Other books that might interest you

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  Hopeless but Optimistic -...

  Douglas A. Wissing

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  “A fascinating ground level account of the effect of absurd and inappropriate Washington strategies on Afghans and on American soldiers.”—Abdulkader Sinno, author of Organizations at War in Afghanistan & Beyond   Award-winning journalist Douglas A. Wissing’s poignant and eye-opening journey across insurgency-wracked Afghanistan casts an unyielding spotlight on greed, dysfunction, and predictable disaster while celebrating the everyday courage and wisdom of frontline soldiers, idealistic humanitarians, and resilient Afghans. As Wissing hauls a hundred pounds of body armor and pack across the Afghan warzone in search of the ground truth, US officials frantically spin a spurious victory narrative, American soldiers try to keep their body parts together, and Afghans try to stay positive and strain to figure out their next move after the US eventually leaves. As one technocrat confided to Wissing, “I am hopeless—but optimistic.”   Along with a deep inquiry into the 21st-century American way of war and an unforgettable glimpse of the enduring culture and legacy of Afghanistan, Hopeless but Optimistic includes the real stuff of life: the austere grandeur of Afghanistan and its remarkable people; warzone dining, defecation, and sex; as well as the remarkable shopping opportunities for men whose job is to kill.  Silver Medal, War & Military, Foreword Indies AwardsSilver Medal, Current Events, Independent Publisher Book Awards   “A scathing dispatch from an embedded journalist in Afghanistan . . . Pungent, embittered, eye-opening observations of a conflict involving lessons still unlearned.”—Kirkus Reviews “Here we confront in granular detail the waste and folly that is America’s war in Afghanistan.”—Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The Age of Illusions

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  Part of My World - What I’ve...

  Jodi Benson, Carol Traver, Paige...

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  Join Disney Legend Jodi Benson on a magical journey from a Midwestern town to the bright lights of Broadway and the recording booth where she brought one of the most beloved Disney princesses of all time to life!A treasure trove of colorful characters and unforgettable anecdotes, Part of My World reads like a real-life fairy tale as a girl with a big voice and even bigger dreams sets out on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the way, Jodi shares lessons she's learned about faith, friendship, love, loss, taking chances, making mistakes, following God’s call, and chasing your dreams. In Part of My World you’ll come alongside Jodi as shestruggles to find her footing in the rehearsal halls of Manhattan;finds (then loses, then marries) her prince charming;makes a splash on Broadway;gives voice to a feisty redheaded mermaid, a blonde bombshell named Barbie, and a Tony-nominated powerhouse named Polly; andsearches for her own personal happily ever after.Written with warmth, humor, and disarming vulnerability, Part of My World is a captivating glimpse behind the curtain at the making of one of the most celebrated animated movies of all time, and a must-read for Disney fans of all ages.

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  The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals

  Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins,...

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  Learn the origins of over 2,000 mammal species names with this informative reference guide. 
   
  Just who was the Przewalski after whom Przewalski's horse was named? Or Husson, the eponym for the rat Hydromys hussoni? Or the Geoffroy whose name is forever linked to Geoffroy's cat? This unique reference provides a brief look at the real lives behind the scientific and vernacular mammal names one encounters in field guides, textbooks, journal articles, and other scholarly works. 
   
  Arranged to mirror standard dictionaries, the more than 1,300 entries included here explain the origins of over 2,000 mammal species names. Each bio-sketch lists the scientific and common-language names of all species named after the person, outlines the individual’s major contributions to mammalogy and other branches of zoology, and includes brief information about his or her mammalian namesake’s distribution. The two appendixes list scientific and common names for ease of reference, and, where appropriate, individual entries include mammals commonly—but mistakenly—believed to be named after people. 
   
  The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals is a highly readable and informative guide to the people whose names are immortalized in mammal nomenclature. 
   
  “A small treasure trove of information about the people whose names are immortalized in mammalian nomenclature. Given that we mammalogists are prone to ancestor worship, I expect it to be a best-seller.” —Don E. Wilson, Journal of Mammalian Evolution 
   
  “This is a great reference for the mammalogy professional or student, or the curious naturalist.” —Wildlife Activist 
   
  “This is a splendid book which fills a real gap in zoological literature.” —Nicholas Gould, International Zoo News

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  Duct Tape Killer - The True...

  Phil Hamman, Sandy Hamman

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  When Piper Streyle failed to show up for work, a coworker called her home. Piper's three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Shaina, answered and said, "A mean man carried Mommy away." Then the line went dead. In the tranquil region of southeast South Dakota, word of the young mother who was brazenly abducted from her home in broad daylight shocked residents. Piper was the second woman to vanish, following the startling incident of a young woman who narrowly escaped abduction by fighting for her life on a dark and secluded highway. 
  An intensive search by an elite team of investigators uncovered a secret crime location, but the discovery of a nightshirt cut in half, a burnt candle, and a homemade bondage board revealed the chilling truth behind the missing women. With the help of a quick-witted and streetwise maximum-security prison inmate, prosecutor Larry Long and his team were able to piece together the sinister facts of the diabolical crimes. 
  Bestselling authors Phil and Sandy Hamman, along with former Attorney General Larry Long, dive into the grim and demented world of Robert Leroy Anderson, a sexual sadist, rapist, and murderer. Duct Tape Killer is also the story of perseverance and proof that love will not be extinguished by the ruinous evil that seeks to take root in our world. 
  Contains mature themes.

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  Geoffrey Giuliano in...

  Geoffrey Giuliano

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  Icon Audio Books proudly presents a long-lost, in-depth, up close and personal, intimate interview with Jimi Hendrix’s talented and generous brother, Leon Hendrix. Author, actor, and historian Geoffrey Giuliano was close with Jimi’s family for more than two decades, and this comes shining through in the course of this exciting, revealing, once in a lifetime, deep inner view on Jimi and Leon’s ultra-close relationship, the family's turbulent early years, Jimi’s meteoric rise to international superstardom, and his tragic, mysterious death at just 27. A must for all Jimi, pop music, and 1960s fans.   Music by AudioNautix.com

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  Dog Man - An Uncommon Life on a...

  Martha Sherrill

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  As Dog Man opens, Martha Sherrill brings us to a world that Americans know very little about-the snow country of Japan during World War II. In a mountain village, we meet Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist who has chosen to break the law by keeping an Akita dog hidden in a shed on his property.During the war, the magnificent and intensely loyal Japanese hunting dogs are donated to help the war effort, eaten, or used to make fur vests for the military. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, there are only sixteen Akitas left in the country. The survival of the breed becomes Morie's passion and life, almost a spiritual calling.Devoted to the dogs, Morie is forever changed. His life becomes radically unconventional-almost preposterous-in ultra-ambitious, conformist Japan. For the dogs, Morie passes up promotions, bigger houses, and prestigious engineering jobs in Tokyo. Instead, he raises a family with his young wife, Kitako-a sheltered urban sophisticate-in Japan's remote and forbidding snow country.Their village is isolated, but interesting characters are always dropping by-dog buddies, in-laws from Tokyo, and a barefoot hunter who lives in the wild. Due in part to Morie's perseverance and passion, the Akita breed strengthens and becomes wildly popular, sometimes selling for millions of yen. Yet Morie won't sell his spectacular dogs. He only likes to give them away.Morie and Kitako remain in the snow country today, living in the traditional Japanese cottage they designed together more than thirty years ago-with tatami mats, an overhanging roof, a deep bathtub, and no central heat. At ninety-four years old, Morie still raises and trains the Akita dogs that have come to symbolize his life.In beautiful prose that is a joy to read, Sherrill opens up the world of the Dog Man and his wife, providing a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity-and what it means to live life in one's own way-while expertly revealing Japan and Japanese culture as we've never seen it before.

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