In 1965, when Sandy Tolan was nine, his hero left town. Unlike other Milwaukee Braves fans, Sandy continued to follow Hank Aaron and his teammates, even though they were now seven hundred miles south in Atlanta. In 1973, as Aaron closed in on Babe Ruth's career home run mark, the black slugger received racist hate mail by the ton. Shocked, Sandy wrote his hero a letter of support. A few weeks later, Aaron responded. Dear Sandy, Aaron wrote. Your letter of support and encouragement meant much more to me than I can adequately express in words. Twenty-five years later, Tolan embarked on a journey to meet his oldhero and to understand, through family, teammates, and civil rights leaders, a legacy of courage and dignity that resonates far beyond the playing field. Me and Hank explores the landscape between a hero's aspirations and the reality of his struggle; between a young fan's wishes and their delivery, a generation later, to a middle-aged man; and between the starkly different ways blacks and whites experience and remember the same events.

THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Sparkling with mystery, humor and the uncanny, this is a fun read. But beneath its effervescent tone, more complex themes are at play.” —San Francisco Chronicle In his wildly entertaining debut novel, Hank Green—cocreator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers, and SciShow—spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined. The Carls just appeared. Roaming through New York City at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship—like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor—April and her best friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world—from Beijing to Buenos Aires—and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight. Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us. Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring for the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye. The beginning of an exciting fiction career, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a bold and insightful novel of now.

It's 1948 in Rippling Creek, Louisiana, and Tate P. Ellerbee's new teacher has just given her class an assignment—learning the art of letter-writing. Luckily, Tate has the perfect pen pal in mind: Hank Williams, a country music singer whose star has just begun to rise. Tate and her great-aunt and -uncle listen to him on the radio every Saturday night, and Tate just knows that she and Hank are kindred spirits. Told entirely through Tate's hopeful letters, this beautifully drawn novel from National Book Award–winning author Kimberly Willis Holt gradually unfolds a story of family love, overcoming tragedy, and an insightful girl learning to find her voice. This title has Common Core connections.

'My name is Henry George Pennier and if you want to be a friend of mine please you will call me Hank.' So begins 'Call Me Hank,' the autobiography of Hank Pennier (1904-1991): logger, storyteller, and self-described 'halfbreed.' In this work, Pennier offers thoughtful reflections on growing up as a non-status Aboriginal person on or near a Stó:lõ reserve, searching for work of all kinds during hard times as a young man, and working as a logger through the depression of the 1930s up to his retirement. Known only to a small local audience when it was first published in 1972, this expanded edition of Pennier's autobiography provides poignant political commentary on issues of race, labour, and life through the eyes of a retired West Coast Native logger. 'Call Me Hank' is an engaging and often humorous read that makes an important contribution to a host of contemporary discourses in Canada, including discussions about the nature and value of Aboriginal identity. To Hank's original manuscript, Keith Carlson and Kristina Fagan have added a scholarly introduction situating Hank's writing within historical, literary, and cultural contexts, exploring his ideas and writing style, and offering further information about his life. A map of place names mentioned by Hank, a diagram of a steam logging operation, a glossary of logging terms, and sixteen photographs provide practical and historical complements to Pennier's original lively personal narrative. Pennier's book preceded the proliferation of Aboriginal writing that began with the publication of Maria Campbell's Halfbreed in 1973 and provides a markedly different view of Aboriginal life than other writings of the period. It also documents important aspects of Aboriginal participation in the wage labour economy that have been overlooked by historians, and offers a unique reflection on masculinity, government policy, and industrialization.

- Long considered the last word on Hank Williams, this biography has remained continuously in print since its first publication in 1994.- This new edition has been completely updated and includes many previously unpublished photographs, as well as a complete catalog detailing all the songs Hank Williams ever wrote, even those he never recorded.- Colin Escott is codirector and cowriter of the forth-coming two-hour PBS/BBC television documentary on Hank Williams, set to broadcast in spring 2004, and coauthor of "Hank Williams: Snapshots from the Lost Highway.- HANK WILLIAMS was the third-prize winner of the prestigious Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award.

In 1948, Horace "Hoss" Logan, a young radio producer in Shreveport, Louisiana, started booking talent for a new weekly music show called the Louisiana Hayride. Performed for a live audience and broadcast nationally over the CBS Radio network, the show became known as the "Cradle of the Stars." In this affectionate memoir, Hoss Logan recalls the Hayride's heyday with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the dozens of musicians he knew and nurtured, including Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Slim Whitman, Hank Williams, Faron Young, and many more. As producer, emcee, and friend to the Hayride performers, Logan gives us a personal look into musical history - from Hank Williams's ups and downs to the teenage Elvis's first performance on national radio to the ways the Hayride's many emerging stars expanded our idea about what country music could be.

Hank slowly began to inch his way toward the first swinging chair. It was only fifty feet, but in the wind and snow, it took twenty minutes to reach the first chair. The two men in their twenties were crouched forward shielding their exposed faces from the wind. It had been more than an hour since the chair came to a halt. Hi, I'm Hank. It's a little windy, we'll get you down. Little windy, I have only been in a blizzard once before, this one looks bad. It's the second blizzard we've had since last Friday. Must be global warming. Yeah, they say the weather gets colder because of the ocean currents changing with all the icebergs breaking off. That's what they say. Put these harnesses on and fasten them securely. Have you done this before, the younger man asked. Yeah, once on a clear day last summer in training. Snow and wind make it a little dicey. When you are secure, I am going to tie off a heavy rope. One at a time, you will be lowered to the ground. You're lucky; its only about a twenty-five foot drop from where you are. The other two chairs are higher off the ground. Keep the tips of your skis pointed up as you descend. I need you to drop your poles first. What's your name, Hank yelled over the sound of the wind. I'm Frank and this is my brother Nick. Are you good skiers? Yeah. Good, if you think you can ski down the mountain once you are lowered, just head to the lodge, you've been swinging up here for an hour, the cold will get to you and you'll develop hypothermia. If you're not up to skiing, the ski patrol has two sleds and will get you down. No, I'd rather ski down. Broke my leg once and the sled ride was terrifying. Okay, Nick, you go first. Inch toward the front of the chair and slowly slide off. The rope will hold you and the descender will gradually let you down. Jim is the big guy on the ground holding the line. He'll try to stop you from swinging as much as possible. Nick edged forward while looking down. It looked like more than a twenty-five foot drop. He felt the line tighten under his weight as he slipped free of the chair. A gust of wind caught him and slammed him into the chair. You alright? Hank yelled. Yes, Im okay. Nick was shaken. The pulley over his head whirred and once again, he was safely on the ground. Thanks man, what a ride. I'll wait for my brother and we'll ski down together. Frank soon joined his brother. Jim, the ground crew, and ski patrol applauded. You are certain skiing down by yourselves won't be a problem, you look awfully cold. We're okay. Last year we were in Vermont and were the last tram to the top of Mount Snow. We skied down in minus twenty five degree weather. The wind stirred up clouds of snow making it difficult to see. Jim shielded his eyes and looked up at the white sky searching for Hank. How's it going Hank? This is the tricky part, getting past that first chair with the second roll cab. Good you're a tall man with a long reach, Jim shouted. Yeah, want to trade places with me, it's cold as hell up here and its blowing like a bitch, I have to clear my goggles every couple of minutes just to see what I'm doing. Chief Higgins arrived at the scene with a crew of six firefighters. Their bright yellow parkas and fire helmets stood out against the blinding white landscape. Higgins asked for Hank and was directed to the top of the lift. The firemen arrived and dragged their net with them. It was a large canvas with a large red dot in the center. Hank, if we have to, we should be able to catch a person if they panic and fall. Used it once before, the person was on the third floor, he got a broken leg, but survived the jump. shouted Jake the fire chief. Hope you don't have to play catch today. Those chairs are really swinging. Hank almost made it past the first chair and was on his way to the second when his foot slipped on the icy bar and he was left dangling from the cable.