Anatomy Of A Miracle

The peaceful birth of black majority rule in South Africa was a transcendent moment. Many South Africans believe this ne... (more)

The peaceful birth of black majority rule in South Africa was a transcendent moment. Many South Africans believe this negotiated revolution to be a miracle: at the very least it was a feat of political magic. One false step along the way could have ignited the race war that had been widely predicted as South Africa's destiny. Patti Waldmeir's colorful and incisive narrative begins with the birth of apartheid itself, and traces the very human drama that brought about its demise. It is the story of a grand seduction, a study in the psychology of capitulation, which ends with the inauguration of the world's most famous prisoner as president of a new country, and the creation of a new, rainbow nation. The author was present at nearly every critical moment during the endgame of apartheid, and we see all the principal actors - Nelson Mandela, F. W. de Klerk, Chief Buthelezi, and the militants of the extreme right - through the eyes of a journalist who knows them personally. She captures the good sense and the violence of these times, and illuminates the forces of history, economics, demographics, and morality that shaped the human drama. Few journalists have known South Africa so long or so well as Patti Waldmeir. This book draws on her conversations with presidents past and present and on her eyewitness accounts of township violence, guerrilla actions, and brutal "necklaces". She reports from inside a political process without precedent, in which both blacks and whites have achieved their liberation. (less)

The last place Private First Class Cameron Harris ever walked was in a field somewhere in Afghanistan. Four years later,... (more)

The last place Private First Class Cameron Harris ever walked was in a field somewhere in Afghanistan. Four years later, on a hot August afternoon, Cameron suddenly and inexplicably stands up. In the aftermath of this "miracle," Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the centre of a contentious debate about what's taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a representative from the Vatican start digging, Cameron's deepest secrets are endangered. (less)

The last place Private First Class Cameron Harris ever walked was in a field somewhere in Afghanistan. Four years later,... (more)

The last place Private First Class Cameron Harris ever walked was in a field somewhere in Afghanistan. Four years later, on a hot August afternoon, Cameron suddenly and inexplicably stands up. In the aftermath of this "miracle," Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the centre of a contentious debate about what's taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a representative from the Vatican start digging, Cameron's deepest secrets are endangered. (less)

Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside h... (more)

Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside his sister, Tanya, in their battered Biloxi, Mississippi neighborhood where only half the houses made it through Katrina. One stiflingly hot August afternoon, as Cameron sits waiting for Tanya during their daily run to the Biz-E-Bee convenience store, he suddenly and inexplicably rises up and out of his wheelchair. In the aftermath of this "miracle," Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the center of a contentious debate about what's taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a Vatican investigator start digging, Cameron's deepest secrets{u2014}the key to his injury, to his identity, and, in some eyes, to the nature of his recovery{u2014}become increasingly endangered. Was Cameron's recovery a genuine miracle, or a medical breakthrough? And, finding himself transformed into a symbol, how can he hope to retain his humanity? (less)

Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside h... (more)

Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside his sister, Tanya, in their battered Biloxi, Mississippi neighborhood where only half the houses made it through Katrina. One stiflingly hot August afternoon, as Cameron sits waiting for Tanya during their daily run to the Biz-E-Bee convenience store, he suddenly and inexplicably rises up and out of his wheelchair. In the aftermath of this "miracle," Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the center of a contentious debate about what's taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a Vatican investigator start digging, Cameron's deepest secrets{u2014}the key to his injury, to his identity, and, in some eyes, to the nature of his recovery{u2014}become increasingly endangered. Was Cameron's recovery a genuine miracle, or a medical breakthrough? And, finding himself transformed into a symbol, how can he hope to retain his humanity? (less)