Language and Litterature

John C. Woods, the US Army's hangman during World War II, is known for his role executing ten senior Nazis in 1946. For the first time, learn about Woods's early life in Kansas and his dishonorable discharge before World War II. Discover how volunteering as a military executioner would lead Woods to his career as a hangman.  Award-winning author Colonel French MacClean separates fact from fiction

This historical biography of John Monroe “Hawk” Smith, Navy fighter pilot, is a gripping account of valor, sacrifice, and adventure during one of the most tumultuous periods in carrier aviation.  It was no surprise when Hawk, having completed a stunning tour as commanding officer of TOPGUN, received orders to a frontline F-14 Tomcat squadron—VF-213, the “Black Lions.” Hawk joined the Black Lions p

Germany built the first operational jet aircraft during World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 262. Siegfried Decher was part of the engineering team that designed the engines that powered the 262. At the end of the war, Decher was nearly stranded in the Soviet Occupation Zone, but the US military made contact and offered a way out. As the principal responsible for a control system in the Jumo engine,

Let us rejoice in the genius that is Kevin Smith!This fun and photo-filled biography celebrates the life, films, and fans of the director responsible for such indie cult classics as Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma. Movie-industry veteran David Gati has compiled and edited this humorous and insightful look at Smith’s nearly 30-year moviemaking journey. Through Smith's own uncensored storie

Contrary to popular opinion, the automotive industry is not a man's world! Since the early days of General Motors, there have been women—known and unknown—who have had vital roles in design, engineering, manufacturing, and administration. In this follow-up to Damsels in Design, her book on women automotive designers from 1939-1959, Constance Smith presents profiles of and interviews with more than

In this imaginative typographic "dictionary," words are defined by arranging their letters to show what each word means.Generating alternatives is the basis of all creative endeavors. Words in Action is an inventive resource that was developed over decades, one word at a time, by architect and professor Michael Pause. Its 366 graphic images add to the inventory first published in Ivan Chermayeff a

Rolf Fischer was born near Bremen in 1927. At age 15, he and his classmates were called up to serve as auxiliaries at the local antiaircraft defense battery. Here Rolf and his friends experienced Allied bombing raids, death, and killing. Along with the young auxiliaries, the flak battery comprised wounded front veterans and Soviet prisoners of war, referred to as “Hiwis.” Rolf describes in great d

Two Great Knights of Adventure was written by Jacques Mortane in 1936. Mortane was on friendly terms with both Marc Pourpe and Raoul Lufbery and wrote the book as a tribute to the two pilots, both of whom were killed in the First World War. Due to the access that Mortane had to these early aviators, this was the best work on their lives, but it was never translated into English and is long out of

Experience the exhilaration and danger of emergency trauma, where a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death, but also the raw beauty, vulnerability and remarkable resilience of the human spirit. We expect our ambulance crews to be superhuman, remaining calm, controlling their emotions and thinking and acting clearly, However, the emotional depth of these stories will reveal a wh

Debbie Malone is an acclaimed spirit medium who has assisted police departments across Australia in missing-persons and murder investigations for the last twenty three years. Her extraordinary gifts—she is a psychic and clairvoyant as well as a medium—enable her to receive visions from both the living and the dead, from the past, present and future, and to convey messages to berea

Clues From Beyond explores the truth about some intense real-life Australian crimes, through the eyes of a psychic medium as she investigates criminal cases and unsolved murders. Debbie Malone is an acclaimed spirit medium who has assisted police departments across Australia in missing persons and murder investigations for over two decades. In this follow-up to her bestselling book Never Alone, De

The writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux have influenced thousands of people, including American Catholic convert Dorothy Day and Pope John Paul II who made a pilgrimage to Lisieux in her honour in 1980. In ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX: A TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST, Abbot Thomas Keating reflects on what St Thérèse understood the teaching of Jesus Christ to be. St. Thérèse had an extraordinary penetration in

Circle of Six is the true story of what is perhaps the most notorious case in the history of the New York Police Department. It details Randy Jurgensen's determined effort to bring to justice the murderer of Patrolman Phillip Cardillo, who was shot and killed inside Harlem's Mosque #7 in 1972, in the midst of an all-out assault on the NYPD from the Black Liberation Army. The New York of this era w

In "Malcolm X For Beginners," Bernard Doctor, reveals the teacher, the leader, and the revolutionary voice of change that Malcolm X was, and continues to be. Powerful narrative and graphics tell the story of Malcolm X's life, his journey of self-discovery, his far-reaching ideas, his martyrdom and his impact on an era. Embraced as a righteous prophet of Black power and pride, damned as the voice o

Noam Chomsky has written over 30 books, he is the most-quoted author on earth, the New York Times calls him “arguably the most important intellectual alive” — yet most people have no idea who he is or what he’s about. Chomsky For Beginners tells you what he’s about: Chomsky is known for his work in two distinct areas — Linguistics and… “gadflying.” (“Gadfly,” the wor

LINGUISTICS FOR BEGINNERS is the first book to ever make the arcane labors of linguistics accessible to general readers. It begins with a lucid definition of language and proceeds to examine how it becomes the subject matter of linguistics. Key topics include the contrast between writing and speech, and elementary lessons in analyses ranging from simple sounds to entire sentences. Absurd fictions

Despite the reshifting of values that has affected every aspect of life in the 21st century, William Shakespeare still stands as the greatest writer the English language has ever produced. Even so, many people have never read him. If you have never read “the Bard”–or if you’ve tried and given up in frustration–you need Shakespeare For Beginners. Author Brandon Toropov opens with

Ayn Rand, author of the best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, is beloved by millions of readers, and equally despised by a significant number of detractors. Her novels and her revolutionary philosophy of Objectivism have acquired a world-wide following. They have also created legions of readers who are hungry for a deeper understanding of her writings.Despite her undeniably sig

Poetry is one of those subjects almost impossible to define as it can be so many things at once. It can be: kids whispering limericks on the playground; secret languages used by revolutionaries and spies; or the written strength of oppressed people. Poetry is how millions of people across time have used language to try to better understand love, hate, war, religion, oppression, joy, sorrow, sex, a

BARACK OBAMA FOR BEGINNERS: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE is the most concise and reliable short biography available on the 44th President of the United States — from his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, education at Columbia and Harvard, work as a community organizer, writer, teacher, lawyer, and politician in Illinois, to his historic campaign for President. BARACK OBAMA FOR BEGINNERS keeps the focus on