Other books that might interest you

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  Through Dark Days and White...

  Naomi F. Collins

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  This memoir of an American woman’s life in Moscow traces the social and cultural evolution of Russia from the era of Krushchev to the era of Putin. 
   
  In the mid-1960s, Naomi Collins was a graduate student at Moscow State University. As the 21st century began, she was the wife of the American Ambassador to Russia. In this insightful memoir, she shares her reflections and impressions of life as an American woman living in the Russian capital over the course of four decades.  
   
  Rather than retracing the economic and political events of the period, Collins focuses her narrative on daily as it changed over the years. She offers fascinating anecdotal snapshots that reveal rare insight into the evolving state of the nation.   
   
  “This book is like a script for a documentary spanning four decades when an especially astute and literate observer watched Russia emerge from stagnation and enter a period of dramatic economic, social, and political change and, on many fronts, upheaval.” —Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution

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  Mr Smith Goes to Prison - What...

  Jeff Smith

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  The fall from politico to prisoner isn't necessarily long, but the landing, as Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith learned, is a hard one. 
  In 2009, Smith lied to the Feds about seemingly minor campaign malfeasance and earned himself a year and a day in Kentucky's FCI Manchester. Mr. Smith Goes to Prison is the fish-out-of-water story of his time in the big house; of the people he met there and the things he learned: how to escape the attentions of fellow inmates, like a tattooed Klansman and his friends in the Aryan Brotherhood; what constitutes a prison car and who's allowed to ride in yours; how to bend and break the rules, whether you're a prisoner or an officer. And throughout his sentence, the senator tracked the greatest crime of all: the deliberate waste of untapped human potential.  
  Smith saw the power of millions of inmates harnessed as a source of renewable energy for America's prison-industrial complex, a system that aims to build better criminals instead of better citizens. In Mr. Smith Goes to Prison, he traces the cracks in America's prison walls, exposing the shortcomings of a racially based cycle of poverty and crime. Smith blends a wry sense of humor with academic training, political acumen, and insights from his year on the inside. He offers practical solutions to jailbreak the nation from the financially crushing grip of its own prisons and to jump-start the rehabilitation of the millions living behind bars.A Macmillan Audio production.

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  Red Army Sniper - A Memoir of...

  Yevgeni Nikolaev

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  Yevgeni Nikolaev was one of Russia's leading snipers in World War II, and his memoir provides an unparalleled account of front-line action in crucial theaters of war. Nikolaev is credited with a remarkable 324 kills, and his wartime service included time in the siege of Leningrad in 1941/1942. 
  His memoir is not a neutral, apolitical account—far from it. Nikolaev asserts, for example, that Finland attacked Russia. As a member of the NKVD, it is not surprising that his memoir is full of historical misinterpretation and justification of the agency's actions. 
  In vivid, arresting recollections he paints his actions in a saintly, heroic light. He describes the comfort of the German foxholes, wired with telephone connections, relative to the Russians who fasted without food or water, awaiting the moment for a perfect shot. He claims the Russian soldier was a moral warrior, killing only with head or heart shots. 
  In addition to describing details of his kills, Nikolaev explains how his life was saved when an explosive rifle bullet struck a watch that he kept in his jacket pocket. His life was saved by a surgeon who extracted all the watch parts.

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  The Humorous Short Stories of...

  Mark Twain

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  This delightful collection of gems by Mark Twain begins with the story of a town called Hadleyburg, which prides itself on the honesty of its citizens. One day a citizen of Hadleyburg offends a stranger passing through, who vows to take his revenge by revealing just how corruptible the sanctimonious town really is. Twain is at his best here, poking fun at common hypocrisy as the self-satisfied pillars of the community are done in by their own greed. 
  Other stories in the collection include: 1. The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg2. The Double Barrelled Detective Story3. The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County4. The Million Dollar Bank Note5. Benton and Mills6. A Tale7. Cannibalism in the Cars8. The Stolen White Elephant9. The Man Who Put Up at Gadsby's10. The Good Little Boy11. The Bad Little Boy12. Baker's Blue Jay Yarn

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  Journey of an EX-Teetotaling...

  Fay Faron

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  "Eat, Pray, Love," meets "When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home." 
  Free-spirited young woman travels the U.S. and Europe in search of romance. The proudly chaste “good girl” soon finds navigating her way through the sexually-evolving world of the 1970s will take a skill set her Sunday school teacher never taught her.

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  Noni Hazlehurst - A Lucky Life

  Noni Hazlehurst

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  One of the most iconic Australians - one who has graced our screen and theatres for over forty years - Noni Hazlehurst is finally telling her story. 
    
  Noni Hazlehurst is an icon. A household name, our best-loved actor, she's graced our screens and theatres with her presence for over forty years - and won our hearts and our respect in the process. From hosting Playschool for more than two decades to acting in films such as Ladies in Black, June Again, Monkey Grip, Candy and Little Fish; serving as host on Better Homes and Gardens, a starring role in fan favourite A Place to Call Home; most recently hosting the SBS miniseries Every Family Has a Secret; all that of course in addition to her theatre work.  
  In some ways, she is an ordinary woman - a single mother to two boys, she knows about sacrifice, stretching thin and juggling. Yet she is clearly also an extraordinary woman - only the second woman to be inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 32 years.  
  She is ordinary, she is extraordinary. She is all class.  
  And like Noni herself, this will be no ordinary memoir. A natural-born storyteller, Noni Hazlehurst is funny, fierce, truthful. She's thoughtful and clear-eyed about the world. This memoir will be full, rich, funny, lively, opinionated - and a testament to the power of storytelling.

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