Fashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, WarisDirie was born into a family of tribal desert nomads in Somalia.She told her story - enduring female circumcision at five yearsold; running away through the desert; being discovered by TerenceDonovan and becoming a top fashion model - in her book, theworldwide bestseller, DESERT FLOWER. In DESERT DAWN she wrote aboutbecoming a UN Special Ambassador against FGM (female genitalmutilation) and returning to her family in Somalia. DESERT CHILDRENtells us how she and the journalist Corinna Milborn haveinvestigated the practice of FGM in Europe - they estimate that upto 500,000 women and girls have undergone or are at risk of FGM. Atthe moment, France is the only European country in which offendersare convicted and no European country officially recognises thethreat of genital mutilation as a reason for asylum. Here are thevoices of women who have felt encouraged and emboldened by WarisDirie's courage. They speak out for the first time and move us toact

An excellent,reassuring book for women and their partners. It carries the womanalong step-by-step in the rediscovery of her own sexuality and thepleasure it will bring her. Liberated or not, single or married,young or old, all women will find this book accessible andsupportive.

Charles Freeman's The Greek Achievement traces the entirecourse of ancient Greek history across thousands of years--from theMycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the Bronze Age through theArchaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. This brilliantaccount celebrates the incredible range of Greek achievement: thearchitectural marvels of the Athenian Acropolis; the birth of dramaand the timeless tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles;Homer's epics; the philosophical revolutions of Plato andAristotle; and the conquests of Alexander the Great. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, The GreekAchievement paints a sweeping panorama of the ancient Greeks' worldand provides a rich, contemporary overview of their enduringcontribution to world civilization.

September 11th changed the face of America, but it alsorevealed the true face of heroism. The men of the New York FireDepartment fought with courage and endurance to save others. Thisis their story, told by a veteran firefighter. --This text refersto an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This original contribution to Indian history, focusing oncontemporary and largely indigenous documents, introduces a set ofconcepts for the analysis of late Mughal rule. More specifically itexamines the origins and development of the Maratha svardjya or'self-rule' within the context of declining Muslim power. It tracesthe expansion of Maratha dominion to a process of fitna, a policyof 'shifting alliances' which was recurrent in the wake of Muslimexpansion throughout its history. The book gives an interestingperspective on Hindu-Muslim relationships in the pre-British periodas well as on the nature of the Indo-Muslim state and its mostimportant successor polity, on its capacity for change anddevelopment in the intermediate sections of society, theland-tenurial system, the monetization of the economy, and on thefiscal system.

The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that inspiredthe film October Sky, Rocket Boys is a uniquelyAmerican memoir--a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at thedawn of the 1960s, of a mother's love and a father's fears, of agroup of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outerspace . . . and who made those dreams come true. With the grace of a natural storyteller, NASA engineer Homer Hickampaints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia miningtown of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, whenanything was possible, even in a company town that swallowed itsmen alive. A story of romance and loss, of growing up and gettingout, Homer Hickam's lush, lyrical memoir is a chronicle oftriumph--at once exquisitely written and marvelouslyentertaining. Now with 8 pages of photographs.

Physical play - what some might call roughhousing - is beingmarginalized. Gym classes are getting shorter. Recess periods arebeing eliminated. Some new schools don't even have playgrounds. ButDrs. Anthony T. DeBenedet and Lawrence Cohen are here to shakethings up-literally! "The Art of Roughhousing" teaches parents howrough - and -tumble play can nurture close connections, solvebehavior problems, boost confidence, and more. Drawing fromgymnastics, martial arts, ballet, traditional sports, and evenanimal behavior, the authors present fifty illustrated activitiesfor children and parents to enjoy together - everything from theSumo Deadlift to the Rogue Dumbo. Arriving just in time forFather's Day, "The Art of Roughhousing" is the perfect gift forrowdy dads everywhere.

Penis envy? P'shaw.From the bestselling author of How to Make Your Man Behave In 21Days or Less Using the Secrets of Professional Dog Trainers comes (ahem) The Clitourist , a witty and empowering guide tothe hottest spot on a woman's body. For something so important toso many, there is a shocking lack of information available on theclitoris. An intimate biography of a gal's best friend, TheClitourist boldly attempts to fill that void, educating andentertaining the reader on every level, from structure and functionto care and upkeep, not to mention handy dandy arousal methods. Andthough funny, The Clitourist is not afraid to tackle thereally tough questions like, if we can put a man on the moon, whynot on a woman's clitoris during intercourse? As revolutionary insubject matter as The Vagina Monologues , as frank as Sexand the City, The Clitourist is a celebration of the femalebody as well as just a plain hoot that women will delight in buyingfor themselves, their sisters, and their friends (and heck, m

The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine.The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year ofeach other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimoreneighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on streetcorners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police.How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decoratedveteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the otherended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore,the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer thisprofound question. In alternating narratives that take readers fromheart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, TheOther Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys tryingto find their way in a hostile world.

Part diary and part reportage, The Soccer War is aremarkable chronicle of war in the late twentieth century. Between1958 and 1980, working primarily for the Polish Press Agency,Kapuscinski covered twenty-seven revolutions and coups in Africa,Latin America, and the Middle East. Here, with characteristiccogency and emotional immediacy, he recounts the stories behind hisofficial press dispatches—searing firsthand accounts of thefrightening, grotesque, and comically absurd aspects of life duringwar. The Soccer War is a singular work of journalism.

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, threebrilliant and visionary titans of America’s Gilded Age—ThomasEdison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse—battled bitterly aseach vied to create a vast and powerful electrical empire. InEmpires of Light, historian Jill Jonnes portrays this extraordinarytrio and their riveting and ruthless world of cutting-edge science,invention, intrigue, money, death, and hard-eyed Wall Streetmillionaires. At the heart of the story are Thomas Alva Edison, thenation’s most famous and folksy inventor, creator of theincandescent light bulb and mastermind of the world’s first directcurrent electrical light networks; the Serbian wizard of inventionNikola Tesla, elegant, highly eccentric, a dreamer whorevolutionized the generation and delivery of electricity; and thecharismatic George Westinghouse, Pittsburgh inventor and toughcorporate entrepreneur, an industrial idealist who in the era ofgaslight imagined a world powered by cheap and plentifulelectricity and

In the first hours there was nothing, no fear or sadness, justa black and perfect silence. Nando Parrado was unconscious for three days before he woke todiscover that the plane carrying his rugby team, as well as theirfamily members and supporters, to an exhibition game in Chile hadcrashed somewhere deep in the Andes. He soon learned that many weredead or dying—among them his own mother and sister. Those whoremained were stranded on a lifeless glacier at nearly 12,000 feetabove sea level, with no supplies and no means of summoning help.They struggled to endure freezing temperatures, deadly avalanches,and then the devastating news that the search for them had beencalled off. As time passed and Nando’s thoughts turned increasingly to hisfather, who he knew must be consumed with grief, Nando resolvedthat he must get home or die trying. He would challenge the Andes,even though he was certain the effort would kill him, tellinghimself that even if he failed he would die that much closer to hi