Gentlemen of Space

Gentlemen of Space PDF Author: Ira Sher
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439106363
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
Magnolia Court is not the most magical place in Florida, but to young Georgie Finch, this outsized housing project in the heart of the suburbs is the center of the universe. In this superbly crafted, imaginative, and intelligent novel, Georgie tells us the story of when his father, Jerry, won a competition in 1976 to become the first civilian man on the moon. He also tells us about his beautiful baby-sitter, who has a crush on Jerry; his Jackie O-like mother, Barbara, the long-suffering wife to an everyday genius; Jerry's high school friend Lyle Barnes, running for local office on his coattails; and the mysterious journalist Bob Nightly, who seems the only person determined to get to the bottom of who Jerry Finch really is. Once Jerry is shot into space, Magnolia Court turns into the worst sort of American media circus, replete with card tables, Winnebagos, cookouts, and telescopes. Georgie tentatively navigates this space, dodging the starstruck commoners who have come to worship at the astronauts' feet. When Jerry goes missing, the camp turns into a vigil, punctuated by potluck suppers and banners. Eventually the astronauts come back without Jerry and likewise descend on Magnolia Court -- in their spacesuits -- to show their respect. All the while Georgie gets phone calls from his father in space, but no one will believe him. Should we? Or is his entire story just that, a story? A feat of literary ventriloquism, Gentlemen of Space is surprising, captivating, and wholly original.

Gentlemen of Space

Gentlemen of Space PDF Author: Ira Sher
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439106363
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 415

Get Book Here

Book Description
Magnolia Court is not the most magical place in Florida, but to young Georgie Finch, this outsized housing project in the heart of the suburbs is the center of the universe. In this superbly crafted, imaginative, and intelligent novel, Georgie tells us the story of when his father, Jerry, won a competition in 1976 to become the first civilian man on the moon. He also tells us about his beautiful baby-sitter, who has a crush on Jerry; his Jackie O-like mother, Barbara, the long-suffering wife to an everyday genius; Jerry's high school friend Lyle Barnes, running for local office on his coattails; and the mysterious journalist Bob Nightly, who seems the only person determined to get to the bottom of who Jerry Finch really is. Once Jerry is shot into space, Magnolia Court turns into the worst sort of American media circus, replete with card tables, Winnebagos, cookouts, and telescopes. Georgie tentatively navigates this space, dodging the starstruck commoners who have come to worship at the astronauts' feet. When Jerry goes missing, the camp turns into a vigil, punctuated by potluck suppers and banners. Eventually the astronauts come back without Jerry and likewise descend on Magnolia Court -- in their spacesuits -- to show their respect. All the while Georgie gets phone calls from his father in space, but no one will believe him. Should we? Or is his entire story just that, a story? A feat of literary ventriloquism, Gentlemen of Space is surprising, captivating, and wholly original.

You Can’t Say You Can’t Play

You Can’t Say You Can’t Play PDF Author: Vivian Gussin Paley
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674417615
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 95

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Book Description
Who of us cannot remember the pain and humiliation of being rejected by our classmates? However thick-skinned or immune to such assaults we may become as adults, the memory of those early exclusions is as palpable to each of us today as it is common to human experience. We remember the uncertainty of separating from our home and entering school as strangers and, more than the relief of making friends, we recall the cruel moments of our own isolation as well as those children we knew were destined to remain strangers. In this book Vivian Paley employs a unique strategy to probe the moral dimensions of the classroom. She departs from her previous work by extending her analysis to children through the fifth grade, all the while weaving remarkable fairy tale into her narrative description. Paley introduces a new rule—“You can’t say you can’t play”—to her kindergarten classroom and solicits the opinions of older children regarding the fairness of such a rule. We hear from those who are rejected as well as those who do the rejecting. One child, objecting to the rule, says, “It will be fairer, but how are we going to have any fun?” Another child defends the principle of classroom bosses as a more benign way of excluding the unwanted. In a brilliant twist, Paley mixes fantasy and reality, and introduces a new voice into the debate: Magpie, a magical bird, who brings lonely people to a place where a full share of the sun is rightfully theirs. Myth and morality begin to proclaim the same message and the schoolhouse will be the crucible in which the new order is tried. A struggle ensues and even the Magpie stories cannot avoid the scrutiny of this merciless pack of social philosophers who will not be easily caught in a morality tale. You Can’t Say You Can’t Play speaks to some of our most deeply held beliefs. Is exclusivity part of human nature? Can we legislate fairness and still nurture creativity and individuality? Can children be freed from the habit of rejection? These are some of the questions. The answers are to be found in the words of Paley’s schoolchildren and in the wisdom of their teacher who respectfully listens to them.

The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle PDF Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0547572484
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
Slavery is back. America, 1962. Having lost a war, America finds itself under Nazi Germany and Japan occupation. A few Jews still live under assumed names. The 'I Ching' is prevalent in San Francisco. Science fiction meets serious ideas in this take on a possible alternate history.

Wish You Well

Wish You Well PDF Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 0759520127
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
Following a family tragedy, siblings Lou and Oz must leave New York and adjust to life in the Virginia mountains--but just as the farm begins to feel like home, they'll have to defend it from a dark threat in this New York Times bestselling coming-of-age story. Precocious twelve-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes--and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. Suddenly Lou finds herself growing up in a new landscape, making her first true friend, and experiencing adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. When a dark, destructive force encroaches on her new home, her struggle will play out in a crowded Virginia courtroom...and determine the future of two children, an entire town, and the mountains they love.

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea PDF Author: Ernest Hemingway
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

The Well of Being

The Well of Being PDF Author: Jean-Pierre Weill
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250092701
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
An enchanting, visually arresting, “extraordinary children’s book for adults...that peers into the depths of the human experience and the meaning of our existence.” (Brainpickings.org).

The Girl from the Well

The Girl from the Well PDF Author: Rin Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402292198
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
"[A] Stephen Kinglike horror story...A chilling, bloody ghost story that resonates."— Kirkus From the highly acclaimed author of the Bone Witch trilogy comes a chilling story of a Japanese ghost looking for vengeance and the boy who has no choice but to trust her, lauded as a "a fantastically creepy story sure to keep readers up at night" (RT Book Reviews) I am where dead children go. Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they're due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on. Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen's skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There's just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host. Suspenseful and creepy, The Girl from the Well is perfect for readers looking for Spooky books for young adults Japanese horror novels Ghost stories for teens East Asian folklore Praise for The Girl from the Well "There's a superior creep factor that is pervasive in every lyrical word of Chupeco's debut, and it's perfect for teens who enjoy traditional horror movies...the story is solidly scary and well worth the read." — Booklist "Chupeco makes a powerful debut with this unsettling ghost story...told in a marvelously disjointed fashion from Okiku's numbers-obsessed point of view, this story unfolds with creepy imagery and an intimate appreciation for Japanese horror, myth, and legend." — Publishers Weekly STARRED review "It hit all the right horror notes with me, and I absolutely recommend it to fans looking for a good scare. " — The Book Smugglers

Rip Van Winkle, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Rip Van Winkle, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow PDF Author: Washington Irving
Publisher: Orient Blackswan
ISBN: 9788125021766
Category : Catskill Mountains (N.Y.)
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
A man who sleeps for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains wakes to a much-changed world.

Singer

Singer PDF Author: Ira Sher
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780151014132
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
In this gorgeously written book, the author of "Gentlemen of Space" chronicles a surreal road trip and uses the Singer Sewing Company as a metaphor for the erosion of America.

The Man in the Moss

The Man in the Moss PDF Author: Phil Rickman
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 085789692X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 678

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Book Description
The discovery of an Iron Age body preserved in the peat bogs surrounding the village of Bridelow is one of the finds of the century Though dead for two millennia, he remains perfectly preserved in black peat. The Man in the Moss is one of the most fascinating finds of the century, but for the isolated Pennine community of Bridelow, his removal is a sinister sign. A danger to the ancient spiritual tradition maintained, curiously, by the Mothers' Union. In the weeks approaching Samhain—the Celtic feast of the dead—tragedy strikes again in Bridelow. Scottish folk singer Moira Cairns and American film producer Mungo Macbeth discover their Celtic roots are deeper and darker than they imagined. And, as fundamentalist zealots of both Christian and satanic persuasions challenge an older, gentler faith, the village faces a natural disaster unknown since the reign of Henry VIII.