Tragic History

The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la is a breathtaking account of the ill-fated October 1998 expedition of an American whitewater kayaking team who traveled deep into the Tsangpo Gorge in Tibet to run the Yarlung Tsangpo, known in paddling circles as the "Everest of rivers." For Wick Walker and Tom McEwan, extreme whitewater pioneers, best friends, and trip leaders, the Tsangpo adventure was the culmination of a twenty-five-year quest for glory. Yet the team's magnificent dreams crumbled when their ace paddler was swept over a thunderous eight-foot waterfall, never to be seen again.

La pasión, bien sea amorosa, ideológica o simplemente vital, ha tenido consecuencias desdichadas para el sexo femenino. La consagración de una vida al arte, al amor, o a una causa política o religiosa muchas veces ha resultado en un trágico final para muchas mujeres a lo largo de todas las épocas y en todas las latitudes. Juana de Arco, Inés de Castro, Ana Bolena, María Estuardo, Mata Hari, Diana de Gales, Grace Kelly o Diane Fossey murieron víctimas de la intolerancia de quienes las rodeaban o por haber cometido el delito de amar apasionadamente.

Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic, the largest ship in the world, hit an iceberg, starting a chain of events that would ultimately make it history's most famous, and notorious, ship. In the over 100 years since it sank on its maiden voyage, the Titanic has been the subject of endless fascination, as evidenced by the efforts to find its final resting spot, the museums full of its objects, and the countless books, documentaries, and movies made about the doomed ocean liner.

Hundreds of movies and thousands of books have been written about the heroes of World War II. For dozens of years, however, few people knew about one of the greatest heroes of the war - a mild-mannered, eccentric mathematician from the University of Cambridge. This man, an undeniable genius whose later life was plagued by controversy and tragedy, probably played a greater role in the eventual Allied victory than anyone else. Until quite recently his contribution to the war effort was barely recognized. This is his incredible story.