Twelve Against the Gods

Twelve Against the Gods
Author: William Bolitho
Publisher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2018-09-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1635765048

An instant bestseller when first published in 1929—biographies of twelve bold individuals from history and what they did to separate themselves from the pack. In his trademark journalist style, author William Bolitho details the lives of twelve great adventurers—Alexander the Great, Casanova, Christopher Columbus, Mahomet, Lola Montez, Cagliostro (and Seraphina), Charles XII of Sweden, Napoleon I, Lucius Sergius Catiline, Napoleon III, Isadora Duncan, and Woodrow Wilson. Bolitho elucidates both the struggles and successes that made these figures so iconic, and demonstrates how they all battled convention and conformity to achieve enduring fame and notoriety. “We are born adventurers,” Bolitho writes, “and the love of adventures never leaves us till we are very old; old, timid men, in whose interest it is that adventure should quite die out. This is why all the poets are on one side, and all the laws on the other; for laws are made by, and usually for, old men.” Though his essays are nearly one hundred years old, they encompass the timeless values of perseverance, bravery, and strength of spirit that have proven to resonate with the pioneers and thought leaders of today. “It’s really quite good.” —Elon Musk “Twelve Against the Gods provides an interesting perspective on what drove and impeded this group of adventurers . . . A good read for anyone who’s interested in history or looking to find some motivation to switch things up and break the rules.” —Áine Cain, Business Insider “I think Twelve Against the Gods is also very appropriate for this day and age. We need adventurers, and there still are a lot of adventurers.” —China Ryall, daughter of William Bolitho

Twelve Against the Gods

Twelve Against the Gods
Author: William Bolitho
Publisher:
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2018-09-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781635765397

Recently named by Elon Musk ask one of his favorite books of all time, Twelve Against the Gods is William Bolitho's 1929 collection of biographical essays on the lives and accomplishments of famed fortune-hunters, adventurers, daredevils, and explorers including Alexander the Great, Casanova, Isadora Duncan, and Napoleon.

Summer for the Gods

Summer for the Gods
Author: Edward J Larson
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2020-06-16
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1541646029

The Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Scopes Trial and the battle over evolution and creation in America's schools In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the twentieth century's most contentious courtroom dramas, pitting William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinists against a teacher named John Scopes, represented by Clarence Darrow and the ACLU, in a famous debate over science, religion, and their place in public education. That trial marked the start of a battle that continues to this day-in cities and states throughout the country. Edward Larson's classic Summer for the Gods -- winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History -- is the single most authoritative account of this pivotal event. An afterword assesses the state of the battle between creationism and evolution, and points the way to how it might potentially be resolved.

Gods of Aberdeen

Gods of Aberdeen
Author: Micah Nathan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2005-06-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743274377

A haunting novel about a brilliant young man who enrolls at a small New England college and becomes entangled in a mysterious death -- and the ultimate scientific quest. Eric Dunne is a sixteen-year-old academic phenom. Desperate to escape his foster family, Eric graduates early from high school and earns a scholarship to Aberdeen College, a small, prestigious school in northern Connecticut. Aberdeen is a school for the privileged youth of America's elite, an isolated world where hard drinking and hard studying go hand in hand. When Eric is assigned a work-study job with the college's head librarian, Cornelius Graves, Eric begins to hear strange and disconcerting rumors about his new mentor. Despite himself, he is curiously drawn to Cornelius, if only to divine whether it's true that he's searching for the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical substance that supposedly holds the secret to eternal life. At the same time, Eric's preternatural aptitude for Latin quickly attracts the attention of Arthur Fitch, a charismatic and aloof senior who invites him to become a research assistant for Dr. William Cade, Aberdeen's most celebrated professor. Eric is accepted into Cade's small circle of sophisticated students, all of whom live off campus on Cade's country estate, and soon discovers that his new friends are not just conducting research for Dr. Cade -- they, too, are searching for the Philosopher's Stone. When an alchemical experiment goes fatally wrong, Eric is drawn deeper into the dark secrets surrounding the legendary substance. As the police investigation narrows and Eric gets swept up in Professor Cade's obsession, the tensions on the estate and in Eric's new friendships threaten to explode and, with them, Eric's idealized world. Like The Secret History and A Separate Peace, Gods of Aberdeen demonstrates the selfishness and savagery that can lie at the heart of the most rarefied academic setting.

Against the Gods

Against the Gods
Author: Peter L. Bernstein
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2012-09-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470534532

A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." —The New York Times "An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." —The Wall Street Journal "A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." —Business Week "Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." —The Economist "[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." —Worth "No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers "With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." —John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. "An extremely readable history of risk." —Barron's "Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." —Money "A singular achievement." —Times Literary Supplement "There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." —The Australian

Zeus

Zeus
Author: George O'Connor
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2010-01-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1596434317

Tells the story of Zeus and his battle with his father, Kronos, and the Titans. In graphic novel format.

A Jealous God

A Jealous God
Author: Pamela R. Winnick
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2005-10-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1418551783

A look at the personal and professional motivations behind the scientific community’s dogmatic rejection of religion and how this impacts the culture. The age-old war between religion and science has taken a new twist. Once the dedicated scientist-martyr fought heroically against rigid religionists. But now the tables have turned, and it is established science crusading against religion, pushing atheistic agendas in the classroom, in textbooks, and in the media. This book shows how science has now become a religion of its own—an often fanatical one at that—furiously preaching atheism, punishing dissenters, dictating how and what we should think, and subtly inserting its worldviews in everything from education to entertainment. And, with stunning clarity, it proves that, with billions of dollars up for grabs in the race for stem cell research, intellectual integrity has been replaced with good old-fashioned greed. With sharp insight and completely original reporting, this book defiantly shows the extent to which science is beating down religion and how this systematic tyranny is unmistakably weakening culture and society.

The Realms of the Gods

The Realms of the Gods
Author: Tamora Pierce
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2009-12-08
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1439132097

During a dire battle against the fearsome Skinners, Daine and her mage teacher Numair are swept into the Divine Realms. Though happy to be alive, they are not where they want to be. They are desperately needed back home, where their old enemy, Ozorne, and his army of strange creatures are waging war against Tortall. Trapped in the mystical realms Daine discovers her mysterious parentage. And as these secrets of her past are revealed so is the treacherous way back to Tortall. So they embark on an extraordinary journey home, where the fate of all Tortall rests with Daine and her wild magic.

The Rage Against God

The Rage Against God
Author: Peter Hitchens
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2010
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0310320313

Partly autobiographical, partly historical, "The Rage Against God," written by the brother of prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, assails several of the favorite arguments of the anti-God battalions and makes the case against fashionable atheism.

Whispers in the Wind (Wild West Wind Book #2)

Whispers in the Wind (Wild West Wind Book #2)
Author: Lauraine Snelling
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1441270981

Book Two in Lauraine Snelling's Exciting Wild West Wind Series After fleeing North Dakota and the now defunct Wild West Show, Cassie Lockwood and her companions have finally found the hidden valley in South Dakota where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. But to her dismay, she discovers a ranch already built on her land. Cassie's arrival surprises Mavis Engstrom and forces her to reveal secrets she's kept hidden for years. Her son Ransom is suspicious of Cassie and questions the validity of her claim to the valley. But Lucas Engstrom decides from the start that he is in love with her and wants to marry her. Will Cassie be able to build a home on the Bar E Ranch and fulfill her father's dream of raising horses, or will she be forced to return to the itinerant life of her past?