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In Defence of History
by Richard J. Evans&“A lucid, muscular, and often sly reflection&” on the worth and purpose of historical scholarship by the award-winning author of The Third Reich Trilogy (Kirkus).In this volume, the renowned historian Richard J. Evans offers a fervent and deeply insightful defense of his craft and its importance to civilization. At a time when fact and historical truth are under unprecedented assault, Evans shows us why history is necessary. Taking us into the historians&’ workshop, he offers a firsthand look at how good history gets written. In staunch opposition to the wilder claims of postmodern historians, Evans thoroughly dismantles the notion that a realistic grasp of history is impossible to attain. He then goes on to explain the deadly political dangers of losing a historical perspective on the way we live our lives. In the tradition of E.H. Carr&’s What Is History? and G.R. Elton&’s The Practice of History, Evans&’ In Defense of History delivers &“a model of lucid and intelligent historiographical analysis&” (The Guardian, UK).
The Cocktail Club: A Year of Recipes and Tips for Spirited Tasting Parties
by Maureen Christian-PetroskyThe author of The Wine Club serves up &“a fun read broken up by month, complete with recipes for drinks and food pairings&” (Town & Country). With a little bit of history and a lot of flavor, The Cocktail Club is a guide for connecting with your friends over the best-tasting therapy around—cocktails! Using a format reminiscent of your favorite book club, Maureen Christian-Petrosky highlights one specific spirit or drink type each month. Classic favorites like the martini and the old-fashioned, as well as new sips like the Mason Jar Basil Pisco Sour and Blueberry Lavender Vodka Spritzer, will inspire novices and enthusiasts alike to build up their bar vocabulary and taste outside their comfort zone. The book also offers a delicious selection of hors d&’oeuvres pairings like Grilled Figs with Prosciutto and Rosemary Lemon Bars. So whether you&’ve been curious about absinthe rinses or want to bone up on your bitters, The Cocktail Club gives you the perfect excuse to pull out your shaker and dip into the art of at-home mixology.
The Miss Silver Mysteries Volume Eight: Out of the Past, The Silent Pool, Vanishing Point, and The Benevent Treasure (The Miss Silver Mysteries)
by Patricia WentworthThe British governess-turned-sleuth cracks the case in four puzzling mysteries from the &“timelessly charming&” series (Charlotte MacLeod). Retired governess and teacher Maud Silver has a new profession: private detective. And though she may seem a kindly and demure pensioner, she can solve crimes right alongside the best Scotland Yard has to offer in this charming series from &“a first-rate storyteller&” (The Daily Telegraph). Out of the Past: Alan Field is a charming, handsome young man with a predilection for causing trouble and breaking hearts. But when he learns that an author is writing a biography of his late father, it&’s up to Alan to go through his father&’s letters—where he finds a bundle of scandalous correspondence and forms a plan. It begins as blackmail and ends with a dead body. And that&’s where Miss Silver comes in. The Silent Pool: Actress Adriana Ford is afraid—and with good reason. Someone is trying to kill her. So she goes to Miss Silver for help finding out who wants her dead. It could be anyone: a stalker, an obsessed fan, even her own family. Then, a body is found at Adriana&’s estate, and Miss Silver travels to the countryside where she learns that Adriana may not have been telling her the whole truth—and that the truth may get her killed. Vanishing Point: Jenny Maxwell is a bright, young disabled child who writes stories of fantasy. But they are only barely 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 Miss Silver is capable of unearthing. Benevent Treasure: As a WWII orphan, Candida Sayle has never considered that she might have a family somewhere. Then she receives a letter from an unheard-of aunt, inviting Candida to rejoin the Benevent family. The young woman ventures to the country, and the environment comforts Candida—as do the attentions of her aunt&’s handsome young secretary. But her vacation goes off the rails when death strikes the house, and the brilliant detective Maud Silver joins the party to investigate the possible murder. These charming traditional British mysteries featuring the unstoppable Miss Silver—whose stout figure, fondness for Tennyson, and passion for knitting disguise a keen intellect and a knack for cracking even the toughest cases—are sure to delight readers of Agatha Christie, Ellis Peters, and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Daniel: A Novel (Health Choices Ser.)
by Henning MankellFrom the bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander novels: The &“haunting and fascinating&” tale of a young boy&’s harrowing odyssey from Africa to Sweden (Booklist). In the 1870s, Hans Bengler arrives in Cape Town from Småland, Sweden, driven by a singular desire: to discover an insect no one has seen before and name it after himself. But then he impulsively adopts a young San orphan boy whose parents have been killed by European colonists. Christening the boy Daniel, Hans brings him back to Sweden—a quite different specimen than he first contemplated. Daniel is told to call Bengler &“Father,&” and to knock on doors and bow. He continually struggles to understand this strange new land of mud and snow that surrounds and seemingly entraps him. At the same time, he is haunted by visions of his murdered parents calling him home to Africa. Knowing that the only way home is by sea, he decides he must learn to walk on water if he is ever to reclaim his true place in the world. Evocative and sometimes brutal, the novel follows Daniel through a series of tragedies and betrayals that culminate in a shocking act. Henning Mankell, a world-renowned &“master of atmosphere,&” offers this &“quiet tragedy&” with a ruthless elegance all his own (The Boston Globe).
The Wounded Thorn (A\west Country Mystery Ser. #1)
by Fay SampsonA retired teacher and her friend are caught up in a mystery when they visit Glastonbury, one of Britain&’s most fascinating historical sites . . . Hilary is a recently retired teacher, and with time on her hands—and her husband away doing volunteer work in war-torn Gaza—she needs a distraction. So she invites her good friend Veronica, a recent widow, to accompany her on a trip to Glastonbury, to see the ancient sights. The pair is saddened to discover that the sacred Glastonbury Thorn tree has been severely damaged, and they wonder whether other local historic sites are under threat too. But they are unprepared for the shocking discovery Hilary makes at the Chalice Well: an abandoned bag, containing a bomb . . . Who is to blame? A foreign tourist? An eccentric pagan author? Or an angry local who resents that a Christian place has been &“overrun&” by other beliefs? Hilary and Veronica just want to enjoy their holiday, but they&’re about to be pulled into a mystery . . .
The Dragonback Series Books 1–3: Dragon and Thief, Dragon and Soldier, and Dragon and Slave (The Dragonback Series)
by Timothy ZahnThe first three adventures in the Dragonback science fiction fantasy series from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Thrawn series. Dragon and Thief: Young thief and con artist Jack Morgan is hiding out on an uninhabited planet after he&’s falsely accused of a crime. But his solitude is interrupted when Draycos, a warrior whose reptilian race is being targeted for extinction, makes an emergency landing. The two will be able to survive, but only if they literally bond together . . . Dragon and Soldier: When all is well, Draycos looks like nothing more than a tattoo on Jack Morgan&’s back. But when Jack&’s threatened, the K&’da warrior appears in his true, dragonlike form. Together they go undercover to investigate a mercenary outfit connected to the extermination of Draycos&’s people, and it turns out Jack isn&’t the only new recruit with a secret . . . Dragon and Slave: Following a lead, Jack becomes a slave on a Brummga alien estate where he must find out all he can while under the cruel watch of a vicious slave master who has no problem killing the help. Fortunately, Draycos always has his back.
Brother Jimmy's BBQ: More Than 100 Recipes for Pork, Beef, Chicken, & the Essential Southern Sides
by Josh Lebowitz Eva Pesantez Sean Evans&“New York&’s favorite go-to barbecue chain is revealing its best-kept secrets&” (New York Daily News). According to owner Josh Lebowitz and executive chef Eva Pesantez, the foundation of Brother Jimmy&’s success is the food. Incredible ribs. Country-fried steak. Pulled pork sandwiches. Blackened chicken. And of course, the delicious sides: from mac &‘n&’ cheese to black-eyed peas. But beyond the food, there&’s something more—Brother Jimmy&’s is the place where people go to have a good time. Now, the restaurant&’s recipes are presented for the first time, with more than one hundred recipes for starters, sides, beef, pork, chicken, seafood, rubs & sauces, and drinks & cocktails. From Hush Puppies with Maple Butter to Shrimp and Corn Fritters to Classic Pulled Pork with Slaw, these are the only recipes you&’ll need to re-create your favorite restaurant recipes in your own kitchen.
Daughter of Ashes: A Hannah Ives Murder Mystery (The Hannah Ives Mysteries #14)
by Marcia TalleyAmateur sleuth Hannah Ives has a new home, but after a gruesome discovery in the chimney, she has a new case on her hands. Is a tragic discovery from the past triggering a number of shocking present-day events? When Hannah loses out on the cottage of her dreams because of an unscrupulous real estate agent, she and her husband, Paul, buy a fixer-upper instead. But contractors restoring the chimney soon make a tragic discovery: the mummified body of an infant. Hannah, already researching the history of her home in the county archives, is searching for clues to the dead infant&’s identity when more shocking events occur. Suddenly, her access to the courthouse is denied and the records she has been examining are slated for destruction. Someone with money, influence, or both is trying to make sure incriminating information stays buried. Can Hannah solve the crimes before the evidence and over one hundred years of county history go up in smoke? &“Readers who haven&’t met Hannah should do so promptly.&” ―Booklist
A Ghost's Story: A Novel
by Lorna Gibb&“A fascinating story of what it might be like to be a ghost, and the longing in us that makes us want them to exist.&”—Glasgow Herald, &“Books of the Year&” Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, séances and spiritualist meetings grew in popularity. One &“ghost&” appeared more than any other: the Katie King spirit. Blending historical fact and fiction, A Ghost&’s Story presents the mysterious spirit writings and biographical outpourings of Katie King, this famous and enigmatic spirit celebrity. A profound and curious consciousness guided into this realm by the faith of true believers, or the cheap trickery of parlor cheats and exploitative swindlers? Katie King is both, and more. This is the tale of a ghost&’s quest to understand human faith, loss, and passion. It is also the tale of a contemporary scholar desperate to understand the allure of the spirit world, journeying with Katie from the candle-lit drawing rooms of Victorian London to the Imperial Palaces of Tsars; from the shadiest of gimmicks and tricks, to the most poignant sincerity of the deathbed wish.A Ghost&’s Story features a narrator like no other, moving in and out of time and space, obstreperous, witty, and profoundly honest. Above all, this inventive novel is an examination of belief, and a spectacular insight into what lies on the other side. &“At turns spooky and comical, Gibb deftly weaves fact with fiction so that each page shimmers ectoplasmically with uncertainty.&”—Irish Mail &“Compelling...add in a supporting cast of rogues, charlatans and true believers and the theatrical trappings of seances and you are pitched in a world that is rich and strange.&”—Sunday Express
Murder at the Loch: A Traditional Murder Mystery Set In 1950s Scotland (The Langham & Dupré Mysteries #3)
by Eric BrownIn this third &“suspenseful outing&” from Eric Brown, crime writer sleuth Donald Langham is invited to a remote Scottish castle to solve an intriguing mystery (Publishers Weekly). It&’s the bitterly cold December of 1955, and Donald Langham has been asked by his friend, private detective Ralph Ryland, to assist him on a case. Ryland has been contacted by their old commanding officer, Major Gordon, who has reasons to believe that his life is under threat at his remote castle in the Scottish Highlands. On arriving at the castle, Langham and Ryland learn that Major Gordon is attempting to raise the wreck of a German fighter plane which crashed into the loch in 1945. But it&’s not only the bad weather that has put a halt to the progress of the salvage. Soon after Langham&’s arrival, one of Gordon&’s guests is brutally murdered—and the hunt is on to stop a ruthless killer before he—or she—strikes again. &“This promises to be a fine series, if future installments are as good as the first three have been.&” —Booklist &“This charming book brings to the page well-defined characters and a classic locked-room structure. Recommend for anyone who loves English country house murders.&” —Library Journal
Scripting the Moves: Culture and Control in a "No-Excuses" Charter School
by Joanne W. GolannAn inside look at a "no-excuses" charter school that reveals this educational model’s strengths and weaknesses, and how its approach shapes studentsSilent, single-file lines. Detention for putting a head on a desk. Rules for how to dress, how to applaud, how to complete homework. Walk into some of the most acclaimed urban schools today and you will find similar recipes of behavior, designed to support student achievement. But what do these “scripts” accomplish? Immersing readers inside a “no-excuses” charter school, Scripting the Moves offers a telling window into an expanding model of urban education reform. Through interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and parents, and analysis of documents and data, Joanne Golann reveals that such schools actually dictate too rigid a level of social control for both teachers and their predominantly low-income Black and Latino students. Despite good intentions, scripts constrain the development of important interactional skills and reproduce some of the very inequities they mean to disrupt.Golann presents a fascinating, sometimes painful, account of how no-excuses schools use scripts to regulate students and teachers. She shows why scripts were adopted, what purposes they serve, and where they fall short. What emerges is a complicated story of the benefits of scripts, but also their limitations, in cultivating the tools students need to navigate college and other complex social institutions—tools such as flexibility, initiative, and ease with adults. Contrasting scripts with tools, Golann raises essential questions about what constitutes cultural capital—and how this capital might be effectively taught.Illuminating and accessible, Scripting the Moves delves into the troubling realities behind current education reform and reenvisions what it takes to prepare students for long-term success.
The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media
by Emily HundA critical history of the social media influencer&’s rise to global prominenceBefore there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked. The Influencer Industry tells the story of how early digital creators scrambling for work amid the Great Recession gave rise to the multibillion-dollar industry that has fundamentally reshaped culture, the flow of information, and how we relate to ourselves and each other.Drawing on dozens of in-depth interviews with leading social media influencers, brand executives, marketers, talent managers, trend forecasters, and others, Emily Hund shows how early industry participants focused on creating and monetizing digital personal brands as a means of exerting control over their professional destinies in a time of acute economic uncertainty. Over time, their activities coalesced into an industry whose impact has reached far beyond the dreams of its progenitors—and beyond their control. Hund illustrates how the methods they developed for creating, monetizing, and marketing social media content have permeated our lives and untangles the unforeseen cultural and economic costs.The Influencer Industry reveals how, in an increasingly fractured and profit-driven communications environment, the people we think of as &“real&” are merely those who have learned to exploit the industry&’s ever-shifting constructions of authenticity.
After You'd Gone: From the author of Hamnet - one of the most unforgettable love stories you'll ever read
by Maggie O'FarrellThe groundbreaking debut novel from the bestselling author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT, now with an introduction by Ali Smith*Over 480,000 copies sold*'This devastatingly skilful love story will break your heart!' Alice Winn'Gripping. Superbly moving' Ali SmithA distraught young woman boards a train at King's Cross to return to her family in Scotland. Six hours later, she catches sight of something so terrible in a mirror at Waverley Station that she gets on the next train back to London.AFTER YOU'D GONE follows Alice's mental journey through her own past, after a traffic accident has left her in a coma. A love story that is also a story of absence, and of how our choices can reverberate through the generations, it slowly draws us closer to a dark secret at a family's heart.'Remarkable. Luminous' Observer'Deeply moving' The Times'An amazing study of love and grief as it poses the wrenching question: What do you do with all the love you have for someone when they're gone?' Glamour
The 7 Secrets of Happiness: An Optimist's Journey
by Gyles BrandrethILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THE 7 SECRETS OF HAPPINESSTen years on, Gyles Brandreth has learnt yet more about happiness... featuring a new introduction and charming illustrations, this little book attempts to answer a big question: How can we be happy?'Marvellous, brilliant, wonderful, best thing I've ever heard, transformational...'That was the response from a total stranger when Gyles Brandreth delivered the Happiness Lecture at Birmingham University. Someone else in the thousand-strong audience tweeted: 'The 7 Secrets of Happiness are amazing. Thank you Gyles Brandreth, wherever you are.'Well, Gyles Brandreth is here now with those 7 Secrets of Happiness. The secrets are simple rules, easy to remember, but challenging to achieve. Gyles Brandreth found them when he set out on a journey looking for happiness and ended up in the psychiatrist's chair - with Dr Anthony Clare.What is happiness? Who gets to be happy? And how?These are the big questions that Gyles Brandreth aims to answer in this little book. Research shows that happy people live up to ten years longer than unhappy people. This is a book that won't simply enhance your life: it will extend it.
Artifact Space
by Miles CameronOut in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species. It has always been Marca Nbaro's dream to achieve the near-impossible: escape her upbringing and venture into space.All it took, to make her way onto the crew of the Greatship Athens was thousands of hours in simulators, dedication, and pawning or selling every scrap of her old life in order to forge a new one. But though she's made her way onboard with faked papers, leaving her old life - and scandals - behind isn't so easy. She may have just combined all the dangers of her former life, with all the perils of the new . . .
Good Bones, Great Pieces: The Seven Essential Pieces That Will Carry You Through A Lifetime
by Suzanne McGrath Lauren McGrath&“An excellent and useful book for both beginners and more experienced home decorators . . . Encourages us all to be both carefree and careful&” (Martha Stewart). Making a home is a lifelong pursuit and it starts with your very first place. Suzanne and Lauren McGrath, a mother-daughter team, operate the popular blog Good Bones, Great Pieces. At the core of their philosophy is the belief that every home should have seven essential pieces that can live in almost any room and will always be stylish. The authors explain how to place iconic items of furniture like the love seat and the dresser and rotate them throughout the home as the style or need changes. Illustrated with photographs of homes and apartments that the McGraths have designed, as well as apartments by some iconic designers, this book is a wonderful resource, whether you are starting out with your first apartment or rethinking the design of your home. &“A must-read for first-timers and seasoned home decorators alike.&” —Traditional Home
Cooking Without Borders
by Charlotte Druckman Anita LoA collection of globe-spanning recipes from the acclaimed chef and restaurateur. To Anita Lo, all cooking is fusion cooking. Whether it&’s her slow-poached salmon, smoked paprika, spaetzle, and savoy cabbage from her restaurant Annisa, or the smoked chanterelles with sweet corn flan that led her to victory on Iron Chef America, Lo&’s food can always be distinguished by its strong multicultural influence. Inspired by the flavors and textures she&’s tasted throughout the world, she creates food that breaks down preconceived notions of what American food is and should be. In Cooking Without Borders, Lo offers more than one hundred recipes celebrating the best flavors from around the globe, including chapters on appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts. These recipes show home cooks everywhere how easy it is to think globally and prepare creative and delicious food. Now that we have greater access than ever before to ingredients from all corners of the world, there&’s no better time to enjoy these flavors at every meal, presented by one of our country&’s most innovative chefs.
Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith In Troubled Times
by Studs TerkelAmerica&’s most inspirational voices, in their own words: &“If you&’re looking for a reason to act and dream again, you&’ll find it in the pages of this book&” (Chicago Tribune). Published when Studs Terkel was ninety-one years old, this astonishing oral history tackles one of the famed journalist&’s most elusive subjects: Hope. Where does it come from? What are its essential qualities? How do we sustain it in the darkest of times? An alternative, more personal chronicle of the &“American century,&” Hope Dies Last is a testament to the indefatigable spirit that Studs has always embodied, and an inheritance for those who, by taking a stand, are making concrete the dreams of today. A former death row inmate who served nearly twenty years for a crime he did not commit discusses his never-ending fight for justice. Tom Hayden, author of The Port Huron Statement, contemplates the legacy of 1960s student activism. Liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith reflects on the enduring problem of corporate malfeasance. From a doctor who teaches his young students compassion to the retired brigadier general who flew the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, these interviews tell us much about the power of the American dream and the force of individuals who advocate for a better world. With grace and warmth, Terkel&’s subjects express their secret hopes and dreams. Taken together, this collection of interviews tells an inspiring story of optimism and persistence, told in voices that resonate with the eloquence of conviction. &“The value of Hope Dies Last lies not in what it teaches readers about its narrow subject, but in the fascinating stories it reveals, and the insight it allows into the vast range of human experience.&” —The A.V. Club &“Very Terkelesque—by now the man requires an adjective of his own.&” —Margaret Atwood, The New York Times Review of Books &“An American treasure.&” —Cornel West
Tau Zero
by Poul AndersonThis Hugo Award finalist, &“justifiably regarded as a classic&” (SFReviews.net), is the tale of an epic space voyage where time dilation goes horribly wrong. Aboard the spacecraft Leonora Christine, fifty crewmembers, half men and half women, have embarked on a journey of discovery like no other to a planet thirty light-years away. Since their ship is not capable of traveling faster than light, the crew will be subject to the effects of time dilation and relativity. They will age five years on board the ship before reaching their destination, but thirty-three years will pass on Earth. Experienced scientists and researchers, they have come to terms with the time conditions of their space travel. Until . . . the Leonora Christine passes through an uncharted nebula, which damages the engine, making it impossible to decelerate the ship on the second half of their trip. To survive, the crewmembers have no choice but to bypass their destination and continue to accelerate toward the speed of light. But how will they keep hope alive and maintain order as they hurtle deeper into space with time passing more and more rapidly, and their ultimate fate unknown? With its combination of mind-blowing hard science and compelling human drama, Tau Zero is &“the ultimate hard science novel&” (Mike Resnick).
Men Explain Things to Me
by Rebecca SolnitThe National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author delivers a collection of essays that serve as the perfect &“antidote to mansplaining&” (The Stranger). In her comic, scathing essay &“Men Explain Things to Me,&” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don&’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters. She ends on a serious note— because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, &“He&’s trying to kill me!&” This book features that now-classic essay with six perfect complements, including an examination of the great feminist writer Virginia Woolf&’s embrace of mystery, of not knowing, of doubt and ambiguity, a highly original inquiry into marriage equality, and a terrifying survey of the scope of contemporary violence against women. &“In this series of personal but unsentimental essays, Solnit gives succinct shorthand to a familiar female experience that before had gone unarticulated, perhaps even unrecognized.&” —The New York Times &“Essential feminist reading.&” —The New Republic &“This slim book hums with power and wit.&” —Boston Globe &“Solnit tackles big themes of gender and power in these accessible essays. Honest and full of wit, this is an integral read that furthers the conversation on feminism and contemporary society.&” —San Francisco Chronicle &“Essential.&” —Marketplace &“Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions.&” —Salon
Answers to 100 Frequently Asked Questions about Social Security Retirement Benefits
by John WeberCompletely updated, expert advice on making the most important financial decision of your life. When it comes to Social Security benefits, the first question most people facing retirement asks is, when do I start? Age 62? Given the changing laws and the overwhelming number of core rules and codicils, the answer is, there is no single best answer for everybody. This comprehensive—and comprehensible—book functions both as a primer and to dispel many of the common misconceptions people have about Social Security: what it really is, how it works, and how to get the most from the greatest &“investment&” you ever made. Best of all, editor John Weber does all the work for you. Sifting through thousands of pages of SSA publications, he narrows down the hundred most important and frequently asked questions about Social Security. He also unscrambles just as many pages of head-scratching answers and lays them all out in clear, concise, and useful language to guide you toward maximizing your retirement benefits in the simplest way possible. From enrollment to payday, this invaluable book will help you make the most informed decisions about securing the comfortable and stress-free future you deserve.
Performance Driven Thinking: A Challenging Journey That Will Encourage You to Embrace the Greatest Performance of Your Life
by Bobby Kipper David L. HancockA turbocharged handbook to reaching your fullest potential professionally and then maintaining it for the rest of your life. Did you know you were born to perform beyond your wildest expectations? Performance Driven Thinking will serve as your personal coach to a life of personal and professional prosperity. This journey will take you to a feeling of embracing life in the winner&’s circle. It will assist you in overcoming the simple challenges of everyday issues to existing at a level which will benefit those who choose to take it. The key to this journey will begin when you discover the desire to perform and will end up with you embracing the will to perform. Non-performance in your life is no longer an option. Your stage is set. You have had a lifetime to prepare. Performance Driven Thinking will be your ticket to your personal and professional performance of a lifetime. What&’s stopping you? You were born to perform.
The North Country Murder of Irene Izak: Stained by Her Blood (True Crime Ser.)
by Dave ShampineA road trip becomes a dead end for a schoolteacher in this haunting cold case of murder that became a fifty-year fight for justice. In June of 1968, Irene Izak, a young French teacher from Scranton, Pennsylvania, was pulling an all-nighter on the road toward the promise of a new life in Quebec. The last time she was seen alive was at 2:09 a.m. by a toll collector at Thousand Island Bridge who claimed Irene was visibly afraid. Less than a half-hour later, Irene was found bludgeoned to death in a ravine bordering DeWolf Point State Park. There were no signs of robbery or sexual assault. For reasons unknown, Irene had been compelled to pull off the interstate and abandon her car, only to be brutally murdered. Irene&’s body was discovered by State Trooper Dave Hennigan, who&’d stopped her for speeding shortly before—and issued the young woman a warning. Blending novelistic suspense with true-crime reporting, author Dave Shampine investigates a crime that shook the communities of northeast Pennsylvania and New York's North Country—a vicious and confounding killing that has remained unsolved but not forgotten.
The Forest Gods' Reign (The Forest Gods Series #1)
by Alexandria HookAn epic adventure fantasy in which a group of teenage friends discover they are actually Greek gods training for a future war. &“He stays.&” Those two simple words would seal the fates of more than a dozen teenagers. Six years earlier, Ashley and her friends discovered they were reincarnations of the Greek gods when they survived a trip into the deadly forest and received a prophecy foretelling a war in their future. They had six years to prepare, to make sense of the prophecy. Ashley thought six years would be enough. But it wasn&’t even close. Nothing in the gods&’ tiny town or their beloved forest could have prepared them for the sudden problems that arise after the arrival of a mysterious teenage boy, a human. The gods all know he&’s dangerous, but only Ashley, aka Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, knows there is more to this boy&’s destiny. And she has sworn to keep it a secret. Unfortunately, Lord Hades, the ruler of the Underworld, and his monster assassins don&’t give the other gods much time to get to the truth. Now, the gods and the hero-in-training have no choice but to work together with a corrupt society to defend to the death their once-carefree reign.
By Cécile (Femmes Fatales)
by Tereska TorresA coming of age novel set in post-war France by an author who &“launched the modern genre of the lesbian paperback&” (Susan Stryker, author of Queer Pulp). When eighteen-year-old Cécile is orphaned at the end of World War II, the curious and adventurous Catholic student finds refuge in Paris, and with an older man. A former member of the Resistance with Cécile&’s parents, Maurice is handsome, a thrilling cultured patron of the arts, and a mentor eager to introduce the budding young author to his intimate circle of friends—Cocteau, Sartre, and Eartha Kitt! As liberating an influence as he is, Maurice also encourages Cécile to shed her inhibitions he sees as bourgeois. Possessing a sensual and passionate temperament, Cécile is eager to begin exploring—by sharing Maurice&’s mistress, and writing of every life-changing and delightfully scandalous new experience. Credited with penning the first, candidly lesbian novel—Women&’s Barracks, in 1950—Tereska Torrès &“scandalized mid-century America&” (The New York Times). In By Cécile, written in 1963, &“Madame Torres has re-imagined a youthful Colette (here called Cécile) in the infinitely seductive post-World War II period in Paris, where she moves like a sleeping princess through the perverse fairy tales of man-made cafe society. [It&’s] a sharply perceptive novel&” (Joan Schenkar, author of The Talented Miss Highsmith).