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  Wesley the Owl - The Remarkable...

  Stacey O'Brien

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  On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien met a four-day-old baby barn owl—a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing nineteen-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet's ability to fly was forever compromised, and he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley the Owl is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together. 
   
  With both a tender heart and a scientist's eye, O'Brien studied Wesley's strange habits intensively—and provided a mice-only diet that required her to buy the rodents in bulk (28,000 over the owl's lifetime). As Wesley grew, O'Brien snapped photos of him at every stage like any proud parent, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, macho adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his eighteen-inch stature. Stacey and Wesley's bond deepened as she discovered Wesley's individual personality, subtle emotions, and playful nature that could also turn fiercely loyal and protective—though she could have done without Wesley's driving away her would-be human suitors! 
   
  O'Brien also brings us inside the prestigious research community, where resident owls sometimes flew freely from office to office and eccentric, brilliant scientists were extraordinarily committed to studying and helping animals; all of them were changed by the animal they loved. As O'Brien gets close to Wesley, she makes important discoveries about owl behavior, intelligence, and communication, coining the term "The Way of the Owl" to describe his inclinations: he did not tolerate lies, held her to her promises, and provided unconditional love, though he was not beyond an occasional sulk. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. 
   
  Wesley the Owl is a thoroughly engaging, heartwarming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, nonhuman being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty. It is sure to be cherished by animal lovers everywhere.

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  I'm Not One To Gossip But… -...

  John McEntee

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  From an embarrassing encounter with Jim Callaghan (and his impressive member) in the gentlemen's toilet of the Savoy Hotel to the time he was almost throttled by Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt, John McEntee's career has been nothing if not colourful.
  After reporting on the IRA terror campaign while a correspondent for the Irish Press, John soon found his home on London's gossip circuit. With one ear always on the alert for scandalous remarks and titillating tit-bits of conversation, John was launched into a world of endless cocktail parties, book launches and openings, first as the author of the Mail's spiky Wicked Whispers gossip column and then as what turned out to be the last ever William Hickey columnist on the Daily Express.
  Glamour and celebrity encounters aside, whoever said the job of a gossip columnist was easy has obviously never had to pick up the bill at El Vino after a drunken Kingsley Amis has spent the afternoon working his way through the whisky menu.
  Gloriously entertaining and wonderfully indiscreet, John McEntee's enchanting autobiography is a veritable goldmine of anecdotal gems from one of the true denizens of Fleet Street.

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  Brothers in Arms - Real War True...

  Geraint Jones

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  Darkly funny, shockingly honest, Brothers in Arms is an unforgettable account of a soldier's tour of Afghanistan, the brutal reality of war – every scary, exciting moment – and the bonds of friendship that can never be destroyed.‘If you could choose which two limbs got blown off, what would you go for?’ Danny said.  ‘Your arms or your legs?’In July 2009, Geraint (Gez) Jones was sitting in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with the rest of The Firm – Danny, Jay, Toby and Jake, his four closest friends, all junior NCOs and combat-hardened infantrymen.  Thanks to the mangled remains of a Jackal vehicle left tactlessly outside their tent, IEDs were never far from their mind.  Within days they’d be on the ground in Musa Qala with the rest of 3 Platoon – a mixed bunch of men Gez would die for.  As they fight furiously, are pushed to their limits, hemmed in by IEDs and hampered by the chain of command, Gez starts to wonder what is the point of it all. The bombs they uncover on patrol, on their stomachs brushing the sand away, are replaced the next day. Firefights are a momentary victory in a war they can see is unwinnable.  Gez is a warrior – he wants more than this.  But then death and injury start to take their toll on The Firm, leaving Gez with PTSD and a new battle just beginning.'Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour.' – Major Adam Jowett, bestselling author of No Way Out'A gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant.' – Tom Marcus, author of Soldier Spy

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  George Müller of Bristol

  Arthur T. Pierson

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  George Muller was a great hero of faith. His greatest aim was to demonstrate that God answers prayer and can be trusted for every minute detail of life. Spending countless hours asking God to provide his needs, he only relied upon God. God called him to care for orphans and he conducted his orphanage in the same way, on faith alone. When a certain need was apparent, they would immediately go to God in prayer. In this dynamic dependance on God, He always proved faithful. He also established over a hundred schools, educating over a hundred thousand people! His example of absolute dependence on God stands in the gap of history to declare that God is enough, and He is faithful! (Summary by Kimberly Krause)Dedicated proof-listeners: Larry Wilson, Fiddlesticks, & Kimberly Krause

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  Mystic Minstrel George Harrison...

  Geoffrey Giuliano

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  A touching tribute to the life and work of George Harrison. Much more than the inspirational heart of the Beatles, he was also the godfather of world music, an early advocate of yoga, a dedicated environmentalist, fountainhead of many charitable causes, and a brilliant composer and lyricist. Giuliano spent 30 years researching the life of this man, even living amongst him in pastoral Henley during George’s “quiet years” of tending his Victorian gardens and writing music that remains mostly unheard to this day.

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  Literary Life - A Second Memoir

  Larry McMurtry

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  In Literary Life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry opens up about the triumphs and trials of his abundant literary career. Relaying his early interest in writing that began with a creative writing class at Rice University, to a career that boasts over 40 novels and an Academy Award-winning screenplay, this intimate portrait of the author offers a glimpse into an intelligent, honest and undeniably profound voice in contemporary American Literature.

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