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Books > Biography > Historical, political & military
In 1862, Private Grant Taylor of the 40th Alabama Infantry regiment
began writing home to his wife Malinda. Thus started an almost
three year correspondence of some 160 letters that chronicle the
impact of the American Civil War on one rural Alabama family. For
the Taylors and their kin, the war brought precious little glory or
sentimental notions of causes won or lost. Their rough prose
provides more evidence of the downside of the Civil War experience
that is historically significant and emotionally touching.
Brian Mawhinney, now Baron Mawhinney of Peterborough, has led an
extraordinary life by anyone's standards. Born into a conservative
Christian family in Belfast his life and career were continuously
informed by the values of the gospel. However, his path was to take
him far beyond his simple Belfast background and the legal or
medical career his parents envisaged for him, and to the heights of
British politics as a Government minister, and then to the heart of
football administration as Chairman of the Football League. Written
with his ten grandchildren in mind (to help them "understand your
grandpa a little better", Mawhinney's memoirs capture at once the
history of recent British politics and football, and the essential
decency of the author.
This is the extraordinary true story of how a former British
soldier turned extreme adventurer set out to run marathons in the
world's most dangerous countries. In 2018, Jordan Wylie trained and
ran in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan to raise awareness of the
plight of children suffering in war zones as well as the funds to
help provide education. Risking his life in some of the most
hostile places in the world, Wylie defies suicide bombers, official
advice, dehydration and exhaustion, as well as his own mental and
physical health issues in an incredible tale of endurance and
tenacity against the odds. His first race, in Somalia, is moved to
Somaliland after a suicide bomber kills 600 people. Running the
Baghdad half-marathon brings back painful memories of friends and
colleagues he lost when he served there. Finally, at the
Afghanistan marathon, he provides a high-profile target for the
Taliban, who murder seventeen people the day before he arrives.
What makes these three runs even more challenging is the fact that
Jordan is affected not just by mental health issues from his own
experiences, but also with epilepsy. Alongside the more extreme
obstacles, Jordan has to overcome self-doubt - and the doubt of
others - to show what can be achieved with belief and fortitude.
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Washington
(Paperback)
Douglas Southall Freeman
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R1,174
R1,007
Discovery Miles 10 070
Save R167 (14%)
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Ships in 10 - 17 working days
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Washington is the most complete, definitive one-volume biography of
George Washington ever written. In 1948 renowned biographer and
military historian Douglas Southall Freeman won his second Pulitzer
Prize for his new dramatic reexamination of George Washington.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most prominent and controversial
figures in contemporary British politics. He is a man who divides
opinion in his own party, in Parliament and across the country. An
arch-Brexiteer with significant business interests and a large
personal fortune, he has long been a vocal critic of the European
Union and of Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to negotiate a
Brexit deal. As chairman of the powerful anti-EU organisation the
European Research Group, he has also been a thorn in the side of
those seeking to dilute Brexit. While many people mock him for his
impeccable manners and traditional attitudes - he has been dubbed
`the Honourable Member for the eighteenth century' - an equally
great number applaud him for his apparent conviction politics.
Undoubtedly, Rees-Mogg stands out among the current crop of MPs and
his growing influence cannot be ignored. In this wide-ranging
unauthorised biography of the Conservative Member of Parliament for
North East Somerset, Michael Ashcroft, bestselling author of Call
Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron, turns his
attention to one of the most intriguing politicians of our time.
The acclaimed autobiography of Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt is
brought to the reader anew in this well-produced edition, inclusive
of all notes and appendices. Written over years and published in
1913, this lengthy yet engrossing biography sees one of the United
States finest Presidents recount his life in his own words.
Theodore Roosevelt sets out events in a way which clarify how he
came to possess his beliefs. We hear of his love of the great
outdoors which would in turn result in the establishment of
America's national parks, and his belief in commerce as an engine
for progress which would lead to the state-sponsored construction
of the Panama Canal during his presidency. Seldom straying to
dryness or heady description of the many and varied events of his
life, Theodore Roosevelt instead imbues every chapter with keynote
personality and liveliness. Personal letters with influential
figures are shared, placing the reader deep in the political world
which this popular, charismatic leader was immersed.
Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs begins with the author's formative years
and his military service, continuing through the U.S. Civil War and
the author's time as President of the United States. Various
battles such as Monterrey, and sieges such as Vera Cruz, are
recounted in this volume, with Mexico's actions and abilities as an
enemy much detailed. Grant is keen to narrate the experience from
his perspective as a junior officer, bringing perspective of both
the strategic planning and the tactical maneuvers such conflicts
entailed together with the morale of the rank and file ahead of
each skirmish. Together with U.S. Grant's own recollections we find
appendices in the form of original correspondences sent and
received regarding the Union and Confederate forces. At the time he
authored his memoirs in the mid-1880s, Grant was determined in
spite of illness to add to the burgeoning historical narrative as a
reliable source. With this autobiography, it is indisputable that
he achieves this goal.
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