Some books, some history & 10 inspirational quotes if you got nothing done today

Published: Fri, 08/28/15

Hello ,

Another week plowing through WWII research, and I am looking for stories to brighten my mood.

Just finished a The Boy: A Holocaust Story, by Dan Porat. I gave it five stars.

You can make it through the rough parts due to the amazing survival of one Jewish woman who leaped from a train window en-route to Majdenak, a Nazi death camp near Lublin, Poland.

And that, after she lived through the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and then the German SS's complete destruction of the compound. Roughly, 300,000 Jews in the ghetto were murdered or deported to gas chambers.

Celebrating Voting Rights

To mark the anniversary of women winning the right to vote in America, I recommend a great book for the young readers in your life.

Marching with Aunt Susan by Claire Rudolf Murphy.

Banners like the one below were waved at demonstrations and rallies promoting women's voting rights.

The original banner is made of silk, a particularly delicate fabric.

This copy of the banner was constructed at the Smithsonian to protect the real flag from damage from exposure to natural light and camera flashes.

Fitting this week to remember this woman who was gassed, beaten unconscious and left for dead while marching for long-denied voting rights for black women and men in Alabama.

Amelia Boynton Robinson died this week at 104. In 1934, Mrs. Boynton Robinson became one of the few African American women registered to vote in Selma.

More than half the residents of Dallas County were African American, but only 2 percent had managed to make it on the voting rolls.

Amelia Boynton was one of the organizers of the 1965 civil rights march portrayed in last year's Oscar-nominated movie Selma. Her severe beating by police during the confrontation at the Edmund Pettus Bridge shocked the nation. The attacks by Alabama State troopers sparked wide popular support for the Voting Rights Act.

News & Links

I close with the story of a Belgian nurse who helped save hundreds of American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of World War II who died this past week.

And good news for those of us who may have a day or two now and then when we feel like we accomplished nothing...here are ten inspirational quotes to make us feel better.

Until next week!

Thank you for your time today!

Read a great book?

Tell me about it. Have a burning question? Let me know.

If you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail. Currently, new subscribers will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to their favorite independent book store.

If you'd like to get your hands on a copy of PURE GRIT, here's the place!

If you'd like a signed copy and I'm not coming to your neighborhood soon, let me know. I can send you a personally autographed book or a signed bookplate.

I will never spam you or sell your email address, you can unsubscribe below anytime with a single mouse click.

To find out more about my books, how I help students, teachers and librarians, visit my website at www.MaryCronkFarrell.com.

My best,

Mary

Questions? Comments? Contact me at MaryCronkFarrell@gmail.com. Click here to subscribe to this newsletter.