An Impossible Dream Story

When Reagan and Gorbachev sat down in Reykjavik in 1986, George Shultz said that it was “the poker game with the highest stakes ever played.” It was the last time the world had a chance to do away entirely with nuclear weapons. This is the behind-the-scenes story of this remarkable summit conference. An Impossible Dream is the first exploration of recently-available archives of both sides—top-secret archives of the Kremlin, the personal papers of Gorbachev, as well as Reagan's archives. These chronicles, personal diaries and previously classified memoranda are deeply enriched by the personal reminiscences of many of the key players at this era. But above all, the stage is set with a personal and exclusive preface from Gorbachev himself. An Impossible Dream is the deeply important examination of the present and the future. The hazards of the nuclear age are legion, from aging weapons to new software that is vulnerable to terrorist attacks. With elements of the Trump administration considering a unilateral abrogation of the intermediate range nuclear missile (INF) treaty, the roots of which were laid at Reykjavik. Serina lays out this pivotal moment in history clearly and dramatically in this landmark work, as the world stands poised on the edge of a potential new arms race.

The Redress Movement refers to efforts to obtain the restitution of civil rights, an apology, and/or monetary compensation from the U.S. government during the six decades that followed the World War II mass removal and confinement of Japanese Americans. Early campaigns emphasized the violation of constitutional rights, lost property, and the repeal of anti-Japanese legislation. 1960s activists linked the wartime detention camps to contemporary racist and colonial policies. In the late 1970s three organizations pursued redress in court and in Congress, culminating in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing a national apology and individual payments of $20,000 to surviving detainees.

"Vinny tells his roller-coaster story with passion and humor, inviting all of us to join his bicycle ride through the many winding paths of his life. Coming out, growing up, serving his country and fighting for others against all odds: This journey gives hope to anyone on the front line of our equality struggle." Lt. Dan Choi West Point Graduate, Iraq War Veteran and Infantry Officer, honorably discharged for telling the truth and starting a group of West Point LGBT Graduates. An accomplished, aging man is preparing for yet another dream-to conduct the first known bicycle-book tour (which will require peddling both miles and books.) Who will believe 2,500 miles is possible for a man with gravely serious medical issues-at age sixty-five? Witnessing the lifetime spiritual journey of Vinny Pirelli, starting at age six with his very first bicycle, you track his development of being the only boy among many siblings, through growing pains of adolescence and teen years. He struggles with, and represses homosexual tendencies, putting his emotions into bicycling and writing songs. As a young adult, Vinny proves successful at whatever he attempts-even in building a family with the first girl he had sexual feelings for. As a ten-year Army leader, he learns hard lessons of losing friendships, love and trust, with the ultimate betrayal of his own father. J.V. Petretta is a graduate of U. of Maryland, European Division. He is a ten-year U.S. Army Veteran with three overseas tours, including Vietnam. After his honorable discharge, he received a Meritorious Service Medal for distinguished service as 1st Armored Division's Nuclear Control Chief. In addition to earning numerous business accolades, he organized and conducted a 5,000 mile bicycle tour in 1995, bringing critical awareness and funding for AIDS. Author's proceeds from the sale of this book will be divided among selected cycling and LGBT advocate groups, and his own future work in Africa. Contact: [email protected]

Winner of a 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, this moving manifesto “empowers women to access a fearlessness that will enable community progress” (Essence). Through one incredible woman’s journey from a small Zimbabwe village to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable voices in women’s empowerment and education, this book “can help any woman achieve her full potential” (Kirkus Reviews). Before Tererai Trent landed on Oprah’s stage as her “favorite guest of all time,” she was a woman with a forgotten dream. As a young girl in a cattle-herding village in Zimbabwe, she dreamed of receiving an education but instead was married young and by eighteen, without a high school graduation, she was already a mother of three. Tererai encountered a visiting American woman who assured her that anything was possible, reawakening her sacred dream. Tererai planted her dreams deep in the earth and prayed they would grow. They did, and now not only has she earned her PhD but she has also built schools for girls in Zimbabwe, with funding from Oprah. The Awakened Woman: A Guide for Remembering & Igniting Your Sacred Dreams is her accessible, intimate, and evocative guide that teaches nine essential lessons to encourage all women to reexamine their dreams and uncover the power hidden within them—power that can recreate our world for the better. Tererai points out that there is a massive, untapped, global resource in women who have, for one reason or another, set aside their wisdom, their skills, and their dreams in order to take care of the personal business of their lives. Not only is this a type of invisible suffering experienced by countless women, this rich resource is a secret weapon for improving our world. Women have the capacity to inspire, to create, to transform—and Tererai’s call to action “shines as a beacon of hope to women everywhere” (Danica McKellar, actress and New York Times bestselling author).

A timeless tale about the wish for a friend. Antonino is a young artist who dreams of painting a masterpiece, an impossible dream he calls Friend. When he gets stuck, inspiration comes from an unexpected place. A dreamlike fable about the power of friendship and imagination, Antonino's Impossible Dream is a children's story told in timeless style by author Tim McGlen, with captivating illustrations by Sophia Touliatou.

"I don't see how it can be done. This is an impossible dream." These words from a respected colleague didn't stop Calvin and Carol Conkey. God had given them the huge vision of reaching over two hundred mega-people groups with a culturally relevant gospel presentation-a task that should take three lifetimes. The Conkeys brought their impossible dream to God and trusted Him to accomplish what they could not. They gave their faith and the cameras in their hands to God, and He accomplished the impossible. In the last thirty years, their films have reached millions of unreached people. This book is for those willing to dream big with God. Story after story will encourage you to believe that nothing is too big for God. When He plants a dream in your heart, He will make it possible.