Publisher: Charles River Editors
Joseph Conrad was a British author who is generally regarded as one of the greatest writers in English literature. Conrad’s style influenced many of the great authors that followed him. This edition of Notes on Life & Letters includes a table of contents.
“Focuses on three men from vastly different backgrounds and serves as a vehicle for exploring the rigors of the fur trade . . . lyrical and transcendent.” —American Historical Review In September 1823, three men met at Rainy Lake House, a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post near the Boundary Waters. Dr. John McLoughlin, the proprietor of Rainy Lake House, was in charge of the borderlands west of Lake Superior, where he was tasked with opposing the petty traders who operated out of US territory. Major Stephen H. Long, an officer in the US Army Topographical Engineers, was on an expedition to explore the wooded borderlands west of Lake Superior and the northern prairies from the upper Mississippi to the forty-ninth parallel. John Tanner, a white man living among the Ojibwa nation, arrived in search of his missing daughters, who, Tanner believed, were at risk of being raped by the white traders holding them captive at a nearby fort. Drawing on their combined experiences, Theodore Catton creates a vivid depiction of the beautiful and dangerous northern frontier from a collision of vantage points: American, British, and Indigenous; imperial, capital, and labor; explorer, trader, and hunter. At the center of this history is the deeply personal story of John Tanner’s search for kinship: first among his adopted Ojibwa nation; then in the search for his white family of origin; and finally in his quest for custody of his multiracial children. “Written with clarity and energy, this book tells its story through the remarkable device of a triple biography.” —Gregory Evans Dowd, author of GroundlessShow book
In the 1990s, nobody in Russia stood above Boris Berezovsky – not even the President of Russia. He built his estimated fortune of $40bn with interests in oil, media, banking, and aviation by cutting deals with bureaucrats and fellow businessmen, rapidly intimidating and charming his way to wealth.After a change of guard in the Kremlin in the early 2000s, newly elected President Vladimir Putin began to view his former friend and ally Berezovsky as a billionaire run amok and as a danger to his own power. A clash over media ownership and a subsequent fall from grace followed – Berezovsky, having lost most of his money, fled to the United Kingdom and spent the remainder of his life tied up in courtroom battles over his fortune and sponsoring anti-Putin movements in Russia.Rising from an obscure government mathematician to an all-powerful oligarch, Berezovsky epitomized an era – of shady corridor politics and violent gangster capitalism, of post-Soviet chaos and revolutionized social mores. Before dying in London in 2013 – an apparent suicide in mysterious circumstances – Berezovsky penned this essay as a final stroke of his legacy, detailing his philosophy of money and money-getting.Show book
Most people think of snipers as shooters perched in urban hides, dealing out death unseen from a considerable distance. But this description barely scratches the surface. Special operations snipers are men with stacked skill sets who have the ability to turn the tide of battles, even when they aren't pulling the trigger. Snipers have played an outsized role in the War on Terror that has earned them the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, and countless other honors. These are the most experienced warriors on the battlefield, oftentimes the units' best assaulters with years of door-kicking under their belt. These are the men who run ops in small teams across borders, or dress like locals and pull off high-risk vehicle reconnaissance and singleton missions in non-permissive environments. Modern American Snipers tells the inside story of some of the most heroic patriots in recent American history by the friends and colleagues who knew them best, including: The Legend — Chris Kyle, SEAL Team 3 Chief and the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history; The Reaper — Nick Irving, the first African-American to serve as a sniper in the 3rd Ranger Battalion, and its deadliest, with 33 confirmed kills; Robert Horrigan, Delta sniper who played a critical role in Operation Anaconda; Don Hollenbaugh, Delta Operator who earned the Distinguished Service Cross while embedded with a Marine platoon in the First Battle of Fallujah.A Macmillan Audio production.Show book
In the turbulent world of Chicago politics, Boss dives deep into the captivating life and legacy of Richard J. Daley, the influential politician and mastermind behind the city's Democratic Party machine.Mike Royko's scathing and meticulously researched account follows Richard J. Daley's rise to power, from his inauspicious youth on Chicago's South Side through his rapid climb to the seat of power as the city's mayor.This engrossing biography brings to life the most powerful political figure of his time. With witty insight and unwavering honesty, Royko unveils Daley's controversial tactics, his laissez-faire policy toward corruption, and his unprecedented influence as a "kingmaker." From milestone achievements to cardinal sins, this eye-opening biography paints a vivid portrait of Daley, making Boss a must-listen for history buffs, political enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the inner workings of power.Uncover the secrets and the undeniable legacy of the last of the backroom Caesars in this compelling portrait of politics and power.This new edition includes an introduction in which the author reflects on Daley's death and the future of Chicago.Show book
In an idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood, where generations of families enjoy deep roots in old homes, the O’Rourke family fits right in. Miriam and Craig are both artists and their four children carry on the legacy. When their teenage son, Nick, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a tumultuous decade ensues in which the family careens permanently off the conventional course. Like the ten Biblical plagues, they are hit by one catastrophe after another: violence, evictions, arrests, a suicide attempt, a near-drowning—even cancer and a brain tumor— play against the backdrop of a wild teenage bacchanal of artmaking and drugs. With no time for hand-wringing, Miriam advances, convinced she can fix everything, while a devastated Craig retreats to their property in rural Washington State as home becomes a battlefield. It is while cleaning out a closet that Miriam discovers a cache of drawings and journals written by Nick throughout his spiral into schizophrenia. She begins a solitary forensic journey into the lonely labyrinth of his mind. This is the story of how mental illness unspools an entire family. As Miriam fights to reclaim her son from the ruthless, invisible enemy, we are given an unflinching view into a world few could imagine. It exposes the shocking shortfalls of our mental-health system, the destructive impact of stigma, shame, and isolation, and, finally, the falsity of the notion of a perfect family. Throughout the book, it is the family’s ability to find humor in the absurdities of this life that saves them.Show book
'A witty, sometimes heart-stopping, and always engrossing path from "boy pilot" to elite aviator.' – Jaundiced Eye columnist, William Saunderson-Meyer Robert Schapiro always wanted to fly. Challenging anti-Semitic bullying, mockery and fierce rivalry, he realised his dream by earning his wings in the South African Air Force and going on to command C-47 Dakotas in the Border War. He joined South African Airways (SAA) in 1979, soon learning it was a time when SAA crews were dominated by the 'Royal Family' – captains who thought themselves above the rules and who spent time overseas on drinking binges or coaxing air hostesses to be their 'airline wives'. When sanctions forced SAA to cut back on its routes, he was seconded to Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines, routinely flying between New York and Tokyo and grappling with often-hilarious cultural misunderstandings as he adapted to a Japanese style of operations. Schapiro is disarmingly frank about life as an international pilot. He divulges near misses, emergency landings, navigation errors, passenger shenanigans (seat sex, anyone?), how pilots control rowdy travellers and absorbing detail about the technique of flying different aircraft types. Uplifting and humorous, his memoir offers a rare slice of aviation history.Show book
