Books with author Stephen Berg

India's population of 1.2 billion is as varied and colorful as the spice markets of Old Delhi. Each region, caste, and community has its own culture, reflecting unique histories shaped by conquest, creativity, and religion, expressed in distinct languages, social customs, art forms, and expectations of life. Despite enormous recent political and economic change, in many ways India remains the same—a total sensory experience. The chaos and beauty of color and sound, the language shifts every ten miles, the household variations of spicy and sharp, sweet and sour, the insistent smells of everyday life lived very much in public, and the invasion of personal space will challenge the most experienced traveler. But it is in surrendering to your senses that you begin to embrace the essence of India and to understand its people. Indians live with paradox. Proud traditions and patriotism commingle with tensions and prejudices rooted in age-old rivalries. Ancient temples may be plastered with signs advertising the latest technologies. The rapid urbanization of the last century has given rise to burgeoning slums and an affluent middle class that was nonexistent a few decades ago. Steeped in tradition, exceptionally fatalistic, and intensely passionate about their culture, the Indians are an ingenious, adventurous, and creative people. Show interest in their country and most will respond with genuine warmth and friendship. But they also have indelible ties to family and community that form boundaries and determine decisions that may not always seem reasonable, or sometimes even ethical, to outsiders. Culture Smart! India will make you aware of basic values and behavioral norms, show you how to navigate cultural differences and connect with real people, and offer invaluable insights into this great, endlessly fascinating land.

Nathan couldn't believe it. He and his dad and his friend Colin were going on a cattle drive. But as they set out, the trip began to take unexpected turns. Nathan's dad had to leave them to hunt down an escaped crook and would have to join the group later. Then Colin's friend Leah finagled her way along.When Pepper the cook hurt his foot and had to return to camp, the three kids were on their own. How would they round up cattle when they had never done it before? And how should they deal with the coyote family living beneath their cabin?Soon their situation turned ugly. Nathan found himself face to face with the hungry coyotes trying to take a newborn calf. Worse yet, in a terrifying encounter the escapee found their camp and threatened to kill Nathan, ambush Nathan's dad, and hold Colin and Leah for ransom.

Onepenny is exactly the kind of horse Nathan always wanted. He's smart, loyal, and easy to handle. Plus, this unusual horse with the spotted rump can do tricks. So Nathan is delighted to work out a trade to be the new owner. But then he encounters a posse looking for a stagecoach robber who had ridden a spotted horse. Seems that the former owner was not the drifter he claimed to be. And Nathan discovers Onepenny can lead him to the robber's house. What will he do if he actually finds the outlaw?

Nathan Riggins headed out west to the Nevada desert to search for his parents after his grandmother died. He faced one danger after another: hostile Indiands, a masked gunman, a blinding sandstorm, a rattlesnake. Now he frantically hurried from one empty building to the next. Where was everyone? How could everybody in town just disappear? In the deserted Post Office, bags of unopened mail lay everywhere. With increasing dread, he looked through the stacks of letters. He found his own letter to his parents telling them he was coming. No wonder they hadn't waited for him here in Willow Creek. What should he do? Then a strange dog seems to adopt him and come to his rescue.

Orphan Gabriel (Gabe) Young barely survives in the unforgiving West by working for meals at mining camps and frontier towns. Then in 1860 he gets lost in Nevada Territory. He meets a girl who takes him to her parents at a Pony Express station. There he finds a whole lot more than shelter and a meal. He can hardly believe the family's tender care for him. When he gets a chance to help them, he agrees to ride several legs of the dangerous Pony Express trail with the news of Abraham Lincoln's election and the impending Civil War.

For only a dollar, Thunder is a terrific bargain. But what does a boy do with a dangerous 2,500-pound buffalo that can break out of any corral ever built?Nathan Riggins has to find some way to keep Thunder from killing someone or being killed. He finally decides to donate his buffalo to the Carson City Zoo. But getting him to do the zoo will be a problem. Thunder has already destroyed one rail car and damaged the train's engine. The railroad refuses to ship him again. The answer comes in a surprising way. And there's an exciting contest between Thunder and a prize fighting bull.

India is in transition. Since the publication of Culture Smart’s first guide to India in 2003, it has been transformed from a developing, third-world country into the world’s fastest growing economy. Today, a huge, confident, emerging middle class is exporting technology, brains, and enterprise to the rest of the world. At the same time, young Indians educated abroad are returning home to take advantage of the new opportunities, bringing Western expectations and lifestyles with them. The impact of all this wealth-creation, modernity, and individualism on the timeless values and ancient caste structures of India is beginning to be felt well beyond the great cities, adding yet another facet to the giant kaleidoscope of Indian society. This completely new and up-to-date volume by American author Becky Stephen is unrivalled. It highlights the many subtle and not so subtle changes that are taking place in Indian society, describes and explains those areas of life where traditional attitudes and practices continue to prevail, and offers original insights, practical tips, and vital human information to guide you through the pitfalls and delights of this complex, vibrant, and increasingly important country.

It's summer in Galena, Nevada. Everyone is leaving town for good! After the harshest winter on record and the shutdown of the Shiloh Gold mine, Nathan and his friends watch as businesses board up and houses empty. Rumor has it that even their school may close. Who will be the next to move away?When the bank is robbed, Nathan and Leah get their answer. It's not one they'd have chosen. In facing the loss of his friends, Nathan discovers what makes a town feel like home.Finally, in a deserted hotel, Nathan and Leah come face-to-face with the bank robbers. They encounter the most frightening showdown of their lives.

Nathan's got a real job for the summer. He'll be helping Push-Bill Horn freight supplies to the booming, brawling mining town of 10, Nevada. However, his dog Tona's disastrous fight with a bobcat on the second trip out thrusts Nathan into a dilemma. He wants revenge. And he desperately wants to save Tona's life. Will he take Push-Bill's advice to do the kind thing and put Tona out of his misery?Then, later in a chilling face-off at gunpoint, Nathan confronts two bushwhackers intent on stealing his gold. He also meets new friends: the six Rialto sisters who are trying to made a go of a ranch by themselves. This complicates his relationship with his good friend, Leah.

Fourteen-year-old Alex Hopewell, oldest son of his widowed mother, believes he is responsible to take care of his family. But nothing is simple. His younger brother Cyrus shirks duties by trying to dream up new-fangled contraptions. A blonde-haired girl complicates his life. And some menacing gunmen hide a mysterious package at the family's bakery. When her husband is killed in a railroad accident, leaving no pension or provision for the future, Daisy Hopewell opens a bakery with her three sons and sells doughnuts in northern Utah Territory in 1869. With the help of friends in the Union Pacific Railroad, Daisy secures a great location for her bakery at Promontory Point. Everyone converging on the Utah plains knows that when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroad lines join, history as well as fortunes will be made. Will that include the Hopewells too?

Nathan T. Riggins traveled West alone and across the Nevada desert by stagecoach. He searched for his parents after his grandparents died while caring for him. When he finally arrived in Willow Creek, he panicked as he hurried from one empty building to the next. Where was everyone? How could everybody in a whole town just disappear?In the deserted Post Office, bags of unopened mail lay everywhere. With increasing dread, he looked through the stacks of letters. There it was--his own letter to his parents telling them he was coming. No wonder they hadn't waited for him. Now what should he do? Why wasn't God taking better care of him?Soon he comes face to face with one danger after another--Indians, a masked gunman, a blinding sandstorm, a rattlesnake. Again and again, a strange dog who seemed to adopt him came to his rescue. But where are his parents?