Modernizers had an audacious, expensive plan to turn the city from a brawling, unglamorous place into "the Metropolis of the World." But just as the dream seemed within reach, pandemonium broke loose and the city's highest ambitions were suddenly under attack by the same unbridled energies that had given birth to them in the first place.It began on a balmy Monday afternoon when a blimp in flames crashed through the roof of a busy downtown bank, incinerating those inside. Within days, a racial incident at a hot, crowded South Side beach spiraled into one of the worst urban riots in American history, followed by a transit strike that paralyzed the city. Then, when it seemed as if things could get no worse, police searching for a six-year-old girl discovered her body in a dark North Side basement.Meticulously researched and expertly paced, City of Scoundrels captures the tumultuous birth of the modern American city, with all of its light and dark aspects in vivid relief.

    Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

    Most had never left home, never experienced a different culture. None had any guarantee of success. That they achieved so much for themselves and their country profoundly altered American history. As David McCullough writes, "Not all pioneers went west." Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor in America, was one of this intrepid band. Another was Charles Sumner, who enrolled at the Sorbonne because of a burning desire to know more about everything. There he saw black students with the same ambition he had, and when he returned home, he would become the most powerful, unyielding voice for abolition in the U.S. Senate, almost at the cost of his life. Two staunch friends, James Fenimore Cooper and Samuel F. B. Morse, worked unrelentingly every day in Paris, Cooper writing and Morse painting what would be his masterpiece. From something he saw in France, Morse would also bring home his momentous idea for the telegraph. Pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk from New Orleans launched his spectacular career performing in Paris at age 15. George P. A. Healy, who had almost no money and little education, took the gamble of a lifetime and with no prospects whatsoever in Paris became one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the day. His subjects included Abraham Lincoln. Medical student Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote home of his toil and the exhilaration in "being at the center of things" in what was then the medical capital of the world. From all they learned in Paris, Holmes and his fellow "medicals" were to exert lasting influence on the profession of medicine in the United States. Writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, and Henry James were all "discovering" Paris, marveling at the treasures in the Louvre, or out with the Sunday throngs strolling the city's boulevards and gardens. "At last I have come into a dreamland," wrote Harriet Beecher Stowe, seeking escape from the notoriety Uncle Tom's Cabin had brought her. Almost forgotten today, the heroic American ambassador Elihu Washburne bravely remained at his post through the Franco-Prussian War, the long Siege of Paris and even more atrocious nightmare of the Commune. His vivid account in his diary of the starvation and suffering endured by the people of Paris (drawn on here for the first time) is one readers will never forget. The genius of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the son of an immigrant shoemaker, and of painters Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent, three of the greatest American artists ever, would flourish in Paris, inspired by the examples of brilliant French masters, and by Paris itself. Nearly all of these Americans, whatever their troubles learning French, their spells of homesickness, and their suffering in the raw cold winters by the Seine, spent many of the happiest days and nights of their lives in Paris. McCullough tells this sweeping, fascinating story with power and intimacy, bringing us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens's phrase, longed "to soar into the blue." The Greater Journey is itself a masterpiece.

    The Plant-Based Diet for Beginners has dozens of tasty whole-food recipes for people who want to switch from eating meat, dairy, and eggs, to eating vegetables, whole grains, and other plant based foods.Whether your doctor encouraged you to eat a plant based diet or you’re exploring a new way of eating, this cookbook has everything you need to get started. You’ll find nutritional information for each recipe, a guide to eating a plant based diet even when you don’t want to cook, tips for stocking your kitchen, and more. When it comes to your health and your taste buds, now you’re cooking!This plant based diet book includes: 75 whole-food recipes—Try a variety of scrumptious dishes that are free from sugar, oil, and salt, like Hawaiian Luau Burgers, Easy Enchilada Bake, and Peanut Butter Nice Cream. Plant based benefits—Learn the perks of eating a plant based diet, including how it helps your health, the planet, and animal welfare. Beginner’s resources—Discover plenty of helpful info for newbies—from a guide to cooking basics like grains and beans, to convenient shopping lists, a sample menu, and more. Take your health and well-being into your own hands with the power of a plant based diet—this guide and cookbook will show you how.

    Maybe she’s making people laugh on TV. But all Chrissy Teigen really wants to do is talk about dinner. Or breakfast. Lunch gets some love, too.For years, she’s been collecting, cooking, and Instagramming her favorite recipes, and here they are: from breakfast all day to John’s famous fried chicken with spicy honey butter to her mom’s Thai classics. Salty, spicy, saucy, and fun as sin (that’s the food, but that’s Chrissy, too), these dishes are for family, for date night at home, for party time, and for a few life-sucks moments (salads). You’ll learn the importance of chili peppers, the secret to cheesy-cheeseless eggs, and life tips like how to use bacon as a home fragrance, the single best way to wake up in the morning, and how not to overthink men or Brussels sprouts. Because for Chrissy Teigen, cooking, eating, life, and love are one and the same.

    'South America on a Shoestring' is full of helpful advice on what to see, where to go, local customs, where to stay and other useful hints for those travelling through South America on a restricted budget.

    Get happily lost in Hanoi's Old Quarter, paddle past Halong Bay's shimmering limestone peaks at dawn, or take a cooking class in charming Hoi An; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Vietnam and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet's Vietnam Travel Guide:Colour maps and images throughoutHighlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interestsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks missCultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - customs, history, architecture, regional specialties, tribes, environment, food, drinkFree, convenient pull-out Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi map (included in print version), plus over 80 mapsCovers Northwest Vietnam, Northeast Vietnam, Hanoi, North-Central Vietnam, Central Vietnam, Central Highlands, South-Central Coast, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta, Siem Reap and moreThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Vietnam, our most comprehensive guide to Vietnam, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled.Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand guide and Lonely Planet's Southeast Asia on a Shoestring guide for a comprehensive look at all the region has to offer. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Iain Stewart, Brett Atkinson, Damian Harper and Nick Ray.About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves.*Best-selling guide to Vietnam. Source: Nielsen BookScan. Australia, UK and USA, February 2013 to January 2014.

    In this book he is back at his adventurous best tie-ing in with a major BBC TV series. The book/series will travel through many countries little known to the West, providing opportunities for Palinesque adventures to please the large and loyal audience who followed 80 Days, Pole to Pole and Full Circle.

    

    Vintage book

    Lucid in his vision of America's place in the world, refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate, Obama here sets out his political convictions and inspires us to trust in the dogged optimism that has long defined us and that is our best hope going forward.

    Symptoms include:*Acute embarrassment at the mere notion of making a fuss;*Extreme awkwardness when faced with any social greeting beyond a brisk handshake;*An unhealthy preoccupation with meteorology.Doctors have also reported several cases of unnecessary apologising, an obsessive interest in correct queuing etiquette and dramatic sighing in the presence of loud teenagers on public transport. If you have experienced any of these symptoms, you may be suffering from VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS. VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS are highly contagious. There is no known cure.Rob Temple's hilarious new book reveals all the ways in which we are a nation of socially awkward but well-meaning oddballs, struggling to make it through every day without apologising to an inanimate object. Take comfort in misfortunes of others. You are not alone.

     - solid strategies to finance long term travel, both before you leave: BONUS REPORT: 7 Easy Ways to make an extra $500/month for your Travel Fund and while you travel. BUDGET TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide - can help you save thousands of Dollars on travel bookings, experience foreign countries like a local - and even become a Digital Nomad if you would like to just travel for a few years and/or live in another country for a while. Becoming a Digital Nomad The author has lived the Digital Nomad livestyle for several years and is currently travelling through Africa and Australia. She is successfully running several online businesses - including a publishing company with several #1 Bestsellers - while travelling the world and living the life of her dreams. Her new company and travel blog - SassyZenGirl Lifestyle - is helping people achieve the travel freedom so many crave - without going broke or staying in crowded hostel dorm rooms. BUDGET TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide contains a whole, extensive chapter on the many possibilities of Online Entrepeneurship - even if you have no experience at all - and how to first get started. How to get started as an Online Entrepreneur Working online provides the freedom to live anywhere in the world and explore ever new cultures and regions. BUDGET TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide covers many different forms of building a freelance business - even if you think you have no relevant skills….. Also, advice on how to Start a TRAVEL BLOG as a BUSINESS and score discounts and free trips as well as a solid income for years to come. Get Paid to Travel If you are just starting out - or online entrepreneuship is not your thing - BUDGET TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide provides a huge list of resources to find exciting jobs anywhere in the world. Whether it is working in National Parks, on Cruise Ships or Yachts, as an Adventure Guide or English Teacher - or even for an NGO, you will find valuable information here on how to get started. BUDGET TRAVEL: The Ultimate Guide covers all the tools you need to create amazing travel adventures for yourself and your family without spending a fortune and - if that’s your dream - the tools to become a long term traveller, free to go wherever you wish with sound strategies for financial sustenance that can keep you travelling for years to come. Here is what you get in detail: Part 1- Saving Money BIG Time! TRANSPORTATION - Airfare - Travel Hacking - free flights, anyone…? - Rental Cars - Trains & Buses - Cruiseship - Awesome Trip Planning Tools ACCOMMODATION - Free Accommodation - Discounts on Paid Accommodation

    By the end of the trials, beyond the twenty who were executed and the five who perished in prison, 207 individuals had been accused, 74 had been "afflicted", 32 had officially accused their fellow neighbors, and 255 ordinary people had been inexorably drawn into that ruinous and murderous vortex, and this doesn’t include the religious, judicial, and governmental leaders. All this adds up to what the Rev. Cotton Mather called "a desolation of names."The individuals involved are too often reduced to stock characters and stereotypes when accuracy is sacrificed to indignation. And although the flood of names and detail in the history of an extraordinary event like the Salem witch trials can swamp the individual lives involved, individuals still deserve to be remembered and, in remembering specific lives, modern readers can benefit from such historical intimacy. By examining the lives of six specific women, Marilynne Roach shows readers what it was like to be present throughout this horrific time and how it was impossible to live through it unchanged.

    As they had done throughout Europe, the Nazis could now plunder the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the treasures of the Vatican, and the antiquities of the Roman Empire. On the eve of the Allied invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower empowered a new kind of soldier to protect these historic riches. In May 1944 two unlikely American heroes--artist Deane Keller and scholar Fred Hartt--embarked from Naples on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, tracking billions of dollars of missing art, including works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Titian, Caravaggio, and Botticelli. With the German army retreating up the Italian peninsula, orders came from the highest levels of the Nazi government to transport truckloads of art north across the border into the Reich. Standing in the way was General Karl Wolff, a top-level Nazi officer. As German forces blew up the magnificent bridges of Florence, General Wolff commandeered the great collections of the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace, later risking his life to negotiate a secret Nazi surrender with American spymaster Allen Dulles.Brilliantly researched and vividly written, the New York Times bestselling Saving Italy brings readers from Milan and the near destruction of The Last Supper to the inner sanctum of the Vatican and behind closed doors with the preeminent Allied and Axis leaders: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Churchill; Hitler, Goring, and Himmler.An unforgettable story of epic thievery and political intrigue, Saving Italy is a testament to heroism on behalf of art, culture, and history.