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  Dangerously Funny - The...

  David Bianculli

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  Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this explosive, revealing history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run-and the cultural impact that's still being felt today.Before it was suddenly removed from the CBS lineup (reportedly under pressure from the Nixon administration), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a ratings powerhouse. It helped launch the careers of such comedy legends as Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, featured groundbreaking musical acts like the Beatles and the Who, and served as a cultural touchstone for the antiwar movement of the late 1960s.Drawing on extensive original interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers and dozens of other key players-as well as more than a decade's worth of original research-Dangerously Funny brings listeners behind the scenes for all the battles over censorship, mind-blowing musical performances, and unforgettable sketches that defined the show and its era.David Bianculli delves deep into this riveting story to find out what really happened and to reveal why this show remains so significant to this day.

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  Command and Morale - The British...

  Gary Sheffield

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  Gary Sheffield is one of the most versatile and stimulating of military historians at work today, and this selection of his outstanding essays on the First World War is essential reading for anyone who is keen to broaden their understanding of the subject. For three decades, in a series of perceptive books and articles, he has examined the nature of this war from many angles  from the point of view of the politicians and the high command through to the junior officers and other ranks in the front line. Command and Morale presents in a single volume a range of his shorter work, and it shows his scholarship at its best.Among the topics he explores is the decision-making of the senior commanders, the demands of coalition warfare, the performance of Australian forces, the organization and the performance of the army in the field, the tactics involved, the exercise of command, the importance of morale, and the wider impact of the war on British society. Every topic is approached with the same academic rigour and attention to detail which are his hallmarks and which explain why his work has been so influential. The range of his writing, the insights he offers and the sometimes controversial conclusions he reaches mean this thought provoking book will be indispensable reading for all students of the First World War and of modern warfare in general.

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  The Angel - The Egyptian Spy Who...

  Uri Bar-Joseph

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  As the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close advisor to his successor, Anwar Sadat, Ashraf Marwan had access to the deepest secrets of the country's government. But he himself had a secret: he was a spy for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Under the codename "The Angel," Marwan turned Egypt into an open book for the Israeli intelligence services and, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint Egyptian-Syrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat.Drawing on meticulous research and interviews, Uri Bar Joseph pieces together Marwan's story. In the process, he sheds new light on this volatile time in modern Egyptian and Middle Eastern history, culminating in 2011's Arab Spring. The Angel chronicles the discord within the Israeli government that brought down Prime Minister Golda Meir-but the story doesn't end there. Marwan eluded Egypt's ruthless secret services for many years until somebody talked. Five years later, his body was found in the garden of his London apartment building. Police suspected he had been thrown from his fifth-floor balcony, and thanks to explosive new evidence, Bar-Joseph can finally reveal who, how, and why.

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  Please Protect Us

  Toni Maguire, Ryan Fisher, Phil...

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  From No.1 bestselling author Toni Maguire comes a new true story of shame, silence, abuse, and survival.Ryan and Phil had always been inseparable. Twins born thirty-five minutes apart, Ryan was the protective one, constantly looking out for his younger brother. They can't remember how old they were when the abuse started, but they can remember their uncle very clearly.A frequent visitor to their home in Lincoln, he lavished their family with expensive treats. School holidays and weekends were spent visiting him, when he would often take the two little boys aside to play the games he liked.Trapped with him, day after day, year after year, the abuse continued until Ryan and Phil turned sixteen. After a showdown with Ryan when he was finally big enough, their uncle never approached them again.Nearly twenty years after the abuse ended, Ryan and his wife decided to foster troubled children, making their home a safe place filled with love for those in desperate need of it. Ryan and Phil suffered for years at the hands of their uncle, but throughout it all their bond held them together.Contains mature themes.

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  Star Shell Reflections 1914–1916...

  Jim Maultsaid

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  As the centenary of the Great War approaches, this book offers a unique perspective told in the words and illustrations of someone who was there , on the front line.Although an American citizen, Jim Maultsaid's parents were Irish and he lived in Donegal. He joined the Young Citizen Volunteers, a group drawn from the ranks of clerical and professional society, at the outbreak of war.Although he left school at age 13, the author was naturally gifted in both writing and drawing, with a great eye for detail, and has often been described as the unofficial war artist.Jim's personal style of writing is engaging, and along with his sketches and illustrations, which are witty at times, takes the reader on a journey through not only the dark days and misery but also reveals the gritty humour that helped him and his 'chums' cope with the horrors of life in the trenches.The diaries offer in words and illustrations, a true insight into the thoughts of the ordinary soldiers, and are filled with untold stories from the Great War, covering aspects that have never been addressed in other books. In particular there is new light shone on the Chinese Labour Corps, where Jim served as Captain, after he was certified unfit for active service due to his wounds.The book has great historical and educational value, and will give those of all ages a real understanding of how this brave generation faced war, and how they struggled to survive.

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  Strange Piece of Paradise - A...

  Terri Jentz

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  In the summer of 1977, Terri Jentz and her Yale roommate, Shayna Weiss, make a cross-country bike trip. They pitch a tent in the desert of central Oregon. As they are sleeping, a man in a pickup truck deliberately runs over the tent. He then attacks them with an ax. The horrific crime is reported in newspapers across the country. No one is ever arrested. Both women survive, but Shayna suffers from amnesia, while Terri is left alone with memories of the attack. Their friendship is shattered. 
  Fifteen years later, Terri returns to the small town where she was nearly murdered, on the first of many visits she will make "to solve the crime that would solve me." And she makes an extraordinary discovery: the violence of that night is as present for the community as it is for her. Slowly, her extensive interviews with the townspeople yield a terrifying revelation: many say they know who did it, and he is living freely in their midst. Terri then sets out to discover the truth about the crime and its aftermath, and to come to terms with the wounds that broke her life into a before and an after. Ultimately she finds herself face-to-face with the alleged axman. 
  Powerful, eloquent, and paced like the most riveting of thrillers, Strange Piece of Paradise is the electrifying account of Terri's investigation into the mystery of her near murder. A startling profile of a psychopath, a sweeping reflection on violence and the myth of American individualism, and a moving record of a brave inner journey from violence to hope, this  is searing, unforgettable work sure to be talked about.A Macmillan Audio production.

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