Describes and visualizes over 1,200 magical lands found in literature and film, discussing such exotic realms as Atlantis, Tolkien's Middle Earth, and Oz.
Now in paperback, an illustrated history of the wholly imaginary place on the globe: the equator, an entirely human construct that has fascinated and challenged explorers for 3,000 years. The equator—its location not only on the globe but also in the minds and exploits of navigators, travelers, poets, and dreamers since the dawn of civilization—is the magical thread on which the eminent Italian historian Gianni Guadalupi strings some of humankind’s most intriguing lore and most amazing adventures in this original and riveting intellectual history. The mysterious source of the Nile and the enigma of the Congo’s swell, the perils of the Doldrums, and the vicissitudes of El Nino, the quest for the lost Eden and the search for El Dorado, all fall within the compass of Guadalupi’s extraordinary volume. So do the names of Columbus, Magellan, Don Lope de Aguirre, Sinbad the Sailor, Henry Stanley, Charles-Marie de la Condamine, and Dante Alighieri, who placed Purgatory on an island athwart the equator. “A series of historical vignettes ... for the armchair traveler: history rendered as a libretto to the planet’s grand opera.”—Kirkus Reviews “These engagingly written stories are perfect jumping-off points for armchair adventurers or perhaps journey enough for commuting conquistadors.”—Booklist “Filled with stories that are well written and captivating”—Library Journal
It extends 24,000 miles, farther and longer than any other measure on earth. Yet the equator is a wholly imaginary construct, a human idea that has fascinated and challenged explorers for three thousand years—from the ancient Egyptian spice traders in search of the legendary land of Punt, to the fifteenth-century Portuguese who sought a route to the Indies, to the expeditions of Victorian naturalist Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands, off the Pacific coast of South America, at latitude zero. The equator—its location not only on the globe but also in the minds and exploits of navigators, travelers, poets, and dreamers since the dawn of civilization—is the magical thread on which the eminent Italian historian Gianni Guadalupi strings some of humankind's most intriguing lore and most amazing adventures in this original and riveting intellectual history. The mysterious source of the Nile and the enigma of the Congo's swell, the perils of the Doldrums ("the living death in life" in Coleridge's phrase) and the vicissitudes of El Nino, the quest for the lost Eden and the search for Eldorado, all fall within the compass of Guadalupi's extraordinary volume. So do the names of Columbus, Magellan, Don Lope de Aguirre, Sinbad the Sailor, Henry Stanley, Charles-Marie de la Condamine, and Dante Alighieri, who placed Purgatory on an island athwart the equator.
Paula, nata il 22 ottobre 1963, è una ragazza felice, innamorata del marito, appassionata del suo lavoro. La sua è una vita semplice, che non ha niente a che vedere con quella di sua madre Isabel. Due donne, due destini diversi. Improvvisamente Paula si ammala di una malattia gravissima, la porfiria, che la trascina in un coma da cui non c'è ritorno. Isabel accorre al suo capezzale per cercare di trattenerla in vita, o forse per accompagnarla dolcemente verso la fine... Con la scrittura la madre-scrittrice cerca di "distrarre la morte", cerca di trovare un senso a una tale insensata tragedia: grazie alla magia della parola evoca tutti i componenti della sua esuberante e bizzarra famiglia perché circondino Paula, superando i confini individuali di vita e di morte.
De A, comme Abaton, à Z, comme Zuy, voici qu'un dictionnaire nous offre la plus merveilleuse des invitations au voyage. Forts de leur conviction que la fiction est réalité, Alberto Manguel et Gianni Guadalupi ont recensé lieux imaginaires et sites chimériques inventés par des écrivains du monde entier. Ils en rappellent la situation géographique, la topographie, le climat, la faune et la flore, les formes de gouvernement, les transports et moyens de communication, les mœurs et les coutumes locales, les curiosités touristiques ou les spécialités culinaires. Cartes, plans et conseils pratiques viennent renseigner plus précisément le futur visiteur. Conçue avec esprit, rigueur et humour, selon la seule règle d'un plaisir qui ne demande qu'à être partagé, cette encyclopédie non exhaustive est également prétexte à découvrir - ou redécouvrir -, comme autant d'îles au trésor, des œuvres et des auteurs illustres ou plus secrets.
PLACES & PEOPLES: GENERAL INTEREST. Imagine yourself in a rustic farmhouse in Tuscany, sipping cappuccino al fresco in an intimate piazza, or eating fresh-caught fish in a restaurant overlooking the sea. Featuring the spectacular travel photography for which White Star is world renowned, this addition to the Italy from Above series takes readers on a birds-eye tour of the most picturesque city in Italy and the stunning landscapes and grand monuments of Tuscany.
Since ancient times the world's most powerful people have collected together priceless objects for their own indulgence, often artifacts with an element of the strange and wonderful, dazzling with gold and glittering with gemstones.
The worlds of the Old and New Testaments span the Mediterranean, encompassing Mt. Ararat, where the Ark came to rest; the Nile Valley, the birth place of Moses; the Holy Land; distant Rome; and points beyond. These places, with their millennia-histories, have over the centuries entered into the collective imagination of millions of believers. This lavishly illustrated volume investigates the places of the Bible through texts, traditions and archaeological research. The oft-told stories of biblical events are freshly discussed and, above all, are brought to vibrant life through a comparison of great religious paintings with modern photographs. This combination of masterpieces of religious painting and distinguished photography presents the Bible's great men and women and to depicts where they lived and where their dramatic and often tragic stories were enacted.
China Revealed presents the history of the relationships between Europe and the Celestial Empire of classical antiquity, from the time when the caravans began to bring a divine fabric known as silk to the shores of the Mediterranean from the far-off, mysterious East, up to the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1911. Through beautifully illustrated maps, ancient engravings, the first black-and-white pictures and color plates, this book describes the incredible experiences of those who ventured into distant Cathay, crossing the endless deserts of Asia and the treacherous oceans-the Franciscan monks who were the first to penetrate the Mongolian steppes, the merchants such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, the Portuguese sailors and Jesuit missionaries who became counsellors to the Son of the Heavens, and many more.
The Red Sea region can be explored on two levels, the dry land and the world concealed beneath the waves. The first offers infinitely variable natural beauty and a history stretching back to the remotest of times, while the second is incomparable in terms of clarity, vitality and color. 'Coral and Desert' combines the two faces of this region thanks to the contributions of two specialists, the writer Gianni Guadalupi dealing with the historical section and the underwater photographer Giorgio Mesturini providing pictorial material and the text; two excellent guides on this exploration of a part of humanity's priceless heritage.
Why should a man want to destroy his brother? Or his brother's wife? For John Smith, a man without conscience, a soul incapable of redemption, the motive was simple. Someone who had stolen the only person he had ever loved--his twin brother, Cannon. And Johnny would stop at nothing to be his brother's keeper once more. When Cannon, sometime bomb-maker and artist, is released from prison he goes into hiding, eschewing Johnny's destructive and overwhelming brand of brotherly love. He turns instead to Sarah Fortune, a lawyer whose rag-tag clients draw her into their own desperate lives. Sarah Fortune finds herself centre stage in a drama of extraordinary proportions when she takes on Cannon's cause, concealing him and his wife, Julie, from the brother intent on hunting them down.
Describes and visualizes over 1,200 magical lands found in literature and film, discussing such exotic realms as Atlantis, Tolkien's Middle Earth, and Oz.
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