May Made Me

May Made Me
Author: Mitchell Abidor
Publisher: AK Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2018-04-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1849352992

Q: “You threw paving stones at [the cops]?” A: “Oh yeah. I had no problem doing that. And I threw marbles as well that we stole from stores. And towards the end we even managed to steal tractors from construction sites and we knocked over trees with them.” The mass protests that shook France in May 1968 were exciting, dangerous, creative, and influential, changing European politics to this day. Students demonstrated, workers went on general strike, and factories and universities were occupied. Before it was all over, children, homemakers, and the elderly were swept up in the life-changing events that targeted bureaucratic capitalism and the staid Communist Party. The French state was on the ropes and feared civil war or revolution. Decades later, here are the eye-opening oral testimonies of those young rebels who demanded the impossible. Published on the 50th anniversary of those momentous events, May Made Me presents the legacy of the uprising: how those explosive experiences changed both the individual and history. “These powerful and moving testimonies create an eye-opening account of the inspiring events of May ’68, which are more relevant for today’s activists than ever before.” —Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future

The Book that Made Me

The Book that Made Me
Author: Judith Ridge
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0763696714

Essays by popular children's authors reveal the books that shaped their personal and literary lives, explaining how the stories they loved influenced them creatively, politically, and intellectually.

Ziggy, Stardust and Me

Ziggy, Stardust and Me
Author: James Brandon
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0525517669

In this tender-hearted debut, set against the tumultuous backdrop of life in 1973, when homosexuality is still considered a mental illness, two boys defy all the odds and fall in love. Now in paperback. The year is 1973. The Watergate hearings are in full swing. The Vietnam War is still raging. And homosexuality is still officially considered a mental illness. In the midst of these trying times is sixteen-year-old Jonathan Collins, a bullied, anxious, asthmatic kid, who aside from an alcoholic father and his sympathetic neighbor and friend Starla, is completely alone. To cope, Jonathan escapes to the safe haven of his imagination, where his hero David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and dead relatives, including his mother, guide him through the rough terrain of his life. In his alternate reality, Jonathan can be anything: a superhero, an astronaut, Ziggy Stardust, himself, or completely "normal" and not a boy who likes other boys. When he completes his treatments, he will be normal—at least he hopes. But before that can happen, Web stumbles into his life. Web is everything Jonathan wishes he could be: fearless, fearsome and, most importantly, not ashamed of being gay. Jonathan doesn't want to like brooding Web, who has secrets all his own. Jonathan wants nothing more than to be "fixed" once and for all. But he's drawn to Web anyway. Web is the first person in the real world to see Jonathan completely and think he's perfect. Web is a kind of escape Jonathan has never known. For the first time in his life, he may finally feel free enough to love and accept himself as he is.

The Awakening of Miss Prim

The Awakening of Miss Prim
Author: Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-07-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1476734259

In this #1 international bestseller, a young woman leaves everything behind to work as a librarian in a remote French village, where she finds her outlook on life and love challenged in every way. Prudencia Prim is a young woman of intelligence and achievement, with a deep knowledge of literature and several letters after her name. But when she accepts the post of private librarian in the village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she encounters there. Her employer, a book-loving intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a critique of her cherished Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott. The neighbors, too, are capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure, determined as they are to preserve their singular little community from the modern world outside. Prudencia hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but she didn't suspect that she might find love—nor that the course of her new life would run quite so rocky or would offer challenge and heartache as well as joy, discovery, and fireside debate. Set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes, and lovely company, The Awakening of Miss Prim is a distinctive and delightfully entertaining tale of literature, philosophy, and the search for happiness.

Paris Made Me...

Paris Made Me...
Author: John Kirby Abraham
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2010-05-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1426939485

Born in the shadow of Windsor Castle in Great Britain, the author left England for the Mediterranean in search of the sun. Adventures in several capitals allowed him to meet other expatriates who crossed deserts and mountains to observe conflicts, culture and decolonisation. His artwork, photography and theatrical presence left their mark in several cities, ending up as a radio-television journalist and presenter for French State media. As an English expatriate, Paris Made Me offers an objective view of European evolution as seen from France, souvenirs of helping Lawrence Durrell on Cyprus when the island was becoming a Republic, performing in a Roman temple in Lebanon and meeting Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, capturing the city of Beirut in photographs and filming in Copenhagen, before Paris beckoned him to become a journalist for Paris Radio France Internationale and Radio Australia, meeting such celebrities such as Orson Wells, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, Peter Ustinov and Jacques Brel.

The System Made Me Do It

The System Made Me Do It
Author: Rasma Karklins
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2005-04-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780765633484

Strike up a conversation with a citizen from the post-communist region and invariably the talk will turn to the topic of corruption - the misuse of public power for private gain. People are sure that corruption is widespread, whether from their own experiences or stories they have heard from others. They feel frustrated that there seems to be nothing they can do about it, that they are helpless, and that they are being played for fools. And many are cynical: they feel that they, too, have to play the game because "the system" compels them to do so. But what system exactly? What are the structures and mechanisms of corruption in post-communist societies? "The System Made Me Do It" is the first comprehensive study of the origin, nature, and consequences of corruption in post-communist societies. While international actors decry corruption as a major impediment to democracy building and economic development, the problem is not well understood. This book fills that gap, and suggests innovative and practical institutional strategies for containing corruption. It achieves a rare and perfect balance of disciplined analysis, practicality, and passion.

Keepsake

Keepsake
Author: Sarina Bowen
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2016-10-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1942444230

There's a first time for everything. Lark Wainright used to be fearless. Her life was a series of adventures, each one more exhilarating than the last. But her recent overseas adventure was one too many. Now she’s home and in one piece. Mostly. But her nights are filled with terror. When her best friend offers her a stay at the orchard in exchange for help at the farmers’ markets, Lark jumps at the chance to spend fall in Vermont. But her nightmares don’t stop. Desperate to keep her fragile state a secret, she relies on the most soft-spoken resident of the Shipley Farm to soothe her when her dreams prove too much. Zachariah is a survivor, too. It’s been four years since he was tossed aside by the polygamist cult where he grew up. He’s found a peaceful existence on the Shipley’s farm, picking apples and fixing machinery. But getting thrown away by your own people at nineteen leaves a mark on a guy. He doesn’t always know what to make of a world where movie quotes are the primary means of communication. Before hitchhiking to Vermont, he’d never watched TV or spoken on the phone. Actually, there are a lot of things he’s never done. Zach and Lark slowly grow to trust one another. One night they become even closer than they’d planned. But Lark may still be too broken to trust anyone. When she pushes Zach away, he will have to prove to himself that he's good for much more than farm labor. Praise for the True North series: “Utterly fantastic. Well-written romance that runs the full gamut of emotions. Oh, and did I mention steamy? This series has it all. ” — Red Hot & Blue Reads “I’m crazy about this series. In love with Jude and Sophie, the Shipley’s, just the whole family dynamic. EVERYTHING IS WOW.” — Angie's Dreamy Reads “A world that pulled me in and had me wishing I could read all day!” — Shh Mom’s Reading “5-stars, Top Pick! This story will break your heart and stitch it back together again.” — Harlequin Junkie “Another fantastic book by Sarina Bowen! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” — The Book Hookup "Smart, funny and super sexy, Bittersweet is full of the kind of writing that makes Sarina Bowen one of my favorite author crushes." —Author Sarah Mayberry For fans of: Melanie Harlow, Corinne Michaels, Meghan March, Lauren Blakely, Julia Kent, Elle Kennedy, Tijan, CD Reiss, Kendall Ryan, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Jana Aston, K Bromberg, Katy Evans, Jessica Hawkins, Kristen Proby, Penny Reid, Helena Hunting, Sally Thorne, Kristen Ashley, Helen Hoang, Kylie Scott, Christina Lauren, Jana Aston, Sawyer Bennett, Lexi Ryan, Karina Halle, Skye Warren, Kennedy Ryan, Jodi Ellen Mapas, Zoe York, Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis. Keywords: virgin hero, survivors, cult members, kidnapping, contemporary romance, PTSD, Vermont, coming of age.

Becoming Unbecoming

Becoming Unbecoming
Author: Una
Publisher: arsenal pulp press
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2016-10-03
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1551526549

This extraordinary graphic novel is a powerful denunciation of sexual violence against women. As seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl named Una, it takes place in northern England in 1977, as the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer of prostitutes, is on the loose and creating panic among the townspeople. As the police struggle in their clumsy attempts to find the killer, and the headlines in the local paper become more urgent, a once self-confident Una teaches herself to "lower her gaze" in order to deflect attention from boys. After she is "slut-shamed" at school for having birth control pills, Una herself is the subject of violent acts for which she comes to blame herself. But as the police finally catch up and identify the killer, Una grapples with the patterns of behavior that led her to believe she was to blame. Becoming Unbecoming combines various styles, press clippings, photo-based illustrations, and splashes of color to convey Una's sense of confusion and rage, as well as sobering statistics on sexual violence against women. The book is a no-holds-barred indictment of sexual violence against women and the shame and blame of its victims that also celebrates the empowerment of those able to gain control over their selves and their bodies. Una (a pseudonym) is an artist, academic, and comics creator. Becoming Unbecoming, which took seven years to create, is her first book. She lives in the United Kingdom.