![]() the topics are all laid out with that combination of clarity and verve that is hallmark" ― GuardianĬharles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core on publication in 1859. "Dawkins's writing demonstrates once again his consummate skill as an explainer. This book is a wonderful addition to his already distinguished ouevre" ― Brian Eno "Richard Dawkins writes about evolution science with unflagging enthusiasm, wit and lucidity. and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it'" ― Dr Alice Roberts, Biological anthropologist, author & broadcaster "With characteristic flair and passion, Dawkins has put on a stunning exhibition of the evidence for evolution. ![]() And what a lot of evidence there is" ― The Economist "In the bicentennial year of Darwin's birth Mr Dawkins fills a gap in his oeuvre by setting out the evidence that the "theory" of evolution is a fact. ![]() It's as fascinating as it is challenging" ― Independent "Richard Dawkins is so much more than just the world's most famous atheist, this smart and engaging "evidence for evolution" is required reading for those who want a grounding in the facts. ![]()
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6/9/2023 0 Comments Legend gemmell![]() All of this is necessary for the story to continue, but overall I feel it could have been done with more finesse. As such, the book is lacking an emotional pull to start. It is, however, shallow, and since we don't know the characters yet, it's hard to believe in the love story. ![]() The author tries to use one element to liven up the otherwise slow beginning by introducing a love story between a self-confessed coward and an unattractive daughter of an Earl. We learn who the heroes are and who the cowards are, the problems with the way the fortress is run, and take a mystical side trip to fulfill the obligations of fantasy. Nothing really happens but a general movement towards Dros Delnoch. As a result, the first hundred pages move very slowly as the players all move into place and we become acquainted with all of them. The men long for a hero, but the legendary Druss has hidden himself away in the mountains and become a myth. The Nadir haven't lost yet and as a result, morale among the defenders is low and desertions are rampant. ![]() With its fall, the Drenai empire is soon to follow. Summary: A masterpiece of fiction on siege warfare, LEGEND explores the life of a legendary hero leading up to his final battle, a hopeless last stand against a vastly formidable enemy.ĭros Delnoch, a massive fortress with six walls of defence, is in danger of falling to the Nadir. ![]() 6/9/2023 0 Comments Mark webber aussie grit![]() ![]() In his long-awaited autobiography, Webber tells the incredible true story of the small town pizza delivery boy who climbed the apex of the world's most dangerous sport. His career in F1 stretched an incredible 12 years, saw him earn 42 podium finishes and triumph in nine races, including twice winning the crown jewel of F1, the Monaco Grand Prix.īut the road to the top of F1 racing is long and full of deadly twists and strange turns. Few know this better than Australian Formula One legend Mark Webber. ![]() In the high-stakes world of Formula One, only the fastest make it to the top. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() By placing sad, lovelorn, virginal Oscar at the book’s heart, Díaz softens the horrors visited on his antecedents, which began when Trujillo cast his predatory eye on wealthy Abelard Cabral’s beautiful daughter. Beli, at age14, had naively hoped this affair would lead to marriage and family, but instead her pregnancy incurred a near-fatal beating, after which she fled to New Jersey to a life of drudgery, single parenting and illness. There, an aunt, La Inca, with strange, possibly supernatural powers, heals and saves Beli after her involvement with one of Trujillo’s minor henchman, who was married to the dictator’s sister. In earthy, streetwise, Spanish-interlaced prose, Díaz links overweight, nerdy fantasist Oscar, his combative, majestic sister and their once Amazonian mother to the island of their ancestry. Its wider focus is an indictment of the terrible Trujillo regime and its aftermath, but the approach is oblique, traced backwards via the children (Oscar and Lola) of a larger-than-life but ruined Dominican matriarch, Beli. ![]() A rich, impassioned vision of the Dominican Republic and its diaspora, filtered through the destiny of a single family.Īfter a noted debut volume of short stories ( Drown, 1996), Díaz pens a first novel that bursts alive in an ironic, confiding, exuberant voice. ![]() ![]() The neoslavery system exploited legal loopholes and federal policies that discouraged prosecution of whites for continuing to hold black workers against their wills. Armies of “free” black men labored without compensation, were repeatedly bought and sold, and were forced through beatings and physical torture to do the bidding of white masters for decades after the official abolition of American slavery. Steel-looking for cheap and abundant labor. Government officials leased falsely imprisoned blacks to small-town entrepreneurs, provincial farmers, and dozens of corporations-including U.S. Thousands of other African Americans were simply seized by southern landowners and compelled into years of involuntary servitude. With no means to pay these ostensible “debts,” prisoners were sold as forced laborers to coal mines, lumber camps, brickyards, railroads, quarries, and farm plantations. Under laws enacted specifically to intimidate blacks, tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested, hit with outrageous fines, and charged for the costs of their own arrests. ![]() Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history-an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. ![]() ![]() ![]() No wonder these same poets describe an unburdening, a freer hand that enters to write their second and third books. To hear some established poets tell it, their first books often encompass their earliest fumbles and stumbles, experiments, imitations, MFA assignments, and poems they think they should be writing. It is as if the formative early years of childhood were knit together to tell one story. For many contemporary poets, the first book holds poems written over years and representing different phases in their lives. Alice James Books, 2013, 80 pages.įIRST BOOKS OF POETRY CAN BE VIEWED AS THEIR OWN GENRE, marking a coming out, often after years of rough drafts, revisions, second-guessing, wild insecurities, honing, re-ordering, re-titling. Stahlecker Selections, Four Way, 2013, 84 pages Viral, by Suzanne Parker. ![]() ![]() Reviewed in this Essay: She Has a Name, by Kamilah Aisha Moon. Two Debut Poetry Books by Women by Janlori Goldman From the Winter 2013-2014 issue of Jewish Currents ![]() ![]() However, it does require a structured approach and consistency. Learning a language takes commitment and exposure, but it doesn’t have to be hard and tedious work. It covers all four basic skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing, and you can enjoy the freedom and flexibility to learn in your own home or on the go. No matter your reasons for wanting to learn Azeri, this course is the perfect starting point. Do you want to develop or improve your Azeri reading, writing, speaking and listening skills?.Are you curious about the Azeri language?.Would you like to better honor your Azeri heritage?.Do you wish that you were able to speak with your Azeri family and friends?.Do you want to master everyday situations with Azeri speakers?.Are you planning a trip or a move to Azerbaijan?.There are many good reasons for wanting to learn Azeri: ![]() ![]() Learn the vocabulary, grammar and communication skills you need to become a confident Azeri speaker. ![]() ![]() ![]() ‘Very moving… Shriver has the magic ability to make the reader invested in the fate – fates, I should say – of her characters’ Daily Telegraph ![]() ‘I think Shriver’s novels are wonderful… fun, smart and, perhaps because of their author’s unconventional political views, unlike anything else you’ll read’ Financial Times ‘Witty and thought-provoking’ Woman’s Weekly With Should We Stay or Should We Go, she’s added triumphantly to their number’ The Times ‘Shriver said that her favourite novels are those that pack both an intellectual and emotional punch. ‘Thought-provoking, timely, and extremely funny’ Metro Disgust expands and bursts into belly laughs… a very funny book’ Sunday Times ![]() ‘Hilarious… Fiery phrases spit and crackle. A best fiction book of 2021 for The Times ![]() ![]() ![]() This was a great pick by the VanderMeers because “Grandpa” deserves preserving, and Schmitz deserves better recognition. “Grandpa” was first published in the February 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and it’s been well anthologized since. ![]() Last July I read it in The Great SF Stories 17 (1955) edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. This is my second reading of “ Grandpa” by James H. ![]() I can understand why I was captivated by tall tales in my adolescence but why didn’t I ever outgrow them? After forty years of adult reality, why do I still enjoy children’s fantasies? Science fiction fans usually discover the genre when young, enchanted by its sense of wonder, even becoming addicted to the fantastic for the rest of their lives. Group Read 27: The Big Book of Science Fiction ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Sara urges resistance by the self-named "Crip Camp" residents against philanthropists and the "able-bodied" counselors, who mean well yet are patronizing. The friendships Jean makes at the cross-disability Camp Courage and the new ideas she learns from her activist friend Sara change Jean's outlook. Johnson, an activist and lawyer who was born with a congenital neuromuscular disease, also published a memoir, Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales from A Life (2005). Accidents of Nature could instigate a paradigm shift in how teenage readers look at bodies and consider the concepts of "normal" and "different" regarding mobility and speech. Set in 1970 and partly autobiographical, this novel geared toward a young adult audience uncovers the need for a disability rights movement. The novel Accidents of Natureby Harriet McBryde Johnson depicts the summer camp experiences of Jean, a senior who attends public high school in a small Southern town and who has cerebral palsy. ![]() |