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The Thin Red Line: The Thin Red Line (The World War II Trilogy #2)
by James JonesWith &“shattering prose,&” the New York Times–bestselling author of From Here to Eternity captures the intense combat in the battle of Guadalcanal (San Francisco Chronicle). In August of 1942 the first American marines charged Guadalcanal, igniting a six-month battle for two thousand square miles of jungle and sand. In that gruesome stretch sixty thousand Americans made the jump from boat to beach, and one in nine did not return. James Jones fought in that battle, and The Thin Red Line is his haunting portrait of men and war. The soldiers of C-for-Charlie Company are not cast from the heroic mold. The unit&’s captain is too intelligent and sensitive for the job, his first sergeant is half mad, and the enlisted men begin the campaign gripped by cowardice. Jones&’s moving portrayal of the Pacific combat experience stands among the great literature of World War II. This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Jones including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
The Mordida Man (Mysterious Press-highbridge Audio Classics Ser.)
by Ross ThomasOnly one man can save the president&’s kidnapped brother in this propulsive thriller from the author &“without peer in American suspense&” (Los Angeles Times). American agents abduct a high-profile terrorist in broad daylight on the streets of London, subduing him with a tranquilizer. He dies a few hours later on a flight back to Washington, DC, and the body is dropped into the ocean. Hours later, the President&’s brother—a political powerhouse in his own right—boards a plane to Las Vegas that doesn&’t land in Nevada. Libyan radicals are at the controls, and he is their prisoner. The only man who can save him is Chubb Dunjee. A former United Nations operative with skills in every aspect of political negotiation, Chubb became famous for solving problems with well-placed bribes. Saving the President&’s brother should be no trouble for him. But the Libyans don&’t want a bribe. They want blood.
Place Called Estherville: A Novel
by Erskine CaldwellA searing portrait of racism and violence in a small Southern town from thenational-bestselling author of God&’s Little Acre. When mixed-race brother and sister Ganus and Kathyanne Bazemore move to Estherville, a small Southern town, they&’re looking for a fresh start. They don&’t know anyone and nobody knows them, but they are two bright, attractive young people looking for work. It doesn&’t take long, however, before the two kids are subjected to the worst of the town&’s lust, brutality, and bigotry. A gripping story of the pre–civil rights era South, Place Called Estherville offers a candid glimpse of one of America&’s most troubling legacies. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erskine Caldwell including rare photos and never-before-seen documents courtesy of the Dartmouth College Library.
Hot Properties
by Rafael YglesiasAn irreverent satire of New York&’s media world—and its influence and allureWriters Tony, Patty, Fred, and David all know what they want: renown, glamour, wealth, recognition. They know where to get it: New York, a beacon for ambitious novelists, playwrights, and journalists. But what they don&’t know is that the game is changing. This is the 1980s, an era of massive corporatization and commercialization in the business of arts and letters. Fame and fortune may come quickly for many, but dignity and lasting influence are in short supply. Rafael Yglesias&’s most sharp-tongued satire, Hot Properties exposes the greed, envy, and backbiting in a media world bloated with money and power. This ebook features a new illustrated biography of Rafael Yglesias, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s personal collection.
Fashioned for Murder
by George Harmon CoxeTrying to help a model, a fashion photographer exposes a sinister plotThe photo in Fashion Parade galls Jerry Nason. It&’s not the picture itself—an ordinary shot showing off a slim, Spanish-inspired dress and a few pieces of jewelry. It&’s the model, Linda Courtney, who stood him up for a date a few months earlier. The morning after the magazine&’s release, the woman who spurned his affection turns up to offer him some work. She&’s come with the same set of costume jewelry she wore in the Fashion Parade picture, and her bosses, a strange pair of men who claim to work in advertising, want shots of the fake gems. Nason obliges, the two men leave, and Linda begins to tell the truth.
Original Sins: Kinflicks, Original Sins, And Five Minutes In Heaven (Virago Modern Classics Ser. #Vol. 473)
by Lisa AltherFive childhood friends with big plans face the changing realities of life in Tennessee in the 1960s in this novel from bestselling author Lisa Alther As Sally and Emily Prince and Jed, Raymond, and Donny Tatro sit under their beloved Castle Tree in rural, segregated Tennessee, they dream big dreams. But the journey from these dreams to reality is a long one. As they move into their teens, each faces challenges they could never have imagined. Sally and Jed may take a traditional route as head cheerleader and football captain in their sports-frenzied town, but can their love survive some unexpected bumps in the road? Emily and Raymond, always the outsiders, move north during the civil rights movement and must consider their connection to Southern roots and traditional gender roles. And Donny, as an African-American teen, will endure the effects of generations of discrimination and class boundaries as he tries to live out his dreams in their small factory town. Along the way, the five will fall in love, change one another&’s lives, grow apart, and come together again. In this sweeping novel, Alther brings to life characters both tragic and comic as they live through the changing American socio-economic landscape of the 1950s and &’60s. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lisa Alther, including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
The Fremantle Diary: A Journal of the Confederacy (Classics Of War Ser.)
by Lt. Col. James FremantleThe fascinating diary of English colonel James Fremantle, who spent three months behind Confederate lines at the height of the American Civil WarThree hours after stepping onto American soil, James Fremantle saw his first corpse: that of a bandit lynched for taunting Confederate officers. But Fremantle was not shocked by this grisly introduction to the Civil War. On leave from Her Majesty&’s army, the Colonel had come to tour the fight, and see firsthand the gallant Southerners about whom he had read. In the next three months, he witnessed some of the most monumental moments of the entire war. Starting on the war&’s western fringe, Fremantle worked his way east, arriving on the Confederate lines in time for Gettysburg, which he watched with a telescope in a tree outside the tent of General Hood. Along the way he met Robert E. Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard, Jefferson Davis, and nearly every other Confederate leader at the time. Including an insightful introduction and notes by bestselling author Walter Lord, The Fremantle Diary is an elegant memoir and intimate portrait of one of the nation&’s most savage conflicts.
The Flight from the Enchanter: A Novel (Vintage Classics Ser.)
by Iris MurdochA charismatic businessman casts a dark spell over others in this psychologically suspenseful novel by the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Black Prince. Mischa Fox&’s name is known throughout London, though he himself is rarely seen. Enigmatic and desired, vicious yet sympathetic, he is a model of success, wealth, and charisma. When Fox turns his entrepreneurial gaze on a small feminist magazine known as the Artemis, his intoxicating influence quickly begins to affect the lives of those involved with the paper: the fragile editor, Hunter; generous Rosa, who splits her time and affections between her brother and two other men; innocent Annette, whose journey from school to the real world ends up being more fraught than she could have foreseen; and their circle of friends and acquaintances, all of whom find themselves both drawn to and repulsed by Fox. Told with dark humor, keen wit, and intense insight into the seductive nature of power, The Flight from the Enchanter is an intricate and dazzling work of fiction from the author of The Sea, The Sea and Under the Net, &“one of the most significant novelists of her generation&” (The Guardian).
The Wisdom of Confucius (Wisdom)
by The Wisdom SeriesHundreds of sage observations from China&’s most revered scholar Teacher, politician, philosopher, and student, Confucius offered wisdom and aphorisms on a variety of topics that transcend borders and time. Whether considering his own life, human nature, or a society&’s responsibilities, Confucius&’s teachings emphasize personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. He aimed to effect social and political reform, and left a legacy of wisdom that remains true today. Organized by topic and accompanied with contextual footnotes, this collection of quotes, sayings, and lessons is often as entertaining as it is educational.
Drumbeat – Erica (The Chester Drum Mysteries #18)
by Stephen MarloweProtecting an actor takes Drum into the seedy underworld of psychedeliaTerminal illness and regret go hand-in-hand. Two months ago, Amos Littlejohn was in the prime of life, and had plenty of energy to be enraged when his pregnant daughter was abandoned by her husband, matinee idol Ahmed Shiraz. Now stricken with leukemia, Littlejohn is near death, and beginning to regret taking out a contract on the actor&’s life. He hires international private eye Chester Drum to call off the hit and protect Shiraz until his life is safe. On his first night on the job, Drum&’s partner takes a shotgun blast meant for the actor. Wanting nothing more than to wring Shiraz&’s neck, Drum follows him to Europe, where he must contend with assassins, beatniks, and the powerful effects of an experimental drug called LSD.
Every Brilliant Eye (The Amos Walker Mysteries #6)
by Loren D. Estleman&“For readers who can&’t get enough of Elmore Leonard and Ross Thomas, try Estleman. He&’s that good&” (People). Barry Stackpole was tough once. Amos Walker met him in a Cambodian shell crater when Walker was serving his country and Stackpole was on the payroll of the DetroitNews, and they formed the kind of bond that war often creates. At war&’s end, they returned to the Motor City, where Stackpole took to reporting crimes and Walker to solving them. A violent run-in with a big time mobster left Stackpole a leg and two fingers short, and he became an alcoholic. He has made several attempts to get his life straight since, but never quite managed. Now he&’s fallen off the wagon again, harder than ever before, and his girlfriend begs Walker to find him before he drinks himself to death. But in Detroit, death can find a man in many ways. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
The Case of the Kidnapped Angel: A Masao Masuto Mystery (book Six) (The Masao Masuto Mysteries #6)
by Howard FastDetective Masuto investigates a Hollywood kidnapping that leads to a shocking conspiracyAngel is Hollywood royalty. Her husband, Mike Barton, is one of the silver screen&’s most bankable stars, and their marriage has all the hallmarks of a Beverly Hills fairy tale. But everything about Angel&’s past is kept secret, including her real name. When reporters ask why Mike dubbed her Angel, she says that she must have fallen from heaven. No one knows where Angel Barton is from, and now no one knows where she has gone. When his wife disappears, Barton readily agrees to a million dollar ransom demanded by her kidnappers, but Zen detective Masao Masuto doesn&’t buy his performance. As Masuto pries into the strange kidnapping case, he finds that Barton might be much more likely to pay to get rid of his wife than to keep her. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
October Light
by John GardnerNew York Times Bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: A &“dazzling&” novel about the tumultuous relationship of two elderly siblings (Los Angeles Times).James is a cantankerous and conservative seventy-two-year-old who has spent his life caring for the animals on his farm. His widowed older sister, Sally, has strong liberal ideals and a propensity for debate. When Sally&’s bankruptcy forces her to move in with her brother, their lifelong feud quickly escalates—and Sally becomes a prisoner in her own room with nothing to survive on but apples and a trashy novel about marijuana smugglers. As Sally becomes immersed in the book, the story envelops the narrative of the siblings&’ dysfunctional relationship, and Gardner explores a wide array of themes from human autonomy to self-definition to political extremism. The result is a tour de force of Gardner&’s unique literary style at the height of his protean creative powers. This ebook features a new illustrated biography of John Gardner, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Gardner family and the University of Rochester Archives.
The Edge of Tomorrow: A Novel
by Howard FastScience fiction stories from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Spartacus. From one of the most prolific and versatile writers of the twentieth century, The Edge of Tomorrow is a collection of tales that journey outside everyday boundaries to offer insight into our own universe. Featuring big bugs, cloned cats, and feral star-children, these unconventional, thought-provoking stories reveal much about the America of their time, when the Cold War and the nascent civil rights movement stoked unconscious fears and desires. From &“The First Men,&” about scientists tampering with genetic engineering, to &“The Large Ant,&” about a man&’s thoughtless violence against nature, these stories by the author of April Morning and The Immigrants—described by the Los Angeles Times as &“one of our very best&”—are as relevant today as when they were first written. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
Bomb Grade: The Run Around, Comrade Charlie, Charlie's Apprentice, And Bomb Grade (The Charlie Muffin Thrillers #11)
by Brian FreemantleAs the dust settles after the demise of the Cold War, Charlie Muffin must thwart a plan that could bring the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust It has been more than five years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Charlie Muffin, Britain&’s cagiest spy, is beginning to feel obsolete. As the machine of state intelligence is dismantled around him, he expects that he too will soon be on the scrap heap. But Britain needs him in Russia one more time. Since the demise of the Soviet empire, Charlie&’s old stomping grounds have gone to seed. The Communist bureaucracy has degenerated into chaos. Rampant corruption, coupled with easy gangland money, means that disorder reigns. In the anarchy, 250 kilograms of uranium goes missing and Charlie must track it down before it goes to the highest bidder. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
The Tumbler: A Montana Mystery Featuring Gabriel Du Pre (The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré #11)
by Peter Bowen&“Truly mysterious—informed by Western legend, steeped in Indian superstition . . . Riding with Du Pré is some kind of enchantment&” (The New York Times Book Review). A rumor circulates around academic circles that the long-lost journals of Meriwether Lewis are in the possession of a hard-bitten Montana fiddler named Gabriel Du Pré. A few years ago, the Métis Indian led a documentary film crew down the Missouri River to commemorate the bicentennial of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, but he won&’t say whether or not he has the journals. Only Benetsee, Du Pré&’s mysterious spiritual guide, has any idea where the journals are, and only a fool would try to make Benetsee talk when he doesn&’t feel like it. It&’s quite possible, though, that billionaire Markham Millbank is a fool. His money cannot persuade Du Pré, and so he begins to consider other forms of pressure. When two of Du Pré&’s friends are kidnapped, the fiddler faces a tough decision: Hand over the journal or risk innocent lives to keep it out of the wrong hands . . .The Tumbler is the 11th book in The Montana Mysteries Featuring Gabriel Du Pré series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Vanishing Point: A Miss Silver Mystery (The Miss Silver Mysteries #25)
by Patricia WentworthThe &“marvelous&” British-governess-turned-sleuth investigates a disappearance in a village near a top-secret government research facility (Daily Mail). Jenny Maxwell is a bright young child. After an automobile accident leaves her barely able to walk, she retreats into a world of fantasy, devouring novel after novel of steamy romance. Now she has begun to write, and for a twelve-year-old she shows great promise. After she sends her work off to a publisher, the house sends a representative to meet the young woman and guide her. But the stories she tells him are hardly fictional. Trapped in her room for hours at a time, Jenny hears all. She knows about the young woman who disappeared from town, and about the strange young man who works at the nearby military research center. What sounds like harmless gossip could actually be a grave threat to national security—one which only private investigator Miss Silver is capable of unearthing.
The Dante Game (The Homer Kelly Mysteries #Bk. 8)
by Jane LangtonIn Florence, scholar/sleuth Homer Kelly must foil a plot to kill the Pope in a &“voluptuously detailed&” mystery in which Langton&’s &“exuberant wit runs riot&” (The New York Times Book Review). When the Pope issues a sweeping edict calling for a yearlong war on drugs, no one is more surprised than the Vatican to find the campaign a success. In every Catholic corner of the world, young people throw down their needles to pick up crosses. In Florence, thousands of them converge on the Duomo to thank Christ for their newfound commitment to sobriety. Nearly everyone is relieved by this development—save for Leonardo Bindo, banker and druglord. To get his business back on track, he seizes upon a simple plan: Kill the Pope. Standing in his way is Homer Kelly, transcendentalist scholar and occasional detective. In Florence to teach at a new international university, Homer stumbles on Bindo&’s scheme while investigating the disappearance of a beautiful young student. His Italian may be lousy, but Homer is the only man who can save Italy from itself.
The Wisdom of Muhammad: The Wisdom Of The Torah, The Wisdom Of The Talmud, The Wisdom Of The Koran, The Wisdom Of Muhammad, And The Wisdom Of Buddha (Wisdom)
by The Wisdom SeriesUncover the tenets of Islam through the words of its founder. This compelling examination of the life and sayings of Muhammad offers the modern reader both a historical context for and a spiritual guide to the principles at the heart of the world&’s second largest religion. Drawing on the Koran and the Sunnah, this collection of quotes is organized by topic from A to Z and provides a window into the eloquence, practicality, and ethical fortitude with which Muhammad preached to his followers. Covering a diverse range of topics, from marriage and civic charity to the individual&’s relationship to God and the afterlife, the Prophet&’s words dispel misconceptions about the history of the faith, its leader, and its core beliefs. With footnotes, a glossary of terms, scriptural citations, and a timeline, The Wisdom of Muhammad is essential reading for anyone who wants to have a true understanding of Islam. &“The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.&” —Muhammad This ebook edition features a new introduction and image gallery.
The Franchiser
by Stanley ElkinThe comic story of a man&’s obsessive quest to build a fast food empire across AmericaFor the better part of the 1970s, entrepreneur Ben Flesh could expand his business kingdom with the snap of his fingers. His fast food restaurants and electronics stores were all a part of his rapidly growing domain, remaking America one enterprise at a time. But when a series of personal and professional catastrophes strike unexpectedly, Ben finds himself on the verge of losing it all. Hailed as one of Stanley Elkin&’s greatest works, The Franchiser is a biting satire of American consumerism and the story of one man&’s all-consuming determination to create his lasting legacy, one business at a time. This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate and from the Stanley Elkin archives at Washington University in St. Louis.
Necessity (Mysterious Press-highbridge Audio Classics Ser.)
by Brian GarfieldTo escape her husband, a wife embarks on a radical adventureHer name is Jennifer Hartman, or perhaps Dorothy Holder. She has birth certificates that say both. She got the names from old obituary files, and then went to the county clerk to ask for new copies. Her real name doesn&’t matter, because her former life is gone. Since she went on the run, she has surprised herself with her ingenuity. She makes her way to Los Angeles and takes a room in an unassuming, out-of-the-way motel. She destroys her credit cards but keeps her old driver&’s license—she has one last use for it. She enrolls in flying lessons, taking three or four a week in order to master the small plane as quickly as possible. Her plan is complex but, if it works, brilliant. She is fleeing her husband. A single error will mean death, but she is through with mistakes.
The Tree of Hands: A Novel (Camden Ser.)
by Ruth RendellEdgar Award Finalist: In London, a missing child unites three mothers in grief, madness, and murder. When Benet Archdale was a young girl in North London, her mother, Mopsa, made her nervous. The woman was unsound, and posed ever-present dangers. Yet Benet understood her sickness and forgave her threats. In pursuit of a relatively sane life as a novelist and loving single parent, Benet has since kept Mopsa at a distance. But it&’s not only the sudden death of Benet&’s two-year-old son that shakes her safe world. It&’s the past. Mopsa has returned to be at her inconsolable daughter&’s side. Nurturing, rational, and seemingly cured, Mopsa is going to do everything she can to ease Benet&’s grief. Then, on the other side of town, the child of a barmaid has gone missing. Authorities fear the search can&’t end well. As Benet and Mopsa are drawn into the disappearance, the secrets, lies, and desperation of three mothers will converge—by chance and by design. For them, it&’s a crime that is at once a delusion, an escape, and a nightmare. &“No one surpasses Ruth Rendell when it comes to stories of obsession, instability, and malignant coincidence,&” says Stephen King of this New York Times–bestselling author, and all three come into play in this novel, a winner of the Crime Writers&’ Association Silver Dagger Award. A classic of psychological suspense, The Tree of Hands was adapted twice for the screen: first in 1989, as Innocent Victim starring Lauren Bacall and Helen Shaver; then again in 2001, for the French film Alias Betty.
Death in the Devil's Acre: A Charlotte And Thomas Pitt Novel (The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novels #7)
by Anne PerryThe sleuthing couple pursues a serial killer through Victorian London in an exciting entry in the &“unfailingly rewarding&” New York Times–bestselling series (The New York Times). A serial killer is loose in the slums of Devil&’s Acre. The murders are brutal, but it is the killer&’s grisly signature that shocks even Inspector Thomas Pitt, no stranger to death and violent crime. The victims are stabbed and sexually mutilated. When Pitt recognizes one of the victims as a blackmailing footman from a case on Callander Square, his investigation takes him from the brothels to the high reaches of Victorian society and into a world where upper-class women descend to depravity to relieve their boredom. Despite Pitt&’s warnings, his wife, Charlotte, pursues her own investigation. With the help of her sister Emily, Lady Ashworth, Charlotte reenters the elegant drawing rooms of Callander Square to find out more about the former footman who, Pitt discovers, owned an exclusive high-class whorehouse with—what else—exclusive high-class whores. As Pitt and Charlotte approach the same dangerous conclusion from differing paths, no one is spared—not even Pitt.
Rules of Engagement
by Brian FreemantleThe son of a celebrated journalist searches for the truth to his father&’s dark pastEveryone knows Hawkins is not the reporter his father—a famous war correspondent—was. Hawkins&’s fondness for drink disqualifies him from the kind of reporting that is his birthright. But with a father like his, the newspaper cannot let him go. Instead, the board has asked him to write a biography of his father—a fluff project designed to keep Hawkins out of trouble. But the assignment leads to unsuspected, shocking revelations. Hawkins&’s father made his name as a war correspondent in Vietnam, where terrible secrets still remain buried. When Hawkins digs into the story of one raid—a skirmish that produced four heroes, a future president among them—the horrible truth he discovers will change his life forever. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Brian Freemantle including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
The Third Life of Grange Copeland: The Color Purple; Meridian; And The Third Life Of Grange Copeland
by Alice WalkerFrom the New York Times–bestselling author of The Color Purple: A &“moving, tender&” novel of a Deep South tenant farmer&’s quest for a new life (Publishers Weekly). 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 that 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. From a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, this is an &“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). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.