Journals of Robert Rogers of the Rangers


Robert Rogers - 2000
    He and his troops were given a mandate “to use my best endeavours to distress the French and their allies, by sacking, burning; and destroying their houses, barns, barracks, canoes, bateaux, &c., and by killing their cattle of every kind; and at all times to endeavour to waylay, attack, and destroy their convoys of provisions by land and water, in any part of the country where I could find them." This is Rogers’ fascinating year by year account of that time. Covering the battles on snowshoes and numerous raids against the French camps it provides an insight into the ruthless guerrilla warfare of Rogers’ Rangers. Rogers’ strategy throughout the war was innovative and he explains in detail the techniques that he and his Rangers used and how he trained his men. Included in his journal is his now famous military twenty-eight point guide, the “Rules of Ranging”, which still form the basis of the “Standing Orders” taught to U.S. Army Rangers today. As well as material drawn from Rogers’ journals, the inclusion of letters provide further details on the Rangers’ role in the wider war. The Journals of Robert Rogers of the Rangers are a unique history of eighteenth century warfare that was developed during the French and Indian War. After this conflict Rogers was involved in combating Pontiac’s Rebellion and then became a royal governor. Suspected of having British sympathies he was never given command of in the Continental Army and even assisted in the capture of Nathan Hale. After struggling with money problems and alcoholism he died in debt and obscurity in London in 1795. His journals were published in England in 1765.

Stop Being Lazy: How to Overcome Laziness, Defeat Procrastination, Increase Productivity, and Break Through Barriers Like an Unstoppable Bulldog


John Z. Sonmez - 2018
    Extremely lazy. But, just this last week, I ran 50 miles, did 3 weight training workouts, attended kickboxing classes and got a ton of work done, making a nice big fat paycheck. You see, I learned how to overcome laziness--and you can too. This book is a nice short read (just 54 pages), designed for you to learn the secrets of going from lazy to self-disciplined and productive. It's the book that I wish I had when I was younger. The one that could have saved me so many hours of frustration, and helped me retire and become financially free much earlier. Oh, and also to get those 6-pack abs I finally have. (I was fat too once.) Deep down, you know that you are meant to live a life better than the one you’re living right now. You know that you are capable of doing, having, and being so much more—but you’re too damn lazy to experience who you truly are at your core and having what you’re really worth. I know how you feel because 8 years ago, I was in your shoes. I was lazy, overweight, filled with fear, and living WAY below my potential. This book takes you into my personal journey out of laziness and into a life of empowerment and self-discipline. In this book, I will share with you: The mindset that had me trapped in laziness, fear, and procrastination and how I broke free How I created a new mindset of a tenacious, unstoppable bulldog What the bulldog mindset is all about and why you must have it Why I do hard shit Why I became a finisher, and more If you’re really ready to give up laziness, I’ll show you how I did it and how you can too.

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister


Nonna Bannister - 2009
    Nonna's writings tell the remarkable tale of how a Russian girl, born into a family that had known wealth and privileges, was exposed to the concentration camps and learned the value of human life and the importance of forgiveness.

Gurudev: On the Plateau of the Peak: The Life of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


Bhanumathi Narasimhan - 2018
    It was at such a time that, in a quaint village in south India, a young boy was found in deep meditation. He would say, ‘I have family everywhere. People are waiting for me.’ Nobody believed him then. Time revealed the destiny of the millions who came to him to discover themselves. Over the years, his sublime presence and pragmatic teachings would foster the values of joy, peace and love across the world. His transformative art of breathing, the Sudarshan Kriya, became a household practice, an alternative way of life that inspired people to seek self-realization. He became the guru who made the ethereal tangible, who brought about a profound shift in every sphere of human endeavour—from art to architecture, health care to rehabilitation, inner peace to outer dynamism. From a carefree child to a teenager often found in the company of saints, from a young meditation teacher to a revered spiritual Master, this book is an intimate and affectionate account of the life of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar by his sister Bhanumathi Narasimhan, who witnessed his mystical life unfold up-close. Gurudev: On the Plateau of the Peak is an attempt to fit the ocean in a teacup, offering readers a sip of infinity.

A.A. Gill is Further Away: Helping with Enquiries


A.A. Gill - 2011
    His book includes essays on Sudan, India, Cuba, Germany and California. In each piece, there is a central image as the key to unlocking the personality of a place.

Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810-1813


Alexander Ross - 1849
    He was in frequent contact with the Chinooks, but also came across Clatspops, Cathlamux, Wakicums, Wacalamus, Cattleputles, Clatscanias, Killimux, Moltnumas and Chickelis.Throughout the book Ross provides a day by day account of what the Company did, where they explored, who they traded and fought with, even to smaller details of how they hunted and what they ate.Life was extremely difficult for the adventurers. At points conflicts broke out with Native Americans, the deadliest of which was when the Captain Thorn of the ship Tonquin insulted a Native American causing the Natives to kill all those on board and destroy the ship. This action left the Company’s outpost without seaborne transport for the next year.The conflicts with Native Americans, brutal forces of weather and geography, along with the tough competition from the more experienced rivals such as the North West Company, meant that the Pacific Fur Company did not survive past 1813, and during its three-year existence sixty one people lost their lives.Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River is a brilliant first-person account of the trials and tribulations that early nineteenth century explorers met when attempting to delve deeper into the uncharted areas of America.After 1813, Ross joined the North West Company until it was merged with the Hudson Bay Company in 1821. Eventually he settled in Red River Colony, present-day Manitoba, where he served as Sheriff, Post master, and a member of the council. He published this book in 1849 and died in 1856.

Geisha, a Life


Mineko Iwasaki - 2002
    We have been constrained by unwritten rules not to do so, by the robes of tradition and by the sanctity of our exclusive calling...But I feel it is time to speak out."Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only five years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next twenty-five years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. She would learn the formal customs and language of the geisha, and study the ancient arts of Japanese dance and music. She would enchant kings and princes, captains of industry, and titans of the entertainment world, some of whom would become her dearest friends. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form.In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of twenty-nine to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past." She illustrates how it coexisted within post-World War II Japan at a time when the country was undergoing its radical transformation from a post-feudal society to a modern one."There is much mystery and misunderstanding about what it means to be a geisha. I hope this story will help explain what it is really like and also serve as a record of this unique component of Japan's cultural history," writes Mineko Iwasaki. Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.

Life and Death in Shanghai


Nien Cheng - 1986
    Her background made her an obvious target for the fanatics of the Cultural Revolution: educated in London, the widow of an official of Chiang Kai-Shek's regime, and an employee of Shell Oil, Nien Cheng enjoyed comforts that few of her compatriots could afford. When she refused to confess that any of this made her an enemy of the state, she was placed in solitary confinement, where she would remain for more than six years. "Life and Death in Shanghai" is the powerful story of Nien Cheng's imprisonment, of the deprivation she endured, of her heroic resistance, and of her quest for justice when she was released. It is the story, too, of a country torn apart by the savage fight for power Mao Tse-tung launched in his campaign to topple party moderates. An incisive, rare personal account of a terrifying chapter in twentieth-century history, "Life and Death in Shanghai" is also an astounding portrait of one woman's courage.

Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World's Best Country


Noah Charney - 2017
    It is meant to act as a guide-in-hand while visiting Slovenia, but it can be read just as well from the comfort of your own home to give you a deep­er and more colorful sense of what it’s like to live in this remarkable, little-known country.

Lettin it All Hang Out: An Autobiography


RuPaul - 1995
    A provocative glimpse into the mind of America's foremost drag queen includes the inside story of how he rose to stardom as a supermodel, plus beauty tips and more than fifty black-and-white photographs.

Nirvana: A Tour Diary: My Life on the Road with One of the Greatest Bands of All Time


Andy Bollen - 2013
    As drummer for the British group Captain America, one of the two support bands on Nirvana's Nevermind UK tour, Andy Bollen had a ringside seat at the exact moment that Nirvana went massive. Afforded intimate access, Bollen wrote his own personal diary in Nirvana's dressing room, where he spoke candidly to Cobain—from his fears of losing original fans to his love of the Bay City Rollers. He saw firsthand how Nirvana worked, the relationships that made them tick, and the dynamic that made them one of the great bands. This is a warm, affectionate, funny, and, at times, brutally honest account, written by a guy on the periphery, perfectly positioned to observe. Drawing on the diaries he kept at the time, the book brings to life a pivotal moment in rock history, making it a must-read for Nirvana fans and lovers of iconic rock stories. The author also includes his own photographs which have never been seen before.

Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys in India


Paul William Roberts - 1996
    From the crumbling palaces of maharajas to the slums of Calcutta; from the ashrams of holy men to a millionaire drug dealer's heavily guarded fortress on India's border with China, Roberts captures the lure of this enigmatic land?this empire of the soul. "India is a harsh mistress," he writes. "She seems to appreciate individual sacrifice so little. Yet she has never wanted for lovers..."

Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer


Richard Holmes - 1985
    Footsteps is a wonderful exploration of the ties between biographers and their subjects, filled with passion and revelation.

Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India


Sujatha Gidla - 2017
    While most untouchables are illiterate, her family was educated by Canadian missionaries in the 1930s, making it possible for Gidla to attend elite schools and move to America at the age of twenty-six. It was only then that she saw how extraordinary—and yet how typical—her family history truly was. Her mother, Manjula, and uncles Satyam and Carey were born in the last days of British colonial rule. They grew up in a world marked by poverty and injustice, but also full of possibility. In the slums where they lived, everyone had a political side, and rallies, agitations, and arrests were commonplace. The Independence movement promised freedom. Yet for untouchables and other poor and working people, little changed. Satyam, the eldest, switched allegiance to the Communist Party. Gidla recounts his incredible life—how he became a famous poet, student, labor organizer, and founder of a left-wing guerrilla movement. And Gidla charts her mother’s battles with caste and women’s oppression. Page by page, Gidla takes us into a complicated, close-knit family as they desperately strive for a decent life and a more just society.A moving portrait of love, hardship, and struggle, Ants Among Elephants is also that rare thing: a personal history of modern India told from the bottom up.

Young Romantics: The Tangled Lives of English Poetry's Greatest Generation


Daisy Hay - 2010
    They included Lord Byron, John Keats, and Mary Shelley, as well as a host of fascinating lesser-known figures: Mary Shelley’s stepsister and Byron’s mistress, Claire Clairmont; Hunt’s botanist sister-in-law, Elizabeth Kent; the musician Vincent Novello; the painters Benjamin Haydon and Joseph Severn; and writers such as Charles and Mary Lamb, Thomas Love Peacock, and William Hazlitt. They were characterized by talent, idealism, and youthful ardor, and these qualities shaped and informed their politically oppositional stances—as did their chaotic family arrangements, which often left the young women, despite their talents, facing the consequences of the men’s philosophies.In Young Romantics, Daisy Hay follows the group’s exploits, from its inception in Hunt’s prison cell in 1813 to its disintegration after Shelley’s premature death in 1822. It is an enthralling tale of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and friendship, all of which were played out against a background of political turbulence and intense literary creativity.