Author: Bob Jackson
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
ISBN: 1848895895
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 310
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Book Description
'There followed a blue flash accompanied by a ver y bright magnesium-type flare ... Then came a frighteningly loud but rather flat explosion, which was followed by a blast of hot air ... All this was followed by eerie silence.' This was Cork doctor Aidan MacCarthy's description of the atomic bomb explosion above Nagasaki in August 1945, just over a mile from where he was trembling in a makeshift bomb shelter in the Mitsubishi POW camp. At the end of the war, a Japanese officer did the unthinkable: he surrendered his samurai sword to MacCarthy, his enemy and former prisoner. This is the astonishing story of the wartime adventures of Dr Aidan MacCarthy, who survived the evacuation at Dunkirk, burning planes, sinking ships, jungle warfare and appalling privation as a Japanese prisoner of war. It is a story of survival, forgiveness and humanity at its most admirable.
Author: Aidan MacCarthy
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 190980844X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 154
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Book Description
An “engrossing” memoir of a Royal Air Force doctor’s World War II experiences, from surviving Dunkirk to witnessing Nagasaki (The Irish Times). As an RAF medical officer, Aidan MacCarthy served in France, survived Dunkirk, and was interned by the Japanese in Java, where his ingenuity helped his fellow prisoners through awful conditions. While en route to Japan in 1944, his ship was torpedoed, sending him into the Pacific. Miraculously, MacCarthy was rescued by a whaling boat—only to be re-interned in Japan. Ironically, it was the dropping of the atomic bomb at Nagasaki that saved his life, though it also meant being an eyewitness to the horror and devastation it caused. Long out of print, this remarkable war memoir was rediscovered during a journey through Ireland by Pete McCarthy, author of McCarthy’s Bar, who describes it as “jaw-dropping.” “Written in a straightforward, matter-of-fact tone, this book is marked by the author’s ability to keep cool under adversity and by his admirable sense of humor and irony. A wonderful, if chilling work.” —Publishers Weekly “A gripping read.” —Evening Echo
Author: Dr. Haha Lung
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 0806535547
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 257
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Book Description
Here--at last!--is your only chance to fully master the lethal tactics and techniques of the mysterious Asian "shadow cadre." Miyamoto Musashi (1594–1645)--the greatest swordsman Japan has ever seen and author of the masterpiece Gorin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings)--spent many arduous years as a wandering ronin, studying the murder, mayhem, and mind-control secrets of Asia's dark shadow cadre. Few today are able to grasp the penetrating wisdom of this revered innovator. Now Dr. Haha Lung at last brings his unique perspective to Musashi's hard-won knowledge in this powerful volume, where you'll learn the forbidden secrets of: Japan's Shinobi-Ninja The (in)famous Hirracarrah spies of ancient India Chinese "ninja" such as the Lin-Kuei ("Ghost Warriors") and the Moshuh Nanren espionage and assassination experts Vietnamese "Black Crow" mind-masters Tibetan sDop-sDop mind-warriors STREET AND BOARDROOM WARRIORS BE ADVISED: Mind-Sword is for academic study ONLY. Dr. Haha Lung is the author of more than a dozen books on martial arts, including Mind Penetration, Mind Fist, The Nine Halls of Death, Assassin!, Mind Control: The Ancient Art of Psychological Warfare, and Mental Dominance.
Author: Ted Allan
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 1770703993
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 370
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Book Description
Originally published in the early 1950s, The Scalpel, the Sword celebrates the turbulent career of Dr. Norman Bethune (1890-1939), a brilliant surgeon, campaigner against private medicine, communist, and graphic artist. Bethune belonged to that international contingent of individuals who recognized the threat of fascism in the world and went out courageously to try to defeat it. Born in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Bethune introduced innovative techniques in treating battlefield injuries and pioneered the use of blood transfusions to save lives, which made him a legend first in Spain during the civil war and later in China when he served with the armies of Mao Zedong in their fight against the invading Japanese. He is today remembered amongst the pantheon of Chinese revolutionary heroes. In Canada Bethune’s strong left-wing views made him persona non grata, but this highly readable and engaging account has helped to sustain the memory of a great man.
Author: Ian R. Whitehead
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473831504
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 188
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Book Description
Doctors played a bigger role in the First World War than in any other previous conflict. This reflected not only the War's unprecedented scale but a growing recognition of the need for proper medical cover. The RAMC had to be expanded to meet the needs of Britain's citizen army. As a result by 1918 some 13,000 doctors were on active service over half the nation's doctors.Strangely, historians have largely neglected the work of doctors during the War. Doctors in the Great War brings to light the thoughts and motivations of doctors who served in 1914-1918, by drawing on a wealth of personal experience documentation, as well as official military sources and the medical press. The author examines the impact of the War upon the medical profession and the Army. He looks at the contribution of medical students, and the extent to which new professional opportunities became available to women doctors.An insight into the breadth of responsibilities undertaken by Medical Officers is given through analysis of the work of various medical units on the Western Front, demonstrating the important role played by doctors in the maintenance of the Army's physical and mental well-being. The differences between civilian and military medicine are discussed with a consideration of the arrangements for the training of doctors, and an assessment of the difficulties faced by doctors in adapting to military priorities and dealing with new challenges such as gas poisoning, infected wounds and shell shock.Doctors in the Great War will undoubtedly appeal to general readers, students and specialists in the history of war and society, as well as to those with an interest in the medical profession.As featured in the Derby Telegraph, Dover Express and Kent & Sussex Courier
Author: Mark Felton
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783032626
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
The author of Guarding Hitler delivers “a study revealing the Japanese use of Allied POWs in medical experiments during WWII.”—The Guardian The brutal Japanese treatment of Allied POWs in WW2 has been well documented. The experiences of British, Australian and American POWs on the Burma Railway, in the mines of Formosa and in camps across the Far East, were bad enough. But the mistreatment of those used as guinea pigs in medical experiments was in a different league. The author reveals distressing evidence of Unit 731 experiments involving US prisoners and the use of British as control groups in Northern China, Hainau Island, New Guinea and in Japan. These resulted in loss of life and extreme suffering. Perhaps equally shocking is the documentary evidence of British Government use of the results of these experiments at Porton Down in the Cold War era in concert with the US who had captured Unit 731 scientists and protected them from war crime prosecution in return for their cooperation. The author’s in-depth research reveals that, not surprisingly, archives have been combed of much incriminating material but enough remains to paint a thoroughly disturbing story. “The narrative does not seek sensation or attempt to draw irrefutable conclusions where it is clearly impossible to do so, instead it simply provides a balanced assessment of what is known and what seems probable.”—Pegasus Archive
Author: Terry Goodkind
Publisher: RosettaBooks
ISBN: 0795346158
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 952
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Book Description
Spells and prophecies sew havoc in the fight for humankind in the 4th novel of the #1 New York Times bestselling author’s epic fantasy series. Having taken his rightful place as Lord Rahl, ruler of D’Hara, Richard must once again postpone his wedding to Kahlan Amnell in order to face the fearsome Imperial Order in a fight for the New World and the freedom of humankind. But while Richard has the brave people of D’Hara at his command, Emperor Jagang of the Imperial Order has a significant advantage: he doesn’t fight fair. Jagang invokes a prophecy that binds Richard and Kahlan to a fate of pain, betrayal, and a path to the Underworld. At Jagang’s behest, a Sister of the Dark gains access into the fabled Temple of the Winds and unleashes a plague that sweeps across the lands like a firestorm. To stop the plague, Richard and Kahlan must risk everything they have—and everything they’ve hoped for.
Author: Mark Perry
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812966139
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
In the spring of 1884 Ulysses S. Grant heeded the advice of Mark Twain and finally agreed to write his memoirs. Little did Grant or Twain realize that this seemingly straightforward decision would profoundly alter not only both their lives but the course of American literature. Over the next fifteen months, as the two men became close friends and intimate collaborators, Grant raced against the spread of cancer to compose a triumphant account of his life and times—while Twain struggled to complete and publish his greatest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.In this deeply moving and meticulously researched book, veteran writer Mark Perry reconstructs the heady months when Grant and Twain inspired and cajoled each other to create two quintessentially American masterpieces. In a bold and colorful narrative, Perry recounts the early careers of these two giants, traces their quest for fame and elusive fortunes, and then follows the series of events that brought them together as friends. The reason Grant let Twain talk him into writing his memoirs was simple: He was bankrupt and needed the money. Twain promised Grant princely returns in exchange for the right to edit and publish the book—and though the writer’s own finances were tottering, he kept his word to the general and his family. Mortally ill and battling debts, magazine editors, and a constant crush of reporters, Grant fought bravely to get the story of his life and his Civil War victories down on paper. Twain, meanwhile, staked all his hopes, both financial and literary, on the tale of a ragged boy and a runaway slave that he had been unable to finish for decades. As Perry delves into the story of the men’s deepening friendship and mutual influence, he arrives at the startling discovery of the true model for the character of Huckleberry Finn. With a cast of fascinating characters, including General William T. Sherman, William Dean Howells, William Henry Vanderbilt, and Abraham Lincoln, Perry’s narrative takes in the whole sweep of a glittering, unscrupulous age. A story of friendship and history, inspiration and desperation, genius and ruin, Grant and Twain captures a pivotal moment in the lives of two towering Americans and the age they epitomized.
Author: Pete McCarthy
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1466866373
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 382
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Book Description
"It was half past five in the morning as I lurched through the front door of the B&B. Mrs. O'Sullivan appeared just in time to see me pause to admire the luminous Virgin holy water stand with integral night-light, and knock it off the wall. Politely declining the six rounds of ham sandwiches on the tray she was holding, I edged gingerly along the hallway to the wrong bedroom door and opened it." Despite the many exotic places Peter McCarthy has visited, he finds that nowhere else can match the particular magic of Ireland, his mother's homeland. In McCarthy's Bar, his journey begins in Cork and continues along the west coast to Donegal in the north. Traveling through spectacular landscapes, but at all times obeying the rule, "never pass a bar that has your name on it," he encounters McCarthy's bars up and down the land, meeting fascinating people before pleading to be let out at four o'clock in the morning. Through adventures with English hippies who have colonized a desolate mountain; roots-seeking, buffet-devouring American tourists; priests for whom the word "father" has a loaded meaning; enthusiastic Germans who "here since many years holidays are making;" and his fellow barefoot pilgrims on an island called Purgatory, Peter pursues the secrets of Ireland's global popularity and his own confused Irish-Anglo identity. Written by someone who is at once an insider and an outsider, McCarthy's Bar is a wonderfully funny and affectionate portrait of a rapidly changing country.
Author: John Hersey
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0593082362
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210
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Book Description
Hiroshima is the story of six people—a clerk, a widowed seamstress, a physician, a Methodist minister, a young surgeon, and a German Catholic priest—who lived through the greatest single manmade disaster in history. In vivid and indelible prose, Pulitzer Prize–winner John Hersey traces the stories of these half-dozen individuals from 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, when Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city, through the hours and days that followed. Almost four decades after the original publication of this celebrated book, Hersey went back to Hiroshima in search of the people whose stories he had told, and his account of what he discovered is now the eloquent and moving final chapter of Hiroshima.
