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Diary of a Hapless Househusband
by Sam HoldenWhen father-of-two Sam loses his job, he reluctantly agrees to stay at home while his wife returns to work. Secretly thinking this whole parenthood thing a breeze of leisurely jaunts to the park, reading the paper while the children play quietly and occasionally attending a civilised play date or two, Sam quickly realises just what exactly it means to be a stay-at-home parent. Inevitably, domestic mayhem ensues. Just trying to get dressed in the morning and out of the house without going to A&E is a feat, as is managing the children's complicated play-date schedule while fending off the unwelcome advances of Jodhpur Mum at the playground. And Sam's foolproof 72-step Childcare Programme doesn't seem remotely up to the task. Desperate to get his life back on track, Sam seizes upon a variety of mad schemes, but just as things look like they're beginning to fall into place, he makes a very surprising discovery ...
Diary of a Pilgrimage
by Jerome K. JeromeThis is a sensible book. I want you to understand that. This is a book to improve your mind. In this book I tell you all about Germany--at all events, all I know about Germany--and the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play. I also tell you about other things. I do not tell you all I know about all these other things, because I do not want to swamp you with knowledge. I wish to lead you gradually. When you have learnt this book, you can come again, and I will tell you some more.
The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank (Reading age: #12)
by Anne FrankThe Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. Anne Frank kept a diary from 1942 to 1944. Initially she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specially mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over, she would publish a book based on her diary. Anne's diary ends abruptly when she and her family were betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl has been read by tens of millions of people. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
The Diary of a Young Girl: 12) (PDF)
by Anne FrankThe Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. Anne Frank kept a diary from 1942 to 1944. Initially she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specially mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over, she would publish a book based on her diary. Anne's diary ends abruptly when she and her family were betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl has been read by tens of millions of people. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
The Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank (Reading age: #12)
by Anne FrankThe Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. Anne Frank kept a diary from 1942 to 1944. Initially she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specially mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over, she would publish a book based on her diary. Anne's diary ends abruptly when she and her family were betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl has been read by tens of millions of people. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
The Diary of a Young Girl: 12) (PDF)
by Anne FrankThe Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. Anne Frank kept a diary from 1942 to 1944. Initially she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, a member of the Dutch government in exile announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specially mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over, she would publish a book based on her diary. Anne's diary ends abruptly when she and her family were betrayed. Since its publication in 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl has been read by tens of millions of people. Please note: This title is also available to purchase or loan in hard copy Uncontracted and Contracted Unified English Braille. Please contact the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to buy through our Braille on Demand service or loan through our Library.
The Difficult Second Book: Poster Banner
by Chris MoylesSuperman was a hero. Clark Kent was a geek.Spiderman saved lives. Peter Parker sold photographs to his local paper.Chris Moyles entertains 8 million people each week on BBC Radio 1. Then he goes home and plays Xbox on his sofa, while wearing only his underpants. Welcome to the real world of Chris Moyles.The Difficult Second Book tries to get to the bottom of the double life of this award-winning broadcaster and hapless human being. You'll find out just what he thinks of his radio show guests - some of the most famous people in the country. You'll hear about his showbiz nights out and celebrity neighbourhood. You'll also learn why he is obsessive about washing up; why he lies to the pizza delivery man; and generally what it's like being a part-time famous person and a part-time nobody. Love him or not, Chris Moyles is part of the fabric of our nation and a proven best-selling author. A refreshingly honest, caustically dry and quick-witted commentator on daily life, The Difficult Second Book is a highly-entertaining read from start to finish.
Digging Up the Dead: Uncovering the Life and Times of an Extraordinary Surgeon
by Druin BurchA tearaway young man from Norfolk, Astley Cooper (1768-1841) became the world's richest and most famous surgeon. Admired from afar by the Brontës and up close by his student Keats, his success was born of an appetite for bloody revolutions. He set up an international network of bodysnatchers, won the Royal Society's highest prize and boasted to Parliament that there was no one whose body he could not steal. Experimenting on his neighbours' corpses and the living bodies of their stolen pets, his discoveries were as great as his infamy. Caught up in the French Revolution, and in attempts to bring radical democracy to Britain, Cooper nevertheless rose to become surgeon to royals from the Prince Regent to Queen Victoria. Setting the past against his own reactions to autopsies and operations, hospitals and poetry, Burch's Digging Up the Dead is a riveting account of a world of gothic horror as well as fertile idealism.
The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.)
by Jonathan FranzenA brilliant personal history from the award-winning author of ‘The Corrections’.
Disputed Truth: Memoirs Volume 2
by Hans KüngHans Küng has been a major influence on post-war Christianity by any reckoning. a peritus for the second Vatican council, he then went on to publish a number of controversial books, including Infallible? An Enquiry (1971), which enraged the Vatican and caused him to lose the ecclesiastical approval of his teaching at the university of Tübingen. However, he remains a respected priest in good standing with his bishop.Throughout all the upheavals that the Catholic Church has undergone in recent decades, Küng has been an outspoken observer, turning himself from enfant terrible to béte noire. However his world influence has been great. Whether speaking at the United Nations or consorting with politicians and religious leaders, he is always listened to with respect and enthusiasm. A string of recent books has added to his reputation-notably On Being a Christian (1974) and Does God Exist? An Answer for Today (1980)What is not so well known is that, as a young man, Küng was a close friend and confidant of Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI). Over the years, however, they increasingly came to represent exactly what the other most despised. On being appointed to the Holy See, Ratzinger had a long private meeting with Küng , the consequences of which may resonate within the Catholic Church for many years. In these thrilling memoirs Küng gives his personal account of all these struggles and ambitions. The result is a book of major importance for any student of the church in the 20th century. This second volume covers the period following the close of the Second Vatican Council right up to the present day.
The Don: The Willie Miller Story
by Willie MillerWillie Miller is a hero to tens of thousands of Aberdeen and Scotland fans after a glittering career that made him one of the country's most capped and celebrated players, as well as the most successful ever club captain outside the Old Firm. This book gives a unique insight into professional football during Miller's era and what it was like to lead a team managed by Sir Alex Ferguson and hold aloft the European Cup-Winners' Cup after victory over Real Madrid in 1983. It also tells previously untold stories about Sir Alex gleaned from their seven successful years together at Aberdeen.During that time Aberdeen won three Scottish league titles, four Scottish Cups, one Scottish League Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup. During a 65-cap career for Scotland, Willie played against some of the greatest players of his generation like Franz Beckenbauer, Socrates, Michel Platini, and Zico, and played alongside great international teammates such as centre-back partner Alex McLeish, Graeme Souness, Gordon Strachan and Kenny Dalglish.
DON'T RUN, Whatever You Do: My Adventures as a Safari Guide (G - Reference, Information And Interdisciplinary Subjects Ser.)
by Peter AllisonThe Okavango Delta, Botswana: a lush wetland in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Aged 19, Peter Allison thought he would visit for a short holiday before going home to get a 'proper job'. But Peter fell in love with southern Africa and its wildlife and before long had risen to become a top safari guide.In Don't Run, Whatever You Do, you'll hear outrageous-but-true tales from the most exciting safaris. You'll find out when an elephant is really going to charge, what different monkey calls mean and what do in a face off with lions. Sometimes the tourists are even wilder than the animals, from the half-naked missing member of the British royal family to the Japanese amateur photographer who ignores all the rules to get the perfect shot.Don't Run, Whatever You Do is a glimpse of what the life of an expert safari guide is really like.
Dork Whore: My Travels Through Asia as a Twenty-Year-Old Pseudo-Virgin
by Iris BahrFresh out of the Israeli Army, twenty-year-old Iris Bahr decides to follow the footsteps of many before her and backpack through Asia. Only unlike the average traveler, she has more in mind than just seeing the sights: she is on a desperate mission to lose her virginity. Dork Whore is a fresh and funny memoir about a young woman whose quirky personality and embarrassing neuroses always seem to get in the way of her getting what she wants. As Iris lands in hotel rooms in Bangkok, rides scooters out of opium-fogged compounds hidden in the jungle, and antagonizes an impromptu tour group in Vietnam, she begins to realize that the greatest obstacle she'll have to overcome isn't losing her virginity, but coming to terms with the reasons for her need to be accepted. Poignant, hilarious, and always original, Dork Whore is a remarkable mix of bawdy humor and heartbreaking moments, witty intelligence and touching personal discoveries. Iris Bahr has given us an unforgettable coming-of-age tale about how a young woman finally learns how to trust others-and her own judgment.
Doubting Thomas
by Glenn W. MostAbout the disciple known as Doubting Thomas, everyone knows at least this much: he stuck his finger into the risen Jesus’ wounds. Or did he? A fresh look at the Gospel of John reveals how little we may really understand about this most perplexing of biblical figures, and how much we might learn from the strange twists and turns Thomas’s story has taken over time. From the New Testament, Glenn W. Most traces Thomas’s permutations through the centuries: as Gnostic saint, missionary to India, paragon of Christian orthodoxy, hero of skepticism, and negative example of doubt, blasphemy, stupidity, and violence. Rife with paradoxes and tensions, these creative transformations at the hands of storytellers, theologians, and artists tell us a great deal about the complex relations between texts and their interpretations—and about faith, love, personal identity, the body, and twins, among other matters. Doubting Thomas begins with a close reading of chapter 20 of the Gospel of John, set against the conclusions of the other Gospels, and ends with a detailed analysis of the painting of this subject by Caravaggio, setting it within the pictorial traditions of late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Along the way, Most considers narrative reactions to John’s account by storytellers of various religious persuasions, and Christian theologians’ interpretations of John 20 from the second century ad until the Counter-Reformation. His work shows how Thomas’s story, in its many guises, touches upon central questions of religion, philosophy, hermeneutics, and, not least, life.
Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff
by Rosemary MahoneyRosemary Mahoney was determined to take a solo trip down the Egyptian Nile in a small boat, even though civil unrest and vexing local traditions conspired to create obstacles every step of the way. Starting off in the south, she gained the unlikely sympathy and respect of a Muslim sailor, who provided her with both a seven-foot skiff and a window into the culturally and materially impoverished lives of rural Egyptians. Egyptian women don't row on the Nile, and tourists aren't allowed to for safety's sake. Mahoney endures extreme heat during the day, and a terror of crocodiles while alone in her boat at night. Whether she's confronting deeply held beliefs about non-Muslim women, finding connections to past chroniclers of the Nile, or coming to the dramaticm realization that fear can engender unwarranted violence, Rosemary Mahoney's informed curiosity about the world, her glorious prose, and her wit never fail to captivate.
Dragon Sea: A True Tale Of Treasure, Archeology, And Greed Off The Coast Of Vietnam
by Frank PopeThe Hoi An, a wreck deep beneath the waves of the South China Sea. In her fifteenth-century hull a priceless treasure; on the waves above a team of treasure hunters racing against the clock to claim the fabulous cargo via dangerous saturation dives. But typhoons, pirates, gunships, mutiny, rival treasure hunters, storms and greed were to make this deep-sea dive one of the most dramatic and gruelling expeditions ever undertaken. Frank Pope was there and his gripping tale of this high-stakes folly will captivate anyone who loves undersea adventure.
Early Days
by Miss ReadThe enchanting childhood memoirs of bestselling author Miss Read.Miss Read's early days were spent with two remarkable grandmothers - one in Lewisham and one in Walton-on-the-Naze. EARLY DAYS is full of childhood memories of an extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins and their houses full of mystery and adventure, where Miss Read spent so much time, living in the shadow of the First World War.At the age of seven, Miss Read moved to the small village of Chelsfield, Kent, into a magical new world - and so began her love of the English countryside which was to have such a strong influence on her career as a writer. Her evocative descriptions of the village school, the joys of exploring the woods and lanes rich in wildlife and of childhood events, from toffee-making to the treat of a lift on the corn-chandler's cart, vividly convey this time as one of the happiest of her life.
Easter Everywhere: A Memoir
by Darcey SteinkeIn this critically beloved and piercing memoir, Darcey Steinke, a minister's daughter, recounts her lifelong struggle to find religion. Though wide-eyed and accepting as a girl, Steinke left the faith in her teenage years; scene by breathtaking scene, she vividly describes the angst, embarrassment, uncertainty, and joy of her decades of on-and-off piety. Emotional, wise, and beautifully crafted, Easter Everywhere is a rare literary accomplishment, a feat of storytelling and personal insight.
Echoes of Violence: Letters from a War Reporter (PDF) (Human Rights and Crimes against Humanity #1)
by Carolin Emcke"Nobody I ever met on my assignments . . . asked me for direct, practical help. . . . But over and over again people have asked me: 'Will you write this down?' "--Echoes of Violence ? Echoes of Violence is an award-winning collection of personal letters to friends from a foreign correspondent who is trying to understand what she witnessed during the iconic human disasters of our time--in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and New York City on September 11th, among many other places. Originally addressing only a small group of friends, Carolin Emcke started the first letter after returning from Kosovo, where she saw the aftermath of ethnic cleansing in 1999. She began writing to overcome her speechlessness about the horrors of war and her own sense of failure as a reporter. Eventually, writing a letter became a ritual Emcke performed following her return from each nightmare she experienced. First published in 2004 to great acclaim, Echoes of Violence in 2005 was named German political book of the year and was a finalist for the international Lettre-Ulysses award for the art of reportage. Combining narrative with philosophic reflection, Emcke describes wars and human rights abuses around the world--the suffering of civilians caught between warring factions in Colombia, the heartbreaking plight of homeless orphans in Romania, and the near-slavery of garment workers in Nicaragua. Freed in the letters from journalistic conventions that would obscure her presence as a witness, Emcke probes the abyss of violence and explores the scars it leaves on landscapes external and internal.
Edward Elgar and His World
by Byron AdamsEdward Elgar (1857-1934) is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating, important, and influential figures in the history of British music. He rose from humble beginnings and achieved fame with music that to this day is beloved by audiences in England, and his work has secured an enduring legacy worldwide. Leading scholars examine the composer's life in Edward Elgar and His World, presenting a comprehensive portrait of both the man and the age in which he lived. Elgar's achievement is remarkably varied and wide-ranging, from immensely popular works like the famous Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1--a standard feature of American graduations--to sweeping masterpieces like his great oratorio The Dream of Gerontius. The contributors explore Elgar's Catholicism, which put him at odds with the prejudices of Protestant Britain; his glorification of British colonialism; his populist tendencies; his inner life as an inspired autodidact; the aristocratic London drawing rooms where his reputation was made; the class prejudice with which he contended throughout his career; and his anguished reaction to World War I. Published in conjunction with the 2007 Bard Music Festival and the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth, this elegant and thought-provoking volume illuminates the greatness of this accomplished English composer and brings vividly to life the rich panorama of Victorian and Edwardian Britain. The contributors are Byron Adams, Leon Botstein, Rachel Cowgill, Sophie Fuller, Daniel M. Grimley, Nalini Ghuman Gwynne, Deborah Heckert, Charles Edward McGuire, Matthew Riley, Alison I. Shiel, and Aidan J. Thomson.
Eight Lives Down: Audible Format
by Chris HunterSEARING HEATYou have the most dangerous job in the world's most dangerous place. You are responsible for bomb disposal in the British sector of Iraq.You are the last defence against oblivion. And it's already a hundred degrees in the shade. , COLD FEARYou are up against some of the most sophisticated bombmakers in the world. They don't play by the rules of the Geneva Convention. Nothing but your own wits will save you. You're on your own. SILENCENow is the moment of truth. All you can hear is the sound of your own blood pounding through your veins. This could be your last moment on earth.IT'S JUST YOU AND THE BOMB
Elizabeth: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor
by J. Randy TaraborrelliElizabeth Taylor is known internationally as one of the most beautiful and talented women ever to grace the silver screen. She has won two Academy Awards and starred in over sixty films. She is just as well known for her tempestuous personal life, marrying eight times and suffering through innumerable health problems. A cultural icon, she has been written about before . . . but never like this. This moving book traces for the first time Elizabeth's journey through the dark and often lonely world of a fame unparalleled in the 1960s and 1970s, a time during which alcohol and drugs played a major part in her life. It would be with her fifth (and sixth) husband Richard Burton (with whom she made twelve movies, including Cleopatra) that she would learn life lessons about love and loyalty that would inform the rest of her life and, finally, be the catalyst for her recovery from alcoholism in the 1980s. This book also details her philanthropic work as an AIDS activist in the 1990s as well as her stunning success as a business woman today (with a multi-million-dollar fragrance). Based on years of research, this is not just a star's biography . . . it's an unforgettable woman's story.
Engaged with the Arts: Writings from the Frontline
by John TusaJohn Tusa has been Managing Director of London's Barbican Centre for more than a decade. In that time he has been a notable controversialist, speaking up for the need for the arts, defending their achievements and arguing for more funding.This selection of John Tusa's passionately argued, candid and challenging essays on the arts in Britain today is informed by a lifetime's experience of the arts and a current position at the centre of the British arts scene.Tusa seeks out the ways in which the arts can be made to blossom in this cultural and political climate, with cuts in arts funding ever threatened. His subjects include the art of living without objectives, and whether leadership in the arts is a mystery or good sense. He tells the true story of arts philanthropy and offers more personal pieces, for example on the great power of music. He also presents a light hearted 'ABC of the ARTS' and imagines what Ten Commandments for the Arts might look like.His own philosophy, which informs his successful management of the Barbican, is refreshing and instructive and he of course looks to the future with prescience. Most of all his is a call for us urgently to think about why art matters so crucially for us all.
Eric Clapton: The Autobiography
by Eric ClaptonEric Clapton is far more than a rock star.Like Dylan and McCartney, he is an icon and a living legend. He has sold tens of millions of records, played sell-out concerts all over the world and been central to the significant musical developments of his era. His guitar playing has seen him hailed as 'God'. Now for the first time, Eric tells the story of his personal and professional journeys in this pungent, witty and painfully honest autobiography.These are the memoirs of a survivor, someone who has reached the pinnacle of success, who has had it all, but whose demons have never left him. Eric tells his story as it is, hiding nothing, with a directness and searing honesty that will make this book one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.
Eugene O'Neill's America: Desire Under Democracy (Phoenix Poets Ser.)
by John Patrick DigginsIn the face of seemingly relentless American optimism, Eugene O’Neill's plays reveal an America many would like to ignore, a place of seething resentments, aching desires, and family tragedy, where failure and disappointment are the norm and the American dream a chimera. Though derided by critics during his lifetime, his works resonated with audiences, won him the Nobel Prize and four Pulitzer, and continue to grip theatergoers today. Now noted historian John Patrick Diggins offers a masterly biography that both traces O’Neill’s tumultuous life and explains the forceful ideas that form the heart of his unflinching works. Diggins paints a richly detailed portrait of the playwright’s life, from his Irish roots and his early years at sea to his relationships with his troubled mother and brother. Here we see O’Neill as a young Greenwich Village radical, a ravenous autodidact who attempted to understand the disjunction between the sunny public face of American life and the rage that he knew was simmering beneath. According to Diggins, O’Neill mined this disjunction like no other American writer. His characters burn with longing for an idealized future composed of equal parts material success and individual freedom, but repeatedly they fall back to earth, pulled by the tendrils of family and the insatiability of desire. Drawing on thinkers from Emerson to Nietzsche, O’Neill viewed this endlessly frustrated desire as the problematic core of American democracy, simultaneously driving and undermining American ideals of progress, success, and individual freedom. Melding a penetrating assessment of O’Neill’s works and thought with a sensitive re-creation of his life, Eugene O’Neill’s America offers a striking new view of America’s greatest playwright—and a new picture of American democracy itself.