Stephen G. Michaud – författare

With a new preface by the author • As featured in the upcoming motion picture Everest, starring Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Emily Watson, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, and Jake Gyllenhaal   “I can tell you that some force within me rejected death at the last moment and then guided me, blind and stumbling—quite literally a dead man walking—into camp and the shaky start of my return to life.”   In 1996 Beck Weathers and a climbing team pushed toward the summit of Mount Everest. Then a storm exploded on the mountain, ripping the team to shreds, forcing brave men to scratch and crawl for their lives. Rescuers who reached Weathers saw that he was dying, and left him. Twelve hours later, the inexplicable occurred. Weathers appeared, blinded, gloveless, and caked with ice—walking down the mountain. In this powerful memoir, now featuring a new Preface, Weathers describes not only his escape from hypothermia and the murderous storm that killed eight climbers, but the journey of his life. This is the story of a man’s route to a dangerous sport and a fateful expedition, as well as the road of recovery he has traveled since; of survival in the face of certain death, the reclaiming of a family and a life; and of the most extraordinary adventure of all: finding the courage to say yes when life offers us a second chance.   Praise for Left for Dead   “Riveting . . . [a] remarkable survival story . . . Left for Dead takes a long, critical look at climbing: Weathers is particularly candid about how the demanding sport altered and strained his relationships.”—USA Today   “Ultimately, this engrossing tale depicts the difficulty of a man’s struggle to reform his life.”—Publishers WeeklyFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

This is a story of a vast cattle and oil fortune left hanging by the thread of a widow's dying wish; a story of prodigious egos and ambitions competing for the fortune before the widow was even buried; a story about a legal battle that has lasted a quarter-century and has swept like a range fire from dusty cow-town courtrooms to the marble halls of the Vatican, pitting captains of industry against princes of the Church. And if it had happened anywhere other than Texas, you probably wouldn't believe a word of it.Sarita Kenedy East was the aging, melancholy mistress of a cattle kingdom as big as Rhode Island: La Parra, 400,000 acres of South Texas rangeland next door to the fabled King Ranch. She was the last Kenedy. And although she cherished the huge ranch founded by her grandfather, her life there oppressed her. Mrs. East's only solace was in her memories, her abiding Catholic faith, and her nightly tumblers of scotch.In 1948 Sarita received a surprise caller, a young and charismatic Trappist monk, Brother Leo—the alleged Svengali of this saga—who had been sent out from his monastery in New England to scout potential sites for new Trappist monasteries…and to find rich Catholic donors to pay for them. In time he discovered what Sarita herself did not know, that under her lands lay an ocean of oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Brother Leo had a gift for persuasion. He became the lonely widow's spiritual counselor, and before she died she made him trustee of a charitable foundation that he says was meant to help the poor of Latin America. But Brother Leo ran into some formidable opposition: Sarita's vengeful relatives in Texas, Fortune 500 industrialist J. Peter Grace, and the Catholic Church itself all had other plans for the giant estate."If You Love Me You Will Do My Will," based upon two decades of investigative reporting and interviews with almost every major character, details this extravagant drama, an epic even by Texas standards.

From the woman who wrote the law on stalking comes the story of the chilling experiences that shaped her career.   Stalking is among the most ancient, common, and widely-discussed of all anti-social behaviors, yet this dangerous behavior is underappreciated as a serious problem.   Anyone can be a stalker, and anyone can be a stalking victim—especially today with so much personal information readily available online. Prosecutor Rhonda B. Saunders has made a career of battling this form of attack. She has prosecuted on behalf of celebrities, including Madonna, Steven Spielberg, and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as countless ordinary individuals chose, for whatever reason, as prey. Now Saunders shares the pivotal stories from her career, how she developed the legal weapons to fight stalking, and offers powerful insight into the minds and habits of stalkers, as well as how anyone can protect against them.   “[A] fascinating and authoritative inside look at the legal and psychological aspects of this frightening phenomenon.”—New York Times bestselling author Vincent Bugliosi   “Saunders . . . engrossingly explores the menacing crime of stalking . . . Readers will be intrigued.”—Publishers Weekly

'This is the most complete self-portrait ever painted by a serial killer... as unique a document as Bundy was a killer. There are lessons in this book for everyone' ROY HAZELWOOD, FORMER FBI PROFILERCharismatic. Articulate. Evil. Killer.Two journalists with unprecedented direct access speak to Ted Bundy and those closest to him - friends and family.What follows is a candid and chilling full account of the life and crimes of the most notorious serial killer in history.What Bundy had to say in over 150 hours of face-to-face interviews is as relevant today as it was at the time.

Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer's famous account of the 1996 Everest disaster, INTO THIN AIR, will remember the story of Beck Weathers: the gregarious Texan climber who went snow-blind in the Death Zone below the summit and who spent a night out in the open during a blizzard that took the lives of a dozen colleagues and friends. Even as he staggered back into Camp 4 the next morning, Beck's condition was such that the other survivors assumed he would not make it back down the mountain. He was effectively left for dead, but drawing upon reserves of determination and courage he didn't know he had - as well as the extraordinary selflessness and bravery of a Nepalese helicopter pilot he'd never met - he finally made it to safety. Only then could a new battle begin: to rebuild his life with a family he'd taken for granted for too long.

Heartstoppingly exciting and ultimately very moving, LEFT FOR DEAD is a terrific read.