Showing results by narrator "Dion Graham" in All Categories

From its modest beginnings in the 1960s in a Harlem church basement, to its meteoric rise to international fame, the Dance Theatre of Harlem ignited the world with one simple, still-revolutionary statement: All can do ballet. Into the 21st century, as the world, and the country, continue their historical struggles and triumphs, the story of this haven for dancers of all colors and backgrounds resonates more than ever. Here is the definitive portrait of the one-of-a-kind dance company that reflected—and shaped—our times, and whose enduring principle continues to inspire the future.

The unique business problems we face today have rendered the old corporate playbook obsolete. Without it, executives scramble for guidance, only to discover everyone around them is just as lost. JeVon’s people-first mindset guides his service as CEO of Scribe Media, a multimillion-dollar publishing company Entrepreneur magazine ranked America’s #1 Top Company Culture. The son of a Black pimp father and a White orphan mother on welfare, JeVon’s experiences demonstrate more than the old playbook’s issues—he’s living proof that we should throw it out.

Well-mannered Samuel and his mischievous younger brother, Joshua, are free black boys living in an orphanage during the end of the Civil War. Samuel takes the blame for Joshua's latest prank, and the consequence is worse than he could ever imagine. He's taken from the orphanage to the South, given a new name - Friday - and sold into slavery. What follows is a heartbreaking but hopeful account of Samuel's journey from freedom to captivity and back again.

Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his second inauguration as president of the United States. At a time when victory over the secessionists in the American Civil War was within days and slavery was near an end, Lincoln spoke of sadness. A mere 703 words, Lincoln's speech did not offer the North a victory speech, nor did he excoriate the South for the sin of slavery. Instead, he called on the entire country's guilt for the bloody war and argued for reconciliation and unity.

The 19th addition of this annual anthology exhibits a collection of short fiction from award-winning Southern authors and rising stars including Edward P. Jones and Silas House. Each story’s derivation is explained in an illuminating note from the author following the rich and entertaining tales.

“Both lyrical and powerful, Grimes’ unusual novel is mediation on faith and father-son relationships … Grimes’ commanding metaphors, authoritative style and complex characterizations are uniquely compelling.”—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review“The elemental connections and the...

After surviving a desperate childhood of lawlessness and violence, Alfred Olyontombo makes his way to a refugee camp while Rwanda's genocide rages behind him. His knowledge of local languages catches the attention of an idealistic young doctor who opens the door to a whole new life for Alfred. Seizing the chance, he moves forward, embracing the American dream and becoming a respected physician married to a successful lawyer in Colorado. However, his new life comes to a screeching halt when the transgressions of his youth come back to haunt him.

After years spent in the city, working with his business partner Randy on Bränd media, Ethan finds himself in the quiet, closed-off town of Starkfield. His wife Zenobia is perpetually distracted by the swirling #MeToo politics, the Kavanaugh hearings, and her duties to the feminist activism group she formed: All Them Witches. Ethan finds himself caught between their regular meetings at his home and the battle to get his livewire daughter Alex to sleep.

Blood in the Water by Jack Flynn is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller set in Boston in the gritty world of mob bosses, con artists and gangs, where allegiances are formed with law enforcement and criminals just as easily as they are broken. 'Fantastic' - David Baldacci, number one...

This is a story about America during and after Reconstruction, one of history's most pivotal and misunderstood chapters. In a stirring account of emancipation, the struggle for citizenship and national reunion, and the advent of racial segregation, the renowned Harvard scholar delivers a book that is illuminating and timely. Real-life accounts drive the narrative, spanning the half century between the Civil War and Birth of a Nation.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More than ONE MILLION copies sold A TODAY Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick A New York Times Notable Book, a New York Times Readers’ Choice Best Book of the Century, and Chosen by Oprah Daily, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Bill Gates and Barack Obama as a Best...

There is a saying: knowledge is power. The secret is this. Knowledge, applied at the right time and place, is more than power. It’s magic. That’s what the Black Panther Party did. They called up this magic and launched a revolution. In the beginning, it was a story like any other. It could have been yours and it could have been mine. But once it got going, it became more than any one person could have imagined.

Roland Merullo's novel American Savior posits an inspired "what if" scenario: What if Jesus, alarmed at how the earth's most powerful nation has lost its spiritual footing and dismayed at how his own teachings have been distorted - used by politicians and religious zealots to turn love into hatred and faith into a call to arms - returns and announces that he is running for president of the United States?

All it takes to rewrite the rules is a little fresh ink in this remarkable YA anthology from thirteen of the most recognizable, diverse authors writing today including Nicola Yoon, Jason Reynolds, Melissa de la Cruz, and many more, and published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. This...

A quietly influential force in African American literature and art, Clarence Major makes his Penguin Classics debut with the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Dirty Bird Blues The PRH Audio book of Dirty Bird Blues by Clarence Major won a 2022 EARPHONE AWARD. Narrated by Dion Graham. A Penguin...

In the 1950s, Ruby Walker boarded the Illinois Central from Mississippi to the Promised Land—Chicago. She became one of the greatest blues singers the city has ever known, only to lose everything when she was convicted of murdering her lover and producer, Billy Lyons, in 1959. She's been locked in a prison cell ever since. Now, a flickering hope emerges for Walker in the form of letters from a Tulane University blues historian named Nick Travers. She agrees to an interview only in exchange for him checking out what she calls the truth behind Lyons's last hours.

NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR “A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free.” —Vanity Fair Eleven-year-old George Washington...

Coleman Hill is the exhilarating story of two American families whose fates become intertwined in the wake of the Great Migration. Braiding fact and fiction, it is a remarkable, character-rich tour de force exploring the ties that bind three generations. In 1916, Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes an honest and touching depiction of friendship, first love, and everything in between. Perfect for fans of Love, Simon and What If It's Us. Courtney Cooper and Jupiter Sanchez (Coop & Jupe!) have been next-door neighbors and best...

Meet Roy Cooper, stoic, unassuming “errand runner” for various New York criminals. Roy arrives in Los Angeles to shoot a man named Martin Shine a week after a powerful earthquake has knocked out cell service, buckled the freeways, and thrown L.A. into chaos. Roy doesn’t know who Shine is...