About the Book The Diary of an Ordinary Man is an autobiography of a man who hailed from alcoholic parents in a distressed neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Tom Barry dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Army, where he did tours in Korea and Germany. After his military service, he drifted from job to job before joining the New York City Department of Corrections as a new corrections officer. This book introduces the reader to some of the diverse characters employed in the department at that time and reviews some of the many aspects of working in a jail, including Tom’s perspective of the formative 1970 New York City jail riots and their aftermath. During his twenty years with the agency, Tom worked his way through the ranks to become a warden and in the process he put himself through college (NYIT) and graduate school (St. John’s University in Queens, New York). One of the author’s many successes was preparing and managing the nation’s first municipal direct supervision facility for operation. Under his leadership, the facility became a model for the department and an example for the nation. The Diary of an Ordinary Man was written from the perspective of a blue-collar worker. Within the book the reader will be entertained with some humorous and human-interest stories. The book covers a particularly volatile period in our nation’s history, wherein major societal changes occurred, which resulted in many challenges and innovative solutions, some of which may be relevant today. Tom’s many difficulties during the course of his career and his methods for overcoming them may inspire the reader in dealing with his or her own challenges, for no life is without its problems. Everyone must climb their own fences on their road to success. About the Author Tom Barry lives in San Antonio with his wife, Nancy. Together they enjoy hosting backyard barbeques, traveling, dancing to country music, salsa, oldies, and listening to blues. In his retirement he immerses himself in woodworking, chess, bowling with his wife and friends, and shooting skeet and targets. He is an amateur student of history, having read many texts on a wide variety of historical subjects. His reading tends to be nonfiction and an occasional novel. Additionally, he enjoys Southwestern art and the poetry of Robert Frost. Prior to his retirement in the early 2000s, Tom was a jail auditor for the National Sheriff’s Association and the American Correctional Association. He served as president for the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents and the American Jail Association, and finally as a member of the Board of Directors for the International Correctional Arts Network (ICAN). He attends church regularly and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He also is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the American Legion.

Experience the author’s thoughts and feelings as you travel through each poem contained within this book. Let your imagination ride alongside as you find yourself immersed in the beauty and heartfelt poetry that bring to life this writer’s everyday visions, passions, and wonders—accepting the courage to transform life’s journey into a language that will uplift, encourage, and settle one’s thirst to creating a gateway to live life to the fullest and always remembering that “living life to the fullest is but a poem waiting to be written.” Listen for the humor, thought, and mind-set that will be revealed as you wander through the Words of an Ordinary Man: Volume I.

Sir, you asked me who I am. What shall I say? I have been asking myself this question for quite some time and reached nowhere. After all I am no saint to throw away everything that I have and go in search of an answer. If I had, I would have been a saint. Don’t you agree? Well I have a name, but what’s in a name? You may call me an Ordinary Man. The narrator in a series of conversations with a friend who he says is his alter ego and through his own introspections, unfolds the process of growing up and aging through an exploration of all that had brought joy in living to serious questions regarding God, religion, destiny, freewill, compassion and to whether we have been really honest in our relationships; the relationships that have affected us at various stages in our life and continue to influence even our present living. They are all locked up somewhere within our private world and which we release and relish in our solitude. Though ‘I am just An Ordinary Man’ is an autobiographical novel, it is only in parts that real events have been narrated to build a base for addressing the questions and the existential angst which arise in the mind of any person during the process of living and that the first step towards resolution is in acceptance of the reality of existence and the finality of death.

We all have a book inside us and a story to tell. Heading for eighty and still only partly retired, Roy is no exception. He starts off as a scholarship boy at Manchester Grammar School at the beginning of World War Two. After a stint in the Civil Service, conscription into the Army and life as a tea planter in India, he eventually becomes a salesman. Roy progresses right up to managing director, before suddenly jacking it all in at the age of 59, waving goodbye to his mystified family and backpacking round France while he 'gets his head straight'. Returning to England, Roy is ready for the next challenge. He is soon busier than ever, with a variety of jobs, including manufacturer's agent, toastmaster and masseur. Heading for the next decade, Roy shows no signs of retiring yet. He says: Life's still good, and far better than the alternative.

An astounding story, riveting from beginning to end, that covers 3 generations of a family caught in the maelstrom of WW I and WWW II, which left the most disturbing skeletons in the closet. Reminiscent of the excellent television series "Heimat" from the 1980's.

"This book is for all those people who have faced prejudice and discrimination in their life. For those who think whatever is happening is not right but still don't oppose it. This book is story of Kartik who faces a lot of obstacles in his life. He fights through everything and gets into the corporate world. Whether this cruel selfish corporate world treats him well or he gets crushed by this crook world? The story unfolds how Kartik is in continuous war with this corrupt system, every time he falls he is guided in a mystical way by the universe to fight against injustice. Whether he will be successful or will he surrender?"

A fascinating account of how ordinary people met the challenges of literacy in modern Europe, as distances between people increased.

A single volume history of China, offering a look into the past of the global superpower and its significance today. Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world’s oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years. After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world’s second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order to comprehend the great significance of China today, we must begin with its history. The Story of China takes a fresh look at the Middle Kingdom in the light of the recent massive changes inside the country. Taking into account exciting new archeological discoveries, the book begins with China’s prehistory—the early dynasties, the origins of the Chinese state, and the roots of Chinese culture in the age of Confucius. Wood looks at particular periods and themes that are now being reevaluated by historians, such as the renaissance of the Song with its brilliant scientific discoveries. He paints a vibrant picture of the Qing Empire in the 18th century, just before the European impact, a time when China’s rich and diverse culture was at its height. Then, Wood explores the encounter with the West, the Opium Wars, the clashes with the British, and the extraordinarily rich debates in the late 19th century that pushed China along the path to modernity. Finally, he provides a clear up-to-date account of post-1949 China, including revelations about the 1989 crisis based on newly leaked inside documents, and fresh insights into the new order of President Xi Jinping. All woven together with landscape history and the author’s own travel journals, The Story of China is the indispensable book about the most intriguing and powerful country on the world stage today.

Diagnosed with diabetes at sixteen Katharine Tayler Brennan strove for an ordinary life. Her cousin, Elizabeth Parsons Kirchner, has lovingly preserved and edited these moving memoirs.