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  The Real Falstaff - Sir John...

  Stephen Cooper

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  This historical study examines the life and military accomplishments of the medieval knight who inspired one of Shakespeare’s most beloved characters. One of the most famous English knights of the Hundred Years War, Sir John Fastolf is widely thought to be a model for Shakespeare’s immortal character, Sir John Falstaff. In The Real Falstaff, historian Stephen Cooper examines the link in full, shedding light on his story as well as the declining English fortunes during the last phase of the Hundred Years War. Witnessing both the triumphs of Henry V, and the disasters of the 1450s, Fastolf was one of the last of the brave but often brutal English soldiers who made their careers waging war in France. Cooper retraces the entire course of Fastolf’s long life, putting special focus on his many campaigns. A vivid picture of the old soldier emerges and of the French wars in which he played such a prominent part. But the author also explores Fastolf’s legacy, his connection to the Paston family—famous for the Paston letters—and the use Shakespeare made of Fastolf’s name, career, and character when he created Sir John Falstaff.

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  Only Child and Her Sister An - A...

  Casey Maxwell Clair

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  Casey and her little sister, Christine, started off with what looked like a good beginning. But looks can be deceiving. Their mother, Eve Whitney, a stunning Hollywood beauty, didn't much care for children. Their father, Eddie Maxwell, was a successful songwriter and gag man; he was a brilliant, handsome, hugely charismatic man, but he had a secret drug habit that sent him careening between warm and loving parent one day, to hair-trigger monster the next. 
  If Casey got only sporadic moments of love and caring, Chris got nothing. Neither Eddie nor Eve ever had a kind thought for their youngest child. And so the sisters were forced to find their own paths through this horrific excuse of a childhood, each making choices that pulled them farther and farther apart when the one thing they needed was each other. 
  Told without an ounce of self-pity or bitterness, this story is unique as well as universal. The scenes of pain and incredible neglect live side by side with amazing moments of humor, courage, and triumph. 
  Contains mature themes. 
  For more information on the author and her work, visit caseymaxwellclair.com.

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  Ghosts and Murders of Manhattan

  Elise Gainer

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  Discover the darker side of New York City history with this collection of stories and photos.   Amid the bustle of the city’s ever-changing landscape, Manhattan’s past still whispers. At Fraunces Tavern, George Washington’s emotional farewell luncheon in 1783 echoes in the Long Room. Gertrude Tredwell’s ghost appears to visitors at the Merchant’s House Museum. Long since deceased, Olive Thomas shows herself to the men of the New Amsterdam Theatre, and Dorothy Parker still keeps her lunch appointment at the Algonquin Hotel.   In other places, it is not the paranormal but the abnormal—violent acts by gangsters, bombers, and murderers that linger in the city’s memory. Some even believe that Jack the Ripper and the Boston Strangler hunted here. The historic images and true stories in Ghosts and Murders of Manhattan explores the people and events that shaped this city, and live in the shadows of its majestic skyline.  

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  The Chimpanzee Whisperer - A...

  Stany Nyandwi, David Blissett

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  Earphones Award Winner from Audiofile Magazine!Stany Nyandwi’s gift for communicating with chimpanzees is so special that world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has called him a “chimpanzee whisperer.” His skills and devotion to these creatures—our closest living relatives, with whom we share 98.7 percent of our DNA—have earned him international awards and sent him on travels within Africa and around the world. But he began life in poverty, born and raised in a dirt-floor, straw-roofed hut in rural Burundi. The Chimpanzee Whisperer is the story of his astonishing life journey."Narrator Dion Graham so inhabits the memoir that listeners easily could swear he's the author. He adopts an accent that to Western ears sounds authentic without affectation or loss of understanding. A truly marvelous pairing." - Audiofile MagazineReceiving only an elementary education before he quit school, Stany Nyandwi began caring for orphaned and rescued chimps in Burundi. When the country descended into civil war and genocide, he was forced to flee with the chimps and endured long separation from his family. Continuing to work with and learn about chimpanzees in Kenya, Uganda, and later South Africa, he made himself into an incomparable authority.His memoir has adventure, danger, and many unique and touching stories about chimpanzees that show his bond with and understanding of them. As told to award-winning author David Blissett, it reveals a remarkable man who has refused to let circumstances defeat him. Conditioned by hate, wounded by loss, he has lived for love, faith, and compassion, giving new life, as Dr. Jane Goodall writes in her foreword, “to so many chimpanzees whose families, like his own, were torn apart by violence.”

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  California City Considers Sugary...

  PBS NewsHour

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  As New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes banning extra-large sugar drinks from public venues, the city of Richmond, Calif., may be poised to go further than any other government in the U.S. with a new tax on soda. Correspondent Spencer Michels reports on a controversial public health campaign to combat obesity and diabetes.

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  Face It - Facial Disfigurement...

  James Partridge

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  James Partridge was eighteen years old in 1977 when his face and body were severely burned in a car accident. Refusing to succumb to society's expectations, James chose not to hide in the shadows, but to succeed despite his distinctive face and live a happy and hugely successful life, both personally and professionally. 
  Face It tells the story of James's recovery and the work he has done ever since to support others with physical differences to cope with the isolation and discrimination they so often face. It is also a manifesto for change: for how others who look different can take control of their destinies, and how the world can accept, respect and value people with facial differences without resorting to stereotypes and stigma, despite the psychological, cultural and social barriers that so often stand in the way. 
  James's infectious positivity in the face of adversity cannot fail to inspire. In a world where looking perfect is seen as the key to success and happiness, this is a joyous, celebratory book that looks prejudice in the eye and refuses to blink.

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