In sometimes humorous and sometimes tragic, even violent contexts, the characters in these stories struggle to fathom the complexities and circumstances of their lives. Here are ordinary people trying to come to grips with the implications of where they've been, and preparing themselves for where they're headed. All these stories seek to interrogate and render in genuine and unflinching ways the nature of doubt, delusion, and surprisingly, the potentially rescuing powers of faith and grace. They are above all, honest and compassionate stories. Here is a writer you can trust; here are people you have known. (Behold Faith)
A collection of fifteen essays exploring what folklore is, its history, and how it all connects to the world. Celebrated folklorist, Dorothy Noyes, offers an unforgettable glimpse of her craft and the many ways it matters. Folklore is the dirty linen of modernity, carrying the traces of working bodies and the worlds they live in. It is necessary but embarrassing, not easily blanched and made respectable for public view, although sometimes this display is deemed useful. The place of folklore studies among modern academic disciplines has accordingly been marginal and precarious, yet folklore studies are foundational and persistent. Long engaged with all that escapes the gaze of grand theory and grand narratives, folklorists have followed the lead of the people whose practices they study. They attend to local economies of meaning; they examine the challenge of making room for maneuver within circumstances one does not control. Incisive and wide ranging, the fifteen essays in this book chronicle the “humble theory” of both folk and folklorist as interacting perspectives on social life in the modern Western world. “Tying folklore to larger trends in Western cultural thought, leaving behind narrow concerns with genre or fossilized expressive forms, Humble Theory showcases the potential of folkloristics to contribute meaningfully to interdisciplinary conversations about culture.” —Journal of Folklore Research “Humble Theory is a big book. From a small scholarly field, it announces the most substantial, far-seeing insights into the world’s social life. By writing it, Noyes becomes the kind of public intellectual the United States needs.” —Journal of American Folklore
How did Little Women-- the beloved literary classic and inspiration for Greta Gerwig's acclaimed feature film adaptation--come to be? This stunning biography explores the unique family and unusual circumstances of literary icon Louisa May Alcott. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. How did these cherished characters come to be? Louisa May Alcott, the author of one of the most famous "girl" books of all time, was anything but a well-mannered young lady. A tomboy as well as a ravenous reader, Louisa took comfort in fictional characters that were as passionate and willful as she was--and whose wild imaginations were a match for her own. She was often found roaming the woods near her home in Concord, Massachusetts, or exploring the natural world in the company of the great Transcendentalist thinkers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Here is a beautiful portrait of Louisa May Alcott, a woman influenced by her father, a penniless philosopher, her mother, with whom she shared a great connection, and, of course, her three sisters. Featuring unique indigo illustrations, Deborah Noyes unveils how Louisa's natural spirit, loving family, and unconventional circumstances inspired the timeless masterpiece that is Little Women.
A sophisticated murder mystery set in high-society Washington, DC, in the years before World War II. Karl Sheridan has recently returned to Washington, DC, from Vienna, where he studied the art of detection at the renowned Criminalistic Institute. Now he is about to face his first real-life test. Attending a high-society dinner party, Karl meets an eclectic group of dazzling, clever men and women—among them the beautiful Tess Stuart, an old childhood friend. Later that evening, he receives a desperate call from Tess when she finds her sister dead. Fay Stuart appears to have committed suicide, but there may be more to the story than meets the eye. Could one or more of Karl’s new friends have played a part in Fay’s death? As he plumbs the Stuart sisters’ past, Karl soon becomes embroiled in an investigation that will tempt him to abandon the cold logic and objectivity he learned to prioritize at the institute . . . “A good story . . . Washington society, as seen by a young visitor from the Viennese secret service and police force, and his involvement in the solving of the mystery surrounding the death of an unscrupulous girl.” —Kirkus Reviews
Cooperatives at Work presents a range of success stories in employee ownership and worker cooperative enterprise, showcasing how such firms can embody important and highly contested ideals of democracy, equity, and social transformation.
A riveting middle-grade biography about Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to work as a professional aeronaut in France in the late 1700s, set against the thrilling backdrop of early flight. Before Amelia Earhart, there was Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to earn her living in the air. While no one knows the fate of Earhart, a terrified crowd of thousands looked on as French aeronaut Sophie Blanchard met her end in a tragic blaze of glory over the streets of Paris in 1819. But first, Blanchard made nearly 70 spectacular flights, survived a revolution, and become a court favorite of the emperor Napoleon (who gave her the title, "Aeronaut of the Official Festivals") and later of the King of France. Set against the backdrop of the history of flight, watch as Balloonmania-- a phenomenon that riveted all of Europe-- took hold and inspired a great many artists authors, and dreamers. This lively scrapbook-style biography with more than fifty black-and-white photos throughout, introduces a frightened, nervous girl who became a fearless legend in the skies.
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