Title search results
Showing 12021 - 12040 of 23503 items
The Search: The true story of a D-Day survivor, an unlikely friendship, and a lost shipwreck off Normandy
By John Henry Phillips. 2022
When archaeologist John Henry Phillips volunteered with a charity that took D-Day veterans back to Normandy, due to an administrative…
error he found himself without a hotel room and reliant on the generosity of one of the veterans who had a spare bed. That veteran was Patrick Thomas - and it was an encounter that would change both their lives forever.Patrick's landing craft, LCH 185, had led the first wave into Sword Beach on D-Day, and stayed off Normandy until the 25th June when an acoustic mine sent it to the seabed along with most of the crew. His story transfixed John, and the resulting search for the shipwreck was to consume him.Jumping back and forwards in time, between vivid descriptions of the final days on board LCH 185 and John's thrilling search to find the shipwreck, The Search is an emotional story of a devastating time in history, an unlikely, life-changing friendship and a quest to honour a wartime home and family lost over seventy-five years ago.Dangerous Friends: My Father and the Cambridge Spy Ring
By Jenny Rees. 1994
Originally published as LOOKING FOR MR NOBODYA fascinating true story of one man's connection to the Cambridge Spy Ring and…
his daughter's search for the truth.'A book which deserves nothing but praise' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'What makes [this book] memorable is Rees's moving account of her own attempt to come to terms with her father's "secret" ... her poignant memoir gives a rare insight into the experiences of families whose fathers joined the ranks of "Stalin's Englishmen"' SUNDAY TIMESSince Goronwy Rees's death, his daughter Jenny has had to cope with the frequently made allegation that her father was another of the spies recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s. He never disguised his friendship with Guy Burgess who, with Donald Maclean, had defected to Moscow in 1951, and in 1979 Rees helped Andrew Boyle unmask Anthony Blunt, the Fourth Man. So, was Rees himself actually a spy? The opening of KGB files has acted as a spur to Jenny Rees in her quest to exorcise the past. The result is full of unexpected revelation, made all the more moving as she discovers for the first time the secret life of her father.Previously published as LOOKING FOR MR NOBODYDangerous Friends: My Father and the Cambridge Spy Ring
By Jenny Rees. 1994
Originally published as LOOKING FOR MR NOBODYA fascinating true story of one man's connection to the Cambridge Spy Ring and…
his daughter's search for the truth.'A book which deserves nothing but praise' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'What makes [this book] memorable is Rees's moving account of her own attempt to come to terms with her father's "secret" ... her poignant memoir gives a rare insight into the experiences of families whose fathers joined the ranks of "Stalin's Englishmen"' SUNDAY TIMESSince Goronwy Rees's death, his daughter Jenny has had to cope with the frequently made allegation that her father was another of the spies recruited at Cambridge in the 1930s. He never disguised his friendship with Guy Burgess who, with Donald Maclean, had defected to Moscow in 1951, and in 1979 Rees helped Andrew Boyle unmask Anthony Blunt, the Fourth Man. So, was Rees himself actually a spy? The opening of KGB files has acted as a spur to Jenny Rees in her quest to exorcise the past. The result is full of unexpected revelation, made all the more moving as she discovers for the first time the secret life of her father.Previously published as LOOKING FOR MR NOBODYThe Wit of Cricket: Second Innings
By Barry Johnston. 2022
This bumper collection of the funniest anecdotes, jokes and stories from cricket's best-loved personalities proves that cricket is a funny…
game - even when rain stops play!In this updated and expanded edition, you can read not only the most popular stories by five of the game's all-time great characters - Richie Benaud, Dickie Bird, Henry Blofeld, Brian Johnston and Fred Trueman - but also the humour of famous cricketers such as Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, Justin Langer, Shane Warne, and modern players including Jimmy Anderson, Joe Root and Ben Stokes.Here are dozens of hilarious anecdotes from around the world about the legendary cricketers Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Michael Holding, Sachin Tendulkar and many others - not to mention broadcasting gaffes and giggles, sledging, short-sighted umpires and the phantom sock snipper in the England dressing-room!Los diez pasos hacia Nanette: Memorias incómodas
By Hannah Gadsby. 2022
Hannah Gadsby desvela los momentos que definieron su vida y la llevaron a subir al escenario con toda la verdad…
por delante. «No hay nada más fuerte que una mujer rota que logra recomponerse».Hannah Gadsby, Nanette Nanette no fue solo un espectáculo de stand-up insuperable, fue también un arrollador éxito viral que cautivó al público por su sinceridad desgarrada y por su habilidad para generar a un mismo tiempo tensión y risa. El éxito mundial de Gadsby podría hacernos creer que la fama le llegó de la noche a la mañana, pero el camino que la llevó a lo más alto de la escena internacional fue en realidad bastante tortuoso. En Los diez pasos hacia Nanette, Gadbsy nos brinda su retrato más íntimo: su adolescencia como persona queer en Tasmania (donde la homosexualidad fue ilegal hasta 1997), los trabajos itinerantes en Australia tras la universidad, sus duros encontronazos con la homofobia y la violencia sexual, su constante evolución como cómica, los diagnósticos tardíos de autismo y TDAH... y finalmente el hallazgo de lo que había de ser la esencia de Nanette, es decir, la renuncia a mofarse de sí misma en sus chistes, el rechazo de la misoginia y el compromiso moral con decir la verdad a toda costa. Tan dura como divertida, Los diez pasos hacia Nanette es una «autobiografía incómoda» que, siguiendo la costumbre de su autora de jugar con las expectativas y las reglas de la comedia, nos acerca a una de las voces más explosivas e influyentes de nuestro tiempo. La crítica ha dicho:«Hannah es una fuerza prometeica, un talento revolucionario. Con este libro gracioso, conmovedor y a veces trágico lo que ha hecho es señalarnos dónde se originaron sus hogueras».Emma Thompson «Hannah Gadsby es la perfecta representación de la verdad que se esconde detrás de toda broma».La Vanguardia «Una clara muestra de todo lo bueno que puede pasar cuando una voz diferente se hace oír».Victoria Segal, The Times «Gadsby se muestra aquí como una escritora clara, inteligente y sustanciosa, capaz de hablarnos de sus años de formativos y de la evolución de su carrera y a la vez tocar temas relativos a la cultura popular, la política, la salud mental o el autismo».Steph Harmon, The Guardian «Un libro aparentemente de memorias que, sin embargo, escapa a toda convención y con el que Gadbsy logra, desde el núcleo irradiador que es su espectáculo más famoso, reconstruir con detalle su trayectoria vital».Thomas Floyd, The Washington Post «Sus fans comprobarán con sumo placer que Gadbsy, sobre el papel, es tan buena como sobre el escenario.»Trish Bendix, Time La crítica ha dicho sobre Nanette:«Nanette es un fenómeno internacional, el monólogo más comentado, reseñado y compartido en años, exquisitamente sincronizado con la era MeToo».The New York Times «Tan divertido como profundamente furioso».The New Yorker «Nanette es sencillamente extraordinaria. Me ha conmovido y me ha hecho reflexionar sobre el humor, el yo, el autodesprecio y los usos de la ira. Muchas gracias. Es simplemente brillante».Roxane Gay «Una hora y tres minutos. Ese es el tiempo que tarda Gadsby en destrozarte con sus palabras, ojos vidriosos y realidad sin filtros».El País «Jamás he llorado tan desconsoladamente en un espectáculo de comedia stand up».Monica LewinskyDe dónde soy
By Joan Didion. 2003
Unas apasionantes memorias sobre la California natal de Joan Didion, contadas con una inconfundible mirada personal y emotiva. «Irresistible [...].…
Un canto al lugar dónde su familia ha vivido durante generaciones, pero uno lleno de preguntas y dudas».The New York Times Joan Didion dedica estas memorias a su California natal, el estado al que, siglos atrás, llegaron sus antepasados y al que ella ató gran parte de su vida y de su obra. «Este libro representa una exploración de mis propias confusiones acerca del lugar y la forma en que crecí [...] unos malentendidos y malinterpretaciones que forman parte de quien soy en tanta medida que todavía hoy solo les hago frente de refilón», decía Didion sobre un libro tan intelectualmente provocador como íntimo. Mezclando historia, crónica, memoria y crítica literaria, la autora explora los romances de California con la tierra y con el agua, sus deudas no reconocidas con los ferrocarriles, la industria aeroespacial y con el Gobierno central, así como el contraste entre su culto al individualismo y su fetiche por las cárceles. Ya sea escribiendo sobre sus antepasados, sobre depredadores sexuales, políticos corruptos o escritores (sin excluirse a sí misma), Didion vuelve a demostrar aquí su incomparable capacidad de observación. De donde soy nos regala una mirada única al dibujar un mapa histórico y personal de la Costa Oeste de Estados Unidos, pero también al reflexionar sobre la escritura mientras revisa, a través del arte, la política, la economía y las vivencias de sus antepasados, el ideal de la «tierra prometida» a lo largo de dos siglos. La crítica ha dicho:«La mejor cronista de California».Vogue «Una voz sin parangón en el periodismo contemporáneo».The New York Times «Didion ha escrito un librito valiente, un buen libro que debe leerse con tanto cuidado como con el que fue escrito [...]. Didion es una autora de una honestidad implacable».The Washington Post «Si alguien necesita alguna prueba más de que Didion es una de las mejores ensayistas contemporáneas, este libro lo confirmará».The Seattle Times «Didion es una Walt Whitman contemporánea, cantando sobre América al cantar sobre sí misma».Slate.com «Tanto en la despedida como en la elegía, De donde soy es un libro sacudido por la tormenta. Su historia es densa [...], su prosa aguda, directa y cincelada».The Los Angeles Times Book Review «Didion descubre el lugar exacto donde se cruzan la geografía y el viaje personal, y el resultado es una obra tan convincente y enigmática como los temas que trata».Time Out «Su prosa tenaz, hermosa y quirúrgicamente precisa no se parece a ninguna otra cosa que haya leído nunca».Donna Tartt «Uno de los estilos literarios más reconocibles y brillantes que ha surgido en Estados Unidos durante las últimas cuatro décadas [...] (Didion) es una de las grandes escritoras estadounidenses».The New York Times Book Review «Una amalgama fascinante de memorias y cronología histórica. [...] Elaborado con exquisitez, tan sutil como el lento despertar de un sueño agradable».The Baltimore SunEl clan de los bombarderos: Un sueño, una tentación y la noche más larga de la Segunda Guerra Mundial
By Malcolm Gladwell. 2021
La Segunda Guerra Mundial contada desde el aire. ¿Qué ocurre cuando la tecnología y las mejores intenciones chocan en el…
fragor de las batallas? «Excepcional, una obra maestra».The Wall Street Journal Durante los años previos a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en una base aérea de Alabama, un grupo de pilotos renegados forjó una idea radical. ¿Qué pasaría si los bombardeos fueran tan precisos como para que las guerras pudieran librarse solamente desde el aire? ¿Podrían los brutales enfrentamientos entre ejércitos de tierra convertirse en cosa del pasado? Este libro cuenta lo que ocurrió cuando intentó llevarse a la práctica ese sueño. Malcolm Gladwell sigue los pasos de un genio holandés y su ordenador analógico casero, del grupo de científicos pirómanos de Harvard que inventaron el napalm, de un brillante piloto que cantaba tonadas a su equipo y del comandante LeMay, quien ordenaría uno de los ataques más sangrientos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. A su más puro estilo, Gladwell les saca jugo a todos estos personajes fascinantes y nos lleva ágilmente a través de una serie de dilemas que cambiaron el rumbo de la historia para para preguntarnos cuál puede llegar a ser, a menudo, el precio del progreso. La crítica ha dicho:«Excepcional, una obra maestra. Uno acaba este libro sacudiendo la cabeza ante la locura y el coste humano que acarreó todo lo que narra».The Wall Street Journal «Cautivador. En las hábiles manos de Gladwell, los generales de la Fuerza Aérea de la Segunda Guerra Mundial vuelven a la vida. Me hubiera encantado que fuera el doble de largo».New York Times Book Review «Una fábula brillantemente contada e ideal para la era de los cambios tecnológicos».The Sunday Times «Otro libro de Gladwell que confirma que todo lo que creía saber era falso».Kirkus «Gladwell es posiblemente el narrador más solvente de la no ficción. Siempre sabe hacia dónde va y te lleva con él en un viaje que siempre resulta placentero y cómodo».The New Statesman «Fascinante. Uno de los mayores desafíos morales de la Segunda Guerra Mundial»Michael Lewis «La narración enérgica y los personajes reales e increíblemente carismáticos son propios del cine».Radio Times «Un relato accesible y estimulante. El estilo ameno y desenfadado de Gladwell es eficaz, y sus retratos de individuos son cautivadores».The Washington Post «De una empatía sorprendente y una energía fabulosa».Esquire «Vívido y cautivador. Una historia fascinante».The Times «Un relato repleto de anécdotas sobre lo que condujo al ataque aéreo más mortífero de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Gladwell ofrece detalles coloridos y plantea interesantes cuestiones sobre la moralidad de la guerra».Publishers Weekly «Apasionante. Una escritura absorbente».The TelegraphWorld War II in Medina County, Ohio: At Home & Overseas (Military)
By Eli R. Beachy. 2014
For the first time in the lives of many Medina County residents, places across the world became real, not just…
dots on a map. With the outbreak of World War II, men and women who had never left their corner of Ohio were encircling the globe. They were at Pearl Harbor and the Canal, Anzio and the Bulge. They built atomic bombs and bought millions in war bonds. Discover not one great hero but an entire generation of heroism. Eli R. Beachy traces the sublime story of one small community in a great, united effort--those most remarkable people of Medina County, Ohio.Me and Annie: Childhood Memories Growing up in Iola, Wisconsin
By Lanna Langdok. 2020
Her friendships with two Annies made the adventures of a lifetime possible! From working at a circus to riding the…
milk cans at the creamery to jumping on-board a local train. Exploring new things, yet holding onto the old traditions like hanging May baskets on doorknobs. Daring to walk the alleys after dark, yet remembering the safety of home. Sharing these stages of childhood with close friends and classmates made for the best of memories. Knowing these same people would be at your side through high school graduation and beyond, was priceless! That's the true blessing of growing up in a small town....Make it a Double: From Wretched to Wondrous: Tales of One Woman's Lifelong Discovery of Whisky
By Shelley Sackier. 2022
A witty and immersive look at the history, mythology, science, and magical touch that makes whisky taste like a drop of gold. Braving…
the &“all boys&” clubhouse of the world of whisky has not been easy, but Shelley Sackier has managed to do just that out of her love for the drink. By turns funny and poignant and filled with vivid insight into this ancient craft, Make it a Double will persuade even a teetotaler to want a wee dram. As a woman whose first sip of whisky created the female doppelganger of a Mr. Yuk sticker, that experience produced a sharp realization that the liquid was foul, poisonous, and needlessly dirtied a previously clean glass. And then she met Scotland. Her curiosity and growing passion lit a fire—igniting a desire to learn more about this craft&’s rich and vivid history and the need to break out of an old life and to become the mother, partner, and woman she has always sought to be. After completing a course in Scotland&’s famed Bruichladdich Distillery, Shelley begins her path of writing about—and working within—the world of whisky. There has never been a better time for Shelley's inimitable voice to shed light on this intoxicating realm. Women are not only impressively contributing to the burgeoning sales of the spirit—making up nearly 40% of the whiskey-drinking population in the United States—but they are also growing in number as they enter in to, train within, and lead the industry with their determined creativity and innovation. In the tradition of Blood, Bones, and Butter, Make it a Double establishes Shelley Sackier as a fresh new voice in the lush world of culinary narrative.Daring to Hope: My Life in the 1970s
By Sheila Rowbotham. 2021
A personal history of life, love and women&’s liberation In this powerful memoir Sheila Rowbotham looks back at her life…
as a participant in the women&’s liberation movement, left politics and the creative radical culture of a decade in which freedom and equality seemed possible. She reveals the tremendous efforts that were made to transform attitudes and feelings, as well as daily life. After addressing the first British Women&’s Liberation Conference at Ruskin College, Oxford in 1970, she went on to encourage night cleaners to unionise, to campaign for nurseries and abortion rights. She played an influential role in discussions of socialist feminist ideas and her books and journalism attracted an international readership. Written with generosity and humour Daring to Hope recreates grassroots networks, communal houses and squats, bringing alive a shared impetus to organise collectively and to love without jealousy or domination. It conveys the shifts occurring in politics and society through kernels of personal experience. The result is a book about liberation in the widest sense.The Dreaming Circus: Special Ops, LSD, and My Unlikely Path to Toltec Wisdom
By Jim Morris. 2022
• Explains how the author became a student of Toltec spiritual teacher don Miguel Ruiz and how he traveled the…
world, as well as the astral realms, undergoing a deep spiritual journey of change • Details how the author discovered LSD after the Vietnam War and even tripped while skydiving • Recounts his time as a civil rights advocate and war correspondent, and how Toltec shamanism helped prepare him to ease his wife&’s long end-of-life journey During his third tour of duty in Vietnam where he served as a Green Beret, Jim Morris was wounded badly enough to be retired from the army. He came home bitter, angry that his career had been ended. After reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, he realized that many members of Ken Kesey&’s Merry Pranksters had also been combat officers. Following this spiritual &“hint,&” he spent the next couple of years as an acid head, even skydiving on LSD. Awakened by his LSD experiences, Morris immersed himself in the books of Carlos Castaneda as well as in Kriya yoga, Charismatic Christianity, and A Course in Miracles. From these experiences he was led to Toltec spiritual teacher don Miguel Ruiz and began a deep spiritual journey of change.Sharing his journey from PTSD to spiritual awakening, Morris recounts his time as a civil rights advocate for the Montagnard people in Vietnam and his years as a war correspondent at the same time he was following Castaneda&’s Warrior&’s Way. He describes his momentous meeting with don Miguel Ruiz as well as his travels around the world and in the astral realms. Sharing how his wife developed dementia and later became paralyzed, Morris explains how it required all his Toltec training, all his military training, everything he had to share her final years in a meaningful and fulfilling way. Written from a deep understanding of Toltec techniques this book shows in a heartfelt and resonant way what a spiritual path can give you.A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman: A Memoir
By Lindy Elkins-Tanton. 2022
"Fierce, absorbing, and ultimately inspiring." —ELIZABETH KOLBERT"One of the finest scientific memoirs ever written." —DAVID W. BROWNFrom one of the…
world’s leading planetary scientists, a luminous memoir of exploration on Earth, in space, and within oneself—equal parts ode to the beauty of science, meditation on loss, and roadmap for personal resilienceDeep in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, three times farther from the sun than the Earth is, orbits a massive asteroid called (16) Psyche. It is one of the largest objects in the belt, potentially containing the equivalent of the world’s total economy in metals, though they cannot be brought back to Earth. But (16) Psyche has the potential to unlock something even more valuable: the story of how planets form, and how our planet formed. Soon we will find out, thanks to the extraordinary work of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Principal Investigator of NASA’s $800 million Psyche mission, and the second woman ever to be awarded a major NASA space exploration contract.The journey that brought her to this place is extraordinary. Amid a childhood of terrible trauma, Elkins-Tanton fell in love with science as a means of healing and consolation. But still she wondered, was forced to wonder: as a woman, was science “for her”? In answering that question, she takes us from the wilds of the Siberian tundra to the furthest reaches of outer space, from the Mayo Clinic, where Elkins-Tanton battled ovarian cancer while writing the Psyche proposal, to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where her team brought that proposal to life.A Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman is a beautifully-constructed memoir that explores how a philosophy of life can be built from the tools of scientific inquiry. It teaches us how to approach difficult problems by asking the right questions and truly listening to the answers—and how we may find meaning through exploring the wonders of the universe around us.My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family
By Nabil Ayers. 2022
&“Nabil traces the image of his father through song. With growing fascination and heartbreak, he draws out meaning from the…
shadow of absence, and ultimately redefines what it means to be a family.&” - Michelle Zauner, New York Times bestselling author of Crying in H Mart and Grammy nominated musician Japanese BreakfastA memoir about one man's journey to connect with his musician father, ultimately re-drawing the lines that define family and race.Throughout his adult life, whether he was opening a Seattle record store in the '90s or touring the world as the only non-white band member in alternative rock bands, Nabil Ayers felt the shadow and legacy of his father's musical genius, and his race, everywhere. In 1971, a white, Jewish, former ballerina, chose to have a child with the famous Black jazz musician Roy Ayers, fully expecting and agreeing that he would not be involved in the child's life. In this highly original memoir, their son, Nabil Ayers, recounts a life spent living with the aftermath of that decision, and his journey to build an identity of his own despite and in spite of his father&’s absence. Growing up, Nabil only meets his father a handful of times. But Roy&’s influence is strong, showing itself in Nabil&’s instinctual love of music, and later, in the music industry—Nabil&’s chosen career path. By turns hopeful--wanting to connect with the man who passed down his genetic predisposition for musical talent—and frustrated with Roy&’s continued emotional distance, Nabil struggles with how much DNA can define a family… and a person. Unable to fully connect with Roy, Nabil ultimately discovers the existence of several half-siblings as well as a paternal ancestor who was enslaved. Following these connections, Nabil meets and befriends the descendant of the plantation owner, which, strangely, paves the way for him to make meaningful connections with extended family he never knew existed. Despite his father's absence, Nabil, through sheer will and a drive to understand his roots, re-draws the lines that define family and race.Raising Raffi: The First Five Years
By Keith Gessen. 2022
&“A wise, mild and enviably lucid book about a chaotic scene.&” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times &“Raising Raffi is…
tender and generous.&” —New York magazine NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY LIT HUB & THE MILLIONS An unsparing, loving account of fatherhood and the surprising, magical, and maddening first five years of a son&’s life&“I was not prepared to be a father—this much I knew.&” Keith Gessen was nearing forty and hadn&’t given much thought to the idea of being a father. He assumed he would have kids, but couldn&’t imagine what it would be like to be a parent, or what kind of parent he would be. Then, one Tuesday night in early June, the distant idea of fatherhood came careening into view: Raffi was born, a child as real and complex and demanding of his parents&’ energy as he was singularly magical. Fatherhood is another country: a place where the old concerns are swept away, where the ordering of time is reconstituted, where days unfold according to a child&’s needs. Whatever rulebooks once existed for this sort of thing seem irrelevant or outdated. Overnight, Gessen&’s perception of his neighborhood changes: suddenly there are flocks of other parents and babies, playgrounds, and schools that span entire blocks. Raffi is enchanting, as well as terrifying, and like all parents, Gessen wants to do what is best for his child. But he has no idea what that is. Written over the first five years of Raffi&’s life, Raising Raffi examines the profound, overwhelming, often maddening experience of being a dad. Gessen traces how the practical decisions one must make each day intersect with some of the weightiest concerns of our age: What does it mean to choose a school in a segregated city? How do you instill in your child a sense of his heritage without passing on that history&’s darker sides? Is parental anger normal, possibly useful, or is it inevitably authoritarian and destructive? How do you get your kid to play sports? And what do you do, in a pandemic, when the whole world seems to fall apart? By turns hilarious and poignant, Raising Raffi is a story of what it means to invent the world anew.How to Be a Writer: Baths, Biscuits and Endless Cups of Tea
By Marcus Berkmann. 2022
Marcus Berkmann has been a freelance writer since 1988, working for newspapers and magazines and occasionally writing a book, like…
this one. He reckons to have written literally millions of words in that time, several of them in the right order. This, his 13th or possibly 14th book, is about those years of writing: the triumphs (few), the heartbreaks (many), the sackings (more than you would expect), the biscuits (many, many more than you would expect). In it he somehow makes the act of staring out of a window wondering what to say next seem both fascinating and, in some strange way, enviable, whereas, like most writers, he rarely leaves the house other than to go to the pub or the off-licence. Often asked how you become a writer, his advice remains: Please do not. There's already enough competition out there and we don't need any more. His advance for this book was about enough to buy a packet of Jaffa Cakes.How to Be a Writer: Baths, Biscuits and Endless Cups of Tea
By Marcus Berkmann. 2022
Marcus Berkmann has been a freelance writer since 1988, working for newspapers and magazines and occasionally writing a book, like…
this one. He reckons to have written literally millions of words in that time, several of them in the right order. This, his 13th or possibly 14th book, is about those years of writing: the triumphs (few), the heartbreaks (many), the sackings (more than you would expect), the biscuits (many, many more than you would expect). In it he somehow makes the act of staring out of a window wondering what to say next seem both fascinating and, in some strange way, enviable, whereas, like most writers, he rarely leaves the house other than to go to the pub or the off-licence. Often asked how you become a writer, his advice remains: Please do not. There's already enough competition out there and we don't need any more. His advance for this book was about enough to buy a packet of Jaffa Cakes.Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging (Made in Michigan Writers Series)
By Nabeel Abraham, Sally Howell, Dunya Mikhail, Yousef Alqamoussi, Teri Bazzi, Hayan Charara, Mai Jakubowski, Jeff Karoub, Rania Matar, Geri Alumit Zeldes, Hanan Ali Nasser, Yasmine Rukia, Kamelya Omayma Youssef, Ghassan Zeineddine. 2022
Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging begins with stories of immigration and exile by following newcomers’ attempts…
to assimilate into American society. Editors Ghassan Zeineddine, Nabeel Abraham, and Sally Howell have assembled a cast of emerging and established writers who examine notions of home, belonging, and citizenship from a wide array of communities, including cultural heritages originating from Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen. The strong pattern in Arab Detroit today is to oppose marginalization through avid participation in almost every form of American identity-making. This engaged stance is not a byproduct of culture, but a new way of thinking about the US in relation to one’s homeland. Hadha Baladuna ("this is our country") is the first work of creative nonfiction in the field of Arab American literature that focuses entirely on the Arab diaspora in Metro Detroit, an area with the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the US. Narratives move from a young Lebanese man in the early 1920s peddling his wares along country roads to an aspiring Iraqi-Lebanese poet who turns to the music of Tupac Shakur for inspiration. The anthology then pivots to experiences growing up Arab American in Detroit and Dearborn, capturing the cultural vibrancy of urban neighborhoods and dramatizing the complexity of what it means to be Arab, particularly from the vantage point of biracial writers. Included in these works is a fearless account of domestic and sexual abuse and a story of a woman who comes to terms with her queer identity in a community that is not entirely accepting. The volume also includes photographs from award-winning artist Rania Matar that present heterogenous images of Arab American women set against the arresting backdrop of Detroit. The anthology concludes with explorations of political activism dating back to the 1960s and Dearborn’s shifting demographic landscape. Hadha Baladuna will shed light on the shifting position of Arab Americans in an era of escalating tension between the United States and the Arab region. It is intended for any reader hoping to learn more from the creative voices of Arab America.An Extravagant Life: An Autobiography Incorporating Blue Water, Green Skipper
By Stuart Woods. 2022
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series tells the story of his own life from…
childhood to the present, and chronicles the journey that made him the writer he is today.Over the last forty years, Stuart Woods has written more than ninety novels of suspense and intrigue, beginning with the award-winning Chiefs. Featuring iconic crime-fighting and jet-setting leads, the plots are masterfully conceived and wonderfully escapist. What many readers don&’t know is that Woods's very own life was filled with similar stories of adventure. Born in Georgia, Woods worked in advertising in New York, served in the US Air Force, and had a short stint as an advance man. At the age of 37, he found himself in a transatlantic sailing race, and pursued writing as a full-time career shortly thereafter. Along the way, Woods has lived all over the world, from New York to London, Santa Fe to Ireland. Incorporating his iconic sailing memoir Blue Water, Green Skipper, this is the story of a life well-lived, and a special inside look into the beloved author&’s many exploits.Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay In A Fractured Land
By Taylor Brorby. 2022
From a young, gay environmentalist, a searing coming-of-age memoir set against the arid landscape of rural North Dakota, where homosexuality…
“seems akin to a ticking bomb.” “I am a child of the American West, a landscape so rich and wide that my culture trembles with terror before its power.” So begins Taylor Brorby’s Boys and Oil, a haunting, bracingly honest memoir about growing up gay amidst the harshness of rural North Dakota, “a place where there is no safety in a ravaged landscape of mining and fracking.” In visceral prose, Brorby recounts his upbringing in the coalfields; his adolescent infatuation with books; and how he felt intrinsically different from other boys. Now an environmentalist, Brorby uses the destruction of large swathes of the West as a metaphor for the terror he experienced as a youth. From an assault outside a bar in an oil boom town to a furtive romance, and from his awakening as an activist to his arrest at the Dakota Access Pipeline, Boys and Oil provides a startling portrait of an America that persists despite well-intentioned legal protections.