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The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific
by J. Maarten TroostFantasized about quitting the 9-5? Walking away from credit card debt and student loans? Think living in the South Pacific for two years sounds like a perfect solution and perhaps even a winning idea for your first novel? Maarten Troost does just that, setting up as a devil-may-care islander while his girlfriend, Sylvia, gets to work on saving the planet, or at least a little part of it on an end-of-the-world atoll, Tarawa. Life on Tarawa resembles not so much paradise as a theatre of the absurd where planes fly with the aid of masking tape, Coconut Stalinism prevails as national government and Sylvia is co-opted by the CIA to spy on the Chinese. But abandoning continental hang-ups like barbequeing the local dogs and watching on as international industrial fishing trawlers plunder the world's richest tuna supply aren't so easy.
The Sex Tourism Handbook: Adventures in Sex Travel
by Joe DiamondAs globalization erodes national borders and the Internet spawns online communities for every conceivable interest or fetish, sex tourism is surging. Around the World in 80 Lays is the first book to explore the emergence of the online sex tourist subculture and its mounting impact on the world's flesh trade. The author, Joe Diamond, is himself an enthusiastic sex tourist, and an expert. In this groundbreaking travelogue, he traverses the globe to put sex tourism under the microscope. Through colorful anecdotes and solid research, "Rio Joe" takes readers to the world's most notorious sex havens: Brazil, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and many more. Around the World in 80 Lays provides an insider's view of a fascinating and lurid world that has never been exposed to the American public.
The Shackleton Expedition: One of the World's Greatest Survival Stories (Fountas & Pinnell LLI Purple #Level U)
by Laura JohnsonThe advertisement that Ernest Shackleton wrote to attract workers to his expedition to Antarctica began with the words, "Men wanted for hazardous journey". Neither he nor any of those responded had any idea that their trip to the bottom of the world would become one of the greatest survival stories in history.
The Shadow of the Sun
by Ryszard KapuscinskiA moving portrait of Africa from Poland's most celebrated foreign correspondent - a masterpiece from a modern master.Famous for being in the wrong places at just the right times, Ryszard Kapuscinski arrived in Africa in 1957, at the beginning of the end of colonial rule - the "sometimes dramatic and painful, sometimes enjoyable and jubilant" rebirth of a continent. The Shadow of the Sun sums up the author's experiences ("the record of a 40-year marriage") in this place that became the central obsession of his remarkable career.From the hopeful years of independence through the bloody disintegration of places like Nigeria, Rwanda and Angola, Kapuscinski recounts great social and political changes through the prism of the ordinary African. He examines the rough-and-ready physical world and identifies the true geography of Africa: a little-understood spiritual universe, an African way of being. He looks also at Africa in the wake of two epoch-making changes: the arrival of AIDS and the definitive departure of the white man.Kapuscinski's rare humanity invests his subjects with a grandeur and a dignity unmatched by any other writer on the Third World, and his unique ability to discern the universal in the particular has never been more powerfully displayed than in this work.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Shadow of the Wind: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 1
by Carlos Ruiz ZafonHidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'La Sombra del Viento' by Julian Carax.But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from La Sombra del Viento, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.Read by Daniel Philpott(p) 2005 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Shadow of the Wind: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 1
by Carlos Ruiz ZafonTHE MODERN CLASSIC: OVER 20 MILLION COPIES SOLDA Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard & Judy book club pick'The real deal: one gorgeous read' Stephen King'This book will change your life. An instant classic' Daily Telegraph'A book lover's dream' The Times Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'Cemetery of Lost Books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Julian Carax.But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from the book, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind...'Marvellous' Sunday Times'A hymn of praise to all the joys of reading' Independent'Gripping and instantly atmospheric' Mail on Sunday'Irresistibly readable' Guardian'Diabolically good' Elle
The Shakespeare Guide to Italy
by Richard Paul RoeRichard Paul Roe spent more than twenty years traveling the length and breadth of Italy on a literary quest of unparalleled significance. Using the text from Shakespeare's ten "Italian Plays" as his only compass, Roe determined the exact locations of nearly every scene in Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest, and the remaining dramas set in Italy. His chronicle of travel, analysis, and discovery paints with unprecedented clarity a picture of what the Bard must have experienced before penning his plays. Equal parts literary detective story and vivid travelogue-containing copious annotations and more than 150 maps, photographs, and paintings-The Shakespeare Guide to Italy is a unique, compelling, and deeply provocative journey that will forever change our understanding of how to read the Bard . . . and irrevocably alter our vision of who William Shakespeare really was.
The Shang Dynasty and Yin (Time Travel Guides #6)
by Tim CookeStep back in time to discover life during the Shang Dynasty with this handy time travel guidebookTravel back in time to the age of the Shang dynasty in China and find out all about Shang life and culture. Get ready to visit a bronze-making workshop, eat elephant at a banquet, play panpipes and shop for precious jade and silk at a Shang market. Like modern travel guides, the books in this series highlight must-see features and explain local culture. Each highlighted destination contains an explanation of what took part in these areas, as well as a look at important artefacts found there providing a bigger picture of life in the past. Typical travel guide notes include, 'best time to visit', 'what to eat' and 'where to stay'. Perfect for the KS2 history curriculum, and for readers aged 7 and up.Titles in the series:The Ancient Egyptians and ThebesThe Ancient Greeks and AthensThe Maya and Chichén ItzáRoman Britain and LondiniumThe Shang Dynasty and YinxuThe Stone Age and Skara BraeThe Victorians and LondonViking Britain and Jorvik
The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China
by Frank LangfittAs any traveler knows, some of the best and most honest conversations take place during car rides. So, when a long-time NPR correspondent wanted to learn more about the real China, he started driving a cab--and discovered a country amid seismic political and economic change. China--America's most important competitor--is at a turning point. With economic growth slowing, Chinese people face inequality and uncertainty as their leaders tighten control at home and project power abroad. In this adventurous, original book, NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt describes how he created a free taxi service--offering rides in exchange for illuminating conversation--to go beyond the headlines and get to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks like "Beer," a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life. Blending unforgettable characters, evocative travel writing, and insightful political analysis, The Shanghai Free Taxi is a sharply observed and surprising book that will help readers make sense of the world's other superpower at this extraordinary moment.
The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China
by Frank Langfitt'A unique, kaleidoscopic view of Chinese society ... A must read' Qiu Xiaolong, author of Shanghai RedemptionAs any traveller knows, the best and most honest conversations take place during car rides. So when journalist Frank Langfitt wanted to learn more about the real China, he started driving a cab - and discovered a country amid seismic political and economic change.The Chinese economic boom, with its impact on the environment, global trade, and the tech industry, has been one of the most important stories of the twenty-first century. Yet few realise that the boom is largely over, and that the new reality in China is unequal growth, political anxiety and a newly empowered strongman president in Xi Jingping.In order to understand this new world, Frank Langfitt offered the citizens of Shanghai a simple deal: a conversation in exchange for a free taxi ride. Rides turned into follow-up interviews, shared meals and even a wedding invitation. In this adventurous book, we get to know an array of quirky yet representative characters like Beer Horse, the pushy dealer who sells Langfitt his used car; Rocky, a stylishly dressed migrant worker who loves John Denver music; and Xiao Chen, who moved his family to Hawaii to escape China's oppressive education system but was unable to get out of the country himself.Unfolding over the course of several years, The Shanghai Free Taxi is a sensitive and eye-opening book about a rapidly changing country.'Langfitt excels at humanising a country increasingly presented in purely oppositional terms [and] achieves a breadth rarely found in journalistic accounts' Financial Times
The Shape of Things: How Mapmakers Picture Our World
by Dean RobbinsHow did the first people explore the land they lived on? How did civilizations expand their boundaries and chart courses into new lands? Learn about the history of cartography across cultures in this ode to mapmaking through the ages.Join history's first mapmakers as they explore the wonders of the world! In these pages, you&’ll find the tools ancient people used to depict their surroundings, methods different cartographers developed to survey new lands, and how we&’ve arrived at modern mapmaking today. Above all else, the thread that runs throughout thousands of years of civilization is the spirit of exploration that helps us measure the shape of things around us, the world we all share.
The Shape of Wine: Its Packaging Evolution (Routledge Studies of Gastronomy, Food and Drink)
by Henry H. WorkGrape wine has been produced for at least 4,000 years, having been aged, stored and transported in every conceivable type of vessel. Its seductiveness has been enhanced by this packaging: primarily three strikingly different containers – amphorae, wooden barrels and glass bottles. Henry H. Work brings extensive wine experience as a cooper, working with wine barrels and living in California’s Napa Valley to provide a richly detailed and vivid account of wine containers through the ages. This book delves into the history, evolution, and present use of containers, vessels, and stoppers; from animal skin sacks to barrels, from glass bottles to upstart packaging such as wine casks, and even aluminium cans. It considers the advantages and weaknesses of their construction, designs and labels, methods of shipment and storage, as well as their impact on marketing wine to customers. This is an enlightening and innovative read which draws on the most current archaeological research, scientific data and wine business trends. It is richly peppered throughout with the author’s own visits to many of the locations explored in the book, bringing history to life. This book will appeal to individuals within the wine industry, undergraduates in the fields of history, archaeology, food and hospitality, as well as all people interested in wine.
The Shark and the Albatross: A Wildlife Filmmaker Reveals Why Nature Matters to Us All
by Carl Safina John AitchisonFor twenty years John Aitchison has been traveling the world to film wildlife for a variety of international TV shows, taking him to far-away places on every continent. The Shark and the Albatross is the story of these journeys of discovery, of his encounters with animals and occasional enterprising individuals in remote and sometimes dangerous places. His destinations include the far north and the far south, from Svalbard, Alaska, the remote Atlantic island of South Georgia, and the Antarctic, to the wild places of India, China, and the United States. In all he finds and describes key moments in the lives of animals, among them polar bears and penguins, seals and whales, sharks and birds, and wolves and lynxes.John Aitchison reveals what happens behind the scenes and beyond the camera. He explains the practicalities and challenges of the filming process, and the problems of survival in perilous places. He records touching moments and dramatic incidents, some ending in success, others desperately sad. There are times when a hunted animal triumphs against the odds, and others when, in spite of preparation for every outcome, disaster strikes. And, as the author shows in several incidents that combine nail-biting tension with hair-raising hilarity, disaster can strike for film-makers too.
The Shell Country Alphabet: The Classic Guide to the British Countryside
by Geoffrey GrigsonIn the 1960s Geoffrey Grigson travelled around England writing the story of the secret landscape that is all around us, if only we take the time to look and see. The result is a book that will take you on an imaginative journey, revealing hidden stories, unexpected places and strange phenomena. From green men, ice-scratches, cross-legged knights and weathercocks to rainbows, clouds and stars; from place-names and poets to mazes, dene-holes and sham ruins, via avenues, dewponds and village greens, The Shell Country Alphabet will help you discover the world that remains, just off the motorway.'Geoffrey Grigson resurrected the minor, the provincial and the parochial ... [he was] an erudite and unrivalled topographer ... ardent in promoting informed awareness of the distinctiveness of place' Toby Barnard'An anthologist of genius' P.J. Kavanagh
The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton's Endurance
by Mensun Bound"As thrilling as any tale from the heroic age of exploration. . . Bound’s account is a triumph. The storytelling is piano-wire taut, the writing saturated with polar moodiness." ― Sunday TimesThe inside story of how the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's legendary lost ship, was found in the most hostile sea on Earth, told by the expedition's Director of Exploration.On November 21, 1914, the Endurance succumbed to the surrounding ice. Ernest Shackleton and his crew had navigated the three-masted wooden vessel ten thousand miles to Antarctica in hopes of becoming the first to cross the barren continent, but early season pack ice trapped them in place offshore. Marooned on the ice for six months, Shackleton’s expedition to push the limits of human strength took a new form: one of survival against the odds. A century after this legendary story entered the annals of polar exploration, renowned marine archeologist Mensun Bound and an elite team of explorers joined a new global race to find the wrecked Endurance. Bound experienced failure and despair in his attempts to locate the wreck, and very nearly found his own vessel frozen in ice. Finally, a century to the day after Shackleton’s burial, the discovery: nearly ten thousand feet below the ice lay a remarkably preserved Endurance, its name still emblazoned on the ship’s stern.Told “with passion and flair” (Washington Post), The Ship Beneath the Ice is a modern-day adventure narrative of the intrepid spirit that joins two mariners across the centuries—both of whom accomplished the impossible.
The Ship of Cloud and Stars
by Amy RaphaelFrom the acclaimed author of The Forest of Moon and Sword comes a high-seas adventure for readers 9+. Join Nico on her quest to change the world...Nico Cloud desperately wants to be an explorer, but her parents think adventures aren't for girls. Fate intervenes when Nico chases a kitten on board a ship . . . and then the ship sails out to sea!NICO IS AN ACCIDENTAL STOWAWAY.Lucky for her, the ship belongs to a famous scientist who is on a quest for new discoveries. But clouds are brewing overhead and cunning pirates are determined to wreck the crew's mission. Can Nico steer the ship to victory and prove her parents wrong?AN EPIC ADVENTURE STORY ABOUT THE POWER OF SCIENCE AND LEGENDS.
The Ship of Cloud and Stars
by Amy RaphaelFrom the acclaimed author of The Forest of Moon and Sword comes a high-seas adventure for listeners 9+. Join Nico on her quest to change the world...Nico Cloud desperately wants to be an explorer, but her parents think adventures aren't for girls. Fate intervenes when Nico chases a kitten on board a ship . . . and then the ship sails out to sea!NICO IS AN ACCIDENTAL STOWAWAY.Lucky for her, the ship belongs to a famous scientist who is on a quest for new discoveries. But clouds are brewing overhead and cunning pirates are determined to wreck the crew's mission. Can Nico steer the ship to victory and prove her parents wrong?AN EPIC ADVENTURE STORY ABOUT THE POWER OF SCIENCE AND LEGENDS.(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
The Ship of Doom: Book 1 - A time-travelling adventure set on board the Titanic (The Butterfly Club #1)
by M.A. Bennett'A hugely entertaining mystery' – Fiona Noble, The Bookseller Children's Previews 'One to Watch' Greenwich, London, 15th February 1894.Luna thinks that an evening at her aunt's butterfly club sounds deathly boring.But it turns out that the meeting, held in the Butterfly Room at the Greenwich Observatory, is not at all as Luna expects. The Butterfly Club is a society with an unusual secret . . . they use time travel to plunder the future for wonders.Together with her friends, Konstantin and Aidan, and a clockwork cuckoo, Luna boards the Time Train. The gang travel to 1912 and find themselves aboard a great ship travelling from Southampton to New York. They locate a man called Guglielmo Marconi and his new invention: the wireless radio. But as the ship heads into icy waters, they discover its name:The RMS TITANICCan Luna and the boys save Marconi and his invention from the doomed ship?Can they get the radio back home to the Butterfly Club?And how will their actions change the rest of time?
The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex: The True Narrative that Inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (Lyons Press Ser.)
by Owen Chase Kenneth KamlerThe Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex is the harrowing narrative of an unfortunate vessel’s calamitous encounter with a great white whale, and the crew’s perilous fight for survival on the open sea. This Explorer’s Club edition faithfully reproduces Owen Chase’s original 1821 narrative, in which he chronicles the great whale’s attack on the ship, the Essex’s subsequent sinking, and the more than exhausting months at sea that followed, in which the fraction of the crew that survived desperately clung to life. Struggling against a relentless sea, the insufferable climate, and ever-increasing hunger, Chase was one of only eight crew members who survived the ordeal.Evocating all of the passion and terror of the greatest adventure stories, The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex is a thrilling tale that captures both man and beast’s most shocking and raw natural impulses. Filled with terror and suspense, it is no wonder that the great American novelist, Herman Melville, chose it as his inspiration for one of the most iconic works of literature in American history.
The Shroud: Fresh Light on the 2000 Year Old Mystery
by Ian WilsonTwo decades after radiocarbon dating declared the Turin Shroud a mediaeval fake, brand-new historical discoveries strongly suggest that this famous cloth, with its extraordinary photographic imprint, is genuinely Christ's shroud after all.In 1978 in his international bestseller The Turin Shroud Ian Wilson ignited worldwide public debate with his compelling case endorsing the shroud's authenticity. Now, 30 years later, he has completely rewritten and updated his earlier book to provide fresh evidence to support his original argument. Shroud boldly challenges the current post-radiocarbon dating view - that it is a fake. By arguing his case brilliantly and provocatively, Ian Wilson once more throws the matter into the public arena for further debate and controversy.
The Sickness
by Alberto Barrera TyszkaErnesto Durán is convinced he is sick. It becomes an obsession far exceeding hypochondria, and when Dr Andrés Miranda gives up responding to his letters and e-mails, Durán resolves to stalk him. The fixation has its own creeping effect on Karina, Miranda's lonely secretary, who cannot resist becoming involved. Meanwhile, Dr Miranda has troubles of his own: he has diagnosed his father's illness, but cannot summon the courage to tell him. In trying to find the perfect opportunity to break the news gently, Miranda ensures only that their relationship descends into farce.Profound and philosophical, The Sickness is a tender and intimate celebration of life's little absurdities and unlikely alliances.
The Sierra Nevada: A Mountain Journey
by Tim PalmerThis book presents a natural history of the Sierra Nevada that brings the land, the people, and the surrounding communities to life.
The Silence of the Wave
by Howard Curtis Gianrico CarofiglioA stand-alone thriller from best-selling Italian crime writer Gianrico Carofiglio, whose work has been translated into twenty-four languages. Every Monday and Thursday, Roberto Marías crosses Rome on foot for his appointment with his psychiatrist. There he sits in silence, flooded by memories. He remembers surfing with his father as a child. He remembers the treacherous years he spent working as an undercover agent, years that taught him how cynicism and corruption are not merely external influences but exist within us as well. His past has left him devastated, but now his psychiatrist's words, his hypnotic strolls through Rome, and a chance meeting with a woman named Emma--who, like Roberto, is ravaged by a profound guilt--begin to painfully revive him. And when eleven-year-old Giacomo asks Roberto to help him conquer his nightmares, Roberto at last achieves a true rebirth. A thriller about human faults, frailties, and the painful bond between fathers and sons. Praise for The Silence of the Wave: "A novel distinguished by the natural gift of prose as smooth and silent as a perfect wave." --Paolo Di Stefano, Corriere della Sera "A literary jigsaw full of plot twists." --Luciana Sica, La Repubblica
The Silk Road
by Kathy CeceriFrom Roman times until the Age of Exploration, the Silk Road carried goods and ideas across Central Asia between two major centers of civilization, the Mediterranean Sea and China. In The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Route, readers ages 9-12 will learn about the history, geography, culture, and people of the Silk Road region.Marco Polo was just one of many who set out on the Silk Road in search of wealth, power, or knowledge. These adventurers braved vast deserts, towering mountain peaks, warring tribes, and marauding bandits. Silk garments, wool rugs, and fine glass were the prizes for those who survived the trip. Activities using everyday materials bring the Silk Road to life. Young readers will see how ideas in math, science, religion, and art were spread by travelers along with the treasures they found.The Silk Road takes readers on an exciting, interactive adventure to a faraway place and celebrates its important role in human history and development..
The Silk Road: A New History
by Valerie HansenThe Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal. But what was it, exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from China to Rome. The reality was different--and far more interesting--as revealed in this new history. In The Silk Road, Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes. For centuries, key records remained hidden-sometimes deliberately buried by bureaucrats for safe keeping. But the sands of the Taklamakan Desert have revealed fascinating material, sometimes preserved by illiterate locals who recycled official documents to make insoles for shoes or garments for the dead. Hansen explores seven oases along the road, from Xi'an to Samarkand, where merchants, envoys, pilgrims, and travelers mixed in cosmopolitan communities, tolerant of religions from Buddhism to Zoroastrianism. There was no single, continuous road, but a chain of markets that traded between east and west. China and the Roman Empire had very little direct trade. China's main partners were the peoples of modern-day Iran, whose tombs in China reveal much about their Zoroastrian beliefs. Silk was not the most important good on the road; paper, invented in China before Julius Caesar was born, had a bigger impact in Europe, while metals, spices, and glass were just as important as silk. Perhaps most significant of all was the road's transmission of ideas, technologies, and artistic motifs. The Silk Road is a fascinating story of archeological discovery, cultural transmission, and the intricate chains across Central Asia and China.