He is a rescue dog with a difficult past who loves other dogs, is frightened of people and cars and mesmerised by cats and rabbits. It is partly told through his eyes and describes how what he has experienced before has affected how he interacts with those around him. Entwined with his story, Clare, his new owner and the author of this book, who has a total of over 30 years experience of working with animals and teaching veterinary nursing and animal care and welfare, tells of the joys of having him as a companion and how, through gentle nurturing, his whole outlook on life has changed. She also writes with a great deal of passion about the pitfalls of a society that has resulted in Ralph being the way he is, and of some of the other issues that are contributing to the problems faced by dogs today. By the author of 'Lilac Haze' - a true story about organ donation, love, loss and hope...

    Their honeymoon was idyllic and Liz is blissfully happy—at first. But she feels increasingly uneasy in her lavish new home. Huntington House and its staff still seem to be in the thrall of David’s first wife. In fact, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hoffman, has made it clear that Liz can never measure up to the stunning, sophisticated, deceased, Dominique. Though Dominique drowned in a yachting accident, Liz still senses her spirit in the house. She hears unexplained noises…sees shadowy figures vanishing down the long corridors. The scent of Dominique’s favorite flowers fills the air. But Liz’s fears are more than insecurity. Two young women connected to Huntington House have already met terrible deaths. More will die—and soon. Because behind the house’s polished façade is an unimaginable secret and a love turned to twisted, unnatural obsession…Praise for William Patterson’s The Inn "The Conjuring meets The Shining in William Patterson's deliciously creepy thriller.  Fast-paced, horror-filled, clever and impossible-to-predict, this heart-pounding tale will leave you breathless." --Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author

     The pianist Leon  Fleisher—whose student–teacher lineage linked him to Beethoven by way of his instructor, Artur Schnabel—displayed an exceptional gift from his earliest years. And then, like the hero of a Greek tragedy, he was struck down in his prime: at thirty-six years old, he suddenly and mysteri­ously became unable to use two fingers of his right hand. It is not just Fleisher’s thirty-year search for a cure that drives this remarkable memoir. With his coauthor, celebrated music critic Anne Midgette, the pianist explores the depression that engulfed him as his condition worsened and, perhaps most powerfully of all, the sheer love of music that rescued him from complete self-destruction. Miraculously, at the age of sixty-six, Fleisher was diagnosed with focal dystonia, and cured by experimental Botox injections. In 2003, he returned to Carnegie Hall to give his first two-handed recital in over three decades, bringing down the house. Sad, reflective, but ultimately triumphant, My Nine Lives com­bines the glamour, pathos, and courage of Fleisher’s life with real musical and intellectual substance. Fleisher embodies the resilience of the human spirit, and his memoir proves that true passion always finds a way.

    Her latest book, the fifth in the series, is a collection of short stories based on her newspaper articles, magazine columns and other writings about France. France in Four Seasons is a series of short (and sweet) anecdotes, designed to give a delightful and evocative insight into French life as the seasons unfold.

    Shortly after the move, she discovered her husband had been having an affair and had no intentions of staying in Italy. Despite being in a foreign country with no income, limited language skills, a house that needed rebuilding and three young children to care for, she never once considered returning to the UK. With strength and determination she accepted any challenge, dismantling a derelict house to ground level, digging out a three metre deep well with her hands to get free water and overcoming her fear of the chainsaw to cut the winter wood. When there was very little money for food she made risotto with nettles collected from the roadside. She overcame many problems learned new skills and discovered that money is not important, and the only things in life that matters are health, happiness and her children. Jill's story is delivered with an ever present hint of humour, because, she says, "Without laughter life wouldn't be funny!"

    John Edmund Delezen felt a kinship with the people he was instructed to kill in Vietnam; they were all at the mercy of the land. His memoir begins when he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to Vietnam in March of 1967. He volunteered for the Third Force Recon Company, whose job it was to locate and infiltrate enemy lines undetected and map their locations and learn details of their status. The duty was often painful both physically and mentally. He was stricken with malaria in November of 1967, wounded by a grenade in February of 1968 and hit by a bullet later that summer. He remained in Vietnam until December, 1968. Delezen writes of Vietnam as a man humbled by a mysterious country and horrified by acts of brutality. The land was his enemy as much as the Vietnamese soldiers. He vividly describes the three-canopy jungle with birds and monkeys overhead that could be heard but not seen, venomous snakes hiding in trees and relentless bugs that fed on men. He recalls stumbling onto a pit of rotting Vietnamese bodies left behind by American forces, and days when fierce hunger made a bag of plasma seem like an enticing meal. He writes of his fallen comrades and the images of war that still pervade his dreams. This book contains many photographs of American Marines and Vietnam as well as three maps.

    This book is the culmination of Butler's decade spent in the trenches of Havana, trying to understand a culture perplexing to Westerners: one whose elite athletes regularly forgo multimillion-dollar opportunities to stay in Cuba and box for their country, while living in penury. Butler's fascination with this distinctly Cuban idealism sets him off on a remarkable journey, training with, befriending, and interviewing the champion boxers that Cuba seems to produce more than any other country. In the process, though, Butler gets to know the landscape of the exhilaratingly warm Cuban culture—and starts to question where he feels most at home. In the tradition of Michael Lewis and John Jeremiah Sullivan, Butler is a keen and humane storyteller, and the perfect guide for this riotous tour through the streets of Havana.

    In search of the most unusual and wildest festivities, the author was pelted with beans, amazed by giant snow cows, stampeded in a temple full of men wearing nothing but "nappies," befriended by alien abductees, and much more while attending a Hogmanay in Scotland, a Tomato Festival in Ripley, Tennesee, a Bean Throwing Festival in Tokyo, and a Vodou Festival in Haiti. The side-splitting stories will inspire readers to attend—or create—peculiar festivals of their own, and on a more serious note, explore and appreciate other cultures.

    Just trying to clear the brutal shadows of the past from his mind, Brody’s next mission is clear: Spearfishing and Scuba Diving in warm clear tropical waters, with some cold beers on the beach. Living the dream… As Brody makes friends with the locals settling into the island retreat, his plans for peace and relaxation are suddenly shattered. After weeks of terrorizing the island paradise, a ruthless sea captain finally commits the unthinkable: he kidnaps a group of young girls from the village. Heartbroken and scared for the children, the people look to Brody for help. Time is running out… When Brody rallies the villagers to form a rescue team, he realizes he is the only one with the skills for this kind of work. With nothing but basic weapons and a sailing boat, Brody feels the weight of the dire situation. The lives of the girls are on the line, with the slave markets of Somalia only days away, the clock is ticking. Brody leads his ragtag crew across the rough and lawless ocean, knowing they are the only hope for the young girls. Once Special Forces, always Special Forces, he’s got this! With Brody at the helm, they’ll find the girls or die trying. This is the first in this exciting Action Adventure Series...

    Every season performers for these acts are chosen from the young men and women in each town, trained, and sent to perform in a live grand performance, performed literally to the death. Two performers from Sea Cliff, a beach town at the outskirts of The Center find themselves chosen to be in this Summer's Circus Act. Both must win at any cost, but could they ignore their feelings for each other? Leela Sinclair needs to win in order to get to The Center where she can get medical help from the best physicians for her ailing mother, plague with a condition no one have heard of. For Zachary Nile, his reasons for becoming a performer at the Circus is more mysterious. Only the ringmaster and the Circus of Curiosities owner Dex Hightower (Dr. Dex) knows what the touring Circus is really about amidst the magic and splendor. Despite the Great War and the poverty surrounding the land except for the towns fortunate enough to be near the Center, Dr. Dex and the Circus performers all know, "The show must go on."

    Subsequent to his father's troubles spilling over into their home-life, he and his mother migrated to the United States when Deon was only six years old. For the two immigrants, making a living in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn was not an easy task. Suhati, his mother, worked extremely hard trying to sustain a stable lifestyle and shield Deon from all the negativity that surrounded them. After an altercation Deon got into with a bully at school he befriended a neighborhood hustler by the name of Jayson "Jay-Roc" Washington. Jay-Roc familiarized Deon with the street-life and schooled him on the necessary skills needed to survive in the concrete jungle. He taught him that fear equals control and Deon soon adapted to his environment like a chameleon. It didn't take long before Deon became immersed in the exact same lifestyle his mother once tried to shelter him from. He was taking steps in the same shoes his father had previously walked in, down that similar extended road to danger and he was too blind to realize it. When he finally opens his eyes to what life is really about, is it too late? KING is a grimy, heart felt, street tale of lust, envy, and hate. When the pressure is applied, only the strong will subsist and everything done in the shadows will come to light. Love is blind, karma is real, and vengeance is the sweetest joy. How long will it take Deon to learn that jealousy destroys from within? Brace yourself for the ride of your life. He who embraces the crown is considered KING!

    Originally written as a piece of our family history, it chronicles events that unfolded during 1968 and early 1969 while serving as a young infantryman with the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam's Mekong Delta and relates how experiences on the US home front impacted and were affected by the aggressive military tactics of 1968. Most of all the book tells the true stories of young soldiers engaged in mortal combat and the daily struggle to survive..

    Local friendships and bonds of loyalty that she and her family formed during their gradual renovation of their once derelict farmhouse have now deepened. The children, both hers and her neighbours', are now adults and the close-knit community celebrates and prepares for the new generation. The wedding festivities and banquets are beautifully described in mouth-watering detail and the tastes and smells of Lot-et-Garonne seem to float from the page. An unforgettable and enriching story of Ruth and her family, and their continuing love for their home in the sunflowers.

    Hidden in the villages and towns of England reside eccentric characters of all types: sex-starved housewives, retired comedians, foul-mouthed parrots, monosyllabic children, troublesome students, even a wife-swapper or two!Twenty two hilarious stories from the world of home delivery taken from Lee's popular The Deliveryman Diaries Blog.

    A first hand account of my tour of duty in Vietnam.