Tuesdays with Morrie is a novel written by Mitch Albom about the last dying day’s he spent with his college professor and the values, morals, and keys to life that he taught him. After spending much of his life after college without contact of with his college professor, Morrie Scholtz, he sees him on a late-night talk show and learns he has contracted ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He decides to fly out and see him after he finds out and they reconcile an old friendship. Morrie teaches him the meaning of life, gives him amazing perspective into the way he has been living his life, and teaches him how to love again. Mitch writes this story from real-life events about a real man he met and was inspired by.
Larry Platt tackles the journey of Allen Iverson and attempts to explain how he has crossed over into mainstream American without changing his self image in the book title “Only the Strong Survive Odyssey of Allen Iverson.” This book started out of conversation between Platt, Ann (Iverson’s mom), and Allen about writing the Iverson’s family autobiography but instead turns into what Platt says “an originally reported, part bio, part meditation on the phenomenon that is Allen Iverson.” Mr. Platt is author, reporter, and editor of a Philadelphia magazine. His background aids him when writing about Allen Iverson because he goes in to grave detail about events that effected Iverson, one being bowl alley incident that lead to Allen’s incarceration at the age of seventeen. The reason I stumble across the subject that is Allen Iverson because what he means to black youth, in all hoods across America Iverson is thought as one of them a real nigga were it be through all of his tattoos of self expression or how he keeps it all the way real, or easier put take me as I am attitude. Allen is not only one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, he also a hip hop icon and represents the misunderstood youth of America. Iverson’s historic contribution to the NBA are what we believe is the new defenses such as how teams can now run zones (we the youth thinks this a ploy just to slow him down from scoring baskets), the increase calls on carrying the basketball which took away his crossover dribble which help propel him into mainstream, fashion need we say arm and leg sleeves that players now wear in both basketball and football.
Dave Barry was born on July 3rd, 1947 in Armonk, New York to a Presbyterian minister, also named David Barry. He grew up with the dream of writing, and his sense of humor was present from a very early point in life. He was labeled Class Clown of his graduating class at Pleasantville High School in 1965. Barry attended Haverford College outside of Philadelphia, and he received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1969. Then he married his college sweetheart, Ann Shelnutt in 1970, though they got divorced six years later.
10/27/2012 Dr. Susan Pelle English Composition 115 Summary and Personal response to Russell Baker’s, “On Becoming a Writer”. Russell Baker noted journalist and winner of two Pulitzer prizes uses the Rhetorical and Figurative uses of language in the excerpted passage, “On Becoming a Writer” from Baker’s Pulitzer winning memoirs “ Growing Up,” where Baker gives compelling accounts of his teen years. Baker relates the experiences of his life and the family bonds that facilitated the dream of becoming a writer. Baker shares with us the story of a teen faced with the challenges of trying to sell magazines and coming to terms with not being a salesman. Baker is given an assignment by Mr. Fleagle his eleventh grade English teacher, whom baker says, “To me he looked to be sixty or seventy and prim to a fault.” (p66/3/6-7) Inspired by the memories of a night the whole family was seated at the supper table eating spaghetti.
His father was a professor, his mother an optometrist’s assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated as valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Nicholas broke a school record as part of the track team in 1985 while he was a freshman. He was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published.
Alyssa Pimentel English 1301-232 Ms. Bullard November 8th 2013 Response Paper 5 Tim Wendel was born in Philadelphia and eventually moved to New York where he grew up. Wendel graduated from Syracuse University. Wendel majored in journalism, he teaches writing, and Wendel is also a sportswriter. Wendel has written a book, “DOWN TO THE LAST PITCH,” it will be released by Da Capo Press this spring, March 11, 2014. “It is the story of arguably the greatest World Series ever played and deals with many watershed moments in and out of the game.” (www.timwendel.org/blog) King, Kennedy, and the Power of Words was a short story about Robert Kennedy giving an amazing speech after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
They were such strong influences on her writing. Her family was a major part of her life: both parents encouraged her to write and her fictional characters are mostly based on her family. Bronson Alcott, her father, was eventually to become the first Superintendent of Public Schools in Boston and to be acknowledged as an educational visionary, but this fame came only after he had wandered down several career paths. He was a thinker, a philosopher and an eccentric person but he had trouble bringing home ‘the bacon’. He lost many teaching jobs because he advocated well-lit, heated and comfortable classrooms as well as recess and sex-education.
He attended Shortridge High School, Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Olivet Nazarene College for two years (majored in biblical literature) and then went on to Indiana University. He served in the U.S. Army 1956-1957, and in the U.S. Army Reserves 1957-1962. Because of his impressive political history it might seem that he is a professional politician, but he is not. In fact, his means of employment for many years was as an insurance and real estate agent(like a large amount of people in his district). He married Barbara Logan and has a family of 5 whom all still live in Indianapolis.
Charles Whitman had been to college in the colleges, but the last college he went to was the University of Texas. This was where he met his wife Kathy and they married in her home town. Charles Whitman got sent back to the marines because of his failing grades. He despised the marines for this. He was honorably discharged from the marines and went back to the University of Texas to finish his schooling in engineering.
He started writing lyrics in his High School where he also performed at concerts, the concert led to him being signend with Atron Gregory who set him up as a roadie and backup dancer with the young rap group Digital Underground in 1990. Soon people saw his talent and Tupac started rapping on features but his first Solo Album 2Pacalypse did not went well at all. In 1993 him and his friends, including Big Syke formed the group "Thug Life". The group released their only album Thug Life: Volume 1 which went gold and Tupac became known as one of the best rappers in the game. Shakur was also part in the East Coast – West Coast hip hop rivalry in the early 90's where he got involved after the 1994 shooting.