"Renowned journalist Jorge Ramos shares insights and experiences from his long career in journalism with interviews with such luminaries as Fidel Castro, Barbara Walters, Desmond Tutu, Spike Lee, Hugo Chavez, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson"--

In the new film COURAGEOUS (from the makers of Fireproof), four police officers are confident and focused when it comes to facing danger on the job. But leading their families at home in a God-honoring way? That takes courage. Because it is important to take a faithful, fearless stand in so many areas of life, pastor and COURAGEOUS executive producer Michael Catt offers Courageous Living as a closer look at biblical themes and characters that inspired the greatly anticipated movie. Catt brings fresh insight to "stories of people in the Bible who displayed great courage when it would have been easier to play it safe... (who) challenge me to keep moving forward. They demand that I examine my priorities and deal with anything that brings fear to my heart." Readers will catch a new wind of bravery in the bold accounts of Abraham ("The Courage to Get Going"), Nehemiah ("The Courage to Face Criticism"), and Ruth ("The Courage to Face an Uncertain Future"). There are also growth opportunities in the stirring stories of Moses, Elijah, Joshua, Daniel, Gideon, Nehemiah, Stephen, and Paul and Timothy.

Contributions by Jared N. Champion, Miriam M. Chirico, Thomas Clark, David R. Dewberry, Christopher J. Gilbert, David Gillota, Kathryn Kein, Rob King, Rebecca Krefting, Peter C. Kunze, Linda Mizejewski, Aviva Orenstein, Raúl Pérez, Philip Scepanski, Susan Seizer, Monique Taylor, Ila Tyagi, and Timothy J. Viator Stand-up comedians have a long history of walking a careful line between serious and playful engagement with social issues: Lenny Bruce questioned the symbolic valence of racial slurs, Dick Gregory took time away from the stage to speak alongside Martin Luther King Jr., and—more recently—Tig Notaro challenged popular notions of damaged or abject bodies. Stand-up comedians deploy humor to open up difficult topics for broader examination, which only underscores the social and cultural importance of their work. Taking a Stand: Contemporary US Stand-Up Comedians as Public Intellectuals draws together essays that contribute to the analysis of the stand-up comedian as public intellectual since the 1980s. The chapters explore stand-up comedians as contributors to and shapers of public discourse via their live performances, podcasts, social media presence, and political activism. Each chapter highlights a stand-up comedian and their ongoing discussion of a cultural issue or expression of a political ideology/standpoint: Lisa Lampanelli’s use of problematic postracial humor, Aziz Ansari’s merging of sociology and technology, or Maria Bamford’s emphasis on mental health, to name just a few. Taking a Stand offers a starting point for understanding the work stand-up comedians do as well as its reach beyond the stage. Comedians influence discourse, perspectives, even public policy on myriad issues, and this book sets out to take those jokes seriously.

A historical chapter book series from three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and Newbery Honor author, Patricia C. McKissack. Why has their grandmother bothered keeping a menu from a restaurant that closed years ago, a restaurant that never served very good food in the first place? Three cousins listen to Gee's own story, set in the early days of lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, a time when a black child could sit up front in a city bus but still could not get a milk shake at a downtown restaurant. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Abby, young readers see what it was like to live through those days, and they'll come to understand that, like a menu, freedom is about having choices. Each book in this series tells the story behind a different "scrap of time"; together they form a patchwork quilt of one black family's past that stretches back for generations. "A perfect introduction to an extraordinary time when regular people, even ten-year-old girls, make a difference." --The Horn Book "The book gives readers a kid's-eye view of important happenings and reminds them that history is something that is in the making." --Booklist

Describes how the United States government works, and how to get involved in politics including school elections, letter-writing campaigns, and mock political debates.

Nurtured Heart is an approach for guiding and supporting all children-particularly, intense and challenging children-in living out their greatness. One of the first steps toward implementing this approach is learning to train our attention on and connect with children around what we DO want rather than what we DON'T want. As both positive and neutral behaviors are reflected to the child as illustrating their many great qualities, the child becomes convinced the the MORE they were searching for through negative behaviors is now easily obtainable through positive choices. The child begins to joyfully live out greatness.