Ferguson disagrees, preferring Tolstoy’s view that human calamities are natural phenomena comparable to a hurricane. Thus, they explain that the shocking 1914 outbreak of World War I was caused by decades of competition between Europe’s great powers. Historians follow every disaster with an explanation. Major catastrophes occur so rarely that few of us take the risk personally and continue to invest in risky stocks, settle in flood plains, and thrill at the beginning of the latest war. There is no average forest fire, stock market drop, or measles outbreak. Perhaps most important of all, Ferguson emphasizes, these phenomena tend to follow “power laws” rather than the familiar normal distribution such as human heights. “Yet they seldom reflect very deeply on their common properties.” With all disasters, the social context is crucial: A hurricane or earthquake is of no consequence unless there are people around. “Historians tend to gravitate toward the study of…extreme disasters, with a preference for the man-made varieties,” writes the author. The result is this assertive, intensely researched, sometimes unconvincing, but always entertaining account. The bestselling British historian offers his thoughts on major disasters, including the current pandemic, with an emphasis on why humans handle them so badly.Īfter seeing his warnings about the severity of Covid-19 ignored in early 2020, Ferguson revived his interest in the role of disasters in world history.
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Grant replied, “All right, where do you wish me to go with you?” President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation, and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest.” Police Officer William West, a Civil War veteran, informed President Grant, “I am very sorry, Mr. Police Force had arrested President Grant and accompanied him to the police station for Grant to be charged with the crime. As president, he was tempted to race his two-horse carriage at reckless and illegal speeds through Washington's increasingly urbanized streets.Īccording to a 1908 article in the Sunday Star of Washington, it was reported that a long-time black veteran of the D.C. President Grant had an enviable reputation as a horseman and as an aficionado of prime horseflesh from his days at West Point onward. Grant, a war hero and president of the United States from 1869-1877, was arrested for “fast driving” his two-horse carriage on the streets of Washington, D.C. In the reporting of this historic event, it has come to light that Trump, however, is not the first president, former or otherwise, to be arrested. | Getty ImagesĪs anyone who has not been on a wilderness retreat for the last two weeks will know, former President Trump has become the first former President to be arrested and accused of a crime. United States fifty-dollar bill of United States currency with President Ulysses S. Wind in your hair, sun on your face … soul-bearing self-reflection blasting out of the speakers? Trust me on this one. Here are five new books to take with you and immerse yourself in when you have nothing to do for hours but look ahead and listen. Freshly vaccinated and craving such movement, many are now planning their first big road trips in over a year. Rather, I’ve learned that my mind can actually be in two places at once that my imagination thrives in the blankness of forward motion. I’ve come back to audiobooks on every road trip since - and not only because they keep me alert. The story worked like a kind of narrative amphetamine, keeping my eyes open when everything I know of physiology said they should have been shut. Trusting an algorithm to find something to keep me awake, I downloaded “The Lost City of Z,” David Grann’s gripping tale of the obsessive, swashbuckling Victorian explorer Percy Fawcett. But then, around two years ago, I found myself in Chile, exhausted by a string of flight delays and facing a long drive through the night. For the longest time, books seemed too evocative for car rides, too absorbing to serve as mere accompaniment to a scenic journey. It was only recently that I discovered the joy to be found in an audiobook-fueled road trip. This is a mistake because what scholars have done is to let a valuable resource fall through the cracks. Many of his books for kids are still available, while his criticism has been neglected and allowed to go out of print. In a life that included friendships with both Tolkien and Lewis, he managed both a family, and a career as a critic and author of children’s books, as well as being a central yet overlooked member of the informal Inkling literary club. Roger Green made a decent enough use of his time on earth. There is at least one name missing from the roster of men who according to Philip and Carol Zaleski, “altered, in large or small measure, the course of imaginative literature ( The Fellowship, 4).” The name belongs to Roger Lancelyn Green. While Glyer’s appendix is thorough, it is by no means complete. In an appendix to her otherwise excellent The Company They Keep, Diana Glyer provides a list of the members of the literary club known as the Inklings, an informal collection of writers centered around the twin fantasists J.R.R. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, Can I ever feel okay about myself? A brilliant achievement from New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins-who has been called the bestselling living poet in the country by -Tricks is a book that turns you on and repels you at the same time. Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story-a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words I love you are said for all the wrong reasons. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching.for freedom, safety, community, family, love. When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival. When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival. Tricks Show full title By Ellen Hopkins 4 / 5 ( 325 ratings ) About this ebook Five troubled teenagers fall into prostitution as they search for freedom, safety, community, family, and love in this 1 New York Times bestselling novel from Ellen Hopkins. Five troubled teenagers fall into prostitution as they search for freedom, safety, community, family, and love in this #1 New York Times bestselling novel from Ellen Hopkins. About the Author: Jean Renoir (1894-1979), the son of the painter Auguste Renoir, was born in Paris, grew up in the south of France, and served as a cavalryman and pilot during World War I. Recounting Pierre-Auguste's extraordinary career, beginning as a painter of fans and porcelain, recording the rules of thumb by which he worked, and capturing his unpretentious and wonderfully engaging talk and personality, Jean Renoir's book is both a wonderful double portrait of father and son and, in the words of the distinguished art historian John Golding, it "remains the best account of Renoir, and, furthermore, among the most beautiful and moving biographies we have." Includes 12 pages of color plates and 18 pages of black and white images. In this delightful memoir, Jean Renoir, the director of such masterpieces of the cinema as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game, tells the life story of his father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the great Impressionist painter. You can live a spiritual life and still be grounded in the real world around you without having to buy into a church or religious groups party line. The reader is encouraged to use these moments in refining an understanding of who/what God is, who we are to God, and how all this makes sense in our relationships with others. What do you want your life to be like? Do you feel spiritually connected every day? Do you feel that your major decisions are an extension of the Universe being lived out through you? Anxious Disciple contains many "journal opportunities" that provide moments of reflection. This is essential in living a more effective and rewarding life. Living in the here and now is the key to making all this possible and empowers a disciple to live with less anxiety. Mills begins with grounding the reader in spiritual connection with the divine, then moves to cultivating a deeper awareness of self, and then connects these two aspects of being to having effective relationships. Hearkening back to Be Here Now, Remember, by Ram Dass, Anxious Disciple blends together Eastern philosophy, Christian metaphysics, counseling theories, and common sense to provide a spiritual guide that deals with all these questions. The Witness is a stand alone romance suspense novel with all the ingredients that make this genre work. Roberts has done it with style by coming up with a winner! That's a great achievement, however, the best aspect of this celebration is that Ms. The Witness by Nora Roberts is her 200th novel. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something-and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems-and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. The events that followed changed her life forever. Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally lets loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. With Alex by her side, she thinks things are going okay and that she will be able to keep the promise she made to Hades. Jodi is the leader of the Ophi at the school and she must train them in how to raise souls and release them. Jodi was really put through the wringer in book 1, that got even worse in book 2, so what does that say for book 3? Bearing that in mind, I'm not sure I even want to hazard a guess at what's to come in the final book of the trilogy, Face of Death. In all honesty, maybe this is the better book of the two, if only because there's more action and it's more scary. But have no fear, Kelly Hashway knows how to write a sequel. I am always wary of sequel books because I always wonder if they can live up to the expectations that the preceding book sets down. If you haven't already read Touch of Death, I urge you to do so. But I finally got my greedy hands on a copy of Stalked By Death and was instantly sucked back into the world of Jodi and the Ophi. The only drawback with getting ARCs of these fantastic books is that I have to wait that much longer for the next book to be available. So, I've been waiting for this book since the moment I put Touch of Death down. Wright delivered a hot tale, fleshed out characters, a decade old mystery and family secrets.Yeehaa!įive reasons to grab a cup of coffee and curl up with Brandedġ. Branded is the first in the Cavanaugh Brothers series a contemporary romance series set in the small town of River Black, Texas at the Triple C cattle ranch. I accepted the book for review after reading the synopsis and discovering it was a series involving brothers. Sometimes a book delivers all the elements that I adore and such was the case with Branded by Laura Wright. Now Deacon is faced with the choice of a lifetime: Take down the Triple C to feed his need for revenge, or embrace the love of the one person who has broken down every barrier to his heart But as the two battle for control, their attraction builds. Mac knows Deacon means to destroy the ranch and therefore destroy her livelihood. He never expected the ranch’s forewoman, Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way. The eldest son, Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn’t wait to leave the ranch and move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to stop Blue at any cost. When the Cavanaugh brothers return home for their father’s funeral, they discover unexpected evidence of the old man’s surprising double life-a son named Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. But it also holds painful memories and shocking secrets for the Cavanaugh brothers. In the small town of River Black, Texas, sits the Triple C-a working cattle ranch that sustains the town. |