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.

    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.

    Picardie's unprecedented research illuminates Chanel’s path from little-known seamstress to the aristocracy of style in this stunning look at the fashion icon, illustrated with more than sixty color and black-and-white images.

    This highly entertaining biography, written by Jason Thomas and culled from the recollections and family records of Duke's godson, Pony Duke, represents the only candid record of Doris Duke's remarkable life and highly controversial death. From early childhood—too rich to play with other children for fear of disease, kidnapping, or mixing with those of less desirable lineage—Doris was virtually imprisoned in a cold, sterile mansion on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue (the house reeked of ammonia used to keep her environment germ-free) with a powerful father and a bitter, blue-blooded mother. As she broke free into adulthood, Doris inherited a massive fortune and learned to live life on her own terms. She entered into an arranged marriage and later divorced (her first); she learned the ways of sex and desire in the arms of a muscular Hawaiian Olympic champion; she followed her next love into World War II and returned alone. And amid her numerous and headline-making affairs, Doris Duke increased her vast wealth. Her investments in real estate, art, and business allowed her to leave behind far more money than she inherited, something few heiresses can boast. She learned from an early age that those who befriended her mind or romanced her body more than likely desired her wallet, and this realization left Doris Duke a lonely woman.<br>From interviews, private family documents, and the words of Doris herself, Too Rich provides facts and insights never before unearthed by the outside media. Her bizarre adoption of a thirty-five-year-old woman, Chandi Heffner, and, in later years, sensational events surrounding Duke's death and suspected murder in 1993—including the inside story of her butler, Bernard Lafferty—are meticulously documented in this uniquely intimate portrait of one of the most interesting and controversial celebrities of the twentieth century.<br><br>PONY DUKE is Doris Duke's cousin and godson and one of the surviving members of the Duke clan. He is a self-employed businessman and rancher living in Montana. JASON THOMAS is a novelist and former nationally syndicated columnist.<br><br>She was the richest child born in America; she had the president's private phone number; her scandalous marriages and affairs—with an ambassador, Olympian, musician, politician, general, international stud, and movie star—were legendary. But who, really, was Doris Duke? Who was the mysterious woman behind the billions, who took private pleasure in singing gospel music, loving nature, and seducing men? What insurmountable rules and expectations of wealth corralled her life into the world of the lonely elite—and led, at the age of eighty, to her alleged murder?<br><br>Too Rich was made into a successful CBS television mini-series entitled Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke starring Richard Chamberlain and Lauren Bacall.

    This book written by Gopal Godse brings out the facts behind & about that incident & its consequences upon him & his family

    Popoff draws from the women’s autobiographical writings and other key Russian sources to reveal the women’s contributions to world literature and to tell about a collaborative tradition they established.

    It serves as a reminder to the reader that healing, transformation, and freedom are possible.

    It is the story of notorious gangsters like Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Varadarajan Mudaliar, Chhota Rajan, Abu Salem, but above all, it is the story of a young man who went astray despite having a father in the police force. Dawood Ibrahim was initiated into crime as a pawn in the hands of the Mumbai police and went on to wipe out the competition and eventually became the Mumbai police’s own nemesis.The narrative encompasses several milestones in the history of crime in India, from the rise of the Pathans, formation of the Dawood gang, the first ever supari, mafia’s nefarious role in Bollywood, Dawood’s move to Karachi, and Pakistan’s subsequent alleged role in sheltering one of the most wanted persons in the world. This story is primarily about how a boy from Dongri became a don in Dubai, and captures his bravado, focus, ambition, and lust for power in a gripping narrative. The meticulously researched book provides an in-depth and comprehensive account of the mafia’s games of supremacy and internecine warfare.

    Ramachandran won the Kerala State Sahitya Akademi (Kerala State Literature)award in 2005 for his first book `Uttarakhandiloode: Kailas-Mansasarassu Yatra',book on a trek to Mount Kailas through the tricky Uttarakhand rangesSri M K Ramachandran dedicatated his life completely to dangerous Himalayan travel, perhaps the only pilgrim who visited all five Kailash ,called "Panch Kailash" .These are Kailash Manasarovar, Adi Kailash, Kinnaur Kailash, Shrikant Mahadev Kailash and Manimahesh Kailash. He is one of the best selling travelogue writer in kerala ,India. His way of writings with the myths, reality and mystical experiences about his ineffable pilgrimages are truly amazing and has attracted millions of fans. His mystical experiences, such as encounters with Divya Yogis and Yoginis deep inside Himalayas are telling to the world that there are many facts that are unexplainable through modern sciences and logic . He has already covered 64 different destinations in Himalaya. Each one of his travel consist of days of research , preparation, arrangement, lonely dangerous trekking through Himalayan glaciers . For example 35 days of trekking is needed for Srikand mahadave kilash darshan. Welcome to the world of amazing Himalaya mystical Explorations .........,

    It’s 1971 and Bud and his family move into an old house in Northern Arkansas. Bud soon discovers they live not far from a very interesting cave as well as a historic Civil War battle site. As odd things start to happen, Bud tries to solve the mysteries. But soon the entire family experiences a haunting event. If you enjoy ghost tales based on true events you should enjoy Ghosts of Company K. This heartwarming, yet spooky story brings the reader into the life and experiences of a young boy growing up in the early 1970s. Seen thru innocent and unsuspecting eyes, Ghosts of Company K reveals a haunting tale from the often unseen perspective of a young boy.

    In publishing his music and writing for the rising classes, Beethoven claimed freedom and expressed the emotions of the new rulers, the artists. The Eroica, Fidelio, and the piano works express the emotions of the new rulers — the intense love, the need for companionship of people, the forces that conspired to defeat the artist, and the strength and superiority of the artist in overcoming the weaknesses. The letters of Beethoven are the principal nonmusical expression of his personality in its relationship with the world of his time.In what he called the "dry letters of the alphabet," Beethoven depicted his fears, his loves, and his friendly relations: his fears of deafness and of corrupted texts by pirating printers; his loves, Bettina Brentano and Giulietta Guicciardi; and his friendly relations with Baron Zmeskall, Frau Nannette Streicher, and the music publishers Steiner and Company. He praises the poetry of Goethe and Schiller but condemns Goethe for his obeisance toward royalty. He solicits help during his perpetual trouble with his health and with his servants. He castigates publishers, sets prices for his works, and calculates letters of dedication. He expresses his love for his nephew, Carl, but documents the trouble that Carl was causing him by taking up his precious time. And although Beethoven liked to decorate the letters with musical openings and closings and an occasional song to the receiver, he increasingly signed his letters, "In haste."The 457 letters collected here are the most important of the letters of the spirit that was to shape and move a century. Explanatory notes comment upon works, on persons mentioned, and on the puns of which Beethoven was fond. The letters chronicle his business, his needs, his humor and bitterness, and his philosophy. They will give many insights into Beethoven's methods, his influences, his moods, and the conditions under which the master worked.

    What did they use? How often? Where did they get it? How can we do it, too? And they told us. We couldn’t believe it either.” Kym Douglas, host of the upcoming Lifetime makeover show Queen and the image consultant on The View, and celebrity journalist Cindy Pearlman had always wanted to know how the A-list stars looked so, well, A-list. It turns out that even the most carefully guarded stars were more than happy to dish. Collected here, in their own words, celebrities and their beauty gurus reveal their tricks of the trade.How do they reduce puffiness, lose five pounds in a week, put shine in their hair, buff their skin, and vacuum their pores without spending a fortune? Find out from Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Hurley, Charlize Theron, and many, many more!Kym Douglas is the creator and host of the upcoming Lifetime Television makeover show, Queen, airing in October and the image consultant on The View. She appears regularly on Soap Talk, Good Day Live, Before & After’noon, and Your Weekend with Jim Brickman.

    And suddenly―there was my name, and, as if it was alive, your handwriting."In 1946, after five years as a prisoner―first as a Soviet POW in Nazi concentration camps, then as a deportee (falsely accused of treason) in the Arctic Gulag―twenty-nine-year-old Lev Mishchenko unexpectedly received a letter from Sveta, the sweetheart he had hardly dared hope was still alive. Amazingly, over the next eight years the lovers managed to exchange more than 1,500 messages, and even to smuggle Sveta herself into the camp for secret meetings. Their recently discovered correspondence is the only known real-time record of life in Stalin's Gulag, unmediated and uncensored. Orlando Figes, "the great storyteller of modern Russian historians" (Financial Times), draws on Lev and Sveta's letters as well as KGB archives and recent interviews to brilliantly reconstruct the broader world in which their story unfolded. With the powerful narrative drive of a novel, Just Send Me Word reveals a passion and endurance that triumphed over the tragic forces of history.

    Instead of a satanic rake, slick player, or rich, handsome powerbroker, he's an unlikely, often homely Romeo who cares about women and understands what they want. Through analyses of history s legendary lovers and interviews with today s heartthrobs, Prioleau uncovers the surprising seductive secrets that really rock female hearts, from unfeigned ardor to conversational flair. In doing so, she destroys the pick-up artists advice of such books as The Game. Finally, Prioleau critiques the twenty-first-century sexual malaise, especially women s record discontent with men, and argues that it s high time to retrieve and celebrate the great seducer.

    The authors of the essays on recent criticism and productions are Heather DuBrow, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and William Liston, Ball State University, respectively.