The remarkable true New Zealand stories of Australian whaler William Thomas as told to his grandchildren in the 1890's. These fantastic tales span the course of 90 years and have William unwittingly embedded at key important and historical moments in Southland and Otago's history. Along with other fascinating adventures William brings the past back to life in his unique story telling. His marvelous tales are humorous, bizarre and sometimes tragic but always gritty, genuine and down to earth in their narrative. Edited and Arranged by David Dudfield Forward by Lloyd Esler

Steve Braunias travels off the grid to capture weird and wonderful goings-on in small-town New Zealand. Full of fascinating - and sometimes disturbing - stories about people living in 20 places - from Kawakawa to Mosgiel, and across the seas in Samoa and Antarctica - their lives, loves, aspirations, and sometimes dark secrets. Searing insights and honesty from New Zealand's most awarded journalist - this book will be talked about!

Judith O'Reilly, author of the hugely popular blog and book Wife in the North embarks on a year long social experiment in the witty A Year of Doing Good. Fed up of New Year's resolutions involving diets and exercise abandoned on January 2nd, Judith is attempting to be good. For one whole year. She embarked on a mission to do one good deed every day. Some called it a social experiment. At times she called it madness. Juggling family, friends and a variety of neighbours in the small Northumberland village she calls home, she recounts the ups, downs, moments of doubt and sheer bloody hard work of doing good. From the small - babysitting a friend's child, clearing up her neighbour's dead mice and feeding her friendship cake Herman the German, to the slightly larger - trying to raise GBP10,000 for charity with her Jam Jar Army and teaching a severely handicapped child to write - she describes what she learns along the way: that no good deed is too small and that being good makes you happy. Well, most of the time. 'A funny, uplifting and admirable book' Observer 'Banish January blues with A Year of Doing Good by Judith O'Reilly who resolved to do one good turn day. . . utterly uplifting' Woman & Home 'Fizzing with energy Judith's writing is open-hearted and funny. . . though not a guide to doing good, Judith's story may inspire you to do a little more for others this year' Express 'Glorious sincerity. . .the admiring accounts of others' lives, the detailing of the deeds gladly done or furiously resented, the unending chaos of family life - all are rendered honestly, colourfully and occasionally hilariously' Lucy Mangan, Sunday Times A Year of Doing Good inspires the reader with the day-to-day journey of meaning, gratification and joy that comes from contributing to the lives of others in so many creative ways. For those who want to put "do unto others" in the centre of their lives and reap the unexpected benefits of happiness and health, this is the book for you. Elegantly written, the words jump off the page' Stephen G. Post, PhD, author of The Hidden Gifts of Helping Judith O'Reilly is a writer and journalist. Her first book Wife in the North was based on her blog of the same name and was a bestseller. Her second book, a novel, is living in a drawer. Her third book is this one. She is married with three children, and for one year she tried to be good.

"I am so very sorry..." The words were out. My mouth was dry, my heart was thumping, and my despair was clearly visible. And so began Trudie and Lloyd Thompson's heart breaking 12 year journey of IVF treatment, losing a business and even bankruptcy. Through all of this, their love and their relentless enthusiasm kept them strong, and now they are sharing their unique and uplifting story with you. The twists and turns of fate, including an appearance on a TV home makeover show, brought Trudie and Lloyd closer together, and ultimately their courage brought them their most treasured dream; a family. Dreams Do Come True is a story of that courage, a story that proves that with love and determination, anything is possible.

Both a riveting courtroom drama and a real-life thriller, "A Just Defiance" tells the story of four young black South Africans who were arrested for a string of political murders in 1987. In gripping prose, Peter Harris--the white lawyer who defended the men--describes how he came to understand, while constructing the case to save the defendants from the death penalty, the chain of events that led them to undergo training at ANC camps in Angola and return to their homeland to execute some of the apartheid regime's most notorious collaborators. The shocking twists and turns of the high-profile trial kept the public in suspense during the dying days of apartheid.
Harris's account of the trial is intercut with flashbacks to instances of the cold-blooded brilliance and deadly efficiency of the squad's operations. We see Nelson Mandela recently released from Robben Island as he begins negotiations that will eventually lead to the assumption of power by the ANC. We read about bomb-making and assassination attempts by both the ANC and the South African police. A critical and popular success in South Africa, this book is a tale of people driven to extremes by injustice and repression, and of ordinary citizens caught up in extraordinary events. Finally, it is the story of a country's search for reconciliation, one that captures the moral vertigo of South Africa's violent apartheid years.

This inspiring collection of real life stories captures the struggles and successes of nine remarkable deaf adults and parents of deaf children. Each story offers a candid insight into the world of deafness - the highs and lows. Five parents describe their experiences in dealing with the diagnosis and embracing the challenges of raising a deaf child in a hearing world. Five deaf adults describe their own journey with hearing loss and paint an honest picture of the struggles and barriers they have encountered being deaf in a hearing world. Each story illustrates that deaf people can BE, DO and HAVE anything they want in this world and that nothing is impossible. All provide specific strategies they have used to tackle barriers related to early intervention services, education, or issues within the family and community, employment and adulthood. An invaluable resource for families of deaf and hard of hearing children and professionals working in the deafness field.

This is the story of one man's experience of the devastating effects of a major stroke and his attempts to recover from it. It is also the story of a dog's experience of life with unpredictable, irrational human beings and his attempts to deal with all of that. Eric Sinclair is a writer and education consultant who has worked in schools and colleges in West Africa, Turkey, Germany and the UK. For ten years he was Head Teacher of Kirkwall Grammar School in Orkney, and subsequently Head Teacher of Aboyne Academy in Aberdeenshire. Since suffering a major stroke in 2004, he has undertaken voluntary work for The Stroke Association as well as for the NHS through Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to The Stroke Association.

2012 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD WINNER

Anything Worth Doing tells the unforgettable true story of larger-than-life whitewater raft guides Clancy Reece and Jon Barker, two men who share a love of wild rivers and an unbending will to live life on their terms, no matter the cost.

Clancy s motto, Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, leads them into a decade of beautiful and beautifully strange river adventures. Then, on June 8, 1996, in pursuit of a 24-hour speed record they intend to share only with a handful of friends, the men launch Clancy s handmade dory, his proudest possession, onto Idaho s renowned Salmon River at peak flood of an extreme high water year. This time the odds catch up with them.

With clarity reminiscent of Krakauer s Into the Wild, whitewater veteran Jo Deurbrouck carries us down the West s great rivers and into the hearts, minds and homes of that rare breed for whom security is optional but freedom and passion are not. Anything Worth Doing taut and efficient, yet rich with insight is destined to become an adventure classic.

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.

When Steve Phillips started as a 15-year-old apprentice with a Birmingham engineering company in 1961, the Beatles were still the Quarrymen and a pint of mild cost one shilling and threepence. Five years of dirt and grind, legpulls, laughter and sheer hard graft later, Steve was a skilled turner and fitter, schooled the old-fashioned way by senior craftsmen who knew how to turn a screw, mill a die or grind a component to half a thousandth of an inch using manually-controlled machine tools, a micrometer and the skill in their fingers. He had also found the time - and saved the money - to marry his teenage sweetheart and buy a house. Steve went on to a varied and successful career in the UK manufacturing industry. Half a century on, now retired and living in Cyprus, he looks back on an era before computers and CNC machines, when Birmingham and its factories were the backbone of industrial Britain and families and workmates stuck together. Ten bob an hour is a fascinating portrait of an era long gone.

A Common Thread is a collection of sixteen brave and honest accounts of fertility issues and miscarriage. Each journey is unique; yet each contributor shares truthfully from their heart the highs and lows they have been through; how their journey has affected their faith and how God has brought them through. Although the physical, emotional and mental toll can be unbearable for those who find themselves facing these battles, there is hope. Within this book you will read the stories of those who have experienced successful IVF, failed IVF, multiple miscarriages, miscarriage after having children, adoption, miracle births, and those who have never been able to have children. Although we all experience the journey differently, we all share 'a common thread' of understanding. You are not alone.

What would you do if your whole world came crashing down? Broken promises of love. Deceits of life. Safiya is deep in despair and nearing self-destruction. But a chance opportunity to escape suicidal misery beckons her. Millions said it is the land of wishes . Mecca - Saudi Arabia. Millions said it is a life changing journey . Hajj - the pilgrimage. England to Arabia. Thrown into garments resembling a death shroud she embarks on the Hajj and enters the spellbinding world of ancient Islamic practices. To save herself. Alongside three million foreign and unpredictable pilgrims she makes her weeping wish in the celestial palace of Mecca. She camps with Ethiopian peasants and Arab Kings, faces the supernatural in the deserts and catches a spine-chilling glimpse of the end of the world. She uncovers love for a man she has never met and hatred for a hidden enemy. She risks her life for a fleeting obsession and steps into a perilous ritual where others had been killed. But will her wish come true? Or will it end badly? Three Thousand Miles for a Wish is a deeply moving, mystical and powerful story of a young woman s real-life quest for happiness. It captures the soul with remarkable potency as it takes the reader, in a way never done before, on the greatest trip on earth. Visit www.threethousandmilesforawish.co.uk for more information.

BETTY WHITEonEVERY DOG HAS A GIFT "This book gives us some specific examples of the unique therapy that dogs provide when it is needed most. Enjoy a good read, after which I'm sure you will appreciate your own dog even more."
As anyone who has ever gotten home after a long, hard day and been greeted by their dog and that soulful look of adoration will tell you: Dog love is one of the best kinds of love there is. In "Every Dog Has a Gift," founder and executive director of The Good Dog Foundation Rachel McPherson explores the inspiring work that dogs are doing to help humans cope with a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional problems. Millions of dogs around the world are heroes every day. These therapy and service dogs (and often quite ordinary, "uncertified" dogs just like your own):

bring their healing presence into hospitals and hospice centers; provide a calm and centering "home base" for autistic children; and serve as the perfect audience for kids who need help practicing and improving their reading skills.

In telling these stories, "Every Dog Has a Gift" pays homage to the gift that each and every dog possesses: the ability to bring the healing power of unconditional love into our lives.

Includes . . . - Lee Shelton's murder of Billy Lyons in St. Louis, which inspired the popular song "Stagger Lee" - The vigilante killing of the "town bully" of Skidmore, Ken McElroy - The kidnapping of millionaire Robert Greenlease's son in Kansas City - The Kirkwood City Council massacre - Serial killings of 13 young women in Kansas City by Lorenzo J. Gilyard

Scottish Family Legends is a treasure trove of true tales written by people from all over Scotland. These stories were collected by Scottish Book Trust as part of a nationwide project to encourage people to get writing, inspired by their remarkable relatives. These tales recall lives domestic and military, urban and rural, work-a-day and extraordinary - but never boring! Bursting with drama, heartache, celebration, character, warmth, gratitude, love and loss, Scottish Family Legends is a celebration of the people, places and events that make up our collective heritage - it is truly a book to be treasured.

Rogue surgeons, overburdened hospitals, medical mismanagement, doctor shortages...The story of Australia's own "Dr Death", Jayent Patel, is symptomatic of a tidal wave heading towards all modern healthcare systems. In this absorbing book, the authors have ploughed through the mass of public inquiry data, interviewing key figures in the affair to reveal in gripping detail how it happened, who was to blame and how it can be avoided. Drawing on international cases and experiences, they reveal how institutional weaknesses are able to be exploited by individuals with serious personality problems just like Patel. Hospitals worldwide are facing increasing pressures from staff shortages and the need to manage financial considerations that impact directly on their ability to adequately manage patient care. This is a story relevant and timely for all who are part of a modern complex healthcare network. from hospital administrators to doctors, nurses, ancillary staff and the patients themselves. The case of the Bundaberg Hospital and its infamous "Dr Death" could be happening again right now in your own modern overburdened healthcare system.

Dogs are truly one of God's finest creatures, a marvelous gift for us humans. In the perfect follow-up to "A Prince among Dogs," Callie Smith Grant compiles a delightful collection of true stories that celebrate the dogs in our lives. These stories will touch our hearts, renew our spirits, and show us how God made these wonderful creatures for unique purposes.
Readers will love these uplifting glimpses into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary dogs and the people who love them. The stories are warm, captivating, and ideal for a good curl-up-and-read or a perfect gift for any dog lover.

Those who had not discovered our truth had Satan in their hearts. We lived amongst them, but not with them, 'in the world, but not of the world'. We were special. We were the disciples of the Fellowship. When she was a child, Lindsey Rosa's every waking moment was governed by the rules of an extreme separatist sect. It controlled what she wore and what she ate; it forbade her to listen to music, to cut her hair, to watch television, to use a computer. The Fellowship said her family was special. Why would she believe otherwise? Then, when Lindsey was seven, her elder brother was caught listening to music and the family were expelled from the sect. But Lindsey's parents knew nothing but the ways of the Fellowship, so they remained in hope that they would be accepted and continued to make the family live by the sect's strict rules - cutting themselves off from their local community. But as Lindsey grew, so too did her awareness of a world outside. And, feeling increasingly isolated, she struggled with her own identity. Until finally she was faced with a devastating choice: to continue to live by the rules of the religious sect or to be brutally cast out and leave the family she loved behind forever.

Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car--but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah's secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the "age of preparedness," they will soon be married off to much older men chosen by the hidden sect's revered Prophet.

As Sara, chosen to become her uncle's fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life. But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.

When Rachel's future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever know...before it's too late.

Claire Avery has woven a stunning tale that could be ripped from today's headlines. Shocking and empowering, "Hidden Wives" is a page-turning debut that will stay with the reader.

On a Sunday night during Homecoming weekend in 1999, Neenef Odah lured his ex-girlfriend, Maggie Wardle, to his dorm room at Kalamazoo College and killed her at close range with a shotgun before killing himself. In the wake of this tragedy, the community of the small, idyllic liberal arts college struggled to characterize the incident, which was even called "the events of October" in a campus memo. In this engaging and intimate examination of Maggie and Neenef's deaths, author and Kalamazoo College professor Gail Griffin attempts to answer the lingering question of "how could this happen?" to two seemingly normal students on such a close-knit campus. Griffin introduces readers to Maggie and Neenef-a bright and athletic local girl and the quiet Iraqi-American computer student-and retraces their relationship from multiple perspectives, including those of their friends, teachers, and classmates. She examines the tension that built between Maggie and Neenef as his demands for more of her time and emotional support grew, eventually leading to their breakup. After the deaths take place, Griffin presents multiple reactions, including those of Maggie's friends who were waiting for her to return from Neenef's room, the students who heard the shotgun blasts in the hallway of Neenef's dorm, the president who struggled to guide a grieving campus, and the facilities manager in charge of cleaning up the crime scene. Griffin also uses Maggie and Neenef's story to explore larger issues of intimate partner violence, gun accessibility, and depression and suicide on campus as she attempts to understand the lasting importance of their tragic deaths. Griffin's use of source material, including college documents, official police reports, Neenef's suicide note, and an instant message record between perpetrator and victim, puts a very real face on issues of violence against women. Readers interested in true crime, gender studies, and the culture of colleges and universities will appreciate "The Events of October."

This is the true account of a young man's journey, sailing his 21 foot, wooden boat single-handed over 7,000 miles. Over a period of seven years, he set off from British Columbia in the spring of 1979 and sailed first to San Francisco, then the Hawaiian Islands and on to a remote Pacific coral atoll called Fanning Island. It was here that he was offered the position of Relief Manager of a coconut plantation for a few months and ended up staying for six years. The book is part sailing log and part travelogue and expertly describes the conditions he endured, the power of the elements and his experience of living and working thousands of miles from home.

What on earth would make someone decide to put their whole life up for sale... on eBay? When Ian Usher decided that it was time to leave the past behind and move on to the next chapter of his life, that is exactly what he did. The results were surprising, entertaining and challenging. However, the auction was only the beginning of the adventure. What does someone do when they have sold their life? Well, just about anything they like really Armed with a list of 100 lifetime goals, and a self-imposed timeframe of 100 weeks, Ian embarked on what could truly be described as the journey of a lifetime - a global adventure spanning six continents, two years, and almost every emotion. From the amazing highs of achievement, happiness and love, to the terrible lows of disappointment, loneliness and despair, come along and enjoy the rollercoaster ride of life, as experienced by one traveller who is simply looking for a new start.

There are books about penoplasty (penile enlargement) but none from men who have actually undergone the procedure. I have appeared on television and been interviewed in magazines about my operation.