Brunton's memoir opens a window on life and times in Meiji Japan from 1868 to 1876, a crucial period in that country's transformation from a medieval backwater into an efficient modern society. Schoolmaster to an Empire, the premier volume in Greenwood's newly initiated Asian Studies Series, provides a rare first-hand account of a nineteenth century English engineer and his key role in the epic-making technical developments of the time. Hired by the Japanese at the age of 27 as engineer in charge of a lighthouse project that would light the coast of Japan, Brunton embarked on a series of varied and adventurous experiences whose record is an enlightening case study of one yatoi, or hired foreign servant, in Japan. Because of the archaic technical level of old world Japan, Brunton the lighthouse builder was also compelled to design, build, and launch ships; build bridges and railways; drain swamps; and pave, drain, and light new settlements. His pages describing his inventive solutions to each new challenge make absorbing and sometimes amusing reading. Brunton's major contribution was probably the training of Japan's first modern mechanics and his insistence on the necessity of scientific training and preparation in a country where technical labor was despised and the skilled trades barely existed. Brunton emerges as a singular teacher not only of technological skills but also of the attitudes and mind set necessary to accomplish ambitious new tasks. This manuscript has been in the making for the last ninety years, according to editor/annotator Edward R. Beauchamp. Brunton completed his memoir shortly before his death in 1901, and it subsequently received the editorial attentions of three separate editors who were unsuccessful in publishing it. Beauchamp's conscientious efforts have restored the important but over-edited work as nearly as possible to Brunton's original language. The editor has retained and updated previous editors' useful annotations and incorporated additional notes to reflect new information and recently published materials bearing on the topics covered by Brunton. This final version is faithful both to Brunton's intent and the stylistic vagaries of the nineteenth century, while also containing updated materials. The 36-chapter volume is packed with fascinating details of the period, and it touches on subjects ranging from Building Iron Bridges and Women's Education in Japan to The Jealous Japanese. Here is an astounding portrait of Japan, the manufacturing giant, in its infancy. Schoolmaster to an Empire will appeal to general and specialist readers. It can also be used as a supplementary text in courses dealing with nineteenth century Japan and cross-cultural topics. Libraries, especially those with Asian interests, will find this a necessary addition.

This classic, historical book is a detailed and comprehensive look at hill-walking in counties of Surrey and Sussex. Equally useful for the experienced and the novice, this extensively and beautifully illustrated handbook is a must-have guide for anyone who desires to explore this part of our beautiful island. In this original, unabridged form it contains much information that is useful and practical today. 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.

"Each of the twelve authors deftly plumb the depths of documentary sources, literary analyses, personal observations, biographical and historical accounts to improve vastly on the seemingly two-dimensional nature of the pirate"
--"The Great Circle: Journal of the Australian Association for Maritime History"

"With this collection, those swashbuckling heroes, or villains, ranging the wide seas in search of pillage and plunder, become individuals and groups situated firmly within their own geographic, political, economic, and historical contexts."
--"Journal of Folklore Research"

The romantic fiction of pirates as swashbuckling marauders terrorizing the high seas has long eclipsed historical fact. Bandits at Sea offers a long-overdue corrective to the mythology and the mystique which has plagued the study of pirates and served to deny them their rightful legitimacy as subjects of investigation.

With essays by the foremost scholars on these countercultural "social bandits"as Lingua Franca recently dubbed themthis collection examines various aspects of the phenomenon in the three main areas where it occurred: the Caribbean/Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and East Asia. We come to understand who pirates were, as well as the socio-economic contexts under which they developed and flourished.

Comparisons between various types of piracy illustrate differences in practice and purpose between pirates of different areas; social histories, including examinations of women pirates and their historical significance and circumstances, offer similar insight into the personal lives of pirates from diverse regions. Far from serving as dens of thieves, pirate ships were often highlyregulated microcosms of democracy. The crews of pirate vessels knew that majority rule, racial equality and equitable division of spoils were crucial for their survival, marking them as significantly more liberal than national governments.

Scholars, students and a general audience ever intrigued by talesand now truthsof piracy on the high seas will welcome Bandits at Sea.

'Original and illuminating ... what a good book this is' Jonathan Dimbleby 'A love letter to the people of the Old City' Jerusalem Post In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn't reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods. Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city's depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller's highly original 'biography' features the Old City's Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics. It discusses the sources of Jerusalem's holiness and the ideas - often startlingly secular - that have shaped lives within its walls. Nine Quarters of Jerusalem is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.

"We left our Maine and our United States at home and we journeyed amongst other peoples with courtesy to them and credit to ourselves." That is John Gould's definition of good travelers; and he and his wife are charming examples of this as they tour through Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, France, England, and Scotland. You'll discover what a delight it is to travel Gould family style, for that is Maine style with the extra sparkle of Gould's wry Down East humor. It's a friendly book, but Gould lets no country, group, individual, or menu get away with pomposity or an unearned reputation. There is much to discover, both good and bad as the Goulds search for the quality of European life and bring readers into the presence of ordinary, and fascinating, Europeans.

I heard the rustle again, too close and too real to ignore. I clutched the flashlight, stuck my head out of the mosquito net... and found myself face-to-face with a jaguar. Four travelers meet in Bolivia and set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest to find a hidden tribe and explore places tourists only dream of seeing. But what begins as the adventure of a lifetime quickly deteriorates into a dangerous nightmare. After weeks of wandering in the dense undergrowth the group splits up after disagreements, and Yossi and his friend try to find their own way back without a guide. When a terrible rafting accident separates him from his partner, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the wildest backdrops on the planet. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage for wild fruit to survive. As his feet begin to rot during raging storms, as he loses all sense of direction, and as he begins to lose all hope, he wonders whether he will make it out of the jungle alive. The basis of an upcoming motion picture starring Daniel Radcliffe, "Jungle" is the incredible story of friendship and the teachings of nature, survival and human fortitude and a terrifying true account that you won't be able to put down.

- amp gt ., , quot i amp gt A OUR Jerusalem an American Family in the Holy City, 1881-1949 Bertha Spafford Vester Introduction by LOWELL THOMAS Doubleday Company, Inc. GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 1950 APPRECIATION LIFE in the American Colony of Jerusalem during the last decade was tranquil although surrounded by political turmoil-Our consuls were friendly. Religious leaders understood us better. Perhaps we had become less of an enigma, and perhaps Jerusalem had changed. Mod ern Jerusalem accepted us at our value. The old stories cropped up now and then, but were turned aside with oh-that-used-to-be looks, which hurt worse than accusations when one thought of the robust Christianity of the Colony s founders which allowed quot no room for self pity, as Mother expressed it, at the most crucial moment of her life. It was during this time that I began work on the record of my par ents experiences in Jerusalem and elsewhere which would serve as a record for my children and grandchildren. I have taken five years writing it, part of which was done while we were under fire in the recent war against the partition of Palestine. Preceding this I had worked for fifteen years gathering material incorporated in its writ ing, and for such contributed data, letters and memoirs, newspaper accounts and testimonials, legal, ecclesiastical and historic, I am in debted to more friends in the United States, the Holy Land, and England than I have space to acknowledge, but whose kindness and interest have contributed greatly to this account of our lives in Amer ica and Jerusalem, I should like to express my public appreciation to Mr, Lowell Thomas, author, lecturer, and radio commentator, whose friendship over manyyears has meant much to the American Colony in Jerusalem and to me, and who was the first to suggest that I turn into a book my private family record by which others might see the Holy City as it has seemed to us for nearly seventy years. To Dr. Millar Burrows, Winkley Professor of Biblical Theology at the Divinity School of Yale University and late Director of the Ameri can School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, I am deeply grateful for whole-hearted encouragement and advice My gratitude is also extended to the Rev, Charles T. Bridgeman, at present connected with Trinity Church, New York, formerly Canon of St. George s Cathedral in Jerusalem, who has given unstintedly of his twenty years experience in Palestine, particularly in church mat ters. I also wish to thank Miss Evelyn Wells for her help. BERTHA SPAFFORD VESTER vii INTRODUCTION By Lowell Thomas FOR years my wanderings took me to many parts of the world. In the course of these travels I met a fair proportion of the unusual personalities of our time statesmen, explorers, soldiers, scientists, missionaries, writers, mining men, merchants, and artists. When a traveler thinks of mountain ranges, certain peaks stand out in his mind Kinchinjunga in the Himalayas Aconcagua in the Andes Saint Elias and McKinley in Alaska Demavend in Persia Chomolari in Tibet Rainier in the Puget Sound country Mount Washington in New England, and a dozen more in various lands-Looking back on the people I have met, a few are like the mountains I have mentioned. One of these is the author of this book. Of all the remarkable personalities I have known, Berfha Vester is one of the few that I have envied. To me Jerusalem is the most dramatic of the citiesof this earth, more so even than Athens, Rome or Paris. And Berfha Vester is lie only outstanding person who has lived there, both as an observer and a participant in events, under the Turkish sultans, through World War I, the period of the Mandate, a second world war, and finally the period of the return of the Children of Israel. What a panorama Since the days when Dr. John Finley, famous editor of the New York Times, and I, first met her in Jerusalem, I have been urging her to write the story of her life...

"Thirteenth Beach" is an absorbing account of travel and adventure. It sweeps you into the action, beauty, and drama that awaits any adventurer seeking to explore the world's oceans and waterways. It's written with a sharp eye for detail, an ironic sense of humor, and above all, a personal style that puts the reader in exotic locations and in the water shoulder to shoulder with the author. This is an ideal traveler's fireside companion.

""Fantastic read!!! I read it twice."" Steve Sutton, Diver, adventurer. California

""Fascinating read ... a book for all of us looking for the ultimate underwater adventure."" www.divesiteonline.com

""A book for divers ... written by a diver."" www.adirondackdivers.com

""A strong sense of adventure!"" Ron & Viv Moon, "Kakirra Adventure Publications, " Australia

"The lure of the high places is in your blood. The call of the mountains is a real call. The veneer, after all, is so thin. Throw off the impedimenta of civilization, the telephones, the silly conventions, the lies that pass for truth. Go out to the West. Ride slowly, not to startle the wild things. Throw out your chest and breathe; look across green valleys to wild peaks where mountain sheep stand impassive on the edge of space. Let the summer rains fall on your upturned face and wash away the memory of all that is false and petty and cruel. Then the mountains will get you. You will go back. The call is a real call." So wrote Mary Roberts Rinehart in her famous travelogue, Through Glacier Park, first published in 1916, as the already famous mystery writer introduced readers to recently minted national park and to the scenic wonders of Montana and to the adventures to be found there. Howard Eaton, an intrepid guide who had become known for his Yellowstone experience, had convinced Rinehart to make the trek to the West. Traveling three hundred miles on horseback with a group of more than forty assorted tourists of all shapes and sizes, she took in her fellow travelers, the scenery, and the travel itself with all the style and aplomb and humor of the talented fiction writer and journalist she was-and her words remain fresh and entertaining to this day.

From "Roughing it with the Men" to "Below the Border in Wartime" Mary Roberts Rinehart's The Out Trail features seven tales from her adventures in the West from fishing at Puget Sound to hiking the Bright Angel trail at the Grand Canyon. Though she was best known at the time for her mystery novels, Rinehart's travel writing, starting with her 1915 travels to the then young Glacier National Park, offers observations and insights into the fun and difficulties of early twentieth-century travel and her fellow travelers with humor and clarity of detail that makes them vivid for today's travelers.

One year after her successful trip across Glacier National Park with Howard Eaton, chronicled in Through Glacier Park, mystery novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart was back in the saddle, heading into the rugged Western portion of the park with her family and ready for more adventure. She wrote, looking at the daunting road ahead, "But all this was before us then. We only knew it was summer, that the days were warm and the nights cool, that the streams were full of trout, that such things as telegraphs and telephones were falling far in our rear, and that before us was the Big Adventure." Rinehart's humor and enthusiasm about her summer-long camping adventure through the Rocky Mountains and Cascades is full of the newness of the experience, the wonders of the relatively unexplored park, and the same wonders that inspire visitors today are still fresh for a modern audience. With a foreword by her grandson, Rick Rinehart, this edition is a classic to be enjoyed by a new generation.

In the summer of 2012, the author returned to his native Cuba to retrieve his birth certificate after an absence of 50 years, 24 of which he lived in the United States. This memoir of his journey of personal and political discovery illuminates how the two countries-90 miles apart yet opposites on the political spectrum-have both lost their way in the misguided pursuit of their divergent ideologies. The author presents a candid view of the revolution and U.S.-Cuban relations through conversations with everyday Havanans.

In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and 'Ooh lovely' at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and Gardeners' Question Time. Notes from a Small Island was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published, and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain, going on to sell over two million copies.

Originally published in early 1900's. A fascinating illustrated record of the author's various cruises taken from the log books of the yachts in use at that time. This book also includes a section entitled "More Cruises" by Maude Speed. Many of the earliest sailing books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Following A Month by the Sea, her acclaimed exploration of life in Gaza, Dervla Murphy describes with passionate honesty the experience of living with and among Jewish Israelis and Palestinians in both Israel and Palestine. In cramped Haifa high-rises, in homes in the settlements and in a refugee camp on the West Bank, she talks with whomever she meets, trying to understand them and their attitudes with her customary curiosity, her acute ear and mind, her empathy, her openness to the experience and her moral seriousness. Behind the book lies a desire to communicate the reality of life on the ground, and to puzzle out for herself what might be done to alleviate the suffering of all who wish to share this land and to make peace in the region a possibility. Meeting the wise, the foolish and the frankly deluded, she gradually knits together a picture of the patchwork that constitutes both sides of the divide - Hamas and Fatah, rural and urban, refugee, indigenous inhabitant, Russian, Black Hebrew and Kabbalist to name but a fraction. She finds compassion and empathy in both communities, but is also appalled by instances of its lack on both sides - a Palestinan woman who will not concede the suffering of Jewish civilian victims of a suicide bomber, and the Jewish inhabitants of Hebron who make the lives of their Muslim neighbours a living hell. Clinging to hope, Dervla comes to believe that despite its difficulties the only viable future lies in a single democratic state of Israel/Palestine, based on one person, one vote - a One-State Solution.

Driven by the promise of prosperity and opportunity on the frontier, thousands of men and women traveled west in the mid-1800s to forge a new life. Accompanying them were their children, wide-eyed and excited about the adventures that awaited them as they headed toward the setting sun. Little did they know how treacherous and grueling the trip would be. The toil and danger of overland travel forced parents to depend on their children to assist in their ultimate survival. Girls were called upon to help cook, set up and break camp, and mind younger siblings. Boys were called upon to help drive the wagons, herd the oxen and horses, assist with wagon repairs, and guard the camp at night. Even with their endless chores, many pioneer boys and girls found time to record the details of their journeys in letters and diaries. This collection of short episodes from the lives of these children on the trail offers fresh perspectives on the experience.

Award-winning travel writer Lawrence Millman tromps through western Ireland's rugged countryside to record the oral history of its people before their hard-earned traditions are permanently stifled by industrialization and development. In doing so he produces a "lovely nugget of good writing" (New York Times) that relays the stories of traditional laborers-tinkers cartwrights, rat-charmers, coopers, thatchers, farriers, gleemen, pig-gelders-with candor and depth.