"An updated edition of a classic African American autobiography, with new supplementary materials. The preeminent American slave narrative first published in 1845, Frederick Douglass's Narrative powerfully details the life of the abolitionist from his birth into slavery to his escape to the North in 1838. Douglass tells how he endured the daily physical and spiritual brutalities of his owners and drivers, how he learned to read and write, and how...

"As a young boy growing up in the outskirts of Dublin, Gabriel Byrne sought refuge in a world of imagination among the fields and hills near his home, at the edge of a rapidly encroaching city. Born to working-class parents and the eldest of six children, he harbored a childhood desire to become a priest. When he was eleven years old, Byrne found himself crossing the Irish Sea to join a seminary in England. Four years later, Byrne had been expelled...

From Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most important African American writers of the twentieth century, comes her riveting autobiography-now available in a limited Olive Edition. First published in 1942 at the height of her popularity, Dust Tracks on a Road is Zora Neale Hurston's candid, funny, bold, and poignant autobiography-an imaginative and exuberant account of her childhood in the rural South and her rise to a prominent place among the leading...

A personal account by the late author traces his youth in Lisbon with his parents, marked by frequent visits to his wise grandparents in the village of Azinhaga, his older brother's tragic early death, and his initial encounters with literature.

The co-host of "The View" and ABC News senior legal correspondent traces her journey from a biracial child in a South Bronx housing project to a successful and influential Washington, D.C. attorney and journalist. Growing up half Puerto Rican and half African-American, raised by teenage parents in the South Bronx, Hostin escaped poverty and the turbulence of her early life through hard work, a bit of luck and earning academic scholarships to college...

First published anonymously in 1912, James Weldon Johnson's emotionally gripping fictional autobiography of a young biracial man living in America during the turn of the century is a landmark in black literary history and a classic of American fiction. Masterfully exploring the complexity of race relations in America and the search for racial identity by one of mixed ethnicity, this pioneering work probes the psychological aspects of "passing for...

The story of Australia's almost-250-year love affair with alcohol told with yarns, verse, anecdotes, and surprising historical narratives "It seemed like a good idea . . . at the time." -the lament of many a morning after Rum, beer, scotch, wine, beer, and more beer. For nearly 250 years, Australian history has been punctuated with stories of booze and boozing. From Cook's voyages and the First Fleet to the Rum Rebellion, the mutiny of the 99th Regiment,...

We like to think that we live in an age of reason and rationality, that uncertainty and the unknown have largely been eliminated by technology and science. But it seems that we have nagging doubts. Continually, we tell each other odd tales about ankle slashers and hairy-armed women in the shopping mall. We hear about phantom hitchhikers and headless bikies on the highways. Dreadful things are reportedly done to small pets at home. Tummies explode...

On the road to find out is a thought-provoking memory emoting read for a generation that lived it and for those younger and wise enough to want to discover what it was like to live in the moment. It is rooted in the time period of 1967 to 1974 and unfolds mainly in the seaside resort town of Wildwood New Jersey. It's a story of heartbreak and discovery. It's a wild ride through America as seen through the eyes of this young Canadian, as he digs deep...

Biddy Mason's life began as an enslaved person. She had to walk 2000 miles to reach California, but once there, she gained her freedom. She became a successful nurse, midwife, and land owner, and left behind a legacy of caring and charity. This primary source reader integrates literacy and social studies content knowledge, and uses maps, letters, images, and photographs to engage students and develop their curiosity about the people and the world...