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1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
by Roger CrowleyA gripping exploration of the fall of Constantinople and its connection to the world we live in today.The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmet II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current conflict between the West and the Middle East.
145th Street: Short Stories
by Walter Dean MyersAn ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults New Bonus Content:-Q&A with Walter Dean Myers-Teaser chapter from On a Clear Day-Excerpt from HoopsThe first week of his senior year, everything changed. That's when Mack met Kitty. She hadn't finished the sonnet she wrote for him, but she had finished Mack. From that minute on, he was stupid in love. That's just Kitty and Mack. But everybody on the block has a story to tell.A salty, wrenchingly honest collection of stories set on one block of 145th Street. We get to know the oldest resident; the cop on the beat; fine Peaches and her girl, Squeezie; Monkeyman; and Benny, a fighter on the way to a knockout. We meet Angela, who starts having prophetic dreams after her father is killed and Big Joe, who wants a bang-up funeral while he's still around to enjoy it. Some of these stories are private, and some are the ones behind the headlines. In each one, characters jump off the page and pull readers right into the mix on 1-4-5.
148
by David MuñozYou must make sure you want to read this book before getting on the plane. This is not just any book. If you decide not to read it, you will travel comfortably to your destination. On the other hand, if you decide to read it, get ready to live the most amazing adventure you have ever lived inside an airplane. Your flight will be anything but boring. Moreover, just one more recommendation. DO NOT SLEEP. Please listen to me and don't fall asleep, because you are about to get on this plane along with 147 other passengers. In addition, I assure you, from now on, nothing will be the same, neither is your life nor especially, in your flight. TIPS: - Follow the instructions of the crew. - Memorize who accompanies you by your side. - Watch out for the windows. - Try to find out who the mystery passenger is. - What would you tell me if I told you that there was a thief on the plane? - Do you see the woman with the girl? - By the way, have you seen the passenger in seat 1A? Moreover, remember ... don't ever fall asleep.
148 Charles Street: A Novel
by Tracy DaughertyTracy Daugherty&’s historical novel 148 Charles Street explores the fascinating story of Willa Cather&’s friendship with Elizabeth Shepley Sergeant. The women shared a passion for writing, for New York, and for the desert Southwest, but their sensibilities could not have been more different: Cather, the novelist of lyrical landscapes and aesthetic refinement, and Sergeant, the muckraking journalist and literary activist. Their friendship is sorely tested when Cather fictionalizes a war that Sergeant covered as a reporter, calling into question, for both women, the uses of art and journalism, the power of imagination and witness. 148 Charles Street is a testament to the bonds that endure despite disagreements and misunderstandings, and in the relentlessness of a vanishing past.148 Charles Street explores, as only fiction can, the two writers&’ interior lives, and contrasts Sergeant&’s literary activism with Cather&’s more purely aesthetic approach to writing.
149 Paintings You Really Need to See in Europe: (So You Can Ignore the Others)
by Julian PorterVisit some of Europe’s greatest museums and galleries in the company of a knowledgeable tour guide. "Who can resist an art critic with attitude?" – Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice, Ian Binnie "It was wonderful! Julian shared his enormous knowledge of the world’s best art with a panache that is irresistible." – Justice Stephen Goudge, Ontario Court of Appeal This essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the world’s greatest paintings from Giotto through to Picasso. Julian Porter’s passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. Since then, he has conducted countless tours of Europe’s famous galleries – The Louvre, The Prado, The Hermitage, The Rijksmuseum, the Sistine Chapel, and many others. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Need to See in North America: (So You Can Ignore the Others)
by Julian Porter Stephen GrantTour North America’s greatest museums and galleries in the company of two incomparable guides. This lively companion highlights the essential paintings, by some of the world’s greatest painters, from Giotto to Picasso, on display in North American museums and galleries. Julian Porter has had a life-long passion for art. He worked for seven years as a student tour guide in Europe and since has conducted countless gallery tours in Europe and North America. His co-author, Stephen Grant, brings a wealth of expertise in twentieth-century artists, and presents them within the framework of a North American–led, sustained burst of originality and shock. Presented with wit and irreverence, here is the best that North American galleries have to offer. Focused and curated to give you everything you need to enjoy the greatest works of art in the best company and save you the sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — France
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of France. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits Paris and discusses works by masters such as Delacroix, David, Renoir, Manet, Degas, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Germany and Austria
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Germany and Austria. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, and Munich and discusses works by masters such as Rembrandt, Watteau, Raphael, Van Eyck, Dürer, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Great Britain and Ireland
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of the United Kingdom and Ireland. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits London, Dublin, and the university towns of Cambridge and Oxford and discusses works by masters such as Constable, Turner, Waterhouse and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Italian Regions (other than Florence, Rome, The Vatican, and Venice)
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Italy. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits Milan, Arezzo, Parma, Mantua, Assisi, Naples, Orvieto, and Padua and discusses works by masters such as Titian, Tintoretto, Bellini, Giotto, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Rome and Vatican City
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Rome and the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he discusses works by masters such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Raphael. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits St. Petersburg, Krakow, and Prague and discusses works by masters such as da Vinci, Matisse, Dürer, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Spain
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Spain. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits Madrid and Toledo and discusses works by masters such as Goya, Bosch, Velázquez, Picasso, El Greco, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — The Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of The Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he visits Amsterdam, Stockholm, The Hague, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent and discusses works by the Dutch masters such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Van Eyck, but also Van Gogh and Renoir. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — Venice and Florence
by Julian PorterThis chapter from Julian Porter’s essential companion to all the major European museums and galleries discusses some of the greatest paintings to be found in the museums and galleries of Florence and Venice. His passion for art began with the seven years he spent as a student tour guide in Europe. In this segment he discusses works by masters such as Tintoretto, Botticelli, Veronese, and many more. In the usually pretentious arena of art connoisseurs, Porter’s voice stands out as fresh and original. He finds the best of the best, which he describes with entertaining irreverence, and spares you hours of sore feet and superfluous information.
1491: The Americas Before Columbus
by Charles MannIn this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man's first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this is a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.
1492
by Mary JohnstonIn the 15th century, a fabulous journey awaited those who could unlock the secrets of the Earth's geography. Beautifully written and emotionally compelling, 1492: Admiral of the Ocean-Sea tells of the famous adventures of Columbus and his men, who sailed into the almost mythical seas beyond the horizon in search of the "New World," in the hopes of attaining vast wealth and power. <P> <P> This brilliant book, by best-selling author Mary Johnston, traces the long route taken by explorers hoping to locate Asia. Based on their limited means and understanding of navigation, they struggle to find their position, while at the same time encountering many natural wonders and exotic peoples. Tensions build as they appear to become increasingly lost. Columbus and his crew begin to lose hope, until they finally receive the vindication of their bold vision. 1492: Admiral of the Ocean-Sea pays special attention to the conditions of the late 15th century period. It describes the competition between classes and ethnic groups in Spain, as well as the clashes that occurred when people from two very different cultures, native American and European, interact. These issues are not merely abstract, since we see them vividly through the eyes of a disenfranchised individual: a Christian sailor of Jewish background, who has been compelled to lead a secretive and solitary existence. The incidents of his life are brought to us in a handsome, elegant language, uncommon in the books of our day.
1492: The Year the Four Corners of the Earth Collided
by Felipe Fernandez-ArmestoA study of events of 1492 and how they affect the global community of the world of today.The world would end in 1492—so the prophets, soothsayers and stargazers said. They were right. Their world did end. But ours began.In search of the origins of the modern world, 1492 takes readers on a journey around the globe of the time, in the company of real-life travellers, drawing together the threads that began to bind the planet: from the way power and wealth are distributed around the globe to the way major religions and civilizations divide the world. Events that began in 1492 even transformed the whole ecological system of the planet. Wars and witchcraft, plagues and persecutions, poetry and prophecy, science and magic, art and faith—all the glories and follies of the time are in this book.
1493 for Young People
by Rebecca Stefoff Charles Mann1493 for Young People by Charles C. Mann tells the gripping story of globalization through travel, trade, colonization, and migration from its beginnings in the fifteenth century to the present. How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of sixteenth-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.Mann's language is as plainspoken and clear as it is provocative, his research and erudition vast, his conclusions ones that will stimulate the critical thinking of young people. 1493 for Young People provides tools for wrestling with the most pressing issues of today, and will empower young people as they struggle with a changing world.From the Hardcover edition.
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
by Charles MannFrom the author of1491—the best-selling study of the pre-Columbian Americas—a deeply engaging new history of the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs. More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans. The Columbian Exchange, as researchers call it, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. More important, creatures the colonists knew nothing about hitched along for the ride. Earthworms, mosquitoes, and cockroaches; honeybees, dandelions, and African grasses; bacteria, fungi, and viruses; rats of every description—all of them rushed like eager tourists into lands that had never seen their like before, changing lives and landscapes across the planet. Eight decades after Columbus, a Spaniard named Legazpi succeeded where Columbus had failed. He sailed west to establish continual trade with China, then the richest, most powerful country in the world. In Manila, a city Legazpi founded, silver from the Americas, mined by African and Indian slaves, was sold to Asians in return for silk for Europeans. It was the first time that goods and people from every corner of the globe were connected in a single worldwide exchange. Much as Columbus created a new world biologically, Legazpi and the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically. As Charles C. Mann shows, the Columbian Exchange underlies much of subsequent human history. Presenting the latest research by ecologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the creation of this worldwide network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City—where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted—the center of the world. In such encounters, he uncovers the germ of today’s fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In1493,Charles Mann gives us an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.
1494
by Stephen R. BownWhen Columbus triumphantly returned from America to Spain in 1493, his discoveries inflamed an already-smouldering conflict between Spain's renowned monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Portugal's João II. Which nation was to control the world's oceans? To quell the argument, Pope Alexander VI - the notorious Rodrigo Borgia - issued a proclamation laying the foundation for the Treaty of Tordesillas, an edict that created an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean dividing the entire known (and unknown) world between Spain and Portugal.Just as the world's oceans were about to be opened by Columbus's epochal voyage, the treaty sought to limit the seas to these two favoured Catholic nations. The edict was to have a profound influence on world history: it propelled Spain and Portugal to superpower status, steered many other European nations on a collision course and became the central grievance in two centuries of international espionage, piracy and warfare.At the heart of one of the greatest international diplomatic and political agreements of the last five centuries were the strained relationships and passions of a handful of powerful individuals. They were linked by a shared history, mutual animosity and personal obligations.
1494: How a Family Feud in Medieval Spain Divided the World in Half
by Stephen R. BownAn “exciting” account of the feud between monarchs, clergy, and explorers that split the globe between Spain and Portugal and made the oceans a battleground (Kirkus Reviews).When Columbus triumphantly returned to Spain in 1493, his discoveries inflamed an already-smoldering conflict between Spain’s monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and Portugal’s João II. Which nation was to control the world’s oceans? To quell the argument, Pope Alexander VI—the notorious Rodrigo Borgia—issued a proclamation laying the foundation for the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, an edict that created an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean dividing the entire known (and unknown) world between Spain and Portugal.Just as the world’s oceans were about to be opened by Columbus’s epochal voyage, the treaty sought to limit the seas to these two favored Catholic nations. The edict had a profound influence on world history: it propelled Spain and Portugal to superpower status, steered other European nations on a collision course, and became the central grievance in two centuries of international espionage, piracy, and warfare.It also began the fight for “the freedom of the seas”—the epic struggle to determine whether the oceans, and thus global commerce, would be controlled by an autocrat’s decree or open to the ships of any nation—a distinctly modern notion championed in the early seventeenth century by Dutch legal theorist Hugo Grotius, whose arguments became the foundation of international law.At the heart of one of the greatest international diplomatic and political agreements of the last five centuries were the strained relationships and passions of a handful of powerful individuals. They were linked by a shared history, mutual animosity, and personal obligations—quarrels, rivalries, and hatreds that dated back decades. Yet the struggle ultimately stemmed from a young woman’s determination to defy tradition and the king, and to choose her own husband.“Incorporates a sprawling cast of characters, including Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus, Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, and members of the ostentatious Borgia clan, into what is both a judicious synthesis of the surrounding scholarship and an entertaining look at the evolution of international law on the high seas.” —Booklist“A starry love story, a tale of seething jealousies and subterfuge, a political imbroglio, and religious cruelties. It sounds like Shakespeare and it could have very well been the plot of one of his plays.” —Toronto Star“An entertaining and elegantly written voyage into the treacherous seas of religious fanatics, greedy slavers, depraved autocrats, doomed indigenous peoples and desperately brave adventurers in search of fortune.” —Globe & Mail
14: A Novel (A Taylor Jackson Novel #2)
by J. T. EllisonRediscover fan‐favorite Lieutenant Taylor Jackson in book two of this riveting, intricately crafted thriller series from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison. Ten victims, each with pale skin and long dark hair. All slashed across the throat, the same red lipstick smeared across their lips. In the mid‐1980s the Snow White Killer terrorized the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Then suddenly the murders stopped. A letter from the killer to the police stated that his work was done. Now four more bodies are found, marked with his fatal signature. The residents of Nashville fear a madman has returned, decades later, to finish his sick fairy tale. Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson believes the killings are the work of a copycat killer who's even more terrifying. For this monster is meticulously honing his craft as he mimics famous serial murders...proving that the past is not to be forgotten. Originally published in 2007
14: Skor the Winged Stallion
by Adam BladeThe Dark Wizard has sent six fearsome Beasts to capture the good Beasts of Avantia.They are imprisoned in the Dark Realm, and it is Toms quest to save them. He and his companions must undertake a perilous journey and defeat Skor the Winged Stallion. Dont miss: TORGOR THE MINOTAUR - NARGA THE SEA MONSTER - KAYMON THE GORGON HOUND - TUSK THE MIGHTY MAMMOTH - STING THE SCORPION MAN
14th Deadly Sin (Women's Murder Club Ser. #Bk. 14)
by James Patterson Maxine PaetroWith San Francisco under siege and every cop a suspect, the Women's Murder Club must risk their lives to save the city-and each other. With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact (for a change), things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women's Murder Club as they gather to celebrate San Francisco Medical Examiner Claire Washburn's birthday. But the party is cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight. As Lindsay investigates, shocking video footage of another crime surfaces. A video so horrific that it shakes the city to its core. Their faces obscured by masks, the cold blooded criminals on the tape could be anyone-and now all of Lindsay's co-workers are suspects. As a rash of violence sweeps through San Francisco, and public fear and anger grows, Lindsay and her friends must risk their lives in the name of justice-before it's too late. With shocking twists and riveting suspense, 14TH DEADLY SIN, proves yet again that when it comes to suspense fiction, in the words of Jeffrey Deaver: "nobody does it better" than James Patterson.