Somewhere In The Sand

"These stories provide glimpses into military life, marriages and other relationships--good or bad, even religion, as well as death, physical injuries, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injuries. Displayed here are also the ways people handle grief, isolation, conscience, dissention, karma, impermanence, and support gone wrong. At the heart of every story here is an American affected by our country's military involvement in Iraq or Afghanistan."--Introduction.

A paradigm-shifting book in the vein of Sapiens that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability—and offers a new template for living. As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and spiritual world. In considering how contemporary life diverges from the pattern of creation, he raises important questions. How does this affect us? How can we do things differently? In this thoughtful, culturally rich, mind-expanding book, he provides answers. Yunkaporta’s writing process begins with images. Honoring indigenous traditions, he makes carvings of what he wants to say, channeling his thoughts through symbols and diagrams rather than words. He yarns with people, looking for ways to connect images and stories with place and relationship to create a coherent world view, and he uses sand talk, the Aboriginal custom of drawing images on the ground to convey knowledge. In Sand Talk, he provides a new model for our everyday lives. Rich in ideas and inspiration, it explains how lines and symbols and shapes can help us make sense of the world. It’s about how we learn and how we remember. It’s about talking to everyone and listening carefully. It’s about finding different ways to look at things. Most of all it’s about a very special way of thinking, of learning to see from a native perspective, one that is spiritually and physically tied to the earth around us, and how it can save our world. Sand Talk include 22 black-and-white illustrations that add depth to the text.

Somewhere off the coast and around the corner there are two islands. One island is made mostly of stones and the other mainly of sand, and that’s where the problem began. Young Nye doesn’t understand why the people on her Island of Sand work so hard to build beautiful sandcastles every day if they are destined to be ruined by the stones catapulted over by the people of the Island of Stones every evening. When she asks “Why?” all she ever hears in response is “Because.” As years go by, Nye realizes that the Because is starting to make sense to her and this makes her angry. And an angry Nye decides to take action. Through this story about injustice and challenging the status quo, readers will be inspired to think deeply about why and how we can bring about change in the world.

The fighting has long since ended. But the conflict is far from over... Twenty years after the Second World War, five tough veterans return to the Sahara in a desperate search for bomb-buried bullion. But twenty years can change a man. Young ideals have been replaced by greed. Comradeship has vanished along with innocence. And treachery and murder are rife among them. This exciting adventure is set against the backdrop of the Western Desert and scene of the Eighth Army battles, in this blistering, scorching read, perfect for fans of David McDine, Hammond Innes and Alistair MacLean.

"The last slave in Bimmau, Squirrel, embarks on a quest to solve riddles in order to find his name and freedom, along with his friends, a crow and a dog"--