"An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States. When she was a little girl, Michelle Robinson's world was the South Side of Chicago, where she and her brother, Craig, shared a bedroom in their family's upstairs apartment and played catch in the park, and where her parents, Fraser and Marian Robinson, raised her to be outspoken and unafraid. But life soon took her much further afield, from the halls of Princeton,...

"The numbers are staggering: Over the past twenty years in Chicago, 14,033 people have been killed and another roughly 60,000 wounded by gunfire. What does that do to the spirit of individuals and communities? Drawing on his decades of experience, Alex Kotlowitz set out to chronicle one summer in the city, writing of those who have emerged from the violence and whose stories reveal the capacity--and the breaking point--of the human heart and soul....

The beloved chaplain of Loyola University's men's basketball team offers a memoir of her life of service along with common sense wisdom and spiritual guidance from one hundred years of living. "Part memoir and part spiritual guide, Wake Up with Purpose! captures the humor, wisdom, and common sense that have made Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt an icon of faith and joy. Join Sister Jean on an inspiring journey through her first century of life, and discover...

During the hard and bitter years of his youth in England, Harry Bernstein's selfless mother never stops dreaming of a better life in America. Then, one miraculous day when Harry is twelve, steamship tickets arrive anonymously in the mail. Suddenly, a new life full of the promise of prosperity seems possible--and the family sets sail for America, meeting relatives in Chicago. For a time, they get a taste of the good life, but soon the harsh realities...

By the time of her death thirty years ago, at the tragically young age of thirty-four, Lorraine Hansberry had created two electrifying masterpieces of the American theater. With A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry gave this country its most movingly authentic portrayal of black family life in the inner city. Barely five years later, with The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Hansberry gave us an unforgettable portrait of a man struggling with his individual...