Waltzes With Giants

A moving portrait of one of the Earth's largest endangered mammals provocatively traces the threatened migrations of the North Atlantic right whale, in a literary and scientific call to action that reveals how numerous whale and fish species have been decimated for commercial interests.

Waltzes with Giants is a moving portrait of one of the earth’s largest endangered mammals. Mystical and provocative, the book is inspired by a real North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and her threatened migrations from Atlantic Canada to her calving grounds off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. In the spirit of marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson’s sea trilogy, the story evokes the wonder, the sorrow, and the conflicts associated with this member of the suborder Mysticetes (baleen whales). Blending sound science and art with a literary voice, Peter C. Stone takes us beneath the waves to reveal how we have historically decimated many species of whales and other species of fish and aquatic mammals for material gain, even though they are an integral part of the ecosystems upon which we depend. Supported by a glossary of scientific and book-specific words, as well as a list of resource links for the North Atlantic right whale and other marine mammals, Waltzes with Giants is built upon questions. While inviting us to imagine how our consuming culture impacts the ocean with fishing gear, waste, and noise, Stone’s passionate prose and “dreamy, evocative” (School Library Journal) paintings captivate readers of all ages by making science and the marvels of the oceans engaging and comprehensible.

Excerpt: . . . Composition, it is rather curious that while I was writing on our too great readiness to admire everything a classic does, merely because he is a classic, someone in the Times Literary Supplement should have been regarding much the same fallacy--more particularly in poetry and painting--from a slightly different point of view. The thesis of the Times writer is that at this or that stage in every art, professionalism--by which he means the mere way of saying things that a period or a single master has made easy, irrespective of the value of the things that are being said--is apt to get the upper hand of inspiration. Art implies the more or less traditional manipulation of a medium, for no man can begin writing or painting or making music as if he had never read a book or seen a picture or heard a score; and there always comes a stage at which the medium is manipulated in merely professional fashion, at the expense of the higher faculty of personal invention. Examples of this process are to be found in the greatest artists: the Times writer cites, among others, Titian, Tintoretto, Shakespeare, and Beethoven. One result of this professionalism, he goes on to say, is that it spoils not only the artist but the public, that comes to identify difficulty of handling with inm spiration, and is inclined to think too little of the art that is simple, direct, and unencumbered with the visible apparatus of manufacture. The public sees the grand manner in many a passage of Shakespeare or Milton that is the merest platitude phrased with professional pomposity; while it looks down on art so artless as that of Blake in his simpler lyrics . . .

This is a diary of a Giants fan's memories of watching over some 400 games. The book begins with the formation of the team. It serves not only as a recollection of memories to all fans of the New York Giants, but also acts, by its accuracy and thoroughness, as a historical document. It precisely describes those memorable games in franchise history that followers of the Big Blue will vividly recall. Author and Norwalk, Connecticut resident Richard L Chilton takes you on a game-by-game analysis beginning September 17, 1920, with the formation of what would two years later be known as the National Football League. This diary could only have been written by Richard, whose family has had season tickets for over 70 years. In this detailed tome, you will get a firsthand account of all games played by the New York Giants. This firsthand account gives great insight to landmark decisions of the past, which can oly be appreciated by true football fans.

Guide to the Tuba Repertoire is the most comprehensive investigation ever undertaken into the literature and discography of any single musical instrument. Under the direction of R. Winston Morris and Daniel Perantoni, this publication represents more than 40 years of research by dozens of leading professionals throughout the world. The guide defines the current status of the tuba and documents its growth since its inception in 1835. Contributors are Ron Davis, Jeffrey Funderburk, David Graves, Skip Gray, Charles A. McAdams, R. Winston Morris, Mark A. Nelson, Timothy J. Northcut, Daniel Perantoni, Philip Sinder, Joseph Skillen, Kenyon Wilson, and Jerry A. Young.

Ever since Ernest Hemingway popularized the fiesta de San Fermín with the publication of The Sun Also Rises in 1926, the world has been enthralled with the concept of running with the bulls. For millions, running with the bulls remains on their bucket list, and for Hemingway fans it is a lifelong dream. For Peter N. Milligan, it is a way of life. Part memoir and part travel guide, Bulls Before Breakfast recounts Milligan's many adventures in Pamplona, Spain. In his dozen years of visiting the fiesta de San Fermín, Milligan has run with the bulls over 70 times and accumulated stories both thrilling and terrifying. Bulls Before Breakfast is the definitive guide to Pamplona, its famed fiesta, and the surrounding Kingdom of Navarra. It is also a memoir of two brothers running with the bulls and exploring every corner of the city, the countryside, the mountains, the beaches, and the famed restaurants of the Basque hinterland. The book focuses on local knowledge, and the hidden mysteries of this closed, private culture and community. Milligan has slowly pried open this trove of secrets over the past twelve years, all while refining the art of getting between the horns of a massive, perfect Spanish killing machine, el toro bravo, and running for his life.