Other books that might interest you

• 

  David Swan - From their pens to...

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. 
  He was a mere four years old when his father died and his mother took him and his two sisters to live with her family and then on to their own home in Raymond, Maine. The young Hawthorne had a passion for fiction and poetry and voraciously read the works of Ann Radcliffe, Henry Fielding and Lord Byron.  
  He was sent to college at his maternal uncle’s insistence. During these years he met and befriended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future U S president Franklin Pierce. These friendships were lifelong and to have a crucial impact on his writings and career.  
  At college Hawthorne had made attempts at writing short stories and essays but without opportunities to publish. It was only in 1828 that he finally published his novel ‘Franshawe’ to little success and so he began work as editor for the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge.  
  Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. They moved to live in ‘The Old Manse’ at Concord, Massachusetts.   
  Finally. in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter’ followed by ‘The House of the Seven Gables’ the following year.  
  In 1852, Hawthorne published a biography of presidential candidate Franklin Pierce. After Pierce’s victory he was appointed consul in Liverpool, a position that offered prestige, money and fame. At the end of this appointment he returned several times to Europe before settling in Massachusetts and resuming writing and publication. 
  During the early 1860’s his health declined and on 19th May 1864 during a trip to Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was 59 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.

  Show book

• 

  First Wilderness - My Quest in...

  Sam Keith

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  After serving as a US Marine during World War II and attending college on the GI Bill, Sam Keith decided to seek adventure in Alaska as a laborer on the Adak Navy base. There he befriended Dick Proenneke, whose shared love of the outdoors, hard work, and self-reliance quickly bonded an alliance between the two. Together they explored the wilds of South Central Alaska, while working on the Navy base, hunting and fishing with friends and breathing in the great outdoors. Keith was ready to leave after three years of finding almost everything he sought—not realizing then how his fate was intrinsically tied to his friend's and how it would lead to writing the bestselling book One Man's Wilderness. 
   
   
   
  Sam Keith passed away in 2003. But in 2013, his son-in-law and children's book author/illustrator Brian Lies discovered in an archive box in their garage a book manuscript, originally written in 1974 after the publication of One Man's Wilderness. First Wilderness is the story of Keith's own experiences, at times harrowing, funny, and fascinating. Along with the original manuscript are excerpts from his journals, letters, and notebooks, woven in to create a compelling and poignant memoir of search and discovery. Foreword by Nick Jans, one of Alaska's foremost authors and photographers, and afterword by Keith's daughter Laurel Lies.

  Show book

• 

  My Life Now - Essays by a Child...

  Mary Knight

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A unique survivor memoir. Essays ranging from heartwarming to brutal. A trigger warning (TW) at the start of each essay allows listeners to practice self-care. Mary Knight’s parents were her pimps, but her focus in the book is on healing. Her current life is filled with safety, love, joy, and children. Happily married, she is a psychotherapist, a grandmother, and a foster parent.

  Show book

• 

  Duplicity - Basketball Drugs and...

  Curtis Malone

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Curtis Malone had the charisma, vision, and connections to become a giant in the world of grassroots basketball. He didn't just build teams—he built futures, transforming raw talent into college scholarships and NBA dreams. On the surface, he was a mentor, a role model, and a community leader. But beneath that polished exterior lay a man caught in a dangerous web of ambition, survival, and duplicity.Duplicity dives into the life of Curtis Malone, a man whose drive for power and provision blurred the lines between right and wrong. Basketball gave him purpose, a way to inspire and uplift. But the streets offered him quick money and the means to maintain his image as a provider—not just for his family, but for the community he desperately wanted to support. Curtis takes listeners on an emotional journey as he grapples with identity, manhood, and the weight of his decisions. He believed he could play both sides, using basketball to save lives and drugs to sustain them. But as the lines between these worlds blur, the question looms: Was he really helping, or was he only perpetuating the cycles he hoped to break?Duplicity is a gripping exploration of power, loyalty, and the choices that define us. It challenges readers to consider the cost of ambition and the fragility of a life built on two conflicting foundations.

  Show book

• 

  Short Stories About Abuse -...

  Anton Chekhov

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Equality is one of the great and lauded aims of a just society.  It is rarely achieved.  The system is there to be exploited by those with too much money and too many resources.  Or maybe just a grudge.  Our classic authors including Anton Chekhov, O Henry, Susan Glaspell, Arthur Morrison and others turn their pens to the nature of abuse.  It may be gentle or laced with searing pain but always told with the sharpest of pens. 
   
  1 - Short Stories about Abuse - An Introduction 
  2 - Hop Frog by Edgar Allan Poe 
  3 - Aloysha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy 
  4 - A Harlem Tragedy by O Henry 
  5 - Vanka by Anton Chekhov 
  6 - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell 
  7 - Gentle Breathing by Ivan Bunin 
  8 - Tony's Wife by Alice Dunbar Nelson 
  9 - The Bishop of Hell by Marjorie Bowen 
  10 - A Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane 
  11 - The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe 
  12 - Tales of Mean Streets. Lizerunt by Arthur Morrison

  Show book

• 

  Summary of Anabel Hernandez's...

  Falcon Press

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Buy now to get the main key ideas from Anabel Hernandez's Narcoland 
    
  The world of Mexican drug cartels has become notorious for its extreme violence and wealth, but also its secrecy. Anabel Hernandez’s Narcoland (2014) dives into this world and uncovers its history, its day-to-day operations, and the men behind it. Today's cartels began as small local gangs selling narcotics. As they grew and banded together, they began bribing authorities for protection. Soon, many Mexican officials were participating in the industry rather than trying to stop it. Drug lords gained incredible amounts of power and wealth, but rivals were always trying to eliminate them. 
  Hernandez sees no end to this cycle of violence and corruption until kids in poverty receive opportunities outside of drug trafficking. Otherwise, Mexico will continue being known as "Narcoland."

  Show book