Identity History

Halloween in Isla Vista, an un-sponsored annual street party, attracts an estimated average of 20,000 revelers into a minuscule, 1.5 square mile area each year. Yet it has been consistently dismissed by UCSB administrators, the police, and local press as a dangerous frivolity, unworthy of critical inquiry. Until now, this complex cultural performance has remained buried under three decades’ worth of rumor, assumption, and enforced silence. This book breaks that silence, exploring the event’s history through archival sources and oral histories, providing an in-depth reading of the ...

In 2015, millennial author and cultural anthropologist Veronica Kirin drove 11,000 miles across more than 40 states to interview the last living members of the Greatest Generation. Stories of Elders is the result of her years of work to capture and share their perspective for generations to come. Stories of Elders preserves the wisdom, thoughts, knowledge, and advice of the people who make up one of America’s finest generations, including the Silent Generation. Their stories include the devastation that came from major events in US history like World War I and more.

Traveling across India, interviewing Hindu zealots, armed insurgents, jailed dissidents, and politicians and thinkers from across the political spectrum, Siddhartha Deb reveals a country in which forces old and new have aligned to endanger democracy. The result is an absorbing—and disturbing—portrait. India has become a religious fundamentalist dystopia, one depicted here with a novelist's precise language and eye for detail.

A drama book set in New York City during the early 20th century. Step into a world where love and tragedy entwine against the vibrant backdrop of New York's theater scene. "The Dagger of De Colombo" invites you to unravel the secrets of aristocratic playwright Maxime De Colombo, who must confront the dark shadows of his lineage and the devastating secrets of those he loves. With the murder of his dear friend's father, Alfred Marceau, leaving a blood-stained mark on their lives, Maxime and Florence are pushed into a whirlwind of intrigue, conspiracy, and heartbreaking choices that will test ...

Locking the cell door on the wolf who murdered my soulmate made my day—except I captured the wrong devil-eyed shifter. Now this bounty-hunting jaguar must seek the aid of the wolf she unjustly imprisoned. Trust isn’t easy between a wolf and a jaguar. Our alliance is forbidden and puts us on the run together to track down his long-lost twin. As if there aren’t enough cards stacked against us, my heat comes on, fueling the powerful attraction we’ve denied, and our desire flames into passion. But the threat we cannot ignore comes from within my own pride—the corrupt alpha who ...

Motherland is a ground-breaking exploration of African culture and identity, told via Luke Pepera's journey through 500,000 years of history to connect with his extraordinary heritage. Pepera tackles the questions many people of African descent ask - Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And how might knowledge of deep history affect our understanding of our identity?

Best Book Awards Women's Fiction Finalist 2024 Indies Today Finalist 2024 Readers' Favorite 5 star review Toni Agosti is having a midlife crisis at age thirty-five. Unsurprising, since she hasn’t achieved her dream job of becoming a cellist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic and, instead, is trapped teaching music all day. She’s also barely surviving in her shaky marriage to former soulmate and new Mr. Condescending, uh…Christian. When she learns about her ancestor leaving Italy to reestablish his winery in early 1900s LA, she longs to awaken the freedom-filled family legacy and escape ...

An investigation of how Moses was deceived and murdered by his father-in-law, Reuel: this audiobook shows how the magician Reuel staged the Burning Bush that spoke to Moses and assumed Moses’ identity after his murder; explains how early scribes edited the Exodus story to cover Moses’ assassination and replacement and fabricated Moses’ origin story; and builds upon the Moses research of Goethe, Christopher Marlowe, and Sigmund Freud - who spent the last 40 years of his life obsessed with solving Moses’ murder....

The destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and the Babylonian exile that followed, could have spelled the end of Israelite identity. But the return of exiles, first under Zerubbabel, and again under Ezra and Nehemiah a generation later, resurrected Isra-elite identity and opened a new chapter in the history of Israel.

A war-torn world. A secret that must never escape. A chase that has no end. In the dying days of World War II, elite spy Lila Dubois is tasked with tracking down a man who should not exist. Deep in the shadows of Nazi-occupied Europe, a brilliant but ruthless scientist, Dr. Meissner, has perfected an experiment that could alter the course of warfare forever. But when his lab is destroyed and his research vanishes, the only thing more dangerous than what he created is what he took with him. Now, Lila and her team are in a desperate race across war-ravaged cities, treacherous mountain passes,...

Throughout his career, Johnny Cash was depicted - and depicted himself - as a walking contradiction: social protestor and establishment patriot, drugged wildman and devout Christian crusader, rebel outlaw hillbilly thug and elder statesman. Leigh H. Edwards explores the allure of this paradoxical image and its cultural significance. She argues that Cash embodied irresolvable contradictions of American identity that reflect foundational issues in the American experience.

Grace in Motion is a sweeping, lyrical journey through the history of ballet—from its origins in Renaissance courts to the global stages of the 21st century. With narrative elegance and scholarly depth, M.Y. Sard traces ballet’s evolution across centuries, continents, and cultures. Meet the kings who danced to legitimize their power, the ballerinas who defied gravity and convention, and the visionaries who shattered tradition to build something new. From La Sylphide to Swan Lake, from Diaghilev’s avant-garde revolution to Balanchine’s neoclassical brilliance, this richly told ...

She lept into my life, knife in hand. Our blades clashed igniting a fire of passion neither of us was prepared for. I came to keep a promise and protect the boy mage. She came to capture and kill. The lines between duty and desire have blurred, and an intoxicating mix of hunter and jaguar leaves us wondering who is predator and who is prey. Why is every wolf shifter, human slave trader, and merciless bounty hunter relentlessly chasing us through the wilderness; caring little whether they go through us to get to the boy? We are pawns in a dangerous game set in motion by an innocent boy whose...

Over the course of six decades, an unprecedented wave of black Americans left the South and spread across the nation in search of a better life - a migration that sparked stunning demographic and cultural changes in 20th-century America. Through gripping and accessible historical narrative, author and activist Blair Imani examines the largely overlooked impact of the Great Migration and how it affected - and continues to affect - black identity and America as a whole.

When mage bounty hunters murdered my family, their mistake was leaving me alive. Ever since that brutal massacre, my hardened heart thrives on revenge. Until the day I see her. She is a mage in pursuit of shifters under my protection and my sworn enemy. From the moment our eyes meet, a connection as dangerous as it is captivating sparks between us, threatening to shatter both of our lives. She represents the evil I fight against. I should resist her. I can't resist her. I don't want to resist. And now we are caught in a flood of forbidden passion neither of us can stem. Will she take a leap...

It’s 1979, and Jasmine Zumideh is ready to get the heck out of her stale, Southern California suburb and into her dream school, NYU, where she’ll major in journalism and cover New York City’s exploding music scene. There’s just one teeny problem: Due to a deadline snafu, she maaaaaaybe said she was Senior Class President-Elect on her application—before the election takes place. But she’s running against Gerald Thomas, a rigid rule-follower whose platform includes reinstating a dress code—there’s no way she can lose. And she better not, or she’ll never get into NYU.

The story of Cara and her love for two rockers, Tyr and Declan. Cara I never meant to fall in love with rockers at all, so twice, no. To begin with, I met Tyr at sixteen. I’d be seventeen on the November cusp, just couldn’t wait until I was eighteen for my freedom. Needed out from under the rents. The last thing I’ll needed once I was free to tie myself down to someone else. I’m leaving before I’m 18. I’ve got the grades, I’m graduating early, and I’ve got my full scholarship. I will live my life. So why did the rock gods send me Tyr? And then Declan? And then Tyr again? D*...

"From Agony to Resilience: Ukraine's Struggle for Peace" by Robert Dobbs is a profound and moving account of Ukraine's recent journey from the depths of conflict to the heights of human courage and resilience. This non-fiction masterpiece offers readers an intimate look into the heart-wrenching experiences of a nation caught in the throes of war while also highlighting the unbreakable spirit of its people. Robert Dobbs meticulously documents the events that have shaken Ukraine, illuminating the suffering of its people. Through personal anecdotes and detailed analysis, Dobbs brings to life ...

A remote sanctuary near Yellow Point became my escape from a haunting history in the MMA ring. Under an alias I meet Abbey James, local host of a popular paranormal YouTube channel, and her captivating spirit and inquisitive nature draw me in. As she conducts a pivotal investigation on my own property, my guarded nature only intensifies her curiosity and she begins to unravel my true identity. Though we’re nothing alike, I can’t seem to distance myself from this woman, but the weight of my secrets threatens to tear us apart. When danger strikes I must choose between protecting Abbey or ...

No one has failed to notice that the current generation of youth is deeply - some would say totally - involved with digital media. Professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis name today’s young people The App Generation, and in this spellbinding book they explore what it means to be “app-dependent” versus “app-enabled” and how life for this generation differs from life before the digital era.