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  Zero Risk

  Tony Loughran

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  We live in a dangerous world. And the stories of war and terrorism that fill our screens are brought to us by brave journalists who put their lives on the line. They will always face peril, but now they can work in much greater safety, thanks to the determination and dedication of one remarkable man.Tony Loughran's life has been all about risk - taking it, preventing it. He survived a tough childhood in working-class Liverpool, then joined the navy, where he excelled. Next came a career as an elite commando medic, a demanding role that required doctor-level training. He dealt with serious physical injury and a stint in Belfast left him with psychological scars.His life changed when he took responsibility for safety and security at the BBC. In his years with the world-famous broadcaster, Mr Death and Destruction, as he became known, revolutionised the protective gear and strategies used by foreign correspondents and introduced ground-breaking training that has saved many lives. Among much else, he provided the security for the notorious Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana and protected Panorama journalists in Northern Ireland.Then came a new life in Australia and the establishment of his own security consultancy company, ZeroRisk International. The work is always challenging: investigating the deaths of well-known journalist John Schofield and cameraman Nazeh Darwazeh, escaping when he came close to being captured in Kabul, advising media during the Lindt Café siege and getting people out of Afghanistan when the Taliban returned.This page-turning, hard-to-put-down account of an extraordinary career is full of nail-biting excitement, engaging humour, compassion and brutal honesty. Once you read Zero Risk, the world will never seem quite the same again.

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  Diplomacy - From their pens to...

  Lafcadio Hearn

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  Lafcadio Hearn was born on the 27th June 1850 on the Ionian isle of Levkás in Greece to a British Army officer and a Greek Mother. 
  His father, fearing for his career prospects at being married to a Greek Orthodox wife, sent them to Dublin whilst he continued to advance his career with further postings.  Life there was difficult for mother and son.  His father returned, wounded and traumatised, when Lafcadio was three.  He annulled the marriage and she remarried but had to give up care of Lafcadio to her sister-in law.   
  After brief periods for Catholic education in England and France he emigrated to Ohio in the United States when he was 19, taking on a series of casual jobs before embarking on a career as a journalist, publishing poems and essays in Cincinnati.  It was whilst here that he began a side-line in translating, starting with Gautier and Flaubert.  He married in 1874 to a 20 year old African-American woman in violation of Ohio's anti-miscegenation law.  The marriage soon failed. 
  In 1877 he relocated to New Orleans to write on a variety of themes before picking up a two year assignment from Harper’s to write in the West Indies, where he also wrote his first novel. 
  In 1890 Harper’s sent him to Japan.  Here he left journalism and took the remarkable decision to become a schoolteacher in the north of Japan.   Enraptured by the culture he was driven to explain it in various Western publications to those who had little, if any, knowledge of its culture.  Within the year he had fallen in love with, and married, a high-born Japanese lady, together they would have four children.   
  In 1895 he became a Japanese national and took the name Koizumi Yakumo, Koizumi being his wife’s family name. 
  The following few years, whilst a professor of Literature at the Imperial University of Japan, were his most creative and admired period.   
  Lafcadio Hearn died of heart failure on the 26th of September 1904, in Tokyo, Japan shortly before leaving to deliver a series of lectures at Cornell University in New York State.  He was 54.

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  Allied Forces VS Axis Powers -...

  Sage Winters

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  This book consists of 4 titles, which are: 
  - From Normandy to the Rhine: The liberation of Western Europe in the Second World War remains one of the most significant military campaigns in history. The Allied push from Normandy to the Rhine marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, culminating in its eventual surrender in May 1945. However, the path to victory was neither smooth nor inevitable. It was a campaign marked by intense fighting, strategic challenges, and the determination of soldiers from across the globe. 
  - Patton's Push: General George S. Patton was one of the most influential military leaders of the 20th century, his name forever linked with boldness, aggression, and relentless pursuit of victory. His legacy as a tactical genius in World War II is undisputed, particularly for his innovative strategies and dynamic leadership during key campaigns in Europe. Patton’s approach to warfare, characterized by rapid movement, audacity, and the application of psychological warfare, was a departure from traditional military doctrine and left an indelible mark on modern military tactics. 
  - Operation Overlord: Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, stands as one of the most significant military operations in modern history. Known globally as D-Day, it marked the beginning of the end of Nazi occupation in Western Europe and paved the way for the eventual defeat of Adolf Hitler’s regime. 
  - Resistance Fighters: The story of resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation of Europe is one of extraordinary courage and sacrifice. While the grand battles of World War II are well-documented, the covert operations of ordinary individuals working against overwhelming odds often remain in the shadows. These resistance movements, comprised of men, women, and even children, were vital in undermining the Nazi regime and aiding the Allied forces. 

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  Nothing Special - The Mostly...

  Dianne Bilyak

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  A late bloomer’s coming-of-age memoir asks how does one accept and free themselves from visible and invisible disabilities and still retain their sense of connection and humor? Nothing Special is a disarmingly candid tale of two sisters growing up in the 1970s in rural Connecticut. Older sister Chris, who has Down syndrome, is an extrovert, while the author, her younger, typically developing sister shoulders the burdens and grief of her parents. In Nothing Special Bilyak offers vignettes that range from heartrending to laugh-out-loud funny as well as a real-world picture of fighting for her own life, finding a place in her family, and strengthening the relationship with her sister. "Bilyak's Nothing Special is, despite its witty title, something special. [S]he takes us on a wild ride with her charismatic sister, the unflappable, self-avowed and completely uncowed Dr. Irma King, who just happens to have Down syndrome." —Dorion Sagan"With charming specificity and hilarity, Bilyak writes frankly about her own identity, and that of her sister's. Through honest self-reflection and observation, Bilyak hits home something that we so badly need to hear right now: that people with disabilities are not a monolith, and that there is no perfect way to love or be loved by them." ―Bekah Brunstetter"Dianne Bilyak's Nothing Special is wonderfully fulfilling and accessible―you feel like you're reading this incredibly honest diary about the complexities of family that's so relatable!" ―Brian Donovan“Nothing Special is a revaluation of cultural perceptions of Down syndrome and a realistic portrayal of gritty humor in the face of adversity. Bilyak’s honesty is breathtaking, with anecdotes ranging from poignant to laugh-out-loud funny." ―Richard Blanco

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  Diego's Story - Thrown Away...

  Louise Allen

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  Diego's Story is the thirteenth instalment in the popular Thrown Away Children series. 
   
  Diego and his siblings live in desperate poverty, but nobody seems to notice or care as they come close to starving, scouring food banks to survive. But he’s wrong – someone has noticed him. County Lines gang members can see his vulnerability. With an absent father, alcoholic mother and dependent young siblings, Diego is the perfect mark. 
   
  Entrapped, used, abused and witness to terrible crimes, young Diego escapes a murder scene and runs. 
   
  Experienced foster carer Louise Allen steps in when 14-year-old Diego is placed with her. Can she help him overcome his disturbing past and finally feel safe again? And what will happen if the County Lines gang finds him – with Louise and her family?

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  The Essential François Mauriac -...

  François Mauriac

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  Three great nonfiction works from the Nobel Prize–winning, Catholic, French author of Thérèse Desqueyroux.Saint Margaret of CortonaFor François Mauriac, Saint Margaret of Cortona became a source of fascination and solace during the Nazi occupation of France. During that time, feeling himself and all his countrymen to be among the downtrodden, he wrote this biography of the thirteenth-century Italian penitent who would become the patron saint of the homeless . . .Born in 1247 to a farming family in a small village outside Perugia, Margaret of Cortona was willful and reckless in her youth. At age seventeen, she became a wealthy man’s mistress—even bearing his son out of wedlock. But her life of sin ended when she found her lover murdered.Devoting herself to prayer and penance, Margaret eventually joined the Third Order of St. Francis and took a vow of poverty. She established a hospital for the poor and homeless at Cortona. On divine command, she challenged her own bishop for his lavish and warlike lifestyle. Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1728, she became a patron saint of the downtrodden, including the falsely accused, homeless, orphaned, and mentally ill, as well as midwives, penitents, single mothers, reformed prostitutes, and third children.Letters on Art and LiteratureIn this collection of letters, Mauriacshares fascinating insights through correspondence with Albert Camus, Jean Cocteau, and other authors, artists, intellectuals, as well as the readers of his various articles and columns. The letters delve into a variety of topics—from the death of Georges Bernanos to the correspondence between Paul Claudel and Andre Gide, and the Routier youth movement.Proust’s Way The thinking and suffering of the author of Remembrance of Things Past are intimately exposed in these letters to Mauriac.

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