Point No Point’s title comes from a landform — an actual point on the west coast of Vancouver Island, which seems, when approached from the other side, to be no point at all — and it alerts us to the fact that Jane Munro’s poems are situated in a deep sense. They live in situ in the way they inhabit their native place, intimate with its mists, its mosses and lichens, with the salmonberry and false lily-of-the-valley of their ecosystem. They are also situated temporally, evoking sharply etched memories, visions, and dreams: a real-time visit to her father’s boatyard, a dream visit with her mother from a time before the poet was conceived, a flashback to the sixties rendered in extreme close-up. By their musical attunement and the acuity of the focus, they demonstrate how such deep situation may come about, how we might bring language to the task of living in a way which is fully present. In the long culminating poem, “Moving to a Colder Climate,” Munro brings all these elements into play, summoning her father’s bold obstreperous ghost to be present as a new house is built — situated — in this language. Her gifts as a poet — acuity, candour, musicality — make Point No Point a work of unforgettable witness.

There is no point talking about it. In fact, there is nothing to talk about. So, what do we have? This is not classical poetry. It is not contemporary either. The words used are simple to mean what they intend. Sentences are easy and sensible. Yet, different poems will to different people, do different things at different times. The poetry is such that you do to the poem more than what the poetry can. That is the potency and is outrageously crazy. The subject is the objective of this book. There is no point talking about it. It can only Nudge you, point at you, for you to touch your own self. How else is one to do that than in their own way? If in the mood to get high, you may go higher. You do not have to, but you will be aware of how something is happening out of nothing. If open and willing, you will arrive at what’s here and now, infinite and ultimate. The whole thing is within, with or without this book. This is a catalyst, or a mirror, or a window, or a game to play. There is no point talking about it, so read!

Sujata Bhatt's first book of poems, the award-winning Brunizem, appeared in 1988. In a very short time she has gained recognition as one of the distinct and reckonable new voices. She has things to say about her native India and her native tongue (Gujarati), about America and Britain, and about Germany where she now lives. She is, the New Statesman declared, 'one of the finest poets alive', and alive in a unique way to language, to issues of politics and gender, to place and history. Hers is a remarkable complete imagination, generous and at the same time unsparingly severe in its quest for the difficult truths of experience.

Finalist for the Washington State Book Award • From the award-winning author of The Mushroom Hunters comes the story of an iconic fish, perhaps the last great wild food: salmon. For some, a salmon evokes the distant wild, thrashing in the jaws of a hungry grizzly bear on TV. For others, it’s the catch of the day on a restaurant menu, or a deep red fillet at the market. For others still, it’s the jolt of adrenaline on a successful fishing trip. Our fascination with these superlative fish is as old as humanity itself. Long a source of sustenance among native peoples, salmon is now more popular than ever. Fish hatcheries and farms serve modern appetites with a domesticated “product”—while wild runs of salmon dwindle across the globe. How has this once-abundant resource reached this point, and what can we do to safeguard wild populations for future generations? Langdon Cook goes in search of the salmon in Upstream, his timely and in-depth look at how these beloved fish have nourished humankind through the ages and why their destiny is so closely tied to our own. Cook journeys up and down salmon country, from the glacial rivers of Alaska to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest to California’s drought-stricken Central Valley and a wealth of places in between. Reporting from remote coastlines and busy city streets, he follows today’s commercial pipeline from fisherman’s net to corporate seafood vendor to boutique marketplace. At stake is nothing less than an ancient livelihood. But salmon are more than food. They are game fish, wildlife spectacle, sacred totem, and inspiration—and their fate is largely in our hands. Cook introduces us to tribal fishermen handing down an age-old tradition, sport anglers seeking adventure and a renewed connection to the wild, and scientists and activists working tirelessly to restore salmon runs. In sharing their stories, Cook covers all sides of the debate: the legacy of overfishing and industrial development; the conflicts between fishermen, environmentalists, and Native Americans; the modern proliferation of fish hatcheries and farms; and the longstanding battle lines of science versus politics, wilderness versus civilization. This firsthand account—reminiscent of the work of John McPhee and Mark Kurlansky—is filled with the keen insights and observations of the best narrative writing. Cook offers an absorbing portrait of a remarkable fish and the many obstacles it faces, while taking readers on a fast-paced fishing trip through salmon country. Upstream is an essential look at the intersection of man, food, and nature. Praise for Upstream “Invigorating . . . Mr. Cook is a congenial and intrepid companion, happily hiking into hinterlands and snorkeling in headwaters. Along the way we learn about filleting techniques, native cooking methods and self-pollinating almond trees, and his continual curiosity ensures that the narrative unfurls gradually, like a long spey cast. . . . With a pedigree that includes Mark Kurlansky, John McPhee and Roderick Haig-Brown, Mr. Cook’s style is suitably fluent, an occasional phrase flashing like a flank in the current. . . . For all its rehearsal of the perils and vicissitudes facing Pacific salmon, Upstream remains a celebration.”—The Wall Street Journal

After losing their house to foreclosure, three siblings - India, Finn and Mouse - have less than twenty-four hours to pack their belongings and fly, without their mother, to stay with an uncle in Colorado. But when they land, a mysterious driver meets them at the airport in a pink car adorned with feathers. He has never heard of their Uncle Red. Like Dorothy in Oz, they find themselves in an unknown place, with no idea of how to get home. Time is running out . . .

A US soldier confronts the horrors of the Holocaust in this New York Times–bestselling novel from acclaimed WWII correspondent Martha Gellhorn. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Jacob Levy is a typical American boy. He never gives much thought to world affairs—or to his Jewish heritage. But when the United States joins the Allied effort to stop Hitler, Jacob’s life and sense of identity are on course to change forever. As a soldier in the last months of World War II, Jacob lives through the Battle of the Bulge and the discovery of Nazi concentration camps. Witnessing the liberation of Dachau, he confronts a level of cruelty beyond his own imaginings, and the shock transforms him in ways he never thought possible. One of the first female war correspondents of the twentieth century, Martha Gellhorn visited Dachau a week after its discovery by American soldiers. A New York Times bestseller when it was first published, this powerful novel grapples with the horrors of war and dilemmas of moral responsibility that are just as relevant today. This ebook features an afterword by the author.