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A Spoonful of Sugar: A True Story Of Life As A Norland Nanny In Wartime England
by Brenda Ashford'They say you can never truly love a child that is not your own, but that goes against every instinct that runs through me. For I have loved children born to other women all my life and every child that I have ever cared for, I've adored with all my heart. Many I would have laid down my life for, in fact on some memorable occasions when I fled to air raid shelters clutching my charges to my chest, I very nearly did.In 62 years of being a nanny I have lost count of the number of children I've cared for, but it must be approaching 100. Which means I am inordinately proud to say that despite never having actually given birth I have 100 children. How many women can say that?'Brenda is 91 years old and spent 62 years working as a Norland Nanny. Just like a real-life Mary Poppins, Brenda devoted her life to giving children the best possible start in life.Brenda began training at the Norland Institute in 1939 at the age of 18, shortly before war was declared. It was a time of great upheaval and uncertainty, particularly for children.Even as a nervous young trainee, Brenda was determined to give the children in her care a wonderful childhood, regardless of the horrors that were unravelling on the continent, and when the blitz began, on their doorsteps.Brenda worked poverty-stricken evacuees from the East End London, as well as in the nurseries of smart Kensington homes. She frequently put her life at risk, dashing to air raid shelters with her charges clutched to her chest.This is a story from a time when nothing was taken for granted and life itself was in peril on a near-daily basis. But the war was also a time when people pulled together like never before or since, and it called upon Brenda to make sacrifices she'd never imagined having to make...Warm, funny and incredibly moving, Brenda's memoir brings to life the colourful world of wartime England.
A Spoonful of Sugar: A True Story Of Life As A Norland Nanny In Wartime England
by Brenda Ashford'They say you can never truly love a child that is not your own, but that goes against every instinct that runs through me. For I have loved children born to other women all my life and every child that I have ever cared for, I've adored with all my heart. Many I would have laid down my life for, in fact on some memorable occasions when I fled to air raid shelters clutching my charges to my chest, I very nearly did.In 62 years of being a nanny I have lost count of the number of children I've cared for, but it must be approaching 100. Which means I am inordinately proud to say that despite never having actually given birth I have 100 children. How many women can say that?'Brenda is 91 years old and spent 62 years working as a Norland Nanny. Just like a real-life Mary Poppins, Brenda devoted her life to giving children the best possible start in life.Brenda began training at the Norland Institute in 1939 at the age of 18, shortly before war was declared. It was a time of great upheaval and uncertainty, particularly for children.Even as a nervous young trainee, Brenda was determined to give the children in her care a wonderful childhood, regardless of the horrors that were unravelling on the continent, and when the blitz began, on their doorsteps.Brenda worked poverty-stricken evacuees from the East End London, as well as in the nurseries of smart Kensington homes. She frequently put her life at risk, dashing to air raid shelters with her charges clutched to her chest.This is a story from a time when nothing was taken for granted and life itself was in peril on a near-daily basis. But the war was also a time when people pulled together like never before or since, and it called upon Brenda to make sacrifices she'd never imagined having to make...Warm, funny and incredibly moving, Brenda's memoir brings to life the colourful world of wartime England.
A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games
by Lori AlexanderTelling the inspiring human story behind the creation of the Paralympics, this young readers biography artfully combines archival photos, full-color illustrations, and a riveting narrative to honor the life of Ludwig Guttmann, whose work profoundly changed so many lives. <P><P>Dedicating his life to helping patients labeled “incurables,” Ludwig Guttmann fought for the rights of paraplegics to live a full life. The young doctor believed—and eventually proved—that physical movement is key to healing, a discovery that led him to create the first Paralympic Games. <P><P>Told with moving text and lively illustrations, and featuring the life stories of athletes from the Paralympic Games Ludwig helped create, this story of the man who saved lives through sports will inspire readers of all backgrounds.
A Sports Odyssey: My Ithaca Journal (Sporting)
by Grant FarredGrant Farred has long had a passionate connection with sports. In A Sports Odyssey, he weaves together an account of his own sports fandom that is profoundly personal and universal. As readers of his Long Distance Love know, Grant Farred has been a supporter of the English Premier League club, Liverpool Football Club, for decades. His fandom for that team launched an unexpected connection with a world beyond the limits of the apartheid state of his upbringing in South Africa. However, A Sports Odyssey shows that as Farred’s fervor for Liverpool ended, he developed a new set of sports attachments in Ithaca, New York: to his son’s youth basketball career, to the men’s basketball team at Cornell University and its coach, and even to professional teams like the New York Knicks. Farred’s bemusement at finding himself a sports parent, a New Yorker, and a company man, only underline the sincerity of his affections. In A Sports Odyssey, Farred writes elegantly and eloquently about how sports and sports fandom create a sense of belonging, but also loss. This is a heartfelt examination of how we find “home” in who and what we love. In the series Sporting
A Spotlight for Harry
by Eric A. Kimmel Jim MadsenHarry Weiss--later known as Harry Houdini--is enthralled when the circus comes to his Wisconsin town. He loves all the acts, but his favorites are the tightrope and the amazing trick where a man hangs from a rope by his teeth! Harry and his brother decide to try circus tricks in a nearby barn, and although Harry's headstrong determination leads him into trouble, it also opens up a whole new world. In this evocative story, Eric A. Kimmel tells how Harry Weiss discovered his love for performing, many years before he became world famous. History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today's renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves!
A Spy For All Seasons
by Digby Diehl Duane R. ClarridgeA former Deputy Director of the CIA provides a behind-the-scenes look at the American intelligence community, the Reagan administration's secret war against the Sandinistas, the covert operations he conceived, and the battle against world terrorism.
A Spy For All Seasons: My Life in the CIA
by Digby Diehl Duane R. ClarridgeA former Deputy Director of the CIA provides a behind-the-scenes look at the American intelligence community, the Reagan administration's secret war against the Sandinistas, the covert operations he conceived, and the battle against world terrorism.
A Spy Has No Friends: To Save His Country, He Became the Enemy
by Ronald SethFrom the beginning of his mission as a British agent against the Nazis, Ronald Seth was a hunted man. Shot at as he parachuted down to the Estonian coast, he suffered extremes of deprivation before being captured and sentenced to death by hanging. And then the real hunt began ? for what he knew, and for his identity. Seth had only one hope ? could he convince his captors that he was a Nazi sympathiser and trick them into employing him as a spy? Enlisted as a German agent, in a position of precarious trust and constant danger, he embarked on a nightmare journey that took him from occupied Paris to the dark heart of the Nazi regime during the fall of Berlin. A SPY HAS NO FRIENDS is the thrilling story of a man playing a dangerous game against a lethal opponent.
A Spy Has No Friends: To Save His Country, He Became the Enemy
by Ronald SethFrom the beginning of his mission as a British agent against the Nazis, Ronald Seth was a hunted man. Shot at as he parachuted down to the Estonian coast, he suffered extremes of deprivation before being captured and sentenced to death by hanging. And then the real hunt began – for what he knew, and for his identity. Seth had only one hope – could he convince his captors that he was a Nazi sympathiser and trick them into employing him as a spy? Enlisted as a German agent, in a position of precarious trust and constant danger, he embarked on a nightmare journey that took him from occupied Paris to the dark heart of the Nazi regime during the fall of Berlin. A SPY HAS NO FRIENDS is the thrilling story of a man playing a dangerous game against a lethal opponent.
A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma Of Donald Maclean
by Roland PhilippsThe first full biography of one of the twentieth century’s most notorious spies. Donald Maclean was one of the most treacherous spies of the Cold War era and a key member of the infamous "Cambridge Five" spy ring, yet the full extent of this shrewd, secretive man’s betrayal has never been explored—until now. Drawing on a wealth of previously classified files and unseen family papers, A Spy Named Orphan meticulously documents his extraordinary story. Roland Philipps unravels Maclean’s character and contradictions, informed by a domineering father in a childhood at once liberal and austere. Maclean became infatuated with Communism during his school days, even before his time at Cambridge. A model diplomat, he rose through the ranks of the British Foreign Office rapidly, never arousing suspicion of his chilling double life. He married an American woman despite his sexual ambivalence and increasing antipathy to the United States. He was prone to alcoholic binges that should have blown his cover, yet they never found their way onto his record. A sworn enemy of capitalism, he had access to some of the greatest secrets of the time, transmitting invaulable intelligence to his Soviet handlers on the atom bomb and the shape of the postwar world. Maclean was a spy who loved and loathed the role. In a brazen escapade, he successfully eluded the incredulous authorities to defect to the Soviet Union, where he worked and lived unrepentantly for the next thirty years. Philipps offers memorable portraits of Maclean’s coconspirators—Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and Anthony Blunt—as well as the gifted Russian spymasters of the period; a vibrant evocation of Cambridge and London between the wars; colorful descriptions of Maclean’s postings in Paris, Cairo, and Washington, D.C.; and a riveting re-creation of the tense international code-breaking operation that ultimately exposed him. A gripping tale of blind faith and fierce loyalty alongside dangerous duplicity and human vulnerability, Philipps’s narrative will stand as the definitive account of the mysterious and elusive man first codenamed "Orphan."
A Spy in the Family: A True Story of Espionage and Betrayal
by David Gardner Paul HendersonA can’t-believe-it’s-true wartime page-turner that tells the incredible story of a mother, the son she was forced to give up for adoption, and the spy who, decades later, infiltrated her life with a devastating lie. Johanna van Haarlem never wanted to abandon her son, Erwin. But the Nazis had occupied Europe and the teenager felt she had little choice. Her father had kicked her out, telling her she could return, without the child—or not at all. Johanna realized that together, she and her newborn wouldn’t survive; separated, at least Erwin had a fighting chance. So she surrendered the baby to an orphanage and tearfully went back home, vowing to return for Erwin one day.Johanna lives to see the Nazis defeated, and to deeply regret abandoning her child. When, decades later, at the height of the Cold War, she receives a letter from Erwin, it feels like a miraculous second chance. But at their joyful reunion in London, Johanna makes a disturbing discovery: Erwin’s eyes are the wrong colour. In a decision that will come to haunt her, she quickly buries the seed of her doubt and welcomes the young man into her life.It will take more than a decade for the imposter’s deceit to come to light, even longer to untangle the lies shielding his real identity—and his motives. Unfolding in a series of astonishing twists and turns, A Spy in the Family reveals the true story of a notorious Soviet Bloc agent who took advantage of a mother’s heartbreak to hide in plain sight.
A Spy in the House of Loud: New York Songs and Stories (American Music Series)
by Chris StameyPopular music was in a creative upheaval in the late 1970s. As the singer-songwriter and producer Chris Stamey remembers, “the old guard had become bloated, cartoonish, and widely co-opted by a search for maximum corporate profits, and we wanted none of it.” In A Spy in the House of Loud, he takes us back to the auteur explosion happening in New York clubs such as the Bowery’s CBGB as Television, Talking Heads, R.E.M., and other innovative bands were rewriting the rules. Just twenty-two years old and newly arrived from North Carolina, Stamey immersed himself in the action, playing a year with Alex Chilton before forming the dB’s and recording the albums Stands for deciBels and Repercussion, which still have an enthusiastic following. A Spy in the House of Loud vividly captures the energy that drove the music scene as arena rock gave way to punk and other new streams of electric music. Stamey tells engrossing backstories about creating in the recording studio, describing both the inspiration and the harmonic decisions behind many of his compositions, as well as providing insights into other people’s music and the process of songwriting. Photos, mixer-channel and track assignment notes, and other inside-the-studio materials illustrate the stories. Revealing another side of the CBGB era, which has been stereotyped as punk rock, safety pins, and provocation, A Spy in the House of Loud portrays a southern artist’s coming-of-age in New York’s frontier abandon as he searches for new ways to break the rules and make some noise.
A Spy in the House of Loud: New York Songs and Stories (American Music Series)
by Chris StameyThe musician & producer reflects on New York City&’s early punk rock scene, as well as the creation of some of his most famous albums in this memoir.Popular music was in a creative upheaval in the late 1970s. As the singer-songwriter and producer Chris Stamey remembers, &“the old guard had become bloated, cartoonish, and widely co-opted by a search for maximum corporate profits, and we wanted none of it.&” In A Spy in the House of Loud, he takes us back to the auteur explosion happening in New York clubs such as the Bowery&’s CBGB as Television, Talking Heads, R.E.M., and other innovative bands were rewriting the rules. Just twenty-two years old and newly arrived from North Carolina, Stamey immersed himself in the action, playing a year with Alex Chilton before forming the dB&’s and recording the albums Stands for deciBels and Repercussion, which still have an enthusiastic following.A Spy in the House of Loud vividly captures the energy that drove the music scene as arena rock gave way to punk and other new streams of electric music. Stamey tells engrossing backstories about creating in the recording studio, describing both the inspiration and the harmonic decisions behind many of his compositions, as well as providing insights into other people&’s music and the process of songwriting. Photos, mixer-channel and track assignment notes, and other inside-the-studio materials illustrate the stories. Revealing another side of the CBGB era, which has been stereotyped as punk rock, safety pins, and provocation, A Spy in the House of Loud portrays a southern artist&’s coming-of-age in New York&’s frontier abandon as he searches for new ways to break the rules and make some noise.&“An endlessly fascinating odyssey through the worlds of Southern pop, New York City art punk, and American indie rock. Stamey&’s stories capture you with same finely etched detail and emotional depth that have always marked his best songs. Both an engrossing personal memoir and an eye-opening peek into the creative process, this is a truly essential work of music lit.&” —Bob Mehr, New York Times–bestselling author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements &“Informed, eloquent, and daring, this book stands as a model of excellence for both music writing and memoir. Stamey moves effortlessly between analysis and reminiscence, history and personal revelation, shedding light on his own creative journey as well as the city—&‘planet New York&’—that provided a good deal of the inspiration for it. I simultaneously learned so much and was deeply moved.&” —Anthony DeCurtis, author of Lou Reed: A Life &“Where most musician autobiographies are fueled by backstage drama, this book focuses almost entirely on the creative process, a choice that not only proves to be compelling but helps turn Stamey&’s personal journey into a necessary document of peak-era college rock, illustrating how it was a vibrant scene filled with unexpected cross pollination.&” —Pitchfork
A Spy in the Sky: A Photographic Reconnaissance Spitfire Pilot in WWII
by Kenneth B. Johnson&“An enjoyable ramble . . . the memoir of an unassuming, self-doubting aviator who, despite himself, proved to be pretty bloody good.&” —Aircrew Book Review Many stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF&’s young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler&’s Luftwaffe, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners—the aerial photographers. Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old. In this lighthearted reminiscence, he relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavored to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective. As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy. The Spy in the Sky fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War. &“The sorties he flew are nothing less than heroic . . . his writing style is very good, and very humorous at that!&” —Flyin&’ and Ridin&’ Blog
A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away (Turner Classic Movies)
by Lorna Luft Jeffrey VanceNew York Times bestselling author and daughter of Judy Garland tells the story of A Star Is Born -- at once the crowning achievement and greatest disappointment in her mother's legendary career. This is a vivid account of a film classic's production, loss, and reclamation.A Star Is Born -- the classic Hollywood tale about a young talent rising to superstardom, and the downfall of her mentor/lover along the way -- has never gone out of style. It has seen five film adaptations, but none compares to the 1954 version starring Judy Garland in her greatest role. But while it was the crowning performance of the legendary entertainer's career, the production turned into one of the most talked about in movie history.The story, which depicts the dark side of fame, addiction, loss, and suicide, paralleled Garland's own tumultuous life in many ways. While hitting alarmingly close to home for the fragile star, it ultimately led to a superlative performance -- one that was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. Running far too long for the studio's tastes, Warner Bros. notoriously slashed extensive amounts of footage from the finished print, leaving A Star is Born in tatters and breaking the heart of both the film's star and director George Cukor.Today, with a director's cut reconstructed from previously lost scenes and audio, the 1954 A Star is Born has taken its deserved place among the most critically acclaimed movies of all time, and continues to inspire each new generation that discovers it. Now, Lorna Luft, daughter of Judy Garland and the film's producer, Sid Luft, tells the story of the production, and of her mother's fight to save her career, as only she could. Teaming with film historian Jeffrey Vance, A Star Is Born is a vivid and refreshingly candid account of the crafting, loss, and restoration of a movie classic, complemented by a trove of images from the family collection taken both on and off the set. The book also includes essays on the other screen adaptations of A Star Is Born, to round out a complete history of a story that has remained a Hollywood favorite for close to a century.
A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies (Read-On)
by Rachel Kranz Jane Jenkins Janet Hirshenson“These veteran insiders have a passion for casting major motion pictures, and they use meetings with famous people to illustrate how Hollywood works.” —Publishers WeeklyFor anyone who’s ever walked out of a movie and said, “That guy was all wrong for the part,” comes this first-of-its-kind look at how actors are chosen and careers are born. Two of the top casting directors in the business, who recently cast the much-lauded choice of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond, offer an insider’s tour of their crucial craft—spotting stars in the making. Janet and Jane share the fascinating, funny stories of discovering and casting then-unknown stars such as Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Jennifer Connelly, Virginia Madsen, Joaquin Phoenix, Meg Ryan, Benicio Del Toro, and the Harry Potter kids. Taking us from the first casting call through head shots, auditions, meetings, and desperate searches to fill a part, they give us the kind of behind-the-scenes access to the machinery of star-making that captivates movie fans and aspiring actors alike.“In an exuberant, faultlessly pleasant manner, the authors take us behind the Hollywood curtain and into a world often misunderstood . . . remarkable reading.” —PopMatters“Parlour game fun . . . Good-natured and always professional, Hirshenson and Jenkins impart the tenets of their craft.” —The New York Times Book Review“Reads as fast and easily as a finely honed script.” —The Columbus Dispatch“Hirshenson and Jenkins have done much to demystify the process of matching actors with movie roles in this must-read for anyone interested in acting or casting.” —Booklist
A Star Shines Over Mt. Morris Park: Mercy Of A Rude Stream Volume 1 - ‘A masterpiece, not remotely like anything else in American literature'
by Henry Roth'A landmark of the American literary century' Boston GlobeSixty years after the publication of his great modernist masterpiece, Call It Sleep, Henry Roth returned with Mercy of a Rude Stream - a sequence of four internationally-acclaimed epic novels of immigrant life in early-twentieth century New York.In Henry Roth's extraordinary novel we are introduced to Ira Stigman and his dazzlingly-evoked immigrant world of New York's Jewish Harlem. It is 1914 and the news of the outbreak of war is the first of many events to impinge on Ira's life and that of his family. Here is a boy struggling with racism, with his raging and unpredictable father, with the unsettling emergence of sexuality and with a world in the grip of momentous change. 'The literary comeback of the century' Vanity Fair'As unquenchably vibrant with life as the immigrants whose existence it commemorates' Sunday Times 'A dynamic and moving event . . . a stirring portrait of a vanished culture . . . a poignant chapter in the life-drama of a unique American writer' Newsweek'Although it is sixty years since a new novel by Mr Roth last hit the bookshelves, it has been worth the wait' The Economist'Fresh and touching' Wall Street Journal'A precision of detail which brings the sounds from the tenements, the heat of the sidewalk steaming off the pages' Sunday Express 'A meticulous evocation of a now-distant episode of the American experience' New York Times Book ReviewMercy of a Rude Stream: The Complete Novels includes 1) A Star Shines Over Mt. Morris Park2) A Diving Rock on the Hudson3) From Bondage4) Requiem for Harlem.
A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion
by Tom Segev2019 National Jewish Book Award Finalist"[A] fascinating biography . . . a masterly portrait of a titanic yet unfulfilled man . . . this is a gripping study of power, and the loneliness of power." —The Economist As the founder of Israel, David Ben-Gurion long ago secured his reputation as a leading figure of the twentieth century. Determined from an early age to create a Jewish state, he thereupon took control of the Zionist movement, declared Israel’s independence, and navigated his country through wars, controversies and remarkable achievements. And yet Ben-Gurion remains an enigma—he could be driven and imperious, or quizzical and confounding. In this definitive biography, Israel’s leading journalist-historian Tom Segev uses large amounts of previously unreleased archival material to give an original, nuanced account, transcending the myths and legends that have accreted around the man. Segev’s probing biography ranges from the villages of Poland to Manhattan libraries, London hotels, and the hills of Palestine, and shows us Ben-Gurion’s relentless activity across six decades. Along the way, Segev reveals for the first time Ben-Gurion’s secret negotiations with the British on the eve of Israel’s independence, his willingness to countenance the forced transfer of Arab neighbors, his relative indifference to Jerusalem, and his occasional “nutty moments”—from UFO sightings to plans for Israel to acquire territory in South America. Segev also reveals that Ben-Gurion first heard about the Holocaust from a Palestinian Arab acquaintance, and explores his tempestuous private life, including the testimony of four former lovers.The result is a full and startling portrait of a man who sought a state “at any cost”—at times through risk-taking, violence, and unpredictability, and at other times through compromise, moderation, and reason. Segev’s Ben-Gurion is neither a saint nor a villain but rather a historical actor who belongs in the company of Lenin or Churchill—a twentieth-century leader whose iron will and complex temperament left a complex and contentious legacy that we still reckon with today.
A State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin
by Henry KyembaA former cabinet minister in Uganda, who defected to London out of fear for his life, provides a gruesome account of Amin's regime which he asserts is a rule of terror.
A Steady Trade: A Boyhood at Sea
by Tristan JonesA memoir of growing up in pre-World War II Wales and developing a love of sailing and adventure, by the author of The Incredible Voyage. Tristan Jones vividly and colorfully describes his childhood as a Welsh boy growing up by the sea. The story of his boyhood in pre-World War II England is strikingly charming and nostalgic. The challenges and adventures he encounters will have you seeing, smelling, feeling, hearing, and tasting the sea as you travel with him through this coming-of-age story.
A Steel Man in India
by John L. KeenanWhen Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata announced his plan to set up a steel plant in India, sceptical Englishmen immediately proclaimed that they were ready to eat all the steel that India would produce. This is the story of how Tata made them eat their words ? told by the man Tata hired to make it happen. Tata, Keenan declares, was a man with a vision, who saw that India must produce steel to be free and to survive in the modern world. With American engineers and Indian capital, he transformed a corner of the old feudal India into the new industrial India, and Keenan did a great deal to help him. Now a business classic, A Steel Man in India is a riveting account by a man of parts: who, in between his `chota pegs?, horse racing and elephant fights, soaked up Hindi and Urdu, and was a typical representative of the spirit that contributed to the making of a modern India.
A Step at a Time: The Autobiography of the World-Renowned Health Guru
by Jan de VriesAlthough Jan de Vries finds himself too young for an autobiography, many of his friends and patients have pushed for it. A Step At A Time recounts de Vries' amazing journey so far, beginning with his upbringing in Holland - during which he experienced the 'hunger winter' of 1944 - and charting the development of his amazing 40 year career, throughout which he earned a reputation as an enduring guru of alternative medicine.This gripping and highly entertaining book reveals much about the man and why so many turn to him in his role as a respected homeopathic doctor. Whether it is royalty, film stars, sportsmen or the general public, his clinics are all greatly overbooked, making it difficult at times to get an appointment with him. What is the secret of 'the man with the x-ray eyes', who he sees many things that others do not. Is this an extra sense, intuition, or just the experience of over 40 years of dealing with people medically? In almost 40 books written by him in his life so far, de Vries has shared a great deal of his knowledge with the world, which he has gathered by himself via independent research, and through consultation with his great teachers. However, in A Step At The Time, he reveals some of the secrets that people have always wanted to know, such as how he can consistently work over 90 hours per week and manage ten clinics throughout Britain. In this candid autobiography, he shares some of the gifts that were given to him and for which he is very thankful.
A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees
by Dave GoulsonFOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GREAT NATURE WRITERS SUCH AS E.O. WILSON AND CHARMING MEMOIRS LIKE GERALD DURRELL'S MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS, THIS FASCINATING BOOK WILL ALTER THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT BUMBLEBEES.Dave Goulson became obsessed with wildlife as a small boy growing up in rural Shropshire, starting with an increasingly exotic menagerie of pets. When his interest turned to the anatomical, there were even some ill-fated experiments with taxidermy. But bees are where Goulson's true passion lies—the humble bumblebee in particular.Once commonly found in the marshes of Kent, the English short-haired bumblebee went extinct in the United Kingdom, but by a twist of fate still exists in the wilds of New Zealand, the descendants of a few pairs shipped over in the nineteenth century. Dave Goulson's passionate quest to reintroduce it to its native land is one of the highlights of a book that includes original research into the habits of these mysterious creatures, history's relationship with the bumblebee, and advice on how to protect the bumblebee for future generations.One of the United Kingdom's most respected conservationists and the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Goulson combines lighthearted tales of a child's growing passion for nature with a deep insight into the crucial importance of the bumblebee. He details the minutiae of life in the nest, sharing fascinating research into the effects intensive farming has had on our bee population and the potential dangers if we are to continue down this path.
A Stitch of Time: The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life
by Lauren MarksFor fans of Brain on Fire and My Stroke of Insight, an incredible first-person account of one woman’s journey to regaining her language and identity after a brain aneurysm affects her ability to communicate.Lauren Marks was twenty-seven, touring a show in Scotland with her friends, when an aneurysm ruptured in her brain and left her fighting for her life. She woke up in a hospital soon after with serious deficiencies to her reading, speaking, and writing abilities, and an unfamiliar diagnosis: aphasia. This would be shocking news for anyone, but Lauren was a voracious reader, an actress, director, and dramaturg, and at the time of the event, pursuing her PhD. At any other period of her life, this diagnosis would have been a devastating blow. But she woke up...different. The way she perceived her environment and herself had profoundly changed, her entire identity seemed crafted around a language she could no longer access. She returned to her childhood home to recover, grappling with a muted inner monologue and fractured sense of self. Soon after, Lauren began a journal, to chronicle her year following the rupture. A Stitch of Time is the remarkable result, an Oliver Sacks–like case study of a brain slowly piecing itself back together, featuring clinical research about aphasia and linguistics, interwoven with Lauren’s personal narrative and actual journal entries that marked her progress. Alternating between fascination and frustration, she relearns and re-experiences many of the things we take for granted—reading a book, understanding idioms, even sharing a “first kiss”—and begins to reconcile “The Girl I Used to Be” with “The Girl I Am Now.” Deeply personal and powerful, A Stitch of Time is an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and hope.
A Stolen Childhood
by Casey WatsonBestselling author and teacher Casey Watson shares the horrifying true story of Kiera Bentley, a 12-year-old girl with a deeply shocking secret she's too young to even understand. When Casey first meets Kiera, a small slight girl who's just lashed out at a fellow pupil in assembly, she immediately senses something's wrong. Something in Kiera's eyes alerts Casey that this is an "old head on young shoulders", and with Kiera's constant tiredness and self-soothing habit of pulling her hair out, she follows her instinct and takes Kiera under her wing. At first the answer seems simple enough; Kiera's parents aren't together and they don't get on, which makes life hard for Kiera as she's so close to her dad. But as the weeks roll on, Casey begins to understand that there's something much darker going on behind closed doors. And when she finally learns the truth, she's terrified she won't be able to save Kiera from it.