Biography: general Books

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Book Synopsis''Highly readable, exciting and thought-provoking'' - Hilary Mantel''A gem of blood-and-thunder storytelling'' - Dominic SandbrookIn medieval England, man was the ruler of woman, and the King was the ruler of all. How, then, could royal power lie in female hands?In She-Wolves, celebrated historian, Helen Castor, tells the dramatic and fascinating stories of four exceptional women who, while never reigning queens, held great power: Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou. These were women who paved the way for Jane Grey, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I - the Tudor queens who finally confronted what it meant to be a female monarch.

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Book SynopsisOn May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder. This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou. Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides. Trade Review"A deftly written book . . . A spellbinding tale." -- The New York Times Book Review"A sober, restrained, but forceful recollection. . . . A must book for those interested in the 'revolutionaries' of the 1960s" -- Chioce"A compelling tale of the impact of white racism on a sensitive and powerful young black woman." -- Library Journal

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Book Synopsis'To say "the best cricket book ever written" is piffingly inadequate praise' Guardian'Great claims have been made for [Beyond a Boundary] since its first appearance in 1963: that it is the greatest sports book ever written; that it brings the outsider a privileged insight into West Indian culture; that it is a severe examination of the colonial condition. All are true' Sunday TimesC L R James, one of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game of cricket. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race and politics that surround it. Part memoir of a West Indian boyhood, part passionate celebration and defence of cricket as an art form, part indictment of colonialism, Beyond a Boundary addresses not just a sport but a whole culture and asks the question, 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?Trade ReviewOne of the finest and most finished books to come out of the West Indies * V. S. Naipaul *

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Book SynopsisWaris Dirie (the name means desert flower) lives a double life - by day she is a famous model and UN spokeswoman on women's rights in Africa, at night she dreams of her native Somalia. Waris, one of 12 children, was born into a traditional family of desert nomads in East Africa. She remembers her early childhood as carefree- racing camels and moving on with her family to the next grazing spot - until it came her turn to meet the old woman who administered the ancient custom imposed on most Somalian girls: circumcision. Waris suffered this torture when she was just five years old. Then, aged 12, when her father attempted to arrange a marriage with a 60 year old stranger in exchange for five camels - she took flight. After an extraordinary escape through the dangerous desert she made her way to London and worked as a maid for the Somalian ambassador until that family returned home. Penniless and speaking little English, she became a janitor in McDonalds where she was famously discovered by a fashion photographer. Her story is a truly inspirational and extraordinary self-portrait of a remarkable woman whose spirit is as breathtaking as her beauty.Trade ReviewWaris's story is one of remarkable courage. From the deserts of Somalia to the world of high fashion ... she emerges a real champion. She is the most beautiful inspiration to anyone * ELTON JOHN *A story that traverses continents, spans worlds of human experience and human pain ... Waris Dirie was a victim once, but she never will be again * EXPRESS *She was circumcised at five, fled an arranged marriage at 12, then became a Pirelli girl in her teens. Now, at twenty-eight, Waris Dirie is an ambassador for the UN. Her mission? To rid Africa of its most barbaric ritual * OBSERVER *Dirie's story is an extraordinary one. * SUNDAY TIMES *

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Book SynopsisGego infused her art with architecture and engineering to create unique works of delicate suspenseAccompanying the first major museum retrospective exhibition of Gego's work in the US in more than 15 years, this expansive, definitive catalog charts the evolution of Gego's singular approach to abstraction through organic forms, linear structures and systematic spatial investigations. Featuring nearly 300 images, including more than 160 sculptures, drawings, prints, artist's books, textiles and installations made between the early 1950s and the early 1990s, this volume also presents 11 illustrated essays by experts in the field of modern and contemporary Latin American art that trace Gego's artistic development across various mediums and disciplines, including her significant contributions to architecture and design; ground her practice in various art movements that materialized in Latin America, Europe and the US during her lifetime; and consider the pedagogicTrade ReviewI can assure you that you will not see any contemporary works, by anyone, more stimulatingly inventive than these. -- Holland Cotter * The New York Times: Arts *

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Book Synopsis''An extraordinary account of heroism and sacrifice. An unexpected and important story, rivetingly told. Rip roaring stuff. Get this into the paws of the sea dog in your life.'' - Griff Rhys Jones''A book that had to be written'' - Let''s Talk''People ashore don't realise what a grim war we are waging at sea with the Germans. A cold-blooded war, in a way I think requiring the maximum of bravery from the men of both sides in the long run, as it is so ceaseless and intangible. You just don't know whether the next moment will be your last.'' Robert Hichens, RNVSR Several years ago, Julia Jones was searching through long-forgotten items stored at her house and discovered some suitcases of old written material, which turned out to be accounts by her father of his experiences in the RNVSR (Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve). She realised that as a child she'd met some of the people mentioned, and although she was too young to truly know them, these youthTrade ReviewFrom Childers to Monsarrat via Shute and Maurice Griffiths. Julia Jones links the world of yachting, literature, the navy and war into an extraordinary account of heroism and sacrifice. An unexpected and important story, rivetingly told. Rip roaring stuff. Get this into the paws of the sea dog in your life. -- Griff Rhys JonesA story that has been a long time coming… And who to tell it better than novelist and journalist Julia Jones who has not only the gift of the pen, but whose father was one of the cadre of sailors who helped ensure that the war was won * Classic Boat *This is a magnificent portrait of men at war and a most scholarly history. * Country Life *A book that had to be written * Let's Talk *The likes of Maurice Griffiths, Peter Scott, Robert Hichens, Nevil Shute Norway and Adrian Seligman brought an inventiveness to situations that sometimes challenged the 'Navy way' but got results... A remarkable mosaic of accounts of the war at sea. -- Peter Willis * Yachting Monthly *a good book that offers a welcome insight and turns the spotlight anew on some of the forgotten men of a terrible conflict * Sailing Today *Jones describes ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances, amateur sailors turned into minesweepers or commandos, but does not allow the picturesque to distract from the gruelling realities of their experiences. * The Tablet *interesting and well-researched ... a very absorbing book * The Cruising Association *[Jones] writes with vim and vigour ... a continously astonishing book * The Spectator *An excellent read for summer days onboard. * The Lady *absorbing...compelling...informative * Seagull: The Journal of the Indian Maritime Foundation *A masterful work, which gives a wonderful flavour of the RNVSR, with its lack of formality and its individuals capable of thinking and working 'outside the box'... An engaging and entertaining read. -- Ohil Russell * Warship 2024 *Table of ContentsIntroduction: A riddle in the attic 1 ‘There must be hundreds of chaps like me’ 2 ‘I happened to look around and he was gone’ 3 ‘They ought to make some use of us’ 4 ‘Are there many like you in England?’ 5 ‘Do you think you’ll like this sort of thing?’ 6 ‘I hardened to the life’ 7 ‘So casual and quiet in the extraordinary things that you do’ 8 ‘I couldn’t help noticing that it wasn’t quite what you expected’ 9 ‘He helped me out of a bit of a mess’ 10 ‘The last strongholds were battered, stormed and overwhelmed’ 11 ‘I sign articles’ 12 ‘Small things sidled out of dark hiding places’ 13 ‘The dark spaces of the North Sea’ 14 ‘Mosquitoes with stings’ 15 ‘The very splash of the surf and the bubble of the tides’ 16 ‘Distracted by the multiplicity of its functions’ 17 ‘Every inch of it must be important’ 18 ‘It’s a dirty-looking night and I don’t like this swell’ 19 ‘Would you care to join me in a little yachting?’ 20 ‘Multitudes of seagoing lighters, carrying full loads of soldiers’ 21 ‘There was an outburst of shouting which soon died away’ 22 ‘Goodbye Old Chap’ 23 ‘From that point our personal history is of no concern’ Endnotes Acknowledgements Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn innovative reassessment of the last writings and final years of Karl Marx. In the last years of his life, Karl Marx expanded his research in new directions—studying recent anthropological discoveries, analyzing communal forms of ownership in precapitalist societies, supporting the populist movement in Russia, and expressing critiques of colonial oppression in India, Ireland, Algeria, and Egypt. Between 1881 and 1883, he also traveled beyond Europe for the first and only time. Focusing on these last years of Marx's life, this book dispels two key misrepresentations of his work: that Marx ceased to write late in life, and that he was a Eurocentric and economic thinker fixated on class conflict alone. With The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto claims a renewed relevance for the late work of Marx, highlighting unpublished or previously neglected writings, many of which remain unavailable in English. Readers are invited to reconsider Marx's critique of European colonialism, his ideas on non-Western societies, and his theories on the possibility of revolution in noncapitalist countries. From Marx's late manuscripts, notebooks, and letters emerge an author markedly different from the one represented by many of his contemporary critics and followers alike. As Marx currently experiences a significant rediscovery, this volume fills a gap in the popularly accepted biography and suggests an innovative reassessment of some of his key concepts.Trade Review"Marcello Musto, arguably the greatest connoisseur of Marx's life, offers us one revelation after another. Whereas many have understood the period after the Paris Commune as a time of divulgation and implementation of his already established political doctrine, Musto instead brilliantly demonstrates that Marx spent these years opening new and important theoretical horizons upon which we must meditate in order not to remain 'Marxists' against Marx himself!"—Étienne Balibar, author of The Philosophy of Marx"Marcello Musto's work is essential for his analysis of Marx's life and thought. In this book, Musto focuses on Marx's inquiries in his final years. The anthropological manuscripts, the studies on the transformation of property, and the criticism of colonialism written in this period are striking. Musto takes us by the hand and invites us to discover a new Marx."—Antonio Negri, author of Marx beyond Marx"This volume is a major contribution to the study of Marx and revolutionary thought. Beautifully written, constructed through an insightful examination of thousands of pages of Marx's unpublished writings and notes, this book represents a timely contribution to the contemporary Marx revival. It is a gift to the many who still look to Marx for political inspiration."—Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation"[A] study that breaks new ground in our understanding of Marx between 1881 and 1883....Musto gives us a portrait of a thinker in his last years that challenges the representations others have imposed upon him."—Daniel Whittall, Review 31"Musto masterfully weaves together rich biographical detail and a sophisticated engagement with Marx's mature, oftentimes self-questioning writing."—Nicolas Allen, Jacobin"Marcello Musto is undoubtedly the rising star on the "marxological" firmament. The Last Years of Karl Marx is an innovative book that helps us, in a magisterial way, to discover Marx's intellectualactivity during the period 1881-1883."—Aktief"There has been a gaping hole in studies of Karl Marx leaving out the last few years before his death in March 1883. Despite the recent revival of Marx studies, this 'forgotten chapter' of his life has remained in the shadows, until now with Marcello Musto's informative and well-crafted book, The Last Years of Karl Marx."—Robert Ware, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books"Musto's book presents an overview of Marx's studies, debates, correspondence, affectionate relationships, diseases, sorrows, and journeys during the last years of his life. Pages cataloguing Marx's readings are very useful and informative... Such pages are... followed by stories of Marx's family life, correspondence regarding politics, and Marx's personal relations with his comrades. This rhythm of the prose leads the reader through the pages of this book, which is packed with detailed information."—Paula Rauhala, Socialism and Democracy"Musto clears up the many misunderstandings of Marx, conveying, for example, that Marx did not believe that interpretive frameworks based on Western European history should be slavishly applied to other contexts, and that he was not an economic determinist...Highly recommended."—M. J. Wert, CHOICE"Marcello Musto's combination of personal biography and intellectual appraisal makes for inspiring reading. He argues very well that Marx's ideas cannot be limited to a simplistic formula, but are living and dynamic."—Barry Healy, Green Left"Musto...makes a strength of what is usually claimed to be a liability of Marx's theory: that he does not sketch the communist future. Just as capitalism permeates different historical and geographical environments differently and at a different pace, albeit with some common features, Marx's nimble historical understanding means that we are more likely to confront communist futures rather than a single monolith."—Amy E. Wendling, The Review of Politics"Musto's study makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Marx in his last years, offering an angle from which to consider him that departs from the more usual focus on either the young Marx orCapital.(...)As it stands, this study by Musto fills a huge gap in our understanding of Marx."—Kevin B. Anderson, New Politics: Journal of Socialist Thought"By stitching together the unfinished work in progress and the whole range of disciplines Marx was preoccupied with in his last years, Marcello Mustopresents a systematically connected bold socio-political reading of Marx."—Arkayan Ganguly, Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory"Marcello Musto's The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual Biography provides an illuminating glance at the work and life of Karl Marx during the most unexamined period of his life. Musto's oscillation between Marx's work and life provides readers with both an intellectual allurement towards research in Marx's later years and with a warm image of Marx's intimate life sure to guarantee both laughs and tears."—Carlos L. Garrido, Midwestern Marx"In The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto provides an affectionate and careful journey through the final two years of Marx's life."—William Clare Roberts, Political Science QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. New Research Horizons 2. Controversy over the Development of Capitalism in Russia 3. The Travails of "Old Nick" 4. The Moor's Last Journey

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Book SynopsisA biography by Nicole Rudick told in Saint Phalle's own words, assembled from rare and unseen materials Known best for her exuberant, often large-scale sculptural works that celebrate the abundance and complexity of female desire, imagination and creativity, Niki de Saint Phalle viewed making art as a ritual, a performance—a process connecting life to art. This unconventional, illuminated biography, told in the first person in Saint Phalle's voice and her own hand, dilates large and small moments in Saint Phalle's life which she sometimes reveals with great candor, at other times carefully unwinding her secrets. Nicole Rudick, in a kind of collaboration with the artist, has assembled a gorgeous and detailed mosaic of Saint Phalle's visual and textual works from a trove of paintings, drawings, sketches and writings, many previously unpublished or long unavailable, that trace her mistakes and successes, her passions and her radical sense of joy. Saint Phalle's invocation—her "bringing to life"—writes Rudick, "is an apt summation of the overlap of Saint Phalle’s life and art: both a bringing into existence and a bringing to bear. These are visions from the frontiers of consciousness." Born in France, Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) was raised in New York and began making art at age 23, pursuing a revelatory vision informed both by the monumental works of Antonin Gaudí and the Facteur Cheval, and by aspects of her own life. In addition to her Tirs (“shooting paintings”) and Nanas and her celebrated large-scale projects—including the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou, Golem in Jerusalem and the Tarot Garden in Tuscany—Saint Phalle produced writing and works on paper that delve into her own biography: childhood and her break with her family, marriage to Harry Mathews, motherhood, a long collaborative relationship with Jean Tinguely, numerous health crises and her late, productive years in Southern California. Saint Phalle has most recently been the subject of retrospectives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in 2015, and at MoMA P.S.1, in 2021. Nicole Rudick is a critic and an editor. Her writing on art, literature and comics has been published in the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, the New Yorker, Artforum and elsewhere. She was managing editor of the Paris Review for nearly a decade. She is the editor, most recently, of a new edition of Gary Panter’s legendary comic Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise (New York Review Comics, 2021).Trade ReviewTracking Saint Phalle’s creative, personal, and professional odyssey from childhood to old age, with an emphasis on persistent themes of feminism, abuse, and illness, the book is just as much a testament to the willful production of artistic subjectivity as it is to the manifold powers of art as an instrument of therapy, education, and activism. -- Jackson Davidow * Los Angeles Review of Books *As readers, we inhabit her consciousness—we grow and process with her...This is the greatest strength of What Is Now Known: It offers an intimate emotional portrait—an experiential biography, you might say—of Saint Phalle. -- Jillian Steinhauer * The Nation *What Is Now Known also clarifies editing as a creative act rather than a definitive one. Saint Phalle wrote nothing for this book, and yet this book is written by her. Embracing that contradiction, Rudick enables the artist to speak for herself, as herself, once again. -- Jennifer Krasinski * Bookforum *The book follows her international journey weathering the highs and lows of being an artist, woman, friend, daughter, lover, and mother. The person who emerges is open, driven, and often remarkably perceptive about who she is and why. -- Lauren Moya Ford * Hyperallergic *

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Book SynopsisAn extensively researched, comprehensive biography of Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, one of the twentieth century’s most powerful and controversial figuresTrade Review“A long overdue reappraisal of the life of the Chinese leader.”—Francis Sempa, New York Journal of Books“A refreshing reappraisal of a man who was neither the corrupt fascist of standard historiography nor the tragic hero of more recent positive reassessments.”—Sheila Miyosh Jager, History Today, “Books of the Year 2023”“Drawing on Russian archival materials as well as his expertise on Chinese Communism, Pantsov offers a new and unique assessment of Chiang Kai-shek’s complex character.”—Chen Yungfa, author of Making Revolution: The Communist Movement in Eastern and Central China, 1937–1945“History dealt Chiang Kai-shek a cruel hand and to date, historians have been no kinder. However, recently opened archives and personal papers offer fresh insights into Chiang’s life. Be prepared for surprises in this gripping, masterful account of the life and times of a flawed but heroic figure.”—John Fitzgerald, Swinburne University, Melbourne“Alexander Pantsov brings his finely honed narrative and research skills to bear on the life of Chiang Kai-shek. No one interested in where today’s China came from can afford to miss this book.”—Hans van de Ven, Cambridge University

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Book SynopsisThis nostalgic and absorbing memoir tells the story of a real-life female police detective in post-war Britain, as she navigates a man's world.It's 1956, and the Berkshire Constabulary has never had a woman detective before. That is, until bright and ambitious WPC Gwen Crockford passes out of Hendon Detective Training School with flying colours...After five years serving as one of Britain's first policewomen, Gwen Crockford becomes one of its first female detectives. Swapping crime prevention for detection, she must soon become comfortable with attending murder scenes and post-mortems, investigating sex crimes and going undercover. Her police work is diverse and challenging: dealing with Teddy boy violence, arson, a paedophile 'war hero', and solving an unexplained death are all part of her remit.Gwen is sharp and quick to learn, considered 'one of the boys' by her colleagues, DS Kinch and DS Le Mercier. Until, that is, the traumatizing death of a child, the arrival of a new sexist DS, and near-zero opportunity for promotion force Gwen to reevaluate her career.Written and researched by Gwen's daughter Ruth from family papers, remembered stories from her mother and contemporary newspapers, this is a fascinating insight into late-1950s society and the challenges faced by female police officers.This is the second book in the Crockford series, following Calling WPC Crockford – Gwen's time as a pioneering uniform policewoman in the early 1950s.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers""One of Next Big Idea Club's Most Anticipated Nonfiction Books of Spring"

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Book SynopsisFive decades of iconic and incisive art from Barbara Kruger Since the mid-1970s, Barbara Kruger (born 1945) has been interrogating the hierarchies of power and control in works that often combine visual and written language. In her singular graphic style, Kruger probes aspects of identity, desire and consumerism that are embedded in our everyday lives. This volume traces her continuously evolving practice to reveal how she adapts her work in accordance with the moment, site and context. The book features a range of striking images—from her analogue paste-ups of the 1980s to digital productions of the last two decades, including new works produced on the occasion of the exhibition. Also featured are singular works in vinyl, her large-scale room wraps, multichannel videos, site-specific installations and commissioned works. The book also showcases how Kruger’s site-specific works have been reconceived for each venue, and includes a section of reprinted texts selected by the artist. Renowned for her use of direct address and her engagement with contemporary culture, Kruger is one of the most incisive and courageous artists working today. This volume explores how her pictures and words remain urgently resonant in a rapidly changing world.Trade ReviewWith the 33 works made over four decades, audiences will see that she goes well beyond clever graphics, also using sound installations and videos for her sharp takes on culture and society. -- Ted Loos * New York Times: Arts *Kruger’s oeuvre hinges on the malleability of language, and how removing it from its everyday context can weaponize it. … Her work has shifted focus from feminist ideology. -- Brehmer Brehmer * Hyperallergic *Bold and convincing, occasionally overblunt and occasionally mischievous. Part backward looking and part revision and update for the constantly moving present, it embodies and thickens Kruger’s refracting of the language of advertising and propaganda through an anticapitalist, humanist lens. -- Jon Caramanica * New York Times *A new book, 'Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You', gathers together this seminal artist’s vast body of work. From the analogue paste-ups of the 1980s to her digital works of the last two decades, the anthology traces Kruger’s evolving practice, taking in the groundbreaking artist’s many site-specific installations, works on vinyl, and multichannel videos, among many other mediums. -- Emily Dinsdale * Dazed *Traces her forever evolving practice, revealing how she has adapted her work to suit the moment, site and context. [...] In these trying times, the book reminds us that Kruger's pictures and words remain as important as ever, shining a light on current affairs, cultural shifts, and the powers that be in a rapidly changing world. -- Katy Cowan * Creative Boom *

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Book SynopsisWhy would anyone want to do something as dangerous as motorcycling? For those who love to ride, no explanation is necessary. For everyone else, there’s Why We Ride. Designed as both an explanation for outsiders and an anthem for those within the fold, this new book presents the insights of Mark Barnes, PhD, a motorcycling clinical psychologist. As a popular columnist at Motorcycle Consumer News for more than 20 years, Dr. Barnes articulates the elusive physical, emotional and interpersonal elements that make the world of the motorcyclist such a rich and exciting place. His wide-ranging text covers both sports psychology and the psychoanalysis of common riding experiences, including the results of Dr. Barnes’ own empirical research. Heartfelt and thought provoking, here is a straightforward account of what makes real motorcyclists tick.Trade ReviewWhy we Ride—A Psychologist Explains the Motorcyclist’s Mind and the Love Affair between Rider, Bike, and Road is entertaining and thought-provoking and well worth a read. —Ultimate MotorcyclingFor its concise explanation of the manly art of bench racing alone, Why We Ride is worth reading. —DrivingBecoming a skilled rider requires layering; obtaining skills and polishing them over extended periods of time, refining them and always working to improve. Reading “Why We Ride” can be approached the same way; gradually assimilating stories and the lessons therein, and adopting them for personal use. —Ride-CTHeartfelt and thought provoking, here is a straightforward account of what really makes motorcyclists tick. —Motorcyclist's PostTable of ContentsTable of Contents Preface PART ONE: WHY WE RIDE Introduction The Survey Category One: Engagement Category Two: Autonomy Category Three: Mastery Category Four: Exhilaration Category Five: Transcendence Category Six: Relaxation Category Seven: Practicality Concluding Comments PART TWO: SELECTED COLUMNS From the GARAGE The Joy of Maintenance Perfect Imperfection Just Say No Necessary Evils Your Rite to Ride Making it Personal Necessity is a Mother Garage Fever From the ROAD Human Relations 102 The Verdict Can't Live with 'em, Can't Live without 'em Feels Like the First Time...Again The Call of the Open Road Get Lost! What Should Be vs. What Is Doh! Brain Fade and the Perils of Fatigue From the TRAIL Dirty Thoughts Half the Fun Back to School Near-Life Experiences Experts From the TRACK Concentrating on Concentration Learning Curves The "Trust Me" Line You Just Can't Get There from Here From the COUCH (Freud goes for a ride) Twin Brain - Part One Twin Brain - Part Two Moto-Voyeurism Linkages Spiritual Motorcycling Self-Diagnostics Shifting Riding in the Zone Motorcycle Camping Moto-Connoisseurism Safe Distance Displacement Black Boxes The Voice of (In)Experience Loud Pipes Do What? Top Ten Reasons... Moto-Placebos Oh, What a Feeling! Getting in Touch with Your Inner Cartographer (or not) From the HEART (personal favorites) Wrecks Sensory-Motor Satori A Cure for What Ails Us Riding Through the Valley of the Shadow Giving Ourselves a Hand Milestones PART THREE: FLOW FOR RIDERS Introduction Aspect One: Challenge-Skill Balance Aspect Two: Action-Awareness Merger Aspect Three: Clarity of Purpose Aspect Four: Clarity of Feedback Aspect Five: Present Task Focus Aspect Six: Paradox of Control Aspect Seven: Absence of Self-Consciousness Aspect Eight: Transformation of Time Aspect Nine: Autotelic Experience Concluding Comments

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Book SynopsisFrom a trusted advisor and devoted friend of Mother Teresa comes a “powerful” (The Washington Free Beacon) firsthand account of the miraculous woman behind the saint and a book that is “rich in reflection on contemporary sanctity” (George Weigel).Mother Teresa was one of the most admired women of the 20th century, and her memory continues to inspire charitable work around the world. She believed the greatest need of a human being is to love and be loved. In 1948, she founded the Missionaries of Charity to work directly with the very poorest of Calcutta. From the efforts of one woman entering the slums of Entally, the Missionaries of Charity grew into an organization operating soup kitchens, health clinics, hospices, and shelters in 139 countries, at no cost to any government or to those who served. In 2016, she became Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Author Jim Towey had been a high-flying Congressional staffer and lawyer in the 1980s until a brief meeting with Mother Teresa illuminated the emptiness of his life. He began volunteering at one of her soup kitchens and using his legal skills and political connections to help the Missionaries of Charity. When Mother Teresa suggested he take up shifts at her AIDS hospice, Towey realized he was all in. Soon, he gave up his job and possessions and became a full-time volunteer for Mother Teresa. He traveled with her frequently, arranged her meetings with politicians, and handled many of her legal affairs. To Love and Be Loved is an “inspiring and joyful” (Kirkus Reviews) firsthand account of Mother Teresa’s last years, and the first book ever to detail her dealings with worldly matters. We see her gracefully navigate the opportunities and challenges to leadership, the perils of celebrity, and the humiliations and triumphs of aging. We also catch her indulging in chocolate ice cream, making jokes about mini-skirts, and telling the President of the United States he’s wrong. Above all, we see her extraordinary devotion to God and to the very poorest of His children. Mother Teresa taught Towey to be more prayerful, less selfish, more humble, less worldly, move in love with God, and less in love with himself. Her lessons are here for all to share.

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Book SynopsisAn account of the state's development, from the earliest native settlements. Focusing on the state's changing population over time, this book highlights the achievements of ordinary people, including the women, the African Americans, and the other minorities. Containing illustrations, it appeals to students of history and general readers alike.Trade ReviewBiles' first-rate primer on the state's history will be a useful resource for anyone curious about a state whose residents have played crucial roles in almost every major episode in the nation's history. * Chicago Tribune *Lively and informative.... Biles clearly and cogently traces the Prairie State's distinctive history, from its earliest geological and Indian eras to the present. * THe annals of iowa *A scholarly and highly accessible survey text that balances the rural and urban experience. * Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of maps Preface 1 The Indians and the French 2 British Colonial Rule and American Independence 3 From Territory to Statehood 4 Settling the Frontier 5 Slave State or Free? 6 Civil War 7 A Modernizing World 8 The Spirit of Reform 9 An Artistic Renaissance 10 World War I and the Red Scare 11 Prosperity and Depression 12 World War II 13 Postwar Boom and Suburban Growth 14 Turbulence and Change 15 An Uncertain Future Epilogue Notes Bibliographical Essay Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1913 Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase exploded through the American art world. This is the story of how he followed the painting to New York two years later, enchanted the Arensberg salon, and—almost incidentally—changed art forever. In 1915, a group of French artists fled war-torn Europe for New York. In the few months between their arrival—and America’s entry into the war in April 1917—they pushed back the boundaries of the possible, in both life and art. The vortex of this transformation was the apartment at 33 West 67th Street, owned by Walter and Louise Arensberg, where artists and poets met nightly to talk, eat, drink, discuss each others’ work, play chess, plan balls, organise magazines and exhibitions, and fall in and out of love. At the center of all this activity stood the mysterious figure of Marcel Duchamp, always approachable, always unreadable. His exhibit of a urinal, which he called Fountain, briefly shocked the New York art world before falling, like its perpetrator, into obscurity. Many people (of both sexes) were in love with Duchamp. Henri-Pierre Roché and Beatrice Wood were among them; they were also, briefly, and (for her) life-changingly, in love with each other. Both kept daily diaries, which give an intimate picture of the events of those years. Or rather two pictures—for the views they offer, including of their own love affair, are stunningly divergent. Spellbound by Marcel follows Duchamp, Roché, and Beatrice as they traverse the twentieth century. Roché became the author of Jules and Jim, made into a classic film by François Truffaut. Beatrice became a celebrated ceramicist. Duchamp fell into chess-playing obscurity until, decades later, he became famous for a second time—as Fountain was elected the twentieth century’s most influential artwork. 'Breezily entertaining...There's a fabulous cast of supporting characters on this busy stage' - The Spectator'A delicious and deeply researched portrait of its time' - New York Times'Part drama, part page-turning history, this paints the complexities of art and love in a seductive light' - Publishers WeeklyTrade Review“Beatrice Wood is effectively the protagonist and certainly the most appealing subject of Spellbound by Marcel: Duchamp, Love, and Art. Her élan is legendary. Hellbent on breaking free of the expectations of her upbringing, Wood seems to me a singular, wild-card creative personality of the twentieth century. Brandon contributes a fair amount to what the milieu was like for a shifting cast of characters who focused and intensified a transformative Zeitgeist. Glimpses into their romantic entanglements provide a flickering, you-are-there perspective.” * Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker *"Spellbound by Marcel is a group biography which charts the triangulated love affair between Duchamp, Beatrice Wood, and Henri-Pierre Roche, and the others who crossed their paths and their beds. The portrait Brandon sketches of Wood is especially winning. She comes across with novelistic vibrancy. A delicious and deeply researched portrait of its time.” * Lauren Elkin, The New York Times Book Review *“Cultural historian and novelist Brandon explores how and why a large group of sophisticated, talented people fell under the spell of the mysterious, enigmatic artist Marcel Duchamp. Drawing on revealing letters, diaries, and memoirs, Brandon’s buoyant, meticulous story begins in 1913 with New York’s Armory Show of new European art, including Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase. The plot thickens as Brandon pauses to discuss Duchamp’s Fountain, a groundbreaking “readymade” piece in the form of an upside-down urinal with puzzling “R. Mutt 1917” lettering. An elaborate, spicy, period piece tell-all.” * Kirkus Reviews *"Drawing on the stories of the Arensbergs and three principal figures in their salon—Duchamp, Beatrice Wood, and Henri-Pierre Roché—Brandon has woven a narrative that intermingles complex romantic entanglements with persistent artistic aspirations." * New York Journal of Books *"Spellbound by Marcel makes for enjoyable reading. The revolving door of affairs, breakups, betrayals, and wild avant-garde stunts is quite juicy. It’s also impressively researched. Brandon speaks with the authority that comes from intimate familiarity with the key players’ own words about their lives." * Daily Art Magazine *"Brandon is a congenial stage manager, adept at presenting and dismissing her dramatis personae. Unblushing, she dispenses salacious gossip, patiently decoding the diaries of Roché." * The Spectator *Praise for Ruth Brandon:"As entertaining as the contemporary works of fiction such lives inspired, Brandon displays a keen understanding of a complex educational system that kept its subjects ignorant even while purporting to enlighten.” * The New Yorker *“[Brandon] never loses her profound empathy and passion for her subjects' travails.” * Kirkus Reviews *“Brandon's chronicles are poignant. It is important to remember what a great, necessary and arduous achievement the education of women was.” * The Wall Street Journal *“A masterly survey. Even when donning her sociologist's hat, Brandon is still lively as well as humane. Fairly sizzling with fascination.” * Washington Times *“As a biographer, she provides brilliantly detailed backgrounds on her subjects, leaving the reader wanting still more. A very interesting look into the struggle to create parity between the sexes in this era. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.” * Library Journal *"A ripping account of celebrity and magic. Brandon has chosen a fascinating subject and written a book that rises to it superbly. A compelling account of a peculiar life.” * The Sunday Times (London) *"Brandon paints a fascinating picture of turn-of-the-century America.” * The Times (London) *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[An] excellent new book." -- Robert Krulwich, NPR "[A] sumptuously illustrated visual biography...Radioactive is an incisive look at science's greatest partnership." -- Vogue "One of the most beautiful books-as-object that I've ever seen." -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love "[Radioactive is] a deeply unusual and forceful thing to have in your hands. Ms. Redniss's text is long, literate and supple...Her drawings are both vivid and ethereal...Radioactive is serious science and brisk storytelling. The word 'luminous' is a critic's cliche, to be avoided at all costs, but it fits." -- New York Times "Radioactive is quite unlike any book I have ever read-part history, part love story, part art work and all parts sheer imaginative genius." -- Malcolm Gladwell "Absolutely dazzling. Lauren Redniss has created a book that is both vibrant history and a work of art. Like radium itself, Radioactive glows with energy." -- Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, winner of the Pulitzer Prize "Radioactive offer innumerable wonders. Colors suddenly bloom into tremendous feeling, history contracts into a pair of elongated figures locked in an embrace, then expands again in an explosive rush of words. In this wholly original book about passion and discovery Lauren Redniss has invented her own unique form." -- Nicole Krauss, author of The History of Love

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A revelation, a powerhouse, a thing of beauty, and—OK, I’ll say it—a knockout. Joe Frazier is one of the most compelling figures ever to step in a boxing ring, and Mark Kram, Jr. has written a biography worthy in every way of the champ’s greatness.” — Jonathan Eig, bestselling author of Ali: A Life “Mark Kram, Jr. much, much more than splendidly gets to the strange anomaly that was Smokin’ Joe: you’d have thought the guy didn’t get no respect. Only he did. Lots...His life is a story worth reading.” — Richard Ford “Mark Kram, Jr.’s sympathetic and thoroughly researched Smokin’ Joe is a worthy introduction to an under-appreciated American athlete.” — Joyce Carol Oates “An exquisite biography that depicts Frazier as he really was: not just fearless and ferocious but soulful, compassionate, loyal, impulsive, capable of powerful hatred and even more powerful love. You can feel the gospel truth of Smokin’ Joe deep in your bones.” — John Schulian, winner of the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing “Mark Kram Jr.’s landmark book about Joe Frazier...at last remedies a grave wrong, lifting the indomitable Frazier out of the crypt of creeping obscurity and into the exalted place he deserves in America’s annals...[A] sublime exploration.” — Michael Leahy, aof the Casey Award-winning The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers “Bookish fans of the sweet science will flock to this biography.” — Kirkus Reviews “A comprehensive knockout of a biography...[A] beautiful book.” — Wall Street Journal "Kram...writes with the intensity that Frazier fought with...Unlike his subject, Kram knows when to take a step back and reflect, revealing a Frazier far removed from the enduring portrayal of him as 'an angry and unforgiving man so incapable of letting go of the hatred he harbored for Ali.'" — The National Book Review

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Book SynopsisGeoffrey Robertson QC has been at the centre of internationally high-profile legal cases for over three decades. From representing Princess Diana to Salman Rushdie, to his involvement in the celebrated criminal trials of Oz magazine and Gay News, Robertson is an unfailing champion of human rights, justice, freedom and democracy. In this captivating memoir, Robertson reveals what draws him to each case, his ingenious analysis and interpretation of the courtroom proceedings, and the legal and civic consequences wrapping each case into a thrilling, rollercoaster sequence of events.Entertaining, scandalous and hugely insightful, The Justice Game provides a piercing behind-the-scenes look into courtroom cases, the practice of the law and the never-ending fight in striving to narrow the gap between the law and justice. A highly recommended read for those interested in current affairs, criminal and public law, legal history and the British legal system.This wondeTrade ReviewFor all his reputation as a radical lawyer, flailing at the Establishment, he proves himself to be a believer * Independent *This wonderful book...reads like a John Grisham, infused with moral anger * Independent *Well-written, powerful...Robertson's work has changed the way government works, and made it more accountable...a good read for people of any age -- Jack Straw * New Statesman *Geoffrey Robertson Q.C. is one of those few fearless and romantic lawyers dedicated to reducing the difference between law and justice -- David Jessel * Scotland on Sunday *Compellingly told, entertaining, sometimes hilarious and always illuminating -- John Mortimer

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Book Synopsis''REVELATORY'' - DAILY TELEGRAPH *****''FASCINATING'' - OBSERVER''ENGROSSING'' - DAILY MAIL''You'll worry at your hunger to keep on reading, but you won't be able to stop'' - GUARDIAN, Book of the Year David Litvinoff was one of the great mythic characters of 60s London. Flitting between the worlds of music, art and crime, he exerted a hidden influence that helped create the Krays twins' legend, connected the Rolling Stones with London's dark side, shaped the plot of classic film Performance and saw him immortalised in a portrait by Lucian Freud. Litvinoff's determination to live without trace means that his life has always eluded biographers, until now. Intent on unravelling the enigma of Litvinoff, Keiron Pim conducted 100 interviews over five years, speaking to Eric Clapton and Marianne Faithfull, James Fox and Mad' Frankie Fraser. The result is an extraordinary feat of researcTrade ReviewYou’ll worry at your hunger to keep on reading, but you won’t be able to stop. * Guardian, Book of the Year *The rock'n'roll legend of David Litvinoff is given its definitive account. A considerable work of detection and human sympathy unpicking old myths and making them new. -- Iain SinclairThis surely has the most startling beginning of any biography to be published this year… Vivid, engrossing… Pim gives an all too graphic picture of the seedy 1950s… He is compassionate and humane at every moment. His prose is always careful and stylish. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Guardian *Blending pop culture, social history and interviews with raddled survivors, Pim reconstructs every scene in Litvinoff’s twisted history… Jumpin’ Jack Flash provides the missing piece of Swinging London’s social jigsaw. -- Dominic Green * Literary Review *Blending pop culture, social history and interviews with raddled survivors, Pim reconstructs every scene in Litvinoff’s twisted history… Jumpin’ Jack Flash provides the missing piece of Swinging London’s social jigsaw. -- Dominic Green * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisChristological terminology in its Biblical and Early Church contextsTable of ContentsAbbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. The Son of Man 1. Philological Problems and Problems connected with the History of Religion 2. The Son of Man Concept and the Preaching of Jesus 3. Words concerning the futre Action of the Son of Man 4. Words concerning the earthly Deeds of the Son of Man 5. Words concerning the Passion and Resurrection of the Son of Man Excursus I: The Idea of the Vicariously Suffering Servant of God in the Earliest Christianity Chapter 2. Kyrios 1. The Hellenistic and Old Testament Use of the Title of Lord 2. The Description of Jesus as Lord in the Palestinian Tradition 3. The 'Lord' who is to come again 4. The Exalted One as 'Kyrios' Excursus II: Psalm 110:1 and the Idea of the Exaltation of Jesus Chapter 3. Christos 1. The Background in teh Old Testament and Late Judaism 2. The Significance of the Messianic Concept in the Life of Jesus 3. The Messianism of Jesus in the Oldest Tradition 4. Jesus as Messiah in the Context of the Concept of Exaltaion 5. The Connection of the Passion-Tradition with the Christos Title 6. The Generalisation of the Christos Title and its Use as a Proper Name Excursus III: Analysis of Mark 8:27-33 Excursus IV: The Conception of the High Priestly Messiah and the Primitive Christian Tradition Chapter 4. Son of David 1. Jesus as Son of David in the Oldest Tradition 2. Jesus as Son of David in Hellenistic Jewish Christianity 3. JThe Davidic Sonsihip of Jesus in the Nativity Narratives of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke Chapter 5. Son of God 1. The Presumptions of the early Christian Title Son of God 2. Son of God as Designation of the Jesus who is to come again and of the Exalted One 3. The Son of God Conception in Hellensitic Jewish Christianity 4. Jesus as Son of God in Hellenistic Gentile Christianity 5. Jesus as 'the Son' Excursus V: Analysis of the Transfiguration and Baptism Narratives Retrospect Appendix: The Eschatological Prophet Index of Subjects Index of Biblical Passages

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Book SynopsisArising out of a game of ''hide and seek'' played with two young children, Cardinal Basil Hume made each hiding place a setting for a discovery of something new about the spiritual life. He chose the title because, as he put it, ''my spiritual life is more a wandering in Blunderland than resting and relaxing in Wonderland. I would guess that most of us would say the same. What matters, however, is that minds and hearts should be involved in the search for God, where the seeking and the finding go hand in hand.'' This is one of the best loved religious books, enchanting young and old, believer and sceptic.

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Book SynopsisA revealing biography of Sidney Reilly, the early twentieth-century virtuoso of espionageTrade Review“Mr. Morris’s dogged research—particularly into the shadowy intrigues that Reilly immersed himself in during the years surrounding World War I, the Russian Revolution and the founding of the Soviet Union—lends impressive rigor to this portrait of an often-cryptic figure.”—Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal“Benny Morris recounts the stranger-than-fiction biography of the famous British spy who lied his way through the turmoil of the early twentieth century and introduces a new generation of readers to a character more compelling than James Bond.”—Matti Friedman, author of Spies of No Country“Sidney Reilly adopted and shed identities as easily as he took and dropped wives, lovers, get-rich schemes, and plots. A remarkable book about a remarkable man, this will be the definitive biography of the early twentieth century’s preeminent spy.”—Gershom Gorenberg, author of War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“[A] rollicking narrative…[An] absorbing and original book…Superb”—Ben Wilson, Times“There is much in Taylor’s book. It is interesting to see how pragmatically humane the navy could be, particularly in peacetime.”—David Mills, Sunday Times“[A]n accessible, humanistic portrait of a life characterised by hardship and comradeship.”— History Revealed“Episodes [are] gripping to read and fascinating in their particulars”—Ian Garrick Mason, Spectator“Taylor's research, skilful exposition, and elegant integration of text, archive and image has produced a compelling account of the men who made modern Britain, one that supplants all those that has gone before. Essential reading for sailors of the open ocean and the armchair.”—Andrew Lambert, BBC History Magazine“If most of these men's names have seeped into oblivion like so much sea froth, Taylor has brought their experiences back to vivid and exhilarating life: he stitches together the brutality and wonder of their lives with intelligence, judgement and compassion.”—Mathew Lyons, Literary Review“Sons of the Waves is the heir apparent to [John] Masefield's book as the best introduction for the general reader to the lives of eighteenth-century British seamen…Using the full range of available sources, Taylor has brought out the authentic, rarely heard, voice of Jack Tar.”—John B. Hattendorf, Times Literary Supplement“A vivid and engaging 'history from below' which provides a rich and readable demonstration of the ways in which the skills and experiences of seafarers helped to shape our society”—Nautilus Telegraph ‘Book of the Month’“The best introduction for the general reader to the lives of 18th century British seamen … Taylor has brought out the authentic, rarely heard voice of Jack Tar.” —John B. Hattedorff, Times Literary Supplement“Engrossing … suffused with a dark Dickensian melancholy.” —Roger Lewis, Daily Mail,Book of the Week“Fascinating and satisfying … A kaleidoscope of individual personalities and adventures” — N.A.M. Rodger, London Review of Books “Taylor’s experience as a writer of maritime history is evident in his adroit crafting of narrative, vivid portrayal of his characters and clear familiarity with his archival sources.” —Global Maritime History Certificate of Merit, Mounbatten Book Prize awards, 2020"An excellent book, combining an original approach to the subject with original research. Jack Tar, the quintessential British hero, emerges from this collective biography as a self-confident fellow, part of the collective body that sustained national prosperity, security and power.”—Andrew Lambert, author of Nelson"This enthusiastic account gives a vivid picture of life below decks in the era of the sailing navy. It is a classic of its kind, brimful with riotous episodes and gripping anecdotes anchored in detailed research."—Margarette Lincoln, author of Trading in War"The Royal Navy had some great leaders but what made their achievements possible was the thousands of unknown and unheard-from seamen who manned these vessels. This book starts the exploration of those fascinating lives."—Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

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Book SynopsisJoseph McGill Jr., a historic preservationist and Civil War reenactor, founded the Slave Dwelling Project in 2010 based on an idea that was sparked and first developed in 1999.Since founding the project, McGill has been touring the country, spending the night in former slave dwellings-throughout the South, but also the North and the West, where people are often surprised to learn that such structures exist. Events and gatherings are arranged around these overnight stays, and it provides a unique way to understand the often otherwise obscured and distorted history of slavery. The project has inspired difficult conversations about race in communities from South Carolina to Alabama to Texas to Minnesota to New York, and all over the United States.Sleeping with the Ancestors focuses on all of the key sites McGill has visited in his ongoing project and digs deeper into the actual history of each location, using McGill''s own experience and conversations with the co

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Book SynopsisAmy Vedder is a wildlife biologist, a scientist who studies animals and their behavior. She uses her knowledge to save animals whose lives and habitats are threatened. This book presents the story of this young nature lover who became a powerful champion of great apes.Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Close Encounter

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Book SynopsisMimi Koehl is a biomechanist. She uses engineering and physics to study the designs of living things that fly, swim, drift, and crawl. She loves solving riddles about how creatures 'from feathered dinosaurs to flying frogs' live and move. This book presents her story.Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Hope Calling

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Book SynopsisYou don''t have to change your life overnight--instead, you can make small changes that leave a lasting impact. In The 2% Way, discover the simple, revolutionary practice behind the against-the-odds success story of Dr. Myron L. Rolle. Dr. Rolle has led a remarkable life: from earning a scholarship to a prestigious private high school to becoming a top-rated recruit at Florida State University; from winning the Rhodes Scholarship for study at Oxford to playing football in the NFL and then becoming a neurosurgery resident at Harvard.In this inspiring book, Dr. Rolle tells the story of his incredible journey, revealing how a strong work ethic, deep faith, and the family values instilled by his Bahamian immigrant parents set the stage for the transformative life philosophy that enabled him to overcome adversity, defy expectations, and create a life of meaning and purpose.Whether you''re strugTrade ReviewBy beautifully interweaving on- and off-field anecdotes with his 2% Way philosophy, Myron has designed a powerful playbook for tackling our greatest challenges, achieving our most daunting goals, and realizing our true potential. Bonnie Bernstein, veteran sports journalist and CEO of Walk Swiftly ProductionsDr. Myron Rolle's achievements by any standard are stellar. But I am even more proud of the commitments that inspired him to such high attainment. These include a determined, rock-solid grounding in and connection to his cultural heritage, a strong and clear life-vision pursued without fear or compromise, and a subscribed obligation to give back no matter how far his life may take him. What we are seeing is a life richly infused, and for him I believe the best is yet to come. Glenys Hanna Martin, minister of education, technical, and vocational training, government of the BahamasDr. Myron Rolle's diverse life experience will connect with so many communities. His empathy and genius are evident in his voice and storytelling, which weave together his experiences of the most elite and world-renowned organizations. Dr. Rolle's relentless spirit is a product of Love and overcoming seemingly insurmountable adversity, and his methodology and philosophy are directly linked to the joy and success he has. His story is groundbreaking. Troy Polamalu, Hall of Fame strong safety for the Pittsburgh SteelersMyron Rolle is an amazing role model who is in the process of becoming a neurosurgeon after having achieved the goal of becoming a Rhodes Scholar and NFL player. His no-excuses mentality combined with a philosophy that always moves one forward is something to be emulated by all. Benjamin S. Carson Sr., MD, founder and chairman, American Cornerstone Institute; emeritus professor of neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Medicine; 17th Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentMyron's journey from a defensive back in the NFL to a neurosurgery suite as a cranial surgeon is an incredible example of excellence in execution and 120. Small steps cover big distances, and regular 2% improvements can mean the difference between success and failure, average and exceptional, winning and losing. The 2% Way will change the reader's life--I know this because it changed mine. Eric Thomas, PhD, author, speaker, educator, and pastor

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Book SynopsisJenny grew up in a house where no-one was safe. Born one of five children in the East End, her childhood was spent in squalor and terror. Her father''s violent beatings, humiliations, and sexual abuse were part of daily life; her mother - also his sexual victim and savagely beaten - was no source of help.Deprived of love and all comforts, the children would turn to each other for support and to the only adult they could trust, Auntie.This is the story of how Jenny, her sister Kim and brother Laurence, not only survived but ultimately transcended the unimaginable degradations heaped on them. With the power of love, cunning, the blackest of black humour and an indestructible self-belief, Jenny eventually broke free of her past.Trade ReviewThis woman is an inspiration and I am honoured to call her my mum * Martine McCutcheon *I'm really proud of Jenny. She has put into words our terrible start in life and made me look openly at who I was and how far I have come. We managed to break free and build a life for oursleves. Now it's time to stop covering the subject in shame. * Kim Challoner, Jenny's sister *

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of one of the most important songwriters and performers of the last three decades. Dave Marsh has traced Springsteen's career from its beginning, through careful documentation and critical description of Springsteen's work. Trade Review"Few books have expressed what rock 'n' roll is all about as well." -- Seattle Times"Marsh captures the excitement of Springsteen's live performances, but what comes through strongest is his portrait of Springsteen's integrity in an often corrupting rock world." -- Cleveland Plain DealerTable of ContentsOut in the Street Independence Day 1. The E Street Shuffle 2. It's My Life 3. Greeting from Asbury Park, New Jersey 4. The Punk Meets the Godfather 5. The Saint in the City 6. Wild and Innocent 7. Freeze Out 8. Thundercrack 9. The Future Delayed 10. Prisoner of Rock and Roll 11. Thunder Road 12. "Hype" 13. Killers in the Sun 14. East of Eden 15. Raising Cain 16. Darkness 17. The Promise 18. The Price You Pay 19. Bringing It All Back Home The Songs The Shows Acknowledgments About the Author

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Being Brown reads, and feels, like the right book at the right time. The dream of the ‘Brown Democratic Commons’ that drives so much of Lázaro Lima’s thought, and his hope, in this transformative study has never felt so possible, and so impossible, at the same time." * Latino Studies *Table of ContentsOverview Introduction. On Being Brown in the Democratic Commons Part I. A latina for the nation 1. Sonia Sotomayor and “the Latino Question” 2. Sonia Sotomayor’s Elusive Embrace Part II. Losing Sonia Sotomayor 3. Sonia Sotomayor, the Mediapheme 4. Sonia Sotomayor and Other States of Debt Coda. Thinking Otherwise: Sonia Sotomayor and the Emergence of Latino Legal Thought Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA collection of immediate relevance and timeless value, ranging from lyrical autobiography to criticism of literature and culture, from humour to political analysis, from delicate evocations of Pamuk's friendship with his daughter Ruya to provocative discussions of Eastern and Western art.

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Book SynopsisFronto (c. 100–176 CE), a much admired orator and rhetorician, was befriended by the emperor Antoninus Pius and teacher of his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. His correspondence offers an invaluable picture of aristocratic life and literary culture in the 2nd century.

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Book SynopsisThe influence of Aldeburgh and the Suffolk Coast on the poet behind 'Peter Grimes'.Trade ReviewIt is fascinating to rediscover Crabbe - then and now. Beautifully researched, A Time and a Place takes us into the intimacy of Crabbe's life as he lived it and re-establishes him into the everyday life of all of us who love, live and work here. A triumph! Maggi Hambling, artist An insightful account of the life and psyche of George Crabbe, whose poetry inspired Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes and whose career was defined by a love-hate relationship with Aldeburgh. Anyone interested in the history of the town, or Suffolk generally, will find it fascinating. Blake Morrison, Poet, Novelist and Professor of Creative Writing at Goldsmiths University Frances Gibb has vividly rolled back the centuries in the Suffolk landscape, bring­ing George Crabbe to life in the same hard streets, mud banks and sea slime that so inspired England's great pioneer poet of the poor. Peter Stothard, author of Alexandria and former editor of the Times Literary Supplement For at its heart A Time and a Place is an exercise in psychogeography, a study of Crabbe's poems that not only tethers them to the place in which they were written but emphasises the centrality of the location to their achievement. DJ Taylor, The Times, May 2022 A Time and a Place benefits greatly from Gibb's knowledge of and feeling for Aldeburgh, to which her family first came in the 1960s...Gibb's book evokes both the literal and psychological landscapes of the poet's life and work, notably those places of 'moral reckoning' to which his characters are brought...Gibb recognises that Britten has 'the bigger name, the louder voice', but her book is a useful reminder that it was Crabbe who had first claim on Aldeburgh, and that his poems provide an unsettling and enduring portrait of a time and a place and its people. Peter Parker, The Spectator, June 2022 Place is at the heart of the book, as it is central to Crabbe's poetry, and the author offers a perceptive account of his relationship to a region that both attracted him and repelled him...One is left with the impression of a complex man: a canny and sometimes ruthless operator, but someone who was also courteous, engaging and popular...her lucid, sympathetic and well-orchestrated account of Crabbe's life, which keeps looping back to Suffolk as his vital source of inspiration, will give her readers many reasons to seek him out for themselves. Susan Owens, Literary Review, Issue 510, August 2022Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements Chronology Introduction A Local Habitation and a Name 1. George Crabbe's Aldeburgh California: Crabbe recalled Aldeburgh: A wild amphibious race Crabbes in East Anglia: Too obscure to possess a history Aldeburgh: That boy must be a fool Wickhambrook and Woodbridge: La! Here's our new 'prentice! Aldeburgh: The Leech Pond 2. Growing to Manhood: Love, London and Literary Success Parham: A young lady that would just suit you London: I have parted with my money, sold my wardrobe London: The hand that rescued him Aldeburgh revisited: A prophet is not without honour . 3. Domesticity and Botanising: Crabbe's Middle Years Belvoir and Stathern: Th e very happiest years in his life Parham and Glemham: A family walk through the green lanes Rendham: The final Suffolk years 4. Religion and Politics Crabbe and religion: Without a little Latin, we should have made nothing of you Crabbe and opium: His long and generally healthy life Crabbe and politics: We can do no good, or we would be among them 5. Character and Creation Aldeburgh: I hear those voices that will not be drowned Aldeburgh: Grimes on the beach Aldeburgh: Untouched by pity, unstung by remorse Crabbe and writing: What I thought I could best describe, that I have attempted Leaving Suffolk: The seat of joy, the source of pain 6. Endings and Beginnings Bath and London: I am something of a novelty Crabbe and women: Oh! For some Made-on-purpose-Creature Trowbridge: A few Sundays more Postscript Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Spitfire began as a near disaster. The developments of this famous aircraft took it from uncompromising beginnings to become the legendary last memorial to a great man - an elegant and, with its pilots, a highly effective, weapon of war. The Spitfire would not have happened at all, however, without Mitchell''s indomitable courage and determination in the face of severe physical and psychological adversity resulting from cancer. His contribution to the Battle of Britain, and thereafter to the achievement of final victory in 1945, was so great that our debt to him can never be repaid. This poignant story is written from a uniquely personal viewpoint by his son, Gordon Mitchell.

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Book SynopsisColin Shindler was dealt a cruel hand by Fate when he became a passionate Manchester City supporter. In this brilliant sporting autobiography he recalls the great characters of his youth, like his eccentric Uncle Laurence, as well as his professional heroes. Threaded through these sporting events is the author''s own story, which touches on a universal nerve, growing up in a Jewish family, his childhodd destroyed by the sudden death of his mother and his slow emotional recovery through his love for Manchester City. It is a tale that reveals what it is like to be on the outside looking in, with his nose pressed up against the sweet shop window watching the United supporters take all the wine gums.Trade ReviewThis is a wonderful book ... It is also extremely funny * Alan English, Sunday Times *His prose ... is never less than sharp, smart and easy on the eye ... His writing is so attractive ... [I] would be thrilled to read more * Jim White, Guardian *It is his childhood and absent friends that touch the rawest, universal nerve * Simon Garfield, Mail on Sunday *Shindler's art lies in conversational writing, and an ability to change gear deftly from humour to devotion and back through fanaticism to the black comedy of Manchester City * Howard Davies, The Times *Shindler is both touching and convincing in his evocation of his formative years ... it's skilful, entertaining and heading for the top of the league * Richard Pendlebury, Daily Mail *Evocative, funny-sad and warm-hearted * Michael Henderson, The Times *Sits in the same class as Fever Pitch ... Shindler's down-to-the-bone honesty also reminds us self-indulgence can be great entertainment * The Times *This could still be the most important football book since Fever Pitch capturing, as it does, the delicious irony that caused City fans to fall into a soon to be legendary chorus of "Are you watching Macclesfield?" * Mick Middles, Manchester Evening News *As an example of the inherent irrationality of sport, his account - part autobiography, part social disquisition - could hardly be bettered * Stuart Bathgate, Scotsman *This is a wonderful book ... It is also extremely funny * Alan English, Sunday Times *His prose ... is never less than sharp, smart and easy on the eye ... His writing is so attractive ... [I] would be thrilled to read more * Jim White, Guardian *It is his childhood and absent friends that touch the rawest, universal nerve * Simon Garfield, Mail on Sunday *Shindler's art lies in conversational writing, and an ability to change gear deftly from humour to devotion and back through fanaticism to the black comedy of Manchester City * Howard Davies, The Times *Shindler is both touching and convincing in his evocation of his formative years ... it's skilful, entertaining and heading for the top of the league * Richard Pendlebury, Daily Mail *Evocative, funny-sad and warm-hearted * Michael Henderson, The Times *Sits in the same class as Fever Pitch ... Shindler's down-to-the-bone honesty also reminds us self-indulgence can be great entertainment * The Times *This could still be the most important football book since Fever Pitch capturing, as it does, the delicious irony that caused City fans to fall into a soon to be legendary chorus of "Are you watching Macclesfield?" * Mick Middles, Manchester Evening News *As an example of the inherent irrationality of sport, his account - part autobiography, part social disquisition - could hardly be bettered * Stuart Bathgate, Scotsman *This is a wonderful book ... It is also extremely funny * Alan English, Sunday Times *His prose ... is never less than sharp, smart and easy on the eye ... His writing is so attractive ... [I] would be thrilled to read more * Jim White, Guardian *It is his childhood and absent friends that touch the rawest, universal nerve * Simon Garfield, Mail on Sunday *Shindler's art lies in conversational writing, and an ability to change gear deftly from humour to devotion and back through fanaticism to the black comedy of Manchester City * Howard Davies, The Times *Shindler is both touching and convincing in his evocation of his formative years ... it's skilful, entertaining and heading for the top of the league * Richard Pendlebury, Daily Mail *Evocative, funny-sad and warm-hearted * Michael Henderson, The Times *Sits in the same class as Fever Pitch ... Shindler's down-to-the-bone honesty also reminds us self-indulgence can be great entertainment * The Times *This could still be the most important football book since Fever Pitch capturing, as it does, the delicious irony that caused City fans to fall into a soon to be legendary chorus of "Are you watching Macclesfield?" * Mick Middles, Manchester Evening News *As an example of the inherent irrationality of sport, his account - part autobiography, part social disquisition - could hardly be bettered * Stuart Bathgate, Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary story of how Jason Padgett was transformed from an aimless thirty-two-year old to a mathematical genius following a vicious mugging outside a karaoke bar.

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Book SynopsisRussia’s foremost modernist master in a major new translationTrade Review"It seems almost impossible to pay adequate homage to the poetic genius and personal courage of Osip Mandelstam, manifested during a time in the Soviet Union of tyrannical repression and terror. These spirited and meticulous versions drawn from his poetry and prose, however, by the masterful translator Peter France, bring us considerably closer to achieving that goal. They attest to the extraordinary range and depth of Mandelstam’s complex artistic sensibility and intellect. Let us, simply enough, gratefully welcome them." -- Michael Palmer"Where Mandelstam the uprooted Jew and Mandelstam the would-be Hellene meet is in the attempt to wrest culture from disruption and to make a home from chaos." -- Clare Cavanagh - "Osip Mandelstam and the Modernist Creation of Tradition""Marvelous and heartrending..." -- Vladimir Nabokov"The greatest twentieth-century stylist in Russian." -- Guy Davenport"In Black Earth, Peter France has made all the right choices.....[His] approach has yielded outstanding results, conveying Mandelstam’s density with an elegance that brings pleasure from the whole, even before the reader fully digests the parts. Much of the future-oriented poetry of Mandelstam’s contemporaries now sounds hopelessly dated; Mandelstam’s poetry, meanwhile, flourished with the passage of time." -- Sophie Pinkham - Poetry Foundation"Black Earth brings me closer to Mandelstam the poet than to Mandelstam the mythic figure, and his “ancient language” is rendered into real contemporary poetry in English that succeeds in speaking eloquently to the inner eye and ear. This is all to the good." -- J. Kates - Arts Fuse"In Peter France’s elegant translation, English readers can access not only Mandelstam’s formidable ideas and images but also something of his rhythm, rhyme and sound-play.... This book is a portrait of a life crushed by history. But it testifies, too, to the persistence of spirit." -- Alexander Wells - Exberliner"With Black Earth: Selected poems and prose, Peter France, a veteran translator of French and Russian, has provided the first edition that consistently reflects the sound, sense – and resistance to sense – of Mandelstam’s poems and lyric prose." -- Benjamin Paloff - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisBased on exclusive and unrestricted access to more than 5,000 pages of personal writings and family photos, this definitive biography of German physician and SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Mengele (1911-1979) probes the personality and motivations of Auschwitz''s Angel of Death. From May 1943 through January 1945, Mengele selected who would be gassed immediately, who would be worked to death, and who would serve as involuntary guinea pigs for his spurious and ghastly human experiments (twins were Mengele''s particular obsession). With authority and insight, Mengele examines the entire life of the world''s most infamous doctor.Trade ReviewWell researched and wonderfully free of all the customary fantasy and exaggeration.... Fascinating. * The New York Review Of Books *It's a pity that the official search for him did not match the vigor with which Posner and Ware stalk their subject in print. * The San Francisco Chronicle *The fullest account yet published.... Posner and Ware examine the efforts to bring the doctor to trial, separate fact from legend, account for the false trails that enticed Israeli agents and self-appointed Nazi hunters, and explain why he was never caught. ... Mengele is filled with startling touches. The book is an exciting chronicle of escape, evasion, and close calls. * Publishers Weekly *[A] welcome addition to the study of the Holocaust.... Mengele offers us insight into one of the most infamous perpetrators of the holocaust. -- Michael Berenbaum, director, Sigi Ziering Institute, American Jewish UniversityStudents of the Holocaust are fortunate to have this book in print once again. Posner and Ware have aptly titled their book; this is the complete story. The authors bring flair to the telling. It is a riveting tale. * The Historian *

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Book SynopsisA collection of 20 profiles of fascinating men by author and magazine writer Steve Oney. Written over a 40-year period, many are prize-winning essays.

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive and engaging biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of the beloved classic The Yearling.Trade Review"McCutchan is a sensitive observer of Rawlings’s work, and of her deeply unconventional life... It’s a pleasure to meet this cursing, hard-drinking, brilliant, self-destructive, car-wrecking, fun-loving, chain-smoking, alligator-hunting, moonshine-making, food-obsessed woman again on the page... Come to this biography for Rawlings’s outsize personality... Stay for the portrait of a woman whose writing meant everything to her." -- Dwight Garner - New York Times"[McCutchan] has a graceful style enlivened by glints of wry humor... The book re-creates the lush tropicality of north-central Florida in the 1930s and 1940s, before developers began to bulldoze over its natural wonders. And readers get a penetrating look at one driven writer's work process... [A] vivid portrait of a woman who gave her all to do her best work." -- Mary Ann Gwinn - Minneapolis Star Tribune"An engaging, lively biography of an accomplished and complicated woman... All of it adds up to a rich portrait of a woman who loved Florida, and of a Florida that’s now all but vanished." -- Colette Bancroft - Tampa Bay Times"Rawlings cleared her path through life as though armed with a machete; McCutchan, gracefully, records every chop." -- Jonathan Miles - Garden & Gun"Absorbing, affectionate, and long overdue... McCutchan looks closely at Rawlings’ letters, stories, novels and memoirs and mines the ways they reveal Rawlings’ writerly mind... The Life She Wished to Live is the biography that Rawlings has long deserved." -- BookPage"It’s been a quarter of a century since we’ve had a new biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Ann McCutchan delivers. From Rawlings’s early newspaper days to the triumph of The Yearling, McCutchan shows us a writer of complexity, ambition, and conviction. A deeply researched and satisfying read." -- Martha Ackmann, author of These Fevered Days"An affectionate biography of the beloved author…Work by work, McCutchan carefully details Rawlings’s gradual development as a professional writer who keenly absorbed [Cross Creek, Florida’s] history, culture, and dialects…An all-inclusive and intimate assessment that could help Rawlings attract a new generation of readers." -- Kirkus Reviews"In Ann McCutchan’s welcome biography, we follow Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s evolution as a writer, glimpse her friendships with writers as various as Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, Margaret Mitchell and Zora Neale Hurston, and witness her vibrant literary life. Most striking is the fascinating account, unearthed from letters, of Rawlings’ personal struggle against what we would now call racist consciousness and her evolution as an ally of early 20th century struggles for social justice." -- Honor Moore, author of Our Revolution"How many contradictions can one life contain? Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings bridged the world of alligator hunting/orange growing/racially segregated early 20th century Florida and the world of legendary writers and elite New York-based editors. Ann McCutchan’s richly researched biography of the Pulitzer prize-winning author vividly portrays the uncompromising, hard-drinking and versatile Rawlings, who was equally at home wading through swamps as she was writing a novel or a cookbook, or conversing with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston and Robert Frost. The complexities of Rawlings’ massive inner insecurities and her outward, outsized personality make for a compelling and thoughtful biography." -- Julie Dobrow, author of After Emily

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Book SynopsisIntroduced by Lois Pryce, author of Lois on the Loose, Red Tape & White Knuckles and Revolutionary Ride.In 1959 Barbara Toy, famous for her solo overland travels in North Africa and Arabia, set out in her trademark Land Rover to drive from Libya to Ethiopia.Alone, she crossed the Sahara Desert and the equatorial forests of the Congo before ascending the highlands of Haile Selassie''s empire. Her Ethiopian travels took her from modern Addis Ababa to the ancient ruins of Aksum, through bandit-ridden countryside to the summit of Mount Wehni - where male heirs to the emperor were traditionally imprisoned for life - on a quest to explore the legend of the Queen of Sheba. Full of good humour and grit, In Search of Sheba chronicles a remarkable feat of endurance and adventure by one of the twentieth century''s greatest travellers.Trade ReviewToy's descriptions of her travels are as relevant now as they ever were . . . a gripping read * Classic Land Rover Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThis is the true story of Totò Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who rose from nothing to become the most powerful man in Sicily. The picture emerges of a bloodthirsty, power-hungry monster who, despite his lowly beginnings, is able to outmanoeuvre the other Mafia chiefs and take control of the organisation. However, the story is not just that of Riina, but also of Sicily itself. D''Avanzo and Bolzoni have transformed a complex series of events spanning several decades into a gripping narrative.In prison for 18 years now, Totò Riina still remains the dictator of the Cosa Nostra. This book tells the haunting and disturbing tale, with thorough investigation and testimony of the Sicilian Corleone.Trade ReviewForget the Sopranos because this is the real thing; the full and true story of the Life and Times of Toto Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who terrorised Sicily... Not a glamorous life and not one to envy, but one that shows an addiction to power and violence can be the most fateful of all * NORTHERN ECHO *

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Book SynopsisWhen sixteen-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley''s doorstep with her newborn son Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance of keeping her son.Maggie can see that Jess loves her boyfriend and wants to be a good mother to her son. Can Maggie help Jess learn to become a mum? Will the family ever be allowed to live together?A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years.''Didn''t want it to end'' 5* Amazon reader review

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