About this product: As with all Clive Cussler’s dazzling Dirk Pitt novels, critics said Treasure of Khan “amazes, informs and entertains” (Publishers Weekly), “the action zipping along until a final powerhouse showdown” (Entertainment Weekly). “What’s not to like?” proclaimed the Los Angeles Times—and hundreds of thousands of readers agreed.
In his new novel, however—the twentieth Dirk Pitt adventure— Cussler may have topped even himself.
A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming . . . a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia . . . a rash of international incidents between the United States and one of its closest allies that threatens to erupt into an actual shooting war . . . NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his children, Dirk. Jr. and Summer, have reason to believe there’s a connection here somewhere, but they also know they have very little time to find it before events escalate out of control. Their only real clue might just be a mysterious silvery mineral traced to a long-ago expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. But no one survived from that doomed mission, captain and crew perished to a man—and if Pitt and his colleague Al Giordino aren’t careful, the very same fate may await them.
Filled with the breathtaking suspense and audacious imagination that have become his hallmarks, this is a tour de force— further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler.
About this product: On a remote island in the Canadian Arctic, researchers discover the wreckage of a mysterious World War II-era aircraft, a discovery that forces the Russian Federation into a shocking admission. The unmarked plane is a Soviet strategic bomber that disappeared with its crew more than fifty years ago while carrying two metric tons of weaponized anthrax.
Desperate to prevent a political and diplomatic firestorm, the U.S. president dispatches a Covert-One team led by Lieutenant Colonel Jon Smith to the crash site. But others have reached the frigid, windswept island first, including an international arms dealer and his crew of vicious mercenaries. As for the Russians, they are lying: a second, even deadlier, secret rests within the hulk of the lost bomber, a secret the Russians are willing to kill to protect. Trapped in a polar wilderness, Smith and his team find themselves fighting a savage war on two fronts--against an enemy they can see and another hiding within their own ranks.
About this product: True, the free-wandering ’60s are long gone: you sold your backpack years ago, raised a family, enjoyed a fruitful career. Finally, it’s time to indulge your wanderlustand rediscover the incredible fun and excitement of traveling off the beaten path.
Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean offers dozens of travel options with the mature traveler in mind. Both an inspiring collection of experiences and a practical how-to guide, the book details 50 of the world’s best adventures, as selected in a survey by the Adventure Trade Travel Association (ATTA) for people over 40. In-depth narratives convey the rich allure of 25 destinationswith first-person descriptions, lively anecdotes, and subjects of special interestwhile concise third-person descriptions highlight the remaining 25 amazing adventures. Both formats show why the experts chose each locale and lay out all the wheres, whys, and hows you need to pick the trips most suited to your time and interest.
The most active possibilities include eight days in interior Antarctica, hiking Peru’s Inca Trail, and canoeing the lush backwaters of India. For those with more spirit than stamina, irresistible adventures still beckon: explore history, culture, and scenery in Tunisia…visit the jungle tribes of Papua New Guinea...tour Scotland’s rugged Outer Hebrides for a taste of island life. With an attractive price and expert credentials, Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean delivers inspiration, information, and fantastic ideas to put adventure-hungry boomers back on the road.
In 1973, Norma Cobb, her husband Lester, and the their five children, the oldest of whom was nine-years-old and the youngest, twins, barely one, pulled up stakes in the Lower Forty-eight and headed north to Alaska to follow a pioneer dream of claiming land under the Homestead Act. The only land available lay north of Fairbanks near the Arctic Circle where grizzlies outnumbered humans twenty to one. In addition to fierce winters and predatory animals, the Alaskan frontier drew the more unsavory elements of society’s fringes. From the beginning, the Cobbs found themselves pitted in a life or death feud with unscrupulous neighbors who would rob from new settlers, attempt to burn them out, shoot them, and jump their claim.
The Cobbs were chechakos, tenderfeet, in a lost land that consumed even toughened settlers. Everything, including their “civilized” past, conspired to defeat them. They constructed a cabin and the first snow collapsed the roof. They built too close to the creek and spring breakup threatened to flood them out. Bears prowled the nearby woods, stalking the children, and Lester Cobb would leave for months at a time in search of work.
But through it all, they survived on the strength of Norma Cobb---a woman whose love for her family knew no bounds and whose courage in the face of mortal danger is an inspiration to us all. This is her story.
About this product: Based on 15 extended trips to the Canadian far north over a five-year period, Arctic Dreams celebrates the mysteries of what documentarians fondly call "last frontiers." Such places are everywhere in danger of destruction in the interest of ever-elusive economic progress, but Lopez writes no jeremiads. Instead, he aims to foster a kind of learned understanding of wild places, in this case the vast, scarcely knowable northern landscape. Writing of the natural history of the Arctic and its inhabitants--narwhals, polar bears, beluga whales, musk oxen, and caribou among them--Lopez draws powerful lessons from the land and imparts them assuredly and gracefully. Arctic Dreams deservedly won a National Book Award in 1986 when it was first published.
About this product: Eoin Colfer's bestselling antihero is back in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident--the superb sequel to the hyper-hyped Artemis Fowl, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother's ailing mind to full health.
But there is still much unfinished business: Artemis Fowl Sr. disappeared when a daring escapade designed to free his family from their criminal--not to mention deeply lucrative--past and move the family's assets into legitimate enterprises went horribly wrong. Held captive by the Mafiya (the Russian organized crime syndicate) for over two years, he has been declared officially dead, but Artemis Jr. knows in his heart (yes, he does have one) that his beloved father is still alive, and he is determined to find him. Meanwhile Captain Short is temporarily on assignment to Customs and Excise as punishment for letting Fowl separate her and her People from their gold and is finding her stakeout duties a little dull. It soon becomes obvious that the pair have need of each other's considerable skills, and before long they are on track for an adventure that will ultimately have far-reaching consequences for both of them.
If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be disappointed by the second. Initially the pace is a little slower, and the slightly more mellow Artemis is certainly a tad unnerving at first (particularly as one of the things that made him such an unusual character was the fact that there was something distinctly unlikable about him), but once the sparks between Holly and Artemis begin to fly, and the adventure that tests their endurance to their emotional, physical, and intellectual limits begins, the pages just keep on turning.
The high-tech hocus pocus, the complex underworld, and the James Bond-style storyline will keep even the most reluctant reader enthralled. Add to the mix a fair dollop of humor, the occasional sprinkling of right-on commentary about the state of the planet, and enough hooks in the story to ensure you will be clamoring for the next book. This chilling, thrilling adventure is a seriously cool (in more ways than one!) must-read for anyone age 9 and older. --Susan Harrison
About this product: WHY IS THE arctic so cold? How do polar bears cross thin ice? How did people learn to survive in that harsh climate? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Polar Bears and the Arctic, Jack and Annie's guide to the arctic. This is the nonfiction companion to Polar Bears past Bedtime.
About this product: Qiviut, or musk ox down, is a world-class fiber--luxurious, warm, and lightweight. People who experience it become obsessed. Qiviut makes perfect hand-knitted lace, as demonstrated by the Alaskan artisans of Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-op. This book presents how-tos for knitting and designing lace, projects suited to new as well as experienced lace knitters, yarn sources, and comprehensive cultural background.
Imagine a land where the sun rises at 1:58 a.m. in the summer and shines for less than four hours on a winter’s day. The animals in the wilderness near Fairbanks, Alaska, witness some of the world’s greatest temperature extremes and light variations ever year. At an average low of -16 degrees Fahrenheit, the winters may be unpleasantly frigid, but the light shows are always glorious!
The complete saga of the pursuit for two of the world's greatest geographical prizes--the elusive Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific, and the North Pole.