Separated by six thousand miles of earth and ocean, the cities of Hamtramck and Warsaw, Poland intrically share a history of customs, pride and emotions. At the turn of the century, Poles journeyed to the United States to escape the persecution of foreign rule. Many came to Hamtramck, finding freedom and honest labor at one of the area's automobile factories. They brought with them a profound sense of unity and culture.
Theodore Gumbril Junior is fed up with his job as a teacher, and tries a new tack as an inventor of pneumatic trousers. The development and marketing of these is set against his attempts to find love, and the backdrop of his friends’ and acquaintances’ similar quest for meaning in what seems to them a meaningless world. Aldous Huxley, although primarily known these days for his seminal work Brave New World, gained fame in the 1920s as a writer of social satires such as this, his second novel. Condemned at the time for its frank treatment of sexuality and adultery—it was even banned in Australia—the book’s characters’ comic lack of stability following the society-wide alignment of the Great War still resonates today. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
A lost generation searches for meaning in chaotic post-WWI London in this satirical novel by the acclaimed author of Brave New World. First published in 1923, Aldous Huxley’s Antic Hay was banned in Australia and burned in Cairo for its frank depiction of bohemian life in the grim and listless aftermath of the Great War. Set in London, the comic novel follows a large cast of artists and intellectuals through their nihilistic yet determined pursuits. But at the center of these colorful characters is the peculiar man behind Gumbril’s Patent Small Clothes. While sitting on the hard oak pews of his school’s chapel, disenchanted schoolmaster Theodore Gumbril Junior fantasizes about a pair of trousers with an inflatable air cushion in the seat to make the endless sermon more tolerable. Deciding on a whim to pursue this absurd invention, Gumbril moves to London and soon finds himself among a circle of cynical poets, would-be artists, and bohemian philosophers. Though a timid romantic, Gumbril fashions a rakish alter ego for himself, “The Complete Man,” as he pursues his fortunes in this scathing satire of British conventionality.
Viviano travels to his family's ancestral home in western Sicily to investigate the murder of his great-great grandfather more than a hundred years before. He uncovered a web of family loyalty, blood feuds and codes of silence.
New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica tackles football! Will Tyler may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in his hand, life can't touch him--his dad isn't so defeated, his town isn't so poor, and everyone has something to cheer for. All of which does him no good if the football season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a well-maintained playing field, with every other family moving to find jobs, there just isn't enough money or players for a season. It's up to Will to rally the town and give everyone a reason to believe . . .
Those Barren Leaves is a satirical novel by Aldous Huxley, published in 1925. The title is derived from the poem 'The Tables Turned' by William Wordsworth which ends with the words: Enough of Science and of Art; Close up those barren leaves; Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives. Stripping the pretensions of those who claim a spot among the cultural elite, it is the story of Mrs. Aldwinkle and her entourage, who are gathered in an Italian palace to relive the glories of the Renaissance. For all their supposed sophistication, they are nothing but sad and superficial individuals in the final analysis.
