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After the miracle : the political crusades of Helen Keller

Wallace, Max (author.).

Summary: "In this powerful new history, New York Times bestselling author Max Wallace draws on groundbreaking research to reframe Helen Keller's journey after the miracle, vividly bringing to light her rarely discussed, lifelong fight for social justice across gender, class, race, and ability. Raised in Alabama, she sent shockwaves through the South when she launched a public broadside against Jim Crow and donated to the NAACP. She used her fame to oppose American intervention in WWI. She spoke out against Hitler the month he took power in 1933 and embraced the anti-fascist cause during the Spanish Civil War. She was one of the first public figures to alert the world to the evils of Apartheid, raising money to defend Nelson Mandela when he faced the death penalty for High Treason. She lambasted Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Cold War, even as her contemporaries shied away from his notorious witch hunt. But who was this revolutionary figure? She was Helen Keller. From books to movies to Barbie dolls, most mainstream portrayals of Keller focus heavily on her struggles as a deafblind child-portraying her Teacher, Annie Sullivan, as a miracle worker. This narrative-which has often made Keller a secondary character in her own story-has resulted in few people knowing that Keller's greatest accomplishment was not learning to speak, but what she did with her voice when she found it. After the Miracle is a much-needed corrective to this antiquated narrative. In this first major biography of Keller in decades, Max Wallace reveals that the lionization of Sullivan at the expense of her famous pupil was no accident, and calls attention to Keller's efforts as a card-carrying socialist, fierce anti-racist, and progressive disability advocate. Despite being raised in an era when eugenics and discrimination were commonplace, Keller consistently challenged the media for its ableist coverage and was one of the first activists to highlight the links between disability and capitalism, even as she struggled against the expectations and prejudices of those closest to her. Peeling back the curtain that obscured Keller's political crusades in favor of her "inspirational" childhood, After the Miracle chronicles the complete legacy of one of the 20th century's most extraordinary figures"--

Record details

  • ISBN: 1538707683
  • ISBN: 9781538707685
  • Physical Description: viii, 403 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
    print
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, 2023.

Content descriptions

General Note:
The title page includes printed Braille notation: "[A]fter the miracle" (the initial "A" of After is lacking).
Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Prologue -- Part one Miracle vs. myth. Before the miracle -- Teacher -- "The second Laura Bridgman" -- "A bold plagiarism" -- The Story of My Life -- "Mr. Clemens" -- Part two The left-wing Joan of Arc. Political epiphany -- "Industrial blindness and social deafness" -- Radical shift -- "A defective race" -- Helen vs. Jim Crow -- "A little island of joy" -- Helen vs. Teddy Roosevelt -- "The human wonder" -- The foundation -- Helen vs. the Führer -- Part three Helen and the Reds. "The spirit of revolt" -- Fellow traveler -- Gathering storm -- Red scare -- Helen vs. apartheid -- Helen vs. Joe McCarthy -- Part four Rewriting history. The Miracle Worker -- Helen and Teacher -- Epilogue.
Subject: Keller, Helen 1880-1968
Deafblind people United States Biography
Deafblind women United States Biography
Political activists United States Biography
Women political activists United States Biography
Deafblind women Political activity United States
Keller, Helen 1880-1968 Political and social views
Keller, Helen 1880-1968 Political activity
Genre: Biographies.

Available copies

  • 15 of 16 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 16 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Albright Memorial Library 92 KELLER (Text) 50686016294998 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Altoona Area Public Library 362.4 WAL (Text) 33240005162857 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults Keller Biography (Text) 34001001437993 Adult Area Available -
Exeter Community Library KEL (Text) 33249025534227 Biography Available -
Green Free Library (Wellsboro) 921 KELLER (Text)
Bookplate: Dr. Robert C. Bair memorial from Sally B. Pillard
92526242 GFWM Main Room Available -
Highland Community Library 362.4 WAL (Text) 35610001014369 HGHM Non-Fiction Available -
Mason-Dixon Public Library Adults KELLER Biography (Text) 34262000906756 Main Room New Available -
Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity 92 KEL WAL 2023 (Text) 31001101888502 Adult Biography Available -
Parkland Community Library B KELLER WAL (Text) 34422007401454 New Adult Biography Available -
Pottsville Free Public Library 920.72 K282 (Text)
Memorial: Presented by Richard and Kathleen Spina in memory of Marguerite Yourshaw
30003009147768 Adult Nonfiction Available -


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