In his 2003 National Book Award-winning memoir "Waiting for Snow in Havana, "Carlos Eire narrated his coming of age in Cuba just before and during the Castro revolution. That book literally ends in midair as eleven-year-old Carlos and his older brother leave Havana on an airplane--along with thousands of other children--to begin their new life in Miami in 1962. It would be years before he would see his mother again. He would never again see his beloved father.
"Learning to Die in Miami "opens as the plane lands and Carlos faces, with trepidation and excitement, his new life. He quickly realizes that in order for his new American self to emerge, his Cuban self must "die." And so, with great enterprise and purpose, he begins his journey.
We follow Carlos as he adjusts to life in his new home. Faced with learning English, attending American schools, and an uncertain future, young Carlos confronts the age-old immigrant's plight: being surrounded by American bounty, but not able to partake right away. The abundance America has to offer excites him and, regardless of how grim his living situation becomes, he eagerly forges ahead with his own personal assimilation program, shedding the vestiges of his old life almost immediately, even changing his name to Charles. Cuba becomes a remote and vague idea in the back of his mind, something he used to know well, but now it "had ceased to be part of the world."
But as Carlos comes to grips with his strange surroundings, he must also struggle with everyday issues of growing up. His constant movement between foster homes and the eventual realization that his parents are far away in Cuba bring on an acute awareness that his life has irrevocably changed. Flashing back and forth between past and future, we watch as Carlos balances the divide between his past and present homes and finds his way in this strange new world, one that seems to hold the exhilarating promise of infinite possibilities and one that he will eventually claim as his own.
An exorcism and an ode, "Learning to Die in Miami "is a celebration of renewal--of those times when we're certain we have died and then are somehow, miraculously, reborn.

The second edition of Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions, compares Judaism, Christianity, and Islam using seven common themes which are equally relevant to each tradition. Provoking critical thinking, this text addresses the cultural framework of religious meanings and explores the similarities and differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as it explains the ongoing process of interpretation in each religion. The book is designed for courses in Western and World Religions.

"Have mercy on me, Lord, I am Cuban." In 1962, Carlos Eire was one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Cuba--exiled from his family, his country, and his own childhood by the revolution. The memories of Carlos's life in Havana, cut short when he was just eleven years old, are at the heart of this stunning, evocative, and unforgettable memoir.

"Waiting for Snow in Havana" is both an exorcism and an ode to a paradise lost. For the Cuba of Carlos's youth--with its lizards and turquoise seas and sun-drenched siestas--becomes an island of condemnation once a cigar-smoking guerrilla named Fidel Castro ousts President Batista on January 1, 1959. Suddenly the music in the streets sounds like gunfire. Christmas is made illegal, political dissent leads to imprisonment, and too many of Carlos's friends are leaving Cuba for a place as far away and unthinkable as the United States. Carlos will end up there, too, and fulfill his mother's dreams by becoming a modern American man--even if his soul remains in the country he left behind.

Narrated with the urgency of a confession, "Waiting for Snow in Havana" is a eulogy for a native land and a loving testament to the collective spirit of Cubans everywhere.

The second edition of Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions, compares Judaism, Christianity, and Islam using seven common themes which are equally relevant to each tradition. Provoking critical thinking, this text addresses the cultural framework of religious meanings and explores the similarities and differences among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as it explains the ongoing process of interpretation in each religion. The book is designed for courses in Western and World Religions.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Scripture and Tradition; Chapter 1 Scripture and Tradition in Judaism; Chapter 2 Scripture and Tradition in Christianity; Chapter 3 Scripture and Tradition in Islam; Part 2 Monotheism; Chapter 4 Monotheism in Judaism; Chapter 5 Monotheism in Christianity; Chapter 6 Monotheism in Islam; Part 3 Authority; Chapter 7 Authority in Judaism; Chapter 8 Authority in Christianity; Chapter 9 Authority in Islam; Part 4 Worship and Ritual; Chapter 10 Worship and Ritual in Judaism; Chapter 11 Worship and Ritual in Christianity; Chapter 12 Worship and Ritual in Islam; Part 5 Ethics; Chapter 13 Ethics in Judaism; Chapter 14 Ethics in Christianity; Chapter 15 Ethics in Islam; Part 6 Material Culture; Chapter 16 Material Culture in Judaism; Chapter 17 Material Culture in Christianity; Chapter 18 Material Culture in Islam; Part 7 Religion and the Political Order; Chapter 19 Religion and the Political Order in Judaism; Chapter 20 Religion and the Political Order in Christianity; Chapter 21 Religion and the Political Order in Islam;

En su libro de memorias "Nieve en La Habana," el cual gano el Premio Nacional del Libro en 2003, Carlos Eire narra su ninez en Cuba en la epoca del triunfo de la revolucion y la llegada al poder de Fidel Castro. Esa historia termina en 1962, en el avion que lleva a Carlos y a su hermano desde La Habana a Miami para comenzar una nueva vida, como sucedio a miles de ninos cubanos. Pasarian anos antes de que Carlos volviera a ver a su madre. Y nunca mas volveria a ver a su padre, por quien sentia una verdadera devocion.
"Miami y Mis Mil Muertes "sigue el cuento en el momento en que aquel avion aterriza y Carlos comienza una nueva vida impulsado por sus miedos y esperanzas. Enseguida se da cuenta de que para llegar a ser americano tendra que "morir" el Carlos cubano que hasta ahora ha sido. Se enfrenta al eterno dilema del inmigrante que debe aprender ingles, ir a una escuela americana y descifrar un futuro incierto: esta en el pais de las oportunidades, pero aun no es capaz de aprovecharlas. A pesar de la dura realidad de los hogares adoptivos donde ha de vivir, el muchacho se abre paso, dejando atras cualquier vestigio de su vida pasada hasta el punto de cambiar su nombre y convertirse en Charles. "Miami y Mis Mil Muertes "es un exorcismo y una oda a esa experiencia, es un homenaje a la renovacion, a los momentos de la vida en que tenemos la certeza de haber muerto y, de alguna manera milagrosa, haber vuelto a nacer.