Stories Off the Wall


Book Description

Climber, photographer, and author John Roskelley has succeeded on scores of technically difficult ascents, climed three 8,000-meter peaks, and been on more successful expeditions than any other American mountaineer. Like most legends, he is surrounded by his share of myths. But as Roskelley describes moments from his personal and professional life in Stories Off the Wall, he reveals he'as as down-to-earth as they come. From dust jacket.




Off the Wall at Sardi's


Book Description

(Applause Books). No other restaurant says "Broadway" quite like Sardi's. In Off the Wall at Sardi's, featuring over 275 of the best of the world-famous Sardi's caricatures, Vincent Sardi, Jr. tells the star-studded tale of how the restaurant became the place for Broadway and Hollywood legends to dine and dally. Off the Wall at Sardi's is aglow with the colorful (in full-color, no less!) traditions, triumphs, cat-fights and grand cannelloni of one of the world's most famous and beloved theatrical haunts: Sardi's. Hardcover. Dust jacket.




The Roskelley Collection


Book Description

CLICK HERE to download the first 50 pages from The Roskelley Collection * Includes 30 color and 45 black-and-white photographs * Part of The Mountaineers Books "Legends and Lore" series for climbers, armchair mountaineers, and readers of classic adventure literature * Individual titles of this omnibus edition have been translated into five languages worldwide The Roskelley Collection includes legendary climber John Roskelley's three acclaimed books, together for the first time in one volume and all written with opinion, self-reflective humor, and spellbinding adventure. Also included are two new essays about Roskelley's more recent climbs with his son: an ice climb (Slipstream) in Colorado and to the summit of Everest. Stories off the Wall -- This is Roskelley's autobiography, told in a series of essays that includes accounts of attempts and ascents on the North Face of the Eiger, in the Russian Pamirs, in Yosemite, and in the Himalaya. It also features stories about his blue collar work in an eastern Washington mine and a hunting buddy who dies of cancer. Throughout, Roskelley's thoughts on risk, friendship, and values are portrayed. Nandi Devi: The Tragic Expedition -- A compelling and emotionally raw page-turner, this is about the 1976 expedition, co-led by Ad Carter and Willi Unsoeld, on which Unsoeld's daughter, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, died on her eponymous mountain. It describes the party of thirteen and their heartbreaking experience in attempting a difficult new route on the main peak of Nanda Devi. Last Days -- Recounts two legendary climbs in the Himalaya: one a successful first ascent of Tawoche in Nepal with Jeff Lowe, the other an attempt on Menlungste with Jim Wickwire, Greg Child, and Jeff Duenwald. John Roskelley - Piolet d'or Carriere 2014 from Planetmountain.com on Vimeo. This title is part of our LEGENDS AND LORE series. Click here > to learn more.




Across the Wall


Book Description

From renowned fantasy author of the Old Kingdom series, Garth Nix, comes an entertaining collection of stories, including one Old Kingdom novella. Across the Wall brings together an electic mix of Garth Nix’s writing spanning several years, beginning with the novella set in the Old Kingdom, “Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case,” winner of two Aurealis Awards. The collection also includes two tales inspired by Arthurian legend, a war story, a western, a traditional tale with a twist and a hilarious choose-your-own-adventure spoof. The volume is introduced by the author himself and, even better, so is each story—giving context, anecdotes and a glimpse into the exceptional mind of Garth Nix.




The Wall in the Middle of the Book


Book Description

A foolish knight is certain that his side of the wall is the safe side in this clever, amusingly meta picture book by the acclaimed creator of It's Only Stanley There's a wall in the middle of the book, and our hero--a young knight--is sure that the wall protects his side of the book from the dangers of the other side--like an angry tiger and giant rhino, and worst of all, an ogre who would gobble him up in a second! But our knight doesn't seem to notice the crocodile and growing sea of water that are emerging on his side. When he's almost over his head and calling for help, who will come to his rescue? An individual who isn't as dangerous as the knight thought--from a side of the book that might just have some positive things to offer after all!




Stasiland


Book Description

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell; shortly afterwards the two Germanies reunited, and East Germany ceased to exist. In a country where the headquarters of the secret police can become a museum literally overnight and in which one in fifty East Germans were informing on their fellow citizens, there are thousands of captivating stories. Anna Funder tells extraordinary tales from the underbelly of the former East Germany. She meets Miriam, who as a sixteen-year-old might have started World War III; she visits the man who painted the line that became the Berlin Wall; and she gets drunk with the legendary “Mik Jegger” of the East, once declared by the authorities to his face to “no longer exist.” Each enthralling story depicts what it’s like to live in Berlin as the city knits itself back together—or fails to. This is a history full of emotion, attitude and complexity.




Root for the Home Team


Book Description

Delve deep into to the grass roots of baseballs—the Minor League—and you’ll find Cannibals, Shoemakers, and Zephyrs! From the Coal Sox Nation to the Texarkana Casketmakers, Root for the Home Team brings you the most oddly original team names and the stories behind them. Root for the Home Team includes profiles of more than 150 teams and lists of hundreds more—plus fun facts, action shots, and team logos. Impress your baseball buddies with your depth of knowledge! Did you know? - The Altoona Curve were dubbed without ever throwing a breaking ball, thanks to local railroad history. - The Wichita Izzies had a fan so fanatical they named the team after him. - The Mudville Nine were named after the fictitious team in the poem “Casey at the Bat.” Root for the Home Team is a unique book any baseball fan will love.




Off the Walls


Book Description

When life (in a global pandemic) imitates art . . . Van Gogh’s Starry Night made out of spaghetti? Cat with a Pearl Earring? Frida Kahlo self-portraits with pets and toilet paper? While the world reeled from the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), thousands of people around the globe, inspired by challenges from Getty and other museums, raided toy chests, repurposed pantry items, and enlisted family, roommates, and animals to re-create famous works of art at home. Astonishing in their creativity, wit, and ingenuity, these creations remind us of the power of art to unite us and bring joy during troubled times. Off the Walls: Inspired Re-Creations of Iconic Artworks celebrates these imaginative re-creations, bringing highlights from this challenge together in one whimsical, irresistible volume. Getty Publications will donate all profits from the sales of this book to a charity supporting art and artists.




Nanda Devi


Book Description

In 1976, John Roskelley joined an expedition to climb Nanda Devi, a 26,645-foot peak in India's remote northwest frontier. What unfolded during this climb was a story of strong emotion, conflicting ambitions, death and victory, desire and regret. This is the story of Willi Unsoeld, the expedition leader who supported the participation of his young daughter, who was named after the mountain they were climbing.




Memory Wall


Book Description

In the wise and beautiful second collection from the acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Light We Cannot See, and Cloud Cuckoo Land, "Doerr writes about the big questions, the imponderables, the major metaphysical dreads, and he does it fearlessly" (The New York Times Book Review). Set on four continents, Anthony Doerr's new stories are about memory, the source of meaning and coherence in our lives, the fragile thread that connects us to ourselves and to others. Every hour, says Doerr, all over the globe, an infinite number of memories disappear. Yet at the same time children, surveying territory that is entirely new to them, push back the darkness, form fresh memories, and remake the world. In the luminous and beautiful title story, a young boy in South Africa comes to possess an old woman's secret, a piece of the past with the power to redeem a life. In "The River Nemunas," a teenage orphan moves from Kansas to Lithuania to live with her grandfather, and discovers a world in which myth becomes real. "Village 113," winner of an O'Henry Prize, is about the building of the Three Gorges Dam and the seed keeper who guards the history of a village soon to be submerged. And in "Afterworld," the radiant, cathartic final story, a woman who escaped the Holocaust is haunted by visions of her childhood friends in Germany, yet finds solace in the tender ministrations of her grandson. Every story in Memory Wall is a reminder of the grandeur of life--of the mysterious beauty of seeds, of fossils, of sturgeon, of clouds, of radios, of leaves, of the breathtaking fortune of living in this universe. Doerr's language, his witness, his imagination, and his humanity are unparalleled in fiction today.