The book recounts Margaret Powell's journey starting at age fifteen as a kitchen maid, the lowest rank in the servant hierarchy. She details the grinding labor, which began at 5:30 am and ended after dark, involving tasks such as scrubbing vegetables, blacking stoves, and even ironing bootlaces. Born into a poor but loving family in Hove, she was forced to leave school despite passing an exam for a grammar school scholarship due to financial necessity. Her memoir is a collection of anecdotes and observations from the various houses where she worked, highlighting the strict class system, the often harsh treatment by employers and senior staff (like the cook above her), and the limited opportunities for social mobility. She eventually worked her way up to the position of cook before leaving service, marrying a milkman, and later pursuing education and a writing career.
The book is a non-fiction thriller that recounts the dramatic and chilling story of outbreaks of highly lethal viruses from the tropical rain forest, most notably the 1989 emergence of an Ebola virus in a monkey house in suburban Washington, D.C.. It details the efforts of American laboratory workers and scientists to identify and contain the deadly pathogen close to the US capital.
The book is a searing memoir of Dianna Ortiz, an American Ursuline nun who was abducted and brutally tortured by Guatemalan security forces in 1989 while working as a missionary. The narrative details her personal journey of healing and her work as a human rights activist, advocating for victims of torture worldwide and highlighting the U.S. government's complicity in the repressive Guatemalan political system.
Viv Prince was an iconic and notoriously wild drummer, best known for his time with the band The Pretty Things in the mid-1960s. His eccentric and debauched behavior garnered significant publicity for the group and reportedly influenced other drummers, such as Keith Moon of The Who.
The book is a personal account of his experiences, which included a tumultuous music career and struggles with alcoholism. He largely retired from music in the 1970s and moved to Portugal. Prince passed away in September 2025 at the age of 84.
Pohl's writing often focuses on the South African landscape, wildlife, and the history of the region. Given the author's other works, it is likely that Dawn to Dusk is a collection of anecdotes or lighthearted stories related to life in South Africa, rather than a novel with a single overarching plot.
The book is a personal account of the U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumpers (PJs), America's elite military rescue unit. It details their rigorous training, dangerous missions (including the real-life rescue attempts during the "Perfect Storm" incident), and the emotional toll on the PJs and their families.
Political events:Â The story incorporates graphic (though fictional) references to the Gukurahundi, the occupation of Matabeleland by Zimbabwe's Fifth Brigade in the 1980s.
Treasure hunt:Â The plot centers on the discovery and extraction of an ancient treasure: a solid gold bird statue created at the whim of King Mzilikazi approximately 180 years prior.
The book is an investigative work by South African journalist De Wet Potgieter, in which he claims to present the full story of Al-Qaeda's presence in South Africa. The claims made in the book were previously published in an article by Potgieter in 2013, which caused controversy and was later retracted by the Daily Maverick. The book includes an exploration of the involvement of the so-called "White Widow" (Samantha Lewthwaite) operating on an illegally acquired South African passport, especially in the context of the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi.
Len and his father, Son, couldn’t be more different. If Len is a recently divorced man of 42 who just wants sex, then his old man is a World War Two veteran in his late 80s, who is impossible. Len is a decadent subeditor at a South African newspaper, the old man is an old-school puritan. They have nothing in common, except that they’re both storytellers. Len thinks he’s heard all the stories before, but then one day – hungover as usual – he decides to tease a narrative out of the old man. He wants to see if there is more to the endlessly repetitive good-time stories. And slowly the old man starts revealing how just one small, shocking incident actually affected him (and his family) for the rest of his days. The horror of a past war is brought to a head in a country where 50 people – whether children, women or the aged – are murdered not a year, month or week, but a day.
This textbook serves as an introduction to C++ programming. It uses the development tools provided in Visual C++ and covers topics ranging from traditional character-based console programs to Windows-based applications
The book tells the story of 230 women of the French Resistance who were sent on a train to Auschwitz in January 1943. It details their experiences, focusing on their friendships and struggle for survival in the death camp.
