The story of the banjo's journey from Africa to the western hemisphere blends music, history, and a union of cultures. In Banjo Roots and Branches, Robert B. Winans presents cutting-edge scholarship that covers the instrument's West African origins and its adaptations and circulation in the Caribbean and United States. The contributors provide detailed ethnographic and technical research on gourd lutes and ekonting in Africa and the banza in Haiti while also investigating tuning p...

In 1932 a young Fonville Winans (1911--1992) left his home in Fort Worth and set out on the waterways of south Louisiana searching for adventure and fortune. This journal recounts, in his own words, how the now-renowned photographer and his two friends -- first mate Bob Owen and second mate Don Horridge -- ventured onto untamed Louisiana waters aboard a leaking, rudderless sailboat, the Pintail.Fonville was shooting footage for a movie that he felt certain would make them rich and f...

An impassioned, charming, and hilarious debut novel about a young woman's coming-of-age, during one of the harshest whaling seasons in the history of New South Wales.1908: It's the year that proves to be life-changing for our teenage narrator, Mary Davidson, tasked with providing support to her father's boisterous whaling crews while caring for five brothers and sisters in the wake of their mother's death. But when the handsome John Beck -- a former Methodist preach...

A good description  of a trip on the Rhody Carter out of Marblehead Massachusetts to the Grand Banks in search of Cod during the mid nineteenth century.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “One of contemporary literature’s most revered essayists revives her raw records from a 1970s road trip across the American southwest ... her acute observations of the country’s culture and history feel particularly resonant today.” —Harper’s BazaarJoan Didion, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Let Me Tell You What I Mean, has always kept notebooks—of overheard dialogue, interv...

"Gripping. . . . An intrinsically thrilling tale." — New York Times Book ReviewIt was the Perfect Storm, but instead of raging far out in the Atlantic, the Great Hurricane of 1938 left a wake of death and destruction across seven states. Sudden Sea re-creates that terrifying September day in gripping detail, focusing on the intense human drama that unfolded as an unlikely alignment of meteorological conditions conspired to bring t...

A man of faith faces a personal reckoning after working aboard HMS Beagle in this "gripping" historical novel ( The Wall Street Journal).Heading off to sea at the age of thirteen, Syms Covington became Charles Darwin's manservant for seven years, sailing on the historic voyage of the Beagle. Their relationship was an odd one, but it furnished exactly what Darwin needed in order to complete his groundbreaking work, as Covington shot and co...

"Some of the finest examples of contemporary, genuinely American prose. White's style incorporates eloquence without affection, profundity without pomposity, and wit without frivolity or hostility. Like his predecessors Thoreau and Twain, White's creative, humane, and graceful perceptions are an education for the sensibilities." — Washington PostThe classic collection by one of the greatest essayists of our time.Selected by E.B. White himself, this indispensable vo...

"Before there was the Perfect Storm, there was the Great Hurricane of 1938. A riveting and wonderfully written account." —Nathaniel PhilbrickOn the night of September 21, 1938, news on the radio was full of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. There was no mention of any severe weather. By the time oceanfront residents noticed an ominous color in the sky, it was too late to escape. In an age before warning systems and the ubiquity of television, this unprecedented storm...

Master of the World by Jules Verne: Prepare for a thrilling journey with Jules Verne's "Master of the World." Step into a world where technology and adventure collide as you follow the enigmatic Robur and his incredible flying machine. Verne's narrative keeps you on the edge of your seat, exploring themes of innovation and exploration.

The more Chike saw the ferry-boats the more he wanted to make the trip to Asaba. But where would he get the money? He did not know. Still, he hoped.Eleven-year-old Chike longs to cross the Niger River to the city of Asaba, but he doesn’t have the sixpence he needs to pay for the ferry ride. With the help of his friend S.M.O.G., he embarks on a series of adventures to help him get there. Along the way, he is exposed to a range of new experiences that are both thrilling and ...