Eloge de la Créolité / In Praise of Creoleness


Jean Bernabé - 1993
    Cela sera pour nous une attitude intérieure, mieux : une vigilance, ou mieux encore, une sorte d'enveloppe mentale au mitan de laquelle se bâtira notre monde en pleine conscience du monde.» Publié en 1989, cet éloge de l'identité créole, cette quête lyrique «d'une pensée plus fertile, d'une expression plus juste, d'une esthétique plus vraie», fonde un art poétique qui devait très vite, dans une illustration magnifique, donner des œuvres importantes : Raphaël Confiant a reçu le prix Novembre pour Eau de Café (1991), Patrick Chamoiseau le prix Goncourt pour Texaco (1992). "Neither Europeans, nor Africans, nor Asians, we proclaim ourselves to be Creoles. For us this will be a state of mind, or, rather, a state of vigilance, or, better still, a sort of mental envelope within which we will build our world, in full awareness of the world." Published in 1989, this hymn to the Creole identity, this lyrical quest "for a more fertile way of thinking, for a more accurate means of expression, and for a more genuine aesthetics", laid the foundations of a poetic art that was very quickly, and brilliantly, to produce major works : Raphaël Confiant was awarded the prix Novembre for Eau de Café (1991), and Patrick Chamoiseau received the prix Goncourt for Tewaco (1992).

Wind, Sand and Stars


Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - 1939
    Its exciting account of air adventure, combined with lyrical prose and the spirit of a philosopher, makes it one of the most popular works ever written about flying. Translated by Lewis Galantière.

P.S. from Paris


Marc Levy - 2015
    They knew their friendship was going to be complicated, but love—and the City of Lights—just might find a way.On the big screen, Mia plays a woman in love. But in real life, she’s an actress in need of a break from her real-life philandering husband—the megastar who plays her romantic interest in the movies. So she heads across the English Channel to hide in Paris behind a new haircut, fake eyeglasses, and a waitressing job at her best friend’s restaurant.Paul is an American author hoping to recapture the fame of his first novel. When his best friend surreptitiously sets him up with Mia through a dating website, Paul and Mia’s relationship status is “complicated.”Even though everything about Paris seems to be nudging them together, the two lonely ex-pats resist, concocting increasingly far-fetched strategies to stay “just friends.” A feat easier said than done, as fate has other plans in store. Is true love waiting for them in a postscript?

Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream


William Powers - 2010
    Jackie Benton in rural North Carolina. No Name Creek gurgled through Benton’s permaculture farm, and she stroked honeybees’ wings as she shared her wildcrafter philosophy of living on a planet in crisis. Powers, just back from a decade of international aid work, then accepted Benton’s offer to stay at the cabin for a season while she traveled. There, he befriended her eclectic neighbors — organic farmers, biofuel brewers, eco-developers — and discovered a sustainable but imperiled way of life.In these pages, Powers not only explores this small patch of community but draws on his international experiences with other pockets of resistance. This engrossing tale of Powers’s struggle for a meaningful life with a smaller footprint proposes a paradigm shift to an elusive “Soft World” with clues to personal happiness and global healing.

Monster Girl Farm


Simon Archer - 2020
    But there isn't time to gawk, because Jerry's inherited his uncle's farm, once the most famous animal breeder in Delom, and everything is falling apart. The animals are low level, there's not enough food to keep their health up, and a greedy developer wants to put Jerry and the farm out of business.But if Jerry can discover his uncle's greatest secret, he might just be able to level up enough to save the farm. All he has to do is figure out how to breed monster-girls!

The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders


Adam Bryant - 2021
    The demands to deliver at a consistently high level can be unforgiving. The loneliness. The weight of responsibility. The relentless second-guessing and criticism. The pressure to build all-star teams. The 24/7 schedule that requires superhuman stamina. The tough decisions that often leave no one happy. The expectation to always have the right answer when it can be hard just to know the right question. These challenges are brought into their highest and sharpest relief in the corner office, but they are hardly unique to chief executives. All leaders face their own version of these tests, and the authors drawing on the distilled wisdom, stories and lessons from hundreds of chief executives to show how every aspiring leader can master these challenges and lead like a CEO. These foundational leadership skills will make all aspiring executives more effective in their role today, and to lift the trajectory of their career. The CEO Test is the authoritative, no-nonsense insider's guide to navigating leadership's toughest challenges, brought to you by authors uniquely qualified to tell the stories. Adam Bryant has conducted in-depth interviews with more than 600 CEOs. Kevin Sharer spent more than two decades as president and then CEO of Amgen, where he led its expansion from $1 billion in annual revenues to nearly $16 billion. He has served on many boards and is a sought-after mentor for CEOs of global companies. Leadership is getting harder as the speed of disruption across all industries accelerates. The CEO Test will better prepare you to succeed whether you're a CEO or just setting out to become one"--

Ghana: Bradt Travel Guide


Philip Briggs - 1998
    Feed the sacred crocodiles at Paga, plunge into the waterfalls of the eastern highlands or marvel at the game in Mole National Park.

The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience


Rob Hopkins - 2008
    Most people don't want to think about what happens when the oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive). This title shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive effect.

The Boy from the Wild


Peter Meyer - 2017
     Peter Meyer grew up on an African game reserve. His idyllic childhood was spent running wild in the bush with Zulu friends and other free spirits. His adventures in the wilderness honed his character, nurtured by an inspirational father who taught him to believe that everything is possible. Before he had turned eight he had survived Rhino attacks, close encounters with Buffalo and Wildebeest — and the terror of twice being bitten by snakes. His pets were a baby Elephant, Warthogs and an Ostrich that frequented his backyard. He lived in a world where beauty was tempered by daily struggles for survival. He discovered that the reality of the bush is often heart-breaking, such as when an Nyala doe that he had hand-reared was taken by predators. He learned through first-hand experience that the cycle of life on Africa’s feral outbacks can be as unforgiving as it is magnificent. These were the key lessons from the wilds of Africa that he took with him when his family left the continent; from school days in England where his tough upbringing resulted in being a top sportsman, to studying at an exclusive Swiss hotel school and becoming one of the youngest directors in the Hilton group, managing exotic resorts in Jamaica and the Middle East. He was on top of the world when everything came crashing down due to tragedy. Drawing on resilience learned in the African bush, he started to rebuild his life, becoming an actor and model, clawing his way up in one of the most critically demanding industries in the world. This is an inspiring true story of living the dream — a dream nurtured by the freedom and self-reliance of growing up wild in Africa.

Build a Smokehouse


Ed Epstein - 1981
    There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

AmaZulu


Walton Golightly - 2007
    Calm in the face of the horde gathering below, they know it's a good day for dying... but a better one for killing. At the centre of their formation a tall, broad-shouldered man surveys his troops. Only at his command will they rise and engage the enemy. He is Shaka, his men are Zulu – the best trained foot soldiers in Africa – and the blood spilled in the coming battle will write the opening chapter of their legend.Following in Shaka's footsteps, AmaZulu sweeps across the burned hills of south east Africa's interior, charting the dawn of the Zulu nation through the eyes of the Induna, a battle-scarred captain, and his eleven-year-old apprentice. Aflame with conflict and intrigue, nobility and treachery, it tells the story of an unquenchable thirst for revenge and a genius for warfare that forged an empire as powerful and revered as Napoleon's France or Caesar's Rome.

Coming Home


Sue Gee - 2013
    In a few months' time the British flag will be lowered all over India, and with Independence thousands of those who made their lives there - as planters, civil servants, or in the Indian army - will be returning to England.Among those coming home, as everyone speaks of it, are Will and Flo Sutherland, who fell in love at the end of the war. India has been the defining experience of their lives: how will they make a new life now?Sue Gee's new novel is filled with pathos and humour, beautifully evoking an all-but vanished world.

Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland


Patricia L. Bryan - 2005
    The community was outraged: How could a woman commit such an act of violence? Firsthand accounts describe the victim, John Hossack, as a cruel and unstable man. Perhaps Margaret Hossack was acting out of fear. Or perhaps the story she told was true—that an intruder broke into the house, killed her husband while she slept soundly beside him, and was still on the loose. Newspapers across the country carried the story, and community sentiment was divided over her guilt. At trial, Margaret was convicted of murder, but later was released on appeal. Ultimately, neither her innocence nor her guilt was ever proved. Patricia Bryan and Thomas Wolf examine the harsh realities of farm life at the turn of the century and look at the plight of women—legally, socially, and politically—during that period. What also emerges is the story of early feminist Susan Glaspell, who covered the Hossack case as a young reporter and later used it as the basis for her acclaimed work A Jury of Her Peers.Midnight Assassin expertly renders the American character and experience: our obsession with crime, how justice is achieved, and the powerful influence of the media.

Toni Morrison: Beloved


Carl Plasa - 1999
    Chapters focus on the supernatural elements of the work, as well as the author´s treatment of the physical self.

Death in a Lonely Land: More Hunting, Fishing, and Shooting on Five Continents


Peter Hathaway Capstick - 1990
    The articles showcase a literary style that prompted Kirkus Reviews to say of Last Horizons, "No one since Hemingway (with the possible exception of Ruark) has written on these subjects with such literary gusto."The stockbroker-turned-outdoorsman recalls his days as an African pro hunter in "The Killer Baboons of Vlackfontein." "Four Fangs in a Treetop" records a foray into British Honduras for the jaguar, "a gold-dappled teardrop of motion." Capstick narrowly escapes the Yellow Beard, Central America's deadly tree-climbing snake, and cows "The Black Death (Cape buffalo) in the kind of article that makes this author "the guru of American hunting fans" (New York Newsday). On Brazil's forsaken Marajo Island, he bags the pugnacious red buffalo, which has the "temperament of a constipated Sumo wrestler and the tenacity of an IRS man."The author discusses 12- and 20-gauge shotgun loads; recalls the pleasures of "biltong" (African beef jerky); describes the irresistible homemade lures of snook fishing expert John Gorbatch; and kills a genteel take of Atlantic salmon with the brilliantly simple tube fly.Over thirty gorgeous drawings by famous wildlife artist Dino Paravano make this volume yet another collector's item by a writer who "keeps the tradition of great safari adventure alive in each of his books" (African Expedition Gazette).Peter Capstick's eight prior titles include The Last Ivory Hunter (SMP, 1988); Peter Capstick's Africa (SMP, 1987); and Death in the Long Grass (SMP, 1978).