My Shattered Nerves

Shattered Nerves takes us on a journey into a new medical frontier, where sophisticated, state-of-the-art medical devices repair and restore failed sensory and motor systems. In a compelling narrative that reveals the intimate relationship between technology and the physicians, scientists, and patients who bring it to life, Victor D. Chase explores groundbreaking developments in neural technology.

This is the first English translation of Michael Chekhov’s two-volume autobiography, combining The Path of the Actor (1927) and extensive extracts from his later volume Life and Encounters. Full of illuminating anecdotes and insightful observations involving prominent characters from the MAT and the European theatre of the early twentieth century, Chekhov takes us through events in his acting career and personal life, from his childhood in St. Petersburg until his emigration to Latvia and Lithuania in the early 1930s. Accompanying Chekhov's witty, penetrating, and immensely touching accounts are extensive and authoritative notes compiled by leading Russian Chekhov scholar, Andrei Kirillov. Anglo-Russian trained actor Bella Merlin provides a useful hands-on overview of how the contemporary practitioner might utilise and develop Chekhov's ideas. Chekhov was arguably one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. His life made a huge impact on his profession, and his actor-training techniques inspired many a Hollywood legend – including such actors as Anthony Hopkins and Jack Nicholson -while his books outlining his teaching methods and philosophy of acting are still bestsellers today The Path of the Actor is an extraordinary document which allows us unprecedented access into the life, times, mind and soul of a truly extraordinary man.

In Green Light! Martin Wolfe gives us the big picture of World War II airborne warfare in Europe through the lens of one unit, a squadron typical of some sixty others. Troop carrier squadrons delivered paratroopers behind enemy lines, tugged gliders into battle zones, and, between combat operations, freighted up to the front everything from food to artillery shells and carried back wounded infantrymen and newly freed slave laborers. Wolfe's firsthand account is an engaging and informative narrative that goes beyond the facts to investigate the feelings of the tightly knit unit. He also describes the management and training techniques that prepared the squadron for its role in four of the five main invasions of Nazi Europe. In all the literature about World War II , this is the first account to show how all levels of a squadron functioned-clerks as well as pilots, maintenance mechanics as well as flying crew chiefs, the mess hall as well as headquarters. In addition, Wolfe's is the first book to show the interplay between unit experience and high command theory—what units like the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron could actually accomplish and how concepts of airborne warfare changed at Supreme Headquarters. He explains why and how it was not until the last airborne invasion, in March 1945, that the full potential of the troop carrier was reached. Wolfe melds the recollections of ninety veterans of this squadron with a general history of Allied airborne forces in World War II. Through their words, Green Light! paints vivid portraits of the real men of the war, not the Rambos or Sad Sacks of popular culture. And through the retelling of their experiences, the book shows that the truism "war is hell" does not hold for all soldiers all the time.

Anton Chekhov’s only collection of crime and mystery stories. Considered one of the greatest dramatists of all time, Anton Chekhov began his literary career as a crime and mystery writer. Scattered throughout periodicals and literary journals from 1880-1890, these early psychological suspense stories provide a fresh look into Chekhov’s literary heritage and his formative years as a writer. In stories like "A Night in the Cemetery," "Night of Horror," and "Murder," not only will Chekhov’s dark humor and twisted crimes satisfy even the most hardboiled of mystery fans, readers will again appreciate the penetrating, absurdist insight into the human condition that only Chekhov can bring. Whether it is the death of a young amateur playwright at the hands of an editor who hates bad writing, or a drunken civil servant who ends up trapped in a graveyard, these stories overflow with the unforgettable characters and unique sensibility that continue to make Chekhov one of the most fascinating figures in literature.