This memoir describes the discoveries, many unexpected, when a Chinese American psychology professor retires and reinvents himself as a public historian of Chinese in America. Author of four books on the social history of Chinese family-run businesses, he has given dozens of lectures around the country. A Chinese American Odyssey provides a fascinating and insightful behind-the-scenes look at the processes involved in researching, writing, publishing, and promoting books. Writers of books on any topic will find useful information.

American Odyssey, a novel set in the not-too-distant future, is the chilling story of a totalitarian America that has plummeted to a nation set on world domination. The protagonist, Herb, is a young "everyman", a schoolteacher. He falls in love with a colleague who introduces him to the resistance movement. A series of personal misfortunes, including the death of his soldier twin, impel him to become a dedicated activist against the dictatorship. His group is soon exposed, and he and his love, Tony, become fugitives. She is soon killed. At that point Herb's odyssey begins as he travels the nation in search of "the movement". The preponderance of the novel reveals the state of the nation and of the people. He comes into contact with a cross-section of the United States. They are men and women -- laborers, farmers, professionals, students..They are Black and white and Hispanic, and each is unique in the manner in which his/her life has been degraded under the dictatorship. At the beginning they are impoverished, fearful, dispirited. In time, as the economic crisis deepens and battlefield losses mount, there are changes in the populace. Apathy turns to anger and then to resistance. Herb becomes reconnected with the opposition to the dictatorship. The American people in large numbers, disheartened by the desperate quality of their lives, simply "opt-out" of the system. The military, too, appalled by the unending wars and bloodshed, also becomes disaffected. Millions converge upon Washington, D.C. the dictatorship falls, and the foundation is laid for the re-establishment of democracy in the United States.

This groundbreaking volume offers a fresh approach to conceptualizing the historical geography of North America by taking a thematic rather than a traditional regional perspective. Leading geographers, building on current scholarship in the field, explore five central themes. Part I explores the settling and resettling of the continent through the experiences of Native Americans, early European arrivals, and Africans. Part II examines nineteenth-century European immigrants, the reconfiguration of Native society, and the internal migration of African Americans. Part III considers human transformations of the natural landscape in carving out a transportation network, replumbing waterways, extracting timber and minerals, preserving wilderness, and protecting wildlife. Part IV focuses on human landscapes, blending discussions of the visible imprint of society and distinctive approaches to interpreting these features. The authors discuss survey systems, regional landscapes, and tourist and mythic landscapes as well as the role of race, gender, and photographic representation in shaping our understanding of past landscapes. Part V follows the urban impulse in an analysis of the development of the mercantile city, nineteenth- and twentieth-century planning, and environmental justice. With its focus on human-environment interactions, the mobility of people, and growing urbanization, this thoughtful text will give students a uniquely geographical way to understand North American history. Contributions by: Derek H. Alderman, Timothy G. Anderson, Kevin Blake, Christopher G. Boone, Geoffrey L. Buckley, Craig E. Colten, Michael P. Conzen, Lary M. Dilsaver, Mona Domosh, William E. Doolittle, Joshua Inwood, Ines M. Miyares, E. Arnold Modlin, Jr., Edward K. Muller, Michael D. Myers, Karl Raitz, Jasper Rubin, Joan M. Schwartz, Steven Silvern, Andrew Sluyter, Jeffrey S. Smith, Robert Wilson, William Wyckoff, and Yolonda Youngs

The African American Odyssey is a literary compilation of a portrait combined with a strong compelling chronological history and discussion of the African American plight, from an African American perspective. It also entails many significant aspects of African American struggles, achievements and wondering about in a country that adamantly refuses to see African Americans. Propelled by enthusiasm, anguish, and deep concern for the magnitude of social and economic despaired conditions African Americans find themselves in today, the author is obsessed with confronting the pervassive challenges of systemic and institutionalized white supremacy, unjustified evil racist oppression, suffering and unnecessary social and economic misery perpetrated against African Americans by a hatefully hostile government determined to marginalize or exterminate them. Exasperatingly, Muhammad expressively takes the reader on a journey through centuries of convoluted wondering while illustrating to them, the events that produced the African American experience. He conclusively shares his hope, skepticism and cautious optimism for the future of African Americans.

Combine the American legend of the great road trip with the Greek epic of Ulysses returning from the Trojan War and you get an original: a novel about an Afghanistan War veteran using the byroads of the continent to heal his horrors and deal with his demons. --Wally Gordon Having finished his tour as a Marine in Afghanistan, Leo Lewis sets out on a road trip across America back to his wife and a young son he has never met, but Nausicaa and Circe set out to lure him, and the Greek gods watch for ways to help or hinder him. --Claudia Hauer, Professor St. Johns College Discharged from the Marines after three tours in Afghanistan, Leo Lewis is on his way home -- like another warrior 3,000 years ago. And as Leo crosses the country, the challenges faced by Homer's greatest hero confront him as well. Cyclops, Circe, Scylla, Charybdis, and more all are waiting for him in dramatic, enchanting, frightening, and funny adventures reimagined through the lens of today's realities.

A history of the United States in the twentieth century, featuring sociological and cultural events, as well as strictly historical, and using many pertinent literary excerpts.

Hawke has always searched for the meaning behind everything. Forever he has sat at the crossroads not knowing which way to turn, until the day came when he decided to hop behind the wheel, take a chance, and choose a course. This book is the telling of that story. In 29 Palms: An American Odyssey for True Love, Hawke recounts the experiences he had on a trek across the country that turned out to be a journey of a lifetime. It all takes place in the summer of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when America was literally on fire during one of the greatest upheavals in our nation’s recent history. This particular odyssey describes a personal pilgrimage of finding one’s self, and discovering what love truly is. Crippled by loss, and self doubt, our Wanderer still perseveres in order to answer the burning question within his heart. Who am I really, and where does my true path lie?

‘Brilliant, clear, and humane’ Elizabeth Gilbert ‘Miraculous and hopeful’ Emma Straub Riverman: An American Odyssey uncovers the story of an extraordinary man and his puzzling disappearance, and paints a picture of the singular spirit of America’s riverbank towns.

Asian American Literature: An Encyclopedia for Students is an invaluable resource for students curious to know more about Asian North American writers, texts, and the issues and drives that motivate their writing. This volume collects, in one place, a breadth of information about Asian American literary and cultural history as well as the authors and texts that best define it. A dozen contextual essays introduce fundamental elements or subcategories of Asian American literature, expanding on social and literary concerns or tensions that are familiar and relevant. Essays include the origins and development of the term "Asian American"; overviews of Asian American and Asian Canadian social and literary histories; essays on Asian American identity, gender issues, and sexuality; and discussions of Asian American rhetoric and children's literature. More than 120 alphabetical entries round out the volume and cover important Asian North American authors. Historical information is presented in clear and engaging ways, and author entries emphasize biographical or textual details that are significant to contemporary young adults. Special attention has been given to pioneering authors from the late 19th century through the early 1970s and to influential or well-known contemporary authors, especially those likely to be studied in high school or university classrooms.

Active for more than two decades, the Asian American movement began a middle-class reform effort to achieve racial equality, social justice, and political empowerment. In this first history and in-depth analysis of the Movement, William Wei traces to the late 1960s, the genesis of an Asian American identity, culture, and activism. Wei analyzes the Asian American women's movement, the alternative press, Asian American involvement in electoral politics. Interviews with many key participants in the Movement and photographs of Asian American demonstrations and events enliven this portrayal of the Movement's development, breadth, and conflicts.