First published in 1954, East-West Passage is a detailed study of the literary relationship between Russia and the West. Divided into two parts, the book focuses both on specific literary connections, as well as on broader social and political considerations. It traces the gradual increase in awareness of Russian literature in England and the United States through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and considers the material that emerged in response, such as doctoral dissertations and critical essays. The volume highlights changes in literary tastes over the years, and explores in detail Russia’s influence on the West. East-West Passage is ideal for those with an interest in the history of literature, as well as social and cultural history.
An exciting and fast paced adventure story based in colonial America. Written from the viewpoint of a fictional friend of the Historic Robert Rodgers, famed in America as the leader of 'Rodgers' Rangers' a guerrilla squadron harassing the English forces throughout the American War of Independence. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
Across the Top of the World is a tale that rivals the story of Antarctic exploration for heroism, drama and tragedy. In the great age of Exploration, the quest for the fabled Northwest Passage lured bold adventurers to the icy Arctic. They risked and sometimes lost their lives in search of a sea route across the top of the world, connecting Europe with Asia and its riches. This spellbinding saga of Arctic exploration is brought to life by quotations from grim first-hand accounts and by dramatic images, ICC colour and 100 black and white. These paintings, engravings and photos of the intrepid men and their ships, as well as of relics and archaeological sites, provide a poignant and compelling link with the past. Landscapes and seascapes of the harsh yet beautiful Arctic illustrate the challenges that faced explorers. The Inuit, the native people of the Arctic, lived in isolation until Europeans began to arrive in the sixteenth century, and relations were not always cordial. For centuries, nations sent out expedition after expedition to search for the Northwest Passage, each one suffering extreme hardship. The most tragic was the mysterious loss of Sir John Franklin, his 128 men and two ships in the 1840s. Attempts to sail the dangerous, icy maze of the passage ended in defeat until Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen succeeded in 1903-1906. Then, in the 1940s, to assert Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, St. Koch, became the second vessel to conquer the passage. This set the stage for the modern phase of Arctic exploration utilizing icebreakers and American nuclear-powered submarines. James Delgado writes with the passion and authority of an underwater archaeologist and historian who has taken part in Arctic expeditions.
In 1814, the first shipment of cotton piece goods left Lancashire, England, for Calcutta India, trade that would open the eyes of the West to the riches of Eastern culture. Over the course of a century, bustling commerce grew up between East and West, carried on the decks and in the holds of great sailing ships and steam-powered vessels. Maxtone-Graham and Marshall bring to life this remarkable era.
The book highlights the 16th-century English-Atlantic connections based on the world division defined by two fundamental documents of the late 15th century: namely, the papal bull Inter Caetera, and the Portuguese-Spanish Treaty of Tordesillas. Despite this, an imaginary Northwest Passage to the wealth and markets of the Far East captured the attention of Elizabethan merchants and navigators searching for an alternative sea route to Asia to challenge the Portuguese and Spanish commerce monopoly. The core of the book is Sir Martin Frobisher’s three Arctic voyages of 1576–78, intended to connect the Protestant focus on wealth acquisition with the territorial expansion. Although Frobisher’s venture lacked opportunities for advancement, he marked his place in history by creating a fascination for the mythical Northwest Passage and an interest in North America. The book is based on the eyewitness accounts of the expeditions’ captains, and will appeal to a large audience, from teachers and students in the general humanities to those specifically interested in language, literature, and trans-Atlantic and Renaissance studies.
From the Booker Prize-winning, bestselling author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses comes nine stories that reveal the oceanic distances and the unexpected intimacies between East and West. Daring, extravagant, comical and humane, this book renews Rushdie's stature as a storyteller who can enthrall and instruct us with the same sentence. "Richly nuanced, full or humor, bitter anger, an embracing tenderness, and a buyancy of language." —Boston Globe
Starting in July, 1986, dressed in high-tech diving suits and mountaineering gear, Jeff MacInnis and photographer Mike Beedell sailed, dragged and slid their 450-pound catamaran, The Perception, through the brutal high-Arctic environment. An enthralling story of struggle and survival. HC: Random House (Canada).
'The seas do not separate us; rather, they bring us closer together.' Daisaku Ikeda's opening words to this consistently wide-ranging dialogue set the scene for what follows. For the theme of the book is that of the meeting of minds that follows interaction between peoples who might be geographically distant but who share much in common. Reflecting on his memories of standing on the shores of the Bosphorus, gazing at the adjacent coastlines of Europe and Asia, Ikeda explores the symbol of diversity represented by the cosmopolitan city of Istanbul. The city in which his interlocutor, distinguished social anthropologist Nur Yalman, grew up, remains an icon of ethnic plurality. This reflection leads the authors towards lively exploration of the customs and cultural mores shared by Japan and Turkey: two countries which historically stand at opposite ends of the great trading route that was the Silk Road, but which have old traditions of reciprocity and friendship.At the heart of this book lies these two men's mutual commitment to what they characterise as 'soft peace', or the attempt to resolve conflict through empathic engagement with those who hold alternative views. Touching on such vital themes as inter-religious dialogue, education, the environment and those common aspects of humanity which all persons share, "A Passage to Peace" represents an inspiring contribution to the modern discourse on ethics, peace studies and religion.
Their voyage from Victoria to Halifax carried them through raging storms and mechanical breakdowns and took them into sea ice that threatened to crush their hull. But more importantly it brought them face to face with modern Arctic life in tiny, isolated Inuit communities where the challenge of climate change is added to the already crushing load of social and economic woes.
The elusive dream of locating the Northwest Passage--an ocean route over the top of North America that promised a shortcut to the fabulous wealth of Asia--obsessed explorers for centuries. Until recently these channels were hopelessly choked by impassible ice. Voyagers faced unimaginable horrors--entire ships crushed, mass starvation, disabling frostbite, even cannibalism--in pursuit of a futile goal. Glyn Williams charts the entire sweep of this extraordinary history, from the tiny, woefully equipped vessels of the first Tudor expeditions to the twentieth-century ventures that finally opened the Passage.
