World War II reached into the homes & lives of ordinary people in an unprecedented way. Civilian men, women, & children made up the vast majority of those killed by the war, & the conflict displaced millions more. On Europe`s home fronts, the war brought the German blitzkrieg, followed by long occupations & the racial genocide of the Holocaust. In An Iron Wind, historian Peter Fritzsche draws on diaries, letters, & other first-person accounts to show how civilians in occupied Europe struggled to understand this terrifying chaos. As the Third Reich targeted Europe`s Jews for deportation & death, confusion & mistrust reigned. What were Hitler`s aims? Did Germany`s rapid early victories mark the start of an enduring new era? Was collaboration or resistance the wisest response to occupation? How far should solidarity & empathy extend? & where was God? People tried desperately to answer such questions & make sense of the horrors around them, but the stories they told themselves often justified a selfish indifference to their neighbors` fates. Piecing together the broken words of World War II`s witnesses & victims--probing what they saw & what they failed to see--Fritzsche offers a haunting picture of the most violent conflict in modern history. ...

Scattered in a crescent in the sparkling waters of the Aegean, the islands of the Sporades are known to Greek fishermen as `the gates of the wind`. It was to this unspoilt archipelago that Michael Carroll sailed Astarte, a boat of sleek mahogany with wine-red sails, named after the Phoenician goddess of the moon & the sea. But his dream of travelling where the wind took him, rootless & free, changed when he landed on Skopelos. There, a chance meeting with the charismatic Vangeli led to him buying a piece of land on a remote cove, once the site of an ancient city & the perfect harbour for Astarte. So unfolds the story of Carroll`s growing attachment to Skopelos as he sets down roots & makes it his home. Engaging & vividly-described, ” An Island in Greece” is a sun-drenched tale of a life full of simple pleasures, governed by the seasons, the tides & the wind; the story of a traveller who finally arrived & a unique homage to the island that harboured him. ...

In this book Geert Mak returns to the small Frisian village of his childhood, Jorwert (pop. 330 & falling). It`s a typical European village where the shops are closing down, the few children left will escape to a less arduous life in the city & it`s becoming increasingly isolated. Jowert has more in common with an English village than with Amsterdam, & it`s moving story of neighbours & their efforts to preserve their long established way of life is relevant to the changing face of the countryside everywhere in Europe. ...

In An Island Odyssey, Hamish Haswell-Smith casts off in his forty-one-foot sloop Jandara, armed with his sketch pad & a route map of a journey first taken by Martin Martin in 1703. Haswell-Smith sets sail on a voyage that will take him to fifty-two different islands around the Scottish Coast, from Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde to St. Kilda, Fair Isle & Bass Rock. Filled with natural history, local legend & landscapes & accompanied by the author`s own distinctive sketches & watercolours An Island Odyssey is a delightful way to discover or rediscover the romance, beauty & inescapable magnetism of the Scottish Islands. ...

The eruption of Laki is one of history`s great untold natural disasters. The eruption, spewing out a poisionous fog, lasted for eight months, but its effects lingered across Europe for years, causing the death of people as far away as the Nile, & creating famine that may have triggered the French revolution. Island on Fire is the story not only of a volcano but also of the people whose lives it changed, such as the pastor Jon Steingrimsson, who witnessed & recorded the events in Icel&. It is the story, too, of modern volcanology, & looks at how events might work out should Laki erupt again in our time. ...

With vivid colors, bold simplicity, & the use of stone, stucco, & tile, the Patmos house of renowned interior designer John Stefanidis is a source of inspiration for homeowners & decorators worldwide. John Stefanidis has created a quintessential island house in Patmos, Greece. Its bold use of Mediterranean colors, natural materials, & crisp, clean lines epitomize this comfortable yet sophisticated style, which is surprisingly easy to evoke at home. Sun-drenched rooms make use of such materials as tile, stone, & stucco. One of the hallmarks of the house is its emphasis on indoor/outdoor living: spaces such as the ”garden rooms” & the ”breakfast terrace” are outside, yet are thought of as parts of the house. The exquisite gardens are further evidence of a style that easily flows from the inside to the outside of this beautiful & inspiring home. In his own words, Stefanidis explains how the house has evolved over many years, reflecting the designer`s love for the isl&, his original use of vibrant color, his eclectic & cosmopolitan aesthetic, & a desire to combine comfort with style. With two hundred vibrant photographs, the book demonstrates how the picturesque scenery of an island retreat & its rich history & culture provide inspiration for present-day living. ...

For centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in AD 330, Istanbul served as the capital of three great empires: Roman, Byzantine, & Ottoman. The city`s maze-like streets & high balconies, its steep alleys, flower gardens, & forested hillsides remain soaked in the vestiges of that imperial past, & it is to that past & to Istanbul`s unearthly moods & waters that so many writers & diarists journeyed in search of escape, knowledge, happiness, or sheer wonderment. An Istanbul Anthology takes us on a nostalgic journey through the city with travelers` accounts of the sights, smells, & sounds of Istanbul`s bazaars & coffeehouses, its grand palaces & gardens, crumbling buildings, & ancient churches & mosques, & the waters that so haunt & define it. With writers such as Gustave Flaubert, Pierre Loti, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, & Andre Gide, we discover & rediscover the many delights of this great city of antiquity, meeting point of East & West, & gateway to peoples & civilizations. About the series: The elegant, pocket-sized volumes in the AUC Press Anthology series feature the writings & observations of travel writers & diarists through the centuries. Vivid & evocative travelers` accounts of some of the world`s great cities & regions are enhanced by the exquisite vintage design in small hardback format that make the books ideal gift books as well as perfect travel companions. Designed on cream paper stock & beautifully illustrated with line drawings & archival photographs.” ...

How does an Italian become Italian? Or an Englishman English, for that matter? Are foreigners born, or made? In ” Italian Education, the sequel to his bestselling ” Italian Neighbours”, Tim Parks focuses on his own young children in the small village near Verona where he lives, building a fascinating picture of the contemporary Italian family at school, at home, at work & at play. The result is a delight: at once a family book & a travel book, not quite enamoured with either children or Italy, but always affectionate, always amused & always amusing.” Tim Parks is Italian enough to understand the country, foreign enough to see its peculiarities & talented enough to make them funny without resorting to cliché”
- * Daily Express*
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Sunshine, warmth, lemon blossom... Springtime in glorious Southern Italy can go to your head. Especially if you are escaping an overbearing husb&, the embarrassingly public loss of your company, an interfering mother who still tries to run your life or the pain of a husband`s affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter. As the Italian sun ripens the lemons in the groves that tumble down the hillsides & the Mediterranean dazzles beneath them, assertive Angela, extrovert Sylvie, unconfident Claire & mousy Monica find burgeoning friendship & begin to blossom in quite unexpected ways. Packed with memorable characters
- from the acid-tongued Grand Old Man of Modern Art who lives next door
- to the aspiring gigolo who thinks nothing of a forty year age gap, Maeve Haran`s new novel is a witty & entertaining reminder of why going a little mad in the sun can sometimes be exactly what you need.

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Ram Karan, a corrupt official in the Delhi school system, lives in one of the city`s slums with his widowed daughter & his eight-year-old granddaughter. Bumbling, ironical, sad, Ram is also a man tortured by a terrible guilty secret. When Rajiv Gandhi, the soon-to-be Prime Minister, is murdered, the country is plunged into confusion & Ram, as his department`s resident bribe-collector, is trapped in a series of escalating, potentially deadly political betrayals. While he tries to protect himself & his family, his daughter reveals a crime that he had hoped would be buried forever. An Obedient Father takes the reader to an India that is both far away & real
- into the mind of a character as tormented, funny, & morally ambiguous as one of Dostoevsky`s anti-heroes. This is a subtly rendered tragicomedy of contemporary India by an enormously gifted young writer.
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