The New York Nobody Knows

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691169705
Total Pages : 474 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis The New York Nobody Knows by : William B. Helmreich

Download or read book The New York Nobody Knows written by William B. Helmreich and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "As a kid growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father they called "Last Stop." They would pick a subway line and ride it to its final destination, and explore the neighborhood there. Decades later, Helmreich teaches university courses about New York, and his love for exploring the city is as strong as ever. Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs--an astonishing 6,000 miles. His epic journey lasted four years and took him to every corner of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Helmreich spoke with hundreds of New Yorkers from every part of the globe and from every walk of life, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former mayors Rudolph Giuliani, David Dinkins, and Edward Koch. Their stories and his are the subject of this captivating and highly original book. We meet the Guyanese immigrant who grows beautiful flowers outside his modest Queens residence in order to always remember the homeland he left behind, the Brooklyn-raised grandchild of Italian immigrants who illuminates a window of his brownstone with the family's old neon grocery-store sign, and many, many others. Helmreich draws on firsthand insights to examine essential aspects of urban social life such as ethnicity, gentrification, and the use of space. He finds that to be a New Yorker is to struggle to understand the place and to make a life that is as highly local as it is dynamically cosmopolitan."--Publisher's description.

The Manhattan Nobody Knows

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691166994
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis The Manhattan Nobody Knows by : William B. Helmreich

Download or read book The Manhattan Nobody Knows written by William B. Helmreich and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-12-04 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique walking guide to Manhattan, from the author of The New York Nobody Knows. --Amazon.com.

The Queens Nobody Knows

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691200025
Total Pages : 489 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis The Queens Nobody Knows by : William B. Helmreich

Download or read book The Queens Nobody Knows written by William B. Helmreich and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to New York City's largest borough, from the award-winning author of The New York Nobody Knows Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—some six-thousand miles—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked most of Queens—1,012 miles in all—to create this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city's largest borough, from hauntingly beautiful parks to hidden parts of Flushing's Chinese community. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journey through this fascinating, diverse, and underexplored borough, Helmreich highlights hundreds of facts and points of interest that you won't find in any other guide. In Bellerose, you'll explore a museum filled with soul-searing artwork created by people with mental illness. In Douglaston, you'll gaze up in awe at the city's tallest tree. In Corona, you'll discover the former synagogue where Madonna lived when she first came to New York. In St. Albans, you'll see the former homes of jazz greats, including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. In Woodhaven, you'll walk a block where recent immigrants from Mexico, Guyana, and China all proudly fly the American flag. And much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today's Queens, the book can be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it's almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore this captivating borough. Covers every one of Queens's neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unfamiliar people, places, and things Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; photographs; and a lively guided walking tour Draws on the author's 1,012-mile walk through every Queens neighborhood Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents

The Brooklyn Nobody Knows

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400883121
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The Brooklyn Nobody Knows by : William B. Helmreich

Download or read book The Brooklyn Nobody Knows written by William B. Helmreich and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-03 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A one-of-a-kind walking guide to Brooklyn, from the man who walked every block in New York City Bill Helmreich walked every block of New York City—6,000 miles in all—to write the award-winning The New York Nobody Knows. Later, he re-walked Brooklyn—some 816 miles—to write this one-of-a-kind walking guide to the city's hottest borough. Drawing on hundreds of conversations he had with residents during his block-by-block journeys, The Brooklyn Nobody Knows captures the heart and soul of a diverse, booming, and constantly changing borough that defines cool around the world. The guide covers every one of Brooklyn’s forty-four neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island, providing a colorful portrait of each section’s most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things. Along the way you will learn about a Greenpoint park devoted to plants and trees that produce materials used in industry; a hornsmith who practices his craft in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; a collection of 1,140 stuffed animals hanging from a tree in Bergen Beach; a five-story Brownsville mural that depicts Zionist leader Theodor Herzl—and that was the brainchild of black teenagers; Brooklyn’s most private—yet public—beach in Manhattan Beach; and much, much more. An unforgettably vivid chronicle of today’s Brooklyn, the book can also be enjoyed without ever leaving home—but it’s almost guaranteed to inspire you to get out and explore one of the most fascinating urban areas anywhere. Covers every one of Brooklyn’s 44 neighborhoods, providing a colorful portrait of their most interesting, unusual, and unknown people, places, and things Each neighborhood section features a brief overview and history; a detailed, user-friendly map keyed to the text; and a lively guided walking tour Draws on the author’s 816-mile walk through every Brooklyn neighborhood Includes insights from conversations with hundreds of residents

Nobody Knows My Name

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 014191596X
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (419 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows My Name by : James Baldwin

Download or read book Nobody Knows My Name written by James Baldwin and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 1991-08-29 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'These essays ... live and grow in the mind' James Campbell, Independent Being a writer, says James Baldwin in this searing collection of essays, requires 'every ounce of stamina he can summon to attempt to look on himself and the world as they are'. His seminal 1961 follow-up to Notes on a Native Son shows him responding to his times and exploring his role as an artist with biting precision and emotional power: from polemical pieces on racial segregation and a journey to 'the Old Country' of the Southern states, to reflections on figures such as Ingmar Bergman and André Gide, and on the first great conference of African writers and artists in Paris. 'Brilliant...accomplished...strong...vivid...honest...masterly' The New York Times 'A bright and alive book, full of grief, love and anger' Chicago Tribune

Nobody Knows

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Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1429902930
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows by : Mary Jane Clark

Download or read book Nobody Knows written by Mary Jane Clark and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cassie Sheridan has all a television news reporter could want: an important beat in Washington D.C., a skyrocketing career, and a talent that everyone acknowledges. But then, she makes a critical mistake. Suddenly, her career is in shambles, her credibility is questioned, and her teenaged daughter makes her realize just how much time she hasn't spent with her. The repercussions of ambitious reporting have now derailed the career of KEY News justice correspondent Cassie Sheridan. Cassie is transferred to Miami, to wait out the end of her contract-separated from her family, her friends, and the familiarity of Washington. But in an unsuspecting south Florida town, a killer is watching...and waiting. While covering a hurricane that's moving up Florida's west coast, Cassie meets 11-year-old Vincent, who has just made a grisly discovery on the beach. In one week, Cassie traces the connection between Vincent's newfound "treasure" and a secret operation in the dark shadows of sunny Sarasota-a story that has national significance and maybe, just maybe, will win back her reputation. But nobody knows how fierce the coming storm will be. Nobody knows how far a psychopath will go in pursuit of twisted pleasure. Nobody knows if a young woman's murderer will stop at nothing to keep the crimes a secret. And nobody knows if Cassie will get out alive. . . .

The Gettysburg Nobody Knows

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Publisher : Gettysburg Civil War Institute
ISBN 13 : 9780195129069
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gettysburg Nobody Knows by : Gabor S. Boritt

Download or read book The Gettysburg Nobody Knows written by Gabor S. Boritt and published by Gettysburg Civil War Institute. This book was released on 1999 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading authorities shed new light on the greatest battle in American history, focusing in particular on the unknown, the controversial, and what might have been.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen

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Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 0595377432
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (953 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen by : George Lang

Download or read book Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen written by George Lang and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005-12 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born raconteur George Lang tells the Horatio Alger story--as only he can tell it--of his extraordinary life. Born in Hungary, only child of a Jewish tailor and destined for the concert stage, at nineteen he was incarcerated in a forced-labor camp, never to see his parents again. After he landed in New York in 1946, a whole new world opened up as he switched from the violin to the kitchen. Soon he was orchestrating banquets at the Waldorf for Khrushchev, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace, and the like. He invented a new profession: as the first restaurant consultant, he explored Indonesia and the Philippines to bring back exotic tastes for the 1964 World's Fair, and pioneered upscale restaurant complexes within shopping malls. Finally he resurrected two great landmarks: the Café des Artistes in New York and Gundel in his native Hungary.

Where Nobody Knows Your Name

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Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 0307949583
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (79 download)

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Book Synopsis Where Nobody Knows Your Name by : John Feinstein

Download or read book Where Nobody Knows Your Name written by John Feinstein and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2015-03-17 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Minor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Major League Baseball. John Feinstein takes the reader behind the curtain into the guarded world of the minor leagues, like no other writer can. Where Nobody Knows Your Name explores the trials and travails of the inhabitants of Triple-A, focusing on nine men, including players, managers and umpires, among many colorful characters, living on the cusp of the dream. The book tells the stories of former World Series hero Scott Podsednik, giving it one more shot; Durham Bulls manager Charlie Montoya, shepherding generations across the line; and designated hitter Jon Lindsey, a lifelong minor leaguer, waiting for his day to come. From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, this is an intimate and exciting look at life in the minor leagues, where you’re either waiting for the call or just passing through.

Nobody Knows

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Author :
Publisher : Baker Books
ISBN 13 : 9780801016097
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows by : Craig von Buseck

Download or read book Nobody Knows written by Craig von Buseck and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It should not surprise us when we see God use the common things of life--snow, streetlights, a rented suit, a mop--to accomplish the incredible. But it should inspire us. From the depths of near obscurity at the turn of the last century, a young African American man rose to fame through those ordinary things--listening intently out in the snow as a child to beautiful music in an elegant hall, listening to his grandfather sing the old slave songs as he lit the streetlamps, sweating through a rented suit during an audition for a musical scholarship, a chance meeting with a musical legend as he was mopping the halls of his school. Through the seemingly insignificant pieces of life, God led Harry T. Burleigh along the path to fame and through him preserved the songs that would form the basis of a uniquely American music. Now Harry T. Burleigh, once world-renowned for his career as a beautiful baritone soloist, an arranger of Negro Spirituals, and a composer in his own right, is lifted once more out of obscurity by Craig von Buseck. This inspiring true story will take readers back in time to Southern plantations and Northern boom towns, to minstrel shows and soaring sanctuaries, and into the heart of a man who never suspected that God had destined him for greatness.

The Knowledge Illusion

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0399184341
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (991 download)

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Book Synopsis The Knowledge Illusion by : Steven Sloman

Download or read book The Knowledge Illusion written by Steven Sloman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom.” —Steven Pinker We all think we know more than we actually do. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach argue that we survive and thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live in a rich community of knowledge. The key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: in our bodies, our environment, our possessions, and the community with which we interact—and usually we don’t even realize we’re doing it. The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire, created democratic institutions, stood on the moon, and sequenced our genome. And yet each of us is error prone, sometimes irrational, and often ignorant. The fundamentally communal nature of intelligence and knowledge explains why we often assume we know more than we really do, why political opinions and false beliefs are so hard to change, and why individual-oriented approaches to education and management frequently fail. But our collaborative minds also enable us to do amazing things. The Knowledge Illusion contends that true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using the community around us.

Nobody Knows But You

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Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0062685333
Total Pages : 217 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (626 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows But You by : Anica Mrose Rissi

Download or read book Nobody Knows But You written by Anica Mrose Rissi and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nail-bitingly intense story of a summer at camp that ends in a disturbing death—and depicts a powerful friendship that won’t ever be forgotten. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Broken Things. Kayla is still holding on to Lainie’s secrets. After all, Lainie is Kayla’s best friend. And despite Lainie’s painful obsession with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, and the ways he has tried to come between them, friends don’t spill each other’s secrets. They don’t betray each other’s trust. The murder at the end of the summer doesn’t change all that. Besides—Kayla knows that the truth is not the whole story.

I Know This Much Is True

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780060391621
Total Pages : 884 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis I Know This Much Is True by : Wally Lamb

Download or read book I Know This Much Is True written by Wally Lamb and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-06-03 with total page 884 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.

No Man Knows My History

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Author :
Publisher : National Geographic Books
ISBN 13 : 0679730540
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (797 download)

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Book Synopsis No Man Knows My History by : Fawn M. Brodie

Download or read book No Man Knows My History written by Fawn M. Brodie and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 1995-08-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first paperback edition of the classic biography of the founder of the Mormon church, this book attempts to answer the questions that continue to surround Joseph Smith. Was he a genuine prophet, or a gifted fabulist who became enthralled by the products of his imagination and ended up being martyred for them? 24 pages of photos. Map.

Nobody Knows Anything

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780692852989
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (529 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows Anything by : Robert Moriarty

Download or read book Nobody Knows Anything written by Robert Moriarty and published by . This book was released on 2017-02-23 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investors not only need to know what to do to profit, they also need to know what not to do. Learn how to understand how humans think and act as a herd so you can avoid being part of the herd. What works in nature may well not work as an investor. The book discusses bubbles, when to sell, buzzwords and pitfalls waiting for every new investor.

The Man Nobody Knows

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781684225361
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (253 download)

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Book Synopsis The Man Nobody Knows by : Bruce Barton

Download or read book The Man Nobody Knows written by Bruce Barton and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-21 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2021 Reprint of the 1925 Edition. The Man Nobody Knows is the second book by the American author and advertising executive Bruce Fairchild Barton. In it, Barton presents Jesus as "The Founder of Modern Business," in an effort to make the Christian story accessible to businessmen of the time. When published in 1925, the book topped the nonfiction bestseller list, and was one of the best-selling non-fiction books of the 20th century. Since its publication, The Man Nobody Knows has divided readers. Some welcome the portrayal of Jesus as a strong character, whom no one dared oppose, and praise the use of familiar stereotypes to stimulate interest in religion, whilst others ridicule the suggestion that Jesus was a salesman. Critics have suggested that The Man Nobody Knows is a prime example of the materialism and "glorified Rotarianism" of the Protestant churches in the 1920s.

Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781737515548
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (155 download)

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Book Synopsis Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak by : Mark Saunders

Download or read book Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak written by Mark Saunders and published by . This book was released on 2021-11 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak is a humorous memoir about dropping out late in life, selling almost everything, and moving to the middle of Mexico, where you don't know a soul and can barely speak the language. The story arc of the memoir is a simple one: the author and his wife lose their jobs, drop out, and move to Mexico (Act 1); they experience conflict, both good and bad, before moving back to the United States (end of Act 2); finally, they resolve their biggest conflict by moving back to Mexico (Conclusion), where they hoped to stay longer this time. The author and his wife were the last persons they ever thought would drop out and move to Mexico, especially when they did. They were in their late 50s at the time, did not have much money to fund the move, and were not the adventurous types. They were both working in high-tech, for different companies, and coincidentally their jobs were going away around the same time. They felt boxed in-or out. So, they sold their condo in downtown Portland, Oregon, with the spectacular view of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens and lived in Mexico for two years off the proceeds of the sale. Put another way, they gave themselves a self-funded, open-ended sabbatical. Funny things happened to the couple almost immediately. The author started writing about what was going on, from the point of view of someone who was totally ill-equipped and ill-prepared to live in a foreign country. In violation of such mainstream media expectations, in moving to Mexico they didn't get car-jacked, kidnapped, mistakenly shot at, or ripped off by a shady contractor hoping to live in Panama on their life savings. They had, however, many mishaps, made some dreadful mistakes, got in and out of trouble, and learned a thing or two about life, Mexico, and each other. Even though the memoir reenacts no homicides or rescue attempts, their story covers plenty of interesting ground, landscaped with prickly pear cactus, scorpions, mammoth speed bumps, lung-choking dust, yoga, disco, firecrackers, car repairs, lost-in-translation moments, and a near-death collision on a two-lane highway. All right, that last bit is an exaggeration. The two six-wheelers missed them by a good five inches. The couple discovered they were living in a cash-based society where nobody ever had change. In a culture where mañana did not always mean tomorrow but could mean anything from later to not now to fat chance you'll ever see me again. In a country where the most common unit of measurement was not the kilo or the kilometer, as guidebooks would have you believe, but something known as más o menos, simply translated as "more or less." Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak is a true story about second chances and personal reinventions; speed bumps and slippery streets; comfortable casitas and friendly tiendas. It's about the sound of fire crackers going off at three in the morning, and as much about broken-down cars as it is about clear-blue skies as it is about eating corn fungus. The author and his wife took the advice of Henry James and lived "the life we had always imagined." More precisely, they lived a life they had never imagined.