Levant Fever

Levant Fever

Uniquely Controversial ~ Review by Stephanie_Treet 

It reads like a Hollywood movie, but the events the author describes, in detail, are supposedly very real. “Levant Fever” reveals the harsh realities of the Syrian underground movement and contextualizes the view of those opposed to Assad’s Regime in Syria. All the while, through the lens of a Syrian rebel, the book further explores the decades prior to the current civil unrest there, presenting the emotions and thoughts of the rebel.

“Levant Fever” is an easy read and the personal stories the author shares provide a unique and controversial look into the mind of a Syrian rebel, and into the mind of an individual imprisoned without trial for 14 years. Take a read and explore the other side of the story.

Not widely understood, or told before in the West but at the roots of the current conflicts.

Book Description:

Levant Fever is a memoir from the political underground darkness of Assad’s Syria. Seen through the eyes of a boy growing into a man, in the middle of feverish historic events. Not widely understood, or told before in the West but at the roots of the current conflicts. The narrative grips the reader with its honesty, brutality and beauty. The author describes his own journey, reflections and life stories told to him whilst he was held without trial for 14 years, as a political prisoner in several prisons. These included Palmyra, noted by Amnesty International as one of the most oppressive prisons in the world.

The work is an enthralling and informative mosaic reflecting the colours, sects, religions, politics, legends and geography of the Levant. The journey spans the areas deserts, coastline, mountains and forests. It speaks of family, friendship, love, hope, fear, torture, hiding and escaping. A truly human tale of a life well lived, a life of conscience, courage and endurance and ultimately one of triumph of the human spirit.

Levant Fever

Mashups for Teens

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Fresh and Original Excerpt of Review by Amazon Customer

A mashup is defined as a mixture or fusion of disparate elements. The author explains that musical mashups are a current popular trend in which elements from various songs are combined to create a single new song. Likewise, literary mashups also take two or more elements from different sources and combine them to create an original story. Wilson offers Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer as a popular example of this…

The result of her efforts to make history exciting was a fresh and original approach to its exploration that is, all at once, educational, entertaining, and fun.

Book Description:

For me history got boring . . . fast. However, now, history fascinates me . . especially history learned through the lives of people who have made or are making a difference in the world. After reading this book or any of the books in this series, I hope you will agree.

This is the fourth book in the Mashup series. I wrote this one because I love princesses and these three princesses (Spoiler Alert! there is a third princess showcased in the book) are all women I admire. I share both the unique commonalities and differences between these three ladies. Just like you will find, I found surprises. My goal in writing these unique mashups has and will continue to be—to help you get inspired by their lives as I have.

Oh, the marvelous mashup. Enormously vogue in music and more recently, literature, the premise is simple. Take elemental bits and pieces of popular culture and remix them. The result is one part fresh, one part familiar.

Mashups for Teens: From Princess Grace to Princess Kate (Masters Mashups Series)

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Madagascar Travel Pack

Amazon USA - Madagascar Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs) - 4^th edition.

Guest article by: Authors ~ Derek Schuurman and Nivo Ravelojaona

Now in its 4^th edition, the Globetrotter Travel Pack to Madagascar is the sole guidebook to this beguiling Indian Ocean island off the eastern coast of Africa to have been co-authored by European and Malagasy authors. It is also the only Madagascar guidebook to include a large and detailed fold-out map tucked into the back sleeve.

The 4^th largest island in the world, Madagascar is above all known for being one of the world’s ‘Megadiversity hotspots’ as defined by Conservation International. Due to its geographical isolation of some 165 million years from Africa and then later from India, this island continent is a veritable treasure trove for naturalists and in excess of 80% of the life forms found there, exist nowhere else. However centuries of habitat destruction and more recently, mining and illegal timber extraction, as well as conversion of wetlands for riziculture, have led to many of its compellingly unique plants and animals being classified as endangered.

For tourists, Madagascar offers not just the opportunity to get to know sometimes critically endangered wildlife up close – and as is outlined in the book, often with relative ease - but also the chance to enjoy extraordinarily varied and photogenic landscapes, and to become acquainted with the multilayered and complex culture of the world’s only Afro-Asian nation.

The book has a detailed section with vital travel tips for visitors, as travel to the country should be planned carefully given its difficult geography and limited infrastructure. The book also reviews many of the best places to stay at all the sites of biological interest, as well as at some of its choice beach locations. The authors, London-based Derek Schuurman and Antananarivo-based Nivo Ravelojaona, have worked together in responsible tourism to Madagascar for 22 years and as such, have extensive experience to fall back on and substantial information which was utilised in the compilation of this book.

The book is divided into its highly contrasting regions, each of which is like a different country with its own climate, and often locally endemic assemblages of plants and animals, as well as different tribes of people resident there. In each of the regions, the most prominent highlights are featured and the book contains numerous photographs, mostly by renowned photographer Gerald Cubitt, affectionately regarded as ‘the Godfather of Wildlife Photography’. With responsible tourism in mind, special attention has been allocated to promoting public awareness of initiatives aimed at conservation, particularly where these benefit and are managed by local communities.

In summary the book showcases the best of what Madagascar has to offer potential visitors, with expert guidance as to where to go at different times of the year and how to make the most of any trip to the country.

Publisher: New Holland/Struik

Amazon Canada - Madagascar Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs)

Amazon UK - Madagascar Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs)

Aliens have been conducting experiments

An Alien View of Human History is available on Amazon!

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Truly an alien viewpoint! ~ Review by Robert J. Skinner ~ “Mr. Montana has developed an ingenious device to mix politics, philosophy, religion, etc. with the excitement of alien abduction. I'm eagerly awaiting his next masterpiece!”

Book Description:

A UFO swoops down and abducts Rick Montana, motorcycle and all. The aliens give him a series of lectures on their interaction with humans through time. He learns the aliens have been conducting experiments on the inhabitants of Earth and several other planets. They pick life forms and manipulate their brains from time to time and then wait a few years to judge the results. It is time to make a decision about whether the aliens destroy mankind and start over or give us more time to develop into a worthy species. After hearing the aliens describe the mess humans have made over the years, it doesn't look good for the home team.

While this is a work of science fiction, it is filled with "alien observations" that are factual representations of human history. Some observations you will agree with and laugh at. Some will make you angry because you never looked at history that way. The purpose of this book is to entertain, inform, and to make you think. Think about the unintended consequences of many of the things humans have done that began with good intentions. Instead of knee jerk reactions to events, take a look down the road at what your well intentioned actions may cause.

Excerpt of Review by Genni A. 

“The author uses the aliens to present a unique look at a series of events throughout human history that most of us never really think about. His factual observations on religion, political correctness, and the unintended consequences of various well intentioned programs definitely made me think.

I agreed with most of his observations. The ones I did not agree with still made me think that maybe we do need to take a deeper look at things before we act. The book is well written and informative. It begins with Og the Caveman and continues through modern day America. I highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind, especially people who like alien programs on the history channel.”

On Amazon!

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Forgotten Objects

Forgotten Objects, by Carlos Rubio

Book Description:

Forgotten Objects traces the life of Anna d’Amio, daughter of opera singers Louis and Francesca d’Amio, from Mussolini’s Italy to the city of Pittsburgh during the mid sixties. The novel proper is made up of three parts: Italy, Cuba and United States. Married at seventeen and widowed at twenty, Anna leaves war-torn Italy to find her fortune in Cuba, she eventually meets Ramón Contreras, a wealthy tobacco grower who later becomes her second husband. The idyllic world that the couple had so laboriously built suddenly comes crashing down after the communist take over of the island and Ramón’ s sudden and violent death.

Now with two daughters under her care, Anna soon realizes that there is no future for them in Cuba, so she opts to send them to the United States through the Pedro Pan Program. Eventually she comes to the US herself, but by then the girls have been placed in foster homes. It is during this stage of her life, penniless and without influence, that she must make the greatest sacrifices to regain custody of her daughters. At the end of the novel, we find a series of letters, all dated 2005, that were exchanged by the sisters after their mother passed away. Anna left behind a box containing a collection of sundry items that she had collected throughout her life. Cognizant that these were significant for their mother, they attempt to piece together a sketch of her life through these forgotten objects.

Magnum Opus ~ Review by AlanI've been a big fan of Carlos Rubio's numerous novels for his decade long writing career. His fiction covers a myriad of subjects, and his storytelling is always highly entertaining. I've only just finished his latest novel, Forgotten Objects. This man never ceases to amaze me. The journey of his protagonist, Anna, will bring you places you've never been before, will give a look at a world you've never set foot upon. You can only imagine the incredible events of his latest novel - events that are scripted with a compassionate and delicate hand, but with unhinged, dizzying twists an turns in plot, and the outrageous fate for the lives of those characters who are all dear family members of the community that is the world of Carlos Rubio's imagination and craft. Read it, and I guarantee you will enjoy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of Cuba, Carlos Rubio came to the United States in 1961 and finished high school in Wilmington, Delaware. He holds a BA degree from Concord College and a MA degree from West Virginia University.

A bilingual novelist, in Spanish he has written Caleidoscopio, Saga, Orisha and Hubris. In 1989 his novel Quadrivium received the Nuevo León International Prize for Novels.

In English he is the author of Orpheus’ Blues, Secret Memories and American Triptych, a trilogy of satirical novels. In 2004 his novel Dead Time received Foreword’s Magazine Book of the Year Award.

Forgotten Objects is available through Amazon and other booksellers