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Did you know that the Puritans did not celebrate Christmas? That trick or treating on Halloween began in the late 1930s? That Kwanzaa was created in the mid-sixties by Ron Karenga, a radical Black Nationalist and Black Panther? That Anne Marie Jarvis, the force behind getting Mother's Day, proclaimed a national holiday, later repudiated the holiday for its crass commercialism and strove to undo her handiwork until the day she died? Every holiday has a history, and this set sets out to describe them all. A chronologically organized reference guide to the history of American celebratory days, past, present, and emergent, the books focuse on each holiday's cultural and political significance. It includes major, minor, and bygone holidays, both civic and religious. The work has a distinctive multi-cultural tone, with special emphasis on recent additions to the national holiday pantheon, such as Kwanzaa, Cinco de Mayo, Gay Pride and Passover, among others, in addition to the more traditional Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Veterans Day. New holidays, like The Superbowl and Mardi Gras, are included as well. Each entry tracks the changes in the celebration of the day, its origins, and its wider cultural significance.

Presented chronologically, a range of holidays are examined. Some were once widely observed but have faded over time, some are currently widely accepted and celebrated, and some are emerging and gaining in popularity. Covered holidays include:

Every entry is signed, and concludes with suggested further readings. Sidebars offer brief overviews of many holidays, such as Presidents' Day, whose history is relatively straightforward. The Introduction provides an overview of the history of holidays in America, their uses and controversies. Illustrations, a robust bibliography, and a comprehensive index complete the work.

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Compiled from the records of the National Register of Historic Places this lavishly illustrated book features over 800 locations in 42 states and two U.S. territories that have played a role in black American history. Banks, cemeteries, colleges, forts, homes, schools and shops are but a few of the types of sites explored. Features eight insightful articles on African American experience and study, from migration to the role of women, from the Harlem Renaissance to the Civil Rights Movement.Amazon.com Review
This engaging resource contains information about 800 blackhistoric sites in 42 states, Puerto Rico, and the VirginIslands. Often, they are places where people lived, such as the PaulLaurence Dunbar House in Dayton, Ohio; or the Blanche K. Bruce housein Washington, D.C., home of the second black man who served in theU.S. Senate. But there are also schools, hospitals, clubs, colleges,forts, cemeteries, and more. The listings (organized alphabetically bystate), include brief descriptions and addresses, making this usefulfor those curious about black historic sites in their town or state orfor anyone planning a vacation tour of historic sites. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent
i am thankful for the book. thank you very much. it is more than i expected. ... Read more

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Travel to a destination that has a special place in the American imagination -- a beautiful land of deserts, mountains, plateaus, and canyons. A land whose geography and layers of culture give it a wonderfully distinctive character. The ancient cultures and their Indian descendants were followed in time by Spaniards who came up from Mexico with Coronado in search of gold. Anglos came next from the east, bringing railroads, mining, and ranching. More recently, especially since the advent of air-conditioning, scientists, artists, tourists, and retirees have flocked to the area. Over the centuries, each wave of people has added its contribution to the Southwest's unique blend of cultures and traditions, making it the fascinating place it is today. ... Read more

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1871. An appeal to the people and their representatives. With this pamphlet the Society is calling attention of the people, and of their representatives, to the unfinished and neglected condition of the Monument and making an appeal on its behalf. All the facts and particulars touching the history of the structure, which an interested public would wish to know, will be found fully set forth in the succeeding pages of this booklet. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Wind Speaker, published by Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA) on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1080 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Canada prepares for National Aboriginal Day June 21.
Author: Rob McKinley
Publication: Wind Speaker (Newsletter)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA)
Volume: 16Issue: 2Page: 12-13(sup)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This volume was published in 1877.

"Address delivered before the New York Historical Society, June 14th, 1877, the centennial of the adoption of the stars and stripes as our national flag."
... Read more

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The National Museumof the American Indian, the newest addition to the Smithsonian Institution's most celebrated Mall of Museums in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's largest and finest assemblages of Native American artifacts from the Arctic to South America.Holding 800,000 objects, spanning 10,000 years and representing 1000 tribes, it offers a fascinating portrayal of Native American life, culture and history.This new title in Scala's informativeMap and Guideseries will illustrate the museum's most important works, giving a glimpse into the rich heritage of the Native American peoples. ... Read more

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Featuring hundreds of full-color photographs, diagrams, and maps, a complete directory of 133 national parks in Canada, the United States, and Mexico provides detailed descriptions of each park, along with information on landmarks, geological profiles, wildlife, and more.Amazon.com Review
A good book for getting an overview of North American nationalparks before preparing a cross country trip. Lots of pretty pictures,but then we wouldn't expect less from National Geographic, would we? ... Read more

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"National Geographic" magazine is an American popular culture icon that, since its founding in 1888, has been on a nonstop tour classifying and cataloguing the peoples of the world. With more than ten million subscribers, "National Geographic" is the third largest magazine in America, following only "TV Guide" and "Reader's Digest". "National Geographic" has long been a staple of school and public libraries across the country.In "Veils and Daggers", Linda Steet provides a critically insightful and alternative interpretation of "National Geographic". Through an analysis of the journal's discourses in Orientalism, patriarchy, and primitivism in the Arab world as well as textual and visual constructions of Arab men and women, Islam, and Arab culture, "Veils and Daggers" unpacks the ideological perspectives that have guided "National Geographic" throughout its history. Drawing on cultural, feminist, and postcolonial criticism, Steet generates alternative readings that challenge the magazine's claims to objectivity.In this fascinating journey, it becomes clear that neither text nor image in the magazine can be regarded as natural or self-evident and she artfully demonstrates that the act of representing others 'inevitably involves some degree of violence, decontextualization, miniaturization, etc.' The subject area known as Orientalism, she shows, is a man-made concept that as such must be studied as an integral component of the social, rather than the natural or divine world."Veils and Daggers" repositions and redefines "National Geographic" as an educational journal. Steet's work is an important and groundbreaking contribution in the area of social construction of knowledge, social foundations of education, educational media, and social studies as well as racial identity, ethnicity, and gender. Once encountered, readers of "National Geographic" will never regard it in the same manner again. Linda Steet is Assistant Professor of Social Foundation of Education and Co-Coordinator of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Flint. ... Read more

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It's about time
It's about time someone took National Geographic to task for their ethnocentric coverage of the world. Steet does this with a sophisticated, yet accessible (and sometimes humorous) understanding and use of theory. Her analysis and discussion of one hundred years of photographs published by NG is provocative and educational. This book is great for curriculum classes, journalism classes, photography classes, cultural studies, women studies, and many others I am sure. ... Read more

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Manassas...Shiloh...Gettysburg...Antietam...

These are just some of the battlefields which, soon after the end of the Civil War, were set aside as memorials to "the brave men, living and dead," who took part in the war between the states.

Today, five score years and ten after the last shot was fired, the names still echo like a drumroll through the corridors of time, and millions of visitors every year stand transfixed, awed by the landscape's terrible majesty, where once the soldiers of the North and South gave their "last full measure of devotion."

Many of the most important sites, from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, are now National Parks, with markers and monuments pinpointing the location of specific events. This book, the essential guide to visiting the battlefields, has been edited by Civil War scholar Frank E. Vandiver, with features including:

-Official National Parks Service maps.
-Informative and authoritative historical text explaining the background to war and with analysis of the battles and events at each site.
-Eye-witness excerpts from generals' diaries to soldiers' letters from the front.
-Sketches and artwork by on-the-spot observers
-Stunning new photography of battle sites and landmarks.
-Statistics, facts, and figures.
-Points of interest the visitor can identify in the parks today.
-Park visitor information.
-Regional touring guides. ... Read more

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Accomplished representatives from a variety of indigenous cultures--by invitation of the National Museum of the American Indian--reflect on their heritage through objects of cultural, spiritual, artistic, or personal significance in a unique volume combining narratives, illustrations, and photographs. UP. ... Read more