This book examines the processes involved in writing the lives of women, both as autobiographies and as biographies. Some essays are theoretical discussions about the constructions of self-articulation in women's life writing. Others are more autobiographical, emphasizing the importance of self-articulation for creating possibilities for self-direction. Adopting different theoretical approaches, chapters in this collection highlight the connections between subjectivity and history, feminist concerns about mothering and the mother-daughter relationships, autobiography, discourse and its framing of the relationship between text and life, and the ethics of constructing biographies. The book is divided into three parts: the first part focuses on the process of writing lives as expressed but also contested in epistolary narratives, autobiography and historical fiction. The second part considers notions of female genealogy and the relationship with the maternal, both biological and symbolic. The third part comprises articles which deal with writing outside geographical and metaphorical borders.

Why are some territorial partitions accepted as the appropriate borders of a nation's homeland, whereas in other places conflict continues despite or even because of division of territory? In Homelands, Nadav G. Shelef develops a theory of what homelands are that acknowledges both their importance in domestic and international politics and their change over time. These changes, he argues, driven by domestic political competition and help explain the variation in whether partitions resolve conflict. Homelands also provides systematic, comparable data about the homeland status of lost territory over time that allow it to bridge the persistent gap between constructivist theories of nationalism and positivist empirical analyses of international relations.

This book explores the paradox of the ‘security dilemma’ in International Relations, as applied to the post-9/11 context of homeland security. The book's central argument can be summed up by the following counterintuitive thesis: the more security you have, the more security you will need. It argues that enhancing security does not make terrorism more likely, but rather it raises public expectations and amplifies public outrage after subsequent failures. The book contests that this dilemma will continue to shape American, Canadian and British domestic and international security priorities for decades. In exploring the key policy implications resulting from this, the book highlights the difficulty in finding a solution to this paradox, as the most rational and logical policy options are part of the problem. This book will be of interest to students of Homeland Security, Security Studies, US politics, and IR in general.

In 1640, French explorer LaSalle was astonished to find a royal Native American kingdom northeast of New Orleans. Moving along the social and political wire, many of that Nachay tribe owned plantations with both white and black slaves by the early 1700s. One hundred and fifty years later, Major Elias Paix and his wife, Princess Melissa, along with the chief of the tribe, sold their plantations to purchase a paddle steamer and supplies in order to establish a new town as the capital of an all-Indian state. Paix fought for the South alongside Robert E. Lee, and after the war he traveled with Chief Mather to establish the town of Yellow Creek. A few years later Prince Dell, son of the Major and Melissa, sets off on the expedition at age fourteen. He exhibits unwavering duty to his tribe and has to cope with the fallout from a hasty decision made in disobedience, the loss of a beloved family member, and white men encroaching upon this new settlement. In fulfilling his unique punishment, Dell embarks upon a political career that may just facilitate much-needed unity among the Nachay tribe and other Indians.

Scott O'Dell enjoyed modest success as an author until 1960, when he published the novel;Island of the Blue Dolphins.

An exciting music-themed adventure which is predominantly set in a magical world where a very different science governs the lands. It surrounds two individuals, Richard and Candice, as they seek to rid these said lands of an evil undertone but in quite an unconventional manner. There are not only gods and dragons, as one might expect, but also compelling characters, subplots and unique environments. Music is the heartbeat and lifeblood of this enchanting world where many mystical quests lie in wait. In addition to the rhyming nature of this novel, incorporated within the content are real-life music song titles and intriguing word association anagrams to add a quirky twist. Prepare to be whisked away through time and space to a place where endless possibilities exist. Will goodness overcome evil and with what consequence? Only musical artistic brilliance can save the day, but will this alone be enough? Strap yourself in and enjoy the journey.

Although best known as the author of Notre Dame de Paris and Les Misérables, Victor Hugo was primarily a poet—one of the most important and prolific in French history. Despite his renown, however, there are few comprehensive collections of his verse available and even fewer translated editions. Translators E. H. and A. M. Blackmore have collected Victor Hugo's essential verse into a single, bilingual volume that showcases all the facets of Hugo's oeuvre, including intimate love poems, satires against the political establishment, serene meditations, religious verse, and narrative poems illustrating his mastery of the art of storytelling and his abiding concern for the social issues of his time. More than half of this volume's eight thousand lines of verse appear here for the first time in English, providing readers with a new perspective on each of the fascinating periods of Hugo's career and aspects of his style. Introductions to each section guide the reader through the stages of Hugo's writing, while notes on individual poems provide information not found in even the most detailed French-language editions. Illustrated with Hugo's own paintings and drawings, this lucid translation—available on the eve of Hugo's bicentenary—pays homage to this towering figure of nineteenth-century literature by capturing the energy of his poetry, the drama and satirical force of his language, and the visionary beauty of his writing as a whole.