Cinnamon Rolls and the Easy Mrs. Fields Cookies Snickerdoodle Read on your favorite devices such as Kindle, IPhone, IPad, Android cellular phone, tablet, laptop, or computer with Amazon's free reading Kindle App. Scroll back up and click the BUY NOW button at the top right side of this page for an immediate download!

Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli


Ted Merwin - 2015
    As a social space it rivaled—and in some ways surpassed—the synagogue as the primary gathering place for the Jewish community. In popular culture it has been the setting for classics like When Harry Met Sally. And today, after a long period languishing in the trenches of the hopelessly old-fashioned, it is experiencing a nostalgic resurgence. Pastrami on Rye is the first full-length history of the New York Jewish deli. The deli, argues Ted Merwin, reached its full flowering not in the immigrant period, as some might assume, but in the interwar era, when the children of Jewish immigrants celebrated the first flush of their success in America by downing sandwiches and cheesecake in theater district delis. But it was the kosher deli that followed Jews as they settled in the outer boroughs of the city, and that became the most tangible symbol of their continuing desire to maintain a connection to their heritage. Ultimately, upwardly mobile American Jews discarded the deli as they transitioned from outsider to insider status in the middle of the century. Now contemporary Jews are returning the deli to cult status as they seek to reclaim their cultural identities. Richly researched and compellingly told, Pastrami on Rye gives us the surprising story of a quintessential New York institution.

Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses Someone Knows My Name / The Book of Negroes, the novel by Lawrence Hill


Marilyn Herbert - 2010
    Lawrence Hill’s new book doesn’t lessen the awfulness of the times, but adds a unique human dimension. Hill has created an uplifting and highly educational story about a shameful part of history. The Book of Negroes is sold in the United States under the title, Someone Knows My Name. Aminata Diallo was born free in Africa in the eighteenth century. She had a rich and lovely childhood until the day she was captured by slave traders and marched off to the coast in chains. Along with thousands of others, Aminata was destined for North America as a slave to white owners. She was eleven years old. Hill tracks Aminata’s story through the circle of her life. Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style, and interesting background information on the novel and the author.

Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist


Barbara Herkert - 2015
    She lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and eventually owned a cotton farm with her family, all the while relying on her skills with the needle to clothe and feed her children.   Later she began making pictorial quilts, using each square to illustrate Bible stories and local legends. She exhibited her quilts at local cotton fairs, and though she never traveled outside of Georgia, her quilts are now priceless examples of African American folk art.   Barbara Herkert’s lyrical narrative and Vanessa Newton’s patchwork illustrations bring this important artist to life in a moving picture-book biography.

Partners in Justice and Love


Lorelei Brogan - 2019
    Her life in Baltimore has always been a quiet one until she suddenly discovers that her brother has found himself arrested. Sara has no other option than to travel immediately to Kansas so as to attend his trial. After witnessing him being sentenced to a 5-year prison-time for a crime he could never commit, she decides it's her duty to take action. To her surprise, she is not the only one to rush in, willing to do anything to help him... Will the handsome former Bounty Hunter, who offers to join her mission, eventually lead them to the solution they desperately crave?Logan Payne has spent most of his teenage years trying to protect his sister and mother from his abusive father. As an adult man, he has promised to stay away from trouble and leave his life as a Bounty Hunter behind. But when his brother-in-law is trapped in a controversial trial, he has no other choice but to jump in and help him gain his freedom back. Sara, the prisoner's beautiful sister, will be his valuable partner to this plan. When emotions he had never experienced before start rising to the surface, will he manage to straighten things out and capture her heart, just like she captivated his?While Sara and Logan's hearts are growing closer, misunderstood motives and a well-kept secret are about to leave the heroes in a state of confusion and pain. Can they really prove Sara's brother's innocence? Or will the crime spree take a dangerous turn for the worse?

The Ragged Stranger: The Hero, The Hobo, And The Crime That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago


Harold Schechter - 2019
    Guns are drawn, and in the ensuing hail of bullets, only the husband walks away. However, police soon find out, that what seems to be a robbery gone wrong is anything but. The Case of the Ragged Stranger, as the tabloids dubbed it, is a tale of deceit, betrayal, and depravity, a stranger-than-fiction mystery story whose shocking solution riveted the nation and made it one of the most sensational crimes of the Jazz Age.

An Edible History of Humanity


Tom Standage - 2009
    An Edible History of Humanity is a pithy, entertaining account of how a series of changes—caused, enabled, or influenced by food—has helped to shape and transform societies around the world. The first civilizations were built on barley and wheat in the Near East, millet and rice in Asia, and corn and potatoes in the Americas. Why farming created a strictly ordered social hierarchy in contrast to the loose egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers is, as Tom Standage reveals, as interesting as the details of the complex cultures that emerged, eventually interconnected by commerce. Trade in exotic spices in particular spawned the age of exploration and the colonization of the New World. Food's influence over the course of history has been just as prevalent in modern times. In the late eighteenth century, Britain's solution to food shortages was to industrialize and import food rather than grow it. Food helped to determine the outcome of wars: Napoleon's rise and fall was intimately connected with his ability to feed his vast armies. In the twentieth century, Communist leaders employed food as an ideological weapon, resulting in the death by starvation of millions in the Soviet Union and China. And today the foods we choose in the supermarket connect us to global debates about trade, development, the environment, and the adoption of new technologies. Encompassing many fields, from genetics and archaeology to anthropology and economics—and invoking food as a special form of technology—An Edible History of Humanity is a fully satisfying discourse on the sweep of human history.

Fantastic Facts about the Oregon Trail


Michael Trinklein - 2012
    Read all about these fantastic facts--and dozens of others--in this fun-to-read book.Did you know that some pioneers took a "shortcut" to Oregon that took them perilously close to Antarctica? Or that ferryboat operators on the Oregon Trail could earn nearly $2,000 per day? Or that many pioneers found ice in the middle of the blazing hot desert? It's all true! An entertaining read for young people or anyone interested in the great western journey.

Gastroanomalies: Questionable Culinary Creations from the Golden Age of American Cookery


James Lileks - 2007
    150 full-color photos.