Who actually invented picnics: the English or the French? Neither of them, because the "ancient" Greeks already knew about picnics. The first descriptions of picnics were in the "Homer's Odyssey", about 800 years before Christ. Later, the Romans also adopted this leisure culture. The second great picnic boom actually took place about 200 years ago, during the reign of Queen Victoria of England, and also at almost the same time in France. The content: What is special about picnics, as compared to many other leisure activities, such as barbecues, travel breaks or a short camping trip? How does picnicking function? What kind of equipment and information is needed? Why is it so much fun to share games and delicious food in a group outdoors, and how can how can this be improved for a more enjoyable experience?

A new edition of the classic Falklands War memoir “which many regard as the most perceptive description of the momentous events of April to June 1982” (Maritime Adviser). Major General Julian Thompson first wrote this account (previously published as No Picnic) when what happened in the spring and summer of 1982 was fresh in his mind. As Commander of 3 Commando Brigade, he was at the heart of the planning and conduct of the Falklands War. Under his direct command had been the Royal Marine Commandos and the two battalions of the Parachute Regiment who conducted the lion’s share of the fighting. No one therefore is better qualified to tell the extraordinary story of their taking of the Falkland Islands from the Argentinians. The author, now a celebrated military historian, has revised his early book and added for this 25th Anniversary edition more of his own personal thoughts and impressions. It is all too easy to overlook just how perilous and risky a venture this expedition to the depths of the Southern Hemisphere was. Victory and defeat hung in the balance. Even those who feel they know about this most remarkable of wars will learn more from reading this classic account. “A fascinating perspective on the war from a key participant and a valuable insight into the mind of a field commander.” —Flying in Ireland

Deceived by her long-term boyfriend, Latisha Fenshaw must learn to trust again with the help of her landlord Bren Hunter, who vows to show her just how wonderful true love can be. Original.

The sixth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences… It has been nearly ten years since the starship Phoenix returned to Alpha, the station orbiting the world of the atevi, which had been abandoned following a rift between a faction of the station's inhabitants and the spacers' Pilot's Guild. The unexpected return of the Phoenix has forever changed the lives of both atevi and Mospheirans, for over the ensuing decade, the captains of the Phoenix have brought both species into space. Their motivation seemed simple: Reunion Station, a human station in another sector of space, had been destroyed by aliens. But on his deathbed, the senior captain of the Phoenix admits that he lied to the crew—that Reunion was merely damaged, not destroyed, and many people may have survived. At this disclosure, the crew rebels and forces the Phoenix to undertake a rescue mission to Reunion. Onboard the rescue mission are Bren Cameron, brilliant human paidhi representing the atevi ruler Tabini-aiji, and Tabini's grandmother Ilisidi, a fearsome and ambitious atevi leader with an agenda of her own. Trapped in a distant star system with little fuel left, facing a bellicose alien ship, how can Bren help to avoid interspecies war when the notoriously secretive Pilot's Guild aboard Reunion Station refuse to cooperate, and may have kept the inhabitants of their own station ignorant of their true situation? The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Explorer is the 6th Foreigner novel, and the 3rd book in the second subtrilogy.

Night Picnic is a bilingual journal of literature and art which publishes work in both English and Russian. This issue begins with the novella Sauerkraut Yankee by Kaier Curtin. The protagonist is a German-American teenager who stowed away on a cattle boat bound for war-torn Europe. Not only does he have threatening adventures at sea, but also has many others in British-occupied Germany and England. The novella Чёрточрев (Democorp) by Igor V. Zaitsev takes place in Moscow where a man gets possessed by a demon which creates terrifying chaos. Mysticism and phantasmagoria are tightly bound together in the plot of this novella, as well as in the short stories following the novellas. The pieces of prose are very different in style and genre and the only thing that they have in common is the warning sign: buckle up! Deep in our journal the reader will find the pearls of our first issue – poetry of different ranges and form. Unbound by a particular theme, they will intrigue, enchant, beguile and even scare you. Authors & Titles: Kaier Curtin, Sauerkraut Yankee (novella) Igor V. Zaitsev, Democorp (novella) Edward Ahern, The Hunter’s Moon (short story) Igor V. Zaitsev, Disappearance of Time (short story) Rachel Anne Parsons, Open Window (poem) Laura Manuelidis, The Play Never Ending & other poems Travis Stephens, Burn the Journals & other poems Gordon Stumpo, Rose Colored Sky & Empty School Hall (poetry) Aaron Laughlin, Expression’s Veil (poem) Andrew Lafleche, incisor (poem) Natalie Kaia Christiansen, Sunrays Think They’re So Special (poem) Simon Tertychniy, Foe (poem) Igor V. Zaitsev, My corpus tristis & other poems

The gripping story of a collective passion for freedom that shook the world. In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic—it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German “vacationers” packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. Drawing on dozens of original interviews—including Hungarian activists and border guards, East German refugees, Stasi secret police, and the last Communist prime minister of Hungary—Matthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had abandoned their homes, risked imprisonment, sacrificed jobs, family, and friends, was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls? Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities taken—and the opportunities we failed to take—in that pivotal moment.

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL? For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí. Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.