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  The Lusitania Story

  Mitch Peeke

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  The Lusitania Story is the complete story of this most famous ocean liner, told for the first time in a single volume. The Lusitania is today most remembered for controversy surrounding her loss by a German submarine attack in 1915, during the First World War. But this book also tells of her life before that cataclysmic event. It tells of the ground-breaking advances in maritime engineering that she represented, as well as a hitherto unheard of degree of opulence. This book also takes a close look at the disaster which befell her and, with the help of leading experts, the authors examine the circumstances of her loss and try to determine why this magnificent vessel was lost in a mere eighteen minutes.

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  Wonders of the Himalaya -...

  Francis Younghusband

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  Francis Younghusband was barely twenty years old when he set out in search of "the true spirit of the Himalayas". Written forty years later, this book takes a retrospective look at the two expeditions he made between 1886 and 1889 for which the Royal Geographic Society awarded him its Gold Medal. The first of these expeditions took him from Peking to Kashmir via a route that was 5,500 kilometers long. In the second, he explored the uncharted Karakoram and Pamir passes. Previously unpublished in Spanish, this work conveys with serenity the passion of his youth and the satisfaction he derived from those vast Himalayan landscapes. The present edition commemorates the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its author's birth.

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  Communist Daze - The Many...

  Vladimir A. Tsesis

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  This darkly comic memoir “reveal[s] much about the poverty, drunkenness, political corruption, anti-Semitism, and fundamental absurdity of rural life in the Soviet 1960s” (Deborah A. Field author of Private Life and Communist Morality in Khrushchev’s Russia).   Welcome to Gradieshti, a Soviet village awash in gray buildings and ramshackle fences, home to a large, collective farm and to the most oddball and endearing cast of characters possible. For three years in the 1960s, Vladimir Tsesis—inestimable Soviet doctor and irrepressible jester—was stationed in a village where racing tractor drivers tossed vodka bottles to each other for sport; where farmers and townspeople secretly mocked and tried to endure the Communist way of life; where milk for children, running water, and adequate electricity were rare; where the world’s smallest, motley parade became the country’s longest; and where one compulsively amorous Communist Party leader met a memorable, chilling fate. From a frantic pursuit of calcium-deprived, lunatic Socialist chickens to a father begging on his knees to Soviet officials to obtain antibiotic for his dying child, Vladimir’s tales of Gradieshti are unforgettable. Sometimes hysterical, often moving, always a remarkable and highly entertaining insider’s look at rural life under the old Soviet regime, they are a sobering exposé of the terrible inadequacies of its much-lauded socialist medical system.   “To understand the confusing reality of Russia today, it helps to recall the ‘bad old days’ of the late, unlamented Soviet Union. This warm, touching and occasionally hilarious book can assist those recollections.” —Michael Medved, nationally syndicated radio show host

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  Into the Field - A Foreign...

  Tracy Dahlby

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  “A wonderfully eloquent introduction to the craft and challenges of reporting from around the world. . . . Powerful.” —James Fallows, The Atlantic   Tracy Dahlby is an award-winning journalist who has reported internationally as a contributor to National Geographic magazine and served as a staff correspondent for Newsweek and the Washington Post. In this memoir of covering Asia, he takes readers behind the scenes to reveal “the stories behind the stories”—the legwork and (mis)adventures of a foreign correspondent on a mission to be the eyes and ears of people back home, helping them understand the forces and events that shape our world.Into the Field centers on the travel and reporting Dahlby did for a half-dozen pieces that ran in National Geographic. The book tours the South China Sea during China’s rise as a global power, visits Japan in a time of national midlife crisis, and explores Southeast Asia during periods of political transition and tumult. Dahlby’s vivid anecdotes of jousting with hardboiled sea captains, communing with rebellious tribal chieftains, and enduring a shipboard insect attack offer aspiring foreign correspondents a realistic introduction to the challenges of the profession. Along the way, he provides practical advice about everything from successful travel planning to managing headstrong local fixers and dealing with circumstances that can range from friendly to formidable. A knowledgeable, entertaining how-to book for observing the world and making sense of events, Into the Field is a must-read for student journalists and armchair travelers alike.   “A delight . . . Witty, probing, and insightful.’” ―Alex Gibney, Academy Award–winning filmmaker   “A reporter's diary rich with anecdotes, epigraphs, and sentiment.” —The Austin Chronicle

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  Peaks and Bandits - The classic...

  Alf Bonnevie Bryn

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  In 1909, while dreaming of the Himalaya, Norwegian mountaineer Alf Bonnevie Bryn and a fellow young climber, the Australian George Ingle Finch, set their sights on Corsica to build their experience. The events of this memorable trip form the basis of Bryn's acclaimed book Tinder og banditter – 'Peaks and Bandits', with their boisterous exploits delighting Norwegian readers for generations. Newly translated by Bibbi Lee, this classic of Norwegian literature is available for the first time in English.
  Although Bryn would go on to become a respected mountaineer and author, and Finch would become regarded as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time – a legend of the 1922 Everest expedition – Peaks and Bandits captures them on the cusp of these achievements: simply two students taking advantage of their Easter holidays, their escapades driven by their passion for climbing. As they find themselves in unexpected and often strange places, Bryn's sharp and jubilant narrative epitomises travel writing at its best.
  Balancing its wit with fascinating insight into life in early twentieth-century Corsica, the infectious enthusiasm of Bryn's narrative has cemented it as one of Norway's most treasured adventure books. Peaks and Bandits embodies the timeless joy of adventure.

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  Simple Pleasures of the Garden -...

  Susannah Seton

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  A collection of gardening tips, recipes, crafts, gift ideas, tales, and more from the author of Every Garden Is a Story.Simple Pleasures of the Garden is a treasure chest of tips, how-to’s, stories, and trade secrets gathered together in one beautiful book. Organized by season, the hundreds of suggestions and recipes present a profusion of ways to celebrate the bounty of the Earth all year round. Projects include handcrafted lotions and oils, baskets and wreaths, potpourris and floral waters, along with dozens of simple, inexpensive home decorations and easy-to-prepare recipes that utilize all of your garden’s harvest. From compost tea to confetti corn chowder, Simple Pleasures of the Garden will inspire you to bestow the comforts and charms of your garden on family and friends.

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