Your Search Results(showing 243)

    • Memoirsx
    • Trusted Partner
      Memoirs
      2022

      77 days of February. Ukraine between two symbolic dates of the Russian war ideology

      by Marichka Paplauskaite (Compiler), Authors: Inna Adrug, Anna Argirova, Kateryna Babkina, Tetyana Bezruk, Oleksandra Gorchynska, Inna Zolotukhina, Vera Kuriko, Olena Livytska, Olga Livytska, Svitlana Oslavska, Marichka Paplauskaite, Eva Raiska, Anya Semenyuk, Zoya Khramchenko, Margarita Chimyris, Iryna Yaroshynska

      As a child, she could not understand why people in films about the blockade of Leningrad were always lying down. And when Mariupol was besieged by the Russians, and she and her husband lived for many days without water, food and heat under constant shelling, she realized that when you lie down, you save strength and energy. "77 Days of February" included reports written by journalists of the Reporters media in the period between February 23 and May 9 — two symbolic dates for Russian military ideology. The invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine stopped the number of days and pushed Ukrainians back to the intervening time, where February — the month of the beginning of the great war — still lasts. In the meantime and in these candid stories, there is pain, fear, hatred, and sometimes despair. But the main thing is hope. This is a bare nerve and an honest voice of the new Ukrainian reality.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      February 2017

      Jackie Chan:Never Grow Up, Only Get Older

      by Jackie Chan, Zhu Mo

      This is an autobiography of Chinese Kongfu star Jackie Chan. The book is a true recording of this international superstar’s growth and life experience for the last 50 years. It tells us the legendary actor’s stories, and also reflects a fantastic acting age.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories

      1937, Nanjing Memory

      by Xu Zhigeng

      The editing team of《1937, Nanjing Memory》persistently insets the picture elements into this reportage book. The book uses words and a bit of pictures from the Nanjing massacre period to show the cruelty and misery of the war to the little readers. The book naturally presents the normal life of citizens living in Nanjing in 1937 by using the vivid and lovely sketching picture as the decoration pictures of the layout.

    • Trusted Partner
    • Trusted Partner
      Memoirs

      The Self: Between Existence and Creation

      by Bensalem Himmich

      Far more than a straightforward autobiography, celebrated Moroccan writer and former minister of culture Bensalem Himmich diffuses life with literary and intellectual dimensions. Himmich opens his book with a discussion on autobiographical writing, followed by chapters on the author’s early life, starting with his childhood in Meknes. In Paris, he completes a doctorate degree and there marries a Greek woman, Paneyota. The heroic figures of his “rebellious youth” are Marx and Sartre, and the challenges of these and other radical thinkers, in both Arabic and European languages, find their way into his doctoral thesis, Ideological Patterns in Islam: Ijtihad and History (in Arabic, 1990). Subsequent chapters move into the domain of creation, with four categories reflecting the author’s literary, intellectual, linguistic, and cultural interests. Starting with an epigraph of Italo Calvino, the “literary” chapter focuses on the novel, its history, and its complexities. The chapter on the “intellectual” dimension turns on the author’s lifelong interest in the two pillars of philosophy and history. For Himmich, philosophical thought is “the creative and innovative force through which truths and meanings are sought.” The two-part “linguistic” chapter opens with a discussion of identity as “a constantly developing entity”. In the second part he expresses disapproval of the worldwide prevalence of “Anglo-American English” and the weakening effects that a lack of language authority has on the sense of national identity. The “cultural” chapter includes Himmich’s observations from his career, including the poor state of public education and a decline in reading in Morocco. He also considers his time as the Moroccan Minister of Culture and the inevitable complexities of the political system within which he had to operate. The penultimate chapter entitled “My Polemics” offers four of his own polemical stands: on fundamentalist trends—specifically Islam and “Islamism”; on the prevalence in Moroccan publications of the Latin alphabet; and specific issues with the well-known littérateurs Adonis and Youssef Ziedan. The work closes with the author’s reflection on the emergence of a new and negative kind of cultural “hegemony”, the awareness of which he attributes with gratitude to Edward Said and the latter’s interpretation of the work of Franz Fanon.

    • Trusted Partner
      True stories
      2019

      Vasyl Stus. Life as Art

      by Dmytro Stus

      No one knows what the mystery of fame is. It often happens that someone who was in the epicenter of events all his life is forgotten immediately after death. Vasyl Stus became widely known after his reburial in 1989. What is the reason for this: poetic creativity? heroic life? irreconcilable position? the ability to care about someone else's pain? The poet's son, Dmytro, tries to find answers to these and many other questions, skillfully combining verified biographical information about the life of Vasyl Stus with his own memories and observations about his father. The litetary style of Dmytro's writing is very peculiar. He juxtaposes conflicting contexts, and combines academic and fictional styles of writing. The book is about the poet and dissident Vasyl Stus through the eyes of a researcher and a son. It is intended for a wide range of readers: from students to academicians.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      March 2019

      Memories of Shaoshan: Stories in Shaoshan

      by Li Wenliang

      The book is divided into nine chapters. Chapter I describes a series of real and touching stories of Mao Zedong when living and working in Shaoshan along with his words and actions when he returned to his hometown 5 times. Chapter II to V take Mao Zedong as the main line, and tell the stories happening between Mao Zedong's relatives and Shaoshan, Mao Zedong and relatives of Shaoshan, Mao Zedong and his neighbors in Shaoshan, and Mao Zedong and his respectful teacher. Chapter VI presents Shaoshan heroes with a lot of vivid examples and Shaoshan spirit that can be observed fromthose heroes. Chapter VII describes the stories of Chinese and foreign celebrities who visited Shaoshan. Chapter IX focuses on Shaoshan history and culture as well as human landscape.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      April 2018

      The Chinese Soul——Deng Xiao Ping

      by Xue Qingshan

      The manuscript objectively records the difficult and tortuous process of the Chinese people's exploration of the road to socialist construction. It focuses on the wisdom and determination of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's firmly on Chinese Communist Party belief, loyalty to the party, and the creation of a socialist cause with Chinese characteristics. The book has rich historical materials, vivid language, clear context, and objectively and truly describes the twists and turns of Deng Xiaoping's "three falls and three rises."

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories

      Hölle im Paradies

      by Martin Gumpert

    • Trusted Partner
      Memoirs
      April 2023

      Born White, Zulu Bred

      A Memoir of a Third World Child

      by GG Alcock

      Born White Zulu Bred is the story of a white child and his brother raised in poverty in a Zulu community in rural South Africa during the apartheid era. His extraordinary parents, Creina and Neil Alcock, gave up lives of comfort and privilege to live and work among the destitute people of Msinga, whose material and social well-being became their mission. But more than that, this is a story about life in South Africa today which, through GG’s unique perspective, explores the huge diversity of the country’s people – from tribal Zulu warriors to sophisticated urban black township entrepreneurs. A journey from the arid wastes of Msinga into the thriving informal economies of urban townships. GG’s view is that we do not live in a black and white world but in a world of contrast and diversity, one which he wants South Africans, and a world audience, to see for what it is without descending into racial and historical clichés. He takes us through the mazes of township marketplaces, shacks and crowded streets to reveal the proud and dignified world of township entrepreneurs who are transforming South Africa’s economy. This is the world that he moves in today as a successful businessman, still walking those spaces and celebrating the vibrant informal economies that are taking part in the Kasinomic Revolution. GG’s story is about being truly African, even as a white person, and it draws on the adventures, the cultural challenges, the informal spaces and the future possibilities of South Africa.

    • Trusted Partner
      Memoirs
      October 2017

      From Para to Dakar

      Overcoming paralysis and conquering the Dakar Rally, a journey of courage and determination

      by Joey Evans

      Joey Evans has always loved bikes, from his first second-hand Raleigh Strika at the age of six to the powerful off-road machines that became his passion later on in his life. His dream was one day to ride the most gruelling off-road race in the world, the 9000km Dakar Rally. In 2007 his dream was shattered when he broke his back in a racing accident. His spinal cord was crushed, leaving him paralysed from just below his chest. Doctors gave him a 10 per cent chance of ever walking again. Many would have given up and become resigned to life in a wheelchair, but not Joey Evans. Not only would he get back on his feet and walk, but he would also keep his Dakar dream alive. It was a long and painful road to recovery, involving years of intensive rehabilitation and training, but he had the love and support of both family and friends and an incredible amount of determination. Joey shares the many challenges he and his family faced, relating the setbacks, as well as successes, along the way to the Dakar start line. But the start line was only the first goal – his sights were set on reaching the finish line, which he did in 2017 – the only South African to do so. From Para to Dakar is so much more than the story of one man reaching the Dakar finish line. It is a story of friendship and respect, compassion and kindness. It is about defying the odds to reach a dream, it is about grit, endurance and raw courage, and it is inspiring in its true heroism.

    • Trusted Partner
      The environment
      October 2022

      The Soul of a Lion

      Reflections on a life lived with animals

      by Willie Labuschagne

      The Soul of a Lion, an engaging memoir by Willie Labuschagne, is an exhilarating journey which begins with the young conservationist’s unique experiences with wild animals. From his groundbreaking research on the desert cheetah’s behaviour and ecology to becoming an internationally respected consultant on environmental and wildlife-related issues, he holds the reader’s attention with all the skill of the master storyteller. The numerous occasions when Willie faced potentially life-threatening situations with wild animals are vividly recounted, many of them wryly humorous while others evoke deep emotion. But not all animal encounters took place in the wild. A significant and poignant encounter that further inspired Willie’s approach to conservation occurred when, during his time as director of the Johannesburg Zoo, he and his family hand-raised a newborn lion cub that had been rejected by its mother. Willie shares his entertaining and often moving life experiences with warmth and understanding, whether it is sleeping under the stars with the bushmen of the Kgalagadi desert or observing the traditions of the Zulu Royal House. His travels in the African landscape in particular are an exciting panorama of many distinctive habitats, from the relentless desert of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia to the pristine beauty of the Tsitsikamma Forest and the breathtaking vastness of the African bushveld. He is forthright in his view of the critical position of the world we live in and the future it holds for mankind and believes that we are all part of a custodianship which should do everything in its power to protect our fragile environment.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography: general
      2021

      Serhiy Paradzhanov. Bigger than a Legend

      by Dziuba Ivan, Dziuba Marta

      The book by Ivan and Marta Dzyuba consists of texts (memoir essays, articles and interviews) that comment on the life and work of Serhiy Paradzhanov, one of the most outstanding and original artists of Ukraine and the world. His image is made up of myths and mythologemes, mostly created by Paradzhanov himself. The authors of the book expand this image by supplementing it with details of everyday life, visualisations and conceptual interpretations of the filmmakers’ actions, in both everyday and artistic life. This book also gives the reader an idea of how Parajanov's artistic universe was formed, how he transitioned from a film director who worked with the myths of communist ideology to an artist who spoke the language of national mythologies in avant-garde and surprisingly modern way.

    • Trusted Partner
      True stories
      2020

      ISOLATION. Secret prisons of Donbas in the stories by people saved from torture and death

      by Daria Bura, Iryna Vovk

      The book of recollections of those, who went through hell and survived: prisoners of Donetsk and Luhansk prisoners, infamous "Isolation", Donbas colonies. These are the stories of those who were exchanged as prisoners of war on December 29, 2019, those who kissed the Ukrainian land at the "Maiorsk" checkpoint. Despite the controversy over the exchange itself, those who sacrificed their lives, families, peace, and health returned home. Ukrainian soldiers, journalists, bloggers, military aides, doctors, and locals talk about the life "before" and "after", about the life of Donbas during the war, about the atrocities and crimes of militants, about the horrors and tortures in captivity.

    • Trusted Partner
      Business, Economics & Law
      January 2024

      Welcome to the club

      The life and lessons of a Black woman DJ

      by DJ Paulette

      In Welcome to the club, Manchester legend DJ Paulette shares the highs, lows and lessons of a thirty-year music career, with help from some famous friends. One of the Haçienda's first female DJs, Paulette has scaled the heights of the music industry, playing to crowds of thousands all around the world, and descended to the lows of being unceremoniously benched by COVID-19, with no chance of furlough and little support from the government. Here she tells her story, offering a remarkable view of the music industry from a Black woman's perspective. Behind the core values of peace, love, unity and respect, dance music is a world of exclusion, misogyny, racism and classism. But, as Paulette reveals, it is also a space bursting at the seams with powerful women. Part personal account, part call to arms, Welcome to the club exposes the exclusivity of the music industry while seeking to do justice to the often invisible women who keep the beat going.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      March 2022

      Body Work

      The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

      by Melissa Febos,

      In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and writing guide, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller's life and the challenges it presents. How do we write about the relationships that have formed us? How do we describe our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean to have your writing, or living, dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or else hailed as "so brave, so raw"? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong? Drawing on her journey from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see their true self reflecting back from the open page.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      March 2022

      Body Work

      The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

      by Melissa Febos,

      In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and writing guide, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller's life and the challenges it presents. How do we write about the relationships that have formed us? How do we describe our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean to have your writing, or living, dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or else hailed as "so brave, so raw"? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong? Drawing on her journey from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see their true self reflecting back from the open page.

    • Trusted Partner
      Biography & True Stories
      March 2022

      Body Work

      The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

      by Melissa Febos,

      In this bold and exhilarating mix of memoir and writing guide, Melissa Febos tackles the emotional, psychological, and physical work of writing intimately while offering an utterly fresh examination of the storyteller's life and the challenges it presents. How do we write about the relationships that have formed us? How do we describe our bodies, their desires and traumas? What does it mean to have your writing, or living, dismissed as "navel-gazing"-or else hailed as "so brave, so raw"? And to whom, in the end, do our most intimate stories belong? Drawing on her journey from aspiring writer to acclaimed author and writing professor-via addiction and recovery, sex work and academia-Melissa Febos has created a captivating guide to the writing life, and a brilliantly unusual exploration of subjectivity, privacy, and the power of divulgence. Candid and inspiring, Body Work will empower readers and writers alike, offering ideas-and occasional notes of caution-to anyone who has ever hoped to see their true self reflecting back from the open page.

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