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Very Bad People: The Inside Story of the Fight Against the World’s Network of Corruption
by Patrick Alley*****'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond 'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men, some on the fringes of our society, some embedded high up within it. It's a great story and an important one.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists who go from eating cold baked beans in a drafty London flat to the Thai-Cambodian border where they posed as traders in illegally felled timber is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency InternationalArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them. VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.
Back from War: Finding Hope and Understanding in Life After Combat
by Lee Alley Wade Stevenson<p><i>Back From War: Finding Hope and Understanding in Life After Combat</i> is the harrowing narrative of 1st Lt. Lee Alley and his year in the horrors of combat in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam from 1967-1968 and his reflections on the years since. <p>Additionally, it is the true accounts of twelve other contributors, their time at war and stories of their return home. All of them discuss feelings of maladjustment, loneliness, depression, bouts of PTSD and negative family repercussions that are similarly felt by many of our nation's veterans of foreign wars. <p>Lee Alley made a life for himself, but never spoke of his war experiences. Thirty-two years later, he and his "brothers-in-arms" began to reconnect and have recently begun to heal some of their suffering by gathering at veteran reunions. Lee Alley's message is clear: America's soldiers are forever changed, but they are never alone. <p><i>Back From War</i> is dedicated to all veterans and their families as a guide for the readjustment to civilian life.</p>
The Art of Men: (I Prefer Mine al Dente)
by Kirstie AlleyEmmy Award-winning actress Kirstie Alley’s candid and audacious memoir about her life and the men she has shared it with—for better and for worse.John Travolta. Parker Stevenson. Ted Danson. Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Kelsey Grammer. Patrick Swayze. Woody Allen. Woody Harrelson. And many others. . . . In three decades in Hollywood, Kirstie Alley has lived with, worked with, loved, or lost all of these men, and in this revealing memoir, she peels back the layers (and sometimes the sheets) on her relationships with all of them. From the early days of her childhood in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by her loving father, her inquisitive and doting grandfather, and a younger brother she fiercely protected when she wasn’t selling tickets to see him naked, Kirstie Alley’s life has been shaped and molded by men. “Men, men, glorious men!” gave her her first big break in Hollywood and her awardwinning role on Cheers, and through two marriages, a debilitating cocaine addiction, the death of her mother, roles in some of the biggest comedies of the last twenty years, and a surprising stint on Dancing with the Stars, men proved to be the inspiration for multitudes of the decisions and dramas in Kirstie Alley’s life. In this collection of linked essays that’s both hilarious and poignant in turns, Kirstie chronicles all the good, the bad, and the ugly men who have influenced and guided her. She demonstrates how men can be the air that women breathe or the source of all of their frustrations. But for better or worse, Kirstie shows that a life well lived is a life lived in the company of men, especially if they remember to put the lid down. The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente) is a hilarious excursion into love, joy, motherhood, loss, sex, and self-discovery from one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars.
The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente)
by Kirstie AlleyJohn Travolta. Parker Stevenson. Ted Danson. Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Kelsey Grammer. Patrick Swayze. Woody Allen. Woody Harrelson. And many others. . . . In three decades in Hollywood, Kirstie Alley has lived with, worked with, loved, or lost all of these men, and in this revealing memoir, she peels back the layers (and sometimes the sheets) on her relationships with all of them. From the early days of her childhood in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by her loving father, her inquisitive and doting grandfather, and a younger brother she fiercely protected when she wasn't selling tickets to see him naked, Kirstie Alley's life has been shaped and molded by men. "Men, men, glorious men!" gave her her first big break in Hollywood and her awardwinning role on Cheers, and through two marriages, a debilitating cocaine addiction, the death of her mother, roles in some of the biggest comedies of the last twenty years, and a surprising stint on Dancing with the Stars, men proved to be the inspiration for multitudes of the decisions and dramas in Kirstie Alley's life. In this collection of linked essays that's both hilarious and poignant in turns, Kirstie chronicles all the good, the bad, and the ugly men who have influenced and guided her. She demonstrates how men can be the air that women breathe or the source of all of their frustrations. But for better or worse, Kirstie shows that a life well lived is a life lived in the company of men, especially if they remember to put the lid down. The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente) is a hilarious excursion into love, joy, motherhood, loss, sex, and self-discovery from one of Hollywood's most enduring stars.
The Life of Stephen Lawrence
by Verna Allette WilkinsStephen Lawrence was a bright, athletic, young man with high hopes for the future. He lived in south-east London with his parents, younger brother and younger sister. On 22 April 1993, he was brutally murdered while he was waiting for the bus. He was eighteen years old. He didn't know his killers; his killers didn't know him.This is his story. He will be remembered.This paperback edition revised with added material about the trial, the legacy of Stephen Lawrence and a final note from Doreen Lawrence.
Rudolph Walker Biography (Black Star Series #3)
by Verna Allette WilkinsThe life story of Rudolph Walker, an actor whose career on stage and television in the UK spans 42 years. Includes photographs, illustrations and exclusive interviews. Rudolph was born in Trinidad in the Caribbean. When he was only 20 years old he left the island for London, to embark on a career in theatre. He is best known for his role as Patrick in EastEnders but worked on many popular TV series including Love Thy Neighbour, The Thin Blue Line, Black Silk and The Crouches. He has appeared on stage at the Old Vic, the Young Vic, the Tricycle, the Royal Court and the Theatre Royal among others.
Barack Obama: The Making of a President
by Dawne Allette"I was not born into money or status. I was born to a teenage mom in Hawaii, and my dad left us when I was two. But my family gave me love, they gave me education, and most of all they gave me hope..."Punctuated with his own words, this biography traces the people, places and experiences that made Barack Obama the powerful man he is today. His story takes us from Kenya to Hawaii and Indonesia to Chicago, embracing many cultures. It also reaches from the past to the present, with photographs of Obama growing up and a timeline of significant events in black history.Barack Obama's story of hope and determination culminates with an account of his historic Inauguration Day and his first 100 days in office.
Michelle Obama: The Making of a First Lady
by Dawne Allette"I want you to know that we have very much in common. For nothing in my life would have predicted that I would be standing here as First Lady of the United States of America..." When Michelle Obama spoke these words in a London school, the effect on the students was overwhelming. Her inspiring words, approachable nature and regal style make Michelle a much-loved public figure and a role model in her own right. A child of working class parents in Chicago, Michelle went on to become an Ivy League graduate, a lawyer, and an international icon as wife to President Barack Obama. Her life is a tale of extraordinary achievement in a changing society.
Anne Hutchinson (History Maker Biographies)
by Susan Bivin AllerTrue or False? Anne Hutchinson preached in a Puritan church in colonial Massachusetts. False! At the time, only men could be preachers. Anne angered church leaders by preaching about God during meetings in her home. The church leaders put Anne on trial for her spiritual teachings. - Anne worked as a nurse and midwife. She also had fifteen children of her own. - Because Anne was a woman, she was not allowed to have a lawyer at her trial. - When Anne was forced to leave Boston, her family moved to the wilderness of colonial New York.
Beyond Little Women: A Story about Louisa May Alcott
by Susan Bivin AllerA biographical account of the life of Louisa May Alcott.
Living with the Senecas: A Story about Mary Jemison
by Susan Bivin AllerMary Jemison endured many hardships, dangers, and tragedies during her life. She was born in 1743 as her parents emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania. When she was fifteen years old, a group of raiding Shawnee Indians and French soldiers captured her and her family. She was the only one to survive. For seventy-five years, she lived among the Seneca Indians who adopted her. She outlived two husbands and bore eight children. She witnessed two wars and a revolution. Even though she could have returned to the white world, she chose to remain with the Senecas and became a loyal and respected member of her tribe.
Inés del alma mía
by Isabel AllendeEsta novela está basada en la vida de Inés Suárez, una mujer extremeña cuyo esposo, Juan de Málaga, viaja al Nuevo Mundo en el s. XVI en busca de El Dorado. Años después ella decide ir en su búsqueda. Cuando recibe la noticia de que su esposo ha fallecido, se une al grupo de conquistadores que pretenden llegar a Chile. La fuerza de Inés le ayuda a sobrevivir ante todo tipo de percances: el viaje en barco, su llegada a Perú y cómo sale airosa de todas las situaciones gracias a sus habilidades femeninas mezcladas con un espíritu masculino. La parte más épica es la que se centra en el instinto de superviviencia cuando se lleva a cabo la travesía hasta Chile y cómo tienen que reaccionar frente al ataque de los indios mapuche, y la parte más amable es una espectacular historia de amorque tiene como protagonista a Pedro de Valdivia: un hombre ambicioso al que Inés consigue dominar y compartir con él la aventura de la conquista de Chile. La intuición femenina les ayuda a superar muchos percances y el amor entre ambos es tan potente que es inimaginable pensar en una separación. Las aspiraciones políticas de Pedro potenciarán la ruptura entre ambos pero la huella que dejará el conquistador en esta mujer fuerte y valiente perdurará hasta el resto de sus días. Los indios nunca llegan a aceptar que los conquistadores españoles se afinquen en sus tierras. Atacan y saquean Santiago y hay que comenzar de nuevo. Inés no se da por vencida y junto a Rodrigo de Quiroga, que ha sido hombre de confianza de Pedro de Valdivia reconstruyen la ciudad. Nace entre ellos una relación distinta , un amor adulto, que no se puede comparar a la relación de complicidad que había existido entre Inés y Pedro, pero que se traduce en estabilidad y confianza. Inés nunca ha tenido hijos y la hija de Rodrigo será su confidente cuando llega a la vejez.
Mujeres del alma mía: Sobre el amor impaciente, la vida larga y las brujas buenas
by Isabel AllendeUna Isabel Allende más Allende que nunca. Un regalo para todos sus lectores, una lección de vida y coraje. Cada año vivido y cada arruga cuentan mi historia. Isabel Allende bucea en su memoria y nos ofrece un emocionante libro sobre su relación con el feminismo y el hecho de ser mujer, al tiempo que reivindica que la vida adulta hay que vivirla, sentirla y gozarla con plena intensidad. En Mujeres del alma mía la gran autora chilena nos invita a acompañarla en este viaje personal y emocional donde repasa su vinculación con el feminismo desde la infancia hasta hoy. Recuerda a algunas mujeres imprescindibles en su vida, como sus añoradas Panchita, Paula o la agente Carmen Balcells; a escritoras relevantes como Virginia Woolf o Margaret Atwood; a jóvenes artistas que aglutinan la rebeldía de su generación o, entre otras muchas, a esas mujeres anónimas que han sufrido la violencia y que llenas de dignidad y coraje se levantan y avanzan... Ellas son las que tanto le inspiran y tanto le han acompañado a lo largo de su vida: sus mujeres del alma. Finalmente, reflexiona también sobre el movimiento #MeToo -que apoya y celebra-, sobre las recientes revueltas sociales en su país de origen y, cómo no, sobre la nueva situación que globalmente estamos viviendo con la pandemia. Todo ello sin perder esa inconfundible pasión por la vida y por insistir en que, más allá de la edad, siempre hay tiempo para el amor.
Mujeres del alma mía: Sobre el amor impaciente, la vida larga y las brujas buenas
by Isabel AllendeUna Isabel Allende más Allende que nunca. Un regalo para todos sus lectores, una lección de vida y coraje. Cada año vivido y cada arruga cuentan mi historia. Isabel Allende bucea en su memoria y nos ofrece un emocionante libro sobre su relación con el feminismo y el hecho de ser mujer, al tiempo que reivindica que la vida adulta hay que vivirla, sentirla y gozarla con plena intensidad. En Mujeres del alma mía la gran autora chilena nos invita a acompañarla en este viaje personal y emocional donde repasa su vinculación con el feminismo desde la infancia hasta hoy. Recuerda a algunas mujeres imprescindibles en su vida, como sus añoradas Panchita, Paula o la agente Carmen Balcells; a escritoras relevantes como Virginia Woolf o Margaret Atwood; a jóvenes artistas que aglutinan la rebeldía de su generación o, entre otras muchas, a esas mujeres anónimas que han sufrido la violencia y que llenas de dignidad y coraje se levantan y avanzan... Ellas son las que tanto le inspiran y tanto le han acompañado a lo largo de su vida: sus mujeres del alma. Finalmente, reflexiona también sobre el movimiento #MeToo -que apoya y celebra-, sobre las recientes revueltas sociales en su país de origen y, cómo no, sobre la nueva situación que globalmente estamos viviendo con la pandemia. Todo ello sin perder esa inconfundible pasión por la vida y por insistir en que, más allá de la edad, siempre hay tiempo para el amor.
My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile
by Isabel AllendeA highly personal memoir of exile and homeland by bestselling author Isabel AllendeIn My Invented Country Isabel Allende evokes the magnificent landscapes of her country, a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and indomitable spirit, and the politics, religion, myth and magic of her homeland that she carries with her even today. The book circles around two life-changing moments. The assassination of her uncle, Salvador Allende Gossens, on September 11, 1973, sent her into exile and transformed her into a literary writer. And the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on her adopted homeland, the United States, brought forth from Allende an overdue acknowledgment that she had indeed left home. My Invented Country, whose structure mimics the workings of memory itself, ranges back and forth across that distance accrued between the author’s past and present lives. It speaks compellingly to immigrants, and to all of us, who try to retain a coherent inner life in a world full of contradictions.
Paula
by Isabel AllendeCualquier libro de Isabel Allende es un acontecimiento. Paula lo es especialmente porque se trata del más conmovedor, personal e íntimo de todos los libros que ha publicado hasta la fecha. Cuando la gran autora chilena se encontraba en España con ocasión de la presentación de El plan infinito, su hija Paula entró en estado de coma. Junto al lecho de Paula, mientras seguía con angustia la evolución de su enfermedad, Isabel Allende comenzó a redactar en un cuaderno la historia de su familia y de sí misma con el propósito de regalársela a su hija una vez superara el dramático trance. Sin embargo, éste se prolongó durante meses y los apuntes de la autora acabaron convirtiéndose en un libro apasionante y revelador. Isabel Allende ejerce aquí su prodigioso talento narrativo para recuperar y asumir sus propias vivencias como mujer y como escritora, así como las de su familia y las de la historia reciente de su país. Autorretrato de insólita emotividad al tiempo que exquisitarecreación de la sensibilidad de las mujeres de nuestra época, Paula perdura en el ánimo del lector con la intensidad de una experiencia indeleble.
Paula: A Memoir (Ave Fénix Ser. #Vol. 23)
by Isabel AllendeNewly ReissuedNew York Times Bestselling Author“Beautiful and heartrending. . . . Memoir, autobiography, epicedium, perhaps even some fiction: they are all here, and they are all quite wonderful.” —Los Angeles Times When Isabel Allende’s daughter, Paula, became gravely ill and fell into a coma, the author began to write the story of her family for her unconscious child. In the telling, bizarre ancestors appear before our eyes; we hear both delightful and bitter childhood memories, amazing anecdotes of youthful years, the most intimate secrets passed along in whispers. With Paula, Allende has written a powerful autobiography whose straightforward acceptance of the magical and spiritual worlds will remind readers of her first book, The House of the Spirits.
Paula
by Isabel AllendeWith an enchanting blend of magical realism, politics, and romance reminiscent of her classic bestseller The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende presents a soul-baring memoir that seizes the reader like a novel of suspense. Written for her daughter Paula when she became ill and slipped into a coma, Paula is the colorful story of Allende's life -- from her early years in her native Chile, through the turbulent military coup of 1973, to the subsequent dictatorship and her family's years of exile. In the telling, bizarre ancestors reveal themselves, delightful and bitter childhood memories surface, enthralling anecdotes of youthful years are narrated and intimate secrets are softly whispered. In an exorcism of death and a celebration of life, Isabel Allende explores the past, questions the gods, and creates a magical book that carries the reader from tears to laughter, from terror to sensuality to wisdom. In Paula, readers will come to understand that the miraculous world of her novels is the world Isabel Allende inhabits -- it is her enchanted reality.<P> With Paula, Allende has written a powerful autobiography whose straightforward acceptance of the magical and spiritual worlds will remind readers of her first book, The House of the Spirits.
The Soul of a Woman
by Isabel AllendeFrom the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea comes a passionate and inspiring meditation on what it means to be a woman. <P><P>“When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating,” begins Isabel Allende. As a child, she watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children without “resources or voice.” Isabel became a fierce and defiant little girl, determined to fight for the life her mother couldn’t have. <P><P>As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the second wave of feminism. Among a tribe of like-minded female journalists, Allende for the first time felt comfortable in her own skin, as they wrote “with a knife between our teeth” about women’s issues. She has seen what the movement has accomplished in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three passionate marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one’s sexuality. <P><P>So what feeds the soul of feminists—and all women—today? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over our bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work yet to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will “light the torches of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.”
The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir (P. S. Ser.)
by Isabel AllendeNarrated with warmth, humor, exceptional candor and wisdom, The Sum of Our Days is a portrait of a contemporary family, tied together by the love, strong will, and stubborn determination of a beloved matriarch, the indomitable New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende. "An inspiring and thought-provoking work." –Denver Post Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of the tragic death of her daughter, Paula. Narrated with warmth, humor, exceptional candor, and wisdom, this remarkable memoir is as exuberant and as full of life as its creator. Allende bares her soul while sharing her thoughts on love, marriage, motherhood, spirituality and religion, infidelity, addiction, and memory—and recounts stories of the wildly eccentric, strong-minded, and eclectic tribe she gathers around her and lovingly embraces as a new kind of family.
11 de septiembre 1973: Esa semana
by Isabel Allende Bussi50 años después del Golpe, la hija menor de Salvador Allende relata qué ocurrió durante esa fatídica semana. El martes 11 de septiembre la autora de este libro partió en su automóvil a La Moneda para acompañar a su padre, el presidente Salvador Allende, en la resistencia al golpe de Estado. Salió del palacio antes del bombardeo y, desde ese momento, tuvo que pasar por situaciones angustiantes e insólitas antes de salir con su familia, en calidad de exiliadas, a México, el sábado 15 de septiembre. Este libro, un ejercicio de memoria de lo acontecido durante esa semana, ofrece por primera vez un panorama íntimo de cómo la familia Allende Bussi tuvo que lidiar con episodios dolorosos y resguardados en la intimidad hasta hoy: la muerte del padre, el bombardeo a Tomás Moro, el entierro anónimo en Viña del Mar, la rápida salida de su hermana Beatriz "Tati" Allende con el cuerpo diplomático cubano, el asilo familiar en la Embajada de México y la -hasta último minuto- angustiosa salida al país mediante la valiente gestión del embajador Gonzalo Martínez. Isabel Allende Bussi ofrece una poderosa y pormenorizada evocación de esa semana, en que la gesta del presidente de resistir hasta el final impactó al mundo entero.
Chocolate for a Woman's Blessings
by Kay AllenbaughInspirational stories are themselves like chocolate--they warm our hearts and lift our spirits. These incredibly touching and true stories narrate how women have played important roles as mothers, wives and friends, sharing each other's joys and sorrows through the years. Here readers can learn lessons that teach us how we should appreciate what we have, to love the life we are given and to be as strong as the lighthouses that withstand the fury of the stormy sea, guiding lost sailors to their right destinations.
Apropos of Nothing
by Woody AllenThe long-awaited, enormously entertaining memoir by one of the great artists of our time. In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. <P><P> Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Annie and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. <P><P> Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. This is a hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Getting Even
by Woody AllenIn "Getting Even," Woody Allen revenges himself on such significant subjects as death, obesity, organized crime, the invention of the sandwich, adult education, laundry lists of famous people, and Latin American revolutionaries.
Mere Anarchy
by Woody Allen'I am greatly relieved that the universe is finally explainable. I was beginning to think it was me. ' Thus begins 'Strung Out', Woody Allen's hilarious application of the laws of the universe to daily life. MERE ANARCHY, Woody Allen's first new collection in 25 years, features eighteen witty, wild and intelligent comic pieces – nine of which have never been in print before. Surreal, absurd, rich in verbal play, bitingly satirical and just plain daft, this collection includes tales of a body double - mistaken for the film's star - kidnapped by outlaws; a pretentious writer forced to work on the novelisation of a Three Stooges film; a nanny secretly writing an expose of her Manhattan employers; crooks selling bespoke prayers on ebay; and how to react when you're asked to finance a Broadway play about the invention and manufacture of the adjustable showerhead. Laced with his unique brand of humour and reminiscent of some of his finest films, MERE ANARCHY is an essential collection of tales by the inimitable Woody Allen.