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Traveller
By Michael Katakis, Michael Palin. 2009
"How could I have known then with no maps acquired and my bags not yet packed that my journey had…
already begun? ...The tools of a traveler are compass and map. They calculate distances covered and destinations sought but cannot measure the consequences of experiences on a human heart," writes Michael Katakis in his introduction. Traveller is a collection of letters and journal entries that bring the immediacy of experience together with perceptive reflections of the author's own past. The entries in this volume are not travel guides. They are more personal, like letters from the most desirable sort of friend. The friend carries the listener with him as he meanders through the medina in Fez or into the hills of Gallipoli. His voice is such that listeners can almost smell the herbs and dusty soil of Crete, and always they are introduced to the people he meets along the way. For anyone curious about the world, and introduced with a foreword written and read by Michael Palin, Traveller is sure to delight, infuriate and, perhaps most importantly, inspire thought about the complex world around them.First Light
By Richard Preston. 1996
Seven years before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in The Hot Zone, he turned his attention to the cosmos.…
In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe.Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times's bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (Kirkus Reviews) he has revised the text and written a new introduction.Ladies of the Lights: Michigan Women in the U.S. Lighthouse Service
By Patricia Majher. 2010
"A great read about some great ladies, Pat Majher'sLadies of the Lightspays long overdue homage to an overlooked part of…
Great Lakes maritime history in which a select group of stalwart women beat the odds to succeed in a field historically reserved for men. " ---Terry Pepper, Executive Director of Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper's Association Michigan once led the country in the number of lighthouses, and they're still a central part of the mystique and colorful countryside of the state. What even the region's lighthouse enthusiasts might not know is the rich history of female lighthouse keepers in the area. Fifty women served the sailing communities on Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, as well as on the Detroit River, for more than 100 years. From Catherine Shook, who raised eight children while maintaining the Pointe Aux Barques light at the entrance to Saginaw Bay; to Eliza Truckey, who assumed responsibility for the lighthouse in Marquette while her husband fought for four years in the Civil War; to Elizabeth Whitney, whose combined service on Beaver Island and in Harbor Springs totaled forty-one years---the stories of Michigan's "ladies of the light" are inspiring. This is no technical tome documenting the minutiae of Michigan's lighthouse specifications. Rather, it's a detailed, human portrait of the women who kept those lighthouses running, defying the gender expectations of their time. Patricia Majher is Editor ofMichigan Historymagazine, published by the Historical Society of Michigan. Prior, she was Assistant Director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame in Lansing, Michigan. In addition, she has been writing both advertising and editorial copy for almost thirty years and has been a frequent contributor to Michigan newspapers and magazines.Michigan's County Courthouses
By John Fedynsky. 2010
Whether you are an attorney, a Michigan history buff, or a lover of architecture, you will find this book is…
a valuable resource. ” ---Michigan Bar Journal John Fedynsky documents in narrative and photos every county courthouse of Michigan's eighty-three counties, as well as the Michigan Hall of Justice. These buildings are symbols: physically they stand, but figuratively they speak. They embody the purposes for which they were created: law, order, justice, and the promise of a better tomorrow. Fedynsky tells the story of each building. For Michigan, the typical evolution begins in the cabin, tavern, or hotel of a prominent local settler and progresses through incarnations of simple log or wooden clapboard, and then opulent stone or brick, before the structure arrives in modern and utilitarian form. But there are myriad exceptions to this rule, and they add to the diversity of Michigan's county courthouses. In Fedynsky's descriptions, verifiable facts and local lore weave together in dramatic tales of outrageous crime, courtroom intrigue, backroom dealing, jury determination, and judicial prerogative. Released jail inmates assist with evacuating and extinguishing a courthouse fire, residents during a natural disaster seek and find physical refuge behind the sure walls of the courthouse, and vigilant legions of homebound defenders are stationed in wartime throughout the courthouse towers scanning the skies for signs of foreign aircraft. Then there are the homey touches that emphasize the "house" half of Michigan's courthouses: local folks dropping off plants in the courthouse atrium to use it as a winter greenhouse, cows grazing on the public square, county fairs in or near the courthouse, and locally made artwork hanging in public hallways. The courthouses bear within their walls a richness of soul endowed by the good people who make each one special. John Fedynsky is a former research attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert H. Cleland, U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Fedynsky currently practices civil law as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Michigan. Cover design by Heidi Dailey Cover photos: John FedynskyPoint Betsie: Lightkeeping and Lifesaving on Northeastern Lake Michigan
By Jonathan P. Hawley. 2008
Point Betsie: Lightkeeping and Lifesaving on Northeastern Lake Michigan is the compelling story of a key Great Lakes lighthouse whose…
beam has pierced night skies for 150 years. This rich history recounts the efforts of the U. S. Lighthouse Service, the U. S. Life-Saving Service, and the U. S. Coast Guard on Lake Michigan's wreck-strewn northeastern coast, near the treacherous Manitou Passage. Much of Point Betsie's story is told in the accounts of dedicated keepers who served there with their families since 1858. Photographs also chronicle the lighthouse's expanding services through the years and the site's transition from early isolation to today's frequently visited attraction on Lake Michigan's northeastern shore. The author devotes equal attention to the courageous lifesaving crews that served mariners off Point Betsie from 1877 to 1937. Keepers' logs bring to life the heroic rescues from wrecks that surfmen discovered while conducting their lonely night-time beach patrols, and document Point Betsie's central but previously untold role in the area's important maritime and social history. Point Betsie also covers the "laker" fleet's evolution from wooden sailing vessels to massive steamships. Lighthouse operations are detailed, starting with Point Betsie's original oil lamps and then state-of-the-art Fresnel lens, and culminating with the electrically powered, automated beacon that now shines atop this historic and revered tower.Stolen Water
By W. Hodding Carter. 2004
When the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan went into effect during the Clinton administration, Florida's great grassy wilderness garnered a host…
of national attention -- and has since become a breeding ground for environmental dispute. What does it take to "save" a forest? How can it be preserved? Enter W. Hodding Carter. For an Outside magazine feature he's agreed to paddle the ninety-nine-mile waterway in Everglades National Park to examine the landscape from all angles -- physical, political, cultural, and very personal -- and get to the rock-bottom heart of the story. Stolen Water is the outgrowth of Carter's journey. Through investigative research, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with key players in the conservation controversy, Carter offers a rare portrait of a national treasure. Utterly important, and at times downright hilarious, Stolen Water is a classic American adventure tale, and an environmental parable for our time.The Shakespeare Guide to Italy
By Richard Paul Roe. 2011
Richard Paul Roe spent more than twenty years traveling the length and breadth of Italy on a literary quest of…
unparalleled significance. Using the text from Shakespeare's ten "Italian Plays" as his only compass, Roe determined the exact locations of nearly every scene in Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest, and the remaining dramas set in Italy. His chronicle of travel, analysis, and discovery paints with unprecedented clarity a picture of what the Bard must have experienced before penning his plays. Equal parts literary detective story and vivid travelogue-containing copious annotations and more than 150 maps, photographs, and paintings-The Shakespeare Guide to Italy is a unique, compelling, and deeply provocative journey that will forever change our understanding of how to read the Bard . . . and irrevocably alter our vision of who William Shakespeare really was.Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa
By Richard Grant. 2011
NO ONE TRAVELS QUITE LIKE RICHARD GRANT and, really, no one should. In his last book, the adventure classic God's…
Middle Finger, he narrowly escaped death in Mexico's lawless Sierra Madre. Now, Grant has plunged with his trademark recklessness, wit, and curiosity into East Africa. Setting out to make the first descent of an unexplored river in Tanzania, he gets waylaid in Zanzibar by thieves, whores, and a charismatic former golf pro before crossing the Indian Ocean in a rickety cargo boat. And then the real adventure begins. Known to local tribes as "the river of bad spirits," the Malagarasi River is a daunting adversary even with a heavily armed Tanzanian crew as travel companions. Dodging bullets, hippos, and crocodiles, Grant finally emerges in war-torn Burundi, where he befriends some ethnic street gangsters and trails a notorious man-eating crocodile known as Gustave. He concludes his journey by interviewing the dictatorial president of Rwanda and visiting the true source of the Nile. Gripping, illuminating, sometimes harrowing, often hilarious, Crazy River is a brilliantly rendered account of a modern-day exploration of Africa, and the unraveling of Grant's peeled, battered mind as he tries to take it all in.The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home
By Pico Iyer. 2000
Pico Iyer has for many years described with keen perception and exacting wit the shifting textures of faraway lands anchored…
on a spinning globe that mixes and matches East and West. Now he casts a philosophical eye upon this curious state of floatingness.In the transnational village that our world has become, travel and technology fuel each other and us. As Iyer points out, "everywhere is so made up of everywhere else," and our very souls have been put into circulation. Yet even global beings need a home.Using his own multicultural upbringing (Indian, American, British) as a point of departure, Iyer sets out on a quest, both physical and psychological, to find what remains constant in a world gone mobile. He begins in Los Angeles International Airport, where town life -- shops, services, sociability -- is available without a town, and in Hong Kong, where people actually live in self-contained hotels. He moves on to Toronto, which has been given new life and a new literature by its immigrant population, and to Atlanta, where the Olympic Village inadvertently commemorates the corporate universalism that is the Olympics' secret face. And, finally, he returns to England, where the effects of empire-as-global-village are still being sorted out, and to Japan, where in the midst of alien surfaces, Iyer unexpectedly finds a home."As a guide to far-flung places, Pico Iyer can hardly be surpassed," The New Yorker has written. In The Global Soul, he extends the meaning of far-flung to places within and all around us.From the Hardcover edition.Santa Clara County (Postcard History Series)
By Rick Sprain, Judge Paul Bernal. 2018
Originally inhabited by the Ohlone, Santa Clara County was one of 27 counties created when California achieved statehood in September…
1850. The first settlements began when Fr. Junípero Serra established the Mission Santa Clara de Asís in 1777. For over 100 years, the valley was known for its rich soil and thriving farm region. In the 1940s and 1950s, William Hewlett and David Packard, along with Lockheed, IBM, and hundreds of other companies, altered the scope of Santa Clara County forever. With the influx of tech jobs and ensuing building boom, the county went from "Valley of the Heart's Delight" to "Silicon Valley."Hidden History of Jackson (Hidden History)
By Josh Foreman, Ryan Starrett. 2018
The history of Jackson is filled with gripping tales of horrors and heroism. A recording company founded in the mid-1960s…
with the expectation of competing with New Orleans and Memphis was a national success, outlasting its better-funded rivals. Known as the "Devil's Backbone," the Natchez Trace is the graveyard for countless travelers slain by the road's numerous serial killers, brigands and land pirates. Yet one mass grave stands above the others: the Boyd Mounds, which hold the remains of thirty-one Choctaws. Although legend has it that the father of Jackson, Louis LeFleur, was a Canadian trapper famous in high society for his dancing, the truth is even stranger. Join Ryan Starrett and Josh Foreman as they reveal the hidden past of the City with Soul.I'll Ask You Three Times, Are You OK?: Tales of Driving and Being Driven
By Naomi Shihab Nye. 2007
"I am a poet," I said. "It is my destiny to do strange things." My father gripped the wheel of…
his car. "I am the chauffeur for foolishness." We said no more. Foolhardy missions. Life-altering conversations. Gifts-given and received. Loss. Getting lost. Wisdom delivered before dawn and deep into the night. Love and kissing (not necessarily in that order). Laughter. Rides on the edge. Roses. Ghosts. As a traveling poet and visiting teacher, Naomi Shihab Nye has spent a considerable amount of time in cars, both driving and being driven. Her observations, stories, encounters, and escapades-and the kernels of truth she gathers from them-are laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving, and unforgettable. Buckle up.After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (Updated) (Vintage Departures)
By Edwidge Danticat. 2002
In After the Dance, one of Haiti's most renowned daughters returns to her homeland, taking readers on a stunning, exquisitely…
rendered journey beyond the hedonistic surface of Carnival and into its deep heart.Edwidge Danticat had long been scared off from Carnival by a loved one, who spun tales of people dislocating hips from gyrating with too much abandon, losing their voices from singing too loudly, going deaf from the clamor of immense speakers, and being punched, stabbed, pummeled, or fondled by other lustful revelers. Now an adult, she resolves to return and exorcise her Carnival demons. She spends the week before Carnival in the area around Jacmel, exploring the rolling hills and lush forests and meeting the people who live and die in them. During her journeys she traces the heroic and tragic history of the island, from French colonists and Haitian revolutionaries to American invaders and home-grown dictators. Danticat also introduces us to many of the performers, artists, and organizers who re-create the myths and legends that bring the Carnival festivities to life. When Carnival arrives, we watch as she goes from observer to participant and finally loses herself in the overwhelming embrace of the crowd.Part travelogue, part memoir, this is a lyrical narrative of a writer rediscovering her country along with a part of herself. It's also a wonderful introduction to Haiti's southern coast and to the true beauty of Carnival.Seeing the Universe From Here: Field Notes from My Smithsonian Travels
By G. Wayne Clough. 2016
As the Smithsonian Institution's twelfth Secretary, Dr. G. Wayne Clough traveled extensively to connect with researchers and gain a better…
understanding of the scope of the Institution's work. While the Smithsonian is comprised of nineteen museums and galleries, a National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities, it also has a research presence in more than one hundred countries.During his six years as secretary, Dr. Clough kept a detailed journal of his experiences and discoveries while on his travels, ranging from anthropology in Antarctica to pre-Columbian history in Peru from astrophysics in the Andes and the mountains of Hawaii to coral reef ecosystems off the coast of Belize, and from climate change in Wyoming to preserving endangered species in Kenya and Panama. Seeing the Universe From Here offers a firsthand perspective of the Smithsonian's global relevance in these progressive fields.An Innocent in Cuba
By David Mcfadden. 2005
With An Innocent in Ireland (1995), David McFadden began his eccentric journeys to the heart of some of the world's…
most unique island nations. Now McFadden rambles through the highs and lows of Cuba, home to cigars, Guantanamera, and of course Castro. The beautiful Caribbean landscape, along with Cuba's rich history, culture, and uncertain future, lend themselves to the quirky eye and wry witticisms of our innocent Canadian guide.Poking into the nation's many corners, McFadden offers a series of vignettes of the people, cities,villages, roads, and countryside of the island the author refers to as "the most famous little country in the world." Warm and colourful, An Innocent in Cuba is a musical, sensuous, flirtatious, joyful tribute to the Cuban spirit in all its incarnations.Shenandoah (Images of America)
By Darryl Ponicsan, Anne Chaikowsky La Voie. 2016
From a distance, Shenandoah may look like any other small town, quaint and unassuming, and yet in one square mile,…
there are more treasures than the "black diamonds" of coal that run in her veins. Discovery of the Mammoth Vein of anthracite in the 1860s brought tens of thousands of immigrants to work the local mines; in turn, they brought their cultures and dreams of a better life in America. Within a generation, rapidly increasing population created the "Most Congested Square Mile in the United States." Later, a shift from coal mine to Main Street fashioned recognition for retail fineries, along with distinction as the "City of Churches." At the center of the Molly Maguire troubles of the 1870s and the 1902 coal strike that changed the power of the presidency, Shenandoah has long been recognized for defiance and determination. Mining disasters, financial adversity, and ruinous fires scarred memories of decades of prominence; however, Shenandoah's spirit has endured through the last 150 years.The Beach Ball Classic: Premier High School Hoops on the Grand Strand (Sports)
By John Rhodes, Ian Guerin. 2016
The Beach Ball Classic began in 1981 as a modest avenue for coach Dan D'Antoni to attract the attention of…
college scouts. It blossomed into one of the premier prep basketball tournaments in the nation. From Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter to Roy Williams, some of the game's biggest stars and most colorful coaches have taken part. They also brought attention to an area generally overlooked in terms of high school sports. With calculated moves, a few risky decisions and nationwide sporting trends, the tournament continued to expand its influence. Author Ian Guerin recounts the famous faces, upcoming stars and business acumen that have made the Classic an iconic event for thirty-five years.New Horizons for Asian Museums and Museology
By Naoko Sonoda. 2016
This book presents up-to-date information about museums and museology in present-day Asia, focusing on Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Asian…
countries today have developed or are developing their own museology and museums, which are not simple copies of European or North American models. This book provides readers with carefully chosen examples of museum activities for example, exhibition and sharing information, database construction, access to and conservation of museum collections, relationships between museums and local communities, and international cooperation in the field of cultural heritage. Readers are expected to include museum professionals and museology students. Throughout the course of this book, the reader will understand that a museum is not only a place for collecting, representing, and preserving cultural heritage but also plays a fundamental role in community development. This book is highly recommended to readers who seek a worldwide vision of museum studies. The peer-reviewed chapters in this volume are written versions of the lectures delivered by selected speakers at the international symposium "New Horizons for Asian Museums and Museology" held in February 2015 at the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan. "Lenox (Images of America)
By Lenox Library Association. 2016
As he rode through mid-19th-century Lenox, Massachusetts, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "Perfect almost to a miracle." Founded in 1767,…
Lenox had sent Gen. John Paterson riding to the Revolutionary War 75 years earlier. Named the Shire Town because of its central Berkshires location, Lenox was home to the county courts. In the east, the center of a bustling glassworks and ironworks industry was situated by the Housatonic River. In the west, rolling hills and sparkling waters drew the literary lights to the New England Lake District. When the county seat moved to Pittsfield, fears of a local economic decline were unfounded with the arrival of the Gilded Age millionaires, who built stately seasonal estates with the charmingly ironic nickname of cottage. The exodus of the millionaires saw Lenox reinvent itself as a cultural and educational center, with private schools and performing arts organizations, Tanglewood chief among them, located on former estates. Change may come to Lenox again, but one constant remains throughout these past 250 years: its scenic beauty.Sedalia: Sedalia, Mo 1856-1970 (Images of Modern America)
By Rebecca Carr Imhauser. 2013
Sedalia has garnered a number of names since its founding in 1860, including Queen of the Prairie and the State…
Fair City. The trend toward positive designations vanished in the 1930s along with Sedalia's economic base. Life magazine declared Sedalia the city second hardest hit by the Depression in the United States. The postwar prosperity of the 1950s brought new life to Sedalia. Manufacturing and industry sprang up, setting the stage for future industrial development. At the same time, businesses and services began moving outside the downtown core. Shopping malls and motels converted Broadway Boulevard, once a residential street for Sedalia's elite, into a major highway. The silence of the railroad shops and the sounds of the Ozark Music Festival and Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival were other hallmarks of the era. Through more than 160 pictures, many previously unpublished, this book celebrates Sedalia's most memorable landmarks and pivotal events from 1950 to present.