Persecution


Alessandro Piperno - 2010
    Leo Pontecorvo, an internationally revered pediatric oncologist, is forty-eight. His wife, Rachel, is a physician and the loving mother to Filippo and Samuel, two amiable pre-teens. The evening news is on in the living room but nobody pays it any attention until Dr. Pontecorvo's name surfaces from the background noise and a news item airs that will change the lives of the Pontecorvos forever. Leo Pontecorvo has been publicly accused of a vile crime. A spotlight is turned on him that reveals the mistakes, regrets, and contradictions of a lifetime. Every detail of his private and professional life is about to come under scrutiny, to be debated by both friends and foes, by ravenous reporters and punctilious prosecutors. But Leo could bear all this if it weren't for the suspicious gazes of his wife and children. Surely they, of all people, believe in his innocence! Alessandro Piperno is widely acknowledged as one of today's most talented European novelists. His voice is singular and shocking at times, yet always possessed of tenderness and enormous generosity of heart. His vision is broad and encompassing, his psychological insights penetrating and undeniable. In this deeply felt family drama, Alessandro Piperno paints a broad canvas and fills it with psychologically complex characters whom readers will instantly recognize and never forget.

Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing


David Leser - 2019
    The public reaction to the article was extraordinary and included hundreds of personal messages urging David to expand his story. David Leser explores his own psyche and role in the patriarchy, and how history has brought us to the #Metoo movement, and its eruptions of female anger worldwide. Where did we go wrong? How do we navigate relationships now? And where to from here?'An important read for anybody interested in a real dialogue and a real engagement on how to move forward in a #MeToo era. The fact that it is written by a man who is aware of his privileges and led by his curiosity for a genuine understanding makes it all the more important.'Zainab Salbi, author of Between Two Worlds and executive editor and host of #MeToo, Now What?'David Leser has written the book a man needed to write. He has a deep ethical understanding of discrimination against women. He cares about that injustice. But he also cares about how men themselves can be part of the solution. Compassionate, incisive and beautifully written.'Professor Catharine Lumby, academic, author and journalist'A brave plunge into deep waters: a tough, thorough, tender-even loving-book.'Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net

Cop Out!: The End Of My Brilliant Career In The New Zealand Police


Glenn Wood - 1999
    Constable Wood was a disaster waiting to happen. He was the sort of cop who was happier helping little old ladies across the street (even when they were quite content where they were) than pursuing the perpetrators of dreadful deeds. But if he failed to strike fear into the hearts of the criminal underworld, his superiors had a real problem on their hands. Never before had they been forced to deal with such a well-meaning but accident-prone officer and they hoped, fervently, never to see his like again. From his early encounters with a less-than-impressed public, through the terrifying days of the Springbok Tour riots, to the gradual realisation that perhaps he wasn’t cut out for life on the beat, this is the hilarious story of a young cop who created a severe disturbance in the force.

Gardening For Dummies


Michael MacCaskey - 1996
    At last, you don't need a green thumb to have the greenest lawn and the best garden on the block! With Gardening For Dummies at your side, you'll have all the tips, techniques, and suggestions to help you master the fundamentals of gardening and much more! This fun and friendly reference outlines everything you need to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and begin to plant your own vegetable or flower garden in your backyard or in a container on your porch -- no matter what climate you live in!Filled with more than a hundred illustrations and 16 full color pages with 8 sample garden plans, this hands-on guide takes you on a visual journey through the world of gardening.Inside, you'll discover how to Plan a garden using the space you have available Determine which types of bulbs, trees, shrubs, and flowers to plant in your garden Find and buy the right gardening tools, soil, and other accessories Water, weed, prune, and fertilize your garden Prevent bugs, weeds, and diseases from making your garden sick Create a special garden with your own flair for food, flavor, and color

RHS Botany for Gardeners: The Art and Science of Gardening Explained & Explored


Geoff Hodge - 2013
    For easy navigation, the book is divided into thematic changes - covering everything from Plant Parts to Plant Pests - and further subdivided into useful headings, such as 'Seed Sowing' and 'Pruning'. In addition, feature spreads profile the remarkable individuals who have collected, studied and illustrated the plants that we grow today, and 'Botany in Action' boxes provide instantly accessible practical tips and advice.Aided by this book, every gardener - and every garden - will benefit from unlocking the wealth of information that lies within the intriguing world of botanical science.

Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville: A Lifelong Passion for Baseball


Stephen Jay Gould - 2003
    Through the years, the renowned paleontologist published numerous essays on the sport; these have now been collected in a volume alive with the candor and insight that characterized all of Gould's writing. Here are his thoughts on the complexities of childhood streetball and the joys of opening day; tributes to Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and lesser-knowns such as deaf-mute centerfielder "Dummy" Hoy; and a frank admission of the contradictions inherent in being a lifelong Yankees fan with Red Sox season tickets. Gould also deftly applies the tools of evolutionary theory to the demise of the .400 hitter, the Abner Doubleday creation myth, and the improbability of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.This book is a delight, an essential addition to Gould's remarkable legacy, and a fitting tribute to his love for the game.

Are Numbers Real?: The Uncanny Relationship of Mathematics and the Physical World


Brian Clegg - 2016
    In Are Numbers Real?, Brian Clegg explores the way that math has become more and more detached from reality, and yet despite this is driving the development of modern physics. From devising a new counting system based on goats, through the weird and wonderful mathematics of imaginary numbers and infinity, to the debate over whether mathematics has too much influence on the direction of science, this fascinating and accessible book opens the reader’s eyes to the hidden reality of the strange yet familiar entities that are numbers.

The Temple Bombing


Melissa Fay Greene - 1996
    The devastation to the building was vast-but even greater were the changes those 50 sticks of dynamite made to Atlanta, the South, and ultimately, all of the United States (Detroit Free Press). Finalist for the National Book Award, The Temple Bombing is the brilliant and moving examination of one town that came together in the face of hatred, a book that rescues a slice of the civil rights era whose lessons still resonate nearly fifty years after that fateful fall day.

The Most Evil Men And Women In History


Miranda Twiss - 2002
    We can see it, not only in the reigns of Stalin & Hitler, but also in everyday crimes like murder, rape & assault--quite apart from the millions of lives brutalized by political or religious oppression, poverty, disease & starvation. One factor unites the 16 featured in this book & the evil acts they committed: they all had unlimited power over the people whose lives they controlled. Their reigns a terror cover a time-span of nearly 2000 years, from the rule of Caligula over the Roman Empire starting in 37AD, to the genocide of educated Cambodians under Pol Pot during the 1980's. Motivated by power, religion, political belief or by sadism & lust, sometimes by insanity, they've become bywords for terror.IntroductionCaligula, the schizophrenic emperorNero, fifth emperor of Rome Attila the Hun, the "storm from the east"King John, a callous, cold-hearted monarchTorquemada, the Spanish inquisitor Prince Vlad Dracula, "the impaler" Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of the Incas"Bloody" Mary I, "a Catholic queen in a Protestant country"Ivan IV, 'The terrible", tsar of all the Russias Elizabeth, Countess Bathory, "Countess Dracula" Rasputin, the "mad monk" who brought down a dynastyJosef Stalin, a 20th-century tyrant Adolf Hitler, father of the final solution Ilse Koch, the "bitch of Buchenwald" Pol Pot, architect of genocide Idi Amin, the butcher of East AfricaBibliography

The Anthropology of Childhood: Cherubs, Chattel, Changelings


David F. Lancy - 2008
    The Anthropology of Childhood provides the first comprehensive review of the literature on children from a distinctly anthropological perspective. Bringing together key evidence from cultural anthropology, history, and primate studies, it argues that our common understandings about children are narrowly culture-bound. Whereas dominant society views children as precious, innocent and preternaturally cute 'cherubs', Lancy introduces the reader to societies where children are viewed as unwanted, inconvenient 'changelings', or as desired but pragmatically commoditized 'chattels'. Looking in particular at family structure and reproduction, profiles of children's caretakers, their treatment at different ages, their play, work, schooling, and transition to adulthood, this volume provides a rich, interesting, and original portrait of children in past and contemporary cultures. A must-read for anyone interested in childhood.

The Myth of Mars and Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages?


Deborah Cameron - 2007
    In this wide-ranging and thoroughly readable book, Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University and author of a number of leading texts in the field of language and gender studies, draws on over 30 years of scientific research to explain what we really know and to demonstrate how this is often very different from the accounts we are familiar with from recent popular writing. Ambitious in scope and exceptionally accessible, The Myth of Mars and Venus tells it like it is: widely accepted attitudes from the past and from other cultures are at heart related to assumptions about language and the place of men and women in society; and there is as much similarity and variation within each gender as between men and women, often associated with social roles and relationships. The author goes on to consider the influence of Darwinian theories of natural selection and the notion that girls and boys are socialized during childhood into different ways of using language, before addressing problems of miscommunication surrounding, for example, sex and consent to sex, and women's relative lack of success in work and politics. Arguing that what linguistic differences there are between men and women are driven by the need to construct and project personal meaning and identity, Cameron concludes that we have an urgent need to think about gender in more complex ways than the prevailing myths and stereotypes allow.

Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women


Anne Moir - 1989
    

The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941


Roger Moorhouse - 2014
    Yet Hitler and Stalin signed a treaty of nonaggression that lasted for nearly a third of the war, and that is key to understanding why the war evolved—and ended—the way it did.In The Devils’ Alliance, Roger Moorhouse explains how the two powers—though ideologically opposed—forged a brutally efficient partnership, exchanging raw materials and machinery and orchestrating the division of Poland and the Baltic States. Hundreds of thousands caught between Hitler and Stalin were killed or deported. But ironically, by sharing materiel and technological expertise during the Pact, the Nazis and Soviets made possible a far more bloody and protracted war than would have been otherwise conceivable.Combining comprehensive research with a gripping narrative, The Devils’ Alliance is the authoritative history of the Nazi-Soviet Pact—and a portrait of the people whose lives were irrevocably altered by the alliance.

The Matrix Comics, Vol. 1


Lana WachowskiDave Gibbons - 2003
    Contents:1. Bits and Pieces of Information - Lana & Lilly Wachowski (writers), Geof Darrow (artist)2. Sweating the Small Stuff - Bill Sienkiewicz3. A Life Less Empty - Ted McKeever4. Goliath - Neil Gaiman (writer), Bill Sienkiewicz & Gregory Ruth (artists)5. Burning Hope - John Van Fleet6. Butterfly - Dave Gibbons7. A Sword of a Different Color - Troy Nixey8. Get It? - Peter Bagge9. There Are No Flowers in the Real World - David Lapham10. The Miller's Tale - Paul Chadwick11. Artistic Freedom - Ryder Windham (writer), Kilian Plunkett (artist)12. Hunters and Collectors - Gregory Ruth

Gang War: The Inside Story of the Manchester Gangs


Peter Walsh - 2005