Publisher: Charles River Editors
H.G. Wells was a legendary British author who wrote in many genres. Wells’ most famous works were science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man. This edition of Wells’ Certain Personal Manners includes a table of contents.
The eminent classicist delivers “an evocative history of Europe’s first great road” from Rome to the heel of Italy in this “slim but evocative volume” (The Guardian, UK). The 1st century Roman poet Statius called the Via Appia “the Queen of Roads,” and for nearly a thousand years that description held true, as countless travelers trod its path from the center of Rome to the Southern Italian city of Brindisi. Today, the road is all but gone, destroyed by time, neglect, and the incursions of modernity; to travel the Appian Way today is to walk in the footsteps of ghosts. In The Appian Way, Robert A. Kaster is our guide to those ghosts—and the layers of history they represent. A footsore Roman soldier pushing the imperial power south; craftsmen and farmers bringing their goods to the towns that lined the road; pious pilgrims headed to Jerusalem, using stage-by-stage directions that can still be followed—all come to life once more as Kaster journeys along what’s left of the Appian Way. Other voices help him tell the story: Cicero, Goethe, Hawthorne, Dickens, James, and even Monty Python offer commentary and insight. With The Appian Way, Kaster invites us to close our eyes and walk with him back in time, to the campaigns of Garibaldi, the revolt of Spartacus, and the glory days of Imperial Rome.Show book
The Under the Guns series continues with an all-encompassing look at four highly decorated German fighter aces and their dogfights in World War I. Following their imaginative, popular and successful approach to identifying and describing all the airmen who were claimed by Manfred von Richthofen in Under the Guns of the Red Baron, and by Immelmann, Voss, Göring and Lothar von Richthofen in Under the Guns of the German Aces, air historians Franks and Giblin have put four more equally distinguished German aces of World War One under the microscope. In doing so, they profile not only the aces themselves, all of whom received the “Blue Max”—Germany’s highest award for bravery in action—but also the Allied airmen they fought and downed. By extensive and exhaustive research into records, and carefully studying maps, timings and intelligence reports—contemporary and retrospective—as full a picture as possible is revealed with excellent photographic coverage of the many protagonists involved. All four of the aces, Böhme, Müller, von Tutschek and Wolff were unit leaders at different times, one commanded a Jagdesgeschwader, the others commanded Jagdstaffels. All four were destined to die in actions against the Royal Flying Corps. Every one of their combats is detailed here, with color artwork. This is the last in the Under the Guns trilogy, to complete the set.Show book
The British journalist explores self-healing in wild waters across the UK—from Yorkshire to Jura and Wales—in this “genuine and refreshing nature memoir” (Kirkus Reviews). Following the example of naturalist Roger Deakin in his classic memoir Waterlog, journalist Joe Minihane becomes obsessed with wild swimming and its restorative qualities. Putting one arm over the other, sometimes resting on his back, he begins to confront his personal demons while rekindling old friendships and forging new ones. Through Minihane’s thoughtful description, the act of swimming becomes both strange and beautiful as the wild water puts him in touch with nature and himself. From Hampstead to Yorkshire, from Dorset to Jura, from the Isles of Scilly to Wales, Floating is a love letter to different wild stretches of water. But it also captures Minihane’s struggle to understand his life and move forward. Steeped in the anti-authoritarian and naturalistic spirit of Roger Deakin, Minihane celebrates the joy of taking time out to feel better.Show book
*PLEASE NOTE: This concise summary is unofficial and is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by the original book's publisher or author.*Short on time? Or maybe you’ve already read the book, but need a refresh on the most important takeaways. In a quick, easy listen, you can take the main principles from Becoming!The bestselling memoir, Becoming, contains a powerful story of working hard, overcoming obstacles, and learning to adapt. In three parts—Becoming Me, Becoming Us, Becoming More—Michelle Obama tells her story from childhood through her eight years of being the first African American First Lady in United States history. She gives an insightful look into her family and achievements. She does so by utilizing vivid examples and vignettes that paint her experiences with ease for the reader. She handles hard topics with grace and care.Throughout her life, Michelle had to learn to balance the difficulties of her husband’s political career, her own career, and keeping her family running smoothly so that her daughters could grow up happily and healthily. In the book, she details her academic, professional, and White House successes as well as her personal ones. Of all her achievements, she is most proud of being a mother and has two daughters who fill her with pride. She tried her hardest to give them a normal life despite the undoubtedly unusual circumstances.In Becoming, Michelle Obama shows her distinct personality apart from her husband’s while also highlighting the ups and downs of their relationship, and the hardships they went through to build their family.This audiobook encapsulates key takeaways found in the original book. We’ve also provided an in-depth analysis as well as removing any fluff to save you hours of your time. If you’ve read the original, then this audio summary will help you solidify the most important lessons.Show book
Platinum-award winning country music star Scotty McCreery shares his journey from North Carolina to American Idol and the top of the country music charts. American Idol was just a simple singing competition that seemed fun to audition for. Who knew what kind of doors it might open for a sixteen-year-old from Garner, North Carolina? Go Big or Go Home is the story of a kid with country songs in his soul. Daring to enter the limelight at a young age, Scotty found himself embraced by the nation, and even overseas, as he competed on season 10 of American Idol. In Go Big or Go Home, Scotty shares his journey from his North Carolina roots to winning America's most popular singing competition and launching the musical career he had always dreamed of. Along the way, Scotty teaches us:What it means to have an uncompromising faithThe power of dreaming bigThe importance of embracing your God-given talents Join Scotty as he shares a glimpse of where he came from and the impact his faith, family, and friends have had on a humble guy who keeps asking, "Why me?" Praise for Go Big or Go Home: "Revealing, touching, and often humorous, Go Big or Go Home takes fans behind the scenes of Scotty McCreery's journey so far and pulls back the curtain on American Idol and the music industry while McCreery navigates the tricky waters of instant fame with grace, insight, and, above all, gratitude for the gifts he has been given." --Melinda Newman, music journalist "Being an artist takes you out of your comfort zone and thrusts you into the world. Some of what you experience you are prepared for and some of it you aren't. To quote the country music prophet Aaron Tippin, 'You've got to stand for somethin' or you'll fall for anything.' Scotty McCreery stands for something. You hear it in his voice. You see it in his actions. And you feel it in his songs. This book outlines the wild ride he's been on being thrust into the world." --Josh Turner, Grammy-nominated and multiplatinum-selling MCA recording artist and bestselling authorShow book
Walden (first published in 1854 as Walden; or, Life in the Woods) is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and - to some degree - a manual for self-reliance.Walden details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts.Thoreau makes precise scientific observations of nature as well as metaphorical and poetic uses of natural phenomena. He identifies many plants and animals by both their popular and scientific names, records in detail the color and clarity of different bodies of water, precisely dates and describes the freezing and thawing of the pond, and recounts his experiments to measure the depth and shape of the bottom of the supposedly "bottomless" Walden Pond.Show book
