Most Popular Books by Robert Coles

Robert Coles first met Dorothy Day over thirty-five years ago when, as a medical student, he worked in one of her Catholic Worker soup kitchens. He remained close to this inspiring and controversial woman until her death in 1980. His book, an intellectual and psychological portrait, confronts candidly the central puzzles of her life: the sophisticated Greenwich Village novelist and reporter who converted to Catholicism; the single mother who raised her child in a most unorthodox "family"; her struggles with sexuality, loneliness, and pride; her devout religious conservatism coupled with radical politics. This intense portrait is based on many years of conversation and correspondence, as well as tape-recorded interviews.

A dramatic portrayal of the helplessness of migrant farm workers'' children an an appeal for legislative action and social concern.

Photobook chiefly containing over 100 photos of children''s street drawings and messages, taken between 1938 and 1948. Each photograph was selected and arranged by the photographer.

Examines how spirituality is not only for ourselves, but often demands action and personal risk in the public arena. Listen in on conversations between two great teachers and activists as they struggle with what it means to put your faith to the test.

Superbly presented, composed of striking photographs by Alex Harris and a text assembled from the language of the old people themselves... in the Spanish-speaking communities of New Mexico. -- New Republic

In this remarkable anthology, some of the world’s greatest writers provide a master class on the transformative power of learning and literature. Culled from a course developed by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Robert Coles for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Teaching Stories is an invaluable collection in which novelists, essayists, and poets “render school life in all its complexity and variety.” Featuring writings by James Agee • Julia Alvarez • Charles Baxter • Raymond Carver • John Cheever • Anton Chekhov • Erik H. Erikson • Anna Freud • Thomas Hardy • Toni Morrison • Howard Nemerov • Flannery O’Connor • Tillie Olsen • Leo Tolstoy • Tobias Wolff • Richard Yates Ideal for educators and students of all ages, Teaching Stories will inspire anyone who loves great writing.

Combines prose by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Coles with full page tritone images spanning 150 years of photography from artists including Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, and Marion Post Wolcott.

From ancient times to the present day, here are indispensable insights on political power and leadership as expressed in the novels, plays, and poetry of the world’s greatest artists and intellectuals. Adapted from a course taught at Harvard by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Robert Coles, Political Leadership features scenes, stories, and speeches that pierce to the core of how and why some lead and others follow. In Felix Holt, the Radical, George Eliot observes that progressive reformers can be even more self-serving than their conservative counterparts; in The Prime Minister, Anthony Trollope suggests that honest men must cope with the corruption of politics–or leave leadership entirely to the crooked; and the works of Nadine Gordimer and George Orwell reveal that those who overturn tyrants often envy their power and repeat their mistakes. Anyone trying to understand today’s confused and violent world will be both challenged and inspired by this unique and important collection.

Before it was over, they fired him from the little schoolhouse at which he had taught devotedly for ten years. And they fired his wife and two of his sisters and a niece. And they threatened him with bodily harm. And they sued him on trumped-up charges and convicted him in a kangaroo court and left him with a judgment that denied him credit from any bank. And they burned his house to the ground while the fire department stood around watching the flames consume the night. And they stoned the church at which he pastored. And fired shotguns at him out of the dark. But he was not Job, and so he fired back and called the police, who did not come and kept not coming. Then he fled, driving north at eighty-five miles an hour over country roads, until he was across the state line. Soon after, they burned his church to the ground and charged him, for having shot back that night, with felonious assault with a deadly weapon, and so he became an official fugitive from justice. In time, the governor of his state announced they would not pursue this minister who had caused all the trouble, and said of him: Good riddance.

An Atlantic Monthly Press book.

"One of those rare ''religious'' books with enormous general appeal, Harvard diary records Cole''s own soul-searching from 1981 to the present day. He shares with the reader his ongoing questions (which don''t always have clear answers), his struggles, insights, observations, and experiences on issues that occupy his mind and heart." - Front flap.

Originally published in 1999 Black Writers Abroad puts forward the theory that African American literature was born, partially within the context of a people and its writers who lived, for the most part, in slavery and bondage prior to the Civil War. It is an in-depth study of black American writers who, left the United States as expatriates. The book discusses the people that left, where they went, why they left and why they did or did not return, from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. It seeks to explain the impact exile had upon these authors’ literary work and careers, as well as upon African American literary history.

Who Were the Most Innovative Spiritual Leaders of the Past Century?Fascinating profiles of the most important spiritual leaders of the past one hundred years. An invaluable reference of twentieth - century religion and an inspiring resource for spiritual challenge today. Black Elk, H. H. the Dalai Lama, Mary Baker Eddy, Abraham Joshua Heschel, J. Krishnamurti, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Elijah Muhammad, Meher Baba, Joseph Campbell, Simone Weil, Pope John XXIII, Shunryu Suzuki, Aimee Semple McPherson, Billy Graham, Dorothy Day, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King, Jr. ... these are just some of the spiritual leaders who have changed our world. The result of a nationwide survey of experts in leading universities and seminaries, as well as leading representatives of dozens of religious traditions and spiritual persuasions, this authoritative list of seventy - five includes martyrs and mystics, intellectuals and charismatics from East and West. Their lives and wisdom are now easily accessible in this inspiring volume. A celebration of the human spirit, ideal for both seekers and believers, the curious and the passionate, thinkers and doers, this book is an authoritative guide to the most creative spiritual ideas and actions of the past century - a challenge for us today.

The inspirational true story of Ruby Bridges. Es 1960 y Ruby Bridges, de seis años, se acaba de mudar con su familia de Misisipi a Nueva Orleans en busca de una vida mejor. Cuando un juez sentencia que Ruby debe asistir al primer grado de la Escuela Primaria William Frantz, en la que todos son blancos, la niña debe encarar las furiosas turbas de padres que no quieren que sus hijos vayan a la escuela con ella. Contada con el poderoso estilo narrativo de Robert Coles y dramáticamente ilustrada por George Ford, la historia de coraje, fe y esperanza de Ruby aún resuena más de 60 años después. The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles'' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby''s story of courage, faith, and hope continues to resonate more than 60 years later.

The inspirational true story of Ruby Bridges. Es 1960 y Ruby Bridges, de seis años, se acaba de mudar con su familia de Misisipi a Nueva Orleans buscando una vida mejor. Cuando un juez sentencia que Ruby debe asistir al primer grado de la Escuela Primaria William Frantz, en la que todos son blancos, la niña debe encarar las furiosas turbas de padres que no quieren que sus hijos vayan a la escuela con ella. Contada con el poderoso estilo narrativo de Robert Coles y dramáticamente ilustrada por George Ford, la historia de coraje, fe y esperanza de Ruby aún resuena más de 60 años después. The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles'' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby''s story of courage, faith, and hope continues to resonate more than 60 years later.

Examines three groups of "disadvantaged" children from Eskimo, Chicano, and Indian cultures.