Man With The Lion Heart

This is the story of Darren, a young man like many others. A young man who has spent the last twenty years of his life dealing with mental health issues. From the confusion, embarrassment and fear of the early stages, through the years of trying to cope with the illness whilst living a 'normal' life of work, marriage and children, to the serious episodes that threatened his life. He has dealt with his illness in the same time period that mental illness has become an issue that's more openly discussed. Most importantly, perhaps, it's beginning to be discussed amongst other regular guys like Darren who himself began to realise that being open and honest with friends and family is vital, no matter what dark paths mental illness took him down, and brought the realisation that more of them are suffering than you could ever imagine.

The amazing life of Richard I, King of England, known to history as 'Richard the Lionheart', after his reputation for bravery exhibited fighting the 'Saracens' whilst crusading in the Holy Land.

Environmentalist, independent researcher and author, Gareth Patterson has spent his entire adult life working tirelessly for the greater protection of African wildlife and, more particularly, for that of the lion. Born in England in 1963, Gareth grew up in Nigeria and Malawi. From an early age he knew where his life's path would take him - it would be in Africa, and his life's work would be for the cause of the African wilderness and its wild inhabitants. His is an all-encompassing African story. From his childhood in West and East Africa to his study of a threatened lion population in a private reserve in Botswana to his work with George Adamson, celebrated as the 'Lion Man' of Africa, we witness Gareth's growing commitment to his life's mission. This is nowhere more evident than in his account of his life as a human member of a lion pride, experiencing life and death through its eyes, as he successfully rehabilitated three famous orphaned lion cubs back into a life in the wilds. At considerable risk to his own personal safety, he exposed the sordid canned lion 'industry' in South Africa, bringing this shameful practice to international attention. After moving to the Western Cape he took up the fight for the African elephant, notably the unique endangered Knysna population, and published his astonishing findings in his 2009 book The Secret Elephants. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the stressful nature of his work, Gareth suffered a massive physical and mental breakdown in his forties, which he discusses here for the first time with an openness that underlines his courage. Lesser men might have been broken, but his 'lion's heart' fought back and he ultimately overcame his illness. Gareth Patterson's long-awaited autobiography is a moving account of one man's single-minded dedication to the preservation of Africa's wildlife. It is also a stark reminder that if the human race does not want to lose Africa's priceless wild heritage, there is no time to waste. 'The lion is my totem animal, and this is the story of my life in Africa, for the lion.'

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “The great Crusader king Richard the Lionheart comes alive in all his complex splendor in this masterpiece of medieval tapestry.”—Margaret George A.D. 1189. After the death of his father, Henry II, and the early demise of two of his brothers, Richard is crowned King of England and immediately sets off for the Holy Land. This is the Third Crusade, marked by internecine warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. Richard’s surviving brother, the younger John, is left behind—and conspires with the French king to steal his brother’s throne. Only their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, now freed from decades of captivity, remains to protect Richard’s interests and secure his destiny. In this engrossing saga, Sharon Kay Penman delivers a novel of passion, intrigue, battle, and deceit. Lionheart is a sweeping tale of a heroic figure—feared by his enemies and beloved by those he commanded—who became a legend in his own lifetime. “[Sharon Kay] Penman displays her usual grasp of sweeping historical events as well as an uncanny ability to get inside the hearts and minds of her real-life characters. Her reputation for character-driven, solidly detailed historicals is richly deserved.”—Booklist “The beautifully described settings and the characters’ interactions are simply outstanding.”—The Historical Novels Review “Penman takes historical writing to a whole new level.”—The Sacramento Bee “[A] gritty, unsentimental, and richly detailed epic.”—Publishers Weekly Don’t miss the exclusive conversation between Sharon Kay Penman and Margaret George at the back of the book.

Paul Meyer has never let anyone get too close. Until Max. The emotional struggle of Paul's same sex attraction, the guilt he feels and his ambivalence toward his Catholic faith all come together in this look inside the heart of a tortured man.

A contemporary tale of belief, identity, the nature of fiction and the power of romance, Lion Heart is Justin Cartwright's most inventive and powerful work to date 'Glorious ... Cartwright has the ability to elicit laughter and pity at once, while at the same time evoking a scene or atmosphere with effortless precision' Guardian 'Part love story, part grail quest, part historical detective novel ... Cartwright carries the reader through all this with the energy of his writing; people and places become so real that even the most fantastic twists in the plot become believable' Financial Times Richard Cathar was named after his father's hero, Richard the Lionheart. Richard remembers his recently-deceased father, Alaric, as a delusional hippy, who saw himself as an intellectual and historian. Following in his father's footsteps, Richard travels to Jerusalem where he falls deeply in love with Noor, a beautiful but mysterious Canadian-Arab journalist. When Noor is kidnapped on assignment in Cairo and the facts of her capture emerge, Richard stumbles upon an important document, one that could rewrite not just the history of the Crusades, but his father's and his own as well.

Acclaimed author James Reston, Jr.'s Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. James Reston, Jr. offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims. As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.