A rare insight into the great war for fans of CALL THE MIDWIFE.In April 1915, Dorothea Crewdson, a newly trained Red Cross nurse, and her best friend Christie, received instructions to leave for Le Tréport in northern France. Filled with excitement at the prospect of her first paid job, Dorothea began writing a diary. 'Who knows how long we shall really be out here? Seems a good chance from all reports of the campaigns being ended before winter but all is uncertain.'Dorothea would go on to witness and record some of the worst tragedy of the First World War at first hand, though somehow always maintaining her optimism, curiosity and high spirits throughout. The pages of her diaries sparkle with warmth and humour as she describes the day-to-day realities and frustrations of nursing near the frontline of the battlefields, or the pleasure of a beautiful sunset, or a trip 'joy-riding' in the French countryside on one of her precious days off. One day she might be gossiping about her fellow nurses, or confessing to writing her diary while on shift on the ward, or illustrating the scene of the tents collapsing around them on a windy night in one of her vivid sketches. In another entry she describes picking shells out of the beds on the ward after a terrifying air raid (winning a medal for her bravery in the process).Nearly a hundred years on, what shines out above all from the pages of these extraordinarily evocative diaries is a courageous, spirited, compassionate young woman, whose story is made all the more poignant by her tragically premature death at the end of the war just before she was due to return home.

    He paints vivid portraits of psychiatry's leading historical figures and pulls no punches in assessing their roles in advancing or sidetracking our understanding of the origins of mental illness.Shorter also identifies the scientific and cultural factors that shaped the development of psychiatry. He reveals the forces behind the unparralleled sophisitication of psychiatry in Germany during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the emergence of the United States as the world capital of psychoanalysis. This engagingly written, thoroughly researched, and fiercely partisan account is compelling reading for anyone with a personal, intellectual, or professional interest in psychiatry.Description from Goodreads User:The history of madness and its treatment is a fascinating one. At one time, the mentally ill were diagnosed as demonically possessed; later, when mental illness became the province of psychoanalysts, those conditions that are actually physical in nature, such as schizophrenia or manic depression, went insufficiently treated, their sufferers consigned to asylums. In his book, A History of Psychiatry, Edward Shorter, a medical historian at the University of Toronto, presents a concise chronology of mental illness and its treatment. Shorter favors a biological understanding of these disorders, concentrating on medical approaches to helping the seriously mentally ill.

    His future success seemed assured, until an unexpected turn of events plunged him into a terrifying darkness. Clean-cut Craig Smith became Maitreya Kali, the self-proclaimed psychedelic Messiah. He laid out his poignant, disturbing schizophrenic vision on a sprawling self-released double-album before disappearing completely. Author Mike Stax spent fifteen years piecing together the mystery of Maitreya Kali, uncovering one of the strangest and most tragic untold stories of the 1960s and ‘70s.Swim Through the Darkness reveals author Stax's fifteen year quest in tracking down this strange saga of American pop culture. Included in the story are Smith's close ties to the Monkees, particularly Mike Nesmith, who produced and promoted Smith's band, Penny Arkade. Also covered are the bizarre self-released albums he made as Maitreya Kali, which now command thousands of dollars among psychedelic music collectors.Purchasers of this book will also receive a code to be able to download Smith's music in all its obscure and variant styles.

    The world knew him as a union official, a long-time member of the Teamsters Union; he was a member of Jimmy Hoffa’s inner circle at the top of the national union. He had run-ins with the law in this position. He was charged with the murder of a rebel union member in a riot that occurred outside the Teamster’s Local Philadelphia Union Hall, but the charges were later dropped. He went to prison in the 80s after being caught on a wire instructing once of his crew to break someone’s legs and was named in Rudy Giuliani’s Mafia Commission Trial as an unindicted co-conspirator and one of only two non-Italian members of the Mafia Commission. As an old man suffering from cancer that would soon kill him, Frank Sheeran shared his story with his attorney. He told him of the things that were already known, but he shared much, much more. This book explores Frank Sheeran’s confessions as a lifelong criminal with ties to some of the biggest crimes of the 20th century. Inside this book, you will find: A detailed account of Frank Sheeran’s time in the army during the second world war, where he was in combat for an astounding four hundred and eleven days, with a focus on the war crimes he has admitted to; A look into Sheeran’s post-war slides into a life of crime, finding himself working for the Mafia before he even knew what the Mafia was; Information on his time as a hitman for the Mafia and how that led him to work for Jimmy Hoffa as muscle and hitman for the powerful Teamster Boss; Frank Sheeran’s accounts of his connections to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Assassination of JFK; and His confession to the murders of Crazy Joe Gallo and of his friend, Jimmy Hoffa.

    For over 70 years, Aokigahara, Japan has been a source of mystery for both investigators and paranormal researchers. This beautiful stretch of unkempt woodland, while maintaining the illusion of beauty, harbours a secret which few people are willing to acknowledge. Aokigahara, known to many as the Sea of Trees, is the suicide capital of Japan. Every year, hundreds of people visit the forest with no intention of ever leaving. People who no longer wish to be a part of this world find solace in the isolation of Aokigahara, and willingly take their own lives against its backdrop of chaotic forestry. However, the legend of Aokigahara goes a lot further that simply being alluring scenery for suicide. Its lore is rooted in ancient legend, literature and a historical association with death. Its impact on Japanese culture has been so prominent that Japanese officials rarely acknowledge the forest’s existence in an effort to disassociate it from its macabre infamy. But despite this, Aokigahara’s prominence in not just Japanese culture, but world over, cannot be understated.

    And while some of the bravest people of the 20th century risked their lives for the right to simply order a cheeseburger, ride a bus, or use a clean water fountain, there was another virtually unheard of struggle--this one for the right to read. Although illegal, racial segregation was strictly enforced in a number of American states, and public libraries were not immune. Numerous libraries were desegregated on paper only: there would be no cards given to African-Americans, no books for them read, and no furniture for them to use. It was these exact conditions that helped create Freedom Libraries. Over eighty of these parallel libraries appeared in the Deep South, staffed by civil rights voter registration workers. While the grassroots nature of the libraries meant they varied in size and quality, all of them created the first encounter many African-Americans had with a library. Terror, bombings, and eventually murder would be visited on the Freedom Libraries--with people giving up their lives so others could read a library book. This book delves into how these libraries were the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and the remarkable courage of the people who used them. They would forever change libraries and librarianship, even as they helped the greater movement change the society these libraries belonged to. Photographs of the libraries bring this little-known part of American history to life.

    Guns are drawn, and in the ensuing hail of bullets, only the husband walks away. However, police soon find out, that what seems to be a robbery gone wrong is anything but. The Case of the Ragged Stranger, as the tabloids dubbed it, is a tale of deceit, betrayal, and depravity, a stranger-than-fiction mystery story whose shocking solution riveted the nation and made it one of the most sensational crimes of the Jazz Age.

    It brings to vibrant life the true story of Eliza Gilbert, the daughter of an obscure Ensign in the British Army and his cold Irish wife. When she grew up, Eliza changed her name to Lola Montez. She was a dancer, a courtesan, a bigamist, the mistress of a king and the nineteenth-century’s most notorious adventuress. Blazing like a female firecracker across the stages and courts of Europe and beyond, she was, for a while, second only to Queen Victoria in fame.

    DickIn late January 2006, a young robotocist on the way to Google headquarters lost an overnight bag on a flight somewhere between Dallas and Las Vegas. In it was a fully functional head of the android replica of Philip K. Dick, cult science-fiction writer and counterculture guru. It has never been recovered.In a story that echoes some of the most paranoid fantasies of a Dick novel, readers get a fascinating inside look at the scientists and technology that made this amazing android possible. The author, who was a fellow researcher at the University of Memphis Institute of Intelligent Systems while the android was being built, introduces readers to the cutting-edge technology in robotics, artificial intelligence, and sculpture that came together in this remarkable machine and captured the imagination of scientists, artists, and science-fiction fans alike. And there are great stories about Dick himself his inspired yet deeply pessimistic worldview, his bizarre lifestyle, and his enduring creative legacy. In the tradition of popular science classics like "Packing for Mars" and "The Disappearing Spoon," "How to Build an Android" is entertaining and informative popular science at its best."

    Dr. Walker gives recommendations on the optimal foods for nourishment, how to develop better lifestyle choices, and how to use our attitudes and thoughts to influence our health. Also includes true stories of men and women who have changed their health for the better using Dr. Walker's suggestions.

    It was there, on the edge of the dramatic landscape of the Yorkshire Moors, that they produced some of the most memorable, influential and best-loved novels in the English language. Ann Dinsdale paints a detailed picture of everyday life at Haworth in the 1840s, recounting the Brontë family history and describing the local village and surrounding countryside. She goes on to consider the Brontës' poetry and novels in the context of their socio-historic background. This book provides fascinating insight into the lives of the authors of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and will be a must for both literature students and Brontë admirers. It is illustrated with numerous rarely seen images from the Haworth archives, including drawings by Charlotte and Emily, together with evocative pictures by local photographer Simon Warner.

    In its pages can be found the fascinating history of the ancient world from the Genesis creation through the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Find Out: * Why was Julius Caesar kidnapped in 75 B.C.? * Why did Alexander the Great burn his ships in 326 B.C.? * What really happened when the sun "went backward" as a sign to Hezekiah? * What does secular history say about the darkness at the Crucifixion?

    The art explodes with a succulent, indulgent blend of design, illustration, typography, and hilarious copywriting. Written and curated by Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge, poster artist extraordinaire and VHS obsessive, with a foreword by Mondo’s Justin Ishmael, this collection contains over 240 full-scale, complete video sleeves in the genres of action, comedy, horror, kids, sci-fi, and thriller films. It’s a world of mustached, muscled men, buxom beauties, big explosions, phallic guns, and nightmare-inducing monsters. From the sublime to the ridiculous, some are incredible works of art, some are insane, and some capture the tone of the films better than the films themselves. All are amazing and inspiring works of art that captivate the imagination. It’s like stepping back in time into your local video store!

    This is the story of a time when brother fought brother and Christian fought Christian. Power was all and Spain was riven by strife which was political, religious and familial! One man came from the harsh land of Castile to make one land and one state. Spain truly began with Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Campeador, El Cid. His story is told through the eyes of the warrior who spent his life at his side. William Redbeard came from humble origins but he was destined for greatness too as he walked in the seemingly endless shadow of El Cid. This first instalment in the Chronicles tells of Rodrigo’s rise to prominence when he became the champion of Prince Sancho of Castile. This is but the beginning of a tale which still stirs the blood a millennium after it began.

    A supplemental reference provides an offbeat source of unusual, obscure, and very legitimate English language terms, clearly and whimsically defined for the benefit of those needing "just the right word."