Best Selling Books by Mary Murphy

Since its original publication in 1987, Like a Family has become a classic in the study of American labor history. Basing their research on a series of extraordinary interviews, letters, and articles from the trade press, the authors uncover the voices and experiences of workers in the Southern cotton mill industry during the 1920s and 1930s. Now with a new afterword, this edition stands as an invaluable contribution to American social history. "The genius of Like a Family lies in its effortless integration of the history of the family--particularly women--into the history of the cotton-mill world.--Ira Berlin, New York Times Book Review "Like a Family is history, folklore, and storytelling all rolled into one. It is a living, revelatory chronicle of life rarely observed by the academe. A powerhouse.--Studs Terkel "Here is labor history in intensely human terms. Neither great impersonal forces nor deadening statistics are allowed to get in the way of people. If students of the New South want both the dimensions and the feel of life and labor in the textile industry, this book will be immensely satisfying.--Choice

Butte, Montana, long deserved its reputation as a wide-open town. Mining Cultures shows how the fabled Montana city evolved from a male-dominated mining enclave to a community in which men and women participated on a more equal basis as leisure patterns changed and consumer culture grew. Mary Murphy looks at how women worked and spent their leisure time in a city dominated by the quintessential example of "men''s work": mining. Bringing Butte to life, she adds in-depth research on church weeklies, high school yearbooks, holiday rituals, movie plots, and news of local fashion to archival material and interviews. A richly illustrated jaunt through western history, Mining Cultures is the never-told chronicle of how women transformed the richest hill on earth.

Lift the flap and join in the fun with the Penguin in this delightful little book.

Lift the flap and join in the fun with the Penguin in this delightful little book.

The riveting true account of the 2001 murder of Bonny Lee Bakley, starring Robert Blake—the Hollywood icon accused of killing his wife in cold blood In May 2001 Bonny Lee Bakley was shot to death in a car parked on a dark Hollywood side street. Eleven months later Robert Blake—her husband, the father of her child, and the star of the classic film In Cold Blood and the popular 1970s TV detective series Baretta—was arrested for murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. Did Blake kill his wife? Did he hire someone to do the job for him? Award-winning journalist Dennis McDougal and entertainment-media expert Mary Murphy recount a real-life crime story more shocking and bizarre than any movie, chronicling the parallel worlds of Blake and Bakley, from their troubled youths to their sham of a marriage. By the late 1990s Blake was coasting on his past success. Bakley was a con artist who concocted online sex scams and victimized unsuspecting men, netting big money and dangerous enemies. In true noir style, McDougal and Murphy lay bare the stories of two violent people whose lives collided in a tragic tangle of abuse, betrayal, and love gone horribly wrong.

Lovable, bright and engaging picture book from Mary Murphy about a baby panda and parent panda celebrating their love for each other.

Stories of the lives and times of nine African-American children and adults whose contributions to Minnesota''s history span nearly two centuries, from the early 1800s to the present day.

This book describes kisses of adult animals and their offspring, such as giraffes, mice, fish, bees, elephants, and owls.

Arthur Rothstein, Russell Lee, John Vachon, and Marion Post Wolcott became some of the United States'' best-known photographers through their pictures of Depression-era America. Their assignment, as one of their associates described it, was to have "a long look at the whole vast, complicated rural U.S. landscape with all that was built on it and all those who built and wrecked and worked in it and bore kids and dragged them up and played games and paraded and picnicked and suffered and died and were buried in it." In Montana the four photographers traveled to forty of the state''s fifty-six counties, creating a rich record of the many facets of the Depression and recovery: rural and urban, agricultural and industrial, work and play, hard times and the promise of a brighter future. The photographers captured the dignity of Montanans as they struggled to scratch out livings from dried-up fields, nurture families in the shadows of Butte head frames, and foster communities on the vast expanses of the northern plains. Hope in Hard Times, features over 140 Farm Security Administration photographs to illustrate the story of the Great Depression in Montana and the experiences of the photographers who documented it. Today these striking images, from cities like Butte to small towns like Terry, present an unforgettable portrait of a little-studied period in the history of Montana. Selected from the Farm Security Administration Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the photographs in Hope in Hard Times offer viewers an unparalleled look at life in Montana in the years preceding the United States'' entry into World War II.

Various animals tell how they saw, fed, sang to, tickled, and kissed the new duckling.

All living creatures have a special place in the world in this extraordinary exploration of the concept of self for very young readers. Only I know how to be me. Only you know how to be you. Trees have leaves that turn sunshine into food. Amazing! Birds build nests, sing songs, hatch eggs, and fly. Dogs are our friends and can move their ears to tell us how they feel, while fish live in water, flashing like jewels. As for people, every person on Earth is different, each with their own thoughts and feelings. With a simple narrative and joyful, welcoming illustrations celebrating a world full of remarkable creatures, Mary Murphy reminds little ones that we are all unique, and that we are the only ones who know how to be us.

In a lyrical story by Mary Murphy, gorgeously illustrated by award-winning artist Zhu Cheng-Liang, a child offers an ode to her favorite things — and people. What I like most in the world is my window. This morning, through my window, I see the postman at the red gate. . . . A little girl observes, one by one, things that give her pleasure — the apricot jam on her toast, the light-up shoes that make her feet bounce, the sparkling river, the pencil whose color comes out like a ribbon. But even after the jar becomes empty, and the shoes grow too small, and the pencil is all used up, one thing will never change. In a tenderly imagined story, Mary Murphy celebrates the intimacy of the bond between mother and child, while Zhu Cheng-Liang’s wonderfully inviting artwork brings the day-to-day details to life.

If you are concerned about the health of our planet then turn your attention to what lies under your feet. Working in the soil below are creatures that play a pivotal role in producing the food we eat and impacting the quality of our food crops. Earthworms were described by Darwin as the most important species on our planet and by Aristotle as ‘the intestines of the earth’. Beginner’s Guide to Earthworm Farming provides all the information you need on these remarkable creatures and how important they are to the functioning of life on Earth. The content includes how earthworms benefit the environment, your garden and the economy; the role earthworms play in reducing carbon emissions and removing heavy metals and toxins from our soil; how you can set up your own earthworm farm or compost heap; recyling, how waste negatively impacts water and the environment, how to effectively reduce kitchen waste; and much more.

The New News offers an approachable, practical guide to the 21st-century newsroom, equipping journalists with the skills needed to work expertly, accurately, and efficiently across multiple media platforms. Emphasizing the importance of verification and authentication, the book shows how journalists adapt traditional practices of information-gathering, observation, interviewing, and newswriting for online publications. The text includes comprehensive coverage of key digital and multimedia competencies – capturing multimedia content, "doing" data journalism, mobile reporting, working in teams, participating with global audiences, and building a personal brand. Features developed exclusively for this book include innovative visuals showing the multimedia news structures and workflows used in modern newsrooms; interviews with prominent journalists about their experiences in contemporary journalism; a glossary of up-to-date terms relevant to online journalism; and practical exercises and activities for classroom use, as well as additional downloadable online instructor materials. The New News provides excellent resources to help journalism students and early-career professionals succeed in today’s digital networked news industry. The authors are donating all royalties to nonprofit LION''s programs to support local online news publications.

Animals of various size reveal themselves one by one, but at the end it is revealed that even the biggest surprises can come in the smallest package.

A baby penguin describes things he likes to do with his parent.

Follow Snail''s shiny trail as she slowly makes her way home for dinner.

What goes around comes around in this farmyard tale about the contagiousness of kindness. Hen gives Pig an unexpected present. How kind! says Pig. Pig is so touched, in fact, that he decides to do something kind too. So Pig gives Rabbit a gift. How kind! says Rabbit, who does something kind for Cow, who is kind to Cat, who wants to be kind in turn. Where will all of this kindness lead?

Lift the flaps and join the peek-a-boo fun with a little pup searching for his mommy. Babies and toddlers are invited to lift the flaps and transform the pictures in this bright board book as they follow a puppy who is looking for his mother. Mary Murphy’s colorful illustrations of adorable animals will entice the youngest of children as they discover a variety of mommies and babies along the way.

Whether regarded as medical treatise or brilliant satire, The Anatomy of Melancholy reflects Robert Burton''s frustrations over "too many books" to research in the context of Erasmus'' model of copious discourse. Aiming to infuse undergraduate literature courses with poststructuralist criticism now mainly the realm of graduate study, Schmelzer (St. Joseph''s College, Phila., PA) places Erasmus'' De Copia (1512) center stage in the epistemological shift to the empirical validation of truth in 17th century Western Europe. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Panda Foo wants to bring his new friend Curly to the picnic that he and his friends Jigger Bird and Baby Boar have planned.

The beguiling little penguin is back, this time creating all sorts of things--ponds and pictures, an airplane and a house. These activities make a mess, but the little penguin makes it tidy. Quick, lively text and enchanting child-like illustrations are sure to please. Filled with bright colors and familiar activities and language, this warm, reassuring text is perfect for toddlers at bedtime or anytime.

A penguin pretends to have many occupations.