- Table View
- List View
The Upstairs Wife
by Rafia ZakariaA memoir of Karachi through the eyes of its women An Indies Introduce Debut Authors Selection For a brief moment on December 27, 2007, life came to a standstill in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the country's former prime minister and the first woman ever to lead a Muslim country, had been assassinated at a political rally just outside Islamabad. Back in Karachi--Bhutto's birthplace and Pakistan's other great metropolis--Rafia Zakaria's family was suffering through a crisis of its own: her Uncle Sohail, the man who had brought shame upon the family, was near death. In that moment these twin catastrophes--one political and public, the other secret and intensely personal--briefly converged. Zakaria uses that moment to begin her intimate exploration of the country of her birth. Her Muslim-Indian family immigrated to Pakistan from Bombay in 1962, escaping the precarious state in which the Muslim population in India found itself following the Partition. For them, Pakistan represented enormous promise. And for some time, Zakaria's family prospered and the city prospered. But in the 1980s, Pakistan's military dictators began an Islamization campaign designed to legitimate their rule--a campaign that particularly affected women's freedom and safety. The political became personal when her aunt Amina's husband, Sohail, did the unthinkable and took a second wife, a humiliating and painful betrayal of kin and custom that shook the foundation of Zakaria's family but was permitted under the country's new laws. The young Rafia grows up in the shadow of Amina's shame and fury, while the world outside her home turns ever more chaotic and violent as the opportunities available to post-Partition immigrants are dramatically curtailed and terrorism sows its seeds in Karachi. Telling the parallel stories of Amina's polygamous marriage and Pakistan's hopes and betrayals, The Upstairs Wife is an intimate exploration of the disjunction between exalted dreams and complicated realities.From the Hardcover edition.
V. Shantaram: The Man Who Changed Indian Cinema
by Madhura Pandit JasrajHe immortalized movies on celluloid… An authentic, heartfelt, insightful and comprehensive account of one of India’s most respected and eminent filmmakers, who was an institution in himself…V. Shantaram (1901–90) stands out as a colossus in Indian cinema. As one of the pioneers in this field, he honed his skills not only as a producer and director but also as an actor, writer, cameraman, technician and editor. He effectively used the medium of cinema as a vehicle for creating awareness about numerous social problems (such as communalism, dowry and the cycle of debt and poverty) and tried to bring about a change in society. This riveting biography – penned by his daughter – brings alive the life and times of Shantaram and his contemporaries, while simultaneously throwing light on a bygone era of Indian cinema marked by struggles, uncertainties and difficulties but yet infused with hope, perseverance and determination. Among Shantaram’s prominent creations in Hindi are Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932), Sairandhari (1933; India’s first colour film), Amrit Manthan (1934), Duniya Na Maane (1937), Aadmi (1939), Padosi (1941), Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Dahej (1950), Janak Janak Pyal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Sehra (1963), Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne (1964) and Pinjra (1972)
The V-Word
by Amber J. KeyserAn honest and poignant collection of essays by women about losing their virginity in their teens. The V-Word captures the complexity of this important life-decision and reflects diverse real-world experiences. Includes helpful resources for parents and teens.Losing it. Popping your cherry. Handing in your V-card. First time sex is a big unknown. Will it be candlelight and rose petals or quick and uncomfortable? Is it about love or about lust? Deciding to have sex for the first time is a choice that's often fraught with anxiety and joy. But do you have anyone telling you what sex is really like? In The V-Word seventeen writers (including Christa Desir, Justina Ireland, Sara Ryan, Carrie Mesrobian, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Jamia Wilson) pull back the sheets and tell all, covering everything from straight sex to queer sex, diving-in versus waiting, and even the exhilaration and disappointment that blankets it all. Some of their experiences happened too soon, some at just the right time, but all paint a broad picture of what first-time sex is really like. Funny, hot, meaningful, cringe-worthy, gross, forgettable, magnificent, empowering, and transformative, the stories in The V-Word are never preachy, but provide a map for teens to chart their own course through the steamy waters of sex. With The V-Word girls can finally take control, learn what's on the horizon, and eliminate the fear and mystery surrounding this important milestone.
Valerii Pereleshin: The Life of a Silkworm
by Olga BakichOlga Bakich's biography of Valerii Pereleshin (1913-1992) follows the turbulent life and exquisite poetry of one of the most remarkable Russian émigrés of the twentieth century. Born in Irkutsk, Pereleshin lived for thirty years in China and for almost forty years in Brazil. Multilingual, he wrote poetry in Russian and in Portuguese and translated Chinese and Brazilian poetry into Russian and Russian and Chinese poetry into Portuguese. For many years he struggled to accept and express his own identity as a gay man within a frequently homophobic émigré community. His poems addressed his three homelands, his religious struggles, and his loves. In Valerii Pereleshin: The Life of a Silkworm, Bakich delves deep into Pereleshin's poems and letters to tell the rich life story of this underappreciated writer.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
by Jeff Snipes Kermit Alexander Alex GerouldIn this heart-wrenching memoir, former NFL star Kermit Alexander tells the devastating true story of the horrific massacre of his family and his subsequent years of despair, followed by a spiritual renewal that showed him a way to rebuild his family and reclaim his life.On the morning of August 31, 1984, in the South Central section of Los Angeles, three armed men broke into a house, brutally murdering two women and two young boys. The victims were Ebora Alexander, Dietra Alexander, Damani Garner, and Damon Bonner--the mother, sister, and nephews of retired All-Pro cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers Kermit Alexander. In his own words, Kermit Alexander finally shares the full story of what happened to his loved ones and the aftermath of that tragic day. He recounts the hours leading up to the massacre, and how afterward he lost himself in the LA underworld, pleading, bribing, and threatening in a search for answers. He describes his journey through the "wilderness" of despair--the years of isolation living out of his car, broke, depressed, and sick. We also learn about his coming-of-age in 1950s LA, the following decade he spent in the NFL, the events leading up to that fateful August day, and finally the shocking truth behind the murders. Kermit opens up about his darkest hours, but also what it took to turn his life around, rebuild his family, and ultimately find peace. Ominous and intense, powerful and uplifting, tragic and triumphant, The Valley of the Shadow of Death is more than a rendering of one man's adversity; it's testament to the value of family and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming loss.
Vampire: The Richard Chase Murders (WildBlue Press True Crime)
by Kevin SullivanThe author of The Bundy Murders tells the harrowing true story of &“one of the most bizarre serial killers in America&” (Katherine Ramsland, bestselling author of Confession of a Serial Killer). A city under siege, held captive while a psychopathic vampire serial killer instills fear in its residents, taunts the authorities, and brutally kills his victims. This book is a chilling and stomach-churning look into the life of a twisted, sick man, so evil one would wonder if he was even human. From his early days when he would liquify rabbits in a blender to drink their intestines and blood to mutilating his victims, his thirst for killing could not be satiated. This is the story of Richard Trenton Chase, the Vampire of Sacramento. It is not for the faint of heart. &“Fraught with emotion and detail . . . a must have book for all true crime enthusiasts and collectors.&” —RJ Parker, award-winning author of Escaped Killer &“Sullivan has written a fascinating account of an abnormal psyche of egregious proportions, and captures the very essence of Richard Chase&’s monstrous crime spree the citizens of Sacramento will never forget.&” —Gary C. King, author of Love, Lies, and Murder
Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal
by Greg RenoffAfter years of gigging everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen - led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen - had the songs, the swagger and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear. The quartet's classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and sky-rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. Their high-energy shows left fans and bands alike floored. Based on more than 230 original interviews, Van Halen Rising tells of the band's electric rise to fame.
VE Day: A Day to Remember
by Craig Cabell Allan RichardsThe authors have compiled a collection of memories and anecdotes from celebrities and members of the public covering their experiences of the Second World War and the day that Victory over the Nazis was declared. We hear from not only those in the Armed Forces but civilians.The book catches the mood of jubilation and exhilaration yet also the great sadness of the huge waste of human life and resources. Hard times still lay ahead.
Vendetta: Bobby Kennedy Versus Jimmy Hoffa
by James NeffOne of America's greatest investigative reporters brings to life the gripping, no-holds-barred clash of two American titans: Robert Kennedy and his nemesis Jimmy Hoffa.From 1957 to 1964, Robert Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa channeled nearly all of their considerable powers into destroying each other. Kennedy's battle with Hoffa burst into the public consciousness with the 1957 Senate Rackets Committee hearings and intensified when his brother named him attorney general in 1961. RFK put together a "Get Hoffa" squad within the Justice Department, devoted to destroying one man. But Hoffa, with nearly unlimited Teamster funds, was not about to roll over. Drawing upon a treasure trove of previously secret and undisclosed documents, James Neff has crafted a brilliant, heart-pounding epic of crime and punishment, a saga of venom and relentlessness and two men willing to do anything to demolish each other.
A Very Dangerous Woman: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia’s Most Seductive Spy
by Jeremy Dronfield Deborah McdonaldIn January 1918, the British adventurer, diplomat and secret agent Robert Bruce Lockhart arrived in Revolutionary Russia. His official mission: Britain's envoy to the new Bolshevik government. His true mission: to create a network of agents, plot the assassination of Lenin and overthrow the Bolsheviks. A dashing charmer, he soon got to know the aristocratic socialite, hedonist and notorious seductress Moura Zakrevskaya. The two feel in love and began a passionate affair. But what Lockhart didn't know was that that Moura was spying on him for the Bolsheviks. What Moura didn't know was that as Lockhart's plot unravelled and he was seized she would sell herself to save him from the firing squad.Fleeing to England, what followed was a life of exile, a string of new lovers - including Maxim Gorky and H. G. Wells - and playing off the Russian and British governments as she spied for both. Through all this she clung to the hope that Lockhart would finally be able to return to her.Deborah McDonald's sensational retelling of Moura's extraordinary life opens up a world of revolution and espionage where survival means sacrificing more than just love and loyalty.
Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
by Sarah A. Chrisman Sue LeanOn Sarah A. Chrisman’s twenty-ninth birthday, her husband, Gabriel, presented her with a corset. The material and the design were breathtakingly beautiful, but her mind immediately filled with unwelcome views. Although she had been in love with the Victorian era all her life, she had specifically asked her husband not to buy her a corset?ever. She’d heard how corsets affected the female body and what they represented, and she wanted none of it. However, Chrisman agreed to try on the garment . . . and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The corset, she realized, was a tool of empowerment?not oppression. After a year of wearing a corset on a daily basis, her waist had gone from thirty-two inches to twenty-two inches, she was experiencing fewer migraines, and her posture improved. She had successfully transformed her body, her dress, and her lifestyle into that of a Victorian woman?and everyone was asking about it. In Victorian Secrets, Chrisman explains how a garment from the past led to a change in not only the way she viewed herself, but also the ways she understood the major differences between the cultures of twenty-first-century and nineteenth-century America. The desire to delve further into the Victorian lifestyle provided Chrisman with new insight into issues of body image and how women, past and present, have seen and continue to see themselves.
Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich
by Douglas E. Nash Sr.&“For both students of the German Army in World War II as well as those interested in the late 1944 campaign, this is a must-read&” (The NYMAS Review). As the Allies were approaching the German frontier at the beginning of September 1944, the German Armed Forces attempted to regain the strategic initiative. While the &“wonder weapons,&” such as the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 missile, and the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, are widely recognized as being the most prominent of these initiatives upon which Germany pinned so much hope, the Volks-Grenadier Divisions (VGDs) are practically unknown. Often confused with the Volkssturm, the Home Guard militia, VGDs have suffered an undeserved reputation as second-rate formations filled with young boys and old men suited to serve only as cannon fodder. This groundbreaking book, now in a new edition, shows that VGDs were actually conceived as a new, elite corps loyal to the National Socialist Party composed of men from all branches of Hitler&’s Wehrmacht and equipped with the finest ground combat weapons available. Whether fighting from defensive positions or spearheading offensives such as the Battle of the Bulge, VGDs initially gave a good account of themselves in battle. Using previously unpublished unit records, Allied intelligence and interrogation reports, and, above all, interviews with survivors, the author has crafted an in-depth look at a late-war German infantry company, including many photographs from the veterans themselves. In this book we follow along with the men of the 272nd VGD&’s Fusilier Company from their first battles in the Hürtgen Forest to their final defeat in the Harz Mountains. Along the way, we learn the enormous potential of VGDs—and feel their soldiers&’ heartbreak at their failure.
The Victory With No Name: The Native American Defeat Of The First American Army
by Colin G. CallowayIn 1791, General Arthur St. Clair led the United States army in a campaign to destroy a complex of Indian villages at the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio. Almost within reach of their objective, St. Clair's 1,400 men were attacked by about one thousand Indians. The U. S. force was decimated, suffering nearly one thousand casualties in killed and wounded, while Indian casualties numbered only a few dozen. But despite the lopsided result, it wouldn't appear to carry much significance; it involved only a few thousand people, lasted less than three hours, and the outcome, which was never in doubt, was permanently reversed a mere three years later. Neither an epic struggle nor a clash that changed the course of history, the battle doesn't even have a name. Yet, as renowned Native American historian Colin Calloway demonstrates here, St. Clair's Defeat--as it came to be known-- was hugely important for its time. It was both the biggest victory the Native Americans ever won, and, proportionately, the biggest military disaster the United States had suffered. With the British in Canada waiting in the wings for the American experiment in republicanism to fail, and some regions of the West gravitating toward alliance with Spain, the defeat threatened the very existence of the infant United States. Generating a deluge of reports, correspondence, opinions, and debates in the press, it produced the first congressional investigation in American history, while ultimately changing not only the manner in which Americans viewed, raised, organized, and paid for their armies, but the very ways in which they fought their wars. Emphasizing the extent to which the battle has been overlooked in history, Calloway illustrates how this moment of great victory by American Indians became an aberration in the national story and a blank spot in the national memory. Calloway shows that St. Clair's army proved no match for the highly motivated and well-led Native American force that shattered not only the American army but the ill-founded assumption that Indians stood no chance against European methods and models of warfare. An engaging and enlightening read for American history enthusiasts and scholars alike, The Victory with No Name brings this significant moment in American history back to light.
Vida de Carlos III
by Carlos Gutiérrez de los Ríos«Después de haber superado gloriosamente nuestro Monarca, el Sr. D. Felipe V, todos los obstáculos que se opusieron a sus justos derechos a la Corona de España, y de haber asegurado la sucesión a esta monarquía con dos hijos, Luis y Fernando, nacidos de una princesa de Saboya que, por sus virtudes, talento y conducta debiera haber sido inmortal, quiso la Providencia probar la constancia y resignación de este gran monarca arrebatándola de su lado.No obstante el justo dolor que ocasionó a este Soberano su pérdida, haciendo nuevamente uso de aquella firmeza que tenía tan acreditada a la nación entera en las fatigas de una larga y penosa guerra, creyó no deberla exponer nuevamente a otra igual, dejando abandonada la sucesión de la Corona a las vidas de solo dos tiernos hijos, y resolvió contraer nuevo matrimonio con la Princesa heredera de Parma, doña Isabel Faunesco, reuniendo por este medio a los derechos que la Corona de España tenía a la de Portugal los de la augusta casa de Faunesco, superiores aún a los de Felipe II y a los de la casa reinante de Saboya.»
Vida de Marco Bruto
by Francisco de Quevedo y VillegasLa Vida de Marco Bruto es un ensayo de reflexión política en el que se glosa la vida del célebre asesino de César escrita por Plutarco.
Vida del padre Baltasar Álvarez
by Luis de la PuenteThis thoughtful biography employs a unique style and focuses on the Christian asceticism and martyrdom of Father Batasar Álvarez. It is of immense importance to anyone interested in the study of spirituality and religious history. Written during a time of great expansion for the Society of Jesus, Linkgua recently recovered this text and offered it based on an incredible mondern demand.
Vida del padre maestro Juan de Ávila
by Luis De GranadaGranada was heavily influenced by the mystic Juan de Ávila. This book tells the mystic's story and hints at suspicions surrounding the inquisition.
La vida del pastor: La historia de un hombre, un rebaño y un oficio eterno
by James RebanksEvocador, vital, iluminador, La vida del pastor es el cautivante retrato de una forma de vida en peligro de extinción. «Esta es mi vida, no quiero ninguna otra.»James Rebanks Hay personas cuyas vidas son sus propias creaciones. No es el caso de James Rebanks. Hijo mayor de un pastor que era a su vez el hijo mayor de otro pastor, su familia lleva generaciones viviendo y trabajando en el Lake District, una de las zonas más hermosas de Inglaterra. Su modo de vida se ajusta a las estaciones y a las labores que estas exigen, como ha ocurrido desde hace siglos. Solo un vikingo entendería un trabajo como el suyo: llevar las ovejas a los prados en verano y recoger el heno; acudir a las ferias de otoño donde se completan los rebaños; conseguir que la manada sobreviva durante el invierno; y ayudar en el nacimiento de los corderos en primavera, cuando las ovejas se preparan para volver a los prados. La vida del pastor es un cautivante relato sobre el oficio de la familia Rebanks, pero sobre todo es un libro que nos habla de la tradición, las raíces y el sentimiento de pertenencia, tan denostado en esta era de innovación y movilidad constante, donde el cambio permanente parece imprescindible y siempre es bienvenido. La vida del pastor ha sido galardonado con el premio The Lakeland al mejor libro del año. Reseñas:«Fascinante, este libro es a la vez una memoria, el retrato del mundo de una familia y una evocadora representación de la vocación de Rebanks como pastor.»Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times «Humano, generoso y completamente adictivo.»Daily Mail «Evocador y lúcido.»The Guardian «Uno ve el campo con otros ojos tras haber leído este libro. Un libro único en su estilo y honesto acerca de las realidades que implica trabajar en el campo en pleno siglo XXI.»The Independent
Vida y ascendencia de don Diego de Torres
by Diego Torres VillarroelVillarroel dio a su actividad literaria un carácter utilitario, publicó sus obras «con el beneficio de la suscripción». Incluso reconocía que el propósito último de publicar libros era económico: «Tú dirás que Torres ha hecho negocio en burlarse de sí mismo y yo diré que tienes razón como soy cristiano»
Vida y Música de Alejandro Marcovich
by Alejandro MarcovichEn este libro, Alejandro Marcovich, el legendario guitarrista de Caifanes, uno de los grupos más influyentes del rock en español, reproduce su andar a través de la música, recuerda su infancia y sus primeras canciones. En esta autobiografía, el músico nos relata su vida y cómo se convirtió en uno de los pocos guitarristas con un sonido propio, identificable desde las primeras notas, capaz de hacer hablar a la guitarra desde lo más dulce hasta lo más desgarrado y extremo, para transformarse en una inspiración para varias generaciones.
Vigilance: My Life Serving America and Protecting Its Empire City
by Ray KellyTwo-time New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly opens up about his remarkable life, taking us inside fifty years of law enforcement leadership, offering chilling stories of terrorist plots after 9/11, and sharing his candid insights into the challenges and controversies cops face today. The son of a milkman and a Macy's dressing room checker, Ray Kelly grew up on New York City's Upper West Side, a middle-class neighborhood where Irish and Puerto Rican kids played stickball and tussled in the streets. He entered the police academy and served as a marine in Vietnam, living and fighting by the values that would carry him through a half century of leadership-justice, decisiveness, integrity, courage, and loyalty. Kelly soared through the NYPD ranks in decades marked by poverty, drugs, civil unrest, and a murder rate that, at its peak, spiked to over two thousand per year. Kelly came to be known as a tough leader, a fixer who could go into a troubled precinct and clean it up. That reputation catapulted him into his first stint as commissioner, under Mayor David Dinkins, where Kelly oversaw the police response to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and spearheaded programs that would help usher in the city's historic drop in crime. Eight years later, in the chaotic wake of the 9/11 attacks, newly elected mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped Kelly to be NYC's top cop once again. After a decade working with Interpol, serving as undersecretary of the Treasury for enforcement, overseeing U.S. Customs, and commanding an international police force in Haiti, Kelly understood that New York's security was synonymous with our national security. Believing that the city could not afford to rely solely on "the feds," he succeeded in transforming the NYPD from a traditional police department into a resource-rich counterterrorism-and-intelligence force. In this vital memoir, Kelly reveals the inside stories of his life in the hot seat of "the capital of the world"-from the terror plots that nearly brought a city to its knees to his dealings with politicians, including Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama as well as Mayors Rudolph Giuliani, Bloomberg, and Bill DeBlasio. He addresses criticisms and controversies like the so-called stop-question-and-frisk program and the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and offers his insights into the challenges that have recently consumed our nation's police forces, even as the need for vigilance remains as acute as ever.
Viktor Frankl's Search for Meaning
by Timothy PytellFirst published in 1946, Viktor Frankl's memoir Man's Search for Meaning remains one of the most influential books of the last century, selling over ten million copies worldwide and having been embraced by successive generations of readers captivated by its author's philosophical journey in the wake of the Holocaust. This long-overdue reappraisal examines Frankl's life and intellectual evolution anew, from his early immersion in Freudian and Adlerian theory to his development of the "third Viennese school" amid the National Socialist domination of professional psychotherapy. It teases out the fascinating contradictions and ambiguities surrounding his years in Nazi Europe, including the experimental medical procedures he oversaw in occupied Austria and a stopover at the Auschwitz concentration camp far briefer than has commonly been assumed. Throughout, author Timothy Pytell gives a penetrating but fair-minded account of a man whose paradoxical embodiment of asceticism, celebrity, tradition, and self-reinvention drew together the complex strands of twentieth-century intellectual life.
Villa America: A Novel
by Liza KlaussmannA dazzling novel set in the French Riviera based on the real-life inspirations for F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is The Night.When Sara Wiborg and Gerald Murphy met and married, they set forth to create a beautiful world together-one that they couldn't find within the confines of society life in New York City. They packed up their children and moved to the South of France, where they immediately fell in with a group of expats, including Hemingway, Picasso, and Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. On the coast of Antibes they built Villa America, a fragrant paradise where they invented summer on the Riviera for a group of bohemian artists and writers who became deeply entwined in each other's affairs. There, in their oasis by the sea, the Murphys regaled their guests and their children with flamboyant beach parties, fiery debates over the newest ideas, and dinners beneath the stars. It was, for a while, a charmed life, but these were people who kept secrets, and who beneath the sparkling veneer were heartbreakingly human. When a tragic accident brings Owen, a young American aviator who fought in the Great War, to the south of France, he finds himself drawn into this flamboyant circle, and the Murphys find their world irrevocably, unexpectedly transformed.A handsome, private man, Owen intrigues and unsettles the Murphys, testing the strength of their union and encouraging a hidden side of Gerald to emerge. Suddenly a life in which everything has been considered and exquisitely planned becomes volatile, its safeties breached, the stakes incalculably high. Nothing will remain as it once was.Liza Klaussman expertly evokes the 1920s cultural scene of the so-called "Lost Generation." Ravishing and affecting, and written with infinite tenderness, VILLA AMERICA is at once the poignant story of a marriage and of a golden age that could not last.
Vindicated: Confessions of a Video Vixen, Ten Years Later
by Karrine Steffans Datwon ThomasFor a decade, Confessions of a Video Vixen author Karrine Steffans and the details of her private life have been the subject of debate and scrutiny. But, as gossipmongers and critics speculated, assumed, and manufactured tall tales about the New York Times bestselling author, Karrine hid herself and her truth from the world, imprisoned by an abusive marriage and the judgments of society.In Vindicated: Confessions of a Video Vixen, Ten Years Later, Karrine takes readers into the belly of the beast as she harrowingly chronicles the systematic breakdown of her mind, body, and spirit at the hand of one man and the events that propelled her back to prosperity after losing everything. She candidly shares her struggle to be what others demand, her obsession with the American dream, her desperation to appear normal, the lengths to which she went, and the price she paid for it all.This dark, long journey into the life of an abused and tormented woman, wife, and mother uncovers a long-guarded set of painful personal truths, reveals the inspiring details of her life-saving triumph, and will change everything you thought you knew about Karrine Steffans.
Virgin Galactic
by Erik SeedhouseThirty years ago when Sir Richard Branson called up Boeing and asked if they had a spare 747, few would have predicted the brash entrepreneur would so radically transform the placid business of air travel. But today, Branson flies airlines on six continents, employs hundreds of jets and, in 2014, was predicting that his spaceship company - Virgin Galactic - would soon open the space frontier to commercial astronauts, payload specialists, scientists and space tourists. With more than 600 seats sold at $250,000 each, what started off as a dream to send people just for the excitement to look back and marvel at Earth, was on the cusp of finally being turned into a business. Then, on October 21, 2014, tragedy struck. SpaceShipTwo was on its most ambitious test flight to date. Seconds after firing its engine, Virgin Galactic's spaceship was breaking through the sound barrier. In just the three seconds that it took for the vehicle to climb from Mach 0. 94 to Mach 1. 02, co-pilot Mike Alsbury made what many close to the event believe was a fatal mistake that led to his death and the disintegration of SpaceShipTwo. Miraculously, the pilot, Peter Siebold, survived the 16-km fall back to Earth. Soon after the event Branson vowed to continue his space tourism venture in spite of this. Already a second SpaceShipTwo is being built, and ticket-holders eagerly await the day when Virgin Galactic offers quick, routine and affordable access to the edge of space. This book explains the hurdles Virgin Galactic had and still has to overcome en route to developing suborbital space travel as a profitable economic entity, and describes the missions that will be flown on board SpaceShipTwo Mk II, including high-altitude science studies, astronomy, life sciences, and microgravity physics.