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  Troubling the Water - The Urgent...

  Ben McBride

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  From one of the most courageous and visionary leaders of our time comes Troubling the Water, an immersive book about the violence and injustice that threaten to drown us all. Ben McBride recounts how he first waded into the water: from the Kill Zone in Oakland, where he moved with his young family, to the uprising in Ferguson, to the moral impoverishment of the white evangelical church. In the truth-telling tradition of Bryan Stevenson and Bishop William Barber, McBride leads us right into the fury and fragmentation of our moment, and then steadies us once we're there. 
   
   
   
  What would it take to truly belong to each other? Radical belonging, McBride argues, means looking at our implicit biases, at our faulty understandings of power, and at how we "other"—or "same"—people. Sometimes it even means troubling the waters—speaking hard truths in situations that appear calm but that cloak injustice. 
   
   
   
  With a blend of provocation and good humor, McBride leads us beyond inaction on the one hand and polemic on the other. What results is an indelible manifesto—a troublemaking reverend's call to the most urgent task of our time. As inequality, racism, and alienation weaken our common life, well-meaning people ask: What do I need to do to create a world where all can belong? But McBride asserts that instead, we need to ask: Who do I need to become?

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  Richard Sorge: The Life and...

  Editors Charles River

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  Spies are a feature of countless works of fiction in which they often discover secrets on which the fate of nations hang in the balance. Reality is generally rather more mundane, as spies often gather low-level intelligence that only makes sense when it is examined by analysts and compared to information from other sources. Espionage provides clues to what the enemy is planning, but on its own, it rarely changes the course of a war. Moreover, real spies are generally anonymous, not the bold, swashbuckling action heroes depicted in fiction. Spies must hide in plain sight, and that is best achieved by being as innocuous as possible.  
  	However, there are exceptions. Occasionally, a spy will be so successful that they are able to place themselves in a position where they have access to information at the highest levels, secrets that really can change the course of world events. Sometimes, these spies may even be as handsome, charming, charismatic, and bold as their fictional counterparts. 
  	One such spy was a man named Richard Sorge. Experiencing the horrors of World War I at first-hand turned Sorge into an ardent communist, after which he worked as a spy for the USSR in Germany, China, and Japan before and during World War II. He obtained vital military and political secrets and maintained his cover for over nine years despite frantic searches for the spy who was leaking information to Russia. His effortless charm meant that he didn’t need to steal secrets: people told him willingly, including the many women that he seduced.

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  Empires of India The: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  When one thinks of the world’s first cities, Sumer, Memphis, and Babylon are some of the first to come to mind, but if the focus then shifts to India, then Harappa and Mohenjo-daro will likely come up. These cities owe their existence to India’s oldest civilization, known as the Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan Civilization, which was contemporary with ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt and had extensive contacts with the former, making it one of the most important early civilizations in the world. 
  The dynasty that came to power in the late 4th century BCE is known today as the Mauryan Dynasty, and although the ruling family was short-lived and their power was ephemeral, its influence resonated for several subsequent centuries and spread as far east as China and into the Hellenistic west.  
  Bactria was the seat of several different kingdoms during the course of many centuries, but none were as successful as the Kushan Empire, the dominant political entity in Central Asia from the early 2nd century BCE until the early 3rd century CE, during which time the Kushan rulers played a major role in the first iteration of the trade networks known collectively as the Silk Road. 
  From 1206 to 1526, the Delhi Sultanate controlled all of northern India and, during its apogee of power, nearly all of the Sub-Continent, making it one of the most impressive empires not only in India’s long history, but also in the history of Islam. The Delhi Sultanate was comprised of five dynasties that expanded their borders, and Islam, at sword point, but also through diplomacy and trade.  
  The Mughals, a group with Turkish and Mongolian roots, adopted elements of Islamic culture and meshed them with native Indian culture and even Western European culture. When the British conquered India in the mid-19th century, they had the benefit of inheriting the Mughal system, a suitable template for rule over a land as vast and diverse as India.

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  The Final Year of Anne Boleyn

  Natalie Grueninger

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  There are few women in English history more famous or controversial than Queen Anne Boleyn. In this vivid and engaging account of the triumphant and harrowing final year of Queen Anne Boleyn's life, the author reveals a very human portrait of a brilliant, passionate, and complex woman. 
   
   
   
  The last year of Anne's life contained both joy and heartbreak. This telling period bore witness to one of the longest and most politically significant progresses of Henry VIII's reign, improved relations between the royal couple, and Anne's longed-for pregnancy. With the dawning of the new year, the pendulum swung. In late January 1536, Anne received news that her husband had been thrown from his horse in his tiltyard at Greenwich. Just days later, tragedy struck. As the body of Anne's predecessor, Katherine of Aragon, was being prepared for burial, Anne miscarried her son. The promise of a new beginning dashed, the months that followed were a roller coaster of anguish and hope, marked by betrayal, brutality, and rumor. What began with so much promise, ended in silent dignity, amid a whirlwind of scandal, on a scaffold at the Tower of London. 
   
   
   
  Through close examination of these intriguing events considered in their social and historical context, listeners will gain a fresh perspective into the life and death of the woman behind the tantalizing tale.

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  Hard Road to Glory Volume 1 A...

  Arthur Ashe

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  With a Foreword by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe 
  Available once again for a new generation, the first volume in Arthur Ashe’s epic trilogy that chronicles the remarkable legacy of Black athletes in the United States—a major addition to our understanding of American history and the fulfillment of this legendary sports star and global activist’s lifelong dream. 
  When tennis great Arthur Ashe first published his A Hard Road to Glory trilogy, this ambitious project—recognizing the contributions of Black athletes to American sports and culture—was the first of its kind, a milestone in the presentation of United States social history. 
  Ashe had long believed that Black people needed to know their cultural history. But while teaching a seminar on the history of African American athletes at Florida Memorial College in 1981, he realized there was a vast amount of material about Black achievement that had never been collected, analyzed, and interpreted. To help to fill the gap, he began with the subject he knew best: sports. 
  A Hard Road to Glory Volume 1 covers the period from 1619, when enslaved Africans were first brought to American shores, to 1918, the end of the First World War. Ashe reveals that from 1865 through 1896, Black Americans succeeded spectacularly in sports, witnessing accomplishments of athletes like Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight champion; Marshall Taylor, “the world's fastest cyclist;” and Isaac Murphy, a Hall of Fame jockey and the first three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby. 
  In 2021, Black athletes and Black women in particular are receiving more visibility than ever for their unparalleled, world record-breaking excellence, their activism, and their leadership and vision. Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Naomi Osaka are consistently elevating athletics and are reshaping the way we think about sports, excellence, society, and history. 
  Arthur Ashe paved the way for them all; A Hard Road to Glory is fundamental to our understanding of Black athletes and our nation’s past, present, and future. Now more than ever, this collection is one of this amazing icon’s greatest legacies—a treasure to be celebrated by listeners today and those to come. 
  Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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  How to build a real estate...

  AHMED MUSA

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  Through a combination of real-world examples, actionable tips, and expert insights, this book equips readers with the tools to navigate the complexities of local markets and unlock their full potential. Discover how to transform localized knowledge into a powerful competitive advantage in your real estate journey.

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