This collection of narratives by four individuals who abandoned Mormonism--"apostates," as Brigham Young and other Latter-day Saint leaders labeled them--provides an overview of dissent from the beginning of the religion to the early twentieth century and presents a wide range of disaffection with the faith or its leaders. Instead of focusing on a single disheartened individual or sect, this collection includes dissenters with different motivations and a wide range of experiences. Some devout Mormon converts, finding Brigham Young's implementation of the Kingdom of God disillusioning, turned their backs on religion in general. Yet most never lost their love for their fellow Mormons or their longing for the ideal society they had dreamed of building. Newspaper articles, personal letters, journals, and sermons provide context for the testaments collected here--those of George Armstrong Hicks, Charles Derry, Ann Gordge, and Brigham Young Hampton. The four range from those who felt Brigham Young had not lived up to the precepts of Mormonism, to "backouts" who gave up and left Utah, to a plural wife who constructed a rich fantasy world, to a devoted Latter-day Saint who gave his all only to feel betrayed by his leaders. Young warnedone dissenting group that they were "not playing with shadows," but with "the voice and the hand of the Almighty"; accordingly, many dissenters feared for their livelihoods, and some, for their lives. Historians will value the range of beliefs, opinions, complaints, hopes, and fears expressed in these carefully annotated life histories. An antidote to anti-Mormon sensationalism, these detailed chronicles of deeply personal journeys add subtlety and a human dimension to our understanding of the Mormon past.

Growing up a privileged upper middle class kid in New York City, Jeff Nichols should have had it all. Instead, with a litany of learning disabilities and conditions ranging from ADD and dyslexia to Tourette's, there was no smooth sailing for him. After bouncing from elite private school to elite private school, he lands at Hobart College, where he drinks everything that is offered to him and tries every drug known to man, earning the nickname "Spicoli" (after the stoner from Fast Times at Ridgemont High). Miraculously, he graduates and is offered gainful employment at Merrill Lynch, where he manages to last a year until being unceremoniously dumped with the words, "You are weird, incompetent, and often stink of booze." And that's when Jeff discovers AA . . . mainly as an ideal forum for working on material for a burgeoning stand-up career and meeting girls. His string of disastrous odd jobs (dictionary salesman, Broadway usher, substitute teacher in NYC public schools) ultimately leads him to discover his heart's desire: charter fishing. When Jeff decides to document his misadventures and is turned down by every literary agent in town, he perseveres. Things then take a crazy turn when a leading indie production company buys rights to his unpublished manuscript, and his life as a loveable screw-up is brought to the screen. Hilarious, kooky, and oddly inspiring, Trainwreckis proof that a life disastrously lived can still turn out beyond your wildest imaginings.

Sam Morgenstern's classic anthology, now thoroughly updated with new selections and commentary reflecting recent music scholarship.

If you are a gardener, groundsman, smallholder or farmer and have a 'mole problem', then this book will be of enormous help to you. Pest-control books normally only devote a paragraph or two to moles and rarely cover the subject in detail. This volume is very different and is probably one of the most comprehensive books ever written on mole trapping. Throughout the book, Jeff Nicholls, a professional mole catcher, reveals his enormous respect for the mole and emphasizes the absulute need to control these rarely seen animals using humane and traditional methods that have been proven to work effectively. At the outset the author discusses the natural history of the mole and explains its characteristics and behaviour, an understanding of which is essential if successful catching techniques are to be applied. He then discusses in detail the traditional and humane methods he uses in different terrain and weather conditions, considers how to locate mole runs, describes all the different types of traps that can be employed and explains how to set the traps correctly.

For centuries, man and mole have taken from the soil in their bid to survive. This has resulted in bitter conflict between these adversaries and one that continues today. Whatever the season, whatever the weather, wherever the mole! Mole catchers have worked to remove moles. Journey through history with the mole catchers of old as you learn of their lives, their work, and their struggle to survive with the pressure of change. Learn of the demands and needs inflicted upon the mole and how it adapts to survive, discover how it exploits the efforts of man, and how they deal with his plight to rid the land of them. Follow Jeff Nicholls through a typical year in the life of a mole catcher and explore the secrets of success to be mole free. Understand the relationship between man and mole both in alliance and conflict, and unearth your passion towards the little man in black. Jeff Nicholls has previously written books on mole catching but this is his most personal composition, providing the knowledge to compete on a level playing field and fully understand the rules of engagement. It will be a mole catcher's handbook for many years to come containing everything you ever need to know.