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Books > Fiction > True stories
An intimate account of one family's astonishing bravery in the face
of brutality, as well as perhaps the outside world's only real
glimpse of what it is like to live inside the terror of Mugabe's
Zimbabwe Ben Freeth has an extraordinary story to tell. Like that
of many white farmers, his family's land was "reclaimed" by
Mugabe's government for redistribution--but Ben's family fought
back. Appealing to international law, they instigated a suit
against Mugabe's government in the SADC, the Southern African
equivalent of NATO. The case was deferred time and again while
Mugabe's men applied political pressure to have the case thrown
out. But after Freeth and his parents-in-law were abducted and
beaten within inches of death in 2008, the SADC deemed any further
delay to be an obstruction of justice. The case was heard, and
successful on all counts. But the story doesn't end there--in 2009,
the family farm was burned to the ground. The fight for justice in
Zimbabwe is far from over; this book is for anyone who wants to see
into the heart of one of today's hardest places, and how human
dignity flourishes even in the most adverse circumstances.
Ellen Phipps was married to a sociopathic lawyer. When the police
wanted to interview him about a murder Ellen was terrified. This
memoir describes how she kept herself and her daughter, Anne, safe
from her increasingly unstable husband. The South African laws on
marriage prevented Ellen from extricating herself and Anne safely
without his permission. Yet Ellen managed to live an unusual and
full life which is shown in actual excerpts culled from some
documents. By sharing her story we are shown ways of ensuring that
each trap set is avoided.
In March 2012, eccentric antiques dealer Raymond Scott was found
dead in his prison cell, apparently after having cut his own
throat. It was the final tragic act in one of the most bizarre
criminal cases ever held in England. The story begins in 1998 after
a rare copy of a Shakespeare First Folio was stolen from Durham
University just 10 miles from where Scott lived. For a decade the
authorities had been stumped as to what had happened to it until
Raymond Scott strolled into the famous Folger Library in Washington
DC to have it authenticated for sale. Printed in 1623, the First
Folio is widely regarded as the most important non-secular printed
book in the English language and one in pristine condition (like
the Durham copy had been when stolen) could be worth millions. The
flamboyantly-attired Scott had a taste for Ferraris and
Lamborghinis yet had spent most of his time living with his aged
mother, Hannah, on social security payments in a modest home in
Washington, Tyne on Wear. Scott, 55 when he died, wanted the money
from selling the First Folio to live the high life with his
beautiful 21-year-old Cuban dancer girlfriend he met during
frequent trips to Havana. In one of the many strange twists, he
claimed he obtained the book from a friend in Cuba who was a former
bodyguard to President Fidel Castro. Scott, who never took the
stand, was eventually jailed for eight years for handling stolen
goods but was cleared of stealing the First Folio. For 18 months,
from just after his arrest to his death, Scott conducted a series
of interviews with reporter Mike Kelly during which never heard
before evidence was revealed including the naming of an alleged
second suspect. Even after Scott was jailed they kept in touch via
frequent correspondence. Shakespeare & Love reveals the true
story behind the theft of the Durham Shakespeare First Folio and
uncovers for the first time the man dubbed by the press as 'Bling
Lear'.
Demonic possession. Exorcism. Haunted Houses. Satanic Rituals. For
most people this is the stuff of nightmares, horror movies,
folklore, and superstition. For New York City police Sergeant Ralph
Sarchie, it's as real--and dangerous--as midnight patrol . . . A
sixteen-year NYPD veteran, Ralph Sarchie works out of the 46th
Precinct in New York's South Bronx. But it is his other job that he
calls "the Work": investigating cases of demonic possession and
assisting in the exorcisms of humanity's most ancient--and most
dangerous--foes. Now he discloses for the first time his
investigations into incredible true crimes and inhuman evil that
were never explained, solved, or understood except by Sarchie and
his partner. Schooled in the rituals of exorcism, and an eyewitness
to the reality of demonic possession, Ralph Sarchie has documented
a riveting chronicle of the inexplicable that gives a new shape to
the shadows in the dark.
In "Deliver Us from Evil," he takes readers into the very hierarchy
of a hell on earth to expose the grisly rituals of a Palo Mayombe
priest; a young girl whose innocence is violated by an incubus; a
home invaded by the malevolent spirit of a supposedly murdered
nineteenth-century bride; the dark side of a couple who were
literally, the neighbors from hell; and more. Ralph Sarchie's
revelations are a powerful and disturbing documented link between
the true-crime realities of life and the blood-chilling ice-grip of
a supernatural terror.
The successful evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from
Belgium and northern France through the port of Dunkirk and across
adjacent beaches is rightly regarded as one of the most significant
episodes in the nation's long history, although Winston Churchill
sagely cautioned in Parliament on 4th June that the country "must
be careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a
victory. Wars are not won by evacuations". Nevertheless, the
Dunkirk evacuation, Operation "Dynamo", was a victory and, like
many others before it, it was a victory of sea power. The Royal
Navy achieved what it set out to do, despite grievous losses, in
the teeth of determined opposition. It denied an aggressive and
ruthless continental power a potentially war-winning total victory
that could have changed the direction of civilization for
generations to come. The loss of the main British field army would
have enfeebled the nation militarily and psychologically, prompting
political upheaval, potentially resulting in a negotiated peace
with Nazi Germany on unfavourable terms dictated by Adolf Hitler.
The undeniable success of the evacuation was certainly a crucial
naval and military achievement but its positive effect on the
nation's morale was just as important, instilling confidence in the
eventual outcome of the war, whatever the immediate future might
hold, and creating optimism in the face of adversity that added
"the Dunkirk spirit" to the English language. This edition of
Dunkirk, Operation "Dynamo" 26th May - 4th June 1940, An Epic of
Gallantry, publishes the now declassified Battle Summary No 41, a
document once classified as 'Restricted' and produced in small
numbers only for official government purposes. This Summary, The
Evacuation from Dunkirk, lodged in the archive at Britannia Royal
Naval College, Dartmouth, is one of the very few surviving copies
in existence and records events in minute detail, being written
soon after the evacuation using the words of the naval officers
involved. This makes it a unique record and a primary source for
the history of Operation "Dynamo" from mid-May 1940 until its
conclusion on 4th June. The original document has been supplemented
in this title by a Foreword written by Admiral Sir James
Burnell-Nugent, formerly the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief,
Fleet, whose father commanded one of the destroyers sunk off
Dunkirk when rescuing troops. In addition, there is a modern
historical introduction and commentary, putting the evacuation into
context and this edition is enhanced by the inclusion of a large
number of previously unpublished photographs of the beaches, town,
and harbour of Dunkirk taken immediately after the conclusion of
the operation, together with others illustrating many of the ships
that took part. Britannia Naval Histories of World War II - an
important source in understanding the critical naval actions of the
period.
During the last few decades, corrupt financial practices were
increasingly being monitored in many countries around the globe.
The past few decades have been eventful for these issues. Today,
tackling money laundering and terrorism financing are considered
key issues in developed and developing countries alike. Eradication
of money laundering and terrorism financing through a holistic
approach of awareness, prevention, and enforcement is a current
need. It has enabled the birth of new regulatory regimes based on
strict compliance, robust processes, and technology. One of the
many problems with this is the lack of general awareness about all
these issues among various stakeholders including researchers and
practitioners. Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Global
Financial Systems deepens the discourse about money laundering,
terrorism financing, and risk management in a modern-day
environment. It provides a fascinating and invaluable guide for
understanding the theory, practice, and cases of these topics.
Split into two sections, the first being money laundering and
terrorism financing and the second being financial governance and
risk management, the chapters create comprehensive knowledge on
these acts of crime in the financial industry by defining the
crimes themselves, the many challenges and impacts, and potential
solutions. This book is ideal for government officials, financial
professionals, policymakers, academicians, business professionals,
managers, IT specialists, researchers, and students.
Clarence van Buuren is met 'n geheim galg toe. Vyftig jaar later
probeer Chris Marnewick hierdie geheim oplos. Van Buuren is in 1956
skuldig bevind aan die moord op Myrna Joy Aken en tereggestel.
Vroue het buite die hof in lang rye gewag om die verhoor by te woon
en het mekaar vertrap wanneer die deure oopgegaan het. Van Buuren
het met van hulle flirteer tydens die verhoor, en het tot op die
einde skuld ontken. Die saak was opspraakwekkend om verskeie redes:
'n Siener het die lyk na 'n seance opgespoor, Van Buren en Aken was
lovers, maar die lyk is seksueel vermink. Inligting dui daarop dat
Van Buuren 'n narsissistiese psigopaat was en 'n sadis wat veral
vroue geteister en gemartel het. 'n Emosionele vampier. 'n
Sadistiese seksmoordenaar. Maar daar was niks hiervan in die
hofsaak nie. Ook nie in die koerante nie.
"Stephen Senise's... newly published study of the case, offers the
most important clue not just as to whodunit, but why." TIMES OF
ISRAEL "fascinating" - Gareth Williams, editor RIPPEROLOGIST, The
Journal Of Jack The Ripper, East End & Victorian Studies
"remarkable" - APN NEWS & MEDIA, Australia "painstaking
research" - JEWISH CHRONICLE, London Did Jack The Ripper flee
London for the colony of New South Wales at the height of the
world's most notorious serial-murder rampage? Was the deadly attack
on Alice McKenzie in 1889 his last bid in pursuit of what was, not
just a brazen killing spree, but a macabre, politically motivated
publicity stunt? Is it conceivable that a maniac took it upon
himself to try and shut down the flow of Jewish refugees spilling
into London's East End, just as the area was being thrust into the
political spotlight? Journalist Stephen Senise, explores these
questions and the neighbourhoods of old Whitechapel to discover
that by February 1888 community tensions were so high that two
parliamentary select committees of investigation were dispatched to
advise the House of Commons and the House of Lords on the social
and industrial tensions tearing a community apart. Enter an
opportunist hell-bent on broadcasting a hateful message... a
madman, ready to unleash an 'Autumn of Terror'.
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