new york

Chronicles the life and career of newspaper photographer Jacob Riis, who was determined to change the fate of those living in the tenement houses of New York.

"They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam telling his story. No one's life is the sum of the worst things that happened to them, and during Yusef Salaam's seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, he grew from child to man, and gained a spiritual perspective on life. Yusef learned that we're all "born on purpose, with a purpose." Despite having confronted the racist heart of America while being "run over by the spiked wheels of injustice," Yusef channeled his energy and pain into something positive, not just for himself but for other marginalized people and communities. Better Not Bitter is the first time that one of the now Exonerated Five is telling his individual story, in his own words. Yusef writes his narrative: growing up Black in central Harlem in the '80s, being raised by a strong, fierce mother and grandmother, his years of incarceration, his reentry, and exoneration. Yusef connects these stories to lessons and principles he learned that gave him the power to survive through the worst of life's experiences. He inspires readers to accept their own path, to understand their own sense of purpose. With his intimate personal insights, Yusef unpacks the systems built and designed for profit and the oppression of Black and Brown people. He inspires readers to channel their fury into action, and through the spiritual, to turn that anger and trauma into a constructive force that lives alongside accountability and mobilizes change. This memoir is an inspiring story that grew out of one of the gravest miscarriages of justice, one that not only speaks to a moment in time or the rage-filled present, but reflects a 400-year history of a nation's inability to be held accountable for its sins. Yusef Salaam's message is vital for our times, a motivating resource for enacting change. Better, Not Bitter has the power to soothe, inspire and transform. It is a galvanizing call to action"--.

"Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her mother, a physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie will go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie feels stifled by her mother's choices and is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, Libertie has skin that is too dark. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it--for herself and for generations to come"--Provided by publisher.

New York City high school student Mateo dreams of becoming a Broadway star, but his life is transformed after his parents are deported to Mexico.

"A powerful memoir by 25-year-old Ly Tran about her immigrant experience and her recent family history in the aftermath of the war that spans from Vietnam to Brooklyn, and ultimately to the Ivy League"--Provided by publisher.

"Six New Yorkers are sick with a mysterious virus that attacks the brain. Experts suspect a tiny culprit: mosquitoes! Then birds start dropping dead. Scientists think that the outbreaks are related--but how?"--From the publisher's web site.

The memoir of high school soccer coach Martin Jacobson.

After the birth of her daughter, Majella discovers the diary of her ancestor Ginny who tells a story of murder when Ginny had fled the famine of her country and settled in New York, and Majella sets out to explore Ginny's past, where she discovers the truth of her family.

"The story of how one woman's long love affair with New York's Central Park led her to a job in which she was able to organize the rescue of the park from its serious decline in the 1970s, returning it to the beautiful place of recreational opportunity and spiritual sustenance it is today. Interwoven into her own story is a comprehensive history of Central Park: its design and construction as a scenic masterpiece; the alterations of each succeeding era; the addition of numerous facilities for sports and play; and finally the 'anything goes phase' of the 1960s and 70s, which was often fun but almost destroyed the park. The two narratives continue to entwine as she finds a job in the administration of Central Park, founds the Central Park Conservancy, and transforms both the park and herself"--Provided by publisher.