In an educational era defined by large school campuses and overcrowded classrooms, it is easy to overlook the era of one-room schools, when teachers filled every role, including janitor, and provided a familylike atmosphere in which children also learned from one another. In Tales from Kentucky One-Room School Teachers, William Lynwood Montell reclaims an important part of Kentucky's social, cultural, and educational heritage, assembling a fun and fascinating collection of schoolroom stories that chronicle a golden era in Kentucky. The firsthand narratives and anecdotes in this collection cover topics such as teacher-student relationships, day-to-day activities, lunchtime foods, students' personal relationships, and, of course, the challenges of teaching in a one-room school. Montell includes tales about fund-raising pie suppers, pranks, outrageous student behavior (such as the quiet little boy whose first "sharing" involved profanity), and variety of other topics. Montell even includes some of his own memories from his days as a pupil in a one-room school. Tales from Kentucky One-Room School Teachers is a delightful glimpse of the history of education.

Richard Westcott has written this book to record, mainly for the benefit of the next generation, some of the history of his family and, in particular, of the struggles and difficulties his forebears encountered when living and working in the farming communities around the foothills of Exmoor in more challenging days. By collating and assembling his own and relatives' recollections of the last century and material from local history, he has painted an intriguing portrait of 20th century life on and around Exmoor. He also tells how he left the area to further his career and became a successful city financier, while never losing contact with his West Country roots.

Elizabeth Simcoe's diary, describing Canada from 1791 to 1796, is history written as it was being made. Created largely while she was seated in canoes and bateaux, the diary documents great events in a familiar way and opens our eyes to a side of Canadian history that is too little shown. During her time in Upper Canada (now Ontario), Mrs. Simcoe encountered fascinating figures, such a explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, and Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant. She took particular interest in the First Nations people, the social customs of the early settlers, and the flora and fauna of a land that contained a mere 10, 000 non-Natives in 1791. The realm she observed so vividly was quite alien to a woman used to a world of ball gowns, servants, and luxury in England, but the lieutenant-governor's wife was made of stern stuff and embraced her new environment with relish, leaving us with an account instilled with excitement and delight at everything she witnessed.

This book by ex pro diver Jim Limbrick is a tribute to all 58, 20th Century professional divers who lost their lives whilst playing their part in effecting the extraction of oil and gas from UK northern waters, specifically the North Sea, during the years 1971 to 1999. Diving and Offshore background is given, with all deceased diver's names and nationalities, fatality dates, diver's ages, accident locations, platforms, employers, equipment used, water depths, and details of accidents, all as far as is known, or can be told. With subsequent Safety Regulations and recommendations, this book is a must for all those people interested in diving, and especially budding divers of any persuasion.

This is the true story of the (ultimately successful) endeavour to find, extract and adopt an infant from an 'orphanage' in post revolutionary Romania despite the unhelpful and sometimes downright obstructive attitude of both the UK and the Romanian authorities.
The author describes the horrors of Orphanage Number One in Bucharest, the poverty and endemic corruption which he faced on a daily basis and his struggle to raise awareness in both jurisdictions of the damage inflicted upon the children by the general indifference to their plight.
The book also recounts the remarkable friendship which was forged with a Bucharest University graduate who became interpreter, guide and, ultimately, Godfather to the child who was rescued.

'This is a book about art, dance, sex, the legalisation of prostitution, and joie de vivre...' Artist, musician and writer Lee Huxley has paid for sex with more than 500 women in pursuit of his unrealisable ambition to make love to 'every earthly representative of Aphrodite' - every example of feminine beauty on the planet. In this account of his philosophy, he explains his obsession with the fair sex and why he believes patriarchal religions and feminist extremists have converged in our times to demonise prostitution. Every woman I desired was a book I craved to read and add to my library. I had freed myself from the puritanical shackles of Victorian England...God does not torture his creatures in hell. God is sex. God is men and women making love and experiencing the greatest joy of life, whether it's in prostitution or marriage, whether it's for procreation or recreation.

My Mad Fat Diary is now a major new comedy for E4! It's 1989 and Rae is a fat, boy-mad 17-year-old girl, living in Stamford, Lincolnshire with her mum and their deaf white cat in a council house with a mint off-green bath suite and a larder Rae can't keep away from. This is the hilarious and touching real-life diary she kept during that fateful year - with characters like her evil friend Bethany, Bethany's besotted boyfriend, and the boys from the grammar school up the road (who have code names like Haddock and Battered Sausage). My Mad Fat Diary evokes a vanished time when Charles and Di are still together, the Berlin wall is up, Kylie is expected to disappear from the charts at any moment and it's GBP1 for a Snakebite and Black in the Vaults pub. My Mad Fat Diary will appeal to anyone who's lived through the 1980s. But it will also strike a chord with anyone who's ever been a confused, lonely teenager who clashes with their mother, takes themselves VERY seriously and has no idea how hilarious they are.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER--NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK Known to millions of readers of The Perfect Storm as the captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail, Linda Greenlaw is also known as one of the best sea captains on the East Coast. Here she offers an adventure-soaked tale of her own, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick. "A beautiful book . . . a story of triumph, of a woman not only making it but succeeding at the highest level in one of the most male-dominated and most dangerous professions." -- Douglas Whynott, The New York Times Book Review "An authentic, insightful account of the intensity of captaining a crew of strong men in an ocean which does what it wants." -- Daniel Hays, co-author of My Old Man and the Sea "A crystal-clear account of fishing the Grand Banks in a modern swordfish boat. Greenlaw is an excellent captainand an excellent writer." -- John Casey, author of Spartina

The true story of Canadian bush pilot Don &quotSmokey" Patry is a succession of brave take offs daring landings and high intensity turbulence every minute in between

Whether performing an emergency landing in darkness in Canada s northern wilderness rebuilding his plane s engine with a rusty file or zigzagging a bomber plane across the Atlantic Ocean during World War II there was never a dull moment in Patry s career

"Smoke in the Cockpit" is Canadian aviation history at its best Patry raised in Western Canada began flying professionally in 1937 over the uncharted mountainous territory of Alberta BC and the North West Territories Destiny uncannily placed him in the thick of the action and he went from one adventure to the next without fanfare pause or concern Introduced to Patry by his flying partner Jack Sullivan author H J Smith offers this riveting collection of Patry s high flying heroics for readers of all ages

Poet of the Caribbean

musings of a global peacemaker

By ""Mama Lizzie" "

a true story about rising from the ashes told in Poetry & Prose

"darkness and light" which took her on the journey of "The Phoenix" and resulted in the creation of a global peace initiative. 'Poet of the Caribbean' was inspired by her second visit to St. Vincent & The Grenadines and her newly-given name ""Mama Lizzie." "The book is designed to serve 'The Bigger Picture."

""Mama Lizzie,"" however, was compelled to write this book in which she shares her experience and passes on the teaching that she gleaned from enduring abuse, extreme loss, mental illness and the double-edged sword of her gifts. Told with unflinching honesty, vision and conviction, 'Poet of the Caribbean' is a living testimony to "her "personal motto '"Be Original - Be Yourself'" and her signature poem 'Sexy Hymn' - celebrating woman.

commitment to the on-going path of self-realisation is clear and her work is rooted in psychological, spiritual and holistic understanding.

""role model of courage and forgiveness whom she met after sending him 'Dear Mr. Lomax' - a poem which conveys both her horrific experience of mind-control and a powerful message of individual and collective

""Mama Lizzie's"" quest.

Charles M. Schulz and his beloved comic strip, "Peanuts," have changed the world. In "Security Blankets," Fraser and Bang present a heartwarming collection of 51 touching true stories to show the connection people have with the adored cartoon. Stories, photos from the contributors, and "Peanuts" artwork make this work extra special. The connections are so strong they've even had the power to change people's lives.
Take, for example, the Vietnam POW; whose first piece of correspondence while in captivity was a Snoopy card that included a picture of his wife and children. Or the 5-year-old boy from Boston who demanded that his stuffed Snoopy accompany him to the hospital for a high-risk surgery. Connections such as these show how "Peanuts" has become a security blanket for thousands.
This is chicken soup for the "Peanuts" lover's soul.
Excerpt from the book:
"But what made this drawing different was the unique "countdown calendar" that my father had drawn on Snoopy's belly. Each square on the calendar, which my sisters and I would cross out, meant that our dad was one day closer to coming home. Every time a square was marked off that drawing, Snoopy brought a bit of happiness and security to a war-weary and scared ten-year-old girl who desperately missed her Daddy.
Did Snoopy help bring my father safely home from the Vietnam War? Maybe, maybe not. But to this day, whenever I see Snoopy--especially when he's performing his happy dance--my heart is grateful and filled with loving memories of my Dad.

In January 2003 Asne Seierstad entered Baghdad on a ten-day visa. She was to stay for over three months, reporting on the war and its aftermath. A Hundred and One Days is her compelling account of a city under siege, and a fascinating insight into the life of a foreign correspondent. An award-winning writer, Seierstad brilliantly details the frustrations and dangers journalists faced trying to uncover the truth behind the all-pervasive propaganda. She also offers a unique portrait of Baghdad and its people, trying to go about their daily business under the constant threat of attack. Seierstad's passionate and erudite book conveys both the drama and the tragedy of her one hundred and one days in a city at war.

Lydia was 19 years old and enjoying university with a loving family and great friends when she became anorexic. The doctors told her that she would die. This is Lydia's account of what anorexia did to her, how it changed her and how it impacted on her family, friends and all her choices in life. Her story is told through letters and blogs that Lydia wrote at the best and worst of times, notes from her parent s and friends desperately trying to find a way through to her and doctors notes with the horrific exacting details. Lydia is now 23 and 'recovering'. She strongly believes that recovery is possible, and feels she is almost there. She wrote her book to explain her deepest thoughts and to explain the painful mental torture that she endured and overcame. And she wrote it in the hope that others suffering would relate to it, and that other families watching their loved ones will be touched and understand more deeply how an eating disorder really feels.

Truth sees no boundaries and sooner or later it comes out and expresses its need to be acknowledged. Relationships are needed and sustained throughout our lifespan and need sustenance through nurture, understanding and support. This incredible story, narrated with simplicity and humour, carries the reader through extremes of human emotion and relationships. It is a compelling story of a father's true horror, isolation and survival in his daily struggles to rear his two adoring and beautiful daughters. Upon the inevitable breakup of his family, in court every attempt for the revelation of the truth is thwarted as he tries to put forward his experiences only to suffer injustice at every step of the nightmare that unfolds in front of him. He advocates and instigates a campaign for equality and justice in the treatment of parents and grandparents through the halls of power only to be physically and emotionally drained by the very men he saves from self destruction. He challenges and exposes the incompetence of the system, the state, the legal profession only to be excluded from the media at every step of his struggle to survive while being wiped from government files and dubbed as a threat to the very same system that tried to destroy him. But truth runs much deeper and much closer to the heart, where life itself, the unconditional love of his daughters and friendships are continuously challenged.