{"product_id":"sailing-against-the-wind-jaan-kross-9780810126527","title":"Sailing Against the Wind","description":"\u003cp\u003eJaan Kross's historical novel \u003ci\u003eSailing Against the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e fictionalizes the life of Bernhard Schmidt (1879-1935), an Estonian-born inventor. Schmidt lost an arm in his youth while experimenting with a homemade rocket, resulting in psychological trauma that would plague him for the rest of his life. Largely self-taught, Schmidt was driven to seek recognition of his talents. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e He moved to Germany in the 1930s, where, after perfecting techniques for polishing lenses, he began developing ideas for improving astronomical telescopes. He was arrested for selling one to the Russians, and although he got off with only a warning, he later suffered a breakdown and was sent to a mental hospital, where he soon died. Sailing Against the Wind becomes a meditation on national identity, the relationship between history and the individual life, and the mechanisms of the historical novel as a genre.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jaan Kross\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0810126524\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780810126527\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Northwestern University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/30\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.20d","brand":"Jaan Kross","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43947266408703,"sku":"9780810126527","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_e3e27a32-e655-47d3-b893-75b891906769.jpg?v=1681517699","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/sailing-against-the-wind-jaan-kross-9780810126527","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}