Part geographical wandering, part New Zealand history, and part cultural study, this narrative recounts one man's personal journey into the world of birds and birdwatching. Written by an award-winning journalist and with black and white photographs taken by Major Geoffrey Buddle, it traces the fascinating history of people ensnared, captivated, and entranced by birds. Views: 18
Coco is a successful writer, happily married, with no mortgage and a teenage son, Rosencrantz. Life seems sweet until husband Daniel gives her an iPhone for Christmas (he always used to buy her jewellery) and announces he has accepted a job in America without telling her. Their marriage disintegrates when she finds him in bed with a younger woman. Coco throws them out and gets very drunk. Waking up the next morning on the bathroom floor she realises she is booked to do a radio interview to promote her novel. Coco, still drunk, makes an on-air joke about the head of an influential Television book club. Her novel is withdrawn and pulped. Her nightmare mother-in law is evicted from her nursing home and comes to stay, and Rosencrantz is mistakenly held on a drugs charge whilst visiting Daniel. Coco's life is transformed when Angie a fearsome literary agent signs her. She also acquires a local allotment, not to grow plants but to get close to Adam, the dashing hunk with the firm produce...Read the emails, which tell the comic tale of her picking up the pieces. Views: 18
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the American Merchant Marine went into a terrible and tragic decline, and sailors were forced to serve under conditions that were little better than serfdom.
Seamen were exploited in wholesale fashion, disfranchised of almost all their civil and human rights, and brutally punished for even minor offenses. Successful skippers had turned into slave drivers, cracking down on the sailors, sometimes even murdering their “hands.” Though captains were legally prohibited from flogging their crews, they did not hesitate to wield belaying pins, marlin spikes, or their bare fists.
The seamen’s lot became so horrible in this period that entire crews frequently jumped ship when a vessel came into port. One result of this was that new crews had to be kidnaped, crimped, or shanghaied from the unsuspecting populace of the ports.
These “impressed” or “hobo” crews were still further conspired against. They often had their wages stolen from them; they were poorly fed and clothed. Their lives became “hell afloat and purgatory ashore.”
In this way what had been our “first and finest employ” in colonial days was turned into a disreputable profession—one that was classed with criminals and prostitutes.
Richard H. Dillon, author of Embarcadero, gives us a frightful picture of the seamen’s lot in this tragic era. He describes in detail daily life aboard those hell-ships which set records in the passage from Frisco to China, but on whose decks fresh blood of the crew was found every day of the voyage.
One of the most infamous of all these vessels was the Challenge whose skipper, Captain Robert H. (“Murderin’ Bob” or “Bully”) Waterman, was eventually put on trial in San Francisco for murder, theft, unjust assault, brutality, and thirteen other crimes against his crew. Dillon offers a complete picture of Waterman and reveals all the details of his famous trial and punishment.
He also provides a series of portraits of other captains who rivaled “Bully” in their brutality and sadism, and describes how they in their turn were brought to justice.
Dillon writes of those who attempted to defend seamen when they were most forgotten by the public conscience. Such men as the Reverend Lyman Beecher of Boston; Samuel C. Damon, the seamen’s beloved chaplain at Honolulu; the Frisco street preacher, “Father” William Taylor, and—most outstanding of them all— Andrew Furuseth, the seamen’s “Emancipator.”
In this book Richard Dillon brilliantly recreates the action-packed drama of the American seaman’s escape from serfdom. Readers who enjoyed the author’s earlier chronicle of true seafaring adventures, Embarcadero, will like Dillon’s second book even more. Views: 18
The extraordinary story of three brave women, each trying in her own way to deal with the ruthless tide of destruction brought on by the air raids of the Second World War. Ellen and her family had already been bombed out; they felt they were unlikely to suffer a second time. Gwen's mind was filled with the details of keeping house for her burdensome family; she had no time to think about the war. Emmie had just become engaged to a merchant seaman and though only of the dangers of the Battle of the Atlantic. When the air raid siren sounded on 1st May, 1941, they had no idea what it presaged for them. Views: 18
EXTRA! EXTRA! HOT OFF June THE PRESSThe Evening Star's Local Chatter... EDSTOWN, Ark. - Yesterday evening, Serena Schaffer, owner of our town newspaper, found an injured man in a ditch near her home in Edstown. He'd been beaten, robbed and left for dead. Schaffer rushed him to the Edstown hospital, where he's recovering in room 205. The word around town is that it won't be long before those two give in to their powerful attraction to each other.... The man in question - Sam Wallace - is a drifter with a vague past. Something tells this reporter that he's not who he claims to be, but one look into his blue eyes and you'd believe anything he said. Although, when it comes to Schaffer and her irresistible smile, there may not be many words spoken! Views: 18
BEFORE HE COULD FORGE A BAND OF ELITE WARRIORS… HE HAD TO BECOME ONE HIMSELF.Brandon Webb’s experiences in the world’s most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Red Circle provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.Yet it is Webb’s distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy “sniper cell” and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America’s finest and deadliest warriors—including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle—that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb’s training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military’s top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills.From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hair-raising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations warriors who are at the forefront of today’s military.Explosive, revealing, and intelligent, The Red Circle provides a uniquely personal glimpse into one of the most challenging and secretive military training courses in the world.Review“What you’re about to read is not just the making of a Navy SEAL sniper, but the story of one guy who went on to help shape the lives of hundreds of elite special forces warriors. Brandon has a great story to tell, and it is living proof that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.”—Marcus Luttrell, Navy SEAL and bestselling author of Lone Survivor“Brandon’s story hits center mass! If you want to know what makes up the DNA of a Navy SEAL and have a behind-the-scenes look at the best sniper program in the world, then hold 1 right for wind and read The Red Circle.”—Chris Kyle, USN (Ret.), SEAL Team 3 Chief and bestselling author of American Sniper“An impressive and well-written account of the most elite snipers in the world. Webb recounts with heartfelt and vivid description the training, trials, and heartache that are all costs of choosing this lifestyle. Like all true warriors, he does no chest thumping, but rather gives an honest account that proves that, after all, SEAL snipers are only human. The Red Circle is a great book.” —Howard E. Wasdin, Navy SEAL and bestselling author of SEAL Team Six“Another forceful statement from the Brotherhood of SEALs, Brandon Webb’s The Red Circle illustrates why he wanted to be a SEAL, what it takes to be a SEAL, how you survive the life of a SEAL, and the value of mind over matter. A valuable read for anyone aspiring to reach goals that seem unattainable—in any walk of life.”—CDR Richard Marcinko, USN (Ret.), founding father and first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six and bestselling author of the Rogue Warrior“The story of today’s Navy SEALs is Brandon Webb’s to tell, and The Red Circle does it masterfully. This definitive work at once proves and explodes the myths behind Navy Special Warfare and the men who meet its challenges. Strap in for a wild ride.”—CDR Ward Carroll, USN (ret.), editor of Military.comAbout the AuthorBrandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL; his last assignment with the SEALs was Course Manager for the elite SEAL Sniper Course, where he was instrumental in developing new curricula that trained some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century. Webb has received numerous distinguished service awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Commendation Medal with a “V” for “Valor,” for his platoon’s deployment to Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks. He is editor for Military.com’s blog Kit Up, SOFREP’s Editor in Chief, and a frequent national media commentator on snipers and related Special Operations Forces military issues.John David Mann, who collaborated with Webb in writing The Red Circle, is an award-winning author whose titles include the New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight and the international bestseller The Go-Giver. Views: 18
As the sun rises on her snow-covered world, Little Cub wonders aloud…“What is heaven like?”With tender words, her Papa describes a wonderful place, free of sadness and tears, where God warmly welcomes his loved ones after their life on earth is over. Little Cub and Papa spend the day wandering their beautiful, invigorating arctic world while she asks all about God’s home: How do we get to heaven? Will we eat there? Will I get to see you in heaven? Papa patiently answers each question, assuring her that…“Heaven will be full of everything good.”This gentle story provides satisfying answers for a young child’s most difficult questions about what happens after this life, inviting “little cubs” to find comfort in knowing that God Gave Us Heaven. Views: 18
