Twenty-seven tales of Native Americans from nine geographic regions of North America.

"This book acts as a visual vehicle to see the rock art of the Coso Range. The Coso Range sits on the edge of the Mojave Desert, just east of the Sierra Nevada. It is located within the 1.2 million acres Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake and contains distinctive and spectacular displays of rock art. This rock art fills the lava gorges of Renegade Canyon, Big Petroglyph Canyon, and Sheep Canyon with images of bighorn sheep, anthropomorphs, abstract geometric figures and shield-like figures. These are pecked into the dark basalt and most appear to be between 1000 to 3000 years old, although some may be older and date to the earliest occupation of the region roughly 13,000 years ago. Both the text and photography are by Paul Goldsmith, an acclaimed cinematographer. This project is highly visual in nature and provides a photographic tour of the canyons and rock art for those that will never have a chance to visit them"--Provided by publisher.

The Speaking Stone: Stories Cemeteries Tell is a literary love letter to the joys of wandering graveyards and the discoveries such wanderings can yield. Here, Michael Griffith roams Spring Grove (founded 1844), the nation's third-largest cemetery, following curiosity and accident wherever they lead. The result is this fascinating collection, which narrates the lives of those he encountered on the way. Griffith lingers amidst the traces left behind--these are stories of race, feminism, art, and death, uncovered through obituaries, archival documents, and family legacies. Some essays focus on well-known figures like the feminist icon and freethinker Fanny Wright, but most chronicle the lives of lesser-known figures (a spiritual medium, a temperance advocate, the designers of caskets and hearses, the inventor of the glass-door oven) or of nearly unknown ones (a young heiress who died under mysterious circumstances, the daring sign-painters known as walldogs). The Speaking Stone examines what endures and what doesn't, reflecting on the vanity and poignancy of our attempts to leave monuments that last. Archival photos grace the pages of these thirteen essays that explore a larger, deeply tangled complex of ideas about place, history, self, and art.

"A collection of meditations like polished stones--painstakingly worded, tough-minded, yet partial to mystery, and peerless when it comes to injecting larger resonances into the natural world." — Kirkus Reviews Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings. Veering away from the long, meditative studies of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or Holy the Firm, Annie Dillard explores and celebrates moments of spirituality, dipping into descriptions of encounters with flora and fauna, stars, and more, from Ecuador to Miami.

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Set in 1950 in a small Australian country town. Robin, daughter of the new teacher, is surprised by the prejudice against Kate, a local girl.

A study based on the author's experiences working with the termimally ill examines the death process, discussing such topics as grief, near-death experiences, preparation, and regret-proofing life

Rosanne Parry, acclaimed author of A Wolf Called Wander and Heart of a Shepherd, shines a light on Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest in the 1920s, a time of critical cultural upheaval. Pearl has always dreamed of hunting whales, just like her father. Of taking to the sea in their eight-man canoe, standing at the prow with a harpoon, and waiting for a whale to lift its barnacle-speckled head as it offers its life for the life of the tribe. But now that can never be. Pearl's father was lost on the last hunt, and the whales hide from the great steam-powered ships carrying harpoon cannons, which harvest not one but dozens of whales from the ocean. With the whales gone, Pearl's people, the Makah, struggle to survive as Pearl searches for ways to preserve their stories and skills.

In this pathbreaking study of three of the most familiar texts in the Chinese tradition--all concerning stones endowed with magical properties--Jing Wang develops a monumental reconstruction of ancient Chinese stone lore. Wang's thorough and systematic comparison of these classic works illuminates the various tellings of the stone story and provides new insight into major topics in traditional Chinese literature. Bringing together Chinese myth, religion, folklore, art, and literature, this book is the first in any language to amass the sources of stone myth and stone lore in Chinese culture. Uniting classical Chinese studies with contemporary Western theoretical concerns, Wang examines these stone narratives by analyzing intertextuality within Chinese traditions. She offers revelatory interpretations to long-standing critical issues, such as the paradoxical character of the monkey in The Journey to the West, the circularity of narrative logic in The Dream of the Red Chamber, and the structural necessity of the stone tablet in Water Margin. By both challenging and incorporating traditional sinological scholarship, Wang's The Story of Stone reveals the ideological ramifications of these three literary works on Chinese cultural history and makes the past relevant to contemporary intellectual discourse. Specialists in Chinese literature and culture, comparative literature, literary theory, and religious studies will find much of interest in this outstanding work, which is sure to become a standard reference on the subject.

Stone setting can often appear mysterious and impossible: an ancient craft used to hold beautiful gems secure in the most elegant of designs. This practical book explains the techniques of the master stone setter in an accessible and encouraging style. Written by Scott McIntyre, it explains the complex world of setting with step-by-step instructions, supported by informative illustrations and excellent examples of finished pieces. It is a manual that shines with inspiration and practical advice. Topics covered include: setting techniques, from bezel, claw and flush, through to single row and multiple pave, then to skilled methods such as channel and microclaw. Advice is given on the options and attributes of each type of setting, as well as ideas for mixing styles and experimenting with setting methods. It is written informally throughout with an emphasis on patience and precision.