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Baffert: Dirt Road to the Derby
by Steve Haskin Bob BaffertBaffert offers a frank--and frankly funny--portrayal of his border town roots and rapid rise to the top of the Sport of Kings, horse racing. A riveting and revealing tale of what it takes to become America's No. 1 trainer.
Bagehot: The Life And Times Of The Greatest Victorian
by James GrantThe definitive biography of one of the most brilliant and influential financial minds—banker, essayist, and editor of the Economist. During the upheavals of 2007–09, the chairman of the Federal Reserve had the name of a Victorian icon on the tip of his tongue: Walter Bagehot. Banker, man of letters, inventor of the Treasury bill, and author of Lombard Street, the still-canonical guide to stopping a run on the banks, Bagehot prescribed the doctrines that—decades later—inspired the radical responses to the world’s worst financial crises. Born in the small market town of Langport, just after the Panic of 1825 swept across England, Bagehot followed in his father’s footsteps and took a position at the local family bank—but his influence on financial matters would soon spread far beyond the county of Somerset. Persuasive and precocious, he came to hold sway in political circles, making high-profile friends, including William Gladstone—and enemies, such as Lord Overstone and Benjamin Disraeli. As a prolific essayist on wide-ranging topics, Bagehot won the admiration of Matthew Arnold and Woodrow Wilson, and delighted in paradox. He was also a misogynist, and while he opposed slavery, he misjudged Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. As editor of the Economist, he offered astute commentary on the financial issues of his day, and his name lives on in an eponymous weekly column. He has been called "the Greatest Victorian." In James Grant’s colorful and groundbreaking biography, Bagehot appears as both an ornament to his own age and a muse to our own. Drawing on a wealth of historical documents, correspondence, and publications, Grant paints a vivid portrait of the banker and his world.
Bagels and Grits
by Jennifer Anne MosesWhen Jennifer Anne Moses moved from a comfortable life in East Coast Jewish society to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she volunteered at an AIDS hospice and rediscovered a profound commitment to her Jewish faith. Outstanding Book, selected by the American Association of School LibrariansBest Books for Regional Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association
Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac
by Jeremy HanceAn award-winning journalist&’s eco-adventures across the globe with his three traveling companions: his fiancée, his OCD, and his chronic anxiety—a hilarious, wild jaunt that will inspire travelers, environmentalists, and anyone with mental illness. Most travel narratives are written by superb travelers: people who crave adventure, laugh in the face of danger, and rapidly integrate into foreign cultures. But what about someone who is paranoid about traveler&’s diarrhea, incapable of speaking a foreign tongue, and hates not only flying but driving, cycling, motor-biking, and sometimes walking in the full sun? In Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac, award-winning writer Jeremy Hance chronicles his hilarious and inspiring adventures as he reconciles his traveling career as an environmental journalist with his severe OCD and anxiety. At the age of twenty-six—after months of visiting doctors, convinced he was dying from whatever disease his brain dreamed up the night before—Hance was diagnosed with OCD. The good news was that he wasn&’t dying; the bad news was that OCD made him a really bad traveler—sometimes just making it to baggage claim was a win. Yet Hance hauls his baggage from the airport and beyond. He takes readers on an armchair trek to some of the most remote corners of the world, from Kenya, where hippos clip the grass and baboons steal film, to Borneo, where macaques raid balconies and the last male Bornean rhino sings, to Guyana, where bats dive-bomb his head as he eats dinner with his partner and flesh-eating ants hide in their pants and their drunk guide leaves them stranded in the rainforest canopy. As he and his partner soldier through the highs and the lows—of altitudes and their relationship—Hance discovers the importance of resilience, the many ways to manage (or not!) mental illness when in stressful situations, how nature can improve your mental health, and why it is so important to push yourself to live a life packed with experiences, even if you struggle daily with a mental health issue.
Baggage: My Childhood
by Janet Street-PorterBrilliant, brave, controversial, combative, intellectual - just how do you become Janet Street-Porter? In this mesmerising account of growing up in post-war London there is poignancy, mystery - and a trademark black humour. BAGGAGE will touch readers at many levels; it is as edgy and fearless as Janet Street-Porter herself.
Baggage: My Childhood
by Janet Street-PorterBrilliant, brave, controversial, combative, intellectual - just how do you become Janet Street-Porter? In this mesmerising account of growing up in post-war London there is poignancy, mystery - and a trademark black humour. BAGGAGE will touch readers at many levels; it is as edgy and fearless as Janet Street-Porter herself.
Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life
by Alan Cumming"An intimate look at the making of a man, an actor, an advocate—and most importantly—a happy human being. A wonderful book that is funny, honest, fearless, and generous in its vulnerability." —Douglas Stuart, Booker Prize-winning author of Shuggie BainThere is absolutely no logical reason why I am here. The life trajectory my nationality and class and circumstances portended for me was not even remotely close to the one I now navigate. But logic is a science and living is an art.The release I felt in writing my first memoir, Not My Father’s Son, was matched only by how my speaking out empowered so many to engage with their own trauma. I was reminded of the power of my words and the absolute duty of authenticity.But…No one ever fully recovers from their past. There is no cure for it. You just learn to manage and prioritize it. I believe the second you feel you have triumphed or overcome something – an abuse, an injury to the body or the mind, an addiction, a character flaw, a habit, a person – you have merely decided to stop being vigilant and embraced denial as your modus operandi. And that is what this book is about, and for: to remind you not to buy in to the Hollywood ending.Ironically maybe, much of Baggage chronicles my life in Hollywood and how, since I recovered from a nervous breakdown at 28, work has repeatedly whisked me away from personal calamities to sets and stages around the world. It is also about marriage(s): starting with the break-up of my first (to a woman) and ending with the ascension to my second (to a man) with many kissed toads in between! But in everything, each failed relationship or encounter with a legend (Liza! X Men! Gore Vidal! Kubrick! Spice Girls!), in every bad decision or moment of sensual joy I have endeavored to show what I have learned and how I’ve become who I am today: a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage.
Baghdad Diaries: A Woman's Chronicle of War and Exile
by Nuha Al-RadiIn this often moving, sometimes wry account of life in Baghdad during the first war on Iraq and in exile in the years following, Iraqi-born, British-educated artist Nuha al-Radi shows us the effects of war on ordinary people. She recounts the day-to-day realities of living in a city under siege, where food has to be consumed or thrown out because there is no way to preserve it, where eventually people cannot sleep until the nightly bombing commences, where packs of stray dogs roam the streets (and provide her own dog Salvi with a harem) and rats invade homes. Through it all, al-Radi works at her art and gathers with neighbors and family for meals and other occasions, happy and sad. In the wake of the war, al-Radi lives in semi-exile, shuttling between Beirut and Amman, travelling to New York, London, Mexico and Yemen. As she suffers the indignities of being an Iraqi in exile, al-Radi immerses us in a way of life constricted by the stress and effects of war and embargoes, giving texture to a reality we have only been able to imagine before now. But what emanates most vibrantly from these diaries is the spirit of endurance and the celebration of the smallest of life's joys. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia: And Other Misadventures In Arabia
by Tony Horwitz&“A very funny and frequently insightful look at the world&’s most combustible region.&”—The New York Times Book ReviewNATIONAL BESTSELLERPulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz's 1991 classic account of his travels across the Middle East and through the Arabian Peninsula, now in eBook for the first timeWith razor-sharp wit and insight, intrepid journalist Tony Horwitz gets beyond solemn newspaper headlines and romantic myths of the 1990s, to offer startling, honest close-ups of the Middle East. His quest for hot stories takes him from the tribal wilds of Yemen to the shell-pocked shores of Lebanon; from the sands of the Sudan to the souks of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.Careering through fourteen countries, including the Sudan, Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan, Horwitz travels light, packing a keen eye, a wicked sense of humor, and chutzpah in overwhelming measure. This wild and comic tale of misadventure reports on a fascinating world in which the ancient and the modern collide.
Baghdaddy: How Saddam Hussein Taught Me to Be a Better Father
by Lt. Col. Bill RileyAmerican Book Fest’s Best Book Awards Winner for Best Nonfiction Book of 2019 Military Writers Society of America Multiple Award-Winner: Founder’s Award for Standout Book of 2019 Gold Medal Award for Memoir category For readers of Educated and The Glass Castle, a moving new memoir about survival, family, and a humanizing insight into the individuals who fight the nation’s wars. As a child, he was raised in an unstable and violent home by a mother struggling with mental illness. An absent father with a firm belief in tough love left him with only his sister to understand or comfort him as they faced a home full of harshness, resentment, and physical abuse. As a man, he braved the war-torn landscapes of Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Having learned early from his father that only the strong survive, he enlisted in the Air Force after high school and began an impressive military career in intelligence analysis, communications, and supporting special operations, meeting incredible individuals along the way. In his time overseas he faced harsh realities of the politics of war, the consequences of military actions, and the challenge of attempting to rebuild a country while its own people are trying to kill you. Baghdaddy is Bill Riley’s memoir: an honest and colorful depiction of his journey through a turbulent youth and into a challenging adulthood. This very human account of living in some of the least humane environments delivers the message that no matter how different we seem, we are all trying to make the best of life and learn how to be the best versions of ourselves.
Bagheria
by Dacia MarainiAn exploration of the landscape of early memoryAfter being imprisoned with her family in a Japanese concentration camp, Dacia Maraini returns to her past. In sensuous detail, she describes Sicily, the town of Bagheria, and the ancestral villa to which she returned as a child after two horrific years of internment. Villa Valguarnera recalls the memory of Maraini's spiritual struggles and her rebellion against her elitist social class. She also discusses her experience of child abuse. Bagheria is a tale of corruption: Centuries of the town's past unfold alongside Maraini's family history as she details the involvement of the mafia in the architectural decimation of Bagheria in the 1970s.
Bai
by Capt. NarendraMemoires in the form of a diary written in 1967 by Vimlabai Edited and translated into Gujarati from original Marathi by Capt. Narendra.
Bailando con la muerte
by Roy BarrerasEl testimonio de Roy Barreras contra la enfermedad Roy Barreras ha confrontado a la muerte de muchas maneras a lo largo de los años: primero como médico, profesión que ejerció durante más de dos décadas, y después como actor político, defendiendo la paz por encima de todo. Pero la batalla decisiva llegó cuando le diagnostica ron cáncer de colon y supo que debía luchar por su propia supervivencia. Su camino hacia la sanación está consignado en este libro, en el que Barreras nos propone enfrentar la enfermedad reconciliándonos con la vida, aprovechándola al máximo, deshaciéndonos de hábitos dañinos y disfrutando de todo lo bueno que ya tenemos pero que, por el afán del día a día, solemos dar por sentado. Porque así, con valentía y firmeza, con alegría vital, es posible derrotar a la muerte, ponerla a bailar a nuestro ritmo, decirle que todavía no es el momento. La actitud es definitiva para vencer.
Bailey's Remarkable Plan
by David R. HardimanAn inspiring memoir that &“shows how service dogs can save lives . . . Hardiman shares his story of faith and perseverance&” (North Dallas Gazette.com).A dog. A man. A miracle. In Bailey&’s Remarkable Plan, David R. Hardiman shares his poignant story of struggle, prejudice, and pain. But this is also a story of perseverance, triumph, and love. Hardiman discovers that his four-footed companion, delivered to him by chance, is more than his best friend. Bailey is also his service dog, a shih tzu with an extraordinary gift—part of God&’s &“remarkable plan&”—that allows her to assist, to protect, and to love.Bailey&’s Remarkable Plan will inspire you, inform you, and challenge you to feel compassion for those suffering silently among us because of circumstances beyond their control. God sent Bailey to this earth as part of His plan, an angel in the form of a remarkable dog. Not the typical service dog, Bailey performs a miracle in the life of her owner and friend. And Hardiman&’s story will touch your heart as you journey along with the boy who became a man encircled by love.&“This book takes the reader on the author&’s decades-long journey living with a rare medical condition coupled with post-traumatic stress disorder and Bailey&’s intuitive ability to help him cope.&”—Fort Worth Magazine&“Bailey&’s Remarkable Plan is a powerful, true story about a service dog that breaks all stereotypes and reveals a timely message of hope.&”—Mike Norris, film director
Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street
by Neil BarofskyIn this riveting account of the mishandling of the TARP bailout fund, a former federal prosecutor offers behind-the-scenes proof of the corrupt ways Washington officials serve the interests of Wall Street.In this bracing, page-turning account of his stranger-than-fiction baptism into the corrupted ways of Washington, Neil Barofsky offers an irrefutable insider indictment of the mishandling of the $700 billion TARP bailout fund. During the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Barofsky gave up his job in the esteemed US Attorney's Office in New York City to become the special inspector general overseeing the spending of the bailout money. But from day one his efforts to protect against fraud and to hold the big banks accountable were met with outright hostility from Treasury officials. Bailout is a riveting account of Barofsky's plunge into the political meat grinder of Washington, and a vital revelation of just how captured by Wall Street our political system is and why the banks have only become bigger and more dangerous in the wake of the crisis.
Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street while Rescuing Wall Street
by Neil BarofskyIn this bracing, page-turning account of his stranger-than-fiction baptism into the corrupted ways of Washington, Neil Barofsky offers an irrefutable indictment, from an insider of the Bush and Obama administrations, of the mishandling of the $700 billion TARP bailout fund. In vivid behind-the-scenes detail, he reveals proof of the extreme degree to which our government officials bent over backward to serve the interests of Wall Street firms at the expense of the broader public--and at the expense of effective financial reform. During the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Barofsky gave up his job as a prosecutor in the esteemed U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City, where he had convicted drug kingpins, Wall Street executives, and perpetrators of mortgage fraud, to become the special inspector general in charge of oversight of the spending of the bailout money. From his first day on the job, his efforts to protect against fraud and to hold the big banks accountable for how they spent taxpayer money were met with outright hostility from the Treasury officials in charge of the bailouts. Barofsky discloses how, in serving the interests of the banks, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his team worked with Wall Street executives to design programs that would funnel vast amounts of taxpayer money to their firms and would have allowed them to game the markets and make huge profits with almost no risk and no accountability, while repeatedly fighting Barofsky's efforts to put the necessary fraud protections in place. His investigations also uncovered abject mismanagement of the bailout of insurance giant AIG and Geithner's decision to allow the payment of millions of dollars in bonuses--including $7,700 to a kitchen worker and $7,000 to a mail room assistant--and that the Obama administration's "TARP czar" lobbied for the executives to retain their high pay. Providing stark details about how, meanwhile, the interests of homeowners and the broader public were betrayed, Barofsky recounts how Geithner and his team steadfastly failed to fix glaring flaws in the Obama administration's homeowner relief program pointed out by Barofsky and other bailout watchdogs, rejecting anti-fraud measures, which unleashed a wave of abuses by mortgage providers against homeowners, even causing some who would not have lost their homes otherwise to go into foreclosure. Ultimately only a small fraction (just $1.4 billion at the time he stepped down) of the $50 billion allocated to help homeowners was spent, while the funds expended to prop up the financial system--as Barofsky discloses--totaled $4.7 trillion. As Barofsky raised the alarm about the bailout failures, he met with obstruction of his investigations, and he recounts in blow-by-blow detail how an increasingly aggressive war was waged against his efforts, with even the White House launching a broadside against him. Bailout is a riveting account of his plunge into the political meat grinder of Washington, as well as a vital revelation of just how captured by Wall Street our political system is and why the too-big-to-fail banks have only become bigger and more dangerous in the wake of the crisis. *** FROM BAILOUT The further we dug into the way TARP was being administered, the more obvious it became that Treasury applied a consistent double standard. In the late fall of 2009, as I began receiving the results of two of our most important audits, the contradiction couldn't have been more glaring. When providing the largest financial institutions with bailout money, Treasury made almost no effort to hold them accountable, and the bounteous terms delivered by the government seemed to border on being corrupt. For those institutions, no effort was spared, with government officials often defending their generosity by kneeling at the altar of the "sanctity of contracts." Meanwhile, an entirely different set of rules applied for home- owners and businesses that were most assuredly small enough to fail. Nowhere was the favoritism toward Wall Street more evident than with the government's ap...
Bajo el aro: Aprender del éxito y del fracaso
by Pau GasolUn libro que inspira a través del ejemplo y la reflexión. «Nadie dijo que fuera fácil alcanzar tus sueños. Pero si tienes una pasión verdadera y depositas todas tus esperanzas en ella, el esfuerzo para conseguirlos siempre te compensará», afirma Pau Gasol que, en Bajo el aro, comparte con los lectores los valores que le han llevado a lo más alto en su carrera deportiva y su trayectoria personal. No hay nada más bonito que poder desarrollar nuestro talento y hacerlo con pasión. Al hilo de su experiencia a lo largo de una espectacular carrera deportiva, en la que ha obtenido títulos pero también ha perdido finales, ha conocido victorias y derrotas sobre la bocina, ha vivido momentos con una forma excepcional y también la frustración de las lesiones, Pau Gasol comparte en Bajo el aro los principios y valores que le han convertido en un modelo a seguir. En este texto, muy personal, que inspira a través del ejemplo y la reflexión, Gasol aborda cómo el talento, el esfuerzo, el equilibrio o la necesidad de una reinvención permanente pueden aplicarse tanto al liderazgo y al emprendimiento deportivo o empresarial como a nuestro día a día. «Ahora, como cuando era pequeño, la pasión por jugar y por ganar sigue siendo mi motor. Cada día aprecio más lo afortunado que soy por tener el privilegio de amar lo que hago y al mismo tiempo poder inspirar a otros», afirma Paul Gasol compartiendo así su visión con una generosidad y empatía extraordinarias. Reseñas:«Siento un gran respeto por Pau Gasol, sobre todo por haber remontado lesiones graves con estoicismo y haber vuelto con más entusiasmo que nunca para demostrar que lo mejor estaba por venir. Y admiro su calidad humana, su nobleza, su entereza y su bondad, virtudes más grandes que él, ¡que ya es decir!»Plácido Domingo «Talento, esfuerzo, compromiso y, sobre todo, mucha pasión y liderazgo son los valores que Pau Gasol difunde en Bajo el aro. Su capacidad para inspirar y servir de modelo para los jóvenes es digna de elogio, porque el deporte es la puerta de entrada a la salud. Y la salud de los niños y las niñas es garantía de una sociedad futura mejor.»Valentí Fuster «Pau Gasol es un ejemplo para todos los deportistas españoles. Fue un pionero y ha triunfado en un país tan competitivo como Estados Unidos. Y los valores que representa son los que hay que transmitir dentro y fuera de las pistas de tenis o de baloncesto.»Rafa Nadal
Bajotierra: Un viaje por las profundidades del tiempo
by Robert MacfarlaneRobert Macfarlane nos invita a bajar la mirada hacia las profundidades de la tierra: un descenso hacia la historia, la cultura y las memorias del subsuelo. «El gran escritor y poeta de la naturaleza de esta generación.»The Wall Street Journal ¿Por qué descender? ¿Qué sabemos de los mundos que yacen bajo nuestros pies? ¿Qué nos pueden enseñar de nosotros mismos? Bajotierra es una exploración épica del mundo subterráneo a través de los viajes del autor a variopintos paisajes del subsuelo y de la mitología, la literatura y la memoria que los acompañan. En este extraordinario periplo por nuestra relación con la oscuridad, el enterramiento, el pasado y el futuro de nuestro planeta, nos trasladamos de los orígenes del universo a una Tierra poshumana, pasando por las cámaras funerarias de la Edad de Bronce, las catacumbas de París, la macroinfraestructura para almacenar desechos nucleares en las profundidades de Finlandia, el deshielo de los glaciares de Groenlandia, los ríos que desaparecen bajo tierra, las cuevas bajo el hielo ártico y la red fúngica por la que se comunican los árboles. En su habitual afán por encontrar los vínculos entre el paisaje y el corazón humano y gracias a una prosa lírica y llena de fuerza, el autor expone e ilumina esta parte oculta y, apelando a nuestro tiempo, nos invita a ver el mundo desde una nueva perspectiva que indaga sobre el origen y la pérdida pero también en la esperanza y el miedo por el futuro de nuestra existencia. La crítica ha dicho...«Un libro excelente: valiente y sutil, empático y extraño.»Dwight Garner, The New York Times «Macfarlane se atreve a adentrarse en el mundo oculto de la tierra e iluminar no solo aquello de lo que huimos, sino también lo que no sabemos ni que existe [...]. Bajotierra es un portal de luz entiempos oscuros. Necesitaba este libro de belleza subterránea para equilibrar el dolor del que estamos siendo testigos aquí arriba.»Terry Tempest Williams, The New York Times Book Review «Una magistral y cautivadora exploración del mundo bajo nuestros pies [...]. Es como si, en lo profundo de la roca ancestral, Macfarlane estuviera ganando perspectiva no solo sobre el tiempo y sobre la naturaleza, sino también sobre su propia carrera literaria [...]. Un libro extraordinario, culto y ameno a la vez, emocionante y bellamente escrito.»Alex Preston, The Guardian «Construido a escala épica y escrito con un lenguaje bellamente elocuente y sensible [...]. Una narración de aventuras, terror, descubrimiento y esperanza [...]. Un libro lleno de sabiduría profunda y conmovedora humanidad.»Sean Hewitt, The Irish Times «Maravilloso [...]. Con una curiosidad inacabable, generosidad de espíritu, erudición, valentía y claridad [...]. Un libro que vale la pena leer.»The Times «Leer a Macfarlane nos conecta con nuevos y deslumbrantes mundos. Se trata de una conexión que nos brinda, más que nada, placer. Y ese placer, a su vez, nos conecta con aquellos artistas que pintaron, hace miles de años, rojas figuras danzantes en las cuevas de Noruega.»Barbara J. King, NPR «Extraordinario [...]. Al mismo tiempo docto y ameno, apasionante y bellamente escrito.»The Observer «Sorprendente y memorable, Macfarlane se ha convertido en Orfeo, el poeta que se aventura a las profundidades más oscuras y retorna -terriblemente solo- para cantar lo que ha visto.»New Statesman
Baker Bandits: Korea's Band of Brothers
by Emmett Shelton Jr.An anthology of first-hand accounts of the Baker Bandits, U.S. Marines on the front line of battle during the Korean War.B-1-5 was a unique company in the Korean War. The Baker Bandits fought at Inchon, Naktong, Chosin Reservoir, Guerrilla Hunts and the many numbered hills. They inspired one B Company Commander, Gen. Charlie Cooper, to the extent that when he became Commanding General of the Marines First Division in 1977, his time with B-1-5 inspired his “Band Of Brothers Leadership Principles” used widely in the Corps for many years.Emmett Shelton was a nineteen-year-old Marine Reservist in 1950. He was called to duty after graduating Austin High School and, within six months, he was a rifleman in Korea. The Korean winter of 1950 was brutal, and Emmett was evacuated shortly after Chosin due to frostbite. After the war, Emmett got on with life, then in the 1980s he attended a Chosin Few Reunion. He was overwhelmed by a need to reconnect with his old Company, his Baker Bandits.Emmett tracked down B Company members one-by-one and started a newsletter, The Guidon, to share stories and reconnect. For twenty years Emmett published The Guidon, monthly. The contributing readership grew to a high of 300, including a number of young B Company Marines fighting in Afghanistan. The Baker Bandits brings together firsthand accounts from The Guidon, written by the men of B-1-5 about their time in Korea: their battles, their fallen commanders, death in the foxhole, lost platoons, injuries, and what happened to them after the war.Praise for Baker Bandits“The accounts include writings by officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men, all of whom shared the terrible experiences of the Korean War together. This method of organizing the book is unusual, but it works well here, with a natural flow to the narrative due to careful editing and ordering. The veterans of the Korean War are almost all gone now. While their war was smaller in scope, their actions and service deserve to be remembered.” —Military Heritage Magazine“The accounts give an intensely personal look at [the marines’] experiences in the war, interspersed with historical narrative and sobering lists of casualties.” —Seapower
Baker, Liar, Con Man, Thief: Escaping the Law One Identity at a Time
by DJ AdlerStep into a dangerous world of cunning and survival with BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF: Escaping the Law One Identity at a Time by D.J. Adler Reminiscent of the hit film Catch Me If You Can, this gripping true story unveils the life of David Adler, a teenager in South Florida in the late 1970s when he embarks on an audacious journey of deception. It all starts when Adler secures a bank loan to buy a booming local bakery. With no funds to his name, Adler unlocks his talent for forgery and the art of the scam. Alongside his mother and Italian tough-guy stepfather, he navigates a perilous path of crime, crafting false identities to dupe banks, casinos, and even the World's Fair, accumulating vast sums and dodging law enforcement. Enter Dianne Symmons, a witty, sarcastic FBI agent obsessed with their capture. After she solves an unrelated airline hijacking case, she is assigned to find the trio and make a case against them. Much easier said than done since each uses hundreds of names and disposes of identities like tissue. This thrilling narrative is perfect for those who enjoy crime memoirs. It explores the thrilling and perilous life of con artists at work and delves into the complexities of familial bonds, the pursuit of freedom, and the consequences of a life lived on the run. BAKER, LIAR, CON MAN, THIEF is a masterclass in the psychology of deception that takes the reader on a roller-coaster journey through the underbelly of 1970s America.
Bakhita: A Novel of the Saint of Sudan
by Veronique OlmiInspired by the true story of a former slave who became a saint, this poignant novel explores how a human being can survive the obliteration of her identity, and how kindness and generosity can be born out of profound trauma. <P><P>She recalls little of her childhood, not even her own name. She was barely seven years old when she was snatched by slave raiders from her village in the Darfur region of southern Sudan. <P><P>In a cruel twist, they gave her the name that she will carry for the rest of her life: Bakhita, "the Lucky One" in Arabic. <P><P>Sold and resold along the slave trade routes, Bakhita endures years of unspeakable abuse and terror. At age thirteen, at last, her life takes a turn when the Italian consul in Khartoum purchases her. <P><P>A few years later, as chaos engulfs the capital, the consul returns to Italy, taking Bakhita with him. In this new land, another long and arduous journey begins--one that leads her onto a spiritual path for which she is still revered today. <P><P>With rich, evocative language, Véronique Olmi immerses the reader in Bakhita's world--her unfathomable resilience, her stubborn desire to live, and her ability to turn toward the pain of others in spite of the terrible sufferings that she too must endure.
Baking as Biography
by Diane TyeHidden among the simple lists of ingredients and directions for everyday foods are surprising stories. In Baking as Biography, Diane Tye considers her mother's recipe collection, reading between the lines of the aging index cards to provide a candid and nuanced portrait of one woman's life as mother, minister's wife, and participant in local Maritime women's networks.
Baking as Biography: A Life Story in Recipes
by Diane TyeHidden among the simple lists of ingredients and directions for everyday foods are surprising stories. In Baking as Biography, Diane Tye considers her mother's recipe collection, reading between the lines of the aging index cards to provide a candid and nuanced portrait of one woman's life as mother, minister's wife, and participant in local Maritime women's networks.
Bakunin: A Biography
by Mark Leier"Bakunin not only reassesses this fascinating and important character but also provides the biography of the forgotten ideology of anarchism itself."—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red TsarThe passion for destruction is a creative passion," wrote the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin in 1842. Since then, the popular image of anarchism has been one of violence and terror. But this picture is wildly misleading, and the media has done more to obscure anarchism than to explain it. Focusing on the street fighting and confrontations with police, mainstream commentators are unable to understand what anarchism is or why a philosophy with roots in the nineteenth century has resurfaced with such power at the dawn of the new millennium. To understand anarchism, it is necessary to go beyond the caricature presented by the media. In this new biography of Mikhail Bakunin, Mark Leier traces the life and ideas of anarchism's first major thinker, and in the process revealing the origins of the movement.There was little in Bakunin's background to suggest that he would grow up to be anything other than a loyal subject of the Russian Empire. Instead, he became one the most notorious radicals of the nineteenth century, devoting his life to the destruction of the tsar and feudalism, capitalism, the state, even God. In the process, he became a historical actor and political thinker whose ideas continue to influence world events. Bakunin is of keen interest these days, though the attention paid to his image continues to obscure the man and his ideas. Using archival sources and the most recent scholarship, Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering a fresh interpretation of Bakunin's life and thoughts of use to those interested in understanding anarchism and social change. Arguing for the relevance and importance of anarchism to our present world, Leier sheds light on the nineteenth century, as well as on today's headlines, as he examines a political philosophy that has inspired mass movements and contemporary social critics.Mark Leier shows that the "passion for destruction" is a call to build a new world free of oppression, not a cult of violence. He argues that anarchism is a philosophy of morality and solidarity, based not on wishful thinking or naïve beliefs about the goodness of humanity but on a practical, radical critique of wealth and power. By studying Bakunin, we can learn a great deal about our own time and begin to recover a world of possibility and promise. It is often said that we are all anarchists at heart. This book explains why.
Bakunin: The Creative Passion -- A Biography
by Mark LeierThe spellbinding story of both the man and the theory, Bakunin chronicles one of the most notorious radicals in history: Mikhail Bakunin, the founder of anarchism, here revealed as a practical moral philosophy rooted in a critique of wealth and power. Mark Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering a fresh interpretation of his life and thoughts. Bakunin is an insightful read for all those who wish to better understand the fundamental basis of modern radical movements.