Fashion ingenue, magazine editor, kimono designer, femme fatale, prize-winning writer--Uno Chiyo has becomeone of twentieth-century Japan's most accomplished and celebrated women. In this two-part volume, Rebecca L. Copeland offers Western readers a fascinating portrait of Uno's life along with translations of three of her distinctive works of short fiction. Part One depicts Uno's sometimes turbulent passage from obscurity in a small village to national literary prominence. There are the early years under her father's stern turelage; the first scandalous, failed romance which cost her her job as a schoolteacher; her apprenticeship at Enrakuken, the coffee shop of the literary elite whose ranks she laters joined as a resident of the "Magome Literati Village"; her series of passionate and troubled relationships and marriages. Throughout, Dr. Copeland focuses on the evolution of Uno's art and discusses her major works, paying special attention to the effect being female had on Uno's development as a writer. The three stories in Part Two are examples of Uno's work at its finest. "The Puppet Maker" (1942), a much-admired reflection on art and life, describes an encounter with a venerable carver of puppets. "The Sound of the Wind" (1969) is the tale of a wife at the turn of the century who willingly denies her own needs. "This Powder Box" (1966) shows a progressive career woman coming to terms with an old love affair. At once compelling and lyrical, the stories are a masterful interpretation of tradition, of women, and of self-fulfullment. The Sound of the Wind: The Life and Works of Uno Chiyo will engage both specialists and general readers interested in twentieth-century Japan, literature, and women's issues.

W. H. Hudson was brought up on the pampas, where he learnt from gauchos about frontier life. After moving to London in 1874, Hudson lived in extreme poverty. Like his friend Joseph Conrad, Hudson was an exile, adapting to England. He never returned to Argentina. Wilson unravels Hudson’s English dream, his natural history rambles, and his work to protect birds. He remains both a complex witness to his homeland before mass immigration and to his England of the mind, before the urban sprawl. Praise for Jason Wilson: Tireless, shrewd, erudite Jason Wilson, mixing hard fact and anthology, provides the perfect outfit of allusion and comparative experience - Jonathan Keates, Observer Put his treasure trove into your pocket. - Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times The idea is so simple that it must be original. This inaugural book might prove to be a landmark. - Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph

Scott Weidensaul follows hawks over the Mexican coastal plains, Bar-tailed Godwits that hitchhike on gale winds 7,000 miles nonstop across the Pacific from Alaska to New Zealand, and the Myriad Songbirds whose numbers have dwindled so dramatically in recent years.

With an introduction by Steve Harvey and a foreword by David Foster The Grammy-winning founder of the legendary pop/R&B/soul/funk/disco group tells his story and charts the rise of his legendary band in this sincere memoir that captures the heart and soul of an artist whose groundbreaking sound continues to influence music today. With its dynamic horns, contrasting vocals, and vivid stage shows, Earth, Wind & Fire was one of the most popular acts of the late twentieth century—the band “that changed the sound of black pop” (Rolling Stone)—and its music continues to inspire modern artists including Usher, Jay-Z, Cee-Lo Green, and Outkast. At last, the band’s founder, Maurice White, shares the story of his success. Now in his seventies, White reflects on the great blessings music has brought to his life and the struggles he’s endured: his mother leaving him behind in Memphis when he was four; learning to play the drums with Booker T. Jones; moving to Chicago at eighteen and later Los Angeles after leaving the Ramsey Lewis Trio; forming EWF, only to have the original group fall apart; working with Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond; his diagnosis of Parkinson’s; and his final public performance with the group at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Through it all, White credits his faith for his amazing success and guidance in overcoming his many challenges. Keep Your Head to the Sky is an intimate, moving, and beautiful memoir from a man whose creativity and determination carried him to great success, and whose faith enabled him to savor every moment.

A summer vacation teaches Amanda about life and love when she meets and falls in love with Jake, the deaf son of a local fisherman.

The novel "The Sound of the Wind" deals with the fate of two Jewish siblings Maria and Paolo, who were abandoned by their mother. This true story happened in 1940 in a small village in the province of Palermo / Sicily. It is the story of a mother who abandons her own children for her dream of a better life. She chose this cruel act at a time that was unbelievably horrible and cruel. Soon after the twelve-year-old sweet girl gets captured by an old hunter and he tries to violate her. Both children experience one agony after another, until they learn from a Carabinieri that their father was brutally murdered in prison. The mother goes insane when she sees with her own eyes how her new lover constantly cheats on her with his ex-girlfriend. Filled with deep hatred and anger, she sees no other way out and tragedy takes its course… It's a real-life story, with intrigue, murders and strokes of fate that entraps the reader from the first page till the very last. As a bonus, the author has also included 6 wonderful poems that will resonate deeply with the readers.

New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell's epic fantasy, the Simon Snow trilogy, concludes with Any Way the Wind Blows. In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. Now, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha must decide how to move forward. For Simon, that means choosing whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages — and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough. Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet. This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest. The Simon Snow Trilogy was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings—about catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.