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Miss Shirley Bassey
by John L. WilliamsFrom "Hot from Harlem" to "Goldfinger," the story of how a two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff became an immortal icon: In 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called "Hot from Harlem". Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, "Goldfinger", was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself.Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr. to Reggie Kray.John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and--against all the odds--succeeded.
Miss Shirley Bassey
by John L. WilliamsIn 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called 'Hot from Harlem'. Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, 'Goldfinger', was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself. Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr to Reggie Kray. John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and - against all the odds - succeeded.
Miss Shirley Bassey
by John L. WilliamsIn 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called 'Hot from Harlem'. Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, 'Goldfinger', was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself. Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr to Reggie Kray. John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and - against all the odds - succeeded.
Miss Spellbinder's Point of View: A Biography of the Imagination
by Edward SwiftIn this &“delightful and bizarre&” novel, Clarissa Spellbinder spins the yarn of her truly unbelievable—and completely unverified—life (The Boston Globe). Miss Clarissa Spellbinder has lived a truly astonishing life . . . or so she tells us. Her father was the intrepid adventurer Lord Andrew Spellbinder and her mother, the fiery Latin songbird Amelita de la Luna, who traveled the world and escaped almost certain death on numerous occasions. Miss Spellbinder relates their spectacular exploits to the patrons of the Back Door Bar That Once Faced the Sea on the fantastical island of Moly—though her listeners seem far more interested in hearing about the misadventures (of the sexual variety, mainly) of Clarissa&’s enormous neighbor, the former carnival circuit star Fat Satsuma Johnson, a.k.a. the Black Queen of the Atchafalaya, a.k.a. the pie-eating queen of southern Louisiana. Miss Spellbinder, of course, is more than happy to oblige, since all her stories serve as ammunition in her ongoing battle against &“the disease of the literal minded.&” What matters most, she tells us, is a unique point of view, for without one, &“you have no pinnacle on which to stand and express yourself.&” Edward Swift (Splendora) indulges readers with a novel unlike anything they have read before, an epic voyage through the outrageous history, real and imagined, of Miss Clarissa Spellbinder. It is a journey that may entail a certain suspension of disbelief—but afterward, the world will look very different.
Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls
by Veronica VeraIt is estimated that three to five percent of the adult male population of the United States feels the need, at least occasionally, to dress in women's clothing. Judging from enrollment at her academy, Miss Vera would say that figure is low.Veronica Vera founded Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls in 1992 and started a gender revolution. Working from the pink palace of the Academy's intimate Manhattan campus, she has helped hundreds of students embrace and master Venus Envy through her expert instruction in the arts of dressing up, making up, going out, and acting like a lady. In her new book, she shares her priceless wisdom with the world.With sparkling wit and dazzling insight, Miss V gives us the 411 on body hair, foundation garments, make-up, and dressing, as well as offering invaluable advice on Creating a Herstory (finding the real life story of the femmeself within) speech, manners, walking in high heels, and--that biggest step of all--going out in the real world all dressed up. Amply illustrated and filled with the real stories of students and graduates, Miss Vera's Finishing School also offers a fascinating history of how the Academy came to be, as well as Miss Vera's own incisive gender manifesto."As we step boldly toward the new millennium, many more of us will be doing it in high heels," says Veronica Vera. In Miss Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want to Be Girls, she proves conclusively that, after a long day in wingtips, there's nothing like slipping into a pair of spiked heels.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Miss You: The World War II Letters of Barbara Wooddall Taylor and Charles E. Taylor
by Barbara Wooddall Taylor Charles E. TaylorExperience World War II from the perspective of a married couple in this collection of letters exchanged between an American serviceman and his wife. During World War II, the millions of letters American servicemen exchanged with their wives and sweethearts were a lifeline, a vital way of sustaining morale on both fronts. Intimate and poignant, Miss You offers a rich selection from the correspondence of one such couple, revealing their longings, affection, hopes, and fears and affording a privileged look at how ordinary people lived through the upheavals of the last century&’s greatest conflict.&“In Fairburn, Georgia, when I was growing up, everyone knew them simply as &“CharlieandBarbara,&” one word―for they seemed almost uncannily close, a single unit of harmony, two parts of a whole. Now everyone who reads this extraordinary document of love in a time of war will feel the power of that closeness. Miss You is the quintessential American chronicle…. Read and cherish it―there are none of us who wouldn&’t have chosen for ourselves such a love as this.&”—Anne Rivers Siddons, New York Times–bestselling author of Peachtree Road &“A volume that offers extraordinary insight into the daily experiences of Americans at war.&”—Georgia Historical Quarterly &“Their great love―the connecting theme of this wonderful book―is something so rare it is both beautiful and ennobling.&”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution &“It is the insight gained by reading these letters that make this book exceptional…. By the book&’s close, the reader has gained an intimate and truthful understanding of wartime psyche and feels deeply how crucial these letters were to those they were comforting.&”—Hannah M. Jocelyn, Southern Historian
Missed Connections: A Memoir in Letters Never Sent
by Brian FrancisAn entertaining and moving memoir about coming out, looking inwards, and the search for connection, inspired by the responses to a personal ad. A Loan Stars Top 10 Pick of the Month and one of Daily Hive's 10 Essential LGBTQ2+ Books to Celebrate Pride. In 1992, Brian Francis placed a personal ad in a local newspaper. He was a twenty-one-year-old university student, still very much in the closet, and looking for love. He received twenty-five responses, but there were thirteen letters that went unanswered and spent years tucked away, forgotten, inside a cardboard box. Now, nearly thirty years later, and at a much different stage in his life, Brian has written replies to those letters. Using the letters as a springboard to reflect on all that has changed for him as a gay man over the past three decades, Brian's responses cover a range of topics, including body image, aging, desire, the price of secrecy, and the courage it takes to be unapologetically yourself. Missed Connections is an open-hearted, irreverent, often hilarious, and always bracingly honest examination of the pieces of our past we hold close -- and all that we lose along the way. It is also a profoundly affecting meditation on how Brian's generation, the queer people who emerged following the generation hit hardest by AIDS, were able to step out from the shadows and into the light. In an age when the promise of love is just a tap or swipe away, this extraordinary memoir reminds us that our yearning for connection and self-acceptance is timeless.
Missed Translations: Meeting the Indian Parents Who Raised Me
by Sopan DebApproaching his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a practicing comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only served to mask the insecurities borne from his family history. Sure, Deb knew the facts: his parents, both Indian, separately immigrated to North America in the 1960s and 1970s. They were brought together in a volatile and ultimately doomed arranged marriage and raised a family in suburban New Jersey before his father returned to India alone.But Deb had never learned who his parents were as individuals—their ages, how many siblings they had, what they were like as children, what their favorite movies were. Theirs was an ostensibly nuclear family without any of the familial bonds. Coming of age in a mostly white suburban town, Deb&’s alienation led him to seek separation from his family and his culture, longing for the tight-knit home environment of his white friends. His desire wasn&’t rooted in racism or oppression; it was born of envy and desire—for white moms who made after-school snacks and asked his friends about the girls they liked and the teachers they didn&’t. Deb yearned for the same.Deb&’s experiences as one of the few minorities covering the Trump campaign, and subsequently as a stand up comedian, propelled him on a dramatic journey to India to see his father—the first step in a life altering journey to bridge the emotional distance separating him from those whose DNA he shared. Deb had to learn to connect with this man he recognized yet did not know—and eventually breach the silence separating him from his mother. As it beautifully and poignantly chronicles Deb&’s odyssey, Missed Translations raises questions essential to us all: Is it ever too late to pick up the pieces and offer forgiveness? How do we build bridges where there was nothing before—and what happens to us, to our past and our future, if we don&’t?
Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me
by Sopan DebA bittersweet and humorous memoir of family—of the silence and ignorance that separate us, and the blood and stories that connect us—from an award-winning New York Times writer and comedian.Approaching his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a practicing comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only served to mask the insecurities borne from his family history. Sure, Deb knew the facts: his parents, both Indian, separately immigrated to North America in the 1960s and 1970s. They were brought together in a volatile and ultimately doomed arranged marriage and raised a family in suburban New Jersey before his father returned to India alone.But Deb had never learned who his parents were as individuals—their ages, how many siblings they had, what they were like as children, what their favorite movies were. Theirs was an ostensibly nuclear family without any of the familial bonds. Coming of age in a mostly white suburban town, Deb’s alienation led him to seek separation from his family and his culture, longing for the tight-knit home environment of his white friends. His desire wasn’t rooted in racism or oppression; it was born of envy and desire—for white moms who made after-school snacks and asked his friends about the girls they liked and the teachers they didn’t. Deb yearned for the same.Deb’s experiences as one of the few minorities covering the Trump campaign, and subsequently as a stand up comedian, propelled him on a dramatic journey to India to see his father—the first step in a life altering journey to bridge the emotional distance separating him from those whose DNA he shared. Deb had to learn to connect with this man he recognized yet did not know—and eventually breach the silence separating him from his mother. As it beautifully and poignantly chronicles Deb’s odyssey, Missed Translations raises questions essential to us all: Is it ever too late to pick up the pieces and offer forgiveness? How do we build bridges where there was nothing before—and what happens to us, to our past and our future, if we don’t?
**Missing**: Ten Inspirational Stories ((Extra)Ordinary #3)
by Kristin Bartzokis<P><P>Camille. Lynn. Monique. Becky and Margaret. Jaime. Olga. Christina. Rasheera. Odalys. Danielle. <P><P>These are the seemingly everyday women whose stories inspired (Extra)Ordinary Women - and whose resilience and strength will inspire women around the world. <P><P>These women have defeated breast cancer, addiction, and homelessness. They have lived through the Boston Marathon bombing and hundreds of surgeries. They have traveled from foreign lands to create a better life. They have endured brain cancer, abuse, and poverty. They have given a home to dozens of special-needs children. They have known loss, pain, and fear. <P><P>They are survivors. And they share their stories to empower other women who need something - and someone - to believe in. <P><P>(Extra)Ordinary Women reminds us of the amazing stories that we find all around us when we open our eyes, hearts, and minds. <P><P>And these extraordinary women remind us to never give up, never quit, and never underestimate the power of a woman.
Missing!: Mysterious Cases of People Gone Missing Through the Centuries
by Brenda Z. GuibersonIn Missing!, a photo-illustrated middle-grade nonfiction book, Brenda Guiberson explores the stories of six individuals who have disappeared mysteriously throughout history.
Missing: A Memoir
by Lindsay HarrisonA beautifully written, intensely poignant memoir that looks at grief, family dynamics, and what happens when your world comes crashing down.A twenty-five-year-old recent graduate of Columbia University’s MFA program, Lindsay Harrison began writing Missing as a way to cope with a terrible loss. During her sophomore year at Brown University, Lindsay received a phone call from her brother that her mother was missing. Forty days later they discover the unthinkable: their mother’s body had been found in the ocean. Missing is at first a page-turning account of those first forty days, as it chronicles dealings with detectives, false sightings, wild hope, and deep despair. The balance of the story is a candid, emotional exploration of a daughter’s search for solace after tragedy as she tries to understand who her mother truly was, makes peace with her grief, and becomes closer to her father and brothers as her mother’s death forces her to learn more about her mother than she ever knew before.
Missing: My life finding the lost and delivering justice for the living
by Charlie Hedges'A phenomenal insight... a fascinating read. I couldn't put it down' Jackie Malton, author of The Real Prime SuspectEvery 90 seconds in the UK, a missing person is reported to the police.A pioneer in the field with experience spanning four decades, Charlie Hedges' job is to work out the best way to find them. What's going on in their life? When were they last seen?Have they chosen to go missing or is someone else involved?With no two cases ever the same, Charlie has been involved in some of the most high-profile reports during his career with the police and as a consultant in missing cases. From the evil of abductions and trafficking to the tragic accidents of the vulnerable, Charlie has dedicated his life to developing the ways we help not just the missing, but the families and loved ones left behind.Unique and fascinating, Missing tells Charlie's untold story of finding those who desperately need to be found and the cases that will never leave him.
Missing: My life finding the lost and delivering justice for the living
by Charlie Hedges'A phenomenal insight... a fascinating read. I couldn't put it down' Jackie Malton, author of The Real Prime SuspectEvery 90 seconds in the UK, a missing person is reported to the police.A pioneer in the field with experience spanning four decades, Charlie Hedges' job is to work out the best way to find them. What's going on in their life? When were they last seen?Have they chosen to go missing or is someone else involved?With no two cases ever the same, Charlie has been involved in some of the most high-profile reports during his career with the police and as a consultant in missing cases. From the evil of abductions and trafficking to the tragic accidents of the vulnerable, Charlie has dedicated his life to developing the ways we help not just the missing, but the families and loved ones left behind.Unique and fascinating, Missing tells Charlie's untold story of finding those who desperately need to be found and the cases that will never leave him.
Missing
by Shelley MacKenneyMissing is Shelley MacKenney's remarkable story of life as a 'missing person'. An inspirational tale of her journey through extreme personal crisis."You can run, but you can't hide from yourself."Abandoned by her mother as a young child and with a father constantly on the run, Shelley's life was never normal. Her family's involvement with South London's criminal underworld left her isolated, vulnerable and lonely. Falling deeper and deeper into depression and despair - she snapped.Shelley got on the first coach out of London with only the clothes she stood up in and £30 in her pocket. She didn't care where she was going, as long as she could disappear completely from her oppressive life. For years, she lived anonymously in refuges, hostels and on the streets. It would take something remarkable to bring her back to the real world.
**Missing**: More Inspirational Stories of Everyday People ((Extra)Ordinary #2)
by Keith Maginn“This world needs books like these right now—the inspirational people within these pages.” - Kimberly Morand, blogger"When everything in life goes wrong, what keeps people going? This wonderful collection of answers tells how some conquered the near impossible." - Frank Litsky, retired editor and reporter, The New York TimesBurned on 100 percent of his body as a young boy, John O’Leary was given a 1 percent chance of survival. Thirty years later, he is a bestselling author, nationally known speaker, beloved husband, and dedicated father.Once controlled by addiction, Todd Crandell is now an addiction counselor—and a world-class Ironman triathlete.Born with no arms or legs, Nick Vujicic fought back from the brink of suicide to become a faith-driven motivational speaker admired by people around the world.These are just three of the inspiring lives featured in (Extra)Ordinary: More Inspirational Stories of Everyday People—tales of individuals who started out as “ordinary” but have proven to be anything but.Each of the people featured in (Extra)Ordinary reminds us of the depth of human potential and calls us to find our own strength to make our mark on the world around us. (Extra)Ordinary opens our eyes to the power that rests in each and every person!"I love this book. If you are looking for a book to inspire you, get yourself a copy. You will not be disappointed." - J. Bronder Book Reviews
Missing: Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Glenn Miller & the Duke of Kent
by Roy Conyers NesbitThe uncertain fates of Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson and Glenn Miller have fascinated readers and aviation historians ever since they disappeared. Even today, more than half a century after their final flights, what happened to them is still the subject of speculation, conspiracy theory and controversy. This has prompted Roy Conyers Nesbit to reinvestigate their stories and to write this perceptive, level-headed and gripping study. Using testimony from new witnesses and hitherto undisclosed public records, he seeks to explain why they were reported missing: believed killed. He describes why American aviatrix Amelia Earhart vanished in the Pacific on her round-the-world flight in 1937, what caused the death of Britains aviation heroine Amy Johnson over the Thames estuary in 1941, and what really killed band-leader Glenn Miller on his doomed flight to Paris in 1944. And he applies the same expert forensic eye to other tragic aerial mysteries of the period including the flying-boat crash that claimed the life of the Duke of Kent in Scotland in 1942. This classic study, issued here for the first time in paperback, will be fascinating reading for students of aviation history and for anyone who is intrigued by tales of flights into the unknown.
Missing: The Need for Closure After the Great War
by Richard van EmdenThe story of one British mother&’s desperate search for her son&’s remains after he was killed in action during World War I. In May, 1918, Angela and Leopold Mond received a knock on the front door. It was the postman delivering the letter every family in the United Kingdom dreaded: the notification of a loved one&’s battlefield death—in their case their eldest child, their son, Lieutenant Francis Mond. The Royal Flying Corps pilot, along with his Observer, Lieutenant Edgar Martyn, had been shot down over no man&’s land in France, both killed instantly. Yet there was one comfort: both bodies had been recovered. There would, at the very least, be a grave to visit after the war. However, no news followed. Angela Mond wrote to the Imperial War Graves Commission asking for further details, but no one knew where the bodies were buried. There was an initial trail, but from that last sighting both men had simply disappeared. So begins the story detailed in Missing. Angela, a wealthy, well-connected 48-year-old mother of five and a socialite from London&’s West End, embarked on an exhaustive quest to find her son that took her to the battlefields and cemeteries of France and into correspondence with hundreds of French civilians and British and German servicemen. She even bought the ground on which her son&’s plane had crashed and erected a private memorial to Francis, a memorial that survives to this day. During the Great War, more than 750,000 servicemen and women had been killed. Half of them had no known grave, leaving many families desperate for solace. This is just one of those heartbreaking stories.
Missing: The Need for Closure After the Great War
by Richard van EmdenThe story of one British mother&’s desperate search for her son&’s remains after he was killed in action during World War I. In May, 1918, Angela and Leopold Mond received a knock on the front door. It was the postman delivering the letter every family in the United Kingdom dreaded: the notification of a loved one&’s battlefield death—in their case their eldest child, their son, Lieutenant Francis Mond. The Royal Flying Corps pilot, along with his Observer, Lieutenant Edgar Martyn, had been shot down over no man&’s land in France, both killed instantly. Yet there was one comfort: both bodies had been recovered. There would, at the very least, be a grave to visit after the war. However, no news followed. Angela Mond wrote to the Imperial War Graves Commission asking for further details, but no one knew where the bodies were buried. There was an initial trail, but from that last sighting both men had simply disappeared. So begins the story detailed in Missing. Angela, a wealthy, well-connected 48-year-old mother of five and a socialite from London&’s West End, embarked on an exhaustive quest to find her son that took her to the battlefields and cemeteries of France and into correspondence with hundreds of French civilians and British and German servicemen. She even bought the ground on which her son&’s plane had crashed and erected a private memorial to Francis, a memorial that survives to this day. During the Great War, more than 750,000 servicemen and women had been killed. Half of them had no known grave, leaving many families desperate for solace. This is just one of those heartbreaking stories.
Missing Alice: In Search of a Mother's Voice
by Susan Letzler ColePublisher's Summary: "Author Susan Letzler Cole lost her mother, Alice, to cancer in 1990. In this 'autobiography of two voices,' she traces a daughter's search to recover the 'missing parts' of a mother, to know her as an individual for the first time. Shunning linear narrative, Cole experiments with a variety of approaches: letters written to her mother three years after Alice died at the age of 78; oral history via taped conversations between mother and daughter during Alice's illness; excerpts from her 14-year-old mother's 1926 diary juxtaposed with the author's expost facto letters to the adolescent diarist. Finally, Cole's own diary entries contemplate vital themes of family, love, and time. At once innovative and heartfelt, 'Missing Alice' seeks to make heard one of those 'lost' women's voices that speak from and help create the world that we know. It is a fine choice for classes in biography, autobiography, and women's writing, as well as American Jewish and immigrant experience, oral history/memoir, and grief therapy." Even though this book is a non-fiction work, it reads like a novel with sophisticated literary styles. Hopefully, by reading this book, the reader will learn a greater appreciation for life and relationships and will be able to show greater outward love to others.
Missing Believed Killed: The Royal Air Force and the Search for Missing Aircrew 1939–1952
by Stuart HadawayDuring the early years of WW2 it soon became apparent that the system for tracing the remains of R.A.F. aircrew deemed Missing Believed Killed was totally inadequate. The Missing Research Section (M.R.S.) of the Air Ministry was set up in 1941 to deal with this problem. It collected and collated intelligence reports from a wide variety of official, unofficial and covert sources in an attempt to establish the fate of missing aircrew, using forensic or semi-forensic work to identify personal effects passed on through clandestine channels or bodies washed up on Britains shores. In 1944 the M.R.S. a small team of fourteen men was sent to France to seek the missing men on the ground. With 42,000 men missing, the amount they achieve was limited, although a lot of useful work was carried out through contacts in the French Resistance. The book explains why, men volunteered for the job, and why they worked for so long at such a gruesome task. Facing difficulties in terrain and climate, from the Arctic Circle to the jungles of Burma and Germany and not knowing if the local people would be friendly or hostile. The book also explains how to trace R.A.F. members through both personnel and operational records, where these records are kept and how to access them.
Missing But Not Forgotten: Men of the Thiepval Memorial-Somme
by Ken Linge Pam LingeStories offering insight into the lives of 200 of the 72,000 men who went missing in action at the Battle of the Somme in France during WWI.The Thiepval Memorial commemorates over 72,000 men who have no known grave; all went missing in the Somme sector during the three years of conflict that finally ended on 20 March 1918.The book is not a military history of the Battle of the Somme, it is about personal remembrance, and features over 200 fascinating stories of the men who fought and died and whose final resting places have not been identified. Countries within the UK are all well represented, as are the men whose roots were in the far-flung reaches of the Empire and even foreigners. The stories that lie behind each of the names carved into the memorials panels illustrate the various backgrounds and differing lives of these men. The diverse social mix of the men young and old, gentry to laborers, actors, artists, clergy, poets, sportsmen, writers, and more is something that stands out in the book. Despite their social differences, what is most apparent is the wide impact of the loss for over fifty widows, around 100 children left fatherless and over thirty families mourning more than one son. Ranks from private to lieutenant colonel are expertly covered, as well as all seven winners of the Victoria Cross.These captivating stories stand as remembrance for each man and to all the others on the memorial. They are meticulously organized so the book can be of use to visitors as they walk around the memorial; as a name is viewed, the story behind that name can be read.Praise for Missing but Not Forgotten“This book specifically explores what is known about the lives and service of 200 of those men. The men selected aptly represent the wide variety of those who fought in the epic conflict, from laborers to gentry, from humble Tommies to VC recipients. Photographs, diary entries and other accounts bring at least a few of the sobering ranks of names to life.” —Your Family History
The Missing Cryptoqueen: The Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Con and the Woman Who Got Away with It
by Jamie Bartlett175 countries, four billion dollars, one scam: the thrilling rise and fall of the biggest cryptocurrency con in history and the woman behind it allIn 2016, on stage at Wembley Arena in front of thousands of adoring fans, Dr. Ruja Ignatova promised her followers a financial revolution. The future, she said, belonged to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. And the Oxford-educated, self-styled cryptoqueen vowed that she had invented the Bitcoin Killer. OneCoin would not only earn its investors untold fortunes; it would change the world. By March 2017, more than $4 billion had been invested in OneCoin in countries all around the world. But by October 2017, Ruja Ignatova had disappeared, and it slowly became clear that her revolutionary cryptocurrency was not all it seemed. Fortune was left asking, &“Is OneCoin the biggest financial fraud in history?&”In The Missing Cryptoqueen, acclaimed tech journalist Jamie Bartlett tells the story he began in his smash hit BBC podcast, entering the murky worlds of little-regulated cryptocurrencies and multilevel marketing schemes. Through a globe-crossing investigation into the criminal underworlds, corrupt governments, and the super-rich, he reveals a very modern tale of intrigue, techno-hype and herd madness that allowed OneCoin to become a million-person pyramid scheme—where, at the top, investors were making millions and, at the bottom, people were putting their livelihoods at risk. It&’s the inside story of the smartest and biggest scam of the 21st Century—and the genius behind it, who is still on the run.
The Missing JFK Assassination Film: The Mystery Surrounding the Orville Nix Home Movie of November 22, 1963
by Gayle Nix JacksonA granddaughter’s quest for answers sheds new light on one of history’s most enduring questions: Was there a conspiracy to kill President John F. Kennedy? Abraham Zapruder’s film gets all the attention, but there was another eyewitness to history whose tale has yet to be told. In this eye-opening account, Gayle Nix Jackson tells the story of her grandfather, Orville Nix, a man with a camera who happened to be on the ground for a life-changing—world-changing, and in some ways world-ending—event: the murder of President Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. The Missing JFK Assassination Film is not the typical JFK assassination book. This book does not attempt to answer the question of who killed John F. Kennedy; instead, it addresses why we should question the actions of those involved and why the truth was withheld from the people. Though copies of Orville’s film exist, the original film is missing. Why? The FBI confiscated the photographer’s camera for several months, then returned it in pieces. Were these actions sinister or were they just examples of governmental incompetence? The Missing JFK Assassination Film exposes information about the House Select Committee staff’s involvement in the missing film. The author’s interviews with people who were close to Orville shed light on the government’s involvement with the filmmaker. And her memories of growing up with her beloved grandfather—and on how his views changed after that fateful day—fuel a quest Jackson is still on to find the film.
Missing Lucile: Memories of the Grandmother I Never Knew
by Suzanne BerneAn award-winning author’s reconstruction of her grandmother’s life “takes us deep into the lore of history as well as family” (Sven Birkerts). Even as a child, Suzanne Berne understood the source of her father’s terrible melancholy: He’d lost his mother when he was a little boy. Decades later, with her dad now elderly and ailing, she decides to try to uncover the woman who continues to haunt him. Every family has a missing person, someone who died young or disappeared, leaving a legacy of loss. Aided by vintage photographs and a box of old keepsakes, Berne sets out to fill in her grandmother’s silhouette and along the way uncovers her own foothold in American history. Lucile Berne, née Kroger, was a daughter of Bernard Henry Kroger, the archetypal American self-made man, who at twenty-three established what is today’s $76 billion grocery enterprise. From her turn-of-the-century Cincinnati childhood to her college years at Wellesley, her tenure as treasurer of her father’s huge company, her stint as a relief worker in devastated France, her marriage to a professional singer, and the elusive, unhappy wealthy young matron she became, her granddaughter paints a portrait of a woman and her times, and discovers the function of family history: “to explain what is essentially inexplicable—how we came to be ourselves.”