Jada Patrice Howard captures the ups and downs of her life in "Through These Eyes," the second volume of her memoir. This heartfelt, personal tale recalls her journey through the life experiences she has had in recent years.

She recounts her joy at finally being chosen to attend a live taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago. Follow her as she prepares for the trip of a lifetime, traveling from Washington, DC, to Chicago to attend the show; share her delight as she has the time of her life at Oprah's show.

She also shares tales of her work as a school bus driver, her brief move to North Carolina to help family members, and her attendance of Dr. Dorothy Height's funeral.

"Through These Eyes" explores the nature of people and their relationships and relates experiences of happiness, sadness, joy, and pain-life experiences that we can learn from.

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.

Fritz Muller (1821-1897), though not as well known as his colleague Charles Darwin, belongs in the cohort of great nineteenthcentury naturalists. In Darwin's Man in Brazil, David A. West recovers Muller's legacy. He describes the close intellectual kinship between Muller and Darwin, detailing a lively correspondence spanning seventeen years, in which the two men often discussed new research topics and exchanged ideas. Darwin frequently praised Muller's powers of observation and interpretation, counting him among those scientists whose opinions he valued most. A free thinker who refused to sign the Christian oaths required of teachers in Prussia, Muller emigrated to Brazil in 1852 to become a pioneer farmer researching tropical biology. In the 1860s he reorganized his biological research in order to test Darwin's theory of evolution. Conducting field studies to answer questions generated from a Darwinian perspective, Muller was unique among naturalists testing Darwin's theory of natural selection because he investigated an enormous diversity of plants and animals rather than a relatively narrow range of taxa. Despite the importance and scope of his work, however, Muller is known for relatively few of his discoveries. West remedies this oversight, chronicling the life and work of this remarkable and overlooked man of science.

In 1978, Cindy Kunzendorf discovered that she had Hodgkin's Disease. Over the next thirty years, she would go through three different bouts of cancer, surviving every one. Her family memories and her appreciation of how precious life is helped her through this difficult time in her life. She was able to turn her experience into a positive one. During these tough times, Cindy met two amazing women, Kandi Kaliher and Diana Marks, who both suffered from the same disease. Kandi taught Cindy the importance of sacrifice and kindness on a daily basis, while Diana helped to teach Cindy about life and how it should be lived. Although such a terrible ordeal brought them together, the three women found strength in a positive and fulfilling friendship. Cindy Kunzendorf lives in Chicago, Illinois where she is the General Manager of a Pharmacy operation for a National Home Infusion company. Working with patients sent home from the hospital that need intravenous medications, she manages all aspects of care they receive. She has been writing poetry for family and friends for the past ten years, but was inspired to write this novel after the death of her best friend. Finding Rainbows is the true story of her battle with Hodgkin's Disease.

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

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.

"I found it (the story) at first sad and tragic, all the more to be uplifted by its outcome. What better ever proof of a miracle, of the value of family support, of the power of faith, of the hand of God, of the unpredictability of life. All in all it's a wonderful piece to read. What's more, you make readers care, because the woman (Jane Williams) and her family, including the convincing and articulate narrator, Dr. Henry, become real people in readers' minds, people they know well enough to worry about, to cheer for. I came to feel, thanks to Dr. Joel Hilaire's sharp and rich writing, that I was one of those people, close to the family, involved in every down-and-up event. To my mind you achieved exactly what you were after with this extensive true-to-life story."--Lou Fisher, from Long Ridge Writers Group

The F. A. N. Ys-first anywhere
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was a female organisation formed in 1907. Its aim was not only to provide competent first aid on the battlefield put also to train its members to effectively operate and live independently and be able to transport the wounded to field hospitals. So F. A. N. Y nurses were skilled drivers or horsewomen and were often more than usually skilled in outdoor pursuits-such as camping-something that differentiated them from normal nursing staff. When the First World War began the organisation immediately volunteered itself for service on the continent, but was initially rebuffed by the British military establishment who, in the spirit of the times, believed a woman's place was at home and not at war. However, the Belgian and French authorities welcomed them with enthusiasm and the F. A. N. Ys became essential to allied servicemen both as medical carers and as ambulance drivers. Before long the resourceful women of the organisation, as well as providing their first aid and ambulance services, were running hospitals, soup kitchens and canteens and couriering food and clothing to the front lines. By 1915 the British army command came to recognise the value of these indomitable woman and began to work more closely with the organisation and by 1916 F. A. N. Ys were working in the field as mechanics. Old prejudices had been broken down as a matter of necessity and there can be little doubt that the activities of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry-and similar women's organisations-them did much to erode prejudices and contribute towards the cause of women's suffrage. This special Leonaur edition, released to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, combines two remarkable books for reader interest and good value. Each contains a first hand account by a F. A. N. Y serving on the Western Front, and both illustrate not only the incredible work these women did under the most dangerous circumstances, but also provide testimony to the resolution and courage of those who would change the status of women in western society forever.
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.

Author Dr. Nelly Maseda often wonders how she became successful, but her brothers didn't. She wonders how she survived a childhood raised by a single Dominican mother on public assistance who suffered from severe mood swings, rage, promiscuous sexual behavior, and cycles of depression. While Maseda pursued her degree at Cornell University, her brothers and cousins entered into a world of substance abuse and its related criminal activities and violence.

In Strangers in the Night, Maseda looks inside the dynamics of a family and describes the life of her mother, Nena-her early years in the Dominican Republic, immigration to the United States in 1959, her new life in New York City, and raising her children against the backdrop of rage, depression, and a questionable home life. She also shares the trajectory of her two brothers' lives to show that lessons can be learned from their experiences.

Maseda tells her mother's story from the perspective of her profession as a pediatrician to communicate to patients and others that we now live in a time where help exists to undo the damage that negative, early life experiences can do to minds and lives.

"As Normal as Possible" is the story of breast cancer from a caregiver's perspective. Ray Hall was the caregiver to his wife, Brenda, from her first diagnosis in 1996 to her passing in 2008. It tells of their journey through treatments, the effects of those treatments on their lives and the many medical evaluations she encountered through their ordeal with this dreaded disease. The story of the cancer and its issues is intertwined with the story of her life during their years together.
Ray wanted to tell this story because it helped him with the devastation of her being gone and often when a celebrity is diagnosed with this disease it becomes a huge story and is splashed all over the headlines, which is as it should be. Brenda Hall was not a celebrity known by the public by any stretch of the imagination; as a matter of fact she avoided the spotlight at all costs. She was a celebrity to her family and friends, the people who were part of their everyday lives. But, she was one of the thousands of ordinary women living ordinary lives who are diagnosed with this disease.
"As Normal as Possible" is Ray's loving tribute to his wife and their life together

A portion of the proceeds from all sales will go to fund breast cancer research.

In 1973, Dr. Boer created the Solar One house, the first house to convert sunlight into electricity and heat. His leadership made a lasting impact on science, engineering, and the solar industry. "The Life of the Solar Pioneer Karl Wolfgang Boer" describes the life of one of the most influential and recognized solar energy pioneers. It is a must read for anyone interested in the modern development of solar energy, Boer's dynamic life as one of the key movers in the field, and his world authority in CdS (Cadmium sulfide).

It provides rare insight into the personal life of a scientist growing up in turbulent postwar Berlin. After his emigration to the USA and his transformation as a leader in solar energy, he set the direction for the future in significant ways:

Bridged the divide between academia and industry
Wrote over 350 science publications, dozens of books, and patents
Created the most successful international solid state physics journal
Promoted worldwide implementation of solar energy

A DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Spare Parts is a fascinating read filled with adventure, delight and surprise' RAHUL JANDIAL, surgeon author of 'Life on a Knife's Edge' 'This is a joyful romp through a fascinating slice of medical history' WENDY MOORE, author of 'The Knife Man' _______________________________________________________________ How did an architect help pioneer blood transfusion in the 1660s? Why did eighteenth-century dentists buy the live teeth of poor children? And what role did a sausage skin and an enamel bath play in making kidney transplants a reality? We think of transplant surgery as one of the medical wonders of the modern world. But transplant surgery is as ancient as the pyramids, with a history more surprising than we might expect. Paul Craddock takes us on a journey - from sixteenth-century skin grafting to contemporary stem cell transplants - uncovering stories of operations performed by unexpected people in unexpected places. Bringing together philosophy, science and cultural history, Spare Parts explores how transplant surgery constantly tested the boundaries between human, animal and machine, and continues to do so today. Witty, entertaining and at times delightfully macabre, Spare Parts shows us that the history - and future - of transplant surgery is tied up with questions about not only who we are, but also what we are, and what we might become. . .

When Melissa's gynecologist recommends she get a test specifically for women with a history of cancer in their families, she agrees. With seventeen immediate family members having had the disease, she knows she might not be happy with the results. But nothing can prepare Melissa for the outcome: She tests eighty-seven percent positive for breast cancer and forty-four percent positive for ovarian cancer, both by the age of forty. She faces a twenty percent chance of the cancer recurring in less than four years if she opts for chemotherapy and radiation. Those aren't good odds, and Melissa makes a brave decision: She has both breasts removed and goes through the process of breast reconstruction. In "Perky Mutant, " she shares how she made tough decisions, how surgeries affected her body, and what helped her get through the recovery process. She also includes week-by-week progressive photos to help other women going through the breast reconstruction process. With a cast of characters by her side that includes her husband, "Studly," Melissa somehow maintains her humor, wit, and hope. An inspirational story, "Perky Mutant" will help patients, their friends and family members learn, cope and laugh.