Current Politics

Wendelin Van Draanen didn't grow up wanting to be a writer, but 30 books later, she's convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well. Wendelin shares what she's learned - about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This audiobook is packed with practical advice on the craft.

In this dynamic account, award-winning author Paul Fleischman arms teens with the basic tools to uncover vested interests and falsehoods by vetting sources, following the money, and checking references so that they can make informed decisions about what actions to take in the worldwide battle against climate change, overconsumption, and dwindling resources.

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote? In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African-American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow.

Raised by her grandparents when her mother chooses drugs over her daughter, Erin knows she isn't like other kids. Then, her world is shaken a second time by her mother's reappearance. Being a teenager is never easy, but just when Erin thinks she has her life on track, her mother shows up and warms her way back into Erin's life. Can an addict really ever kick the addiction? How many lives will drugs destroy?

You Don't Have to Learn Everything the Hard Way covers a lot of topics that teens need and want to learn about, from sensitive areas like sexual abuse, pain, and hard times, to issues like understanding how to deal with peer pressure and making the right choice about drugs. Like a favorite aunt, Laya Saul encourages her listeners to use challenges as stepping-stones. Although it was written with teens in mind, the book is finding its way into the hands of listeners spanning generations! The wisdom is practical, timeless, and helpful.

Ever since George Washington used them to help topple the British, spies and their networks have helped and hurt America at key moments in history. In this fascinating collection, Paul B. Janeczko probes such stories as that of Elizabeth Van Lew, an aristocrat whose hatred of slavery drove her to be one of the most successful spies in the Civil War; the "Choctaw code talkers," Native Americans who were instrumental in sending secret messages during World War I; and more.

My book is a compilation of 36 newspaper columns published over the past few years. I write about uncomfortable truths that we as South Africans shy away from, such as the persistence of white power and privilege, structural racism and the glaring lack of social and economic transformation and justice. I unmask the Rainbow Nation as a palace of white power, where whiteness reigns supreme, even though the governing party, the ANC, is black.

Five years ago, I asked myself: Was I living or just existing? This led me on a journey of deep research and discovery, both of the outer world around me and my own inner world. I realized a lack of understanding leads to a lack of fulfillment and purpose in life, so this audiobook is an honest assessment of hard-hitting questions about beliefs and traditions we as a species have held for eons.

From one of the co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement comes a poetic memoir and reflection on humanity. Necessary and timely, Patrisse Cullors’ story asks us to remember that protest in the interest of the most vulnerable comes from love. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful.

I remember that cool autumn night like it was yesterday. It was an early morning that I would never forget. While driving on the interstate, I feel completely asleep at the wheel of my car. Like that harrowing day, the sad reality is that so many have done the same thing and fallen asleep at the wheel of their lives and it’s time to take back control of the wheel. We all have passions and purpose in life, but life can be extremely cruel and beats us down time and time again.

Como la primera mujer de la raza negra y con raíces en Asia Meridional que se convierte en vicepresidenta de los Estados Unidos, así como la segunda mujer negra en la historia elegida al Senado de los Estados Unidos, Kamala Harris está abriendo nuevos caminos en su ruta hacia el escenario nacional. Pero, ¿de qué manera alcanzó sus metas? ¿Qué valores e influencias la guiaron e inspiraron sobre la marcha?

Born in 1946 in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade Hudson came of age against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. From their home on Mary Street, his close-knit family watched as the country grappled with desegregation, as the Klan targeted the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and as systemic racism struck across the nation and in their hometown.

James Meredith's 1966 march in Mississippi began as one man's peaceful protest for voter registration and became one of the South's most important demonstrations of the civil rights movement. It brought together leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael, who formed an unlikely alliance that resulted in the Black Power movement, which ushered in a new era in the fight for equality. The retelling of Meredith's story opens on the day of his assassination attempt and goes back in time to recount the moments leading up to that event and its aftermath.

Rise Up! breaks down the origins of racial injustice and its continued impact today, connecting dots between the past and present. By including contemporary examples ripped from headlines and actionable ways young people can help create a more inclusive world, sociologist Crystal Fleming shares the knowledge and values that unite all antiracists: compassion, solidarity, respect, and courage in the face of adversity.

With passion and authenticity, teen author Sara Barratt calls on her generation to reject apathy and embrace a daring, costly faith. Not content with safe religion that demands nothing of us, Sara shows teens how they can stop giving in to the status quo and devote themselves fully to Christ, following him no matter what their friends do or the culture around them does. She challenges them to give everything over - their comfort zones, their time, their loyalties, their pride - and discover that in losing control they are gaining the life that was meant for them all along.

With 2016 promising to be an interesting and hotly contested election year, Votes of Confidence offers young listeners an essential guide to the past, present, and future of American elections.

The true story of 19-year-old Jordana Lebowitz’s time at the trial of Oskar Groening, known as the bookkeeper of Auschwitz, a man charged with being complicit in the death of more than 300,000 Jews. A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Jordana was still not prepared for what she would see and hear.

Like many, we are working hard to get President Trump reelected. We are convinced by mounting evidence that it has become a matter of life and death and not just a simpler matter of freedom versus slavery. The shenanigans of the mainstream media often have been riddled with exaggerations and misrepresentations. An evil agenda is unfolding a little each day; otherwise, why is censorship so widespread against any scientist who does not believe in the media lies about the jab?

Anyone who is as fascinated about the era surrounding the establishment of the Republic of Texas as I am, will understand my excitement on discovering this book in German written in 1840.G.A. Scherpf was a German who had been living for some time in New York and decided to undertake an expedition to see with his own eyes which of the conflicting reports about Texas were true.He became so enamored with the country that he decided to settle there himself.As an economist and a highly educated person, he has taken painstaking trouble to collect all the data which would be relevant to anyone ...

Meet nine courageous young adults who have lived in the United States with a secret for much of their lives: they are not U.S. citizens. They came from Colombia, Mexico, Ghana, Independent Samoa, and Korea. They came seeking education, fleeing violence, and escaping poverty. All have heartbreaking and hopeful stories about leaving their homelands and starting a new life in America. And all are weary of living in the shadows.