Born At The Right Time

From Davy Crockett hats and Barbie dolls to the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution, the concerns of the baby-boomers became predominant themes for all of society. The first Canadian history of a legendary generation.

It is rare in history for people to link their identity with their generation, and even rarer when children and adolescents actually shape society and influence politics. Both phenomena aptly describe the generation born in the decade following the Second World War. These were the baby boomers, viewed by some as the spoiled, selfish generation that had it all, and by others as a shock wave that made love and peace into tangible ideals. In this book, Doug Owram brings us the untold story of this famous generation as it played out its first twenty-five years in Canadian society. Beginning with Dr Spock's dictate that this particular crop of babies must be treated gently, Owram explores the myth and history surrounding this group, from its beginning at war's end to the close of the 1960s. The baby boomers wielded extraordinary power right from birth, Owram points out, and laid their claim on history while still in diapers. He sees the generation's power and sense of self stemming from three factors: its size, its affluent circumstance, and its connection with the 1960s – the fabulous decade of free love, flower power, women's liberation, drugs, protest marches, and rock 'n' roll. From Davy Crockett hats and Barbie dolls to the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution, the concerns of this single generation became predominant themes for all of society. Thus, Owram's history of the baby-boomers is in many ways a history of the era. Doug Owram has written extensively on cultural icons, Utopian hopes, and the gap between realities and images – all powerful themes in the story of this idealistic generation. A well-researched, lucid, and humorous book, Born at the Right Time is the first Canadian history of the baby-boomers and the society they helped to shape.

When Bruce Springsteen went back on the road in 1984, he opened every show by shouting out, "one, two, one, two, three, four," followed by the droning synth chords of "Born in the U.S.A." Max Weinberg hit his drums with a two-fisted physicality that cut through the swelling chords. With a rolled-up red kerchief around his head and heavy black boots under his faded jeans, Springsteen looked like the character of the song, and from the very first line ("Born down in a dead man's town") he sang with the throat-scraping desperation of a man with his back against the wall. When he reached the crucial lines, though, the guitars and bass dropped out and Weinberg switched to just the hi-hat. Springsteen's voice grew a bit more private and reluctant as he sang, "Nowhere to run. Nowhere to go." It was as if he weren't sure if this were an admission of defeat or the drawing of a line in the sand. But when the band came crashing back at full strength-building a crescendo that fell apart in the cacophony of Springsteen's and Weinberg's wild soloing, paused and then came together again in the determined, marching riff-it was clear that the singer was ready to make a stand.

Olivia Penwell McCoy is a painter, genealogist, and quilter who has just written her first novel. Her Quaker ancestors, who arrived in the 1690’s in what is now Pennsylvania, provided the inspiration for “The Wright Place at the Right Time”. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, she now lives in Northern California with her husband, near to her children and grandchildren.

Like Huck’s raft, the experience of American childhood has been both adventurous and terrifying. For more than three centuries, adults have agonized over raising children while children have followed their own paths to development and expression. Now, Steven Mintz gives us the first comprehensive history of American childhood encompassing both the child’s and the adult’s tumultuous early years of life. Underscoring diversity through time and across regions, Mintz traces the transformation of children from the sinful creatures perceived by Puritans to the productive workers of nineteenth-century farms and factories, from the cosseted cherubs of the Victorian era to the confident consumers of our own. He explores their role in revolutionary upheaval, westward expansion, industrial growth, wartime mobilization, and the modern welfare state. Revealing the harsh realities of children’s lives through history—the rigors of physical labor, the fear of chronic ailments, the heartbreak of premature death—he also acknowledges the freedom children once possessed to discover their world as well as themselves. Whether at work or play, at home or school, the transition from childhood to adulthood has required generations of Americans to tackle tremendously difficult challenges. Today, adults impose ever-increasing demands on the young for self-discipline, cognitive development, and academic achievement, even as the influence of the mass media and consumer culture has grown. With a nod to the past, Mintz revisits an alternative to the goal-driven realities of contemporary childhood. An odyssey of psychological self-discovery and growth, this book suggests a vision of childhood that embraces risk and freedom—like the daring adventure on Huck’s raft.

The fight against child mortality that transformed parenting, doctoring, and the way we live. Only one hundred years ago, in even the world’s wealthiest nations, children died in great numbers—of diarrhea, diphtheria, and measles, of scarlet fever and tuberculosis. Throughout history, culture has been shaped by these deaths; diaries and letters recorded them, and writers such as Louisa May Alcott, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Eugene O’Neill wrote about and mourned them. Not even the powerful and the wealthy could escape: of Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s four children, only one survived to adulthood, and the first billionaire in history, John D. Rockefeller, lost his beloved grandson to scarlet fever. For children of the poor, immigrants, enslaved people and their descendants, the chances of dying were far worse. The steady beating back of infant and child mortality is one of our greatest human achievements. Interweaving her own experiences as a medical student and doctor, Perri Klass pays tribute to groundbreaking women doctors like Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Mary Putnam Jacobi, and Josephine Baker, and to the nurses, public health advocates, and scientists who brought new approaches and scientific ideas about sanitation and vaccination to families. These scientists, healers, reformers, and parents rewrote the human experience so that—for the first time in human memory—early death is now the exception rather than the rule, bringing about a fundamental transformation in society, culture, and family life.

With over one million books sold, Dr. Myles Munroe has been used by God to teach and influence readers around the world. Now comes his very first yearly devotional, based on several of his best-selling books. Over the course of a year, Dr. Munroe will encourage and teach you in the area of spiritual power and prayer, while also providing a Scripture reading to help you read through the entire Bible. Let Dr. Munroe help you develop a daily appointment with God and you will: Discover the authority of prayer. Overcome obstacles to answered prayer. Understand the power of fasting. Learn the role of God's Word in prayer. Enter into God's presence as you become a person of prayer. See for yourself how spending a few moments in God's power and presence can affect every area of your life.

Discover your roadmap to a positive birth! A positive birth comes in many forms - for some it's an early effective epidural for another it's a serene water birth or a calm planned cesarean. What we know for sure is that a positive birth is defined by YOU - not your best friend, Mom or even your OB or Midwife. The award winning GentleBirth program combines brain science, birth science and technology so you can feel inspired, excited and uplifted every day of your pregnancy - and beyond! Every woman wants a safe, positive gentle birth - for themselves and for their baby. Midwife, GentleBirth Founder and positive birth expert Tracy Donegan shows you how as she guides you step by step including the following: Practical tools to prepare you and your partner for a positive birth - as defined by YOU! Use brain science to reduce pain and fear in labor. Discover the ultimate stress reduction toolkit of techniques of simple meditation, hypnosis and sport psychology. Train your brain for confidence and resilience - long after your baby arrives Learn breathing techniques that work. Navigate your options with confidence for a GentleBirth for you and your baby.