Diane Ackerman Book order (chronological)

Skutečný příběh ředitele varšavské zoologické zahrady Jana Żabińského a jeho ženy Antoniny, kteří po vybombardování zoo během invaze Němců do Polska v roce 1939 využili zájem nacistů o zvířata a zachránili tak přes tři stovky Židů. Autorka zdůrazňuje hrdinství manželského páru, protože v té době byl obyvatel Varšavy odsouzen k smrti i za to, že podal žíznivému Židovi sklenici vody. Příběh je důsledně propracovaný, systematicky zdokumentovaný. Autorka vyzpovídala i dosud žijícího syna manželů Żabińských Ryszarda, lidi z varšavské zoo a ženy, jež byly současnicemi Żabińských a účastnily se akcí polského podzemního hnutí odporu. Zkušenost nadané romanopiskyně a básnířky mění historický popis událostí v umělecké dílo. Kniha získala v roce 2008 cenu Orion Award, a příběh byl dokonce zfilmován, u nás se v kinech objevil v březnu roku 2017 pod názvem Úkryt v zoo. Antoninu Żabińskou v něm hraje populární americká herečka Jessica Chastainová.

A vivid, contemporary translation of the greatest Greek love poet—with a wealth of materials for understanding her work—by a prize-winning poet and translator Sappho’s thrilling lyric verse has been unremittingly popular for more than 2,600 years—certainly a record for poetry of any kind—and love for her art only increases as time goes on. Though her extant work consists only of a collection of fragments and a handful of complete poems, her mystique endures to be discovered anew by each generation, and to inspire new efforts at bringing the spirit of her Greek words faithfully into English. In the past, translators have taken two basic approaches to Sappho: either very literally translating only the words in the fragments, or taking the liberty of reconstructing the missing parts. Willis Barnstone has taken a middle course, in which he remains faithful to the words of the fragments, only very judiciously filling in a word or phrase in cases where the meaning is obvious. This edition includes extensive notes and a special section of “Testimonia”: appreciations of Sappho in the words of ancient writers from Plato to Plutarch. Also included are a glossary of all the figures mentioned in the poems, and suggestions for further reading.

A true story--as powerful as "Schindler's List"--in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

The New York Times bestseller soon to be a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain.A true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw―and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants―otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes.With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her. 8 pages of illustrations

Imagine what a dictionary might look like about thirty years hence, when all of the world's problems are solved and our current dictionaries are a distant memory. Dave Eggers, Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss have lined up an incredible array of writers to bring you that futuristic dictionary and a vision of the world as it might be. Think of it as a dictionary of language for describing what the future could look like a dictionary that is both useful and romantic, hopeful and necessary, pragmatic and idealistic, and frequently funny. This is science fiction but with a difference.

In ihrem neuen Buch wendet Diane Ackerman ihr bemerkenswertes Interesse für Abenteuer, Natur- und Gefühlswelten wiederum einem Mysterium des Lebens zu – seltenen, exotischen Tierarten, die aus einer anderen Zeit zu stammen scheinen und heute vom Aussterben bedroht sind. „Der letzte Albatros“ nimmt den Leser mit auf eine Reise zu so faszinierenden Wesen wie den goldgelben Löwenäffchen in den Regenwäldern Brasiliens, den Mönchsrobben im Pazifik, den ungewöhnlichen Kurzschwanzalbatrossen auf einer Insel bei Japan und den Monarchfaltern. Sie verbindet ihre poetischen Beobachtungen dieser erstaunlichen Tiere und einzigartigen Orte mit den Kenntnissen führender Zoologen, Ökologen und Verhaltensforschern und schenkt uns nicht nur tiefere Einsichten in die Welt, in der wir leben, sondern zugleich ein großartiges Leseerlebnis.

Was die Provence für Peter Mayle ist, gelingt Diane Ackerman mit ihrem Garten: Sie fesselt ihre Leser durch liebevolles Beobachten, auf einer faszinierenden Reise von Aster bis Zinnie durch die mythologische und reale Welt der Pflanzen.

The national bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses tackles the realm of creativity, by exploring one of the most essential aspects of our the ability to play."Deep play" is that more intensified form of play that puts us in a rapturous mood and awakens the most creative, sentient, and joyful aspects of our inner selves. As Diane Ackerman ranges over a panoply of artistic, spiritual, and athletic activities, from spiritual rapture through extreme sports, we gain a greater sense of what it means to be "in the moment" and totally, transcendentally human. Keenly perceived and written with poetic exuberance, Deep Play enlightens us by revealing the manifold ways we can enhance our lives.

Exploring the duality of her experiences, the author intertwines her observations of wildlife in her garden with her role as a telephone crisis counselor. This narrative showcases her unique perspective, blending sensuality, science, and introspection. Through her vivid storytelling, she invites readers to appreciate the interconnectedness of nature and human emotion, offering a rich tapestry of insights drawn from both realms of her life.

Ackerman journeys in search of monarch butterflies and short-tailed albatrosses, monk seals and golden lion tamarin monkeys: the world's rarest creatures and their vanishing habitats. She delivers a rapturous celebration of other species that is also a warning to our own. Traveling from the Amazon rain forest to a forbidding island off the coast of Japan, enduring everything from broken ribs to a beating by an irate seal, Ackerman reveals her subjects in all their splendid particularity. She shows us how they feed, mate, and migrate. She eavesdrops on their class and courtship dances. She pays tribute to the men and women hwo have deoted their lives to saving them.