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The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds
by Caroline Van HemertFor fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. <P><P>During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. <P><P>In March of 2012 she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace -- migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. <P><P>A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, the book explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of creatures whose daily survival is nothing short of miraculous. It is a journey through the heart, the mind, and some of the wildest places left in North America. <P><P>In the end, The Sun Is a Compass is a love letter to nature, an inspiring story of endurance, and a beautifully written testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
From Slave to Priest: The Inspirational Story of Father Augustine Tolton (1854-1897)
by Sister Hemesath<p>Born into a black Catholic slave family, Fr. Augustine Tolton (1854-1897) conquered almost insurmountable odds to become one of the very first black priests in the United States. By his early death at 43, this pioneer black priest left behind a shining legacy of holy service to God, the Church and his people. <p>Tolton's cause for canonization has been officially opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago as announced by Cardinal Francis George. <p>The thorough scholarly research and inspirational writing by Sister Caroline Hemesath on the great legacy and courage of this former slave who became a priest in the face of incredible prejudice within the Church and society will be a source of strength for modern Christians who also face persecution. In American history, many black people have achieved success against great odds. But Father Tolton faced a different source of prejudice - an opposition from within the Church, the one institution he should have been able to rely on for compassion and support. He endured many rebuffs, as a janitor spent long hours in the church in prayer, and attended clandestine classes taught by friendly priests and nuns who saw in his eyes a deep love of God and the Church, and a determination to serve his people. Denied theological training in America, his friends helped him to receive his priestly education, and ordination, in Rome. He later became the pastor of St. Monica's Church in Chicago and established a flourishing center at St. Monica's that was the focal point for black Catholics in Chicago for 30 years. <p>The author interviewed many people who knew Father Tolton personally, including St. Katharine Drexel, and presents a deeply inspiring portrait of a great American Catholic. Book includes illustrations and photographs.</p>
The Living Forest
by Arthur HemingAn exciting adventure tale of two boys and their struggle for survival in the deep dark woods of Canada at the turn of the 20th Century. Richly evocative and beautifully illustrated by the author himself, this tale is as enthralling and engaging as when it was written long ago.Arthur Henry Howard Heming (1870-1940) was a Canadian painter and novelist known as the "chronicler of the North" for his paintings, sketches, essays and books about Canada's North. Born in Paris, Ontario and raised in Hamilton, he studied in New York and London under artists Frank Vincent DuMond and Frank Brangwyn. He was colour blind and as a result worked mostly in black and white. He was the author of The Drama of the Forests (1921), Spirit Lake (1923) and The Living Forest (1925).
Dangerous Summer
by Ernest HemingwayThe Dangerous Summer is Hemingway's firsthand chronicle of a brutal season of bullfights. In this vivid account, Hemingway captures the exhausting pace and pressure of the season, the camaraderie and pride of the matadors, and the mortal drama--as in fight after fight--the rival matadors try to outdo each other with ever more daring performances. At the same time Hemingway offers an often complex and deeply personal self-portrait that reveals much about one of the twentieth century's preeminent writers.
Ernest Hemingway: The Last Interview
by Ernest HemingwayHemingway was not only known for his understated style, but for his public image as America's greatest author and journalist-and for the grand, expansive, adventurous way he lived his life. The prickly wit and fierce dedication to his craft that defined Hemingway's life and work shine through in this unprecedented collection of interviews Series Overview: A new series of pocket-sized interview collections, featuring conversations with some of the iconic writers and thinkers of our time.
Green Hills of Africa: The Hemingway Library Edition (Hemingway Library Edition)
by Ernest HemingwayHis second major venture into nonfiction (after Death in the Afternoon, 1932), Green Hills of Africa is Ernest Hemingway's lyrical journal of a month on safari in the great game country of East Africa, where he and his wife Pauline journeyed in December of 1933. Hemingway's well-known interest in -- and fascination with -- big-game hunting is magnificently captured in this evocative account of his trip. In examining the poetic grace of the chase, and the ferocity of the kill, Hemingway also looks inward, seeking to explain the lure of the hunt and the primal undercurrent that comes alive on the plains of Africa. Yet Green Hills of Africa is also an impassioned portrait of the glory of the African landscape, and of the beauty of a wilderness that was, even then, being threatened by the incursions of man. Hemingway's rich description of the beauty and strangeness of the land and his passion for the sport of hunting combine to give Green Hills of Africa the freshness and immediacy of a deeply felt personal experience that is the hallmark of the greatest travel writing.
Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition
by Ernest HemingwayPublished posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. Since Hemingway's personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined and debated the changes made to the text before publication. Now this new special restored edition presents the original manuscript as the author prepared it to be published. Featuring a personal foreword by Patrick Hemingway, Ernest's sole surviving son, and an introduction by the editor and grandson of the author, Seán Hemingway, this new edition also includes a number of unfinished, never-before-published Paris sketches revealing experiences that Hemingway had with his son Jack and his first wife, Hadley. Also included are irreverent portraits of other luminaries, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Madox Ford, and insightful recollections of his own early experiments with his craft. Sure to excite critics and readers alike, the restored edition of A Moveable Feast brilliantly evokes the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the unbridled creativity and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.
A Moveable Feast (Virago Modern Classics)
by Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway's classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, now available in a restored edition, includes the original manuscript along with insightful recollections and unfinished sketches.Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most enduring works. Since Hemingway's personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined the changes made to the text before publication. Now, this special restored edition presents the original manuscript as the author prepared it to be published. Featuring a personal Foreword by Patrick Hemingway, Ernest's sole surviving son, and an Introduction by grandson of the author, Seán Hemingway, editor of this edition, the book also includes a number of unfinished, never-before-published Paris sketches revealing experiences that Hemingway had with his son, Jack, and his first wife Hadley. Also included are irreverent portraits of literary luminaries, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Maddox Ford, and insightful recollections of Hemingway's own early experiments with his craft. Widely celebrated and debated by critics and readers everywhere, the restored edition of A Moveable Feast brilliantly evokes the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the unbridled creativity and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.
A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition
by Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway&’s classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, now available in a restored edition, includes the original manuscript along with insightful recollections and unfinished sketches.Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway&’s most enduring works. Since Hemingway&’s personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined the changes made to the text before publication. Now, this special restored edition presents the original manuscript as the author prepared it to be published. Featuring a personal foreword by Patrick Hemingway, Ernest&’s sole surviving son, and an introduction by grandson of the author, Seán Hemingway, editor of this edition, the book also includes a number of unfinished, never-before-published Paris sketches revealing experiences that Hemingway had with his son, Jack, and his first wife Hadley. Also included are irreverent portraits of literary luminaries, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Maddox Ford, and insightful recollections of Hemingway&’s own early experiments with his craft. Widely celebrated and debated by critics and readers everywhere, the restored edition of A Moveable Feast brilliantly evokes the exuberant mood of Paris after World War I and the unbridled creativity and unquenchable enthusiasm that Hemingway himself epitomized.
True at First Light
by Ernest HemingwayBoth revealing self-portrait and dramatic fictional chronicle of his final African safari, Ernest Hemingway's last unpublished work was written when he returned from Kenya in 1953. Edited by his son Patrick, who accompanied his father on the safari, True at First Light offers rare insights into the legendary American writer. A blend of autobiography and fiction, the book opens on the day his close friend Pop, a celebrated hunter, leaves Ernest in charge of the safari camp and news arrives of a potential attack from a hostile tribe. Drama continues to build as his wife, Mary pursues the great black-maned lion that has become her obsession. Spicing his depictions of human longings with sharp humor, Hemingway captures the excitement of big-game hunting and the unparalleled beauty of the scenery--the green plains covered with gray mist, zebra and gazelle traversing the horizon, cool dark nights broken by the sounds of the hyena's cry. As the group at camp help Mary track her prize, she and Ernest suffer the "incalculable casualties of marriage," and their attempts to love each other well are marred by cruelty, competition and infidelity. Ernest has become involved with Debba, an African girl whom he supposedly plans to take as a second bride. Increasingly enchanted by the local African community, he struggles between the attraction of these two women and the wildly different cultures they represent. In True at First Light, Hemingway also chronicles his exploits--sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant--among the African men with whom he has become very close, reminisces about encounters with other writers and his days in Paris and Spain and satirizes, among other things, the role of organized religion in Africa. He also muses on the act of writing itself and the author's role in determining the truth. What is fact and what is fiction? This is a question that was posed by Hemingway's readers throughout his career and is one of his principal subjects here. Equally adept at evoking the singular textures of the landscape, the thrill of the hunt and the complexities of married life, Hemingway weaves a tale that is rich in laughter, beauty and profound insight. True at First Light is an extraordinary publishing event--a breathtaking final work from one of this nation's most beloved and important writers.
Verdes colinas de africa (Spanish Edition)
by Ernest HemingwayUna obra maestra del reportaje donde el Premio Nobel de Literatura Ernest Hemingway cuenta la estancia de un mes—diciembre de 1933—en África, dedicado a una de sus grandes pasiones: la caza mayor.La luz africana, el paisaje febril, la excitación y la tensión que produce la cinegética se convierten para Hemingway en motivos de reflexión que van mucho más allá del safari y la simple narración turística. Como siempre, Hemingway logra elevar la anécdota a la categoría de mito, explorar la condición del hombre a través de sus instintos más primarios y, en definitiva, indagar en torno a la eterna cuestión de la muerte, el deseo y la supervivencia.
Dear Papa: The Letters of Patrick and Ernest Hemingway
by Ernest Hemingway Patrick HemingwayAn intimate and illuminating glimpse at Ernest Hemingway as a father, revealed through a selection of letters he and his son Patrick exchanged over the span of twenty years.In the public imagination, Ernest Hemingway looms larger than life. But the actual person behind the legend has long remained elusive. Now, his son Patrick shares the letters they exchanged over two decades, offering a glimpse into how one of America&’s most iconic writers interacted with his children. These letters reveal a father who wished for his children to share his interests—hunting, fishing, travel—and a son who was receptive to the experiences his father offered. Edited by and including an introduction by Patrick Hemingway&’s nephew Brendan Hemingway and his grandson Stephen Adams, and featuring a prologue and epilogue by Patrick reflecting on his father&’s legacy, Dear Papa is a loving and collaborative family project and a nuanced, fascinating portrait of a father and son.
Ernest's Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway's Life
by Cristen Hemingway JaynesFollow the path of one of America's finest novelists—and one of history's greatest adventurers—from Paris to Havana, from Madrid to Idaho, with his great-granddaughter. Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize-winning author, was known as much for his prose as for his travels to exotic locales, his gusto and charm created excitement wherever he went. In Ernest's Way, we follow Cristen around the globe to the places he lived, wrote, fought, drank, fished, ran with the bulls and held court with T.S. Elliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and many other influential writers, artists and intellectuals of the 20th century. In fresh and lively prose, Cristen brings to life atmosphere of La Closerie des Lilas, the Parisian cafe where Hemingway penned The Sun Also Rises. Or to dine on suckling pig at the oldest restaurant in the world, Sobrino de Botín in Madrid, as Hemingway did while writing and drinking three bottles of rioja alta in one sitting. We can follow his path through Northern Italy, where he served as an ambulance driver and was seriously wounded in the First World War, or trek through the locations described in A Farewell to Arms. Ernest's Way is a map to Hemingway’s creative and psychic history—they made him who he was and shaped his life and his work. Ernest’s Way is a guide and literary exploration in to the cities Hemingway visited and lived in, both as they are now and as they were when he graced them. Cristen brings these places to life for the modern reader, allowing all who admire Hemingway's life and literature to enjoy his legacy in a new and vibrant way.
Finding My Balance: A Memoir
by Mariel HemingwayActress Mariel Hemingway uses the lessons and practices of yoga as a starting point for her own personal reflections and a larger-than-life family story. The result is a searingly honest memoir that is firmly practical, as well as a moving narrative of the author's struggle to deal with a complex and often stressful life. Mariel was the third daughter born to Jack Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's son, and Byra Whittlesey. Her older sister, Muffet, suffered for years from instability, while middle sister Margaux, a celebrated actress and model who was caught up in the fast lane, eventually died of the effects of her driven lifestyle. Their mother, Byra, was darkly moody and emotionally quixotic, and made no secret of her disdain for her husband, while Jack, himself insecure in no small part because of his celebrated father, a man he never really felt he knew, was an indifferent parent at best. Even before she was a teenager, Mariel was forced to assume the role of stable center of her family. In just about every way, she never really had a childhood of her own, a situation that was exacerbated by her sudden thrust into celebrity when she was first cast in sister Margaux's film Lipstick, then in Woody Allen's Manhattan. Suddenly, Mariel was a movie star. Always an athletic person, Mariel turned to yoga and its meditative practice in an effort to maintain her center while much of her life threatened to spin out of control. As the title of this remarkable memoir suggests, much of her adult life has been directed toward finding and maintaining her balance in situations that have been heartbreakingly unsettling and emotionally disorienting. Throughout the book, Mariel uses her yoga training as a starting point for each chapter, carefully describing a particular position, then letting her mind wander into thoughts of the past and her rocky life. As each chapter begins with instruction, so does the book end in the same way, the exercises this time organized in a sequence that can be followed by anyone who wants to practice them. Included are photos of Mariel as she performs the various moves. Living the life now of wife and mother to two teenaged daughters while still pursuing a career in film, Mariel Hemingway has weathered some of the worst storms that life can bring. Certainly she has found her balance. And in this deeply inspiring, thoroughly fascinating memoir, she shares for the first time the story of that journey.
Invisible Girl
by Mariel Hemingway Ben GreenmanWhat is it like to be a teen with depressed addicts for parents, a mentally ill sister, and a grandfather who killed himself? In this moving, compelling diary, Mariel Hemingway writes as her teen self to share her pain, heartache, and coping strategies with young readers."I open my eyes. The room is dark. I hear yelling, smashed plates, and wish it was all a terrible dream." Welcome to Mariel Hemingway's intimate diary of her years as a girl and teen. In this deeply moving, searingly honest young adult memoir, actress and mental health icon Mariel Hemingway shares in candid detail the story of her troubled childhood in a famous family haunted by depression, alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide. Born just a few months after her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, shot himself, Mariel's mission as a girl was to escape the desperate cycles of debilitating mental health that had plagued generations of her family. In a voice that speaks to young readers everywhere, she recounts her childhood growing up in a family tortured by alcoholism (both parents), depression (her sister Margaux), suicide (her grandfather and four other members of her family), schizophrenia (her sister Muffet), and cancer (mother). It was all the young Mariel could do to keep her head. She reveals her painful struggle to stay sane as the youngest child in her family, and how she coped with the chaos by becoming OCD and obsessive about her food. Young readers who are sharing a similar painful childhood will see their lives and questions reflected on the pages of her diary--and they may even be inspired to start their own diary to channel their pain. Her voice will speak directly to teens across the world and tell them there is light at the end of the tunnel. * A hugely important subject for millions (around 10% of Americans suffer from depression) of young adults who are perhaps growing up in families with mental illness, suicide, depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and depression, or who themselves suffer from it. * Very few memoirs speak directly to YA readers about mental illness, depression, and what it is like growing up in a troubled family. * Mariel Hemingway speaks honestly about her own experiences with depression, eating disorders, and OCD, and how she learned to overcome these issues.
Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways
by Valerie HemingwayA chance encounter in Spain in 1959 brought young Irish reporter Valerie Danby-Smith face to face with Ernest Hemingway. The interview was awkward and brief, but before it ended something had clicked into place. For the next two years, Valerie devoted her life to Hemingway and his wife, Mary, traveling with them through beloved old haunts in Spain and France and living with them during the tumultuous final months in Cuba. In name a personal secretary, but in reality a confidante and sharer of the great man's secrets and sorrows, Valerie literally came of age in the company of one of the greatest literary lions of the twentieth century. Five years after his death, Valerie became a Hemingway herself when she married the writer's estranged son Gregory. Now, at last, she tells the story of the incredible years she spent with this extravagantly talented and tragically doomed family. In prose of brilliant clarity and stinging candor, Valerie evokes the magic and the pathos of Papa Hemingway's last years. Swept up in the wild revelry that always exploded around Hemingway, Valerie found herself dancing in the streets of Pamplona, cheering bullfighters at Valencia, careening around hairpin turns in Provence, and savoring the panorama of Paris from her attic room in the Ritz. But it was only when Hemingway threatened to commit suicide if she left that she realized how troubled the aging writer was-and how dependent he had become on her. In Cuba, Valerie spent idyllic days and nights typing the final draft of A Moveable Feast, even as Castro's revolution closed in. After Hemingway shot himself, Valerie returned to Cuba with his widow, Mary, to sort through thousands of manuscript pages and smuggle out priceless works of art. It was at Ernest's funeral that Valerie, then a researcher for Newsweek, met Hemingway's son Gregory--and again a chance encounter drastically altered the course of her life. Their twenty-one-year marriage finally unraveled as Valerie helplessly watched her husband succumb to the demons that had plagued him since childhood. From lunches with Orson Welles to midnight serenades by mysterious troubadours, from a rooftop encounter with Castro to numbing hospital vigils, Valerie Hemingway played an intimate, indispensable role in the lives of two generations of Hemingways. This memoir, by turns luminous, enthralling, and devastating, is the account of what she enjoyed, and what she endured, during her astonishing years of living as a Hemingway.
Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves, And The Will To Swim
by Alexandra HeminsleyAt once inspiring, hilarious, and honest, the new book from Alexandra Heminsley chronicles her endeavor to tackle a whole new element, and the ensuing challenges and joys of open water swimming. “It's a meditative act,” they said. But it was far from meditative for Alexandra Heminsley when yet another wave slammed into her face. It was survival. When she laced up her shoes in Running Like a Girl, all she had to do to become a runner was to get out there and run. But swimming was something else entirely. The water was all-consuming, confusing her every move, sabotaging every breath. Determined, Alexandra would learn to adapt, find new strengths, and learn to work with the water. She does not want to stand on the beach looking at the sea any longer. She wants to leap in. In doing so she will learn not just how to accept herself, but how to accept what lay beyond. Soon, she will be able to see water, anywhere in the world and sense not fear but adventure. She will dive into water as she hopes to dive into life. And it has nothing to do with being “sporty” or being the correct shape for a swimsuit. Open water swimming is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and marathon swimming is the only sport where men and women do not race in separate categories. The water welcomes all who are willing and prepared to take part, and as Alexandra shows in her wondrous and funny book, not knowing how to do something is not necessarily a weakness—strength lies within the desire to learn. The time is now to leap in, and revel in what you thought was beyond you, discovering that it was only ever you holding you back.
Running Like a Girl
by Alexandra HeminsleyA charming, hilarious, and practical book about one woman's stumbling, painful efforts to start running and how becoming a runner ultimately transformed her relationships, her body, and her life. In her twenties, Alexandra Heminsley spent more time drinking white wine than she did in pursuit of athletic excellence. When she decided to take up running in her thirties, she had high hopes for a blissful runner's high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes on iTunes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets--and failed miserably. The stories of her first runs turn the common notion that we are all "born to run" on its head--and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal. Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin, but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father--a marathon runner--and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon. But before her first marathon, she has to figure out the logistics of running: the intimidating questions from a young and arrogant sales assistant when she goes to buy her first running shoes, where to get decent bras for the larger bust, how not to freeze or get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She's figured out what's important (pockets) and what isn't (appearance), and more. For any woman who has ever run, wanted to run, tried to run, or failed to run (even if just around the block), Heminsley's funny, warm, and motivational personal journey from non-athlete extraordinaire to someone who has completed five marathons is inspiring, entertaining, practical, and fun.
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
by John HeminwayThe remarkable story of one woman's search for a new life in Africa in the wake of World War II--a life that sparked a heroic career, but also hid a secret past.Dr. Anne Spoerry treated hundreds of thousands of people across rural Kenya over the span of fifty years. A member of the renowned Flying Doctors Service, the French-born Spoerry learned how to fly a plane at the age of forty-five and earned herself the cherished nickname, "Mama Daktari"--"Mother Doctor"--from the people of Kenya. Yet few knew what drove her from post-World War II Europe to Africa. Now, in the first comprehensive account of her life, Dr. Spoerry's revered selflessness gives way to a past marked by rebellion, submission, and personal decisions that earned her another nickname--this one sinister--working as a "doctor" in a Nazi concentration camp.In Full Flight explores the question of whether it is possible to rewrite one's troubled past simply by doing good in the present. Informed by Spoerry's own journals, a trove of previously untapped files, and numerous interviews with those who knew her in Europe or Africa, John Heminway takes readers on a remarkable journey across a haunting African landscape and into a dramatic life punctuated by both courage and weakness and driven by a powerful need to atone.
Borderline Citizen: Dispatches from the Outskirts of Nationhood (American Lives)
by Robin HemleyIn Borderline Citizen Robin Hemley wrestles with what it means to be a citizen of the world, taking readers on a singular journey through the hinterlands of national identity. As a polygamist of place, Hemley celebrates Guy Fawkes Day in the contested Falkland Islands; Canada Day and the Fourth of July in the tiny U.S. exclave of Point Roberts, Washington; Russian Federation Day in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad; Handover Day among protesters in Hong Kong; and India Day along the most complicated border in the world. Forgoing the exotic descriptions of faraway lands common in traditional travel writing, Borderline Citizen upends the genre with darkly humorous and deeply compassionate glimpses into the lives of exiles, nationalists, refugees, and others. Hemley&’s superbly rendered narratives detail these individuals, including a Chinese billionaire who could live anywhere but has chosen to situate his ornate mansion in the middle of his impoverished ancestral village, a black nationalist wanted on thirty-two outstanding FBI warrants exiled in Cuba, and an Afghan refugee whose intentionally altered birth date makes him more easy to deport despite his harrowing past. Part travelogue, part memoir, part reportage, Borderline Citizen redefines notions of nationhood through an exploration of the arbitrariness of boundaries and what it means to belong.
Do-over! In Which a Forty-eight-year-old Father of Three Returns to Kindergarten, Summer Camp, the Prom, and Other Embarrassments: In which a forty-eight-year-old father of three returns to kindergarten, summer camp, the prom, and other embarrassments
by Robin HemleyRobin Hemley's childhood made a wedgie of his memory, leaving him sore and embarrassed for over forty years. He was the most pitiful kindergartner, the least spirited summer camper, and dateless for prom. In fact, there's nary an event from his youth that couldn't use improvement. If only he could do them all over a few decades later, with an adult's wisdom, perspective, and giant-like height... In the spirit of cult film classics like Billy Madison and Wet Hot American Summer, in DO-OVER! Hemley re-encounters papier mache, revisits his childhood home, and finally attends the prom--bringing readers the thrill of recapturing a misspent youth and discovering what's most important: simple pleasures, second chances, and the forgotten joys of recess.
No, It Is Not In My Head: The Journey of a Chronic Pain Survivor from Wheelchair to Marathon
by Nicole Hemmenway“A story of triumph and courage . . . Nicole Hemmenway demonstrates hope, guts and faith for any chronic pain sufferer or caregiver” (Betsy Turner Nunley, author of Preemie to Woman in Sixty Short Years). At seventeen, Nicole Hemmenway believed her life was just beginning. She was a senior in high school looking forward to college and living on her own. However, all her dreams vanished the moment she became injured. Diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), she soon learned that mainstream medicine viewed her pain and symptoms as being untreatable and incurable. She was living a nightmare. With no use of her right hand and minimal use of her arm, she depended on massive amounts of narcotics to survive each day. Yet even that could not control her agony. The crippling pain was so paralyzing that she faced periods where she was bedridden or wheelchair bound. All she had to hold on to was hope. Hope that her miracle would someday arrive . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is a courageous memoir that presents answers and allows others to believe in the unimaginable. “A must-read for anyone suffering from chronic pain or anyone who knows someone battling it . . . No, It Is Not in My Head is not a cure for pain, but more a cure for hopelessness. . . . Beautifully written, incredibly inspirational and highly recommended!” —Robin Cain, author of The Secret Miss Rabbit Kept “A riveting and uplifting tale, not to be missed.” —Midwest Book Review
Agent M: The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight
by Henry HemmingSpying is the art of knowing who to trust-and who to betrayMaxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history, rumored to be the real-life inspiration for the James Bond character "M." He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric--a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets--and almost totally unqualified for espionage.Yet he had a gift for turning practically anyone into a fearless secret agent. Knight's work revolutionized British intelligence, pioneering the use of female agents, among other accomplishments. In telling Knight's remarkable story, Agent M also reveals for the first time in print the names and stories of some of the men and women recruited by Knight, on behalf of MI5, who were asked to infiltrate the country's most dangerous political organizations.Drawing on a vast array of original sources, Agent M reveals not only the story of one of the world's greatest intelligence operators, but the sacrifices and courage required to confront fascism during a nation's darkest time.
The Ingenious Mr. Pyke: Inventor, Fugitive, Spy
by Henry HemmingThis is the extraordinary story of Geoffrey Pyke, an inventor, war reporter, escaped prisoner, campaigner, father, educator--and all-around misunderstood genius. In his day, he was described as one of the world's great minds, to rank alongside Einstein, yet he remains virtually unknown today. Pyke was an unlikely hero of both world wars and, among many other things, is seen today as the father of the U. S. Special Forces. He changed the landscape of British pre-school education, earned a fortune on the stock market, wrote a bestseller and in 1942 convinced Winston Churchill to build an aircraft carrier out of reinforced ice. He escaped from a German WWI prison camp, devised an ingenious plan to help the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, and launched a private attempt to avert the outbreak of the Second World War by sending into Nazi Germany a group of pollsters disguised as golfers. Despite his brilliance, Pyke ultimately could not find peace, committing suicide in 1948. Yet the full scope of his story remained secret even after his death: in 2009, MI5 released a mass of material suggesting that Pyke was in fact a senior official in the Soviet Comintern. In 1951 papers relating to Pyke were found in the flat of "Cambridge Spy' Guy Burgess after his defection to Moscow. MI5 had "watchers" follow Pyke through the bombed-out streets of London, his letters were opened and listening devices picked up clues to his real identity. Convinced he was a Soviet agent codenamed Professor P, MI5 helped to bring his career to an end. It is only now, more than sixty years after his death, that Geoffrey Pyke's astonishing story can be told in full. The Ingenious Mr. Pyke is a many-faceted account of this enigmatic man’s genius, and reveals him as one of the great innovators of the last century.