Showing results by narrator "Warren du Plooy" in All Categories

“For the last hundred years, Western colonialism has had a bad name.” So began Professor Bruce Gilley’s watershed academic article, “The Case for Colonialism,” of 2017. The article sparked a global furor. Critics and defenders of Gilley’s argument battled it out in the court of public opinion. The Times of London described Gilley as “probably the academic most likely to be no-platformed in Britain.” The New York Times called him one of the “panicky white bros” who “proclaim ever more rowdily that the (white) West was, and is, best” and are “busy recyclers of Western supremacism.”

Critical Social Justice or wokeism is a relatively new phenomena that has dominated the recent culture wars since the antiracism movement intensified in the wake of George Floyd's death.

In The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a humble 17th-century Carmelite monk, reveals a simple but life-altering secret: God is found not in rare moments, but in every ordinary task of the day. Whether he was washing pots, tending herbs in the garden, or quietly kneeling in prayer, Brother Lawrence learned to live with a continual awareness of God’s nearness—a “habitual sense of His presence” that brought profound peace and freedom to his soul.

In the 1990s, Africa experienced sporadic political instability, with Sierra Leone being one of the most affected nations. Among the millions whose lives were upended was Marwan, a Sierra Leonean of Lebanese heritage who had previously enjoyed a life of privilege. However, his life was irrevocably changed by a violent coup in 1992, forcing him into a relentless battle for survival.

Do you want to know where the actual locals eat instead of ending up in tourist-trap restaurants? Do you like going to the coolest bars without spending your entire life savings on a beer? Do you believe there's more to traveling than just checking off the first three positions from TripAdvisor? If you answered 'yes!' to any of these questions, you are in the right place.

Calvinists are well known for their fighting, and on the rare occasions when the Synod of Dort is remembered, it is often highlighted as an example of Calvinist squabbling and dogmatism. But few know the real story, or why the battles at Dort were worth fighting. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Canons of Dort, pastor and scholar Daniel Hyde reminds us what Dort was all about: protecting and proclaiming the glorious gospel of grace!

Khatyn by Ales Adamovich recounts the harrowing fate of a Belarusian village burned down by Nazi forces in 1943. Through the memories of a partisan veteran, the novel captures both the horrors of war and the enduring courage of those who resisted.

The Galizien Sturm offensive is in full swing in the East. The Germans, under the command of General Paul von Hindenburg, have just stormed the Brest-Litovsk Fortress in Western Belarus. They now start their movement southward toward Western Ukraine to outflank General Brussilov. Meanwhile, General August Mackensen’s attack on the Przemysl Fortress continues with the obvious objective of pushing on to the main Russian Army supply hub in Lemberg.

In this haunting memoir, a clinical psychologist sentenced to 51 months for healthcare fraud confronts the harsh realities of federal prison. Incarcerated amid the chaos of the COVID pandemic, he endured a relentless odyssey through eight different prison facilities, caught in a near-perpetual cycle of transfer. Through his expert lens, Cruel and Unusual Punishment: A Memoir of the Psychological Realities of Federal Prison unveils the stark truth of an uncivilized, harsh, and insane system that erodes the very essence of humanity.

With travel tips and culture in our guidebooks written by a local, it is never too late to visit New Zealand . Greater Than a Tourist- Aotearoa New Zealand by Abigail Fairbairn presents her best tips and tricks to help make sure you are ready for your ‘mean as’ trip. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the ‘Greater Than a Tourist’ series, this book will give you candid travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

Today's global news continues to prompt Jesus-followers to study their Bibles for insights into the conflicts raging between the church and its critics, between Israel and her neighbors, indeed, between Israel and the rest of the world. How well do you know the history of Israel-Palestine relations? Is there a solution to this seemingly unending struggle for land, for peace, for survival? Dr. Willem J. Ouweneel is an expert in the history of this conflict.

They blended in. They raised families, held steady jobs, and hid in plain sight. But behind the mask of normalcy, they were monsters—responsible for decades of terror, pain, and death. Every Killer Leaves A Trace is a chilling narrative nonfiction thriller that exposes moments that led to the shocking unmasking and ultimate capture of twenty-six of America’s most elusive killers. From accidental slips to cutting-edge forensic breakthroughs, each chapter reveals how justice caught up with murderers who thought they’d never be found.

In this evocative retelling of the real-life German-born Jewish immigrants known as the Ritchie Boys, That Such Men Live is a gritty and emotional story of sacrifice, war, and maintaining hope when all seems lost.

It's Saturday, the first day of the week. There is no silence. People are back to work after one day off. The air is not clean and beautiful. The sky is not clear and gleaming. The sun doesn't find the peaks of the mountains of Kabul clean and bright. The five million inhabitants of this great city do not feel as happy and free as before. There is no lull. No one can predict what will happen in a moment, a week or a year. Nothing is impossible in Afghanistan.

Travel Like a Local is a series of travel guidebooks written by local experts to help travelers explore new places like an insider. Travel Like a Local: Istanbul by author Gozde Aydin offers first-hand and personal insight into the best ways to visit Istanbul.

In this, Theodore Dalrymple’s second collection of short stories, he begins to let his imagination run. The absurdity of modern life is fully laid bare when taken to extremes. You will laugh through your tears.

The Legend of Lilia is the story of Lilia Litvyak, who at 15 made her first solo flight in a wood-and-canvas biplane. By the age of 21, she was the most dangerous woman in the sky as an ace fighter pilot over the Eastern Front during World War II. Research was gathered through in-person interviews in post-Soviet Russia with veteran female pilots and mechanics, colonels of Lilia's regiment, historians, and declassified records from Soviet archives.

Theodore Dalrymple, almost singlehandedly, revived the languishing Essay and in so doing became Britain’s answer to Montaigne. In this, his first foray into the Short Story form, he proves himself a rival of Anton Chekhov. His many devoted fans will be delighted. "Some truth can be told only in the form of fiction. That is why I chose to write these stories." -- Theodore Dalrymple

On a cold afternoon in February 1991, a frightening new drug hit the streets of New York City, a synthetic narcotic marketed in packets labeled “Tango & Cash.” As police scrambled to warn heroin users of the danger, the overdose victims began piling up in hospital emergency rooms and county morgues across three states.

Suspecting his best days are behind him, Victor Drake runs an out of the way detective agency that provides him with just enough to get by. But when James Chandler comes to him desperately seeking deliverance from a menacing stalker who seems to possess supernatural powers, Drake needs to recapture his mettle to take on the challenge of a lifetime. Though he initially regards the paranormal elements of the story as preposterous, Drake agrees to the job.