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An Ode to Darkness
by Sigri SandbergWhen did you last see the stars?'Look at a satellite image of the Earth. Where it was once as dark as night, it is now lit up like a Christmas tree. If you zoom in on a city, you'll see floodlights, neon lights, car lights, and streetlamps. If you zoom in even further, to your own bedroom, you might see lamps and TV, tablet, and phone screens.If you live in a city and look out of the window, there will be a grayish yellow haze between you and the Milky Way. Even if it is night. Even if it is winter.Humans have always struggled with the dark, but isn't it light enough now? What is all this artificial light doing to us and everything else that lives? What is it doing to our sleep patterns and rhythms and bodies?I live in Norway, the land of the polar night. I have a cabin in the mountains in Finse. Darkness and stars can still be experienced there, particularly now during the darkest months of the year. I pack my bag and head up there. To seek out natural darkness, knowledge, and the night sky - and to see how long I dare stay.Because, paradoxically, I am afraid of the dark, and that fear is all-consuming, at least when I'm completely alone...'AN ODE TO DARKNESS explores our intimate relationship with the dark: why we are scared of it, why we need it and why the ever-encroaching light is damaging our well-being. Under the dark polar night of northern Norway, journalist Sigri Sandberg meditates on the cultural, historical, psychological and scientific meaning of darkness, all the while testing the limits of her own fear.
Odette: World War Two's Darling
by Penny StarnsOdette Brailly entered the nation's consciousness in the 1950s when her remarkable - and romantic - exploits as an SOE agent first came to light. She had been the first woman to be awarded the GC, as well as the Legion d'Honneur, and in 1950 the release of a film about her life made her the darling of the British popular press. But others openly questioned Odette's personal and professional integrity, even claiming that she had a clandestine affair with her supervisor Capt. Peter Churchill, with whom she had worked undercover in France. Soon she became as controversial as she was celebrated. In the first full biography of this incredible woman for nearly sixty years, historian Penny Starn delves into recently opened SOE personnel files to reveal the true story of this wartime heroine and the officer who posed as her husband. From her life as a French housewife living in Britain and her work undercover with the French Resistance, to her arrest, torture and unlikely survival in Ravensbruck concentration camp, Starns reveals for the first time the truth of Odette's mission and the heart-breaking identity of her real betrayer.
Odysseus: Book One (Odysseus Ser. #1)
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediOdysseus: The Oath is the first book in Valerio Massimo Manfredi's Odysseus epic.A man becomes a hero . . . As a young boy in Ithaca, Odysseus listens in wonder to his grandfather Autolykos, a man feared by many across the land as a ruthless fighter. He learns of his heritage and a lifelong passion is sparked: to become an adventurer and warrior. In Mycenae, he meets King Eurystheus and learns the terrible story of Hercules – the man with god-like strength who slaughtered his family and punished by the King to undertake impossible tasks to earn absolution. But is Eurystheus the man he says he is? When a child comes to Odysseus in the middle of the night, with another, very disturbing, version of what happened that fateful night, Odysseus embarks on the first of his extraordinary quests . . . So begins the epic story of Odysseus, the first of two volumes: an adventure of love, war, courage and heroism, weaving from a small rocky island in Greece, to the mighty fall of Troy.
Odysseus: Book Two (Odysseus Ser. #2)
by Valerio Massimo ManfrediThe extraordinary story of a legendary hero continues . . .After ten years of uninterrupted war, blood and agony, the Trojans have finally been defeated. Odysseus and his men begin the epic journey of returning to Ithaca. Along the way, terrifying enemies await them: the cyclops Polyphemus, the lotus eaters who feast on narcotic flowers that give only oblivion, the sorceress who turns men into swine, and the deadly, enthralling sirens. Odysseus is determined to make his way home to Ithaca, where his beloved family have awaited him for many long years. But his journey will present him with new, terrible perils - ones that he could not have dreamed of even in his wildest nightmares. In Odysseus: The Return, the second in his Odysseus epic, Valerio Massimo Manfredi gives a new voice to one of the most adventurous and fascinating heroes of all time.
An Odyssey: A Father, A Son, And An Epic
by Daniel MendelsohnSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2017 SHORTLISTED FOR THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZE 2017 WINNER OF THE PRIX MÉDITERRANÉE 2018 From the award-winning, best-selling writer: a deeply moving tale of a father and son’s transformative journey in reading – and reliving – Homer’s epic masterpiece.
The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer
by Professor David Waines David WainesIbn Battuta was, without doubt, one of the world's truly great travellers. Born in 14th century Morocco, and a contemporary of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta has left us an account in his own words of his remarkable journeys throughout the Islamic world and beyond: journeys punctuated by adventure and peril, and stretching from his home in Tangiers to Zaytun in faraway China. Whether sojourning in Delhi and the Maldives, wandering through the mazy streets of Cairo and Damascus, or contesting with pirates and shipwreck, the indefatigable Ibn Battuta brings to vivid life a medieval world brimming with marvel and mystery. Carefully observing the great diversity of civilizations which he encountered, Ibn Battuta exhibits an omnivorous interest in such matters as food and drink, religious differences (between Christians, Hindus and Shi'a Muslims), ideas about purity and impurity, disease, women and sex. Recounting the many miracles which its author claims to have experienced personally, his al-rihla or 'Travelogue' is a fascinating mosaic of mysticism and reportage offering a prototype magic realism.David Waines discusses the subtleties of the al-rihla, revealing all the wonders of Ibn Battuta's world to the modern reader. This is a gripping treatment of the life and times of one of history's most daring, and at the same time most human, discoverers.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Histoire du parlement de Paris (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #68)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire, in which he explores the history of the parlement of Paris during the reign of Louis XV. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Oeuvres de 1771 (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #73)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. Despite illness, Voltaire maintained a literary output of astonishing energy and variety, and his passion for justice led him to participate in crucial public debates. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Corpus des notes marginales de Voltaire 8: Rollin-Sommier (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #143)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. One in a 13-volume set which reprints Voltaire's marginal notes in the alphabetical sequence of the books in his library. An indispensable scholarly tool for students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment with research interests in Voltaire.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Oeuvres de 1770-1771 (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #72)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. In this volume the author writes about French theatre, defends his concept of God against radical materialism, and castigates the shortcomings of his time and the obscurantism of the Church. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Notes et écrits marginaux conservés hors de la Bibliothèque nationale de Russie. Complément au Corpus des notes marginales (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #145)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. This volume contains his marginal jottings in the books and manuscripts kept outside the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Corpus des notes marginales de Voltaire 8: Rollin-Sommier (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #143)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. One in a 13-volume set which reprints Voltaire's marginal notes in the alphabetical sequence of the books in his library. An indispensable scholarly tool for students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment with research interests in Voltaire.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Notes et écrits marginaux conservés hors de la Bibliothèque nationale de Russie. Complément au Corpus des notes marginales (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #145)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. This volume contains his marginal jottings in the books and manuscripts kept outside the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Histoire du parlement de Paris (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #68)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire, in which he explores the history of the parlement of Paris during the reign of Louis XV. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Oeuvres de 1770-1771 (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #72)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. In this volume the author writes about French theatre, defends his concept of God against radical materialism, and castigates the shortcomings of his time and the obscurantism of the Church. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Œuvres complètes de Voltaire: Oeuvres de 1771 (Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) #73)
by VoltairePart of the complete works of the French philosopher, historian and social reformer, Voltaire. Despite illness, Voltaire maintained a literary output of astonishing energy and variety, and his passion for justice led him to participate in crucial public debates. For students and scholars of the 18th-century Enlightenment.
Of All That Ends
by Günter Grass Breon MitchellThe final work of Nobel Prize-winning writer Günter Grass – a witty and elegiac series of meditations on writing, growing old, and the world.Suddenly, in spite of the trials of old age, and with the end in sight, everything seems possible again: love letters, soliloquies, scenes of jealousy, swan songs, social satire, and moments of happiness.Only an ageing artist who had once more cheated death could get to work with such wisdom, defiance and wit. A wealth of touching stories is condensed into artful miniatures. In a striking interplay of poetry, lyric prose and drawings, Grass creates his final, major work of art.A moving farewell gift, a sensual, melancholy summation of a life fully lived.
Of All the Gin Joints: Stumbling through Hollywood History
by Mark BaileyTrue tales of celebrity hijinks are served up with an equal measure of Hollywood history, movie-star mayhem, and a frothy mix of forty cocktail recipes.Humphrey Bogart got himself arrested for protecting his drinking buddies, who happened to be a pair of stuffed pandas. Ava Gardner would water-ski to the set of Night of the Iguana holding a towline in one hand and a cocktail in the other. Barely legal Natalie Wood would let Dennis Hopper seduce her if he provided a bathtub full of champagne. Bing Crosby’s ill-mannered antics earned him the nickname “Binge Crosby.” And sweet Mary Pickford stashed liquor in hydrogen peroxide bottles during Prohibition. From the frontier days of silent film up to the wild auteur period of the 1970s, Mark Bailey has pillaged the vaults of Hollywood history and lore to dig up the true—and often surprising—stories of seventy of our most beloved actors, directors, and screenwriters at their most soused.Bite-size biographies are followed by ribald anecdotes and memorable quotes. If a star had a favorite cocktail, the recipe is included. Films with the most outrageous booze-soaked stories, like Apocalypse Now, From Here to Eternity, and The Misfits, are featured, along with the legendary watering holes of the day (and the recipes for their signature drinks). Edward Hemingway’s portraits complete this spirited look at America’s most iconic silver-screen legends.“This book is like being at the best dinner party in the world. And I thought I was the first person to put a bar in my closet. I was clearly born during the wrong era.” —Chelsea Handler
Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics
by Heather Lende&“This book will inspire people to work with and for their neighbors in all kinds of ways!&” —Bill McKibben, author of Falter Heather Lende was one of the thousands of women inspired to take an active role in politics during the past few years. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won! And tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines isn&’t the sleepy town it appears to be. Yes, the assembly must stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street, but there is also a bitter debate about the fishing boat harbor and a vicious recall campaign that targets three assembly members, including Lende. In Of Bears and Ballots we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation, the lofty ideals of our republic, and the way our national politics play out in one small town. With her entertaining cast of offbeat but relatable characters, the writer whom the Los Angeles Times calls &“part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott&” brings us an inspirational tale about what living in a community really means, and what we owe one another.
Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard
by Mawi AsgedomRead the remarkable true story of a young boy's journey from civil war in east Africa to a refugee camp in Sudan, to a childhood on welfare in an affluent American suburb, and eventually to a full-tuition scholarship at Harvard University. Following his father's advice to "treat all people-even the most unsightly beetles-as though they were angels sent from heaven," Mawi overcomes the challenges of language barriers, cultural differences, racial prejudice, and financial disadvantage to build a fulfilling, successful life for himself in his new home. Of Beetles and Angels is at once a harrowing survival story and a compelling examination of the refugee experience. With hundreds of thousands of copies sold since its initial publication, and as a frequent selection as one book/one school/one community reads, this unforgettable memoir continues to touch and inspire readers. This special expanded fifteenth anniversary edition includes a new introduction and afterword from the author, a discussion guide, and more.
Of Colonial Bungalows and Piano Lessons: An Indian Woman's Memoirs
by Monica ChandaOf Colonial Bungalows and Piano Lessons can be read as a metaphor — as an icon — of the encounter between cultures. The memoir is based on Monica Chanda’s recollections between about 1913 and 1927, of life in Calcutta, districts of undivided Bengal, holidays in Kashmir and in Europe. There is more than a whiff of a Victorian upbringing in the pages. Neither honed in one culture nor fully at home in those practices superimposed by Monica’s father’s professional life as a member of the Indian Civil Service, her dilemma comes through in these writings. While her father, Jnanendra Nath Gupta, was avowedly against formal schooling for girls, he encouraged his daughter to undertake long and at times hazardous journeys by river, rail and road to perfect her skills as a pianist. Though there was an occasional longing for a freer life like that lived by her cousins, yet, Monica also enjoyed the privileges of living in spacious bungalows with a retinue of servants, going on exclusive launch trips down the Ganges, and being invited to parties at Government House and even Buckingham Palace. While there is a tautness palpable in her narration of an encounter with a clearly racist Eurasian sergeant and almost near-encounter with a tiger, Monica’s style avoids hyperbole and dramatic sequences. She presents facts and situations as she saw them — though there are a few times when emotions of love, fear and excitement ripple through the pages of this tightly–woven memoir. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Of Colonial Bungalows and Piano Lessons: An Indian Woman's Memoirs
by Malavika KarlekarOf Colonial Bungalows and Piano Lessons can be read as a metaphor — as an icon — of the encounter between cultures. The memoir is based on Monica Chanda’s recollections between about 1913 and 1927, of life in Calcutta, districts of undivided Bengal, holidays in Kashmir and in Europe. There is more than a whiff of a Victorian upbringing in the pages. Neither honed in one culture nor fully at home in those practices superimposed by Monica’s father’s professional life as a member of the Indian Civil Service, her dilemma comes through in these writings. While her father, Jnanendra Nath Gupta, was avowedly against formal schooling for girls, he encouraged his daughter to undertake long and at times hazardous journeys by river, rail and road to perfect her skills as a pianist. Though there was an occasional longing for a freer life like that lived by her cousins, yet, Monica also enjoyed the privileges of living in spacious bungalows with a retinue of servants, going on exclusive launch trips down the Ganges, and being invited to parties at Government House and even Buckingham Palace. While there is a tautness palpable in her narration of an encounter with a clearly racist Eurasian sergeant and almost near-encounter with a tiger, Monica’s style avoids hyperbole and dramatic sequences. She presents facts and situations as she saw them — though there are a few times when emotions of love, fear and excitement ripple through the pages of this tightly–woven memoir. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Of Country and Reverie: An Essay From The Collection, Of This Our Country
by Irenosen OkojieTo define Nigeria is to tell a half-truth. Many have tried, but most have concluded that it is impossible to capture the true scope and significance of Africa’s most populous nation through words or images.
Of Different Times
by Agnes KirkwoodWhen Nan accompanied her son taking her five-year-old grandchild to school one day, she was mesmerised by all the changes since she started school over seventy years ago, just after World War Two: the way people work and the opportunities then and now. Looking back at so many changes and progress inspired her to write a book about her memories of her younger and teenage years right up to getting married in the 60s. The progress, in education and the new technology, has created a different lifestyle as we know it today. Follow the memories of Nan through her childhood and relive the life of a young girl growing up in a Scottish pit village in the 40s with her family and experience the love, pain and laughter.
Of Divers Arts (The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts #8)
by Naum GaboConstructivist and sculptor Naum Gabo’s personal account of his development as an artistA leading exponent of the modern art movement known as Constructivism, Russian-born Naum Gabo was one of the most important sculptors of the twentieth century—an artist, designer, and theorist whose work changed the course of modern art. Of Divers Arts is Gabo’s beautifully written personal account of his development and growing into consciousness as an artist and his constant search for new techniques of communication. Throughout, he reflects on the relationship between art and science and reveals the many important influences on his work, especially the natural world, Russian religious and folk art, and the work of the artist Mikhail Vrubel. The result is a remarkable autobiographical account of a major modern artist.