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Bone Cage
By Catherine Banks. 2008
Jamie is twenty-two years old and works twelve-hour shifts operating a wood processor, clear-cutting for pulp. At the end of…
each shift, he walks through the destruction he has created looking for injured birds and animals and rescues those he can. Jamie's desire to escape this world is thwarted by his fear of leaving the place where he has some status.Bone Cage examines how young people in rural communities, employed in the destruction of the environment they love, treat the people they love at the end of their shift. Bone Cage is about the difficulty in growing and hanging on to dreams in a world where dreams are seen as impractical or weak. It is funny. It is tragic. It is about different kinds of escaping. It is about a soul trapped in its own rib cage, a cage of bone, a Bone Cage.Crafty Crooks & Conmen
By Nigel Blundell, Sue Blackhall. 2009
From Clifford Irving and his Howard Hughes hoax to the great imposter Frank &“Catch Me if You Can&” Abagnale—a fascinating…
history of the art of the con. They&’re shrewd, cunning, devious—and charmingly trustworthy. While the criminal exploits of these tricksters, frauds, and swindlers can&’t be condoned, it&’s near-impossible not to be awed by their audacity and ingenuity. Take Victor Lustig, the &“Bouncing Czech&” who sold the Eiffel Tower—twice; John Stonehouse, a philandering politician who faked his own death to escape his sins; the impotence cure of the bizarre Dr. John Brinkley who transplanted goat testicles on gullible men; embarrassingly successful Goldman Sachs embezzler Joyti De-Laurey; or Robert Hendy-Freegard, a car salesman and serial seducer who convinced scores of women he was an MI5 agent. Here, too, are the exploits of a &“friend of the stars&” who infiltrated a royal castle; a fake Scots &“laird&” who operated from the heart of Scotland Yard; evangelists who fell from grace; and other pilferers, parasites, artful dodgers, charming bastards, femme fatales, big fat liars, and grand masters of dishonorable mention.The Diamond Eye: A Novel
By Kate Quinn. 2022
New York Times BestsellerThe bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm…
who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper—a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC—until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.The True Friend: English translation of Il vero amico
By Carlo Goldoni. 2009
True to Goldoni's mixture of comic wit and farce, the plot is a breathtakingly fast succession of twists and turns…
which only unravel in the final lines with a surprise ending.Two friends are in love with the same young woman. Neither wants to place their friendship in jeopardy. How can love triumph without breaking off their friendship? Goldoni explores the conflicts brought about when Florindo has to choose between Lelio, his best friend, and Rosaura, his friend's fiancée. Added to this conundrum are the issues of whether Ottavio, the old miser, will provide a dowry and the mature Beatrice's unashamed incessant pursuit of Florindo.The play is set in Bologna in Lelio's house. Florindo is a guest along with his faithful manservant. From the opening of the play, Florindo seeks to return home to Venice in order not to damage his friend's relationship. However, his departure is obstructed by his hosts, leading to one complication after another.From the beginning, the plot is intense and fast-moving with inversions fed into the action in quick succession. This creates suspense which continues throughout the play as potential marriage partners are switched back and forth until the very ending when the audience finally discovers what the main characters' destiny will be. Will love or friendship prevail?The Venetian element is brought into this play through Florindo and his manservant, both Venetians. Apart from these two characters, all the others are portrayed as self-seeking, selfish and sly - whether servants or masters. The tension is kept at a constantly high level by the struggles between the characters. These struggles are not just brought about through love and friendship but are also generational and social. Furthermore, there is the added complication in the contrast of the characters' ideas of reality as they deceive one another. This creates dramatic irony and humour as the audience know more than any of the characters on stage.The Moth
By George Dawes Green, Adam Gopnik, Catherine Burns. 2013
For the first time in print, celebrated storytelling phenomenon The Moth presents fifty spellbinding, soul-bearing stories selected from their extensive…
archive (fifteen-plus years and 10,000-plus stories strong). Inspired by friends telling stories on a porch, The Moth was born in small-town Georgia, garnered a cult following in New York City, and then rose to national acclaim with the wildly popular podcast and Peabody Award-winning weekly public radio show The Moth Radio Hour.Stories include: writer Malcolm Gladwell's wedding toast gone horribly awry; legendary rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' obsession with a Sarah McLachlan song; poker champion Annie Duke's two-million-dollar hand; and A. E. Hotchner's death-defying stint in a bullring . . . with his friend Ernest Hemingway. Read about the panic of former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart when he misses Air Force One after a hard night of drinking in Moscow, and Dr. George Lombardi's fight to save Mother Teresa's life.This will be a beloved read for existing Moth enthusiasts, fans of the featured storytellers, and all who savor well-told, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories.The Moth
By The Moth, Catherine Burns, Adam Gopnik, George Dawes Green. 2013
The first collection from celebrated storytelling phenomenon The Moth presents fifty spellbinding, soul-bearing stories selected from their extensive archive. With…
tales from writer Malcolm Gladwell's wedding toast gone horribly awry; legendary rapper Darryl "DMC" McDaniels' obsession with a Sarah McLachlan song; poker champion Annie Duke's two million-dollar hand; and A. E. Hotchner's death-defying stint in a bullring . . . with his friend Ernest Hemingway. Read about the panic of former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart when he misses Air Force One after a hard night of drinking in Moscow, and Dr. George Lombardi's fight to save Mother Teresa's life. Inspired by friends telling stories on a porch, The Moth was born in small-town Georgia, garnered a cult following in New York City, and then rose to national acclaim with the wildly popular podcast and Peabody Award-winning weekly public radio show The Moth Radio Hour. A beloved read for Moth enthusiasts and all who savor well-told, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories.Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
By Kathleen DuVal. 2024
A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story…
from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today&“A feat of both scholarship and storytelling.&”—Claudio Saunt, author of Unworthy RepublicLong before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed.A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, moving away from rather than toward urbanization. From this urban past, egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies spread across North America. So, when Europeans showed up in the sixteenth century, they encountered societies they did not understand—those having developed differently from their own—and whose power they often underestimated.For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. In Native Nations, we see how Mohawks closely controlled trade with the Dutch—and influenced global markets—and how Quapaws manipulated French colonists. Power dynamics shifted after the American Revolution, but Indigenous people continued to command much of the continent&’s land and resources. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa forged new alliances and encouraged a controversial new definition of Native identity to attempt to wall off U.S. ambitions. The Cherokees created institutions to assert their sovereignty on the global stage, and the Kiowas used their power in the west to regulate the passage of white settlers across their territory.In this important addition to the growing tradition of North American history centered on Indigenous nations, Kathleen DuVal shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant—and will continue far into the future.Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness
By Edited by Renée Fleming. 2024
"This book inspires us all to immerse ourselves in the vast potential of music and other creative arts to heal our…
wounds, sharpen our minds, enliven our bodies, and restore our broken connections.&” —Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the ScoreWorld-renowned soprano and arts/health advocate Renée Fleming curates a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and healthcare providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experienceChapters include: Ann Patchett, &“How to Fall in Love with Opera&” Yo-Yo Ma, &“Nature, Culture, and Healing&”Aniruddh D. Patel, &“Musicality, Evolution, and Animal Responses to Music&”Richard Powers, &“The Parting Glass"Daniel J. Levitin, &“What Does It Mean to be Musical?&” Anna Deavere Smith, &“Healing Arts&” Rosanne Cash, &“Rabbit Hole&” Rhiannon Giddens, &“How Music Shows Us What It Means to Be Human&”Robert Zatorre, &“Musical Enjoyment and the Reward Circuits of the Brain&”Concetta Tomaino, &“Music and Memory&”A compelling and growing body of research has shown music and arts therapies to be effective tools for addressing a widening array of conditions, from providing pain relief andalleviating anxiety and depression to regaining speech after stroke or traumatic brain injury, and improving mobility for people with disorders that include Parkinson&’s disease and MS.In Music and Mind Renée Fleming draws upon her own experience as an advocate to showcase the breadth of this booming field, inviting leading experts to share their discoveries. In addition to describing therapeutic benefits, the book explores evolution, brain function, childhood development, and technology as applied to arts and health.Much of this area of study is relatively new, made possible by recent advances in brain imaging, and supported by theNational Institutes of Health, major hospitals, and universities. This work is sparking an explosion of public interest in the arts and health sector.Fleming has presented on this material in over fifty cities across North America, Europe, and Asia, collaborating with leading researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners. With essays from notable musicians, writers, and artists, as well as leading neuroscientists, Music and Mind is a groundbreaking book, the perfect introduction and overview of this exciting new field.Joy, Despair, Illusion, Dreams: Twenty Plays from the Nō Tradition
By Royall Tyler. 2024
Nō drama, which integrates speech, song, dance, music, mask, and costume into a distinctive art form, is among Japan’s most…
revered cultural traditions. It gained popularity in the fourteenth century, when the actor and playwright Zeami (1363–1443) drew the favor of the shogun with his theatrical innovations. Nō’s intricacies and highly stylized conventions continue to attract Japanese and Western appreciation, and a repertoire of some 250 plays is performed today.Joy, Despair, Illusion, Dreams presents a selection of Nō plays, magnificently rendered in English by Royall Tyler, an eminent scholar and translator of classical Japanese literature. It includes both canonical and lesser-known works of Zeami’s, as well as anonymous works. Several are outside the established repertoire, offering glimpses of Nō before the tradition was codified in the Edo period, and have not previously been translated into English. An introduction describes the structure, formal features, and performance conventions of Nō plays, and brief essays precede each work. Through Tyler’s authoritative scholarship and keen ear for the subtlety and beauty of the language, Joy, Despair, Illusion, Dreams gives Anglophone readers access to the complex art of Nō.The Black Lace Book of Women's Sexual Fantasies reveals the most private thoughts of hundreds of women. Here are sexual…
fantasies which on first sight appear shocking or bizarre - such as the bank clerk who wants to be a vampire and the nanny with a passion for Darth Vader.Kerri Sharp investigates the recurrent themes in female fantasies and the cultural influences that have determined them: from fairy stories to cult TV; from fetish fashion to historical novels.The Birds and Other Plays
By Aristophanes. 1978
The plays in this volume all contain Aristophanes' trademark bawdy comedy and dazzling verbal agility. In THE BIRDS, two frustrated…
Athenians join the birds to build the utopian city of 'Much Cuckoo in the Clouds'. THE KNIGHTS is a venomous satire on Cleon, a prominent Athenian demagogue, while THE ASSEMBLY WOMEN deals with the battle of the sexes as the women of Athens infiltrate the all-male Assembly in disguise. The lengthy conflict with Sparta is the subject of PEACE, inspired by the hope of a settlement in 421 BC, and WEALTH reflects on the economic catastrophe that hit Athens after the war.Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Sigmund Freud. 1948
A collection of some of Freud's most famous essays, including ON THE INTRODUCTION OF NARCISSISM; REMEMBERING, REPEATING AND WORKING THROUGH;…
BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE; THE EGO AND THE ID and INHIBITION, SYMPTOM AND FEAR.The Beggar's Opera
By John Gay. 1986
The tale of Peachum, thief-taker and informer, conspiring to send the dashing and promiscuous highwayman Macheath to the gallows, became…
the theatrical sensation of the eighteenth century.In THE BEGGAR'S OPERA, John Gay turned conventions of Italian opera riotously upside-down, instead using traditional popular ballads and street tunes, while also indulging in political satire at the expense of the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Gay's highly original depiction of the thieves, informers, prostitutes and highwaymen thronging the slums and prisons of the corrupt London underworld proved brilliantly successful in exposing the dark side of a corrupt and jaded society.Because I am a Girl
By Deborah Moggach, Irvine Welsh, Joanne Harris, Kathy Lette, Marie Phillips, Tim Butcher, Xiaolu Guo. 2010
Because I am a girl I am less likely to go to school Because I am a girl I am…
more likely to suffer from malnutritionBecause I am a girl I am more likely to suffer violence in the homeBecause I am a girl I am more likely to marry and start a family before I reach my twenties.Eight authors have visited eight different countries and spoken to young women and girls about their lives, struggles and hopes. The result is an extraordinary collection of writings about prejudice, abuse, and neglect, but also about courage, resilience and changing attitudes.Proceeds from sales of this book will go to PLAN, one of the world's largest child-centered community development organisations.The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro
By Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais. 1964
A French courtier, secret agent, libertine and adventurer, Beaumarchais (1732-99) was also author of two sparkling plays about the scoundrelly…
valet Figaro - triumphant successes that were used as the basis of operas by Mozart and Rossini. A highly engaging comedy of intrigue, The Barber of Seville portrays the resourceful Figaro foiling a jealous old man's attempts to keep his beautiful ward from her lover. And The Marriage of Figaro - condemned by Louis XVI for its daring satire of nobility and privilege - depicts a master and servant set in opposition by their desire for the same woman. With characteristic lightness of touch, Beaumarchais created an audacious farce of disguise and mistaken identity that balances wit, frivolity and seriousness in equal measure.Back to Methuselah
By George Bernard Shaw. 1949
Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch) is a 1921 series of five plays and a preface by George Bernard Shaw.…
The five plays are:In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden); The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day; The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170; Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000; As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D. 31,920 The plays were published with a preface titled The Infidel Half Century, and first performed in 1922 by the New York Theatre Guild at the Garrick Theatre.The Bacchae and Other Plays
By Euripides. 2005
Through their sheer range, daring innovation, flawed but eloquent characters and intriguing plots, the plays of Euripides have shocked and…
stimulated audiences since the fifth century BC. Phoenician Women portrays the rival sons of King Oedipus and their mother's doomed attempts at reconciliation, while Orestes shows a son ravaged with guilt after the vengeful murder of his mother. In the Bacchae, a king mistreats a newcomer to his land, little knowing that he is the god Dionysus disguised as a mortal, while in Iphigenia at Aulis, the Greek leaders take the horrific decision to sacrifice a princess to gain favour from the gods in their mission to Troy. Finally, the Rhesus depicts a world of espionage between the warring Greek and Trojan camps.As You Like It
By William Shakespeare. 1968
'All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players'Rosalind, banished by her cruel uncle, travels secretly…
to the Forest of Arden, where her exiled father holds court. There, dressed as a boy to avoid discovery, she encounters the man she loves - now a fellow exile - and resolves to remain in disguise to test his feelings for her. One of Shakespeare's most sunny, fast-paced and accessible comedies, As You Like It is an exuberant combination of concealed identities and verbal jousting, burlesque and pastoral dream, reconciliations and multiple weddings.Used and Recommended by the National TheatreGeneral Editor Stanley WellsEdited by H. J. Oliver Introduction by Katherine Duncan-JonesAreopagitica and Other Writings
By John Milton. 2014
John Milton was celebrated and denounced in his own time both as a poet and as a polemicist. Today he…
is remembered first and foremost for his poetry, but his great epic Paradise Lost was published very late in his life, in 1667, and in his own time most readers more readily recognised Milton as a writer of prose. This superbly annotated new book is an authoritative edition of Milton's major prose works, including Of Education, The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and the Divorce tracts, as well as the famous 1644 polemical tract on the opposing licensing and censorship, Areopagitica.An Apology for Raymond Sebond
By Michel Montaigne. 1993
An Apology for Raymond Sebond is widely regarded as the greatest of Montaigne's essays: a supremely eloquent expression of Christian…
scepticism. An empassioned defence of Sebond's fifteenth-century treatise on natural theology, it was inspired by the deep crisis of personal melancholy that followed the death of Montaigne's own father in 1568, and explores contemporary Christianity in prose that is witty and frequently damning. As he searches for the true meaning of faith, Montaigne is heavily critical of the arrogant tendency of mankind to create God in its own image, and offers his personal reflections on the true role of man, the need to eschew personal arrogance, and the vital importance of faith if we are to understand our place in the universe. Wise, perceptive and remarkably informed, this is one of the true masterpieces of the essay form.