Other books that might interest you

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  Saint Joseph Cafasso

  John Bosco

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  Saints often come in pairs or triplets, and in the case of Saint Joseph Cafasso, he was in some ways the first, though lesser known, of a pair. The elder friend and spiritual director of his more famous companion, Saint John Bosco, Saint Joseph Cafasso was a hidden marvel, and his life, recounted in this biography by Don Bosco himself, was one of sanctity and extraordinary charity for his neighbor.Born in 1811 to a poor peasant family, he was never known, even as a child, to have sinned, so saintly was his character. He had a spinal deformation that rendered his physical life difficult and painful, but he bore it all with astounding charity and humility. Discerning in childhood a call to the priesthood, he pursued studies in Turin to this end; during this process, he met John Bosco, a few years behind him on the same track. He became a teacher at a seminary, fighting Jansenism's scourge, in addition to joining the Third Order of Saint Francis, the spirit of which he lived out well: his austerities, despite his fragile constitution, were noted. He was a sought-after confessor and worked tirelessly in the chapel—and equally in the prisons, whence his fame was derived. He was known for extracting confessions from prisoners on death row in particular, and so he was called the "Priest of the Gallows." On one occasion, he accompanied 60 men he had converted to the gallows; he called them "hanged saints," since they had confessed and were doing penance by their execution. He died himself of medical complications in 1860; he was canonized in 1947.Here is a wonderful little book—the life of a saint as told by a saint. There are few things more edifying and wholesome in the world.

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  Whatever It Took - An American...

  Anonymous

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  Published to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, an unforgettable never-before-told first-person account of World War II: the true story of an American paratrooper who survived D-Day, was captured and imprisoned in a Nazi work camp, and made a daring escape to freedom.  
   
  Now at 95, one of the few living members of the Greatest Generation shares his experiences at last in one of the most remarkable World War II stories ever told. As the Allied Invasion of Normandy launched in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Henry Langrehr, an American paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, was among the thousands of Allies who parachuted into occupied France. Surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, he crashed through the glass roof of a greenhouse in Sainte-Mère-Église. While many of the soldiers in his unit died, Henry and other surviving troops valiantly battled enemy tanks to a standstill. Then, on June 29th, Henry was captured by the Nazis. The next phase of his incredible journey was beginning. 
  Kept for a week in the outer ring of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazis’ unspeakable brutality—the so-called Final Solution, with people marched to their deaths, their bodies discarded like cords of wood. Transported to a work camp, he endured horrors of his own when he was forced to live in unbelievable squalor and labor in a coal mine with other POWs. Knowing they would be worked to death, he and a friend made a desperate escape. When a German soldier cornered them in a barn, the friend was fatally shot; Henry struggled with the soldier, killing him and taking his gun. Perilously traveling westward toward Allied controlled land on foot, Henry faced the great ethical and moral dilemmas of war firsthand, needing to do whatever it took to survive. Finally, after two weeks behind enemy lines, he found an American unit and was rescued. 
  Awaiting him at home was Arlene, who, like millions of other American women, went to work in factories and offices to build the armaments Henry and the Allies needed for victory. Whatever It Took is her story, too, bringing to life the hopes and fears of those on the homefront awaiting their loved ones to return. 
  A tale of heroism, hope, and survival featuring 30 photographs, Whatever It Took is a timely reminder of the human cost of freedom and a tribute to unbreakable human courage and spirit in the darkest of times.  
  Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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  Visual Friendlies Tally Target -...

  Ethan Brown

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  "Brown has taken an incredibly complex subject and made it accessible and readable, all while retaining the gravity of history and the sheer intensity of these battlefields. Airpower became a fundamental warfighting tool in the Global War on Terror, and its success depended on the community of JTACs whose experiences populate this important work. They are the unsung heroes of the post-9/11 wars America needs to meet." —David L. Goldfein, General (Ret.), USAF, 21st Chief of Staff 
   
   
   
  With a new century and a new enemy came a new kind of war: low intensity and civilian-dominated, blending austere rural and dense urban environments alike. Into this new kind of war, the American military launched two invasions against terrorist networks and military rivals, relying on airpower—close air support (CAS)—at a scale never before seen. 
   
   
   
  The Global War on Terror was the "CAS war." Forward Air Controllers were on the front lines, directing airstrikes against enemies in their safe havens, safeguarding friendly forces and civilians alike to their utmost, and achieving unprecedented success with limited resources. This volume captures the heroic accounts of the first Tactical Air Control Party (TACPs) in Afghanistan and Iraq, and how Close Air Support fundamentally reshaped the American war machine in the first five years of the War on Terror.

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  Stanford Tuck - Hero of the...

  Helen Doe

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  The first full reappraisal of one of Britain's great fighter aces, this book examines the truth behind Tuck's 1956 biography, Fly for Your Life. It looks at the evidence behind the myths, checks out some of the exaggerated stories and reveals the real Stanford Tuck. In January 1942 Bob Tuck was the top-scoring British fighter ace with an official score of twenty-nine enemy aircraft destroyed. During the Battle of Britain his legendary prowess grew and he was posted to command a leaderless and demoralized squadron, this time flying Hurricanes. He continued to prove he was an outstanding fighter ace, gaining the rare distinction of three DFCs and then the DSO for his leadership. He was shot down over France in January 1942. In January 1944 however, around twenty POWs, including Tuck, were purged to a new camp. Still determined to escape, Tuck and a Polish officer took a risky chance and made their way east to Russian forces and thence to England. This book reveals a more complex man than the one-dimensional hero of the previous biography. Post war, he became good friends with the Luftwaffe ace, Adolf Galland, and was a key advisor with him on the film Battle of Britain, and, often made many media appearances. His health suffered in later years from the impact of his war service and his imprisonment and he died aged seventy in 1987.

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  Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai Piyush...

  Piyush Mishra

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  'Hamlet realized that he was living in his dreams. Indeed, he had accidentally stepped into the world's greatest profession.' 
  Piyush Mishra's life has never followed a script. From a turbulent childhood in Gwalior to his years of artistic rebellion at the National School of Drama, and his complicated journey through fame, betrayal, addiction and self-sabotage, Mishra has always lived at the crossroads of despair and brilliance. 
  In Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai, Piyush Mishra, a story resounding with dark humour and lyrical rage, he holds nothing back. Through his alter ego Santap Trivedi, also known as Hamlet, Mishra presents a brutally honest self-portrait—of a man grappling with the weight of expectations, the intoxication of celebrity life, the poignant struggle of relationships and the lifelong, restless pursuit of meaning through art. 
  Raw, unsettling and electric, this is a memoir unlike any other—it is a howl against conformity and a testament to survival. It is an ode to a life well-lived, in style.

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  Weird but Normal - Essays

  Anonymous

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  Birth control. Body hair removal cream. Boobs. It’s all weird, but also pretty normal. 
  Navigating racial identity, gender roles, workplace dynamics, and beauty standards, Mia Mercado's hilarious essay collection explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman, which usually means being kind of a weirdo. Whether it’s spending $30 on a candle that smells like an ocean that doesn’t exist, offering advice on how to ask about someone’s race (spoiler: just don’t, please?), quitting a job that makes you need shots of whiskey on your lunch break, or finding a more religious experience in the skincare aisle at Target than your hometown Catholic church, Mia brilliantly unpacks what it means to be a professional, absurdly beautiful, horny, cute, gross human. Essays include: 
  •     Depression Isn’t a Competition but Why Aren’t I Winning? 
  •     My Dog Explains My Weekly Schedule 
  •     Mustache Lady 
  •     White Friend Confessional 
  •     Treating Objects Like Women 
  With sharp humor and wit, Mia shares the awkward, uncomfortable, surprisingly ordinary parts of life, and shows us why it’s strange to feel fine and fine to feel strange.

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