Whittaker Chambers had just participated in America's trial of the century in which Chambers claimed that Alger Hiss, a full-standing member of the political establishment, was a spy for the Soviet Union. This poetic autobiography recounts the famous case, but also reveals much more. Chambers' worldview--e.g. "man without mysticism is a monster"--went on to help make political conservatism a national force.

    But you'll want to read it most for Karen's own words: 'I can walk, I can talk. I can read. I can write. I can do anything."- The New York Times Yes, these are Karen's own words. The words of a small, pig-tailed, freckle-faced child. Yet, no truer words were ever spoken, for Karen had just lived a miracle. "Extraordinary is the word to be used first, last, and repeatedly about this book. Anyone who meets Karen, even on paper, will postpone resigning from the human race." The Saturday Review.

    Their target was the Stone of Destiny, the throne of Scottish Kings for centuries and taken by Edward Longshanks to be used in English monarchs' coronations in 1296. Now, over 650 years later, Hamilton and the others planned to take it home to Scotland.Heralded as national heroes by some, vandals and criminals by others, the 'theft' sparked a nationwide police hunt that lasted months and caused uproar amongst the highest levels of the English establishment.Over 50 years later, Hamilton's story of what happened that night is as gripping as any thriller.

    Eliezer Ben Yehuda devoted his life to making Hebrew the language of Palestine and to furthering the establishment of a Jewish state there.

    Originally published in France in 1952, during the years of Prince Youssoupoff's exile from Russia, Lost Splendor has all the excitement of a thriller. Born to great riches, lord of vast feudal estates and many palaces, Felix Youssoupoff led the life of a grand seigneur in the days before the Russian Revolution. Married to the niece of Czar Nicholas II, he could observe at close range the rampant corruption and intrigues of the imperial court, which culminated in the rise to power of the sinister monk Rasputin. Finally, impelled by patriotism and his love for the Romanoff dynasty, which he felt was in danger of destroying itself and Russia, he killed Rasputin in 1916 with the help of the Grand Duke Dimitri and others. More than any other single event, this deed helped to bring about the cataclysmic upheaval that ended in the advent of the Soviet regime.~The author describes the luxury and glamour of his upbringing, fantastic episodes at nightclubs and with the gypsies in St. Petersburg, grand tours of Europe, dabbling in spiritualism and occultism, and an occasional conscience-stricken attempt to alleviate the lot of the poor.~Prince Youssoupoff was an aristocrat of character. When the moment for action came, when the monk's evil influence over the czar and czarina became unbearable, he and his friends decided that they must get rid of the monster. He tells how Rasputin courted him and tried to hypnotize him, and how finally they decoyed him to the basement of the prince's palace. Prince Youssoupoff...is perfectly objective, remarkably modern and as accurate as human fallibility allows. His book is therefore readable, of historical value and intimately tragic. It is as if Count Fersen had written a detailed account of the last years of Marie Antoinette. --Harold Nicholson, on the first English edition, 1955 By Prince Felix Youssoupoff. Hardcover, 5.25 x 8.25 in./300 pgs / 0 color 14 BW0 duotone 0 ~ Item D20143

    Compelling narrative of Norman Bethune, revolutionary doctor in Mao's China.

    

    With astonishing power Period Piece brings us into the real presence of the late Victorian past.