Publisher: Desire Blossom Books
Chasing the Flame – A Collection of Unstoppable Passion30 stories. Fierce desire. Endless heat.Step into a world where lust blazes without restraint. Each tale captures the raw thrill of uncontrollable passion, forbidden temptations, and irresistible encounters that push limits and set your soul on fire.Bold. Untamed. Addictive.
Step into the captivating life of Saartjie Baartman, an ordinary and curious 18-year-old whose dreams led her from the familiar shores of Cape Town to the distant lands of England and Paris. Little did she know that her voyage would take a tragic turn, transforming her life into a harrowing tale of exploitation and dehumanization. In this powerful biography, Saartjie’s true story is finally given a voice, allowing her to recount her experiences firsthand. From the initial promise of work as a nursery maid to the shocking reality of being displayed as an object of desire in London and Paris, her journey is one of heartbreak, resilience, and survival. As you delve into Saartjie’s own words, you will bear witness to the fear and anguish of a displaced soul in foreign lands. Her poignant narrative sheds light on the struggles faced by countless individuals torn from their homelands, forced to navigate the trials of being foreign nationals in strange and unwelcoming territories. Supported by meticulous research and accurate references, this book also draws a striking parallel to the present day, where the erosion of human rights continues to fuel the alarming rise of human trafficking and bonded labor. Saartjie’s story serves as a timeless reminder of the enduring fight for justice and equality, resonating even more powerfully in a world that grapples with these same issues two centuries later. Hottentot Venus is a tribute to a remarkable woman who suffered the indignities of exploitation, but whose legacy fuels the ongoing struggle for dignity and human rights. Her voice, once silenced, now echoes through these pages, urging us to confront our past, understand our present, and forge a more compassionate future.Show book
Drawing on unpublished letters and rare sources, this is the true story behind the tragic romance and brutal assassination that ignited World War I.In the summer of 1914, three great empires dominated Europe: Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Four years later all had vanished in the chaos of World War I. One event precipitated the conflict, and at its heart was a tragic love story. When Austrian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand married for love against the wishes of the emperor, he and his wife Sophie were humiliated and shunned, yet they remained devoted to each other and to their children. The two bullets fired in Sarajevo not only ended their love story, but also led to war and a century of conflict.Set against a backdrop of glittering privilege, Greg King and Sue Woolmans's The Assassination of the Archduke combines royal history, touching romance, and political murder in a moving portrait of the end of an era. One hundred years after the event, it offers the startling truth behind the Sarajevo assassinations, including Serbian complicity and examines rumors of conspiracy and official negligence. Events in Sarajevo also doomed the couple's children to lives of loss, exile, and the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, their plight echoing the horrors unleashed by their parents' deaths.Challenging a century of myth, The Assassination of the Archduke resonates as a very human story of love destroyed by murder, revolution, and war.With a foreword by Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz FerdinandShow book
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous Americans in history and one of the country’s most revered presidents. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the “Westerner” who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln successfully navigated the Union through the Civil War but didn’t live to witness his crowning achievement, becoming the first president assassinated when he was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. In the generation after the Civil War, Lincoln became an American deity and one of the most written about men in history. With such a sterling reputation, even historians hesitate to write a critical word; in Team of Rivals Doris Kearns Goodwin casts Lincoln as an almost superhuman puppet master in control of his Cabinet’s political machinations and the war’s direction, juggling the balancing act flawlessly. As a result, Lincoln the man is far less known than Lincoln the myth. Jefferson Davis holds a unique place in American history, as the man best remembered for being the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War. While other famous Confederates like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are still celebrated across the reunited country, Davis continues to be the object of scorn, derided over his attempt to flee after the Civil War and criticized as ineffective by historians. Among the Confederates still lauded by today’s Southerners, Davis is well down the list. History has accorded Abraham Lincoln a spot in the pantheon of American politics for the manner in which he steered the Union to victory and into the Reconstruction period after the war. In turn, Davis has been heavily criticized.Show book
In literary circles of the mid-twentieth century, father and son, Ikbal and Idries Shah, spread seductive accounts of a mystical Middle East. Pitching themselves as the authentic voice of the Muslim world, they penned travelogues and exotic potboilers alongside weighty tomes on Islam and politics. Above all, father and son told Western readers what they wanted to hear: audacious yarns of eastern adventure and harmless Sufi mystics—myths that, as the century wore on and the Taliban seized power, became increasingly detached from reality. This book follows the Shahs from their origins in colonial India to literary London, wartime Oxford, and counterculture California via the Levant, the League of Nations, and Latin America. Nile Green unravels the conspiracies and pseudonyms, fantastical pasts and self-aggrandizing anecdotes, high stakes and bold schemes that for nearly a century painted the defining portrait of Afghanistan. Ikbal and Idries convinced poets, spies, orientalists, diplomats, occultists, hippies, and even a prime minister that they held the key to understanding the Islamic world. From George Orwell directing Muslim propaganda to Robert Graves translating a fake manuscript of Omar Khayyam and Doris Lessing supporting jihad, Green tells the fascinating tale of how the book world was beguiled by the dream of an Afghan Shangri-La that never existed.Show book
This diary gives a remarkably vivid description of the life of Doreen Bates, a professional young woman, who went against the social norms of her time to intentionally have twins fathered by an older married, but childless, colleague in the Inland Revenue, where they both worked as Income Tax Inspectors. At the time the twins were born Doreen did not know if their father could, or would, form part of the family. In the event, he was able to make frequent visits and helped practically, emotionally and financially with the childrens’ upbringing. The diary commences a few months after the twins were born. Doreen lived with them and a live-in nanny in South London where they experienced relentless days and nights of enemy bombing. In 1944 the twins and their nanny were evacuated to the incomparably safer and beautiful rural setting of a Wiltshire village where Doreen joined them for every weekend. In contrast to the chaos and fear that accompanied the wartime conditions, Doreen’s emotional life is much less turbulent than in the previous volume of her diary. This reflects the profound satisfaction she felt as a result of achieving her dream of having children. She was a remarkably enlightened parent. Her recording of their lives in this diary is detailed, intimate, and often humorous. Historical happenings are mentioned, but form only the incidental backdrop to her domestic and professional life. “Brimming with soul, passion, candour and wit, the diaries of Doreen Bates are an extraordinary read, giving a vivid insight into the life of a woman unvanquished by her time, a woman who leaps from the page so strikingly that you feel your pulse beating in time with hers. Edited in an act of great love and generosity by her children, they should take their place as one of the essential diaries of the twentieth century for the window they offer into another world, another heart.” – Lucy CaldwellShow book
What if you could approach life’s toughest moments with unwavering confidence and resilience? James Allen’s uplifting work offers a beacon of hope for those navigating hardship. Adapted for modern readers, it provides simple yet profound strategies to tackle everyday obstacles, cultivate inner peace, and transform adversity into growth. By shedding light on life’s difficulties, Allen guides you toward renewed optimism and self-mastery. What You’ll Discover in This Modern Translation:Mindset shifts that turn challenges into stepping stonesPractical tools for staying calm under pressureThe importance of gratitude, patience, and determinationLife-affirming wisdom for nurturing a resilient spirit Imagine confronting every obstacle with grace, clarity, and determination—awakening the powerful realization that adversity can be a catalyst for self-improvement. James Allen’s timeless insights make it possible for anyone to thrive, no matter the circumstances. Embrace the radiance of positive thought. Get your copy now and illuminate your path through life’s most demanding chapters.Show book
