# authors

sort: Summum, Karma-glin-pa , W. Y. Evans-Wentz , Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup ,
name:
Karma-glin-pa (Karma Lingpa)| W. Y. Evans-Wentz (Editor)| Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup (Translator)| Summum


# comments

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SUMMARY:
In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies--elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal--fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos--when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies-- Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The poet in Whitman developed late and slowly while his early writings came only from the surface of his mind. But when he was scarcely in his teens he was publishing bits in Brooklyn papers and presently in George P. Morris's New York Mirror. At twelve he became an apprentice printer, the first occupation of a dozen writers who were more or less of Whitman's time. Whitman retained the interest in printing that he had acquired as a little boy standing on type-cases to reach the boxes. In old age he always knew "the easiest way out of printers' puzzles," as his disciple Horace Traubel said, and he watched his proofs with anxious eye, ready to add or omit a line in cases where a page struck him as too loose or crowded. He did not love his line "enough to let them spoil the page" he said, and once sacrificed nine for a blank space. He would send silver dollars with thanks to the proof takers for giving him clean dark proofs on paper that he liked. But while, in his boyhood, Whitman was a printer who was also beginning to write, his real occupation was absorbing impressions, historical impressions, among the rest, that attached him deeply from the first to the past and evolution of the country.


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SUMMARY:
The tales of The Silmarillion were the underlying inspiration and source of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. Long preceding in its origins The Lord of the Rings, it is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's world, the ancient drama to which characters in The Lord of the RIngs look back and in which some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The title Silmarillion is shortened from Quenta Silmarillion, "The History of the Silmarils," the three great jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves, in which he imprisoned the light of the Two Trees that illumined Valinor, the land of the gods. When Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, destroyed the Trees, that light lived on only in the Silmarils; Morgoth seized them and set them in his crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his people against the gods, their exile in Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroisim of Elves and Men, against the great Enemy. The book includes several other, shorter works beside The Silmarillion proper. Preceding it are "Ainulindale," the myth of Creation, and "Valaquenta," in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is set forth. After The Silmarillion is "Akallabeth," the story of the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age; completing the volume is "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," in which the events of The Lord of the Rings are treated in the manner of The Silmarillion. This new edition of The Silmarillion contains the revised and corrected "second edition" text and, by way of introduction, a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1951, which provides a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages. It also contains almost fifty full-color illustrations by the artist Ted Nasmith, many of which appear for the first time.


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SUMMARY:
A novel about a young girl, her family and friends, and their life in the slum section of Brooklyn in the early years of the twentieth century.


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SUMMARY:
Just why do humpback whales sing?That's the question that has marine biologist Nate Quinnand his crew poking, charting, recording andphotographing very big, wet, gray marine mammals. Thatis, until the extraordinary day when a whale lifts itstail into the air to display a cryptic message spelledout in foot-high letters: BITE ME.Trouble is, Nate's beginning to wonder if he hasn't spentjust a little too much time in the sun. 'Cause no oneelse saw a thing- not his longtime partner, ClayDemodocus; not their saucy young research assistant; noteven the spliff-puffing white-boy Rastaman Kona (nePreston Applebaum). But later, when a roll of filmreturns from the lab missing the crucial tail shot- andhis research facility is trashed- Nate realizes somethingvery fishy indeed is going on.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

She's a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway "accident" leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she is transformed from the beautiful center of attention to an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look.

SUMMARY:
The career of a model ends when she is disfigured in an accident. Suspecting the accident was the work of her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, she takes revenge by slipping him a drug to grow breasts.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Ever heard of a culling song?  It’s a lullaby sung in Africa to give a painless death to the old or infirm.  The lyrics of a culling song kill, whether spoken or even just thought.  You can find one on page 27 of **Poems and Rhymes from Around the World**, an anthology that is sitting on the shelves of libraries across the country, waiting to be picked up by unsuspecting readers.Reporter Carl Streator discovers the song’s lethal nature while researching Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and before he knows it, he’s reciting the poem to anyone who bothers him. As the body count rises, Streator glimpses the potential catastrophe if someone truly malicious finds out about the song. The only answer is to find and destroy every copy of the book in the country. Accompanied by a shady real-estate agent, her Wiccan assistant, and the assistant’s truly annoying ecoterrorist boyfriend, Streator begins a desperate cross-country quest to put the culling song to rest.Written with a style and imagination that could only come from Chuck Palahniuk, **Lullaby** is the latest outrage from one of our most exciting writers at work today.


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Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.From the Hardcover edition.


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SUMMARY:
In a fantasy world as rich and real as our own, Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell stand against the ancient forces which besiege the New World - forces so terrible that when last they threatened, they could only be withstood by sealing off the Old World from whence they came. Now the barrier has been breached, and the New World is again beset by their evil power. War, monsters, and treachery plague the world, and only Richard and Kahlan can save it from an armageddon of unimaginable savagery and destruction.Terry Goodkind, author of the brilliant fantasy bestsellers of the Sword of Truth series, has created his most masterful epic yet, a sumptuous feast of magic and excitement replete with the wonders of his unique fantasy vision.


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In Wizard's First Rule, Richard Cypher's world was turned upside down. Once a simple woods guide, Richard was forced to become the Seeker of Truth, to save the world from the vile dominance of Darken Rahl, the most viciously savage and powerful wizard the world had ever seen. He was joined on this epic quest by his beloved Kahlan, the only survivor among the Confessors, who brought a powerful but benevolent justice to the land before Rahl's evil scourge. Aided by Zedd, the last of the wizards who opposed Rahl, they were able to cast him into the underworld, saving the world from the living hell of life under Rahl.But the veil to the underworld has been torn, and Rahl, from beyond the veil, begins to summon a sinister power more dreadful than any he has wielded before. Horrifying creatures escape through the torn veil, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting world above.If Rahl isn't stopped, he will free the Keeper itself, an evil entity whose power is so vast and foul that once freed, it can never again be contained.


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A selection of twelve classic mystery stories by the peerless Queen of Crime, including the acclaimed 'Philomel Cottage''ŚTwelve tantalizing cases'Ś the curious disappearance of Lord Listerdale; a newlywed's fear of her ex-fiance; a strange encounter on a train; a domestic murder investigation; a wild man's sudden personality change; a retired inspector's hunt for a murderess; a young woman's impersonation of a duchess; a necklace hidden in a basket of cherries; a mystery writer's arrest for murder; an astonishing marriage proposal; a soprano's hatred for a baritone; the case of the rajah's emerald.All have one thing in common: the skilful hand of Agatha Christie.
SUMMARY:
Twelve tantalising cases...the curious disappearance of Lord Listerdale; a newlywed's fear of her ex-fiance; a strange encounter on atrain; a domestic murder investigation; a mild man's sudden personality change; a retired inspector's hunt for a murderess; a young woman's impersonation of a duchess; a necklace hidden in a basket of cherries; a mystery writer's arrest for murder; an astonishing marriage proposal; a soprano's hatred for a baritone; and the case of the Rajah's emerald. All have one thing in common: the skilful hand of Agatha Christie.


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THE SWORD OF SHANNARALong ago, the wars of the ancient Evil had ruined the world and forced mankind to compete with many other races--gnomes, trolls, dwarfs, and elves. But in peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knew little of such troubles.Then came the giant, forbidding Allanon, possessed of strange Druidic powers, to reveal that the supposedly dead Warlock Lord was plotting to destroy the world. The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness was the Sword of Shannara, which could be used only by a true heir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline, rested the hope of all the races.Soon a Skull Bearer, dread minion of Evil, flew into the Vale, seeking to destroy Shea. To save the Vale, Shea fled, drawing the Skull Bearer after him . . .THUS BEGAN THE SEEMINGLY HOPELESS QUEST OF A SIMPLE MAN AGAINST THE GREATEST POWER OF EVIL THE WORLD HAD EVER KNOWN.


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It has been 130 years since the events of the Heritage of Shannara series, and the Free-born and the Federation are still at war. The story follows a quest organized by Walker Boh, the last surviving Druid. Thirty years ago, the Elven prince Kael Elessedil led an expedition in search of a legendary magic which was said to be the most ancient and powerful in the world.

Thirty years later, Kael is found floating in the sea of the Blue Divide; a map is found with him, covered with mysterious symbols. Walker is the only man who can read them.

But there is another: the Ilse Witch, a beautiful but twisted young woman who is as practiced in magic as Walker himself. She will stop at nothing to possess the map and the magic it leads to. To stop her, Walker must find the magic first.

Thus begins the voyage of the sleek, swift airship, the Jerle Shannara. The company chosen by Walker must fly into the face of unknown terrors while the Ilse Witch and her dark allies pursue.


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Emily Andrew is earning some much-needed green by navigating the twisting roads of Ireland with a group of seniors, including her beloved Nana. But once the hearty troupe from Iowa lands on Irish sod, trouble starts brewing - there's a death-defying incident with a horse-drawn carriage...and a gender-bending encounter with Emily's ex-husband Jack, now known as Jackie. No wonder Emily has come down with a smarting case of hives! The plot thickens like Irish stew when the group settles into Ballybantry Castle, where a ghost is said to wander the halls. But it's no blarney when a very real corpse turns up in one of the guest rooms. While the murderous malarkey has Emily step-dancing as fast as she can, one sure thing emerges from the mists - not even St. Paddy himself could drive out the spiteful serpent that slithers among them!


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Welcome to the world of Krynn - a world on the brink of a dark age. While humanity slides toward fanaticism and war, a long-dormant evil begins to rise. Amid the chaos, lifelong friends who went their separate ways in years past are drawn together once again. When they accept a mysterious woman into their midst, it begins a quest that will either save Krynn - or doom it for all time.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story. **

Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For the first time, in heart-wrenching detail, she writes about the devastating high school car accident that left her friend Mike Douglas dead and about her decades of unspoken grief.

When Laura Welch first left West Texas in 1964, she never imagined that her journey would lead her to the world stage and the White House. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1968, in the thick of student rebellions across the country and at the dawn of the women's movement, she became an elementary school teacher, working in inner-city schools, then trained to be a librarian. At age thirty, she met George W. Bush, whom she had last passed in the hallway in seventh grade. Three months later, "the old maid of Midland married Midland's most eligible bachelor." With rare intimacy and candor, Laura Bush writes about her early married life as she was thrust into one of America's most prominent political families, as well as her deep longing for children and her husband's decision to give up drinking. By 1993, she found herself in the full glare of the political spotlight. But just as her husband won the Texas governorship in a stunning upset victory, her father, Harold Welch, was dying in Midland.

In 2001, after one of the closest elections in American history, Laura Bush moved into the White House. Here she captures presidential life in the harrowing days and weeks after 9/11, when fighter-jet cover echoed through the walls and security scares sent the family to an underground shelter. She writes openly about the White House during wartime, the withering and relentless media spotlight, and the transformation of her role as she began to understand the power of the first lady. One of the first U.S. officials to visit war-torn Afghanistan, she also reached out to disease-stricken African nations and tirelessly advocated for women in the Middle East and dissidents in Burma. She championed programs to get kids out of gangs and to stop urban violence. And she was a major force in rebuilding Gulf Coast schools and libraries post-Katrina. Movingly, she writes of her visits with U.S. troops and their loved ones, and of her empathy for and immense gratitude to military families.

With deft humor and a sharp eye, Laura Bush lifts the curtain on what really happens inside the White House, from presidential finances to the 175-year-old tradition of separate bedrooms for presidents and their wives to the antics of some White House guests and even a few members of Congress. She writes with honesty and eloquence about her family, her public triumphs, and her personal tribulations. Laura Bush's compassion, her sense of humor, her grace, and her uncommon willingness to bare her heart make this story revelatory, beautifully rendered, and unlike any other first lady's memoir ever written.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Warning from publisher to reader:   

 At HarperCollins, we are committed to customer satisfaction. Before proceeding with your purchase, please take the following questionnaire to determine your likelihood of enjoying this book:  

 1. Which of the following do you appreciate?   (a) Women with somewhat horse-ish facial features. (b) Women who, while not super Jew-y, are more identifiably Jewish than, say, Natalie Portman. (c) Frequent discussion of unwanted body hair.  

 2. Are you offended by the following behavior?   (a) Instructing one's grandmother to place baked goods in her rectal cavity. (b) Stripping naked in public—eleven times in a row. (c) Stabbing one's boss in the head with a writing implement.  

 3. The best way to treat an emotionally fragile young girl is:   (a) Murder the main course of her Thanksgiving dinner before her very eyes. (b) Tell her that her older sister is prettier than she, and then immediately die. (c) Prevent her suicide by recommending she stay away from open windows.  

 If you read the above questions without getting nauseous or forming a hate Web site, you are ready to buy this book! Please proceed to the cashier.


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SUMMARY:
They were the Rat Pack of Wall Street. Four close friends: one a decorated war hero, one an emotional hippie, and two regular guys with big hearts, big dreams, and noble aims. They were going to get rich on Wall Street. They were going to prove that men like them - with zero financial training - could more than equal the Ivy-League-educated white shoe bankers who were the competition. They were going to create an institution for men like them -- men who were hungry and untrained - and they were going to win, but not at the cost of their souls.  In short, they were going to be the good guys of finance.  Under their watch, Lehman Brothers started to grow and became independent again in 1994. But something had gone wrong on the journey. The men slowly, perhaps inevitably, changed. As Lehman Brothers grew, so too did the cracks in and among the men who had rebuilt it.  Ward takes you inside Lehman's highly charged offices. You'll meet beloved leaders who were erased from the corporate history books, but who could have taken the firm in a very different direction had they not fallen victim to infighting and their own weaknesses. You will encounter an unlikely and almost unknown Marcus Brutus, who may have had more to do with Lehman's failings than anyone--including Dick Fuld, who has widely been considered the poster-child for the mistakes and greed of all bankers.  What Ward uncovers is that Lehman may have lost at the risky games of collateralized debt obligations, swaps, and leverage but that was just the end of a bigger story. "Little Lehman" was the Wall Street shop known to be forever fighting for its life and somehow succeeding. On Wall Street it was cheekily known as "the cat with nine lives." But this cat pushed its luck too far -- and died, the victim of men and women blinded by arrogance. Come inside "The Devil's Casino" and see how good men lose their way, and see how a firm that rose with the glory and bravado of Icarus fell burning in flames not so much from a sun, but from a match lit from within.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Julie Orringer’s astonishing first novel, eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story collection, *How to Breathe Underwater* (“fiercely beautiful”—*The New York Times;* “unbelievably good”—Monica Ali), is a grand love story set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war, and the chronicle of one family’s struggle against the forces that threaten to annihilate it.Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he falls into a complicated relationship with the letter’s recipient, he becomes privy to a secret history that will alter the course of his own life. Meanwhile, as his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena and their younger brother leaves school for the stage, Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty. At the end of Andras’s second summer in Paris, all of Europe erupts in a cataclysm of war.From the small Hungarian town of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras’s room on the rue des Écoles to the deep and enduring connection he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, *The Invisible Bridge* tells the story of a love tested by disaster, of brothers whose bonds cannot be broken, of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war.Expertly crafted, magnificently written, emotionally haunting, and impossible to put down, *The Invisible *Bridge resoundingly confirms Julie Orringer’s place as one of today’s most vital and commanding young literary talents.


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A unique and sweeping debut novel of an American female combat photographer in the Vietnam War, as she captures the wrenching chaos and finds herself torn between the love of two men. On a stifling day in 1975, the North Vietnamese army is poised to roll into Saigon. As the fall of the city begins, two lovers make their way through the streets to escape to a new life. Helen Adams, an American photojournalist, must take leave of a war she is addicted to and a devastated country she has come to love. Linh, the Vietnamese man who loves her, must grapple with his own conflicted loyalties of heart and homeland. As they race to leave, they play out a drama of devotion and betrayal that spins them back through twelve war-torn years, beginning in the splendor of Angkor Wat, with their mentor, larger-than-life war correspondent Sam Darrow, once Helen's infuriating love and fiercest competitor, and Linh's secret keeper, boss and truest friend. Tatjana Soli paints a searing portrait of an American woman’s struggle and triumph in Vietnam, a stirring canvas contrasting the wrenching horror of war and the treacherous narcotic of obsession with the redemptive power of love. Readers will be transfixed by this stunning novel of passion, duty and ambition among the ruins of war.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**"The only way to get what you're worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about."** 



 In bestsellers such as *Purple Cow* and *Tribes*, Seth Godin taught readers how to make remarkable products and spread powerful ideas. But this book is different. It's about you - your choices, your future, and your potential to make a huge difference in whatever field you choose. 



 There used to be two teams in every workplace: management and labor. Now there's a third team, the linchpins. These people invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there's no rule book. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art. 



 Linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organizations. Like the small piece of hardware that keeps a wheel from falling off its axle, they may not be famous but they're indispensable. And in today's world, they get the best jobs and the most freedom. 



 Have you ever found a shortcut that others missed? Seen a new way to resolve a conflict? Made a connection with someone others couldn't reach? Even once? Then you have what it takes to become indispensable, by overcoming the resistance that holds people back. *Linchpin* will show you how to join the likes of... 



 *Keith Johnson, who scours flea markets across the country to fill Anthropologie stores with unique pieces. 

 *Marissa Mayer, who keeps Google focused on the things that really matter. 

 *Jason Zimdars, a graphic designer who got his dream job at 37signals without a résumé. 

 *David, who works at Dean and Deluca coffeeshop in New York. He sees every customer interaction as a chance to give a gift and is cherished in return. 



 As Godin writes, "Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must."


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For the past twenty-five years, no one has been better at revealing secrets than Oprah Winfrey. On what is arguably the most influ枸ntial show in television history, she has gotten her guests--often the biggest celebrities in the world--to bare their love lives, explore their painful pasts, admit their transgressions, reveal their pleasures, and explore their demons. In turn, Oprah has repeatedly allowed her audience to share in her own life story, opening up about the sexual abuse in her past and discussing her romantic relationships, her weight problems, her spiritual beliefs, her charitable donations, and her strongly held views on the state of the world. After a quarter of a century of the Oprah-ization of America, can there be any more secrets left to reveal? Yes. Because Oprah has met her match. Kitty Kelley has, over the same period of time, fear柝essly and relentlessly investigated and written about the world's most revered icons: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, England's Royal Family, and the Bush dynasty. In her #1 bestselling biographies, she has exposed truths and exploded myths to uncover the real human beings that exist behind their manufac氟ured facades. Turning her reportorial sights on Oprah, Kelley has now given us an unvarnished look at the stories Oprah's told and the life she's led. Kelley has talked to Oprah's closest family members and business associates. She has obtained court records, birth certificates, financial and tax records, and even copies of Oprah's legendary (and punishing) confidentiality agreements. She has probed every aspect of Oprah Winfrey's life, and it is as if she's written the most extraordinary segment of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" ever filmed--one in which Oprah herself is finally and fully revealed. There is a case to be made, and it is certainly made in this book, that Oprah Winfrey is an important, and even great, figure of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But there is also a case to be made that even greatness needs to be examined and put under a microscope. Fact must be separated from myth, truth from hype. Kitty Kelley has made that separation, showing both sides of Oprah as they have never been shown before. In doing so she has written a psychologically perceptive and meticulously researched book that will surprise and thrill everyone who reads it.


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From the incomparable Anne Tyler, a wise, gently humorous, and deeply compassionate novel about a schoolteacher, who has been forced to retire at sixty-one, coming to terms with the final phase of his life.Liam Pennywell, who set out to be a philosopher and ended up teaching fifth grade, never much liked the job at that run-down private school, so early retirement doesn’t bother him. But he is troubled by his inability to remember anything about the first night that he moved into his new, spare, and efficient condominium on the outskirts of Baltimore. All he knows when he wakes up the next day in the hospital is that his head is sore and bandaged.His effort to recover the moments of his life that have been stolen from him leads him on an unexpected detour. What he needs is someone who can do the remembering for him. What he gets is—well, something quite different.We all know a Liam. In fact, there may be a little of Liam in each of us. Which is why Anne Tyler’s lovely novel resonates so deeply.


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Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It's bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone the cream of his forces. In the heat-ravaged south the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come, preparations are made to make the Gurkish pay for every inch of land . . . but a plot is festering to hand the city to its beseigers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon. And to the east a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history - a Seed, hidden for generations - with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North - but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled . . .


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The end is coming.

Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him but its going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and theres only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. Its past time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.With too many masters and too little time, Superior Glokta is fighting a different kind of war. A secret struggle in which no-one is safe, and no-one can be trusted. His days with a sword are far behind him. Its a good thing blackmail, threats and torture still work well enough.Jezal dan Luthar has decided that winning glory is far too painful, and turned his back on soldiering for a simple life with the woman he loves. But love can be painful too, and glory has a nasty habit of creeping up on a man when he least expects it.While the King of the Union lies on his deathbead, the peasants revolt and the nobles scramble to steal his crown. No-one believes that the shadow of war is falling across the very heart of the Union. The First of the Magi has a plan to save the world, as he always does. But there are risks. There is no risk more terrible, after all, than to break the First Law . . .


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Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules. Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it. Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glotka a whole lot more difficult. Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is noir fantasy with a real cutting edge.


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There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time traveler, AND the devastating secret of humankind! Detective Gently's bill for saving the human race from extinction: NO CHARGE.


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"HYSTERICAL!"--The Philadelphia InquirerThe unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads--so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the white killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler, who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vicepresident of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head honcho of the Universe; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it--and don't know it!"ADAMS IS ONE OF THOSE RARE TREASURES: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading."--The Arizona Daily Star "From the Paperback edition."


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

It's not just a trilogy any more. In the fifth book of this popular series, Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, and immediately all hell breaks loose. In short, it's up to him to save the world from total multi-dimensional obliteration, the Guide from a hostile alien takeover, and the daughter he never knew he had, from herself. A tall order, to say the least. And one he's really not up to, thank you very much."Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist....He is anything but harmless."THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD


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Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. . . . God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new? "From the Paperback edition."


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Sequel to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. A passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport goes up in a ball of flame and Dirk Gently becomes very inquisitive.


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"DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."--The Washington Post Book WorldFacing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."--Detroit Free Press


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Watership Downwas one of this century's best-loved works of imaginative literature. Now Richard Adams returns, to tell us what happened to the rabbits after their defeat of General Woundwort. Tales From Watership Downbegins with some of the great folk stories well known to all rabbits. Then we listen in as Dandelion, the rabbits' master storyteller, relates the thrilling adventures experienced by Al-ahrairah, the mythical rabbit hero, and his stalwart, Rabscuttle, during the long journey home after their terrible encounter with the Black Rabbit of Inlé (as narrated inWatership Down). Finally, in the principal part of the book, we are told eight enchanting stories about the rabbits of the Down-- Hazel, Fiver, Bigwig, and their companions--including the impact on the warren of the obsessive doe Flyairth, and the appointment of Hyzenthlay as a female Chief Rabbit and partner to Hazel. All readers-- the millions who rememberWatership Downwith the deepest affection, and also those for whom this volume will be their first encounter with the rabbits-- will find these nineteen tales utterly compelling, the fruit of Richard Adam's spellbinding narrative power and ability to conjure up a world that is at the same time both real and unreal.


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A frigid spring morning at a Native American archaeological dig erupts into sudden and brutal violence, leaving five people dead and one man gravely wounded. And in a hospital, with archaeologist Annja Creed at his side, the last survivor utters his final words to name his killer—a *skinwalker*.

The skinwalker is feared among the Navajo and Apache. It is witchcraft of a most terrible nature that allows a man to take the shape of a wolf—and kill. But as Annja delves into the mystery of the skinwalker, she finds herself pulled into an underworld of violence and vicious radicals, threaded with legend…and sociopathic intent.

In this world, Annja is unwelcome. And in this world, she could be the creature's next victim….


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On the bloody battlefields of World War II Europe, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, got the toughest missions. As good a rifle company as any in the world, Easy was always in the thick of the fight -- from parachuting into France under a hellish crossfire early D-Day morning, to the final capture of Hitler's supposedly impregnable Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. New York Times bestselling author Stephen E. Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died for their country, and for one another -- taking 150 percent casualties and earning Purple Hearts as combat pay. Drawing on interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, Ambrose chronicles the gripping true stories of these American heroes.


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In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II. This gripping account of it by acclaimed author Stephen Ambrose brings to life a daring mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality -- the stuff of all great adventures.


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Written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D., this classic tale describes the adventures of a great Danish warrior of the sixth century


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**An ancient order tied to the Vatican . . . A blood fortune buried in the caves of France . . . A conspiracy of power, greed and darkest evil . . .**    

Archaeologist and explorer Annja Creed's fascination with the myths and mysteries of the past leads her to a crypt in the caves of France, where the terrifying legend of the Beast of Gevaudin hints at the unimaginable. What she discovers is shattering: an artifact that will seal her destiny: a brotherhood of monks willing to murder to protect their secret; and a powerful black-market occultist desperate to put his own claim to centuries-old blood money. Annja embarks on a high-tension race across Europe and history itself, intent on linking the unholy treachery of the ages with the staggering revelations of the present. But she must survive the shadow figures determined to silence her threat to their existence.


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After shooting an episode of Chasing History's Monsters at a dig in Australia, Annja Creed is left feeling mildly unimpressed. The artifacts being uncovered are considered fringe by experts who doubt their authenticity. Annja is disappointed by the general lack of mystery involved. But her boredom is quickly replaced with fear when all that's left of her cameraman is a drop of blood on his hotel-room carpet.As she looks for her friend, Annja narrowly escapes an attack by gunmen. She realizes her cameraman must have captured the image of something so valuable that someone would kill them for just having dared look at it. When it becomes clear that everyone on the dig is at risk, Annja begins to think they're in danger not because of what they saw, but who….


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When her longtime friend claims to have evidence of Big Foot's existence, archaeologist Annja Creed can't resist checking it out for herself—she's been debating the subject for years. Annja's curiosity leads her deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest, to meet Jenny where the supposed trail has been left by the one and only Sasquatch. But when Annja arrives at the destination, a group of armed thugs warn her to leave the area, and her friend is nowhere to be found. Now the search for Sasquatch turns into a rescue mission, and Annja has only her instincts to guide her in a forest full of predators, scavengers and spirits. And someone, or something, does not want her there….
SUMMARY:
When her longtime friend claims to have evidence of Big Foot's existence, archaeologist Annja Creed can't resist checking it out for herself—she's been debating the subject for years. Annja's curiosity leads her deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest, to meet Jenny where the supposed trail has been left by the one and only Sasquatch.But when Annja arrives at the destination, a group of armed thugs warn her to leave the area, and her friend is nowhere to be found. Now the search for Sasquatch turns into a rescue mission, and Annja has only her instincts to guide her in a forest full of predators, scavengers and spirits. And someone, or something, does not want her there….


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A stunning artifact holds the key to an untapped power of global destruction—   

While working on a dig in the California wilderness, archaeologist-adventurer Annja Creed uncovers evidence of a tragedy that's linked to Chinese miners during the days of the Gold Rush. A sudden attack on the site by shadow if gures drives Annja to if nd the connection to a mysterious buried city in China. Lured by legends of gold, betrayal and the vengeance of a Han Dynasty overlord,  Annja travels on the Orient Express, battling avaricious treasure hunters and a modern-day descendant of an ancient league of assassins. Her adversaries will stop at nothing to stake their claim on the fabled lost city, where a Han leader's dark past promises doom for those who dare to reveal its evil power.


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If you are either learning Italian, or learning English as a second language (ESL) as a Italian speaker, this book is for you. There are many editions of Northanger Abbey. This one is worth the price if you would like to enrich your Italian-English vocabulary, whether for self-improvement or for preparation in advanced of college examinations. Each page is annotated with a mini-thesaurus of uncommon words highlighted in the text. Not only will you experience a great classic, but learn the richness of the English language with Italian synonyms at the bottom of each page. You will not see a full translation of the English text, but rather a running bilingual thesaurus to maximize the reader's exposure to the subtleties of both languages.


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The romance between Captain Wentworth and Anne, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, seems doomed because of the young man's family connections and lack of wealth.


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This retelling of 'Pride and Prejudice', by Hilary Burningham, is a simplified version of the novel, accompanied by key passages from the original. Illustrations emphasize both character and plot. It is suitable as an introduction and revision aid for younger school children and GCSE students.


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The stranger could be insane. Or he just might be our salvation.Archaeologist Annja Creed is more than curious when a decrepit, ancient-looking man visits her, claiming the end of the world is near. The stranger spins wild tales and speaks as if he actually knew King Arthur. But, strangest of all, he insists that Annja is the only one who can stop the horrible event that is about to happen. When Annja's mentor and friend Roux goes missing, she quickly realizes there may be something to the stranger's stories. Making her way through the dark and violent underbelly of Istanbul, Annja must find her missing friend and the Holy Grail before the relic gets  into the wrong hands. She may not fully believe the fate of the world is on the line, but she doesn't really want to die fi nding out.


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Archaeologist Annja Creed narrowly escapes an attack by unknown fi gures when she tries to collect a package near her loft. She later learns that the sender—an old colleague named Fellini—has been brutally murdered. Fellini had been researching the Hammer of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, and had linked it to a Viking warrior and a twelfth-century Latvian village. A coded message in Fellini's package leads Annja on a wild chase along the canals of Venice to Latvia for more clues to an ancient treasure. Rumored to be hidden deep in the forests of Latvia for nine hundred years, this fabled prize is also sought by a ruthless corps of mercenaries. And they will do anything to fi nd it. Including killing Annja Creed.


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Archaeologist Annja Creed reluctantly accepts an assignment on behalf of a covert arm of the U.S. Government. She is to lead an expedition to the top of Mount Ararat to find the truth about what is thought to be the remains of Noah's Ark. But while she doubts the massive anomaly is really the Ark, she can't help but wonder what is up there. Annja must escort a group of militant fundamentalists through civil unrest in eastern Turkey, but the impending war is nothing compared to the danger that lies hidden within the team. With lives at stake, Annja has no choice but to protect the innocent...and get them out of there alive. Legend says the Ark once saved mankind, but this time it could kill them all.
SUMMARY:
Archaeologist Annja Creed reluctantly accepts an assignment on behalf of a covert arm of the U.S. Government. She is to lead an expedition to the top of Mount Ararat to find the truth about what is thought to be the remains of Noah’s Ark. But while she doubts the massive anomaly is really the Ark, she can’t help but wonder what is up there. Annja must escort a group of militant fundamentalists through civil unrest in eastern Turkey, but the impending war is nothing compared to the danger that lies hidden within the team. With lives at stake, Annja has no choice but to protect the innocent…and get them out of there alive. Legend says the Ark once saved mankind, but this time it could kill them all.


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When archaeologist Annja Creed reluctantly agrees to help an old colleague on a dig in Antarctica, she wonders what he's gotten her into. It turns out that her former associate has found a necklace made of an unknown metal depicting three snakes. He claims it's over forty thousand years old—and that it may not have earthly origins.As the pair conduct their research, Annja soon realizes she has more to worry about than being caught in snowslides. Because everyone is hiding something—from her friend, to the U.S. military personnel guarding the site. With no one to trust and someone out to kill her, Annja has nowhere to turn. And everything to lose.


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When a mysterious man orchestrates an attack on archaeologist Annja Creed and then offers her an assignment, Annja is baffl ed. But the mission is too intriguing for her to refuse. She must fi nd an object that possesses a sacred and powerful secret offering atonement to anyone who uncovers it—or wreaking havoc on the world.Stolen from an ancient order of knights, the relic is now in the clutches of a band of pirates sailing the South China Sea. When a government leader threatens to destroy the pirate ship—along with the artifact—rather than let it get into the wrong hands, Annja must decide at what cost the sacred prize should be protected. Destroying it would defi le history. But saving it could bring about apocalypse.


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In a land of subzero temperatures and snow-covered vistas, survival is a challenge. But for the Araktak—an isolated and mysterious Inuit people—this harsh tundra is their heritage. Until now. A large mining company has purchased the land, and the sacred Araktak burial site with it. But more than diamond deposits await them under the dark, icy earth….

Contracted by the mining company, archaeologist Annja Creed is to oversee the proper relocation of the burial site. Her job is to ensure that each ancient relic and all human remains are carefully removed. But the sacred ground harbors a terrible secret. One that a powerful group of men intend to unleash on an unsuspecting world—unless Annja can find a way to stop them.


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On assignment in the Philippines, archaeologist Annja Creed meets with a contact to verify some information. Easy enough. But when the man doesn't turn out to be whom he said he was, Annja finds herself handcuffed, blindfolded and kidnapped. And to make matters worse, she's a prisoner of the dreaded Abu Sayyaf, a notorious terrorist group.  <P></P> <P>Desperate to escape, Annja is able to flee after slaying one of her captors. But she soon gets lost in the hostile jungle, which is rumored to be haunted by the spirits of Moro warriors who fought off conquistadors with their blades. As she tries to stay a step ahead of the terrorists and not-so-dead spirits with a taste for human flesh, Annja's not sure she'll leave the jungle alive....</P>
SUMMARY:
Bearers of the swordOn assignment in the Philippines, archaeologist Annja Creed meets with a contact to verify some information. Easy enough. But when the man doesn't turn out to be whom he said he was, Annja finds herself handcuffed, blindfolded and kidnapped. And to make matters worse, she's a prisoner of the dreaded Abu Sayyaf, a notorious terrorist group. Desperate to escape, Annja is able to flee after slaying one of her captors. But she soon gets lost in the hostile jungle, which is rumored to be haunted by the spirits of Moro warriors who fought off conquistadors with their blades. As she tries to stay a step ahead of the terrorists and not-so-dead spirits with a taste for human flesh, Annja's not sure she'll leave the jungle alive….


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

When archaeologist Annja Creed is hired to find the lost city of Promise in Brazil, she is more than intrigued. Legends abound of a magical place where slaves were rumored to have discovered the secret to eternal youth and life.

  

But strangers are not welcome in Promise.

  

Annja soon learns that the residents have gone to extreme lengths to guard their precious secret. Making her way from the steamy port of Belém to the brutal slums of Northeast Brazil, Annja faces unexpected peril, from poisoned arrows to Amazonian anacondas.  As she navigates through a land where spirituality collides with the material world, Annja must distinguish between what is real and what is imagined for fear of making a wrong move. Because anyone or any*thing* could be her enemy. 

  

And she's getting too close….


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Enlisted by the Japan Buddhist Federation to catalog a number of ancient shrines dotted across Nepal, archaeologist Annja Creed is honored to help. Political violence has prompted the Federation to protect holy sites from desecration and vandalism, and Annja is their last hope to properly conserve these sites.Where there's vandalism, there's plundering, and local police soon become suspicious of Annja's presence. But she is more concerned about the antiques smugglers and Maoist guerrillas trying to kill her. When she must trek high up in the Himalayas to protect a sacred golden Buddha statue from falling into the hands of her pursuers, she's told that the place is cursed—and guarded by demons. And Annja has no choice but to face her demons….


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some say they are a cursed people. But those who try to find them will be just as unlucky… Working on a dig on the southern coast of India, the last thing Annja Creed expects is to be hit by a tsunami. Or to strike archaeological gold. But that's exactly what happens when several objects wash ashore in the storm.The relics carry unfamiliar markings that hint at a legendary city. Excited by the prospect of discovering a culture believed lost to civilization, Annja embarks on a perilous journey deep into the heart of danger.She learns of a mysterious artifact that could provide clues to the whereabouts of the lost city, which means trekking through an inhospitable jungle and forbidding terrain. But nature's denizens and death traps are not the only threats: someone else is also pursuing the prize. Just as Annja's grail comes into view, she must ward off an even greater evil. Because deep in the Nilgiris mountains is a race of people that the world forgot.And they don't like strangers.


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In this hallucinatory novel, the car provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughan, a "TV scientist" turned "nightmare angel of the highways," experiments with erotic atrocities among auto crash victims, each more sinister than the last. James Ballard, his friend and fellow obsessive, tells the story of this twisted visionary as he careens rapidly toward his own demise in an intentionally orchestrated car crash with Elizabeth Taylor. A classic work of cutting edge fiction, Crash explores the disturbing potentialities of contemporary society's increasing dependence on technology as intermediary in human relations.


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"Dazzlingly original." -- Daily Mail"Gripping, touching and funny." -- TLSThe war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender. Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.


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Iain M. Banks is a true original, an author whose brilliant speculative fiction has transported us into worlds of unbounded imagination and inimitable revelatory power. Now he takes us on the ultimate trip: to the edge of possibility and to the heart of a cosmic puzzle....Diplomat Byr Genar-Hofoen has been selected by the Culture to undertake a delicate and dangerous mission. The Department of Special Circumstances--the Culture's espionage and dirty tricks section--has sent him off to investigate a 2,500-year-old mystery: the sudden disappearance of a star fifty times older than the universe itself. But in seeking the secret of the lost sun, Byr risks losing himself.There is only one way to break the silence of millennia: steal the soul of the long-dead starship captain who first encountered the star, and convince her to be reborn. And in accepting this mission, Byr will be swept into a vast conspiracy that could lead the universe into an age of peace...or to the brink of annihilation.


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Iain M. Banks, the international bestselling author of *The Player of Games* and *Consider Phlebas,* is a true original, a literary visionary whose brilliant speculative fiction has transported us into worlds of unbounded imagination. Now, in his acclaimed new novel, Banks presents an engrossing portrait of an alien world, and of two very different people bound by a startling and mysterious secret.

On a backward world with six moons, an alert spy reports on the doings of one Dr. Vosill, who has mysteriously become the personal physician to the king despite being a foreigner and, even more unthinkably, a woman. Vosill has more enemies than she first realizes. But then she also has more remedies in hand than those who wish her ill can ever guess.

Elsewhere, in another palace across the mountains, a man named DeWar serves as chief bodyguard to the Protector General of Tassasen, a profession he describes as the business of "assassinating assassins." DeWar, too, has his enemies, but his foes strike more swiftly, and his means of combating them are more direct.

No one trusts the doctor, and the bodyguard trusts no one, but is there a hidden commonality linking their disparate histories? Spiraling around a central core of mystery, deceit, love, and betrayal. *Inversions* is a dazzling work of science fiction from a versatile and imaginative author writing at the height of his remarkable powers.


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The Twin Novae battle had been one of the last of the Idiran war, and one of the most horrific: desperate to avert their inevitable defeat, the Idirans had induced not one but two suns to explode, snuffing out worlds and biospheres teeming with sentient life. They were attacks of incredible proportion -- gigadeathcrimes. But the war ended, and life went on.  

  Now, eight hundred years later, light from the first explosion is about to reach the Masaq' Orbital, home to the Culture's most adventurous and decadent souls. There it will fall upon Masaq's 50 billion inhabitants, gathered to commemorate the deaths of the innocent and to reflect, if only for a moment, on what some call the Culture's own complicity in the terrible event.  

  Also journeying to Masaq' is Major Quilan, an emissary from the war-ravaged world of Chel. In the aftermath of the conflict that split his world apart, most believe he has come to Masaq' to bring home Chel's most brilliant star and self-exiled dissident, the honored Composer Ziller.  

  Ziller claims he will do anything to avoid a meeting with Major Quilan, who he suspects has come to murder him. But the Major's true assignment will have far greater consequences than the death of a mere political dissident, as part of a conspiracy more ambitious than even he can know -- a mission his superiors have buried so deeply in his mind that even he cannot remember it.  

  Hailed by SFX magazine as "an excellent hopping-on point if you've never read a Banks SF novel before," *Look to Windward* is an awe-inspiring immersion into the wildly original, vividly realized civilization that Banks calls the Culture.


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It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars. Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers, will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy, in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilization. In the meantime, they are dismissed as decadents living in a state of highly developed barbarism, hoarding data without order, hunting their own young and fighting pointless formal wars. Seconded to a military-religious order he's barely heard of - part of the baroque hierarchy of the Mercatoria, the latest galactic hegemony - Fassin Taak has to travel again amongst the Dwellers. He is in search of a secret hidden for half a billion years. But with each day that passes a war draws closer - a war that threatens to overwhelm everything and everyone he's ever known.


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In The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks presents a distant future that could almost be called the end of history. Humanity has filled the galaxy, and thanks to ultra-high technology everyone has everything they want, no one gets sick, and no one dies. It's a playground society of sports, stellar cruises, parties, and festivals. Jernau Gurgeh, a famed master game player, is looking for something more and finds it when he's invited to a game tournament at a small alien empire. Abruptly Banks veers into different territory. The Empire of Azad is exotic, sensual, and vibrant. It has space battle cruisers, a glowing court--all the stuff of good old science fiction--which appears old-fashioned in contrast to Gurgeh's home. At first it's a relief, but further exploration reveals the empire to be depraved and terrifically unjust. Its defects are gross exaggerations of our own, yet they indict us all the same. Clearly Banks is interested in the idea of a future where everyone can be mature and happy. Yet it's interesting to note that in order to give us this compelling adventure story, he has to return to a more traditional setting. Thoughtful science fiction readers will appreciate the cultural comparisons, and fans of big ideas and action will also be rewarded. --Brooks Peck


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The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action.

The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought.

The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people.  It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner.  It believed the man to be a lost cause.  But not even its machine could see the horrors in his past.  

Ferociously intelligent, both witty and horrific, USE OF WEAPONS is a masterpiece of science fiction.


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The treasure that captured a nation's imagination    

Everyone's favorite farmgirl, Dorothy from Kansas, finds herself on a strange odyssey with three new friends. Readers young and old alike will enjoy this trip down Memory Lane, via the Yellow Brick Road.


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Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man--a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics . . . until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief. Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy--and risk the futures of both worlds . . .


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Whether selling, managing, negotiating, planning, collaborating, pitching, instructing-or on your knees with a marriage proposal-the secret of success is based on connecting with other people. Now that connection is infinitely easier to make through Nicholas Boothman's program of rapport by design.   

HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN 90 SECONDS OR LESS is the work of a master of Neuro-Linguistic Programming whose career is teaching corporations and groups the secrets of successful face-to-face communication. Aimed at establishing rapport-that stage between meeting and communicating-HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU focuses on the concept of synchrony. It shows how to synchronize attitude, synchronize body language, and synchronize voice tone so that you instantly and imperceptibly become someone the other person likes. Reinforcing these easy-to-learn skills is knowing how to read the other person's sensory preferences-most of us are visual, some are kinesthetic, and a minority are auditory. So when you say "I see what you mean" to a visual person, you're really speaking his language. Along the way the book covers attitude, nervousness, words that open a conversation and words that shut it down, compliments, eye cues, the magic of opposites attracting, and more. It's how to make the best of the most important 90 seconds in any relationship, business or personal.


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When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote "Don't Eat Before You Read This" in The New Yorker, he spared no one's appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded that appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectable shocking banquet that lays out his 25 years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine.From his first oyster in the Gironde to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, from the restaurants of Tokyo to the drug dealers of the East Village, from the mobsters to the rats, Bourdain's brilliantly written, wild-but-true tales make the belly ache with laughter.


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A lot has changed since Kitchen Confidential- for the subculture of chefs and cooks, for the restaurant businessand for Anthony Bourdain. Medium Raw explores these changes, moving back and forth from the author's bad old days to the present. Tracking his own strange and unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe-travelling professional eater and drinker, Bourdain compares and contrasts what he's seen and what he's seeing, pausing along the way for a series of confessions, rants, investigations, and interrogations of some of the most controversial figures in food. And always he returns to the question: 'Why cook?' Or the harder one to answer: 'Why cook well?' Beginning with a secret and highly illegal after-hours gathering of powerful chefs he compares to a Mafia summit, Bourdain, in his distinctive, no-holds-barred style, cuts to the bone on every subject he tackles.


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The acclaimed *New York Times* bestseller *Black Hawk Down* is "a shocking account of modern warfare . . . gripping and horrifying" (*San Francisco Chronicle*) Destined to become a classic of war reporting, *Black Hawk Down* is Mark Bowden's brilliant account of the longest sustained firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War. On October 3rd, 1993, about a hundred elite U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into the teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia. Their mission was to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take an hour. Instead they found themselves pinned down through a long and terrible night fighting against thousands of heavily armed Somalis. The following morning, eighteen Americans were dead and more than seventy had been badly injured.Drawing on interviews from both sides, army records, audiotapes, and videos (some of the material is still classified), Bowden's minute-by-minute narrative is one of the most exciting accounts of modern combat ever written--a riveting story that captures the heroism, courage, and brutality of battle."*Black Hawk Down* ranks among the best books ever written about infantry combat. . . . A descendent of books like *The Killer Angels* and *We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young*."-- Bob Shacochis, *The New York Observer*"If *Black Hawk Down* were fiction we'd rank it up there with the best war novels: *The Naked* and *the Dead* by Norman Mailer, or *The Things They Carried*, by Tim O'Brien."-- Tom Walker, *The Denver Post*"Stands in a league with Shelby Foote's stirring Civil War Diary, *Shiloh*."-- Jim Haner, *The Baltimore Sun*"One of the most gripping and authoritative accounts of combat ever written."-- Kirk Spitzer, *USA Today*"Amazing . . . One of the most intense, visceral reading experiences imaginable."-- *The Philadelphia Inquirer* A *New York Times* bestseller for 14 weeks Bowden's *Black Hawk Down* series, which appeared in the *Philadelphia Inquirer* was awarded the Overseas Press Club's Hal Boyle Award for best foreign reporting


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Halloween Night, 1954.  A young, film-obsessed scriptwriter has just been hired at one of the great studios.  An anonymous investigation leads from the giant Maximus Films backlot to an eerie graveyard separated from the studio by a single wall.  There he makes a terrifying discovery that thrusts him into a maelstrom of intrigue and mystery -- and into the dizzy exhilaration of the movie industry at the height of its glittering power.


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The incomparable Ray Bradbury is in the driver's seat, off on twenty-one unforgettable excursions through fantasy, time and memory, and there are surprises waiting around every curve and behind each mile marker. The journey promises to be a memorable one.


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The *USA Today* Bestselling Author's new Dresden Files novel...finally in paperback-and soon to be a Sci Fi Channel movie!    Filled with kickass adventure and supernatural fireworks, Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels have been compared to Harry Potter. Now, Harry Dresden must save Chicago from black magic and necromancy-all in a day's work for the city's only professional wizard.


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**Now in hardcover for the first time- book five in the *New York Times* bestselling Dresden Files series!**



 Harry Dresden, Chicago's only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But he also knows that whenever things are going good, the only way left for them to go is bad. Way bad.



 Recent examples: A duel with the lethal champion of the Red Court, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards...Hit men using Harry for target practice...The missing Shroud of Turin-and the possible involvement of Chicago's most feared mob boss...A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified...



 Not to mention the return of Harry's ex-girlfriend Susan, who's still struggling with her semi-vampiric nature-and who seems to have a new man in her life.



 Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you're charging.


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**The next book in the thrilling *New York Times* bestselling series.**



 For years he has endured the endless trials and triumphs of a man whose skill and power could not be restrained. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, Gaius Octavian became a legendary man of war-and the rightful First Lord of Alera. 



 But now, the savage Vord are on the march, and Gaius must lead his legions to the Calderon Valley to stand against them-using all of his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.


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**From the *New York Times* bestselling author of *Captain’s Fury* and the Dresden Files novels.**



 Tavi of Calderon, now recognized as Princeps Gaius Octavian and heir to the crown, has achieved a fragile alliance with Alera’s oldest foes, the savage Canim. But when Tavi and his legions guide the Canim safely to their lands, his worst fears are realized.



 The dreaded Vord—the enemy of Aleran and Cane alike—have spent the last three years laying waste to the Canim homeland. And when the Alerans are cut off from their ships, they find themselves with no choice but to fight shoulder to shoulder if they are to survive.



 For a thousand years, Alera and her furies have withstood every enemy, and survived every foe.



 The thousand years are over…


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Elevated "into the front rank of urban fantasy heroes" (SF Site), professional wizard Harry Dresden is pledged to fight crime, banish evil, and outwit the masters of dark arts in the shadowy corners of Chicago.  Harry, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, is drafted to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City. And if that wasn't enough, he must help the daughter of an old friend, whose boyfriend was the only one in a room where an old man was attacked. He insists he didn't do it. And what looks like a supernatural assault straight out of a horror film turns out to be-well, something quite close to that, as Harry discovers that malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago.


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**THE *New York Times* Bestseller**



Harry Dresden’s life finally seems to be calming down—until a shadow from the past returns. Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry—one small favor that will trap him between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and that will strain his skills—and loyalties—to their very limits.


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**The first novel of the *New York Times* bestselling Dresden Files-now in a hardcover edition.**  **As seen on the Sci Fi channel.**  The novels of the *Dresden Files* have become synonymous with action-packed urban fantasy and non-stop fun. *Storm Front* is Jim Butcher's first novel and introduces his most famous and popular character-Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.  For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry's eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry's name. And things are about to get very...interesting.


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Rumors of the discovery of Solomon's Jar--in which the biblical King Solomon bound the world's demons after using them to build his temple in Jerusalem--are followed with interest by Annja Creed. An archaeologist intrigued by the arcane, Annja pursues the truth about the vessel and its ancient origins. 

  

Her search leads her to a confrontation with a London cult driven by visions of a new world order; and a religious zealot fueled by the insatiable desire for glory.  Across the sands of the Middle East to the jungles of Brazil, Annja embarks on a relentless chase to stop humanity's most unfathomable secrets from reshaping the modern world.


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**Now available in hardcover-the fourth novel in the *New York Times* bestselling Dresden Files series.**



Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. All par for the course for Chicago's only professional wizard.



 But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone completely postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble-and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly.



 Someone-or something-is stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself.


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In need of a break from work and some recent near-death adventures, archaeologist Annja Creed visits France to indulge one of her greatest fantasies: finding D'Artagnan's lost sword. The rapier was a gift from the reigning monarch and has been missing since the seventeenth century.And Ascher Vallois, one of Annja's treasure-hunting friends, believes he has located the site of the relic.But when Annja meets with Vallois, she learns that he's made a huge sacrifice to protect the sword and its secret from a relic hunter. Annja discovers that the artifact holds the key to a fortune. And the man won't stop until he gets everything he wants—including Annja.


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Jane Eyre, a poor girl, leaves her cruel aunt's house and goes away to school. Later, she becomes a teacher and works for the rich Mr. Rochester. She loves him and wants to marry him. He loves her too, but he has a dark secret.


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**The new novel in the hit *New York Times* bestselling Dresden Files series.**



The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason against the Wizards of the White Council—and there’s only one, final punishment for that crime. He’s on the run, wants his name cleared, and needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. Someone like Harry Dresden...



 Now, Harry must uncover a traitor within the Council, keep a less-than-agreeable Morgan under wraps, and avoid coming under scrutiny himself. And a single mistake may cost someone his head—someone like Harry


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A sensational addition to the *Dresden Files* adventures-from a *USA Today* bestselling author.  



  Professional wizard Harry Dresden is investigating a series of deaths in Chicago. Someone is killing practitioners of magic, those incapable of becoming full-fledged wizards. Shockingly, all the evidence points to Harry's half-brother, Thomas, as the murderer. Determined to clear his sibling's name,  Harry uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens not only him, but his nearest and dearest, too...


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From the ashes of an ancient holy order comes an unholy relic...In the time of the Crusades, the Knights Templars were holy warriors who seemed to be blessed by God himself. But over the years, the order dissolved into mysteries both sacred and profane--creating an object whose power bends to the true nature of its owner....But until she held it in her hands, archaeologist Annja Creed hadn't heard of the Skull of Sidon nor the twisted tale of its origins. Even now, she's still not convinced. Yet someone wants it badly enough to hire a man who wields power beyond her imagining. Power enough to prevent Annja from protecting the mysterious skull. And power enough to kill.


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Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte's only novel. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte. The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centres (as an adjective, wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys both themselves and many around them.



Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights' innovative structure, which has been likened to a series of Matryoshka dolls,[citation needed] met with mixed reviews by critics when it first appeared. Though Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was originally considered the best of the Bronte sisters' works, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior. Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, a musical by Bernard J. Taylor and songs (notably the hit Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush), ballet and opera. *(Quote from wikipedia.org)*



**About the Author**



Emily Jane Bronte (July 30, 1818 - December 19, 1848) was a British novelist and poet, now best remembered for her only novel Wuthering Heights, a classic of English literature. Emily was the second eldest of the three surviving Bronte sisters, being younger than Charlotte and older than Anne. She published under the masculine pen name Ellis Bell.



Emily was born in Thornton, near Bradford in Yorkshire to Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell. She was the younger sister of Charlotte Bronte and the fift


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**"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."**

After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestsellingauthor of The Mother Tongue and Made in America-decided to returnto the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out ona grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, *Notes from a Small Island* is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile."Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."

After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson-bestselling author of ,i>The Mother Tongue* and *Made in America*-decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. 

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.


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Archaeologist Annja Creed believes there's more to the apparitions of Santo Niño--the Holy Child--luring thousands of pilgrims to Santa Fe. Other sightings of strange and anomalous creatures in the area indicate a mystery more profane than sacred--with links, perhaps, to Annja's own fate. But she is not alone in her quest to separate reliquaries from unholy minds who dare to harness sinister power. A dangerous yet enigmatic Jesuit, sworn to protect the Vatican at any cost, a brilliant young artist whose genius portrays a truth too potent for words and a famed monster hunter with a terrifying agenda are the keys to the secrets that lie in the heart of Los Alamos--and unlocking the door to the very fabric of time itself .


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After risking her life to uncover a Chinese imperial seal, only to have it stolen by a cunning tomb robber, archaeologist Annja Creed feels she has endured one treasure-hunting fiasco too many. But when a mysterious collector offers a reward for a priceless golden elephant, Annja gives in. After all, there are bills to be paid, adventures to be had.The artifact is said to be hidden in a vast and ancient temple complex in the mountainous jungles of Southeast Asia, and Annja must meet with various scholars in order to pinpoint its location. But when each expert she visits is found dead, Annja fears someone else is after the artifact.And her. And she's probably next on the killer's list.


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The Zombie Survival Guide is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now. Fully illustrated and exhaustively comprehensive, this book covers everything you need to know, including how to understand zombie physiology and behavior, the most effective defense tactics and weaponry, ways to outfit your home for a long siege, and how to survive and adapt in any territory or terrain.Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack 1. Organize before they rise! 2. They feel no fear, why should you?3. Use your head: cut off theirs.4. Blades don’t need reloading.5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it. 7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!9. No place is safe, only safer. 10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on. Don’t be carefree and foolish with your most precious asset—life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without your even knowing it. The Zombie Survival Guide offers complete protection through trusted, proven tips for safeguarding yourself and your loved ones against the living dead. It is a book that can save your life.


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“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie WarThe Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. *World War Z* is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War. Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe*From the Hardcover edition.*


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The brilliant author of The Masks of God shares his ideas and speculations on our universal myths, in a fascinating, very personal work which explores the enduring power of the myths that influence our lives and examines the myth-making process from the primitive past to the immediate present.


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Finally available in a popularly priced, non-illustrated, smaller-format edition, which is ideal for the college market and general reader alike, this extraordinary best-seller is a brilliant evocation of the noted scholar's teachings on mythology.


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Ancient papyrus scrolls recovered among the charred ruins of the Library of Alexandria reveal astonishing texts that detail the wonders of Atlantisknowledge that could shatter the blueprint of world energy. Archaeologist Annja Creed confronts shadow figures determined to preserve empires built on power, greed and global manipulation, finding unlikely allies in a mysterious American with connections in high places, and a young linguistics prodigy with attitude. Dodging a petroleum conglomerate and their pet killers on a high-speed chase that leads from Egypt to the North Sea oil fields to the urban battlegrounds of China, Annja becomes an unwilling conspirator in a bid for power to control the beating heart of the world's energy.


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An old woman in a nursing home speaks of a child buried behind the fireplace...When Tommy and Tuppence visited an elderly aunt in her gothic nursing home, they thought nothing of her mistrust of the doctors; after all, Ada was a very difficult old lady. But when Mrs Lockett mentioned a poisoned mushroom stew and Mrs Lancaster talked about 'something behind the fireplace', Tommy and Tuppence found themselves caught up in an unexpected adventure involving possible black magic!


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Annja Creed jumps at the chance to join a fellow archaeologist on a quest to find a relic. But she's not so thrilled about northern Siberia, where they are hoping to discover something buried in the long-undisturbed soil of Russia's frozen terrain. When they reach the town of Jakutsk, Annja is put off by its gray landscape and highly superstitious inhabitants. They claim they are being hunted. Then one of the villagers goes missing.The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.
SUMMARY:
Annja Creed jumps at the chance to join a fellow archaeologist on a quest to find a relic. But she's not so thrilled about northern Siberia, where they are hoping to discover something buried in the long-undisturbed soil of Russia's frozen terrain. When they reach the town of Jakutsk, Annja is put off by its gray landscape and highly superstitious inhabitants. They claim they are being hunted. Then one of the villagers goes missing.The locals blame the Khosadam, a ghost of a fallen goddess said to ingest the souls of the departed. But there are no fresh graves. She is now hunting the living. When Annja seeks to destroy the apparition, she discovers an even more horrifying truth—and may have hit a dead end.


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A BBC Radio full-cast dramatization starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, with Stephanie Cole and Donald Sinden. Hercule Poirot, along with three other luminaries from the world of crime detection, is invited to dinner by the renowned London socialite Dr. Shaitana. Also on the guest list are four members of what Shaitana calls his Black Museum--a collection of murderers who have each succeeded in "getting away with it." After midnight, when the guests prepare to leave, they make a terrible discovery. Their host is dead in his armchair, stabbed in the chest. The four sleuths are thus faced with one murder and a quartet of likely suspects. Working both together and independently, they investigate the past of the Black Museum's finest in order to determine the most likely killer. Poirot finds that many distractions are thrown in his way, as he attempts to read the meaning of the cards which each suspect has placed on the table.


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Unpleasant things are going on in an exclusive school for girls - things like murder!  Late one night, two teachers investigate a mysterious flashing light in the sports pavilion, while the rest of the school sleeps. There, among the lacrosse sticks, they stumble upon the body of the unpopular games mistress -- shot through the heart from point blank range.  The school is thrown into chaos when the 'cat' strikes again. Unfortunately, schoolgirl Julia Upjohn knows too much. In particular, she knows that without Hercule Poirot's help, she will be the next victim!


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On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. Five years, four months and twenty-nine days later, on April 14, 1965, Richard Eugene Hickock, aged thirty-three, and Perry Edward Smith, aged thirty-six, were hanged from the crime on a gallows in a warehouse in the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing, Kansa. In Cold Blood is the story of the lives and deaths of these six people. It has already been hailed as a masterpiece.


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Using the lore and the folk magic of the men and women who settled the North American continent, Card has created an alternate frontier America: a world where folk magic really works, and where that magic has colored the entire history of the colonies. Charms and beseechings, hexes and potions, all have a place in the lives of the people of this world. "Knacks" abound: Dowsers find water, the second sight warns of dangers to come, and a torch can read the heart of anyone. And Alvin Miller, the seventh son of a seventh son, is a very special man indeed. Alvin is a Maker, and what he can make is a new future for America. But to do that he must defeat his ancient enemy, the Unmaker, whose cruel whispers and deadly plots have threatened Alvin's life at every turn. Now a grown man and a journeyman smith, Alvin has returned to his family and friends in the town of Vigor Church, to share in their isolation, to work as a blacksmith, and to try to teach anyone who will learn the knack of being a Maker. For Alvin has had a vision of the city he will build, and he knows that he cannot build it alone. But the Unmaker is not through with Alvin. If that spirit of destruction cannot stop him by magic, or war and devastation, then it will try to crush the young Maker by simpler means - more human means. By lies and innuendo, and by false accusations, Alvin is driven from his home back to Hatrack River, only to find that the Unmaker has been there before him, and that he must now stand trial for his life.


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In the crumbling remains of a tunnel that was part of the Underground Railroad, a mysterious artifact reveals one of the darkest secrets of Africa's ancient past. Intrigued by the strange, encrypted stone, archaeologist Annja Creed opens a door to a world--and a legend--bound by a fierce and terrible force. She is not alone in her pursuit of the impossible. 

  

A bloodthirsty African warlord, and an international corporate magnate exploiting a land, a culture and a people, are equally anxious to stake their claim on the relic's unknown power. Annja's odyssey deep into the primeval jungles of Senegal becomes a desperate race to stop those eager to unleash the virulence of the Spider God….


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EDITORIAL REVIEW: Genghis Khan carved out a legacy of bloodshed and conquered kingdoms that has lasted almost eight hundred years. But while his name and deeds live on in the annals of history, his tomb has never been located… until now. Not everyone is convinced that the diary and the map, said to lead to the great warrior's final resting place, are authentic. Archaeologist Annja Creed is among these doubters. The reality is that the body was lost to history. But despite her skepticism, Annja suddenly finds herself pulled along an increasingly complex trail of clues, each more remote than the last. And as she and her companions race to their final destination, one thing is clear—the only tomb she may find is her *own*….
SUMMARY:
Genghis Khan carved out a legacy of bloodshed and conquered kingdoms that has lasted almost eight hundred years. But while his name and deeds live on in the annals of history, his tomb has never been located… until now.Not everyone is convinced that the diary and the map, said to lead to the great warrior's final resting place, are authentic. Archaeologist Annja Creed is among these doubters. The reality is that the body was lost to history. But despite her skepticism, Annja suddenly finds herself pulled along an increasingly complex trail of clues, each more remote than the last. And as she and her companions race to their final destination, one thing is clear—the only tomb she may find is her own….


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In the sprawling, half-timbered mansion in the affluent suburb of Swinly Dean, Aristide Leonides lies dead from barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely. In fact, suspicion has already fallen on his luscious widow, a cunning beauty fifty years his junior, set to inherit a sizeable fortune, and rumored to be carrying on with a strapping young tutor comfortably ensconced in the family estate. But criminologist Charles Hayward is casting his own doubts on the innocence of the entire Leonides brood. He knows them intimately. And he's certain that in a crooked house such as Three Gables, no one's on the level...


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**An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.****A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.****An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.**As millions of readers around the globe have already discovered, **The Da Vinci Code** is a reading experience unlike any other. Simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail, Dan Brown's novel is a thrilling masterpiece—from its opening pages to its stunning conclusion.



SUMMARY:
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever. THE DA VINCI CODEheralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller...utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion. From the Hardcover edition.


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After twenty-three years, Orson Scott Card returns to his acclaimed best-selling series with the first true, direct sequel to the classic *Ender's Game*.



In *Ender’s Game*, the world’s most gifted children were taken from their families and sent to an elite training school. At Battle School, they learned combat, strategy, and secret intelligence to fight a dangerous war on behalf of those left on Earth. But they also learned some important and less definable lessons about life.

After the life-changing events of those years, these children—now teenagers—must leave the school and readapt to life in the outside world.

Having not seen their families or interacted with other people for years—where do they go now? What can they do? 

Ender fought for humanity, but he is now reviled as a ruthless assassin. No longer allowed to live on Earth, he enters into exile. With his sister Valentine, he chooses to leave the only home he’s ever known to begin a relativistic—and revelatory—journey beyond the stars.  

What happened during the years between *Ender’s Game* and *Speaker for the Dead*? What did Ender go through from the ages of 12 through 35? The story of those years has never been told. Taking place 3000 years before Ender finally receives his chance at redemption in *Speaker for the Dead*, this is the long-lost story of Ender.

For twenty-three years, millions of readers have wondered and now they will receive the answers. ***Ender in Exile*** is **Orson Scott Card**’s moving return to all the action and the adventure, the profound exploration of war and society, and the characters one never forgot.

*On one of these ships, there is a baby that just may share the same special gifts as Ender’s old friend Bean**…***


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a priceless artifact could restore a family's honor — or destroy everything in its wake.While vacationing in Tokyo, archaeologist Annja Creed is approached by a man who desperately needs her help. Kennichi Ogawa, the last descendant of an ancient warrior family, is trying to locate a stolen artifact. Legend has it that the vajra was mystically endowed by a warrior's spirit to help the Yumegakure-ryu family forever be a source for good. But the vajra could help the forces of evil if it gets into the wrong hands. And now the bloodthirsty Yakuza and a group of hired ninja are after it. As Annja and Kennichi trek through the fog-enshrouded mountains of the Iga province to find the relic, they must also outsmart the vicious Yakuza and ninja who are dangerously close to uncovering the vajra first…and to destroying their competition.


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The house guests at Styles seemed perfectly pleasant to Captain Hastings - there was his own daughter Judith, an inoffensive ornithologist called Norton, dashing Mr Allerton, brittle Miss Cole, Doctor Franklin and his fragile wife Barbara, Nurse Craven, Colonel Luttrell and his charming wife Daisy, and the charismatic Boyd-Carrington. So Hastings was shocked when Poirot declared that one of them was a five-times murderer. True, that ageing detective was crippled with arthritis, but had his deductive instincts finally deserted him?


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A woman is killed by a poisoned dart in the enclosed confines of a commercial passeneger plane...From seat No.9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No.13, sat a Countess with a poorly-concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No.8, a detective writer was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.  What Poirot did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No.2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman.


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Linnet Doyle is young, beautiful, and rich. She's the girl who has everything—including the man her best friend loves. Linnet and her new husband take a cruise on the Nile, where they meet the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot. It should be an idyllic trip, yet Poirot has a vague, uneasy feeling that something is dangerously amiss...


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In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world’s most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling--a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.  

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.  

When Langdon’s beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.  

As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown’s novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown’s fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet.


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One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.In **A Walk in the Woods**, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In **In A Sunburned Country**, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. **A Short History of Nearly Everything*** *is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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The screenplay for Stanley Kubrick’s disturbing and exhilarating masterpiece, featuring 800 film stills chosen by the director.    

This unique illustrated screenplay features 800 still images from “A Clockwork Orange,” selected by Stanley Kubrick when the film was first released in 1971. As Kubrick comments in his introduction: “I have always wondered if there might be a more meaningful way to present a book about a film. To make, as it were, a complete graphic representation of the film, cut by cut, with the dialogue printed in the proper place in relation to the cuts, so that within the limits of still photos and words, an accurate (and I hope interesting) record of a film might be available… This book represents that attempt.”    

Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess.


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Meet Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the unforgettable boy-hero of Ender's Game -winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel-and enter his Universe through this collection of stories. "The Polish Boy" is John Paul Wiggin, the future father of Ender. In the years between the first two Bugger Wars, the Hegemony is desperate to recruit brilliant military commanders to repel the alien invasion. They may have found their man-or boy-in John Paul Wiggin.... In "Teacher's Pest"-a novella written especially for this collection-a brilliant but arrogant John Paul Wiggin, now a university student, matches wits with an equally brilliant graduate student. "The Investment Counselor" is set after the end of the Bugger Wars. Banished from Earth and slandered as a mass murderer, twenty-year-old Andrew Wiggin wanders incognito from planet to planet as a fugitive-until a blackmailing tax inspector compromises his identity and threatens to expose Ender the Xeoncide. Also reprinted here is the original award-winning novella, "Ender's Game," which first appeared in 1977.


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Peggy is a Torch, able to see the fire burning in each person's heart. She can follow the paths of each person's future, and know each person's most intimate secrets. From the moment of Alvin Maker's birth, when the Unmaker first strove to kill him, she has protected him.Now they are married, and Peggy is a part of Alvin's heart as well as his life.But Alvin's destiny has taken them on separate journeys. Alvin has gone north into New England, where knacks are considered witchcraft, and their use is punished with death.Peggy has been drawn south, to the British Crown Colonies and the court of King Arthur Stuart in exile. For she has seen a terrible future bloom in the heartfires of every person in America, a future of war and destruction. One slender path exists that leads through the bloodshed, and it is Peggy's quest to set the world on the path to peace.


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The Tales of Alvin Maker series continues in volume three, Prentice Alvin. Young Alvin returns to the town of his birth, and begins his apprenticeship with Makepeace Smith, committing seven years of his life in exchange for the skills and knowledge of a blacksmith. But Alvin must also learn to control and use his own talent, that of a Maker, else his destiny will be unfulfilled.


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A spoiled and sickly orphan blossoms into a creature of loving kindness in this unforgettable classic of childhood. At her uncle's forbidding Yorkshire estate, Mary joins with new friends in the restoration of an abandoned garden and discovers the pleasures of blooming flowers, friendship, good health, and high spirits.


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Agatha Christie's genius for detective fiction is unparalleled. Her worldwide popularity is phenomenal, her characters engaging, her plots spellbinding. No one knows the human heart--or the dark passions that can stop it--better than Agatha Christie. She is truly the one and only Queen of Crime. DestinationUnknownThomas Charles Betterton, a famous scientist, has vanished. Conflicting reports of sightings of the missing man have come in from all over Europe. Then, his wife of six months decides to take a holiday to Morocco--for a rest That's when a strange and surprising series of events begins to unfold. A superb--and different--mystery from a master at her best.


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Hercule Poirot is determined to solve an old husband and wife double murder that is still an open verdict...Hercule Poirot stood on the cliff-top. For here, many years earlier, there had been a tragic accident -- the broken body of a woman was discovered on the rocks at the foot of the cliff.  This was followed by the grisly discovery of two more bodies -- a husband and wife -- shot dead.  But who had killed whom? Was it a suicide pact? A crime of passion? Or cold-blooded murder?  Poirot delves back into a crime committed 15 years earlier and discovers that, when there is a distinct lack of physical evidence, it's just as well that 'old sins leave long shadows'!


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"Red Prophet" Volume II of the Tales of Alvin Maker "Suddenly the saga of Alvin Maker begins to thrill."--"Washington Post Book World" ""Red Prophet" is but a section of a vast American fantasy epic. It is vividly written, and the principal actors--Alvin, Ta-Kumsaw, the Prophet, and Alvin's Gandalfesque mentor Taleswapper--are all complete and memorable characters."--"The Philadelphia Inquirer" Come here to the magical America that might have been, and marvel as the tale of Alvin Maker unfolds. The seventh son of a seventh son is a boy of mysterious powers, and he is waking to the mysteries of the land and its own chosen people. "Harsher, bleaker, and more mystical than" Seventh Son," this novel superbly demonstrates Card's solid historical research, keen understanding of religious experience, and, most of all, his mastery of the art of storytelling."--"Booklist "


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Agatha Christie's disturbing 1960s mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.  Gipsy's Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea -- and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy.  There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after.  Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals' warnings: 'There's no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy's Acre.'  Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying 'In my end is my beginning!'


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For centuries, the people of Alera have relied on the power of the furies to protect them from outside invaders. But the gravest threat might be closer than they think.Tavi has escaped the Calderon Valley and the mysterious attack of the Marat on his homeland. But he is far from safe, as trying to keep up the illusion of being a student while secretly training as one of the First Lord's spies is a dangerous game. And he has not yet learned to use the furies, making him especially vulnerable.When the attack comes it's on two fronts. A sudden strike threatens the First Lord's life and threatens to plunge the land into civil war. While in the Calderon Valley, the threat faced from the Marat is dwarfed by an ancient menace. And Tavi must learn to harness the furies if he has any chance of fighting the greatest threat Alera has ever known . . .


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**New in hardcover from the #1 *New York Times* bestselling author of the Dresden Files series. ** 



 For Harry Dresden, there have been worse assignments than going undercover on the set of an adult film. Still, there's something more troubling than usual about his newest case. The film's producer believes he's the target of a sinister curse-but it's the women around him who are dying. 



 Harry's even more frustrated because he only got involved with this bizarre mystery as a favor to Thomas-his flirtatious, self-absorbed vampire acquaintance of dubious integrity. Thomas has a personal stake in the case Harry can't quite figure out. But Harry is about to discover that Thomas' family tree has been hiding a shocking revelation that will change his life forever...


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From the author of Ender’s Game, an unforgettable story about young Alvin Maker: the seventh son of a seventh son. Born into an alternative frontier America where life is hard and folk magic is real, Alvin is gifted with the power. He must learn to use his gift wisely. But dark forces are arrayed against Alvin, and only a young girl with second sight can protect him.


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The Jolly Roger Hotel on Leathercombe Bay is where the wealthy partake of the salt air, the sea breezes, and the sun's tanning rays. It's the perfect place for spoiled heiress Arlena Marshall to be desired by handsome men, envied by jealous women, doted upon by her slavish husband...and strangled to death on the beach.


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In his acclaimed Codex Alera novels, bestselling author Jim Butcher has created a fascinating world in which the elemental forces of nature take physical form and are used for protection. Now, as enemies become allies and friends become bitter foes, a danger beyond reckoning looms for all.


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Take one dead lothario; add his jealous wife accused of his murder; toss in a devoted daughter who wants to clear her mother's name, and you get one of the greatest challenges of Hercule Poirot's career.


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** The new novel in the #1 *New York Times* bestselling Dresden Files series. **



 Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover-until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it. 



 Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it-against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world... 



 He's fighting to save his *child*.


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Volume 70 (1969) in the Agatha Christie Collection. Limited edition of 1000 copies world wide.  At a Hallowe'en party, Joyce -- a hostile thirteen-year-old -- boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no-one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.  That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the 'evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer...


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Agatha Christie's seasonal mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.  It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.  But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man!


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Using the lore and the folk-magic of the men and women who settled North America, Orson Scott Card has created an alternate world where magic works, and where that magic has colored the entire history of the colonies. Charms and beseechings, hexes and potions, all have a place in the lives of the people of this world. Dowsers find water, the second sight warns of dangers to come, and a torch can read a person's future---or their heart.In this world where "knacks" abound, Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, is a very special man indeed. He's a Maker; he has the knack of understanding how things are put together, how to create them, repair them, keep them whole, or tear them down. He can heal hearts as well as bones, he build a house, he can calm the waters or blow up a storm. And he can teach his knack to others, to the measure of their own talent.Alvin has been trying to avert the terrible war that his wife, Peggy, a torch of extraordinary power, has seen down the life-lines of every American. Now she has sent him down the Mizzippy to the city of New Orleans, or Nueva Barcelona as they call it under Spanish occupation. Alvin doesn't know exactly why he's there, but when he and his brother-in-law, Arthur Stuart, find lodgings with a family of abolitionists who know Peggy, he suspects he'll find out soon. But Nueva Barcelona is about to experience a plague, and Alvin's efforts to protect his friends by keeping them healthy will create more danger than he could ever have suspected. And in saving the poor people of the city, Alvin will be put to the greatest test of his life---a test that will draw on all his power. For the time has come for him to turn to his old friend Tenskwa-Tawa, the Red Prophet who controls the lands to the west of the Mizzippy. Now Alvin must take the first steps on the road to the Crystal City that was shown to him in a vision so long ago.


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There's more than petty theft going on in a London youth hostel...An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot's interest. But when he saw the list of stolen and vandalized items -- including a stethoscope, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring found in a bowl of soup -- he congratulated the warden, Mrs Hubbard, on a 'unique and beautiful problem'. The list made absolutely no sense at all. But, reasoned Poirot, if this was merely a petty thief at work, why was everyone at the hostel so frightened?


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Agatha Christie's famous murder mystery, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.  Poirot had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to 'get rid of' her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn't help feeling that he was being taken for a ride.  After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce?


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A collection of Miss Marple mysteries, plus some bonus short stories!  First, the mystery man in the church with a bullet-wound! then, the riddle of a dead man's buried treasure! the curious conduct oif a caretaker after a fatal riding accident! the corpse and a tape-measure! the girl framed for theft! and the suspect accused of stabbing his wife with a dagger.  Six gripping cases with one thing in common -- the astonishing deductive powers of Miss Marple.  Also includes two non-Marple mysteries, 'The Dressmaker's Doll' and 'In a Glass Darkly'.


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An old widow is brutally killed in the parlour of her cottage...Mrs McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion fell immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes revealed traces of the victim's blood and hair. Yet something was amiss: Bentley just didn't look like a murderer.  Poirot believed he could save the man from the gallows -- what he didn't realise was that his own life was now in great danger!


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The classic mystery that introduced Miss Jane Marple Miss Jane Marple's passion for gossip leads to the investigation of the murder of a local man not liked in the least. The victim's death isn't raising eyebrows. But his recently revealed secrets are...


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When nurse Amy Leatheran agrees to look after American archaeologist Dr Leidner’s wife Louise at a dig near Hassanieh she finds herself taking on more than just nursing duties – she also has to help solve murders. Fortunately for Amy, Hercule Poirot is visiting the excavation site but will the great detective be in time to prevent a multiple murderer from striking again?


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Murder, stolen plans, a mysterious death and a menage a trois - four intriguing novellas featuring Hercule Poirot!  How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secert military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the 'eternal triangle' of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry?  Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases -- Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man's Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes -- each a miniature classic of characterisation, incident and suspense.


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Agatha Christie is more than the most popular mystery writer of all time. In a career that spans over half a century, her name is synonymous with brilliant deception, ingenious puzzles, and the surprise denouement. By virtually inventing the modern mystery novel she has earned her title as the Queen of Crime. Curious? Then you're invited to read...MURDER IS EASYIt was just Luke Fitzwilliam's luck to be stuck next to a dotty old woman like Miss Fullerton on the London-bound train-although he found himself quite entertained with her tall tales about a series of perfect murders in the quaint village of Wychwood. But when he reads the next day of the freak accident that killed her, too, Fitzwilliam's amusement turns to grave concern. A visit to the isolated village confirms his worst fears. For Wychwood seems to divided by an eccentric lot of locals: those who are in on a dark and dangerous secret-and those who don't live long enough to share it.AUTHORBIO: AGATHA CHRISTIE is the world's best known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.  Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 80 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies.Agatha Christie also wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four non-fiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan.  Agatha Christie died in 1976.


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On a French golf course, a millionaire is found stabbed in the back...An urgent cry for help brings Poirot to France. But he arrives too late to save his client, whose brutally stabbed body now lies face downwards in a shallow grave on a golf course. But why is the dead man wearing his son's overcoat? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse!


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One of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express was inspired by two real-life crimes and the author’s own experience being stranded on the Orient Express during Christmas of 1931. While traveling to Paris, a wealthy American is stabbed to death in his cabin on the Orient Express. With the train stuck in a snowdrift, there is no easy escape for the killer. Fortunately, detective Hercule Poirot is aboard and launches a clever investigation into the curious assortment of passengers, of whom each seems to have a motive.


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Volume 38 in the Agatha Christie Collection (1941) Limited edition of 800 copies worldwide  It is World War II, and while the RAF struggles to keep the Luftwaffe at bay, Britain faces an even more sinister threat from 'the enemy within' -- Nazis posing as ordinary citizens.  With pressure mounting, the Intelligence service appoints two unlikely spies, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Their mission: to seek out a man and a woman from among the colourful guests at Sans Souci, a seaside hotel. But this assignment is no stroll along the promenade. After all, N and M have just murdered Britain's finest agent...


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The request sounds simple: solve a crime. Except there are no clues as to what happened, when it occurred, where it was committed, or for that matter, to whom. For Miss Jane Marple, it's the most baffling-and final-case of her illustrious career.


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A dentist lies murdered at his Harley Street practice!  The dentist was found with a blackened hole below his right temple. A pistol lay on the floor near his outflung right hand. Later, one of his patients was found dead from a lethal dose of local anaesthetic. A clear case of murder and suicide. But why would a dentist commit a crime in the middle of a busy day of appointments?  A shoe buckle holds the key to the mystery. Now -- in the words of the rhyme -- can Poirot pick up the sticks and lay them straight?


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Evidence that clears the name of a boy sentenced for killing his adopted mother arrives too late to save his life - so who did kill her? Dr. Arthur Calgary takes a ferry across the Rubicon River to Sunny Point, the home of the Argyle family. A year before, the matriarch of the family was murdered and a son, Jack, was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Throughout the trial Jack had maintained his innocence, claiming he was hitchhiking on the night of the murder and he had been picked up by a middle-aged man in a dark car. Unable to locate this mystery man the police viewed Jack's as a lie. Calgary was the stranger in question, but he arrives to late for Jack -- who succumbs to pneumonia after serving just six months of his sentence. Feeling a sense of duty to the Argyles, Calgary is surprised when his revelation has a disturbing effect on the family -- it means one of the family is a murderer!


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Agatha Christie is more than the most popular mystery writer of all time. In a career that spans over half a century, her name is synonymous with brilliant deception, ingenious puzzles, and the surprise denouement. By virtually inventing the modern mystery novel she has earned her title as the Queen of Crime. Curious? Then you're invited to read....PARKER PYNE INVESTIGATESThe personal ad posed a simple question: Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne. The answer is a resounding no for a jealous wife who suspects her husband of infidelity....for a lonely widow driven to assume a new identity....for a distraught mother whose son has been kidnapped....and for the fianc of a strangely reclusive bride-to-be. But what sort of detective would solicit in the personals? The sort who has a knack for investigating affairs of the heart. For therein lie the darkest motives for murder. And they are proving most lucrative for the hopelessly romantic-and highly suspicious Inspector Parker Pyne.AUTHORBIO: AGATHA CHRISTIE is the world's best known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in 44 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her writing career spanned more than half a century, during which she wrote 80 novels and short story collections, as well as 14 plays, one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history. Two of the characters she created, the brilliant little Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Marple, went on to become world-famous detectives. Both have been widely dramatized in feature films and made-for-TV movies.Agatha Christie also wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. As well, she wrote four non-fiction books including an autobiography and an entertaining account of the many expeditions she shared with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan. Agatha Christie died in 1976.


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Agatha Christie_s complete Tommy and Tuppence short story collection, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt_s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance.After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.


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Agatha Christie is more than the most popular mystery writer of all time. In a career that spans over half a century, her name is synonymous with brilliant deception, ingenious puzzles, and the surprise denouement. By virtually inventing the modern mystery novel she has earned her title as the Queen of Crime. Curious? Then you're invited to read...Passenger To FrankfurtIt was an unusual predicament for Sir Stafford Nye-to awaken in a stupor after being drugged, only to find his passport stolen. There was also no trace of the fascinating woman he encountered in Frankfurt who begged him to help save her life. But Sir Stafford's troubles are only just beginning. The target of two murder attempts, he now seeks the help of the stranger who so urgently sought his. If he can locate her. What he finds is a woman of numerous identities and twice as many secrets, who ushers him into the shadows of an international conspiracy that could well prove to be the death of them.


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Hercule Poirot is vacationing on the Cornish coast when he meets Nick Buckly. Nick is the young and reckless mistress of End House, an imposing structure perched on the rocky cliffs of St. Loo.   Poirot has taken a particular interest in the young woman who has recently narrowly escaped a series of life-threatening accidents. Something tells the Belgian sleuth that these so-called accidents are more than just mere coincidences or a spate of bad luck. It seems all too clear to him that someone is trying to do away with poor Nick, but who? And, what is the motive? In his quest for answers, Poirot must delve into the dark history of End House. The deeper he gets into his investigation, the more certain he is that the killer will soon strike again. And, this time, Nick may not escape with her life.


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The colorful Belgian detective with the waxed mustache and the egg-shaped head uses his little gray cells to solve 14 of his most baffling cases, ranging from country house murders to an adventure in an Egyptian tomb. Ageless, timeless mystery from the "Queen of Crime." **MASS MARKET PAPER**


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Hercule Poirot has a hard time finding a single suspect in the murder of an old lady everyone loved.


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A collectionof short stories featuring some of Agatha Christie's best-loved detectives - Hercule Poirot, Parker Pyne, Mr Satterthwaite and Harley Quin!  All great crime writers have their favourite creations. Similarly, every great sleuth has his, or her, own preferred method of deduction.  Take the charming Parker Pyne, who relies upon an intuitive knowledge of human nature to solve the Problem at Pollensa Bay. Or Mr Satterthwaite, who seeks inspiration through his collaboration with the enigmatic Mr Quin in The Harlequin Tea Set mystery. Then, of course, there's Poirot, whose measured analysis of motive and opportunity is tested to the full in Yellow Iris, when he receives an anonymous call about a matter of life and death.


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An elderly stroke victim dies without having arranged a will...Beautiful young Elinor Carlisle stood serenely in the dock, accused of the murder of Mary Gerrard, her rival in love. The evidence was damning: only Elinor had the motive, the opportunity and the means to administer the fatal poison. Yet, inside the hostile courtroom, only one man still presumed Elinor was innocent until proven guilty: Hercule Poirot was all that stood between Elinor and the gallows!


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Originally published the year of Agatha Christie's death, *Sleeping Murder* is a novel as legendary as its lead character and its creator...A novel that adheres to the classic mystery formula, and transcends it... A novel that is a must for every mystery reader, marking the final bow of Christie's beloved sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. Now Sleeping Murder is back in a special trade edition, sure to delight old and new fans alike...."Agatha Christie makes us feel Miss Marple's shiver."-*New York Times*"Has all the virtues of Agatha Christie's work; a coherant plot, firm and purposeful narration, and a pleasant style."--*Times Literary Supplement*


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Agatha Christie's genius for detective fiction isunparalleled. Her worldwide popularity isphenomenal, her characters engaging, her plotsspellbinding. No one knows the human heart-orthe dark passions that can stop it-better thanAgatha Christie. She is truly the one and onlyQueen of Crime.Sparlkling Cyanide"Rosemary that's for remembrance" Six people are thinkingabout beautiful Rosemary Barton, who died nearly a yearbefore. There's the loving sister, the long-suffering husband, thedevoted secretary, the lovers, and the betrayed wife. None ofthem can forget Rosemary But did one of them murder her?


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Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, her works outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. She is regarded by generations of fans as the greatest mystery writer ever, and her novels are read and cherished the world over.Clarissa, the young wife of a foreign office diplomat, delights in tweaking the sensibilities of her more serious friends by playing a game she calls "supposing"-imagining a difficult situation and finding out how people would respond. But Clarissa's lighthearted game becomes deadly serious when she discovers the body of an unknown person in her own drawing room. If that weren't bad enough, her husband is on the way home with an important foreign politician. Clarissa decides to dispose of the body and persuades her three houseguests to help. But before she can get the corpse off the premises, a policeman knocks at her front door. Now Clarissa must keep the body hidden, convince the skeptical police inspector that there has been no murder, and, in the meantime, find out who has been murdered, why, and what the body is doing in her house...AUTHORBIO: AGATHA CHRISTIE is the author of eighty crime novels and collections of stories, nineteen plays, six novels written under the name Mary Westmacott, two volumes of poetry, a volume of Christmas verse and stories, an autobiography, and Come, Tell Me How You Live. She is the creator of some of the most enduring figures of crime literature as well as the author of The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater. Christie was awarded the CBE (Commander, Order of the British Empire) in 1956 and was made a Dame Commander, Order of the British Empire, in 1971. She was president of the Detection Club (1954) and was the first writer to be awarded the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award (1955). Agatha Christie died on January 12, 1976.CHARLES OSBORNE is a world authority on theater and opera and has written a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. He is the author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie as well as the novelizations of two of Christie's plays, the bestselling Black Coffee and The Unexpected Guest. He lives in London.


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A man returns from the dead, and the body of a mysterious stranger is found in his room!  A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune.  Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Poirot has his suspicions when he is asked to find a missing person guided only by the spirit world. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him!


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Alice Ascher, a shopkeeper in Andover, is bludgeoned to death at her place of work. Next to die is Miss Bernard in Bexhill, then Mr. Clarke in Churston. More disturbing than the alphabetic sequence of the killings or the ABC Railway guide that the killer leaves at the scene of each crime are the taunting notes Hercule Poirot receives each time the killer is about to strike again. It is one of Poirot’s most challenging cases yet.


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A ruthless international cartel seeks world domination...Framed in the doorway of Poirot's bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man's gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell. Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about 'Number Four'.


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**A New York Times Bestseller**

  Another riotous journey through the mind of one of America's premiere comic observers. Ranging from his absurdist side to his unerring ear for American speech to his unsparing views on America and its values, Carlin's legendary irreverence and iconoclasm are on full display as he vainly scours the American landscape for signs of intelligence.  

  Available only in Core 6 & 7.


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I FIRST HEARD OF Antonia on what seemed to me an interminable journey across the great midland plain of North America.


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THE ANTHONY AWARD-WINNING SLEUTH Elspeth McGillicuddy is not given to hallucinations. Until she witnesses a murder at Paddington Station. But did she? No victim, no suspect, no other witnesses. In fact no one believes it really happened at all. Except her friend Miss Jane Marple, and she's returning to the scene of the crime to discover just exactly what Mrs. McGillicuddy saw.


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"Would you like to see a picture of a murderer?" So asks a stranger of Miss Jane Marple while she is vacationing on luxurious St. Honore. Before she has a chance to answer, the mystery man vanishes, only to be found dead the following day. Now Miss Marple is asking the questions: What happened to the curious photo: Why is the hotelier prone to nightmares? Why doesn't the most-talked-about guest, a reclusive millionaire, ever leave his room? Any why is Miss Marple fearing for her own life?


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Agatha Christie's most ingenious murder mystery, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: 'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.' A childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to scare poor Letitia Blacklock? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out!


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Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his 'counting house' when he suffered an agonising and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain traces of cereals.  Yet, it was the incident in the parlour which confirmed Miss Marple's suspicion that here she was looking at a case of crime by rhyme


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After the reading of a will at a Victorian mansion, the sister of the deceased patriarch suspects he met with foul play. But before long, Cora is banished from the family tree--with eight blows of a hatchet. And detective Hercule Poirot suspects she won't be the last to go.


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"First, there were ten - a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal - and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder, and one by one they begin to fall prey to an unseen hand. As the only people on the island, unable to leave and unable to call for help, they know that the only possible suspects are among their number. And only the dead are above suspicion."--BOOK JACKET.


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Among the towering red cliffs and the ancient ruins of Petra sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton, the cruel and tyrannizing matriarch of the Boynton family. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her. With only twenty-four hours to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalls a remark he overheard back in Jerusalem: "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" Mrs. Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he had ever met.


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ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP    

Mark Twain's classic adventure story of life on the Mississippi.     

EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:    

• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information     

• A chronology of the author's life and work     

• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context     

• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations     

• Detailed explanatory notes     

• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work     

• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction     

• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience     

Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.     

SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON



Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (often shortened to Huck Finn) is a novel written by American humorist Mark Twain. It is commonly used and accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. It is also one of the first major American novels written using Local Color Regionalism, or vernacular, told in the first person by the eponymous Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, best friend of Tom Sawyer and hero of three other Mark Twain books.
The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. By satirizing Southern antebellum society that was already a quarter-century in the past by the time of publication, the book is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism. The drifting journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on their raft may be one of the most enduring images of escape and freedom in all of American literature.


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*“Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life.”* So starts Mark Twain’s classic tale about a boy’s life in a small town on the Mississippi, which has become an all-time favorite both in America and around the world. Tom Sawyer’s mischievous and by now famous exploits—venturing into a nighttime graveyard with his friend Huck Finn, getting lost in a bat cave, tricking his friends into whitewashing a fence—make thrilling reading for all ages. Behind the escapades, though, are darker themes, as young Tom learns some difficult lessons about the often hypocritical rules that govern adult society. This new edition, which celebrates the centenary of Mark Twain's death, brings together the complete text with more than 70 stunning illustrations by artist Robert Ingpen, each one an enchanting evocation of a forgotten time in the American South.


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Book One of *The Warrior* Series    

Sun Tzu and Sun PinÂ’s timeless strategic masterpieces are constantly analyzed and interpreted by leaders worldwide. For the first time ever, author D.E. Tarver explains the classic texts, *The Art of War* by Sun Tzu and *The Art of Warfare* by Sun Pin, in plain English.    

War is the perfect training ground for teaching Sun TzuÂ’s ancient philosophies to attaining victory over an opponent. ***The Art of War*** outlines the steps for outwitting the enemy, be it an army of 10,000 or an unresponsive client.    

***The Art of War*** teaches leaders strategies to attain victory by:    Knowing when to stand up to an opponent, and when to back down.  How to be confident without being overly confident.  Considering the cost of the campaign before launching an attack.  Avoiding an opponentÂ’s strengths and striking his weaknesses.     

Â“The one who is first to the field of battle has time to rest, while his opponent rushes into the conflict weary and confused. The first will be fresh and alert. The second will waste most of his energy trying to catch up.Â” Be the first to the battlefield with ***The Art of War***.


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**“A TOUCHING, ELEGIAC COLLECTION OF STORIES about infidelity, about the weight of family, about the dwindling of years, about the heart and other organs. . . . [Updike] works so slowly and carefully that you rarely see the emotional punches coming.”–*Newsweek***“THESE STORIES SHARE A THEME OF RETROSPECT AND A BITTERSWEET TONE OF FORGIVENESS. . . . Updike, who has found in Rabbit an indispensable, if unlikely, vehicle for his truest insights into the mysterious of manhood, the promise of American life and the operations of divine grace, could no more pass up the opportunity for a further Rabbit report than Rabbit himself could forgo a bowl of macadamia nuts. . . . His observations eddy and swirl into the main stream of his narrative, swelling it with life.”*–The New York Times Book Review***“ ‘RABBIT REMEMBERED’ IS A THING OF RICH SATISFACTION. . . . IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET . . . Throughout the collection are passages of stylistic certainty and bittersweet intimacy.”*–The Boston Sunday Globe***“OUTSTANDING WORK . . . We always suspected that Updike would try to pull one more Rabbit out of his hat. Now, some 10 years after the death of everybody’s favorite Updike character, Updike has done just that, and with great success. . . . ‘Rabbit Remembered’ ranks with his best work.”*–The Star-Ledger***“GLIMMERING . . . SEDUCTIVE . . . JOHN UPDIKE HITS HIS STRIDE”*–Entertainment Weekly***


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"Rabbit at Rest", the delightful last novel in the rabbit sequence, is both comic and moving. Rabbit, now in his middle fifties, is living in a condo in Florida. Nelson and his wife and children come to stay and disaster ensues; Rabbit has a serious heart attack after a boating attack with his granddaughter and Nelson is discovered to have been embezzling the family firm to feed his cocaine habit. The resolution of the Angstrom Family's conflicts is brilliantly described and draws a fascinatingly detailed picture of America at the beginning of the 1990s.


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Winner of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Ten years after RABBIT REDUX, Harry Angstrom has come to enjoy prosperity as the Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors. The rest of the world may be falling to pieces, but Harrry's doing all right. That is, until his son returns from the West, and the image of an old love pays a visit to his lot....


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It's 1969, and the times are changing. America is about to land a man on the moon, the Vietnamese war is in full swing, and racial tension is on the rise. Things just aren't as simple as they used to be - at least, not for Rabbit Angstrom. His wife has left him with his teenage son, his job is under threat and his mother is dying. Suddenly, into his confused life - and home - comes Jill, an eighteen-year-old runaway who becomes his lover. But when she invites her friend to stay, a young black radical named Skeeter, the pair's fragile harmony soon begins to fail ...


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It's 1959 and Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom, one time high school sports superstar, is going nowhere. At twenty-six he is trapped in a second-rate existence - stuck with a fragile, alcoholic wife, a house full of overflowing ashtrays and discarded glasses, a young son and a futile job. With no way to fix things, he resolves to flee from his family and his home in Pennsylvania, beginning a thousand-mile journey that he hopes will free him from his mediocre life. Because, as he knows only too well, 'after you've been first-rate at something, no matter what, it kind of takes the kick out of being second-rate'.


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John Updike has written a brilliant novel that ranks among the most provocative of his distinguished career. Terrorist is the story of Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy, an alienated American-born teenager who spurns the materialistic, hedonistic life he witnesses in the slumping New Jersey factory town he calls home. Turning to the words of the Holy Qur’an as expounded to him by the pedantic imam of a local mosque, Ahmad devotes himself fervently to God. Neither the world-weary guidance counselor at his high school nor Ahmad’s mischievously seductive classmate Joryleen succeeds in deflecting him from his course, as the threads of an insidious plot gather around him.“One compelling and surprising ride.”–USA Today“The startlingly contemporary story of a high school student . . . whose zealous Islamic faith and disaffection with modern life make him a pawn in the larger conflict between Muslim and Christian, East and West. They also make him a powerful voice for Updike’s ongoing critique of American civilization.”–Time“A chilling tale that is perhaps the most essential novel to emerge from Sept. 11.”–People (Critic’s Choice)


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Nothing in his previous life could have prepared Colonel Hakim Felix Ellellou for his new role as the President of Kush. Neither the French army nor his American university provided a grounding in the subtle skills of revolutionary dictatorship. Still less did they expect him to acquire four wives...


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The air of Eastwick breeds witches - women whose longings can stir up thunderstorms and fracture domestic peace. Jane, Alexandra and Sukie, divorced and dangerous, have formed a coven. Into the void of Eastwick breezes Darryl Van Home, a charismatic magus of a man who entrances the trio.


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A God in RuinsSpanning the decades from World War II to the 2008 presidential campaign, A God in Ruins is the riveting story of Quinn Patrick O'Connell, an honest, principled, and courageous man on the brink of becoming the second Irish Catholic President of the United States. But Quinn is a man with an explosive secret that can shatter his political amibitions, threaten his life, and tear the country apart--a secret buried for over a half century--that even he does not know...


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Most of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci, we know because of his notebooks. Some 6,000 sheets of notes and drawings survive, perhaps one-fifth of what he actually produced. With an artist's eye and a scientist's curiosity, he recorded in these pages his observations on the movement ofwater and the formation of rocks, the nature of flight and optics, anatomy, architecture, sculpture, and painting. He jotted down fables, epigrams, and letters and developed his belief in the sublime unity of nature and man. Through his notebooks we can get an insight into Leonardo's thoughts, andhis approach to work and life. This selection, organized in seven themed sections, offers a fascinating and informative sample of his writings. Fully updated, this new edition includes some 70 line drawings and a Preface by Martin Kemp, one of the world's leading authorities on Leonardo, whoexplores the artist's genius and the contents and legacy of his manuscripts. The book also features new notes and a chronology of Leonardo's life.Irma A. Richter was an artist, translator, and Leonardo scholar.Thereza Wells is Head of Scientific Analysis at Universal Leonardo.Martin Kemp is University Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford (Trinity College) and the author of The Oxford History of Western Art and Leonardo.


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Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home. What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.


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This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of  California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two  families--the Trasks and the Hamiltons--whose generations helplessly  reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and  Abel. "A strange and original work of art."--New York Times Book  Review. (Literature/Classics)


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**Nobel laureate John Steinbeck's bracing from-the-frontlines account of World War II-now with a new cover and introduction** 



 In 1943 John Steinbeck was on assignment for *The New York Herald Tribune*, writing from Italy and North Africa, and from England in the midst of the London blitz. In his dispatches he focuses on the human-scale effect of the war, portraying everyone from the guys in a bomber crew to Bob Hope on his USO tour and even fighting alongside soldiers behind enemy lines. Taken together, these writings create an indelible portrait of life in wartime.


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Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of   America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. We have begun publishing his many works for the   first time as blackspine Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This   season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books *East of Eden, Cannery   Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is Down, The Pastures of Heaven*, and   *Tortilla Flat*. Penguin  Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the   many who revisit them again and again.


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Ancient pagan beliefs, the great Greek epics, and the Bible all inform this extraordinary novel, which occupied Steinbeck for more than five difficult years. While fulfilling his dead father's dream of creating a prosperous farm in California, Joseph Wayne comes to believe that a magnificant tree on the farm embodies his father's spirit. His brothers and their families share in Joseph's prosperity, and the farm flourishes - until one brother, frightened by Joseph's pagan belief, kills the tree, allowing disease and famine to descend on the farm. Set in familiar Steinbeck country, "To a God Unknown" is a mystical tale, exploring one man's attempt to control the forces of nature and, ultimately, to understand the ways of God and the forces of the unconscious within.


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Recently listed in the Top 100 List of the Century's Best American Journalism    

Gathered in this important volume are seven newspaper articles on migrant farm workers that John Steinbeck wrote for "The San Francisco News" in 1936, three years before _The Grapes of Wrath_. With the inquisitiveness of an investigative reporter and the emotional power of a novelist in his prime, Steinbeck toured the squatters' camps and Hoovervilles of California. Here he found once strong, independent farmers—the backbone of rural America—so reduced in dignity, beaten in spirit, sick, sullen, and defeated that they had been "cast down to a kind of subhumanity." He contrasts their misery with the hope offered by government resettlement camps, where self-help committees, child nurseries, quilting and sewing projects, and decent sanitation were restoring dignity and indeed saving lives.    

_The Harvest Gypsies_ gives us an eyewitness account of the horrendous Dust Bowl migration, a major event in California history, and provides the factual foundation for Steinbeck's masterpiece, _The Grapes of Wrath_. Included are twenty-two photographs by Dorothea Lange and others, many of which accompanied Steinbeck's original articles.


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For ten years Fraa Erasmas, a young avout, has lived in a cloistered sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside world. But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change—and Erasmas will become a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world, as he follows his destiny to the most inhospitable corners of the planet . . . and beyond.   Anathem is the latest miraculous invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle—a work of astonishing scope, intelligence, and imagination.


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With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy - is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detatchment 2702-commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe-is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces.Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia - a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails grandaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi sumarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat. But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn.A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, CRYPTONOMICON is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow. It is a work of great art, thought, and creative daring; the product of a truly icon


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Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox. And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance. A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time. And it's just the beginning ...


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Only once in a great while doesnbsp;nbsp;a writer come along who defies comparison -- anbsp;nbsp;writer so original he redefines the way we look atnbsp;nbsp;the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer andnbsp;nbsp;Snow Crash is such a novel, weavingnbsp;nbsp;virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just aboutnbsp;nbsp;everything in between with a cool, hipnbsp;nbsp;cyber-sensibility to bring us the gigantic thriller of thenbsp;nbsp;information age. In reality, Hiro Protagonist deliversnbsp;nbsp;pizza for Uncle Enzo's Cosa Nostra Inc., but itnbsp;nbsp;the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plungingnbsp;nbsp;headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that'snbsp;nbsp;striking down hackers everywhere, he races alongnbsp;nbsp;the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroynbsp;nbsp;mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening tonbsp;nbsp;bring about infocalypse. Snow Crashnbsp;nbsp;is a mind-altering romp through a future Americanbsp;nbsp;so bizarre, so outrageous... you'll recognize itnbsp;nbsp;immediately. From the Paperback edition.


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In the year 1689, a cabal of Barbary galley slaves -- including one Jack Shaftoe, a.k.a. King of the Vagabonds, a.k.a. Half-Cocked Jack, lately and miraculously cured of the pox -- devises a daring plan to win freedom and fortune. A great adventure ensues, rife with battles, chases, hairbreadth escapes, swashbuckling, bloodletting, and danger -- a perilous race for an enormous prize of silver ... nay, gold ... nay, legendary gold that will place the intrepid band at odds with the mighty and the mad, with alchemists, Jesuits, great navies, pirate queens, and vengeful despots across vast oceans and around the globe. Meanwhile, back in Europe ... The exquisite and resourceful Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, master of markets, pawn and confidante of enemy kings, onetime Turkish harem virgin, is stripped of her immense personal fortune by France's most dashing privateer. Penniless and at risk from those who desire either her or her head (or both), she is caught up in a web of international intrigue, even as she desperately seeks the return of her most precious possession -- her child. While ... Newton and Leibniz continue to propound their grand theories as their infamous rivalry intensifies, stubborn alchemy does battle with the natural sciences, nobles are beheaded, dastardly plots are set in motion, coins are newly minted (or not) in enemy strongholds, father and sons reunite in faraway lands, priests rise from the dead ... and Daniel Waterhouse seeks passage to the Massachusetts colony in hopes of escaping the madness into which his world has descended.


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'Tis done. 

The world is a most confused and unsteady place -- especially London, center of finance, innovation, and conspiracy -- in the year 1714, when Daniel Waterhouse makes his less-than-triumphant return to England's shores. Aging Puritan and Natural Philosopher, confidant of the high and mighty and contemporary of the most brilliant minds of the age, he has braved the merciless sea and an assault by the infamous pirate Blackbeard to help mend the rift between two adversarial geniuses at a princess's behest. But while much has changed outwardly, the duplicity and danger that once drove Daniel to the American Colonies is still coin of the British realm. 

No sooner has Daniel set foot on his homeland when he is embroiled in a dark conflict that has been raging in the shadows for decades. It is a secret war between the brilliant, enigmatic Master of the Mint and closet alchemist Isaac Newton and his archnemesis, the insidious counterfeiter Jack the Coiner, a.k.a. Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds. Hostilities are suddenly moving to a new and more volatile level, as Half-Cocked Jack plots a daring assault on the Tower itself, aiming for nothing less than the total corruption of Britain's newborn monetary system. 

Unbeknownst to all, it is love that set the Coiner on his traitorous course; the desperate need to protect the woman of his heart -- the remarkable Eliza, Duchess of Arcachon-Qwghlm -- from those who would destroy her should he fail. Meanwhile, Daniel Waterhouse and his Clubb of unlikely cronies comb city and country for clues to the identity of the blackguard who is attempting to blow up Natural Philosophers with Infernal Devices -- as political factions jockey for position while awaiting the impending death of the ailing queen; as the "holy grail" of alchemy, the key to life eternal, tantalizes and continues to elude Isaac Newton, yet is closer than he ever imagined; as the greatest technological innovation in history slowly takes shape in Waterhouse's manufactory. 

Everything that was will be changed forever ... The System of the World is the concluding volume in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, begun with Quicksilver and continued in The Confusion.


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Zodiac, the brilliant second novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the The Baroque Cycle and Snow Crash, is now available from Grove Press. Meet Sangamon Taylor, a New Age Sam Spade who sports a wet suit instead of a trench coat and prefers Jolt from the can to Scotch on the rocks. He knows about chemical sludge the way he knows about evil—all too intimately. And the toxic trail he follows leads to some high and foul places. Before long Taylor’s house is bombed, his every move followed, he’s adopted by reservation Indians, moves onto the FBI’s most wanted list, makes up with his girlfriend, and plays a starring role in the near-assassination of a presidential candidate. Closing the case with the aid of his burnout roommate, his tofu-eating comrades, three major networks, and a range of unconventional weaponry, Sangamon Taylor pulls off the most startling caper in Boston Harbor since the Tea Party.


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There are many editions of Treasure Island. This educational edition was created for self-improvement or in preparation for advanced examinations. The bottom of each page is annotated with a mini-thesaurus of uncommon words highlighted in the text, including synonyms and antonyms. Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings. A running thesaurus at the bottom of each page is useful to students who are actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced Placement®), GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations. This edition exposes the reader to a maximum number of “difficult, and often encountered” words in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language, and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.


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Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.



 Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.


Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.



 	Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.



 	Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.



 In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, *The Help* is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.


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Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Audrey—dainty, immaculate—is anything but true to life. Here, for the first time, Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress that rocked the nation in 1961. The first complete account of the making of *Breakfast at Tiffany's*, *Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.* reveals little-known facts about the cinema classic: Truman Capote desperately wanted Marilyn Monroe for the leading role; director Blake Edwards filmed multiple endings; Hepburn herself felt very conflicted about balancing the roles of mother and movie star. With a colorful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, "Moon River" composer Henry Mancini, and, of course, Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the country, changing fashion, film, and sex for good. Indeed, cultural touchstones like *Sex and the City* owe a debt of gratitude to *Breakfast at Tiffany's*.  

 In this meticulously researched gem of a book, Wasson delivers us from the penthouses of the Upper East Side to the pools of Beverly Hills, presenting *Breakfast at Tiffany's* as we have never seen it before—through the eyes of those who made it. Written with delicious prose and considerable wit, *Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.* shines new light on a beloved film and its incomparable star.


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Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him--the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood--he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door. "All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage," he writes. "I wanted to set the world under a marquee that read: 'Jerry Weintraub Presents.'" In WHEN I STOP TALKING, YOU'LL KNOW I'M DEAD, we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom Parker; to the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh, God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves from the poker tables of Palm Springs (the games went on for days), to the power rooms of Hollywood, to the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and the Great Palace in Beijing-all the while counseling potentates, poets, and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce Willis, George H. W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer . . .well, the list goes on forever. And of course, the story is not yet over . . .as the old-timers say, "The best is yet to come." As Weintraub says, "When I stop talking, you'll know I'm dead." With wit, wisdom, and the cool confidence that has colored his remarkable career, Jerry chronicles a quintessentially American journey, one marked by luck, love, and improvisation. The stories he tells and the lessons we learn are essential, not just for those who love movies and music, but for businessmen, entrepreneurs, artists . . . everyone.


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*Time* #1 Nonfiction Book of 2007

*Entertainment Weekly* #1 Nonfiction Book of 2007

Finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award

*Salon* Book Awards 2007

Amazon Top 100 Editors’ Picks of 2007 (#4)

Barnes and Noble 10 Best of 2007: Politics and Current Affairs

*Kansas City Star*’s Top 100 Books of the Year 2007

*Mother Jones*’ Favorite Books of 2007

*South Florida Sun-Sentinel* Best Books of the Year 2007

*Hudson*’s Best Books of 2007

*St. Louis Post-Dispatch* Best Books of 2007

*St. Paul Pioneer Press* Best Books of 2007





If human beings disappeared instantaneously from the Earth, what would happen? How would the planet reclaim its surface? What creatures would emerge from the dark and swarm? How would our treasured structures--our tunnels, our bridges, our homes, our monuments--survive the unmitigated impact of a planet without our intervention? In his revelatory, bestselling account, Alan Weisman draws on every field of science to present an environmental assessment like no other, the most affecting portrait yet of humankind's place on this planet.


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This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled.


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*Age of Innocence*, by **Edith Wharton**, is part of the *Barnes & Noble Classics** *series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of *Barnes & Noble Classics*: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. *Barnes & Noble Classics *pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, *The Age of Innocence* is **Edith Wharton**’s masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people “dreaded scandal more than disease.”This is Newland Archer’s world as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional May Welland. But when the mysterious Countess Ellen Olenska returns to New York after a disastrous marriage, Archer falls deeply in love with her. Torn between duty and passion, Archer struggles to make a decision that will either courageously define his life—or mercilessly destroy it.**Maureen Howard**** is a critic, teacher, and writer of fiction. Her seven novels include *Bridgeport Bus*, *Natural History*, and *A Lover’s Almanac*. Her memoir, *Facts of Life*, won the National Book Critics’ Circle Award. She has taught at Yale and Columbia University.


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First published in 1905, The House of Mirth shocked the New York society it so deftly chronicles, portraying the moral, social, and economic restraints on a woman who dared to claim the privileges of marriage without assuming the responsibilities. Lily Bart, beautiful, witty, and sophisticated, is accepted by "old money" and courted by the growing tribe of nouveaux riches. But as she nears 30, her foothold becomes precarious; a poor girl with expensive tastes, she needs a husband to preserve her social standing and to maintain her life in the luxury she has come to expect. While many have sought her, something—fastidiousness or integrity—prevents her from making a "suitable" match.


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Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence, and a few years later the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons, trials that resulted in his imprisonment. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps."


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If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is now an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times."Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book."TEH NEW YORKTIMES


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Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.


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*Dracula*, by **Bram Stoker**, is part of the *Barnes & Noble Classics** *series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of *Barnes & Noble Classics*: 

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. *Barnes & Noble Classics *pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

** 

*Count Dracula* has inspired countless movies, books, and plays. But few, if any, have been fully faithful to **Bram Stoker**'s original, best-selling novel of mystery and horror, love and death, sin and redemption. *Dracula* chronicles the vampire's journey from Transylvania to the nighttime streets of London. There, he searches for the blood of strong men and beautiful women while his enemies plot to rid the world of his frightful power.



Today's critics see *Dracula* as a virtual textbook on Victorian repression of the erotic and fear of female sexuality. In it, Stoker created a new word for terror, a new myth to feed our nightmares, and a character who will outlive us all.

 



**Brooke Allen****** is a book critic whose work has appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Criterion, The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The Hudson Review. A collection of her essays, *Twentieth-Century Attitudes*, will be published in 2003.


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The library of America is dedicated to publishing America's best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as the "finest-looking, longest-lasting editions ever made" (The New Republic), Library of America volumes make a fine gift for any occasion. Now, with exactly one hundred volumes to choose from, there is a perfect gift for everyone.


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Here are the famous sutras, or sermons, of the Buddha; the gathas, or hymns; the intriguing philosophical puzzles known as koan; and the dharanis, or invocations to expel evil spirits. Included also are the recorded conversations of the great Buddhist monks — intimate dialogues on subjects of momentous importance. In addition to the written selections, all of them translated by Dr. Suzuki, there are reproductions of many Buddhist drawings and paintings, including religious statues found in Zen temples, each with an explanation of its significance, and the great series of allegorical paintings “The Ten Oxherding Pictures."


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A New York Times Bestseller In 1949 four Chinese women - drawn together by the shadow of their past - begin meeting in San Francisco to play mah jong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and "say" stories. They call their gathering the Joy Luck Club. Nearly forty years later, one of the members has died. When her daughter comes to take her place, she learns of her mother's lifelong wish, and the tragic way in which it has come true.


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In 2006, hedge fund manager John Paulson realized something few others suspected--that the housing market and the value of subprime mortgages were grossly inflated and headed for a major fall.  Paulson's background was in mergers and acquisitions, however, and he knew little about real estate or how to wager against housing.  He had spent a career as an also-ran on Wall Street. But Paulson was convinced this was his chance to make his mark. He just wasn't sure how to do it.  Colleagues at investment banks scoffed at him and investors dismissed him.  Even pros skeptical about housing shied away from the complicated derivative investments that Paulson was just learning about.  But Paulson and a handful of renegade investors such as Jeffrey Greene and Michael Burry began to bet heavily against risky mortgages and precarious financial companies. Timing is everything, though. Initially, Paulson and the others lost tens of millions of dollars as real estate and stocks continued to soar. Rather than back down, however, Paulson redoubled his bets, putting his hedge fund and his reputation on the line.     In the summer of 2007, the markets began to implode, bringing Paulson early profits, but also sparking efforts to rescue real estate and derail him. By year's end, though, John Paulson had pulled off the greatest trade in financial history, earning more than $15 billion for his firm--a figure that dwarfed George Soros's billion-dollar currency trade in 1992.  Paulson made billions more in 2008 by transforming his gutsy move.  Some of the underdog investors who attempted the daring trade also reaped fortunes. But others who got the timing wrong met devastating failure, discovering that being early and right wasn't nearly enough.     Written by the prizewinning reporter who broke the story in The Wall Street Journal, The Greatest Trade Ever is a superbly written, fast-paced, behind-the-scenes narrative of how a contrarian foresaw an escalating financial crisis--that outwitted Chuck Prince, Stanley O'Neal, Richard Fuld, and Wall Street's titans--to make financial history.


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In October of 1142, a local landlord gives the Potter's Field to the local clergy. The monks begin to plow it, and the blades turn up the long tresses of a young woman, dead over a year. Then the arrival of a novice who fled from an abbey ravaged by civil war in East Anglia complicates life even further for Brother Cadfael. HC: Mysterious Press.


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In 1991, Hunter S. Thompson published, numbered, and signed just three hundred and twenty-six copies of Screwjack, a slim, thirty-eight-page volume featuring three screwball stories. The books, particularly the twenty-six leather-bound copies (one for each letter of the alphabet), became instant collector's items, and before long, used editions were selling for up to one thousand dollars. Now, with this innovatively designed trade edition, fans can enjoy these much sought-after stories -- and more -- without breaking the bank. A compilation of quintessentially outrageous and extravagant Thompson tales, Screwjack and Other Stories makes for a truly amazing read. "Mesolito," previously published in Songs of the Doomed, is a trippy account of a long wait in a Los Angeles hotel while high on speed and mescaline. "Death of a Poet" relates a visit to a friend's trailer home that takes a number of bizarre twists before ending in violence. "Screwjack," the third and final tale in the collector's edition, shares the gritty details of a sexual escapade between Thompson and his black tomcar. Featuring, as an additional bonus, two new stories tha


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The Curse of Lono is to Hawaii what Fear and Loathing was to Las Vegas: the crazy tales of a journalist's ?coverage? of a news event that ends up being a wild ride to the dark side of Americana. Originally published in 1983, Curse features all of the zany, hallucinogenic wordplay and feral artwork for which the Hunter S. Thompson/Ralph Steadman duo have become known and loved. This curious book, considered an oddity among Hunter's oeuvre, has been long out of print, prompting collectors to search high and low for an original copy. Resurrected by TASCHEN in a bigger size with splendid, full-color illustrations and a foreword by Sean Penn, The Curse of Lono is now available in a special 1000-copy edition, numbered and hand-signed by Thompson and Steadman.


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SUMMARY: Pendant plus d'un an, Hunter S. Thompson a suivi un gang de motards, montrant au fur et à mesure ses notes à ses compagnons d'équipée. Ce livre, publié en 1966, scandalisa l'Amérique, puis l'Europe.
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Hell's Angels" was Hunter Thompson's first book, an account of the year that the reporter spent riding with the biker gang, then the very symbol of dangerous counterculture. After writing a piece on the Heirs Angels and other cycle gangs for The Nation, Thompson signed a contract with Ballantine and spent time with "as many vicious thugs as possible." His involvement ended on Labor Day 1966 when a group of Angels "stomped" Thompson, nearly kicking him to death. "Far from being freaks, the Hell's Angels are a logical product of the culture that now claims to be shocked by their existence. The generation represented by the editors of Time has lived so long in a world full of celluloid outlaws hustling toothpaste and hair oil that it is no longer capable of confronting the real thing. For twenty years they have sat with their children and watched yesterday's outlaws raise hell with yesterday's world...and now they are bringing up children who think Jesse James is a television character." "California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur. . . The Menace is loose again." Thus begins Hunter S. Thompson's vivid account of his experiences with California's most no-torious motorcycle gang, the Hell's Angels. In the mid-1960s, Thompson spent almost two years living with the controversial An-gels, cycling up and down the coast, reveling in the anarchic spirit of their clan, and, as befits their name, raising hell. His book successfully captures a singular moment in American history, when the biker lifestyle was first defined, and when such countercultural movements were electrifying and horrifying America. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, writes with his usual bravado, energy, and brutal honesty, and with a nuanced and incisive eye; as The New Yorker pointed out, "For all its uninhibited and sardonic humor, Thompson's book is a thoughtful piece of work." As illuminating now as when originally published in 1967, Hell's Angels is a gripping portrait, and the best account we have of the truth behind an American legend.


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In addition to being a testament to the undeniably beatifying properties of American excess--literary, political, chemical, you name it--Hunter Thompson is the high priest of the ad hominem attack. Anyone unlucky enough to get in the way of his satirical sledgehammer will end up with soup for brains. Still, even Thompson needs a good villain to get properly lathered up; that's why he peaked simultaneously with America's 37th president, Richard Milhous Nixon. Tricky Dick was Thompson's dark-jowled, pale-calved Muse, and with his departure Thompson seemed to lose his place a bit. Swatting flies with a baseball bat. You need look no further for this writer's best: this collection of pieces, first published in 1979, spans all of Thompson's primo era, including short pieces and selections from longer works. The Great Shark Hunt sports a few articles filed by a pre-Gonzo Hunter S. Thompson, which show flickers of passion but no real fire; the first experiments with the author's drug-fueled brand of journalism at the Kentucky Derby; and finally the gigs that made him an American institution, in Las Vegas and on the 1972 campaign trail. Thompson's style is so unique that a reader is tempted to think that he leapt, fully formed, into Gonzohood. However, along with the crazy, careening prose itself, one of the auxiliary pleasures of The Great Shark Hunt is the map that it gives of Thompson's ascent (or descent, if you prefer) from the workaday hyperbole of sports writing to the hell-blast vigor of his later work. The drugs are, by and large, a distraction--lifestyle points that get in the way of the genuinely perceptive journalism that Thompson created. (But they are there, always, and in quantity.) If you're looking for insight into the underbelly of America, Hunter S. Thompson is your best and only guide, and The Great Shark Hunt is an excellent place to begin the grim safari. --Michael Gerber


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SUMMARY: Begun in 1959 by a then-twenty-two-year-old Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary is a brilliantly tangled love story of jealousy, treachery and violent alcoholic lust in the Caribbean boomtown that was San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the late 1950s. Exuberant and mad, youthful and energetic, The Rum Diary is an outrageous, drunken romp in the spirit of Thompson's bestselling Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels.


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Thoreau, a sturdy individualist and nature lover, lived a spare existence in a wooden hut on the edge of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, from 1845 to 1847. "Walden" is a record of his experiment in a simple life and his contemplation of the wonders of nature and the ways of man. This book includes the famous essay, "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, " a selection of his poetry and a new introduction by W.S. Merwin.


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The Children of Húrin is the first complete book by J.R.R.Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Túrin, son of Húrin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth -- awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him.The paperback edition of The Children of Húrin includes eight color paintings by Alan Lee and a black-and-white map.


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Building on the astonishing success of *The Power of Now*, Eckhart Tolle presents   readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: He implores us to see and   accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind,   is one of dangerous insanity.  

  Tolle tells us there is good news, however. There is an alternative to this potentially dire   situation.  Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to   create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the   current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one.  

  In illuminating the nature of this shift in consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our   current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical   terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly   are—which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are—and   learn to live and breathe freely.


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The highest standards in editing and production have been applied to the Wordsworth Children's Classics, while the low price makes them affordable for everyone. Wordsworth's list covers a range of the best-loved stories for children, from nursery tales, classic fables, and fairy tales to stories that will appeal to older children and adults alike. Many of these volumes have contemporary illustrations, and while they are ideal for shared family reading, their attractive format will also encourage children to read for themselves. Like all Wordsworth Editions, these children's books represent unbeatable value.


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Portuguese Nobel Laureate Saramago tells a fantastic tale about a city hit by an epidemic of "white blindness," in this work that is the basis for the upcoming movie with Julianne Moore.


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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.


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Denim, David Sedaris returns to his deliriously twisted domain: hilarious childhood dramas infused with melancholy; the gulf of misunderstanding that exists between people of different nations or members of the same family; and the poignant divide between one's best hopes and most common deeds. The family characters his readers love are all here, as well as the unique terrain they inhabit, strewn with comic landmines. 	'The Rooster' is back, and getting married in the funniest wedding ever described. 	David attends a slumber party and gets the upper hand in a unique version of strip poker. 	'Rubber or plastic?' The strangest questions can tear people apart. 	A skinny guy from Spain, wearing a bishop's hat and accompanied by six to eight men, invades your house and pretends to kick you.Is this any way to spend Christmas? 	With this new book, Sedaris's prose reaches breathtaking new heights and marks off a territory that is unmistakably his own. Read it and weep tears of humane laughter.


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A riotous collection of memoirs which explores the absurd hilarity of modern life and creates a wickedly incisive portrait of an all-too-familiar world. It takes Sedaris from his humiliating bout with obsessive behaviour in 'A Plague of Tics' to the title story, where he is finally forced to face his naked self in the company of lunatics. At this soulful and moving moment, he brushes cigarette ashes from his pubic hair and wonders what it all means.This remarkable journey into his own life follows a path of self-effacement and a lifelong search for identity leaving himself both under suspicion and over dressed.


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**

When Margaret Lea opened the door to the past, what she confronted was her destiny.

*All children mythologize their birth***...So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. 

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves. 

*The Thirteenth Tale* is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.


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Pygmalion and Three Other Plays, by George Bernard Shaw, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Hailed as “a Tolstoy with jokes” by one critic, George Bernard Shaw was the most significant British playwright since the seventeenth century. Pygmalion persists as his best-loved play, one made into both a classic film—which won Shaw an Academy Award for best screenplay—and the perennially popular musical My Fair Lady. Pygmalion follows the adventures of phonetics professor Henry Higgins as he attempts to transform cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a refined lady. The scene in which Eliza appears in high society with the correct accent but no notion of polite conversation is considered one of the funniest in English drama. Like most of Shaw’s work, Pygmalion wins over audiences with wit, a taut morality, and an innate understanding of human relationships. This volume also includes Major Barbara, which attacks both capitalism and charitable organizations, The Doctor’s Dilemma, a keen-eyed examination of medical morals and malpractice, and Heartbreak House, which exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the generation responsible for the bloodshed of World War I.John A. Bertolini is Ellis Professor of the Liberal Arts at Middlebury College, where he teaches dramatic literature, Shakespeare, and film. He has written The Playwrighting Self of Bernard Shaw and articles on Hitchcock, and British and American dramatists. Bertolini also wrote the introduction and notes to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Shaw’s Man and Superman and Three Other Plays.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has sold over three-quarters of a million copies and continues to earn critical acclaim. The story of one Ignatius J. Reilly, a "Don Quixote of the French Quarter," it is a masterpiece of human folly and tragedy.


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Raised as a sister to Margo and Laura at the grandiose Templeton house, businesswoman Kate Powell faces a professional impropriety and a dark secret from her past that forces her to search deep within herself. Reissue.


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In the conclusion to the best-selling trilogy that began with Sea Swept and Rising Tides , Philip Quinn's bond to his adopted brother, Seth, is threatened by a young woman with a troubling secret. Reissue.


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Roberts' Irish series continues with this brand-new story in "Silhouette Special Edition("! Upon arriving at Royal Meadows Farms from Ireland, rugged horse trainer Brian Donnelly is stunned by the beauty of his boss's daughter, Keeley Grant. Now it's up to this innocent beauty to tame this handsome Irish rogue. Satellite media tour.


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Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.   Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. And Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.   But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.   How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were and the naughty girls they are now. And guess what? I'm telling.


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In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars—Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna—have been very bad girls. . . .   Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.   And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that.   At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?   One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.


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In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.   Aria can't resist her forbidden ex. Hanna is on the verge of losing her BFF. Emily is freaking out over a simple kiss. And Spencer can't keep her hands off anything that belongs to her sister.   Lucky me. I know these pretty little liars better than they know themselves. But it's hard keeping all of their secrets to myself. They better do as I say . . . or else!


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In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four very pretty girls just can't help but be bad. . . .  Hanna will do "anything" to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men. Now that Ali's killer is finally behind bars, the girls think they're safe. But those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. And they should know by now that I'm "always" watching. . . .


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In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystals. But pictures often lie—and so do Rosewood's four prettiest girls.   Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things—things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn't die with her.   Hanna's on a mission to corrupt Rosewood's youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria's snooping into her boyfriend's past. Spencer's stealing—from her family. And pure little Emily's abstaining from abstinence.   The girls should be careful, though. They thought they were safe when Ali's killer was arrested and A's true identity was finally revealed. But now there's a new A in town turning up the heat. And this time Rosewood is going to burn.


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Four gorgeous girls are telling very ugly stories.First Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer claimed they found a dead body in the woods behind Spencer's house, only to have it vanish without a trace. Then, when the same woods went up in flames, they swore they saw someone who's supposed to be dead rise from the ashes. And even after all that, the pretty little liars are still playing with fire. Call me heartless, but it's about time someone shut these liars up for good. After all, nobody likes a girl who cries wolf-least of all me. . . .


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Behind Rosewood's grand façades, where the air smells like apples and Chanel No. 5 and infinity pools sparkle in landscaped backyards, nothing is as it seems. It was here, back in seventh grade, that five best friends shared everything—Seven jeans, MAC makeup, and their deepest, darkest secrets. For Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily, it was a dream come true . . . until Alison, the most beautiful of them all, suddenly vanished.  

 Now someone named A has turned their charmed lives into a living nightmare. Emily has been shipped off to her hyper-conservative cousins in Iowa. Aria is stuck living with her dad and his home-wrecker girlfriend. And Spencer fears she had something to do with Alison's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse than all of that—she's clinging to life in the hospital, because *she knew too much*.  

 With A's threats turning dangerous and Ali's killer still on the loose, the girls must uncover the truth—about A, about Ali, and about what happened to Hanna—before they become A's next victims. But as they unravel Rosewood's mysteries and secrets, will it bring an end to the horror . . . or is this just the beginning?


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**A propulsive, relentless page-turner.**

**A terrifying evocation of a paranoid world where no one can be trusted.**

**A surprising, unexpected story of love and family, of hope and resilience.**

**CHILD 44 is a thriller unlike any you have ever read.**



*"There is no crime."*



Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals. 



But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov.           



A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated. 



Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it's a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a serial killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.



Tom Rob Smith graduated from Cambridge in 2001 and lives in London. Child 44 is his first novel.


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Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone or mildew you probably prefer not to be damp. But unfortunately the Beaudelaires encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater. You may wish to delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being moistened.


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Like handshakes, house pets or raw carrots, many things are preferable when not slippery. Unfortunately the Baudelaires run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their harrowing journey up and down a range of strange and distressing mountains. In order to spare you repulsion it is best not to mention any more regarding a secret message, a toboggan, a deceitful trap, a swarm of snow gnats and a scheming villain.


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This book is the last in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even if you braved the previous twelve volumes, you probably canżt stand such unpleasantries as a fearsome storm, a suspicious beverage, a herd of wild sheep, an enormous bird cage, and a truly haunting secret about the Baudelaire parents


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Though ostensibly written for children, this heroic and heart-wrenching His Dark Materials trilogy is beloved by readers of all ages. These three novels unlock the door to parallel universes where demons and winged creatures live side by side with humans, and a mysterious entity called Dust just might have the power to unite the universes—if it isn't destroyed first. Lyra, Pantalaimon, Will, and the rest embark on the most breathtaking, heartbreaking adventure of their lives. The fate of the universe is in their hands.Lyra and Will tumble separately into the strange tropical otherworld of Citt;gazze, where adults are curiously absent and children run wild. Their journey is plagued with obstacles, some familiar and some horribly new, but it eventually brings them closer to Will's father and to the Subtle Knife, a deadly, ancient tool that cuts windows between worlds.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Godfather is the Mafia leader Vito Corleone, a benevolent despot who stops at nothing to gain and hold power. Set in Long Island, Hollywood and Sicily, this is a story of a feudal society within society which does not hesitate to consolidate its power.


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Winner of the coveted William Faulkner Foundation First Novel Award in 1963, "V." remains a popular literary classic by one of America's great modernists. "This work may well stand as one of the very best works of the century."-- "Atlantic Review" "This work may well stand as one of the very best works of the century." "--Atlantic Review" "Filled with wild humor, inventive wordplay and a darkly imaginative power." "--Philadelphia Inquirer"


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

*

Here is the true story of a top Wall Street player's transformation from a straight-arrow believer to a jaded cynic, who reveals how Wall Street's insider game is really played.* 

Dan Reingold was a top Wall Street analyst for fourteen years and Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman's chief competitor in the red-hot sector of telecom. Reingold was part of the "Street" and believed in it. 

But in this action-packed, highly personal memoir written with accomplished *Fast Company* senior writer Jennifer Reingold the author describes how his enthusiasm gave way to disgust as he learned how deeply corrupted Wall Street and much of corporate America had become during the roaring stock market bubble of the 1990s. 

*Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst* provides a front-row seat at one of the most dramatic -- and ultimately tragic -- periods in financial history. Reingold recounts his introduction to the world of Wall Street leaks and secret deal-making; his experiences with corporate fraud; and Wall Street's alarming penchant for lavish spending and multimillion-dollar pay packages. 

Reingold spars with arch rival Grubman; fends off intense pressures from Wall Street bankers and corporate CEOs; and is wooed by Morgan Stanley's CEO, John Mack, and CSFB's über-banker Frank Quattrone. 

Reingold describes instances in which confidential deals are whispered days before their official announcement. He recalls the moment he learns that Bernie Ebbers's WorldCom was massively cooking its books. And he is shocked to have been an unwitting catalyst for a series of sexually explicit e-mails that would rock Wall Street; bring Jack Grubman to his knees; and contribute to the stepping aside of Grubman's boss, Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill. 

Some of Reingold's stories are outrageous, others hilarious, and many are simply absurd. But, together, they provide a sobering exposé of Wall Street: a jungle of greed and ego, a place brimming with conflicts and inside information, and a business absurdly out of touch with the Main Street it claims to serve. 

He shows how government investigators, headlines notwithstanding, never got to the heart of the ethical and legal transgressions of the era. And how they completely overlooked Wall Street's pervasive use of inside information, leaving investors -- even sophisticated professionals -- cheated. The book ends with a series of important policy recommendations to clean up the investing business. 

In the tradition of *Liar's Poker* and *Den of Thieves*, *Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst* is a no-holds-barred insider's account that will open the eyes of every investor.


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In her new novel, perennial bestseller Anne Rice fuses her two uniquely seductive strains of narrative -- her Vampire legend and her lore of the Mayfair witches -- to give us a world of classic deep-south luxury and ancestral secrets. Welcome to Blackwood Farm: soaring white columns, spacious drawing rooms, bright, sun-drenched gardens, and a dark strip of the dense Sugar Devil Swamp. This is the world of Quinn Blackwood, a brilliant young man haunted since birth by a mysterious doppelgänger, “Goblin,” a spirit from a dream world that Quinn can’t escape and that prevents him from belonging anywhere. When Quinn is made a Vampire, losing all that is rightfully his and gaining an unwanted immortality, his doppelgänger becomes even more vampiric and terrifying than Quinn himself. As the novel moves backwards and forwards in time, from Quinn’s boyhood on Blackwood Farm to present day New Orleans, from ancient Athens to 19th-century Naples, Quinn seeks out the legendary Vampire Lestat in the hope of freeing himself from the spectre that draws him inexorably back to Sugar Devil Swamp and the explosive secrets it holds. A story of youth and promise, of loss and the search for love, of secrets and destiny, Blackwood Farm is Anne Rice at her mesmerizing best. From the Hardcover edition.


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In the best Anne Rice tradition, the great Vampire Marius returns to tell us the mesmerizing story of his life through the ages, from the time of Caesar Augustus to the present. The Vampire Marius, child of the Millenea, has lived two thousand years. He tells his story to Thorne, a lone vampire who was a Viking in a mortal life tells of his birth into the Senatorial Class at the time of Caesar Augustus, and how he was transformed into a "dark god" by Druids in the forests of Gaul; how he created the Vampire Armand and became guardian of Akasha and Enkil, the Queen and the King of Vampires, who hold within themselves the secret core of the life of the undead "destroy them and you destroy all vampires." He relates how he became the voice of reason among the vampires, and how he created Pandora, the vampire he still grieves for... We see Marius as a mortal boy in the teeming streets of second-century Rome, and in young manhood in the time of Constantine and his battle to save Rome from the Visigoths. We follow him through the Dark Ages and the Black Death, and through another thousand years to Venice and to Florence, where he seeks out the great Botticelli and becomes a painter, working in a glorious palazzo a blood drinker in the thick of a rich and brilliant mortal life. Worlds within worlds unfold historic, fantastic, cultural, vampiric, from the London of Henry VIII to 17th-century Paris and Weimar as the novel moves to its splendid finale in an Aegean kingdom ruled by the great vampire: the magician Marius.


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Anne Rice continues her astonishing Vampire Chronicles in a new novel that begins whereBlackwood Farmleft off and tells the story of Lestat's quest for redemption, goodness, and the love of Rowan Mayfair. Welcome back to Blackwood Farm. Here are all of the brilliantly conceived characters that make up the two worlds of vampires and witches: Mona Mayfair, who's come to the farm to die and is brought into the realm of the undead; her uncle, Julian Mayfair, guardian of the family, determined to forever torment Lestat for what he has done to Mona; Rowan Mayfair, brilliant neurosurgeon and witch, who finds herself dangerously drawn to the all-powerful Lestat; her husband, Michael Curry, hero of the Mayfair Chronicles, who seeks Lestat's help with the temporary madness of his wife; Ash Templeton, a 5,000-year-old Taltos who has taken Mona's child; and Patsy, the country-western singer, who returns to avenge her death at the hands of her son, Quinn Blackwood. Delightfully, at the book's centre is the Vampire Lestat, once the epitome of evil, now pursuing the transformation set in motion withMemnoch the Devil. He struggles with his vampirism and yearns for goodness, purity and love, as he saves Patsy's ghost from the dark realm of the Earthbound, uncovers the mystery of the Taltos and unselfishly decides the fate of his beloved Rowan Mayfair. A story of love and loyalty, of the search for passion and promise,Blood Canticleis Anne Rice at her finest.


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Erin McKinnon was a bold beauty, and thought she knew what she was letting herself into when she accepted Burke Logan's loveless proposal and his cool promise of security and wealth.But could this ravishing Irish Rose win her hard-hearted husband's love?


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It was a dream come true for Irish Lass Adelia "Dee" Cunnane to work with her uncle, a horse trainer at the Royal Meadows, one of the most renowned stables in the world. But there was a catch, and his name was Travis Grant. He was the stable's owner and a man as proud, as passionate and as opinionated as...herself!


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First in a new Irish trilogy, Roberts' novel finds Aidan Gallahger back home in Ireland, managing the family pub and sharing the legends of the land with an American woman who is immersing herself in the study of Irish folklore. They create a passionate history of their own. Original


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This second novel in an electrifying new trilogy from the best-selling author of Key of Light follows Dana, who has a penchant for books, as she is forced to embark on a dangerous quest to find the Key of Knowledge--or suffer a horrifying fate. Original.


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Nora Roberts invites you to unlock your dreams... Three women. Three keys. Each has 28 days to find her way through a dangerous quest. Nora Roberts brings us a unique series with a twist - each novel is written in real time, and the novels will be published in consecutive months.


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Nora Roberts presents the stunning conclusion to the all-new trilogy of destiny and desire ... Join Zoe in the ultimate quest for courage. Zoe is about to discover her true courageous spirit. She must find the key of valor--on the last of three dangerous quests that will force her to confront her darkest fears ... or suffer immeasurable loss.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Half-Apache and all man, Jake Redman was more than a match for the wild Arizona Territory. Sarah Conway, on the other hand, was an Eastern lady who belonged anywhere else but on the rugged land Jake loved. Still, the stubborn beauty was determined to make Lone Bluff her home . . .     

Though Jake was annoyed to find himself playing guardian angel to this tantalizing innocent, he was even more disgusted to find he liked it. Because beneath Sarah's ladylike demeanor beat the heart of a true pioneer, a women he yearned to make his own.


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A #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Somehow her own fictional brooding hero had turned up in person right under her own roof, and now all romance writer Jackie MacNamara had to do was convince stubborn Nathan Powell that happily-ever-after began at home -- and in her arms.


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SUMMARY:
Nothing in Sydney Hayward's background of wealth and privilege prepared her to take the helm of her family's corporation. And her new responsibilities left no room for complications. Earthly and entirely masculine, Mikahil came from a world entirely different from her own but the way she felt when he put his strong, work-hardened hands on her was wreaking havoc with Sydney's resolve...


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As a storm rages, the tale of a powerful vampire's lust for destruction-and of the circle of six charged by the goddess Morrigan to stop her-begins. One of the chosen is a medieval sorcerer whose quest will take him through time-and into the arms of a woman courageous enough to link her destiny to his own.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Passion. Power. Suspense. It's time to fall under the spell of Nora Roberts. He walked the night, a shadow among shadows. They called him Nemesis and he was everywhere. But the night he saved Deborah O'Roarke from an attacker he rediscovered the sweet ache of longing. As Gage Guthrie he could woo her. But the idealistic prosecutor abhorred his vigilante approach to crime fighting. So how could he reveal he was the phantom who lurked in the Night Shadow?


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Her voice was like whiskey, smooth and potent, but it was her contradictions that fascinated Detective Boyd Fletcher—the vulnerability beneath her tough-as-nails facade. Late-night radio announcer Cilla O'Roarke was being threatened by a caller, and it was Boyd's job to protect her no matter what. But the sultry deejay was getting under his skin, and the undeniable attraction that sizzled between them concerned the detective…because anything could happen on the *Night Shift.*

They called him Nemesis. He walked the dark alleyways alone, a shadow among shadows—and that's the way he liked it. Until the night he saved Deborah O'Roarke from an attacker and rediscovered the quiet ache of yearning lodged in his heart. It had been a long time since he had wanted to reach out to someone…. But Deborah was an idealistic prosecutor who played by the rules and abhorred the vigilantism of her mysterious defender. Could she come to love the phantom who lurked in the *Night Shadow*?


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The moment her eyes locked on Colt Nightshade, she knew he was trouble. But Lieutenant Althea Grayson prided herself on being in control, and she wouldn't let her new partner ruin that. The man was a renegade, no respect for rules—and the worst part was he got to her. The way he challenged Althea's thinking, stared right into her eyes…and held her in his arms. What defense could her heart have when *Nightshade* didn't play fair?

Arson investigator Ryan Piasecki was a man who got the job done no matter what the obstacle…or how beautiful she was. Ambitious executive Natalie Fletcher's new business was going up in smoke, literally, and she needed Ryan's help to catch the arsonist. But if he wasn't careful, the sparks flying between him and this hothouse rose would erupt into a five-alarm blaze—and they'd both be engulfed by the *Night Smoke.*


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bA New York Times Bestselling Author /b PHer car had stalled on an isolated road in Maine, and Genevieve Grandeau found herself pounding on the door of an old lighthouse. But the man who answered wasn't the old seafaring gent she'd expected. . . . Grant Campbell was a loner - rude, surly and impossible. But Gennie was no pushover, and she found that combination irresistible. Of course, Grant was also intelligent, sarcastic, tender, secretive . . . and extremely good-looking.


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"Scotland, 1745. Against the bloody background of the Battle of Culloden, another war was waged and won--the price was honor, the victory, love." Scottish beauty Serena MacGregor's hatred of all English began as a child when she watched as a band of Englishmen attacked her mother. Her brother's friend Brigham Langston was no exception to Serena's loathing--despite his supposed loyalty to the Scottish cause... and his good looks. Although Brigham eventually proves himself worthy of the MacGregor family's respect, Serena is still reluctant to abandon her hatred for him and his heritage. But Brigham has other plans. Serena has captivated him with her beauty, her passion for life and commitment to her beliefs--and he refuses to let her antagonistic attitude keep him from winning her. And Serena must learn to open her mind--as Brigham opens his heart--to see the true love awaiting her.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Dear Reader, 

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Dear Reader,

Before you throw this awful book to the ground and run as far away from it as possible, you should probably know why. This book is the only one which describes every last detail of the Baudelaire children's miserable stay at Heimlich Hospital, which makes it one of the most dreadful books in the world.

There are many pleasant things to read about, but this books contains none of them. Within its pages are such burdensome details as misleading newspaper headlines, unnecessary surgery, an intercom system, anesthesia, heart-shaped balloons, and some very startling news about such things.

I have sworn to research this story, and to write it down as best I can, so I should know that this book is something best left on the ground, where you undoubtedly found it.

*With all due respect,*Lemony Snicket


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Dear Reader,

If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don't be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.

In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the reappearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again.

I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket


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SUMMARY:
Dear Reader, If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick–witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all.If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signalling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story. With all due respect, Lemony Snicket Ages 10+


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

*Dear Reader,*

I hope, for your sake, that you have not chosen to read this book because you are in the mood for a pleasant experience. If this is the case, I advise you to put this book down instantaneously, because of all the books describing the unhappy lives of the Baudelaire orphans, *The Miserable Mill* might be the unhappiest yet. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are sent to Paltryville to work in a lumber mill, and they find disaster and misfortune lurking behind every log.

The pages of this book, I'm sorry to inform you, contain such unpleasantries as a giant pincher machine, a bad casserole, a man with a cloud of smoke where his head should be, a hypnotist, a terrible accident resulting in injury, and coupons.

I have promised to write down the entire history of these three poor children, but you haven't, so if you prefer stories that are more heartwarming, please feel free to make another selection. 

*With all due respect,* 

Lemony Snicket


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Dear Reader,

If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire arc intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don't. For the Baudelaires, school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives.

Truth be told, within the chapters that make up this dreadful story, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E., and the metric system.

It is my solemn duty to stay up all night researching and writing the history of these three hapless youngsters, but you may be more comfortable getting a good night's sleep. In that case, you should probably choose some other book.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket


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In their most daring misadventure, the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by very, very rich people, whose penthouse apartment is located mysteriously close to the place where all their misfortune began. Even though their new home in the city is fancy, and the children are clever and charming, I'm sorry to say that still, the unlucky orphans will encounter more disaster and woe. In fact, in this sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the children will experience a darkened staircase, a red herring, an auction, parsley soda, some friends in a dire situation, a secret passageway, and pinstripe suits.Both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemon Snicket's uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers, despite all his warning.Ages 10+


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Dear Reader,You have undoubtedly picked up this book by mistake, so please put it down. Nobody in their right mind would read this particular book about the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire on purpose, because each dismal moment of their stay in the village of V.F.D. has been faithfully and dreadfully recorded in these pages.I can think of no single reason why anyone would want to open a book containing such unpleasant matters as migrating crows, an angry mob, a newspaper headline, the arrest of innocent people, the Deluxe Cell, and some very strange hats.It is my solemn and sacred occupation to research each detail of the Baudelaire children′s lives and write them all down, but you may prefer to do some other solemn and sacred thing, such as reading another book instead.With all due respect,Lemony Snicket  Ages 10+


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Everybody loves a carnival! Who can fail to delight in the colorful people, the unworldly spectacle, the fabulous freaks? A carnival is a place for good family fun, as long as one has a family, that is. For the Baudelaire orphans, their time at a carnival turns out to be yet another episode in a now unbearable series of unfortunate events. In fact, in this appalling ninth installment in Lemony Snicket's serial, the siblings must confront a terrible lie, an ambidextrous person, a caravan, and Chabo the wolf baby.


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There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never leave New York City; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage; and, most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple's marriage. Dramatic, heartbreaking and surprising, this is a story about the love between a man and a woman and between a parent and a child. More than that, it is a story that beautifully portrays how the same emotion that can break your heart is also the one that will ultimately heal it.While the novel picks up the tale of Lexie Darnell and Jeremy Marsh that started in True Believer and will delight fans of that novel, it stands on its own as one of Nicholas Sparks's most deeply moving love stories.


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Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to "Catherine," signed simply "Garrett." Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous-an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting.... Nicholas Sparks exquisitely chronicles the human heart. In his first bestselling novel, The Notebook, he created a testament to romantic love that touched readers around the world. Now in this New York Times bestseller, he renews our faith in destiny, in the ability of lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when...


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Jeremy Marsh is a born skeptic and a science journalist who specializes in debunking the supernatural. When he hears about ghostly apparitions in a cemetery in Boone Creek, North Carolina, he leaves his beloved New York City for this small, rural town-and what his instincts tell him could make a great story. What he doesn't plan on is meeting and falling hopelessly in love with Lexie Darnell, who is sure of one thing: her future is here in Boone Creek, close to the people she loves. Now, if the young lovers are to be together, Jeremy must make a difficult choice: return to the life he knows in New York, or do something he could never do before... take a giant leap of faith.


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In Anne Rice's extraordinary novel, the Vampire Lestat--outsides, canny monster, hero-wanderer--is at last offered the chance to be redeemed.He is brought into direct confrontation with both God and the Devil, and into the land of Death.We are in New York.  The city is blanketed in snow.  Through the whiteness Lestat is searching for Dora, the beautiful and charismatic daughter of a drug lord, the woman who arouses Lestat's tenderness as no mortal ever has.While torn between his vampire passions and his overwhelming love for Dora, Lestat is  confronted by the most dangerous of adversaries he has yet known.He is snatched from the world itself by the mysterious Memnoch, who claims to be the Devil. He is invited to be a witness at the Creation.  He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory.He must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God.  And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve.In the first four Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summoned up for us worlds that are fantastic and distant, making them as resonant, real, and immediate as our own.  In this, her most daring and darkest novel, she takes us, with Lestat, into the mythical world that is most important to us--into the realms of our own theology.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

At the center is the beautiful, unconquerable witch,  Merrick. She is a descendant of the gens de colors libres, a cast  derived from the black mistresses of white men, a society of New  Orleans octaroons and quadroons, steeped in the lore and ceremony of  voodoo, who reign in the shadowy world where the African and the  French--the white and the dark--intermingle. Her ancestors are the  Great Mayfair Witches, of whom she knows nothing--and from whom she  inherits the power and magical knowledge of a Circe.Into this  exotic New Orleans realm comes David Talbot, hero, storyteller,  adventurer, almost mortal vampire, visitor from another dark realm. It  is he who recounts Merrick's haunting tale--a tale that takes us from  the New Orleans of the past and present to the jungles of Guatemala,  from the Mayan ruins of a century ago to ancient civilizations not yet  explored.Anne Rice's richly told novel weaves an irresistible  story of two worlds: the witches' world and the vampires' world, where  magical powers and otherworldly fascinations are locked together in a  dance of seduction, death, and rebirth.


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Three women learn that the heart of their historic home holds a mystery of years gone by, as number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts brings her *In the Garden* trilogy to a captivating conclusion, following *Blue Dahlia* and *Black Rose*.    A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...    Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child.  She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had-including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper-as much more than a friend...    If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again-and whether she's willing to risk it...


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"New York Times" bestselling author Nora Roberts presents the second novel in the dramatic trilogy of three men who return home to honor their father's last wish--to care for Seth, a troubled boy in need of a family. Coming home has taught the brothers more than they ever dreamed about the meaning of family and responsibility. Now it is time to learn the meaning of acceptance and love...  Of the three brothers, it was Ethan who shared his father's passion for the Maryland shore. And now with his father gone, Ethan is determined to make the family boatbuilding business a success. But amidst his acheivements lie the most important challenges of his life...  There is young Seth, who needs him more than ever. And a woman he has always loved but never believed could have. But beneath Ethans's seemingly still waters is a dark and painful past. He must learn to see around the shadows to accept who he is. Because through Ethan's past lies the future--and his one chance at happiness...


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Combining explosive suspense with sensual passion, Nora Roberts turns up the heat in this classic tale — the sizzling story of a man and woman on the trail of a demented killer, a search that will plunge them headlong into danger.... In the lazy days of summer, a merciless heat wave is the biggest story in Washington, D.C. But the weather is knocked off the front pages when a young woman is found strangled to death. A note left behind reads Her sins are forgiven her.Two more victims soon follow, and suddenly every headline is devoted to the killer the press has dubbed “the Priest.” When the police ask top-notch psychiatrist Dr. Tess Court to help with their investigation, she comes up with a disturbing portrait of a twisted soul.Detective Ben Paris doesn’t give a damn about the killer’s psyche. What he can’t easily dismiss is Tess. Tall, dark, and good-looking, Ben has a legendary reputation with women, but the coolly elegant Tess doesn’t react to him like other women he’s known — and he finds the challenge enticing.Now, as the two are thrown together in a perilous quest to stop a serial killer, the flame of white-hot passion flares. But someone also has his eyes on the beautiful blond doctor ... and Ben can only pray that if the madman strikes, he'll be able to stop him before it’s too late....


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Jodi Picoult's extraordinary tale of love, friendship and family dares to explore the terrifying secrets that lurk in the hearts of the people we think we know inside and out. Emily Gold and Chris Harte are soul mates. They have lived next door since they were born, sharing everything from chicken pox to Chinese food, and in high school their friendship blossoms into something more. Then a midnight call from the hospital changes everything: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There's a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet - a bullet Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a detective has doubts about the suicide pact theory and slowly Chris's and Emily's closely guarded secrets are revealed as the real truth about the lead up to that night unfolds. The Pact is a compelling story of friendship and family, betrayal and anguish, and the unforeseen consequences of love.


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Jodi Picoult, the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Vanishing Acts, " offers her most powerful chronicle yet of an American family with a story that probes the unbreakable bond between parent and child -- and the dangerous repercussions of trying to play the hero.  Trixie Stone is fourteen years old and in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father's life -- a straight-A student; a freshman in high school who is pretty and popular; a girl who's always looked up to Daniel Stone as a hero. Until, that is, her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence...and suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie.  For fifteen years, Daniel Stone has been an even-tempered, mild-mannered man: a stay-at-home dad to Trixie and a husband who has put his own career as a comic book artist behind that of his wife, Laura, who teaches Dante's "Inferno" at a local college. But years ago, he was completely different: growing up as the only white boy in an Eskimo village, he was teased mercilessly for the color of his skin. He learned to fight back: stealing, drinking, robbing, and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush. To become part of a family, he reinvented himself, channeling his rage onto the page and burying his past completely...until now. Could the young boy who once made Trixie's face fill with light when he came to the door have been the one to end her childhood forever? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a man with a history he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back in order to protect his daughter.  "The Tenth Circle" looks at that delicate moment when a child learns that her parents don't know all of the answers and when being a good parent means letting go of your child. It asks whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime or if your mistakes are carried forever -- if life is, as in any good comic book, a struggle to control good and evil, or if good and evil control you.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people--at work, at school, at home. It's wrong. As Daniel H. Pink explains in his new and paradigm- shattering book *Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us*, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. 



 Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does--and how that affects every aspect of our lives. He demonstrates that while the old-fashioned carrot-and-stick approach worked successfully in the 20th century, it's precisely the *wrong* way to motivate people for today's challenges. In *Drive*, he reveals the three elements of true motivation: 



 ***Autonomy**- the desire to direct our own lives 

 ***Mastery**- the urge to get better and better at something that matters 

 ***Purpose**- the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves 



 Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward. 



 *Drive* is bursting with big ideas-- the rare book that will change how you think and transform how you live.


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Plato'S Republic Is Widely Acknowledged As The Cornerstone Of Western Philosophy. Presented In The Form Of A Dialogue Between Socrates And Three Different Interlocutors, It Is An Enquiry Into The Notion Of A Perfect Community And The Ideal Individual Within It. During The Conversation Other Questions Are Raised: What Is Goodness; What Is Reality; What Is Knowledge? The Republic Also Addresses The Purpose Of Education And The Role Of Both Women And Men As 'Guardians' Of The People. With Remarkable Lucidity And Deft Use Of Allegory, Plato Arrives At A Depiction Of A State Bound By Harmony And Ruled By 'Philosopher Kings'.


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*The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe*, by **Edgar Allan Poe**, is part of the *Barnes & Noble Classics** *series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of *Barnes & Noble Classics*: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. *Barnes & Noble Classics *pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Creator of the modern detective story, innovative architect of the horror genre, and a poet of extraordinary musicality, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of America’s most popular and influential writers. His tales and poems brim with psychological depth, almost painful intensity, and unexpected—and surprisingly modern—flashes of dark humor and irony.



This anthology offers an exceptionally generous selection of Poe’s short stories. It includes his famed masterpieces, such as "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter," featuring Poe’s great detective, Dupin; his insightful studies of madness "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"; "The Gold-Bug," his delightful exercise in "code-breaking"; and important but lesser-known tales, such as "Bon-Bon," "The Assignation," and "King Pest." Also included are some of Poe’s most beloved poems, haunting lyrics of love and loss, such as "Annabel Lee," nightmare phantasmagories such as "The Raven," and his grand experiment in translating sound into words, "The Bells."

**Benjamin F. Fisher**, Professor of English, University of Mississippi, is a longtime enthusiast of the works of Poe. He has published books, articles, and notes about Poe, and in American, Victorian, and Gothic studies, and serves on editorial boards for several professional journals. He has also been acclaimed for outstanding teaching.


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A co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize offers a clear-eyed explanation of the planet's imperiled ice.  Much has been written about global warming, but the crucial relationship between people and ice has received little focus-until now. As one of the world's leading experts on climate change, Henry Pollack provides an accessible, comprehensive survey of ice as a force of nature, and the potential consequences as we face the possibility of a world without ice.  "A World Without Ice" traces the effect of mountain glaciers on supplies of drinking water and agricultural irrigation, as well as the current results of melting permafrost and shrinking Arctic sea ice-a situation that has degraded the habitat of numerous animals and sparked an international race for seabed oil and minerals. Catastrophic possibilities loom, including rising sea levels and subsequent flooding of lowlying regions worldwide, and the ultimate displacement of millions of coastal residents. "A World Without Ice" answers our most urgent questions about this pending crisis, laying out the necessary steps for managing the unavoidable and avoiding the unmanageable.


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** A pocket compendium of food wisdom-from the author of *The Omnivore's Dilemma* and *In Defense of Food* **



 Michael Pollan, our nation's most trusted resource for food-related issues, offers this indispensible guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, *Food Rules* is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat.


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A national bestseller that has changed the way readers view the ecology of eating, this   revolutionary book by award winner Michael Pollan asks the seemingly simple question: What   should we have for dinner? Tracing from source to table each of the food chains that sustain us—  whether industrial or organic, alternative or processed—he develops a portrait of the American   way of eating. The result is a sweeping, surprising exploration of the hungers that have shaped   our evolution, and of the profound implications our food choices have for the health of our species   and the future of our planet.


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"A welcome chance to catch up with old friends...Fascinating...When we emerge from its folds, there's good news on the last page: 'The chronicle of the vampires will continue.' Yum."PHILADELPHIA INQUIRERA feat of mesmerizing storytelling, a chilling entertainment, THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED unleashes Akasha, the Queen herself, who has risen from a six-thousand year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to "save" mankind and destroy Lestat--in this extraordinarily sensual novel of the complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.
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"A welcome chance to catch up with old friends...Fascinating...When we emerge from its folds, there's good news on the last page: 'The chronicle of the vampires will continue.' Yum."PHILADELPHIA INQUIRERA feat of mesmerizing storytelling, a chilling entertainment, THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED unleashes Akasha, the Queen herself, who has risen from a six-thousand year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to "save" mankind and destroy Lestat--in this extraordinarily sensual novel of the complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.


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In the latest installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summons up dazzling worlds to bring us the story of Armand--eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel. Armand, who first appeared in all his dark glory more than twenty years ago in the now-classicInterview with the Vampire, the first of The Vampire Chronicles, the novel that established its author worldwide as a magnificent storyteller and creator of magical realms. Now, we go with Armand across the centuries to the Kiev Rus of his boyhood--a ruined city under Mongol dominion--and to ancient Constantinople, where Tartar raiders sell him into slavery. And in a magnificent palazzo in the Venice of the Renaissance we see him emotionally and intellectually in thrall to the great vampire Marius, who masquerades among humankind as a mysterious, reclusive painter and who will bestow upon Armand the gift of vampiric blood. As the novel races to its climax, moving through scenes of luxury and elegance, of ambush, fire, and devil worship to nineteenth-century Paris and today's New Orleans, we see its eternally vulnerable and romantic hero forced to choose between his twilight immortality and the salvation of his immortal soul.


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The film version of Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth will be in Australian cinemas February 2010 The greatest monster of all, the storm giant Typhon, is on the loose, wreaking havoc and destruction across the U.S. - while Kronos's army lays siege to Manhattan. Soon Percy Jackson must make the hardest choice of his life - a choice that will save or destroy the world. 'RIORDAN TAKES THE READER BACK TO THE STORIES WE LOVE, THEN SHAKES THE COBWEBS OUT OF THEM' - EOIN COLFER, AUTHOR OF ARTEMIS FOWL

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All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos's army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan's power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded.  Now it's up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy's sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.


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Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun.  But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to diabolical. 



In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth-a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

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Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun.  But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to diabolical. In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth-a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this fourth book promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.


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The gods of Olympus are alive in the 21st Century. They still fall in love with mortals and have children who might become great heroes, but most of these children meet horrible fates at the hands of monsters by the age of twelve. Only a few learn the truth of their identity and make it to Half Blood Hill, a Long Island summer camp dedicated to training young demigods. Such is the revelation that launches young Percy Jackson on a quest to help his real father, Poseidon, avert a war among the gods. With the help of Grover the satyr and Annabeth the daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction - Zeus master bolt. Along the way, they face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop them. Most of all, Percy must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.


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You can't tell by looking at me that my dad is Poseidon, God of the Sea. It's not easy being a half-blood these days. You mortals can't even see the monsters we have to fight all the time. So when a game of dodgeball turned into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, I couldn't exactly ask my gym teacher for help. And that was just for starters. This is the one where Camp Half Blood is undernbsp;attack, and unless I get my hands on the Golden Fleece, the whole camp will be invaded by monsters. Big ones. Can Percy survive the treacherous Sea of Monstersnbsp;and restore order to Half-Blood Hill?


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When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped.And now it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess?  They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the titans. Not only that, but first Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever.

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When the goddess Artemis goes missing, she is believed to have been kidnapped.And now it's up to Percy and his friends to find out what happened. Who is powerful enough to kidnap a goddess?  They must find Artemis before the winter solstice, when her influence on the Olympian Council could swing an important vote on the war with the titans. Not only that, but first Percy will have to solve the mystery of a rare monster that Artemis was hunting when she disappeared -- a monster rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus forever.


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Multi-New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts has dazzled millions of readers with her riveting stories of mystery and romance.  THE CALHOUN WOMEN celebrates that intriguing blend. It's the stuff that love -- and legends -- are made of.Efficient Amanda Calhoun finds easygoing Sloan O'Riley insufferable -- and irresistible.  As she finalizes all the arrangements for her sister C.C.'s storybook wedding to hotel magnate Trenton St. James, and plans for the day she assumes command of The Towers Retreat, her family is racing to solve the generations-old mystery surrounding a priceless hidden emerald necklace.


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Cynical Senator Alan MacGregor falls for free-spirited beauty Shelby Campbell despite their long-standing family feud.


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** Love blooms in the second novel in Nora Roberts's celebrated Bride Quartet series.**



 As little girls MacKensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker spent hours acting out their perfect make believe "I do" moments. Years later their fantasies become reality when they start their own wedding planning company to make every woman's dream day come true. With perfect flowers, delicious desserts, and joyful moments captured on film, Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet shares each woman's emotionally magical journey to romance. 



 *In Bed of Roses*, florist Emma Grant is finding career success with her friends at Vows wedding planning company, and her love life appears to be thriving. Though men swarm around her, she still hasn't found Mr. Right. And the last place she's looking is right under her nose. 



 But that's just where Jack Cooke is. He's so close to the women of Vows that he's practically family, but the architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. When Emma returns his passion—kiss for blistering kiss—they must trust in their history…and in their hearts.


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She was the sexiest thing in a hard hat that architect Cody Johnson had ever seen, but structural engineer Abra Wilson also had a will as strong as a steel girder - and just about as flexible. But Cody had plans for Abra that not even this spirited beauty could resist...


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Number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts presents the second novel of her *In the Garden* trilogy (following *Blue Dahlia*), as three women must discover the secrets from the past contained within their historic home...    Three women meet at a crossroads in their lives,   each searching for new ways to grow-and find in each other  the courage to take chances and embrace the future.    Roz is a woman of independent means who thought love was behind her,   but when romance takes her by surprise;  she won't allow anything to keep her from her second chance at happiness.    *A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...*    At forty-five, Rosalind Harper is a woman whose experiences have made her strong enough to bend without breaking-and weather any storm. A widow with three grown sons, she survived a disastrous second marriage, and built her In the Garden nursery from the ground up. Through the years, In the Garden has become more than just a thriving business-it is a symbol of hope and independence to Roz, and to the two women she shares it with.  Newlywed Stella and new mother Hayley are the sisters of her heart, and together, the three of them are the future of In the Garden.     But now that future is under attack, and Roz knows they can't fight this battle alone.  Hired to investigate Roz's Harper ancestors, Dr. Mitchell Carnagie finds himself just as intrigued with Roz herself. And as they begin to unravel the puzzle of the Harper Bride's identity, Roz is shocked to find herself falling for the fascinating genealogist.  Now it is a desperate race to discover the truth before the unpredictable apparition lashes out at the one woman who can help her rest in peace...


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From #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Nora Roberts comes the first novel in the new *In the Garden* trilogy. Against the backdrop of a house steeped in history and a thriving new gardening business, three women unearth the memories of the past and uncover a dangerous secret-finding in each other the courage to take chances and embrace the future.    Stella has a passion for planning that keeps her from taking too many risks.  But when she opens her heart to a new love,   she discovers that she will fight to the death to protect what's hers.     Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee-and into her new life at Harper House and In the Garden nursery. She isn't intimidated by the house-nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery. As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Hayley. And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge    But someone isn't happy about the budding romance...the Harper Bride. As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride's spirit alive long past her death. And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share...


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**A classic novel from the enchanting series *The Donovan Legacy*.**  

Only the phenomenal Nora Roberts could have created the remarkable Donovan clan. Fascinating and irresistible, the mysterious Donovan cousins share a secret that's been handed down through generations -- a secret that sets them apart from ordinary beings.  

***Captivated***  

His interest in her was purely professional . . . Or so he told himself. Nash Kirkland had sought out the alluring Morgana Dovovan to help him research his latest screenplay, though the hardheaded skeptic didn't believe for a minute she was what she professed to be. But, as Morgana revealed herself to him, Nash found himself falling under her bewitching spell. Nash had never trusted his feelings and always kept them in check. So how could he be sure the irresistible passion he felt for Morgana was real and not just some conjurer's trick?  

***The Donovan Legacy* continues with *Entranced*, coming soon from Silhouette Books.**


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Anastasia Donovan knew that her gift marked her as different, special -perhaps even dangerous. She had pent year hiding her eli from the world,crrified about the can equences of revealing what she really wa·. VI'hen Boone Sav.yer came into her life, bent on finding out the ITuth about her, Anastasia had to protect herself and her magic at all costs, She would keep her secrets whatever it look. Then -he was confronted with a terrifying thl-eat to everything he had learned Lo love. With a child's future at take, Anasla ia could not deny he powers, even if it meant ri king her own life.


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When Alex Stanislaski mistakenly arrested daringly bold soap opera writer Bess McKnee, she decided the sexy detective was absolutely perfect - for her research and for herself. Now all she had to do was convince him she was right...


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Trenton St. James III intends to buy the shabby old mansion on the coast of Maine and convert it into a hotel until he meets one of the owners, garage owner and mechanic Catherine "C.C" Calhoun, who is determined to stop him


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In the second volume in Roberts' paranormal Circle Trilogy, the Circle of Six prepare to battle for their lives--and their hearts--against the one vampire determined to rule the earth. Original.


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Book 2 in *The O'Hurley Collection*

**A New York Times Bestseller**

  Though her name was up in lights, Maddy O'Hurley cared nothing for the trappings of stardom. All that mattered was dancing. But Reed Valentine's only passions were wealth and power . . . until Maddy engaged the mesmerizing mogul in the daring dance of love.


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From the #1 New York Timesbestselling author-the first book in the reissued Three Sisters Island trilogy is a tale of friendship, fate, and the mysterious ways of the heart.


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In the first volume in a trilogy about the Quinns, three brothers from the Maryland shore, Cameron, a champion boat racer, returns home at the behest of his dying father to care for Seth, a troubled young boy. Reissue.


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The high price of fame meant learning to deal with obsessive fans. But this one was different. He was watching and waiting, and Chantel O'Hurley was afraid. She needed help, and it came with a $500-a-day price tag--Quinn Doran, a P.I. with the kind of tough, go-to-hell looks that made a woman's pulse race. Chantel didn't need his arrogant insinuations. She needed to stay alive.


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The first time Spencer Kimball set eyes on Natasha Stanislaki, he was floored by her exotic beauty. But the former ballet dancer had a fiery temperament that could keep men safely at bay. Sensing an open wound, Spence and his little girl joined forces to find a way into her closely guarded heart. For Spence realized he'd do anything to tame Natasha's fears and show her how to love.


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Second in the breathtaking Irish trilogy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.    Nora Roberts returns to Ireland in this tale of a talented musician and the beautiful tomboy who's been secretly in love with him for years.


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Atop the rocky coast of Maine sits the Towers, a magnificent family mansion that is home to a legend of long-lost love, hidden emeralds -- and four sisters determined to save their home against all odds.    

***New York Times* bestselling author Nora Roberts brings you the Calhoun Women -- **    

**Suzanna's Surrender** -- Burned-out and tired as hell, all ex-cop Holt Bradford wanted to do was relax. But when beautiful single mom Suzanna invaded his solitude to search for the missing Calhoun emeralds, he couldn't say no. Holt had changed from a bad-boy teen to a dangerously sexy man, but Suzanna couldn't risk her well-ordered life for a man who made her mouth go dry . . .    

**Megan's Mate** -- Calhoun sister-in-law Megan O'Riley and her young son had traveled far to become the Towers' newest residents. Cool as an Atlantic breeze, Megan buried her passions and vowed never to let her heart control her life. But when boat captain Nate Fury set his course for her, the practical lady was swept away by his formidable charm.


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**A New York Times Bestselling Author**

  Sheriff Devin MacKade watched - patiently, painfully - as the woman he secretly cherished suffered through a less-than-perfect marriage. Now pretty Cassie Connor was free . . . but vulnerable. Devin knew he'd have to tread slowly, all the while wondering if the heart of Devin MacKade would ever claim the woman he loved.


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Abigail O’Hurley Rockwell was a desperate woman. Journalist Dylan Crosby was going to start digging up her past for the book he was writing about her infamous late husband. It was just research to him, but to her it was a painful reality that had to be kept under lock and key for the sake of her children. Abby would do anything to keep their world safe—no matter how compelling Dylan’s promises might be.…


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**In this captivating story, #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Nora Roberts introduces us to the next generation of one of her most popular and celebrated families, as cousins Laura, Gwendolyn and Julia discover what their parents already know -- that their busybody grandfather has an unerring instinct for love.**    

**Daniel MacGregor is at it again!**

  At age ninety, there is nothing the powerful patriarch of the MacGregor clan would like more than to see his three eldest granddaughters happily married -- and he's handpicked three unsuspecting candidates he believes would make perfect husbands. But this might be his biggest matchmaking challenge yet: his granddaughters are so focused on their careers that marriage is the last thing on their minds. It's a good thing this meddlesome nonagenarian has a few tricks left up his sleeve . . .


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It worked with his granddaughters. Now Daniel MacGregor, powerful patriarch of the MacGregor clan, wants to see his three handsome, eligible—but stubbornly single—grandsons married. So he's found just the women to tempt, tease and torture D.C., Duncan and Ian all the way to the altar. And you can bet Daniel will be sitting by with his feet up, a glass of whiskey in hand, smugly watching his plans unfold.…


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Preston McQuinn is satisfied with his functional and quiet new apartment, but his effervescent neighbor threatens to ruin his reputation as a loner.


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**A #1 New York Times Bestselling Author**

  The MacKade brothers are back, once again stirring the hearts of every female that crosses their path. Now attorney Jared MacKade, who has his pick of women, is finding it hard to keep his dealings with Savannah Morningstar strictly business.


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**A New York Times Bestselling Author**

    The MacKade brothers - the embodiment of tall, dark, and dangerous - are back by popular demand. The irresistible brothers are once again stirring the hearts of every female that crosses their path. The bad boy of the bunch has returned home after ten years, appealing as ever. Not even lovely Regan Jones, the town's reserved antiques dealer, is immune to Rafe MacKade.


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**The #1 *New York Times*-bestselling author presents a riveting novel where a canine search and rescue volunteer fights danger and finds love in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. ** 



 To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescues. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare...



 Several years ago, Fiona was the only survivor of the Red Scarf serial killer, who shot and killed Fiona's cop fiancé and his K-9 partner. 



 On Orcas Island, Fiona found the peace and solitude she needed to rebuild her life. But all that changes on the day Simon Doyle barrels up her drive, desperate for her help. He's the reluctant owner of an out-of-control puppy, foisted upon him by his mother. Jaws has eaten through Simon's house, and he's at his wit's end. 



 To Fiona, Jaws is nothing she can't handle. Simon, however, is another matter. A newcomer to Orcas, he's a rugged and in-tensely private artist, known for the exquisite furniture he creates from wood. Simon never wanted a puppy-and he most definitely doesn't want a woman. Besides, the lanky redhead is not his type. But tell that to his hormones. 



 As Fiona embarks on training Jaws, and Simon begins to appreciate both dog and trainer, the past tears back into Fiona's life. A copycat killer has emerged out of the shadows, a man whose bloodlust has been channeled by a master with one motive: to reclaim the woman who slipped out of his hands...


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'Did you say I won almost two million dollars'? Running away from her former life, and her controlling fiance, Darcy Wallace was down to her last ten dollars. And in the bright lights of a Las Vegas casino, Darcy gambled and won! Suddenly the small-town girl was big news - and in need of protection. Robert MacGregor Blade, the casino owner, was determined to make sure Darcy could enjoy her good fortune. But Darcy knew what she wanted; a chance with Mac himself. And surely her luck was in?


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The battleground has been chosen for the final showdown between those selected by the gods and the minions of the vampire Lilith. But there is one vampire who dares stand against her. And his love for the scholarly queen of Geall will complete the circle of six-and change the face of eternity.


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**#1 *New York Times* bestselling author Nora Roberts invites readers to the wedding event of the year!



 #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Nora Roberts presents her first trade original-a novel of love, friendship, and family-Book One in the Bride Quartet.**



 Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.



 A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac's type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends-and business partners-to see her way to her own happy ending.


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Frederica Kimball had been waiting for the day when Nicholas LeBeck would fall as desperately in love with her as she had always been with him. Nick didn't know what had hit him...sweet, adorable Freddie, whom he'd always loved like a kid sister, was suddenly looking and acting like a sensual woman. The waiting was over, but the wanting had just begun!


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Trace O'Hurley had turned his back on responsibility and commitment long ago. Now he lived the way he wanted, did what he wanted when he wanted. But that was all going to change....Gillian Fitzpatrick had responsibilities, commitments -- her brother had disappeared and she was frightened and desperate. Trace was her only hope. He had the connections, the expertise...and the guts. But just what was she going to have to do to convince him to help her...?


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Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. One of the most beloved heroes of the stage, Cyrano de Bergerac is a magnificent wit who, despite his many gifts, feels that no woman can ever love him because of his enormous nose. He adores the beautiful Roxanne but, lacking courage, decides instead to help the tongue-tied but winsome Christian woo the fair lady by providing him with flowery sentiments and soulful poetry. Roxanne is smitten—but is it Christian she loves or Cyrano? A triumph from the moment of its 1897 premiere, Cyrano de Bergerac has become one of the most frequently produced plays in the world. Its perennial popularity is a tribute to the universal appeal of its themes and characters.Peter Connor is Associate Professor of French and comparative literature at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author of Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).


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"A TRIUMPH . . . A model of the richness and subtleties of relationships, characters, and story construction." --Chicago Sun-Times In his family life, Angus Stonefield had been gentle and loving; in business, a man of probity; and in his relationship with his twin brother, Caleb, a virtual saint. Now Angus is missing, and it appears more than possible that Caleb--a creature long since abandoned to depravity--has murdered him. Hired to find the missing man, William Monk puts himself into his shoes, searching for clues to Angus's fate and his vicious brother's whereabouts. Slowly, Monk inches toward the truth--and also, unwittingly, toward the destruction of his good name and livelihood. . . . "MASTERFUL . . . DARKLY CHILLING . . . Perry eloquently delivers to her readers the flavor of Victorian England. . . . Readers will be kept entertained and guessing--right up to the final pages." --Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT FIGURED OUT, THINK AGAIN! No one can capture and bring to life the drama, excitement, and feel of Victorian England like Perry." --Mostly Murder A Main Selection of the Mystery Guild


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After a brilliant military career, esteemed General Thaddeus Carlyon finally meets his death, not in the frenzy of battle but at an elegant London dinner party. His demise appears to be the result of a freak accident, but the general’s beautiful wife, Alexandra, readily confesses that she killed him–a story she clings to even under the threat of the noose.Investigator William Monk, nurse Hester Latterly, and brilliant Oliver Rathbone, counsel for the defense, work feverishly to break down the wall of silence raised by the accused and her husband’s proud family. With the trial only days away, these there sleuths inch toward the dark and appalling heart of the mystery.


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Readers of Anne Perry’s bestselling William Monk novels feel as if they’ve experienced the many shades of Victorian London, from Belgravia to Limehouse, from drawing room to brothel. In **Execution Dock**, Perry’s first Monk novel in three years, we find ourselves on the bustling docks along the River Thames. Here the empire’s great merchant ships unload the treasures of the world. And here, in dank and sinister alleys, sex merchants ply their lucrative trade.The dreaded kingpin of this dark realm is Jericho Phillips. On his floating brothel, sex slaves are forced to endure unspeakable acts. Now one such soul, thirteen-year-old Fig, is found with his throat cut, his tortured body tossed into the river.Commander William Monk of the River Police swears that Phillips will hang for this abomination. But the miscreant is as wily as he is monstrous, and his wealthy clients seem far beyond the reach of the law. Monk’s attempt to bring about justice becomes the first electrifying episode in a nightmare that will test his courage and integrity.However, reinforcements are on the way. Monk’s wife, Hester, who runs a free clinic for abused women, draws a highly unusual guerrilla force to her husband’s cause–a canny ratcatcher, a retired brothel keeper, a fearless street urchin, and a rebellious society lady. To one as criminally minded as Phillips,  these folks are mere mosquitoes, to be sure. But as he will soon discover, some mosquitoes can have a deadly sting.This gripping, terrifying story hurtles toward to a denouement that will leave the reader breathless but cheering.** Execution Dock **is Anne Perry at her incomparable, magnificent best.


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In her haunting new Victorian novel, Anne Perry brings to rich and passionate life the city that she has made her own. Once more she shares the intimacy of London's opulent drawing rooms and guides readers through gaslit thoroughfares that echo with hooves on cobblestones, the cries of street vendors, the shouts of newsboys reporting the headlines . . . of two beautiful women found strangled in the studio of a well-known London artist. One of the victims is the wife of Hester Monk's colleague, surgeon Dr. Kristian Beck, a Viennese emigre who swiftly becomes the principal suspect. Now investigator William Monk and his wife seek evidence to save Beck from the hangman, hoping to penetrate not only the mystery of Elissa Beck's death, but the riddle of her life. . . .From the Hardcover edition.


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In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in the dark during the course of a fraudulent séance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and revelation as they vie to outwit and expose one another. Their rivalry will take them to the peaks of their careers, but with terrible consequences. In the course of pursuing each other's ruin, they will deploy all the deception their magicians' craft can command-the highest misdirection and the darkest science. Blood will be spilled, but it will not be enough. In the end, their legacy will pass on for generations...to descendants who must, for their sanity's sake, untangle the puzzle left to them. Soon to be a major motion picture starring HUGH JACKMAN, SCARLETT JOHANSSON, CHRISTIAN BALE, DAVID BOWIE, MICHAEL CAINE, ANDY SERKIS and directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN!


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***For Now, Forever***

  Anna—Daniel's wife of forty years—relives her remarkable courtship, when meddlesome matchmaking patriarch and self-made millionaire Daniel MacGregor faced his biggest challenge: to convince the love of his life to marry him! Here at last is the story of how Daniel wooed and won the fiercely independent Anna Whitfield and launched his formidable dynasty.

  

***In From the Cold***

  In this story about an eighteenth-century MacGregor, we learn that battling the British couldn't prepare Minuteman Ian MacGregor for the fight he's got on his hands to win the heart of Irish spitfire Allanna Flynn.


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Margo Sullivan had everything she could ask for. The daughter of the Templetons' stern housekeeper, she was treated like a member of the family. But money could not buy the thing she craved most-her mother's acceptance...


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A missing chi d. A desperate mother, A private investigator rwming out of tim , Mel Sutherland didn't need th help of a fraudulent psychic to find the abducted baby -an she wasn't about to let a con-artist exploit a grieving mother's vulnerability, Then all the leads dIied up. Reluctantly, Mel had to acc pt Sebastian Donovan's aid, She was cynical ab ut hi powers and suspicious of hi motives. But as the clock ticked, Sebastian unfailingly knew how to follow th abductor's track and el had to make up her mind. Was Sebastian' gift real? Or wa~ someth'ng far more sini ter at work?


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The final book in Nora Roberts's bewitching New England-set Three Sisters Island trilogy brings to a close the saga of modern-day witches Nell Channing, Ripley Todd, and Mia Devlin.


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Falling for Rachel Landlocked in Manhattan, rugged seaman Zack Muldoon needed a tough, no-nonsense lawyer to save his kid brother's delinquent hide. Public defender Rachel Stanislaski was not what he had in mind—until he discovered there was a lot more to the beautiful, coolheaded attorney than met the eye...and found himself falling for her, hook, line and sinker.Convincing Alex When Alex Stanislaski mistakenly arrested daringly bold soap-opera writer Bess McKnee for soliciting, she decided the sexy detective was absolutely perfect—for her research and for herself. Now all she had to do was convince him she was right.…


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A dream of a conclusion for Nora's New York Times bestselling trilogy  The daughter of a wealthy hotelier, Laura Templeton had always known comfort and privilege. But when her storybook marriage ends, she is determined to rebuild her life without the Templeton fortune and discover who she really is...


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**A New York Times Bestseller**

  The four Calhoun sisters and a special sister-by-marriage are all united by a decades-old legend and the determination to save the Towers, their magnificent family mansion on the rocky coast of Maine. Sweet sister Lilah saved a mysterious stranger from drowning. Adrift in a storm, Max thought he had hallucinated the beautiful mermaid who came to his rescue. But Lilah was a woman of flesh and blood . . .


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In the conclusion of the Irish trilogy that began with Jewels of the Sun and Tears of the Moon, Darcy Gallagher has always dreamed of living in a world of glamour and adventure and gets her chance when she meets wealthy businessman Trevor Magee, who has come to Ardmore to build a theater and to uncover the secrets of his family's past. Original.


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Tender Branson – last surviving member of the so-called "Creedish Death Cult" – is dictating his incredible life story into the flight recorder of Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the plane, which will shortly reach terminal velocity and crash into the vast Australian outback. Before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid– and collagen-packed media messiah, author of a best-selling autobiography, Saved from Salvation, and the even better selling Book of Very Common Prayer (The Prayer to Delay Orgasm, The Prayer to Prevent Hair Loss, The Prayer to Silence Car Alarms). He'll even share his insight that "the only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage," and deny responsibility for the Tender Branson Sensitive Materials Landfill – a 20,000-acre repository for the nation's outdated pornography. Among other matters both bizarre and trenchant. 
–courtesy of WW Norton
Thoughts From Chuck
"The books are never about what you think they are about. Survivor is really about our education system because I feel, more often than not, kids are sort of taught or trained to be the best possible cogs in some big corporate machine. They're not really taught in an empowered way that they can start their own company so that they can create and run their own lives. They are sort of taught to be just good employees, to just fit in."
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From the author of the underground sensation Fight Club, a   mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious vision of cult and post-cult life.   Tender Branson-last surviving member of the so-called "Creedish Death   Cult"-is dictating his incredible life story into the flight recorder of   Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the   Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the plane, which will shortly reach   terminal velocity and crash into the vast Australian outback. Before it   does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish   child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and   collagen-packed media messiah, author of a best-selling autobiography,   Saved from Salvation, and the even better selling Book of Very Common   Prayer (The Prayer to Delay Orgasm, The Prayer to Prevent Hair Loss, The   Prayer to Silence Car Alarms). He'll even share his insight that "the   only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage," and   deny responsibility for the Tender Branson Sensitive Materials Landfill-a   20,000-acre repository for the nation's outdated pornography. Among other   matters both bizarre and trenchant. Not since Kurt Vonnegut's Mother   Night and Jerzy Kosinski's Being There has there been as black and   telling a satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the   modern world. Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak, and it   marks him as a blazing talent for the new millennium.

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From the author of the cult sensation Fight Club (now a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter) comes Survivor."A turbo-charged, deliciously manic satire of contemporary American life." --Newsday"The only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage," according to the "been there, done that" wisdom of Tender Branson, last surviving member of the Creedish Death Cult. At the opening of Chuck Palahniuk's hilariously unnerving second novel, Tender is cruising on autopilot, 39,000 feet up, dictating the whole of his life story into Flight 2039's "black box" in the final moments before crashing into the vast Australian outback.Not since Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night has there been as dark and telling a satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world. Wickedly incisive and mesmerizing, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak.


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Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire.  Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the  skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship.  Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .**Praise for *Eragon*:**“Unusual, powerful . . . fresh and fluid. An impressive start to a writing career that’s sure to flourish.” –*Booklist*, Starred“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.” –*People*“The new ‘It’ book of children’s lit.” –*U.S. News & World Report*“An auspicious beginning to both career and series.” –*Publishers Weekly*A #1 New York Times BestsellerA #1 Publishers Weekly BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerA Wall Street Journal BestsellerA Book Sense Book of the YearA #1 Book Sense Selection*From the Hardcover edition.*


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Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm  boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.“An authentic work of great talent.”—*The New York Times Book Review*“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.”—*People* “Unusual, powerful, fresh, and fluid.”—*Booklist*, Starred“An auspicious beginning to both career and series.”—*Publishers Weekly*A New York Times BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerA Wall Street Journal BestsellerA Book Sense Bestseller*From the Hardcover edition.*


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Imagine a killer who thinks, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?"--and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women --a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner --who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise that turns everything about the case upside down.


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2nd Chance reconvenes the Women's Murder Club, four friends (adetective, a reporter, an assistant district attorney, and a medical examiner)who used their networking skills, feminine intuition, and professional wiles tosolve a baffling series of murders in 1st to Die. This time, themurders of two African Americans, a little girl and an old woman, bear all thesigns of a serial killer for Lindsay Boxer, newly promoted to lieutenant of SanFrancisco's homicide squad. But there's an odd detail she finds even moredisturbing: both victims were related to city cops. A symbol glimpsed at bothmurder scenes leads to a racist hate group, but the taunting killer strikesagain and again, leaving deliberate clues and eluding the police ever morecleverly. In the meantime, each of the women has a personal stake at risk--andthe killer knows who they are. 2nd Chance speeds along at a Formula One pace through many tight curves,but unlike recent entries in theAlex Cross series, itdoesn't sacrifice good characters to a twisted plot. Lindsay's the star, butthere's a fine esprit de corps among the four women, who are even betterdeveloped here than in the first book. What makes them both convincing andinteresting as a criminal-justice juggernaut is their willingness to stick theirnecks out, even if they suffer for it. If you haven't picked up a JamesPatterson novel in a while, this is a great time to start anew. --BarrieTrinkle


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The Women's Murder Club returns in a shockingly suspenseful thriller. Plunging into a burning town house, Detective Lindsay Boxer discovers three dead bodies...and a mysterious message at the scene. When more corpses turn up, Lindsay asks her friends Claire Washburn of the medical examiner's office, Assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt, and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas to help her find a murderer who vows to kill every three days. Even more terrifying, he has targeted one of the four friends. Which one will it be?


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The Women's Murder Club faces not one-but two-terrifying cases that may tear it apart. The teenage son of California's ex-governor has mysteriously vanished-and the pressure on Detective Lindsay Boxer to find him is overwhelming. When she finally does get a lead, it's devastating. At the same time, Lindsay and her partner, Rich Conklin, must investigate mysterious fires that are destroying some of San Francisco's most beautiful homes-and leaving their owners dead in the debris. But when Lindsay enlists her friends in the Women's Murder Club to help uncover the arsonist, the blazes suddenly rage much too close to home . . . and the detective's life may go up in flames.


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Separated by timeFrom his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written--a novel called *Trial.***Connected by blood**As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his home town to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse. **United by bravery**When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful granddaughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror--but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart. Written in the fearless voice of Detective Alex Cross, *Alex Cross's *Trial is a gripping story of murder, love, and, above all, bravery.


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Montauk lawyer Tom Dunleavy's client list is woefully small - occasional real estate closings barely keep him in paper clips. When he is hired to defend a local man accused in a triple murder that has the East Hampton world in an uproar, he knows that he has found the case of his lifetime. The crime turns the glittering playground for the super-rich into a blazing inferno. Dunleavy's client is a local hero, but Dunleavy knows the case rests atop a volcano of money, deception, and forbidden desires. His client is the perfect fall guy - unless he can find the key that unlocks the secret rooms of the gilt-shrouded set. When Dunleavy is joined by his former flame, the savvy and well-connected attorney, Kate Costello, he believes he has a chance. But payback is a bitch - especially from the rich. The violent retaliations of billionaires threatened by his investigation exceed anything Dunleavy has ever seen. With the entire nation's eyes on him in a new Trial of the Century, Dunleavy orchestrates a series of revelations that lead to a stunning outcome - only to find afterward that the truth is wilder than anything he ever imagined.


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"Richly textured with the sights and  sounds of London and its countryside...Solidly absorbing and Perry's best to date."

THE KIRKUS REVIEWS

His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detecive. But the accident that felled him has left him with only half a life; his memory and his entire past have vanished.  As he tries to hide the truth, Monk returns to work and is assigned to investigate  the brutal murder of a Crimean War hero and man about town.  Which makes Monk's efforts doubly difficult, since he's forgotten his professional skills along with everything else....

A Dual Main Selection of the Mystery Guild


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No author since Dickens has captured the shadow side of Victoria's England as masterfully as Anne Perry. In The Silent Cry, she once again exposes the particular vices spawned by an age renowned for its virtues and reforms. And our able guide is investigator William Monk, "the dark and brooding hero who infuses this luxuriantly detailed series with its romantic soul" (The New York Times Book Review). Deep in London's filthy, dangerous slums, Victorians transacted their most secret and shameful business. For a price, a man could procure whatever he wanted, but it happened now and then that the price he paid was his life. Now, in sunless Water Lane, respected solicitor Leighton Duff lies dead, kicked and beaten to death. Beside him lies the barely living body of his son, Rhys. The police cannot fathom these brutal assaults, until shrewd investigator William Monk uncovers a connection between them and a series of rapes and beatings of local prostitutes. Then it begins to seem shockingly clear that young Rhys Duff must have killed his own father. In a heartstopping courtroom drama, the Crown's case against Rhys Duff, accused of patricide, begins its inexorable unfolding. With it Anne Perry adds another haunting chapter to her magnificent recreation of a bygone era.


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Nurse Hester Latterly finds herself well suited for the task: accompany Mrs. Mary Farraline, an elderly Scottish lady in delicate health, on a short train trip to London. Yet Hester’s simple job takes a grave turn when Mrs. Farraline dies during the night. And when a postmortem examination of the body reveals a lethal dose of medicine, Hester is charged with murder–punishable by execution.This notorious case presents detective William Monk with a daunting task: find a calculating killer among the prominent and coolly unassailable Farraline clan–and try to save Hester from the gallows.


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William Monk would normally hesitate to get involved in marriage cases. However, back from his honeymoon with his new wife, Hester, he has a newfound compassion for the groom, Lucius, and he cannot help to become involved in this one: Miriam Gardiner, the fiancée of a rich heir, has disappeared leaving behind only an empty car and a dead driver. Miriam eventually reappears, but will she tell what happened seeing that she is the primary suspect of the crime?    

Description in Spanish: William Monk no suele aceptar casos de derecho matrimonial. Sin embrago, de vuelta de su luna de miel con su nueva esposa, Hester, no puede evitar involucrarse en la resolución de uno de ellos:Miriam Gardiner, la prometida de un rico heredero, ha desaparecido dejando detrás un carruaje vacío y el cadáver del conductor del mismo.Miriam reaparece, pero se niega a relatar lo ocurrido pese a ser considerada la principal sospechosa del crimen.


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2 cassettes / 3 hoursRead by Simon Jones"Scenes [are] described in lush, sensuous strokes by Ms. Perry. . . . Monk, the dark and brooding hero . . . infuses this luxuriantly detailed series with its romantic soul".-- "The New York Times Book Review" When Countess Zorah Rostova asks London barrister Sir Oliver Rathbone to defend her against a charge of slander, he is astonished to find himself accepting. For, without a shred of evidence, the countess insists that the prince of her small German principality was murdered by his wife, the woman who was responsible for his exile twenty years before. Though private investigator William Monk and his friend Hester Latterly, manage to establish that the prince was indeed murdered, as events unfold the likeliest suspect seems to be Countess Zorah herself. . . .


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Thirty-one-year-old Victorian gentlewoman Amelia Peabody has not only inherited her father's fortune, but she is also blessed with his strong will as well. Now she's headed for Cairo, accompanied by a girl with a tarnished past, to indulge her passion for Egyptology. Little did she know that murder and a homicidal mummy lay in wait for her.


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The 1895-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Amelia Peabody, her dashing Egyptologist husband Emerson, and their wild and precocious eight-year-old son Ramses. The much-coveted burial chamber of the Black Pyramid in Dahshoor is theirs for the digging. But there is a great evil in the wind that roils the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplace of Cairo. The brazen moonlight abduction of Ramses -- and an expedition subsequently cursed by misfortune and death -- have alerted Amelia to the likly presence of her arch nemesis the Master Criminal, notorious looter of the living and the dead. But it is far more than ill-gotten riches that motivates the evil genius this time around. For now the most valuable and elusive prized of all is nearly in his grasp: the meddling lady archaeologist who has sworn to deliver him to justice...Amelia Peabody!


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MysteryLarge Print EditionPeters fans will relish this latest adventure. Publishers WeeklyAs her legions of fans will readily testify, Amelia Peabody Emerson, who wields a mean parasol, is not your usual whodunit heroine. BooklistAmelia Peabody, feisty turn-of-the-century Egyptologist, is in Cairo headed for a dig in the awesome Valley of the Kings. Stay away from tomb Twenty-A, warns an ominous message delivered by an unseen hand. Even though her famous premonitions are telling her that trouble lies ahead, Amelia dreams of a large cat, an Egyptian sign of good luck. And when tomb Twenty-A finally reveals its secret, Amelia will need all the luck she can garner, as the desert produces a macabre puzzle of murder, passion and cruel deceit.


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Named 1998 Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America, Elizabeth Peters   is also a doctor of Egyptology whose mysteries have submerged readers in the  vivid turn-of-the-century world of Amelia Peabody.  In *The Ape Who  Guards the Balance* Peters captures the immediacy of uncovering a new  Egyptian tomb within the context of a tightly plotted murder investigation  involving the entire Emerson Peabody clan.  The characters, including  Amelia's husband, Radcliffe Emerson, and her gifted son, Ramses, are  meticulously drawn. As in previous novels the dialogue is reminiscent of  *The Thin Man*.  When a man calls out to passing suffragettes, "You  ought to be 'ome washin' your 'usband's trousers!" Ramses shoots back, "I  assure you, sir, the lady's trousers are not in such sore need of  laundering as your own." Peters also toys with differing narrative  perspectives, and Ramses emerges as a possible successor to his mother's  legacy of crime solving.

    *The Ape Who Guards the Balance* begins in 1907 in England where  Amelia is attending a suffragettes' rally outside the home of Mr. Geoffrey  Romer of the House of Commons. It seems Romer is one of the few remaining  private collectors of Egyptian antiquities, and a series of bizarre events  at the protest soon embroil Amelia in grave personal danger.  Suspecting  that the Master Criminal, Sethos, is behind their problems, the Emerson  Peabodys hasten to Egypt to continue their studies in the Valley of Kings  where they soon acquire a papyrus of the *Book of the Dead*.  As with  past seasons, however, their archaeological expedition is interrupted.  The  murdered body of a woman is found in the Nile.   Ramses, Radcliffe, and Amelia all have their theories as to the origin of  the crime, but their own lives might soon be at stake if the cult of Thoth  and their ancient book is, indeed, involved.

    Other Peabody mysteries include *Seeing a Large Cat*, *The Hippopotamus Pool*,  *The Snake, the Crocodile,  and the Dog*, *The  Deeds of the Disturber*, *Lion in the Valley*, *The Curse of the Pharaohs*,  and *Crocodile on the  Sandbank*. *--Patrick O'Kelley*


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Bestselling author Elizabeth Peters, a writer so popular that the public library has to keep her books under lock and key (Washington Post Book World) here continues her series of mysteries starring Amelia Peabody.


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Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season--afterthe marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble                                    finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While                                    Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of                                    an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug                                    dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis                                    that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of                                    deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her--and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia.  But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts.  While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft.  As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart.  Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia.  But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts.  While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft.  As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart.  Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!


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Amelia, her husband Emerson, their 13-year-old son Ramses, and their beautiful ward Nefret return to Egypt for an exciting excavation. The dig is at an undisturbed Royal Tomb, a true find--and an irresistible temptation for art thieves, jealous colleagues, looters, the press, and the countless evil-doers. As Ramses and Nefret rub elbows with thieves and thugs, Amelia finds herself faced with a surprising new villain who is every bit as clever and resourceful as the intrepid Amelia herself.


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In the Sudan to search for Viscount Blacktower's son and his new   bride, Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her husband Emerson, and their son,   Ramses, become caught in web of treachery, and their survival depends   on Amelia's sleuthing skills. Reprint. *NYT. *


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Radcliffe Emerson, the irascible husband of fellow archaeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, has earned the nickname "Father of Curses" -- and at Mazghunah he demonstrates why. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, he and Amelia are resigned to excavating mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. And there is nothing in this barren area worthy of their interest -- until an antiquities dealer is murdered in his own shop. A second sighting of a sinister stranger from the crime scene, a mysterious scrap of papyrus, and a missing mummy case have all whetted Amelia's curiosity. But when the Emersons start digging for answers in an ancient tomb, events take a darker and deadlier turn -- and there may be no surviving the very modern terrors their efforts reveal.


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The delightful seventh adventure for popular heroine Amelia Peabody. The 19th-century Egyptologist and her dashing husband, Emerson, return to Amarna, where they first fell in love. When Emerson is kidnapped, Amelia must rescue her husband, find the culprit, and save her marriage.


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Peters has gained worldwide praise for her meticulous re-creations of 12th-century monastic life. Here, her chronicles continue with a Christmas story, a tale of robbery and attempted murder, and a narrative of Brother Cadfael's early years.


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In 1141, England is still in the midst of the strife caused by the struggle for the throne between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. Among its victims the Abbey of Hyde Meade, totally destroyed. Two of its brothers seek refuge in Shrewsbury: Brother Humilis, who abandoned his intended and joined the cloister after crippling injuries received on the Crusade; and his devoted attendant, the mute Fidelis. All is well until Humilis' former squire decides to pay court on his own account to the girl who was his lord's affianced bride.


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In Boston, a young woman finds herself pregnant--even though she is still a virgin. In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition. And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming. Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth--to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.


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This is the twelfth exciting novel in the Alex Cross series Alex Cross was a rising star in Washington , DC , Police Department when an unknown shooter killed his wife, Maria, in front of him. Years later, having left the FBI and returned to practising psychology in Washington , DC , Alex finally feels his life is in order... Until his former partner, John Sampson, calls in a favour. John's tracking a serial rapist in Georgetown and he needs Alex to help find this brutal predator. When the case triggers a connection to Maria's death, could Alex have a chance to catch his wife's murderer? Will this be justice at long last? Or the endgame in his own deadly obsession? From the man the Sunday Telegraphcalled 'the master of the suspense genre', CROSS is the ultimate, high-velocity, high-emotion thriller, and the one Alex Cross's fans waited years to read.


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Detective Alex Cross pursues the most ruthless killer he's ever encountered-to a land of sheer terror and back. It's the worst crime scene Alex Cross has ever seen, and then more killings, each one more ruthless than the last, quickly follow. After one death comes terrifyingly close to home, Alex realizes he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer.  Digging deeper into the case, Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, uncover a shocking Washington, D.C., underworld: a gang of teenage thugs headed by a warlord known only as the Tiger. When the Tiger's elusive trail turns up in Africa, Alex knows that he must follow. Unprotected and alone, can Alex manage to both survive and catch the killer?


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Just when Alex thought his life was calming down into a routine of patients and therapy sessions, he finds himself back in the game--this time to catch a criminal mastermind like no other. A spate of elaborate murders in Washington D.C. have the whole East Coast on edge. They are like nothing Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. With each murder, the case becomes increasingly complex. There's only one thing Alex knows: the killer adores an audience. As victims are made into gruesome spectacles citywide, inducing a media hysteria, it becomes clear to Alex that the man he's after is a genius of terror--and he's after fame. The killer has the whole city by its strings--and he'll stop at nothing to become the most terrifying star that Washington D.C. has ever seen.


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On the verge of resigning from the D.C. police force, Detective Alex Cross knows he can't refuse this case.  His partner John Sampson has a friend who has been framed for murder and is facing the gas chamber.  His accusers? The United States Army.  As a new woman in Cross's life brings him hope in the face of a devastating loss at home, Cross and Sampson go up against codes of honor and silence and three ruthless killers.  But a bigger threat lies in wait: Their controller, a lethal genius who will introduce Cross to new depths of terror . . the last of the FOUR BLIND MICE. (2002)


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It was the trial that electrified the world. Not only because of the defendant, Maggie Bradford, the woman whose songs captivated the world's heart. Not only because of the victim, Will Shepard, the world's most glamorous athlete. But also because everyone said Maggie had murdered not just one husband, but two. And because in Maggie's world - the world she feared and despised but could not escape, the world of the powerful, the rich, and the ruthless - both death and life could never be what they seemed. From James Patterson, bestselling author of KISS THE GIRLS and ALONG CAME A SPIDER, comes his most brilliantly realized thriller, a story that will shatter your expectations...and hold every last one of your nerves in thrall, with each twist of the plot and every turn of the page.


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An ingenious killer disposes of a strangled corpse on a battlefield. Brother Cadfael discovers the body, and must then piece together disparate clues--including a girl in boy's clothing, a missing treasure and a single flower--to expose a murderer's black heart.


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When a merchant bound for St. Peter's Fair is found with a slender dagger piercing his heart, Brother Cadfael is on the case. Two murders later, he realizes that no one--least of all the merchant's lovely niece--is safe. "Colorful, convincing details on the workings of a medieval fair".--Kirkus Reviews.


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On his deathbed, Brother Haluin confesses to a shocking act in his past--and then recovers. To atone, Haluin determines to make a journey of expiation with Brother Cadfael and embarks on an arduous journey that leads to discoveries of deceit, betrayal, revenge . . . and murder. "Each addition to the series is a joy."--USA Today. HC: Mysterious Press.


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In her sixteenth chronicle of the medieval monk-detective Brother Cadfael, Ellis Peters throws a variety of puzzles at her hero. In the summer of 1143, Brother Cadfael is torn from his herbarium to investigate the deaths of two visitors.


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The year is 1142, and all England is in the iron grip of a civil war. And within the sheltered cloisters of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there begins a chain of events no less momentous than the political upheavals of the outside world. First, there is the sad demise of Richard Ludel, Lord of Eyton, whose ten-year-old son and heir, also named Richard, is a pupil at the Abbey. Supported by Abbot Radulfus, the boy refuses to surrender his new powers to Dionysia, his furious, formidable grandmother. A stranger to the region is the hermit Cuthred, who enjoys the protection of Lady Dionysia, and whose young companion, Hyacinth, befriends Richard. Despite his reputation for holiness, Cuthred's arrival heralds a series of mishaps for the monks. When Richard disappears and a corpse is found in Eyton forest, Brother Cadfael is once more forced to leave the tranquillity of his herb garden and devote his knowledge of human nature to tracking down a ruthless murderer.


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On a summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination bring about a crime that will change all their lives, a crime whose repercussions* Atonement* follows through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century.


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SUMMARY: The literary event of the summer: a new novel from Ian McEwan, as surprising as it is masterful. Michael Beard is a Nobel prize–winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions, and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. While he coasts along in his professional life, Michael’s personal life is another matter entirely. His fifth marriage is crumbling under the weight of his infidelities. But this time the tables are turned: His wife is having an affair, and Michael realizes he is still in love with her. When Michael’s personal and professional lives begin to intersect in unexpected ways, an opportunity presents itself in the guise of an invitation to travel to New Mexico. Here is a chance for him to extricate himself from his marital problems, reinvigorate his career, and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster. Can a man who has made a mess of his life clean up the messes of humanity? A complex novel that brilliantly traces the arc of one man’s ambitions and self-deceptions, Solar is a startling, witty, and stylish new work from one of the world’s great writers. SUMMARY: The literary event of the summer: a new novel from Ian McEwan, as surprising as it is masterful. Michael Beard is a Nobel prize–winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions, and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. While he coasts along in his professional life, Michael’s personal life is another matter entirely. His fifth marriage is crumbling under the weight of his infidelities. But this time the tables are turned: His wife is having an affair, and Michael realizes he is still in love with her. When Michael’s personal and professional lives begin to intersect in unexpected ways, an opportunity presents itself in the guise of an invitation to travel to New Mexico. Here is a chance for him to extricate himself from his marital problems, reinvigorate his career, and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster. Can a man who has made a mess of his life clean up the messes of humanity? A complex novel that brilliantly traces the arc of one man’s ambitions and self-deceptions, Solar is a startling, witty, and stylish new work from one of the world’s great writers.


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You can't runDetective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that a beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Alex vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim.**You can't hide**The hunt for her murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, *if* you have the credentials to get in. Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain--they will do *anything* to keep their secrets safe. ******Alex Cross is your only hope to stay alive**As Alex closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable--a revelation that could rock the entire world. With the unstoppable action, unforeseeable twists, and edge-of-your-seat suspense that only a James Patterson thriller delivers, *I, Alex Cross* is the master of suspense at his sharpest and best.


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The 19th chronicle of Brother Cadfael. In the chill autumn of 1144, rising flood waters endanger the sacred remains of St. Winifred, the abbey's most cherished possession. When the bones disappear and a corpse is found, Brother Cadfael needs his prayers answered to catch a killer.


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From #1 bestselling author James Patterson comes the ultimate legal thriller where the judge and jury are terrified. The verdict: run for your life. Failing to escape jury duty, aspiring actress Andie DeGrasse ends up as Juror #11 in a landmark case. In this new Trial of the Century, a Mafia don known as the Electrician is linked to hundreds of gruesome crimes. Tracking this ruthless killer for years, senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante fears that the defendant's power reaches far beyond the courtroom, even if the FBI's evidence is ironclad. Just as the jury finishes deliberations, the Electrician makes a devastating move that shocks the entire nation - and shatters Andie's world. Now she and Pellisante must hunt for the Electrician before he executes his most horrifying endgame.


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A savage murder interrupts an ill-fated marriage set to take place at Brother Cadfael's abbey, leaving the monk with a terrible mystery to solve. The key to the killing is hidden among the inhabitants of the Saint Giles leper colony, and Brother Cadfael must ferret out a sickness not of the body, but of a twisted mind.


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This is the tenth book in the Alex Cross series. Alex Cross, FBI agent, is back in his most explosive adventure yet. And so is the Wolf. And so is the Weasel. Alex Cross is on vacation when he gets the call. A town in Nevada has been annihilated and the Russian super-criminal known as the Wolf is claiming responsibility. Major cities around the globe are threatened with total destruction and the thought of such dark genius at work makes Alex's blood run cold. Cross is catapulted into an international chase of astonishing danger. Full of the high-voltage action and enthralling intrigue for which James Patterson is best known, LONDON BRIDGES is an unforgettable thriller that will grip you from cover to cover.


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This is the eleventh book in the Alex Cross series Somebody is intent on murdering Hollywood's A-list. A well-known actress has been shot outside her Beverly Hills home. Shortly afterwards, the Los Angeles Times receives an email describing the murder in vivid detail. It is signed Mary Smith. More killings and emails follow ' the victims are all major Hollywood players. Is it the work of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something far more terrifying? As the case grows to blockbuster proportions, Washington, DC, FBI agent Alex Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send another chilling update. Filled with the ruthless and shocking twists that make his fans hunger for more, MARY, MARY is James Patterson's most sophisticated thriller yet.


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It is Christmas, A.D. 1141, Abbot Radulfus returns from London, bringing with him a priest for the vacant living of Holy Cross, also known as the Foregate. The new priest is a man of presence, learning, and discipline, but he lacks humility and the common touch. When he is found drowned in the millpond, suspicion is cast upon a young man who arrived with the priest's train and was sent to work in Brother Cadfael's garden. Indeed, he is soon discovered to be an impostor. To Brother Cadfael, now falls the familiar task of sorting out the complicated strands of innocence and guilt.


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Judith Perle, a young widow who had greatly loved her husband, has conveyed one of her properties to the Abbey of Shrewsbury in return for the annual rent of one white rose from the bush growing on the property's north wall. A few years later, in 1142, the delivery of the rose became an issue, since there were men in Shrewsbury who desired Judith for her beauty or her substantial dowry. The first crisis appears to have been averted by the handling of the monks of the Benedictine Abbey, among them Brother Cadfael. But a sudden brutal murder cries out for investigation and punishment...


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"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." -- Larry King"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes." -- Harvey McKay, author of “How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”What is that magic quality makes some people instantly loved and respected? Everyone wants to be their friend (or, if single, their lover!) In business, they rise swiftly to the top of the corporate ladder. What is their "Midas touch?" What it boils down to is a more skillful way of dealing with people. The author has spent her career teaching people how to communicate for success. In her book How to Talk to Anyone (Contemporary Books, October 2003) Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques-- she takes the reader from first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. In this information-packed book you’ll find:9 ways to make a dynamite first impression 14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity6 ways to sound like an insider in any crowd7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone9 ways to feed someone's ego (and know when NOT to!) 11 ways to make your phone a powerful communications tool15 ways to work a party like a politician works a room 7 ways to talk with tigers and not get eaten alive In her trademark entertaining and straight-shooting style, Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including: "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," “Bare Their Hot Button,” “The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game,” for big success in your social life, romance, and business.How to Talk to Anyone, which is an update of her popular book, Talking the Winner's Way (see the 5-star reviews of the latter)is based on solid research about techniques that work!By the way, don't confuse How to Talk to Anyone with one of Leil's previous books, How to Talk to Anybody About Anything. This one is completely different!


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Now in the trade paperback edition: New Bonus Chapter and Reading Group Guide, including Stephenie Meyer's Annotated Playlist for the book.Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOSTis a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. (2008)


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In POP GOES THE WEASEL, James Patterson has created a formidable villain every reader will see in the shadows when the lights are out, a tender love story, a plot powered by relentless suspense and psychological thrills kicked up to an all-time high 'It's all just a game, darling. I play with three other men. Their names are FAMINE, WAR and CONQUEROR. My name is DEATH. You're a very lucky girl ' I'm the best player of all.' Geoffrey Shafter: a man who never loses, he is prepared to play the game of games for the highest stakes of all. Alex Cross: senior Washington, DC, homicide detective, he is determined, whatever the consequences, to unmask the man he has nicknamed the weasel, the prime suspect for a spate of killings that Cross has been forbidden to investigate.


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A paperback edition of a novel featuring Brother Cadfael. A young man pursued by a lynching mob seeks sanctuary at the Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury. He is accused of robbery and murder, but Cadfael senses his innocence and sets out to prove it. Publication is to coincide with the televising of a new series based on the Cadfael chronicles.


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Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. "From the Paperback edition.


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THE SPECTACULAR EIGHTH #1 BESTSELLER BY THE AUTHOR OF POP GOES THE WEASEL#1 Washington Post#1 Publishers Weekly#1 Wall Street Journal#1 Chicago Tribune#1 Entertainment Weekly#1 Philadelphia InquirerIn this heart-pounding new thriller, Detective Alex Cross pursues the most brilliant killer he's ever confronted, a mysterious criminal who calls himself the Mastermind. In a series of crimes that has stunned Washington, D.C., bank robbers have been killing bank employees and their families if the robbers' instructions are not followed to the letter. Alex Cross knows this is no ordinary criminal -- the pathological need for control and perfection is too great. Cross is in the midst of a crisis at home -- but the case becomes all-consuming as he learns that the Mastermind is plotting one huge, last, perfect crime...


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THE SIZZLING #1 BESTSELLER#1 New York Times 

#1 Chicago Tribune

#1 Washington Post 

#1 Wall Street Journal

#1 USA Today 

 #1 Newsday



America's #1 bestselling thriller writer, James Patterson presents his most suspenseful, explosive tale ever. Only an hour out of port, the Dunne family's summer getaway to paradise is already turning into the trip from hell. The three children are miserable-and not shy about showing it. Katherine Dunne had hoped this vacation would bring back the togetherness they'd lost when her husband died four years earlier. Maybe if her new husband had joined them it would all have been okay. 



Suddenly, a disaster hits-and it's perfect. Faced with this real threat, the Dunnes rediscover the meaning of family. But this catastrophe is just a tiny taste of the true danger that lurks ahead-somewhere out there, someone wants to make sure that the Dunne family never leaves paradise alive.


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To tie in with the hardcover release of Peters' The Benediction of Brother Cadfael, here is the 18th entry in the eminently successful medieval detective series. In the summer of 1144, Brother Cadfael is sent to Wales on church business and is captured by Danes. And when a prisoner is murderer, the clever monk knows he'll not see Shrewsbury again until the killer is caught.


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In the winter of 1139, raging civil war has sent refugees fleeing north from Worcester, among them an orphaned boy and his beautiful 18-year-old sister. Traveling with a young nun, they set out for Shrewsbury, but disappear somewhere in the wild countryside. Now, Brother Cadfael embarks on a dangerous quest to find them. Previously out of print.


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HE'S SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T EXIST--HIMSELF. On Parrish Island, off the coast of Virginia, lies a psychiatric facility. Far from prying eyes, it is a government-run hospital for former intelligence employees in possession of highly classified information. Former Consular Operations agent Hal Ambler is one of these patients whose mind is filled with secrets of state--and is considered such a security risk that he is kept heavily medicated and closely watched. But there's one critical difference between Ambler and the other patients--Ambler isn't crazy. Now he must find a way to escape the facility, find out who put him there, and uncover the truth of who he was...and why someone is willing to risk everything to see him dead. "Reading a Ludlum novel is like watching a James Bond film...slickly paced...all consuming."--"Entertainment Weekly"" ""Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined."--"The New York Times" " " Visit the Robert Ludlum(TM) Web site atwww.ludlumbooks.com


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Deep in the Hausruck Mountains of Austria, there is a remote hideaway-- the fortress-like nerve center of an ominous movement, the Brotherhood of theWatch.  American agent Harry Latham has penetrated the movement, a neo-Nazi organization that was born in the days after the Third Reich's defeat and whose deadly tentacles have spread to the United States and beyond.  Now, after three years in deep cover, and on the eve of his most spectacular success, HarryLatham has disappeared.

Drew Latham, Special Officer for Consular Operations in Paris, is frantic to discover his older brother's fate.  But when he receives the sudden good newsthat Harry has surfaced, gut-twisting doubts arise.  Has Harry's cover been blown? And if so, why has the Brotherhood of the Watch let him live?

For Harry Latham has emerged with an explosive list: the secret supporters of the movement, among them some of the highest-ranking officials in the UnitedStates and its allies, names synonymous with honorable service to their nations.  It is a document that could topple governments--but is the listlegitimate? Can Drew Latham trust his own brother?

To find the answer, Drew Latham decides to take on his brother's identity, stepping directly into the crossfire between the assassins gunning for HarryLatham--and those who want Drew himself dead.

From a hushed Alpine valley to the backstreets of Paris, from the ruling chambers of Washington and London to the casinos of Monte Carlo, *TheApocalypse Watch* is vintage Robert Ludlum, a superb international thriller from the writer who created the standard for a new kind of entertainment.


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There are two sides to every story... Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.


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**Things break all the time.Day breaks, waves break, voices break.Promises break.Hearts break.**

Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?

Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, *Handle with Care* brings us into the heart of a family bound by an incredible burden, a desperate will to keep their ties from breaking, and, ultimately, a powerful capacity for love. Written with the grace and wisdom she's become famous for, beloved #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Jodi Picoult offers us an unforgettable novel about the fragility of life and the lengths we will go to protect it.


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Jason Bourne. He has no past. And he may have no  future. His memory is blank. He only knows that he  was flushed out of the Mediterranean Sea, his body  riddled with bullets. There are a few clues. A  frame of microfilm surgically implanted beneath the  flesh of his hip. Evidence that plastic surgery has  altered his face. Strange things that he says in  his delirium— maybe code words.  Initial: "J.B." And a number on the film negative that  leads to a Swiss bank account, a fortune of four  million dollars, and, at last, a name: Jason Bourne.  But now he is marked for death, caught in a  maddening puzzle, racing for survival through the deep  layers of his buried past into a bizarre world of  murderous conspirators—led by Carlos, the world's  most dangerous assassin. And no one can help Jason  Bourne but the woman who once wanted to escape  him.


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SUMMARY: From highly acclaimed two-time Man Booker finalist David Mitchell comes a glorious, sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. In his previous novels, David Mitchell dazzled us with his narrative scope and his virtuosic command of multiple voices and stories.The New York Times Book Reviewsaid, “Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across [Cloud Atlas’s] every page.” Black Swan Greeninverts the telescopic vision ofCloud Atlasto track a single year in what is, for 13-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the 13 chapters create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. Pointed, funny, profound, left field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life,Black Swan Greenis David Mitchell’s subtlest yet most accessible achievement to date. Excerpt fromBlack Swan Green: Picked-on kids act invisible to reduce the chances of being noticed and picked on. Stammerers act invisible to reduce the chances of being made to say something we can’t. Kids whose parents argue act invisible in case we trigger another skirmish. The Triple Invisible Boy, that’s Jason Taylor. Even I don’t see the real Jason Taylor much these days, ’cept for when we’re writing a poem, or occasionally in a mirror, or just before sleep. But he comes out in woods. Ankley branches, knuckly roots, paths that only might be, earthworks by badgers or Romans, a pond that’ll ice over come January, a wooden cigar box nailed behind the ear of a secret sycamore where we once planned a treehouse, birdstuffedtwigsnapped silence, toothy bracken, and places you can’t find if you’re not alone. Time in woods’s older than time in clocks, and truer. From the Hardcover edition.


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<p>A magnificent achievement and an utterly engrossing experience, Ghostwritten is a novel set at the fugitive edges of Asia and Europe, featuring a whole host of characters. An apocalyptic cult member carries out a gas attack on a rush-hour metro, but what connects him to a jazz buff in downtown Tokyo? A woman on a holy mountain talks to a tree - and the tree talks back - unaware of the effect the financial irregularities of a burnt-out lawyer will have on her life. A Mongolian gangster, a redundant English spy in Saint Petersburg with a knack for forging masterpieces, a despondent 'zookeeper', a nuclear scientist, a ghostwriter, a ghost, and a late night New York DJ whose hard-boiled scepticism has been his undoing - all have tales to tell.<p>Add to this saxophones and causality, Buddha, cherry blossoms, island cities, a mind unhooked from memory, the Trans Siberian Express, hidden narratives of the new world's order, circles and roulette in London, 'The White Album', Baggins...


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Katie Wilkinson has finally found the perfect man - but one day he suddenly disappears, leaving behind only a diary written by a new mother named Suzanne for her baby, Nicholas. In it she intimately reveals the romance between herself and the child's father, her hopes for their marriage, and her unparalleled joy in motherhood. As Katie reads on, she realizes that the man she loves is Suzanne's husband. Now, filled with terror and hope, Katie must struggle to understand what has happened - and find out if her new love has a prayer of surviving.


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It is a wild race against time as Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, attorney Yuki Castellano, lead an investigation into a string of mysterious patient deaths--and reveal a hospital administration determined to shield its reputation at all costs. And while the hospital wages an explosive court battle that grips the entire nation, the Women's Murder Club hunts for a merciless killer among its esteemed medical staff. The newest addition to the top selling new mystery series takes the Women's Murder Club to the most terrifying heights of suspense they have yet to encounter. THE 5TH HORSEMAN proves once again that James Patterson is "the page-turningest author in the game right now " (San Francisco Chronicle).


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EDITORIAL REVIEW: **The astonishing new novel from #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder.** *They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there's a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.* Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder? Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, *House Rules* looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't. EDITORIAL REVIEW: **The astonishing new novel from #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder.** *They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there's a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.* Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder? Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, *House Rules* looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way -- and fails those who don't.


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One of America's most powerful and thought-provoking novelists, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult brilliantly examines belief, miracles, and the complex core of family. When the marriage of Mariah White and her cheating husband, Colin, turns ugly and disintegrates, their seven-year- old daughter, Faith, is there to witness it all. In the aftermath of a rapid divorce, Mariah falls into a deep depression-and suddenly Faith, a child with no religious background whatsoever, hears divine voices, starts reciting biblical passages, and develops stigmata. And when the miraculous healings begin, mother and daughter are thrust into the volatile center of controversy and into the heat of a custody battle-trapped in a mad media circus that threatens what little stability the family has left.


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In a Kowloon Cabaret, scrawled in a pool of blood, is a name the world wanted to forget: Jason Bourne.

The Chinese vice-premier has been brutally slain by a legendary assassin. World leaders ask the same fearful questions: *Why has Jason Bourne come back? Who is paying him? Who is the next to die?* But U.S. officials know the shocking truth: There *is* no Jason Bourne. The name was created as cover for David Webb on his search for the notorious killer Carlos. Someone else has taken the Bourne identity--and unless he is stopped, the world will pay a devastating price. So Jason Bourne must live again. Once again, Webb must utilize his lethal skills--because once again, like a nightmare relived, the woman he loves is suddenly torn from his life. To find her, trap his own impostor, and uncover an explosive secret plan, Webb must lauch a desperate oddyssey into the espionage killing fields. But this time, survival will not be enough. This time Bourne must reign supreme.


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**Number9Dream** is the international literary sensation from a writer with astonishing range and imaginative energy—an intoxicating ride through Tokyo’s dark underworlds and the even more mysterious landscapes of our collective dreams. David Mitchell follows his eerily precocious, globe-striding first novel, *Ghostwritten*, with a work that is in its way even more ambitious. In outward form, **Number9Dream** is a Dickensian coming-of-age journey: Young dreamer Eiji Miyake, from remote rural Japan, thrust out on his own by his sister’s death and his mother’s breakdown, comes to Tokyo in pursuit of the father who abandoned him. Stumbling around this strange, awesome city, he trips over and crosses—through a hidden destiny or just monstrously bad luck—a number of its secret power centers. Suddenly, the riddle of his father’s identity becomes just one of the increasingly urgent questions Eiji must answer. Why is the line between the world of his experiences and the world of his dreams so blurry? Why do so many horrible things keep happening to him? What is it about the number 9? To answer these questions, and ultimately to come to terms with his inheritance, Eiji must somehow acquire an insight into the workings of history and fate that would be rare in anyone, much less in a boy from out of town with a price on his head and less than the cost of a Beatles disc to his name.*From the Hardcover edition.*


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Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time. Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and cities of the American South as Gone With the Wind does, creating haunting scenes and thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for the rest of our lives. In the two main characters, the white-shouldered, irresistible Scarlett and the flashy, contemptuous Rhett, Margaret Mitchell not only conveyed a timeless story of survival under the harshest of circumstances, she also created two of the most famous lovers in the English-speaking world since Romeo and Juliet.


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As San Francisco's most glamorous millionaires mingle at the party of the year, someone is watching--waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city's most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment, and it's the *perfect* murder. Not a trace of evidence is left behind in their glamorous home. 



As Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder, someone else is found brutally executed--a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks, but when reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it, she knows the story could be *huge*. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought.



As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and her partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women's Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: will love destroy all that four friends have built? The exhilarating new chapter in the Women's Murder Club series, *The 8th Confession* serves up a double dose of speed-charged twists and shocking revelations as only James Patterson can. And remember, this is the only Murder Club episode of the year.


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"A major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion." The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can't help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister's veins. And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.


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The most personalA young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick. **The most dangerous******The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria. **The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever******Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city? With unparalleled danger and explosive action, *The 9th Judgment *is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best!


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Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and The Tenth Circle, pens her most riveting book yet, with a startling and poignant story about the devastating aftermath of a small-town tragedy.Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by an act of violence. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes--or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show--destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be.


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Alex McAuliff has just received an offer he can't refuse. A company called Dunstone Ltd will pay him two million dollars for a geological survey of Jamaica's interior - and they require his absolute secrecy. But British Intelligence are aware of the deal and they've let Alex in on a secret of their own: the last survey team Dunstone dispatched to Jamaica vanished without trace. Now it's too late to turn back. From the moment he lands in Jamaica Alex is a marked man. He already knows about Dunstone...which means he knows too much.


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In the Sultanate of Oman over two hundred hostages are being held at gunpoint. And the world watches helplessly as the madness begins. The spirit of the Mahdi is abroad, intent on complete financial and political domination.Evan Kendrick, a quiet Congressman, is an unlikely hero. But in his past is a violence that he cannot forget.On the other side of the world, five very eccentric, very rich people are meeting. They are the Inheritors of Inver Brass. Their aim - to utterly transform the world. They seek a new saviour, an innocent messiah. Evan Kendrick is to be their unwilling victim...


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Jack Mullen is a driven student of the law. His brother Peter is a servant of the rich, parking the cars of the Hamptons' elite-and perhaps satisfying their more intimate needs as well. Then Peter's body is found on the beach. Jack knows the drowning was no accident, but someone's unlimited power and money have bought the cops, the judges, the system. Now Jack is learning a lesson in justice he never got in law school ... and his astonishing plan to beat the billionaires will have you reeling-and cheering-to the very last page.


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*What does it mean to be a good mother?

 How far would you go in the name of love -- and justice?*

 

 **Perfect Match** 

 In the course of her everyday work, career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost prosecutes child molesters and works determinedly to ensure that a legal system with too many loopholes keeps these criminals behind bars. But when her own five-year-old son, Nathaniel, is traumatized by a sexual assault, Nina and her husband, Caleb, a quiet and methodical stone mason, are shattered, ripped apart by an enraging sense of helplessness in the face of a futile justice system that Nina knows all too well. In a heartbeat, Nina's absolute truths and convictions are turned upside down, and she hurtles toward a plan to exact her own justice for her son -- no matter the consequence, whatever the sacrifice.


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When billionaire philanthropist Peter Novak is kidnapped by a terrorist known as The Caliph, it’s up to Paul Janson—a legend in the notorious U.S. covert agency Consular Operations—to save him. But Janson’s rescue operation goes horribly wrong…and soon Janson is marked for death, the target of a "beyond salvage" order issued from the highest level of the government. Now Janson is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, a young agent of astonishing ability who can anticipate and counter his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the control of its originators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own...


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Only two rival spies—and one mysterious woman—can stop them: Scofield, CIA, and Talaniekov, KGB. They share a genius for espionage—and a life of terror and explosive violence. Sworn enemies, they have vowed to terminate each other—yet now they must become allies. Because only they possess the brutal skills and ice-cold nerves vital to destroy an international circle of killers, the Matarese.


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Alex Cross battles the most ruthless and powerful killer he has ever encountered - a predator known only as "the Wolf. "Alex Cross's first case since joining the FBI has his new colleagues stymied. Across the country, men and women are being kidnapped in broad daylight and then disappearing completely. These people are not being taken for ransom, Alex realizes. They are being bought and sold. And it looks as if a shadowy figure called the Wolf - a master criminal who has brought a new reign of terror to organize crime - is behind this business in which ordinary men and women are sold as slaves. Even as he admires the FBI's vast resources, Alex grows impatient with the Bureau's clumsiness and caution when it is time to move. A lone wolf himself, he has to go out on his own in order to track the Wolf and try to rescue some of the victims while they are still alive. As the case boils over, Alex is in hot water at home too. His ex-fiancee, Christine Johnson, comes back into his life - and not for the reasons Alex might have hoped.


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Twenty years ago, top agents from the CIA and KGB banded together to bring down the Matarese Circle, an international cabal of powerbrokers and assassins whose sole objective was to achieve worldwide economic domination. Now the bloody Matarese dynasty is back--and the only man with the power to stop it may have already run out of time....CIA case officer Cameron Pryce is hot on the trail of the new Matarese alliance. His only chance to terminate its ruthless activities is to follow the trail of blood money and stone-cold killers right to the heart of its deadly conspiracy.From the Hamptons to London's Belgrave Square, Matarese assassins have already struck with brutal efficiency, eliminating all who stand in their way. Their chain of violence is impossible to stop--until Pryce gets a rare break. One of the Matarese's victims survives long enough to whisper dying words that will blow the case wide open: the top secret code name for legendary retired CIA agent Brandon Scofield--the only man who has ever infiltrated the Matarese inner circle and lived to tell about it.


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A fiery explosion shatters a laboratory building in Paris. Among the dead is Emile Chambord, one of the leaders in the global race to create a molecular - or DNA - computer. Unfortunately, Professor Chambord kept the details of his work secret, and his notes were apparently destroyed in the fire. Then suddenly US fighter jets disappear from radar screens for a full five minutes and there's no explanation; utilities cease to function; and all telecommunications abruptly stop, with devastating consequences. This is not the work of a clever hacker - only the enormous power and speed of a DNA computer could have caused such havoc.Covert-One agent Jon Smith flies to Paris to investigate. Following a trail that leads him across two continents, he uncovers a web of deception that threatens to re-shape the world for ever...


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The memorable story begun in When the Wind Blows continues in this thrilling novel, and it's one that really soars! Frannie O'Neil, a Colorado veterinarian, knows a terrible secret that will change the history of the world. Kit Harrison, an FBI agent under suspension has seen things that no one in his right mind would believe. A twelve-year-old girl named Max and five other incredible children have powers we can only dream of. These children can fly. And the only place they will be save is the Lake House. Or so they believe...


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Ben Hartman is vacationing in Zurich, Switzerland when he chances upon his old friend Jimmy Cavanaugh—a madman who’s armed and programmed to assassinate. In a matter of minutes, six innocent bystanders are dead. So is Cavanaugh. But when his body vanishes, and his weapon mysteriously appears in Hartman’s luggage, Hartman is plunged into an unfathomable nightmare…Meanwhile, Anna Navarro, field agent for the Department of Justice, has been asked to investigate the sudden, random deaths of eleven men throughout the world. The only thing that connects them? A secret file, over a half-century old, that’s linked to the CIA—and is marked with the same puzzling codename: Sigma.As Anna follows the connecting thread—and Hartman finds himself on the run—she ends up in the shadows of a relentless killer who is one step ahead of her…victim by victim. Now, she and Hartman together must uncover the diabolical secrets long held behind Sigma. It will threaten everything they think they know about themselves—and confirm their very worst fears...


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

THE #1 BESTSELLING SENSATION 



#1 New York Times

 #1 Chicago Tribune

 #1 Washington Post 

#1 Entertainment Weekly 

#1 USA Today 

#1 Wall Street Journal



America's most popular thriller writer, James Patterson, presents his most daring-and astonishing-novel ever. 



With the perfect marriage and a great job, Lauren Stillman loves her wonderful life . . . until she sees her husband with another woman. Devastated and lusting for revenge, Lauren has her own affair. It's supposed to be a quickie, but Lauren's night of passion takes a shocking turn when she witnesses an unbelievable and deadly crime. 



Now her horrifying secret threatens to tear her life apart, pitting her need to uncover the truth against her fear that the truth may be too horrible to bear. And whichever choice she makes may cost her dearly-her job, her marriage . . . or even her life.


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D.C. Detective Alex Cross has seen a lot of crime scenes. But even he is appalled by the gruesome murders of two joggers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park - killings that look more like the work of savage beasts than humans. Local police are horrified and even the FBI is baffled. Then, as Cross is called in to take on the case, the carnage takes off, leaving a trail of bodies across America and sweeping him to Savannah, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles . . as his nemesis, the merciless criminal known as the Mastermind, stalks him, taunts him, and once again, threatens everything he holds dear...


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Frannie O'Neill is a young and talented veterinarian living in Colorado. Plagued by the mysterious murder of her husband, David, a local doctor, Frannie throws herself into her work. It is not long before another bizarre murder occurs and Kit Harrison, a troubled and unconventional FBI agent, arrives on her doorstep. Late one night, near the woods of her animal hospital, Frannie stumbles upon a strange, astonishing phenomenon that will change the course of her life forever....Her name is Max.With breathtaking energy, eleven-year-old Max leads Frannie and Kit to uncover one of the most diabolical and inhuman plots of modern science. When the Wind Blows is as unique a story as has ever been told, filled with suspense and passion.


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"The world is changing the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now kids are disappearing. For fifteen-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside-down when they are hauled out of bed one night, separated from their parents, and thrown into a secret compound for no reason they can comprehend. The new government is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. Imprisoned together and condemned to death, Wisty and Whit begin exhibiting strange abilities and powers they never dreamed of. Maybe there is a reason they were singled out. Can this newly discovered witch and a wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents and maybe the world?"


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

A young girl is killed in the crossfire after a routine arrest goes terribly wrong, and Lt. Lindsay Boxer has to defend herself against a charge of police brutality. In a landmark trial that transfixes the nation, Lindsay fights to save her career and her sanity.  

     While awaiting trial, Lindsay escapes to the tranquility of the beautiful town of Half Moon Bay.  But the peaceful community there is reeling from a string of unspeakable murders.  Working with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay finds a link between these killings and a case she worked on years before - an unsolved murder that has haunted her ever since.      As summer comes into full swing, Lindsay battles for her life on two fronts:  before a judge and jury as her trial comes to a climax and facing unknown adversaries who will do anything to keep her from the truth about the killings.  It all comes to a head before the big annual 4th of July celebration on the waterfront at Half Moon Bay.  



"Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried. There's no stopping his imagination."

 -New York Times Book Review 



"Patterson's skill at building suspense is enviable." -Kansas City Star



"When it comes to constructing a harrowing plot, author James Patterson can turn a screw all right."

-New York Daily News


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When a horrifying attack leaves one of the four members of the Women's Murder Club struggling for her life, the others fight to keep a madman behind bars before anyone else is hurt. And Lindsay Boxer and her new partner in the San Francisco police department run flat-out to stop a series of kidnappings that has electrified the city: children are being plucked off the streets together with their nannies--but the kidnappers aren't demanding ransom. Amid uncertainty and rising panic, Lindsay juggles the possibility of a new love with an unsolvable investigation, and the knowledge that one member of the club could be on the brink of death. And just when everything appears momentarily under control, the case takes a terrifying turn, putting an entire city in lethal danger. Lindsay must make a choice she never dreamed she'd face--with no certainty that either outcome has more than a prayer of success.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."  --Randy Pausch**  

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture."  Professors are asked to consider   their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them.  And while they speak,   audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the   world if we knew it was our last chance?  If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we   want as our legacy?  

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying.  It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think").  It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe.  It was about *living*.  

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form.  It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

2 cassettes / 3 hoursRead by Simon Jones

When Anne Perry sets her magic pen to paper, Victorian England awakens from her long sleep to vibrant, teeming life. Firelight flickers in luxurious withdrawing rooms. Ambitious ladies gossip and scheme. Horse-drawn carriages clatter over cobblestones while cries of flower sellers and newsboys ring out in crowded streets. In this magnificent new novel featuring investigator William Monk, however, it is the breathless hush of a London courtroom that first holds readers enthralled.

The plaintiffs in a sensational breach of promise suit are wealthy social climbers Barton and Delphine Lambert, suing on behalf of their beautiful daughter, Zillah. The defendant is Zillah's alleged fiancé, brilliant young architect Killian Melville, who adamantly declares that he will not, cannot, marry her. Not even to his baffled counsel, distinguished barrister Sir Oliver Rathbone, will Killian explain his rejection of rich and charming Zillah.

Utterly baffled, Rathbone turns for help to his old comrades in crime--Monk, the private investigator who knows his city like the back of his hand, and fearless nurse Hester Latterly. But even as they scout London for clues, from Mayfair to sordid Devil's Acre, the case suddenly and tragically ends. An outcome that no one--except a ruthless murderer--could have foreseen.

Stripping away the pretty masks that conceal society's darkest transgressions, Anne Perry unflinchingly exposes the human heart's deepest hiding places--and creates the most mesmerizing courtroom drama of her distinguished career.


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Inspector William Monk has his hands full when an aristocrat's daugher is stabbed to death in her own bed. He is instructed to proceed without delay, but finds his efforts hamstrung by the lingering traces of amnesia and the craven ineptitutde of his supervisor, who would love to see him fail. With the help of Hester Latterly, formerly a nurse with Florence Nightingale, Monk gropes warily through the silence and shadows, knowing that with each step he comes closer to the appalling truth...."A richly textured, masterfully plotted, thoroughly enjoyable story." THE KIRKUS REVIEWS


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Moscow-a city under siege by hardcore Communists threatening to plunge the country back into Stalinist darkness. Into the heart of the firestorm, American ambassador Stephen Metcalf has been summoned to find the one man who controls the levers of power in absolute secrecy-an official known only as the Dirizhor. His support of the bloody coup will bring the entire world to the brink of nuclear war. Metcalfe is the only man with the cunning to reach him and to convince him to resist. It's up to Metcalf to change the course of history. He's done it before.For Metcalf, returning to Russia is also a personal mission that will stretch across three continents and fifty years into his past where the loyalties of a former love-a woman both impossibly beautiful and possibly treacherous-were tested; where the shadow of a Nazi assassin still haunts; a debauched German aristocrat manipulated the destiny of everyone he touched. Now, as past and present converge, Metcalf braces himself for a new trial of trust and betrayal, one with chilling implications that could threaten what remains of the free world.


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In the increasingly turbulent atmosphere of international politics, the once grassroots anti-globalisation movement has been slowly taken over by the underground radical anti-technology group fronted by a mysterious figure known only as Lazarus. All attempts to infiltrate the group have failed and the intelligence agents involved have all disappeared without a trace. Now Lazarus is preparing to make his boldest move yet. Lt. Col. Jon Smith is activated by Covert-One to bring his skills to bear in uncovering the truth behind the terrorists. For, unbeknownst to the world at large, the Lazarus Movement is on the brink of setting in motion a deadly scheme that will risk the lives of billions and forever change the nature of the world.


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Already devastated by loss, Bourne is shattered by a report that his last friend in the world, Martin Lindros, has gone missing. A CI deputy director, Lindros was in Ethiopia tracking suspicious shipments of yellowcake uranium and atomic bomb weaponry. His last lifeline to humanity, Bourne will not let Lindros go. Despite his hatred for CI, Bourne sets out to rescue his friend and finish the job: dismantling a terrorist network determined to build nuclear armaments by cutting off their source of money. But Bourne doesn't realize that these men, Islamic supremacists, are leaders of an incredibly dangerous, technologically savvy group with ties from Africa, across the Middle East, and into Eastern Europe and Russia. They have predicted Bourne's every move, and are counting on his unwitting help in their plans to destroy America.


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Jason Bourne's nemesis Arkadin is still hot on his trail and the two continue their struggle, reversing roles of hunter and hunted. When Bourne is ambushed and badly wounded, he fakes his death and goes into hiding. In safety, he takes on a new identity, and begins a mission to find out who tried to assassinate him. Jason begins to question who he really is, how much of him is tied up in the Bourne identity, and what he would become if that was suddenly taken away from him. Meanwhile, an American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt by what seems to be an Iranian missile. A massive global investigative team is assembled to get at the truth of the situation before it can escalate into an international scandal. Jason Bourne's search for the man who shot him intersects with the search for the people that brought down the airliner, leading Bourne into one of the most deadly and challenging situations he has ever encountered. With the threat of a new world war brewing, Bourne finds himself in a race against time to uncover the truth and find the person behind his assault, all the while being stalked by his unknown nemesis.


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University professor David Webb - forever caught between two identities - is still haunted by the splintered nightmares his former life - as Jason Bourne.Soon he finds himself embroiled in a CIA operation to hunt down a terrorist organisation, and is plunged into the deadliest and most tangled assignment of his double life. With his own side trying to take him down, all the while an assassin as brilliant and damaged as himself is getting closer by the minute...


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On the dark waterside docks of Shanghai, a photographer records cargo being secretly loaded. He's brutally killed and his camera destroyed. Two weeks later on the dangerous high seas, the U.S. Navy covertly tracks a Chinese ship rumoured to carry tons of chemicals to create biological weapons of mass-destruction. The President cannot let the ship reach its destination - a rogue Middle East nation. But he doesn't want the navy to attack and board it either, because decades of negotiations with China have at long last yielded a landmark human rights agreement that China is willing to sign. Covert-One operative Jon Smith is brought in to find solid proof of what the Chinese ship is ferrying. Then an agent is murdered and vital evidence destroyed. Smith must find the truth about the ship, a truth that probes the deepest secrets of the Chinese ruling party...


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An unknown doomsday virus has claimed the lives of four people - including the fiancee of Covert One's Lt. Col. Jon Smith. Devastated and enraged, Smith uncovers evidence that this was no accident; someone out there has the virus and the pandemic that threatens millions of lives was planned...Not knowing who to trust or where to turn, Smith assembles a private team to fight against the deadly virus. As the death toll mounts, the quest leads them to the highest levels of power and the darkest corners of the earth. And Smith and his team must hunt down a genius determined to destroy them.


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Yuri Danko, an officer in the medical division of Russia's security service, is murdered by a spray of assassin's bullets. Now Covert-One's Jon Smith has Danko's classified papers, and he's unearthed a terrifying global conspiracy. A Serb terrorist has been despatched from Russia to smuggle hazardous vials of a deadly bacteria into the United States. His mission: to deliver them to an unknown US government agent. Then both men are murdered, and the deadly bacteria is stolen... It's up to Lt Col Smith to find the madman who possesses it, before he holds a defenceless world hostage with the power to render the human race extinct.


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When Machiavelli's brief treatise on Renaissance statecraft and princely power was posthumously published in 1532, it generated a debate that has raged unabated until the present day. Based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyses the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. Machiavelli added a dimension of incisive realism to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised. This fluent new translation is accompanied by an introduction that considers the true purpose of The Prince and dispels some of the myths associated with it. It has the most comprehensive explanatory and critical notes found in any currently available English translation and the most comprehensive bibliography in any edition of the work. It also contains a helpful Glossary of Proper Names, an Index and a map.


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Winifred Rudge, a bemused writer struggling to get beyond the runaway success of her mass-market astrology book, travels to London to jump-start her new novel about a woman who is being haunted by the ghost of Jack the Ripper. Upon her arrival, she finds that her stepcousin and old friend John Comestor has disappeared, and a ghostly presence seems to have taken over his home. Is the spirit Winnie's great-great-grandfather, who, family legend claims, was Charles Dickens's childhood inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge? Could it be the ghostly remains of Jack the Ripper? Or a phantasm derived from a more arcane and insidious origin? Winnie begins to investigate and finds herself the unwilling audience for a drama of specters and shades -- some from her family's peculiar history and some from her own unvanquished past.

In the spirit of A. S. Byatt's *Possession,* with dark echoing overtones of *A Christmas Carol,* *Lost* presents a rich fictional world that will enrapture its readers.


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The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm -- and the world comes to Montefiore. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia -- decadent children of a wicked pope -- no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care -- so to speak -- of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ... A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror gives fresh life to the classic story of Snow White -- and has a truth and beauty all its own.


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Fate takes many forms. . . .  When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey—named **Beatrice and Virgil**—and the epic journey they undertake together.With all the spirit and originality that made *Life of Pi* so beloved, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity.
SUMMARY:
Fate takes many forms. . . . When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey-named Beatrice and Virgil-and the epic journey they undertake together. With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Piso beloved, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity.


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The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?


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At the end of the school year, Kendra and her brother, Seth, find themselves racing back to Fablehaven, a refuge for mythical and magical creatures. Grandpa Sorenson, the caretaker, invites three specialists--a potion master, a magical relics collector, and a mystical creature trapper--to help protect the property from the Society of the Evening Star, an ancient organization determined to infiltrate the preserve and steal a hidden artifact of great power. Time is running out. The Evening Star is storming the gates. If the artifact falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the downfall of other preserves and possibly the end of the world. Will Kendra learn to use her fairy gifts in time? Will Seth stay out of trouble? Can they overcome paralyzing fear? Find out in book 2 of this bestselling series.


