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Paw Tracks at Owl Cottage
by Denis John O'ConnorWhen Denis O'Connor and his wife Catherine return to Owl Cottage, only to find it in a dilapidated state, they decide to restore his former home. But the memory of Denis's beloved cat, Toby Jug, still lingers on. On impulse, he buys four Maine Coon kittens and names them Pablo, Carlos, Luis and Max.Set against the wilds of the Northumbrian coast, Denis tenderly and humorously charts the ups and downs of life with his mischievous new cats. Forays into this beautiful countryside - in order to train his cats to bond more closely with him - are never without incident. However, when Pablo disappears, Denis is once again reminded of Toby Jug and the strength of bond between man and cat...Praise for Paw Tracks in the Moonlight:'A charming book that will appeal to all ages' The Pulse.'This genuinely endearing cat's life story is going to warm the cockles of hearts all over the world' Lancashire Evening Post.
Paw Tracks in the Moonlight
by Denis John O'ConnorWhen Denis O'Connor rescues a three-week-old kitten from certain death during a snowstorm, little does he know how this tiny creature will change his life forever. Against all odds the kitten - who he names Toby Jug - survives and forms an unusually strong bond with his rescuer.Set against the rural splendour of Northumberland, Paw Tracks in the Moonlight charmingly chronicles the adventures of one man and his Maine Coone cat. From an invasion of bees at Owl Cottage to the case of the disappearing tomatoes, life with Toby Jug - who believes himself to be human - is never dull. Nevertheless, it is only when Denis and Toby Jug embark on a summer camping trip on horseback in the Cheviot Hills that a new world opens up for them both.
Toby Jug
by Denis John O'ConnorFrom the bestselling author of Paw Tracks in the Moonlight comes a new adventure with Denis O’Connor and his beloved cat Toby Jug. When Denis receives a call to help an abused and starved racehorse called Lady May, he has no idea how this new bond of friendship will shape his life. Toby, Denis and Lady May’s adventures through the Northumberland countryside tells a special story filled with love, laughter and loss.
Good Things out of Nazareth: The Uncollected Letters of Flannery O'Connor and Friends
by Flannery O'ConnorA literary treasure of over one hundred unpublished letters from National Book Award-winning author Flannery O'Connor and her circle of extraordinary friends. Flannery O'Connor is a master of 20th-century American fiction, joining, since her untimely death in 1964, the likes of Hawthorne, Hemingway, and Faulkner. Those familiar with her work know that her powerful ethical vision was rooted in a quiet, devout faith that informed all she wrote and did. Good Things out of Nazareth, a much-anticipated collection of many of O'Connor's unpublished letters, along with those of literary luminaries such as Walker Percy (author of The Moviegoer), Robert Giroux, Caroline Gordon (author of None Shall Look Back), Katherine Anne Porter (Ship of Fools), and movie critic Stanley Kauffmann, explores such themes as creativity, faith, suffering, and writing. Brought together they form a riveting literary portrait of these friends, artists, and thinkers. Here we find their joys and loves, as well as their trials and tribulations as they struggle with doubt and illness while championing their Christian beliefs and often confronting racism in American society during the Civil Rights era.Advance praise for Good Things Out of Nazareth“An epistolary group portrait that will appeal to readers interested in the Catholic underpinnings of O'Connor's life and work . . . These letters by the National Book Award–winning short story writer and her friends alternately fit and break the mold. Anyone looking for Southern literary gossip will find plenty of barbs. . . . But there’s also higher-toned talk on topics such as the symbolism in O’Connor’s work and the nature of free will.”—Kirkus Reviews “A fascinating set of Flannery O’Connor’s correspondence . . . The compilation is highlighted by gems from O’Connor’s writing mentor, Caroline Gordon. . . . While O’Connor’s milieu can seem intimidatingly insular, the volume allows readers to feel closer to the writer, by glimpsing O’Connor’s struggles with lupus, which sometimes leaves her bedridden or walking on crutches, and by hearing her famously strong Georgian accent in the colloquialisms she sprinkles throughout the letters. . . . This is an important addition to the knowledge of O’Connor, her world, and her writing.”—Publishers Weekly
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
by Flannery O'Connor Sally FitzgeraldThe author has chosen letters of Flannery that presents her tough, funny, careful personality to us.
An Only Child and My Father's Son: An Only Child and My Father's Son
by Frank O'ConnorFrank O'Connor's acclaimed autobiography, now in one volumeWhen Frank O'Connor was born, his parents--Minnie O'Connor, a former maid raised in an orphanage, and Michael O'Donovan, a veteran of the Boer War and the drummer in a local brass-and-reed band--lived above a sweet-and-tobacco shop in Cork, Ireland. The young family soon moved, however, to a two-room cottage at the top of Blarney Street, a lane that originates, as O'Connor so vividly describes it, "near the river-bank, in sordidness, and ascends the hill to something like squalor." From this unlikely beginning, a poor boy born Michael Francis Xavier O'Donovan set out on the remarkable journey that transformed him into Frank O'Connor, one of Ireland's greatest writers.An Only Child, the first installment of O'Connor's wonderfully evocative autobiography, captures the joy and pain of his early years: joy in the colorful people and places of Cork and in his devoted relationship with his mother, pain in the family's impoverished situation and in his father's melancholy moods and drunken outbursts. Fifteen years old when he joins the Irish Republican Army in the fight for independence, O'Connor finds himself on the losing side of the ensuing civil war and is imprisoned by the government of the new nation. My Father's Son begins with his release from an internment camp and follows him to Dublin and the world-renowned Abbey Theatre, where he meets W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, and other members of the Irish Literary Revival, and takes the first steps toward becoming one of the twentieth century's most beloved authors.As richly detailed and eloquent as the best of his short fiction, Frank O'Connor's autobiography is an entertaining portrait of a fascinating time and place, and the inspiring account of a young artist finding his voice.
The Butcher of Poland: Hitler's Lawyer Hans Frank
by Garry O'ConnorThe life of the Bavarian Hans Frank, one of the ten war criminals hanged at Nuremburg in 1946, who converted to Catholicism before he died, has not received the full attention the world has given to other Nazi leaders. In many ways he warrants it more. His life symbolises Germany's hubristic and visionary ambition to an alarming degree much better than anyone else's, perhaps because he was an intellectual of the highest calibre: ‘Can’t they see,’ he said of his fellow accused at Nuremberg, ‘that this is a horrible tragedy in the history of mankind, and that we are the symbols of an evil that God is brushing aside?’ As he recognised by the end he was a primary - if not the exemplary - symbol of evil, his remorse, self-pity, and arrogance knew no bounds as they vied with his contrition.Author Garry O'Connor brings his skills as a playwright, biographer and novelist to this harrowing account of Histler's lawyer, the man who formalised the Nazi race laws.
Ian McKellen: The Biography
by Garry O'Connor'[A] fascinating voyage round McKellen' Simon Callow, Guardian'Surely the definitive McKellen biography' Alexander Larman, Observer'A well-researched, eminently readable book' Benedict Nightingale, The TimesFew actors achieve in their lifetime what Sir Ian McKellen has. A repertoire of vast commercial success coupled with critically acclaimed and authoritative Shakespearian roles. A man whose achievements inspire both admiration and affection. McKellen has been feted and admired in every country across the globe, and has been knighted by, and received the Companionship of Honour from Queen Elizabeth II. He is an icon of, and ardent campaigner in the cause for LGBT rights.Many of us know of McKellen through his depiction of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. Garry O'Connor's definitive biography reveals the man behind McKellen the actor. The inside story of the person himself: a constantly developing drama and a work in progress. Yet O'Connor pulls no punches: some of his revelations may be controversial to his fans, even explosive, given McKellen's constant ability to shock and surprise. The author directed McKellen in some of his very first roles. This is an unflinching yet deeply intimate and affectionate biography that, like McKellen himself, will stand the test of time as a rounded and complete portrait of one of the most unusual geniuses of our times.
Ian McKellen: The Biography
by Garry O'ConnorSir Ian McKellen is that rarest of characters: a celebrity whose distinguished political and social service has transcended his enormous fame and international stardom to reach far beyond the stage and screen.The breadth of his endeavour - professional, personal and political - has been truly staggering. Of some four-hundred stage and film roles, there are only three, in his own estimation, of which he has not been proud. Iconic roles have not been in short supply: Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings being perhaps the most universally-recognised and well-loved. Add to all this McKellen's tireless political activism in the cause of gay equality, and you have a veritable phenomenon.This intimate and definitive biography probes the heart of the actor, recreating for the reader his greatest stage roles, and exploring the inner man in his personal releationships. It will define in a complete and compelling way what makes him tick, his achievements, and his shortcomings.McKellen's life story has been a constantly developing drama. He is an enigmatic and complex being; and parts of the book may be controversial, even explosive, given his consistent ability to shock and surprise.
Ian McKellen: A Biography
by Garry O'ConnorThe definitive biography of Sir Ian McKellen from an acclaimed biographer In 2001, Ian McKellen put on the robe and pointed hat of a wizard named Gandalf and won a place in the hearts of Tolkien fans worldwide. Though his role in the film adaptation of Lord of the Rings introduced him to a new audience, McKellen had a thriving career a lifetime before his visit to Middle Earth. He made his West End acting debut in 1964 in James Saunders’s A Scent of Flowers, but it was in 1980 that he took Broadway by storm when he played Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s Tony-Award-winning play Amadeus.He has starred in over four hundred plays and films and he is that rare character: a celebrity whose distinguished political and social service has transcended his international fame to reach beyond the stage and screen. The breadth of his career—professional, personal and political—has been truly staggering: Macbeth (opposite Judi Dench), Iago, King Lear, Chekhov’s Sorin in The Seagull and Becket’s tramp Estragon (opposite Patrick Stewart) in Waiting for Godot. Add to all this his tireless political activism in the cause of gay equality and you have a veritable phenomenon. Garry O’Connor’s Ian McKellen: A Biography probes the heart of the actor, recreating his greatest stage roles and exploring his personal life. Ian McKellen will show readers what makes a great actor tick. His life story has been a constantly developing drama and this biography is the next chapter.
The Astors
by Harvey O'ConnorThe Astors is a comprehensive biography of one of the most prominent and influential families in American history. The Astors were a wealthy and powerful family who made their fortune in the fur trade and real estate, and went on to become one of the most influential families in New York City and beyond. This book traces the history of the Astor family from its humble beginnings in Germany to its rise to prominence in America and explores the lives of some of its most famous members, including John Jacob Astor, William Waldorf Astor, and Brooke Astor. It delves into their personal lives, business ventures, and philanthropic endeavors, and sheds light on the family's role in shaping the cultural and economic landscape of America. Harvey O’Connor’s meticulously researched and engagingly written book, which includes numerous family photos and a thorough genealogy, offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of one of America's most iconic families. It is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, business, and culture.Also available in audiobook format.
Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time
by Ian O'ConnorA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The definitive biography of the NFL’s most enigmatic, controversial, and yet successful coach Bill Belichick is perhaps the most fascinating figure in the NFL—the infamously dour face of one of the winningest franchises in sports. As head coach of the New England Patriots, he’s led the team to five Super Bowl championship trophies. In this revelatory and robust biography, readers will come to understand and see Belichick’s full life in football, from watching college games as a kid with his father, a Naval Academy scout, to orchestrating two Super Bowl–winning game plans as defensive coordinator for the Giants, to his dramatic leap to New England, where he has made history. Award-winning columnist and New York Times best-selling author Ian O’Connor delves into the mind of the man who has earned a place among coaching legends like Lombardi, Halas, and Paul Brown, presenting sides of Belichick that have been previously unexplored. O’Connor discovers how this legendary coach shaped the people he met and worked with in ways perhaps even Belichick himself doesn’t know. Those who follow and love pro football know Bill Belichick only as the hooded genius of the Patriots. But there is so much more—from the hidden tensions and deep layers to his relationship with Tom Brady to his sometimes frosty dealings with owner Robert Kraft to his ability to earn the unmitigated respect of his players—if not their affection. This is a man who has many facets and, ultimately, has created a notorious football dynasty. Based on exhaustive research and countless interviews, this book circles around Belichick to tell his full story for the first time, and presents an incisive portrait of a mastermind at work.
The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter
by Ian O'ConnorEvery spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world's most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. <P><P>In fact, he hasn't always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America's game. <P><P> In The Captain, best-selling author Ian O'Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Jeter that has spanned some fifteen years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete. O'Connor takes us behind the scenes of a legendary baseball life and career, from Jeter's early struggles in the minor leagues, when homesickness and errors in the field threatened a stillborn career, to his heady days as a Yankee superstar and prince of the city who squired some of the world's most beautiful women, to his tense battles with former best friend A-Rod. <P><P>We also witness Jeter struggling to come to terms with his declining skills and the declining favor of the only organization he ever wanted to play for, leading to a contentious contract negotiation with the Yankees that left people wondering if Jeter might end his career in a uniform without pinstripes. <P><P>Derek Jeter's march toward the Hall of Fame has been dignified and certain, but behind that leadership and hero's grace there are hidden struggles and complexities that have never been explored, until now. As Jeter closes in on 3,000 hits, a number no Yankee has ever touched, The Captain offers an incisive, exhilarating, and revealing new look at one of the game's greatest players in the gloaming of his career.
The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter
by Ian O'ConnorEvery spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world's most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn't always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America's game. In The Captain, best-selling author Ian O'Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Jeter that has spanned some fifteen years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete. O'Connor takes us behind the scenes of a legendary baseball life and career, from Jeter's early struggles in the minor leagues, when homesickness and errors in the field threatened a stillborn career, to his heady days as a Yankee superstar and prince of the city who squired some of the world's most beautiful women, to his tense battles with former best friend A-Rod. We also witness Jeter struggling to come to terms with his declining skills and the declining favor of the only organization he ever wanted to play for, leading to a contentious contract negotiation with the Yankees that left people wondering if Jeter might end his career in a uniform without pinstripes. Derek Jeter's march toward the Hall of Fame has been dignified and certain, but behind that leadership and hero's grace there are hidden struggles and complexities that have never been explored, until now. As Jeter closes in on 3,000 hits, a number no Yankee has ever touched, The Captain offers an incisive, exhilarating, and revealing new look at one of the game's greatest players in the gloaming of his career.
Keys to the Kingdom
by Jack O'ConnorWhen Jack O'Connor took over as Kerry football manager in 2004, he was a relative unknown. Three All-Ireland finals, and two titles, later, he stepped down, having established himself as one of the greats. Keys to the Kingdom is his vivid account of those three seasons in the most high-pressure job in Irish sport.
Who Is Ralph Lauren? (Who was?)
by Jane O'Connor Who Hq Stephen MarchesiThe polo player with the raised mallet—everyone knows the Ralph Lauren logo. Learn the amazing story of the man who is a true American fashion icon.Born in the Bronx, even as a teenager Ralph Lauren was known for his distinctive fashion sense, having a taste for both classic preppy clothes and vintage looks like beat-up leather jackets. He got his start in the fashion business by selling ties that he designed. From ties he went on to create a global fashion empire. In this easy-to-read biography, best-selling author and Who Was? creator Jane O'Connor explains exactly how a fashion line is created—from first drawings to models strutting on the runway.
Jackie Robinson and the Story of All Black Baseball (Step into Reading #Vol. 5)
by Jim O'ConnorIllus. in full color with black-and-white photos. "Covers not only the story of Robinson's prowess and his problems as the first black man to play in the major leagues, but also the story of the rise and fall of black baseball and some of its star players and managers. Nicely geared by vocabulary, sentence length, and print size to the primary grades audience."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down The White House
by John O'Connor Mark FeltNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Liam Neeson.The covert Watergate whistleblower tells the story of the dramatic showdown between the FBI and the Nixon White HouseIn the 1970s, Mark Felt was given the code name "Deep Throat" and shared intelligence on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter from the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. Thus began the greatest political scandal in the twentieth century, which would besmirch an entire administration and bring down a presidency.A patriotic man, Felt only revealed his role in our national history as he neared the end of his life. Based on his personal recollections, Mark Felt chronicles his FBI career, from the end of the great American crime wave and World War II to the culture wars of the 1960s and his penetration of the Weather Underground; provides rich historical and personal context for his role in the Watergate scandal; and depicts how he came to feel that the FBI needed a "Lone Ranger" to protect it from White House corruption.
Ghost Light: A Novel
by Joseph O'Connor1907 Edwardian Dublin, a city of whispers and rumors. At the Abbey Theatre W. B. Yeats is working with the talented John Synge, his resident playwright. It is here that Synge, the author of The Playboy of the Western World and The Tinker's Wedding, will meet an actress still in her teens named Molly Allgood. Rebellious, irreverent, beautiful, flirtatious, Molly is a girl of the inner-city tenements, dreaming of stardom in America. Witty and watchful, she has dozens of admirers, but it is the damaged older playwright who is her secret passion despite the barriers of age, class, education, and religion.Synge is a troubled, reticent genius, the son of a once prosperous landowning family, a poet of fiery language and tempestuous passions. Yet his life is hampered by conventions and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Scarred by a childhood of immense loneliness and severity, he has long been ill, but he loves to walk the wild places of Ireland. The affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is turbulent, sometimes cruel, and often tender. 1950s postwar London, an old woman walks across the city in the wake of a hurricane. As she wanders past bomb sites and through the forlorn beauty of wrecked terraces and wintry parks, her mind drifts in and out of the present as she remembers her life's great love, her once dazzling career, and her travels in America. Vivid and beautifully written, Molly's swirling, fractured narrative moves from Dublin to London via New York with luminous language and raw feeling. Ghost Light is a story of great sadness and joy—a tour de force from the widely acclaimed and bestselling author of Star of the Sea.
Shadowplay: A Novel
by Joseph O'ConnorA West End theater in London is shaken up by the crimes of Jack the Ripper in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Star of the Sea.Henry Irving is Victorian London’s most celebrated actor and theater impresario. He has introduced groundbreaking ideas to the theater, bringing to the stage performances that are spectacular, shocking, and always entertaining. When Irving decides to open his own London theater with the goal of making it the greatest playhouse on earth, he hires a young Dublin clerk harboring literary ambitions by the name of Bram Stoker to manage it. As Irving’s theater grows in reputation and financial solvency, he lures to his company of mummers the century’s most beloved actress, the dazzlingly talented leading lady Ellen Terry, who nightly casts a spell not only on her audiences but also on Stoker and Irving both.Bram Stoker’s extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write Dracula, the most iconic and best-selling supernatural tale ever published.A magnificent portrait both of lamp-lit London and of lives and loves enacted on the stage, Shadowplay’s rich prose, incomparable storytelling, and vivid characters will linger in readers’ hearts and minds for many years.“A vibrantly imaginative narrative of passion, intrigue and literary ambition set in the garish heyday of a theater. . . . Artfully splicing truth with fantasy, O’Connor has a glorious time turning a ramshackle and haunted London playhouse into a primary source for Stoker’s Gothic imaginings.” —Miranda Seymour, The New York Times Book Review“A gorgeously written historical novel about Stoker’s inner life. . . . I wasn’t prepared to be awed by his prose, which is so good you can taste it. . . . O’Connor dazzles.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post“And Mr. O’Connor’s main characters—Stoker, Irving and the beloved actress Ellen Terry—are so forcefully brought to life that when, close to tears, you reach this drama’s final page, you will return to the beginning just to remain in their company.” —Anna Mundow, The Wall Street Journal“This novel blows the dust off its Victorian trappings and brings them to scintillating life.” —Publishers Weekly, PW Picks, Starred ReviewFINALIST 2019 COSTA BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST 2020 DALKEY LITERARY AWARD2020 WALTER SCOTT PRIZE
From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction
by Mary Beth O'ConnorFrom a junkie addicted to methamphetamines to a federal judge, Mary Beth O&’Connor&’s memoir shares her inspiring journey from rock bottom to resilience as she forged a personal path to recovery from trauma and addiction. Searing, unsettling, and ultimately triumphant, Judge O'Connor's debut memoir takes readers on a wild ride through the rock-bottom underbelly of intravenous drug addiction to the hallowed halls of justice where she rose to the pinnacle of success as a federal judge. With wit and unabashed honesty, O&’Connor shares her remarkable three-phase journey: the abuse and trauma that drove her to teenage drug use, the chaos that ensued from her addiction; and how she developed a personalized secular recovery plan that led to twenty-nine years of sobriety. Her story proves any addict can recover and anyone can build a productive and happy life, no matter how low the bottom or how deep the pain. Within a week of being born, O&’Connor was dropped off at a convent. When she was brought into her home, her mother focused on her own needs and desires, ignoring her young child. When she was nine, her stepfather kicked her in the stomach for spilling milk, beat her when she didn&’t clean a plate to his satisfaction, and molested her when she was twelve. A few months later, with her first sip of Boone&’s Farm Strawberry Hill wine, her life changed. She felt euphoric and relaxed. So she got drunk as often as possible, adding pot, then pills, then acid. At sixteen, she found her drug of choice--methamphetamine. With her first snort, she experienced true joy for the first time. When this high was no longer sufficient, she turned to the needle and shot up. During the next sixteen years, she descended into a severe meth addiction, working her way down the corporate ladder, destroying relationships, and shattering her physical and emotional well-being. At thirty-two, she entered rehab, where she was ordered to submit to the 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. As an atheist, turning her will and her life over to a higher power was not an option, and she refused to agree she was powerless. Told to comply or fail, she bravely created a new path that combined ideas from multiple programs and even incorporated some AA concepts. Clean and sober now for more nearly three decades, she is proof that anyone can find their sober self, their best self, no matter how far they have fallen. Along with her inspiring story, she offers a comprehensive checklist of questions for readers to ask themselves as they take the brave steps toward recovery, offering a powerful blueprint for personal change.
Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe
by Mike O'ConnorThroughout his childhood, Mike O'Connor's family pretended to be normal. But Mike and his two younger sisters knew that their parents were hiding something-a secret they didn't dare talk about. The family appeared to be no different from any of their small-town Texas neighbors-that is, until suddenly, the O'Connor's would flee, leaving with only a few hours' notice, abandoning houses and pets and possessions and running across the border to Mexico.For all of Mike's adolescence, O'Connor family life alternated between relative comfort and abject poverty-sometimes within a matter of days. From living in a Texas ranch house to living in two rented rooms in an impoverished Mexican village, the O'Connors never knew what lay ahead-only that they must not draw attention to themselves. Though their parents steadfastly denied it, the children knew that something was chasing them-a past that hovered like an invisible enemy, always waiting to strike, always in pursuit.But it was not until much later, after his parents' deaths, that Mike O'Connor, now an investigative reporter, was able to uncover the truth about his family's past. As the secrets were unlocked one by one and the long trail of deception unfurled, Mike faced the heart-wrenching ramifications of his parents' actions-and made a discovery that shook his family loyalty to its core.Full of incredible details of a life lived on both sides of the border, in near-poverty and near-wealth, Mike O'Connor's account is a real-life suspense story of childhood mysteries and strange circumstances that will enthrall readers to its very end.s households and then fleeing town in the middle of the night. They had a particular fear of government officials, and any encounter with cops left Mrs. O'Connor shaken for days. Given all this moving, the O'Connors were unable to make much money, and they slipped from a precarious perch in the middle class to shocking poverty. In late adolescence, the author finally recognized that life at home was poisonous, his parents unstable and deceptive. He moved out and had only sporadic contact with them in the ensuing decades, when he worked as a reporter for CBS News, the New York Times and NPR. Only after both his parents died did O'Connor's two younger sisters beg him to tackle the mystery of their lives as though it were a political scandal he was assigned to expose. He began to dig, grudgingly at first but then increasingly determined to discover the secrets that had shaped his childhood. His research took him to Boston, where he connected with his father's large family; to Burnley, England, where an elderly union organizer told him stories about his mother and uncle; and into the offices of the CIA, FBI and INS, following a sketchy paper trail that shed light on the government's interest in his parents. O'Connor is a sympathetic narrator, never bitter, who reveals the complexities of every last character. By the end of this suspenseful memoir, readers will be just as eager as the author to discover what kept his family on the run. "This is a lot more than just a memoir. Mike O'Connor brings the pacing of a thriller, the eye of a great reporter and the intrigue of a life on the run to create a fascinating portrait of his own Boston Irish family and the secrets it held in McCarthy-era America. It is a page turner that takes you on a journey out of the confines of the Irish enclaves of New England through the big sky country of Texas and south of the border to Mexico. All along the way, O'Connor writes with a unique voice that manages to both enlighten the past and inform the present. This is a finely crafted work of non-fiction and one hell of a good read." -- Charles M. Sennott, author and staff writer for The Boston Globe"This book is a mystery and a memoir. But more than anything it is an unforgettable romance about two people who willingly sacrifice everything - their finances, their future, and their families - to stay together. Mike O'Connor is an extraordinary writer and in retracing his parents' footsteps he asks big questions. What is a fa...
In the Footsteps of the Red Baron (Battleground Europe)
by Mike O'Connor Norman FranksManfred von Richthofen became a fighter pilot on the Western Front in August 1916. By January 1917, Richthofen had shot down fifteen aircraft had been appointed commander of his own unit. He painted the fuselage of his Albatros D-III a bright red and was nicknamed the Red Baron. In June 1917, Richthofen was appointed commander of the German Flying Circus. Made up of Germany's top fighter pilots, this new unit was highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed. Richthofen and his pilots achieved immediate success during the air war over Ypres during August and September. Manfred von Richthofen was killed on 21st April 1918. Richthofen had destroyed 80 allied aircraft, the highest score of any fighter pilot during the First World War. This book is divided into three sectors of the WWI front line in which von Richthofen operated. Each area is conveniently reached within hours. Airfield sites, memorials and the graves of Manfred's famous victims are described and directions for the battlefield walker are included with information on related museums and historic sites with special association with this most famous of fighter pilots.
Becoming Belle
by Nuala O'ConnorA witty and inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, based on a true story of an unstoppable woman ahead of her time in Victorian London.In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down. With only her talent, charm, and determination, Isabel moves to London alone at age nineteen, changes her name to Belle, and takes the city by storm, facing unthinkable hardships as she rises to fame. A true bohemian and the star of a dancing double act she performs with her sister, she reigns over The Empire Theatre and The Corinthian Club, where only select society entertains. It is there she falls passionately in love with William, Viscount Dunlo, a young aristocrat. For Belle, her marriage to William is a dream come true, but his ruthless father makes clear he'll stop at nothing to keep her in her place.Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.
Becoming Belle
by Nuala O'ConnorBased on the true story of a woman destined for stardom, and the boundary-crossing love affair that enthralled Victorian London.In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest daughter of a middle-class military family in a small garrison town. By 1891, she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of her rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down. With only her talent, charm, and determination, Isabel moves to London alone at age nineteen, changes her name to Belle and takes the city by storm. A true bohemian and the star of a double act she performs with her sister, she soon falls passionately in love with William, Viscount Dunlo, a young aristocrat. For Belle, her marriage to William is a dream come true, though his ruthless father makes it clear that he'll stop at nothing to keep her in her place. As their marriage takes center stage in London's courtrooms and in the newspapers, Belle finds herself on trial not only for her wedding vows, but for the very life she's fought so hard to create. An inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, Becoming Belle is a celebration of an unstoppable woman ahead of her time.