The On The Bookshelf Podcast

Angus Konstam, Maritime History expert on The Golden Age of Piracy

 "The Pirate Menace: Uncovering the Golden Age of Piracy" by Angus Konstam (Osprey Publishing)

This new account explores the most notorious pirates in history and how their rise and fall can be traced back to a single pirate haven, Nassau.
Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading pirate experts, has brought his 30 years of research to create the definitive book on the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of the privateers the British had used to prey on French and Spanish shipping during the War of the Spanish Succession turned to piracy. The pirates took over Nassau on the Bahamian island of New Providence and turned it into their own pirate haven, where shady merchants were happy to buy their plunder. It became the hub of a pirate network that included some of the most notorious pirates in history: Blackbeard, “Calico Jack” Rackam, Charles Vane, and Bartholomew Roberts.
The growth of piracy led to a major surge in attacks in the Caribbean and along North America’s Atlantic seaboard. With the fragile maritime economy of the Americas threatened with collapse, major ports were threatened, and trade brought to a standstill, the British government finally declared war on the pirates. The Pirate Menace draws on extensive research, as well as a wide range of first-hand accounts, to produce a new history of the heyday of historical piracy.

 

Angus Konstam is the author of well over 100 history books. He has written widely on naval history including The Pirate World, Hunt the Bismarck and Mutiny on the Spanish Main, all published by Osprey. A former naval officer, he has worked as a museum curator in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a full-time author and historian. He lives in Orkney, off the north of Scotland.

 

Stefanie Powers, star of TV, film & stage with Conservation work in Africa

 Stefanie Powers began her career at age 15, dancing for famed Broadway choreographer, Jerome Robbins. She was put under contract to Columbia Pictures in the final years of the Hollywood star system. While under contract, she appeared in 15 of the 31 motion pictures she has made, co-starring with screen legends such as; John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Cliff Robertson, Elliot Gould, Roger Moore, Donald Sutherland, Bing Crosby, Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, James Caan and Sammy Davis. She recently co-starred with Richard Chamberlin in the critically acclaimed independent film, THREE DAYS OF HAMLET.

 Her first television series, "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.," marked a milestone in U.S. television's history as the first hour long series featuring a female in the leading role. Her television career includes over 25 mini-series, over 200 episodic guest starring appearances, 35 movies for television and two more television series, "Feather and Father" and the long running "Hart to Hart," starring opposite Robert Wagner, now celebrating its 45th anniversary.

 She became a member of the Screen Writers' Guild of America in the 1980s and has produced several of the screenplays she has written, one of which, "Family Secrets," was not only a stepping stone for the careers of James Spader and Gary Sinise but it garnered her a nomination for the best screenplay of the year by her peers in the Writers' Guild. Her writing has extended itself to a memoir called, One From The Hart, published by The Robson Press.

 Throughout her career she has never neglected her theatrical roots, appearing in productions of; How the Other Half Loves, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Sabrina Faire, A View From the Bridge, Oliver, Annie Get Your Gun, the West End debut of Matador,, back to the West End with Robert Wagner in Love Letters, which they also toured the United States with, becoming the cast most associated with the play after over 500 performances.She once again appeared in the UK in the West End production of The King and I, which also toured the United States for ten months. As a result of the successful remounting of the musical Sunset Boulevard at the Ogunquit Theatre, a US revival is being planned. She appeared once again in the UK in 2012 co-starring opposite Richard Johnson of Royal Shakespeare Company fame, in the play, On Golden Pond. She has recorded a CD with the legendary jazz artist Page Cavanaugh called "On the Same Page", available online at Jambomusic.com. Also in 2012 she performed her one woman show, Hart of my Heart, a tribute to the life and the lyrics of Lorenz Hart at the newly opened Matcham Room at the Hippodrome.

 As much a part of her life as her career, is her devotion to animal preservation and protection, which at times becomes more of a vocation than an avocation. She is founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, established in 1982 to continue and to further her long-time partner's conservation work in East Africa after his death.

 The Global Partnerships Forum & The Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations Honors Stefanie Powers & The William Holden Wildlife Foundation At The 2024 Agents of Change Awards Luncheon Honoring Leaders and Changemakers

 Vision For The Future highlights the careers of 25 individuals, including Stefanie Powers with the 2024 Agents Of Change Award. Ms Powers was honored for her efforts with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, at a luncheon held at the United Nations for the following listed reasons:

 *** For Inspiring Others: Sharing her wisdom and experiences to motivate and empower others to pursue their dreams and make a larger-scale impact on society through the William Holden Wildlife Foundation (https://whwf.org/)

*** For Leaving a Legacy: Documention of her journey and contributions as a lasting resource that ignites a passion for positive change.

*** For Reaching a Wide Audience: Her delivering her message to a global audience.

 In addition, Stefanie Powers will be included in a new book, "Vision For The Future: Capturing Inspiring Stories from Leaders and Changemakers," which will include Ms Kerry Kennedy (President/John F. Kennedy Human Rights), Mr Eddie Bergman (Co-Founder/President/Miracle Corners of the World), Dr Tariq (World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists), Ms Heidi Kuhn (Founder/CEO Roots of Peace), Mr Inge Solheim (World Ethical Forum), Mr Hans Vestberg (Chairman/CEO Verizon), Ms Laura Turner Seydel (Director & Chair Emeritus/Captian Planet Foundation), among many others who are focused on making the world a better place.

 STEFANIE POWERS (The Activist)

 Throughout her life, Stefanie Powers has had a long-time enviable and successful career in theatre, television and films. However, foremost in her mind has always been the protection, conservation and welfare of the natural world. This is exemplified in wildlife, biodiversity, the environment, and domesticated animals who have accompanied our evolution and served us in war and in peace.

 In childhood, she was a member of 4H and at home had a private sanctuary for anything that fell out of a tree, crawled into her backyard, or was hit by a car. She was raised partially on her stepfather's stud farm where they were taught all of the hard lessons of animal husbandry and the commitment to the responsibility and welfare of animals both domestic and exotic. Those lessons lead her to rescue a baby Malaysian Sun Bear that had been sold to the pet trade, thus opening the door to the community of professionals and enthusiasts who look after wildlife in captivity. She has served on the board of 4 zoos in the United States and as conservation consultant for Jaguar North America where she created the Jaguar Conservation Trust which she operated in Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica for 5 years. She was active in the movement to protect North American wild horses and was instrumental in obtaining a 6-month moratorium on wild horse roundups and sales from feed lots. In addition, she was able to affect the transfer of 40 wild horses whose DNA was traced to Spanish bloodlines. These horses were saved, collected, and transported to a private ranch in South Dakota where they survive and prosper thanks to Ford Motor Company and their negotiations with the BLM in Washington D.C.

 Through her long-time relationship with William Holden, whose conservation work was never publicized, she became a shareholder in the Mount Kenya Game Ranch. The MKGR, now a conservancy, is a 2000-acre converted farm on the slopes of Mount Kenya where Bill established the first game ranch for the preservation of species in all of Sub-Saharan Africa in 1959. It was Bill's hope to build a wildlife education center for the youth of Kenya to learn about the importance of preserving their world heritage wildlife. Thus, after his death in 1981, she founded a 501(c)3 public charity called the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in order to build and endow the education center Bill had imagined whose mission statement is 'Wildlife conservation through education and alternatives to habitat destruction'.

 At the time, she couldn't envision that they would grow into the service of our mission statement as we have. It is the work all her staff and she do that brings their mission to the communities they serve, which number over 6000 in our outreach and 11000 at their main center annually.

 After years of concentrating on the first half of our mission statement, they are now concentrating on their second half. In 2017, they began a program of habitat restoration including farmland in rural areas with an emphasis on carbon capture. They created 7 pilot projects attached to primary and secondary schools where we have over the years rebuilt their campus infrastructure. Our outreach to students, their teachers and parents, introduces a practice of regenerative soil and farming techniques which produce higher quality and quantity of food even in drier conditions. This program of Agro Ec teaches small farmers how they may become more productive and averts them from the need to further exploit and damage land through over-chemicalization and poor farming practices.

 They are currently in the process of establishing a protocol with criteria to prove and qualify a given piece of land as having accomplished measurable soil regeneration. They have partnered with 2 laboratories in Kenya and 1 in the United States for soil analysis as well as a local Kenyan laboratory who specializes in carbon measurement in soil.

Their multiple achievements since 1982 are thanks to donors and their careful husbandry of their donations. Overheads are kept to a bare minimum and, by the grace of one donor, all operational costs in Los Angeles are covered. In spite of this good news, it is still a constant challenge to raise funds for ongoing projects as well as ever-increasing new ones. Since Ms Powers is the chief fundraiser, it rests on her to seek grants and funding at great personal sacrifice. Whatever she has sacrificed in her personal and professional life, it is compensated by the impact they have made and the help they have given to the countless people who have benefited from the efforts of our work at WHWF.

Jim DiEugenio on How the Warren Commision Mislead and Lied to Us

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more . Oct 30 The JFK Assassination Chokeholds That Inescapably Prove There Was a Conspiracy By James DiEugenio, Paul Bleau, Matt Crumpton, Andrew Iler, and Mark Adamczyk In The JFK Assassination Chokeholds, readers will find up to date evidence that would have compelled any jury to conclude that Oswald was not guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and that there is clear and convincing evidence of both a conspiracy and obstruction of justice to cover it up. The approach taken by the contributors in this anthology, three of whom are attorneys complemented by two of the leading authorities in the field, focuses on sixty years of revelations that have been inescapably proven. There is no way around these matters, making them argumentative "chokeholds." The next time a historian, teacher, author or Warren Commission backer pushes the lone-nut assassin scenario, the reader will be able to counter with troubling questions, such as: Why was Oswald impersonated? Why did Ruby receive assistance in murdering Oswald? Why do an overwhelming number of investigation insiders not believe the Warren Commission conclusions? How can one explain the scandalous shenanigans around JFK's brain and the chain of custody for CE 399? And many other inexplicable facts that are a matter of record. On November 22, 1963, the world took a turn for the worse. JFK and everything he stood for was cruelly taken away from us. Hopefully the truth can help pave the way for a new direction. James DiEugenio, co-author of The JFK Assassination Chokeholds, has an MA in history from California State University Northridge. He is a retired teacher who has written or co-edited four books on the assassinations of the sixties: Destiny Betrayed,The Assassinations, The JFK Assassination: The Evidence Today and JFK Revisited. The last volume is the companion piece to Oliver Stone’s two recent documentaries on the Kennedy assassination, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, and JFK: Destiny Betrayed. Jim wrote the screenplays for both of those films. He has lectured widely and made many appearances on many broadcast programs about the subject. He is the editor and publisher of the online journal KennedysandKing.com which features articles, news stories and critiques of works about the four major assassinations of the sixties: JFK, Malcolm X, MLK and RFK.       Like   Comment   Restack     © 2024 A.J. Rice 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe

Troy native Quintarries Upshaw with a powerful book, "The Journal of Broken Folk"

Quintarries Upshaw has been collecting stories of people who have suffered an whose stories need to be told in the pursuit of justice and compassion.

It is not an easy book to read. Many times I had to stop at the end of a chapter, and take a break from reading. The accounts are heart-breaking, deep pain, stupendous suffering and loss, treatment no child or any person should ever receive. Yet, they persevere, and their stories can shock us and inspire us.

The author is a native of Troy, Ala, graduated fro Charles Henderson High School and Troy University before starting his career as a social worker. He realized that the stories he was hearing were urging him to get to the heart of the matter as a middle-school teacher in Pensacola, Fla. There he loves his students while encouraging and exhorting them to strive against their disadvantages and challenges. He's exactly the kind of teacher you wish you had in middle school.  His book will touch you in deep places.

Chelsea Erickson brings 25 Teen Advent Devotionals in "Longing for Christmas"

Recapturing the Excitement of the Season when Christmas Has Started to Lose its Shine-New devotional from Rooted Ministry helps teenagers find what they are truly longing for
Do you remember what it felt like to be a little kid at
Christmastime? There’s nothing quite like the anticipation of Christmas morning. But the holiday can lose its wonder as we wake up to the many hard things going on in our lives and in the world. We’ve certainly experienced this at some point as adults but think back to the first you felt that loss—the first time Christmas didn’t seem as special. You were probably a teenager.
Longing for Christmas: 25 Promises Fulfilled in Jesus (New Growth Press/
) is an Advent devotional from Rooted Ministry that helps teenagers recapture the joy and wonder of Christmas by unwrapping God’s promises throughout Scripture. This twenty-five-day devotional looks at promises God made and fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. As readers explore the way God has kept his promises, they will be encouraged that ALL of the longing we feel—for a better world and for things to be made right—will be fully met in Jesus.
“The loss we feel over our childhood wonder at Christmastime points to a deeper longing within all of us,”writes editor Chelsea Kingston Erickson. “Author C. S. Lewis often wrote about the sense of bitter-sweet we
all feel as we live in this world. He wrote that within each of us is an ‘inconsolable longing,’ or the feeling of missing something we can’t quite name. When we long for the innocence of childhood or even for Christmases past, what we’re really missing, Lewis said, is the life we were made for: life together with God, forever.”
Longing for Christmas was written by more than a dozen contributors from Rooted Ministry, including Erickson,Cameron Cole, Anna Meade Harris, Liz Edrington, Kevin Yi, and others. The contributors are youth ministry
professionals and parents who are gifted in communicating with teenagers. They are transparent with their own stories, in touch with issues facing young people today, and skilled at helping teenagers receive the truth of the gospel. They center each day’s reading around a different specific longing in the heart of teenagers that is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.