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Twelve Years a Slave: A Memoir Of Kidnap, Slavery And Liberation
by Solomon NorthupThe harrowing true story that inspired the critically acclaimed film The son of a freed slave, Solomon Northup lived the first thirty years of his life as a free man in upstate New York. In the spring of 1841, he was offered a job: a short-term, lucrative engagement as a violinist in a traveling circus. It was a trap. In Washington, DC, Northup was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. He spent the next twelve years on plantations in Louisiana, enduring backbreaking labor, unimaginable violence, and inhumane treatment at the hands of cruel masters, until a kind stranger helped to win his release. His account of those years is a shocking, unforgettable portrait of America&’s most insidious historical institution as told by a man who experienced it firsthand. Published shortly after Harriet Beecher Stowe&’s abolitionist classic Uncle Tom&’s Cabin, Northup&’s memoir became a bestseller in 1853. With its eloquent depiction of life before and after bondage, Twelve Years a Slave was a unique and effective entry into the national debate over slavery. Rediscovered in the 1960s and now the inspiration for a major motion picture, Northup&’s poignant narrative gives readers an invaluable glimpse into a shameful chapter of American history. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
The Bath Quadrille: The Bath Quadrille, The Bath Charade, And The Bath Eccentric's Son (The Bath Trilogy #1)
by Amanda ScottCan two passionate people stop fighting long enough to admit their love for each other? After spirited Lady Sybilla Calverton discovers her husband , the Earl of Ramsbury, in an embrace with the notorious Lady Fanny Mandeville, she returns to her father&’s home in Bath determined to match the wayward Ramsbury scandal for scandal. When the Earl learns that his wife has stirred gossip by being seen too often with elegant collector Sydney St. Denis, he hastens to Bath to see if the gossip is true—and to reinsert himself into Sybilla&’s affairs. Quarrels immediately reignite between them—and so does their passion. But are their strong wills the only threat to their love, or is someone deliberately trying to destroy their tempestuous marriage? The Bath Quadrille is the 1st book in the Bath Trilogy, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Privileged Lives (The Vince Cardozo Mysteries #1)
by Edward StewartIn this classic thriller, bestselling author Edward Stewart weaves a complex tale of sex, money, and murderIn a private suite at a New York hospital, Beatrice &“Babe&” Vanderwalk Devens awakens from a seven-year coma. The socialite and fashion designer is stunned to learn that her husband, Scottie, was brought to trial twice—and acquitted—for her attempted murder.Across town, the naked, mutilated body of a young man wearing a black leather bondage mask is found in an empty apartment in the Beaux Arts Tower, high atop the Museum of Modern Art. Seven miles away, off-duty NYPD lieutenant Vince Cardozo is relaxing on a Brooklyn beach with his twelve-year-old daughter when he gets the call.Cardozo&’s investigation into the savage murder of the Beaux Arts John Doe takes him into the exclusive lairs of Manhattan&’s elite. Babe Devens is part of that world. When Cardozo uncovers a shocking connection between the two cases, it could topple more than just high society.A Book-of-the-Month-Club featured selection.
The Lion and the Rose: Poems
by May SartonMay Sarton&’s poetic celebrations of the American landscapeWritten in Santa Fe, New Mexico, May Sarton&’s third collection of poems takes inspiration from the land, the light, and the palette of the American Southwest. With archaeological precision, Sarton uncovers American history and heredity. &“Plain grandeur escapes definition,&” begins one poem. But Sarton&’s America is alive with history and is continually redefined by its own settings and mythology.
Wax Apple (The Mitchell Tobin Mysteries #3)
by Donald E. WestlakeAt a mental institution, Mitch Tobin searches for a patient with a violent sense of humorMitch Tobin is about to be committed. Since his abrupt dismissal from the NYPD, Tobin&’s nerves have been frayed, and if it wasn&’t for his work as a private detective, he might well be in need of actual psychiatric care. But during his stay at the Midway, a halfway house for those recovering from mental illness, he&’ll only be impersonating a patient while trying to uncover the identity of a particularly dangerous prankster.Four booby traps have been set on the grounds of this stately old institution, each one more dangerous than the last. Tobin has only just checked in when he finds trap number five: a tripwire that sends him tumbling down the stairs, snapping his arm. This prankster is not playing around. Tobin will be lucky to leave the Midway with his life intact; hanging onto his sanity may prove even tougher.
The Furies: The Furies, The Titans, And The Warriors (The Kent Family Chronicles #4)
by John JakesFrom a #1 New York Times–bestselling author: Amanda Kent heads west to build a family dynasty in the era of the Gold Rush. Opening twenty-two years after the events of The Seekers, John Jakes&’s fourth Kent Family novel spans the blood-soaked era of America&’s relentless expansion into the West. Amanda Kent, daughter of Gilbert Kent and Harriet Lebow, is one of the few women to escape the massacre at the Battle of the Alamo. Uncommonly brazen and focused, Amanda seeks to make a new life for herself by restoring the Kent family name. Her efforts to build a dynasty take her to northern California, just in time for the Gold Rush. Her passion and determination during these frenzied years make The Furies an exhilarating page-turner. This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Jakes including rare images from the author&’s personal collection.
Musical Vitalities: Ventures in a Biotic Aesthetics of Music (New Material Histories of Music)
by Holly WatkinsDoes it make sense to refer to bird song—a complex vocalization, full of repetitive and transformative patterns that are carefully calculated to woo a mate—as art? What about a pack of wolves howling in unison or the cacophony made by an entire rain forest? Redefining music as “the art of possibly animate things,” Musical Vitalities charts a new path for music studies that blends musicological methods with perspectives drawn from the life sciences. In opposition to humanist approaches that insist on a separation between culture and nature—approaches that appear increasingly untenable in an era defined by human-generated climate change—Musical Vitalities treats music as one example of the cultural practices and biotic arts of the animal kingdom rather than as a phenomenon categorically distinct from nonhuman forms of sonic expression. The book challenges the human exceptionalism that has allowed musicologists to overlook music’s structural resemblances to the songs of nonhuman species, the intricacies of music’s physiological impact on listeners, and the many analogues between music’s formal processes and those of the dynamic natural world. Through close readings of Austro-German music and aesthetic writings that suggest wide-ranging analogies between music and nature, Musical Vitalities seeks to both rekindle the critical potential of nineteenth-century music and rejoin the humans at the center of the humanities with the nonhumans whose evolutionary endowments and planetary fates they share.
Red Herrings: And, Red Herrings (The Simon Bognor Mysteries #8)
by Tim HealdAn ancient country custom goes awry, killing a man and spoiling Bognor&’s holidayAt the annual Clout, the men of Herring do as they have done for centuries, firing arrows blindly into the woods and allowing their women to retrieve what they have shot. Nobody ever kills anything, but it&’s a jolly time nonetheless—until the day when a few of the arrows find their mark, pinning a wayward customs inspector to a tree in a bloody parody of Saint Sebastian. It&’s rotten luck for the dead man, and not much better for Simon Bognor. Bognor huffs when he hears of the killing, knowing that he is going to be sucked into investigating the death. A special inspector for the Board of Trade, Bognor is always getting invited to crime scenes, despite knowing almost nothing about crime. His bad lungs, sour attitude, and fleshy physique are out of place in the countryside, but Bognor is in for the duration. He will find the person who caused the accident—or the next arrow&’s target could be his heart.
My Gallant Enemy
by Rexanne BecnelIn this &“delicious medieval love story,&” a noblewoman is forced to honor a long-ago betrothal to a ruthless warrior—who is now her family&’s bitter enemy (Romantic Times). Lady Lilliane was betrothed to Corbett of Colchester at the age of fourteen, long before their families became sworn enemies. Years later, Corbett unexpectedly turns up to claim his beautiful bride and, by contract, her valuable dowry: Castle Orrick. Suspecting some royal intrigue lies behind Corbett&’s sudden desire for this marriage, Lilliane vows she will never lie in his bed. But what fate awaits Lilliane—and all England—if she resists him? And what darker fate if she surrenders? This &“sensual romance set in 13th-century England&” marked the award-winning debut of this USA Today–bestselling author (Publishers Weekly).
The Katana (Black Samurai #8)
by Marc OldenFor the sake of his master&’s memory, Sand will kill to recover a magnificent swordThough useless in battle, the emperor&’s katana is a beautiful weapon. Cast from solid gold, this 1,200-year-old blade was thought to be lost until Master Konuma, teacher of samurais, presents it as a gift to the people of Japan. Soon after, he is savagely murdered, leaving his American student, Robert Sand, to avenge his death. The sensei is gone, but the sword remains as a symbol of his generosity—until the day the katana vanishes.A madman snatches the treasure from the Metropolitan Museum, wanting the katana at his side as he makes a bid for world domination. Now it&’s Sand&’s turn to steal it back, and destroy the monster who dishonored his sensei&’s memory. The katana is too valuable to use in a fight, but for its sake much blood will flow.
Mistress of the Hunt
by Amanda ScottThe independent and alluring Lady Philippa decides to prove she can run as wild in love as she does on the hunting fieldsLady Philippa Raynard-Wakefield is a wealthy young widow convinced that she will never marry again; in fact, she&’s chosen to reside in her husband&’s Leicestershire hunting lodge to avoid the fortune-hungry suitors she frequently meets in more fashionable locales. A keen rider, Philippa would like to join in the local sport, but the fast pace, rough terrain, and ill-mannered participants of the hunts are considered unsuitable for ladies. Even Viscount Rochford, with his mesmerizing gray eyes, will not permit her to join his hunt—although he doesn&’t object to her company on other occasions. If Rochford won&’t give his approval, then Philippa will have to take matters into her own hands . . .
The Bat
by Mary Roberts RinehartAn infamous thief hides in the countryside—where cunning Cornelia Van Gorder picks up the trail—in a mystery from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author. For months, the city has lived in fear of the Bat. A master criminal hindered by neither scruple nor fear, he has stolen over one million dollars and left at least six men dead. The police are helpless, the newspapers know nothing—even the key figures of the city&’s underworld have no clue as to the identity of the Bat. He is a living embodiment of death itself, and he is coming to the countryside. There, he will encounter the only person who can stop him: adventurous sixty-five-year-old spinster Cornelia Van Gorder. Last in a long line of New York society royalty, Cornelia has found old age to be a bore, and is hungry for a bit of adventure. She&’s going to find it—in a lonely old country house where every shadow could be the Bat.
Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow: The Epic Story of the Transcontinental Railroads
by Dee Brown&“A fascinating story&” of the railways that linked America from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (The Washington Post). Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow unspools the history of the beginnings of the American railroad system. By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers in Missouri and California were separated by a vast landscape that dwarfed and isolated them, conquerable only by &“the demonic power of the Iron Horse and its bands of iron track.&” Although the building of the great railroad is commonly known as a story of romance, adventure, and progress, it also has a dark side, as profiteers decimated American Indian tribes, exploited workers, and destroyed ecosystems. Despite this, by the turn of the twentieth century, five major railroads would span the continent. This account vividly illustrates the railroad builders&’ breathtaking skill, ambition, and ingenuity. . Brown compellingly tells a high-stakes tale, an exhilarating history that still holds lessons for today. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing From America's Favorite Humorist
by Erma BombeckNew York Times Bestseller: This anthology of Erma Bombeck&’s most memorable and humorous essays is a tribute to one of America&’s sharpest wits. When she began writing her regular newspaper column in 1965, Erma Bombeck&’s goal was to make housewives laugh. Thirty years later, she had published more than four thousand columns, and earned countless laughs—from housewives, presidents, and everyone in between. With grace, good humor, and razor-sharp prose, she gently skewered every aspect of the American family. This collection holds the best of her columns—not just her famous quips, but also the heartbreaking observations that gave her writing such weight. In 1969, Erma wrote: &“screaming kids, unpaid bills, green leftovers, husbands behind newspapers, basketballs in the bathroom. They&’re real . . . they&’re warm . . . they&’re the only bit of normalcy left in this cockeyed world, and I&’m going to cling to it like life itself.&” With what Publishers Weekly calls her &“infectious sense of human absurdity,&” Erma Bombeck&’s writing remains a timeless examination of the still-cockeyed world. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erma Bombeck including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate.
12, 20 & 5: A Doctor's Year in Vietnam
by John A. ParrishThe wry and heart-wrenching memoir of a young doctor&’s year behind the frontlines in Vietnam. Assigned to the marine camp at Phu Bai, Dr. John A. Parrish confronted all manner of medical trauma, quickly shedding the naïveté of a new medical intern. With this memoir, he crafts a haunting, humane portrait of one man&’s agonizing confrontation with war. With a wife and two children awaiting his return home, the young physician lives through the most turbulent and formative year of his life—and finds himself molded into a true doctor by the raw tragedy of the battlefield. His endless work is punctuated only by the arrival of the next helicopter bearing more casualties, and the stark announcements: &“12 litter-borne wounded, 20 ambulatory wounded, and 5 dead.&”12, 20 & 5 is an intimate and unique look at the effects of war that Library Journal calls &“an autobiographical M*A*S*H* . . . phenomenal.&”
Anthropology: A Continental Perspective
by Christoph WulfOriginally published in German, Christoph Wulf’s Anthropology sets its sights on a topic as ambitious as its title suggests: anthropology itself. Arguing for an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach to anthropology that incorporates science, philosophy, history, and many other disciplines, Wulf examines—with breathtaking scope—all the ways that anthropology has been understood and practiced around the globe and through the years. Seeking a central way to understand anthropology in the midst of many different approaches to the discipline, Wulf concentrates on the human body. An emblem of society, culture, and time, the body is also the result of many mimetic processes—the active acquisition of cultural knowledge. By examining the role of the body in the performance of rituals, gestures, language, and other forms of imagination, he offers a bold new look at how culture is produced, handed down, and transformed. Drawing such examinations into a comprehensive and sophisticated assessment of the discipline as a whole, Anthropology looks squarely at the mystery of humankind and the ways we have attempted to understand it.
Desert Places: A Woman's Odyssey with the Wanderers of the Indian Desert
by Robyn DavidsonFrom the bestselling author of Tracks: A travel writer&’s memoir of her year with the nomadic Rabari tribe on the border between Pakistan and India. India&’s Thar Desert has been the home of the Rabari herders for thousands of years. In 1990, Australian Robyn Davidson, &“as natural a travel writer as she is an adventurer,&” spent a year with the Rabari, whose livelihood is increasingly endangered by India&’s rapid development (The New Yorker). Enduring the daily hardships of life in the desert while immersed in the austere beauty of the arid landscape, Davidson subsisted on a diet of goat milk, roti, and parasite-infested water. She collided with India&’s rigid caste system and cultural idiosyncrasies, confronted extreme sleep deprivation, and fought feelings of alienation amid the nation&’s isolated rural peoples—finding both intense suffering and a renewed sense of beauty and belonging among the Rabari family. Rich with detail and honest in its depictions of cultural differences, Desert Places is an unforgettable story of fortitude in the face of struggle and an ode to the rapidly disappearing way of life of the herders of northwestern India. &“Davidson will both disturb and exhilarate readers with the acuity of her observations, the sting of her wit, and the candor of her emotions&” (Booklist).
Fools Rush In (The Sam McCain Mysteries #7)
by Ed GormanOn the eve of the March on Washington, racial tensions flare in McCain&’s small townIn the summer of 1963, freedom riders are crisscrossing the South, Martin Luther King is preparing for a march on Washington, and the people of Black River Falls, Iowa, are about to go to the polls. Senator Williams is cruising to reelection when a blackmailer starts sending him photos of his daughter arm in arm with a handsome black student. To save his campaign, Williams hires private investigator Sam McCain to talk sense into the crook, but the blackmailer is nowhere to be found—until McCain discovers him behind his shack, dead in the dirt, with a handsome black corpse beside him.TV crews arrive with the police, to broadcast the horrible scene across the state. As Black River Falls threatens to erupt into all-out race war, Iowa will have much more to worry about than Election Day. Searching for the savage killer, McCain learns that quiet prejudice can be the most dangerous kind of all.
Empire of Sand: A Novel Based on the Life of T. E. Lawrence (The Great British Heroes and Antiheroes Trilogy #1)
by Robert RyanThe legendary exploits of Lawrence of Arabia are the starting point for this captivating World War I suspense novel As the future of Europe is being decided in the muddy trenches of the Western Front, Lieutenant Thomas Edward Lawrence is thousands of miles away, toiling in the map room of the British Army&’s general headquarters in Cairo. But the young intelligence officer has big ideas—none bigger than his vision of a unified Arabia free of its Ottoman rulers. Before T. E. Lawrence can become Lawrence of Arabia, however, he must first contend with the notorious German spy Wilhelm Wassmuss. Local tribes are capturing British soldiers at the German&’s behest, and the War Office has sent an assassin to take care of the problem once and for all. It is Lawrence&’s job to get Captain Quinn within range of his target, a task made all the more difficult by Wassmuss&’s deep knowledge of the desert and its people. In matching wits with a sinister European nemesis, Lawrence starts down a path that will change the face of the Middle East forever. Empire of Sand is the 1st book in the Great British Heroes and Antiheroes Trilogy, which also includes Death on the Ice and Signal Red.
Song of the River: Song Of The River, Cry Of The Wind, And Call Down The Stars (The Storyteller Trilogy #1)
by Sue HarrisonTwo ancient tribes on the verge of making peace become foes once more when a double murder jeopardizes a storyteller&’s mission Eighty centuries ago, in the frozen land that is now Alaska, a clubfooted male child had been left to die, when a woman named K&’os rescued him. Twenty years later and no longer a child, Chakliux occupies the revered role as his tribe&’s storyteller. In the neighboring village of the Near River people, where Chakliux will attempt to make peace by wedding the shaman&’s daughter, a double murder occurs that sends him on a harsh, enthralling journey in search of the truth about the tragic losses his people have suffered, and into the arms of a woman he was never meant to love. Song of the River is the first book of the Storyteller Trilogy, which also includes Cry of the Wind and Call Down the Stars.
A Face at the Window: A Novel
by Dennis McFarland&“An irresistible tale that ventures into the ghostly realms of psychology, personality and intimacy&” from the bestselling author of The Music Room (San Francisco Chronicle). When their daughter leaves for college, newly minted empty nesters Cookson and Ellen Selway decide to escape the eerie quiet of their home and take a trip to London. But not long after arriving, it becomes apparent that the Selways have traded one unsettling locale for another. Like Cookson, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, the Hotel Willerton has a disturbing past. Fifty years ago, a young girl fell to her death from one of the hotel&’s windows, and her ghost is haunting Cookson, slowly drawing him back toward the darkness that once consumed him. As Cookson descends into a spiral of self-destruction, he is joined by two more apparitions, each reflecting the worst parts of himself and forcing him to confront the mistakes of his past that have tormented him for years. From the celebrated author of the Washington Post Best Book of the Year Nostalgia and the New York Times–bestselling The Music Room, this is &“a gripping, stylish, consistently entertaining novel&” that offers a literary spin on the traditional ghost story (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla (The Hildegarde Withers Mysteries #7)
by Stuart PalmerA corrupt politician&’s trophy wife is targeted during a train ride: &“The best of the Hildegarde Withers stories, and that is saying a good deal&” (The New York Times). Oscar Piper doesn&’t belong on Mexican trains. A New York City detective, he&’s in the Dominican Republic as part of an international delegation come to cut the ribbon on a new transcontinental highway. This grants him the honor of a trip to Mexico City on the hottest, dustiest train in North America—a crowded slow coach that&’s about to become a crime scene. The alderman&’s wife does not know how the bottle of Elixir d&’Amour got into her bag. She only knows that when the porter smelled it, he dropped dead. She seems to have been the intended target for the poisoned perfume—but who would want to kill a corrupt politician&’s trophy wife? Oscar sends a wire to his friend Hildegarde Withers, a schoolteacher and amateur sleuth, whom he knows will not wilt in the Mexican heat. Before she begins her investigation, she has only one question: &“¿Cómo se dice &‘murder&’?&” The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla is part of the Hildegarde Withers Mysteries series, which also includes The Penguin Pool Murder and Murder on the Blackboard.
War Dances: Stories and Poems (Men Of The Saddle Ser.)
by Sherman AlexieThe bestselling, award-winning author&’s &“fiercely freewheeling collection of stories and poems about the tragicomedies of ordinary lives&” (O, The Oprah Magazine). Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, War Dances blends short stories, poems, call-and-response, and more into something that only Sherman Alexie could have written. Ordinary men stand at the threshold of profound change, from a story about a famous writer caring for a dying but still willful father, to the tale of a young Indian boy who learns to value his own life by appreciating the deaths of others. Perceptions change, too, as &“Another Proclamation&” casts a shadow over Abraham Lincoln&’s Emancipation Proclamation, and &“Invisible Dog on a Leash&” limns the heartbreak of shattered childhood illusions. And nostalgia for antiquated technology is tenderly rendered in &“Ode to Mix Tapes&” and &“Ode for Pay Phones.&” With his versatile voice, Alexie explores love, betrayal, fatherhood, alcoholism, and art in this spirited, soulful, and endlessly entertaining collection, transcending genre boundaries to create something truly unique. This ebook features an illustrated biography including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
A Dubious Legacy: A Novel (Oxford Bookworms Library #Stage 4)
by Mary WesleyA &“darkly comic, wise and irresistible&” novel of friendship, romance, and the chaos in between, from one of Britain&’s bestselling authors (Publishers Weekly). When Henry Tillotson comes back from the war with a mysterious new bride from Egypt, everyone is intrigued. But intrigue turns to outright confusion when his new wife retreats to her room and refuses to leave her bed, much less the house, stranding poor Henry in a loveless marriage. Antonia and Barbara are captivated by Henry and his lavish country estate, Cotteshaw, from the very first time they are asked to visit for a dinner party with their boyfriends. Drawn by his charm, his wife&’s madness and beauty, and his unusual lifestyle, they cannot help but be intrigued by their host. But as time passes, their relationships grow and change, bringing weddings, engagements, children, and even the occasional illicit liaison—as the strange heritage of Cotteshaw begins to affect all who pass through its doors. Wesley once again proves herself a master of the modern novel of manners in this energetic tale that is simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny, outrageously irreverent, and poignant. &“As always, the dialogue snaps with vigor. . . . Another bright and biting novel.&” —Kirkus Reviews
The Bath Charade: The Bath Quadrille, The Bath Charade, And The Bath Eccentric's Son (The Bath Trilogy #2)
by Amanda ScottThe town of Bath offers ample opportunities for mischief—and romance Carolyn Hardy, determined to hold out for the true love promised in the romance novels she devours, has already broken two betrothals. Although she attracts the attention of many men—including the Prince Regent&’s brother—she knows little of their more unsavory ways, and resents the efforts of her guardian, elegant Sydney Saint-Denis, to shield her from them. To prove her mettle, heedless of any risk, Carolyn flirts more outrageously than ever, even with a gypsy prince. She certainly doesn&’t view Sydney as a potential suitor. In no way does the foppish man resemble the hero of her dreams. But she will learn that there&’s more to Sydney than meets the eye . . . The Bath Charade is the 2nd book in the Bath Trilogy, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.