Freedom On Fire

Examines the life of a former slave who became a radical abolitionist and Union spy, recruiting black soldiers for the North, fighting racism within the Union Army and much more.

As the chief human rights official of the Clinton Administration, John Shattuck faced far-flung challenges. Disasters were exploding simultaneously--genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, murder and atrocities in Haiti, repression in China, brutal ethnic wars, and failed states in other parts of the world. But America was mired in conflicting priorities and was reluctant to act. What were Shattuck and his allies to do? This is the story of their struggle inside the U.S. government over how to respond. Shattuck tells what was tried and what was learned as he and other human rights hawks worked to change the Clinton Administration's human rights policy from disengagement to saving lives and bringing war criminals to justice. He records his frustrations and disappointments, as well as the successes achieved in moving human rights to the center of U.S. foreign policy. Shattuck was at the heart of the action. He was the first official to interview the survivors of Srebrenica. He confronted Milosevic in Belgrade. He was a key player in bringing the leaders of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda to justice. He pushed from the inside for an American response to the crisis of the Haitian boat people. He pressed for the release of political prisoners in China. His book is both an insider's account and a detailed prescription for preventing such wars in the future. Shattuck criticizes the Bush Administration's approach, which he says undermines human rights at home and around the world. He argues that human rights wars are breeding grounds for terrorism. Freedom on Fire describes the shifting challenges of global leadership in a world of explosive hatreds and deepening inequalities.

Recommended by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Book Riot and Autostraddle Nominated for a 2019 NAACP Image Award, a groundbreaking collection of profiles of African American women leaders in the twentieth-century fight for civil rights During the Civil Rights Movement, African American women did not stand on ceremony; they simply did the work that needed to be done. Yet despite their significant contributions at all levels of the movement, they remain mostly invisible to the larger public. Beyond Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King, most Americans would be hard-pressed to name other leaders at the community, local, and national levels. In Lighting the Fires of Freedom Janet Dewart Bell shines a light on women's all-too-often overlooked achievements in the Movement. Through wide-ranging conversations with nine women, several now in their nineties with decades of untold stories, we hear what ignited and fueled their activism, as Bell vividly captures their inspiring voices. Lighting the Fires of Freedom offers these deeply personal and intimate accounts of extraordinary struggles for justice that resulted in profound social change, stories that are vital and relevant today. A vital document for understanding the Civil Rights Movement, Lighting the Fires of Freedom is an enduring testament to the vitality of women's leadership during one of the most dramatic periods of American history.

"The great wars we have fought for the sake of liberty have been accompanied, without exception, by the most draconian assaults on individual rights. This is the theme of Michael Linfield's Freedom Under Fire, and he documents it with examples from every war since the American Revolution."--The Progressive "Linfield demonstrates conclusively, starting with the American Revolution and coming right up to the invasion of Panama, that the Bill of Rights is set aside by the government again and again, for reasons of 'national security.' He performs an important service, reminding us that liberty cannot be entrusted to the Bill of Rights or to the three branches of government, but only can be safeguarded by our own vigilance."--Howard Zinn

What if a happier life was only a few simple choices away? A successful entrepreneur living in Southern California, Scott Rieckens had built a “dream life”: a happy marriage, a two-year-old daughter, a membership to a boat club, and a BMW in the driveway. But underneath the surface, Scott was creatively stifled, depressed, and overworked trying to help pay for his family’s beach-town lifestyle. Then one day, Scott listened to a podcast interview that changed everything. Five months later, he had quit his job, convinced his family to leave their home, and cut their expenses in half. Follow Scott and his family as they devote everything to FIRE (financial independence retire early), a subculture obsessed with maximizing wealth and happiness. Filled with inspiring case studies and powerful advice, Playing with FIRE is one family’s journey to acquire the one thing that money can’t buy: a simpler — and happier — life. Based on the documentary

"[This book] examine[s] how black nationalist women engaged in national and global politics from the early twentieth century to the 1960's"--Amazon.com.

As the Revolutionary War rages on, old family friends become enemies in this powerful historical fiction tale for middle readers. Original.

The first major study of slavery in the maritime South, The Waterman's Song chronicles the world of slave and free black fishermen, pilots, rivermen, sailors, ferrymen, and other laborers who, from the colonial era through Reconstruction, plied the vast inland waters of North Carolina from the Outer Banks to the upper reaches of tidewater rivers. Demonstrating the vitality and significance of this local African American maritime culture, David Cecelski also reveals its connections to the Afro-Caribbean, the relatively egalitarian work culture of seafaring men who visited nearby ports, and the revolutionary political tides that coursed throughout the black Atlantic. Black maritime laborers played an essential role in local abolitionist activity, slave insurrections, and other antislavery activism. They also boatlifted thousands of slaves to freedom during the Civil War. But most important, Cecelski says, they carried an insurgent, democratic vision born in the maritime districts of the slave South into the political maelstrom of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

“An unforgettable historical, high-octane adventure,” about a diverse group of kids flying on dinosaurs to rescue friends from Civil War slave traders (Dav Pilkey, author-illustrator of the Dog Man series). It’s 1863 and dinosaurs roam the streets of New York as the Civil War rages between raptor-mounted armies down South. Magdalys Roca and her friends from the Colored Orphan Asylum are on a field trip when the Draft Riots break out, and a number of their fellow orphans are kidnapped by an evil magistrate, Richard Riker. Magdalys flees with her friends to Brooklyn, settling in the Dactyl Hill neighborhood, where black and brown New Yorkers have found a safe haven. Together with the Vigilance Committee, they train to fly on dactylback and plot to take down Riker. Can Magdalys and the squad rescue their friends before it’s too late? A New York Times Notable Book An NPR, School Library Journal, New York Public Library, Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year “Mind-bendingly original.” —The New York Times Book Review “Delightful historical fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly “Sends readers on a dino thrill ride.” —Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times–bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming “Full of heart and imagination.” —Tomi Adeyemi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone “Grips, stomps, and soars from start to finish.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of One Crazy Summer “ An engaging, lively adventure.” —Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award-winning author of Sing, Unburied, Sing “Brings history to life with power, honesty, and fun.” —Laurie Halse Anderson,New York Times–bestselling author of Chains

Paradise on Fire is the story of the struggle for national liberation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, spearheaded by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. This political biography of Kashmir’s leading freedom fighter reveals the true horror of the Kashmir dispute, the dynamics of this historical struggle for self-determination, and Geelani’s huge contribution in leading this search for liberation.