remarkable
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Wittman, Robert K. / Shiffman, John, PUBLISHER: Broadway Books, "The Wall Street Journal "called him "a living legend." "The London Times "dubbed him "the most famous art detective in the world." In "Priceless, "Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival "The Thomas Crown Affair." Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Santa Fe, Miami and Madrid. In this page-turning memoir, Wittman fascinates with the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: The golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. The Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement. The headdress Geronimo wore at his final Pow-Wow. The rare Civil War battle flag carried into battle by one of the nation's first African-American regiments. The breadth of Wittman's exploits is unmatched: He traveled the world to rescue paintings by Rockwell and Rembrandt, Pissarro, Monet and Picasso, often working undercover overseas at the whim of foreign governments. Closer to home, he recovered an original copy of the Bill of Rights and cracked the scam that rocked the PBS series "Antiques Roadshow." By the FBI's accounting, Wittman saved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and antiquities. He says the statistic isn't important. After all, who's to say what is worth more --a Rembrandt self-portrait or an American flag carried into battle? They're both priceless. The art thieves and scammers Wittman caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. The smuggler who brought him a looted 6th-century treasure turned out to be a high-ranking diplomat. The appraiser who stole countless heirlooms from war heroes' descendants was a slick, aristocratic con man. The museum janitor who made off with locks of George Washington's hair just wanted to make a few extra bucks, figuring no one would miss what he'd filched. In his final case, Wittman called on every bit of knowledge and experience in his arsenal to take on his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the vicious criminals behind what might be the most audacious art theft of all. "From the Hardcover edition."
When God Stood Up: A Christian Response to AIDS in Africa
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Cantelon, James, PUBLISHER: John Wiley & Sons, THE VICTIMS OF THE AIDS PANDEMIC IN AFRICA ARE FAR MORE NUMEROUS THAN THE DEAD AND DYING. MILLIONS OF ORPHANS AND WIDOWS ARE TRYING TO SURVIVE IN EXTREME POVERTY AND SOCIAL OPRESSION. JAMES CANTELON, A CANADIAN PASTOR, HAS CHALLENGED CHURCHES IN AFRICA-AND IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES-TO UNITE IN A COMMON CAUSE TO BRING RELIEF TO SUFFERING OF INTOLERABLE MAGNITUDE. When God Stood Up is the story of a remarkable journey that affirms God's presence in the most ravaged places on Earth. Millions of our fellow human beings are depending on just to be "God's hand extended." Read about their stories and be humbled. "The book puts HIV/AIDS into terrifying perspective. Jim and Kathy Cantelon are the face of God's love to so many who are so desperate." --Deborah Grey, MP (ret'd). "As Jim narrates his accelerated response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it reminds one of the image G.K. Chesterton captured of St. Francis: always running.' Within a matter of weeks, the author catapults out of Vancouver to the Durban colloquium, to hospitals and church events across the sub-Sahara-you sometimes look for a page to catch your breath Come to think of it, with the awesome destruction of human life described here, what could be mode appropriate? When God Stood Up carries a sense of that which it issues a call for: breathless haste." --John & Ruth Kerr, Trans-Africa Theological College, Kitwe, Zambia "Posturing God as standing up sends readers a signal: beware. Coddled for years by an image of a benign and permissive deity, Cantelon gives a yank on our leash of grace. Human tragedy, he reminds us, isn't just unfortunate-it's the stuff of life that strikes at the very heart of faith, a fait he asserts that should neither be smug nor comfortable. This God of justice makes it clear that those who call themselves by his name are to do no less than embrace justice." --Brian Stiller, President, Tyndale University & Seminary, Toronto "This is more than the story of the calling of a man to a god-sized mission. It is an informative, unfolding drama of perhaps the most critical issue of our time-AIDS in Africa. As Jim has cast and recast his vision, people all over the world have been caught and reeled in to unexpected roles, in response to the pandemic. My husband and I are in that number. Be warned as you read, you too may be stirred to action " --Moira Brown, Co-host, 100 Huntley Street, CTS-TV
Alma Mahler: Or the Art of Being Loved
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Giroud, Francoise / Stock, R. M., PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press, USA, Born in , the daughter of a Viennese painter, Alma Mahler inspired the passionate love and devotion of an astonishing array of creative artists. She married three of them--the composer Gustav Mahler, the architect Walter Gropius, and the writer Franz Werfel--and had a host of admirers and lovers, including the painters Oscar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, and Gustav Klimpt. The composer Alban Berg dedicated his opera Wozzeck to her and a violin concerto to the memory of her daughter, Manon, who died of polio. In Alma Mahler, Francoise Giroud provides a spirited portrait of one of Europe's great femme fatales, ranging from her childhood (she was raised on a steady diet of Nietzche) to her heyday as a leading figure in Europe's art scene, to her later life as an exile in California and New York. We meet a woman of remarkable beauty and unconventional mind, the possessor of a fine, demanding intelligence, who was highly conscious of herself as a member of the elite, a woman never truly conquered by her lovers. Her last husband, Franz Werfel, called her "one of the very few sorceresses of our time." And indeed when she appeared, her presence attracted all eyes as she moved like a queen through a room. And what eyes she drew. Virtually all the great figures of 19th-century Vienna march through these pages, including Sigmund Freud, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schonberg, Hugo van Hofmannsthal, Karl Kraus, and Elias Canetti, and Giroud pens striking portraits of each. There are also many memorable scenes: Franz Werfel singing Verdi arias with James Joyce in a Paris cafe; the young Gropius, having an affair with then-married Alma, chased from the Mahler home by guard dogs and taking refuge under a bridge; Kokoschka, after his affair with Alma has died, commissioning a life-sized doll, a faithful reproduction of his former lover. But the heart of the book is Alma's marriage to Mahler. We read Alma's own first impression of Mahler--"He is terribly nervous. He paced around the room like a wild animal. He's pure oxygen. You get burnt if you go too near." Unfortunately for Mahler, his attempt to subjugate his young wife to his will--"you have only one profession from now on: to make me happy"--led to disaster, and he himself was burnt. Alma Mahler stood at the center of the creative world, the intimate friend (if not lover) of the major artists of her age, and Giroud paints an unforgettable portrait. It was awarded France's Grand Prix litteraire de la femme in .
Another Day in Which to Excel
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Barber, Paul A., PUBLISHER: Authorhouse, 404pgs-The Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and a Kansas tornado had left the Barber family reeling. Then came WW II and three sons were called to service. Air Corps planes began flying low level missions over the farm, capturing the imagination of yet a younger son, Paul. In this story of motivation, dedication and excellence, Paul Barber follows his dream, becomes an Air Force pilot, commands a flying unit, and with a simple statement, "Another Day in Which to Excel," challenges himself, his crews, and his family to be their very best. You will see the Cuban Missile Crisis from his vantage point; tag along on high altitude air-refueling missions; learn how the U.S. won the peace during the Cold War with the Soviets; feel the stress on him and his flight crews in the Vietnam War; and view near tragedies during critical phases of flight. You will understand his frustration in writing President Nixon's Plan of Withdrawal from Vietnam, as North Vietnam, seeing the discord in America, refuses to negotiate. In the Pentagon's National Military Command Center, you will observe crisis management at the highest level, as his team stands prepared to launch U.S. Nuclear Forces against the Soviet Union, if they attack America. You will witness his preparation of college ROTC students for military service, and finally, his preparation of older Americans for a financially secure retirement. Throughout this inspirational story, the strength of family and power of faith are highlighted. Reviews: "This is a fascinating story with great insights, a story written in ways that will interest people who appreciate our great American heritage, from the wheat fields of Kansas to the world-shaking events in the Pentagon and the White House. Historians, family leaders, church people, military personnel, farmers, financial specialists and others will find this book interesting reading. In it they will find wisdom and motivation for successful living. This book is confirmation of the power generated when an individual uses the combination of faith, family, education, and hard work to reach personal goals and live a productive and satisfying life." Patsy Johnson Hallman, Ph.D., Retiring Dean, College of Education, Stephen F. Austin State Univ., Nacogdoches, TX and author of "I HAD A TEACHER," "LETTERS FROM MISS EDNA," and several biographies of great leaders. "Another Day in Which to Excel is an exciting, interesting, and informative story that will be enjoyed by family, friends, people of faith, and those seeking inspiration and motivation in their lives. Writing by the same principle that has governed his life, Paul Barber's remarkable life story is a testimony of his desire to live in a way that pleases God." (1st Thess 4:1) Allen Reed, Dr. of Ministry, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Nacogdoches, TX.
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: McBride, James, PUBLISHER: Riverhead Books, Make this your next book club selection and everyone saves. Get 15% off when you order 5 or more of this title for your book club. Simply enter the coupon code MCBRIDECOLOR at checkout. This offer does not apply to eBook purchases. This offer applies to only one downloadable audio per purchase. Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, "The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother." The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion--and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain. In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April . Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned. At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all- black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college--and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University. Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a ly