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The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews
by Patrick DesboisWinner of the National Jewish Book Award: The story of how a Catholic priest uncovered the truth behind the murder of more than a million Ukrainian Jews.Father Patrick Desbois documents the daunting task of identifying and examining all the sites where Jews were exterminated by Nazi mobile units in Ukraine in WWII. Using innovative methodology, interviews, and ballistic evidence, he has determined the location of many mass gravesites with the goal of providing proper burials for the victims of the forgotten Ukrainian Holocaust.Compiling new archival material and many eye-witness accounts, Desbois has put together the first definitive account of one of World War II’s bloodiest chapters. Published with the support of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.“This modest Roman Catholic priest from Paris, without using much more than his calm voice and Roman collar, has shattered the silence surrounding a largely untold chapter of the Holocaust.” —Chicago Tribune“Part memoir, part prosecutorial brief, The Holocaust by Bullets tells a compelling story in which a priest unconnected by heritage or history is so moved by an injustice he sets out to right a daunting wrong.” —The Miami Herald“Father Desbois is a generation too late to save lives. Instead, he has saved memory and history.” —The Wall Street Journal“An outstanding contribution to Holocaust literature, uncovering new dimensions of the tragedy . . . Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
The Holy Thief: A Con Man's Journey from Darkness to Light
by Alan Eisenstock Mark BorovitzMark Borovitz was a mobster, gangster, con man, gambler, thief, and a drunk. He's seen it all. In this inspiring memoir, he takes you on a journey from the streets to discovering his soul in a prison cell.When Mark was fourteen, his father died and his world came crashing down. He stole, gambled, and drank, beginning a twenty-year life of crime, all the while trying to be the good son, the good brother, the good boy, but his life only spun more out of control until the mob put a hit out on him.After his release from prison, the drinking and thieving continued until, at the edge of oblivion, he experienced a moment of true divine intervention, a startling revelation that saved his life.Mark Borovitz proved that you can change your life -- profoundly. He is now the rabbi at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles, the House of Return, a rehabilitation facility for addicts of all kinds.The Holy Thief is the remarkable memoir of an amazing man. It is a true-life gangster story, a passionate love story, and a case of study in redemption. Regardless of your faith, you will find his story tragic, funny, uplifting, and inspirational.
The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature
by J. Drew Lanham&“A groundbreaking work about race and the American landscape, and a deep meditation on nature…wise and beautiful.&”—Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk A Foreword Reviews Best Book of the Year and Nautilus Silver Award Winner In me, there is the red of miry clay, the brown of spring floods, the gold of ripening tobacco. All of these hues are me; I am, in the deepest sense, colored. Dating back to slavery, Edgefield County, South Carolina—a place &“easy to pass by on the way somewhere else&”—has been home to generations of Lanhams. In The Home Place, readers meet these extraordinary people, including Drew himself, who over the course of the 1970s falls in love with the natural world around him. As his passion takes flight, however, he begins to ask what it means to be &“the rare bird, the oddity.&” By turns angry, funny, elegiac, and heartbreaking, The Home Place is a meditation on nature and belonging by an ornithologist and professor of ecology, at once a deeply moving memoir and riveting exploration of the contradictions of black identity in the rural South—and in America today. &“When you&’re done with The Home Place, it won&’t be done with you. Its wonders will linger like everything luminous.&”—Star Tribune &“A lyrical story about the power of the wild…synthesizes his own family history, geography, nature, and race into a compelling argument for conservation and resilience.&”—National Geographic
The Home Sommelier: Your down-to-earth guide to choosing good wine
by Brigid O'HoraBecome an expert at choosing wine you love. Make every pour a celebration with The Home Sommelier!Have you ever stood in the supermarket struggling to pick the right bottle of wine for the evening ahead, whether you're heading to a friend's birthday party or having a cosy night in with a bowl of pasta?Now, wine expert Brigid O'Hora (aka @brideys_wine_chats) is here to help with entertaining knowledge and advice to help you select the perfect wine to fit every occasion, no matter your budget.From how to tell good wine from bad and learning more about the regions and grapes you love, to tips on pairing the food you're eating - whether it's a special-occasion meal, everyday spaghetti Bolognese or a bag of crisps - with the perfect tipple, The Home Sommelier uncorks the secrets to getting the very best from your wine experience.
The Home Sommelier: Your down-to-earth guide to choosing good wine
by Brigid O'HoraBecome an expert at choosing wine you love. Make every pour a celebration with The Home Sommelier!Have you ever stood in the supermarket struggling to pick the right bottle of wine for the evening ahead, whether you're heading to a friend's birthday party or having a cosy night in with a bowl of pasta?Now, wine expert Brigid O'Hora (aka @brideys_wine_chats) is here to help with entertaining knowledge and advice to help you select the perfect wine to fit every occasion, no matter your budget.From how to tell good wine from bad and learning more about the regions and grapes you love, to tips on pairing the food you're eating - whether it's a special-occasion meal, everyday spaghetti Bolognese or a bag of crisps - with the perfect tipple, The Home Sommelier uncorks the secrets to getting the very best from your wine experience.
The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir Of Syria
by Alia MalekAt the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parent's decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians-the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds-who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country. Restoring her family's home as the country comes apart, she learns how to speak the coded language of oppression that exists in a dictatorship, while privately confronting her own fears about Syria's future.The Home That Was Our Country is a deeply researched, personal journey that shines a delicate but piercing light on Syrian history, society, and politics. Teeming with insights, the narrative weaves acute political analysis with a century of intimate family history, ultimately delivering an unforgettable portrait of the Syria that is being erased.
The Homemade Atheist: A Former Evangelical Woman's Freethought Journey to Happiness
by Betty BrogaardIn this personal memoir, a former evangelical Christian shares her journey away from her confining faith toward a happier, healthier, nonreligious life.Betty Brogaard was raised to be a good Christian. By the time she was twenty years old, she had joined a fundamentalist church. She even met and married a young man who became a minister in the congregation. However, the more she came to understand Christianity from within, the more she found herself asking questions instead of finding answers.In The Homemade Atheists, Betty shares her fascinating journey from the mental slavery of religion to the happiness she found in freethought. Along the way and without malice, she offers questions that challenge you to analyze your own beliefs—exactly as she did over her years-long journey.Her transformation provides a wealth of insight is for anyone seeking a path to a nonreligious way of life.
The Honey Bus: A Memoir Of Loss, Courage And A Girl Saved By Bees (Harlequin Audio Ser.)
by Meredith MayAn extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather and one of nature’s most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee. Meredith May recalls the first time a honeybee crawled on her arm. She was five years old, her parents had recently split and suddenly she found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. That first close encounter was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May, and in that moment she discovered that everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees.May turned to her grandfather and the art of beekeeping as an escape from her troubled reality. Her mother had receded into a volatile cycle of neurosis and despair and spent most days locked away in the bedroom. It was during this pivotal time in May’s childhood that she learned to take care of herself, forged an unbreakable bond with her grandfather and opened her eyes to the magic and wisdom of nature.The bees became a guiding force in May’s life, teaching her about family and community, loyalty and survival and the unequivocal relationship between a mother and her child. Part memoir, part beekeeping odyssey, The Honey Bus is an unforgettable story about finding home in the most unusual of places, and how a tiny, little-understood insect could save a life.
The Honeybee Man
by Kyrsten Brooker Lela NargiEvery morning, Fred climbs three flights of stairs--up to his rooftop in Brooklyn, New York--and greets the members of his enormous family: "Good morning, my bees, my darlings!" His honeybee workers are busy--they tend the hive, feed babies, and make wax rooms. They also forage in flowers abloom across Brooklyn . . . so that, one day, Fred can make his famous honey, something the entire neighborhood looks forward to tasting. Lela Nargi's beautifully written story--accompanied by Kyrsten Brooker's collage-style illustrations--offers an inside look at the life of an endearing beekeeper and the honey-making process.From the Hardcover edition.
The Honeymoon
by Dinitia SmithBased on the life of George Eliot, famed author of Middlemarch, this captivating account of Eliot's passions and tribulations explores the nature of love in its many guises Dinitia Smith's spellbinding novel recounts George Eliot's honeymoon in Venice in June 1880 following her marriage to a handsome young man twenty years her junior. When she agreed to marry John Walter Cross, Eliot was recovering from the death of George Henry Lewes, her beloved companion of twenty-six years. Eliot was bereft: left at the age of sixty to contemplate profound questions about her physical decline, her fading appeal, and the prospect of loneliness. In her youth, Mary Ann Evans--who would later be known as George Eliot--was a country girl, considered too plain to marry, so she educated herself in order to secure a livelihood. In an era when female novelists were objects of wonder, she became the most famous writer of her day--with a male nom de plume. The Honeymoon explores different kinds of love, and of the possibilities of redemption and happiness even in an imperfect union. Smith integrates historical truth with her own rich rendition of Eliot's inner voice, crafting a page-turner that is as intelligent as it is gripping.
The Honeymoon's Over: True Stories of Love, Marriage, and Divorce
by Andrea Chapin Sally Wofford-GirandIn this anthology, 24 women writers describe the turning points they reached in their own marriages and reveal how they decided to either stay with or leave their spouses. Contributors include well-known authors such as Betsy Israel, Terry McMillan, Joyce Maynard, Ann Hood, Daniela Kuper, and Alice Randall. Editor Chapin teaches writing at New York U., and Wofford-Girand is a literary agent. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Hong Kong Diaries
by Chris PattenThe diaries of the last British Governor of Hong Kong, published on the 25th anniversary of the handoverIn June 1992 Chris Patten went to Hong Kong as the last British governor, to try to prepare it not (as other British colonies over the decades) for independence, but for handing back in 1997 to the Chinese, from whom most of its territory had been leased 99 years previously. Over the next five years he kept this diary, which describes in detail how Hong Kong was run as a British colony and what happened as the handover approached. The book gives unprecedented insights into negotiating with the Chinese, about how the institutions of democracy in Hong Kong were (belatedly) strengthened and how Patten sought to ensure that a strong degree of self-government would continue after 1997. Unexpectedly, his opponents included not only the Chinese themselves, but some British businessmen and civil service mandarins upset by Patten's efforts, for whom political freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong seemed less important than keeping on the right side of Beijing. The book concludes with an account of what has happened in Hong Kong since the handover, a powerful assessment of recent events and Patten's reflections on how to deal with China - then and now.
The Honored Dead: A Story of Friendship, Murder, and the Search for Truth in the Arab World
by Joseph BraudeThe Arab Islamic world is known for religious extremism, ethnic conflicts, and, now, the overthrow of seemingly unshakable regimes--but if anything has become clear, it's that our understanding of the region remains shrouded and incomplete. The seeds of revolution, radicalism, and--possibly--reform are buried in the individual stories of millions of people whose lives determine the fates of their societies, people whose motivations are as common, and as strange, as our own.Here is one of those stories--and the story of how this world is being transformed, one life at a time. Joseph Braude is the first Western journalist ever to secure embed status with an Arab security force, assigned to a hardened unit of detectives in Casablanca who handle everything from busting al-Qaeda cells to solving homicides. One day he's given the file for a seemingly commonplace murder: a young guard at a warehouse killed in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong. Braude is intrigued by the details of the case: the sheer brutality of the murder, the identities of the accused--a soldier--and the victim, a shadowy migrant with links to a radical cleric, and the odd location: a warehouse owned by a wealthy member of one of the few thriving Jewish communities in the Arab world. After interviewing the victim's best friend, who tearfully insists that the true story of the murder has been covered up by powerful interests, Braude commits to getting to the bottom of it.Braude's risky pursuit of the shocking truth behind the murder takes him from cosmopolitan Marrakesh to the proud Berber heartland, from the homes of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country to the backstreets of Casablanca, where migrants come to make fortunes, jihad, and trouble, but often end up just trying to survive with dignity. The Honored Dead is a timely and riveting mystery about a society in transition, the power of the truth, and the irrepressible human need for justice.From the Hardcover edition.
The Honour and the Shame
by John Kenneally VcMany years after becoming the youngest person ever to be awarded the VC for attacking a company of Panzer Grenadiers on his own - an action that proved a turning point in one of the major battles of the Second World War - John Kenneally made an extraordinary confession. The courageous hero of the Irish Guards, who had taken on a whole company single-handed was not, in fact, John Kenneally at all, but Leslie Jackson, the illegitimate son of Neville Blond and Gertrude Robinson (a 'high-class whore'), who had deserted his former regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company. In THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME, he tells his story with great verve and frankness - a story of riotous living, great courage on the front line, and intense loyalties. Full of the escapades of battle - from the triumphant Tunisian campaign to the bloodbath of Anzio - and the many adventures of a freewheeling youth, THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME is a vivid portrait of a fascinating man.
The Honour and the Shame
by John Kenneally VcMany years after becoming the youngest person ever to be awarded the VC for attacking a company of Panzer Grenadiers on his own - an action that proved a turning point in one of the major battles of the Second World War - John Kenneally made an extraordinary confession. The courageous hero of the Irish Guards, who had taken on a whole company single-handed was not, in fact, John Kenneally at all, but Leslie Jackson, the illegitimate son of Neville Blond and Gertrude Robinson (a 'high-class whore'), who had deserted his former regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company. In THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME, he tells his story with great verve and frankness - a story of riotous living, great courage on the front line, and intense loyalties. Full of the escapades of battle - from the triumphant Tunisian campaign to the bloodbath of Anzio - and the many adventures of a freewheeling youth, THE HONOUR AND THE SHAME is a vivid portrait of a fascinating man.
The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman
by Gerald FriesenThe life and times of the Premier from Red River John Norquay, orphan and prodigy, was a leader among the Scots Cree peoples of western Canada. Born in the Red River Settlement, he farmed, hunted, traded, and taught school before becoming a legislator, cabinet minister, and, from 1878 to 1887, premier of Manitoba. Once described as Louis Riel’s alter ego, he skirmished with prime minister John A. Macdonald, clashed with railway baron George Stephen, and endured racist taunts while championing the interests of the Prairie West in battles with investment bankers, Ottawa politicians, and the CPR. His contributions to the development of Canada’s federal system and his dealings with issues of race and racism deserve attention today. Recounted here by Canadian historian Gerald Friesen, Norquay’s life story ignites contemporary conversations around the nature of empire and Canada’s own imperial past. Drawing extensively on recently opened letters and financial papers that offer new insights into his business, family, and political life, Friesen reveals Norquay to be a thoughtful statesman and generous patriarch. This masterful biography of the Premier from Red River sheds welcome light on a neglected historical figure and a tumultuous time for Canada and Manitoba.
The Hooligan's Return
by Norman ManeaAt the center of The Hooligan's Return is the author himself, always an outcast, on a bleak lifelong journey through Nazism and communism to exile in America. But while Norman Manea's book is in many ways a memoir, it is also a deeply imaginative work, traversing time and place, life and literature, dream and reality, past and present. Autobiographical events merge with historic elements, always connecting the individual with the collective destiny. Manea speaks of the bloodiest time of the twentieth century and of the emergence afterward of a global, competitive, and sometimes cynical modern society. Both a harrowing memoir and an ambitious epic project, The Hooligan's Return achieves a subtle internal harmony as anxiety evolves into a delicate irony and a burlesque fantasy. Beautifully written and brilliantly conceived, this is the work of a writer with an acute understanding of the vast human potential for both evil and kindness, obedience and integrity.
The Hooligans of Kandahar: Not All War Stories Are Heroic
by Joseph KassabianAn Army combat veteran’s personal account of his time in service during the Afghan War with an unconventional squad.In the birthplace of the Taliban, some men lose their lives, some lose their sanity, and others their humanity. They are the Hooligans . . .During the peak of the Afghanistan War, a group of soldiers is dropped by helicopter into the remote mountains outside of Kandahar City. Mismanaged and overlooked by command, the squad must rely on each other to survive.Their mission is to train and advise the Afghan National Police and help rebuild the country of Afghanistan. The Afghan Police station they are assigned to live in is dangerous health hazard. Many of the police officers they are supposed to train are Taliban sleeper agents or the family of Taliban fighters. The ones that aren’t are often addicted to drugs, illiterate, or smuggling child slaves.The squad’s leader is Slim, a staff sergeant in his late twenties with so many mental health issues that his insanity is his most dominant personality trait. An alcoholic with a penchant for violent outbursts against both his own soldiers and the Afghans, he is more comfortable at war than at home.Joseph Kassabian is the youngest and most junior fire team leader in the squad. He’s charged with leading a team of soldiers not even old enough to drink. He himself is only 21 years old. As a combat veteran from previous deployments with four years in the Army, he assumes he has seen it all. But he has no idea how bad things can get in war-torn Kandahar . . .Humorous and grim yet honest, The Hooligans of Kandahar is Jarhead and The Hurt Locker meets I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.Winner of the 2017 eLit Awards Gold Medal in Current EventsPraise for The Hooligans of Kandahar“A frighteningly realistic snapshot of the current war. Mr. Kassabian paints a deeply moving portrait of the struggles faced by men and women in uniform caused by our current foreign policy (or lack thereof), while bringing us along for a horrific, often . . . hilarious ride through the life of an American soldier.” —William Fulton, author of the critically acclaimed book The Blood of Patriots, Hill vets 100 awardee, SME/Consultant Domestic Terrorism
The Hoops Whisperer
by Idan RavinBasketball's most unlikely--and most sought-after--training guru offers an inside look at his career, his methods, and the all-star players whose games he's helped transform. Where do the best basketball players in the world turn when they want to improve their game? Whom does a future NBA Hall of Famer thank at his press conference when he's named Rookie of the Year? Who is it that Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and Men's Journal all call the "Hoops Whisperer" because of his ability to engage, inspire, and challenge the players he trains? The answer to all of these questions is Idan Ravin. Ravin never played or coached in college or the pros, yet a virtual NBA All-Star team relies on him to better their game and reach their full potential. A soft-spoken former lawyer, Ravin has become professional basketball's hottest trainer. In The Hoops Whisperer, Ravin shares the fascinating story of how he transformed a passion for the game into working with iconic basketball stars such as Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Dwight Howard, and many more. He offers a rare unguarded glimpse inside the lives of these great athletes, drawn from his intimate connection with them that is the basis of his success. Showcasing his unorthodox drills and improvisational techniques in action, Ravin reveals how faith, effort, dedication, and passion can make a player into a superstar--and anyone into a success. Combined with his own inspiring journey, Ravin's insights make The Hoops Whisperer a must-read for anyone who loves the game.
The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist's Journey from Helplessness to Optimism
by Martin E. SeligmanOne of the most influential living psychologists looks at the history of his life and discipline, and paints a much brighter future for everyone.When Martin E. P. Seligman first encountered psychology in the 1960s, the field was devoted to eliminating misery: it was the science of how past trauma creates present symptoms. Today, thanks in large part to Seligman's Positive Psychology movement, it is ever more focused not on what cripples life, but on what makes life worth living--with profound consequences for our mental health.In this wise and eloquent memoir, spanning the most transformative years in the history of modern psychology, Seligman recounts how he learned to study optimism--including a life-changing conversation with his five-year-old daughter. He tells the human stories behind some of his major findings, like CAVE, an analytical tool that predicts election outcomes (with shocking accuracy) based on the language used in campaign speeches, the international spread of Positive Education, the launch of the US Army's huge resilience program, and the canonical studies that birthed the theory of learned helplessness--which he now reveals was incorrect. And he writes at length for the first time about his own battles with depression at a young age.In The Hope Circuit, Seligman makes a compelling and deeply personal case for the importance of virtues like hope, gratitude, and wisdom for our mental health. You will walk away from this book not just educated but deeply enriched.
The Hope Circuit: A Psychologist's Journey from Helplessness to Optimism
by Martin SeligmanOne of the most important psychologists alive today tells the story of the transformation of modern psychology through the lens of his own career and change of heart.Martin E. P. Seligman is one of the most decorated and popular psychologists of his generation. When he first encountered the discipline in the 1960s, it was devoted to eliminating misery: the science of how past trauma creates present symptoms. Today, thanks in large part to Seligman's own work pioneering the Positive Psychology movement, it is ever more focused on the bright side; gratitude, resilience, and hope.In this his memoir, Seligman recounts how he learned to study optimism; including a life-changing conversation with his five-year-old daughter. In wise, eloquent prose, Seligman tells the human stories behind some of his major findings. He recounts developing CAVE, an analytical tool that predicts election outcomes (with shocking accuracy) based on the language used in campaign speeches, and the canonical studies that birthed the theory of learned helplessness - which he now reveals was incorrect. And he writes at length for the first time about his own battles with depression at a young age.All the while, Seligman works out his theory of psychology, making a compelling and deeply personal case for the importance of virtues like hope, anticipation, gratitude, and wisdom for our mental health. You will walk away from this book not just educated but deeply enriched.
The Hope in Leaving: A Memoir
by Barbara WilliamsHandsome Jack is a logger, nomad, and born dreamer. His young wife, Simone, has too many kids and never enough money to support or protect them. The family keeps on the move, shedding a grand total of twenty-seven homes. Their first child, Randy, is sensitive and brilliant and bold, protector of his younger siblings, the fearless star of their childhood adventures and misadventures--until something snaps inside him. The second child who comes a year after him, our narrator Barbara, is the lucky one, who can dream of getting out. Every time the family relocates, she feels "the hope in leaving and doing better next time."Poverty, mental illness, sexual abuse, and injustice pursue them wherever they go. They live small-town life hard and suffer, most of all Randy. The great surprise of The Hope in Leaving isn't that these characters descend increasingly into isolation and strife, but that despite this they remain a family, that there is always the spark of wit in their banter, and a kind of closeness no matter what happens, even a sense of normalcy. Gradually, the reader comes to understand why The Hope in Leaving is a book that had to be written. In it, Williams proves beyond doubt that there is one thing that can survive the worst of life and even death itself: love without judgment.From the Hardcover edition.
The Hopi-Tewa of Arizona
by Edward P. DozierTEWA VILLAGE, the Tewa-speaking community in northern Arizona, is the easternmost pueblo on the Hopi Reservation. It is one of three pueblos on First Mesa; the other two communities are Shoshonean Hopi in speech and culture. Although the inhabitants of Tewa Village speak another language and are set off culturally from the Hopi people, nothing about the outward appearance of the pueblo suggests this separatist quality. Tewa Village, in village plan, in architectural features of the houses, and in dress and material possessions of its inhabitants, appears to be a typical Hopi pueblo. Even in the physical appearance of the Hopi-Tewa no difference between them and the Hopi is apparent. Both belong to a fairly homogenous puebloid physical type. Culturally, however, the two peoples are quite distinct. The analysis of their differences is the main concern of this study.Although abundant literature exists on the Hopi, there is very little information regarding the Hopi-Tewa. Since Tewa Village is a comparatively recent community and its culture is manifestly different from that of the Hopi, those interested in the more colorful and ceremonially richer Hopi culture have bypassed it. The Hopi-Tewa, however, are an important group in themselves, and a study of them is needed.
The Horizontal Oak: A Life in Nature
by Polly PullarPeppered with humour, empathy and kindness' - Sunday Post Ever since her pet sheep Lulu accompanied her to school at the age of seven, animals and nature have been at the heart of Polly Pullar’s world. Growing up in a remote corner of the Scottish West Highlands, she roamed freely through the spectacular countryside and met her first otters, seals, eagles and wildcats. But an otherwise idyllic childhood was marred by family secrets which ultimately turned to tragedy. Following the suicide of her alcoholic father and the deterioration of her relationship with her mother, as well as the break-up of her own marriage, Polly rebuilt her life, earning a reputation as a wildlife expert and rehabilitator, journalist and photographer. This is her extraordinary, inspirational story. Written with compassion, humour and optimism, Polly reflects on how her love of the natural world has helped her find the strength to forgive and understand her parents, and to find an equilibrium.
The Horn: A Novel
by John Clellon HolmesThis mesmerizing tale of a musician's rise and fall is widely considered the greatest jazz novel ever published Edgar Pool came up with the big bands. He spent the 1930s crisscrossing the country, playing in only the finest dance halls. In those days, a saxophone player was expected to stay on the beat, to swing without getting too hot. But Edgar--whom the young men called "the Horn"--couldn't help but rebel. His sound was always far-out, never pedestrian. When the bebop revolution came, Edgar was recognized as one of the vanguard. But by then it was already too late; the world had passed the Horn by. This is the story of jazz in the transition years between swing titans Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young and bop innovators Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Rich in the details of a musician's life--the grind of the road; the flash of inspiration; the seduction of booze, drugs, and willing women--it is also a heart-wrenching portrait of the price an artist pays for being ahead of his time.