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The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq (Books That Changed the World)
by Lawrence Hill Joshua Key&“Apocalypse Now insanity . . . if this is what one soldier saw in seven months, imagine the sum total of the inhumanity being perpetuated in Iraq&” (Toronto Star). The first memoir from a soldier who deserted from the war in Iraq, and a vivid and damning indictment of the American military campaign, The Deserter&’s Tale is &“destined to become part of the literature of the Iraq war . . . a substantial contribution to history&” (Los Angeles Times). In Spring 2003, young Oklahoman Joshua Key was sent to Ramadi as part of a combat engineer company. It was not the campaign against terrorists and evildoers he had expected. Key saw Iraqi civilians beaten, shot, and killed, or maimed for little or no provocation. After seven months in Iraq, Key was home on leave and knew he could not return. So he took his family and went underground in the United States, finally seeking asylum in Canada after fourteen months in hiding. Detailing the grinding horrors of life as part of an occupying force, The Deserter&’s Tale is the story of a conservative-minded family man and patriot who went to war believing unquestioningly in his government&’s commitment to integrity and justice, and how what he saw in Iraq transformed him into someone who could no longer serve his country. &“Devastating . . . The questions [Key] raises . . . will not go away.&” —Daily Kos &“A tearjerker . . . Lawrence Hill, the award-winning Canadian novelist and journalist who helped Key write The Deserter&’s Tale, does a marvelous job preserving Key&’s authentic voice. The writing is fluid, crisp and compelling. The story is shocking.&” —Montreal Gazette
Deshaciendo errores: Kahneman, Tversky y la amistad que nos enseñó cómo funciona la mente
by Michael LewisMichael Lewis examina en este brillante libro cómo la amistad entre David Kahneman y Amos Tversky revolucionó radicalmente nuestra manera de entender el funcionamiento de la mente humana. Hace más de cuarenta años, una serie de experimentos totalmente originales de dos jóvenes psicólogos, Daniel Kahneman y Amos Tversky, desmontaron todas las suposiciones existentes respecto al funcionamiento de la mente humana y la toma de decisiones. Deshaciendo errores es el maravilloso relato de la colaboración de estos dos hombres de ciencia que bien podrían ser grandes figuras literarias. Héroes académicos y bélicos -ambos tuvieron una importante carrera militar- sus investigaciones estuvieron profundamente ligadas a sus experiencias vitales. Tversky era un personaje brillante, con un magnetismo inusual, confiado y extrovertido; Kahneman, un fugitivo de la represión nazi durante su infancia, era un introvertido que se cuestionaba todo lo que le rodeaba. Su relación fue tan cercana, que resulta imposible saber de qué mente surgieron qué ideas: son de lejos el dúo más fascinante de la historia de la psicología conductiva. En su estilo habitual, Lewis nos ofrece un libro magistral sobre un tema pionero, explorado a través de las personalidades de dos asombrosos individuos tan fundamentalmente opuestos que sorprende que llegasen a ser amigos, tan siquiera colegas, pero que en el proceso cambiaron radicalmente la manera de entender cómo pensamos y por qué nos equivocamos tan fácilmente. Reseña:«Michael Lewis es el mejor contador de historia de nuestra generación.»Malcolm Gladwell
Las desheredadas
by Ángeles CasoTras el éxito de Las olvidadas, con más de medio millón de ejemplares vendidos, vuelve Ángeles Caso, ganadora de los premios Planeta y Fernando Lara y traducida a quince idiomas, con un proyecto único Un libro que nos desvela a las grandes mujeres creadoras de los siglos XVIII y XIX que quedaron en la sombraHace casi dos décadas Ángeles Caso iniciaba con Las olvidadas un proyecto único: la reconstrucción de una genealogía cultural femenina formada por todas las mujeres que rompieron con lo que la sociedad pretendía imponerles y se atrevieron a vivir a contracorriente, a crear y pensar un mundo mejor, aunque solo recibieran a cambio el desprecio de la crítica y el canon. Las desheredadas aborda los siglos XVIII y XIX, una época crucial en la historia de Occidente, germen de la que vivimos hoy. Es el tiempo de pintoras como Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun o Adélaïde Labille-Guiard; de las ilustradas lady Mary Montagu o la duquesa de Osuna; de científicas como la marquesa de Châtelet y Ada Lovelace; de las revolucionarias traicionadas como Olympe de Gouges y Mary Wollstonecraft; de escritoras como Mary Shelley, las Brontë o Emilia Pardo Bazán; de las primeras feministas como Flora Tristan, Concepción Arenal o Rosario de Acuña; de las impresionistas como Berthe Morisot o Camille Claudel... Se dedicaron a las artes, al pensamiento, lucharon por la libertad y los derechos de los más desfavorecidos, pero la burguesía ilustrada y liberal acabó imponiendo el relato oficial. Y en él no hubo cabida para ellas. De ese rechazo nacería el feminismo, que iniciaba entonces su carrera imparable. Ángeles Caso funde géneros literarios y nos entrega una obra emocionante, reivindicativa y profundamente rigurosa sobre las heroínas que osaron alzar la voz y la cabeza. Este libro ilumina por un momento las vidas de algunas de ellas para que nos permitan sentir el deseo de iluminar las de las demás. La crítica ha dicho sobre Quiero escribirte esta noche una carta de amor:«Un libro espléndido, cartas de rendición, de entrega absoluta, [...] piezas literarias de altos vuelos, literatura de la importante, de la que te salva».Milena Busquets, El Periódico «Una inspiración para escribir, para amar, e incluso para dejar un amor que nos destruye».Semana «Acceder a los textos íntimos de estas escritoras es un privilegio: cada una se muestra en el amor como en su obra, con su estilo y su voz. [...] Un catálogo de relaciones, una cronología universal de los amantes: profundamente enternecedor».Aloma Rodríguez, El Mundo «Ángeles Caso nos muestra la fragilidad y vulnerabilidad del ser humano ante uno de sus mayores anhelos en la vida: amar y ser amado. [...] Un libro conmovedor y hermoso que recuerda cómo el amor es el misterio sobre el que el ser humano avanza en la vida en medio de luz, penumbra u oscuridad».Santiago Vargas, The Huffington Post «Leer este texto supone un viaje a través del tiempo, gratificante y de gran placer para el lector; y una reflexión sobre la humanidad y el amor».Maria Antich, Diario de Mallorca
Desi Kitchen
by Sarah WoodsJoin Sarah Woods on a mouth-watering celebration of British and South Asian fusion recipes, featuring the Desi communities who created them'I've longed for a book like this. A fascinating read with glorious recipes' DIANA HENRY'An evocative visual feast that speaks to your very heart. The mouth-watering recipes leap off the page and I am left wanting to bookmark nearly every dish' LARA LEE, author of Coconut and Sambal'Beautiful book, great recipes, really well written and original' PRUE LEITH____________Sarah Woods has spent her whole life surrounded by a fusion of South Asian and British cooking. Now, she speaks to the many desi communities across the UK to provide a unique culinary roadmap to the diaspora of the Indian subcontinent in Britain today.Travelling from the Pakistani community of Glasgow to the Nepalese community of Kent and everywhere in between, the book explores how groups from different regions have blended their food and culture to create a cuisine that is distinct, special and diverse.With Sarah's expert guidance, you will . . .- Cook Gujarati Hasselback Potato Shaak for an alternative take on a side dish- Make a Ugandan Chapatti Rolex for a great way to use leftover curry- Sticky and Spicy Mango Chicken Wings are quick and easy to make and finger licking good- Try Welsh Chilli Rarebit with curry oil and crispy shallots- Dive into Peshawari Bread and Butter Pudding with honeyed figsPacked with recipes, stories and authentic voices from each of the communities covered, Sarah Woods, finalist of BBC One's Britain's Best Home Cook and herself a second-generation Punjabi, has brought together this collection of mouth-watering dishes and provided a rare and privileged glimpse into desi kitchens from all over modern Britain.____________'A mesmerising cookbook filled with gorgeous recipes from Desi kitchens all over modern Britain' ATUL KOCHHAR
Design for Living: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
by Margot PetersFrom the much-admired biographer of Charlotte Brontë, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, and the Barrymores ("Margot Peters is surely now . . . our foremost historian of stage make-believe"--Leon Edel), a new biography of the most famous English-speaking acting team of the twentieth century. Individually, they were recognized as extraordinary actors, each one a star celebrated, imitated, sought after. Together, they were legend. The Lunts. A name to conjure with. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne worked together so imaginatively, so seamlessly onstage that they seemed to fuse into one person. Offstage, they brawled so famously and raucously over every detail of every performance that they inspired the musical Kiss Me, Kate. At home on Broadway, in London's West End, touring the United States and Great Britain, and even playing "the foxhole circuit" of World War II, the Lunts stunned, moved, and mystified audiences for more than four decades. They were considered to be a rarefied taste, but when they toured Texas in the 1930s, the audience threw cowboy hats onto the stage. Their private life was equally fascinating, as unusual as the one they led in public. Friends like the critic Alexander Woollcott (whom Edna Ferber once described as "the little New Jersey Nero who thinks his pinafore is a toga"), Noël Coward, Laurette Taylor, and Sidney Greenstreet received lifelong loyalty and hospitality. Ten Chimneys, their country home in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, "is to performers what the Vatican is to Catholics," Carol Channing once said. "The Lunts are where we all spring from. " In this new biography, Margot Peters catches the magic of Lunt and Fontanne--their period, their work, their intimacy and its contradictions--with candor, delicacy, intelligence, and wit. She writes about their personal and creative choices as deftly as she captures their world, from their meeting (backstage, naturally)--when Fontanne was a young actress in the first flush of stardom and Lunt a lanky midwesterner who came in the stage door, bowed to her elaborately, lost his balance, and fell down the stairs--and the early days when an unknown and very hungry Noël Coward lived in a swank hotel in a room the size of a closet and cadged meals at their table to the telegram the famous couple once sent to a movie mogul, turning down a studio contract worth a fortune ("We can be bought, my dear Mr. Laemmle, but we can't be bored"). We follow the Lunts through triumphs in plays such as The Guardsman, The Taming of the Shrew, and Design for Living; through friendships and feuds; through the intricate way they worked with such playwrights and directors as S. N. Behrman, Robert Sherwood, Giraudoux, Dürrenmatt, Peter Brook, and with each other. Margot Peters captures the gallantry of two remarkably gifted people who lived for their art and for each other. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were once described as an "amazing duet of intelligence and gaiety. " Margot Peters re-creates the fun and the fireworks. From the Hardcover edition.
Designer Baby: A Surrogacy Journey from Fashion to Fatherhood
by Aaron Elias BrunsdonWhen Aaron meets Jayson Brunsdon, one of Australia’s leading fashion figures, they both dream of becoming fathers one day – a difficult and risky prospect few same-sex couples at the time dare. Together they build the Jayson Brunsdon brand from nothing into one of the most eponymous labels in Australia, worn by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and Jennifer Hawkins. Jayson quickly rises to fame, survives cancer, and the label traverses the highs and lows of the fashion industry. They lose everything, and rebuild it all again. In 2014, a story on 60 Minutes inspires them to take the plunge into parenthood via surrogacy – a controversial act in Australia, but a possibility in Thailand. What follows is a challenging journey filled with hope, chaos and determination – reaching its peak when halfway through their pregnancy Thailand outlaws surrogacy, and Aaron and Jayson face the shattering prospect that they might not be able to bring their beautiful baby boy home, whilst being relentlessly hounded by the media. Designer Baby is an inspiring personal story about the strength of family, the universal love of parents, and an uplifting reminder to never lose sight of your dreams.
Designer Dogs, Awkward Hugs, And A Pigeon: Veterinary Tales, Again
by P. J. MillerDr. P. J. Miller is back! Following his first installment, Cute Poodles, Sweet Old Ladies & Hugs, Dr. Miller has compiled another volume of truly awesome veterinary tales. Come along for the ride again as Dr. Miller delivers stories that feature colorful clients, endearing pets, his own beloved bulldog, and a hurricane. All the sassy hospital staff that readers came to love are back, including that special staff member who seems to work by her own particular standards of professionalism (you know the one). In Designer Dogs, Awkward Hugs & Pigeons, Dr. Miller goes behind the scenes of his veterinary practice to provide a true insider’s view into life as an animal doctor. Dr. Miller employs the same unique style of humorous storytelling that readers loved in his first novel. Hidden behind the humor, Dr. Miller gives a deeper glimpse into how emotional and strong the human-animal bond can be. A must read for any aspiring veterinary professional or animal lover.
Designing Terry Pratchett's Discworld
by Paul KidbyA gorgeously designed full-color visual biography that brings Terry Pratchett’s universally beloved Discworld to life as never before and pays tribute to an enduring creative collaboration. “It's still magic, even if you know how it's done.” –Sir Terry PratchettDesigning Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is a celebration of Discworld art and a brilliant homage to the decades-long collaboration between artist Paul Kidby and Sir Terry Pratchett that takes readers behind the scenes of one of the great creative partnerships.It shows how the Discworld was brought to visual life—from the earliest sketches to the final magnificent masterpieces—and how Pratchett and Kidby were influenced by art and pop culture, fusing them into the Discworld universe. While Pratchett was the undisputed creative fountainhead, for three decades Kidby has been the artistic force taking the people, places, and pieces of man-eating luggage from Terry's ever-fertile imagination right into our world.Packed with never-before-seen art and the stories behind it, it is a must-have for Pratchett fans of all ages.
The Desire of Ages
by Ellen G. WhiteVolume 3 of the 'Conflict of the Ages' book series, 'The Desire of Ages,' covers the life and ministry of Jesus. This key Seventh Day Adventist text explains in detail the SDA understanding of the conflict between God and Satan and their understanding of the Bible and much of world history. White wrote the series based on her research of other authors and special information which she claimed to receive through visions from God. The books thus include unique insights and concepts not found in other works of the time.
The Desire of Every Living Thing
by Don GillmorAt the age of eighty, Don Gillmor's grandmother let slip the defining secret of her life: her twin sister Jean was not her twin, but her aunt, and her family had emigrated from Scotland to Winnipeg to escape the stigma of her illegitimacy. That revelation set Gillmor off on what seemed at first like the most personal of quests: to track down his ancestors. The Desire of Every Living Thing is also the story of the New World, the story of Winnipeg, the story of this country. Both an evocative family memoir and a brilliant feat of historical imagination, the book's most moving theme is how the discarded past haunts and shapes our lives without us even noticing.From the Hardcover edition.
Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America
by Sherrod BrownSince his election to the U.S. Senate in 2006, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown has sat on the Senate floor at a mahogany desk with a proud history. In Desk 88, he tells the story of eight of the Senators who were there before him. Despite their flaws and frequent setbacks, each made a decisive contribution to the creation of a more just America. They range from Hugo Black, who helped to lift millions of American workers out of poverty, to Robert F. Kennedy, whose eyes were opened by an undernourished Mississippi child and who then spent the rest of his life afflicting the comfortable. Brown revives forgotten figures such as Idaho’s Glen Taylor, a singing cowboy who taught himself economics and stood up to segregationists, and offers new insights into George McGovern, who fought to feed the poor around the world even amid personal and political calamities. He also writes about Herbert Lehman of New York, Al Gore Sr. of Tennessee, Theodore Francis Green of Rhode Island, and William Proxmire of Wisconsin. Together, these eight portraits in political courage tell a story about the triumphs and failures of the Progressive idea over the past century: in the 1930s and 1960s, and more intermittently since, politicians and the public have successfully fought against entrenched special interests and advanced the cause of economic or racial fairness. Today, these advances are in peril as employers shed their responsibilities to employees and communities, and a U.S. president gives cover to bigotry. But the Progressive idea is not dead. Recalling his own career, Brown dramatizes the hard work and high ideals required to renew the social contract and create a new era in which Americans of all backgrounds can know the “Dignity of Work.”
The Desk on the Sea (Made in Michigan Writers Series)
by Jonathan JohnsonThe Desk on the Sea begins four years after American poet Jonathan Johnson spread his mother’s ashes in her beloved Lake Superior and moved with his wife and young daughter into a seventeenth-century cottage on Scotland’s North Sea. On an idyllic, desolate coast and in the wild Highlands, Johnson began his search for a way to live through ongoing grief and to take in the wonder of each new day. Through years of extraordinary suffering by way of multiple ailments, Johnson’s mother, Sheila, endured an astounding number of amputations—a toe, the end of a finger, a foot, whole fingers, the other foot. What she lost in her physical being, she gained in her kindness and generosity. By the time she was told that the only way she could survive a little longer was the amputation of both hands, she was capable of giving those who loved her and herself a beautiful death instead. Inspired by her example of grace and awareness, Johnson and his family gave themselves one year on the coast of Scotland to live by Shelia’s great, guiding principle: We don’t get the days back. They wandered trails along windswept shores and past the stone ruins left by people who’d come and gone before. They played as characters from Harry Potter on deserted beaches. From their cottage, they watched an island lighthouse, counting the seconds between flashes to know exactly when to say "goodnight" so the lighthouse would answer with a wink. The Desk on the Sea is a chronicle of progress toward one man’s new life goal—to be a father, husband, and poet worthy of his mother’s legacy. Sustained by an unwavering belief that words can help us fully occupy our lives, and that imagination and empathy can transform suffering into what John Keats called "soul-making," Johnson offers readers a raw look at love and loss.
Desmond Gets Free
by Matt MeyerWith a thoughtful story and lush watercolor illustrations, Desmond Gets Free introduces young readers to timely and nuanced concepts of justice and liberation in a kid-friendly way.
Desnazificando Leni
by Lázaro Droznes Daniela CäsarEsta ficção dramática recria o julgamento de Leni Riefenstahl, levado adiante pelo Comitê de Desnazificação dos Aliados com o objetivo de determinar seu grau de responsabilidade nos crimes nazistas, e como parte de uma campanha de desnazificação realizada na Alemanha pós-guerra. Diversas cenas dos seus documentários são usadas como evidência contra ela, alegando-se que foram utilizadas como ferramentas de propaganda do regime. Leni defende sua independência e autonomia como artista. No decorrer do julgamento, surge como tema a relação entre os artistas e o poder, a necessidade de desenvolver uma carreira artística que não dependa do poder político e a possibilidade de criar arte por meio da própria arte. Uma arte que justifique a si mesma.
Desnudo
by Jomari GoysoJomari Goyso, el renombrado artista de televisión, estilista de las estrellas y una de las personalidades más influyentes de Univision, narra su historia por primera vez, sin filtros, pero con un tono de honestidad y transparencia. El conocido estilista, experto en imagen y comentarías de belleza y moda, y presentador de TV, Jomari Goyso, abre su alma en el libro Desnudo, a través del cual cuenta su historia, desde sus orígenes en una sencilla granja de La Rioja, España, hasta su ascenso como una de las más influyentes voces de la moda en la televisión hispana, y todo lo que hubo en el medio. Reconocido por sus firmes opiniones respecto de la moda de las estrellas, así como por su estrecha relación con la comunidad hispana, Jomari ha capturado la atención del público, realizando trabajado con artistas como Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian, las hermanas Kendall y Kylie Jenner, Morgan Freeman, Naomi Campbell, Kristen Bell, Kate del Castillo y una larga lista de otros rostros famosos. Su libro autobiográfico es una exploración de los miedos y complejos que han acompañado su vida y cómo ha aprendido a vencerlos. Con candidez y transparencia, Jomari habla de su vida en la granja, de su amada abuela Rosalía, de las fuertes expectativas de su padre con respecto al futuro de su hijo, así como de sus problemas de sobrepeso y su alma herida por el bullying, sus fuertes problema de autoestima y sus fallidos intentos de suicidio. Igualmente revela sus primeros días en Madrid y muchos otros capítulos de su vida que le permitieron ir reconociendo su talento y marcaron su camino, dirigiéndolo así a la carrera que lo convertiría a la larga en una reconocida personalidad entre la comunidad latina de los Estados Unidos. Jomari habla de Dios y de fe; de despedidas duras y de encuentros providenciales; de la contradicción de ser estilista de grandes estrellas y tener que dormir en un tejado. Si algo desnuda Jomari es la cruda realidad de un estilo de vida basado en las apariencias, del cual él también fue víctima, pero de forma más importante, desnuda también el anhelo del alma de ser apreciado y amado, y revela uno de sus mayores descubrimientos al codearse con los famosos de Hollywood por un lado, y la gente de todos los días en los callejones de Los Ángeles: el secreto de la verdadera belleza. Este libro invita a los lectores a encontrar el significado de la belleza a través de frases y reflexiones en la que Jomari expresa que la belleza interior supera a la belleza exterior. XX
Desobediente
by Fernanda PinillaLa historia de la seleccionada de fútbol femenino Fernanda Pinilla, desde sus comienzos en el fútbol de su barrio, pasando por los Juegos Olímpicos y su desempeño como capitana en la U.de Chile. La futbolista Fernanda Pinilla creció sintiéndose diferente. Su historia es la de una niña que gozaba jugando al fútbol sin entender los códigos sociales que definían el deporte como un juego de hombres. Durante toda su vida ha desafiado esos códigos, tanto en la cancha como en las aulas, donde abrazó la ciencia y estudió Física. Actualmente cursa un doctorado en Física en la Universidad de Chile. Tiene más de 45 mil seguidores en IG y en sus redes aboga por la igualdad de género, la justicia social y la diversidad. Es un referente para las nuevas generaciones y, como tal, cuenta en su libro las dificultades que tuvo para definirse como futbolista, disidente y activista.
Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir
by Mark MortonA gritty, revealing heavy metal memoir by Lamb of God&’s guitarist and lyricist, Mark Morton, which explores both his life in music and his tumultuous path through addiction and into recovery
Despatch Rider on the Western Front, 1915–18: The Diary of Sergeant Albert Simpkin MM
by David VennerThe colorful eyewitness-to-history diary of a young man who loved motorcycles—and used these new machines to serve his country in the Great War. This is the skillfully abridged version of the diary of a First World War motorcycle despatch rider, Sergeant Albert Simpkin, who was attached to the HQ 37th Division. The diary entries, and some longer descriptions of the main actions of the Division, provide a fascinating record of the life of a despatch rider on the Western Front—one day dodging shell holes and ammunition limbers to take his despatches to the front, the next observing the quaint but often courageous lives of the local populace. Throughout the diary are colorful and amusing anecdotes about his fellow soldiers, and critical comments on the strategies and tactics employed by the officers. &“It is worth seeking out and reading and if you are a fan of Great War motorbikes and vehicles this is a must.&” —War History Online
The Desperate Ones: Forgotten Canadian Outlaws
by Edward ButtsShort-listed for the 2007 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Non-Fiction They were among Canada’s most desperate criminals, yet their names have been all but forgotten in the annals of history - until now! In their day these lawless men made headline news. Author Ed Butts has rescued their stories from dusty newspaper pages and polished them up for today’s readers in this fascinating volume. The Markham Gang introduced Canada West to organized crime long before anyone had heard of the Mafia. Lew Bevis took on the whole Halifax Police Department in a blazing gun battle. The wild Macdonald cousins went to Michigan, where they ended their violent careers as victims of a savage lynching. Reid and Davis, the notorious Border Bandits of the Roaring Twenties, were the nightmare of every banker from Manitoba to the state of Washington. This rogues’ gallery of killers, robbers, and men of mystery shocked the nation, challenged the forces of law and order, and sometimes even got away with it.
A Desperate Passion: An Autobiography
by Helen Caldicott"She showed me what one set-on-fire human being can do to shift the consciousness of the world." --Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking "Dr. Helen Caldicott," the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle declares, "is back on the scene." A Desperate Passion is Caldicott's engaging, inspiring memoir, chronicling her life both on and off the scene. Raised in Australia and trained as a physician, she first found her voice protesting French nuclear tests in the Pacific. Years later she rose to international prominence, founding Physicians for Social Responsibility, "which did perhaps more than any other group to thrust the nuclear issue under the public eye" (New York Times). "Driven by intense passions, she seems to have adopted the world's population as her children. And all of us are probably better off as a result" (East Bay Express Books)--but Caldicott, wife and mother of three, found that her success did not come without cost. This is a personal story too, a candid, revealing self-portrait of a woman who has not relinquished her remarkable efforts to save the world.
Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives Of The Pre-raphaelites
by Franny MoyleTheir Bohemian lifestyle and intertwined love affairs shockingly broke 19th Century class barriers and bent the rules that governed the roles of the sexes. They became defined by love triangles, played out against the austere moral climate of Victorian England; they outraged their contemporaries with their loves, jealousies and betrayals, and they stunned society when their complex moral choices led to madness and suicide, or when their permissive experiments ended in addiction and death. The characters are huge and vivid and remain as compelling today as they were in their own time. The influential critic, writer and artist John Ruskin was their father figure and his apostles included the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the designer William Morris. They drew extraordinary women into their circle. In a move intended to raise eyebrows for its social audacity, they recruited the most ravishing models they could find from the gutters of Victorian slums. The saga is brought to life through the vivid letters and diaries kept by the group and the accounts written by their contemporaries. These real-lie stories shed new light on the greatest nineteenth-century British art.
Desperate Romantics
by Franny MoyleTheir Bohemian lifestyle and intertwined love affairs shockingly broke 19th Century class barriers and bent the rules that governed the roles of the sexes. They became defined by love triangles, played out against the austere moral climate of Victorian England; they outraged their contemporaries with their loves, jealousies and betrayals, and they stunned society when their complex moral choices led to madness and suicide, or when their permissive experiments ended in addiction and death. The characters are huge and vivid and remain as compelling today as they were in their own time. The influential critic, writer and artist John Ruskin was their father figure and his apostles included the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the designer William Morris. They drew extraordinary women into their circle. In a move intended to raise eyebrows for its social audacity, they recruited the most ravishing models they could find from the gutters of Victorian slums. The saga is brought to life through the vivid letters and diaries kept by the group and the accounts written by their contemporaries. These real-lie stories shed new light on the greatest nineteenth-century British art.
Desperately Seeking Madonna
by Adam SextonFrom cartoons to academic essays to tabloid journalism, Madonna has been interpreted in almost every way possible. Here is an original collection of these writings that is almost as diverse as the Material Girl herself which attempts to uncover as many interpretations of Madonna's appeal as is possible.
Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim
by Ziauddin Sardar&“A curious, often amusing travelogue of [Sardar&’s] quest for understanding and the Muslims he has encountered along his journeys.&”—Publishers Weekly Ziauddin Sardar, one of the foremost Muslim intellectuals in Britain, learned the Koran at his mother&’s knee in Pakistan. As a young student in London he set out to grasp the meaning of his religion, and, hopefully, to find &“paradise,&” his quest leading him throughout the Muslim world, from Iran to China to Turkey. Along the way he accepts that he may never reach paradise—but it&’s the journey that&’s important. At a time when the view of Islam in the West is so often distorted and simplistic, Desperately Seeking Paradise—self-mocking, frank and passionate—is essential reading. &“Intoxicating . . . upon finishing the book, I turned back and started reading it all over again.&”—Kamila Shamise, New Statesman &“At once and earnest and humorous, light-hearted and profound, this is a book that displays a sustained capacity for self-questioning of a kind that has few parallels in the liberal West.&”—The Independent &“This challenging book not only acts as a guide for Muslims but provides insight and clarification for those outside the Islamic faith.&”—Financial Times &“The only funny book I&’ve read about Islam.&”—Mail on Sunday
Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls
by Susan SeidelmanThe funny and insightful first-person story of the trailblazing movie director of the 80s and 90s whose fearless punk drama, “Smithereens” became the first American indie film to compete at Cannes, and smash hit "Desperately Seeking Susan" led to a four-decade career in film. Starting out in the mid-70s, a time when few women were directing movies, Susan was determined to become a filmmaker. She longed to tell stories about the unrepresented characters she wanted to see on screen: unconventional women in unusual circumstances, needing to express themselves and maintain their autonomy. Her genre-blending films reflect a passion for classic Hollywood storytelling, mixed with a playful New Wave spirit, informed by her years living in downtown NYC. Seidelman continued to shape American pop culture well into the nineties, directing the pilot of the iconic TV series “Sex And The City,” focusing her sharp lens on the changing place of women in American society and helping to fundamentally reshape our self-image in ways that are still felt today.BOOK DETAILS:Raised in the safe cocoon of 1960s suburbia, Susan Seidelman wasn’t a misfit, an oddball, or an outlier. She was a “good-girl” with a little bit of “bad” hidden inside. A restless teenager, she dreamed of escape and reinvention, a theme that would play out in her films as well as in her own life. Because she loved stories, a high school guidance counselor suggested she become a librarian, but she had her sights set further afield. In 1973, she left the Philly suburbs, enrolled at NYU’s burgeoning graduate film school and moved to NYC’s Lower East Side. There, she found herself in the right place at the right time. New York City was falling apart, but out of that chaos came a burst of creative energy whose effects are still felt in American pop culture today. Downtown became a vibrant playground where film, music, performance and graffiti art cross-pollinated and where Seidelman chronicled the lives of the colorful misfits, oddballs, dreamers and schemers she met there.It’s all in DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMETHING. Seidelman not only has a keen perspective on the times she’s lived through -- from her Twiggy-obsessed girlhood, through the Women’s Lib movement of the early 70s, the punk scene of the late 70s, Madonna-mania of the 80s, to the dot-com “greed is good” 90s, and beyond--she tells great stories.