Nocturne - A Journey in Search of Moonlight

James Attlee

Editorial: The University of Chicago Press

Sinopsis

“Nobody who has not taken one can imagine the beauty of a walk through Rome by full moon,” wrote Goethe in 1787. Sadly, the imagination is all we have today: in Rome, as in every other modern city, moonlight has been banished, replaced by the twenty-four-hour glow of streetlights in a world that never sleeps. Moonlight, for most of us, is no more. So James Attlee set out to find it. Nocturne is the record of that journey, a traveler’s tale that takes readers on a dazzling nighttime trek that ranges across continents, from prehistory to the present, and through both the physical world and the realms of art and literature. Attlee attends a Buddhist full-moon ceremony in Japan, meets a moon jellyfish on a beach in Northern France, takes a moonlit hike in the Arizona desert, and experiences a lunar eclipse on New Year’s Eve atop the snowbound Welsh hills. Each locale is illuminated not just by the moonlight he seeks, but by the culture and history that define it. We learn about Mussolini’s pathological fear of moonlight; trace the connections between Caspar David Friedrich, Rudolf Hess, and the Apollo space mission; and meet the inventors of the Moonlight Collector in the American desert, who aim to cure all kinds of ailments with concentrated lunar rays. Svevo and Blake, Whistler and Hokusai, Li Po and Marinetti are all enlisted, as foils, friends, or fellow travelers, on Attlee’s journey. Pulled by the moon like the tide, Attlee is firmly in a tradition of wandering pilgrims that stretches from Basho to Sebald; like them, he presents our familiar world anew.

Disponible desde: 15/02/2011.

Longitud de impresión: 312 páginas.

Otros libros que te pueden interesar

Romantic New Orleans

Deidre Stanforth

Founded to serve as the capital of France's vast overseas empire, New Orleans has gone on to survive wars, invasions, floods, hurricanes, plagues, fires, and financial panics. Today it is a romantic city of secret gardens, handsomely restored mansions, murmuring fountains, legendary ghosts, Creole cuisine, and hot jazz. Both sin and saintliness, high-life and low, flourish under tropical skies; and its centuries-long flirtations with disaster have given its people a reckless, pleasure-loving philosophy that is acted out in its streets and squares, courtyards and terraces.New Orleans's colorful atmosphere and strange history are magnificently captured in this handsome volume-a tour not only of the famous sights but also of the many places tourists seldom see. Here, too, are the stories of the heroes and the villains, great ladies and prostitutes, who have inhabited the city's curiously ornamented buildings-and of the phantoms that haunt those buildings still. The text is illustrated by superb photographs reproducing all of New Orleans beauty, from the serenity of the surrounding plantations and bayous to the French Quarter, the riverfront, the celebrated restaurants, and the mad excitement of Mardi Gras. Romantic New Orleans is a portrait of a unique city, drenched in history, which seems miraculously to have returned from the whirlpool of time.

Ver libro

Cycling South Dublin & Wicklow -...

Ian O'Riordan

From the doorstep of Dublin city, there is easy access to a cycling haven of deep glens, forested mountains and wild scenery, including the Wicklow Mountains.
This guidebook journeys through some of the country's best-known tourist attractions, such as Glendalough, and reveals lesser-known points of interest like the Shay Elliott memorial to the first Irish rider to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
The graded routes suit all abilities, and are illustrated with colour maps, photos and gradient graphs, with information on the many natural landmarks and historical sites en route. The historic Military Road is central to many of the cycles. Constructed in the aftermath of the 1798 Rebellion, it runs from Rathfarnham in south Dublin to Aughavannagh in south-west Wicklow, with a side arm from Enniskerry to Glencree, and from the Sally Gap to Roundwood. Try your hand as a Tour de France competitor, revisiting the 1998 stage, which raced through the heart of the Wicklow Mountains, finishing in the Phoenix Park.
Surprising insights and useful tips are shared throughout, allowing cyclists to enjoy the wonders and challenges of south Dublin and Wicklow.

Ver libro

Sea and Sardinia

D.H. Lawrence

Renowned author D. H. Lawrence recounts his voyage to Sardinia in this spellbinding travelogue. In January of 1921, D. H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, set out for unspoiled country: the pristine island of Sardinia. For the following nine days, Lawrence fixes his unflinching gaze upon the Mediterranean island, where ancient ruins collide with the detritus of a modernizing society. Blending mythology with historical fact, his account is both lyrical and shrewdly observed. With a keen awareness of the socio-political climate, Lawrence captures a Sardinia that is both timeless and of the moment.  This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Ver libro

Brave-ish - One Breakup Six...

Lisa Niver

Newlywed Lisa Niver was on the adventure of a lifetime. She had quit her job, rented out her condo, and was traveling around Asia. To the outside world, Niver was a woman living out her dreams of exploring ancient ruins in Cambodia and seeing orangutans in Borneo. In private, she was keeping a dark secret. But, when she found herself lying on a sidewalk in Thailand, looking up at the sky in severe pain, she knew things had to change. At age forty-seven, Niver found the courage to set course on a new life. 
 
 
 
Feeling like a failure, pushing fifty, and moving home to her parents' house to start again from scratch, Niver started taking one tiny "brave-ish" step at a time. These small hurdles led to the challenge of trying fifty new things before turning fifty. Niver found herself traversing the world on a journey of reinvention, personal growth, and discovering what it actually means to be "brave." 
 
 
 
While Brave-ish chronicles Niver's inspiring expeditions to distant corners of the world including Myanmar, Cuba, Morocco, Kenya and Mongolia this is more than a travelogue. Niver's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of perseverance. Brave-ish inspires listeners to dream big, take risks, and embrace the unknown to create a life filled with wonder and excitement, even when courage seems elusive.

Ver libro

Haunted Winston-Salem

Michael Bricker

Double your chills by delving into the dual heritage of this North Carolina city—stories of haints, witches, ghosts, and beyond . . .   Whether it was Winston, Salem, or Winston-Salem, the city has a rich history in the strange, unusual, and ghostly. Colonial Salem was once visited by George Washington, and accounts tell of the president entering the cave of three witches. Locals still see an old tobacco wagon rolling around the streets of Winston in the early morning, harkening back to the days when tobacco was king. Elaborate systems of tunnels and pipes once existed beneath the city that many believe were home to groups of chanting monks. Join author and historian Michael Bricker as he vividly retells these stories and more in a historically haunted guide to Winton-Salem.   Includes photos!

Ver libro

Arizona Oddities - Land of...

Marshall Trimble

Arizona has stories as peculiar as its stunning landscapes. The Lost Dutchman's rumored cache of gold sparked a legendary feud. Kidnapping victim Larcena Pennington Page survived two weeks alone in the wilderness, and her first request upon rescue was for a chaw of tobacco. Discover how the town of Why got its name, how the government built a lake that needed mowing and how wild camels ended up in North America. Author Marshall Trimble unearths these and other amusing anomalies, outstanding obscurities and compelling curiosities in the state's history.

Ver libro