by Chân Không Cao Ngoc Phuong (1993)
Sister Chan Khong was born in a village on the Mekong River Delta in 1938. Propelled by her passionate dedication to social change, she began working in the slums of Saigon as a teenager, distributing food, helping the sick, and teaching children, In 1964, she joined Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh in founding the School of Youth for Social Service, which grew to an organization of over 10,000 young people organizing medical, educational, and agricultural facilities in rural Vietnam, and rebuilding villages destroyed by the war. this unique autobiography tells the gripping story of a woman who not only lived but made history, and whose single-minded dedication to humility and courageous integrity can serve as an inspiration for all. Learning true love reflects Siter Chan Khong's spiritual growth against the backdrop of the suffering in her war-torn country, and offers many inspiring examples of how to resolve difficulties and celebrate the joys of a life of service. Chan Khong has for more than three decades worked closely with Thich Nhat Hanh in Vietnam and at his community-in-exile in France, Plum village. -- Publisher description.
Anthony Smith
Describes the epic odyssey of Isabela Godin des Odonais, an eighteenth-century aristocrat, who braved the perils of the Amazon to undertake a three-thousand-mile journey marked by hardship, starvation, danger, and death.
Edmund White
"Considered the greatest - and most influential - writer of the twentieth century, Marcel Proust was also one of its most fascinating figures. In this portrait, Edmund White, author of an acclaimed biography of Jean Genet and the much admired novel A Boy's Own Story displays a rare understanding of this most complex man. A strange, reclusive genius who often lay in bed for days at a time in his cork-lined room, obsessively rewriting his masterpiece, Remembrance of Things Past, Proust was at other times a tireless socialite, attending the grandest parties and dazzling the guests - especially the most important ones - with his vivacity and wit. White also depicts the yearning, lonely boy, the ambitious grasper after honors, and the miserably closeted homosexual, an aspect of his life that this book explores frankly and perceptively."--BOOK JACKET.
Richard Vernier
"The rise of Bertrand du Guesclin ranks as one of the most spectacular adventures in a fourteenth century rich in heroic tales. A poor Breton squire, ungainly and unlettered, he came of age at the onset of the Hundred Years War. He spent two decades engaged in irregular warfare in his native province before he became a knight, and was recognised by Charles V as the captain France needed." "Du Guesclin fought on campaign from Normandy to Andalusia, tasted victory, was taken captive - and was finally victorious again, over such famed adversaries as Sir John Chandos and the Black Prince. He won a dukedom in Spain, but it was as Constable of France that he spearheaded the reconquest of French provinces lost after the defeat at Poitiers." "Enshrined as the Tenth Worthy, hero of the last Old French epic, his body was laid to rest among kings in the royal basilica of Saint-Denis but Du Guesclin's spirit lives on in literature and folk memory, as flower of chivalry, soldier's soldier, patriot, and liberator of his country."--Jacket.
Nicholas Rankin
"The true story of Ian Fleming's Second World War unit, the real-life inspiration for James Bond. In 1942, Lieutenant-Commander Ian Fleming RNVR was personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence - the dynamic figure behind James Bond's fictional chief, 'M'. In the Admiralty, Fleming had a brilliant idea: why not set up a unit of authorised looters, men who would go in with front-line troops to steal enemy intelligence? Known as '30 Assault Unit', they took part in the landings in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy and helped liberate Paris. But 30AU really came into their own in Germany in 1945 and their final amazing coup was to seize the entire archives of the German Navy - over 300 tons of documents. Ian Fleming flew out in person to bring the loot back to Britain, where it was combed for evidence to use in the Nuremberg trials. In this gripping and highly enjoyable book, Nicholas Rankin, author of the bestselling Churchill's Wizards, puts 30 Assault Unit's fascinating story in a strategic and intelligence context. He also argues that Ian Fleming's Second World War service was one of the most significant periods of his life - without this, the most popular spy fiction of the twentieth century would not have been written"--Publisher's website.