Book picks similar to
T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. by Sanyika Shakur


fiction
unsorted
money
book-skeptic-cycle-two

Murder in Grosse Pointe Park: Privilege, Adultery, and the Killing of Jane Bashara


Steve Miller - 2015
    When Joe turned himself in, he told the cops everything— including how he was hired for a hit by Jane’s husband. His payment: $2,000 and a used Cadillac.Born into one of Michigan’s elite families, Bob was sweeping out the back alley of a property he owned when his wife was being killed. He made sure the bartenders at the Hard Luck Lounge saw him there at the time of her murder. He’d often brought girlfriends by the same bar, and for the last year had been seen with one Rachel Gillett—riding around town in her convertible, even showing up at BDSM events in the suburbs of Detroit. .When Joe Gentz confessed, his 67 IQ and barfly reputation made him less than credible. Bob successfully denied any part in his wife’s murder. But he couldn’t deny his attempt to have Joe killed in prison.INCLUDES PHOTOS

The Fix-it-Shop


Friedrich Wilhelm - 2017
    Based on a True Story.

Locked Together


AudibleNick Frost - 2020
    These are warts-and-all chats, home recorded by the stars themselves, as they try to find the positive and even funny in these extraordinary times.Chapter 1: Sarah Millican & Jason ManfordChapter 2: Dawn French & Jennifer SaundersChapter 3: Kurupt FMChapter 4: Jimmy Carr & Katherine RyanChapter 5: Simon Pegg & Nick FrostChapter 6: Rob Delaney & Sharon HorganChapter 7: Tez Ilyas & Sindhu VeeChapter 8: Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse©2020 Audible, Ltd (P)2020 Audible, Ltd

Acknowledgments: Stories of Friends, Enemies and Figuring Things Out


Becky Lucas - 2022
    The best stories are often about the lowest points in our lives - the soul-crushing jobs, the bad boyfriends, the terrible holidays, the betrayals and heartbreaks. These are the stories I tell people to make them like me, but, more importantly, they've helped me learn how to like myself.So this book is a collection of thankyous and acknowledgments:∗ Thank you to an ex-lover who marvelled at the fact he could get hard with me, even though I wasn't up to his usual standard.∗ Thank you to the coked-up real estate agent who, while lecturing me and my friend about the importance of travelling, fell down a flight of stairs.∗ Thank you to the woman who approached me after a gig and told me she hoped her daughter wouldn't end up like me.You've all taught me that you can't control who comes into your life or what happens to you, but you can decide just what it is you take from them.

The Informant


Kurt Eichenwald - 2000
    A page-turning true story of international scandal and corruption at the very highest levels of corporate America, this thriller unveils botched crimes, courtroom drama, suicide attempts, and an immense tangle of lies and deception.

Pet Sematary


Stephen King - 1983
    This is it.Set in a small town in Maine to which a young doctor, Louis Creed, and his family have moved from Chicago, Pet Sematary begins with a visit to a graveyard where generations of children have buried their beloved pets. But behind the "pet sematary," there is another burial ground, one that lures people to it with seductive promises . . . and ungodly temptations.As the story unfolds, so does a nightmare of the supernatural, one so relentless you won't want . . . at moments . . . to continue reading . . . but will be unable to stop.You do it because it gets hold of you, says the nice old man with the secret. You make up reasons . . . they seem like good reasons . . . but mostly you do it because once you've been up there, it's your place, and you belong to it . . .up in the Pet Sematary--and beyond.

West with Giraffes


Lynda Rutledge - 2021
    But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

First Strike / Deep Cover / Point of Impact


Jack Patterson - 2019
     Former Navy Seal. Former Peace Corps worker. Current blacks ops assasin. To those with the highest security clearance, it’s a line item known only as Project X. But to the half dozen agents and personnel working for it, it’s known as Firestorm, a black ops group so dark that the U.S. President doesn’t even know about them yet. And no agent is as skilled as Brady Hawk. FIRST STRIKE, Book 1 :: Amid the smoldering ashes of another terrorist attack on U.S. interests in Iraq, Hawk searches for Nasim Ghazi, the chief bomb maker for the terrorist group Al Hasib. However, Hawk’s mission is almost cut short when he’s nearly killed by an assassin. Haunted by his harrowing escape, Hawk must quietly navigate through Iraq and Afghanistan to hunt down Ghazi before he strikes again. As he and his Washington-based handler Alex Duncan try to solve the mystery of his assassin, Hawk struggles with the revelation that his father, the world’s most renowned weapons manufacturer, may not be who he thinks he is. In a world where nothing is as it seems, Hawk must stay focused in order to put down another threat before it's too late ... both himself as his country. DEEP COVER, Book 2 :: Deep in the jungles of Sierra Leone, Sefadu Holdings is making a mint by funneling diamonds to Al Hasib in order to fund its terrorist operation. However, when the secret black ops group Firestorm learns about it, Hawk is dispatched to squash the illegal dealings. While Hawk is battling nefarious forces abroad, his handler Alex Duncan is dealing with her own issues, including making sure that Firestorm director J.D. Blunt is safe from an attack on his life. As Hawk goes deep under cover, he must figure out a way to stop Al Hasib from getting the diamonds while Duncan fights for her life and the black ops program she believes in. But when everything starts to unravel, Hawk must find a way to keep it together on both continents or risk losing everything. POINT OF IMPACT, Book 3 :: When Brady Hawk learns about a sinister plot that Al Hasib has constructed to infiltrate the U.S., it’s only a matter of time before the sleeper cell they’ve planted springs to live and brings death and destruction to U.S. soil. But Hawk, who’s still reeling from the loss of a person important to him, must forge ahead and put the past behind him. However, Hawk’s plans to neutralize the threat goes awry amidst a turf struggle between the FBI and the CIA—and he must figure out a way to bring peace while apprehending the threat before millions of innocent lives are lost. Can he emerge victorious in keeping Americans save from the threat of ruthless terrorists who care nothing about the sanctity of life? Grab this box set of the first three books in the Brady Hawk series. You won’t be disappointed. Fans of Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, and Brad Taylor are loving this new action thriller series!

On The Double


Tanushree Podder - 2015
    A place where life is all about battalions and companies, and where the tactics of warfare are taught. However, in Tanushree Podder’s no-holds-barred look into Academy life – pranks and girls are as important to life as are morning drills and sand model exercises. A fitting, but entirely independent, sequel to Boots Belts Berets, her celebrated book about life at the National Defence Academy; On the Double follows the continuing adventures of Pessi, Maachh, Porky, Sandy, and Zora as they navigate the obstacle course that is the IMA. Their love of fun breathes life into their time together, and their friendship and dare-devilry guarantees sleepless nights for their Company Commander. A charming tale of friendship and coming-of-age, where young boys with lofty dreams stand at the cusp of change, ready to take on their future as sentinels of the nation.

The Occupation


Guy Walters - 2004
    As the Allies make great gains in France, the Channel Islands remain a bastion of Nazi-occupied territory. On Jersey, Lieutenant-Colonel Max von Luck is in charge of liaising with the civilian population. He has little time for his fanatical colleagues, and has earned the respect of many of the Islanders. In his bunker in Berlin, Hitler decides to deploy the V3 - a weapon so secret that even the slave labourers constructing it deep beneath the island of Alderney do not know its exact purpose.June 1990. Workmen digging the foundations for a new hotel start to fall sick. Their illness is similar to that suffered by many islanders over the past half-century. Journalist Robert Lebonneur is suspicious. Then he finds a diary written by Lieutenant-Colonel Max von Luck during the wartime occupation. The diary makes it clear that much more is at stake than a mysterious illness. As Lebonneur investigates, he begins to run into the same dark forces that von Luck found himslf up against nearly half a century before...

Operation Greylord: The True Story of an Untrained Undercover Agent and America's Biggest Corruption Bust


Terrence Hake - 2015
    It resulted in bribery and tax charges against 103 judges, lawyers, and other court personnel, and, eventually, more than seventy indictments. And it was led by Terrence Hake, a young assistant prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago, who worked undercover for nearly four years, accepting bribes, making payoffs, wearing a wire in bars and to racetracks, bugging a judge's chambers, and befriending people he knew he would betray. Operation Greylord has never before been detailed by an insider in the investigation.

Leadership by Example: The Ten Key Principles of All Great Leaders


Sanjiv Chopra - 2012
    Chopra has presented to thousands Very few of us are leaders all the time, in everything we do, but all of us can become a leader in specific situations. In a committee, in business, at a social club or at a religious institution, we all find a time in our lives when we can lead. Few people set out knowingly to become leaders, rather they see a need and they find a way of dealing with it, and often others choose to follow their example.  Based on a talk that he has given to more than 60,000 people in at least seven countries, the “LEADERSHIP” mnemonic that Dr. C hopra explains is as follows: L - listen well. E - empathy. A - attitude. D - dreams and decisiveness. E - effectiveness. R - resilience. S - a sense of purpose. H - humility and humor. I - integrity and imagination. P - principles, and willingness to pack other people’s parachutes. Drawing from his experience as Faculty Dean for Continuing Education for Harvard Medical School as well as the writings and lives of great leaders throughout history, this easy-to-read, inspiring book will serve as a reminder and a guide to becoming leaders in our own lives.

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets


David Simon - 1991
    Twice every three days another citizen is shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the center of this hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood of hard men who fight for whatever justice is possible in a deadly world.David Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a homicide unit, and this electrifying book tells the true story of a year on the violent streets of an American city. The narrative follows Donald Worden, a veteran investigator; Harry Edgerton, a black detective in a mostly white unit; and Tom Pellegrini, an earnest rookie who takes on the year's most difficult case, the brutal rape and murder of an eleven-year-old girl.Originally published fifteen years ago, Homicide became the basis for the acclaimed television show of the same name. This new edition--which includes a new introduction, an afterword, and photographs--revives this classic, riveting tale about the men who work on the dark side of the American experience.

The Only Girl in the World


Maude Julien - 2014
    His plan began when he adopted Maude’s mother and indoctrinated her with his esoteric ideals. Her mission was to give him a daughter as blonde as she was, and then to take charge of the child’s education. That child was Maude, on whom her father conducted his outrageous experiment—to raise the perfect ‘super-human’ being.The three lived in an isolated mansion in northern France, where her father made her undergo endless horrifying endurance tests. Maude had to hold an electric fence without flinching. Her parents locked her in a cellar overnight and ordered her to sit still on a stool in the dark, contemplating death, while rats scurried around her feet.How did this girl, with her loveless and lonely childhood, emerge so unscathed, so full of the empathy that was absent in her childhood? How did she manage to escape?Maude was sustained by her love of nature and animals and her passion for literature. In writing this memoir, Maude Julien shows that it is possible to overcome severe trauma. She recounts her chilling and deeply moving story in a compelling and compassionate voice.

The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice


David Hill - 2020
    Hot Springs, Arkansas was home to healing waters, Art Deco splendor, and America’s original national park—as well as horse racing, nearly a dozen illegal casinos, countless backrooms and brothels, and some of the country’s most bald-faced criminals.Gangsters, gamblers, and gamines: all once flocked to America’s forgotten capital of vice, a place where small-town hustlers and bigtime high-rollers could make their fortunes, and hide from the law. The Vapors is the extraordinary story of three individuals—spanning the golden decades of Hot Springs, from the 1930s through the 1960s—and the lavish casino whose spectacular rise and fall would bring them together before blowing them apart.Hazel Hill was still a young girl when legendary mobster Owney Madden rolled into town in his convertible, fresh off a crime spree in New York. He quickly established himself as the gentleman Godfather of Hot Springs, cutting barroom deals and buying stakes in the clubs at which Hazel made her living—and drank away her sorrows. Owney’s protégé was Dane Harris, the son of a Cherokee bootlegger who rose through the town’s ranks to become Boss Gambler. It was his idea to build The Vapors, a pleasure palace more spectacular than any the town had ever seen, and an establishment to rival anything on the Vegas Strip or Broadway in sophistication and supercharged glamour.In this riveting work of forgotten history, native Arkansan David Hill plots the trajectory of everything from organized crime to America’s fraught racial past, examining how a town synonymous with white gangsters supported a burgeoning black middle class. He reveals how the louche underbelly of the South was also home to veterans hospitals and baseball’s spring training grounds, giving rise to everyone from Babe Ruth to President Bill Clinton. Infused with the sights and sounds of America’s entertainment heyday—jazz orchestras and auctioneers, slot machines and suited comedians—The Vapors is an arresting glimpse into a bygone era of American vice.