1806 results for "Adventure"

Strange devices of the sun and moon

Goldstein, Lisa
Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon is set in an imaginative recreation of Elizabethan London, a rich, intense city overflowing with life and action, a city of spies and booksellers, alchemists and playwrights, poets, witches, plague and salvation. A series of strange events links the lives of an ordinary woman, a bookseller in St. Paul's, and the great writer Christopher Marlowe, as the Faerie Queen and her court invade London in search of the Queen's son, the reborn King Arthur. Marlowe must become in effect a detective, and Alice, strangely favored by the fairies, must become a heroine in a struggle against evil forces. The culmination of this extraordinary fantasy, a battle between the opposing dragons of good and evil, is certainly one of the most weird and enchanting events in all contemporary fantasy. Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon is a big, delicious fantasy adventure filled with strange creatures and ordinary people, famous characters, and mysterious historical doings. It is a triumph of entertainment and one of the finest fantasy novels of the decade.
TOR 1993 301 pages

Blood Thirst 100 Years of Vampire Fiction

Leonard Wolf
In the past hundred years, since the publication of Bram Stoker's infamous book, no literary figure has enjoyed a more horrific resiliency than Count Dracula. In film, television, novels, and short stories, he keeps coming back to life, fed by the vital imaginative energies of a world-wide audience that cannot seem to resist his abominable charms. Aristocratic and urbane, deeply erotic and profoundly evil, Dracula's bloodsucking savagery has cast a mesmerizing fascination not only over his victims but over his readers as well. And, as Leonard Wolf suggests, "Vampire fiction...exerts an amazing pull on readers for a reason that we may find disturbing. The blood exchange—the taking of blood by the vampire from his or her victim is, all by itself, felt to be a singularly symbolic event. Symbolic and attractive!" Now, in Blood Thirst: One Hundred Years of Vampire Fiction, Leonard Wolf brings together thirty tales in which vampires of all varieties make their ghastly presence felt—male and female, human and non-human, humorous and heroic—all of them kin to the dreadful bat. From Lafcadio Hearn, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, Edith Wharton, August Derleth, and Ray Bradbury to such contemporary masters as Anne Rice, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, John Cheever, and Woody Allen, and in settings as diverse as rural New England and outer space, this collection offers readers a dazzling compendium of vampire stories. Wolf organizes the collection into six categories—The Classic Adventure Tale, The Psychic Vampire, The Science Fiction Vampire, The Non-Human Vampire, The Comic Vampire, and The Heroic Vampire—which allows readers to see the many guises Dracula's descendants have assumed and the many ways they can be interpreted. In his penetrating introduction, Wolf argues that such an arrangement enables us to see the evolution of the vampire from an unmitigated evil to a creature we are more likely to identify with. "In a century in which God and Satan have become increasingly irrelevant in the popular arts, there has been an accompanying secularization of the vampire idea. And, as the stories in Blood Thirst will show, sympathy for the vampire has grown as we have become increasingly interested in the workings of the mind." Indeed, the vampire's ability to change over time, to draw into itself such a richness of symbolic meanings, to conjure itself into so many diabolical shapes, may account for the enduring appeal of the literature written about it. Here, then, is a definitive collection for aficionados and novices alike, and whether readers find the vampires who inhabit these pages sympathetic or horrific, psychologically intriguing or spiritually repellent, morbidly seductive or comically absurd, Blood Thirst gives us all something to sink our teeth into.
OUP USA 1999-01-28 384 pages

Ways of thinking: the limits of rational thought and artificial intelligence

Mérő, László
This book goes right into the the causes and reasons of the diversity of ways of thinking. It is about the tricks of how our thinking works and about the efforts and failures of artificial intelligence. It discusses what can and cannot be expected of intelligent' computers, and provides an insight into the deeper layers of the mechanism of our thinking.-An enjoyable piece of reading, this thought-provoking book is also an exciting mental adventure for those with little or no computer competence at all.
World Scientific 1990 252 pages

Solo faces

Salter, James
This novel exposes the obsession that draws climbers away from civilization to test themselves against the most intimidating and inaccessible mountains in the world. James Salter captures the adventure of Gary, a roofer of churches, who feels restrained by conventions and flat ground. Unable to find happiness in his life, he travels to southern France to climb to the summits of the Alps. He finds peace and happiness within himself soon after. But when fellow climbers are trapped on the mountain, he makes a daring one-man rescue during a storm that brings him the notice he has always shunned. But the glory quickly dissapates and he returns to the anonymity he prefers, having thoroughly satisfied himself.
Little, Brown 1979 220 pages

On the Bottom The Tale of the Dangerous and Ground-Breaking Salvage of the Sunken S-51

Edward Ellsberg
In a collision with a steamship, City of Rome, on the night of September 25, 1925, the U.S. Navy Submarine S-51 sank in 132 feet of water, taking 33 sailors to the ocean floor. This is the story of the men charged with doing the impossible—raising the thousand ton sub from the bottom of the sea. Added to this modern classic of true adventure are a foreword and afterword giving specifics of the accident and the aftermath, additional photographs, a publisher’s preface, and appendices.
National Geographic Books 2004-04-06 272 pages

Hitler's spies: German military intelligence in World War II

Kahn, David
A German patrol wiggles through Russian lines to return with details of Soviet defenses. An expert Luftwaffe interrogator teases secret information from downed Allied airmen. Two spies steal ashore in Maine and make their way into New York City. Filled with episodes of intrigue and adventure, Hitler's Spies reveals the workings of German intelligence-the famed Abwehr, the dreaded SD, the codebreakers, the spies, and the intelligence gatherers of the Foreign Office-and explains its failure to best the Allies. Draws on original documents and extensive interviews.
Macmillan 1978 671 pages

The twelve tasks of Flavia Gemina

Lawrence, Caroline
Mystery and adventure for four young detectives in Ancient Roman times . . . Flavia is suspicious of the new woman in her father's life, Cartilia Poplica. She's certain that Cartilia has an ulterior motive, but to find out the truth Flavia must perform twelve tasks - like the Greek hero Hercules. So begins a thrilling journey, but what will Flavia learn at the end of her quest?
Orion Children's 2004 216 pages

Up: my life journey to the top of Everest

Fogle, Ben
In April 2018, seasoned adventurer Ben Fogle and Olympic cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on their most exhausting challenge yet - climbing Everest for the British Red Cross in an attempt to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face. The expedition was to become the adventure of a lifetime, the culmination of a journey that started with a moment of tragedy years before. For Ben was inspired to take on this challenge by the memory of his son, Willem, who was stillborn in 2014. This is the story of an incredible journey that has for ever changed the lives of those involved. `The climb from Camp 4 to the summit is like stepping into a parallel universe. One in which life and death become frighteningly close. In places the lines become blurred. There are few places where the margin is so close and visceral. Angels and the grim reaper are bed pals. When you are in the zone, in the moment, you are literally counting by the step. By the second. In some ways you are in your own little bubble. In places, the fear was almost paralysing. ... In that fine line between life and death I only saw brightness. ... While I hope my expedition has helped inspire, it is also a reminder of the fragility of life. Hold those you love close to you. Don't forget to tell them how much you love them and never become complacent in life. We are all mere mortals on this planet, but don't let that reality stop you from living it to the full.' To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your dreams, ideas before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their certitudes, they are a slave: they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is truly free.
William Collins 2018 288 pages

Where Wolves Don't Die

Treuer, Anton
Now in paperback! Best of the Year: New York Public Library - Chicago Public Library - American Indians in Children's Literature - Cooperative Children's Book Center Tightly woven Indigenous YA thriller that explores masculinity and love between generations of family Ezra Cloud hates living in Northeast Minneapolis. His father is a professor of their language, Ojibwe, at a local college, so they have to be there. But Ezra hates the dirty, polluted snow around them. He hates being away from the rez at Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation. And he hates the local bully in his neighborhood, Matt Schroeder, who terrorizes Ezra and his friend Nora George. Ezra gets into a terrible fight with Matt at school defending Nora, and that same night, Matt’s house burns down. Instantly, Ezra becomes a prime suspect. Knowing he won’t get a fair deal, and knowing his innocence, Ezra’s family sends him away to run traplines with his grandfather in a remote part of Canada, while the investigation is ongoing. But the Schroeders are looking for him… From acclaimed author Anton Treuer comes a novel that’s both taut thriller and a raw, tender coming-of-age story, about one Ojibwe boy learning to love himself through the love of his family around him. P R A I S E “Where Wolves Don't Die will lift you up and not let you down. Anton Treuer knows how to tell a gripping story and the suspense doesn't let up for a single page. Along the way you'll learn about Ojibwe lifeways, languages, sharp jokes, gentle humor, and how to keep romantic love alive from youth to old age. I couldn't put this book down until I'd finished it, and then, I could not forget it.” —Louise Erdrich, Pulitzer Prize Winner and owner of Birchbark Books “I am in awe, crying and smiling at the same time. Where Wolves Don’t Die is a love letter to our Ancestors. This beautiful story is full of cultural teachings and characters so familiar that I'm pretty sure we're related.” —Angeline Boulley, #1 NYT bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter “It is quite likely that I will never stop reading Where Wolves Don’t Die. First of all, it’s an excellent piece of writing, and second of all, each time that I would read through one section I would want to go back and read that section or another one over again. I enjoyed the writing so much because the author’s thoughts reflected mine in terms of what I knew my life to be and what I had hoped could have been. I think it is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read.” —The Hon. Senator Murray Sinclair, Chair of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission “A nuanced adventure centering family and growth.” —Kirkus “Where Wolves Don’t Die gives voice to all of us who survived residential boarding school, visibility to all of us who love and live our language and culture, and hope to all good humans who quest for healing, connection, and love. Everyone should read this.” —Dennis Jones, Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation Elder and Retired Instructor of Ojibwe, University of Minnesota and residential school survivor “Where Wolves Don’t Die will immerse you in the northern wilderness more completely than Hatchet, rivet you to a storyline faster than a Harry Potter book, and transport you into Indigenous culture more authentically and compellingly than anything in print. This is the best book I have ever read.” —Charles Grolla, author of Binesi-dibaajimowinan: Ojibwe Bird Stories and Makazinataagewin: Ojibwe Style Moccasin Game
Levine Querido 2025-08-05 320 pages

Adventures of a bystander

Drucker, Peter F.
"It is [a] belief in diversity and pluralism and the uniqueness of each person that underlies all my writings . . . " -from the Preface. Regarded as the most influential and widely read thinker on modern organizations and their management, Peter Drucker has also established himself as an unorthodox and independent analyst of politics, the economy, and society. A man of impressive scope and expertise, he has paved significant inroads in a number of key areas, sharing his knowledge and keen insight on everything from the plight of the employee and the effects of technology to the vicissitudes of the markets and the future of the new world order. Adventures of a Bystander is Drucker's rich collection of autobiographical stories and vignettes, in which this legendary figure paints a portrait of his remarkable life, and of the larger historical realities of his time. In a style that is both unique and engaging, Drucker conveys his life story -from his early teen years in Vienna through the interwar years in Europe, the New Deal era, World War II, and the postwar period in America-through intimate profiles of a host of fascinating people he's known through the years. Their personal histories are, as Drucker tells us, the beads for which his own life serves as the string. A colorful group, these diverse, often unpredictable, always multidimensional individuals were chosen "because each of them, in his or her own highly personal way, reflects and refracts the thirty crucial years from the end of World War I to the first post-World War II decade-the thirty years that largely formed the world in which we now live." An amazing pageant of characters, both famous and otherwise, springs from these pages, illuminating and defining one of the most tumultuous periods in world history. Along with bankers and courtesans, artists, aristocrats, prophets, and empire-builders, we meet members of Drucker's own family and close circle of friends, among them such prominent figures as Sigmund Freud, Henry Luce, Alfred Sloan, John Lewis, and Buckminster Fuller. Playing to perfection their roles as those who "reflect and refract" the customs, beliefs, and attitudes of the times, these singular personalities lend Adventures of a Bystander a striking "you-are-there" feel. A brief encounter with Freud becomes the catalyst for an absorbing, multidimensional description of the economics, politics, and social psychology of pre-World War II Europe. Drucker introduces us to Fritz Kraemer, a brilliant, monocle-wearing eccentric who became an influential mentor to the young Henry Kissinger. His personal memoir of Henry Luce documents the development of modern journalism, while in "The Indian Summer of Innocence," he rescues and preserves the very heart of the American experience during the last New Deal years before World War II. Shedding light on a turbulent and important era, Adventures of a Bystander also reflects Peter Drucker himself as a man of imaginative sympathy and enormous interest in people, ideas, and history. These enthralling stories complement and complete the groundbreaking analytical writing for which he is so revered. Luminous autobiographical stories by one of the greatest thinkers of our time "The cast of characters among whom Drucker moves is superbly rich, and the informed glimpse he provides of a vanished social and political universe is an education in itself. Adventures of a Bystander is better than a novel, more lively than an essay, and as thoughtful as both at their best." -The Harvard Business Review. "Adventures of a Bystander is a virtuoso performance in which Drucker displays a dazzling diversity of personal interests and knowledge, an awesome power of recall, and a crisp, highly readable writing style." -BusinessWeek. "Adventures of a Bystander appears in a stroke to have restored the art of the memoir and of the essay. It will doubtless be a while before its like comes round again." -The Washington Post.
Wiley 1997 344 pages

Hunt the space-witch! seven adventures in time and space

Silverberg, Robert
Science fiction legend Robert Silverberg reflects on some of his earliest, least-reprinted tales in this new Planet Stories collection! Between 1956 and 1958, Silverberg contributed dozens of short stories and novellas to the digest pulps, each written in the bombastic, high-adventure style of the original Planet Stories magazine. Since then, those tales have re-appeared only rarely (and sometimes never again) in long out-of-print paperback anthologies. This volume, the first of three to come this year, features seven hard-to-find classic Silverberg novellas: Slaves of the Star Giants, Spawn of the Deadly Sea , The Flame and the Hammer , Valley Beyond Time , Hunt the Space-Witch! , The Silent Invaders , and Spacerogue.
Paizo 2011 257 pages

Conqueror of the Seas the Story of Magellan

Stefan Zweig
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Creative Media Partners, LLC 2022-10-26 386 pages

Catch the Jew!

Tenenbom, Tuvia
Catch the Jew! recounts the adventures of gonzo journalist Tuvia Tenenbom, who wanders around Israel and the Palestinian Authority for seven months in search of the untold truths in today's Holy Land. With holy chutzpah, Tenenbom boldly goes where no Jew has gone before, at times risking his life as he assumes the identities of Tobi the German and even Abu Ali in order to probe into the many stories in this strange land and poke holes in all of them. From the self-hating leftists in Tel Aviv to the self-promoting PLO execs in Ramallah, from the black-clad Haredim of Bet Shemesh to the glowing foreign human rights activists in Beit Hanina, from Jewish settlers and the Christians who come from abroad to toil with them to ardent Jerusalem monks and Bedouins in surprisingly glorious shacks, Tenenbom takes on the people of the land, getting to know them and disarming them as he breaks bread and mingles with anyone and everyone.
Gefen Publishing House 2015 467 pages

Turning right at Hollywood and Vine: the perils of coming out conservative in Tinseltown

Simon, Roger L.
An Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and a mystery novelist, Roger L. Simon is the only American writer to pull off the amazing trick of being profiled positively in both Mother Jones and National Review in one lifetime. The stunning story of his political odyssey is told in this memoir, where Simon recounts his migration from financier of the Black Panther Breakfast Program to pioneer blogosphere mogul beloved by the right as a 9/11 Democrat. But Simon is beholden to neither right nor left in this tale of Hollywood chic run amuck, as he talks out of school about his adventures with, among many others, Richard Pryor, Warren Beatty, Timothy Leary, Richard Dreyfuss, Woody Allen, and Julian Semyonov, the Soviet Union's version of Robert Ludlum and also a KGB colonel who tempted Simon to join the KGB himself. Among the topics covered along the way: Is there a new blacklist in Hollywood, this one targeting conservatives? Simon's red-carpet tours of the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and the Soviet Union with Hollywood screenwriters and famous mystery novelists. Why Al Gore's documentary on global warming didn't deserve the Oscar on artistic grounds alone; and why the Academy's voting system is so corrupt. And, as they say, there is much, much more besides.
Encounter Books 2010 209 pages

Tarot Tales

Rachel Pollack,Caitlin Mathews
In this extraordinary collection, outstanding writers share stories inspired by the symbols of the Tarot. From wandering women to howling wolves to rising dead, the images of the cards are mixed to create medieval parodies, fantasy adventures, New Age satires, comedies of manners, and even a fresh addition to Irish mythology. Features Michael Moorcock, Gwyneth Jones, Josephine Saxton and others.
Ace Books 1996 256 pages