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The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples
by Shirley Hazzard Francis SteegmullerBorn in Australia, Shirley Hazzard first moved to Naples as a young woman in the 1950s to take up a job with the United Nations. It was the beginning of a long love affair with the city. The Ancient Shore collects the best of Hazzard’s writings on Naples, along with a classic New Yorker essay by her late husband, Francis Steegmuller. For the pair, both insatiable readers, the Naples of Pliny, Gibbon, and Auden is constantly alive to them in the present.With Hazzard as our guide, we encounter Henry James, Oscar Wilde, and of course Goethe, but Hazzard’s concern is primarily with the Naples of our own time—often violently unforgiving to innocent tourists, but able to transport the visitor who attends patiently to its rhythms and history. A town shadowed by both the symbol and the reality of Vesuvius can never fail to acknowledge the essential precariousness of life—nor, as the lover of Naples discovers, the human compassion, generosity, and friendship that are necessary to sustain it.Beautifully illustrated by photographs from such masters as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Herbert List, The Ancient Shore is a lyrical letter to a lifelong love: honest and clear-eyed, yet still fervently, endlessly enchanted.“Much larger than all its parts, this book does full justice to a place, and a time, where ‘nothing was pristine, except the light.’”—Bookforum“Deep in the spell of Italy, Hazzard parses the difference between visiting and living and working in a foreign country. She writes with enormous eloquence and passion of the beauty of getting lost in a place.”—Susan Slater Reynolds, Los Angeles Times“The two voices join in exquisite harmony. . . . A lovely book.”—Booklist, starred review
The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas Vol. I (The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas #1)
by Victor Wolfgang von HagenFor centuries the strange, exotic civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayas and Incas flowered in total separation from the rest of mankind. Then explorers stumbled on great pyramids and temples hidden in the forests of Guatemala and Yucatan, and fortress cities high up in the Andes, to find ‘things that have never been heard or seen before, or even dreamed about’ (Bernal Diaz).In The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas, first published in 1960, Victor von Hagen describes the history and cultures of each of these early civilizations, drawing on a lifetime’s experience of their sites, archeology and artifacts. His detailed knowledge of their institutions, economic structures and religious practices enables him to reconstruct the pattern of their daily life, and to explore their distinctive achievements in, for example, engineering, commence and communications. The account is illustrated throughout with numerous photographs, line-drawings, and reproductions from original prints.‘The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas vividly fulfils the author’s aim “to take these people out of the flow of the purely archaeological and put them back into the human stream of life”.’—Daily Telegraph
The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas Vol. II (The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas #2)
by Victor Wolfgang von HagenFor centuries the strange, exotic civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayas and Incas flowered in total separation from the rest of mankind. Then explorers stumbled on great pyramids and temples hidden in the forests of Guatemala and Yucatan, and fortress cities high up in the Andes, to find ‘things that have never been heard or seen before, or even dreamed about’ (Bernal Diaz).In The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas, first published in 1960, Victor von Hagen describes the history and cultures of each of these early civilizations, drawing on a lifetime’s experience of their sites, archeology and artifacts. His detailed knowledge of their institutions, economic structures and religious practices enables him to reconstruct the pattern of their daily life, and to explore their distinctive achievements in, for example, engineering, commence and communications. The account is illustrated throughout with numerous photographs, line-drawings, and reproductions from original prints.‘The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas vividly fulfils the author’s aim “to take these people out of the flow of the purely archaeological and put them back into the human stream of life”.’—Daily Telegraph
The Angel Oak Story
by Ruth M. Miller Linda V. LennonAngel Oak is estimated to be more than 400 years old. The story of the live oak begins with the "purchase" of Johns Island from the Cussoe Indians by a representative of Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper in 1675. The land upon which the tree grows was then granted to Abraham Waight in 1717. The oak garnered its name when descendant Martha Waight married Justus Angel. This same family maintained ownership of the property for 242 years. Today, the Angel Oak is owned by the City of Charleston. Authors Ruth M. Miller and Linda Lennon describe life on Johns Island through 300 years and the special place the tree has held in the hearts of Lowcountry residents. A foreword was provided by Becky Woods, communications manager for the Lowcountry Land Trust.
The Angel Of Grozny: Life Inside Chechnya - from the bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul
by x Asne Seierstad'The best book in English about one of the world's most brutal and under-reported conflicts ... fascinating' Christina Lamb, Sunday TimesIn the early hours of New Year's Eve 1994, Russian troops invaded the Republic of Chechnya, plunging the country into a prolonged and bloody conflict. Asne Seierstad reported regularly on the war, describing its effects on those trying to live their daily lives amidst the violence. In 2006 and 2007 she returned, travelling in secret, in constant danger. The tragedy of Chechnya had continued but the world had moved on. In a broken and devastated society she meets the orphans, the wounded, the lost - and tells their stories at last.'I devoured this in a few hours - a powerful book of heartbreaking yet flamboyant reportage from a forgotten hell' SIMON SEBAG-MONTEFIORE'Invaluable ... she has a real eye for detail and the human heart of a story' OBSERVER
The Angel Tree: The Enchanting Quest for the World's Oldest Olive Tree
by Alex Dingwall-MainA serendipitous, fender-bending encounter between the author, a distinguished landscape architect, and a wealthy Frenchman in Provence leads to the strangest, funniest horticultural odyssey in recent memory. The rich, eccentric Frenchman has just finished renovating, with great care and attention, a beautiful house in Provence. But the elegant courtyard looks very empty. "Find me the oldest olive tree in existence," he challenges the author, "and bring it back to take pride of place in my garden."The author's travels take him to the olive groves of France, the farms of Greece and Spain, and many backyards of Italy. Along the way, he encounters a 3,000-year-old tree, a farmer who won't sell his tree unless he can sell the farm that surrounds it, mafiosi skullduggery in the plant world, unscrupulous dealers, divided families, local weddings, farcical disasters, and a village that believes a drop of rain that has touched the leaves of the Angel Tree will cure any illness or sadness.
The Angel's Game: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 2
by Carlos Ruiz ZafonIn an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home...Read by Dan Stevens(p) 2009 Orion Publishing Group
The Angel's Game: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 2
by Carlos Ruiz ZafonThe stunning new novel from the internationally bestselling author of THE SHADOW OF THE WIND.In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home...
The Anglo Files: A Field Guide To The British
by Sarah LyallNew York Times Bestseller “An exquisite, hilarious and devastating dissection.” —Malcolm Gladwell Why do the English keep apologizing? Why are they so unenthusiastic about enthusiasm? Why does rain surprise them? When are they being ironic, and how can you tell? Even after eighteen years in London, New York Times reporter Sarah Lyall remained perplexed and intrigued by its curious inhabitants and their curious customs. She’s since returned to the United States, but this distillation of incisive—and irreverent—insights, now updated with a new preface, is just as illuminating today. And perhaps even more so, in the wake of Brexit and the attendant national identity crisis. While there may be no easy answer to the question of how, exactly, to understand the English, The Anglo Files—part anthropological field study, part memoir—helps point the way.
The Angry Island: Hunting the English
by Adrian GillForeigner Adrian Gill (a Scot) goes in search of the essence of England and the EnglishThe English are naturally, congenitally, collectively and singularly, livid much of the time. In between the incoherent bellowing of the terraces and the pursed, rigid eye-rolling of the commuter carriage, they reach the end of their tethers and the thin end of their wedges. They're incensed, incandescent, splenetic, prickly, touchy and fractious. They sit apart on their half of a damply disappointing little island, nursing and picking at their irritations.Perhaps aware that they're living on top of a keg of fulminating fury, the English have, throughout their history, come up with hundreds of ingenious and bizarre ways to diffuse anger or transform it into something benign. Good manners and queues, roundabouts and garden sheds, and almost every game ever invented from tennis to bridge. They've built things, discovered stuff, made puddings, written hymns and novels, and for people who don't like to talk much, they have come up with the most minutely nuanced and replete language ever spoken - just so there'll be no misunderstandings. In this hugely witty, personal and readable book, A.A. Gill looks anger and the English straight in the eye.
The Angry Island: Hunting the English
by Adrian GillForeigner Adrian Gill (a Scot) goes in search of the essence of England and the EnglishThe English are naturally, congenitally, collectively and singularly, livid much of the time. In between the incoherent bellowing of the terraces and the pursed, rigid eye-rolling of the commuter carriage, they reach the end of their tethers and the thin end of their wedges. They're incensed, incandescent, splenetic, prickly, touchy and fractious. They sit apart on their half of a damply disappointing little island, nursing and picking at their irritations.Perhaps aware that they're living on top of a keg of fulminating fury, the English have, throughout their history, come up with hundreds of ingenious and bizarre ways to diffuse anger or transform it into something benign. Good manners and queues, roundabouts and garden sheds, and almost every game ever invented from tennis to bridge. They've built things, discovered stuff, made puddings, written hymns and novels, and for people who don't like to talk much, they have come up with the most minutely nuanced and replete language ever spoken - just so there'll be no misunderstandings. In this hugely witty, personal and readable book, A.A. Gill looks anger and the English straight in the eye.
The Annals Of Imperial Rome
by Tacitus Translated by Michael GrantTacitus' Annals of Imperial Rome recount the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus up to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vivid intensity he describes the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero, and the wars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies and murders that were part of imperial life.
The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning: A Polar Journey
by Carol Devine Wendy TruslerThis stunning chronicle of the first civilian Antarctic clean-up project, with contemporary and historic anecdotes and photographs, journal entries, and more than forty delicious recipes, is an intricately woven ode to the last wilderness.With more than 130 full-color photographs
The Antilles: Fragments of Epic Memory
by Derek WalcottDerek Walcott was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on December 10, 1992. His Nobel lecture is a stirring evocation of the multivalent wholeness of the culture of the Antilles, forged out of a violent history against a land- and seascape of immemorial dimensions. "Caribbean culture is not evolving but already shaped," writes Walcott. "Its proportions are not to be measured by the traveller or the exile, but by its own citizenry and architecture. " He finds the image of this culture in the city of Port of Spain, Trinidad, "mongrelized, polyglot, a ferment without a history, like heaven. " And watching a group of East Indian Trinidadians reenact the Hindu epic the Ramayana in the small village of Felicity, he meditates on the sacred celebration of joy, the rehearsal of collective memory, that is the very essence of human experience, beyond history. Walcott's lecture is a powerful re-envisioning of the themes that have energized and informed his poetry. "
The Appalachian Trail Hiker
by Frank Logue Victoria LogueThe Appalachian Trail Hiker is a one-stop guide to preparing for and hiking the A.T. Although primarily geared to prepare and sustain the intrepid thru hiker, the book is also a must-have for anyone who wishes to experience the A.T., whether for an hour or for six months.
The Appalachian Trail: A Visitor's Companion
by Leonard AdkinsA comprehensive naturalist's guide to the Appalachian Trail, the Visitor's Companion contains all the essential information about the AT - from the trail's fascinating history to detailed information on the geology, trees, flowers, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals of the Appalachian Mountains.
The Appian Way: Ghost Road, Queen of Roads (Culture Trails)
by Robert A. KasterThe eminent classicist delivers &“an evocative history of Europe&’s first great road&” from Rome to the heel of Italy in this &“slim but evocative volume&” (The Guardian, UK). The 1st century Roman poet Statius called the Via Appia &“the Queen of Roads,&” and for nearly a thousand years that description held true, as countless travelers trod its path from the center of Rome to the Southern Italian city of Brindisi. Today, the road is all but gone, destroyed by time, neglect, and the incursions of modernity; to travel the Appian Way today is to walk in the footsteps of ghosts. In The Appian Way, Robert A. Kaster is our guide to those ghosts—and the layers of history they represent. A footsore Roman soldier pushing the imperial power south; craftsmen and farmers bringing their goods to the towns that lined the road; pious pilgrims headed to Jerusalem, using stage-by-stage directions that can still be followed—all come to life once more as Kaster journeys along what&’s left of the Appian Way. Other voices help him tell the story: Cicero, Goethe, Hawthorne, Dickens, James, and even Monty Python offer commentary and insight. With The Appian Way, Kaster invites us to close our eyes and walk with him back in time, to the campaigns of Garibaldi, the revolt of Spartacus, and the glory days of Imperial Rome.
The Apprentice Tourist
by Mário de AndradeA Brazilian masterpiece, now in English for the first time: a playfully profound chronicle of an urban sophisticate&’s misadventures in the AmazonA Penguin Classic&“My life&’s done a somersault,&” wrote Mário de Andrade in a letter, on the verge of taking a leap. After years of dreaming about Amazonia, and almost fifty years before Bruce Chatwin ventured into one of the most remote regions of South America in In Patagonia, Andrade, the queer mixed-race &“pope&” of Brazilian modernism and author of the epic novel Macunaíma, finally embarks on a three-month steamboat voyage up the great river and into one of the most dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful corners of the world. Rife with shrewd observations and sparkling wit, and featuring more than a dozen photographs, The Apprentice Tourist not only offers an awed and awe-inspiring fish-out-of-water account of the Indigenous peoples and now-endangered landscapes of Brazil that he encounters (and, comically, sometimes fails to reach), but also traces his internal metamorphosis: The trip prompts him to rethink his ingrained Eurocentrism, challenges his received narratives about the Amazon, and alters the way he understands his motherland and the vast diversity of cultures found within it.
The Apprentices
by Maile Meloy Ian SchoenherrIt's 1954, and Janie Scott is in boarding school in New Hampshire, trying to make a new life. Two years have passed since she last saw the mysterious apothecary--or his defiant son, Benjamin. All she knows is that her friends are out there somewhere, trying to keep the world safe in an age of mounting atomic power. On the other side of the world, Benjamin is treating the wounded in a jungle war, and experimenting with a magical new formula that will let him communicate with Janie across the globe. But Janie has her own experiment underway, and it's attracting interest from sinister forces. Benjamin calls on their friend Pip for help, and they have to race to find one another, and to unravel the mystery of their powerful new enemies. A magical new adventure, following Maile Meloy's critically acclaimed novel The Apothecary, with captivating illustrations by Ian Schoenherr.
The Apprentices
by Maile Meloy Ian SchoenherrTwo years have passed since Janie Scott last saw Benjamin Burrows, the mysterious apothecary's defiant son who stole her heart. On the other side of the world, Benjamin and his father are treating the sick and wounded in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam.But Benjamin has also been experimenting with a magical new formula that allows him to communicate with Janie across the globe. When Benjamin discovers that she's in trouble, he calls on their friend Pip for help. The three friends are thrown into a desperate chase around the world to find one another, while unraveling the mystery of what threatens them all. Acclaimed author Maile Meloy seamlessly weaves together magic and adventure in this breathtaking sequel with stunning illustrations by Ian Schoenherr.
The Aran Islands
by John M. SyngeHere is the complete title: Collected Plays and Poems and The Aran Islands
The Aran Islands (Penguin Modern Classics)
by J.M. SyngeIn 1907 J. M. Synge achieved both notoriety and lasting fame with The Playboy of the Western World. The Aran Islands, published in the same year, records his visits to the islands in 1898-1901, when he was gathering the folklore and anecdotes out of which he forged The Playboy and his other major dramas. Yet this book is much more than a stage in the evolution of Synge the dramatist. As Tim Robinson explains in his introduction, "If Ireland is intriguing as being an island off the west of Europe, then Aran, as an island off the west of Ireland, is still more so; it is Ireland raised to the power of two." Towards the end of the last century Irish nationalists came to identify the area as the country's uncorrupted heart, the repository of its ancient language, culture and spiritual values. It was for these reasons that Yeats suggested Synge visit the islands to record their way of life. The result is a passionate exploration of a triangle of contradictory relationships – between an island community still embedded in its ancestral ways but solicited by modernism, a physical environment of ascetic loveliness and savagely unpredictable moods, and Synge himself, formed by modern European thought but in love with the primitive.
The Archaeology of Home: An Epic Set on a Thousand Square Feet of the Lower East Side
by Katharine GreiderWhen Katharine Greider was told to leave her house or risk it falling down on top of her and her family, it spurred an investigation that began with contractors' diagnoses and lawsuits, then veered into archaeology and urban history, before settling into the saltwater grasses of the marsh that fatefully once sat beneath the site of Number 239 East 7th Street. During the journey, Greider examines how people balance the need for permanence with the urge to migrate, and how the home is the resting place for ancestral ghosts. The land on which Number 239 was built has a history as long as America's own. It provisioned the earliest European settlers who needed fodder for their cattle; it became a spoil of war handed from the king's servant to the revolutionary victor; it was at the heart of nineteenth-century Kleinedeutschland and of the revolutionary Jewish Lower East Side. America's immigrant waves have all passed through 7th Street. In one small house is written the history of a young country and the much longer story of humankind and the places they came to call home.
The Archers Quizbook: Join Ambridge treasure Lynda Snell on a quiz quest around Britain's most loved village
by The Puzzle HouseWhich traditionally comes first in the Ambridge year, the Village Fete or the Flower and Produce Show?Which tool appears on the Pargetter coat of arms?Which member of the Archers clan has a first name where all the letters read in alphabetical order?Ambridge is a place many of us know almost as well as our own home towns. But while millions of people are invested in the goings-on in this picturesque village, few have had the privilege of walking its winding lanes. Now you can. Join Lynda Snell, a true pillar of this rural community, as she takes you on a guided tour of radio's most well-loved village.Starting at the summit of Lakey Hill, with its sweeping views of rural Borsetshire, Lynda will lead you around the village's landmarks and institutions imparting wisdom and gossip as she goes. Sun yourself in the beer garden of the Bull, watch the world go by from a bench on the village green and don your wellies for a wander around Brookfield. There are weddings to attend at St Stephen's, productions to enjoy at the Village Hall and deals to be done at the Dower House.Each chapter centres on key locations to challenge your knowledge in all manner of Ambridge affairs. Whether you're a lifelong listener of The Archers, have an ear for gossip, or are a relative newbie, you will be able to put your area of expertise to the test. With 70 years of rich rural history to explore, you might even learn something new.
The Archers Quizbook: Join Ambridge treasure Lynda Snell on a quiz quest around Britain's most loved village
by The Puzzle HouseWhich traditionally comes first in the Ambridge year, the Village Fete or the Flower and Produce Show?Which tool appears on the Pargetter coat of arms?Which member of the Archers clan has a first name where all the letters read in alphabetical order?Ambridge is a place many of us know almost as well as our own home towns. But while millions of people are invested in the goings-on in this picturesque village, few have had the privilege of walking its winding lanes. Now you can. Join Lynda Snell, a true pillar of this rural community, as she takes you on a guided tour of radio's most well-loved village.Starting at the summit of Lakey Hill, with its sweeping views of rural Borsetshire, Lynda will lead you around the village's landmarks and institutions imparting wisdom and gossip as she goes. Sun yourself in the beer garden of the Bull, watch the world go by from a bench on the village green and don your wellies for a wander around Brookfield. There are weddings to attend at St Stephen's, productions to enjoy at the Village Hall and deals to be done at the Dower House.Each chapter centres on key locations to challenge your knowledge in all manner of Ambridge affairs. Whether you're a lifelong listener of The Archers, have an ear for gossip, or are a relative newbie, you will be able to put your area of expertise to the test. With 70 years of rich rural history to explore, you might even learn something new.