The True History of Cozumel is an impeccably researched, iconoclastic account of the island's past that offers the reader accurate, detailed information that often disproves the dross masquerading as history found in tourist guide books, websites, and the like. By combing governmental archives, privately-held rare documents, and university microfilm collections, Hajovsky is able to explain through the presentation of first-hand accounts just how interesting Cozumel's history turns out to be. Chapters in the book run the gamut from: Pirates' testimony obtained through torture in the cells of the Holy Inquisition; The near annexation of Cozumel by the Republic of Texas in 1837; The role of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry in the resettlement of the island in 1848; Abraham Lincoln's attempt to buy Cozumel and use it as a colony to house freed, black slaves; The original "Indiana Jones" and his search for German spies on the island in WWI; General López de Santa Ana's role in developing the chewing gum fad that brought the island riches; To talking crosses, one-armed Christ statues, parrot-eating boas, and cannibalistic islanders.

A guide to the Mayan Ruins of San Gervasio on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. The guide begins with a description of Cozumel's early history, starting with the earliest pre-Maya inhabitants, continuing through the Mayan period of occupation and the island's subsequent discovery and conquest by the Spanish. Other sections include descriptions of Mayan culture, religion, writing system, mathematics, and daily life. The guide also contains a self-guided tour of San Gervasio, which leads the reader building by building through the site and contains floor plans, reconstructed views of the original structures, and descriptions of their use and history. The final section of the book describes the workings and history of the Mayan calendar and the relevance of the date 2012 to the Mayan Long Count.

This unique book covers the author, Clay Blair Jr., and Robert Marx’s diving adventures from the search for the Monitor off of Cape Hatteras, to the discovery of the Spanish treasure galleon “El Matanzero” off the coast of Yucatan. This book is also a practical guide for those skin divers who want to search for greater rewards: how to dig on a wreck and identify finds. The appendix includes extracts of 10 documents from the Archives of the Indies, in Seville, Spain, concerning the ship Nuestra Señora De Los Milagros, also known as El Matanzero.

When shots ring out on the Grand Trunk Road in the fictional Pakistani city of Zamara, Nargis’s life begins to crumble around her. Soon her husband—and fellow architect—is dead and, under threat from a powerful military intelligence officer, she fears that a long-hidden truth about her past will be exposed. For weeks someone has been broadcasting people’s secrets from the minaret of the local mosque, and, in a country where even the accusation of blasphemy is a currency to be bartered, the mysterious broadcasts have struck fear in Christians and Muslims alike. A revelatory portrait of the human spirit, in The Golden Legend, Nadeem Aslam gives us a novel of Pakistan’s past and present—a story of corruption and resilience, of love and terror, and of the disguises that are sometimes necessary for survival.

Displaced international consultant Dayle Standish heads for the Caribbean, following a losing battle involving corporate intrigue and blackmail. Diving Cozumel's azure waters, Dayle photographs a mysterious encounter inside a deep underwater cave. Soon after, a deadly assassin working for a foreign intelligence service starts targeting Cozumel dive operator Terry Manetta's customers. But Dayle is determined not to become the next victim, keeping one step ahead of a relentless killer pursuing her across the Atlantic and back to the Mexican Caribbean. Terry and her husband, former New York City detective Joe Manetta, team up with old friends at the NYPD, FBI, and CIA, to solve this international caper. Throw in the Washington DC PD and the alphabet soup gets even thicker, as spies, treasure hunters, and Cozumel scuba divers collide in this Caribbean adventure. It's been several years since Terry and Joe Manetta accidentally embroiled themselves in a Caribbean mystery thriller. Their latest adventure covers an international triangle anchored in New York City, Havana, and Cozumel with brief stopovers in Washington D.C., Madrid, and Cadiz.

With the warmth and humor we've come to know, the creator and host of A Prairie Home Companion shares his own remarkable story. In That Time of Year, Garrison Keillor looks back on his life and recounts how a Brethren boy with writerly ambitions grew up in a small town on the Mississippi in the 1950s and, seeing three good friends die young, turned to comedy and radio. Through a series of unreasonable lucky breaks, he founded A Prairie Home Companion and put himself in line for a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures. PHC lasted forty-two years, 1,557 shows, and enjoyed the freedom to do as it pleased for three or four million listeners every Saturday at 5 p.m. Central. He got to sing with Emmylou Harris and Renée Fleming and once sang two songs to the U.S. Supreme Court. He played a private eye and a cowboy, gave the news from his hometown, Lake Wobegon, and met Somali cabdrivers who’d learned English from listening to the show. He wrote bestselling novels, won a Grammy and a National Humanities Medal, and made a movie with Robert Altman with an alarming amount of improvisation. He says, “I was unemployable and managed to invent work for myself that I loved all my life, and on top of that I married well. That’s the secret, work and love. And I chose the right ancestors, impoverished Scots and Yorkshire farmers, good workers. I’m heading for eighty, and I still get up to write before dawn every day.”