Other books that might interest you

• 

  Detailed Minutiae of Soldier...

  Carlton McCarthy

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Excerpt: We are familiar with the names and deeds of the "generals," from the commander-in-chief down to the almost innumerable brigadiers, and we are all more or less ignorant of the habits and characteristics of the individuals who composed the rank and file of the "grand armies" of 1861-65. As time rolls on, the historian, condensing matters, mentions "the men" by brigades, divisions, and corps. But here let us look at the individual soldier separated from the huge masses of men composing the armies, and doing his own work and duty. The fame of Lee and Jackson, world-wide, and as the years increase ever brighter, is but condensed and personified admiration of the Confederate soldier, wrung from an unwilling world by his matchless courage, endurance, and devotion. Their fame is an everlasting monument to the mighty deeds of the nameless host who followed them through so much toil and blood to glorious victories. Artist Bio Author: Carlton McCarthy (1847-1936) was the mayor of Richmond (Virginia, United States) from 1904 to 1908. Prior to this, he served as a soldier in the Confederate Army.

  Show book

• 

  Planet Claire - Suite for Cello...

  Jeff Porter

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Planet Claire is the story of the untimely death of the author's wife and a candid account of the following year of madness and grief. With Claire's death, Jeff Porter tries to imagine life without her but struggles with the bewilderment that follows. There was no gradual transition, no chance to say goodbye or resolve unfinished business. The grief is crushing, her death the psychological equivalent of Pearl Harbor. 
   
   
   
  As Jeff's life unravels, he analyzes his sadness with growing interest. He talks to Claire as if to evoke a presence, to mark a space for memory. He reports on his daily walks and shares observations of life's sadness, while reminiscing about various moments in their life together. Like Orpheus, the author searches for a lost love, and what he finds is not the dog of doom but flashes of an intimate symmetry that brighten the darkest places of sorrow. 
   
   
   
  Planet Claire takes listeners on a journey of sorrow that recalls memorable works by C. S. Lewis (A Grief Observed), Joan Didion (The Year of Magical Thinking), and Julian Barnes (Levels of Life). Planet Claire, however, is also playful, quirky, and self-ironic in a way that challenges the genre's traditional solemnity.

  Show book

• 

  The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk

  Palden Gyatso

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “With this memoir by a ‘simple monk’ who spent 33 years in prisons and labor camps for resisting the Chinese, a rare Tibetan voice is heard.” —The New York Times Book Review   Palden Gyatso was born in a Tibetan village in 1933 and became an ordained Buddhist monk at eighteen—just as Tibet was in the midst of political upheaval. When Communist China invaded Tibet in 1950, it embarked on a program of “reform” that would eventually affect all of Tibet’s citizens and nearly decimate its ancient culture. In 1967, the Chinese destroyed monasteries across Tibet and forced thousands of monks into labor camps and prisons. Gyatso spent the next twenty-five years of his life enduring interrogation and torture simply for the strength of his beliefs. Palden Gyatso’s story bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit, and to the strength of Tibet’s proud civilization, faced with cultural genocide.   “To readers of this memoir, however untraveled, Tibet will never again seem remote or unfamiliar. . . . Gyatso reminds us that the language of suffering is universal.” —Library Journal   “Has the ring of undeniable truth. . . . Palden Gyatso’s clear-sighted eloquence (in Tsering Shakya’s fluent translation) makes his tale even more engrossing.” —San Francisco Chronicle

  Show book

• 

  Alexander the Great: General...

  Christopher M. Bellitto

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Who was Alexander the Great? Was he a brilliant, ambitious conqueror or a self-obsessed leader who put his men in harm’s way? A divine figure or a god in his own mind? In this audio course, join acclaimed historian Christopher Bellitto to explore this famously complex figure.Alexander the Great (ca. 356-323 BCE) was a Macedonian general who brought Greekcivilization to the edge of modern-day India. After studying the Iliad, he believed himself to be Achilles reincarnated, imitating the hero of the epic poem in his own military campaigns. Even before he died barely into his thirties, the legends surrounding him were larger than life. In this compelling new audio course, you’ll explore the history and lore surrounding this real man and mythic figure, often by consulting the ancient sources themselves.With Prof. Bellitto, you’ll trace Alexander’s conquests from Macedonia to Asia, assessing his military prowess and leadership skills along the way. You’ll also explore questions about his alleged divinity, his ideas for mixing Greek culture with peoples he overwhelmed, and whether or not he planned to build an empire. Analyzing primary sources as well as context from contemporary historians, you’ll discover wildly different accounts of the same events in Alexander’s life.This course is part of the Learn25 Collection.

  Show book

• 

  My Place in the Sun - Life in...

  George Stevens Jr.

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The son of a celebrated Hollywood director emerges from his father's shadow to claim his own place as a visionary force in American culture. George Stevens, Jr. tells an intimate and moving tale of his relationship with his Oscar-winning father and his own distinguished career in Hollywood and Washington. Fascinating people, priceless stories and a behind-the-scenes view of some of America's major cultural and political events grace this riveting memoir.  
  George Stevens, Jr. grew up in Hollywood and worked on film classics with his father and writes vividly of his experience on the sets of A Place in the Sun (1951), Shane (1953), Giant (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank(1959). He explores how the magnitude of his father's talent and achievements left him questioning his own creative path. The younger Stevens began to forge his unique career when legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow recruited him to elevate the Motion Picture Service at the United States Information Agency in John F. Kennedy's Washington. Stevens' trailblazing efforts initiated what has been called the "golden era" of USIA filmmaking and a call to respect motion pictures as art. His appointment as founding director of the American Film Institute in 1967 placed him at the forefront of culture and politics, safeguarding thousands of endangered films and training a new generation of filmmakers. 
  In My Place in the Sun, George Stevens, Jr. shares his lifelong passion for advancing the art of American film, enlightening audiences, and shining a spotlight on notable figures who inspire us. He provides an insightful look at Hollywood's Golden Age and an insider's account of Washington spanning six decades, bringing to life a sparkling era of American history and culture.

  Show book

• 

  Daughters of Edward I

  Kathryn Warner

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A colorful biography of five royal sisters in medieval England.   In 1254 the teenage heir to the English throne took a Spanish bride, the sister of the king of Castile, in Burgos. Their marriage of thirty-six years proved to be one of the great royal romances of the Middle Ages.   Edward I of England and Leonor of Castile had at least fourteen children together, though only six survived into adulthood, five of them daughters. Daughters of Edward I traces the lives of these five capable, independent women, including Joan of Acre, born in the Holy Land, who defied her father by marrying a second husband of her own choice, and Mary, who did not let her forced veiling as a nun stand in the way of the life she really wanted to live. These women’s stories span the decades from the 1260s to the 1330s, through the long reign of their father, the turbulent reign of their brother Edward II, and into the reign of their nephew, the child-king Edward III.

  Show book