If These Walls Could Talk

In case you've ever wondered, the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have eyes and ears -- and, what's more, they don't miss a thing. Now, listen up because the walls have a thing or two to tell you! During President John Tyler's presidency, the White House was such a mess that it was called the "Public Shabby House." President William Howard Taft was so large that he had to have a jumbo-size bathtub installed -- one big enough for four people. President Andrew Jackson's "open door" policy at the White House resulted in 20,000 people showing up for his inauguration party. (The new president escaped to the quiet of a nearby hotel!) President Abraham Lincoln didn't mind at all that his younger sons, Tad and Willie, kept pet goats in their White House bedrooms. Children all across the country sent in their own money to build an indoor swimming pool for wheelchair-bound President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could exercise. President Harry S. Truman knew it was time to renovate the White House after a leg on his daughter's piano broke right through the floor. Hear these funny, surprising stories and more about the most famous home in America and the extraordinary families who have lived in it.

Chronicling the Maple Leafs for 35 years, longtime Toronto Sun beat reporter Lance Hornby provides access into the Maple Leafs' inner sanctum as only he can. From the heyday of the 1940s when Toronto won five Stanley Cups in Maple Leaf Gardens to the current star-laden era with Auston Matthews and John Tavares, this book provides a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments and interesting anecdotes from the Leafs' storied history. Read about how a lifetime pass to Leafs games was lost in a poker game; why Charlie Conacher dangled King Clancy by his feet from an open hotel window; how Mike Babcock learned he was related to Dave Keon; the wild times of the historic Gardens during the chaotic Harold Ballard era; and the legendary pranks of Doug Gilmour, whose sense of humour only was rivaled by his skill on the ice.

What if the walls of our homes could talk? What stories would they tell about the people they've sheltered over the years?The house on the corner of Third and Oak in a small Nebraska town has some stories to tell. Six families have lived there. They experienced wars, illness, death, racism. But also many happy times: babies born, holidays celebrated, times together with family and friends. Some loved living there, others not so much. But for a little piece of time, each family called that place home. Here are their stories.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the most successful and unparalleled teams in the NHL, with 11 Stanley Cup victories and a perpetual playoff presence. Author Ken Daniels, as the longtime play-by-play voice for the Wings, has gotten to witness more than his fair share of that action up close and personal. Through singular anecdotes only Daniels can tell as well as conversations with current and past players, this book provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between. Citizens of Hockeytown will not want to be without this book.

Philadelphia's community muralism movement is transforming the City of Brotherly Love into the Mural Capital of the World. This remarkable groundswell of public art includes some 3,500 wall-sized canvases: On warehouses and on schools, on mosques and in jails, in courthouses and along overpasses. In If These Walls Could Talk, Maureen O'Connell explores the theological and social significance of the movement. She calls attention to some of the most startling and powerful works it has produced and describes the narratives behind them. In doing so, O'Connell illustrates the ways that the arts can help us think about and work through the seemingly inescapable problems of urban poverty and arrive at responses that are both creative and effective. This is a book on American religion. It incorporates ethnography to explore faith communities that have used larger-than-life religious imagery to proclaim in unprecedented public ways their self-understandings, memories of the past, and visions of the future. It also examines the way this art functions in larger public discourse about problems facing every city in America. But If These Walls Could Talk is also theological text. It considers the theological implications of this most democratic expression of public art, mindful of the three components of every mural: the pieces themselves, those who create them, and those who interpret them. It illuminates a kind of beauty that seeks after social change or, in other words, the largely unexplored relationship between theological aesthetics and ethics.

Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two 'dirty centuries'? Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit? All these questions - and more - are answered in this juicy, truly intimate history of the home. Through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, Lucy Worsley explores what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove. From sauce-stirring to breast-feeding, teeth-cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, this book will make you see your home with new eyes.

A behind-the-scenes perspective on Raiders history, from Oakland to Vegas Having spent eight seasons at offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders before joining the radio broadcasting team, Lincoln Kennedy knows what it means to live and breathe Silver and Black football. In If These Walls Could Talk: Raiders, Kennedy provides insight into the team's inner sanctum as only he can, from his experience anchoring the O-line in Super Bowl XXXVII to the current roster in Vegas helmed by Derek Carr, from Jon Gruden to...Jon Gruden.Featuring conversations with players and coaches past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes only Kennedy can tell, this indispensable volume is your ticket to Raiders history.

The New England Patriots are one of the most successful teams in the NFL, with five Super Bowl championships and a perpetual playoff presence. Author Scott Zolak, as a broadcaster and former player for the Patriots, has gotten to witness more than his fair share of that history up close and personal. Through singular anecdotes only Zolak can tell, as well as conversations with current and past players, this book provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between. Pats fans will not want to miss this book.