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The Birth of Kirtan: The Life & Teachings of Chaitanya
by Ranchor PrimeA Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
By God's Grace: The Life and Teachings of Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati
by Sadhvi Bhagawati SaraswatiA Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
My Music, My Life
by Ravi ShankarWith stunning new photographs and a new final chapter detailing Ravi Shankar&’s hope for the preservation of Indian classical music, this updated edition of My Music, My Life profiles an extraordinary man. In his own words, Shankar describes his transformation from a young traveling dancer to a Grammy Award-winning, internationally known musician. An autobiography, a history of Indian classical music, and a manual on how to play the sitar, this book is about music as a both a lifestyle and an art. It embodies Ravi Shankar&’s unique approach to his craft.
Hiking Your Feelings: Blazing a Trail to Self-Love
by Sydney WilliamsTurn your pain into power. Part inspirational memoir, part practical guide, Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit to unpack your &“trauma pack&” and step into the best version of yourself.Join wellness and wilderness enthusiast Sydney Williams as she shares her healing journey from eating and drinking her feelings to hiking her feelings. When Sydney unexpectedly found herself diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, while grappling with grief and unresolved trauma built up over a decade, she set out on a quest to turn her pain into power. Two hikes across Catalina Island and eighty miles later, she learned to disconnect from distractions and reconnect with herself, all through the power of nature. Now, she&’s encouraging others to get outside and blaze their own trail to self-love, turning buried traumas into healthy coping mechanisms. With affirmations, prompts, and reflection exercises throughout—all presented from Sydney&’s supportive and self-effacing perspective—Hiking Your Feelings offers a toolkit to unpack your &“trauma pack&” and step into the best version of yourself. INSPIRATIONAL & INSIGHTFUL: Follow Sydney as she reflects on her own journey from buried traumas and poor body image to acceptance, healthy coping mechanisms, and self-love. RELATABLE & UNIVERSAL: Touches on themes and problems that many struggle with, including grief and loss, sexual assault, poor body image, career stress, and the stigma of diabetes, all presented from Sydney&’s supportive and self-effacing perspective. HEALING POWER OF NATURE: Discover how getting outside—even just for a walk around the block—can help you tune into your body better. HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE: Learn to love yourself as you are now. Go from eating, drinking, working, or spending your feelings to hiking your feelings. UNPACK YOUR TRAUMA PACK: Identify new activities and rituals that will allow you to choose love over fear and lift the invisible weight from your shoulders. PROMPTS, ACTIVITIES & EXERCISES: Apply the lessons Sydney has learned to your own life, through thoughtful tasks at the end of each chapter.
Beautiful Monster: A Becoming
by Miles BorreroA breathtaking, exquisitely crafted memoir about a trans person&’s singular journey through breaching the boundaries of gender—across generations, cultures and borders—to become his truest, most authentic self.Nearing the age of forty, with an entire life already lived as a woman—half in Colombia, half in the US—Miles Borrero comes face to face with his father&’s impending death. Suddenly realizing that he has been stalling his transition for fear of losing his family&’s love, this moment catalyzes Miles&’s determination to be fully known as his father&’s son before it is too late. In Beautiful Monster, Miles chronicles his unusual childhood, by turns riveting and hilarious, in &’80s and &’90s Colombia during the Pablo Escobar years, as well as his move to Salt Lake City to pursue acting and the winding trajectory that eventually lands him in the New York City yoga scene. Within these very different cultures, the realities of being queer and trans echo poignantly through the triumphs, heartbreaks, family dynamics, spiritual pursuits, and relationships that propel Miles along his path. Sublimely nuanced and written in ravishing prose that is as unique and irresistible as its subject, Beautiful Monster is one person&’s story of navigating the pressures to perform femininity while becoming a gender outlaw. Brimming with wonder, humor, and mythos, entertaining and enlightening in equal measure, this book offers a compelling case for embracing one&’s true nature.
Outside Voices: A Memoir of the Berkeley Revolution
by Joan GelfandBerkeley, 1972: a hotbed of creativity where painters, filmmakers, musicians, and writers inspire a young poet.Second-wave feminism, inspired by Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Betty Friedan is swelling into a tsunami. Women are joining together to change power dynamics in politics, the home, and the workplace. On election day, Joan Gelfand casts her vote for George McGovern and boards a plane from New York to California. With one introduction to a woman musician, Joan&’s journey to become a writer is born. Embraced by a thriving women&’s community of artists, filmmakers, musicians, poets, and writers, Joan is encouraged to find her voice. Mentored by paradigm-changing writers, Joan finds the courage to face her darkest fears through poetry and art, mining the trauma she experienced after losing her father and questioning her Jewish identity. Reminiscent of Paris in the twenties, Greenwich Village in the sixties, and Berlin in the eighties, Berkeley in the seventies was the &“it&” city of America. Outside Voices reports the ups and downs of finding one&’s way as an artist, living with a women&’s band, forging an independent Jewish identity, founding a women&’s restaurant, and becoming a published writer and songwriter while exploring the limits of sexuality and spirituality. The story includes road trips to music festivals in the woods, beaches in Mexico, concerts in Southern California, and a retreat in the Pacific Northwest. A triumphant story of determination and will, Outside Voices is a backstage look at the women&’s movement that sets the stage for decades of change. This book is a firsthand look at how the power of community emboldened innovation, social change, and self-discovery.
My Brother's Keeper: Netanyahu, Obama, & the Year of Terror & Conflict that Changed the Middle East Forever
by Ari Harow&“A useful aid to understanding today&’s headlines as well as Israel&’s recent past.&” –Kirkus Review My Brother&’s Keeper tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the American President and the Israeli Prime Minister clashed about peace, war, and the future of the region.Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu viewed the world—and especially the Middle East—differently. The US president wanted to end what he saw as America&’s perpetual war against the Muslim and Arab worlds, use diplomacy to bring about a Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with Israel, and apply his signature foreign policy vision to reward the Islamic Republic of Iran in exchange for the scaling back of their nuclear pursuits. The Israeli premier wanted his country to thrive without the senseless bloodshed of terror and violence, and he was determined to protect the Jewish state from threats of annihilation by a member of the axis of evil that would one day be armed with nuclear weapons. Netanyahu wanted peace for peace, as well as the acceptance of Israel as a full-fledged part of the Middle East. In 2014, during a pivotal summer of terrorist violence, a war in Gaza, and the advancement of a nuclear deal with Iran, the two men clashed, threatening the US-Israeli strategic alliance and the future of the region. The Middle East would never be the same.
My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss in the Country of Dementia
by Suzanne FinnamoreTo come to terms with her mother&’s dementia, writer Suzanne Finnamore&’s groundbreaking new memoir conceptualizes dementia as an actual, albeit rather magical, place, &“like the Acropolis or Yonkers…a place where beloved and ancient queens and kings retire, where linear time doesn&’t exist, and the rules of society are laid aside…. Whenever I go to my parents&’ double-wide in Hayward, California, I am really traveling to Dementia.&”My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss is far more than a memoir on the devastation that comes with dementia, a cognitive impairment that affects 55 million people worldwide. Finnamore beautifully chronicles her mother&’s rich and varied life journey, from her birth in Puerto Rico during the height of the Depression to ferrying to the United States, in hopes of a better life. On U.S. soil, her mother, Bunny, started working as a performer for enlisted men, then became a secretary, and eventually a professional clairvoyant. With unexpected humor, Suzanne explores the feeling of love, grief, family, and loss while celebrating the bonds between mothers and daughters. In Suzanne&’s words, &“I want a book that attests to the fact that in a world full of disease, there is an abiding and supernatural force of love. That because of this, the sadness and the horror can be borne. That laughter can live alongside grief. That it must.&” When Suzanne&’s guest essay &“Dementia Is a Place Where My Mother Lives. It Is Not Who She Is&” was published in the New York Times on Mother&’s Day 2022, readers responded with an outpouring of empathy and love. And so this book was born, full of clues and guidance to help others feel less alone on the path that Finnamore has walked.
True Blue: My Journey from Beat Cop to Suspended FBI Whistleblower
by Stephen FriendA suspended special agent explains his decision to turn whistleblower and expose FBI politicization and abuse against conservative America.Stephen Friend had his dream job as an FBI special agent. After nearly a decade of combating violent crime, human trafficking, and child predators, he was reassigned to the FBI&’s unprecedented investigation of the political unrest at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Friend soon uncovered efforts by the FBI and Department of Justice to manipulate statistics and exaggerate the nationwide threat of domestic terrorism. Friend spotlighted how the politicized FBI was cooking the books to support an ongoing narrative from the Joe Biden administration to label Donald Trump voters as violent extremists. Friend witnessed overzealous practices to harass conservative Americans and realized the FBI was turning its investigative processes into a punishment. When the married father of two made his bombshell allegations in a whistleblower disclosure, leaders within the FBI exposed themselves as partisan, ambitious players who insisted that January 6th protestors killed police officers and attempted to seize American democracy. Hell-bent on suppressing Friend from exposing the truth, FBI officials seized his gun and badge and suspended him from working as a special agent. In this memoir, Friend reflects on the lessons and life experiences that led him to ultimately risk his career to uphold his FBI special agent oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies—both foreign and domestic.
Saving Our Service Academies: My Battle with, and for, the US Naval Academy to Make Thinking Officers
by Bruce FlemingOnce proud citadels of virtue, the US military academies have lost their way and are running on fumes. They need to be fixed before it&’s too late.Saving Our Service Academies covers one man&’s unrelenting thirty-year fight with the military bureaucracy to instill qualities of force and thoughtfulness in officers-to-be, to show young men how to be adults with other men and women, and to show young women how to deal with the men. Bruce Fleming has spent over thirty years teaching midshipmen and future officers at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. This position was both a dream job and a nightmare for the enthusiastic, athletic, young Fleming. He found, in the thousands of midshipmen he taught, mentored, and exercised with for three decades, a heartbreaking waste of potential, as promising officers-to-be lapsed into apathy and cynicism because of the dispiriting reality behind the gleaming facade of the Naval Academy. What happened to duty, honor, and country at Annapolis? These values have disappeared in the wake of changes in the world, such as the rise of ROTC and the increase in expense of civilian colleges (the service academies are free to the students), and in the attempt to use the service academies as experiments in trendy social engineering. A staunch advocate for military strength, Fleming shows how the smoke and mirrors of service academies produce officers who are taught to say &“SIR, YES SIR&” rather than to have the guts to say things their commanding officer doesn&’t want to hear. Is that why the US hasn&’t won a war since World War II? By writing op-eds about the waste, fraud, and abuse of government (and taxpayer) money, Fleming put a target on his back that the USNA administration used to fire him in 2018, despite being a tenured civilian professor. He was reinstated by a federal judge in 2019. The service academies are government programs that no longer fill the needs for which they were created, and so like all government programs, can be re-examined. Indeed, as Fleming argues, they teach blind obedience in officers rather than informed and respectful questioning, and so sap our military strength rather than increasing it. They need to be re-imagined not as stand-alone undergraduate institutions that wall off future officers in an increasingly untenable isolation from the country they are to defend, but either be combined with the officer commissioning sources that currently produce over 80 percent of our new officers, or re-purposed to post-civilian college training institutions.
The Saltwater Highway: One Man's Journey through the International Dry Bulk Maritime Market
by Anthony R. WhitworthA captivating and informative portrait of the business of maritime dry bulk shipping.According to the International Chamber of Shipping, a global trade organization representing 80 percent of the world&’s national shipowner organizations, 90 percent of world trade moves via the oceans—yet very few people know much about the maritime shipping industry. The Saltwater Highway aims to remedy that. Anthony Whitworth&’s travels and experiences throughout the world have given him a unique perspective on how goods move around the globe on the high seas. From the time he was a young voyage accountant in Fednav, one of Canada&’s largest maritime companies, Whitworth has been captivated by this fascinating, complex, multi-faceted industry. With close to five decades primarily in the dry bulk sector of global transport, Whitworth has seen the industry grow and change to meet the challenges of supplying the world with raw materials. From the great shipyards of Asia to the high-stakes finances of some of the largest corporations in the industry, to the ongoing efforts to combat climate change, The Saltwater Highway highlights Whitworth&’s career as it follows the evolution of modern maritime shipping. Based on personal experiences and an in-depth knowledge of how this invaluable trade works, travel along the Saltwater Highway to such far-flung places as the Arctic Circle, the upper regions of the River Plate, the shores of western Scotland, and various capital cities of the world including London, Moscow, and Beijing to meet some of the people who shaped this business and to discover how maritime transportation impacts our daily lives.
The Gift of Failure: (And I'll rethink the title if this book fails!)
by Dan BonginoDan Bongino&’s brutally honest, deeply personal, unforgettable stories about how he transformed failures into victories will enthrall, entertain, and inspire readers.In The Gift of Failure, leading conservative commentator Dan Bongino identifies failures in his life and how those failures led to bigger and better things. With the same laser-focused intensity that has made him one of America&’s most popular voices, Bongino uncompromisingly cuts to the heart of failure with a collection that is inspirational, motivational, entertaining, touching, and redemptive. The former Secret Service agent currently hosts one of the country&’s most listened to radio programs along with a top-rated podcast and the popular Fox News television show, Unfiltered. Throughout his career, Bongino has helped trailblaze a fight for free speech and free expression, garnering many national headlines for taking on some of the biggest tech companies in the world to challenge their seemingly draconian censorship policies. Along the way, through his many David vs. Goliath battles, Bongino has learned the hard way why failure matters. In The Gift of Failure, he shares, in vivid detail, many of these experiences—from high-profile, front-page stories involving the drama behind Parler and Rumble, to never-before-shared personal tales covering his childhood, the Secret Service, the media, a recent serious health battle, and much more. Bongino&’s vulnerability coupled with his trademark in-your-face, unapologetic honesty and humor help illuminate many life lessons. This is unforgettable storytelling as only Bongino can deliver. Whether you agree with him or not, there&’s something here for everyone.
Keep Living
by Loreal Chanel PalmerAs long as you&’re alive and breathing, you have a say in what direction your life will take. Just keep living.After seven years of marriage, multiple miscarriages, and three beautiful children, Loreal&’s life changed in an instant when she found out that her husband, her first and only love, had a secret. At first, they embraced an untraditional solution, separating romantically but choosing to live in the same house to continue raising their children together. But ultimately, at thirty-two, Loreal would need to start over in life, find herself, and pave her own way forward. Loreal used to make decisions based on internal fear and arbitrary timelines—until life started making decisions for her. In her inspirational memoir, she decides to step up and start taking control of her own destiny. Choosing to look back and learn from her past, with new insight, Loreal draws from the wisdom of her grandmother and her own personal journey to embolden readers to take control of their futures and turn change into fuel for self-discovery. By remembering her grandmother&’s phrase, &“keep living,&” she realizes that no matter what your past looks like, you are responsible for your own future.
Guns, Girls, and Greed: I Was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq
by Morgan LeretteGuns, Girls, and Greed is an unvarnished, behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the scathing and dangerous life of mercenaries at war in Iraq.Experience the world of private contractors conducting high-threat missions for a nascent Iraqi government in the hopes of rebuilding after the fall of Saddam Hussein. With limited support, the men of Blackwater protected US diplomats as the country descended into sectarian violence. It was a hazardous mission complete with rockets, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and not knowing who or where the enemy was. Morgan Lerette&’s irreverently honest memoir shows the good and bad of injecting private armies into active combat zones in the name of diplomacy and digs deep into the bonds of brotherhood created by war. With gut-wrenching tragedy, dark humor, and parties that make Animal House seem like a Disney film, this memoir offers a firsthand perspective on how men act and react in war. Lerette, a private contractor employed by the notorious Blackwater in the early days of the Iraq War, pulls no punches in calling out the incompetence of both the US military and the Department of State during the collapse of Iraq. You can decide if the insertion of private contractors in Iraq assisted or detracted from the war effort and if the costs in blood and treasure were worth the carnage.
Insurgent Hunter: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL Turned Counterinsurgent Agent in Iraq
by Jack Treadway Stephen TemplinWhen you hunt men, men will hunt you.In this epic thrill ride filled with triumph and tragedy, Jack Treadway takes readers deep into the shadows of covert warfare. As a new SEAL learning to hunt men, a clandestine mini wet submarine comes within inches of slicing and dicing him. In SEAL Team Five, he shuffles through a vomit-spewed C-130 transport plane to jump into something worse—a treacherous snowy mountain in the Korean peninsula. Then he breaks his back in a Special Mission Unit assignment and breaks away from the SEAL Teams. Jack stalks deeper into the darkness from SEAL to Office of Special Investigations (OSI) counterintelligence officer in Iraq. His most elusive prey is a high value target on the kill or capture list—an al Qaeda financier codenamed Kaiser Soze. Jack and his team remove more than a hundred enemy insurgents from the battle space. When a high-ranking Iraqi ally—who secretly works for Iran—kills three members of Jack&’s team, he wants bloody revenge.
Standing His Ground: The Inside Story of Ron Desantis's Rise and Battle for Freedom
by Richard CorcoranContrary to what the mainstream media has claimed, Florida under Ron DeSantis has become the home for freedom and individual liberty.At the onset of the pandemic, political leaders throughout the country were forced to quickly make significant decisions about how they would govern under extraordinary circumstances. A number of these decisions simply required instinct—they just had to come from the gut. There was little, if any, precedent to examine, and hardly any time for the usual gambits to test potential solutions. One person became a household name and a national hero for having made what proved to be the best decisions over and over: Ron DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida. However, not surprisingly, his success also begot wrath. A patriot to millions of everyday Americans is often a &“tyrant&” to progressive elites. Other than perhaps former President Donald Trump, DeSantis was and remains the most vilified elected official in media, politics, entertainment, academia, and now the corporate world. Conservatives know full well this means he hit the bullseye. Now that more than two years have passed, the American people are able to clearly see whose decisions struck the proper balance between liberty and safety. There&’s no denying that DeSantis&’s influence soared as the world watched him successfully steer his state step by step through one of the greatest periods of turmoil and uncertainty in modern history. While many other states floundered, Florida didn&’t just survive—it flourished.
Time to Thank: Caregiving for My Hero
by Steve GuttenbergAfter his father—the hero and strength of the family—is diagnosed with kidney failure, actor Steve Guttenberg dedicates himself to becoming a caregiver and reflects on their life together, from childhood through his Hollywood career, in his father&’s final years.Since moving to Hollywood at age seventeen, Steve Guttenberg has delighted and moved audiences with his film and television work. But when his father is diagnosed with kidney failure, Steve has to step into a new and wholly unexpected role: caretaker. In Time to Thank, Steve tracks his weekly road trips from Los Angeles to Arizona to care for his father and the ways in which his time on the road affords him the perspective to reflect on his life.Through the prism of his relationship with his father, Steve recounts his early life in Queens and Long Island; his early career as a rising Hollywood star, trying to find his way with the encouragement of his parents; and the painful and moving work of helping care for an ailing family member at the end of their life. From glamorous Hollywood parties and film sets around the world to the daily process of dialysis in suburban Phoenix, Steve offers his wit, empathy, and signature charm.This is a book for movie fans, road trip junkies, and anyone who finds themselves doing the hard work of caring for an aging loved one. Steve Guttenberg serves as a uniquely perceptive guide through all these phases of life, with a story that is certain to touch readers and make sure they know that they&’re not alone.
Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends
by Joan Collins&“I&’ve had many amazing adventures in my life. Some stories, though, I have only ever shared with my friends.… Until now!&”Dame Joan Collins has always believed that one should retain some mystery in life and hide a knowing smile behind one&’s shoulder pads. In her new book, she returns in dazzling form to share her most memorable moments from her eclectic and vibrant life—in and out of the limelight. Behind the Shoulder Pads will take you on a spectacular journey from her early years as a young star in Hollywood to stamping her stilettos in Dynasty; from the glittering heights of Saint-Tropez to the busy Oscars seasons in LA over the years. Joan writes movingly about her adventures with and grief for her sister, Jackie, delves deeper into the ups and downs of love and relationships, and discusses her happiness with husband Percy. Filled with a cast of household names and Hollywood icons, Behind the Shoulder Pads is a spectacularly entertaining tour de force bound to delight and shock in equal measures. Hilarious, intimate, and completely spellbinding, Joan invites you into her life like never before, sharing the stories she only tells her closest friends.
Little Avalanches: A Memoir
by Becky EllisA daughter&’s quest for truth. A soldier&’s fight for survival. Their shared search for understanding.Little Avalanches is a gorgeously written memoir of breathtaking scope that propels readers from the beaches of California in the early &‘70s to the battlefields of World War II. As a young girl, Becky is forced to hide from phantom Nazis, subjected to dental procedures without pain medication, and torn from her mother again and again. Growing up in the shadow of her father&’s PTSD, she wants to know what is wrong but knows not to ask. Her father won&’t talk about being a Timberwolf, a unit of specially trained night fighters that went into combat first and experienced a 300 percent casualty rate. He returns home with thirteen medals, including a Silver Star, and becomes a doctor and well-respected member of the community, but is haunted by his past. Seeing only his explosive and often dangerous personality, Becky distances herself from the man she wants to love. Yet on the eve of his ninetieth birthday, when Becky looks at the vulnerable man he&’s become, something shifts, and she asks about the war. He breaks seventy years of silence, offering an unfiltered account of war without glory and revealing the extent of the trauma he&’s endured. She spends the next several years interviewing, researching, and ultimately understanding the demons she inherited. Because his story is incomplete without hers, and hers is inconceivable without his, Ellis offers both, as well as their year-long aching conversation marked by moments of redeeming grace. With compassionate, unflinching writing, Little Avalanches reminds us that we are profoundly shaped by the secrets we keep and forever changed by the stories we share.
Mudslingers: A True Story of Aerial Firefighting (An American Origins Story)
by Tim SheehyThe unique history of aerial firefighting as seen through the eyes of a pilot, former Navy SEAL, and current owner of one of the most successful aerial firefighting companies in the world.Blending historical context and first-person narrative, Mudslingers tells the dramatic and colorful story of aerial firefighting in America, as seen through the eyes of a decorated former Navy SEAL, US Naval Academy graduate, firefighting pilot, and businessman who founded Montana-based Bridger Aerospace, one of the most successful aerial firefighting teams in the world. Part narrative nonfiction, part memoir, Mudslingers is a riveting account of one person&’s journey from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq to the front lines of a different but no less important battle on the home front—the war against the escalating threat of wildfire. From the early days of the B-17 to the modern fleets of the twenty-first century, Tim Sheehy will take you on a ride through the history of aerial firefighting—the most hazardous and demanding aviation mission in the world. Mudslingers is a rollicking read, an enlightening journey, and a call to action for anyone who believes wildfires are not only one of the greatest threats facing modern civilization but a threat that has long been underestimated, misunderstood, and poorly addressed, despite repeated examples of bravery and innovation by those who choose to do battle with the flames. Indeed, save for a few historic military engagements in the twentieth century, there is not a sustained aviation mission anywhere that comes close to encompassing the danger, precision, and unforgiving nature of aerial firefighting. In telling this story, Sheehy takes readers into the cockpit and into the lives of his fellow pilots—past and present—as they struggle with the seemingly never-ending threat of wildfires. One hundred percent of author proceeds from this book are donated to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation and the United Aerial Firefighters Association.
Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis
by Greg WrennA dazzling, evidence-based account of one man&’s quest to heal from complex PTSD by turning to endangered coral reefs and psychedelic plants after traditional therapies failed—and his awakening to the need for us to heal the planet as well.Professor Greg Wrenn likes to tell his nature-writing students, &“The ecological is personal, and the personal is ecological.&” What he&’s never told them is how he&’s lived out those correspondences to heal from childhood abuse at the hands of his mother. Weaving together memoir and cutting-edge science, Mothership is not just a queer coming-of-age story. It&’s a deeply researched account of how coral reefs and a psychedelic tea called ayahuasca helped Greg heal from complex PTSD—a disorder of trust, which makes the very act of bonding with someone else panic-inducing. From the tide pools in Florida where he grew up, to Indonesia&’s Raja Ampat archipelago and the Amazon rainforest, this is his search for wholeness when talk therapy and pharmaceuticals did little to help. Along the way, as his ecological conscience wakes up, he takes readers underwater to the last pristine reefs on earth, and into the psyche.Written with prophetic urgency, Mothership ultimately asks if doses of nature will be enough to save us before it&’s too late.
My Right Hand to Goodness: The Life and Times of Crazy Dale Varnam
by Lynn Cook BetzMost wonder how Dale Varnam stayed alive. Dale wonders why.Back in the eighties, the quaint fishing village of Varnamtown, North Carolina—full of zany Southern characters—got rich, and so did town clown Dale Varnam, who perfected his own brand of crazy. Dale rose to the top of the heap in the drug smuggling biz, helping the town&’s livelihood of shrimping go to pot. Although it&’s not big enough to be on most maps, Varnamtown became the second busiest port of entry for illegal drugs on the Eastern Seaboard. Dale Varnam&’s misfit persona contradicts any preconceived notions of an international drug smuggler. His &“good ol&’ southern redneck persona&” belies his past…and oh, what a past! During the 1980s, Dale Varnam was newspaper fodder. He was depicted as a &“show-off,&” &“hot dog,&” and &“homicidal nut case,&” until &“armed career criminal&” became the headline. The prankster extraordinaire now lives in a junkyard morphing into a grandiose roadside attraction of sorts called Ft. Apache, where a sign reads &“A crazy place blessed by God&’s Grace.&” How did Dale get here from what he was? It took two Dales—not just one. &“New Dale&” dusts off &“Old Dale,&” who danced with the devil for over twenty years. Between the Dales were ten years he considers a &“vacation.&” As an informant, he helped bring more than one hundred and fifty of those involved to grand juries resulting in over eighty indictments. Many in Varnamtown succumbed to smuggling. This story does not leave them out; secrets are replaced by revelations, forgiveness, and healing. Forever changed, these God-fearing southern folks got caught up in crime, then caught, before eventually returning to their lives. The widespread corruption of law enforcement and politicians unfurls its tentacles through Dale&’s tales. From courting Manuel Noriega and Pablo Escobar to selling cocaine to Disney characters, from Playboy Bunnies mowing his yard to jungle labs where preserved tongues rested in jars, jaw-dropping events punctuate Dale&’s story from beginning to end.
Reverend Ike: An Extraordinary Life of Influence
by Mark Victor Hansen Xavier EikerenkoetterThe unlikely and sometimes harrowing journey of an iconic evangelist, known to millions as simply Reverend Ike, will draw you into his remarkable story of rising from extreme poverty and leading millions of poor Blacks to unprecedented financial success, independence, and joyful living by understanding the profound Biblical promises of prosperity.Lovingly known by his ardent and enthusiastic followers as Reverend Ike, Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II touched millions of lives. He presented people with a new way to think about themselves, about life, and about all the riches of health, happiness, joy, love, success, prosperity, and money that could be theirs—if they only understood the principles that he had come to understand. These were the very transformational principles he taught to the hungry hearts, souls, and minds who showed up at his church meetings, workshops, and radio or TV broadcasts each week. Ike&’s early life was full of family drama, opposition, and extreme poverty. Still, he refused to follow the prevailing belief—even within his own family and community—that Black people were here to suffer. Rev. Ike embodied his work and his purpose to raise others up to a better life. In truth, he was a perfect example of the power of faith in action. He overcame the odds by rising above obscurity and transforming himself to a place of great significance. Around the world, individuals were touched in countless ways and lifted out of poverty, anger, hopelessness, and depression. As Ike&’s ministry grew, his calling captured the attention and devotion of millions. Compared frequently to the internationally revered Reverend Billy Graham, Reverend Ike became one of the most widely known and heard inspirational prosperity teachers of his generation.
Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery
by Gerald ImberCardiac Cowboys is the dramatic story of five deeply flawed geniuses who together—and in competition with each other—invented open-heart surgery against all conventional medical wisdom and saved millions of lives.A decade after World War II, there was still no such thing as open-heart surgery, and yet half a million Americans were dying from heart disease every year. One in a hundred children would suffer and die from congenital heart disease as well, and doctors did little other than predict their deaths. After the first daring operation in 1954 and through the next three decades, five heroic surgeons braved the scorn of their peers, withstood fierce desperation, and faced possible death in order to devise procedures that would save overwhelming numbers of those doomed children and provide hope for a new life to all manner of heart-failing individuals. Devising and mastering heart transplants and bypass surgery, they invented artificial heart valves, the lifesaving pacemaker, and worked toward the holy grail of an artificial heart as their private and professional lives imploded. The story of the Cardiac Cowboys, their outsized personalities, and often self-destructive behavior is a saga more thrilling and exhilarating than fiction.
Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain: The Extraordinary Story of Love, Civil Rights, and Labor Activism
by Norman HillThe remarkable story of a couple who came together during the civil rights movement and made fighting for equality and civil and workers&’ rights their purpose for more than sixty years, overcoming adversity—with the strength of their love and commitment—to bring about meaningful change. &“A chronicle of lives of unwavering dedication. Now in their 80s, labor and civil rights activists Norman and Velma Hill recount more than six decades of struggles, triumphs, and frustrations in their tireless work as &‘crusaders for democracy.&’... An inspiring joint memoir.&” —Kirkus ReviewsWhen Velma Murphy was knocked unconscious by a brick thrown by a man from an angry white mob and was carried away by Norman Hill, it was the beginning of a six-decade-long love story and the turmoil, excitement, and struggle for civil rights and labor movements. In Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain, the Hills reflect upon their more than half a century of fighting to make America realize the best of itself.Through profound conversations between the two, Velma and Norman Hill share their earliest memories of facing racial segregation in the 1960s, working with Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and A. Philip Randolph, crossing paths with Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. They also reveal how they kept white supremacists like David Duke from taking office, organized workers into unions, met with Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and continued to work tirelessly, fighting the good fight and successfully challenging power with truth.