The death of her English father left Francesca alone and unprotected, with nowhere to turn but to the noble Italian family of her late mother. Adrift in a strange land, surrounded by cold and suspicious relatives who had disowned her mother on her wedding day, Francesca is determined to make the best of a bad situation. But nothing could have prepared her for the nest of dark secrets and oppressive cruelty she has been cast into. And her fate now rests in the hands of a mysterious horseman known as the Falcon, whose appearance will speed her salvation ... or hasten her doom.
There was something different about him. He had no name. He showed no emotion, never yielded. And Griff had always stood by him. Even in this place where cruelty and betrayals were the way of life. So when he decides to escape, he takes Griff with him. Their journey has no known destination, and no purpose except to make their way through life's chances.
A new side-splitting Meg Langslow mystery from award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Terns of Endearment. When Meg's grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, the whole family is put to work: Meg handles the blacksmithing, Michael and the boys will be performing, and no one misses the opportunity to dress up in full regalia. More exciting to Grandfather is the pair of rare falcons he discovers breeding at the fairgrounds. Concerned for their well-being amid all the activity, he appoints himself their protector. When one of the actors performing at the fair is found dead—an actor suspected of mistreating one of the falcons, among other sins—Grandfather is a prime suspect. Donna Andrews’s long-running Meg Langslow series continues to be beloved by its fans, who loyally read every new installment. The Falcon Always Wings Twice is a perfect new addition, full of laughter, adventure, and Andrews's wonderful cast of wacky characters.
In the wake of a catastrophic event that has left the planet in shambles and decimated the hero community, the survivors now work towards putting the world back together. As Earth still licks its wounds from its greatest threat to date, there are those who would take advantage of this situation for power and gain. New heroes must rise in order to give the people hope, and one girl has the power to be the beacon. Will she continue to walk away from her destiny?
In this extraordinary journey, Alan Tennant recounts his attempt to track the transcontinental migration of the majestic peregrine falcon — an investigation no one before him had ever taken to such lengths. From the windswept flats of the Texas barrier islands to the Artic and then south again into the Caribbean, On the Wing provides a hilariously picaresque and bumpy flight.
An action-packed, contemporary novel about surviving in the wilderness. Thirteen-year-old Karma is desperate to become a certified falconer. At her dad's bird education center, she helps give demonstrations to guests and can fly the birds. But when her favorite rescued falcon, Stark, hurts Karma, her parents insist that they return the bird to its previous owner--in Canada. On the way to bring Stark back, a car accident in the middle of nowhere leaves Karma's dad trapped, and it's up to Karma to find a way to rescue him and her younger brother. When Karma loses her way trying to get help, she crosses paths with Cooper, a troubled teenaged boy. Lost for three days, the two figure out how to survive, and Karma teaches Stark to hunt like an actual bird of prey. Karma may be closer than she thinks to becoming a real falconer and having a real friend.
Before best-selling author Helen Macdonald told the story of the goshawk in H Is for Hawk, she told the story of the falcon, in a cultural history of the masterful creature that can “cut the sky in two” with the “perfectly aerodynamic profile of a raindrop,” as she so incisively puts it. In talon-sharp prose she explores the spell the falcon has had over her and, by extension, all of us, whether we’ve seen them “through binoculars, framed on gallery walls, versified by poets, flown as hunting birds, through Manhattan windows, sewn on flags, stamped on badges, or winnowing through the clouds over abandoned arctic radar stations.” Macdonald dives through centuries and careens around the globe to tell the story of the falcon as it has flown in the wild skies of the natural world and those of our imagination. Mixing history, myth, and legend, she explores the long history of the sport of falconry in many human cultures—from Japan to Abu Dhabi to Oxford; she analyzes the falcon’s talismanic power as a symbol in art, politics, and business; and she addresses the ways we have both endangered and protected it. Along the way we discover how falcons were mobilized in secret military projects; their links with espionage, the Third Reich, the Holy Roman Empire, and space programs; and how they have figured in countless stories of heroism and, of course, the erotic. Best of all, Macdonald has given us something fresh: a new introduction that draws on all her experience to even further invigorate her cherished subject. The result is a deeply informed book written with the same astonishing lyrical grace that has captivated readers and had everyone talking about this writer-cum-falconer.
For the first time under one cover, the author has assembled the results of the renewed interest, extensive experimentation, and technological progress that have advanced falconry over the past three decades. The Hunting Falcon is a fresh approach to the sport of falconry. For the first time under one cover, the author has assembled the results of the renewed interest, extensive experimentation, and technological progress that have advanced falconry over the past three decades. Falconer and wildlife biologist, Bruce Haak, details the techniques for training falcons in the classical, game hawking style. Through well-defined chapters, he establishes the fundamentals of care and handling of captive falcons and legal means of acquiring them. Successful strategies for hawking a wide variety of North American quarry are analyzed and laced with entertaining and informative anecdotes. Time-honored techniques for training wild falcons are restated in modern terms. In addition, the education of imprinted and captive-bred falcons, classes of falcons without historical precedence, is concisely outlined for the reader. In a break with tradition, the author uses North America's only indigenous falcon, the prairie falcon, as the primary subject and promotes it as an outstanding hunting partner. His training philosophy and comments on the use of radiotelemetry are added enrichment's to the text.
"Peregrine falcons are hunters, the fastest creatures in the world. But when Talon is locked in a cage--his wings stilled forever--his mighty heart and spirit are broken. He bemoans the loss of his wings, crooning the song all caged birds sing. No bird or squirrel anywhere in the world would ever dream of rescuing a falcon. But in the Rose Garden lives a squirrel like no other. Shikar the squirrel, a kind-hearted creature, is friends with the birds of the garden. His tiny heart bleeds for Talon and the terrible fate that has befallen him. And late one night, Shikar and his bird friends mount a daring rescue attempt."--Page [4] of cover.
A sensitive young girl grows into womanhood as she trains a falcon during three summers in the country. ‘The interrelatedness of nature is a thread that binds the book together and gives it depth. This is one of the best portraits of female adolescence in our literature.’ —SLJ.
