Joan Druett’s Judas Island, the first book of her Promise of Gold trilogy, is a delightful mix of nautical adventure, romance and droll comedy.
In the novel, Harriet Gray, an eighteen year old British actress, finds herself abandoned on the deck of the brig Gosling, a ship whose ownership is unclear and which is under the command of Jake Dexter, a captain who technically may be a pirate, even if he does not think of himself as such. The crew is a motley band of treasure seekers, now highly distracted by the lovely young actress who stands before them. The Gosling is anchored off the brooding Judas Island. Captain Dexter and his crew are trying to unravel the island’s mysteries and find the treasure that is rumored to be be hidden somewhere on its shores, although to no avail. Harriet impetuously buys her way into the band of adventurers and induces them to sail to Valparaiso in search of her brother, who is rounding up a herd of alpaca, which she promises the crew will bring them all riches.
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For more than 80 years, there has been an 
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An amphibious tourist bus sank in 
In 1929, a portion of a world map was discovered in the archives at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. The map showed Europe, parts of Africa and Columbus’ discoveries in the New World. It was drawn in 1513 only 21 years after the voyages of Columbus, by Piri Reis, an Ottoman admiral and cartographer. Last Thursday, 
What a difference a blackout and overflowing toilets can make. In September of last year the headline in the L.A. Times was “