The Story of My Life (Penguin Classics)

Book Description

Coming to the big screen this January—Buena Vista's Casanova, starring Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller

Seducer, gambler, necromancer, swindler, Good Samaritan, spy, swashbuckler, self-made gentleman, entrepreneur, poet, translator, philosopher, and general bon vivant, Giacomo Casanova was not only the most notorious lover the Western world has known but also astoryteller of the first order.

The Penguin Classics edition of Casanova's The Story of My Life features a brilliant translation by Stephen Sartarelli and Sophie Hawkes and provides readers with the most famous episodes as well as the overall shape of Casanova's monumental memoir in one beguiling, unique volume.

Customer Reviews:

Casanova: The cupid of hedonism ran riot in the Age of Enlightment.......2007-03-09

Giacomo Casanova (his name has become synonymous with that of a fiery amatory male!) was born in 1725. Somehow he managed to live until 1798 in a life which would make many people tired by just reading about his countless adventures!
Among his many avocations was that of priest; soldier; courtier; gambler; violinist; spy;translator and famed author. Casanova managed to cram several lifetimes into his 73 wild years. If you want to follow this ultimate rake across the world be prepared to visit Italy, Germany,England,France, Spain, Switzerland, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey and Russia. Along the roue's route he met such luminaries as Voltaire, Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great.
Casanova a serial lover of the fair and innocent maidens he seduce dwith wit, charm and seductive skills. He was imprisoned at times always managing a daring escape or the ability to have friends in high place save his love machine hide. He was no dunce being able to write and converse in many languages. His autobiography was written in French being widely published in his lifetime and ever since.
The Penguin edition is an abridgement of his monumental work which in its entirety would swell to over 3,000 pages. The translators add material which connects the episodes. The book is filled with colorful characters; excellent descriptions of what Europe was like among the elite and filled with enough sex scenes to keep the reader searching for more.
Casanova was not someone you would want your daughter to bring home to meet her family. He would make an excellent guest on the TV chat shows!
Enjoy a few hours of pure escapism with this famous work!

Funny!.......2006-01-09

I found the book delightful. Not so much all of Casanova's exploits, they became a bit boring in time, but the descriptions of life around him, the rentals of houses, rooms, parlors, the modes of transportation, the meetings with others, the management of money, they were told splendidly and believably. The now so popular movie can't do justice to the story told in the book. Even the advertisements are bad. No one ever called Casanova a "pig."

For anyone who likes to explore living situations of any class of people in the past, this is a great book.

1/2... The Life and Love's of History's Most Famous Libertine.......2005-08-24

Casanova. The word conjures love, lust, seduction, and romantic brilliance. The man and the name have become icons for the past two and a half centuries as the epitome in the art of love.

Giacomo Geronimo Casanova was born in 1725 at Venice to parents who were actors. At a young age he was brought to a boarding school near Padua where the child developed a precociousness which impressed his elders. At 17, he obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Padua and began a career in the clergy. He travelled to southern Italy and Rome and became a secretary to the cardinal. His career with the church was cut short by scandal, an occurence which would become a fixture all throughout his life. Shortly after he joined the army as an officer of low-rank for the Republic of Venice and was stationed at Corfu, but gave up military life to become a violinist back at Venice. At the age of 21, he saved the life of a Venetian nobleman who became a patron of long-standing to the young man and who elevated him to the status of a wealthy gentleman. This gave him the privilege to travel across the breadth of Europe, meeting famous people of the day and pursuing amorous encounters where his lasting reputation rests. A talented conversationalist, he was frequently invited to the social circles of diverse European society, rubbing shoulders equally with cobblers and royalty. His fickle and temperamental personality got him into frequent scrapes with the law: he duped gullible socialites, started lotteries; became a spy, diplomat, and writer. The Inquisition of Venice accused him of witchcraft and was sentenced to imprisonment in "The Leads" prison, one of the most secure penal infrastructures of the time, where he made a sensational escape. He became an exile from his homeland and resumed his travels across Europe. In 1785 he became librarian to the Count of Waldstein in the castle of Dux, Bohemia, where he spent his last years recalling his brilliant and turbulent life and writing his memoirs.

And it is in this memoirs where his life and legacy are contained. Written in a flowing, stainless elegance, Casanova's "Memoirs" is one of the best and most representative artifacts from the Age of Enlightenment. The sights and sounds of 18th-Century European life are recreated through the eyes and senses of one intelligent and opinionated observer. Witness the humor of Casanova being duped by his first love and the theater women of Paris. Revel in the taboo of peeking into the loverboy's seduction of a nun as he goes to great lengths to provide the right place and mood for their nocturnal trysts. Read in barely contained excitement and tension as he makes his remarkable escape from the dreaded "Leads" prison. Be thrilled and sympathize with the proud but foolish fop as he duels with a Polish noble and almost get's hanged in the process. Watch in fascination as he meets and matches intellect with the leading notables of his day, all now prominent figures of world history: Catherine the Great, Voltaire, Frederick the Great, etc. Experience the sensations of our hero as he attempts to seduce a French noblewoman (dissapointingly), and an attractive Spanish girl (more successfully), both incidents decades apart. The man is given justice by the able translation of Stephen Sartarelli and Sophie Hawkes.

My only criticism of this edition is the scarcity of material offered. Although this 500+ page abridgement serves as perhaps the best introduction in the English language, for a work that totals nearly 4,000 pages, the editor could at least have made the book double in size to cover more aspects of the man's colorful life story. The man's meeting with Mozart is not included, and one can imagine many more incidents worthy of reading which were omitted.

After reading his reminiscences, one can admire Casanova for the vastness of his intellect and personal and social skills. But one can't help but feel that the man wasted his talent and life by focusing too much on the petty and lowly preoccupations of human existence. With the man's intelligence and talents, one feels that he could have done more for society and his fellow man. The use of wisdom gained through such a life should have been elevated to a more worthy and longer-lasting goal. One is left with the impression that Casanova was a mere Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt with culture. That's all.

This is the memoir of the greatest icon of Western romance. Any person with the slightest interest towards love and sex should read this book in his/her lifetime. After satiating one's appetite with this mere appetizer, one should immediately dive into the complete oeuvre of the man's autobiography. This has been quite an experience already.

entertaining, but it definately has its problems..........2005-06-03

Casanova himself is not nearly as interesting as I was hoping he would be. In this book he looks back on his life through rose colored glasses. He makes light of his womanizing and he finds it humorous that he infects large populations with std's. He definitely has a giant ego and he really comes across as a looser. I can't imagine why any woman would have ever fallen for him.

Despite that I did not really care for the person of Casanova, I must say that I found the book entertaining. There are lots of interesting tidbits and descriptions of places and people from the late 1700's that are really fascinating. Even though there were still sleazy men around, the late 1700's were definitely a very different world than what we know now.

One of my big complaints about this edition of his memoirs is that there seemed to have been a lot of really juicy parts cut out. At the end of each chapter there is a brief italicized section that summarizes the bits that were left out. I would have preferred to have an unabridged version so that I could have skipped over the parts I did not want to read and not have someone else make that choice for me. I am not sure if there is a better, more complete version out there in English, but if you are really interested in Casanova you may want to look for a different version or if you speak French, you may want to see if you can find a copy of the original.

Adventurer in love and life..........2004-08-01

Casanova has been hailed as the greatest lover of the 18th century and has become the first person we think of in the ways of seduction. He is the quintessential ladies man for some, and for others, a manipulative scoundrel, an expert at self-promotion, and at worse, a spinner of colourful tails. In fact he is all these things and much more. On top of his many amorous affairs with not only servants and chambermaids but also ladies of nobility, he is a compelling storyteller, a gentleman of taste, a violinist, theologian, philosopher and a gifted courtier. There has been so much written about the man, that I felt compelled to read about his life from his own words. Casanova is the most notorious seducer of women in history, and if you read The Story of My Life, you will understand an aspect of this man that is all too often over looked, and that is, he more often than not loved the women he seduced, and in some cases, remained in love with them for the rest of his relatively long life. In other words, he cared about women, respected them, idolized them and ensured that the pleasures they gained from these liaisons, exceeded his. He used women but he also loved them.

The book is written in a flowing style, descriptive to the point where the reader gains almost a visceral impression of 18th century Europe. Casanova's escape from the Venetian prison, for example, has all the suspense and realism of our modern thrillers. I could almost hear his finger nails scraping against the prison walls as he descended, sliding down in the dead of night during his escape. In his meeting with Voltaire, the gnome-like genius came to life, as they discussed the state of literature and the greatest poets of the ages. And, of course, the many beautiful women, his conquests and those that seduced him, fill every chapter - tasteful eroticism without the slightest hint of vulgarity. Casanova was an adventurer in love and life and he ensured he did not waste a minute of it.

Casanova wanted to be remembered as a man of letters, in the 18th century sense of this term. And with The Story of My Life, he certainly achieved this aim, as scholars from around the world have acknowledged. He also wanted to be remembered as a man who loved women, and to this end, there is no question. Those that love intrigue, eroticism, a little pomp and circumstance, and swashbuckling adventure, read this incredible memoir - a pleasure in every sense.

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Real Life Adventure Like Few Others
The Last Great Explorer
A well written, great adventure book
An Adventure Story Like No Other
The best travel book I have read too.

My Life as an Explorer
Sven Hedin
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 079226987X
Release Date: 2003-03-01

Book Description

Introduction by Anthony Brandt.

Over the course of three decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Swedish geographer and explorer Sven Hedin traveled Central AsiaÂ¼s ancient Silk Road, along the way discovering lost cities, mapping uncharted rivers, and seeing more of “the roof of the world” than any European before him. Illustrated with 160 sketches by the author, this larger-than-life memoir captures the splendor of now-vanished civilizations, the excitement of unearthing ancient monuments, the chilling terror of snow-clogged mountain passes, the danger of infiltrating Tibet and of outwitting Torgut bandits, and the honor of close friendships with royalty from Peking to London.

A worldwide bestseller in the 1920s and named one of National Geographic Adventure magazine's “100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time,” the National Geographic Adventure Classics edition of My Life as an Explorer features an expedition map and exclusive reprints of articles Hedin wrote for National Geographic between 1897 and 1905.

Customer Reviews:

Real Life Adventure Like Few Others.......2007-07-25

When you think of an "explorer" you think of a guy like Hedin. From an early age he ventured again and again into large swatches of Asian geography where few or no Europeans had ever trod. Hedin graphically and realistically portrays his travels with such detail that you can feel the cold, the heat, the parched throats, the curious indigenous eyes and the scenery staggering in its beauty. When you come to the end of this book, you will be all "adventured" out, for on almost every page there is a suspenseful, fascinating episode. Hedin was truly an explorer's explorer. His greatness is dimmed, however, by his fervent support of Naziism during WWII. As someone has writen elsewhere, Hedin knew about the death camps and never disavowed them. He was a solid Nazi partisan. In an epilogue to this book, author and admirer Peter Hopkirk urges us to look at Hedin's many and major contributions and to forgive his pro-German activities in both world wars. I'm not quite willing to forgive, but I will segment my views of Hedin into Hedin the explorer and Hedin the Nazi sympathizer. Anyhow,if you're looking for a fascinating book about exploration in the most forbidding sectors of our planet at the turn of the 20th century, this is a book for you.

The Last Great Explorer .......2005-04-09

The Swede Sven Hedin was the last great explorer we will see on this well-traveled planet. Hedin was born in 1865 and this autobiography describes his life up until 1908. Hedin's career was hardly finished, however, as he continued to traipse down the old Silk Road in Central Asia until the 1930s when he was 70 years old.

In a happy trait that should be copied by more auto-biographers, Hedin doesn't spend much time on his childhood. By the third page of his narrative he is 20 years old and off to the Caucasus Mountains which only whets his appetite for the little-known peaks and deserts of Tibet and Central Asia. He spent the years between 1893 and 1908 exploring these regions and filling in blank places on the map.

National Geographic's "Traveler" magazine put this book on its list of 100 best adventure books and, truly, the tales of Hedin's adventures make for good, exciting reading. Hedin displays both charm and generosity in his account. He traveled without the company of other Europeans and he enjoyed the companionship of his local helpers and the dogs he adopted along his way. He draws many clever portraits of the people he met in his travels. Hedin, however, was no mere adventurer. He was a serious, sober scholar who produced dozens of scientific studies of his findings.

One of the most hair raising tales in the book concerns Hedin's first expedition into the sands of the Takla Makhan (desert) of China in which he and his companions nearly died of thirst. A second high point of the book is the account of his attempt to visit Lhasa, the forbidden capital of Tibet. He failed after getting nearly to the gates of the city and was denied the honor of becoming the first foreigner to visit Lhasa in half a century. Amidst the plethora of adventures, the stoic Swede brushes over incidents others would consider high -- or low -- points of their lives. "Fever kept me in Kashgar a long while" is his complete description of one serious illness.

The book is illustrated with many of Hedin's drawings, including his hand drawn maps. I suggest that you read the book with a good modern map at hand so as to trace his routes with more precision as his constant tooing-and-froing can be confusing.

Smallchief

A well written, great adventure book.......2003-11-29

(This refers to the National Geographic Reprint edition)

This is truly a great book, full of the amazing adventures of an incredible explorer. You have to admire Hedin's determination and stubborness, although sometimes I wonder about his planning. It seems like every trip all his animals die, and the men are on the verge of starvation. And as for his trips in the desert, I would have thought the concept of "take some extra water" would have occured at some point!
Hedin is a fine writer, and his descriptions are not only accessible to the average reader, but often quite poetic as well.
Nevertheless, I only reluctantly give this a full 5 stars, because I feel that National Geographic missed a great opportunity to make this an almost perfect book, and it wouldn't have been that difficult to do. As a previous reviewer mentioned, some good maps could have helped. There's almost no excuse for NG not to have included some decent maps of Central Asia in their edition. Furthermore, one tends to forget (although Hedin mentions in the text), that he also took photographs on many of his travels. These might have been included as well. (To see some, refer to the Photos section of the website of the Sven Hedin Foundation, "http://www.etnografiska.se/hedinweb/htmsidor/organi.htm"). Aside from the simplistic drawings that are included, Hedin also did many detailed sketches and potraits on his travels. Now one can assume that none of these were included in the original, and this is only a reprint, but nevertheless, it is a missed opportunity. The introductory chapter by A.Brandt also adds little insight, and might as well have been left out as well.
However, despite the lost opportunities, this book is highly recommended.

An Adventure Story Like No Other.......2002-02-15

This is a tale wonderfully told of an explorer's quest to fill in the blank spots on the map of Asia. Not only does Hedin present a clear and highly entertaining view of his travels, but he also gives us a portrait of his character. He shows us that he is a man with high goals and is undeterred in achieving those goals, even when all odds are against him. He shows us that he is also a very caring man, very much concerned about the welfare of his men and his animals. He also is a man that is awestruck by nature and is very concerned about not unduly intruding upon it or unnecessarily destroying it.

But most of all, this is an adventure story that is just plain fun to read.

A suggestion to readers who are not very familiar with the geography of central Asia would be to have on hand some good maps as the ones Hedin draws are quite limited and often fail to give the perspective that may be desireable.

The best travel book I have read too........1999-08-13

I concur with NDylanRay@aol.com. This book is exceptional. I could hardly put it down. You feel the excitement and intensity of his adventures, you begin to understand the force that drives him (and you respect him for it), and you meet the people and the places that make Turkestan and Tibet 100 years ago like no place that you could ever imagine.

The Mountains of My Life (Modern Library Exploration)

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Still not yet received
Bonatti's morality inspires deeply
A classic of mountaineering by one of the greats!
Driven To The Extreme
Outstanding writings of a true mountain man

The Mountains of My Life (Modern Library Exploration)
Walter Bonatti
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 037575640X
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Amazon.com

Walter Bonatti had been scaling mountains for only a few years when, in 1954, he qualified to join an expedition of fellow Italian alpinists making the first ascent of the forbidding Himalayan peak called K2. There, for reasons that are unclear, the 24-year-old ran afoul of senior members of the team, who accused him of turning back before delivering needed oxygen to them below the summit. Accusations and counteraccusations flew, followed by a libel trial from which Bonatti emerged victorious but ostracized. He went on to bag a few peaks, retired from "extreme" climbing in 1965, and became an accomplished explorer and photojournalist, writing memoirs of his earlier expeditions to mountains on nearly every continent that earned a small but devoted following.

In The Mountains of My Life, translator and editor Robert Marshall gathers those scattered accounts of ascents in the Alps, the Patagonian Andes, the Himalayas, and elsewhere. In his commentary, he describes and defends Bonatti's actions on K2, which, he insists, made it possible for the Italian team to reach the summit. The evidence he offers--including photographs--is convincing. For his part, Bonatti writes that all the mountains he has climbed, "with all the trials they brought me, are a precious, living part of myself." His book will be of interest to anyone who shares that passion for the world's high places. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Published for the first time in English, The Mountains of My Life collects the classic writings of world-famous mountaineer Walter Bonatti, and tells the real story of the 1954 controversy over the events on K2 that changed his life.

Bonatti is one of the greatest mountaineers of all time, a man who continually reset the benchmark of human possibility by ascending routes that others dared not even contemplate. He climbed with an audacity and panache that epitomized the purest spirit of alpinism, and inspired an entire generation of climbers. Jon Krakauer calls him one of my heroes. He is not only a mountaineer of astonishing talent and vision, but one of the world's most engaging writers about mountaineering.

Bonatti has also been dogged by controversy and often been at odds with the climbing community. The Mountains of My Life not only collects the best of Bonatti's writing telling of adventures in the Alps, the Himalayas, and little-known South American peaks it also tells Bonatti's version of what really happened on the Italian expedition that made the first ascent of K2 in 1954. Bonatti's selfless actions helped avert disaster, yet in the expedition's aftermath he found himself cast as a scapegoat. Part detective story, part hair-raising adventure, part meditation on his craft, The Mountains of My Life is as awe-inspiring and controversial as its author, and is beautifully illustrated with Bonatti's own photos.

Customer Reviews:

Still not yet received.......2005-09-29

I ordered this in August. Here it is September 28th and I haven't received it and you are asking if I like it?!

Bonatti's morality inspires deeply.......2004-12-21

English is not my first language, yet, the quality of the translation is evident. Walter speaks himself and reading the book I felt he looked at my eyes and told me the very essence of his life like an intimate friend.
I am not surprised that such an extraordinary climber Bonatti proved to be a moral and sensitive man. It could not be different !
Bravo to all who have contributed to this book, especially the translator who investigated ingeniously the affair.
As a human, a mountaineer and a reader I storngly recommend this book.
I would appreciated a few more photographs in the book but for its price it is still a bargain.
Only one question remains unanswered in my mind: Why Walter does not comment on the Camp9 spot ? Was it due to the darkness he could not reach it ? I guess there were no steps left from the other two that explains why he followed a different path.

With my full respect to the man
P.a.

A classic of mountaineering by one of the greats!.......2004-02-16

Along with Ricardo Cassin, Bonatti is perhaps the most outstanding Italian climber of all time! How ironic that he should become embroiled in one of the longest lasting (almost 50 years) controversies in mountaineering history, and how gratifying that he finally is clearly vindicated in this fascinating book.

The book is an autobiographical account of Bonatti's major climbs, including several sections on the much-discussed 1954 Italian expedition on K2. Bonatti clearly comes across as a committed climber, seeking purity and excitement in his climbs, who is often at a loss when faced with public criticism (on several accounts described in the book). As is often the case in the lives of people with outstanding talent, Bonati's life is beset by other people's envy and underhanded tactics, most frequently by his own compatriots. Yet, the book succeeds in demonstrating Bonatti's passion, drive and determination, while retaining the purity of mind and spirit that the mountains bestow on all!

Aside from being a highly personal account by one of the greatest mountaineers of all time, three things make this book outstanding:

(1) The beautiful translation by Robert Marshall (an Australian, who learned Italian for the sole purpose of reading mountaineering accounts!), who introduces each chapter with a short summary of the significance of the peak or route undertaken. Marshall also plays a key role of an "investigator" pointing out several pictures, which show that Compagnioni's and Desio's accounts of the K2 expedition are clearly false and manipulative;

(2) The book finally sets the record straight about the 1954 K2 expedition -- the fact that Lacedeli and Compaginoni used oxygen all the way to the top; the fact that they recklessly (if not intentionally) abandoned Bonatti in the bivouac, just feet from their warm tent above 8,000 meters; the fact that they manipulated accounts of the expedition to go as far as claiming that Bonatti wanted to charge ahead to the top on his own, endangering others. Two pictures, ironically published by Desio in an article immediately following the expedition clearly show Lacedeli and Compagnioni wearing oxygen masks at the top -- pictures, which are subsequently removed from Desio's book; and are only by accident discovered and brought forward by Rpbert Marshall only almost 50 years later! What a horrible thought that such an incredible climber, only in his 20s, could have been lost high up on K2, and we would have never come to know Bonatti as one of the all time greats! What a great feeling it is to know that truth sooner or later triumphs!

(3) the book is a true mountaineering story; it shows the aspirations, achievements and excitement of climbing in the immediate post- WW II era in Europe and Italy -- a period full of what is best about mountain climbing -- hope, innocence and passion!

This is a highly recommended book for everyone! My compliments to John Krakauer for including this wonderful book in the new Exploration series!

Driven To The Extreme.......2003-12-10

The Mountains Of My Life is such a dense and intense work that even the experienced alpine climber is likely to slip into a stupor while reading of Walter Bonatti's incredible climbs. The only solution is to plan on reading it twice. Otherwise, you can expect to miss some of the subtlety in Walter's economical writing style. I can now claim to have followed my own advice.

One can read here many details of the big climbs Bonatti did in the Alps and only get a hint of the level of suffering, fear and intensity of the experience, even though the text focuses much on just those aspects. Only by going out onto the big alpine walls and experiencing those emotions yourself can you expect to have even the slightest clue as to just how understated The Mountains Of My Life really is. But that's still only an approximation unless you climbed routes such as these back in the day, using the primitive gear that Walter and his partners had - and then only if your ethical stance was as strict as theirs. These dudes had mondo cajones, to say the least.

But you don't need to trust me - I've never climbed anything of significance. But would you dare not trust the opinions of Reinhold Messner and Doug Scott? Go read what they have to say about Walter's climbs. Then sit back and imagine what it was like to solo big routes back then. I've done just enough soloing to understand just how much more of a mental game it is.

I can't forget to mention how important Robert Marshall's role was in this book. Not only did he translate, but he played a key detective role in the K2 controversy. Once one has fully digested what transpired on the hill, then after, then one can begin to better understand just how driven Bonatti was, and why. This is an incredible story, but it is also incredibly sad to think how horribly one person can treat another. Even pursuits such as climbing are victim to those that are dishonest and apparently without a conscious. Clearly, evil men are capable of much greater evil when acting to conspire. I for one was happy to see all of the details of K2 be brought to the forefront, to have the liars exposed and for the truth to finally have its day.

The next to last chapter is the true gem of this book. Years after retiring from extreme mountaineering, Walter climbed a route on Mt. Blanc solo. The description of the landscape, the place and the space in this chapter are truly incredible. The reader is transported, smelling the air, sensing the dangers and feeling the coarse granite on the palm. This chapter is a true high point inmountaineering literature. I wonder if this writing was only possible after the wounds of the K2 debacle had adequate time to heal?

Outstanding writings of a true mountain man.......2003-03-09

Bonatti is one of the boldest and leading figures in mountaineering of the 20th century; he is also one of the most creative of his peers in communicating his feelings on the subject. This book is interesting in the context of the author's youth in post war Europe and the effects this had on his life. Unfortunately, the author was subject to a smear campaign regarding his contributions to the first ascent of K2 for reasons outside of his control and this book reveals the injustice and presents a convincing case as to how the whole episode originated. So, part mystery story, part eloquent ode to mountains and climbing. It's a winner on both fronts and Bonnatti emerges as a champion not only of technical mastery of climbing, but mountaineering ethics and of mans relationship to the outdoors. I rate this as a must read.

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My Life (Hesperus Classics)
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Manufacturer: Hesperus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1843910934

Book Description

Translated for the first time into English from Garibaldi’s original manuscripts, these memoirs provide an authentic reading of the life and times of one of the most remarkable figures in history. The life of Giuseppe Garibaldi—distinguished by superhuman courage, personal tragedy, and tireless struggle in the name of freedom—has remained a source of fascination for generations. In this engrossing first-person narrative, Garibaldi charts his extraordinary adventures, from his early seafaring exploits and his flight to South America, to his return to Italy as a conquering general. Now in its first English translation, My Life reveals all of Garibaldi’s strength of character, his visionary outlook, and his unfailing idealism. Adventurer, reformer, military figure, and novelist, Giuseppe Garibaldi was a hero of the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification.

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My Life With the Eskimo
Vilhjamur, Stefansson
Manufacturer: Book Jungle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Writing on Ice: The Ethnographic Notebooks of Vilhjalmur Stefansson

ASIN: 1594624526

Book Description

1922. Illustrated. Between 1906 and 1918, anthropologist and explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson went on three long expeditions to the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic. For supplies he relied heavily on local resources, and he adopted the Eskimo way of living, thus successfully demonstrating his theory that the rigors of existence in the Arctic are much reduced by the use of such techniques. He wrote voluminously about his travels and observations. My Life with the Eskimo is one of his many books.

Anderl Heckmair: My Life : Eiger North Face, Grand Jorasses, & Other Adventures

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Anderl Heckmair: My Life : Eiger North Face, Grand Jorasses, & Other Adventures
Anderl Heckmair
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0898868467

Book Description

Anderl Heckmair: My Life is a fresh translation of the newly expanded and updated classic memoir, My Life as a Mountaineer. Heckmair revisits his early childhood, recalling that he was so delicate his mother literally packed him in cotton wool for his first few years. He talks about his family's financial difficulties, culminating with his mother having to send him and his brother to an orphanage.

He relives the event that catapulted him to international acclaim-the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, which he climbed in 1938 with Heinrich Harrer, Wiggerl Vörg, and Fritz Kasparek. The complete story of this ascent is told here, including first-person account details. The spirit that led to success on the Eiger is evident throughout Heckmair's life: as a young man he rarely had sufficient funds, but he was able to find the time and means to get to the mountains, even if it involved stealing the occasional sausage. As a professional guide, he climbed with Leni Riefenstahl, the German filmmaker best known for the 1934 Nazi propaganda film, Triumph of the Will.

Book Description

Fremont's memoirs are a firsthand account of the growth and expansion of the United States from the years 1828-1846, and include descriptions of the adventures that he shared with Kit Carson.

Customer Reviews:

Raising the Stars and Stripes in California.......2001-11-18

California's 150th anniversary as a state has come and gone with very little fanfare. The reasons for the lack of celebration were vague and sinister. Were the early settlers guilty of such atrocities as to be censored from public record? Were the northern Mexican territories prized for greedy land expansion by the United States? What were the intentions of the other world powers: the English, the French, and the Russians? Or, was discovering and mapping the mythical Buenaventura River the singular goal of Fremont's pathfinder expeditions? Historians cloud over these issues with terms like "Manifest Destiny", "Greed for Land", and "Gold Rush".

The Mexican-American War was fought on four fronts: Texas, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and in California. Although hostilities didn't officially begin until June 1846, President Polk laid the foundation for expansion to the Pacific in his inaugural address in 1845, and implemented his plan in November. In today's era of instant communications, it must be remembered that communications with the coast of California took up to six months 160 years ago. Ship Captains and Army Commanders were given secret orders well in advance of any planned campaign. Lieutenant Fremont had secret orders in the event of hostilities and many historians have tried to interpret Fremont's previous writings to ascertain these orders during his expeditions in California.

John Charles Fremont was a major figure in the history of the United States. He was the first Republican candidate for the President of the United States. He was a Major General in the Union Army and the first to proclaim the abolition of slavery. He was a wealthy California gold mine owner. And he served public office as Senator for California and Governor for Arizona. This book does not delve on these aspects of his life. These were to be the subjects included in volume two, which was never written. This book does include all of his official explorations as a topographical engineer from his journeys with Nicollet until the cessation of hostilities in California. It leaves out much of the technical information on plants and fossils, which was included in his earlier works. And it adds letters and other public documents to support the decisions he made in California during the Mexican-American War.

Book Description

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!

---- SEX, SUN, SAND, SEA AND SAILING on the high-seas as three women and one man sail from Tonga in the Paciic to Italy, inthe Med.

---Alan Richards -- a burn-out-- sets out to sail around the world alone and ends up with an all-woman crew.

---Four strangers running from their pasts meet on a South Pacific island.

--All have come half-way around the world running away from serious problems at home.

---ALONE -- THEY'RE IN TROUBLE. ---TOGETHER -- THEY'RE SURVIVORS

---Four strangers meet up and live together in a small ocean-going sailing yacht. They came together for a three-day sail to Fiji and ended up spending a year together -- sailing from Tonga in the Pacific to Italy.

--They faced hurricanes near Australia and pirates in Indonesia, but their greatest challenge was in overcoming the life-problems that drove them half-way around the world.

---They discovered THE FIVE S's --- SEX, SUN, SAND, SEA AND SAILING.

---In time, the women decided to share the only guy around--Alan.

Customer Reviews:

Waiting for the sequel!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-02-25

Great book, couldn't put it down. Read it all in one sitting. Enjoyed the story and the discription of the places they traveled and their adventures. I felt I was right there with them. Makes me want to quit my job, get on my sailboat and take off. Found no problem with the way it was written, seemed honest and accurate. There must be a sequel or two, would love to find out what happened the next six months and what they are all doing now. Are you listening Alan??

My Life " I Wished".......2007-01-26

Great story, hard to imagine they survived some of the things they went thru. Read it in record time. Just wished it hadn't of ended.
I see where he settled in the Caribbean where he lives and writes.
What is he writing now? Anyone know let me know.
Worth the money to me

ENVY.......2005-04-05

This former real estate broker decided to sail away after his long-term marriage ends up in divorce. He makes it to Tonga where he meets up with 3 women who join him onboard his small sailboat. They live through storms, piracy, wonderful anchorages in deserted islands and exotic towns. The reading is very entertaining, the sail advice is not the best (he had only a few months of sailing experience before writing this book), the writing is not the best, but the story of these four souls is great. This is one of those books that are hard to put down and you are sorry they do not go on for another few hundred pages. The limited English can be forgiven as is so entertaining and original. Any male (and many females) that reads Alan's story will have a huge envy attack. It would be great to have a follow up book on what happened afterwards to each character in the book. It would be interesting to read the version of these events by the other participants. It would be reassuring to get confirmation that this story is real (or maybe not, a guy should not be that lucky!) There is no mention if the picture on the cover shows the actual characters. Anyway, it is great reading.

No Stars!.......2004-04-06

If this book were a horse it wouldn't even make good glue. First, the author writes this in the third person which, after fifty or so pages, I finally over came. Then he uses italics and quotation catch phrases over and over and over and over - ad nauseum. There is a hint of the erotic, what with three women and just him. But it becomes apparent very soon that he is as bad a lover as he is a writer.

A complete waste of money and time.

This book reminded me of this joke I heard once...........2004-03-07

When reading this book, I kept thinking of this joke as a possible insight into why the author wrote his book:

This average guy, he finds himself stranded on a desert island with none other than Cindy Crawford. After some time, with no rescue, the average guy and Cindy start an intimate relationship.

Things are going quite well until one day, the guy asks Cindy something strage. The guy asks her if she will dress up like a man, and pretend he is the average guys best friend from back home. Cindy, a little taken back, thinks this is a little odd, but indulges him.

So she dresses up as the guys best friend and they proceed to walk along the secluded beach, Cindy 'playing' her part.

Suddenly, pretending that Cindy is his best friend from back home, the guy turns to her and says, 'Dude, you're never going to guess who I'm having sex with.'

That's what I kept thinking reading this book. Here is this guy, by his own admission nothing spectacular, sailing and carrying on a relationship with three women all at the same time on the same small boat. I've sailed enough to know that relationships develop fast on small boats, and you learn more about people a lot quicker and become closer as well. But here is this gentleman, not only living the sailing dream, but living it with three beautiful women. Is it any surprise he wrote a book about it? Hell, he should write two books.

Beyond that though, on another level, he conveyed how close they all came through their adventures. About the only thing I didn't like about the book, was it didn't tell how it ended and only covered 1/2 of their experience.

Book Description

Young, beautiful, and connected by blood to the most powerful families in England, Bess Throckmorton had as much influence over Queen Elizabeth I as any woman in the realm—but she risked everything to marry the most charismatic man of the day. The secret marriage between Bess and the Queen’s beloved Sir Walter Ralegh cost both of them their fortunes, their freedom, and very nearly their lives. Yet it was Bess, resilient, passionate, and politically shrewd, who would live to restore their name and reclaim her political influence. In this dazzling biography, Bess Ralegh finally emerges from her husband’s shadow to stand as a complex, commanding figure in her own right.

Writing with grace and drama, Anna Beer brings Bess to life as a woman, a wife and mother, an intimate friend of poets and courtiers, and a skilled political infighter in Europe’s most powerful and most dangerous court. The only daughter of an ambitious aristocratic family, Bess was thrust at a tender age into the very epicenter of royal power when her parents secured her the position of Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. Bess proved to be a natural player on this stage of extravagant mythmaking and covert sexual politics, until she fell in love with the Queen’s Captain of the Guard, the handsome, virile, meteorically rising Ralegh. But their secret marriage, swiftly followed by the birth of their son, would have grave consequences for both of them.

Brooking the Queen’s wrath and her husband’s refusal to acknowledge their marriage, Bess brilliantly stage-managed her social and political rehabilitation and emerged from prison as the leader of a brilliant, fast-living aristocratic set. She survived personal tragedy, the ruinous global voyages launched by her husband, and the vicious plots of high-placed enemies. Though Raleigh in the end fell afoul of court intrigue, Bess lived on into the reign of James I as a woman of hard-won wisdom and formidable power.

With compelling historical insight, Anna Beer recreates here the vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England—the brilliant wit and vicious betrayals, the new discoveries and old rivalries, the violence and fierce sexuality of life at court. Peopled by poets and princes, spanning the reigns of two monarchs, moving between the palaces of London and the manor house outside the capital, My Just Desire is the portrait of a remarkable woman who lived at the center of an extraordinary time.

Customer Reviews:

Good Wife Bess.......2005-10-11

"My Just Desire," a superficial look at the life of an Elizabethan gentlewoman, leaves much to be desired. Peppering her writing with modern phraseology, such as "boy toy," author Anna Beer's diminishes both her subject and her readers' interest in it.

Better that the fascinating life of Bess Throckmorton, wife to Sir Walter Ralegh, had been treated in a more reverant and scholarly manner. This is a choice subject poorly limned.

One of England's great matriarchs.......2004-06-09

Anna Beer's biography of Bess Ralegh follows a current trend amongst English literary historians who are intent on re-examining the supporting cast of English Tudor and Stuart history. In the same vein as Weir, Gristwood and Somerset, she has produced an in depth look at a single aristocratic female set against a common backdrop, in this case, Elizabethan England.
Opening with her own fictionalised account of Bess early morning as Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, we find our subject, Bess Throckmorton, five months pregnant which leads to a brief discourse on the sexual politics that pervaded much of Elizabethan politics. In chronological manner, Beer gives an early account of Bess life, of her Throckmorton relatives who constantly interfered in matters political meaning they often got send to Court, of her mother Anna and her presentation to the Court in 1584. Beer also weaves in an account of the major events of the time featuring Mary, Queen of Scots, Essex, Dudley et al before focusing on Bess' education which was "neither democratizing nor meritocratic". In parallel runs the biography of her future husband, Walter Ralegh and the sexual scandals that seem to have been rife at Court.
(...)
Beer, in a simple and entertaining style, has created a story of a woman who was, at first, infatuated with a charming adventurer, then married to one of the most powerful men in England, risking her Queen's fury, then a stoical and steadfast wife displaying brilliant political and legal acumen to keep the Ralegh and Throckmorton family afloat during years of political upheaval and royal dynastical change. Ever-loyal to her increasingly disillusioned husband and afterwards the consummate matriarch it lends credence to the statement that behind every great man there stands a greater woman.
Well worth reading.

Theres a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe (Capital Discoveries) (Capital Discoveries)

Average customer rating:

I'm STILL laughing!
Well-written, Funny, Engaging
Cover to Cover , a Smile on Every Page
Hilarious adventures from a great writer

Theres a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe (Capital Discoveries) (Capital Discoveries)
Michael Tougias
Manufacturer: Capital Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Adventurers & Explorers | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 193186862X

Book Description

A lively, often hilarious tale about a naïve New England flatlander's outdoor misadventures—written by a well-known nature and syndicated columnist. Hardcover edition is the winner of the IPPY Award in the environment/ ecology/ nature category.

This winsome and humorous natural history narrative describes the author's evolution from a hapless flatlander aching to become a mountain man into an accomplished outdoor writer. Tougias' journey begins when he buys a remote mountain-top cabin in the hopes of becoming a real "mountain man," and gets much more than he bargained for. Misadventure follows calamity in his encounters with wildlife, the locals, and nature. In There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse, Tougias reveals his deepening respect for and connection to the natural world and how this transforms his ideas on all aspects of life. As his love of the outdoors grows, so does his feeling of responsibility and stewardship toward the environment. A funny, honest, and personal account, this is the perfect book for anyone who loves the outdoors and loves to laugh.

Customer Reviews:

I'm STILL laughing!.......2005-10-19

This was my first adventure into the world of author Michael Tougias and I haven't looked back. I admit, the title is what prompted me to pick this book up since I'd not yet had the pleasure of reading anything by this author. I sat down to read and was up until 2am finishing the last page. It'll have you laughing right out loud! I felt as if I were there sharing in all the antics of Mike and his friends through his delightful descriptions. This is one of those books I'll go back and read again and again.

Well-written, Funny, Engaging.......2002-12-27

Michael Tougias's latest book, There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse, is a well-written, humorous account of some his adventures (and misadventures) surrounding his rustic camp in northern Vermont. Tougias bought the small A-frame when he was only 22 years old. Over the years, with the outdoors world as his teacher, he learns to live with nature, rather than by asserting dominance and control over it. Middle-aged suburbanites, such as myself, will readily see aspects of their own youthful development in Tougias's stories.

Don't expect the eloquence and introspection of a Thoreau. Tougias's style is light and very engaging. Also, as a bonus, the book is filled with great recommendations for further reading about naturalists and mountain men. The pages turn very quickly, which is unfortunate, since there are only 160 of them, including lots of porcupine filler. I found myself wanting more after the tales came to a rather abrupt ending. Further development of the three characters might have added to the tales. Overall, I enjoyed the book immensely.

Cover to Cover , a Smile on Every Page.......2002-10-09

After putting my three year old to bed for the night, I collapsed into my favorite chair, picked up "There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse", and found myself welcoming the morning sun with a smile on my face, memories my own misadventures, and thoughts of childhood friends. A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book. Michael Tougias has the uncanny nack of combining an extensive knowlege of the outdoors along with Wit and heart of a great storyteller. I found myself longing for my own special place, and to share adventures with Michael, Boomer, and Cogs as they learn about the great outdoors and themselves. I will return to this book over and over to share their stories.

Hilarious adventures from a great writer.......2002-10-03

Michael Tougias, a well-respected outdoor writer, has written a wonderful book about his growth from a young novice outdoorsman to a competent expert. "There's A Porcupine in My Outhouse" is funny portrait of one man's experience learning about the natural world. After I finally stopped laughing, I realized that I had even learned a lot in the process of reading his book.

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