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Seven Keys to Baldpate: A Mysterious Medoldramatic Farce
by Earl Derr BiggersHoping for peace and quiet, a novelist checks in to a secluded hotel and becomes part of a noisy conspiracy in this classic mystery from the creator of Charlie Chan After years of churning out potboilers, novelist Billy Magee decides that he needs just two months of solitude to produce a work of true literary merit. New York is too crowded with distractions, so he embarks on a journey to the loneliest place he knows: a rambling summer resort that has been closed for the winter. He plans to live by candlelight and firewood for the next eight weeks, with nothing to do but write. On his very first night at Baldpate Inn, however, Magee receives an unwelcome visitor. For some reason, the man is very nervous. Could it have something to do with the revolver clutched in his hand? Magee was promised the only key to the hotel, but five more peculiar interlopers arrive, each with a key. It is clear that the author is caught up in a strange and baffling plot. The question is, who&’s pulling the strings? Magee hopes to find out soon, lest he turn up dead before he can start his book. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Natural Shocks: A Novel (Triquarterly Bks.)
by Richard SternA high-flying journalist comes to ground in this brilliant and bittersweet novel about coming to terms with the traumas of life Fred Wursup has an enviable existence. Paid to travel around the world &“harvesting the annual crop of stars and villains,&” he has a beautiful geophysicist girlfriend and a friendly relationship with his ex-wife, Susannah, whose living room he can see into from the roof of his Lexington Avenue apartment. His latest book, a collective portrait of brilliant but flawed leaders called Down the American Drain, had the good fortune to be published at the height of the Watergate scandal, sending it to the top of the bestseller lists. A new assignment, however, threatens to bring an end to Wursup&’s recent string of successes. Asked to write an article on dying—still &“undiscovered country,&” according to his editor—he becomes unsettled by the seemingly random course of his life, the nature of his work, and the mortality that surrounds him. A troubled playwright he once profiled commits suicide. His elderly father, a retired meter reader who writes poetry about the last years of famous old men, seems to be on the verge of something drastic. Cicia, a young woman dying of cancer at St. Vincent&’s Hospital, is gorgeous, vibrant, and doomed, and Wursup just might be falling in love with her. A charming and richly intelligent story about the disasters, major and minor, that are bound to happen to us all, Natural Shocks showcases the fine craftsmanship and depth of feeling that have established Richard Stern as one of America&’s most admired authors.
Claws
by Ozzie CheekEnter the deadly safari and hunt down a blood-thirsty killer! When twenty-three lions, tigers, and ligers—a giant hybrid cat—appear in rural Idaho, town officials decide to hold the first safari in America. Only police chief Jackson Hobbs, a man haunted by loss and tragedy, and Katy Osborne, a talented hunting guide, seem to realize the potential danger of this situation. With the town desperate for money, the mayor, who also happens to be Jackson&’s ex-wife, and her boyfriend are adamant that the Idaho Lion Hunt go forward even after people are killed. As the death toll rises and his own family is put at risk, Jackson must cope with a town doubled in population, the activity of a local antigovernment militia, a willful teenage daughter, an animal rescue group, a missing young boy, a dead state trooper, and Katy&’s desire to save a rare liger named Kali. Betrayal blossoms alongside romance as Jackson gets closer and closer to discovering the identity of those who engineered this predator panic.
Organ Hunters (The David Morton Novels #4)
by Gordon ThomasIntelligence agent David Morton must foil an illegal organ trafficking ring in this thrilling novel by the New York Times–bestselling author. On a remote island in Central America, transplants are being performed for the elite of the crime world—with organs harvested from those killed by a sinister organization. Following the trail of mutilated bodies across the globe, intelligence agent David Morton must discover who is the mastermind behind the carnage. His own gut reaction convinces him that none of the usual players—The Chinese Triads, Japan&’s organized crime syndicate, the Russian criminal fraternity, the Mafia—are responsible. There&’s a powerful new player on the block . . .
The Problem of the Evil Editor (The Charles Dodgson and Arthur Conan Doyle Mysteries #4)
by Roberta RogowA vicious newspaperman is murdered, and every scribe in the office is a suspect It is winter in London, and the coal is running short. The chill on Fleet Street is so severe that the men who run the presses for Youth&’s Companion are too cold to work. Despite the freeze, their editor—the vile Mr. Bassett—will not spare a shilling for coal. He is behind on paying his employees, has been accused of stealing his writers&’ ideas, and refuses to hire any up-and-coming literary talent, be it Oscar Wilde or Arthur Conan Doyle. It is no surprise when the editor is found murdered. The question is, which of his enemies got to him first? Doyle enlists Charles Dodgson—better known as Lewis Carroll—to look into the murder. When the police try to pin the killing on the slighted Mr. Wilde, it is up to Doyle and Dodgson to clear Wilde&’s name and find the true killer of the cruelest man on Fleet Street.
Pillar of the Sky: A Novel of Stonehenge
by Cecelia HollandA novel of primitive England and the birth of the breathtaking monoliths known as Stonehenge, from &“a first-class storyteller&” (People). In a time before recorded history, on an island that many centuries later would come to be known as Britain, Moloquin, the Unwanted One, dreams of a pathway to the heavens. Cast out as a child, he survives by his wits alone on the fringes of tribal society and grows into manhood driven by one powerful and unshakable ambition: to build a link between the earthly and the spiritual worlds through the raising of an impossible structure. But to accomplish such a momentous feat in this primitive age of stone will not only require superhuman strength, it will entail unraveling the very fabric of life. Still, Moloquin will not be deterred in his quest, and he will stand courageously against all enemies, court untold disaster, sacrifice what he must, and remake his entire world to see his great vision gloriously realized. One of today&’s foremost historical novelists, Cecelia Holland explores the strange and enduring mystery of Stonehenge, one of the true wonders of the ancient and modern world. A breathtaking speculation, Pillar of the Sky is an unforgettable tale brimming with action, colorful characters, vivid detail, intelligence, and wonder, while presenting a possible history of the man-made miracle on Salisbury Plain that confounds scientists, scholars, and archaeologists to this day.
Frail Barrier (The Mysteries of Venice #8)
by Edward SklepowichAt summer&’s end, Urbino Macintyre races to save an innocent life In the sun-blasted expanse of St. Mark&’s Square, hundreds of tourists form a slow-moving herd, dragging themselves forward on a tortuous sightseeing expedition. Inside the elegant Caffè Florian, the atmosphere is more refined as Urbino Macintyre shares a conversation with his beloved friend, the Contessa da Capo-Zendrini. Life in Venice is serene, and they are happier than they have ever been—until a murder shatters the peace of the caffè. Three seemingly unrelated deaths catch Macintyre&’s attention, and the amateur sleuth throws himself into unraveling their mysteries. But is there a connection, or is the obsessive American expatriate seeing a conspiracy where none exists? In the days leading up to the annual Historical Regatta, Macintyre discovers a plot against an innocent person. To save a life, he will have to discover the ugly truth that lurks beyond the beauty of St. Mark&’s Square.
The Story of Junk: A Novel
by Linda YablonskyWitty, terrifying, and utterly cool, Yablonsky&’s roman à clef is a searing, hyperreal account of the heroin underground in 1980s Manhattan Told with dark humor and unremitting honesty, Linda Yablonsky&’s riveting first novel explores the New York art and postpunk music world of the early 1980s from deep within. Set in motion by the appearance of a federal agent, the tale follows two women on a dangerous and seductive journey through a bohemia where hard drugs, extreme behavior, intense friendships, and the emergence of AIDS profoundly alter their lives.
Chinese Whispers: Poems
by John AshberyJohn Ashbery&’s restless, witty meditation on aging and the music of change: A must-read collection from America&’s greatest modern poetThe child&’s game Chinese Whispers, known in America as Telephone, is an exercise in transforming the recognizable into something beautifully strange. John Ashbery&’s twenty-fourth collection of poems, Chinese Whispers, re-creates in every line the accidentally transformative logic of the language game for which the book is named. In sixty-three charged and often very funny poems, Ashbery confronts the relentlessness of age and time while demonstrating, in his unmistakable, self-reflexive style, the process by which a single thought unravels, multiplies, distends, travels, and finally arrives, changed and unfamiliar. First published in 2002, shortly after Ashbery&’s seventy-fifth birthday, Chinese Whispers is a collection in which fairy tales, mysteries, and magic dollhouses interleave effortlessly with the everyday of pancakes and popular culture. Ashbery&’s language is absolutely recognizable from modern life as it is experienced, but at the same time is as dreamlike and disquieting as intercepted transmissions from another world.
First, Body: Stories
by Melanie Rae ThonWinner of the 1997 Whiting Writers&’ Award:Taut, persistent, and brilliantly cadenced, First, Body is a testament to the breathtaking virtuosity of Granta-acclaimed author Melanie Rae Thon Through nine searing works of fiction, Melanie Rae Thon looks to the people who live in the borderlands, turning a keen and compassionate eye to those marginalized by circumstance and transgression. Taking us from the cobblestone streets of Boston to a deserted Montana road, from dance halls to hospital morgues, these urgent tales careen between the faults of the body and those of the mind, exploring the irruption of the past through the present, the sudden accidents and misguided passions that make it impossible to return to the safe territory of a former life.
The Hidden History of the Korean War, 1950–1951: 1950-1951 (Forbidden Bookshelf #10)
by I. F. Stone&“A great journalist&” raises troubling questions about the forgotten war in this courageous, controversial book—with a new introduction by Bruce Cumings (The Baltimore Sun). &“Much about the Korean War is still hidden, and much will long remain hidden. I believe I have succeeded in throwing new light on its origins.&” —From the author&’s preface In 1945 US troops arrived in Korea for what would become America&’s longest-lasting conflict. While history books claim without equivocation that the war lasted from 1950 to 1953, those who have actually served there know better. By closely analyzing US intelligence before June 25, 1950 (the war&’s official start), and the actions of key players like John Foster Dulles, General Douglas MacArthur, and Chiang Kai-shek, the great investigative reporter I. F. Stone demolishes the official story of America&’s &“forgotten war&” by shedding new light on the tangled sequence of events that led to it. The Hidden History of the Korean War was first published in 1952—during the Korean War—and then republished during the Vietnam War. In the 1990s, documents from the former Soviet archives became available, further illuminating this controversial period in history.
Jean-Paul Sartre: Philosopher Without Faith
by René Marill-AlbérèsProfessor Albérès in this well-ordered volume traces through successive works the elaboration of various concepts now linked to French Existentialism—anguish, nausea, hypocrisy, lucidity, consciousness, conformity, commitment, ethical values, situation, etc. Translated from the French by Wade Baskin.
Black Bridge: A Mystery Of Venice (The Mysteries of Venice #4)
by Edward SklepowichUrbino Macintyre fights to protect the safety of his closest friend Centuries ago, Venice celebrated the Day of All Souls by building a bridge of boats across the canal to the cemetery island of San Michele. As the tourist season winds down, the Contessa da Capo-Zendrini decides it&’s time to revive the tradition, organizing a fleet so the city can mourn once more as it did in ancient times. Her plans are upended, however, when her latest fascination, a rakish playwright named Bobo, begins receiving anonymous threats. She begs her friend, the amateur sleuth Urbino Macintyre, to find out who has been sending the letters, a thankless chore that becomes rather more interesting when Bobo is implicated in a grisly murder. As the day of the contessa&’s black bridge draws closer, Macintyre scrambles to discover the true killer and keep his friend safe. If he doesn&’t act quickly, the contessa&’s journey to the cemetery may be a one-way trip.
Science of Coercion: Communication Research & Psychological Warfare, 1945–1960 (Forbidden Bookshelf #13)
by Christopher SimpsonA provocative and eye-opening study of the essential role the US military and the Central Intelligence Agency played in the advancement of communication studies during the Cold War era, now with a new introduction by Robert W. McChesney and a new preface by the author Since the mid-twentieth century, the great advances in our knowledge about the most effective methods of mass communication and persuasion have been visible in a wide range of professional fields, including journalism, marketing, public relations, interrogation, and public opinion studies. However, the birth of the modern science of mass communication had surprising and somewhat troubling midwives: the military and covert intelligence arms of the US government. In this fascinating study, author Christopher Simpson uses long-classified documents from the Pentagon, the CIA, and other national security agencies to demonstrate how this seemingly benign social science grew directly out of secret government-funded research into psychological warfare. It reveals that many of the most respected pioneers in the field of communication science were knowingly complicit in America&’s Cold War efforts, regardless of their personal politics or individual moralities, and that their findings on mass communication were eventually employed for the purposes of propaganda, subversion, intimidation, and counterinsurgency. An important, thought-provoking work, Science of Coercion shines a blazing light into a hitherto remote and shadowy corner of Cold War history.
Guernica: The Crucible of World War II
by Gordon Thomas Max Morgan-WittsHow and why the cultural and religious capital of the Basque people was reduced to rubble by the Nazi Condor Legion air force. The first—and only—book to have interviewed all survivors of the blitzkrieg and those who launched it.
The Female of the Species: Large Print (The Bulldog Drummond Thrillers #5)
by H. C. McNeileNo man in Europe can stop Bulldog Drummond, but now it&’s a woman&’s turn to try Bulldog Drummond has retired from fighting tyranny to live peacefully with his wife, Phyllis, in the English countryside. He is just leaving his sleepy local pub when he is accosted by two sinister strangers. With a few quick movements, Drummond leaves the men dazed, bloodied, and eager to make a hasty retreat. The question is, who sent them? Drummond is certain he knows—a mysterious woman has lately been trying to intimidate him, and now she has decided to make her threats real. The truth, unfortunately, is far more diabolical. When he returns home, Drummond discovers that after their thrashing at the pub, the men went forward with their real plan: kidnapping Phyllis. Getting her back will be the most perilous adventure Drummond has ever undertaken, but he is willing to risk everything and meet his most dangerous foe yet in order to keep his beloved wife safe. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Superstar: A Novel
by VivaA bold and uncensored fictional account of the wild life at Andy Warhol&’s world-famous Factory by a real-life superstar who witnessed it all Author, video artist, underground film actor, and superstar, the incomparable Viva is arguably the most famous of Andy Warhol&’s protégés, a mainstay at the enigmatic artist&’s Factory. In her riveting, revelatory, totally uncensored, and scandalously entertaining novel, the Factory doors are blown wide open, exposing a world of sex, drugs, and genius. Based on Viva&’s own life, Superstar is the story of Gloria, a repressed, convent-educated aspiring artist who escapes the strictures of her stifling existence and flees to New York City. Falling in with an iconic artist referred to as A. and his coterie of outrageous, beautiful avant-garde acolytes, transvestites, boy toys, and hangers-on, Gloria is reborn, undergoing a remarkable transformation from sheltered young innocent to sexual athlete, film star, and media darling. Over the course of her reawakening, she sheds her every inhibition as she experiences what ordinary people only dream about in their most secret fantasies . . . or worst nightmares. Though the names have all been changed, the real stars of Warhol&’s factory are scandalously recognizable. Viva injects her own unique style and personality into a story at once outrageous and brutally honest: the unforgettable making of a superstar.
Heart of War
by Lucian K. Truscott IV&“Sex, sexism, and murder rear their ugly heads at an Army base . . . another engrossing, cautionary tale from Truscott . . . A well-handled shocker&” (Kirkus Reviews). The brutal murder of Lieutenant Sheila Worthy has sent shock waves of fear throughout Fort Benning, Georgia; the task of finding her killer falls to Major Kara Guidry, the top lawyer in the judge advocate general&’s office. Kara must tread carefully; suspicion of guilt has already begun to spread—all the way to Washington&’s corridors of power. But the most dangerous revelation of all is yet to come. It is a secret that will rock the military establishment. A secret Kara must protect at all costs—before a shattering courtroom disclosure blows the truth sky-high . . .
Father in a Fix: Bless Me, Father; A Father Before Christmas; Father In A Fix; Bless Me Again, Father; And Father Under Fire (Bless Me, Father #3)
by Neil BoydFrom the series that inspired the hit London Weekend Television sitcom Bless Me, Father: After six months at St. Jude&’s, Father Neil finds his parish as outrageous as ever Between the barbs of Mrs. Pring and the grandstanding of Father Duddleswell, the past six months for Father Boyd have been the most eventful of his life. It is now New Year&’s Eve. The year 1951 is right around the corner, and Neil has made his resolution: Wise up. With the crazy collection of characters at his parish, this will be no easy feat. Father Neil always tries to do the right thing, but he encounters one misadventure after another. Whether the cantankerous Father Duddleswell has just been identified as the prime suspect in the killing of a gambling parishioner&’s smelly pig or a generous attempt to give Father Duddleswell a day off goes zanily haywire, Father Neil manages to tackle every situation with good cheer.
The Castle of Otranto: The Old English Baron
by Horace WalpoleThe Gothic masterwork that revolutionized popular fictionWhen Prince Manfred of Otranto loses his son in a strange and terrifying accident, he fears that an ancient prophecy has come to pass and his family will be stripped of its castle and lands before he can produce a new heir. Desperate to hold on to their power, he decides to divorce his wife and marry Isabella, his son&’s betrothed. But Isabella escapes into the gloomy passages beneath the castle, and with the help of a young peasant named Theodore, finds sanctuary in a nearby monastery. Manfred threatens to kill Theodore unless Friar Jerome turns the girl over to him. Only a shocking twist of fate can save Isabella and ensure that the Castle of Otranto falls to its rightful heir. An immediate sensation when it was published pseudonymously in 1764, The Castle of Otranto is widely considered to be the first Gothic novel. Rich with romance, spine-tingling suspense, and supernatural horror, the novel profoundly influenced the works of Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, and Mary Shelley. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Eye of the Beholder: The Almost Perfect Murder of Anchorwoman Diane Newton King
by Lowell Cauffiel&“A fascinating psychological study of an unrepentant murderer&” from a New York Times–bestselling author (Library Journal). Battle Creek, Michigan, is famous as the birthplace of breakfast cereal, and the nearby suburb of Marshall is as wholesome as shredded wheat. Well-known for its colorful Victorian mansions, this stately slice of nineteenth-century Americana became infamous on a frigid night in February of 1991. Newscaster Diane Newton King was stepping out of her car, her children strapped into the backseat, when a sniper&’s bullet cut her down. The police assumed that the killer was her stalker—a crazed fan who had been terrorizing King for weeks. But as their investigation ground to a standstill, the police turned to another suspect—one much closer to home. In this gripping retelling of the crime and its aftermath, journalist Lowell Cauffiel re-creates the atmosphere of terror that marked King&’s last days, giving us a story of celebrity, obsession, and what it means to kill.
The Marcus Device
by Ib MelchiorOur top-secret weapon is missing. And America&’s top test pilot is missing too. Full of a fierce, obsessive will to live, Tom Darby is about to test-fire the USA&’s ultimate weapon—when something goes tragically wrong. His F-15 fighter explodes in a ball of fire. He ejects into the killing heat of Death Valley. Crazed by injuries, he becomes a wild beast running for his life from unseen enemies—and from his rescuers. Even from his beautiful wife. American teams want him. So do sinister East German agents, headed by an ex-Nazi. Because they believe he possesses . . . The Marcus Device
The Crazy Ape: Written by a Biologist for the Young
by Albert Szent-GyörgyiA Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Szent-Györgyi concerns himself with the underlying forces and conditions that have prevented the realization of the higher possibilities of the American Dream, and, by extension, of all mankind. He addresses himself especially to the youth of the world in his attempt to show how man, the more he progresses technologically, seems the more to regress psychologically and socially, until he resembles his primate ancestors in a state of high schizophrenia. The fundamental question asked by this book is: why is it that most of the scientific research that is done to elevate human life serves in the end to destroy it? That this phenomenon exists is unarguable. How to alter it is the problem the author tackles. He finds the possibility, indeed the instrument of our survival, in our youth. Dr. Szent-Györgyi calls upon the youth the world over to organize and exercise their power to create a new world. He implores them not to waste their energies in petulance and frustration—the world is ripe for the radical changes needed for man&’s survival, and for youth to fritter away their opportunity would be to compound the tragedy and seal the fate of mankind.
The Ice Child: A Novel
by Elizabeth CookeOne of history&’s great unsolved mysteries is the basis for Elizabeth Cooke&’s exhilarating and deeply moving extreme-adventure novel about Arctic exploration, survival, and the unshakable bond between parents and children In 1845 Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128 men set out for the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. They were never seen or heard from again. Now, in an eerie replay of that tragedy, renowned archaeologist and Cambridge professor Douglas Marshall has vanished in Greenland while attempting to solve the centuries-old mystery. When journalist Jo Harper interviews Marshall&’s wife, it is the beginning of her own obsession with the lost expedition . . . and with Douglas Marshall. This suspenseful, keenly touching tale of adventure, love, and survival shifts back and forth between the doomed 1845 voyage, told from the perspective of young ship hand Augustus Peterman, and Jo Harper&’s present-day relationship with an extraordinary man who will change her profoundly, inspiring her to undertake her own seemingly impossible journey.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: Strengthen The Female Mind By Enlarging It, And There Will Be An End To Blind Obedience
by Mary WollstonecraftThis revolutionary work from the eighteenth century is one of the first tracts of feminist philosophy Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in opposition to the gender norms of the eighteenth century. In this seminal text, Wollstonecraft argues that women should receive a comprehensive education in order to benefit society. Women and men, she argues, are moral equals in the eyes of God, and women, at the time that Wollstonecraft was writing, occupied an inferior station because they were trained to serve only men rather than civilization as a whole. Written in response to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord&’s assertion that women ought only to receive a domestic education and should be confined to the home, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was a remarkably forward-thinking political text. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.