A mouth-wateringly evocative memoir of a new life in Tuscany. Ferenc Mate and his painter wife Candace arrived from New York in the late 1980s, knowing almost no Italian and with only four weeks to find themselves a new home. After many (hilariously told) mishaps, they finally conclude the deal for their perfect house - an ancient farmhouse in the Tuscan hills - by drawing on the hood of a rusty tractor. Mate brings the real Tuscany to life: the neighbours, the countryside, country-life, the family farm down the road who virtually adopt them and teach them the Tuscan traditions of grape-picking, wine-making, mushroom hunting, woodcutting, the holidays and, of course, the almost never-ending, mouth-watering feasts. The Hills of Tuscany is a classic piece of rural escapism for urban dreamers. Witty and enticingly written, it offers a tempting invitation to readers to lose themselves in its lushness. Steeped in the mesmerizing Italian landscape, full of unforgettable characters, this book is an affirmation of traditions, friendship and the countryside - a celebration of life itself.

Sun-drenched Tuscany is synonymous with the ideal life. But it didn't happen by chance. Since the Etruscans, the Tuscans have treated their breathtaking countryside with sagacious respect and, in hamlets and hill towns, have built a culture of simplicity, beauty, neighborliness, good food, and a love of daily life. Ferenc Mate, a Tuscan resident for twenty years, explores this idyllic existence. He finds Tuscans brimming with creative practicality, down-home humor, and relentless optimism. Blended with their passion for work and independence, they have achieved a haven of economic stability, physical and emotional security, and a fortifying sense of belonging. From their organic gardens to their mouthwatering cuisine, from high-quality, craftsmen-made products and family-run businesses to the joys centered in human contact, Tuscans live a healthy, emotionally rich life. Mate--engaging, funny, and insightful--shows us how to live like Tuscans.

Mexico, El Dia de los Muertos, 1921. Penniless and hunted, Nello, Dugger and his lover Kate make a spectacular moonlit jailbreak and set sail for the paradise of the South Seas. But they fall prey to the intrigue of two mysterious stowaways: Darina, a young Irish escapee from the brutal Magdalene nuns, in search of her lost twin; and Guillaume, a seasoned French spy sent to kill the leader of an anti-colonial uprising. Set in the fiercely beautiful volcanic islands of French Polynesia, this enthralling historical adventure is the story of man against the fury of the elements; of dreams colliding with reality; of an anguished ancient culture combating tyranny. From a savage storm at sea, to cannibalism and exotic sexual rites, to a study of two women one desperate to remember her past, the other as determined to forget it their exhilarating voyage, becomes a true test of love, faith and friendship.

At the turn of the century, a Kwakiutl warrior from British Columbia's wild northern islands raids an artifact collector's yacht to reclaim stolen sacred masks. He takes the collector's wife, Kate, as hostage on his 200-mile canoe voyage home. The collector hires Dugger, a coastal trader living on the edges of the law, to give chase in his ketch with the collector as passenger, but Dugger's financial salvation comes at a terrible price, for he is Kate's secret lover. Day and night Dugger sails the uncharted islands, through raging currents and ship-swallowing whirlpools, and the account of his pursuit is interwoven with Kate's harrowing and erotically charged journey. Based on a true story, this novel reaches its thrilling climax at the last secret, hallucinatory potlatch of the ancient Kwakiutl culture, where the history of a doomed people is melded with the fury of three hearts.

Lovingly written and beautifully photographed, Best Boats is an evaluation of the most elegantly designed and best-built sailboats in stages from a bare hull to a finished yacht. In addition to evaluating overall design, performance and layout, this book, like no other, analyses how and how well the boats are built. Ranging from the ageless Herreshoff day-sailer to the ultra-light Santa Cruz flyers, the book features some of the finest works of designers such as German Frers, Chuck Paine, Bill Crealock, Doug Peterson, Lyle Hess, and others. Even more importantly, it contains interviews with legendary builders such as Tom Morris, the Cherubinis, Cecil Lange, and Tom Dreyfus. Using the surveyed boats as examples, Mate; shows what to look for when contemplating the purchase of any sailboat. For the boatbuilder, it points out the weaknesses and strengths of all aspects of construction, using hundreds of photographs and illustrations to clarify."

A complete step-by-step guide covering every aspect of fiberglass boat completion--woodworking, electrical, plumbing and hardware installation--with hundreds of tips on how to save time and money during construction as well as purchase. With over 100,000 copies in print, From a Bare Hull has become the reference book for home builders as well as many professionals. The Revised Edition contains all new photos and illustrations, much new text, new specs of the best sailboats available for home completion, the newest marine diesels, and the latest list of marine gear suppliers. It also has completely updated design theories, engineering concepts, descriptions of necessary tools and their uses, and lists of materials.

Celebrating its twenty-eighth year, The Seven Seas 2012 calendar will take you on an unforgettable voyage to places of natural beauty, solitude, and silence; to islands with names like Orkney, Karimata, Fatu Hiva, and Ua Pou. Sail away to where there's only sea and sun and the night sky thick with stars.

In this laugh-out-loud tale, two adventurers discover that rare combination: joy and success. Candace, a painter, and Ferenc, a writer, begin a new life near the hill town of Montalcino. They restore a thirteenth-century friary, plant fifteen acres of vines, build a winery, tame a runaway tractor, excavate an Etruscan village, and battle volcanic fermenting vats, while learning from famous vintner neighbor Angelo Gaja the secrets of growing the best grapes and making superb, award-winning wine. This extraordinary tale will enrich the lives of travelers and wine lovers alike. A New York Times Book Review 2007 Notable Travel Book.

Few things stir the American heart so indefinably as the moods of autumn in New England. And no other region has yielded poets and writers more consistent in touching our emotions. "Autumn: A New England Journey" has become part of our perennial celebration of both nature and literature at their festive best. With dazzling new photographs and a new cover, this reissue of one of New England's most beloved books is more spectacular than ever. Ninety color photographs, by turn meditative and passionate, capture New England's fiery colors and pastoral tranquillity, and are brought to life by Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, E. E. Cummings, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and many more. To help us on our journey, a fourteen-page guide presents maps, excursions, and descriptions of the most beautiful sights.

A spellbinding tale of the sea: love, murder, and mysticism: At the turn of the century, a Kwakiutl warrior from British Columbia's wild northern islands raids an artifact collector's yacht to reclaim stolen sacred masks. He takes the collector's wife, Kate, as hostage on his 200-mile canoe voyage home. The collector hires Dugger, a coastal trader living on the edges of the law, to give chase in his ketch with the collector as passenger, but Dugger's financial salvation comes at a terrible price, for he is Kate's secret lover. Day and night Dugger sails the uncharted islands, through raging currents and ship-swallowing whirlpools, and the account of his pursuit is interwoven with Kate's harrowing and erotically charged journey. Based on a true story, this novel reaches its thrilling climax at the last secret, hallucinatory potlatch of the ancient Kwakiutl culture, where the history of a doomed people is melded with the fury of three hearts.

This sun-drenched land has become synonymous with the ideal life. But it didn t happen by chance. Since the Etruscans, the independence-loving Tuscans have treated their breathtaking countryside with sagacious respect and built hamlets and hill towns in which they perfected a culture of simplicity, beauty, neighborliness, good food, and love of daily life. Ferenc Mate has lived in Tuscany for twenty years. Through personal experience and anecdotal history he explores the sources of this idyllic existence, which provides continuous economic stability, physical and emotional security, and a fortifying sense of belonging. From their organic gardens to their mouthwatering cuisine, from high-quality, craftsmen-made products and family-run businesses, to the joys centered in human contact and community, Tuscans live a healthy, all-senses-satisfying, emotionally rich life. Mate engaging, funny, and insightful nudges us all to live like Tuscans. With our frantic world so storm-tossed and rudderless, this might just be the book for our times."

In forty-six chapters, Ferenc Mate covers every aspect of sailboat maintenance, from launching a new boat, varnishing and oiling, and tuning the rigging, to maintaining the bilge pumps, heads and galley stoves, checking and repairing wood and fiberglass hulls. As well as drawing on his own many years of boatbuilding and sailing experience, Mate, author of From a Bare Hull, The Finely Fitted Yacht, Best Boats and The World's Best Sailboats, also consulted many manufacturers and boatyard experts. The detailed practical advice from experts like North Sails (on sail care), Edson (on steering gear), Interlux Paints (on polyurethanes), British Seagull (on outboard engines), and Concordia Yacht Yard (on wooden boat maintenance) makes Shipshape an indispensable guide to keeping your sailboat in safe and bristol condition-as well as a genuine pleasure to read.

We seem to have forgotten what life is all about. So begins this heartfelt, laugh-out-loud follow-up to M t s cult classic, A Reasonable Life. He warns us that lulled by electronic pacifiers and hypnotized by sublimed greed, we are becoming physically inert, intellectually blinkered, and devoid of deep emotion. Our unquestioned obsession with goods and gadgets has displaced true and lasting joys like our health, creativity, fulfillment, and, most importantly, our time spent with one another.

How has our pursuit of the American dream left us? Financially insecure, estranged from our family, helpless without our wireless toys, increasingly isolated, overweight and, pervasively depressed. But don t despair, a renaissance is underway. M t s call for genuine, physical, passionate living challenges you to re-evaluate the meanings of success, security, technological progress, and how you work, eat, play, and love.

Simple steps can turn your life around, let you take control, and find satisfaction in a better and much fuller existence. Surprising statistics and engaging anecdotes will rekindle your forgotten pride and joy in independence, neighborliness, working with your hands, and the irreplaceable rewards of time spent in nature and in face to face relationships. e the mall and gadgets a rest and get a real life.