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  My Portugal - Recipes and Stories

  George Mendes

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  “With crisp, toothsome images of the dishes and postcard-worthy shots of Portugal, Mendes’s collection is an inspired, loving tribute to the country.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)   Chef-restaurateur George Mendes introduces us to the world of Portuguese cuisine, offering 125 mouthwater­ing recipes that showcase the wide range of dishes that come from this coastal country. The collection balances Mendes’s recipes from his Michelin-starred New York restaurant, Aldea, such as his signature Duck Rice and Garlic Seared Shrimp with his takes on classic Portuguese dishes such as Salt Cod, Potato, and Egg Casserole; Mozambique Shrimp and Okra with Piri Piri; Eggs Baked with Peas, Linguiça, and Bacon; Butter Cookies; and more.   His stories illustrate the wealth of culinary resources in Portugal—fresh seafood, savory meats, and crisp vegetables. With delicious recipes and stunning photographs of the country, My Portugal takes us on an unforgettable journey.   “His cuisine is filled with the intensely satisfying flavors of a casual Portuguese feast—updated with a beautifully modern presentation and technique du jour”—Daniel Boulud

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  Peculiar People - The Story of...

  Augustus Hare

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  These days hardly anyone remembers Augustus John Curthbert Hare (1834-1903). But in his prime, the late Victorian age, his name was on the lips of anyone who mattered. He was a travel writer, a storyteller and a memoirist of the first order, and his work is a fascinating record of a lost way of life amongst the strangest upper classes of English society.

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  A Hard Place to Leave - Stories...

  Marcia DeSanctis

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  “Intrepid and empathetic, gifted with the dispassionate gaze of a born observer…a harmonious collage of worldview and character, a wunderkammer of experiences in a life fully lived.” —Melissa Febos, The New York Times  
  “DeSanctis encounters spies and love interests, but it’s her lushly polished writing that makes this book a joy to read.” —The Washington Post 
  Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home. 
  Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than we’re up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.

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  Mali Empire The: A Captivating...

  Captivating History

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  Have you ever wondered why the Mali Empire was so wealthy and well-known? Find your answer in our guide about the Mali Empire and learn about its foundation and rise to fame under Mansa Musa. 
  Within this audiobook, you’ll listen to the humble beginnings and hardships that befell Sundiata Keita as he founded the Mali Empire. His thrilling story leads into how the empire was structured and its early laws and customs. 
  Eventually, though, the empire would descend into internal strife between the heirs of the first emperor. Then, just as it seemed as if the Mali Empire would crumble, a great ruler emerged, leading it to new heights. 
  Learn about the reign of the famous Mansa Musa, who brought riches and international respect to his kingdom. The golden age of the Mali Empire brought territorial expansion as well as cultural growth. 
  However, its glory was short-lived. Follow the tragic tale of Musa’s heirs, and discover how the empire slowly crumbled, descending from an empire into a mere memory. This decay caused the empire to gradually lose its lands and wealth, making its splendor of the golden age a distant dream. Yet, as its final days came, the last ruler of the Keita dynasty led a valiant effort to restore its former glory, which ends this story with a bang rather than a whimper. 
  Here are some of the captivating facts you’ll learn about in this audiobook:What trials did Sundiata Keita have to overcome to unite an empire?Where did all that Malian gold and wealth come from?Why is Mansa Musa so well-remembered today? Did any of the other Malian rulers even come close?How did Islamic influences mix with local African traditions?What caused the Mali Empire to fall, and could it have been avoided? 
  Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about the Mali Empire and why it matters!

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  Strange Stones - Dispatches from...

  Peter Hessler

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  Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage—a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work.Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions. This unusual perspective distinguishes Strange Stones, which showcases Hessler’s unmatched range as a storyteller. “Wild Flavor” invites readers along on a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China. One story profiles Yao Ming, basketball star and China’s most beloved export, another David Spindler, an obsessive and passionate historian of the Great Wall. In “Dr. Don,” Hessler writes movingly about a small-town pharmacist and his relationship with the people he serves.While Hessler’s subjects and locations vary, subtle but deeply important thematic links bind these pieces—the strength of local traditions, the surprising overlap between apparently opposing cultures, and the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different worlds.

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  A Place of Healing for the Soul...

  Peter France

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  “France’s conversion is deeply touching . . . This is religious discovery for a postmodern generation.” —Philip Zaleski, Los Angeles Times   The tiny, arid Greek island of Patmos is one of the most sacred places in the Christian world—a place of bewitching power, where people come for a brief summer visit and end up returning, year after year, for the rest of their lives. They respond to an unexplainable force that they can find nowhere else. Perhaps it is the invigorating “Greek light” that infuses the Holy Island’s rocks and hills with a breathtaking sharpness and clarity, dating back to the time when Zeus raised the island from the bed of the sea.   Or perhaps it is Patmos’s incredible history. Almost two thousand years ago, Saint John was exiled here, and lived as a hermit in the cave of Revelation, where he experienced a vision that led to the most famous piece of apocalyptic literature, the Book of Revelation.   In A Place of Healing for the Soul, BBC commentator Peter France—who arrived on the island a hardened skeptic—tells how he came to change his life perspective. Learning from the island’s gregarious inhabitants and its religious eccentrics—hermits, ascetics, monks, and nuns—he discovered the pleasure and security of living simply and doing without, in a timeless realm where history, myth, and spirituality are endlessly alive.   “France, an erudite and amiable companion, who spices his writing with self-deprecating wit and thoughtful commentary on the eternal mysteries of the universe, has created a delight for open, even if skeptical, minds.” —Booklist

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