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Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The Sixteenth-Century Journey of David Reubeni through Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture)
by Alan VerskinIn 1524, a man named David Reubeni appeared in Venice, claiming to be the ambassador of a powerful Jewish kingdom deep in the heart of Arabia. In this era of fierce rivalry between great powers, voyages of fantastic discovery, and brutal conquest of new lands, people throughout the Mediterranean saw the signs of an impending apocalypse and envisioned a coming war that would end with a decisive Christian or Islamic victory. With his army of hardy desert warriors from lost Israelite tribes, Reubeni pledged to deliver the Jews to the Holy Land by force and restore their pride and autonomy. He would spend a decade shuttling between European rulers in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France, seeking weaponry in exchange for the support of his hitherto unknown but mighty Jewish kingdom. Many, however, believed him to favor the relatively tolerant Ottomans over the persecutorial Christian regimes. Reubeni was hailed as a messiah by many wealthy Jews and Iberia's oppressed conversos, but his grand ambitions were halted in Regensburg when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, turned him over to the Inquisition and, in 1538, he was likely burned at the stake. Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah is the first English translation of Reubeni's Hebrew-language diary, detailing his travels and personal travails. Written in a Hebrew drawn from everyday speech, entirely unlike other literary works of the period, Reubeni's diary reveals both the dramatic desperation of Renaissance Jewish communities and the struggles of the diplomat, trickster, and dreamer who wanted to save them.
Daughter of History: Traces of an Immigrant Girlhood (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture)
by Susan SuleimanA photograph with faint writing on the back. A traveling chess set. A silver pin. In her new memoir, noted scholar and author Susan Rubin Suleiman uses such everyday objects and the memories they evoke to tell the story of her early life as a Holocaust refugee and American immigrant. In this coming-of-age story that probes the intergenerational complexities of immigrant families and the inevitability of loss, Susan looks to her own life as an example of how historical events shape our private lives. After the Nazis marched into Hungary in 1944, five-year old Susan learned to call herself by a Christian name, hiding with false papers in Budapest with her parents. While her relatives in the provinces would be among the 450,000 Hungarian Jews deported to Auschwitz, Susan's close family survived and even thrived in the years following the war. But when the Communist Party took over Hungary, Susan and her parents emigrated to Chicago by way of Vienna, Paris, Haiti, and New York. In her adult life as a prominent feminist professor, she rarely allowed herself to think about these chapters of her past—but eventually, when she had children of her own, she found herself called back to Budapest, unlocking memories that would change the direction of her scholarship and career. At the center of this richly textured memoir is a little girl who grows up happy despite the traumas of her early years, surrounded by a loving family. As a teenager in the 1950s, she is determined to become "100% American," until a post-college year in Paris leads her to realize that her European roots and Americanness can coexist. At once an intellectual autobiography and a reflection on the nature of memory, identity, and home, Daughter of History invites us to consider how the objects that underpin our lives become gateways to our past.
Hegel: The Philosopher of Freedom
by Klaus ViewegA monumental new biography of a pivotal yet poorly understood pioneer in modern philosophy. When a painter once told Goethe that he wanted to paint the most celebrated man of the age, Goethe directed him to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel worked from the credo: To philosophize is to learn to live freely. While he was slow and cautious in the development of his philosophy, his intellectual growth was like an odyssey of the mind, and, contrary to popular belief, his life was full of twists and turns, suspense and even danger. In this landmark biography, the philosopher Klaus Vieweg paints a new picture of the life and work of the most important representative of German idealism. His vivid portrait provides readers an intimate account of Hegel's times and the milieu in which he developed his thought, along with detailed, clear-sighted analyses of Hegel's four major works. What results is a new interpretation of Hegel through the lens of reason and freedom. Vieweg draws on extensive archival research that has brought to light a wealth of hitherto undiscovered documents and handwritten notes relating to Hegel's work, touching on Hegel's engagement with the leading thinkers and writers of his age: Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hölderlin, and others. Combatting clichés and misunderstandings about Hegel, Vieweg also offers a sustained defense of the philosopher's more progressive impulses. Highly praised upon its release in Germany as having set the new biographical standard, this monumental work emphasizes Hegel's relevance for today, depicting him as a vital figure in the history of philosophy.
The Socialist Patriot: George Orwell and War
by Peter StanskyAn incisive demonstration of how Orwell's body of work was defined by the four major conflicts that punctuated his life: World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War. Few English writers wielded a pen so sharply as George Orwell, the quintessential political writer of the twentieth century. His literary output at once responded to and sought to influence the tumultuous times in which he lived—decades during which Europe and eventually the entire world would be torn apart by war, while ideologies like fascism, socialism, and communism changed the stakes of global politics. In this study, Stanford historian and lifelong Orwell scholar Peter Stansky incisively demonstrates how Orwell's body of work was defined by the four major conflicts that punctuated his life: World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War. Young Orwell came of age against the backdrop of the First World War, and published his final book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, nearly half a century later, at the outset of the Cold War. The intervening three decades of Orwell's life were marked by radical shifts in his personal politics: briefly a staunch pacifist, he was finally a fully committed socialist following his involvement in the Spanish Civil War. But just before the outbreak of World War II, he had adopted a strong anti-pacifist position, stating that to be a pacifist was equivalent to being pro-Fascist. By carefully combing through Orwell's published works, notably "My Country Right or Left," The Lion and the Unicorn, Animal Farm, and his most dystopian and prescient novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Stansky teases apart Orwell's often paradoxical views on patriotism and socialism. The Socialist Patriot is ultimately an attempt to reconcile the apparent contradictions between Orwell's commitment to socialist ideals and his sharp critique of totalitarianism by demonstrating the centrality of his wartime experiences, giving twenty-first century readers greater insight into the inner world of one of the most influential writers of the modern age.
The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools
by Reid SaarisGrowing up, Reid was confused and disturbed by the radically different opportunities his best friend received. After a childhood spent together, Jamie and Reid found themselves on opposite sides of a high school hallway that separated kids based on a misunderstanding of their supposed "potential." The gap between the two friends widened as Reid's classes enabled him to pursue an elite college degree across the country studying educational opportunity and teaching. Then, Reid became a teacher at an under-resourced South Carolina high school where efforts to serve the incredible students were stymied by internal segregation and administrative ambivalence. He was disabused of the Hollywood myth that a good teacher could simply save the day, when each false start with his students forced him to reckon with how much he didn't know. After Reid assigned students a project to create a positive change, they pushed him to figure out how he, too, could make a bigger difference. While an individual's efforts are no match against entrenched systems, Reid learned firsthand that a community of people powered by data can effect change. This lesson motivated him to found Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to finding the students who were overlooked, discouraged, or otherwise missing from higher-level classes. As EOS became more successful, partnering with major philanthropies, universities, and even the White House, Reid grappled with his role as a leader. Only through the efforts of, first, his students in South Carolina, and later his team at EOS, would he come to understand, and begin to overcome, the limitations of his vision. Informed by extensive new data on educational opportunity in America, The Kid Across the Hall is a powerful story of learning and unlearning; of leading and learning to follow.
Dear California: The Golden State in Diaries and Letters
by David KipenDispatches from a land of extremes, by writers and movie stars, natives and visitors, activists and pioneers, and more. California has always been, literally, a place to write home about. Renowned figures and iconoclasts; politicians, actors, and artists; the world-famous and the not-so-much—all have contributed their voices to the patchwork of the state. With this book, cultural historian and California scholar David Kipen reveals this long-storied place through its diaries and letters, and gives readers a highly anticipated follow up to his book Dear Los Angeles. Running from January 1 through December 31, leaping across decades and centuries, Dear California reflects on the state's shifting landscapes and the notion of place. Entries talk across the centuries, from indigenous stories told before the Spanish arrived on the Pacific coast through to present-day tweets, blogs, and other ephemera. The collected voices show how far we've wandered—and how far we still have to go in chasing the elusive California dream. This is a book for readers who love California—and for anyone who simply treasures flavorful writing. Weaving together the personal, the insightful, the impressionistic, the lewd, and the hysterically funny, Dear California presents collected writings essential to understanding the diversity, antagonisms, and abiding promise of the Golden State. Writings from Edward Abbey, Louis Armstrong, Ambrose Bierce, Octavia Butler, John Cage, Willa Cather, Cesar Chavez, Julia Child, Winston Churchill, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Einstein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Fonda, Allen Ginsberg, Dolores Huerta, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Steve Jobs, Billy Joel, Frida Kahlo, John F. Kennedy, Anne Lamott, John Lennon, Groucho Marx, Henri Matisse, Marshall McLuhan, Herman Melville, Charles Mingus, Marilyn Monroe, John Muir, Ronald Reagan, Sally Ride, Joan Rivers, Susan Sontag, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mark Zuckerberg, and many others.
My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine
by Sami HermezA riveting and unapologetic account of Palestinian resistance, the story of one family's care for their land, and a reflection on love and heartache while living under military occupation. In 1967, Sireen Sawalha's mother, with her young children, walked back to Palestine against the traffic of exile. My Brother, My Land is the story of Sireen's family in the decades that followed and their lives in the Palestinian village of Kufr Ra'i. From Sireen's early life growing up in the shadow of the '67 War and her family's work as farmers caring for their land, to the involvement of her brother Iyad in armed resistance in the First and Second Intifada, Sami Hermez, with Sireen Sawalha, crafts a rich story of intertwining voices, mixing genres of oral history, memoir, and creative nonfiction. Through the lives of the Sawalha family, and the story of Iyad's involvement in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hermez confronts readers with the politics and complexities of armed resistance and the ethical tensions and contradictions that arise, as well as with the dispossession and suffocation of people living under occupation and their ordinary lives in such times. Whether this story leaves readers discomforted, angry, or empowered, they will certainly emerge with a deeper understanding of the Palestinian predicament.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel
by Mark SullivanPino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager--obsessed with music, food, and girls--but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. <P><P>In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier--a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler's left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich's most mysterious and powerful commanders. <P><P>Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share. <P><P>Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by: A Novel
by Mark SullivanBased on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders. Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.
The Original Cowgirl
by Heather Lang Suzanne BeakyWho says girls can't be cowboys? Lucille Mulhall wasn't like most girls in the 1890s. She didn't give a lick about sewing or cooking or becoming a lady. Lucille had her heart set on roping and riding. At a time when most women couldn't vote or own property, Lucille never let society's expectations or the dangers of roping and riding stop her from pursuing her passion. Traveling around the country, she broke records and thrilled crowds with her daring acts. Soon cowboys, ranch hands, and folks all over the world cheered for the feisty and fearless girl cowboy. This is a fixed-format ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book.
Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder
by Samuel Wilson FussellA hilarious and harrowing firsthand account of the eccentric world of hardcore bodybuilding When blue-blooded, storklike Samuel Wilson Fussell arrived in New York City fresh from the University of Oxford, the ethereal young graduate seemed like the last person on Earth who would be interested in bodybuilding. But he was intimidated by the dangers of the city--and decided to do something about it. At twenty-six, Fussell walked into the YMCA gym. Four solid years of intensive training, protein powders, and steroid injections later, he had gained eighty pounds of pure muscle and was competing for bodybuilding titles. And yet, with forearms like bowling pins and calves like watermelons, Fussell felt weaker than ever before. His punishing regimen of workouts, drugs, and diet had reduced him to near-infant-like helplessness and immobility, leaving him hungry, nauseated, and prone to outbursts of " 'roid rage. " But he had come to succeed, and there was no backing down now. Alternately funny and fascinating, Muscle is the true story of one man's obsession with the pursuit of perfection. With insight, wit, and refreshing candor, Fussell ushers readers into the wild world of juicers and gym rats who sacrifice their lives, minds, bodies, and souls to their dreams of glory in Southern California's so-called iron mecca.
Where Nothing Sleeps: The Complete Short Stories and Other Related Works (Where Nothing Sleeps #1)
by Denton WelchThe first volume of Denton Welch's complete collected short works English novelist Denton Welch originally trained as a visual artist, and a painterly perspicacity and talent for human observation are evident in his writing. His close attention to detail renders even the most seemingly mundane trivialities memorable and important. Though he died at the young age of thirty-three, Welch was quite prolific, doing most of his writing while bedridden after a bicycling accident that left him seriously injured. He produced three novels, over seventy-five short stories, and a journal that ran over two hundred fifty thousand words long. Included in this volume are autobiographical works inspired by Welch's youth in China, such as "I Can Remember" and "The Coffin on the Hill." "I First Began to Write" is a brief vignette detailing Welch's early efforts as an author. These stories, fragments, and poems reveal a writer gifted with superb powers of description.
Where Nothing Sleeps: The Complete Short Stories and Other Related Works (Where Nothing Sleeps #2)
by Denton WelchThe second volume of Denton Welch's complete collected short works English novelist Denton Welch originally trained as a visual artist, and a painterly perspicacity and talent for human observation are evident in his writing. His close attention to detail renders even the most seemingly mundane trivialities memorable and important. Though he died at the young age of thirty-three, Welch was quite prolific, doing most of his writing while bedridden after a bicycling accident that left him seriously injured. He produced three novels, over seventy-five short stories, and a journal that ran over two hundred fifty thousand words long. This volume includes "Man in a Garden," a brief prose piece that recounts the sketching of a friend in a garden, and the poignant "Memories of a Vanished Period," which takes place at a wedding. Also included is a selection of stories that depart somewhat from Welch's standard autobiographical style, venturing into the territory of fiction.
The Swan in the Evening: Fragments of an Inner Life (Vmc Ser. #59)
by Rosamond LehmannRosamond Lehmann's only autobiographical work recreates the events that shaped her life--from childhood to motherhood to the death of her daughter Rosamond Lehmann was born during a violent February thunderstorm and lived a sheltered, privileged life with her parents, brother, and sisters. Writing from the distance of decades, she reveals why no adult would ever apologize to a child, shares thoughts on her "first conscious memory," and discusses the taboo subjects of "birth, death, physical and sexual functions." Later, she recounts the tragedy that rocked her world as a mother. A blackbird with a broken neck appears as a harbinger of doom: A few hours after finding the bird, Lehmann receives a phone call from her son telling her that her twenty-four-year-old daughter, Sally, is dead. Wracked with grief and desperate for answers, Lehmann, a non-believer, finds solace in spiritualism. Beginning with an examination of Lehmann's singular childhood featuring cherished friends and pets, and concluding with an extraordinary letter to her granddaughter Anna, TheSwan in the Evening is about the search for peace and acceptance--and finding hope in the face of unbearable loss.
Delights and Prejudices
by Julia Child James BeardA richly evocative memoir from the man whom the New York Times dubbed the "dean of American cookery," recalling the flavors of his past In this delightful culinary journey, James Beard takes us back to the earliest days of his childhood when he started developing his precocious palate and lifelong "taste memories"--the ability to savor and remember the tastes and sensations of food. His enthusiasm for flavors, no matter how bold, would define Beard for the rest of his life. From devouring a raw onion as an infant to scouring the globe in search of local flavors as an adult, Delights and Prejudices is full of witty and illuminating stories that open a door into the world of one of America's first and perhaps greatest epicures. Packed with more than one hundred fifty recipes, including corn chili soufflé, fried oysters, and peach preserves, this very personal account of his life is as close to an autobiography as Beard ever penned. For those who love to cook or simply love to eat, there remains no better teacher than James Beard.
Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters to Helen Evans Brown
by James Beard John FerroneAn intimate look into the kitchens and lives of two celebrated American food legends and friends Renowned culinary master James Beard and his dear friend, chef Helen Evans Brown, shared both a love of food and a keen insight into the changing palate of American diners. In this twelve-year, bicoastal epistolary exchange of three hundred letters, Beard and Brown offer not only tidbits of indispensible culinary guidance but also two fascinating perspectives on cooking. Whether swapping recipes for dishes like chocolate crepes and roast duck, trading descriptions of delicious meals, or exchanging stories about their travels, Beard and Brown bring their world to vivid life, and their letters provide a unique snapshot of a culinary love affair that is guaranteed to delight epicureans of all stripes. This charming conversation between two great food-loving friends is both a historic gem and a heartwarming, witty account of a deep and meaningful relationship that lasted a lifetime.
The Armchair James Beard
by James Beard John FerroneA timeless and insightful volume of essays--with more than 130 recipes--by the master of American cuisineThe Armchair James Beard showcases the many roles of America's first celebrity chef: teacher, culinary alchemist, restaurant reviewer, occasional dieter, visionary, and gourmand. Collected by Beard's longtime friend and colleague John Ferrone, each essay resonates with impassioned opinions and a distinctly American voice. Beard takes us on a journey from his childhood in Portland, Oregon, to his dining and cooking experiences around the world. These reminiscences, paired with more than 130 recipes, provide an intimate portrait of a lifetime spent studying, preparing, and enjoying food. Beard fondly recalls his father's homemade breakfast sausage seasoned with thyme and pepper; bouillabaisse made from fresh fish in the South of France; and a large, buttery baked potato aboard the Northern Pacific railroad on one of his many cross-country trips. Rich with tales of meals shared with family and old friends, Beard ponders not just the importance of what we eat, but how food brings us together, and the role it can play in our memories. Heartfelt, enlightening, and often humorous, these memoir-like selections are an inspiring addition to any culinary collection.
Pushing Time Away: My Grandfather and the Tragedy of Jewish Vienna
by Peter Singer"A beautifully written and deeply moving personal document by one of our preeminent contemporary philosophers." --Joyce Carol Oates Peter Singer's Pushing Time Away is a rich and loving portrait of the author's grandfather, David Oppenheim, from the turn of the twentieth century to the end of his life in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Oppenheim, a Jewish teacher of Greek and Latin living in Vienna, was a contemporary and friend of both Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. With his wife, Amalie, one of the first women to graduate in math and physics from the University of Vienna, he witnessed the waning days of the Hapsburg Empire, the nascence of psychoanalysis, the grueling years of the First World War, and the rise of anti-Semitism and Nazism. Told partly through Oppenheim's personal papers, including letters to and from his wife and children, Pushing Time Away blends history, anecdote, and personal investigation to pull the story of one extraordinary life out of the millions lost to the Holocaust. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Peter Singer, including rare photos from the author's personal collection.
Blood Cold: Fame, Sex, and Murder in Hollywood
by Dennis Mcdougal Mary MurphyThe riveting true account of the 2001 murder of Bonny Lee Bakley, starring Robert Blake--the Hollywood icon accused of killing his wife in cold blood In May 2001 Bonny Lee Bakley was shot to death in a car parked on a dark Hollywood side street. Eleven months later Robert Blake--her husband, the father of her child, and the star of the classic film In Cold Blood and the popular 1970s TV detective series Baretta--was arrested for murder, conspiracy, and solicitation. Did Blake kill his wife? Did he hire someone to do the job for him? Award-winning journalist Dennis McDougal and entertainment-media expert Mary Murphy recount a real-life crime story more shocking and bizarre than any movie, chronicling the parallel worlds of Blake and Bakley, from their troubled youths to their sham of a marriage. By the late 1990s Blake was coasting on his past success. Bakley was a con artist who concocted online sex scams and victimized unsuspecting men, netting big money and dangerous enemies. In true noir style, McDougal and Murphy lay bare the stories of two violent people whose lives collided in a tragic tangle of abuse, betrayal, and love gone horribly wrong.
The Hero In You
by Ellis Paul Angela PadronAcclaimed songwriter Ellis Paul brings the inspirational words from his songs to the pages of a new picture book! Based on his award-winning family album of the same name, The Hero in You introduces kids to thirteen real-life American heroes. From Chief Joseph to Rosa Parks, their remarkable, heroic lives motivate and encourage us to aim high and try our best. Also included is a special edition CD of The Hero in You with 14 songs and exclusive introductory tracks from Ellis Paul. Readers can listen along to the lyrical book text, then read additional facts about the heroes on each spread.
Farther Off from Heaven: A Memoir
by William HumphreyWilliam Humphrey's acclaimed memoir is a richly detailed portrait of small-town Texas and a poignant account of the tragedy that shaped the author's life At three o'clock in the morning on July 5, 1937, William Humphrey awoke to his mother's urgent cry: "Get dressed as quick as you can! Your daddy has been hurt." Rushing to the doctor's office, mother and son arrived to find Clarence Humphrey battered beyond recognition: his chest crushed, his face bruised black and caked with blood, his teeth shattered. He soon drew his final breath. In that terrible moment, thirteen-year-old William knew that nothing would ever be the same again: "I felt slip from me in that moment not only the certainty of my future but the fixity of my past. It was as if I had been wakened out of my childhood." He moved with his mother to Dallas soon after, and although he set his classic novels, Home from the Hill and The Ordways, in his hometown of Clarksville, he would not return for thirty-two years. A masterpiece of autobiography, Farther Off from Heaven is the fiercely honest, exquisitely crafted story of William Humphrey's childhood and the sudden end of his innocence. This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Humphrey including rare photos form the author's estate.
The Spawning Run
by William HumphreyWilliam Humphrey's delightful chronicle of an angling holiday in Wales celebrates two equally astonishing creatures: the Atlantic salmon and the British fly fisherman In order to mate in the same freshwater stream where it was spawned, the salmon swims one thousand miles or more and overcomes countless obstacles, from trawling nets to twelve-foot-high waterfalls. To catch the King of Fish at the end of its incredible journey, the Anglo-Saxon angler subjects his pride, his bank account, and his taste buds--poached milk, anyone?--to similar dangers. Nine out of ten salmon do not make it back to the sea once their spawning run is finished; nine out of ten sportsmen return to the hotel empty handed when the fishing day is done. And yet, year after year, they return to the rivers and streams of Great Britain--fish and angler both. Why? Perhaps "poor Holloway," who has yet to land a salmon after twenty spawning seasons but whose success rate with the bored wives of more skillful fisherman is scandalously impressive, knows the answer. An elegant blend of fishing narrative, travelogue, and character study, The Spawning Run is a hilarious and heartfelt tribute to the irresistible passions that unite us all: man, woman, and salmon. This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Humphrey including rare photos form the author's estate.
My Moby Dick
by William HumphreyFrom the acclaimed author of Home from the Hill and The Ordways comes a charming and erudite account of what happens when the fish hooks the fisherman In the Berkshire mountains, novelist and avid outdoorsman William Humphrey discovers a gigantic, one-eyed brown trout lazing in the shallows of a roadside stream. Between three and four feet long and weighing more than thirty pounds, it is a fish too big not to be fished for. It is also, therefore, a fish too big to be caught. Yet Humphrey resolves to do just that, and with a dry fly, no less. What follows is a season-long pursuit of the impossible as the amateur angler practices his technique, devises schemes for getting old One-eye to bite, and steels himself for the climactic showdown. Man and trout will find that they have much to learn from each other. One of the finest fishing stories ever published, My Moby Dick is a small masterpiece about a whale of a fish. This ebook features an illustrated biography of William Humphrey including rare photos form the author's estate.
A Voice Through a Cloud: A Novel (Galley Beggar Digital Classics Ser.)
by Denton Welch Eric OliverWelch's piercing, intimate, slightly fictionalized, and posthumously published work deals with the bicycle accident that would cause his death thirteen years later At age twenty, Denton Welch was bicycling from London, where he was studying art, to Surrey to pay a visit to his aunt and uncle when he was struck by a car. The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back, unable to move, gazing up at the sky, scarcely aware of anything but the sensation of grass against the back of his neck and the sound of a voice asking him questions. As he swam in and out of consciousness, nurses, doctors, and relatives came and went, days passed, and he remained bedridden in a hospital ward. In his characteristic unsparing prose, Welch takes readers through every step of his painful journey toward a partial recovery. Full of unflinching self-scrutiny, A Voice Through a Cloud is an unforgettable work of pain and healing.
Joe Dallesandro: Warhol Superstar, Underground Film Icon, Actor
by Michael FergusonNorman Mailer punched him, Tennessee Williams had a crush on him, Annie Liebovitz immortalized him on the cover of Rolling Stone, Lou Reed sang about him, and, in 1982, he was named one of the ten most photogenic men in the world by famed photographer Francesco Scavullo. Now Joe Dallesandro, the sexy, enigmatic superstar of the '60s and '70s underground film movement, at long last talks -- in detail -- about his life and career.