Revered author Michael Morpurgo evokes the post-war Britain of his childhood in this unflinching and deeply poignant tale of the physical and mental scars of war. From a young age, Michael was both fascinated by and afraid of his grandfather. Grandpa’s ship was torpedoed during the Second World War, leaving him with terrible burns. Every time he came to stay, Michael was warned by his mother that he must not stare, he must not make too much noise, he must not ask Grandpa any questions about his past. As he grows older, Michael stays with his grandfather during the summer holidays and learns the story behind Grandpa’s injuries, finally getting to know the real man behind the solemn figure from his childhood. Michael can see beyond the burns, and this gives him the power to begin healing scars that have divided his family for so long.

The National Book Award–winning coming-out memoir. “One of the most complex, moral, personal, and political books to have been written about gay life” (LA Weekly). Paul Monette grew up all-American, Catholic, overachieving . . . and closeted. As a child of the 1950s, a time when a kid suspected of being a “homo” would routinely be beaten up, Monette kept his secret throughout his adolescence. He wrestled with his sexuality for the first thirty years of his life, priding himself on his ability to “pass” for straight. The story of his journey to adulthood and to self-acceptance with grace and honesty, this intimate portrait of a young man’s struggle with his own desires is witty, humorous, and deeply felt. Before his death of complications from AIDS in 1995, Monette was an outspoken activist crusading for gay rights. Becoming a Man shows his courageous path to stand up for his own right to love and be loved. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Paul Monette including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the Paul Monette papers of the UCLA Library Special Collections.

This is a new release of the original 1943 edition.

First published in Great Britain in 2012 as Merckx, half man, half bike by Yellow Jersey Press"--T.p. verso.

Eddy Merckx is to cycling what Muhammad Ali is to boxing or Pele to football: quite simply, the best there has ever been. Throughout his professional career Merckx amassed an astonishing 445 victories. This title presents his story.

Half A Man is a true story about 12 year-old Lindley's struggles to be accepted as a real man. It deals with the Federal Government's Foreclosure on unpaid loans made to New Mexico cattle ranchers to increase their meat production for soldiers in World War I. When the war ended, prices dropped and ranchers in the remote north western part of new Mexico who had no market for their beef, defaulted on their loans. David Stiles, Lindley's father, was persuaded to undertake the task of gathering steers to pay the government debts and drive them to the nearest railhead, Grants, New Mexico. Dave Stiles, veteran of many cattle drives in his youth, stipulated one request if he was to undertake the unpleasant job of foreclosing on his neighbor's cattle, namely, that his 12 year old son would be hired on for the effort. Buford Threlkedld, the Washington agent in charge reluctantly agreed that the boy could be put on the payroll, but shown as half a man, at half pay. Called, "kid" and "the boss's baby" and other belittlling names by Firpo, one of the cowboys on the crew, and assigned by his father, the boss, to such kid jobs" as tending the fire for the branding, helping the cook, getting up early to drive in the remuda of mounts for the crew, and driving the tail-ender drags of the herd, the boy sought ways to prove he was a real hand. His success was like a roller-coaster-like a boy one day; like a man on another. Down day came with his going to sleep and losing steers who hid in the brush and getting fired by the by the boss, being assigned to watch the horses while others drove the steers across the Chaco, doing a "girl's work" when helping the cook; openly crying when Tex's beautiful horse, Copper was lost to the quicksands, and getting tripped with his food plate by his enemy, Firpo, as well as his failure to eat rattlesnake meat, considered a test for being a cowboy. Highlights of his success were: being the boss of two other grown cowboys sent to gather the Macklin steers and exposing an attempt to hide animals to keep them from being taken, doing well on the old bay mare while crossing the Bisti, being asked by the boss to introduce the beautiful Frances to all the other hands, and finally being able to rescue Firpo when his hose fell with him during the stampede. Readers of Western Books will find action on every page. The descriptions of the round-up, and cattle drive will be applauded by the experts and enlightening to all who are unfamiliar with the details of organizing and executing a drive of 1500 steers to market. The description of how a small town, Grants, welcomed the coming of the cattle as a time to celebrate. "Half A Man is a jewel that should not be missed, I simply couldn't put it down", wrote the popular critic, Marc Simmons of the first printing.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen delivers the unforgettable story of a man who refuses to give up on the woman he loves. Reporter Sara O’Rourke never shies away from a tough story. With a serial killer on the loose, Sara is willing to put herself in harm’s way to get the scoop. But when it comes to her personal life, she’s not so confident. It’s been a year and a half since Sara left her husband in Australia and moved to San Francisco. Sara believes she’s made the right decision—until he suddenly appears to tell her that he still loves her. Jordan Bandor has never let anyone get too close—not even his own wife. Their chemistry was always explosive, but Jordan pushed Sara away—all the way to the other side of the world. Now that mistake may cost Sara her life. Jordan knows that she’s in danger. Determined to keep her safe, Jordan must find a way to stop a madman from killing the only woman he’s ever loved—and prove his devotion by reminding Sara of the magic that brought them together in the first place.

#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

The Bonfire of the Vanities defined an era--and established Tom Wolfe as our prime fictional chronicler of America at its most outrageous and alive. With A Man in Full, the time the setting is Atlanta, Georgia--a racially mixed late-century boomtown full of fresh wealth, avid speculators, and worldly-wise politicians. Big men. Big money. Big games. Big libidos. Big trouble. The protagonist is Charles Croker, once a college football star, now a late-middle-aged Atlanta real-estate entrepreneur turned conglomerate king, whose expansionist ambitions and outsize ego have at last hit up against reality. Charlie has a 28,000-acre quail-shooting plantation, a young and demanding second wife--and a half-empty office tower with a staggering load of debt. When star running back Fareek Fanon--the pride of one of Atlanta's grimmest slums--is accused of raping an Atlanta blueblood's daughter, the city's delicate racial balance is shattered overnight. Networks of illegal Asian immigrants crisscrossing the continent, daily life behind bars, shady real-estate syndicates, cast-off first wives of the corporate elite, the racially charged politics of college sports--Wolfe shows us the disparate worlds of contemporary America with all the verve, wit, and insight that have made him our most phenomenal, most admired contemporary novelist. A Man in Full is a 1998 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction.

Originally published in 1972, Clarence King's novel, "The Half-Share Man" follows the exploits of Peter Folger, grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, as he follows his life's journey from a teenage boy, just trying to make it in the New World in 1635, to the point of becoming a surveyor asked to take part in the founding of the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and becoming an integral part of their societies by taking on a number of other professions, including but not limited to, schoolteacher, surveyor, carpenter and farmer. Always driven to do what is right, Folger makes peace with native Indian tribes, as well as showing exactly where his famous grandson would get his sense of humor. Now published online, Clarence King's great-grandson has written the preface and has opened the story up to the world that only a select few on Nantucket Island have known for nearly half a century.