Showing results by narrator "Cira Larkin" in All Categories

In the opening pages of his seminal book-length study of Alfred Hitchcock, Hitchcock's Films (1965), Robin Wood famously asked, "Why Should We Take Hitchcock Seriously?" Wood then proceeded to offer a detailed examination of Hitchcock's career to that point, arguing that the Master of Suspense belonged among the ranks of the preeminent directors in Hollywood, and that his films were among the most important in American culture.

Considering that her film career lasted just six years, it would seem as though the reputation of Grace Kelly far outweighs her actual output. From the time of her arrival in Hollywood in 1951, through her final film, High Society, in 1956, Kelly acted in just 11 films. Viewers were left to wonder whether Kelly was still in the beginning of her career, or whether High Society was a proper culmination to an extraordinarily brief stay in the film industry.

This is a story based on true-life events, from a mother's point of view about her son - how she refuses to give up on him no matter how difficult he makes things for her. It is a mother's patience and endurance that wins out in the end.

Jo McDougall brings a poet's sensibility to memoir. Recounting five generations of Delta rice farmers, through family archives and oral histories, she traces how the clan made their way into the fabric of America, beginning with her Belgian-immigrant grandfather, a pioneer rice farmer on the Arkansas Delta at the turn of the 20th century. As John Grisham has for a 1950s Arkansas cotton farm, McDougall illuminates an Arkansas rice farm in the 1930s and 1940s.

Bette Davis presided over Hollywood at a time in which the film industry was at its most influential. Every actress, from Katharine Hepburn to Ingrid Bergman and Ginger Rodgers, themselves now considered among Hollywood's greatest icons, lived in the shadow of Bette Davis.

Hepburn acted in some capacity from the start of the 1930s through the early-1990s, and it is important to view how the nature of Hepburn's roles changed from her youth to old age. Aside from being one of the most recognized and acclaimed actresses in history, Hepburn's career is also of great importance because she forced Americans to reevaluate their expectations for female behavior, both in films themselves and off the movie set as well.

Of all the great cities in the world, few personify their country like New York City. As America's largest city and best known immigration gateway into the country, NYC represents the beauty, diversity and sheer strength of the United States, a global financial center that has enticed people chasing the "American Dream" for centuries. America's prototypical metropolis was once a serene landscape in which Native American tribes farmed and fished, but when European settlers arrived its location on the Eastern seaboard sparked a rapid transformation.

As Tina is ironing, she questions things and then her mind wonders with each item she irons. What ever happened to perma-press? Tina asks herself as she is ironing a linen pair of capris, and is having difficulty getting the wrinkles out. She goes through the history of fabrics, from perma-press, to wrinkle free, to natural fibers, to those that today need ironing, just when life should be simpler.

What do we want schools to accomplish? The only defensible answer, Deanna Kuhn argues, is that they should teach students to use their minds well, in school and beyond. Bringing insights from research in developmental psychology to pedagogy, Kuhn maintains that inquiry and argument should be at the center of a "thinking curriculum" - a curriculum that makes sense to students as well as to teachers and develops the skills and values needed for lifelong learning.

Hollywood Madonna explores the full saga of Loretta Young's professional and personal life. She made her film debut at age four, became a star at fifteen, and many awards and accolades later, made her final television movie at age seventy-six. This biography withholds none of the details of her affair with Clark Gable and the daughter that powerful love produced. Bernard F. Dick places Young's affair in the proper context of the time and the choices available to women in 1935.

In an era when connections came through ink and envelope, Where the Letters Led traces the tender journey of Susan’s grandparents, Frank and Muriel, two souls shaped by hardship, devotion, and a faith that moved mountains. From handwritten courtship across Midwest towns to a modest home-built nail by nail, this deeply personal memoir reveals how love thrives in silence, sacrifice, and stitches.

I wrote The School House to honor my great-grandfather, Jan Karel Kadera, a humble builder who journeyed from Austria-Hungary to Missouri with nothing but faith and determination. This short memoir is more than a tribute; it’s a generational echo of sacrifice, quiet strength, and the power of a name passed down through time. Through tender storytelling and heartfelt reflection, I invite you to walk with me through Jan’s crossing, Frank’s coming-of-age, and the legacy that shaped my own family’s roots. It’s a story for every age—because legacy has no expiration date.

In this lyrical memoir, I trace my ancestral roots to Johannes Valentin Pressler a shared ancestor with Elvis Presley. What begins as a genealogical exploration unfolds into a spiritual and musical revelation, uncovering a legacy woven through German soil, early America, and the quiet melodies of the soul. More than a family tree, this story is a symphony of lineage, honoring truth, memory, and the mysterious ways our ancestors speak. Whether you're drawn by heritage, history, or harmony, The Pressler Connection invites you to listen for the echoes that shape us all.