Other books that might interest you

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  The Night Trains - Moving...

  Charles van Onselen

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   ON THE NIGHT TRAINS, THE LAST STOP WAS ALWAYS HELL. 
  The price exacted from across the African subcontinent for South Africa’s stalled 20th-century industrial revolution is, in human terms, still largely hidden from history. For half a century, up to the mid-1950s, privately operated trains travelled by night between Ressano Garcia, on the Mozambique border, and Booysens station, in Johannesburg. The night trains carried Mozambicans recruited to work in the mines of the booming Witwatersrand. The up-trains disgorged their human cargo into the maw of the great Rand mining machine, while the down-trains whisked away the time-expired miners – often ill, broken or insane, and preyed on by con men, petty criminals and corrupt officials. While mine labour was recruited from all over southern Africa, Mozambican migrants made up the largest component, and they paid the highest price. 
    
  Charles van Onselen clinically reconstructs the world of the night trains, which were run as a partnership between the mining houses and the railways. By tracing the up and down rail journeys undertaken by black migrants over half a century it is possible to discern how racial thinking, expressed logistically, reflected South Africa’s evolving systems of segregation and apartheid. Mirroring the brutal logic of industrial capitalism, this was a system of transport designed to maximise profit at the expense of the health, well-being and even the lives of those it conveyed. 
  The story of the night trains echoes today through songs such as ‘Stimela’ and ‘Shosholoza’. But the experience of the poverty-stricken Mozambicans who travelled on the trains has never been told. THE NIGHT TRAINS lays bare this hellish world.

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  Both Not Half - 'Few people...

  Jassa Ahluwali

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  GOLD WINNER OF 'BEST NARRATOR' AT THE AUDIO PRODUCTION AWARDS. 'This guy has better Punjabi than both of us and he's only half Punjabi.' Only. Half. I stared at those words. The intent behind the comment was in no way malicious, but it hurt. I felt diminished. I felt like I was being robbed of something essential to me. And as I stared at my screen, realisation dawned. '#bothnothalf' I replied. For over twenty-five years, actor Jassa Ahluwalia described himself as 'half Indian, half English'. His fluent Punjabi always prompted bewilderment, medical staff questioned the legitimacy of his name, and the world of casting taught him he wasn't 'the right kind of mixed-race'. Feeling caught between two worlds, it wasn't long before Jassa embarked on a call to action: we need to change how we think and talk about mixed identity. By delving into the media we grew up consuming and the legacies of empire we have been taught, Ahluwalia asks: is there anything to be learnt from Rudyard Kipling? Why were movie stars urged to hide their mixed identities? To what extent did colonialism encourage or hinder mixed marriages? Is nationalism outdated? How can the politics of class and queer liberation inform our understanding of mixed identity? Both Not Half is a rallying cry for a new and inclusive future. It's a journey of self-discovery that unearths the historical roots of modern mixed identity as we know it, braving to deconstruct the binaries we have inherited and the narratives we passively accept. Part-memoir, part-manifesto: this is a campaign for belonging in a divided world.This immersive audiobook includes exclusive audio clips from Jassa 's Ted Talk, original audio from self-tapes, a bonus conversation with his sister Ramanique Ahluwalia, and much more.

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  The Smallest Room in the House -...

  Philip Cowley

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  Based on Philip Cowley's entertaining columns in The House magazine, this collection of political oddities and fascinating research, discussing the politics of fights, cockroaches, riots, potholes, beards and much more, is perfect for reading in multiple sittings. Discover the electoral relevance of chip shops and football grounds, what your lawn tells you about your voting, why politicians need to pay extra care in Scunthorpe, what MPs think of voters, why they all claim to be local and why they are all now so inexperienced.
  Equal parts witty and thought-provoking, and with additional grumpy complaints about bats, overly long constituency names and giving the vote to sixteen-year-olds, it's a book that will appeal to the sort of person who likes to tell you that, actually, it's all a bit more complicated than that…

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  Screen-Smart Families - Rules &...

  Dale Mclaughlin

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  This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice.   
  Screens aren’t the enemy — unstructured screen-time is. 
  In Screen-Smart Families, Dale McLaughlin gives parents a practical plan to bring balance back to digital life. 
  Learn how to set clear, realistic tech rules without constant fights, create device-free zones that rebuild family connection, and teach your child self-control in an age of endless scrolling. With gentle strategies and real-world routines, this audiobook helps you reduce screen battles, improve focus, and raise calmer, more mindful kids — no guilt required.

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  French Short Stories

  Fabien Arnaud

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  Ready To Learn The French Language quickly and in a practical way with exciting short novels?It is no secret that language proficiency grows through practice. The more you practice a foreign language, the more comfortable you will become with it. For beginner French speakers, it is essential not only to expand your vocabulary but also to build confidence in your ability to speak, read, and master the language.The 21 captivating French stories in this book (I have included one bonus story at the end) have been carefully crafted for new French speakers to help with learning new words and phrases, while also strengthening your confidence by reinforcing what you already know. Did you realize that you are already prepared to read short stories in French?So, how should you use this book? It is best to start at the beginning, as the stories in this book will get progressively more sophisticated. Each story comes with a series of questions in French to gauge your comprehension of the story, as well as a glossary of some new words or terms that were introduced in that story. If you have trouble understanding any of the questions in French, refer back to the glossary for help. Words and phrases in the questions that could be confusing are defined in the glossary as well.Each story is also followed by a short synopsis in English for readers who want to make sure they have understood the story’s meaning. We recommend that you read each story—using the glossary definitions if necessary—and then answer the questions. You should refer to the English summaries of the stories only after you have answered the questions. The summaries are a great way to check your answers and determine how well you have understood the material, but it is important to try challenging yourself to understand French.Get your copy now

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  The Fifth History of Man

  MD John Bershof

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  In the spirit of medieval writer Chaucer, all human activity lies within the artist’s scope, the History of Man Series uses medicine as a jumping off point to explore precisely that, all history, all science, all human activity since the beginning of time. The jumping off style of writing takes the reader, the listener into worlds unknown, always returning to base, only to jump off again. History of Man are stories and tales of nearly everything. 
  The Fifth History of Man has a few parting shots at viruses but mostly continues with the world of parasites, from tick disease that tick us off, Old Lyme, Connecticut and Lyme disease, toxoplasmosis, Crazy Cat Lady and her clowder of cats, then on into a discussion of the avatar of parasites: malaria. Our travels will venture down into the valley: Valley Girls, Valspeak, Valley Fever, fungus and fungal infections. We’ll jump into the biology of evolution, Darwin, Huxley and the great debates, the geology of earthquakes, volcanos, the Ring of Fire, and Johnny Cash, and then through the homos: Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens, and once the dust cleared how the opposable thumbs, walking erect, and bigger brains left one man standing, one woman, too. No discussion of human history can leave out the G.O.A.T. of French history, heck, of European history; the man, the legend, Napoleon Bonaparte, loved and admired by everyone, even his enemies. Our path will take us into war & military, World War I versus the 1918 Swine Flu, some Russian history and how Stalin got Lenin wrong.

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