The Tragedy of Martina Castro
The Tragedy of Martina Castro

Author: Ronald G Powell

Publisher:

Published: 2020-10-25

Total Pages: 612

ISBN-13: 9781953609380

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A child of New Spain, Martina Castro became a leading figure in the tiny pueblo of Branciforte during California's two decades as a Mexican colony. But her wealth, fame and influence quickly turned to destitution, infamy and irrelevance once California became a U.S. territory in 1848. By the time of her death, her three husbands were long dead and all eight of her surviving children had turned against her in a protracted struggle over her land, title, and legacy. Close relatives such as Rafael Castro and Thomas Fallon exploited her naivete for profit, while opportunists such as Frederick A. Hihn and Louis Depeaux took advantage of her hospitality. Even backcountry settlers like Mountain Charlie McKiernan, Brad Morrell and Lyman Burrell were swept into the battles over Martina's massive land grants: Rancho Soquel and its ill-defined Augmentation. Hers was a struggle over the rights of a Californio in annexed territory, of Mexican law in an American legal system, of the status of a woman in a man's world. This is the story of Martina Castro and how her tribulations shaped the course of history in Santa Cruz County.

I Am Troy Davis
I Am Troy Davis

Author: Jen Marlowe

Publisher: Haymarket Books

Published: 2013-08-19

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1608462951

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The true story of a woman’s fight for her brother’s life—and her own: “Essential for those interested in the U.S. justice system” (Library Journal). On September 21, 2011, Troy Anthony Davis was put to death by the State of Georgia. Davis’s execution was protested by hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, and Pope Benedict XVI, Pres. Jimmy Carter, and fifty-one members of Congress all appealed for clemency. Davis’s older sister, Martina, a former Army flight nurse who had served in the Gulf War, was one of Davis’s strongest advocates—despite the fact that she was battling liver and metastatic breast cancer and died just weeks after her brother’s death by lethal injection. This book, coauthored by Martina and writer Jen Marlowe, tells the intimate story of an ordinary man caught up in an inexorable tragedy. From his childhood in racially charged Savannah; to the confused events that led to the 1989 shooting of a police officer; to Davis’s sudden arrest, conviction, and two-decade fight to prove his innocence, I Am Troy Davis takes us inside a broken legal system where life and death hang in the balance. It is also an inspiring testament to the unbreakable bond of family and the resilience of love, and reminds us that even when you reach the end of justice, voices from across the world can rise together in chorus and proclaim, “I am Troy Davis.” “Martina Correia’s heroic fight to save her brother’s life while battling for her own serves as a powerful testament for activists.” —The Nation “Should be read and cherished.” —Maya Angelou, author and civil rights activist

Hemingway's Boat
Hemingway's Boat

Author: Paul Hendrickson

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2011-09-20

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 0307700534

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • National Bestseller • A brilliantly conceived and illuminating reconsideration of a key period in the life of Ernest Hemingway that will forever change the way he is perceived and understood. "Hendrickson’s two strongest gifts—that compassion and his research and reporting prowess—combine to masterly effect.” —Arthur Phillips, The New York Times Book Review Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961—from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide—Paul Hendrickson traces the writer's exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar. Drawing on previously unpublished material, including interviews with Hemingway's sons, Hendrickson shows that for all the writer's boorishness, depression and alcoholism, and despite his choleric anger, he was capable of remarkable generosity—to struggling writers, to lost souls, to the dying son of a friend. Hemingway's Boat is both stunningly original and deeply gripping, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this great American writer, published fifty years after his death.

Hell Is Round the Corner
Hell Is Round the Corner

Author: Tricky

Publisher: Kings Road Publishing

Published: 2019-10-31

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 178870231X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'Bookended by tragedy, shot through with violence, ultimately uplifting' Guardian 'An insight into a singular artist' New Statesman 'Fierce, funny and indomitable' Observer 'My tears were relentlessly pricked by Tricky's memoir' Daily Telegraph Tricky is one of the most original music artists to emerge from the UK in the past 30 years. His signature sound, coupled with deep, questioning lyrics, took the UK by storm in the early 1990s and was part of the soundtrack that defined the post-rave generation. This unique, no-holds barred autobiography is not only a portrait of an incredible artist - it is also a gripping slice of social history packed with extraordinary anecdotes and voices from the margins of society. Tricky examines how his creativity has helped him find a different path to that of his relatives, some of whom were bare-knuckle fighters and gangsters, and how his mother's suicide has had a lifelong effect on him, both creatively and psychologically. With his unique heritage and experience, his story will be one of the most talked-about music autobiographies of the decade.

The Dive
The Dive

Author: Francisco Ferreras

Publisher:

Published: 2005-03

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780007191826

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A world-champion competitor in the deadly sport of freediving tells the heart-wrenching story of his life with and without his beloved wife, Audrey, who died trying to break his own record. Francisco 'Pipin' Ferreras, a native of Cuba, is a world champion in the dangerous and controversial sport of freediving, in which athletes test the limits of their minds and bodies by diving to unthinkable depths without oxygen tanks. Audrey Mestre was a beautiful French marine biology student researching the physiology of freediving. When she decided to base her studies on the legendary Pipin, a passionate romance was born. Pipin and Audrey soon married and moved to Miami, where she took up the sport herself and proceeded to break the female world record (115 metres). They became freediving's power couple, constantly training together and encouraging one another. of the Dominican Republic while attempting to break the world record -- which was currently held by her husband. Now, for the first time, Pipin tells his own story. He addresses the controversy that has followed him throughout his career and defends his sport and his own records against criticism from peers. And Pipin opens up as never before, providing what no interviewer has been able to capture: a glimpse into the heart of a complex and haunted man. In his own words, he relates the tragic story of his relationship with Audrey -- a unique and complicated tale of love and competition taken to the extreme.

Santa Cruz Trains
Santa Cruz Trains

Author: Derek R. Whaley

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2015-02-26

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9781508570738

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Once there was an endless redwood wilderness, populated by only the hardiest of people. Then, the sudden blast of a steam whistle echoed across the canyons and the valleys-the iron horse had arrived in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Driven by the need to transport materials like lumber and lime to the rest of the world, the railroad brought people seeking out new ways of living, from the remote outposts along Bean and Zayante Creeks to the bustling towns of Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. Bridges and tunnels marked the landscape, and each new station, siding and spur signaled activity: businesses, settlements, and vacation spots. Summer resorts in the mountains evolved into sprawling residential communities which formed the backbone of the towns of the San Lorenzo Valley today. Much of the history of the locations along the route has since been forgotten. This is their story. Third Revision (February 2016) Addenda available at http://www.whaleyland.com/downloads/addenda1.3.pdf Exclusive CreateSpace Discount: Enter MU236Q6V into the coupon code field and get this book for $5.00 off! Offer only valid through CreateSpace. Review this book at GoodReads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25144919)

Foxcatcher
Foxcatcher

Author: Mark Schultz

Publisher: Plume

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 014751648X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"On January 26, 1996, Dave Schultz, Olympic gold medal winner and wrestling champion, was shot in the back by du Pont heir John E. du Pont at the family's famed Foxcatcher Farm estate in Pennsylvania. Following the murder, du Pont barricaded himself in his home for two days before he was finally captured. How did the so-called best friend of amateur wrestling come to commit such a horrifying, senseless murder? For the first time ever, Dave's brother, Mark--another Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler under du Pont's patronage--tells the full story. Fascinating, powerful, and deeply personal, Foxcatcher is a riveting account as told by the only person close enough to know the mind of the murderer." -- Page [4] cover.

Munmun
Munmun

Author: Jesse Andrews

Publisher: ABRAMS

Published: 2018-04-03

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1683352610

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person’s physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute—and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger richer people don’t ever have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter—there’s no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power, and when salaried doctors and teachers would never fit in buildings so small. Warner and Prayer know their only hope is to scale up, but how can two littlepoors survive in a world built against them? A brilliant, warm, funny trip, unlike anything else out there, and a social novel for our time in the tradition of 1984 or Invisible Man. Inequality is made intensely visceral by an adventure and tragedy both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Love and Everything in Between
Love and Everything in Between

Author: Martina Marie De Castro

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2015-12-23

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13: 1504970136

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Love and everything in between is a compilation of poetry written with bare hands on bare paper that symbolizes the scribbled complexities of love and the simplicity it pertains - it exists.