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Books > Fiction > True stories
Winner of the 2022 British Academy Prize for Global Cultural
Understanding. Novelist Alia Trabucco Zeran has long been
fascinated not only with the root causes of violence against women,
but by those women who have violently rejected the domestic and
passive roles they were meant by their culture to inhabit. Choosing
as her subject four iconic homicides perpetrated by Chilean women
in the twentieth century, she spent years researching this
brilliant work of narrative nonfiction detailing not only the
troubling tales of the murders themselves, but the story of how
society, the media and men in power reacted to these killings,
painting their perpetrators as witches, hysterics, or femmes
fatales . . . That is, either evil or out of control. Corina Rojas,
Rosa Faundez, Carolina Geel and Teresa Alfaro all committed murder.
Their crimes not only led to substantial court decisions, but gave
rise to multiple novels, poems, short stories, paintings, plays,
songs and films, produced and reproduced throughout the last
century. In When Women Kill, we are provided with timelines of
events leading up to and following their killings, their
apprehension by the authorities, their trials and their
representation in the media throughout and following the judicial
process. Running in parallel with this often horrifying testimony
are the diaries kept by Trabucco Zeran while she worked on her
research, addressing the obstacles and dilemmas she encountered as
she tackled this discomfiting yet necessary project.
'Nobody knew the truth. For all those years while people judged me,
I protected those closest to me. Now it's time for the real story
to be told. It's time for healing and forgiveness.' Tressa
Middleton made UK history when she became Britain's youngest mum in
2006 aged just 12 years and 8 months. Her case provoked shock and
outrage - but the truth behind the headlines was far sadder than
anyone could ever have imagined. Born into a life of poverty and
neglect, Tressa was forced to grow up fast when she taken into care
at just four years old. She was returned to her mother's chaotic
world but by the age of seven, she was being abused by her own
brother and at 11 years old she fell pregnant with his child. For
years she kept his dark secret in an attempt to hold her family
together until the truth threatened to destroy her completely. In
the years since the birth, Tressa has gone through more pain and
turmoil than most adults experience in a lifetime - yet today she
survives a brave, strong and compassionate young woman. Now, for
the first time, Tressa Middleton tells her own harrowing yet
poignant story - a story of hope, forgiveness and above all, love.
Now a major motion picture starring Johnny Depp A New York Times
Bestseller A Boston Globe Bestseller An ABA Indie Bestseller James
Whitey" Bulger became one of the most ruthless gangsters in US
history, and all because of an unholy deal he made with a childhood
friend. John Connolly a rising star in the Boston FBI office,
offered Bulger protection in return for helping the Feds eliminate
Boston's Italian mafia. But no one offered Boston protection from
Whitey Bulger, who, in a blizzard of gangland killings, took over
the city's drug trade. Whitey's deal with Connolly's FBI spiraled
out of control to become the biggest informant scandal in FBI
history. Black Mass is a New York Times and Boston Globe
bestseller, written by two former reporters who were on the case
from the beginning. It is an epic story of violence, double-cross,
and corruption at the centre of which are the black hearts of two
old friends whose lives unfolded in the darkness of permanent
midnight.
In book two of the Epic MADE Trilogy; AC, Manny and Duck come face
to face with Sabrina's kidnappers. Nina, Denna, Loon and Big Will
have bigger shoes to fill in their new roles, while Chief Espinoza
suspicions escalates as Sin City crime rise's along with Hector's
body count. Monica's back and has plans on picking up from where
she left off. Cash flow is at an all-time high with Coop at the
helms as Crime continues to pay big for the new Sin City Boss. The
recipe of Sex, Drugs and Murder prove to be the perfect mix, as one
family falls and the next Boss is donned; King of the Devils
playground.
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and
movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman
as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has
probably been written about more than any other woman of the
nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely
obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and
exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the
Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of
her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine.
Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary,
orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she
traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and
drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South
Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha
Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose.
Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood's saloons and
theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a
prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those
of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the
down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn't get enough of
either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers.
Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W.
Etulain's account begins with a biography that offers new
information on Calamity's several "husbands" (including one she
legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be
the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain
discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the
stories that have shaped Calamity Jane's reputation. Some Calamity
portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a
husband and family. As the 2004-2006 HBO series "Deadwood" makes
clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a
heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives
on--raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.""
Richie Alsop MI6 teams up with Zarah CIA who leads Agent Blue into
to facing up to his responsibility after his pursuit through East
Side New York of the Notorious Chino Servile. Agent Blues senior
Mom, finds the location of Agent Red. Reg Carter after uncovering
the extent of his treachery. Taking the two Agents Richie, and
Zarah to a new height with a mission that leads them to a chilly
location in Switzerland. The two agents track down Carter. This
action packed thriller takes on an unexpected twist
An "intriguing and accessible" (Publishers Weekly) interpretation
of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history's greatest and most
fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and
how he was challenged by science deniers. "We really need this
story now, because we're living through the next chapter of science
denial" (Bill McKibben). Galileo's story may be more relevant today
than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises-such as
minimizing the dangers of climate change-because the science behind
these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo
encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on
careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted
conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time.
Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books
were forbidden by church authorities. Astrophysicist and
bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific
expertise and uses his "gifts as a great storyteller" (The
Washington Post) to provide a "refreshing perspective" (Booklist)
into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos
and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence
wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant
figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every
educated person should know science as well as literature, and
insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his
books in Italian rather than Latin. Galileo was put on trial with
his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific
convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and
all of those who respect science-which, as Livio reminds us in this
"admirably clear and concise" (The Times, London) book, remains
threatened everyday.
In 1819, a young man outwitted death at the hands of John and
Lavinia Fisher and sparked the hunt for Charleston's most notorious
serial killers. Former homicide investigator Bruce Orr follows the
story of the Fishers, from the initial police raid on their Six
Mile Inn with its reportedly grisly cellar to the murderous
couple's incarceration and execution at the squalid Old City Jail.
Yet there still may be more sinister deeds left unpunished an
overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials and documents only recently
come to light all suggest that there is more to the tale. Orr
uncovers the mysteries and debunks the myths behind the infamous
legend of the nation's first convicted female serial killer.
"An engrossing microcosm of the internet's Wild West years" (Kirkus
Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the
incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man
who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an
all-out war for control for what still powers the internet today:
love and sex.In 1994, visionary entrepreneur Gary Kremen used a
$2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com.
Only five percent of Americans were using the internet at the time,
and even fewer were looking online for love. He quickly bought the
Sex.com domain too, betting the combination of love and sex would
help propel the internet into the mainstream. Imagine Kremen's
surprise when he learned that someone named Stephen Michael Cohen
had stolen the rights to Sex.com and was already making millions
that Kremen would never see. Thus follows the wild true story of
Kremen's and Cohen's decade-long battle for control. In The Players
Ball, author and journalist David Kushner provides a front seat to
these must-read Wild West years online, when innovators and outlaws
battled for power and money. This cat-and-mouse game between a
genius and a con man changed the way people connect forever, and is
key to understanding the rise and future of the online world.
"Kushner delivers a fast-paced, raunchy tale of sex, drugs, and
dial-up." --Publishers Weekly
'Extremely compelling' - THE GUARDIAN 'It's a fascinating read...
Buy the book! Buy the book!' - JO GOOD, BBC RADIO LONDON
'Searing... funny, eloquent and honest' - PSYCHOLOGIES
'Remarkable... I hope this book finds a wide readership' -
WASHINGTON POST 'A beautifully-rendered memoir' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
'Often as chilling as Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, but also full of
so much inner and external turbulence that it reminded me at times
of The Bourne Identity and Memento. Readers will root for Lily,
even when she is attempting to run away from the realities and
sometimes authorities chasing her.' - HUFFPOST UK 'A harrowingly
honest memoir' - KIRKUS REVIEWS' Because We Are Bad is an
emotional, challenging read. Lily takes us deep into the heart of
the illness but she is also a deft writer, and even the darkest
moments are peppered with wit and wry observations.' - JAMES LLOYD,
OCD-UK As a child, Lily Bailey knew she was bad. By the age of 13,
she had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and
spied upon her classmates. Only by performing a series of secret
routines could she correct her wrongdoing. But it was never enough.
She had a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it came
with a bizarre twist. This true story lights up the workings of the
mind like Mark Haddon or Matt Haig. Anyone who wants to know about
OCD, and how to fight back, should read this book. It is ideal for
anyone who liked books by fellow OCD sufferers Bryony Gordon (Mad
Girl, Glorious Rock Bottom), Rose Cartwright (Pure), and David Adam
(The Man Who Couldn't Stop: The Truth About OCD). EXTRACT Chapter
1: Chesbury Hospital From the outside, Chesbury Hospital in London
looks like a castle that got lost and was plonked down in the wrong
place. It is long and white, with battlements and arched windows
from which princesses could call down, in the chapter before they
are saved. But it's not entirely believable. Where the portcullis
should be, there are giant glass doors. Walk through them, and you
could be in a five-star hotel. The man at reception wears a suit
and tie and asks if he can help, like he's going to book you a
table. A glass cupboard showcases the gifts sold by reception: bath
oils, rejuvenating face cream, and Green & Black's chocolate,
just in case you arrive empty-handed to see a crazy relative and
need an icebreaker. The walls, lampshades, window fittings, and
radiators are all a similar, unnameable colour, somewhere between
brown, yellow, and cream. A looping gold chandelier is suspended by
a heavy chain; the fireplace has marble columns. The members of
staff have busy, preoccupied faces-until they come close to you,
when their mouths break into wide, fixed smiles. Compared with the
Harley Street clinic, there is a superior choice of herbal teas.
When the police arrived after the escape, Mum cried a lot; then she
shouted. Now she has assumed a sense of British resolve. She
queries: 'Wild Jasmine, Purple Rose, or Earl Grey?' A nurse checks
through my bag, which has been lugged upstairs. She takes the razor
(fair enough), tweezers (sort of fair enough), a bottle of Baileys
lying forgotten in the handbag (definitely fair enough), and
headphones (definitely not fair enough). There would never be a
hanging: far too much mess. The observation room is next to the
nurses' station; they keep you there until you are no longer a risk
to yourself. It is 10th January, 2013, and I am 19. ABOUT THE
WRITER Lily Bailey is a model, writer, and mental health
campaigner. As a child and teenager, Lily suffered from severe
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She kept her illness private,
until the widespread misunderstanding of the disorder spurred her
into action. She began campaigning for better awareness and
understanding of OCD, and has tried to stop companies making
products that trivialise the illness.
In December 1924, a 21-year-old millionaire orphan, William "Billy"
McClintock, died of an unusually virulent form of typhoid fever. He
was mourned by his financee, Isabelle Pope, who sought
unsuccessfully to rally her love by marrying him on his deathbed.
Shortly after Billy's funeral, questions arose as to the cause of
death, with insinuations of foul play. After reaching his majority
and inheriting his estate in April, McClintock had signed a will
drafted by one of his guardians, lawyer William D. Shepherd--a will
which left everything to Shepherd, but only if Billy died before
his planned February 1925 wedding to Ms. Pope. Ultimately, Shepherd
and his wife Julie were accused of killing not only Billy
McClintock, but Billy's mother and a doctor friend of the family.
This case caused a major sensation in Jazz Age Chicago, a society
fascinated with murder and mayhem. When the body of Billy's mother
was exhumed after sixteen years, it was found to contain enough
mercury to have killed two people. The Shepherds were the only
likely sources. Three physicians came forward to say that Shepherd
had approached them about obtaining typhoid germs. Yet, Shepherd
would beat the charges of Billy's murder; in fact, no one would
ever be charged in the death of Billy's mother. Was there a
murder--or two? Who stood to gain the most from these deaths?
McConnell recreates a slice of life among Chicago's elite and the
colorful characters who may or may not have sought their own piece
of the fatal fortune--so-called because its inheritors almost
always died within two years of receiving it.
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