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Murdered Midas: a millionaire, his gold mine, and a strange death on an island paradise /
By Charlotte Gray. 2019
On an island paradise in 1943, Sir Harry Oakes, gold mining tycoon, philanthropist and "richest man in the Empire," was…
murdered. The news of his death surged across the English-speaking world, from London, the Imperial centre, to the remote Canadian mining town of Kirkland Lake, in the Northern Ontario bush. The murder became celebrated as "the crime of the century." The layers of mystery deepened as the involvement of Oakes' son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny, came quickly to be questioned, as did the odd machinations of the Governor of the Bahamas, the former King Edward VIII. Despite a sensational trial, no murderer was ever convicted. Rumours were unrelenting about Oakes' missing fortune, and fascination with the Oakes story has persisted for decades. Award-winning biographer and popular historian Charlotte Gray explores, for the first time, the life of the man behind the scandal, a man who was both reviled and admired - from his early, hardscrabble days of mining exploration, to his explosion of wealth, to his grandiose gestures of philanthropy. And Gray brings fresh eyes to the bungled investigation and shocking trial in the remote colonial island streets, proposing an overlooked suspect in this long cold case. 2019.Aloha Wanderwell: The Border-Smashing, Record-Setting Life of the World's Youngest Explorer
By Christian Fink-Jensen, Randolph Eustace-Walden. 2016
In 1922, a 15-year-old girl, fed up with life in a French convent school, answered an ad for a travelling…
secretary. Tall, blonde, and swaggering with confidence, she might have passed for twenty. She also knew what she wanted: to become the first female to drive around the world. Her name was Aloha Wanderwell. Aloha's mission was foolhardy in the extreme. Drivable roads were scarce and cars were alien to much of the world. The Wanderwell Expedition created a specially modified Model T Ford for the journey that featured gun scabbards and a sloped back that could fold out to become a darkroom. All that remained was for Aloha to learn how to drive. Aloha became known around the globe. She was photographed in front of the Eiffel Tower, parked on the back of the Sphinx, firing mortars in China, and smiling at a tickertape parade in Detroit. By the age of 25, she had become a pilot, a film star, an ambassador for world peace, and the centrepiece of one of the biggest unsolved murder mysteries in California history. Her story defied belief, but it was true. Every bit of it. Except for her name. The American Aloha Wanderwell was, in reality, the Canadian Idris Hall. Drawing upon Aloha's diaries and travel logs, as well as films, photographs, newspaper accounts, and previously classified government documents, Aloha Wanderwell reveals the astonishing story of one of the greatest — and most outrageous — explorers of the 1920s.The Whisper on the Night Wind: The True History of a Wilderness Legend
By Adam Shoalts. 2021
NATIONAL BESTSELLERSpellbinding adventure from Canada's most beloved modern-day explorer.Traverspine is not a place you will find on most maps. A…
century ago, it stood near the foothills of the remote Mealy Mountains in central Labrador. Today it is an abandoned ghost town, almost all trace of it swallowed up by dark spruce woods that cloak millions of acres.In the early 1900s, this isolated little settlement was the scene of an extraordinary haunting by large creatures none could identify. Strange tracks were found in the woods. Unearthly cries were heard in the night. Sled dogs went missing. Children reported being stalked by a terrifying grinning animal. Families slept with cabin doors barred and axes and guns at their bedsides.Tales of things that "go bump in the night" are part of the folklore of the wilderness, told and retold around countless campfires down through the ages. Most are easily dismissed by skeptics. But what happened at Traverspine a hundred years ago was different. The eye-witness accounts were detailed, and those who reported them included no less than three medical doctors and a wildlife biologist.Something really did emerge from the wilderness to haunt the little settlement of Traverspine. Adam Shoalts, decorated modern-day explorer and an expert on wilderness folklore, picks up the trail from a century ago and sets off into the Labrador wild to investigate the tale. It is a spine-tingling adventure, straight from a land steeped in legends and lore, where Vikings wandered a thousand years ago and wolves and bears still roam free.In delving into the dark corners of Canada's wild, The Whisper on the Night Wind combines folklore, history, and adventure into a fascinating saga of exploration.The Miracle of Mindfulness, Gift Edition
By Thich Nhat Hanh. 1976
A new gift edition of the classic guide to meditation and mindfulness, featuring archival photography and beautiful calligraphy by Thich…
Nhat HanhSince its publication in 1975, The Miracle of Mindfulness has been cherished by generations of readers for its eloquent and useful introduction to the practice of meditation. Readers interested in an introduction to Buddhist thought, as well as those seeking to learn about mindfulness and stress reduction, continue to look to Thich Nhat Hanh's classic work for guidance and inspiration. This new hardcover gift edition features elegant calligraphic illustrations by Thich Nhat Hanh, as well as a dozen photographs spanning his early days as a peace activist to his life in Plum Village, a spiritual community that he founded in France. Also included in this edition is a historical chronology of Thich Nhat Hanh's life and work, and a revised afterword by Jim Forest.Being Ultimately Perfect
By Kenting Ta Chamgon Situpa. 2011
A compilation of scholarly and insightful discourses that provides a clear and elegant introduction to the very essence of the…
Buddhist perspective In Being Ultimately Perfect the 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa explains that all teachings of the Buddha are directed towards making our lives meaningful and purposeful apart from taming the mind and realizing the essence of all dharma He also contends that enlightenment is not d che the result of causes or conditions it is beyond that This volume will help you gain a deep understanding of varied topics such as the purpose of life and the practice of dharma in everyday life The author describes the relationship among contentment stress and greed and talks about the nature of the mind limitlessness and primordial wisdom The book also presents a series of edifying dialogues with several students and is reader-friendly comprehensive and remarkably easy to understandQuintessential Dzogchen: Confusion Dawns as Wisdom
By Erik Pema Kunsang, Marcia Binder Schmidt, Tulku Urgyen. 2006
This hands-on guidebook adapts the Dzogchen path for the modern student while adhering to traditional principles. The book is based…
on the direct, accessible style of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and offers a thorough grounding in how to study, contemplate, and meditate in this rich spiritual environment. Guided by an introductory teaching by Rinpoche, as well as 42 selected teachings from great Dzogchen masters, readers learn to access the pure, clear awareness that lies hidden under the constant flow of anxious thoughts.From the Trade Paperback edition.Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice
By Jeffrey Hopkins, Gareth Sparham, Je Tsongkhapa. 2005
Tantra, or Vajrayana, Buddhism is a set of esoteric practices that involve mantra recitation and complex visualizations. Tantra constitutes the…
fabric of a Tibetan Buddhist's daily practice, but no practice of tantra can be successful without adherence to the tantric precepts, the highest of three complementary sets of vows. Tsongkhapa is perhaps the greatest philosopher ever produced by Tibet's Buddhist culture, and this book is a translation of his explanation of the tantric precepts.Becoming Bodhisattvas: A Guidebook for Compassionate Action
By Pema Chodron. 2005
Best-selling American Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön presents a friendly and encouraging guide to spiritual practice for all those who want…
to take up the path of the bodhisattva--one who aspires to live life with courage, generosity, patience, fearlessness, and compassion.The Way of the Bodhisattva has long been treasured as an indispensable guide to enlightened living, offering a window into the greatest potential within us all. Written in the eighth century by the scholar and saint Shantideva, it presents a comprehensive view of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition’s highest ideal—to commit oneself to the life of a bodhisattva warrior, a person who is wholeheartedly dedicated to the freedom and common good of all beings. And it has inspired many of the tradition’s greatest teachers, providing a remarkable source of insight on the means by which we may heal ourselves and our troubled world. These essential teachings present the core of the Buddhist path, from cultivating deep-seated confidence to infusing one’s life with selflessness, joyfulness, kindness, and compassion. Pema Chödrön here invites you to journey more deeply into this liberating way of life, presenting Shantideva’s text verse-by-verse and offering both illuminating stories and practical exercises to enrich the text and bring its timeless teachings to life in our world today.Ngondro for Our Current Day: A Short Ngondro Practice and its Instructions
By Ogyen Trinley Dorje. 0017
In this succinct teaching presented in 2006 by His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa in Bodhgaya, India, students are guided…
through a shortened version of the preliminaries for mahamudra practice, which His Holiness composed with the aim of benefiting practitioners from developed countries who often lead busy lives. The complete practice, in Brief Recitations, is written in English, Tibetan, and Tibetan transliteration, and complete instructions for the Four Special Preliminaries are provided, with the exception of guru yoga. His Holiness guides students through the details of each practice, including the visualizations of Refuge, Vajrasattva purification, and Mandala offerings, often punctuated with his good humor. A summary of the practice sequences and a list of precepts of the refuge vow are also included in two appendices.A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador
By Mina Hubbard. 2004
The fascinating story of the first white person to cross Labrador In 1905 Mina Benson Hubbard became the first white…
person to cross Labrador, documenting her travels in the classic A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador. This reissue, edited and fully annotated by Sherrill Grace, makes the complete work available for the first time since the original 1908 publication and features an introduction that situates Hubbard's writing in the context of her life and times, making clear how unusual - and unexpected - it was for a woman to undertake such an expedition, let alone going on to write and lecture about it.The Victorious Teen: Buddhist Advice for Dealing with What Life Throws at You
By Daisaku Ikeda. 2016
Life throws a lot at you. . . . Your grades aren’t the best, your friend just turned her back…
on you, your parents are always on your case, your teachers don’t understand what you’re going through, the world is falling apart, and you don’t know what to do about it. Whatever is freaking you out, you have what it takes to handle it. Not only handle it but thrive because of it, becoming stronger than ever. For decades, SGI President Ikeda has dedicated his life to young people, showing millions how Buddhist wisdom can help them through their struggles. His belief in your intelligence, talent, and passion is boundless, as he knows you hold the keys to humanity’s future. The Victorious Teen pulls together hundreds of gems of wisdom that will move you, inspire you, and challenge you. This one-of-a-kind survival guide will provide the tools for you to begin building the life you want. When you’re ready to take control of your life, find new ways to face your problems, and emerge victorious, this book is for you.No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale Of Love And Wandering
By Clara Bensen. 2016
One Dress, Three Weeks, Eight Countries--Zero Baggage Newly recovered from a quarter-life meltdown, Clara Bensen decided to test her comeback…
by signing up for an online dating account. She never expected to meet Jeff, a wildly energetic university professor with a reputation for bucking convention. They barely know each other’s last names when they agree to set out on a risky travel experiment spanning eight countries and three weeks. The catch? No hotel reservations, no plans, and best of all, no baggage. Clara’s story will resonate with adventurers and homebodies alike--it’s at once a romance, a travelogue, and a bright modern take on the age-old questions: How do you find the courage to explore beyond your comfort zone? Can you love someone without the need for labels and commitment? Is it possible to truly leave your baggage behind?With a polished walking stick and neatly pressed trousers, Richard Halliburton served as an intrepid globetrotting guide for millions of…
Americans in the 1920s and '30s. Readers waited with bated breath for each new article and book he wrote. During his career, Halliburton climbed the Matterhorn, nearly fell out of his plane while shooting the first aerial photographs of Mt. Everest, and became the first person to swim the Panama Canal. With his matinee idol looks, the Tennessee native was a media darling in an era of optimism and increased social openness. But as the Great Depression and looming war pushed America toward social conservatism, Halliburton more actively worked to hide his homosexuality, burnishing his image as a masculine trailblazer. As chronicled in American Daredevil, Halliburton harnessed the media of his day to gain and maintain a widespread following long before our age of the 24-hour news cycle, and thus became the first celebrity adventure journalist. And during the darkest hours of the Great Depression, Halliburton did something remarkable: he inspired generations of authors, journalists, and everyday people who dreamt of fame and glory to explore the world.Memoirs of a Buccaneer: Dampier's New Voyage Round the World, 1697
By William Dampier. 1968
It was William Dampier's passion to see the world that turned him into a buccaneer. He possessed remarkable powers of…
observation and analysis, and his life as a seventeenth-century navigator aboard pirate and privateering ships is brilliantly detailed in his journal. Throughout his travels of Central and South America and the East Indies, Dampier provides riveting accounts of sea battles against Spanish treasure ships, as well as pirate life, lore, and customs. Originally published in 1697 as the New Voyage, his journal became an instant success, and has been read ever since as one of the greatest travel and adventure accounts ever written.But Memoirs of a Buccaneer is far more than historical adventure. Dampier was a man of intelligence and education with a strong naturalist's urge, and his book quickly became a vital source of information on the geology, biology, zoology, and peoples of the lands he visited. His descriptions of the West Indian manatee, booby birds, cacao, and mangrove trees--flora and fauna never before heard of in England and the Continent--are incredibly accurate. His notes on the produce of Guam and Mindanao--coconuts, vanilla beans, bananas, breadfruit, and more--exerted a powerful influence on Britain's explorations and colonizations. And his depictions of Central America's Mosquito Indians and the natives of Mindanao proved to be highly reliable.The influence of this classic book on the work of later travelers is incalculable, leading writers such as Defoe, Swift, and Coleridge to borrow both facts and literary style from it. It continues to inspire readers today.Captain Phil Harris: The Legendary Crab Fisherman, Our Hero, Our Dad
By Steve Springer, Josh Harris, Jake Harris, Blake Chavez. 2013
The electrifying behind-the-scenes story of the late Deadliest Catch star, from his own two sons.Prior to his untimely death in…
2010, Captain Phil Harris was a star of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, the hit show that follows the exhilarating lives of Alaskan crab fishermen as they brave the vicious Bering Sea. He led his crew through hurricane-force winds and fourstory- high waves, hauling in millions of pounds of crab and raking in millions of dollars. Phil worked hard, but he played even harder. His life on shore--from his rebellious days to his tempestuous marriages, from his addictive habits to his fundamental American success story--could serve as a reality show in itself. He lived his life at Mach speed: the blitz of crab season, the six-figure paydays, the thunderous motorcycles, and the drug-fueled parties. High-speed chases and all-night blackjack binges were par for the course. But as wild as Phil could be, he was always openhearted and infectiously friendly. He was a devoted friend, a loving father, a steadfast captain, and a hero to audiences across America and around the world. His death in 2010, the result of stroke and heart failure at the age of fifty-three, left a hole in the hearts of millions. In this exclusive authorized biography, Phil's two surviving sons, Josh and Jake Harris, team up with bestselling author Steve Springer and coauthor Blake Chavez to share the thrilling story of Phil's remarkable life.Wisdom of the Buddha: The Unabridged Dhammapada (Dover Thrift Editions Ser.)
By F. Max Müller. 2000
These ancient verses offer a compelling introduction to Buddhist thought, revealing the Four Truths -- concerning the nature of the…
world and our lot in it -- and the Eightfold Path to enlightenment, the means by which to overcome the essential suffering revealed by the Four Truths as the essence of life.Edmund Booth: Deaf Pioneer
By Harry G. Lang. 2004
Edmund Booth was born in 1810 and died in 1905, and during the 94 years of his life, he epitomized…
virtually everything that characterized an American legend of that century. In his prime, Booth stood 6 feet, 3 inches tall, weighed in at 210 pounds, and wore a long, full beard. He taught school in Hartford, CT, then followed his wife-to-be Mary Ann Walworth west to Anamosa, Iowa, where in 1840, he built the area's first frame house. He pulled up stakes nine years later to travel the Overland Trail on his way to join the California Gold Rush. After he returned to Iowa in 1854, he became the editor of the Anamosa Eureka, the local newspaper. Edmund Booth fit perfectly the mold of the ingenious pioneer of 19th-century America, except for one unusual difference -- he was deaf. Edmund Booth: Deaf Pioneer follows the amazing career of this American original and his equally amazing wife in fascinating detail. Author Harry G. Lang vividly portrays Booth and his wife by drawing from a remarkable array of original material. A prolific writer, Booth corresponded with his fiancé from the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, and he kept a journal during his days on the California trail, parts of which have been reproduced here. He also wrote an autobiographical essay when he was 75, and his many newspaper articles through the years bore first-hand witness to the history of his times, from the Civil War to the advent of the 20th century. Edmund Booth depicts a larger-than-life man in larger-than-life times, but perhaps its greatest contribution derives from its narrative about pioneer days as seen through Deaf eyes. Booth became a respected senior statesman of the American Deaf community, and blended with his stories of the era's events are anecdotes and issues vital to Deaf people and their families. His story proves again that extraordinary people vary in many ways, but they often possess a common motive in acting to enhance their own communities.A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life
By Lama Marut. 2012
Start a Revolution, Incite Happiness! Delivered with fearless candor and disarming humor, Lama Marut introduces a simple set of exercises…
that offers a revolutionary yet wholly practical approach to creating and sustaining happiness in a complex modern age. Integrating the ancient teachings of Tibetan Buddhism into the everyday grind, A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life presents a fresh take on our quest for a joyful existence. Each chapter includes an action plan designed to elicit true happiness and forge a clear path toward fulfillment. You'll learn how to: * transform problems into opportunities; * set yourself free from fear and anxiety; * unburden yourself of past resentment; * create an action plan for true happiness. Further explore the concepts of a spiritual renegade lifestyle through Microsoft Tags within this book, which link to online videos of Lama Marut discussing each of his concepts firsthand. This book is bound to disrupt your suffering, disturb your dissatisfaction, and elicit a deep-seated contentment. Happiness is in your hands.The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst: The Strange Last Voyage Of Donald Crowhurst (Sailmate Ser.)
By Ron Hall, Nicholas Tomalin. 2003
In early 1968, desperate entrepreneur Donald Crowhurst was trying to sell a nautical navigation device he had developed when he…
saw that the Sunday Times would be sponsoring the Golden Globe Race, the first ever solo, round-the-world sailing competition. An avid amateur sailor, Crowhurst sensed a marketing opportunity and shocked the world by entering the competition using an untested trimaran of his own design. Shock soon turned to amazement when he quickly took the lead, checking in by radio message from locations far ahead of his seasoned competitors.But on July 10, 1969, roughly eight months after he had sailed from England--and less than two weeks from his expected triumphant return--his wife was informed that his boat, the Teignmouth Electron, had been discovered drifting quietly, abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Crowhurst was missing, assumed drowned. How did he come to such an end when his race had begun with such incredible promise?In this masterpiece of investigative journalism, Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall reconstruct one of the greatest modern stories of one man's descent into self-delusion, public deception, and madness. Based on in-depth interviews with Crowhurst's family and friends, combined with gripping excerpts from his logbooks that revealed (among other things) he had been falsifying his locations all along, Tomalin and Hall paint an unforgettable, haunting portrait of a complex, deeply troubled man and his final fateful journey.Caminando el Amazonas
By Ed Stafford. 2011
La apasionante narración del histórico recorrido de un hombre a lo largo de todo el Amazonas--y a través del medio…
ambiente de mayor diversidad biológica del planeta.En abril del 2008, Ed Stafford inició su trayecto para convertirse en el primer hombre en caminar por todo lo largo del Amazonas. Comenzó en la costa pacífica del Perú, y cruzó la cordillera de los Andes para encontrar la fuente oficial del río. Su viaje lo condujo a través de partes de Colombia y por medio del Brasil, mientras burlaba animales peligrosos e indígenas de machete en ristre, al tiempo que sufría lesiones, se enfrentaba al clima y confrontaba sus propios temores y dudas.Pero Stafford no se dio por vencido. En su agotador viaje de 860 días y más de 4,000 millas, Stafford fue testigo directo de la devastación de la deforestación selvática, de la presión con que viven las tribus a causa de la pérdida de su medio ambiente natural, así como de la naturaleza en su manifestación más genuina y cruda. Caminando el Amazonas, asombroso de principio a fin, es tan apasionante como los libros de Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer y David Grann. Caminando el Amazonas es la historia inolvidable de una aventura sin precedente.