Download or read book Between the Summit and the Sea written by Alfred H. Siemens and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For some time now, there has been a great deal of concerned reflection on the ways in which the tropical lowlands of the Americas have been perceived and exploited. This book addresses this concern. It is also something of an appreciation of tropical lowlands, as they emerge along one particular road, gathered from the accounts of early nineteenth-century observers. Aerial reconnaissance has shown that many wetlands in the lowlands which these travellers crossed are patterned with the remains of prehispanic platforms and canals, an old and effective system for the cultivation of wetlands. These show particularly clearly in the pastures of modern ranches -- a very different land use, and yet perhaps governed by similar constraints. The pastures are dotted with palms which eloquently indicate repeated burning and long use and scored by drainage ditches cut according to contemporary practice, thus giving evidence of both ancient and modern use. The travellers' accounts throw light on this juxtaposition. Early nineteenth-century visitors to Mexico usually entered the country at Veracruz and proceeded inland along the Jalapa road. Their impressions of the surrounding landscape have long been relied upon for a contemporary interpretation of this region. They produced a rich literature which reveals a great deal about what the European and North American travellers thought about the tropics. The reader is taken along the Veracruz-Jalapa road up to the summit of the pass and on to the central tableland and allowed to see the coastal landscape take shape from the commentary, step by step -- detailed and coloured by predisposition, the 'objective' landscape often aggrandized and misperceived. The accounts are not benign; they are tinged with an evaluation of tropical lowlands that unfortunately persisted and proved prejudicial to actual development here and elsewhere. In this book, Alfred Siemens brings together a wide array of commentary to coalesce as though it were a piece of landscape theatre, always with the recognition that the fascinating and at times entertaining observations carry venom.
Download or read book A Speck in the Sea written by John Aldridge and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2017-05-23 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The harrowing adventure-at-sea memoir recounting the heroic search-and-rescue mission for lost Montauk fisherman John Aldridge, which Daniel James Brown calls "A terrific read." I am floating in the middle of the night, and nobody in the world even knows I am missing. Nobody is looking for me. You can't get more alone than that. You can't be more lost. I've got too many people who love me. There's no way I'm dying like this. In the dead of night on July 24, 2013, John Aldridge was thrown off the back of the Anna Mary while his fishing partner, Anthony Sosinski, slept below. As desperate hours ticked by, Sosinski, the families, the local fishing community, and the U.S. Coast Guard in three states mobilized in an unprecedented search effort that culminated in a rare and exhilarating success. A tale of survival, perseverance, and community, A Speck in the Sea tells of one man's struggle to survive as friends and strangers work to bring him home. Aldridge's wrenching first-person account intertwines with the narrative of the massive, constantly evolving rescue operation designed to save him.
Download or read book Flying Off Everest written by Dave Costello and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perched impossibly on a ridge overlooking a 10,000-foot drop into Tibet, Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa wait. Heel to toe, connected at the waist by a pair of carabineers that’s connected to nothing else, they stare down the North Face of Mount Everest, a red and white nylon tandem paragliding wing fluttering behind them. They know that jumping off the top of the world marks only the beginning of a longer, more audacious journey. And they know that the two-mile ride down Everest will be the easiest part. If the jump doesn’t kill them. In April 2011 the two unsponsored Nepalis set out on an unprecedented expedition to climb Everest, paraglide from its peak, and paddle nearly 400 miles to the ocean. Little problems wouldn’t stop them. Like the fact that Babu had no technical climbing experience. And that Lakpa had never been kayaking—or swimming. But after summiting, surviving their flight off the world’s tallest mountain, and being arrested, robbed, and nearly drowned—repeatedly—the two friends discovered their adventure had only just begun.
Download or read book The Summit by the Sea written by Michael Lajoie and published by Reddington Press. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Savage. Heathen. Stupid girl. That's what the Christians call her. The labels are inescapable, but Abilene knows who she is. She is Pax-a sentinel of forest, crag, and sea. A firm believer in the power of planting a tree out of goodwill. A rambler at heart, faithful to her roots. With all of this in mind, she sets off on a journey to the top of the highest peak. For weeks, she hikes alone-until she meets the Man of God, a Christian outcast with countless persecuted perspectives. In spite of everything, they must face the untraveled trail together, bound for a summit of unimaginable height...
Download or read book Sea Summit written by Yi Lu and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Translated to English, this collection of contemporary Chinese poetry examines humanity’s relationship with nature and the ecological crisis. Influenced by both the “gray, sinister sea” near the village where Yi Lu grew up during the Cultural Revolution, and the beauty of the sea in the books she read as a child, Sea Summit is a collection of paradox and questioning. The sea is an impossible force to the poet: it is both a majestic presence that predates man, and something to carry with us wherever we go, to be put “by an ancient rattan chair,” so we can watch “its waves toss” from above. Exploring the current ecological crisis and our complicated relationship to the wildness around us, Yi Lu finds something more complex than a traditional nature poet might in the mysterious connection between herself and the forces of nature represented by the boundless ocean. Translated brilliantly by the acclaimed poet Fiona Sze-Lorrain, this collection of poems introduces an important contemporary Chinese poet to English-language readers. Praise for Sea Summit “Yi Lu is a theatre scenographer, and her poems brim with the imagistic tendencies we might expect from a visual artist. More specifically, her poetic style fits that of a theatrical set designer. Within the poetry of Sea Summit, the images are like set pieces. They play supporting roles as they help to tell the speaker’s stories. . . . Sensitive and poignant poetry.” —The Literary Review “A compilation of over twenty years of work. . . . Yi’s poetry shows the world as staggeringly simultaneous, from a crowded conference room in the middle of the city to the titular wave rising under the incredible volume of the ocean. . . . This collection is a great introduction to Yi Lu, already one of the most widely read poets in China.” —The Los Angeles Review “With this selection of more than 80 of her ecologically conscious lyric poems, Yi receives a generous introduction to English readers. The pastoral is Yi’s mode of choice, and the poems here take as their subject matter the natural world as well as the human experience of it. . . . Sze-Lorrain’s steadfast translations, presented en-face, make accessible one of China’s most famous woman poets.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Salt to Summit written by Daniel Arnold and published by Catapult. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the depths of Death Valley, Daniel Arnold set out to reach Mount Whitney in a way no road or trail could take him. Anything manmade or designed to make travel easy was out. With a backpack full of empty two–liter bottles, and the remotest corners of desert before him, he began his toughest test yet of physical and mental endurance. Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. Mount Whitney rises 14,505 feet above sea level, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Arnold spent seventeen days traveling a roundabout route from one to the other, traversing salt flats, scaling dunes, and sinking into slot canyons. Aside from bighorn sheep and a phantom mountain lion, his only companions were ghosts of the dreamers and misfits who first dared into this unknown territory. He walked in the footsteps of William Manly, who rescued the last of the forty–niners from the bottom of Death Valley; tracked John LeMoigne, a prospector who died in the sand with his burros; and relived the tales of Mary Austin, who learned the secret trails of the Shoshone Indians. This is their story too, as much as it is a history of salt and water and of the places they collide and disappear. Guiding the reader up treacherous climbs and through burning sands, Arnold captures the dramatic landscapes as only he can with photographs to bring it all to life. From the salt to the summit, this is an epic journey across America's most legendary desert.
Download or read book The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz written by and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1578, during months of imprisonment for his reformist beliefs, San Juan de la Cruz composed a series of narrative poems inspired by the Biblical Song of Songs—and, the story goes, a popular love song overheard from his cramped cell—that take God as the beloved. Erotically charged, initially scandalous, his mystical poetry engages with the journey of the soul through the darkest trenches of suffering and despair toward an enlightened spiritual connection with God. For hundreds of years, these poems have resonated deeply with those who search for meaning in the dark, and have influenced generations of poets, artists, and philosophers. This bilingual edition of the Complete Poems—including “Dark Night” and both the Sanlúcar and Jaén manuscripts of “Spiritual Canticle”—presents an intimate and exceptionally collaborative new translation from María Baranda and Paul Hoover. Baranda, one of the most distinguished Mexican poets of her generation, lends her deft hand with expansive, meditative poetry. Hoover—the accomplished American poet, editor, and translator—offers his dexterity with form and the possibilities of language. The product is uniquely faithful to image and idea, and loyal to the ecstatic lyricism of this canonical text. A volume that hums with the soul’s longing to find solace, The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz is a collection to be treasured.
Download or read book View from the Summit written by Edmund Hillary and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2000-05 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a memoir by the first man to reach the peak of Everest, Hillary discusses the adventures that shaped his life, from the South Pole to the Ganges River.
Download or read book Feel the Wild written by Daniel Fox and published by Rocky Mountain Books Ltd. This book was released on 2019-10-22 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Feel the Wild is an intimate and powerful story about Nature and our relationship with it, told through stunning photography and thought-provoking writing. To "Feel the Wild" is to connect with the wilderness - the untamed Nature, the untamed Us, the essence of Life, through all of our senses and experience everything it has to offer - the physical, the emotional, the philosophical, and the spiritual. Daniel Fox's book of outdoor photography is ultimately about learning who we are and our place on this planet. It is a journey of growth told through the lenses of humility, vulnerability, and perspective. Published in conjunction with a North American promotional tour sponsored by Arc'teryx (Vancouver, Calgary, Seattle, Portland, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Boston, and more), Feel the Wild is certain to infuse everyone with the majesty of the natural world and revive within the reader a deep connection to every living thing.
Download or read book Reach The Summit written by Sadar Kaintura and published by Sankalp Publication. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: REACH THE SUMMIT is a collection of symbolic & inspiring poems written on different themes with the specific aims to encourage & motivate the readers to lead a promising life. The objects of our benevolent nature, human feelings, emotions & aspirations have been targeted to awaken the dormant sensations & arouse the moral & ethical values among the readers to enlighten their path through the crucial journey of life. Efforts have been incorporated to guide the young generation to scale the summit in their lives, full of thrill & adventure. The author has embedded subtle images, symbols & hidden messages in each poem that he hopes the readers will try to unveil as they happen to go through the book.
Download or read book Sea Monster s First Day written by Kate Messner and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sea monster Ernest is starting his first day of school. But starting school is a big job! Fitting in when you're a sea monster is tough enough, and there's so much to learn and do—reading, singing, playing hide-and-seek with the fishermen, lunchtime in the algae patch.... This funny, charming twist on the worries and joys of starting school will reassure and delight the smallest children and the largest sea monsters alike.
Download or read book The First Summit written by Theodore A. Wilson and published by Lawrence, Kan. : University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 1991 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four months before Pearl Harbour, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in secret aboard a ship in a secluded Newfoundland harbour. This was the first summit conference of World War II.
Download or read book Down to the Summit written by Joan Slatalla and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2013-08-08 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a story about primeval knowledge and forgotten powers. It is also a story of greed and murder that takes place in the American Southwest. Betatakin, Keet Seel ad Old Oraibi are real places. They are beautiful, majestic and haunting. Vivid descriptions display the color and depth of creation. Species and dreams fade away, but some secrets endure. These things are known to Shaman and Rachel Thomas, keepers of history. A satisfying portion of this knowledge is shared with the readers of Down to the Summit. The reader is exposed to interesting Native American sites and background while trying to untangle a web of intrigue and suspense. The underlying theme is one of perpetuity, continuity and responsibility.
Download or read book Dark Summit written by Nick Heil and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2011-04-13 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Nick Heil recounts the harrowing story of the deadly and controversial 2006 climbing season on Everest. In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall’s death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter. If David Sharp’s death was shocking, it was not singular: despite unusually good weather, ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year. In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. He introduces Russell Brice, the outfitter who has done more than anyone to provide access to the summit via the mountain’s north side–and who some believe was partially responsible for Sharp’s death. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus. Written by an experienced climber and outdoor writer, Dark Summit is both a riveting account of a notorious climbing season and a troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiralled out of control.
Download or read book Rise and Float written by Brian Tierney and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2022-02-08 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chosen by Randall Mann as a winner of the Jake Adam York Prize, Brian Tierney’s Rise and Float depicts the journey of a poet working—remarkably, miraculously—to make our most profound, private wounds visible on the page. With the “corpse of Frost” under his heel, Tierney reckons with a life that resists poetic rendition. The transgenerational impact of mental illness, a struggle with disordered eating, a father’s death from cancer, the loss of loved ones to addiction and suicide—all of these compound to “month after / month” and “dream / after dream” of struck-through lines. Still, Tierney commands poetry’s cathartic potential through searing images: wallpaper peeling like “wrist skin when a grater slips,” a “laugh as good as a scream,” pears as hard as a tumor. These poems commune with their ghosts not to overcome, but to release. The course of Rise and Float is not straightforward. Where one poem gently confesses to “trying, these days, to believe again / in people,” another concedes that “defeat / sometimes is defeat / without purpose.” Look: the chair is just a chair.” But therein lies the beauty of this collection: in the proximity (and occasional overlap) of these voices, we see something alluringly, openly human. Between a boy “torn open” by dogs and a suicide, “two beautiful teenagers are kissing.” Between screams, something intimate—hope, however difficult it may be.
Download or read book Bulletin written by and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sea Summit written by Yi Lu and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Translated to English, this collection of contemporary Chinese poetry examines humanity’s relationship with nature and the ecological crisis. Influenced by both the “gray, sinister sea” near the village where Yi Lu grew up during the Cultural Revolution, and the beauty of the sea in the books she read as a child, Sea Summit is a collection of paradox and questioning. The sea is an impossible force to the poet: it is both a majestic presence that predates man, and something to carry with us wherever we go, to be put “by an ancient rattan chair,” so we can watch “its waves toss” from above. Exploring the current ecological crisis and our complicated relationship to the wildness around us, Yi Lu finds something more complex than a traditional nature poet might in the mysterious connection between herself and the forces of nature represented by the boundless ocean. Translated brilliantly by the acclaimed poet Fiona Sze-Lorrain, this collection of poems introduces an important contemporary Chinese poet to English-language readers. Praise for Sea Summit “Yi Lu is a theatre scenographer, and her poems brim with the imagistic tendencies we might expect from a visual artist. More specifically, her poetic style fits that of a theatrical set designer. Within the poetry of Sea Summit, the images are like set pieces. They play supporting roles as they help to tell the speaker’s stories. . . . Sensitive and poignant poetry.” —The Literary Review “A compilation of over twenty years of work. . . . Yi’s poetry shows the world as staggeringly simultaneous, from a crowded conference room in the middle of the city to the titular wave rising under the incredible volume of the ocean. . . . This collection is a great introduction to Yi Lu, already one of the most widely read poets in China.” —The Los Angeles Review “With this selection of more than 80 of her ecologically conscious lyric poems, Yi receives a generous introduction to English readers. The pastoral is Yi’s mode of choice, and the poems here take as their subject matter the natural world as well as the human experience of it. . . . Sze-Lorrain’s steadfast translations, presented en-face, make accessible one of China’s most famous woman poets.” —Publishers Weekly
