Western Europe

The dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius. In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long line of thinkers and idealists who devoted themselves to the task.

George Mergenthaler, the grandson of the inventor of the Linotype, was an only child, and at the time of his birth in 1920, became the sole male heir the family fortune. Tall, handsome, Ivy League educated, speaking fluent German and French, "Merg" as he was know to his friends, did what many in his generation did following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor: He enlisted in the Army.

A brutal siege. A forgotten heroine. A war-torn romance. And a historian determined to uncover the truth. Untold millions who saw Band of Brothers can finally know the whole story of what happened to American soldiers and civilians in Bastogne during that arduous Winter of 1944/45. In the television version of Band of Brothers, a passing reference is made to an African nurse assisting in an aid station in Bastogne. When military historian Martin King watched the episode, he had to know who that woman was; thus began a multi-year odyssey.

Most come on a holiday for a few days, a week perhaps, maybe a little longer, but I longed for more (desiderio di più): more of the language, more of the culture, more of the people. Italians have a way of making something more exotic out of life, more adventurous, lovelier, and more relaxing. In Italy, to me, even hanging laundry is beautiful, as it stretches from end to end between buildings. As I take photos in this grand city, I try to capture the endless majesty of her churches, monuments, and people. It is becoming therapeutic.

Com estimem, els catalans? En l'imaginari col·lectiu han quedat enregistrades un munt de llegendes que en parlen. Històries fantàstiques que narren amors entre gegants i donzelles, dones d'aigua i hereus de masies, pastors i sirenes. Fruit de la passió d'aquests darrers amants nasqué l'Empordà. Sirenes que sovint eren dones desterrades del món aspre dels homes i que trobaren l'amor lliure al mar. No són poques, tampoc, les llegendes d'amor entre dones i pirates, entre sarraïns i cristianes, la qual cosa demostra que l'afecte pot fer superar qualsevol barrera.

The author guides us through every corner of this fascinating region, where they have spent much of their time over many years. Catalonia's Costa Brava provides stunning views, as the Mediterranean waves clash with the jagged coastline. Catelonia is marked by breathtaking cliffs, expanses of beaches, and the thriving, hip seaside city of Barcelona. In the Navarre region, men taunt large, dangerous animals for Pamplona's annual Running of the Bulls. Andorra is its own little world, and not just because it's a 290-square-mile independent principality.

Cambridge professor and renowned historian Anthony Pagden covers a vast subject in a compact package with Peoples and Empires. This wide-ranging and intellectually stimulating work examines the origins and history of the West with terse, efficient prose. With a captivating narration by Robert O'Keefe, listeners will find this work enjoyable and utterly absorbing.

Galileo's oldest child was 13 when he placed her in a convent near him in Florence, where she took the most appropriate name of Suor Maria Celeste. Her support was her father's greatest source of strength. Her presence, through letters which Sobel has translated from Italian and masterfully woven into the narrative, graces her father's life now as it did then. Galileo's Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose 17th-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion.

The Battle of the Bulge was the largest land engagement of World War II. The German counter-attack, spearheaded by three Panzer armies, found the Allies unprepared and ill-equipped. As the fighting raged across the frosty forests of the Ardennes, it was left to a few untested US Infantry divisions to hold the Allied lines. Written by one of the world's leading experts on the subject, this account provides an essential introduction to the events of winter 1944-'45 and to the many soldiers who risked their lives in defence of freedom.

Conventional histories of the Great War have tended to focus on the terrible attritional battles of Ypres, of Arras and of the Somme. What they do not tell us is what life was like for the ordinary soldier, what mattered to him, and how he survived, both physically and mentally. Now for the first time, one of Britain's leading military historians, Richard van Emden tells the story of the Great War exclusively through the words and images of soldiers on the ground.

When Doug Mack picked up a 1963 edition of Europe on Five Dollars a Day, he stumbled on an inspired idea: to boldly go where millions have gone before, relying only on the advice of a travel guide that's nearly a half century out-of-date. Add to the mix his mother's much- documented grand tour through Europe in the late 1960s, and the result is a funny and fascinating journey into a new (old) world, and a disarming look at the ways the classic tourist experience has changed- and has not-in the last generation.

This book contains a collection of academic articles ranging from African-American history, Jewish history, early Christian history, the New Testament, Patristic history, medieval history, and the history of the Reformation. This academic work is a bold quest to capture the essence of history and canon as phenomenalized in the human experience. Scholars and students of history, religion, literary criticism, sociology, anthropology, humanities, and theology will surely benefit from reading this book.

Greater Than a Tourist - Poznań Poland: 50 Travel Tips from a Local by Serkan Daban offers the inside scoop on Poznań. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination. From this audiobook, you will discover advice that will help you throughout your stay.

Greater Than a Tourist - Macedonia, by Elena Petkov, gives you the inside scoop on Macedonia. This audiobook will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

Greater Than a Tourist: Rome, Italy offers the inside scoop on Rome. As part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination. You will discover advice that will help you throughout your stay.

Greater Than a Tourist - Sibiu Transylvania Romania, by Iris Matubis-Diaconescu, offers the inside scoop on Romania. This audiobook will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

Die keltische Kultur erlebte viele Hochs und Tiefs. Auf die erste Hochphase im 7. Jh. v. Chr. folgte der Untergang, doch die Kelten richteten sich im 2. Jh. v. Chr. wieder auf, bis Julius Cäsar Gallien eroberte und die Kultur erneut erstarb. Erst nach ihrer dritten Blütezeit auf den Britischen Inseln waren die Kelten ein für allemal besiegt. Doch gerade ihre Niederlagen machen die Kelten nicht nur bei Asterix-Lesern und Druiden-Fans beliebt - es gibt so viel mehr zu erfahren über diese faszinierende, vergangene Zivilisation!

Du möchtest gerne Texel erkunden und einen perfekten Urlaub verbringen? Dann ist dieses Hörbuch genau das Richtige für Dich! Kilometerlanger weißer Sandstrand, unberührte Natur und die meisten Sonnenstunden in den gesamten Niederlanden. All das und noch vieles mehr bietet Ihnen Texel. Erkunden Sie die sieben Inseldörfer, eines malerischer und schöner als das andere, oder streifen Sie durch die idyllische Natur. Texel ist die größte und abwechslungsreichste niederländische Watteninsel und wird oft aufgrund seiner Landschaftsvielfalt als Miniaturausgabe von ganz Holland bezeichnet.

Rome. What do you associate with this city? - Do you think Rome is the Eternal City? The city that you feel has always been there? The city that fascinated and accompanied you in your Latin lessons? Is Rome for you the city where the ancient Romans strolled across the Roman Forum and gladiators fought fierce battles in the Colosseum? Would you like to get to know the city where the great emperors such as Caesar or Augustus ruled and do you dream of one day walking in the footsteps of Romulus and Remus, the founding fathers of Rome.

For more than a decade, a harsh Congressional immigration policy kept most Jewish refugees out of America, even as Hitler and the Nazis closed in. In 1944, the US finally acted. That year, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board and put a young Treasury lawyer named John Pehle in charge. Over the next 20 months, Pehle and his team tricked the Nazis, forged identity papers, maneuvered food and medicine into concentration camps, recruited spies, leaked news stories, laundered money, negotiated ransoms, and funneled millions of dollars into Europe.