Out of the Frying Pan... When seasoned journalist Abdiel LeRoy joins China Central Television in Beijing, it is his second foray into Chinese state media. Surely, things can only get better after his ordeal at China Radio International, right? But now, Xi Jinping is installed as China's leader, and the authoritarian screws are tightening again. Nor has incompetence relaxed its chokehold of China's cultural discourse. The author is about to find out the fraudulent depths to which managers will go to persecute quality in a workplace wedded to mediocrity. Yet amid the darkness, there is light, as Abdiel again takes to the Beijing stage to play the lead role in a British comedy. With a journalist's eye and lively wit, LeRoy witnesses the early days of China's reversion to its most repressive instincts now playing out against Hong Kong and the Uighurs of Xinjiang. But he also frames these observations in context of China's psychological and historical traumas. Perspectives From Peking is the final memoir of five in Abdiel's Dueling the Dragon series. As always, he'll have you laughing between the tears! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." "Reveals the the dark side of the country." "The author knows the Chinese better than the Chinese." "Subverts dominant concepts of China." Reader reviews
The Means to Merciful Munching! Ever felt guilty about how much you eat? Or what you eat? Or when you eat? Let this book dispel your guilt! Using principles from the Bible and great thinkers, this work of love and compassion will lead you to freedom of conscience in every aspect of life, and especially when it comes to "merciful munching". LeRoy explains why diets and "low-fat" foods are a path to condemnation and doomed to fail. Instead, he invites you to dine in joy and freedom, and to take a peaceful path to your healthy weight. Meanwhile, this book celebrates the infinite variety of "Grace" - meaning "unmerited favor of God" - and shows how this simple idea transforms us, both at the individual level as well as globally. Now let this book set you free! Section and Main Headings Preface Introduction I -- The Return to Eden Law Is Our Enemy II -- No Law = No Sin! Death to the Decalogue! Faith = Righteousness Ignorance is Bliss? III -- In Christ ... And In His Merits Christ Our Champion The Gospel of Immaculate Intention A Life Retold Holiness for "Heathens" IV -- The Slave to Righteousness Dead to Sin I Am... The Law In Our Hearts Libelous Labels Immutability V -- The Law of the Spirit of Life Confounding the Crippled Covenant Our Singularities The Laws of Men VI -- The Fruits of Freedom Imagination and Intuition Freedom in Thought Freedom in Action Freedom in Feeling Freedom in Balance Freedom in UN-Forgiveness! Freedom in Sex Freedom in Idleness Freedom in Art VII -- The Gourmet Gospel Down With Diets! Food, Glorious Food! VIII -- The Enemies of Grace Satan in the Court of Heaven The Pharisees Conclusion
China's Oppressions of the Poor What does Communism mean in a country that drives poor farmers off their land and restaurant owners into bankruptcy? That takes students out of the classroom and sells them into slavery while their teachers pocket the proceeds? Abdiel LeRoy is witness to all this as he takes on his second teaching assignment in the western province of Sichuan. Nor is he immune to the oppression himself, as a university recruiter hatches schemes of entrapment against him. Yet there is light amid the darkness in this memoir as he makes friends with one of Sichuan's famed artists, enjoys the attentions of a student named Emma, and joins locals for a swim in the fast-flowing Dadu River. Laments From Leshan is the second of five memoirs in Abdiel's Dueling the Dragon series and testifies to the deep corruption and incompetence beneath China's superpower façade. As always, he'll have you laughing between the tears! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." "Reveals the the dark side of the country." "The author knows the Chinese better than the Chinese." "Subverts dominant concepts of China." Reader reviews
An epic tale, Biblically based, but with considerable writer's freedom that makes the book wholly entertaining." San Francisco Review of Books Signs and Wonders in an Ancient Land! Being a prophet during the reign of Queen Jezebel is a lethal calling. After all, she has put most of them to death! But Elijah has a mighty angel on his side, as well as a sisterhood of shapeshifting goddesses. This majestic and imaginative retelling of the great Old-Testament prophet's ministry and miracles will take you on a transcendental journey through time and space and otherworldly encounter! Join Elijah as he takes on the false prophets of Baal, take cover in the enchanted moonlit woods of Cherith Brook, and ascend from the banks of the Jordan to choirs of angels! "Even the beings who in God's presence stand Still find His love too deep to understand." At times raunchy, yet always reverent, this beautifully choreographed 12-book epic poem unfolds a timeless story of love and danger, wonder and prophecy.
For lovers of Shakespeare, fine writing, challenging thoughts, and a wondrous sensitive humor, these poems, and the journeys on which they take us, will become part of the psyche. Outstanding!" San Francisco Review of Books If Dante had gone down to Argentina... This is what he might have come up with! A whirlwind tour through the performing arts of a secret underworld, a demonic descent into the depths of Tango's dark side, followed by an ascent to God's throne with an Old-Testament prophet! Meanwhile, the bard alights on the stages of three capital cities: London, Beijing, and Buenos Aires to dance with a writhing sistershood of shapeshifting goddesses, to spar with the villains of Shakespeare, and steal secret kisses with his star-crossed lovers. All this awaits you in this enchanted and enchanting book, where all the world's a stage and all of us are players! Now take your place among the immortals!
God Warned Obama. Did He Listen? (Now joined by the author's audiobook narration) It's April 2015. President Barack Obama is sleeping in the White House, though not peacefully, when two great angels sweep into the Master Bedroom. One of them draws Obama's soul from his body and takes him on a night-time journey, teaching him new lessons about statecraft. But Obama's greatest lesson that fateful night, and his chance at redemption, comes when he is presented before the very throne of God. Did Obama heed Heaven's message? You decide! "Absolutely wonderful and hypnotic narration, his voice flowing over gently with the narrative song of his words." Amy's Bookshelf Reviews "Captivated me from start to end... Deeply stirring, intelligent and amusing in turn... Takes the reader on a fantastic journey across time and space... Cleverly done!... A must-read for those into politics and literature... A true classic." Reader Reviews
Chinese State Mediocrity! After two years in China's education system, Abdiel takes on its broadcasting empire when he joins China Radio International in Beijing. Following an ill-fated stint in newscasting, he goes on to record audiobook episodes for the state media giant and becomes fascinated with the Tang Dynasty 'Poet Immortal', Li Bai. But trouble is brewing as surely as a cup of oolong cha as the station ups his workload, degrades contract terms, and misses salary payments. All amid a culture of paranoia as producers fear "the American embassy might be listening." If that were not enough, Chinese police get involved, showing up at the author's door one night, dragging him to the police station, and insisting he sign a false confession! But things look up when Abdiel takes up freelance voice-recording work and "full-throttle immersion" in the performing arts and his belovèd Penghao Theatre. Briefings From Beijing is the fourth of five memoirs in Abdiel's Dueling the Dragon series and testifies to the deeply embedded corruption beneath China's superpower façade. As always, he'll have you laughing between the tears! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." "Reveals the the dark side of the country." "The author knows the Chinese better than the Chinese." "Subverts dominant concepts of China." Reader reviews
China -- Superpower or Basket Case? You Decide! A wide-eyed expat is detained by Beijing cops and told to sign a false confession. Will he make it out of China alive? Dueling the Dragon is a great adventure story, but this one just happens to be true! With a journalist's eye and lively wit, and now joined by his own audiobook narration, Abdiel exposes the deep levels of corruption tearing at China's social fabric. You will learn of college students sold into slavery, media suppression of pollution reports, and persecution of a broadcaster just trying to do his job! Yet there is delight amid the despair, reverie amid the revulsion, as LeRoy encounters China's "raven-haired beauties." You'll laugh away the tears with this riveting memoir! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." Reader comments
A brave new presence in the politics of the globe." San Francisco Review of Books How Bush Made Trump Possible! It's Judgment Day, and George W. Bush strides confidently towards the throne of God. How will the Almighty respond? Find out in this work of devastating satire! Well I'm elected President, Oh isn't it a thrill? I get to ride in limousines Though the seats are stained by Bill... From Bush through Obama to Trump, LeRoy charts an epic course through the inferno of U.S. politics, exposing the fraud and folly of empire and its rulers. Yet his verses are rendered with such wit and inventive force that the reader is entertained, rather than overwhelmed, and supported by a wealth of deeply researched historical record to inspire progressive forces at this critical time for humanity. Witness that the pen truly is mightier than the sword!
Beguiled in China! "The girls here are dazzling," the author marvels as he begins work as an English teacher in China's Sichuan Province. The food is delicious, the cameraderie joyous, and the enthusiasm of his students infectious. But how long will the honeymoon period last? Until the pollution becomes unbearable? Or the faculty falsely accuses him? Or his postgraduate students cheat in their exam?! With a journalist's eye and lively wit, Abdiel describes the delights and despairs of living and working in China and how he copes with unprecedented challenges in an alien and often toxic environment. But will his campus romances compensate? Dispatches From Chengdu is the opening installment of Abdiel's five Dueling the Dragon memoirs and a witness to the deep corruption and incompetence behind China's superpower façade. As always, he'll have you laughing between the tears! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." "Reveals the the dark side of the country." "The author knows the Chinese better than the Chinese." "Subverts dominant concepts of China." Reader reviews
China's Educational Backwater Another teaching gig at another Chinese university. This time with "some of the laziest, dumbest students who ever wasted oxygen in a classroom," and under unprecedented conditions of surveillance. "Sometimes I grind to a halt, stunned by the sheer stupidity of my students, by their inability even to answer the simplest question, though expressed in every variant known to man, and broken into the most elementary forms of language, or to recall what I had shared with them but two days ago." With a journalist's eye and lively wit, Abdiel describes his struggle to maintain academic discipline at Geely University, a private institution near Beijing, where indoctrination reigns and wealth subsidizes failure in a "fraudulent exchange of papers - banknotes from students' parents, meaningless certificates in return." Meanwhile, "It is impossible to be indifferent to the ugliness" of campus surroundings. "It steals over the heart like an infernal shadow, eclipsing all hope." Chidings From Changping is the third of five memoirs in Abdiel's Dueling the Dragon series and testifies to the deep corruption and incompetence beneath China's superpower façade. As always, he'll have you laughing between the tears! "An adventure, a memoir, and certainly one of the more entertaining books about China before us today." San Francisco Review of Books "These stories from China are addictive!" "LeRoy's ability to write so cogently about such AWFUL things and simultaneously give readers a chuckle, is magnificent." "Wields a wicked and eloquent pen." "Should be awarded an honorary degree in Anthropology." "Informative and eye opening." "Reveals the the dark side of the country." "The author knows the Chinese better than the Chinese." "Subverts dominant concepts of China." Reader reviews
From Afghanistan -- A Timeless Tale of Love and Betrayal An innocent man must lose his freedom, an innocent girl must yield her virginity, in this traditional tale from an era of kings. From bandit attacks in a forest to treacherous plots at court, love will undergo many trials with Allah's help, even if it comes in the form of a cheeky little mouse! This book fulfils a promise the author made to an Afghan restaurant owner who outlined the plot to him, and is accompanied by the author's own audiobook narration. Now be embraced by this magical tale!
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