Amber has long been a desirable commodity, surrounded by legend and used to create dazzling artifacts. Fascinated, C. J. Schüler follows the historic Amber Route from St Petersburg to Venice through three millennia of history. As he explores empires and the former Iron Curtain, current politics and his own family's experience of persecution are never far from his mind.
'Timely and powerful.' Financial Times Portable and expensive, amber has always been a desirable commodity. C.J. Schüler follows the historic Amber Route from St Petersburg to Venice through three millennia of history. Throughout his journey, current politics and his own family's experience of persecution and flight are never far from his mind.As he traces the greatest fault lines of European geopolitics and explores lands contested by Romans and Vandals, Teutons and Slavs, empires and the former Iron Curtain, Schüler must also confront his family history, Nazism and the Holocaust.
This gorgeously illustrated oversized book brings the history and cultures of the Silk Road alive -- from its beginnings to the present day -- covering more than 5000 years.
Winner of the Early Slavic Studies Association 2018 Book Prize This volume offers a novel, trans-regional vision of Viking Age (9th-11th century) cultural and political contacts between Scandinavia and the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea, using predominantly archaeological evidence, combined with historical sources, topography and logistical considerations.
The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.
This new guide to hiking the fire lookouts of Washington’s Cascades and Olympics is the quintessential Northwest guide and will appeal to a wide range of hikers. Features of Hiking Washington’s Fire Lookouts include: 44 fire lookouts—those that feature access by trail All lookouts are accessible during the typical summer season Only lookouts that are still standing—no hiking up to a barren mound of broken concrete! Routes are not technical—hikers just need boots, trekking poles, and, probably, lunch Lookout history, anecdotes, and full-color photos throughout Each lookout description features the year it was constructed; access details, including overnight stays and winter access; location and land manager; roundtrip distance on trail; trail elevation gain; lookout’s elevation; map info; trailhead GPS coordinates; information about any permits or fees; and driving directions to the trailhead. Introductory chapters provide an overview of Washington State’s lookouts, as well as information about their upkeep, lookout architectural types, and general hiking tips, while an appendix provides an overview to a handful of additional lookouts in the state that are not hikable.
“Gripping and poignant, A Matter of Days takes readers on a heart-stopping journey of love and survival.“ — New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones Their new reality begins in just a matter of days. On Day 56 of the Blustar Pandemic, sixteen-year-old Nadia’s mother dies, leaving Nadia to fend for herself and her younger brother, Rabbit. Both have been immunized against the virus, but they can’t be protected from what comes next. Their father taught them to “be the cockroach”—to adapt to and survive whatever comes their way. And that’s their mission. Facing a lawless world of destruction and deprivation, Nadia and Rabbit drive from Seattle to their grandfather’s compound in West Virginia. The illness, fatigue, and hunger they endure along the way will all be worth it once they reach the compound. Unless no one is waiting for them . . . “Fans of Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave, S. D. Crockett’s After the Snow, or Cormac McCarthy’s adult novel The Road will find this a satisfying read.” —SLJ “An exciting apocalyptic road trip.” —Publishers Weekly
An intimate narrative history of porcelain, structured around five journeys through landscapes where porcelain was dreamed about, fired, refined, collected, and coveted. Extraordinary new nonfiction, a gripping blend of history and memoir, by the author of the award-winning and bestselling international sensation, The Hare with the Amber Eyes. In The White Road, bestselling author and artist Edmund de Waal gives us an intimate narrative history of his lifelong obsession with porcelain, or "white gold." A potter who has been working with porcelain for more than forty years, de Waal describes how he set out on five journeys to places where porcelain was dreamed about, refined, collected and coveted-and that would help him understand the clay's mysterious allure. From his studio in London, he starts by travelling to three "white hills"-sites in China, Germany and England that are key to porcelain's creation. But his search eventually takes him around the globe and reveals more than a history of cups and figurines; rather, he is forced to confront some of the darkest moments of twentieth-century history. Part memoir, part history, part detective story, The White Road chronicles a global obsession with alchemy, art, wealth, craft, and purity. In a sweeping yet intimate style that recalls The Hare with the Amber Eyes, de Waal gives us a singular understanding of "the spectrum of porcelain" and the mapping of desire.
"The good thing is, no one will ever die again. The bad thing is, everyone will want to." A physicist receives a mysterious paper. The ideas in it are far, far ahead of current thinking and quite, quite terrifying. In a city of "fast ones," shadow players, and jinni, two sisters contemplate a revolution. And on the edges of reality a thief, helped by a sardonic ship, is trying to break into a Schrödinger box for his patron. In the box is his freedom. Or not. Jean de Flambeur is back. And he's running out of time. In Hannu Rajaniemi's sparkling follow-up to the critically acclaimed international sensation The Quantum Thief, he returns to his awe-inspiring vision of the universe...and we discover what the future held for Earth. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
