In 1996 I took a long lease, with option, on a 2-storey building in Johor Baru, just across the Causeway from Singapore. I then spent most of my remaining money on fixing it up as the Restorant Eurasia, in anticipation of my Eurasian wife’s return from America. She had gone there on a ridiculously cheap ticket, courtesy of a nephew who worked for Singapore Airlines. Unfortunately she had no insurance cover. One day while walking down a street in Florida, she suffered a stroke, and subsequent complete coma, at the age of 38. I tried to run the restaurant as well as I could, but she was the one with restaurant experience, having managed a successful Thai restaurant in Singapore, with her magic touch. When the Gods frown, they do so in earnest. After a couple of months, the owner of the building, having seen what I’d done with it, and heard about my wife, decided he wanted it back. Being a proper Malaysian gentleman, and a Haji (done his trip to Mecca) to boot, he didn’t come and discuss it with me. Instead, he went to see his friends at Immigration, who then started making problems for me, over my lack of a work permit to run the restaurant. I argued – with the help of my friend at Immigration – that, as the Managing Director of the owning company, I was entitled to direct the management of the restaurant. Eventually my Immigration friend was suddenly posted out, and I was informed that my current visa would not be renewed. Fortunately, at the time of taking the lease on the building, I had also pre-paid a two-year lease on a charming brand new 3-bedroom, 2 bathroom terrace house in Taman Johor Jaya. I had to give up the restaurant, then rent out my house, and flee to Thailand on the last day of my visa. This is the story of my subsequent 9 months living in a cheap village house in a Malay kampong not too far from the Thai border.

Life in the orphanage is brutal so Sam decides to break away. He sets off from Dunedin and in Sydney joins the crew of a doomed ship. Deep in the freezing Southern Ocean a wild storm drives the ship onto a barren and desolate island. They must face a savage winter with no hope of rescue. Suggested level: intermediate, junior secondary.

On 5 May 1725 a Dutch ship's officer, Leendert Hasenbosch, was set ashore on the desert island of Ascension in the South Atlantic Ocean, as a punishment for sodomy. He tried to survive on turtles and birds but found very little water on the barren island. He wrote a diary. He probably died after about half a year. In January 1726 British mariners found his tent, diary and other things and brought the diary to England. In 1726 a first English version of the diary of the Dutch castaway was published. Other versions followed in 1728, 1730 and 1976. Who was the castaway? The truth was disclosed by the Dutch historian Michiel Koolbergen (1953-2002), in a posthumously published book in Dutch. With the support of Michiel Koolbergen's family and publisher, this new book discloses the truth in English. This book is the second edition, with some improvements compared to the original edition of 2006. This book is illustrated with line drawings, both historic ones and by the Dutch artist Anneke de Vries.

THE SHOCKING STORY OF A DESERT ISLAND DREAM THAT WENT SOUR 'Writer seeks "wife" for a year on tropical island.' The opportunity to escape from it all was irresistible. Lucy Irvine answered the advertisement - and found herself alone on a remote desert island with a 'husband' she hardly knew. Lucy Irvine fell in love with the seductive, if cruel, beauty of that untouched Eden, whose power to enslave and enchant her never slackened throughout the whole of her amazing adventure. Uncompromisingly candid and sometimes shocking, Castaway is her compulsively readable account of a desert island dream which threatened to turn into a nightmare of illness, thirst and personal antipathy. Now a film by Nicholas Roeg starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed,

The story of Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller, marooned on a South Pacific island, and his one-man war against Japanese forces

A revealing history of the Beatles’ experimental record label, as told by the label’s manager. In August 1968, the Beatles launched their greatest business enterprise, Apple Records, to international fanfare. The less well-known story is the introduction of their Zapple label about nine months later. If Apple represented artists with new, commercial opportunities, Zapple offered more cutting-edge freedom; its mission was to distribute experimental music and spoken word recordings from the leading avant-garde figures of the time. The brainchild of Paul McCartney, the label captured the counterculture spirit of the 1960s by collaborating with Yoko Ono alongside John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, Richard Brautigan, Charles Bukowski, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Charles Olson. The Zapple Diaries is the first full-length look at the enterprise, as well as a true insider account from Barry Miles, the label’s manager who went on to become a leading authority and chronicler of ‘60s culture. He provides insight into the colorful lives and working methods of the artists and discloses the fascinating story of the experimental venture, ultimately offering up a revealing and engaging account of this little-known chapter of Beatles history.

The perfect wife and mother finds the perfect temptation in this "perfect summer cocktail of sex, sun, and scandal" (Kirkus Reviews). Claire has a problem with setting limits. All her life she has taken on every responsibility, assumed every burden, granted every request. Claire wants it all—and in the eyes of her friends, she has it: a devoted husband, four beautiful children, even a successful career as an artist. So when she agrees to chair the committee for Nantucket's social event of the year, she knows she can handle it. Claire can handle anything. But when planning the gala propels her into the orbit of billionaire Lock Dixon, unexpected sparks begin to fly. Lock insists on working closely with Claire—often over a bottle of wine—and before long she can't ignore the subtle touches and lingering looks. To her surprise, she can't ignore how they make her feel, either. Claire finds the gala, her life, and herself spinning out of control. A Summer Affair captures the love, loss, and limbo of an illicit romance and unchecked passion as it takes us on a brave and breathless journey into the heart of one modern woman. "Think you know where this is going? Think again. Hilderbrand is way too smart to give away the whole story in her title." —Elisabeth Egan, New York Times

Account of shipwreck and life on the Aucklands for 20 months; journey in a Phoenix boat built from the wreckage, to Port Adventure, Stewart Island, N.Z." ... almost a classic."--Maggs.

The Bailey's is a fantastic human story of adaption to totally alien conditions. It is a story of amazing courage, resolution and endurance. Essential reading for all who enjoy a gripping true story, 117 Days Adrift is an inspiring tale that has become one of the classics of the sea.

"When Sir Ernest Shackleton's dreams of crossing Antarctica foundered with his expedition ship Endurance in the ice of the Weddell Sea in October 1915, he could only wonder what had become of his support party on the other side of the continent." "This book tells that story. The task of the Ross Sea component of the expedition was to lay the all-important depots in support of the traverse party to be led by Shackleton." "The party was dogged from the outset by lack of finance and inadequate preparation, and matters were severely compounded when, in May 1915, their ship Aurora was carried away from its winter moorings." "This left ten men stranded and without proper equipment and supplies. At great personal hardship and cost, they laid the depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to Mt. Hope. Three men were to die during this courageous and perilous endeavour." "Aurora, refitted in New Zealand, eventually sailed south amidst considerable controversy, to rescue the seven survivors. Polar Castaways provides the first in-depth account of the Ross Sea party, the drift of Aurora and the relief expedition under the command of polar veteran Captain J.K. Davis."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.