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The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan, his heirs and the founding of modern China
by John ManGenghis Khan is one of history's immortals: a leader of genius, driven by an inspiring vision for peaceful world rule. Believing he was divinely protected, Genghis united warring clans to create a nation and then an empire that ran across much of Asia.Under his grandson, Kublai Khan, the vision evolved into a more complex religious ideology, justifying further expansion. Kublai doubled the empire's size until, in the late 13th century, he and the rest of Genghis’s ‘Golden Family’ controlled one fifth of the inhabited world. Along the way, he conquered all China, gave the nation the borders it has today, and then, finally, discovered the limits to growth.Genghis's dream of world rule turned out to be a fantasy. And yet, in terms of the sheer scale of the conquests, never has a vision and the character of one man had such an effect on the world.Charting the evolution of this vision, John Man provides a unique account of the Mongol Empire, from young Genghis to old Kublai, from a rejected teenager to the world’s most powerful emperor.
Mongrel: Essays, Diatribes + Pranks
by Justin ChinIn a time when memoirs are often less than they claim to be and essays do not say enough, Justin Chin breaks onto the scene with a collection that is a combination of confession, tirade, journalism, and practical joke.Mongrel is a cross-section of Chin's imagination and experiences that calls into question what it means to be an Asian-American in San Francisco, the effect your family will always have on you, and the role sexuality plays in your life. Whether it be Internet pornography or family history, Chin manages to dig deep and uncover not only the truths of everyday life, but also the absurdities that surround them.Mongrel is an exploration and distillation of the experiences and imagination of a gay Asian-American whose sensibilities were formed by the maelstrom of '80s American pop culture. A unique collection from a brash, funny new voice.
Monica's Story
by Andrew Morton"The girl who caught the eye of President Bill Clinton, a man of acknowledged sexual charisma and more than twice her age, is a person of endless contrasts: sure of her own mind yet unsure of herself; possessed of a high sense of entitlement but a low sense of self-worth; a girl with a fierce and sometimes perverse loyalty to others but little regard for her own survival. " -From the Forward
Monica's Story
by Andrew MortonGo beyond the headlines of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and revisit the story of Monica Lewinsky in this authorized biography from Andrew Morton, the basis for the FX miniseries Impeachment.Monica Lewinsky. You know her name, you know her face, and you think you know her story: the pretty young intern who began an illicit affair with the President of the United States-- a liaison that ignited an unprecedented political scandal and found Bill Clinton as the second U.S. president to ever be impeached. But there is much more to the Monica Lewinsky story than just that. Andrew Morton, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Diana: Her True Story, takes you behind the headlines and the sound bites to discover the real Monica Lewinsky, a woman as interesting, intelligent, and misunderstood as they come.Read Monica's Story and you'll discover:* How a difficult childhood shaped Monica's tumultuous adult romances* Her relationship with Bill Clinton: how she saw a side to him few know-- and why she sometimes still missed her "Handsome"* The betrayal by Linda Tripp-- and how Monica's trusting nature snared her in Tripp's treacherous web* The horror of Kenneth Starr's exhaustive and intrusive inquiry-- how it affected her and her family, and how it still haunts her* What Monica's hopes were, in the wake of the scandal, from career plans, to marrying, and family life.* And much, much moreWith sixteen pages of photographs.
Monique and the Mango Rains: An Extraordinary Story of Friendship in a Midwife's House in Mali
by Kris HollowayMonique Dembele saves lives and dispenses hope in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. Her unquenchable passion to improve the lot of the women and children in her West African village is matched by her buoyant humour in the face of unhappy marriage and backbreaking work. This is the deeply compelling story of the rare friendship between a young development volunteer and this midwife who defies tradition and becomes - too early in her own life - a legend.
Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years With A Midwife in Mali
by Kris Holloway John BidwellMonique and the Mango Rains is the compelling story of a rare friendship between a young Peace Corps volunteer and a midwife who became a legend. Monique Dembele saved lives and dispensed hope in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter. This book tells of her unquenchable passion to better the lives of women and children in the face of poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless backbreaking work. Monique's buoyant humor and willingness to defy tradition were uniquely hers. In the course of this deeply personal narrative, as readers immerse themselves in the rhythms of West African village life, they come to know Monique as friend, mother, and inspired woman.
Monk!: Thelonious, Pannonica, and the Friendship Behind a Musical Revolution
by Youssef Daoudi"Read this invigorating graphic narrative, then—quickly, before the spell breaks!—play one of Monk's records." —Saul Williams She is Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter, a free-spirited baroness of the Rothschild family. He is Thelonious Sphere Monk, a musical genius fighting against the whims of his troubled mind. Their enduring friendship begins in 1954 and ends only with Monk’s death in 1982.Set against the backdrop of New York during the heyday of jazz, Monk! explores the rare alchemy between two brilliant beings separated by an ocean of social status, race, and culture, but united by an infinite love of music. This breathtaking graphic novel by Youssef Daoudi beautifully captures the life of the “the high priest of bop” in spontaneous, evocative pen and ink that seems to make visible jazz itself.
The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living
by Randy Komisar Kent L. LinebackWhat would you be willing to do for the rest of your life? It's a question considered only hypothetically-opting instead to "do what we have to do" to earn a living. But in The Monk and the Riddle, Randy Komisar asks us to answer it for real.
The Monk in the Garden
by Robin Marantz HenigMost people know that Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who patiently grew his peas in a monastery garden, shaped our understanding of inheritance. But people might not know that Mendel's work was ignored in his own lifetime, even though it contained answers to the most pressing questions raised by Charles Darwin's revolutionary book, ON ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES, published only a few years earlier. Mendel's single chance of recognition failed utterly, and he died a lonely and disappointed man. Thirty-five years later, his work was rescued from obscurity in a single season, the spring of 1900, when three scientists from three different countries nearly simultaneously dusted off Mendel's groundbreaking paper and finally recognized its profound significance. The perplexing silence that greeted Mendel's discovery and his ultimate canonization as the father of genetics make up a tale of intrigue, jealousy, and a healthy dose of bad timing. Telling the story as it has never been told before, Robin Henig crafts a suspenseful, elegant, and richly detailed narrative that fully evokes Mendel's life and work and the fate of his ideas as they made their perilous way toward the light of day. THE MONK IN THE GARDEN is a literary tour de force about a little-known chapter in the history of science, and it brings us back to the birth of genetics - a field that continues to challenge the way we think about life itself.
The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics
by Robin Marantz HenigThis acclaimed biography of 19th century scientist Gregor Mendel is &“a fascinating tale of the strange twists and ironies of scientific progress&” (Publishers Weekly). A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist In The Monk in the Garden, award-winning author Robin Marantz Henig vividly chronicles the birth of genetics, a field that continues to challenge the way we think about life itself. Tending to his pea plants in a monastery garden, the Moravian monk Gregor Mendel discovered the foundational principles of genetic inheritance. But Mendel&’s work was ignored during his lifetime, even though it answered the most pressing questions raised by Charles Darwin's revolutionary book, On the Origin of Species. Thirty-five years after his death, Mendel&’s work was saved from obscurity when three scientists from three different countries nearly simultaneously dusted off his groundbreaking paper and finally recognized its profound significance. From the perplexing silence that greeted his discovery to his ultimate canonization as the father of genetics, Henig presents a tale filled with intrigue, jealousy, and a healthy dose of bad timing. Though little is known about Mendel&’s life, she "has done a remarkable job of fleshing out the myth with what few facts there are" (Washington Post Book World).
A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life
by Wayne TeasdaleIn 1986, Brother Wayne Teasdale accepted an invitation to visit Father Bede Griffiths, an English Benedictine monk who had been living in India and studying Hinduism, in Shantivanam, his Christian ashram in Tamil Nadu, India. For millennia the land housing Shantivanam had been sacred, a consecrated place for sages, sannyasis, or monks, and mystics. More recently, it had become a refuge and sanctuary for countless pilgrims of many different traditions. On this, Teasdale's third visit to Shantivanam, with the new year approaching, Father Bede sent for him, and asked if he would consider taking sannyasa, or Indian monkhood, from him, as a Christian. Thus began Teasdale's life as an interreligious monk and mystic. In A Monk in the World, he explores what Griffiths? charge has meant for him ? to live as a monk outside the monastery, to integrate teachings from the world's religions with his own Catholic training, to combine his vigorous spiritual practice with the necessities of making a living and pursuing a course of social justice in a big American city as well as how readers can find their own spiritual path amidst the rigors of everyday life. Along the way, Teasdale explores the real world topics of friendship; time, work, and money; the problem and opportunity of the homeless; a contemplative understanding of suffering; the struggle to promote personal and social change; as well as the as the role of the church and nature in building spiritual understanding. Building on the success and insights of his first book, The Mystic Heart, Teasdale gives a compelling glimpse of the unique spiritual path he has followed, and how everyone can find their own internal monastery and bring spiritual practice into their busy lives.
The Monk of Mokha
by Dave EggersFrom the bestselling author of The Circle and What Is the What, the true story of a young Yemeni-American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana'a by civil war.Mokhtar Alkhanshali grew up in San Francisco, one of seven siblings brought up by Yemeni immigrants in a tiny apartment. At age twenty-four, unable to pay for college, he works as a doorman, until a statue of an Arab raising a cup of coffee awakens something in him. He sets out to learn the rich history of coffee in Yemen and the complex art of tasting and identifying varietals. He travels to Yemen and visits countless farms, collecting samples, eager to bring improved cultivation methods to the countryside. And he is on the verge of success when civil war engulfs Yemen in 2015. The US Embassy closes, Saudi bombs began to rain down on the country, and Mokhtar is trapped in Yemen. Desperate to escape, he embarks on a passage that has him negotiating with dueling political factions and twice kidnapped at gunpoint. With no other options, he hires a skiff to take him, and his coffee samples, across the Red Sea. A heart-pounding true story that weaves together the history of coffee, the ongoing Yemeni civil war, and the courageous journey of a young man--a Muslim and a US citizen--following the most American of dreams.
The Monk of Mokha
by Dave Eggers<p><i>The Monk of Mokha</i> is the exhilarating true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war. <p>Mokhtar Alkhanshali is twenty-four and working as a doorman when he discovers the astonishing history of coffee and Yemen’s central place in it. He leaves San Francisco and travels deep into his ancestral homeland to tour terraced farms high in the country’s rugged mountains and meet beleagured but determined farmers. But when war engulfs the country and Saudi bombs rain down, Mokhtar has to find a way out of Yemen without sacrificing his dreams or abandoning his people.</p>
The Monk of Park Avenue: A Modern Daoist Odyssey
by Yun RouPriceless Wisdom from a Modern Tao Te Ching Odyssey“...this book will completely absorb your attention from the beginning...” —Emanuele Pettener, PhD, assistant professor of Italian and writer in residence at Florida Atlantic University#1 New Release in Chinese Poetry, Asian Poetry, and Tao Te ChingA literary memoir like no other, Monk of Park Avenue recounts novelist and martial master Monk Yon Rou’s spiritual journey of self-discovery. Learn from Yon Rou as he tackles tragedy and redemption on an unforgettable soul-searching odyssey.A spiritual journey with extraordinary encounters. Yon Rou’s memoir is a kaleidoscopic ride through the upper echelons of New York Society and the nature-worshipping, sword-wielding world of East Asian religious and martial arts. Monk of Park Avenue divulges a privileged childhood in Manhattan, followed by the bitter rigors of kung fu in China and meditations in Daoist temples. Join Yon Rou’s adventure as he encounters kings, Nobel laureates, and the Mob. Witness this martial master’s incarceration in a high-mountain Ecuadorian hellhole and fight for survival in Paraguay’s brutal thorn jungle. Meet celebrities along the way. A story of love, loss, persistence, triumph, and mastery, The Monk of Park Avenue is peopled with the likes of Milos Forman, Richard Holbrooke, Paul McCartney, Warren Beatty and now-infamous opioid purveyors, the Sackler Family. Yun Rou’s memoir is no mere celebrity tell-all, but a novelist and martial master’s path to self-discovery.The Monk of Park Avenue offers you:Paths for personal and spiritual growthAnecdotal stories of self-discovery and insights into how to liveAn eloquent, candid exploration of spiritual transformationIf you loved Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, To Shake the Sleeping Self, or Lao Tzu by Ursula K. Le Guin, you’ll love The Monk of Park Avenue. Also, be sure to read Monk Yon Rou’s Mad Monk Manifesto, winner of both the Gold & Silver 2018 Nautilus Book Award.
A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
by Malachy MccourtAn autobiography of McCourt's life, his journey from Ireland to America, and the barriers he overcame in the process.
A Monk Swimming: A Memoir
by Malachy McCourtIn this &“irresistible memoir that&’s equal parts pathos and belly laughs,&” the Irish American writer and actor shares stories from his first decade in the US (People). Malachy McCourt left behind a childhood of poverty and painful memories of his father and mother in Limerick, Ireland, when he followed his brother, Frank, to America in 1952. In A Monk Swimming, McCourt recounts the decade that followed. With not much to his name other than his sharp wit and knack for storytelling, McCourt was unsure what he would do after arriving in New York City. He worked as a longshoreman on the Brooklyn docks, became the first celebrity bartender in a Manhattan saloon, performed on stage with the Irish Players, and told tales to Jack Paar on The Tonight Show. Although McCourt gained success, money, women, and, eventually, children of his own, he still carried memories of the past with him. So, he fled again. He found himself in the Manhattan Detention Complex, otherwise known as the Tombs. He was arrested several times: poolside in Beverly Hills, in Zurich with gold-smugglers, and again in Calcutta with sex workers. McCourt&’s journey also took him to Paris, Rome, and even Limerick again, until finally he was forced to grapple with his past. &“[A] funny, oddly winning book.&” —The New York Times &“A rollicking good read that, as the Irish say, would make a dead man laugh.&” —The Philadelphia Inquirer &“A triumphant tale. . . . You will find yourself laughing through the tears.&” —Newsday &“Howlingly funny.&” —Atlanta Journal-Constitution &“Build[s] on the story of the McCourts&’ early life so dazzlingly told in Angela&’s Ashes by his brother Frank.&” —Thomas Keneally, author of the international bestseller Schindler&’s List
Monkey House Blues: A Shanghai Prison Memoir
by Dominic StevensonIn 1993, Dominic Stevenson left a comfortable life with his girlfriend in Kyoto, Japan, to travel to China. His journey took him to some of the most inhospitable and dangerous places in the world, from the poppy fields of the Afghan-Pakistan border to the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road, before he was arrested for drug smuggling while boarding a boat from Shanghai to Japan. After eight months on remand in a Chinese police lock-up, Stevenson was sentenced to two and a half years in one of the biggest prisons in the world, the Shanghai Municipal Prison aka 'The Monkey House'. There, he was imprisoned alongside just five westerners amongst five thousand Chinese criminals in a block for death row inmates and political prisoners, where the guards drank green tea and let the prison run itself. The experience led him to reflect on his previous life in Japan, India and Thailand, during which time he took on a varied array of jobs, including English teacher, karaoke-bar host, factory worker, busker, crystal seller and dope smuggler. From Afghan gun shops to Tibetan monasteries, Thai brothels and the stirrings of the rave culture in Goa, Monkey House Blues is a tale of discovery and rediscovery, of friendship and betrayal.
Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety
by Daniel SmithAnxiety once paralyzed Daniel Smith over a roast beef sandwich, convincing him that a choice between ketchup and barbeque sauce was as dire as that between life and death. It has caused him to chew his cuticles until they bled, wear sweat pads in his armpits, and confess his sexual problems to his psychotherapist mother. It has dogged his days, threatened his sanity, and ruined his relationships. <P><P>In Monkey Mind, Smith articulates what it is like to live with anxiety, defanging the disease with humor, traveling through its demonic layers, and evocatively expressing its self-destructive absurdities and painful internal coherence. With honesty and wit, he exposes anxiety as a pudgy, weak-willed wizard behind a curtain of dread and tames what has always seemed to him, and to the tens of millions of others who suffer from anxiety, a terrible affliction.
The Monkey on My Back: A Memoir
by Debbi MorganA deeply personal memoir spanning three generations of women, this is the intimate autobiography of Emmy Award–winning actress Debbi Morgan, best known as Angie Hubbard on the long-running soap opera All My Children.Raised in the South Bronx and beloved for the diverse and captivating characters she’s played, Debbi Morgan enjoyed a thirty-year tenure on All My Children before joining the cast of The Young and the Restless and later appearing opposite Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson in several films. But this book is not about her career, and it’s not about Hollywood. It’s not even about her rise to stardom. Charting her family history as well as her own life from childhood to the present in this compelling memoir, Debbi reveals the fear, doubt, and insecurities she’s struggled with for much of her life—and how she escaped a vicious cycle of pain to find self-confidence, happiness, and success. Early on in her family history, an ugly pattern of abuse developed into fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and emotional trauma, which passed down from one generation to the next. From her maternal grandmother, who was beaten by her husband as they struggled through the Great Depression, to Debbi’s mother, who became pregnant as a young teen and suffered the same abuse as her mother, down to Debbi, who internalized the physical abuse she watched her mother endure, a deep-rooted fear plagued all three generations of women. But through it all, Debbi endured, and with a good dose of humor and self-compassion, she emerged with the deepest love of herself—and her mojo quite intact! Told with intense emotion, candor, and a barrage of belly laughs, Debbi shares a deeply moving, explosive, yet inspirational journey about what it took to break the cycle and emerge as a confident, fearless woman.
Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church (History Lives #2)
by Brandon Withrow Mindy Withrow<p>Let history come to life - just the way it should be. <p>Read the stories of Gregory the Great, Boniface, Charlemagne, Constantine Methodius, Vladimir, Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Sienna, John Wyclif and John Hus.</p>
A Monk's Guide to Happiness: Meditation in the 21st century
by Gelong ThubtenA guide to meditation and mindfulness written by Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten.Modern life is fast-paced and demanding - we're constantly racing from one place to the next, mentally and physically, but how often do we pause and consider whether we're truly happy?A Monk's Guide to Happiness is an insightful and practical guide to meditation, mindfulness and the nature of true, lasting happiness. This book will help you to understand the power of meditation, living in the present, and how this can transform your life. Thubten's expertise lies in teaching meditation and he's introduced mindfulness and calm into the lives of many. He's taught everywhere from law firms and banks to schools and prisons; he will teach you how to choose happiness and mental calm. Gelong Thubten draws upon all that he has learned during his many years of meditation practice, including several years in intensive retreats, and also his many years of experience teaching people from all walks of life and backgrounds, making this book accessible and rooted in reality.In A Monk's Guide to Happiness, Thubten teaches us how to meditate, how to be more 'awake' in life, how to train our minds and reprogramme our stress response and how to introduce 'micro moments' of mindfulness into our daily lives. Through mindfulness we can discover the deeper potential of the mind - our inherent compassion, wisdom and true freedom.(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria
by John W. KiserBack Cover: "In the spring of 1996 armed men broke into a Trappist monastery in war-torn Algeria and took seven monks hostage. pawns in a murky negotiation to free imprisoned terrorists. Two months later the monks' severed heads were found in a tree; their bodies were never recovered. The village of Tibhirine had sprung up around the monastery because it was a holy place protected by the Virgin Mary, revered by Christians and Muslims alike. But napalm. helicopters, and gunfire had become regular accompaniments to the monastic routine as the violence engulfing Algeria drew closer to the isolated cloister high in the Atlas Mountains." The author shows the different shades of Islam and how Christians and Moslems can live in harmony if they are given the correct set of conditions.
The Monk's Record Player: Thomas Merton, Bob Dylan, and the Perilous Summer of 1966
by Robert HudsonThe story of a monk, a minstrel, and the music that brought them together In 1965 writer-activist-monk Thomas Merton fulfilled a twenty-four-year dream and went to live as a hermit beyond the walls of his Trappist monastery. Seven months later, after a secret romance with a woman half his age, he was in danger of losing it all. Yet on the very day that his abbot uncovered the affair, Merton found solace in an unlikely place—the songs of Bob Dylan, who, as fate would have it, was experiencing his own personal and creative crises during the summer of 1966. In this striking parallel biography of two countercultural icons, Robert Hudson plumbs the depths of Dylan&’s surprising influence on Merton&’s life and writing, recounts each man&’s interactions with the woman who linked them together—Joan Baez—and shows how each transcended his immediate troubles and went on to new heights of spiritual and artistic genius. Readers will discover here a riveting story of creativity and crisis, burnout and redemption, in the tumultuous era of 1960s America.
Monk's Travels: People, Places, and Events
by Edward A. MalloyA memoir of adventures around the world, meetings with famous figures, and journeys both physical and spiritual, from a former president of Notre Dame.Anne Tyler wrote a novel called The Accidental Tourist about a man who is forced to travel but does not want to have any new experiences...My goal on my trips has been just the opposite: not to do anything too foolish, but to be open to an endless round of new experiences and possibilities . . .Father Edward Malloy never planned to share his trip diaries with readers throughout the world. Affectionately known as “Monk,” the president of the University of Notre Dame just wanted to record where he went, what he saw, and whom he met along the way. But good reading attracts readers, and good travel writing takes those readers along on the journey. Both apply to Monk’s Travels.Carrying readers to destinations ranging from New York just after September 11, 2001, to Europe, the Mediterranean, Latin America, Africa, and the Far East, Monk meets and experiences the local residents and their customs. But he also comes in contact with such notable personalities as Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, Martin Luther King Jr., Pope John Paul II, and Taiwanese Premier Lien Chen and President Lee Teng-Hui. His reportage of these places and personages opens the world to readers of all faiths and interests. Monk’s Travels shares its creator’s personality, hopes, spirituality, and emotions—and will interest anyone curious about higher education, Catholicism, travel, or recent history.Includes photographs
Monodies and On the Relics of Saints
by Jay Rubenstein Guibert Of Nogent Joseph McalhanyThe first Western autobiography since Augustine's Confessions, the Monodies is set against the backdrop of the First Crusade and offers stunning insights into medieval society. As Guibert of Nogent intimately recounts his early years, monastic life, and the bloody uprising at Laon in 1112, we witness a world-and a mind-populated by royals, heretics, nuns, witches, and devils, and come to understand just how fervently he was preoccupied with sin, sexuality, the afterlife, and the dark arts. Exotic, disquieting, and illuminating, the Monodies is a work in which the dreams, fears, and superstitions of one man illuminate the psychology of an entire people. It is joined in this volume by On the Relics of Saints, a theological manifesto that has never appeared in English until now.