Wareham, Massachusetts--the Gateway to the Cape--is a small town steeped in rich history. The Wampanoags, or "People of the First Light," first used the area of Wareham as a summer home. Later, this area became part of the colonies' first permanent settlement, Plymouth. Since its incorporation in 1739, Wareham has persevered and flourished through the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Industrial Revolution. In the nineteenth century, the seaside town quickly became a tourist destination and experienced an early economic boom as salt works, manufacturing mills, ironworks, nail factories and cranberry harvesting developed in the region. With over fifty-four miles of scenic waterfront, Wareham has drawn travelers to its shores for centuries. Join author Michael J. Vieira as he deftly navigates the history of this vibrant community.
“The Best Way Out” recounts a stirring tale of the misfortunes and triumphs of a young English/Argentine sailor from Devon in his quest to sail around Cape Horn. William is born of English Argentine parentage which generates an affection for his mother’s homeland. At an early age William Spyre is inculcated with maritime traditions and desire by his father who served in the Royal Navy. Although he becomes a modest barrister, Joseph Spyre’s unbounded affection and respect for the sea never dims as he passes along this love to his son William. After learning to sail competitively in Plymouth Bay, William turns to offshore racing and defies the odds as he survives the ‘79 Fastnet Race debacle. Tales of South America and Cape Horn grain racers told by Joseph imbue a burning desire in William to ‘Round the Horn’. His wealthy mentor gifts William a stout sloop for the journey and after a year of preparation William heads south in late Fall 1981 in the first leg of his adventure. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires to refit and visit relatives, unbeknownst to William, he has appeared on the cusp of the Falklands invasion. He is promptly arrested by the Argentine Junta as an English spy. Unable to break William or vanquish him, his sadistic Argentine Navy tormentor forces him into the Argentine Army for the invasion of the Falkland Islands. Alone and now the pariah of his platoon, because he’s English, William fears for his life at the hands of the Argentine Marines. He is spared and protected by his platoon Lieutenant, because there is a need for him; he’s their interpreter. After surviving the invasion and occupation of Stanley, William is transferred to Goose Green just prior to the British counter invasion. During a vicious fire fight in the dead of the southern winter, toward the end of May 1982 William find that he’s on the losing end, but he is rescued by a British Soldier in a bizarre coincidence of luck. After the “Arggies” capitulate, William’s British identity cannot be established, so he is returned to Argentina as a POW. He and his wounded buddy make their way back to Buenos Aires on the famous Ruta 3 , bumming rides with good Samaritan, long haul truckdrivers. He reunites with his extended family in Buenos Aires, but is placed under surveillance by Astes. William’s PTSD and now paranoia about Astes alerts him to trouble, so with the aid of his ever-resourceful cousin Rafael, he quickly refits his boat and sails again for Cape Horn. Due to the poor preparation of his hasty departure, he is subsequently wrecked on the coast of Patagonia, rescued by the Argentine/Welch, and is nursed back to health. He has a torrid, illicit love affair with his Welsh host’s daughter, forcing the couple to flee for their lives across Patagonia. In their flight they are relentlessly pursued by William’s Argentine nemesis, Lt Cmdr. Alfredo Astes. William continues to pose a major threat to Astes’ tenuous hold on power. William and his love, Angharad take refuge in Santiago, Chile, where Astes hatches an unsuccessful plot to kill William. This failed attempt unseats Astes from power, but he remains a threat. Angharad encourages to complete his Cape Horn quest, so he takes a tenuous step, travels to Ushuaia, hires a veteran skipper and boat and finally conquers the Horn in winter. The trip out to and around the Horn in winter is a thrilling adventure in and of itself. After sailing past Cape Horn, instead of being jubilant at attaining his goal, William becomes introspective and finally realizes that his attaining his goal has come at the expense of others. He sees that the journey itself is what mattered which was enabled by the love, respect and sacrifice of his closest friends and family. William finally realizes that it is they who are important, not attaining a seemingly impossible goal. He learns this lesson a little late in life, but better learned than never understood. One would think that the story ends here, but no, there’s one last, dangerous problem that must be dealt with - Lt Cmdr. Alfredo Astes. Back in Ushuaia after the Horn, William inadvertently encounters his antagonist Astes and a confrontation ensues, but you must read the book to find out what happens. - Who will prevail and how? The incredible natural beauty and majesty of Chile and Argentina set the backdrop and inspiration for this account of intrigue, betrayal, passion and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.
Travel and Home in Homer's Odyssey and Contemporary Literature brings Homer's Odyssey together with contemporary literary texts ranging from Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier to Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping and Cormac McCarthy's The Road to produce new readings that reframe, reorient, and ultimately revise aspects of Homer's iconic story of travel and home. While some novels share with the Odyssey a celebration of the creative process of improvisation to rethink the relationship between home and travel, others draw upon nostalgia - our complicated longing for home - to unsettle the inevitability of return. Rather than offering an explicit retelling of Homer's poem, each of these novels prompts us to revisit the relationship between travel and home that Odysseus and Penelope embody to ask new questions of that well-read text. Does travel reinforce or destabilize our notion of home? Are mobility and domesticity irrevocably gendered, or can we imagine a world in which Penelope travels and Odysseus stays home? Just as Odysseus continually reinvents his own identity with each new encounter, both abroad and at home, so too we, as readers, participate in an improvisatory interpretive experiment of our own. This volume sets out a new model for reading ancient and contemporary texts together - one that challenges the conventional chronological assumptions inherent in many works of classical reception. No longer a stable text to which we as readers return time and again to find it the same, the Odyssey, together with the novels with which it engages, changes and adapts with each new literary encounter.
The essential, cornerstone book of modern environmentalism is now offered in a handsome 40th anniversary edition which features a new Introduction by activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new Afterword by Carson biographer Linda Lear.
From the north woods of Maine to the cactus-filled deserts of Arizona, America's national monuments include vast lands rivaling the national parks in beauty, diversity, and historical heritage. These critically important landscapes, mostly under the Bureau of Land Management supervision, are often under the radar with limited visitor information available yet offer considerable opportunities for solitude and adventure compared to bustling national parks. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gave Presidents the authority to proclaim national monuments as an expedited way to protect areas of natural or cultural significance. Since then, 16 Presidents have used the Antiquities Act to preserve some of America's most treasured public lands and waters. In 2017, an unprecedented Executive Order was issued questioning these designations by calling for the review of 27 national monuments across 11 states and two oceans, opening the threat of development to vulnerable and irreplaceable natural resources. Our National Monuments introduces these spectacular and unique landscapes, in the first book of its kind. Accompanying the collection of scenic photographs is an invaluable guide including maps of each national monument with carefully selected attractions identified and described based on the author's wide-ranging explorations. Our National Monuments invites readers to experience for themselves these lands and learn about the people and cultures who came before, and to whom these lands are still sacred places. QT Luong is one of the most prolific photographers working in America's public lands and the author of Treasured Lands, the best-selling and acclaimed photography book about the national parks. Combining hundreds of his sumptuously printed photographs with essays from citizen conservation associations caring for these national treasures; including a foreword by former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and photographs of marine national monuments from Ansel Adams award-winning photographer Ian Shive, the comprehensive portrayals of Our National Monuments help readers understand how these essential landscapes are preserving America's past and shaping its future.
Describes points of interest in each state, recommends restaurants and hotels, and includes information on shopping, transportation, entertainment, and historical sites.
A history of the United States in the twentieth century, featuring sociological and cultural events, as well as strictly historical, and using many pertinent literary excerpts.
