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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography
This biography of Tony Streather describes a man who was one of the very great trailblazers of the golden age of Himalayan climbing in the 1950s. Tony Streather was a professional soldier to the core, serving in the North-West Frontier of India, Germany, Cyprus, North Borneo and Northern Ireland among many assignments. But through a chance meeting in post-Partition Pakistan, he became transport officer to a Norwegian expedition to Tirich Mir and joined the summit team that scaled the mountain for the first time. From that moment onwards, he combined soldiering with a distinguished mountaineering career. He summited Kangchenjunga as a member of the second rope in 1955 and survived tragedies on K2 and Haramosh. Many expeditions followed. His military career, which included co-founding the Army Mountaineering Association, was exemplary. For the first time, this authorized biography tells the full story of Tony Streather, soldier and mountaineer.
Sometimes you can't choose your own battles. A memoir of coming of age in Rhodesia explores the author's experiences as a young conscript caught up in the bush war of the late 1970s. This is a compelling, touching and often humorous account of growing up in a straitlaced, racist society and the absurdity of fighting for a dying regime. The ugliness of the conflict, the trauma of transformation, the agonies of conscience of the writer, the beauty of the landscape: all are captured here in brilliant detail. Threading through the narrative is the story of Williams’ obsessive infatuation with the enigmatic, sharp-tongued Bianca Pennefather, who leads him on a painful emotional and spiritual journey. Looming over this fragile world is the grotesque experience of the battlefield, where young soldiers like Paul Williams inexorably shed their illusions and lost their youth.
Legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, Marie Leveau also was known for her kindness and charity, nursing yellow fever victims and ministering to condemned prisoners, and her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Carolyn Morrow Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Laveau's African and European ancestors became intertwined in nineteenth-century New Orleans.
Advocate Thuli Madonsela has achieved in her seven years as Public Protector what few accomplish in a lifetime; her legacy and contribution cannot be over-stated. In her final days in office she compiled the explosive State Capture report and, before that, the report on President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla residence. Praised and vilified in equal measures, Madonsela has frequently found herself at centre stage in the increasingly fractious South African political scene. Yet, despite the intense media scrutiny, Madonsela remains something of an enigma. Who is this soft-spoken woman who stood up to state corruption? Where did she develop her views and resolve? This book attempts to answer these questions, and others, by exploring many aspects of Madonsela's life: her childhood years and family, her involvement in student politics, her contribution to the constitution, her life in law. Madonsela once described her role as Public Protector as being akin to that of the Venda traditional spiritual female leader, the Makhadzi, who whispers truth to the ruler. When the sounds of the exchanges between the ruler and the Makhadzi grow loud, Madonsela said, that is when the whispering has failed. No Longer Whispering to Power is about Thuli Madonsela's tenure as Public Protector, during which the whisper grew into a cry. It is the story of the South African people's attempt to hold power to account through the Office of the Public Protector. More significantly, this important book stands as a record of the crucial work Madonsela has done, always acting without fear or favour.
The stories of Naz Gool Ebrahim and District Six are intimately linked; in fact it is hard to imagine the one without the other. As the niece of Cissie Gool, Naz came from fighting stock. Strong women with strong voices ran in the family. So when the Apartheid Government declared 'the District', a slum in 1966 and announced plans to flatten it, Naz wasn’t about to lose all that she held dear without a fight. She became the voice of the voiceless, both in South Africa and in the USA and was nominated as ‘Woman of the Year’. Naz combined her radical political activism with her roles as devoted wife and mother to six children. Up until the end of her life in 2005, she worked tirelessly to oppose the evil of racial segregation. To her opponents, she was an indomitable adversary, but to her friends she was ‘Naz – Raz-a-ma-tazz’, a great lady who certainly knew how to tell a story and put on a good show.
Based on a series of fascinating interviews, this extraordinary book relates real stories of conflict from the people who lived through it. In vivid detail, and genuinely moving accounts, this unique publication draws the reader into a hugely significant period of history; capturing surprising and emotional stories first hand, before they disappear forever. These are more than just memories, they are the events that marked the world and an entire generation.
The sixtieth anniversary edition of Frantz Fanon's landmark text, now with a new introduction by Cornel WestFirst published in 1961, and reissued in this sixtieth anniversary edition with a powerful new introduction by Cornel West, Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth is a masterfuland timeless interrogation of race, colonialism, psychological trauma, and revolutionary struggle, and a continuing influence on movements from Black Lives Matter to decolonization. A landmark text for revolutionaries and activists, The Wretched of the Earth is an eternal touchstone for civil rights, anti-colonialism, psychiatric studies, and Black consciousness movements around the world. Alongside Cornel West's introduction, the book features critical essays by Jean-Paul Sartre and Homi K. Bhabha. This sixtieth anniversary edition of Fanon's most famous text stands proudly alongside such pillars of anti-colonialism and anti-racism as Edward Said's Orientalism and The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
The True Story Behind the Powerful Film ALL SAINTS Newly ordained, Michael Spurlock's first assignment is to pastor All Saints, a struggling church with twenty-five devoted members and a mortgage well beyond its means. The best option may be to close the church rather than watch it wither any further. But when All Saints hesitantly risks welcoming a community of Karen refugees from Burma--former farmers scrambling for a fresh start in America--Michael feels they may be called to an improbable new mission. Michael must choose between closing the church and selling the property--or listening to a still, small voice challenging the people of All Saints to risk it all and provide much-needed hope to their new community. Together, they risk everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all. Discover the true story that inspired the film while also diving deeper into the background of the Karen people, the church, and how a community of believers rally to reach out to those in need, yet receive far more than they dared imagine. The Reverend Michael Spurlock served All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna, Tennessee, for three years. He is currently on the clergy staff at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. Michael, his wife, Aimee, and their two children live in New York City..
Dave's autobiography tells how, from simple beginnings, he manages to serve an apprenticeship in engineering, before deciding it wasn't for him and embarking on an adventure underwater. Firstly, with a bunch of friends salvaging scrap metal from shipwrecks, before blagging his way into the world of offshore oilfield deep diving. It was intended to be a short-term thing to make the deposit on a house and turned into 40 years in the industry, culminating in becoming the offshore manager of some major oilfield construction projects around the world. Dave takes us through his life's journey, near-death experience and involvement with several major incidents. He explains how it feels to live part of your life in the claustrophobic environment of a saturation diver, and reflects on some of the politics and events that occurred in this unique industry. He reflects on life's lessons as they presented themselves. The book is interspersed with anecdotes and amusing tales of and from the people he met along the way, characters, who come alive with their witty asides and darkly comic humour. Away from work, Dave and his wife, Marion, travel the world together, and their travels are heady and packed with adventure, as they ski, kayak and dive in idyllic locations. Whether bungee jumping in New Zealand or cycling across Central America, Dave and Marion are never afraid to take on a challenge.
Dave's autobiography tells how, from simple beginnings, he manages to serve an apprenticeship in engineering, before deciding it wasn't for him and embarking on an adventure underwater. Firstly, with a bunch of friends salvaging scrap metal from shipwrecks, before blagging his way into the world of offshore oilfield deep diving. It was intended to be a short-term thing to make the deposit on a house and turned into 40 years in the industry, culminating in becoming the offshore manager of some major oilfield construction projects around the world. Dave takes us through his life's journey, near-death experience and involvement with several major incidents. He explains how it feels to live part of your life in the claustrophobic environment of a saturation diver, and reflects on some of the politics and events that occurred in this unique industry. He reflects on life's lessons as they presented themselves. The book is interspersed with anecdotes and amusing tales of and from the people he met along the way, characters, who come alive with their witty asides and darkly comic humour. Away from work, Dave and his wife, Marion, travel the world together, and their travels are heady and packed with adventure, as they ski, kayak and dive in idyllic locations. Whether bungee jumping in New Zealand or cycling across Central America, Dave and Marion are never afraid to take on a challenge.
Aan die hand van eietydse dokumentasie het Karel Schoeman in hierdie titel die lewe herkonstrueer van sy Suid-Afrikaanse stamvader, die Duitser Hendrik Schoeman uit Sleeswyk-Holstein, wat in 1724 as matroos in diens van die VOC die Kaap bereik het, 'n prekere bestaan gemaak het as veeboer in die binneland van Suid-Afrika, en in 1765 in armoede in die huidige Klein-Karoo oorlede is. Soos Schoeman opmerk, is hierdie man in verskeie opsigte geskik om as "tipiese" stamvader uit die Kompanjiestyd beskou te word.
Geloof soos aartappels is die inspirerende ware verhaal van bekende evangelis Angus Buchan. Dit is ’n getuienis van hoe geloof ’n mens deur die donkerste tye kan dra. Nadat Angus tot bekering gekom het, is hierdie humeurige man wat van sy drank gehou het, verander in ’n passievolle dienaar van God. Sy geloof het hom al deur droogtes, familietragedie en finansiële krisisse gedra. Sedert hy tot bekering gekom het, het Angus die evangelie oor die wêreld heen verkondig. Hy het ook ’n kinderhuis gestig, verskeie boeke geskryf en duisende mense geïnspireer met sy boodskappe op TV, radio en by sy konferensies. Hierdie aangrypende boek sal jou opnuut verseker van God se almag en sy voorsiening vir sy kinders.
By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.
By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.
This book from John Van der Kiste, the eminent historian of European royalty, is an account of Queen Victoria's personal and political relationships with the empires, or to be more exact, the Kings and Queens, Emperors, Empresses and their families of France, Germany, Austria and Russia. Victoria had close connections with the royal houses of Germany long before the King of Prussia became the German Emperor in 1871, and with the exiled former Emperor and Empress of the French and their son, the Prince Imperial, after the fall of the French Empire in 1870. Van der Kiste deftly weaves together the various strands of the relationships-including the close family marriage ties-to provide a fascinating picture of European royalty in the last two thirds of the nineteenth century.
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