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The Prince of the Skies
by Antonio IturbeA gripping narrative of friendship and exploration, and an homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an unforgettable writer who touched the lives of millions of readers, and who was able to see the world through the eyes of a child. In the 1920s, long before he wrote The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an accomplished pilot. Along with Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet, he was chosen to pioneer new mail routes across the globe. No distance was too far and no mountain too high—each letter had to reach its destination. The three friends soared through the air, while back on solid ground, they dealt with a world torn apart by wars and political factions.
The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder: An Untold History
by Andrew RoseThe royal family's darkest secret and the establishment cover-up. Half a century before Dodi and Diana, another Prince of Wales would be involved in a deadly love triangle with a fabulously wealthy Egyptian "prince." Prince Edward was the future King of England, a destiny he would famously forsake over his love for Wallis Simpson. But two decades prior he was involved in another love affair that threatened to jeopardize the royal family. The story took place in maisons de rendezvous, luxurious chateaux in the French countryside providing hospitality for the British upper classes, the richest food, the finest wines and the most beautiful women, the violent and dangerous Paris demi-monde - where many of the women came from - and the Savoy hotel in London, where a murder was committed. This major royal scandal, superbly covered up by the Royal family, the government and the judiciary has remained secret ever since.This is the story of a passionate and deadly love affair set against the dramatic backdrop of the Great War. Edward was enthralled by the 'crazy physical attraction' of Marguerite Alibert, queen of the Paris demi-monde. When he broke off their hidden relationship, Edward thought that he was free of Marguerite. He was wrong. After the war, as a violent thunderstorm raged outside the luxurious Savoy Hotel in London Marguerite fired three shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Her husband, and Egyptian multimillionaire and playboy, was shot dead at point blank range. Marguerite stood trial for murder at the Old Bailey. As Prince Charming and poster boy of the British Empire, Edward now risked exposure as a degenerate wastrel, partying behind the lines while thousands were blown away on the Western Front.Andrew Rose, using his long experience as a barrister and judge, has uncovered a royal scandal carefully airbrushed from history. Edward never quite escaped from Marguerite who had taught the arts of love to a once and future King.The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder is the product of several years' research, accessing unpublished documents held in the Royal Archives and private collections in England and France.
The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder: An Untold History
by Andrew RoseThe royal family's darkest secret and the establishment cover-up. Half a century before Dodi and Diana, another Prince of Wales would be involved in a deadly love triangle with a fabulously wealthy Egyptian "prince." Prince Edward was the future King of England, a destiny he would famously forsake over his love for Wallis Simpson. But two decades prior he was involved in another love affair that threatened to jeopardize the royal family. The story took place in maisons de rendezvous, luxurious chateaux in the French countryside providing hospitality for the British upper classes, the richest food, the finest wines and the most beautiful women, the violent and dangerous Paris demi-monde - where many of the women came from - and the Savoy hotel in London, where a murder was committed. This major royal scandal, superbly covered up by the Royal family, the government and the judiciary has remained secret ever since.This is the story of a passionate and deadly love affair set against the dramatic backdrop of the Great War. Edward was enthralled by the 'crazy physical attraction' of Marguerite Alibert, queen of the Paris demi-monde. When he broke off their hidden relationship, Edward thought that he was free of Marguerite. He was wrong. After the war, as a violent thunderstorm raged outside the luxurious Savoy Hotel in London Marguerite fired three shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Her husband, and Egyptian multimillionaire and playboy, was shot dead at point blank range. Marguerite stood trial for murder at the Old Bailey. As Prince Charming and poster boy of the British Empire, Edward now risked exposure as a degenerate wastrel, partying behind the lines while thousands were blown away on the Western Front.Andrew Rose, using his long experience as a barrister and judge, has uncovered a royal scandal carefully airbrushed from history. Edward never quite escaped from Marguerite who had taught the arts of love to a once and future King.The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder is the product of several years' research, accessing unpublished documents held in the Royal Archives and private collections in England and France.
The Princes in the Tower
by Alison Weir"Comprehensive and insightful, THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER offers a unique perspective on a profound mystery." Faye KellermanDespite five centuries of investigation by historians, the sinister deaths of the boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, remain one of the most fascinating murder mysteries in English history. Did Richard III really kill the young princes, as is commonly believed, or was the murderer someone else entirely? Carefully examining every shred of contemporary evidence as well as the dozens of modern accounts, Weir reconstructs the entire chain of events leading to the double murder to arrive at a conclusion Sherlock Holmes himself could not dispute.
The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504-1719
by Munis D. FaruquiFor more than 200 years, the Mughal emperors ruled supreme in northern India. How was it possible that a Muslim, ethnically Turkish, Persian-speaking dynasty established itself in the Indian subcontinent to become one of the largest and most dynamic empires on earth? In this rigorous new interpretation of the period, Munis D. Faruqui explores Mughal state formation through the pivotal role of the Mughal princes. In a challenge to previous scholarship, the book suggests that far from undermining the foundations of empire, the court intrigues and political backbiting that were features of Mughal political life - and that frequently resulted in rebellions and wars of succession - actually helped spread, deepen, and mobilize Mughal power through an empire-wide network of friends and allies. This engaging book, which trawls a vast archive of European and Persian sources, takes the reader from the founding of the empire under Babur to its decline in the 1700s. When the princely institution atrophied, so too did the Mughal Empire.
The Princess
by Wendy HoldenThe whole world saw Princess Diana step from a gilded carriage for her wedding at St. Paul&’s Cathedral. But before that fairy-tale moment came a dark and difficult journey.… Bestselling author Wendy Holden explores the astonishing backstory and young adulthood of the ultimate royal celebrity. Britain, 1961: A beautiful blonde baby is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents&’ messy divorce. She struggles at school. Her refuge throughout is romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana&’s romantic dream survive?
The Princess Diarist
by Carrie Fisher<P>The Princess Diarist is Carrie Fisher's intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time, the first Star Wars movie. Named a PEOPLE Magazine Best Book of Fall 2016. <P>When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved--plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford. <P>With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher's intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time--and what developed behind the scenes. And today, as she reprises her most iconic role for the latest Star Wars trilogy, Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. <P>Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into the type of stardom that few will ever experience. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Princess Problem: Guiding Our Girls Through The Princess-obsessed Years
by Rebecca C. HainsCartoon royalty, beware! A practical, solutions-based approach to navigating the perilous world of princesses Little girls love everything about princesses: the dolls, the love stories, the play clothes. But pop culture princesses are part of a powerful marketing machine, encouraging obsessive consumerism and delivering negative stereotypes about gender, race, and beauty to young girls. Princess Problem features stories and advice from parents, educators, psychologists, and children's industry insiders-including former Disney employees-to equip every parent with skills that will help them navigate their daughters' princess-saturated worlds.
The Princess Spy: The True Story of World War II Spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones
by Larry LoftisWhat to Read in 2021 —The Washington Post The international bestselling author of the &“exciting, suspenseful, inspirational&” (Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Code Name: Lise weaves another exceptional and thrilling hidden history of an ordinary American girl who became one of the OSS&’s most daring spies in World War II before marrying into European nobility. Perfect for fans of A Woman of No Importance and Code Girls.When Aline Griffith was born in a quiet suburban New York hamlet, no one had any idea that she would go on to live &“a life of glamour and danger that Ingrid Bergman only played at in Notorious&” (Time). As the US enters the Second World War, the young college graduate is desperate to aid in the war effort, but no one is interested in a bright-eyed young woman whose only career experience is modeling clothes. Aline&’s life changes when, at a dinner party, she meets a man named Frank Ryan and reveals how desperately she wants to do her part for her country. Within a few weeks, he helps her join the Office of Strategic Services—forerunner of the CIA. With a code name and expert training under her belt, she is sent to Spain to be a coder, but is soon given the additional assignment of infiltrating the upper echelons of society, mingling with high-ranking officials, diplomats, and titled Europeans, any of whom could be an enemy agent. Against this glamorous backdrop of galas and dinner parties, she recruits sub-agents and engages in deep-cover espionage to counter Nazi tactics in Madrid. Even after marrying the Count of Romanones, one of the wealthiest men in Spain, Aline secretly continues her covert activities, being given special assignments when abroad that would benefit from her impeccable pedigree and social connections. Filled with twists, romance, and plenty of white-knuckled adventures fit for a James Bond film, The Princess Spy brings to vivid life the dazzling adventures of a remarkable American woman who risked everything to serve her country.
The Princess of Albemarle: Amélie Rives, Author and Celebrity at the Fin de Siècle (The American South Series)
by Jane Turner CenserAt the turn of the twentieth century, Amélie Rives was one of the most famous women in America. A member of Virginia’s First Families—and granddaughter of a U.S. senator, she belonged to the southern aristocracy. Considered one of the great beauties of her time, Rives leveraged both her connections and her own considerable talent to become a best-selling author and then married into the wealthy Astor family. As Jane Turner Censer makes clear in this long overdue biography, Rives’s personal story—filled with enormous triumphs and calamities—was, if anything, as fascinating as her art.Rives’s most famous novel, The Quick or the Dead?, published when she was just twenty-four, was a sensation in its time, but soon she began to grapple with marital woes, an addiction to morphine and cocaine, and reams of unfavorable press coverage. Dramatically she took control of her celebrity: she divorced her husband and married a Russian prince, broke free of addiction, and changed her image to that of a European princess. Rives then regained her writing career, including plays produced on Broadway.Censer draws from Rives’s early diaries, correspondence, and publications as well as the massive newspaper coverage she received during her lifetime to provide insights into the limits imposed on and actions taken by ambitious, elite young women in the late nineteenth-century South. As a trailblazer, Rives used her beauty, brains, and wayward behavior to make a splash in a manner later adopted by southern women as disparate as Zelda Fitzgerald and Tallulah Bankhead.
The Princess of Scotland
by Alison WeirThe Princess of Scotland is an e-short and companion piece to Katheryn Howard: The Tainted Queen, the compelling fifth novel in the Six Tudor Queens series by bestselling author and historian Alison Weir.'The King would not approve of my falling in love ... My marriage was in his gift' Brought up in the magnificent castles of Scotland under the storm of her parent's turbulent marriage, Margaret Douglas is well-acquainted with the changing whims of those who hold power. And when her father is exiled by King James V, Margaret is sent to England to seek refuge with her uncle, King Henry VIII. Margaret is an asset to Henry, who plans to use her eligible marriage status for his own advantage. But, surrounded by the excitement and indulgences of the English court, will Margaret be able to resist the temptations of a young admirer? As she well knows, keeping secrets from the King can be a dangerous game...
The Princess: The moving new novel about the young Diana
by Wendy Holden'Touching and distinctive . . . getting beneath the fairytale pomp and glamour' - Rachel Hore 'Fabulous behind-the-scenes royal drama . . . Riveting, revealing, an absolute must-read' - Imogen Edwards-Jones 'This delicate, sometimes wistful story will delight fans of historical fiction and British royalty' - Booklist 'A fresh perspective on a woman whom many people feel they already know' - Library Journal 'Diana is depicted as warm, empathetic and mischievous' - Mail on Sunday, Best New Fiction 'Fascinating' - Woman's Weekly 'Fictionalises Diana's life in riveting and tender detail' - Platinum 'Perfect for fans of The Crown' - Bella 'A compelling read' - Prima 'Scurrilous, funny, sharp, shot through with pathos' - Saga magazine, Pick of the Month 'A super-romantic royal wedding that was nothing like it seemed. Wendy delves beneath the glamour and public persona. Fascinating' - Woman magazine ___________The moving new novel about the young Diana.Diana believes in love. Growing up amid the fallout of her parents' bitter divorce, she takes refuge in romantic novels. She dreams of being rescued by a handsome prince.Prince Charles loves his freedom. He's in no rush to wed, but his family have other ideas. Charles must marry for the future of the Crown.The right girl needs to be found, and fast. She must be young, aristocratic and free of past liaisons.The teenage Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her desperation to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride.But the route to the altar is full of hidden obstacles and people with their own agendas.When she steps from the golden carriage on her wedding day, has Diana's romantic dream come true?Or is it already over?
The Principia
by Isaac Newton Andrew MotteSir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles) (1687) is considered to be among the finest scientific works ever published. His grand unifying idea of gravitation, with effects extending throughout the solar system, explains by one principle such diverse phenomena as the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and the irregularities of the moon's motion. Newton's brilliant and revolutionary contributions to science explained the workings of a large part of inanimate nature mathematically and suggested that the remainder might be understood in a similar fashion. By taking known facts, forming a theory that explained them in mathematical terms, deducing consequences from the theory, and comparing the results with observed and experimental facts, Newton united, for the first time, the explication of physical phenomena with the means of prediction. By beginning with the physical axioms of the laws of motion and gravitation, he converted physics from a mere science of explanation into a general mathematical system.
The Principles of Uncertainty
by Maira KalmanThe Principles of Uncertainty is an irresistible invitation to experience life through the psyche of Maira Kalman, one of this country's most beloved artists.
The Printer and the Preacher: Ben Franklin, George Whitefield, and the Surprising Friendship That Invented America
by Randy PetersenThe true story of a friendship between two very different men: Founding Father Ben Franklin and famed preacher of the Great Awakening George Whitefield.They were the most famous men in America. They came from separate countries, followed different philosophies, and led dissimilar lives. But they were fast friends. No two people did more to shape America in the mid-1700s.Benjamin Franklin was the American prototype: hard-working, inventive, practical, funny, with humble manners and lofty dreams. George Whitefield was the most popular preacher in an era of great piety, whose outdoor preaching across the colonies was heard by thousands, all of whom were told, “You must be born again.” People became excited about God. They began reading the Bible and supporting charities. When Whitefield died in 1770, on a preaching tour in New Hampshire, he had built a spiritual foundation for a new nation—just as his surviving friend, Ben Franklin, had built its social foundation. Together these two men helped establish a new nation founded on liberty. This is the story of their amazing friendship.
The Printmaker's Daughter: A Novel
by Katherine GovierA lost voice of old Japan reclaims her rightful place inhistory in this breathtaking work of imagination and scholarship from award-winning and internationally acclaimedauthor Katherine Govier. In the evocative taleof 19th century Tokyo, The Printmaker’sDaughter delivers an enthrallingtale of one of the world’s great unknown artists: Oei,the mysterious daughter of master printmaker Hokusai, painter of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. In a novel that willresonate with readers of Tracy Chevalier’s Girlwith a Pearl Earring, Lisa See’s SnowFlower and the Secret Fan, and David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet,the sights and sensations of an exotic, bygone era form the richly captivatingbackdrop for an intimate, finely wrought story of daughterhood and duty, artand authorship, the immortality of creation and the anonymity of history.
The Priority List
by David MenascheBased on a beloved teacher's most popular lesson, The Priority List is a bold, inspirational story of learning, love, and legacy that challenges us to ask: What truly matters in life? David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons. When a six-year battle with brain cancer ultimately stole David's vision, memory, mobility, and--most tragically of all--his ability to continue teaching, he was devastated by the thought that he would no longer have the chance to impact his students' lives each day. But teaching is something Menasche just couldn't quit. Undaunted by the difficult road ahead of him, he decided to end his treatments and make life his classroom. Cancer had robbed him of his past and would most certainly take his future; he wouldn't allow it to steal his present. He turned to Facebook with an audacious plan: a journey across America-- by bus, by train, by red-tipped cane--in hopes of seeing firsthand how his kids were faring in life. Had he made a difference? Within forty-eight hours of posting, former students in more than fifty cities replied with offers of support and shelter. Traveling more than eight thousand miles from Miami to New York, to America's heartland and San Francisco's Golden Gate, and visiting hundreds of his students, David's fearless journey explores the things we all want and need out of life--family, security, independence, love, adventure--and forces us to stop to consider our own Priority List.
The Priscilla Diary
by Gene EdwardsShipwrecks. Conflict. Imprisonment. This book continues the First-Century Diaries series. Here, in fictional diary form, is the story of Paul's journeys to establish the first-century church. Priscilla, a vibrant Roman follower of Jesus Christ and the wife of Aquila, narrates this dramatic account. Readers follow Paul as he faces the specter of Blastinius and legal heartaches in Jerusalem. A fascinating way to relive the struggles and the courage of the early church.
The Prism Of Race
by Nico SlateA scholar of race and a leader in the Afro-Asian solidarity movement, Cedric Dover embodied the 20th-century cosmopolitan redefinition of racial identity. Tracing Dover's evolution through his relationships with W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Paul Robeson, this book tracks racial identity in the twentieth century.
The Prison Angel
by Kevin Sullivan Mary JordanThe winners of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting tell the astonishing story of Mary Clarke. At the age of fifty, Clarke left her comfortable life in suburban Los Angeles to follow a spiritual calling to care for the prisoners in one of Mexico's most notorious jails. She actually moved into a cell to live among drug king pins and petty thieves. She has led many of them through profound spiritual transformations in which they turned away from their lives of crime, and has deeply touched the lives of all who have witnessed the depth of her compassion. Donning a nun's habit, she became Mother Antonia, renowned as "the prison angel," and has now organized a new community of sisters-the Servants of the Eleventh Hour—widows and divorced women seeking new meaning in their lives. "We had never heard a story like hers," Jordan and Sullivan write, "a story of such powerful goodness. " Born in Beverly Hills, Clarke was raised around the glamour of Hollywood and looked like a star herself, a beautiful blonde reminiscent of Grace Kelly. The choreographer Busby Berkeley spotted her at a restaurant and offered her a job, but Mary's dream was to be a happy wife and mother. She raised seven children, but her two unfulfilling marriages ended in divorce. Then in the late 1960s, in midlife, she began devoting herself to charity work, realizing she had an extraordinary talent for drumming up donations for the sick and poor. On one charity mission across the Mexican border to the drug-trafficking capitol of Tijuana, she visited La Mesa prison and experienced an intense feeling that she had found her true life's work. As she recalls, "I felt like I had come home. " Receiving the blessings of the Catholic Church for her mission, on March 19, 1977, at the age of fifty, she moved into a cell in La Mesa, sleeping on a bunk with female prisoners above and below her. Nearly twenty-eight years later she is still living in that cell, and the remarkable power of her spiritual counseling to the prisoners has become legendary. The story of both one woman's profound journey of discovery and growth and of the deep spiritual awakenings she has called forth in so many lost souls, The Prison Angel is an astonishing testament to the powers of personal transformation. .
The Prison Book Club
by Ann WalmsleyA daring journalist goes behind bars to explore the redemptive power of books with bikers, bank robbers, and gunmen An attack in London left Ann Walmsley unable to walk alone down the street, and shook her belief in the fundamental goodness of people. A few years later, when a friend asked her to participate in a bold new venture in a men's medium security prison, Ann had to weigh her curiosity and desire to be of service against her anxiety and fear. But she signed on, and for eighteen months went to a remote building at Collins Bay, meeting a group of heavily tattooed book club members without the presence of guards or security cameras. There was no wine and cheese, no plush furnishings. But a book club on the inside proved to be a place to share ideas and regain a sense of humanity. For the men, the books were rare prized possessions, and the meetings were an oasis of safety and a respite from isolation in an otherwise hostile environment. Having been judged themselves, they were quick to make judgments about the books they read. As they discussed the obstacles the characters faced, they revealed glimpses of their own struggles that were devastating and comic. From The Grapes of Wrath to The Cellist of Sarajevo, Outliers to Infidel, the book discussions became a springboard for frank conversations about loss, anger, redemption, and loneliness. The Prison Book Club follows six of the book club members, who kept journals at Walmsley's request and participated in candid one-on-one conversations. Graham the biker, Frank the gunman, Ben and Dread the drug dealers, and the robber duo Gaston and Peter come to life as the author reconciles her knowledge of their crimes with the individuals themselves, and follows their lives as they leave prison. And woven throughout is the determined and compassionate Carol Finlay, working tirelessly to expand her program across Canada and into the United States. The books changed the men and the men changed Walmsley, allowing her to move beyond her position as a victim. Given the choice, she'd forsake the company of privileged friends and their comfortable book club to make the two-hour drive to Collins Bay.
The Prison Guard's Daughter: My Journey Through the Ashes of Attica
by Deanne Quinn MillerIn this moving memoir, a woman recounts her search for truth and justice regarding her father’s murder during America’s deadliest prison riot.Deanne Quinn Miller was five years old when her father—William “Billy” Quinn—was murdered in the first minutes of the Attica Prison Riot, the only corrections officer to die at the hands of inmates. But how did he die? Who were the killers? Those questions haunted Dee and wreaked havoc on her psyche for thirty years. Finally, when she joined the Forgotten Victims of Attica, she began to find answers. This began the process of bringing closure not only for herself but for the other victims’ families, the former prisoners she met, and all of those who perished on September 13, 1971—the day of the “retaking,” when New York State troopers and corrections officers at the Attica Correctional facility slaughtered twenty-nine rioting prisoners and ten hostages in a hail of gunfire.In The Prison Guard’s Daughter, Dee brings readers in on her lifelong mission for the truth and justice for the Attica survivors and the families of the men who lost their lives. But the real win was the journey that crossed racial and criminal-justice divides: befriending infamous Attica prisoner Frank “Big Black” Smith, meeting Richard Clark and other inmates who tried to carry her father to safety after his beating, and learning what life was like for all the people—prisoners and prison employees alike—inside Attica. As Miller lays bare the truth about her father’s death, the world inside Attica, and the state’s reckless raid and coverup, she conveys a narrative of compassionate humanity and a call for prison reform.Praise for The Prison Guard’s Daughter“A remarkable tale of healing and reconciliation, born from the tragedy of the nation’s deadliest prison uprising . . . . The Prison Guard’s Daughter reminds us that we can reach across divides—racial, social, economic—and learn lessons about others that inevitably teach us about ourselves. In a world in which the chasms among people seem to swell wider every day, this book tells us that our true angels can prevail, as long as we are ready to engage them.” —Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate“In the wake of the unimaginable trauma caused by the State of New York, there were the courageous few who had to endure even more pain to make sure that there was some reckoning with this horrific event, and some measure of justice for its victims. This is the extraordinarily beautiful story of one of the most courageous of those few, Dee Quinn Miller, who, quite literally, changed history.” —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy“A personal, affecting, and eye-opening account of a pivotal tragedy on the seemingly endless road to prison reform.” —Booklist
The Prison Island: A Graphic Memoir
by Ms Colleen FrakesMcNeil Island in Washington state was the home of the last prison island in the US, accessible only by air or sea. It was also home to about fifty families, including Colleen Frake's. <P><P>Her parents--like nearly everyone else on the island--both worked in the prison, where her father was the prison's captain and her mother worked in security. Xeric and Ignatz Award-winning comics artist, Colleen Frakes, tells the story of a typical girl growing up in atypical circumstances in this engaging graphic memoir.
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
by Nelson Mandela Sahm Venter Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela<P><P>An unforgettable portrait of one of the most inspiring historical figures of the twentieth century, published on the centenary of his birth. <P><P>Arrested in 1962 as South Africa’s apartheid regime intensified its brutal campaign against political opponents, forty-four-year-old lawyer and African National Congress activist Nelson Mandela had no idea that he would spend the next twenty-seven years in jail. <P><P>During his 10,052 days of incarceration, the future leader of South Africa wrote a multitude of letters to unyielding prison authorities, fellow activists, government officials, and, most memorably, to his courageous wife, Winnie, and his five children. <P><P>Now, 255 of these letters, many of which have never been published, provide exceptional insight into how Mandela maintained his inner spirits while living in almost complete isolation, and how he engaged with an outside world that became increasingly outraged by his plight. <P><P>Organized chronologically and divided by the four venues in which he was held as a sentenced prisoner, The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela begins in Pretoria Local Prison, where Mandela was held following his 1962 trial. In 1964, Mandela was taken to Robben Island Prison, where a stark existence was lightened only by visits and letters from family. After eighteen years, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison, a large complex outside of Cape Town with beds and better food, but where he and four of his comrades were confined to a rooftop cell, apart from the rest of the prison population. Finally, Mandela was taken to Victor Verster Prison in 1988, where he was held until his release on February 11, 1990. With accompanying facsimiles of some of his actual letters, this landmark volume reveals how Mandela, a lawyer by training, advocated for prisoners’ human rights. It reveals him to be a loving father, who wrote to his daughter, “I sometimes wish science could invent miracles and make my daughter get her missing birthday cards and have the pleasure of knowing that her Pa loves her,” aware that photos and letters he sent had simply disappeared. <P><P>More painful still are the letters written in 1969, when Mandela—forbidden from attending the funerals of his mother and his son Thembi—was reduced to consoling family members through correspondence. Yet, what emerges most powerfully is Mandela’s unfaltering optimism: “Honour belongs to those who never forsake the truth even when things seem dark & grim, who try over and & over again, who are never discouraged by insults, humiliation & even defeat.” <P><P>Whether providing unwavering support to his also-imprisoned wife or outlining a human-rights philosophy that resonates today, The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela reveals the heroism of a man who refused to compromise his moral values in the face of extraordinary punishment. <P><P>Ultimately, these letters position Mandela as one of the most inspiring figures of the twentieth century.
The Prison of My Mind
by Barbara Field BenzigerIn this memoir of psychiatric illness, the author describes two hospitalizations and her eventual restoration to mental health. In the first hospital she receives indifferent and even abusive treatment. In the second she has the good fortune to be assigned to a wise and compassionate psychiatrist who helps her explore her inner conflicts and find peace. Benziger writes eloquently of the terror of severe panic attacks when the world seems to be collapsing around her.