- Table View
- List View
The Best Gun in the World: George Woodward Morse and the South Carolina State Military Works
by Robert S. SeiglerA thoroughly researched account of weapons innovation and industrialization in South Carolina during the Civil War and the man who made it happen.A year after seceding from the Union, South Carolina and the Confederate States government faced the daunting challenge of equipping soldiers with weapons, ammunition, and other military implements during the American Civil War. In The Best Gun in the World, Robert S. Seigler explains how South Carolina created its own armory and then enlisted the help of a weapons technology inventor to meet the demand. Seigler mined state and federal factory records, national and state archives, and US patents for detailed information on weapons production, the salaries and status of free and enslaved employees, and other financial records to reveal an interesting, distinctive story of technological innovation and industrialization in South Carolina.George Woodward Morse, originally from New Hampshire, was a machinist and firearms innovator, who settled in Louisiana in the 1840s. He invented a reliable breechloading firearm in the mid-1850s to replace muzzleloaders that were ubiquitous throughout the world. Essential to the successful operation of any breechloader was its ammunition, and Morse perfected the first metallic, center-fire, pre-primed cartridge, his most notable contribution to the development of modern firearms.The US War Department tested Morse rifles and cartridges prior to the beginning of the Civil War and contracted with the inventor to produce the weapons at Harpers Ferry Armory. However, when the war began, Morse, a slave-holding plantation owner, determined that he could sell more of his guns in the South. The South Carolina State Military Works originally designed to cast cannon, produced Morse’s carbine and modified muskets, brass cartridges, cartridge boxes, and other military accoutrements. The armory ultimately produced only about 1,350 Morse firearms. For the next twenty years, Morse sought to regain his legacy as the inventor of the center-fire brass cartridges that are today standard ammunition for military and sporting firearms.“Does justice to one of the greatest stories in American firearms history. If George Woodward Morse had not sided with the Confederacy, his name might be as famous today as Colt or Winchester.” —Gordon L. Jones, Atlanta History Center “Excellent and well-researched.” —Patrick McCawley, South Carolina Department of Archives and History“For connoisseurs and scholars of military history (especially Civil War), history of technology, or Southern/South Carolina history, this is a must-read and reference volume pertaining to a previously little-known aspect of the nineteenth century that had a far-reaching impact in the manner wars would be fought by soldiers decades later.” —Barry L. Stiefel, College of Charleston
The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power
by James TraubA man who had won the Nobel Peace Prize, who was widely counted one of the greatest UN Secretary Generals, was nearly hounded from office by scandal. Indeed, both Annan and the institution he incarnates were so deeply shaken after the Bush Administration went to war in Iraq in the face of opposition from the Security Council that critics, and even some friends, began asking whether this sixty-year-old experiment in global policing has outlived its usefulness. Do its failures arise from its own structure and culture, or from a clash with an American administration determined to go its own way in defiance of world opinion? James Traub, a New York Times Magazine contributor who has spent years writing about the UN and about foreign affairs, delves into these questions as no one else has done before. Traub enjoyed unprecedented access to Annan and his top aides throughout much of this traumatic period. He describes the despair over the Oil-for-Food scandal, the deep divide between those who wished to accommodate American critics and those who wished to confront them, the failed attempt to goad the Security Council to act decisively against state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in Sudan. And he recounts Annan's effort to respond to criticism with sweeping reform—an effort which ultimately shattered on the resistance of U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.In The Best Intentions, Traub recounts the dramatically entwined history of Kofi Annan and the UN from 1992 to the present. In Annan he sees a conscientious idealist given too little credit for advancing causes like humanitarian intervention and an honest broker crushed between American conservatives and Third World opponents—but also a UN careerist who has absorbed that culture and can not, in the end, escape its limitations.
The Best Jokes Minnie Pearl Ever Told: (Plus some that she overheard!)
by Kevin KenworthyFrom the stage of the Grand Ole Opry to concert halls around the world, and on television's Hee Haw and Prime Time Country, Cousin Minnie Pearl entertained fans and friends with her stories about Grinder's Switch and her jokes. Now you can recall the best of them, such as . . .This week we decided we'd better take Brother up to Nashville and try to get him a job. So I took him to one of the places and the man said he'd give Brother a job. He said, "I can start you at thity dollars a week and in five years you'll get two hundred!" Brother said, "That's fine. I'll be back in five years!" Mr. Smith, a seventy-five-year-old multimillionaire, just married a young, beautiful eighteen-year-old girl. A friend asked, "How did you get an eighteen-year-old to marry you when you're seventy-five?" The man said, "I told her I was ninety-five!" Also included are memories of Minnie by . . .Porter Wagoner, Ralph Emery, Bill Anderson, Johnny Russell, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jimmy C. Newman
The Best Kind of Different: Our Family's Journey with Asperger's Syndrome
by Shonda SchillingIn The Best Kind of Different, Shonda Schilling, the wife of Major League Baseball All Star, former Boston Red Sox, and World Series championship pitcher Curt Schilling, shares the story of their son’s Asperger’s Syndrome, how it changed their lives, and what other parents can learn about this increasingly common diagnosis. Candid and compelling, The Best Kind of Different traces their family’s struggle with Asperger’s, following Curt and Shonda as they come to understand their son’s differences and in the process relearn everything they thought they knew about parenting.
The Best Lawyer In A One-Lawyer Town
by Dale BumpersAutobiography of the former Arkansas governor and legislator.
The Best Little Boy in the World
by Andrew Tobias John ReidThe classic account of growing up gay in America.<P><P> "The best little boy in the world never had wet dreams or masturbated; he always topped his class, honored mom and dad, deferred to elders and excelled in sports . . . . The best little boy in the world was . . . the model IBM exec . . . The best little boy in the world was a closet case who 'never read anything about homosexuality.' . . . John Reid comes out slowly, hilariously, brilliantly. One reads this utterly honest account with the shock of recognition." The New York Times<P> "The quality of this book is fantastic because it comes of equal parts honesty and logic and humor. It is far from being the story of a Gay crusader, nor is it the story of a closet queen. It is the story of a normal boy growing into maturity without managing to get raped into, or taunted because of, his homosexuality. . . . He is bright enough to be aware of his hangups and the reasons for them. And he writes well enough that he doesn't resort to sensationalism . . . ." San Francisco Bay Area ReporterFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
The Best Medicine: The True Story of a Nurse who became a Doctor in the 1950s
by Georgie Edwards‘I am one of the old school and believe that a woman’s place is within the home … However, I cannot, I will not, condone unfairness amongst females. I suggest that in due course you send your Matron a letter of thanks. You had after all a most unusual reference.’In 1949, Staff Nurse Georgie Edwards is asked to chaperone medical students undertaking their practical exams when suddenly the penny drops. Georgie wants to learn to diagnose and treat too.Against the odds, she wins herself a place to study medicine at London’s St Bartholomew’s Hospital and she sets about becoming not a consultant ‘who sweeps by’ but a doctor who listens and cares. Yet Georgie wants to fall in love and start a family as well as have a career – is this one dream too many for a woman in the 1950s?Warm and full of humour, The Best Medicine is Georgie’s fascinating memoir of her early years as a nurse and doctor.
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
by Jonathan Rosen&“Brave and nuanced…an act of tremendous compassion and a literary triumph.&” —The New York Times&“Immensely emotional and unforgettably haunting.&” —Wall Street JournalAcclaimed author Jonathan Rosen&’s haunting investigation of the forces that led his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor, from the heights of brilliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. A story about friendship, love, and the price of self-delusion, The Best Minds explores the ways in which we understand—and fail to understand—mental illness.When the Rosens moved to New Rochelle in 1973, Jonathan Rosen and Michael Laudor became inseparable. Both children of college professors, the boys were best friends and keen competitors, and, when they both got into Yale University, seemed set to join the American meritocratic elite.Michael blazed through college in three years, graduating summa cum laude and landing a top-flight consulting job. But all wasn&’t as it seemed. One day, Jonathan received the call: Michael had suffered a serious psychotic break and was in the locked ward of a psychiatric hospital.Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Michael was still in the hospital when he learned he'd been accepted to Yale Law School, and still battling delusions when he decided to trade his halfway house for the top law school in the country. He not only managed to graduate, but after his extraordinary story was featured in The New York Times, sold a memoir for a large sum. Ron Howard bought film rights, completing the dream for Michael and his tirelessly supportive girlfriend Carrie. But then Michael, in the grip of an unshakeable paranoid fantasy, stabbed Carrie to death with a kitchen knife and became a front-page story of an entirely different sort.The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen's brilliant and heartbreaking account of an American tragedy. It is a story about the bonds of family, friendship, and community; the promise of intellectual achievement; and the lure of utopian solutions. Tender, funny, and harrowing by turns, at times almost unbearably sad, The Best Minds is an extreme version of a story that is tragically familiar to all too many. In the hands of a writer of Jonathan Rosen's gifts and dedication, its significance will echo widely.
The Best New True Crime Stories: (true Crime Gift) (The\best New True Crime Stories Ser.)
by Mitzi SzeretoA true crime anthology exploring the dangerous side of romance—with couples who bonded over murder, mayhem and more. What brings criminal couples together? And what drives them apart? This volume of The Best New True Crime Stories attempts to answer these questions with a deep dive into true tales of lawless love. Everyone&’s heard of Bonnie and Clyde, but the annals of crime history are full of dysfunctional duos whose deadly escapades are equally enthralling. Featuring contributions from an international list of award-winning crime writers, journalists, and experts in the dark crimes field, The Best New True Crime Stories: Partners in Crime is a must-read for any true crime afficionado. Because when love goes wrong, there&’s never a dull moment.
The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers (true Story Crime Book, Crime Gift, And For Fans Of Mindhunter) (The\best New True Crime Stories Ser.)
by Mitzi SzeretoThis international true crime anthology reveals more than a century of classy crooks and principled pirates from East Chicago to the South China Sea. Sometimes the nicest people make the best criminals. This volume introduces real-life characters who broke the law for all the right reasons—or committed devious acts with the friendliest of faces. It features incredible stories from across the globe, written by award-winning crime writers, true-crime podcasters, and journalists such as Tom Larsen, David Blumenfeld, and Anthony Ferguson. You&’ll meet Freddie Brenman, the fearsome Chicago street-fighter and trusted friend of John Dillinger; Naún Briones, the Ecuadorian Robin Hood whose outlaw exploits are the stuff of legend; Ching Shih, the nineteenth-century lady pirate who fought Imperial China; and many others.
The Best Of Brevity: Twenty Groundbreaking Years of Flash Nonfiction
by Dinty W. Moore Zoë BossiereLiterary Nonfiction. Flash Nonfiction. Essays. Memoir. Hybrid. How much of the human experience can fit into 750 words? A lot, it turns out. Since its founding in 1997, Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction has published hundreds of brief nonfiction essays by writers around the world, each within that strict word count. Over the past 20 years, Brevity has become one of the longest-running and most popular online literary publications, a journal readers regularly return to for insightful essays from skilled writers at every stage of their careers. Featuring examples of nonfiction forms such as memoir, narrative, lyric, braided, hermit crab, and hybrid, THE BEST OF BREVITY brings you 84 of the best-loved and most memorable reader favorites, collected in print for the first time. Compressed to their essence, these essays glint with drama, grief, love, and anger, as well as innumerable other lived intensities, resulting in an anthology that is as varied as it is unforgettable, leaving the reader transformed. With contributions from Krys Malcolm Belc, Jenny Boully, Brian Doyle, Roxane Gay, Daisy Hernández, Michael Martone, Ander Monson, Patricia Park, Kristen Radtke, Diane Seuss, Abigail Thomas, Jia Tolentino, and so many more, THE BEST OF BREVITY offers unparalleled diversity of style, form, and perspective for those interested in reading, writing, or teaching the flash nonfiction form. "THE BEST OF BREVITY feels like the condensed energy of a coiled spring. A vibrant collection, dynamic in its exploration and celebration of the flash form."--Karen Babine "'I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead,' Mark Twain has said. But the writers who have contributed to THE BEST OF BREVITY: TWENTY GROUNDBREAKING YEARS OF FLASH NONFICTION took the time and made the effort. Dinty W. Moore, a pioneer of flash and the founding editor of Brevity, and his colleague Zoë Bossiere, have put together a marvelous collection of magic moments and concise ideas that will intrigue, delight, and inspire readers and writers. Each piece is an all-consuming instant, a thought-provoking breath of enlightenment and surprise. These flashes illustrate the power, versatility, and potential of the creative nonfiction genre."--Lee Gutkind
The Best Party of Our Lives
by Sarah GalvinThis moving collection of true stories about gay weddings shows how LGBT couples have overcome cultural and personal obstacles to their unions, made wedding traditions their own, and what everyone can learn from them. Told in a series of essays that mimics the course of a traditional wedding, from engagement to walking down the aisle to the honeymoon and beyond, The Best Party of Our Lives invites readers to reflect on what makes their own relationships unique, and the significance of public celebrations of love. With chapters each focusing on a different couple's love story, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned, the book offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the changing face of marriage. The perspective these trailblazing couples gain by examining and remaking marriage for themselves will inform anyone who is planning a wedding and inspire anyone who has ever been in love.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Best Seat in the House: How I Woke Up One Tuesday and Was Paralyzed for Life
by Allen RuckerLike the day Elvis died or O.J. was acquitted, the Tuesday you wake up paralyzed is not a day you soon forget. For writer Allen Rucker—baby boomer, husband, father of two, aging Hollywood also-ran—life started over that Tuesday when, at the age of fifty-one, he was struck by a rare disorder—transverse myelitis—that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Why him? Was he being punished? Was it his stressful life? His frustrating career? Telling too many Christopher Reeve jokes? Dazed and paralyzed, he was forced to reevaluate everything, from the simplest bodily functions to the mysteries of the universe. In a style that is at once funny and moving, The Best Seat in the House offers an unpretentious and unapologetic account of learning to live with paralysis. Without trivializing his situation, and without sermons or clichés, Rucker invites all readers, whether disabled or not, to identify with him for better or for worse. This remarkably comic and heartfelt book speaks to the fragility of life and to the resilience and adaptability of a single, ordinary human being. Lucky for us, this human being has a sense of humor. At first, it may not look like the best seat in the house, but read on. You might be surprised.
The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan
by Pat JordanThe acclaimed author of A False Spring profiles athletes famous and obscure in this captivating and incisive anthology Once a young pitching prospect with the Milwaukee Braves, Pat Jordan went on to become one of America&’s most revered sports journalists, writing for Sports Illustrated, Esquire, the New York Times Magazine, and a host of other major league publications. The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan showcases his finest journalism, with twenty-six extraordinary articles covering virtually the entire range of professional sports in America—from baseball, football, and basketball to boxing, tennis, and Formula One racing. Jordan offers indelible portraits of some of the most legendary sports figures of our time, exposing the imperfections often obscured by the bright lights of fame. He explores the miracle of the Williams sisters and their brash, charismatic father, Richard, and turns his unflinching gaze on such controversial sports personalities as Roger Clemens and O. J. Simpson. Other highlights include a poignant account of Duke basketball legend Bobby Hurley&’s rehabilitation after a devastating car accident, a profile of transsexual tennis star Renée Richards, and fascinating side-trips to the Professional Poker Tour, the child beauty pageant circuit, and a depressed, blue collar town in Pennsylvania where high school football offers the only solace.
The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening
by Ari ShapiroINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“The Best Strangers in the World is a witty, poignant book that captures Ari Shapiro’s love for the unusual, his pursuit of the unexpected, and his delight at connection against the odds.”—Ronan Farrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and New York Times-bestselling author of Catch and Kill and War on PeaceFrom the beloved host of NPR's All Things Considered, a stirring memoir-in-essays that is also a lover letter to journalism.In his first book, broadcaster Ari Shapiro takes us around the globe to reveal the stories behind narratives that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, but always poignant. He details his time traveling on Air Force One with President Obama, or following the path of Syrian refugees fleeing war, or learning from those fighting for social justice both at home and abroad.As the self-reinforcing bubbles we live in become more impenetrable, Ari Shapiro keeps seeking ways to help people listen to one another; to find connection and commonality with those who may seem different; to remind us that, before religion, or nationality, or politics, we are all human. The Best Strangers in the World is a testament to one journalist’s passion for Considering All Things—and sharing what he finds with the rest of us.
The Best Team Money Can Buy
by Molly KnightNews-making, inside revelations about the tumultuous years when the Los Angeles Dodgers were remade from top to bottom--from the ownership of the team to management to the players on the field--becoming the most talked-about and most colorful team in baseball.In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood: consistently entertaining. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined. Now Molly Knight tells the story of the Dodgers' 2013 and 2014 seasons with detailed, previously unreported revelations. She shares a behind-the-scenes account of the astonishing sale of the Dodgers, and why the team was not overpriced, as well as what the Dodgers actually knew in advance about rookie phenom and Cuban defector Yasiel Puig and how they and teammates handled him during his first two roller-coaster seasons. We learn how close manager Don Mattingly was to losing his job during the 2013 season--and how the team turned around the season in the most remarkable fifty-game stretch (42-8) of any team since World War II, before losing in the NLCS. Knight also provides a rare glimpse into the infighting and mistrust that derailed the team in 2014, and resulted in ridding the roster of difficult personalities and the hiring of a new front office. Knight also reveals new facts behind the blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. She paints an intimate portrait of star pitcher Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher in the game today, including details about the record contract offer he turned down before accepting the richest contract any pitcher ever signed. Exciting, surprising, and filled with juicy details, Molly Knight's account is a must-read for baseball fans and anyone who wants the inside story of today's Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Best Team Over There: The Untold Story of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Great War
by Jim LeekeGrover Cleveland Alexander was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, with 373 career victories during twenty seasons in the Major Leagues. Elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938, the right-hander remains a compelling—and tragic—figure. &“Pete&” Alexander&’s military service during World War I was the demarcation line between his great seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and his years of struggle and turmoil with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals after the Great War. Indeed, Alexander&’s service during World War I has all but been forgotten, even though it dramatically changed his life—and his game. Alexander served in the 342nd Field Artillery Regiment, which included big leaguers and star athletes among its officers and men. Naturally, the regiment fielded an outstanding baseball team, but it also faced hard service during the final weeks of the war. After the armistice in November 1918, the unit undertook occupation duty in Germany.The Best Team Over There examines this crucial period closely: where Alexander was stationed, how he was trained, how he withstood the effects of combat and shelling, how he interacted with his fellow athletes and soldiers, and how the war changed his baseball career, revealing for the first time the little-known details of this critical stage in the legendary pitcher&’s life and career. We can&’t truly understand Alexander and his enduring appeal to baseball fans without also understanding his life as a gunner and soldier.
The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me
by Lisa Ann WalterActress and comic Lisa Ann Walter offers a hilarious, star-studded collection of essays encouraging women to laugh at what they can't change, enjoy a guilty pleasure or two, and finally accept the lives and the bodies they're in now. The star of shows like Abbott Elementary and movies like The Parent Trap, Shall We Dance, and Bruce Almighty delivers a warm, wry, honest, and effective exhortation to find happiness where you are, in a serenity prayer for today’s woman that’s perfect for fans of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, Valerie Bertinelli’s Losing It and Chelsea Handler’s My Horizontal Life.
The Best Times: An Informal Memoir
by John Dos PassosA record of his childhood, young adulthood, and twenties, The Best Times is a collage of cherished memories. He reflects on the joys of an itinerant life enriched by new and diverse friendships, customs, cultures, and cuisines. Luminary personalities and landscapes abound in the 1920s literary world Dos Passos loved. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, E.E. Cummings, Gerald and Sara Murphy, Horsley Gantt--they are his beloved friends. Spain, the French Riviera, Paris, Persia, the Caucasus--they are his beloved footpaths.
The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in 1948
by Lance MorrowDescribes a pivotal year in their careers and in the history of the Nation.
The Best in the World
by Chris JerichoThe New York Times bestselling author, wrestler, metal rocker, and over-the-top media personality shares his latest wild and hilarious adventures World Wrestling Entertainment has named Chris Jericho as one of the top ten wrestlers--and one of the top five talkers--of all time. Certainly, the past six years have been spectacular for Jericho. After a sluggish return from his 2005 sabbatical, Jericho found new inspiration in watching No Country for Old Men and completely reinvented his character--ultimately going on to capture three world WWE titles. The Best in the World chronicles some of the incredible and often preposterous highlights of Jericho's recent career, including: How Mickey Rourke challenged Jericho to a match, then backed out Jericho's award-winning feud with Shawn Michaels, which culminated in Jericho knocking out Michael's wife in the ring . . . for real His escape from the 2010 Icelandic volcanoes in a broken-down, European rental-car shuttle His encounters with Bob Barker, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, Al Sharpton, and Mike Tyson; and his on-again-off-again relationship with WWE chief Vince McMahonJericho has a one-of-a-kind comedic voice and a knack for getting himself into screwball situations--both in and out of the ring. See for yourself why he is the best in the world.
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.
The Best is Yet to Come: A Memoir about Football and Finding a Way Through the Dark
by Alan O'MaraThree years ago, when Cavan footballer Alan O'Mara was twenty-two, he spoke out about his battle with depression which led him to contemplate suicide. Only the thought of his parents and the pain that they would experience in his death prevented him from taking his own life. Now, in The Best is Yet to Come, he tells his story.From the role the GAA played in his life, to the decision he made to share his journey, this is an account of an ordinary young man, a GAA star, who found a way to move past the dark thoughts that beset his mind during his worst days, and who discovered that the only way out of the darkness is to ask for help.'In summoning his courage and becoming the first active inter-county player to speak of his experiences with depression, Alan O'Mara gives a much needed voice to an aspect of human experience that has been cloaked in silence and stigma. This book, which is needed now more than ever, gives a rare glimpse into the complex inner world of depression and will give hope to those suffering in silence, guidance to those seeking solutions and inspiration for families and friends supporting loved ones.' Conor Cusack
The Best is Yet to Come: A Memoir about Football and Finding a Way Through the Dark
by Alan O'MaraThree years ago, when Cavan footballer Alan O'Mara was twenty-two, he spoke out about his battle with depression which led him to contemplate suicide. Only the thought of his parents and the pain that they would experience in his death prevented him from taking his own life. Now, in The Best is Yet to Come, he tells his story.From the role the GAA played in his life, to the decision he made to share his journey, this is an account of an ordinary young man, a GAA star, who found a way to move past the dark thoughts that beset his mind during his worst days, and who discovered that the only way out of the darkness is to ask for help.'In summoning his courage and becoming the first active inter-county player to speak of his experiences with depression, Alan O'Mara gives a much needed voice to an aspect of human experience that has been cloaked in silence and stigma. This book, which is needed now more than ever, gives a rare glimpse into the complex inner world of depression and will give hope to those suffering in silence, guidance to those seeking solutions and inspiration for families and friends supporting loved ones.' Conor Cusack
The Best of All Possible Worlds: A Life of Leibniz in Seven Pivotal Days
by Michael KempeA biography of the polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz told through seven critical days spanning his life and revealing his contributions to our modern world. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) was the Benjamin Franklin of Europe, a “universal genius” who ranged across many fields and made breakthroughs in most of them. Leibniz invented calculus (independently from Isaac Newton), conceptualized the modern computer, and developed the famous thesis that the existing world is the best that God could have created. In The Best of All Possible Worlds, historian and Leibniz expert Michael Kempe takes us on a journey into the mind and inventions of a man whose contributions are perhaps without parallel in human history. Structured around seven crucial days in Leibniz’s life, Kempe’s account allows us to observe him in the act of thinking and creating, and gives us a deeper understanding of his broad-reaching intellectual endeavors. On October 29, 1675, we find him in Paris, diligently working from his bed amid a sea of notes, and committing the integral symbol—the basis of his calculus—to paper. On April 17, 1703, Leibniz is in Berlin, writing a letter reporting that a Jesuit priest living in China has discovered how to use Leibniz’s binary number system to decipher an ancient Chinese system of writing. One day in August 1714, Leibniz enjoys a Viennese coffee while drawing new connections among ontology and biology and mathematics. The Best of All Possible Worlds transports us to an age defined by rational optimism and a belief in progress, and will endure as one of the few authoritative accounts of Leibniz’s life available in English.