Showing results by author "Anonymous" in All Categories

Hurt people hurt people. Say there was a novel in which Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer's assistant, and somehow they met in bright lights, big city. He was blinded by love. She by ambition. Diary of an Oxygen Thief is an honest, hilarious, and heartrending audiobook but, above all, a very realistic account of what we do to each other and what we allow to have done to us.

Compiled in Middle Welsh during the 12th and 13th centuries, The Mabinogion is a mesmerizing panorama of fantasy, romance, tragedy and humor. Blending Arthurian romance, Welsh legend and mythology, it tells tales of heroic knights, fair maidens, dramatic battles and magical beasts across 12 fantastical stories.  

An eye-opening, thought-provoking and mind-blowing account from a genuine prison governor of what it's really like behind bars. The Secret Prison Governor has spent decades surrounded by every type of prisoner known to man, from petty thieves and common drug dealers to crime bosses and dangerous serial killers. Since starting as a rookie, he has experienced the reality of the UK's harsh prison system and the hard challenge of ruling those within it. In his own words, the Secret Prison Governor spares no detail of prison life.

Known as the "Big Book", the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous has helped millions of people worldwide get and stay sober since the first edition appeared in 1939. Opening chapters articulate A.A.’s program of recovery from alcoholism - the original Twelve Steps - and recount the personal histories of A.A.'s co-founders, Bill W. and Dr. Bob.  

 Commonly referred to as the “Twelve and Twelve”, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions comprises 24 foundational essays by Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. that have helped millions of A.A. members worldwide both to get and stay sober “one day at a time”, and to ensure that their "Fellowship" - Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole - will be there for them tomorrow. 

Between April 20th and June 22nd of 1945 the anonymous author of A Woman in Berlin wrote about life within the falling city as it was sacked by the Russian Army. Fending off the boredom and deprivation of hiding, the author records her experiences, observations and meditations in this stark and vivid diary.

This third edition includes 40 never-before-published, personal stories by recovering OA members from around the world; the founder's story; the complete text of "Our Invitation to You"; an all-new appendix, “The Role of a Plan of Eating in Recovery from Compulsive Eating”, by a dietician specializing in addictive and compulsive eating disorders; the book's original three appendices, “A Disease of the Mind,” “A Disease of the Body,” and “A Disease of the Spirit”; and a new foreword by an eating-disorder treatment professional." 

A.A.’s how-to manual for staying sober in everyday situations, this widely read booklet demonstrates through simple examples how A.A. members throughout the world live their lives to the fullest while staying sober one day at a time. From the foreword: “Living sober turns out to be not at all grim, boring and uncomfortable, as we had feared, but rather something we begin to enjoy and find much more exciting than our drinking days.” 

Detective Miles Jensen is called to the lawless town of Santa Mondega to investigate a spate of murders. This would all be quite ordinary in those rough streets, except that Jensen is the Chief Detective of Supernatural Investigations. The breakneck plot centres around a mysterious blue stone, 'The Eye of the Moon', and the men (and women) who all want to get their hands on it: a mass murderer with a drink problem, a hit man who thinks he's Elvis and a pair of monks among them.

Beowulf is the greatest surviving work of literature in Old English, unparalleled in its epic grandeur and scope. It tells the story of the heroic Beowulf and of his battles, first with the monster Grendel, who has laid waste to the great hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, then with Grendel's avenging mother and finally with a dragon that threatens to devastate his homeland.

The Old English epic poem Beowulf, recorded in its original Saxon dialect for the first time. Performed by Icelandic poet, playwright, professional storyteller and performer Svanur Thorkelsson, Audible’s production gives listeners the opportunity to experience how it might have felt to hear bards recite sections of the 3000-line poem from memory in Anglo Saxon dining halls. Audible’s Beowulf recaptures the heroic style and vast scale of what can be considered ‘England’s first native audiobook’.   

Across the globe, millions of people are involved in the brutal, cold-blooded world of drug dealing, but only a small number make life-changing money. Only a few get to the top, make the calls, know how it all works and truly become drugs lords. And even fewer survive. I know because I am one of those drug lords. After 30 years, I've decided to retire and tell the story of how I got to the top of this tainted profession, what's involved in being a serious criminal, the tricks of the trade, the art of the deal and what it really takes to stay alive for so long.

Based on events that took place between 960 and 1020 AD, Njál 's Saga is a mesmerizing drama about a multigenerational cycle of violence and retribution, and the feuds and passions that perpetuate it. The eponymous sage Njál, known for his keen legal mind, is one of Iceland's pre-eminent men, along with Gunnar of Hlidarendi, a fierce and formidable warrior married to the diabolical Hallgerd, whose conniving instigates the interminable pattern of romance, action and brutality - until one unforgivable act ends it all.  

This is my account of life as a hitman from someone who has been doing it for years. Hitmen commit heinous crimes virtually every day of the week and, in most instances, we don't even realise. I've been a killer for hire for more than 20 years now, but life as a fulltime professional assassin has never been easy. There have been close calls, failed attempts and a lot of looking over my shoulder. And now, I've decided to come clean and seek atonement for my life as a murderer and one of the most covertly dangerous men alive. 

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes portrait of the Trump presidency from the anonymous senior official whose first words of warning about the president rocked the nation's capital.

These 1028 poems, grouped as 10 ‘Circles’ (mandalas), have variously been called hymns, poems or songs by Sanskrit scholars. The Rik (so pronounced by the ancient Angirases clans, or Seer-Priest families) was an experiment with sound. The emphasis is always on sounding the words perfectly. The focus tends to be on the ideas rather than on the authors in Vedic literature, they are largely religious in nature, reflecting the world view and spiritual preoccupations of ancient India. 

These three sutras are the most important texts for the Chan (Chinese) and Zen (Japanese) Buddhist traditions, though they are very different in character and provenance. The Diamond Sutra (Vajracheddikā Prajña Pārāmitā Sutra in Sanskrit) has the distinction of being 'the earliest complete survival of a dated (11 May 868) printed book’. It was found in the Dunhuang Caves in China in 1900. The title, Diamond Cutter, outlines its purpose, which is to cut through ignorance to attain to perfect wisdom or ultimate reality.

The first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous was published in April 1939. It rapidly became known as the “Big Book” and launched the AA Program that has helped millions of people around the world get and stay sober. As the basic text of AA, its chapters show other alcoholics precisely how 100 men and women recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. It lays out a proven program of action to stop drinking, including the original Twelve Steps.

The Vimalakirti Sutra is one of the most popular Mahayana sutras. One reason for the Sutra’s popularity is that its principal character, Vimalakirti, is not a Buddha or a Bodhisattva or even a monk but a layman with a family living in India, leading - apparently - a secular life. This does not hinder his ability, the Sutra proclaims, to be a man of remarkable spiritual understanding and attainment - so much so that he confidently lectures and advises arhats (enlightened monks) and bodhisattvas (perfected individuals working for the enlightenment of all) on spiritual matters. 

Cafcass defines parental alienation as "when a child’s resistance or hostility towards one parent is not justified and is the result of psychological manipulation by the other parent", yet experts, therapists, and social workers are not trained to assess or deal with cases involving it. I spent years making my case to judges, experts, and lawyers, all of whom failed to agree on what was actually happening between my ex-wife, my kids, and myself. At the time, it seemed like I was constantly trying to prove a negative, and all paths ended in dead ends as my ex-wife pursued her agenda.