Pilgrims Of The Air

This is a story of a scarcely credible abundance, of flocks of birds so vast they made the sky invisible. It is also a story of a collapse into extinction so startling as to provoke a mystery. In the fate of the North American passenger pigeon we can read much of the story of wild America—the astonishment that accompanied its discovery, the allure of its natural “productions” the ruthless exploitation of its “commodities” and the ultimate betrayal of its peculiar genius. And in the bird’s fate can be read, too, the essential vulnerability of species, the unpredictable passage of life itself.

The early voyages were mostly journeys of pilgrims. Setting all doubts aside, the travelers braved all odds and obstacles to reach their destination to further their devotion and faith. This book is a compendium of the travels of 4 such pilgrims: Hiuen Tsiang, Saewulf, Ibn Battuta and Ludovico Varthema. Two of these are well known and the other two the author rescues from oblivion. The first journey is that of the famous Chinese Hiuen Tsiang, who journeyed from China over the Himalayas to reach India in the 7th Century A.D. The second travel, of an English pilgrim to Palestine, was undertaken in the earliest years of the 12th Century A.D. The third was the indefatible Ibn Battuta whose travels that began in first half of the 13th Century lasted for 24 years. It took him from Algeria to Peking and Turkistan to Timbuktu. The final notice is of an Italian from Bologna who in the early 16th Century was the first European to reach Mecca and then went further on to India and Malaysia.

This book engages a multidisciplinary approach to understand Gandhi in addressing specific contemporary societal issues. The issues highlighted in the book through thirteen distinct, yet interrelated, themes offer solutions to the societal challenges through the prism of Gandhian thought process. This edited book explores how ideas Gandhi expressed over a century ago can be applied today to issues from the UN's Sustainable Development Goals to peaceful resolution of conflicts. In particular, it looks at the contemporary societies' critical issues and offers solutions through the prism of Gandhian ideas. Written in an accessible style, this book reintroduces Gandhi to today's audiences in relevant terms.

This book by Edmund J. Carpenter tells the story of the establishment of Plymouth colony. It includes sketches of the lives of well-known Pilgrim settlers. Young people will understand the true motivations and struggles of the Pilgrims as they read this book. This book contains several pictures and illustrations. Grade 9 and up.