Susan Orlean Knihy

Susan Orlean's collection of profiles ranges from the well-known to the unknown and the formerly known. Orlean meets with Cristina Sanchez, Spain's first fully-qualified female matador, Silly Billy, New York's most successful children's clown, an African king who is a New York taxi-driver, and a champion show dog called Biff, who from a certain angle looks like President Clinton. Orlean's eye for the fascinatingly bizarre and her wonderfully witty way with language make her take on the world utterly original and unique.

The bestselling author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief reopens the unsolved mystery of one of the most catastrophic library fires in history and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Magnificent.” — The New York Times * “Beguiling, observant, and howlingly funny.” — San Francisco Chronicle * “Spectacular.” — Star Tribune (Minneapolis) * “Full of astonishments.” — The Boston Globe Susan Orlean, a celebrated New Yorker staff writer and author of the bestseller The Library Book, compiles a lifetime of reflections and profiles about animals. She explores the intricate relationships between humans and animals, a topic that has fascinated thinkers throughout history. Since her childhood, when she created a book about a near-sighted pigeon, Orlean has been captivated by stories of coexistence with animals. In her examination, she delves into various creatures, from cherished pets to livestock, and even the wild animals that share our world. Orlean shares her experiences, such as raising chickens in her backyard and encountering a woman in New Jersey with twenty-three pet tigers, whose existence was unknown until one escaped. She also recounts the tale of a famous whale in Iceland and hardworking donkeys in Morocco finding solace at a clinic. Through delightful narratives enriched by her elegant prose and thorough research, Orlean celebrates the profound connections that enhance our lives, revealing the beauty of cross-species relationships.

Set in the state of Florida, this book traces the history and detail of the enigmatic orchid through the tale of John Laroche, an orchid thief.

The market for books on botanical subjects is very strong, from volumes that reproduce antique drawings to books of contemporary botanical photography. Flowers in Shadow offers the best of both worlds in an innovative package.In the pages of this artful volume enclosed in a beautiful cloth case with a debossed image, photographer Zeva Oelbaum at once captures the beauty of a century-old botanical journal found in a tiny antiques shop in New England and interprets it anew through sumptuous duotone photography. By layering the original journal pages, using natural light to bring out the subtle textures of the pressed plants and paper, then photographing them, she has created a memorable collection of botanical images.Every photograph is a unique composition, featuring a different plant and displaying the notations of the young botanist who created the original journal. Each plant is accompanied by an informative description by Sara Stein as well. With an evocative foreword by Susan Orlean, an introduction by Stein on the nature of botany during the Victorian Era, and the author's preface that relates the history of the journal, Flowers in Shadow is an informative and stunning volume that will delight lovers of fine art photography, gardeners, and fans of botanical imagery and Victoriana.