Outros livros que poderiam interessá-lo

• 

  The Lagoon - Encounters with the...

  James Michael Dorsey

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Once a killing ground for whalers hunting a leviathan they called the "devilfish," the San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico, is now an environmental and spiritual sanctuary—the only place in the world where animals in their natural aquatic environment routinely seek out human contact. A nursery for the gray whale since before recorded history, the lagoon and its stories, told here by James Michael Dorsey, illuminate the magic of human connection to animals, and what those bonds teach us about ourselves and our purpose on this shared planet.Weaving two decades of San Ignacio adventures with the history of the lagoon, Dorsey vividly captures the lively people of Baja, like the mystical godfather of whale-watching, Pachico Mayoral, as well as the whales he's bonded with over the years, like Slackjaw, Patch, and Dervish. Looming over his journeys are the many dangers to the area, from the Mitsubishi Corporation's attempts to build salt works to plans for resort development on the Baja coast, to pollution and climate change, and even to the orcas who hunt the gray whales.A tale of wondrous bonds between the intelligent, spirited gray whales and the people from around the world who come to this place to touch, kiss, and play with them—The Lagoon is a testament to the importance of preserving these animals and their natural habitats.

  Ver livro

• 

  Lincoln's Bold Lion - The Life...

  James T. Huffstodt

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “[Does]an excellent job portraying General Hardin’s life in the context of a changing America . . . a definitive biography of a forgotten hero” (Civil War News). 
   
  Nominated for the Gilder Lehrman Prize, this is the first biography devoted to the life of a remarkable young man who, in the words of Civil War historian Ezra Warner, “embarked upon a combat career which has few parallels in the annals of the army for gallantry, wounds sustained, and the obscurity into which he had lapsed a generation before his death.” 
   
  From Hardin’s childhood in Illinois, where a slave girl implanted in him a fear of ghosts, to his attendance at West Point, along with other future luminaries, to his service on the frontier,where he took particular note of the bearing of the Cheyenne, Hardin’s life reveals the progress of a century. 
   
  Made Brigadier General at age twenty-seven, Hardin fought with distinction at Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Gettysburg, Grant’s Overland Campaign, and the July 1864 Rebel raid on Washington. He was wounded four times, nearly died on two occasions, and lost an arm during the war. On one occasion, he was ambushed on a road by Mosby’s Men, one of whom may have been Lincoln conspirator Lewis Paine. Hardin himself took part in the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln’s assassination. 
   
  Though General Hardin’s mother skillfully played upon her friendship with the President and the First Lady to advance her son’s career, his gallantry and leadership in combat sufficed to earn him renown. Lincoln’s Bold Lion “restores the man’s rightful position as an American hero” (Chicago Daily Herald).

  Ver livro

• 

  Talking with the Sun - A "This I...

  Joy Harjo

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Poet Joy Harjo reflects on the importance of maintaining her ancestors' connection to the sun, in "Talking with the Sun,"* her contribution to NPR's This I Believe series.  
  This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others. 
  Featuring a star-studded list of contributors that includes John McCain, Isabel Allende, and Colin Powell, as well as pieces from the original 1950's series including Helen Keller and Jackie Robinson, the This I Believe collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer, a woman who sells yellow pages advertising in Fort Worth, and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board. The result is a stirring, funny and always provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of Americans whose beliefs, and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them, reveal the American spirit at its best.

  Ver livro

• 

  Secret Soldier - The True Life...

  Muki Betser, Robert Rosenberg

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “A revealing account of a 25-year career in the Israeli special forces . . . adds much to our understanding of Israel’s covert fighting arm.” —Kirkus Reviews   Israel’s premier special warfare commander and counterterrorist specialist, Muki Betser, was born in Israel’s Jezreel Valley and grew up to become one of the leaders of his country’s most elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal. Newspapers refer to the sayeret, or special reconnaissance forces, as the “tip of the spear” of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). But Sayeret Matkal—or simply, the Unit—was the cream of that crop, carrying out some of the best-known antiterrorist raids of the last twenty-five years.   In this riveting autobiography, Betser recounts the inner workings of Israel’s elite forces and provides an intimate firsthand account of Israel’s previously classified counterterrorist defense missions.   “[Muki Betser] speaks eloquently of the role of commando units, but also deplores violence, capping his riveting combat stories with a paean to peace that’s all the more poignant because it’s penned by a warrior.” —Publishers Weekly

  Ver livro

• 

  Through the Valley of the Shadow

  Jim Terbush

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  On June 13, 1999, a rumble began high on a sheer cliff wall, like faraway thunder, at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. 100 tons of rock rained down on three young climbers. Peter, a college student from Colorado, turned to a long-ago climbing lesson taught to him by his father. As a little boy first astride a mountain, he learned to always protect a partner at the end of the rope...to never let go. He was not anchored and could have easily slipped from his harness and run for cover, but he didn't. He maintained a proper belay to the end, saving the life of his friend on lead dangling 60 feet above him, while sacrificing his own life in the process.
  
  Many called Peter a hero. He certainly had the traits. According to Sue Shellenbarger, in the Wall Street Journal in 2012, "Certain traits make it more likely that a person will make a split-second decision to take a heroic risk. People who like to take charge of situations, who respond sympathetically to others, and who have a strong sense of moral and social responsibility are more likely to intervene than people who lack those traits. They consciously try to keep fear from hampering their pursuit of goals, and they tend to block out the possibility of injury or material loss."
  
  Through the Valley of the Shadow by Jim Terbush is the story of his son Peter's brief life...a hero who exemplified servant leadership. Jim tells of the servant leadership principles woven into the skills training at the yearly Terbush Memorial Outdoor Leadership Summit held in Peter's honor in Gunnison, CO.
  
  This is also a story about a father's love for his son, about discovery, adventure, love of the outdoors, and a love of God. Jim reveals how he was and is sustained by faith during his struggle with grief for his son. His writing in turn, infuses us with the strength to confront the most profound challenges in our own lives.
  
  ©2014 Jim Terbush (P)2017 Brook Forest Voices LLC

  Ver livro

• 

  The Mysteries of the Marco Polo...

  Benjamin B. Olshin

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  What’s the truth behind the travels of Marco Polo? “A fascinating tale about maps, history and exploration.”—Times Literary Supplement (UK)   In the thirteenth century, Italian merchant and explorer Marco Polo traveled from Venice to the far reaches of Asia, a journey he chronicled in a narrative titled Il Milione, later known as The Travels of Marco Polo. While Polo’s writings would go on to inspire the likes of Christopher Columbus, scholars have long debated their veracity. Some have argued that Polo never even reached China—while others believe that he came as far as the Americas.   Now, there’s new evidence for this historical puzzle: a very curious collection of fourteen little-known maps and related documents said to have belonged to the family of Marco Polo himself. Here, historian of cartography Benjamin B. Olshin offers the first credible book-length analysis of these artifacts, charting their course from obscure origins in the private collection of Italian-American immigrant Marcian Rossi in the 1930s; to investigations of their authenticity by the Library of Congress, J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI; to the work of the late cartographic scholar Leo Bagrow; to Olshin’s own efforts to track down and study the Rossi maps, all but one of which are in the possession of Rossi’s great-grandson. Are the maps forgeries, facsimiles, or modernized copies? Did Marco Polo’s daughters—whose names appear on several of the artifacts—preserve in them geographic information about Asia first recorded by their father? Or did they inherit maps created by him? Did Marco Polo entrust the maps to an admiral with links to Rossi’s family line? Or, if the maps have no connection to Marco Polo, who made them, when, and why? Regardless of the maps’ provenance, this tale takes us on a fascinating journey, offering insights into Italian history, the age of exploration, and the wonders of cartography.   “Olshin’s book tugs powerfully at the imagination of anybody interested in the Polo story, medieval history, old maps, geographical ideas, European voyages of discovery, and early Chinese legends.”—The Wall Street Journal

  Ver livro