Other books that might interest you

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  Abraham Lincoln - The Prairie...

  Carl Sandburg

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  "A Lincoln whom no other man than Carl Sandburg could have given us." -Mark Van Doren, New York Herald Tribune Book Review 
   
  Originally published in six volumes, which sold more than one million copies, Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln was praised as the most noteworthy historical biography of Sandburg's generation. He later distilled this monumental work into one volume that critics and readers alike consider his greatest work of nonfiction, as well as the most distinguished, authoritative biography of Lincoln ever published. 
   
  Growing up in an Illinois prairie town, Sandburg listened to stories of old-timers who had known Lincoln. By the time this single-volume edition was competed, he had spent a lifetime studying, researching, and writing about our sixteenth president. His extraordinary portrait brings fully to life the country lawyer who would become one of the most influential and beloved presidents of the American republic. 
   
  Additional information about the author can be found at: http://www.nps.gov/carl.

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  The Plague and I

  Betty MacDonald

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  Thanks to vaccines, tuberculosis is rare in North America today and, thanks to antibiotics, relatively treatable. This wasn’t the case in 1938, when Betty MacDonald was diagnosed.“Perhaps the funniest book I’ve ever read. But then each time I read The Egg And I, I think the same thing. Both make me snort out loud. I laugh until I weep…” Mrs. Meers, Goodreads, 2008 (print edition).It was more common and often deadly. The only hope for a cure was treatment in a sanitorium, which was costly. For those who couldn’t afford it, there were public facilities with long wait lists. It was into one of these, Firland Sanitorium (The Pines in The Plague and I), that Betty MacDonald was lucky enough to go in 1938. With the same abundant wry humor and keen observation of people that made her first book, The Egg and I, so immensly popular, MacDonald describes life at The Pines. Her account of her year there is a rare look at a kind of medicine no longer practiced by a rare writer: one of the premiere memoirists of her era, … one of the first Seattleites to achieve world-wide recognition, and … a gifted writer who was able to translate her difficult — even grim — life experiences into books whose biting humor and vivid storytelling strikes readers … both hilarious and reassuring. (Paula Becker, hisotryling.org)

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  Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday...

  Kim "Howard" Johnson

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  In 1978, Kim "Howard" Johnson ran away to join the circus-Monty Python's Flying Circus, that is. The Pythons converged on Tunisia to film their timeless classic Life of Brian, and Howard found himself in the thick of it, doubling for nearly all the Pythons, playing more roles in the film than John Cleese, and managing to ruin only one shot. He became the unit journalist, substitute still photographer, Roman soldier, peasant, near-stalker, and, ultimately, friend and confidant of the comedy legends. He also kept a detailed journal of what he saw and heard, on set and off, throughout those six weeks.The result is a unique eyewitness account that reveals the Pythons at work and at play in a way that nothing else written about them could do. Now, for the first time ever, the inside story of the making of the film is revealed through the fly-on-the-castle-wall perspective. Even the most diehard fans will get a fresh take on the comedy greats through some never-before-revealed nuggets of Python brilliance: what John Cleese offered to exchange for suntan lotion; Terry Jones directing in drag; Michael Palin's secret to playing revolutionaries and peasants; Graham Chapman gets naked; Terry Gilliam gets filthy; Eric Idle haggles; the secret of the Thespo-Squat; Mrs. Pilate; talk of George Harrison; the cake-flinging that jeopardized the production; badminton, impromptu cricket, and erotic frescoes; and the first-ever presentation of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."Here, uncensored, are the legendary Pythons in their prime. It was a period of comedy history that will never be duplicated, and Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday captures the wit, the genius, and the sheer silliness of the six men that comprised Python.

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  A Still Untitled (Not Quite)...

  Ron Moody

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  Actor Ron Moody has enthralled generations with his masterly performance as Fagin in both the stage and film versions of Oliver! - one of the great classics of British theatre and cinema. Now, in this highly original, idiosyncratic and often very funny memoir, he looks back on those early days, describing in fascinating detail the twists and turns of his career, the people he met and worked with, and the many, varied roles that led up to Oliver! With characteristic frankness, he reveals the conflicts and clashes that can occur, both on and off stage, even in the most successful of shows. For this self-taught thespian every show has come with new lessons, and Moody weaves together these experiences to form his own theories on what ultimately makes a successful performance. Set on an academic career, Ron first took to the boards when a student at the London School of Economics - writing and acting in student revues. But such a comedic talent and the innate ability to create a string of eccentric and original characters quickly caught the attention of West End theatre producers, and the course of his life was changed forever.

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  Karl Marx - Philosophy and...

  Shlomo Avineri

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  Karl Marx (1818-1883)-philosopher, historian, sociologist, economist, current affairs journalist, and editor-was one of the most influential and revolutionary thinkers of modern history, but he is rarely thought of as a Jewish thinker, and his Jewish background is either overlooked or misrepresented. Here, distinguished scholar Shlomo Avineri argues that Marx's Jewish origins did leave a significant impression on his work. Marx was born in Trier, then part of Prussia, and his family had enjoyed equal rights and emancipation under earlier French control of the area. But then its annexation to Prussia deprived the Jewish population of its equal rights. These developments led to the reluctant conversion of Marx's father, and similar tribulations radicalized many young intellectuals of that time who came from a Jewish background. 
  Avineri puts Marx's Jewish background in its proper and balanced perspective, and traces Marx's intellectual development in light of the historical, intellectual, and political contexts in which he lived.

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  Short Story Collection Vol 031

  Various Various

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  LibriVox’s Short Story Collection 031: a collection of 10 short works of fiction in the public domain read by a group of LibriVox members.

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