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New Advances in Mechanisms, Transmissions and Applications: Proceedings of the Sixth MeTrApp Conference 2023 (Mechanisms and Machine Science #124)
by Med Amine Laribi Carl A. Nelson Marco Ceccarelli Saïd ZeghloulGathering the proceedings of the 6th IFToMM International Conference on Mechanisms, Transmissions, and Applications (MeTrApp), held in Poitiers, France, on May 24-26, 2023, this volume covers topics such as mechanism and machinery design, parallel manipulators, robotics and mechatronics, control applications, mechanical transmissions, cam and gear mechanisms, and dynamics of machinery. MeTrApp 2019 provided researchers, scientists, industry experts, and graduate students from around the globe with a platform to share their cutting-edge work on mechanisms, transmissions, and their applications. The proceedings extend this platform to all researchers, scientists, industry experts, and students interested in these fields.
The Capture and Escape from the Sioux: The Ordeals of an American Pioneer Woman Captured by Indians in 1864
by Sarah L Larimer“A famous account of abduction and escape from hostile Indians in the old West.In July, 1864 hostile Oglala Sioux Indians attacked the wagon train of the pioneering Kelly and Larimer families approximately 80 miles west of Fort Laramie, Wyoming. Several people were killed or wounded but Sarah Larimer and Fanny Kelly, together with some of their children, were taken into captivity by the Indians. On the second night of their captivity Sarah Larimer and her son managed to escape from the Indian camp and after many difficulties and privations they reached the Deer Creek telegraph station and safety. This book is Sarah Larimer’s story of her ordeal. Fanny Kelly’s captivity with the Sioux lasted longer and on her release she also wrote a book about her experiences. She also sued Sarah Larimer over her memoir and several trials took place over ten years before the matter was settled. [This Book] provides fascinating insights into the westward passage of pioneer families in North America, and those interested in the Indian tribes of the Great Plains during their struggle to maintain their traditional way of life will also find much to interest them in the pages of these books.”-Print ed.
The Chocolate Cake Sutra: Ingredients for a Sweet Life
by Geri LarkinChock full of moving and enlightening stories, The Chocolate Cake Sutra will help you let go of perfectionism and celebrate the sacred nature of the life you already have.
Plant Seed, Pull Weed: Nurturing the Garden of Your Life
by Geri LarkinGardens have often been used as metaphors for spiritual nurturing and growth. Zen rock gardens, monastery rose gardens, even your grandmother's vegetable garden all have been described as places of refuge and reflection. Drawing on her experience working at Seattle's premier gardening center, Zen teacher Geri Larkin shows how the act of gardening can help you uncover your inner creativity, enthusiasm, vigilance, and joy. As your garden grows, so will your spirit.Larkin takes you through the steps of planning, planting, nurturing, and maintaining a garden while offering funny stories and inspiring lessons on what plants can teach us about our lives. As soothing as a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, Plant Seed, Pull Weed will entertain, charm, and inspire you to get your hands dirty and dig deep to cultivate your inner self.
The Still Point Dhammapada: Living the Buddha's Essential Teachings
by Geri LarkinThe Dhammapada is much loved by Buddhist practitioners as a simple and straightforward rendition of some of Buddha's core teachings, and is read daily by thousands of people. While there are many translations available, few have an inclusive – and lyrical – sensibility. In studying various versions of this sacred text, Larkin noted many discrepancies and embarked upon an entirely original translation. Each instalment gets tested at the Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple in Detroit, a remarkable Zen centre in the heart of one of the roughest neighbourhoods in the country. This small gift hardcover will have the appeal of the Thomas Byrom/Ram Dass edition, but will be made even more accessible with each chapter's introduction containing a powerful contemporary anecdote from the Still Point Temple community. This 'Downtown Dhammapada' will appeal not only to Buddhists, but to those who also appreciate beautifully rendered sacred texts as simply good reading.
Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty
by Alexander LarmanAlexander Larman, the master chronicler of the House of Windsor, brings his acclaimed trilogy to a dramatic and poignant conclusion.When the Royal Family took to the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE Day in 1945, they knew that the happiness and excitement of the day was illusory. Britain may have been victorious in a painful war, but the peace would be no easier. Between the abdication crisis, the death of King George VI, and the ascension of young Elizabeth II to the throne, the continued existence of the monarchy seemed uncertain. And the presence of the former Edward VIII, now the Duke of Windsor, conniving and sniping from the sidelines in an attempt to regain relevance, even down to writing a controversial and revelatory memoir, could only make matters worse. Still, the question of whether or not Elizabeth could succeed and make the monarchy something that once again inspired international pride and even love remained.In Power and Glory, Alexander Larman completes his acclaimed Windsor family trilogy, using rare and previously unseen documents to illuminate their unique family dynamic. Through his chronicling of events like the Royal Wedding, George VI’s death and the discovery of the Duke of Windsor’s treacherous activities in WWII, Larman paints a vivid portrait of the end of one sovereign’s reign and the beginning of another’s that heralded a new Elizabethan Age which would bring power and glory back to a monarchy desperately in need of it.
Rohan Murthy Has a Plan (The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class #2)
by Rajani LaRoccaA creative kid with ambitious dreams of launching his own pet business starts babysitting the class guinea pig in this big-hearted story from an award-winning author. Rohan Murthy dreams of running a successful business like his creative and kind mom. When Mrs. Z announces that Curiosity Academy needs to raise money for a school garden, Rohan sees the chance to launch his dreams right away! He'll start a pet care company to help the people of Peppermint Falls look after their dogs, hamsters, fish, snakes, lizards . . . anything but cats. With hard work, some glittery posters, and the help of his friends from Mrs. Z's class, Rohan knows he can do a lot for the school garden. His parents point out just one small problem: Rohan has never taken care of an animal before. They think he doesn't even like touching animals. (There is a reason cats aren't on his list.) To prove his parents wrong, Rohan volunteers to spend a weekend watching over Honey, the class guinea pig. But Honey appears surprisingly anxious, which makes Rohan nervous as well. When his big dreams meet his secret fears, what will Rohan do?
Monster & Son
by David LaRochelleRomp along with parent and child yetis, werewolves, giant lizards, and more as they stir up some monster-sized fun! Readers big and small, young and old, wild and tame, will roar with laughter and take this book by the horns, teeth, and fur...discovering that monsters and humans aren't so different—especially in the ways they love each other. Plus, this is the fixed-format version, which looks almost identical to the print edition!
Climate Funds and Sustainable Development: Who Pays in the End? (Sustainable Development Goals Series)
by Gonzalo LarreaWhile significant attention has been devoted to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) and scaling up climate finance for developing countries, the adverse impacts of funded projects on local communities remains inadequately explored by both academics and policymakers. Mobilizing climate finance on an unprecedented scale is undeniably vital for the success of developing countries’ climate policies. However, these initiatives often give rise to adverse consequences for individuals in these countries, leading to displacements, exacerbating food insecurity, or even triggering conflicts over resources.This book examines the extent to which the climate funds established for achieving SDG 13 are adequate for addressing climate change impacts in developing countries. Yet, its analysis transcends the mere evaluation of the sufficiency or efficacy of these efforts found in much of the existing literature. Beyond the scope of quantifiable success, the book delves into the root causes of the adverse impacts that these funds can have on local communities and offers tailored recommendations to realize the noble aspirations of SDG 13, all without implying that the individuals who should benefit from climate finance are the ones who pay in the end.
The Development of the Hotel and Tourism Industry in the Twentieth Century: Comparative Perspectives from Western Europe, 1900–1970 (Palgrave Studies in Economic History)
by Carlos Larrinaga Donatella StrangioThis edited collection explores the pivotal role of the hotel industry in building Western Europe’s tourism economy during the 20th century. The book brings together ten contributions focused on the same period, 1900-1970, to offer comparative perspectives from across the region including Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain and Britain. Drawing on historical case studies, chapters illuminate the different factors linking hotels and the broader tourism system including interventions of the public authorities and the State, the importance of private involvement, commercial strategies, the medium-term development of private hotels, hotel entrepreneurship, and the impact of economic crises and wars. By placing differing national approaches taken to the growth of the hotel industry in comparison, the book aims to fill a gap in the historiography of European hospitality and shed light on the wider impact of hotels and tourism on economic development at both a national and regional level. It will be of interest to a range of scholars, including in economic and business history, tourism studies, the history of tourism management, and social history.
The Everything Healthy Cooking for Parties Book: Delicious, Guilt-Free Foods All Your Guests Will Love (The Everything Books)
by Linda LarsenWith a third of Americans on a diet at any given time, planning party menus can be a challenge for any hostess. Veteran cookbook author Linda Larsen has the solution! She offers readers healthy cooking tips and delicious party-food recipes with their health in mind. Her recipes include lots of fruits and vegetables and low-fat ingredients like turkey bacon and tofu, so the foods are good for you and taste great! Readers will find many festive recipes: Cantaloupe Punch; High-Fiber Cashew Pear Bread; Low-Fat Turkey Swiss Sandwiches; Lemon Meringue Crunch Trifle; and more! With this book, readers will discover that party food doesn&’t have to be bad for you. And that&’s reason enough to throw parties more often!
The Everything No Trans Fats Cookbook: From Store Shelves to Your Kitchen Table—Healthy Meals Your Family Will Love (The Everything Books)
by Linda LarsenThere is a nationwide call to cut trans fats from your daily diet. Trans fat raises LDL (lipoprotein, or "bad cholesterol") levels in your body. By lowering your trans fat intake, you decrease the chance of coronary heart disease--the leading cause of death in the United States.Now you can ensure your family's health by preparing trans fat-free meals at home. This informative cookbook will arm you with the facts on trans fats and give you the knowledge you need to read nutrition labels and shop for healthy ingredients.Authored by an experienced chef and certified nutritionist, The Everything No Trans Fat Cookbook is filled with 300 delicious trans fat-free recipes for, believe it or not, flavor-filled favorites like:Crisp and Healthy Fried ChickenTex Mex PopcornHomemade Potato ChipsChocolate Filled Doughnuts. . . And even more recipes for dishes like:Soups, sides, salads, sandwiches, and other lunch ideasYeast breads, sweet breads, and coffee cakesChicken, turkey, beef, and pork entrées, such as Beef Manicotti and Shepherd's PieHealthy seafood and pasta dishes, such as Crisp Cornmeal CatfishTo-die-for desserts, including Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Cake and Chocolate Oatmeal PieThe Everything No Trans Fat Cookbook will help you and your loved ones eat healthier--without sacrificing flavor!
The Everything Tex-Mex Cookbook: 300 Flavorful Recipes to Spice Up Your Mealtimes! (The Everything Books)
by Linda LarsenAn American tradition since the 1800s, Tex-Mex food combines the flavors of a wide variety of ingredients with the influence of different cultures to create unique dishes that are crafted to perfection.Tomatoes, beef, beans, chiles, and corn are the staples of Tex-Mex cooking, while flavor, texture, and personality are added with specialties such as hot sauce, chorizo, and spices such as chili pepper and cayenne pepper. Packed with 300 not-quite-south-of-the-border recipes, The Everything Tex-Mex Cookbook brings these authentic flavors to your very own kitchen.Features recipes for: -Chilled Avocado Soup -Red Snapper Flautas -Oven Barbecued Beef Brisket -Chicken Chimichangas -Mixed Bean Lasagna -Red Sangria -Peach Daiquiri PieWhether you&’re looking for a quick party appetizer, dinner for your family, or drinks and dessert, The Everything Tex-Mex Cookbook has everything you need to add some color and spice to your daily menus!
Passing (The Penguin English Library)
by Nella LarsenClare Kendry has severed all ties to her past. Elegant, fair-skinned and ambitious, she is married to a white man who is unaware of her African-American heritage. When she renews her acquaintance with her childhood friend Irene, who has not hidden her origins, both women are forced to reassess their marriages, the lies they have told - and to confront the secret fears they have buried within themselves. Nella Larsen's intense, taut and psychologically nuanced portrayal of lives and identities dangerously colliding established her as a leading writer of America's Harlem Renaissance.The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.
Swede Hollow: A Novel
by Ola LarsmoA riveting family saga immersed in the gritty, dark side of Swedish immigrant life in America in the early twentieth century When Gustaf and Anna Klar and their three children leave Sweden for New York in 1897, they take with them a terrible secret and a longing for a new life. But their dream of starting over is nearly crushed at the outset: a fire devastates Ellis Island just as they arrive, and then the relentlessly harsh conditions and lack of work in the city make it impossible for Gustaf to support his family. An unexpected gift allows the Klars to make one more desperate move, this time to the Midwest and a place called Swede Hollow.Their new home is a cluster of rough-hewn shacks in a deep, wooded ravine on the edge of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Irish, Italian, and Swedish immigrants who live here are a hardscrabble lot usually absent from the familiar stories of Swedish American history. The men hire on as poorly paid day laborers for the Great Northern or Northern Pacific railroads or work at the nearby brewery, and the women clean houses, work at laundries, or sew clothing in stifling factories. Outsiders malign Swede Hollow as unsanitary and rife with disease, but the Klar family and their neighbors persevere in this neglected corner of the city—and consider it home.Extensively researched and beautifully written, Ola Larsmo&’s award-winning novel vividly portrays a family and a community determined to survive. There are hardships, indignities, accidents, and harrowing encounters, but also acts of loyalty and kindness and moments of joy. This haunting story of a real place echoes the larger challenges of immigration in the twentieth century and today.
Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership
by Edward J. Larson"Larson's elegantly written dual biography reveals that the partnership of Franklin and Washington was indispensable to the success of the Revolution." —Gordon S. Wood From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes a masterful, first-of-its-kind dual biography of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, illuminating their partnership's enduring importance. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • One of Washington Post's "10 Books to Read in February" • One of USA Today’s “Must-Read Books" of Winter 2020 • One of Publishers Weekly's "Top Ten" Spring 2020 Memoirs/BiographiesTheirs was a three-decade-long bond that, more than any other pairing, would forge the United States. Vastly different men, Benjamin Franklin—an abolitionist freethinker from the urban north—and George Washington—a slaveholding general from the agrarian south—were the indispensable authors of American independence and the two key partners in the attempt to craft a more perfect union at the Constitutional Convention, held in Franklin’s Philadelphia and presided over by Washington. And yet their teamwork has been little remarked upon in the centuries since.Illuminating Franklin and Washington’s relationship with striking new detail and energy, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Edward J. Larson shows that theirs was truly an intimate working friendship that amplified the talents of each for collective advancement of the American project.After long supporting British rule, both Franklin and Washington became key early proponents of independence. Their friendship gained historical significance during the American Revolution, when Franklin led America’s diplomatic mission in Europe (securing money and an alliance with France) and Washington commanded the Continental Army. Victory required both of these efforts to succeed, and success, in turn, required their mutual coordination and cooperation. In the 1780s, the two sought to strengthen the union, leading to the framing and ratification of the Constitution, the founding document that bears their stamp.Franklin and Washington—the two most revered figures in the early republic—staked their lives and fortunes on the American experiment in liberty and were committed to its preservation. Today the United States is the world’s great superpower, and yet we also wrestle with the government Franklin and Washington created more than two centuries ago—the power of the executive branch, the principle of checks and balances, the electoral college—as well as the wounds of their compromise over slavery. Now, as the founding institutions appear under new stress, it is time to understand their origins through the fresh lens of Larson’s Franklin & Washington, a major addition to the literature of the founding era.
The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783–1789
by Edward J. LarsonNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"An elegantly written account of leadership at the most pivotal moment in American history" (Philadelphia Inquirer): Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson reveals how George Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president.After leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, George Washington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, General Washington, the most powerful man in the country, stepped down as Commander in Chief and returned to private life at Mount Vernon. Yet as Washington contentedly grew his estate, the fledgling American experiment floundered. Under the Articles of Confederation, the weak central government was unable to raise revenue to pay its debts or reach a consensus on national policy. The states bickered and grew apart. When a Constitutional Convention was established to address these problems, its chances of success were slim. Jefferson, Madison, and the other Founding Fathers realized that only one man could unite the fractious states: George Washington. Reluctant, but duty-bound, Washington rode to Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to preside over the Convention.Although Washington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterful new history from Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncovers Washington’s vital role in shaping the Convention—and shows how it was only with Washington’s support and his willingness to serve as President that the states were brought together and ratified the Constitution, thereby saving the country.
To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration
by Edward J. LarsonWinner of the National Outdoor Book Award From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a "suspenseful" (WSJ) and "adrenaline-fueled" (Outside) entwined narrative of the most adventurous year of all time, when three expeditions simultaneously raced to the top, bottom, and heights of the world. As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration—set at the world’s frozen extremes—lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the so-called “Third Pole,” the pole of altitude, located in unexplored heights of the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny, and the harshest conditions on the planet to plant flags at the furthest edges of the Earth.In the course of one extraordinary year, Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson were hailed worldwide at the discovers of the North Pole; Britain’s Ernest Shackleton had set a new geographic “Furthest South” record, while his expedition mate, Australian Douglas Mawson, had reached the Magnetic South Pole; and at the roof of the world, Italy’s Duke of the Abruzzi had attained an altitude record that would stand for a generation, the result of the first major mountaineering expedition to the Himalaya's eastern Karakoram, where the daring aristocrat attempted K2 and established the standard route up the most notorious mountain on the planet. Based on extensive archival and on-the-ground research, Edward J. Larson weaves these narratives into one thrilling adventure story. Larson, author of the acclaimed polar history Empire of Ice, draws on his own voyages to the Himalaya, the arctic, and the ice sheets of the Antarctic, where he himself reached the South Pole and lived in Shackleton’s Cape Royds hut as a fellow in the National Science Foundations’ Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. These three legendary expeditions, overlapping in time, danger, and stakes, were glorified upon their return, their leaders celebrated as the preeminent heroes of their day. Stripping away the myth, Larson, a master historian, illuminates one of the great, overlooked tales of exploration, revealing the extraordinary human achievement at the heart of these journeys.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
by Erik Larson#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania&“Both terrifying and enthralling.&”—Entertainment Weekly&“Thrilling, dramatic and powerful.&”—NPR&“Thoroughly engrossing.&”—George R.R. MartinOn May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era&’s great transatlantic &“Greyhounds&”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger&’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history. It is a story that many of us think we know but don&’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.Finalist for the Washington State Book Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Miami Herald, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, LibraryReads, Indigo
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
by Erik LarsonOn November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. <P><P> Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.” <P><P> At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans. <P><P> Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America
by Erik Larson#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile comes the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to their death. &“As absorbing a piece of popular history as one will ever hope to find.&” —San Francisco ChronicleCombining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America&’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair&’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country&’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his &“World&’s Fair Hotel&” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.The Devil in the White City draws the reader into the enchantment of the Guilded Age, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson&’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
by Erik LarsonErik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Devil in the White City, delivers a remarkable story set during Hitler&’s rise to power.The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America&’s first ambassador to Hitler&’s Nazi Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the &“New Germany,&” she has one affair after another, including with the suprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance—and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler&’s true character and ruthless ambition. Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming--yet wholly sinister--Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis &“One of [Erik Larson&’s] best books yet . . . perfectly timed for the moment.&”—Time • &“A bravura performance by one of America&’s greatest storytellers.&”—NPR NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • Vogue • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • The Globe & Mail • Fortune • Bloomberg • New York Post • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • LibraryReads • PopMattersOn Winston Churchill&’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people &“the art of being fearless.&” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it&’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill&’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London&’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents&’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela&’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill&’s &“Secret Circle,&” to whom he turns in the hardest moments. The Splendid and the Vile takes readers out of today&’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill&’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country, and a family, together.
Thunderstruck
by Erik LarsonA true story of love, murder, and the end of the world&’s &“great hush.&”In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men—Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication—whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners; scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed; and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, &“the kindest of men,&” nearly commits the perfect murder.With his unparalleled narrative skills, Erik Larson guides us through a relentlessly suspenseful chase over the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate.
Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care: Challenges of Care in a Neoliberal Age
by Emmanuel Y. Lartey Hellena Moon Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'Im Bonnie Miller-McLemoreThis anthology is about caring for all persons as a part of the revolutionary struggle against colonialism in its many forms. In recognition of the varied ways in which different forms of oppression, injustice, and violence in the world today are traceable to the legacy and continuing effects of colonialism, various authors have contributed to the volume from diverse backgrounds including differing ethnic identities, religious and cultural traditions, gender and sexual orientations, as well as communal and personal realities. <P><P> As a postcolonial critique of spiritual care, it highlights the plurality of voices and concerns that have been overlooked or obscured because of the politics of race, religion, sexuality, nationalism, and other structures of power that have shaped what discursive spiritual care entails today. Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care presents voices of practical and pastoral theologians, academics, spiritual care providers, religious leaders, students, and activists working to provide greater intercultural spiritual care and awareness in the areas of healthcare, community work, and education. The volume, as such, expands the discourse of spiritual care and participates in the ongoing paradigm shifts in the field of pastoral and practical theology.