New York Times BestsellerNow a major motion picture starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and nominated for four Academy Awards: the heartbreaking true story of an Irishwoman and the secret she kept for 50 yearsWhen she became pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952; Philomena Lee was sent to a convent to be looked after as a “fallen woman.†Then the nuns took her baby from her and sold him; like thousands of others; to America for adoption. Fifty years later; Philomena decided to find him.Meanwhile; on the other side of the Atlantic; Philomena’s son was trying to find her. Renamed Michael Hess; he had become a leading lawyer in the first Bush administration; and he struggled to hide secrets that would jeopardize his career in the Republican Party and endanger his quest to find his mother.A gripping exposé told with novelistic intrigue; Philomena pulls back the curtain on the role of the Catholic Church in forced adoptions and on the love between a mother and son who endured a lifelong separation.
#560140 in Books Viking Adult 2012-11-27 2012-11-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 1.90 x 6.50l; 1.80 #File Name: 0143122959848 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Vanished Kingdoms Pierces the VeilBy Robert MosherHistory is big; messy; layered; and complicated as you might expect if you think about how big and complicated the human race can be. You may have thought those history texts you used at school were big and complicated; but historian Norman Davies’ Vanished Kingdoms will amaze you at some of the stories they skipped over. Author Davies proves just how complicated and messy with In 739 pages and 15 chapters. “Vanished Kingdoms†offers a grand tour of ancient Scotland; Burgundia; Aragon; Litva; Byzantion; Borussia; Sabauda (Italy); Galicia; Etruria (Bonaparte’s Italy); Rosenau (Saxe-Coburg); Tsernagora (aka Montenegro); Rusyn (Ruthenia); Eire; and the USSR. The list of vanished states; kingdoms included several new to me or simply not covered in my own studies. I found myself wishing more than once that he had written this book when I was at university as I would have been better informed about several modern countries and regions for which I was responsible as an American diplomat and bureaucrat! A few of his stories also crossed paths with those of my ancestors uncovered via DNA testing and genealogical research; which made those chapters especially interesting.Written with a scholarly mindset; this is not a text of dry prose as the author enlivens even the most dust laden elements of his narrative. Norman Davies supports and illustrates his well-written narrations with 14 dynastic family trees; 74 maps; and 82 illustrations. There is no separate bibliography but he includes bibliographic information in the text and 49 pages of end notes also fulfill that role. This was actually my first book of the author’s but I enjoyed it so much and learned so much from it that I’ve already picked up another of his books looking to continue the journey. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in knowing more about what contributed to modern Europe.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great non fictionBy James MillerWhat a fascinating travelogue through space and time! Extremely entertaining couldn't put it down. Great non fiction read0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I wasn't as blown away by this as I hoped ...By Mariners' FanI wasn't as blown away by this as I hoped to be. I think I expected a more cohesive story of how European kingdoms; important in their day; were lost to history; because they have no successor nations today. Instead this is episodic; each chapter a disjunct story. Some of these "kingdoms" are little more than chieftains. Much is unknown and only surmised; or imagined. Far too much "what if" or "maybe it could be that" for me.
