Pedro Juan Gutiérrez`s Dirty Havana Trilogy tells the story of Pedro Juan, an ex-radio journalist who wanders from one odd job to the next, half-disgusted & half-fascinated by his predicament. Working as a garbage-man, dealing on the black market, selling marijuana, & hustling lady tourists off the streets, Pedro Juan throws himself wholeheartedly into the pleasures of the flesh in his squalid surroundings: drink, sex & more sex. These novels are many things: visceral & unforgettably picaresque, a damning portrait of vice & poverty in a third-world country, & an insane journey into the condemned soul of a sexual deviant- the title itself is probably responsible for Pedro Juan Gutiérrez’s reputation as the master of ‘dirty realism’. You can easily sense from reading the text that this is written by someone very close to the core of the material- Havana itself. Living in Havana, Gutiérrez began to work selling ice cream & newspapers when he was eleven years old; he was a soldier, swimming & kayak instructor, agricultural worker, technician in construction, technical designer, radio speaker & journalist for 26 years. Not only this, but nowadays he is a painter, sculptor & author of several poetry books. Gutiérrez depicts life in the shady alleys of Havana with his unadorned style- without taking any political stance, his books describe contemporary Cuba in an unembellished way, & his life most certainly informs this style. ...

In Victorian London, filth was everywhere: horse traffic filled the streets with dung, household rubbish went uncollected, cesspools brimmed with ”night soil, ” graveyards teemed with rotting corpses, the air itself was choked with smoke. In this intimately visceral book, Lee Jackson guides us through the underbelly of the Victorian metropolis, introducing us to the men & women who struggled to stem a rising tide of pollution & dirt, & the forces that opposed them. Through thematic chapters, Jackson describes how Victorian reformers met with both triumph & disaster. Full of individual stories & overlooked details--from the dustmen who grew rich from recycling, to the peculiar history of the public toilet--this riveting book gives us a fresh insight into the minutiae of daily life & the wider challenges posed by the unprecedented growth of the Victorian capital. ...

GET D!RTY! Next time you`re traveling or just chattin` in Spanish with your friends, drop the textbook formality & bust out with expressions they never teach you in school, including: * cool slang * funny insults * explicit sex terms * raw swear words Dirty Spanish teaches the casual expressions heard every day on the streets of Spain & Latin America: * What`s up? ` Que tal? * I`m shitfaced. Estoy mamado. * Check out all the hotties!! Mirale las bomboncitas! * Will you suck me off? ` Me lo chuparias? * I have the runs. Yo tengo un chorrillo. * What a motherfucker!! Que conchesuma! * That forward is legit. Es chevere ese delantero. ...

In 1789, Alexander Mackenzie traveled 1200 miles on the immense river in Canada that now bears his name, in search of the fabled Northwest Passage that had eluded mariners for hundreds of years. In 2016, the acclaimed memoirist Brian Castner retraced Mackenzie`s route by canoe in a grueling journey -- & discovered the Passage he could not find. Disappointment River is a dual historical narrative & travel memoir that at once transports readers back to the heroic age of North American exploration & places them in a still rugged but increasingly fragile Arctic wilderness in the process of profound alteration by the dual forces of globalization & climate change. Fourteen years before Lewis & Clark, Mackenzie set off to cross the continent of North America with a team of voyageurs & Chipewyan guides, to find a trade route to the riches of the East. What he found was a river that he named ” Disappointment.” Mackenzie died thinking he had failed. He was wrong. In this book, Brian Castner not only retells the story of Mackenzie`s epic voyages in vivid prose, he personally retraces his travels, battling exhaustion, exposure, mosquitoes, white water rapids & the threat of bears. He transports readers to a world rarely glimpsed in the media, of tar sands, thawing permafrost, remote indigenous villages &, at the end, a wide open Arctic Ocean that could become a far-northern Mississippi of barges & pipelines & oil money. ...

Perils of the Atlantic is a chronicle of the most frightening episodes in the maritime history of the North Atlantic. Acclaimed maritime scholar William Flayhart has spent much of the last forty years in search of material from which to create colourful narratives. Many of us know the stories of the Titanic & the Lusitania-both tragedies causing loss of life whilst making the ships themselves immortal but there are also many little-known accounts of extraordinary survivals at sea. Here Flayhart offers classic ocean liner disaster stories while bringing to light compelling lesser-known episodes which illustrate man's ongoing battle with the sea. ...

Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, bird flu, international terrorism
- the world seems to get more dangerous by the day. Or does
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Dr Siri Paiboun may be in his seventy-third year, but he`s still as sturdy as a jungle boar
- & as crafty as one. Reluctant coroner
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Cairngorms National Park on a contoured & GPS compatible map at 1:120, 000 from Footprint Walks, with street plans of main towns plus on the reverse extensive tourist information including useful contact details, etc. The map covers the whole of the national park area, extending from Bridge of Avon & Grantown-on Spey to Pitlochry, & from Loch Laggan to Aboyne. Topography is very effectively presented by contours at 10m intervals enhanced by relief shading, with plenty of names of peaks, glens, etc, plus colouring for forested areas. Munros, peaks over 3000ft (914m), are highlighted. The map indicates recommended hiking & cycling routes & symbols mark various facilities including campsites, caravan sites, pubs & cafes, shops & cycle hire, picnic places, etc. Road network shows locations of petrol stations.. The map has the lines of the British National Grid. Street plans cover Aviemore, Grantown-on-Spey, Newtonmore, Kingussie, Ballater & Pitlochry, showing main facilities in each town. The whole of the reverse side is covered by tourist information: days out, best trails & paths, sport & recreational pursuits in the park, cycle routes, wildlife, distilleries, etc. Where useful, contact details & related web addresses are provided. ...

This is a complete introduction to open canoeing. Canoeing & kayaking have topped the UK charts for water sports since 2003, matched only by angling (British Marine Federation survey). Over one million people went canoeing in 2008. This is the first complete introduction to open canoeing in seven years, the most up-to-date book about how to get into this growing sport. ” Discover Canoeing” is a journey through the sport of open canoeing, its history, the modern canoe & the future. James Weir gives a fresh approach to one of the oldest forms of transport known to man. Colour photos & sequences show each of the techniques stage by stage, from getting afloat on calm waters, paddling with a partner, going on a trip or expedition, navigating rapids & righting yourself with an Eskimo roll after a capsize. Full of tips, tricks & know-how, this book has all you need to know to paddle your own canoe, stay safe & have fun. ...

How well do you know your Dublin?” Killiney Hill may just be the perfect belvedere because it`s both low enough & high enough to register the great sweep of the panorama
- & it gives you Howth in all its ancient indolence.” ” Strongbow`s son foolishly showed fear in battle, so the tyrant killed him & chopped him in two as a warning to others.” ” Cats have been living comfortable lives around Trinity down its four hundred years. Before the university, their forebears grew fat on Augustinian pickings.” From the foot-worn pavements to the castellated rooftops, the city of Dublin heaves with age & curios enough to fire the most jaded of urban imaginations. Originally published weekly in the south Dublin newspaper The Leader, these popular pieces by journalist Hugh Lambert have now been gathered together in a special collection. With Lambert as your friendly guide, take a ramble & uncover Dublin`s curious corners & forgotten alcoves, as well as the colourful characters who have lived in Ireland`s capital.
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