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  The Devil's Adjutant - Jochen...

  Michael Reynolds

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  The dramatic story of Nazi field commander Jochen Peiper’s military career, war crimes trial, and 1976 murder.   Jochen Peiper would likely never have been heard of outside Germany if not for the infamous massacre of US Army POWs near Malmedy, Belgium, during World War II, with which his name has been forever associated.   Shunned and despised in the years following Germany’s surrender, Peiper is nevertheless praised by many for his military acumen. This meticulously researched book explores Peiper’s youth, his career with the SS, the now famous trial of the officers and soldiers of the Leibstandarte, who were accused of war crimes, and Peiper’s murder in France over thirty years later.   “One of WWII’s most interesting combat leaders . . . a fascinating story.” —Armor  Includes maps and illustrations

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  Rocket Girl - The Story of Mary...

  George D. Morgan

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  In 1938, a young German rocket enthusiast named Wernher von Braun had dreams of building a rocket that could fly him to the moon. In Ray, North Dakota, a young farm girl named Mary Sherman was attending high school. In an age when girls rarely dreamed of a career in science, Mary wanted to be a chemist. A decade later the dreams of these two disparate individuals would coalesce in ways neither could have imagined.World War II and the Cold War space race with the Russians changed the fates of both von Braun and Mary Sherman Morgan. When von Braun and other top engineers could not find a solution to the repeated failures that plagued the nascent U.S. rocket program, North American Aviation, where Sherman Morgan then worked, was given the challenge. Recognizing her talent for chemistry, company management turned the assignment over to young Mary.In the end, America succeeded in launching rockets into space, but only because of the joint efforts of the brilliant farm girl from North Dakota and the famous German scientist. While von Braun went on to become a high-profile figure in NASA's manned space flight, Mary Sherman Morgan and her contributions fell into obscurity—until now.

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  J M Barrie and the Lost Boys -...

  Andrew Birkin

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  This literary biography is “a story of obsession and the search for pure childhood . . . Moving, charming, a revelation” (Los Angeles Times).   J. M. Barrie, Victorian novelist, playwright, and author of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up, led a life almost as interesting as his famous creation. Childless in his marriage, Barrie grew close to the five young boys of the Davies family, ultimately becoming their guardian and surrogate father when they were orphaned.   Andrew Birkin draws extensively on a vast range of material by and about Barrie, including notebooks, memoirs, and hours of recorded interviews with the family and their circle, to describe Barrie’s life, the tragedies that shaped him, and the wonderful world of imagination he created for the boys. Updated with a new preface and including photos and illustrations, this “absolutely gripping” read reveals the dramatic story behind one of the classics of children’s literature (Evening Standard).   “A psychological thriller . . . One of the year’s most complex and absorbing biographies.” —Time   “[A] fascinating story.” —The Washington Post

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  The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium

  Gerald Durrell

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  Uproarious antics fill this genre-crossing collection of six stories from the beloved British naturalist and author of the Corfu Trilogy.   The eccentric Durrell family sets off on an ill-fated excursion in “The Picnic” and embarks on a Greek cruise in “The Maiden Voyage.”   Next, things take a turn for the diabolical when a solo Durrell runs into a former flame in “The Public School Education”—and then finds trouble of a different sort in “The Havoc of Havelock.”   Finally, the typically jocular Durrell unexpectedly shifts to the macabre with the surprise cuisine of “The Michelin Man” and the spine-tingling horror of “The Entrance.”   With his knack for describing his often outlandish, always entertaining adventures, Gerald Durrell serves up an engrossing blend of genres in this intriguing collection of stories. Including both fiction and nonfiction, The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium reveals the wide-ranging talents of the famed naturalist and memoirist.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.

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  Twelve Years a Slave

  Solomon Northup

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  Twelve Years a Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup: born a free black man in New York State, and sold into slavery after being tricked in 1841.Unable to convince anyone he is not a slave, Solomon spent 12 years in bondage, before finally being set free.Northup’s memoir, recounting details of the slave markets and the harsh life on plantations, was used in the struggle to abolish slavery in the United States.

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  Wendell Berry - Life and Work

  Jason Peters

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  A portrait of an American thinker with contributions by Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Sven Birkerts, Wes Jackson, and more: “A masterful collection.” —Charlotte Observer 
   
  Essayist, social critic, poet, “mad farmer,” novelist, teacher, and prophet: Wendell Berry has been called many things, but the broad sweep of his contemporary relevance and influence defies facile labels. With a unique perspective and far-reaching vision, Berry poses complex questions about humankind and our relationship to the land and offers simple but profound solutions. Berry’s writings give voice to a provocative but consistent philosophy that extends far beyond its agrarian core to include elements of sociology, the natural sciences, politics, religion, philosophy, linguistics, agriculture, and other seemingly incompatible fields of study. 
   
  Wendell Berry: Life and Work examines this wise, original thinker, appraising his written work and exploring his influence as an activist and artist. Each of the contributors—including Hayden Carruth, Sven Birkerts, Barbara Kingsolver, Stanley Hauerwas, Donald Hall, Ed McClanahan, Bill McKibben, Scott Russell Sanders, Norman Wirzba, Wes Jackson, and Eric T. Freyfogle—examines an aspect of Berry’s varied yet cohesive body of work. Also included are highly personal glimpses of Berry: his career, academic influence, and unconventional lifestyle. 
   
  These deft sketches show the purity of Berry’s agrarian lifestyle and demonstrate that there is nothing simple about the life to which he’s devoted himself. He embraces a life that sustains him not by easy purchase and haste but by physical labor and patience, not by mindless acquiescence to a centralized economy but by attention to local ways and wisdom. This book combines biographical sketches, personal accounts, literary criticism, and social commentary. The result is a rich portrait of one of America’s most profound and honest thinkers.

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