Americans know about the battles of the Civil War: Gettysburg, Bull Run, Antietam. We know about the politics: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, John Marshall, the Quakers. We know about the Generals: Benjamin Butler, Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee. We know what the historians have told us about the events of that time. What we don't know about, and have refused to really explore, is the impact slavery had on all the people of this country, whatever their pigmentation.Sure, we know what Birth Of A Nation, Gone With The Wind, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Huckleberry Finn tell us, and those were legitimate points of view. But slavery was much more dynamic, revealing the underbelly of the nation's basic creed of life, liberty and the pursuit of justice, and its notion that all men are created equal under God. These short stories explore the essence of that life, the emotions and the circumstances--good and bad and indifferent. They allow the reader to explore the impact of American slavery on the lives of those, no matter their station in life, who had to live with what American said about itself and what it actually was. The struggle lives on!

Adrella always noticed him Everyone took notice of the handsome lighthouse keeper when he visited the mainland. Especially shopkeeper's daughter Adrella Murphy. But the enigmatic man never said a word to anyone. When Adrella is stranded with him on an isolated island during a storm, will she give up her dreams of true love and marry him to save her reputation? As a doctor in the Civil War, Dathan Adams saw too much suffering, and he withdrew from the world to his beloved lighthouse. Now a hurricane forces a spirited Irish lass into his care. To stay alive, he must set aside his solitude and work side by side with Adrella. When her strength and faith erode his defenses, a tragedy might just yield unexpected love.

The story narrated in this book highlights the agonies suffered by ordinary people in apartheid South Africa, some of whom found themselves being welcomed back as heroes while all they did was flee from an unjust government. This is the story of Gebashe, who, as a school boy, was recruited by the organization of freedom fighters and ended up in Swaziland as a private doctor with an unhappy marriage. Back home Gebashes father is estranged from his eldest son, who took Gebashe from a rural school to a school in Cape Town from where he was recruited by the freedom fighters. Gebashes return to his home country, long after the first elections for a democratic government marks the beginning of reconciliation in his family, acted out through the custom of initiation. He then remarries; this time to a woman who would have been his childhood girlfriend had things been normal when they grew up. It is a story of mutilated family structures, but through all that hope for reconciliation and prosperity prevails, hence the title.

"There is always tomorrow" is something that I try to remind myself every day. My heavenly father has given me a faith that I rely on daily to make it through the challenges of life. We all have challenges we must face. Many times, the challenges and burdens we face can make me or you feel as if there is no way out. When you look to God and the strength inside yourself, there is always a way through all the storms of life. We all have an inner strength that oftentimes we don't know we have until we need it. Heavenly father never leaves us alone. He is always with you or me. We all have a spirit of a warrior inside us all. Having a warrior spirit does not mean that you will not be hurt or scarred by the trials of life. Usually, the opposite is true if we pray and listen to our hearts and do what God wants us to do. Then we will be able to navigate through the storms of life. God has given us this life and as part of it has given us the tools to make it through the journey we call life. When you feel as if you can't handle one more thing that life can throw at you, remember to look to God and there is always tomorrow. Never give up on life or yourself. There is always a reason to look toward tomorrow. We are all special.

none

The book entitled Mouridism: Iman, Islam and Ihsan is a compilation and synthesis of the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad Bamba who also goes by the names of Khadim Rasoul (Servant of the Prophet) and Serigne Touba (Master of Touba) that have been gathered together from a variety of his works. This is an introduction to his writings and the beginning lessons for initiation upon his path. Khadim Rasoul explains the three (3) Pillars of the Mouride Way (Mouridism) as Faith in the Oneness of ALLAH (Iman by Tawheed), Submission to the Recommendation of Islam (Islam by Fiqh) and Perfection through Initiation (Ihsan by Tasawwuf). The finality of this 3 fold path is the FACE of ALLAH. The origin of the path of Khadim Rasoul begins during the time of the Hijra of the Prophet Mohammed, Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH) and it still exists today. It is the esoteric path of the Muslim, Mumeen and Muhsan, wherever they may be. This path came into West Africa through the teachings of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Shaykh Abu Hasan Shadhili and Shaykh Ahmad Tijani, may Allah be pleased with all of them Abdallah FAHMI

In theory it was found that so many times that women and men are completely opposite beings. It is believed that there are absolutely different things that drive both genders, and they are looking for completely different things. It is why women and men behave and act in fundamentally different ways. If you are looking for reasons why men and women sometimes can not understand each and why they clash and fight even for small things, then this is the book that you should read.

With Friends or Foes? Norman Saul continues his monumental multivolume magnum opus on U.S.-Russian relations over the course of 200 years. This fourth volume provides the first comprehensive study in any language of an era that shaped the rest of the century and captures the major changes in relations between two nations on the verge of becoming dominant global powers. Among other things, Saul examines the rationale for America's failure to recognize the Soviet government through the early 1930s, analyzing the impact of the Red Scare and the roles of the State Department, Russian migrs, religious groups, and key individuals—like Charles Evans Hughes, Robert Kelley, Herbert Hoover, Boris Skvirsky, Olga Kameneva, and Maxim Litvinov—on the policy process. In addition, he recalls the American Relief Administration's gigantic effort to help Russian peasants and garners new material from American business records on concession arrangements and commerce and on Soviet responses during the first Five Year Plan. He also records travelers' impressions, cultural exchange, and the role of academia in each country—particularly the contribution of Russian émigré scholars to American education and the contributions of American journalists in Russia. Saul also reveals the tendency on both sides to preserve an atmosphere of secrecy, conducting business behind closed doors and rarely on paper. His prodigious research in the Hoover Presidential Library, the Franklin Roosevelt Library, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University-incorporating overlooked Diplomat Post Records and featuring an interview with George Kennan on his diplomatic role—has yielded a wealth of new insights into what really happened during a period in the history of the relations between the two countries that remains mysterious and controversial. Breaking new ground in diplomatic, economic, social, and cultural history, Saul's book illuminates both the mutual fascination that briefly permitted peaceful coexistence (and eventual alliance) and the ideological battles that ultimately led to the Cold War.