De la roulotte de la Gitane, aux somptueux appartements des Champs-Élysées, devins, mages, cartomanciennes, médiums, astrologues, les voyants sont parmi nous. Dans notre vie quotidienne. Ils disposent d'un temps d'antenne. Ils envahissent les pages des magazines. Madame Soleil est super-star. Des personnalités en vue, des vedettes du cinéma, des hommes politiques, vont se faire tirer les cartes dans la roulotte de Madame Irma. Boule de cristal, tables tournantes, nous assistons - depuis les coulisses - aux boniments et aux exercices d'illusions de ce petit monde où dominent charlatans, illuminés, escrocs et, parfois aussi, des personnes sincèrement convaincues de leurs dons. Cette extraordinaire enquête chez les voyants a été menée par un journaliste, Jean-Pierre Desmond, et un sociologue, Pierre Goulène, qui ont vécu parmi eux pendant près de dix-huit mois. Témoignage incomparable, cet ouvrage nous révèle que, dans un monde qui se veut de plus en plus rationnel, la voyance est devenue un véritable phénomène de société.

Hamilton Tregethner stendur hryggbrotinn og þunglyndur á lestarstð. Í einum klefanum rekst hann á undurfagra unga konu, og á við hana undarleg orðaskipti. Hún telur hann vera Alexis bróður sinn, sem hann þekkir engin deili á. Við þetta hefst óvænt atburðarrás með ófyrirséðum afleiðingum. Verkið er margrómað og þykir hafa tluvert menningarlegt gildi og varpa ljósi á siðmenninguna eins og hún hefur mótast fram til dagsins í dag. Arthur W. Marchmont (1852-1923) var enskur skáldsagnahfundur og blaðamaður. Hann gaf út nokkurn fjlda skáldsagna sem gjarnan tókust á við hverfulleika mannlegs eðlis. Auk þess starfaði hann sem blaðamaður og ritstjóri í London.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates an entertaining adventure of Middle America in the 1800's - afloat on a raft on the Mississippi River. Huck escapes his civilized life when he arranges his own "murder" and turns back into the backwoods, downriver yokel he started as, and in the process springing a slave, Jim, from bondage.Huck and Jim experience life as a series of tableaux as the river sweeps them through small towns on their way South. At each stop, Huck engages his talent for mixing fact with bald-faced lies to endlessly get himself out of situations... and of course, putting him into others!Much has been written about the statement Twain is making about slavery in this book, but it's really secondary to the story. The facts of how black people were treated in this period give Huck and Jim their license for life on the run. Modern listeners will be intrigued by the unencumbered life of the pair; they make do with coffee, fish from the river, and little else Huck and Jim have run-ins with desperadoes and family feuds and even manage to get run down by a steamboat. The adventures ratchet up when they are joined on the raft by a self-proclaimed "duke" and a "king" - shysters both, who spend their time in figuring how to fleece the public in the little river towns. And when Jim is captured and threatened with being sent back into slavery, Huck enlists his old buddy Tom Sawyer in a frenzied, desperate, and terribly funny rescue.I had to clip a lot of laughing from this recording at Twain's sly, catch-'em-when-they're-not-looking humor, but you can feel free to enjoy some good belly laughs at this crew of lovable rapscallions!

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The debate between Russia's Westerners and Slavophiles has been going on for over a century and a half. The Westerners believed that Russia was part of Western European civilization, while the Slavophiles believed that Russia had unique cultural traditions that should not be changed. #2 The history of Russia is extremely complex, and it is difficult to come up with a consensus on many of the country's past events. The country was isolated from Western Europe during the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and it remained largely unaffected by the Protestant Reformation, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment in the sixteenth century. #3 Russia differed from most European countries in several respects. The Industrial Revolution did not take place in Russia until late in the nineteenth century, and serfdom was established in 1649 when a new Code of Law reaffirmed the subservient condition of peasants. #4 By the early twentieth century, Russia appeared to many within the elite to be a clumsy giant. The country was blessed with abundant natural resources, but they were unevenly distributed throughout the land.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 There is a connection between opulence and achievements, but the link may or may not be strong and depend on many other circumstances. The issue is not the ability to live forever on which Maitreyee concentrated, but the capability to live a good life while you are alive. #2 The usefulness of wealth is in the things it allows us to do. But this relation is not exclusive or uniform, since the impact of wealth on our lives varies with other influences. Development must be more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy. #3 There are many ways in which people are deprived of their freedom. For example, many people in third world countries lack basic opportunities of health care, or functional education, or gainful employment, or economic and social security. #4 Economic development has many dimensions, including economic security. Political liberty and civil freedoms are also important on their own, and do not have to be justified indirectly in terms of their effects on the economy.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In 1845, Robert Fortune was sent to China to collect samples of the Orient's botanical treasures. He was in the last days of a three-year expedition to China, conducted at the behest of the Royal Horticultural Society of London, to find and collect samples of the Orient's botanical riches. #2 The British Empire was a source of opportunity for many entrepreneurial Scots who were eager to make a living abroad. With their lively minds, they rose quickly through the ranks of horticulture. #3 The British had some knowledge of China's affairs through trading contact, but the interior of China was still largely a mystery. The emperor took great efforts to keep foreigners from exploring his territory and exploiting its resources. #4 Fortune was chosen to lead the China expedition despite lacking the typical gentleman's background that would fit him for such a prestigious Society assignment. He was paid wages of only £100 a year, a paltry sum on which to raise a family.