Other books that might interest you

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  Montesquieu - The Spirit of Laws...

  Hector Davidson

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  Montesquieu, a French philosopher of the Enlightenment, is best known for his seminal work The Spirit of Laws (De l’esprit des lois), published in 1748. His insights into the relationship between law, society, and government laid the foundations for modern political science and deeply influenced subsequent political thought, particularly in the development of constitutional design and theory. Montesquieu’s work was groundbreaking, challenging prevailing ideas about governance, liberty, and the rule of law, offering a complex framework that would shape political thought for centuries. 
  Born in 1689, Montesquieu came from a noble family and was educated in law. His early career included service as a magistrate, which exposed him to the workings of the legal system and provided firsthand experience with the exercise of power. This practical knowledge informed his later philosophical work, as he sought to understand the connections between law and society, as well as the impact of political structures on individual liberty. 
  In The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu examined a wide variety of political systems, including republics, monarchies, and despotisms, and their corresponding legal frameworks. His most famous contribution to political thought was his theory of the separation of powers, in which he argued that to prevent tyranny, government power should be divided into distinct branches—executive, legislative, and judicial—each with separate functions and the ability to check the other branches. This framework has become a central tenet of modern democratic systems, including the U.S. Constitution.

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  Bold Ventures - Thirteen Tales...

  Charlotte Van den Broeck

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  A prize-winning Belgian poet explores the nature of creative endeavor—the godlike ambition, the crushing defeat of failure—through the stories of thirteen tragic architects. 
   
   
   
  In thirteen fascinating chapters, Charlotte Van den Broeck goes in search of buildings that were fatal to their architects—architects who either killed themselves or are rumored to have done so. They range across time and space from a church with a twisted spire in seventeenth-century France to a theater that collapsed mid-performance in 1920s Washington, DC, and an eerily sinking swimming pool in the author's hometown. Drawing on a vast range of material, from Hegel and Darwin to art history, stories from her own life, and popular culture, Van den Broeck brings patterns into focus as she asks, What is that strange, life-or-death connection between a creation and its creator? 
   
   
   
  Threaded through each story is the author's meditation on the question of suicide—what Albert Camus called the "one truly serious philosophical problem"—in relation to creativity and public disgrace. The result is a profoundly idiosyncratic book, breaking ground in literary nonfiction, as well as providing solace and consolation to anyone who has ever attempted a creative act.

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  Shirley - The Life of a...

  Shirley Sherwood

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  Shirley, The Life of a Botanical Adventurer is the remarkable story of Dr Shirley Sherwood, scientist, author, travel writer, gardener as well as mother and grandmother. Following the tragic death of her brilliant scientist husband, Michael Cross, in a freak air crash in 1964, she was left as a 30-year-old widow with two young boys aged four and three. For the next twelve years she worked as a key member of the Nobel Prize-winning team which developed Tagamet, the first block-buster drug (sales of over $1 billion a year). After her marriage to Jim Sherwood in 1977, she left science to concentrate full-time on the huge task of restoring the fabled Orient-Express train, probably the most luxurious and exotic form of travel ever devised. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, running between London and Venice, was relaunched in 1982, ninety-nine years after its first journey. Sherwood's history of the project sold more than 400,000 copies. The Orient-Express train was just the beginning. The Sherwoods went on to create the five-star Orient-Express Hotels company (now Belmond), which owned some of the finest hotels in the world, including the Cipriani in Venice, the Mount Nelson in Cape Town and the Copacabana Palace in Rio. They pioneered new train routes across the Alps, started the Eastern & Oriental Express running between Singapore and Bangkok- crossing over the Bridge on the River Kwai- opened up tourism in Myanmar with the first cruise ship to operate on the Irrawaddy, and took over the railways of Peru, which run all the way to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. Her most lasting achievement, the one of which she is proudest, is the Shirley Sherwood Collection of contemporary botanical art, which she started in 1990 and now includes over 1,000 paintings and drawings representing the work of more than 300 contemporary botanical artists from 36 countries. She has mounted exhibitions in many prestigious locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Kirstenbosch in Cape Town and the Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid. The Shirley Sherwood Gallery in Kew Gardens is the first museum to be dedicated to modern botanical art and her books, which often accompanied her exhibitions, have been largely responsible for re-establishing botanical art in its rightful place as an important art form. These are just some of the many achievements in a long and rich life, vividly described in this book.

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  Women Rescuers of WWII - True...

  Elise Baker

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  What bright secrets transpired during the world’s darkest hours? 
  Light shone in an era marked by tyranny and mass destruction. Hope prevailed when staying hidden and quiet was a civilian’s best chance of survival. 
  The Second World War represents one of humanity’s greatest tragedies. Yet in the thick of cruelty, suffering, and loss, ordinary women secretly stood against the Nazi regime, selflessly serving as bearers of peace and hope. They risked their lives to protect the persecuted without seeking reward or recognition. 
  Today, we honor these women for their courage, kindness, wit and resourcefulness during the war. 
  Here lie their unsung legacies. 
  Women Rescuers of WWII presents the true stories of brave female heroes during the world’s most perilous crisis. Marvel at the phenomenal untold rescue missions of 
  ●      Ida and Louise Cook, the Secretive Sisters, whose risky airline flights almost cost them everything. 
  ●      Ebba Lund, the Red Riding Hood of the Danish Resistance, and the seafaring voyages she arranged for refugees fleeing to Swedish shores. 
  ●      Irena Sendler, the Good Catholic Smuggler, and her daring plot to liberate Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. 
  ●      Marie Schmolka and Doreen Warriner, the Masterminds of the Move, whose Kindertransport scheme freed thousands of children. 
  ●      Andrée de Jongh, the Postmistress, who smuggled her “parcels”—fallen Allied airmen—from France to neutral Spain. 
  ●      other extraordinary women who risked it all to stand up for their beliefs!

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  In Search of Silence

  Poorna Bell

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  A gorgeous, poignant, and unflinchingly humorous memoir for listeners of Cheryl Strayed and Michelle Zauner about a woman overcoming dramatic loss and finding reinvention 
   
  In this exquisite story, Poorna Bell asks who exactly is responsible for her happiness? 
  She was sold the fairytale of life. That love wins the day. That marriage and children are the natural progression of any relationship. But in 2015 everything changes after her husband Rob takes his own life on a winter’s night, having battled depression and addiction. 
   
  With humour and heart, and against the changing landscapes of India, New Zealand and Britain, Poorna tells of how in the midst of rebuilding she starts to redefine what she wants her life to be and what exactly makes a successful, fulfilling life. 
   
  Refreshingly honest and heartfelt, Bell’s voice shines in this audiobook. Rich with intimacies that will resonate widely, In Search of Silence is a book to cherish. This is a deeply heartfelt journey. 
   
  Also included is a interview between The Masala Podcast's Sangeeta Pillai and Poorna Bell where they delve deeper into some of the themes discussed in In Search of Silence. 

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  Finding Hester - The Incredible...

  Jack Lawrence, Greg Callus,...

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  Finding Hester explores the untold story of Hester Leggatt, a woman who helped trick the Nazis, and is a fascinating read for fans of West End musical Operation Mincemeat and anyone with an interest in women’s war stories 
   
  Operation Mincemeat is one of the stranger tales to come out of the Second World War. A corpse dressed as a British pilot was dropped in the ocean near Spain, with the forged documents he carried landing in the hands of the Germans to convince them to move their troops to the advantage of the allied forces. 
   
  It is an event perhaps most popularly told in Ben Macintyre’s 2010 book Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II, but it has recently been retold in a 2021 film and is currently the plot of an Olivier-winning West End musical. Operation Mincemeat has never been more familiar to the public. 
   
  To sell the ruse of the corpse, MI5 had to create a credible backstory for their fictitious pilot. They filled his briefcase with receipts, cigarettes, a photograph, and, importantly, two fabricated love letters. 
   
  An interview with MI5 secretary Jean Leslie, conducted by Macintyre for his book, revealed the name of the woman behind those letters to be a ‘Hester Leggett’. This has been repeated ever since, including in both the film and the musical. 
   
  Hester Leggett does not exist. 
   
  The false identity was discovered by a group of fans of the musical. While we know much about the other key figures portrayed in the musical, Hester was always more of a mystery and once the group started to research her, they discovered she was actually Hester Leggatt. 
   
  This misplaced vowel made all the difference and we uncovered a huge amount about the real Hester. This book tells the story of how the musical fanbase found her school records, her family, her real love letters from the Second World War, and definitive confirmation from MI5 that they had the right person.

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