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A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy
by Jane McAleveyFrom longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey, a vital call-to-arms in favor of unions, a key force capable of defending our democracyFor decades, racism, corporate greed, and a skewed political system have been eating away at the social and political fabric of the United States. Yet as McAlevey reminds us, there is one weapon whose effectiveness has been proven repeatedly throughout U.S. history: unions.In A Collective Bargain, longtime labor organizer, environmental activist, and political campaigner Jane McAlevey makes the case that unions are a key institution capable of taking effective action against today’s super-rich corporate class. Since the 1930s, when unions flourished under New Deal protections, corporations have waged a stealthy and ruthless war against the labor movement. And they’ve been winning.Until today. Because, as McAlevey shows, unions are making a comeback. Want to reverse the nation’s mounting wealth gap? Put an end to sexual harassment in the workplace? End racial disparities on the job? Negotiate climate justice? Bring back unions.As McAlevey travels from Pennsylvania hospitals, where nurses are building a new kind of patient-centered unionism, to Silicon Valley, where tech workers have turned to old-fashioned collective action, to the battle being waged by America’s teachers, readers have a ringside seat at the struggles that will shape our country—and our future.
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
by Richard Dawkins Yan WongThe renowned biologist and thinker Richard Dawkins presents his most expansive work in this revised edition that offers a comprehensive look at evolution.Loosely based on the form of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Dawkins's tale takes us modern humans back through four billion years of life on our planet. As the pilgrimage progresses, we join with other organisms at the forty "rendezvous points" where we find a common ancestor. The band of pilgrims swells into a vast crowd as we join first with other primates, then with other mammals, and so on back to the first primordial organism.Dawkins's brilliant, inventive approach allows us to view the connections between ourselves and all other life in a bracingly novel way. It also lets him shed bright new light on the most compelling aspects of evolutionary history and theory: sexual selection, speciation, convergent evolution, extinction, genetics, plate tectonics, geographical dispersal, and more. The Ancestor's Tale is at once a far-reaching survey of the latest, best thinking on biology and a fascinating history of life on Earth. Here Dawkins shows us how remarkable we are, how astonishing our history, and how intimate our relationship with the rest of the living world.
The Way to London: A Novel of World War II
by Alix RickloffFrom the author of Secrets of Nanreath Hall comes this gripping, beautifully written historical fiction novel set during World War II—the unforgettable story of a young woman who must leave Singapore and forge a new life in England. On the eve of Pearl Harbor, impetuous and overindulged, Lucy Stanhope, the granddaughter of an earl, is living a life of pampered luxury in Singapore until one reckless act will change her life forever. Exiled to England to stay with an aunt she barely remembers, Lucy never dreamed that she would be one of the last people to escape Singapore before war engulfs the entire island, and that her parents would disappear in the devastating aftermath. Now grief stricken and all alone, she must cope with the realities of a grim, battle-weary England.Then she meets Bill, a young evacuee sent to the country to escape the Blitz, and in a moment of weakness, Lucy agrees to help him find his mother in London. The unlikely runaways take off on a seemingly simple journey across the country, but her world becomes even more complicated when she is reunited with an invalided soldier she knew in Singapore. Now Lucy will be forced to finally confront the choices she has made if she ever hopes to have the future she yearns for.
The Forgetting Place: A Novel
by John BurleyA female psychiatrist at a state mental hospital finds herself at the center of a shadowy conspiracy in this dark and twisting tale of psychological suspense from the author of The Absence of Mercy.Menaker State Hospital is a curse, a refuge, a prison, a necessity, a nightmare, a salvation.When Dr. Lise Shields arrived at the correctional psychiatric facility five years ago, she was warned that many of its patients-committed by Maryland’s judicial system for perpetrating heinous crimes-would never leave.But what happens when a place like Menaker is corrupted, when it becomes a tool to silence the innocent, conceal an injustice, contain a secret? Why is it that the newest patient does not seem to belong there, that the hospital administrator has fallen silent, and that Lise is being watched by two men with seemingly lethal intent? The answers are closer than she realizes and could cost her everything she holds dear.In this chilling follow-up to The Absence of Mercy, author John Burley—a master at medical and psychological detail—showcases the many ways in which the dangers of the outside world pale in comparison to the horrors of the human mind.
Warhol: A Life As Art
by Blake GopnikThe definitive biography of a fascinating and paradoxical figure, one of the most influential artists of his—or any—age To this day, mention the name “Andy Warhol” to almost anyone and you’ll hear about his famous images of soup cans and Marilyn Monroe. But though Pop Art became synonymous with Warhol’s name and dominated the public’s image of him, his life and work are infinitely more complex and multi-faceted than that. In Warhol, esteemed art critic Blake Gopnik takes on Andy Warhol in all his depth and dimensions. “The meanings of his art depend on the way he lived and who he was,” as Gopnik writes. “That’s why the details of his biography matter more than for almost any cultural figure,” from his working-class Pittsburgh upbringing as the child of immigrants to his early career in commercial art to his total immersion in the “performance” of being an artist, accompanied by global fame and stardom—and his attempted assassination. The extent and range of Warhol’s success, and his deliberate attempts to thwart his biographers, means that it hasn’t been easy to put together an accurate or complete image of him. But in this biography, unprecedented in its scope and detail as well as in its access to Warhol’s archives, Gopnik brings to life a figure who continues to fascinate because of his contradictions—he was known as sweet and caring to his loved ones but also a coldhearted manipulator; a deep-thinking avant-gardist but also a true lover of schlock and kitsch; a faithful churchgoer but also an eager sinner, skeptic, and cynic. Wide-ranging and immersive, Warhol gives us the most robust and intricate picture to date of a man and an artist who consistently defied easy categorization and whose life and work continue to profoundly affect our culture and society today.
The Dakota Winters: A Novel
by Tom BarbashAn evocative and wildly absorbing novel about the Winters, a family living in New York City’s famed Dakota apartment building in the year leading up to John Lennon’s assassinationIt’s the fall of 1979 in New York City when twenty-three-year-old Anton Winter, back from the Peace Corps and on the mend from a nasty bout of malaria, returns to his childhood home in the Dakota. Anton’s father, the famous late-night host Buddy Winter, is there to greet him, himself recovering from a breakdown. Before long, Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddy’s stalled career, a mission that takes him from the gritty streets of New York, to the slopes of the Lake Placid Olympics, to the Hollywood Hills, to the blue waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and brings him into close quarters with the likes of Johnny Carson, Ted and Joan Kennedy, and a seagoing John Lennon. But the more Anton finds himself enmeshed in his father’s professional and spiritual reinvention, the more he questions his own path, and fissures in the Winter family begin to threaten their close bond. By turns hilarious and poignant, The Dakota Winters is a family saga, a page-turning social novel, and a tale of a critical moment in the history of New York City and the country at large.
Arctic Autumn: A Journey to Season's Edge
by Pete DunneThe Arctic doesn't spring to mind when most people think about autumn. Yet in his continuing effort to invite readers' curiosity through unpredictability, Pete Dunne pairs the transitional season of autumn with this fragile environment in flux. The book begins on Bylot Island in Nunavut, Canada, at the retreating edge of the seasonal ice sheet, then moves to Alaska, where the needs of molting geese go head to head with society's need for oil. Then on to the Barren Lands of Canada and a search for the celebrated caribou herds that mean life and death for human and animal predators alike. A canoe trip down the John River is filled with memories, laughter, and contemplation. A caribou hunt with a professional trapper leads to a polemic on hunting. Dunne travels to an island in the Bering Sea, off the coast of Alaska, to look for rare birds and ponder the passionate nature of competitive bird listers. No trip to the Arctic would be complete without a trip to see polar bears, so Dunne and his wife visit Churchill, Manitoba, the polar bear capital of the world. These majestic but threatened creatures lead Dunne to think about his own life, our interactions with the natural world, and the importance of the Arctic, North America's last great wilderness.
How to Make a Wish
by Ashley Herring BlakeGrace, tough and wise, has nearly given up on wishes, thanks to a childhood spent with her unpredictable, larger-than-life mother. But this summer, Grace meets Eva, a girl who believes in dreams, despite her own difficult circumstances. One fateful evening, Eva climbs through a window in Grace&’s room, setting off a chain of stolen nights on the beach. When Eva tells Grace that she likes girls, Grace&’s world opens up and she begins to believe in happiness again. How to Make a Wish is an emotionally charged portrait of a mother and daughter&’s relationship and a heartfelt story about two girls who find each other at the exact right time.
The Light of Asia: A History of Western Fascination with the East
by Christopher HardingThis rich and enjoyable book by the acclaimed author of Japan Story explores the many ways in which Asia has influenced Europe and North America over centuries of tangled, dynamic encountersFrom the time of the ancient Greeks onwards the West's relationship with Asia consisted for the most part of outrageous tales of strange beasts and monsters, of silk and spices shipped over vast distances and an uneasy sense of unknowable empires fantastically far away. By the twentieth century much of Asia might have come under Western rule after centuries of warfare, but its intellectual, artistic and spiritual influence was fighting back.The Light of Asia is a wonderfully varied and entertaining history of the many ways in which Asia has shaped European and North American culture over centuries of tangled, dynamic encounters, and the central importance of this vexed, often confused relationship. From Marco Polo onwards Asia has been both a source of genuine fascination and equally genuine failures of comprehension. China, India and Japan were all acknowledged to be both great civilizations and in crude ways seen as superseded by the West. From Chicago to Calcutta, and from antiquity to the new millennium, this is a rich, involving story of misunderstandings and sincere connection, of inspiration and falsehood, of geniuses, adventurers and con-men.Christopher Harding's captivating gallery of people and places celebrates Asia's impact on the West in all its variety.
Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road
by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson“I’ve been waiting, all this time, for my life to begin. Maybe it’s time to stop waiting. Maybe it’s time to start living.”Chance. Misfortune. Coincidence. These are the weapons of choice for the Doctor’s latest enemies. And those enemies are very, very hungry…For Ruby Sunday, this Christmas Eve is a birthday she’ll never forget. It’s the day she joins the Doctor onboard a Goblin ship. The day she learns of dangers from beyond the universe. The day her life really begins… or, perhaps, the day it ends.The Target novelisation of the first full adventure featuring the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, and the introduction of his new best friend, Ruby Sunday played by Millie Gibson. Russell T Davies’ original script has been novelised by up-and-coming literary talent Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson.
Relight My Fire: (The Stranger Times 4) (The Stranger Times #4)
by C. K. McDonnellThe Stranger Times - winner of the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Audio Work!Some comebacks can be murder . . .Stella is enjoying life as an almost student, or at least she is until a man falls from the sky right in front of her, leaving a big old hole in the pavement for Manchester Council to fill. The obvious question of how he ended up in the sky in the first place has no obvious answers, which is where The Stranger Times come in.But this isn't just the hunt for another story. Dark powers think Stella might have been involved and the only way she and the team can prove her innocence is to find out what the hell is really going on. And what have dodgy gear, disturbed graves and a decommissioned rock star got to do with all this?Vincent Banecroft has problems of his own in the form of a tall, dark but-definitely-not-handsome man dressed like a funeral who has been sent to make the paper's editor atone for his sins. Once he finds out exactly what that entails, Banecroft is not keen. Being banished to a Hellscape for all eternity looks like being no fun at all, not least because he has that pale Irish skin that burns really easily . . .All that plus territorial ghouls, homicidal felines, eternal (and seemingly unstoppable) gnomes and a celebrity Who's Who that'd put a royal wedding to shame, and you're looking at a wild few days for The Stranger Times.Relight My Fire is the fourth book in the acclaimed and brilliantly funny Stranger Times series.
The Detention Detectives: Murder By Mistake (The Detention Detectives #2)
by Lis Jardine‘Top-grade misbehaviour’ – THE GUARDIANTHE DETENTION DETECTIVES ARE BACK! And there's been another murder...Headstrong LYDIA leads the new case. As a school reporter, she’s great at getting the facts. But when someone unexpected arrives at Gran’s, it’s clear she’s missing some clues…Sensitive DANIEL is convinced this case is linked to their first. As a young carer he’s got a lot on his plate, so he needs the trio to work on this together. He just needs to persuade…Not-so-new-boy JONNO, who’s settled in at Hanbridge High. But he’s so distracted by his new band – maybe solving crimes just isn’t cool anymore? Or maybe he’s scared of finding out the truth…Can you solve the case before THE DETENTION DETECTIVES?Praise for book one:'a fresh new take on the murder mystery genre' - The School Library Association'Friendship, trust, courage and determination are at the heart of this extremely funny murder-mystery tale' - BookTrust'Lis Jardine is an exciting new voice...This new school set crime series is well worth investigating' - LoveReading4Kids'splendidly assured' - The Guardian
The Four Ways to Wellbeing: Better Sleep. Less Stress. More Energy. Mood Boost.
by Nicola Elliott NEOMThe stunning book from wellbeing experts NEOM and discover the secrets to BETTER SLEEP. LESS STRESS. MORE ENERGY. MOOD BOOST.‘A bible of knowledge with lots of great advice’ Alesha Dixon‘An invaluable guide to holistic wellbeing’ Joshua Fletcher (@anxietyjosh) anxiety therapist and author************These are the four pillars of wellbeing and there is no one better placed to show you how to achieve each of them than Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM.After eighteen years of building the UK's leading wellbeing business, Nicola has been there, done that and got the weighted blanket. In this beautifully illustrated guide, she combines her own no-nonsense advice with insights from experts on sleep, stress, energy and mood, so that you can find the solutions that work for you.Wellbeing starts with the little moments so whether you've got 30 seconds or 30 minutes, you will find simple tips and tricks that will suit your lifestyle and help you feel better than ever, the NEOM way.
Space: A thrilling human history by Britain's beloved astronaut Tim Peake
by Tim PeakeFrom bestselling author and British astronaut Tim Peake, an inspirational human history of space travel, from the Apollo missions to our future forays to Mars. The Right Stuff for a new generation.'This book is brilliant - once in a blue moon. A book for the whole family.' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio'The most wonderful book ... Tim Peake is a historian and encyclopaedia of space.’ Rory Stewart'An extraordinary book. For anyone - even if you’re not interested in Space. If you’re interested in human stories and the human character - this is delightful.' BBC Breakfast'A fascinating, detailed, playful book drawn from extensive research – Peake met seven Apollo astronauts, Russian cosmonauts and various other space technicians – as well as his considerable personal experience. Lifts the lid on what space is like: the dedication and sacrifice; the politics and pantomime; the practicalities and the peril; the glory and fame; the adjustment back to normal life.' iPaper'A thrilling human history of space' Daily Mirror'The bible of space travel' Chris Moyles, Radio XAs seen in the major TV series Secrets of Our Universe with Tim Peake.Only 628 people in human history have left Earth. This is their story.Astronaut Tim Peake traces the lives of the remarkable men and women who have forged the way for humanity beyond Earth, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson.Full of fascinating insight into our greatest pioneers and unsung heroes, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, Peake's book is the first of its kind to chronicle the human evolution of space exploration over sixty years, from our first forays to now. In the process, Peake reveals what spaceflight is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the new-found perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry.In the next few years, NASA will send the first woman and the first person of colour to step on the lunar surface. What will separate these upcoming moonwalkers from the legendary Apollo crews? Does it still take a derring-do attitude, super-human fitness, intelligence, plus 'the right stuff' - a fabled grace under pressure? And how will astronauts travel even further - to Mars and beyond?Space: The Human Story reveals all.'Space enthusiasts will snap up Peake’s compelling book in their droves, but his account of courage, camaraderie and the determination to go where few have gone before deserves to be read by a much wider audience too' – Daily Express
Circling the Square: Stories from the Egyptian Revolution
by Wendell SteavensonWhat happened to the promise of Tahrir Square and the Arab Spring?On January 25, 2011, the world was watching Cairo. Egyptians of every stripe came together in Tahrir Square to protest Hosni Mubarak's three decades of brutal rule. After many hopeful, turbulent years, however, Egypt seems to be back where it began, with another strongman, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in power. How did this happen?In Circling the Square, Wendell Steavenson uses literary reportage to describe the intimate ironies and ad hoc movements of the Egyptian revolution—from Mubarak's fall to Mohammed Morsi's. Vignettes, incidents, anecdotes, conversations, musings, observations and character sketches cast a fresh light on this vital Middle Eastern story.Closely observing a wide range of people from a thug in a slum with a homemade gun to the democracy/documentary makers on Tahrir Square, to fundamentalist imams and military intelligence officers, Steavenson dares to ask: what am I looking at and how can I begin to understand it?With a novelist's eye for character, Steavenson paints indelible, instantly recognizable portraits and dilemmas that illuminate universal questions. What does democracy mean? What happens when a revolution throws the ideas and values of a society into crisis? What is a revolution, and, finally, what can it accomplish?
Cold Killing: A Novel
by Luke DelaneyLuke Delaney takes the thriller genre to new heights with his debut crime novel, Cold Killing—an unforgettable and haunting duel between a seasoned detective and a brilliant serial killer.Detective Inspector Sean Corrigan finds the body of a brutally murdered young man in his own South London flat. Corrigan takes the case and soon finds himself embroiled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a ruthless and clever serial killer who changes his modus operandi each time he kills, leaving no useable forensic evidence behind...Former London murder squad detective Luke Delaney has created a cast of memorable and complex characters in this dark and psychological page-turner.
To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration
by Edward J. LarsonWinner of the National Outdoor Book Award From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a "suspenseful" (WSJ) and "adrenaline-fueled" (Outside) entwined narrative of the most adventurous year of all time, when three expeditions simultaneously raced to the top, bottom, and heights of the world. As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration—set at the world’s frozen extremes—lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the so-called “Third Pole,” the pole of altitude, located in unexplored heights of the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny, and the harshest conditions on the planet to plant flags at the furthest edges of the Earth.In the course of one extraordinary year, Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson were hailed worldwide at the discovers of the North Pole; Britain’s Ernest Shackleton had set a new geographic “Furthest South” record, while his expedition mate, Australian Douglas Mawson, had reached the Magnetic South Pole; and at the roof of the world, Italy’s Duke of the Abruzzi had attained an altitude record that would stand for a generation, the result of the first major mountaineering expedition to the Himalaya's eastern Karakoram, where the daring aristocrat attempted K2 and established the standard route up the most notorious mountain on the planet. Based on extensive archival and on-the-ground research, Edward J. Larson weaves these narratives into one thrilling adventure story. Larson, author of the acclaimed polar history Empire of Ice, draws on his own voyages to the Himalaya, the arctic, and the ice sheets of the Antarctic, where he himself reached the South Pole and lived in Shackleton’s Cape Royds hut as a fellow in the National Science Foundations’ Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. These three legendary expeditions, overlapping in time, danger, and stakes, were glorified upon their return, their leaders celebrated as the preeminent heroes of their day. Stripping away the myth, Larson, a master historian, illuminates one of the great, overlooked tales of exploration, revealing the extraordinary human achievement at the heart of these journeys.
Buzz Kill
by Beth FantaskeyPutting the dead in deadline To Bee or not to Bee? When the widely disliked Honeywell Stingers football coach is found murdered, 17-year-old Millie is determined to investigate. She is chasing a lead for the school newspaper—and looking to clear her father, the assistant coach, and prime suspect.Millie's partner is gorgeous, smart—and keeping secrets Millie joins forces with her mysterious classmate Chase who seems to want to help her even while covering up secrets of his own.She&’s starting to get a reputation . . . without any of the benefits. Drama—and bodies—pile up around Millie and she chases clues, snuggles Baxter the so-ugly-he&’s-adorable bassett hound, and storms out of the world&’s most awkward school dance/memorial mash-up. At least she gets to eat a lot of pie.Best-selling author Beth Fantaskey&’s funny, fast-paced blend of Clueless and Nancy Drew is a suspenseful page-turner that is the best time a reader can have with buried weapons, chicken clocks, and a boy who only watches gloomy movies . . . but somehow makes Millie smile. Bee-lieve it.
The Daughter: A Novel
by Jane ShemiltIn the tradition of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and Ruth Rendell, this compelling and clever psychological thriller spins the harrowing tale of a mother’s obsessive search for her missing daughter.Jenny is a successful family doctor, the mother of three great teenagers, married to a celebrated neurosurgeon.But when her youngest child, fifteen-year-old Naomi, doesn’t come home after her school play, Jenny’s seemingly ideal life begins to crumble. The authorities launch a nationwide search with no success. Naomi has vanished, and her family is broken.As the months pass, the worst-case scenarios—kidnapping, murder—seem less plausible. The trail has gone cold. Yet for a desperate Jenny, the search has barely begun. More than a year after her daughter’s disappearance, she’s still digging for answers—and what she finds disturbs her. Everyone she’s trusted, everyone she thought she knew, has been keeping secrets, especially Naomi. Piecing together the traces her daughter left behind, Jenny discovers a very different Naomi from the girl she thought she’d raised.
The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles Of Kazam, Book 1 (The Chronicles of Kazam #1)
by Jasper FfordeIn the good old days, magic was indispensable—it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians—but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam—and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.
The Last Goodbye: A Novel
by Fiona LucasAn unforgettable story about learning to love again and living life to its fullest, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Josie Silver."A poignant and uplifting read about loss, love and learning to put yourself back together again after facing the unimaginable." —Sophie Cousens, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Next YearLost love. A second chance. A hidden secret.Spencer was the love of Anna’s life: her husband, her best friend, her rock. She thought their love would last forever.But three years ago, Spencer was tragically killed in an accident and Anna’s world was shattered. How can she ever move on, when she’s lost her soulmate?On New Year’s Eve Anna calls Spencer’s phone number, just to hear his old voicemail greeting. But to her shock, someone answers…Brody has inherited Spencer’s old number and is the first person who truly understands what Anna’s going through. As her and Brody’s phone calls become lengthier and more frequent, they begin opening up to each other—and slowly rediscover how to smile, how to laugh, even how to hope.But Brody hasn’t been entirely honest with Anna. Will his secret threaten everything, just as it seems she might find the courage to love again?
Three Souls: A Novel
by Janie ChangAn absorbing novel of romance and revolution, loyalty and family, sacrifice and undying loveWe have three souls, or so I'd been told. But only in death could I confirm this....So begins the haunting and captivating tale, set in 1935 China, of the ghost of a young woman named Leiyin, who watches her own funeral from above and wonders why she is being denied entry to the afterlife. Beside her are three souls—stern and scholarly yang; impulsive, romantic yin; and wise, shining hun—who will guide her toward understanding. She must, they tell her, make amends.As Leiyin delves back in time with the three souls to review her life, she sees the spoiled and privileged teenager she once was, a girl who is concerned with her own desires while China is fractured by civil war and social upheaval. At a party, she meets Hanchin, a captivating left-wing poet and translator, and instantly falls in love with him.When Leiyin defies her father to pursue Hanchin, she learns the harsh truth—that she is powerless over her fate. Her punishment for disobedience leads to exile, an unwanted marriage, a pregnancy, and, ultimately, her death. And when she discovers what she must do to be released from limbo into the afterlife, Leiyin realizes that the time for making amends is shorter than she thought.Suffused with history and literature, Three Souls is an epic tale of revenge and betrayal, forbidden love, and the price we are willing to pay for freedom.
Revelations
by Mary SharrattA fifteenth-century Eat, Pray, Love, Revelations illuminates the intersecting lives of two female mystics who changed history—Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. Bishop&’s Lynn, England, 1413. At the age of forty, Margery Kempe has nearly died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Fearing that another pregnancy might kill her, she makes a vow of celibacy, but she can&’t trust her husband to keep his end of the bargain. Desperate for counsel, she visits the famous anchoress Dame Julian of Norwich. Pouring out her heart, Margery confesses that she has been haunted by visceral religious visions. Julian then offers up a confession of her own: she has written a secret, radical book about her own visions, Revelations of Divine Love. Nearing the end of her life and fearing Church authorities, Julian entrusts her precious book to Margery, who sets off the adventure of a lifetime to secretly spread Julian's words. Mary Sharratt vividly brings the medieval past to life as Margery blazes her trail across Europe and the Near East, finding her unique spiritual path and vocation. It's not in a cloistered cell like Julian, but in the full bustle of worldly existence with all its wonders and perils.
The Best American Short Stories 2014 (The Best American Series)
by Heidi Pitlor“The literary ‘Oscars’ features twenty outstanding examples of the best of the best in American short stories.” — Shelf Awareness for ReadersThe Best American Short Stories 2014 will be selected by national best-selling author Jennifer Egan, who won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for A Visit from the Goon Squad, heralded by Time magazine as “a new classic of American fiction.” Egan “possesses a satirist’s eye and a romance novelist’s heart” (New York Times Book Review).
Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada
by Stephen BownA thrilling new account of the engineering triumph that created a nationIn The Company, his bestselling work of revisionist history, Stephen R. Bown told the dramatic, adventurous and bloody tale of Canada's origins in the fur trade. With Dominion he continues the nation's creation story with an equally gripping and eye-opening account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.In the late 19th century, demand for fur was in sharp decline. This could have spelled economic disaster for the venerable Hudson's Bay Company. But an idea emerged in political and business circles in Ottawa and Montreal to connect the disparate British colonies into a single entity that would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With over 3,000 kilometres of track, much of it driven through wildly inhospitable terrain, the CPR would be the longest railway in the world and the most difficult to build. Its construction was the defining event of its era and a catalyst for powerful global forces.The times were marked by greed, hubris, blatant empire building, oppression, corruption and theft. They were good for some, hard for most, disastrous for others. The CPR enabled a new country, but it came at a terrible price.Stephen R. Bown again widens our view of the past to include the adventures and hardships of explorers and surveyors, the resistance of Indigenous peoples, and the terrific and horrific work of many thousands of labourers. His vivid portrayal of the powerful forces that were moulding the world in the late 19th century provides a revelatory new picture of modern Canada's creation as an independent state.