Maria Sharp was born Maria Zdenka Besan in Croatia in 1941, just after the Nazis had invaded her country, and as a young child she witnessed 'events that imprinted themselves upon her soul forever'. Many years later, having married an American and settled in the USA, she has written this book for her two grandchildren to explain her origins and tell her family's story. It paints a warm and moving picture of life in Croatia in the first half of the 20th century and describes the terrible effects on Maria's people of the German occupation, the subsequent period of communist control and the resulting second wave of destruction of Croatian homes, jobs and lives.ÿ

The Summer 2018 issue of the world's best how-to magazine for woodcarvers is packed with patterns, techniques, tips and projects for all skill levels. This issue includes quick-carve projects that are perfect for campouts and teaching kids. Celebrate the patriotic holidays by whittling eagle heads, or capture the sounds of summer with a wood spirit whistle. Try your hand at an action-packed baseball pitcher caricature, or chip-carve a peaceful summer scene. Harold Enlow shows how to carve a classic cowboy—from the iconic hat to the stubbly beard—in 20 easy steps. Karen Henderson reveals her simple trick that lets you handcarve colorful wood to make gorgeous spoons. Desiree Hajny teaches how to combine carving and woodburning techniques to create a fearsome tiger, and Deborah Pompano’s lighthouse pyro pattern is perfect for beginners. But whatever you carve, keep your tools sharp! You can have sharp tools in just 10 minutes by using Bob Duncan’s quick & easy method for hand-sharpening most knives, gouges & v-tools.

Alexander Granach, who died while he was acting on Broadway in 1945, brilliantly relates the remarkable story of his unlikely path from a poverty-stricken, rough-and-tumble childhood to success on the German stage. This is the account of a daring, curiosity-filled, and perceptive Jewish child from poor towns in Galicia who was seized with a passion for the theater when he saw his first show at the age of 14. He overcame great odds to become a leading stage and film actor in Weimar Germany - and he had to have both legs broken to do it! Born in what is now southern Ukraine, Granach began working at the age of six in his father's bakery, where his heavy tasks left him visibly knock-kneed. With very little formal education but open for adventure and willing to work hard, Alexander ran away several times, the last time to Berlin, at the age of 16, where his talent and charm won him a place in Max Reinhardt's theater school. His career was abruptly interrupted by World War I and his time as a prisoner of war in Italy, but after a daring escape and the end of the war he resumed his rise to prominence in German artistic life. A natural storyteller, Granach's autobiography captures equally the charms, adventures, and trials of his shtetl days, the horrors of trench warfare, and the glamour and excitement of the German theater before Hitler came to power.