Publisher: Bu Classics Books
Explore the mind of the architect of liberty in this insightful character study that goes beyond politics. Discover the man whose intellect shaped the foundations of democracy, revealing personal struggles and public triumphs. Gain a new perspective on a figure who defined an era.
Snatched is the electric tale by the New York Times bestselling author of Blow, Bruce Porter, that tells the true story of a woman caught between two worlds, with her life dangling in the balance. Raised an aristocrat in Colombia and educated in European schools, Pilar transfixes everyone with her charm and her guile. She also falls for dangerous men and finds herself drawn into the highest levels of the cocaine trade. After two failed marriages and a harrowing escape from the drug life, she settles down to a quiet existence in Florida with her children—until her second husband tries to cut short his prison term by giving her name over to members of a new task force being formed by the DEA. They induce Pilar, now a middle-aged woman, to infiltrate the Cali cartel as the head of a vast money-laundering sting. Named Operation Princess, the scheme leads to the seizure of tens of millions of dollars, along with some $500 million worth of cocaine and the exposure of hundreds of high-level traffickers, becoming one of the most daring and successful stings in DEA history. But Pilar plays her part too well. Her success as a money launderer gets her kidnapped and then ransomed by a band of guerrillas in South America—and the United States government refuses to negotiate. It’s left to her low-level handlers in the DEA to get her back before her kidnappers discover they have a federal agent in their clutches.Show book
Do you love books? No, I mean REALLY love books? These series of sketches on the delights, adventures, and misadventures connected with bibliomania (bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a genuine book collector. The purchase of multiple copies of the same book and edition and the accumulation of books beyond possible capacity of use or enjoyment are frequent symptoms of bibliomania.). The author wholeheartedly enjoyed this pursuit all his life and his descriptions are delightful to read. Anyone who has lovingly held a book, smelled it, and enjoyed it for being just what it is, will understand what the author puts so well. According to the author, collectors may be grouped in three classes: Those who collect from vanity, those who collect for the benefits of learning and those who collect out of veneration and love for books. Mr. Field fell squarly in the latter category.Summary from the preface and Phil Chenevert)Show book
Thirty years after creating one of the most memorable moments in sporting history, Indigenous AFL legend Nicky Winmar tells his story in a moving and compelling memoir. Sport is made up of moments that thrill us at the time and quickly disappear. Very few endure for decades. Even fewer transcend sport and speak to an entire nation. April 17, 2023, marked the 30th anniversary of St Kilda legend Nicky Winmar's proud and defining stand against racism – one of those moments that hasn't diminished over time and regrettably is still just as relevant today. It is a stand that has become iconic, and so has Winmar, not just for his courage as he declared to a hostile, jeering crowd 'I'm black and I'm proud to be black' – but also because he is one of the game's great and most celebrated players. Born a Noongar man from the WA wheatbelt 200 kilometres from Perth, Neil Elvis 'Nicky' Winmar quickly displayed an ability to overcome adversity. He would need to. He had a hard upbringing but loved to play footy every day with his younger brother among the livestock on the sheep farm where their father worked as a shearer. The skinny teenager soon began playing football amongst hardened men for the local team and was signed to a senior team as a promising fifteen-year-old. Winmar would go on to become one of the most decorated players in AFL history. Recently inducted into the illustrious AFL Hall Of Fame, a member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, the St Kilda Team of the Century, a winner of Best and Fairest and Mark of the Year awards, Winmar became the first Indigenous footballer to play 200 games. This long-awaited autobiography tells the story of Winmar's brilliant career in colourful detail, as well as giving moving insight into his life. Amidst the pain, the turbulence and the triumph, his heart and abiding sense of humour shine through. 'One of the truly great players . . . an amazing talent . . . If actions speak louder than words then Nicky Winmar's actions were better than anyone's.' Tony 'Plugger' LockettShow book
Walter Lionel George was born to British parents on the 20th March 1882 in Paris, France. It was not until he was a young man of 20 that he learned English. In 1905 he moved to London to work in an office but soon found himself working as a journalist, and as a foreign correspondent, for various London newspapers. By 1911, with the publication of his first novel ‘A Bed of Roses’, which portrayed the fall of a penniless young woman into prostitution, his efforts were rewarded, and he turned to literature as a full-time career. His writings now sold well. He added short stories to his offerings as well as literary essays and several tracts that discussed left-wing themes. Some critics thought his subject matter to be difficult and poorly chosen. His political views gained him little credit amongst his peers although such luminaries as George Orwell praised both subject matter and style. His personal life was also turbulent. His three marriages left him widowed twice. In 1908 he married Helen Porter who died in 1914. Helen Agnes Moorhead followed in 1916 but died only 4 years later. His last marriage was to Kathleen Geipel in 1921. W. L George died on 30th January 1926. He was 43.Show book
*2018 "12 best books to give this holiday season" TODAY Show *Best Books of 2018* Rolling Stone "A Best Book of 2017" NPR, Buzzfeed, Paste Magazine, Esquire, Chicago Tribune, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, CBC, Stereogum, National Post, Entropy, Heavy, Book Riot, Chicago Review of Books, The Los Angeles Review, Michigan Daily *American Booksellers Association (ABA) 'December 2017 Indie Next List Great Reads' *Midwest Indie Bestseller In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib's is a voice that matters. Whether he's attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown's grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly. In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now. While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of black Americans, Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers: for attempting to enter his own car. In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others along with original, previously unreleased essays Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in so doing proves himself a bellwether for our times. "Funny, painful, precise, desperate, and loving throughout. Not a day has sounded the same since I read him." Greil Marcus,Show book
In 1961, Jim Wolter leaves medical school in Chicago for Malaya thinking he could change the world by teaching biology and avoid his mother's dream of his marrying Lolly. He's excited about his new job as a biology teacher at a secondary school in Malaya. But that excitement is short-lived. After he arrives, his bosses pull a bait-and-switch and put him in teaching jobs he isn't qualified for and create other challenges to fit their own motives. Disappointed and feeling helpless, he decides to return to Chicago and do what is expected of him. That is, until a friend drags Jim to a work picnic on an island in the South China Sea and he sees the most beautiful girl in the world. Now, Jim wants to stay in Malaya to be near Miss Fong Moke Chee. Finding Miss Fong is the journey of a naïve twenty-two year old from the northwest side of Chicago trying to find his way in an unfamiliar world back in the early 1960s. As a biologist from a working-class background thrust into post-Colonial Malaya, he finds himself caught up in unexpected adventures while struggling with disillusionment in work and juggling entanglements in love.Show book
