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Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Breif Summary
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life.
With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and she would do it alone.
Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.
ISBN:9780307592736
Author:Cheryl Strayed
A Political Biography of Jakaya Mrish...
Brief Summary
Jk: A Political Biography of Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete: President of the United Republic of Tanzania
This is the first comprehensive study of the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, the fourth president of the United Republic of Tanzania who took office in December 2005. Julius Nyang oro offers an insightful analysis of President Kikwete s beginnings as a party functionary and analyzes his rise to the highest political office in the country. In his analysis of Kikwete as a politician, Nyang oro manages to weave a compelling narrative on the relationship between Kikwete s political evolution and the contemporary history of Tanzania since independence. The picture that emerges forces the reader to go beyond a narrative about an individual politician and brings to the fore the many contradictions of post-colonial development in Tanzania. At the center of the narrative is a story about leadership, human agency and the constraints of underdevelopment as leaders strive to positively influence change in their countries. While this is a sympathetic analysis of Kikwete and his rise to power, it also asks tough questions on the role of the ruling party and the interpersonal relations within the ruling party s leadership. The story benefits from the uniqueness of Tanzania as a particular form of a modern African nation-state while addressing the challenges posed by that uniqueness.
Although the book is rightly titled A Political Biography of Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, it essentially represents a very rich and refreshing account of the post-colonial political development in Tanzania. Its narrative brilliantly captures the critical role of the human agency in development for any African country.
By heavily borrowing from the late Julius Nyerere's philosophy of social engineering, JK's governance style has skillfully established a productive and organic rapport with the formal and informal institutions of the Tanzanian state and society. In his first five year term, JK has also successfully utilized his considerable personal magnetism to mobilize the masses to several of his intimate political causes: nation-building, development and the anti-corruption crusade. Above all, his immense diplomatic skills have produced huge political dividends to Tanzania's conflict-prone neighbors.
I am very confident that this book will be on everyone's shelf interested in understanding how to grapple with Africa's development challenges. SEVERINE M. RUGUMAMU, Ph.D Professor, Institute of Development Studies (IDS)University of Dar-es-Salaam Julius Nyang oro s biography of Tanzanian President, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (known as JK), is a fine study of an outstanding African leader; and a paean of an African success story in nation-building and state-construction.
Kikwete s presidency comprises a complex amalgam of the socialist experiment of his great mentor, Julius Nyerere, and a pragmatic adoption of a political economy that responded to the exigencies of a changing world. Nyang oro traces the life of Kikwete from childhood, through schooling and work as a devoted cadre of Tanzania s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Recognized early on as a talented and devoted party stalwart by the party leaders, Kikwete rose through the ranks eventually ending as the leader of CCM and President of the country. The book provides an excellent summary of how Kikwete managed to accomplish the difficult task of balancing the legacy of Nyerere s socialism with the requirements of a market-responsive economy and multi-party democracy. It does this by reference to the earnest attempts at fulfilling the objectives (values) of sustainable development, national unity, rule of law, human rights and social justice. The application of the rule of law in particular is illustrated by the way corrupt high ranking government officials are investigated and tried without fear or favor, but with fairness an
ISBN:9781592217755
Author:Julius Nyangoro
A Song for You My Life with Whitney H...
Brief Summary
After decades of silence, Robyn Crawford, close friend, collaborator, and confidante of Whitney Houston, shares her story.
Whitney Houston is as big a superstar as the music business has ever known. She exploded on the scene in 1985 with her debut album and spent the next two decades dominating the charts and capturing the hearts of fans around the world. One person was there by her side through it all--her best friend, Robyn Crawford.
Since Whitney's death in 2012, Robyn has stayed out of the limelight and held the great joys, wild adventures, and hard truths of her life with Whitney close to her heart. Now, for the first time ever, Crawford opens up in her new memoir, A Song for You.
With warmth, candor, and an impressive recall of detail, Robyn describes the two meeting as teenagers in the 1980s, and how their lives and friendship evolved as Whitney recorded her first album and Robyn pursued her promising Division I basketball career. Together during countless sold-out world tours, behind the scenes as hit after hit was recorded, through Whitney's marriage and the birth of her daughter, the two navigated often challenging families, great loves, and painful losses, always supporting each other with laughter and friendship.
Deeply personal and heartfelt, A Song for You is the vital, honest, and previously untold story that provides an understanding of the complex life of Whitney Houston. Finally, the person who knew her best sets the record straight.
ISBN:9781524742843
Author:Robyn Crawford
The Book of Gutsy Women by Hillary Cl...
The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them—women with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done.
She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old. "Go ahead, ask your question,” her father urged, nudging her forward. She smiled shyly and said, "You’re my hero. Who’s yours?”
Many people—especially girls—have asked us that same question over the years. It’s one of our favorite topics.
HILLARY: Growing up, I knew hardly any women who worked outside the home. So I looked to my mother, my teachers, and the pages of Life magazine for inspiration. After learning that Amelia Earhart kept a scrapbook with newspaper articles about successful women in male-dominated jobs, I started a scrapbook of my own. Long after I stopped clipping articles, I continued to seek out stories of women who seemed to be redefining what was possible.
CHELSEA: This book is the continuation of a conversation the two of us have been having since I was little. For me, too, my mom was a hero; so were my grandmothers. My early teachers were also women. But I grew up in a world very different from theirs. My pediatrician was a woman, and so was the first mayor of Little Rock who I remember from my childhood. Most of my close friends’ moms worked outside the home as nurses, doctors, teachers, professors, and in business. And women were going into space and breaking records here on Earth.
Ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls remains a big piece of the unfinished business of the twenty-first century. While there’s a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book.
So how did they do it? The answers are as unique as the women themselves. Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, and swimmer Diana Nyad kept pushing forward, no matter what. Writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named something no one had dared talk about before. Historian Mary Beard used wit to open doors that were once closed, and Wangari Maathai, who sparked a movement to plant trees, understood the power of role modeling.
Harriet Tubman and Malala Yousafzai looked fear in the face and persevered. Nearly every single one of these women was fiercely optimistic—they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right.
To us, they are all gutsy women—leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, we hope you will draw strength from these stories. We do. Because if history shows one thing, it’s that the world needs gutsy women.
Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
Brief Summary
Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be.
With wry wit and hard-earned wisdom, popular online personality and founder of TheChicSite.com founder Rachel Hollis helps readers break free from the lies keeping them from the joy-filled and exuberant life they are meant to have.
Founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Chic Media, Rachel Hollis has created an online fan base of hundreds of thousands of fans by sharing tips for living a better life while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own. Now comes her highly anticipated first book featuring her signature combination of honesty, humor, and direct, no-nonsense advice.
Each chapter of Girl, Wash Your Face begins with a specific lie Hollis once believed that left her feeling overwhelmed, unworthy, or ready to give up. As a working mother, a former foster parent, and a woman who has dealt with insecurities about her body and relationships, she speaks with the insight and kindness of a BFF, helping women unpack the limiting mind-sets that destroy their self-confidence and keep them from moving forward.
From her temporary obsession with marrying Matt Damon to a daydream involving hypnotic iguanas to her son's request that she buy a necklace to "be like the other moms," Hollis holds nothing back. With unflinching faith and tenacity, Hollis spurs other women to live with passion and hustle and to awaken their slumbering goals.
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The Girl who Dared to Dream by Betty ...
The Girl who Dared to Dream is the moving and highly motivational story of Dr. Betty Muthoni Gikonyo, who works exceedingly hard to overcome near insuperable social difficulties in pursuit of her childhood dreams.
Her autobiography tells the story of a girl born into rural neediness at a time when education for the girl child is taboo among the Kenyan indigenous communities. Despite numerous roadblocks, social rapids and waterfalls, Betty Muthoni is unrelentingly focused on her dream. She has to become a physician, no matter the odds.
She will be a blessing to herself, her family and to very many others. Her story takes you through the complete gamut of human emotions and passions, revealing her as truly human and humane, both in her high and low moments. In the words of Judge Justice Joyce Aluoch, this story is simply a must read, for everybody.
My First Time by Janet Mbugua
Storytelling can be a powerful tool in influencing policy. "My First Time" brings together 50 voices who narrated their stories on a topic that is to date highly taboo, but have a place in changing perceptions.
These stories, once internalized, have the potential to improve the lives of millions, not only in Kenya but around the world, in putting an end to period poverty.
'It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story' - American Indian saying.
Shero By Grace
Brief Summary
Although she came from a dysfunctional family, her mother was hard working, determined and wise.
Although they were needy and had to live through difficult circumstances, Julianne Susanne was focused, disciplined and intelligent. By God’s grace, she is where she is today and looking forward to greater heights. In SHERO by Grace, Dr. Julianne Susanne Otim looks back at how she waded through troubled waters to becoming University lecturer, Pastor's wife, mother of three and shero to many.
Shero by Grace; was born of a desire to share the many lessons she has learned along the way and a conviction to encourage young people to work hard, be focused and trust God to fulfill the good plans
He has made for them. It is a testimony that He will bring every individual who trusts Him to the destiny he has prepared for them.
Parents, buy Shero by Grace; for yourselves, the parenting lessons therein are priceless and for your children to be inspired. Young adults, this is your book; you will be encouraged by Julianne Susanne tenacity and by the gracious ways God led her and provided for her and how he continues to use her today. He did it for her, He can do it for you.
ISBN:9789036743839
Author:Julianne Susanne Sansa Otim
My Story by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Ma...
Brief Summary
This important collection of anecdotes and reminiscences from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is published to mark the occasion of his fifty years in public service, which began with his appointment as Dubai’s Minister of Defence in 1968.
These stories tell of the vision behind Dubai’s meteoric growth from a small and bustling trading port to an international metropolis at the heart of global business. They record the evolution of the United Arab Emirates from a shared ideal to a nation where more than 195 nationalities live and work in peace, harmony and prosperity. And they reveal insights from a man whose drive, determination and will to succeed have become legendary.
Within these stories lies the heart of Sheikh Mohammed the statesman, the equestrian, the poet and the leader. They are written with the intent to inspire and inform new generations of readers, and to celebrate the achievements of this young and vibrant nation and the people who shaped it.
This celebration of a life in service is unavoidably incomplete. As Sheikh Mohammed himself indicates, there is still so much left to do. As a record of the first fifty years alone, however, it forms part of a remarkable legacy.
Other titles written by Sheikh Mohammed and published by Explorer include Zayed, Reflections on Happiness & Positivity, Flashes of Verse and Two Great Leaders.
Gay Girl Good God by Jackie Hill Perry
Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been.
"I used to be a lesbian."
In Gay Girl, Good God , author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless, experienced gender confusion, and embraced both masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being.
She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could?
At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel.
Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.
The Special One The Dark Side of Jose...
Brief Summary
An explosive and shocking biography of Jose Mourinho - revealing the dark side of 'the special one'.
When José Mourinho announced his return to English football, it sparked celebrations from fans and press alike. As one of the most charismatic figures in the game, his reappearance could surely only be a good thing…
But is there a darker side to the Mourinho? A mischievous, scheming, even tyrannical quality to the man beneath the veneer of charm?
As part of El Pais, Diego Torres is one of the premier investigative journalists in Spanish football, and in this explosive biography of 'the special one' he uncovers secrets and lies that will change the way we see Mourinho.
From dodgy dealings to assassinations of players both outside and within his own team, and other shocking revelations, Prepare To Lose reveals Mourinho as a man far removed from the hero so many people consider him to be.
ISBN:9780007553037
Author:Diego Torres
Higher Is Waiting by Tyler Perry
Brief Summary
In this intimate book of inspiration, Tyler Perry writes of how his faith has sustained him in hard times, centered him in good times, and enriched his life.
Higher Is Waiting is a spiritual guidebook, a collection of teachings culled from the experiences of a lifetime, meant to inspire readers to climb higher in their own lives and pull themselves up to a better, more fulfilling place.
Beginning with his earliest memories of growing up a shy boy in New Orleans, Perry recalls the moments of grace and beauty in a childhood marked by brutality, deprivation, and fear.
With tenderness he sketches portraits of the people who sustained him and taught him indelible lessons about integrity, trust in God, and the power of forgiveness: his aunt Mae, who cared for her grandfather, who was born a slave, and sewed quilts that told a story of generations; Mr. Butler, a blind man of remarkable dignity and elegance, who sold penny candies on a street corner; and his beloved mother, Maxine, who endured abuse, financial hardship, and the daily injustices of growing up in the Jim Crow South yet whose fierce love for her son burned bright and never dimmed. Perry writes of how he nurtured his dreams and discovered solace in nature, and of his resolute determination to reach ever higher.
Perry vividly and movingly describes his growing awareness of God's presence in his life, how he learned to tune in to His voice, to persevere through hard times, and to choose faith over fear. Here he is: the devoted son, the loving father, the steadfast friend, the naturalist, the philanthropist, the creative spirit--a man whose life lessons and insights into scripture are a gift offered with generosity, humility, and love.
Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chels...
Brief Summary
In a haze of vape smoke on a rare windy night in L.A. in the fall of 2016, Chelsea Handler daydreams about what life will be like with a woman in the White House. And then Donald Trump happens. In a torpor of despair, she decides that she's had enough of the privileged bubble she's lived in--a bubble within a bubble--and that it's time to make some changes, both in her personal life and in the world at large.
At home, she embarks on a year of self-sufficiency--learning how to work the remote, how to pick up dog shit, where to find the toaster. She meets her match in an earnest, brainy psychiatrist and enters into therapy, prepared to do the heavy lifting required to look within and make sense of a childhood marked by love and loss and to figure out why people are afraid of her.
She becomes politically active--finding her voice as an advocate for change, having difficult conversations, and energizing her base. In the process, she develops a healthy fixation on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and, through unflinching self-reflection and psychological excavation, unearths some glittering truths that light up the road ahead.
ISBN:9780525511779
Author:Chelsea Handler
Soaring Above the Storms of Passion b...
Mudavadi’s memoir, Soaring Above the Storms of Passion, paints Odinga as a man under pressure who was willing to play tricks on both friend and foe to overcome the difficult situation before him.
Some of Mudavadi’s claims have also corroborated what had already been written by exiled Kenyan activist Miguna Miguna who was part of Odinga’s team in the aftermath of August General Election.
For instance, Mudavadi writes of the plan to have a parallel swearing in ceremony for Odinga.
The plan received a lot of opposition from the international community and the ANC Party Leader says one Western country went as far as to cancel Odinga’s visa and that of many of his allies.
Mudavadi was in the team of those who believed the Opposition chief should not have been sworn in but Odinga was also under a lot of pressure from the swearing in diehards who included Miguna Miguna, James Orengo, Jimmy Wanjigi, Raila Junior, among others.
As the pressure mounted, Mudavadi, in consultation with Raila and the technical team decided to announce the postponement of the swearing in ceremony that had been expected to take place on December 12th 2018.
Just before Mudavadi could make the announcement during a press conference at Okoa Kenya office, Raila became untraceable.
Unknown to Mudavadi, the Opposition chief was holed up in Jimmy Wanjigi’s house in Muthaiga where the Okoa Kenya TV had planned to film a swearing in ceremony which would then be distributed on the internet.
The team in Wanjigi’s house did not know that Raila had already directed the swearing in ceremony to be postponed, and kept asking Mudavadi why he was taking too long to make the announcement.
"I learnt from people present that Raila seemed to have been very shocked to watch us on TV calling off the swearing in. He is reported to have said, "Oh they are calling it off?” At this point the swearing in at Muthaiga was called off. Before we left for the Okoa Kenya offices, he had called me to ask why we were taking long to make the announcement,” Mudavadi writes in his new book.
Brutally Honest by Mel B and Louise G...
Brief Summary
The tell-all memoir from the loudest, proudest Spice Girl – and the truth behind the headlines.
As one-fifth of the iconic Spice Girls and judge on X Factor and America's Got Talent, Melanie Brown, a.k.a Scary Spice, has been an international star since her twenties. Brutally Honest is an exposé of the struggles and acute pain that lay behind the glamour and success.
With deep personal insight, remarkable frankness and trademark Yorkshire humour, the book removes the mask of fame and reveals the true story behind the Spice Girls, as well as the horror of her most recent marriage and her 10 year struggle to be free.
ISBN:9781787133525
Author:Mel B and Louise Gannon
Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
Brief Summary
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it.
Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online—a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.
Working by Robert Caro Hardcover
Brief Summary
Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.
From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Power Broker and The Years of Lyndon Johnson: an unprecedented gathering of vivid, candid, deeply revealing recollections about his experiences researching and writing his acclaimed books
For the first time in his long career, Robert Caro gives us a glimpse into his own life and work in these evocatively written, personal pieces. He describes what it was like to interview the mighty Robert Moses; what it felt like to begin discovering the extent of the political power Moses wielded; the combination of discouragement and exhilaration he felt confronting the vast holdings of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas; his encounters with witnesses, including longtime residents wrenchingly displaced by the construction of Moses’ Cross-Bronx Expressway and Lady Bird Johnson acknowledging the beauty and influence of one of LBJ’s mistresses.
He gratefully remembers how, after years of loneliness, he found a writers’ community at the New York Public Library’s Frederick Lewis Allen Room and details the ways he goes about planning and composing his books.
Caro recalls the moments at which he came to understand that he wanted to write not just about the men who wielded power but about the people and the politics that were shaped by that power. And he talks about the importance to him of the writing itself, of how he tries to infuse it with a sense of place and mood to bring characters and situations to life on the page.
Taken together, these reminiscences–some previously published, some written expressly for this book–bring into focus the passion, the wry self-deprecation, and the integrity with which this brilliant historian has always approached his work.
ISBN:9780525656340
Author:Robert Caro
Bibi The Turbulent Life and Times of ...
For many in Israel and elsewhere, Benjamin Netanyahu is anathema, an embarrassment; yet he continues to dominate Israeli public life. How can we explain his rise, his hold on Israeli politics, and his outsized role on the world's stage?
In Bibi, Anshel Pfeffer reveals the formative influence of Netanyahu's father and grandfather, who bequeathed to him a once-marginal brand of Zionism combining Jewish nationalism with religious traditionalism.
In the Zionist enterprise, Netanyahu embodies the triumph of the underdogs over the secular liberals who founded the nation. Netanyahu's Israel is a hybrid of ancient phobia and high-tech hope; of tribalism and globalism - just like the man himself. We cannot understand Israel today without first understanding the man who leads it.
Finding My Voice by Valerie Jarrett
Brief Summary
Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
When Valerie Jarrett interviewed a promising young lawyer named Michelle Robinson in July 1991 for a job in Chicago city government, neither knew that it was the first step on a path that would end in the White House. Jarrett soon became Michelle and Barack Obama's trusted personal adviser and family confidante; in the White House, she was known as the one who "got" him and helped him engage his public life. Jarrett joined the White House team on January 20, 2009 and departed with the First Family on January 20, 2017, and she was in the room--in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, and everywhere else--when it all happened. No one has as intimate a view of the Obama Years, nor one that reaches back as many decades, as Jarrett shares in Finding My Voice.
Born in Iran (where her father, a doctor, sought a better job than he could find in segregated America), Jarrett grew up in Chicago in the 60s as racial and gender barriers were being challenged. A single mother stagnating in corporate law, she found her voice in Harold Washington's historic administration, where she began a remarkable journey, ultimately becoming one of the most visible and influential African-American women of the twenty-first century.
From her work ensuring equality for women and girls, advancing civil rights, reforming our criminal justice system, and improving the lives of working families, to the real stories behind some of the most stirring moments of the Obama presidency, Jarrett shares her forthright, optimistic perspective on the importance of leadership and the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century, inspiring readers to lift their own voices.
ISBN:B07FRTVKQV
Author:Valerie Jarrett
The Girl with Seven Names by David Jo...
Brief Summary
An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal totalitarian regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told "the best on the planet”?
Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.
She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities – involving imprisonment, torture, and possible public execution. Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. Twelve years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea, on one of the most arduous, costly and dangerous journeys imaginable.
This is the unique story not only of Hyeonseo’s escape from the darkness into the light, but also of her coming of age, education and the resolve she found to rebuild her life – not once, but twice – first in China, then in South Korea. Strong, brave and eloquent, this memoir is a triumph of her remarkable spirit.
ISBN:9780007554836
Author:David John and Lee Hyeon seo
