I made my way to the remotest islands, the hottest deserts and the coldest of climates. I was robbed, suffered injuries, got sick and depressed. I covered around 320,000 kilometres by plane, train, boat, bus and car and ran just over 2300 race kilometres. It proved to me that you can do whatever you want to – just find the starting line, believe in yourself, and Run Like Crazy!When Tristan Miller lost his job as a result of the global economic crisis, he set himself a huge personal challenge. He would spend a year seeing the world, each week running an official marathon in a different country. This is the story of an ordinary man who chased his dream, 42.2 kilometres at a time.

    We start off in Japan as he’s about to board the cargo ship, and throughout the book flash back to times spent in Amsterdam, Bucharest, Kathmandu, Bangkok and the likes. “I wish I could have written a book this awesome.” – Jack Kerouac Expect plenty of taboo topics, tales of dating misadventures, and honest takes on places like India and Iran. If you like the Momentos series on Niall’s blog, you’ll absolutely love this book. FAQ’s Q. How long is the book? A. 36,506 words on 133 pages. You can read through the whole thing in about three hours. Q. What route did you take from Ireland to Peru? A. Ireland > England > Netherlands > Germany > Switzerland > Austria > Hungary > Romania > Turkey > Iran > UAE > India > Nepal > India > Thailand > Cambodia > Laos > Vietnam > China > Hong Kong > China > Vietnam > Laos > Thailand > Laos > China > South Korea > Japan > Peru Q. Is there a surprise ending? A. Yes, but I’m going to ruin it for you right now: In the last chapter I reveal that I’ve never actually left Ireland, and have been fooling everyone with my photo and video editing skills for years. Suckers! Q. Did Jack Kerouac really say that about your book? A. Um, no. He died thirteen years before I was born. So I kinda lied. Sorry. I hope we can still be friends. Here’s a real testimonial to make amends… “This shit be tight, yo!” – Marco Polo Q. Is there an audio version of the book? A. Yes. You can buy it via my website: http://ndoherty.com/books/cargo/ Q. Are there cargo ship sound effects to go with the audio version of the book? A. I think you can hear a toilet flush at the end of chapter ten. That’s about as good as it gets. Q. Why don't you fly? Sounds dumb. A. It is pretty stupid, and I don't recommend it, but I explain my motivation in the book.

    A native of the former Soviet Union, he lived as an exchange student in North Korea in the 1980s. He has studied it for his entire career, using his fluency in Korean and personal contacts to build a rich, nuanced understanding. In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. After providing an accessible history of the nation, he turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and poor place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. A living political fossil, it clings to existence in the face of limited resources and a zombie economy, manipulating great powers despite its weakness. Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen, but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world. Even though they preside over a failed state, they have successfully used diplomacy-including nuclear threats-to extract support from other nations. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov goes on to argue that this cannot continue forever, since the old system is slowly falling apart. In the long run, with or without reform, the regime is unsustainable. Lankov contends that reforms, if attempted, will trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime. They will not prolong its existence. Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive.

    So, this book is all about encouraging common people to travel,""The world is not very safe for women and not ideal, but that doesn't mean they (women) should remain in their homes only. When a woman stands in a bus-stop alone it is unsafe for her, but once 50 ladies stand in a bus-stop together, they are safe. So, women should come out to make the country safer for themselves,"

    . .Ren Sawyer and Lizzy Harper live completely different lives. He’s a rock star with a secret he can no longer live with. She’s a regular person whose husband stood her up for a long planned anniversary trip. On a flight across the Atlantic headed for Italy, a drunken pity party and untimely turbulence literally drop Lizzy into Ren’s lap. It is the last thing she can imagine ever happening to someone like her. But despite their surface differences, they discover an undeniable pull between them. A pull that leads them both to remember who they had once been before letting themselves be changed by a life they had each chosen. Exploring the streets of Florence and the hills of Tuscany together - two people with seemingly nothing in common - changes them both forever. And what they find in each other is something that might just heal them both.*** Previously titled Rock Her.

    The best-selling banjo method in the world! Earl Scruggs's legendary method has helped thousands of banjo players get their start. The Revised and Enhanced Edition features more songs, updated lessons, and many other improvements. It includes everything you need to know to start playing banjo, including: a history of the 5-string banjo, getting acquainted with the banjo, Scruggs tuners, how to read music, chords, how to read tablature, right-hand rolls and left-hand techniques, banjo tunings, exercises in picking, over 40 songs, how to build a banjo, autobiographical notes, and much more! The book/audio version includes recordings of Earl Scruggs playing and explaining over 60 examples! Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

    It is at once a textbook for independent travel in Africa, an illustrated atlas, a collection of life stories, an intimate confession, a list of little secrets and shame. Alternating between three narrators, it is a story of division, isolation and contact. Bantustans were reservations for Black Africans set up by the apartheid regime; in this book, bantustans refer to the bubbles in which we all live our lives. The three protagonists, as well as the people they encounter along the way, are constantly struggling to escape these multi-layered bubbles – of ego, family, social circle, class, race, religion, ethnicity, language, nationality etc – and establish contact with the rest of the world. Such attempts are often painful and sometimes downright disastrous, leading to a series of conflicts, disappointments and crises, but ultimately confirming the possibilities and importance of human connections.With a collection of maps, infographics and data visualizations for non-linear reading, BANTUSTAN is an example of ergodic and interactive literature. Readers can choose how to move through the book: in the traditional linear fashion, or using the maps as visual interfaces for skipping from one story to another. The maps represent a tapestry of pictograms, ideograms, scripts, labyrinths, emblems, motifs, secret messages and hidden clues for the reader to discover and decipher.BANTUSTAN contains a total of 32 full-page illustrations (19 of which are maps), as well as 25 smaller illustrations/glyphs.

    Following his new bride to her first appointment in Seoul, South Korea, Frank traded the newsroom for a corporate suite, becoming director of global communications at Hyundai Motors. In a land whose population is ninety-seven percent Korean, he was one of fewer than ten non-Koreans in a company of 5,000 employees.For the next three years, Frank traveled to auto shows and press conferences around the world, pitching Hyundai to former colleagues while trying to navigate cultural differences at home and at work. While his appreciation for absurdity enabled him to laugh his way through many awkward encounters, his job began to take a toll on his marriage and family. Eventually, he became a vice president—the highest-ranking non-Korean in the history of Hyundai—but at an untenable price.Filled with unique insights and told in his engaging, humorous voice, Seoul Man sheds light on a culture few Westerns know, and is a delightfully funny and heartwarming adventure for anyone who has ever felt like a fish out of water—all of us.

    Through laughter and tears, he reveals intimate details and finds that each Dewsweeper needs golf and friendship at the core of his life.

    

    Jacqui Burnett's life story is inspirational evidence to dealing with life off the mat. She was born into a perfect family, but by age 16 Jacqui Burnett wants to kill her father.Decades later Jacqui believes she's left her turbulent childhood past and the trauma of multiple near-death experiences behind her.On the surface, she has everything she’s ever dreamed of – a solid education, success, and a wonderful husband.What Jacqui doesn’t know is that she’s about to lose everything.She was about to step into a board meeting but instead she slid from her office chair and cowered under her desk, sobbing. As managing director, she was meant to announce a year of outstanding results; instead, she was paralysed.’In a desperate search for answers, Jacqui travels to America. Alone in the Rocky Mountains, her life starts unravelling and the truth of her chaotic childhood begins to emerge.Amidst confused attempts to find love and meaning, Jacqui has to face death one more time, along with an avalanche of unexpected obstacles, before rising from the ashes to heal.“What I found amazing about Life’s Not Yoga, is that many people write a memoir and tend to sugarcoat their role in the story, while painting other people with a bit of a tar brush. Jacqui Burnett does not do this and is open and honest about the times in her life when she does not come across looking so great.” – Janice Leibowitz – 101.9 ChaiFM"Life's Not Yoga bounces between stream-of-consciousness and the exasperation of 'moving-on' and honest to goodness declarations of frustration at her own life choices. Burnett opens to her readers in the most admirable and courageous of ways, and I would be remiss as an empathetic reader if I did not acknowledge how difficult that must have been. Jacqui Burnett is a superb storyteller. Her life has not been easy, and it is an honor to read the prose of an incessantly curious and deeply courageous human being who seems to have made a lot of sacrifices to pursue her dreams. – Meg Orton, For the Love of MEG Book Reviews"Equal to the power of Jacqui’s circumstances is the power of her voice (her written word). It is one of the most commanding voices of any memoir I have read, filled with clever observations that ring true. Thank you, Jacqui Burnett, for being so courageous to share and thus providing 'an educational tool for readers also wanting to live a life of joy'. - Natalie Wittwen, Stillness in Motion“It’s Jacqui’s engagingly frank voice and fierce self-enquiry that drives this fast-paced gripping tale through all its spirited twists and turns.” - Nina Geraghty, Writer and Developmental Editor“On one level, this is a tale of looking for love in all the wrong places, but on a deeper level, it’s a story of how adversity, viewed through the lens of insight and wisdom, leads to hope and redemption. The miracle is that she comes out the other side alive - and willing to use her life story to inspire others to survive and flourish.” - Giles Griffin, Writer and Writing Guide"Some people travel to India to find themselves, others to the USA! Life's Not Yoga is a compelling UPLIFTING must-read memoir." - Natasha Dom, @sashadomyogaThis memoir is for anyone who has battled with emotional abuse, financial loss, depression, heartbreak, divorce, burnout, PTSD, anxiety, or fibromyalgia, looking for understanding on how to heal themselves.

    Now, she renders the compelling story of a troubled family straddling cultures, fleeing and searching, in her piercing and profoundly humane first novel. In 1953, on a small island in Korea, a young boy stows away on the ferry that is carrying his older brother and his wife to the mainland. Fifty-two years later, Han Hyun-kyu is on a plane flying back to Korea, leaving behind his own wife in America. It is his daughter, Jane — a war photographer recently injured in a bombing in Baghdad and forced to return to New York — who journeys to find him in the small town in South Korea where his brothers have settled. Here, father and daughter take refuge from their demons, flirt with passion, and, in the wake of tragedy, discover something deeper and more enduring than they could have imagined.

     Have you ever helped your parents pack for a weeklong cruise? No? I didn't think so. So shut it. So begins vacation for Summer Hartwell - twenty-six years old, living with her anxiety-ridden parents, and unwillingly booked by her brother on a weeklong cruise to Bermuda. Despite the nightmare of being trapped aboard a cruise ship with Mom and Dad, Summer sees a rare opportunity to fulfill The Prophecy – her mother’s declaration that she will live at home until she gets married. With two thousand passengers onboard, at least one of them must be husband material, right? The only problem is Graham Blenderman – her brother’s best friend who is joining them for the week, in all of his tall, blonde, extroverted glory. Graham doesn’t believe Summer needs a husband in order to break free from her parents. He thinks she just needs a little bit of nerve. And to Summer’s introverted horror, he’s willing to spend the entire week proving that he’s right.

    Focusing on the inspirational story of Britain’s 29th Infantry Brigade, this fascinating documentation details China’s shock entry into the war, the panic experienced by UN forces as they were forced to retreat in sub-zero temperatures, the intense battle and hand-to-hand combat, and the near-decimation of British troops. Filled with exclusive interviews of the surviving veterans of every unit engaged—including those who survived for more than two years as POWs in grim North Korean prison camps—this is the true story of a handful of the men who remained at their posts, held off an army from their foxholes, and astonished the world with their courage and resolve. As the only account devoted exclusively to this now-legendary action, this remarkable narrative is an essential and historically invaluable resource for those interested in military history.

    . . A woman in an arranged marriage struggles to connect with the son she hid from her husband for years . . . A well-meaning sister unwittingly reunites an abuser with his victims . . . Through the lives of an indelible array of individuals--musicians, housewives and pastors, children and grandparents, the men and women who own the dry cleaners and the mini-marts--Yoon Choi explores the Korean American experience at its interstices: where first and second generations either clash or find common ground; where meaning falls in the cracks between languages; where relationships bend under the weight of tenderness and disappointment; where displacement turns to heartbreak. Suffused with a profound understanding of humanity, Skinship is, ultimately, a searing look at the failure of intimacy to show us who the people we love truly are.