On May 13, 1945, twenty-four American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La,” a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea.Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton's bestselling novel Lost Horizon, this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals.But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers pulled through. Margaret Hastings, barefoot and burned, had no choice but to wear her dead best friend's shoes. John McCollom, grieving the death of his twin brother also aboard the plane, masked his grief with stoicism. Kenneth Decker, too, was severely burned and suffered a gaping head wound.Emotionally devastated, badly injured, and vulnerable to the hidden dangers of the jungle, the trio faced certain death unless they left the crash site. Caught... Views: 50
This clear and concise new introduction examines all the major debates and issues in the field of art history, using a wide range of well-known examples. Dana Arnold also examines the many different ways of writing about art, and the changing boundaries of the subject of art history.Other topics covered include the canon of art history, the role of the gallery, "blockbuster" exhibitions, the emergence of social histories of art (such as feminist art history or queer art history), and the impact of photography. The development of art history using artifacts such as the altarpiece, the portrait, or pornography to explore social and cultural issues such as consumption, taste, religion, and politics is discussed. And the book also explains how the traditional emphasis on periods and styles originated in western art production and can obscure other approaches. Views: 49
In End of Days, James L. Swanson, the New York Times bestselling author of Mahnunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, brings to life the minute-by-minute details of the JFK assassination--from the Kennedys' arrival in Texas through the shooting in Dealey Plaza and the shocking aftermath that continues to reverberate in our national consciousness fifty years later.The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, has been the subject of enduring debate, speculation, and numerous conspiracy theories, but Swanson's absorbing and complete account follows the event hour-by-hour, from the moment Lee Harvey Oswald conceived of the crime three days before its execution, to his own murder two days later at a Dallas Police precinct at the hands of Jack Ruby, a two-bit nightclub owner.Based on sweeping research never before collected so powerfully in a single volume, and illustrated with photographs, End of Days distills... Views: 49
Victim 1, at fourteen years of age, spoke up against Jerry Sandusky in the Penn State scandal, and now for the first time tells his story.Aaron Fisher was an eager and spirited eleven-year-old when legendary Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky recruited him into his Second Mile children's charity. Offering support at a critical time in Aaron's life, Sandusky gave him gifts and attention, winning the boy's trust even as he isolated him from his family and peers. Before long, Sandusky's attention escalated into sexual assault. When Aaron summoned the courage to speak up, he found himself ostracized and harassed by the very people who were supposed to protect him. The investigation set off by his coming forward would drag on for three years--and would launch the biggest scandal in the history of sports.In Silent No More, Aaron Fisher recounts his harrowing quest to bring Sandusky's crimes to light--from the intense feelings of guilt that kept him from speaking... Views: 49
New York Times bestselling author Ali Wentworth offers her hilarious and unique advice on surviving the absurdity of modern life in her third collection of laugh-out-loud comic vignettes.Ali Wentworth's first two books, Ali in Wonderland and Happily Ali After, were lauded by readers, critics, and fellow comedians alike. Entertainment Weekly included Happily Ali After on its "Must List" and hailed it as "hilarious. . . . Her glass isn't half full—it's "empty and cracked," while Cosmopolitan praised it as "razor-sharp." Chelsea Handler called Ali in Wonderland "truly hilarious," and Kathy Griffin christened it, "Chicken Soup for the Vagina." Alec Baldwin has described Ali as "funny and warm and crazy all at once. Like Barbara Eden. But on something. Like crystal meth," and Jerry Seinfeld has raved, "Everything that comes out of Ali Wentworth's mouth is funny!"At once endearing and hilarious, thoughtful and far-fetched, this third collection offers Ali at her... Views: 49
Today it is the most valuable book in the world. Recently one sold for over five million dollars. It is the book that rescued the name of William Shakespeare and half of his plays from oblivion. The Millionaire and the Bard tells the miraculous and romantic story of the making of the First Folio, and of the American industrialist whose thrilling pursuit of the book became a lifelong obsession.When Shakespeare died in 1616 half of his plays died with him. No one—not even their author—believed that his writings would last, that he was a genius, or that future generations would celebrate him as the greatest author in the history of the English language. By the time of his death his plays were rarely performed, eighteen of them had never been published, and the rest existed only in bastardized forms that did not stay true to his original language. Seven years later, in 1623, Shakespeare’s business partners, companions, and fellow actors, John... Views: 49
Bestselling author and journalist Amy Hill Hearth uncovers the story of a little-known figure in U.S. history in this fascinating biography. In 1854, a young African American woman named Elizabeth Jennings won a major victory against a New York City streetcar company, a first step in the process of desegregating public transportation in Manhattan.This illuminating and important piece of the history of the fight for equal rights, illustrated with photographs and archival material from the period, will engage fans of Phillip Hoose's Claudette Colvin and Steve Sheinkin's Most Dangerous.One hundred years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Elizabeth Jennings's refusal to leave a segregated streetcar in the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan set into motion a major court case in New York City.On her way to church one day in July 1854, Elizabeth Jennings was refused a seat on a streetcar. When she took her seat... Views: 49
Steven Denver is a writer struggling to find a plot for his next novel, the success of which -- or lack of -- will mean the continuance or the demise of his career. But when he stumbles upon a strange green whirlpool near his home, he discovers that it is a gateway through space and time. Exploring the Gatespace beyond leads him into worlds unknown and adventures that defy the imagination, perfect fuel for the creativity of an author...But there's just one complication... will he ever make it home to write that book?About the AuthorI was born in San Francisco, California, in 2151. Oh, wait. that was the first starship Enterprise. San Francisco, 1959: I was born to two transplants from Missouri. Lived in Denver, Colorado for a couple of years, and then moved to Oklahoma at the age of five, where I remained until I was about 37. I spent ten years in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas, and now I live on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where I have been since 2007. I've been a writer since I can remember; I used to make up stories and fill spiral notebooks with them back when I was eight or nine years old. At the age of fourteen, I started writing songs, and music pretty much took up all my time for the next thirty years or so, with the exception of the odd tale (and sometimes they were very odd tales indeed) now and then. I'm pretty much fascinated with the subject of the future; when I was a little kid, I read about things like the great Comet Halley, last seen in the year my grandmother was born, 1910, and due to return in 1986. I did the math and realized that I would be a doddering old man of 27 when that occurred. I was very excited about the prospect of seeing Halley, and was quite disappointed when 1986 came and went without my having seen so much as a wisp of its tail. I made up for it in early 1997, though; I happened to be outside doing some work in my yard in rural Oklahoma one evening when I glanced up and caught sight of Comet Hale-Bopp, hanging there in the northern sky, as pale and diaphanous as a ghost, its twin tails clearly visible -- the pale, yellowish dust tail and the bluish gas tail. So, anyway -- back to the future (see what I did there?). Here we are in the two thousand teens, and while we do have the hand-held computer tablets that give us access to petabytes of data at our fingertips -- a concept I imagined in the early 1970s -- we still don't have Star Trek-style transporters, faster than light space travel, hotels at the L4 or L5 points of Earth's orbit... we don't even have Jetsons-style flying cars. What a letdown. Oh, well. "Pinball" is my first full-length novel. I hope you enjoy it. Views: 49
The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters. Views: 49
