Tag Archives: Sports

December 10, 2012 · 9:04 am

Sumo by Thien Pham

SumoLast seen on bookshelves sharing cover credit with National Book Award-finalist Gene Luen Yang on Yang’s latest, Level Up, Thien Pham makes his solo debut with this slim heartbreaking-to-heart-recovering tale across continents and cultures.

“What am I doing here,” Scott wonders as he wakes to another day of strenuous training with mostly-naked behemoth men following the absolute orders of a tiny-in-comparison UCLA-sweatshirt-wearing master. Welcome to the world of sumo somewhere in Japan. After being dumped by his longtime girlfriend when his NFL career didn’t happen, Scott made a radical decision to move to the other side of the world and reinvent himself.

Now in his new life, he’s passing out regularly and tired of doing the dishes. He can cook a mean pot of nabe, the food of choice for his fellow wrestlers, although he only seems to get the leftovers. His one new friend is the master’s daughter, whose UCLA education explains both her English and her father’s sweatshirts: “Where I come from UCLA sweatshirts are like FUBU for Asians,” Scott explains to a speechless Asami. [I had to look up that acronym, and I can't give you the translation here because I'm not allowed to use that sort of language in print, tsk tsk (but hee hee ho ho!).]

With his recently dyed-to-black hair (and his new Japanese name, Hakugei), Asami notices Scott is looking more like a rikishi, a professional sumo. But he’s got to prove himself and get to the next level. The most important tournament of his career is on … “You better decide now if you want this,” his master warns, “because … if you don’t … you should leave now.”

Pham creates a simple, resonating, colorful palette for Scott’s life – a rich earthy brown for sumo, a distant shadowy periwinkle for his past, a welcoming slightly minty green for the present – which all ultimately comes together on the final pages, a collage of potential and promise.

Oh, and that final page handprint with the two kanji characters? That’s Hakugei, Scott’s new moniker … literally ‘white whale.’ Hmmm … I’m just translating here …

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2012

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Filed under ..Adult Readers, ..Young Adult Readers, .Fiction, .Graphic Novel/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Vietnamese American

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November 5, 2012 · 8:22 am

The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less than Four Minutes to Achieve It by Neal Bascomb

Neal Bascomb is a consummate storyteller: he can unravel a tale with an ending you already know, set it at a heart-thumping pace, and never let you rest until you hit that final page. Unless you’ve been in total seclusion your entire life, you probably know that the four-minute mile barrier was broken quite a few decades ago. [I'll save you a Google search: as of today, the world record of 3:43.13 (OMG!) by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj remains unchallenged since 1999.]

Just how that four-minute barrier was finally overcome gets breathtaking (bestselling!) treatment from Bascomb on the page; and in case you were wondering, the stuck-in-the-ears version incites even more excitement as read by Nelson Runger, who adds a welcome, old-time sportscaster enthusiasm to his narration. [One of my biggest gripes with audible books has been the laziness of producers with casting/directing for proper pronunciation. Why is basic respect for the author's words so much to ask for??!! Here's shocking (pathetic that it is so shocking!) news about thisproduction: Both Bascomb and one of the book's major subjects get a shout-out of "grateful acknowledgement" for their help in "researching certain pronunciations in this book"!! Really, how hard was that??!!]

But back to the pursuit of perfection … Mile by mile, race by race, Bascomb follows three young athletes around the world as each devotes himself to be the first to achieve the deemed-impossible sub-4:00 goal: British Roger Bannister, an Oxford-educated medical doctor-in-training; Australian John Landy, a Melbourne University track hero; and American Wes Santee, who had to battle his critical father for the chance to run (and be educated!). Their backgrounds are vastly different, their training plans at times antithetical to proven regimens, their lifestyles bear little resemblance to each other … and yet their shared goal never wavers, and ultimately, one man breaks that elusive tape.

I knew how it would end, and yet I often couldn’t pull the earphones off my head: “shhh, he’s on the fourth lap,” I’d admonish the hubby, or “just a sec, he’s about to break another record,” I’d tell a whining child, or “we’ll talk in a minute, they’re gonna announce the official time,” I’d hang up the cell call as it interrupted my iPod function. With Bascomb’s addictive step-by-step retelling, knowing the ending never diminished the wanting to know happened next.

Confession time: I’m not delusional enough to ever think I’ll ever come close to run the perfect mile, but thanks to someone Bascomb and I know in common, I’m out there running a bunch of my own (albeit much slower!) perfect miles – yesterday morning, the exact time I had visualized actually flashed up on the board as I crossed the finish line of a local race. Not that I’m bragging (well … only a little bit), but my miracle-making coach has managed to make me an ultra-athlete (yeah, me!). So here’s the best sneak-peek news for ultra-wannabes: come next spring, the wisdom of that impossible coaching will be available to anyone and everyone when my ultimate ultracoach’s first book hits shelves next spring. Watch this space for details.

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2004

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Filed under ..Adult Readers, ..Young Adult Readers, .Audio, .Nonfiction, Australian, British, Nonethnic-specific

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October 8, 2012 · 10:01 am

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

For one reason or another, I’ve taken many years to finally finish a Gail Tsukiyama novel. I’ve started a few, gotten distracted and put each aside, but this time, after noticing that she was one of the few APA authors at this year’s National Book Festival (she was also featured in the fest’s debut in 2001), I chose the audible route to push myself to the end. Of her many novels, I settled on Street mainly because the narrator is actor/comedian Stephen Park whose on-film work I’ve admired through the years.

Please allow me a quick rant: audio producers should have figured out by now that we don’t all look alike, which means we don’t all speak alike, either. Hiring Park, who is Korean American, because of his ethnic Asian face does not mean that he’ll have some linguistic magic wand that enables him to speak fluent Japanese. No, really. This is a fact. Listening to Park constantly stumble with Japanese mispronunciations shows lazy casting, as well as embarrassingly irresponsible hiring for not even providing minimal language guidance. Not all Korean American actors are like James Kyson Lee who actually speaks Japanese. I have to wonder with grave concern (and not a little disgust) if producers really do think we’re interchangeable this way.

But back to Street. Two brothers, Hiroshi and Kenji, are orphaned as young children, and raised with by loving, nurturing, supportive grandparents. Japanese expansion into China and other parts of Asia has been well underway, but war does not begin to encroach into Tokyo until years later. In 1939 Tokyo, 11-year-old Hiroshi dreams of being a sumo wrestler while Kenji, age 9, finds a renowned Noh mask maker who welcomes the young boy as his apprentice.

War looms – food becomes scarce, civilians suffer at the whims of the kempeitai (military police), violence is virtually unavoidable – then bombs and fires rain down death and destruction. Shocked to hear the emperor’s very human voice for the first time in history, the nation struggles towards recovery. Life continues: Hiroshi fulfills his sumo dreams, and marries the frail, damaged younger daughter of the sumo master with whom he trains; Kenji finishes an architecture degree at prestigious Tokyo University, but returns to his love of the Noh mask and establishes himself as an unrivaled maker. Encompassing more than a quarter century, the brothers bear witness to one of the most rapidly changing periods of Japanese history, from pre-war traditions, to the paralysis of defeat and subsequent U.S. occupation, to rapid economic growth through the 1960s.

At best, Tsukiyama’s sixth novel is a solid, historical family saga. At worst, her writing tends toward pedestrian, occasionally dragging with unnecessary plodding details, other times rushing over years as if she, too, is anxious to finish the 400+ (hardcover) pages or almost 15 hours stuck in the ears. Too many of her characters prove narrow, near-saintly in their unwavering goodness, especially the brothers’ grandparents, Hiroshi’s widowed master, and Kenji’s gay mentor. That said, given Tsukiyama’s growing shelf of titles that continue to garner awards, her loyal readers clearly appreciate the reliable, albeit predictable, storytelling – uncomplicated, straight-forward … dare I say … comfortable.

Readers: Adult

Published: 2008

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September 7, 2012 · 2:36 pm

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

Mega-award-winning author Deborah Ellis‘s active interest in Afghanistan began in 1996 when she heard about the Taliban takeover of that country “and the crimes they perpetrated against women and girls.” She became involved with the Afghan communities in her native Canada, then traveled to meet Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Russia, and most recently returned to Kabul just last year. In a land ravaged by decades of neverending war, “[t]he real losers are the Afghan people, especially the women and children.”

By giving voice to the Afghan community in numerous books – Women of the Afghan War for adults, and the ever-popular middle grade/young adult Breadwinner Trilogy (The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City) – Ellis has single-handedly raised over a million dollars in book royalties for Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kid International. Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan benefits again with all royalties from Kids in Kabul, Ellis’ latest title. [Take note: be patient a little longer ... that memorable Breadwinner trilogy is about to grow, with a brand new sequel, My Name Is Parvana, hitting U.S. shelves next month!]

Post-9/11, Afghanistan remains a war zone; even after the Taliban government was officially ousted, the Afghan people have not had peace for the past 11 years. “The billions and billions spent on the war, which might have been spent on education, health care, housing and rebuilding a civil society, have been spent on weapons,” Ellis soberly writes in her “Introduction.” Although more than half of Afghan children don’t have access to education, they’re making every effort to better their lives, as best as they can amidst violence, corruption, repression, and worse. Ellis traveled for a week in Kabul (because of security reasons, she couldn’t move beyond the dangerous capital) in early 2011 to talk to children.

The 27  girls and boys included here range from ages 11 to 17, most with photographs revealing their thoughtful young faces (which, I admit, makes me worry about their safety now that they are so easily identifiable). Each of their stories is introduced with relevant, contextual, cultural details from Ellis’ sharp observations. Most of the children are fatherless, many are orphans. Some are going to school, some will never have the chance. All have survived horrors no child should, including watching loved ones murdered, the brutality of child marriage, loss of home, safety, basic rights, even limbs.

“I want to be a doctor, of course. This the dream of many Afghans because we have seen so much death and suffering,” says 16-year-old Aman.

“At school I have learned that there are better ways to do things than all this war, war, war all the time. It’s the younger generation that will change that. My generation. Me,” says Mustala, 13.

“Sometimes we play on the big field at the stadium, the same stadium the Taliban used for all the terrible things they did – the shootings, cutting of people’s hands, the executions and torture. When we play there … it is like getting some justice for all those women who were hurt. We play for them as much as ourselves,” says 16-year-old Palwasha.

“I am happiest when I am in this library. All of our problems can be solved with these books,” says Sigrullah, 14.

Against challenging, sometime inhumane conditions, these children manage to thrive: “It is good to be hopeful,” Ellis reminds, “and if the future could be in the hands of this generation of young people, with their eagerness, openness and determination, then Afghanistan could indeed be a garden again.”

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2012

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August 26, 2012 · 10:30 am

Gold by Chris Cleave

Exactly two weeks have passed since the London 2012 closing ceremony; still feeling Olympic withdrawal? Might I suggest a literary antidote: Chris Cleave‘s latest novel, made even more timely as the Olympic sport of choice here is cycling (albeit indoors). Road cyclist Bradley Wiggins emerged as London 2012′s bell-ringing local hero, and made sports history by becoming the first athlete to win the Tour de France and Olympic Gold in the same year.

Cleave has an eerie knack for timing. Gold cycled onto shelves just before London 2012 – intentionally so, I’m sure. Not so purposeful was the pub date for his debut, Incendiary, about a London bombing (!), which somehow landed on July 7, 2005 – the very morning four suicide bombers hit the London Underground and a London bus, killing more than 50 people. So much was made about the book’s timing that Cleave will “no longer comment” on the subject. Surreal, no?

But back to Gold. Cleave’s third novel is essentially a story of how the love for/dedication to/obsession with cycling creates a family of five seemingly misfits. Sweet Kate and angry Zoe meet as competitors at age 19, both hoping for a spot on the U.K. national track cycling team. Kate eventually marries fellow cyclist Jack, though not without a scuffle or two and more. All three are coached by gruff-but-supportive Tom, who has never recovered from losing his own chance at an Olympic medal decades ago by just one-tenth of a second. While Zoe and Kate bond and battle each other on the track and off, Kate and Tom’s wise-beyond-her-years daughter Sophie will fight for her life twice over battling leukemia, all the while trying not to disrupt her parents’ competitive lives.

British actress Emilia Fox expertly narrates Cleave’s prose with a sense of controlled desperation as both Kate and Zoe, now 32, must go head-to-head against each other one last time for a spot on the London 2012 team. Fox’s reading aptly captures Kate’s self-sacrificing, forgiving nature so at odds with how much she wants this final chance at victory, and is equally adept at giving voice to Zoe’s detached, hardened, but about-to-break-down, no-longer-protective shell.

And yet … by book’s end, Fox’s performance ultimately scores higher than Cleave’s novel. Cleave reveals his saga in time-traveling pieces scattered over the past decades, divulging a lost sibling, a cheating mother, a difficult but proud father, a secret kept too long … but the details are often too obvious and the revelations hardly surprising. Kate and Zoe, such opposites, too quickly devolve into bland stereotypes of predictably ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Being still in a bit of Olympic mood, if I were handing out medals, Little Bee would garner gold, Incendiary silver, but alas, like Cleave’s character Tom, Gold just might miss medaling by more than a tenth of a page.

Tidbit: Chris Cleave is heading across the Pond for events across the country from October 1-15. Here’s his U.S. tour schedule.

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

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June 9, 2012 · 2:33 pm

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Well, of course, Wendelin Van Draanen is a runner … and she pours that experienced mileage into the rousing Running Dream, her latest stand-alone young adult novel (‘stand-alone’ because she’s also the author of the popular bestselling Sammy Keyes and Shredderman series!). Van Draanen is also a running activist, by the way, reading and running Exercise the Right to Read.

So some of you know that I’ve been training for two years for Leadville 100 this August (*GASP*), and am running on behalf of 10×10 | Educate Girls, Change the World. This time last week, I attempted a 50-mile race (crazy mudfest it turned out to be) as ‘practice,’ and took along Dream stuck to my ears (Laura Flanagan’s narration is a bit too ‘valley-girl,’ but Dream is definitely one of those titles you should read any way you can). Of course, I took a tumble within the first 10 minutes, but Dream (and pure adrenaline) kept me going for another 27 miles … I couldn’t get to the finish line on that bum ankle, alas, but Jessica’s triumphs were assuredly motivating and moving. Literally.

Sixteen-year-old Jessica Carlisle never imagined that breaking the high school league record for the 400-meter race would to be “the last race of [her] life.” But too soon after her victory, a tragic school bus accident kills one runner, and leaves Jessica without a leg. “I am a runner. That’s what I do. That’s who I am,” she mourns. “Running is all I know, or want, or care about … It made me feel alive. And now? I’m stuck in this bed, knowing I’ll never run again.”

But, of course, that’s not the way things turn out. ‘Never’ is way too long to keep a great runner down. While her family and friends are wonderfully supportive, Jessica herself must do the hard work to recover and become mobile again. Unexpectedly, her greatest inspiration comes from a surprising new ally, someone who Jessica never really knew before the accident – Rosa, a young math genius, who lives life strapped to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. Besides the much-needed tutoring in dreaded algebra II/trig, Rosa teaches Jessica the most unforgettable lesson of all: her wish “‘[t]hat people would see me, not my condition.‘”

Van Draanen captures Jessica’s journey with just the right balance of humor (people “‘putting their foot in their mouth’”) and challenging reality (Jessica’s parents’ legal and financial difficulties). Peripheral narrative strands – the late teammate’s parents, a less-than-gracious losing competitor, a tenacious reporter, teenage love lives – enhance and enrich Jessica’s central story.

Indeed, Van Draanen well knows it takes a village to raise a fallen runner to new heights, but getting over the finish line might well mean pushing someone else ahead … which makes me even more grateful for my own fabulously encouraging ‘Team Terry‘ who will help me give girls’ education a boost come August 19! But first, I’ll need to get off this couch, ahem, and get back to my own running dream!

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2011

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March 10, 2012 · 7:27 am

It’s a Big World, LIttle Pig! by Kristi Yamaguchi, illustrated by Tim Bowers

Introduced in last year’s bestselling, award-winning Dream Big, Little Pig!, tenacious little Poppy did just that and proved that pigs can indeed fly … especially on the ice! Her creator, of course, is the legendary skater Kristi Yamaguchi (whose skates and skating dress have found a home in the Smithsonian – click here to check out those Olympian boots, click here to see her dress). Once again, illustrator Tim Bowers imbues Poppy with charming energy to spare – and might that sparkly teal and purple “Dream Big” backpack with the little yellow flower closure be hitting stores sooner than later?

After such an auspicious skating start in Dream, Poppy’s now on her way to Paris to compete in the World Games: “‘Reach for the stars, little pig!’” encourages the official invitation. As talented as Poppy is, she’s a bit nervous about traveling so far from her home in New Pork City (snort, snort), but with the encouragement of her family and friends, Poppy finds herself meeting the world’s best athletes.

“Would they speak the same language? Would she make any new friends?” she wonders. Soon enough, adorable Poppy is exchanging “ni hao” (hello) with Li from China, sharing pasta and gelato with Gianna from Italy, promising “ganbatte kudasai” (good luck) with Kiyomi from Japan, and waving “hooroo!” (goodbye) to Zoe from Australia. By the time Poppy glides onto the ice, she’s filled with “the joy of new friendships and discoveries.”

Not to be too terribly nit-picky, but I confess I did wonder how Poppy managed to have such detailed conversations with her international buddies without a common language – about check-in booths, maps, lucky charms, music, even fashion design. That requires vocabulary far beyond the simple greetings they teach each other … but perhaps I’m overthinking and just need to enjoy the porcine fun. After all, as Poppy learns, in spite of any differences, “‘everyone smiles in the same language!’”

Tidbit: DC area folks – you can go meet Kristi herself in person this afternoon, Saturday, March 10 at 4:30 p.m., at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library! Click here for details.

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

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February 26, 2012 · 9:55 am

Cross Game 5 (vols. 10-11) and Cross Game 6 (vols. 12-13) by Mitsuru Adachi, translated by Lillian Olsen

Let’s play ball … While everyone else is lost to Linsanity, I’m only too happy to be back in high school with ace pitcher Ko Kitamura. Volume 10 is all about the game: at the top of the fourth, thanks to Ko and star batter Azuma, the Seishu Gakuen team has scored the only point in the regional play-off against Ryuou, the team that’s favored (again) to win the National High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien. Aoba – who can’t play just because she’s a girl! – watches intently; she and Ko still can’t get along outside the game, but they’re in perfect synch when it comes to pitching that ball. Just at the final moment of truth, the late Wakaba makes her wishes known from the other side!

The games are over for now in volume 11, but life gets even more interesting when a new soba shop opens next door to Kitamura’s Sports. Everyone does a double-take each time they spot the owners’ daughter Akane Takigawa who bears an uncanny resemblance to Wakaba. In an almost too-much moment, she’s carrying a shopping bag marked “Wakaba” – “It’s from the fruit store in front of Oizumi Park Station,” she explains – when Ko and Azuma meet her face to face. Ko, Aoba, Papa Tsukishima, and especially Akaishi (who adored Wakaba from afar like no other) don’t quite know what to do with their … well … shock!

The final year of high school starts for Ko and Azuma in volume 12: this will be their last chance to get to – and win! – Koshien. After all, Wakaba predicted victory for this year! Her presence is more than felt with Akane around: she not only looks like Wakaba, but her personality is similarly caring, nurturing, loving towards all. The school year moves quickly. Ko and Akane grow comfortably closer. Aoba breaks her leg and finds Azuma constantly by her side. Outside the hospital, Azuma has a run-in with evil coach Daimo who’s apparently back in the game …

In volume 13, the academic year is already over, but the last summer baseball season is just starting. Aoba’s on crutches, but that’s not stopping her from bossing the team into working harder, especially Ko who’s still stealing all her best pitching moves: “Don’t be so stingy,” he throws back. “Think of it as borrowing my body and pitching vicariously through me.” In between training, everyone seems to be pairing off … even the youngest Momiji! Ko turns 18 at volume’s end … and his devotion to Wakaba who shares his natal day is one of the most touching manga moments ever. Sniff, sniff. Pass the tissues, already!

For all the other omnibus editions of Cross Game posted on BookDragon, please click here.

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2011 and 2012 (United States)
CROSS GAME © Mitsuru Adachi
Original Japanese edition published by Shogakukan Inc.

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February 25, 2012 · 10:33 am

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

While everyone else has been lost to Linsanity, I’ve been contrarily following baseball  … at least on the page and in manga (via the entertaining Cross Game). Hmmm … I wonder how Jordan Sonnenblick might write Ko Kitamura‘s story’s? Ack! Again I digress …

In Sonnenblick’s latest pitch-perfect (couldn’t resist) teen story, Peter Friedman’s life is changing way too fast. It starts with an accident: an elbow injury during an eighth-grade summer baseball game sidelines him – for life. Peter will never play ball again.

Now that he’s lost his sports moniker, Peter’s unsure about how he’s going to navigate high school. At least he’s got his best friend (and best teammate) A.J. around, even though A.J. won’t accept Peter’s injury as permanent; A.J.’s still convinced the freshman duo will rule high school baseball come spring tryouts.

Peter ends up in an advanced photography class in which he’s utterly star struck by new girl Angelika. Photography’s going to be easy enough … but the boy/girl partner thing is whole new territory.

Thanks to his accomplished photographer Grampa, Peter’s already familiar with all the equipment. The two have always bonded over getting the shot, but now Grampa can’t even seem to remember the pictures …

Between family, school, friends, and maybe even first love, Peter’s having a heck of a time keeping things in focus … but when Grampa calls during a snow storm – shoeless, cold, and lost – denial is no longer an option for anyone.

Sonnenblick creates another memorable slice-of-life, coming-of-age novel for the teen reader (not to mention lots of old folks, too!). For devoted Sonnenblick groupies, you’ll love finding an older San Lee from Zen and the Art of Faking It spouting “Truth” (p. 207!). Sonnenblick sure knows how to make his stories real … no spoilers here, but (especially for us parental types) fair warning that you’ll be needing that box of tissues before the final page … waterworks guaranteed.

Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult

Published: 2012

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January 18, 2012 · 9:53 am

A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman by Lisa J. Shannon, foreword by Zainab Salbi

Can anyone really understand such a number: 5,400,000. The death of a single loved one can leave you staggering and lost … how can anyone even fathom 5.4 million human beings who have been murdered in a single country … since 1998!

Lisa Shannon, a Portland art director, lived a contented life in her cozy Victorian home with her charming partner in both business and life. Yet when her father dies, she’s paralyzed and can’t even drag herself off the couch, relying on Oprah for company. Then on January 24, 2005, a 20-minute segment highlighting the ongoing violence against women in the Congo catapults Shannon to the other side of the world.

“I have to do it now, before it becomes one more thing I meant to do.” So Shannon joins 6,000 Oprah viewers and sponsors two Congolese women. Then she starts running: 30.16 miles to raise 31 more sponsorships through Women for Women International (whose legendary founder, Zainab Salbi, writes the Foreword here). Her first time out, she raises $28,000, enough to change the lives of 80 Congolese women and their children.

She takes her runs on the road, organized as the Run for Congo Women (runs are happening regularly). And in 2007 she arrives in the Congo … where she will meet the most unforgettable women, each survivors of unimaginable atrocities and tragedies. These are her thousand sisters (and more) by whom she will be changed forever though laughter, tears, desperation, anger, gratitude, and finally furaha – joy. Amidst the horror, furaha sana – ”so much joy.”

I read A Thousand Sisters without pause on a long flight that took me away from where most of the book happens – Africa. I had started Sisters numerous times while traveling next door to the Congo, but the font size in the paperback version was so tiny as to make my aging eyeballs roll into the back of my head in defeat. Inflight, I found myself extremely thankful for the sharp, focused beam of the personal overhead light … yet another head-thunking reminder of the choices I have, the privileges I’ve been granted, mostly because the random circumstance of my birth far away from ‘the worst place on earth to be a woman.’

Now that I know, now that you know … what will we do? Shannon is certainly prepared … two of the final pages, entitled “Find Your Own Furaha,” gives you seven immediate actions “you can do for the Congo right now.” All you have to do to get started is open to page 1 …

Readers: Adult

Published: 2010

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