Other books that might interest you

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  Narrative of Five Years...

  John Gabriel Stedman

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  When John Gabriel Stedman’s Narrative of Five Years Expedition was first published in 1796—a bowdlerized edition “full of lies and nonsense”—Stedman claimed to have burned two thousand copies. It nevertheless became an immediate popular success. A first-hand account of an eighteenth-century slave society, including graphic accounts of the worlds of both masters and slaves, it also contained vivid descriptions of exotic plants and animals, of military campaigns, and of romantic adventures. Illustrated by William Blake, Francesco Bartolozzi, and others, Stedman’s work was quickly translated into a half-dozen languages and was eventually published in over twenty-five different editions.   The Prices’ acclaimed critical edition is based on Stedman’s original, handwritten manuscript, which offers a portrait at considerable variance with the 1796 classic. The unexpurgated text, presented here with extensive notes and commentary, constitutes one of the richest and most evocative accounts ever written of a flourishing slave society. The Prices restore early omissions involving Stedman’s horror at the Dutch planters’ use of casual torture to discipline their slaves; his love and admiration for Joanna, his mulatto mistress; his strong belief in racial equality; and his outrage that “in 20 Years two millions of People are murdered to Provide us with Coffee & Sugar.” Freed from its original publisher’s censorship, Stedman’s Narrative stands as one of the strongest indictments ever to appear against New World slavery.

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  A Kilo of String

  Rob Johnson

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  “Fabulously funny - a real must for lovers of all things Greek.” 
  After living in Greece for thirteen years, writer and reluctant olive farmer Rob Johnson has got used to most of the things that he and his wife Penny found so bizarre at the beginning. Most, but not all. 
  A Kilo of String is the story-so-far of this not-particularly-plucky couple’s often bewildering experiences among the descendants of Sophocles, Plato and Nana Mouskouri with occasional digressions into total irrelevances. 
  This is a book which is almost guaranteed not to change your life, but what it will do is answer many of the fundamental questions about life in Greece, such as: 
  How do you avoid ordering a double tomato for your pine marten when booking a hotel room? Should olive harvesting be registered with the Dangerous Sports Association? Why are chicken livers useful (other than to the chickens themselves)? 
   “A brilliant book, very funny and a great insight into Greece and its people.” 
   “Left me laughing so hard I would have spat out my dentures, if I wore them.” 
   A Kilo of String is loosely based on Rob Johnson’s podcast series of the same name, which is free to listen to and download at https://rob-johnson.org.uk/podcasts/a-kilo-of-string/.

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  Culture Smart! Morocco

  Jillian York

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  Morocco is a land of spectacular scenery with a rich history and heady with tantalizing scents and colorful sights. The call of the muezzin seems to draw people from every corner of the globe. In 1956, Morocco gained independence from French colonial rule and was jolted into the twentieth century. 
  
  Today, it is a country in transition—a unique blend of Arab, African, and European ways of life. The teeming cities have an air of sophistication and joie de vivre, but life in rural areas has stayed much the same. And while the cities are highly westernized, tradition and religion still play a vital role in the everyday life of most people. 
  
  With rapid change came problems. Lack of opportunity and high unemployment resulted in a “brain drain” as educated Moroccans made their way abroad, and a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam started gaining ground among the urban poor. Even so, as technology becomes widespread and the world shrinks further, Morocco today is coming into its own. Culture Smart! Morocco describes the way the country’s past has shaped its present, advising tourists and business travelers on what to expect and how to behave in different situations.

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  The Mountains of California...

  John Muir

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  The Mountains of California is Muir's tribute to the beauties of the Sierra. When he came to California and finally settled in San Francisco, John Muir immediately left for a visit to Yosemite, a place he had only read about. Seeing it for the first time, Muir noted that "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower." He climbed a number of mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana, and hiked the old Indian trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. He vividly described not only his journeys through the mountains, valleys and glaciers of Sierra, but also the nature and geology of the area.

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  The Haunted Natchez Trace

  Bud Steed

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  Take a trip from Natchez to Nashville and discover the paranormal history along the way . . . includes photos!   Stretching from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, the Natchez Trace is one of the oldest, most historically significant routes in American history. Beginning as hunting ground for natives, the Trace became the favored path back home for early settlers who floated down the Mississippi River to sell goods in Natchez.   Yet the Trace was riddled with bandits, marauders, and other perils, and today troubled and tortured voices from the past still echo along the road. Travel to Grinders Stand, where famed explorer Meriwether Lewis met his untimely demise—and on to Kings Tavern, built in the late 1700s and haunted by the ghost of the innkeeper’s mistress. This terrifying travelogue recounts these tales, and more, all lurking in the shadows of the Haunted Natchez Trace.  

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  A Sense of the World - How a...

  Jason Roberts

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  He was known simply as the Blind Traveler -- a solitary, sightless adventurer who, astonishingly, fought the slave trade in Af-rica, survived a frozen captivity in Siberia, hunted rogue elephants in Ceylon, and helped chart the Australian outback. James Holman (1786-1857) became "one of the greatest wonders of the world he so sagaciously explored," triumphing not only over blindness but crippling pain, poverty, and the interference of well-meaning authorities (his greatest feat, a circumnavigation of the globe, had to be launched in secret). Once a celebrity, a bestselling author, and an inspiration to Charles Darwin and Sir Richard Francis Burton, the charismatic, witty Holman outlived his fame, dying in an obscurity that has endured -- until now.A Sense of the World is a spellbinding and moving rediscovery of one of history's most epic lives. Drawing on meticulous research, Jason Roberts ushers us into the Blind Traveler's uniquely vivid sensory realm, then sweeps us away on an extraordinary journey across the known world during the Age of Exploration. Rich with suspense, humor, international intrigue, and unforgettable characters, this is a story to awaken our own senses of awe and wonder.

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