The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings


Martin Luther King Jr. - 2013
    King, available for the first time as an ebook "The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr." is the ultimate collection of Dr. King's most inspirational and transformative speeches and sermons, accessibly available for the first time as an ebook. Here, in Dr. King's own words, are writings that reveal an intellectual struggle and growth as fierce and alive as any chronicle of his political life could possibly be. Included amongst the twenty selections are Dr. King's most influential and persuasive works such as "I Have a Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" but also the essay "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence," and his last sermon "I See the Promised Land," preached the day before he was assassinated. Published in honor of the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, "The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr." includes twenty selections that celebrate the life's work of our most visionary thinkers. Collectively, they bring us Dr. King in many roles--philosopher, theologian, orator, essayist, and author--and further cement the most powerful and enduring words of a man who touched the conscience of the nation and world.

The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage


Walter Dean Myers - 2005
    . . . It is the story of men who acted as men, and who gave a good account of themselves when so many people thought, even hoped, that they would fail.What defines a true hero?The "Harlem Hellfighters," the African American soldiers of the 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I, redefined heroism -- for America, and for the world. At a time of widespread bigotry and racism, these soldiers put their lives on the line in the name of democracy.The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage is a portrait of bravery and honor. With compelling narrative and never-before-published photographs, Michael L. Printz Award winner Walter Dean Myers and renowned filmmaker Bill Miles deftly portray the true story of these unsung American heroes.

The Bloody Battle of Suribachi: The Amazing Story of Iwo Jima That Inspired Flags of Our Fathers


Richard Wheeler - 1965
    Revised with a new introduction by the author and recently discovered photos, this book served as invaluable source material both for James Bradley’s bestseller Flags of Our Fathers as well as Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed film of the same name.

Memoirs of Gen. William T. Sherman - Volume 1


William T. Sherman - 1886
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

The Court of Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought to Save the Wrongfully Convicted


Erle Stanley Gardner - 1952
       In 1945, Erle Stanley Gardner, noted attorney and author of the popular Perry Mason mysteries, was contacted by an overwhelmed California public defender who believed his doomed client was innocent. William Marvin Lindley had been convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl along the banks of the Yuba River, and was awaiting execution at San Quentin. After reviewing the case, Gardner agreed to help—it seemed the fate of the “Red-Headed Killer” hinged on the testimony of a colorblind witness.   Gardner’s intervention sparked the Court of Last Resort. The Innocence Project of its day, this ambitious and ultimately successful undertaking was devoted to investigating, reviewing, and reversing wrongful convictions owing to poor legal representation, prosecutorial abuses, biased police activity, bench corruption, unreliable witnesses, and careless forensic-evidence testimony. The crimes: rape, murder, kidnapping, and manslaughter. The prisoners: underprivileged and vulnerable men wrongly convicted and condemned to life sentences or death row with only one hope—the devotion of Erle Stanley Gardner and the Court of Last Resort.   Featuring Gardner’s most damning cases of injustice from across the country, The Court of Last Resort won the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Originating as a monthly column in Argosy magazine, it was produced as a dramatized court TV show for NBC.

Obachan: A Young Girl's Struggle for Freedom in Twentieth Century Japan


Tani Hanes - 2020
    Sent away at thirteen to live with relatives, hired out at fifteen to pay off a family debt, desperate for an education at any cost, this is the story of a young girl who never gave up on herself, no matter what her circumstances, no matter how bleak her life seemed to be.It is the story of my Obachan, or grandmother, as told to me by her, an amazing story which begins in the countryside of Japan and ends in the war torn streets of Kawasaki. I wrote it down as I heard it, believing it sounded more like a movie than her life; only the names have been changed out of respect for her living family. This is the journey she took as she exchanged one set of dreams for another, as she grew from a wide-eyed, hopeful teenager to a young mother in wartime Japan.

The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861


Carter G. Woodson - 1915
    

When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew: A Memoir


Hendrika de Vries - 2019
    In the aftermath of her father’s departure, Hendrika watches as freedoms formerly taken for granted are eroded with escalating brutality by men with swastika armbands who aim to exterminate those they deem “inferior” and those who do not obey. As time goes on, Hendrika absorbs her mother’s strength and faith, and learns about moral choice and forced silence. She sees her hidden Jewish “stepsister” betrayed, and her mother interrogated at gunpoint. She and her mother suffer near starvation, and they narrowly escape death on the day of liberation. But they survive it all—and through these harrowing experiences, Hendrika discovers the woman she wants to become.

Zoomies, Subs, and Zeros (Annotated)


Hans C. Adamson - 2019
    The League helped save the lives of hundreds of Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps pilots - including future President George H. W. Bush - from Japanese planes as well as from death at sea. Author Charles Lockwood (Hellcats of the Sea, Sink 'Em All) brings his usual flair for submarine stories to this eye-witness narrative of the hair-raising adventures of this little-known sub-division of the US Naval Fleet.*Includes annotations and images.

Grace Valley Trilogy Complete Collection: Deep in the Valley\Just Over the Mountain\Down by the River


Robyn Carr - 2014
    Visitors to the town often remark about the valley’s peace and beauty—both of which are plentiful. Unlocked doors, front porches, pies cooling in the windows—this is country life at its finest. But visitors don’t always see what lies at the heart of a community. Or just beyond…Deep in the ValleyThe daughter of the town doctor, June Hudson left only to get her medical training, then returned home and followed in her father’s footsteps. Some might say she chose the easy, comfortable route…but June knows better. Her emergency room is wherever she’s needed—or wherever a patient finds her. She is always on call, her work is her life, and these people are her extended family. Which is a good thing, since this is a town where you should have picked your husband in the ninth grade. It’s not exactly the place to meet eligible men—until an undercover DEA agent suddenly starts appearing at all sorts of strange hours. Everybody has secrets down in the valley. Now June has one of her own.Just Over the MountainIn this peaceful community, it’s hard to keep a secret—but Dr. June Hudson has managed to keep one heck of a humdinger. Though visits from undercover DEA agent Jim Post are as clandestine as they are passionate, somehow it fits with her demanding schedule. But how can a secret lover compete with a flesh-and-blood heartthrob from her past? June’s old flame has just returned after twenty years—and he’s divorced. June is seriously rattled. So when the town’s most devoted wife takes buckshot to her husband and some human bones turn up in her aunt Myrna’s backyard, June is almost happy for the distraction. Sooner or later, love will have its way in Grace Valley. It always does.Down by the RiverPeople in town are beginning to notice the bloom in Dr. June Hudson’s cheeks—and the swell of her belly. Happily, DEA agent Jim Post is back in June’s arms for good, newly retired from undercover work and ready for new beginnings. And the community is overflowing with gossip right now. Who is the secret paramour June’s aunt Myrna is hiding? Does the town’s poker-playing pastor have too many aces up his sleeve? But when dangers, from man and nature, rise up with a vengeance to threaten June and the town, this community pulls together and shows what it’s made of. And Jim discovers the true meaning of happiness here in Grace Valley: there really is no place like home.

The Granny Square Book: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Crocheting Square by Square


Margaret Hubert - 2011
    They originated with pioneer women using up precious scraps of yarn to make blankets for their families, and over the years, many recognized, named patterns have been handed down from one generation to the next. Beyond this treasury of 75 different granny square motifs, Margaret Hubert shows the evolution of the granny square, how it can be used and interpreted in different ways with different yarns, and how today's crocheter can design her own projects using the granny squares of her choice with the yarn choices of today. Just as Margaret learned from her grandmother and mother and then passed the skill down to her daughter and granddaughter, each generation finds new uses and artistic ways to interpret granny squares.

AWS Well-Architected Framework (AWS Whitepaper)


AWS Whitepapers - 2020
    We address general design principles as well as specific best practices and guidance in five conceptual areas that we define as the pillars of the Well-Architected Framework. This documentation is offered for free here as a Kindle book, or you can read it in PDF format at https://aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/.

Oliver Cromwell and the Rule of the Puritans in England


Charles Harding Firth - 1900
     Frith describes the years which led to Cromwell seizing power. These years included the rise and fall of megalomaniac King Charles I, meetings of the Long Parliaments of the 1640s and the discussions concerning the newer ideas in English Christianity (Presbyterianism, Calvinism and so forth). Then came the Puritan rebellion against Charles following their Nineteen Propositions of 1642. Throughout the 1640s and 1650s the Royalists, fighting on behalf of the King, were engaged in fighting with the Puritans, and Firth gives excellent and vivid descriptions of battle based on first-hand accounts. Assisted by the Scottish Army, the Battle of Marston Moor was a key point in the conflict, where Cromwell gained the nickname ‘Ironsides’ from his followers and ‘Lord of the Fens’ from his opponents due to his support of the rights of peasants. In 1648 he joined the army to quell any outbreak of civil war and anarchy, persuading the soldiers to side with him and Parliament. He also formulated ‘The Agreement of the People’. Then Ireland rose up against its Parliament, leading to Cromwell’s attempt to convert the nation to Protestantism, and England went to war with Scotland and the Netherlands. After the execution of Charles I in 1649, Cromwell was placed at the head of the English Republic, ‘a perpetual Parliament always sitting’, which became the Little Parliament within a few years. Opposed to him were the Levellers and Presbyterians, which shows that the events had both a political and religious dimension. He also gave kindness to the Quakers and formed an alliance with France against Spain in a move that was much criticised in the years that followed. Cromwell initially wanted to incorporate the army into how England was governed, but by 1653 civilian rule had been restored. Cromwell was given the title of Protector and set about promoting the separation of powers within government and the reform of law and the English courts system. He also encouraged education and scholarship, which were linked with his own religious ideals to unite the branches of the English church, and hoped to secure England’s commercial and religious interests within Europe and the colonies. Right up to his death in 1660, argues Firth in a wide-ranging and brilliant study of Puritanism and the man who stood at its head, no man exerted more influence on the religious development of England. Charles Firth (1857-1936) was Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University and president of the Royal Historical Society. His works concerned seventeenth-century England and included Scotland and the Commonwealth.

Long Way Back to the River Kwai: A Harrowing True Story of Survival in World War II


Loet Velmans - 2005
    He and his family fled to London on the Dutch Coast Guard cutter "Seaman's Hope" and then sailed to the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) where he joined the Dutch army. In March 1942, the Japanese invaded the archipelago and made prisoners of the Dutch soldiers. For the next three and a half years Velmans and his fellow POWs toiled in slave labor camps, building a railroad through the dense jungle on the Burmese-Thailand border so the Japanese could invade India. Some 200,000 POWs and slave laborers died building this Death Railway. Velmans, though suffering from malaria, dysentery, malnutrition, and unspeakable mistreatment, never gave up hope. Fifty-seven years later he returned to revisit the place where he should have died and where he had buried his closest friend. From that emotional visit sprung this stunning memoir."Long Way Back to the River Kwai" is a simply told but searing memoir of World War II, a testimonial to one man's indomitable will to live that will take its place beside the "Diary of Ann Frank," "Bridge over the River Kwai," and "Edith's Story.""

The Battle of Waterloo


J. Christopher Herold - 1967
    In the space of what is now known as the Hundred Days, the deposed French emperor was to demonstrate that nothing had changed. Only forty-six, he still possessed the ambition that made Europe quake at the news of his return to France, the magnetism that made men offering undying devotion swarm to his side, and the military genius that could plan, execute, and very nearly win a brilliant campaign against vastly superior odds. The battle that ended the career of the greatest conqueror of modern times was Waterloo. National Book Award winner J. Christopher Herold, a lifelong Napoleon scholar, tells the story of Waterloo with special emphasis on the emperor's role. But it is also the story of the Duke of Wellington, who led a mixed force of British, Belgian, Dutch, and Hanoverian troops in a masterly defensive operation. Like all military contests, Waterloo was a series of blunders and misunderstandings mixed with acts of heroism, timidity, and endurance. But because it permanently shattered Napoleon's dreams of conquest, Waterloo has a special place as one of the decisive battles in world history.