Learn American English

Jonathan Starr is not your traditional do-gooder, and in 2009, when he decided to found Abaarso, a secondary school in Somaliland, the choice seemed crazy to even his closest friends. Why, they wondered, would he turn down a life of relative luxury to relocate to an armed compound in a breakaway region of the world's number one failed state? To achieve his mission, Starr would have to overcome profound cultural differences, broken promises, and threats to his safety and that of his staff.

Has American higher education become a dinosaur? Why, in short, are problems that should be easy for universities to solve so intractable? The answer, Louis Menand argues, is that the institutional structure and the educational philosophy of higher education have remained the same for 100 years.

America is under attack. America has always been under attack. America will likely continue to be under attack. Our attackers are not those who threaten us with military force. Presently, we are well prepared to fend off an enemy who is seen - one who can be defeated on the battlefield. Our enemy is more insidious, and often supported by those within our government who are responsible for preventing that danger. Thomas Jefferson warned us of this danger early on, even while the U.S. Constitution was being written. One of his major concerns was that if citizens were not educated to recognize...

Bearing Witness While Black tells the story of this century's most powerful Black social movement through the eyes of fifteen activists who documented it. At the height of the Black Lives Matter uprisings, African Americans filmed and tweeted evidence of fatal police encounters in dozens of US cities - using little more than the device in their pockets. Their urgent dispatches from the frontlines spurred a global debate on excessive police force, which claimed the lives of African American men, women, and children at disproportionate rates.

In the 1970s, Frank Lucas was the king of the Harlem drug trade, bringing in over a million dollars a day. He lived a glamorous life, hobnobbing with athletes, musicians, and politicians, but Lucas was a ruthless gangster. He was notorious for using the coffins of dead GIs to smuggle heroin into the United States, and, before being sentenced to 70 years in prison, he played a major role in the near death of New York City.

Drawing from a wide array of materials, Ian C. Hope refutes earlier charges of a lack of professionalization in the antebellum American army and an overreliance on the teachings of Swiss military theorist Antoine de Jomini. Instead, Hope shows that inculcation in West Point's American military curriculum eventually came to provide the army with an officer corps that shared a common doctrine and common skill in military problem solving.

History is dramatic - and the renowned, award-winning authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier demonstrate this in a compelling series aimed at young listeners. Covering American history from the founding of Jamestown through present day, these volumes explore far beyond the dates and events of a historical chronicle to present a moving illumination of the ideas, opinions, attitudes, and tribulations that led to the birth of this great nation.

Are you learning English? Then one of the BEST ways to speak and understand more English is to learn more words. Words that are relevant to American daily life and culture. These will make you sound like a native speaker. Since Americans love sports, with Learn English: Discover American Culture & Traditions (Sports in America) by Innovative Language Learning, you'll learn sports related vocab and insights. The best part? You'll be able to speak with native speakers about one of their most-loved topics - sports!

Alexander Hamilton, unlike many of the other founding fathers of the United States, was born outside of wedlock and was an orphan at the age of 13 after his mother died. He was thrown into the world, depending on the charity of friends and neighbors. That perhaps is one of the reasons why Alexander Hamilton was fiscally sensitive and always anxious about funding and finance, not only for himself but for the new nation of the United States, where he emigrated when he was in his late teens.

Effortless, enjoyable, fast and effective language learning through music! Volume 2 will have you talking about yourself and others, past, present and future, likes and dislikes and general conversational items. The themes follow closely the Common European Framework for language learning a recognised benchmark of language proficiency and the emphasis is constantly on usefulness to the learner.

In the mid-1990s, facing severe cuts to its public funding, the University of Oregon - like so many colleges across the country - was desperate for cash. Luckily, the Oregon Ducks' 1995 Rose Bowl berth caught the attention of the school's wealthiest alumnus: Nike founder Phil Knight, who was seeking new marketing angles at the collegiate level. And so the University of Nike was born. But as journalist Joshua Hunt reveals in University of Nike, Oregon has paid dearly for the veneer of financial prosperity and athletic success that has come with this brand partnering.

Using a narrative format, Creating the Constitution details the events leading up to the writing of the US Constitution and what American leaders went through to create it. The authors describe the conflicts between the new states and the delegates each sent to the Constitutional Convention, as well as the work that was done to resolve the many issues at hand.

In the late 1940s, parents began to file desegregation lawsuits with their daughters, forcing Thurgood Marshall and other civil rights lawyers to take up the issue. After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, girls far outnumbered boys in volunteering to desegregate formerly all-white schools. In A Girl Stands at the Door, historian Rachel Devlin tells the remarkable stories of these desegregation pioneers. She also explains why black girls were seen, and saw themselves, as responsible for the difficult work of reaching across the color line in public schools.

Learn 365 American English idioms in a fun and engaging way! Sound like a native speaker with these common idioms that are used in the USA and around the world. Find out how people speak English in real life. That’s where 365 American English Idioms comes in. You’ll see what the idiom means, the history behind it and then see how it’s used in some example sentences. It’s everything you need to "bone up" on your English vocabulary!

Guy Stuff Feelings: Everything You Need to Know About Your Emotions is full of advice on dealing with the new feelings and emotions that are a part of puberty. Boys will find helpful tips from a pediatrician on identifying, managing, and expressing emotions—from anger to sadness to embarrassment to happiness—in positive ways.

One of the greatest American achievements in the 20th century was the creation of public schools and universal education, an ideal now deeply at risk. Cornell University professor Noliwe Rooks provides a critical account of the making and unmaking of public education in Cutting School, the first book to foreground how vast racial and economic divides are part and parcel of the push to privatize our education system.

If you are a young person, and you work hard enough, you can get a college degree and set yourself on the path to a good life, right? Not necessarily, says Sara Goldrick-Rab, and with Paying the Price, she shows in damning detail exactly why. Drawing on an unprecedented study of 3,000 young adults who entered public colleges and universities in Wisconsin in 2008 with the support of federal aid and Pell Grants, Goldrick-Rab reveals the devastating effect of these shortfalls.

From Lawrence Ross, author of The Divine Nine, Blackballed is an explosive and controversial book that rips the veil off America's hidden secret: America's colleges have fostered a racist environment that makes them hostile spaces for African American students. Blackballed exposes the white fraternity and sorority system, with traditions of racist parties and songs and assaults on black students; and the universities themselves, who name campus buildings after racist men and women.

Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a whites-only school. Her parents took action by organizing the Hispanic community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

Set yourself apart in the business world with these useful phrases, expressions and idioms. Have more confidence when speaking English at a meeting with clients, during a presentation or business lunch, or when making small talk with co-workers. And that's just to name a few of the situations that this business English book covers! Business Vocabulary in Use will help you improve your English quickly and easily.