Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Guided by Voices - A Brief History

  James Greer

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  The true story of the fourth-grade teacher in Dayton, Ohio, who created one of the most influential bands of our times.   Devoted fans have followed Guided by Voices for decades—and critics around the world have lauded the band’s brain trust, Robert Pollard, as a once-in-a-generation artist. Pollard has been compared by the New York Times to Mozart, Rossini, and Paul McCartney (in the same sentence) and everyone from P. J. Harvey, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Strokes, and U2 has sung his praises and cited his music as an influence.   But it all started rather prosaically when Pollard, a fourth-grade teacher in his early thirties, began recording songs with drinking buddies in his basement. In this book, James Greer, an acclaimed music writer and former Spin editor—who also played in the band for two years—provides unparalleled insight and complete access to the workings of Pollard’s muse.

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  The Book of Eels - Our Enduring...

  Patrik Svensson

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  Part H Is for Hawk, part The Soul of an Octopus, The Book of Eels is both a meditation on the world’s most elusive fish—the eel—and a reflection on the human condition. 
  Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the “eel question”: Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don’t understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery. 
  Drawing on a breadth of research about eels in literature, history, and modern marine biology, as well as his own experience fishing for eels with his father, Patrik Svensson crafts a mesmerizing portrait of an unusual, utterly misunderstood, and completely captivating animal. In The Book of Eels, we meet renowned historical thinkers, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud to Rachel Carson, for whom the eel was a singular obsession. And we meet the scientists who spearheaded the search for the eel’s point of origin, including Danish marine biologist Johannes Schmidt, who led research efforts in the early twentieth century, catching thousands upon thousands of eels, in the hopes of proving their birthing grounds in the Sargasso Sea. 
  Blending memoir and nature writing at its best, Svensson’s journey to understand the eel becomes an exploration of the human condition that delves into overarching issues about our roots and destiny, both as humans and as animals, and, ultimately, how to handle the biggest question of all: death. The result is a gripping and slippery narrative that will surprise and enchant.

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  Wirral in the Great War

  Stephen McGreal

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  On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. Originally perceived as a short campaign to curtail Germanic imperialism, it developed into a four-year long war of attrition. The Great War is justifiably associated with the horrors of trench warfare and the death of a generation but history has overlooked the home fronts' colossal contribution to victory.On the outbreak of war thousands of troops arrived in Wirral to defend the coast from invasion and guard the docks and shipyards under the watchful eyes of the gunners of the Bidston Hill artillery batteries. The transition to a military garrison also led to the conversion of schools to military hospitals, predominately financed by the community. Thousands of wounded service men arriving at Woodside station were dispersed and administered to by a plethora of military or auxiliary hospitals. Voluntary organizations also procured funds for ambulances and comforts for those at the front. At the beginning of hostilities, the Government swiftly introduced draconian regulations to restrict liberty, particularly for those of foreign extraction. Following the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, the xenophobia vented itself in Wallasey and Birkenhead where riots resulted in the destruction of German owned business premises. The resentment was further fueled by the German submarines attempt to destroy the British merchant fleet and starve Britain into submission  they almost succeeded. As vital cargoes plunged to the sea bed, food became the latest rationed commodity; consequently unused tracts of Wirral land were turned over to food production and German prisoners of war helped clear the river Birkett. The local shipyards and factories came under the control of the Ministry of Munitions and unlikely companies were involved in the national preoccupation of producing artillery shells. Following the 1916 introduction of compulsory military service, female workers increasingly replaced the men thereby making undreamed of advances in female emancipation. Also involved in the war effort were school children who collected food for wounded soldiers, boy scouts patrolled the coastline, 'sister Susie famously sewed shirts for soldiers' and a Dad's Army was established to repel invaders. Their activities and others are generally overlooked by twentieth century chroniclers.This is the fascinating, but forgotten story of how Wirral provided the sinews for war, and made a significant contribution to the comprehensive defeat of Germany.

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  It Takes a Worried Man - A Memoir

  Brendan Halpin

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  Hilarious and heartbreaking, profane and profound, It Takes a Worried Man is the true story of a young husband and father whose life is changed forever by his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis. Following Brendan Halpin’s cranky, irreverent and lustful thoughts through the diagnosis and treatment of his wife, Kirsten, It Takes a Worried Man is an unflinching and raw look at how cancer transforms a family. It’s also the funniest book about cancer you’ll ever read.

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  Ryan White - My Own Story

  Ryan White, Greg Louganis, Ann...

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  Ryan White was a typical 13-year-old living in a small town in the Midwest. Then, it was discovered that Ryan had contracted AIDS through tainted blood products he had been given for his hemophilia. Denied the right to return to school, he went to court. Newspaper headlines followed the many legal battles, and although Ryan won the court case, his own fight had just begun. With great courage, he spoke out against the many misconceptions about the disease and called for AIDS sufferers to be treated with compassion. In this moving, personal account—             narrated by Lukas Haas who played Ryan in a television film—             the young advocate shares the struggle not only for himself but for others, ensuring his brief life had an everlasting impact long after he was gone.

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  The Life of Saint Monica

  Frances Alice Forbes

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  This book is above all things the story of a mother. But it is also the story of a noble woman—a woman who was truly great, for the reason that she never sought to be so. Because she understood the sphere in which a woman's work in the world must usually lie, and led her life truly along the lines that God had laid down for her; because she suffered bravely, forgot herself for others, and remained faithful to her noble ideals, she ruled as a queen amongst those with whom her life was cast. Her influence was great and far-reaching, but she herself was the last to suspect it, the last to desire it, and that was perhaps the secret of its greatness. The type is rare at the present day, but, thank God! there are Monicas still in the world. If there were more, the world would be a better place. - Summary from the book

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