The Longest Memory

Written in taut, poetic language, THE LONGEST MEMORY is set on a Virginian plantation in the 19th century, and tells the tragic story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave who breaks all the rules: in learning to read and write, in falling in love with a white girl, the daughter of his owner, and, finally, in trying to escape and join her in the free North. For his attempt to flee, he is whipped to death in front of his family, and this brutal event is the pivot around which the story evolves.

Winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award, and the David Higham First Novel Award, this novel is set on a Virginian plantation, and tells the tragic story of a fiercely intelligent and rebellious young black slave who breaks all the rules.

This one-woman show follows the journey of an Aboriginal 'Everywoman' as she tells poignant and humorous stories of grief and reconciliation. Appropriating western form whilst using traditional storytelling, it gives an emotional insight into Murri life. A contemporary Indigenous performance text from the highly acclaimed Kooemba Jdarra.

Learn about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with this revised edition of the popular Random House Step Up(TM) Biography of the great civil-rights leader and advocate for peaceful resistance --includes new text and additional dynamic photos. Perfect for reading level: 2.2. When Martin Luther King Jr., was growing up, he wasn't allowed to use the water fountains the white children drank from--and he didn't understand why. As he grew older, he studied hard and practiced speaking to large groups. He marched and petitioned to change laws that separated blacks from whites. As the leader of America's civil rights movement, he inspired--and continues to inspire--millions of people to help change this country for the better. For over half a century, Landmark Books have been an important part of children's libraries. Hailed as the first historical series for kids, Landmark Books show us where we've been and where we're going.

Fifteen years after its hardcover debut, the FSG Classics reissue of the celebrated work of narrative nonfiction that won the National Book Award and changed the American conversation about race, with a new preface by the author The Ball family hails from South Carolina—Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, Slaves in the Family is, in the words of Pat Conroy, "a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the complexity and strangeness and beauty of the word ‘family.'"

One hundred years ago, in 1914, a bullet from an assassin's gun in Sarajevo sparked a war that ignited the globe. Patriotic young men all over the world lined up to join the fight -- including hundreds of Indigenous Australians. Shunned and downtrodden in their own country -- and in fact banned by their own government from serving in the military -- Aboriginal men stepped up to enlist. Undaunted, these bold souls took up arms to defend the free world in its time of greatest need. For them, facing the horror of war on a Gallipoli beach was an escape from the shackles of racism at home, at a time when Aboriginal people stood by, segregated, unable to vote, unable to act as their children were ripped from them. When the survivors came back from the war, there was no heroes' welcome - just a shrug, and a return to drudgery and oppression. Black Diggers is the story of these men -- a story of honour and sacrifice that has been covered up and almost forgotten. Written by Tom Wright and originally directed by Wesley Enoch, Black Diggers is the culmination of painstaking research into the lives and deaths of the thousand or so Indigenous soldiers who fought for the British Commonwealth in World War I. Grand in scale and scope, it draws from in-depth interviews with the families of Black Diggers who heard the call to arms from all over Australia, as well as conversations with veterans, historians and academics. Young men will step from the blank pages of history to share their compelling stories -- and after the curtain falls, we will finally remember them.

Every once in a while, a new poet appears who makes us feel that the contours of contemporary poetry have been significantly changed. Fred D'aguiar is such a poet. Although still in his early twenties, he already has a wholly independent voice, and a powerful grasp of original and strange subjects. Many of these arise from his childhood in Guyana: the first section of Mama Dot comprises a series in which these early years are recalled with a passionately lyrical evocation of landscapes, incidents and family relations. They are sensuous celebrations, but are nevertheless touched with melancholy and nostalgia – qualities which are more fully evident elsewhere in the book, in poems which address the life D’Aguiar now leads in England, and which concentrate on themes of exile. In the final section, ‘Guyanese Days’, he returns once again to the scenes and memories of his childhood. Mama Dot is one of the most exciting first collections to have been published for many years: exhilarating, haunting and restlessly inventive.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” meets Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in Daniel Grenier’s epic novel, which tells the story of a boy who ages only one out of every four years. There’s something extraordinary about Thomas Langlois. Thomas is a young boy growing up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a French-Canadian father, Albert, and an American mother, Laura. But beyond the fact that he lives between two cultures and languages, there’s something else about Thomas that sets him apart: he was born on February 29. Before Albert goes on a strange quest to find out more about their mysterious relative, Aimé Bolduc, he explains to Thomas that he will only age one year out of every four and he will outlive all of his loved ones. Thomas’s loneliness grows and the years pass until a terrible accident involving a young girl sets in motion a series of events that link the young girl and Thomas to Aimé Bolduc — a Civil War–era soldier and perhaps their contemporary. Spanning three centuries and set against the backdrop of the Appalachians from Quebec to Tennessee, The Longest Year is a magical and poignant story about family history, fateful dates, fragile destinies, and lives brutally ended and mysteriously extended.