Shannon's Odyssey


Book Description

Shannon Simpson has a kind soul, sometimes questionable judgment, and courage to spare. And she has no idea she can communicate with animals when she sets off on a 100-mile trek through the forest seeking her long-lost grandmother. Finding Gran means winding her way safely through the woods with only a compass, her wits and a mysterious, possibly magical, marra mamba stone to guide her. During her journey, Shannon faces bad weather, injuries, hunger, thirst, and wild animals—some nice and some not so nice. And along the way, she uncovers secrets about her family and herself.




American Odysseys


Book Description

Written in an engaging and student-friendly style, American Odysseys examines the entire period between 1492 and 1763, covering important topics that shaped the colonial experience across time and in a variety of places. Authors Timothy J. Shannon and David N. Gellman use a thematic approach, focusing on colonial development and integration within a wider Atlantic world. Each chapter begins with the story of an individual who experienced the wonder and terror of colonization firsthand, so that students can feel a human connection to each of these topics and themes. Taken together, these figures--Indians, servants, slaves, explorers, planters--embody the full array of peoples and cultures that gave the colonial era a trans-Atlantic, multicultural character. Each chapter also features a chronology of events described in that chapter. Maps and images throughout the book help visually orient readers to the stories that comprise this concise yet broad-ranging narrative.




Sacred and Immoral


Book Description

Sacred and Immoral: On the Writings of Chuck Palahniuk, edited by Jeffrey A. Sartain, combines the efforts of an international list of writers to explore the depths of Chuck Palahniuk’s fiction. Scholars have paid attention Palahniuk’s premiere novel, Fight Club, for years. Sacred and Immoral is the first anthology dedicated to scholarship focused on Palahniuk’s work following Fight Club, which he has been producing at an average of a book a year for thirteen years. By collecting the work of an interdisciplinary group of scholars under a single cover, Sacred and Immoral extends the reach of Palahniuk scholarship beyond any previous publication. Sacred and Immoral provides the single most comprehensive and useful scholarly resource to date for anyone wishing to examine Chuck Palahniuk’s fiction in an academic context. Some of the anthology’s chapters situate Palahniuk’s work within existing generic conventions, while other chapters are concerned with the theoretical underpinnings of Palahniuk’s writing and the philosophical implications of his work. With eleven new critical analyses of Palahniuk’s later novels, Sacred and Immoral drastically expands the range and depth of academic inquiry into Palahniuk’s fiction commensurate with the prominent and exciting position Palahniuk’s work occupies in contemporary culture. Sacred and Immoral also includes a new interview with Chuck Palahniuk, conducted by literary scholar Matt Kavanagh. Finally, Sacred and Immoral boasts the most complete primary and secondary bibliographies of Palahniuk-related materials to date. Sacred and Immoral is not an attempt to have the last word on Chuck Palahniuk’s literature. Rather, this volume is a springboard for other projects that relate to Palahniuk’s writings. The anthology provides a critical framework for Palahniuk’s later literature that students, teachers, and researchers can use in their own classrooms and writing.




Odyssey of Revenge


Book Description

Revenge and the desire for vengeance suddenly and violently intrude into the otherwise placid lives of the Spencer family. Often seen as an abstraction, they become reality with the death of a beautiful young teenage girl. Each person struggles with the personal definition of what it means to obtain retribution within their own minds and on the larger scale of everyday life in a small Southern town. Friendships are challenged. Political power and personal greed are the dark and sometimes-violent dictates of the chaos and misery everyone experiences. A mother's love for her only child culminates in the demise of a political dynasty. Three men, retired from the service, exacerbate the blurred lines of risk and danger, which culminates in the search for truth, justice, and honor. Different worldviews expose the filters through which assumptions are exposed and relationships threatened. Interpersonal conflict explores the spectrum of the constant debate between the validity of revenge as a human condition. What would anyone do if faced with the travesty of justice stolen and the murder of an innocent brother? Trust is violated on many levels. Death occurs by overt premeditation, proxy, and rage.




Shannon


Book Description

In the summer of 1922, Robert Shannon, a Marine chaplain and a young American hero of the Great War, lands in Ireland. He still suffers from shell shock, and his mentor hopes that a journey Robert had always wanted to make—to find his family roots along the banks of the River Shannon—will restore his equilibrium and his vocation. But there is more to the story: On his return from the war, Robert had witnessed startling corruption in the Archdiocese of Boston. He has been sent to Ireland to secure his silence—permanently. As Robert faces the dangers of a strife-torn Ireland roiling in civil war, the nation’s myths and people, its beliefs and traditions, unfurl healingly before him. And the River Shannon gives comfort to the young man who is inspired by the words of his mentor: “Find your soul and you’ll live.”




North American Odyssey


Book Description

This groundbreaking volume offers a fresh approach to conceptualizing the historical geography of North America by taking a thematic rather than a traditional regional perspective. Leading geographers, building on current scholarship in the field, explore five central themes. Part I explores the settling and resettling of the continent through the experiences of Native Americans, early European arrivals, and Africans. Part II examines nineteenth-century European immigrants, the reconfiguration of Native society, and the internal migration of African Americans. Part III considers human transformations of the natural landscape in carving out a transportation network, replumbing waterways, extracting timber and minerals, preserving wilderness, and protecting wildlife. Part IV focuses on human landscapes, blending discussions of the visible imprint of society and distinctive approaches to interpreting these features. The authors discuss survey systems, regional landscapes, and tourist and mythic landscapes as well as the role of race, gender, and photographic representation in shaping our understanding of past landscapes. Part V follows the urban impulse in an analysis of the development of the mercantile city, nineteenth- and twentieth-century planning, and environmental justice. With its focus on human-environment interactions, the mobility of people, and growing urbanization, this thoughtful text will give students a uniquely geographical way to understand North American history. Contributions by: Derek H. Alderman, Timothy G. Anderson, Kevin Blake, Christopher G. Boone, Geoffrey L. Buckley, Craig E. Colten, Michael P. Conzen, Lary M. Dilsaver, Mona Domosh, William E. Doolittle, Joshua Inwood, Ines M. Miyares, E. Arnold Modlin, Jr., Edward K. Muller, Michael D. Myers, Karl Raitz, Jasper Rubin, Joan M. Schwartz, Steven Silvern, Andrew Sluyter, Jeffrey S. Smith, Robert Wilson, William Wyckoff, and Yolonda Youngs




The Last Storyteller


Book Description

“Riveting . . . Readers will quickly warm to [Frank] Delaney’s vividly described Ireland of the 1950s, its fully realized inhabitants, and the dynamic political and personal relationships that make for a remarkable story.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “If we’re to live good lives, we have to tell ourselves our own story. In a good way.” So says Ben MacCarthy’s beloved mentor, and it is this fateful advice that will guide Ben through the tumultuous events of Ireland in 1956. The national mood is downtrodden; poverty, corruption, and an armed rebellion rattle the countryside; and although Ben wants no part of the insurrection, he unknowingly falls in with an IRA sympathizer. Yet despite his perilous circumstances, all he can think about is finding his former wife and true love, Venetia Kelly, who after many years has returned to Ireland with her brutish new husband, a popular stage performer. Determined not to lose Venetia again, Ben calls upon every bit of his passion and courage to win her back, while finally reconciling his violent past with his hopes for a bright future. Brimming with fascinating Irish history, daring intrigue, and the drama of legendary love, The Last Storyteller is an unforgettable novel as richly textured and inspiring as Ireland itself. “A colorful, leisurely tale, with dark moments as well as humor and grace.”—The Star-Ledger “A magical tale [that] weaves in a jackpot of Irish myths.”—Bookreporter “Character-rich and dramatic.”—Library Journal




Mickey Slabdabber, a Limerick Odyssey


Book Description

Set in the period 1935-1953, Mickey Slabdabber is another amazing slice of Irish life adding balance to the Limerick of "Angela's Ashes". Michael Quinlan's hometown is not as bleak as Frank McCourt's, although there is still hardship aplenty. Linguistic flair & Celtic originality, intriguing anecdotes and the drama of an unseen IRA distorting the life of a growing child all help flesh out our understanding of the Ireland of the day. Yet there is also art & enchantment, music, theatre & humour in this true story of the childhood and youth of a Vize's Field lane boy who wants to be a painter.




Nazareth Child


Book Description

Field operative Del Shannon is recruited when the FBI discovers that her father lives near the clannish community of the Nazareth Church, and she goes undercover with agent Frank Falconet, who is battling his own demons.




Back to the Present: Forward to the Past, Volume II


Book Description

The island of Ireland, north and south, has produced a great diversity of writing in both English and Irish for hundreds of years, often using the memories embodied in its competing views of history as a fruitful source of literary inspiration. Placing Irish literature in an international context, these two volumes explore the connection between Irish history and literature, in particular the Rebellion of 1798, in a more comprehensive, diverse and multi-faceted way than has often been the case in the past. The fifty-three authors bring their national and personal viewpoints as well as their critical judgements to bear on Irish literature in these stimulating articles. The contributions also deal with topics such as Gothic literature, ideology, and identity, as well as gender issues, connections with the other arts, regional Irish literature, in particular that of the city of Limerick, translations, the works of Joyce, and comparisons with the literature of other nations. The contributors are all members of IASIL (International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures). Back to the Present: Forward to the Past. Irish Writing and History since 1798 will be of interest to both literary scholars and professional historians, but also to the general student of Irish writing and Irish culture.