In many ways, the history of domestic humor writing is also a history of domestic life in the twentieth century. For many years, domestic humor was written primarily by females; significant contributions from male writers began as times and family structures changed. It remains timeless because of its basis on the relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, houses and inhabitants, pets and their owners, chores and their doers, and neighbors. This work is a historical and literary survey of humorists who wrote about home. It begins with a chapter on the social context of and attitudes toward traditional domestic roles and housewives. The following chapters, beginning with the 1920s and continuing through today, cover the different time periods and the foremost American domestic humorists, and the humor written by surrogate parents, grown children about their childhood families, husbands, and Canadian and English writers. Also covered are the differences among various writers toward traditional domestic roles--some, like Erma Bombeck and Judith Viorst, embraced them, while others, like Caryl Kristenson and Marilyn Kentz, resisted them. Common themes, such as the isolation and competitiveness of housework, home as an idealized metaphysical goal and ongoing physical challenge, and the urban, suburban, and rural life, are also explored.
Can a leopard change its spots? What cataclysmic force or horrific event could bring a God-fearing, straight-as-an-arrow man to embrace Charles Ponzi as a hero? Zippy Cosmo was born at the height of the Great Depression to impoverished parents. He grew up on a cigarette and a piss for breakfast, but with a steely work ethic and a penchant for self-sacrifice and honesty. His picture is the dictionary definition of altruism. Widows and orphans championed him. He brought great happiness to the orgasmically deprived. No charitable cause was beneath his notice. The great, near-great, and the gutter-dweller were thrilled to be the subject of one of his magnificent, unsolicited oil portraits. Yet at life's end, he ripped off thousands for millions. Who wrought this change? The mob? A dominatrix? Witness the transformation of a soul that would give Freud dreams of revision...
There was nothing like wilderness living in Kentucky. Outhouse + cow + momma = frazzled momma Log raft + boy + river = danger Mountain Man + snow + slay = bad choice Bad Indians + momma + girl = kidnapping Momma + grandma + squirrel = biscuits & gravy Rain + boy + momma = loblolly Momma + gun + green eyes = chicken & dumplings Gracies family left Virginia for homesteading in Kentucky. They were nave city slickers, but God sent angels to help them. The land had to be cleared and a log cabin built. Through their strong faith in God and a lot of prayer they staked out their homestead and helped to build a community. The angels worked overtime keeping Bobby Joe out of trouble but sometimes they just watched and laughed. The Mountain Men were the bestest angels God sent them. Gracie was a feisty little girl almost six when they came. She was an observer and wrote their experiences in her diary when she was nine. The places are real. The last names are people living in the community and the charter members of the church. The fi rst names are my children and grandchildren. The events are fi ctional except for the building of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church which is still there today.
Future Tense is the sequel to Tempus Fugit . It picks up exactly where the first book leaves off. Sloane now finds himself reunited with his girlfriend, Emma, at Duckworth Hall. It should be a time for love and celebration, but our heroOCOs hopes are soon dashed when heOCOs devastated to find that Emma is obsessed with a mysterious stranger, one of the DuckOCOs houseguests. Things rapidly go from bad to worse when he discovers the DuckOCOs other houseguestsOCoin the attic! As usual, the DuckOCOs machinations are unfathomable to mere mortals. Those puritanical fascists, Corrective Measures, are still in hot pursuit, only this time theyOCOre meanerOCotheir snatch squads now blow up time fugitives homes and pack them off to the Castle, a sinister prison lost in the deep freeze of time, from which no time traveler has ever returned. Is Sloane destined to spend the rest of his days on the frozen prison island? Always expect the unexpected in the wacky world of Future Tense . For an author bio and photo, reviews, and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com"
From bestselling author Stuart Woods, a thriller featuring John Howell, a former investigative journalist trying to escape from his past who finds a perfect sanctuary in a lakeside home in the North Georgia Mountains. But little does he realize the small town harbors a dark and evil secret, hidden deep within the lake’s waters. In the beautiful mountains of North Georgia lies a lake built by an obsessed man at a terrible price. This placid body of water has brought prosperity to an isolated community, and with it, two strangers who intermingle with the insular local folk, strangers probing into crimes against nature from generations past that cannot remain submerged beneath the waters' surface. Under the Lake marks the eagerly awaited return to the South of his Edgar Award–winning novel Chiefs. John Howell, once a top investigative journalist, comes to this backcountry town on the run from a once promising personal and professional life that has somehow gone sour. What he finds is a mystery so deep, so complex, so bizarre, that he cannot concentrate on the book he has come here to write. The story begins with his entanglement in a subtle, but relentless battle waged by the autocratic town father and the local sheriff against an outcast family, ravaged by its origins. Howell is further drawn in by his involvement with two women—an ambitious young reporter on the prowl for corruption, and a shy backwoods beauty, forsaken by the world because of her family's ill kept secret. Then, without warning, visits from an otherworldly young girl haunt Howell as his rustic cabin becomes a spectral theater offering strange and frightening images of a hideous event of long ago.
In 1968, the world experienced a brand-new kind of terror with the debut of George A. Romero’s landmark movie Night of the Living Dead. The newly dead rose to attack the living. Not as vampires or werewolves. This was something new . . . and terrifying. Since then, zombies have invaded every aspect of popular culture. But it all started on that dreadful night in a remote farmhouse. . . . Nights of the Living Dead returns to that night, to the outbreak, to where it all began. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry teams with the godfather of the living dead himself, George A. Romero, to present a collection of all-new tales set during the forty-eight hours of that legendary outbreak. Nights of the Living Dead includes stories by some of today’s most important writers: Brian Keene, Carrie Ryan, Chuck Wendig, Craig E. Engler, David J. Schow, David Wellington, Isaac Marion, Jay Bonansinga, Joe R. Lansdale, John A. Russo, John Skipp, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Max Brallier, Mike Carey, Mira Grant, Neal and Brenda Shusterman, and Ryan Brown. Plus original stories by Romero and Maberry! For anyone who loves scary stories, take a bite out of this!
"Jesse Unruh was a remarkable phenomenon in American politics, a figure of tremendous energy and intelligence, with flaws to match. Although he never held public office beyond his home state, his institutional creativity as Speaker of the California Assembly and as State Treasurer had nationwide impact. Bill Boyarsky followed Unruh's career from the early days, and has produced a careful, fair-minded, and appreciative portrait without neglecting skeletons in the closet, buried bodies, and other colorful details of California politics that only a long-term, well-informed observer could provide."—Nelson Polsby, University of California, Berkeley "Jesse Unruh was California's most flamboyant and influential legislator. He has a worthy biographer in Bill Boyarsky, one of the state's best-ever political reporters. Boyarsky has written a lively treasure of a book that is at once critical and sympathetic: he unflinchingly describes Unruh's larger-than-life flaws but gives him deserved credit as an effective populist who wrote civil rights and education laws that were well ahead of their time. Beyond biography, this fascinating book provides a revealing examination of a state capitol culture that has been swept aside by the modern era of term limits and lavish campaign spending. Boyarsky writes about a vanished time when people cared about politics, and politicians like Unruh also cared about the people."—Lou Cannon, author of Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power "Big Daddy is the gripping real-life story of Jesse M. Unruh and the development of California following WWII. Boyarsky reveals how Unruh's multi-faceted character shaped his significant contributions. He was an institution builder who created a professional legislature and a passionate centrist who promoted civil rights, shareholder rights, and a responsible system of educational financing and accountability. This page turner pulls no punches in describing the complexities of the man and his times and their relevance for today's divisive politics."—Ann N. Crigler, chair of the Department of Political Science, University of Southern California "If Bill Boyarsky had merely written about "Big Daddy" Unruh, one of the most powerful California politicians of the 20th Century, this would have been a valuable book. Jesse comes alive in all his bullying bulk and commitment to progressive public policy. But Boyarsky's work is much more than that. It is a close-up look at California's Capitol when it consistently worked, not always in a pretty way. Those politicians may have sinned, but they definitely succeeded in meeting the needs of a fast-growing state. This is an enjoyable read with many lessons."—George Skelton, L.A Times State Political Columnist "Only a seasoned reporter such as Bill Boyarsky would have the insight and skill to chronicle the life and times of this flamboyant but enigmatic politician, this gruff giant, this wizard of the legislative process, this ardent advocate and fierce opponent, the late great Jesse Unruh."—Kevin Starr, Professor of History, University of Southern California
Tis with hearts full of pride, dear alma mater We rise and sing to thee, And pledge to keep our colors high through all the years to be. To thy name we promise to be loyal, Ever faithful ever true, Roosevelt to thee our song shall be, All hail, hail, hail!
A practical guide for integrating moral wisdom, biblical understanding, and art appreciation into the educational experience. The goal of this book is to help parents raise children who are morally responsible, culturally literate, and spiritually strong. To that end, the book includes many helpful appendices and reading lists. An invaluable resource for the homeschool parent.
“And the Sky Was Clean” is a compelling story; beautifully written about life on the windswept shores of a small southern town on the Gulf of Mexico; Long Beach, Mississippi. It was the summer of ‘69 that a monster was lurking in the Atlantic Ocean, biding her time and growing like a fast spreading cancer. Her name was Camille. She would be dubbed “the storm of a lifetime”; devastating the entire Gulf Coast and a way of life beloved by all. The Gervais’ family, like so much of the Coast, is a melting pot of cultures. Gene, the patriarch hailed from the beautiful land of lakes in far off St. Paul Minnesota. He met married Ida, a daughter of the south, whose roots run deep in the Mississippi mud after World War II while stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in the nearby town of Biloxi. Later, their youngest, Cathy would fall in love with a handsome young Biloxi boy by the name of Ricky Suarez who’s Cajun French and Spanish ancestry is forever linked with the sea and all her bounty. While the south endured times of civil unrest and the Vietnam War, it also was forced to suffer through Camille, a level five catastrophic hurricane on a hot August night in 1969; who forever changed the standard of measurement for all other storms that rolled ashore thereafter. Then in 2005, the storm of all storms: hurricane Katrina made Camille look as though it were a mere warm up performance for the main act. It’s been said that hurricane Camille killed more people in 2005 than she did in 1969, due to the local attitudes that espoused her as the icon of all storms, the tempest that would surely never come to pass again! As New Orleans took center stage in the national news, the fact that Mississippi bore the brunt of Katrina’s wrath was lost to a nation glued to events unfolding in the Crescent City. Countless small villages and communities across Mississippi were plunged into darkness, cut off from the rest of the world; struggling to survive the elements! Life and the effects of these two catastrophic events are told in this compelling story based on the events as they unfolded with both families, bound by the love of their two children for one another. Each family is touched and forever changed by their struggles and triumphs as Cathy and Ricky discover through their faith in God that no matter how great the battle; God’s love and hope is greater still!
