If Cars Could Talk examines urban environments, how they are born, change, and die, and offers fresh approaches to unlocking our cities great potential. More than half of the world's population lives in a city and that number stands to increase. Crafted with the tools gleaned during the author's 40 years of working as an urban designer around the world, Fain's message could not be more timely. More than a mere urban fix-it book, If Cars Could Talk presents a call to action to city builders everywhere that major issues threaten our cities and failure to confront them will diminish the quality of life for a majority of the human population. This collection of hard-hitting, focused essays advances the understanding of the importance of community participation, sustainability, and the creation of rich urban neighborhoods. A must-read for city-lovers, professional and amateur alike.

If Nights Could Talk is a rich gothic story of a Southern family, a tale of wealth and emotional need that spans generations. Marsha Recknagel's memoir begins with the surprise appearance of her 16-year-old nephew, Jamie, who arrives on her doorstep and into her ordered, childless life. Fleeing a chaotic home run by Marsha's unstable younger brother and his wife, Jamie is an ominous creature-and the center of an ongoing family tug-of-war. For Marsha, to open the door is to risk opening herself up to the pain of the past. Reluctantly she takes him in. Thus begins the painful, terrifying, and extraordinary process of unraveling the damage inflicted by her family on one of its own.

Buying a used car can feel like a risky experience. You need a good, reliable vehicle that isn't going to break the bank with payments or unexpected repairs. But all you can know about the car is what you're told, and what you can see...right? Well, yes and no! In this concise, engaging, friendly guide, expert mechanic Joe Boulay shows you how to see a car through the eyes of experience, greatly expanding what you're able to tell about that used car before you spend your hard-earned money. Even if you have no mechanical knowledge or aptitude, Joe's clear explanations, supported with photographs, can give you a wealth of information about what to look and listen for. You'll also find pragmatic advice about how and where to shop for a car, the ins and outs of maintenance, and how to find a good mechanic. Whether you're looking at your first used car or your tenth, If That Car Could Talk is an invaluable resource for getting the most out of your next car purchase.

Growing up during the Civil Rights era in the San Francisco Bay Area provides a backdrop of relationship adversity for a young African American boy.This story tells how he overcame obstacles as a young boy and teen during a controversial time in American History.It's a touching story about the purchase of his first car and much more.The prologue also contains a compelling story of friendship and a short historical reference of life growing up in the late 1960's and early 1970's in the liberal West.Family, Friendship and Acquaintance relationships are shared with humor and realism from the author's voice as he recalls life lessons learned during in his early life experience.Every car he has ever owned could tell a story about life, this is the first.

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.

Led by stars like Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, William "Refrigerator" Perry, head coach Mike Ditka, and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, the Chicago Bears in the 1980s were an NFL powerhouse. As anyone who's seen "The Super Bowl Shuffle" surely knows, they were also an unforgettable group of characters. Otis Wilson, the Bears starting outside linebacker, was right in the center of the action, and in this book, Wilson provides a closer look at the great moments and personalities that made this era legendary. Readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of triumph and defeat. Be a fly on the wall as Wilson recounts stories from those days in Chicago, including the 1985 Super Bowl-winning season. If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Bears will make fans a part of the team's storied history.

A stunning love story about a young Black woman whose life is torn apart when her lover is wrongly accused of a crime—"a moving, painful story, so vividly human and so obviously based on reality that it strikes us as timeless" (The New York Times Book Review). "One of the best books Baldwin has ever written—perhaps the best of all." —The Philadelphia Inquirer Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions—affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.