Seizing The New Day

Historian Wilbert Jenkins sheds light on how former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, in an attempt to adjust to freedom after the Civil War and gain control over their own lives, battled whites trying to regain control. Using autobiographies, slave narratives, Freedmen's Bureau letters and papers, and many other documents, Jenkins focuses on the freedmen's hopes and aspirations. 30 photos.

"Seizing the New Day is a good book, carefully researched, logically organized, and clearly written. . . . an excellent model for others who would study change at the local level in this fascinating period of American history. And the volume is handsomely illustrated with well-chosen photographs, drawings, and maps."—H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences For former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, life was a constant struggle adjusting to freedom while battling whites' attempts to regain control. Using autobiographies, slave narratives, Freedmen's Bureau letters and papers, and other primary documents, Wilbert L. Jenkins attempts to understand how the freedmen saw themselves in the new order and to shed light on their hopes and aspirations. He emphasizes, not the defeat of these aspirations, but rather the victories the freedmen won against white resistance.

"Brilliant. One of those rare books that forces you to ask what the hell you're doing with your life." --George Monbiot, The Guardian **One of Forbes' 13 Best Books for Summer 2017** We've all heard the saying "seize the day." But what does it really mean--and how can we use it to jumpstart our lives? In the age of distraction, carpe diem is more essential than ever, and yet many of us simply don't employ it in our lives. In this thought-provoking and empowering book, cultural writer Roman Krznaric unpacks the history, philosophy, and modern-day applications of "seizing the day" and delivers a rousing call to action for anyone who wants to improve their lives--or our world. Carpe Diem is a far-ranging read, drawing on everything from the neuropsychology of regret to the anthropology of play, from medieval carnival rites to religious conceptions of the afterlife and early Japanese cinema. Offering food for thought as well as inspiring takeaways, the book examines not just the contributions of great thinkers throughout history, but also reveals insights from the lives of great seize-the-day practitioners including nightclub dancers, war photographers, bored housewives, and committed revolutionaries--offering a wide range of solutions to the daunting challenge of leading a meaningful life.

Calvin Jones has finally gotten his life on the right course. At 45, he has escaped a toxic long-term relationship with the mother of his only child, and he loves his job as a high school English teacher in Washington, D.C. Life is good. But then life turns horribly bad. A routine check-up reveals a cancerous spot on his pancreas. The oncologist offers him chemotherapy in the hope that it will extend his life, but Calvin declines and decides to live the best he can, while he can.

Bishop Eddie Long, the pastor of one of the largest churches in Atlanta, confronts the modern American church as being self-centered, introverted, and more interested in entertainment than in ministry. But he doesn't simply indict the church without giving answers. Taking Over includes Long's innovative--and sometimes controversial--ideas, which are causing city leaders to look to him, and to God, for answers. This unprecedented book will bring the church into the new millennium, ready to reign and bring God's solutions to society's problems.

How do we make the most of the time we have? In our harried modern world, Os Guinness calls us to consequential living, restructuring our notion of history as linear and purposeful, not as cyclical or meaningless. We can seek to serve God's intentions for our generation and discern our call for this moment in history.

In the story of every great company and career, there is one defining moment when luck and skill collide. This book is about making that moment happen. According to Frans Johansson’s research, successful people and organizations show a common theme. A lucky moment occurs and they take advantage of it to change their fate. Consider how Diane von Furstenberg saw Julie Nixon Eisenhower on TV wearing a matching skirt and top, and created the timeless, elegant wrap-dress. That was a “click moment” of unexpected opportunity. Johansson uses stories from throughout history to illustrate the specific actions we can take to create more click moments, place lots of high-potential bets, open ourselves up to chance encounters, and harness the complex forces of success that follow.

Transformational new growth remains the Holy Grail for many organizations. But a deep understanding of how great business models are made can provide the key to unlocking that growth. This text describes how companies can achieve transformational growth in new markets or, simply put, how they can seize the white space.

Dreams and visions, prophetic words from God about "dusty souls," speaking in tongues while "in the spirit"—narratives of these and similar events comprise the heart of Every Time I Feel the Spirit. This in-depth study of a Black congregation in Charleston, South Carolina provides a window into the tremendously important yet still largely overlooked world of African American religion as the faith is lived by ordinary believers. For decades, scholars have been preoccupied with the relation between Black Christianity, civil rights, and social activism. Every Time I Feel the Spirit is about black religion as religion. It focuses on the everyday experience of religion in the church, congregants' relationships with God, and the role that God and Satan play in congregants' lives—not only as objects of belief but as actual agents. It explores the concepts of religious experience and religious ritual, while emphasizing the attributions that people make to the operation of spiritual forces and beings in their lives. Through interviews and field work, Nelson uncovers what religious people themselves see as important about their faith while extending and refining sociological understandings of religious ritual and religious experience.

Existentialism is back Carpe diem – ‘seize the day’ – is one of the oldest pieces of life advice in Western history. But its true spirit has been hijacked by ad men and self-help gurus, reduced to the instant hit of one-click online shopping, or slogans like ‘live in the now’. We need to reclaim it to make sense of our complex, confusing times. The last great expression of carpe diem was in the electrifying existential philosophy of the 1940s. Today it’s an idea that challenges us to confront our mortality and live with greater passion and intention rather than scroll mindlessly on our phones or allow freedom to become a mere choice between brands. In Carpe Diem Regained, Roman Krznaric reinvents existentialism for our age of information and choice overload. An essential and empowering work of contemporary philosophy, the book unveils the surprising ways of seizing the day that humankind has discovered over the centuries, ones we urgently need to revive. Carpe diem is the existentialism for our times.