Other books that might interest you

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  Secrets from the Cockpit -...

  Robert Shapiro

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  ‘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.

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  Recalling Past Life - About Days...

  Franz Rothe

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  This booklet is grown from careless, partly lost notes that had been sent to relatives and classmates several years ago. It dates back to an era before the flood and pandemic, and war struck worse than ever. Retired because of my poor eyesight, my interest in literature had awakened, and the exchange seemed worthwhile once more. Thus this little booklet has still been gathered. This English translation has been corrected and slightly extended. The older German version is available as an audiobook, together with some music. My heartfelt thanks go to everyone involved. 
  Keywords: school memories, literary criticism, humor, cat love, 
  philosophy of mathematics, flute music, dream experience, Kafka. 
  Genre: entertainment literature, flute literature. 
  Franz Rothe graduated from high school in Karlsruhe and studied mathematics, physics, and music there. He graduated with a diploma in Mathematics from E T H Zürich and a doctorate in Tübingen. 
  After some life changes, a professorship at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, USA. In addition, Rothe and pianist Thomas Turner have also developed a repertoire of classical music for flute and piano and recorded and released three CDs. This collection also contains several of their transcriptions.

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  Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry...

  Scott Reynolds Nelson

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  The ballad "John Henry" is the most recorded folk song in American history and John Henry--the mighty railroad man who could blast through rock faster than a steam drill--is a towering figure in our culture. 
  In Steel Drivin' Man, Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts the true story of the man behind the iconic American hero, telling the poignant tale of a young Virginia convict who died working on one of the most dangerous enterprises of the time, the first rail route through the Appalachian Mountains. Using census data, penitentiary reports, and railroad company reports, Nelson reveals how John Henry, victimized by Virginia's notorious Black Codes, was shipped to the infamous Richmond Penitentiary to become prisoner number 497, and was forced to labor on the mile-long Lewis Tunnel for the C&O railroad. Equally important, Nelson masterfully captures the life of the ballad of John Henry, tracing the song's evolution from the first printed score by blues legend W. C. Handy, to Carl Sandburg's use of the ballad to become the first "folk singer," to the upbeat version by Tennessee Ernie Ford. 
  Attractively illustrated with numerous images, Steel Drivin' Man offers a marvelous portrait of a beloved folk song--and a true American legend.

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  A Place Called Home

  Alice Taylor

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  In fact, two places called home …
  For over sixty years, Alice Taylor has lived in the village of Innishannon, the gateway to West Cork. But her childhood was spent on a farm in North Cork, near the Kerry border, and her memories of that homeplace are vivid.
  
  Here, she recalls the sounds and smells of the farmyard, now silent; she visits her old national school, today in ruins, and her secondary, which has a new life as a cultural centre. She also writes of day-to-day life in her beloved Innishannon.
  
  With her trademark wit and wisdom, Alice takes us on a ramble around both of her homes, celebrating the places, the people and the special moments that have stayed in her heart over the years.

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  The Padre - The True Story of...

  Jennifer O'Leary

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  Today, Tipperary-born priest Patrick Ryan cuts a modest but strong figure, to the layperson. A man of God who has been entrusted with the confessions of hundreds of earnest parishioners. But in fact his story is dark, dramatic, and pivotal to Irish history, on both sides of the border. 
   
  In The Padre, award-winning investigative journalist Jennifer O’Leary exposes the paramilitary exploits of notorious former Catholic priest and active IRA supporter Patrick Ryan – exposing details which have, outside of his very guarded circles, been unknown until now. 
   
  Drawing on highly sensitive information, divulged by Ryan during exclusive secret meetings with the author, The Padre lifts the lid on the true extent of the priest’s involvement with the IRA: from being the link between the organisation and the Gaddafi regime, to Ryan’s connection to the failed assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. 
   
  The Padre tells the truly remarkably story of this man of the cloth, and his lifelong struggle with what he, in his heart, believes to be right and wrong.

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  Why Fathers Cry at Night - A...

  Kwame Alexander

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  This powerful memoir from a #1 New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medalist features poetry, letters, recipes, and other personal artifacts that provide an intimate look into his life and the loved ones he shares it with. In a powerfully intimate and non-traditional (or "new-fashioned") memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships—his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother's recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. With an open heart, Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters. Full of heartfelt reminisces, family recipes, love poems, and personal letters, Why Fathers Cry at Night inspires bravery and vulnerability in every reader who has experienced the reckless passion, heartbreak, failure, and joy that define the whirlwind woes and wonders of love.

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