The fatal shore

Sample

Susan Whitfield

"In the first 1,000 years after Christ, merchants, missionaries, monks, mendicants, and military men traveled on the vast network of Central Asian tracks that became known as the Silk Road. Linking Europe, India, and the Far East, the route passed through many countries and many settlements, from the splendid city of Samarkand to tiny desert hamlets. Susan Whitfield creates a rich and varied portrait of life along the greatest trade route in history in a vivid, lively, and learned account that spans the eighth through the tenth centuries. Recounting the lives of ten individuals who lived at different times during this period, Whitfield draws on contemporary sources and uses first-hand accounts whenever possible to reconstruct the history of the route through the personal experiences of these characters."--BOOK JACKET.

Sample

Joe C. Truett and Daniel W. Lay

East Texas was once a land rich in woods and wildlife, with contiguous miles of upland forests, prairies, grassy glades, and fertile bottomlands. Beneath the shade of magnolias and white oaks and towering pines, the woods came to life with foxes, deer, raccoons, gray squirrels, wild turkeys.

Sample

Anita Mason

"1519. Shipwrecked on the tropical coast of Mexico, Geronimo is taken ashore by the natives. His life as a Spanish gentleman in the colonies is over. To survive in the new world, he must abandon everything he knows and learn to love as they do." "After ten years working the land as a slave in a culture centered on blood sacrifice to fantastical gods, he receives an astonishing message along with a bag of treasure with which to buy his freedom. Hernan Cortes has fled Cuba and wants Geronimo to join his voyage of exploration: the ship waits nearby." "Geronimo has eight days to decide if he will return to a life of old world customs long forgotten and a new adventure with his Spanish brothers. What he doesn't know is that Cortes' vision goes far beyond exploration: together with his beautiful mistress and interpreter, Marina, he will stop at nothing to find the rumoured empire of gold." "Actions paced and evocative, The Right Hand of the Sun is a majestic tale of political manipulation, destruction and love, and an elegiac story of the end of one of the greatest empires on earth."--Jacket.

Sample

Monique Avakian

An overview of Asian-American history explores the rich diversity of Asian culture in the United States, discussing the geography, historical migration, and contributions of the Asian population in America.