Download or read book The Myth of Sisyphus And Other Essays written by Albert Camus and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-10-31 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.

Download or read book The Man The Myth The Legend written by Chris Orcutt and published by Have Pen, Will Travel. This book was released on 2013-07-08 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras."* An IndieReader Best Book of 2013. From the emotionally poignant to the outrageously humorous, this varied collection of stories dramatizes the lives of a wide range of fascinating men including The Last Great White Hunter... learns that on the African savanna, the most dangerous predator is Woman. The Bootlegger... goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family during the Great Depression. The Speechwriter... contends with something all men have since the beginning of time--gut-wrenching temptation. The Dogcatcher... earns his living finding the lost dogs of uber-wealthy clients. The Civil War General... reveals the pitiful but hilarious depths of his own self-deception. Brimming with action-adventure, ample humor, and clean, picturesque writing, The Man, The Myth, The Legend combines the compelling narrative drive of great movies ("What happens next?") with the gemlike beauty of the short story form. Readers Say: "Chris Orcutt's writing is a surprise at every turn of the page. The writing is impeccable and filled with underlying humor and wit." "I would recommend The Man, The Myth, The Legend to anyone who enjoys suspense, romance, intrigue and humor. So, pretty much anyone." "Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful." "I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. Each story is unique and has a different feel to it. I personally loved the story 'Seven Whole Grains on a Mission.' It's just incredibly clever and made me laugh out loud through the entire thing." "Again, I was thoroughly engaged in Chris's beautiful use of our language." "Let this book take you away from the ordinary and whisk you away to other worlds of interesting lives. You'll find yourself engrossed in every chapter, thinking about the stories you've read days later." "This book is like a mahogany box of sample liquors and cigar on the side, each bottle providing a new flavor and a memorable aftertaste." --- "Author Chris Orcutt serves up a deliciously cheeky and ironic collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the perilous lives of ten men from vastly different walks of life and eras. Whether it is a hunter in Africa, or a feisty General of a Civil War-era army, a gentlemanly writer, a senior road engineer, dogcatcher, or an artist daring to live outside New England, Orcutt highlights the tongue-in-cheek intrigue, danger and adventure in each man's life. Orcutt's fresh, lively descriptions preserve the irony of the stories, as with the description of Nick Carraway's 'mean little bungalow that quaked in the shadow of Gatsby's mansion like a tick beneath a Burmese elephant....' Orcutt's glib use of language and deft ability to switch into multifarious voices and writing styles captures the nuances of time, setting and mentality of each protagonist...making each story unique, engaging and insightful. The Man, The Myth, The Legend is a stimulating and entertaining collection of stories about the adventure in every man's life, work and passion. (5 stars; IR approved)" —IndieReader

Download or read book Born to Run written by Christopher McDougall and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2010-12-09 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.

Download or read book Yaqui Myths and Legends written by and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 1959 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixty-one tales narrated by Yaquis reflect this people's sense of the sacred and material value of their territory.

Download or read book Sophie s World written by Jostein Gaarder and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2007-03-20 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Download or read book Rules for Radicals written by Saul Alinsky and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-06-30 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This country's leading hell-raiser" (The Nation) shares his impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know “the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one.” First published in 1971 and written in the midst of radical political developments whose direction Alinsky was one of the first to question, this volume exhibits his style at its best. Like Thomas Paine before him, Alinsky was able to combine, both in his person and his writing, the intensity of political engagement with an absolute insistence on rational political discourse and adherence to the American democratic tradition.

Download or read book Manhunter written by Gene Shelton and published by Berkley. This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel based on the life of the Texas Ranger who captured Bonnie and Clyde describes how Frank Hamer became an American hero as well as being the embodiment of the law, fearless, and always brought criminals to justice. Original.

Download or read book The Myth of Normal written by Gabor Maté, MD and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant New York Times bestseller By the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and healing. In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health? Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the prevailing understanding of “normal” as false, neglecting the roles that trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on our bodies and our minds at the expense of good health. For all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. Now Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society—and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. Cowritten with his son Daniel, The Myth Of Normal is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.

Download or read book Unbroken written by Laura Hillenbrand and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2014-07-29 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand. Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News “An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly “A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian “[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time “Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Download or read book The Tiger written by John Vaillant and published by Knopf Canada. This book was released on 2010-08-24 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's December 1997 and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia's Far East. The tiger isn't just killing people, it's annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. To their horrified astonishment it emerges that the attacks are not random: the tiger is engaged in a vendetta. Injured and starving, it must be found before it strikes again, and the story becomes a battle for survival between the two main characters: Yuri Trush, the lead tracker, and the tiger itself. As John Vaillant vividly recreates the extraordinary events of that winter, he also gives us an unforgettable portrait of a spectacularly beautiful region where plants and animals exist that are found nowhere else on earth, and where the once great Siberian Tiger - the largest of its species, which can weigh over 600 lbs at more than 10 feet long - ranges daily over vast territories of forest and mountain, its numbers diminished to a fraction of what they once were. We meet the native tribes who for centuries have worshipped and lived alongside tigers - even sharing their kills with them - in a natural balance. We witness the first arrival of settlers, soldiers and hunters in the tiger's territory in the 19th century and 20th century, many fleeing Stalinism. And we come to know the Russians of today - such as the poacher Vladimir Markov - who, crushed by poverty, have turned to poaching for the corrupt, high-paying Chinese markets. Throughout we encounter surprising theories of how humans and tigers may have evolved to coexist, how we may have developed as scavengers rather than hunters and how early Homo sapiens may have once fit seamlessly into the tiger's ecosystem. Above all, we come to understand the endangered Siberian tiger, a highly intelligent super-predator, and the grave threat it faces as logging and poaching reduce its habitat and numbers - and force it to turn at bay. Beautifully written and deeply informative, The Tiger is a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest.

Download or read book From Girl to Goddess written by Valerie Estelle Frankel and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many are familiar with Joseph Campbell's theory of the hero's journey, the idea that every man from Moses to Hercules grows to adulthood while battling his alter-ego. This book explores the universal heroine's journey as she quests through world myth. Numerous stories from cultures as varied as Chile and Vietnam reveal heroines who battle for safety and identity, thereby upsetting popular notions of the passive, gentle heroine. Only after she has defeated her dark side and reintegrated can the heroine become the bestower of wisdom, the protecting queen and arch-crone. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Download or read book The Dark Wife written by Sarah Diemer and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie. Now, only a goddess can tell the truth. Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want--except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice. Zeus calls Hades "lord" of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny. But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself.

Download or read book Los Angeles Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 2003-08 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Los Angeles magazine is a regional magazine of national stature. Our combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design covers the people, lifestyle, culture, entertainment, fashion, art and architecture, and news that define Southern California. Started in the spring of 1961, Los Angeles magazine has been addressing the needs and interests of our region for 48 years. The magazine continues to be the definitive resource for an affluent population that is intensely interested in a lifestyle that is uniquely Southern Californian.

Download or read book Howl s Moving Castle written by Diana Wynne Jones and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now an animated movie from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the oscar-winning director of Spirited Away In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell . . .

Download or read book 50 Things to Do When You Turn Fifty written by Ronnie Sellers and published by Sellers Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-14 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you are among the more than 50 million North Americans who will turn 50 during the next 10 years, Fifty Things To Do When You Turn Fifty, Third Edition might just be the thing that enables you to approach the experience with optimism rather than dread. This is the third edition of our perennial bestseller and it's packed with artists, pundits, and experts who contributed essays offer a wealth of practical information. When taken collectively, the book comprises a veritable instruction manual for how to turn 50, everything from how to readjust your stock portfolio to how to readjust your underwear (to allow for more breathing room... wearing comfortable clothing is, after all, a privilege that you have more than earned by now). The underlying message is: relax, now that you're 50, you don't have to prove yourself anymore. Take care of yourself, get your house in order, and these will be the best years of your life.

Download or read book Los Angeles Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 2003-05 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Los Angeles magazine is a regional magazine of national stature. Our combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design covers the people, lifestyle, culture, entertainment, fashion, art and architecture, and news that define Southern California. Started in the spring of 1961, Los Angeles magazine has been addressing the needs and interests of our region for 48 years. The magazine continues to be the definitive resource for an affluent population that is intensely interested in a lifestyle that is uniquely Southern Californian.

Download or read book Into the Land of the Unicorns written by Bruce Coville and published by Scholastic Paperbacks. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having jumped into the fantasy land of Luster, Cara joins Lightfoot the unicorn in the search for Queen Arabella Skydancer.