A new eight-hour event series based on Roots will be simulcast on the History Channel, Lifetime, and A&E over four consecutive nights beginning Memorial Day, May 30, 2016 When Roots was first published forty years ago, the book electrified the nation: it received a Pulitzer Prize and was a #1 New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks. The celebrated miniseries that followed a year later was a coast–to–coast event—over 130 million Americans watched some or all of the broadcast. In the four decades since then, the story of the young African slave Kunta Kinte and his descendants has lost none of its power to enthrall and provoke. Now, Roots once again bursts onto the national scene, and at a time when the race conversation has never been more charged. It is a book for the legions of earlier readers to revisit and for a new generation to discover. To quote from the introduction by Michael Eric Dyson: “Alex Haley's Roots is unquestionably one of the nation's seminal texts. It affected events far beyond its pages and was a literary North Star…. Each generation must make up its own mind about how it will navigate the treacherous waters of our nation's racial sin. And each generation must overcome our social ills through greater knowledge and decisive action. Roots is a stirring reminder that we can achieve these goals only if we look history squarely in the face.” The star– studded cast in this new event series includes Academy Award–winners Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Derek Luke, Grammy Award-winner Tip “T.I.” Harris, and Mekhi Phifer. Questlove of The Roots is the executive music producer for the miniseries's stirring soundtrack.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An impassioned book, laced with anger and indignation, about how our public education system scorns so many of our children.”—The New York Times Book Review In 1988, Jonathan Kozol set off to spend time with children in the American public education system. For two years, he visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington, D.C., and from New York to San Antonio. He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening—and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning—including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students. In Savage Inequalities, Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation’s schools. Praise for Savage Inequalities “I was unprepared for the horror and shame I felt. . . . Savage Inequalities is a savage indictment. . . . Everyone should read this important book.”—Robert Wilson, USA Today “Kozol has written a book that must be read by anyone interested in education.”—Elizabeth Duff, Philadelphia Inquirer “The forces of equity have now been joined by a powerful voice. . . . Kozol has written a searing exposé of the extremes of wealth and poverty in America’s school system and the blighting effect on poor children, especially those in cities.”—Emily Mitchell, Time “Easily the most passionate, and certain to be the most passionately debated, book about American education in several years . . . A classic American muckraker with an eloquent prose style, Kozol offers . . . an old-fashioned brand of moral outrage that will affect every reader whose heart has not yet turned to stone.”—Entertainment Weekly

After the death of her little boy, Joey, Arden Gentry feels a terrible emptiness. Divorced and devastated over the loss of her son, Arden is utterly alone. But she has another son--a child she agreed to give up at birth to save her marriage and her family from financial ruin. Now that Joey is gone, Arden is convinced that the son she'd never held could ease her overwhelming heartache.

Service can be briefly described as the spontaneous effect of soul contact. This contact is so definite and fixed that the life of the soul can pour through into the instrument – the personality – which the soul must perforce use upon the physical plane. This book contains a comprehensive collection of quotations to stimulate thought and increase our understanding of service and its vital importance at the present time.

Over 50 full-colour world maps and graphics break down hardcore statistics to provide a compelling analysis of all the political, social, economic and ecological nightmares that keep us awake at night. The world's car population has grown five times as fast as the human population over the last 50 years. Wal-Mart's sales revenue exceeds the GDP of 150 countries. Climate change may put 2.7 billion at risk of armed conflict. Germany generates more tourists than anywhere else. Americans use 160 times more water than people in Rwanda. If you want to get behind the headlines and understand the world - from urbanization to globalization, terrorism to tourism, military spending to human rights - The State of the World Atlas is unmatched.

Essays of the 1960s by a prominent African American voice who “demands rights—not conditional favors” (The New York Times Book Review). Amiri Baraka, also known as LeRoi Jones, was known not only as a poet, playwright, and founder of the Black Arts movement, but also as one of the most provocative voices of the civil rights era and beyond. These pieces, which span the years from 1960 to 1965, cover subjects ranging from Cuba to Malcolm X to street protests and soul food, and are accompanied by the author’s new introduction from 2009.

'The problem of the twentieth-century is the problem of the color-line.' Originally published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk is a classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of the twentieth century. With its singular combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, this book vaulted W. E. B. Du Bois to the forefront of American political commentary and civil rights activism. The Souls of Black Folk is an impassioned, at times searing account of the situation of African Americans in the United States. Du Bois makes a forceful case for the access of African Americans to higher education, memorably extols the achievements of black culture (above all the spirituals or 'sorrow songs'), and advances the provocative and influential argument that due to the inequalities and pressures of the 'race problem', African American identity is characterized by 'double consciousness'. This edition includes a valuable appendix of other writing by Du Bois, which sheds light on his attitudes and intentions. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

A reissue of the most popular collection of teachings from Buddhist literature, selected by one of the best known American Buddhist teachers—with a new preface and afterword Jack Kornfield, one of the most respected American Buddhist teachers, has compiled these teachings to impart the essence and inspiration of Buddhism to readers of all spiritual traditions. This treasury of essential Buddhist writings draws from the most popular Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese sources, and is perfect for those both new to Buddhism and longtime practitioners. Among the selections: · Some of the earliest recorded sayings of the Buddha on the practice of freedom · Passages from later Indian scriptures on the perfection of wisdom · Verses from Tibetan masters on the enlightened mind · Songs in praise of meditation by Zen teachers · New selections on the role of women in early Buddhism Also included are traditional instructions on how to practice sitting meditation, cultivate calm awareness, and live with compassion.

The scientific basis for the widely accepted ideal of the brotherhood of man rests on the fact of the interwoven etheric (or energy) structure underlying all forms in all kingdoms within the planet. It is this essential oneness which provides the conditions for intercommunication on all levels of consciousness, and which creates the possibility of simultaneous impression in many by a stream of Plan - inspired energy.

In this classic scripture of Tibetan Buddhism—traditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberation—death and rebirth are seen as a process that provides an opportunity to recognize the true nature of mind. This translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead emphasizes the practical advice that the book offers to the living. The insightful commentary by Chögyam Trungpa, written in clear, concise language, explains what the text teaches us about human psychology. This book will be of interest to people concerned with death and dying, as well as those who seek greater spiritual understanding in everyday life.

This Collection Of Thoughts By Kahlil Gibran, Author Of The Prophet , The Broken Wings , The Voice Of The Master , And Other Twentieth-Century Classics, Demonstrates Three Major Aspects Of His Genius. Here Is The Fiery Prophet, Assailing The Corruptions Of Syrian Governmental And Upper Social Circles With The Wrath And Scorn Of Biblical Seers. Here, Too, Is The Poet Of Love, Apostrophizing Beauty, Youth And Nature, Particularly The Wonderful Vistas Of Lebanon, With Its Cedar Groves And Mountains, In Poetry Of Passionate Tenderness. And Above All, Here Is The Author Of The Remarkable Poetic Narratives In Which Gibran'S Mystical, Spiritual Vision Of The Transmigration Of Souls Is Embodied In Tales Of Lovers Tragically Parted In One Existence And Rapturously Reunited, After Centuries Of Separation, In A Later Incarnation.

Now hailed as an American classic, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller's masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for 27 years after its publication in Paris in 1934. Only a historic court ruling that changed American cesorship standards permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller's famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s.

We live in an age of unprecedented anxiety. Spending all our time trying to anticipate and plan for the future and to lamenting the past, we forget to embrace the here and now. We are so concerned with tomorrow that we forget to enjoy today. Drawing from Eastern philosophy and religion, Alan Watts shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not--and cannot--know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. -- Provided by publisher.

A philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions during an unforgettable summer motorcycle trip, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance transformed a generation and continues to inspire millionsOne of the most influential books written in the past half-century, Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful examination of how we live and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Following a father and his young son on a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, it is a story of love, fear, growth, discovery and acceptance. Both personal and philosophical, it is a compelling study of relationships, values, and eventually, enlightenment – resonant with the confusions and wonders of existence. Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974. ‘The book is inspired, original...the analogies with Moby-Dick are patent’ New Yorker‘Mr Pirsig has written a work of great, perhaps urgent, importance... Read this book’ Observer