Download Bitter Crop by Paul Alexander (.ePUB)

Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year by Paul Alexander
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 11.7 Mb
Overview: A revelatory look at the tumultuous life of a jazz legend and American cultural icon
In the first biography of Billie Holiday in more than two decades, Paul Alexander—author of heralded lives of Sylvia Plath and J. D. Salinger—gives us an unconventional portrait of arguably America’s most eminent jazz singer. He shrewdly focuses on the last year of her life—with relevant flashbacks to provide context—to evoke and examine the persistent magnificence of Holiday’s artistry when it was supposed to have declined, in the wake of her drug abuse, relationships with violent men, and run-ins with the law.
During her lifetime and after her death, Billie Holiday was often depicted as a down-on-her-luck junkie severely lacking in self-esteem. Relying on interviews with people who knew her, and new material unearthed in private collections and institutional archives, Bitter Crop—a reference to the last two words of Strange Fruit, her moving song about lynching—limns Holiday as a powerful, ambitious woman who overcame her flaws to triumph as a vital figure of American popular music.
Genre: Non-Fiction > Biographies & Memoirs

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Download 2020 by Eric Klinenberg (.ePUB)

2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed by Eric Klinenberg
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 12.6 Mb
Overview: A meticulously reported, character-driven, unforgettable investigation of a time when nothing was certain and everything was at stake, by the acclaimed sociologist and best-selling author Eric Klinenberg
2020 will go down alongside 1914, 1929, and 1968 as one of the most consequential years in history. This riveting and affecting book is the first attempt to capture the full human experience of that fateful time.
At the heart of 2020 are seven vivid profiles of ordinary New Yorkers—including an elementary school principal, a bar manager, a subway custodian, and a local political aide—whose experiences illuminate how Americans, andpeople across the globe, reckoned with 2020. Through these poignant stories, we revisit our own moments of hope and fear, the profound tragedies and losses in our communities, the mutual aid networks that brought us together, and the social movements that hinted at the possibilities of a better world.
Eric Klinenberg vividly captures these stories, casting them against the backdrop of a high-stakes presidential election, a surge of misinformation, rising distrust, and raging protests. We move from the epicenter in New York City to Washington and London, where political leaders made the crisis so much more lethal than it had to be. We bear witness to epidemiological battles in Wuhan and Beijing, along with the initiatives of scientists, citizens, and policy makers in Australia, Japan, and Taiwan, who worked together to save lives.
Klinenberg allows us to see 2020—and, ultimately, ourselves—with unprecedented clarity and empathy. His book not only helps us reckon with what we lived through, but also with the challenges we face before the next crisis arrives.
Genre: Non-Fiction > Educational > Cultural Anthropology

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Download The Fast by John Oakes (.ePUB)

The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without by John Oakes
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 13.1 Mb
Overview: With fasting at an all-time high in popularity, here is the first deep exploration into the surprising history and science behind the practice—essential to many religions and philosophies.
Whether for philosophical, political, or health-related reasons, fasting marks a departure from daily routine. It involves doing less but doing less in a radical way. Based on extensive historical, scientific, and cultural research and reporting, The Fast illuminates the numerous facets of this act of self-deprivation. John Oakes interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists, and others who guide him through this practice—and embarks on fasts of his own—to deliver a book that supplies readers curious about fasting with profound new understanding, appreciation, and inspiration.
In recent years, fasting has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons—from health advocates who see fasting as a method to lose weight or to detox, to the faithful who fast in prayer, to seekers pursuing mindfulness, to activists using hunger strikes as an effective means of peaceful protest. Notable fasters include Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Gandhi, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Cesar Chavez, and a long list of others who have drawn on its power over the ages and across borders and cultures.
Genre: Non-Fiction > Health, Fitness & Self-help

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Download Open by Nate Klemp (.ePUB)

Open: Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World by Nate Klemp
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 0.6 Mb
Overview: A New York Times bestselling author shares a powerful new approach for living in a distracted and divided world with greater engagement, freedom, and openness.
With the avalanche of information we get every day, closing down our minds and hearts seems to be the only way to survive. We close down to our inner experience by compulsively checking our devices. We close down to others by getting caught in echo chambers of outrage. But what if there’s another way? What if being more open to life is actually what brings us sanity and happiness? In this climate of distraction and division, Nate Klemp’s Open offers a path back to a way of living that is expansive, creative, and filled with wonder.
Drawing on new science, age-old practices, and personal stories, Klemp examines why we close down when faced with stressors or threats, then reveals how we can train ourselves to open up to the fullness that life offers―even when frightened, outraged, or heartbroken. Join him to explore:
• The uniquely modern challenges that make closing down easier and more tempting than ever
• Experiential stories of psychedelic-assisted therapy, opening to political adversaries, meditation, and other tools for opening the mind
• The Three Shifts of Opening―how to break the habit of mind wandering, approach instead of withdraw, and enlarge the size of your perspective
• The Open Toolkit―a treasury of meditations, investigations, and habit-changing practices to open your mind
Expanding the size of the mind may sound subtle―yet the results can utterly transform our lives. “When we open to life,” says Klemp, “we’re no longer stuck in here fighting against our thoughts on the inside or a crazed world on the outside. We’re connected. Our minds and lives get bigger. There’s more room, more perspective, more possibility. This is what it means to be free.”
Genre: Non-Fiction > Health, Fitness & Self-help

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Download Maiden of Artemis by Eloise Bahr (.ePUB)

Maiden of Artemis (Legend of the Amazons Book 1) by Eloise Bahr
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 1.6 Mb
Overview: Before the men of myth and legend, there was Otrera, first Queen of the Amazons.
It wasn’t until the prince’s blood coated Otrera’s hands that she realized she’d sentenced herself to death. In her darkest hour, Artemis offers her a second chance at life and freedom. But in return the goddess commands unwavering loyalty and sends her on a formidable quest.
Joined by women who swiftly become sisters along the way, Otrera’s journey is tangled by prophecy and unexpected discoveries, and she is faced with a decision that will alter her life forever.
Fleeing from men and monsters alike, Otrera and her companions travel across Ancient Greece in search of what was promised. Each day she learns more about herself and the dangers of her world. Yet the closer she gets to fulfilling her quest, the further Otrera drifts from her pledge to Artemis.
Pursued by a vengeful king and his relentless champion, Otrera discovers how far she’ll go to keep her sisters safe. But nothing, not even a divine weapon, can protect her from the wrath of the gods.
So begins the story of the tribe feared by heroes and kings alike.
This adult historical fantasy series is intended for a mature audience due to trigger warnings for language, violence and death, and sexual situations.
Genre: Fiction > Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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