Now associated with family health clubs, the YMCA's bland image is the result of relentless outreach and the studied avoidance of controversy. But, as John Gustav-Wrathall shows in his revealing social history of the organization, the life of the YMCA has been filled with strife, tragedy, and irony, a life that itself reflects the struggle over the shifting societal mores regarding masculine friendship and intimacy. Take the Young Stranger by the Hand presents the YMCA as an institution of profound contradictions, reflective of society's views of same-sex love and sexuality. "Gustav-Wrathall's book offers an in-depth history of the origins and purposes of the Young Men's Christian Association and how it evolved into—and out of—a gay playland."—Arnie Kantrowitz, Lambda Book Report "The book's absorbing exploration of the sometimes schismatic, sometimes synergistic relationship between spirituality and sexuality is a fascinating addition to the growing body of social history."—Jim Van Buskirk, San Francisco Bay Guardian

List of IllustrationsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction 1: From Urban Pietism to Sex Education 2: Intense Friendship 3: Singleness and the Consecrated Secretary 4: Marriage and the Sacrificial "Y Wife" 5: Women and the Young Men's Christian Association 6: Getting Physical 7: Cruising Epilogue App. 1: Analysis of Quantitative Sources on YMCA Secretarial Marital StatusApp. 2: Methodological Problems: Silences, the Spirit/Body Split, and the Denial of Cruising Notes Bibliography Index Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M

When a journalist gains access to a wealthy family’s secrets, he encounters shocking revelations—and an irresistibly handsome lawyer—in this M/M romance. Twenty years ago, little Brian Arlington was kidnapped from his family’s Long Island estate and was never seen again. The trail went cold, but investigative journalist Griff Hadley has always thought there was more to the story—much more. So when the Arlingtons’ patriarch invites him to stay at their estate to research his true crime book, Griff can’t say no. But not everyone is happy about Griff’s presence. Relatives and staff alike regard him coldly, including Pierce Mather, the Arlingtons’ attractive lawyer, who is more than a little wary of Griff’s motives. When a stranger shows up claiming to be the long-lost Brian, Griff and Pierce are united in their suspicions. Startled to have found an ally in the buttoned-up lawyer, Griff soon realizes it’s hard to keep a professional distance. Even in the midst of a groundbreaking investigation, even in the face of a shocking family secret . . .

This story is about a young daring black boy growing to man hood in the 50th through 60. 'When time came for him to start school, he was so proud of himself. But that pertilay day to go to school, his mother told him Son, you will start school in the First Baptist Church in Woodbine. In those days back in the 50th and 60th in the state of Georgia, everything was segregated for blacks, that meant they black people were not allowed to go in any public places to get even a piece of bread. But that did not worried Melvin much, the reason, he was a clever young boy, he learned good in school and sport. He was confidence that he will make in life, why because his mother pearl was her name taught him in very tender ages to show all people respect, regardless what race, and that what he did. He always had a smile on his dark face that makes him many friends in Woodbine with all citizens. His character helped him to full his dream, yes it was not always smooth for him but his paradise he found in his life, not in woodbine Georgia, but in Germany, where he had his own business for many years, and his home. There is where he lives until this day. It is the story of a young black boy from Woodbine who grew to a young man, went there to Ralph J Bunch high school for a while, then he left Woodbine on his journey to seek his paradise.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and historian recalls his midwestern boyhood in this classic memoir. Born in a tiny cottage in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1878, Carl Sandburg grew with America. As a boy he left school at the age of thirteen to embark on a life of work—driving a milk wagon and serving as a hotel porter, a bricklayer, and a farm laborer before eventually finding his place in the world of literature. In Always the Young Strangers, Sandburg delivers a nostalgic view of small-town life around the turn of the twentieth century and an invaluable perspective on American history.

Award-winning and best-selling author Lois Lowry explores issues surrounding adoption in this poignant novel. Natalie Armstrong has everything: she’s smart and beautiful, has the perfect boyfriend, early acceptance to college, and a loving family. But the summer she turns seventeen, she finally decides to ask some unanswered questions: Who are her biological parents and why did they give her up when she was born? These questions take her on a journey from the deep woods of Maine to the streets of New York City, from the pages of old phone books and a tattered yearbook photo to the realization that she might actually meet her biological mother face-to-face.

A Stranger to Myself: The Inhumanity of War, Russia 1941-44 is the haunting memoir of a young German soldier on the Russian front during World War II. Willy Peter Reese was only twenty years old when he found himself marching through Russia with orders to take no prisoners. Three years later he was dead. Bearing witness to--and participating in--the atrocities of war, Reese recorded his reflections in his diary, leaving behind an intelligent, touching, and illuminating perspective on life on the eastern front. He documented the carnage perpetrated by both sides, the destruction which was exacerbated by the young soldiers' hunger, frostbite, exhaustion, and their daily struggle to survive. And he wrestled with his own sins, with the realization that what he and his fellow soldiers had done to civilians and enemies alike was unforgivable, with his growing awareness of the Nazi policies toward Jews, and with his deep disillusionment with himself and his fellow men. An international sensation, A Stranger to Myself is an unforgettable account of men at war.

When a diplomat’s daughter falls in love with a man suspected of murder, he goes in search of the truth in this classic from the legendary mystery author. The kids call it spring break, but their parents know it by its true name: debauchery. Every Easter, hormone-crazed students pile into cars and drive thousands of miles to the beach to lose themselves in an orgy of beer, sand, and sex. Keith Rollins and Cheryl Pemberton are two such revelers: college sweethearts planning to marry the moment they graduate. But in the heat of a party, the couple gets separated; the next morning, the girl is found raped and murdered beneath the pier and Rollins is the prime suspect. Though Rollins is never convicted of the crime, the cloud of suspicion lingers over him. Years later, he becomes engaged to the daughter of diplomat John Vallancourt, who resolves to find out the truth. When Vallancourt’s daughter disappears, he fears the killer has struck again.