Almost Heaven: Coming of Age in West Virginia


Jerry S. Horton - 2014
    A very well written book that will be hard for anyone to put down!This is a must read.Jerry's interesting and riveting account of his childhood years and transition to a young adult and Infantry NCO are truly endearing! His honest and impelling novel reminds one of why we serve, fight, and are willing to lay down our lives for God, Country, and our fellow man. God Bless the Infantryman!!Thank the Lord for Soldiers and West Virginia !This book is a great read. This honest account of growing up in West Virginia and becoming a Sergeant in Vietnam is sometimes thrilling and sometimes heart wrenching. Through a lot of true grit, thank goodness Jerry Horton survived to tell this story. I highly recommend this book. It is a Winner.This is an inspiring memoir written about a young man coming of age in West Virginia in the 1960's. It is a memoir but also a real thriller story as we follow Jerry from the streets surrounding Lincoln playground to Chicago Steel mills to the French Quarter in New Orleans and to San Francisco in the Summer of Love 1967. The book then moves you to the Central Highlands in Vietnam where Jerry is an infantry platoon sergeant. Jerry's interesting and truthful account of his childhood years and transition to an adult and Infantry Sergeant are truly endearing. It is an honest and compelling story. It gives a first person narrative of hand-to-hand combat in the trenches of Vietnam that can leave you scared, glad to be alive and eternally grateful to those who died for our freedom. Jerry joined the army to simply be able to afford to go to college. Forty years later he has a PhD and multiple degrees but they were earned at a heavy price for this patriot. Jerry shares his experiences in Vietnam in an articulate, honest and direct assessment of his time in Vietnam, the men he served with and the horrors of war. It is an incredible story of leadership and survival.We see Jerry develop as a young boy who is very independent and then see him being schooled on the streets of Charleston, West Virginia learning how to come to grips with the breakup and divorce in his family. He takes refuge in becoming the best he could be as a basketball player on the courts of Lincoln playground. Later we see him leaving home for the mean streets of the Chicago Steel mills and then on to Louisiana where he completes one year of college and then goes flat broke. Then the book shifts to New Orleans Louisiana and the excitement of the French Quarter. Jerry's life is rocked by the turbulent waters in New Orleans; he had no money no plan and is drifting. He seeks out another lifestyle in California hitching to and then living in San Francisco during the Summer of Love 1967. He describes how it was, the music and time and place and he takes you there through his vivid descriptions. Once again, his life spins into turmoil and as he tries to get back on the path to achieve his life's dream of going to college he is drafted in the Army. He finds himself becoming a leader, an infantry sergeant. His goal is to bring himself and his men back home alive, the reader gets the sense that all his life Jerry has been prepared for this moment. The reader is taken through and sees through Jerry's eyes what combat is really like.This story covers much ground and has something for everyone. You live through Jerry 's experiences of what it's like to conquer your own demons, you read about his mother's courage having Jerry in the Salvation Army by herself, the excitement and freedom of the 1960's and you learn what it is like to want something so bad you lay your life down for it. It is a book you truly won't lay down once you start reading.

The Presidential Years: 2012–2017


Pranab Mukherjee - 2021
    

Let Them Eat Shrimp: The Tragic Disappearance of the Rainforests of the Sea


Kennedy Warne - 2010
    Many people have never heard of these salt-water forests, but for those who depend on their riches, mangroves are indispensable. They are natural storm barriers, home to innumerable exotic creatures—from crabeating vipers to man-eating tigers—and provide food and livelihoods to millions of coastal dwellers. Now they are being destroyed to make way for shrimp farming and other coastal development. For those who stand in the way of these industries, the consequences can be deadly. In Let Them Eat Shrimp, Kennedy Warne takes readers into the muddy battle zone that is the mangrove forest. A tangle of snaking roots and twisted trunks, mangroves are often dismissed as foul wastelands. In fact, they are supermarkets of the sea, providing shellfish, crabs, honey, timber, and charcoal to coastal communities from Florida to South America to New Zealand. Generations have built their lives around mangroves and consider these swamps sacred. To shrimp farmers and land developers, mangroves simply represent a good investment. The tidal land on which they stand often has no title, so with a nod and wink from a compliant official, it can be turned from a public resource to a private possession. The forests are bulldozed, their traditional users dispossessed. The true price of shrimp farming and other coastal development has gone largely unheralded in the U.S. media. A longtime journalist, Warne now captures the insatiability of these industries and the magic of the mangroves. His vivid account will make every reader pause before ordering the shrimp.

The Shepherd's Bush Murders


Nick Russell-Pavier - 2016
    Jack Witney served twenty-five years in prison although he shot no one and was released on appeal, only to be murdered in his Bristol flat a few years later. John Duddy died in Parkhurst after fifteen years. But Harry Roberts, by his own admission the instigator of the crime and the most notorious, was released from prison after forty-eight years in 2015 making national front page news. What could possess an apparently rational and sane man, albeit an habitual criminal, to commit such a callous and ruthless act? What kind of a man is he? How can an ordinary person understand what he did? Should he be forgiven?50 years later, the full story for the first time.

China: A History (Volume 1): From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire, (10,000 BCE - 1799 CE)


Harold M. Tanner - 2010
    Volume 2: From the Great Qing Empire through the People's Republic of China (1644—2009).

Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru


Hiram Bingham - 2003
    A firsthand account of the discovery of the lost city of Machu Picchu details Bingham's expedition through the treacherous Peruvian highlands in pursuit of the great Inca landmark and the once powerful civilization that build it.

Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot


Keith Rosenkranz - 1999
    Here he recounts these experiences in searing, you-are-there detail, giving readers one of the most riveting depictions ever written of man and machine at war.

I Love Her, That's Why!: An Autobiography


George Burns - 1955
    From humble beginnings in New York, Burns and Allen went on to become much-loved stars of stage, radio, television, and the big-screen, one of the few entertainers to be successful in each venue. The book begins with Burns' childhood and early struggles in vaudeville before he meets Gracie Allen. Burns then details his efforts to win her affections; their marriage and adoptions of two children; radio, film, and TV productions (including the script of a 1955 show for their television series). Included are 16 pages of illustrations. George Burns, born in 1896, passed away at age 100 in 1996. Gracie Allen preceded him in death, passing away in 1964.

Gold Rush Women


Claire Rudolf Murphy - 2001
    This book gathers the riveting stories of adventurous women-miners, madams, merchants, and mothers -- who went North during the gold rush era.

Daniel Silva Complete Series Reading Order


Reader's Friend - 2015
     Daniel Silva is one of the world's most popular writers of thriller and espionage fiction, with numerous novels in various series and collections. As a fan, it can be difficult to keep up! The Reader's Friend reference list for Daniel Silva is a complete list of every Daniel Silva title, and is designed for maximum convenience and functionality. Keeping track of your Silva addiction had never been easier! All of the info you need, and none of the clutter you don't. We're readers just like you, and we know you don't need a lot of junk in your reference list. Our Daniel Silva list is designed to be clean and optimally usable: The info you need, right there where you need it. No flipping back and forth in the table of contents, no scrolling through filler. AND IT'S SO SIMPLE TO USE: Check off the books you've read with a single tap! — Just use your Kindle's built-in highlighter. Instructions are included! Get free updates regardless of how you purchased the list — We update immediately every time a new Daniel Silva title is released, so you'll never be out of the loop! Browse titles BY RELEASE DATE, BY SERIES, or BY OMNIBUS EDITION — Whichever is most convenient for you! For a preview, just click the book cover to the left and "LOOK INSIDE!" EVERY DANIEL SILVA TITLE IS INCLUDED: All titles listed in order of release date Michael Osbourne series in reading order Gabriel Allon series in reading order Stand-Alone novels All Gabriel Allon omnibus editions PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A TITLE LIST ONLY, compiled for reference purposes to assist readers. No copyrighted material from the titles listed is included. This list is compliant with United States Copyright Office circular 34.

Fear of the Collar: The True Story of the Boy They Couldn't Break


Patrick Touher - 1991
    No allowances were made for emotion, sentiment or boyhood worries, and anyone who disturbed the routine was severely punished. Artane demanded absolute obedience, absolute submission; Patrick's was an education in cruelty and fear. Patrick Touher spent eight long years in Artane Industrial School. Run by the Christian Brothers, the school has become synonymous with the widespread abuse of children in Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s which is currently the subject of an official inquiry. This is the inside story of a childhood lived in the most horrific of circumstances. A moving and powerful true account, Fear of the Collar bears testament to the courage and determination of the children that society forgot.

Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology-Revised Edition for the 21st Century


Joseph Pilates - 2012
    Pilates’ and William J. Miller’s first complete fitness writings. It details the exercises, poses, and instructions fundamental to the matwork developed by Joseph and Clara Pilates. Based on his concepts of a balanced body and mind, and drawn from the approach espoused by the early Greeks, these are the exercises that continue to sustain a worldwide revolution in fitness strategies and exercise techniques. Joseph Pilates has been nothing short of revolutionary in his impact on the world of fitness and exercise. Readers will learn and view the original 34 exercises that Pilates taught to his students, many of whom have become exercise gurus in their own right. These carefully designed exercises constitute the results of decades of scientific study and research into the variety of physical ills that upset the balance of body and mind. Practitioners of Pilates’ forms and exercises in the 21st century continue to expand upon this earlier work by presenting a variety of creative new approaches involving circular movements, standing postures, and core strengthening exercises using props such as tubes, weights, poles, bands, magic circles, mini-balls, stability balls, foam rollers, and more.Now included in this Revised Edition are 18 additional pages of explanations of what has transpired since the original 1945 work, along with several photo/text sequences of the latest 21st-century enhancements in the Pilates world. There are new descriptive pages of text that first describe the fitness principles evolved from Pilates’ original Contrology work. This is followed by detailed text describing 21st-century evolutionary developments that present the key dancers, choreographers, and leaders in the Pilates Studio and certifying organizations through the present. This section ends with a discussion of evolutionary props and apparatus developments, plus 21st-century sample exercises drawn from our larger new book, Pilates Evolution for the 21st Century. Following this section are three complete prop-based demonstration exercises that include both photographic sequences (four per exercise) and step-by-step instructions for 21st-century Pilates exercises using the magic circle, elastic resistance, and the small fitness mini-ball.

The Everest Politics Show: Sorrow and Strife on the World's Highest Mountain


Mark Horrell - 2016
    He wanted to discover for himself whether it had become the circus that everybody described.But when a devastating avalanche swept across the Khumbu Icefall, he got more than he bargained for. Suddenly he found himself witnessing the greatest natural disaster Everest had ever seen.And that was just the start. Everest Sherpas came out in protest, issuing a list of demands to the Government of Nepal. What happened next left his team shocked, bewildered and fearing for their safety.

Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy


Ken Sharp - 2010
    The most acclaimed singer/songwriter of his generation, first a Beatle and then a boundary-pushing solo artist, was senselessly silenced forever at age forty; immediately, his final musical statement, an intimate, pop-infused collection called Double Fantasy, released only weeks before his death, skyrocketed to #1 worldwide, as did its poignantly titled single, "(Just Like) Starting Over." His first studio recording since 1975’s Rock ’n’ Roll—and his first musical endeavor of any kind since taking a much-needed hiatus to raise Sean, his son with Yoko Ono—Double Fantasy represents more than a comeback album to Lennon fans and music critics alike. It captures a cultural icon at the pinnacle of his creative success and personal fulfillment; thirty years later it remains a musical touchstone and an affecting reminder of what could have been.Starting Over is an oral history of the making of Double Fantasy and the definitive account of John Lennon’s last days. From early demos to sessions at New York City’s The Hit Factory, from the electrifying chemistry of the studio band to keeping the project under wraps to the album’s release and critical reception, here is fascinating, insightful commentary from all of the key players involved in its extraordinary creation: Yoko Ono, David Geffen, producer Jack Douglas, engineers, arrangers, session musicians, music journalists, and even Lennon himself via archival interviews.Featuring never-before-seen photos of John and Yoko in the studio, candid images taken by David M. Spindel and Roger Farrington, Starting Over is the essential portrait for anyone who hears both a beginning and ending in the tracks of Double Fantasy.

Hemingway: The Writer as Artist


Carlos Baker - 1952
    Professor Baker has also written two new chapters in which he discusses Hemingway's two posthumously published books, A Movable Feast and Islands in the Stream.CONTENTS: Introduction. I. The Slopes of Montparnasse. II. The Making of Americans. III. The Way It Was. IV. The Wastelanders. V. The Mountain and the Plain. VI. The First Forty-Five Stories. VII. The Spanish Earth. VIII. The Green Hills of Africa. IX. Depression at Key West. X. The Spanish Tragedy. XI. The River and the Trees. XII. The Ancient Mariner. XIII. The Death of the Lion. XIV. Looking Backward. XV. Islands in the Stream.