Title search results
Showing 121 - 140 of 920 items
First Russia, Then Tibet [Illustrated Edition]
By Robert Byron. 2016
Over the course of several months during 1931 and 1932, Robert Byron journeyed to three countries teetering on the brink…
of change.In Russia, which was stricken by famine, Lenin had just died, Stalin's dictatorship was in its infancy and the Great Terror had yet to begin. Having taken the first commercial flight to India, which took an astounding seven days, Byron was thrown into the tumultuous last years of the British Raj. Gandhi was imprisoned, while rioting and clashes between Hindus and Muslims had become commonplace. Finally Byron entered Tibet, the forbidden country. Exploring "The Land of Snows", he saw Tibet as it was when the then Dalai Lama was still ensconced in the Potala Palace, twenty years before China's invasion.First Russia, Then Tibet is an invaluable first-hand account of transformative moments in periods of change and upheaval.-Print ed.Richly illustrated throughout.The Saga of Cimba: A Journey From Nova Scotia To The South Seas (The sailor's Classics Ser.)
By Richard Maury. 2016
First published in 1939, this book is a vivid account of Richard Maury's voyage from New York to Fiji in…
the small, 35-foot, Nova Scotia-built schooner Cimba. When a 23-year-old Maury and a likeminded sailor filled with wanderlust set off into the winter North Atlantic on November 30, 1933, it proved to be an expedition of high adventure, and one embarked upon at a time when such voyages were practically unheard of. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey to Bermuda and, from there, to Grand Turk, Jamaica, Panama and through the Canal, with the two young sailors finding their every dream come true at Galapagos, Marquesas, Tahiti, Samoa--culminating in a gripping finale at Fiji..."If I were asked to pick the best book in recent years about deep water cruising in a small yacht, I would unhesitatingly choose The Saga of Cimba by Richard Maury."Maury went to sea because he loved being at sea and ports to him were interruptions rather than objectives. The story of his cruise is the story of the struggles and triumphs of his diminutive schooner in breasting thousands of miles of deep water. It is the sailing of the schooner that engrossed him. The yarn is the story of a boat rather than the story of her skipper. One can go on to the book's last enthralling page and be left speculating on what sort of a man this Maury is. He never tells you. You have to sense it from his attitude toward his little vessel. But you are left in no doubt about Cimba herself. You know what manner of ship she is. You know every inch of her by the time you have seen her to the Fijis."--Rudder Magazine"Told with such beauty that it will win the admiration not only of those who sail but of the whole reading public"--New York World Telegram."One of the finest sea yarns of all times"--Rudder."Bound to be the classic of this type"--Boston Transcript."Reality he most exciting small boat yarn I have read"--FELIX REISENBERG.The Dark Frigate
By Charles Boardman Hawes. 2016
THE DARK FRIGATE--Winner of the Newbery Medal.In seventeenth-century England, a terrible accident forces orphaned Philip Marsham to flee London in…
fear for his life. Bred to the sea, he signs on with the Rose of Devon, a dark frigate bound for the quiet shores of Newfoundland. Philip's bold spirit and knowledge of the sea soon win him his captain's regard. But when the Rose of Devon is seized in midocean by a devious group of men plucked from a floating wreck, Philip is forced to accompany these "gentlemen of fortune" on their murderous expeditions. Like it or not, Philip Marsham is now a pirate--with only the hangman awaiting his return to England.With its bloody battles, brutal buccaneers, and bold, spirited hero, this rousing tale will enthrall readers in search of seafaring adventure."No one, we think, has written so perfect a pirate tale since Treasure Island"--New York Herald TribuneThe Skipper And The Eagle
By Captain Gordon McGowan USCG. 2015
COMMANDER Gordon McGowan, cast in the role of master of a three-masted bark by order of the U.S. Coast Guard,…
found himself short on square rigged sailing knowledge and long on re-fitting problems when faced with transforming a battered German prize of war, the Horst Wessel, into a well-found Coast Guard training ship, the Eagle.The period was the end of the Second World War; the place was bomb-shattered Bremerhaven.In the SKIPPER AND THE EAGLE you'll meet "Doc," a dentist with a burning ambition to remove an appendix at sea; "Ducky," an internationally known ocean racing yachtsman, now a naval officer dividing up ships of the German navy among the Allies. There's a decidedly practical, if unorthodox, British Naval officer who assigns German seamen to Cmdr. McGowan in his search for men to augment his short-handed and inexperienced crew of graduates from boot camp.Cmdr. McGowan (now Capt. Rtd) was the only Coast Guard officer in Germany, a fact which gave rise to a series of amusing episodes. Furthermore, he had been brought up in steam vessels, and his knowledge of sailing ships left much to be desired. In fact, he feels that knowledgeable sailors should read this book if only to feel vastly superior to the author! He has a fully developed sense of humor and a talent for understatement which makes his book delightful reading.When the Eagle was finally made ready for sea, she took off through the mine fields of the North Sea and English Channel. Then under sail, to Funchal, Madeira, where the skipper had his first harrowing experience with rigid protocol. The Eagle enjoyed a long downhill run with the Trade Winds to Bermuda.On the voyage from Bermuda to New York the Eagle was caught in a full-fledged hurricane and the description of this ranks near the top of sea-going literature.The SKIPPER AND THE EAGLE is hearty fare for all with a love of the sea, ships, and the men who sail them. There isn't a dull page in it.Mountain Madness: And the Life & Legacy of Scott Fischer
By Robert Birkby. 2008
"An extraordinary life." --The New York Times Book Review"A fitting homage to one of the great outdoor extremists." --Kirkus ReviewsLegendary…
climber Scott Fischer found in Mount Everest a perfect landscape for his fearless spirit. Scaling the world's highest peak tested his skills, his courage, and his endurance. His legendary final expedition--and its tragic outcome--are portrayed in Everest, the 3-D movie adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer. Robert Birkby, one of Scott's close friends, captures in this intimate and stirring portrait who Scott Fischer really was and what led him to climb to the top of the world--before he left it altogetherUpdated with a New Introduction and EpiloguePlus new photos exclusive to the digital edition!This book is not an official tie-in to the film Everest.George Simpson: Blaze of Glory
By D T Lahey. 2010
Born in Scotland and trained as a sugar broker in London, England, Sir George Simpson (1792-1860) was unexpectedly appointed in…
1820 as governor of Rupert’s Land and the Indian territories, an area encompassing all of Canada from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean. By his friendliness of manner, strict discipline, and vigorous and constant travel, he brought peace and prosperity to the vast empire under his control.Simpson’s explorations opened Canada from Labrador to British Columbia and from Yukon to Nunavut. He was knighted in 1841, then travelled around the world, predicting the fall of California to the United States, saving the Hawaiians from colonial occupation, and describing the mysteries of remotest Siberia. Praised as the governor who "combined the widest range of authority and the longest tenure of power ever enjoyed by one man in North America," he stands with Sir John A. Macdonald as one of the greatest Makers of Canada.Short-listed for the 2010 Banff Mountain Book Festival Competition The Mountain Knows No Expert epitomizes George Evanoff’s philosophy towards the…
outdoors, while presenting an intriguing contrast with the man himself. Widely regarded as an "expert," he was a knowledgeable, experienced, and practical outdoorsman, teacher, and mentor, yet ironically lost his life in the mountains in an encounter with a grizzly. Son of a Macedonian immigrant family, George was raised in Alberta, and went on to become a mountaineer, guide, avalanche specialist, and pioneer in ecotourism in British Columbias North Rockies. The many themes embedded in Evanoff’s life experiences encompass self-propelled backcountry travel, outdoor safety, avalanche safety and rescue, ski patrol leader, exploration and discovery, outdoor ethics, and public involvement with respect to land and resource use. George Evanoff was honoured in several tangible ways after his death, culminating in the naming of Evanoff Provincial Park in the Hart Ranges of the Rockies.Vilhjalmur Stefansson: Arctic Adventurer
By Tom Henighan. 2009
Born in Manitoba of Icelandic parents, Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) became one of Canada’s most famous and controversial Arctic explorers. After…
graduate studies in anthropology at Harvard University, Stefansson lived with and studied Inuit in the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories in the winter of 1906-07. In two subsequent expeditions he completed a major anthropological survey of the Central and Western Arctic coasts and islands of North America; located and lived with the Copper Inuit, a previously unknown group of aboriginal people; and discovered the world’s last major land masses. During his third and final great Arctic expedition from 1913 to 1918, some of Stefansson’s men perished tragically, an outcome that severely damaged his reputation. Nevertheless, the hardy explorer contributed immensely to knowledge about the Far North, particularly in his championing of the "Friendly Arctic." Part scientist, part showman, Vilhjalmur Stefansson was truly unique among polar adventurers.Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior
By Edward Butts. 2011
During the American Revolution and the border conflicts that followed, Simon Girty’s name struck terror into the hearts of U.S.…
settlers in the Ohio Valley and the territory of Kentucky. Girty (1741-1818) had lived with the Natives most of his life. Scorned by his fellow white frontiersmen as an "Indian lover," Girty became an Indian agent for the British. He accompanied Native raids against Americans, spied deep into enemy territory, and was influential in convincing the tribes to fight for the British. The Americans declared Girty an outlaw. In U.S. history books he is a villain even worse than Benedict Arnold. Yet in Canada, Girty is regarded as a Loyalist hero, and a historic plaque marks the site of his homestead on the Ontario side of the Detroit River. In Native history, Girty stands out as one of the few white men who championed their cause against American expansion. But was he truly the "White Savage" of legend, or a hero whose story was twisted by his foes?The Great Nadar: The Man Behind the Camera
By Adam Begley. 2017
A dazzling, stylish biography of a fabled Parisian photographer, adventurer, and pioneer.A recent French biography begins, Who doesn't know Nadar?…
In France, that's a rhetorical question. Of all of the legendary figures who thrived in mid-19th-century Paris—a cohort that includes Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, Gustave Courbet, and Alexandre Dumas—Nadar was perhaps the most innovative, the most restless, the most modern.The first great portrait photographer, a pioneering balloonist, the first person to take an aerial photograph, and the prime mover behind the first airmail service, Nadar was one of the original celebrity artist-entrepreneurs. A kind of 19th-century Andy Warhol, he knew everyone worth knowing and photographed them all, conferring on posterity psychologically compelling portraits of Manet, Sarah Bernhardt, Delacroix, Daumier and countless others—a priceless panorama of Parisian celebrity. Born Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, he adopted the pseudonym Nadar as a young bohemian, when he was a budding writer and cartoonist. Later he affixed the name Nadar to the façade of his opulent photographic studio in giant script, the illuminated letters ten feet tall, the whole sign fifty feet long, a garish red beacon on the boulevard. Nadar became known to all of Europe and even across the Atlantic when he launched "The Giant," a gas balloon the size of a twelve-story building, the largest of its time. With his daring exploits aboard his humongous balloon (including a catastrophic crash that made headlines around the world), he gave his friend Jules Verne the model for one of his most dynamic heroes. The Great Nadar is a brilliant, lavishly illustrated biography of a larger-than-life figure, a visionary whose outsized talent and canny self-promotion put him way ahead of his time.The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush
By Howard Blum. 2011
It is the last decade of the 19th century. The Wild West has been tamed and its fierce, independent and…
often violent larger-than-life figures -- gun-toting wanderers, trappers, prospectors, Indian fighters, cowboys, and lawmen -- are now victims of their own success. They are heroes who've outlived their usefulness. But then gold is discovered in Alaska and the adjacent Canadian Klondike and a new frontier suddenly looms - an immense unexplored territory filled with frozen waterways, dark spruce forests, and towering mountains capped by glistening layers of snow and ice. "Klondicitis," a giddy mix of greed and lust for adventure, ignites a stampede. Fleeing the depths of a worldwide economic depression and driven by starry-eyed visions of vast wealth, tens of thousands rush northward. Joining this throng of greenhorns and grifters, whores and highwaymen, sourdoughs and seers are three unforgettable men. In a true-life tale that rivets from the first page, we meet Charlie Siringo, a top-hand sharp-shooting cowboy who, after futilely trying to settle down with his new bride, becomes one of the Pinkerton Detective Agency's shrewdest; George Carmack, a California-born American Marine who's adopted by an Indian tribe, raises a family with a Taglish squaw, makes the discovery that starts off the Yukon Gold Rush - and becomes fabulously rich; and Soapy Smith, a sly and inventive predator-conman who rules a vast criminal empire. As we follow this trio's lives, we're led inexorably into a perplexing mystery. A fortune in gold bars has somehow been stolen from the fortress-like Treadwell Mine in Juneau, Alaska, with no clues as to how the thieves made off with such an immensely heavy cargo. To many it appears that the crime will never be solved. But the Pinkerton Agency has a reputation for finding the answers that elude others. Charged with getting the job done is Charlie Siringo who discovers that, to run the thieves to ground, he must embark on a rugged cross-territory odyssey that will lead him across frigid waters and through a frozen wilderness. Ultimately, he'll have his quarry in his sights. But then an additional challenge will present itself. He must face down Soapy Smith and his gang of 300 cutthroats. Hanging in the balance: George Carmack's fortune in gold. At once a compelling true-life mystery and an unforgettable portrait of a time in America's history when thousands were fired with a vision of riches so unimaginable as to be worth any price, The Floor of Heaven is also an exhilarating tribute to the courage and undaunted spirit of the men and women who helped shape America.The year was 1765. Eminent botanist Philibert Commerson had just been appointed to a grand new expedition: the first French…
circumnavigation of the world. As the ships' official naturalist, Commerson would seek out resources--medicines, spices, timber, food--that could give the French an edge in the ever-accelerating race for empire. Jeanne Baret, Commerson's young mistress and collaborator, was desperate not to be left behind. She disguised herself as a teenage boy and signed on as his assistant. The journey made the twenty-six-year-old, known to her shipmates as "Jean" rather than "Jeanne," the first woman to ever sail around the globe. Yet so little is known about this extraordinary woman, whose accomplishments were considered to be subversive, even impossible for someone of her sex and class. When the ships made landfall and the secret lovers disembarked to explore, Baret carried heavy wooden field presses and bulky optical instruments over beaches and hills, impressing observers on the ships' decks with her obvious strength and stamina. Less obvious were the strips of linen wound tight around her upper body and the months she had spent perfecting her masculine disguise in the streets and marketplaces of Paris. Expedition commander Louis-Antoine de Bougainville recorded in his journal that curious Tahitian natives exposed Baret as a woman, eighteen months into the voyage. But the true story, it turns out, is more complicated. In The Discovery of Jeanne Baret, Glynis Ridley unravels the conflicting accounts recorded by Baret's crewmates to piece together the real story: how Baret's identity was in fact widely suspected within just a couple of weeks of embarking, and the painful consequences of those suspicions; the newly discovered notebook, written in Baret's own hand, that proves her scientific acumen; and the thousands of specimens she collected, most famously the showy vine bougainvillea. Ridley also richly explores Baret's awkward, sometimes dangerous interactions with the men on the ship, including Baret's lover, the obsessive and sometimes prickly naturalist; a fashion-plate prince who, with his elaborate wigs and velvet garments, was often mistaken for a woman himself; the sour ship's surgeon, who despised Baret and Commerson; even a Tahitian islander who joined the expedition and asked Baret to show him how to behave like a Frenchman. But the central character of this true story is Jeanne Baret herself, a working-class woman whose scientific contributions were quietly dismissed and written out of history--until now. Anchored in impeccable original research and bursting with unforgettable characters and exotic settings, The Discovery of Jeanne Baret offers this forgotten heroine a chance to bloom at long last.From the Hardcover edition.Alone: Lost Overboard in the Indian Ocean
By Brett Archibald. 2016
"Solitude is terrifying and awe-inspiring in Alone." —The Wall Street JournalIn April 2013, fifty-year-old Brett Archibald was on board a…
surf-charter boat, making a night-time crossing of the remote Mentawai Strait off Sumatra, Indonesia. In the middle of a storm, ill with severe food poisoning, he blacked out. When he came to, he found himself in the raging sea, sixty miles from shore. As Brett saw the lights of his boat disappearing into the darkness, it became clear that no one had seen him fall, and that no one would hear his shouts for help. He was alone in the ocean.It would be eight hours before his friends realized he was missing. At that point a frantic search began for a single man somewhere in thousands of square miles of heaving waves. The rough weather meant that no planes or helicopters could assist in the search. According to the experts, he should have died within ten to fourteen hours.Instead, Brett battled Portuguese man o' war and jellyfish, sharks, seagulls, and the stormy seas for more than 28 hours. Alone is the remarkable tale of his miraculous survival and rescue. It is also the story of what it takes to defy extraordinary odds and the incredible power of the human spirit.Beyond All This: Thirty Years with the Mountain People of Haiti
By Mildred Anderson. 1979
A compelling and often humorous saga that spans more than three decades to chronicle hurt and leanness, struggle and triumph.…
How a fifty-nine year-old woman cast her lot with the mountain people of Haiti and suffered through drought and flood, hurricane and want, to help them find a better way. The mission Bertha "Granny" Holdeman helped start at Fermathe in Haiti began on a plot blighted by voodoo curse. Today, it ministers to countless people, providing hope as well as help. From Eleanor... "I really think it is very hard to tell about Granny. She is something that one feels and from her spirit each gains a different inspiration and light. She is like and impressionist painting, yet at the same time solid and tangible, always there and timeless. We pray that he story will share her and Haiti with others, and through it show forth Him who has made Granny what she is and to Whom she has a single eye." (From a letter from Eleanor Turnbull, Granny's daughter in Haiti.)Diaries of an Adventurer: "Journeys of a solo woman to the ends of Earth"
By Daniela Zavala. 2013
Mixing current events, culture, adventure, history, humor and high doses of adrenaline, "Diaries of an Adventurer" series is a close…
and authentic look at remote societies and controversial countries around the world. In each travelogue, journalist, and intrepid adventurer Daniela Zavala immerses herself with ceaseless curiosity into exotic cultures and dangerous destinations that can only be comprehended with an open mind, easiness and never-ending inquisitiveness. Since 1997, Daniela has visited solo over 70 countries without fear or prejudice, exploring places that most people wouldn't dare to go or might not even know about. In this edition, Daniela ventures to Iran just a few months after the controversial 2009's presidential election. This land rich in culture has been polemic and feared by the Western world. But, how is the Islamic Republic really like? What's in the mind of the average Iranian? Daniela's experience brings you closer to this fascinating and so-talked about nation.Promise at Dawn
By Romain Gary. 1961
A romantic, thrilling memoir that has become a French classic. Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary (1914-80), a classic of…
modern French literature, has all the earmarks of a richly romantic novel. It is all the more thrilling, therefore, to read it and know that this is not fiction but a real-life story. As a young child, Romain Gary's mother told him that a day would come when he would have to challenge and conquer the evil demons of submission and defeat. After all, he was to be a French military hero, ambassador, noted writer, and ladies' man . . . . Thus anticipating battle, by the time of his death he had won the Cross of the Liberation, the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honor, the Prix Goncourt (the last rather a comedown, as his mother had mentioned the Nobel Prize); and he had been the French consul-general in Los Angeles. Promise at Dawn begins as the story of a mother's sacrifice. Alone and poor she fights fiercely to give her son the very best. Gary chronicles his childhood with her in Russia, Poland, and on the French Riveria. And he recounts his adventurous life as a young man fighting for France in World War II. But above all he tells the story of the love for his mother that was his very life, their secret and private planet, their wonderland "born out of a mother's murmur into a child's ear, a promise whispered at dawn of future triumphs and greatness, of justice and love."Where To?
By Dmitry Samarov. 2014
"Funny, touching, observant, philosophical, sad, world-weary, artful and wonderful are the stories that pepper this book. There has never been…
a cab driver like Dmitry Samarov and, since he's given up for keeps late-night for-hire driving, there never will be."--Rick Kogan, hall-of-fame reporter for the Chicago Tribune"With his gorgeous pen and ink drawings and funny, tragic, and all too true stories, Samarov's chronicle of his adventures as a Chicago taxi driver is by far the best ride you'll ever take in a cab."--Wendy MacNaughtonDmitry Samarov's illustrated memoir captures encounters with drunken passengers, overbearing cops, unreasonable city bureaucracy, his fellow cabdrivers, a few potholes, and other unexpectedly beautiful moments. Accompanied by dozens of Samarov's original artworks--composed during traffic jams, waits at the airport, and lulls in his shifts--the stories in Where To? provide a street-level view of America from the perspective of an immigrant painter driving a cab for money.Dmitry Samarov was born in Moscow, USSR, in 1970. He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1978. He got in trouble in first grade for doodling on his Lenin Red Star pin and hasn't stopped doodling since. After a false start at Parsons School of Design in New York, he graduated with a BFA in painting and printmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993. Upon graduation he promptly began driving a cab--first in Boston, then after a time, in Chicago.Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo
By Pagan Kennedy. 2013
A largely untold story of an extraordinary historical figure, this biography sheds light on the life of William Sheppard, a…
19th-century African American who, for more than 20 years, defied segregation and operated a missionary run by black Americans in the Belgian Congo. This work shows how Sheppard returned to the United States periodically, and traveled the country telling tales of his adventures to packed auditoriums. An anthropologist, photographer, big-game hunter, and art collector, the man billed as the "Black Livingstone" helped expose the atrocities that occurred under the reign of King Leopold, and this stirring work tells how he eventually helped to break Belgium's hold on the Congo.Narrow Escape
By Marie Browne. 2013
"Oh, you live on a boat? That must be really cold in the winter..." Or, "Oh, you live on a…
boat? It must be great being so close to nature..." Or, "Oh, you live on a boat? It must be fantastic to be able to go wherever you like, whenever you like..." Narrow Escape sets out to dispel these commonly held public myths. From how to avoid assassination by ninja stealth ducklings, through definitive proof that kittens are aliens and the best way to sleep at forty-five degrees, to the importance of having the right boating equipment; (a child's plastic sledge and a never ending supply of cotton wool balls). This month by month account of one family's liveaboard year takes a firmly tongue in cheek look at what it takes to enjoy the 'idyllic' lifestyle.Reaching for the Stars
By José M. Hernández. 2012
Born into a family of migrant workers, toiling in the fields by the age of six, Jose M. Hernàndez dreamed…
of traveling through the night skies on a rocket ship. REACHING FOR THE STARS is the inspiring story of how he realized that dream, becoming the first Mexican-American astronaut.Hernàndez didn't speak English till he was 12, and his peers often joined gangs, or skipped school. And yet, by his twenties he was part of an elite team helping develop technology for the early detection of breast cancer. He was turned down by NASA eleven times on his long journey to donning that famous orange space suit.Hernàndez message of hard work, education, perseverance, of "reaching for the stars," makes this a classic American autobiography.