"[A] tour de force examination of the history of ivory . . . and the demise of the elephant and human decency in the process of this unholy quest." — The Huffington PostPraised for the nuance and sensitivity with which it approaches one of the most fraught conservation issues we face today, John Frederick Walker's Ivory's Ghosts tells the astonishing story of the power of ivory through the ages, and its impact on elephants. Long before gold and ge...

"Walker . . . weaves a surprisingly fascinating story around one animal, involving colonialism, revolution, biology, and politics . . . Hard to put down." — BooklistIn A Certain Curve of Horn, veteran journalist John Frederick Walker tells the story of one of the most revered and endangered of the regal beasts of Africa: the giant sable antelope of Angola, a majestic, coal-black quadruped with breathtaking curved horns over five feet long. It is a...

“[A] tour de force examination of the history of ivory . . . and the demise of the elephant and human decency in the process of this unholy quest.” —The Huffington PostPraised for the nuance and sensitivity with which it approaches one of the most fraught conservation issues we face today, John Frederick Walker’s Ivory’s Ghosts tells the astonishing story of the power of ivory through the ages, and its impact on elephants. Long before gold and gem...

The riveting true story of decadence, deception, and murder among British aristocrats in colonial KenyaIn 1941, with London burning in the Blitz, a group of hedonistic English nobles partied shamelessly in Kenya. Far removed from falling bombs, the wealthy elites of "Happy Valley" indulged in morphine, alcohol, and unrestricted sex, often with their friends' spouses. But the party turned sinister in the early hours of a January morning for Josslyn Hay, Lord Erroll,...

Striking where the enemy is weakest and melting away into the darkness before he can react. Never confronting a stronger force directly, but using audacity and surprise to confound and demoralize an opponent. Operations driven by good intelligence, area knowledge, mobility, speed, firepower, and detailed planning, and executed by a few specialists with indigenous warriors—this is unconventional warfare.T. E. Lawrence was one of the earliest practitioners of modern unconventional wa...

The “astonishing” (The New York Times Book Review) and inspirational true story of Phiona Mutesi—a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda—also a major motion picture starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong**’**o and David Oyelowo.One day in 2005 while searching for food, nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende.Katende, a war refugee turned missionary, had a...

Primary Accounts of the Ancient Civilizations of North Africa is a collection of accounts about African civilizations written by some of the oldest and most prominent historians of antiquity, including Herodotus, also known as the Father of History, who lived in the 5th century B.C. (c.484 BC c.425 BC) and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The collection al...

In December 2008, snowmobilers spot two abandoned horses high in the Canadian Rockies. Starving and frostbitten, the horses have trampled the ten-foot-deep snow into a narrow white prison. Those who reach them bring hay but also a gun, in case the horses are too far gone. A glint of life in the horses' eyes earns them the hay.The harrowing yet inspiring story of their near impossible rescue -- involving the volunteer efforts of an entire village, first the excavation of a trench six...

Kwasi Kwarteng is the child of parents whose lives were shaped as subjects of the British Empire, first in their native Ghana, then as British immigrants. He brings a unique perspective and impeccable academic credentials to a narrative history of the British Empire, one that avoids sweeping judgmental condemnation and instead sees the Empire for what it was: a series of local fiefdoms administered in varying degrees of competence or brutality by a cast of characters as outsized and eccent...

Invaded in 1830, populated by one million settlers who co-existed uneasily with nine million Arabs and Berbers, Algeria was different from other French colonies because it was administered as an integral part of France, in theory no different from Normandy or Brittany. The depth and scale of the colonization process explains why the Algerian War of 1954 to 1962 was one of the longest and most violent of the decolonization struggles. An undeclared war in the sense that there was no formal b...

Nature is a book-length essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published in 1836. In the essay Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature.Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: Commodity, Beauty, Language, and Discipline. These distinctions de...

"Essential Oils for Dogs: Natural Remedies and Natural Dog Care Made Easy" carries the reader into the world of essential oils. After a working definition is provided, the author then goes into detail about the various uses of essential oils in the care of man's best friend. Essential oils are typically used by people who don't want to use chemically based treatments to cure certain problems. It is never usually considered as an alternate treatment for pets. The author provides information...