Olson explores the haunting appeal of the wilderness. He recounts how the legends of the northern vastness of Canada and Alaska have influenced him, weaving the tales and myths with his own stories and experiences as an explorer, writer, grandfather, and biologist. Now available in paperback for the first time, Runes of the North is a mystical and reflective guide to the northern wilderness written with a oneness and communion with nature that is unique to Olson's pen. It is a work filled with beauty, wisdom, and renewal.

    From the status of petty chieftain he rose to become the most powerful Indian ruler of his time. His empire extended from Tibet to the deserts of Sindh and from the Khyber Pass to the Sutlej.

    Census results.

    

    Some 450 lives were lost, making this disaster equivalent in its human tragedy to the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. But the earthquake was an act of God, while the dam's collapse resulted from the actions of men.From its canyon above Castaic Junction the wall of deadly water was unleashed on the Santa Clara Valley and its ranches, citrus groves, towns of Fillmore, Santa Paula, and the valley south of Ventura. Homes, schools, bridges, highways, power lines, a railroad-all were ravaged under a blanket of seething water and debris.This classic account of one of California's great tragedies is once again made available to the public after being out-of-print for over twenty years. It is a fascinating narrative, recounting the arrival of William Mulholland in 1877, the search for supplies of water for thirsty southern California, and the subsequent Owens Valley water troubles. The dam break and flood are vividly portrayed, with many eyewitness accounts. Post-mortems of the disaster are offered, including the unique legal history of relief and restitution by the City of Los Angeles on nearly 3,000 claims-none of which were ever filed through the courts!Geology of the damsite, construction of the dam, mistrust of the structure by persons of the area, valley people's resentment of the mass destruction, relief work and restoration, investigations of the failure-all are presented in interesting, factual, and unbiased narration.

    He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War with The Odyssey always at the foot of his bunk. Having settled in Malta after the war, he took his small yacht in search of his hero Ulysses. Starting at Troy, taking into account the winds that Ulysses would have encountered, he checked capes, islands, caves and harbours against Homer's description of Ulysses' landfall; all are described and identified. He provides convincing arguments for the locations of the Land of the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops' Cave, Circe's Island and the beach upon which Ulysses was washed up naked at the feet of Nausicaa and many others. This book will appeal to the armchair traveller, the literary detective and all who love Homer's great poem. It gives the chronology of Ulysses' voyage, and is illustrated with photographs and maps.