“Awjeezma!” was the universal dissent, whined—repeatedly if necessary—at an unreasonable mother who wanted the vacuuming done now-not-next-year or a pile of encrusted dishes washed or the sputtering heater refueled. “Awjeezma! Do I gotta?” “If I have to tell you one more time—” “Awjeezma! Awright! Jeez!” Through the telling of his own madcap childhood, David Benjamin pays homage to the exuberance of countless untamed boys who grew up in Middle America in the 1950s. Whether he’s stalking frogs through the bogs of Tomah, Wisconsin, playing four-kid baseball with his bothersome little brother and two favorite cousins, or sneaking into the theater to watch Saturday afternoon Westerns, Benjamin is the kind of little kid who eagerly would have fallen in with the redoubtable Tom Sawyer. His tales—including one about a truly sorry incident with Snappy, the snapping turtle, and another about a run-in with a particularly fiendish squirrel—are by turns hysterically funny, caustic, aggrieved, and movingly sincere. Traversing the nooks and crannies of kidhood, from ballfields to swimming holes, The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked captures a moment in twentieth-century American life, as Benjamin magically recalls the myriad scrapes, intrepid adventures, and wanderlust that once made childhood such an exhilarating enterprise.

Memoirs, autobiographies, and diaries represent the most personal and most intimate of genres, as well as one of the most abundant and popular. Gain new understanding and better serve your readers with this detailed genre guide to nearly 700 titles that also includes notes on more than 2,800 read-alike and other related titles. The popularity of this body of literature has grown in recent years, and it has also diversified in terms of the types of stories being told—and persons telling them. In the past, readers' advisors have depended on access by names or Dewey classifications and subjects to help readers find autobiographies they will enjoy. This guide offers an alternative, organizing the literature according to popular genres, subgenres, and themes that reflect common reading interests. Describing titles that range from travel and adventure classics and celebrity autobiographies to foodie memoirs and environmental reads, Life Stories: A Guide to Reading Interests in Memoirs, Autobiographies, and Diaries presents a unique overview of the genre that specifically addresses the needs of readers' advisors and others who work with readers in finding books.

Navigating what at she calls the " extravagantly rich world of nonfiction," renowned readers' advisor (RA) Wyatt builds readers' advisory bridges from fiction to compelling and increasingly popular nonfiction to encompass the library's entire collection. She focuses on eight popular categories: history, true crime, true adventure, science, memoir, food/cooking, travel, and sports. Within each, she explains the scope, popularity, style, major authors and works, and the subject's position in readers' advisory interviews. Wyatt addresses who is reading nonfiction and why, while providing RAs with the tools and language to incorporate nonfiction into discussions that point readers to what to read next. In easy-to-follow steps, Wyatt Explains the hows and whys of offering fiction and nonfiction suggestions together Illustrates ways to get up to speed fast in nonfiction Shows how to lead readers to a variety of books using her "read-around" and "reading map" strategies Provides tools to build nonfiction subject guides for the collection This hands-on guide includes nonfiction bibliography, key authors, benchmark books with annotations, and core collections. It is destined to become the nonfiction 'bible' for readers' advisory and collection development, helping librarians, library workers, and patrons select great reading from the entire library collection!

Tracing public and critical responses to TV from its pioneering days, this book gathers and gives context to the reactions of those who saw television's early broadcasts—from the privileged few who witnessed experimental and limited-schedule programming in the 1920s and 1930s, to those who bought TV sets and hoisted antennae in the post-World War II television boom, to still more who invested in color receivers and cable subscriptions in the 1960s. While the first two major sections of this study show the views of television's first broad public, the third section shows how social and media critics, literary and visual artists, and others have expressed their charmed or chagrinned responses to television in its earliest decades. Media-jaded Americans, especially younger ones, would be surprised to know how eagerly their forebears anticipated the arrival of television. Tracing public and critical responses to TV from its pioneering days, this book gathers and gives context to the reactions of those who saw television's early broadcasts-from the privileged few who witnessed experimental and limited-schedule programming in the 1920s and 1930s, to those who bought TV sets and hoisted antennae in the post-World War II television boom, to still more who invested in color receivers and cable subscriptions in the 1960s. Viewers' comments recall the excitement of owning the first TV receiver in the neighborhood, show the vexing challenges of reception, and record the pleasure that all young and many older watchers found in early network and local programs from the beginning to the fast-changing 1960s. While the first two major sections of this study show the views of television's first broad public, the third section shows how social and media critics, literary and visual artists, and others have expressed their charmed or chagrinned responses to television in its earliest decades.

Rejected by Godor called to an uncommon path? The eleven apostles cast lots to determine whom the Holy Spirit would pick to replace Judas Iscariot; he must be someone who had been with Jesus the whole time. That left either Joseph bar Sabbas, called Justus, or Matthias. The stones were cast, and the lot fell to Matthias. Even so, Justus wouldnt be denied his dream. He had mingled among the disciples for more than three years. He had been close to Jesus, held private conversations with him, and had laughed with him. Hed slept around the same campfires, visited the same homes, and eaten at the same tables. Now, Justus would chart a new path. He would reveal everything he knew about his Lord from the viewpoint of a privileged witness. Justus began to write. What was it like to be near Jesus in everyday situations or to see him in action in his greatest moments? Did Jesus have a childhood best friend? How did he relate to his fish-breathed disciples? What did he feel when the crowd cried out for his death? Justus logged all of this in a series of scrolls and began a journey to house the treasure at the great library in Alexandria, Egypt. Perhaps, someday they would be seen.

Many years ago Bob Dylan wrote: "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind," but we've learned that really important answers don't come that easily. Asking questions is a sign of a healthy, growing faith, a faith that drives us deeper into God's Word. That's the reason God's first question in the Old Testament is "Where are you?" while the first question the wise men ask in the New Testament is "Where is He?" It's been observed that God answers just enough questions to get us through the day, while leaving us with enough unanswered questions so we can look forward to learning more tomorrow. This book is designed to deal with some of our most difficult questions or troubling issues . . . from a biblical perspective. At times it may appear that some questions have no answer, or maybe have more than one, or perhaps have answers that contradict each other. That's one reason we're not only to confront knotty questions, but willingly accept God's unraveling answers.

Sumo is a fresh and funny introduction to the fascinating world of sumo, Japan's national sport. Author David Benjamin peels away the veneer of sumo as a cultural treasure and reveals it as an action-packed sport populated by superb athletes who employ numerous strategies and techniques to overcome their gargantuan opponents. Sumo provides an engaging, witty, behind-the-scenes look at sumo today.

My book's objective is to describe the beliefs, practices, and ventures of the Adventist church that have had or still have a significant impact on my life. Looking back, I now have a better understanding why ancient Israel was repeatedly told to remember what God had done for them. For this reason, there will be much reminiscing, retelling of personal experiences, and evaluating church teachings and decisions, all in the endeavor to make sense of what has happened. That can only take place if we bathe our words and expressions in grace, love and understanding. The book endeavors to answer the underlying question: what do we mean when we use the term "church"? What are the primary reasons for its existence? When you ask Adventists such a question, we hope they answer with a reply that is inspiring and practical. In presenting my view of Adventism over the past seventy-five years, it's had a positive effect on my knowing and understanding Jesus-and I hope the same goes for you!

This Combo Collection (Set of 3 Books) includes All-time Bestseller Books. This anthology contains: The Life and Times of Chandrashekhar Azad The Life and Times of Bhagat Singh The Life and Times of Subhash Chandra Bose