Across the Reef: The Marine Assault of Tarawa


Joseph H. Alexander - 2015
    Smith and his principal staff officers of the 2d Marine Division, Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commanding the Central Pacific Force, flew to New Zealand from Pearl Harbor. Spruance told the Marines to prepare for an amphibious assault against Japanese positions in the Gilbert Islands in November. The Marines knew about the Gilberts. The 2d Raider Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson had attacked Makin Atoll a year earlier. Subsequent intelligence reports warned that the Japanese had fortified Betio Island in Tarawa Atoll, where elite forces guarded a new bomber strip. Spruance said Betio would be the prime target for the 2d Marine Division. General Smith's operations officer, Lieutenant Colonel David M. Shoup, studied the primitive chart of Betio and saw that the tiny island was surrounded by a barrier reef. Shoup asked Spruance if any of the Navy's experimental, shallow-draft, plastic boats could be provided. "Not available," replied the admiral, "expect only the usual wooden landing craft." Shoup frowned. General Smith could sense that Shoup's gifted mind was already formulating a plan. The results of that plan were momentous. The Tarawa operation became a tactical watershed: the first, large-scale test of American amphibious doctrine against a strongly fortified beachhead. The Marine assault on Betio was particularly bloody. Ten days after the assault, Time magazine published the first of many post-battle analyses: Last week some 2,000 or 3,000 United States Marines, most of them now dead or wounded, gave the nation a name to stand beside those of Concord Bridge, the Bon Homme Richard, the Alamo, Little Big Horn and Belleau Wood. The name was "Tarawa."

Step Aside for Royalty: Treasured Memories of the Royal Household


Eileen Parker - 2017
    Eileen was inside Buckingham Palace for all the grand state occasions as well as the private moments of crisis and joy. Eileen knew Prince Philip before his marriage. Later, her husband Mike Parker became the Prince's first private secretary and the ‘Parkers of the Palace’ became part of the furniture at Court. Prince Philip even gave them his car. The events that tested Mike and Eileen's marriage to breaking point have been seen in fiction in the Netflix television series, The Crown. Here’s the real story in Eileen's own words.

Eames


Gloria Koenig - 2015
    Though best known for their furniture, the husband and wife team were also forerunners in architecture, textile design, photography, and film.The Eames work defined anew, multifunctional modernity, exemplary for its integration of craft and design, as well as for the use of modern materials, notablyplywood and plastics.The Eames Lounge Chair Wood, designed with molded plywood technology, became a defining furniture piece of the twentieth century, while the couple s contribution to theCase Study Housesproject not only made inventive use of industrial materials but also developed anadaptable floor plan of multipurpose spaceswhich would become ahallmark of postwar modern architecture.From the couple s earliest furniture experiments to their seminal short filmPowers of Ten, this book covers all the aspects of the illustrious Eames repertoire and itsrevolutionary impact on middle-class American living. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Architecture Series features: an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans) "

The Men on the Sixth Floor


Glen Sample - 2003
    The web of murder and greed is clearly explained in this book that was the first to reveal the strong ties that developed from Malcolm Wallace all the way to the Johnson White House - encircling the richest and most influential men in Texas - oil barons, weapons manufacturers, and businessmen who would consider the removal of John Kennedy an act of patriotism.

Darkness Descending: The Murder of Meredith Kercher


Paul Russell - 2010
    On 4 December 2009, twenty-two-year-old American, Amanda Knox, and her twenty-five-year-old Italian former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were found guilty of murdering British student, Meredith Kercher, and were sentenced to twenty-six and twenty-five years in jail, respectively. Meredith was brutally stabbed to death in November 2007, in the apartment in Perugia that she shared with Amanda and two other girls. The details of the killing caught the world's attention with far-fetched rumour, and cold-hearted butchery, taking centre stage.The subject of intense speculation, 'Foxy Knoxy' was pilloried for her hard-partying, promiscuous lifestyle, while her well-dressed lover, Sollecito, collected knives, and was obsessed with violent comics. But that alone did not make them killers. Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, twenty-two, was found guilty of murder, and sexual assault, in a separate trial in October 2008, and sentenced to 30 years in jail. But evidence shows he could not have acted alone.In Darkness Descending TV producer, Paul Russell, and critically acclaimed crime writer, Graham Johnson, team up with leading Italian forensics expert, General Luciano Garofano, to reveal the full truth behind this sensational murder, and its trial. They skilfully unravel all the details, and study all the personalities, in this case that has stunned the world. Complex, and some say controversial, DNA evidence is explained in simple language and, bit by bit, a story emerges of brutality and jealousy in a university town where all was not what it seemed. Their findings make gripping reading.

The Anatomy of Manchester United : A History in Ten Matches


Jonathan Wilson - 2017
    In doing so, he identifies the pivotal moments in the club's rise to being one of the foremost teams of the twentieth century.With his trademark tactical acumen, Wilson goes back to the matches themselves and subjects them to forensic examination, re-evaluating and reassessing, and going beyond the white noise of banal player quotes and instant judgements to discover why what happened happened. It is in this way, as far as possible, a football history of a great club.And because this is Manchester United, there is additional resonance. From the completion of Old Trafford in 1910, United have had a significant financial advantage. Yet their past has not been one of sustained success. As such, their history is also, to an extent, a history of English football, with all of its possibilities and frustrations.

A Carpenter's Life as Told by Houses


Larry Haun - 2011
    Larry Haun is as much a historian and philosopher as he is a 60-year veteran carpenter. Larry's memoir would be equally at home on the bookshelves of home building and architecture enthusiasts as anyone on a spiritual journey."- Brian Pontolilo, Editor, Fine Homebuilding Magazine The unforgettable memoir of a legendary builder. You don't have to be a carpenter to appreciate this fascinating book that Publishers Weekly calls, "a first person timeline of 20th century American residential architecture... combining ...two literary styles: the memoir and the how-to book." A moving story of that place we call home. An early advocate for building lean and green and an avid blogger, Larry Haun tells his unique story in terms of twelve homes - built over the last 100 years. These are homes he knows intimately, drawing the reader in with detailed descriptions and thoughtful observations. "Just like any good carpenter, Haun brings his own artistic flourishes to the job of storytelling.... But where Haun's true personality comes across is when he describes the construction process for the many houses he has lived in and built--from his parent's 1,000-sq. ft. wood-frame house and the adobe and cob structures of the Southwest to the mid-century pre-fabricated and tract houses, and the more recent Habitat for Humanity homes he has donated his time to help erect." Publishers Weekly, 6/13/2011A delight to read. A great gift. This engaging memoir will appeal to anyone who appreciates a well-told story. A Carpenter's Life As Told in Houses explores our love of home - feelings so deeply rooted that they go far beyond wood and plaster and shingles. Share the author's deep connection to the natural world, his yearning for simplicity, and respect for humanity - and see why he believes that less is more.

The Landscape of Man


Geoffrey Jellicoe - 1975
    A selection from Geoffrey Jellicoe's "The Atlanta Historical Garden" is included.

The Long Range Desert Group 1940-1945: Providence Their Guide


David Lloyd Owen - 1980
    This classic insider's account has been updated and supplemented with rare photographs from the LRDG collection in the Imperial War Museum.

The Anarchist's Workbench


Christopher Schwarz - 2020
    

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture


Ross King - 2000
    Not a master mason or carpenter, Filippo Brunelleschi was a goldsmith and clock maker. Over twenty-eight years, he would dedicate himself to solving puzzles of the dome's construction. In the process, he did nothing less than reinvent the field of architecture. He engineered the perfect placement of brick and stone (some among the most renowned machines of the Renaissance) to carry an estimated seventy million pounds hundreds of feet into the air, and designed the workers' platforms and routines so carefully that only one man died during the decades of construction. This drama was played out amid plagues, wars, political feuds, and the intellectual ferments of Renaissance Florence - events Ross King weaves into a story to great effect. An American Library Association Best Book of the Year Boston Globe: "An absorbing tale." Los Angeles Times: "Ross King has a knack for explaining complicated processes in a manner that is not only lucid but downright intriguing... Fascinating."

American Legends: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder


Charles River Editors - 2012
    A man who works hard stinks only to the ones that have nothing to do but smell.” – Laura Ingalls WilderA lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known."A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.”So begins the first of a series of primarily autobiographical books for children that would give 20th century America a look at what it was like when the country was still young and the West was a largely empty, untamed wilderness. They were written by a woman who had experienced a hardscrabble frontier life, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and they were first published in the 1930s, when the United States desperately needed a reminder that “tough times don’t last but tough people do.” In addition to giving Americans a nostalgic glimpse of the past, the books were a reminder of the nation’s unique spirit and belief that hard work can overcome any obstacle.The semi-autobiographical Little House books were so popular in their time that Laura eventually became a well-known author around the world, even as an ensuing debate grew among scholars and historians over what role Laura’s daughter Rose Wilder Lane played in the drafting of the books. Regardless of that controversy, the books were so beloved by children and their parents that they spawned spin-off television series both in the United States and Japan, as well as film adaptations.American Legends: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder chronicles the amazing life of the celebrated author and examines her books and legacy. Along with pictures of important people and places, you will learn about Laura Ingalls Wilder like you never have before, in no time at all.

Three Birds Renovations


Erin Cayless - 2019
    Today, with many incredible house transformations under their toolbelt, they're a power trio turning neighbourhood ugly ducklings into swans.If you lust over images of beautiful homes but feel stuck when it comes to your own space, these 'birds' have your back. The book is packed with gorgeous details from their projects, friendly words of encouragement and more than 400 reno tips to help you avoid budget blow-outs, manage trades and timelines, and style without stress. Whether you're starting small or going all-in with a whole-home reno, this is destined to become one of the most useful books you own.Turn your reno dreams into reality!

Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book & Dictionary


Rick Steves - 2010
    Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling, an English-Italian and Italian-English dictionary, the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Sistine Chapel. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's zainetto.

Amazing Grace


Eric Mextas - 2008
    Society was so dependent on it, abolition was unthinkable.In 'Amazing Grace', Eric Mextas's gripping narrative paints a detailed portrait, not just of William Wilberforce himself and the Abolition Movement but also other contemporary concerns of the social reformers. Together with entries from Wilberforce's own diaries documenting his travels and the people he meets - from the paupers of Cheddar to Marie Antoinette - this age is brought vividly to life. From the author of the New York Times #1 Bestseller 'Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy'.