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Commentary on the Global Burden of Disease Study
by Gonghuan YangThis book intends to promote and assist professionals to better understand the global burden of disease methodology. It introduces the GBD research thinking and work framework for most public health professionals and to systematically review the development history and characteristics of the GBD method. It focuses to what questions to be answered and how to answer in GBD study. For each topic, the representative literatures and works of GBD are introduced in the book, these representative literatures were selected by the authors on the basis of reading a large amount of the literature. Based on these representative literature, this book describes how GBD study uses a wide range of source of data sources to achieve its research goals. This way not only makes sure the accuracy of the introduced perspectives and methodology, but also provides a shortcut to the key GBD literature relevant to the topic for people who are unfamiliar with GBD study. As an introduction to the methodology of GBD study, this book interprets the basic methods of GBD study, and helps readers to further read the corresponding literature, understand the methodology and main findings of GBD study, and uses these methods in their own work. Taking China as a case, this book set a special chapter, to introduce the estimated results of on the disease burden of the Chinese population, and discuss the experience and lessons of GBD study in promoting national policy action.
Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: 17th International Conference, VAMR 2025, Held as Part of the 27th HCI International Conference, HCII 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 22–27, 2025, Proceedings, Part II (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15789)
by Gino Fragomeni Jessie Y. C. ChenThis three-volume set, LNCS 15788-15790, constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, VAMR 2025, held as part of the 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2025, in Gothenburg, Sweden, during June 22–27, 2025. The total of 1430 papers and 355 posters included in the HCII 2025 proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 7972 submissions. The papers presented in these three volumes are organized in the following topical sections:: Part I: Designing and Developing Virtual Environments; UX in Virtual Environments Part II: VR, Culture, Art and Entertainment; Social Interaction and Wellbeing in Virtual Environments Part III: VR Games; Virtual Environments for Learning, Training and Professional Development; Multimodal Interaction in Virtual Environments
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins
by Barbara DemickThe heartrending story of twin sisters torn apart by China&’s one-child policy and the rise of international adoption—from the author of the National Book Award finalist Nothing to Envy&“Excellent . . . entrancing and disturbing . . . [Demick] is one of our finest chroniclers of East Asia. . . . [Her] characters are richly drawn, and her stories, often reported over a span of years, deliver a rare emotional wallop.&”—The New York TimesOn a warm day in September 2000, a woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut behind her brother&’s home in China&’s Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her family but also not her first children. Living under the shadow of China&’s notorious one-child policy, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar. But, in 2002, Fangfang was violently snatched away. The family worried they would never see her again, but they didn&’t imagine she could be sent as far as the United States. She might as well have been sent to another world.Following stories she wrote as the Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Barbara Demick embarks on a journey that encompasses the origins, shocking cruelty, and long-term impact of China&’s one-child rule; the rise of international adoption and the religious currents that buoyed it; and the exceedingly rare phenomenon of twin separation. Today, Esther—formerly Fangfang—lives in Texas, and Demick brings to vivid life the Christian family that felt called to adopt her, unaware that she had been kidnapped. Through Demick&’s indefatigable reporting, will the long-lost sisters finally reunite—and will they feel whole again?A remarkable window into the volatile, constantly changing China of the last half century and the long-reaching legacy of the country&’s most infamous law, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is also the moving story of two sisters torn apart by the forces of history and brought together again by their families&’ determination and one reporter&’s dogged work.
Lolita (Vintage International)
by Vladimir NabokovThe most famous and controversial novel from one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century tells the story of Humbert Humbert&’s obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze.&“The conjunction of a sense of humor with a sense of horror [results in] satire of a very special kind.&”—The New YorkerOne of The Atlantic&’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 YearsAwe and exhilaration—along with heartbreak and mordant wit—abound in Lolita, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsession for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love—love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
The Sins on Their Bones: Book One of The Cursed Crown series (The Cursed Crown Duology)
by Laura R. SamotinSet in a Jewish folklore-inspired reimagining of 19th century Eastern Europe, this queer dark fantasy debut pits two estranged husbands and a daring spymaster on opposite sides of a civil war. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, C.S. Pacat, and Katherine Arden.Dimitri Alexeyev used to be the Tzar of Novo-Svitsevo. Now, he is merely a broken man, languishing in exile after losing a devastating civil war instigated by his estranged husband, Alexey Balakin. In hiding with what remains of his court, Dimitri and his spymaster, Vasily Sokolov, engineer a dangerous ruse. Vasily will sneak into Alexey&’s court under a false identity to gather information, paving the way for the usurper&’s downfall, while Dimitri finds a way to kill him for good.But stopping Alexey is not so easy as plotting to kill an ordinary man. Through a perversion of the Ludayzim religion that he terms the Holy Science, Alexey has died and resurrected himself in an immortal, indestructible body—and now claims he is guided by the voice of God Himself. Able to summon forth creatures from the realm of demons, he seeks to build an army, turning Novo-Svitsevo into the greatest empire that history has ever seen.Dimitri is determined not to let Alexey corrupt his country, but saving Novo-Svitsevo and its people will mean forfeiting the soul of the husband he can&’t bring himself to forsake—or the spymaster he&’s come to love.
All the Broken Places: A Novel
by John Boyne&“You can&’t prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel.&” —John Irving, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The World According to Garp &“Exceptional, layered and compelling…This book moves like a freight train.&” —Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In LoveFrom the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for braveryNinety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn&’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn&’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn&’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich&’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can&’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry&’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel&’s hard-won, self-contained existence.All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel&’s girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past. Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before—whatever the cost to herself….
All Fours: A Novel
by Miranda JulyA NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEARA WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEARONE OF TIME MAGAZINE&’S TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS OF 2024 ONE OF NPR&’S &“BOOKS WE LOVE&” 2024NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:THE NEW YORKER ● VOGUE ● FINANCIAL TIMES ● OPRAH DAILY ● VULTURE ● VOXThe New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life&“A frank novel about a midlife awakening, which is funnier and more boldly human than you ever quite expect . . . nothing short of riveting.&” —Vogue&“All Fours has spurred a whisper network of women fantasizing about desire and freedom. . . . It&’s the talk of every group text."—The New York Times&“All Fours possessed me. I picked it up and neglected my life until the last page, and then I started begging every woman I know to read it as soon as possible.&” —The CutA semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey.Miranda July&’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July&’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman&’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.
How to Solve Your Own Murder: A Novel (Castle Knoll Files #1)
by Kristen PerrinA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Jimmy Fallon&’s Book Club Finalist for 2024 | A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist | A GMA Buzz Pick | A USA Today Bestseller One of Amazon's Top 10 Best Books of April, One of Jimmy Fallon's favorite books for Spring 2024, The Top LibraryReads pick for March 2024, A Publishers Marketplace 2024 BuzzBook, One of NPR's Books We LoveFrances Adams always said she&’d be murdered. She was right.In 1965, Frances Adams is at an English country fair where a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. It is a prediction that sparks her life&’s work—trying to solve a crime that hasn&’t happened yet.Nearly sixty years later, Annie Adams is summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is found murdered, just like she always said she would be. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances&’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder.Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer? As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt&’s fate instead of her fortune.
Horse: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks&“Brooks&’ chronological and cross-disciplinary leaps are thrilling.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“Horse isn&’t just an animal story—it&’s a moving narrative about race and art.&” —TIME&“A thrilling story about humanity in all its ugliness and beauty . . . the evocative voices create a story so powerful, reading it feels like watching a neck-and-neck horse race, galloping to its conclusion—you just can&’t look away.&” —Oprah DailyWinner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award · Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize · A Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American historyKentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack. New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance. Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse—one studying the stallion&’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success. Based on the remarkable true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel of art and science, love and obsession, and our unfinished reckoning with racism.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel
by James McBrideTHE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURYWINNER OF THE 2024 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRIZE FOR AMERICAN FICTIONFROM ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2024NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR/FRESH AIR, WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORKER, AND TIME MAGAZINEONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023&“A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel . . . Charming, smart, heart-blistering, and heart-healing.&” —Danez Smith, The New York Times Book Review&“We all need—we all deserve—this vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.&” —Ron Charles, The Washington PostFrom James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah&’s Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep themIn 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe&’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.As these characters&’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town&’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.Bringing his masterly storytelling skills and his deep faith in humanity to The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride has written a novel as compassionate as Deacon King Kong and as inventive as The Good Lord Bird.
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl (A Bestselling Memoir)
by Issa RaeThe &“brilliantly wry&” (Lena Dunham) and &“lovably awkward&” (Mindy Kaling) New York Times bestseller from the creator of HBO&’s Insecure. In this universally accessible New York Times bestseller named for her wildly popular web series, Issa Rae—&“a singular voice with the verve and vivacity of uncorked champagne&” (Kirkus Reviews)—waxes humorously on what it&’s like to be unabashedly awkward in a world that regards introverts as hapless misfits and black as cool.I’m awkward—and black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That someone was right. Where do I start? Being an introvert (as well as “funny,” according to the Los Angeles Times) in a world that glorifies cool isn’t easy. But when Issa Rae, the creator of the Shorty Award-winning hit series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is that introvert—whether she’s navigating love, the workplace, friendships, or “rapping”—it sure is entertaining. Now, in this New York Times bestselling debut collection written in her witty and self-deprecating voice, Rae covers everything from cybersexing in the early days of the Internet to deflecting unsolicited comments on weight gain, from navigating the perils of eating out alone and public displays of affection to learning to accept yourself—natural hair and all. The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is a book no one—awkward or cool, black, white, or other—will want to miss.
This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future
by Jonathan Martin Alexander BurnsThe &“blockbuster&” (The Guardian) New York Times bestseller, a shocking, definitive account of the 2020 election and the first year of the Biden presidency by two New York Times reporters, exposes the deep fissures within both parties as the country approaches a political breaking point.This is the authoritative, &“deeply reported&” (The Wall Street Journal) account of an eighteen-month crisis in American democracy that will be seared into the country&’s political memory for decades to come. With stunning, in-the-room detail, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns show how both our political parties confronted a series of national traumas, including the coronavirus pandemic, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the political brinksmanship of President Biden&’s first year in the White House. From Donald Trump&’s assault on the 2020 election and his ongoing campaign of vengeance against his fellow Republicans to the behind-the-scenes story of Biden&’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate and his bitter struggles to unite the Democratic Party, this book exposes the degree to which the two-party system has been strained to the point of disintegration. More than at any time in recent history, the long-established traditions and institutions of American politics are under siege as a set of aging political leaders struggle to hold together the changing country. Martin and Burns break news on most every page, drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before-seen documents and recordings from the highest levels of government. This &“masterful&” (George Stephanopoulos) book asks the vitally important (and disturbing) question: can American democracy, as we know it, ever work again?
Make Miracles in Forty Days: Turning What You Have into What You Want
by Melody BeattieIf you could ask for a miracle right now, what would it be? We’ve all had situations in our lives that seem beyond our control or that have no clear remedy. In this concise, inspirational guide, bestselling self-help guru Melody Beattie shows us that we have the ability to make a miracle for almost any circumstance we’re facing. Beattie, a trusted counselor for millions of readers, has shared her own stirring stories of overcoming obstacles and dealing with life’s tragedies for more than twenty-five years. In Make Miracles in Forty Days she now offers the ultimate distillation of what she knows about gratitude, surrender, and connecting with our essential power. She challenges us to be more present each day and details a six-week action plan, the Miracle Exercise, to jump-start transformation in our lives. After completing a series of activities, we’ll establish what miracles we’d like to create, and then she’ll walk us through practicing this innovative exercise alone, with a partner, and even with our children. Beattie instructs us to be thankful for everything in our lives and for how we’re really feeling; we need to express gratitude for what we have and who we are, not just for our obvious blessings. It is crucial that we are grateful for recognizing what is upsetting and bothering us. Through acknowledging the pain that we’re feeling, we can excise any denial or resistance that is holding us back. As we progress over the forty days, instead of feeling lost, numb, or confused, we’ll become more conscious, aware, and alive. Our miracle will begin to materialize. Along the way, Beattie reveals her own experiences of making miracles, individually and through working with a partner, and those of the participants in her Miracle Workshop. She shares moving stories of overcoming hardship and finding acceptance and forgiveness, and inspires us to move forward with a renewed vigor for life.
The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey into the Secret Society of Haitian Voodoo Zombis and Magic
by Wade DavisA scientific investigation and personal adventure story about zombis and the voudoun culture of Haiti by a Harvard scientist.In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis—people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti—from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti’s countryside. The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans.
Light of the World: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux #20)
by James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux battles the most diabolical villain he has ever faced in this atmospheric thriller. Sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the string of heinous murders he committed while capital punishment was outlawed in Kansas. But following a series of damning articles written by Dave Robicheaux&’s daughter Alafair, Surrette escapes from a prison transport van and heads to Montana, where an unsuspecting Dave—along with Alafair; Dave&’s wife, Molly; Dave&’s faithful partner Clete; and Clete&’s newfound daughter, Gretchen Horowitz—have come to take in the sweet summer air. Surrette may be even worse than Dave&’s old enemy Legion Guidry, a man Dave suspected might very well be the devil incarnate. But before Dave can stop Surrette from harming those he loves most, he&’ll have to do battle with Love Younger, an enigmatic petrochemical magnate seeking to build an oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas, and Wyatt Dixon, a rodeo clown with a dark past whom Burke fans will recall from his Billy Bob Holland novels. Drawing on real events that took place in Wichita, Kansas, over a twenty-year span, Light of the World &“reaffirms Robicheaux&’s status as one of the most successfully sustained creations in contemporary crime fiction&” (The Washington Post Book World).
Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations
by Nicole A. TaylorThe very first cookbook to celebrate Juneteenth, from food writer and cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor—who draws on her decade of experiences observing the holiday.On June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order Number 3, informing the people of Texas that all enslaved people were now free. A year later, in 1866, Black Texans congregated with music, dance, and BBQs—Juneteenth celebrations. All-day cook-outs with artful salads, bounteous dessert spreads, and raised glasses of &“red drink&” are essential to Juneteenth gatherings. In Watermelon and Red Birds, Nicole puts jubilation on the main stage. As a master storyteller and cook, she bridges the traditional African-American table and 21st-century flavors in stories and recipes. Nicole synthesizes all the places we&’ve been, all the people we have come from, all the people we have become, and all the culinary ideas we have embraced. Watermelon and Red Birds contains over 75 recipes, including drinks like Afro Egg Cream and Marigold Gin Sour, dishes like Beef Ribs with Fermented Harissa Sauce, Peach Jam and Molasses Glazed Chicken Thighs, Southern-ish Potato Salad and Cantaloupe and Feta Salad, and desserts like Roasted Nectarine Sundae, and Radish and Ginger Pound Cake. Taylor also provides a resource to guide readers to BIPOC-owned hot sauces, jams, spice, and waffle mixes companies and lists fun gadgets to make your Juneteenth special. These recipes and essays will inspire parties to salute one of the most important American holidays, and moments to savor joy all year round.
Feast Day of Fools: A Novel (A Holland Family Novel #3)
by James Lee BurkeThe critically acclaimed thirtieth entry from New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke, featuring Texas Sheriff Hackberry Holland in an epic tale that is equal parts thriller, Western, and literary masterpiece.James Lee Burke returns to the Texas border town of his bestseller Rain Gods, where a serial killer presumed dead is very much alive…and where sheriff Hackberry Holland, now a widower, fights for survival—his own, and of the citizens he’s sworn to protect. When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert, Hackberry’s investigation leads him to Anton Ling, a mysterious Chinese woman known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies any knowledge of the attack, but something in her aristocratic beauty seduces Hack into overlooking that she is as dangerous as the men she harbors. And when soulless Preacher Jack Collins reemerges, the cold-blooded killer may prove invaluable to Hackberry. This time, he and the Preacher have a common enemy.
Decade of Disunion: How Massachusetts and South Carolina Led the Way to Civil War, 1849-1861
by Robert W. MerryWith &“characteristic wisdom and grace&” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) Robert W. Merry explores a critical lesson about our nation that is as timely today as ever demonstrating how the country came apart during the enveloping slavery crisis of the 1850s.The Mexican War brought vast new territories to the United States, which precipitated a growing crisis over slavery. The new territories seemed unsuitable for the type of agriculture that depended on slave labor, but they lay south of the line where slavery was permitted by the 1820 Missouri Compromise. The subject of expanding slavery to the new territories became a flash point between the North and South. First came the 1850 compromise legislation, which strengthened the fugitive slave law and outraged the North. Then in 1854, Congress repealed the Missouri Compromise altogether, unleashing a violent conflict in &“Bleeding Kansas&” over whether that territory would become free or enslaved. The 1857 Dred Scott decision—abrogating any rights of African Americans, enslaved or free—further outraged the North. And John Brown&’s ill-planned 1859 attack at the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry stirred anger and fear throughout the South. Through a decade, the divide between the North and the South widened until disunion became inevitable. Then, in December 1860, in the wake of the Lincoln election, South Carolina finally seceded, leading the South of the Union. Beginning with the deaths of the great second-generation figures of American history—Calhoun, Webster, and Clay—Decade of Disunion tells the story of this great American struggle through the aims, fears, and maneuvers of the subsequent prominent figures at the center of the drama, with particular attention to the key players from Massachusetts and South Carolina. Decade of Disunion is a &“thoughtful and accomplished&” (The Wall Street Journal) look at one of the most tumultuous times of American history, offering us a sobering reminder that democracy is not self-sustaining—it must be constantly and carefully tended.
I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago
by Hape KerkelingI'm Off Then has sold more than three million copies in Germany and has been translated into eleven languages. The number of pilgrims along the Camino has increased by 20 percent since the book was published. Hape Kerkeling's spiritual journey has struck a chord. Overweight, overworked, and disenchanted, Kerkeling was an unlikely candidate to make the arduous pilgrimage across the Pyrenees to the Spanish shrine of St. James, a 1,200-year-old journey undertaken by nearly 100,000 people every year. But he decided to get off the couch and do it anyway. Lonely and searching for meaning along the way, he began the journal that turned into this utterly frank, engaging book. Filled with unforgettable characters, historic landscapes, and Kerkeling's self-deprecating humor, I'm Off Then is an inspiring travelogue, a publishing phenomenon, and a spiritual journey unlike any other.
Wayfaring Stranger: A Novel (A Holland Family Novel)
by James Lee BurkeIn his most ambitious work yet, New York Times bestseller James Lee Burke tells a classic American story through one man&’s unforgettable life.In 1934, sixteen-year-old Weldon Avery Holland happens upon infamous criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after one of their notorious armed robberies. A confrontation with the outlaws ends with Weldon firing a gun, unsure whether it hit its mark. Ten years later, Second Lieutenant Weldon Holland barely survives the Battle of the Bulge, in the process saving the lives of his sergeant, Hershel Pine, and a young Spanish prisoner of war, Rosita Lowenstein—a woman who holds the same romantic power over him as the strawberry blonde Bonnie Parker, and is equally mysterious. The three return to Texas where Weldon and Hershel get in on the ground floor of the nascent oil business. In just a few years&’ time Weldon will spar with the jackals of the industry, rub shoulders with dangerous men, and win and lose fortunes twice over. But it is the prospect of losing his one true love that will spur his most reckless act yet—one inspired by that encounter long ago with the outlaws of his youth. A tender love story and pulse-pounding thriller, Wayfaring Stranger &“is a sprawling historical epic full of courage and loyalty and optimism and good-heartedness that reads like an ode to the American Dream&” (Benjamin Percy, Poets & Writers).
Uncle John's Action-Packed Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Annual #37)
by Bathroom Readers' InstituteThis 37th annual Bathroom Reader from Uncle John and his team is filled with highly entertaining and informative articles that will keep you on the edge of your seat.Uncle John&’s Action-Packed Bathroom Reader will take longtime fans and new readers alike on a whirlwind world tour with stories that explore the realms of pop culture, history, sports, and science—plus new exploits of dumb crooks that will make you wonder &“What were they thinking?&” For this 37th annual edition, Uncle John and his team at the Bathroom Readers&’ Institute have explored lands near and far to bring you this collection of entertaining and informative articles that include short reads for a quick trip to the throne room as well as longer page-turners for extended visits. Also included are plenty of amusing lists, factoids, quotes, and quizzes that will fill your head with all sorts of odd trivia that you can use to amaze your friends.
Freedom: My Book of Firsts
by Jaycee DugardIn the follow-up to her #1 bestselling memoir, A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her first experiences after years in captivity: the joys that accompanied her newfound freedom and the challenges of adjusting to life on her own.When Jaycee Dugard was eleven years old, she was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was missing for more than eighteen years, held captive by Philip and Nancy Garrido, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment. In A Stolen Life Jaycee told the story of her life from her abduction in 1991 through her reappearance in 2009. Freedom: My Book of Firsts is about everything that happened next. “How do you rebuild a life?” Jaycee asks. In these pages, she describes the life she never thought she would live to see: from her first sight of her mother to her first time meeting her grownup sister, her first trip to the dentist to her daughters’ first day of school, her first taste of champagne to her first hangover, her first time behind the wheel to her first speeding ticket, and her first dance at a friend’s wedding to her first thoughts about the possibility of a future relationship. This raw and inspiring book will remind you that there is, as Jaycee writes, “life after something tragic happens…Somehow, I still believe that we each hold the key to our own happiness and you have to grab it where you can in whatever form it might take.” Freedom is an awe-inspiring memoir about the power we all hold within ourselves.
The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux #16)
by James Lee BurkeIn the waning days of summer, 2005, a storm with greater impact than the bomb that struck Hiroshima peels the face off southern Louisiana. This is the gruesome reality Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux discovers as he is deployed to New Orleans. As James Lee Burke's new novel, The Tin Roof Blowdown, begins, Hurricane Katrina has left the commercial district and residential neighborhoods awash with looters and predators of every stripe. The power grid of the city has been destroyed, New Orleans reduced to the level of a medieval society. There is no law, no order, no sanctuary for the infirm, the helpless, and the innocent. Bodies float in the streets and lie impaled on the branches of flooded trees. In the midst of an apocalyptical nightmare, Robicheaux must find two serial rapists, a morphine-addicted priest, and a vigilante who may be more dangerous than the criminals looting the city. In a singular style that defies genre, James Lee Burke has created a hauntingly bleak picture of life in New Orleans after Katrina. Filled with complex characters and depictions of people at both their best and worst, The Tin Roof Blowdown is not only an action-packed crime thriller, but a poignant story of courage and sacrifice that critics are already calling Burke's best work.
Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux #15)
by James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux is back in a dangerous mystery that involves stolen money, gritty casinos, and a beautiful girl with connections to his past.When a nice young woman named Trish Klein blows into Louisiana, passing hundred-dollar bills in local casinos, detective Dave Robicheaux senses a storm bearing down on his new life of contentment. Twenty-five years ago, lost in a drunken haze in Florida, Robicheaux was too far gone to save his friend and fellow &’Nam vet Dallas Klein, murdered in cold blood for gambling debts. Now, the arrival of Dallas&’s daughter opens a door locked long ago, and extracting her motives points Robicheaux to the suicide of a local &“good girl&” pulled into a vortex of power, sex, and death. It&’s Robicheaux&’s most personally painful case—a roller coaster of passion, surprise, and regret—and it may be his deadliest.
Jesus Out to Sea: Stories
by James Lee BurkeINCLUDES THE STORY &“WINTER LIGHT,&” THE BASIS FOR THE FILM GOD&’S COUNTRY STARRING THANDIWE NEWTON One of the country&’s most-acclaimed and popular novelists offers a selection of ten short stories centered around the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi during and after Katrina.In this moving collection of short stories, James Lee Burke elegantly marries his flair for gripping storytelling with his lyrical writing style and complex, fascinating character portraits. The backdrop of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast is a versatile setting for Burke’s stories, which cover the scope of the human experience—from love and sex to domestic abuse to war, death, and friendship.