The Tragic Empress: The Authorized Biography of Alexandra Romanov


Sophie Buxhoeveden - 2017
     Additionally, as a lady-in-waiting, Countess Buxhoeveden attended on the Empress for much of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, only leaving her side when the Imperial Family was removed to Tobolsk after the Tsar’s abdication in 1917. Thereafter, she followed the Empress to Tobolsk, and then to Ekaterinburg, where the entire Imperial Family, some of the Court suite and some of their servants met their deaths on July 17, 1918. The portrait the Countess paints of the Empress is of a warm, shy, kind and generous woman, devoted to Russia, her husband and her children, deeply charitable in word and deed, and a committed friend and mistress, but ill-starred, physically sick, maligned, misunderstood and much plotted against. The character descriptions in this book also include those for Tsar Nicholas, each of the children – OTMA and the Tsarevitch – Grand Duchess Ella (the Empress’ sister), Ania Vyrubova (the Empress’ most intimate friend), Rasputin and Kerensky (the Head of the Provisional Government that took power after the abdication of the Tsar and before the ascendancy of the Bolsheviks). The narrative also describes in detail the daily domestic life of the Imperial Family, and each of their trips to other parts of Russia and abroad in peace and war. It is rare for the author of any authorized biography to know her subject so familiarly and for so long, and to have been a first-hand witness to almost everything that happened for much of her life, and it is this that makes ‘The Tragic Empress’ such an intriguing and compelling book.

The Traveling Wilburys: The Biography


Nick Thomas - 2017
    The five seasoned musicians – Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison – had gathered to write and record what was intended as a throwaway B-side track. After Harrison submitted the completed song to his record company, he was told that it was too good to be hidden away on the flip side of a European single. Instead, he was instructed to regroup with his fellow musicians and to record an entire album of songs. But for the newly formed supergroup, there was no roadmap, no detailed plan, no record company involvement and no expectation of success. Nicknamed the Billion Dollar Quintet, the five musical legends could all speak of their own individual achievements, their own musical triumphs, as well as their own extended periods of fan indifference. Some of the members had already establishment close knit relationships, while others barely knew each other. This book chronicles how the Traveling Wilburys were formed, what went into the making of their two hit albums and why they never toured. The book also examines how the careers and personal lives of these five men overlapped as well as how they influenced one another. Lastly, this book looks at the group’s musical legacy.

The Battle of Belonging: On Nationalism, Patriotism, And What it Means to Be Indian


Shashi Tharoor - 2020
    In the course of his study, he explains what nationalism is, and can be, reveals who is anti-national, what patriotism actually means, and explores the nature and future of Indian nationhood. He gives us a clear-sighted view of the forces working to undermine the 'idea of ​​India' (a phrase coined by Rabindranath Tagore) that has developed through history and which, in its modern form, was enshrined in India's Constitution by its founding fathers.Divided into six sections, the book starts off by exploring historical and contemporary ideas of nationalism, patriotism, liberalism, democracy, and humanism, many of which emerged in the West in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and quickly spread throughout the world. The author then summarizes India's liberal constitutionalism, exploring the enlightened values ​​that towering leaders and thinkers like Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore, Ambedkar, Patel, Azad, and others invested the nation with. These are contrasted with the narrow-minded, divisive, sectarian, 'us vs them' alternatives formulated by Hindutva ideologues, and propagated by their followers who are now in office.Today, the battle is between these two opposing ideas of India, or what might be described as ethno-religious nationalism vs civic nationalism. The struggle for India's soul has heightened, deepened, and broadened, and threatened to hollow out and destroy the remarkable concepts of pluralism, secularism, and inclusive nationhood that were bestowed upon the nation at Independence. The Constitution is under siege, institutions are being undermined, mythical pasts propagated, universities assailed, minorities demonized, and worse. Every passing month sees new attacks on the ideals that India has long been admired for, as authoritarian leaders and their bigoted supporters push the country towards a state of illiberalism and intolerance. If they succeed, millions will be stripped of their identity, and bogus theories of Indianness will take root in the soil of the subcontinent. However, all is not yet lost, and this erudite and lucid book shows us what will need to be done to win the battle of belonging and strengthening everything that is unique and valuable about India.Firmly anchored in incontestable scholarship, yet passionately and fiercely argued, The Battle of Belonging is a book that unambiguously establishes what true Indianness is and what it means to be a patriotic and nationalistic Indian in the twenty-first century.

Generation iY: Secrets to Connecting With Today’s Teens & Young Adults in the Digital Age


Tim Elmore - 2015
    Over 100,000 adults have benefitted from Tim Elmore’s insights in this landmark book, which has been updated and expanded to include new research, stories, practical solutions, and two bonus chapters to help adults connect with today’s teens and young adults.

How to Build Strong & Lean Bodyweight Muscle: A Science-based Approach to Gaining Mass without Lifting Weights


Anthony Arvanitakis - 2018
    Having made a lot of personal mistakes, having followed a lot of bad advice, and having neglected a lot of important principles, I know that having this book back then would have saved me a lot of time and effort.Since I can’t go back in time to avoid my mistakes, I can help those of you that are getting started on your journey of building bodyweight muscle.This book is also for those frustrated from training for some time, without getting the results that they should should be getting… I want you to find out the missing pieces that are holding you back, so you can finally get the results you deserve.Lastly, Bodyweight Muscle is not just about muscle. Incorporating a bodyweight exercise routine in your lifestyle can become a keystone habit that triggers positive widespread change in other areas of your life.Building Bodyweight Muscle and gaining control over your body helps you develop confidence and a sense of self-mastery. It empowers you to further take control of your life and make more positive changes day by day.

Tiger Battalion 507: Eyewitness Accounts from Hitler's Regiment


Helmut Schneider - 2020
    The resulting account is a treasure trove of first-hand material, from personal memories, diary entries and letters to leave passes, wartime newspaper cuttings, Wehrmacht bulletins and more than 160 photographs.The account follows the unit from its formation in 1943 and the catastrophic events on the Eastern Front, through battles on the Western Front and engagements against the American 3rd Armoured Division to the confusion of retreat, panic-stricken flight and Soviet captivity in the closing stages of the war. Honest and unflinching, this remarkable collection of autobiographies offers a glimpse into life in Hitler's panzer division and is a stark testimony of a generation that sacrificed its best years to the war.This is the first English-language translation of the work.

My Idols - Journey of a Cricket Crazy


Pankaj Agrawal - 2013
    Cricket and Bollywood. So there are only two kinds of people, who have unconditional fan following in India. That is Film actors and Cricket players. There are millions of Indians, who are huge fan of Cricket and cricketers. The book is all about collection of memoirs of the author in regard with his idols in the game. Book gives inside in to career span of few of the most prolific Indian cricketers in contemporary Cricket and few of greatest in international Cricket. The career path of them is embedded with most splendid performance of these players and interesting anecdotes (few of them are untold). All in all, a full sketch of these players in a very concise and interesting manner. There are chapters on:- Sachin Tendulkar Kapil Dev Kris Srikkanth Javagal Srinath Mohd. Azharruddin Ajay Jadeja Rahul Dravid Viv Richard Wasim Akram Shane Warne Author – Pankaj Agrawal

Take Control of the Noisy Class: Chaos to Calm in 15 Seconds (Super-effective classroom management strategies for teachers in today's toughest classrooms)


Rob Plevin - 2019
    Packed with powerful, fast-acting techniques – including a novel routine to get any class quiet in 15 seconds or less – this book helps teachers across all age groups connect and succeed with hard-to-reach, reluctant learners.  You’ll d iscover: The simple six-step plan to minimise & deal with classroom behaviour problems How to gain trust & respect from tough, hard-to-reach students How to put an end to power struggles & confrontation How to have students follow your instructions… with no need to repeat yourself The crucial importance of consistency (and how to achieve it) Quick and easy ways to raise engagement and enjoyment in your lessons The ‘Clean Slate’ – a step by step method you can use to ‘start over’ with that particularly difficult group of students who won’t do anything you say. Take Control of the Noisy Class provides hundreds of practical ideas and interventions to end your classroom management struggles & create a thoroughly enjoyable lesson climate for all concerned.

Five Months In A Leaky Boat


Ben Kozel - 2003
    But not fearless adventurer Ben Kozel, author of the bestselling Three Men in a Raft. When he returned home after risking life an limb in South America, the question uppermost in his mind was 'where to next?' Ben found the answer in the Yenisey River, which, while it is the fifth longest on the planet, remains one of the world's least-known waterways. So with three companions, Ben embarked on a five month, 5540-kilometre odyssey.They would cross the Mongolian Steppe, traverse the vast boreal forests of Siberia, and enter the realm of tundra high above the Arctic Circle, rowing a leaking and formerly-derelict wooden dory, painstakingly rebuilt by them on a shoe-string budget. Risking rivers in flood, the treacherous and mysterious Lake Baikal, deadly tick-born diseases, Siberian mobsters, radioactive contamination and the onset of the Arctic winter, Ben proved once and for all that he is one of Australia's most gifted and intrepid travel writers - or, as his friends prefer to call him, ;a very lucky bastard'.Filled with hair raising exploits and vivid description, Five Months in a Leaky Boat is both a riveting adventure story, and an intimate look at the beauty and complexity of an almost unknown part of the world.

Sacred Pace: Four Steps to Hearing God and Aligning Yourself With His Will


Terry Looper - 2019
    At just thirty-six years old, Terry Looper was a successful Christian businessman who thought he had it all—until managing all he had led to a devastating burnout. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams but miserable beyond belief, Terry experienced a radical transformation when he discovered how to align himself with God’s will in the years following his crash and burn.Sacred Pace is a four-step process that helps Christians in all walks of life learn how toslow down their decision-making under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,sift through their surface desires and sinful patterns in order to receive clear, peace-filled answers from the Lord,gain the confident assurance that God’s answers are His way of fulfilling the true desires he has placed in their hearts, andgrow closer to the One who loves them most and knows them best.This book is not another example of name-it-and-claim-it materialism in disguise. Instead, it walks readers through the sometimes-painful process of “dying to self” in their decisions, both big and small, so that they desire God’s will more than their own.

The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era


Charles River Editors - 2020
    

The Pact


Robert Patrick Lewis - 2018
    The Pact is the second book by former Green Beret-turned-author Robert Patrick Lewis and is his first foray into the world of fiction. The Pact is the first of a fictional trilogy based on current events, the author's experience in Special Forces and first-hand knowledge of geopolitics and global intelligence.The Pact combines global politics, combat, economics, conspiracy theories and Special Forces history into one nail-biting fiction work; think Dan Brown meets Tom Clancy meets Red Dawn.Find out what a team of Green Berets would do if their homeland were attacked by her enemies China, Russia, Iran & Hezbollah in The Pact.©2014 3 Pillars Enterprises

Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery


Norman Mailer - 1995
    Here is Lee Harvey Oswald—his family background, troubled marriage, controversial journey to Russia, and return to an “America [waiting] for him like an angry relative whose eyes glare in the heat.” Based on KGB and FBI transcripts, government reports, letters and diaries, and Mailer’s own international research, this is an epic account of a man whose cunning, duplicity, and self-invention were both at home in and at odds with the country he forever altered.  Praise for Oswald’s Tale  “America’s largest mystery has found its greatest interpreter.”—The Washington Post Book World   “Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance. . . . From the American master conjurer of dark and swirling purpose, a moving reflection.”—Robert Stone, The New York Review of Books  “A narrative of tremendous energy and panache; the author at the top of his form.”—Christopher Hitchens, Financial Times  “The performance of an author relishing the force and reach of his own acuity.”—Martin Amis, The Sunday Times (London)   Praise for Norman Mailer  “[Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation.”—The New York Times   “A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent.”—The New Yorker   “Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure.”—The Washington Post   “A devastatingly alive and original creative mind.”—Life   “Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance.”—The New York Review of Books   “The largest mind and imagination [in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book.”—Chicago Tribune   “Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream.”—The Cincinnati Post

The Fortune Hunter


Suzy Spencer - 2004
    All that mattered to the 70-year-old widower was love. He forgave her when she stole his late wife's jewelry. He stood by her when she entered a psychiatric hospital for depression. What he didn't know about was Celeste's intimate involvement with fellow patient, Tracey Tarlton, a lesbian friend who would do anything Celeste asked. Anything.He Found A Nightmare Out Of Control.Then, in the morning hours of October, 2003, Tracey leveled a shotgun point blank at Steven Beard. The blast tore into his stomach while he slept. When Celeste tried to put a hit on Tracy as well, all hell broke loose. Even Celeste's own daughters turned on their mother with righteous vengeance. The sensational trial would finally expose the sordid motives behind a murderous marriage-and bring two deadly women to justice.

Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration


Desmond Dinan - 1994
    This new edition retains the familiar three-part structure - history, institutions, and policies - but incorporates expanded coverage of both enlargement issues and constitutional change. New policy and institutional developments are thoroughly explored, and an entirely new chapter examines the decisionmaking dynamics among the Commission, Council, and Parliament. The completely revised chapter on the complicated EU-U.S. relationship includes discussions of the Bush administration's worldview, the broad repercussions of the terrorist attacks in the United States and Spain, and the ongoing fallout from the war in Iraq.