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No Land's Man
By Aasif Mandvi. 2014
"It always bothered me that Aasif was more than merely funny-he's also a great actor. Now I've learned he's an…
amazing storyteller as well, and I am furious . . . but also grateful. Aasif's movement between cultures and genres is what makes him and his story singularly funny, poignant, and essential."- John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require"My father moved our family to the United States because of a word. It was a word whose meaning fascinated him. It was a singularly American word, a fat word, a word that could only be spoken with decadent pride. That word was . . . Brunch! 'The beauty of America,' he would say, 'is they have so much food, that between breakfast and lunch they have to stop and eat again.'" —from "International House of Patel"If you're an Indo-Muslim-British-American actor who has spent more time in bars than mosques over the past few decades, turns out it's a little tough to explain who you are or where you are from. In No Land's Man Aasif Mandvi explores this and other conundrums through stories about his family, ambition, desire, and culture that range from dealing with his brunch-obsessed father, to being a high-school-age Michael Jackson impersonator, to joining a Bible study group in order to seduce a nice Christian girl, to improbably becoming America's favorite Muslim/Indian/Arab/Brown/Doctor correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.This is a book filled with passion, discovery, and humor. Mandvi hilariously and poignantly describes a journey that will resonate with anyone who has had to navigate his or her way in the murky space between lands. Or anyone who really loves brunch.'A powerful, eloquent and deeply affecting book. I loved it' EDMUND DE WAAL'Tender, evocative and deeply moving' JONATHAN FREEDLAND'Profound, elegiac…
and fascinating... I zipped through it' PHILIPPE SANDS'Compelling' DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK'I SEEK A KIND PERSON WHO WILL EDUCATE MY INTELLIGENT BOY, AGED 11.' In 1938, Jewish families are scrambling to flee Vienna. Desperate, they take out adverts offering their children into the safe keeping of readers of a British newspaper, the Manchester Guardian. The right words in the right order could mean the difference between life and death.Eighty-three years later, Guardian journalist Julian Borger comes across the advert that saved his father, Robert, from the Nazis. Robert had kept this a secret, like almost everything else about his traumatic Viennese childhood, until he took his own life. Drawn to the shadows of his family's past and starting with nothing but a page of newspaper adverts, Borger traces the remarkable stories of his father, the other advertised children and their families, each thrown into the maelstrom of a world at war.From a Viennese radio shop to the Shanghai ghetto, internment camps and family homes across Britain, the deep forests and concentration camps of Nazi Germany, smugglers saving Jewish lives in Holland, an improbable French Resistance cell, and a redemptive story of survival in New York, Borger unearths the astonishing journeys of the children at the hands of fate, their stories of trauma and the kindness of strangers.I Seek a Kind Person is a gripping family memoir of grief, courage and hope, connecting us with multiple generations, distant continents and the hidden histories of our almost unimaginable past.Enchanted by Cinema: Wilhelm Thiele between Vienna, Berlin, and Hollywood (Film Europa #29)
By Jan-Christopher Horak and Andréas-Benjamin Seyfert. 2024
William Thiele is remembered today as the father of the sound film operetta with seminal classics such as Drei von…
der Tankstelle (1930). While often considered among the most accomplished directors of Late Weimar cinema, as an Austrian Jew he was vilified during the onset of the Nazi regime in 1933 and fled to the United States where he continued making films until the end of his career in 1960. Enchanted by Cinema closely examines the European musical film pioneer’s work and his cross-cultural perspective across forty years of filmography in Berlin and Hollywood to account for his popularity while discussing issues of ethnicity, exile, comedy, music, gender, and race.War and Punishment: Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
By Mikhail Zygar. 2023
A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2023 From &“one of Russia&’s smartest and best-sourced young journalists&” (The New York Times)—the…
first work by a Russian author to reveal his country&’s history of oppressing Ukraine, providing an unprecedented overview of the war for Ukrainian independence that affects us all.As soon as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, prominent independent Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar circulated a Facebook petition signed first by hundreds of his cultural and journalistic contacts and then by thousands of others. That act led to a new law in Russia criminalizing criticism of the war, and Zygar fled Russia. In his time as a journalist, Zygar has interviewed President Zelensky and had access to many of the major players—from politicians to oligarchs. As an expert on Putin&’s moods and behavior, he has spent years studying the Kremlin&’s plan regarding Ukraine, and here, in clear, chronological order he explains how we got here. In 1996 to 2004, Ukraine became an independent post-Soviet country where everyone was connected to the former empire at all levels, financially, culturally, psychologically. However, the elite anticipated that the empire would be back and punish them. From 2004 to 2018, there were many states inside one state, each with its own rulers/oligarchs and its own interests—some of them directly connected with Russia. In 2018, a new generation of Ukrainians arrive, and having grown in an independent country, they do not consider themselves to be part of Russia—and that was the moment when the war began, as Putin could not tolerate losing Ukraine forever. Authoritative, timely, and vitally important, this is an unique overview of the war that continues to threaten the future of the entire world as we know it.From one of the most brilliant writers and thinkers of the twentieth century comes a collection of "passionate, probing, controversial"…
essays (The Atlantic) on topics ranging from race relations in the United States to the role of the writer in society.Told with Baldwin's characteristically unflinching honesty, this &“splendid book&” (The New York Times) offers illuminating, deeply felt essays along with personal accounts of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer and other writers. &“James Baldwin is a skillful writer, a man of fine intelligence and a true companion in the desire to make life human. To take a cue from his title, we had better learn his name.&” —The New York TimesCyndi Lauper: A Memoir
By Cyndi Lauper. 2012
Legendary singer, songwriter, actress, and activist Cyndi Lauper offers a personal account of the journey that led her to become…
an international superstar in this “moving story of an American musical original” (Kirkus Reviews).Icon Cyndi Lauper offers a poignant account of the journey that led her to become an international superstar—from her years growing up in Queens, New York, to the making of enduring hits like “Time After Time,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and “True Colors,” to becoming an actress, a mother, an outspoken activist, and maintaining a music career that has lasted more than thirty years. After leaving her childhood home at seventeen, Cyndi took on a series of jobs: racetrack hot walker, IHOP waitress, and, as she puts it, “gal Friday the thirteenth,” as she pursued her passion for music. She worked her way up playing small gigs and broke out in 1983 with She’s So Unusual, which earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist and made her the first female artist in history to have four top-five singles on a debut album. And while global fame wasn’t always what she expected, she has remained focused on what matters most. Cyndi is a gutsy real-life heroine who has never been afraid to speak her mind and stick up for a cause—whether it’s women’s rights, gay rights, or fighting against HIV/AIDS. With her trademark warmth and humor, Cyndi fearlessly writes of a life she’s lived only on her own terms, perfect for fans of Patti Smith’s Just Kids and Billy Idol’s Dancing with Myself.The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings (Vintage International Ser.)
By James Baldwin. 2010
From one of the most brilliant and provocative literary figures of the past century—a collection of essays, articles, reviews, and…
interviews that have never before been gathered in a single volume.&“An absorbing portrait of Baldwin&’s time—and of him.&” —New York Review of BooksJames Baldwin was an American literary master, renowned for his fierce engagement with issues haunting our common history. In The Cross of Redemption we have Baldwin discoursing on, among other subjects, the possibility of an African-American president and what it might mean; the hypocrisy of American religious fundamentalism; the black church in America; the trials and tribulations of black nationalism; anti-Semitism; the blues and boxing; Russian literary masters; and the role of the writer in our society.Prophetic and bracing, The Cross of Redemption is a welcome and important addition to the works of a cosmopolitan and canonical American writer who still has much to teach us about race, democracy, and personal and national identity. As Michael Ondaatje has remarked, &“If van Gogh was our nineteenth-century artist-saint, Baldwin [was] our twentieth-century one.&”Backbone of the Nation: Mining Communities and the Great Strike of 1984-85
By Robert Gildea. 2023
A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with…
former miners and their families Forty years ago, Arthur Scargill led the National Union of Mineworkers on one of the largest strikes in British history. A deep sense of pride existed within Britain’s mining communities who thought of themselves as the backbone of the nation’s economy. But they were vilified by Margaret Thatcher’s government and eventually broken: deprived of their jobs, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives. In this groundbreaking new history, Robert Gildea interviews those miners and their families who fought to defend themselves. Exploring mining communities from South Wales to the Midlands, Yorkshire, County Durham, and Fife, Gildea shows how the miners and their families organized to protect themselves, and how a network of activists mobilized to support them. Amid the recent wave of industrial action in the United Kingdom, Backbone of the Nation highlights anew the importance of labor organization—and intimately records the triumphs, losses, and resilience of these mining communities.Homelands: A Personal History of Europe
By Timothy Garton Ash. 2023
Drawing on half a century of firsthand experience and exemplary scholarship, Timothy Garton Ash tells the story of postwar Europe’s…
triumphs and tragedies Winner of the 2024 Lionel Gelber Prize • A Financial Times Best Book of 2023 “An irresistibly well-written book, fluent, witty, and intelligent.”—Neal Acherson, New York Review of Books Timothy Garton Ash, Europe’s “historian of the present,” has been “breathing Europe” for the last half century. In Homelands he embarks on a journey in time and space around the postwar continent, drawing on his own notes from many great events, giving vivid firsthand accounts of its leading actors, revisiting the places where its history was made, and recalling its triumphs and tragedies through their imprint on the present. Garton Ash offers an account of events as seen from the ground—history illustrated by memoir. He describes how Europe emerged from wartime devastation to rebuild, to triumph with the fall of the Berlin Wall, to democratize and unite. And then to falter. It is a singular history of a period of unprecedented progress along with a clear-eyed account of how so much went wrong, from the financial crisis of 2008 to the war in Ukraine. From the pen of someone who, in spite of Brexit, emphatically describes himself as an English European, this is both a tour d’horizon and a tour de force.Churchill's Great Escapes: Seven Incredible Escapes Made by WWII Heroes
By Damien Lewis. 2021
From Damien Lewis, bestselling author and award-winning historian and war reporter, comes the thrillingly told stories of seven dramatic and…
epic WWII escapes executed by members of one of the world&’s legendary military fighting forces: the British Special Air Service. No food. No water. Out of ammo. Hunted and on the run. The dreaded certainty of discovery looming between recapture and safe haven. What would you do? Give up? For the seven heroes of Churchill&’s Great Escapes the answer was simple: keep moving against all odds. These are the extraordinary stories of the bravery and endurance of the men of SAS, legendary pioneers of escape and evasion who, through the darkest of days and nights of World War II, endeavored and succeeded in slipping through the clutches of the enemy. Based on in-the-moment personal diaries and notebooks, mission reports, debriefings and letters, Damien Lewis recounts the most terrifying and adrenaline-fueled days and nights in the lives of men for whom survival was the only option. We follow every desperate step, facing unknowable threats and death around every corner, and share in the breathtaking endurance that brought them freedom against the most formidable of threats: the seemingly invincible Nazi war machine.Sources for the History of Western Civilization is a primary source reader designed specifically to allow undergraduate students to interact…
with historical documents. Michael Burger provides only the editorial guidance that students truly require, without unnecessary interventions. The third edition gives special stress to certain genres, including letters and biographical writings, to facilitate comparisons across time. Introductions to sources are brief, encouraging students to make their own assessments and giving instructors the freedom to supplement where desired. The third edition features substantive revisions and additional coverage of key topics throughoutas well as new material on the Crusades, Jewish persecution, and European expansion.Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir
By Matthew Perry. 2000
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER The BELOVED STAR OF FRIENDS takes us behind the scenes of the…
hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this “CANDID, DARKLY FUNNY...POIGNANT” memoir (The New York Times) A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by Time, Associated Press, Goodreads, USA Today, and more!“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty.”So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.In an extraordinary story that only he could tell—and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it—Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening—as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.In this overview, Michael Burger’s pedagogical goal is to provide a brief historical narrative of Western civilization to enable students…
to engage more fully with primary sources. The no-frills, uncluttered format and well-written, one-author approach make this book an affordable yet valuable asset for every history student. The third edition features stylistic and substantive revisions throughout. Volume One includes additional coverage of the neolithic revolution, the evolving self-definition of the West, race in the Middle Ages, the Crusades, and the conquest of the Americas, as well as new and improved maps.Early Modern Genres of History (Early Modern Themes)
By Emil Nicklas Johnsen, Ina Louise Stovner. 2024
Bringing together an international group of literary scholars, intellectual historians, and cultural historians, this book discusses history in its various…
forms, either as texts or images in the early modern period (1500–1800).Early Modern Genres of History explores different genres and representational modes regarded as history before history became a scientific discipline during the nineteenth century. It does not seek to show how the modern discipline of history as an academic study developed, but rather to examine the ways in which historical texts and images became part of a wider field of early modern knowledge formations. This volume demonstrates how history was connected to the developments in the public sphere, how antiquarian historians used genres in their work, how history evolved and functioned in the visual field, and how historical genres travelled across different contexts. Overall, Early Modern Genres of History reveals how the diversity of historical representations in the early modern period has contributed to the broader foundations of history as it is understood in the twenty-first century.This volume is of great use to upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in early modern Europe and the history of knowledge across both the history and literature disciplines.The Little Book of Cork (Little Book Of)
By Kieran McCarthy. 2015
The Little Book of Cork is a compendium of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts about Cork City. Here you…
will find out about Cork’s buildings and businesses, its proud sporting heritage, its hidden corners and its famous (and occasionally infamous) men and women. Through its bustling thoroughfares and down winding laneways, this book takes the reader on a journey through Cork and its vibrant past, recalling the people and events that shaped this great city.A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped into time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage and the secrets of Cork.Waterloo 1815: Wavre, Plancenoit And The Race To Paris
By Peter Hofschröer. 2006
The acclaimed historian sheds new light on the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon with a focus on…
the Prussian Army&’s critical contribution. Histories of the Waterloo campaign that brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars generally concentrate on the battle between the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington, giving Field Marshal Blücher's Prussian forces only passing attention. But in this fascinating historical analysis of the conflict, Peter Hofschröer provides a full account of the Prussians and their critical but often neglected side of the battle. Hofschröer vividly recounts the grueling Prussian advance towards the battlefield and the ferocious and decisive fight that broke out when they arrived. At every stage, he allows the reader to follow in the footsteps of the Prussian soldiers as they struggled across the Belgian countryside on that fateful day in 1815.The Pendulum of Battle: Operation Goodwood, July 1944
By Christopher Dunphie. 2005
An account of the World War II clash between British and German forces, &“the largest tank battle involving British armor…
ever fought&” (MQ Magazine). Operation Goodwood, the largest tank battle involving British troops ever to have taken place, has been a perpetual subject of controversy. Was it intended as a breakout from the Normandy Bridgehead, or not? Was it a success or failure? Did it lead to a severe crisis in confidence over Field Marshal Montgomery&’s leadership? This book seeks to unearth the true background, reasons, aims and achievement of Goodwood, set in the context of the overall campaign, while bringing the battle to life through personal accounts of some of those involved, both British and German.&“This well-informed account provides an excellent balance between the strategy and tactics . . . Even in a year which is seeing an unprecedented number of books on the Second World War, Pendulum of Battle deserves to be read. It is a serious, yet highly readable study of warfare and can be warmly recommended.&” —MQ MagazineOradour: The Massacre and Aftermath (Battleground South West France)
By Philip Beck. 1979
This WWII pictorial history illustrates a horrifying episode of destruction in Nazi-occupied France. In June of 1944, the Second…
SS Panzer Division Das Reich was stationed in Southern France until it was called north to help stop the Allied advance. On its way toward Normandy, Das Reich destroyed the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane and massacred its population. The brutal event ranks as one of the most notorious atrocities of the Second World War. While the scars left behind will never fully heal, many believe they should remain as a lesson to future generations. Though a new village was built nearby, President Charles de Gaulle ordered the ruins of Oradour to be preserved as a memorial to the victims. This fully illustrated volume recounts the history and legacy Oradour&’s destruction, complete with photographs of the ruins throughoutVictory at Poitiers: The Black Prince and the Medieval Art of War (Campaign Chronicles Ser.)
By Christian Teutsch. 2010
&“Evokes the blood and mud and terror of combat . . . A good primer of the Battle of Poitiers . . . with prose that…
is by turns professional and passionate.&” —De Re Militari On September 13, 1356, near Poitiers in western France, the small English army of Edward the Black Prince crushed the forces of the French King Jean II in one of the most famous battles of the Hundred Years&’ War. Over the centuries, the story of this against-the-odds English victory has, along with Crcy and Agincourt, become part of the legend of medieval warfare. And yet in recent times this classic battle has received less attention than the other celebrated battles of the period. The time is ripe for a reassessment, and this is the aim of Christian Teutsch&’s thought-provoking new account. &“Teutsch describes in vivid detail the Black Prince&’s experiences that led to his horse charge across the countryside of southwest France, and the critical actions of Romorantin and Chatellerault that made Poitiers possible. His narrative culminates with the prince&’s daring ride to draw the French king Jean into battle and the drama of the combat itself. Combined with a selection of over 15 battlefield maps showing the orders of battle, this informative and highly readable account is a compulsive purchase for all with an interest in medieval history.&” —The Lance and Longbow SocietyBritannia's Daughters: The Story of the WRNs
By Ursula Stuart Mason. 2012
A comprehensive history of the Women&’s Royal Naval Service of Great Britain in the twentieth century. The Women&’s Royal Naval…
Service was formed in 1917 when the call was for volunteers to release a man for sea service. At the peak there was over 5,000 women serving in Britain and overseas, but efforts to maintain the service in peace time were unsuccessful. It was to be 1939, when the Second World War threatened, before the Wrens were reformed. Theirs was a different and altogether more demanding role which involved the carrying out of some highly secret and responsible duties, and many more of them served outside Britain. By 1945 there were over 75,000 officers and ratings and when the War ended, and those who wished were demobilized, a permanent Service was set up, providing a career for women alongside men of the Royal Navy. This is their story, often told in their own words, which mirrors the changing place of women in our society in a century of tremendous social progress.Features a forward by HRH The Princess Royal