Italian immigrants of the early 20th century experienced an inevitable, and often emotionally painful, cultural transformation after arriving in America. Worlds turned upside down. Lives changed forever. Greg Casadei captures what that process was like in this touching tale about his family's "Americanization." He also provides insights and lessons that his experiences provided along the way. The Americanization of Greg's family began with his grandparents in Sassofeltrio, Italy in the early 1900s. It ended with the January 2010 passing of his father in Tucson, Arizona. In between lies a rich story of fear and faith, hardships and overcoming, respect and toughness, risk taking and rewards, family and friends, love and togetherness, separation and crumbled foundations, death and despair, and the gradual unraveling of a once tight-knit family. Through historical facts, anecdotes and humor, Greg provides a vivid picture of what it was like growing up in an Italian family in America. You'll laugh, cry and want more as Greg recounts stories about colorful family members and their lives in Sassofeltrio, Oakwood, Michigan, and Tucson, Arizona. After turning the last page, you'll understand why the Americanization of Greg's family was so painful, but why he wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.

Italian immigrants of the early 20th century experienced an inevitable, and often emotionally painful, cultural transformation after arriving in America. Worlds turned upside down. Lives changed forever. Greg Casadei captures what that process was like in this touching tale about his family's "Americanization." He also provides insights and lessons that his experiences provided along the way. The Americanization of Greg's family began with his grandparents in Sassofeltrio, Italy in the early 1900s. It ended with the January 2010 passing of his father in Tucson, Arizona. In between lies a rich story of fear and faith, hardships and overcoming, respect and toughness, risk taking and rewards, family and friends, love and togetherness, separation and crumbled foundations, death and despair, and the gradual unraveling of a once tight-knit family. Through historical facts, anecdotes and humor, Greg provides a vivid picture of what it was like growing up in an Italian family in America. You'll laugh, cry and want more as Greg recounts stories about colorful family members and their lives in Sassofeltrio, Oakwood, Michigan, and Tucson, Arizona. After turning the last page, you'll understand why the Americanization of Greg's family was so painful, but why he wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.

A wickedly funny collection of personal essays from popular NPR personality Sarah Vowell. Hailed by Newsweek as a "cranky stylist with talent to burn," Vowell has an irresistible voice -- caustic and sympathetic, insightful and double-edged -- that has attracted a loyal following for her magazine writing and radio monologues on This American Life. While tackling subjects such as identity, politics, religion, art, and history, these autobiographical tales are written with a biting humor, placing Vowell solidly in the tradition of Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker. Vowell searches the streets of Hoboken for traces of the town's favorite son, Frank Sinatra. She goes under cover of heavy makeup in an investigation of goth culture, blasts cannonballs into a hillside on a father-daughter outing, and maps her family's haunted history on a road trip down the Trail of Tears. Take the Cannoli is an eclectic tour of the New World, a collection of alternately hilarious and heartbreaking essays and autobiographical yarns.

In the late 19th century, orphaned Jim Burden is sent to the wilderness in Nebraska to live with his grandparents. He arrives at the same time as the Shimerda family, including the eldest daughter Ántonia, who becomes his closest neighbors. Life in the American West is tough, especially for the impoverished Shimerda family, and pioneers must struggle for survival. A friendship blossoms between Jim and Ántonia as they explore nature and have adventures together, a friendship that will last a lifetime. My Ántonia became an immediate success when first published and is today considered Willa Cather's first masterpiece. It is praised for its depiction of the American West and its ability to highlight the aspirations of ordinary, poor people in a time when it was customary to write about the elite. WILLA CATHER [1873-1947] was an American author. After studying at the University of Nebraska, she worked as a teacher and journalist. Cather's novels often focus on settlers in the USA with a particular emphasis on female pioneers. In 1923, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the novel One of Ours, and in 1943, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl? As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom. From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off our chains, both physical and spiritual.

Poetry. As three worlds collide, a mother's Philippines, a father's India and the poet's contemporary America, the resulting impressions are chronicled in this collection of incisive and penetrating verse. The writer weaves her words carefully into a wise and affecting embroidery that celebrates the senses while remaining down-to-earth and genuine. "We see that everything is in fact miracle fruit, including this book itself"-Andrew Hudgins.