In 1526 Carlos I of Spain granted Pánfilo de Narváez a license to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States. Pánfilo de Narváez set sail in 1527 to conquer and settle present day Florida. Setting out with a crew of approximately 600 members ultimately only four members would survive the ill-fated expedition. The journey would take these four survivors from Spain to Hispaniola and Cuba and then onto Florida. Sailing through a hurricane...

Travelling with one's partner in a campervan for a year provides an excellent, if not gruelling, test for newly married couples; it amounts to "couples therapy" on wheels but without the therapist. Not only does one learn a tremendous amount about one's partner but also about oneself. There are a few endeavours that couples should avoid; three that come to mind are wallpapering, navigating, and being in each other's company 24/7. After travelling...

Eve Searle has led a life filled at different times with danger, adventure, fun, and a zest for living. Born in 1934 in what was then Czechoslovakia, she lived through World War II and the Russian front and then moved with her parents to British India, only to get involved in the horrors of the Indian civil war following the end of British rule and the formation of the countries of India and Pakistan. Her family then moved to Australia, where she...

The 1845 North-West Passage expedition of Sir John Franklin in the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with a full company of 129 officers and men, none of whom ever saw England again, was one of the most heroic and courageous, maritime expeditions in history. This enthralling book is the result of seven years of arduous research by retired geologist Dr. John Roobol, who weighs evidence gathered over more than 170 years, and offers a highly convincing...

This is the story of the fifty-year adventure of one man's shooting and wilderness education and how it evolved into what it is today. It started in 1958 on the south shore of Long Island, advanced through Upstate New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Alaska, California, Africa, New Zealand, and, currently, back to California. Every incident in this book is true, thus allowing the author the luxury of being both opinionated and, perhaps, a little unorthodox...

Realizing that the time is right to act on their crazy idea of pulling their two daughters out of school for a year, shut down the house, and embark on a sailing sabbatical, Elli and her husband David, pitch the idea to their daughters. With just a few months planning time available, what follows is a mad rush to take sailing lessons, buy and equip a boat, devote countless hours to researching every aspect of their trip, and attempt to convince friends...

A couple of years ago, the author moved next door to the King of Thailand working as an editor of an online magazine published in Hua Hin, a seaside town. At the time, the king lived there permanently in his summer palace known in Thai as the Klang Kangnon palace, which delightfully translates as 'Far from Worries'. The book is a chronicle of the author's year there, but in a larger sense, it is a portrait of contemporary Thailand, part memoir, part...

Anita has found it to have been a pleasurable experience to have written this book. It is her desire that all persons who read it would gather strength through the testimonies in the series of short stories that will make you aware of the spiritual and human existence on earth as it is in heaven. Fact or fiction, you decide. Her hope is that after reading this book, curiosity is raised in all persons, so much so that with or without religious beliefs....

It all started ten years ago in July 2007 when I was teaching my daughter Autumn Elise how to paint in my studio. I didn't want to be totally enthralled by my own painting, which requires my full focus and attention to detail to the lighting effects of a still-life painting. I needed to paint something quick and meaningful. I got inspired to paint a midtorso of two bodies coming together unclothed. That exploration was incredible.

In Cold Water immerses the reader in the challenges, sights, sounds, triumphs and disappointments of swimming the English Channel--and one man's fixation on the feat. First conquered in 1875 by Matthew Webb, the choppy, 22-mile Channel presents one of the supreme endurance challenges in all of sports. With nothing but a basic swimsuit, pair of goggles, a swim cap, and a goal, swimmers leave Dover Harbor in England and battle their way through frigid...