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Not Pretty Enough: The Unlikely Triumph of Helen Gurley Brown
by Gerri HirsheyIn Not Pretty Enough, Gerri Hirshey reconstructs the life of Helen Gurley Brown, the trailblazing editor of Cosmopolitan, whose daring career both recorded and led to a shift in the sexual and cultural politics of her time.When Helen Gurley Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl first appeared in 1962, it whistled into buttoned-down America like a bombshell: Brown declared that it was okay— even imperative—for unmarried women to have and enjoy a sex life, and that equal rights for women should extend to the bedroom and the workplace. “How dare you?” thundered newspapers, radio hosts, and (mostly male) citizens. But more than two million women bought the book and hailed her as a heroine.Brown was also pilloried as a scarlet woman and a traitor to the women’s movement when she took over the failing Hearst magazine Cosmopolitan and turned it into a fizzy pink guidebook for “do-me” feminism. As the first magazine geared to the rising wave of single working women, it sold wildly. Today, more than 68 million young women worldwide are still reading some form of Helen Gurley Brown’s audacious yet comforting brand of self-help.“HGB” wasn’t the ideal poster girl for secondwave feminism, but she certainly started the conversation. Brown campaigned for women’s reproductive freedom and advocated skill and “brazenry” both on the job and in the boudoir—along with serial plastic surgery. When she died in 2012, her front-page obituary in the New York Times noted that though she succumbed at ninety, “parts of her were considerably younger.”Her life story is astonishing, from her roots in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, to her single-girl decade as a Mad Men–era copywriter in Los Angeles, which informed her first bestseller, to her years at the helm of Cosmopolitan. Helen Gurley Brown told her own story many times, but coyly, with plenty of camouflage. Here, for the first time, is the unvarnished and decoded truth about “how she did it”—from her comet-like career to “bagging” her husband of half a century, the movie producer David Brown.Full of firsthand accounts of HGB from many of her closest friends and rediscovered, little-known interviews with the woman herself, Gerri Hirshey’s Not Pretty Enough is a vital biography that shines new light on the life of one of the most vibrant, vexing, and indelible women of the twentieth century.
Not Quite Nirvana
by Rachel NeumannThe book is a memoir of how a skeptical, fast-talking New Yorker became Thich Nhat Hanh's editor, turned forty, realized she was aging, and slowly and reluctantly started to absorb mindfulness practice and grow up. Scenes with Thich Nhat Hanh and the author's two vividly exuberant older parents, illustrate how the author adapts mindfulness techniques for the busyness of her life, without losing her edge. With honest and vivid stories about dealing with difficult relationships with family members, death, illness, vanity, exhaustion, and creating a safety net of joy, the author explores and offers guidance for three key mindfulness practices: Knowing When You're Available and When You're Not; Full-Attachment Living; and Interbeing (Other People are Not a Hobby).This book is designed for adults who are new to mindfulness practice, Buddhism, curious skeptics, people familiar with the practice who want a personal story, and those interested in memoir.
Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America
by Sharmila SenAt the age of 12, Sharmila Sen emigrated from India to the U.S. The year was 1982, and everywhere she turned, she was asked to self-report her race - on INS forms, at the doctor's office, in middle school. Never identifying with a race in the India of her childhood, she rejects her new "not quite" designation - not quite white, not quite black, not quite Asian -- and spends much of her life attempting to blend into American whiteness. <p><p> But after her teen years trying to assimilate--watching shows like General Hospital and The Jeffersons, dancing to Duran Duran and Prince, and perfecting the art of Jell-O no-bake desserts--she is forced to reckon with the hard questions: What does it mean to be white, why does whiteness retain the magic cloak of invisibility while other colors are made hypervisible, and how much does whiteness figure into Americanness? <p> Part memoir, part manifesto, Not Quite Not White is a searing appraisal of race and a path forward for the next not quite not white generation --a witty and sharply honest story of discovering that not-whiteness can be the very thing that makes us American.
Not Quite Paradise
by Adele BarkerA chronicle of life on the resplendent island, combining the immediacy of memoir with the vividness of travelogue and reportage Adele Barker and her son, Noah, settled into the central highlands of Sri Lanka for an eighteen-month sojourn, immersing themselves in the customs, cultures, and landscapes of the island--its elephants, birds, and monkeys; its hot curries and sweet mangoes; the cacophony of its markets; the resonant evening chants from its temples. They hear stories of the island's colorful past and its twenty-five-year civil war between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil Tigers. When, having returned home to Tucson, Barker awakes on December 26, 2004, to see televised images of the island's southern shore disappearing into the ocean, she decides she must go back. Traveling from the southernmost coasts to the farthest outposts of the Tamil north, she witnesses the ravages of the tsunami that killed forty-eight thousand Sri Lankans in the space of twenty minutes, and reports from the ground on the triumphs and failures of relief efforts. Combining the immediacy of memoir and the vividness of travelogue with the insight of the best reportage, Not Quite Paradise chronicles life in a place few have ever visited.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka
by Adele BarkerBarker, who received a Fulbright scholarship for a yearlong teaching job at the U. of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka in 2001-2002 and returned after the tsunami of 2004, relates her experiences living and teaching there, the devastation caused by the tsunami, and the subsequent relief efforts. She describes the history, landscape, flora, and fauna of the country; the people she met, who also describe the country's civil war; and what she saw after the tsunami. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
Not Quite White
by Laila WoozeerThis is a story of belonging and not belonging, of not knowing if you exist and making sure that you do. This story is for ancestors and descendants, for the people without roles or representation who find themselves placed in a random mixed-up race. This is a story about time travel and tigers, of mountains and moons, and what happens when you sew a thread that was split in two. Reliving defining memories from early childhood in the 1990s to the present day, Laila Woozeer engages with the divisive patterns of racism and prejudice and their cumulative effect on a single life. Using the healing stream of connection – with personal and family history, friends, nature and imagination – and the act of creation, Laila illustrates the way a self was forged. Between past lives and personhood, and from colonialism to creativity, this is a vivid, lyrical account of identity, endurance, courage, growth and artistry. In Not Quite White you are invited to follow the journey of somebody trying desperately to understand who they are, how to survive, and what it might mean to thrive.
Not Quite White: A Memoir
by Laila WoozeerNeither here, nor there; neither one, nor the other. What does it feel like to be an indescribable shade somewhere in between? Can you even exist in a binary world that seems so black-and-white? Why is there no easy way to describe someone who is a Welsh-French-Scottish-American-Indian-Mauritian?Laila Woozeer, a mixed-race 28-year-old London-born writer and musician, shares a personal story of growing up in a rural white village in North Wales. Laila takes readers on a funny, vivid, and profoundly moving journey of discovering one's own identity and belonging through her travels between Mauritius, the US, and the UK, to make sense of the world and one's place within it. This is the real-life story of Laila Woozeer trying desperately to understand how to exist, how to survive, and what it might mean to thrive. From childhood memories of self-discovery to an identity crisis of adolescence, to a misunderstood existence in adult life, Not Quite White charts Laila's struggle to finally find a meaningful place in the world.
Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability
by Shane BurcawNot So Different offers a humorous, relatable, and refreshingly honest glimpse into Shane Burcaw’s life. Shane tackles many of the mundane and quirky questions that he’s often asked about living with a disability, and shows readers that he’s just as approachable, friendly, and funny as anyone else.Shane Burcaw was born with a rare disease called spinal muscular atrophy, which hinders his muscles’ growth. As a result, his body hasn’t grown bigger and stronger as he’s gotten older—it’s gotten smaller and weaker instead. This hasn’t stopped him from doing the things he enjoys (like eating pizza and playing sports and video games) with the people he loves, but it does mean that he routinely relies on his friends and family for help with everything from brushing his teeth to rolling over in bed.A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2017
Not So Good a Gay Man: A Memoir
by Frank M. RobinsonNot So Good a Gay Man is the compelling memoir of author, screenwriter, and activist Frank M. Robinson.Frank M. Robinson (1926-2014) accomplished a great deal in his long life, working in magazine publishing, including a stint for Playboy, and writing science fiction such as The Power, The Dark Beyond the Stars, and thrillers such as The Glass Inferno (filmed as The Towering Inferno). Robinson also passionately engaged in politics, fighting for gay rights, and most famously writing speeches for his good friend Harvey Milk in San Francisco.This deeply personal autobiography, addressed to a friend in the gay community, explains the life of one gay man over eight decades in America. By turns witty, charming, and poignant, this memoir grants insights into Robinson's work not just as a journalist and writer, but as a gay man navigating the often perilous social landscape of 20th century life in the United States. The bedrock sincerity and painful honesty with which he describes this life makes Not So Good a Gay Man compelling reading.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Not So Wild A Dream
by Eric Sevareid"For anyone even remotely interested in American literature and journalism, Not So Wild a Dream is a must-read, and a joy."– Dan RatherIn this captivating first-person account, Eric Sevareid describes in thrilling detail his time as a journalist covering international affairs during World War II. From a young man in North Dakota to an instrumental figure in establishing CBS as an international news organization, Sevareid witnessed the shaping of America’s journalistic landscape. His experiences provide an invaluable glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a dogged reporter. With current distrust of the press on the rise, Sevareid’s insight is poignant and all the more necessary."The book is an excellent sketch of the war's progress, and a thoughtful personal record of Mr. Sevareid's adventures--one of the most far ranging war correspondent journals yet published."– Library Journal
Not So Wild, The Old West: A Collection of Facts, Fables and Fun
by Clara Toombs HarveyThese are stories of early days in and around Union County, New Mexico. The biographies and thumbnail sketches of many of our pioneers who were builders of this part of the Old West, were preserved in scrapbooks, old letters, interviews and my own recollections.
Not Taco Bell Material
by Adam CarollaIn his second book, Adam Carolla--author of New York Times bestseller In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks and chart-topping podcaster--reveals all the stories behind how he came to be the angry middle-aged man he is today. Funnyman Adam Carolla is known for two things: hilarious rants about things that drive him crazy and personal stories about everything from his hardscrabble childhood to his slacker friends to the hypocrisy of Hollywood. He tackled rants in his first book, and now he tells his best stories and debuts some never-before-heard tales as well. Organized by the myriad "dumps" Carolla called home--through the flophouse apartments he rented in his twenties, up to the homes he personally renovated after achieving success in Hollywood--the anecdotes here follow Adam's journey and the hilarious pitfalls along the way. Adam Carolla started broke and blue collar and has now been on the Hollywood scene for over fifteen years, yet he never lost his underdog demeanor. He's still connected to the working class guy he once was, and delivers a raw and edgy, fish-out-of-water take on the world he lives in (but mostly disagrees with), telling all the stories, no matter who he offends--family, friends or the famous.
Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture
by Roxane GayNew York Times BestsellerEdited and with an introduction by Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling and deeply beloved author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, this anthology of first-person essays tackles rape, assault, and harassment head-on.Vogue, “10 of the Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018” * Harper’s Bazaar, “10 New Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2018” * Elle, “21 Books We’re Most Excited to Read in 2018” * Boston Globe, “25 books we can’t wait to read in 2018” * Huffington Post, “60 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018” * Hello Giggles, “19 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018” * Buzzfeed, “33 Most Exciting New Books of 2018”In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are “routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied” for speaking out. Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics, including actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union and writers Amy Jo Burns, Lyz Lenz, Claire Schwartz, and Bob Shacochis. Covering a wide range of topics and experiences, from an exploration of the rape epidemic embedded in the refugee crisis to first-person accounts of child molestation, this collection is often deeply personal and is always unflinchingly honest. Like Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me, Not That Bad will resonate with every reader, saying “something in totality that we cannot say alone.”Searing and heartbreakingly candid, this provocative collection both reflects the world we live in and offers a call to arms insisting that “not that bad” must no longer be good enough.
Not That Kind of Girl
by Lena DunhamFrom the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls comes a hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays that establishes Lena Dunham as one of the most original young talents writing today. In Not That Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and, most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told. "Take My Virginity (No, Really, Take It)" is the account of Dunham's first time, and how her expectations of sex didn't quite live up to the actual event ("No floodgate had been opened, no vault of true womanhood unlocked"); "Girls & Jerks" explores her former attraction to less-than-nice guys--guys who had perfected the "dynamic of disrespect" she found so intriguing; "Is This Even Real?" is a meditation on her lifelong obsession with death and dying--what she called her "genetically predestined morbidity." And in "I Didn't Fuck Them, but They Yelled at Me," she imagines the tell-all she will write when she is eighty and past caring, able to reflect honestly on the sexism and condescension she has encountered in Hollywood, where women are "treated like the paper thingies that protect glasses in hotel bathrooms--necessary but infinitely disposable." Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not That Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," Dunham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."
Not That Kind of Girl
by Lena DunhamFor readers of Nora Ephron, Tina Fey, and David Sedaris, this hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays establishes Lena Dunham--the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls--as one of the most original young talents writing today. In Not That Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told. "Take My Virginity (No Really, Take It)" is the account of Dunham's first time, and how her expectations of sex didn't quite live up to the actual event ("No floodgate had been opened, no vault of true womanhood unlocked"); "Girls & Jerks" explores her former attraction to less-than-nice guys--guys who had perfected the "dynamic of disrespect" she found so intriguing; "Is This Even Real?" is a meditation on her lifelong obsession with death and dying--what she calls her "genetically predestined morbidity." And in "I Didn't F*** Them, but They Yelled at Me," she imagines the tell-all she will write when she is eighty and past caring, able to reflect honestly on the sexism and condescension she has encountered in Hollywood, where women are "treated like the paper thingies that protect glasses in hotel bathrooms--necessary but infinitely disposable." Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not That Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," Dunham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile."Praise for Not That Kind of Girl "It's not Lena Dunham's candor that makes me gasp. Rather, it's her writing--which is full of surprises where you least expect them. A fine, subversive book."--David Sedaris "Always funny, sometimes wrenching, these essays are a testament to the creative wonder that is Lena Dunham."--Judy Blume "Dunham's writing is just as smart, honest, sophisticated, dangerous, and charming as her work on Girls. Its essential quality is a kind of joyful super-awareness: of herself, the world, the human. Reading her makes you glad to be in the world, and glad that she's in it with you."--George Saunders "Very few women have become famous for being who they actually are, nuanced and imperfect. When honesty happens, it's usually couched in self-ridicule or self-help. Dunham doesn't apologize like that--she simply tells her story as if it might be interesting. Not That Kind of Girl is hilarious, artful, and staggeringly intimate; I read it shivering with recognition."--Miranda July "This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks they understand the experience of being a young woman in our culture. I thought I knew the author rather well, and I found many (not altogether welcome) surprises."--Carroll DunhamFrom the Hardcover edition.
Not That Kind of Love
by Clare Wise Greg Wise'A remarkable account of illness, loss and the power of sibling love' The Times'Wise's reflections on compassion fatigue are worth the price of this book alone, but what you take away is something splendid and unwearying: a sibling's devotion that feels remarkably like what we mean when we talk of a stage of grace.' Telegraph'Inspirational... profoundly uplifting' Daily Mail'Heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure' Express'This is a fantastic book ... Remarkable' Lorraine Kelly_______A moving, thought-provoking and surprisingly humorous book which is both a description of a journey to death and a celebration of the act of living.Based on Clare Wise's blog, which she started when she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Not That Kind of Love charts the highs and lows of the last three years of Clare's life. The end result is not a book that fills you with despair and anguish. On the contrary, Not That Kind of Love should be read by everybody for its candour, and for its warmth and spirit. Clare is an astonishingly dynamic, witty and fun personality, and her positivity and energy exude from every page.As she becomes too weak to type, her brother - the actor Greg Wise - takes over, and the book morphs into a beautiful meditation on life, and the necessity of talking about death.As Greg Wise writes in the book: 'Celebrate the small things, the small moments. If you find yourself with matching socks as you leave the house in the morning, that is a cause for celebration. If the rest of the day is spent finding the cure for cancer, or brokering world peace, then that's a bonus.'
Not That Kind of Love
by Clare Wise Greg WiseA moving, thought-provoking and surprisingly humorous book which is both a description of a journey to death and a celebration of the act of living.Based on Clare Wise's blog, which she started when she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Not That Kind of Love charts the highs and lows of the last three years of Clare's life. The end result is not a book that fills you with despair and anguish. On the contrary, Not That Kind of Love should be read by everybody for its candour, and for its warmth and spirit. Clare is an astonishingly dynamic, witty and fun personality, and her positivity and energy exude from every page.As she becomes too weak to type, her brother - the actor Greg Wise - takes over, and the book morphs into a beautiful meditation on life, and the necessity of talking about death.With echoes of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal and Cathy Rentzenbrink's The Last Act of Love, it is a very special read that rejoices in the extraordinary and often underestimated sibling bond, and the importance of making the most of the ordinary pleasures life has to offer. As Greg Wise writes in the book: 'Celebrate the small things, the small moments. If you find yourself with matching socks as you leave the house in the morning, that is a cause for celebration. If the rest of the day is spent finding the cure for cancer, or brokering world peace, then that's a bonus.'(P)2018 Quercus Editions Limited
Not The Whole Story: A Memoir
by Angela Huth'A delightful memoir' Kate Saunders, The Times'Fabulous . . . dazzling' Tatler'Enchanting . . . movingly lyrical' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Country LifeThis short volume has turned out to be merely a handful of recollections of well-remembered times and stories - some probably misremembered, too - and a few people who have played a crucial part in my life. And some confessions: I have never before tried to write about my doll phobia, for instance, or about the effect synaesthesia has had over the years. I can only hope that this collection of stories from times past might give some idea of a mostly happy life that has gone, and is going, much too fast.At the age of five Angela Huth decided she would become a writer. Hers was an idiosyncratic childhood. Her parents were known to be a highly glamorous couple: Harold was a famous actor and film director who possessed legendary charm; Bridget was known for her lively sense of humour, fluency in foreign languages and her penchant for giving memorable parties. But in spite of her parents' initial happiness, they parted after the war. Eleven years later they got back together, happily, though each would have a lover for decades. After her education ended prematurely - Bridget didn't believe in university for women - Angela Huth went from reluctant debutante to professional writer, switching from journalism to short stories, novels, plays for television and the stage.Praise for Angela Huth:'A first-class writer' Sunday Telegraph'There is a very strong case for Huth replacing Jane Austen on the school syllabus' Sunday Times'Angela Huth knows her own range and writes within it; she is an excellent exponent of the traditional English social comedy . . . she is in perfect control' Daily Telegraph
Not The Whole Story: A Memoir
by Angela Huth'A delightful memoir' Kate Saunders, The Times'Fabulous . . . dazzling' Tatler'Enchanting . . . movingly lyrical' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Country LifeThis short volume has turned out to be merely a handful of recollections of well-remembered times and stories - some probably misremembered, too - and a few people who have played a crucial part in my life. And some confessions: I have never before tried to write about my doll phobia, for instance, or about the effect synaesthesia has had over the years. I can only hope that this collection of stories from times past might give some idea of a mostly happy life that has gone, and is going, much too fast.At the age of five Angela Huth decided she would become a writer. Hers was an idiosyncratic childhood. Her parents were known to be a highly glamorous couple: Harold was a famous actor and film director who possessed legendary charm; Bridget was known for her lively sense of humour, fluency in foreign languages and her penchant for giving memorable parties. But in spite of her parents' initial happiness, they parted after the war. Eleven years later they got back together, happily, though each would have a lover for decades. After her education ended prematurely - Bridget didn't believe in university for women - Angela Huth went from reluctant debutante to professional writer, switching from journalism to short stories, novels, plays for television and the stage.Praise for Angela Huth:'A first-class writer' Sunday Telegraph'There is a very strong case for Huth replacing Jane Austen on the school syllabus' Sunday Times'Angela Huth knows her own range and writes within it; she is an excellent exponent of the traditional English social comedy . . . she is in perfect control' Daily Telegraph
Not The Whole Story: A Memoir
by Angela Huth'Deliciously gossipy and amusingly trenchant' Daily Mail, BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR'A delightful memoir' Kate Saunders, The Times'Fabulous . . . dazzling' Tatler'Enchanting . . . movingly lyrical' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Country LifeThis short volume has turned out to be merely a handful of recollections of well-remembered times and stories - some probably misremembered, too - and a few people who have played a crucial part in my life. And some confessions: I have never before tried to write about my doll phobia, for instance, or about the effect synaesthesia has had over the years. I can only hope that this collection of stories from times past might give some idea of a mostly happy life that has gone, and is going, much too fast.At the age of five Angela Huth decided she would become a writer. Hers was an idiosyncratic childhood. Her parents were known to be a highly glamorous couple: Harold was a famous actor and film director who possessed legendary charm; Bridget was known for her lively sense of humour, fluency in foreign languages and her penchant for giving memorable parties. But in spite of her parents' initial happiness, they parted after the war. Eleven years later they got back together, happily, though each would have a lover for decades. After her education ended prematurely - Bridget didn't believe in university for women - Angela Huth went from reluctant debutante to professional writer, switching from journalism to short stories, novels, plays for television and the stage.Praise for Angela Huth:'A first-class writer' Sunday Telegraph'There is a very strong case for Huth replacing Jane Austen on the school syllabus' Sunday Times'Angela Huth knows her own range and writes within it; she is an excellent exponent of the traditional English social comedy . . . she is in perfect control' Daily Telegraph
Not There, Doctor
by Robert CliffordNot There, Doctor continues the hilarious and heartwarming true story of a young doctor and his patients in the heart of West Country. In the period leading up to Dr Clifford's wedding day, the trials and tribulations of his procession of patients are a source of constant entertainment. There's the angler whose salmon lure ends up embedded in the seat of his trousers; the bridegroom with a tattoo he's desperate to remove before he marries; the pregnant woman whose X-rays reveal a truly amazing phenomenon; and there's the Doctor's own wedding when the bridesmaids appear in transparent dresses and the vicar forgets his lines . . . Dr Clifford's chronicles are a marvellous blend of human laughter, tragedy and courage, tales of a doctor totally at one with his world.
Not There, Doctor (The Dr Clifford Chronicles)
by Dr Robert CliffordNot There, Doctor continues the hilarious and heartwarming true story of a young doctor and his patients in the heart of West Country. In the period leading up to Dr Clifford's wedding day, the trials and tribulations of his procession of patients are a source of constant entertainment. There's the angler whose salmon lure ends up embedded in the seat of his trousers; the bridegroom with a tattoo he's desperate to remove before he marries; the pregnant woman whose X-rays reveal a truly amazing phenomenon; and there's the Doctor's own wedding when the bridesmaids appear in transparent dresses and the vicar forgets his lines . . .Dr Clifford's chronicles are a marvellous blend of human laughter, tragedy and courage, tales of a doctor totally at one with his world.
Not Thinking like a Liberal
by Raymond GeussIn a compelling meditation on the ideas that shape our lives, one of the world’s most provocative and creative philosophers explains how his eccentric early years influenced his lifelong critique of liberalism. Liberalism is so amorphous and pervasive that for most people in the West it is background noise, the natural state of affairs. But there are nooks and crannies in every society where the prevailing winds don’t blow. Raymond Geuss grew up some distance from the cultural mainstream and recounts here the unusual perspective he absorbed: one in which liberal capitalism was synonymous with moral emptiness and political complacency. Not Thinking like a Liberal is a concise tour of diverse intellectual currents—from the Counter-Reformation and communism to pragmatism and critical theory—that shaped Geuss’s skeptical stance toward liberalism. The bright young son of a deeply Catholic steelworker, Geuss was admitted in 1959 to an unusual boarding school on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Outside was Eisenhower’s America. Inside Geuss was schooled by Hungarian priests who tried to immunize students against the twin dangers of oppressive communism and vapid liberal capitalism. From there Geuss went on to university in New York in the early days of the Vietnam War and to West Germany, where critical theory was experiencing a major revival. This is not a repeatable journey. In tracing it, Geuss reminds us of the futility of abstracting lessons from context and of seeking a universal view from nowhere. At the same time, he examines the rise and fall of major political theories of the past sixty years. An incisive thinker attuned to both the history and the future of ideas, Geuss looks beyond the horrors of authoritarianism and the shallow freedom of liberalism to glimpse a world of genuinely new possibilities.
Not Too Late: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age
by Gwendolyn BoundsAn award-winning journalist tells the inspiring story of her unlikely midlife journey to master the daunting sport of obstacle course racing—a powerful, science-based account of the change possible at any age when we push limits.&“This story of personal transformation is thrilling.&”—Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five SensesIn her midforties, Gwendolyn Bounds attended a dinner party where someone asked a little girl: &“What do you want to be when you grow up?&” It struck Bounds: In middle age, no one asks you that anymore. So she put the question to herself. The answer set her on an unexpected five-year path of transformation from an unathletic office executive glued to her screens to an age-group medalist and world championship competitor in obstacle course racing—a demanding military-style sport requiring speed, endurance, mobility, and strength. In Not Too Late, Bounds explores how tackling something new and hard upended her expectations for middle age—while also helping her reconcile regrets of her youth. Her story takes us from playgrounds and gyms, where Bounds relearns childhood movements (swinging from monkey bars, climbing a rope); to far-flung Spartan Race courses, where she strives to master running in difficult terrain and to conquer challenges such as scaling tall walls, crawling under barbed wire, and carrying heavy loads of rocks up mountains. Bounds&’s journey offers inspiration and a road map for anyone craving more out of life. Woven through Not Too Late are insights from scientists, longevity doctors, philosophers, elite athletes, and performance experts on how to reimagine our limits and who we think we are. Through Bounds&’s story, as she changes her body and mindset, we learn about humans&’ capacity to tap inner reserves, face fears, locate intrinsic motivation, and push boundaries at any life stage.Ultimately, one message prevails: When unleashing our full potential, age can be a secret weapon.
Not Waving But Drowning: The Troubled Life and Times of a Frontline RUC Officer
by Edmund GregoryNot Waving But Drowning tells the harrowing true story of one man's childhood struggle against poverty and his subsequent drive to become a policeman in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. From his earliest days, Edmund Gregory possessed an awareness beyond his years. During the course of his parents' turbulent and doomed marriage, he soaked up the horror of seeing his mother and father tearing each other apart. After they separated, he experienced a lonely boyhood, starved of affection, while living in welfare homes, dingy Belfast bedsits, and a sordid care home for young boys. However, Gregory later found solace in his marriage to Agnes, and in a concerted effort to drag himself and his new family out of poverty, he joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary. After five trauma-filled years serving in Belfast's riot squads, Gregory transferred into the somewhat elitist VIP protection branch of the RUC, where he was involved in providing bodyguard protection to many high-threat members of Northern Ireland's establishment. While working within that unit, he was also involved in teams protecting several members of the Royal family and then US President Bill Clinton throughout the course of their visits to the Province. During his last four years in the force, Gregory was charged with protecting the Reverend Ian Paisley's deputy, Peter Robinson MP, an outspoken personality who was under constant and serious threat of assassination. After 21 years of service, however, Gregory was diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which resulted in his medical retirement. Not Waving But Drowning is an emotionally charged journey through Gregory’s impoverished childhood and the dark underbelly of his later life as a policeman in Northern Ireland performing what was, according to Interpol, the most dangerous policing role in the world.