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Balance
by David Ritz Nik WallendaNik Wallenda, "King of the High Wire," doesn't know fear. As a seventh generation of the legendary Wallenda family, he grew up performing, entertaining, and pushing the boundaries of gravity and balance. When Nik was four years old, he watched a video from 1978 of his great grandfather, Karl Wallenda, walking between the towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico, stumbling, and falling to his death because of improper rigging. When Nik heard his father quote his great-grandfather-"Life is on the wire, everything else is just waiting"-the words resonated deep within his soul and he vowed to be a hero like Karl Wallenda. Balance is the theme of Nik's life: between his work and family, his faith in God and artistry, his body and soul. It resonates from him when performing and when no one is looking. When walking across Niagara Falls, he prayed aloud the entire time, and to keep his lust for glory and fame in check, Nik returned to the site of his performance the next day and spent three hours cleaning up trash left by the crowd. Nik Wallenda is an entertainer who wants to not only thrill hearts, but to change hearts for Christ. Christ is the balance pole that keeps him from falling.Nik Wallenda is an entertainer who wants to not only thrill hearts, but to change hearts for Christ. Christ is the balance pole that keeps him from falling.
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.
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.
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.
The Baker's Son
by Lowell Hawthorne"At 21, Hawthorne's parents shipped him off to New York, where his older siblings had already relocated. He eventually found a job, started college, and began to build the multi-million dollar business Golden Krust, whose Jamaican patties are a New York staple. Hawthorne's story is compelling on many levels: it offers a peek into life in Jamaica, a classic immigrant narrative, and a testament to the strength of family. Hawthorne's is a Horatio Alger tale with a Caribbean flavor, which should find an appreciative audience among entrepreneurs and business aficionados."--Library Journal"The American question gets a great, real-life look in The Baker's Son ... Hawthorne's story is at once inspirational and revelatory."--Publishers Weekly"In his memoir, The Baker's Son, Hawthorne shares how an idea inspired by his father's bakery in Border, Jamaica, grew into the 120-branch Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill. After 23 years of selling patties, pastries, sandwiches and more through Golden Krust, Hawthorne hasn't lost sight of his values."--New York Daily News"The Baker's Son is a deeply moving account that tells the story of an immigrant family from rural Jamaica that relocated to the Bronx in 1980s... the Hawthorne family has scaled the heights of success to achieve the American Dream to an unprecedented degree."--The Philadelphia Tribune"In gripping narrative that is both inspirational and instructive, Lowell Hawthorne shares how an idea infused with tenacity, intellect, and passion can become a dream realized. The Baker's Son offers a successful playbook for any entrepreneur who seeks to play on the rough-and-tumble field of business--and win."--Earl "Butch" Graves, Jr., President and CEO, Black Enterprise"Lowell Hawthorne's chronicle of the development of a small Jamaican business into the highly successful Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill, an American business empire, is an invaluable guide to business success as well as an inspiring autobiographical work."-P.J. Patterson, former prime minister of JamaicaThe Baker's Son is a memoir by the founder of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, the hugely successful Jamaican owned and run enterprise that reaches from New York to Florida with over 120 franchise locations. Starting from humble beginnings, and after weathering several major crises along the way, the Hawthorne family has scaled the heights of success to achieve the American Dream to an unprecedented degree. Today the Golden Krust brand represents the most lucrative Caribbean business ever established in America and one of the most profitable black businesses operating in the United States.Lowell Hawthorne is the president and CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill. He lives in Westchester, New York.
The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal
by Ruth MackayOn August 4, 1578, in an ill-conceived attempt to wrest Morocco back from the hands of the infidel Moors, King Sebastian of Portugal led his troops to slaughter and was himself slain. Sixteen years later, King Sebastian rose again. In one of the most famous of European impostures, Gabriel de Espinosa, an ex-soldier and baker by trade--and most likely under the guidance of a distinguished Portuguese friar--appeared in a Spanish convent town passing himself off as the lost monarch. The principals, along with a large cast of nuns, monks, and servants, were confined and questioned for nearly a year as a crew of judges tried to unravel the story, but the culprits went to their deaths with many questions left unanswered. Ruth MacKay recalls this conspiracy, marked both by scheming and absurdity, and the legal inquest that followed, to show how stories of this kind are conceived, told, circulated, and believed. She reveals how the story of Sebastian, supposedly in hiding and planning to return to claim his crown, was lodged among other familiar stories: prophecies of returned leaders, nuns kept against their will, kidnappings by Moors, miraculous escapes, and monarchs who die for their country. As MacKay demonstrates, the conspiracy could not have succeeded without the circulation of news, the retellings of the fatal battle in well-read chronicles, and the networks of rumors and correspondents, all sharing the hope or belief that Sebastian had survived and would one day return. With its royal intrigues, ambitious artisans, dissatisfied religious women, and corrupt clergy, The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal will undoubtedly captivate readers as it sheds new light on the intricate political and cultural relations between Spain and Portugal in the early modern period and the often elusive nature of historical truth.
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
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
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...
Bailey's Remarkable Plan
by David 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
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.
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.
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.
The Baghdad Clock
by Shahad Al RawiA HEART-RENDING TALE OF TWO GIRLS GROWING UP IN WAR-TORN BAGHDAD Baghdad, 1991. The Gulf War is raging. Two girls, hiding in an air raid shelter, tell stories to keep the fear and the darkness at bay, and a deep friendship is born. But as the bombs continue to fall and friends begin to flee the country, the girls must face the fact that their lives will never be the same again. This poignant debut novel reveals just what it's like to grow up in a city that is slowly disappearing in front of your eyes, and how in the toughest times, children can build up the greatest resilience.
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.
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
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.
A Bag of Marbles
by Joseph Joffo Martin SokolinskyWhen Joseph Joffo was ten years old, his father gave him and his brother fifty francs and instructions to flee Nazi-occupied Paris and, somehow, get to the south where France was free.
The Bafut Beagles
by Gerald DurrellTravel to the wilds of Cameroon with the conservationist whose work inspired Masterpiece production The Durrells in Corfu on public television. In 1949, Gerald Durrell embarks with fellow zoologist Kenneth Smith on an expedition to collect rare animals in the British Cameroons in West Central Africa. There, he meets the Nero-like local ruler, the Fon of Bafut, who likes a man who can hold his liquor—will Durrell be able to get on his good side? In this unique memoir, set off on a journey with the famed British naturalist’s group of hunters and his pack of motley hunting dogs as they encounter an array of exotic creatures, including flying mice, booming squirrels, a frog with a mysterious coat of hair, and teacup-size monkeys; and witness the joys and problems of collecting, keeping, and transporting wild animals from Africa to England. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.
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.
Badluck Way
by Bryce Andrews"Mine might have been a simple, pretty story, if not for the wolves. In late July, they emerged from the foothills . . ." In this gripping memoir of a young man, a wolf, their parallel lives and ultimate collision, Bryce Andrews describes life on the remote, windswept Sun Ranch in southwest Montana. The Sun's twenty thousand acres of rangeland occupy a still-wild corner of southwest Montana--a high valley surrounded by mountain ranges and steep creeks with portentous names like Grizzly, Dead Man, and Bad Luck. Just over the border from Yellowstone National Park, the Sun holds giant herds of cattle and elk amid many predators--bears, mountain lions, and wolves. In lyrical, haunting language, Andrews recounts marathon days and nights of building fences, riding, roping, and otherwise learning the hard business of caring for cattle, an initiation that changes him from an idealistic city kid into a skilled ranch hand. But when wolves suddenly begin killing the ranch's cattle, Andrews has to shoulder a rifle, chase the pack, and do what he'd hoped he would never have to do. Badluck Way is about transformation and complications, about living with dirty hands every day. It is about the hard choices that wake us at night and take a lifetime to reconcile. Above all, Badluck Way celebrates the breathtaking beauty of wilderness and the satisfaction of hard work on some of the harshest, most beautiful land in the world. Called "an important meditation on what it means to share space and breathe the same air as truly wild animals" (Tom Groneberg, author of The Secret Life of Cowboys), Badluck Way is the memorable story of one young man's rebirth in the crucible of the West's timeless landscape, a place at the center of the heart's geography, savage and gorgeous in equal measure.
Badges, Bears, and Eagles: The True-Life Adventures of a California Fish and Game Warden
by Steven T. Callan“This engrossing memoir by debut author Callan lets readers in on highlights of his 30-year career as a California wildlife officer” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Over his thirty-year career as a wildlife protection officer for the California Department of Fish and Game, Steve Callan and his longtime working partner, Dave Szody, conducted some of the most fascinating, complex, and highly successful wildlife investigations in California history. They also collected a wealth of true stories—action-packed, suspenseful, and often humorous. In Badges, Bears, and Eagles, Steve provides a vivid first-person account of his “jaw-dropping, funny, tragic, enraging, exciting, and hopeful” adventures (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The author and his colleagues outsmart game hogs, thwart fish thieves, and foil outlaws with names like “Squeaky.” Steve is even stalked by African lions and mauled by a five-hundred-pound Bengal tiger. One of the most important cases of his career begins with a slain bald eagle dropped on the doorstep of the Fish and Game office, along with a note threatening the life of a fellow warden. A decade later, Steve and Dave conduct the investigation of their lives, uncovering a statewide criminal conspiracy to kill California black bears for their valuable gall bladders. These and other fascinating stories make for a truly unique, “exceptionally well written” memoir of conservation that “is almost flawless, and reading this gem is pure effortless joy” (International Game Warden).
The Badger: The Life of Bernard Hinault and the Legacy of French Cycling
by William FotheringhamThe thrilling life of France's finest cyclist Bernard Hinault is one of the greatest cyclists of all time. He is a five-time winner of the Tour de France and the only man to have won each of the Grand Tours on more than one occasion. Three decades after his retirement, Hinault remains the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France and his victory in 1985 marks the turning point for a nation who had dominated the first eight decades of the race they had invented. In this biography, bestselling author William Fotheringham details how Hinault, nicknamed the "Badger" for his combative style, was the last old-school champion: a larger-than-life personality from a working-class background, capable of winning on all terrains, in major tours, and one-day classics. A full portrait of this fascinating character, The Badger also explores the reasons why France, the nation that considers itself cycling's home, has found it so hard to produce another champion.
Baden-Powell - The Hero of Mafeking
by W. Francis AitkenBaron Baden-Powell is nowadays remembered best for his work as the founder of the Scouting Movement which has gone on to become a world-wide success; however his initial reputation rested on his military career centred on the Boer War. Colonel Baden-Powell, as he then was, commanded at Mafeking and was charged with its defence no matter the odds. At his command he had few resources, even fewer men and slim prospects of holding out against overwhelming odds. What this book tells, with great gusto, is the miracle that Baden-Powell contrived to bring about by successfully defending Mafeking for seven months. His tactics were often unconventional but very effective in keeping up both the spirits of the townspeople and the Boers at bay. He set an example of sang-froid that was instrumental in ensuring the troops under his command did not give in to the fears of the odds facing them. The following anecdote is characteristic of him:"Soon after the redoubtable Cronje [The Boer General] took command of the Boer forces, he forwarded a demand for surrender, to avoid further bloodshed, to which the reply [Baden-Powell's] was, "When will the bloodshed begin?""Highly recommended.Author -- W. Francis AitkenText taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1900, London, by S W Partridge & Co.Original Page Count - 175 pages.Illustrations -- 1 Portrait.