80's Baby


Book Description

By the beginning of the 1980's, the Bronx had become a godforsaken slum, making it the ideal location for an epidemic. That epidemic arrived in the form of crack cocaine, which hit the streets with a savage force setting off an explosion of violent crime unlike anything ever seen before. The birth of crack brought with it more money, more guns and more gangs. The faces of which were younger, hungrier and more vicious than their predecessors.In 1986, Hassan, a student of the streets put those lessons to work, ascending above all other ghetto dons and planting his flag at the top of the drug game. After successfully merging the North and Southside, Hassan ceases control of the largest projects in The Bronx, The Edenwald Houses. With maximum power and unlimited resources he and his crew reign supreme over the crack trade. But what crack giveth, crack taketh away as jealousy, rival crews and the federal government began chipping away at his once mighty empire. Enter Rhae, a beautiful, around the way girl, raised in the same unforgiven streets. After falling in love with Hassan, she tries convincing him to leave the game behind. But old habits die hard and the allure is stronger than either of them could imagine proving to be easier said than done.




‘80S Baby Righteous Life


Book Description

A 1980s baby, author Nasreath L. King was raised in Brooklyn, New York, a place that for him was one of the worst in America. With danger lurking in the corners, and an abundance of thieves and drug dealers, it was a difficult city in which to grow up. In 80s Baby Righteous Life, King shares the stories of his life. Interspersed with poetry, he narrates the sadness and pain that permeated much of his existence. Abused and living a life of poverty, King discusses how he learned to forgive, overcome negativity, and strive toward happiness. He touches on a variety of subjects including love, obesity, and trust. In this memoir, King tells how the love of his mother and his faith in God help him persevere. 80s Baby Righteous Life presents the message that each of us has a purpose in life, and King hopes to facilitate happiness and peace through his poetry.




The Ugly Cry


Book Description

“They say comedy equals tragedy plus time: This very funny account of an often miserable childhood is proof.” --People “What a strong, funny, heartbreaking memoir, with a voice that is completely its own (written by a woman who very much seems to be completely her own, as well.) I loved it.”--Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic and Eat, Pray, Love An uproarious, moving memoir about a grandmother’s ferocious love and redefining what it means to be family “If you fight that motherf**ker and you don’t win, you’re going to come home and fight me.” Not the advice you’d normally expect from your grandmother—but Danielle Henderson would be the first to tell you her childhood was anything but conventional. Abandoned at ten years old by a mother who chose her drug-addicted, abusive boyfriend, Danielle was raised by grandparents who thought their child-rearing days had ended in the 1960s. She grew up Black, weird, and overwhelmingly uncool in a mostly white neighborhood in upstate New York, which created its own identity crises. Under the eye-rolling, foul-mouthed, loving tutelage of her uncompromising grandmother—and the horror movies she obsessively watched—Danielle grew into a tall, awkward, Sassy-loving teenager who wore black eyeliner as lipstick and was struggling with the aftermath of her mother’s choices. But she also learned that she had the strength and smarts to save herself, her grandmother gifting her a faith in her own capabilities that the world would not have most Black girls possess. With humor, wit, and deep insight, Danielle shares how she grew up and grew wise—and the lessons she’s carried from those days to these. In the process, she upends our conventional understanding of family and redefines its boundaries to include the millions of people who share her story.




The Happiest Baby on the Block


Book Description

Perfect for expecting parents who want to provide a soothing home for the newest member of their family, The Happiest Baby on the Block, the national bestseller by respected pediatrician and child development expert Dr. Harvey Karp, is a revolutionary method for calming a crying infant and promoting healthy sleep from day one. In perhaps the most important parenting book of the decade, Dr. Harvey Karp reveals an extraordinary treasure sought by parents for centuries --an automatic “off-switch” for their baby’s crying. No wonder pediatricians across the country are praising him and thousands of Los Angeles parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna and Pierce Brosnan, have turned to him to learn the secrets for making babies happy. Never again will parents have to stand by helpless and frazzled while their poor baby cries and cries. Dr. Karp has found there IS a remedy for colic. “I share with parents techniques known only to the most gifted baby soothers throughout history …and I explain exactly how they work.” In a innovative and thought-provoking reevaluation of early infancy, Dr. Karp blends modern science and ancient wisdom to prove that newborns are not fully ready for the world when they are born. Through his research and experience, he has developed four basic principles that are crucial for understanding babies as well as improving their sleep and soothing their senses: ·The Missing Fourth Trimester: as odd as it may sound, one of the main reasons babies cry is because they are born three months too soon. ·The Calming Reflex: the automatic reset switch to stop crying of any baby in the first few months of life. ·The 5 “S’s”: the simple steps (swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging and sucking) that trigger the calming reflex. For centuries, parents have tried these methods only to fail because, as with a knee reflex, the calming reflex only works when it is triggered in precisely the right way. Unlike other books that merely list these techniques Dr. Karp teaches parents exactly how to do them, to guide cranky infants to calm and easy babies to serenity in minutes…and help them sleep longer too. ·The Cuddle Cure: the perfect mix the 5 “S’s” that can soothe even the most colicky of infants. In the book, Dr. Karp also explains: What is colic? Why do most babies get much more upset in the evening? How can a parent calm a baby--in mere minutes? Can babies be spoiled? When should a parent of a crying baby call the doctor? How can a parent get their baby to sleep a few hours longer? Even the most loving moms and dads sometimes feel pushed to the breaking point by their infant’s persistent cries. Coming to the rescue, however, Dr. Karp places in the hands of parents, grandparents, and all childcare givers the tools they need to be able to calm their babies almost as easily as…turning off a light. From the Hardcover edition.




'80s Baby


Book Description

It’s the eighties, baby! This adorable, electric board book features everything from neon legwarmers to totally rad rock music, and plenty of eighties slang! I’m an eighties baby, check me out! I’m tubular, I’m radical, I’m chill, no doubt. From shoulder pads to fanny packs, Walkmans to VCRs, this baby’s got your eighties dreams covered!




80's Baby


Book Description

Peppa is an up-and-coming pimp from Richmond, California, who's facing the trials and tribulations of street life on his quest to be the biggest pimp he can possibly be. But the game he's playing comes with ultimate sacrifices and rules he must stick to for him to become successful in the game. He's a con man slash pimp who will do whatever to acquire the almighty dollar. He's dealing with a wife at home who's aware of his dealings with the streets and a flock of hos in his stable who are coming in at a rapid pace, and he's pissing some people off along the way. Eyevette, Peppa's wife, is a drug dealer who's dealing in the streets of Richmond, trying to grind her way to the top rock for rock. And she has the recipe that's going to get her rich. And she's doing so while raising her children and trying to stick by her husband's side through thick and thin and be a good bottom bitch to him and his stable, but while she's getting money, others want in on her turf. Lil Pep is a product of the '80s and is soaking all his parents' actions in and is watching and preparing himself to be a major pimp like his father or a major hustla' like his mother. His innocent youth is being sucked away before his eyes as he's getting the game raw and uncut from his parents. He is growing up in the '80s crack era where anything goes, and he wants in. Will this family make it through the storm, and do they realize the influence that they're having on their children? Dope era. It's all in the game.




Paperback Crush


Book Description

For fans of vintage YA, a humorous and in-depth history of beloved teen literature from the 1980s and 1990s, full of trivia and pop culture fun. Those pink covers. That flimsy paper. The nonstop series installments that hooked readers throughout their entire adolescence. These were not the serious-issue novels of the 1970s, nor the blockbuster YA trilogies that arrived in the 2000s. Nestled in between were the girl-centric teen books of the ’80s and ’90s—short, cheap, and utterly adored. In Paperback Crush, author Gabrielle Moss explores the history of this genre with affection and humor, highlighting the best-known series along with their many diverse knockoffs. From friendship clubs and school newspapers to pesky siblings and glamorous beauty queens, these stories feature girl protagonists in all their glory. Journey back to your younger days, a time of girl power nourished by sustained silent reading. Let Paperback Crush lead you on a visual tour of nostalgia-inducing book covers from the library stacks of the past.




Films of Endearment


Book Description

An Esquire Best Book About Hollywood A USA TODAY Best Book of 2021 “A lovely and loving book.”—Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club "I'm not sure I have ever read a book about movies that is as tender and open-hearted as Films of Endearment."—Mark Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Mike Nichols: A Life A poignant memoir of family, grief and resilience about a young man, his dynamic mother and the '80s movies they shared together Michael Koresky's most formative memories were simple ones. A movie rental. A mug of tea. And a few shared hours with his mother. Years later and now a successful film critic, Koresky set out on a journey with his mother to discover more about their shared cinematic past. They rewatched ten films that she first introduced to him as a child, one from every year of the '80s, each featuring women leads. Together, films as divergent as 9 to 5, Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple and Aliens form the story of an era that Koresky argues should rightly be called "The Decade of the Actress." Films of Endearment is a reappraisal of the most important and popular female-driven films of that time, a profound meditation on loss and resilience, and a celebration of the special bond between mothers and their sons.




The Dandelion Speaks of Survival


Book Description

The Dandelion Speaks of Survival is Quintin Collins's debut poetry collection. The work celebrates the persistence of African Americans, and all people, to triumph in the face of systems that would restrict their growth.




We Believe the Children


Book Description

A brilliant, disturbing portrait of the dawn of the culture wars, when America started to tear itself apart with doubts, wild allegations, and an unfounded fear for the safety of children. During the 1980s in California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, and elsewhere, day care workers were arrested, charged, tried, and convicted of committing horrible sexual crimes against the children they cared for. These crimes, social workers and prosecutors said, had gone undetected for years, and they consisted of a brutality and sadism that defied all imagining. The dangers of babysitting services and day care centers became a national news media fixation. Of the many hundreds of people who were investigated in connection with day care and ritual abuse cases around the country, some 190 were formally charged with crimes, leading to more than 80 convictions. It would take years for people to realize what the defendants had said all along -- that these prosecutions were the product of a decade-long outbreak of collective hysteria on par with the Salem witch trials. Social workers and detectives employed coercive interviewing techniques that led children to tell them what they wanted to hear. Local and national journalists fanned the flames by promoting the stories' salacious aspects, while aggressive prosecutors sought to make their careers by unearthing an unspeakable evil where parents feared it most. Using extensive archival research and drawing on dozens of interviews conducted with the hysteria's major figures, n+1 editor Richard Beck shows how a group of legislators, doctors, lawyers, and parents -- most working with the best of intentions -- set the stage for a cultural disaster. The climate of fear that surrounded these cases influenced a whole series of arguments about women, children, and sex. It also drove a right-wing cultural resurgence that, in many respects, continues to this day.