4 results for "American History"

Going postal: school shootings, workplace massacres and the untold history of failed rebellions

Ames, Mark
American workers and children are rebelling violently all around us. Going Postal explores the rage-murder phenomenon that has both plagued and baffled America for the last three decades, offering provocative answers to the oft-asked question, "Why?" By juxtaposing the historical place of rage in America with the social climate that has existed since the 1980s—when Reaganomics began to widen the gap between executive and average-worker earnings—Ames crafts a convincing argument that these schoolyard and office massacres can be seen as modern-day slave rebellions. He explores numerous fascinating and unexpected cases in detail, showing that as with slave rebellions, these massacres are doomed, gory, sometimes even inadvertently comic, and grossly misunderstood. Taking up where Bowling for Columbine left off, this book seeks to set these murders in their proper context, thereby revealing their true meaning. Ames updates this edition with an eye toward recent events, including several new essays taking on the violent episodes at Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech universities, as well as workplace outrages like that in Alabama in March 2009. With the economy slumping and shooting rampages seemingly on the rise, Ames’s wide-scoped explanations have never been more prudent.
Soft Skull 2010 304 pages

Unto the Daughters The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family

Karen Tintori
"Nearly every family has a skeleton in its closet, an ancestor who "sins" against custom and tradition and pays a double price. Karen Tintori refused to allow the truth to remain forgotten. This is a book for anyone who shares the conviction that all history, in the end, is family history."--Frank Viviano, author of Blood Washes Blood and Dispatches from the Pacific Century "Many books are called ‘page-turners' by reviewers, but this one will truly have you glued to the turning pages for hours."-- Comunes of Italy Magazine " Unto the Daughters reads like a nonfiction version of the film Godfather II--if it had been told from the point of view of a female Corleone."--Eleni N. Gage, author of North of Ithaka Karen Tintori thought she knew her family tree. Her grandmother Josie had immigrated from Sicily with her parents at the turn of the century. They settled in Detroit, and with Josie's eight siblings, worked to create a home for themselves away from the poverty and servitude of the old country. Their descendants were proud Italian-Americans. But Josie had a sister that nobody spoke of. Her name was Frances, and at age sixteen, she fell in love with a young barber. Her father wanted her to marry an older don in the neighborhood mafia--a marriage that would give his sons a leg up in the mob. But Frances eloped with her barber. And when she returned a married woman, her father and brothers killed her for it. Her family then erased her from its collective memory. Even 80 years and two generations later, Frances and her death were not spoken of, her name was erased from the family genealogy, her pictures burned, and her memory suppressed. Unto the Daughters is a historical mystery and family story that unwraps the many layers of family, honor, memory, and fear to find an honor killing in turn of the century Detroit. "Many books are called ‘page-turners' by reviewers, but this one will truly have you glued to the turning pages for hours. It's a must read for anyone researching their Italian ancestry."-- Comunes of Italy Magazine KAREN TINTORI is a writer and journalist who lives in Michigan with her family. Karen's books include Trapped, a 2002 Chicago Tribune favorite book, and The Book of Names (co-author), among others. Visit her website at: www. karentintori .com
Macmillan 2008-07-08 256 pages