A sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism
Americans are a "positive" people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity.
In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic crisis.
With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage. Views: 486
John Allyn Berryman (October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry. His best-known work is The Dream Songs. Views: 485
After a whirlwind first week on the Upper East Side, the Carlyles have made their mark on Manhattan's Golden Mile. Owen is new BFFs with Rhys Sterling, but what will happen when they both fall for the same girl? Baby stole resident it girl Jack Laurent's boyfriend...and then Avery stole Jack's popularity. Now Jack is on the warpath, and she wants nothing more than to send the Carlyle girls packing their Louis Vuitton trunks. Is the UES big enough for all their drama? Views: 485
From the Back CoverA shrewd investigator and an expert marksman, Special Agent Alexandra LaDuca can handle any case the FBI gives her. Or can she? While on loan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Alex is tapped to accompany a Secret Service team during an American Presidential visit to Ukraine. Her assignment: to keep personal watch over Yuri Federov, the most charming and most notorious gangster in the region. Against her better judgment—and fighting a feeling that she’s being manipulated—she leaves for Ukraine. But there are more parts to this dangerous mission than anyone suspects, and connecting the dots takes Alex across three continents and through some life-altering discoveries about herself, her work, her faith, and her future. Conspiracy in Kiev—from the first double-cross to the stunning final pages—is the kind of solid, fast-paced espionage thriller only Noel Hynd can write. For those who have never read Noel Hynd, this first book in The Russian Trilogy is the perfect place to start. About the AuthorNoel Hynd has more than four million books in print throughout the world, including The Enemy Within and Revenge. His most recent novel, Midnight in Madrid, is the second in The Russian Trilogy starring Alexandra LaDuca. Hynd lives in Culver City, California. Views: 484
The Mystery of the Singing Ghost * * Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and are excited because their cousins are moving to Greenfield. The Boxcar Children decide to fix up the house that cousins Joe and Alice have bought. There’s just one problem. It seems to be haunted—by a ghost that sings! Is someone trying to keep Joe and Alice from moving in? The Mystery of the Mummy’s Curse * * Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and they’re about to meet a mysterious mummy! The Greenfield Museum is holding a special exhibit all about ancient Egypt, and the main attraction is a 4,000-year-old mummy. The Aldens are helping the museum curator set up the exhibit and learning all about life in ancient Egypt. But ever since the mummy arrived, nothing’s gone right for the museum or its workers. The longer the Aldens are around the mummy, the more things go wrong. As the children search for the cause of all the bad luck, everything points back to the spooky sarcophagus. Has the museum been struck by the curse of an ancient mummy? The Aldens are about to find out, whether they’re ready or not! The Mystery at Skeleton Point * * When Grandfather’s friend bought Skeleton Point, she invited the Alden children to help her fix it up. But this empty mansion is even spookier than it looks. The man who used to live there studied bones—and the house is filled with skeletons! Then the mansion’s valuable statues begin to disappear. Could the Skeleton Point ghost be causing mischief? Views: 484
The wait is over. dig into the feast. . . In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though, especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville. Views: 484
Learning her father has vanished on an expedition deep in the Brazilian jungle, Lanie Weber enlists the help of pilot Michael "Mac" Knight to join her on a rescue mission. But upon their arrival, Mac is attacked by a gargoyle-like creature--a creature Lanie realizes is a modern-day vampire. Original. Views: 484
A Question of Courage is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin) Bone is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin) Bone then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 484
Colton H. Bryant grew up in Wyoming and never once wanted to leave it. Wyoming loved him and he loved it back. Two things helped Colton get through school and the neighbourhood bullies: his best friend Jake and his favourite mantra: Mind over matter -- which meant to him: if you don't mind, it don't matter. Colton and Jake grew up wanting nothing more that the freedom to sleep out under the great Wyoming night sky, and to be just like Jake's dad, Bill, a strong, gentle man of few words who can ride rodeo like nobody's business. When Colton started work as a driller on a rig, despite his young wife begging him to quit, he claimed it was in his blood. Colton did die young and he died on the rig -- falling to his death because the oil company neglected to spend the $2,000 on safety rails. His family received no compensation. The strong, sad story of Colton H. Bryant's life could not be told without the telling of the land that grew him, where there are still such... Views: 484
As deputy sheriff, Mac MacCleod gave difficult news--but now he's about to get it. He's planning to confront his long-lost mother--until he's blocked by her formidable doctor. Ileana Sanders isn't about to let any long, lean Texan in a Stetson stress her patient. And this news would set off fireworks!But she can't help being there for this tormented man. A sexy stranger who sees past her plain-Jane facade to the woman who yearns for a partner, a protector...a lover. In helping Mac search for a family, could Ileana end up with a man of her own? Views: 483
The Wordy Shipmates is New York Times best-selling author Sarah Vowell's exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop's "city upon a hill"—a shining example, a "city that cannot be hid."
To this day, America views itself as a Puritan nation, but Vowell investigates what that means—and what it should mean. What was this great political enterprise all about? Who were these people who are considered the philosophical, spiritual, and moral ancestors of our nation? What Vowell discovers is something far different from what their uptight shoe-buckles-and-corn reputation might suggest. The people she finds are highly literate, deeply principled, and surprisingly feisty. Their story is filled with pamphlet feuds, witty courtroom dramas, and bloody vengeance. Along the way she asks:
Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, Christlike Christian, or conformity's tyrannical enforcer? Yes!
Was Rhode Island's architect Roger Williams America's founding freak or the father of the First Amendment? Same difference.
What does it take to get that jezebel Anne Hutchinson to shut up? A hatchet.
What was the Puritans' pet name for the Pope? The Great Whore of Babylon.
Sarah Vowell's special brand of armchair history makes the bizarre and esoteric fascinatingly relevant and fun. She takes us from the modern-day reenactment of an Indian massacre to the Mohegan Sun casino, from old-timey Puritan poetry, where "righteousness" is rhymed with "wilderness," to a Mayflower-themed waterslide. Throughout The Wordy Shipmates is rich in historical fact, humorous insight, and social commentary by one of America's most celebrated voices. Thou shalt enjoy it. Views: 481
A teen lawyer stars in a novel that "portrays a girl possessing power in the actual world, trusting her own mind and conscience and sense of justice" (Los Angeles Times). When she was not yet a teenager, Kate Hope started "reading law" in the office of "Judge" Hope, her half-blind grandfather, a grumpy eighty-nine-year-old lawyer with problems. One big problem is that he believes in justice for all, not just those who can afford it. He also needs a partner. Together they find a loophole in Colorado law, and Kate becomes a lawyer—technically. She has a law license hanging on the wall in her office, but she has no idea how to practice law. In a courtroom. With a judge and jury and defendants. It doesn't help that things don't start out so well for Kate's legal career. The firm of Hope and Hope has an unusual first case, and if they lose it, a dog named Herman—the only friend an old woman has—will be destroyed. But Kate's... Views: 481
TURTLE IS SO excited by the book about penguins that his dad reads him at bedtime that he decides he wants to be a penguin. So the next morning, he creates a penguin costume, grabs his book, and heads for the schoolbus. His kindergarten classmates are thrilled. They all want to be penguins too! Turtle shows his book to his teacher, and all day long he and his classmates do as the penguins do—they slide down the slide on their bellies during recess, form a waddling conga line at music time, and snack on goldfish crackers. It’s a super-cool penguin day. Turtle thinks he’d like to be a penguin every day. But, that night, his dad has a new book to read—and this one is all about *monkeys!
This delightful picture book from Valeri Gorbachev celebrates both the power of books, and the joys of imaginative play in all its dress-up-box glory. And, with the extra penguin facts at the end of the book, this is a perfect blueprint for teachers planning penguin days of their own. ** Views: 481
In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn't the only threat. Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural. Views: 480
