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Ride the Wind: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the Last Days of the Comanche
by Lucia St RobsonIn 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their ways, married one of their leaders, and became, in every way, a Comanche woman. It is also the story of a proud and innocent people whose lives pulsed with the very heartbeat of the land. It is the story of a way of life that is gone forever.
Riders West
by Ernest HaycoxA MAN ON THE PROD—A RANGE AT WARNeel St. Could, forced by his vendetta with Dan Bellew, had a plan to turn the peaceful valley into an outlaw strip ruled by flaming guns.First he put his own crooked sheriff into office. Then he imported an army of gunslicks, took over Trail City and burned out the nesters. With the remaining spreads isolated, St. Cloud made his move.And on a storm-lashed night a hundred guns fought it out—with St. Cloud and Dan Bellew clashing head-on in their own personal battle.“Fast and Breathless”—New York Times
Riding Fury Home: A Memoir
by Chana WilsonIn 1958, when Chana Wilson was seven, her mother held a rifle to her head and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed and she was taken away to a mental hospital. On her return, Chana became the caretaker of her heavily medicated, suicidal mother. It would be many years before she learned the secret of her mother’s anguish: her love affair with another married woman, and the psychiatric treatment aimed at curing her of her lesbianism. Riding Fury Homespans forty years of the intense, complex relationship between Chana and her mother-the trauma of their early years together, the transformation and joy they found when they both came out in the 1970s, and the deep bond that grew between them. From the intolerance of the '50s to the exhilaration of the women’s movement of the '70s and beyond, the book traces the profound ways in which their two lives were impacted by the social landscape of their time. Exquisitely written and devastatingly honest,Riding Fury Homeis a shattering account of one family’s struggle against homophobia and mental illness-and a powerful story of healing, forgiveness, and redemption.
Riding High: How I Kissed SoulCycle Goodbye, Co-Founded Flywheel, and Built the Life I Always Wanted
by Ruth ZukermanFrom the co-founder of Flywheel and SoulCycle comes a story of perseverance and success.“Ruth Zukerman is an inspiration. She somehow had a keen sense that indoor cycling was going to be a huge trend and she wasted no time turning it into a lucrative business. I'm among the legions of Flywheel fans who make Ruth's class part of our regular routine. Her energy, enthusiasm and great playlist keeps us spinning and coming back for more." —KATIE COURICRuth Zukerman is the Queen of Spinning: she put the Soul in SoulCycle and the Fly in Flywheel.Recounting the pivotal moments that helped launch Zukerman as the breakout star of the boutique fitness world, Riding High is a reminder that the greatest success stories often start in the unlikeliest of places.Ruth Zukerman used her heartache–at the death of her father, the end of her marriage, and the dissolution of her first business partnership with SoulCycle, as the inspiration to reinvent herself. At 51, she co-founded a new business, the highly successful Flywheel, and built the life she’d always dreamed of. And she did it all while navigating through single motherhood and a business world that is often unkind to women, especially those who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Riding High is a prescriptive, warts-and-all journey through Ruth’s evolution, offering fresh, unexpected business and life lessons to help readers recognize their own potential and channel their passion into success. Part confidante, part mentor, Ruth pulls no punches and holds nothing back.
Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl Who Makes Good
by Beverly DonofrioWritten with irreverent humor, this memoir recounts the author's experiences growing up in a working-class neighborhood in Connecticut and becoming a teenage mother. Bright and endlessly rebellious, she marries her baby's father, struggles to help him kick heroin addiction, and eventually winds up as a single mother on welfare. Through sheer determination and the help of good friends and social programs, she finally fulfills her dream of attending an elite college and becoming a writer. Donofrio writes honestly about her relationship with her son Jason, and shows that each helped the other grow up.
Riding in Cars with Boys
by Beverly DonofrioTrouble began in 1963. I'm not blaming it on President Kennedy's assassination or its being the beginning of the sixties or the Vietnam War or The Beatles. . . The trouble I'm talking about was my first real trouble, the age-old trouble. The getting in trouble as in ' Is she in trouble?' trouble. As in pregnant. As in the girl who got pregnant in high school. ' Beverly Ann Donofrio wasn't bad because she hung out with hoods - she was bad because she was a hood. Unable to attend college, she lost interest in everything but riding around in cars, drinking, smoking, and rebelling against authority. After her teenage marriage failed, Bev found herself at an elite New England university, books in one arm, child on the other. Then, furnished with ambition, dreams and five hundred dollars, she took herself and her son to New York to begin a career and a life. An outrageous and touching memoir, this is the story of a teenage mother who, as her son grows up, becomes an adult herself.
Riding in the Shadows of Saints: A Woman’s Story of Motorcycling the Mormon Trail
by Jana RichmanRichman retraced on motorcycle the trail seven of her eight ancestors had traveled 150 earlier from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City as part of the migration of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormons. Along the way, she sought out graveyards and practicing Mormons, and steeped herself in the rituals of the faith to confront her own long-held prejudices about the Mormon Church. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Riding on Duke's Train
by Mick Carlon"Duke used to say that the individual sound of a musician revealed his soul. Mick Carlon is a 'soul' storyteller."--Nat Hentoff, author of Jazz Country "A ripping good yarn. . . . Plunges the reader into the world of Duke Ellington and the America of 1939."--Brian Morton, author of The Penguin Guide to Jazz "Wonderfully convincing and authentic characterizations. . . . A thoroughly enjoyable read."--Dan Morgenstern, author of Living with Jazz "We encounter not only Duke's genius, but his character and humanity. This is one train you won't want to get off!"--Dick Golden, radio host "When this marvelously evocative novel finds a home in the school curriculum, kids across America will be downloading Duke."--Jack Bradley "Excellent command of voice, period, and ethnic dialect . . . clear love and in-depth knowledge of Ellington and his band."--Alexandria LaFaye, author of The Keening Nine-year-old Danny stows away on Duke Ellington's train one Georgia night. Through Danny's eyes, we meet some of America's finest musicians as he accompanies them on their 1939 European tour, when the train was briefly held in Germany. Says Nat Hentoff, "I knew Duke Ellington for twenty-five years. The Ellington in this book is the man I knew." Mick Carlon is a twenty-seven-year veteran English/journalism high- and middle-school teacher. A lifelong jazz fan, he regularly plays jazz in his classroom and has turned hundreds of students into jazz fans. He says, "If young people are simply exposed to the music and stories of these American artists, they will make a friend for life."
Riding Out: A Journey of Love, Loss and New Beginnings
by simon parker"A truly inspiring journey that celebrates the healing power of adventure. A must-read." - Levison WoodThe remarkable and inspirational true story of how one man battled grief and anxiety, one pedal stroke at a time, on a 3,500-mile adventure around BritainIn March 2020, as Britain entered its first lockdown, Simon Parker's life fell apart; his travel journalism career vanished overnight and shortly afterwards he received the tragic news that a close friend had died. With a long-suppressed anxiety disorder starting to rear its head, he turned to the only therapies he knew and trusted: travel and exercise.Setting off on his bike from the northernmost point of Shetland with only a sleeping bag and a camping stove, Simon would end up cycling 3,427 miles around Britain. En route, he would meet hundreds of resilient Britons, who were all, in their own way, riding out the storm just like he was. Even in his gloomiest moments he began to see that a chink of light was never too far away.Riding Out is a story of optimism and hope, and a ground-level portrait of Britain as it transforms from a country in crisis to a nation on the mend. From Shetland to the Scillies, Dover to Durness, Simon learns that life's sharpest corners are best navigated at the gentle pace of a bicycle.
Riding Outside the Lines: International Incidents and Other Misadventures with the Metal Cowboy
by Joe KurmaskieLike a modern-day Don Quixote, Joe Kurmaskie--bike adventurer, writer, and twelve-year-old boy trapped in a man's body--wanders the world on two wheels, often with hilarious results, in Riding Outside the Lines. A jaunt through such far-flung locations as Ireland, Australia, Mexico, South America, and beyond, here is a collection of tales woven together with one central theme: the world is a much smaller place when you view it from the seat of a bicycle. Whether he's weekending in the buff after accidentally stumbling into a nudist colony wedding, knocking back red wine in tin cans with a gun-toting ex-bounty hunter, combing the countryside in a quest to find the all-girl bagpipe squad he met in his dreams, or playing a rousing game of ice golf on the frozen tundra, Joe Kurmaskie writes of his gonzo global trek in a spirit infused with insight, good humor, and optimism. Riding Outside the Lines encourages travel buffs and armchair explorers alike to get on your bike and see the beauty of our planet and the colorful souls who populate it.
Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut
by Mike MullaneOn February 1, 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts, twenty-nine men and six women, were introduced to the world. Among them would be history makers, including the first American woman and the first African American in space. This assembly of astronauts would carry NASA through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Four would die on Challenger. USAF Colonel Mike Mullane was a member of this astronaut class, and Riding Rockets is his story -- told with a candor never before seen in an astronaut's memoir. Mullane strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are -- human. His tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often hilarious, and always entertaining. Mullane vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience -- from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit; to walking along a Florida beach in a last, tearful goodbye with a spouse; to a wild, intoxicating, terrifying ride into space; to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. Mullane is brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster. Riding Rockets is a story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, of the impact of a family tragedy on a nine-year-old boy, of the revelatory effect of a machine called Sputnik, and of the life-steering powers of lust, love, and marriage. It is a story of the human experience that will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop."
Riding Sky High: A Bicycle Adventure Around the World
by Pierre-Yves Tremblay Bernard VoyerMany dream of dropping everything and just traveling around the world. It's a common dream, but few imagine embarking on that journey by bicycle. Exposed to the elements, legs burning, all your possessions strapped to you and your bicycle--it doesn't paint a relaxing picture, but this is just what Pierre-Yves Tremblay did.Leaving his hometown of Chicoutimi, Quebec, in July 1994, Tremblay took a flight to Europe, and from Paris hopped on his bike and went for a long ride around the world that lasted all of 836 days. He traveled through Europe, past the deserts of the Middle East, then braved the Himalayas, and rode through Southeast Asia and the wilds of Australia, before finishing his journey biking across the United States and arriving back home in Canada.Besides the sheer physical effort, this epic adventure is about a person confronting himself, alone, with his bike, encountering life, its possibilities and limits, dealing with emotions and everything that compels him to keep going and persevere. It means exchanging greetings and sharing moments with people from many different cultures. It means overcoming hundreds of pitfalls only to keep on going.Fifteen and a half thousand miles later, this modern-day Ulysses invites us to read the precious journals he kept on his odyssey. Here you'll find out what really pushes great achievers to their limits.
Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey
by Rachel SimonThis is an unusual memoir, framed by the year the author spent riding the buses of a Pennsylvania city with her sister Beth. Beth, who has mild mental retardation and lives in her own apartment, spends six days a week riding the buses from route to route. At times the author and the rest of the family are distressed by Beth's lack of purpose and ambition, and press her to get a job. When she agrees to accompany Beth on her rides, the author comes to understand how Beth has built a sense of community through her unconventional lifestyle. The various bus drivers, each portrayed as a unique individual, form a richly varied extended family for this otherwise isolated woman. In spending time with Beth riding the buses, the author opens her life to others and embarks upon her own inner journey.
Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey
by Rachel SimonA &“heartwarming, life-affirming&” memoir of a relationship with an intellectually disabled sibling: &“Read this book. It might just change your life&” (Boston Herald). Beth is a spirited woman with an intellectual disability who lives intensely and often joyfully, and spends most of her days riding the buses in Pennsylvania. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers, her community—though some display less patience or kindness than others. Her sister, Rachel, a teacher and writer, camouflages her emotional isolation by leading a hyperbusy life. But one day, Beth asks Rachel to accompany her on public transportation for an entire year—and Rachel accepts. This wise, funny, deeply affecting book is the chronicle of that remarkable time, as Rachel learns how to live in the moment, how to pay attention to what really matters, how to change, how to love—and how to slow down and enjoy the ride. Weaving in anecdotes and memories of terrifying maternal abandonment, fierce sisterly loyalty, and astonishing forgiveness, Rachel Simon brings to light a world that is almost invisible to many people, finds unlikely heroes in everyday life, and, without sentimentality, wrestles with her own limitations and portrays Beth as the endearing, feisty, independent person she is. &“With tenderness and fury, heartbreak and acceptance . . . Simon comes to the inescapable conclusion that we are all riders on the bus, and on the bus we are all the same.&” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
Riding the Crossroads
by Herbie Shreve David Wimbish David HazardHerb and Herbie Shreve, and the members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, are answering the cries of men and women who need the one true message of hope. A motorcycle can take you to places where many people need to hear the good news—to rallies, campouts, and bike shops. And being close to people is such an important part of sharing the message of Jesus Christ, who Himself came to be close to us all. Herbie shares here a rebellious and stormy relationship with his Christian Pastor and /evangelist father, his initial rejection of his family's Christian spiritual values, his dream of being an 'Outlaw Motorcyclist', the successful actions of his father to renew the father-son relationship and the path to the establishment of the 'Christian Motorcyclist Association', whichfather and son both became heavily
Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations
by Craig FergusonFrom the comedian, actor, and former host of The Late Late Show comes an irreverent, lyrical memoir in essays featuring his signature wit. Craig Ferguson has defied the odds his entire life. He has failed when he should have succeeded and succeeded when he should have failed. The fact that he is neither dead nor in a locked facility (at the time of printing) is something of a miracle in itself. In Craig’s candid and revealing memoir, readers will get a look into the mind and recollections of the unique and twisted Scottish American who became a national hero for pioneering the world’s first TV robot skeleton sidekick and reviving two dudes in a horse suit dancing as a form of entertainment. In Riding the Elephant, there are some stories that are too graphic for television, too politically incorrect for social media, or too meditative for a stand-up comedy performance. Craig discusses his deep love for his native Scotland, examines his profound psychic change brought on by fatherhood, and looks at aging and mortality with a perspective that he was incapable of as a younger man. Each story is strung together in a colorful tapestry that ultimately reveals a complicated man who has learned to process—and even enjoy—the unusual trajectory of his life.
Riding the Elephant: Surviving and loving in a bipolar marriage
by Catharine McKentyHost of Montreal’s top-rated English radio talk show, Neil McKenty appeared rational, balanced and a calming influence in any crisis. Would anyone have believed that this sparkling public figure was very different behind closed doors?They met on the dance floor: he, a former Jesuit; she, grand-daughter of a two-time mayor of Toronto. Raised by her single mother, Catharine left the staid life of tea-parties for reconciliation work in post-war Europe. As a journalist for Pace, a magazine for adventurous youth of the 1960s, she conquered Los Angeles from the wheel of a pink Jaguar, unearthing a scoop that resulted in a best-selling book and Hollywood movie.Friends applauded that Catharine had found her intellectual equal. When her new husband’s outbursts began, she attributed it to the stresses of married life. People knew little about mental illness in those days. It was far too uncomfortable to talk about. The word bipolar was virtually unknown.Together the McKentys wrote two best-selling books, rubbed shoulders with prime ministers, and worked closely with spiritual elites. Sandwiched between the couple’s many accomplishments were Neil’s suicidal depression and Catharine’s desperate attempts to cope.Catharine examines the influences that helped her to maintain her sanity and the sanctity of marriage with a talented and troubled husband. She aims to empower others who care deeply about someone affected with bipolar disorder.
Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic
by Anthony Almojera“An intense look at the high-stakes world of a NYC paramedic in the months before and after COVID-19 altered our landscape.”—Damon Tweedy, MD, author of Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and MedicineThe education of a New York City paramedic, whose tales of tragedy and transcendence over a single year culminate in the greatest challenge the city’s emergency medical system has ever faced: COVID-19.As a seasoned paramedic and union leader, Anthony Almojera thought he could handle anything his job threw at him. Like many medical first responders, he came from a troubled background and carried the traumas of the city as well as its triumphs. He had grown up in the rough-and-tumble Park Slope of the 1980s, been homeless for a time, and had watched murder, addiction, and hopelessness consume those closest to him. But he had dedicated his life to helping people in need, and while every day was filled with tragedy—stabbings, shootings, accidents, suicides—it also brought moments of uplift: births, resuscitations, and rescues that reminded Anthony and his coworkers why EMS was the most thrilling job on earth, even if the pay was lousy and the hours were long. So when a strange new virus began spreading in New York, Anthony and his fellow medics were ready. They had done the biohazard drills; they knew the procedures, and how to handle the sick and the bereaved. They believed that their lives and training had prepared them for this new challenge. But the months ahead would prove them wrong, and would push New York’s EMS workers, and Anthony himself, to the breaking point—and beyond.Following one paramedic into hell and back, Riding the Lightning tells the story of New York City’s darkest days through the eyes of its frontline medical workers and the community they serve: ordinary people who will continue to make New York an extraordinary place long after it has been reborn from the ashes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Riding the Rails: Inside the Business of America's Railroads (Railroads Past and Present)
by Robert D. KrebsWhen Robert D. Krebs joined the ranks of Southern Pacific Railroad in 1966, the industry had been in decline for decades, and the future of trains was in peril. Despite these obstacles, Krebs fell in love with the rugged, competitive business of railroads and was determined to overcome its resistance to change and put rail transportation back on track. By the age of 40, Krebs was president of the Southern Pacific Railroad and had also served as chief executive of both the Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway companies. Riding the Rails: Inside the Business of America's Railroads details Krebs's rise to a position of influence in the recovery of America's railroads and offers a unique insider's view into the boardrooms where executives and businessmen reimagined transportation in the United States.
Riding the Spirit Bus: My Journey from Satsang with Ram Dass to Lama Foundation and Dances of Universal Peace
by Ahad CobbA memoir of spiritual awakening and travel in the 60s and 70s, sacred dance in the 80s and 90s, and astrological insight in the 90s and 2000s• Recounts the author&’s deep involvement with three spiritual community movements originating in the sixties which are still thriving today: the Ram Dass satsang, Lama Foundation, and Dances of Universal Peace• Offers insights from his study of Vedic astrology, sacred dance, his search for love, and his personal work with past-life recordings, Jungian analysis, and trauma releaseAfter coming of age and graduating in the tumultuous sixties, Ahad Cobb found himself wandering without direction. A chance road trip with a friend led him to Ram Dass, thus beginning an enthusiastic journey of spiritual awakening and deep involvement with three spiritual communities that originated in the sixties and still thrive today: the Ram Dass satsang, Lama Foundation, and Dances of Universal Peace. Sharing his opening to the inner life, his poetry and dreams, and his spiritual passions and astrological insights, Ahad Cobb&’s memoir begins with his summer with Ram Dass, immersed in meditation, devotion, and guru&’s grace. His path takes him to New Mexico, to a newly established intentional spiritual community, Lama Foundation, where he lives on the land for thirteen years, experiencing the discipline and rewards of communal living and spiritual practice. At Lama, he is initiated into universal Sufism in the tradition of Hazrat Inayat Khan and the Dances of Universal Peace. He travels overseas to spend time with Sufis in Chamonix, Istanbul, Konya, and Jerusalem. After the birth of his son, Ahad moves off the mountain and serves as sacred dance leader and musician for 35 years in Santa Fe and later Albuquerque. When Lama Foundation is nearly destroyed by a forest fire in 1996, Ahad serves as a trustee, guiding the rebuilding of the community. Ahad&’s memoir imparts insights from his personal work with Jungian analysis and trauma release, shares his search for and discovery of his soul mate, and details his twelve years of study with Hart DeFouw in the wisdom stream of Vedic astrology. Offering a poignant reflection on life lived from the inside out, and the delicate balance between spirituality and psychology, this memoir leads readers on an outer and inner journey steeped in poetry, music, astrology, and spiritual practice in the context of community that is devoted to awakening.
Riding the Storm
by Duncan BannatyneCan money buy you happiness?A few years ago Duncan Bannatyne might have said so. He was happily married and his businesses were thriving. Life was good. He couldn't have known that a storm was brewing on the horizon and that he would soon face immense personal and professional struggles, including the strain of a divorce and the impact of the recession on his business empire. Riding the Storm is the inspirational account of how Duncan overcame these setbacks. It's a survival story, full of insights into how he adapted his businesses and his life to new financial realities. In it, Duncan explains exactly how a working-class boy from Clydebank built himself a multimillion-pound business empire, and talks with incredible frankness about the current strategies, goals and finances of his companies. He reveals the true nature of his feuds and friendships with the other Dragons and uses his experiences from Dragons' Den to offer advice to start-up entrepreneurs in today's market. He speaks openly about the terrible pain of his divorce and how his children's love gave him the strength to get through it. He discusses the opportunities that success has given him, from learning to dance for Sport Relief to trekking up Kilimanjaro with his daughter. And finally he explains why, in spite of having just gone through the toughest years of his life, he feels positive about the future - and why you should too.
Riding the Waves: A Life in Sound, Science, and Industry (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Leo BeranekThe life and work of Renaissance man Leo Beranek: scientist, professor, engineer, busisess leader, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author.Leo Beranek, an Iowa farm boy who became a Renaissance man—scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, musician, television executive, philanthropist, and author—has lived life in constant motion. His seventy-year career, through the most tumultuous and transformative years of the last century, has always been propelled by the sheer exhilaration of trying something new. In Riding The Waves, Leo Beranek tells his story. Beranek's life changed direction on a summer day in 1935 when he stopped to help a motorist with a flat tire. The driver just happened to be a former Harvard professor of engineering, who guided the young Beranek toward a full scholarship at Harvard's graduate school of engineering. Beranek went on to be one of the world's leading experts on acoustics. He became Director of Harvard's Electro-Acoustic Laboratory, where he invented the Hush-A-Phone—a telephone accessory that began the chain of regulatory challenges and lawsuits that led ultimately to the breakup of the Bell Telephone monopoly in the 1980s. Beranek moved to MIT to be a professor and Technical Director of its Acoustics Laboratory, then left academia to found the acoustical consulting firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman. Known for his work in noise control and concert acoustics, Beranek devised the world's largest muffler to quiet jet noise and served as acoustical consultant for concert halls around the world (including the Tanglewood Music Shed, the storied summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra). As president of BBN, he assembled the software group that invented both the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, and e-mail. In the 1970s, Beranek risked his life savings to secure the license to operate a television station; he turned Channel 5 in Boston into one of the country's best, then sold it to Metromedia in 1982 for the highest price ever paid up to that time for a broadcast station. “One central lesson I've learned is the value of risk-taking and of moving on when risks turn into busts or odds look better elsewhere,” Beranek writes. Riding The Waves is a testament to the boldness, diligence, and intelligence behind Beranek's lifetime of extraordinary achievement. Leo Beranek is a pioneer in acoustical research, known for his work in noise control and the acoustics of concert halls, and the author of twelve books on these topics. The many awards he has received include the Presidential National Medal of Science, presented in 2003.
Riding the Waves: My Story
by Jane McDonaldTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Everything is much easier in life when difficult situations are faced with humour and a smile. But, don't get me wrong, that took years to realise. What a journey...'Whether performing in an arena, presenting a number one TV show or recording a top-ten album, Jane McDonald will never forget her Northern roots. Her down-to-earth Yorkshire charm is as much a part of her as her talent for singing, and here she is telling her remarkable story with characteristic wit and warmth, in her own words. A miner's daughter from Wakefield, Jane was a shy child who struggled with anxiety, but she found the courage to overcome her fears and follow her passion for performing. Jane famously hit the big time overnight on TV show The Cruise twenty years ago, but here she talks for the first time about how she survived the dark legacy of that early success, and climbed right back up for a second bite of the cherry. It hasn't all been plain sailing, but in Jane's world tough times make the good times better, and her spirit, heart and humour sparkle from every page.
Riding through Katrina with the Red Baron's Ghost: A Memoir of Friendship, Family, and a Life Writing
by J. Malcolm GarciaThe first book that J. Malcolm Garcia ever bought would impact his life in a way that the then twelve-year-old could have never imagined. The Day the Red Baron Died plunged Garcia into the intrigue and excitement of the World War I German flying ace's life and death. Garcia was enraptured and brimming with questions. His mother encouraged the curious boy to write to the book's author, Dale M. Titler. When the author replied, a friendship began that shaped Garcia's life. In Riding through Katrina with the Red Baron's Ghost, Garcia chronicles his relationship with Titler. It was that connection that brought Garcia to New Orleans only two weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and its citizens. Not having heard from his friend in years, Garcia made the split-second decision to go to New Orleans to try to find the man who meant so much to him. A harrowing account of New Orleans directly after Katrina?told in Garcia's award-winning journalistic style?Riding through Katrina with the Red Baron's Ghost tells a personal story of a thirty-year bond that defined a young man, as well as the universal story of the horror and devastation Katrina left in its wake.
Riding Through The Storm: My Fight Back To Fitness On The Tour De France
by Geoff ThomasGeoff Thomas's heroic battle to overcome leukaemia, and then take on the toughest sporting challenge: to ride the Tour de FranceWhen Geoff Thomas struggled to play a friendly game of tennis while on holiday in Mallorca in May 2003, he thought little of it. Recently retired as a footballer, he believed it was a sign of ageing and perhaps a pulled muscle. But when the pain wouldn't go away, his wife Julie persuaded him to go to a doctor. He was diagnosed as having leukaemia.RIDING THROUGH THE STORM focuses on his journey round the Tour de France in the summer of 2005, riding the 2,240-mile course in the 21 days it takes Lance Armstrong and all the top cyclists, despite never having cycled much before. Despite the odds against him achieving it, he rode the course and raised nearly £200,000 for charity. As he rides, he looks back on his successful career as a footballer, and the bone-marrow transplant that saved his life. This is a powerful, moving and inspirational story of extraordinary achievement.