*** J. M. G. Le Cl é zio is the Winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Fiction*** On the isle of Mauritius at the turn of the century the young Alexis L'Etang enjoys an idyllic existence with his parents and beloved sister - sampling the pleasures of privilege, exploring the onstellations and tropical flora, and dreaming of treasure buried long ago by the Unknown Corsair. But with his father's death, Alexis must leave his childhood paradise and enter the harsh world of privation and shame. Years later, Alexis has become obsessed with the idea of finding the Corsair's treasure; and through it, the lost magic and opulence of his youth. He abandons job and family, setting off on a quest that will take him from the remote tropical islands to the hell of the First World War, and from a love affair with the mysterious Ouma to a momentous confrontation with the search that has consumed his life. By turns harsh and lyrical, pointed and nostalgic, The Prospector is a 'parable of the human condition' ( Le Monde) by one of the most significant literary figures in Europe today.

WINNER of the 2008 NOBEL PRIZE in LITERATURE

Edward “Ed” Schieffelin (1847–1897) was the epitome of the American frontiersman. A former Indian scout, he discovered what would become known as the legendary Tombstone, Arizona, silver lode in 1877. His search for wealth followed a path well-trod by thousands who journeyed west in the mid to late nineteenth century to try their luck in mining country. But unlike typical prospectors who spent decades futilely panning for gold, Schieffelin led an epic life of wealth and adventure. In Portrait of a Prospector, historian R. Bruce Craig pieces together the colorful memoirs and oral histories of this singular individual to tell Schieffelin’s story in his own words. Craig places the prospector’s family background and times into context in an engaging introduction, then opens Schieffelin’s story with the frontiersman’s accounts of his first prospecting attempts at ten years old, his flight from home at twelve to search for gold, and his initial wanderings in California, Nevada, and Utah. In direct, unsentimental prose, Schieffelin describes his expedition into Arizona Territory, where army scouts assured him that he “would find no rock . . . but his own tombstone.” Unlike many prospectors who simply panned for gold, Schieffelin took on wealthy partners who invested the enormous funds needed for hard rock mining. He and his co-investors in the Tombstone claim became millionaires. Restless in his newfound life of wealth and leisure, Schieffelin soon returned to exploration. Upon his early death in Oregon he left behind a new strike, the location of which remains a mystery. Collecting the words of an exceptional figure who embodied the western frontier, Craig offers readers insight into the mentality of prospector-adventurers during an age of discovery and of limitless potential. Portrait of a Prospector is highly recommended for undergraduate western history survey courses.

Lunar Prospector: Against All Odds is the Principal Investigator's account of the conception, building, testing and mission of the Lunar Prospector spacecraft that turned up evidence of water on the Moon. Lunar Prospector: Against All Odds is a chronology of the mission, revealing the day-to-day and behind-the-scenes personalities and behaviors of NASA and other space industries.

The Prospector’s Journal By: Tim Hunt The Prospector’s Journal is a story about a young, disabled war veteran down on his luck and decides to spend his time prospecting. When he explores an old, abandon mineshaft, he finds the remains of an old prospector who has been dead for over 150 years. Next to the bones is a journal written back in the 1860s. The journal, written in the man’s own hand, tells of this old man’s discoveries. He had once recovered the entire fortune of Montezuma’s Treasure. Filled with excitement, and looking for something to do with his time, the modern-day veteran follows the dead man’s clues from the journal in an effort to discover if the treasure remains hidden.