- Table View
- List View
The Lost Colony of the Templars: Verrazano's Secret Mission to America
by Steven SoraReveals the existence of a Templar colony in the New World and how the explorer Verrazano, also a member of a secret society, attempted to reestablish contact with it • Explores Columbus’s connection to Henry Sinclair’s maps of the New World • Examines the secret alliance of Catholic Sulpicians and French Huguenots to preserve the Templar legacy • Reveals the hidden knowledge preserved in the Templar baptisteries found throughout Europe and in Newport, Rhode Island In 1524 the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano was sent by the French king Francis I on an expedition ostensibly to find a shorter route to China. However, his true mission, Steven Sora suggests, was to contact a Templar colony that might have been established in Newport, Rhode Island, by Henry Sinclair at the end of the 14th century. In his expedition log Verrazano recorded that his only stay on this journey was at Newport Harbor, the site of a tower built to the exact measurements of a Templar baptistery, a sacred sanctuary representing baptism and eternal life. This tower is a remnant of Sinclair’s voyage to America nearly a century before that of Columbus (who had access to Sinclair’s maps thanks to his wife, who was Sinclair’s great-granddaughter). While Verrazano’s mission succeeded in finding the tower, the colony itself eluded him. His backers then decided to resurrect the dream of Acadia--a place where they could aspire to higher knowledge without fear of Church or state--by creating a new Secret Society that included Huguenots and Catholic Sulpicians. This Company of the Holy Sacrament would lay the foundations for Montreal in an attempt to realize the ambitions of Sinclair and his Templar companions, as well as to stave off efforts by the Jesuits to transform Quebec into a fiefdom of the orthodox Church. Quebec’s motto, “Je me souviens” (I remember), is a reference to this secret history.
The Lost Continent of Pan: The Oceanic Civilization at the Origin of World Culture
by Susan B. MartinezReveals the Pacific Ur-culture that seeded the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt, India, Mexico, and Peru• Shows how the Pan diaspora explains the similarities between Gobekli Tepe and Toltec carvings and stone towers in Japan and on Easter Island• Reveals the mother tongue of Pan hidden in shared word roots in vastly different languages, including Quechua, Sanskrit, Japanese, Greek, and Sumerian• Explains the red-haired Caucasian mummies of China, the Ainu of Japan, the presence of “white” humans in early Native American legend, and other light-skinned peoples found in Southeast Asia and the Middle EastThe destruction of the vast continent of Pan--also known as Lemuria or Mu--in the Pacific Ocean 24,000 years ago was the greatest catastrophe that ever befell humanity. Yet it resulted in a prehistoric Golden Age of arts and technology thanks to the Sons of Noah, who, forewarned and prepared for the disaster, escaped in 5 organized fleets. Theirs was the masterful Ur-culture that seeded China, Egypt, India, Mexico, and Peru, explaining the sudden injection of the same advanced knowledge and sophisticated arts into those widely separated lands. Examining the diaspora from the sunken continent of Pan, Susan B. Martinez finds traces of the oceanic Pan civilization in arts and technologies from canal-works, masonry, and agriculture to writing, weaving, and pottery, but most importantly in the art of navigation, the hallmark of the survivors of the catastrophe. Using archaeo-linguistic analysis, she reveals the mother tongue of Pan hidden in strikingly similar words for royalty, deities, and important places in vastly different languages, including Quechua, Maori, Sanskrit, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, and Sumerian, as well as English through the prefix “pan” which denotes “all-encompassing.” The author reveals how the Pan diaspora explains the mound builders on each continent, the presence of “white” humans in Native American legend, the red-haired mummies found in China, and the Ainu of Japan. She shares recent genetic studies that reveal Polynesian DNA in central Europeans, Mesopotamians, South Americans, and the 9000-year-old Kennewick man and shows how Pan provides the missing link. She reveals why carvings at Gobekli Tepe are similar to Toltec artistry, why stone towers in Japan and Easter Island are identical, and how the Pacific Ring of Fire was activated. Moving the Garden of Eden from the Fertile Crescent to the South Seas, Martinez strikes down the pervasive view of Atlantis as the source of ancient knowledge and exposes the original unity of mankind on the ancient Pacific continent of Pan.
The Lost Daughters of China
by Karin EvansIn 1997 journalist Karin Evans walked into an orphanage in southern China and met her new daughter, a beautiful one-year-old baby girl. In this fateful moment Evans became part of a profound, increasingly common human drama that links abandoned Chinese girls with foreigners who have traveled many miles to complete their families. At once a compelling personal narrative and an evocative portrait of contemporary China, The Lost Daughters of China has also served as an invaluable guide for thousands of readers as they navigated the process of adopting from China. However, much has changed in terms of the Chinese government?s policies on adoption since this book was originally published and in this revised and updated edition Evans addresses these developments. Also new to this edition is a riveting chapter in which she describes her return to China in 2000 to adopt her second daughter who was nearly three at the time. Many of the first girls to be adopted from China are now in the teens (China only opened its doors to adoption in the 1990s), and this edition includes accounts of their experiences growing up in the US and, in some cases, of returning to China in search of their roots. Illuminating the real-life stories behind the statistics, The Lost Daughters of China is an unforgettable account of the red thread that winds form China?s orphanages to loving families around the globe. .
The Lost Flock: Rare Wool, Wild Isles and One Woman’s Journey to Save Scotland’s Original Sheep
by Jane CooperThe Lost Flock is the story of the remarkable and rare little horned sheep, known as Orkney Boreray, and the wool-obsessed woman who moved to one of Scotland’s wildest islands to save them. It was Jane Cooper’s passion for knitting that led her to discover the world of rare-breed sheep and their wool. Through this, Jane uncovered the ‘Orkney Borerary’ – a unique group within the UK’s rarest breed of sheep, the Boreray, and one of the few surviving examples of primitive sheep in northern Europe. As her knowledge of this rarest of heritage breeds grew, she took the bold step to uproot her quiet suburban life in Newcastle and relocate to Orkney, embarking on a new adventure and life as farmer and shepherd. Jane was astonished to find that she was the sole custodian of this lost flock in the world, and so she began investigating their mysterious and ancient history, tracking down the origins of the Boreray breed and its significance to Scotland’s natural heritage. From Viking times to Highland crofts and nefarious research experiments in Edinburgh, this is a so-far untold real-life detective story. It is also the story of one woman’s relentless determination to ensure a future for her beloved sheep, and in doing so revealing their deep connection to the Scottish landscape. An unforgettable story of a heritage breed and the importance of its existence.
The Lost Freedmen's Town of Hamburg, South Carolina (Lost)
by Michael S. SmithHamburg is perhaps South Carolina's most famous ghost town. Founded in 1821, it grew to four thousand residents before transportation advances led to decline. During Reconstruction, recently freed slaves reshaped Hamburg into a freedmen's village, where residents held local, county and state offices. These gains were wiped away after the Hamburg Massacre in 1876, a watershed event that left seven African Americans dead, most of them executed in cold blood. Yet more than a century after Hamburg, the one white supremacist killed in the melee is canonized by the racially divisive Meriwether Monument in downtown North Augusta. Author Michael Smith details the amazing events that created this unique community with a lasting legacy.
The Lost Generation of COVID-19: A Critical Analysis of Health and Social Inequality in Post-Pandemic Britain
by Jatinder HayreThe COVID-19 pandemic has wrought unparalleled disruption, altering the landscape of health and well-being for a generation. The Lost Generation of COVID-19 unveils the ways in which the crisis has deepened existing health disparities, casting a long shadow over young people’s futures.Set against the backdrop of austerity-induced cuts to UK public services, this book explores the social determinants of health, revealing how systemic neglect has been exacerbated by the pandemic’s relentless pressure. The analysis extends beyond individual hardships, illuminating the broader societal ramifications such as economic stagnation and social fragmentation. Yet, amidst the bleak landscape, the book offers a visionary perspective on the potential for transformative change. It posits that the pandemic serves as a catalyst for radical societal reform, advocating for a new economic paradigm anchored in equity and fairness. By addressing the root causes of health inequalities through innovative policy interventions and structural reforms, the author envisions a resilient and just society emerging from the shadows of the pandemic.Insightful and far-reaching, this book is an indispensable resource for students and scholars in the health sciences and political science, as well as for policymakers dedicated to these important issues.
The Lost German East
by Andrew DemshukA fifth of West Germany's post-1945 population consisted of ethnic German refugees expelled from Eastern Europe, a quarter of whom came from Silesia. As the richest territory lost inside Germany's interwar borders, Silesia was a leading objective for territorial revisionists, many of whom were themselves expellees. The Lost German East examines how and why millions of Silesian expellees came to terms with the loss of their homeland. Applying theories of memory and nostalgia, as well as recent studies on ethnic cleansing, Andrew Demshuk shows how, over time, most expellees came to recognize that the idealized world they mourned no longer existed. Revising the traditional view that most of those expelled sought a restoration of prewar borders so they could return to the east, Demshuk offers a new answer to the question of why, after decades of violent upheaval, peace and stability took root in West Germany during the tense early years of the Cold War.
The Lost German Slave Girl: The Extraordinary True Story Of The Slave Sally Miller And Her Fight For Freedom In Old New Orleans
by John BaileyIt is a spring morning in New Orleans, 1843. In the Spanish Quarter, on a street lined with flophouses and gambling dens, Madame Carl recognizes a face from her past. It is the face of a German girl, Sally Miller, who disappeared twenty-five years earlier. But the young woman is property, the slave of a nearby cabaret owner. She has no memory of a "white" past. Yet her resemblance to her mother is striking, and she bears two telltale birthmarks. In brilliant novelistic detail, award-winning historian John Bailey reconstructs the exotic sights, sounds, and smells of mid-nineteenth-century New Orleans, as well as the incredible twists and turns of Sally Miller's celebrated and sensational case. Did Miller, as her relatives sought to prove, arrive from Germany under perilous circumstances as an indentured servant or was she, as her master claimed, part African, and a slave for life? A tour de force of investigative history that reads like a suspense novel, The Lost German Slave Girl is a fascinating exploration of slavery and its laws, a brilliant reconstruction of mid-nineteenth-century New Orleans, and a riveting courtroom drama. It is also an unforgettable portrait of a young woman in pursuit of freedom.
The Lost Girls: The True Story Of The Cleveland Abductions And The Incredible Rescue Of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, And Gina Dejesus
by John GlattThey were held in brutal captivity—and managed to make it out alive. This is their story.
The Lost Horse: A Chinese Folktale
by Ed Young Tracey AdamsThe Caldecott Medalist's magnificent illustrations combine paint and paper collage to animate this ancient Chinese story of a wild horse that brings extraordinary reversals of fortune to its trusting owner. Three removable, cut-paper puppets invite young readers to act out the story and to create exciting new tales of their own.
The Lost Human and the Real End of History: The English Revolution and the Capitalist Roots of Environmental Crisis (Routledge Approaches to History)
by George YerbyThis book analyses the transformation in 16th- and 17th- century English economic life that overturned the traditional restraints of the medieval economy for the commercial ethos that governs the modern world, and the resulting imbalance which opened the way to the environmental breakdown of today.On the open fields and commons, the smallholders had worked closely with the land as given, with minimal intervention in natural processes. The 16th century introduced a fundamental difference of approach as the inducement of exceptional profits encouraged manipulative exploitation of the land. “Freedom of trade” from arbitrary restraints and impositions became the new economic ethos, officially established by the mid-17th-century revolution and reinforced by other changes such as the emergence of the nationstate. The “rise of science” was associated with the agriculturalist adoption of empirical method for “improvement”, and a new philosophy accorded humankind the right to degrade other species for its own ends. By focusing on the causes and effects of capitalism at its first appearance, this volume traces the environmental crisis back to the switch from an essentially universalist to a basically individualist world.This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Early Modern England, Economic Studies, and Environmental Studies.
The Lost Key: The Supranatural Secrets of the Freemasons
by Robert LomasRobert Lomas is the bestselling co-author of The Hiram Key and other international bestsellers on Freemasonic mysteries. Many say he is the model for Dan Brown's hero, Robert Langdon.The Lost Key contains revelations that only an initiate of the highest orders of esoteric Freemasonry is in a position to make. Here is the truth behind the hints in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol that Freemasonry is concerned to reawaken the hidden potentialities and powers of the human mind.The thrilling narrative of this new book follows a candidate for initiation as he rises through the different grades of initiation, taking part in ceremonies that are sometimes terrifying but always revealing of new knowledge and presenting new mysteries which will only be solved when the next stage of initiation has been achieved. Dramatic episodes include the re-enacting of an ancient murder from 3,000 years ago in full gory detail, lowering the candidate on the end of a rope into a dark vault under the floor of the temple, holding a dagger to the candidates naked breast, and making the candidate attend his own funeral.In the secret teachings revealed to some high-level initiates, there is a type of instruction which seems curiously similar to religious and mystical teachings. Astrology, angels, chakras and the powers of the mind to operate independently of the body, such as in remote viewing, are all a part of Freemasonic lore.Robert Lomas is both a physicist - he teaches physics at Bradford Unversity - and a Freemason. Here he reveals to a wider public and also explains these secret teachings for the first time. He shows that while they are dismissed as superstitious by campaigners for atheism such as Richard Dawkins, they are very much part of the strange, paradoxical world opened up by the latest thinking in quantum physics. This is why he prefers to call them 'Supranatural'.
The Lost Key: The Supranatural Secrets of the Freemasons
by Robert LomasRobert Lomas is the bestselling co-author of The Hiram Key and other international bestsellers on Freemasonic mysteries. Many say he is the model for Dan Brown's hero, Robert Langdon.The Lost Key contains revelations that only an initiate of the highest orders of esoteric Freemasonry is in a position to make. Here is the truth behind the hints in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol that Freemasonry is concerned to reawaken the hidden potentialities and powers of the human mind.The thrilling narrative of this new book follows a candidate for initiation as he rises through the different grades of initiation, taking part in ceremonies that are sometimes terrifying but always revealing of new knowledge and presenting new mysteries which will only be solved when the next stage of initiation has been achieved. Dramatic episodes include the re-enacting of an ancient murder from 3,000 years ago in full gory detail, lowering the candidate on the end of a rope into a dark vault under the floor of the temple, holding a dagger to the candidates naked breast, and making the candidate attend his own funeral.In the secret teachings revealed to some high-level initiates, there is a type of instruction which seems curiously similar to religious and mystical teachings. Astrology, angels, chakras and the powers of the mind to operate independently of the body, such as in remote viewing, are all a part of Freemasonic lore.Robert Lomas is both a physicist - he teaches physics at Bradford Unversity - and a Freemason. Here he reveals to a wider public and also explains these secret teachings for the first time. He shows that while they are dismissed as superstitious by campaigners for atheism such as Richard Dawkins, they are very much part of the strange, paradoxical world opened up by the latest thinking in quantum physics. This is why he prefers to call them 'Supranatural'.
The Lost King: The Search for Richard III
by Michael Jones Philippa LangleyThe official inside story of the discovery of the bones of Richard III now a major motion picture starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan The mystery of who Richard III really was has fascinated historians, readers and audiences familiar with Shakespeare's dastardly portrait of a hunchbacked monster of royalty for centuries. In 2012, the remains of a man with a curving spine, who possibly was killed in battle, were discovered underneath the paving of a parking lot in Leicester, England. Phillipa Langley, head of The Richard III Society, spurred on by the work of the historian Michael Jones, led the team of who uncovered the remains, certain that she had found the bones of the monarch. When DNA verification later confirmed that the skeleton was, indeed, that of King Richard III, the discovery ranks among the great stories of passionate intuition and perseverance against the odds.The news of the discovery of Richard's remains has been widely reported by the British as well as worldwide and was front page news for both the New York Times and The Washington Post. Many believe that now, with King Richard III's skeleton in hand, historians will finally begin to understand what happened to him following the Battle of Bosworth Field (twenty miles or so from Leicester) and, ultimately, to know whether he was the hateful, unscrupulous monarch of Shakespeare's drama or a much more benevolent king interested in the common man. Written in alternating chapters, with Richard's 15th century life told by historian Michael Jones (author of the critically acclaimed Bosworth - 1485) contrasting with the 21st century eyewitness account of the search and discovery of the body by Philippa Langley, The Lost King will be both an extraordinary portrait of the last Plantagenet monarch and the inspiring story of the archaeological dig that finally brings the real King Richard III into the light of day.
The Lost Language of Symbolism
by Harold BayleyThere's always a story behind the story, but the keenest observers have to break through the surface to reach it. This remarkable book reveals the hidden meaning behind familiar images and words, from the origins of Santa Claus and the meaning of Cinderella's name to the metaphoric significance of the unicorn and the fleur-de-lys.A prominent authority on symbols, author Harold Bayley spent years gathering and compiling the contents of this volume. Mythology, folklore, religious texts, and fairy tales from around the world constitute his primary sources. Bayley also draws upon the secret traditions of ancient cultures and medieval mystical sects to deconstruct the symbols embedded in watermarks and printers' emblems. Most of these images have lost their earliest significance and now serve strictly commercial purposes; Bayley explains their original meanings, and he cross-references similarities between symbols and stories across the globe to illuminate their evolving cultural significance. More than 1,400 illustrations enhance this classic work, which features an index for ease of reference.
The Lost Massey Lectures: Recovered Classics from Five Great Thinkers (The CBC Massey Lectures)
by Jane Jacobs Paul Goodman John Galbraith Eric Kierans Martin King Jr.The CBC Massey Lectures, Canada's preeminent public lecture series, are for many of us a highly anticipated annual feast of ideas. However, some of the finest lectures, by some of the greatest minds of modern times, have been lost for many years -- unavailable to the public in any form. Important thinkers whose Massey Lectures are lamentably out of print include the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., John Kenneth Galbraith, Jane Jacobs, Paul Goodman, and Eric Kierans. Each of these lecturers spoke on a subject at the heart of their intellectual and spiritual concerns -- King on race and prejudice, Galbraith on economics and poverty, Jacobs on Canadian cities and Quebec separatism, Goodman on the moral ambiguity of America, Kierans on globalism and the nation-state -- and their words are not only of considerable historical significance but remain hugely relevant to the problems we face today. At last, a selection of these lost lectures is available to a world so hungry for, and yet in such short supply of, innovative ideas. The Lost Massey Lectures includes an introduction by Bernie Lucht, who has been the executive producer of CBC Radio's Ideas and the Massey Lectures since 1984.
The Lost Matriarch: Finding Leah in the Bible and Midrash
by Jerry RabowThe Lost Matriarch offers a unique response to the sparse and puzzling biblical treatment of the matriarch Leah. Although Leah is a major figure in the book of Genesis, the biblical text allows her only a single word of physical description and two lines of direct dialogue. The Bible tells us little about the effects of her lifelong struggles in an apparently loveless marriage to Jacob, the husband she shares with three other wives, including her beautiful younger sister, Rachel. Fortunately, two thousand years of traditional and modern commentators have produced many fascinating interpretations (midrash) that reveal the far richer story of Leah hidden within the text. Through Jerry Rabow’s weaving of biblical text and midrash, readers learn the lessons of the remarkable Leah, who triumphed over adversity and hardship by living a life of moral heroism. The Lost Matriarch reveals Leah’s full story and invites readers into the delightful, provocative world of creative rabbinic and literary commentary. By experiencing these midrashic insights and techniques for reading “between the lines,” readers are introduced to what for many will be an exciting new method of personal Bible interpretation.
The Lost Secrets of Maya Technology
by James A. O'KonThe pioneering archaeo-engineer uncovers the advanced technologies of the Maya—from ancient highways to the concept of zero. The mysteries of the Maya have been a source of fascination since the ancient civilization was discovered in the 19th century. Far more advanced than any civilization in Europe, Maya developed an elegant mathematic system, an incredibly accurate astronomy, and one of the world&’s first written languages. The lost principles of Maya technology allowed ancient engineers to construct grand cities that towered above the rainforest, water systems with underground reservoirs, miles of all-weather paved roads tracking through the jungle, and the longest bridge in the ancient world. Pioneering archeologist and engineer James O&’Kon combined research, field exploration, forensic engineering, and 3-D virtual reconstruction to discover the secrets of Maya technology. Here, O&’Kon recounts how Maya engineers developed structural mechanics for multi-story buildings that were not exceeded in height until the first &“skyscraper&” built in Chicago in 1885; invented the blast furnace 2,000 years before it was patented in England; and developed the vulcanization of rubber more than 2,600 years before Charles Goodyear.
The Lost Tomb of King Arthur: The Search for Camelot and the Isle of Avalon
by Graham PhillipsOne man’s journey to uncover the final resting place of the historical King Arthur • Pinpoints the exact locations of Arthur’s tomb, the ruins of Camelot, and the sword Excalibur using literary research and the latest geophysics equipment • Examines previously unknown ancient manuscripts preserved in the vaults of the British Library--including one written within the living memory of Arthur’s time • Reveals the mythic king as the real-life leader Owain Ddantgwyn, who united the British to repel invasion from Germany around 500 AD One of the most enigmatic figures in world history, King Arthur has been the subject of many fantastical tales over the past 1500 years, leading many scholars to regard him and his fabled city of Camelot simply as myth. But, as Graham Phillips shows through a wealth of literary and scientific evidence, King Arthur was a real man, Camelot a real place, and the legendary Excalibur a real sword--and Phillips has located them all. Phillips examines the earliest stories of Arthur as well as previously unknown ancient manuscripts preserved in the vaults of the British Library in London, such as the work of the 9th-century monk Nennius, to pinpoint the exact locations of Arthur’s tomb, the ruins of Camelot, and the sword Excalibur. He reveals the mythic king as the real-life leader Owain Ddantgwyn, who united the British to repel invasion from Germany around 500 AD. Moving his quest from library vaults to the real sites of Arthur’s life, the author confirms his research through a Dark Age monument, hidden away in the mountains of western Britain, that bears an inscription about a powerful warlord who went by the battle title “Arthur.” He visits archaeological excavations at the ruins of Viroconium, near Wroxeter in Shropshire, clearly identifying the ancient city as Camelot, the fortified capital of Arthur’s Britain. Working with specialist divers and marine archaeologists, he surveys the depths of an ancient lake in the English countryside to reveal the resting place of Excalibur. Enlisting a team of scientists and sophisticated geophysics equipment, he uncovers the lost grave of the historical King Arthur, buried with his shield, just as told in legend. The culmination of 25 years of research, including new translations of primary source material, this book provides the necessary evidence to allow King Arthur to finally be accepted as the authentic British king he was.
The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder
by Douglas PrestonFrom the #1 bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God, a jaw-dropping discovery of an Egyptian tomb opens up a slew of archaeological mysteries and deadly tales. Now in paperback with an EXCITING BONUS ADVENTURE! What&’s it like to be the first to enter an Egyptian burial chamber that&’s been sealed for thousands of years? What horrifying secret was found among the prehistoric ruins of the American Southwest? Who really was the infamous the Monster of Florence? From the jungles of Honduras to macabre archaeological sites in the American Southwest, Douglas Preston's explorations have taken him across the globe. The Lost Tomb brings together a compelling collection of true stories about buried treasure, enigmatic murders, lost tombs, bizarre crimes, and other fascinating tales of the past and present.
The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery
by Steven SoraA compelling argument that connects the lost treasure of the Knights Templar to the mysterious money pit on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, that has baffled treasure hunters for two centuries • Fascinating occult detective work linking the Cathars, the Scottish Masons, and Renne-le-Chateau to the elusive treasure pit on Oak Island • Draws on new evidence recently unearthed in Italy, France, and Scotland to provide a compelling solution to one of the world's most enduring mysteries When the Order of Knights Templar was ruthlessly dissolved in 1307 by King Philip the Fair of France it possessed immense wealth and political power, yet none of the treasure the Templars amassed has ever been found. Their treasure is rumored to contain artifacts of spiritual significance retrieved by the order during the Crusades, including the genealogies of David and Jesus and documents that trace these bloodlines into the royal bloodlines of Merovingian France. Placing a Scottish presence in the New World a century before Columbus, Steven Sora paints a credible scenario that has the Sinclair clan of Scotland transporting the wealth of the Templars--entrusted to them as the Masonic heirs of the order--to a remote island off the shores of present-day Nova Scotia. The mysterious money pit there is commonly believed to have been built before 1497 and has guarded its secret contents tenaciously despite two centuries of determined efforts to unearth it. All of these efforts (one even financed by American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt) have failed, thanks to an elaborate system of booby traps, false beaches, hidden drains, and other hazards of remarkable ingenuity and technological complexity.
The Lost World of Byzantium: The Lost World Of Byzantium
by Jonathan HarrisThe acclaimed author of Byzantium and the Crusades &“offers a fresh take on this fabled but hidden civilization&” across 11 centuries of history (Colin Wells, author of Sailing from Byzantium). For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the classical to the modern world. Rather than recounting the standard chronology of emperors and battles, leading Byzantium scholar Jonathan Harris focuses each chapter of this engaging history on a succession of archetypal figures, families, places, and events. Harris&’s introduction presents a civilization rich in contrasts, combining orthodox Christianity with paganism, and classical Greek learning with Roman power. Though frequently assailed by numerous armies, Byzantium survived by dint of its unorthodox foreign policy. Over time, its sumptuous art and architecture flourished, helping to establish a deep sense of Byzantine identity in its people. Synthesizing a wealth of sources to cover all major aspects of the empire&’s social, political, military, religious, cultural, and artistic history, Harris&’s study illuminates the heart of Byzantine civilization and explores its remarkable and lasting influence on the modern world.
The Lost World of Russia's Jews: Ethnography and Folklore in the Pale of Settlement (Jews in Eastern Europe)
by Abraham RechtmanIn 1913, Abraham Rechtman journeyed through the Russian Pale of Settlement on a mission to record its Jewish folk traditions before they disappeared forever. The Lost World of Russia's Jews is the first English translation of his extraordinary experiences, originally published in Yiddish, documenting a culture best known until now through romanticized works like Life Is with People and Fiddler on the Roof. In the last years of the Russian Empire, Abraham Rechtman joined S. An-sky's Jewish Ethnographic Expedition to explore and document daily life in the centuries old Jewish communities of the Pale of Settlement. Rechtman described the key places where Jewish life and death were experienced and connected these sites to local folklore and customary practices. Among the many unique contributions of his memoir are riveting descriptions of traditional Jewish healers and exorcists—many of them women—and their methods and incantations.Rather than a nostalgic portrait of an imagined shtetl, Rechtman succeeded in producing an intimate account of Jewish life and death that is highly nuanced and richly detailed. The Lost World of Russia's Jews powerfully illuminates traditional Jewish life in Eastern Europe on the eve of its transformation and, ultimately, destruction.
The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest
by David RobertsAn award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. For more than 5,000 years the Ancestral Puebloans--Native Americans who flourished long before the first contact with Europeans--occupied the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. Just before AD 1300, they abandoned their homeland in a migration that remains one of prehistory's greatest puzzles. Northern and southern neighbors of the Ancestral Puebloans, the Fremont and Mogollon likewise flourished for millennia before migrating or disappearing. Fortunately, the Old Ones, as some of their present-day descendants call them, left behind awe-inspiring ruins, dazzling rock art, and sophisticated artifacts ranging from painted pots to woven baskets. Some of their sites and relics had been seen by no one during the 700 years before David Roberts and his companions rediscovered them. In The Lost World of the Old Ones, Roberts continues the hunt for answers begun in his classic book, In Search of the Old Ones. His new findings paint a different, fuller portrait of these enigmatic ancients--thanks to the breakthroughs of recent archaeologists. Roberts also recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in the backcountry with the verve of a seasoned travel writer. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, illuminating the mysteries of the Old Ones as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche. Roberts calls on his climbing and exploratory expertise to reach remote sanctuaries of the ancients hidden within nearly vertical cliffs, many of which are unknown to archaeologists and park rangers. This ongoing quest combines the shock of new discovery with a deeply felt connection to the landscape, and it will change the way readers experience, and imagine, the American Southwest.
The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances
by Kevin FaganIn the tradition of Stephanie Land and Matthew Desmond, a powerful and deeply reported narrative of homelessness, despair, and hope.Kevin Fagan&’s The Lost and the Found, set in San Francisco—one of the wealthiest cities in America—takes an empathic, character-driven approach to exploring the human side of what&’s behind the homelessness epidemic. An award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee who has covered homelessness for decades and spent extensive time on the streets for his reporting, Fagan experienced it himself as a young man and brings a deep understanding to the crisis. He introduces us to Rita and Tyson, telling the deeply moving story of two unhoused people rescued by their families with the help of Fagan&’s reporting, and their struggle to pull themselves out of homelessness and addiction, ending with both enormous tragedy and triumph. But The Lost and the Found is not just a story of individuals experiencing homelessness, it is also a compelling look at the link between homelessness and addiction, and an incisive commentary on housing and equality. Fagan shines a sharp light on this national calamity, and in sharing Rita and Tyson&’s stories, The Lost and the Found has the potential to change the way we see and help the homeless.