The book explores Brazil's significance as a vast and rapidly developing country, larger than the contiguous United States and home to a population nearing 180 million. It highlights Brazil's historical context as the first place to bear the name "America," while emphasizing its modern urban landscape and economic prowess, ranking among the world's largest economies. The narrative delves into Brazil's unique identity, blending rich cultural heritage with contemporary advancements on the global stage.
"A lighthearted but serious work of fiction in the form of a memoir by one of a pair of generally serious, sometimes comical pioneer settlers in preterritorial and territorial Iowa. Its inspiration is a number of now little-known local and regional events described by prominent longtime resident Benjamin F. Gue in his 1903 History of Iowa, and the setting and details of events and conditions are thoroughly researched and portrayed accurately from scores of books and journal articles, as well as Internet articles. The readership would be anyone interested in a reliable and informative chronicle of Iowa's pioneer past and foundations of the present state and the many issues, large and small, present at that time, and also anyone who likes a rip-roaring story with frequent passages of more and sometimes less subtle humor. Though the work is not lengthy, it portrays virtually every event of relevance for early pre--Civil War Iowa, as well as recounting the progress and tribulations of its two fictional pioneers and their families, who become involved in just about everything. Highlighted in particular are the opening and development of the land, early towns, the march of the frontier across the territory and new state, and the tenor of the newborn society and its grist of daily conversation. The Territory will provide interesting and reliable context for genealogists, general readers, and students, regardless of age." -- Amazon.com
The narrator, Ana Roiz, the daughter of a well-known journalist in the city of Recife in northeastern Brazil, accepts from among other choices a final internship, required to complete her degree in psychoanalysis from the state university, in the impoverished hamlet of Guararapes located in a scruffy pocket in the seaside hills nearby. Arriving, she experiences initial rejection from the sad-sack residents. Then she receives as a gift from the like-minded slightly older woman, who is the owner of a local cantina, a crystal ball given her by a traveling peddler. Ana's new subjects/clients line up for a chance to gaze into it in fascination, and astounded, she proceeds to record a long series of their past-life regressions that emerge coming from leading people active in the area during the era of the spontaneous colonial wars to expel the Dutch occupation in the 1640s. Assembling the pieces of information thus gained, while simultaneously attempting to deal with a serious crisis in her own life and that of her traditional family back in Recife, she and Marina, the cantina owner, grapple with a three-and-a-half-century-old mystery of successive murders, managing to save the miniscule town from dispossession and obliteration by developers of a planned gigantic seaside resort--sort of.
Set in 1903 Newcastle, Wyoming, the narrative explores the town's struggle to move past its violent history amid rising tensions from a recent murder and ensuing vigilante justice. The story culminates in the lesser-known Battle of Lightning Creek, where local townspeople confront young Sioux hunters. Told through the perspective of a precocious boy and his adoptive father, a pariah with a unique background tied to both the army and Native Americans, the book delves into themes of identity, community conflict, and the quest for justice.
A president's audacious decision to sell the United States to settle the national debt drives this sharp satire of America's tumultuous political landscape. Through humor and biting commentary, the narrative critiques the absurdities of contemporary culture and governance, exposing the extremes of political desperation and the consequences of a nation in crisis.
Why We Need to Live Up to Our Creed: A History of War, Injustice and Greed
148pages
6 heures de lecture
Exploring the contradictions in American history, the book highlights the nation's foundational principles of freedom, democracy, and equality while addressing significant failures such as genocide, slavery, and corporate rule. It examines how these wrongs stem from a betrayal of ideals and the consequences of neglecting them, including the erosion of rights and perpetual wars. Through intriguing details, the author urges a return to these core values, advocating for a more just and equitable society.
Colonel Alva A. Crystal, U.S.A.F. (ret.), argues that ubiquitous overseas intervention by the U.S. military in the past few decades not only stifles American economic competitiveness and viability, but has done far more harm than good to both America's image and global stability. The result is that the United States is viewed worldwide as the most dangerous country and the leading obstacle to world peace. The troubled Col. Alva Crystal desperately heralds a return to the defense-only military mission that prevailed in the U. S. during its formative years. Such a return to what Colonel Crystal refers to and touts as a "Benevolent Military" would, he claims, effectively serve to address and repair much of what plainly has gone haywire with this country since 9/11.
