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  “They Know I Know Everything” -...

  Robert Bourgi

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  A key figure in French Africa, Robert Bourgi, for the first time ever in a book, discusses his life, his relationship with his mentor Jacques Foccart and all the "missions" he undertook over almost forty years, on behalf of African and French presidents, including the leading lights of the Right (Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, Charles Pasqua, Jacques Toubon, Dominique de Villepin, Claude Guéant, François Fillon etc.). He reveals the financing networks of French political parties, based on his personal notes that he kept for 40 years. He also describes the sensitive cases in which he was involved—the liberation of French journalists from Lebanon in the 1980s; rehabilitation of Mobutu Sese Seko; the liberation of the French hostage, Clothilde Reiss, in Iran; the rescue of Laurent Gbagbo; the resignation of Jean-Marie Bockel; the appointment of French ambassadors to Africa; his lobbying of the Élysée Palace on behalf of African heads of state. From Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Laurent Gbagbo (Ivory Coast) to Mobutu Sese Seko (DR Congo), via Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso), Mathieu Kérékou (Benin), Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall (Senegal), Mohamed ould Abdel Aziz (Mauritania) and Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Pascal Lissouba, Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo), and above all Omar and Ali Bongo (Gabon), this book throws light on the psychology of numerous presidents, south of the Sahara, and their regimes, giving the reader a fresh look at France's African policy over several decades.

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  The Magic Mountain

  Thomas Mann

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  A book that pulses with life in the midst of death, The Magic Mountain is a mammoth masterpiece of erudition and irony, sexual tension, and intellectual ferment. Mann utilises a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, a community dedicated solely to illness, as a microcosm for Europe, which in the years prior to 1914 was already displaying the initial signs of its own terminal madness, in this dizzyingly dense novel of ideas.Death in Venice tells the tale of Gustav von Aschenbach, a successful but ageing writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfilment but instead leads to his erotic doom. It was published on the eve of World War I, ten years after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity.Foreword - Track 1Chapter 1. Arrival - Track 2Chapter 2. Of the Christening Basin -Track 3 Chapter 3. Drawing the Veil - Track 4 to 6 Chapter 4. Necessary Purchases - Track 7 to 11Chapter 5. Soup-Everlasting Part 1 - Track 12 to 16./ Soup-Everlasting Part 2 - Track 17 to 21.Chapter 6. Changes Part 1 - Track 22 to 25. / Changes Part 2 - Track 26 to 29. / Changes Part 3 - Track 30 to 32.Chapter 7. By the Ocean of Time Part 1 - Track 33 to 37. / By the Ocean of Time Part 2 - Track 38 ./ By the Ocean of Time Part 3 - Track 39 to 43.

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  Albert Camus - Existentialism...

  50 50minutes

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  Keen to learn but short on time? Find out everything you need to know about the life and work of Albert Camus in just 50 minutes with this straightforward and engaging guide!Albert Camus is one of the most celebrated and influential writers of the 20th century. From humble beginnings in Algeria under French rule, he garnered international recognition for his novels, short stories, plays and essays, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. Camus was also a profoundly politically engaged writer: he took part in the French Resistance during the Second World War, denounced totalitarianism and injustice in all its forms, and campaigned in favour of the abolition of the death penalty. His writing grapples with universal philosophical themes such as the ultimate meaninglessness of life, and as such still resonates with many people today.In this book, you will learn about:• Camus's childhood and the historical context in which his books were written• The main themes and ideas explored in Camus's work, including the Absurd and the necessity of rebellion• Camus's influence on later writers and thinkers, both in France and abroadABOUT 50MINUTES.COM|Art & LiteratureThe Art & Literature series from the 50Minutes collection aims to introduce readers to the figures and movements that have shaped our culture over the centuries. Our guides are written by experts in their field and each feature a full biography, an introduction to the relevant social, political and historical context, and a thorough discussion and analysis of the key works of each artist, writer or movement, making them the ideal starting point for busy readers looking for a quick way to broaden their cultural horizons.

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  Foreordained - From their pens...

  Anthony Hope

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  Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins was born on 9th February 1863 in Clapton, London.  
  He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford.  Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. Despite what was thought to be a promising legal career he had literary ambitions and wrote in his spare time. 
  His early works appeared in various periodicals of the day but for his first book ‘A Man of Mark’ (1890), with no publisher interested, he published with his own resources.  
  More novels and short stories followed, including the mildly successful ‘Mr Witt's Widow’ in 1892. Hope even found time to run as the Liberal candidate for Wycombe in the election that same year but was unsuccessful. 
  His first major literary success came with ‘The Dolly Dialogues’, a collection of previously published magazine pieces followed very quickly by his instant classic, ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. He now gave up the vestiges of his legal career to pursue writing full-time. 
  Despite never again reaching the same pinnacle of success he was popular and wrote prolifically across novels, plays and of course, short stories though his writing output rapidly diminished after the war. 
  In 1918 he was knighted for his contribution to propaganda efforts during World War I.  
  His short stories are delicate, mannered and often surprising with their wit, humour and interplay of characters who say one thing and usually mean another.  He was very definitely a writer of escapist rather than serious fare but they are no less enjoyable for that. 
  Anthony Hope died of throat cancer on 8th July 1933 at his country home, Heath Farm at Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey. He was 70.

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  Up From Slavery

  Booker T. Washington

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  "Up from Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of Booker T. WashingtonBorn into slavery, Booker Washington suddenly gained his freedom, after the American Civil War. This is a first hand account from a slave around the events of the emancipation proclamation.The book covers the inspiring story of a young man as he works to rise up from being enslaved as a child, overcoming massive obstacles to obtain an education, to eventually become an advisor to the president.A truly inspiring and informative story."

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  Murder and Mayhem in Houston

  John Nova Lomax, Mike Vance

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  Houston, we have a problem. The largest city in Texas has a wild west past filled with dodgy criminals and murderous madmen. 
   
   
    
  When the Allen brothers sold Houston's first lots, the city became a magnet for enterprising tycoons and opportunistic crooks alike. As the young city grew, a scourge of crime and vice accompanied the success of oil and real estate. The Bayou City's seedy side—flashing Bowie knives, privileged bad boys, hardened prostitutes, and unchecked serial killers—established its hold. From a young Clyde Barrow to the Man Who Killed Halloween, Houston's past is filled with bloody tales, heartbreaking loss, and despicable deeds. Authors Mike Vance and John Nova Lomax shine a light on these dark days.

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