Untouched by both time and tourism, the fishing port of Essaouira, Morocco, is known for its prostitutes, black magic, con artists, ghosts-and the legend of a virgin who once lured mariners to her lighthouse, worked them into a frenzy of desire, and then devoured their hearts before they could steal her innocence. Sebastian is a young, easy-going, generous English businessman living in Spain who decides to buy a small apartment in Essaouira with the hope of learning Arabic. Instead, however, he is convinced by his half-brother, Roger, to purchase a thirteen-room brothel and convert it into a hotel. As rumours suggest that the ghost virgin, Aïsha Qandeesha, still haunts the streets-enticing victims to the cemetery and then tearing them to shreds-Sebastian is mesmerized by the previous brothel owner's stories that there is a buried treasure within the house. But after he hires the madame's former maid, Aïda, to work for him, problems begin that cause Sebastian to wonder whether tragedy will follow him forever. Magic Lobsters and Flying Tagines is the tale of one man's attempt to open a boutique hotel in an exotic country as he is helplessly controlled by the strange twists and turns of his destiny.

Alamut takes place in 11th Century Persia, in the fortress of Alamut, where self-proclaimed prophet Hasan ibn Sabbah is setting up his mad but brilliant plan to rule the region with a handful of elite fighters who are to become his "living daggers." By creating a virtual paradise at Alamut, filled with beautiful women, lush gardens, wine and hashish, Sabbah is able to convince his young fighters that they can reach paradise if they follow his commands. With parallels to Osama bin Laden, Alamut tells the story of how Sabbah was able to instill fear into the ruling class by creating a small army of devotees who were willing to kill, and be killed, in order to achieve paradise. Believing in the supreme Ismaili motto “Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Sabbah wanted to “experiment” with how far he could manipulate religious devotion for his own political gain through appealing to what he called the stupidity and gullibility of people and their passion for pleasure and selfish desires. The novel focuses on Sabbah as he unveils his plan to his inner circle, and on two of his young followers — the beautiful slave girl Halima, who has come to Alamut to join Sabbah's paradise on earth, and young ibn Tahir, Sabbah's most gifted fighter. As both Halima and ibn Tahir become disillusioned with Sabbah's vision, their lives take unexpected turns. Alamut was originally written in 1938 as an allegory to Mussolini's fascist state. In the 1960's it became a cult favorite throughout Tito's Yugoslavia, and in the 1990s, during the Balkan's War, it was read as an allegory of the region's strife and became a bestseller in Germany, France and Spain. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the book once again took on a new life, selling more than 20,000 copies in a new Slovenian edition, and being translated around the world in more than 19 languages. This edition, translated by Michael Biggins, in the first-ever English translation.

In this inspiring travelogue, celebrated traveler and photographer Jessica Nabongo—the first Black woman on record to visit all 195 countries in the world—shares her journey around the globe with fascinating stories of adventure, culture, travel musts, and human connections. It was a daunting task, but Jessica Nabongo, the beloved voice behind the popular website The Catch Me if You Can, made it happen, completing her journey to all 195 UN-recognized countries in the world in October 2019. Now, in this one-of-a-kind memoir, she reveals her top 100 destinations from her global adventure. Beautifully illustrated with many of Nabongo's own photographs, the book documents her remarkable experiences in each country, including: A harrowing scooter accident in Nauru, the world's least visited country, Seeing the life and community swarming around the Hazrat Ali Mazar mosque in Afghanistan, Horseback riding and learning to lasso with Black cowboys in Oklahoma, Playing dominoes with men on the streets of Havana, Learning to make traditional takoyaki (octopus balls) from locals in Japan, Dog sledding in Norway and swimming with humpback whales in Tonga, A late night adventure with strangers to cross a border in Guinea Bissau, And sunbathing on the sandy shores of Los Roques in Venezuela. Along with beloved destinations like Peru and South Africa, you'll also find tales from far-flung corners and seldom visited destinations, including Tuvalu, North Korea, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Nabongo's stories are love letters to diversity, beauty, and culture—and most of all, to the people she meets along the way. Throughout, she offers bucket-list experiences for other travel-lovers looking to follow in her footsteps. For armchair travelers or readers planning a trip around the globe, this arresting collection will awe and inspire!

Vegetables keep secrets, and to prepare them well, we need to know how to coax those secrets out. "What is the best way to eat a radish?" Alana Chernila hears this sort of question all the time. Arugula, celeriac, kohlrabi, fennel, asparagus--whatever the vegetable may be, people always ask how to prepare it so that the produce really shines. Although there are countless ways to eat our vegetables, there are a few perfect ways to make each vegetable sing. With more than 100 versatile recipes, Eating from the Ground Up teaches you how to showcase the unique flavor and texture of each vegetable, truly bringing out the best in every root and leaf. The answers lie in smart techniques and a light touch. Here are dishes so simple and quick that they feel more intuitive than following a typical recipe; soups for year-round that are packed with nourishment; ideas for maximizing summer produce; hearty fall and winter foods that are all about comfort; impressive dishes fit for a party; and tips like knowing there's not one vegetable that doesn't perk up with a sprinkle of salt. No matter the vegetable, the central lesson is: don't mess with a good thing.

The fitness influencer and creator of the #1 bestselling Food & Drink app, FitMenCook, shares 100 easy, quick meal prep recipes that will save you time, money, and inches on your waistline—helping you to get healthy on your own terms. We like to be inspired when it comes to food. No one enjoys cookie-cutter meal plans, bland recipes, or eating the same thing every day. Instead of worrying about what to eat and how it’s going to affect our bodies, we should embrace food freedom—freedom to create flavorful meals, but in a more calorie-conscious way; freedom to indulge occasionally while being mindful of portions; and freedom to achieve wellness goals without breaking the bank. In Fit Men Cook, Kevin Curry, fitness expert and social media sensation with millions of followers and hundreds of thousands of downloads on his app, shares everything you need to live a healthy life each day—from grocery lists to common dieting pitfalls to his ten commandments of meal prep—as well as his personal story of overcoming depression and weight gain to start a successful business and fitness movement. This guide also includes 100+ easy and flavorful recipes like Southern-Inspired Banana Corn Waffles, Sweet Potato Whip, Juicy AF Moroccan Chicken, and many more to help you plan your week and eat something new and nutritious each day. With Fit Men Cook, you can create exciting, satisfying meals and be on your way to losing weight for good. After all, bodies may be sculpted at the gym, but they are built in the kitchen.

Canada’s culinary treasure revealed in recipes, stories and photographs Canada has a culinary treasure in Quebec, one that is not perhaps as celebrated as it could be, at least outside of that distinct and gloriously food-obsessed region. Julian Armstrong, longtime food writer for The Montreal Gazette, has spent her career eating, cooking, thinking and writing about Quebecois food. Quebec, A Cookbook is the result of those years of delicious effort. Quebec has a cuisine firmly based on French foundations, but blended and enriched over the years by the cooking styles of a variety of immigrant groups, initially British and American, more recently Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern and Asian. More than in any other province or region in Canada, people in Quebec are passionate and knowledgeable about their food. The restaurant scene is robust, not just in Montreal and Quebec City—you can go to just about any small town in La belle province and have a splendid meal. Farmers, purveyors, chefs, casual and dedicated home cooks all are poised in every season to produce or procure the perfect, seasonal ingredient; not for them the out-of-season asparagus from Chile. Quebec is where you can truly experience what food tasted like before the industrial food complex. Here unpasteurized milk and cheese is commonplace; indeed there is a herd of cattle descended from cows brought from France by Samuel de Champlain producing dairy just for this purpose. Imagine that in Ontario! Of course, Quebec is big news in the global foodie world these days, with Martin Picard (Au Pied de Cochon), Dave Macmillan and Fred Morin (The Art of Living According to Joe Beef), and even our own Chuck Hughes showing off the joys of dining in this great province. But there is much more still to discover about Quebec, from restaurateurs certainly, but also from farmers, foragers, artisanal cheese and bread makers, home cooks, and so many more. These people, their stories and recipes, will make up the bulk of Quebec: a Cookbook. It is high time for a comprehensive celebration of Quebecois cuisine.

The book is a short history of how to make enough money to have eighteen gap years from the age of forty-six. It details the authors travels all over the world and finishes with his favorite recipes and lists of films and books that he has enjoyed.