South of the clouds, in the land of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, dwell the descendants of a once pastoral people, the Nakhi. In ancient times, family names were passed from mother to child, there were no marriages, and women alone raised children. (In the Nakhi language, there is no word for father.) Today there are still Nakhi who follow these traditions, and Nakhi folktales reflect these beliefs. In the legends presented here we are introduced to a fantastic cast of characters: plants, insects, animals-all of them female We discover why the Sun, hot-tempered and impetuous, is unpleasant...

In 2004, Carolyn Han left her comfortable life and position as a lecturer in English at Hawaii Community College and went to live in one of the most remote and mysterious places in the Middle East--Yemen, known in the West primarily for providing a haven for terrorists affiliated with al Qaeda. The previous year, she had sold her gold jewelry to travel with Bedouin by camel from Marib to Shabwa, and the life-changing experience opened the path for her to become the first American English instructor in Yemen's wild tribal area, Marib.

Guided by fateful encounters and unfazed by...