Most Popular Books by Robert Roper

Born to an eminent Russian family, Vladimir Nabokov came to America fleeing the Nazis and remembered his time here as the richest of his life. Indeed, his best work flowed from his response to this storied land. With charm and insight, Robert Roper fills out this period in the writer''s life: his friendship with Edmund Wilson, his time at Cornell, his role at Harvard''s Museum of Comparative Zoology. But Nabokov in America finds its narrative heart in his and his family''s serial sojourns into the West. Roper has mined fresh sources to bring detail to these journeys, and traces their significant influence in Nabokov''s work: on two-lane highways and in late-''40s motels and cafés, we feel Lolita draw near, and understand Nabokov''s seductive familiarity with the American mundane. Nabokov in America is also a love letter to U.S. literature, in Nabokov''s broad embrace of it from Melville to the Beats. Reading Roper, we feel anew the rich learning and the Romantic mind behind some of Nabokov''s most beloved books.

"Via letters and notebook entries, Now the Drum of War fills in important blanks; we end up with a sense of the individual as part of an impressive collective entity called Whitman." -Nicholas Delbanco, Washington Post Book World

"Vivid characterization, gripping accounts of extreme mountaineering . . . [and] cultural historical and philosophical reflection. . . . a rich tapestry." — San Francisco Chronicle Robert Roper''s Fatal Mountaineer is a riveting look at Willi Unsoeld and the epic climbs that defined him—a classic narrative blending action with ethics, fame with tragedy, a man''s ambition with a father''s anguish. In 1963, Willi Unsoeld became an international hero for his conquest of the West Ridge of Everest. A charismatic professor of philosophy, Unsoeld was one of the greatest climbers of the twentieth century, a man whose raw physical power and casual fearlessness inspired a generation of adventurers. In 1976, during an expedition to Nanda Devi, the tallest peak in India, Unsoeld''s philosophy of spiritual growth through mortal risk was tragically tested. The outcome of that expedition continues to fuel one of the most fascinating debates in mountaineering history. "A provocative look at a still-legendary climber." — Publishers Weekly "[A] cautionary tale of how pursuit of a mountain at any cost and in any weather can have deadly consequences." —Lynn Arave, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT) "The book''s greatest accomplishment is in the light it sheds on the shadows of mountain climbing and the impossible ideals of a hero." —Mark Larabee, The Oregonian

In the midst of the Great Depression a small Western town slips further down into despair with the killing of a small lonesome boy who attempts to rob a jewelry store. The boy symbolizes the misery and despair of all of the town''s inhabitants until the arrival of "The Great Leonard", a magician who is manipulated by the town''s sub-rosa benefactor into playing the billiards game of his life, against himself, his self-doubt, and his almost total abandonment of life itself. The game fires the town with an excitement it has never known and involves all the citizens and the wonderful characters who play their part in this story of challenge, love, and magic.

Join Nickelodeon''s Dora the Explorer as she visits the doctor for a checkup. Then flip the book over and follow her to the dentist. This 2-in-1 storybook is sure to entertain girls and boys ages 3-7 as it shows them there is nothing to worry about when making these regular and necessary visits.

Explaining a child''s beginning, is sometimes difficult and considered taboo. Written from a Christian’s perspective, this book is an honest, eye opening and humorous, mother’s attempt to satisfy her daughter’s curiosity, of where babies come from?

Născut într-o familie rusă remarcabilă, Vladimir Nabokov a ajuns în America fugind din calea naziștilor și și-a amintit perioada petrecută aici drept cea mai împlinită a vieții sale. Într-adevăr, cele mai bune lucrări ale lui s-au născut din răspunsul său la poveștile acestui pământ. Cu farmec și profunzime, Robert Roper completează această perioadă din viața autorului: prietenia lui cu Edmund Wilson, timpul petrecut la Cornell, rolul său la Muzeul Harvard de Zoologie Comparativă. Dar cartea își găsește nucleul narativ în călătoriile lui Nabokov și ale familiei sale în Vest. Roper a cercetat noi surse pentru a găsi detalii despre aceste călătorii și urmărește influența lor semnificativă în opera lui Nabokov: pe autostrăzile cu două benzi și în motelurile și cafenelele de la sfârșitul anilor 1940, simțim cum se schițează Lolita și înțelegem familiaritatea seducătoare a lui Nabokov cu viața cotidiană a Americii. Fascinant... Robert Roper reușește să aducă argumente convingătoare privind rolul esențial pe care l-a jucat America atât în crearea Lolitei, cât și în configurarea carierei ulterioare a lui Nabokov. The New York Times

Set in California''s Santa Cruz Mountains, these ten interconnected stories tell the life of Abel Richards.

The author of the immortal Lolita and Pale Fire, born to an eminent Russian family, conjures the apotheosis of the high modernist artist: cultured, refined-as European as they come. But Vladimir Nabokov, who came to America fleeing the Nazis, came to think of his time here as the richest of his life. Indeed, Nabokov was not only happiest here, but his best work flowed from his response to this exotic land. Robert Roper fills out this period in the writer''s life with charm and insight- covering Nabokov''s critical friendship with Edmund Wilson, his time at Cornell, his role at Harvard''s Museum of Comparative Zoology. But Nabokov in America finds its narrative heart in his serial sojourns into the wilds of the West, undertaken with his wife, Vera, and their son over more than a decade. Nabokov covered more than 200,000 miles as he indulged his other passion: butterfly collecting. Roper has mined fresh sources to bring detail to these journeys, and traces their significant influence in Nabokov''s work: on two-lane highways and in late-''40s motels and cafes, we feel Lolita draw near, and understand Nabokov''s seductive familiarity with the American mundane. Nabokov in America is also a love letter to U.S. literature, in Nabokov''s broad embrace of it from Melville to the Beats. Reading Roper, we feel anew the mountain breezes and the miles logged, the rich learning and the Romantic mind behind some of Nabokov''s most beloved books.