|
|
|
Spanking the Donkey: Dispatches from the Dumb Season
The 2004 Election Was a Circus, and Matt Taibbi enjoyed a Front-Row Seat. As a correspondent for the New York Press, The Nation, and Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi scoured the political landscape for hard-hitting news stories. But the closer he got to the politicians, the more pompous and vapid they appeared. How could he write anything meaningful about these puffed-up martinets, much less vote for them? Nevertheless, Taibbi forged on and continued his responsibilities as a serious campaign reporter—though not without frequent bouts of blind panic, drug use, and donning a gorilla suit. Spanking the Donkey indicts the surreal irrelevance of today’s mainstream politics with barbed wit and caustic intelligence. Follow Taibbi as he covers the primary for the 2004 presidential election, joining him for a spot on John Kerry’s campaign plane, face-to-face encounters with John Edwards’s pancake makeup, enough Howard Dean press conferences to memorize the good doctor's stump speech by heart, and—just to spice things up—a two-month stint working undercover in a Republican campaign office in Orlando, Florida. Brimming with uncensored opinions and total truth, Taibbi captures the real American political mind; as a patron at Flo’s Bar in Manchester, New Hampshire, eloquently puts it: “They all suck . . . who’s running?” “Gonzo journalist Matt Taibbi will do anything . . . to bring political reporting back to life. Spanking the Donkey is all the more necessary in the aftermath of an election that harnessed enough liberal outrage to light the Vegas strip, cost more than a billion dollars, absorbed hundreds of hours we will never get back, and achieved absolutely nothing.” — Salon
.
Price: $8.16
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: An Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me
“Dogs are blameless, devoid of calculation, neither blessed nor cursed with human motives They can’t really be held responsible for what they do. But we can.”
–from The Dogs of Bedlam Farm
When Jon Katz adopted a border collie named Orson, his whole world changed Gone were the two yellow Labs he wrote about in A Dog Year, as was the mountaintop cabin they loved. Katz moved into an old farmhouse on forty-two acres of pasture and woods with a menagerie: a ram named Nesbitt, fifteen ewes, a lonely donkey named Carol, a baby donkey named Fanny, and three border collies. Training Orson was a demanding project. But a perceptive dog trainer and friend told Katz: “If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human.” It was a lesson Katz took to heart. He now sees his dogs as a reflection of his willingness to improve, as well as a critical reminder of his shortcomings. Katz shows us that dogs are often what we make them: They may have their own traits and personalities, but in the end, they are mirrors of our own lives–living, breathing testaments to our strengths and frustrations, our families and our pasts. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm recounts a harrowing winter Katz spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming, and full of drama, insight, and hard-won wisdom, it is the story of his several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him and the ways a doge could change him. From the Hardcover edition..
Price: $4.29
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
The Donkey Companion: Selecting, Training, Breeding, Enjoying & Caring for Donkeys
Friendly, dependable, intelligent, and easy to care for, donkeys are increasingly prized by small-scale farmers, horse lovers, and animal enthusiasts Already, there are hundreds of thousands of donkeys and mules in the U.S., and their population is growing steadily. Donkeys not only pull carts, carry riders, and tote gear for hikers, but they also make terrific stable companions and livestock guardians, and they are renowned for their skills in transport, raising water, milling, and farm tillage. They're also gentle with children and the elderly, making them a popular therapy animal and family pet. A donkey is not simply a long-eared horse, however; understanding the donkey's distinctive traits is critical to the animal's well-being and usefulness. The Donkey Companion, by Sue Weaver, offers a comprehensive overview of this hardy creature — the most complete, up-to-date reference of its kind. Here is everything donkey enthusiasts need to know about the animal’s history, physiology, behavior, breed characteristics, daily care, and health needs. Readers will come to understand this versatile animal, and through understanding will become skilled, satisfied owners. The Donkey Companion offers detailed information about different breeds and types; provides tips for finding and selecting the right animal; explains donkeys' daily care and health requirements; and guides readers through the nuances of training, riding, driving, and breeding. The book is enhanced with fun facts, training tips, quotes, photographs, illustrations, and additional resources. From foaling to first aid, and from grooming to professional showing, this extensive guide offers everything a donkey owner needs to get the most out of this gentle, hardworking animal..
Price: $16.47
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Donkey Gospel: Poems
Winner of the 1997 James Laughlin Award of The Academy of American PoetsIn his second collection of poems, Hoagland's generous effervescence and a jujitsu cleverness sparkle through line after line confronting negotiation and compromise, gender and culture, sex and rock music, sons and lovers, truth and beauty, and so forth. From the boy who speaks only in "Kung Fu" dialogue to the guy who visits a lesbian bar and sees his mother, this often funny and always thoughtful book of poems offers fresh, surprisingly frank meditations on the credentials for contemporary manhood. .
Price: $7.70
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Brighty: Of the Grand Canyon (Marguerite Henry Horseshoe Library)
Long ago, a lone little burro roamed the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon and touched the hearts of all who knew him: a grizzled old miner, a big-game hunter, even President Teddy Roosevelt Named Brighty by the prospector who befriended him, he remained a free spirit at heart. But when a ruthless claim-jumper murdered the prospector, loyal Brighty risked everything to bring the killer to justice. Brighty's adventures have delighted generations of readers, and he has become the symbol of a joyous way of life. Some people say that you can even see his spirit roving the canyon on moonlit nights-forever wild, forever free..
Price: $0.84
[Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
The Wisdom of Donkeys: Finding Tranquility in a Chaotic World
A literary ode to peace, presence, and fulfillment inspired by a walk taken with a most surprising creature. “The demon of speed is often associated with forgetting, with avoidance…and slowness with memory and confronting,” observes Milan Kundera in his novel Slowness. With that purpose in mind—a search for slowness and tranquillity—Andy Merrifield set out on a journey of the soul with a friend’s donkey, to walk amid the ruins and spectacular vistas of southern France’s Haute-Auvergne. The purposeful pace of the journey and the understated nobility of Gribouille, his humble donkey companion, allowed him to confront himself as well as to consider the larger mysteries of life—insight he now shares in his enchanting book, The Wisdom of Donkeys. As Merrifield contemplates literature, science, truth and beauty, and the universality of nature amid the French countryside, Gribouille surprises him with his subtle wisdom, reminding him time and again that enlightenment is all around us if we but seek it. Traveling with Andy Merrifield and Gribouille, we’re reminded of the contemplative and exquisite benefits of nature, passive adventuring, and wild spaces. .
Price: $9.97
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Last of the Donkey Pilgrims
A heartwarming story of a man who journeys to the land of his people to discover what kind of man he is . . . and, more to the point, what kind of man he could become Kevin O'Hara was a man who was at the crossroads of life. Newly married to a beautiful woman, Kevin found himself full of rage and pain. A former soldier, he had seen the horrors of war and was unable to let those sorrows go . . . and his pain threatened to destroy not only his own happiness but any chance of a happy life with his wife. If he couldn't fix what was broken in his own heart, he'd be lost. In desperation Kevin traveled to Ireland, the land of his people, to seek some sort of balm for his pain. It was there, amid the impossibly green fields, open skies, and glad hearts of his friends and relatives, that Kevin began to see the possibilities of joy again. And it was there that he formed a wonderfully daft plan. The age-old method of traveling by donkey cart was beginning to disappear from the Irish countryside as modern life crowded in. What better way, Kevin thought, to experience the beauty of Ireland than to travel the length of the land in the old way---man and donkey, drinking in the sights and sounds of the country. Among the Irish, opinion was divided as to whether Kevin was a madman . . . or a saint. Bets were made, and most of the locals near his grandmother's farmhouse predicted that this strange American wouldn't even get out of the county, much less circle the entire island. But Kevin had a vision in his head, and a goal. He wanted to make things right for himself, heal his heart, and return to his beloved wife. And so, with Missy, the shaggy brown mare by his side, he set off on that long mad walk, an eighteen-hundred-mile trek that would take months. Along the way Kevin would meet some incredible characters, endure hardships (and moments of high drama . . . and very low comedy), and find the Irish in all their glory. And he would find himself. .
Price: $3.84
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
An Extravagance of Donkeys
These are true stories, told with insight and understanding, of life on a farm in New Hampshire that became a sanctuary for any donkey who needed a home. Donkeys are thought to be humble and stubborn They are much more than that: from Jenny who goes up an Elizabethan spiral staircase and does not want to come down, to the concern members of the herd display when one of them is ill. They celebrate the arrival of a foal and respect the authority of the mule that joins them. When she dies, they stand on her grave and bray a sad requiem on and on into the night. Thousands of years of being the beast of burden of the poor has stamped donkeys with a stigma of inferiority, but they have humor, strong wills, and a great deal of affection to give. They are curious and loyal. These are stories about friendship: the donkeys with each other and with the author who established her love for her first donkey when she was very young. After the sad death of that donkey, she vowed to offer sanctuary to any donkey who needed a home. These are stories to read aloud in a family setting or perhaps by a young person who can empathize with and enjoy these often misunderstood gentle creatures. They are stories for anyone who loves animals. .
Price: $7.47
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
|
|
|