Great Year

In My Forty Years with Ford, Charles Sorensen-sometimes known as "Henry Ford's man," sometimes as "Cast-iron Charlie"-tells his own story, and it is as challenging as it is historic. He emerges as a man who was not only one of the great production geniuses of the world but also a man who called the plays as he saw them. He was the only man who was able to stay with Ford for almost the full history of his empire, yet he never hesitated to go against Ford when he felt the interests of the company demanded...

Annus mirabilis is Latin for "wonderful year," "miraculous year," or "amazing year." For jazz, that year was 1959. It was a pinnacle and hinge point year where the forms and advancements of the past decade were consolidated and recapitulated, and jazz stretched out in a new direction. Vistas and possibilities opened up to be explored, explicitly considered, and developed in the next decade. It was a zenith with the Janus-like quality of looking backward and forward and created some of the most beautiful and challenging music ever recorded. Included here are the albums released in 1959 that ...

In this eye-opening companion to seasons 2 and 3 of Netflix’s acclaimed series The Crown, renowned biographer - and the show’s historical consultant - Robert Lacey takes us through the real history that inspired the drama. Covering two tumultuous decades in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, Lacey looks at the key social, political, and personal moments and their effects - not only on the royal family but also on the world around them.

Japan was a physical and psychological wasteland at the end of World War II. With over three million dead, 39 percent of city populations homeless, 40 percent of all urban areas flattened, 80 percent of all ships destroyed, and 33 percent of all industrial machine tools rendered inoperable, the country was devastated and demoralized. And yet, just 19 years later, Japan stood proud-modern, peace-loving, and open - welcoming the world as the host of the 1964 Olympics, the largest global event of its time.

By the time Harvard-educated John Schlimm turned thirty-one-years-old, he had worked with some of the biggest superstars in Nashville and served under the most powerful people in the White House. But something was missing. His life had come to a standstill, lost in a whirl of questions about belonging, faith, rejection, and purpose. He soon decides to return to his small-town roots in search of a new beginning. Returning home, John meets eighty-seven-year-old Sister Augustine, the beguiling self-taught artist-in-residence on the sprawling grounds of the local 150-year-old convent.

After three years as a killing-field slave, seventeen-year-old Bun Yom escaped from the Khmer Rouge and became a freedom fighter. Using his wisdom, courage, and infinite compassion, Bun rescued thousands of Cambodian people and soon became the Cambodian Freedom Fighters’ greatest soldier. Tomorrow I’m Dead is the only known first-person account of the freedom fighter’s heroic liberation of slaves from the Khmer Rouge killing fields.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote there are no second acts in American lives. Miles proved him wrong. Miles was back in New York City and good health in 1955. In the summer of 1955, Miles performed a noted set at the Newport Jazz Festival. His performance, especially his solo on the Thelonius Monk tune Round Midnight was widely praised, prompting critics to welcome the "return of Miles Davis." Columbia Records executive George Avakian approached Miles and offered a contract with the label if he could form a regular band with a steady lineup. Miles assembled his first regular quintet to meet a ...

An eyewitness report; “A ninety-foot wave [crashed over him in his lighthouse]. The mounded wave reared its ugly head across The Hawk Channel. The hurricane smashed it down on a narrow ten miles of Keys from Tavernier to Key Vaca. The wind was flung like knives, 150 to 200 miles an hour, with unbelievable gusts climbing to nearly 250 miles per hour that took everything it willed and flattened and flung it.” The US National Weather Service issued a summary of event: “Officially, 408 lives were taken by the great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, most of them World War I veterans working in ...

The 1930s are the darkest days of the Great Depression. Factories are closing their doors, millions of people are out of work, men are riding the rails searching for elusive jobs that seldom exist, and a thriving way of life that has been cherished is disappearing. Desperate people are doing desperate things just to survive, while labor strikes and veterans’ protests are turning violent. Roving gangs of outlaws have become celebrities to many people, who asked themselves why a man robbing a bank with a gun is any worse than a banker in a suit stealing someone’s life savings, home, or ...

Ten-year-old Charlie Petkus isn’t surprised to get scratchy wool underwear from Aunt Mutzi for Christmas 1932, but he is surprised that her gift package includes a diary. To his dismay, his Lithuanian-immigrant mother thinks a diary is the perfect present. “You man of family, Casimir,” she says. “You learn to write the English like good American.” Charlie wants more than anything to make Mama proud. But he’s not sure education is the way to manhood, especially since he doesn’t like school. With the Great Depression on, Charlie thinks it would be much manlier to quit the 4th ...

Dreaming of staying vibrant, adventurous, and full of life in retirement, and making these years your best years yet? Discover how to fill your life after work with meaningful journeys, exciting travels, outdoor adventures, and unforgettable experiences! Lara West, a best-selling author of health and wellness books, brings her passion for adventure and travel into her latest work, using her discoveries and personal stories to guide the way.

Peter Ratcliffe served in the SAS for 25 years. Blooded in Oman in the 1970s, he also saw action in Northern Ireland, in the Falklands War, and in the Gulf campaign. From his early days in the Paras to his time as Regimental Sergeant-Major in the Gulf, he has lived and fought by the motto 'who dares wins'. Eye of the Storm is his insider's account of that exceptional career.

The undertow of the Great Depression becomes poignantly personal as we experience the travails of Leora and Clabe Wilson, a displaced Iowa farm family. Gritty determination fuels this family’s journey of loss and hope, a reflection of what many American families endured during those challenging times. In this true story the Wilsons slowly slide into unemployment and poverty. Leora must find ways to keep her dreams alive while making a haven for her flock of seven children in one run-down house after another.

England in the Age of Chivalry … and Awful Diseases covers the events, personages, and ideas most commonly known as “medieval.” This includes Geoffrey Chaucer, the peasants revolt, the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Great Famine of 1315, the Black Death, and the 100 Years War. Central to this time is King Edward III, who started the 100 Years War and defined the concept of chivalry, including England’s order of the garter. His legacy continues to shape our view of England’s history and is crucial in understanding the development of Europe.

In 1893, the 27.5 million visitors to the Chicago World’s Fair feasted their eyes on the impressive architecture of the White City, lit at night by thousands of electric lights. In addition to marveling at the revolutionary exhibits, most visitors discovered something else: beyond the fair’s 633 acres lay a modern metropolis that rivaled the world’s greatest cities. The Columbian Exposition marked Chicago’s arrival on the world stage, but even without the splendor of the fair, 1893 would still have been Chicago’s greatest year.

What happened when a young man ditched the office and headed to the outback of Australia for the adventure of a lifetime? In 2002, a young Englishman left London behind to try something new on a working holiday. One year; 2,000 sheep: 4,000 km travelled. Horses and quad bikes; two light aircraft; one Ford station wagon. He uncovered real life far from the hustle and bustle of the beaches and coffee shops of the East coast. There were "Skimpies", surly farmers, tough miners, vets and call-girls. How did he go learning to fly, and getting behind the wheel of a ten-tonne truck? A must-read for...

We make countless decisions every day, from the mundane to the life-altering. But what if there was one simple question, that could provide the framework to guide you toward a life of greater purpose, meaning, and fulfillment? The main book, IIWI? A Simple Question That Can Transform Your Life, is that book. This Workbook is your accompanying hands-on guide to that book applying the powerful IIWI question to revolutionize your decision-making and empower you to create a life that truly reflects your values. Through practical exercises, guided prompts, and interactive activities, you will ...

An editor and writer's vivaciously entertaining, and often moving, memoir — a true story that reminds us why we should all make time in our lives for books.Nearing his fortieth birthday, author and critic Andy Miller realized he's not nearly as well read as he'd like to be. A devout book lover who somehow fell out of the habit of reading, he began to ponder the power of books to change an individual life—including his own—and to define the sort of person he would like to be.

The captivating second volume of this Eleanor Roosevelt biography covers tumultuous era of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the gathering storms of World War II, the years of the Roosevelts' greatest challenges and finest achievements. In her remarkably engaging narrative, Cook gives us the complete Eleanor Roosevelt - an adventurous, romantic woman, a devoted wife and mother, and a visionary policymaker and social activist who often took unpopular stands, counter to her husband's policies, especially on issues such as racial justice and women's rights.

Many childhood summers, Mark Woods piled into a station wagon with his parents and two sisters and headed to America's national parks. Mark's most vivid childhood memories are set against a backdrop of mountains, woods, and fireflies in places like Redwood, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks. On the eve of turning 50, and a little burned out, Mark decided to reconnect with the great outdoors. He'd spend a year visiting the national parks.