As a major figure in the development of Western thought, Plato, with his philosophies and writings, has been referred to in the development of democracy and good government. Yet, he is responsible for one of the most divisive and hotly debated stories in history. Even his student, Aristotle, did not believe it to be true. Plato's story had a great deal of influence on the New Age Movement from the end of the nineteenth century, when the mythological motifs and dreams of an ideal society found a home in Atlantis. Unfortunately, the new versions of the story that arose from this era were based on false history and pseudo science. Academics tried to force Atlantis back into the Mediterranean with its familiar ancient sites, suggesting that Plato relied heavily on metaphor and fiction, despite his insistence that the story was true.The subject is still a hotly debated one because it has never been satisfactorily resolved. Starting with Plato's original story, The Unlost Island unravels the myths and legends, the misinterpretations and fallacies that have plagued the Atlantis story since it was written more than 2000 years ago.

The ancient Greek lyric poet Simonides of Keos was the first poet in the Western tradition to take money for poetic composition. From this starting point, Anne Carson launches an exploration, poetic in its own right, of the idea of poetic economy. She offers a reading of certain of Simonides' texts and aligns these with writings of the modern Romanian poet Paul Celan, a Jew and survivor of the Holocaust, whose "economies" of language are notorious. Asking such questions as, What is lost when words are wasted? and Who profits when words are saved? Carson reveals the two poets' striking commonalities. In Carson's view Simonides and Celan share a similar mentality or disposition toward the world, language and the work of the poet. Economy of the Unlost begins by showing how each of the two poets stands in a state of alienation between two worlds. In Simonides' case, the gift economy of fifth-century b.c. Greece was giving way to one based on money and commodities, while Celan's life spanned pre- and post-Holocaust worlds, and he himself, writing in German, became estranged from his native language. Carson goes on to consider various aspects of the two poets' techniques for coming to grips with the invisible through the visible world. A focus on the genre of the epitaph grants insights into the kinds of exchange the poets envision between the living and the dead. Assessing the impact on Simonidean composition of the material fact of inscription on stone, Carson suggests that a need for brevity influenced the exactitude and clarity of Simonides' style, and proposes a comparison with Celan's interest in the "negative design" of printmaking: both poets, though in different ways, employ a kind of negative image making, cutting away all that is superfluous. This book's juxtaposition of the two poets illuminates their differences--Simonides' fundamental faith in the power of the word, Celan's ultimate despair--as well as their similarities; it provides fertile ground for the virtuosic interplay of Carson's scholarship and her poetic sensibility.

Gail Muller was told she’d be in a wheelchair by the age of forty. At forty-one she set out to hike one of the world’s toughest treks, The Appalachian Trail – a 2,200-mile journey that would help her reclaim her life and heal her mind and body. An inspiring, moving and uplifting memoir for fans of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. As Gail took her first steps through the wilderness of the USA, she had no idea what lay ahead of her, but she knew she felt burnout from city life, lost and broken – ready to heal a mind and body that she had battled with for so long. From the resilience-building mountain climbs, painful injuries and harsh reality of braving the raw elements, to the unexpected friendships forged with other hikers and the kindness of strangers offering food and shelter – with every step, Gail started to let go of a past dominated by chronic pain and reconnected with herself in a way she’d never been able to before. A love letter to the healing power of the wild outdoors and an incredible testament to the strength of the human spirit, Gail’s story is for anyone who has ever felt stuck in a rut, lost or scared. She shows us that even in our darkest times, it’s possible to find our inner grit, face our fears and feel hopeful. Read what everyone is saying about Unlost: ‘Amazing!… OMG! I really loved your book!... I’m not a crier, but your last chapter had me almost in tears. So (wonderfully) emotional.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Had me hooked from the beginning…This book is for so many people…it's fun and interesting and the various trail families and characters are terrific… a gem of a book.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I found myself holding my breath… I felt like I was right there with her.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Inspirational… made me snort or chuckle - or suck in my breath. I read the book in more or less a day - I just had to consume it… a joy to read.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Gail writes with humour, heart and passion.’ Giovanna Fletcher, Sunday Times #1 bestselling author ‘I loved this book so much. I was so invested from the very start… Was sad for this one to end! Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Loved this open and honest book! It was so raw and real you feel like you get to know the author like a friend. I loved hearing about her adventures and life.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Inspiring… illustrates the power of the great outdoors and the positive effects it can have on body and mind.’ Jordan Wylie, Adventurer and Bestselling Author

“Kellie had a dragon living the paddock at the back of her house. She also had trolls, but she didn't know about them yet. The dragon hadn't been there very long and it had never spoken. It hadn’t breathed fire, nor roared a scary roar. But that was because it was made from wood.” When a large tree branch dried out it looked a lot like a dragon with a long forked tail, four wriggly limbs protruding from a thick body, and a large mouth where the branch had separated from the tree. It looked fearsome enough but when Kellie and her Dad had finished with the paint tins, it looked even scarier. Kellie called it David the Snake Dragon. In this fast-moving and exciting book for early readers, which is also designed for parents to read to their children, Kellie and Gregory discover that their favourite toys have been stolen and David comes to life. He takes the children to the Island of Lost Dolls, a place where lost dolls used to live happily ever after, but when a wicked doll declares herself queen she make all the dolls her slaves. Kellie Gregory and David with the help of the mysterious Regina must fight to save not only their own toys but all the others too.

In the hilarious follow-up to Grave Expectations, Claire and the gang are back, getting their timbers shivered by a mystery involving feuding ghost pirates, buried treasure, and murder... Claire Hendricks can see ghosts, but she can't see herself having a fun vacation. Yet when her new friends/found family, Basher and Alex, insist, Claire and her dead BFF, Sophie, pack themselves off to a remote Irish island. This tempest-tossed isle is indeed full of noises: not only is the hotel where the gang is staying double booked with a posh private party, the island's crumbling old fort is being fought over by rival ghost pirates. In death, as in life, they're vying over a legendary stash of loot, supposedly hidden somewhere on the island or in the surrounding rough seas... ...which, inevitably, are whipped up into a terrific storm, stranding everyone—living and dead—on the island. Claire is already fighting off anxious And Then There Were None vibes before one of the other guests turns up murdered. With Basher distracted by a handsome Irish seaman and Sophie stretching the limits of her tether to flirt with a dead pirate with dubious intentions, it's up to Claire to solve the mystery of three-hundred-year-old buried treasure and figure out who's picking off party guests—before the whole gang meets a grim, Agatha Christie-like fate.

Anne Carson (b. June 21, 1950, in Toronto, Canada) is one of the most versatile of contemporary classicists, poets, and translators in the English language. In Reach without Grasping, Louis A. Ruprecht Jr. explores the role played by generic transgressions on the one hand, and by embodied spirituality on the other, throughout Carson’s ambitious literary career. Where others see classical dichotomies (soul versus body, classical versus Christian), Carson sees connection. Like Nietzsche before her, Carson decries the images of the Classics as merely bookish and of classicists as disembodied intellects. She has brought religious, bodily erotics back into the heart of the classical tradition.