Books with author W. Watkins

From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, with searing conviction and full compassion, D. Watkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Cook Up and The Beast Side lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their raw, intimate stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, We Speak for Ourselves makes us listen, feel, and create a course toward change that starts right where we are.Watkins introduces you to Down Bottom, the storied community of East Baltimore that holds a mirror to America’s poor black neighborhoods—“hoods” that could just as easily be in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, or Atlanta. As Watkins sees it, the perspective of people who live in economically disadvantaged black communities is largely absent from the commentary of many top intellectuals who speak and write about race. Unapologetic and sharp-witted, D. Watkins is here to tell the truth as he has seen it. We Speak for Ourselves offers an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles and honors the stories therein. We sit in underfunded schools, walk the blocks burdened with police corruption, stand within an audience of Make America Great Again hats, journey from trap house to university lecture, and rally in neglected streets. And we listen. Watkins shares the lessons he has learned while navigating through two very distinct worlds—the hood and the elite sanctums of prominent black thinkers and public figures—serving hope to fellow Americans who are too often ignored and calling on others to examine what it means to be a model activist in today’s world. We Speak for Ourselves is a must-read for all who are committed to social change.

From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, with searing conviction and full compassion, D. Watkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Cook Up and The Beast Side lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their raw, intimate stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, We Speak for Ourselves makes us listen, feel, and create a course toward change that starts right where we are.Watkins introduces you to Down Bottom, the storied community of East Baltimore that holds a mirror to America’s poor black neighborhoods—“hoods” that could just as easily be in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, or Atlanta. As Watkins sees it, the perspective of people who live in economically disadvantaged black communities is largely absent from the commentary of many top intellectuals who speak and write about race. Unapologetic and sharp-witted, D. Watkins is here to tell the truth as he has seen it. We Speak for Ourselves offers an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles and honors the stories therein. We sit in underfunded schools, walk the blocks burdened with police corruption, stand within an audience of Make America Great Again hats, journey from trap house to university lecture, and rally in neglected streets. And we listen. Watkins shares the lessons he has learned while navigating through two very distinct worlds—the hood and the elite sanctums of prominent black thinkers and public figures—serving hope to fellow Americans who are too often ignored and calling on others to examine what it means to be a model activist in today’s world. We Speak for Ourselves is a must-read for all who are committed to social change.

Deliver professional-level 3D content in no time with this comprehensive guide to 3D animation with Maya. With over 12 years of training experience, plus several award winning students under his belt, author Adam Watkins is the ideal mentor to get you up to speed with 3D in Maya. Using a structured and pragmatic approach Getting Started in 3D with Maya begins with basic theory of fundamental techniques, then builds on this knowledge using practical examples and projects to put your new skills to the test. Prepared so that you can learn in an organic fashion, each chapter builds on the knowledge gained in the previous chapter, showing you all the essentials of 3D in Maya, from modeling and UV layout, to texture creation, rigging animating and rendering. As you go from project to project you'll develop a strong arsenal of skills that combined will form a complete end to end process to creating complete projects in Maya. The accompanying website provides all the tools you need to develop your skills. Project files to accompany the practical examples used throughout the text, so you can work along with the examples. Additional textures and models will give you all the resources you need to start making your own projects in no time at all. --Provides all you need to get started, including a valuable roadmap to the "big picture" of 3D production. Rather than a lengthy description of dialog boxes or option lists, you gain a full understanding of how Maya "thinks" so that you can become effective real-world artists. --Watkins has over twelve years of 3D education experience, having trained hundreds of 3D artists. With multiple award winning students, he knows how people learn 3D, what works and what doesn't, proper pacing, and offers engaging, manageable, yet ambitious tasks. --Create a project from start to finish using all the major components of the 3D process - modeling, UV layout, texture creation, rigging, animation, and rendering - with Maya. --Bonus content for professors! Includes suggested curriculum for 3D based training for semester and year-long sessions, suggested layouts and pacing. How do these chapters fit into a teaching strategy? How long should a class spend on each chapter? All these questions are answered in the included Curriculum Appendices and online resources.

In the days after Niko's death, Evelyn struggles to cope with her emotions. All that she wants is to return to the past that she had ripped from her hands.After an altercation with the schools resident mean girl, Audrey, Evelyn meets Kannon. He's a vampire that has his sight set on the new girl in town and is not shy about telling her. When new information about the past comes to light, Kannon guides Evelyn and her uncle Brad through the murky waters of dealing with vampires, claiming ownership of the house and returning the Corbin line into ruling the vampires of Hades.Evie and Kannon's affection for each other deepens despite the constant observations of the purple eyed boy. He's always around to deliver the dire warning, reminding Evelyn that the clock is ticking. The boy is the least of Evie's problems. A run in with a nasty vampire leaves Evelyn in a bad position and the only person who can help her is the new friend.One mistake will cause waves for Evelyn, creating issues that will ripple far and wide.

Sam Watkins joined the First Tennessee Regiment in 1861, fighting against the Yankees until the Confederacy surrendered in 1865, one of the few surviving men from his original company. Decades later, Watkins wrote an account of his days in the Confederate army. “Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of Civil War” is an engaging and often humorous memoir, which deftly captures the complicated humanity of a soldier’s life.

From the row houses of Baltimore to the stoops of Brooklyn, the New York Times bestselling author of The Cook Up lays bare the voices of the most vulnerable and allows their stories to uncover the systematic injustice threaded within our society. Honest and eye-opening, the pages of We Speak for Ourselves “are abundant with wisdom and wit; integrity and love, not to mention enough laughs for a stand-up comedy routine” (Mitchell S. Jackson, author of Survival Math). Watkins introduces you to Down Bottom, the storied community of East Baltimore that holds a mirror to America’s poor black neighborhoods—“hoods” that could just as easily be in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, or Atlanta. As Watkins sees it, the perspective of people who live in economically disadvantaged black communities is largely absent from the commentary of many top intellectuals who speak and write about race. Unapologetic and sharp-witted, D. Watkins is here to tell the truth as he has seen it. We Speak for Ourselves offers an in-depth analysis of inner-city hurdles and honors the stories therein. We sit in underfunded schools, walk the blocks burdened with police corruption, stand within an audience of Make America Great Again hats, journey from trap house to university lecture, and rally in neglected streets. And we listen. “Watkins has come to remind us, everyone deserves the opportunity to speak for themselves” (Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author) and serves hope to fellow Americans who are too often ignored and calling on others to examine what it means to be a model activist in today’s world. We Speak for Ourselves is a must-read for all who are committed to social change.

Eighteen-year-old Nallan Ino has grown up in a world torn apart by a devastating nuclear war. Since her induction into the Nin-Jitsu Training school, her life has been far from ordinary. In the middle of honing her new found abilities, Nallan, along with her fellow ninjas in training, are launched into the harsh reality of the world outside the safety of their school. They must travel to the place that is the seat of the Order, the country's new government. Nallan and her companions have no suspicion of the secrets that will come to light there. During her journey, she encounters a dangerous foe bent on her destruction and lost souls looking to her for salvation. Somehow she must find a balance between the needs of desperate people and her own limitations. Nallan must learn to trust her instincts and listen to her ancestors before she loses everything. Atlantis Child tells the epic story of Nallan's journey to find the truth about her past and her future.