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Death in the Jungle
by Alan Maki Gary SmithSNAKES, VIPERS, CROCS, SHARKS, AND THE VCWith 257 combat missions in Vietnam under his belt, Gary Smith is a living witness to the realities of Naval Special Warfare. He worked with some of the toughest and most highly motivated men in the world, executing missions in the murderous terrain of Rung Sat Special Zone and Dung Island. The key to their success: go where no ordinary soldier would go and no VC would expect them.Though death reigned as king in the jungles of Vietnam, Gary Smith considered it a privilege and an honor to serve under the officers and with the men of Underwater Demolition Team Twelve and SEAL Team 1. Because he and his teammates, trained to the max, gave each other the courage to attain the unattainable . . . .From the Paperback edition.
A Death in the Sanchez Family
by Oscar LewisA Death in the Sanchez family is a short and poignant account of how the poor die—of the death of Aunt Guadalupe, and of her funeral, to which the members of the Sanchez family come as mourners. Jhe Children of Sanchez by Professor Lewis has become an anthropological classic, which is read and studied throughout the world. In this short book Professor Lewis revisits the members of the family, now a few years older, on the occasion of the death of their old aunt. As in his previous books, Professor Lewis allows the members of the family to tell their own stories: their reactions to the funeral and their memories of the impoverished but often heroic life of their deceased aunt. As Professor Lewis writes: "For the poor, death is almost as great a hardship as life itself.” The struggle to get Aunt Guadalupe decently into the earth is one of the themes of this book. But Professor Lewis’ main subject is how her death illuminated her life, and how her life and death reflected the culture of poverty in which she lived.
Death in the A Shau Valley: L Company LRRPs in Vietnam, 1969-70
by Larry Chambers"The enemy had a single purpose: kill me and my teammates." Larry Chambers was still new to Vietnam in early 1969 when the LRRPs of the 101st Airborne Division became L Company, 75th (Rangers). But his unit's mission stayed the same: act as the eyes and ears of the 101st deep in the dreaded A Shau Valley--where the NVA ruled.Relentless thick fog frequently made fighter bombers useless in the A Shau, and the enemy had furnished the nearby mountaintops with antiaircraft machine guns to protect the massive trail network that snaked through it. So, outgunned, outmanned, and unsupported, the teams of L Company executed hundreds of courageous missions. Now, in this powerful personal record, Larry Chambers recaptures the experience of the war's most brutal on-the-job training, where the slightest noise or smallest error could bring sudden--and certain--death. . . .
Death March Through Russia: The Memoir Of Lothar Herrmann
by Klaus WillmannThis World War II memoir by a Nazi soldier details his unimaginable experience as a German prisoner-of-war in the Soviet Union. Lothar Hermann grew up in Bavaria, going through the RAD (Nazi Labor Service) before being conscripted into a Wehrmacht Mountain Division (the Gebirgsdivision) in 1940. He participated in Germany&’s advance through southern Ukraine in 1941 and, in 1944, was arrested in Romania while retreating to Germany. The Romanians passed him onto the Soviets, who placed him in a forced labor camp, where he watched two-thirds of prisoners around him die. In 1949, Herrmann was finally released to Germany and returned to Bavaria. Three million German troops were taken prisoner by the Red Army and around two-thirds of them survived to return to Germany in 1949 like Hermann, but their stories are little known. Klaus Willmann draws on interviews he conducted with Herrmann, to recount these astonishing recollections in the first-person. Depicting the challenges of growing up in Nazi Bavaria to becoming a Soviet prisoner-of-war, this is a gripping and enlightening account from a necessary but rarely explored perspective.
Death March Through Russia: The Memoir Of Lothar Herrmann
by Klaus WillmannThis World War II memoir by a Nazi soldier details his unimaginable experience as a German prisoner-of-war in the Soviet Union. Lothar Hermann grew up in Bavaria, going through the RAD (Nazi Labor Service) before being conscripted into a Wehrmacht Mountain Division (the Gebirgsdivision) in 1940. He participated in Germany&’s advance through southern Ukraine in 1941 and, in 1944, was arrested in Romania while retreating to Germany. The Romanians passed him onto the Soviets, who placed him in a forced labor camp, where he watched two-thirds of prisoners around him die. In 1949, Herrmann was finally released to Germany and returned to Bavaria. Three million German troops were taken prisoner by the Red Army and around two-thirds of them survived to return to Germany in 1949 like Hermann, but their stories are little known. Klaus Willmann draws on interviews he conducted with Herrmann, to recount these astonishing recollections in the first-person. Depicting the challenges of growing up in Nazi Bavaria to becoming a Soviet prisoner-of-war, this is a gripping and enlightening account from a necessary but rarely explored perspective.
Death Need Not Be Fatal
by Malachy McCourt Brian McDonaldBefore he runs out of time, Irish bon vivant Malachy McCourt shares his views on death - sometimes hilarious and often poignant - and on what will or won't happen after his last breath is drawn.During the course of his life, Malachy McCourt practically invented the single's bar; was a pioneer in talk radio, a soap opera star, a best-selling author; a gold smuggler, a political activist, and a candidate for governor of the state of New York. It seems that the only two things he hasn't done are stick his head into a lion's mouth and die. Since he is allergic to cats, he decided to write about the great hereafter and answer the question on most minds: What's so great about it anyhow? In Death Need Not Be Fatal, McCourt also trains a sober eye on the tragedies that have shaped his life: the deaths of his sister and twin brothers; the real story behind Angela's famous ashes; and a poignant account of the death of the man who left his mother, brothers, and him to nearly die in squalor. McCourt writes with deep emotion of the staggering losses of all three of his brothers, Frank, Mike, and Alphie. In his inimitable way, McCourt takes the grim reaper by the lapels and shakes the truth out of him. As he rides the final blocks on his Rascal scooter, he looks too at the prospect of his own demise with emotional clarity and insight. In this beautifully rendered memoir, McCourt shows us how to live life to its fullest, how to grow old without acting old, and how to die without regret.
Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB
by Alex Goldfarb Marina LitvinenkoThe assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko in November 2006 -- poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium -- caused an international sensation. Within a few short weeks, the fit forty-three-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb." Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime. Traces of polonium radiation were found in Germany and on certain airplanes, suggesting a travel route from Russia for the carriers of the fatal poison. But what really happened? What did Litvinenko know? And why was he killed? The full story of Sasha Litvinenko's life and death is one that the Kremlin does not want told. His closest friend, Alex Goldfarb, and his widow, Marina, are the only two people who can tell it all, from firsthand knowledge, with dramatic scenes from Moscow to London to Washington. Death of a Dissident reads like a political thriller, yet its story is more fantastic and frightening than any novel. Ever since 1998, when Litvinenko denounced the FSB for ordering him to assassinate tycoon Boris Berezovsky, he had devoted his life to exposing the FSB's darkest secrets. After a dramatic escape to London with Goldfarb's assistance, he spent six years, often working with Goldfarb, investigating a widening series of scandals. Oligarchs and journalists have been assassinated. Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko was poisoned on the campaign trail. The war in Chechnya became unspeakably harsh on both sides. Sasha Litvinenko investigated all of it, and he denounced his former employers in no uncertain terms for their dirty deeds. Death of a Dissident opens a window into the dark heart of the Putin Kremlin. With its strong-arm tactics, tight control over the media, and penetration of all levels of government, the old KGB is back with a vengeance. Sasha Litvinenko dedicated his life to exposing this truth. It took his diabolical murder for the world to listen.
Death of a Guru
by Rabindranath R. Maharaj Dave HuntDescended from a long line of Brahman priests, Maharaj (with bestselling author Dave Hunt) traces his difficult search for meaning, and his struggle to choose between Hinduism and Christ.
The Death of a Jaybird: Essays on Mothers and Daughters and the Things They Leave Behind
by Jodi M. SavageReminiscent of The Year of Magical Thinking and Somebody’s Daughter, a deeply empathetic and often humorous collection of essays that explore the author’s ever-changing relationships with her grandmother and mother, through sickness and health, as they experience the joys and challenges of Black American womanhood.Jodi M. Savage was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by her maternal grandmother. Her whip-smart, charismatic mother struggled with addiction and was unable to care for her. Granny—a fiery Pentecostal preacher who had a way with words—was Jodi’s rock, until Alzheimer’s disease turned the tables, and a 28-year-old Jodi stepped into the role of caretaker. It was up to Jodi to get them both through the devastations of a deteriorating mind. After Granny passed away, Jodi spent years trying to reckon with her grief. Jodi and her mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer nearly a decade later, and then Jodi lost her too.In this searing, candid collection of essays, Jodi illuminates the roles that identity and memory play in preserving those we love. Jodi explores the lives of modern Black women and communities through the prism of her personal experiences. With grace, creativity, and insight, she looks at femininity, family, race, mental illness, grief, healthcare, and faith. Jodi deftly portrays how trauma is inherited, and how the struggle to break a generational curse can last a lifetime.The Death of a Jaybird is a thoughtful examination of complicated family love, loss, and the liberating power of claiming our stories.
Death of a Jewish American Princess
by Shirley FrondorfIn 1982, a sensational murder trial in Phoenix, Arizona, reverberated throughout the legal community. Restaurateur Steven Steinberg, who killed his wife by stabbing her 26 times, was acquitted; his legal defense portrayed the victim as an overpowering "Jewish American Princess" whose excesses may have provoked her violent end. Examining the structure of the defense's case, Frondorf, an attorney who was previously a psychiatric social worker, follows the theme that made Elana Steinberg the villain, instead of the victim, of the piece. The defense's forensic presentation, bolstered by testimony from psychiatrists, maintained that Steinberg committed the crime while sleepwalking, an abnormality allegedly brought on by the intemperate spending of his wife. Frondorf recreates the trial whose outcome scarred the tightly knit Jewish community of Phoenix.
Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year
by David Ritz Tavis SmileyA revealing and dramatic chronicle of the twelve months leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassinationMartin Luther King, Jr. died in one of the most shocking assassinations the world has known, but little is remembered about the life he led in his final year. New York Times bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley recounts the final 365 days of King's life, revealing the minister's trials and tribulations -- denunciations by the press, rejection from the president, dismissal by the country's black middle class and militants, assaults on his character, ideology, and political tactics, to name a few -- all of which he had to rise above in order to lead and address the racism, poverty, and militarism that threatened to destroy our democracy.Smiley's DEATH OF A KING paints a portrait of a leader and visionary in a narrative different from all that have come before. Here is an exceptional glimpse into King's life -- one that adds both nuance and gravitas to his legacy as an American hero.
Death of a Legend: Jesse James
by Will HenryDive into the thrilling and tumultuous life of one of America's most infamous outlaws with Will Henry's Death of a Legend: Jesse James. This gripping historical novel brings to life the dramatic story of Jesse James, a complex figure whose exploits have become the stuff of legend and folklore.Will Henry, a master storyteller known for his vivid and meticulously researched Western narratives, offers readers an intimate and compelling portrait of Jesse James. From his beginnings as a Confederate guerrilla fighter during the Civil War to his notorious career as a bank and train robber, James's life is portrayed with all its daring escapades and moral ambiguities.Death of a Legend: Jesse James captures the essence of the man behind the myth, exploring his motivations, relationships, and the turbulent times that shaped his actions. Henry delves into the psychological and social factors that drove Jesse James to a life of crime, shedding light on his complex character and the loyalties that both bound and betrayed him.The novel is rich with historical detail, bringing to life the gritty reality of the post-Civil War American frontier. Through Henry's evocative prose, readers will experience the tension and excitement of Jesse James's robberies, the relentless pursuit by lawmen, and the ultimate betrayal that led to his demise.This novel is a must-read for fans of Westerns, history enthusiasts, and anyone intrigued by the enigmatic figure of Jesse James. Will Henry's Death of a Legend: Jesse James is a powerful and engrossing tale that brings new life to an enduring American legend.Join Will Henry on a journey through the wild and lawless West, and discover the true story behind the legend of Jesse James. Death of a Legend: Jesse James is a captivating and thought-provoking read that will leave you questioning the fine line between legend and reality.
Death of a Pinehurst Princess: The 1935 Elva Statler Davidson Mystery (True Crime Ser.)
by Steve Bouser&“A socialite bride, a $1 million inheritance, an older husband of questionable social rank, Yankees misbehaving on Southern soil . . . [A] web of intrigue&” (Our State). A news media frenzy hurled the quiet resort community of Pinehurst, North Carolina, into the national spotlight in 1935 when hotel magnate Ellsworth Statler&’s adopted daughter was discovered dead early one February morning weeks after her wedding day. A politically charged coroner&’s inquest failed to determine a definitive cause of death, and the following civil action continued to expose sordid details of the couple&’s lives. More than half a century later, the story was all but forgotten when local resident Diane McLellan spied an old photograph at a yard sale and became obsessed with solving the mystery. Her enthusiastic sleuthing captured the attention of Southern Pines resident and journalist Steve Bouser, who takes readers back to those blustery winter days so long ago in the search to reveal what really happened to Elva Statler Davidson. Includes photos &“As compelling as any crime mystery an American writer has ever written: suspenseful, titillating, true and set in Moore County.&” —The Pilot &“Bouser is both compassionate and balanced in his reports of the Davidson affair.&” —Authors &’Round the South &“Bouser uses a story &‘ripped from the headlines&’ as they say to reveal what&’s known and unknown about a young Pinehurst socialite&’s bizarre death . . . [He] takes the reader through the wild inquest, a later trial over Elva&’s will, and buckets of speculation.&” —Salisbury Post
Death of a Princess: The True Story Behind Diana's Tragic End
by Scott Macleod Tom SanctonFor the twentieth anniversary of Diana's death, a new, updated edition of the headline-grabbing New York Times bestseller that told the definitive story of how the Princess of Wales lost her life in a high-speed car accident in the heart of Paris on August 31, 1997.What really happened on that fateful summer night? Rumors still abound: that Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed (son of wealthy Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al Fayed), were planning to marry and British intelligence was somehow involved in their deaths. Or, that the paparazzi, a second car, or Diana and Dodi's driver, may have been responsible.Written by Tom Sancton, Time's Paris bureau chief at the time, and Scott MacLeod, then the magazine's Middle East correspondent, Death of a Princess struck a chord in 1998 with its exhaustive account of what really happened in the months, days, hours, and minutes leading up to the fatal crash. The book remains a masterwork of strong, original reporting, firsthand interviews with key figures, and insider analysis of one of the twentieth century's most tragic and unforgettable events.
The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister
by Olesya KhromeychukA moving and thought-provoking story of loss and war from the Director of the Ukrainian institute, told in a powerful blend of memoir and essay***'Elegantly written... packed with the sharpness of moments when a death suddenly becomes real' -TLS'If you want to understand Ukraine's determination to resist, Olesya Khromeychuk's book is essential.' -Paul Mason, author of How to Stop Fascism'Moving, intelligent, and brilliantly written.' -Anna Reid, author of Borderland: A Journey Through the History of UkraineWITH A FOREWORD BY PHILIPPE SANDS AND AN INTRODUCTION BY ANDREY KURKOV Killed by shrapnel as he served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Olesya Khromeychuk's brother Volodymyr died on the frontline in eastern Ukraine. As Olesya tries to come to terms with losing her brother, she also tries to process the Russian invasion of Ukraine: as an immigrant living far from the frontline, as a historian of war and how societies respond to them, and as a woman, a civilian, and a sister.In this timely blend of memoir and essay, Olesya Khromeychuk tells the story of her brother - the wiser older sibling, the artist and the soldier - and of his death. Deeply moving and thoughtful, The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister picks apart the ways political violence shapes everyone and everything it touches and depicts with extraordinary intimacy the singular and complicated bond between a brother and sister. Olesya's vivid writing is a personal and powerful commitment to honesty in life, in death and in memory.'Soon before he died, my brother said he had become a warrior. Why would a thinker, an artist, wish to become a soldier? Perhaps I didn't appreciate what it meant to be a thinker and an artist, or, maybe, what it meant to be a soldier.''In vivid, intimate prose and with unflinching honesty, Olesya Khromeychuk introduces us to the brother she lost in the war and found in her grief.' -Dr Rory Finnin, University of Cambridge'I admire a book that invites me to grapple with knotty questions. Olesya Khromeychuk has written such a book - beautifully.' - Professor Cynthia Enloe, author of Nimo's War
The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister
by Olesya KhromeychukWITH A FOREWORD BY PHILIPPE SANDS AND AN INTRODUCTION BY ANDREY KURKOV'If you read only one book about the war, this is the one to read.' -Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm'Unforgettable. An immediate history of a cruel war and a personal chronicle of unbearable loss' -Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of The WorldKilled by shrapnel as he served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Olesya Khromeychuk's brother Volodymyr died on the frontline in eastern Ukraine. As Khromeychuk tries to come to terms with losing her brother, she also tries to process the Russian invasion of Ukraine: as a historian of war, as a woman and as a sister.In a thoughtful blend of memoir and essay, Olesya Khromeychuk tells the story of her brother - and of Ukraine. Beautifully written and giving unique, poignant insight into the lives of those affected, it is an urgent act of resistance against the dehumanising cruelty of war.'If you want to understand Ukraine's determination to resist, Olesya Khromeychuk's book is essential.' -Paul Mason, author of How to Stop Fascism[A] tender and courageous book... Khromeychuk's clear-sighted prose expresses the pain that thousands, even millions, have felt in every conflict, past and present. -The Literary Review Magazine'A touching and brilliantly written account about grief, and also about strength. I read it in one night.' -Olia Hercules
Death of a Translator: A journalist's journey to the heart of Soviet Afghanistan
by Ed Gorman'Death of a Translator is a powerful and personal read. Ed Gorman discusses his experiences in an incredibly open and moving way. His story is an example to us all.' - Brigadier Ed Butler CBE, DSO A young, devil-may-care Englishman, determined to report on the Soviet war and make a name for himself, makes a fateful commitment to a swashbuckling Afghan guerrilla commander. Not only will he go inside the capital secretly and live in the network of safe houses run by the resistance, he will travel around the city in a Soviet Army jeep, dressed as a Russian officer. Waiting in the mountain camp, from where Niazuldin's band of fighters lived and planned their hit-and-run attacks on Soviet troops, Ed Gorman discovers what it means to experience combat with men whose only interest is to be killed or martyred.
Death of a Translator: A journalist's journey to the heart of Soviet Afghanistan
by Ed Gorman"I have never read anything that so fully and perfectly captured the personal experience and the personal aftermath of war" P. J. O'RourkeA young, devil-may-care Englishman reporting on the Soviet war makes a fateful commitment to a swashbuckling Afghan guerrilla commander. Not only will he go inside the capital secretly and live in the network of safe houses run by the resistance, he will travel around the city in a Soviet Army jeep, dressed as a Russian officer. Waiting in the mountain camp, from where Niazuldin's band of fighters lived and planned their hit-and-run attacks on Soviet troops, Ed Gorman discovers what it means to experience combat with men whose only interest is to be killed or martyred.After that summer in Kabul province the young freelancer became a staff reporter for The Times, covering conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Balkans, but Afghanistan never let him go. Death of a Translator is a searingly honest description of a mind haunted and eventually paralysed by the terror of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."Death of a Translator is a powerful and personal read. Ed Gorman discusses his experiences in an incredibly open and moving way. His story is an example to us all" - Brigadier Ed Butler CBE, DSO
The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr
by Ken GormleyTen years after one of the most polarizing political scandals in American history, author Ken Gormley offers an insightful, balanced, and revealing analysis of the events leading up to the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton. From Ken Starr's initial Whitewater investigation through the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit to the Monica Lewinsky affair, The Death of American Virtue is a gripping chronicle of an ever-escalating political feeding frenzy.In exclusive interviews, Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Susan McDougal, and many more key players offer candid reflections on that period. Drawing on never-before-released records and documents--including the Justice Department's internal investigation into Starr, new details concerning the death of Vince Foster, and evidence from lawyers on both sides--Gormley sheds new light on a dark and divisive chapter, the aftereffects of which are still being felt in today's political climate.From the Hardcover edition.
The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty
by Philip JettThe Death of an Heir is Philip Jett's chilling true account of the Coors family’s gilded American dream that turned into a nightmare when a meticulously plotted kidnapping went horribly wrong.In the 1950s and 60s, the Coors dynasty reigned over Golden, Colorado, seemingly invincible. When rumblings about labor unions threatened to destabilize the family's brewery, Adolph Coors, Jr., the septuagenarian president of the company, drew a hard line, refusing to budge. They had worked hard for what they had, and no one had a right to take it from them. What they'd soon realize was that they had more to lose than they could have imagined.On the morning of Tuesday, February 9, 1960, Adolph “Ad” Coors III, the 44-year-old CEO of the multimillion dollar Colorado beer empire, stepped into his car and headed for the brewery twelve miles away. At a bridge he stopped to help a man in a yellow Mercury sedan. On the back seat lay handcuffs and leg irons. The glove box held a ransom note ready to be mailed. His coat pocket shielded a loaded pistol.What happened next set off the largest U.S. manhunt since the Lindbergh kidnapping. State and local authorities, along with the FBI personally spearheaded by its director J. Edgar Hoover, burst into action attempting to locate Ad and his kidnapper. The dragnet spanned a continent. All the while, Ad’s grief-stricken wife and children waited, tormented by the unrelenting silence. The Death of an Heir reveals the true story behind the tragic murder of Colorado’s favorite son.
The Death of Ben Linder: The Story of a North American in Sandinista Nicaragua
by Joan KruckewittIn 1987, the death of Ben Linder, the first American killed by President Reagan's "freedom fighters" -- the U.S.-backed Nicaraguan Contras -- ignited a firestorm of protest and debate. In this landmark first biography of Linder, investigative journalist Joan Kruckewitt tells his story. In the summer of 1983, a 23-year-old American named Ben Linder arrived in Managua with a unicycle and a newly earned degree in engineering. In 1986, Linder moved from Managua to El Cuá, a village in the Nicaraguan war zone, where he helped form a team to build a hydroplant to bring electricity to the town. He was ambushed and killed by the Contras the following year while surveying a stream for a possible hydroplant. In 1993, Kruckewitt traveled to the Nicaraguan mountains to investigate Linder's death. In July 1995. she finally located and interviewed one of the men who killed Ben Linder, a story that became the basis for a New Yorker feature on Linder's death. Linder's story is a portrait of one idealist who died for his beliefs, as well as a picture of a failed foreign policy, vividly exposing the true dimensions of a war that forever marked the lives of both Nicaraguans and Americans.
The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination
by Barry StraussThe exciting, dramatic story of one of history's most famous events--the death of Julius Caesar--now placed in full context of Rome's civil wars by eminent historian Barry Strauss.Thanks to William Shakespeare, the death of Julius Caesar is the most famous assassination in history. But what actually happened on March 15, 44 BC is even more gripping than Shakespeare's play. In this thrilling new book, Barry Strauss tells the real story. Shakespeare shows Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot, put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. There were even gladiators on hand to protect the assassins from vengeance by Caesar's friends. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, as Shakespeare has it, but they had the help of a third man--Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend. It was he, not Brutus, who truly betrayed Caesar. Caesar's assassins saw him as a military dictator who wanted to be king. He threatened a permanent change in the Roman way of life and in the power of senators. The assassins rallied support among the common people, but they underestimated Caesar's soldiers, who flooded Rome. The assassins were vanquished; their beloved Republic became the Roman Empire. An original, fresh perspective on an event that seems well known, Barry Strauss's book sheds new light on this fascinating, pivotal moment in world history.
The Death of Elizabeth I
by Catherine LoomisThe death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 was greeted by an outpouring of official proclamations, gossip-filled letters, tense diary entries, diplomatic dispatches, and somber sermons. English poets wrote hundreds of elegies to Elizabeth, and playwrights began bringing her onto the stage. This book uses these historical and literary sources, including a maid of honor's eyewitness account of the explosion of the Queen's corpse, to provide a detailed history of Elizabeth's final illness and death, and to show Elizabeth's subjects - peers and poets, bishops and beggars, women and men - responding to their loss by remembering and reconstructing their Queen. "
The Death of Francis Bacon: A Novel
by Max PorterMadrid. Unfinished. Man dying.A great painter lies on his deathbed, synapses firing, writhing and reveling in pleasure and pain as a lifetime of chaotic and grotesque sense memories wash over and envelop him.In this bold and brilliant short work of experimental fiction by the author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny, Max Porter inhabits Francis Bacon in his final moments, translating into seven extraordinary written pictures the explosive final workings of the artist's mind. Writing as painting rather than about painting, Porter lets the images he conjures speak for themselves as they take their revenge on the subject who wielded them in life. The result is more than a biography: The Death of Francis Bacon is a physical, emotional, historical, sexual, and political bombardment--the measure of a man creative and compromised, erotic and masochistic, inexplicable and inspired.
The Death of Fred Astaire: And Other Essays from a Life outside the Lines (Excelsior Editions)
by Leslie LawrenceFinalist for the 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Autobiography & Memoir categoryAs a child of the sixties, Leslie Lawrence knew she didn't want to duplicate her parents' lives, yet she never imagined she'd stray so far outside the lines of their—and her own—expectations.The Death of Fred Astaire opens with the story, both wrenching and funny, of how Lawrence says her goodbyes to the iconic images she's held since her youth; she then proceeds to bear a child and raise him with her lesbian partner. Some essays in this debut collection reflect on legacies Lawrence inherited from her Jewish family and culture. In others, she searches gamely for a rich, authentic life—a voice, a vocation, a community, even a "god" she can call her own.Always a seeker, an adventurer resisting fear, Lawrence, a city girl, creates a summer home in the back woods of the "Live Free or Die" state. She attempts the flying trapeze and takes part in a cross-dressing workshop. Traveling alone to Morocco, she assists a veterinarian tending to an ailing donkey. Teaching in a vocational high school in Boston, she questions her methods and assumptions about race and class. With rare honesty, she confronts the complexities of motherhood, of caring for her ill partner, and of widowhood. In "Wonderlust," the collection's most ambitious piece, she explores the role of beauty and creativity in our spiritual lives, revealing how lifelong learning in dance, music, and the visual arts can make us all more alive even as we age.Ranging widely in length, subject, and style, these personal essays place Lawrence among today's most vital writers of creative nonfiction. Her warmth and wisdom, her distinctive blend of humor and pathos, her reverence for what sustains us—food and family, community and beauty—all make this a book you'll want to share with those you love.