Curious lives adventures

Dear Reader: Richard Bach is kind and gentle and stubborn as rocks about his writing. His books are visions of why we're here and where we're going, ideas that change lives, and he hides them behind titles so modest that nobody can tell what they're about: Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Illusions. One. These are not life-changing titles. "If a reader is meant to find my books," he insists, "she'll find them wherever they're hidden." Back-to-back, Richard's books have been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than four years. His last story was told in five separate volumes, a delicious entertainment about lives of action and adventure, but free of evil or menace, crime or wickedness, or war. The best books, some say, that he's ever written, but guess his title: The Ferret Chronicles. We could have told him how many copies those books would sell, and we would have been right. They went invisible in bookstores; readers walked past―we're not into ferrets just now. The Books That Nobody Read, and we knew why. It should have been one volume, not five. Ferrets tell his stories about living, but they're the actors, not the subject. Why did he call them ferret books? Here they are, last chance, one volume. Richard budged on the title, but not much. Finally he said that we could put a note to readers on the back cover, if that would make us feel better. We're a small publisher. We love this book. Truth must be told. Hampton Roads Publishing Company

When a cuddly koala takes an interest in George's snack at the zoo, George is happy to share. In fact, George is happy to share with ALL the animals! Following a trail of peanuts, the zookeepers soon catch up with George and discover this little monkey is good for more than just mischief. The adventures of Curious George continue in an all-new series beginning in fall 1998 with eight new stories. Written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H. A. Rey, the books will appear in paperback (8 x 8") and hardcover editions and will feature the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of HMI's Curious George CD-ROMs.

Brought to life over sixty years ago by Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George has found a lasting place in the hearts of millions of children all over the world. Along with his friends, George has had many fun adventures. Now you can listen and learn with Curious George and his friends too!

Eight years ago, Alice Steinbach, a Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist for the Baltimore Sun, decided to take a break from her life. She took a leave from job, friends, and family for a European journey of self-discovery, and her first book, Without Reservations, was the exquisite result. But once Steinbach had opened the door to a new way of living, she found herself unwilling to return to the old routine. She quit her job and left home again, only this time her objective was to ?nd a way that would allow her, personally and professionally, to combine three of her greatest passions: learning, traveling, and writing. This funny and tender book is the result of her decision to roam around the world as an informal student, taking lessons and courses in such things as French cooking in Paris, Border collie training in Scotland, traditional Japanese arts in Kyoto, architecture and art in Havana. With warmth and wit, Steinbach guides us through the pleasures and perils of discovering how to be a student again. Along the way, she also learns the true value of this second chance at educating herself: the opportunity to connect with and learn from the people she meets on her journey.

When a Chinese monk broke into a hidden cave in 1900, he uncovered one of the world’s great literary secrets: a time capsule from the ancient Silk Road. Inside, scrolls were piled from floor to ceiling, undisturbed for a thousand years. The gem within was the Diamond Sutra of AD 868. This key Buddhist teaching, made 500 years before Gutenberg inked his press, is the world’s oldest printed book.   The Silk Road once linked China with the Mediterranean. It conveyed merchants, pilgrims and ideas. But its cultures and oases were swallowed by shifting sands. Central to the Silk Road’s rediscovery was a man named Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-born scholar and archaeologist employed by the British service.   Undaunted by the vast Gobi Desert, Stein crossed thousands of desolate miles with his fox terrier Dash. Stein met the Chinese monk and secured the Diamond Sutra and much more. The scroll’s journey—by camel through arid desert, by boat to London’s curious scholars, by train to evade the bombs of World War II—merges an explorer’s adventures, political intrigue, and continued controversy.   The Diamond Sutra has inspired Jack Kerouac and the Dalai Lama. Its journey has coincided with the growing appeal of Buddhism in the West. As the Gutenberg Age cedes to the Google Age, the survival of the Silk Road’s greatest treasure is testament to the endurance of the written word.