It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace


Rye Barcott - 2011
    He was a college student heading into the Marines, and he sought to better understand ethnic violence-something he would likely face later in uniform. He learned Swahili, asked questions, and listened to young people talk about how they survived in poverty he had never imagined. Anxious to help but unsure what to do, he stumbled into friendship with a widowed nurse, Tabitha Atieno Festo, and a hardscrabble community organizer, Salim Mohamed.Together, this unlikely trio built a non-governmental organization that would develop a new generation of leaders from within one of Africa's largest slums. Their organization, Carolina for Kibera (CFK), is now a global pioneer of the movement called Participatory Development, and was honored by Time magazine as a Hero of Global Health. CFK's greatest lesson may be that with the right kind of support, people in desperate places will take charge of their lives and create breathtaking change.Engaged in two seemingly contradictory forms of public service at the same time, Barcott continued his leadership in CFK while serving as a human intelligence officer in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Horn of Africa. Struggling with the intense stress of leading Marines in dangerous places, he took the tools he learned building a community in one of the most fractured parts of Kenya and became a more effective counter insurgent and peacekeeper.It Happened on the Way to War is a true story of sacrifice and courage and the powerful melding of military and humanitarian service. It's a story of what America's role in the world could be.

One Pan, Two Plates: Vegetarian Suppers: More Than 70 Weeknight Meals for Two


Carla Snyder - 2016
    Yet, in a two-person household it can be challenging to find quick, easy, and satisfying recipes to cook up at the end of a busy workday (especially without leftovers). This follow-up to the successful One Pan, Two Plates provides 70 perfectly sized vegetarian entrées—think Butternut Risotto, Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms and Edamame, and Eggplant Rollatini—all requiring only one pan and one hour or less to prepare. With beverage pairings for each recipe and an "Extra hungry?" feature for heartier appetites, each dish is one that home cooks will make again and again.

Unbowed


Wangari Maathai - 2006
    Born in a rural village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most girls were uneducated. We see her studying with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD in East and Central Africa and to head a university department in Kenya. We witness her numerous run-ins with the brutal Moi government. She makes clear the political and personal reasons that compelled her, in 1977, to establish the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages. We see how Maathai’s extraordinary courage and determination helped transform Kenya’s government into the democracy in which she now serves as assistant minister for the environment and as a member of Parliament. And we are with her as she accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of her “contribution to sustainable development, human rights, and peace.” In Unbowed, Wangari Maathai offers an inspiring message of hope and prosperity through self-sufficiency.

The Canal House


Mark Lee - 2003
    To Daniel, the story is everything; people come later. But after a plane crash nearly takes his life, Daniel begins to see the world in a different way. He falls in love with Julia Cadell, an idealistic British doctor, and together they find refuge at an old canal house in the center of London. Soon after, Nicky, Daniel, and Julia are called to East Timor, where the government has fled and the entire country is a war zone, and Daniel must decide whether to get the story of a lifetime or to see beyond the headlines to the people whose lives are in the balance. Fast-paced and gorgeously written, The Canal House is a gripping novel of love, faith, and friendship set in the dangerous world of international wartime journalism.

True at First Light


Ernest Hemingway - 2000
    Edited by his son Patrick, who accompanied his father on the safari, True at First Light offers rare insights into the legendary American writer in the year of the hundredth anniversary of his birth.A blend of autobiography and fiction, the book opens on the day his close friend Pop, a celebrated hunter, leaves Ernest in charge of the safari camp and news arrives of a potential attack from a hostile tribe. Drama continues to build as his wife, Mary, pursues the great black-maned lion that has become her obsession. Spicing his depictions of human longings with sharp humor, Hemingway captures the excitement of big-game hunting and the unparalleled beauty of the scenery -- the green plains covered with gray mist, zebra and gazelle traversing the horizon, cool dark nights broken by the sounds of the hyena's cry. As the group at camp help Mary track her prize, she and Ernest suffer the "incalculable casualties of marriage," and their attempts to love each other well are marred by cruelty, competition and infidelity. Ernest has become involved with Debba, an African girl whom he supposedly plans to take as a second bride. Increasingly enchanted by the local African community, he struggles between the attraction of these two women and the wildly different cultures they represent. In True at First Light, Hemingway also chronicles his exploits -- sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant -- among the African men with whom he has become very close, reminisces about encounters with other writers and his days in Paris and Spain and satirizes, among other things, the role of organized religion in Africa. He also muses on the act of writing itself and the author's role in determining the truth. What is fact and what is fiction? This is a question that was posed by Hemingway's readers throughout his career and is one of his principal subjects here. Equally adept at evoking the singular textures of the landscape, the thrill of the hunt and the complexities of married life, Hemingway weaves a tale that is rich in laughter, beauty and profound insight. True at First Light is an extraordinary publishing event -- a breathtaking final work from one of America's most beloved and important writers.

Out of Africa


Isak Dinesen - 1937
    She had come to Kenya from Denmark with her husband, and when they separated she stayed on to manage the farm by herself, visited frequently by her lover, the big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton, for whom she would make up stories "like Scheherazade." In Africa, "I learned how to tell tales," she recalled many years later. "The natives have an ear still. I told stories constantly to them, all kinds." Her account of her African adventures, written after she had lost her beloved farm and returned to Denmark, is that of a master storyteller, a woman whom John Updike called "one of the most picturesque and flamboyant literary personalities of the century."Isak Dinesen (1885-1962_ was born Karen Christence Dinesen in Rungsted, Denmark. She wrote poems, plays, and stories from an early age, including 'Seven Gothic Tales', 'Winter's Tales', 'Last Tales', 'Anecdotes of Destiny', 'Shadows on the Grass' and 'Ebrengard'. 'Out of Africa' is considered her masterpiece.

The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: A Guide to the World's Best Teas


Mary Lou Heiss - 2010
    And every tea, whether a delicately sweet green tea from Japan or a bracing, brisk Darjeeling black, tells a story in the cup about the land that nurtured it and the tea-making skills that transformed it.  In this authoritative guide, veteran tea professionals Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss provide decades of expertise on understanding tea and its origins, the many ways to buy tea, and how to explore and enjoy the six classes of tea (green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and Pu-erh). Additional advice on steeping the perfect cup and storing tea at home, alongside a gallery of more than thirty-fi ve individual teas with tasting notes and descriptions make The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook a singular source of both practical information and rich detail about this fascinating beverage.

All About H. Hatterr


G.V. Desani - 1948
    Hatterr is one of the most perfectly eccentric and strangely absorbing works modern English has produced. H. Hatterr is the son of a European merchant officer and a lady from Penang who has been raised and educated in missionary schools in Calcutta. His story is of his search for enlightenment as, in the course of visiting seven Oriental cities, he consults with seven sages, each of whom specializes in a different aspect of “Living.” Each teacher delivers himself of a great “Generality,” each great Generality launches a new great “Adventure,” from each of which Hatter escapes not so much greatly edified as by the skin of his teeth. The book is a comic extravaganza, but as Anthony Burgess writes in his introduction, “it is the language that makes the book. . . . It is not pure English; it is like Shakespeare, Joyce, and Kipling, gloriously impure.”

Five Ingredient Cookbook: Easy Recipes in 5 Ingredients or Less


Hannie P. Scott - 2015
    All of the recipes only require 5 ingredients or less! No more looking for hard-to-find ingredients that you'll only use once. Check out some of the mouth-watering recipes below! Chicken and Waffle Sliders Buffalo Chicken Dip Chicken Salad Chicken Fingers Buffalo Chicken Sliders Honey Chicken Shredded BBQ Chicken Easy Italian Baked Chicken Chicken and Cheese Rolls Barbeque Chicken Legs Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Chicken Cordon Bleu Shredded Buffalo Chicken Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde Slow Cooker Pancake Bake Slow Cooker Cinnamon Roll Casserole Slow Cooker French Toast Slow Cooker Blueberry Cobbler Slow Cooker Cherry Dump Cake Slow Cooker Bread Pudding Slow Cooker Peach Cobbler Slow Cooker Apple Dump Cake Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Slow Cooker Buffalo Ranch Wings Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes Slow Cooker Cheddar Creamed Corn Slow Cooker Spinach Queso Dip Slow Cooker Corn on the Cob Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Beef Burritos Slow Cooker Broccoli Casserole Slow Cooker Ham Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Potatoes Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs Slow Cooker 5-ingredient Chili Slow Cooker Apricot Orange Chicken Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken II Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Slow Cooker Tangy Meatballs Slow Cooker Cocktail Sausages Slow Cooker Ranch Roast Beef Slow Cooker Spicy Meatballs Slow Cooker Pork Chops Slow Cooker Garlic Tilapia Slow Cooker Chicken and Cheese Kale Chips Mashed Cauliflower Zucchini Chips Easy Powdered Sugar Donuts Sausage Breakfast Casserole Waffle Biscuits Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Roll-Ups Brown Sugar Bacon Egg in a Nest Cinnamon Roll Waffles Southwestern Scrambled Eggs Strawberry Bacon Salad Best-Selling Author, Hannie P. Scott Hannie P. Scott is a best-selling author that knows a thing or two about cooking! Cooking and experimenting with foods is her life passion.

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum


Kennedy Odede - 2015
    With a Foreword by Nicholas Kristof.This is the story of two young people from completely different worlds: Kennedy Odede from Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, and Jessica Posner from Denver, Colorado. Kennedy foraged for food, lived on the street, and taught himself to read with old newspapers. When an American volunteer gave him the work of Mandela, Garvey, and King, teenaged Kennedy decided he was going to change his life and his community. He bought a soccer ball and started a youth empowerment group he called Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). Then in 2007, Wesleyan undergraduate Jessica Posner spent a semester abroad in Kenya working with SHOFCO. Breaking all convention, she decided to live in Kibera with Kennedy, and they fell in love.Their connection persisted, and Jessica helped Kennedy to escape political violence and fulfill his lifelong dream of an education, at Wesleyan University.The alchemy of their remarkable union has drawn the support of community members and celebrities alike—The Clintons, Mia Farrow, and Nicholas Kristof are among their fans—and their work has changed the lives of many of Kibera’s most vulnerable population: its girls. Jess and Kennedy founded Kibera’s first tuition-free school for girls, a large, bright blue building, which stands as a bastion of hope in what once felt like a hopeless place. But Jessica and Kennedy are just getting started—they have expanded their model to connect essential services like health care, clean water, and economic empowerment programs. They’ve opened an identical project in Mathare, Kenya’s second largest slum, and intend to expand their remarkably successful program for change.Ultimately this is a love story about a fight against poverty and hopelessness, the transformation made possible by a true love, and the power of young people to have a deep impact on the world.

Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes


Martha Stewart - 2013
    You’ll find recipes for classics and new favorites, plus plenty of low-fat, vegan, and gluten-free options, too. More than just a cookbook, Meatless is also a roadmap to embracing a vegetable-based lifestyle. Here are dozens of versatile recipes that can be easily adapted, such as pizza with a variety of toppings, salads made from different whole grains, and pestos with unexpected flavors and ingredients. You’ll also find advice on stocking your pantry with vegetarian essentials (dried beans, pasta, herbs and spices), a collection of basic recipes and techniques (vegetable stock, tomato sauce, polenta), and make-ahead flavor-boosters (caramelized onions, roasted peppers, and quick pickles). Comprehensive and indispensable, Meatless makes it easy to prepare flavor-packed dinners for any day, any occasion. And no one will miss the meat. Selections include: -Small Plates to Mix and Match: Smashed Chickpea, Basil, and Radish Dip with Pita Chips; Roasted Baby Potatoes with Romesco Sauce; Stuffed Marinated Hot Red Chili Peppers; Grilled Polenta with Balsamic Mushrooms-Stovetop Suppers: Frittata with Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Herbs; Spring Vegetable Ragout; Farro Risotto with Wild Mushrooms; Southwestern Hash-Soups, Stews, and Chili: Tomato Soup with Poached Eggs; Bean Chili; White Cheddar Corn Chowder; Chickpea Curry with Roasted Cauliflower and Tomatoes-Casseroles and other Baked Dishes: Ricotta and Spinach Stuffed Shells; Italian Baked Eggplant with Seitan; Black-Bean Tortilla Casserole; Apple, Leek, and Squash Gratin-Substantial Salads: Raw Kale Salad with Pomegranate and Toasted Walnuts; Avocado, Beet, and Orange Salad; Arugula, Potato, and Green Bean Salad with Creamy Walnut Dressing; Roasted-Tomato Tabbouleh-Sandwiches, Burgers, and Pizzas: Quinoa Veggie Burgers; Grilled Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza; Chipotle Avocado Sandwich; Portobello and Zucchini Tacos-Pasta and Other Noodles: Fettuccine with Parsley-Walnut Pesto; Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta and Lemon Zest; Soba and Tofu in Ginger Broth; No-Bake Lasagna with Ricotta and Tomatoes-Simple Side Dishes: Mexican Creamed Corn; Cabbage and Green Apple Slaw; Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Mustard Seeds; Baked Polenta “Fries”

Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa


Mark Seal - 2009
    From her passion for animals and her hard-fought crusade to save Kenya's beautiful Lake Naivasha, to her storybook love affair, Root's life was one of a remarkable modern-day heroine. After 20 years of spectacular, unparalleled wildlife filmmaking together, Joan and Alan Root divorced and a fascinating woman found her own voice. Renowned journalist Mark Seal has written a breathtaking portrait of a strong woman discovering herself and fighting for her beliefs before her mysterious and brutal murder in Kenya. With a cast as wild, wondrous and unpredictable as Africa itself, WILDFLOWER is a real-life adventure tale set in the world's disappearing wilderness. Rife with personal revelation, intrigue, corruption and murder, readers will remember Joan Root's extraordinary journey long after they turn the last page of this compelling book.

Thug Kitchen 101: Fast as F*ck


Thug Kitchen - 2016
    And it serves up food facts along with helpful tips and tricks so you'll feel confident knowing exactly what the f*ck you're making.All recipes in TK 101 are guaranteed to be quicker than take out, so you can cook some tasty meals with simple ingredients regardless of when you stumble home from work. No excuses. It's delicious, healthy, homemade food for all the full-time hustlers out there."Thug Kitchen backs up its bluster with good, solid recipes." -The New York Times"Funny, self-aware, and full of delicious-looking recipes that I want to make right this second." -Epicurious.com"F*cking delicious." -Popsugar.com

Instant Loss Cookbook: Cook Your Way to a Healthy Weight with 125 Recipes for Your Instant Pot®, Pressure Cooker, and More


Brittany Williams - 2018
    Brittany Williams had struggled with her weight all her life. She grew up eating the standard American staples--fast, frozen, fried, and processed--and hit a peak weight of 260 pounds. When her 4-year-old daughter's autoimmune disease was alleviated by a low-sugar, dairy-free, grain-free, whole-food-based diet, Brittany realized she owed her own body the same kind of healing. So on January 1, 2017, she vowed to make every meal for a year from scratch, aided by her Instant Pot. She discovered that the versatility, speed, and ease of the electric pressure cooker made creating wholesome, tasty, family-satisfying meals a breeze, usually taking under 30 minutes. Not only did the family thrive over the course of the year, Brittany lost an astonishing 125 pounds. Illustrated with gorgeous photography, Instant Loss Cookbook shares 125 recipes and the meal plan that Brittany used for her own weight loss, 75% of which are recipes for the Instant Pot or other multicooker. These recipes are whole food-based with a spotlight on veggies, and mostly dairy and grain-free--and she uses ingredients that you can find at any grocery store. Her ingredient lists are refreshingly approachable, and her recipes are the clearest guides to navigating your Instant Pot or other multicooker that you'll find. Here's how to make healthy eating convenient--the key to sustainable weight loss.

My Maasai Life: From Suburbia to Savannah


Robin Wiszowaty - 2009
    Yet in her early twenties Wiszowaty embarked on an incredible journey that would shake her from complacency, take her to unimaginable locales, and change her life forever. My Maasai Life follows Wiszowaty's remarkable voyage as she explores some of the most remote areas of East Africa and has her eyes opened to the diverse issues facing the fascinating Maasai people.