Biography Political Books
Political
Constance Street: Part 1 of 3: The true story of one family and one street in London’s East End
Constance Street can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts.
This is PART 1 of 3.
You can read Part 1 two weeks ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback.
One forgotten street, 12 unforgettable women.
Through the story of one street - Constance Street - we hear the true life tales of a tight-knit group of working class women in the East End of London set against a backdrop of war, hardship and struggle.
It's a story of matriarchy and deep family ties, of a generation that was scattered away from the street during the blitz bombings, but which maintained the ties of that street for decades afterwards.
Set in an area of East London called Silvertown, a once thriving docking community that at the turn of the 20th century was the industrial heartland of the south of England; the story focuses on the lives of 12 incredible women and their struggle to survive amidst the chaos of the war years.
We have Nellie Greenwood, the author's great grandmother who runs a laundry in Silvertown which becomes the focal point of the community. In 1917 a munitions factory in Silvertown explodes flattening much of the surrounding area and causing extensive damage to Constance Street - Nellie's daughter is blown from her crib but miraculously survives.
Deciding to open the laundry as a field hospital for the injured, Nellie and the women on the street come together to tend the wounded, the sick and the emotionally shattered as they cope with the aftermath of not just one but two world wars.
Through the Great War, the roaring Twenties, the Depression and then the unimaginable - the outbreak of a second world war - Nellie and the street survive with love, laughter and friendships that bind the community together. But just as this incredible group of women live through the worst, the unthinkable happens. On 7 September 1940, Constance Street is no more.
Following in the footsteps of Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth and The Sugar Girls, Constance Street is a life-affirming, heart-warming read that reminds us of a time when people pulled together.
This is PART 1 of 3.
You can read Part 1 two weeks ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback.
One forgotten street, 12 unforgettable women.
Through the story of one street - Constance Street - we hear the true life tales of a tight-knit group of working class women in the East End of London set against a backdrop of war, hardship and struggle.
It's a story of matriarchy and deep family ties, of a generation that was scattered away from the street during the blitz bombings, but which maintained the ties of that street for decades afterwards.
Set in an area of East London called Silvertown, a once thriving docking community that at the turn of the 20th century was the industrial heartland of the south of England; the story focuses on the lives of 12 incredible women and their struggle to survive amidst the chaos of the war years.
We have Nellie Greenwood, the author's great grandmother who runs a laundry in Silvertown which becomes the focal point of the community. In 1917 a munitions factory in Silvertown explodes flattening much of the surrounding area and causing extensive damage to Constance Street - Nellie's daughter is blown from her crib but miraculously survives.
Deciding to open the laundry as a field hospital for the injured, Nellie and the women on the street come together to tend the wounded, the sick and the emotionally shattered as they cope with the aftermath of not just one but two world wars.
Through the Great War, the roaring Twenties, the Depression and then the unimaginable - the outbreak of a second world war - Nellie and the street survive with love, laughter and friendships that bind the community together. But just as this incredible group of women live through the worst, the unthinkable happens. On 7 September 1940, Constance Street is no more.
Following in the footsteps of Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth and The Sugar Girls, Constance Street is a life-affirming, heart-warming read that reminds us of a time when people pulled together.
Political
In the Skin of a Jihadist: Free Sampler: Inside Islamic State’s Recruitment Networks
FREE SAMPLER FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
When Anna Erelle, a young journalist, goes undercover online to discover how today's most ruthless terrorists use social media to recruit disaffected young women like the girls from Bethnal Green, her investigation spins into a harrowing nightmare.
In this extract, Erelle creates 'Melodie' - a twenty-year-old convert to Islam on Facebook - who is immediately Skyped by a man named Bilel, in Syria. Bilel is the French right-hand man of the most dangerous militant in the world, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliph of Islamic State. He offers Melodie a way to fill the boredom in her young life: he cares about her, offers beautiful things, spiritual purpose and, in less an idyllic life. Bilel's seduction is honey-tongued and forceful - and all Melodie must do is join him and ISIS in their Syrian jihad. Every day he gives more detail, telling her how he drives a jeep filled with guns and bottles of the chocolate milk he loves for hundreds of miles on murderous missions of execution. Every night he lures, seduces and manipulates this vulnerable young woman.
A riveting page-turner In the Skin of a Jihadist is a shocking inquiry into how technology is spreading radicalism, the lure of ISIS propaganda, and the factors that motivate young people - including many British teenagers - to join extremist wars in Syria and elsewhere.
When Anna Erelle, a young journalist, goes undercover online to discover how today's most ruthless terrorists use social media to recruit disaffected young women like the girls from Bethnal Green, her investigation spins into a harrowing nightmare.
In this extract, Erelle creates 'Melodie' - a twenty-year-old convert to Islam on Facebook - who is immediately Skyped by a man named Bilel, in Syria. Bilel is the French right-hand man of the most dangerous militant in the world, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliph of Islamic State. He offers Melodie a way to fill the boredom in her young life: he cares about her, offers beautiful things, spiritual purpose and, in less an idyllic life. Bilel's seduction is honey-tongued and forceful - and all Melodie must do is join him and ISIS in their Syrian jihad. Every day he gives more detail, telling her how he drives a jeep filled with guns and bottles of the chocolate milk he loves for hundreds of miles on murderous missions of execution. Every night he lures, seduces and manipulates this vulnerable young woman.
A riveting page-turner In the Skin of a Jihadist is a shocking inquiry into how technology is spreading radicalism, the lure of ISIS propaganda, and the factors that motivate young people - including many British teenagers - to join extremist wars in Syria and elsewhere.
Political
Beyond the Clouds: Why I Became a Military Writer
Mark Berent is a well-known author of many Vietnam airwar books and articles. In this article he recounts the people and events that motivated him to write. As he says:
"They're out there now, somewhere beyond our eyes, beyond the clouds, rolling and soaring in towering cathedrals flying beautiful airplanes that need only the fuel of their love. These are the men I honor...
"They're out there now, somewhere beyond our eyes, beyond the clouds, rolling and soaring in towering cathedrals flying beautiful airplanes that need only the fuel of their love. These are the men I honor...
Political
My name is Bino Byansi Byakuleka: Double essay
,,We must learn to see the stereotypes behind the term asylum seekers. The book is a good start for that." (Susanne Memarnia, taz)
Could you imagine to be a refugee and be treated like a criminal? Not like a human being? How would you like to be welcomed? With Patras Bwansi you can relive this experience. He describes growing up in Uganda with school beatings, tells us about the constant bureaucratic supervision in the German "initial reception facilities", colloquial also called "Lager", as well as his personal outbreak into the protest, calling for humanitarian rights. That this will come only with a political and social rethinking, Lydia Ziemke shows in her text, which is inspired by her artistic work with refugees. This double essay will completely change our thinking about immigrants.
Bino Byansi Byakuleka, formerly known as Patras Bwansi, born in 1979 in Kabale, Uganda is a Textile Artist who currently lives in Berlin. In August 2012 he started a protest tent in Passau Klostergarten and in October he joined the refugee protest camp in Berlin-Kreuzberg at Oranienplatz. Since then he is a full time political activist to change the asylum system in Germany and for LGBTIQ rights.
Lydia Ziemke, born 1978 in Potsdam, lives in Berlin. She studied Classics at the University of Edinburgh and was running the Gilded Balloon Studio Ensemble there for three years. Since 2006, after completing LAMDA's one-year directing Pro-gramme, she divided her time between London and Berlin as a freelance director and dramaturg.
Could you imagine to be a refugee and be treated like a criminal? Not like a human being? How would you like to be welcomed? With Patras Bwansi you can relive this experience. He describes growing up in Uganda with school beatings, tells us about the constant bureaucratic supervision in the German "initial reception facilities", colloquial also called "Lager", as well as his personal outbreak into the protest, calling for humanitarian rights. That this will come only with a political and social rethinking, Lydia Ziemke shows in her text, which is inspired by her artistic work with refugees. This double essay will completely change our thinking about immigrants.
Bino Byansi Byakuleka, formerly known as Patras Bwansi, born in 1979 in Kabale, Uganda is a Textile Artist who currently lives in Berlin. In August 2012 he started a protest tent in Passau Klostergarten and in October he joined the refugee protest camp in Berlin-Kreuzberg at Oranienplatz. Since then he is a full time political activist to change the asylum system in Germany and for LGBTIQ rights.
Lydia Ziemke, born 1978 in Potsdam, lives in Berlin. She studied Classics at the University of Edinburgh and was running the Gilded Balloon Studio Ensemble there for three years. Since 2006, after completing LAMDA's one-year directing Pro-gramme, she divided her time between London and Berlin as a freelance director and dramaturg.
Political
Song To Kill A Giant (Latvian contemporary)
25 years ago, the people of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania united under broad democratic movements to demand from the Soviet Union the freedom which was taken from them in 1940. One can only admire the courage of these people who, armed only with songs and an urge for justice, challenged the Soviet giant. The world was shaken by this peaceful singing revolution, because it threatened the finely-adjusted bipolar balance of world order. Back then, hardly anyone believed that the Baltic States would even have a chance for greater autonomy in the Soviet Union, let alone their regaining independence.
The success of the Baltic nation's independence movements shook the Soviet Union at its foundation, and in 1991 lead to its collapse. The world as we had known it since the end of the Second World War had irreversibly changed forever. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, for those nations of Eastern Europe and the Baltics, who had been held captive behind the Iron Curtain, World War Two had finally come to an end.
To understand why, it is important to read Sandra Kalniete's book; it tells the story of strategy and tactics, of the difficult choices and compromises which at every step of the way can threatened the ultimate goal in such mass movements. The success story of the people's movements of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia can be used as an example for the many millions of people around the world who still yearn for freedom.
Since writing the book in 2000, Kalniete has gone on to become Latvia's ambassador to the United Nations, France and UNESCO, her country's foreign minister, Latvia's first representative to the European Commission, and, in 2009, a member of the European Parliament. She is the author of several other books.
About this edition:
First digital Edition, 2013
Format: EPUB
Size: 2.55 MB
The success of the Baltic nation's independence movements shook the Soviet Union at its foundation, and in 1991 lead to its collapse. The world as we had known it since the end of the Second World War had irreversibly changed forever. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, for those nations of Eastern Europe and the Baltics, who had been held captive behind the Iron Curtain, World War Two had finally come to an end.
To understand why, it is important to read Sandra Kalniete's book; it tells the story of strategy and tactics, of the difficult choices and compromises which at every step of the way can threatened the ultimate goal in such mass movements. The success story of the people's movements of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia can be used as an example for the many millions of people around the world who still yearn for freedom.
Since writing the book in 2000, Kalniete has gone on to become Latvia's ambassador to the United Nations, France and UNESCO, her country's foreign minister, Latvia's first representative to the European Commission, and, in 2009, a member of the European Parliament. She is the author of several other books.
About this edition:
First digital Edition, 2013
Format: EPUB
Size: 2.55 MB
Political
George Washington: A Life from Beginning to End: President Biographies, Book 1
George Washington, the first president of the United States, is much more than a monument on Mount Rushmore. Who was Washington, the general, president, and husband? He was first and foremost a man of impeccable honor which, despite military adversity and political wrangling, never abandoned him. The Founding Fathers who squabbled and competed among themselves did agree on one thing: Only Washington could lead the country, first in the country's military fight for freedom and then as the man charged with transforming 13 individual states into a united country.
But in his youth, George Washington did not intend to become the Father of his Country. As a younger son of a middling class Virginian, he intended to earn his living as a surveyor, and in that role, he was introduced to the vast potential of the country that would one day be a nation. But when the death of his older brother made him the heir to Mount Vernon, Washington ascended to leadership in the military, political, and social spheres of Virginia and the United States.
Inside you will hear about....
The Washingtons of Virginia
Europe Exports Its Wars to the Colonies
Washington at Mount Vernon
An Englishman No Longer
Washington at War
The Father of His Country
Return to Mount Vernon
As a member and later officer in the Virginia militia, he fought with the British army against the French as the two European powers struggled for control of the rich Ohio Valley. The British, who would refuse Washington a commission in their army, would later meet him in battle as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, fighting for independence against the forces of King George III. As a political leader, he would become the architect of the American government. As the master of Mount Vernon, Washington's marriage to the wealthy Martha Dandridge Custis placed him among the elite of the Virginia aristocracy.
His integrity established a model for subsequent generations to emulate. That few have managed to match his achievements is an indication of his influence and character. Meet George Washington, the man, and discover the identity of this remarkable leader.
But in his youth, George Washington did not intend to become the Father of his Country. As a younger son of a middling class Virginian, he intended to earn his living as a surveyor, and in that role, he was introduced to the vast potential of the country that would one day be a nation. But when the death of his older brother made him the heir to Mount Vernon, Washington ascended to leadership in the military, political, and social spheres of Virginia and the United States.
Inside you will hear about....
The Washingtons of Virginia
Europe Exports Its Wars to the Colonies
Washington at Mount Vernon
An Englishman No Longer
Washington at War
The Father of His Country
Return to Mount Vernon
As a member and later officer in the Virginia militia, he fought with the British army against the French as the two European powers struggled for control of the rich Ohio Valley. The British, who would refuse Washington a commission in their army, would later meet him in battle as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, fighting for independence against the forces of King George III. As a political leader, he would become the architect of the American government. As the master of Mount Vernon, Washington's marriage to the wealthy Martha Dandridge Custis placed him among the elite of the Virginia aristocracy.
His integrity established a model for subsequent generations to emulate. That few have managed to match his achievements is an indication of his influence and character. Meet George Washington, the man, and discover the identity of this remarkable leader.