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The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality
By William Egginton. 2023
The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • A poet, a physicist, and a philosopher explored the greatest enigmas in…
the universe—the nature of free will, the strange fabric of the cosmos, the true limits of the mind—and each in their own way uncovered a revelatory truth about our place in the world&“[A] mind-expanding book. . . . Elegantly written.&” —The New York Times Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges was madly in love when his life was shattered by painful heartbreak. But the breakdown that followed illuminated an incontrovertible truth—that love is necessarily imbued with loss, that the one doesn&’t exist without the other. German physicist Werner Heisenberg was fighting with the scientific establishment on the meaning of the quantum realm&’s absurdity when he had his own epiphany—that there is no such thing as a complete, perfect description of reality. Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant pushed the assumptions of human reason to their mind-bending conclusions, but emerged with an idea that crowned a towering philosophical system—that the human mind has fundamental limits, and those limits undergird both our greatest achievements as well as our missteps.Through fiction, science, and philosophy, the work of these three thinkers coalesced around the powerful, haunting fact that there is an irreconcilable difference between reality &“out there&” and reality as we experience it. Out of this profound truth comes a multitude of galvanizing ideas: the notion of selfhood, free will, and purpose in human life; the roots of morality, aesthetics, and reason; and the origins and nature of the cosmos itself. As each of these thinkers shows, every one of us has a fundamentally incomplete picture of the world. But this is to be expected. Only as mortal, finite beings are we able to experience the world in all its richness and breathtaking majesty. We are stranded in a gulf of vast extremes, between the astronomical and the quantum, an abyss of freedom and absolute determinism, and it is in that center where we must make our home. A soaring and lucid reflection on the lives and work of Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant, The Rigor of Angels movingly demonstrates that the mysteries of our place in the world may always loom over us—not as a threat, but as a reminder of our humble humanity.Beatrix Potter: Her Inner World
By Andrew Norman. 2014
An insightful biography of the pioneering conservationist, illustrator, prolific author, and creator of Peter Rabbit and other legendary tales. …
Beatrix Potter was born curious, with an imagination and a love of natural science and animals that would serve her well. When her self-published and self-illustrated first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was picked up by an enterprising publisher, Beatrix&’s modest &“bunny book&” would become a phenomenon. After more than a century, Beatrix Potter endures as one of the most cherished children&’s book authors in literary history. But what were the sources of inspiration that gave birth to her beloved anthropomorphic characters and enduring cautionary tales? Through extensive research, personal letters, and photographs, this concise and intimate biography reveals Beatrix&’s privileged yet restrictive Victorian childhood; her volatile relationship with her mother; a tragic love affair with her editor; her sometimes debilitating depression and illnesses; her life and career beyond Peter Rabbit; and her liberation as a passionate, driven, trailblazing, and simply original creative spirit.One More Day Everywhere: Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding
By Glen Heggstad. 2009
The motorcycle adventurer and author of Two Wheels Through Terror delivers a &“spectacular and gripping read&” of his solo journey…
around the world (Friction Zone). In November of 2001, on a motorcycle trip to the tip of South America, Glen Heggstad was kidnapped at gunpoint by Colombian rebels and held captive for five weeks. Yet even after his traumatic incarceration, Glen did what few others would—finished his trip. Three years later, frustrated by the climate of fear in a media-saturated world and the resulting stranglehold of self-imposed security in the United States, Glen decided to look for truth on his own terms—on the back of his motorcycle. Starting in Japan, Glen wound his way through Siberia, Mongolia, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, stopping in over thirty countries. This was not a tourist&’s bus tour—Glen battled extreme temperatures, knee-deep mud, bureaucratic roadblocks, health problems, and loneliness, but these problems faded to insignificance with the thrill of the open road and the smiling receptions he received from locals and fellow bikers at every turn. With One More Day Everywhere, readers can share Glen Heggstad&’s vision of a world ungoverned by fear and, like Glen, embrace each experience, with one eye always on the horizon. &“If anyone knows determination, perseverance, agony and terror it is Glen Heggstad. And that motorcycles are fun!&” —Jimmy Lewis, editor, Cycle World Magazine &“This is a story of extreme travel at its finest.&” —RoadRunner &“Heggstad manages to illustrate the joys and hardships and benefits and drawbacks of two-wheeled global travel to some of the most difficult places on the planet.&” —Friction ZoneWaiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide
By Tahir Hamut Izgil. 2023
A poet's account of one of the world's most urgent humanitarian crises, and a harrowing tale of a family's escape…
from genocideOne by one, Tahir Hamut Izgil's friends disappeared. The Chinese government's brutal persecution of the Uyghur people had continued for years, but in 2017 it assumed a terrifying new scale. The Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority group in western China, were experiencing an echo of the worst horrors of the twentieth century, amplified by China's establishment of an all-seeing high-tech surveillance state. Over a million people have vanished into China&’s internment camps for Muslim minorities.Tahir, a prominent poet and intellectual, had been no stranger to persecution. After he attempted to travel abroad in 1996, police tortured him until he confessed to fabricated charges and sent him to a re-education through labor camp. But even having endured three years in the camp, he could never have predicted the Chinese government&’s radical solution to the Uyghur question two decades later. Was the first sign when Tahir was interrogated for hours after a phone call with a fellow poet in the Netherlands? Or when his old friend was sentenced to life in prison simply for calling for Uyghurs' legal rights to be enforced? Perhaps it was when the police seized Uyghurs&’ radios and installed jamming equipment to cut them off from the outside world.Once Tahir noticed that the park near his home was nearly empty because so many neighbors had been arrested, he knew the police would be coming for him any day. One night, after Tahir&’s daughters were asleep, he placed by his door a sturdy pair of shoes, a sweater, and a coat so that he could stay warm if the police came for him in the middle of the night. It was clear to Tahir and his wife that fleeing the country was the family's only hope. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night is the story of the political, social, and cultural destruction of Tahir Hamut Izgil's homeland. Among leading Uyghur intellectuals and writers, he is the only one known to have escaped China since the mass internments began. His book is a call for the world to awaken to the unfolding catastrophe, and a tribute to his friends and fellow Uyghurs whose voices have been silenced.Deadlines on the Front Line: Travels with a Veteran War Correspondent
By Paul Moorcraft. 2018
The author of this gritty memoir has lived life to the full and fortunately has the ability to recall his…
experiences in a graphic and entertaining manner.As a war correspondent and paramilitary policeman, Moorcraft was a magnet for drama and action. His descriptions of sometimes tragic and often hilarious escapades in war torn countries literally from A (Afghanistan) to Z (Zimbabwe) are self-effacingly entertaining. His light-hearted approach disguises a thoroughly perceptive and analytical mind. The reader will never be bored while accompanying Moorcraft reporting on wars in over thirty combat zones in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. This is his book of hazardous travels to strange, often little-known places meeting even stranger people who were often all too keen to lock him up or try and kill him.Deadlines on the Frontline is a delightful and invigorating read which offers an intelligent insight into the turbulent world of the late 20th and early 21st centuriesA Farewell to Arms, Legs & Jockstraps: A Sportswriter's Memoir
By Diane K. Shah. 2020
“Diane Shah was a boots-on-the-ground female sports reporter in the Cro-Magnon 1970s and brings it all back in this hilarious,…
well-crafted book.” —Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe sports columnist and New York Times bestselling authorStrike fast, strike hard—whether it’s scoring a homerun or front-page news, Diane K. Shah, former sports columnist, knows how to grab the best story.In her memoir A Farewell to Arms, Legs, and Jockstraps, follow Diane’s escapades, from interviews with a tipsy Mickey Mantle, to sneaking into off-limits Republican galas, dining with Frank Sinatra, flying a plane with Dennis Quaid, and countless other adventures where she wields her tape recorder and a tireless drive for more.From skirting KGB agents while covering the Cold War Olympics to hunting down the three mechanical sharks starring in Jaws, Diane’s experiences are filled with real heart and a tongue-in-cheek attitude. An insightful look into the difficulties of navigating a male-dominated profession, A Farewell to Arms, Legs, and Jockstraps offers rich retellings and behind-the-scenes details of stories of a trailblazing career and the prejudices facing female sportswriters during the sixties and seventies.“Impossibly elegant, and the most fun ever. The only thing better than reading Diane K. Shah’s memoir was, I suppose, living it.” —Sally Jenkins, columnist and feature writer, Washington Post“Diane’s memoir is just like her columns—smart, funny, enlightening—just like her. Until reading it, I never really knew all the challenges she dealt with. She broke ground but never acted like it. I was lucky to work with the first female sports columnist in the country.” —Ken Gurnick, LA Dodgers correspondent for MLB.comCome Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan
By Darryl Pinckney. 2022
Critic and writer Darryl Pinckney recalls his friendship and apprenticeship with Elizabeth Hardwick and Barbara Epstein and the introduction they…
offered him to the New York literary world.Darryl Pinckney arrived at Columbia University in New York City in the early 1970s and had the opportunity to enroll in Elizabeth Hardwick’s creative writing class at Barnard. It changed his life. When the semester was over, he continued to visit her, and he became close to both Hardwick and Barbara Epstein, Hardwick’s best friend and neighbor and a fellow founder of The New York Review of Books.Pinckney was drawn into a New York literary world where he encountered some of the fascinating contributors to the Review, among them Susan Sontag, Robert Lowell, and Mary McCarthy. Yet the intellectual and artistic freedom that Pinckney observed on West Sixty-seventh Street could conflict with the demands of his politically minded family and their sense of the unavoidable lessons of black history. In addition, through his peers and former classmates—such as Felice Rosser, Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lucy Sante, Howard Brookner, and Nan Goldin—Pinckney witnessed the coming together of the New Wave scene in the East Village. He experienced the avant-garde life at the same time as he was discovering the sexual freedom brought by gay liberation. It was his time for hope. In Come Back in September, through his memories of the city and of Hardwick, we see the emergence and evolution of Pinckney himself as a writer.The Story of Maya Angelou (The Story of: A Biography Series for New Readers)
By Tiffany Obeng. 2023
Discover the life of Maya Angelou—a story about courage for kids ages 6 to 9Maya Angelou was an acclaimed author,…
poet, historian, singer and songwriter, playwright, director, and civil rights activist. Before she was known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style, Maya was a young girl interested in the written word. From an early age she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. She used her powerful voice to share her experiences and unite the world through her written words. Explore how Maya Angelou went from difficult childhood experiences to one of our most celebrated memoirists and poets of all-time.The Story of Maya Angelou includes:A fun quiz—Test your knowledge of Maya's life with a short quiz that covers the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of her story.Word definitions—This standout among Maya Angelou books for kids includes easy-to-understand explanations of some of the more advanced words and ideas.Her lasting legacy—Learn about how Maya inspired the world with both the beauty and the call to action of her words.How will Maya's fight for civil rights inspire you?Salvaje
By Cheryl Strayed. 2012
La historia de los 1800 kilómetros que la joven autora anduvo en su recorrido a pie por la cordillera del…
Pacífico de los Estados Unidos. Con veintidós años creía que lo había perdido todo en la vida. Tras la muerte de su madre y tomar la decisión de separarse, sus hermanos se dispersaron y ella se quedó sin pilares sobre los que construir su vida. Cuatro años después de la muerte de su madre toma la decisión más impulsiva de su vida: recorrer el camino del las Cumbres del Pacífico, una ruta de senderismo que recorre toda la costa oeste de los Estados Unidos, desde el desierto Mojave en California y Oregon al estado de Washington. Y decide hacerlo completamente sola. Sin ninguna experiencia en senderismo, y ni tan solo habiendo pasado jamás una noche al aire libre, para ella se trataba de una idea, vaga y extravagante y prometedora.Pero esa promesa se convirtió en la necesidad de volver a juntar las piezas del rompecabezas en que se ha convertido su vida. Narrada con suspense, estilo, sentido del humor y ternura, Savaje consigue atrapar el miedo y los placeres en la vida de una joven que se encuentra en el proceso de forjar su vida contra toda expectativa, en el viaje que la volvió loca, que la fortaleció y que acabó por sanarla. La crítica ha dicho...«Espectacular...Te atrapa... Una aventura que te quita el aliento y una profunda reflexión sobre la naturaleza del dolor y la supervivencia. Un triunfo a nivel literario y personal.»New York Times Book Review «Un libro ameno y a ratos duro, que hará las delicias de senderistas y amantes de la buena literatura con las peripecias de una joven en procesode reconstrucción, a lo largo del viaje que la volvió loca, que la fortaleció y que terminó por sanarla.»EvadiumIn the Footsteps of Du Fu
By Michael Wood. 2023
A beautifully illustrated travelogue, chronicling the life and work of one of the world greatest poets. Du Fu (712-70) is…
one of China&’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Now, in this beautifully illustrated book, broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known. The themes he wrote about – friendship, family, human suffering – are universal and in our troubled times are just as relevant as they were almost 1,300 years ago.First published in 1996, The William Makepeace Thackeray Library is a collection of works written by and about the novelist.…
This sixth volume contains the work of Lewis Melville, one of the most productive biographers and critics of Thackeray at the turn of the 20th century. Richard Pearson’s helpful introduction not only provides additional information on the biographer himself, but also analyses the text and tracks its development over time. This book will be of interest to those studying Thackeray and nineteenth-century literature.Mark and Livy: The Love Story of Mark Twain and the Woman Who Almost Tamed Him
By Resa Willis. 2004
Olivia Langdon Clemens was not only the love of Mark Twain's life and the mother of his children, she was…
also his editor, muse, critic and trusted advisor. She read his letters and speeches. He relied on her judgment on his writing, and readily admitted that she not only edited his work, but also edited his public persona.Until now, little has been known about Livy's crucial place in Twain's life. In Resa Willis's affecting and fascinating biography, we meet a dignified, optimistic women who married young, raised three sons and a daughter, endured myriad health problems and money woes and who faithfully traipsed all over the world with Twain--Africa, Europe, Asia--while battling his moodiness and her frailty.Twain adored her. A hard-drinking dreamer with an insatiable wanderlust, he needed someone to tame him. It was Livy who encouraged him to finish his autobiography even through the last stages of her illness. When she died in 1904, Twain's zest for life and writing was gone. He died six years later.A triumph of the biographer's art, Mark and Livy presents the fullest picture yet of one of the most influential women in American letters.On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Usakligil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912
By Douglas Scott Brookes. 2020
The renowned Turkish author’s memoir of serving Sultan Mehmed V provides a rare look inside the palace politics of the…
late Ottoman Empire.Before he became one of Turkey’s most famous novelists, Halid Ziya Usakligil served as First Secretary to Sultan Mehmed V. His memoir of that time, between 1909 and 1912, provides first-hand insight into the personalities, intrigues, and inner workings of the Ottoman palace in its final decades.In post-Revolution Turkey, the palace no longer exercised political power. Instead, it negotiated the minefields between political factions, sought ways to unite the empire in the face of nationalist aspirations, and faced the opening salvos of the wars that would eventually overwhelm the country. Usakligil includes interviews with the Imperial family as well as descriptions of royal nuptials, the palaces and its visitors, and the crises that shook the court. He also delivers an insightful and moving portrait of Mehmed V, the man who reigned over the Ottoman Empire through both Balkan Wars and World War I.My Own Two Feet: A Memoir
By Beverly Cleary. 1995
Told in her own words, My Own Two Feet is Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary’s second heartfelt and relatable memoir.The New…
Yorker called Beverly Cleary's first volume of memoirs, A Girl From Yamhill, "a warm, honest book, as interesting as any novel."Now the creator of the classic children's stories millions grew up with continues her own fascinating story. Here is Beverly Cleary, from college years to the publication of her first book. It is a fascinating look at her life and a writing career that spans three generations, continuing to capture the hearts and imaginations of children of all ages throughout the world.Beverly Cleary's books have sold more than 85 million copies and have been translated into twenty-nine different languages, which speaks to the worldwide reach and love of her stories. She was honored with a Newbery Honor for Ramona and Her Father and a second one for Ramona Quimby, Age 8. She received the John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, which was inspired by letters she’d received from children. Her autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet, are a wonderful way to get to know more about this most beloved children's book author.A Strange Life: Selected Essays of Louisa May Alcott
By Louisa May Alcott. 2023
Collected together for the very first time, witty and wide-ranging essays from the celebrated author of Little Women.Louisa May Alcott…
(1832–1888) is, of course, best known as the author of Little Women (1868). But she was also a noted essayist who wrote on a wide range of subjects, including her father&’s failed utopian commune, the benefits of an unmarried life, and her experience as a young woman sent to work in service to alleviate her family&’s poverty. Her first literary success was a contemporary close-up account of the American Civil War, brilliantly depicted in Hospital Sketches, which was drawn from her own experience of serving as an army nurse near the nation&’s capital. As with her famous novel, Alcott writes these essays with clear observation, unforgettable scenes, and one of the sharpest wits in American literature.Blending gentle satire with reportage and emotive autobiography, Alcott&’s exquisite essays are as exceptional as the novels she is known for. Published together for the first time, this delightful selection shows us another side to one of our most celebrated writers.This Hill, This Valley: A Memoir
By Hal Borland. 1957
A memoir of a year immersed in nature on a New England farm, by the national bestselling author of The…
Dog Who Came to Stay. After a nearly fatal bout of appendicitis, Hal Borland decided to leave the city behind and move with his wife to a farmhouse in rural Connecticut. Their new home on one hundred acres inspired Borland to return to nature. In this masterpiece of American nature writing, he describes such wonders as the peace of a sky full of stars, the breathless beauty of blossoming plants, the way rain swishes as it hits a river, and the invigorating renewal brought by the changing seasons. The delights of nature as Borland observes them seem boundless, and his sense of awe is contagious.Jeff Alt takes you along every step of his 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail adventure filled with humorous, frightening, and inspirational stories…
including bears, bugs, blisters, captivating characters, skunk bed mates, and hilarious food cravings. As Alt walked more than 5 million steps through freezing temperatures, driving rain, and sunny skies, he was constantly buoyed by the knowledge that his walk was dedicated to his brother who has cerebral palsy. Alt's adventure inspired an annual fundraiser which has raised over $500,000 for Sunshine, the home where his brother lives. This is the 20th anniversary edition. As you walk along with Alt, experience the success of turning dreams into goals and achieving them. Alt's lessons from the trail celebrate family, stewardship of the earth, good health, and the American spirit. lessMistral, una vida: Solo me halla quien me ama
By Elizabeth Horan. 2023
Horan revisa exhaustiva y críticamente los primeros treinta años de vida de una de las poetas esenciales de la lengua…
castellana. Mistral. Solo me halla quien me ama revisa exhaustiva y críticamente los primeros treinta años de vida de una de las poetas esenciales de la lengua castellana. Elizabeth Horan, reconocida especialista mundial en la poeta, reconstruye los pasos de la Premio Nobel en base a años de estudio y a la lúcida revisión del archivo mistraliano, donde una impresionante correspondencia le permite apreciar las errancias, dolores y pasiones de la poeta, pero sobre todo su carácter sinigual. Porque Mistral en estas páginas se revela ante todo como una férrea voluntad, como alguien que supo moverse con astucia y firmeza en un mundo adverso para llegar a ser quien se propuso. Su infancia en Elqui, sus afectos y alianzas clave, sus años como profesora en distintas ciudades de Chile, su relación íntima con Laura Rodig, su temprano contacto con Neruda y otros destacados escritores y políticos chilenos y sus vínculos con Argentina son expuestos con detalle en este libro -primera parte de un proyecto colosal pensado en tres tomos- hasta el momento en que la poeta abandona el país rumbo a México en 1922. Son los entrañables años de formación de una figura intelectual irreductible y siempre asombrosa.Escribir un silencio
By Claudia Piñeiro. 2023
Los textos de no ficción de Claudia Piñeiro reunidos por primera vez en libro. «Sospecho que lo que escribo nace…
del silencio. Porque así fue desde mi niñez, del silencio a la escritura. De la resistencia a hablar, al placer de construir un texto». Admirada por miles de lectores en todo el mundo, Claudia Piñeiro es, además de una prolífica y premiada escritora de ficciones (novelas, cuentos, guiones de series y de películas, obras de teatro), una delicada observadora de la realidad. Este libro reúne por primera vez los numerosos textos publicados a lo largo de los años en distintos medios: escritos personales y autobiográficos que hablan de la infancia, la familia, las amigas, los maestros, la maternidad, así como aquellas intervenciones más políticas, como el ya célebre discurso en la Cámara de Diputados a favor de la Ley de Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo o los textos de apertura de ferias del libro como las de Buenos Aires o Rosario, reflexiones sobre la propia escritura, sobre escritores y escritoras que la marcaron, la pandemia o los viajes a festivales literarios. Escribir un silencio nos permite un acercamiento distinto, íntimo, a una de las escritoras más queridas de nuestro país, una referente en temas como el feminismo, los derechos de los escritores y la desobediencia como postura ética y vital. Un libro generoso y único en la trayectoria de nuestra autora más emblemática. La crítica dijo: «La adoro. Claudia se ha convertido en la gran referente de los derechos de las mujeres, con un compromiso y una claridad y una valentía y dedicación maravillosas».Mercedes Morán «Una historia que captura debates y puntos ciegos en torno a los femicidios, la muerte y la maternidad y […] un libro que dialoga con los feminismos pero también problematiza sus zonas difusas».Julieta Grosso , Télam sobre El tiempo de las moscas «La novela negra del año [...] Lo tiene todo. Apuesta literaria, crítica social, grandes temas».Juan Carlos Galindo , Babelia - El País sobre Catedrales «Breve y elegante [...] una lacerante crónica sobre la relación madre e hija, la humillación de la burocracia, la responsabilidad en el cuidado de los otros y las imposiciones del dogma religioso en las mujeres».The New York Times sobre Elena sabe «Sus libros suelen proporcionarnos muy fecundos cruces entre niveles narrativos diferentes: en Las maldiciones está la ficción política pero también un nivel absolutamente íntimo que tiene que ver con la paternidad».Eduardo Sacheri «Las viudas de los jueves es una novela ágil y un análisis implacable de un microcosmos social en acelerado proceso de decadencia».José SaramagoDiary of an Invasion: The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
By Andrey Kurkov. 2022
'Uplifting and utterly defiant' Matt Nixson, Daily Express 'Immediate and important ... This is an insider's account of how an…
ordinary life became extraordinary' Helen Davies, The TimesThis journal of the invasion, a collection of Andrey Kurkov's writings and broadcasts from Kyiv, is a remarkable record of a brilliant writer at the forefront of a 21st-century war. Andrey Kurkov has been a consistent satirical commentator on his adopted country of Ukraine. His most recent work, Grey Bees, is a dark foreshadowing of the devastation in the eastern part of Ukraine in which only two villagers remain in a village bombed to smithereens. The author has lived in Kyiv and in the remote countryside of Ukraine throughout the Russian invasion. He has also been able to fly to European capitals where he has been working to raise money for charities and to address crowded halls. Kurkov has been asked to write for every English newspaper, as also to be interviewed all over Europe. He has become an important voice for his people.Kurkov sees every video and every posted message, and he spends the sleepless nights of continuous bombardment of his city delivering the truth about this invasion to the world.