” The Last Speakers” is an engaging & thought-provoking treatment that reports on the extinction crisis that threatens many languages worldwide. Through photos, graphics, short vignettes, interviews, & first-person stories, this scientist`s notebook documents linguist K. David Harrison`s around-the-world adventures to meet with last speakers of languages. The speakers` points of view are revealed through candid direct"ations & captivating photographs that capture the individuals not simply in static poses, but in active engagement with their environment & their traditional & modern lifeways. Writing in a personal journalistic style, Harrison details his travels to visit language hotspots around the world
- an undertaking also chronicled in the recent film ” The Linguists”. Working with other professionals, photographer Chris Rainier, & local scholars, Harrison ventures to remote corners of Bolivia, Australia, Siberia, Japan, & India. There he seeks out any speakers of languages previously reported as extinct, & tries to clarify numbers of speakers for very small languages.” The Last Speakers” clearly explains the new, cutting-edge methods in social science that the team employs, as well as summaries of well-established (yet not widely known) scientific knowledge in the field. Languages don`t disappear only in tiny hamlets. Harrison also visits last speakers living in urban areas in the developed world, to demonstrate that language extinction is happening, though largely invisibly, right in our own backyard. Sites include Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Japan, & several European nations. At some of these locations we observe focused efforts at language revitalisation, including the use of computer & internet technologies to assist small languages in bridging the digital divide. Ultimately, Harrison`s book humanises the global language-extinction crisis. Last speakers eloquently discuss their feelings about their language, what will be lost if it goes extinct, & how & why they believe this loss is happening. To prevent extinction of these cherished words & meanings, some speakers actively participate in language revitalization programs, working to pass on their knowledge to young generations. Their stories, which Harrison tells with empathy & respect, help us to grasp the impact of language extinction & the realization that when languages are lost, so are culture, diversity, & heritage.
...

The life of the complex, ruthless adversary of General Franco, whose life spanned much of Spain`s turbulence in the 20th century. From 1939 to 1975, the Spanish Communist Party, effectively lead for two decades by Santiago Carrillo, was the most determined opponent of General Franco`s Nationalist regime. Admired by many on the left as a revolutionary & a pillar of the anti-Franco struggle & hated by others as a Stalinist gravedigger of the revolution, Santiago Carrillo was arguably the dictator`s most consistent left-wing enemy. For many on the right, Carrillo was a monster to be vilified as a mass murderer for his activities during the Civil War. But his survival owed to certain qualities that he had in abundance
- a capacity for hard work, stamina & endurance, writing & oratorical skills, intelligence & cunning
- though honesty & loyalty were not among them. One by one he turned on those who helped him in his desire for advancement, revealing the ruthless streak that he shared with Franco, & a zeal for rewriting his past. Drawing on the numerous, continuously revised accounts Carillo created of his life, & contrasting them with those produced by his friends & enemies, Spain`s greatest modern historian Paul Preston unravels the legend of a devastating & controversial figure at the heart of 20th century Spanish politics.

...

This is the archetypal story of the American West. Whether it is cast as a tale of unmatched bravery in the face of impossible odds or of insane arrogance receiving its rightful comeuppance, Custer`s Last Stand continues to captivate the imagination. Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly reconstructs the build-up to the Battle of the Little Big Horn through to the final eruption of violence. Two legendary figures dominate the events: George Armstrong Custer & Sitting Bull. Those involved are brought vividly to life, as well as the history, geography & haunting beauty of the Great Plains. This book provides a thrilling account of what happened there
- & why
- at the end of June 1876.

...

' The whites want war & we will give it to them'
- Sitting Bull. This is the archetypal story of the American West. Whether it
...

Set in the tumultuous last year of Leo Tolstoy's life, The Last Station centres on the battle for his soul waged by his wife & his leading disciple. Torn between his professed doctrine of poverty & chastity on the one hand & the reality of his life of hedonism on the other, Tolstoy makes a dramatic flight from his home. Too ill to continue beyond the tiny station of Astapovo, he believes he is dying alone, while outside over one hundred newspapermen are awaiting hourly reports on his condition. Narrated in six different voices, The Last Station is a richly inventive novel that dances bewitchingly between fact & fiction. ...

Marrakech is the heart & lifeblood of Morocco`s ancient storytelling tradition. For nearly a thousand years, storytellers have gathered in the Jemaa el Fna, the legendary square of the city, to recount ancient folktales & fables to rapt audiences. But this unique chain of oral tradition that has passed seamlessly from generation to generation is teetering on the brink of extinction. The competing distractions of television, movies & the internet have drawn the crowds away from the storytellers & few have the desire to learn the stories & continue their legacy. Richard Hamilton has witnessed at first hand the death throes of this rich & captivating tradition &, in the labyrinth of the Marrakech medina, has tracked down the last few remaining storytellers, recording stories that are replete with the mysteries & beauty of the Maghreb. ...

Limpet, Steffan & Jared. Three best friends crammed into a clapped-out rust bucket of a car on a whirlwind road trip to forget their troubles & see out the end of the summer. But no matter how far they drive, they can`t escape the hidden secrets & slow-burning romance that could upset the balance of their friendship
- perhaps forever.
...

It`s the Summer of 1967. The sun shines brightly over Boundary Pond, a holiday haven on the US-Canadian border. Families relax in the heat, happy & carefree. Hours tick away to the sound of radios playing ` Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds` & `A Whiter Shade of Pale`. Children run along the beach as the heady smell of barbecues fills the air. Zaza Mulligan & Sissy Morgan, with their long, tanned legs & silky hair, relish their growing reputation as the red & blonde Lolitas. Life seems idyllic. But then Zaza disappears, & the skies begin to cloud over... ...

When prize-winning author Rachel Cusk decides to travel to Italy for a summer with her husband & two young children she has no idea of the trials & wonders that lie in store. Their journey leads them to both the expected
- the Piero della Francesca trail & queues at the Vatican
- & the surprising
- an amorous Scottish ex-pat & a longing for home
- all seen through Cusk`s sharp & humane perspective. Exploring the desire to travel & to escape, art & its inspirations, beauty & ugliness, & the challenge of balancing domestic life with creativity, The Last Supper is a wonderful travel book about life on the most famous art trail in the world, from one of Britain`s most pre-eminent writers.



...

In The Last Train to Zona Verde, Paul Theroux grippingly & compellingly examines the places & people he encounters as he journeys by bus from Cape Town to Luanda. From there, he plans to travel by train to the Green Zone, where African traditions & values, & wild animals survive. By doing so, he shows us an Africa away from the typical tourist destinations in what, he admits, will probably be his last trip through this continent. His bus trip through South Africa, Namibia & Angola proves to be a long & difficult journey. His vivid writing style allows us to witness the squalid bus stations, the suburban shantytowns, the poverty & the semi anarchy that seem all-pervasive in this account ...