Five months after the end of the Civil War, Acting Navy Lieutenant Everett Townsend is awaiting discharge in Key West. The end of the war has left him uncertain about his future and full of regret about the end of his relationship with Emma, the Cuban American daughter of a Havana boarding house owner. His Spanish grandmother- a slave owner who runs a prosperous sugar plantation in the Cuban countryside- is dreaming that Everett will return and take over the family business, a prospect that sickens him. Returning from a routine supply mission from Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, he and his men are caught in a hurricane and witness a shipwreck in the Marquesas Keys. When they investigate, they discover a locked cargo hold with the dead bodies of Black freedmen. When Townsend reports this unsettling incident to his distracted Naval commander in Key West, he’s encouraged to drop the matter. But he can’t shake his suspicions that the poor souls from the cargo hold were destined for re-enslavement in the sugar fields of Spanish Cuba. The murder of an American sailor in a Cuban port provides Townsend with a reason to return to Cuba and continue his investigation even as it reunites him with Emma who has joined the secretive Cuban resistance to Spanish colonial rule. A rescue of a Navy veteran leads to more clues and helps convince Townsend to become a government informant operating in the interior of Cuba. He goes to live with his Spanish grandmother at her sugar plantation in the Cuban countryside. There Townsend finds himself facing an impossible choice between the Cuban-American woman he loves and his tradition-bound Spanish grandmother. As he grapples with this clash of personalities, Townsend uncovers the details of a conspiracy which forces him to come face to face with his own family’s close ties to slavery.
Lyme, Connecticut, early nineteenth century. Elisha Ely Morgan is a young farm boy who has witnessed firsthand the terror of the War of 1812. Troubled by a tumultuous home life ruled by the fists of their tempestuous father, Ely's two older brothers have both left their pastoral boyhoods to seek manhood through sailing. One afternoon, the Morgan family receives a letter with the news that one brother is lost at sea; the other is believed to be dead. Scrimping as much savings as a farm boy can muster, Ely spends nearly every penny he has to become a sailor on a square-rigged ship, on a route from New York to London—a route he hopes will lead to his vanished brother, Abraham. Learning the brutal trade of a sailor, Ely takes quickly to sea-life, but his focus lies with finding Abraham. Following a series of cryptic clues regarding his brother's fate, Ely becomes entrenched in a mystery deeper than he can imagine. As he feels himself drawing closer to an answer, Ely climbs the ranks to become a captain, experiences romance, faces a mutiny, meets Queen Victoria, and befriends historical legends such as Charles Dickens in his raucous quest.
Harbor of Spies is an historical novel set in Havana in 1863 during the American Civil War, when the Spanish colonial city was alive with intrigue and war-related espionage. The protagonist—a young American ship captain named Everett Townsend—is pulled into the war, not as a Naval officer, as he had once hoped, but as the captain of a blockade-running schooner. The rescue of a man outside Havana harbor sets in motion a plot where Townsend finds himself trapped by circumstances beyond his control. He soon realizes how this good deed has put his own life in danger, entangling him in a sensitive murder investigation. Townsend is forced to work for a profiteering Spanish merchant who introduces him to a world of spies, blockade runners, and slave traders. As a foreigner and an outsider in Cuba, he struggles to maintain his own sense of identity. As he grapples with the uncertain moral terrain he finds in Havana, Townsend becomes ever more involved with the mystery surrounding the murder. Even at sea, where his ship-handling skills are put to the ultimate test against the Navy’s powerful gunships, he finds he is unable to avoid reminders about the unsolved murder of a top English diplomat. From the bars, to the docks, to the dance halls, Townsend’s path moves from colonial Havana to the slave plantations in the interior. There, amid the harsh cruelty he discovers in the Cuban countryside, he unexpectedly begins to unravel a family mystery. Together with the daughter of an American innkeeper in Havana, he confronts the veiled, dangerous forces he finds on the island. The novel is a richly drawn portrait of Spanish colonial Havana at a time when the city was flush with sugar wealth and filled with signs of the American Civil War. It is a realistic look at Cuba’s role in the war and the importance of the scores of blockade-running ships—both sail and steam—that ran the gauntlet of the Union blockade from Havana into the Gulf of Mexico.
From the outside most of us have caught brief but shocking glimpses of the street children of South America. In this collection of short stories Robin Lloyd-Jones shows us, vividly and authentically, the view from the inside looking out. We feel what it is like to be only ten years old and yet to prefer life on the street to the miseries of violence, abuse and poverty in the home.Exploited by the police, the drug pushers, the makers of 'snuff movies' and the dealers in human spare parts, tidied away when they might be a political embarrassment, these children have learnt to survive, like the stray dogs on the garbage dump, by obeying the law of the pack.'Reality is a dangerous substance,' says a character as he offers a joint to ten-year-old Angel. 'It should be taken only in small doses by the young.' What Robin Lloyd-Jones offers us is undoubtedly a very strong and disturbing dose of reality, one which cannot fail to touch the humanity of his readers.What reviewers thought of the book:This is an extremely interesting collection of horrifying stories about Los Gamines, the destitute and homeless children who roam and sleep in the streets of a great South American city ... The stories in Fallen Angels are terse and economical and well-written. A lot of would-be short story writers could study them to their advantage. (Fred Urquhart, Scottish Book Collector).The importance and horror of these stories transcend art; quite simply, they question whether humanity has any right to enjoy this planet at all, if the price for that enjoyment is the staggering amount of human suffering and death Lloyd-Jones describes .... His commitment and empathy shows.... The stories are well-paced, well-patterned, too: cutting from child view to adult, from character to character, yet interweaving a black tapestry.(Douglas Gifford, Scottish Books)."e;If you want to know what poverty and injustice are really like only fiction can give you the truth,"e; says Robin Lloyd-Jones. In Fallen Angels he proves this with unsurpassed mastery.... A compassionate, deeply moving rendition of some disturbing tales based upon reality. (Dr Maryanne Traylen, Resurgence Magazine).
Robin Lloyd-Jones has been exploring the west coast and islands of Scotland in his sea kayak for more than forty years. In this book he recalls many a memorable expedition to wild and beautiful shores. Amongst magnificent scenery and ever-changing seas, we are transported to Jura, Scarba, the Garvellach Isles, Mull, Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, the Monach Isles, Iona, Lewis and the Uists, Skye, the Orkneys, and the Shetland Isles. Along the way, he explains a great deal about kayaking, about the wildlife and history of the areas he visits. More than that, however, he makes us feel that we are with him in his kayak. Through his vivid and beautifully crafted prose, we experience the terror of a force nine gale, the tranquillity of moonlit trips, and the lure of tiny bays and seal-meadows accessible only to a slim kayak. We encounter dolphins, otters, unidentified monsters and nuclear submarines. This is a book to set the imagination adrift and appeal to the Robinson Crusoe in all of us; a book for those seeking wider horizons, be their vessel an armchair or a kayak.
William Hutchison Murray (1913 - 1996) was one of Scotland's most distinguished climbers in the years before and after the Second World War. As a prisoner of war in Italy he wrote his first classic book, Mountaineering in Scotland, on rough toilet paper which was confiscated and destroyed by the Gestapo. The rewritten version was published in 1947 and followed by the, now, equally famous, Undiscovered Scotland. In 1951 he was depute leader to Eric Shipton on the Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, which discovered the eventual successful route which would be climbed by Hilary and Tensing. From the 1960s onwards he was heavily involved in conservation campaigns and his book, Highland Landscape, commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland, identified areas of outstanding beauty that should be protected. It proved to be extremely influential. In 1966 he was awarded an OBE as he pursued a life of service, as is well illustrated by the various posts he held: Commissioner for the Countryside Commission for Scotland (1968-1980); President of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (1962-1964) and of the Ramblers Association Scotland (1966-82); Chairman of Scottish Countryside Activities Council (1967-82); Vice-President of the Alpine Club (1971-72); President of Mountaineering Council of Scotland (1972-75). He was a prolific author but a proper understanding of his life and work requires that we appreciate that his driving force was a quest to achieve inner purification that would lead him to oneness with Truth and Beauty. For many years the climber, author and teacher, Robin Lloyd-Jones (above) has been researching the life and work of Bill Murray and working steadily on this biography. It is not only a triumph of fine writing and interest, but a worthy accolade for this great man.
Frank Lloyd Wright is recognized as a dominant figure in the history of modern architecture. His life and revolutionary work is described in this volume filled with more than 180 photographs illustrating 60 of his most-beloved buildings.
As a palliative medicine physician, you struggle every day to make your patients as comfortable as possible in the face of physically and psychologically devastating circumstances. This new reference equips you with all of today's best international approaches for meeting these complex and multifaceted challenges. In print and online, it brings you the world's most comprehensive, state-of-the-art coverage of your field. You'll find the answers to the most difficult questions you face every day...so you can provide every patient with the relief they need. Equips you to provide today's most effective palliation for terminal malignant diseases • end-stage renal, cardiovascular, respiratory, and liver disorders • progressive neurological conditions • and HIV/AIDS. Covers your complete range of clinical challenges with in-depth discussions of patient evaluation and outcome assessment • ethical issues • communication • cultural and psychosocial issues • research in palliative medicine • principles of drug use • symptom control • nutrition • disease-modifying palliation • rehabilitation • and special interventions. Helps you implement unparalleled expertise and global best practices with advice from a matchless international author team. Provides in-depth guidance on meeting the specific needs of pediatric and geriatric patients. Assists you in skillfully navigating professional issues in palliative medicine such as education and training • administration • and the role of allied health professionals. Includes just enough pathophysiology so you can understand the "whys" of effective decision making, as well as the "how tos." Offers a user-friendly, full-color layout for ease of reference, including color-coded topic areas, mini chapter outlines, decision trees, and treatment algorithms. Comes with access to the complete contents of the book online, for convenient, rapid consultation from any computer.
This hardcover spiral-bound volume offers a unique perspective on 16 of Wright's greatest and most adventurous works. Each eight-page gatefold opens to almost three feet and presents the author's original rendering in full size. Includes Wright's own home and studio, Unity Temple and Guggenheim Museum. 16 full-color renderings.
This book examines the crisis at the famous insurance market, Lloyd's of London, during the late twentieth century, which nearly destroyed the 300-year-old institution. While rapid structural change resulting from system collapse is less common in insurance than in the history of other financial services, one exception was the Lloyd’s crisis. Hitherto, explanations of the crisis have focused on the effects of catastrophic losses and poor governance. By drawing on contemporary accounts of the crisis, the author constructs the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the public and political response. The book applies theoretical concepts from behavioural economics and economic psychology to argue that multiple delusions of competence were at work both within and outside the Lloyd’s market. Arrogance, elitism and defence of vested interests comprised endogenous elements of the crisis. Entrenched ideas about the virtues of self-regulation and faith in insider experts also played a role. The result was a misdiagnosis by both insiders and politicians of what ailed Lloyd’s and a series of reforms that failed to address the underlying causes of its disease. This book offers a salutary lesson from recent history about the importance of the transparency, accountability and effective monitoring of financial institutions. It is of interest to academics and students of economic and financial history, business, insurance, political economy and history.
First published in 1976, this book has been widely acclaimed as a major and enlivening contribution to the history of mathematics. The updated and corrected paperback contains extracts from the original writings of mathematicians who contributed to the foundations of graph theory. The author's commentary links each piece historically and frames the whole with explanations of the relevant mathematical terminology and notation.
This book is a practical guide with examples and clear steps to explain terrain modeling with Grome.If you're a developer or artist looking for a guide to walk you through GROME 3.1, then this book is for you. This book will help you from the first step to exporting a terrain as a workable art asset in a game engine.
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