Thinking-Training

The #1 New York Times bestselling classic frontier adventure novel that inspired two award-winning films! Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s foremost writers. True Grit, his most famous novel, was first published in 1968, and became the basis for two movies, the 1969 classic starring John Wayne and, in 2010, a new version starring Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges and written and directed by the Coen brothers. True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen when the coward Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father’s blood. With one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the killer into Indian Territory. True Grit is eccentric, cool, straight, and unflinching, like Mattie herself. From a writer of true status, this is an American classic through and through.

An engaging look at early twentieth-century American printmaking, which frequently focused on the crowded, chaotic, and gritty modern city. In the first half of the twentieth century, a group of American artists influenced by the painter and teacher Robert Henri aimed to reject the pretenses of academic fine art and polite society. Embracing the democratic inclusiveness of the Progressive movement, these artists turned to making prints, which were relatively inexpensive to produce and easy to distribute. For their subject matter, the artists mined the bustling activity and stark realities of the urban centers in which they lived and worked. Their prints feature sublime towering skyscrapers and stifling city streets, jazzy dance halls and bleak tenement interiors—intimate and anonymous everyday scenes that addressed modern life in America. True Grit examines a rich selection of prints by well-known figures like George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Joseph Pennell, and John Sloan as well as lesser-known artists such as Ida Abelman, Peggy Bacon, Miguel Covarrubias, and Mabel Dwight. Written by three scholars of printmaking and American art, the essays present nuanced discussions of gender, class, literature, and politics, contextualizing the prints in the rapidly changing milieu of the first decades of twentieth-century America.

As a child prodigy in principles, Golda Meir has a repertoire of noble rebellion throughout her life from Midwest America to the Middle East. This resolve will bring equal pay and education to the Arabs and Jews in Palestine, hospitals and housing to Africans, and most well-known Golda will be a signer of the Declaration of Independence for the rebirth of Israel. Undaunted by the objections of her family, sects of Jewish culture, and the back-door politics of powerful governments, Golda’s DNA demands pragmatic decisions that reveal her destiny and the unwavering conviction that all people can live in peace and with dignity.

From the rural mountains of Yabucoa in Puerto Rico to the bustling streets of New York City, author Emma Gomez shares her life story in this inspiring memoir. Born in 1934 as one of ten children and then graduating from college in 1980, Gomez narrates how she overcame the challenges of being a Hispanic woman in a world that wasnt quite ready to accept her and her high aspirations. Through many stories and anecdotes, this memoir follows Gomez from her early days in Puerto Rico, to moving to the United States, to her marriage and its issues, to raising two children, and to her work on labor issues affecting women. A true story of facing trials and the satisfaction of meeting ones goals, her recollections provide a testament to one womans dedication to improving herself and paving the way for other women to do the same. Praise for Emma Gomez: A Courageous Woman Displays True Grit True gritthats exactly what you get when you read this exciting true story of this self-made woman, Emma Gomez. Within the short time that I have known her, she has unselfishly given of herself to all without prejudice, seeking to give rather than to receive. And thats the point of the story you are about to read. Now she gives to you, the readers, just as she has given to all who have crossed her path. James G. Nolan Jr.

"This tells the inspiring true adventures of nine 'ordinary' women who are making a difference in such places as Tajikstan, India and Lebanon. Fact files between stories highlight global female abuse, such as child brides, sex trafficking, girl soldiers and 'honour' killings." - Back Cover.

His wife, Norma, has run off with her ex-husband, taking Ray's cards, shotgun and car. But from the receipts, Ray can track where they've gone. He takes off after them, as does an irritatingly tenacious bail bondsman, both following the romantic couple's spending as far as Mexico. There Ray meets Dr Reo Symes, the seemingly down-on-his-luck and rather eccentric owner of a beaten up and broken down bus, who needs a ride to Belize. The further they drive, in a car held together by coat-hangers and excesses of oil, the wilder their journey gets. But they're not going to give up easily.

True Grit and Grace tells the story of a woman's life forever altered by a horrific motorcycle accident that shattered her right leg. Despite the initial recommendation to amputate, she endured 34 surgeries to save it. However, as a sexual abuse and divorce survivor, she determined to save not only her leg, but her career, her dreams, and her dignity. Amberly Lago's unwavering commitment to regain her active lifestyle transformed her tragedy into victory. She motivates readers to find resilience in their own difficulties and is a fierce advocate for others who, like her, suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Her story proves that any challenge can be overcome with the support of others, determination, a sense of gratitude, and belief in oneself.

Jimmy Burns is an expatriate American living in Mexico who has an uncommonly astute eye for the absurd little details that comprise your average American. For a time, Jimmy spent his days unearthing pre-Colombian artifacts. Now he makes a living doing small trucking jobs and helping out with the occasional missing person situation—whatever it takes to remain “the very picture of an American idler in Mexico, right down to the grass-green golfing trousers.†? But when Jimmy’s laid-back lifestyle is seriously imposed upon by a ninety-pound stalker called Louise, a sudden wave of “hippies†? (led by a murderous ex-con guru) in search of psychic happenings, and a group of archaeologists who are unearthing (illegally) Mayan tombs, his simple South-of-the-Border existence faces a clear and present danger.

In the early 1940s, young women enlisted for peacetime duty as U.S. Army nurses. But when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 blasted the United States into World War II, 101 American Army and Navy nurses serving in the Philippines were suddenly treating wounded and dying soldiers while bombs exploded all around them. The women served in jerry-rigged jungle hospitals on the Bataan Peninsula and in underground tunnels on Corregidor Island. Later, when most of them were captured by the Japanese as prisoners of war, they suffered disease and near-starvation for three years. Pure Grit is a story of sisterhood and suffering, of tragedy and betrayal, of death and life. The women cared for one another, maintained discipline, and honored their vocation to nurse anyone in need—all 101 coming home alive. The book is illustrated with archival photographs and includes an index, glossary, and timeline. Praise for Pure Grit STARRED REVIEW "Details of many nurses’ individual trials combine to form a memorable portrayal of their shared experience, one which will emotionally impact readers." --Booklist, starred review "Primary source materials, especially the movingly matter-of-fact recollections of several of the nurses and personal snapshots, bring the story to life." --Kirkus Reviews "Farrell doesn’t spare her young readers any grim details . . . She includes the challenges these women faced and the joy they felt on returning home. As awful as history can be, now might be the right time to introduce the next generation to this important period." --The Washington Post "In addition to photographs and helpful maps, the page layouts include facsimiles of the nurses’ letters and diaries. Young readers who enjoyed Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream will also appreciate this story of courageous women whose story was nearly forgotten." --School Library Journal

In this must-read book for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, athletes, students, and business people-both seasoned and new-that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called "grit." Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, MacArthur “genius” Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly a guarantor of success. Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own “character lab” and set out to test her theory. Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers-from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the cartoon editor of The New Yorker to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that-not talent or luck-makes all the difference.