Book picks similar to
The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire by Thomas Hodgkin
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The Sunny Side: Short Stories and Poems for Proper Grown-Ups
A.A. Milne - 1921
A. Milne. Written for the satire magazine Punch, these brief stories and essays perfectly capture Milne's sly humor, beguiling social insight, and scathing wit. From "Odd Verses" to "War Sketches," "Summer Days" to "Men of Letters," Milne takes his readers from the stiff British drawing room to the irreverent joy of a boy's day at the beach. Ideal for curling up with in the hammock or stretching out by the fire, these tales shine brightly any day of the year.Complete with a series of whimsical illustrations, The Sunny Side offers the perfect chance to rediscover this forgotten classic by one of our most cherished authors.
A Deceptive Clarity
Aaron Elkins - 1987
In Berlin to help mount an exhibit of priceless paintings, once thought lost, museum curator and Renaissance art expert Chris Norgren must turn detective when his boss is murdered soon after voicing concern over the paintings' authenticity.
Defying Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights: 1919-1950
Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore - 2008
This contentious mix of home-grown radicals, labor activists, newspaper editors, black workers, and intellectuals employed every strategy imaginable to take Dixie down, from a ludicrous attempt to organize black workers with a stage production of Pushkin—in Russian—to the courageous fight of striking workers against police and corporate violence in Gastonia in 1929. In a dramatic narrative Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore deftly shows how the movement unfolded against national and global developments, gaining focus and finally arriving at a narrow but effective legal strategy for securing desegregation and political rights. Little-known heroes abound in a book that will recast our understanding of the most important social movement in twentieth-century America.
PT 109: JFK's Night of Destiny
William Doyle - 2015
Kennedy’s heroic actions that saved his crew—and a fascinating examination of how that extraordinary episode shaped the future president’s life.At 2:00 a.m. on the moonless night of August 2, 1943, U.S. Patrol Torpedo boat PT-109, captained by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, was struck by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri near the Solomon Islands. The American ship was cleaved in two and rocked by an explosion; two crew members died instantly; the remaining eleven survivors clung to the sinking wreckage, adrift in enemy waters. Despite injuring his back, Lt. Kennedy—towing a severely burned sailor by the strap of a life jacket—led his battered and exhausted men on a harrowing three-and-a-half mile swim to a tiny uninhabited island. Desperate for food and water, Kennedy set off on a solo reconnaissance mission, scouting two larger islands two-and-a-half miles away. Discovering water and coconuts, he returned for his men. For six days they lived off coconuts and kept out of sight of passing Japanese patrols until they were rescued.Drawing on new information from the American rescuers and recently released archives in both Japan and the U.S., PT-109 recounts this event in breathtaking detail and explores the incident’s remarkable aftermath on JFK’s life and legend. William Doyle reveals that, while the incident transformed JFK into a “war hero” and helped propel him to the U.S. Senate and the White House, the wounds he suffered during that harrowing week continued to haunt him, physically and psychologically.
Miss Fellingham's Rebellion
Lynn Messina - 2014
A practical young woman, she leaves the spotlight to her beautiful younger sister and prefers quiet pursuits such as reading. But all that changes the moment she learns of her mother’s very excellent scheme to keep the family out of debtors’ prison. The scatter-brained Lady Fellingham has been selling commissions in the king’s army, and Catherine must shake off her indifference in order to save her family from a potentially ruinous scandal. Lady Arabella, her mother’s partner-in-crime, readily agrees to abandon the plan but only because she finds a more absorbing project: nabbing a husband for Catherine. Catherine pays no head to her ladyship’s lavish claim that she’ll have her engaged by the end of the season, but that’s before she overhears Arabella instructing the handsome nonpareil, the Marquess of Deverill, to flirt outrageously with her and bring her into fashion. Mortified, Catherine resolves not to be taken in by the charming marquess's cruel game—and even implements a very excellent scheme of her own. This sensible young lady seems to have everything well in hand. Or is she about to learn that her heart is a great deal less practical than her head?
The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits
Tiya Miles - 2017
In this paradigm-shifting book, celebrated historian Tiya Miles reveals that slavery was at the heart of the Midwest's iconic city: Detroit.In this richly researched and eye-opening book, Miles has pieced together the experience of the unfree--both native and African American--in the frontier outpost of Detroit, a place wildly remote yet at the center of national and international conflict. Skillfully assembling fragments of a distant historical record, Miles introduces new historical figures and unearths struggles that remained hidden from view until now. The result is fascinating history, little explored and eloquently told, of the limits of freedom in early America, one that adds new layers of complexity to the story of a place that exerts a strong fascination in the media and among public intellectuals, artists, and activists.A book that opens the door on a completely hidden past, The Dawn of Detroit is a powerful and elegantly written history, one that completely changes our understanding of slavery's American legacy.
Arthur Rex
Thomas Berger - 1978
Thomas Berger has previously written "Little Big Man", "Killing Time" and "Changing the Past".
Silences
Tillie Olsen - 1978
In this classic work, now back in print, Olsen broke open the study of literature and discovered a lost continent—the writing of women and working-class people. From the excavated testimony of authors’ letters and diaries we learn the many ways the creative spirit, especially in those disadvantaged by gender, class and race, can be silenced. Olsen recounts the torments of Melville, the crushing weight of criticism on Thomas Hardy, the shame that brought Willa Cather to a dead halt, and struggles of Virginia Woolf, Olsen’s heroine and greatest exemplar of a writer who confronted the forces that would silence her. This 25th-anniversary edition includes Olsen’s now infamous reading lists of forgotten authors and a new introduction and author preface.
Alien Superstar
Henry Winkler - 2019
The tourists just think he’s part of the show. It doesn’t take long for Buddy to land a role on a popular TV show, playing (of course) an alien. He becomes an overnight heartthrob and is suddenly faced with legions of adoring fans, rides in glamorous limos, and appearances at “all-the-shrimp-you-can-eat” red carpet parties. But can Buddy maintain his secret identity while in the spotlight?
Deep Shadow
Nick Sullivan - 2018
Scuba divers travel from all over the world to visit the little island of Bonaire, with its crystal-clear waters and a host of beautiful marine life. After three years in the “Divers Paradise”, divemaster Boone Fischer thought he’d seen it all; but on a routine afternoon dive, he spots something that will turn his tranquil life upside down.From the arid shores of the ABC Islands to the tropical jungles of Venezuela—from the ocean depths of the Southern Caribbean, to the lush islands of the Northern Leewards, Deep Shadow takes Boone and the reader on an action-packed adventure filled with danger and suspense."The age-old adage of ‘write what you know’ becomes very important when you write about a technical subject like scuba diving. When you get all the details right, and throw in just the right amounts of action, humor, romance, and suspense, you have a novel like this." - Wayne Stinnett, bestselling author of Fallen Out.
The Unexplainable Fairy Godmother
Sarah Noffke - 2021
Something new, to keep true love alive.They need Paris Beaufont.However, this fairy loses her lunch if she watches a romantic comedy. Love songs give her hives. She punched the last guy who tried to flirt with her.Needless to say, Paris Beaufont isn’t the romantic type.But she’s going to have to learn how to create budding love for others or she’s going to jail.When a series of criminal offenses forces Paris to attend fairy godmother college, she has to learn not to just stomach romance, but to master it.What this fairy godmother in-training learns isn’t just about love. And what she does for the college might change the planet forever— It is love that makes the world go round, after all.
The Confessions of Nat Turner
Nat Turner - 1831
The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia, is a first-hand account of Turner's confessions published by a local lawyer, Thomas Ruffin Gray, in 1831
Venice: A History
John Hagy Davis - 1973
But they provided the city's founders with a refuge from the barbarians who had invaded their mainland homes. With energy and ingenuity, these displaced people created a maritime empire of unequaled splendor. At its height, the Republic of Venice was said to encompass "one quarter and one half of one quarter" of the known world. During those years, its merchant princess lived more lavishly than many kings. With the discovery of the New World, however, Venice's trading monopolies were broken. The long, slow decline that followed was protracted and infinitely poignant. Today, the decaying buildings adjoining the Rialto Bridge serve as haunting reminders of the bygone age of La Serenissima, the Most Serene Republic. Here is the dramatic story of the city that was once known as the most beautiful in the world - the bride of the Adriatic and the unchallenged mistress of the Mediterranean.
Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific
Charles S. Nichols Jr. - 1955
For eighty-two long days the Imperial Japanese Army and American forces clashed. This monumental battle cost the lives of 95,000 Japanese troops and 12,510 Americans. But what actually happened at Okinawa between April 1 and June 22, 1945? What strategies were implemented by marine forces who undertook the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of the war? Chas. S. Nichols Jr. and Henry I. Shaw Jr.’s account of this battle provides in depth analysis into the final major battle of the Second World War. Their works draws upon many hours of interviews and conversations that Nichols and Shaw conducted with marines of various ranks in the weeks and months after the battle had ended. This is the definitive history of the battle of Okinawa. “extremely interesting and profitable reading.” Japan Quarterly Chas. S. Nichols Jr. was a major who served with the USMC in the Second World War. Henry I. Shaw Jr. was a prominent military historian who wrote many books on World War Two. Their book was first published in 1955. Nichols passed away in 1997 and Shaw passed away in 2000.