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Like every form of love : a memoir of friendship and true crime / by Viswanathan, Padma,1968-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Padma Viswanathan was staying on a houseboat on Vancouver Island when she struck up a friendship with a warm-hearted, working-class queer man named Phillip. Their lives were so different it seemed unlikely to Padma that their relationship would last after she returned to her usual life. But, that week, Phillip told her a story from his childhood that kept them connected for more than twenty years. Phillip was the son of a severe, abusive man named Harvey, a miner, farmer and communist. After Phillip's mother left the family, Harvey advertised for a housekeeper-with-benefits. And so Del, the most glamorous and loving of stepmothers, stepped into Phillip's life. Del had hung out with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in Mexico City before the Cuban revolution; she was also a convicted bank robber who had violated her parole and was suspected in her ex-husband's murder. Phillip had long since lost track of Del, but when Padma said she'd like to write about her and about his own young life, he eagerly agreed. Quickly, though, Padma's research uncovered hidden truths about these larger-than-real-life characters. Watching the effects on Phillip as these secrets, evasions and traumas came to light, she increasingly feared that when it came to the book or the friendship, only one of them would get out of this process alive. In this unforgettable memoir, Padma reflects on the joys and frictions of this strange journey with grace, humour and poetry, including original readings of Hans Christian Andersen fairytales and other stories that beautifully echo her characters' adventures and her own. Like Every Form of Love is that rare thing: an irresistible literary page-turner that twists and turns, delivering powerful revelations, right to the very end."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Viswanathan, Padma, 1968-; Family secrets.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Patton's prayer : a true story of courage, faith, and victory in World War II / by Kershaw, Alex,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From Alex Kershaw, author of the New York Times bestseller Against All Odds, comes an epic story of courage, resilience, and faith during the Second World War. General George Patton needed a miracle. In December 1944, the Allies found themselves stuck. Rain had plagued the troops daily since September, turning roads into rivers of muck, slowing trucks and tanks to a crawl. A thick ceiling of clouds had grounded American warplanes, allowing the Germans to reinforce. The sprint to Berlin had become a muddy, bloody stalemate, costing thousands of American lives. Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. A devout Christian, he telephoned his head chaplain. "Do you have a good prayer for the weather?" he asked. The resulting prayer was soon printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under Patton's command. "Pray when driving," the men were told. "Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle ... Pray for victory ... Pray for Peace." Then came the Battle of the Bulge. Amid frigid temperatures and heavy snow, 200,000 German troops overwhelmed the meager American lines in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, massacring thousands of soldiers as the attack converged on a vital crossroads town called Bastogne. There, the 101st Airborne was dug in, but the enemy were lurking, hidden in the thick blanket of fog that seemed to never dissipate. A hundred miles of frozen roads to the south, Patton needed an answer to his prayer, fast, before it was too late"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945; Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945; United States. Army. Airborne Division, 101st; Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945.; Generals; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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U2 : the definitive biography / by Jobling, John,1980-;
Includes bibliographical references and index."John Jobling takes readers beyond the myth in this unauthorized biography to present the first comprehensive account of the illustrious Irish rockers in 25 years. Drawing on extensive interviews with insiders including record label scouts, studio presidents, politicians, music critics, and childhood friends, Jobling investigates the U2's most personal relationships and controversial business practices, delivering a vivid portrait that traces the rock phenomenon from its conception to post-punk champions to political crusaders. Filled with captivating revelations, reader will learn: How Bono, the Edge, and Larry Mullen, Jr. worshipped with a Charismatic Christian church that practiced speaking in tongues during the band's early days. Insider stories of the genesis and recording of classic albums such as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Creative tensions within the band and power struggles among management. How the disappointments of the Rattle and Hum film and PopMart Tour spurred the band to greater creative heights. Both the successes and controversies of Bono's wide-sweeping philanthropic and political ventures. The disconnect between the band's personal lives and public personas. Sure to inspire debate with every music lover, this book humanizes the band and paints an honest picture of a band's rise to the top, plunging into the heart and underlying soul of this iconic rock and roll band"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: U2 (Musical group); Rock music.; Rock musicians;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Girls and their monsters : the Genain quadruplets and the making of madness in America / by Farley, Audrey Clare,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."In 1954, researchers at the newly formed National Institute of Mental Health set out to study the genetics of schizophrenia. When they got word that four 24-year-old identical quadruplets in Lansing, Michigan, had all been diagnosed with the mental illness, they could hardly believe their ears. Here was incontrovertible proof of hereditary transmission and, thus, a chance to bring international fame to their fledgling institution. The case of the pseudonymous Genain quadruplets, they soon found, was hardly so straightforward. Contrary to fawning media portrayals of a picture-perfect Christian family, the sisters had endured the stuff of nightmares. Behind closed doors, their parents had taken shocking measures to preserve their innocence while sowing fears of sex and the outside world. In public, the quadruplets were treated as communal property, as townsfolk and members of the press had long ago projected their own paranoid fantasies about the rapidly diversifying American landscape onto the fair-skinned, ribbon-wearing quartet who danced and sang about Christopher Columbus. Even as the sisters' erratic behaviors became impossible to ignore and the NIMH whisked the women off for study, their sterling image did not falter. Girls and Their Monsters chronicles the extraordinary lives of the quadruplets and the lead psychologist who studied them, asking questions that speak directly to our times: How do delusions come to take root, both in individuals and in nations? Why does society profess to be "saving the children" when it readily exploits them? What are the authoritarian ends of innocence myths? And how do people, particularly those with serious mental illness, go on after enduring the unspeakable? Can the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood help the deeply wounded heal?"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Mental health; Quadruplets; Schizophrenia;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Madame Restell : the life, death, and resurrection of old New York's most fabulous, fearless, and infamous abortionist / by Wright, Jennifer,1986-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Madame Restell is a sharp, witty Gilded Age medical history which introduces us to an iconic, yet tragically overlooked, feminist heroine: a glamorous women's healthcare provider in Manhattan, known to the world as Madame Restell. A celebrity in her day with a flair for high fashion and public, petty beefs, Restell was a self-made woman and single mother who used her wit, her compassion, and her knowledge of family medicine to become one of the most in-demand medical workers in New York. Not only that, she used her vast resources to care for the most vulnerable women of the city: unmarried women in need of abortions, birth control, and other medical assistance. In defiance of increasing persecution from powerful men, Restell saved the lives of thousands of young women; in fact, in historian Jennifer Wright's own words, "despite having no formal training and a near-constant steam of women knocking at her door, she never lost a patient." Restell was a revolutionary who opened the door to the future of reproductive choice for women, and Wright brings Restell and her circle to life in this dazzling, sometimes dark, and thoroughly entertaining tale. In addition to uncovering the forgotten history of Restell herself, the book also doubles as an eye-opening look into the "greatest American scam you've never heard about": the campaign to curtail women's power by restricting their access to healthcare. Before the 19th century, abortion and birth control were not only legal in the United States, but fairly common, and public healthcare needs (for women and men alike) were largely handled by midwives and female healers. However, after the Birth of the Clinic, newly-minted male MDs wanted to push women out of their space--by forcing women back into the home and turning medicine into a standardized, male-only practice. At the same time, a group of powerful, secular men--threatened by women's burgeoning independence in other fields--persuaded the Christian leadership to declare abortion a sin, rewriting the meaning of "Christian morality" to protect their own interests. As Wright explains, "their campaign to do so was so insidious--and successful--that it remains largely unrecognized to this day, a century and a half later." By unraveling the misogynistic and misleading lies that put women's health in jeopardy, Wright simultaneously restores Restell to her rightful place in history and obliterates the faulty, fractured reasoning underlying the very foundation of what has since been dubbed the "pro-life" movement. Thought-provoking, character-driven, funny, and feminist as hell, Madame Restell is required reading for anyone and everyone who believes that when it comes to women's rights, women's bodies, and women's history, women should have the last word"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Restell, Madame, 1811-1878; Restell, Madame, 1811-1878.; Abortion services; Abortion; Patent medicines; Trials (Abortion); Women in medicine;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mostly what God does : reflections on seeking and finding his love everywhere / by Guthrie, Savannah,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-300)."If you ever struggle with your connection to God (or whether you even feel connected to a faith at all), you're not alone. Especially in our modern world, with its relentless, never-ending news cycle, we can all grapple with such questions. Do we do that alone, with despair and resignation? Or do we make sense of it with God, and with hope? In these uncertain times, could believing in the power of divine love make the most sense? In this collection of essays, Savannah Guthrie shares why she believes it does. Unspooling personal stories from her own joys and sorrows as a daughter, mother, wife, friend, and professional journalist, the award-winning TODAY show coanchor ... explores the place of faith in everyday life"--
Subjects: Religious materials.; Guthrie, Savannah.; Guthrie, Savannah; Christian life.; Conduct of life.; Faith.; God (Christianity); God;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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We don't know ourselves : a personal history of modern Ireland / by O'Toole, Fintan,1958-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A celebrated Irish writer's magisterial, brilliantly insightful chronicle of the wrenching transformations that dragged his homeland into the modern world. Fintan O'Toole was born in the year the revolution began. It was 1958, and the Irish government?in despair, because all the young people were leaving?opened the country to foreign investment and popular culture. So began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with Irish national identity. In We Don't Know Ourselves, O'Toole, one of the Anglophone world's most consummate stylists, weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society-perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O'Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school, much as his forebears did. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland's main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin's streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come. O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O'Toole's telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit, when the soon-to-be martyred American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis. A remarkably compassionate yet exacting observer, O'Toole in coruscating prose captures the peculiar Irish habit of "deliberate unknowing," which allowed myths of national greatness to persist even as the foundations were crumbling. Forty years in the making, We Don't Know Ourselves is a landmark work, a memoir and a national history that ultimately reveals how the two modes are entwined for all of us"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; O'Toole, Fintan, 1958-;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Dark Ages [videorecording] : an age of light / by Ciszewska, Lidia.; Januszczak, Waldemar.; Athena (Firm); RLJ Entertainment.; ZCZ Films.;
The early Middle Ages have been dismissed as a step backwards for civilization-a barbaric time in which warfare and conquest eclipsed learning and progress. But were the Dark Ages really so bleak? Art historian Waldemar Januszczak says no, and then takes us on an artistic journey back to this much-maligned epoch to reveal the evidence. He travels the world, finding beauty and refinement where one might have expected only brutality and destruction. Witness the mysteries of early Christian art, Islam's mosques, Anglo-Saxon metalwork, the illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels, and more.E.DVD (NTSC format), 16:9 widescreen; Dolby digital stereo.
Subjects: Art, Medieval.; Decorative arts, Medieval.; Documentary television programs.; Middle Ages.;
© c2013., RLJ Entertainment,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mutiny on the Bounty / by FitzSimons, Peter,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories-- a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order-- and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave. Under the leadership of Fletcher Christian most of the crew mutinied soon after sailing from Tahiti, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen adrift in a small open boat. In one of history's great feats of seamanship, Bligh navigated this tiny vessel for 3618 nautical miles to Timor. Fletcher Christian and the mutineers sailed back to Tahiti, where most remained and were later tried for mutiny. But Christian, along with eight fellow mutineers and some Tahitian men and women, sailed off into the unknown, eventually discovering the isolated Pitcairn Island-- at the time not even marked on British maps-- and settling there. This astonishing story is historical adventure at its very best, encompassing the mutiny, Bligh's monumental achievement in navigating to safety, and Fletcher Christian and the mutineers' own epic journey from the sensual paradise of Tahiti to the outpost of Pitcairn Island. The mutineers' descendants live on Pitcairn to this day, amid swirling stories and rumours of past sexual transgressions and present-day repercussions. Mutiny on the Bounty is a sprawling, dramatic tale of intrigue, bravery and sheer boldness, told with the accuracy of historical detail and total command of story that are Peter FitzSimons' trademarks.
Subjects: Bligh, William, 1754-1817.; Christian, Fletcher, 1764-1793.; Bounty (Ship); Survival at sea; Survival; Bounty Mutiny, 1789.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sharing too much : musings from an unlikely life / by Evans, Richard Paul,author.;
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author and "king of Christmas fiction" (The New York Times) delivers a charming and inspirational collection of personal essays. Before he was the #1 New York Times bestselling author of holiday classics such as The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans was a young boy being raised by a suicidal mother and dealing with relentless bullying. He could not fathom what the future held for him. Now, in this intimate and heartfelt collection of personal essays, Evans shares his moving journey from childhood to beloved author. With his signature "seasoned finesse" (Booklist), he offers the insightful lessons he's learned and engaging advice about everything from marriage to parenthood and even facing near-death experiences. This is a charming essay collection that is the perfect gift all year round"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Anecdotes.; Essays.; Personal narratives.; Evans, Richard Paul; Authors, American; Christian authors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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