When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, a twelve-year-old white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old Negro are stranded on a small desert island in the Caribbean where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

"An illustrated edition of the firsthand account of the whaler Essex's attack and sinking by a sperm whale, the inspiration for Moby-Dick. Includes a new introduction and supplementary extracts from a variety of sources"--

Explores the human capacity to survive extreme conditions, noting a phenomenon in which people in life-endangering circumstances often sense an unseen presence who offers encouragement and guidance.

Set in a topsy-turvy world like a holiday revel, this comedy devises a romantic plot around separated twins, misplaced passions, and mistaken identity. Juxtaposed to it is the satirical story of a self-deluded steward who dreams of becoming "Count Malvolio" only to receive his comeuppance at the hands of the merrymakers he wishes to suppress. The two plots combine to create a farce touched with melancholy, mixed throughout with seductively beautiful...

"A sweeping Elizabethan historical fantasy from an internationally renowned author that evokes the seafaring adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson with the magic of The Bear and the Nightingale"--

"Winter 1945. Four refugees. Four secrets. Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies, war. As thousands desperately flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. But not all promises can be kept." -- Page [4] cover.

In the wake of an earthquake that interrupts a celebrity-studded charity dinner dance at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, the lives of four strangers are transformed by the tragedy.

The day the blizzard stated, no one knew that it was goin to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.