- Table View
- List View
The Spiders of Allah: Travels of an Unbeliever on the Frontline of Holy War
by James HiderIn his fascinating, terrifying and often very funny book, James Hider takes his doubts about religious beliefs straight into the dark heart of the world's holy wars—from Israel to Gaza to Iraq—the birthplace that spawned so many faiths—and then back to Jerusalem. From hardcore Zionist settlers still fighting ancient Biblical battles in the hills of the West Bank to Shiite death squads roaming the lawless streets of Iraq in the aftermath of Saddam; whether it's the misappropriation and martyrdom of Mickey Mouse by Gaza's Islamists, or a US president acting on God's orders, Hider sees the hallucinatory effect of what he calls the 'crack cocaine of fanatical fundamentalism' all around him. As he meets terrorists, suicide bombers, soldiers, ayatollahs, clerics, and ordinary and extraordinary people alike, the question that sparked his journey continues to plague his thoughts: how can people not only believe in this madness, but die and kill for it too? This extraordinary and timely book takes the God Delusion debate onto the streets of the Middle East. It casts an unflinching yet compassionate eye on the very worst and most violent crimes committed in the name of religion, and then sharply asks the questions the world needs to answer if we are ever to stand a chance of facing our own worst demons.
Lassie Come Home
by Eric KnightLassie is Joe's prize collie and constant companion. But when Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times she escapes from her new owner, and three times she returns home to Joe, until finally she is taken to the remotest part of Scotland—too far a journey for any dog to make alone.But Lassie is not just any dog.First published in 1940, Lassie Come-Home has become one of the best-loved dog stories in the world. This beautiful 75th anniversary edition showcases the original text and illustrations with a striking new jacket design and a new introduction from bestselling author Ann M. Martin.
The 20th Century: A World History
by Clive PontingFor much of the world, the twentieth century can be seen as a big-budget disaster film--the stifling darkness of oppression, the green of the ruling classes. For the world's elite, the near-universal adoption of capitalism today reveals modern history as a narrative of unbroken progress.Eschewing conventional chronological accounts, The Twentieth Century is organized around the major themes of the last hundred years. To help us understand our recent past and probable future, Clive Ponting offers a "world systems" theory. His analysis holds that a few core states have dominated much of the rest of the world, which provides raw materials and cheap labor and remains tied to the core as virtual colonial territory. Between these extremes are Latin America, the Middle East, and eastern Asia, which have a limited shot at self-determination. Economic, social, and political differences between the core and periphery continue to grow. Atlantic predominance, which molded world history for four hundred years, has been challenged by the countries of the Pacific. The book's central theme revolves around the struggle between progress and barbarism; the hope for our future is that "our conscience will catch up with our reason." Everywhere in the world people now live longer than their predecessors. A majority has become literate, and most have benefited from recent technological progress. Nevertheless, democracy is unavailable to the preponderance of people, and in the century's final years the chasm between rich and poor continues to expand. On the eve of the millennium this vivid history is a must-read.
Andorra: A Novel
by Peter CameronFor mysterious reasons, a man forsakes his American life and arrives in a strange country called Andorra. He settles into the grand--and only--hotel in its seaside capital, and gradually makes the aquaintance of this tiny city's most prominent residents: the ancient Mrs. Reinhardt, who has a lifetime lease on the penthouse in the hotel; Sophonsobia Quay, the kayaking matriarch of an Andorran dynasty; and the Ricky Dents, an Australian couple who share a first name, a gigantic dog, and a volatile secret. As the stranger reveals himself to his new friends, and becomes entangled in their lives, the mystery of his own origin deepens. What is he hiding, and why? And when a mutilated dead body appears in the harbor, everyone is a suspect, including our narrator. Part thriller, part comedy of manners, part surrealistic dream, Andorra is "a work of remarkable and sustained invention and imagination . . . a nearly perfect book" (Robert Drake, The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Flirting 101: How to Charm Your Way to Love, Friendship, and Success
by Michelle Lia Lewis Andrew BryantEvery party has a stand-out - a guy or gal who breezes into a room and instantly attracts everyone's attention. It's not always about looks or money, so what's their secret? It's all about flirting! A good flirt knows how to make anyone around them feel good, and that's a very powerful skill. Luckily, it is a skill that can be learned. FLIRTING 101 will show you how to:-Discover your inner flirt -Increase your self-confidence -Take advantage of non-verbal communication-Overcome your fear of rejectionAnd much more!Whether you want to attract a life partner, improve business, or just have a little fun, this book is packed with useful tips, stories, practical exercises, and quizzes to help you transform into the most fabulous flirt you can be.
Everything Beautiful in the World: A Novel
by Lisa LevchukLately I feel like an astronaut out on a space walk – constantly praying the tube attaching me to the ship doesn't snap and send me flying into outer darkness. The only good thing about having a mother with cancer is that people are willing to let you get away with pretty much anything. Like failing a Latin test. Or being late to class. Or skipping tennis practice. But there's one thing Edna's fairly certain even she can't get away with – her burgeoning romance with Mr. Howland, her fourth-period Ceramics teacher. That day when Mr. Howland kissed her in his office, she felt like she was floating, like she could levitate right out of her skin. It's Mr. Howland, with his tousled blond hair and his beautiful guitar and his spot-on impression of Dracula, who makes Edna feel happy for the first time in a long time. But what does Mr. Howland want? And how does Edna really feel – about her mother, about Mr. Howland, about moving forward? Set in New Jersey in the 1980s, this is a piercing story about decisions both heart-wrenching and wonderful, and how life and love so often lead us down unexpected paths.
The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream
by Tyler CowenA Wall Street Journal and Washington Post Bestseller"Tyler Cowen's blog, Marginal Revolution, is the first thing I read every morning. And his brilliant new book, The Complacent Class, has been on my nightstand after I devoured it in one sitting. I am at round-the-clock Cowen saturation right now."--Malcolm Gladwell Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a signature American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change have produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs.The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist and best selling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition—we’re working harder than ever to avoid change. We're moving residences less, marrying people more like ourselves and choosing our music and our mates based on algorithms that wall us off from anything that might be too new or too different. Match.com matches us in love. Spotify and Pandora match us in music. Facebook matches us to just about everything else.Of course, this “matching culture” brings tremendous positives: music we like, partners who make us happy, neighbors who want the same things. We’re more comfortable. But, according to Cowen, there are significant collateral downsides attending this comfort, among them heightened inequality and segregation and decreased incentives to innovate and create.The Complacent Class argues that this cannot go on forever. We are postponing change, due to our near-sightedness and extreme desire for comfort, but ultimately this will make change, when it comes, harder. The forces unleashed by the Great Stagnation will eventually lead to a major fiscal and budgetary crisis: impossibly expensive rentals for our most attractive cities, worsening of residential segregation, and a decline in our work ethic. The only way to avoid this difficult future is for Americans to force themselves out of their comfortable slumber—to embrace their restless tradition again.
Shadow Killers
by Matt BraunThe preacher wore black, but beneath his frock coat was a hair-trigger colt in a cross-draw holster-- tools of a killer's trade...The Reverend Titus Jacoby has come to Cimarron on a mission: to put himself up as bait for a shadowy coalition of corrupt landowners known as the Santa Fe Ring. But for those who intend to keep their stranglehold on New Mexico, going after the good Reverend will be a big mistake-- because the fiery-talking man of God is really Cole Braddock, the West's most notorious manhunter operating in disguise. And with a little help from a lady, Braddock won't leave Cimarron until he forces the conspirators out into the open-- and brings them down...
After the Rice
by Wendy FrenchMegan Ismore's bungalow isn't big enough to house her problems---or her relatives.Married just ten months, Megan's life with Matt would be grand if it weren't for a fast-growing secret she can't bear to share. As if that weren't enough, she's dealing with Matt's belching Uncle Tony, who is residing on an air mattress in the basement, and her sister Andrea, a roving hippie, who is nesting on their couch. Plus dueling mothers-in-law hell-bent on double-booking the newlyweds, an incontinent terrier, and a randy best friend. As midterm exams are about to begin, Megan's unweaned infant niece (a.k.a. The Pink Tyrant) is left in her care, and there's no time to spare for reexamining her life. Between the demands of her family and a gigantic decision only she and Matt can make, Megan finds herself in a state of marital chaos that she never imagined but must somehow manage.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Leaving Eden
by Ann ChamberlinLeaving Eden brilliantly brings to life that watershed moment in our history when man -- and woman -- turned their backs on the most ancient of laws in order to strike out in independence. Told from the point of view young Na'amah, Adam's daughter by his first wife, Lilith, it tells of the passing of the ancient Goddess and the birth of the new God.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The King's English: A Guide to Modern Usage
by Kingsley AmisA Parthian shot from one of the most important figures in post-war British fiction, The King's English is the late Kingsley Amis's last word on the state of the language. More frolicsome than Fowler's Modern Usage, lighter than the Oxford English Dictionary, and brimming with the strong opinions and razor-sharp wit that made Amis so popular--and so controversial--The King's English is a must for fans and language purists.
El Paso
by Matt BraunIt is 1881. El Paso, the wildest border town in an untamed Texas, is at a crossroads. A booming sin city crawling with corrupt politicians and gunslick outlaws, the town now faces its greatest challenge: the savagery of the notorious Banning Brothers.Dallas Stoudenmire is the marshal El Paso has hired to bring a quick end to the Bannings' reign of terror. Bloodshed erupts as the Bannings hire an assassin to send Stoudenmire to an early grave. Now the former Texas ranger will rely on nerves and a quick gun to save his own life-- and bring swift justice to a desperate town...
The Quest for Graham Greene: A Biography
by W. J. WestW.J. West has unearthed and pieced together all-new material regarding Graham Greene, which sheds light into the darker regions of Greene's personal, religious, financial, and international affairs. Based on information gleaned from private archives and a cache of letters belonging to thriller writer Rene Raymond (known to his reading public as James Hadley Chase) West exposes, among other information, the reasons behind Greene's sudden, self-imposed exile from England. What the Chase letters show is that Greene and Chase shared the same tax consultant and that the two men, along with Charlie Chaplin and Noel Coward, became unwittingly embroiled in a tax evasion and fraud operation scandal with roots in the Hollywood mafia. Through further investigation, West also uncovers the origins of Greene's literary ambitions and his obsession with Catholicism, as well as new discoveries concerning Greene's crucial mental breakdown as a teenager. West also reveals more information on Greene's involvement with espionage, M16, and his ties with Kim Philby.
Finding Bigfoot: Everything You Need to Know
by Animal PlanetA howl in the distance. The biggest footprint you've ever seen. A blurry figure in the distance. These are the clues that lead us to believe there is something out there—Bigfoot. Already a fan of the wildly successful FINDING BIGFOOT television show on Animal Planet? (One of the top-performing TV shows in the network's history!) Stacked with information for your burning Sasquatch questions, this heavily illustrated work features a compelling narrative with commentary from the stars of the show, photographs and extras from the Animal Planet's archives, and so much more. Skeptics will be given all the information they need to decide for themselves if they believe, and enthusiasts will revel in this essential Bigfoot book.Do you hear that howl? Bigfoot is calling.
The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him
by Shmuley BoteachWhy do American husbands come home from work too exhausted to interact with their families? When did a healthy quest for prosperity become a twisted game no one can win? How did BlackBerries and internet porn become more interesting to men than their flesh-and-blood spouses?Shmuley Boteach has made a great study of how families live today—both in his work as a rabbi privately and as host of TLC's "Shalom in the Home". He's discovered a disturbing common thread in the families he meets: men responding to the pressure of competition in their work lives by turning away from their loved ones. In a world that judges men by the size of their paychecks and the wattage of their fame, it's all too easy to lose sight of what is truly valuable in life. Men who consider themselves failures and don't love themselves turn into stressed-out dads, distracted husbands and miserable human beings. For these men, alcohol, the internet and sporting events serve as numbing stand-ins for read life. In THE BROKEN AMERICAN MALE, Boteach doesn't just outline the problems facing marriages and nuclear families. He also offers practical, inspiring solutions, showing how wives can reach out to their husbands, helping them become heroes again to their own families.
Desert Boys
by Chris McCormickWinner of the Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature AwardFinalist for the Binghamton University’s John Gardner Fiction Book AwardFinalist for the Saroyan Prize for Fiction Longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize"Hilarious, Devious, Original, and Unforgettable."—Karen RussellA vivid and assured work of fiction, from a major new voice, following the life of a young man growing up, leaving home, and coming back again, marked by the start beauty of California's Mojave Desert and the various fates of those who leave and those who stay behind. This series of powerful, intertwining stories illuminates Daley Kushner's world - the family, friends and community that have both formed and constrained him, and his new life in San Francisco. Back home, the desert preys on those who cannot conform: an alfalfa farmer on the outskirts of town; two young girls whose curiosity leads to danger; a black politician who once served as his school's confederate mascot; Daley's mother, an immigrant from Armenia; and Daley himself, introspective and queer. Meanwhile, in another desert on the other side of the world, war threatens to fracture Daley's most meaningful - and most fraught - connection to home, his friendship with Robert Karinger.A luminous debut, Desert Boys by Chris McCormick traces the development of towns into cities, of boys into men, and the haunting effects produced when the two transformations overlap. Both a bildungsroman and a portrait of a changing place, the book mines the terrain between the desire to escape and the hunger to belong.
I See Your Dream Job: A Career Intuitive Shows You How to Discover What You Were Put on Earth to Do
by Sue FrederickFor anyone in a dead-end job, stuck in a rut, or out of work, this timely and ground-breaking book is the solution! Have you ever wondered what you were truly meant to do in life? Have you ever felt that you have a higher calling? Let career intuitive Sue Frederick show you the way. In this first-ever book to combine ancient mystical teachings with current career knowledge, Sue reveals how to read destiny clues (the way she reads them for clients) and create a practical plan for moving forward. She illuminates the negative patterns stopping you in your tracks and teaches you to remove them. You walk away with a fresh perspective on your life's direction, and a realization of how powerful you truly are. I See Your Dream Job is a book for anyone who: - Feels stuck in a job - Feels unfulfilled at work - Questions if they're on the right track - Yearns to do something more creative - Dreams of a different path - Has been fired - Has been downsized - Is underpaid and underappreciated - Simply wants something different."A must read for everyone who would like a step-by-step approach to discovering their life's purpose." - Leslie Gail author of a Life Simplified
Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women and Rivalry
by Susan Shapiro BarashTripping the Prom Queen is a groundbreaking investigation into the dark secret of female friendship: rivalry.Susan Shapiro Barash has exploded the myth that women help one another, are supportive of one another, and want each other to succeed. Based on interviews with women across a broad social spectrum, she has discovered that the competition between women is more vicious precisely because it is covert. She tells us: * Why women can't and won't admit to rivalry.* How women are trained from an early age to compete with one another.* In which areas women most heatedly compete.* How rivalry is different among women than among men.* The differences between competition, envy, and jealousy.* When competition is healthy and when it isn't.* Why women find it irresistible to "trip the prom queen."* Useful strategies to stop the competition and forge a new kind of relationship with other women.Whether you've tripped the prom queen or been tripped yourself, you will discover an engrossing exploration of this female phenomenon, as well as a beacon of hope for better, more fulfilling relationships.
Loulou & Yves: The Untold Story of Loulou de La Falaise and the House of Saint Laurent
by Christopher PetkanasNo one interested in fashion, style, or the high-flying intrigues of café society will want to miss Christopher Petkanas’s exuberantly entertaining oral biography Loulou & Yves: The Untold Story of Loulou de La Falaise and the House of Saint Laurent.Dauntless, “in the bone” style made Loulou de La Falaise one of the great fashion firebrands of the twentieth century. Descending in a direct line from Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, she was celebrated at her death in 2011, aged just sixty-four, as the “highest of haute bohemia,” a feckless adventuress in the art of living—and the one person Yves Saint Laurent could not live without.Yves was the most influential designer of his times; possibly also the most neurasthenic. In an exquisitely intimate, sometimes painful personal and professional relationship, Loulou was his creative right hand, muse, alter ego and the virtuoso behind all the flamboyant accessories that were a crucial component of the YSL “look.” For thirty years, until his retirement in 2002, Yves relied on Loulou to inspire him, make him laugh and talk him off the ledge—the enchanted formula that brought him from one historic collection to the next.Yves’s many tributes shape Loulou’s memory, as if everything there was to know about this fugitive, Giacometti-like figure could be told by her clanking bronze cuffs, towering fur toques, the turquoise boulders on her fingers and her working friendship with the man who put women in pants. But another, darker story lifts the veil on Loulou, a classic “number two” with a contempt for convention, and exposes the underbelly of fashion at its highest level. Behind Yves’s encomiums are a pair of aristocrat parents—Loulou’s shiftless French father and menacingly chic English mother—who abandoned her to a childhood of foster care and sexual abuse; Loulou’s recurring desperation to leave Yves and go out on her own; and the grandiose myths surrounding her family. Loulou felt that her life had been kidnapped by the operatic workings of the House of Saint Laurent, and in her last years faced financial ruin. Loulou & Yves unspools an elusive fashion idol—nymphomaniacal, heedless and up to her bracelets in coke and Boizel champagne—at the core of what used to be called “le beau monde.”
Never Done: A History of American Housework
by Susan StrasserNever Done is the first history of American housework. Beginning with a description of household chores of the nineteenth century--cooking at fireplaces and on cast-iron stoves, laundry done with wash boilers and flatirons, endless water hauling and fire tending--Susan Strasser demonstrates how industrialization transformed the nature of women's work. Lightening some tasks and eliminating the need for others, new commercial processes inexorably altered women's daily lives and relationships--with each other and with the people they served.In this lively and authoritative book, Strasser weaves together the history of material advances and discussions of domestic service, "women's separate sphere" and the impact of advertising, home economics and women's entry into the workforce.Hailed as pathbreaking when originally published, Never Done remains an eye-opening examination of daily life in the American past.
The Animation Business Handbook
by Karen RaugustToday, animation is more prevalent than ever in television, films, video games, and the Internet. Karen Raugust has created a much needed, comprehensive look at the entire business. She shows in detail how a successful animation studio or entrepreneur operates, describes the process of developing an animation property from the concept stage through the finished product, and outlines business methods used to create and sell animated media.Topics covered include:* Distribution, sales, and marketing methods* Financing, budgeting, costs and revenue opportunities* The creation of ancillary entertainment and merchandise* Animation in international markets.The Animation Business Handbook is the quintessential reference for anyone in or considering entering the animation industry.
Royal Crown: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #4)
by Meg CabotIt’s the first coronation of a female monarch of Genovia in 200 years, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison, is giving you the inside scoop in this (illustrated!) diary Royal Crown, from New York Times—bestselling author and illustrator Meg Cabot!Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison should be having fun. Her best friend is visiting from America, her sister’s royal coronation is only three days away (the first coronation of a female ruler in two centuries), and she’s even got a new boyfriend who is actually a very smart and charming prince! But it’s hard to celebrate when her royal cousins are scheming to take over the throne. And with everyone running around, Olivia and her friends have been saddled with royal babysitting duties. Then, to make matters worse, Olivia's snobby cousin Luisa insists on gossiping about her, especially about things that should be personal . . . it's none of her business whether Prince Khalil and Olivia have kissed or not!When did growing up royal get so complicated?!?Praise for Meg Cabot and From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess: “The nation of Genovia gains a new resident in this amusing spin-off. . . . Cabot's own black and white cartoons further enliven Olivia's entertaining and candid notebook entries, which will have readers looking forward to her future escapades." —Publishers Weekly on From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess"A sweet fantasy, both funny and highly satisfying." —Kirkus Reviews on From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess
Birth of the Bravest: A History of the New York Fire Department from 1609 to 1887
by A. E. CostelloBirth of the Bravest is a substantially abridged edition of Our Firemen: A History of the New York Fire Departments, Volunteer and Paid by A. E. Costello, which was originally published in 1887. This edition includes all of the revealing historic events and exploits while deleting over 400 pages of lists, inventories, and personnel records.They are called "the Bravest." They are the New York City Fire Department, ordinary men who put themselves on the line every day to save lives, and this is a chronicle of their early history.Birth of the Bravest traces the history of New York firefighting from the earliest days of the city, when it was part of the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, to the end of the nineteenth century, when new innovations in firefighting technology began to make their appearance. Along the way are many tales of heroism and bravery, including accounts of the disastrous fire of 1811, the great conflagration of 1835, the awful fire of 1845, and many other signature events in New York City's history.Birth of the Bravest also documents the history of firefighting itself, the birth and evolution of fire companies (both "volunteer and paid"), legislated fire regulations, the development of new equipment to aid the bravest in their mission, and the birth of fire insurance. It also tracks individual exploits of great heroism, on the job and off, as many members went off to serve in the Civil War.A seminal part of New York City history, this chronicle of the evolution of the Fire Department is an informative tribute to the men who are New York City's Bravest.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Famous DAR Murder Mystery (A Harriet Bushrow Borderville Mystery)
by Graham LandrumThe search for the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier takes a bizarre turn when four members of the Old Orchard Fort chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution stumble on a modern-day corpse. Though the sheriff dismisses the body as a transient battered in a drunken brawl, one of the ladies, organist Helen Delaporte, has other ideas. First, there are the victim's finely manicured hands...and then there is the map dropped at the scene of the crime.Soon the D.A.R. members, including feisty, eighty-six-year-old Harriet Bushrow, are rebels with a cause, mounting an investigation of their own. Of course, when the press catches wind of it, they go to town. The coveted publicity for their chapter sets the ladies reveling...until Helen's windshield is showered with bullets...and it's clear that their new pet project could spell deadly ends for them all.Told in the alternating voices of chapter members and other colorful characters, Graham Landrum's stunning novel is the first in a delightful series narrated by members of the community of Borderville (smack on the Virginia-Tennessee line).
The Final Procedure
by Stan PottingerChristmas Eve in Auschwitz, 1944. Hitler's Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele, and his brilliant young protégé, Adalwolf, are on the verge of a nightmarish medical discovery when the war brings it all to an end. But Mengele's insane visions for the Third Reich live on.More than half-a-century later, FBI agent Melissa Gale's mission is to bring Adalwolf to justice before it's too late. He's emerged from the shadows of history to resurrect a biological terror and unleash it on the world. But tracking him is easier than Melissa imagined. Because for years, Adalwolf has been tracking her.Melissa and her unborn child have something Adalwolf needs-a genetic history that holds the key to his success. As a dance of death is engaged between hunter and hunted, Melissa realizes how far the last Nazi will go to fulfill his dark dreams for his Ultimate Solution-and just how far she is prepared to go to stop him...