A memoir about a young girl's life on the Colorado plains in the 1910s. A sublime piece of writing that is hard to praise too much. The details and the characters are vivid. I want to read everything this woman wrote now.
Sanora Babb experienced pioneer life in a one-room dugout, eye-level with the land that supported, tormented and beguiled her; where her family fought for their lives against drought, crop-failure, starvation, and almost unfathomless loneliness. Learning to read from newspapers that lined the dugout's dirt walls, she grew up to be a journalist, then a writer of unforgettable books about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, most notably Whose Names Are Unknown.
The author was seven when her parents began to homestead an isolated 320-acre farm on the western plains. She tells the story through her eyes as a sensitive,…
A fantastic, semi-autobiographical novel about an infantry battalion preparing for, and participating in, the D-Day invasion. Superbly written tragi-comic anecdotes that capture the life of the soldier.
January 1944, the south coast of England. The Fifth Battalion, Wessex Regiment wait patiently and nervously for the order to embark. There is boredom and fear, comedy and pathos as the men - all drawn from different walks of life - await the order to move. From The City, From The Plough is a vivid and moving account of the fate of these men as they set off for Normandy and advance into France.
Funny, clever and well-written novel set in 1969 about two academics swapping positions. Laugh out loud in places. Satirical look at the two different cultures and the day to day detail is spot on.
When Philip Swallow and Professor Morris Zapp participate in their universities' Anglo-American exchange scheme, the Fates play a hand, and each academic finds himself enmeshed in the life of his counterpart on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Nobody is immune to the exchange: students, colleagues, even wives are swapped as events spiral out of control. And soon both sundrenched Euphoric State university and rain-kissed university of Rummidge are a hotbed of intrigue, lawlessness and broken vows...
When the Romans invade Britain, the Celtic tribes are fragmented and the old magic has long been forgotten. Fedlimid, the daughter of a Cornovii chieftain, is the victim of an inter-tribe dispute but is saved by Druistan, a swineherd from another tribe. As the Romans march westwards, Fedlimid and Druistan are forced to deal with kidnapping, death and betrayal. Growing up in strange lands, away from home, they discover untapped sources of bravery and strength and something even older. But will bravery be enough when the final battle comes?
