Fired sports columnist Vic Worsley discovers a renewed vigor for life when he becomes involved in the promising career of Spear, a talented young basketball player, who refuses to trust Vic's encouragement. Sportswriter Vic Worsley is forty-four, divorced, and burned out. His basketball column for the San Francisco Chronicle is fueled by strong coffee, red wine, and anger, instead of the love he once had for the game. But his life is about to be changed by two women. One is Greta Eagleheart, whom he has known, worked with, and flirted with for three years; the other is a fierce old soul named Ruby Carmichael, who insists that Vic come watch her child play basketball as no one before him ever has. Although Vic resists at first, he finds himself inexorably drawn to the roughest neighborhood in Oakland--to Tillsbury Park, where many of the legendary great men got their start. Spear Rashan Benedentes is a twenty-seven-year-old giant, a phenomenal athlete who soars effortlessly above the rim and commands the respect and awe of Tillsbury's savviest players. In spite of his protestations and bad back, Vic is thrust onto the court, where the game is as serious as life itself. While Spear teaches him a new understanding of sport, brotherhood, and family, Greta forces him to look deep within himself--for the courage to change and for the strength to play and love with all his heart.
Jerry Maxwell and his good friend Roary are both handicapped. They divide their time between Max's bar in San Francisco and the bleachers of the Oakland Sports Complex to cheer on the Golden State Warriors. Together the two set out to make Jerry's dream of playing professional basketball a reality. Inside Moves is an off–beat, exuberant and extremely emotional novel focusing on the bonds of friendship between two men brought together by physical and psychological challenges, and their dreams of creating more meaningful lives for themselves and their friends. Often classified as a sports novel, basketball is merely the backdrop to this human comedy of love and sorrow and the healing powers of friendship and community. Released to wide critical acclaim by Doubleday in 1978, Inside Moves went on to sell over 160,000 copies through numerous printings. A motion picture of Inside Moves was released in 1980, directed by Richard Donner with a screenplay by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin.
Walton tracks the fate of Lily and Charlie, two down–and–out musicians on the run from an army of "very well–connected" thugs out not just for blood but for spirit. Fleeing by car, foot, air, bicycle, train, covered wagon and dirigible, the two make their way with Lily's baby from Sunset Boulevard to a mountain retreat in Oregon. Eluding all manner of physical and mental danger, Lily and Charlie take their final stand with a commune of utopian artists. Their odyssey is seedily realistic, wildly surrealistic, often erotic and only occasionally a bit precious. What seemed like a simple pursuit story has become an engaging parable of the responsibilities of creativity, the nature of self–worth, the redemptive power of love—perhaps the Meaning of Life itself. Night Train evokes a paranoid romanticism reminiscent of Craig Nova, Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon. – Tom Nolan, Los Angeles Times
To outsiders, they seem the perfect American family. Margaret, the loving, widowed mother. Mackie, the brilliant, dazzling handsome older son. Phillis, his beautiful, talented, sophisticated wife. Dink, friendly and outgoing, with all the energy of young manhood. Gina, his girlfriend, the prettiest girl in their Illinois small town. They alone know of the shadow of guilt hanging over all of them. They alone know of the flames of forbidden desire consuming each of them. They are ordinary people who enrich and damage one another's lives, and somehow, some way, survive to keep moving on.
Why You Are Here is a collection of fifteen contemporary short stories by Todd Walton set in the town of Mercy on the far north coast of California; stories of friendship, emotional honesty, generosity, compassion, and love.
Little Movies: tales of love and transformation is a collection of fourteen short stories by Todd Walton. Each of these stories illuminates the transformative power of friendship, emotional honesty, trust, generosity, compassion, and love. The Screw is a humorous modern parable in which a young woman entrusts the choosing of her husband to her mother, and the comedy drama that ensues. Mrs. Espy and the Hippy is about an elderly woman reclaiming her true identity through her involvement with her Bohemian gardener and his wife and children. Zelman's Van tells of the marvelous turning point in an aspiring musician's life. Naomi Drives To Portland is a funny and poignant story about a gregarious Jewish woman whose life is changed by the young woman with a baby she gives a ride to. Wade Rises From the Sofa chronicles the events of a few hours in which a man emerges from the depth of an emotional trauma that has entrapped him for years. Beckman's Daughter is a mini-saga of a man finding love through the loving efforts of his daughter. Gig's Baby is the story of a man returning to his hometown after a long exile hoping to right the ship of his life, and the fascinating hitchhiker he picks up on the way. Bernard Comes of Age is a comedy drama about a man living in Los Angeles on the outskirts of show biz, striving for one more success, only to discover what really matters in life is love and friendship. Tober's Stones is the touching story of two young brothers growing up in the wilds of northern California and their search for a father figure. Augie and Tober's Quest tells the tale of two brothers seeking an answer to an emotional riddle by sojourning in the wilderness. Maybe's Good Used Stuff is about long-time friends falling in love. The Brick Wall is a modern parable of love triumphing over cynicism. Dante and Edwin is a very funny story of love and devotion involving a man and his dog.
Todd Walton is the author of the acclaimed novels and short story collections Inside Moves, Forgotten Impulses, Louie & Women, Ruby & Spear, Buddha In A Teacup, Under the Table Books, and Little Movies. His many music CDs include Lounge Act In Heaven, Dream Of You, Mystery Inventions, and Incongroovity. A visionary science fiction novella, Oasis Tales of the Conjuror is a life-affirming response to the question: How will humans survive in the wake of societal and environmental calamity caused by the imbalance between human desires and the earth’s capacity to sustain those desires? Oasis Tales of the Conjuror may be science fiction, but the story may prove to be prophetic in the not-too-distant future. The challenges facing the citizens of the oasis are the same grave challenges facing humans on earth today, challenges we have faced many times before in the grand sweep of human history. The Golden Light is the story of two soldiers, as different from each other as two men can be, thrown together in the aftermath of a terrible battle, their quest for safety and enlightenment creating between them a profound friendship transcendent of their differences. Of Water and Melons is an uplifting family drama set in the hills of North Carolina during America’s Great Depression, a tale of hope and faith about a farmer and his family and their dream of one day being free of fear and want. When Is It Done and Clumsy Booby are two charming short stories starring the same young poet, a humble yet ambitious fellow named Theodore who wants nothing more than to be appreciated for his way with words.
Good With Dogs and Cats: The Adventures of Healing Weintraub is a novel about a man who helps dogs and cats resolve their difficulties with humans, and vice-versa. Set in the small town of Mercy on the far north coast of California, Good With Dogs and Cats spans a decade in the life of Healing Weintraub and his friends and relations, both animal and human. Mystery and romance and comedy abound in this poignant tale brimming with fascinating insights into the minds and hearts of dogs and cats and people.
Pooches and Kiddies is both the sequel to Good With Dogs and Cats and a stand-alone novel chronicling a momentous year in the life of Healing Weintraub and his colorful family and friends: human, canine, and feline. Assisting Healing in helping dogs and cats resolve their difficulties with humans are Healing’s wife Jahera and her mother Maahiah, Healing’s daughter Tova, Healing’s mother Naomi, Healing’s sister Jean, and Tova’s children, Raaz and Oz, delightful four-year-old twins. Comedy and drama abound in the little town of Mercy on the far north coast of California where Healing and the other members of the Weintraub clan explore the mysteries of life, love, music, poetry, friendship, death, and rebirth.
A bold revival of the short story format, punctuated with classic and modern poetry forms, Spark: A Creative Anthology features the freshest work from a range of talented writers, from established professionals to newly-emerging authors and poets. Contributors Introduction by Traci L. Gourdine Cover Art by Aaron John Gregory Illustrations by Paul Pederson Todd Walton, Going After Nathan Margaret Dilloway, Ever Since I ve Seen Your Face Hunter Liguore, Momentary Forgiveness Darrell Lindsey, tanka George Wells, Last Rites j.lewis, surgical mass Linda G Hatton, Becoming Katie Stephens, Faceless Melana Plains, Not a Worry, My Lord Alexis A. Hunter, By the Gun D. Laserbeam, Five Hundred Svetlana Kortchik, Forget Me Not Hannah Weverka, Gingerbread Towns Matt Lancaster, Old Age Brian Reeves, Her Fruitful Shore Valentina Cano, Image of a Treasure, as a Negative Stone Showers, His Smile Fixed in Time Kari Castor, Jael Stands Trial for Murder Diana Fu, Confession Scott Warrender, The Littleness of Susan Brauer John Stocks, Vows Peter Wood, The Fig Tree Kaitlin Branch, One Cog Short of Paradise Learn more about Volume I contributors and content at http: //SparkAnthology.org.
In 2012, Chicago's school year began with the city's first teachers' strike in a quarter century and ended with the largest mass closure of public schools in U.S. history. On one side, a union leader and veteran black woman educator drew upon organizing strategies from black and Latinx communities to demand increased school resources. On the other side, the mayor, backed by the Obama administration, argued that only corporate-style education reform could set the struggling school system aright. The stark differences in positions resonated nationally, challenging the long-standing alliance between teachers' unions and the Democratic Party. Elizabeth Todd-Breland recovers the hidden history underlying this battle. She tells the story of black education reformers' community-based strategies to improve education beginning during the 1960s, as support for desegregation transformed into community control, experimental schooling models that pre-dated charter schools, and black teachers' challenges to a newly assertive teachers' union. This book reveals how these strategies collided with the burgeoning neoliberal educational apparatus during the late twentieth century, laying bare ruptures and enduring tensions between the politics of black achievement, urban inequality, and U.S. democracy.
Thousands of business books are published every year— Here are the best of the best After years of reading, evaluating, and selling business books, Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten are among the most respected experts on the category. Now they have chosen and reviewed the one hundred best business titles of all time—the ones that deliver the biggest payoff for today’s busy readers. The 100 Best Business Books of All Time puts each book in context so that readers can quickly find solutions to the problems they face, such as how best to spend The First 90 Days in a new job or how to take their company from Good to Great. Many of the choices are surprising—you’ll find reviews of Moneyball and Orbiting the Giant Hairball, but not Jack Welch’s memoir. At the end of each review, Jack and Todd direct readers to other books both inside and outside The 100 Best. And sprinkled throughout are sidebars taking the reader beyond business books, suggesting movies, novels, and even children’s books that offer equally relevant insights. This guide will appeal to anyone, from entry-level to CEO, who wants to cut through the clutter and discover the brilliant books that are truly worth their investment of time and money.
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