He and his team are sent to Cairo in 1979 to plan the modernization of Egypt's phone service. Phone service at that point is bad. Most of the time there is no dial tone. They think their work can be accomplished in about nine months, but Willis Culpepper of USAID tells them "Schedules don't mean a thang here in Egypt." They learn that ARENTO wants technology transfer, plus system redesign, so the nine months will stretch to a year or two. Working with the Egyptians, they see the sorry state of the telephone system, first in Cairo, then in Alexandria. Underground cables failed because of water seeping into the insulation. In between they visit Cairo's Souk, Khan El Khalili, and El Alemein. He takes morning runs beside the Pyramids, sometimes enraging the rabid mongrel desert dogs. Bitten, he requires rabies injections. There are no good maps of the cities. His team consults with USAID, and gets the Air Force to do aerial photography of Cairo, and Alexandria. An accelerated course on ESS is given to six Egyptian engineers, and the planning stage is finished at last. Construction contractors are selected through a formal bidding process, and final construction of the upgrade is completed in 1983. Egypt gets the most modern telephone system at the time, but scam artists are still at work at cut-over.

"I Think I Need to Talk to a Doctor" tells author Jason Ventre's life story-so far anyway. He shares his history for many reasons, but chief among them is the need to explain his life experiences so that others may try to avoid having them. Diagnosed with bipolar syndrome, he talks honestly about the repercussions of his decisions-mostly bad ones, when considered on a scale from moderate to devastating. He still deals with repercussions from those choices on a daily basis.

From describing the funny challenges of childhood and trying to figure out what mattered and what didn't to recalling his failed relationships, Ventre paints an honest picture of a boy who was just different. Rather than trying to change who he was, he just went with whatever he felt-with unforgettable results. Now he takes those results and unapologetically turns them into lessons. Ventre reminds us that we all have pasts full of mistakes; although it might be a great thought to say that we can learn from our past, history has shown us that we're more likely to just "think" that we've learned from our mistakes as we continue to make them.

"I Think I Need to Talk to a Doctor" shows that sometimes laughing at our irrational decisions might be the only way to grow from them and hopefully teach others not to travel down the same road of lost maturity.

"A valuable book, fresh with insights."

-Pete Earley, author of Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness

Until she experienced her first manic episode at the age of seventeen, author Lizabeth D. Schuch had little knowledge of mental illness. From that point on, her life would never be the same.

In her memoir, "More Than Bipolar," she discusses her twenty-five years of experience with bipolar disorder, sharing the wisdom attained to break the hold of stigma, shame, and fear surrounding this illness.

Schuch reveals the full reality of what living with this illness looks like. She shares the truth, from its manic and depressive extremes to the life lessons of understanding and maturity necessary to live well in recovery. More Than Bipolar also provides information about the importance of getting a proper diagnosis, working with the medical providers, trusting your own instincts about your care, and having the insight to know when the warning signs are leading you in the wrong direction.

"More Than Bipolar" focuses on knowledge gained and strength restored on the path of a complete bipolar journey. It shows that living well with bipolar disorder is possible and may indeed be a part of the diagnostic picture.

On January 26, 2012, the lives of George and Susan White were suddenly turned upside when Susan awoke with horrifying stomach pain. After being rushed to the emergency room, Susan learned that gallstones had become trapped in her bile duct. In a matter of hours, George's wife had transformed from a perfectly healthy woman to a hospital patient struggling to survive.

In this memoir, George shares details from the roller-coaster journey he and his wife began that January morning. Susan contracted pancreatitis and began to suffer from serious complications that kept her in various hospitals for months to come. As George documents an experience that was both stressful and rewarding, he offers a glimpse into both the difficult times they faced during Susan's illness and the comforting moments fueled by love and generosity from friends and family. As Susan slowly began to recover, George chronicles how both he and his wife changed their outlooks on life and became more grateful for everything.

"Susan: The Story of a Miracle" is an inspirational personal story of hope, faith, family, and friends as a husband and wife bravely face a health scare together and discover that miracles really do happen.

Author Charles E. Willingham always said he would achieve millionaire status before he turns sixty years old. At the age of fifty-nine-one day before his sixtieth birthday-Willingham achieves his lofty goal. But it was a long, hard road.

Born in 1939, Willingham grows up in Texas picking cotton, feeding chickens, and graduating at the bottom of his high school class. But he soon catapults to the big time, becoming a U.S. Air Force Cold War spy, nearly getting shot down by Russian MIGs, and landing in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall.

After the Cold War, Willingham creates hardware at Cal-Tech to measure the cosmic microwave fields emitted from the theoretical Big Bang, and then helps develop the country's first weather satellites at Ford Aerospace. But it is when he enters the relatively new field of computer technology that he eventually makes his fortune working for computer software magnate Bill Gates.

With a host of laugh-out-loud escapades, "In My Time" is a classic rags-to-riches story and a vivid chronicle of one man's life in the twentieth century. A rollicking rollercoaster ride around the world and back, it is also a tale of Willingham's rugged individualism and hard-earned wisdom.

RECALCULATING: Travels Along the Road Through Crisis is offered as comfort for the faithlessly faithful who frequently doubt they will find their way through life's challenges. Although Amy Dempsey had a strong family history of breast cancer, she was still shocked to receive the same news. Her direction soon changed again when her beloved brother, Garry, was diagnosed with ALS.

Their detours became roads to places where many beliefs were tested and large and small lessons were learned; for example, keeping a hairdresser or a medical professional calm is definitely in a person's best interest- anyone with scissors, a knife, or a needle is not the person to aggravate.

Support from others always provided the fuel needed to keep Amy on the right road. Joyful events were never diminished despite the difficulties and sorrows during these two years. Leaving a brother suffering in a nursing home on his fifty-fifth birthday was painful; however, her youngest child's performance at theater camp that same weekend was a blast Writing about many contrasts helped bring clarity to emotions and a balance to life in this intimate memoir.

This is the abbreviated life story of William C. Weaver, aka Wa Dok, who was an aquatic toxicologist. One day his mother took him to the kitchen and turned on the tap water, grabbed a glass and said, "Billy, most of the people in the world cannot do what I just did. They get their water the hard way, from a river, or hand-drawn well, and many times that water is dirty, and it can make them sick or even kill them. We are so lucky to have water right out of the tap that won't harm us or kill us."

Sixty years later, this is still true. Measured by our water supply, as compared to most of the world, we look pretty good. Water is the most basic need for life to exist on earth. As we use our water, and fail to clean it up, the use of dirty water to keep our bodies hydrated, and our crops growing, will surely come home to roost. This is especially true as we let our children ingest all sorts of hidden poisons, assuming, as we are likely to do, that our water is safe and clean. In The Road Ends in Water, Weaver relates the many adventures his testing experiences provided.

CASEY JONES- EPIC OF THE AMERICAN' RAILROAD by FRED J. LEE. Originally published in 1939. FOREWORD: FRED J, LEE has given a full and correct account of the life o my husband and his friend, and it has been my pleasure to give him my unreserved cooperation and direct assistance in the preparation of the book Casey Jones. I have received many curious inquiries from all over the world and have taken part in numerous ceremonies, radio programs and dedicatory exercises in honor of my beloved husband. My chief purpose in the latter years of my life is to tell the world in every way I can how wonderfully he deserved every honor bestowed upon him in life and every honor accorded his memory since his death, 1 do not know as well as some his superior qualifications as a locomotive engineer for which he became so celebrated, but I do know that in personality, character and disposition he had no superior. It is my belief that this volume and the monument at Cayce, Kentucky, sponsored by the Hickman, Kentucky Lions Club and dedicated by Senator Alben Barkley to his memory in 1938 will be, throughout the years to come, the true permanent memorials to Casey Jones. INTRODUCTION: THERE is a wide difference between the saturated steam locomotives of the late nineteenth century and the sleek aluminum, streamlined Diesel and electric engines of today capable of developing speeds up to two hundred miles per hour j but the technique, methods and personalities of the earlier romantic period com prise an essentially important and extremely interesting chapter in the history of the American railroad. From the vast army of workers who were responsible for the actual operation and maintenance of the railroad inthe nineties one name has arisen that will survive in memory as long as the railroad in any form exists. It radiates the spirit of romance and adventure inherent in the American railroad. That name is Casey Jones. There must be some fundamental vital element in any ballad that is accepted as a folk song* The element assumes additional weight and significance when the hero of the ballad was a real living human being. It was such a person who inspired the song that has been sung around the world. The author has gone to every known available source in order that historical accuracy might be pre servedj and has spared no pains to follow every clew that promised to throw light upon the life of Casey Jones, the man. Whenever possible, every story con - cerning him has been verified, and nothing of doubtful authenticity has been retained. An exact chronology has been followed, and although the story is told in fictional form care has been taken not to color the related incidents more than the known facts warranted. The purpose has been to recreate the scenes and make them live again. Most of the characters arc or were real persons, with whose names no liberties have been taken. It is only when names have been for gotten and no known record of them was to be found that fictitious names have been substituted. ...

This book is a collection of true short stories and anecdotes that happened to me over the course of my life. As a college student at the University of Alabama, I witnessed turbulent times during the historical "Civil Rights Era."

My professional career as a geologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers involved ten years on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, as well as interesting assignments in foreign countries.

This book should appeal to geologists, "baby boomers," and anyone interested in true stories about growing up in the '50s, college life in the '60s, and years of adventures as a "wayward" geologist.

John Craig Shaw

Brent admired the chimpanzee he sketched at the zoo. He regarded the animal as contemplative. He was unaware that similar animals in the wilds of Africa were the source of a virus that would lead to his death from AIDS. Brent became infected with HIV from the medicine he infused to treat his hemophilia. At six months of age, his parents were alarmed when they discovered bruises on his chest which led to the discovery of hemophilia. From that moment forward, he received frequent intravenous infusions of concentrate to treat recurrent bleeding episodes. Infusions of the medicine relieved pain and suffering from bleeding. His life seemed normal. Unexpectedly, Brent's life changed after the discovery of HIV contamination of the medicine. The medicine was manufactured from the plasma of paid blood donors. Unbeknownst to Brent, the plasma was polluted with HIV. The SIV in chimpanzees changed to become HIV in humans. But the chimpanzees were not the cause of the transfer of SIV in animals to HIV in humans. The change from SIV in animals to HIV in humans was the result of human activity. The change came about with the production of the hepatitis B vaccine. Who was responsible for the pollution of the hemophilia medicine with HIV and hepatitis viruses? Was Brent's death preventable?

When American explorers crossed the Texas Panhandle, they dubbed it part of the ""Great American Desert."" A ""sea of grass,"" the llano appeared empty, flat, and barely habitable. Contemporary developments - cell phone towers, oil rigs, and wind turbines - have only added to this stereotype. Yet in this lyrical ecomemoir, Shelley Armitage charts a unique rediscovery of the largely unknown land, a journey at once deeply personal and far-reaching in its exploration of the connections between memory, spirit, and place. Armitage begins her narrative with the intention to walk the llano from her family farm thirty meandering miles along the Middle Alamosa Creek to the Canadian River. Along the way, she seeks the connection between her father and one of the area's first settlers, Ysabel Gurule, who built his dugout on the banks of the Canadian. Armitage, who grew up nearby in the small town of Vega, finds this act of walking inseparable from the act of listening and writing. ""What does the land say to us?"" she asks as she witnesses human alterations to the landscape - perhaps most catastrophic the continued drainage of the land's most precious resource, the Ogallala Aquifer. Yet the llano's wonders persist: dynamic mesas and canyons, vast flora and fauna, diverse wildlife, rich histories. Armitage recovers the voices of ancient, Native, and Hispano peoples, their stories interwoven with her own: her father's legacy, her mother's decline, a brother's love. The llano holds not only the beauty of ecological surprises but a renewed realization of kinship in a world ever changing. Reminiscent of the work of Terry Tempest Williams and John McPhee, Walking the Llano is both a celebration of an oft-overlooked region and a soaring testimony to the power of the landscape to draw us into greater understanding of ourselves and others by experiencing a deeper connection with the places we inhabit.

A Leonaur original---First time in print
The life of a nurse in the last days of the Raj
Irene Green's book is a Leonaur first edition-never before in print. Irene was born in Agra, India the child of a European father (born in India to English parents) and a Eurasian (Portuguese/Indian) mother. Although she was of mixed race, unlike her sister who was darker complexioned, she had fair skin and hair. Born in 1906, Irene quickly realised that although she considered herself part of the British Raj and was European in appearance, as an Anglo-Indian she lived between two societies and cultures-she felt she was alienated from one society and was never quite unconditionally accepted by the other. The title of Irene's book takes its inspiration from this abiding fact and within its pages she explains how this impacted on her everyday life as she negotiated the racial prejudices of India in the first decades of the twentieth century. Her fascinating story, of course, has another aspect, for Irene grew to maturity and decided upon a career in nursing. While the issues surrounding her background remained ever present, she has left posterity an essential account, from a unique perspective, of British India at its zenith. A contract to nurse in Peshawar on the North-West Frontier brought her the 1930-31 Frontier Medal and her account of this part of her life makes gripping reading. Irene Green's story is a highly entertaining and compelling one that will be appreciated by all those interested in the last days of the Raj and the difficulties of the mixed race families of India. It is also a delightful story of a young woman's life, full of incident, anecdote, adventure and romance. Highly recommended.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

From an acclaimed Wall Street Journal reporter comes the first biography of the enigmatic leader of the AI revolution, charting his ascent within the tech world as well as his ambitions for this powerful new technology.

On November 30, 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a chatbot that captivated the world with its uncanny ability to hold humanlike conversations. Not even a year later, on November 17, 2023, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was summarily fired on a video call by the company’s board. The firing made headlines around the globe: OpenAI is the leader in the race to build AGI―artificial general intelligence, or AI that can think like a human being―and Altman is the most prominent figure in the field. Yet it was mere days before Altman was back running the company he had co-founded, with most of the directors who voted to fire him themselves removed from the board.

The episode was a demonstration of how quickly the industry is moving, and of Altman’s power to bend reality to his will. In The Optimist, the Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey presents the most detailed account yet of Altman’s rise, from his precocious childhood in St. Louis to his first, failed startup experience; his time as legendary entrepreneur Paul Graham’s protégé and successor as head of Y Combinator, the start-up accelerator where Altman became the premier power broker in Silicon Valley; the founding of OpenAI and his recruitment of a small yet superior team; and his struggle to keep his company at the cutting edge while fending off determined rivals, including Elon Musk, a former friend and now Altman’s bitter opponent.

Hagey conducted more than 250 interviews, with Altman’s family, friends, teachers, mentors, co-founders, colleagues, investors, and portfolio companies, in addition to spending hours with Altman himself. The person who emerges in her portrait is a brilliant dealmaker with a love of risk, who believes in technological progress with an almost religious conviction―yet who sometimes moves too fast for the people around him. With both the promise and peril of AI increasing by the day, Hagey delivers a nuanced, balanced, revelatory account of the individual who is leading us into what he himself has called “the intelligence age.”

Altman is a figure out of Isaac Asimov or Neal Stephenson. Or he is the author himself: if it feels as though we have all collectively stepped into a science fiction short story, it is Altman who is writing it.