Showing results by author "Oliver" in All Categories

“I've started dreaming of Portland again. Like a monster from one of the ghost stories we used to tell as kids, the past has been finding its way in. It bubbles up through the cracks when I'm not paying attention, and pulls at me with greedy fingers. This is what they warned me about for all those years: the heavy weight in my chest, the nightmare-fragments that follow me even in waking life.I warned you, Aunt Carol says in my head. We told you, Rachel says...”

Mary Oliver has published fifteen volumes of poetry and five books of prose in the span of four decades, but she rarely performs her poetry in live readings. Now, with the arrival of At Blackwater Pond, Mary Oliver has given her audience what they've longed to hear: the poet's voice reading her own work.

In Uncle Tungsten, Oliver Sacks evokes, with warmth and wit, his upbringing in wartime England. He tells of the large science-steeped family who fostered his early fascination with chemistry. There follow his years at boarding school where, though unhappy, he developed the intellectual curiosity that would shape his later life. And we hear of his return to London, an emotionally bereft 10-year-old who found solace in his passion for learning. Uncle Tungsten radiates all the delight and wonder of a boy’s adventures and is an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary young mind.

Writing is important to many of us—for our careers, studies, businesses or creative fulfilment—but sitting down and doing it can feel impossible. We often struggle to give it the attention it deserves. We can't find time. Our focus is torn. Distractions are everywhere. Our inner critic keeps telling us we're no good. But what if you could find a highly effective writing habit that was perfect for you? Bec Evans and Chris Smith have helped thousands of people stop procrastinating, overcome their blocks and reach their writing goals. Now they share their successful approach with you.

The intelligence service puts two years and over £100k into the training of new field officers. You're shown how to steal cars, strip weapons, hack bank accounts. There are courses on the use of blackmail and improvised explosives, two workshops solely dedicated to navigating by the stars. But nothing about what I had heard one old spy call whiplash. No one tells you how to go home.

Vienna, 1893. A gravedigger at the city’s famous Central Cemetery, Augustin Rothmayer is aan unorthodox yet highly educated oddball who finds solace amongst the dead as well as in the writing the pages of the first almanac of his profession. But his fragile peace is abruptly disturbed when young inspector Leopold von Herzfeldt, an ambitious young transfer from Graz, arrives in need of help from someone expert in death. No one knows the subject better than Augustin Rothmeyer.

In Tod is God—so named for a chant the ECW fans created to honor the founder—Gordon chronicles each step of the company's meteoric rise to prominence, as well as the elements that led to his removing himself from the company before its demise. Gordon's former partnership with ECW booker Paul Heyman made for magical TV and in-ring moments. The friendship between Gordon and Heyman, both a blessing and curse, was the once-in-a-lifetime bond responsible for so many of history's greatest teams, bands, and partners.

Through four decades of entertaining, in the wrestling ring and on the monster truck circuit, Debrah "Madusa" Miceli never could sit still. But her desire to learn, grow, and inspire legions of followers masked deep secrets . . . Her upbringing was a lie from the start, and the dark truths of her childhood, revealed here for the first time, are the earliest examples of Debrah's determination to persevere.

When my best friend asked me to serve as her Man of Honor, of course I said yes. A trip to Vegas for the week before her wedding and then on to the Florida Keys for the nuptials was an added bonus. The icing on the cake was her brother, Colt. I didn't expect anything to happen. He's almost 10 years older, aloof, mysterious, and devastatingly handsome. All the time I spent fantasizing about his powerful muscles, piercing eyes, hungry mouth, and grasping hands leave me tongue-tied and stammering every time I see him.

Jon Erskine had made a good life for himself as one of the top forensic accounts and systems analysts in the country. He doesn't mind working with paranormal clients - after all, he's a shifter himself. However, he could do without all the slurs and derogatory comments. Not all shifters are wolves, bears, or other predators. Still, his expertise and reputation is solid, and Jon is more than capable of holding his own. That is, until Dirk Hollingsworth runs from his office.

Bestselling author Oliver Burkeman is well known for his books and radio programmes exploring how we can lead meaningful and productive lives in an age of overwhelm. This time, he brings his keen sense of the ridiculous to bear on our obsession with convenience, looking at the hidden pitfalls of a life of ease. In these five episodes, Oliver attempts to assess the consequences of our reliance on convenience.

Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, Ezio Auditore embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family's honor, he will learn the art of the Assassins. Along the way, Ezio will call upon the wisdom of such great minds as Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli, knowing that survival is bound to the skills by which he must live.To his allies, he will become a force for change in his fight for freedom and justice.

First published in 1766 and a perennial favorite since then, The Vicar of Wakefield is built around the naïve but loveable figure of Dr Primrose. He and his family live in rural bliss until disaster threatens to destroy their happiness: abduction, impoverishment and betrayal combine to lay them low, but a surprising figure brings hope when all seems lost.

Supplemented with referential information and culled from more than a dozen interviews with Putin over a two-year period - spanning Stone's first trip to Moscow to meet with NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden to his most recent visit after the election of President Donald Trump - The Putin Interviews is based on what journalists, news organizations, and other world leaders have long coveted: extended, unprecedented access to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rome, once mighty, lies in ruins. The city swarms with suffering and degradation, her citizens living in the shadow of the ruthless Borgia family. Only one man can free the people from the Borgia tyranny - Ezio Auditore, the master assassin.

Ezio's quest will test him to his limits. Cesare Borgia, a man more villainous and dangerous than his father, the Pope, will not rest until he has conquered Italy. And in such treacherous times, conspiracy is everywhere - even within the ranks of the Brotherhood itself.

This is a manual designed to get white belts to competent blue belts in as fast a time as possible. Zen Jiu Jitsu is more a rendition of concepts than techniques. This is the simplest and easiest way to break down and simplify the many and varied ideas, philosophies, and combinations in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu arsenal. For both competition Jiu Jitsu and self-defense Jiu Jitsu, most white belts need to fully understand the concepts, but they can be VERY confusing!

Nous ne disposons que de 4 000 semaines sur Terre, en moyenne. Alors pourquoi gaspillons-nous une si grande partie de ce temps avec des tâches qui ne nous procurent pas de joie ? Il faut se rendre à l'évidence : la durée de vie moyenne de l'être humain est scandaleusement courte. Ceux d'entre nous qui atteignent l'âge de 80 ans n'auront vécu qu'un peu plus de 4 000 semaines. Comment est-il possible de faire des projets ambitieux dans un laps de temps aussi court ?

The Baltic's time has come. It is not only critical to Europe's security and increasingly a centre of political and military power in its own right; it is a reservoir of ideas and experiences that could shape the continent's future. This books explores the history, their culture, their peculiarities and national dilemmas of all nine Baltic countries. At its core is a search for fresh answers to Europe's problems, at a point where the continent's previously dominant powers appear tired and divided.

In this extraordinary audiobook, Dr. Oliver Sacks recounts the stories of patients struggling to adapt to often bizarre worlds of neurological disorder. Here are people who can no longer recognise everyday objects or those they love; who are stricken with violent tics or shout involuntary obscenities, and yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales illuminate what it means to be human.

Three friends from a mission many years ago reconnect when one of them dies in mysterious circumstances on remote Ascension Island. Rory Bannatyne had been tasked with tapping a new transatlantic data cable, but a day before he was due to return home, he is found hanged. When Kathryn Taylor, on the South Atlantic MI5 desk, begs ex-spy Elliot Kane to go over and investigate, he can't say no, but it's an uneasy reintroduction to the intelligence game.