A Secret Gift

A Secret Gift PDF Author: Ted Gup
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101444630
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
An inspiring account of America at its worst-and Americans at their best-woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's generous and secretive grandfather. Shortly before Christmas 1933 in Depression-scarred Canton, Ohio, a small newspaper ad offered $10, no strings attached, to 75 families in distress. Interested readers were asked to submit letters describing their hardships to a benefactor calling himself Mr. B. Virdot. The author's grandfather Sam Stone was inspired to place this ad and assist his fellow Cantonians as they prepared for the cruelest Christmas most of them would ever witness. Moved by the tales of suffering and expressions of hope contained in the letters, which he discovered in a suitcase 75 years later, Ted Gup initially set out to unveil the lives behind them, searching for records and relatives all over the country who could help him flesh out the family sagas hinted at in those letters. From these sources, Gup has re-created the impact that Mr B. Virdot's gift had on each family. Many people yearned for bread, coal, or other necessities, but many others received money from B. Virdot for more fanciful items-a toy horse, say, or a set of encyclopedias. As Gup's investigations revealed, all these things had the power to turn people's lives around- even to save them. But as he uncovered the suffering and triumphs of dozens of strangers, Gup also learned that Sam Stone was far more complex than the lovable- retiree persona he'd always shown his grandson. Gup unearths deeply buried details about Sam's life-from his impoverished, abusive upbringing to felonious efforts to hide his immigrant origins from U.S. officials-that help explain why he felt such a strong affinity to strangers in need. Drawing on his unique find and his award-winning reportorial gifts, Ted Gup solves a singular family mystery even while he pulls away the veil of eight decades that separate us from the hardships that united America during the Depression. In A Secret Gift, he weaves these revelations seamlessly into a tapestry of Depression-era America, which will fascinate and inspire in equal measure. Watch a Video

A Secret Gift

A Secret Gift PDF Author: Ted Gup
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101444630
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Get Book Here

Book Description
An inspiring account of America at its worst-and Americans at their best-woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's generous and secretive grandfather. Shortly before Christmas 1933 in Depression-scarred Canton, Ohio, a small newspaper ad offered $10, no strings attached, to 75 families in distress. Interested readers were asked to submit letters describing their hardships to a benefactor calling himself Mr. B. Virdot. The author's grandfather Sam Stone was inspired to place this ad and assist his fellow Cantonians as they prepared for the cruelest Christmas most of them would ever witness. Moved by the tales of suffering and expressions of hope contained in the letters, which he discovered in a suitcase 75 years later, Ted Gup initially set out to unveil the lives behind them, searching for records and relatives all over the country who could help him flesh out the family sagas hinted at in those letters. From these sources, Gup has re-created the impact that Mr B. Virdot's gift had on each family. Many people yearned for bread, coal, or other necessities, but many others received money from B. Virdot for more fanciful items-a toy horse, say, or a set of encyclopedias. As Gup's investigations revealed, all these things had the power to turn people's lives around- even to save them. But as he uncovered the suffering and triumphs of dozens of strangers, Gup also learned that Sam Stone was far more complex than the lovable- retiree persona he'd always shown his grandson. Gup unearths deeply buried details about Sam's life-from his impoverished, abusive upbringing to felonious efforts to hide his immigrant origins from U.S. officials-that help explain why he felt such a strong affinity to strangers in need. Drawing on his unique find and his award-winning reportorial gifts, Ted Gup solves a singular family mystery even while he pulls away the veil of eight decades that separate us from the hardships that united America during the Depression. In A Secret Gift, he weaves these revelations seamlessly into a tapestry of Depression-era America, which will fascinate and inspire in equal measure. Watch a Video

Why the West Rules - For Now

Why the West Rules - For Now PDF Author: Ian Morris
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551995816
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 767

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Book Description
Why does the West rule? In this magnum opus, eminent Stanford polymath Ian Morris answers this provocative question, drawing on 50,000 years of history, archeology, and the methods of social science, to make sense of when, how, and why the paths of development differed in the East and West — and what this portends for the 21st century. There are two broad schools of thought on why the West rules. Proponents of "Long-Term Lock-In" theories such as Jared Diamond suggest that from time immemorial, some critical factor — geography, climate, or culture perhaps — made East and West unalterably different, and determined that the industrial revolution would happen in the West and push it further ahead of the East. But the East led the West between 500 and 1600, so this development can't have been inevitable; and so proponents of "Short-Term Accident" theories argue that Western rule was a temporary aberration that is now coming to an end, with Japan, China, and India resuming their rightful places on the world stage. However, as the West led for 9,000 of the previous 10,000 years, it wasn't just a temporary aberration. So, if we want to know why the West rules, we need a whole new theory. Ian Morris, boldly entering the turf of Jared Diamond and Niall Ferguson, provides the broader approach that is necessary, combining the textual historian's focus on context, the anthropological archaeologist's awareness of the deep past, and the social scientist's comparative methods to make sense of the past, present, and future — in a way no one has ever done before.

Moses Hess: The Holy History of Mankind and Other Writings

Moses Hess: The Holy History of Mankind and Other Writings PDF Author: Moses Hess
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521387569
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
Moses Hess is a major figure in the development of both early communist and Zionist thought. The Holy History of Mankind appeared in 1837, and was the first book-length socialist tract to appear in Germany, representing an unusual synthesis of Judaism and Christianity. The distinguished political scientist Shlomo Avineri provides the first full English translation of this classic text, along with new renditions of Sozialsmus und Kommunismus and Ein Kommunistisches Bekenntis. All of the usual student-friendly series features are provided, including a chronology, concise introduction and notes for further reading.

Revelation

Revelation PDF Author:
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 0857861018
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Scientology, a History of Man

Scientology, a History of Man PDF Author: La Fayette Ron Hubbard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This book claims to unravel history with an "E-Meter", describing what the author believes are the principal "incidents on the whole track to be found in any human being". These incidents include electronic implants, entities, the genetic track, between-lives incidents, the relationship of the Genetic Entity to Theta Beings, and so on. Also presented are Hubbard's theory of how bodies evolved and why human's got trapped in them as well as his descriptions of how specific incidents reveal "the true story of between-lives" and "the insidious nature of electronics in enslaving thetans".

The Providential History of Mankind Opened, Etc

The Providential History of Mankind Opened, Etc PDF Author: James STRONGE
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description


History of All Christian Sects and Denominations

History of All Christian Sects and Denominations PDF Author: John Evans
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religions
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description


History of All Christian Sects and Denominations. Their Origin, Peculiar Tenets, and Present Condition with an Introductory Account of Atheis, Deist, Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, etc.

History of All Christian Sects and Denominations. Their Origin, Peculiar Tenets, and Present Condition with an Introductory Account of Atheis, Deist, Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, etc. PDF Author: John Evans
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3385374820
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

Scribner's Monthly, an Illustrated Magazine for the People

Scribner's Monthly, an Illustrated Magazine for the People PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 962

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Book Description


Deep History and the Ages of Man (second Edition)

Deep History and the Ages of Man (second Edition) PDF Author: Mark H Gaffney
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Did human civilization begin 5-6,000 years ago (as we are told) with Sumer and Egypt? Or is there more to the story? What was the actual purpose of Stonehenge? Why is the Great Pyramid aligned to true north? Is it possible that advanced civilizations predated the modern era by tens of thousands of years? If so, what happened to them? Today, Academia and Egyptology remain hamstrung by limiting beliefs, false assumptions and shallow readings of ancient texts. Mark H Gaffney's book presents compelling new evidence in support of Charles Hapgood's theory of crustal displacement, first introduced in the 1950s. Deep History and the Ages of Man introduces a new and exciting earth climate model that will challenge everything you thought you knew about ancient history.