Fall of Heaven
Автор: Reinhold Messner
Год издания: 0000
A classic event in mountaineering history, dramatically retold by a classic mountaineer • Ascending the Matterhorn was the 19th century equivalent of standing on Mars • A great historical story of tension and drama • Author is uniquely qualified to delve into Whymper’s complicated personality As Fall of Heaven begins, we join professional mountain guide Jean-Antoine Carrel as he tries and fails, again and again, to summit the Matterhorn—one of the most famous and iconic peaks in the Alps. Is it the “Devil’s mountain,” as the locals call it? Should he heed the village priest who warned that its summit was not meant to be climbed? Carrel is undeterred, he just needs capable climbers to join him. Enter Edward Whymper, who in 1861 at the age of 21 decided—unbeknownst to Carrel—that he would be the first to climb the Matterhorn. So the storyline is set, except that where Carrel is captivating, Whymper is utterly unsympathetic as an adventurer. He is mean and disdainful of guides, describing them as little more than porters who eat and drink too much. Despite this attitude, Whymper’s quest leads him inexorably into partnership with Carrel. The story follows their many attempts to find a route to the top of the Matterhorn, but then fate pulls them apart just as Whymper finds the line. His successful summit on July 14, 1865, in which Carrel did not take part, shocked the Victorian world with both awe and revulsion as four members of Whymper’s party died in frightening falls. Famed climber and author Reinhold Messner acknowledges that Whymper was the first man to summit the Matterhorn, the last of the great Alpine peaks to be climbed and representing the beginning of an age of alpinism based on difficulty rather than conquest. But rather than leaving a hero’s legacy, Whymper is revealed as the Captain Ahab of alpinism, a team leader who accepted no responsibility for the deaths of his teammates. Fall of Heaven is an exciting tale and an examination of the different types of men who were caught up in the adventuring spirit of the Victorian age, and the ironic fates that can follow success or failure.
The treatises of Aristotle, on the heavens, on generation and corruption, and on meteors
Автор: Aristoteles
Год издания:
Полный вариант заголовка: «The treatises of Aristotle, on the heavens, on generation and corruption, and on meteors / translated from the Greek, with copious elucidations, from the commentaries of Simplicius on the first, and of Olympiodorus on the last of this treatises by Thomas Taylor».
A Hedge Fund Tale of Reach and Grasp. Or What's a Heaven For
Автор: Barton Biggs
Год издания:
Financial legend Barton Biggs' fictional account of the hedge world and the broader workings of Wall Street Barton Biggs' latest book is an inspirational rags to riches story of drive and financial talent. Told through the eyes of a fictional insider, this engaging story provides a detailed look at the hedge fund business in the late 1990s and through the first decade of the twenty-first century. A Tale From the Hedge Fund World chronicles the life of a poor boy who ends up amassing more wealth than he ever thought possible. From studying Wall Street charts while sitting on the sidelines of football practice to realizing how so much money can be made in a short period of time, this book provides a bird's eye view of the inner workings of Wall Street and what it takes to make it there. Puts the word of hedge funds in perspective and reveals the competitive and lucrative nature of this field Other titles by Biggs: Hedgehogging and Wealth, War & Wisdom Also describes the bursting of the mortgage bubble and the great financial crisis that followed No one knows more about the hedge fund world of the past twenty years than Barton Biggs. His new fable offers an entertaining look at this field and those who aspire to excel within it.