“Oddný Eir is an authentic author, philosopher and mystic. She weaves together diaries and fiction. She is the writer I feel can best express the female psyche of now and has bridged the gap between rural Iceland and Western philosophy. A true pioneer!!!!!!!!” —Björk The winner of the Icelandic Women’s Literature Prize in 2012, Land of Love and Ruins is the debut novel by a daring new voice in international fiction: Oddný Eir. Written in the form of a diary but with fantastical linguistic verve, the narrator sets out on a universal quest: to find a place to belong—and a way of being in the world. Paradoxically, her longing to settle down drives her to embark on all kinds of journeys, physical and mental, through time and space, in order to find answers to questions that concern not only her personally, but also the whole of humankind. She explores various modes of living, ponders different types of relationships and contemplates her bond with her family, land and nation; trying to find a balance between companionship and independence, movement and stability, past, present, and future. An enchanting blend of autobiography, diary, philosophical inquiry, and fantasy, Land of Love and Ruins is a richly imagined and utterly unique book about being human in the modern world.
Take a tour of the most amazing landmarks and cities in Florida! God Bless Florida will show readers how special their state is and how God made such a wonderful place for us to live.
February, 1940: After a decade of worldwide depression, World War II had begun in Europe and Asia. With Germany on the march, and Japan at war with China, the global crisis was in a crescendo. America's top songwriter, Irving Berlin, had captured the nation's mood a little more than a year before with his patriotic hymn, "God Bless America." Woody Guthrie was having none of it. Near-starving and penniless, he was traveling from Texas to New York to make a new start. As he eked his way across the country by bus and by thumb, he couldn't avoid Berlin's song. Some people say that it was when he was freezing by the side of the road in a Pennsylvania snowstorm that he conceived of a rebuttal. It would encompass the dark realities of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, and it would begin with the lines: "This land is your land, this land is my land." In This Land That I Love, John Shaw writes the dual biography of these beloved American songs. Examining the lives of their authors, he finds that Guthrie and Berlin had more in common than either could have guessed. Though Guthrie's image was defined by train-hopping, Irving Berlin had also risen from homelessness, having worked his way up from the streets of New York. At the same time, This Land That I Love sheds new light on our patriotic musical heritage, from "Yankee Doodle" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" to Martin Luther King's recitation from "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963. Delving into the deeper history of war songs, minstrelsy, ragtime, country music, folk music, and African American spirituals, Shaw unearths a rich vein of half-forgotten musical traditions. With the aid of archival research, he uncovers new details about the songs, including a never-before-printed verse for "This Land Is Your Land." The result is a fascinating narrative that refracts and re-envisions America's tumultuous history through the prism of two unforgettable anthems.
A Land Remembered has become Florida's favorite novel. Now this Student Edition in two volumes makes this rich, rugged story of the American pioneer spirit more accessible to young readers. Patrick Smith tells of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family battling the hardships of the frontier. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias and Emma MacIvey arrive in the Florida wilderness with their son, Zech, to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that his wealth has not been worth the cost to the land. Between is a sweeping story rich in Florida history with a cast of memorable characters who battle wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of the Florida swamp. In this volume, meet young Zech MacIvey, who learns to ride like the wind through the Florida scrub on Ishmael, his marshtackie horse, his dogs, Nip and Tuck, at this side. His parents, Tobias and Emma, scratch a living from the land, gathering wild cows from the swamp and herding them across the state to market. Zech learns the ways of the land from the Seminoles, with whom his life becomes entwined as he grows into manhood. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series
An unplanned pregnancy. An absent father. Can love really endure all things? Danielle Kent is anything but Amish. But as destiny would have it, she has fallen in love with an Amish man. Now she’s 18, pregnant, and hopeful that the child’s Amish father—Matthew Lapp—will do the right thing and marry her. She knows Matthew plans to leave his Colorado settlement for a life in the Englisch world. But that plan never included a baby. When Matthew walks away from her and their unborn child, she has nowhere to turn. Her unlikely friendship with Levi offers some comfort—yet they have so little in common. This wasn’t the plan she had for her life, and she has never felt so alone. She doesn’t want to be pregnant. Doesn’t want to be Amish. Doesn’t want to trust God. And yet. God has plans beyond what her mind can imagine . . . loving plans to show a lost young woman that His love never fails but endures forever. “Wiseman is among the best at writing moving Amish fiction.” —Booklist review of The Wonder of His Love
Recipient of the 2014 American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Foundation Award A major debut from an award-winning writer—an epic family saga set against the magic and the rhythms of the Virgin Islands. In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them. Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author’s own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
Katie Ann lost the love of her life. Then God offers her a new beginning in Colorado. Katie Ann Stolzfus lives in the small Amish community of Canaan, Colorado. At forty she is widowed and raising her first child. But baby Jonas will never know his father, and Katie Ann wonders if her Heavenly Father hasn't forgotten about her as well. Is it really God's plan for her to be a single parent? Eli Detweiler has come to Canaan for a wedding and a long vacation. Having raised six children following the death of his young wife, Eli is finally an empty-nester. He's enjoying the slower pace of having no one to care for but himself. When Katie Ann and Eli meet, there is an instant connection. Yet as strong as the attraction is, they both acknowledge that a romance would never work. He is done parenting, while she has just begun. But as their friendship slowly blossoms into feelings that are as frightening as they are intoxicating, Katie Ann and Eli question if the plans they made for themselves are in line with God's plans. Can Katie Ann entrust her heart to another man, and rediscover the wonder of God's love?
"Instructional, humorous, and intriguing anecdotes on land and real estate purchase, sale, conservation and management. Chilling warnings of International, Federal, State and local grabs for your real estate and property rights; Agenda 21, Smart-Growth, Regionalism, the EPA and FDIC-not the friends of land and real estate owners. This is an absolutely unique, highly controversial digest of secrets shared by an expert with a forty-two year, 1.5 billion dollar plus career in land. You will laugh, you will frown and you will shake your head in disbelief. These real-life stories, about successes and failures, are packed with essential truths and valuable instruction. Spiritual and financial lessons gleaned from all facets of land, and land-based real estate transactions, regardless of size, use, or location-from one-third of an acre to thousands. Today's uncertain climate and unstable economic times make these professional secrets invaluable-purchase, sale, value, tax benefit, banking systems, and even the darker facets of federal and state attempts at control-everything is covered here-affording you the opportunity to use the tempest to your advantage. Are you an owner of land or real estate of any size, type or location? A wanna-be owner searching for an inflation safeguard? A haven? Lifestyle change? Security? Nostalgic for the rural roots of your youth? Tax Advantage? Spiritual connection? Family legacy? Forced to sell? These volumes will instruct, entertain, and open your eyes to the joys, and the dangers. The book studies many previously taboo, or ignored subjects you need to know-all critical to your enjoyment of, and profit from, your land and real estate: Agenda 21-The global grab for all private property rights.Mammoth guaranteed real estate profits to banks-all from YOUR pocket and your real estate values. Why your banker says no-what's really happening behind the vault doors. This ain't your mama's appraisal-the rules have changed. When it's time for the seller to sign the dotted line-forget price-let's talk net. Looking under the rocks-due diligence and the "PPPPP Rule" can save a wreck. The government is not here to help you-and it might be on purpose. Buying and selling smart-the silver lining in an age of upheaval. Conservation Easements-get paid to do the right thing-but be careful! Based on the experience and insider knowledge of a fourth-generation land and cattleman, realtor and #1 bestselling, multiple award winning author, Reid Lance Rosenthal's career spans multiple states, three countries and two continents. Reid's first non-fiction work is drawn from over five thousand transactions and laced with true anecdotes of the good, bad and ugly with no-holds-barred, real time, hard-hitting facts-and must know warnings-critical to your heart, your wallet and the future of your property rights. The associated CD/DVD workbook, Green for Green, coming in 2014, will be loaded with graphs, charts, checklists, unique contract provisions, and actual, highly unusual, but proven deal structures (many developed by the author). Land for Love and Money tells all-the good, bad and ugly-of land and land related residential and other improvements and operations. Balm for your heart, enhancement of your wallet, protection of your future, land and real estate-the foundations of freedom-for soul, for security, for you."
Seymour Reit re-creates the true story of Will Knox, a nineteen-year-old boy who undertook the daring and dangerous task of transporting 183 cannons from New York's Fort Ticonderoga to Boston--in the dead of winter--to help George Washington win an important battle.
