The book provides an analysis of the US economy during the 1990s, particularly the boom and subsequent bust, from the perspective of the author, a Nobel laureate who served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton and Chief Economist at the World Bank. Stiglitz argues that a misplaced faith in free-market ideology during this period created problems that led to future economic issues.
The book is a heartwarming story detailing how headmistress Marie Stubbs transformed St George's, a struggling inner-city comprehensive school in London, which had been threatened with closure after a damning Ofsted report and the murder of its previous headmaster in 1995. She implemented a combination of discipline, imagination, and modern management techniques to improve attendance and examination results.
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.
