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G. Bruce Knecht, former reporter for TheWall Street Journaland author of The Proving Ground and Hooked, describes the creation of…
an outsized yacht in a sweeping narrative centered on the men and women who made it happen.Doug Von Allmen, a self-made man who grew up in a landlocked state dreaming of the ocean, was poised to build a 187-foot yacht that would cost $40 million. Lady Linda would not be among the very largest of the burgeoning fleet of oceangoing palaces, but Von Allmen vowed that it would be the best one ever made in the United States. Nothing would be ordinary. The interior walls would be made from rare species of burl wood, the floors paved with onyx and exotic types of marble, the furniture custom made, and the art specially commissioned. But the 2008 economic crisis changed everything. Von Allmen&’s lifestyle suddenly became unaffordable. Then it got worse: desperate to reverse his losses, he fell for an audacious Ponzi scheme. Would Von Allmen be able to complete Lady Linda? Would the shipyard and its one thousand employees survive the financial meltdown? The divide between the very rich and everyone else had never been greater, yet the livelihoods of the workers, some of them illegal immigrants, and the yacht owners were inextricably intertwined. In a sweeping, high-stakes narrative, the critically acclaimed author of The Proving Ground and Hooked weaves Von Allmen&’s story together with those of the men and women who are building his yacht. As the pursuit of opulence collides with the reality of economic decline, everyone involved in the massive project is forced to rethink the meaning of the American Dream.Surviving Australia: A Practical Guide to Staying Alive
By Sorrel Wilby. 2001
Visiting the Australian outback can be a wonderful experience, but it isn't all about boomerangs and koalas, kangaroos and didgeridoos.…
It can be a wild and dangerous place if you're not prepared. Here is the essential travel companion for enduring the toughest stuff this rugged continent can offer -- a veritable survivor's guide to managing the unexpected when you're Down Under. Renowned Australian adventurer and bestselling author Sorrel Wilby provides you with the basic lessons on negotiating your way through the bush, across the outback, over the top end, and into the surf and sea. You'll get important lifesaving information on: where you should and shouldn't be driving your Range Rover dealing with natural hazards like river crossings, bush fires, storms, and rips warding off snakes, scorpions, crocs, and sharks encountering Aboriginal people, Bushies, Eccentrics, and Surfers finding food and water treating heatstroke, hypothermia, and tropical infections identifying proper emergency radio frequencies and much more!Appalachian Fall: Dispatches from Coal Country on What's Ailing America
By Jeff Young, Ohio Valley ReSource. 2020
A searing, on-the-ground examination of the collapsing coal industry—and the communities left behind—in the midst of economic and environmental crisis.Despite…
fueling a century of American progress, the people at the heart of coal country are being left behind, suffering from unemployment, the opioid epidemic, and environmental crises often at greater rates than anywhere else in the country. But what if Appalachia&’s troubles are just a taste of what the future holds for all of us?Appalachian Fall tells the captivating true story of coal communities on the leading edge of change. A group of local reporters known as the Ohio Valley ReSource shares the real-world impact these changes have had on what was once the heart and soul of America. Including stories like: -The miners&’ strike in Harlan County after their company suddenly went bankrupt, bouncing their paychecks -The farmers tilling former mining ground for new cash crops like hemp -The activists working to fight mountaintop removal and bring clean energy jobs to the region -And the mothers mourning the loss of their children to overdose and despairIn the wake of the controversial bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, Appalachian Fall addresses what our country owes to a region that provided fuel for a century and what it risks if it stands by watching as the region, and its people, collapse.Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals
By Robert M. Sapolsky. 2005
How do imperceptibly small differences in the environment change one’s behavior? What is the anatomy of a bad mood? Does…
stress shrink our brains? What does People magazine’s list of America’s “50 Most Beautiful People” teach us about nature and nurture? What makes one organism sexy to another? What makes one orgasm different from another? Who will be the winner in the genetic war between the sexes?Welcome to Monkeyluv, a curious and entertaining collection of essays about the human animal in all its fascinating variety, from McArthur fellow Robert M. Sapolsky, America’s most beloved neurobiologist/primatologist. Organized into three sections, each tackling a Big Question in natural science, Monkeyluv offers a lively exploration of the influence of genes and the environment on behavior; the social and political—and, of course, sexual—implications of behavioral biology; and society’s shaping of the individual. From the mating rituals of prairie dogs to the practice of religion in the rain forest, the secretion of pheromones to bugs in the brain, Sapolsky brilliantly synthesizes cutting-edge scientific research with wry, erudite observations about the complexity of being human. Thoughtful, engaging, and infused with pop-cultural insights, this collection will appeal to the inner monkey in all of us.Familiarity Breeds Content: New and Selected Essays
By Joseph Epstein. 2024
A collection of personal essays from America&’s most revered essay writer, Joseph Epstein.America&’s greatest living essayist writes about life and…
aging and being all too nicely out of it. In these personal pieces, he takes on topics as varied as grieving for a dead son, learning Latin late in life, and the pleasures of living with cats. Epstein gives us a &“bonfire of his own vanities,&” his thoughts about why watching sports is so impossibly seductive, what it is like to be short, and why he misses smoking even decades as a health-obsessed non-smoker. Above all, he writes about the literary life and the endless joys that reading and writing have brought to a self-confessed &“lucky man.&”Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World
By Will Cockrell. 2024
Featuring original interviews with mountain guides and climbers—including Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker—this vivid and authoritative adventure history chronicles one…
of the least likely industries on Earth: guided climbing on Mount Everest.Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer&’s Into Thin Air or has seen a recent photo of climbers standing in line to get to the top of Everest may think they have the mountain pretty well figured out. It&’s an extreme landscape where bad weather and incredible altitude can occasionally kill, but more so an overcrowded, trashed-out recreation destination where rich clients pad their egos—and social media feeds—while exploiting local Sherpas. There&’s some truth to these clichés, but they&’re a sliver of the story. Unlike any book to date, Everest, Inc. gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest invention: the Himalayan guiding industry. It all began in the 1980s with a few boot-strapping entrepreneurs who paired raw courage and naked ambition with a new style of expedition planning. Many of them are still living and climbing today, and as a result of their astonishing success, ninety percent of the people now on Everest are clients or employees of guided expeditions. Studded with quotes from original interviews with more than a hundred western and Sherpa climbers, clients, writers, filmmakers, and even a Hollywood actor, Everest, Inc. foregrounds the voices of the people who have made the mountain what it is today. And while there is plenty of high-altitude drama in unpacking the last forty years of Everest tragedy and triumph, it ultimately transcends stereotypes and tells the uplifting counternarrative of the army of journeymen and women who have made people&’s dreams come true, and of the Nepalis who are pushing the industry into the future.River-Horse: A Voyage Across America (Core Ser.)
By William Least Heat-Moon. 1999
New York Times bestseller: &“A coast-to-coast journey by way of great rivers, conducted by a contemporary master of travel writing&”…
(Kirkus Reviews). In this memoir brimming with history, humor, and wisdom, the author of Blue Highways and PrairyErth &“voyages across the country, from Atlantic to Pacific, almost entirely by its rivers, lakes and canals in a small outboard-powered boat&” (San Francisco Chronicle). Setting off from New York Harbor aboard the boat he named Nikawa (&“river horse&” in Osage), in hopes of entering the Pacific near Astoria, Oregon, William Least Heat-Moon and his companion, Pilotis, struggle to cover some five thousand watery miles—more than any other cross-country river traveler has ever managed—often following in the wakes of our most famous explorers, from Henry Hudson to Lewis and Clark. En route, the voyagers confront massive floods, submerged rocks, dangerous weather, and their own doubts about whether they can complete the trip. But the hard days yield incomparable pleasures: strangers generous with help and eccentric tales, landscapes unchanged since Sacagawea saw them, riverscapes flowing with a lively past, and the growing belief that efforts to protect our lands and waters are beginning to pay off. &“Fizzes with intelligence and high spirits.&” —Outside &“Propels the reader with historical vignettes, ecological and geological detail, and often hilarious encounters with local eccentrics.&” —TimeOne Man's Meat
By E. B. White. 1944
The Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and author of Charlotte&’s Web documents his move from Manhattan to a saltwater farm in New…
England: &“Superb reading.&” —The New Yorker Called &“a mid-20th–century Thoreau&” by Notre Dame Magazine, E. B. White&’s desire to live a simple life caused him to sell half his worldly goods, give up his job writing the New Yorker&’s &“Notes and Comment&” editorial page, and move with his family to a saltwater farm in North Brooklin, Maine. There, White got into the nuts-and-bolts of rural life—not without a lot of self-reflection—and surrounded himself with barnyard characters, some of whom would later appear in Charlotte&’s Web.One Man&’s Meat is White&’s collection of pithy and unpretentious essays on such topics as living with hay fever (&“I understand so well the incomparable itch of eye and nose for which the only relief is to write to the President of the United States&”), World War II (&“I stayed on the barn, steadily laying shingles, all during the days when Mr. Chamberlain, M. Daladier, the Duce, and the Führer were arranging their horse trade&”), and even dog training (&“Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor&”). Though first published in 1942, this book delivers timeless lessons on the value of living close to nature in our quest for self-discovery. With each subject broached and reflected upon, it &“becomes an ardent and sobering guidebook for those of us trying to live our day-to-day lives now&” (Pif magazine). &“The most succinct, graceful and witty of essayists.&” —San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle &“A lively record of an active inquiring mind.&” —Kirkus ReviewsThe Major Works
By C. Patrides, Thomas Brown. 1977
Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82) was a writer of breathtaking range and learning, whose works demonstrate a warm and humorous view…
of human nature. Religio Medici is a fascinating, witty and intimate exploration of his views on faith and tolerance, while substantial selections from Pseudodoxia Epidemica display Browne's breadth of knowledge and omnivorous curiosity in his account of common errors in a startling array of subjects including sciences, history, literature and philosophy. Hydriotaphia or 'Urn Buriall' is an intriguing meditation on death and the desire for immortality, The Garden of Cyrus considers the mysterious order to be found in nature, and A Letter to a Friend and the aphoristic Christian Morals provide profound spiritual guidance to readers.Medieval Writings on Secular Women
By Patricia Skinner, Elisabeth Van Houts. 2011
'Woman, who is equal to the moon in the flower of youth,Is equal to a little old ape after the…
onset of old age'This remarkable collection brings together a host of writings from across different regions and cultures of the Middle Ages, from the ninth to the fifteenth century. They are arranged to follow the life stages of a Medieval woman living a secular existence, from infancy and girlhood, through marriage and motherhood, to widowhood and old age. Some women are famous or captured in exceptional circumstances, many more are anonymous: an abandoned baby in Italy, or an epitaph for the female leader of a Synagogue, speaking across the ages.This selection contains an introduction discussing the Medieval woman's status, separate introductions to each chapter, notes and a bibliography.The Little Book Of Philosophy
By Andre Comte-Sponville. 2000
In this remarkable little book, Andre Comte-Sponville introduces the reader to the western philosophical tradition in a series of sparkling…
chapters on the 'big questions'. In doing so he reveals the essential bones of philosophical thought and shows why philosophy is relevant in our day-to-day lives. In his brilliant and concise writing on morality, politics, love, death, knowledge, freedom, God, atheism, art, time, Man, and wisdom, he inspires the central question of philosophy - how should we live? - and provides the reader with signposts towards a happier, wiser life.The Last Expedition
By R. F. Scott. 2011
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR RANULPH FIENNESThe Last Expedition is Captain Scott's gripping account of his expedition to the South…
Pole in 1910-12. It was meant to be a voyage of scientific discovery and a heroic exploration of the last unconquered wilderness. Scott's expedition, carried in the Terra Nova, pitted him and his team not only against the elements but also against the Norwegian explorer, Amundsen. Ultimately, Scott was beaten by both. The journals are full of incident and drama, courage and endurance, hope and bitter disappointment.These journals were found, along with Scott's body, several months after his death and just 11 miles from base camp and safety.The Last Days of Socrates
By Plato. 2010
Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Phaedo'Nothing can harm a good man either in life or after death'The trial and condemnation of Socrates on charges of…
heresy and corrupting young minds is a defining moment in the history of classical Athens. In tracing these events through four dialogues, Plato also developed his own philosophy of a life guided by self-responsibility. Euthyphro finds Socrates outside the court-house, debating the nature of piety, while the Apology is his robust rebuttal of the charges against him. In the Crito, awaiting execution in prison, Socrates counters the arguments of friends urging him to escape. Finally, in the Phaedo, he is shown calmly confident in the face of death.Translated by HUGH TREDENNICK and HAROLD TARRANT with an Introduction and notes by HAROLD TARRANTLiterature and Evil (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Georges Bataille. 1957
'Literature is not innocent,' stated Georges Bataille in this extraordinary 1957 collection of essays, arguing that only by acknowledging its…
complicity with the knowledge of evil can literature communicate fully and intensely. These literary profiles of eight authors and their work, including Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal and the writings of Sade, Kafka and Sartre, explore subjects such as violence, eroticism, childhood, myth and transgression, in a work of rich allusion and powerful argument.A Literary Review
By Soren Kierkegaard. 2001
While ostensibly commenting on the work of a contemporary novelist, Kierkegaard used this review as a critique of his society…
and age. The influence of this short piece has been far-reaching. The apocalyptic final sections are the source for central notions in Heidegger's Being and Time. Later readers have seized on the essay as a prophetic analysis of our own time. Its concepts have been drawn into current debates on identity, addiction, and social conformity.Language Myths
By Laurie Bauer. 1998
A unique collection of original essays by 21 of the world's leading linguists. The topics discussed focus on some of…
the most popular myths about language: The Media Are Ruining English; Children Can't Speak or Write Properly Anymore; America is Ruining the English Language. The tone is lively and entertaining throughout and there are cartoons from Doonesbury andThe Wizard of Id to illustrate some of the points. The book should have a wide readership not only amongst students who want to read leading linguists writing about popular misconceptions but also amongst the large number of people who enjoy reading about language in general.Land of the Midnight Sun: My Arctic Adventures
By Alexander Armstrong. 2015
In an adventure of a lifetime, Alexander Armstrong wraps up warm and heads ever north to explore the hostile Arctic…
winter – the glittering landscape of Scandinavia, the isolated islands of Iceland and Greenland, and the final frontier of Canada and Alaska. Along the way he learns from the Marines how to survive sub-zero temperatures by eating for England, takes a white-knuckle drive along a treacherous 800-mile road that's a river in summer and, with great reluctance, strips off for a dip in the freezing Arctic waters - and that’s all before wrestling Viking-style with a sporting legend called Eva as part of an Icelandic winter festival. Sharing the wonder of the Arctic in his inimitable style, Land of the Midnight Sun is a brilliantly entertaining travelogue that takes readers on an exhilarating and hilarious journey to the farthest reaches of the globe. Through his witty exploration of the region's remarkable landscape and lifestyle, and its even more remarkable people, Armstrong proves himself the ideal travel companion.Jaguars and Electric Eels (Great Journeys Ser.)
By Alexander Von Humboldt. 2007
A great, innovative and restless thinker, the young Humboldt (1769-1859) went on his epochal journey to the New World during…
a time of revolutionary ferment across Europe. This part of his matchless narrative of adventure and scientific research focuses on his time in Venezuela - in the Llanos and on the Orinoco River - riding and paddling, restlessly and happily noting the extraordinary things on every hand.Great Journeys allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries – but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things: Great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.The Horrors and Absurdities of Religion (Penguin Great Ideas)
By Arthur Schopenhauer. 1970
A fascinating examination of ethics, religion and psychology, this selection of Schopenhauer's works contains scathing attack on the nature and…
logic of religion, and an essay on ethics that ranges from the American slavery debate to the vices of Buddhism. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.In Sickness and In Health: Historical Notes from an Attempted Honeymoon
By Mark Clemens. 2019
2018 WINNER OF THE BODLEY HEAD | FINANCIAL TIMES ESSAY PRIZEWith honesty and humour, Mark Clemens describes lessons he learned…
from a honeymoon spent recovering from terrible sickness in a Manhattan hotel room. Years later he considers the complex history of the building in which he and his new bride spent their convalescence. A carpentry shop, a brothel, a butcher's. As Mark reflects on the impermanence of New York and the impermanence of his marriage, he offers insights on history and personal growth.