Kirjahaku

Once in a great while the people of Siena, Italy organize a special horse race beyond the normal Palio events of July and August. Known as a Straordinario, or Extraordinary Palio, the city's seventeen timeless contrade (neighborhoods) reserve such events to honor only the most significant occasions, not the least being the Apollo 11 lunar landing and the turn of the millennium. Eighteen years would pass before the next Straordinario featured herein, which arguably pulled the community quite outside its comfort zone. Unbridled Spirit invites readers to dive into the locally contentious effort in October, 2018 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the end of World War I. Upon Siena's whirlwind decision to hold the event, Thomas Paradis visited off-season to explore the history and meanings of the war and to experience a rare October Palio that came close to not happening at all.Whether you are a newcomer or more familiar with Siena's Palio, Unbridled Spirit offers intriguing local stories and perspectives that help us appreciate what the Palio means to Siena, and how its people rallied to encourage a unique centenary reflection on La Grande Guerra--the Great War. Includes illustrations, glossary, bibliography, and notes.

A maddening, twice-annual horse race held in Siena's public square, the Palio is less a sport than it is a game--one that involves a combination of bare-back riding skills, human deal-making, and a large dose of fate. The 90-second race and the rituals that surround it have continued largely uninterrupted since the 1500s, serving as the primary source of identity for the city's 17 neighborhoods, or contrade. The Palio can therefore confuse short-term visitors who see little more than an afternoon of pageantry followed by three laps of ferocious racing. Living the Palio thus provides a freshly upbeat and accessible introduction to Siena's centuries-old festival, along with the intriguing cultural traditions that underlie it.Join Thomas Paradis on an amusing, instructional romp as he weaves witty stories of personal discovery with a peak into Siena's little-known customs.

The 2023 premier of Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes introduced global audiences to the songster Lucy Gray Baird and her breathtaking performances. Based on Suzanne Collins' prequel, the dystopian saga's fifth film merges two unlikely worlds-namely Appalachia's distinctive musical traditions with Germany's postwar reconstruction era. These worlds collide in the Capitol's Tenth Hunger Games and the dubious relationship between Lucy Gray and villain-to-be, Coriolanus Snow. This book explores the film as a period piece, including real-world geography, history, and meanings behind Appalachia's District 12 and an emerging fascist Panem. We further delve into the principal filming locations, music production, casting decisions, character philosophies, comparisons with the novel, and of course the intricate backstories to those unforgettable ballads.

This is the witty and inspirational early-life memoir of Singapore tour guide, Cathy Ross. As a mixed-race child from a Chinese Catholic family, she lived with her paternal grandmother and was bounced around to various extended family members throughout her youth. She further happened to live amidst Singapore's upheaval from a sleepy, colonial outpost to a bustling, global metropolis that took off during her childhood years. Hers may not be a full-blown "rags to riches" story-after all, she is still seeking the latter. Rather, perhaps her experience is more a "missing parents to middle class" tale, which may be even more relatable to her fellow, first-generation Singaporeans. In many ways, Cathy's personal story parallels that of Singapore, albeit immensely scaled up. She and her country both experienced growing pains, setbacks, lessons learned, hard-won accomplishments, and steadfast perseverance to reach some version of success. Most important, both Cathy and her national leaders remained staunch optimists, dreaming of a brighter future. A Daughter of Singapore weaves these narratives together into a heartwarming story of one woman's love for her nation and her desire to share that love with the rest of us.