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The Life I've Picked: A Banjo Player's Nitty Gritty Journey
by John McEuenJohn McEuen is one of the founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, NGDB. Now 50-years strong, the band is best known for its evergreen bestselling album Will the Circle Be Unbroken and for its gorgeous version of the song "Mr. Bojangles." McEuen is one of the seminal figures who conceived and originated the fusion of folk, rock and country, a unique sound still hugely popular today. In addition to performing on tour with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and on dozens of bestselling NGDB albums (many of which went platinum and gold), McEuen also has a successful solo performing and recording career. And as a music producer, he won the Grammy Award in 2010 for producing The Crow, a music album by Steve Martin, John's lifelong friend. McEuen writes candidly and movingly about the ups and downs in his life. Among the highs was NGDB's tour of the Soviet Union in 1977; they were the first American group to perform there. Among the downs was the breakup of his family in the 1980s. McEuen is a born storyteller, and his tales of working with everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Willie Nelson to Johnny Cash to the Allman Brothers to Bob Dylan to Dolly Parton to, of course, Steve Martin will thrill every fan of folk, rock, and country music alike.
The Life Journey of an MIT Family
by Joyce WangIn this distinctive memoir, Joyce Wang tells the story of her life through 100 milestones. Each milestone is described in English and Chinese text and accompanied by her own paintings. Her story includes studying architectural engineering in China in the early 1950's, coming to the United States for graduate study, and raising three children while pursuing her doctoral degree at RPI and working as the principal planner in the capital district of New York State.The powerful theme underpinning Wang's story is her partnership with husband and best friend Leon Wang who made this journey with her for over half a century until his death in 2006. One recurring image of their strong connection is the letters they exchanged during their times apart. The Life Journey of an MIT Family is an unassuming self-portrait by a remarkable woman; it is also her moving love letter to her family.About Killian PressKillian Press is a publishing services and distribution imprint of the MIT Press intended for MIT faculty and alumni works. Killian Press titles, self-published by their authors, are distinct from the MIT Press's own books, which are published by the Press under the MIT Press imprint.Our first Killian Press title, published in November 2014, is Joyce Wang '61's Life Journey of an MIT Family.Dr. James R. Killian (1904-1988) was an MIT alumnus who became the tenth president of MIT (1948-1959) and then chairman of the MIT Corporation. Killian served as special assistant for science and technology to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and participated in a numerous government advisory and study groups on topics including foreign intelligence, communications policy, and educational television. During his years at the Institute before he became president, he was the editor of the MIT alumni magazine Technology Review. In 1932 he helped found the Technology Press, now the MIT Press.
The Life Of Saint Columba (Penguin Classics)
by Richard Sharpe Adomnan of Iona StaffAlthough related to one of the ruling families of Ireland, Columba (c 521-97) became a central figure in the 'Age of Saints' by setting out from his native land and founding his famous monastery on the island of Iona. <p><p> It was from here that priests and monks played a key role in converting the Picts of Scotland, here that countless penitents came on pilgrimages and that the King of Dalriada (Argyll) came to be consecrated. Adomnán's Life, writes Richard Sharpe, is the fullest early account, offering a 'vivid depiction of the abbot among his own monks, written on the spot by the saint's successor one hundred years after Columba's death'. <p> Drawing on extensive written and oral traditions, Adomnán presents Columba as a man distinguished for his prophetic and miraculous powers, whose life was filled with angelic apparitions and whose dying days were spent preparing for his departure. A stimulating Introduction sketches in the background, the archaeological evidence from Iona and the legends that grew up around Columba in medieval and more recent times. The result is an ideal new edition, equally suitable for readers seeking spiritual insight or the hard core of historical fact.
The Life Of Saint Macrina
by Gregory Kevin Corrigan Bishop Of NyssaSaint Macrina (327 - 370) was a major guiding force in the early development of monasticism and it was through her example that her brother, Saint Basil the Great, was inspired to establish one of the first monastic communities. This life, written by her other famous brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, is one of the masterpieces of Christian literature.
The Life Scientific: Explorers
by Anna BuckleyInspiring life stories from BBC Radio 4's hit series The Life Scientific'In showing non-scientists why science offers so many paths to discovery it has no equal' Gillian Reynolds, TelegraphBased on Jim Al-Khalili's ground-breaking interviews, The Life Scientific: Explorers takes science out of its box and introduces us to the men and women who make it happen.The explorers featured in this volume include: Michele Dougherty, the mathematician who persuaded the Cassini mission to Saturn to make a diversion; Richard Fortey on his love of trilobites; Monica Grady, Meteorite Lady; neurosurgeon Henry Marsh on slicing through our thoughts; the Director of the British Antarctic Survey, Jane Francis; Jocelyn Bell Burnell describing how she missed out on a Nobel Prize; Brian Cox on quantum mechanics; and Nobel Prize winner John Sulston on why he thought it would be a good idea to sequence the human genome.
The Life Scientific: Explorers
by Anna BuckleyInspiring life stories from BBC Radio 4's hit series The Life Scientific'In showing non-scientists why science offers so many paths to discovery it has no equal' Gillian Reynolds, TelegraphBased on Jim Al-Khalili's ground-breaking interviews, The Life Scientific: Explorers takes science out of its box and introduces us to the men and women who make it happen.The explorers featured in this volume include: Michele Dougherty, the mathematician who persuaded the Cassini mission to Saturn to make a diversion; Richard Fortey on his love of trilobites; Monica Grady, Meteorite Lady; neurosurgeon Henry Marsh on slicing through our thoughts; the Director of the British Antarctic Survey, Jane Francis; Jocelyn Bell Burnell describing how she missed out on a Nobel Prize; Brian Cox on quantum mechanics; and Nobel Prize winner John Sulston on why he thought it would be a good idea to sequence the human genome.
The Life Scientific: Explorers
by Anna BuckleyInspiring life stories from BBC Radio 4's hit series The Life Scientific'In showing non-scientists why science offers so many paths to discovery it has no equal' Gillian Reynolds, TelegraphBased on Jim Al-Khalili's ground-breaking interviews, The Life Scientific: Explorers takes science out of its box and introduces us to the men and women who make it happen.The explorers featured in this volume include: Michele Dougherty, the mathematician who persuaded the Cassini mission to Saturn to make a diversion; Richard Fortey on his love of trilobites; Monica Grady, Meteorite Lady; neurosurgeon Henry Marsh on slicing through our thoughts; the Director of the British Antarctic Survey, Jane Francis; Jocelyn Bell Burnell describing how she missed out on a Nobel Prize; Brian Cox on quantum mechanics; and Nobel Prize winner John Sulston on why he thought it would be a good idea to sequence the human genome.
The Life Scientific: Inventors
by Anna BuckleyWhat does it take to be an inventor? Judging by the ingenious individuals who have come into The Life Scientific studio in the last eight years, there is no simple answer. Mathematicians, electricians, molecular biologists and mechanics can all transform lives. Some think with their hands, others make things in their minds. Most have a vision of the future. All are driven by a passionate determination to solve problems.These intimate accounts, based on interviews recorded for the popular BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific, chart the life journeys of scientists and engineers working in Britain today from childhood interests to innovation. Explaining what they did when and why, they make science seem straightforward and exciting, revealing moments of disappointment, creativity, frustration and joy. The result is an illuminating collection of biographical short stories that make scientists and the work they do accessible to us all.
The Life Scientific: Inventors
by Anna BuckleyWhat does it take to be an inventor?Judging by the ingenious individuals who have come into The Life Scientific studio in the last eight years, there is no simple answer. Mathematicians, electricians, molecular biologists and mechanics can all transform lives. Some think with their hands, others make things in their minds. Most have a vision of the future. All are driven by a passionate determination to solve problems.These intimate accounts, based on interviews recorded for the popular BBC Radio 4 programme The Life Scientific, chart the life journeys of scientists and engineers working in Britain today from childhood interests to innovation. Explaining what they did when and why, they make science seem straightforward and exciting, revealing moments of disappointment, creativity, frustration and joy. The result is an illuminating collection of biographical short stories that make scientists and the work they do accessible to us all.
The Life Scientific: Virus Hunters
by Anna BuckleyBBC Radio 4's celebrated THE LIFE SCIENTIFIC has featured some of the world's most renowned experts in the field of deadly viruses. The interviews make sobering reading, a reminder of all the deadly viruses that have threatened global health, and why for the scientists working on the front line in the war against viruses, the arrival of Covid-19 came as no surprise. Among the contributors to this all-too-timely book are:Jeremy Farrar, before he became Director of the Wellcome Trust, worked in an Infectious Diseases Hospital in Vietnam. He was on the frontline tackling SARS and nine months later a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N1. Peter Piot was at the forefront of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. He was the first to identify HIV in Africa. It took him fifteen years to persuade the world that it was also a heterosexual disease. Later as Executive Director of UN AIDS he fought for years to get the UN to take the threat of HIV seriously.Jonathan Ball studies how viruses operate at the molecular level, hoping to find their Achilles' heel and so develop effective vaccines. During the West Africa Ebola epidemic, he studied how the genome of the Ebola virus evolved as it spread from Guinea to Liberia and Sierra Leone. He has shown that as this virus (which more happily lives in bats) infects more humans, it becomes ever more infectious.Wendy Barclay seeks to understand how viruses are able to jump from animals to humans and why some viruses are so much more dangerous to humans than others. Most Londoners had no idea they were infected during the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009. The Bird Flu epidemic in Asia claimed thousands of livesKate Jones is a bat specialist who works on how ecological changes and human behaviour accelerate the spread of animal viruses into humans. Bats have been infected with coronaviruses for more than 10,000 years.
The Life She Wished to Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling
by Ann McCutchanA comprehensive and engaging biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of the beloved classic The Yearling. Washington, DC, born and Wisconsin educated, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was an unlikely author of a coming-of-age novel about a poor central Florida child and his pet fawn—much less one that has become synonymous with Florida literature writ large. Rawlings was a tough, ambitious, and independent woman who refused the conventions of her early-twentieth-century upbringing. Determined to forge a literary career beyond those limitations, she found her voice in the remote, hardscrabble life of Cross Creek, Florida. There, Rawlings purchased a commercial orange grove and discovered a fascinating world out of which to write—and a dialect of the poor, swampland community that the literary world had yet to hear. She employed her sensitive eye, sharp ear for dialogue, and philosophical spirit to bring to life this unknown corner of America in vivid, tender detail, a feat that earned her the Pulitzer Prize in 1938. Her accomplishments came at a price: a failed first marriage, financial instability, a contentious libel suit, alcoholism, and physical and emotional upheaval. With intimate access to Rawlings’s correspondence and revealing early writings, Ann McCutchan uncovers a larger-than-life woman who writes passionately and with verve, whose emotions change on a dime, and who drinks to excess, smokes, swears, and even occasionally joins in on an alligator hunt. The Life She Wished to Live paints a lively portrait of Rawlings, her contemporaries—including her legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins, and friends Zora Neale Hurston, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald—and the Florida landscape and people that inspired her.
The Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans as Told by Themselves
by Hamilton Holt27 autobiographical stories of ordinary people
The Life Story of Lester Sumrall: The Man - The Ministry - The Vision
by Lester SumrallFor sheer entertainment, he was hard to beat. The Man of a Thousand Stories and the quick smile also stored up spiritual power form the Lord, and the result of all these characteristics was that Lester Sumrall worked to advance the gospel for a staggering 65 years. A leader. This giant of Pentecostal circles never saw himself that way, preferring to steamroll through projects God had for him. From his hilarious beginnings as a teenage preacher staring at a roomful of bemused farmers, to his final work as director of global food outreach, Sumrall lived with no regrets. This look back at his life is by turns funny, poignant, and inspiring. In this day of denominational partnership, which Sumrall would no doubt have loved, Christians of all backgrounds will enjoy the passion and power of a most remarkable life. Sumrall passed away in 1996, but not before preparing the ministry for that event. He worked to the last to feed the souls and bodies, the passions of his extraordinary life. I daily realize that I cannot fill my father's shoes, bit I find myself walking in his footsteps - sharing his love for the lost, pasturing the church he founded, leading the areas of ministry that God first entrusted him, and believing and trusting God to direct us and give us strength to complete all that He has called us to do. Let me encourage you to "arise" and continue to trust Him. Stephen Sumrall • Photo Section
The Life Swap
by Nancy WeberIn February of 1973, Nancy Weber put an ad in the Village Voice offering to trade places with another woman, a stranger, for a month. In hopes of better understanding what was fixed and final in each person--and what was invented, and therefore might be reinvented--they would use each other's names, live in each other's homes, love each other's loves, and do each other's work. After interviewing many of the fascinating women who answered the ad, Weber--single (with a longtime lover) and straight--chose a polyamorous, bisexual, married psychologist and academic, the pseudonymous Micki Wrangler. They spent five months getting ready for their adventure--cajoling their nearest and dearest into participating, exchanging thousands of details, and swapping deep secrets. But, instead of a month, their wild ride lasted only a week. Wrangler was having a rough time (and Weber too good a time, maybe) so they decided to call things off. Wanting The Life Swap to convey more than her own experience, Weber invited Wrangler and ten others to enrich the book with their uncensored reports. Publicity for the book included stints on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and To Tell the Truth. The book achieved a kind of cult status, in part because it's a relic of 1970s sexual openness (cruelly destroyed by HIV/AIDS) and belief in the right of self-invention. Recent critics have credited the book with inspiring life swap reality TV shows and several popular novels and films.
The Life We Chose: William “Big Billy” D'Elia and the Last Secrets of America's Most Powerful Mafia Family
by Matt Birkbeck“The Life We Chose—an unforgettable story. A really great read.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino and screenwriter of GoodfellasFrom Matt Birkbeck—investigative journalist and executive producer of Netflix’s #1 movie Girl in the Picture—a revelatory father/surrogate son story that takes readers deep inside the inner workings of the mob through the eyes of William “Big Billy” D’Elia, the right-hand man to legendary mafia kingpin Russell Bufalino, who ran organized crime in the US for more than fifty years.William “Big Billy” D’Elia is Mafia royalty.The “adopted” son of legendary organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, for decades D’Elia had unequaled access to the man the FBI and US Justice Department considered one of the leading organized crime figures in the United States. But the government had no real idea as to the breadth of Bufalino’s power and influence—or that it was Bufalino, from his bucolic home base in Pittston, Pennsylvania, who reigned over the five families in New York and other organized crime families throughout the country.For nearly thirty years, D’Elia was at Bufalino’s side, and “Russ’s son” was a witness and participant to major historical events that have stymied law enforcement, perplexed journalists, and produced false and wild narratives in books and movies—not the least of which being the infamous disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa. In addition, their reach was illustrated by their relationships with Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Michael Jackson, Suge Knight, and many other celebrities and personalities.D’Elia became the de facto leader of the Bufalino family upon Russell Bufalino’s imprisonment in 1979, and he officially took control upon Bufalino’s death in 1994 until his arrest in 2006, when he was charged with money laundering and the attempted murder of a witness. He pled guilty to money laundering and witness tampering and was released from federal prison in 2012.Candid and unapologetic, D’Elia is finally ready to reveal the real story behind the myths and in so doing paints a complicated, compelling, and stunning portrait of crime, power, money, and finally, family.
The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams
by Derek JeterEver wonder what it would take to turn all of your dreams into reality? In The Life You Imagine, All-Star New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter shows how you can use the same game plan that helped an eight-year-old boy who fantasized about playing baseball for the Bronx Bombers grow up and become MVP of the 2000 World Series. With the help and support of both of his parents, Derek developed a practical program that would assist him in achieving all of his personal and professional aspirations-and now he shares his secrets to success so that you can get closer to living your dream, too. In this inspiring, information-packed book, Derek provides you with the ten lessons that have guided him throughout his life on and off the field, from his dream of being a gifted, hardworking athlete to his goal of becoming an active community leader. Using personal stories from his own life as a student athlete in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and as a Yankee team player, Derek writes about the simple steps that put him on course for success, including:* Setting your goals high and finding the right role models* Being serious but still having fun * Challenging yourself daily and not being afraid to fail* Surrounding yourself with a strong supporting cast Filled with rare family photos and pictures of Derek playing for the Yankees, The Life You Imagine is an intimate look into the life of a superstar athlete -- including the remarkable relationship he has with his family, what it's like to play with the Yankees, and how he's used his baseball celebrity to found the Turn 2 Foundation, a drug and alcohol prevention program for kids.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage
by Paul ElieA Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year: “A fascinating multiple biography of four of the most influential Catholic literary figures of the 20th century.” —BooklistWinner, PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction * Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award * An Atlantic Monthly Book of the Year * A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year * A San Jose Mercury News Top Book of the YearThomas Merton was a Trappist monk in Kentucky; Dorothy Day the founder of the Catholic Worker movement in New York; Flannery O’Connor a “Christ-haunted” literary prodigy in Georgia; Walker Percy a doctor in New Orleans who quit medicine to write fiction and philosophy. In the mid-twentieth century, these four American Catholics came to believe that the best way to explore the questions of religious faith was to write about them, in works that readers of all kinds could admire. A friend came up with a name for them—the School of the Holy Ghost—and for three decades they exchanged letters, ardently read one another’s books, and grappled with what one of them called a “predicament shared in common.”A pilgrimage is a journey taken in light of a story; and in The Life You Save May Be Your Own, Paul Elie tells these writers’ story as a pilgrimage from the God-obsessed literary past of Dante and Dostoevsky out into the thrilling chaos of postwar American life. It is a story of how the Catholic faith, in their vision of things, took on forms the faithful could not have anticipated. And it is a story about the ways we look to great books and writers to help us make sense of our experience, about the power of literature to change—to save—our lives.“Reminds us of what it means to live authentically in a world that seems determined to dull our senses and our intellect and our spirits with doublespeak, nonsense, meaningless distraction.” —Alice McDermott, Commonweal“Lucid, humane, poignant, and wise. As a work of the spirit, it is universal and in no way sectarian.” —Harold Bloom“[An] engrossing, smartly conceived and perfectly realized work.” —Tom Nolan, San Francisco Chronicle“An elegant, intelligent blend of biography and literary criticism.” —Ben Lytal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck, Volume 1
by Freiherr von der Friedrich TrenckThere were two cousins Von der Trenck, who were barons descended from an ancient house in East Prussia, and were adventurous soldiers, to whom, as to the adventurous, there were adventures that lost nothing in the telling, for they were told by the authors' most admiring friends- themselves. Franz, the elder, was born in 1711, the son of an Austrian general; and Frederick, whose adventures are here told, was the son of a Prussian major-general. Franz, at the age of seventeen, fought duels, and cut off the head of a man who refused to lend him money. He stood six feet three inches in his shoes, knocked down his commanding officer, was put under arrest, offered to pay for his release by bringing in three Turks' heads within an hour, was released on that condition, and actually brought in four Turks' heads. When afterwards cashiered, he settled on his estates in Croatia, and drilled a thousand of his tenantry to act as "Pandours" against the banditti. In 1740, he served with his Pandours under Maria Theresa, and behaved himself as one of the more brutal sort of banditti.
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck, Volume 2
by Freiherr von der Friedrich TrenckThomas Holcroft, the translator of these Memoirs of Baron Trenck, was the author of about thirty plays, among which one, The Road to Ruin, produced in 1792, has kept its place upon the stage. He was born in December, 1745, the son of a shoemaker who did also a little business in horse-dealing. After early struggles, during which he contrived to learn French, German, and Italian, Holcroft contributed to a newspaper, turned actor, and wrote plays, which appeared between the years 1791 and 1806. He produced also four novels, the first in 1780, the last in 1807. He was three times married, and lost his first wife in 1790. In 1794, his sympathy with ideals of the French revolutionists caused him to be involved with Hardy, Horne Tooke, and Thelwall, in a charge of high treason; but when these were acquitted, Holcroft and eight others were discharged without trial.
The Life and Adventures of Ben Hogan,
by Benedict HoganBenedict Hagan, whose name has become familiar in the altered form of Hogan, is a native of Würtemberg, Germany. With his parents, he immigrated to this country at the age of eleven years. His father was a cabinet-maker by trade, who had saved up something like a thousand dollars, with which he set forth to better his condition in the New World. Along with his family, he arrived in New York in the summer of 1852. His reception was not of the most encouraging nature, and an incident which occurred almost immediately after the landing of the family will serve to show the character of Hogan at that time. As was customary with all emigrants who had any money to carry, the elder Hogan had secured his fortune, amounting to eight hundred dollars in gold, in a belt fastened about his shoulders. When he walked out of Castle Garden he was forthwith set upon by a Hebrew of the South street order, whose nose resembled his nature, because it was sharp. This enterprising Jew, who spoke German fluently, induced the emigrant to go into a small shop where everything was given away--for four times its value. The unsuspecting Hogan made a small purchase, and when he came to pay for it, disclosed the bag containing his gold. The sight was enough to rouse the Hebrew. Precisely how it happened he did not know; but in an amazingly short time Hogan senior found himself relieved of his eight hundred dollars. Had it not been for the presence of young Ben, it may be safely assumed that the emigrant would never have gone forth from the Jew's place alive. The boy, however, presented an obstacle to the commission of murder, which was undoubtedly intended by the robbers. They determined, therefore, to get rid of their victims by strategy instead of force. One of their "cappers" offered to lead the way to the police station where they might get assistance in recovering the money. He did lead the way, but it is unnecessary to add that there were not a great many police stations in the neighborhood to which he conducted them. The Hebrew perhaps thought that he had made one of the fattest "hauls" in his life; but it turned out to be a very dear job.
The Life and Adventures of Frank Grouard: Chief of Scouts, U.S.A.
by Joe De BartheThe true story of the one of the most thrilling figures of the Wild West.Every army needs its scouts. A good scout knows the enemy and the enemy's terrain as well as his own, and is resourceful and incisive, cool-headed and courageous. A great scout is irreplaceable. And no greater scout than Frank Grouard has ever served in the US Army. During the Indian Wars in the American West, he was so valuable that General George Crook, considered the greatest of Indian fighters, said he would rather have lost a third of his command than Frank Grouard.Indeed, few lives rival Grouard's for sheer excitement, danger, and achievement. He claimed to have been born on an island in the South Pacific, the son of a Mormon missionary and his Polynesian wife-although others said he was part Indian. Among his many admirers was the great warrior Chief Sitting Bull, who saved young Grouard from death, gave him the Sioux name Standing Bear, held him semiprisoner, and raised him to be a Sioux warrior. He hunted with the Sioux, learned their language, and became skilled at reading the land for the presence of enemies. But when the chance came to escape, he took it, landing work as a scout for General Crook shortly thereafter.Grouard once carried urgent dispatches over one hundred miles in less than four hours, an incredible feat on horseback, and was instrumental in setting up negotiations for the final surrender after Wounded Knee. After the wars, he laid out the first all-weather mail route over the Big Horn Mountains, which he accomplished on foot in the dead of winter.The Life and Adventures of Frank Grouard is the classic firsthand account-dictated to Joe De Barthe, a young journalist-of one of the greatest men of the era.
The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. With Illustrations
by James P. Beckwourth"The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. With Illustrations" is an exhilarating autobiographical account of one of the most colorful and dynamic figures of the American frontier. James P. Beckwourth, an African American born into slavery, rose to become a legendary trapper, trader, explorer, and chief of the Crow Nation. This remarkable narrative, richly illustrated, brings to life the extraordinary exploits and adventures of a true American pioneer.Beckwourth's memoir, dictated to Thomas D. Bonner, spans the vast, untamed landscapes of the 19th-century American West. From his early days as a fur trapper in the Rocky Mountains to his time as a scout for the U.S. Army, Beckwourth's life was one of constant adventure and peril. His vivid storytelling captures encounters with Native American tribes, dangerous wildlife, and treacherous terrain, painting a vivid picture of the challenges and triumphs faced by those who ventured into the frontier.One of the most fascinating aspects of Beckwourth's life is his deep integration into the Crow Nation, where he was accepted as a chief and respected warrior. His unique perspective offers invaluable insights into the culture, customs, and conflicts of the Crow people during a pivotal time in their history. Beckwourth's narrative is not only a personal saga of survival and resilience but also a significant historical document that sheds light on the diverse interactions between Native Americans and settlers."The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth" is a compelling and essential read for historians, adventure enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the untold stories of the American frontier. With its captivating prose and detailed illustrations, this autobiography stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit and extraordinary life of James P. Beckwourth, a man who truly lived on the edge of history.
The Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner
by Tim FlanneryAn international bestseller, The Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner is a rousing memoir of an ordinary man's extraordinary life, a gripping true adventure tale. In his many voyages, the Scottish-born sailor John Nicol (1755-1825) twice circumnavigated the globe, visiting every inhabited continent while participating in many of the greatest events of exploration and adventure of the eighteenth century. During his career Nicol battled pirates, traded with Native Americans, and fought for the British Navy in the American and French revolutions. In Hawaii, he was entertained by the King's court mere days after the murder of Captain James Cook. In Jamaica, he saw firsthand the horrors of the slave system and befriended slaves who invited him to join in their dance celebrations. En route to Australia, he would meet the love of his life, Sarah Whidam, a convict bound for the Botany Bay prison colony, who would bear his son before duty forced them apart forever.
The Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner
by Tim FlanneryThe Thrilling True Story of an Eighteenth-Century Sailor’s Extraordinary VoyagesThe Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner is a recently rediscovered text that vividly renders the unforgettable story of a man whom history has nearly forgotten.In his many voyages the Scottish-born sailor John Nicol twice circumnavigated the globe, visiting every inhabited continent while witnessing and participating in many of the greatest events of exploration and adventure in the eighteenth century. He traded with Native Americans on the St. Lawrence River and hunted whales in the Arctic Ocean. He fought for the British navy against American privateers in the Atlantic Ocean and Napoléon’s navy in the Mediterranean Sea. In Grenada he witnessed the horrors of the slave system and befriended slaves who invited him to join in their dance celebrations. In the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) he was entertained by the king’s court mere days after the murder of Captain James Cook. En route to Australia he would meet the love of his life, Sarah Whitlam, a convict bound for the Botany Bay prison colony, who would bear his son before duty forced them apart forever.At the end of his journeys, John Nicol returned to his homeland and a life of obscurity and poverty, until the publisher John Howell met him one day while he was wandering the streets of Edinburgh, searching for dregs of coal to fuel his hearth. After hearing the fascinating stories of Nicol’s seafaring experiences, Howell convinced him to write his memoirs-the publication of which eventually earned Nicol enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his days.An international bestseller, The Life and Adventures of John Nicol, Mariner is a rousing, eminently readable memoir of an ordinary man’s extraordinary life-a great, true-adventure tale. Celebrated scientist and historian Tim Flannery has edited Nicol’s original text, providing accompanying footnotes and an introduction (updated for this North American edition) that give historical context to the sailor’s exploits.