In many ways the end of the Vietnam War left the US army a spent force. Plagued by low morale, drug and race issues, and terrible public relations, the army faced an uphill climb in the effort to rebuild itself. The story of this reconstruction is mirrored in the rise of the Mechanized Infantryman. Deciding that the key to future conflict lay in highly trained and mobile warriors that could be delivered quickly to battle, the army adopted the mechanized infantryman as its frontline troops. This new, all volunteer force was given the best training and equipment. Most notably, they were to be deployed onto the battlefield from the new M2 Bradley Armoured Fighting Vehicle. This new breed of American warriors got their first test in the First Gulf War. Fighting in the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq, these soldiers proved that the US Army was once again a force with which to be reckoned. This book tells the story of the rise of the US mechanised infantryman, focusing on his recruitment, training, lifestyle and combat experiences in Iraq.

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Robert Leslie Smith - Gone to the Swamp, Raw Mater ials for the Good Life in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta (2008).jpg

In the hinterland behind the port of Mobile lies the vast swampy convergence of the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers, a delta rich in fish, game animals, hard and softwood resources, and the beauty and solitude of the wild – but also rich in varmints big and little, including some human ones, and the manifold dangers of a world where land, sky, and water seem to blend together and one can become lost 100 paces in any direction, if not drowned or devoured first.
To make a living here, one had to be capable, confident, clever and inventive, know a lot about survival, be able to fashion and repair tools, navigate a boat, fell a tree, treat a snakebite, make a meal from whatever was handy without asking too many questions about it, and get along with folks.
This fascinating and instructive book is the careful and unpretentious account of a man who was artful in all the skills needed to survive and raise a family in an area where most people would be lost or helpless. Smith’s story is an important record of a way of life beginning to disappear, a loss not fully yet realized. We are lucky to have a work that is both instructive and warm-hearted and that preserves so much hard-won knowledge.

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Robert Leslie Smith - Gone to the Swamp, Raw Mater ials for the Good Life in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta (2008).pdf

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Suzanne McIntire - The American Heritage Book of G reat American Speeches for Young People (2001).jpg

The history of the United States has been characterized by fervent idealism, intense struggle, and radical change. And for every critical, defining moment in American history, there were those whose impassioned voices rang out, clear and true, and whose words compelled the minds and hearts of all who heard them. When Patrick Henry declared, "Give me liberty, or give me death!", when Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have a dream", Americans listened and were profoundly affected. These speeches stand today as testaments to this great nation made up of individuals with bold ideas and unshakeable convictions.

The American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People includes over 100 speeches by founding fathers, patriots, Native American and African American leaders, abolitionists, women's suffrage and labor activists, writers, athletes, and others from all walks of life, featuring inspiring and unforgettable speeches by such notable speakers as:

Patrick Henry * Thomas Jefferson * Tecumseh * Frederick Douglass * Sojourner Truth * Abraham Lincoln * Susan B. Anthony * Mother Jones * Lou Gehrig * Franklin D. Roosevelt * Albert Einstein * Pearl S. Buck * Langston Hughes * John F. Kennedy * Martin Luther King Jr.

These are the voices that shaped our history. They are powerful, moving, and, above all else, uniquely American.

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Suzanne McIntire - The American Heritage Book of G reat American Speeches for Young People (2001).pdf

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Harry Collis, Mario Russo - 101 American English I dioms, Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (2001).jpg

USA Books - Harry Collis, Mario Russo - 101 American English Idiom...derstanding and Speaking English Like an American 2001.jpg

This collection of whimsically illustrated cartoons, dialogues, and narrative is specially designed to develop "American" English comprehension and pronunciation skills. Includes book and 2 CD.
101 American English Idioms takes the mystery out of these common U.S. expressions and explains their meanings in context. On the audio CD, native speakers read each of the 101 idioms, so you can hear how American English sounds and practice what you have learned.

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Harry Collis, Mario Russo - 101 American English I dioms, Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (2001).mp3

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Harry Collis, Mario Russo - 101 American English I dioms, Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (2001) 01.pdf

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Barbara Laine, Don Laine - Frommer's Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks (2004).jpg

* The best strategies for seeing these spectacular parks—and the lowdown on equally stunning (and less crowded!) natural wonders nearby
* Great places to stay: cozy park lodges, family-friendly gateway motels, and the best campgrounds
* The best hikes, from meandering garden paths to thrilling canyon trails—plus cross-country ski treks, mountain bike and horseback tours, and more
* Where to eat and stock up on supplies, both in the parks and in nearby towns
* Detailed, accurate regional, park, and trail maps

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Barbara Laine, Don Laine - Frommer's Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks (2004).pdf

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Barry Keith Grant - Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film (2007).jpg

*Starred Review* There are more film reference works than most libraries need; Reference Books Bulletin has reviewed 175 film sources in the last 10 years. Perhaps because film territory is vast and film facts and reviews are readily available on the Internet, recent film sources tend to be specialized guides such as The Holocaust Film Sourcebook (Praeger, 2004) or The Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film (Routledge, 2005). Reasonably priced single-volume works abound, including Gale's Videohound series, the American Film Institute Desk Reference (DK, 2002), and Ephraim Katz's Film Encyclopedia (5th ed., Collins, 2005). Therefore, it is impressive that Schirmer has taken on—very successfully—a comprehensive, four-volume film encyclopedia with substantive articles written by contributors with stellar academic credentials. The Schrimer Encyclopedia of Film is intended to offer "a comprehensive and accessible overview of film history and theory with an American emphasis" to students, teachers, and general readers. The set's 200 thorough, expertly written articles include theory (Queer theory, Reception theory); genres (Road movies, Westerns); national cinema (Cuba, India); artistic and technical topics (Cinematography, Makeup); actor categories (Animal actors, Child actors); writing (Adaptation, Screenwriting); historical contexts (Cold war, Vietnam War); and studios (United Artists, Walt Disney Company). Each article concludes with suggestions for further reading, mostly recent or classic books plus the occasional Web site. The encyclopedia does not include articles on specific individuals or films but places one-page sidebar biographies within articles relating to the person's significance. For example, Cartoons has a sidebar on animator Chuck Jones. The more than 230 sidebars include selective suggestions for reading or viewing. Entries range from 1,500 to 9,000 words in length. Each entry and sidebar is signed. The 160 contributors are listed in the last volume along with their credentials. Editor Grant is professor of film studies and popular culture at Brock University and author of Documenting the Documentary: Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video (Wayne State, 1998) and The Film Studies Dictionary (Oxford, 2000), among other titles. Excellent black-and-white and color movie stills, portraits, and technical diagrams enhance the set; comprehensive indexes in each volume are accurate and convenient. A glossary defines specialized film terms (e.g., jump cut) and concepts (e.g., iconography, myth) necessary for understanding articles. The Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film is highly recommended for academic and public libraries and for high-school libraries supporting film studies.

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Bill Bryson - Made in America (1994).jpg

Bill Bryson turns away form the highways and byways of middle America, so hilariously depicted in his bestselling The Lost Continent, for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language and popular culture.nnIn Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up - as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.nnBuy this book at once and have a nice day!

About the Author
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to America for a few years but have now returned to the UK. His the bestselling travel books include The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There,A Walk in the Woods and Down Under. He is also the author of the prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything, and his most recent book is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

Table of Contents
The book is a triumph. Bryson carries it off by his joie de vivre, his unadorned prose and the sheer width of his snooping beneath the skin of the American dream','A tremendously sassy work, full of zip, pizzazz and all those other great American qualities','Immensely entertaining a sharp eye for odd facts and amusing anecdotes','Funny, wise, learned and compulsive'

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Bryn O'Callaghan - An Illustrated History of the U SA (1990).jpg

A fascinating history of the USA from the time of the Amerindians to the culturally diverse but united country of today. Describes all the major events, and concludes with an evaluation of America's impact on the world this century. Makes extensive use of contemporary quotations to examine the contribution made by various people - not all of them famous - to American history.

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Cindy Barden - The Westward Movement (2001).jpg

Westward Movement part of the American History Series for grades 4-7 provides challenging activities that enable students to explore history, geography, and social science topics.

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Cindy Barden - The Westward Movement (2001).pdf

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Dennis R. Hall, Susan Grove Hall - American Icons, An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture (1-3 volumes) (2006).jpeg

USA Books - Dennis R. Hall, Susan Grove Hall - American Icons, An ... Things that Have Shaped Our Culture 1-3 volumes 2006.jpeg

What do Madonna, Ray Charles, Mount Rushmore, suburbia, the banjo, and the Ford Mustang have in common? Whether we adore, ignore, or deplore them, they all influence our culture, and color the way America is perceived by the world. This A-to-Z collection of essays explores more than one hundred people, places, and phenomena that have taken on iconic status in American culture. The scholars and writers whose thoughts are gathered in this unique three-volume set examine these icons through a diverse array of perspectives and fields of expertise. Ranging from the Alamo to Muhammad Ali, from John Wayne to the zipper, this selection of American icons represents essential elements of our culture, including law, art, food, religion, and science. Featuring more than 100 illustrations, this work will serve as a unique resource for students of American history and culture. The interdisciplinary scholars in this work examine what it means when something is labeled as an "icon." What common features do the people, places, and things we deem to be iconic share? To begin with, an icon generates strong responses in people, it often stands for a group of values (John Wayne), it reflects forces of its time, it can be reshaped or extended by imitation, and it often breaks down barriers between various segments of American culture, such as those that exist between white and black America, or between high and low art. The essays contained in this set examine all these aspects of American icons from a variety of perspectives and through a lively range of rhetoric styles. Among the icons examined here are:
The Alamo Barbie Ray Charles James Dean Ford Mustang Jimi Hendrix Las Vegas Madonna McDonald's Peanuts Route 66 Superman Viagra Wal-Mart Oprah Winfrey.

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Dennis R. Hall, Susan Grove Hall - American Icons, An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture (1-3 volumes) (2006).pdf

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EarthBow - Native American Indian Myths (2008).jpg

Containing more than 300 myths, legends, and tales from dozens of tribes, this book is perhaps the most extensive collection of Native American folklore ever published.

EarthBow eBooks
We are now a specialty publisher of eBooks about Native American Indian Myths, legends, and traditions. Many of the titles we publish as eBooks would be difficult and/or expensive to find in print!

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EarthBow - Native American Indian Myths (2008).pdf

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Facts On File - Liz Sonneborn - Chronology of Amer ican Indian History (2007).jpg

A fascinating, in-depth timeline of American Indian history, "Chronology of American Indian History, Updated Edition", updated and expanded with current information, describes thousands of years of events that helped shape the lives and cultures of Native Americans, as well as American society as a whole - from their ancestors' arrival in North America to the present. Cited year-by-year, the events highlight important and interesting moments in American Indian history - both those well-known to any student of American history and those largely unfamiliar to most general readers. A completely new chapter has been added as well, covering events from January 2001 to the present, including such information as court decisions, museum openings, pros, and cultural celebrations. This new material also presents the Indian perspective on more general events - such as the Iraq War and the Katrina disaster - that have made the past five years among the most tumultuous in American history. This edition also includes an expanded bibliography, as well as new photographs that illustrate the people, places, and events discussed in the new chapter.

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Facts On File - Liz Sonneborn - Chronology of Amer ican Indian History (2007).pdf

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Gale Group - West's Encyclopedia of American Law, 2 Edition (2005).jpg

This twelve volume set is unmatched for many different types of libraries. It is a little too basic for a law firm library, but for academic or public libraries it cannot be beat. It is simply organized, has very thorough explanations of over 4,000 legal terms and important legal events, and devotes a whole volume to a very useful dictionary.

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Georg Zappler - Learn About Texas Indians (1996).jpg

Here is an entertaining and educational activity book for children from six to twelve on the always-popular topic of American Indians—except that the subject has been narrowed to only those Native Americans known to have lived in the Lone Star State.

Eye-catching line drawings invite children to color a wide assortment of scenes from the diverse lives of the many different groups of Indians native to Texas. The settings in the first part of the book range from the mammoth- and bison-hunting Paleo-Indians of over 11,000 years ago to the various nomadic and agricultural groups encountered by sixteenth-century Spanish explorers. Further drawings reflect changes over the centuries as Indian lifeways were forever altered and often destroyed due to contact with white newcomers who all claimed their land. In addition to the many drawings, a number of fun-filled and challenging games help build youngsters' Indian knowledge.

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Georg Zappler - Learn About Texas Indians (1996).pdf

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Jan Harold Brunvand - American Folklore, An Encycl opedia (1996).jpg

In the preface to this work, the editor, the compiler of several collections of urban legends, differentiates between "folklore in America" and "American folklore." American folklore is defined as stories, tales, mythology, and lore based on experiences unique to American history and the North American continent. This encyclopedia does not address such topics as European or African folklore, except in passing; instead it concentrates on phenonema that have become part of American culture. Topics range from rodeo and the Great Lakes to Elvis, "Xeroxlore," and UFOs.

The overall tone of the book is scholarly. The editor suggests specific articles for readers interested in a scholarly survey: American Folklore Scholarship and Material Culture to provide background; treatments of Marxist or feminist approaches to the study of folklore; and Regional Folklore as an introduction to specific entries such as Appalachia, Rocky Mountains, Basque Americans, Dutch Americans, and so on. The articles, arranged in alphabetical order and varying in length from one paragraph to several pages, come from more than 200 contributors. Most of them are professors of American studies, English, anthropology, or folklore. Additional topics include people (fictional characters such as Paul Bunyan, folk singers, anthropologists), institutions (LC's American Folklife Center), holidays, styles of folklore (proverbs, tongue twisters), games, arts and crafts, musical forms, historical eras (New Deal, Atomic Age), the paranormal, and folklore unique to special groups or situations: truckers, disasters, hunting, academic life. Information is current; several entries refer to tales circulating over the Internet.

While maintaining an academic approach, some of the articles are also humorous. Children's author Rosemary Wells contributed to the article on the tooth fairy. The article begins with a description of ancient folk methods of disposing of baby teeth and goes on to document the rising popularity of the tooth fairy as evidenced through trends in children's literature: six stories appeared in the 1960s, 11 in the 1970s, 29 in the 1980s, and 18 in the first two years of the 1990s. In his article on cow tipping, Ed Zotti wonders why the scientific community has yet to launch a major investigation into the physical feasibility of this activity, despite the abundance of supposed participants. Computer Folklore contains several amusing examples. References to scholarly literature are listed at the end of each article. Limited see also references direct readers to related entries, and a general index is provided. Black-and-white photographs accompanying the text include pictures of folk ceremonies, examples of crafts, and traditional occupations, such as dowsing.

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Jan Harold Brunvand - American Folklore, An Encycl opedia (1996).pdf

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L. Sandy Maisel - American Political Parties and E lections, A Very Short Introduction (2007).jpg

Few Americans and even fewer citizens of other nations understand the electoral process in the United States. Still fewer understand the role played by political parties in the electoral process or the ironies within the system. Participation in elections in the United States is much lower than in the vast majority of mature democracies. Perhaps this is because of the lack of competition in a country where only two parties have a true chance of winning, despite the fact that a large number of citizens claim allegiance to neither and think badly of both. Or perhaps it is because in the U.S. campaign contributions disproportionately favor incumbents in most legislative elections, or that largely unregulated groups such as the now notorious 527s have as much impact on the outcome of a campaign as do the parties or the candidates' campaign organizations. Studying these factors, you begin to get a very clear picture indeed of the problems that underlay our much trumpeted electoral system.
This Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to these issues and more, providing an insider's view of how the system actually works while shining a light on some of its flaws. As we enter what is sure to be yet another highly contested election year, it is more important than ever that Americans take the time to learn the system that puts so many in power.

About the Author(s)

Sandy Maisel is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government and Director of the Goldfarb Center of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College. A former candidate for Congress, Maisel is the author or editor of 15 books on political parties and elections and is a frequent commentator on contemporary politics.

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Michael S. Greve, Michael Zöller - Citizenship in America and Europe Beyond the Nation-State (2009).jpg

USA Books - Michael S. Greve, Michael Zller - Citizenship in America and Europe Beyond the Nation-State 2009.jpg

In the United States, defining what it means to be a citizen is central to discourse about immigration, naturalization, and identity politics. Although the concept of European citizenship is more tenuous, European countries wrestle with equally profound questions. Can European citizenship be constructed? Can democratic institutions thrive in Europe without a robust concept of citizenship? This insightful volume examines the rights and duties of citizens in liberal democracies-and the policy impact of citizenship debates-in both the United States and abroad.

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