After writing extensively about different cultures, Nancy Brown Diggs chose to focus on one closer to her own, the Appalachian, and was surprised to learn that it is her own-and quite different from the image conveyed by the media. Rich in anecdotes and interviews that bring her research to life, this book offers a study of Appalachians today and explores what they are truly like, and why, concluding that is a culture to be celebrated, not denigrated.

Breaking the Cycle tells the inspiring story of young people whom many would write off as a lost cause but who, thanks to a remarkable school, are headed for success. We learn about their world from teens like Shawna, the daughter of a crack-addicted mother. Or Andre, the only one in his family not on drugs. Or Daron, kicked out of his home by an abusive father. Challenged by the pernicious factors of their environment-drugs, violence, fatherless homes, and poor educational backgrounds-students at the Dayton Early College Academy are nevertheless beating the odds. All are headed for college, from which the vast majority will graduate. The book reveals how this school is succeeding when so many fail. It conveys the hopeful message that others can replicate much of what "DECA" does and save a generation mired in despair. America's failure to educate its urban children is evidenced by our woeful statistics. If it is possible to turn around this bleak picture-and it is-this is a story well worth telling. And this is what Breaking the Cycle aims to do. For more information on the book, including interviews with the author please check out www.nancybdiggs.com.

Breaking the Cycle tells the inspiring story of young people whom many would write off as a lost cause but who, thanks to a remarkable school, are headed for success. We learn about their world from teens like Shawna, the daughter of a crack-addicted mother. Or Andre, the only one in his family not on drugs. Or Daron, kicked out of his home by an abusive father. Challenged by the pernicious factors of their environment-drugs, violence, fatherless homes, and poor educational backgrounds-students at the Dayton Early College Academy are nevertheless beating the odds. All are headed for college, from which the vast majority will graduate. The book reveals how this school is succeeding when so many fail. It conveys the hopeful message that others can replicate much of what "DECA" does and save a generation mired in despair. America's failure to educate its urban children is evidenced by our woeful statistics. If it is possible to turn around this bleak picture-and it is-this is a story well worth telling. And this is what Breaking the Cycle aims to do. For more information on the book, including interviews with the author please check out www.nancybdiggs.com.

Steel Butterflies: Japanese Women and the American Experience examines the role of women in Japan as compared to the United States, approaching the subject from a new and thought-provoking angle. Not only does the reader learn how Japanese women view their own country from the vantage point of living in the United States, but their candid remarks also give Americans the opportunity to see themselves as others see them.

Some of the topics discussed include education; ethics; the freedom -- as well as the problems -- of living in the United States; why Japanese women both envy and feel sorry for American women; and the past and future status of women in Japan. Steel Butterflies examines family life, women's responsibility in the home, community involvement both here and in Japan, aspects of Japanese culture they tried to keep alive in America, and their children's experiences. Grounded in thorough research, the book offers new insights into Japanese ways of thinking from those who have experienced both cultures.