"In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry, freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox"--

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Harris, Nathan

United States

Little. Brown and Company

Review\n“Harris’s debut novel is remarkable; that he’s only 29 is miraculous. His prose is burnished with an antique patina that evokes the mid-19th century. And he explores this liminal moment in our history with extraordinary sensitivity to the range of responses from Black and White Americans contending with a revolutionary ideal of personhood... All of this is drawn with gorgeous fidelity to these cautious characters, struggling to remake the world, or at least this little patch of it... Harris stacks the timbers of this plot deliberately, and the moment a spark alights, the whole structure begins to burn hot... What’s most impressive about Harris’s novel is how he attends to the lives of these peculiar people while capturing the tectonic tensions at play in the American South.”―Ron Charles, Washington Post\n“Beautiful... An instant classic... This book is profound.”―Jenna Bush Hager, Wall Street Journal\n“This debut novel astonished us as much for its wise, lyrical voice as for its dense realization of a fictional small town in the American South at a rarely written-about moment, the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. We were incredibly impressed by the way it probes themes of trans-historical importance—about race, sexuality, violence, and grief—through meticulously-drawn characters and a patient examination of their relationships.”―Booker Prize committee\n“As I read this masterful novel I kept thinking—this young 29-year-old is a first-time author, so how did he do this?... As the best writers can do, Nathan takes us back in time, and helps us to feel we are right there with Prentiss and Landry as they get their first taste of freedom. I rooted for them, and feared for them too."―Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Daily\n“A historical page-turner about social friction so powerful it ignites a whole town . . . The novel’s questions feel urgent . . . Like a fictional companion to Clint Smith’s history, How the Word Is Passed, The Sweetness of Water joins the national conversation on race and reckoning with history . . . Nathan Harris makes those extraordinary, still-contested times comprehensible through immersive, incredibly humane storytelling about the lives of ordinary people . . . Hope is the driving force in The Sweetness of Water . . . Harris spins an increasingly complex tale about the postwar South, and he tells it in a humane and intimate way, by exploring interpersonal relationships of all kinds in and around this rural Georgia town. . . And even though the story focuses on hope and unexpected kinship, it doesn't diminish the horrors of slavery or the struggle in its wake. The events of the brothers’ former lives are never far from memory—whipping, beating, disfiguring physical abuse, family separation, near starvation, dehumanization. None of that is denied. None of it is minimized. But like the brothers, Harris tries to train the focus elsewhere for a time. As an act of pure storytelling, The Sweetness of Water soars . . . The novel is a riveting drama-filled exploration of a fracture and a healing . . . The Sweetness of Water leaves a lasting and multifaceted impression: It’s warm and absorbing, thought-provoking and humane.”―NPR\n“Rich prose and such a beautifully imagined time and place… Amazing book by any account and that it’s a first novel makes it even more to be treasured.”―Bill Goldstein, NBC New York\n“This is a debut novel, but the writing is so strong and gorgeous and assured, and the characters have so many layers to them, you'll keep reading just to see what's revealed next.”―Petra Mayer, NPR “Here & Now”\n“An extraordinary debut novel . . . Harris expertly introduces explosive plot twists across parallel threads . . . There’s an elegant interplay among all facets of the narrative that at once raises the stakes for all the characters while gesturing toward a larger world outside Old Ox. The overall effect is a dazzling world-building that makes the relatively compact novel feel much larger . . . Harris man

The Sweetness of Water: A Novel

A gripping story about a brother and sister, emancipated from slavery but still searching for true freedom, and their odyssey across the deserts of Mexico to finally reunite, all while escaping a former master still intent on their bondage New Orleans, 1866. The Civil War might be over, but formerly enslaved Coleman and June have yet to find the freedom they've been promised. Two years ago, the siblings were separated when their old master, Mr. Harper, took June away to Mexico, where he hoped to escape the new reality of the post-war South. Coleman stayed behind in Louisiana to serve the Harper family, clinging to the hope that one day June would return. &nbsp; When an unexpected letter from Mr. Harper arrives, summoning Coleman to Mexico, Coleman thinks that finally his prayers have been answered. What Coleman cannot know is the tangled truth of June's tribulations under Mr. Harper out on the frontier. And when disaster strikes Coleman's journey, he is forced on the run with Mr. Harper's daughter, Florence. Together, they venture into the Mexican desert to find June, all the while evading two crooked brothers who'll stop at nothing to capture Coleman and Florence and collect the money they're owed. As Coleman and June separately navigate a perilous, parched landscape, the siblings learn quickly that freedom isn't always given--sometimes, it must be taken by force. &nbsp; As in his&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;bestselling debut&nbsp;The Sweetness of Water, Nathan Harris delves into the critical years of the Civil War's aftermath to deliver an intimate and epic tale of what freedom means in a society still determined to return its Black citizens to bondage. Populated with unforgettable characters,&nbsp;Amity&nbsp;is a vital addition to the literature of emancipation.

Amity: A Novel

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES&nbsp;BESTSELLER / AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF&nbsp;2021&nbsp; Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Longlisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize In the spirit of&nbsp;The Known World&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Underground Railroad, "a miraculous debut" (Washington Post)&#8203; and "a towering achievement of imagination" (CBS This Morning)about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever--from "a storyteller with bountiful insight and assurance" (Kirkus) A Best Book of the Year: Oprah Daily, NPR, Washington Post, Time, Boston Globe,&nbsp;Smithsonian, Chicago Public Library, BookBrowse, and the Oregonian A&nbsp;New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A July Indie Next Pick In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry--freed by the Emancipation Proclamation--seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. &nbsp; Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox. &nbsp; With candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as gripping as it is moving, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances.

Back Bay Books

Product Description 
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER / AN OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICKPRESIDENT OBAMA’S SUMMER 2021 READING LIST Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary ExcellenceLonglisted for the Man Booker PrizeLonglisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for ExcellenceLonglisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel PrizeIn the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad, “a miraculous debut” (Washington Post)​ and “a towering achievement of imagination” (CBS This Morning)about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever—from “a storyteller with bountiful insight and assurance” (Kirkus)A Washington Post and Oprah Daily Best Book of the YearA New York Times Book Review Editors’ ChoiceA July Indie Next PickIn the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox. With candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as gripping as it is moving, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances. 
 Review 
“Harris’s debut novel is remarkable; that he’s only 29 is miraculous. His prose is burnished with an antique patina that evokes the mid-19th century. And he explores this liminal moment in our history with extraordinary sensitivity to the range of responses from Black and White Americans contending with a revolutionary ideal of personhood... All of this is drawn with gorgeous fidelity to these cautious characters, struggling to remake the world, or at least this little patch of it... Harris stacks the timbers of this plot deliberately, and the moment a spark alights, the whole structure begins to burn hot... What’s most impressive about Harris’s novel is how he attends to the lives of these peculiar people while capturing the tectonic tensions at play in the American South.”― 
Ron Charles, Washington Post\n“Beautiful... An instant classic... This book is profound.”― 
Jenna Bush Hager, Wall Street Journal\n“This debut novel astonished us as much for its wise, lyrical voice as for its dense realization of a fictional small town in the American South at a rarely written-about moment, the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. We were incredibly impressed by the way it probes themes of trans-historical importance—about race, sexuality, violence, and grief—through meticulously-drawn characters and a patient examination of their relationships.”― 
Booker Prize committee\n“As I read this masterful novel I kept thinking—this young 29-year-old is a first-time author, so how did he do this?... As the best writers can do, Nathan takes us back in time, and helps us to feel we are right there with Prentiss and Landry as they get their first taste of freedom. I rooted for them, and feared for them too."― 
Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Daily\n“A historical page-turner about social friction so powerful it ignites a whole town . .

This ground-breaking book is a sequel to John Braithwaite's influential book Crime, Shame and Reintegration. It contributes to our understanding of shame in a theoretical sense, and through its detailed analysis of shame management in cases of drink-driving and school bullying, in a practical sense. Ultimately, the book develops an ethical-identity conception of shame, and a theory of reintegrative shame. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice and presenting important new research, the book will be influential in the often controversial debate about punishing and shaming.

Shame Management through Reintegration (Cambridge Criminology)

Politics & Social Sciences

Braithwaite, Valerie

Braithwaite, John

Ahmed, Eliza

Social Sciences

Cambridge University Press

This ground-breaking book is a sequel to John Braithwaite's influential book Crime, Shame and Reintegration. It contributes to our understanding of shame in a theoretical sense, and through its detailed analysis of shame management in cases of drink-driving and school bullying, in a practical sense. Ultimately, the book develops an ethical-identity conception of shame, and a theory of reintegrative shame. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice and presenting important new research, the book will be influential in the often controversial debate about punishing and shaming.

Shame Management through Reintegration

Pearl Harbor (A Day That Made History Series)

Children's Books

B.T.BATSFORD LTD

Understanding performance requires asking fundamental questions about the nature and purpose of an organization: What is its business? Whom does it serve? What do stakeholders want and expect? What do they get? How does the organization conceive of and measure results? How do stakeholders feel about results the organization is generating? Answers to these questions require a framework for analysis comprised of three essential ingredients: stakeholders, results and improvement strategies. Organizational performance is given segmental treatment in literature and research. Numerous articles and books have been written on related topics such as outcomes assessment, organizational effectiveness, and cost-benefit analysis, but each approaches the subject from a singular perspective. In this book, organizational performance is viewed through multiple lenses so that its different dimensions can be understood and appreciated. The view is broad and far-reaching in the beginning and specific toward the end, where actions organizations can take to improve performance are described. Recognizing that performance is context specific, colleges and universities are used in this book as the medium for examining performance. This book is written for current and future leaders in profit and non-profit organizations who find scholarly books unimaginative, protracted, and detached from practice. Senior executives, while familiar with many of the basic concepts, will find exceptions to current conceptions of organizational performance and practices used to measure and report performance. Performance: The Dynamic of Results in Postsecondary Organizations will be particularly useful to: college and university administrators; corporate executives and managers; managers in non-profit, policy making and advocacy organizations; graduate program faculty and students; and management consulting organizations.

Performance: The Dynamic of Results in Postsecondary Organizations (The ACE Series on Higher Education)

Education & Teaching

Webb, James

Alfred, Richard L.

Thirolf, Kathryn

Higher & Continuing Education

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

**OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**\n'A fine, lyrical novel, impressive in its complex interweaving of the grand and the intimate, of the personal and political' Observer\nAn extraordinary novel of life after slavery for readers of WASHINGTON BLACK, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD and DAYS WITHOUT END.\nIn the dying days of the American Civil War, newly freed brothers Landry and Prentiss find themselves cast into the world without a penny to their names. Forced to hide out in the woods near their former Georgia plantation, they're soon discovered by the land's owner, George Walker, a man still reeling from the loss of his son in the war.\nWhen the brothers begin to live and work on George's farm, the tentative bonds of trust and union begin to blossom between the strangers. But this sanctuary survives on a knife's edge, and it isn't long before the inhabitants of the nearby town of Old Ox react with fury at the alliances being formed only a few miles away . . .\n'[A] highly accomplished debut' Sunday Times\nReaders have been swept away by The Sweetness of Water:\n'Such a powerful, magnificent book; I urge you to read it. The comparisons with Colson Whitehead are justified' *****\n'A staggering debut and a story that stays with you' *****\n'Thought-provoking and moving . . . a gripping and compelling novel that exposes flaws, mixed emotions and imperfect relationships, and yet it holds on with determination and hope. It fully deserves a 5-star rating' *****\n'Outstanding . . . A book that deserves widespread recognition and a wide audience' *****

The Sweetness of Water: An Oprah's Book Club Pick

Tinder Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harris, Nathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Harris, Nathan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harris, Nathan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

The Sweetness of Water: A Novel

Amity: A Novel

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

The Sweetness of Water: A Novel

Shame Management through Reintegration (Cambridge Criminology)

Shame Management through Reintegration

Pearl Harbor (A Day That Made History Series)

Performance: The Dynamic of Results in Postsecondary Organizations (The ACE Series on Higher Education)

The Sweetness of Water: An Oprah's Book Club Pick