The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny PDF Download

Author: Michael Wallis
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 0871407701
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 575

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Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence Finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award A Publishers Weekly Holiday Guide History Pick “A book so gripping it can scarcely be put down.... Superb.” —New York Times Book Review "WESTWARD HO! FOR OREGON AND CALIFORNIA!" In the eerily warm spring of 1846, George Donner placed this advertisement in a local newspaper as he and a restless caravan prepared for what they hoped would be the most rewarding journey of a lifetime. But in eagerly pursuing what would a century later become known as the "American dream," this optimistic-yet-motley crew of emigrants was met with a chilling nightmare; in the following months, their jingoistic excitement would be replaced by desperate cries for help that would fall silent in the deadly snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada. We know these early pioneers as the Donner Party, a name that has elicited horror since the late 1840s. With The Best Land Under Heaven, Wallis has penned what critics agree is “destined to become the standard account” (Washington Post) of the notorious saga. Cutting through 160 years of myth-making, the “expert storyteller” (True West) compellingly recounts how the unlikely band of early pioneers met their fate. Interweaving information from hundreds of newly uncovered documents, Wallis illuminates how a combination of greed and recklessness led to one of America’s most calamitous and sensationalized catastrophes. The result is a “fascinating, horrifying, and inspiring” (Oklahoman) examination of the darkest side of Manifest Destiny.

Author: Susan A. Brewer
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501777246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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In Susan A. Brewer's fascinating The Best Land, she recounts the story of the parcel of central New York land on which she grew up. Brewer and her family had worked and lived on this land for generations when the Oneida Indians claimed that it rightfully belonged to them. Why, she wondered, did she not know what had happened to this place her grandfather called the best land. Here, she tells its story, tracing over the past four hundred years the two families—her own European settler family and the Oneida/Mohawk family of Polly Denny—who called the best land home. Situated on the passageway to the west, the ancestral land of the Oneidas was coveted by European colonizers and the founders of the Empire State. The Brewer and Denny families took part in imperial wars, the American Revolution, broken treaties, the building of the Erie Canal, Native removal, the rise and decline of family farms, bitter land claims controversies, and the revival of the Oneida Indian Nation. As Brewer makes clear in The Best Land, through centuries of violence, bravery, greed, generosity, racism, and love, the lives of the Brewer and Denny families were profoundly intertwined. The story of this homeland, she discovers, unsettles the history she thought she knew. With clear determination to tell history as it was, without sugarcoating or ignoring the pain and suffering of both families, Brewer navigates the interconnected stories with grace, humility, and a deep love for the land. The Best Land is a beautiful homage to the people, the place, and the environment itself.

Author: Gerry Reddy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351285580
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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This book is an up-to-date, accessible and practical guide on how to optimally plan for, implement and review land access and resettlement. It provides step-by-step information on how to avoid pitfalls, ensure that best practice is being employed and the correct standards are being applied. With useful real-life examples of when projects have gone well and when they haven't, the book is based on the main lessons that have been learned on-the-ground over the past decade. Natural resource projects can have considerable impacts on local communities, chiefly due to the need to acquire large areas of land. When projects are located in developing and middle income economies, the impacts are most keenly felt, as it often requires displacement of large rural populations, with predominately land-based livelihoods. The authors have planned, implemented and reviewed over 50 land access and resettlement projects in over 30 countries internationally, and conducted benchmarking exercises on a further 60 projects. This experience provides the basis for the book. The book guides the reader through the different stages of preparing for a land resettlement project. Land Access and Resettlement is a key social risk for the natural resources sector, particularly the mining, oil and gas industries, who are operating in a context of increased awareness and regulation regarding the potential social impacts of their activities. At the same time, companies increasingly appreciate the business case for ‘getting social right’. This book provides a practical road map to corporate leaders, project managers, practitioners, academia, government and civil society for practically planning and implementing successful land access and resettlement, and creating win-win outcomes for companies and communities.

Author: Lev Grossman
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101633530
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Lev Grossman’s new novel THE BRIGHT SWORD will be on sale July 2024 The stunning #1 New York Times bestselling conclusion to the Magicians trilogy A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS • The San Francisco Chronicle • Salon • The Christian Science Monitor • AV Club • Buzzfeed • Kirkus • NY 1 • Bustle • The Globe and Mail Quentin Coldwater has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Along with Plum, a brilliant young undergraduate with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. But all roads lead back to Fillory, and his new life takes him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers the key to a sorcery masterwork, a spell that could create magical utopia, a new Fillory—but casting it will set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them he will have to risk sacrificing everything. The Magician’s Land is an intricate thriller, a fantastical epic, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.

Author: Les & Carol Scher
Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
ISBN: 9780793141098
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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The trusted guide that Backwoods Home magazine calls ""the bible"" of buying rural property. City dwellers and suburbanites who dream of a simpler life in the country will appreciate the Schers' straightforward explanations of the particulars of buying rural land. Everything is covered in these pages, from looking for property, through evaluating it and negotiating price, to the contract of sale. Important topics such as water and easement rights, zoning, and eminent domain are made clear. Sample legal forms and checklists provide the basics, and resource listings point to sources of regional and local information, including Internet sites. A special chapter discusses Canada's real estate market. Covering current property laws and financing options, this comprehensive resource offers insiders' knowledge on how to avoid common pitfalls and prevent costly mistakes.

Author: Laura Van Severen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789492051202
Category : Landscape photography
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Land' is a construction, or one could say a destruction of a landscape that once was or will be. Rather than showing the observable sites of talc stone quarries in the Pyrenees Van Severen aims to transmit the energy of its transformation. The human intervention, either subtle of defining, characterizes het images. By using de/construction as a photographic technique, 'Land' sprouts a new world, a landscape detached from its original context, where notions of distance, size and scale become relative and elusive.

Author: Mark Podolsky
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
ISBN: 9781544510774
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Real estate investment is nothing new, but attaining financial freedom through property without ever having to deal with the headaches of renters, renovations, or rodents isn't something you hear about every day. Yet with Mark Podolsky's tried-and-true technique of raw land investment, you can become Dirt Rich without ever having to battle with a tenant, toilet, or termite. In this step-by-step guide, Mark breaks down his "ultimate subscription model" for creating passive income through the niche of raw land investment. Featuring details on common pitfalls, tips on cultivating an investor's mind, and advice on working smart instead of hard, this handbook will show you how to obtain a life of fiscal independence, with the flexibility to work where you want, when you want, and with whom you want. Financial freedom is within your reach. It's time to make your dreams a reality by starting to think dirty.

Author: Barack Obama
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1524763179
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 801

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A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND PEOPLE NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times • NPR • The Guardian • Slate • Vox • The Economist • Marie Claire In the stirring first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.

Author: Paul Keels
Publisher: Ascend Books
ISBN: 9781736943182
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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The Best in the Land by Voice of the Buckeyes Paul Keels, tells the story of Brutus Buckeye, from nut to beloved mascot. Young Brutus dreams of one day playing football for his favorite team, The Ohio State Buckeyes. He works hard, but when his chance arrives, it's not as a player. As Brutus finds new ways of helping his friends to victory week after week, he learns there's more than one way to be part of a team. From running the scoreboard to helping coaches craft plays, to giving the players an extra boost of confidence, Brutus is determined to do his part. But will he ever get to take the field with the team? Will he be able to find his place at Ohio State? Throughout this wonderfully illustrated, rhyming story, Brutus shows his true worth to the fans, players, and coaches. What honor can they bestow to show him how grateful they are? This story of team spirit and perseverance will appeal both to young readers and lifelong fans. The Best in the Land is officially licensed by The Ohio State University and is sure to become a favorite for Buckeyes of all ages!

Author: Sean Gunning
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781940414331
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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