Late Winter Sun


Book Description

Most would agree that people, in so many walks of life, have lost sight of the importance of treating one another with kindness and respect. In this inspired collection of poetry and prose, the author revisits what he considers to be life's core lessons for success and happiness. Through his recently "retired" eyes, he offers a personal retrospective, as well as a prospective commitment to practice the lessons in this new stage of his life. Moreover, he shares hope that readers will not see these lessons as being reserved for days when they can enjoy the "late winter sun;" rather, that they will see them as compatible with any journey through life, at any stage, on whatever path they follow in the world, whatever their goals may be....




Ski


Book Description




Winter Sun


Book Description

Shi Zhi has been a major force in Chinese poetry since 1968, when several of his poems were circulated as secret handwritten manuscripts in the midst of China’s Cultural Revolution. He gave voice to the aspirations of dispirited youth, and although once relegated to obscurity, he is today celebrated as one of China’s most important cultural influences, having spawned the modern Chinese poetry revolution of the 1980s. This collection of Shi Zhi’s most significant poems, featuring an afterword by the poet himself, is the first book-length publication of his work in English. Born as Guo Lusheng in 1948, at the height of the Chinese Civil War, Shi Zhi joined the People’s Liberation Army at the age of twenty-three. Discharged early, he entered into a period of severe depression and spent much of the next three decades living in mental hospitals under harsh conditions. Taking the pen name of Shi Zhi, meaning “index finger,” to evoke the image of people pointing at his back, he continued to write poetry through these tumultuous years, chronicling his journey from the heights of fame to the depths of institutionalism and ultimately to a final redemptive return to society in 2005. The voice of this besieged poet, burdened with exile and illness, captured the spirit of his generation and now inspires young readers. By presenting Shi Zhi’s poems in chronological order, Winter Sun allows readers to appreciate the evolution of his poetry from his earliest work to his most recent poems. Masterfully translated by Jonathan Stalling, and with an introduction by leading poetry critic Zhang Qinqua, this landmark collection ensures that Shi Zhi’s poetry—so important to Chinese readers during the most challenging of times—will engage the hearts and minds of new readers the world over for years to come.




Tyrant: King of the Bosporus


Book Description

In a world at war, a brother and sister seek revenge...Another drama-drenched story in a truly epic historical series. They were born in the middle of a battle, into a world at war. And from their first moments of life, twins Satyrus and Melitta were fighting for survival. Their father, a Greek mercenary, was cut down not long after they had taken their first breath; their Scythian mother was cruelly murdered when they were still children. But Satyrus and Melitta are children no more. They have learned how to fight, how to love, how to plot and how to kill. Now it is time to leave their adopted home, the city of Alexandria, and the protection of Alexander the Great's former general, Ptolemy - and seek revenge. Now it is time to go to war...




Landscape Plants for Eastern North America


Book Description

"Fill[s] a significant void in the literature on ornamental plant usage.... [The book] is a valuable text and reference work for advanced students, professional plantsmen, and landscape architects and is a welcome addition to the literature." —American Society of Horticultural Science "This is not only a textbook but a valuable reference work for anyone involved with landscape plants." —American Horticulturalist Here is the definitive one-stop survey of more than 1500 woody ornamental plants and 2500 cultivars of eastern North America for students and professionals in landscape architecture and design, horticulture, and urban forestry. Written by an esteemed authority in the field, this book includes: Greatly expanded coverage of plant species, including significantly increased attention to commercial cultivars Sensible cross-referencing for plant selection based on more than two dozen design criteria, with lists arranged according to such vital factors as size, hardiness, and environmental requirements Hundreds of crisp textural diagrams portraying each primary species at 15 and 40 years in relation to average human height More than 400 photographs depicting plants of exceptional visual interest Maps and graphs, including a full-color map of hardiness zones, offering invaluable visual summaries of major design considerations Succinct explorations of problems and maintenance issues for each species, diminishing the complications of choosing among high- and low-maintenance plants An index listing plants by their scientific and common names Now in its second edition, this book remains the core reference on landscape design in eastern North America—intelligently organized for maximum planning efficiency. Enhanced with up-to-date coverage of additional shrubs, trees, and their cultivars, as well as expanded listings of plants classified by characteristics, Landscape Plants for Eastern North America continues to provide all the information necessary for landscape designing in the region. This complete guide provides a concise description of each plant species' function, adaptability, seasonal interest, growth rate, common problems, maintenance, cultivars, and related species, along with more than 1000 high-quality scale drawings and hundreds of photographs. And Dr. Flint's book goes beyond many works on landscape plants because of its unique focus on the landscape design process: with cross-referencing in more than two dozen categories based on such design criteria as size, site requirements, and soil prerequisites, readers will easily be able to determine which plants are appropriate to their needs. Throughout the book, a variety of illustrations provide quick reference on a range of important considerations. A full-color map represents the hardiness zones of the eastern region, and bar graphs indicate such adaptability considerations as light, wind, soil moisture, and pH requirements. For each primary species, a seasonal clock furnishes a straightforward visual delineation of the duration and intensity of color throughout the year. Encompassing plant life from herbaceous ground covers to large trees, this is a most comprehensive, easy-to-use resource for anyone involved in landscaping in eastern North America.




The Winter Garden


Book Description

Winter doesn't have to be a dreary wasteland for northern gardeners. Even when flowers won't bloom, you can have a garden that's colorful and full of visual interest. This book describes the best evergreens, trees and shrubs with colorful twigs and bark, ornamental grasses, and winter fruits and berries that will liven your yard - and then shows you how to take care of them.




Hunting from Home: A Year Afield in the Blue Ridge Mountains


Book Description

Hunting from Home is the culmination of a long and thoughtful journey through the rich natural landscape of the southern Appalachians. A vivid rendering of the four seasons on a Shenandoah Valley farm and in the Virginia mountains. Christopher Camuto has been praised for writing "with the clear-sightedness and imaginative reachboth inward and outwardof a poet" (Verlyn Klinkenborg). In Hunting from Home, Camuto takes the reader through a year of intense experiences: hunting grouse with his setter through snowbound forests in winter; wading trout streams in spring; closely observing birds and wildlife through summer; exploring the backcountry, cutting wood, and hunting deer in autumn. He takes seriouslyand joyously Thoreau's injunction to practice "the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen." Camuto writes incisively about the hunter's paradoxical love of the game he pursues; but he also hunts in the broadest sense possible, searching out and witnessing the life of the things he lovesbrook trout and black bear, hawks and warblerswith the hope of sharing the pleasures and preoccupations of a "border life" lived, with deep satisfaction, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge. 4 b/w illustrations.




Seasons on the Flats


Book Description

Migrations of fish, rise and fall of tides, and weather changes through the year in the Keys.




The Russian Debutante's Handbook


Book Description

NAMED ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS OF THE PAST 100 YEARS A visionary novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Little Failure. The Russian Debutante's Handbook introduces Vladimir Girshkin, one of the most original and unlikely heroes of recent times. The twenty-five-year-old unhappy lover to a fat dungeon mistress, affectionately nicknamed "Little Failure" by his high-achieving mother, Vladimir toils his days away as a lowly clerk at the bureaucratic Emma Lazarus Immigrant Absorption Society. When a wealthy but psychotic old Russian war hero appears, Vladimir embarks on an adventure of unrelenting lunacy that takes us from New York's Lower East Side to the hip frontier wilderness of Prava--the Eastern European Paris of the nineties. With the help of a murderous but fun-loving Russian mafioso, Vladimir infiltrates the Prava expat community and launches a scheme as ridiculous as it is brilliant. Bursting with wit, humor, and rare insight, The Russian Debutante's Handbook is both a highly imaginative romp and a serious exploration of what it means to be an immigrant in America.




The Good Neighbor


Book Description

In The Good Neighbor, Rory Fallon is walking his dog along the streets of the exclusive Venetian Vistas neighborhood when he notices activity at the house next door. New neighbors have arrived in the form of Austin and Meg Harden, along with their two children. Before long, the Hardens and Rory and his partner, Bruno, have formed a strange, sometimes symbiotic relationship, bringing up questions of love and marriage, trust and temptation. Reflecting our changing social fabric, the unfolding drama reveals that fences exist for a reason, and that when you cross them the consequences can often have confounding results. Jay Quinn’s Lambda-nominated novels transcend traditional gay fiction, exploring universal issues of marriage, aging parents, addiction, and attraction, all while presenting unique characters and page-turning drama. Don’t miss any of Quinn’s novels: Metes and Bounds, Back Where He Started, The Good Neighbor, The Beloved Son, and The Boomerang Kid.