A mere twelve years after fighting the British in the Anglo-Boer War, Louis Botha went to war again – this time on Britain's side. As prime minister of the Union of South Africa at the outbreak of the Great War, Botha agreed to lead his country on a campaign against the Germans across the border in South-West Africa. But first he would have to deal with a revolt from fellow Afrikaners who would rather take up arms against him than side with the old enemy. Louis Botha's War is the story of how a former Boer War general crushed a rebellion and rallied his country's first united army to fight a better-equipped enemy in harsh conditions. It is a tale of thirsty men and horses trekking over miles of barren desert; German aviators flying above in rickety aeroplanes; the unusual presence of a prime minister's wife on the field of battle; and a fabled gold-filled safe at the bottom of a lake. Adam Cruise recreates these fascinating events from journals, memoirs and documents, and... Views: 55
With profiles on hottest rock 'n' roll women spanning from the 1960s to current times, this book has everything there is to know about the most rockin' chicks in history—from Janis Joplin and Suzi Quatro to Courtney Love and PinkWith perceptive biographies and in-depth music critiques, this is an up-close and personal look at the experiences, adventures, and musical passions of these extraordinary and talented women whose wild vocals and on-stage antics have made them rock 'n' roll legends. Through personal heartaches, drug addictions, public humiliations, and private nightmares, these rock chicks have risen to take the music world by storm—often facing great personal adversity, pressure, and scrutiny that would have destroyed mere mortal's souls. From Madonna spending years living in squats in New York before going on to sell 250 million records, to Tina Turner surviving the brutal bashings of her husband and then going on stage to perform with broken ribs and... Views: 55
Nick Martin and his four friends made a bet—the last guy to marry wins. The losers have to help plan and pay for the winner's wedding. No way is Nick going to lose. But when Addy Wilson comes home to River Run, Nick's interest in winning the silly bet begins to wane.Will Nick and Addy let the childish things of the past stand in their way to love? Views: 55
The lost pulp crime novel by great American novelist Gore Vidal! Hired to smuggle an ancient artefact out of Egypt, Pete Wells finds himself the target of killers and femme fatales - and just one step away from triggering a revolution that will set Cairo aflame! Views: 55
Agathe von Trapp, the oldest daughter in the Trapp Family Singers, offers readers the real story behind an American classic in her poignant and fascinating autobiography Memories Before and After The Sound of Music. The courageous family and events immortalized in the beloved Broadway musical and hit Hollywood film come vibrantly alive in these pages, and Agathe’s post-Sound of Music life is equally compelling. Views: 54
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two high school misfits in Depression-era Cleveland, were more like Clark Kent--meek, mild, and myopic--than his secret identity, Superman. Both boys escaped into the worlds of science fiction and pulp magazine adventure tales. Jerry wrote his own original stories and Joe illustrated them. In 1934, the summer they graduated from high school, they created a superhero who was everything they were not. It was four more years before they convinced a publisher to take a chance on their Man of Steel in a new format--the comic book. The author includes a provocative afterword about the long struggle Jerry and Joe had with DC Comics when the boys realized they had made a mistake in selling all rights to Superman for a mere $130. Views: 54
Alexander Masters tripped over his first book subject on a Cambridge sidewalk, and the result was the multi-award-winning bestseller Stuart: A Life Backwards. His second, he's found under his floorboards. One of the greatest mathematical prodigies of the twentieth century, Simon Norton stomps around Alexander's basement in semidarkness, dodging between stalagmites of bus timetables and engorged plastic bags, eating tinned kippers stirred into packets of Bombay mix. Simon is exploring a theoretical puzzle so complex and critical to our understanding of the universe that it is known as the Monster. It looks like a sudoku table--except a sudoku table has nine columns of numbers. The Monster has 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000 columns. But that's not the whole story. What's inside the decaying sports bag he never lets out of his clutches? Why does he hurtle out of the house in the middle of the night? And--good God!--what... Views: 54
