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The Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds: The Life and Times of a Realized Tibetan Master, Khyentse Chokyi Wangchug
by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Nancy Simmons Enrico Dell'AngeloThe Lamp That Enlightens Narrow Minds: The Life and Times of a Realized Tibetan Master, Khyentse Chökyi Wangchug presents an engaging account of the life of Khyentse Chökyi Wangchug, a realized Tibetan tulku (reincarnated lama or teacher). The book's historical references provide a detailed portrait of Tibet on the verge of invasion and occupation by Chinese forces in the decades leading up to 1959 when Chinese repression led the Dalai Lama to take refuge in India. Narrated by Wangchug's nephew, author and international Tibetan teacher Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, this inspired biography describes the extraordinary events of Wangchug's life during this momentous period in Tibetan history. Born in 1909 in a valley south of Derge, an ancient center of Tibetan culture, Wangchug was recognized at an early age as a reincarnation of a tulku and thus received Buddhist teachings from the greatest masters of the epoch. A privileged observer of his uncle's life, Norbu reveals the complexity of Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy and the conflicts caused not only by Chinese forces, but also by people close to Wangchug who had become members of factions motivated by bigotry and personal greed. Despite the difficulties he encountered, Wangchug maintained a state of equanimity and dedicated himself to a life of peace and compassion for all sentient beings. Ultimately tortured and imprisoned by the Chinese, he and two other realized Tibetan teachers passed away at the same moment while meditating.
Save the Humans
by Rob StewartIn Save the Humans, award-winning documentary filmmaker Rob Stewart tells his captivating life-story-so-far--from self-professed "animal nerd" to one of the world's leading environmental activists, from a person whose sole focus was saving his beloved sharks to a mission to save us all. Rob Stewart has always been in love with creatures, the odder or more misunderstood the better. His passion for all living things, including Satan, his 7-foot-long, 80-pound pet water monitor, has led him around the world, as a university student studying zoology in Kenya, as a wildlife photographer in Madagascar and Southeast Asia, and ultimately as a documentary filmmaker in the Pacific shooting his innovative and award-winning documentary Sharkwater. Risking arrest and mafia reprisal in Costa Rica, nearly losing a leg to flesh-eating disease in Panama and getting lost at sea in the remote Galapagos Islands, Stewart is living proof that the best way to create change in the world is to dive in over your head. His documentary sparked shark fin bans around the world, but his story doesn't end with saving sharks. Stewart has set his sights on a slightly bigger goal--saving the human species. He has criss-crossed the globe to meet with the visionaries, entrepreneurs, scientists and children working to solve our environmental crises, and his message is clear: the revolution to save humanity has started and the only thing missing is you!
A Dog Called Hope: The wounded warrior and the dog who dared to love him
by Damien LewisWhen special forces soldier Jason Morgan awoke from a months-long coma, he was told he'd never walk again. Discovered face-down in a Central American swamp after a jungle mission gone wrong, he had a smashed spine, collapsed lungs and countless broken bones. It was a miracle he'd even survived.Months of painful surgery followed, with Jason's life balanced on a knife-edge. Released from hospital in a wheelchair and plagued by memory loss, Jason's life fell apart. Left alone to raise his three infant sons, all hope seemed gone, until Jason met Napal, a handsome-as-hell black Labrador provided by a very special charity. With this one incredible dog at their side, Jason's life and that of his family would never be the same again. With Napal's help Jason was able to conquer his paralysis, eventually completing a marathon and winning numerous medals in the Wounded Warrior Games. More than that, this amazing service dog helped heal a family and taught Jason to be the father his kids needed him to be. A Dog Called Hope is the moving and heart-warming story of how Jason rediscovered his life's mission, his strength as a father and, through his beloved dog, his hope. It's the story of the closeness between one man and one dog like no other, and how this mesmerizing duo changed countless lives.Inspirational, tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud uplifting, this is a story that will brighten any day and warm every heart.
Doctor's Notes
by Dr Rosemary Leonard'I'm in the wrong job,' I said to our practice nurse, 'I should definitely have been a detective.'For BBC Breakfast's Dr Rosemary Leonard, a day in her GP's surgery is full of unexplained ailments and mysteries to be solved.From questions of paternity to apparently drug-resistant symptoms, these mysteries can sometimes take a while to get to the bottom of, especially when they are of a more intimate nature.In her second book about life in her London surgery, Dr Rosemary recalls some of her most puzzling cases... and their rather surprising explanations.
Peg Plunkett: Memoirs of a Whore
by Julie Peakman'Of picking, washing and cleaning my pretty little toes, which he took great delight in, and in which pleasurable, innocent, and inoffensive pastime he as often spent hours; 'twas the greatest gratification to him on earth, nor did he (said she) indulge in any other in all the time we spent together, he never was even rude enough to give me a kiss.' So emerged the first exposé of foot fetishism in the eighteenth century. Revelations and racy anecdotes about the lives of the rich and famous of Dublin and London abound within Peg Plunkett: Memoirs of a Whore. From a violent domestic background, Peg blitzed her way through balls and masquerades creating scandals and gossip wherever she went, leaving dukes, barristers and lieutenants stranded in her wake. She was the first madame ever to write her memoirs, thereby setting the template for the whore's memoir. She wrote not merely to reveal herself but to expose the shoddy behaviour of others and her account of her life. In Peg Plunkett: Memoirs of a Whore, Julie Peakman brings her subject and the world through which she moved to glorious, bawdy life.
Hayley Okines - A Life to Celebrate
by Hayley OkinesHayley Okines was just like any other teenager: she loved clothes, shopping, and boy bands, and hated getting up in the morning. But she had progeria, which meant she aged eight times faster than normal, giving her the body of a 126-year-old. Her positive attitude and infectious smile charmed millions of people through her Extraordinary People TV documentaries.At the age of seventeen, in April 2015, Hayley tragically lost her battle to be the longest survivor of progeria, succumbing to pneumonia in the arms of her mother. This book tells Hayley’s story in her own words, continuing from the bestselling Old Before My Time. She reflects on the pains and perks of growing up with progeria – from the heartbreak of being told she will never walk again to the delight of passing her exams and starting college. Hayley considers mood swings, marriage, music, and what it’s like to be ‘famous’ and is heartbreakingly positive about a future that wasn’t to be.
Making the Running
by Ian BaldingThe image of the Derby winner with his leg in plaster was broadcast around the world. Alongside Mill Reef stood a baby-faced man who had won the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and now the Derby. He trained for the Queen and Queen Mother; and Lester Piggott, Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori all rode for him, but where had he come from and how had he got there?Ian Balding's story is one of heartbreaking loss and outrageous good luck. He left Cambridge without a degree but with a rugby blue, and became one of the outstanding amateur sportsmen of his generation. Balding's burgeoning talent was quickly noticed and he was soon running Peter Hastings-Bass' stables at Kingsclere. Ian had no money and no experience of running a business, but he learnt fast. In Making the Running, Ian Balding reveals the pressure of maintaining the pace and shares the highs and lows of the sport of kings.
Pierre Berton: A Biography
by Brian MckillopThe first ever biography of one of Canada's best-known and most colourful personalities by an award-winning author.From his northern childhood on, it was clear that Pierre Berton (1920--2004) was different from his peers. Over the course of his eighty-four years, he would become the most famous Canadian media figure of his time, in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and books -- sometimes all at once. Berton dominated bookstore shelves for almost half a century, winning Governor General's Awards for Klondike and The Last Spike, among many others, along with a dozen honorary degrees.Throughout it all, Berton was larger than life: full of verve and ideas, he approached everything he did with passion, humour, and an insatiable curiosity. He loved controversy and being the centre of attention, and provoked national debate on subjects as wide-ranging as religion and marijuana use. A major voice of Canadian nationalism at the dawn of globalization, he made Canadians take interest in their own history and become proud of it. But he had his critics too, and some considered him egocentric and mean-spirited.Now, with the same meticulous research and storytelling skill that earned him wide critical acclaim for The Spinster and the Prophet, Brian McKillop traces Pierre Berton's remarkable life, with special emphasis on his early days and his rise to prominence. The result is a comprehensive, vivid portrait of the life and work of one of our most celebrated national figures.From the Hardcover edition.
Clean Young Englishman
by John GaleFirst published in 1965 John Gale's autobiography is one the brilliant evocations of English life. From growing up in rural Kent to joining the Coldstream Guards and drunkenly dancing with the young Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Gale's early years seemed untroubled by darker shadows. But later, as a foreign correspondent in Algeria, Egypt and the Far East, he witnessed scenes of such horror that his comfortable world - and his sanity - were shaken to their very foundations. Witty, ironic, sharply observed and deeply moving, John Gale's memoir is a unique record of a young man struggling to make sense of the world.
The Uncharted Heart
by Melissa HardyThese eight tales of survival and triumph, suffused with magical realism, bring to life the harsh struggles, the dreams, the greed, the obsessions, the xenophobia -- and the love -- experienced by the trappers and prospectors who flocked to northern Ontario during the Porcupine Gold Rush (1900 - 1922).
The Perfect American: A Novel of Walt Disney
by Michael Hofmann Peter Stephan JungkThe Perfect American is a fictionalized biography of Walt Disney's final months, as narrated by Wilhelm Dantine, an Austrian cartoonist who worked for Disney in the 40s and 50s, illustrating sequences for Sleeping Beauty. It is also the story of Dantine himself, who desperately seeks Disney's recognition at the risk of his own ruin.Peter Stephan Jungk has infused a new energy into the genre of fictionalized biography. Dantine, imbued with a sense of European superiority, first refuses to submit to Disney's rule, but is nevertheless fascinated by the childlike omnipotence of a man who identifies with Mickey Mouse. We discover Walt's delusions of immortality via cryogenic preservation, his tirades alongside his Abraham Lincoln talking robot, his invitation of Nikita Khruschev to Disneyland once he learns that the Soviet Premier wants to visit the park, his utopian visions of his EPCOT project, and his backyard labyrinth of toy trains. Yet, if at first Walt seems to have a magic wand granting him all his wishes, we soon discover that he is as tortured as the man who tells his story.After Disney refuses to acknowledge Dantine's self-professed talent and hard work, he fires the frustrated cartoonist for writing, along with other staff members, an anonymous polemical memorandum regarding Disney's jingoistic politics. Years later, in the late 60s, still deeply wounded by his dismissal, Dantine follows Disney's trail to capture what makes Walt tick. Dantine wants us to grasp what it is like to live and breathe around the man who thought of himself as more famous than Santa Claus. Walt's wife Lillian, his confidante and perhaps his mistress Hazel, his brother Roy, his children Diane and Sharon, his close and ill-treated collaborators, and famous figures such as Peter Ustinov, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Geraldine Chaplin, all contribute to the novel's animation, its feel for the life of the Disney world. This deeply researched work not only provides interesting interpretations of what made Walt Disney a central figure in American popular culture, but also explores the complex expectations of gifted European immigrants who came to the United States after World War II with preconceived notions of how to achieve the American dream.
Residence Georgian Plantation
by Frances Anne KembleFanny Kemble was one of the leading lights of the English theater in the nineteenth century. During a triumphant tour of America, she met and married a wealthy Philadelphian, Pierce Butler, part of whose fortune derived from his family's vast cotton and rice plantation on the Sea Islands of Georgia. After their marriage, she spent several months (December 1838 to April 1839) living on the plantation. Profoundly shocked by what she saw, she recorded her observations of plantation life in a series of journal entries written as letters to a friend. But she never sent the letters, and it was not until the Civil War was on and Fanny was divorced from her husband and living in England, were they published. She is a reporter par excellence and records in vivid detail not just her own reactions, but the day-to-day operations of the estate as a business enterprise, the lives of the several "classes" of Negro slaves and their white masters, and the plantation's landscape of swamps and woods, canals and rivers, stately houses and decrepit hovels. Her account is filled with drama: duels, deaths, jealousies, and episodes of humor and tenderness which lighten the gloom but also accentuate the sadness of a world of toil and misery.
Step by Step: A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream
by Bertie BowmanIn 1944, Bertie Bowman–a poor, impressionable thirteen-year-old–heard South Carolina senator Burnet Maybank declare: “If you all ever get up to Washington, D. C. , drop by and see me!” Bertie took those words to heart, and when he arrived in Washington, Senator Maybank, surprisingly true to his word, saw to it that the young runaway had a place to stay and a steady income–earned by sweeping the Capitol steps for two dollars a week. Bowman would rise to become hearing coordinator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the U. S. Capitol–and this is his remarkable story. For sixty years, Bertie Bowman stood at the epicenter of change and witnessed history in the making, observing firsthand the clandestine backroom deals made in the name of democracy. Through it all, he lived by these guiding principles: Work hard. Be true to yourself. Take responsibility. Have a positive outlook. Expect the best from people. As Bowman recounts his extraordinary life, he also shares the lessons and values that have served him well throughout his career.
A Fish Supper and a Chippy Smile: Love, Hardship and Laughter in a South East London Fish-and-Chip Shop
by Hilda Kemp Cathryn Kemp'Oi, Hilda, the sign outside says you're frying today but I ain't seeing nothing done in ere!' The voice cut through my daydream, startling me into remembering where I was: standing in the fish-and-chip shop I worked in. We opened for business at 5 p.m. and already there was a queue of hungry customers on the cobbled street of London's East End. In 1950s and 60s Bermondsey, the fish-and-chip shop was at the centre of the community. And at the heart of the chippy itself was 'Hooray' Hilda Kemp, a spirited matriarch who dispensed fish suppers and an abundance of sympathy to a now-vanished world of East Enders. For 'Hooray' Hilda knew all to well what it was like to feel real, aching hunger. Growing up in the slums of 1920s south-east London, the daughter of a violent alcoholic who drank away his wages rather than put food on the table, she could spot when a customer was in need and would sneak them an extra big portion of chips, on the house. As Hilda works in the chippy six days a week - cutting the potatoes and frying the fish, yesterday's rag becoming today's dinner plate - she hears all the gossip from the close-knit community. There are rumours that the gang wars are hotting up: the Richardsons and the Krays are playing out their fights across south-east London. And the industrial strike is carrying on for a painfully long time for the mothers with many mouths to feed. At home, Hilda's children are latchkey kids, letting themselves in from school and helping themselves to whatever is in the larder until she gets in from her long, hard day at work. Despite tragedy striking her family, Hilda never complained of the loss of her daughter at a tragically young age, nor the tough upbringing she narrowly escaped. With a cast of colourful characters - dirty ragamuffins, struggling housewives, rough-diamond gang members - 'Hooray' Hilda's story is one of grit, romance, nostalgia and British endurance. Told to her granddaughter Cathryn, this memoir is the uplifting sequel to 'WE AIN'T GOT NO DRINK, PA' and is a testament to a woman who lived life to the full, who enjoyed laughter and loved fiercely - even though her heart was broken many times over.
Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs
by George Seldes"This extraordinary book . . . is a reminder . . . of the sins of suppression and untruth that have been and can be committed in the name of American journalism . . . One of the last first-person statements from a generation that included Hitler, Nehru, and Mao . . . and Seldes too." --Columbia Journalism ReviewFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Heart So Hungry: A Woman's Extraordinary Journey into the Labrador Wilderness
by Randall SilvisA gripping cold weather, true-life adventure, Heart So Hungry tells the story of a race across Labrador and one woman's determination -- inspired by grief and fed by outrage -- to set the record straight. A remarkable adventure, a love story and a thrilling race are all front and centre in this account of how one woman's devotion to her late husband's memory transformed Mina Hubbard from a rural Ontario nurse into the most celebrated female explorer of her time. In 1903, following an ambitious expedition to map the interior of Labrador, Mina's husband, Leonidas, dies of starvation in a cold, boggy, wind-scoured landscape. Allegations surface that the expedition failed because of Hubbard's incompetence, so Dillon Wallace, Leonidas' partner on the failed expedition, decides to honour a promise that he made to Hubbard to complete the route that they had been supposed to take. When Mina Hubbard discovers what Wallace has planned, she doubts his motives and decides to mount her own Labrador expedition and to beat Wallace to the finish line. Driven by her devotion, Mina wins the race, beating Wallace by a month and a half, and becomes in the process the first white woman to make contact with the elusive Naskapis Indians. Using original, unpublished source material, as well as books written by the main actors in the drama, novelist Randall Silvis pieces together a narrative of the race between Wallace and Mina Hubbard, as well as the fateful first expedition of Wallace and Leonidas Hubbard.
Struck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel
by Jason Padgett Maureen SeabergJason Padgett was an ordinary, not terribly bright, 41-year-old working in his father's furniture shop when he was the victim of a brutal mugging outside a karaoke bar in 2002.That same night his stepfather died of cancer, and two weeks later his only brother went missing (his body was discovered three year later). The combined traumas of these three events proved, unsurprisingly, too much for Jason and he withdrew from life completely, living as a hermit for four years suffering with agoraphobia and the onset of OCD. During this time he developed a fascination with the principles of the physical universe, devouring mathematics and physics journals. He also started to see intricate webs of shapes in his head and discovered that he could draw these by hand.A chance encounter in a mall pointed him in the direction of college. There, his extraordinary mind was recognised, and he was set on a path in which his drawings were identified as mathematical fractals and neuroscientists were able to diagnose a unique individual.Jason is a miraculous everyman with an inspiring 'what if' story that pushes beyond the boundaries of what scientists thought possible.
The Path of the Ninja: An Englishman's quest to master the secrets of Japan's invisible assassins
by Martin FaulksBy turns thrilling, funny and spiritually enlightening, this is the real-life Martial Arts adventure.Martin Faulks grew up in a Norfolk village. Returning from library with a friend one day they were attacked by a gang of older boys. Martin ran away leaving his friend to be beaten up. He vowed that would never happen again.He trained in the martial arts in his teens with growing success, he gained his black belt and even won tournaments but he wanted something more. He wanted to train as a Ninja. So started a series of initiations that would take him eventually to being trained by the Dalai Lama's bodyguard and travelling to Japan stay with the Yamabushi, the legendary spiritual teachers of the Ninja, living in the mountains of Japan.
Days That I'll Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
by Jonathan CottJonathan Cott met John Lennon in 1968 and was friends with him and Yoko Ono until John's death in 1980. He has kept in touch with Yoko since that time, and is one of the small group of writers who understands her profoundly positive influence on Lennon. This deeply personal book recounts the course of those friendships over the decades and provides an intimate look at two of the most astonishing cultural figures of our time. And what Jonathan Cott has to say and tell will be found nowhere else.
Falling Backwards: A Memoir
by Jann ArdenJann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene--always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more--to her readers' delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn't that all of us? From the tender and honest to the laugh-out-loud funny, Jann's stories from home and from the road during her pre-celebrity years will take you to unexpected places, including high school parties in farmer's fields, sleepovers under the stars, hard-to-believe summer jobs and the time she was stuck upside down in a brick barbecue. She reminds us of the inestimable value to a child of having teachers who believe in you and wide open spaces to play. But with the good times come the bad (and not just the bad perm). Jann opens up about the darker side of her so-called prairie perfect nuclear family and the first signs that her eldest brother was a uniquely troubled young man. In the days when Jann was experiencing a lot of firsts--first school play, first home perm, first kiss--how lucky for all of us that she stole away to her basement and taught herself her first song on her mother's guitar. In addition to being an incredible musician and multi-award-winning lyricist, Jann is a natural writer and simply an inspiration. Jann will capture your heart--and keep you in stitches--with her powerful stories about coming of age as an artist and as a human being. Jann brings her wit and that infectious sparkle to everything she does. This book is no exception.From the Hardcover edition.
True Grit
by Frank MclintockFrank McLintock was a leading player of his generation and is acclaimed as one of Arsenal's greatest captains. After transferring from Leicester, in 1970 he led Arsenal to a famous victory in the Fairs Cup and followed this up with even greater glory a year later, winning an historic league and FA Cup double. He left Arsenal in 1973 after being controversially dropped, and enjoyed four successful years at QPR. He retired from playing in 1977, to make an ill-conceived and hasty move into management. Following this difficult period he entered the often shady world of agents, and faced perhaps his worst moment in the game, becoming involved in the infamous bung scandal over Teddy Sherringham's transfer from Forest to Spurs. His is a captivating football story spanning 45 years during which he achieved fabulous success and faced shattering lows, all told with enthusiasm, humour, honesty and intense passion.
The Best in the World: At What I Have No Idea
by Chris JerichoThe two-time bestselling author, wrestler and metal rocker returns with another insightful and hilarious memoir.Inspired by Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem's character in No Country for Old Men, Chris Jericho decided to put down his guitar, ease off on the red-carpet appearances in Hollywood and return to ring. What followed were the best three years of his wrestling career. A trilogy that began with A LION'S TALE and was followed by the bestselling UNDISPUTED now concludes with a behind-the-scenes account of Jericho becoming WON WRESTLER OF THE YEAR for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009. The book also features the final word on Jericho's feuds with Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio, his run-in with Mickey Rourke, life hanging out with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Tyson and Lars Ulrich, and the resurrection of his band Fozzy, which saw them play to huge audiences in the UK and Europe and support Metallica.
Churchill: An authorised pictorial biography
by Max ArthurWhen Winston Spencer Churchill was born in 1874. No one could have predicted the path that lay ahead. But, as it turned out, from Winston's undistinguished academic career to his front-line experiences as a soldier and journalist whether in India, Sudan or Cuba, and during the Boer War or in the trenches of World War I; through his unparalleled political career with all its ups and downs; to his 'finest hour' leading Britain during World War II, he was never to be far from the world's attention.Now the boy, the soldier, the writer, the orator, the politician, the statesman and the family man are all brought to life in this absorbing illustrated book. Featuring both letters to 'Mama' from the homesick - but rebellious - schoolboy and telegrams to Stalin, it highlights some of the most gripping communications from the Churchill Archives. Facsimiles of hand-annotated speech notes are paired with fascinating memorabilia, such as the poster for the reward for his capture during the Boer War, a specimen of one of his infamous cigars, a favourite gramophone record and his Parliamentary despatch box. This book also showcases pictures from his family photograph collection, providing a more intimate portrait of Churchill the husband, the family man and even Churchill the animal lover. Exhaustively researched, Churchill: The Life includes previously unpublished images - such as Winston as a cadet at Harrow and his casket's final journey into Bladon cemetery - as well as rare images of him as a baby and specially shot artefacts from family archives.Together with his unique selection of images, acclaimed historian Max Arthur's evocative and insightful narrative text gets to the core of Winston's character, using his own words and those of some of those closest to him, to provide a comprehensive study of the man and his life. This is a stunning tribute to a remarkable man.
Tropic of Hockey: My Search for the Game in Unlikely Places
by Dave BidiniFrom Toronto to China, Dubai to Transylvania and back, a hilarious, moving account of one man's quest for "pure hockey."
Tom Daley (EDGE: Dream to Win #15)
by Roy AppsFrom the time that Tom, aged 8, drew a picture of his ambition to dive at the Olympic Games, he has gone on to become Britain's leading diver, capturing the attention of the world's media along the way. In this easily accessible text read Tom's emotional story, from his childhood years right up to when he took Olympic bronze at London 2012. It takes blood, sweat and tears to get to the top of any sport, and these short, inspirational biographies show just how tough it can be. Focusing on top athletes and sport personalities, each dramatic story brings to life the skill, determination and luck needed to break through into top level competition.This title is published by Franklin Watts EDGE, which produces a range of booksto get children reading with confidence. EDGE - for books children can't put down.