The Mayor's Daughter


Book Description

A "Mayors Daughter" shines a spotlight on history of ordinary people from the greatest generation. The memories of Therese Christman generates a dynamic story which is birthed in the great depression and then accelerates to the greatest overflow of prosperity the world has ever known. A daughters memories, a father of fame and a renowned internationally known priest combine to bring a trilogy of a true story of a Michigan city, of a culture and of a society that was fashioned by grace to greatness through hard work, resilience of spirit, sacrifice of self and above all, a vision with leadership. Up from a small Midwestern community, came these two men, who by divine intervention found themselves in the broader stretch of community fame, social prominence and a cultural revolution. This story becomes compelling because it captures the amazing transformation of a community by one man's leadership. And the ultimate salvation of a society by another man's influence through eloquent radio broadcasting. This translates to special people with greatness of vision, motivated by love and that inner call that brings a profound change to the societies in which great men and women live. Henceforth the book ... "the Mayors Daughter." Finally, this book, through the memories of a daughter, rehearses historyin the City of Royal Oak, Michigan that now includes one of the top medical centers in the world - and all because of one man's vision and leadership. Moreover the freedom of the American culture, in part, is derived from a Catholic priest who dared to speak out against the evils of communism and the social depression that it causes. The memories of a daughter, form a trilogy to reveal history in some of its greatest triumphs. This book is a must read.




School Song Book ...


Book Description




Soupy Sales and the Detroit Experience


Book Description

When Soupy Sales left Detroit in 1960 after seven years on WXYZ TV, he was the highest-paid local television personality and one of the most well-known and loved celebrities in town. His daytime television programs in the early morning and noontime had an enormous and devoted following. The latter, Lunch with Soupy Sales, was nationally syndicated on ABC on Saturday, starting in the fall of 1959. His late evening program, Soupyâ (TM)s On, featured everything from renowned jazz artists to pop singers to satirical skits. While he would achieve more celebrity status in Los Angeles and New York during the 1960s, the template for the puppet characters, comedy routines, and zany sketches had been set in Detroit. This study of the content and context of Soupyâ (TM)s time on WXYZ TV provides important insights into key threads of popular culture in the 1950s, including the role of television and its impact on the family and children, the influence of Cold War and consumerist ideology, Jewish-inflected humor, and jazz, especially as a component of the Detroit socio-cultural history in this period. All of these seemingly disparate topics, however, lead back to identifying the manufacturing of a television personality at a particular moment in time and in a specific location. Beyond the network of Soupy fans, anyone interested in how a television personality achieves local and national prominence should consider reading this book. Also, those who want to understand the role of the media and popular culture in the 1950s will be enlightened, and even entertained, by this exploration of Soupy Salesâ (TM) Detroit experience.




Gerry Tales


Book Description

In this collection of personal essays, Gerry Boylan recounts a lifetime of adventures and misadventures. His stories are sweet, loopy, and hilarious, ranging from hitchhiking experiences gone awry to the birth of his first child (sans painkillers or doctors, but with pinochle-playing buddies and malted milkshakes). Whether he's fleeing in terror from a marauding bat or causing a thousand-bicycle pileup in Beijing, he'll have you laughing at his unique mixture of lunacy and heart.




Vegetarian Traditions


Book Description




The Pessimists


Book Description

From Center for Fiction First Novel Prize finalist Bethany Ball comes a biting and darkly funny new novel that follows a set of privileged, jaded Connecticut suburbanites whose cozy, seemingly picture-perfect, lives begin to unravel amid shocking turns of fate and revelations of long-held secrets. Welcome to small-town Connecticut, a place whose inhabitants seem to have it all — the status, the homes, the money, and the ennui. There’s Tripp and Virginia, beloved hosts whom the community idolizes, whose basement hides among other things a secret stash of guns and a drastic plan to survive the end times. There’s Gunter and Rachel, recent transplants who left New York City to raise their children, only to feel both imprisoned by the banality of suburbia. And Richard and Margot, community veterans whose extramarital affairs and battles with mental health are disguised by their enviably polished veneers and perfect children. At the center of it all is the Petra School, the most coveted of all the private schools in the state, a supposed utopia of mindfulness and creativity, with a history as murky and suspect as our character’s inner worlds. With deep wit and delicious incisiveness, in The Pessimists, Bethany Ball peels back the veneer of upper-class white suburbia to expose the destructive consequences of unchecked privilege and moral apathy in a world that is rapidly evolving without them. This is a superbly drawn portrait of a community, and its couples, torn apart by unmet desires, duplicity, hypocrisy, and dangerous levels of discontent.




Detroit's Lost Poletown


Book Description

Poletown was a once vibrant, ethnically diverse neighborhood in Detroit. In its prime, it had a store on every corner. Its theaters, restaurants and schools thrived, and its churches catered to a multiplicity of denominations. In 1981, General Motors announced plans for a new plant in Detroit and pointed to the 465 acres of Poletown. Using the law of eminent domain with a quick-take clause, the city planned to relocate 4,200 residents within ten months and raze the neighborhood. With unprecedented defiance, the residents fought back in vain. In 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the eminent domain law applied to Poletown was unconstitutional--a ruling that came two decades too late.




Powers and Principalities


Book Description

Twenty years ago, Clay Bender put his faith in Jesus Christ and received a spiritual gift that allowed him to see demons that pretended to be human. As much as he hates his ominous spiritual gift, Clay cannot ignore the signs that the spiritual powers of the air are converging for an all-out assault on his hometown of Royal Oak, Michigan. With the help of his two closest friends, an intriguing woman and the nearly forgotten pastor who baptized him long ago, he must find a way to stop them before the entire community perishes - and before his own personal demons vanquish him first.




Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire


Book Description

An Iraqi artist paints-into-life an astonishing generation of women, exposing their radical, sexy and ultimately human stories beneath. Nine Parts of Desire is inspired by live interviews and events of the last ten years on both sides of the Iraqi border.




My Little Michigan Kitchen


Book Description

My Little Michigan Kitchen by Mandy McGovern features over 100 tried-and-true homestyle recipes, including Michigan classics: "Secret Ingredient" Tart Cherry Pie, UP North Pasties, Detroit Coney Dogs, Mackinac Island Fudge, Detroit Deep Dish Pizza, Boston Coolers, Smoked Whitefish Chowder, Hot Fudge Cream Puffs, and MANY more!