Arcadia Public Library

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid
 
“Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes...

It's 2008 and the blood of xenophobia's stench is etched on the streets of Johannesburg. By day, Aben, an Indian South African, runs his restaurant in the viby, predominantly Muslim, Indian community of Fordsburg. But by night, Aben is haunted by a childhood memory in the soft, silent swathes of Durban's sugar cane fields. Tariq, an intense, Pakistani immigrant scrapes a living from his mobile cart, selling freshly ground sugar cane drinks opposite...

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African...

As the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth approaches, the Rainbow Nation seems to be in disarray. More than half the population live below the poverty line. The ANC is rife with corruption. White people still hold the wealth, leaving the black majority with little hope for social advancement.But while economic power is largely still in the hands of the white elites, black middle and upper classes have emerged. The effect on the poorly educated...

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the...

Are you a stupid or a clever? Such is the refrain in Isaac Helger's mind as he makes his way from redheaded hooligan to searching adolescent to striving young man on the make. His mother's question haunts every choice. Are you a stupid or a clever? Will you find a way to lift your family out of Johannesburg's poor inner city, to buy a house in the suburbs, to bring your aunts and cousins from Lithuania? Isaac's mother is a strong woman and a scarred...

"In this book, readers will learn about the unique and defining features of South Africa. Vibrant, full-color photos and carefully leveled text will engage young readers as they learn more about the key details of the country including geography, climate, culture, and resources. Compelling questions encourage further inquiry"--

"A novel about a concert pianist who fears he is losing his mind"--

Aces is the story of a young man who fights against the battering of his mother by his drunken father. The situation escalates until Ace desperately stabs his father to death, and is sent to jail for a period of 15 years. Nine years later he is out on parole. He kills again within a day's time of his release.