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Forever Nerdy: Living My Dorky Dreams and Staying Metal
by Brian PosehnThe first memoir by beloved comedian, actor, and writer Brian Posehn, hilariously detailing what it's like to grow up as and remain a nerd, with a foreword by Patton OswaltBrian Posehn is a successful and instantly recognizable comedian, actor, and writer. He also happens to be a giant nerd. That's partly because he's been obsessed with such things as Dungeons & Dragons, comic books, and heavy metal since he was a child; the other part is because he fills out every bit of his 6'7'' frame. Brian's always felt awkward and like a perpetual outsider, but he found his way through the difficulties of growing up by escaping into the worlds of Star Wars, D&D, and comics, and by rocking his face off. He was a nerd long before it was cool (and that didn't help his situation much), but his passions proved time and again to be the safe haven he needed to persevere and thrive in a world in which he was far from comfortable.Brian, now balls deep in middle age with a wife, child, and thriving career, still feels like an outsider and is as big a nerd as ever. But that's okay, because in his five decades of nerdom he's discovered that the key to happiness is not growing up. You can be a nerd forever and find success that way. because somehow along the way the nerds won.Forever Nerdy is a celebration of growing up nerdy and different. This isn't Brian's life story, just some bizarre and hilarious stories from his life, along with a captivating look back at nearly fifty years of nerd culture. Being a nerd hasn't always been easy, but somehow this self-hating nerd who suffered from depression was able to land his dream job, get the girl, and learn to fit in. Kind of. See how he did it while managing to remain forever nerdy.
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist
by Janis Amatuzio[From the Book Jacket] As a physician, forensic pathologist, and coroner for several Minnesota counties, I have had the extraordinary privilege of caring for families and their loved ones when death comes suddenly, unexpectedly, or traumatically. My job is to speak for the dead, to solve the mystery of "What happened?" However, I have occasionally been faced with mysteries I cannot solve or explain. These experiences always baffle me, partly because as a scientist I seek to reach a reasonable degree of medical certainty, a rational explanation. But I have come to realize that for some experiences there is no explanation, just a deep knowing that I have encountered the Divine. - JANIS AMATUZIO, MD
Forever Red: More Confessions of a Cornhusker Fan
by Steve SmithOn any given workday, any little thing might send Steve Smith’s thoughts spinning back to Saturday—last Saturday, Saturday two weeks ago, Saturday two years ago, back into the thrilling minutiae of game day—until reality reminds him: this is not how well-adjusted adults act. Steve Smith is not a well-adjusted adult. He’s a Nebraska football fan, and this is his rollicking account of what it’s like to be one of those legendary enthusiasts whose passion for the Cornhuskers is at once irresistible and hilarious.A journey into an obsessed Nebraska fan’s soul, Forever Red immerses readers in the mad, mad world of Husker football fandom—where wearing the scarlet-and-cream Huskers gear has its own peculiar rules; where displaced followers act as the program’s ambassadors, finding Husker subculture beyond the pale; and where the team’s performance can barely keep pace with its followers’ expectations but sometimes exceeds their wildest dreams.Revised, updated, and expanded from the 2005 edition, Smith’s story of thirty-plus years following the team takes readers back to memorable game moments from 1980 up through the roller-coaster ride of recent years. Blending wit and insight, Smith offers a window on the world to the uninitiated and the fellow fanatic alike where fantasy and football meet, where dreams of glory and gritty gridiron realities forever join.
Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters
by Editor Darrell FoxTerry Fox defined perseverance and hope for a generation of Canadians. Forty years after Terry's run ended, Forever Terry reflects what Terry's legacy means to us now, and in the future.To mark the 40th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope, Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters recounts the inspiration, dedication, and perseverance that Terry Fox embodied, and gives voice to an icon whose example spoke much louder than his words. Comprising 40 letters from 40 contributors, and edited by Terry&’s younger brother Darrell on behalf of the Fox family, Forever Terry pays tribute to Terry's legacy, as seen through the eyes of celebrated Canadians ranging from Margaret Atwood, Bobby Orr, Perdita Felicien, Jann Arden, and Christine Sinclair, to those who accompanied Terry on his run, Terry Fox Run organizers, participants, supporters, and cancer champions. Appearing alongside never-before-seen photos of their hero, their reflections reveal connections that readers would never have expected, and offer a glimpse into the way goodness and greatness inspire more of the same. Forever Terry is a testament to the influence one brave man has had on the shape of Canadian dreams, ambitions, and commitment to helping others. Author proceeds support the Terry Fox Foundation, which has raised over $800 million for cancer research. Contributors include Hayley Wickenheiser, Tom Cochrane, Darryl Sittler, Shawn Ashmore, Doug Alward, Nadine Caron, Douglas Coupland, Rick Hansen, Sidney Crosby, Akshay Grover, Lloyd Robertson, Bret Hart, Leslie Scrivener, Isadore Sharp, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Pattison, Catriona Le May Doan, Malindi Elmore, Michael Bublé, Silken Laumann, Steve Nash, Karl Subban, and Marissa Papaconstantinou, among many others.
Forever Young: A Life of Adventure in Air and Space
by John W YoungHe walked on the Moon. He flew six space missions in three different programs--more than any other human. He served with NASA for more than four decades. His peers called him the "astronaut's astronaut."Enthusiasts of space exploration have long waited for John Young to tell the story of his two Gemini flights, his two Apollo missions, the first-ever Space Shuttle flight, and the first Spacelab mission. Forever Young delivers all that and more: Young's personal journey from engineering graduate to fighter pilot, to test pilot, to astronaut, to high NASA official, to clear-headed predictor of the fate of Planet Earth.Young, with the assistance of internationally distinguished aerospace historian James Hansen, recounts the great episodes of his amazing flying career in fascinating detail and with wry humor. He portrays astronauts as ordinary human beings and NASA as an institution with the same ups and downs as other major bureaucracies. He frankly discusses the risks of space travel, including what went wrong with the Challenger and Columbia shuttles. Forever Young is one of the last memoirs produced by an early American astronaut. It is the first memoir written by a chief of the NASA astronaut corps. Young's experiences and candor make this book indispensable to everyone interested in the U.S. space program.
Forever Young: A Memoir
by Hayley MillsWhat happens when a girl tries to grow up in a world where everyone wants her to remain a child?Hayley Mills' teenage decade in Hollywood produced some of the era's greatest coming-of-age family movies: classics like Pollyanna, The Parent Trap and In Search of the Castaways, and in Britain the acclaimed Whistle Down the Wind. These films made Hayley a genuine teen idol and a household name. Now and for the first time, Hayley reveals the truth of her own coming-of-age story, in her own words - a story of incredible twists of fate and fortune, but also mismanagement, bankruptcy, family crisis and dislocation.Told with characteristic warmth, honesty and humour, Hayley takes us back in time to a bygone era, charting a journey from her carefree childhood innocence in post-war Britain, growing up in the shadow of her famous theatrical family, to being propelled into the Technicolor boomtown of 1960s Hollywood, where she is mentored to stardom by Walt Disney himself.
Forever Young: A Memoir
by Hayley MillsWhat happens when a girl tries to grow up in a world where everyone wants her to remain a child?Hayley Mills' teenage decade in Hollywood produced some of the era's greatest coming-of-age family movies: classics like Pollyanna, The Parent Trap and In Search of the Castaways, and in Britain the acclaimed Whistle Down the Wind. These films made Hayley a genuine teen idol and a household name. Now and for the first time, Hayley reveals the truth of her own coming-of-age story, in her own words - a story of incredible twists of fate and fortune, but also mismanagement, bankruptcy, family crisis and dislocation.Told with characteristic warmth, honesty and humour, Hayley takes us back in time to a bygone era, charting a journey from her carefree childhood innocence in post-war Britain, growing up in the shadow of her famous theatrical family, to being propelled into the Technicolor boomtown of 1960s Hollywood, where she is mentored to stardom by Walt Disney himself.
Forever Young: A Memoir
by Hayley MillsIconic actress Hayley Mills shares personal memories from her storied childhood, growing up in a famous acting family and becoming a Disney child star, trying to grow up in a world that wanted her to stay forever young. <P><P> The daughter of acclaimed British actor Sir John Mills was still a preteen when she began her acting career and was quickly thrust into the spotlight. Under the wing of Walt Disney himself, Hayley Mills was transformed into one of the biggest child starlets of the 1960s through her iconic roles in Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, and many more. <P><P> She became one of only twelve actors in history to be bestowed with the Academy Juvenile Award, presented at the Oscars by its first recipient, Shirley Temple, and went on to win a number of awards including a Golden Globe, multiple BAFTAs, and a Disney Legacy Award. <P><P> Now, in her charming and forthright memoir, she provides a unique window into when Hollywood was still 'Tinseltown' and the great Walt Disney was at his zenith, ruling over what was (at least in his own head) still a family business. This behind-the-scenes look at the drama of having a sky-rocketing career as a young teen in an esteemed acting family will offer both her childhood impressions of the wild and glamorous world she was swept into, and the wisdom and broader knowledge that time has given her. <P><P> Hayley will delve intimately into her relationship with Walt Disney, as well as the emotional challenges of being bound to a wholesome, youthful public image as she grew into her later teen years, and how that impacted her and her choices--including marrying a producer over 30 years her senior when she was 20! With her regrets, her joys, her difficulties, and her triumphs, this is a compelling read for any fan of classic Disney films and an inside look at a piece of real Hollywood history. <P><P><b>A New York Times Best Seller</b>
Forever Young: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.
by William Sylvester Noonan Robert HuberAn intimate portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr., from his closest friend with 16 pages of color photos From the iconic image of a little boy saluting his father's casket to his tragic death at age thirty- eight, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was never far from the public eye. Now the friend who John was flying to see the night he died reveals the private man behind the public myth. Billy and John shared summers in Hyannisport and formed a bond in the Kennedy compound that lasted well into adulthood. With Forever Young, Noonan offers a unique glimpse into the private life of his boyhood friend--his courtship with Carolyn, his relationship with his mother, Jackie, and his struggle with being the son of a great man he hardly remembered. Affectionate yet candid, Noonan's deeply personal memoir ultimately emerges as the definitive portrait of the son of Camelot.
Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football's Lost Genius
by Oliver KayWINNER OF THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDSSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR'This football book is about something even more important than the "beautiful game"; it is a story of the human spirit.' - Mick Hume, The Times Adrian Doherty was not a typical footballer. For one thing, he was blessed with extraordinary talent. Those who played alongside and watched him in the Manchester United youth team in the early 1990s insist he was as good as Ryan Giggs - possibly even better. Giggs, who played on the opposite wing, says he is inclined to agree.Doherty was also an eccentric - by football standards, at least. When his colleagues went to Old Trafford to watch the first team on Saturday afternoons, he preferred to take the bus into Manchester to go busking. He wore second-hand clothes, worshipped Bob Dylan, read about theology and French existentialism and wrote songs and poems. One team-mate says "it was like having Bob Dylan in a No 7 shirt".On his 17th birthday, Doherty was offered a five-year contract - unprecedented for a United youngster at that time - and told by Alex Ferguson that he was destined for stardom. But what followed over the next decade is a tale so mysterious, so shocking, so unusual, so amusing but ultimately so tragic, that you are left wondering how on earth it has been untold for so long.The stories of Doherty's contemporaries, that group of Manchester United youngsters who became known as the "Class of '92", are well known. Giggs ended up as the most decorated player in United's history; David Beckham became the most recognisable footballer on the planet; Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and others are household names. The story you don't know is about the player who, having had the world at his feet, died the day before his 27th birthday following an accident in a canal in Holland.
Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story
by Lorrie MorganBy turns passionate and desperate, tragic and triumphant--the life of Lorrie Morgan could easily have been lifted from the lyrics of a classic country song. Now, in Forever Yours, Faithfully, Lorrie shares all the pleasure and the pain of her remarkable career and her turbulent, consuming love for doomed, brilliant blue-grass star, Keith Whitely. Lorrie Morgan was born to be a country music star. Thanks to a father who was also a Grand Ole Opry legend, Lorrie grew up in the shadows of such country greats as Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff. Inspired by such talent and nurtured in a stable home, she sang at the Opry when she was only thirteen years old. In a voice all her own, Lorrie takes us inside the country music world where she would rise to become Nashville gold. Over the next several years, Lorrie's home life was to become a lot less stable. When Lorrie was twenty-two years old, she heard a voice on the radio--and fell under its seductive spell. That voice belonged to singer Keith Whitely. They soon met, left their respective marriages, and started a life that Lorrie hoped would be "happily ever after." Yet it was a relationship marred by dark moods, drinking, and drugs, as Lorrie, blinded by devotion, refused to see that she was hopelessly in love with a chronic alcoholic. She stayed by his side until his untimely death in 1989--only to be hit with a second blow: the shocking news of Keith's infidelities. With amazing insight and candor, Lorrie opens her heart, answering such personal questions as Who was with Keith when he died? What actually killed him? How does one reconcile the "man of your dreams" with the man in real life? And perhaps most important: Can he be forgiven? Fortunately, Lorrie's life did not end after Keith's death. Her star went on to shine even brighter. She rose to superstar status as a singer and, eventually, true love came calling again. Beloved, betrayed, and ultimately resilient, Lorrie Morgan has written a painfully honest memoir about rising above and moving on. Forever Yours, Faithfully resonates with emotion and the power of the human spirit.
Forever a Soldier: Unforgettable Stories of Wartime Service
by Tom WienerForever a Soldier captures the personal side of war in 37 extraordinary narratives that bear eloquent witness to both the life-changing experience of battle and to the unflagging spirit that sustained countless ordinary Americans plunged into the bloody conflicts of the deadliest, most destructive century in human history. Culled from letters, diaries, private memoirs, and oral histories collected by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, their stories paint an unforgettable group portrait of our country's armed forces. <P><P>Some tell of frontline action: a doughboy's 1918 baptism of fire: a battleship gunner's grim duel with Japanese planes; a female fighter pilot's capture by Iraqis during the Gulf War. Others evoke moments of relief and reflection, or recall deeply moving episodes: two wounded soldiers—one German, one American—clasping hands in the wordless brotherhood of pain; a POW whose faith gave him the strength to endure torture in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton;" a GI's lifelong grief for a buddy killed on the last day of World War II in Europe. <P><P>Forever a Soldier presents famous incidents like the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and her survivors' terrifying ordeal in the shark-infested Pacific, and heroic figures like John McCain, but it's the long-untold stories of unheralded patriots that best reveal the universal truths of war: courage and fear, horror and exhilaration, sorrow and triumph—the shared legacy of every American veteran, and a debt of honor the rest of us must respect but can never repay.
Forever and Ever, Amen
by Karol JackowskiA funny, poignant account of a young woman's experiences becoming a Catholic nun during the tumultuous 1960s. <P><P> In 1964, Karol Jackowski was an eighteen-year-old girl just out of high school. But while her friends were heading off to college or finding their first jobs, Karol was following a different path. To the surprise of her family and friends, she decided to enter the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana, and spend the next eight years studying to become a Catholic nun. <P> Those years were a time of enormous change in the country and in the Church. They were times of joy, dedication, and a great deal of fun, set against the Second Vatican Council and the reforms it fostered, many of which remain controversial today. In this playful and candid memoir, Jackowski pulls back the curtain on the mysteries of convent life, as she recounts her rocky transition from worldly teenager to cloistered postulant; the trials she faced in coping with the restrictions of convent life ("nun of this and nun of that"); and the lessons she learned from the elderly nuns she was assigned to, who weren't nearly as pious as people thought. In prose that's as lively, insightful, and wise as she is, the author of Ten Fun Things to do Before You Die brings us a touching and heartfelt memoir of a woman following her true calling.
Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life
by Randy TravisThe long-awaited, deeply personal story of one of American music's greatest icons, a remarkable tale of the utmost heights of fame and success, the deepest lows of life's sorrows, and a miraculous return from the brink of death—told as only Randy Travis can.Beloved around the world, Randy Travis has sold more than 25 million albums in both country and gospel and is considered one of the finest performers of his generation, admired by superstars across the musical landscape, from Garth Brooks to Mick Jagger.From a working-class background in North Carolina to a job as a cook and club singer in Nashville to his "overnight success" with his smash 1986 album Storms of Life--which launched the neotraditional movement in country music--Randy’s first three decades are a true rags-to-riches story.But in 2009, this seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral. His marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012.Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive. Yet he not only survived but also learned to walk again and in 2016 accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by singing the hymn that explains his life today: "Amazing Grace."Filled with never-before-told stories, Forever and Ever, Amen is a riveting tale of unfathomable success, great joy, deep pain, and redemption that can come only from above.
Forever and Ever, Amen: Becoming a Nun in the Sixties
by Karol JackowskiA funny, poignant account of a young woman's experiences becoming a Catholic nun during the tumultuous 1960s.<P> In 1964, Karol Jackowski was an eighteen-year-old girl just out of high school. But while her friends were heading off to college or finding their first jobs, Karol was following a different path. To the surprise of her family and friends, she decided to enter the convent of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana, and spend the next eight years studying to become a Catholic nun.<P> Those years were a time of enormous change in the country and in the Church. They were times of joy, dedication, and a great deal of fun, set against the Second Vatican Council and the reforms it fostered, many of which remain controversial today. In this playful and candid memoir, Jackowski pulls back the curtain on the mysteries of convent life, as she recounts her rocky transition from worldly teenager to cloistered postulant; the trials she faced in coping with the restrictions of convent life ("nun of this and nun of that"); and the lessons she learned from the elderly nuns she was assigned to, who weren't nearly as pious as people thought. In prose that's as lively, insightful, and wise as she is, the author of Ten Fun Things to do Before You Die brings us a touching and heartfelt memoir of a woman following her true calling.
Forever and Five Days: The Chilling True Story of Love, Betrayal, and Serial Murder in Grand Rapids, Michigan (True Crime Ser.)
by Lowell CauffielThe bestselling author&’s &“auspicious debut in the true-crime genre . . . [a] sensitive and searching story of the murders of at least six nursing home patients&” (Publishers Weekly). Outside the dining hall of the Alpine Manor nursing home, there is a sign that reads, &“This is Grand Rapids, Michigan,&” a reminder for those who can no longer trust their own minds. For months, Cathy Wood has fed these residents, bathed them, and even moistened their eyes with artificial tears. To her, they live in a state worse than death—and she has decided to relieve them of their pain. Wood and her lover, Gwen Graham, make a pact to kill those whom they were hired to care for. No one notices when an elderly person dies a quiet death, but as these two slip deeper into their plan, the terrible secret becomes unbearable. Lowell Cauffiel&’s account of the Alpine Manor murders is a chilling saga of true crime and the twisted lengths to which some will go in pursuit of justice.
Forever in the Sunshine: The Story of Morecambe and Wise as Only Family Can Tell It
by Gary MorecambeMorecambe and Wise - the most famous and best-loved British comedy double-act of all time. In this unique book, Eric Morecambe's son Gary sheds new light on the comic geniuses who became the nation's best friends. Gary reveals what it was like behind the scenes, with touching and hilarious stories of life in the Morecambe and Wise family homes, along with memories from Eric's wife Joan and his daughter (and Ernie's goddaughter) Gail, who has never written about her father before. From a working class music hall act in their early career to their show becoming the nation's greatest TV entertainment from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, Eric and Ernie were not just mass audience television stars, but national treasures whose popularity endures. Gary recalls conversations with his dad and Ernie that paints a vivid portrait of two men who loved each other like brothers, as well as bringing to life the major characters who impacted Morecambe and Wise's lives. Gary's conversations with high-profile fans today, from Ben Miller and Bob Golding, to Jonathan Ross and Miranda Hart, provide a fascinating look at why Morecambe and Wise remain so popular now, their impact on today's most recognisable double acts, and how Eric and Ernie continue to be a part of so many families' Christmas traditions. Sweet and funny, touching and poignant, these untold stories and anecdotes let us get to know the two men who became the biggest British comedy act of all time, with the authority that only family can. This is the ultimate book for Morecambe and Wise fans, celebrating their days in the sunshine, now and forever.
Forever in the Sunshine: The Story of Morecambe and Wise as Only Family Can Tell It
by Gary MorecambeMorecambe and Wise - the most famous and best-loved British comedy double-act of all time. In this unique book, Eric Morecambe's son Gary sheds new light on the comic geniuses who became the nation's best friends. Gary reveals what it was like behind the scenes, with touching and hilarious stories of life in the Morecambe and Wise family homes, along with memories from Eric's wife Joan and his daughter (and Ernie's goddaughter) Gail, who has never written about her father before. From a working class music hall act in their early career to their show becoming the nation's greatest TV entertainment from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, Eric and Ernie were not just mass audience television stars, but national treasures whose popularity endures. Gary recalls conversations with his dad and Ernie that paints a vivid portrait of two men who loved each other like brothers, as well as bringing to life the major characters who impacted Morecambe and Wise's lives. Gary's conversations with high-profile fans today, from Ben Miller and Bob Golding, to Jonathan Ross and Miranda Hart, provide a fascinating look at why Morecambe and Wise remain so popular now, their impact on today's most recognisable double acts, and how Eric and Ernie continue to be a part of so many families' Christmas traditions. Sweet and funny, touching and poignant, these untold stories and anecdotes let us get to know the two men who became the biggest British comedy act of all time, with the authority that only family can. This is the ultimate book for Morecambe and Wise fans, celebrating their days in the sunshine, now and forever.
Forever's Team
by John FeinsteinThe coaches and players of Duke University's 1977-78 team, who ended an otherwise successful season with their NCAA championship loss to Kentucky, are traced from their time on the squad to their present occupations.
Foreverland: On the Divine Tedium of Marriage
by Heather HavrileskyAn illuminating, poignant, and savagely funny examination of modern marriage from Ask Polly advice columnist Heather Havrilesky. <p><p> If falling in love is the peak of human experience, then marriage is the slow descent down that mountain, on a trail built from conflict, compromise, and nagging doubts. Considering the limited economic advantages to marriage, the deluge of other mate options a swipe away, and the fact that almost half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce anyway, why do so many of us still chain ourselves to one human being for life? <p><p> In Foreverland, Heather Havrilesky illustrates the delights, aggravations, and sublime calamities of her marriage over the span of fifteen years, charting an unpredictable course from meeting her one true love to slowly learning just how much energy is required to keep that love aflame. This refreshingly honest portrait of a marriage reveals that our relationships are not simply “happy” or “unhappy,” but something much murkier—at once unsavory, taxing, and deeply satisfying. <p><p> With tales of fumbled proposals, harrowing suburban migrations, external temptations, and the bewildering insults of growing older, Foreverland is a work of rare candor and insight. Havrilesky traces a path from daydreaming about forever for the first time to understanding what a tedious, glorious drag forever can be.
Forge of Empires: Three Revolutionary Statesmen and the World They Made, 1861-1871
by Michael Knox BeranIn the space of a single decade, three leaders liberated tens of millions of souls, remade their own vast countries, and altered forever the forms of national power: Abraham Lincoln freed a subjugated race and transformed the American Republic. Tsar Alexander II broke the chains of the serfs and brought the rule of law to Russia. Otto von Bismarck threw over the petty Teutonic princes, defeated the House of Austria and the last of the imperial Napoleons, and united the German nation. The three statesmen forged the empires that would dominate the twentieth century through two world wars, the Cold War, and beyond. Each of the three was a revolutionary, yet each consolidated a nation that differed profoundly from the others in its conceptions of liberty, power, and human destiny. Michael Knox Beran's Forge of Empires brilliantly entwines the stories of the three epochal transformations and their fateful legacies. Telling the stories from the point of view of those who participated in the momentous events -- among them Walt Whitman and Friedrich Nietzsche, Mary Chesnut and Leo Tolstoy, Napoleon III and the Empress EugÉnie -- Beran weaves a rich tapestry of high drama and human pathos. Great events often turned on the decisions of a few lone souls, and each of the three statesmen faced moments of painful doubt or denial as well as significant decisions that would redefine their nations. With its vivid narrative and memorable portraiture, Forge of Empires sheds new light on a question of perennial importance: How are free states made, and how are they unmade? In the same decade that saw freedom's victories, one of the trinity of liberators revealed himself as an enemy to the free state, and another lost heart. What Lincoln called the "germ" of freedom, which was "to grow and expand into the universal liberty of mankind," came close to being annihilated in a world crisis that pitted the free state against new philosophies of terror and coercion. Forge of Empires is a masterly story of one of history's most significant decades.
Forged By War: Australian Veterans in Combat and Back Home
by Gina LennoxIn Forged By War, Australian veterans and their families reveal the experience of combat and how it has changed their lives. These stark first-hand accounts describe the reality of military action and its personal consequences in every major conflict and peacemaking mission since World War II, including the invasion of Iraq. Sometimes the reader is in lockstep with a soldier on patrol, watching as a land mine explodes, or a local militiaman points an AK–47 at Australian peacemakers. Other times, the reader is inside a returned veteran's head, feeling their superfluous adrenalin, their need to control their environment, even at home. With accounts from Peter and Lynne Cosgrove, Graham Edwards, Frank Hunt (I Was Only Nineteen), other veterans of Vietnam, Glenda Humes (daughter of Capt Reginald Saunders), peacemakers and an SAS trooper, this compelling investigation by Gina Lennox in underpinned by the question: where does family fit in a soldier's life?
Forged From Silver Dollar
by Li FengOne family's epic tale of survival in tumultuous twentieth-century China.Li Feng grew up in Mao's communist China with her mother's motto burning in her ears - Success demands two things: unconditional sacrifice and absolute mental focus. Finally breaking free of her mother's overbearing clutches and fleeing to Sydney as an adult, Li struggled to make sense of her own lost childhood by piecing together her family's history.What she found was a heartbreaking tale of love and loss that echoed across four generations of women - from Silver Dollar, who fought to regain her dignity and change her destiny after being sold into a loveless marriage at the age of 13; to Ming Xiu, who was forced to make a choice no mother should ever have to make following the execution of her husband; to Li's mother Rong, who grew up as an outcast on the periphery of society but never gave up hope of a better life for herself and for her daughters.Despite economic and political upheaval, these women battled to offer their children a better future through sheer determination in the face of unimaginable adversity. FORGED FROM SILVER DOLLAR is an inspiring true story about Modern China, iron will and the strength of a mother's love.
Forged in Chaos: A Warrior's Origin Story
by Tyler Grey Lauren UngeldiForged in chaos, shattered in peace: What happens when the war doesn&’t end, it just moves inside your head?Tyler Grey was the epitome of the warrior archetype: a Delta Force operator, a master of counterterrorism. He hunted the worst bullies on the world&’s playground—high-value targets, bomb makers, warlords—executing covert missions that never made the news. He had perfected the persona—ruthless, efficient, untouchable—until one mission in Sadr City, Iraq changed everything.&” On what should&’ve been a routine raid, an explosion ripped through the home shattering more than just flesh and bone; it fractured his identity. Stripped of everything that defined him, Tyler reached for chaos: sex, substances, a romance that was either a love worth fighting for or his ultimate kryptonite. But beneath it all, the hunger for chaos never died. He was built for it. Without it, his body rebelled, his mind fractured, and the war turned inward. In this raw, antiheroic tale, Tyler dissects his life, exposing the unseen war within and exploring the question: What happens when the very abilities that made you a superhero in the eyes of the world turn you into a supervillain in your own life? Despite rising PTSD awareness, we&’re losing more warriors at home than in war. Such a devastating reality begs the question: What if we&’ve fundamentally misunderstood this disease? This book doesn&’t challenge the narrative; it destroys it, laying bare the cost of being forged in chaos. This isn&’t a war story. It isn&’t a tribute to sacrifice or a highlight reel of heroics. Forged in Chaos rips the mask off the warrior experience, exposing the truth that most never dare to face: The fight isn&’t over. And this time, the enemy isn&’t out there—it&’s within.
Forged in Crisis: The Making of Five Courageous Leaders
by Nancy KoehnA WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER &“Five gritty leaders whose extraordinary passion and perseverance changed history…a gripping read on a timeless and timely topic&” —Angela Duckworth, #1 bestselling author of Grit An enthralling historical narrative filled with critical leadership insights, Forged in Crisis, by celebrated Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn, spotlights five masters of crisis: polar explorer Ernest Shackleton; President Abraham Lincoln; legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Nazi-resisting clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and environmental crusader Rachel Carson.What do such disparate figures have in common? Why do their extraordinary stories continue to amaze and inspire? In delivering the answers to those questions, Nancy Koehn offers a remarkable template by which to judge those in our own time to whom the public has given its trust. She begins each of the book&’s five sections by showing her protagonist on the precipice of a great crisis: Shackleton marooned on an Antarctic ice floe; Lincoln on the verge of seeing the Union collapse; escaped slave Douglass facing possible capture; Bonhoeffer agonizing over how to counter absolute evil with faith; Carson racing against the cancer ravaging her in a bid to save the planet. The narrative then reaches back to each person&’s childhood and shows the individual growing—step by step—into the person he or she will ultimately become. Significantly, as we follow each leader&’s against-all-odds journey, we begin to glean an essential truth: leaders are not born but made. In a book dense with epiphanies, the most galvanizing one may be that the power to lead courageously resides in each of us. Whether it&’s read as a repository of great insight or as exceptionally rendered human drama, Forged in Crisis stands as a towering achievement.