The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America


James Sullivan - 2008
    Yet few have addressed his contribution in the darkest hour of the civil rights movement. Telling the untold story of his historic Boston Garden concert of 1968, The Hardest Working Man also captures the magnificent achievements that made Brown a revolutionary icon of American popular culture. Acclaimed journalist James Sullivan begins his stirring account by depicting the racially charged climate of Boston in the hours after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death. Brown’s concert was slated for cancellation as police geared up for mass retaliation. After Brown butted heads with the mayor, the show was allowed to go on—and his emotional, electric performance was broadcast live on local television. Though rioting erupted in more than a hundred U.S. cities that night, Boston remained quiet. Not only bringing to life that transforming show, James Sullivan also charts Brown’s incredible rise from poverty to self-made millionaire and the pivotal voice behind the signature anthem “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud,” making The Hardest Working Man a tribute to an unforgettable concert and a rousing biography of a revolutionary musician.

Black Metal: The Cult Never Dies, Vol. 1


Dayal Patterson - 2015
    Comprised entirely of exclusive interviews, many with artists who have never spoken about their careers before, this tome begins the project by examining three facets of the genre in detail, returning to the subject of Norwegian Black Metal, discussing Polish Black Metal and telling the story of the subgenre of Depressive/Suicidal Black Metal.

The Rise of the Iron Men


Misha Glenny - 2020
    Free for members. You can download all 6 episodes to your Library now.©2020 Audible, Ltd. (P)2020 Audible, Ltd.

The Punjab Story


K.P.S. Gill - 2005
    Called Operation Bluestar, the historic and unprecedented event ended the growing spectre of terrorism perpetrated by the extremist Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers once and for all. But it left in its wake unsolved political questions that continued to threaten Punjab???s stability for years to come. How, in a brief span of three years, did India???s dynamic frontier state become a national problem? Who was to blame: the Central Government for allowing the crisis to drift despite warnings, or the long-drawn-out Akali agitation, or the notorious gang of militants who transformed a holy shrine into a sanctuary for terrorists?First published two months after Operation Bluestar, The Punjab Story pieces together the complex Punjab jigsaw through the eyes of some of India???s most eminent public figures and journalists. Writing with the passion and conviction of those who were involved with the drama, they present a wide-ranging perspective on the past, present and future of the Punjab tangle, and the truth of many of their conclusions having been borne out by time.

Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism


Thomas E. Patterson - 2013
    Too often, reporters give equal weight to facts and biased opinion, stir up small controversies, and substitute infotainment for real news. Even when they get the facts rights, they often misjudge the context in which they belong. Information is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. Public opinion and debate suffer when citizens are misinformed about current affairs, as is increasingly the case. Though the failures of today’s communication system cannot be blamed solely on the news media, they are part of the problem, and the best hope for something better. Patterson proposes “knowledge-based journalism” as a corrective. Unless journalists are more deeply informed about the subjects they cover, they will continue to misinterpret them and to be vulnerable to manipulation by their sources. In this book, derived from a multi-year initiative of the Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation, Patterson calls for nothing less than a major overhaul of journalism practice and education. The book speaks not only to journalists but to all who are concerned about the integrity of the information on which America’s democracy depends.

The Frontman: Bono (In the Name of Power)


Harry Browne - 2013
    More than a mere philanthropist—indeed, he lags behind many of his peers when it comes to parting with his own money—Bono is better described as an advocate, one who has become an unwitting symbol of a complacent wealthy Western elite.The Frontman reveals how Bono moved his investments to Amsterdam to evade Irish taxes; his paternalistic and often bullying advocacy of neoliberal solutions in Africa; his multinational business interests; and his hobnobbing with Paul Wolfowitz and shock-doctrine economist Jeffrey Sachs. Carefully dissecting the rhetoric and actions of Bono the political operator, The Frontman shows him to be an ambassador for imperial exploitation, a man who has turned his attention to a world of savage injustice, inequality and exploitation—and helped make it worse.

The Genius of Desperation: The Schematic Innovations that Made the Modern NFL


Doug Farrar - 2018
    Rare are the football innovations that have occurred without an owner, general manager, coach, or player up against the wall and reaching for a way to succeed anyway. In this meticulously researched, lively book, Bleacher Report lead NFL scout Doug Farrar traces the schematic history of the pro game through these “if this/then that” moments—paradigm shifts in the game from 1920 through the present. More than just a book about schemes and strategies, The Genius of Desperation: The Schematic Innovations that Made the Modern NFL also tells the stories of the game’s most prominent innovators, the adversities they endured, and the ways in which they learned to exceed their own expectations on the path to true greatness. Everyone from George Halas to Greasy Neale, Paul Brown to Sid Gillman, Bill Walsh to Chip Kelly is featured, as well as many more.

99 Inspiring Stories for Presentations: Instantly Improve Your Business Storytelling, Public Speaking and Conversation Skills (Presentation skills for ... short stories and motivational quotations)


Barry Powell - 2015
    Regularly priced at $4.99. Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. Are you looking for inspiring stories to use in some of your presentations or simply to help you start practicing storytelling? You’re about to discover a unique reference book that will change the impact of your future presentations forever. Barry Powell proudly presents the 99 most inspiring short stories ever heard in the business world. After extensive research, Barry Powell has discovered and collected the most popular stories that businessmen and public speakers have been using for years to engage their audiences and offer them the best storytelling experiences. Stories: The Key to a Memorable Presentation "Make Them Care" This is the greatest advice that the most successful public speakers will give you. Whether your audience is hundreds of business executives in a conference room, your marketing team being briefed by you or just a few peers around you drinking cocktails on a networking event, the key to putting your message through and making an impact is to make your audience care. Storytelling is a powerful technique that can do this. When you just dump information onto your audience, you are not really making an impact on their hearts and minds. But, when you start telling a story, a magic thing happens: They instantly give you their full attention. They start really listening to what you are saying with their hearts and minds. And this is your chance to evoke in them some kind of emotion. Delivering your message with a funny or touching story end is the key to creating emotion and making a lasting impact in their hearts and minds. What You Will Find in this Book This collection includes some of the most amazing stories ever told by famous businessmen, spiritual leaders and bestselling writers. If you are determined to improve your presentation and public speaking skills, this book is a highly recommended starting point. The stories included cover a wide range of business values to help you start practicing your storytelling skills at every opportunity. Start today! Why to Buy this Book Using stories from this collection in your presentations will help you: Deliver an outstanding presentation even to a tough audience Get your message through effectively Inspire and motivate others into taking the desired actions Start being regarded as an inspiring public speaker You will also discover that practicing storytelling frequently, not only in presentations but in your daily conversations as well, will make you popular in your business and social circles. Buy this amazing collection today! Business values covered: #1 ASSESSMENT #2 ASSUMPTION MAKING #3 ATTITUDE #4 CARING #5 CHALLENGE #6 COMMON SENSE #7 COMMUNICATION #8 CONFIDENCE #9 CREATIVE THINKING #10 CRISIS MANAGEMENT #11 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE #12 DECISION MAKING #13 DIPLOMACY #14 DIVERSITY #15 ENTREPRENEURSHIP #16 EXPERIENCE #17 GIVING CREDIT #18 GOALS #19 HABITS #20 INFORMATION #21 INITIATIVE #22 INTEGRITY #23 JUDGEMENT #24 LEADERSHIP #25 LEARNING

Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report-And Survive-The War in Iraq


Kimberly Dozier - 2008
    In Breathing the Fire Dozier offers a personal memoir of tenacity as well as dedication and drama. Through her often painful and inspiring account, readers learn what wounded military personnel-along with their families and friends-endure on the long road to recovery. Dozier also recounts her rise to network broadcasting, shares insights into the culture of war-zone reporting, and describes the unique demands and perils of women covering dangerous events. Dozier is a fighter. She fought to reach her position as a television reporter for CBS News, placing herself on the streets of Baghdad with a military patrol. And she fought to survive after a parked car erupted with deadly shrapnel, shattering her legs, riddling her skull, and killing several in her group. Her book traces the roots of her inner strength, which continues to propel her against daunting obstacles that most people would perceive as insurmountable. In that respect, this book is an inspiring story for women, demonstrating that their dreams and aspirations are limited only by their own resolve-a story that is perfect for its time.

Eye of the Viper: The Making of an F-16 Pilot


Peter Aleshire - 2004
    Luke, the world's largest fighter wing, is the only F-16 fighter training base in the United States, and each year it produces one thousand pilots who will fly the F-16 from Korea to Afghanistan to Iraq.But being among the elite pilots who are selected for the course is by no means a guarantee that they will earn the right to fly the F-16, perhaps the most agile jet fighter ever sent into combat. Only a few select individuals will have what it takes. Award-winning journalist Peter Aleshire, given unprecedented access to the pilots and teachers at Luke, provides a full blast of the rigors and intensity of the course--the personalities, the incredible machines, the irreverence, the bravado, and the toughness, not only of the hand-picked students seeking a place in the warrior subculture, but of the veteran pilots who must teach them how to stay alive. Readers will quickly come to understand the extraordinary mental and physical demands on a modern pilot--and the incredible joy and sense of freedom that makes most F-16 pilots describe their single-engine, weapons-laden, needle-nosed jet in terms that sound more like true love or helpless addiction than a relationship with a mere airplane. Eye of the Viper is a frank, ambitious, eminently entertaining look at the ambitions, fears, frailties, and courage that make or break the young pilots at the exquisitely sensitive controls of a $35-million jet.

I Told You So: Gore Vidal Talks Politics


Gore Vidal - 2012
    But Vidal was also a terrific conversationalist; indeed Dick Cavett once described him as “the best talker since Oscar Wilde.” Vidal was never more eloquent, or caustic, than when let loose on his favorite topic: the history and politics of the United States.This book is made up from four interviews conducted with his long-time interlocutor, the writer and radio host Jon Wiener, in which Vidal grapples with matters evidently close to his heart: the history of the American Empire, the rise of the National Security State, and his own life in politics, both as a commentator and candidate.The interviews cover a twenty-year span, from 1988 to 2008, when Vidal was at the height of his powers. His extraordinary facility for developing an argument, tracing connections between past and present, and drawing on an encyclopedic knowledge of America’s place in the world, are all on full display. And, of course, it being Gore Vidal, an ample sprinkling of gloriously acerbic one-liners is also provided.

The Enthusiasms of Robertson Davies


Robertson Davies - 1979
    last year, this updated collection contains the best of Robertson Davies' newspaper and magazine articles written over the past 50 years. "Each piece is entertaining and enlightening. . . ".--Publishers Weekly.

Play Ball: The Life and Troubled Times of Major League Baseball


John Feinstein - 1993
    The result: the ultimate inside look at "the show" as personified by the 1992 season and its pyrotechnic aftermath.

The Shape We're In: How Junk Food and Diets are Shortening Our Lives


Sarah Boseley - 2014
    Sarah Boseley, the Guardian's award-winning health editor, argues it's time we understood the complex reality of what makes us fat.Speaking to behavioural scientists and industry experts, yo-yo dieters and people who have gone under the knife,Boseley builds a picture of an obesogenic society - one where we're constantly bombarded by the twin evils of big budget food marketing and the diet industry.Filled with in-depth, original reporting, Boseley reveals just how widespread the problem is - 1 in 4 of us are obese - and makes the case that it is time to fundamentally change the way we live.The Shape We're In is essential reading for anyone interested in their health and the health of their children.

Legacy: Gangsters, Corruption and the London Olympics


Michael Gillard - 2019
    A team of local detectives made it their business to take him on until Scotland Yard threw them under the bus and the business of putting on 'the greatest show on earth' won the day.Award-winning journalist Michael Gillard took up where they left off to expose the tangled web of chief executives, big banks, politicians and dirty money where innocent lives are destroyed and the guilty flourish. Gillard's efforts culminated in a landmark court case, which finally put the Long Fella and his friends on trial exposing London's real Olympic legacy.