Without Wings

Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in southwest Turkey (Anatolia) in the early part of the last century—a quirky community in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully over the centuries and where friendship, even love, has transcended religious differences. But with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of the Great War, the sweep of history has a cataclysmic effect on this peaceful place: The great love of Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim, a Muslim shepherd who courts her from near infancy, culminates in tragedy and madness; Two inseparable childhood friends who grow up playing in the hills above the town suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the bloody struggle; and Rustem Bey, a wealthy landlord, who has an enchanting mistress who is not what she seems. Far away from these small lives, a man of destiny who will come to be known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is emerging to create a country from the ruins of an empire. Victory at Gallipoli fails to save the Ottomans from ultimate defeat and, as a new conflict arises, Muslims and Christians struggle to survive, let alone understand, their part in the great tragedy that will reshape the whole region forever.

“Give yourself a gift and read Flying Without Wings. You will be kinder, wiser, and more compassionate for having read it. I am.”—Abigail (Dear Abby) Van Buren At twenty-four, Arnold Beisser was a recent medical school graduate and a nationally ranked tennis player. But overnight a devastating bout of polio left him permanently paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on an iron lung to draw his next breath. Polio robbed Arnold Beisser of his strength, his athletic ability, and almost his life. Yet he discovered in this unthinkable trap not only the expected sadness and despair, but wonder, delight, and the pleasure of everyday living. This is the wise, deeply moving, and warmly humorous account of Arnold Beisser’s search for a new life and meaning as he comes to terms with his disability and then transcends it . . . to practice psychiatry, to fall in love, truly to soar without wings. His spirit and determination to fight for happiness will inspire any reader faced with unbearable loss. Dr. Beisser shows us why the contrast between winner and loser, athlete and cripple, is in our minds much more than in our bodies. And he shares with us the experiences that taught him life’s greatest truth: Nothing can keep you from love, laughter, meaningful work, or enlightenment—except yourself. “A book of blazing honesty and openness. It goes right to the heart of the reader.”—Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness

Written by a a pilot/engineer participant of NASA's lifting body program, this book documents the adventures, triumphs, setbacks, and fun of pioneering a technology that allowed astronauts to accomplish lifting reentries and precise runway landings.

In his first novel since Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernières creates a world, populates it with characters as real as our best friends, and launches it into the maelstrom of twentieth-century history. The setting is a small village in southwestern Anatolia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone there speaks Turkish, though they write it in Greek letters. It’s a place that has room for a professional blasphemer; where a brokenhearted aga finds solace in the arms of a Circassian courtesan who isn’t Circassian at all; where a beautiful Christian girl named Philothei is engaged to a Muslim boy named Ibrahim. But all of this will change when Turkey enters the modern world. Epic in sweep, intoxicating in its sensual detail, Birds Without Wings is an enchantment.

"Angels Without Wings" consists of four facinating stories of ordinary people who found themselves in desparate situations and in need of a miracle. At the point of utmost desparation... the point when they thought that all hope was gone.. the point where only a supernatural occurrance could succor them, they suddenly found themselves in the presence of strangers who miraclously appeared, removed the threat from their circumstance and disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared, never to be seen again. "Angels Without Wings" is a book which provides "proof positive" that there are in fact, Heavenly Beings sent by God, who quietly walk amoung us, and surface when the need arises.

This is the extraordinary story of a poor Tennessee farm boy growing up during the depression of the 1930's who longed to be a pilot. His dream was realized when he enlisted in January 1941 as an aviation cadet and, despite being terminated from the basic training program in a disciplinary action, he ended up as a liaison pilot instead as a "flying sergeant." In New Guinea he flew observation in an unarmed piper cub for the 218th heavy Field Artillery Battalion, earning the Silver Star, the Soldier's Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and promotion to second Lieutenant. With the ingenious help of his flight surgeon friend, he was transferred to the 43rd Bombardment Group, the 65th Bombardment Squadron of the Fifth Air Force. He flew 32 missions in B-24 four engine bombers without regular pilot's wings, a feat unequaled in World War II. When Lieutenant Guy was sent home with injuries in December 1944, his superior officers in New Guinea notified Lieutenant General Henry (Hap) Arnold, Commandant of the United States Air Force, about his remarkable story. General Arnold summoned Guy to the Pentagon to have his wings pinned on him by an aide. Guy stayed in the US Air Force for a total of 26 1/2 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, with chief command pilot's wings. Throughout his career he "bucked the system," defying colonels and generals when he thought he was right, and they were wrong. I have told his story from boyhood to retirement, recounting experiences that appear unbelievable. With World War II veterans dying by the thousands on a daily basis, I felt it was important to tell my husband's unique story while he is still alive, depending upon taped interviews, personal recollections, and his official military records. Dr. Milton Gusack, a flight surgeon with the 43rd Bomb Group, commented: "I loved the book. It is classic Kelly, showing he was a combination of guts, capability, loyalty and stubbornness. This story is a truthful revelation about warfare and how the American spirit was able to survive the most horrible experiences and still maintain a sense of humor." Dr. Ken Wolf, Murray State University history professor said: "Kelly made me think of Forest Gump: Placed in unusual situations, he was unphased by meeting celebrities and persisted in achieving the impossible." Even back in 1958, a writer for the Olmsted AFB newsletter in Pennsylvania wrote a feature about Kelly in the war. Hal L. Eustace, chief of Advertising and Publicity, sent a copy of the story to Tinker AFB where Kelly had been stationed, with a letter stating: "This is one of the most unusual stories that I ever ran across in the service."

From a renowned horsewoman and gifted storyteller comes this groundbreaking new book that explores a powerful relationship like no other: the magical kinship between women and horses. Drawing from myth and literature, the author’s own experiences, and interviews with countless women, we learn, through women’s deeply personal stories, how horses enrich our lives and connect us to nature–making us readers of rhythm and invisible signs, helping us harness our youthful sexuality, sharing the “horsepower” we need to reach our dreams. And here we see how, for thousands of years, the deep kinship between women and horses has connected us to our most intimate feelings of delight, helped us learn to solve problems, and set our creativity free. From the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer to the fiction of Jane Austen to folktales from around the world, She Flies Without Wings uses great literature and myth to encompass a wide spectrum of beliefs and perspectives–and creates a true celebration of speed, air, and the spectacular animal that connects us with both. Filled with the moving lessons–-about sensuality, commitment, power, nurturance, and spirituality–women riders have known for centuries, written with a loving hand by an expert equestrian, She Flies Without Wings is an eloquent paean to a pairing that enlivened history, inspired literature, and continues to enchant us all.