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There's Just One Problem...: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE
by Brian GewirtzFormer WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz brings readers behind the scenes for an unprecedented look at the chaotic, surreal, unbelievable backstage world of the WWE.With untold stories from a career spanning over 15 years and featuring the biggest names and controversial moments in wrestling history, THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is an honest, unflinching look on how an introverted life-long fan unexpectedly became one the most powerful men in all of professional wrestling.For decades wrestling was shrouded in secrecy. It had larger than life personalities, bone crunching physicality and jaw-dropping theatrics but backstage it was an industry devoid of outsiders. Then in 1999, after working together on a special for MTV, Dwayne &“The Rock&” Johnson turned to 26-year old television writer Brian Gewirtz and asked &“You ever consider writing for WWE?&” That question, and its answer, would have a profound effect on both of their lives for years to come.THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM is a story about perseverance, tenacity, and steel chairs. Most writers in the WWE last for a matter of months; Gewirtz was there for over 15 years, writing some of most memorable and infamous storylines in WWE history (covering the &“Attitude Era&”, the &“Ruthless Aggression Era&” and into the &“PG&” and &“Reality&” eras). Throughout this journey Gewirtz found himself becoming both friend and antagonist to some of the biggest names in WWE history – Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, Bill Goldberg, Paul Heyman, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and the two men who he worked the most closely with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Dwayne &“The Rock&” Johnson. These men not only shaped his life professionally but also personally, forcing him to grow and change both as a writer and a human being. So how does a lifelong fan and outsider break through to become the ultimate insider? How does a low-key personality deal directly with his boss, the most brash, unpredictable &“alpha male&” on the planet, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon? How does one gain respect in a locker room that wants nothing more than to see him disappear? Where does one go when every year in wrestling takes you further away from the writing career you always wanted? Taking advice from his idol, the late &“Rowdy&” Roddy Piper, when you&’re so full of fear, there&’s only one way to push through: become fearless.
There's Only One Dixie Deans: The Autobiography
by Ken McNab Dixie DeansDixie Deans is a true Celtic legend. Between 1971 and 1976, he scored 132 goals in 184 games and was part of the great Celtic team that swept to nine consecutive Scottish league titles and dominated a golden era of the national game. Dixie cemented his status in football folklore by becoming the first Scottish player to hit hat-tricks in two cup finals, but he is remembered just as much for the special bond he struck with the fans - ties that remain as strong today, exactly 40 years after he first signed for Celtic from Motherwell. Now Dixie, a member of the Celtic Hall of Fame, opens his scrapbook of memories on a lifetime of adventures in the beautiful game of football. From the struggle of growing up in a one-parent family to losing his beloved mother just as his career was starting to blossom, to playing under the legendary Jock Stein, and alongside the likes of Dalgleish, Macari, McNeill and Connolly, Dixie recalls the tumultuous days of a roller-coaster career at the very pinnacle of Scottish football. This is a fascinating story, at times uplifting, heartrending, inspiring and haunting, proving that there really is only one, inimitable, Dixie Deans
There's Only One Stevie Bacon: My Life Watching West Ham Through a Camera Lens
by Steve BaconHe has never scored a goal, lifted a trophy, worn the captain's armband or even played for the club, but Steve Bacon is considered a genuine Hammers legend. As West Ham United's official photographer for more than thirty years, Steve has become a cult hero at Upton Park - he has appeared on Sky's Soccer AM, featured in a fanzine comic strip and even had a burger named after him. From his privileged position as part of the club's backroom team, Steve has enjoyed unlimited access behind the scenes and established close friendships with many managers and players. John Lyall, Lou Macari, Billy Bonds, Harry Redknapp, Glenn Roeder, Alan Pardew, Alan Curbishley, Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant and Sam Allardyce have all found themselves the focus of Bacon's candid camera, while Trevor Brooking, Tony Cottee, Frank McAvennie, Julian Dicks, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Paolo Di Canio and Scott Parker are just a few of the star players who have welcomed him into their world. Packed with terrific tales, amusing anecdotes and controversial characters, and illustrated with the very best of Steve's photographs, There's Only One Stevie Bacon offers an intriguing insight into life at the Boleyn Ground and one that no West Ham United fan will want to miss.
There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You: The uplifting bestseller
by Lynda BellinghamBy turns, it is riotous, deeply serious, practical and sad. Reading it is like being at her kitchen table with a glass of wine to hand. (Daily Telegraph)Lynda Bellingham was a tremendously gifted storyteller with a rich collection of tales of love, loss and laughter and this memoir brings her kind heart, courage and emotion to the page in vivid detail. There's Something I've Been Dying To Tell You is a brave memoir about Lynda's battle with cancer, facing death she found joy and shared it with millions. Her story is an affecting and at times heart-breaking one but it is so often laugh-out-loud too and ultimately the way Lynda told her life story serves as a great inspiration to us all. Woven into this very moving and brave story are extraordinary, colourful tales of her acting and family life that will enlighten and entertain as well as the journey that Lynda has taken to find the family of her birth father having already suffered heartache in her search for her birth mother. In the search for her father's family, Lynda finds a family with a history in entertainment showing that acting was always in the blood.This book was written in Lynda's final months and revealed for the first time, and in great detail, her fight with cancer and how her life was transformed since her diagnosis. This edition includes a brand new chapter written by Lynda's husband Michael about his love for her, her love of life and her glorious final send-off.
Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister
by Rosa PrinceTwenty days after Britain’s dramatic vote to leave the European Union, with the government still reeling from the political aftershock, a new Prime Minister captured Downing Street. Few were more surprised by this unexpected turn of events than Theresa May herself.David Cameron’s sudden resignation unleashed a leadership contest like no other – and saw the showier rivals for his crown fall one by one with dizzying speed. So how did the daughter of an Oxfordshire vicar rise to the top job with such ease? In this fascinating biography, Rosa Prince explores the self-styled unflashy politician whose commitment to public service was instilled in her from childhood.More than a decade after she warned stunned Conservatives of their ‘nasty’ image, May has become the champion of Middle England and, for the time being, united her riven party. Theresa May: The Enigmatic Prime Minister maps the rise of Britain’s second female premier, a woman who had to fight against the odds to become an MP, who remained overlooked and undervalued during much of her time in Parliament, yet who went on to become a formidable Home Secretary and, now, the leader of her country as it faces its greatest challenge since the Second World War.
Theroux The Keyhole: Diaries of a grounded documentary maker
by Louis TherouxCome round to Louis Theroux’s house where the much-loved TV documentary-maker, podcaster and bestselling author of Gotta Get Theroux This finds himself in unexpected danger . . . Like millions of others, Louis’ plans were mothballed by the onset of Covid. Unable to escape to the porn sets, prisons and maximum-security psychiatric units that are his usual journalistic beat, he began reporting on a location even more full of pitfalls and hostile objects of inquiry: his own home during a pandemic.Theroux the Keyhole is an honest, hilarious and ultimately heartwarming diary of the weirdness of family life in Covid World. A wife intolerant of his obsession with Joe Wicks’ daily workouts. Two teenage sons, inseparable from their videogames, for whom he is increasingly 'cringe'. A five-year-old happily spamming out videos on his own new TikTok account while on holiday with his oblivious family. Louis also describes how he launches his podcast, Grounded, finally gets to the US to film a new Joe Exotic documentary and aims his sights on the latest incarnation of the far right in a world becoming radicalized by social media. Theroux the Keyhole is Louis at his insightful best, as he faces unforeseen new challenges and wonders why it took a pandemic for him to learn that what really matters in life is right in front of him.
These Bodies of Water: Notes on the British Empire, the Middle East and Where We Meet
by Sabrina Mahfouz'Sabrina Mahfouz is a tidal wave of truth swallowing the banks of empire with a torrent of information which will not be damned' Lemn Sissay'A bold, brave look at the ways imperialism affects us all, from the universally political to the insightfully intimate' Riz Ahmed'Impossible to put down while you're reading, and impossible to forget about when you've finished' GlamourAre you not made of Suez silt?How do we know you won't shore our boats by making yourself bigger than we made you?Sabrina Mahfouz once sat in a Whitehall interview room and was interrogated about everything from her political leanings to her private life. It was ostensibly a job interview, but implicit in their demands was the unspoken question: as a woman of Middle Eastern heritage, could she really be trusted?Years later, Sabrina found herself confronting the meaning behind this interrogation, and how it was specifically informed by the British Empire's historical dominance in the Middle East. THESE BODIES OF WATER investigates this history through the Middle Eastern coastlines and waterways that were so vital to the Empire's hold. Interwoven with her own personal experiences, Sabrina combines history, politics, myth and poetry in a devastating examination of this unacknowledged part of Britain's colonial past.Part history, part polemic and part intimate memoir, THESE BODIES OF WATER is a tapestry of writing that tells the story of Britain's relationship with the Middle East in the most revealing terms.
These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie
by Christopher AndersenGlamour, power, sex, money. The makings of an iconic love story - or a doomed passion? Bestselling biographer Christopher Andersen casts aside the rumours, the speculation and the conspiracy theories, and takes us on an intimate journey into the heart of the Kennedys' marriage. With consummate skill, Andersen uncovers startling new facts about their affairs - hers as well as his - with the famous, the notorious and the anonymous; he reveals alarming information about the First Couple's shared dependence on amphetamines and the White House's battle to keep their secret; and he unearths fresh details about the assassination and its aftermath, including Jackie's bout with suicidal depression. Extraordinary in its scope, powerful in its insights, These Few Precious Days paints an unsparing yet sympathetic and touching portrait of Mr and Mrs JFK in their final year together. This is the ultimate presidential love story in all its frustrating, complicated, bittersweet glory.
These Foolish Things: A Memoir
by Dylan JonesFew people can say they have shaped the cultural landscape of the last four decades while crossing paths with some of the most extraordinary personalities on the planet. But then, of course, Dylan Jones isn't just anyone.These Foolish Things captivatingly charts Dylan's life: from his peripatetic childhood and late adolescence in 1970s London - a city then alive with possibility - to his award-winning tenure at what would become one of the most dynamic magazines of its era, GQ. It details how he came to be in that hot seat: a journey through the Swinging London slipstreams of punk and new romanticism, and through i-D, The Face and Arena, which created the platform on which GQ was based, with Dylan as a common denominator.Littered with a gold-star cast of characters - including a who's who of celebrity from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Alastair Campbell and Prince Charles, via Samuel L. Jackson, Piers Morgan and Rihanna - this memoir reflects on how GQ became an established style and how Dylan sought to stir up music, politics and fashion.Witty, perceptive and deliciously entertaining, but by turns bravely vulnerable, These Foolish Things is a memoir like no other: a dazzling retelling of the start of the twenty-first century from one of the world's most fascinating media giants.
These Heavy Black Bones: Remembering My Race
by Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell*Listed as one of TIME's 18 Black leaders working to end the racial wealth gap* In Kenya the pool was green and surrounded by concrete so hot it burnt the soles of her small feet. She didn’t know any different. A decade later she would be double British Champion and the first Black women ever to swim for Great Britain. But this story is not about making history. As her body and mind are sharpened through gruelling training, press scrutiny, and the harshness of adolescence, Rebecca questions who she is swimming for, and what the onward journey to the Olympics will cost her. A compulsive and unforgettable study of intensity, These Heavy Black Bones meditates on Blackness, identity, and the ecstasy of peak physical performance. In stunning prose, Rebecca charts her careers’s ascent, her singular love of the water, and lays bare the pressures within her swimming world.
These Precious Days
by Ann Patchett'A heartfelt and witty collection of essays on everything from marriage and knitting to the inevitability of death' Guardian, 50 biggest books of autumn'Profound and clever and funny and wise' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow & BlissAn irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling, Women's Prize-winning author of The Dutch HouseAny story that starts will also end.' As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Ranging from the personal – her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you don't have children – to the sublime – the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in children's books – each essay transforms the particular into the universal, letting us all see our own worlds anew. Illuminating, penetrating, funny and generous, These Precious Days is joyful time spent in the company of one of our greatest living authors.'Patchett's essays are both sharp and humane ... like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend' Sadie Jones
These Precious Days
by Ann Patchett'A heartfelt and witty collection of essays on everything from marriage and knitting to the inevitability of death' Guardian, 50 biggest books of autumn'Profound and clever and funny and wise' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow & BlissAn irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling, Women's Prize-winning author of The Dutch HouseAny story that starts will also end.' As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Ranging from the personal – her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you don't have children – to the sublime – the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in children's books – each essay transforms the particular into the universal, letting us all see our own worlds anew. Illuminating, penetrating, funny and generous, These Precious Days is joyful time spent in the company of one of our greatest living authors.'Patchett's essays are both sharp and humane ... like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend' Sadie Jones
These Wonderful Rumours!: A Young Schoolteacher's Wartime Diaries 1939-1945
by May SmithMay Smith is twenty-four at the outbreak of World War Two; at night, the sirens wail, and the young men of the village leave to fight. But still, ordinary life goes on: May goes shopping, plays tennis, takes holidays and even falls in love - while recording it faithfully in her diary.'May is simply a joy, a bright spark in dark times' The Times
They All Love Jack: Busting The Ripper
by Bruce RobinsonLONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION A book like no other – the tale of a gripping quest to discover the identity of history’s most notorious murderer and a literary high-wire act from the legendary writer and director of Withnail and I.
They Also Serve: The real life story of my time in service as a butler
by Tom QuinnDuring more than thirty years in a variety of houses, Bob Sharpe managed to rise from garden boy to valet and butler.As a boy he had to kill pheasant chicks, boil rabbits for the estate dogs, carry the wood up and down stairs every day for thirty fires and sleep on the floor outside his master's room. He cleaned shoes, ironed underwear and socks and once had to stand all night in the hall waiting for a late visitor to arrive.But as a butler he was the best paid servant in the house, waited on, feared and respected by the other servants.Bob Sharpe knew the real world of upstairs downstairs and the secrets of the landed gentry - even to the point of incest and attempted murder!
They Call It Diplomacy
by Peter WestmacottThe memoirs of senior UK diplomat Sir Peter Westmacott, former ambassador in Turkey, France and the United States during Barack Obama's presidency.'A highly readable account of a glittering diplomatic career' Tony Blair'One of the most brilliant and consequential diplomats of his generation' Andrew Roberts'A must-read guide to the crucial role for diplomacy in restoring British influence' Philip StephensUrbane, globe-trotting mandarins; polished hosts of ambassadorial gatherings attended by the well-groomed ranks of the international great and good: such is the well-worn image of the career diplomat. But beyond the canapés of familiar caricature, what does a professional diplomat actually do? What are the activities that fill the working day of Her Majesty's Ambassadors around the world?Peter Westmacott's forty-year career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office straddled the last decade of the Cold War and the age of globalization, included spells in pre-revolutionary Iran and the European Commission in Brussels, and culminated in prestigious ambassadorial postings in Ankara, Paris and Washington in the post-9/11 era. As well as offering an engaging account of life in the upper echelons of the diplomatic and political worlds, and often revealing portraits of global leaders such as Blair, Erdogan, Obama and Biden, They Call It Diplomacy mounts a vigorous defence of the continuing relevance of the diplomat in an age of instant communication, social media and special envoys; and details what its author sees as some of the successes of recent British diplomacy.
They Called It Shell Shock: Combat Stress In The First World War (PDF)
by Stefanie LindenThey Called it Shell Shock provides a new perspective on the psychological reactions to the traumatic experiences of combat. In the Great War, soldiers were incapacitated by traumatic disorders at an epidemic scale that surpassed anything known from previous armed conflicts. Drawing upon individual histories from British and German servicemen, this book illustrates the universal suffering of soldiers involved in this conflict and its often devastating consequences for their mental health. Dr Stefanie Linden explains how shell shock challenged the fabric of pre-war society, including its beliefs about gender (superiority of the male character), class (superiority of the officer class) and scientific progress. She argues that the shell shock epidemic had enduring consequences for the understanding of the human mind and the power that it can exert over the body. The author has analysed over 660 original medical case records from shell-shocked soldiers who were treated at the world-leading neurological/psychiatric institutions of the time: the National Hospital at Queen Square in London, the Charité Psychiatric Department in Berlin and the Jena Military Hospital at Jena/Germany. This is thus the first shell shock book to be based on original case records from both sides of the battle. It includes a rich collection of hitherto unpublished first-hand accounts of life in the trenches and soldiers' traumas. The focal point of the book is the soldier's experience on the battlefield that triggers his nervous breakdown - and the author links this up with the soldiers' biographies and provides a perspective on their pre-war civilian life and experience of the war. She then describes the fate of individual soldiers; their psychological and neurological symptoms; their journey through the system of military hospitals and specialist units at home; and the initially ambivalent response of the medical system. She analyses the external factors that influenced clinical presentations of traumatised soldiers and shows how cultural and political factors can shape mental illness and the reactions of doctors and society. The author argues that the challenge posed by tens of thousands of shell-shocked soldiers and the necessity to maintain the fighting strength of the army eventually led to a modernisation of medicine - even resulting in the first formal treatment studies in the history of medicine. They Called it Shell Shock is also one of the first books to tackle often neglected topics of war history, including desertion, suicide and soldiers' mental illness. Based on her expertise in psychiatry and history of medicine, the author argues that many modern trauma therapies had their root in the medicine of the First World War and that the experience of the shell shock patients and their doctors is still very relevant for the understanding of present-day traumatic diseases.
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us: Essays
by Hanif AbdurraqibA stunning collection of essays using music as a vantage point through which to examine and interrogate the world we live in, culturally and politically.In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Abdurraqib’s is a voice that matters. Whether he’s attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown’s grave, or discussing public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism that resonates profoundly.In the wake of the nightclub attacks in Paris, he recalls how he sought refuge as a teenager in music, at shows, and wonders whether the next generation of young Muslims will not be afforded that opportunity now. While discussing the everyday threat to the lives of black Americans, Abdurraqib recounts the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers: for attempting to enter his own car.In essays that have been published by the New York Times, MTV, and Pitchfork, among others—along with original, previously unreleased essays—Abdurraqib uses music and culture as a lens through which to view our world, so that we might better understand ourselves, and in so doing proves himself a bellwether for our times.
They Can't Take That Away from Me: Musical Memories That Colour Our Lives
by Jackie McGregorDoes a particular song take you back to a certain time and place? More than 100 A-list celebrities were asked what songs bring back special memories. Film star Joan Collins The Way You Look Tonight reminds her of the first dance at her wedding to Percy Gibson. TV presenter Richard Madeley remembers playing guitar at the local folk club when he hears American Pie by Don McLean. Pavarotti's rendition of Nessun Dorma sets off memories of the 1990 World Cup for Gary Lineker Joanna Lumley thinks of her childhood in the Far East whenever she hears Nat King Cole singing Stardust. Music is one of the most evocative forces on earth. A whole cascade of memories can be brought on by a single tune. They Can't Take That Away From Me is a musical memory tour with the stars to a place where it is yesterday once more.Celebrities include Kim Catrall, Denise Welch, Cliff Richard, Dame Judi Dench, Graham Norton, Joanna Lumley, Joan Collins, Chris Tarrant, David Soul, Jane McDonald, Michael Aspel, Lorraine Kelly, Alan Titchmarsh,Neil Sedaka, Daniel O'Donnell, Gary Lineker, Noel Edmonds, Paul O Grady, Richard Madeley, Angela Griffin, Michael Palin, Rula Lenska, Adele Parks, Joanna Trollope and Lynda Bellingham
They Did It First. 50 Scientists, Artists and Mathematicians Who Changed the World (They Did It First #1)
by Julie Leung Caitlin KuhwaldThe greatest challenge is believing it's possible . . . They Did It First features fifty trailblazing scientists, artists and mathematicians who were not afraid to dream big and be the FIRST. Discover the pioneers who defied the boundaries of possibility and went on to revolutionise the world. Written by Julie Leung and beautifully illustrated throughout by Caitlin Kuhwald, the extraordinary men and women profiled include well-known figures such as Alan Turing, Jane Goodall and Aretha Franklin, alongside lesser-known achievers, such as Thai Lee, the first Korean woman to graduate Harvard Business School, and Walter Alvarez, who was the first person to theorise that dinosaurs died from an asteroid blast. These visionaries came from all walks of life and faced different challenges, but all of them went on to achieve great things and make outstanding contributions to their fields, paving the way for others who came after them.
They Don't Teach This
by Eniola AlukoFirst class honors law degree. 102 appearances for England women’s national football team. First female pundit on Match of the Day. UN Women UK ambassador. Guardian columnist. All of these achievements belong to Eni Aluko, who, with her forthcoming memoir They Don't Teach This, is keen to share her experiences, aiming to inspire readers to be the best possible versions of themselves. Aluko was appointed UN Women UK ambassador with a focus on promoting gender empowerment in 2016, and in October 2018 she was named by Marie Claire as one of ten Future Shapers Award Winners, recognising individuals who are changing women’s futures for the better. She is currently playing football for Juventus in Italy and writing a weekly column for The Guardian.They Don’t Teach This steps beyond the realms of memoir to explore themes of dual nationality and identity, race and institutional prejudice, success, failure and faith. It is an inspiring manifesto to change the way readers and the future generation choose to view the challenges that come in their life applying life lessons with raw truths of Eni’s own personal experience.
They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOE's Agents in Wartime France
by Maurice BuckmasterSet Europe ablaze.' The order came from Churchill himself. The result was the Special Operations Executive - the SOE. Established in 1941 with the aim of supplying Occupied France with a steady stram of highly trained resistance agents, this clandestine Second World War network grew to become a cricual part of the Allied arsenal. Ingeniously engineering acts of sabotage, resistance and terror in the face of the occupying Nazis, the SOE dealt devastating and fatal blows to the German war effort - and directly contributed to the rapid and successful advance of Allied forces across France in the days and months after D-Day. At the head of the French operations stood Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster, the leader of the SOE's French Section. These are his extraordinary memoirs. A lost classic, now available for the first time after many decades, They Fought Alone offers a unique insight into the courageous triumphs and terrible fates of the SOE's agents between 1941 and 1944. This new edition includes an introduction by intelligence historian Michael Smith that deals with the recent controversy surrounding Buckmaster, restoring his reputation as one of the most important figures in the resistance to the Nazis.
They Let Me Write a Book!: Jamie's World
by Jamie Curry“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jamie, I’m 19-years-old. I make videos on the Internet, and enough people watched them that they let me write a book. I know. What is life?” WELCOME TO JAMIE’S WORLD
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan
by Benjamin Ajak Benson Deng Alephonsion Deng Judy A. BernsteinThe inspiring story of three young Sudanese boys who were driven from their homes by civil war and began an epic odyssey of survival, facing life-threatening perils, ultimately finding their way to a new life in America.Between 1987 and 1989, Alepho, Benjamin, and Benson, like tens of thousands of young boys, took flight from the massacres of Sudan's civil war. They became known as the Lost Boys. With little more than the clothes on their backs, sometimes not even that, they streamed out over Sudan in search of refuge. Their journey led them first to Ethiopia and then, driven back into Sudan, toward Kenya. They walked nearly one thousand miles, sustained only by the sheer will to live.They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky is the three boys' account of that unimaginable journey. With the candor and the purity of their child's-eye-vision, Alephonsian, Benjamin, and Benson recall by turns: how they endured the hunger and strength-sapping illnesses-dysentery, malaria, and yellow fever; how they dodged the life-threatening predators-lions, snakes, crocodiles and soldiers alike-that dogged their footsteps; and how they grappled with a war that threatened continually to overwhelm them. Their story is a lyrical, captivating, timeless portrait of a childhood hurled into wartime and how they had the good fortune and belief in themselves to survive.Christopher Award WinnerLos Angeles Times BestsellerWashington Post Top 100 Books of the Year SelectionIncludes a Reading Group Guide
"They Say": Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race (New Narratives in American History)
by James West DavidsonBetween 1880 and 1930, Southern mobs hanged, burned, and otherwise tortured to death at least 3,300 African Americans. And yet the rest of the nation largely ignored the horror of lynching or took it for granted, until a young schoolteacher from Tennessee raised her voice. Her name was Ida B. Wells. In "They Say," historian James West Davidson recounts the first thirty years of this passionate woman's life--as well as the story of the great struggle over the meaning of race in post-emancipation America. Davidson captures the breathtaking, often chaotic changes that swept the South as Wells grew up in Holly Springs, Mississippi: the spread of education among the free blacks, the rise of political activism, the bitter struggles for equality in the face of entrenched social custom. As Wells came of age she moved to bustling Memphis, eager to worship at the city's many churches (black and white), to take elocution lessons and perform Shakespeare at evening soirées, to court and spark with the young men taken by her beauty. But Wells' quest for fulfillment was thwarted as whites increasingly used race as a barrier separating African Americans from mainstream America. Davidson traces the crosscurrents of these cultural conflicts through Ida Wells' forceful personality. When a conductor threw her off a train for not retreating to the segregated car, she sued the railroad--and won. When she protested conditions in the segregated Memphis schools, she was fired--and took up full-time journalism. And in 1892, when an explosive lynching rocked Memphis, she embarked full-blown on the career for which she is now remembered, as an outspoken writer and lecturer against lynching. Richly researched and deftly written, "They Say" offers a gripping portrait of the young Ida B. Wells, shedding light not only on how one black American defined her own aspirations and her people's freedom, but also on the changing meaning of race in America.