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From Exile to Eden
by Jadz MorrisonCombining history and hardship, battles and betrayal, miraculous escapes and death-defying encounters, From Exile to Eden chronicles one family’s journey from deportation in Siberia to safety and freedom in America. On February 10, 1940, the Szelazek family was deported as prisoners of war from Poland to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia, beginning a 12-year epic journey that spanned countries and continents. In From Exile to Eden, Jadwiga Szelazek Morrison traces her family’s harrowing yet inspirational flight from war-torn Europe beginning with two remarkable people—Tadeusz Szelazek born in 1909 to a titled family of the old Polish aristocracy and Helena Semerylo born on Armistice Day 1918. Tadeusz and Helena create an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, courage, and inspiration. Helena, destined to be unusual from the moment of her birth, discovers her psychic awakening at the age of five when she is struck by lightning, followed by a second lightning strike as a teenager. Her abilities prove to be both a blessing and a curse for her and her family, and lead her on a journey to distant lands far from the land of her birth. Tadeusz follows a path of intellectual pursuits trying to unravel the meaning of life, in the end finding answers only within himself and from those he loves. A chance encounter with a world-renowned seer, leaves him in possession of predictions concerning his future. With logic and intellect battling the possibilities of predestination, he finds his life unfolding in patterns which he fights to control and change. Drawn from memoirs and family journals, From Exile to Eden weaves history, adventure, romance, parapsychology, and inspiration; sharing the story of the Szelazeks’ exile as political war prisoners, their battles with disease, hardship, betrayal, death, and struggles for freedom throughout Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. The many miraculous escapes, death-defying encounters on the battle field, personal encounters with famous political figures, and numerous paranormal incidents will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
From Exile to Washington: A Memoir of Leadership in the Twentieth Century
by W. Michael Blumenthal“The former Treasury Secretary has shared his story in a memoir that is both an engrossing personal narrative and a thoughtful reflection on leadership” (Henry Kissinger, author of On China). In a life that has spanned nearly nine decades and has taken him around the world and back, W. Michael Blumenthal has borne witness to the world’s convulsions and transformations during the twentieth century. Born in Germany between the two world wars, Blumenthal narrowly escaped the Nazi horror, when, in 1939, he and his family fled to Shanghai’s chaotic Jewish ghetto, where they spent the entirety of the WWII. From these fraught and humble beginnings, Blumenthal would emerge a major leader in American business and politics. In the second half of the century, Blumenthal headed two major American corporations—Bendix and Burroughs (later Unisys); served as a US trade ambassador in the State Department and the White House, advising John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and served under Jimmy Carter as the secretary of the treasury. After his retirement from business and politics, he began an entirely new chapter in his career when he conceived and served as the director of Europe’s largest Jewish museum—the Jewish Museum of Berlin. An essential autobiography by one of America’s great political figures, From Exile to Washington is an engaging chronicle of the twentieth century’s greatest upheavals, and a tribute to a lifetime of courage, leadership, and decisiveness. “Blumenthal’s astute understanding of history allows him to ably demonstrate the significance of good leadership.” —Kirkus Reviews “An astounding life, splendidly recorded.” —Fritz Stern, author of Five Germanys I Have Known
From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot
by Colonel Steve LaddThis behind-the-scenes account of a USAF career is “an absorbing read, written with the classic humor fighter pilots seem to have” (Flight Line Book Review). From Baron von Richthofen to Robin Olds, the mystique of the fighter pilot endures. The skill, cunning, and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers is well known, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve—until now.You don’t have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Europe to the Middle East, the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot.The anecdotes are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft.
From Fear to Freedom: Living as Sons and Daughters of God
by Rose Marie MillerFor all those who live in fear of never quite "measuring up," this honest account of one woman's spiritual crisis provides a new look at the transforming power of God's grace in the midst of weakness. Readers will be encouraged to relinquish the role of spiritual "orphan" and embrace a forgiving heavenly Father.
From Female to Male: The Life of Jack Bee Garland
by Louis SullivanA mysterious person who dressed in men's clothes came to Stockton, CA and lived on an "ark" (houseboat). It was deemed that Babe Bean, although female, was not breaking any laws by cross-dressing, as he was not attempting any criminal activity. Many newspaper articles written by Bean provide the information of this book. Bean/Garland never enjoyed the company of women or wanted to be one. He wrote that he completely enjoyed male company and male pastimes. Later Bean moved onto San Francisco and continued writing newspaper articles. As a male, Jack Bean was present in Manila during the Spanish American War. Later in San Francisco, the earthquake and resulting fires brought Bean into rescue nursing, a skill learned in the war. Then cross-dressing was outlawed altogether. Bean changed his name to Jack Bee Garland and was known as a male until his death. At that time, his background became publicly known. Bibliography of sources is given at the end of the book.
From Fury to Freedom
by Raul A. Ries Lela GilbertFrom Fury to Freedom is a positive book that will encourage many families to admit some of the most private, even intimate and depressing feelings they have had to endure. The realization that God is the ultimate answer for all their needs will help them to live through these devastating dark days. We cannot deny that our God is a God of miracles. He took Raul from the pits of hell, from the cocoon of despair, insecurity, fear, hate, and self-destruction, into the most wonderful healing—SALVATION; the healing of his soul and spirit. Raul is evidence of how God's grace can spare the life of a young boy and nurture him into manhood. Jesus cradled Raul's head in His bosom, and kissed away his pain. He gave him the direction and love for which he was desperately searching.
From Fury to Phantom: An RAF Pilot's Story, 1936–1970
by Richard Haine"Richard 'Dickie' Haine first went solo in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth during August 1935, after only one week of tuition. He joined the RAF shortly afterwards as a Direct Entry Sergeant Pilot and left the service in 1970 as a Group Captain, OBE, DFC. During his long career he flew an extraordinary variety of aircraft types, starting with small biplanes that were designed upon the philosophy gained during World War I and finishing with Britain's V Bomber force and American-designed fighters at the very edge of space.His first posting was with No 25 Squadron flying Hawker Demons and Gloster Gladiators during 1936 until the unit was re-equipped with Bristol Blenheims and undertook a night-fighter role. These were difficult days during which the primitive radar system made it all but impossible to locate incoming enemy aircraft, but the squadron were also sent on several offensive missions over the recently invaded European countries. Haine was lucky to escape when his aircraft was brought down and crash-landed on a small Dutch island after an abortive raid on German occupied Walhaven airfield. After a hazardous journey on foot through the increasingly threatened lowlands he escaped on a RN Frigate. During the Battle of Britain he continued in the night-fighting role flying from Manston in Kent.Now a Commissioned officer, he was given command of No 96 Squadron, flying Boulton Paul Defiants in the night defense of the industrial heartland of England. The, after a spell as a Staff Officer at Bentley Priory, he took command of No 448 (New Zealand Squadron) who were equipped with the superlative de Havilland Mosquito. During this period the squadron had an enviable score sheet in downing enemy aircraft during many night operations. In 1945 the author was dispatched by ship to take charge of a newly formed wing to aid those forces still at war with Japan. However, whilst still at sea, the war ended and Haine found himself in Hong Kong with the task of getting Kai Tak airport operational immediately after its liberation.His post-war flying was heavily involved in the development of jet-powered fighters and sophisticated new weaponry. He spent a long period as Wing Commander in Habbinya and Akrotiri and ended his career training the navigators of the V-Bomber nuclear Force."
From Galileo to Newton
by A. Rupert HallThe near century (1630-1720) that separates the important astronomical findings of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and the vastly influential mathematical work of Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) represents a pivotal stage of transition in the history of science. As a result of the raging intellectual battle between tradition and innovation that began in the fifteenth century, science was penetrated by a new outlook that placed emphasis on experiment and observation. Galileo showed the promise of its new methods of discovery; Newton brought out their full force and effect. Galileo suffered from an attempt to censure scientific inquiry; Newton showed how science could discover the universal laws of nature. The triumph of this new outlook marked the birth of modern science.From Galileo to Newton describes those new patterns of thought that emerged during this time of great excitement and widespread controversy. It discusses the discoveries revealed by telescope and microscope in the work of Huygens and Leeuwenhoek, and the new speculations to which these gave rise; Boyle's attempts to include chemical experiments within a rational theory of matter, and those begun by Descartes to explain the workings of the body on the basis of chemical and physical principles; and the revolutionary ideas in astronomy that generated the transition from the Ptolemaic concept of the universe to the Copernican and the subsequent acceptance of the heliostatic system.Since the dawn of civilization man has tried to find logic in the mysterious and order in the chaotic. From Galileo to Newton will appeal to anyone who wants to know what modern science is all about and how it came into being. One of the foremost authorities on the history of science, Professor Hall is not only a scholar of great learning and originality, he also writes with clarity, liveliness, and a keen biographical sense.
From Gold Teeth to Gold Jacket: My Life in Football and Business
by Edgerrin James John HarrisHow a young man with a solid work ethic carried himself out of poverty to the pinnacle of professional sports and business. Before he turned sixteen, Edgerrin James had already developed the critical thinking and mental discipline required for him to become one of the most astute business minds in professional sports. Acclaimed as one of the greatest running backs of his generation who was inducted into the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame, James is a self-made financial whiz and philanthropist. Selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the fourth overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft and signing the largest contract for a rookie running back in league history, James amassed over 12,000 rushing yards, was a four-time NFL All-Pro, and led the league in rushing in each of his first two seasons. In his new memoir, From Gold Teeth to Gold Jacket, with award-winning sports journalist John Harris and a foreword from fellow teammate and Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, James shares his unique, no-holds-barred perspective in becoming an all-time NFL great while also building a financial empire while raising six children. The product of a single-parent household in one of the most downtrodden rural areas in the state of Florida, James balanced life as a young father as he became one of the best players in college football at the University of Miami. Later, facing what seemed like an insurmountable obstacle after reaching the pros, he overcame a devastating knee injury to leave an indelible mark on the sport. When his football career ended prematurely following the tragic death of the mother of his children, James made a seamless transition to become a successful businessman. This tell-all book, featuring colorful anecdotes from his football career and personal life delivered in conversational prose, draws parallels between sports and business and guides readers on how to develop their own personal game plan to reach their maximum potential.
From Hardships to Championships
by Glenn StoutPraise for Good Sports:"Never patronizing, [Stout] captures both grit and glory." --Kirkus Reviews Many of the baseball greats overcame huge challenges to be sports heroes--here are five inspiring stories of men who did just that. Baseball is considered America's pastime, but not all players grew up living the American dream. Babe Ruth, Jim Peirsall, Torii Hunter, Ron LeFlore, and Joe Torre sure didn't. Poverty, abuse, and addiction are a few of the issues they had to deal with as kids, but they turned their lives around to play the game they loved.
From Harvard to Hell...and Back
by Kerry Zukus Sylvester Sviokla IIIDr. Sylvester "Skip" Sviokla lived life as a successful, driven, athletic, and brilliant graduate of Harvard Medical School, reveling in wealth and glamour as a "celebrity doctor" until addiction brought his life crashing down. This real-life "Dr. House" had it all (he thought) until addiction took everything. Miraculously, recovery gave him back his family, his self-respect, and much more.The media is filled with celebrity addiction stories, so people will be drawn to the author's experience as a "doctor to the stars." Having attended the most famous university and medical school in the world, Dr. Sviokla's story will also be relevant to a larger audience, including medical professionals and those seeking answers about addiction.Sylvester "Skip" Sviokla III, MD, is a 1967 graduate of Harvard College (where he was a two-year starter on the football team, culminating in his receiving one vote for the 1966 Heisman Trophy and an offer to try out for the Chicago Bears) and a 1972 graduate of Harvard Medical School. He was owner and medical director of Skip Sviokla Entertainment Medicine, Inc. and of Medical Weight Management, Inc., in Massachusetts.Kerry Zukus is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied composition and arranging while appearing as an actor in theaters all over New England.
From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island
by Lorna Goodison“Being introduced to the cast of ‘From Harvey River’ is like sitting down at the family dining table. You’ll stay for the day then on into the evening as each new character pulls up a chair. You could not be in better company.” — New York Times Book Review“Goodison’s memoir reaches back over generations to evoke the mythic power of childhood, the magnetic tug of home, and the friction between desire and duty that gives life its unexpected jolts.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)“[A] loving memoir.” — New York Times Book Review Paperback Row
From Hell to Challah: Rising from Fragile to Fearless, One Grain at a Time
by Shari WallackAn uplifting, funny, and flavorful story through despair, survival, and mental emancipation during the chaos of 2020. In from hell to challah, Shari Wallack’s journey begins inside a mental hospital and continues on a road trip to eighteen destinations throughout the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. She details her innermost thoughts, hopes, and fears while illustrating how she went from crippling depression to joy over a three-month period. Along with a multitude of colorful characters, Shari navigates an exciting and unusual voyage of self-discovery and healing. Among the useful lessons she learns along the way, she discovers that cooking and baking calm her. She provides the recipes that helped her through her struggles, with the hope that others will find the same much-needed comfort. Shari’s heartwarming and humorous story shows that happiness and purpose can be found even in the most difficult of times.
From Here
by Luma MuflehIn her coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee.With no word for &“gay&” in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had growing up in Jordan during the 1980s, but she knew well enough to keep them secret. It was clear that not only would her family have trouble accepting her, but trapped in a conservative religious society, she could&’ve also been killed if anyone discovered her sexuality. Luma spent her teenage years increasingly desperate to find a way out, and finally found one when she was accepted into college in the United States. Once there, Luma begins the agonizing process of applying for political asylum, which ensures her safety—but causes her family to break ties with her.Becoming a refugee in America is a rude awakening, and Luma must rely on the grace of friends and strangers alike as she builds a new life and finally embraces her full self. Slowly, she&’s able to forge a new path forward with both her biological and chosen families, eventually founding Fugees Family, a nonprofit dedicated to the education and support of refugee children in the United States.As hopeful as it is heartrending, From Here is a coming-of-age memoir about one young woman&’s search for belonging and the many meanings of home for those who must leave theirs.
From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death
by Caitlin DoughtyAs a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America's only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with 'dignity' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.
From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death
by Caitlin DoughtyAs a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body. She meets Bolivian ñatitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and introduces us to the Japanese ritual of kotsuage, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones' bones from cremation ashes. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America's only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with 'dignity' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.Read by Caitlin Doughty(p) 2017 Recorded Books LLC
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
by Caitlin DoughtyA New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world’s funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry—especially chemical embalming—and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a fascinating tour through the unique ways people everywhere confront mortality.
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir
by Lisa Marie Presley Riley KeoughBorn to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley tells her whole story for the first time in this raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir faithfully completed by her daughter, Riley Keough. <P><P> In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir. <P><P> A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and now grieved. <P><P> Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them. About getting dragged screaming out of the bathroom as she ran toward his body on the floor. About living in Los Angeles with her mother, getting sent to school after school, always kicked out, always in trouble. About her singular, lifelong relationship with Danny Keough, about being married to Michael Jackson, what they had in common. About motherhood. About deep addiction. About ever-present grief. Riley knew she had to fulfill her mother’s wish to reveal these memories, incandescent and painful, to the world. <P><P> To make her mother known. <P><P> This extraordinary book is written in both Lisa Marie’s and Riley’s voices, a mother and daughter communicating—from this world to the one beyond—as they try to heal each other. Profoundly moving and deeply revealing, From Here to the Great Unknown is a book like no other—the last words of the only child of an American icon. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves
by Vivian Kirkfield Gilbert FordCelebrating the invention of vehicles, this collective biography tells the inspiring stories of the visionaries who changed the way we move across air, water, and land. Perfect for fans of Mistakes that Worked and Girls Think of Everything.In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn&’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive, to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Filled with informative sidebars and colorful illustrations, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.
From Hitler's U-Boats to Khruschev's Spyflights: Twenty Five Years with Flight Lieutenant Thomas Buchanan Clark, RAF
by Chris ClarkeThis book tells the tale of the illustrious Royal Air Force career of Tom Clark, a World War Two gunner and post-war signaller in action during some of the most pivotal events of the twentieth century. Lovingly penned by his son, it provides an authentic insight into this dynamic period of world history.From work as an air gunner, involved in the daunting task of taking on the might of Hitler's U-boat fleet, to post-war involvement in an Intelligence capacity during the dramatic events surrounding Khrushchev and the atomic threat of the late 1950s, Clark's career was dramatic and varied to say the least. Having joined the RAF as an aircraft man just before the Second World War, Clark was destined to take part in a whole range of wartime operational engagements. His career featured involvement in the famous 1941 hunt for the elusive Bismarck, the dangers of life as part of an Air Sea Rescue squadron in conflicted waters, and the experience of training as a gunnery leader (later an instructor), training air gunners for the famed Desert Air Force. His career also took in a fraught period behind enemy lines, when his crew of four were shot down in enemy territory in Northern Italy. Seven weeks in a safe house in Florence are relayed in engaging and dramatic style, as are a raft of other personal and professional achievements, set within the context of the wider conflict. Here is a career that deserves to be recorded and celebrated, and there is perhaps no-one better placed than the subject's son to act as custodian to his thrilling story.
From Holocaust to Harvard: A Story of Escape, Forgiveness, and Freedom
by John StoessingerA true and touching human tale of survival and achievement.When John Stoessinger was ten years old, Adolf Hitler annexed his homeland of Austria, ripping the boy from his home and his friends in Vienna. His grandparents encouraged his mother and stepfather to take young John somewhere safe. "You must have a future,” his grandfather told him before he and his parents boarded the train and waved goodbye.As they trekked across the country, from Vienna to Prague and then finally settling in Shanghai, there was never a single moment Stoessinger was not afraid-he lived in constant fear that he and his family would be found and killed. However, even in Hitler-ruled Nazi Germany, there were plenty of people who refused to cower to absolute evil and who did everything they could to usher families like Stoessinger’s to freedom.In From Holocaust to Harvard, Stoessinger recalls heartbreaking moments from his childhood and of living a life of secrets in Shanghai. He then presents the second part of his story-the part where he attempts to untangle himself from his previous life and devastating memories and is able to relocate to America, earn a graduate-level degree from a prestigious university, and later become a member of the Council on Foreign Relations despite making a decision that nearly lands him in prison and threatens his hard-earned freedom.Throughout his story, Stoessinger expresses his gratitude to those who helped him through the toughest parts of this life and put him on a path that led him to a Harvard education, a successful career, and inner peace.Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
From The Inside Out: Harrowing Escapes From The Twin Towers Of The World Trade Center
by Erik O. Ronningen8:46 AM ". . . there is something not right, out of order, about the view, Tad Hanc noticed from his 86th-floor windows looking north. Studying the magnificent Manhattan skyline, Tad began to take it in. And then it registered in all its horrifying aspects. Lowering his eyes slightly, Tad saw a large passenger airliner heading due south over Fifth Avenue just missing the top of the Empire State Building, flying very, very fast-heading straight toward Tower One-directly to his office-aimed right at him!" This is but one of fifteen heart-stopping stories the author has included in From The Inside Out Harrowing Escapes from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. From the oral accounts of people who began that morning living their normal, everyday lives, this book is a valuable collection of the human experience-documenting that intangible essence of bravery, selflessness, and generosity of spirit that exists, often dormant inside us all, rising to the forefront in times of crisis.
From Jacks to Joysticks: An Aviation Life: Engineer to Commercial Pilot
by Michael John PatrickTrenchard Brat. Flying Spanner. Left Hand Seat. Nicknames abound in aviation. But not many get to be called them all, especially when theyve started life with an aversion to school and a stammer thrown in. Mick Patrick started his aviation career as an RAF Apprentice and finished it as an Air Ambulance pilot. He never knew he was going to become a pilot just that he was determined to have a good start in life and it seemed the RAF offered this to him.As an engineer, Mick saw active service on jungle airstrips in the Far East during the Borneo Confrontation with Indonesia and got his hands dirty servicing Cold War aircraft. Later he had an opportunity to become aircrew as a Flight Engineer and it was from this position he was able to use his knowledge as part of a crew to take the next step. After many years of watching pilots ply their trade, Mick decided he could do it too, so worked his way up to becoming a commercial pilot.Along the way he experienced risky moments that shaped him as an aviator; he crashed a float plane in a Texas lake, flew casualties to Coventry and elephants to the East, nose-dived in Nassau and skirted death at Stansted. The tales in this book are used to illustrate how they affected Micks approach to aviation and what he took away from those events.Immensely readable and delivered by a true story teller, From Jacks to Joysticks is for anyone who loves tales of aircraft and life in aviation, whether in the cockpit or on the ground. Above all else this book is about how a lifetime of exposure to aviation has shaped one mans thinking and approach to life and how in aviation you need to keep an open mind.
From Jailer to Jailed
by Bernard B. KerikThe controversial New York City police commissioner and bestselling author of The Lost Son shares the story of his fall from grace and the effects of his incarceration on his views of the American justice system.Bernard Kerik was New York City's police commissioner during the 9/11 attacks, who became an American hero as he led the NYPD through rescue and recovery efforts of the World Trade Center. His résumé as a public servant is long and storied, and includes honors from President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II, and the NYPD's Medal for Valor for saving his partner in a gun battle. In 2004, Kerik was nominated by President George W. Bush to head the US Department of Homeland Security. Now, he is a former Federal Prison Inmate known as #84888-054. Convicted of tax fraud and false statements in 2007, Kerik was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Now for the first time, in this hard-hitting, raw and oftentimes politically incorrect memoir, he talks candidly about his time on the inside: the torture of solitary confinement, the abuse of power, the mental and physical torment of being locked up in a cage, the powerlessness. With his newfound perspective, Kerik makes a plea for change and illuminates why our punishment system doesn't always fit the crime. In this extraordinary memoir, Kerik offers a riveting, one-of-a-kind perspective on the American penal system as he details life on the inside with the experience of an acclaimed Correction Commissioner from the outside. With astonishing candor, bravery, and insider's intelligence, Bernard Kerik shares his fall from grace to incarceration, and turns it into an impassioned and singularly insightful rallying cry for criminal justice reform in a nation that he devoted his life to serving and protecting.
From Jerusalem To Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions (Second Edition)
by Ruth A. TuckerThis is history at its best. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya is readable, informative, gripping, and above all honest. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya helps readers understand the life and role of a missionary through real life examples of missionaries throughout history. We see these men and women as fallible and human in their failures as well as their successes. These great leaders of missions are presented as real people, and not super-saints. This second edition covers all 2,000 years of mission history with a special emphasis on the modern era, including chapters focused on the Muslim world, Third World missions, and a comparison of missions in Korea and Japan. It also contains both a general and an 'illustration' index where readers can easily locate particular missionaries, stories, or incidents. New design graphics, photographs, and maps help make this a compelling book. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya is as informative and intriguing as it is inspiring---an invaluable resource for missionaries, mission agencies, students, and all who are concerned about the spreading of the gospel throughout the world.