- Table View
- List View
This Side of Innocence: A Novel
by Taylor Caldwell#1 New York Times Bestseller: A saga of power, greed, and illicit love set in the Gilded Age of upstate New York. Jerome Lindsey and his foster brother, Alfred, couldn&’t be more different. The son of a wealthy banker in upstate New York, Jerome leaves home for a life of extravagance and adventure, seducing countless women along the way. Meanwhile, Alfred becomes an executive at the family bank and his adoptive father&’s heir apparent. After his wife dies, Alfred shows little interest in remarrying—until he meets Amalie Maxwell, the ravishing and headstrong daughter of a tenant farmer. Fearing that his inheritance is at stake, Jerome returns home to expose Amalie as a shameless gold digger. But the more he schemes against her, the closer he&’s drawn to her. Now, Jerome and Amalie will discover the thin line between love and hate—and that a moment of passion can have a lifetime&’s worth of consequences. A mesmerizing tale of forbidden desire and a brilliant portrait of small-town America during the Reconstruction Era, This Side of Innocence is &“a masterful piece of storytelling&” from one of the twentieth century&’s most beloved authors (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Andy Warhol's Factory People: Welcome to the Silver Factory, Speeding into the Future, and Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up (Andy Warhol's Factory People #2)
by Catherine O'Sullivan ShorrBased on the television documentary: A three-part oral history of the Pop Art sensation&’s inner circle and their dazzling world of art, drugs, and drama. Featuring a new introduction by the author, special to this collection, this three-part companion volume to Emmy Award–winning Catherine O&’Sullivan Shorr&’s documentary Andy Warhol&’s Factory People is an unprecedented exposé of an exhilarating and tumultuous time in the 1960s New York City art world—told by the artists, actors, writers, musicians, and hangers-on who populated and defined the Factory. &“Different [in] its avowed bottom-up approach: Warhol as a function of his followers is the idea. This time . . . it&’s the interviews that tell the tale&” (Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times). Welcome to the Silver Factory: In 1962, frustrated with advertising work, Warhol sets up his legendary studio in an abandoned hat factory on Manhattan&’s 47th Street. The &“Silver Factory&” quickly becomes the hub of Warhol&’s creative endeavors—the space where he constantly works while an ever-changing cast of characters and muses passes through with their own contributions. Speeding into the Future: In a peak period from 1965 through 1966, Warhol creates the notion of the &“It Girl&” with ingenuous debutante Edie Sedgwick; discovers Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, and Nico, the gorgeous chanteuse who becomes his next &“It Girl&”; and directs—with Paul Morrissey—his most commercially successful film, the art house classic, Chelsea Girls. Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up: By 1967, it seems that the Factory has outlived its fifteen minutes of fame. Superstars like Edie Sedgwick fall victim to drugs. Factory denizens have falling-outs with Warhol, as do the Velvet Underground, who are also caught up in disputes of their own. Into the chaos comes radical feminist Valerie Solanas, who shoots Warhol and seriously injures him. He survives—barely—but the artist, and his art, are forever changed.
The Benny Kramer Novels: Fourth Street East, Last Respects, and Tiffany Street (The Benny Kramer Novels #3)
by Jerome WeidmanA New York native looks back on his Lower East Side youth in a trilogy from the New York Times–bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright. After making a splash with his first novel, I Can Get It for You Wholesale—published in 1937 and praised by the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald—Jerome Weidman had a long and prolific career as a fiction writer and playwright. In the 1970s he published three wise, funny, and nostalgic novels about the Lower East Side roots of a colorful character named Benny Kramer. For the first time, the trilogy is available in a single volume, with a foreword by Alistair Cooke. Fourth Street East: When Benny Kramer&’s father came to the United States, he was hungry, broke, and ignorant. Handed a banana and told it was &“American food,&” he scarfed it down, peel and all. By the time he died, he was no richer, but much wiser, and everything he learned he imparted to his son. Growing up on New York&’s Lower East Side between the wars, Benny&’s life was just as chaotic as his neighborhood. How many young boys have seen a man decapitated by a horse? How many know blacksmiths who got tangled up in a multiple homicide? How many win an elocution contest, only to find out it was rigged by the mob? For Benny, these are everyday events, remembered with biting wit and fond affection. &“This is all much more than noodle soup nostalgia—there&’s humor, and stamina, and if middle age has rubbed off here and there, it has also lent a certain wisdom.&” —Kirkus Reviews Last Respects: For most of his life, Benny Kramer&’s mother was an inescapable presence in his life. But on the day of her death, her body disappears on its way from hospital to morgue. While scouring New York in search of her body, Benny remembers the first adventure his mother sent him on, fifty years before. At the height of Prohibition, his mother gives him a simple task: deliver eighteen bottles of bootlegged hooch to a wedding. Along the way, the would-be rumrunner encounters sinister slumlords, a sadistic rabbi, and enough slapstick obstacles to give the Marx Brothers fits. Reliving each moment as he searches for his mother, Benny comes to understand that this is just another day in the life of a boy desperate to find his mother&’s love. &“The last respects are paid with comic tumult and an acute compassion. Weidman at the apex.&” —Kirkus Reviews Tiffany Street: Though his trip from New York to Philadelphia is for business, Benny Kramer has also planned a rendezvous—not with a mistress, but with one of the city&’s finest doctors. Kramer plans to enlist him in a noble purpose: keeping his son out of Vietnam. The doctor won&’t provide this service to just anyone, but he and Benny have a mutual friend in the incomparable Sebastian Roon. Benny and Seb have been friends since the Depression, when they shared countless adventures across New York&’s Lower East Side. Now Benny&’s counting on that friendship to ensure the same life of endless possibilities for his son. &“Highly readable.&” —Chicago Tribune
The Post-War Trilogy: After Midnight, The Last Sunrise, and Dying Day (The Post-War Trilogy #2)
by Robert RyanThree post–World War II adventure novels inspired by real events—from an acclaimed British author who &“skillfully blends fact with fiction&” (Time Out London). After Midnight: Ryan&’s novel, based on a true story, begins with a letter from Australian bomber pilot Bill Carr to his daughter on her first birthday in 1944. That same day, he takes off on a mission over the mountains of Northern Italy and is never heard from again. Twenty years later, Lindy Carr arrives in Italy to find out what happened to her father. Her guide is Jack Kirby, a daredevil motorcycle racer and pilot who flew Mosquito fighters in the war and spent time among the Italian partisans. What Jack and Lindy uncover in the Italian Alps will change both their lives forever. &“Ryan&’s mastery of 1940s detail and his ability to discover intriguing but unvisited byways of the war can be taken for granted; but the more recent storyline shows him equally adept at handling a 1960s setting.&” —The Sunday Times The Last Sunrise: The real history of World War II&’s most daring fighter squadron is the inspiration for this riveting novel of adventure and romance in the Far East. In 1941, Lee Crane was a Flying Tiger, one of dozens of American pilots recruited to join the Chinese Air Force in the fight against the Japanese. Wild in the air and on the ground, the Tigers broke hearts all over Burma, and Crane was no different—until he fell in love with a stunning Anglo-Indian widow. But in the chaos of war, Crane lost track of the woman of his dreams, and spent the next seven years convincing himself it wasn&’t meant to be. Now a chance encounter with another long-lost beauty has him ready to plunge back into the past, praying he will come up with a different answer this time. &“The flying scenes are brilliantly handled. Ryan&’s research is impressive. . . . Bold and successful.&” —The Sunday Times Dying Day: In this Cold War spy thriller based on actual case files, a woman is willing to do whatever it takes to bring her sister home. In the darkest days of World War II, Laura McGill and her sister, Diana, ventured behind enemy lines on behalf of Britain&’s Special Operations Executive. Now it is 1948, four years since Diana disappeared inside occupied France, and Laura has reached a point of desperation that leads her to kidnap the head clerk of the SOE at gunpoint to learn the name of the spy who ran her sister&’s last mission. That spy, James Hadley Webb, will take Laura to the divided city of Berlin, where he is waging a shadow war of influence and intrigue—and losing. Laura&’s arrival may be just what Webb needs to stop his agents from dying. &“Thrilling post war espionage action.&” —Tatler
The Novels of Iris Murdoch Volume Three: A Word Child, An Unofficial Rose, and Bruno's Dream
by Iris MurdochFrom the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea, the Sea and &“one of the most significant novelists of her generation&” (The Guardian). A &“consummate storyteller,&” British author Iris Murdoch grappled with questions of morality as well as the nature of love in novels that are every bit as entertaining as they are thought provoking (The Independent). Over the span of her career, the &“prodigiously inventive&” Murdoch was the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the Whitbread Literary Award, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (The New York Times). A Word Child: Twenty years ago, Hilary Burde was one of the most promising scholars at Oxford, a student with a rare talent for linguistics and an unquenchable drive—until the accident. Now, forty-one and a decidedly ordinary failure, Hilary finds his quietly angry routine shattered when his old professor reappears—a man whose own demons are tied to Hilary&’s and the tragedy from years ago. As the two men begin to circle each other again, digging up old wrongs and seeking forgiveness for long-buried ills, they find themselves on a path that will either grant them both redemption or end in their mutual destruction. &“Marvelous . . . riveting . . . fine and elegant.&” —Los Angeles Times An Unofficial Rose: Hugh Peronett&’s life is tinged with regret: Twenty-five years ago, he ended an affair with Emma Sands, a detective novelist who had stolen his heart, to be with his wife, Fanny. Now Fanny is gone, and both Hugh and his grown son, Randall, find themselves at a crossroads of passion and righteousness. As Hugh, Emma, Randall, Randall&’s wife, Randall&’s mistress, and several others are caught in a dance of romance and rejection in bucolic rural England, they search for the true meanings of love, companionship, and desire. &“[A] Shakespearean comedy of misaligned lovers, minus the spirits and potions. Here the characters are responsible for their own actions, and Murdoch delights in painting these young, middle-aged and elderly adventurers and the psychological processes that direct their actions.&” —Publishers Weekly Bruno&’s Dream: With not much time left to live, Bruno makes a final request to those who care for him: He wishes to see his estranged son, Miles, once more. After decades of broken contact due to Miles marrying a woman Bruno once found unsuitable, the prodigal son returns home—and finds himself confronting much more than a dying man&’s last demand. As Miles; his wife and his sister-in-law; Bruno&’s son-in-law, Danby; and Bruno&’s nurses and aides gather at this deathbed vigil, they become entangled in a web of affairs. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Bruno&’s Dream explores the turbulent passions and bitter grudges that will change them all—even long after Bruno is gone. &“Murdoch is in command of her talents . . . above all there are the transcending elements of passion and profundity on the subjects of death and love beautifully articulated in dramatic action.&” —The New York Times
Tender Victory: A Novel
by Taylor CaldwellNew York Times Bestseller: The &“touching and effective&” story of an American minister who returns home from WWII with five orphaned Holocaust survivors (The New York Times). Rev. Johnny Fletcher serves wounded soldiers from the battlefield as a military chaplain during World War II. His forté is spiritual solace in the darkest of times, but his life changes when he performs a public heroic act: facing down an angry mob intent on attacking five young Holocaust survivors. Upon learning they have no homes or families to return to, Fletcher decides to bring them to America. To his dismay, his coal-mining community of Barryfield, Pennsylvania, greets this makeshift family with prejudice and distrust. Beneath the town&’s placid surface run buried religious divisions. Fletcher&’s commitment to raising the children according to their individual faiths—two Protestant, two Catholic, and one Jewish—meets with horrific levels of intolerance. Dealing with such prejudice turns more sinister still when a local newspaper publisher cynically uses the story for his own purposes. Together with Lorry Summerfield, the beautiful, disillusioned daughter of Barryfield&’s most powerful figure, Fletcher must try to awaken the townspeople to the better angels of their nature before it&’s too late.
SAS Ghost Patrol: The Ultra-Secret Unit That Posed as Nazi Stormtroopers
by Damien LewisAn &“amazing&” account of Britain&’s most audacious act of subterfuge in WWII: an undercover raid of Rommel&’s stronghold in Tobruk (The Daily Mirror). On a scorching September day in 1942, the Special Air Service (SAS), a special forces unit of the British Army, pulled off one of the most daring, top-secret ruses of the Second World War. The plan (sanctioned by Churchill): cover a grueling two thousand miles of the Sahara desert to attack German general Erwin Rommel&’s seemingly impregnable port fortress in North Africa from the rear to break free and arm more than thirty thousand Allied POWs. Led by Capt. Herbert Buck and posing as Afrika Korps soldiers complete with German uniforms and weaponry, the crew broke into the enemy stronghold Trojan Horse–style as part of the coordinated attack on Tobruk. &“Intensively researched . . . powerfully written,&” and culled from the private diaries of the do-or-die maverick heroes, this extraordinary story of the sneak attack on the notorious Desert Fox is more thrilling than any fiction. A bold, outrageous, and rule-shattering mission impossible, SAS Ghost Patrol is &“one of the great untold stories of WWII&” (Bear Grylls).
The Barbara Pym Collection Volume Two: Less Than Angels and No Fond Return of Love
by Barbara PymTwo literary romantic novels from the New York Times–bestselling author of Excellent Women. Less Than Angels: In a story that explores the mating habits of humans, magazine writer Catherine Oliphant lives comfortably with anthropologist Tom Mallow—until he announces he&’s leaving her for a nineteen-year-old student. Though stunned by the betrayal, Catherine becomes fascinated by another anthropologist: a reclusive eccentric recently returned from Africa. Now Catherine must weigh her options and decide who she is and what she really wants. No Fond Return of Love: The course of true love does not run smoothly in this delightful comedy of manners set in 1960s London. Jilted by her fiancé, Dulcie Mainwaring gives up on ever finding true love. Of course, that doesn&’t stop her from meddling in the romantic lives of others. Her friend Viola is enamored with a handsome editor, who in turn has eyes for Dulcie&’s young niece. Dulcie, meanwhile, for all her struggles may be falling back into love again.
The Novels of Jimmy Breslin: World Without End, Amen; The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight; Table Money; and Forsaking All Others
by Jimmy BreslinTough, funny, moving fiction from the New York Times–bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist. Jimmy Breslin was not only &“the biggest, the baddest, the brashest, the best columnist in New York City,&” he was also an outstanding New York Times–bestselling novelist, equally comfortable with comedy and tragedy, often intermixing the two (New YorkDaily News). Collected here are four of his best-loved novels, including three New York Times bestsellers. World Without End, Amen: Hoping to find redemption, disgraced, alcoholic NYPD cop Dermot Davey travels to Ulster—the heart of the increasingly bloody Irish Troubles—to find the father who abandoned him as a child, in this New York Times bestseller. &“Excellent . . . Breslin writes prose in a New York idiom with a shrewdness all his own.&” —The New York Times The Gang That Couldn&’t Shoot Straight: Breslin&’s New York Times–bestselling, madcap novel of the sloppiest turf war ever launched by the Brooklyn mob was the basis for the hilarious movie starring Jerry Orbach as the witless Kid Sally Palumbo and a young pre–Godfather II Robert De Niro. &“A very funny novel . . . and a good one.&” —The Village Voice Table Money: This New York Times bestseller &“about flesh-and-blood working people&” is the story of Owney Morrison, a Vietnam vet who returns home to Queens with a Congressional Medal of Honor and few prospects (Studs Terkel). Owney takes up the family legacy as a sandhog—a tunnel worker. But when his drinking gets out of control, his wife Dolores considers leaving with their baby daughter rather than being dragged down by a man who feels safest one hundred feet below the street. &“[A] serious literary novel, a superior work of fiction.&” —The New York Times Forsaking All Others: Puerto Rican drug dealer Teenager will stop at nothing to dominate the South Bronx narcotics trade—but a scorching affair between a crime boss&’s daughter who&’s literally married to the mob and Teenager&’s childhood friend, legal aid lawyer Maximo Escobar, threatens to ruin the entire operation. Before it&’s all over, the South Bronx is going to burn. &“A novel of considerable complexity and richness.&” —Chicago Tribune
The Collected Novels Volume One: Jumping the Queue, The Camomile Lawn, and Harnessing Peacocks
by Mary WesleyThree touching contemporary British novels of love, loss, and humor from the international bestselling &“virtuoso&” (The Times, London). Jumping the Queue: This masterpiece of wit, humor, and psychological suspense tells the story of a middle-aged widow who has had it with life. She puts her papers in order, gives away her pet goose, packs a picnic lunch, and heads to the beach to drown herself—only to meet a criminal on the run who has the same idea. Together they set out on adventure in this novel about the hidden costs of love and death. The Camomile Lawn: In this international bestseller, several cousins reunite after forty years to lay one of their own to rest. Together they recall their last carefree summer—and one hot August night in 1939 before the war began. They also reflect on the chaos that followed . . . and how it changed their lives forever. Harnessing Peacocks: Single mother Hebe juggles numerous lovers while working as a manor house chef to pay for her son&’s schooling. When her two worlds collide, a secret from the past leads to a final showdown with a man who&’s in search for his lost love in this captivating and sensual novel.
Meridian and The Third Life of Grange Copeland: The Color Purple; Meridian; And The Third Life Of Grange Copeland
by Alice WalkerThe highly acclaimed first two novels by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple and &“a lavishly gifted writer&” (The New York Times Book Review). The first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for The Color Purple—which also won the National Book Award and was adapted into both an award–winning film starring Whoopi Goldberg and a Tony Award–winning Broadway musical—New York Times–bestselling author Alice Walker is without question &“one of [our] best American writers&” (The Washington Post). Before her success with The Color Purple, Walked penned the two powerful and unforgettable novels collected here. Meridian: This &“classic novel of both feminism and the Civil Rights movement&” is the story of Meridian Hill, who, as she approaches the end of her teen years, has already married, divorced, and given birth to a son (Ms. Magazine). She&’s looking for a second chance, and at a small college outside Atlanta, Georgia, in the early 1960s, she becomes involved in the Civil Rights movement. So fully does the cause guide her life that she&’s willing to sacrifice virtually anything to help transform the conditions of a people whose subjugation she shares. &“Beautifully presented and utterly convincing.&” —The New Yorker &“A fine, taut novel . . . Remarkable.&” —The New York Times Book Review The Third Life of Grange Copeland: In Walker&’s debut novel, Grange Copeland, a deeply conflicted and struggling tenant farmer in the Deep South of the 1930s, leaves his family and everything he&’s ever known to find happiness and respect in the cold cities of the North. This misadventure, his &“second life,&” proves a dismal failure that sends him back where he came from to confront his now-grown-up son&’s disastrous relationships with his own family, including Grange&’s granddaughter, Ruth Copeland, a child Grange grows to love. Love becomes the substance of his third and final life. He spends it in devotion to Ruth, teaching and protecting her—though the cost of doing so is almost more than he can bear. &“[A] splendid novel.&” —Chicago Tribune &“A solid, honest sensitive tale . . . leavened by those moments of humor and warmth that have enabled men and women to endure so much tragedy.&” —Chicago Daily News
Selected Travel Writing: Journey Without Maps and The Lawless Roads
by Graham GreeneA pair of revelatory travel memoirs from &“a superb storyteller . . . [who] had a talent for depicting local color&” (The New York Times). &“One of the finest writers of any language,&” British author Graham Greene embarked on two awe-inspiring and eye-opening journeys in the 1930s—to West Africa and to Mexico (The Washington Post). Greene would find himself both shaken and inspired by these trips, which would go on to inform his novels. Journey Without Maps: When Graham Greene set off from Liverpool in 1935 for what was then an Africa unmarked by colonization, it was to leave the known transgressions of his own civilization behind for those unknown. First by cargo ship, then by train and truck through Sierra Leone, and finally on foot, Greene embarked on a dangerous and unpredictable 350-mile, four-week trek through Liberia with his cousin and a handful of servants and bearers into a world where few had ever seen a white man. For Greene, this odyssey became as much a trip into the primitive interiors of the writer himself as it was a physical journey into a land foreign to his experience. &“One of the best travel books [of the twentieth] century.&” —The Independent The Lawless Roads: This eyewitness account of religious and political persecution in 1930s Mexico inspired The Power and the Glory, the British novelist&’s &“masterpiece&” (John Updike). In 1938, Greene, a burgeoning convert to Roman Catholicism, was commissioned to expose the anticlerical purges in Mexico. Churches had been destroyed, peasants held secret masses in their homes, religious icons were banned, and priests disappeared. Traveling under the growing clouds of fascism, Greene was anxious to see for himself the effect it had on the people. Journeying through the rugged and remote terrain of Chiapas and Tabasco, Greene&’s emotional, gut response to the landscape; the sights and sounds; the oppressive heat; and the people&’s fear, despair, resignation, and fierce resilience makes for a vivid and powerful chronicle. &“[A] singularly beautiful travel book.&” —New Statesman
The Collected Novels Volume Two: A Charmed Life, The Groves of Academe, and Cannibals and Missionaries
by Mary McCarthySharply observed literary fiction from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Group and a &“delightfully polished writer&” (The Atlantic Monthly). New York Times–bestselling author Mary McCarthy wrote with &“an icily honest eye and a glacial wit that make her portraits stingingly memorable&” (The New York Times). From a trenchant portrait of marriage to an academic satire to an unconventional thriller, the three novels in this collection show the range of an author possessed of &“an uncanny flair for fastening on detail that has an electric impact on the reader&” (The Atlantic Monthly). A Charmed Life: In this New York Times bestseller, former actress and budding playwright Martha Sinnott longs to recapture the &“charmed life&” she abandoned when she divorced her first husband. So she returns to her beloved New England artists&’ colony with her second spouse. But her arrogant ex, Miles, lives dangerously close by with his new wife. And in a pervasive atmosphere of falsehoods and self-delusions, the biggest lie of all is Martha&’s belief that her reunion with Miles won&’t somehow wreak terrible havoc on all she holds dear. &“A glittering tragedy.&” —The New York Times The Groves of Academe: College instructor Henry Mulcahy embarks on a fanatical quest to save his job—and enact righteous revenge—in this &“brilliantly stinging&” satire of university politics during the early Cold War years (The New York Times). &“Brilliant . . . Bitterly tongue-in-cheek.&” —The New Yorker Cannibals and Missionaries: En route to Iran, a plane is hijacked by Middle Eastern terrorists intent on holding hostage the politicians, religious leaders, and activists on a mission to investigate charges of human rights violations by the Shah. Soon the kidnappers discover a greater treasure onboard: prominent art collectors with access to some of the world&’s most valuable paintings—which could fund global terrorism. As both captors and captives confront bitter truths about their conflicting values and ideologies, the clock races toward an explosive endgame. &“Tense, intelligent entertainment.&” —Chicago Tribune
Dispatches Volume One: What Men Don't Tell Women; One Fell Soup; and Camels Are Easy, Comedy's Hard
by Roy Blount Jr.Laugh-out-loud observations from &“America&’s foremost humorist&” (Chicago Tribune). What Men Don&’t Tell Women: Well, that&’s just for starters. Roy Blount Jr. realized that nearly all of his writing involved things people don&’t tell people: what Southerners don&’t tell Northerners, what the sick don&’t want to hear from the well, what no one would ever tell their mother, and what authors rarely admit to their readers. That all changes in this &“honest . . . funny&” collection of confessional essays about sex, friendship, marriage, male bonding, female patience, and Elvis (The Boston Globe). One Fell Soup: A deliciously funny stew of reviews, diatribes, investigations, meditations, assorted grumblings, and verse about the absurdities of American life, death, fears, and ambition. Included in these fifty-nine easy pieces: the truth (as Blount sees it) about nudism, cricket-fighting, bowling, macaroni and cheese, black holes and black socks, nuclear holocausts, the CIA, domesticated fowl, pork bellies, God, and more. The whole shebang from &“one of the most clever (see sly, witty, cunning, nimble) wordsmiths cavorting in the English language&” (Carl Hiaasen). Camels Are Easy, Comedy&’s Hard: Flesh-eating piranha! Synchronized swimming! Rubber chickens! Edith Wharton! Crossword puzzles! All and then some in this giddy compendium of essays, celebrity profiles, silly games, and side trips. Parts sports journalism, literary criticism, travel writing, and aborted novel, tossed with a few poems and a neo-Biblical one-act play, this is an uproarious—and sometimes heartening—anthology of adventures from &“one writer who never fails to please&” (The Village Voice).
Hunting the Nazi Bomb: The Special Forces Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Deadliest Weapon
by Damien LewisA &“gripping&” and &“heart-stopping&” account of the combined Norwegian and British sabotage raids to stop Hitler from making an atomic bomb (Saul David, Evening Standard). Nothing terrified the Allies more than Adolf Hitler&’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon. In a heavy water production plant in occupied Norway, the Führer was well on his way to possessing the raw materials to manufacture the bomb. British Special Operations Executive (SOE)—Churchill&’s infamous &“Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare&”—working with the Norwegian resistance executed a series of raids in the winter of 1942–43, dropping saboteurs to destroy Hitler&’s potential nuclear capability: operations Musketoon, Grouse, Freshman, and finally Gunnerside, in which a handful of intrepid Norwegians scaled a 600-foot cliff to blow the heavy water plant to smithereens. Nothing less than the security of the free world depended on their success. The basis for the movie, The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris, this true story is more harrowing than any thriller, and &“Lewis does the memory of these extraordinary men full justice in a tale that is both heart-stopping and moving&” (Saul David, Evening Standard).
The Posner Files: Case Closed and Killing the Dream
by Gerald PosnerDefinitive accounts of JFK&’s and Martin Luther King&’s assassinations by a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times–bestselling author. Case Closed: A Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestseller, Case Closed is a vivid and straightforward account that stands as one of the most authoritative books on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Drawing from official sources and dozens of interviews, filled with powerful historical detail, and including an updated comment for the fiftieth anniversary, Posner&’s &“utterly convincing&” book lays to rest all of the convoluted conspiracy theories—concerning the mafia, a second shooter, and the CIA—that have obscured what really happened in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963 (Chicago Tribune). &“By far the most lucid and compelling account . . . of what probably did happen in Dallas—and what almost certainly did not.&” —The New York Times Book Review Killing the Dream: On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr., was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, by a single assassin&’s bullet. James Earl Ray was seen fleeing from a rooming house that overlooked the hotel balcony where King was shot. An international manhunt ended two months later with Ray&’s capture. Though Ray initially pled guilty, he quickly recanted and for the rest of his life insisted he was an unwitting pawn in a grand conspiracy. In Killing the Dream, expert investigative reporter Gerald Posner cuts through phony witnesses, false claims, and a web of misinformation to put Ray&’s conspiracy theory to rest and disclose what really happened the day King was murdered. &“A superb book: a model of investigation, meticulous in its discovery and presentation of evidence, unbiased in its exploration of every claim. And it is a wonderfully readable book, as gripping as a first-class detective story.&” —The New York Times
Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey Into the Unknown
by Bruce Henderson Gordon Cooper&“An exciting insider&’s look at Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo . . . NASA&’s internal politics, disasters, glitches and close calls&” by a pioneering astronaut (Publishers Weekly). Gordon &“Gordo&” Cooper was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, pilot for Apollo X, head of flight crew operations for the United States&’ first orbiting space station, and the last American to venture into space alone. Stretching from the dawning days of NASA to the far reaches of the unknown, Cooper&’s distinguished career as a record-setting astronaut helped shape America&’s space program and blazed a trail for generations to come. In this astonishing memoir—written with #1 New York Times bestseller Bruce Henderson—Cooper crosses paths with such aviation luminaries as Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun; he shares his early days at Edwards Air Force Base and the endeavors that became the basis for The Right Stuff; he takes us inside NASA with candid accounts of his defeats and accomplishments; he reflects on the triumphs and tragedies of his heroic colleagues; and he finally reveals the reasons behind his belief in extraterrestrial intelligence, including the US military&’s long-standing UFO cover-ups. Buckle yourself in for a breathtaking ride because in Leap of Faith, Gordon Cooper takes readers to places they&’ve never been before.
The Turnbulls: A Novel
by Taylor CaldwellThe &“darkly exuberant and passionate&” saga of a man who flees Victorian England in disgrace—only to build an empire of corruption in America (The New York Times). The son of a wealthy English merchant, John Turnbull&’s destiny appears to be a life of gentlemanly leisure. His path: graduate from his fashionable school and marry his beautiful cousin, Eugenia, whom he loves. Yet, one wild night, a jealous classmate tricks him into making a fateful mistake. Forced to give up his former life, Turnbull sails for America. He soon falls in with the unscrupulous businessman Mr. Wilkins. Together, they steal patents, smuggle contraband through the Southern blockade during the Civil War, run guns to Japan, and finance the opium trade. But as Turnbull amasses a fortune large enough to vanquish his most powerful enemies, he doesn&’t realize his gravest threat comes from within his own family. Packed with fascinating period details, The Turnbulls is a mesmerizing family drama from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Captains and the Kings and Dynasty of Death.
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: Super Large Print Edition Of The Classic Memoir For Low Vision Readers (Barnes And Noble Library Of Essential Reading Series)
by Charles DarwinThis edition of Darwin&’s life story restores previously censored passages on religion and the scientist&’s opinions of his contemporaries. Darwin wrote his autobiography in 1876, at the age of sixty-seven, hoping it would prove interesting to his children and grandchildren. Preparing the book for a wider audience, his family initially sought to protect his legacy by removing passages they found too personal or controversial. This restored edition, which appeared one hundred years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, was edited by Darwin&’s own granddaughter Nora Barlow, who wished to share the text as it originally existed in her family&’s archives. Shedding light on the women in Darwin&’s life and his evolving views on religion, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin delves deep into his brilliant yet shy and reclusive personality, from his childhood love of nature to the reception of his groundbreaking theories on evolution. It also includes previously unpublished notes and letters on family matters, as well as Darwin&’s dispute with Samuel Butler.
The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes Four Through Six: The Furies, The Titans, and The Warriors (The Kent Family Chronicles)
by John JakesA family builds its empire in books four through six of an American historical epic from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of North and South. This multigenerational saga follows the Kent family in their pursuit of a better future in the expanding United States amid deceit, passion, and violence. From the brutal Battle of the Alamo to the bloody Civil War, their fate is intertwined with the course of American history in these three volumes of the series. The Furies: Spanning from 1836 to 1852, the fourth Kent Family novel opens with Amanda Kent just escaping the massacre at the Alamo. Brazen and focused, she works to make a new life for herself during the California Gold Rush, and she&’s willing to risk everything to restore her family&’s name . . . The Titans: In the hellish years of the Civil War, while the nation struggles with its identity, the Kent family fights greed and hatred. In New York, devious Louis Kent controls the family dynasty—now on the verge of collapse. Meanwhile, his cousin Jephtha Kent backs the abolitionist cause even though it may cost him his sons . . . The Warriors: With the advent of the transcontinental railroad, the Kents continue to fight for their place among America&’s wealthy. Temptation beckons young Jeremiah Kent as a Southern belle lures him into a trap of lust, lies, and murder. The nation may be facing a rebirth, but that doesn&’t mean all survive . . .
The Poetry of May Sarton Volume One: Letters from Maine, Inner Landscape, and Halfway to Silence
by May SartonThree celebrated volumes of verse from a feminist icon, poet, and author of the groundbreaking novel Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. Letters from Maine: A rugged coastline provides a stark background for Sarton&’s images of a tragically brief love. With vulnerability and emotional depth, she explores the willingness to devote everything to a new love, as well as the despair at the memory of what is left over when it fades. Inner Landscape: This collection of May Sarton&’s poems displays her inimitable mix of stately verse and depth of feeling that lurks beneath every line, creating a tantalizing, magnetically charged distance between reader and poet. Halfway to Silence: After decades of writing flowing lyric verse, May Sarton&’s style turned to short, vibrant bursts of poetry. These condensed poems are rife with exuberant impressions of nature and of love, including two of her most acclaimed works, &“Old Lovers at the Ballet&” and &“Of the Muse.&” Recognized as a true pioneer in lesbian literature, &“Sarton&’s poems enter and illuminate every natural corner of our lives. . . . So strong in their faith and in their positive response to the human condition that they will outlast much of the fashionable, cynical poetry of our ear&” (James Martin).
The Collected Novels Volume One: Chamber Music and The Ladies
by Doris GrumbachTwo compelling works of fiction from a feminist literary icon hailed as &“Virginia Woolf without the evasive prettifying&” (The New York Times).Chamber Music: Caroline Maclaren, the widow of a prominent composer, is finally going to tell her own life story. Taking pen to paper, she relives her sheltered youth, her chilly marriage to a brilliant man, and the melancholy solitude she experienced until she found loving companionship with her ill husband&’s caretaker, Anna. This masterful tale of passion late in life is widely considered Grumbach&’s finest work. The Ladies: In 1778, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby left Ireland to live together in Wales as a married couple. Well-born and highly educated, the Ladies of Llangollen—as they came to be known—defied social convention, spending half a century in a devoted relationship. In this fictionalized account, Grumbach breathes vivid life into this fascinating story that is &“a true classic on that rarest of relationships, companions of the heart&” (San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle). A truly groundbreaking talent whose writing &“depicts lesbianism as a positive, life-giving force in women&’s lives,&” Doris Grumbach&’s words continue to move the hearts and minds of a new generation of readers (Ann Cothran).
Women of the Revolution: Bravery and Sacrifice on the Southern Battlefields (American Heritage Ser.)
by Robert DunkerlyA fascinating account of the women who contributed to the Revolutionary War—both patriots and loyalists—at specific battles in the Carolinas. Each of the Southern Revolutionary battlefields holds the history of soldiers and legends of women. From the wooded slopes of Kings Mountain to the fields of Cowpens, to the lesser-known sites like Fishing Creek and Hanging Rock, author Robert M. Dunkerly uncovers the stories and legends surrounding the women who were caught up in the struggle. This book serves not only as a study of the battles, but also as a chronicle of the experiences of women in the eighteenth century. Some were camp followers attached to the armies, while others were civilians caught in the line of fire. Women were present on nearly every battlefield, and their stories are told here for the first time. Includes photos!
Murder in Carlisle's East End: Unintended Consequences (True Crime Ser.)
by Paul D. HochThe repercussions of a deadly crime of passion—the 1926 murder of a single mother—have shaped the present of this historic Pennsylvania town. On July 12, 1926, Frances Bowermaster McBride, a forty-year-old divorcee, called off her affair with twenty-seven-year-old Norman Morrison. Driven into a rage, Morrison tracked Frances to her home in Carlisle&’s East End, where she sat on the porch with her three-year-old daughter, Georgia, on her lap. Morrison shot and killed Frances before turning the pistol on himself. Morrison lived but was blinded. Young Georgia fell to the pavement unharmed. Eventually standing trial, Morrison was convicted of first-degree murder. Historian Paul D. Hoch goes beyond the conviction as he traces the later lives of Morrison and Georgia McBride as she came of age in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Hoch spins a tale of murder, perseverance and, ultimately, redemption. Includes photos!
Massachusetts Cranberry Culture: A History from Bog to Table (American Palate Ser.)
by Robert S. Cox Jacob WalkerThis historical look at New England&’s favorite fruit &“ends up capturing the essence of the time period and place&”—from the authors of A History of Chowder (Edible South Shore). New Englanders know that cranberries are not for holidays alone. For centuries, this tart fruit—a staple in the Yankee diet since before it was domesticated—has reigned over the cranberry heartland of Barnstable and Plymouth Counties, Massachusetts. Dozens of recipes that utilize the &“humble fruit&” have risen up over the years, the most popular being cranberry sauce, which one imaginative New Englander paired with lobster. The popularity of the berry exploded in the 1840s, and despite occasional setbacks such as the great pesticide scare of 1959, demand continues to rise to this day. Authors Robert S. Cox and Jacob Walker trace the evolution of cranberry culture in the Bay State, exploring the delectable history of this quintessential New England industry. Includes photos!