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Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846
by Dale L. WalkerDale L. Walker, historian and author of Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West, takes on the conquest of California in this vivid portrait of America's manifest destiny.Bear Flag Rising traces the history of California from the Indians who inhabited the land before the first Europeans saw it through the warfare that would finally leave the province in American hands. The lives of the Californios in tranquil days before the advent of American trappers and the steady decline of the province under Mexico's neglectful rule are brought to life in this epic chronicle. Battles and skirmishes, such as the bitter fight on the San Gabriel River during the march to recapture Los Angeles, are meticulously re-created in all their vicious glory.Above all, Bear Flag Rising is rich with the personalities of the conquest--from John Charles Fremont, the ambitious, enigmatic explorer, to Commodore Robert Field Stockton, a wealthy, imperious, and ruthless naval officer, and Stephen Watts Kearny, who made a 2,000-mile overland march from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, annexing New Mexico on the way, and arrived in California to face Mexican lancers in battle.Bear Flag Rising reveals, through exacting research and masterful prose, the full story of how Mexico lost California and how this Pacific paradise went on to become "the greatest jewel in the crown of the American Empire."At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Sparkling One (Marcelli Sisters of Pleasure Road #1)
by Susan MalleryFor the Marcelli sisters of California wine country, the season is ripe for romance in this first book of the Marcelli Sisters of Pleasure Road series.A party planner extraordinaire, Katie Marcelli loves her big, boisterous family—even when their chronic matchmaking drives her crazy! In the Marcelli household, fine wine and good food are as celebrated as true love, so when her eighteen-year-old sister announces her engagement, Katie promises her the perfect wedding. There's only one hitch: the father of the groom, Zach Stryker, who is adamantly opposed to his son marrying so young. Now, despite her instant attraction to the handsome, arrogant attorney, Katie must approach with caution. Zach, who hired Katie for a major fund-raiser, holds the fate of her business in his hands—and how can she trust a man who is willing to break her sister's heart? It will take a passionate battle of wills to determine if wedding bells will ring for a Marcelli bride, and to unlock the deepest desires—for family, love, and home—inside a strong-willed man's heart.
A Fatal Vineyard Season: Martha's Vineyard Mystery #10 (Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries #10)
by Philip R. CraigMartha’s Vineyard is home to ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson, his adored wife Zee, their toddler Joshua, and newborn daughter Diana. For others, the picturesque vacation spot is a relaxing escape. But there is no escape for Julia Crandel and Ivy Holiday, two Hollywood actresses staying in the Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs. Their arrival has incurred the wrath of a pair of local gangsters, and a deadly stalker from out of the young ladies’ past has found out where they are hiding. Twin hurricanes are about to slam the idyllic island—one a natural climatic disaster, the other an all-too-human catastrophe—and it looks as if J.W. is going to get caught in the middle.
Planet X (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
by Michael Jan FriedmanAn exciting crossover between the Starfleet's finest crew and Earth's greatest mutant heroes who must team together to stop a deadly threat to the Federation. On the planet Xhaldia, ordinary men and women are mutating into bizarre creatures with extraordinary powers. But is this a momentous evolutionary leap or an unparalleled catastrophe? The very fabric of Xhaldian society is threatened as fear and prejudice divide the transformed from their own kin. Dispatched to cope with the growing crisis, Captain Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise™ receive some unexpected visitors from another reality -- in the form of the group of mutant heroes known as the uncanny X-Men®. Storm, leader of the X-Men, offers their help in resolving a situation that is agonizingly similar to the human/mutant conflicts of their own time and space. But when hostile aliens appear in orbit around Xhaldia to try and abduct the transformed for use as a superpowered force in an attack on the Federation, even the combined forces of the crew of Starfleet and the X-Men may be unable to prevent an inferno of death and destruction. Starfleet's finest crew and Earth's greatest mutant heroes will need all their powers and abilities to save the Xhaldian people and stop a deadly threat to the Federation.
A Little Hope: A Novel
by Ethan JoellaA Read with Jenna Bonus Selection An &“immersive…illuminating&” (Booklist) and life-affirming novel following the residents of an idyllic Connecticut town over the course of a year, A Little Hope explores the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbors as they confront everyday desires and fears: a lost love, a stalled career, an illness, and a betrayal.Freddie and Greg Tyler seem to have it all: a comfortable home, a beautiful young daughter, a bond that feels unbreakable. But when Greg is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, the sense of certainty they once knew evaporates. Throughout their town, friends and neighbors face the most difficult of life&’s challenges and are figuring out how to survive thanks to love, grace, and hope. &“A quietly powerful portrait of small-town life…told with wisdom and tenderness&” (Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes) A Little Hope is a deeply resonant debut that immerses the reader in a community and celebrates the importance of small moments of connection.
Serpent Gate (Kevin Kerney Ser. #Bk. 3)
by Michael McGarrityAfter receiving a call from the newly appointed chief of the New Mexico State Police, ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives Kevin Kerney is thrown into an investigation of a small-town cop-killing no one has been able to solve. His only lead: a homeless schizophrenic's ramblings about rape and an uncharted place called Serpent Gate.Meanwhile, back in Santa Fe, priceless art is stolen from the governor's offices and a beautiful young blonde is murdered in a millionaire's mansion. Kerney follows a trail of clues to Mexico, where he faces off against an old nemesis with powerful government connections. Unwilling to back down, Kerney must use all of his tenacity, raw courage, and knowledge of the criminal mind in a bloody showdown that may cost him his life.
Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations
by Peter Evans Ava GardnerThe wickedly candid New York Times bestesller that Ava Gardner dared not publish during her lifetime—“the heartbreaking memoir of the ultimate heartbreaker” (Philadelphia Inquirer).Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood&’s biggest and brightest stars during the 1940s and 1950s, an Oscar Award–nominated leading lady who costarred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. But this riveting account of her storied life, including her marriage to Frank Sinatra, and career had to wait for publication until after her death—because Gardner feared it was too revealing. &“I either write the book or sell the jewels,&” Gardner told coauthor Peter Evans, &“and I&’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.&” The legendary actress serves up plenty of gems in these pages, reflecting with delicious humor and cutting wit on a life that took her from rural North Carolina to the heights of Hollywood&’s Golden Age. Tell-all stories abound, especially when Gardner divulges on her three husbands: Mickey Rooney, a serial cheater so notorious that even his mother warned Gardner about him; bandleader Artie Shaw, whom Ava calls &“a dominating son of a bitch…always putting me down;&” and Frank Sinatra (&“We were fighting all the time. Fighting and boozing. It was madness. But he was good in the feathers&”). &“Her story is a raw-nerved revelation....A vivid portrait&” (Chicago Tribune). Witty, penetrating, unique in its voice, it is impossible to put down—&“A complete delight&” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
The Paleontologist: A Novel
by Luke DumasUSA TODAY BESTSELLER 2024 ITW Thriller Award Winner Esquire &“Best Horror Books of 2023&” Pick A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this chilling novel.Curator of paleontology Dr. Simon Nealy never expected to return to his Pennsylvania hometown, let alone the Hawthorne Museum of Natural History. He was just a boy when his six-year-old sister, Morgan, was abducted from the museum under his watch, and the guilt has haunted Simon ever since. After a recent breakup and the death of the aunt who raised him, Simon feels drawn back to the place where Morgan vanished, in search of the bones they never found. But from the moment he arrives, things aren&’t what he expected. The Hawthorne is a crumbling ruin, still closed amid the ongoing pandemic, and plummeting toward financial catastrophe. Worse, Simon begins seeing and hearing things he can&’t explain. Strange animal sounds. Bloody footprints that no living creature could have left. A prehistoric killer looming in the shadows of the museum. Terrified he&’s losing his grasp on reality, Simon turns to the handwritten research diaries of his predecessor and uncovers a blood-soaked mystery 150 million years in the making that could be the answer to everything.
Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy
by Kenneth C. DavisFrom the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About® books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators. A Washington Post Best Book of the Year!A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year! A YALSA 2021 Nonfiction Award Nominee!What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders—strongmen—capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history—Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein—Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become. Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril.* "A fascinating, highly readable portrayal of infamous men that provides urgent lessons for democracy now." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "Strongman is a book that is both deeply researched and deeply felt, both an alarming warning and a galvanizing call to action, both daunting and necessary to read and discuss." —Cynthia Levinson, author of Fault Lines in the Constitution
Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move (Bunjitsu Bunny Ser. #2)
by John HimmelmanIsabel is back! The best bunjitsu artist in her class, she can throw farther, kick higher, and hit harder than any-bunny else. But her strongest weapon is her mind!With even more fun, adventures, and wisdom than before, Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move by author/artist John Himmelman continues to charm in this beguilingly funny chapter book series on one bunny's feats in martial arts. The lively story about a kind and wise rabbit, with two-color illustrations, will appeal to young martial arts fans.
Guilty Knowledge
by E. Howard Hunt"With hard-hitting prose and clipped dialogue, this enjoyable thriller boasts a snappy authenticity, a Don Juan/James Bond barrister and a timely, jaunty mix of sex and politics." - Publishers WeeklyThe first female president of the United States? Alison Bowman has what it take--intelligence, political savvy, grace, unstained character. Almost. Because now, at the height of her career, she is being blackmailed. A lurid videotape of Alison in a stateroom of a cruise ship proves that she had an affair. The blackmailer is threatening to show it to her political enemies.Washington lawyer Steve Bentley agrees to help Alison get the blackmailer off her back--but before he can act, the predator is killed. Steve is forced to do a clean-up job that leaves him racked with suspicion and guilty knowledge, making Steve a pawn in a game whose players will commit any act in order to win, whether it be blackmail, perjury--or murder.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
More Than True: The Wisdom of Fairy Tales
by Robert BlyNational Book Award-winning poet and author of the internationally best-selling Iron John, Robert Bly revisits a selection of fairy tales and examines how these enduring narratives capture the essence of human nature.Few forms of storytelling have greater power to captivate the human mind than fairy tales, but where do these tales originate from, and what do they mean? Celebrated poet and bestselling author Robert Bly has been asking these questions throughout his career. Here Bly looks at six tales that have stood the test of time and have captivated the poet for decades, from “The Six Swans” to “The Frog Prince.” Drawing on his own creative genius, and the work of a range of thinkers from Kirkegaard and Yeats to Freud and Jung, Bly turns these stories over in his mind to bring new meaning and illumination to these timeless tales. Along with illustrations of each story, the book features some of Bly's unpublished poetry, which peppers his lyric prose and offers a look inside the mind of an American master of letters in the twilight of his singular career.
Blackhorse Riders: A Desperate Last Stand, an Extraordinary Rescue Mission, and the Vietnam Battle America Forgot
by Philip KeithWinner of the 2013 Silver Medal in History from the Military Writer's Society of AmericaFinalist, 2013 Colby AwardWinner of the 2012 USA Best Book Award for Military HistoryPhilip Keith's Blackhorse Riders is the incredible true story of a brave military unit in Vietnam that risked everything to rescue an outnumbered troop under heavy fire—and the thirty-nine-year odyssey to recognize their bravery.Deep in the jungles of Vietnam, Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry, the famed Blackhorse Regiment, was a specialized cavalry outfit equipped with tanks and armored assault vehicles. On the morning of March 26, 1970, they began hearing radio calls from an infantry unit four kilometers away that had stumbled into a hidden North Vietnamese Army stronghold. Outnumbered at least six to one, the ninety-man American company was quickly surrounded, pinned down, and fighting for its existence. Helicopters could not penetrate the dense jungle, and artillery and air support could not be targeted effectively. The company was fated to be worn down and eventually all killed or captured.Overhearing the calls for help on his radio, Captain John Poindexter, Alpha Troop's twenty-five-year-old commander, realized that his outfit was the only hope for the trapped company. It just might be possible that they could "bust" enough jungle by nightfall to reach them. Not making the attempt was deemed unacceptable, so he ordered his men to "saddle up." With the courage and determination that makes legends out of ordinary men, they effected a daring rescue and fought a pitched battle—at considerable cost. Many brave deeds were done that day and Captain Poindexter tried to make sure his men were recognized for their actions.Thirty years later Poindexter was made aware that his award recommendations and even the records of the battle had somehow gone missing. Thus began the second phase of this remarkable story: a "battle" to ensure that his brave men's accomplishments would never be forgotten again.The full circle was completed when President Obama stepped to the podium on October 20, 2009, to award the Alpha Troop with the Presidential Unit Citation: the highest combat award that can be given to a military unit.
Irish Love: A Nuala Anne Mcgrail Novel (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels #6)
by Andrew M. GreeleyContinuing the enchanting chronicles of the fabulous Nuala Anne McGrail and her spear-carrying husband Dermot, bestselling author Andrew M. Greeley takes them once again to Ireland for another thrill-packed adventure.Back on the Emerald Isle, Nuala and Dermot soon get the feeling that someone is out to get them. They find themselves dodging multiple explosions, and someone starts shooting at Nuala while she is water-skiing in the cold Atlantic. Meanwhile, the handsome parish priest, Father Jack, has given Dermot the diary of a young Chicago newspaperman. Written in the year 1882, the diary tells in horrendous detail an intriguing story of a mass murder and a trumped-up trial in which one of Ireland's greatest heroes was accused of the murders without a shred of evidence. These two stories, ancient and modern, soon get mixed up, and they make for an utterly fascinating tale of murder, betrayal, and redemption with Nuala and her magical powers at the center of it all. Andrew Greeley not only tells us a riveting tale of adventure and derring-do, he gives us a picture of modern-day prosperous Ireland and the engaging and, of course, sometimes villainous people who live there.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Hope and Honor: A Memoir Of A Soldier's Courage And Survival
by Jann Robbins Sid ShachnowHope and Honor is a powerful and dramatic memoir that shows how the will to live--so painfully refined in the fires of that long-ago death camp--was forged, at last, into truth of soul and wisdom of the heart.Major General Sid Shachnow was more than a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran--receiving two silver and three bronze stars with V for Valor. He survived a crucible far crueler than the jungles of Vietnam: Nazi occupied Eastern Europe. As a child, he spent three years in the notorious Kovno Concentration Camp. But his next journey took him to America, where he worked his way through school and eventually enlisted in the US Army. He volunteered for U.S. Special Forces, and served proudly for 32 years. His driving dream was to save others from the indignities he had endured and the deadly fate he so narrowly escaped.From Vietnam to the Mideast, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sid Shachow served in Special Operations. He grew as Special Forces grew, rising to major-general--responsible for American Special Forces everywhere--but the lessons of Kovno stayed with him, wherever he turned, wherever he soldiered.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A First-Class Catastrophe: The Road to Black Monday, the Worst Day in Wall Street History
by Diana B. HenriquesThe definitive account of the crash of 1987, a cautionary tale of how the U.S. financial system nearly collapsed--from the bestselling author of The Wizard of LiesMonday, October 19, 1987, was by far the worst day in Wall Street history. The market fell 22.6 percent – almost twice as bad as the worst day of 1929 – equal to a one-day loss of nearly 5,000 points today.Black Monday was more than seven years in the making and threatened nearly every U.S. financial institution. Drawing on superlative archival research and dozens of original interviews Diana B. Henriques weaves a tale of missed opportunities, market delusions, and destructive actions that stretched from the “silver crisis” of 1980 to turf battles in Washington, a poisonous rivalry between the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the almost-fatal success of two California professors whose idea for reducing market risk spun terribly out of control. As the story hurtles forward, the players struggle to forestall a looming market meltdown and unexpected heroes step in to avert total disaster.For thirty years, investors, regulators, and bankers have failed to heed the lessons of 1987, even as the same patterns have resurfaced, most spectacularly in the financial crisis of 2008. A First-Class Catastrophe offers a new way of looking not only at the past, but at our financial future as well.
Ashes of Roses
by MJ AuchThe honest and compelling story of a young girl's newfound independence, from her entrance into a new country to her frightening involvement in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.My heart filled with fear and hope at the same time. I had the feeling that I was brought to America for a purpose. Something important would happen to me here.I remembered the words of the poem, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses . . .""Here we are, America," I whispered. "We're just exactly what you ordered."When she arrives on Ellis Island as a seventeen-year-old Irish immigrant, Rose Nolan is looking for a land of opportunities; what she finds is far from all she'd dreamed. Stubborn and tenacious, she refuses to give up. Left alone to fend for herself and her younger sister, Rose is thrust into a hard-knock life of tenements and factory work.When the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 rushes into Rose's life, her confusions are brought to an all-too-painful head. To whom and to what can she turn when everything around her is in ashes?
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy: A Novel
by Jamie FordAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet returns with a powerful exploration of the love that binds a family across the generations in &“one of the most beautiful books of motherhood and what we pass on to those that come after us&” (Jenna Bush Hager, Today).Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living. As Washington&’s former poet laureate, that&’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help. Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. As the painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn&’t the only thing she&’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period—a stranger who&’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Can Dorothy break the cycle of pain and abandonment to finally find peace for her daughter and love for herself? Or will she end up paying the ultimate price? &“For Jamie Ford fans both old and new, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is an unmitigated pleasure&” (Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author) and a lyrical love story unlike any other.
L.A.WOMAN
by Eve BabitzSoon to be a TV show on Hulu Eve Babitz is a writer like no other—she &“is to prose what Chet Baker is to jazz&” (Vanity Fair)—and she has influenced a generation of writers and readers with her sophisticated, witty, and delightful work. L.A. Woman is quintessential Babitz, the story of Sophie, a twenty-something blonde Jim Morrison groupie gliding through a golden existence in L.A. and Lola, a German immigrant who settles in Hollywood in the twenties to drive Pierce Arrows recklessly down Sunset Boulevard and who knows that Maybelline mascara cakes and Rudolph Valentino are the essence of life. Sophie and Lola, like the many other women who move in and out of this electric saga know that while L.A. is constantly changing it is essentially eternal; through their eyes we see the mixture of high culture and low, the promises of youth and the fulfillment of nostalgia, the pink sunsets and the palm trees that are L.A. And through this fantastic tale, Babitz shares what it is to be a woman in what she convinces us is the capital of civilization.
Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began
by Jack RepcheckThe surprising, little-known story of the scientific revolution that almost didn't happen: how cleric and scientific genius Nicolaus Copernicus's work revolutionized astronomy and altered our understanding of our place in the world.Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world perhaps the most important scientific insight of the modern age, the theory that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. He was also the first to proclaim that the earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours. His theory was truly radical: during his lifetime nearly everyone believed that a perfectly still earth rested in the middle of the cosmos, where all the heavenly bodies revolved around it. One of the transcendent geniuses of the early Renaissance, Copernicus was also a flawed and conflicted person. A cleric who lived during the tumultuous years of the early Reformation, he may have been sympathetic to the teachings of the Lutherans. Although he had taken a vow of celibacy, he kept at least one mistress. Supremely confident intellectually, he hesitated to disseminate his work among other scholars. It fact, he kept his astronomical work a secret, revealing it to only a few intimates, and the manuscript containing his revolutionary theory, which he refined for at least twenty years, remained "hidden among my things." It is unlikely that Copernicus' masterwork would ever have been published if not for a young mathematics professor named Georg Joachim Rheticus. He had heard of Copernicus' ideas, and with his imagination on fire he journeyed hundreds of miles to a land where, as a Lutheran, he was forbidden to travel. Rheticus' meeting with Copernicus in a small cathedral town in northern Poland proved to be one of the most important encounters in history. Copernicus' Secret recreates the life and world of the scientific genius whose work revolutionized astronomy and tells the fascinating story behind the dawn of the scientific age.
Extreme Measures: A Thriller (A Mitch Rapp Novel #11)
by Vince Flynn#1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Vince Flynn delivers a white-knuckled rollercoaster ride of a novel featuring &“the best hero the thriller genre has to offer&” (The Real Book Spy) as Mitch Rapp wages a war against a new enemy with the help of a fellow soldier as dedicated—and as lethal—as they come.Counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp and his colleague Mike Nash may have finally met their match. The CIA has intercepted two terrorist cells, but a third—led by a dangerous mastermind determined to become al-Qaeda&’s new leader—is believed to be on the loose. With such a terrifyingly deadly enemy out there, Rapp needs the best of the best by his side and he believes he has that with Nash. Together, they have made careers out of meeting violence with extreme violence and have never wavered in the top-secret fight against the war on terrorism. Both have been forced to lie to virtually every single person they care about, and both have soldiered on with the knowledge that their lethal tactics have saved thousands of lives. But certain leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing to have men like Rapp and Nash put on a short leash. And then one spring afternoon in Washington, DC, everything changes. With nonstop action and ripped-from-the-headlines writing, Extreme Measures is the political thriller of our time and proves once again that, &“in the world of black-ops thrillers, Mitch Rapp continues to be among the best of the best&” (Booklist, starred review).
Is This a Great Game, or What?: From A-Rod's Heart to Zim's Head—My 25 Years in Baseball
by Tim KurkjianESPN's Tim Kurkjian has spent over twenty-five years covering almost 3,000 Major League Baseball games and interviewing about that many players, coaches, managers and executives. In Is This a Great Game, or What?, Kurkjian combines his years of experience, uncanny knowledge and deep love of the game, to create a book filled with some of the most fascinating insight into Major League Baseball this side of Jim Bouton's bestseller, Ball Four. Whether he's explaining what goes through a ballplayer's mind when he faces a fastball in the chapter "My Face Was Crushed by a Bowling Ball Going 90mph", detailing bizarre rituals and superstitions performed by some of baseball's greatest players, or taking us into the locker room to see what transpires in the clubhouse of a Major League team, Kurkjian's tales are at times hilarious, other times horrifying, yet always entertaining.Kurkjian has spoken to some of the greatest ballplayers ever over the years and they have revealed details about themselves and the game they love with a candor that readers won't find anywhere else. Filled with anecdotes and fascinating insight, this is an essential book for baseball fans or anyone curious about America's pastime.
The Spook Lights Affair: A Carpenter And Quincannon Mystery (A Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery #2)
by Marcia Muller Bill PronziniIn 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light. The seemingly impossible disappearance of her body creates an even more serious problem for the firm of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.Sabina hadn't wanted to take the assignment, but her partner John Quincannon insisted it would serve as entrée to the city's ultra rich and powerful. That means money, and Quincannon loves the almighty dollar. Which is why he is hunting the bandit who robbed the Wells, Fargo office of $35,000.Working their separate cases (while Sabina holds John off with one light hand), the detectives give readers a tour of The City the way it was. From the infamous Barbary Coast to the expensive Tenderloin gaming houses and brothels frequented by wealthy men, Quincannon follows a danger-laden trail to unmask the murderous perpetrators of the Wells, Fargo robbery. Meanwhile, Sabina works her wiles on friends and relatives of the vanished debutante until the pieces of her puzzle start falling into place. But it's an oddly disguised gent appearing out of nowhere who provides the final clue to both cases—the shrewd "crackbrain" who believes himself to be Sherlock Holmes. Fans of Marcia's Muller's bestselling Sharon McCone novels and Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective series will applaud The Spook Lights Affair and future exploits from the annals of Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services.The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries:#1 The Bughouse Affair#2 The Spook Lights Affair#3 The Body Snatchers Affair#4 The Plague of Thieves Affair#5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair#6 The Bags of Tricks AffairAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder
by Jack McLaughlinA National Book Award nominee in 1988, Jack McLaughlin's biography tells the life of Thomas Jefferson as seen through the prism of his love affair with Monticello. For over half a century, it was his consuming passion, his most serious amusement. With a sure command of sources and skilled intuitive understanding of Jefferson, McLaughlin crafts and uncommon portrait of builder and building alike. En route he tells us much about life in Virginia; about Monticello's craftsmen and how they worked their materials; about slavery, class, and family; and, above all, about the multiplicity of domestic concerns that preoccupied this complex man. It is an engaging and incisive look at the eighteenth-century mind: systematic, rational, and curious, but also playful, comfort-loving, and amusing. Ultimately, it provides readers with great insight into daily life in Colonial and Federal America.
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
by India EdghillThe only woman in the Bible who is noted to have loved a man, Queen Michal was King David's childhood sweetheart, his first wife, and daughter of his great friend and greater enemy, King Saul. Married to and then abandoned by David at age 14, Michal is forced to marry him again and become his first queen ten years later. Thrown into transition and turmoil, Queen Michal resists the ambition and greed that have become integral to David's personality and kingship. Acting nobly as his queen, but refusing to compromise her soul, Michal is drawn in friendship to the women in the king's court. Among his concubines and mistresses is Bathsheba, who becomes the mother of David's son, Solomon. In Queenmaker, Michal emerges as a wise and loving woman whose female family sustains her and establishes the spiritual foundation of the entire kingdom.Queenmaker depicts in unforgettable detail the characters of one of the greatest periods in Biblical history-their public deed and private thoughts-and gives readers the court of the kings as only a woman could see it.