Author GM Matheny was a US Navy saturation diver on the nuclear submarine USS Halibut. Involved in Operation Ivy Bells. America's most important (and most dangerous of the Cold War) clandestine operations. If you like good old fashioned American bravado, espionage and American history, you will enjoy this book. GOD & SPIES is a firsthand account of America's greatest intelligence coup! Operation Ivy Bells was not a onetime intercept of foreign intelligence but an ongoing operation of multiple Soviet military channels! Another reason for the high interest in our operation was the audacious nature in which it was done—with not one person risking his neck but the crews of two US Navy nuclear submarines which rendezvoused in Soviet territorial waters. “How did I end up as a navy diver, four hundred feet down in a frigid Russian sea? After making my dad totally disgusted with me, I set out to make him happy. ‘Honor thy father’ - I struggled with a decision to serve God. ‘Lord, I will give my life to you and serve you if you let me make this dive.’ But I had the impression He only wanted to know one thing: ‘What if I do not let you? Will you serve me anyway?’”

    But the drama on-screen has been matched, and often exceeded, by the lives off-screen."As the title suggests the book covers the history of Hollywood from its origins in the early part of the 20th century through its heyday under the studio system and finally to the Hollywood of CGI and summer blockbusters.

     Larry Kolb was born into a house of spies. Raised all over the world as the son of a high-ranking American spymaster, Kolb was taught by his father to think, look, and listen like a spy. But when Kolb himself was recruited to join the CIA, he declined, choosing instead to pursue a career in business. He became, among other things, Muhammad Ali's agent, a role that turned out to be a circuitous route back to the world of espionage. At Ali's side, Kolb had invitations to the parties, palaces, boardrooms, and bedrooms-especially in the Middle East-of many of the world's wealthiest and most powerful people. At one of those parties, Kolb befriended Adnan Khashoggi, then the richest man in the world, and the world's most prominent arms dealer; Kolb ended up marrying one of his daughters. Kolb's extraordinary access made him irresistible to legendary spymaster and CIA cofounder Miles Copeland. Beginning with secret negotiations with the Ayatollah Khomeini and a covert mission to Beirut with Ali to negotiate the release of an American hostage, Kolb found his way back to the family business, becoming Miles Copeland's eyes and ears and sometimes mouth in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Unlike any book before it, Overworld captures what it genuinely means and feels like to be a spy-from the practical to the emotional, revealing how the world of espionage and covert statecraft actually works-and exposing the dark heart of a life spent betraying confidences. In itself an adventure story of the highest order, Overworld reads like the best of John le Carré-but it's all true.

     But Charles Goodrich does not just focus upon the more famous of the fifty-signers as he draws evidence from a wide variety of sources to shine light upon even the most obscure of the Declaration’s signatories. Indeed some of the most fascinating of the lives within this work are those that have more frequently been forgotten. Goodrich begins the work with a short history of why the Declaration of Independence came into being. It provides an excellent grounding for his biographies of all fifty-six signers and lives that they led, both before and after they had added their names to this famous document. “The same intrepidity and genius which had raised them to be leaders of the nation at that crisis, carried them forward in the career of glory through a long period of public life. … we are convinced these biographies will be read with pleasure.” The North American Review This book is worthy reading for anyone interested in how the United States was founded and for people wishing to learn more about the figures that shaped its history in those early years. Charles Augustus Goodrich was an American author and Congregational minister, who popularized the motto "a place for everything and everything in its place". His book Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of independence was first published in 1829 and he passed away in 1862.

    At home he came to be feared as a reactionary, oppressive autocrat in a country where millions of serfs were still treated as little more than personal property. A grandson of Catherine the Great, a conspirator in the assassination of his own father, and an idealistic and ineffective participant at the Congress of Vienna, Alexander was torn all his life between his liberal illusions and the hard realities of autocratic Russia. In a brilliant biography of one of the most unorthodox of Russia's tsars, Henri Troyat -- winner of the Prix Populiste and the coveted Prix Goncourt -- delivers a masterful portrait of Europe during a momentous period in its modern history. "[Troyat's] broad-brush narrative restores to center stage important personalities and their interplay in the politics of the era." -- James H. Billington, The New York Times Book Review "[A] briskly moving, richly illustrated, flesh-and-blood portrait." -- Publishers Weekly "Troyat's biography of Alexander ... turns out to be more enthralling than most of the novels I've read lately." -- Pamela Marsh, The Christian Science Monitor

     As a nineteen year old he had heard that one of his brothers had been killed in the Battle of Goliad, an early confrontation in the Texan war of independence with Mexico, and swore to travel West to “take pay of the Mexicans” for his brother’s death. In the following years he fought time and again against the Mexicans for the newly formed Republic of Texas and saw action at Salado Creek, Hondo River and during the Mier Campaign. After returning for the wars in Mexico he abandoned the Texan military and joined the Texas Rangers under the leadership of John Coffee Hays and served for a number of years defending Texans against Native American and border bandits along the frontier. This riotous narrative of the adventures of one of the saltiest and most individualistic pioneer Indian fighters that the state ever produced is told in a leisurely, satirical fashion that reflects a way of life long since lost. Duval's chronicle of one of Texas' greatest adventurers is filled with Wallace's humor and colorful speech. Wallace emerges from the book in all his vigor and robustness, and the reader is transported to a rugged, uncultivated frontier where a few men who were rough enough were carving out a new empire. The flavor and the spirit of early Texas have been captured for countless readers by John C. Duval's Big Foot Wallace. About one-fourth of Big Foot Wallace is devoted to a detailed account of Wallace's experiences in the Mier Expedition. The remainder of the book deals with his adventures on the frontiers of Texas as an Indian fighter, a soldier of fortune, and a member of the first company of Rangers. John C. Duval, the author of Big Foot Wallace, has been called the first man of letters in Texas. Earlier Texans devoted their time to writing about politics and land, but Duval wrote of the frontier and its people with a clarity of perception equaled by few writers in any period. Duval was a man of the camp and range. Civilization did not fit him very well, and he spent much of his time in the wilderness alone. Like his friend and companion, Big Foot Wallace, Duval was an adventurer whose experiences were varied and exciting. In Big Foot Wallace Duval relates a number of his experiences that had been shared with Wallace. Writing late in life, Duval set down memories of events that had mellowed with time. He strove for pictorial and dramatic effects, not historical accuracy. Still Big Foot Wallace has been acclaimed by historians for its amazing accuracy. This book was published in 1870. Duval passed away in 1897 and Wallace in 1899.

    

    Omm Sety’s EGYPT contains never-before-seen episodes from her life, and important, previously unknown details of Egyptian history. “Omm Sety was a controversial character... an example of a soul so consumed with a purpose that it focused the arc of her life - not in one incarnation only, but in at least two. She knew things she could not have known without some extraordinary extension of consciousness."– Stephen A. Schwartz, Director of Research, Rhine Research Center, Durham, North Carolina and author of Opening to the Infinite "With access to Omm Sety's secrets, diaries and riveting private conversations, the authors navigate this explosive material with elegance, sincerity, and sympathy. Readers may have trouble putting this book down once they start it."– John Anthony West, author of The Serpent in the Sky

    Twenty-three-year old Paul Gascoigne has been one of the breakout stars of the tournament. His athleticism, speed of thought and incredible natural gifts have given England fans renewed faith in their perennially underachieving national side. Then in the 99th minute of a tense semi-final against Germany, Gascoigne lunges into a mistimed tackle. The ref awards him his second yellow card of the tournament, meaning that if England were to win, he would miss the final. Gascoigne turns away, tries to hold it together, but can’t. Floods of tears run down his face. We understand. We feel his pain and anguish. The legend of Gazza is born. Two years later, after an injury-stricken season at Spurs, he arrives at Lazio for a then record transfer fee. Expectations are sky high; he is welcomed as a footballing Messiah by the Roman fans. But all is not what it seems. There are doubts over his fitness, doubts over how he will adjust to life in Italy, doubts over whether his obvious potential can finally be achieved. The three subsequent years in Italy, shot through with incredible highs and self-inflicted lows, show Gascoigne in all his complexity – an immense natural talent flawed by a too-fragile personality.In Gazza in Italy, award-winning writer Daniel Storey brilliantly shines a light on an unexamined moment in Gascoigne’s career that encapsulates everything that we have come to associate with this most mercurial of talents: childish joy, public gaffes, wondrous skill and saddening self-destruction. Funny and harrowing in equal measure, this book allows us a better, more rounded understanding of one of our greatest sporting idols, and of a tragically misunderstood human being.

    Generations have grown up with Cilla's music, TV shows, and performances. But how much do we really know about 'the girl with the bright red hair and the jet black voice'? What's It All About? is Cilla's own story, told for the first time ever. It's the story of a woman who has worked ceaselessly to stay at the top for forty years despite setbacks and personal tragedy; a life of incredible highs and terrible lows. In this deeply personal autobiography she tells her unique story in intimate and vivid detail for the very first time. This is the real Cilla Black.

    He brings to life his friends - now reduced to pieces of flesh - revisiting their first loves, their passion for rock music, their quests for martyrdom. And he immerses us in the intoxicating beauty of his homeland's mountains, blossoms and the flocks of migratory swallows that fill its skies.I Am a Chechen! is an intensely personal journey through the carnage of the war, exploring the pain, the challenge, and above all the meaning of being a Chechen.

    It follows Eddy Nugent, a bored fifteen-year-old, living in Manchester, as he travels through the drinking, swearing and sex-obsessed world of our nation's finest.

    But Very Few Knew Him Personally.             Pastor and bestselling author Greg Laurie was one of those fortunate few, blessed with an insider’s view of Billy Graham’s world for more than two decades.             With the same painstaking research and eye for detail that distinguishes his previous biographies, Steve McQueen: Salvation of an American Icon and Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon, Laurie now turns to the life of his beloved mentor, offering the intimate perspective of a disciple and friend.             As a strapping North Carolina farm boy, Graham surrendered his life to Jesus at a camp meeting led by a blustery itinerant preacher, but he never lost the mischievous twinkle in his eye or his fun-loving air.             Laurie sheds light on Graham’s lesser-known struggles—such as a broken heart before he met the love of his life and a crisis of faith from which he emerged stronger than ever. From the evangelist’s private challenges and public successes to his disappointments and joys, Billy Graham: The Man I Knew provides a vivid portrait of one of history’s most remarkable Christian lives.

    Svidrigailov simply is the most memorable figure in the book, obscuring Raskolnikov, who after all is the protagonist, a hero-villain, and a kind of surrogate for Dostoevsky himself.

    It examines Thackeray the person and his intriguing political personality, his party’s militaristic methods of operation, its controversial role at major junctures, the fight between Thackeray’s nephew Raj and son Uddhav, the end of an era in Maharashtra politics after his death in November 2012 and the future of the Shiv Sena without his imposing presence. A must-read for an understanding of contemporary Indian politics and the rise of the Hindu nationalist phenomenon.