Book picks similar to
Drinkers of the Wind by Carl Raswan
horses
science-animals
travel
anthropology
The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures
Louis Theroux - 2005
Or April, the Neo-Nazi bringing up her twin daughters Lamb and Lynx (who have just formed a white-power folk group for kids called Prussian Blue), and her youngest daughter, Dresden. For a decade now, Louis Theroux has been making programs about offbeat characters on the fringes of U.S. society. Now he revisits the people who have most intrigued him to try to discover what motivates them, and why they believe the things they believe. From his Las Vegas base (where else?), Theroux calls on these assorted dreamers, schemers, and outlaws--and in the process finds out a little about the workings of his own mind. What does it mean, after all, to be weird, or "to be yourself"? Do we choose our beliefs or do our beliefs choose us? And is there something particularly weird about Americans? America, prepare yourself for a hilarious look in the mirror that has already taken the rest of the English-speaking world by storm: "Paul Theroux's son writes with just as clear an eye for character and place as his father.... And he's funny.... Theroux's final analysis of American weirdness is true and new." -- Literary Review (England)
Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold
Michael Benanav - 2006
New
Mobsters in Our Midst: The Kansas City Crime Family
William Ouseley - 2011
The book includes never-before-published detail of the
Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker...and his cat.
Rick L. Huffman - 2013
It runs the gambit from a wide-eyed rookie in Commercial Driving school to the eventual embracing of a new lifestyle at a dusty little truck stop in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Having made the transition to trucking after spending 20 years in television broadcasting, the author sets a comical tone from the very first chapter in a “fish-out-of-water” story. However, the dangers and challenges of life in a big truck are very real, and the book takes on a more somber tone to describe this aspect of road life. The reader is also introduced to little-known, funny, or unusual historical facts about some of the places visited while they are along for the ride. The objective of this book is to give the reader an entertaining, yet candid, picture of the life of a long haul trucker with a little slice of Americana on the side. This book always keeps the reader in mind, and strives to both inform and entertain. Another unique feature is the inclusion of a “traveling cat” in the story. The comical and, sometimes, poignant adventures of “Kitty” are interwoven throughout the book and promises to hold appeal for pet lovers. The trucking lifestyle has been depicted in various television series and movies and, as with any job that holds a degree of adventure and danger, it sparks the interest of the general public. The life of the American trucker still holds a bit of the rugged explorer’s lifestyle. The trucker is usually far from home and uncertain what lies around the next bend. Curiosity about the unknown is an attractive feature to the general reader. Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker is a book that touches into a cornerstone of a lifestyle that few people know about, but that hides a passionate group that bears further study, namely, truck drivers.
Mammoth: The Resurrection Of An Ice Age Giant
Richard Stone - 2001
Cave paintings of the giant beasts hint at the profound role they played in early human culture-our Ice Age ancestors built igloo-shaped huts out of mammoth bones and even feasted on mammoth tongues. Eager to uncover more clues to this mystical prehistoric age, explorers since the time of Peter the Great have scoured Siberia for mammoth remains. Now a new generation of explorers has taken to the tundra. Armed with GPS, ground-penetrating radar, and Soviet-era military helicopters, they seek an elusive prize: a mammoth carcass that will help determine how the creature lived, how it died-and how it might be brought back to life.In this adventure-filled narrative, science writer Richard Stone follows two teams of explorers-one Russian/Japanese, the other a French-led consortium-as they battle bitter cold, high winds, supply shortages, and the deeply rooted superstitions of indigenous peoples who fear the consequences of awakening the "rat beneath the ice." Stone travels from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle, from the North Sea to high-tech Japanese laboratories, as he traces the sometimes-surreal quest of these intrepid scientists, whose work could well rewrite our planet's evolutionary history. A riveting tale of high-stakes adventure and scientific hubris, Mammoth is also an intellectual voyage through uncharted moral terrain, as we confront the promise and peril of resurrecting creatures from the deep past.
Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding
Jaime Jackson - 2007
The premise of Paddock Paradise is to stimulate horses to behave and move naturally according to their instincts. "This is the key," according to Jackson, "to having physically and mentally healthier horses." This unique and unprecedented model is adaptable to virtually all size horse properties, regardless of climate, and fits all equine breeds regardless of how they are used. Consider some of the following benefits for creating a Paddock Paradise for your horses: - Encourages constant movement, as nature intended. - Greater movement means natural hoof wear with fewer bills. - Protects horses from dangerous founder-prone pastures. - Minimizes the need for warm-up exercise time before riding. - Helps address neurotic behavior by providing natural outlets. - Provides an effective means for diet and weight management. - Adaptable for breeding, foaling, multiple horse operations.Paddock Paradise Includes:- Template for making your paddock - Hundreds of ideas - Sample paddocks created by practitioners and horse owners - ResourcesTrue Natural Boarding for Horses!What Horse Owners have to say about Paddock Paradise:"I could not be happier with my Paddock Paradise. The horses move all the time.""They keep their weight down easier than before and the top line muscles in my 20 year old has shown some development.""Their hooves are also better because they are on hard dry ground. I've seen improvement in concavity in both horses.""The horses seem to love it - they are always on the move!"
The Black Stallion Adventure Set: Four-Volume Box Set
Walter Farley - 1985
Here, in a handsome gift set, are four of the best, starting with The Black Stallion, where Alec Ramsay saves the Black after a shipwreck. The bond they form cannot be broken. This bond survives their separation in The Black Stallion Returns, when Alec returns the magnificent horse to his original owner in Arabia. Reunited in The Black Stallion’s Ghost, they survive a terrifying curse. Finally, in The Black Stallion Revolts, they are separated again after a plane crash, and Alec is suspected of murder as the Black runs wild! Each gripping tale culminates in a thrilling race to the finish!Book Details:
Format: Paperback
Publication Date: 10/11/2005
Reading Level: Age 8 and Up
Fred: The Definitive Biography Of Fred Dibnah
David Hall - 2006
Before his death in 2004, Fred presented many popular series, including Magnificent Monuments, The Age of Steam and Made in Britain, all of which attracted viewers in their millions.Fred is the companion to the 12-part BBC2 series celebrating the life of this great man, which combines highlights from some of Dibnah's classic programmes with previously unseen footage. The book can of course go much further than the series, including an extraordinarily account of Fred's childhood which evokes a lost England and our great industrial heritage. Fred's passion for the glories of the Victorian age and his fascination with the landscape he grew up in, plus his admiration for the craftsmen and labourers who made it all possible, captivate us on every page.Fred is the personification of everything that made England great in the first place. And this is a glorious tribute to a man whom millions came to love.
John F. Kennedy: A Life
New Word City - 2012
Kennedy’s assassination has been the subject of public and cultural fascination (a film by Oliver Stone, a novel by Stephen King, endless conspiracy theories) for nearly 50 years. It’s time, this brief biography argues, to give equal consideration to Kennedy’s life.
Sapper Martin: The Secret Great War Diary of Jack Martin
Richard van Emden - 2009
These diaries, written in secret, hidden from his colleagues and only discovered by his family after his return home, present the Great War with heartbreaking clarity.
Tickling the English
Dara Ó Briain - 2009
When he's not in London, he's taking his show on tour up and down the country. Although he's been doing this for years, it's clear to him that his adopted home is still a a bit of an enigma. It is high time, he decides, to discover what makes the English so...well, English.
Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer's Search for the Soul of Baseball
Mike Schmidt - 2006
Even though the past two years have witnessed the Red Sox' finally putting an end to the Curse of the Bambino and the White Sox' bringing a championship to the South Side of Chicago for the first time in eighty-seven years, the sad truth is that the 2005 and 2006 seasons may be remembered as much for the league's scandals and blockbuster free-agent signings as they are for historic accomplishments on the field. Something has gone horribly wrong with the game, and according to Schmidt, it's time to do something about it.Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. With bold and spirited counsel, Schmidt offers his own prescription for restoring integrity to the game and bringing baseball back, once and for all, to its rightful place.More than just an old-timer's screed against the modern game, however, Clearing the Bases goes beyond the BALCO investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that's right -- and what still needs work -- with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters.Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a Hall of Famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.
Cascade Summer: My Adventure on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail
Bob Welch - 2012
To reconnect with his past. And to better understand the 19th-century Cascade Range advocate John Waldo, the state's answer to California's naturalist John Muir. Despite great expectations, near trails end Welch finds himself facing an unlikely challenge. Laughs. Blisters. And new friends from literally around the world-his PCT adventure offered it all. But he never foresaw the bittersweet ending.
Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus
Joe Foss - 1943
With 26 victories to his name, he became the first pilot to equal Eddie Rickenbacker’s American World War I record. In October 1942, Foss and his regiment were sent into the heat of battle at Guadalcanal. Foss quickly gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills and rose to become the lead pilot of what was called Foss’ Flying Circus. Foss’ book Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus is a remarkable work that demonstrates just how tough life could be for a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater of World War One. Through the course of the book Foss explains how he became a pilot, despite the fact he was initially deemed too old, why he, and men like him, chose to fight the war in the air and what it was like to engage in dogfights with Japanese pilots. “His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, President, United States. Joe Foss’ citation read: “For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flights with Marine Fighting Squadron 121 in the Solomon Islands area. During the period Oct. 13 to Oct. 20, 1942, inclusive, Captain Foss shot down six enemy Zero fighters and one enemy bomber in aerial combat. His constant aggressiveness, skill, and leadership during these engagements were worthy of the highest traditions of the Naval Service.” Joe Foss was a United States Marine Corps major and the leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. His book Joe Foss Flying Marine: The Story of his Flying Circus was first published in 1943. Foss passed away in 2003.