Other books that might interest you

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  Coming About - Life In the Balance

  Dr. Mario Dell'Olio

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  A mid-life crisis, a sailing adventure, and a rescue at sea, Coming About tells a story of survival and inner-strength through a foundational loving relationship. Coming About is a memoir of Mario and Jim who, at 40, quit their jobs and sell their home in San Francisco to follow their dream. They buy a 50-foot sailboat and move to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands where they discover many quirky facets of adjusting to life on the island as well as its many cultural idiosyncrasies. During the maiden voyage from the US mainland to St. Thomas, they encounter treacherous weather conditions and a series of life-threatening events that lead to a rescue at sea and the destruction of their dreams of retirement in a Caribbean paradise. Battling relentlessly crushing waves and shark-infested waters, their lives hang in the balance. Their struggles are vividly recounted as they search for meaning in the near loss of their lives and the shattering of their dreams.

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  A Journey of Little Profit -...

  John Buchan

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  The Scottish novelist John Buchan enjoyed a remarkable career as politician, historian and Governor General. He was born John Buchan on 26th August 1875 and later added 1st Baron Tweedsmuir PC GCMG GCVO CH to his name.  
  Buchan studied at Hutchesons’ Grammar School, Glasgow and at seventeen won a scholarship to the University of Glasgow to study classics. There he began to write poetry. In 1895 he transferred to Oxford to continue his study of Classics and in 1896 ‘Sir Quixote of the Moors’ was published followed by the non-fiction ‘Scholar-Gipsies’. His prolific literary output now hardly faltered. 
  He graduated in 1900 and became the private secretary to Alfred Milner, the High Commissioner for Southern Africa and other colonies. Buchan found the same inspiration in the African landscape as he had in the Scottish Borders, and would later set many works here. Returning to London he became a partner in a publishing house, and garnered an editorial role at The Spectator. He also completed his law studies. He was called to the bar in 1901 but never practiced.  
  On 15th July 1907 Buchan married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor, the cousin of the Duke of Westminster. In 1910 he wrote ‘Prester John’, the first of a series set in South Africa.  
  In 1911 Buchan entered politics as a Unionist candidate in the Scottish Borders advocating the support of free trade, women’s suffrage, national insurance, and reducing the power of the House of Lords.  
  The Great War saw Buchan writing for the War Propaganda Bureau and as Times correspondent in France. In 1915, he published ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’, his most famous book and a follow-up Richard Hannay novel, ‘Greenmantle’, in 1916.  
  In 1916 Buchan enlisted in the Intelligence Corps which included writing speeches for Sir Douglas Haig. By 1917 he was Director of Information under Lord Beaverbrook. Buchan called it “the toughest job he ever took on”. He somehow found time to assist in a history of the war magazine. This was later published in 24 volumes: Nelson’s History of the War. 
  After the war his writing focused on historical studies. In 1927 Buchan became the Unionist Party Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities. In a speech to Parliament he said “I believe every Scotsman should be a Scottish nationalist. If it could be proved that a Scottish parliament were desirable… Scotsmen should support it.”  
  Over the next decade he continued to distinguish himself politically and in literature.  On the 1st June 1935 he became 1st Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in the County of Oxford.  
  He was now also given the position of Governor General in Canada and resolved to travel all over Canada to gain a better insight of the country. Having crossed both length and breadth he saw the cultural shift between areas and their common ground and helped bring about a clear national Canadian identity. 
  On the 6th February 1940 he collapsed from a stroke and sustained a very serious head injury in falling. Two rounds of surgery to stabilise his condition were unsuccessful and Buchan died on the 11th February. After a state funeral in Ottawa his ashes were returned to his estate in Oxfordshire.

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  What I Wish I Said - Confessions...

  Jaime Watt

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  Just as they do on those television cooking contests when the bell rings and the contestants’ hands go up, at four o’clock on Friday afternoon, the column is filed—ready or not—to the columnist’s horror, discomfort, or self-satisfaction. Regardless, one exigent and unrelenting thought remains: what you wish you’d said.
  		 
  Such is the life of a weekly newspaper columnist.
  		 
  Unable to ignore the urge any longer, in What I Wish I Said: Confessions of a Columnist, author Jaime Watt has collected forty-eight of his most eye-opening, illuminating, and provocative Toronto Star columns and with humour, candour, and wit, he’s responded to each with what he wishes he’d said. The collection also features contributions from former senator and columnist André Pratte and from journalist and former editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star Michael Cooke.
  		 
  Widely regarded as Canada’s leading high-stakes communications strategist and the architect of groundbreaking campaigns that transformed politics with their boldness and creativity, Watt brings his insight to bear on some of the most vexing and consequential issues in Canadian life by reappraising his past work.
  		 
  Across six topical subject areas—civil liberties and human rights, portraits of leaders, the Liberal Party in power, the Conservative Party in opposition, the Donald Trump presidency, and the COVID-19 crisis—this subtle yet accessible collection offers a distinctive look at recent times. Whether he got it right or wrong, Watt pulls no punches when it comes to critiquing—and at times lambasting—his past columns.
  		 
  Revisiting his best and worst takes, Watt and his co-author Breen Wilkinson look at what might have been said in the columns he has been writing for more than seven years. And as he does, Watt challenges with new perspectives and ideas, inviting readers to consider what they wish they might have said, to consider how their points of views, and even their values, may have changed with time.

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  Anatomy of 55 More Songs - The...

  Marc Myers

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  Songs that sell the most copies become hits, but some of those hits become something more—iconic recordings that not only inspire a generation but also change the direction of music. In Anatomy of 55 More Songs, based on his column for the Wall Street Journal, music journalist and historian Marc Myers tells the story behind fifty-five rock, pop, R&B, country, and soul-gospel hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them. 
   
   
   
  Part oral history, part musical analysis, Anatomy of 55 More Songs ranges from Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" to Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By," The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." Bernie Taupin recalls how he wrote the lyrics to Elton John's "Rocket Man;" Joan Jett remembers channeling her rage against how she had been unfairly labeled and treated as a female rocker into "Bad Reputation;" and Ozzy Osbourne, Elvis Costello, Bob Weir, Sheryl Crow, Alice Cooper, Roberta Flack, John Mellencamp, Keith Richards, Carly Simon, and many others reveal the emotions and technique behind their major works. 
   
    
   
  Through an absorbing chronological, song-by-song analysis of the most memorable post-war hits, Anatomy of 55 More Songs provides a sweeping look at the evolution of pop music between 1964 and today.

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  Zachary Taylor - The Complete...

  Brilliant Bio

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  Discover the remarkable life of Zachary Taylor — frontier soldier, war hero, and the 12th President of the United States. From his humble beginnings on the Kentucky frontier to his rise as a national hero in the Mexican-American War, Taylor’s story is one of grit, duty, and reluctant politics. This engaging biography explores his military triumphs, his unexpected path to the presidency, and the brief yet pivotal leadership that shaped a nation on the brink of civil war. Perfect for readers of American history, presidential biographies, and military history enthusiasts alike.

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  Touch the Future - A Manifesto...

  John Lee Clark

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  A revelatory collection of essays on the DeafBlind experience, and a manifesto on the power and untapped potential of touch. 
   
   
   
  Born Deaf into an ASL-speaking family and blind by adolescence, John Lee Clark learned to embrace the possibilities of his tactile world. He is on the frontlines of the Protactile movement, which gave birth to an unprecedented tactile language and a way of life based on physical connection. 
   
   
   
  In a series of paradigm-shifting essays, Clark reports on seismic developments within the DeafBlind community. In "Against Access," he interrogates the prevailing advocacy for "accessibility" that recreates a shadow of a hearing-sighted experience. In the National Magazine Award–winning "Tactile Art," he describes his relationship to visual art and encounters with tactile sculpture. He advocates for "Co-Navigation," a new way of guiding that respects DeafBlind agency and offers a brief history of the term "DeafBlind." As warm and witty as he is radical and inspiring, Clark welcomes listeners into the exciting Protactile landscape and celebrates the hidden knowledge that can be gained through touch.

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