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Asia's Legendary Hotels
by William Warren Jill GocherAssia's Legendary Hotels features some of Asia's most significant hotels, renowned for their rich histories and superb levels of service and luxury. From the Raffles Hotel in SIngapore, to the Ananda in the Himalaya, these grand dames capture the romance of travel days gone by, when the journey itself was as much of an adventure as the destination. Their unique architecture and luxurious interiros are captured in over 370 stunning full-color photographs and rare archival images showcase their rich histories.
The Asiatic Fathers of America: Chinese Discovery & Colonization of Ancient America
by Charlotte Harris Rees Hendon M. Harris Jr.Much evidence from both sides of the Pacific indicates that people from Asia reached America at very early dates. It also appears that at least occasional trips were made back to Asia. This book explores some of the early Asian accounts about voyages to a beautiful land to their east called Fu Sang. It explains how that trip was possible. Included are photos of an ancient Asian world map that show the location of the fabled Fu Sang -right where America should be.
Ask a Native New Yorker: Hard-Earned Advice on Surviving and Thriving in the Big City
by Jake DobkinAs a third-generation New Yorker who was born, bred, and educated there, Jake Dobkin was such a fan of his hometown that he started Gothamist, a popular and acclaimed website with a focus on news, events, and culture in the city, and “Ask a Native New Yorker” became one of its most popular columns. The book version features all original writing and aims to help newbies evolve into real New Yorkers with humor and a command of the facts. In 48 short essays and 11 sidebars, the book offers practical information about transportation, apartment hunting, and even cultivating relationships for anyone fresh to the Big Apple. Subjects include “Why is New York the greatest city in the world?,” “Where should I live?,” “Where do you find peace and quiet when you feel overwhelmed?,” and “Who do I have to give up my subway seat to?” Part philosophy, part anecdote collection, and part no-nonsense guide, Ask a Native New Yorker will become the default gift for transplants to New York, whether they’re here for internships, college, or starting a new job.
Ask The Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel
by Patrick SmithThough we routinely take to the air, for many of us flying remains mystery. Few of us understand the how and why of jetting from New York to London in six hours. How does a plane stay in the air? Can turbulence bring it down? What is windshear? How good are the security checks? Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Salon.com's popular column, "Ask the Pilot," unravels the secrets and tells you all there is to know about the strange and fascinating work of commercial flight. He offers: A nuts and bolts explanation of how planes fly -Insights into safety and security -Straight talk about turbulence, air traffic control, windshear, and crashes -The history, color, and controversy of the world's airlines The awe and oddity of being a pilot The poetry and drama of airplanes, airports, and traveling abroad In a series of frank, often funny explanations and essays, Smith speaks eloquently to our fears and curiosities, incorporating anecdotes, memoir and a life's passion for flight. He tackles our toughest concerns, debunks conspiracy theories and myths, and in a rarely heard voice dares to return a dash of romance and glamour to air travel.
Asmat Art
by Dirk SmidtThis book presents a full range of Asmat woodcarving art, but emphasizes the rare early shields and figure sculptures in the collection of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. Drums, canoeprowheads and the larger, more dramatic "objects" are also shown. * Together with bisj poles, war shields are perhaps the most famous creation of Asmat artists, and these were carved throughout the region. It is in the design and construction of the shields that the variations in style region can most clearly be seen. Figure sculptures, of varying styles, are also well represented here, and a limited number of the huge ceremonial carvings, such as bisj poles and basu suangkus, have also been included. The cultural context in which these items play their part is described in detail in the introductory chapters. But it is not the intention of this book to be an ethnography. The focus is on the art pieces themselves.
Asotin County (Images of America)
by Jeri Jackson McguireAsotin, Anatone, Cloverland, Clarkston, and Silcott are all towns within Asotin County, an area rich in local history. Names like Lewis and Clark, Chief Joseph, Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, Capt. Edward Steptoe, Chief Looking Class, Chief Timothy, and Henry Spaulding all had early ties to the area. Asotin was carved out of Garfield County on October 27, 1883. There are fascinating stories of early pioneers, such as Weissenfels, Floch, Wilson, Stone, Critchfield, Halsey, and many more, who came from far and wide to settle the area, becoming farmers, building towns, and establishing an irrigation system. Through the years, Asotin has encountered floods, murders, hangings, a disastrous fire, and a fight to retain the county seat. At one point, the residents thought they might have to battle the Nez Perce Indians, but they were peaceful and very kind to the people.
Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back
by Jane Holtz KayAsphalt Nation is a major work of urban studies that examines how the automobile has ravaged America's cities and landscape, and how we can fight back. The automobile was once seen as a boon to American life, eradicating the pollution caused by horses and granting citizens new levels of personal freedom and mobility. But it was not long before the servant became the master-- public spaces were designed to accommodate the automobile at the expense of the pedestrian, mass transportation was neglected, and the poor, unable to afford cars, saw their access to jobs and amenities worsen. Now even drivers themselves suffer, as cars choke the highways and pollution and congestion have replaced the fresh air of the open road. Today our world revolves around the car-- as a nation, we spend eight billion hours a year stuck in traffic. In Asphalt Nation, Jane Holtz Kay effectively calls for a revolution to reverse our automobile-dependency. Citing successful efforts in places from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, Kay shows us that radical change is not impossible by any means. She demonstrates that there are economic, political, architectural, and personal solutions that can steer us out of the mess. Asphalt Nation is essential reading for everyone interested in the history of our relationship with the car, and in the prospect of returning to a world of human mobility.
Assabet Mills: Maynard, Massachusetts
by Paul Boothroyd Lewis HalprinThe sleepy town of Assabet Village woke up very quickly when the Assabet Mills was built in 1847. Dams were constructed on the river, millponds were created, and large mills began producing yarn and carpets. Soon the village was turning into a town with stores, churches, schools, and government. As the mill grew, so did the town; the population grew to 7,000 people by 1905. During good times, the mill prospered, but during bad times, it faltered and had to re-invent itself. It had almost as many lives asthe proverbial cat. The carpet mill faltered in 1857, but in 1862, the Assabet Manufacturing Company started producing woolen materials and blankets to support the Civil War. This mill faltered in 1898, but in 1899, the American Woolen Company bought themills and greatly expanded them. In 1950, the woolen company faltered and shut down completely, but in 1957, Digital Equipment moved in. Digital faltered in 1997 and sold the buildings to Clock Tower Place, which is converting the mills into first-class industrial space. Today, the mills are attracting a new set of small industries. This book is filled with images of the various "lives" of the mill complex. Photographs featured within these pages show mill employees at work and at play; workers' homes; the evolution of the mill buildings; and the products produced and sold by the mill. There is even a chapter that shows how wool products are produced.
Assessing the Economic Impact of Tourism: A Computable General Equilibrium Modelling Approach
by Samuel Meng Mahinda SiriwardanaThis book employs a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model - a widely used economic model which uses actual data to provide economic analysis and policy assessment - and applies it to economic data on Singapore's tourism industry. The authors set out to demonstrate how a novice modeller can acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully apply general equilibrium models to tourism studies. The chapters explain how to build a computable general equilibrium model for tourism, how to conduct simulation and, most importantly, how to analyse modelling results. This applied study acts as a modelling book at both introductory and intermediate levels, specifically targeting students and researchers who are interested in and wish to learn computable general equilibrium modelling. The authors offer insightful analysis of Singapore's tourism industry and provide both students and researchers with a guide on how to apply general equilibrium models to actual economic data and draw accurate conclusions.
Association Island
by Schenectady Museum Timothy W. LakeMost people believe the General Electric retreat at Association Island was organized by GE. In reality, it was originally formed by several businessmen from the incandescent lamp industry; these men formed an association of lamp companies to compete with GE. A 1903 fishing trip to Henderson Harbor inspired them to purchase the island for their summer sojourns; however, ownership of the association and the island were eventually absorbed by GE, turning it into a full-scale resort for executives and managers of the ever-expanding corporation. Hotels, restaurants, garages, boats, fishing guides, managers, and maintenance workers from nearby Henderson Harbor were all tied to Association Island for the next 50 years. When GE gave it away, Association Island fell into a long and steady period of decline until it was turned into a camping resort for the 21st century. Association Island illustrates the financial and social impact of a significant corporation on a small fishing community.
Astoria (Postcard History)
by Andrea Larson PerezFortunate to be located in the northwest corner of Oregon, where the mighty Columbia River flows to the Pacific Ocean, Astoria has always inspired residents and visitors. The town's spectacular natural beauty and accessible everyday life invites documentation. Those lucky enough to experience Astoria sense they are witnessing something special. More than a century ago, it was a place of big fish, big trees, big dreams, and big personalities. Luckily, many professional photographers and everyday shutterbugs made it their business to capture life on the Lower Columbia from the earliest days of photography. Today, there are fewer giant Chinooks and the remaining old growth is protected, but the town, dreams, personalities, and photographs remain.
Astoria
by Peter StarkIn 1810, John Jacob Astor sent out two advance parties to settle the wild, unclaimed western coast of North America. More than half of his men died violent deaths. The others survived starvation, madness, and greed to shape the destiny of a continent.At a time when the edge of American settlement barely reached beyond the Appalachian Mountains, two visionaries, President Thomas Jefferson and millionaire John Jacob Astor, foresaw that one day the Pacific would dominate world trade as much as the Atlantic did in their day. Just two years after the Lewis and Clark expedition concluded in 1806, Jefferson and Astor turned their sights westward once again. Thus began one of history's dramatic but largely forgotten turning points in the conquest of the North American continent.Astoria is the harrowing tale of the quest to settle a Jamestown-like colony on the Pacific coast. Astor set out to establish a global trade network based at the mouth of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon, while Jefferson envisioned a separate democracy on the western coast that would spread eastward to meet the young United States.Astor backed this ambitious enterprise with the vast for-tune he'd made in the fur trade and in New York real estate since arriving in the United States as a near-penniless immigrant soon after the Revolutionary War. He dispatched two groups of men west: one by sea around the southern tip of South America and one by land over the Rockies. The Overland Party, led by the gentlemanly American businessman Wilson Price Hunt, combined French-Canadian voyageurs, Scottish fur traders, American woodsmen, and an extraordinary Native American woman with two toddlers. The Seagoing Party, sailing aboard the ship Tonquin, likewise was a volatile microcosm of contemporary North America. Under the bitter eye of Captain Jonathan Thorn, a young U.S. naval hero whose unyielding, belligerent nature was better suited to battle than to negotiating cultural differences, the Tonquin made tumultuous progress toward its violent end.Unfolding from 1810 to 1813, Astoria is a tale of high adventure and incredible hardship, drawing extensively on firsthand accounts of those who made the journey. Though the colony itself would be short-lived, its founders opened provincial American eyes to the remarkable potential of the western coast, discovered the route that became the Oregon Trail, and permanently altered the nation's landscape and global standing.
Astounding Sea Stories: Fifteen Ripping Good Tales
by Tom McCarthyStories that will entertain, inform, and inspire.Few people would want to test their mettle in an ice-encrusted boat with Ernest Shackleton, or search for the Northwest Passage with Franklin’s doomed crew, or watch their mates being beheaded by angry pirates like Daniel Collins. But it’s quite another thing to read these true accounts while settled into a favorite chair. Here are stoic and hardy sailors who persevered in the face of travails that would have given even Job pause. Their vivid accounts are stronger and more dramatic for their total lack of affectation, their frankness, and their lack of ego. Their gripping stories are custom-made for the imaginative reader who seeks adventure in a more controlled environment, safe, warm, and well fed. Civilized readers with their armchairs anchored firmly to the living room floor.This eclectic collection will not disappoint. Some are classics that have endured through time and continue to excite new readers. Others are hidden gems about to see the light of a reading lamp for the first time in one hundred years.
The Astral Geographic: The Watkins Guide to the Occult World
by Andy SharpEXPLORE THE LANDSCAPES OF THE OCCULT – EXPAND THE HORIZONS OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESSThis ground-breaking new approach to the history of magic explores the occult through geography, inviting you to embark on ten astral travel journeys that span centuries and continents. Each itinerary comes complete with a route map, postcards of the sites, artworks of magical artefacts and an essay exploring a key occult theme, from necromancy and alchemy to standing stones and drowned cities. Follow in the hoof steps of the Devil from ancient Egypt to London&’s Hellfire Club to the black magic venues of 1960s San Francisco; invoke angels and demons in the Algerian desert; meet witches in the Mediterranean temples of Hekate and Circe and the ancient cemeteries of Scandinavia; practise cloud divination in druidic Ireland then travel to the English countryside in search of hidden hexes … and much more! Finally, try practising magic for yourself using the Grimorium Terra, a manual that teaches how to use geography as a magical tool. Discover how to perform rituals in different terrains, use your surroundings to catalyze altered states of consciousness, explore astral travel and seed your own lucid dreams!
Asylum
by William Seabrook Joe Ollmann"Perhaps the most honest and haunting accounts of the struggle for mental health in literature." -- ObserverThis dramatic memoir recounts an eight-month stay at a Westchester mental hospital in the early 1930s. William Seabrook, a renowned journalist and explorer, voluntarily committed himself to an asylum for treatment of acute alcoholism. His sincere, self-critical appraisal of his experiences offers a highly interesting look at addiction and treatment in the days before Alcoholics Anonymous and other modern programs. "Very few people could be as honest as Seabrook is here," noted The New York Times, "and it is honesty plus the talent Seabrook has already had that makes a book of this sort first-rate." This edition of the soul-baring narrative features a new graphic novel-style introduction by Joe Ollmann, who also created the cover art."With zombies in vogue and his books coming back onto the market after decades out of print, maybe old Willie Seabrook, the lost king of the weird, can finally get the recognition and infamy he earned." - Benjamin Welton, Vice.com
At Home in France: Tales of an American and Her House Aboard
by Ann Barry"As beguiling and delectable as France itself." *Mimi Sheraton"Ann Barry tells her tale directly and clearly, without cloying artifice or guile, so that it has the warmth, honesty, and force of a long letter from an old friend. She makes her reader a welcome house guest in her much-loved little cottage in the heart of France." *Susan Allen TothAnn Barry was a single woman, working and living in New York, when she fell in love with a charming house in Carennac in southwestern France. Even though she knew it was the stuff of fantasy, even though she knew she would rarely be able to spend more than four weeks a year there, she was hooked. This spirited, captivating memoir traces Ms. Barry's adventures as she follows her dream of living in the French countryside: Her fascinating (and often humorous) excursions to Brittany and Provence, charmed nights spent at majestic chateaux and back-road inns, and quiet moments in cool Gothic churches become our own. And as the years go by, and "l' Americaine," as she is known, returns again and again to her real home, she becomes a recognizable fixture in the neighborhood. Ann Barry is a foreigner enchanted with an unpredictable world that seems constantly fresh and exciting. In this vivid memoir, she shares the colorful world that is her France."AN INTELLIGENT MEMOIR." *The New Yorker"DELIGHTFUL . . . BARRY WRITES ENGAGINGLY. . . . [She] is very much at home in such fine company as M.F.K. Fisher's Two Towns in Provence, Robert Daley's Portraits of France, and Richard Goodman's French Dirt. *St. Louis Post-DispatchFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
At Home in Japan
by Rebecca OtowaAt Home in Japan tells the true story of a foreign woman who has been, for 30 years, the housewife, custodian and chatelaine of a 350-year-old farmhouse in rural Japan. This astonishing book traces a circular path, from the basic physical details of life in the house and village, through relationships with family, neighbors and the natural and supernatural entities with whom the family shares the house. Rebecca Otowa then focuses on her inner life, touching on some of the pivotal memories of her time in Japan, the lessons inperception that Japan has taught her and, finally, the ways in which she has been changed by living in Japan.An insightful and compelling read, At Home in Japan is a beautifully written and illustrated reminiscence of a simple life made extraordinary.
At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
by Tsh OxenreiderAs Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes From a Blue Bike, chronicles her family&’s adventure around the world—seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way—she discovers what it truly means to be at home.The wide world is calling.Americans Tsh and Kyle met and married in Kosovo. They lived as expats for most of a decade. They&’ve been back in the States—now with three kids under ten—for four years, and while home is nice, they are filled with wanderlust and long to answer the call.Why not? The kids are all old enough to carry their own backpacks but still young enough to be uprooted, so a trip—a nine-months-long trip—is planned.At Home in the World follows their journey from China to New Zealand, Ethiopia to England, and more. They traverse bumpy roads, stand in awe before a waterfall that feels like the edge of the earth, and chase each other through three-foot-wide passageways in Venice. And all the while Tsh grapples with the concept of home, as she learns what it means to be lost—yet at home—in the world.&“In this candid, funny, thought-provoking account, Tsh shows that it&’s possible to combine a love for adventure with a love for home.&” —Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before
At Sea in the City: New York from the Water's Edge
by Pete Hamill William KornblumNew York is a city of few boundaries, a city of well-known streets and blocks that ramble on and on, into our literature, dreams, and nightmares. We know the city by the byways that split it, streets like Broadway and Madison and Flatbush and Delancey. From those streets, peering down the blocks and up at the top floors, the city seems immense and endless. And though the land itself may end at the water, the city does not. Long before Broadway was a muddy cart track, the water was the city's most distinguishing feature, the rivers the only byways of importance. Some people, like William Kornblum, still see the city as an urban archipelago, shaped by the water and the people who have sailed it for goods, money, pirate's loot, and freedom. For them, the City will always be an island. William Kornblum--New York City native, longtime sailor, urban sociologist, and first-time author--has spent decades plying the waterways of the city in his ancient catboat, Tradition. In At Sea in the City, he takes the reader along as he sails through his hometown, lovingly retelling the history of the city's waterfront and maritime culture and the stories of the men and women who made the water their own. In At Sea in the City and in Kornblum's own humility, humor, and sense of wonder, one detects echoes of E. B. White, John McPhee, and Joseph Mitchell.
At the Cottage
by Charles GordonWhatever you call it, every Canadian summer home needs at least one copy of Charles Gordon's wry, affectionate, and very funny study of our national obsession with that special summer place.From the Hardcover edition.
At the Glacier’s Edge: A Natural History of Long Island from the Narrows to Montauk Point
by Betsy McCullyVast salt marshes, ancient grasslands, lush forests, pristine beaches and dunes, and copious inland waters, all surrounded by a teeming sea. These are probably not the first things you imagine when you think of Long Island, but just beyond its highways and housing developments lies a stunning landscape full of diverse plant and animal life. Combining science writing, environmental history, and first-hand accounts from a longtime resident, At the Glacier’s Edge offers a unique narrative natural history of Long Island. Betsy McCully tells the story of how the island was formed at the end of the last ice age, how its habitats evolved, and how humans in the last few hundred years have radically altered and degraded its landscape. Yet as she personally recounts the habitat losses and species declines she has witnessed over the past few decades, she describes the vital efforts that environmental activists are making to restore and reclaim this land—from replanting salt marshes, to preserving remaining grasslands and forests, to cleaning up the waters. At the Glacier’s Edge provides an in-depth look at the flora, fauna and geology that make Long Island so special.
At the Lightning Field
by Laura RaicovichWalter De Maria's "Lightning Field" is 400 stainless steel poles, positioned 220 feet apart, in the desert of central New Mexico. Over the course of several visits, it becomes, for Raicovich, a site for confounding and revealing perceptions of time, space, duration, and light; how changeable they are, while staying the same.
At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig
by John GimletteA wildly humorous account of the author's travels across Paraguay-South America's darkly fabled, little-known "island surrounded by land." <P><P>Rarely visited by tourists and barely touched by global village sprawl, Paraguay remains a mystery to outsiders. Think of this small nation and your mind is likely to jump to Nazis, dictators, and soccer. Now, John Gimlette's eye-opening book-equal parts travelogue, history, and unorthodox travel guide-breaches the boundaries of this isolated land," and illuminates a little-understood place and its people. <P><P>It is a wonderfully animated telling of Paraguay's story: of cannibals, Jesuits, and sixteenth-century Anabaptists; of Victorian Australian socialists and talented smugglers; of dictators and their mad mistresses; bloody wars and Utopian settlements; and of lives transplanted from Japan, Britain, Poland, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Korea, and the United States. <P><P>The author travels from the insular cities and towns of the east, along ghostly trails through the countryside, to reach the Gran Chaco of the west: the "green hell" covering almost two-thirds of the country, where 4 percent of the population coexists-more or very-much-less peacefully-with a vast array of exotic wildlife that includes jaguars, prehistoric lungfish, and their more recently evolved distant cousins, the great fighting river fish. Gimlette visits with Mennonites and the indigenas, arms dealers and real-estate tycoons, shopkeepers, government bureaucrats and, of course, Nazis. <P><P>Filled with bizarre incident, fascinating anecdote, and richly evocative detail, At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig is a brilliant description of a country of eccentricity and contradiction, of beguilingly individualistic men and women, and of unexpected and extraordinary beauty. It is a vivid, often riotous, always fascinating, journey.
Athenian Blues
by Pol KoutsakisStratos hates being called a hitman. He takes care of problems. Permanently. Problems that people pay handsomely to have solved. His clients don’t want to know the details, but Stratos is conscientious. He will only take on a job if his research shows that the targets deserve their fate.In the midst of the Greek economic crisis, Stratos takes on the highest-profile case of his career. The most celebrated lawyer in Greece and his beautiful actress wife both bid for his services, but which one is telling the truth? Helped by his three childhood friends, Drag, a homicide cop, Teri, a high-class transgender sex worker, and Maria, the love of his and Drag's life, he realises that truth is always relative.Especially when shattered loves and broken families are involved.