Cats in Pants
A quirky illustrated flip book featuring a myriad of mix-and-match cats. Cats in Pants is a hilarious swing through the underwear preferences of several cats with lots of personality. Uniquely hand-illustrated in a charming and textured style by Naomi Tipping, this book is guaranteed to be a hit with children and adults alike. Each page is equally divided into three parts so that the head, body, and (clothed) tail end of the cat can be swapped around with the respective parts from other pages to create a huge number of cats. Whether you're looking to buy this for a child, a cat lover, or yourself, this book provides a new and refreshing look at one of the most important questions of our time: What do cats look like in pants? The video posted by the author/illustrator showing the book concept has almost 2.5 million views and over 100,000 likes on Instagram.
Source Code: My Beginnings
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age "A surprisingly candid memoir of the Microsoft mogul's early years...Reading this book feels like watching someone take a well-known black-and-white sketch, fill in the details, and paint it in vivid color." --GeekWire Everyone is programmed a little differently, and Bill Gates' unique insight led to business triumphs that are now widely known: the twenty-year-old who dropped out of Harvard to start a software company that became an industry giant and changed the way the world works and lives; the billionaire many times over who turned his attention to philanthropic pursuits to address climate change, global health, and U.S. education. Source Code is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It's the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: his childhood, his early passions and pursuits. It's the story of his principled grandmother and ambitious parents, his first deep friendships and the sudden death of his best friend; of his struggles to fit in and his discovery of a world of coding and computers in the dawn of a new era; of embarking in his early teens on a path that took him from midnight escapades at a nearby computer center to his college dorm room, where he sparked a revolution that would change the world. Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: wise, warm, revealing, it's a fascinating portrait of an American life.
In Order to Live
"I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea." --Yeonmi Park "One of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard--and one of the most inspiring." --The BooksellerIn In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea--and to freedom. Park confronts her past with a startling resilience. In spite of everything, she has never stopped being proud of where she is from, and never stopped striving for a better life. Indeed, today she is a human rights activist working determinedly to bring attention to the oppression taking place in her home country. Park's testimony is heartbreaking and unimaginable, but never without hope. This is the human spirit at its most indomitable.
Life, an Extraordinary Journey
What if every twist and turn of life's journey was captured in poetry? In a world of ordinary days, a child did play, Through ups and downs, the Lancashire lad found his way. Becoming a soldier, brave and true, Facing battles and peacekeeping too. Shoulder to shoulder with his loyal wife, he found his home, Together they built a life and were no longer alone. Children brought joy, laughter, and light, Their family strong, through day and night. Escorting Royalty was a privileged achievement, Running marathons and his hobby of art were fulfilment. His ambition was achieved, but still cost tears, Retiring from the army after 27 challenging years. From an ordinary beginning, extraordinary he became, A story of resilience, love, sacrifice and pain. Through life's journey, he shone bright, An ordinary child, now a beacon of light. This autobiography is about me, your author, Neal Alexander.
Waking Up in Africa
"TODAY WAS THE MOST WONDERFUL DAY OF MY LIFE," HE SAYS. "TODAY, MY LIFE STOPPED BEING HARD." THAT'S IT. I HANG UP AND CRY. When Gila Svirsky moves to Uganda to follow her wife's new job, she is drawn into the lives of a group of mostly parentless teens-hungry to stay in school, desperate to carve out a future. As her plan to provide them with support takes shape, they slowly become her extended family, opening their hearts and lives to her. But she carries a dangerous secret: she is married to the woman posing as her sister. In Uganda, being gay is a felony, and even knowing but failing to report a gay person carries a harsh prison sentence. From the front lines of peace activism in Israel to the uncertain paths of Uganda's rural teenagers, this is a memoir of reinvention by PEN Prize winner Gila Svirsky. It's a story of seeking purpose in unfamiliar places, of risking the consequences of discovery, and of the unexpected ways resilience, trust, and quiet determination reshape all their lives. "Svirsky's story is a testament to the grace of lives lived with commitment, empathy, and purpose. Thanks to her engaging literary voice and endearing humor, this inspiring memoir comes to vibrant life on the page." - Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author and founding editor of Ms. Magazine "This brilliant memoir is a tribute to what is possible, to the idea that all of us-regardless of faith, race, nationality, gender, economics, or sexual orientation-can participate in the much-needed work of making this a better world." - Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President and past president of the American Jewish World Service "This is an engaging and powerful memoir-a travelogue equal parts hilarious and inspiring. It is the account of a woman who, while changing the lives of a group of Ugandan teenagers, transforms her own. A testament to the power of quiet activism and enduring connection." - Jessie Montell, former Executive Director, Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, and recipient of France's National Order of Merit.
Law, Labour, and a Canadian Life in Public Service
In the realm of labour rights and public service, there are rare individuals who stand out as beacons of justice and positive change. Tim Armstrong is one such exceptional figure...-Radiation Safety Institute of CanadaFrom his quiet beginnings playing road hockey in Toronto to the halls of power in Ontario government and the banks and boardrooms of the Asia-Pacific region, he has lived an extraordinary life. In Law, Labour, and a Canadian Life in Public Service, he chronicles his upbringing in Toronto in the 1940s and '50s, his summers caddying across Canada, and his formative years at UTS, Victoria College, and Osgoode Hall Law School. Offering a who's who of Canadian politics, he describes his legal practice and tenure as Deputy Minister of Labour during Ontario's turbulent '70s and '80s, his subsequent appointment as Ontario's Agent General to the Asia-Pacific region, and his later period as Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Technology. The book finishes with commentaries on selections of his published pieces from the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the Hamilton Spectator on issues that continue to impact Ontario and Canada today.Filled with case studies, personal anecdotes, and fascinating details of closed-door negotiations, this book sheds light on an important part of Ontario /Canadian history and its promise for the future.
Thomas Lincoln
Hundreds of books have been written (and are still being written) about Abraham Lincoln. But in the annals of Lincoln history, Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's father, is a largely neglected figure. He rates a few paragraphs in an otherwise large biography and has served as a quick backdrop to the birth and childhood of our sixteenth president.Early Lincoln biography did not consider Thomas worthy of much mention. William Herndon set the pattern for how Thomas has been viewed historically. Thomas was seen as "roving and shiftless", lazy beyond repair. Thomas was said to be uneducated and against education. He was portrayed as mentally and physically slow, "careless, inert, and dull". He was the obstacle Abraham overcame to become great.That view of Thomas Lincoln is wrong. Thomas was not dull or inert or lazy. He lived in a different path from that chosen by his illustrious son but he was not an obstacle his son had to overcome.Because of this view, many will consider this volume to be revisionist history. In a sense, it is. It will revise the standard view of Thomas based on the historical record available and place him as he was in the events and time in which he lived. However, it is not revisionist in the negative sense that wording often suggests. It is not built from twisting events or rewriting timeframes to make history into something it was not. Thomas Lincoln: Abraham's Father will correct the old and errant understanding of Thomas Lincoln and show him the man he truly was. It will not enlarge him into something he was not nor will it lower him to be what many have thought him.Lincoln history has a gap in not having the story of Thomas Lincoln readily available. Hopefully this volume will open the doors to taking a new and serious look at the father who raised and shaped Abraham Lincoln's early life.
The Blue Hour Gospel
The Blue Hour Gospel is a powerful and poetic exploration of queer identity, desire, shame, love, and self-discovery. Through intimate reflections on childhood, family, longing, and mortality, it captures what it means to grow up without the words for who you are and the courage it takes to claim yourself anyway. Honest, lyrical, and deeply affecting, this is a story for anyone who has ever lived between silence and truth.
To Redeem History
How did orthodox Jews during the Holocaust give meaning to their tragic fate and continue to believe in God? "Why? What was our sin that the punishment is so severe? We debated this question more than once in Belsen. Philosophizing Jews attempted to delve deeply into the truth and grasp the course of events. All the debates ended with an ancient conclusion: God's ways in running the world are inestimably beyond anything a mortal can understand." Ephraim Londner, postwar.The harrowing events of the Holocaust were a stark confrontation between Nazi perpetrators and their Jewish victims. As the catastrophe unfolded, thinkers from different streams of Orthodox Judaism grappled with its meaning, offering profound theological interpretations to unimaginable suffering.To Redeem History gives voice to these Orthodox rabbinic authorities, tracing how they responded as events progressed. How did Orthodox thinkers react to the unprecedented persecution witnessed before the war? Did their views shift as conditions worsened? And how did they interpret the Holocaust in its painful aftermath? Drawing from each Orthodox stream's distinct beliefs and traditions, their interpretations were shaped by key recurring themes: the ancient enemy Amalek, ideas of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, hopes of redemption, and the roles of silence, blame, and divine judgment.Opening a window into the spiritual world of the past, To Redeem History reveals the depth and resilience of faith that sustained Orthodox Jews during this dark chapter. In doing so, it not only preserves and commemorates these powerful religious responses but also offers the possibility of reawakening this spiritual legacy for generations to come.
Musings of a Meanderer
The book is autobiographical. It covers three generations spanning over three continents. It traces the story from my grandparents to my parents and to my life. I am Danish but was born in Taiwan by missionary parents, grew up in Denmark, and lived most of my life in the US. It is a story of a controlling religious upbringing, its impact on my sisters (4) and I and in my case emancipation from that control. It is a story about my love of the sea and working on and with ships. Ultimately it is about finding my voice - a voice denied by the strictures of my father's religious zeal.It is written to the best of my recollection. Photos are included to make the story more real. The story is not chronological. It meanders through time, across continents, and oceans. Lykke, my middle name, means happiness, luck, good fortune. My maternal grandmother was Karen Marie Elisabeth Iversen. Part of her genealogy goes back to 1450 to Laurenz Lykkesen who was married to Bodil Boes Daater from Sweden. My grandmother's nephew, Paul Evald Iversen, put together the genealogy. For 34 generations the family name was Lykkesen. It was not until 1831 that it was changed to Iversen. I think my grandmother named one of her sons middle name Lykke. Uncle Niels Lykke J繪rgensen. My mother chose to keep the name going, naming me John Lykke. It is to honor that generational pedigree that I chose to write under that name,
On The Front Lines of America's Foreign Assistance
During the height of the Cold War, American foreign assistance became a central instrument of diplomacy, development, and geopolitical strategy. In On the Front Lines of America's Foreign Assistance, Theodore "Ted" Carter offers a firsthand account of life inside the U.S. Agency for International Development during some of the most consequential decades of the twentieth century. Beginning in 1965 as a young attorney in AID's Office of the General Counsel, Carter served for thirty years as a Regional Legal Advisor in assignments spanning South Korea, Egypt, Pakistan, the Caribbean, Africa, and beyond. His career unfolded against the backdrop of superpower rivalry, decolonization, and the global struggle between competing political systems. Part professional history and part personal narrative, this memoir chronicles the challenges of implementing economic development programs in diverse political and cultural environments. From negotiations with foreign ministries to life with family abroad, Carter provides a candid look at the realities of diplomacy, law, and development during the Cold War era. More than a career retrospective, this is a window into the mechanics of American foreign assistance at a pivotal moment in world history.
Finding More Words in Jane Austen
So, you don't know anything about Jane Austen? Well, here is a fun way to discover a little about her and her world. There are a number of information pages about Austen's life and the world in which she lived. Each information page is followed by ten appropriate sentences with a word hidden in each sentence. To help, there is a list of sixteen words and a different word can be found cunningly hidden in each of the sentences. The text is an easy read for newcomers and has some thought-provoking ideas for the more knowledgeable.
Without A Compass
Born into hardship and loss, a young man struggles to escape the grip of Cincinnati's West End after his mother's death leaves him vulnerable to abuse, poverty, and the pull of prison. With no clear path forward, survival becomes his first lesson.Shaped by the social upheavals of his generation, he endures setbacks that test his resolve and redefine his purpose. In a neighborhood where ambition can isolate, and education can feel like betrayal, earning a college degree becomes both an achievement and a battle.Without A Compass is a powerful memoir of resilience, redemption, and the courage to rise beyond the street that raised you.
Can't Stomach It
Navigating the turbulence of adolescence is challenging for anyone-but for Kayleigh-Ann, it quickly becomes a battle for survival. When medical symptoms strike, her world as she knows it crumbles. What should be a time of self-discovery and joy turns into a relentless fight against an unyielding system, an undiagnosed illness, and the betrayal of her own body. In Can't Stomach It, Kayleigh-Ann takes you on a raw and transformative journey-a fight for answers, for justice, and for herself. Thrust into an unforgiving adult world far too soon, she confronts trauma, loss, family breakdowns, mental health struggles, and abuse of power-all while trying to navigate the everyday chaos of teenage life: friendships, school, love, and the daunting uncertainty of the future. This is more than just a story. It's a powerful testament to human resilience, a striking portrait of strength in the face of adversity, and an unfiltered glimpse into the realities of living with a complex condition. Join Kayleigh-Ann's fight for survival and diagnosis. Witness her courage, vulnerability, and unwavering determination to reclaim her life and health.
Stories of the Sky
Stories of the Sky... is a collection of personal stories from pilot Ada. Written with humor, sarcasm, and heartfelt honesty, her tales guide readers through the many facets of flying-from first flights and new aircraft types to dangerous situations, extreme weather, health, aging, loss, lockdown, friendships, and love. The book offers a genuine look into life as a private flying club member. Ada's stories stick with you. They're not just about flying; they're about trusting yourself, pushing past fear, and finding clarity when everything feels shaky. Her wisdom from the cockpit has a funny way of making sense on the ground, too. If you've ever looked up and wondered what it's really like up there, especially as a woman, Ada's writing doesn't just tell you; she takes you with her. It feels less like reading a book and more like listening to a friend who's been where you dream of going.
From Shackles to Freedom
From Shackles to Freedom is a powerful and deeply personal memoir about faith, healing, and rediscovering a relationship with God beyond fear.In this honest and courageous story, Maritza Perez shares her journey through spiritual struggle, doubt, and transformation. What once felt like chains of fear and religious pressure became the very path that led her to freedom, truth, and grace.Through vulnerability and reflection, Maritza invites readers to explore what it means to rebuild faith after questioning, to find healing after spiritual wounds, and to discover the freedom that comes from a genuine connection with God.This book is for anyone who has ever wrestled with their beliefs, felt trapped by shame or expectations, or longed to experience faith in a deeper and more authentic way.From Shackles to Freedom is a reminder that even in the moments when everything feels like it is falling apart, God may be rebuilding something stronger within you.
Law, Labour, and a Canadian Life in Public Service
In the realm of labour rights and public service, there are rare individuals who stand out as beacons of justice and positive change. Tim Armstrong is one such exceptional figure...-Radiation Safety Institute of CanadaFrom his quiet beginnings playing road hockey in Toronto to the halls of power in Ontario government and the banks and boardrooms of the Asia-Pacific region, he has lived an extraordinary life. In Law, Labour, and a Canadian Life in Public Service, he chronicles his upbringing in Toronto in the 1940s and '50s, his summers caddying across Canada, and his formative years at UTS, Victoria College, and Osgoode Hall Law School. Offering a who's who of Canadian politics, he describes his legal practice and tenure as Deputy Minister of Labour during Ontario's turbulent '70s and '80s, his subsequent appointment as Ontario's Agent General to the Asia-Pacific region, and his later period as Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade, and Technology. The book finishes with commentaries on selections of his published pieces from the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the Hamilton Spectator on issues that continue to impact Ontario and Canada today.Filled with case studies, personal anecdotes, and fascinating details of closed-door negotiations, this book sheds light on an important part of Ontario /Canadian history and its promise for the future.
The Healer's Cure
"Recovering from a suicide attempt and escaping the darkness that can debilitate anyone is a reminder that nothing in this life is ever assured. Professional success and personal contentment were not enough to save me in the fall of 2015, when mental illness had me firmly in its grip." Browne's recovery from fear of exposure prompted by the Ashley Madison data breach has unfolded in Bermuda and coincides with the reinvention of his career as an educator and the love of a wife who understands the possibility of redemption. Teaching history online overseas has led Browne to identify parallels between his own recovery and the need for a similar rescue of democracy in his home country during a time he describes as the Trump Enfeeblement. With the mind of a teacher and the eye of an erstwhile historian, Browne provides a recipe for surviving a time when overcoming a collapse requires an honest assessment of what has prompted the fall, true for his country and himself.
Determined, Not Deterred
Determined, Not Deterred is a candid, practical memoir about leadership under pressure and the quiet decisions that shape a career. Joel Madtha pulls back the curtain on setbacks, reinvention, and the small choices that build resilience. This is not a how-to manual. It is a companion for leaders and professionals who need real-world lessons, honest reflection, and the steady conviction to keep moving forward. Rooted in lived experience, the book offers relatable stories and pragmatic insights for anyone rebuilding after failure or leading through uncertainty.
From Shackles to Freedom
From Shackles to Freedom is a powerful and deeply personal memoir about faith, healing, and rediscovering a relationship with God beyond fear.In this honest and courageous story, Maritza Perez shares her journey through spiritual struggle, doubt, and transformation. What once felt like chains of fear and religious pressure became the very path that led her to freedom, truth, and grace.Through vulnerability and reflection, Maritza invites readers to explore what it means to rebuild faith after questioning, to find healing after spiritual wounds, and to discover the freedom that comes from a genuine connection with God.This book is for anyone who has ever wrestled with their beliefs, felt trapped by shame or expectations, or longed to experience faith in a deeper and more authentic way.From Shackles to Freedom is a reminder that even in the moments when everything feels like it is falling apart, God may be rebuilding something stronger within you.
Infantrymen
Infantrymen is a book the reader won't want to put down as they accompany the author on a journey through the lives of four young Sheffield brothers: three lives that terminated on the battlefields of France and Flanders and for one, the War Hospital in Bradford. With an all-embracing level of detail, Mick Drewry has created a moving picture of a turn-of-the-century working-class family that had moved from the idyllic Lincolnshire countryside to the dark and dismal east end of Sheffield, capturing the personal stories of four young men's transition from infants to infantrymen. Whilst this is a must-read for anyone of Pridmore pedigree, this is a riveting book that those interested in local history, social history, military history, or genealogy will find fascinating. It grips the readers' emotions like no work of fiction could do because it is a real story-a story of love, of fear, of courage, of great personal loss and of grief. Infantrymen is an intensely moving piece of biography meticulously researched and skilfully written by a great-grandson of one of the Pridmore brothers; lest we forget!
Koba the Dread
A blistering blend of history and political reckoning, Koba the Dread is Martin Amis's searing indictment of Stalinist terror and the Western intellectuals who turned a blind eye. A deft and deeply felt combination of history, memoir, and political criticism, Koba the Dread is Martin Amis's razor-sharp investigation into the legacy of Joseph Stalin. Drawing from conversations with his father, Kingsley, a onetime Comintern acolyte, and family friend Robert Conquest, the distinguished Sovietologist who helped strip away the USSR's facade, Amis blends irony and sorrow with characteristic precision. In the face of Stalin's infamous aphorism--that the death of one is a tragedy, while the death of millions is a mere statistic--Amis offers a scathing rebuttal. Koba the Dread is not just an exploration of Soviet terror; it is an intensely personal counterpoint to the moral apathy that allowed such horrors to flourish.
The Last Century Boy
The Last Century Boy has over 14 chapters to choose from. Some are off the wall, with laughter, sadness and thrillers & fun-packed stories for everyone. Most of these stories are true and there are some tall tales in there as well, adding a little humour. Seven years ago, the author became unwell and was unable to function for a considerable amount of time. There's only so much TV and Facebook you can watch. During this time he started to write poems and short stories, including this publication, as his concentration was severely hampered. This is a book about growing up in rural Ireland, the educational system (or lack thereof), the Catholic Church and its grip on society. It is also a social and cultural history of the 60s & 70s in Ireland. It is also a book that informs the readers through life as someone that suffers from ADHD and dyslexia.
Life Poetry of an Adopted Baby
Benita Rainer was adopted as a newborn baby. She became a teacher and is a musician, poet, and writer. Despite having wonderful adoptive parents, the effects of not knowing who she was in terms of her natural and genetic heritage had profound lifelong effects on her. At the age of 23, and at a time when no help was readily available, she found her natural mother and was accepted by this family. She is still seeking knowledge about her natural father. In this volume, she openly expresses the soul angst and fears of abandonment so common in the psyche of the adopted person and reveals some degree of resolution. She hopes that this book, so illustrative of the long and difficult path of the adopted person, may be of help to others in the adoption triangle of adoptee, natural, and adoptive families.
Forged in the Mountains
Forged in the Mountains: A Family's ResilienceBy Wilma Gibson Goins Smith"Faith, family, and love are the only riches worth having."In the rugged coal-mining country of Appalachia, Wilma Gibson Goins Smith grew up as the youngest of ten children. Life was defined by hard work and hand-me-downs, but within their small mountain home, the Gibson family possessed a wealth that money couldn't buy.In this moving memoir, Wilma shares the story of her parents, a coal miner with stained hands and a mother with an iron will, who forged ten children in the mountains with nothing but faith and devotion. From the rhythmic sounds of Saturday night jam sessions to the quiet strength needed to overcome grief, Forged in the Mountains is a powerful testament to the roots that ground us and the resilience that carries us forward.Inside this book, you'll find: A Journey of Resilience: How a young girl from a coal-mining family overcame obstacles to become a teacher and a musician.The Power of Roots: A vivid look at Appalachian life, where struggle was met with song and prayer.Timeless Wisdom: Lessons on the dignity of honest work and the belief that where you start doesn't determine where you go.A heartwarming tribute to the legacy of our ancestors and the strength found in the hills.
Answering the Hard Questions
Your answer to a single question can change your life. Do I want to die? For Devin Fish, this was the question that planted a seed, one that would sprout, grow, and drive transformation. While the question may vary, the role it serves is universal: to create change, inspire growth, and uncover purpose. In Answering the Hard Questions, Devin shares his journey in breaking down and rebuilding, using honesty as the foundation for transformation. This is Devin's story and an invitation to explore the beliefs that drive you. Through more than seventy questions, you'll learn to face failure, confront doubt, own your mindset, discover opportunity, and determine how to build your own unique path forward. This is your chance to find clarity, consistency, and self-love. For anyone at a crossroads, Answering the Hard Questions is more than a traditional self-help book--it's an examination of life's rawest, most vulnerable moments.
Kuen
A piano scholarship transports sixteen-year-old Kuen from her home in Hong Kong to the Royal Academy of Music in London. Seven years later, the shy student marries a Malaysian-born Chinese man, and the couple returns to Asia.The lustre of Kuen's marriage fades quickly. Her husband's escalating abuse leads to her frantic escape from Kuala Lumpur to Canada. She and her two terrified children arrive in a new land with no plans whatsoever. She figures out how to remain in Toronto, seeks healing in three seminaries, and reinvents herself.The external circumstances of Kuen's life are exotic and fascinating, yet her interior landscape is accessible and familiar. Her story-a powerful intertwining of music, marriage, and faith-is about resilience and finding healthy ways of living with the scars from one's past.
Spotlight on a region
This collection of 40 articles provides critical analysis of the society, history and culture of the Nordic region in an international context. The book includes research-based overviews of topics such as humanitarianism, S獺mi literature, colonialism, childcare provision, crime fiction and populism - as well as more detailed articles on specific subjects or events, like the dancing ban in Finland during the Second World War, food delivery workers in twenty-first century Denmark or the historical development of the ?resund bridge. The articles were originally published on the research dissemination platform nordics.info between 2019 and 2025. The 46 authors are at different stages of their academic careers, based in a range of countries and come from across the social sciences and humanities. The book is written for a non-academic audience without specialist knowledge of the Nordic countries, but researchers, students and experts may also find it useful. The book can be read cover to cover or perused intermittently.
The Diary of Emma LeConte
Seventeen-year-old Emma LeConte, traversing the streets of Columbia, South Carolina, could scarcely have imagined that her daily path past Mary Chesnut's cottage would later connect her to another chronicler of history. While Chesnut was composing her renowned Civil War diary, Emma herself was meticulously documenting the tumultuous events unfolding around her in February 1865. In stark contrast to Chesnut, who fled the city as General Sherman's cannons reverberated through Columbia, Emma remained, providing a rare and invaluable eyewitness narrative of the city's invasion, sack, and burning by Federal forces. Her diary's immediacy and emotional clarity render a vivid tableau of devastation and human suffering, capturing, with remarkable intensity, an era defined by destruction and loss.This inaugural, fully annotated edition of Emma LeConte's diary presents her unaltered words, accompanied by illustrations that illuminate the locations and occurrences she so eloquently described. The scholarly apparatus affirms her remarkable precision as an observer and recorder of historical events. Beyond its documentary value, the diary offers profound insight into Emma's intellectual acumen and illuminates both her family's experiences and the rich prewar society of Columbia-a city her father, the distinguished scientist Joseph LeConte, esteemed as "the most pleasant and cultivated I have ever known," even when compared to such notable locales as Harvard (Cambridge, MA), Philadelphia, PA, Berkeley, CA, and Athens, GA.Emma LeConte's diary stands as a compelling, deeply moving primary source that illuminates one of the most harrowing chapters in South Carolina's history. It serves as a poignant testament to the irreplaceable cultural heritage-both material and intangible-lost during this period. Scholars, students, and history enthusiasts alike are encouraged to engage with this exceptional work, which not only enriches our understanding of the past but also inspires reflection on the resilience of the human spirit. Do not miss the opportunity to explore this significant and evocative contribution to the literature of the war.
Emancipated Blooms
In this heart-wrenchingly sincere and unvarnished memoir, Amara Shores recounts a story of breaking cycles, healing generational trauma, and finding freedom after years of silence. Born into a family still reeling from the generational impact of residential schools, Shores recounts her darkest moments: neglected, abused, left alone to care for herself and her children, and failed utterly by child protection services, by the courts, and by the mental health services that were supposed to be there for her. But no fall would be her last; Shores traces her recovery from addiction, her journey to self-love, and her refusal to continue the cycle of generational trauma and colonial violence with her own children.A real, gritty, but inspiring story of personal growth, resilience, and hope in the face of overwhelming grief and pain. Whether you've been in her shoes or hope to better-understand those who have, this story offers honesty, empathy, and the very real possibility of becoming something new.
Philistine
As one of the Specialist Pathfinders of 44 Parachute Brigade during cross-border operations into Angola in the early 1980s, they operated ahead of main forces, conducted reconnaissance, target marking, demolitions, and covert insertion tasks during the Border War. Missions included helicopter deployments, long-range patrols, infrastructure sabotage, and contact with FAPLA and SWAPO elements inside Angola within the structure of the South African Defence Force.The author assumes familiarity with the tools and trade of soldiering and records operations as experiencedA lived record of the Angolan Bush War as part of the South African Border War, presented with historical precision and the dark humour of airborne troops but not with political reframing or retrospective moralising. Executed precisely and restrained in explanation. For readers of military memoirs, airborne forces history, special operations, African war history, and studies of the 44 Parachute Brigade and its Pathfinders.Volume 1 establishes the foundation for subsequent volumes covering additional theatres of War
Emancipated Blooms
In this heart-wrenchingly sincere and unvarnished memoir, Amara Shores recounts a story of breaking cycles, healing generational trauma, and finding freedom after years of silence. Born into a family still reeling from the generational impact of residential schools, Shores recounts her darkest moments: neglected, abused, left alone to care for herself and her children, and failed utterly by child protection services, by the courts, and by the mental health services that were supposed to be there for her. But no fall would be her last; Shores traces her recovery from addiction, her journey to self-love, and her refusal to continue the cycle of generational trauma and colonial violence with her own children.A real, gritty, but inspiring story of personal growth, resilience, and hope in the face of overwhelming grief and pain. Whether you've been in her shoes or hope to better-understand those who have, this story offers honesty, empathy, and the very real possibility of becoming something new.
Dawn of an Empire
Before Jamestown.Before Plymouth.There was St. Augustine.In 1565-fifty-five years before the Pilgrims set foot at Plymouth Rock-Spanish ships slipped along the Florida coast and anchored in a shallow inlet guarded by marsh and sand. What they built there would become the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in the continental United States. Yet its story has been pushed to the margins of the American narrative.Dawn of an Empire restores St. Augustine to its rightful place at the center of the nation's origins.Here is the clash of empires-Spain, France, and England-fighting not only for land, but for souls, treasure routes, and control of the Gulf and Atlantic sea lanes. Here are the Timucua and Calusa peoples, whose alliances and resistance shaped the fate of the colony as surely as any royal decree. Here are missionaries and soldiers, enslaved Africans who found freedom under the Spanish flag, pirates on the horizon, and hurricanes that nearly erased the fragile settlement from the map.Far from a footnote, Spanish Florida was a proving ground. It forged the first multicultural frontier in what would become the United States. It established the first parish, the first fortifications, the first legally sanctioned free Black community in North America. It endured siege, starvation, rebellion, and revolution-yet survived.This is not simply the story of a city.It is the story of an empire's northern edge-and the forgotten beginning of America itself.
The Korets Book; In Memory Of Our Community That Is No More (Korets, Ukraine)
The Korets Yizkor Book tells the 500-year history of Korets, including the early history of the town, the famous Rabbi Pinchas, and the Jewish publishing houses. It includes the survivors' memories of the way of life, the geography, and the history. Education and art were important, including the Hebrew schools (Tarbut) and library, the Heder and Yeshiva, the Yiddish School, the College of Jerusalem, as well as the Yiddish Drama Lovers Circle. The town's many rabbis, poets, scholars and doctors were portrayed as important, colorful personalities. Zionist and youth movements were also part of the vibrant pre-war society. Finally, economic life and livelihoods were detailed with all of their complexities, given the fragility of this historic border town.The book also details the outbreak of World War II, including the Soviet invasion and retreat, the Nazi invasion, the Korets ghetto, the destruction of Korets, and the two massive killings, resulting in the murder of 90% of the town's Jewish community. The book contains chapters written by members of the Korets partisans who fought against the Nazis, including Moshe Gildenman, who took the fight to the end in Berlin. Final chapters describe the survivors' memories of the destruction and ruins of Korets, the remains of the old Jewish cemetery, and the return of the Koretser Jews who had been deported to Chelyabinsk, Siberia at the start of the war. The book concludes with a Yizkor section, containing the names of all the Jews of Korets who were murdered. A final note includes a list of Koretsers who fell fighting in Israel's war of independence.
Get on Board!
What happened to the dancers who lit up the stage on the iconic show Soul Train?Get On Board! takes you behind the scenes and beyond the spotlight, tracing the lives of the original dancers who helped define a generation of music and movement. From Patricia Davis to Don "Campbellock" Campbell, Shabba-Doo Quinones, Sharon Hill, and Tyrone "The Bone" Proctor, this book offers intimate interviews that reveal what it was like to groove on national television-and where life took them afterward.Follow their journeys as they collaborate with legends like The Jackson 5, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Diana Ross. Discover the roots of dance styles still seen worldwide today.Brimming with heart, humor, and history, Get On Board! is a celebration of resilience, creativity, and the power of soul. So take your seat. This unforgettable ride through music, memory, and movement is about to begin.Love, peace, and soul await.
Fessenden! Looking Back on a Small-Town North Dakota Life
This book presents a few stories from the author's life in Fessenden, North Dakota, up until she left the community after graduating from high school and moving to California. Sometimes, we can't wait to leave a place, thinking somewhere else will be better, greater, or more exciting. Yet hometowns often take unexpected twists. One day, we may look back fondly and appreciate those twists. For Carol, Fessenden was one of those places.
Between Two Breaths
Between Two Breaths tells the story of what happens when Central California resident Thom Miller takes a whitewater rafting trip with five of his sons and his younger brother, and discovers that being fit and strong can't always save you from the unexpected. Not long after the Miller gang meets up with a rafting excursion company in the mountains northeast of Fresno, Thom, a Christian husband and father, is excited to get about their first day of rafting on the Kings River. It is exhilarating and beautiful. But the following day, the rapids are different. And what starts as a fun family vacation turns into a harrowing and dangerous adventure that takes more twists and turns than the river itself. The water level is down due to lower temperatures, resulting in significantly less snowmelt. Thom doesn't notice much of a difference until they reach a spot called "Bonzai Canyon," where there is a rooster tail-like rock in the middle. Their raft hangs up on the rock and flips over from front to back. The men who land on the left side of the river get to shore. Thom lands on the right, where there is a "keeper," an area where the water moves up and down, like a plunger, pulling Thom down and then pushing him up. He fights it, but ultimately sucks water deep into his lungs and drowns. For twenty-two minutes, he is dead. Later, Thom remembers where he was during those long minutes-in heaven, where he sees his deceased niece who hugs him and tells him it's not his time and he must go back. Immediately, he's in his body, then taken to the hospital, where it's up and down until he finally recovers. In this true story, the author creatively weaves in flashbacks to other times when the daring risk-taker could have easily lost his life. However, the fact that he lives today suggests there is something more. In the final few chapters, Thom reveals the source of his extraordinary life and how uniquely he discovered it. Buckle in for the heart-pounding, heart-warming ride.
Music
Every concerned citizen will enjoy and be very encouraged by the good and accurate historical records of the United States of America. Lies have infiltrated so vastly and so deeply into the society that even the educational institutions have become deceived and warped, so that the students are then receiving passed-down versions that are, as said, lies. Some folk are deceived innocently, some willingly; some know and want it. Many folk are so busy with all the cares of life that they passively accept it. A false peace has set in, and yet it is not peace as we are so dearly observing. Values of the heart need care, as to whether they are right values, and those values are then displayed by posts of the government. Every citizen needs to know what the true historical experience and record is, what government structure was established in the USA, what it is all about, and how it really is operates. Because we are all interested in the spiritual activity of life, then we will be so inspired therein. This is a very different and correct account of the real USA Government, its history, and its establishment. With a kind and considerate affection for righteousness, truth, Christ, and divine love, we have performed the duty and work to help all citizens of the United States of America and the world. I have served, quantitatively and qualitatively, the Lord for much time, and received education proper, realizing a deep serious need for our Rights to be according to God and not idolatrous. Having lived much in the USA, the presence of evil has developed to steal or dismay the foundation of the USA Nation.
21 Days in Juba
In July 2016, Juba taught a hard lesson about how quickly ordinary life can disappear. On South Sudan's Independence Day, gunfire erupted, and for twenty-one days the capital became a place where sleep was shallow, food was counted, and every sound carried meaning. Inside a compound under siege, a doctor and her two trusted staff had only one reliable strategy: stay steady, stay together, and keep choosing hope.21 Days in Juba: A Doctor's Story of Loyalty, War, and Stubborn Hope is a true-to-life memoir inspired by the author's experience as a humanitarian doctor. After surviving being shot in Afghanistan, she arrived in South Sudan believing the danger would be less. Instead, she entered a crisis that tested not only endurance, but moral clarity on how to lead, how to protect others, and how to keep serving when fear is everywhere.While many organizations suspended operations, her team continued working by training health workers, supporting hospitals, and refusing to abandon the people who still needed care. In Juba, two staff stayed behind to shield her, hiding her from armed men as the city collapsed around them. At night, they shared cups of hot water beneath a sky full of stars, held by loyalty, memory, and the stubborn decision to last one more day.
F*ck Cancer
When life threatens to collapse, you can still choose your comeback. For most of my life, I've dealt in chaos. I was a retail turnaround specialist, and I knew how to bring order to the mayhem and fix anything that was broken. Except, as it turned out, my own sense of invincibility.For years, I lived with the quiet knowledge that cancer ran in my family like an inherited storm-my sister, my mother, and my grandmother were taken by the disease. I spent a decade fortifying my body and hoping against all odds that I wouldn't have to battle the tempest. But at fifty-one, when the diagnosis finally came, it still felt like the ground had dropped out from under me.This book tells the story of what happened when the fixer had to face the one thing she couldn't outwork.It traces the years when my titles-CEO, President, Chief Merchandising Officer-were the center of my identity. It follows the woman who tried to schedule chemotherapy between client calls, who held onto a project even while on medical leave, and who believed I could strategize my way through cancer the way I had strategized through boardrooms.It's also the story of what swept in as the sliding door opened: survivor's guilt that stole my breath, joy tangled with grief, and denial intertwined with fierce determination. The moments of truth seen in dressing room mirrors and spreadsheets of data. The day HR told me to choose between work and recovery. The playbook for healing I built with a binder, dividers, and colored tabs. The instinct that whispered: You already know how to lead. Now lead yourself.Part memoir and part playbook, each chapter pairs a story with the strategies, questions, and mindset shifts that helped me navigate the hardest project of my life. It explores how to advocate for your body, trust your intuition, release an identity that no longer serves you, all so that you can discover the life waiting on the other side of fear.This is not a story about cancer. It's a story about choosing to live-fully, presently, relentlessly.If you've ever faced a diagnosis or an illness that rearranged your world, this book is your permission to take control and command your comeback.
Answering the Hard Questions
Your answer to a single question can change your life. Do I want to die? For Devin Fish, this was the question that planted a seed, one that would sprout, grow, and drive transformation. While the question may vary, the role it serves is universal: to create change, inspire growth, and uncover purpose. In Answering the Hard Questions, Devin shares his journey in breaking down and rebuilding, using honesty as the foundation for transformation. This is Devin's story and an invitation to explore the beliefs that drive you. Through more than seventy questions, you'll learn to face failure, confront doubt, own your mindset, discover opportunity, and determine how to build your own unique path forward. This is your chance to find clarity, consistency, and self-love. For anyone at a crossroads, Answering the Hard Questions is more than a traditional self-help book--it's an examination of life's rawest, most vulnerable moments.
1 in 6 My Journey Through Infertility
This book is a testimony of what life with endometriosis, infertility diagnosis, IVF procedures and miscarriages looks like. It is emotional statement of the biggest heartbreak couples can endure, when the dreams get crushed, love gets through the most painful tests and all you wish you have, is people who understand what you are going through.This book is about the battle with the enemy that looks back at you from the mirror, the one you can't escape and hide from. The fight you wish you never endured and one you never wanted. The pain that comes with losing faith and keeping strong despite one bad news after another. For your children, for your love and for your sanity. How cruel the world around can be where hardly anyone understands what you are going through. The support and the luck of it in moments when you feel there is no hope left but giving up is not an option. The pain of endometriosis and life on hormonal spiral, while your own body betrays you and you can't do anything to fight back and stand still.This book will make you cry and be angry, but you will come to understand the twists and turns of this tragic and emotional journey. A journey so many women have to face every day.
Kuen
A piano scholarship transports sixteen-year-old Kuen from her home in Hong Kong to the Royal Academy of Music in London. Seven years later, the shy student marries a Malaysian-born Chinese man, and the couple returns to Asia.The lustre of Kuen's marriage fades quickly. Her husband's escalating abuse leads to her frantic escape from Kuala Lumpur to Canada. She and her two terrified children arrive in a new land with no plans whatsoever. She figures out how to remain in Toronto, seeks healing in three seminaries, and reinvents herself.The external circumstances of Kuen's life are exotic and fascinating, yet her interior landscape is accessible and familiar. Her story-a powerful intertwining of music, marriage, and faith-is about resilience and finding healthy ways of living with the scars from one's past.
The Quiet After the Storm
After a one-month deployment in Syria in September 2010, Dr. Amara Lumen returns home carrying something she cannot outwork: the echoes of fear, a body that still listens for danger, and nights that refuse to fully rest.When she is diagnosed with PTSD, Amara enters a rehabilitation program for three months: learning, slowly and painfully, that healing is not weakness, and rest is not surrender. Discharged on New Year's Day 2011, she rebuilds herself through small, quiet acts of courage...until, at the end of January, she is cleared to deploy again.Her next assignment takes her to Timor-Leste, a country rebuilding its own life after storms of history. There, in clinics that run on improvisation and steady teamwork, she discovers that recovery is not about "beating" trauma. It is about carrying it more wisely with boundaries, honesty, compassion, and the courage to rest.The Quiet After the Storm is a memoir of post-traumatic stress, resilience, and the unseen work of becoming whole again. It is also a tribute to the people who hold communities together: nurses guarding the cold chain like a promise, mothers walking long distances for a few minutes of care, colleagues teaching language with laughter, and leaders who understand that dignity is part of medicine.Written under a pseudonym, some names, locations, and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy and safety.
Empire
Explore the Roman Empire!Did you know that the Roman Empire, at its greatest extent, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to ancient Babylon in the east, and from the land of Egypt in the south all the way to Scotland in the far north? Did you ever wonder how many different peoples and places were found within the borders of the Roman world? What kind of people inhabited and influenced such a world? How did major cities like Rome and Athens compare to outposts at the far edge of the Empire?If you have pondered these questions, or if your curiosity is piqued, then Empire is the book for you!Join award-winning author and historian, Adam Alexander Haviaras, as he shares over twenty years of research exploring some of the people and places that adorn the pages of the history of the Roman Empire.Learn about the lives and deeds of a wide range of people from emperors to poets, and allies to enemies. Journey back and forth across the Roman Empire to learn about settlements from Britannia to the sand seas of North Africa. Venture into dark forests on the northern frontier, and walk through some of the great cities of the east through articles that range from deep dives into research or snippets of background information, to travelogue-type essays that may inspire your own adventures.Whether you are a longtime Romanophile, or have a passing interest in the history of Rome, this book has more variety than an emperor's banquet table! It will also introduce you to some of the people and places that are not usually covered in the average history book.Buy this book today and find out why the Roman Empire truly was the most colourful mosaic in history!Empire: A Mosaic of People and Places in the World of Ancient Rome compiles over twenty years of research to take you on an unforgettable adventure across the Roman Empire.This is not an academic work, but rather a book that is accessible to all and designed to engage the reader in a casual and informative journey.What are you waiting for? Don't you think it's time you explored the world of Ancient Rome!
The Life of Being a Trucker
The Life of Being a Trucker: Buckle Up, It's Going to Get Bumpy is a raw and inspiring memoir that takes readers deep into the world of long-haul trucking. In this powerful debut, Michael Sturgis shares what it truly means to live life behind the wheel - from the anxiety of trucking school to the adrenaline of that first solo haul.This isn't just a story about driving across state lines. It's about crossing personal boundaries, facing fear head-on, and discovering strength in solitude. Through breakdowns, missed holidays, roadside friendships, and endless highways, Sturgis paints an honest portrait of the freedom and isolation that define the trucking lifestyle.With grit, humor, and heart, The Life of Being a Trucker reveals the quiet pride that comes with keeping America moving. It's a story of resilience, purpose, and personal growth on the open road - perfect for anyone curious about the trucking industry or searching for a real-world story of transformation.Buckle up. It's going to get bumpy.
Finding Our Voice
Leadership is forged in crisis, not comfort. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar's fragile democracy was extinguished. Civil war raged. As institutions abandoned the country and the world looked away, one American business leader chose to stay. Finding Our Voice tells how an American business community, led by former US Marine officer and conflict expert Adam Castillo, endured the fire of crisis. It charts Castillo's path from an unemployed veteran to an entrepreneur leading a forgotten people in a country at war, until his work propelled him from the chaos of Myanmar to a high-stakes meeting in the White House. A leadership memoir unlike any other, Finding Our Voice is set in the aftermath of Myanmar's collapse. Framed through twelve speeches delivered across Yangon in darkness and uncertainty, it is simultaneously a personal journey of spiritual awakening, a memoir of survival, and a story about leading with courage when your world falls apart.
You Are Loved, You Are Enough
You Are Loved, You Are Enough is an emotional memoir of one woman's journey towards self-love and self-acceptance. Sheryl Oleksak grew up as an only child in New York, with a narcissistic mother and a kind but mostly passive father. From a less-than-perfect childhood-foster siblings coming in and out of the house and attending a harsh diet camp-to an adolescence and young adulthood marked by issues with food, body image, and self-esteem, Sheryl lays out her struggles in a clear, conversational style. As she circles her memories and emotions, the reader is invited to not only see themselves, but see how they can overcome their own past.A story of how negative parenting can warp someone's perception of themselves so that they constantly seek external validation, and how young women are pressured to meet unrealistic expectations, Sheryl faces bulimia, a long legal saga, disappointing relationships, and the ongoing, relentless negativity of her mother. Gradually though, a core of strength emerges, and she comes to terms with her parents, body, and dietary issues. Exuberantly, she describes her love for travel, dancing, nature, and how being a yoga instructor and Reiki Master became her calling. More than anything, embracing life and helping others live in the present is the purpose of Sheryl's story.For those wondering if they can overcome the challenges of their early life, or if they're loved for who they are, Sheryl answers in the affirmative: You Can. You Are. But more importantly, her example encourages us to find our own happiness. You Are Loved, You Are Enough is both a title and a reminder that the greatest love is self-love.
