Sons of the Sierra

Sons of the Sierra
Author: Patrick J. McNamara
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1469606720

The period following Mexico's war with the United States in 1847 was characterized by violent conflicts, as liberal and conservative factions battled for control of the national government. The civil strife was particularly bloody in south central Mexico, including the southern state of Oaxaca. In Sons of the Sierra, Patrick McNamara explores events in the Oaxaca district of Ixtlan, where Zapotec Indians supported the liberal cause and sought to exercise influence over statewide and national politics. Two Mexican presidents had direct ties to Ixtlan district: Benito Juarez, who served as Mexico's liberal president from 1858 to 1872, was born in the district, and Porfirio Diaz, president from 1876 to 1911, had led a National Guard battalion made up of Zapotec soldiers throughout the years of civil war. Paying close attention to the Zapotec people as they achieved greater influence, McNamara examines the political culture of Diaz's presidency and explores how Diaz, who became increasingly dictatorial over the course of his time in office, managed to stay in power for thirty-five years. McNamara reveals the weight of memory and storytelling as Ixtlan veterans and their families reminded government officials of their ties to both Juarez and Diaz. While Juarez remained a hero in their minds, Diaz came to represent the arrogance of Mexico City and the illegitimacy of the "Porfiriato" that ended with the 1910 revolution.

A Very Typical Family

A Very Typical Family
Author: Sierra Godfrey
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1728255228

"Atmospheric and uplifting...for fans of Marian Keyes and Emily Giffin." —Booklist, STARRED review A heartfelt, hilarious beach read about learning to love (and forgive) your family...even when they accidentally put you behind bars. All families are messy. Some are disasters. Natalie Walker is the reason her older brother and sister went to prison over 15 years ago. She fled California shortly after that fateful night and hasn't spoken to anyone in her family since. Now, on the same day her boyfriend steals her dream job out from under her, Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her estranged mother has died and left the family's historic Santa Cruz house to her. Sort of. The only way for Natalie and her siblings to inherit is for all three adult children to come back and claim it—together. Natalie drives cross-country to Santa Cruz with her willful cat in tow expecting to sign some papers, see siblings Lynn and Jake briefly, and get back to sorting out her life in Boston. But Jake, now an award-winning ornithologist, is missing. And Lynn, working as an undertaker in New York City, shows up with a teenage son. While Natalie and her nephew look for Jake—meeting a very handsome marine biologist who immediately captures her heart—she unpacks the guilt she has held onto for so many years, wondering how (or if) she can salvage a relationship with her siblings after all this time. Written with delightfully dark humor and characters you can't help but cheer for, A Very Typical Family is an uplifting family drama that will have you reveling in the power of second chances. "I couldn't put it down. Engrossing, satisfying. The minute I turned the last page I messaged three friends to tell them they had to grab it." —KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club pick The Chicken Sisters

At Any Cost

At Any Cost
Author: Mike Jones
Publisher: Worthy Books
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2015-08-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1617956252

When Mike and Hayley set out to adopt a child from Sierra Leone, Africa, never in their wildest imaginations did they dream this venture would lead to the "Jones Dozen." This dramatically moving story will amaze and inspire any reader. Their stunning observation: "It was the least we could do!"

Your Sons Are at Your Service

Your Sons Are at Your Service
Author: Aaron Y. Zelin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231550499

Tunisia became one of the largest sources of foreign fighters for the Islamic State—even though the country stands out as a democratic bright spot of the Arab uprisings and despite the fact that it had very little history of terrorist violence within its borders prior to 2011. In Your Sons Are at Your Service, Aaron Y. Zelin uncovers the longer history of Tunisian involvement in the jihadi movement and offers an in-depth examination of the reasons why so many Tunisians became drawn to jihadism following the 2011 revolution. Zelin highlights the longer-term causes that affected jihadi recruitment in Tunisia, including the prior history of Tunisians joining jihadi organizations and playing key roles in far-flung parts of the world over the past four decades. He contends that the jihadi group Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia was able to take advantage of the universal prisoner amnesty, increased openness, and the lack of governmental policy toward it after the revolution. In turn, this provided space for greater recruitment and subsequent mobilization to fight abroad once the Tunisian government cracked down on the group in 2013. Zelin marshals cutting-edge empirical findings, extensive primary source research, and on-the-ground fieldwork, including a variety of documents in Arabic going as far back as the 1980s and interviews with Ansar al-Sharia members and Tunisian fighters returning from Syria. The first book on the history of the Tunisian jihadi movement, Your Sons Are at Your Service is a meticulously researched account that challenges simplified views of jihadism’s appeal and success.

Sons of Encouragement

Sons of Encouragement
Author: Francine Rivers
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Total Pages: 707
Release: 2011-04-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1414360401

The complete biblical historical fiction compilation by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind. The Bible is filled with inspiring stories of unlikely candidates God chose to quietly change eternity. This bestselling compilation in one volume contains five novellas about such people—men who stood behind heroes of the faith. Aaron. Caleb. Jonathan. Amos. Silas. Each faithfully sought God in the shadows of His chosen leaders. They answered God’s call to serve without recognition or fame. And they gave everything, knowing their reward might not come until the next life. Be challenged by these faithful men whose stories we must never forget. Aaron—the priest who stood in Moses’ shadow but had the courage to cover his brother’s fears. Caleb—the warrior whose words stirred men’s hearts and brought God’s people to the Promised Land. Jonathan—the prince whose humility led him to befriend the man who would become king in his place. Amos—the prophet who heard when God called and spoke to a nation unwilling to listen. Silas—the scribe who surrendered his wealth to record God’s Word, even as those around him were silenced. Each novella includes an in-depth Bible study perfect for personal reflection or group discussion.

Free Slaves, Freetown, and the Sierra Leonean Civil War

Free Slaves, Freetown, and the Sierra Leonean Civil War
Author: Joseph Kaifala
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2016-11-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1349948543

This book is a historical narrative covering various periods in Sierra Leone’s history from the fifteenth century to the end of its civil war in 2002. It entails the history of Sierra Leone from its days as a slave harbor through to its founding as a home for free slaves, and toward its political independence and civil war. In 1462, the country was discovered by a Portuguese explorer, Pedro de Sintra, who named it Serra Lyoa (Lion Mountains). Sierra Leone later became a lucrative hub for the Transatlantic Slave Trade. At the end of slavery in England, Freetown was selected as a home for the Black Poor, free slaves in England after the Somerset ruling. The Black Poor were joined by the Nova Scotians, American slaves who supported or fought with the British during the American Revolution. The Maroons, rebellious slaves from Jamaica, arrived in 1800. The Recaptives, freed in enforcement of British antislavery laws, were also taken to Freetown. Freetown became a British colony in 1808 and Sierra Leone obtained political independence from Britain in 1961. The development of the country was derailed by the death of its first Prime Minister, Sir Milton Margai, and thirty years after independence the country collapsed into a brutal civil war.

Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir

Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir
Author: Linnie Marsh Wolfe
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2019-07-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

First published in 1945, this biography won the Pulitzer Prize in 1946. Its author worked for twenty-two years on John Muir, including as secretary of the John Muir Association and as editor of Muir’s unpublished papers. She interviewed many family members and people who knew and worked with John Muir to produce this account of Muir’s life. She recounts Muir’s Scottish origins, his early years in the harsh Wisconsin wilderness, his remarkable mechanical aptitude and interest in botany and geology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he spent two and a half years before traveling to the Canadian wilderness, and then to California where he spent most of his life. “[A] well-balanced, informative and rewarding biography.” — Kirkus Reviews “Into this biography of John Muir, Mrs. Wolfe has packed an amazing amount of factual information which she has illuminated with a sober critical judgment that gives us a convincing portrait of the whole man.” — Francis P. Farquhar, Pacific Historical Review “Linnie Marsh Wolfe almost singlehandedly restored John Muir to the respectability and stature he always deserved... [Son of the Wilderness] should be on the reference shelves of anyone seriously interested in American environmental history.” — John Opie, Environmental History Review “[A]n interesting personal biography... [Wolfe] creates Muir as a living personality — mystical but athletic, enthusiastic about nature but socially abrupt — a sort of middle-aged Thoreau.” — Alexander Kern, Journal of American History “By immersing herself in Muir’s life, for example, by soaking in his correspondence and journals, [Wolfe] was able to craft what amounts to a first-person narrative, the autobiography he never wrote for himself.” — Char Miller, John Muir Newsletter

Son of Time

Son of Time
Author: Tyler Ferris
Publisher:
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2016-12-08
Genre:
ISBN: 9781533599674

The only memory twelve-year old Calvin has of his father is a cheap wrist watch. But when that watch suddenly starts running backwards, Calvin finds himself tired, hungry and alone in a medieval village - nine-hundred years in the past. There, along with a few orphaned friends, he must battle dwarves, dragons, and dark magic - and the brutal truth of who his own father has become.

Land of the Sons

Land of the Sons
Author: Gipi
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2018-04-18
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1683960777

This is a dystopic coming-of-age graphic novel about two brothers trying to discover the secret of their father’s diary. Two pre-adolescent brothers scavenge a post-apocalyptic landscape for anything that might help each other and their father exist for one more day. Although their survival hangs in the balance, the boys are obsessed with only one thing―the diary their father keeps. They’ve never been taught to read or write, but they have a hunch that the scribbles might answer their questions. Land of the Sons is Gipi’s most artistically accomplished work to date.