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  Life of St Vincent de Paul

  Frances Alice Forbes

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  Vincent De Paul [c. 1581 - 1660] was a man renowned during his own century for his compassion, humility and generosity. During the days when galleys were part of any countries' war machine and these galleys were rowed by convicts who were in reality slaves, Vincent's special call was to provide what spiritual comfort he could to these wretched men. When a young man he himself had been captured by Turkish pirates, who brought him to Tunis and sold him into slavery, so he had a special understanding of their lot. He escaped in 1607 and went on to become a priest with a ministry to the poor. In 1625 de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission, a society of missionary priests commonly known as the Vincentians or Lazarists and with the assistance of Louise de Marillac he later founded the Daughters of Charity whose selfless nursing work in hospitals throughout the world and during many plagues is well known. (They were the nuns with the large and easily recognized 'flying nun' wimples.) (Summary by phil chenevert)

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  Bright Galaxies Dark Matter and...

  Ashley Jean Yeager

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  We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we're made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928–2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity's grip, Rubin helped convince the scientific community of the possibility of dark matter. In Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond, Ashley Jean Yeager tells the story of Rubin's life and work, recounting her persistence despite early dismissals of her work and widespread sexism in science. 
   
   
   
  Yeager describes Rubin's childhood fascination with stars, her education at Vassar and Cornell, and her marriage to a fellow scientist. At first, Rubin wasn't taken seriously; she was a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings seemed almost incredible. Still, she continued her groundbreaking work, driving a scientific revolution. She received the National Medal of Science in 1993, and has since been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory—the first national observatory named after a woman.

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  Che Guevara: The Heart of...

  Geoffrey Giuliano

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  Revolutionary warrior, compassionate physician, patient teacher, caring mentor - Che Guevara was all this and more. In this poignant, inspirational collection of thoughtful quotations by the now iconic hero of the Cuban revolution, we come to know the man behind the now mile-high myth. Introduced, compiled, and narrated by veteran actor and author Geoffrey Giuliano Che Guevara - The Heart of the Revolutionary is the perfect introduction to the life and work of the warrior doctor from Argentina.

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  Scott of the Antarctic - The...

  Sue Blackhall

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  A fascinating biography of the British explorer whose legendary expedition to the South Pole was shrouded in controversy and tragedy.   Captain Robert Falcon Scott CVO (6 June 1868-29 March 1912) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions. During the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that they had been preceded by Roald Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition. On their return journey, Scott and his four comrades all perished from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold.   Before his appointment to lead the Discovery Expedition, Scott had followed the conventional career of a naval officer in peacetime Victorian Britain. It was the chance for personal distinction that led Scott to apply for the Discovery command, rather than any predilection for polar exploration. However, having taken this step, his name became inseparably associated with the Antarctic, the field of work to which he remained committed during the final twelve years of his life.   Following the news of his death, Scott became an iconic British hero, a status maintained and reflected today by the many permanent memorials erected across the nation.   Sue Blackhall reassesses the causes of the disaster that ended his and his comrades’ lives, and the extent of Scott’s personal culpability. From a previously unassailable position, Scott has become a figure of controversy, with questions raised about his competence and character. However, more recent research has on the whole regarded Scott more positively, emphasizing his personal bravery and stoicism while acknowledging his errors, but ascribing his expedition’s fate primarily to misfortune.

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  Father to the Fatherless - The...

  Paul H Boge, Bruce Wilkinson

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  Six-year-old Charles Mulli wakes up in his Kenyan hut to discover his parents have abandoned him. Forced to beg from hut to hut in search of food, Charles scrapes out a meagre existence while trying to come to terms with his abusive past and seemingly hopeless future. As a teenager, Charles is invited by a friend to a crusade where he commits his life to Christ. That act begins a unique adventure of faith, miracles, and a passion for reaching street children. After years of struggle, Charles experiences unprecedented success. He finds a wonderful wife, raises a family, excels in business to such a degree that he creates an empire that is noticed by the President of Kenya. Charles becomes a pinnacle in the Church movement, but then his life changes again. In spite of his tremendous achievements, the plight of the growing street children problem in his country remains strong in Charles' heart. He is unable to shut out their cries, the cries he understands so well, and he realizes he must respond. Convicted by God to give away all his possessions, Charles sells everything to pursue his passion of rescuing street children from the slums of Kenya. He battles against corrupt religious establishments, supernatural enemies, and intense financial pressures to bring hope to those whose lives reflect his own childhood. Mully Children's Family (MCF) Orphanage was founded and established by Charles and Esther Mulli in response to the desperate needs of street children, abandoned children, and HIV/AIDS orphans in Kenya in 1989. Father to the Fatherless is the true story of a man whose life begins in desperate poverty, moves to riches, and finally servanthood, where he becomes a real-life demonstration of selfless love and sacrifice that challenges us to evaluate the cost of giving up all to God in the service of others..

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  George Washington - The Life &...

  Woodrow Wilson

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  George Washington (1732-1799) was an American statesman and soldier who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and later presided over the 1787 convention that drafted the United States Constitution. As a driving force behind the nation's establishment he came to be known as the "father of the country," both during his lifetime and to this day.
  Contents:
  In Washington's Day
  A Virginian Breeding
  Colonel Washington
  Mount Vernon Days
  The Heat of Politics
  Piloting a Revolution
  General Washington
  The Stress of Victory
  First in Peace
  The First President of the United States

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