Most Popular Books by Tad Tuleja

In the late 1960s, as the Vietnam War divided the country, millions of young American men faced the choice of how to respond to the draft. Some accepted conscription and went to fight. Others attended protests or fled the country. But most draft-aged men, avoiding both combat and exile, stayed home, punched the clock, watched Walter Cronkite, and mowed the lawn while history swirled around them. Decades later, members of this forgotten majority still live with the war''s aftermath, questioning their response to the most polarizing conflict of their time. Skirmishes with Patriotism is Tad Tuleja''s lyrical and deeply personal memoir about this overlooked segment of his generation. Tracing his own journey from a flag-waving Boy Scout to a disillusioned humanist wrestling with the consequences of saying "no" to military service, he explores the complex pressures of family, expectations about masculine duty, and the fevered nationalism that continues to grip the United States today. This is not a tale of heroism or protest but a candid reckoning with moral ambiguity and the cost of a life-altering decision. With clarity and wit, Tuleja fills a critical gap in Vietnam War–era literature and offers a powerful reflection on what it means to be an American grappling with the legacy of patriotism and conflict.

Why do we blow out candles on birthday cakes? Use striped poles to symbolize a barber? Throw rice at weddings? Find out in CURIOUS CUSTOMS: The Stories Behind 296 Popular American Rituals.Whether you want a new look at old habits or just love wacky facts and intriguing information, CURIOUS CUSTOMS is full of unusual, surprising bits of information that you''ll love to learn and share.

English is full of foreign languages! As the world gets ever more connected, English pulls in all sorts of phrases and words--whatever gets the job done. From Latin and Greek terms in law and medicine to French words for food and dance, from Sanskrit to Russian and Chinese, English prospers and grows as it borrows.FOREIGNISMS: A Dictionary of Foreign Expressions Commonly (and Not So Commonly) Used in English is a fun, fascinating, alphabetical guide to hundreds of these terms, complete with easy pronunciation explanations. Never flounder or feel at a loss: with FOREIGNISMS, you''ll know exactly what these funny, fancy, foreignisms mean.

Warrior Ways is one of the first book-length explorations of military folklife, and focuses on the lore produced by modern American warriors, illuminating the ways in which members of the armed services creatively express the complex experience of military life. In short, lively essays, contributors to the volume, all of whom have close personal or professional relationships to the military, examine battlefield talismans, personal narrative (storytelling), “Jody calls” (marching and running cadences), slang, homophobia and transgressive humor, music, and photography, among other cultural expressions. Military folklore does not remain in an isolated subculture; it reveals our common humanity by delighting, disturbing, infuriating, and inspiring both those deeply invested in and those peripherally touched by military life. Highlighting the contemporary and historical importance of the military in American life, Warrior Ways will be of interest to scholars and students of folklore, anthropology, and popular culture; those involved in veteran services and education; and general readers interested in military culture.

By eliminating "fickle luck" from the sales process and replacing it with proven, visible, repeatable skills, this book offers a sure-fire method for making the sale every time. This expanded edition features the basic tenets from the first book, plus a valuable array of new features.

Contains alphabetically arranged entries that provide information about foreign words and phrases used in English that have not been thoroughly Anglicized, and includes discussion of special categories of words, including French ballet terminology, Italian musical terms, and others.

A guide to American popular culture includes information on history folklore, and other topics.

From the discovery of America to the war in the Persian Gulf, Tad Tuleja chronologically offers 100 sayings and events, using each as a lens through which to view America at that time. History is fascinating, but with all those pesky people, places, and dates floating in memory limbo, it’s tough to remember enough to have it all make sense. Tad Tuleja has solved that problem by taking American history’s most famous thoughts and phrases and succinctly explaining the events they describe. Arranged chronologically, with three informative appendices and hundreds of tidbits of off-beat information, American History in 100 Nutshells is a fast, thorough, and entertaining walk through the hallowed halls of history. You’ll learn the history behind such terms and sayings as: • These are the times that try men’s souls • The shot heard ‘round the world • Our country right or wrong • To the victor belongs the spoils • The Trail of Tears • The Underground Railroad • Manifest Destiny • John Brown’s body lies a’mouldering in the grave • Jim Crow laws • A splendid little war • The Hundred Days • 205 card-carrying communists • Don’t trust anyone over 30 • And much more!

Arranged by subjects--including famous people, Americana, war, religion, the arts, famous sayings, politics and word definition--this book for would-be iconoclasts sets straight many myths.

Explains the principles of successful motivation, and tells how to sharpen the influence style and dramatically upgrade the performance of people at all levels in the work life.

Written by the authors of Strategic Selling, this is the revolutionary system for face-to-face selling that''s used by America''s best companies.

Over 300 witty and whimsical definitions of phrases such as "chewing the fat", "cold fish", "happy as a clam", and "the cat''s pajamas" can be found in this lighhearted lexicon written in the tradition of Remarkable Names for Remarkable People.