Word up! Words have meaning, and behind every great definition is a pale, emaciated lexicographer melting away under the fire of language. What does "take" mean in "to take a nap," and how is that "take" different from "take" in "taken aback" or "take a meeting" or "take a poop." With sharp wit and a terrifying large vocabulary, one writer busts wide open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography.

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From the projects to Paris: One woman's brutally honest story about surviving the vices of her neighborhood, only to be thrust into a world that neither wants nor accepts her is a sobering reminder of the disparities plaguing citizens of a nation still ignoring its history. Her undying drive to be recognized takes her in and out of ivy league schools, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals until she's finally drawn across the ocean to expatriation and rebirth.

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Growing up in rural Mississippi, one woman watches helplessly as five men close to her die over the span of 5 years. Through the pain and confusion, she sees clearly what facilitated the demise of each family member and friend — a system built on the foundations of racism and economic turmoil. She decides to tell their stories. Her writing is evidence that these living, loving bodies existed.

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Second-in-power only to the king, General Oufkir is both hated and adored by the people of Morocco. After a failed coup d' état, however, he is killed, and the lives of his wife and six children are changed forever. His older daughter, Malika Oufkir, survived a desert jail for two decades as one of the "disappeared," along with her family. This is her story.

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