Adventure Biography

Faced with an empty nest, stagnant jobs, and an economy in freefall, Kim Brown Seely and her husband decided to embark on a grand adventure. On an impulse, they purchased a sailboat, learned to sail, and set off toward untamed wilderness in search of the elusive blonde Kermode bear that only lives in a secluded forest in the Pacific Northwest.

"You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed?" asked Frank Worsley, commander of the Endurance, stuck impassably in Antarctic ice packs. "What the ice gets," replied Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition's unflappable leader, "the ice keeps." It did not, however, get the ship's twenty-five crew members, all of whom survived an eight-hundred-mile voyage across sea, land, and ice to South Georgia, the nearest inhabited island.

Critics, readers, and listeners loved Lisa Scottoline's first collection of true-life stories, which only encouraged her—now she's back with these all-new, exciting adventures. She's farther down the road now, and the scenery has changed—ex-husbands Thing One and Thing Two are in her rear-view mirror, daughter Francesca has moved into an apartment, and Lisa's finding the silver lining in her empty nest, which has lots more room for her shoes. And some things have stayed the same.

Published to coincide with the centenary of the first expeditions to reach the South Pole, An Empire of Ice presents a fascinating new take on Antarctic exploration. Retold with added information, it's the first book to place the famed voyages of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, his British rivals Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and others in a larger scientific, social, and geopolitical context.

In Adventures of a Country Vet, Rory shares stories of the livestock and pets he's cared for as a rural vet in New Zealand and southwest England. From calving in a blizzard to a dog wounded in a pig-hunt, a horse castration gone wrong and warming a baby alpaca in the footwell of his ute, life as a vet is all-go.

Some months before, my husband, three children and I had casually unzipped and discarded our comfortable Australian lifestyle and slipped on life in the country of haute couture. On arrival, there was no celebrity designer waiting for us, ready to pin and fit our new life to us; so we threw it on and wore it loosely, tightly, uncomfortably, any old how—until we learned for ourselves how to trim, hem and stitch à la française. This book is testament to the joyous, but not always easy, journey that we took along the way.

Turning Pages: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher is the well-told story of forty years in the publishing business. For twenty-four of those years, John Sargent ran one of America’s largest publishing companies. Rather than a straight chronological narrative, Sargent uses the best stories of those years to give us an intimate look inside book publishing. In weaving these stories together, he brings the listener with him through triumph and despair, and a very interesting daily life.

Mary Barber was born in Massachusetts and married Sioux chief Squatting Bear in 1867. In her memoirs, she described her experiences with the Sioux and the many relations of Squatting Bear.

Just as William Goldman, the ultimate screenwriter, took us inside Hollywood, Simon de Pury, the ultimate art player, will take us inside an even more secretive business, whose staggering prices, famous collectors, and high crimes are front-page news almost every day. The former chairman of Sotheby's Europe, the former owner of Sotheby's rival Phillips de Pury, and currently a London-based dealer and advisor to great collectors around the world, Simon has one of the highest profiles of any nonartist in the art world.

Actor and musician Ian Roberts is something of a South African icon, renowned for his roles as the rugged Boer fighter Sloet Steenkamp in the TV series Arende and as Boet in the immortal and immensely popular Castrol advertisements.

I was privileged and blessed to work with Mother Teresa for ten years. She became my mentor and my 'Spiritual Mother. My story shows how she led me on a remarkable journey. I saw her deep love of God in the way she cared for the poorest of the poor. By writing this book, I wish everyone to see the beauty of this saintly woman, and how she lived her life. She saw Jesus in everyone and she was Jesus to everyone. She was selfless and humble, giving of herself totally to God. Share the laughter, the tears, the smiles and the love.

Amy Wilson has always been an ultimate helper. As a big sister, Girl Scout, faithful reader of teen magazines, personal assistant, sitcom sidekick, and, finally, mother of three, Amy believed it was her destiny to be a people pleaser. She learned to put others first, to do what she was told, to finish what she started, and to look like she had everything under control, even when she very much did not. Along the way, Amy started to wonder why doing it all had been her job.

Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella are back with another collection of warm and witty stories that will strike a chord with every woman. This four-book series is among the best-reviewed humor books published today and has been compared to the late greats Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron. This fourth volume, Have a Nice Guilt Trip, maintains the same sterling standard of humor and poignancy as Lisa and Francesca continue on the road of life, acquiring men and puppies.

Here is the astonishing true story of Ruth Harkness, the Manhattan bohemian socialite who, against all but impossible odds, trekked to Tibet in 1936 to capture the most mysterious animal of the day: a bear that had for countless centuries lived in secret in the labyrinth of lonely cold mountains. In The Lady and the Panda, Vicki Constantine Croke gives us the remarkable account of Ruth Harkness and her extraordinary journey, and restores Harkness to her rightful place along with Sacajawea, Nellie Bly, and Amelia Earhart as one of the great woman adventurers of all time.

The tidal wave of war crashed upon them, fracturing France like a faultline. This second instalment in the warpath saga lights the spark to ignite an inferno, engulfing Captain Jack Churchill and his Merry Men of the Second Manchester Regiment. Following the events of the L’Épinette ambush, Operation Dynamo becomes initiated to full effect. This is the complete evacuation of the entire British Expeditionary Force out of Dunkirk.

A chronologically detailed account of the founding of Makoshika, Montana’s largest state park, and how almost single-handedly Dr. R. W. Hiatt, a true renaissance man, cradled Makoshika from its fragile beginning to its maturity as a state park. Through his meticulous record-keeping, the rich historical details of Makoshika Park come to life. Greg is a boy thirty years younger than his optometrist, Dr. Hiatt, and they form an inseparable bond.

Philip E. Bradshaw shares stories and recollections from a lifetime of farming in this memoir that celebrates a way of life. He highlights the advancement of farming and reflects on his efforts advocating for agriculture, serving as a leader, and policymaker, and traveling to more than 53 countries and meeting seven U.S. presidents along the way.

This is not a once upon a time story with fire breathing dragons, aliens from outer space, nor giants climbing down beanstalks. Even something as disgusting as manure can take on magical qualities that lead to adventures in your own backyard. In the summer of 1942, while the world was at war, Jim Brown Godwin found himself covered from head to toe in manure. This is his story, how he got there, what he did, and – most importantly – how he got out.

This is a guide for anyone going into a mental asylum or institution for the first time, or if you have a delusional loved one, with a mental illness, this will help you relate to them better in understanding insanity. Now, join me, in the asylum, as together we go on a very odd journey of discovery in my first mental institution experience. Enter a strange world, before I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, as I compete against other game show contestants in a battle to win genetic traits for my family tree.

Welcome to the life of a local journalist, and the curious tradition of the “walk-in” – when a member of the public turns up with a tale to tell. The newsworthiness of these stories is... well... mixed, to say the least. But every journalist remembers their weirdest and most wonderful walk-ins.