Two years ago, Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges and award-winning cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco set out to take a look at the sacrifice zones,... those areas in America that have been offered up for exploitation in the name of profit, progress, and technological advancement. They wanted to show in words and drawings what life looks like in places where the marketplace rules without constraints, where human beings and the natural world are used and then discarded to maximize profit. Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is the searing account of their travels.The book starts in the western plains, where Native Americans were sacrificed in the giddy race for land and empire. It moves to the old manufacturing centers and coal fields that fueled the industrial revolution, but now lie depleted and in decay. It follows the steady downward spiral of American labor into the nation's produce fields and ends in Zuccotti Park where a new generation revolts against a corporate state that has handed to the young an economic, political, cultural and environmental catastrophe.

On the morning of January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold in California. The news spread across the continent, launching hundreds of ships... and hitching a thousand prairie schooners filled with adventurers in search of heretofore unimagined wealth. Those who joined the procession--soon called 49ers--included the wealthy and the poor from every state and territory, including slaves brought by their owners. In numbers, they represented the greatest mass migration in the history of the Republic.In this first comprehensive history of the Gold Rush, Malcolm J. Rohrbough demonstrates that in its far-reaching repercussions, it was the most significant event in the first half of the nineteenth century. No other series of events between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War produced such a vast movement of people; called into question basic values of marriage, family, work, wealth, and leisure; led to so many varied consequences; and left such vivid memories among its participants.Through extensive research in diaries, letters, and other archival sources, Rohrbough uncovers the personal dilemmas and confusion that the Gold Rush brought. His engaging narrative depicts the complexity of human motivation behind the event and reveals the effects of the Gold Rush as it spread outward in ever-widening circles to touch the lives of families and communities everywhere in the United States. For those who joined the 49ers, the decision to go raised questions about marital obligations and family responsibilities. For those men--and women, whose experiences of being left behind have been largely ignored until now--who remained on the farm or in the shop, the absences of tens of thousands of men over a period of years had a profound impact, reshaping a thousand communities across the breadth of the American nation.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a loose alliance of blacks and whites, individuals and organizations, came together to offer a radical alternative to southern... conservative politics. In Days of Hope, Patricia Sullivan traces the rise and fall of this movement. Using oral interviews with participants in this movement as well as documentary sources, she demonstrates that the New Deal era inspired a coalition of liberals, black activists, labor organizers, and Communist Party workers who sought to secure the New Deal's social and economic reforms by broadening the base of political participation in the South.From its origins in a nationwide campaign to abolish the poll tax, the initiative to expand democracy in the South developed into a regional drive to register voters and elect liberals to Congress. The NAACP, the CIO Political Action Committee, and the Southern Conference for Human Welfare coordinated this effort, which combined local activism with national strategic planning. Although it dramatically increased black voter registration and led to some electoral successes, the movement ultimately faltered, according to Sullivan, because the anti-Communist fervor of the Cold War and a militant backlash from segregationists fractured the coalition and marginalized southern radicals. Nevertheless, the story of this campaign invites a fuller consideration of the possibilities and constraints that have shaped the struggle for racial democracy in America since the 1930s.

Rodriguez's acclaimed first book, Hunger of Memory raised a fierce controversy with its views on bilingualism and alternative action. Now, in a series... of intelligent and candid essays, Rodriguez ranges over five centuries to consider the moral and spiritual landscapes of Mexico and the US and their impact on his soul.

For Patricia Preciado Martin, the past is every bit as real as the present. In Days of Plenty, Days of Want , past and present meet in a collection of... strikingly crafted short stories. Martin combines a strong sense of the poetic and a familiarity with her community in fiction that is as authentic as history. Transcending the legends and folklore that are an integral part of the stories, she shows us a heritage being irreverently pushed aside by "progress" yet passed along from person to person, century to century. In the pages of this book are people so real you'll swear you've met them, situations so familiar you'll nod in recognition. In "Earth to Earth" we see the remains of a woman's entire lifetime being purchased and destroyed by land developers. "María de las Trenzas" offers a moving account of a young woman who fantasizes adventures to escape the tedium of her life. And "The Ruins" emphasizes the importance of preserving a heritage so that a people's history and culture will not be forgotten by future generations. Two of these stories have won prizes in Chicano literary contests; all will win the hearts of readers. Through these stories, Patricia Preciado Martin reminds us that freedom and self-expression are important in fulfilling our potential—and, more important, that a large part of this process requires acknowledging our heritage as a priceless gift whose relevance in our lives cannot be ignored.

Evelyn Fairbanks grew up in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s along Rondo Avenue -- the heart of St. Paul's largest black neighborhood. Her book tells the warm... and human stories she recalls from those years in the then-vibrant community that was doomed to disappear with the coming of the freeways in the 1960s.

First published in 1973, Geoffrey Perrett’s portrait of war-time America was immediately hailed as a major retrospective. Perret vividly describes the... social, political, and economic fabric of American domestic life from 1939 to 1945, and argues that the World War II years precipitated a crucial, if silent social revolution at home—one that continues to reverberate today.

No student can have a balanced understanding of 20th century Russia - including today - without reading this radical on the right, nationalist, Duma... member, one of two men to accept Emperor Nicholas II's abdication.

From the beginning of the twentieth century to World War II, farm wife May Lyford Davis kept a daily chronicle that today offers a window into a way of... life that has all but disappeared. May and her husband Elmo lived through two decades of prosperity, the Great Depression, and two World Wars in their Midwestern farming community. Like many women of her time, Davis kept diaries that captured the everyday events of the family farm; she also kept meticulous farming accounts. In doing so, she left an extraordinary record that reflects not only her own experiences but also the history of early twentieth-century American agriculture.   May and Elmo’s story, engagingly told by Carrie A. Meyer, showcases the large-scale evolution of agriculture from horses to automobile and tractors, a surprisingly vibrant family and community life, and the business of commercial farming. Details such as what items were bought and sold, what was planted and harvested, the temperature and rainfall, births and deaths, and the direction of the wind are gathered to reveal a rich picture of a world shared by many small farmers.   With sustainable and small-scale farming again on the rise in the United States, Days on the Family Farm resonates with both the profound and mundane aspects of rural life—past and present—in the Midwest.   Carrie A. Meyer is associate professor of economics at George Mason University.

In Days to Celebrate Lee Bennett Hopkins has collected an astounding array of information to show us that each day of the year gives us a reason to... celebrate. For every month he has compiled a calendar of birthdays, holidays, historic events, inventions, world records, thrilling firsts, and more. And for every month he has selected surprising poems in honor of some of the people and events commemorated in the calendar. There are poems about the seasons and holidays, of course, but there are also poems about a "Flying-Man" (for February 4, Charles Lindbergh's birthday), birds (for April 26, John James Audubon's birthday), windshield wipers (patented November 10), and earmuffs (patented December 21). Beloved poets, such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Christina Rossetti, are joined by new voices in sixty poems that take us on a remarkable journey through a year -- and through the years. Stephen Alcorn's illustrations, based on the style of art found in old almanacs, are airy, whimsical, and thought provoking. They perfectly match the breadth and depth of this volume. Brilliantly conceived and elegantly illustrated, Days to Celebrate is a book that pays tribute to the people, events, and poetry that make up our past and will inspire our future.

The acclaimed DAYTRIPPER follows Bras de Olivias Dominguez during different periods in his life, each with the same ending: his death.DAYTRIPPER follows... the life of one man, Bras de Olivias Dominguez. Every chapter features an important period in Bras’ life in exotic Brazil, and each story ends the same way: with his death. And then, the following story starts up at a different point in his life, oblivious to his death in the previous issue – and then also ends with him dying again. In every chapter, Bras dies at different moments in his life, as the story follows him through his entire existence – one filled with possibilities of happiness and sorrow, good and bad, love and loneliness. Each issue rediscovers the many varieties of daily life, in a story about living life to its fullest – because any of us can die at any moment.

A classic account of mountain life, accurately portraying the people and lore of the Cumberland Mountains.  Miles' familiarity with the mountain... people--and her perception of the importance of women, especially older women--allows her to illustrate their way of life in a personal and realistic manner". . . gives us an extraordinary insight into the personal relationships of the mountain lore, signs, rhymes, omens, tales, even the development of the mountain music.  She presents the strength of religious beliefs along with the emotionalism and simplistic tradition of 'the old-time religion.'"—The Southern Quarterly.  Emma Bell Miles (1879-1919) also wrote numerous poems and short stories that appeared in such publications of the period as Harpers Monthly, Century, and Lippincott’s.

"Den' bez vran'ia" draws readers into the everyday existence of a twenty-something Muscovite who has decided to live a single day without telling any... lies. Yet the events of his day--from his unruly French class to the evening he spends with his girlfriend and her parents--seriously challenge his resolve to avoid lying. From his wry, ironic reflections about himself and his world, the reader gains insight into the human condition and the specific challenges of living in the Soviet Union in the 1960s.Viktoria Tokareva (b. 1937, Leningrad) launched her writing career with the publication of the story "Den' bez vran'ia" in the journal "Molodaia gvardiia" in 1964. Since that time she has written countless stories and novellas about the fate of men and women trying to get by in contemporary Russia. Widely read in Russia and Europe, her works combine humor and psychological insight into everyday characters and situations.

Mastering the art of communicating scientific information is more critical than ever for a successful career in science and technology. Scientists today... must be able to effectively convey sophisticated information to a broad audience that may include students, colleagues around the world, regulatory bodies, granting agencies, legislators, and the lay public. In this engaging and lively book, the author provides a step-by-step guide to the complete process of making a scientific presentation from preparation to delivery. It offers numerous examples highlighting what to follow and what to avoid. This revised edition covers the effective use of PowerPointT and other computer-based presentation programs. It also includes a handy checklist, new illustrations, and tips on handling an audience in a foreign country.

At the crossroads of philosophy and science, the sometimes-dry topics of evolution and ecology come alive in this new collection of essays--many never... before anthologized. Learn how technology may be a sort of second nature, how the systemic human fungus Candida albicans can lead to cravings for carrot cake and beer, how the presence of life may be why there's water on Earth, and many other fascinating facts.The essay "Metametazoa" presents perspectives on biology in a philosophical context, demonstrating how the intellectual librarian, pornographer, and political agitator Georges Bataille was influenced by Russian mineralogist Vladimir Vernadsky and how this led to his notion of the absence of meaning in the face of the sun--which later influenced Jacques Derrida, thereby establishing a causal chain of influence from the hard sciences to topics as abstract as deconstruction and post-modernism. In "Spirochetes Awake" the bizarre connection between syphilis and genius in the life of Friedrich Nietzsche is traced. The astonishing similarities of the Acquired-Immune-Deficiency-Syndrome symptoms with those of chronic spirochete infection, it is argued, contrast sharply with the lack of evidence that "HIV is the cause of AIDS". Throughout these readings we are dazzled by the intimacy and necessity of relationships between us and our other planetmates. In our ignorance as "civilized" people we dismiss, disdain, and deny our kinship with the only productive life forms that sustain this living planet.