Everest '96


Ken Vernon - 2015
    We usually only read about the best - about the bravery, the courage and the sacrifice of mountaineers who risk life and limb to achieve excellence for themselves and others. But there are other mountaineers – the charlatans, the conmen, the bullies, the petty-minded and narcissistic - who prefer to sacrifice others to their obsession to reach the top of Mt. Everest. This book is about one of the worst! In 1996, the deadliest year in the history of climbing Mt. Everest, both types were on the mountain. But in a cruel twist of fate the good guys died while the bad guy not only reached the top, but lived to prosper from it. In a piece of top class investigative journalism Ken Vernon delves into the guts of one dysfunctional expedition that, despite being supported by the iconic Nelson Mandela, became an international laughing stock. Everest ‘96 also peels back the layers of deception surrounding the fantastic past of the man who became the most reviled in mountaineering lore. Ken Vernon is an Australian journalist with decades of experience covering stories ranging from the African wars of Independence to the climbing of Mt Everest.

Cheer Up Peter Reid: My Autobiography


Tony Barrett - 2017
     As a player, he established himself as one of the leading midfielders of his era, being named PFA Player of the Year in 1985 and credited with being the fourth best footballer in the world. He won numerous honours with Everton, including two league titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup during the most successful period in the Blues’ history. He also won 13 England caps, playing at the 1986 World Cup – where a date with destiny at the ‘hand’ and feet of Diego Maradona would provide a lasting, painful memory. As a manager, his journey has taken him from Manchester to Sunderland, India to Thailand, each step a voyage into the unknown and sometimes into difficulties and even controversy. This is the unique story of a footballer who got to the top and yet never forgot his roots, who mixed with the powerful but has never been afraid to challenge authority. Told with typical forthrightness, Peter’s book will capture the imagination of football fans far and wide.

Sole Survivor: The Inspiring True Story of Coming Face to Face with the Infamous Railroad Killer


Holly K. Dunn - 2017
     On August 28, 1997, just as she was starting her junior year at the University of Kentucky, Holly Dunn and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were walking along railroad tracks on their way home from a party when they were attacked by notorious serial killer Angel Maturino Reséndiz, aka The Railroad Killer. After her boyfriend is beaten to death in front of her, Holly is stabbed, raped, and left for dead. In this memoir of survival and healing from a horrific true crime, Holly recounts how she lived through the vicious assault, helped bring her assailant to justice, and ultimately found meaning and purpose through service to victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. She has worked as a motivational speaker and activist and founded Holly's House, a safe and nurturing space in her hometown of Evansville, Indiana.

Final Witness: My journey from the holocaust to Ireland


Zoltan Zinn-Collis - 2006
    In Bergen-Belsen concentration camp he survived the inhuman brutality of the SS guards, the ravages of near starvation, disease, and squalor. All but one of his family died there, his mother losing her life on the very day the British finally marched into the camp. Discovered by a Red Cross nurse who described him as ‘an enchanting scrap of humanity’, Zoltan was brought to Ireland and adopted by one of the liberators, Dr Bob Collis, who raised him as his own son on Ireland’s east coast. Now aged 65, Zoltan is ready to speak. His story is one of deepest pain and greatest joy. Zoltan tells how he lost one family and found another; of how, escaping from the ruins of a broken Europe, he was able to build himself a life – a life he may never have had.

Clara: The Early Years: The Story of the Pug Who Ruled My Life


Margo Kaufman - 1998
    Cute dogs, willful dogs, lovable to be sure, but I was a Human. I was in charge.;;;;;;;; Then along came Clara, and all bets were off.";;;;;;;; Once a pug owner, always a pug owner--or so thought Margo Kaufman, having shared her home with the lovable snub-faced imps since her college days. But it was not until the 1992 arrival of Clara--petite, imperious, whip-smart, and seductive--that Margo found what it meant to be a pug parent: that a pug could rule her life, and perhaps the world as well.;;;;;;;; "Clara, the Early Years" is the hilarious story of how a glossy-black, 12-pound package of canine energy took over Margo's heart and home while charming the pants off the rest of the world. From commandeering the dressing rooms at Saks (where a personal shopper offers Clara Evian in a cut-crystal bowl), to accompanying Margo on her first book tour, to an appearance on "PrimeTime Live" (where Margo plays a supporting role), the indomitable Clara establishes herself as a world-class personality, a star of the first order. But there is one event Clara cannot upstage, as Margo and her husband, Duke, travel to Russia to adopt an infant boy, and all of them learn new meanings for parent, family, and home. ;;;;;;;; Full of the kind of uproarious observations and brilliant insights that have won Margo Kaufman's books and commentary legions of loyal followers, "Clara, the Early Years" is a laugh-filled portrait of a singularly memorable pet.

A Mother Like Alex


Bernard Clark - 2008
    They said it couldn't be done, but somehow Alex Bell has managed to adopt and raise a family of children with special needs.

All in a Day's Work: One Woman's Story from the Front Line of Child Protection


Becky Hope - 2011
    Among the stories is the remarkable transformation of nine year old Sarah, who comes into Becky’s life when she is beaten half to death by her mother’s violent boyfriend. Then there’s Liam, a tall and gangly young teen who has cut himself off from the world after being thrown out of home by his drug-addicted mother when he was just ten years old. Becky also tells the story of Jade and Jasmine, toddler twins who had been locked in a freezing, bare room for weeks on end, with just one filthy blanket to share. Sometimes these children are so vulnerable it becomes a situation of life and death, and Becky has been there and taken them to a place of safety. Although some of the stories are at times heartbreaking, Becky’s determination that no child should be forgotten makes this remarkable book an unforgettable and inspiring read.

Empty Cradles


Margaret Humphreys - 1994
    Margaret Humphreys soon discovered that as many as 150,000 children had in fact been deported from children's homes in Britian and shipped off to a "new life" in distant parts of the Empire—the last as recently as 1967. For numerous children it was to be a life of horrendous physical and sexual abuse in institutions in Western Australia and elsewhere. Margaret Humphreys reveals how she gradually unravelled this shocking secret, how she became drawn into the lives of some of these innocent and unwilling exiles, and how it became her mission to reunite them with their families.

Out on Foot: Nightly Patrols and Ghostly Tales of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent


Rocky Elmore - 2015
    But little did he know that the very real trails he walked night after night would soon lead him into surreal encounters from a different dimension. This was never more evident than when the ghost of a recently fallen fellow agent began to appear on top of the cliff from which he died. It marked the beginning of the end to one of the most bizarre series of events in the history of the U.S. Border Patrol. This collection of true stories provides a rare look into law enforcement that includes not only the routine nightly patrols of the USBP but also actual paranormal activity as it happened to the agents in the field. Readers will go on nightly patrols with the agents of the Brown Field Border Patrol Station, and will face their worst fears as they come face to face with smugglers, mountain lions, ghosts, and even a Sasquatch in this isolated no-man’s land. OUT ON FOOT takes place in the mysterious Otay Mountains just east of San Diego, California. It is an emotional roller coaster ride that is not for the faint of heart.

The Lost Daughters of China


Karin Evans - 2000
    Presents a cultural history of the events that led to the controversial one-child policy in China and the subsequent generation-long abandonment of Chinese daughters to American families.

The Crown Ain't Worth Much


Hanif Abdurraqib - 2016
    A regular columnist for MTV.com, Willis-Abdurraqib brings his interest in pop culture to these poems, analyzing race, gender, family, and the love that finally holds us together even as it threatens to break us. Terrance Hayes writes that Willis-Abdurraqib "bridges the bravado and bling of praise with the blood and tears of elegy." The poems in this collection are challenging and accessible at once, as they seek to render real human voices in moments of tragedy and celebration.

Seams Unlikely: The Inspiring True Life Story of Nancy Zieman


Nancy Zieman - 2014
    Many of them have Googled phrases like "stroke Nancy Zieman" in an effort to discover the reasons behind the partial paralysis of Nancy's beautiful face. Viewers purchased products Nancy used through Nancy's Notions, followed patterns she created for McCall's, and enjoyed meeting distinguished guests via the show. While today's Christian women read of Lydia and the Proverbs 31 woman and wonder how we can ever practice our faith so well in today's harried existence, Nancy Zieman was quietly living out her faith in Wisconsin. Her large Lutheran family ordered their lives around the farm, the seasons, and the church. As Nancy wrestled with the difficulties borne by the Bell's palsy, she also learned to rely heavily on God and believe that He had a purpose for her, a life lived to honor Him. Little did she realize that God would take a woman with half a paralyzed face and bless her with the longest running sewing show on North American television. For the first time, Nancy shares openly about the Bell's palsy that not only affected her appearance, but also her esteem and physical abilities. Readers learn about the growth of Nancy professionally: from addressing catalogs at the kitchen table to growing a multi-million dollar notions business - and personally: marrying Rich, then growing a family through birth and adoption. Through it all, the picture emerges of a hard-working woman of staunch faith who overcame various and varied obstacles to become what she is today: successful, humble, skilled, gracious, grateful and loved by millions of viewers. For any woman who has wondered how God could possibly build a purposeful life from one so unlikely, Nancy Zieman serves as a beautiful example of a life lived one step at a time, as He allows."

The Stovepipe


Bonnie E. Virag - 2011
    Over the next fourteen years, the children are split up and reunited multiple times, always hoping to find one another again. By luck or providence, the four sisters spend the majority of their lives together working on a tobacco farm and living in an attic, where the stovepipe offers warmth, comfort, and news from the outside world. Surviving some of the worst torments a child can know, Bonnie and her sisters form an unbreakable bond.In an unflinching voice, Virag's memoir engrosses readers with not only the darkness that she endured but, more important, the siblings' ability to create a sense of light.This unforgettable story is informed by Bonnie's recollections, remembrances from her sisters, and the official records of the Children's Aid Society.

Blue Like Play Dough: The Shape of Motherhood in the Grip of God


Tricia Goyer - 2009
    In Blue Like Play Dough, she shares her unlikely journey from rebellious, pregnant teen to busy wife and mom with big dreams of her own. As her story unfolds, Tricia realizes that God has more in store for her than she has ever imagined possible.Sure, life is messy and beset by doubts. But God keeps showing up in the most unlikely places?in a bowl of carrot soup, the umpteenth reading of Goodnight Moon, a woe-is me teen drama, or play dough in the hands of a child.In Tricia's transparent account, you'll find understanding, laughter, and strength for your own story. And in the daily push and pull, you'll learn to recognizes the loving hands of God at work in your life? and know He has something beautiful in mind.

44 Years With The Same Bird: A Liverpudlian Love Affair


Brian Reade - 2008
    From their first ever FA Cup win in 1965 to the Champions League defeat in Athens in 2007, this overview takes on the extraordinary stories behind the 48 trophies Liverpool has won. Highlighting the memorable nights that propelled the club to five European Cups, three UEFA Cups, 12 titles, and countless domestic cup triumphs, this account also discusses their bitter failures, the tragic disasters in Sheffield and Brussels, and the barren years of the late 60s and the 90s.