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Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons
by Michael WitwerAmazon Best of the Month pick Here, for the first time, is a comprehensive biography of geek and gaming culture's mythic icon, Gary Gygax, and the complete story behind his invention of Dungeons and Dragons. The life story of Gary Gygax, godfather of all fantasy adventure games, has been told only in bits and pieces. Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to his untimely death in 2008. Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni--Stephen Colbert, Robin Williams, and Vin Diesel all have spoken openly about their experience with the game as teenagers, and some credit it as the workshop where their nascent imaginations were fostered. Gygax's involvement in the industry lasted long after his dramatic and involuntary departure from D&D's parent company, TSR, and his footprint can be seen in the genre he is largely responsible for creating. But as Witwer shows, perhaps the most compelling facet of his life and work was his unwavering commitment to the power of creativity in the face of myriad sources of adversity, whether cultural, economic, or personal. Through his creation of the role-playing genre, Gygax gave two generations of gamers the tools to invent characters and entire worlds in their minds. Told in narrative-driven and dramatic fashion, Witwer has written an engaging chronicle of the life and legacy of this emperor of the imagination.
Empire of Liberty: The Statecraft of Thomas Jefferson
by Robert W. Tucker David C. HendricksonEmpire of Liberty takes a new look at the public life, thought, and ambiguous legacy of one of America's most revered statesmen, offering new insight into the meaning of Jefferson in the American experience. This work examines Jefferson's legacy for American foreign policy in the light of several critical themes which continue to be highly significant today: the struggle between isolationists and interventionists, the historic ambivalence over the nation's role as a crusader for liberty, and the relationship between democracy and peace. Written by two distinguished scholars, this book provides invaluable insight into the classic ideas of American diplomacy.
Empire of Liberty: The Statecraft of Thomas Jefferson
by Robert W. Tucker David C. HendricksonEmpire of Liberty takes a new look at the public life, thought, and ambiguous legacy of one of America's most revered statesmen, offering new insight into the meaning of Jefferson in the American experience. This work examines Jefferson's legacy for American foreign policy in the light of several critical themes which continue to be highly significant today: the struggle between isolationists and interventionists, the historic ambivalence over the nation's role as a crusader for liberty, and the relationship between democracy and peace. Written by two distinguished scholars, this book provides invaluable insight into the classic ideas of American diplomacy.
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
by Patrick Radden KeefeThe gripping and shocking story of three generations of the Sackler family and their roles in the stories of Valium, OxyContin and the opioid crisis. The inspiration behind the Netflix series Painkiller, starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick.The Sunday Times BestsellerWinner of the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionA BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'Shortlisted for the 2021 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year AwardOne of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2021Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction'I gobbled up Empire of Pain . . . a masterclass in compelling narrative nonfiction.' – Elizabeth Day, The Guardian '30 Best Summer Reads'‘You feel almost guilty for enjoying it so much’ – The TimesThe Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions – Harvard; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Oxford; the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations in the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis – an international epidemic of drug addiction which has killed nearly half a million people.In this masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, award-winning journalist and host of the Wind of Change podcast Patrick Radden Keefe exhaustively documents the jaw-dropping and ferociously compelling reality. Empire of Pain is the story of a dynasty: a parable of twenty-first-century greed.'There are so many "they did what?" moments in this book, when your jaw practically hits the page' – Sunday Times
Empire of the Sun (The\perennial Collection)
by null J. G. Ballard‘Extraordinary’ Angela Carter ‘One of the great war novels of the 20th century’ William Boyd ‘A remarkable journey’ Sunday Times The heartrending story of a British boy’s four year ordeal in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. Like everything else since the war, the sky was in a state of change Based on J. G. Ballard’s own childhood, this is the extraordinary account of a boy’s life in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Trapped in a prison camp and separated from his parents, Jim is witness to the death, starvation and chaos of the Second World War. His story is a mesmerising vision of a world thrown utterly out of joint. Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and shortlisted for the Booker, Empire of the Sun is an astounding, hypnotically compelling novel by which the twentieth century will be not only remembered, but judged. ‘Gripping and remarkable … I have never read a novel which gave me a stronger sense of the blind helplessness of war … unforgettable’ Observer ‘A brilliant fusion of history, autobiography and imaginative speculation. An incredible literary achievement and almost intolerably moving’ Anthony Burgess
Empires of the Plain (Text Only): Henry Rawlinson And The Lost Languages Of Babylon (text Only)
by Lesley AdkinsHow 19th-century soldier, adventurer and scholar Henry Rawlinson deciphered cuneiform, the world’s earliest writing, and rediscovered Iraq's ancient civilisations.
Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose
by Vee Kativhu'Dynamic and transformative... a roadmap for following your dreams.'Malala Yousafzai 'Touching, deeply inspiring and thought-provoking.'Jack Edwards, author of The Uni-Verse: The Ultimate University Survival GuideFrom experiencing grief and leaving her home country of Zimbabwe for the UK, to attending disruptive state schools and working long hours to support herself and her mother, Vee Kativhu has faced much adversity. But through personal hardship, she has triumphed, using her experience to help people from all over the world recognise their own talent and achieve their goals. From attaining a bachelor's degree from Oxford and a Master's from Harvard to spreading her message of education, equal access and opportunity and empowerment to a global audience of over 300,000, Vee's incredible journey has inspired young people around the world in need of a boost of confidence, motivation and practical life advice.In Empowered, Vee draws from her own journey to teach you how to: - Set your life goals, career aspirations and actually achieve them- Stay motivated in the face of rejection and hardship- Learn from your mistakes- Take chances, live your best life and don't let hardship define you- Cultivate feelings of self-love and self-empowermentThis book will inspire you how to live a more fulfilled, motivated and empowered life in everything you do.
Empress: Queen Victoria and India
by Miles TaylorAn entirely original account of Victoria’s relationship with the Raj, which shows how India was central to the Victorian monarchy from as early as 1837 In this engaging and controversial book, Miles Taylor shows how both Victoria and Albert were spellbound by India, and argues that the Queen was humanely, intelligently, and passionately involved with the country throughout her reign and not just in the last decades. Taylor also reveals the way in which Victoria’s influence as empress contributed significantly to India’s modernization, both political and economic. This is, in a number of respects, a fresh account of imperial rule in India, suggesting that it was one of Victoria’s successes.
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China
by Jung ChangDiscover the extraordinary story of the woman who brought China into the modern age, from the bestselling author of Wild Swans In this groundbreaking biography, Jung Chang vividly describes how Empress Dowager Cixi – the most important woman in Chinese history – brought a medieval empire into the modern age. Under her, the ancient country attained virtually all the attributes of a modern state and it was she who abolished gruesome punishments like ‘death by a thousand cuts’ and put an end to foot-binding. Jung Chang comprehensively overturns the conventional view of Cixi as a diehard conservative and cruel despot and also takes the reader into the depths of her splendid Summer Palace and the harem of Beijing’s Forbidden City, where she lived surrounded by eunuchs – with one of whom she fell in love, with tragic consequences. Packed with drama, fast-paced and gripping, it is both a panoramic depiction of the birth of modern China and an intimate portrait of a woman: as the concubine to a monarch, as the absolute ruler of a third of the world’s population, and as a unique stateswoman. ‘Powerful’ Simon Sebag Montefiore ‘Truly authoritative’ New York Times ‘Wonderful’ Sunday Times **Shortlisted for the James Tait Black Biography Prize**
Empress of Rome: The Life of Livia
by Matthew DennisonEmpress of Rome is the fascinating biography of one of the most perplexing and powerful figures of the ancient world: the empress Livia. Second wife of the emperor Augustus and the mother of his successor Tiberius, Livia has been vilified by posterity (most notably by Tacitus and Robert Graves) as the quintessence of the scheming Roman matriarch, poisoning her relatives one by one to smooth her son's path to the imperial throne. In this elegant and rigorously researched biography, Matthew Dennison rescues the historical Livia from this crudely drawn caricature of the popular imagination. He depicts a complex, courageous and richly gifted woman whose true crime was not was not murder but the exercise of power, and who, in a male-dominated society, had the energy to create for herself both a prominent public profile and a significant sphere of political influence.
Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire
by Leslie PeirceThe "fascinating...lively" story of the Russian slave girl Roxelana, who rose from concubine to become the only queen of the Ottoman empire (New York Times). In Empress of the East, historian Leslie Peirce tells the remarkable story of a Christian slave girl, Roxelana, who was abducted by slave traders from her Ruthenian homeland and brought to the harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in Istanbul. Suleyman became besotted with her and foreswore all other concubines. Then, in an unprecedented step, he freed her and married her. The bold and canny Roxelana soon became a shrewd diplomat and philanthropist, who helped Suleyman keep pace with a changing world in which women, from Isabella of Hungary to Catherine de Medici, increasingly held the reins of power. Until now Roxelana has been seen as a seductress who brought ruin to the empire, but in Empress of the East, Peirce reveals the true history of an elusive figure who transformed the Ottoman harem into an institution of imperial rule.
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Story of Huguette Clark and the Loss of One of the World's Greatest Fortunes
by Paul Clark Newell Jr Bill DedmanSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 SPEARS BOOK AWARDS - FAMILY HISTORY CATEGORYEmpty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of nineteenth-century America with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money?Huguette Clark was the daughter of self-made copper industrialist W. A. Clark, nearly as rich as Rockefeller in his day, a controversial senator, railroad builder, and founder of Las Vegas. She grew up in the largest house in New York City, a remarkable dwelling with 121 rooms for a family of four. She owned paintings by Degas and Renoir, a world-renowned Stradivarius violin, a vast collection of antique dolls. But wanting more than treasures, she devoted her wealth to buying gifts for friends and strangers alike, to quietly pursuing her own work as an artist, and to guarding the privacy she valued above all else.Empty Mansions reveals a complex portrait of the mysterious Huguette and her intimate circle. We meet her extravagant father, her publicity-shy mother, her star-crossed sister, her French boyfriend, her nurse who received more than $30 million in gifts, and the relatives fighting to inherit Huguette's copper fortune. Richly illustrated with more than seventy photographs, Empty Mansions is an enthralling story of an eccentric of the highest order, a last jewel of the Gilded Age who lived life on her own terms.
An Empty Throne: Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Bernard Cornwell (Alexander's Legacy #3)
by Robert FabbriFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE VESPASIAN SERIESThe third instalment in a huge, bloody and brutal new series from Robert Fabbri, set after the death of Alexander the Great. Who will win the fight to control the largest empire the world has ever seen? Let the battles begin...The cause of Alexander the Great's sudden death is no longer in doubt - it was murder. But by whom? As his former followers struggle for power, the bonds of family, friendship and political loyalties are tested to the limit. As is the strength of the formidable empire that Alexander had wrought.Never before has the Western world seen such turmoil, such a threat to civilisation. As battles rage, armies, cities and thousands of lives are destroyed by the ruthless scheming of those who would be King. Or Queen. Could a marriage be the one thing to bring the broken strands of the empire back together, preventing years of further warfare?Will a woman succeed where no man can?
Empty Words
by Mario LevreroA writer fills a notebook with exercises to improve his writing believing that this will lead to improvements in his character. His determination and commitment despite interruptions, distractions, highly inventive procrastination and worries about his mental health make this book extremely relatable in our distraction-filled age. What appears to be merely a functional exercise transforms into reflections and anecdotes about life, coexistence, writing, sense and the senselessness of existence.Written with Kafkaesque lucidity, Empty Words reflects ‘the lost spirit’ of our time.
Enbury Heath
by Stella Gibbons'Don't show proper feelin', does it, not turnin' up for 'is dad's funeral?'Siblings Sophia, Harry and Francis have lost both their parents in the last six months. Attending the funeral for their estranged father, they wonder what will become of them now that the last connection to their difficult childhood has been severed. What have they inherited - financially and emotionally - to guide them to adulthood, and build a new home together? Enbury Heath is a semi-autobiographical account of the years which Gibbons and her brothers spent living in a cottage in Hampstead Heath: a wonderfully astute, bittersweet novel about family, grief, money, and the pleasures of London.
Enchanted by Daphne: The Life of an Evolutionary Naturalist
by Peter R. GrantThe extraordinary life story of the celebrated naturalist who transformed our understanding of evolutionEnchanted by Daphne is legendary ecologist Peter Grant’s personal account of his remarkable life and career. In this revelatory book, Grant takes readers from his childhood in World War II–era Britain to his ongoing research today in the Galápagos archipelago, vividly describing what it's like to do fieldwork in one of the most magnificent yet inhospitable places on Earth. This is also the story of two brilliant and courageous biologists raising a family together while balancing the demands of professional lives that would take them to the far corners of the globe.In 1973, Grant and his wife, Rosemary, embarked on a journey that would fundamentally change how we think about evolution. Over the next four decades, they visited the Galápagos every year to observe Darwin’s famous finches on the remote, uninhabited island of Daphne Major. Documenting how eighteen species have diversified from a single ancestral species, they demonstrated that we could actually see and measure evolution in a natural setting. Grant recounts the blind alleys and breathtaking triumphs of this historic research as he and Rosemary followed in Darwin’s footsteps—and ushered in a new era in ecology.A wonderfully absorbing portrait of a life in science, Enchanted by Daphne is an unforgettable chronicle of the travels and discoveries of one of the world’s most influential naturalists.
Enchanted by Daphne: The Life of an Evolutionary Naturalist
by Peter R. GrantThe extraordinary life story of the celebrated naturalist who transformed our understanding of evolutionEnchanted by Daphne is legendary ecologist Peter Grant’s personal account of his remarkable life and career. In this revelatory book, Grant takes readers from his childhood in World War II–era Britain to his ongoing research today in the Galápagos archipelago, vividly describing what it's like to do fieldwork in one of the most magnificent yet inhospitable places on Earth. This is also the story of two brilliant and courageous biologists raising a family together while balancing the demands of professional lives that would take them to the far corners of the globe.In 1973, Grant and his wife, Rosemary, embarked on a journey that would fundamentally change how we think about evolution. Over the next four decades, they visited the Galápagos every year to observe Darwin’s famous finches on the remote, uninhabited island of Daphne Major. Documenting how eighteen species have diversified from a single ancestral species, they demonstrated that we could actually see and measure evolution in a natural setting. Grant recounts the blind alleys and breathtaking triumphs of this historic research as he and Rosemary followed in Darwin’s footsteps—and ushered in a new era in ecology.A wonderfully absorbing portrait of a life in science, Enchanted by Daphne is an unforgettable chronicle of the travels and discoveries of one of the world’s most influential naturalists.
Enchanted Islands: A Mediterranean Odyssey – A Memoir of Travels through Love, Grief and Mythology
by Laura CoffeyEnchanted Islands tells the true story of Laura Coffey's epic journey around the mystical archipelagos of the Mediterranean. Blending memoir, travel and nature writing with tales from The Odyssey, and infused with sharply comic wit, this is a celebration of the redemptive powers of cold-water swimming and luminous star-lit skies.
The Enchanted Places: A Childhood Memoir (Pan Heritage Classics #6)
by Christopher MilneNow the subject of major Disney film starring Ewan McGregor, this is Christopher Robin in his own words.Millions of readers throughout the world have grown up with the stories and verses of A. A. Milne; have envied Christopher Robin in his enchanted world; laughed at Pooh - a bear of very little brain - and worried about Piglet and his problems. But what was it like to be the small boy with the long hair, smock and wellington boots?At the age of fifty-four Christopher Milne recalled his early childhood, remembering 'the enchanted places' where he used to play in Sussex. The Hundred Acre Wood, Galleon's Lap and Poohsticks Bridge existed not only in the stories and poems but were part of the real world surrounding the Milne home at Cotchford Farm.With deftness and artistry Milne draws a memorable portrait of his father, and an evocative reconstruction of a happy childhood in London and Sussex. The Enchanted Places is a story told with humour and modesty.
Enchantment: Reawakening Wonder in an Exhausted Age
by Katherine MayA balm for our times from the internationally bestselling author of Wintering.Our sense of enchantment is not only sparked by grand things. The awe-inspiring, the numinous, is all around us, all the time. It is transformed by our deliberate attention. The magic is of our own conjuring.'A total joy . . . Thoughtful, patient and beautifully written, like walking with a friend as dusk settles, this is the book your soul needs right now.'CARIAD LLOYD'Beautifully written.'PHILIPPA PERRYFeeling bone-tired, anxious and overwhelmed by the rolling news cycle and the pandemic age, Katherine May seeks to unravel the threads of a life wound too tightly. Could there be another way to live - one that feels more meaningful, more grounded in the places beneath our feet? One that would allow us to feel more connected, more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet?Craving a different path, May explores the restorative properties of the natural world and begins to rekindle her sense of wonder. It is a journey that takes her from sacred wells to wild moors, from cradling seas to starfalls. Through deliberate attention and ritual, she finds nourishment and a more hopeful relationship to the world around her.Enchantment is an invitation to each of us to experience life in all its sensual complexity and to find the beauty waiting for us there.Praise for Wintering:'A beautiful, gentle exploration of the dark season of life and the light of spring that eventually follows.'RAYNOR WINN'A book for the soul.'CAITLIN MORAN'Every bit as beautiful and healing as the season itself.'ELIZABETH GILBERT'Absolutely beautiful.'CHERYL STRAYED
Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn
by Donald SpotoBorn in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch Baroness. But when she was five, her father deserted the family. With the outbreak of war in 1939, her mother thought they would be safer in Holland than Holland Park, but although they survived the German Occupation, the experience left its physical and emotional scars.Back in England again, Audrey studied ballet with Marie Rambert. After a few West End musicals and minor film parts, she was spotted by the author, Colette, to star in a stage version of her novel, Gigi. And then Audrey's career took off. Her debut screen role was the Princess in the enchanting Roman Holiday. It won her an Oscar.She went on to bring her unique grace and high spirits to a number of highly acclaimed films - from Funny Face and The Nun's Story to My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Robin and Marian.For a while it looked as though her personal life would follow the Hollywood dream. But her marriage to Mel Ferrer was not to last. She married and divorced a second time, and there were other passionate but short-lived affairs, some revealed for the first time in this book, but her relationships were never entirely successful. With all the insight, background knowledge and innate sympathy for his subject, qualities that have made his biographies of Hitchcock, Dietrich, Monroe and Bergman such international successes, Donald Spoto truly captures the spirit of an elusive, beautiful, talented and vulnerable woman.
Encore Provence: New Adventures In The South Of France (Compass Ser. #442)
by Peter MayleThe third spellbinding volume in the series begun by A Year in Provence, ENCORE PROVENCE continues the account of an English couple's life abroad. Among other curiosities, explore a school for noses in Haute Provence, the mysterious death of an oversexed butcher, the quest for the finest bouillabaisse and an assortment of the characters who lie in wait in bars and on boules courts. And, of course, the essential importance of lunch. BON APPETIT!'One of the most successful travel books of all time... Mayle created anew travel genre' GuardianDelightful' Washington Post'Engaging, funny and richlyappreciative' New York Times Book Review'Stylish, witty, delightfully readable' SundayTimes
Encounters with Animals (El Libro De Bolsillo Alianza Editorial Ser. #Vol. 859)
by Gerald Durrell'I once travelled back from Africa on a ship with an Irish captain who did not like animals. This was unfortunate, because most of my luggage consisted of about two hundred odd cages of assorted wildlife . . .'Gerald Durrell's accounts of the animals he encountered on his travels were some of the first widely shared descriptions of the world's most extraordinary animals.Moving from the West Coast of Africa to the northern tip of South America - and elsewhere - Durrell observes the courtships, wars and characters of a variety of creatures, from birds of paradise, to ants and anteaters, among others.Told with his trademark charm and humour, Gerald Durrell's Encounters with Animals is a uniquely entertaining exploration of some of the world's most striking landscapes and the wildlife it is home to.
Encounters with Fate and Destiny: A Life in International Politics
by Shukri Z. Al-DajaniShukri Z. Al-Dajani has led a most extraordinary life. His book depicts the realities of the endless torment of a refugee in search of security and a sense of belonging. It is a story of flight - at the age of twelve - from the Holy Land to Egypt, through Wales, East Africa and the Middle East, to a career at the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, where he rose to the post of Assistant Director-General, responsible for the Arab States. He was the key player for the ILO in the Arab world at a time when the politics of the Middle East played a dominant role in the life of that organization.In this memoir, Al-Dajani recounts his interactions with a range of individuals including royalty, nation-builders and others in political power as well as adventurers, journalists and diplomats. His book presents a fine mosaic of the post-colonial world and the modern Middle East, and reveals the workings of politics at the highest of international diplomatic levels.The memoir includes a fascinating and intriguing analysis of the security and social problems that Europe, America and the Middle East are facing at present. It serves as an eye opener to the root causes of the current crises and presents a clear vision of the future ahead.
Encounters with Fate and Destiny: A Life in International Politics
by Shukri Z. Al-DajaniShukri Z. Al-Dajani has led a most extraordinary life. His book depicts the realities of the endless torment of a refugee in search of security and a sense of belonging. It is a story of flight – at the age of twelve – from the Holy Land to Egypt, through Wales, East Africa and the Middle East, to a career at the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, where he rose to the post of Assistant Director-General, responsible for the Arab States. He was the key player for the ILO in the Arab world at a time when the politics of the Middle East played a dominant role in the life of that organization. In this memoir, Al-Dajani recounts his interactions with a range of individuals including royalty, nation-builders and others in political power as well as adventurers, journalists and diplomats. His book presents a fine mosaic of the post-colonial world and the modern Middle East, and reveals the workings of politics at the highest of international diplomatic levels. The memoir includes a fascinating and intriguing analysis of the security and social problems that Europe, America and the Middle East are facing at present. It serves as an eye opener to the root causes of the current crises and presents a clear vision of the future ahead.