![]() ![]() ![]() And everywhere he goes in Puerto Rico, he listens in on the lively debate over political status―independence, statehood, or the status quo. In the Northern Mariana Islands, he learns about star-guided seafaring from one of the ancient tradition’s last practitioners. He tours Guam with members of a military veterans’ motorcycle club, who offer personal stories about the territory’s role in World War II and its present-day importance for the American military. He explores Polynesia’s outsize influence on American culture, from tiki bars to tattoos, in American Samoa. Virgin Islands, Mack examines the Founding Fathers’ arguments over expansion. When Doug Mack realized just how little he knew about the territories, he set off on a globe-hopping quest covering more than 30,000 miles to see them all. How did these territories come to be part of the United States? What are they like? And why aren’t they states? post offices, and Little League baseball games. ![]() But they’re filled with American flags, U.S. Virgin Islands―and their 4 million people are often forgotten, even by most Americans. Scattered shards in the Pacific and the Caribbean, the not-quite states―American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. An eye-opening journey to the most overlooked parts of America.Įveryone knows that America is 50 states and.some other stuff. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() ![]() ![]() "What is impressive about Alison Weir's study is the author's refusal to be waylaid by unsubstantiated rumour or tradition, or anything approaching imaginative guesswork. The Lady in the Tower does not hedge its bets about Anne's relative innocence and culpability, nor does it foster any illusions about the romanticizing of her story." (New York Times) Her command of minutiae is impressive, as is her enthusiasm for even the most minor aspects of Anne's frequently distorted story. "Weir is well equipped to parse the evidence, ferret out the misconceptions and arrive at sturdy hypotheses about what actually befell Anne. Alison Weir is to be congratulated on her impartiality and sound judgement, because the temptation to reach a more imaginative conclusion must have been overwhelming." (David Loades, B.B.C. "It would be hard to imagine a more thorough examination. ![]() ![]() ![]() And yet I think I fell for Avery almost as much as I did for Giles. Giles is the epitome of a Brockway hero: brooding, mysterious, charming, and the owner of any room he walks into. She's been enamored with Giles since they were kids, growing up in his wealthy family's ancient castle by the sea. Our heroine, Avery, is just as overwhelmed by the light-headed promise of new love as I was. It's like she's writing about something that actually happened in your life, or that you hope will happen. Connie describes the hero, Giles, as "golden and gifted." I actually called her up and teased her about taking my Mark story for this book! And that's the thing about Connie's work. But Connie Brockway's lush love story returns you to the giddiness of your first crush. Now, 1819 Regency London is very different from twentieth century Michigan. When I read No Place for a Dame, I was transported right back to the summers of my Midwestern childhood, when I would long for a glimpse of Mark playing football or delivering the newspaper on his bike. ![]() Mine was Mark, who lived across the street. I bet you remember your first major crush. ![]() ![]() ![]() I really like how the author did not attempt to lead the reader to any specific conclusions or get on her soapbox. It is not bitter and it is not condemning. The author did a fantastic job of being impartial, although I'm pretty sure she has had a lifetime of exposure of being a JW. It is enlightening and made for a fascinating story. Let me say, the tone of this book is not sacrilegious, sarcastic, or judgemental. Can you do that without getting struck down by lightning? What's it like to be a Jehovah Witness when your heart is not in it? What if you're born into it? Obey thy father and thy mother-but what if you're a teen trying to find your own identity? Look at my question marks in this opening paragraph. This book offers insight from the inside out. Most of us have had that knock at the door to find well-dressed people offering us a free copy of "The Watchtower." I've always been curious about "What makes these people tick and gives them the courage to knock on strangers' doors?" Yet I've never had the fortitude to stand there and listen to their perception of the world. ![]() |