Using original sources, this unique book focuses on the Deaf community during the 19th century. Largely through schools for the deaf, deaf people began to develop a common language and a sense of community. A Place of Their Own brings the perspective of history to bear on the reality of deafness and provides fresh and important insight into the lives of deaf Americans.

Dori Sanders' first novel, CLOVER was a smash hit. Now, with HER OWN PLACE, Dori Sanders tells a story about ordinary people taking part in a transformation of heart and mind--in the South, in the nation. "Resonates as powerfully as an old hymn."--Kirkus Reviews; "Like a ripe summer peach, HER OWN PLACE just keeps getting better and better until the last page leaves the reader longing for more."--Christian Science Monitor. A LITERARY GUILD SELECTION.

On Melbenan Drive just west of Atlanta, sunlight falls onto a long row of well-kept lawns. Two dozen homes line the street; behind them wooden decks and living-room windows open onto vast woodland properties. Residents returning from their jobs steer SUVs into long driveways and emerge from their automobiles. They walk to the front doors of their houses past sculptured bushes and flowers in bloom. For most people, this cozy image of suburbia does not immediately evoke images of African Americans. But as this pioneering work demonstrates, the suburbs have provided a home to black residents in increasing numbers for the past hundred years—in the last two decades alone, the numbers have nearly doubled to just under twelve million. Places of Their Own begins a hundred years ago, painting an austere portrait of the conditions that early black residents found in isolated, poor suburbs. Andrew Wiese insists, however, that they moved there by choice, withstanding racism and poverty through efforts to shape the landscape to their own needs. Turning then to the 1950s, Wiese illuminates key differences between black suburbanization in the North and South. He considers how African Americans in the South bargained for separate areas where they could develop their own neighborhoods, while many of their northern counterparts transgressed racial boundaries, settling in historically white communities. Ultimately, Wiese explores how the civil rights movement emboldened black families to purchase homes in the suburbs with increased vigor, and how the passage of civil rights legislation helped pave the way for today's black middle class. Tracing the precise contours of black migration to the suburbs over the course of the whole last century and across the entire United States, Places of Their Own will be a foundational book for anyone interested in the African American experience or the role of race and class in the making of America's suburbs. Winner of the 2005 John G. Cawelti Book Award from the American Culture Association. Winner of the 2005 Award for Best Book in North American Urban History from the Urban History Association.

After leaving home at a young age and defying her parents to marry the dashing Garrett Maupin, Martha Maupin's future became bound up with some of the most extraordinary events in antebellum American history, eventually leading to her journey to a new life on the Oregon Trail. After Garrett Maupin died in 1866, leaving her alone on the frontier with their many children, Martha Maupin was torn between grief and relief after a difficult marriage. Lone mothers had few options in her day, but she took charge of her own dream and bought her own place, which is now one of the few Century Farms in Oregon named for a woman. A Place of Her Own is the story of the author’s great-great-grandmother’s daring decision to buy that farm on the Oregon frontier after the death of her husband--and story of the author's own decision to keep that farm in the family. Janet Fisher's journey into the past to uncover her own family history as she worked to keep the property interweaves with the tales from her ancestors' lives during the years leading up to the Mexican-American War in the East and her great-great-grandmother's harrowing journey across the Oregon Trail with her young family and finally tells the tale of Martha's courageous decision to strike out on her own in Oregon. This book will hold special appeal for Oregon Trail buffs and the many people in this country whose ancestors took that terrible trek, as well as others interested in American history of that period.

“A glorious piece of prose . . . Pollan leads readers on his adventure with humor and grace.” —Chicago Tribune A captivating personal inquiry into the art of architecture, the craft of building, and the meaning of modern work “A room of one’s own: Is there anybody who hasn’t at one time or another wished for such a place, hasn’t turned those soft words over until they’d assumed a habitable shape?” When Michael Pollan decided to plant a garden, the result was the acclaimed bestseller Second Nature. In A Place of My Own, he turns his sharp insight to the craft of building, as he recounts the process of designing and constructing a small one-room structure on his rural Connecticut property—a place in which he hoped to read, write, and daydream, built with his own two unhandy hands. Michael Pollan's unmatched ability to draw lines of connection between our everyday experiences—whether eating, gardening, or building—and the natural world has been the basis for the popular success of his many works of nonfiction, including the genre-defining bestsellers The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. With this updated edition of his earlier book A Place of My Own, readers can revisit the inspired, intelligent, and often hilarious story of Pollan's realization of a room of his own—a small, wooden hut, his "shelter for daydreams"—built with his admittedly unhandy hands. Inspired by both Thoreau and Mr. Blandings, A Place of My Own not only works to convey the history and meaning of all human building, it also marks the connections between our bodies, our minds, and the natural world.

This is a collection of seven essays, which commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the first Reform Jewish educational camp in the US. The text covers topics related to both the Reform Judaism movement and the development of the Reform Jewish camping system in the US.

Let acclaimed stylist and blogger Jason Grant show you how to become your own stylist and transform your house into a beautiful home. Jason Grant doesn't believe in creating perfect homes. Instead, he encourages people to create a space that says something about who they are and their style of living. Creating personality is important; it's not just about how a home looks but more about how it feels. In his first book, Jason Grant shares insider information on how to decorate your home just like a stylist. Filled with clever tricks and fun ideas as well as information on where to source things from, A Place Called Home is a highly illustrated, creative guide to making beautiful spaces. Learn where to find inspiration and how to get started using mood boards, and then begin working your way through each room as Jason details everything you need to consider when styling. And it's not just about the rooms: Jason also addresses storage solutions, small spaces, outdoor areas, working with color, recycling, and finishing touches, topping it off with a directory of his favorite places to shop, including online and international addresses.