My Brothers Keeper

The death of a sibling is unlike any other. Gloria Reuben’s little brother died just before his twenty-second birthday. Two decades later, her oldest brother Denis died two weeks short of his sixtieth birthday. Just as Gloria felt like she was finally healing from David’s death, the shock of Denis’ unexpected death was almost too much to take. In My Brothers’ Keeper, Gloria bares her soul as she reveals the intimate details of her life at home as a young girl. How the death of her father when she was twelve shaped her view of love and life. How David’s death was the impetus for her move from Canada to the United States. And how her brother Denis was her heart’s twin in a multitude of ways. Gloria, most well known as an actress, debuts her talent as a writer in My Brothers’ Keeper, an intimate and honest tribute to David and Denis. Their lives. Their deaths. And the hope that awaits. “Gloria has written a truly wonderful and inspirational tribute to her brothers and to life. Helpful to all of us who have suffered losses.”—Pete Earley

This is the 10th anniversary and third printing of "Our Brother's Keeper" is the story of all wars, past and present. While it is an unvarnished depiction of combat and its somber compilation of battlefield casualties, it is also the story of war's staggering list of collateral damage-the family and friends of the slain. Since 1941, three generations have been seared by five catastrophic wars; for the present generation, it is Iraq and Afghanistan. But for author Jedwin Smith, his parents and his brothers and sisters, it is the haunting specter of Vietnam that will never be forgotten. Seemingly on a whim, Jeffrey Earl Smith, the author's younger brother, put aside his anti-war sentiments and joined the Marines in July 1967. Sent to Vietnam four months later, his death during a Viet Cong ambush in March 1968 was the catalyst that finally ended his parents' turbulent marriage and created a lost generation of Smith siblings. For the author, himself a former Marine, it was the beginning of a 32-year odyssey to track down the individual who killed his brother and extract revenge-a quest that takes the author across the country in search of the Marines who were at Jeff's side on that horrific day three decades earlier, and ends in Vietnam at the village of Mai Xa Thi, where the author confronts Duong Tu Anh, the former VC commander responsible for the attack that killed Jeff. This encounter is chilling, extraordinary, and life-changing. "Our Brother's Keeper" is more than a moving and beautifully written family saga of the Vietnam War and its bitter and ongoing aftermath, it is also an inspiring personal tale of loss and healing, anger and forgiveness, self-discovery-and the transcendent power of love.

With war looming on the horizon and winter setting in, can two children escape North Korea on their own? Winner of the Freeman Book Award! North Korea. December, 1950. Twelve-year-old Sora and her family live under an iron set of rules: No travel without a permit. No criticism of the government. No absences from Communist meetings. Wear red. Hang pictures of the Great Leader. Don't trust your neighbors. Don't speak your mind. You are being watched. But war is coming, war between North and South Korea, between the Soviets and the Americans. War causes chaos--and war is the perfect time to escape. The plan is simple: Sora and her family will walk hundreds of miles to the South Korean city of Busan from their tiny mountain village. They just need to avoid napalm, frostbite, border guards, and enemy soldiers. But they can't. And when an incendiary bombing changes everything, Sora and her little brother Young will have to get to Busan on their own. Can a twelve-year-old girl and her eight-year-old brother survive three hundred miles of warzone in winter? Haunting, timely, and beautiful, this harrowing novel from a searing new talent offers readers a glimpse into a vanished time and a closed nation. A Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist An ILA Intermediate Fiction Award Winner An American Library Association Notable Children’s Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year "Will ultimately be recognized as one of the best books... on the Korean War."—Education About Asia, the Association for Asian Studies

In a captivating debut novel that is both humorous and heartwrenching, ReShonda Tate Billingsley -- winner of the Gold Pen Award for Best New Author -- spins an irresistible story that will touch every reader's heart. Aja James hasn't had it easy. She has kept a close watch over her siblings ever since tragedy robbed them of their parents. Tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, Aja is ready for a change. Her best friend, Roxie, knows just what to do -- she sets Aja up on a date with one of the most sought after bachelors in town, handsome sportscaster Charles Clayton. Charles is everything Aja has ever dreamed of -- sensitive, sexy, and charming. But "happily ever after" isn't that simple. While Aja has rebounded from the loss of her parents, her sister and brother have not. Jada is lost in a world of silence with no way for Aja to reach her, and Eric's uncontrollable rage is wreaking havoc on his life. As Aja sees her brother heading down the same violent path that destroyed their family, she makes it her business to stop the cycle -- even if it means putting her own life, and her own chance at love, on hold. My Brother's Keeper is a poignant novel about a resilient family learning that sometimes you have to forgive in order to find the strength to move on.

Originally published: Honesdale, Pa.: Front Street, 2000.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN HISTORY “Full of…lively insights and lucid prose” (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States—from before the arrival of Columbus to the present day—written by one of the world’s leading historians of Cuba. In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued—through the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Raúl Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country’s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington—Barack Obama’s opening to the island, Donald Trump’s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden—have made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more. Now, award-winning historian Ada Ferrer delivers an “important” (The Guardian) and moving chronicle that demands a new reckoning with both the island’s past and its relationship with the United States. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba: An American History provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation, with its dramatic record of conquest and colonization, of slavery and freedom, of independence and revolutions made and unmade. Along the way, Ferrer explores the sometimes surprising, often troubled intimacy between the two countries, documenting not only the influence of the United States on Cuba but also the many ways the island has been a recurring presence in US affairs. This is a story that will give Americans unexpected insights into the history of their own nation and, in so doing, help them imagine a new relationship with Cuba; “readers will close [this] fascinating book with a sense of hope” (The Economist). Filled with rousing stories and characters, and drawing on more than thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States—as well as the author’s own extensive travel to the island over the same period—this is a stunning and monumental account like no other.

“A rare triumph” (The New York Times Book Review), this powerful memoir about the divergent paths taken by two brothers is a classic work from one of the greatest figures in American literature: a reflection on John Edgar Wideman’s family and his brother’s incarceration—a classic that is as relevant now as when originally published in 1984. A “brave and brilliant” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) portrait of lives arriving at different destinies, the classic John Edgar Wideman memoir, Brothers and Keepers, is a haunting portrait of two brothers—one an award-winning writer, the other a fugitive wanted for a robbery that resulted in a murder. Wideman recalls the capture of his younger brother, Robby, details the subsequent trials that resulted in a sentence of life in prison, and provides vivid views of the American prison system. A gripping, unsettling account, Brothers and Keepers weighs the bonds of blood, affection, and guilt that connect Wideman and his brother and measures the distance that lies between them. “If you care at all about brotherhood and dignity…this is a must-read book” (The Denver Post). With a new afterword by his brother Robert Wideman, recently released after more than fifty years in prison.

Based on recently declassified documents and more than two hundred interviews, I Am My Brothers Keeper tells the story of the more than one thousand Americans and Canadians, Jews and non-Jews, who fought in Israels War of Independence. This is a story about men like Rudy Augarten (shown on the front cover), who interrupted his studies at Harvard to fly for Israel. This, despite the fact that Augarten had been shot down over occupied France during World War II, and survived sixty-three days behind enemy lines. Its about Chris Magee, a World War II ace and veteran of Pappy Boyingtons Black Sheep Squadron who felt the Jews deserved a homeland. And about American Indian Jesse Slade, who believed that fighting for Israel was the Christian thing to do. And Buzz Beurling, the legendary Falcon of Malta who sought to recapture the glory days of World War II. I Am My Brothers Keeper captures the powerful story of those Jews and Christians who stood up to be counted at a critical time in Jewish history. Only three years after the Holocaust, these volunteers helped establish the State of Israel. This story will forever change your understanding of the relationship between Americans and Israelis.

A fictional novel surrounding 5 friends who grew up with one another. They find themselves going through life's test and trials. As they do, they find that they rely on one another more and more and realize that they all need and seek their friendship. Although they are all from different families, backgrounds and upbringings. This is a bond that they find that will afford them the lifelong friendship and brotherhood they all benefit from. This novel takes you on a ride of ups and downs, some twists and turns that leave you wondering and wanting to know more. It will keep you guessing even until the end only to seek more of what happens next.

"Jeff, I'm going to hell!"So begins the incredible, true story, told by the brother of an unlikely hero, Mike Riddering. A divine series of interruptions, his unexpected conversion and simple obedience carried Mike, his wife, and two daughters, from the fast-paced, Florida, yacht broker lifestyle to the dry, desert heat of Sub-Saharan Africa. My Brother's Keeper is the triumphant story of a man so profoundly transformed by love and faith that the rest of his life would be given to the poorest of the poor in Burkina Faso. It is the story of a modern-day martyr whose life was cut short in a brutal terrorist attack that shocked the nation. An enduring legacy of love-driven global missions speaks directly to the headlines of our day: racism, terrorism, hatred, riots, political divisions, war. Mike's life and death whisper in the midst of rage and retribution the power of love to cover a multitude of sins. In the end, what Mike gave--even to the point of his final sacrifice--can never be taken away. What remains is not the death of a saint, but the life of a servant. My Brother's Keeper will inspire and challenge you to take your place in the great story of God in these final days of history.