Publisher: Charles River Editors
G.K. Chesterton was an English writer, theologian and poet. Chesterton, also known as the prince of paradox, wrote on a vast variety of subjects using an unorthodox yet interesting writing style. This edition of Alarms and Discursions includes a table of contents.
Books of the Marvels of the World or "Description of the World" (Divisament dou monde), also nicknamed "Il Milione" ("The Million") or "Oriente Poliano", but commonly called "The Travels of Marco Polo", is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Marco Polo, describing the travels of the latter through Asia, Persia, China, and Indonesia between 1271 and 1291.It's been a very famous and popular book since the 14th century, creating the image of Marco Polo as the icon of the bold traveller. Presenting Marco Polo as an important figure at the court of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, the book was written in Old French by Rustichello da Pisa, a romance author of the time, who was reportedly working from accounts which he had heard from Marco Polo when they were imprisoned in Genoa, having been captured while on a ship.This audiobook in two volumes uses the 1903 third edition of Sir Henry Yule's translation, revised by Henri Cordier. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Leni)
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These transcendent, lyrical essays on the West announced Gretel Ehrlich as a major American writer—“Wyoming has found its Whitman” (Annie Dillard). Poet and filmmaker Gretel Ehrlich went to Wyoming in 1975 to make the first in a series of documentaries when her partner died. Ehrlich stayed on and found she couldn’t leave. The Solace of Open Spaces is a chronicle of her first years on “the planet of Wyoming,” a personal journey into a place, a feeling, and a way of life. Ehrlich captures both the otherworldly beauty and cruelty of the natural forces—the harsh wind, bitter cold, and swiftly changing seasons—in the remote reaches of the American West. She brings depth, tenderness, and humor to her portraits of the peculiar souls who also call it home: hermits and ranchers, rodeo cowboys and schoolteachers, dreamers and realists. Together, these essays form an evocative and vibrant tribute to the life Ehrlich chose and the geography she loves. Originally written as journal entries addressed to a friend, The Solace of Open Spaces is raw, meditative, electrifying, and uncommonly wise. In prose “as expansive as a Wyoming vista, as charged as a bolt of prairie lightning,” Ehrlich explores the magical interplay between our interior lives and the world around us (Newsday).Show book
A refreshing memoir of battles and self-belief from one of the NHL's most revered enforcersShawn Thornton was an unlikely NHL success, to say the least. The Oshawa, Ontario, native was picked late in the OHL and later thought he was being pranked when the Toronto Maple Leafs called him to say he'd been selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NHL draft.After years spent working and maturing in the AHL, Thornton would go on to play fourteen seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers, winning two Stanley Cups along the way.For the first time, in this candid memoir, Thornton opens up about his life in hockey and beyond, from his early days as an unrated prospect to the leadership lessons he learned in the minors, from the most difficult on-ice brawls to the ecstasy of reaching the sport's most celestial heights.Fans will not want to miss this story of perseverance and finding one's own path.Show book
From the irrepressible author of Trout Bum and The View from Rat Lake comes an engaging, humorous, often profound examination of life's greatest mysteries: sex, death, and fly-fishing.John Gierach's quest takes us from his quiet home water (an ordinary, run-of-the-mill trout stream where fly-fishing can be a casual affair) to Utah's famous Green River, and to unknown creeks throughout the Western states and Canada. We're introduced to a lively group of fishing buddies, some local "experts," and even an ex-girlfriend, along the way.Contemplative, evocative, and wry, he shares insights on mayflies and men, fishing and sport, life and love, and the meaning (or meaninglessness) of it all.Show book
“First-rate entertainment”: The author of the Corfu Trilogy recounts his expedition to Madagascar and search for the elusive, endangered aye-aye (Publishers Weekly). In 1990, Gerald Durrell; his wife, Lee; and a television crew embarked on a rescue mission to one of the most interesting places in the world: the island of Madagascar. It was there that they hoped to record and capture the endangered aye-aye, the world’s largest nocturnal primate. Recognizable by its big eyes and long fingers, the strange, rare aye-aye was an animal of incredible fascination for Durrell, one he felt compelled to conserve as its habitat was taken away by deforestation. In this passionate memoir, Durrell’s funny, vibrant voice shines as he describes the magical landscape of Madagascar, the exotic animals that inhabit it, and the challenges of his expedition to preserve an important part of our ever-changing world. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.Show book
