The story of an island from times gone by; about the old and the young, about men and women, of dreams and reality, of gain and loss—about the adventure of life, and love. A table, two shots of rum and a manuscript: British Honduras, 1952. Caye Caulker Island situated in the Belize Barrier Reef—young Pablo’s world. Here a young boy encounters Grandpa and Marilyn Monroe, learns the wisdoms of life, the lies, its dreams and of submerging into the turmoil of great emotions. Pablo exp...

Starburst regions in nearby and distant galaxies have a profound impact on our understanding of the early universe. This new, substantially updated and extended edition of Norbert Schulz’s unique book "From Dust to Stars" describes complex physical processes involved in the creation and early evolution of stars. It illustrates how these processes reveal themselves from radio wavelengths to high energy X-rays and gamma–rays, with special reference towards high energy signatures. Several sec...

Now a major motion picture, Kon-Tiki is Thor Heyerdahl’s account of his extraordinary three-month voyage across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands on a raft made from balsa wood.Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race that traveled across the ocean thousands of miles east by drifting with the wind patterns. He decided to prove his theory ...

For thousands of years, people have claimed to have spotted mermaids in the waves and on the rocks. Some were beautiful with long flowing hair and lovely voices. But other mermaids liked to drag people down to their watery homes and eat them! If you thought mermaids were just pretty ladies with scaly tails, think again. There is more to these mythical creatures than meets the eye!

For millions of readers, New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White “raises the bar of the action thriller.” (The Miami Herald) Two decades ago, under the pen name Randy Striker, he was already delivering high-octane adventure with ex-Navy SEAL Dusky MacMorgan—who finds himself sailing in uncharted waters of danger and deception. . . .Gifford Remus is well known as an eccentric scavenger in Key West, combing the ocean, beaches, and byways for anyt...

Few writers are as integrally bound to a place as Pablo Neruda was to the landscape of Isla Negra on Chile’s coast. From his arrival there in the late 1930s to his death in 1973, Neruda captured Isla Negra in images fundamental to an understanding of his work. It was, according to Martin Espada, at Isla Negra where Neruda "in the company of his muse, walked alongside the source of his most lyrical inspiration, the sea...and discovered a new way of seeing, as the ocean became a living metap...

A Newbery Honor BookFrom the depths of a cave in the Vermilion Sea, Ramon Salazar has wrested a black pearl so lustrous and captivating that his father, an expert pearl dealer, is certain Ramon has found the legendary Pearl of Heaven.Such a treasure is sure to bring great joy to the villagers of their tiny coastal town, and even greater renown to the Salazar name. No diver, not even the swaggering Gaspar Ruiz, has ever found a pearl like this!But is...

Just two years after rowing solo across the North Atlantic at the age of twenty-five, Maud Fontenoy was ready for a new challenge-crossing the Pacific Ocean. Leaving from Lima, Peru, and traveling 4,400 miles in seventy-three days, Fontenoy landed in Hiva Oa in French Polynesia, becoming the first woman to complete what is known as the Kon-Tiki” route. Alone at sea for days and nights on end, Fontenoy’s story relates the ups and downs of her time at sea, from circling sharks to the celebr...

“I told God that if he would let us survive this night, I would make it mean something worthwhile. And then, somehow, I felt calmer than I have ever felt. Unreasonably so. Irrationally so. I looked over the scene of our wrecked life and I smiled–a crazy smile for sure–and I looked through the dark at the mad beauty of it.”–Jean SilverwoodAn exhilarating true-life adventure of one family’s extraordinary sea voyage of self-discovery and survival, trag...

A classic tale of nautical adventure from the author of the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, now published in eBook for the very first time to commemorate the Patrick O’Brian centenary.When Sullivan and Ross decide to go shark fishing among the atolls of the Great Barrier Reef little do they know what awaits them. With their schooner beached for cleaning they take a small whaler out to sea, but when the very devil of a storm turns the whole of the sea white, it drives them to the n...

Peter Benchley’s fascination with the sea and its magnificent inhabitants inspired such classic novels as Jaws and The Deep, making him the preeminent author of ocean adventure and suspense. The Girl of the Sea of Cortez was his most heartfelt, cherished story of the relationship between man and the sea, both those that live in it and those who love it.On an island in the Gulf of California, an intrepid young woman named Paloma c...

René Colato Lainez, award-winning Latino author of more than seven books for young people, says, " 'A Mango for the Teacher' is a memoir of dreams, hopes and learning. 'A Mango' is a "manjar" (a delicious dish) for teachers, students and readers of all ages."In the words of Lucille Bellucci, winner of eight prizes for her novels and stories, "A Mango" is "a wild roller-coaster ride of an adventure."Cancún, pristine? That's how Deborah first finds it, on the last day of 1972...