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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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  The Lost Pianos of Siberia

  Sophy Roberts

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  This “melodious” mix of music, history, and travelogue “reveals a story inextricably linked to the drama of Russia itself . . . These pages sing like a symphony.” —The Wall Street Journal 
   
  Siberia’s story is traditionally one of exiles, penal colonies, and unmarked graves. Yet there is another tale to tell. Dotted throughout this remote land are pianos—grand instruments created during the boom years of the nineteenth century, as well as humble Soviet-made uprights that found their way into equally modest homes. They tell the story of how, ever since entering Russian culture under the westernizing influence of Catherine the Great, piano music has run through the country like blood. 
   
  How these pianos traveled into this snowbound wilderness in the first place is testament to noble acts of fortitude by governors, adventurers, and exiles. Siberian pianos have accomplished extraordinary feats, from the instrument that Maria Volkonsky, wife of an exiled Decembrist revolutionary, used to spread music east of the Urals, to those that brought reprieve to the Soviet Gulag. That these instruments might still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than a miracle. 
   
  The Lost Pianos of Siberia follows Roberts on a three-year adventure as she tracks a number of instruments to find one whose history is definitively Siberian. Her journey reveals a desolate land inhabited by wild tigers and deeply shaped by its dark history, yet one that is also profoundly beautiful—and peppered with pianos. 
   
  “An elegant and nuanced journey through literature, through history, through music, murder and incarceration and revolution, through snow and ice and remoteness, to discover the human face of Siberia. I loved this book.” —Paul Theroux

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  Blank on the Map - Pioneering...

  Eric Shipton

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  'As I studied the maps, one thing about them captured my imagination - Across this blank space was written one challenging word, "Unexplored"'
  In 1937 two of the twentieth century's greatest explorers set off to explore an unknown area of the Himalaya, the breath-taking Shaksgam mountains. With a team of surveyors and Sherpas, Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman located and mapped the land around K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. It was their greatest venture, and one that paved the way for all future mountaineering in that area of the Himalaya. For Shipton and Tilman, exploration was everything, with a summit a welcome bonus, and Blank on the Map is the book that best captures their spirit of adventure.
  With an observant eye and keen sense of humour, Shipton tells how the expedition entered the unknown Shaksgam mountains, crossing impenetrable gorges, huge rivers and endless snow fields. There's a very human element to in Shipton's dealings with his Sherpa friends, and with his Balti porters, some of whom were helpful, while some were less so. The expedition uncovers traces of ancient cultures and visits vibrant modern civilisations living during the last days of the British Empire. Only when all supplies are exhausted, their clothes in tatters and all equipment lost do the men finally return home. A mountain exploration classic.

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  Camino de la Luna - Truth

  Pearl Howie

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  “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.”  Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winning physicistThe moment I felt my real feelings, back in a Native American healing in 2016, I discovered what a great liar I was.  Lonely, depressed, desperate… the lowest of the low…  No matter how my life looked to anyone else the only thing that mattered was being real with myself.But I was still lying, so poetically, so romantically, tricking myself, that my lies grew even more dangerous.  Luckily life protected me from myself, from acting on what I thought was real.  Instead I got on a plane to Spain and started hiking, each step bringing me closer to the truth, which I would finally understand on the other side of the world.Camino de la Luna is a seven book series (which had to be split into ten for the audiobooks):"Camino de la Luna - Take What You Need" (parts 1, 2 and 3)"Camino de la Luna - Unconditional Love""Camino de la Luna - Forgiveness""Camino de la Luna - Compassion and Self-Compassion""Camino de la Luna - Courage""Camino de la Luna - Truth""Camino de la Luna - Reconciliation" (parts 1 and 2)with a prequel "Japan Is Very Wonderful" and related book "free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday"

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  Bucket to Greece - Volume 4

  V.D. Bucket

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  The delightfully comic account of a British couple and their imported cats starting over in a new country continues in Bucket to Greece Volume 4. The atmosphere is tense in the Bucket household, with Barry and Cynthia, or specifically Cynthia and her vile mutant cat, having outstayed their welcome. The race is on for them to find somewhere to live before their imminent wedding. Harold's house has potential, but Barry needs Victor's help to take advantage of the obnoxious Brit.With chickens to tend and local politics to break into, Victor discovers retirement offers little time for lazing about. He takes to the sea, repping on the lazy day cruise in the company of the ouzo loving Kapetanios Vasos and his mute sidekick Sami, and crams up on Greek aphrodisiacs to prepare for a gastronomic excursion. Victor schemes to rid the house of superfluous kittens, hatches a plot to ensure the local taverna isn't turned into a tourist attraction, and lends a hand with the search when Spiros' uncle Leo goes on the missing list. Spiros, courting the fragrant Sampaguita, introduces her to the exciting ex-pat scene of inedible foreign dinners; Milton is targeted by vanity publishing scammers, and a stubborn sheep stalks the streets of Meli.

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  Capitol Hill Haunts

  Tim Krepp

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  “In a sprightly, entertaining style, Krepp tells of the spooks and specters that haunt the U.S. Capitol, the Marine Barracks, and other sites and homes” (Hill Rag).   From the Demon Cat that stalks the Washington crypt to the restless spirit of John Quincy Adams in Statuary Hall, it is no wonder that in 1898 the Philadelphia Press declared the Capitol to be the most thoroughly haunted building in the world. Yet there are as many ghosts in the neighborhood as there are beneath the dome. Local writer and guide Tim Krepp intrepidly takes on the best-known haunted tales while also exploring the lesser-known specters. From the weeping lady of the Maples to Commodore Tingey, who still stands watch in the Navy Yard, to the dozens of famous ghosts hosted by Congressional Cemetery, many former residents seem bound to their old home. Join Krepp as he explores the most historic and hair-raising haunts of the Hill.   Includes photos   “A hair-raising guide to Washington's ghosts.” —The Washington Post

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