स्वामी


Ranjit Desai - 1962
    1680) against all odds later passed into the hands of the Peshwas (prime minister) who became the supreme lords. The Maratha Empire which stretched across a sizeable portion of Western, Central and Northern India suffered a severe setback when the Marathas lost the (Third) Battle of Panipat in 1761. It was an immense loss of men, money, and material. The then Peshwa Nanasaheb could not bear the brunt of the casualties which included his eldest son and younger brother, and soon passed away.For the sixteen year old Madhavrao who succeeded Nanasaheb, it was not a piece of cake. The coffers were empty, the royal court was fraught with internal dissensions. Madhavrao could not go along with his uncle, Raghunathrao, who wanted to be the Peshwa, and went to any extent including looting his own subjects. The Nizam, Hyder, and the British had set their eyes on the Maratha empire.Swami is based on the life and character of Madhavrao who resurrected the Maratha empire. He revived the lost glory and pride. The extent of the empire was now wider than before. He contained the enemy. Swami sketches the personal life of the Peshwa and specially poignant are the parts covering the discomfort he feels when Raghunathrao is a thorn in his flesh, and his untimely death. The novel throws light on the political, social and cultural history of the mid Peshwa era. The portrayal of the bond between Madhavrao and his wife, Ramabai, is a special feature.Ranjit Desai (1928-1992) tackled the genre of novels with such ease that his collection includes all types of novels: historical, social, mythological, and biographical. He was also a playwright and has to his credit short stories.

INCONVENIENCE GONE: The Short Tragic Life Of Brandon Sims


Diane Marger Moore - 2018
    Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon's father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle's shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon's body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder. And she would have except the detective didn't believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice.

My Life: Based on the Book Gifted Hands


Ben Carson - 2015
    Carson’s philosophies of serving one’s country, becoming role models for people with disadvantaged backgrounds, using the talents God has given you, embracing what success really is, and believing, youths and adults alike, that with hard work and perseverance, “you can do it.” And on May 4, 2015, Dr. Ben Carson declared himself a candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America.

ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game


Michael MacCambridge - 2005
    On any given Saturday, in dozens of stadiums across America, you will find crowds in excess of 75,000 gathered to root on their teams. This book is their Bible???a rich and comprehensive reference guide to the game??'s history, tradition and lore. Based on three years of research by the nation??'s foremost football experts, the book features: ???? ???? ??Capsule histories for each of the 119 Division 1-A programs, the Ivy League schools and teams from the SWAC, MEAC and historically black colleges ??????????????Year-by-year schedules and records ??????????????Statistical leaders from every school ??????????????Fightsong lyrics ??????????????Box scores for every bowl game ever played ??????????????4-color insert illustrating the evolution of each school??'s helmet design ??????????????Weekly polls dating back to 1936 ??????????????Essays by the game??'s top wordsmiths (Dan Jenkins, Beano Cook, Chris Fowler, Gene Wojciechowski) ??????????????Plus a lively round table discussion with ESPN??'s popular Game Day Team (Fowler, LeeCorso and Kirk Herbstreit) Packed with tables and charts and designed in an easy-to-read style, the updated ESPN College Football Encyclopedia will continue to dazzle even the most knowledgeable fan.

पानिपत


Vishwas Patil - 1988
    It presents the historical battle that progressed between the Maratha army and the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the founder of the Afghan Empire.The book initially follows the battle that takes place between the army of Najib-ud-Daulah, an ethnic Pashtun, and the Scindias. It then proceeds to cover the northward progress of the massive Maratha forces to counter the threat of Najib-ud-Daulah. Eventually, the Maratha infantry and cavalry succeed in entering the Mughal stronghold of Panipat. Here, they are surrounded by a huge force of Shia Muslim and Afghan soldiers who block their source of ration. The resulting frustration and malnutrition takes its toll on the Maratha army.The book speaks of the valiant efforts of men like Jankoji Shinde, Nanasaheb Peshwa, and many other Maratha compatriots. The author has also countered the common negative portrayal of Sadashivrao Bhau, one of the Maratha leaders, with strong appreciation of his war tactics.The book highlights the myriad experiences that cast their shadows on the battleground, including bloodshed, depression, disease, desolation, martyrdom, betrayal, death, fear, victory, loss, hatred, ignorance, and vengeance.It also focuses on certain key points pertaining to India as a federal nation. Some of these points include the role of religion, the battle for supremacy between the North and the South, the detrimental influence of regional politics, the role of language, and the importance of unity. At the end of the book, the author has provided insights into his research efforts, which included several trips to Panipat. Panipat was originally written in Marathi and first published on October 20, 1988. Since then, it been translated to English and several other Indian languages, including Hindi. Panipat has received thirty-eight awards since its release in 1988, and sold more than 200,000 copies.

Storm Gold


Lee Nelson - 1996
     One of the last adn largest Spanish settlements was located on what is now the Ute Indian Reservation at Rock Creek. According to Ute legends, the biggest slaughter of white men by Indians didn't occur at the Little Big Horn, but at Rock Creek, where in 1840 nearly one thousand Spaniards were slaughtered by Indians, ending once and for all the era of the Spanish gold seekers. This story is about that last great battle, told through the eyes of Utah's favorite writer of historical fiction, Lee Nelson.

The Stories of Raymond Carver


Raymond Carver - 1985
    Cathedral

L.I.E.


David Hollander - 2000
    It’s the late eighties in Long Island, New York, and eighteen-year-old Harlan Kessler plays in a band, parties with friends, and struggles with a family that offers anything but a Kodak moment. The one ray of hope in Harlan’s life is Sarah DeRosa. With her by his side, Harlan just might make the right choices between love and aggression, intimacy and absence, finding himself and losing his mind. . . .

Darkness at Chancellorsville: A Novel of Stonewall Jackson's Triumph and Tragedy


Ralph Peters - 2019
    Famed Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson bring off an against-all-odds surprise victory, humiliating a Yankee force three times the size of their own, while the Northern army is torn by rivalries, anti-immigrant prejudice and selfish ambition. This historically accurate epic captures the high drama, human complexity and existential threat that nearly tore the United States in two, featuring a broad range of fascinating—and real—characters, in blue and gray, who sum to an untold story about a battle that has attained mythic proportions. And, in the end, the Confederate triumph proved a Pyrrhic victory, since it lured Lee to embark on what would become the war's turning point—the Gettysburg Campaign (featured in Cain At Gettysburg).

Skyway: The True Story of Tampa Bay's Signature Bridge and the Man Who Brought It Down


Bill DeYoung - 2013
    Directly in the ship’s path was the Sunshine Skyway Bridge--two ribbons of concrete, steel, and asphalt that crossed fifteen miles of open bay.  Suddenly, a violent weather cell reduced visibility to zero at the precise moment when Lerro attempted to direct the 20,000-ton vessel underneath the bridge. Unable to stop or see where he was going, Lerro drove the ship into a support pier; the main span splintered and collapsed 150 feet into the bay. Seven cars and a Greyhound bus fell over the broken edge and into the churning water below. Thirty-five people died.Skyway tells the entire story of this horrific event, from the circumstances that led up to it through the years-long legal proceedings that followed. Through personal interviews and extensive research, Bill DeYoung pieces together the harrowing moments of the collision, including the first-person accounts of witnesses and survivors. Among those whose lives were changed forever was Wesley MacIntire, the motorist whose truck ricocheted off the hull of the Summit Venture and sank. Although he was the lone survivor, MacIntire, like Lerro, was emotionally scarred and remained haunted by the tragedy for the rest of his life. Similarly, DeYoung details the downward spiral of Lerro’s life, his vilification in the days and weeks that followed the accident, and his obsession with the tragedy well into his painful last years. DeYoung also offers a history of the ill-fated bridge, from its construction in 1954, through the addition of a second parallel span in 1971, to its eventual replacement. He discusses the sinking of a Coast Guard cutter a mere three months before Skyway collapsed and the Department of Transportation’s dire warnings about the bridge’s condition. The result is a vividly detailed portrait of the rise and fall of a Florida landmark.

Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus


Alex Halberstadt - 2007
    A role model for generations of writers and performers, Doc was renowned for his mastery of virtually every popular style, from the gutbucket rhythm and blues of “Lonely Avenue” to the symphonic soul of “Save the Last Dance for Me” to the pure pop of “Viva Las Vegas.” His songs-“This Magic Moment,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Hushabye,” “Little Sister,” “Turn Me Loose,” and many others-have been recorded by everyone from Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and B. B. King to Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Bruce Springsteen, with sales exceeding $100 million. Doc was ready-made for literature. His collaborator Mort Shuman once described him as an “entire rollicking soul neighborhood rolled into one man.” Garrulous, profane, hilarious, and Rabelaisian, Doc was never inhibited about offering his opinions and his friendship. His confidants, collaborators, and discoveries included Duke Ellington, John Lennon, Dr. John, Jimmy Scott, Bette Midler, and Lou Reed. In the words of renowned producer Jerry Wexler, “If the music industry had a heart, it would be Doc Pomus.” Despite, or more likely because of, his successes, few acquaintances knew that this writer of jukebox hits led one of the most dramatic and unlikely lives of his time. Spanning extravagant wealth and desperate poverty, suburban domesticity and the depths of New York’s underworld, worldwide fame and near-total obscurity, enduring love and persistent loneliness, Doc’s story remains one of the great untold American lives. Its chapters comprise a back-room history of rock ’n’ roll, touching on more than a half-century of American popular music-from the blues Doc performed with Lester Young to his collaborations with the luminaries of New York’s punk scene, shot through with vivid portraits of virtually every major player. Lonely Avenue is the first biography of this American original, so elegantly rendered that it reads like a novel, and fortified by full, exclusive access to Doc Pomus’s family, friends, voluminous journals, and archives.

Subway


Bruce Davidson - 1980
    Originally published in 1986, this dark, democratic environment provided the setting for photographer Bruce Davidson's first extensive series in color. Subway riders are set against a gritty, graffiti-strewn background, displayed in tones Davidson described as "an iridescence like that I had seen in photographs of deep-sea fish." Never before has the subway been portrayed in such detail, revealing the interplay of its inner landscape and out vistas. The images include lovers, commuters, tourists, families, and the homeless. From weary straphangers to languorous ladies in summer dresses to stalking predators, Davidson's compassionate vision illuminates the stubborn survival of humanity. From the spring of 1980 to 1985, Davidson explored and shot six hundred miles of subway tracks. In his own words, "I wanted to transform this subway from its dark, degrading, and impersonal reality into images that open up our experience again to the color, sensuality, and vitality of the individual souls that ride it each day." Now nearly 25 years later, and on the eve of the subway's 100th anniversary, St. Ann's Press is publishing a new edition of Davidson's classic book. This edition adds forty unseen images to the original book, and includes a new introduction by Arthur Ollman of the Museum of Photographic Art in San Diego, and a foreword by Fred Braithwaite (aka Fab Five Freddy), the original graffiti artist. It also includes Bruce Davidson and Henry Geldzahler's original essays.

World's Great Men of Color, Volume II


J.A. Rogers - 1972
    In this first volume: outstanding blacks of Asia and Africa, and historical figures before Christ -- including Akhenaton, Aesop, Hannibal, Cleopatra, Zenobia, Askia the Great, the Mahdi, Samuel Adjai Crowther, and many more. World's Great Men of Color is a comprehensive account of the great Black personalities in world history. J. A. Rogers was one of the first Black scholars to devote most of his life to researching the lives of hundreds of men and women of color. This first volume is a convenient reference; equipped with a comprehensive introduction, it treats all aspects of recorded Black history. J. A. Rogers's book is vital reading for everyone who wants a fuller and broader understanding of the great personalities who have shaped our world. The companion volume covers the great Blacks of Europe, South and Central America, the West Indies, and the United States, including Marcus Garvey, Robert Browning, Dom Pedro, Alexandre Dumas, Joachim Murat, Aleksander Sergeevich Pushkin, Alessandro de' Medici, St. Benedict the Moor, and many others.

The Available Wife Part 2


Carla Pennington - 2011
    Even more selfish and devious than before, Niquole will stop at nothing to get her kids back and make her husband suffer. Her street savvy personality mixed with her no-nonsense attitude has Niquole believing she has free reign to screw anyone who gets in her way. Soon, someone unexpected re-enters Niquole's life and seems to be one of the many obstacles slowing her down and threatening to ruin her plans. Will the grimy road that Niquole travels finally cut her off for good? Or will she thrive amongst those who pretend to love her?

The Roof: The Beatles' Final Concert


Ken Mansfield - 2018
    January 30, 1969 was one of those moments. There are those who were on the periphery of the event that day and heard what was going on; but as one of the few remaining insiders who accompanied the Beatles up onto the cold windswept roof of the Apple building, Ken Mansfield had a front row seat to the full sensory experience of the moment and witnessed what turned out to be beginning of the end. Ken shares in The Roof: The Beatles Final Concert, the sense that something special was taking place before his eyes that would live on forever in the hearts and souls of millions. As the US manager of Apple, Ken Mansfield was on the scene in the days, weeks, and months leading up to this monumental event. He shares his insights into the factors that brought them up onto that roof and why one of the greatest bands of all time left it all on that stage. Join Ken as he reflects on the relationships he built with the Fab Four and the Apple corps and what each player meant to this symphony of music history.