Tourists, armchair travelers, and historians will all delightin this fluid narrative that can be read straight through, dippedinto over time, or used as a reference guide to each period inSicily’s fascinating tale. Emigration of people from Sicily oftenovershadows the importance of the people who immigrated to theisland through the centuries. These have included several whobecame Sicily’s rulers, along with Jews, Ligurians, and Albanians.Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans,Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, the Savoy Kingdom of Italy andthe modern era have all held sway, and left lasting influences onthe island’s culture and architecture. Sicily’s character has alsobeen determined by what passed it by: events that affected Europegenerally, namely the Crusades and Columbus’s discovery of theAmericas, remarkably had little influence on Italy’s most famousisland. Maps, biographical notes, suggestions for further reading,a glossary, pronunciation keys, and much more ma
In July 1845, Henry David Thoreau built a small cottage in thewoods near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. During the twoyears and two months he spent there, he began to write Walden, achronicle of his communion with nature that became one of the mostinfluential and compelling books in American literature. Since itsfirst publication on August 9, 1854, by Ticknor and Fields, thework has become a classic, beloved for its message of living simplyand in harmony with nature. This edition of Walden featuresexquisite wood engravings by Michel McCurdy, one of America'sleading engravers and woodblock artists. McCurdy's engravings bringthe text to life--and illuminate the spirit of Thoreau's prose.Also included is a foreword by noted author, environmentalist, andnaturalist Terry Tempest Williams who reflects upon Thoreau'smessage that as we explore our world and ourselves, we draw evercloser to the truth of our connectedness.
The brutal lynching of two young black men in Marion, Indiana,on August 7, 1930, cast a shadow over the town that still lingers.It is only one event in the long and complicated history of racerelations in Marion, a history much ignored and considered by manyto be best forgotten. But the lynching cannot be forgotten. It istoo much a part of the fabric of Marion, too much ingrained evennow in the minds of those who live there. In Our Town journalist Cynthia Carr explores the issues of race, loyalty, andmemory in America through the lens of a specific hate crime thatoccurred in Marion but could have happened anywhere. Marion is our town, America’s town, and its legacy is ourlegacy. Like everyone in Marion, Carr knew the basic details of thelynching even as a child: three black men were arrested forattempted murder and rape, and two of them were hanged in thecourthouse square, a fate the third miraculously escaped. MeetingJames Cameron–the man who’d survived–led her to examine how thequiet Midwestern
