American Diaries

This was the American Civil War for many who lived it, overwhelming and ultimately tragic, viewed through the eyes of a courageous youth and an unforgettable young woman.

Mita "Sweet Lips" Cruz never had much chance to enjoy her youth because of her drug-addicted mother’s attraction to lowlife men. After she survives a vicious assault at the hands of her stepfather on her 14th birthday, Mita desperately searches for the meaning of unconditional love in the streets of North Philadelphia. When she discovers that she is carrying the child of her rapist, it’s too much for her damaged soul to bear. With an ugly future ahead of her, Mita puts the newborn up for adoption, vowing to seek revenge for the violations against her.

A master strategist and tireless activist, Bayard Rustin is best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest nonviolent protests ever held in the United States. He brought Gandhi's protest techniques to the American civil rights movement and played a deeply influential role in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolence.

Every day, President Obama reads ten representative letters among the thousands he receives from citizens across the land. The letters come from people of all ages, walks of life, and political points of view. Some are heart­breaking, some angry, some hopeful. Indeed, Obama reads as many letters addressed “Dear Jackass” as “Dear Mr. President.” Eli Saslow, a young and rising star at the Washington Post, became fascinated by the power of these letters and set out to find the stories behind them. Ten Letters is an inspiring and important book about ordi­nary people....

For three years Andrew Carroll traveled throughout the United States and around the world to seek out the most powerful and unforgettable letters ever written during US wars.