The Book I Wrote That Saved My Life

In 2008, American journalist Jere Van Dyk was kidnapped and held for 45 days. At the time, he had no idea who his kidnappers were. They demanded a ransom and the release of three of their comrades from Guantanamo, yet they hinted at their ties to Pakistan and to the Haqqani network, a uniquely powerful group that now holds the balance of power in large parts of Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.

The moving story of a writer, the Russian Vasily Grossman, and his novel "Life and Fate", one of the most violent charges ever leveled against the Stalinist regime. This is the story of a manuscript that shook the Kremlin. A book "arrested" in October 1961, in the early morning, and locked up in the basement of Lubyanka, the KGB headquarters. "Why would we add your book to the bombs that our enemies are preparing against us?", wrote Mikhail Suslov, Stalin's grey eminence, to Vassili Grossman who pleaded the cause of his book. Saved from extinction thanks to the courage of a network of dissidents, including physicist Andrei Sakharov and writer Vladimir Voinovich, Life and Fate was published 1983 in France.

When a band finds success, people usually speculate over whether they’ve earned it—if they truly paid their dues. This conversation never comes up while discussing the gritty blues-rock band Kings of Spade. That’s because they actually bled for their art.

Myths lead us to perilous adventures in search of money and fame. Will it be possible to find the treasure or will the voyages end in failure? Ever wonder if Noah's Ark actually exists, or if the Holy Grail's supernatural powers provide eternal youth? For some, these seeming legends are an authentic reality. MYTH HUNTERS tells the gripping adventures of the ultimate quest seekers who believe in the myths and are on a mission to prove their historical accuracy.

Mastering electronics with one book is a tall order. I set out to write this preface as a rationale for the book, and as an explanation of the reasons why I wrote it this way. I was going to des- cribe the electronics industry and the way it has grown almost beyond recognition in the last couple of decades. I was going to say how the changes in the technology have resulted in changes in the way the subject is-must be-taught. But, well into the third page, I decided not to. Much of it is in the flrst and the fmal chapters, anyway.

Mastering electronics with one book is a tall order.
Mastering Electronics can be used as a self-teaching book or as a textbook; I think that on balance it has probably gained something in being designed for this dual role.

On his latest release Goin' Down Howlin' blues guitarist and vocalist Ron Hacker pays respect to the bluesmen and women before him while also remaining true to his unique style. A rich blend of original and traditional songs both acoustic and electric, it is his strongest album yet. Featuring Artis Joyce on bass and Ronnie Smith on drums.