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The world's leading endurance athletes are not only some of the fittest people on the planet, they are also among the toughest mentally.To train and race at the highest level of competition over hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of miles takes preparation, dedication and the ability to push the body and mind beyond conventional limits. Ultra Performance offers an insight into the psychology of these athletes.Having interviewed fourteen ultra athletes, Paul Moore distils the dynamics of the mental toughness they required – the motivation, focus and ability to keep the mind positive deep in the heart of fatigue. What did it take, for instance, for Rachel Cadman to'eat the elephant'of the Arch to Arc (running from London to Dover, swimming the Channel, then cycling to Paris)?And to win? That takes steeliness beyond all mere effort, pushing through and improvising when necessary. The stories of these hard-fought wins feature strongly in the contributions from Brett Sutton, world-renowned triathlon coach, and Craig Alexander, one of the greatest athletes in the history of Ironman. Others, like Dee Cafari, the first woman to circumnavigate the world solo in both directions, required the resilience to overcome challenges they had set themselves.With working examples of the implementation of their mental strategies, Ultra Performance not only gives an insight into the toughest moments these professional athletes have ever faced, but also offers advice to readers on how they can adapt and employ these techniques for themselves, often to the non-sporting pursuits of everyday life.

This scholarly anthology presents a new framework for understanding early cinema through its usage outside the realm of entertainment.From its earliest origins until the beginning of the twentieth century, cinema provided widespread access to remote parts of the globe and immediate reports on important events. Reaching beyond the nickelodeon theatres, cinema became part of numerous institutions, from churches and schools to department stores and charitable organizations.Then, in 1915, the Supreme Court declared moviemaking a “busines, pure and simple,” entrenching the film industry's role as a producer of “harmless entertainment.” In Beyond the Screen, contributors shed light on how pre-1915 cinema defined itself through institutional interconnections and publics interested in science, education, religious uplift, labor organizing, and more.

The African-American contribution to winning World War II has never been celebrated as profoundly as in Fighting for America. In this inspirational and uniquely personal tribute, the essential part played by black servicemen and -women in that cataclysmic conflict is brought home. Here are letters, photographs, oral histories, and rare documents, collected by historian Christopher Moore, the son of two black WWII veterans. Weaving his family history with that of his people and nation, Moore has created an unforgettable tapestry of sacrifice, fortitude, and courage. From the 1,800 black soldiers who landed at Normandy Beach on D-Day, and the legendary Tuskegee Airmen who won ninety-five Distinguished Flying Crosses, to the 761st Tank Battalion who, under General Patton, helped liberate Nazi death camps, the invaluable effort of black Americans to defend democracy is captured in word and image. Readers will be introduced to many unheralded heroes who helped America win the war, including Dorie Miller, the messman who manned a machine gun and downed four Japanese planes; Robert Brooks, the first American to die in armored battle; Lt. Jackie Robinson, the future baseball legend who faced court-martial for refusing to sit in the back of a military bus; an until now forgotten African-American philosopher who helped save many lives at a Japanese POW camp; even the author's own parents: his mother, Kay, a WAC when she met his father, Bill, who was part of the celebrated Red Ball Express. Yet Fighting for America is more than a testimonial; it is also a troubling story of profound contradictions, of a country still in the throes of segregation, of a domestic battleground where arrests and riots occurred simultaneously with foreign service–and of how the war helped spotlight this disparity and galvanize the need for civil rights. Featuring a unique perspective on black soldiers, Fighting for America will move any reader: all who, like the author, owe their lives to those who served.