It’s a savage journey that takes Mark from Los Angeles to the Amazon — through Mexico and Guatemala and Honduras, through Nicaragua and Costa Rica and Panama, through Colombia and Ecuador and Peru. On his ride into the dark south of the Americas: a failed revolution, a spewing volcano, a drawer of cocaine; and a surreal succession of encounters with an assortment of characters normally avoided — Scientologists and shamans and narcos. He risks his freedom, his sanity, his life. By the end, he at last finds a point to it all: he goes far to find…

    And with G-d's help, he saved not only himself but also his parents and a host of friends, relatives, and strangers from almost certain death. If Ludvik Wieder's adventures were fiction, they would seem too contrived. But everything told is the unembellished truth. At the age of 26, Ludvik had it all—health, wealth, good looks, popularity, and a growing business in one of Europe's brightest capitals. Then, one dreadful Sunday in the spring of 1943, the Nazis marched into Budapest and imposed a series of repressive measures that threatened the life of every Jew in Hungary. From that day on, all that mattered was survival. Suddenly, life hung by a shred of paper— the proper “Aryan” identification. Determined to survive, Ludvik boldly entered the black market to buy those precious scraps of false identity that might save him and his loved ones from disaster. Soon he was living a double life, outwardly forsaking his Orthodox Jewish upbringing to pose as a gentile, at the same time clinging steadfastly to his beliefs, never for a moment forgetting who he was and where he came from. Soon he became a master of deception— whether it was posing as a trusted “gentile” factory employee, disguising himself as a drunken peasant, or assuming the dress and manner of a member of the Hungarian S.S. Somehow, he had the capacity to enlist the aid of an unlikely assortment of non-Jews, who helped him at the peril of their lives—among them, a peasant woman who befriended him in prison and offered her home as his haven for the duration of the war… a Hungarian Air Force officer, who “adopted” Ludvik's niece as his own illegitimate child, lent him his apartment as a hiding place and smuggled a series of vital ID papers to him… the Skid Row derelict who saved the life of Ludvik's nephew by pretending to be the boy's uncle. The book traces Ludvik's life, beginning with his placid, essentially easygoing boyhood in Czechoslovakia. Then, in 1940, after the Hungarian takeover, he was inducted into forced labor. It describes the cruelty and black humor of the labor camp, which helped him to develop the cunning and ingenuity that enabled him to sharpen his survival skills and avoid being sent to fatal service on the Russian front. The story then focuses on the Nazi occupation, culminating in Ludvik's near-execution at the hands of his Russian liberators. Armed with optimism, unswerving faith in the Almighty, and his own resourcefulness, Ludvik never let fear keep him from doing whatever was necessary to save himself and his fellow Jews. Throughout his heart-stopping adventures —and even in the darkest moments of despair, when events propelled him to the brink of suicide—Ludvik was motivated to go on by consummate devotion to his beloved mother. He knew he had to survive, for he had promised her he would.

    From near fatal accidents during training in Canada, to dodging flak and fighters over Germany, not to mention trying to land with a ten ton 'Grand Slam' on board, his motto in life has been 'Just Do It'. Born in the East End of London, he left school as the Battle of Britain raged overhead. Determined to 'do his bit', he signed up for service in the RAF. Volunteering for special duties after completing his first tour, he became a member of the famous 617 'Dambusters' Squadron, flying to attack precision targets such as viaducts, submarine bases, and even Hitler's hideout at Berchtesgaden. When the War ended he tried to forget about his experiences, and told no-one of what he had been through; until fifty years later, when an unexpected phone call led to him taking the controls of a Lancaster bomber once more. He is one of the last of an extraordinary generation, one who flew through the unfriendly darkness of German skies, was hunted by fighters and shot up by flak, but pressed ahead with his duty knowing that his chances of survival dwindled every time he took off. His modesty and unfailing sense of humour are an inspiration. Just Do It. Ken is very kindly donating all of his royalties from the sale of this book to The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund & Holidays for Heroes Jersey.

    She also tries to kill herself every few years, without success. I hope she never succeeds, but one wonders if she is any good at anything.’ BARKIN, Ellen Ellen boasted of having an affair with George Clooney: ‘Yes, I have fucked George Clooney. I’m very proud of it, actually. If you don’t have chemistry with George Clooney, you need to check your pulse.’ BARRYMORE, John A very young Anne Baxter worked with Barrymore on ‘The Great Profile’ in 1940: ‘He was in terrible shape. In the morning, he was so wasted that his man would have to carry him in and set him down in an easy chair. Then he’d pour Barrymore a Coke. No response. Then he’d shake in some rum flavouring and this great actor would suddenly spring to life. Amazing. Once we were waiting for a take and I asked him why he read his lines from chalkboards. Couldn’t he remember his lines? And he stood up and recited a Hamlet soliloquy. He never made a pass at me, but it was hard going for our resident vamp, Mary Beth Hughes. She bent over once to fix her stockings and he instantly leapt up to pinch her behind.’ BEATTY, Warren Cher slept with him when she was a teenager: ‘Warren has probably been with everybody I know, and unfortunately I am one of them. But since I was only 16 maybe I can get out of it with that. I don’t know if I was a bimbo then, but I had pretty low self-esteem. He was technically good, but I felt nothing.’ He rather ungallantly told of Jane Fonda’s extraordinary sexual prowess: ‘…her ability to virtually unhinge her jaw. Like a python that swallows prey much larger than itself.’ BOW, Clara Louise Brooks’ husband considered Clara to be beneath them: ‘She wasn’t acceptable socially. Eddie Sutherland, my husband, gave absolutely the best parties in Hollywood. So I asked him one day to invite Clara Bow and he said, ‘Oh, good heavens, no! We can’t have her. We don’t know what she’d do. She’s from Brooklyn.’ BOYD, Stephen Brigitte Bardot once asked him to marry her: ‘I don’t know if she was joking, but I said no. I did not explain that I couldn’t marry an actress who could never be faithful to me. Or at least try. Like, I would at least try, for the first year or two.’ BRANDO, Marlon A drunken Brando disgraced himself on national television when he guested alongside Zsa Zsa Gabor on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and propositioned her: ‘Do you know what I want to do with that girl, Johnny? I want to fuck her! Zsa Zsa, a man can only do one thing with you: throw you down and fuck you!’ BRYNNER, Yul Ingrid Bergman and Brynner did not get along making ‘Anastasia’ (1956): ‘Yul Brynner was shorter, I suggested putting a little block under him. ‘You think I want to play it standing on a box? I’ll show the world what a big horse you are!’ I never had a complex about my height after that.’ After Steve McQueen up-staged him one too many times during the filming of ‘The Magnificent 7’ in 1960, Brynner issued him a warning: ‘If you don’t stop that I’m going to take off my hat, and then no-one will look at you for the rest of the film.

     Sapiens became a #1 international bestseller and a New York Times bestseller for simple reasons… Unlike other macroscopic reviews of human history, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind combines the best research into history with recent discoveries in biology and archaeology and complementary disciplines of science. It provides a unique point of view on how we got to where we are today – and what that means for us as a species. Dr. Yuval Noah Harari traces the development of consciousness, above all else. 100,000 years ago Homo Sapiens were an insignificant animal – but today we dominate the planet. At some point, the evolution of thinking superseded biological evolution. Much of our 'success' hinges on the importance of the myths and legends – the fictions of our imagination that have played such a vital role in the development of culture, ideology, religion, economics, science – instead of our pure biological traits. Reading our summary is the perfect way to cover the full material and grasp the essential insights of Dr. Harari’s research in a fraction of the time. If you find Dr. Harari’s concepts enticing, we highly advise you to buy the full book! Why read ExecutiveGROWTH Summaries: The best-quality summaries on Amazon, guaranteed. Team of professional native-English writers and editors (a huge issue on Amazon; check the reviews of ANY other summary book company to see for yourself). Engaged CEO and a responsive team committed to your personal growth and making your reading experience superb. Bonus Power Insights gives you the main takeaways to keep top-of-mind. Bonus Guided Challenge to immediately implement the book’s knowledge to your daily life. We craft our summaries for busy high-achievers who still have the insatiable appetite to keep learning and growing. Our summaries provide the fastest way to increase perspective and productivity, guaranteed. We only curate summaries whose original books we absolutely love and are convinced have the highest potential for personal growth. Our team has singled out the key concepts and trimmed out all the rest, allowing you to digest the author's core message in a fraction of the time. It's easy to read the entire summary in a little over one hour without needing highly developed speed-reading superpowers! DISCLAIMER: We are convinced that our professional summaries will introduce more readers to the full book who otherwise would have turned a blind eye by the sheer commitment. Our intention is sincere in that readers could use this summary as an introduction or a companion to the original book, not as a substitute.

    Chambers introduces young actors to the challenges of performing scenes written in true industry-standard style in preparation for professional stage and screen auditions. +30 teen-friendly scenes are incorporated. An interview with the commercial casting agents of Felicity and the Practice gives kids/teens the one-up on current industry requirements for young actors. A glossary of industry terms, index and extensive bibliography of basic to challenging plays teens should read are also included as a study aid. The scenes in the book are all original, and focus on teen lifestyle and experiences.

    People talk about it like it’s so easy. But how do you do it in a way that fits your style, protects your relationship with baby and actually works? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you. In this quick and easy guide, I’ll distill all the basics from the best resources out there on baby sleep. I skip the parent shaming and a ton of fluff that the other books are filled with, and I’ll give you the best cliff’s notes version out there so that in an hour or so you can be a sleep-expert, too. I'll explain why sleep is so important, and tell you the biggest secret out there about smooth sleep training (hint: it has nothing to do with how much crying you can tolerate). Parenting isn’t one size fits all, so I give you three solid options that can fit anyone’s paradigm and I'll walk you through a 14-day plan to revolutionize sleep for everyone. What are you waiting for? Let's get your sleep on!

    What is it like? It is the best gift you can ever imagine, like rain falling on a dry place.This memoir is a great reunion journey, from Paris, to California, to Denmark! A coming together of a mother and son, the only two people who can answer all the questions the other one has.

    

    Life was a despairing time in the 1950s, as Veronica sought desperately to keep away from his cruelty. Astonishingly, to her and her mother, she won a scholarship to Ackworth Boarding School where she began to shine above her class-mates. A champion in all sports, Veronica at last found some happiness until her brother-in-law came into her life. It was as if she had stepped from the frying pan into the re: he took over control of her life removing her from the school she adored, two terms before she was due to take her GCEs, so he could put her to work as a cheap option on his market stall. Abused for many years by these two men, Veronica eventually ran away and applied to the Prison Service, knowing it was the only safe place she could trust. This is the astonishing, and true story of Veronica Bird who rose to become a Governor of Armley prison. Given a ‘basket case’ in another prison, contrary to all expectations, she turned it around within a year, to become an example for others to match. During her life inside, her ‘bird’, she met many Home Secretaries, was honoured by the Queen and was asked to help improve conditions in Russian Prisons. A deeply poignant story of eventual triumph against a staggeringly high series of setbacks, her story is filled with humour and compassion for those inside.

    Originally published in 1960, this compact book tells the true story of a German soldier: from his early childhood during the First World War, through to his harrowing experiences on the frontline during the Word War II, culminating in his capture by the Red Army on 20 December 1942…An astonishing first-hand account.

    Daysearlier, while traversing the Straits of Sicily the crew had discovered a crack in one ofthe nuclear reactor pipes, requiring the immediate shutting down of the reactor toprevent a potential reactor accident, an operation never before conducted on a Britishsubmarine at sea.Th e previous six days had been a difficult time for the crew of the submarine. Initialindications of a nuclear reactor defect had quickly escalated into a full scale potential nuclearreactor accident at sea, requiring decisive action by the crew to make the reactor safe, toidentify the defect and attempt to repair the reactor, and then to surface the submarine andto sail her safely back to the nearest safe harbor using emergency propulsion machinerydesigned for very limited use. The resulting lack of electrical power resulted in the crewhaving to sacrifice lighting, air-conditioning, bathing facilities and even hot food until theirreturn to harbor, and to suffer in the excessively hot interior of the boat. Throughout,there remained the fear of exposure to deadly radiation and the uncertainty that the reactormight still be one step away from a major accident.For one man onboard, this episode formed the culmination of a 25 year navalengineering career almost fated for this moment. Charge Chief Stephen Bridgman,the senior nuclear propulsion technician, had needed all of his engineering knowledgeand experience in the identification and eventual repair of the submarine reactor,subsequently being awarded an MBE together with a colleague for his services to navalengineering for his actions.This book provides an insight into a remarkable naval career starting as a 16 year oldStoker on the final proper British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in 1977, throughthe Falklands War, being selected for naval technician training and submarine service,submarine training, submarine patrols in the supposed post cold-war period, theKosovo conflict, progression through the ranks, submarine refi t and refueling throughto the nuclear reactor accident onboard HMS Tireless.While there are countless accounts of naval life during wartime, this book tells theunique story of life as a British naval rating in the modern era, starting from the lowestlevel at a time of decline for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s, and paralleling the majorpolitical and military events of the 1980s and 1990s.

    A potpourri of musings assembled with a hint of practical spirituality, to be savoured passably as an oracle of hearts to the many answers, whose questions our minds are yet to comprehend. Ivory Gleam is split into three chapters of learning, longing and loving. Each chapter is a journey traversing a different road to the ultimate destination of self-reflection.

    People flock to locations who wish to have experiences of their own and delve into the exciting, quizzical and frightening world of those who have passed on. When speaking about haunted places there are more than a few that are surely recognizable to most people. However, for the avid ghost teller or hunter these long told tales have almost lost their ebullience and the romance is long gone. Discovering new haunts are like diamonds in the rough. Unchartered ghost stories and research are the crème de la crème for anyone who devours such tales. In this book, author and ghost hunter Sarah Ashley will take you on a new adventure of mysterious happenings, strange sights, horrific details of torture and torment and share with you some truly startling evidence from some of the most haunted, yet less glamorized locations across the United States.