Book picks similar to
First Man to Cross America: the Story of Cabeza de Vaca by Ronald Syme


4th-grade
history-biographies
history-renaissance-and-reformers
homeschool-library-middle-grades

Havana Jazz Club


Lola Mariné - 2012
    Lured by her new playboy husband, the beautiful, trusting woman leaves her close-knit and caring family in Cuba to follow him to Spain. Once there, he reveals his true—and violent—nature, and Billie chooses the dangers of the street over the abuses of the man she once loved. Soon she finds herself with trouble to spare and nowhere to turn, but when her voice lands her a spot at the Havana Jazz Club, she discovers a new, unconventional family in a city far from the one she left behind. And with every high note and heartbreak, Billie skirts destiny to write her own song.

Plum, Courgette & Green Bean Tart: A year to write home about - Seeking la vida dulce in Galicia


Lisa Rose Wright - 2020
    In 2007 they left their jobs, as newt catchers, and their native English shores for beautiful green Galicia, in the remote northwest of Spain – a place of mystery and mists, Celtic legends and bagpipes, and a language of its very own. There, they set to work to self-renovate a derelict farmhouse, whilst trying to become self-sufficient and learn more about this untamed part of the Iberian peninsula.When S suggested a three week holiday, walking one of the old pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela, little did they know it would change their lives totally. From the outset with too much weight and too little training they realised their Camino goal was not going to be met. With failure looming, they chose to abandon their pilgrimage to view abandoned houses instead. “We first saw A Casa do Campo on a rainswept November morning. Mists were rising and water dripped onto the rusted kitchen range from gaping holes in the roof. There were bird’s nests in the bedrooms and bats in the hallway. Bare, dead looking trees surrounded the property which the Spanish estate agent enthusiastically promised us would be laden with fruit come August. It was love at first sight.”If only buying it were so easy!Deaths, taxes and even Spanish bureaucracy fail to dent their enthusiasm and eventually Lisa and S head off for their new Good Life abroad with an overloaded Ford Escort, tool bags, vegetable seeds and a trusty stereo stacking system. Oh, and two deckchairs in which to relax in the evenings.Plum, Courgette & Green Bean Tart tells the story of that first 12 months living la vida dulce, The Good Life, in this beautiful green part of mainland Spain, Galicia, or Galiza in its own language.This fly on the wall account uses genuine letters home and diary entries to tell a true story: a story of battles with Spanish bureaucracy and mañana timekeeping; of struggles to self-renovate a derelict home before the bats and the weather reclaim it; of learning to protect chickens against aerial assassins and precious food for the table from underground vegetable thieves; of gardening in bizarre weather conditions; of discovering how to cook delicious and sometimes interesting meals on a finally mouse-free wood burning stove; and of falling in love. Plum, Courgette & Green Bean Tart, Book One of the ‘writing home’ series, has an immediacy which has you falling under its spell. Twelve chapters tell a story of twelve months, of four seasons, of a whole year to write home about. Also included are genuine Galician recipes plus a plum, courgette & green bean tart to make, and a free photo album to follow as the story unfolds. The interwoven information and anecdotes about Galicia are told by someone who has truly fallen in love with this little known and timeless green region with its gentle people and erratic weather, ensuring this will truly be a book to write home about.

The Queen's Pirate: Sir Francis Drake


Kevin Jackson - 2016
     But Drake’s exploits in his earlier years, though less well known, are even more remarkable. Born into a poor, obscure family, he worked his way rapidly up in the maritime world to his first captaincy. Before long, he was the most successful of all English pirates, admired by his countrymen, hated and feared by the Spanish. Queen Elizabeth and her ministers saw the potential in this rough-mannered but enterprising young man, and gave him their blessing for the first British venture into the Pacific Ocean. This success of this voyage, which lasted for three years, exceeded their wildest hopes. Not only did Drake come home with a vast treasure of captured gold, silver and jewels; he became the first man ever to circumnavigate the globe in a single mission, and bring most of his crew home alive and well. Soon after his triumphant return, Elizabeth knighted this newly rich adventurer, and gave her blessing to his acts of pillage. It was a gesture that made war with Spain inevitable. And Drake’s part in the coming war changed the course of world history. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE: THE QUEEN’S PIRATE tells the extraordinary story of Drake’s early years and his journey around the world on his famous ship, the Golden Hind.

We Saw Spain Die: Foreign Correspondents in the Spanish Civil War


Paul Preston - 2007
    Based on a huge trove of diary and personal letter material regarding principally British and American, but also Russian and French, correspondents, 'We Saw Spain Die' tells of the courage and the skills of the men and women who wrote about what was happening in Spain during the Civil War.

Daughter of Catalonia


Jane MacKenzie - 2014
    Not everything is easy to discover.' In war-torn France, charismatic Spaniard Luis elopes with high-born Elise from Paris and takes her to live in a small village in Catalonia. Little do they know that war will rip them apart, sending Elise into unhappy exile in England, and Luis to his death in the Resistance. Many years later their daughter Madeleine returns to France to seek out her roots and the truth of her parents' story. But her arrival in the Catalan village of her childhood unleashes more than she had bargained for, as Madeleine confronts the secrets of war and learns the shocking truth behind her father's death. And as her own love story begins, she must come to terms with her past, and learn to forgive and to believe in the legacy of love her parents left behind.

Camino: Laughter and Tears along Spain's 500-mile Camino De Santiago


John H. Clark III - 2014
    With encouragement from family and friends, never having traveled outside the United States, the self-proclaimed homebody from Texas hopped on a plane at age 53 alone and headed for the Iberian Peninsula. It wasn’t just the beginning of a month-long journey, but also, as he would discover, the beginning of a new life. Facing fear, regret and reality When he arrived in Pamplona, home of the famous San Fermin Running of the Bulls Festival, Clark immediately began to regret his decision. To put it bluntly, he was scared to death. Possessed by an obsessive mind, he could not shake the idea that he was all alone in a foreign country, some 5,000 miles and an ocean’s distance away from home, about to go on a very long walk with nothing but a backpack full of basic supplies. His first impulse was to simply pack up and go back home, but somehow, though full of anxiety, he survived that first sleepless night in a hotel room near the Plaza del Castillo, and began his trek the following day. What did he discover? What happened to John Clark on his 500-mile pilgrimage? Did he make it? Find out when you crack open this colorful, insightful, and revelatory memoir full of tears and triumph. Be inspired as you experience this harrowing and heartwarming coming-of-age story that proves it’s never too late in life for a new adventure.

Alone in an Untamed Land: The Filles Du Roi Diary of Helene St. Onge


Maxine Trottier - 2003
    Onge and her older sister Catherine are orphans. When King Louis XVI orders all men in New France to marry, Catherine becomes a fille du roi, one of the many young women sent to the new world as brides. Hélène will accompany her on the long sea voyage and live with her sister’s new family. But Catherine dies during the gruelling journey, and Hélène finds herself alone in strange new country. New France is a far harsher place than she imagined, with bitter winters and the threat of attack from the Iroquois. Will the new friendships she has made on her long voyage enable her to survive?

A Kiss Behind the Castanets: My Love Affair with Spain


Jean Roberts - 2019
    Her glorified image of life abroad is crushed as she battles rogue tradesmen and vicious local wildlife.From stalking a neighbour to encountering trees with testicles, will she weather the storms of expat life or wish she had never left the UK?A Kiss Behind the Castanets is the first instalment of Jean Roberts's lighthearted and uplifting tale in her Moving to Spain series.Perfect for fans of Victoria Twead, Chris Stewart, and Alan Parks.

Minecraft: Zombie Escape - A Minecraft Novel


Minecraft Books - 2014
    Will he be able to turn back into a human or is he destined to stay a zombie forever? On sale for a limited time! Grab this best-selling Minecraft novel today!

Hatchet, [By] Gary Paulsen, With Connections.


Susan Britt - 2002
    

The Pegasus High-Flying Collection Books 1-4: The Flame of Olympus; Olympus at War; The New Olympians; The Origins of Olympus


Kate O'Hearn - 2014
    Then in Olympus at War, Emily is living on Mt. Olympus, but her father is being held by the CRU—so she makes a plan to sneak back to New York to save him. In The New Olympians, Emily, Joel, Paelen, Pegasus, and the sphinx Alexis return to Earth to investigate strange rumors surrounding an amazing racehorse called Tornado Warning. And in The Origins of Olympus, a deadly plague has struck Olympus, and Pegasus is slipping away. Determined to save him, Emily embarks on an investigation that takes her back in time to the origins of Olympus—and to the deadly battle between the Olympians and the Titans.

Adventures on 'The Way': 1100 miles on the Camino de Santiago


Graeme Harvey - 2018
    Nominated for running book of the year in The Running Awards 2019.

Matador


Barnaby Conrad - 1952
    The city of Sevilla waits, heavy with anticipation. But Pacote finds he is afraid, and fears disgrace in the ring. Time, once his friend, now presses him on to the moment when the gate opens and the first bull enters the ring. You are there in the stands with the screaming crowd and in the lonely emptiness at the center of the arena with only a red cap and a slender sword. You are there for one of the most magnificent passages ever written on bullfighting. "Conrad, himself a veteran of the bull ring, knows the sport even better than Hemingway. And he writes about it magnificently...a tale of high courage, throbbing with excitement." (B-O-M-C News)

The Echo from Dealey Plaza: the True Story of the First African American on the White House Secret Service Detail and His Quest for Justice After the Assassination of JFK


Abraham Bolden - 2008
    Abraham Bolden was a young African American Secret Service agent in Chicago when he was asked by John F. Kennedy himself to join the White House Secret Service detail. For Bolden, it was a dream come true—and an encouraging sign of the charismatic president’s vision for a new America.But the dream quickly turned sour when Bolden found himself regularly subjected to open hostility and blatant racism. He was taunted, mocked, and disparaged but remained strong, and he did not allow himself to become discouraged.More of a concern was the White House team’s irresponsible approach to security. While on his tour of presidential duty, Bolden witnessed firsthand the White House agents’ long-rumored lax approach to their job. Drinking on duty, abandoning key posts—this was not a team that appeared to take their responsibility to protect the life of the president particularly seriously. Both prior to and following JFK’s assassination, Bolden sought to expose and address the inappropriate behavior and negligence of these agents, only to find himself the victim of a sinister conspiracy that resulted in his conviction and imprisonment on a trumped-up bribery charge.A gripping memoir substantiated by recently declassified government documents, The Echo from Dealey Plaza is the story of the terrible price paid by one man for his commitment to truth and justice, as well as a shocking new perspective on the circumstances surrounding the death of a beloved president.From the Hardcover edition.

The Great Plague: The Diary of Alice Paynton, London, 1665-1666


Pamela Oldfield - 2001
    Her diary covers the months from June 1665 to the Great Fire of 1666, while the bubonic plague ravages London.