Other books that might interest you

• 

  Xafrica - Letters from the...

  Sandy Dacombe Ferrar

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Letters from the Southern Rift, the first volume of Xafrica, is a collection of observations and reflections on the charm and mystery of natural Southern Africa, its wildlife and nature reserves, spanning five years and four countries: Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa. Volume 2, Seasons in the Heart is due for publication in 2018.

  Show book

• 

  Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S...

  Ulysses S. Grant

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Former president Ulysses S. Grant fell on hard times in his dying days - his family’s fortunes decimated by Ponzi scheme investments - and the general’s last hope was that these memoirs might provide a small inheritance for his surviving wife and children.  
  More than that, Grant’s memoirs remain among the most unique and insightful histories of 19th-century U.S. military campaigns, drawing on the author’s experiences in the Civil War and Mexican-American War. Fluid performer Peter Johnson captures the honest forthrightness and concise clarity that define Grant’s work in stark contrast to other Victorian military histories. Listeners are treated to Grant’s account of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, and his surprising indictment of American motives in the country’s war against Mexico.

  Show book

• 

  Jazz Survivor - The Story of...

  Ken Shuldman

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Jazz Survivor tells the story of Louis Bannet, the Dutch Louis Armstrong. Louis Bannet was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau during the war, but his skill as a musician saved his life: he became the 'star' of the Auschwitz Orchestra, as well as the personal bandleader for Dr. Josef Mengele and the founder of the Gypsy Camp Orchestra.

  Show book

• 

  Kindred Beings - What...

  Sheri Speede

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Enter a world of tender friendships, staunch loyalties, violent jealousies—and enduring love.As a child, Sheri Speede knew that she wanted to advocate for animals in any way she could. But it was not until many years after veterinary school, when she was transporting a chimpanzee named Pierre away from a biomedical facility as part of her job as a conservation advocate in Cameroon, that Dr. Speede discovered her true calling. She began to search for land for a forest sanctuary for captive chimpanzees that were held on chains and in small cages at local hotels.Dr. Speede eventually founded the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, a forested home for orphans of the illegal ape meat trade. One chim- panzee, Dorothy, was rescued by Dr. Speede and her colleagues from a bleak existence imprisoned on a chain and forged a deep friendship with her. Dr. Speede explains how chimpanzees, like humans, are capable of a broad spectrum of emotional behaviors—both hateful and loving. Dr. Speede also candidly reveals her own struggles as a stranger in a foreign culture trying to adjust to rural African village life. And she admits that unlike Dorothy, she was not always kind, gentle, and forgiving.Dorothy died of old age at the sanctuary, and a photograph of Dorothy's funeral, in which Dr. Speede cradled Dorothy's head while her family of chimpanzees mournfully viewed her body, went viral after being published in National Geographic. The world was surprised at the depth of the chimps' grief at the loss of their friend, but Dr. Speede was not. Through the chimps, she had come to understand the meaning of love, loyalty, and true connection.While this is a compelling story about the emotional complexity of the chimpanzees she rescued and befriended, it is also Dr. Speede's story. Major events in her personal life, including love affairs, dangerous run-ins with criminals, and the birth of her daughter, unfold as the development of her primate rescue center runs parallel to her own development. Ultimately, Kindred Beings is a story of profound resilience, of both the apes and the woman who loved them.

  Show book

• 

  The Torture Machine - Racism and...

  Flint Taylor

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  With his colleagues at the People’s Law Office (PLO), Flint Taylor has argued landmark civil-rights cases that have exposed corruption and cover-ups within the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and throughout the city’s corrupt political machine.
  
  The Torture Machine takes listeners from the 1969 murders of Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and Panther Mark Clark—and the historic thirteen-years of litigation that followed—through the dogged pursuit of commander Jon Burge, the leader of a torture ring within the CPD that used barbaric methods, including electric shock, to elicit false confessions from suspects.
  
  Joining forces with community activists, torture survivors and their families, other lawyers, and local reporters, Taylor and the PLO gathered evidence from multiple cases to bring suit against the CPD officers and the City of Chicago. As the struggle expanded beyond the torture scandal to the ultimately successful campaign to end the death penalty in Illinois, and obtained reparations for many of the torture survivors, it set human-rights precedents that have since been adopted across the United States.

  Show book

• 

  Donald Gaskins: The Meanest Man...

  Jack Rosewood

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In the world of American serial killers, few can beat Donald Henry “Peewee” Gaskins when it comes to depravity, cunning, and quite possibly the sheer number of murders. Do not let the nickname “Peewee” fool you, if someone did not take Gaskins seriously, then that person usually ended up dead! In this true crime book about an infamous serial killer, you will delve into the mind of a truly twisted man who claimed scores of victims from the 1950s until 1982, which made him the most prolific serial killer in South Carolina history and quite possibly in all of American history!Criminal profiling has helped law enforcement capture a number of serial killers throughout history and has also aided mental health professionals understand some of the motives behind their dastardly deeds, but in many ways Gaskins defied most profiles. The range of Gaskins’ victims was only equaled by the plethora of reasons he chose to kill: many of the murders were done to appease Gaskins’ unnatural carnal desires, while other victims lost their lives during his career as a contract killer. Truly, in the twisted world of psychopaths and sociopaths Gaskins is definitely in the top tier – he was a predator among predators. Many of the details of Gaskins’ life will shock you and still other things will make you horrified by his inhumanity, but in the end you will find that it is impossible to put down this captivating read! So open the book and your mind to see what you will learn in this truly unique serial killer’s biography.This is the true story of the "Meanest Man In America", Donald Henry Gaskins.

  Show book