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The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode Of The American Civil War
by Stephen CraneThe finest novel of the Civil War, and one of the greatest battle stories ever toldThe question of courage enters Henry Fleming&’s mind the moment he dons the blue uniform of the Union Army. But his first firefight reveals the emptiness of words such as bravery and fear. Pinned in by his comrades, he can only fire his rifle like a cog in a machine. There is no chance to run.Then comes the true test. Waking from a nap, Henry sees the enemy advancing once again. Gripped by an unshakable terror, he flees—from his regiment, from duty, from everything he wanted to believe about himself. A corpse bears witness to his shame.The nightmare has come true. Henry Fleming is a coward. Only one thing can save him now: a visible wound, the red badge of courage. With his regiment&’s colors in hand, Henry looks the enemy in the eye—and charges.Stephen Crane was born six years after Lee&’s surrender at Appomattox and had yet to see a battlefield when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage. Nevertheless, the novel is widely regarded as one of the most realistic depictions of war ever published, and a masterpiece of American literature.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Live! From Planet Earth: Stories
by George Alec EffingerThe Hugo Award–winning author&’s &“most memorable short stories . . . a tribute from those who best knew his work—his friends, fellow writers, and editors&” (SFRevu). George Alec Effinger was a true master of satirical Science Fiction. Before his death in 2002, he gained the highest esteem amongst his peers for his pitch-perfect stylistic mimicry and his great insight into the human condition. Despite a life filled with chronic illness and pain, Effinger was a prolific novelist and short story writer, earning multiple Nebula and Hugo Award nominations. LIVE! FROM PLANET EARTH represents a very special look at the many works of this unique genius. These 22 short pieces have been specifically selected and introduced by his fellow writers and editors, from Michael Bishop to Jack Dann, Mike Resnick to Neil Gaiman. Each writes about his or her memories of Effinger and his legacy. Included are &“The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything&” in which Earth is visited by benevolent aliens who happen to have annoying opinions about everything. &“Everything but Honor&” goes along as a black physicist time-travels to 1860 to murder a Civil War general. Also included here are Effinger&’s O.Niemand stories, which perfectly mimic the styles of Steinbeck, Hemingway and Twain. The results are a tour de force sure to please existing fans and make new fans of anyone who reads them.
Dancer of Gor (Gorean Saga #22)
by John NormanA shy librarian from Earth learns her true female nature as a slave dancer on the planet Gor in this fantasy series where men dominate women. Doreen Williamson is a quiet, shy librarian on Earth. Like many other young women, she is distrustful of her attractions, frightened of men, introverted in manner and sexually inhibited. She lives within a quiet, lonely, dissatisfying, sheltered, and frustrated desperation, distant from her true self, her nature denied, her only friends books and her secret thoughts. In the realization and enactment of a profound fantasy, after acute self-conflict, she dares to study a form of dance in which she is at last free to move her body as a female, a form of dance in which she may revel in her beauty and womanhood, a form of dance historically commanded by masters of selected, suitable slaves: belly dance. She must then dance, for the first time, before men. In doing so, she discovers her own desirability and that she may be well bid upon. Rediscover this brilliantly imagined world where men are masters and women live to serve their every desire. Dancer of Gor is the 22nd book in the Gorean Saga, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
The Gingerbread Woman: A Novel
by Jennifer JohnstonA powerful novel, by one of Ireland&’s preeminent writers, of two damaged people and their fateful, restorative friendship For Laurence, trauma came in the form of a random act of violence that claimed his wife and daughter a decade ago. For Clara, it was something she has kept hidden, confined to her own memory and unknown to those closest to her. By chance, they meet atop a cliff overlooking Dublin Bay, where Laurence finds Clara standing uncomfortably close to the edge. Days later they encounter each other again, this time at a pub, and begin a tentative friendship rooted in their kindred heartbreak. Through conversations at once witty, somber, and cuttingly honest, they find a soothing sense of connection and respite from their own lonely grieving. Poignant and engrossing, The Gingerbread Woman is a stirring novel of love and mourning, and of the unlikely friendship that leads two broken people toward a renewed sense of hope.
Fat-Free and Fatal (The Kate Jasper Mysteries #4)
by Jaqueline GirdnerKate Jasper, Marin County, California&’s own organically grown amateur sleuth, returns in this fourth mystery in the series.Kate and her new sweetie have finally moved in together in Fat-Free and Fatal. But her sweetie&’s venomous mother has moved in, too, and she is working hard at destroying the relationship. Kate signs up for a vegetarian cooking class to get out of the house and out from under the prongs of her almost mother‑in‑law&’s tongue. Only it is a case of out‑of‑the‑frying‑pan‑into‑the‑fire when the owner of the class&’s venue, the Good Thyme Cafe, is found dead . . . strangled by the electric cord of a SaladShooter. The police suspect Kate&’s best friend, Barbara. Kate sleuths, fearing that otherwise, her friend&’s fowl‑free goose may be cooked.
The E. S. P. Worm
by Piers Anthony Robert E. MargroffA slimy, telepathic alien throws the universe into chaos in this science fiction classic cowritten by the New York Times–bestselling author. The cast of cosmic characters: A prodigal worm, a telepathic, egotistical, totally unscrupulous little alien running away from his father becomes the biggest prize in the universe. Capture the slimy brat and win an entire planet! A cosmic hustler, an effete snob who ekes out a comfortable living as the president&’s son-in-law and perfects his reflexes with endless contests of cosmic pool, becomes the most important element in a delicate game of interspatial espionage—and the galaxy&’s prime target for assassination. The most sensual woman on Earth, completes the star-crossed triangle in one of the wildest, wickedest romps in the annals of science fiction!
Skeleton Dance (The Gideon Oliver Mysteries #10)
by Aaron ElkinsThe French police call on the Skeleton Detective when a dog digs up some human bones: &“Terrific&” —Publishers Weekly Les‑Eyzies‑de‑Tayac is known for three things: pâté de fois gras, truffles, and prehistoric remains. The little village, in fact, is the headquarters of the prestigious Institute de Préhistoire, which studies the abundant local fossils. But when a pet dog emerges from a nearby cave carrying parts of a human skeleton—by no means a fossilized one—Chief Inspector Lucien Anatole Joly puts in a call to his old friend, Gideon Oliver, the famed &“Skeleton Detective.&” Once Gideon arrives, murder piles on murder, puzzle on puzzle, and twist follows twist in a series of unexpected events that threaten to tear the once sober, dignified Institut apart. It takes a bizarre and startling forensic breakthrough by Gideon to bring to an end a trail of deception thirty‑five thousand years in the making. Skeleton Dance is the 10th book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
The Old Dick
by L. A. MorseWINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL. --- Retired private eye Jake Spanner may have gotten old, but he hasn&’t gone soft. When an old gangster Jake put away some forty years ago shows up at his door, it&’s time for Jake to grab his hat and Browning automatic and get back to work. Old? Sure. Slower to catch his breath? Maybe. But, sharp as a tack and with a lifetime of investigating know-how, Jake Spanner has nothing to lose and everything to prove. Sniffing out leads between Sunset Boulevard and the Hollywood Hills, Jake pulls in old friends to help. The work is hard; it&’s gritty. So is Jake. And, with a three quarters of a million dollars ransom at stake, the bad guys don&’t stand a chance. With THE OLD DICK, author L.A. Morse creates a new kind of hero, one that laughs at death not because he&’s too young to understand it, but because it&’s right around the corner. It&’s time to face it head on and maybe go out swinging.
Vapor: A Novel
by Amanda FilipacchiThe Pygmalion myth recast by one of America&’s boldest and most bewitching storytellersAnna Graham has one ambition—to be a great actress. The only problem is, she can&’t stop being herself. She is proud, stubborn, and moody; according to her acting teacher, she needs to be as bland and pliable as warm wax. Even when she rents a Good Fairy Queen Costume—complete with crown, wand, and wig—and walks the streets of New York City until three thirty in the morning, she fails to be anyone but Anna Graham. &“Help,&” she thinks, smoking a cigarette in a deserted subway station. &“Help!&” screams a man at the other end of the platform as two attackers pull him onto the train tracks. Red pepper spray in hand, the Good Fairy Queen rushes to Damon Wetly&’s rescue—and Anna&’s wish comes true, in the oddest way imaginable.Locked inside a cage in Wetly&’s cloud-filled country home, Anna learns to do everything—walk, talk, think, eat, breathe—differently. When she finally escapes, she becomes a star—as Wetly promised she would. The new-and-improved Anna attracts plenty of admirers—including a paraplegic soap opera celebrity; the world&’s most famous supermodel; and a handsome cellist, Weight Watchers counselor, etiquette expert, and exotic dancer named Nathaniel Powers—but she only has eyes for her former captor, the creator of miniature clouds and major actresses. Just when it seems that her fairy tale ending is right around the corner, Anna&’s whole world threatens to evaporate into thin air.Fearless and fascinating, Vapor holds a funhouse mirror up to some of our deepest and most alluring notions about fame, identity, and desire.
The Dark Place (The Gideon Oliver Mysteries #2)
by Aaron ElkinsGideon Oliver earns his moniker &“The Skeleton Detective&” in this riveting entry to the Edgar Award–winning mystery series &“that never disappoints&” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Deep in the primeval rainforest of Washington State&’s Olympic Peninsula, the skeletal remains of a murdered man are discovered. And a strange, unsettling tale begins to unfold, for forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver determines that the murder weapon was a primitive bone spear of a type not seen for the last ten thousand years. And whoever—or whatever—hurled it did so with seemingly superhuman force. Bigfoot &“sightings&” immediately crop up, but Gideon is not buying them. But something is continuing to kill people, and Gideon, helped by forest ranger Julie Tendler and FBI special agent John Lau, plunges into the dark heart of an unexplored wilderness to uncover the bizarre, astonishing explanation. Fans of authors Kathy Reichs and Tess Gerritsen and television shows like Bones will be fascinated by Aaron Elkins&’s award-winning landmark forensic detective series. The Dark Place is the 2nd book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
West of January
by Dave DuncanThe Aurora Award–winning novel of a remote far-future world caught in a cycle of destruction, from the author of the Seventh Sword saga. On the distant planet of Vernier, a single day lasts an eternity. Lifetimes pass before a region fully experiences dawn, midday, and dusk. With each new daybreak comes a new generation, with no memory of the catastrophes that occurred when the sun crawled across the sky—entire civilizations scorched into oblivion. Only Vernier&’s &“angels&” possess the ancient knowledge to preserve past technologies that will save the world&’s population from the ruthless cycle of destruction. Knobil was born during the west of January among the herdsmen, a primitive culture in which the men fight to the death to preserve their own lineage. He is also the son of an &“angel,&” who left him the means to enter Heaven. It is an odyssey that will take Knobil among all the other peoples of his world—the beautiful but unthinking seafolk, the cruel slavers, the manipulative traders, the secretive spinsters—to a destiny he may die before embracing at the far end of December. Of epic scope, this is a novel of the struggle for survival in a hostile environment from the author of The Reluctant Swordsman and Portal of a Thousand Worlds, &“an expert at producing page-turning adventure&” (Locus).
Agents of Empire: English Imperial Governance and the Making of American Political Institutions
by Sean GailmardTo understand the foundations of American political institutions, it's necessary to understand the rationale for British colonial institutions that survived the empire. Political institutions in England's American colonies were neither direct imports from England, nor home-grown creations of autonomous colonists. Instead, they emerged from efforts of the English Crown to assert control over their colonies amid limited English state and military capacity. Agents of Empire explores the strategic dilemmas facing a constrained crown in its attempts to assert control. The study argues that colonial institutions emerged from the crown's management of authority delegated to agents-first companies and proprietors establishing colonies; then imperial officials governing the polities they created. The institutions remaining from these strategic dynamics form the building blocks of federalism, legislative power, separation of powers, judicial review, and other institutions that comprise the American polity today.
Lebenthal on Munis: Straight Talk About Tax-free Municipal Bonds For The Troubled Investor Deciding Yes... Or No!
by Jim LebenthalIF YOU KNEW WHAT I KNOW... Would you buy a municipal bond for the subways in New York City that&’s rated AA-, or only A? Would you care what a bond is for as long, as it&’s a general obligation backed by the issuer&’s full faith, credit, and taxing power? Would you pay 109 for a bond, a premium of $90 for every $1,000 face value, knowing you&’re going to get back only $1,000 at the end??Would it be crazy to buy a 30-year bond at age 80? Would you read &“these bonds are not a debt of the state&” as a fair warning, Buyer Beware??Tax free municipal bonds. Would you buy them at all? STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE MAN WHO PUT MUNIS ON THE MAP FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR. Would telling you the whole story about investing in municipal bonds, and making sure you know the risks involved, kill the sale? &“I&’ll take my chances,&” says Jim (Municipal Bonds Are My Babies) Lebenthal. For 45 years, Jim Lebenthal wrote and starred in the Lebenthal family&’s municipal bond business commercials - information nuggets that educated the public and turned munis into a household word, wherever his face and voice were seen and heard. Outraged by what Wall Street had done to the financial markets with reckless abandon, and Bernie Madoff with malice aforethought, Jim gives equal time in Lebenthal On Munis…Deciding, "Yes…" or "No!" to the Whys and Why Nots for investing in his "babies." "Balancing the heady appeal of tax exemption with the payment record of municipal bonds in the Depression and the volatility of resale prices during the inflation tortured '70s and '80s, isn&’t optional for a broker," says Lebenthal. "Full Disclosure is the law." In Lebenthal on Munis, Jim carries out that law, even if Full Disclosure means turning Jim and his babies, thumbs down. DECIDING, "YES…" OR "NO!"
Drifter's Run (Pik Lando #2)
by William C. DietzA smuggler goes on the lam in space in this fast-paced adventure by the New York Times–bestselling author of Halo: The Flood. Even smuggling has rules. The second is: Don&’t let your guard down. Meet Pik Lando, a con artist and a ladies man, a total professional who&’ll chase across the galaxies for his clients—and he&’ll usually find plenty of action and danger too. In Drifter&’s Run, he takes a job piloting a space tug, figuring he could lay low from a cyborg hell bent on finding you. Suddenly Lando is too popular—the government wants his head and a beautiful bounty hunter wants his body. So much for life as fugitive. Don&’t miss Lando&’s other adventures, Drifter and Drifter&’s War.
Classicism of the Twenties: Art, Music, & Literature
by Theodore ZiolkowskiThe triumph of avant-gardes in the 1920s tends to dominate our discussions of the music, art, and literature of the period. But the broader current of modernism encompassed many movements, and one of the most distinct and influential was a turn to classicism. In Classicism of the Twenties, Theodore Ziolkowski offers a compelling account of that movement. Giving equal attention to music, art, and literature, and focusing in particular on the works of Stravinsky, Picasso, and T. S. Eliot, he shows how the turn to classicism manifested itself. In reaction both to the excesses of neoromanticism and early modernism and to the horrors of World War I—and with respectful detachment—artists, writers, and composers adapted themes and forms from the past and tried to imbue their own works with the values of simplicity and order that epitomized earlier classicisms. By identifying elements common to all three arts, and carefully situating classicism within the broader sweep of modernist movements, Ziolkowski presents a refreshingly original view of the cultural life of the 1920s.
Applause: Poems
by Carol Muske-DukesNational Book Award finalist Carol Muske-Dukes explores joy, dread, and the solitary communion of applauseApplause provides twenty vivid and evocative poems by Carol Muske-Dukes. In &“Dream,&” she seeks the past in reverie, along with bicoastal riffs on New York City and Los Angeles. &“The Eulogy&” paints the scene of a funeral in sunny California where a young man who has died of AIDS is laid to rest. In the title poem, a twelve-part journey through the ritual of applause, Muske-Dukes examines the power of a gesture—clapping—to transform oneself from individual to communal. &“What a strange phenomenon,&” she says, &“to be single and plural at once, to feel joy and dread simultaneously, to wish to acknowledge publicly one&’s anonymity.&”
Rogue Law
by Paul LedererRun off his land, a rancher is forced to take the most dangerous job in town: marshalJulius Lang is chatting with the marshal when the killers ride down Main Street, and he doesn&’t have time to reach for his gun before a storm of bullets cuts the lawman down. This is the fourth marshal Montero has lost this year, and the townspeople want Lang to be the fifth. He&’d rather return to the safety of his failing ranch, but when a brassy young San Francisco woman comes and claims his land as her own, he&’s left with no choice but to take the badge—and be measured for a coffin along with it.The killers who run this town expect Lang to be just another pushover, but he&’s ready to surprise them. This rancher has lost everything, and he will kill to get it back.
Jack Iron (The Medal #6)
by Kerry NewcombTo save New Orleans from the British, a soldier makes a pact with a pirateIn 1815, the fate of the young American nation will be determined at New Orleans. As the British mass their forces at the mouth of the Mississippi, General Andrew Jackson accepts volunteers from all over the country to help defend the Crescent City from invasion. And of all the ragtag men who heed Jackson&’s call to arms, there is no fighter fiercer than the swashbuckling adventurer known as Kit McQueen.While surveying fortifications south of the city, Kit is ambushed and then abandoned by his closest friend, who returns to New Orleans to steal away the woman Kit loves. With the British in front of him and a traitorous comrade at his rear, Kit finds an unlikely ally: the pirate king Jean Lafitte. His army of freebooters will give their all to save Kit&’s country and rescue his beloved—but what price will these scoundrels demand?
The Stone Mage & the Sea: First Book Of The Change (Books of the Change #1)
by Sean WilliamsThe Stone Mages rule the huge deserts of red sand. The vast coastlines are ruled by Sky Wardens. Magic is everywhere, but not all have the power to control and direct it. Any child found to have magical ability is sent to the Haunted City to be trained in the Change.On the coast of the Strand, Sal and his father arrive in the small, apparently normal town of Fundelry, where the locals are suspicious of newcomers and of anyone who stands out or appears different. Sal and his father are on the run from an unnamed someone . . . or something. When a local bully attacks Sal, he is rescued by Shilly and her teacher, Lodo. Lodo is marked with mysterious tattoos and seems to know a lot more about Sal than Sal knows about himself. Sal&’s father wants to stay, but the Sky Wardens will be coming and Sal needs to learn what connection Lodo had with his mother and what fate seems to have been chosen for him before he was even born.
The Road to Victory: The Untold Story Of Race And World War Ii's Red Ball Express
by David P. ColleyThis &“important contribution to WWII history&” reveals the trucking convoy, manned by unsung black soldiers, who helped defeat the Nazis (Publishers Weekly). After the D-Day landings in Normandy, Allied forces faced a golden opportunity—and a critical challenge. They had broken across enemy lines, but there was no infrastructure to supply troops as they pushed into Germany. The US Army improvised a perilous solution: a convoy of trucks marked with red balls that would carry desperately needed ammunition, rations, and fuel deep into occupied Europe. The so-called Red Ball Express lasted eighty-one days and, at its height, numbered nearly six thousand trucks. The mission risked attacks by the Luftwaffe and German ground forces, making it one of the GIs&’ most daring gambits. Without the soldiers who successfully executed this operation, World War II would have dragged on in Europe at a terrible cost of Allied lives. Yet the service of these brave drivers, most of whom were African American, has been largely overlooked by history. The first book-length study of the subject, The Road to Victory chronicles the exploits of these soldiers in vivid detail. It&’s a story of a fight not only against the Nazis, but against an enemy closer to home: racism.
Drifter (Pik Lando #1)
by William C. DietzAn interplanetary smuggler gets caught up with revolutionaries in this action-packed novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Legion of the Damned. Even smuggling has rules. The first is: Don&’t get caught. Meet Pik Lando, a con artist and a ladies man, a total professional who'll chase across the galaxies for his clients—and he'll usually find plenty of action and danger too. In Drifter, Lando is hired by a beautiful woman to a job on a world called Angel, and in the process she cannot resist his charms. That would be nice, except for the deadly group of revolutionaries hell-bent on war. Don&’t miss Lando&’s other adventures, Drifter&’s War and Drifter&’s Run.
Suspicion of Betrayal (The Suspicion Series #4)
by Barbara ParkerAttorney Gail Connors must look to her past to discover who is threatening her family this &“gripping . . . riveting thriller&” (Publishers Weekly). Gail finally has everything she wants—a home to call her own, a growing private law practice, and a loving man in lawyer Anthony Quintana. But life is never perfect: the house needs massive renovations, her professional life is getting out of control, she&’s in the middle of a custody case with her ex, and Quintana&’s murky past continues to disturb her. Then Gail receives a series of mysterious phone calls and obscene letters threatening violence, torture, and death. The target: not Gail herself, but her ten-year-old daughter, Karen. Gail knows she&’s made enemies in her line of work. But now someone is threatening her little girl. And her tormentors are about to learn that there is no limit to how far Gail is willing to go to keep her family safe. Written by an Edgar Award finalist and former prosecutor, &“Suspicion of Betrayal works as a thriller, a psychological suspense novel, a mystery and a romance as well as an examination of cultural clashes [with] believable, realistic characters stylishly shaped&” (South FloridaSun-Sentinel). Suspicion of Betrayal is the 4th book in the Suspicion series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
In High Places (Vib Ser.)
by Arthur Hailey#1 New York Times bestselling author Arthur Hailey takes readers into the highest echelons of government as two nations&’ leaders prepare for a third world warA call from the US president to Canada&’s prime minister . . . An intimate reception at the Ottawa residence of Her Majesty&’s governor general . . . The arrival of a ship in Vancouver. Three seemingly unrelated events three thousand miles apart upset the balance of global power and alter the landscape of the free world. As Canada&’s prime minister, James Howden, works to ensure his nation&’s survival in a nuclear war, he faces another threat: a lawyer on a crusade for justice and truth. With two nations struggling to keep a lid on an explosive secret, Howden will undergo a crisis of conscience that leaves him fighting for his political life.At once an electrifying novel of international politics during the Cold War and a cautionary tale about what can happen when men believe they are above the law, In High Places is Arthur Hailey&’s personal favorite of all his works.
The Art of Death (The Allerton Avenue Precinct Novels #2)
by Richard FliegelStuck in traffic on the Cross-Bronx Expressway, Detective Sergeant Shelly Lowenkopf finds himself in the middle of an apparent attack by young black Indians with rubber-tipped arrows when another motorist fires back. Shelly takes the shooter down to the station, where he learns that the event was a staged performance, one in a series of events arranged by performance artists competing for a prize around the Bronx. To the surprise of both the police and the artist, the blanks in the rifle have been replaced with real bullets. Someone is turning performance art into the art of death. The Art of Death is the 2nd book in the Allerton Avenue Precinct Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Song of Kali (Gateway Essentials Ser.)
by Dan SimmonsThe World Fantasy Award winner by the author of the Hyperion Cantos and Carrion Comfort: An American finds himself encircled by horrors in Calcutta. Praised by Dean Koontz as &“the best novel in the genre I can remember,&” Song of Kali follows an American magazine editor who journeys to the brutally bleak, poverty-stricken Indian city in search of a manuscript by a mysterious poet—but instead is drawn into an encounter with the cult of Kali, goddess of death. A chilling voyage into the squalor and violence of the human condition, this novel is considered by many to be the best work by the author of The Terror, who has been showered with accolades, including the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and the Hugo Award.