Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Rugby World Cup - 50...

  Kévin Veyssière

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  How was rugby born in 1823? Why didn’t the first Rugby World Cup take place until 1987?  Why are there so few «new nations» emerging in the world of rugby? How did the sport establish itself in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Ireland, Fiji, Georgia and Hong Kong? Are women’s rugby and the Olympic discipline of 7-a-side rugby opening up new frontiers? Why are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia interested in the sport?
  Through 50 geopolitical and international questions, Kévin Veyssière invites rugby fans, the curious and budding geographers alike, to discover the genesis and evolution of this sport, so attached to its traditions and long kept out of the spotlight. The book’s concise, entertaining approach helps readers to better understand how rugby has become part of the global sports industry over time and across continents, and how it has become a formidable tool for understanding the political, economic and social changes taking place in the world today.

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  Winston Churchill & The Queen -...

  Oliver Williams

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  A light-hearted look at royal life during the beginning of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s reign and the final days of Churchill’s prime ministership. How did two people from two different generations come to be such good friends? 
  This readable and relatable Churchill-Queen Elizabeth II book talks to the reader instead of lecturing them. The moment you become immersed in the first pages, you are transported back to what it must have felt like for a young queen to suddenly lose her father and have the elderly Churchill step in to guide, assist, and comfort her, and also tell a great many jokes along the way! 
  There is a reason why Sir Winston Churchill consistently tops the lists of greatest human beings of all time, and every time it happens it must warm Queen Elizabeth’s heart. Despite the 52 year age gap, the monarch and possibly the best Prime Minister Britain will ever have, cemented a friendship of a lifetime as they continued to bring the United Kingdom out of its post-war slump. 
  This book is not for history buffs, although it is historically accurate; it’s a book about friendship and how these two famous people found so much about which to talk and laugh about (with the occasional disagreement thrown in for good measure). 
  The more you read about Churchill and the Queen’s many interactions through the years, the more it is easy to see why theirs was not an unlikely friendship at all. 
  With dozens of interesting facts and never-before-noticed details and observations, not only is this book hard to put down and easy to read, but it also offers the reader a tiny glimpse into royal and parliamentary life in a post-world war Britain. 
  Finally, a history book about two fascinating people for fans of friendship everywhere!

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  The Gambler - My Secret Life In...

  Rob Furber

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  The weird, wacky and wonderful betting exploits of an unconventional gambler who takes the biggest risk of his life to give up his day job and try to make a living on chance. 
  The Gambler reveals the highs and lows, the joy and despair, and the sheer lunacy of someone willing to risk it all on the most outlandish outcomes, from betting on the winner of Eurovision and Strictly to whether a pair of pandas might mate. 
   
   
  As a pioneer in the field of TV betting, Rob thinks he has uncovered the path to untold riches, winning big on Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor, Eurovision – you name it. 
  While millions sat on their sofas watching and wondering who might win or who’d be evicted from their favourite shows that week, Rob would be working out the odds, checking his formulas and gambling big. 
  With similarities to international bestseller Moneyball and Harry Findlay’s Gambling For Life: The Man Who Won Millions And Spent Every Penny, Rob’s book takes readers into the fascinating world of TV gambling and beyond. 
  Surviving the nerve-jangling moments waiting and watching to see if his luck was in or if he’d be on the breadline that week, Rob honed his skills over years to seem almost psychic. 
  And he didn’t stop at TV, branching out to take a chance gambling on everything from the mating habits of pandas in a zoo to whether a superstar will sing with their top off on stage. 
  But he soon discovers that cleaning up with the bookies comes at a huge cost. With his trading exploits taking over his every waking thought, and creating a life of desolate solitude Robinson Crusoe would be proud of, he fears his obsessive pursuit of the golden ticket is poised to end unhappily, in lonely bachelorhood. 
  So he decides to take his longest shot yet – heading off into the wilds of provincial Russia, with dreams of a James Bond-style tryst with a mystery woman who could yet turn out to be a vodka-drinking scammer aiming to fleece him out of house and home. 
  Detailing the often weird and downright wacky investments Rob makes over two decades of betting, The Gambler reveals the roller coaster world of someone willing to risk it all on the most outlandish outcomes, including when it comes to seeking romance. 
  Quirky, irreverent and authentic, this is a deeper tale about adventure, taking a leap of faith, and seeking to beat the odds.

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  A Man with Two Lives - From...

  Ambrose Bierce

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  Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language.  
  Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. 
  At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. 
  His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer.  As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  
  In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865.  
  A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871.  They had a child, Day, the following year.  
  In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published.  
  They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.  
  Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. 
  In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.  Success and further works including poetry followed.  
  Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”.  
  He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899.  But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism.  
  He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.  
  At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.

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  The Picture of Dorian Gray

  Oscar Wilde

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  The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 American periodical Lippincott's Monthly Magazine issue. The novel-length version was published in April 1891.The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian's and an artist infatuated with Dorian's beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian desires to sell his soul to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade.The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian's sins.

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  Hero Redefined - Profiles of...

  Doug Levy

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  What does it mean to be a hero—in sports and in life? 
  Heroes aren’t just the ones who bring home medals. Hero Redefined delves into the lesser-known stories of Olympic athletes—and a couple of special Olympic venues—that challenge the conventional narrative of glory and gold. In riveting personal profiles exploring herculean feats of strength, perseverance, and sportsmanship, award-winning sports journalist Doug Levy offers a new vision of heroism. There is more than one path to greatness, and the extraordinary acts of resilience and personal sacrifice by these athletes have left an indelible mark on the spirit of the Olympic games in quiet but fundamental ways through the ages. 
  Each chapter reveals a different face of heroism—immense resilience, strength of character, unparalleled sportsmanship, an incredible zeal to compete, and a seemingly superhuman will to finish. Throughout, Levy celebrates the heroic human spirit and its relentless drive to carry the torch forward—both inside and outside of the Olympic Games.

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