This exciting book narrates the story of a young boy Otto, who is sent to live with monks at an early age. Otto gets kidnapped by his father's enemies and faces hardships and miseries. The author has very well described the dark middle ages and the way they used to live and fight. Inspirational!
"A personification of divine forgiveness."-Jill P. May "From American history books to Pirates of the Caribbean, the work of Howard Pyle continues to captivate us..."-Big Think "...it has a significant, universal theme, and it presents the details of daily life in Germany of the thirteenth century accurately and unobtrusively, making the period real and alive."-Malcolm Usrey "He is as careful and painstaking and artistic with his children's books as the very best novelist are with their novels...But best of them all is Pyle's Otto of the Silver Hand. It is a story of German chivalry in the days of the robber barons."-Willa Cather Otto of the Silver Hand (1888), Howard Pyle's first novel for children, is a grim yet empowering narrative of medieval Germany, following the adventures of a young hero caught between the power struggles of two families. With its gripping battle scenes, romance, and villainous warlords, this is a reading experience that continues to thrill over one hundred years after its initial publication. Otto, a gentle boy born to a noble germanic family in the middle ages, has been raised in the compassionate seclusion of a monastery to protect him from the violent rivalries of his family. When the boy turns twelve years old he is retrieved back to Drachenhausen, his ancestral castle to begin his training in knighthood. Soon Otto discovers that his father, the Baron Conrad, a brutal robber baron, is in the midst of a savage vendetta with his the family of his slain foe, the Baron Fredrick. When Otto's father and his knights are summoned to the Imperial Court the Fredrick clan attacks Castle Drachenhausen, burns it to the ground, and kidnaps the boy. Baron Henry, the heir of Fredrick's clan, keeps Otto in the dungeon of his own fortress. Until his father arrives to rescue him, Otto experiences both terrible brutality and the gentle affections of Henry's beautiful daughter. Through Otto's ordeals and suffering he recognized the deficiencies of the human character, yet he rose above the wickedness with his gentleness and love. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Otto of the Silver Hand is both modern and readable.
How insurgencies—enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere—have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age: government, political parties, the media. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. Originally published in 2014, The Revolt of the Public is now available in an updated edition, which includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump’s improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit. The book concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence.
In the tradition of The Nightingale, Sarah's Key, and Lilac Girls, comes a saga inspired by true events of a Holocaust survivor’s quest to return to Poland and fulfill a promise, from Ronald H. Balson, author of the international bestseller Once We Were Brothers. ~~ “Readers who crave more books like Balson’s Once We Were Brothers and Kristin Hannah’s bestselling The Nightingale will be enthralled by Karolina’s Twins.” —Booklist (starred review) "A heart-wrenching but ultimately triumphant story." —Chicago Tribune ~~ She made a promise in desperation Now it's time to keep it Lena Woodward, elegant and poised, has lived a comfortable life among Chicago Society since she immigrated to the US and began a new life at the end of World War II. But now something has resurfaced that Lena cannot ignore: an unfulfilled promise she made long ago that can no longer stay buried. Driven to renew the quest that still keeps her awake at night, Lena enlists the help of lawyer Catherine Lockhart and private investigator Liam Taggart. Behind Lena’s stoic facade are memories that will no longer be contained. She begins to recount a tale, harkening back to her harrowing past in Nazi-occupied Poland, of the bond she shared with her childhood friend Karolina. Karolina was vivacious and beautiful, athletic and charismatic, and Lena has cherished the memory of their friendship her whole life. But there is something about the story that is unfinished, questions that must be answered about what is true and what is not, and what Lena is willing to risk to uncover the past. Has the real story been hidden these many years? And if so, why? Two girls, coming of age in a dangerous time, bearers of secrets that only they could share. Just when you think there could not be anything new to ferret out from World War II comes Karolina's Twins, a spellbinding new novel by the bestselling author of Once We Were Brothers and Saving Sophie. In this richly woven tale of love, survival and resilience during some of the darkest hours, the unbreakable bond between girlhood friends will have consequences into the future and beyond.
Winner, Christianity Today 2015 Book Award in History/Biography Shortlisted for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography In the decades since his execution by the Nazis in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor, theologian, and anti-Hitler conspirator, has become one of the most widely read and inspiring Christian thinkers of our time. With unprecedented archival access and definitive scope, Charles Marsh captures the life of this remarkable man who searched for the goodness in his religion against the backdrop of a steadily darkening Europe. From his brilliant student days in Berlin to his transformative sojourn in America, across Harlem to the Jim Crow South, and finally once again to Germany where he was called to a ministry for the downtrodden, we follow Bonhoeffer on his search for true fellowship and observe the development of his teachings on the shared life in Christ. We witness his growing convictions and theological beliefs, culminating in his vocal denunciation of Germany’s treatment of the Jews that would put him on a crash course with Hitler. Bringing to life for the first time this complex human being—his substantial flaws, inner torment, the friendships and the faith that sustained and finally redeemed him—Strange Glory is a momentous achievement.
Bernie Gunther enters a dangerous battleground when he investigates crimes on the Eastern Front at the height of World War 2 in this gripping historical mystery from New York Times bestselling author Philip Kerr. Berlin, 1943. A month has passed since Stalingrad. Though Hitler insists Germany is winning the war, morale is low and commanders on the ground know better. Then Berlin learns of a Red massacre of Polish troops near Smolensk, Russia. In a rare instance of agreement, both the Wehrmacht and Propaganda Minister Goebbels want irrefutable evidence of this Russian atrocity. And so Bernie Gunther is dispatched. In Smolensk, Bernie finds an enclave of Prussian aristocrats who look down at the wise-cracking, rough-edged Berlin bull. But Bernie doesn’t care about fitting in. He only wants to uncover the identity of a savage killer—before becoming a victim himself.
Barricaded in Cortege High with five other teens while zombies try to get in, Sloane Price observes her fellow captives become more unpredictable and violent as time passes although they each have much more reason to live than she has.
A history of the powerful mineral element explores its role as a virtually limitless energy source, its controversial applications as a healing tool and weapon, and the ways in which its reputation has been used to promote war agendas in the middle east.