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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Since the publication of *Wicked*, millions of readers have discovered Gregory Maguire's fantastically encyclopedic Oz, a world filled with characters both familiar and new, darkly conceived and daringly reimagined. In the third volume of the Wicked Years, we return to Oz, seen now through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion.  

 At once a portrait of a would-be survivor and a panoramic glimpse of a world gone shrill with war fever, Gregory Maguire's *A Lion Among Men* is written with the sympathy and power that have made his books contemporary classics.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The all-time science fiction masterpiece...now in a special hardcover edition."Unique...I know nothing comparable to it except *Lord of the Rings*."--Arthur C. ClarkeHere is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, *Dune* won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction. Frank Herbert's death in 1986 was a tragic loss, yet the astounding legacy of his visionary fiction will live forever.


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With millions of copies sold worldwide, Frank Herbert's magnificent Dune books stand among the major achievements of the human imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis -- a world as fully real and rich as our own -- Dune Messiah continues the story of the man Muad'Dib, heir to a power unimaginable, bringing to completion the centuries-old scheme to create a superbeing...


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><strong>About the Author</strong><br /><strong>Robert Jordan</strong> lives in Charleston, South Carolina. He is a graduate of the Citadel.</p><p><strong>Amazon.com Exclusive Content</strong></p><p><strong>Amazon.com's Significant Seven</strong><br /><em>Robert Jordan kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Amazon.com Significant Seven.</em>  </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> What book has had the most significant impact on your life?<br /><strong>A:</strong>   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they?<br /><strong>A:</strong> The one book would be whatever book I was currently writing. I mean, I hate falling behind in the work. The one CD would contain the best   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> What is the worst lie you've ever told?<br /><strong>A:</strong> It's hard to think of one since I am genetically incapable of lying to women and that takes out 52% of the population right there.   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> Describe the perfect writing environment.<br /><strong>A:</strong> Any place that has my computer, a CD player for music, a comfortable chair that won't leave me with a backache at the end of a long day, and very little interruption.   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?<br /><strong>A:</strong> He kept trying to get better at it.   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with?<br /><strong>A:</strong> My wife before anybody else on earth living or dead. That's a no-brainer.   </p><p><strong>Q:</strong> If you could have one superpower what would it be?<br /><strong>A:</strong> That depends. If I'm feeling altruistic, it would be the ability to heal anything with a touch, if that can be called a superpower. If I'm not feeling very altruistic, it would be the ability to read other people's minds, to <em>finally</em> be able to get to the bottom of what they really mean and what their motivations are.   </p><p><strong>See all books in the </strong></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p><em>Starred Review.</em> The previous book in Jordan's massive Wheel of Time, <em>Crossroads of Twilight</em>, may have come out in 2003, but don't let that fool you; the 11th tome in this epic fantasy is the one Jordan fans have been eagerly waiting for the better part of a decade. The breakneck pace, lyrical beauty and astonishing scope of the early Wheel of Time volumes established Jordan as one of the top writers in the Tolkien tradition. While more recent entries have maintained that beauty and scope, the pace has slowed to a crawl as the central characters dispersed in six directions. In contrast, the latest explodes with motion, as multiple plot lines either conclude or advance, and the march to Tarmon Gai'don—the climactic last battle between the Dragon Reborn and the Dark One—begins in earnest. Faile's captivity with the Shaido, Mat's pursuit of Tuon and Elayne's war for Caemlyn come to a close, while Egwene's capture brings the Aes Sedai war to the heart of the Tower. Jordan has said that readers will be sweating by the end of the book, and he's probably right. Sweating or not, they'll also be dreading the long year or two before the 12th installment. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.



The final volume of the Wheel of Time, *A Memory of Light,* was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, *New York Times* bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor---his wife, Harriet McDougal---to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents *The Gathering Storm* as the first of three novels that will make up *A Memory of Light.* This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.



In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.



Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower---and possibly the world itself.



The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Daniel Okrent has proven to be one of our most interesting and eclectic writers of nonfiction over the past 25 years, producing books about the history of Rockefeller Center and New England, baseball, and his experience as the first public editor for the <em>New York Times</em>. Now he has taken on a more formidable subject: the origins, implementation, and failure of that great American delusion known as Prohibition. The result may not be as scintillating as the perfect gin gimlet, but it comes mighty close, an assiduously researched, well-written, and continually eye-opening work on what has actually been a neglected subject.There has been, of course, quite a lot of writing that has touched on the 14 years, 1919–1933, when the United States tried to legislate drinking out of existence, but the great bulk of it has been as background to one mobster tale or another. Okrent covers the gangland explosion that Prohibition triggered—and rightly deromanticizes it—but he has a wider agenda that addresses the entire effect enforced temperance had on our social, political, and legal conventions. Above all, Okrent explores the politics of Prohibition; how the 18th Amendment, banning the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages, was pushed through after one of the most sustained and brilliant pressure-group campaigns in our history; how the fight over booze served as a surrogate for many of the deeper social and ethnic antagonisms dividing the country, and how it all collapsed, almost overnight, essentially nullified by the people.Okrent occasionally stumbles in this story, bogging down here and there in some of the backroom intricacies of the politics, and misconstruing an address by Warren Harding on race as one of the boldest speeches ever delivered by an American president (it was more nearly the opposite). But overall he provides a fascinating look at a fantastically complex battle that was fought out over decades—no easy feat. Among other delights, Okrent passes along any number of amusing tidbits about how Americans coped without alcohol, such as sending away for the Vino Sano Grape Brick, a block of dehydrated grape juice, complete with stems, skins, and pulp and instructions warning buyers not to add yeast or sugar, or leave it in a dark place, or let it sit too long, lest it become wine. He unearths many sadly forgotten characters from the war over drink—and readers will be surprised to learn how that fight cut across today's ideological lines. Progressives and suffragists made common cause with the Ku Klux Klan—which in turn supported a woman's right to vote—to pass Prohibition. Champions of the people, such as the liberal Democrat Al Smith, fought side-by-side with conservative plutocrats like Pierre du Pont for its repeal.In the end, as Okrent makes clear, Prohibition did make a dent in American drinking—at the cost of hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries from bad bootleg alcohol; the making of organized crime in this country; and a corrosive soaking in hypocrisy. A valuable lesson, for anyone willing to hear it._Kevin Baker is the coauthor, most recently, of_ Luna Park_, a graphic novel published last month by DC Comics._ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Okrent, who has rescued an important, relevant, and colorful chapter of American history, explores Americans' relationship with the bottle dating back to the colonial era and analyzes the long-term effects of Prohibition on everything--from the rise of the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan to language, art, and literature. Fast-paced and fascinating, his narrative assembles a wide collection of comical stories and outrageous personalities, such as the hatchet-wielding Carrie Nation. He explodes clichés and bypasses widely known tales of bootlegging and bathtub gin in favor of more unfamiliar accounts. Critics praised Okrent's elegant writing and careful research--even in all its details--and agreed with the <em>New York Times Book Review</em> that this remarkably fresh take on a forgotten era is "a narrative delight." </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Bestselling novelist Berg (Talk Before Sleep; Open House ) explores memory, love and forgiveness in her flawed but moving 12th novel. At her annual family reunion, Laura Bartone, a 50-something "quilt artist," is forced to confront the secrets that have long haunted her family. Her emotionally unstable sister, Caroline, tells Laura and their brother, Steve, that their mother abused her as a child. As Laura and Steve-whose own childhoods were reasonably happy-struggle to make sense of Caroline's accusations and wonder how they could've been oblivious to or complicit in what happened, their father dies. This could be the stuff of melodrama, but Berg generally manages to avoid it. Her prose is often luminous and buoyant, and her insights can be penetrating. Her big ideas, though, are too frequently interrupted by the sort of domestic-detail overdoses that belong in less ambitious novels ("I hung up, flipped the turkey burgers for the last time, dumped the oven-baked French fries into a basket and salted them, sliced tomatoes, drained the water off the ears of corn..."). Other shortcomings include a few gender stereotypes and a husband and children for Laura who seem too good to be true ("Sometimes it seemed like I was making it up," Laura thinks). But Laura's thornier relationships with her mother and siblings are carefully rendered and compelling. Berg has written a nuanced account of a family's implosion, with enough ambiguity and drama to give book clubs-the book's likely audience-"plenty to discuss and to keep any reader intrigued, right up to the fittingly redemptive ending.<br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>The prolific Berg (_Say When_ [BKL Ap 1 03]) is unafraid of tackling gritty domestic issues such as aging and illness; in her latest, she takes on the question of why a mother would be so caring with two of her children but treat the third with great cruelty. Although Berg never answers that question satisfactorily, she does offer a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a flawed family. Fifty-four-year-old Laura Bartone, the happily married mother of two, is looking forward to her annual family reunion in Minnesota. But her vacation plans are marred when her father is felled by a stroke, and her sister, Caroline, at the urging of a therapist, confronts Laura and her brother with disturbing information about her relationship with their mother. As she details the verbal and physical abuse she was subjected to, Laura and her brother are tempted to write Caroline's confidences off as just another example of her histrionics. Because if what she says is true, what would that mean about their complicity in the family dynamics? Although Berg proffers a number of reasons for the mother's singular treatment of Caroline, none of them is totally convincing. Berg is much better at detailing Laura's childhood impatience with her gloomy sister and her inability to fully comprehend the cause of her sister's moodiness. This is a skillful popular treatment of a troubling family issue. <em>Joanne Wilkinson</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars. The only light during the regular twelve hours of "day" comes from floodlamps that cast a yellowish glow over the streets of the city. Beyond are the pitch-black Unknown Regions, which no one has ever explored because an understanding of fire and electricity has been lost, and with it the idea of a Moveable Light. "Besides," they tell each other, "there is nowhere but here" Among the many other things the people of Ember have forgotten is their past and a direction for their future. For 250 years they have lived pleasantly, because there has been plenty of everything in the vast storerooms. But now there are more and more empty shelves--and more and more times when the lights flicker and go out, leaving them in terrifying blackness for long minutes. What will happen when the generator finally fails?</p><p>Twelve-year-old Doon Harrow and Lina Mayfleet seem to be the only people who are worried. They have just been assigned their life jobs--Lina as a messenger, which leads her to knowledge of some unsettling secrets, and Doon as a Pipeworker, repairing the plumbing in the tunnels under the city where a river roars through the darkness. But when Lina finds a very old paper with enigmatic "Instructions for Egress," they use the advantages of their jobs to begin to puzzle out the frightening and dangerous way to the city of light of which Lina has dreamed. As they set out on their mission, the haunting setting and breathless action of this stunning first novel will have teens clamoring for a sequel. (Ages 10 to 14) <em>--Patty Campbell</em></p><h3>From School Library Journal</h3><p>Grade 4-7–This truly superb audio recording of the novel by Jeane DuPrau (Random, 2003) takes place in the dark city of Ember, a decaying place with no natural light surrounded by the vast Unknown. Although ancestors had arranged for information on leaving Ember to be made available after the inhabitants have spent 200 years there, a corrupt mayor lost the information many years before the novel begins. Two hundred and forty-one years later, Ember's electrical lighting frequently fails, supplies are dwindling, and the populace is growing increasingly frightened. Twelve-year-old Doon and his acquaintance Lina are intent on finding a way to save Ember. After Lina finds a mysterious and fragmented paper titled "Instructions for Egress," they think they have a way out. Can they escape from the villainous mayor and his soldiers? Can they figure out the missing letters and words in the message? Do they find their way out of Ember and up to a post-apocalyptic Earth? Wendy Dillon, one of the most talented readers of audiobooks, does an amazing job of creating different voices for each character, has absolutely perfect diction, and skillfully conveys the building suspense. Exceptional care has been taken to faithfully convey the author's excellent tale through a combination of a superior narrator and evocative sound effects. This engaging novel is an exceptional audiobook.–_B.Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY_ <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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 <h3>Amazon.com Review</h3>
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 <b>Penzler Pick, </b> Those of us who have been waiting for Walter Mosley to return to mystery writing--and there are many of us--have cause to rejoice. Not only has Mosley written a mystery, he is introducing a new character who could turn out to be as popular as <p> Fearless Jones has a lot in common with Easy, but he also has some characteristics reminiscent of Socrates Fortlow, the "hero" of <i></i>. When the story begins, the reader is transported to the Los Angeles of the 1950s, a dangerous place and time for a black man. But Paris Minton seems to have beaten the odds. He owns a moderately successful and very satisfying business--a used book store. He spends the time he's not in the store scouring libraries for discarded books and selling them in just enough quantity to be independent and happy. Yes, he is visited on a regular basis by members of the LAPD who want him to prove to them that he did not steal the books, but that is a small price to pay for independence.</p><p> Minton's peaceful life is interrupted one day when a beautiful woman walks into his store and asks for the Reverend William Grove. In no time flat, Paris has been beaten into unconsciousness by a man following her and has been rewarded by the woman with sex. The lovely Elana Love is obviously trouble, but Paris jumps in feet first and, as a consequence, his store is burned to the ground. It is obviously time to call in Fearless Jones, a man well named. Jones is afraid of nothing, but there is a little matter to be taken care of before he can help. He's in jail and Paris must raise bail to get him out. Once he does that, the pair embark on a wild ride through Los Angeles on behalf of Elana Love. As always, Mosley depicts the hard-boiled L.A. in a powerful and distinctive way, and we can only hope that this is the first of a series. <i>--Otto Penzler</i>
 
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 <h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3>
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 HAbandoning the voice of his premier creation, Easy Rawlins, Mosley mines a new shaft of 1950s Los Angeles with a hero who combines the principles of Easy with the deadliness of Ray "Mouse" Alexander. The result is a violent, heroic and classic piece of noir fiction. Narrator Paris Minton is an appealing figure an easygoing black man for whom the written word is salvation and whose nameless used bookstore in Watts is paradise. Then the beautiful Elana Love enters his store and brings with her more trouble than Paris has ever seen enough trouble that Paris knows his only hope is his friend Fearless Jones. A former soldier, Jones is a riveting new creation. He's a man of both principle and action with an innate sense of justice and as his name makes clear, he's afraid of nothing. The novel rips along with a hunt for the girl and a race among competing factions to find a missing bond that's the key to a fortune. For the black characters it's a desperate struggle to stay alive in a white world where the deck is stacked. One sly reference tells the reader we're still in the same world and time inhabited by Easy Rawlins, and that Fearless and Mouse are equally "bad." But Fearless is also a knight-errant and hopefully destined for further adventures as fine as this one. (June 5)Forecast: With a 20-city author tour and major advertising, Mosley's first thriller since 1996's A Little Yellow Dog is sure to generate lots of interest and sales.<p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>
 
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In a blockbuster new action thriller by master novelist Walter Mosley, "one of America's best mystery writers" (New York Times), bookstore owner Paris Minton and the deadliest man in L.A.-Fearless Jones-are back on the streets of 1950s Watts. FEAR ITSELF Mild-mannered Paris Minton is delivered a pile of trouble when Fearless Jones shows up with a simple request: help find a beautiful woman's husband. Lending a hand gets him hit upside the head, hogtied, kidnapped, and threatened with a gun the size of a cannon. Now he's wondering whom he should fear more: the people he's looking for or the people he's working for. Tangled up with cops, rival millionaires, several corpses, and one of L.A.'s wealthiest women, Paris Minton is in a corner-and not even his invincible friend Fearless can save him.


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A fierce, exquisitely dark novel that plunges us into post-World War II Occupied Japan in a "Rashomon"-like retelling of a mass poisoning (based on an actual event), its aftermath, and the hidden wartime atrocities that led to the crime. On January 26, 1948, a man identifying himself as a public health official arrives at a bank in Tokyo. There has been an outbreak of dysentery in the neighborhood, he explains, and he has been assigned by Occupation authorities to treat everyone who might have been exposed to the disease. Soon after drinking the medicine he administers, twelve employees are dead, four are unconscious, and the "official" has fled . . . Twelve voices tell the story of the murder from different perspectives. One of the victims speaks, for all the victims, from the grave. We read the increasingly mad notes of one of the case detectives, the desperate letters of an American occupier, the testimony of a traumatized survivor. We meet a journalist, a gangster-turned-businessman, an "occult detective," a Soviet soldier, a well-known painter. Each voice enlarges and deepens the portrait of a city and a people making their way out of a war-induced hell. "Occupied City" immerses us in an extreme time and place with a brilliantly idiosyncratic, expressionistic, mesmerizing narrative. It is a stunningly audacious work of fiction from a singular writer. "From the Hardcover edition."


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>If you imagine most writer's bathrooms (and this is probably a mistake) you'd picture damp towels in a clump on the floor, hair in the soap, a few mildewed paperbacks stacked on the counter. But it's impossible to picture Chris Bohjalian's bathroom as anything but an <em>Architectural Digest</em> centerfold: polished counters, not a stray thread on the plush towels, the modulated colors sparked to life by fresh flowers from a neighbor's garden.</p><p>Bohjalian's eighth novel, <em>Before You Know Kindness</em>, is a beautifully observed, delicately balanced portrait of a family that could only come from the hands of a tireless craftsman who keeps reaching into his story to straighten the tulips or tuck in a shirttail. It begins with two EMTs leaning over animal rights' activist Spencer McCullough's gushing shotgun wound and winds back through the ordinary days leading up to the extraordinary accident, and then forward again as Spencer and his family come to terms with what has happened. As ambitious as other Bohjalian novels, <em>Before You Know Kindness</em> spirals out to encompass the larger issues of Spencer's political loyalties and the heartless, passionate world of political spin. Some readers may find Bohjalian's style too smooth. Others will relish the completeness of his vision and his obvious tenderness for even the most difficult of his characters. <em>--Regina Marler</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Bohjalian's new novel begins with a literal bang: a bullet from a hunting rifle accidentally strikes Spencer McCullough, an extreme advocate for animal rights, leaving him seriously wounded. The weapon—owned by his brother-in-law, John, and shot by his 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte—becomes the center of a lawsuit and media circus led by Spencer's employer, FERAL (Federation for Animal Liberation), a dead ringer for PETA. The many-faceted satire Bohjalian (_Midwives_, etc.) crafts out of these events revolves around Spencer and Jon's families, but also involves a host of secondary figures. Bohjalian excels at getting inside each character's head with shifts of diction and perspective, though he makes it difficult for readers to connect with any one in particular. This is in part because his portraits are often unsympathetic; the characters are allowed to hoist themselves on their own petards. While some are credibly flawed—Spencer is both a loving father and an obnoxious activist—others are cartoonishly mocked with their own thoughts, like high-powered attorney Paige, who mourns the loss of her leather chairs and briefcases, hidden away for as long as FERAL is a lucrative client. If there is a grounded center to this work, it is 10-year-old Willow, Spencer's niece, who distinguishes herself from this baggy ensemble by always trying to do the right thing. She alone is spared the narrator's irony, and it is Willow, years after the accident, who has the last word. Bohjalian's skewering of the animal rights movement gets the better of his domestic drama, but his skillful storytelling will engage readers. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. Annie Powers leads the perfect life in Florida with her husband, Gray, and their four-year-old daughter in this stellar character-driven stand-alone from bestseller Unger (_A Sliver of Truth_). Less than a decade earlier, however, Annie was Ophelia March, the teenage captive—or accomplice—of spree killer Marlowe Geary. Gray, a partner in his father's private security consultant firm, tracked Marlowe and rescued Ophelia after sending the killer's car over a cliff. Reinventing herself with Gray's help, Annie can't remember all that happened during her years with Marlowe, and she's prone to panic attacks and blackouts. When a strange man appears on her property, Annie's sure Marlowe is back. As a shady police detective digs into her past, Annie must try to recover the memories she buried if she's ever going to be free from Marlowe. Unger expertly turns what could have been a routine serial-killer story into a haunting odyssey for Annie, dropping red herrings and clues along the way until the reader feels as unsettled as Annie. <em>(June)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Annie Powers seems to lead an idyllic suburban life. She has a devoted husband, a cherubic young daughter, and a beautiful home with sweeping views of the Gulf of Florida. But not so many years ago, Annie was entangled in a scenario that was anything but serene. Her emotionally twisted relationship with serial killer Marlowe Geary had turned her from a moody teen into a criminal accomplice with a hardened heart. Only by faking her death and taking on a new identity was Annie able to jettison her past—or so she thought. Her husband, Gray, had long insisted that Marlowe was dead. But after an eerie encounter on the beach, Annie is not so sure. As the cracks in her carefully constructed facade deepen, she flees her family, determined to learn the truth. Annie’s mental state becomes more precarious with each passing day, until she can no longer distinguish what’s imaginary from what’s real. There’s a bit too much shifting between present and past in this stand-alone psychological thriller by Unger, author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed Ridley Jones series. But the author makes up for an occasionally awkward narrative with the compelling character of Annie: dark, troubled, and teetering on the brink. --Allison Block </p>


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 <h3>Amazon.com Review</h3>
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 When a U.S. Marine is killed in Bangkok, the task of finding the murderer falls to Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, seemingly the only member of the Royal Thai Police Force whose idea of justice precludes his fellow officers' customary system of bribery. This assignment's especially important to the devout detective for during the investigation of the murder scene, the methamphetamine-stoked snakes that bit the marine also kill Sonchai's police partner, best friend, and Buddhist soul-mate Pichai. Sonchai's pursuit of revenge will team him with a sexually frustrated FBI agent and leave them at the mercy of <i>yaa-baa</i>-fueled motorcycle-taxi drivers as they hurtle through neon-lit Bangkok and into the labyrinthine and deadly machinations of the international jade and drug trades in search of the killer.<p> As Sonchai himself notes at one point, "This isn't a <i>whodunit</i>, is it?" And, no, it isn't, but author John Burdett (<i></i>, <i></i>) infuses the plot with enough suspense, detail, and dry Asian insight to keep readers rapt as the story careens about the bars and brothels of Thailand's flesh trade, through its cut-rate plastic surgery parlors, and ends in a climax with a fittingly Buddhist twist. <i>Bangkok 8</i> is highly recommended for readers in the mood for Thai. <i>--Benjamin Reese</i>
 
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 <h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3>
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 Part mystery, part thriller and part exploration of Thai attitudes toward sex, this accomplished first novel by Burdett (A Personal History of Thirst; The Last Six Million Seconds) delivers both entertainment and depth. The narrator, a Buddhist cop named Sonchai Jitplecheep, finds himself plunged into a dangerous investigation of the deaths by snakebite of his partner Pichai Apiradee and U.S. Embassy Sgt. William Bradley. Sonchai is an unusual character on several levels, from the mysteries of his violent past to his conversations with the ghost of Pichai. His ambiguous feelings toward Kimberley Jones, an American FBI agent brought in to work the case, reflect his upbringing as the child of a Thai mother and an unknown American father. Above all else, however, Sonchai's Buddhism permeates the text. An encounter with an embassy official, for example, leads to this unexpected reverie: "[She] is blithely unaware that she once accompanied me across a courtyard of startlingly similar dimensions, thousands of years ago." As Sonchai's investigation brings him closer to Bradley's companion, a woman known as Fatima, and the rich American jade dealer Sylvester Warren, his quest for revenge becomes muddied by the strangeness of his discoveries. The mix of detective work, Bangkok street life, the Thai sex trade and drug smuggling forms a powerful melange of images and insight. Despite an anti-climactic last chapter, the novel's structure is solid. Sonchai's fatalism, wry humor and dogged determination-his ability to be both vulnerable and strong-make him one of the more memorable characters in recent novel-length fiction. Readers expecting a traditional mystery structure would be advised to look elsewhere, but those who want something new will find Burdett's novel an intriguing, fresh take on noir.<br>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
 
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<h3>Review</h3><p>?Bright and entertaining?. Fletch, as irreverent and smart as ever, is back.? --_The New York Times Book Review _  </p><p>?Good old-fashioned page-turning fun, a flair that has been absent from novels of this sort since the days of vintage James Bond.? _--Penthouse  </p><p>_ -- <em>Review</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Fletch’s Fortune  </p><p>He hadn’t been a practicing journalist for years, although people remembered him and he still has a few contacts. And he’s pretty sure he hasn’t paid his dues to the American Journalism Alliance anytime recently. But somebody has.  </p><p>Fletch’s Fortune  </p><p>Enjoying himself on the French Riviera, developing a killer tan, and sleeping with the neighbor’s wife, Fletch is feeling pretty flush. But when agents Eggers and Fabens show up with a little more information about Fletch than is comfortable and an invitation to the A.J.A. convention, how could he refuse?   </p><p>Fletch’s Fortune  </p><p>So he finds himself enlisted as a spy among his peers. But before he can even set up his surveillance, there’s a murder. And almost everybody’s a suspect. Because a lot of people were employed by Walter March, and most of them had a reason to hate him. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>?One of the few contemporary writers of whom we can speak in terms of greatness.??Mel Gussow, <em>Newsday</em>  </p><p>?For sheer abundance of talent, there can hardly be a writer alive who surpasses V. S. Naipaul.??_The New York Times Book Review  </p><p><em>?Naipaul?s writing is clean and beautiful, and he has a great eye for nuance.??</em>The Atlantic Monthly  </p><p><em>?No one else around today?seems able to employ prose fiction so deeply as the very voice of exile.??</em>The New York Review of Books  </p><p>_ -- <em>Review</em></p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>In this slyly funny and lavishly inventive novel–his first–V. S. Naipaul traces the unlikely career of Ganesh Ramsumair, a failed schoolteacher and impecunious village masseur who in time becomes a revered mystic, a thriving entrepreneur, and the most beloved politician in Trinidad. To understand a little better, one has to realize that in the 1940s masseurs were the island’s medical practitioners of choice. As one character observes, “I know the sort of doctors they have in Trinidad. They think nothing of killing two, three people before breakfast.”  </p><p>Ganesh’s ascent is variously aided and impeded by a Dickensian cast of rogues and eccentrics. There’s his skeptical wife, Leela, whose schooling has made her excessively, fond. of; punctuation: marks!; and Leela’s father, Ramlogan, a man of startling mood changes and an ever-ready cutlass. There’s the aunt known as The Great Belcher. There are patients pursued by malign clouds or afflicted with an amorous fascination with bicycles. Witty, tender, filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of Trinidad’s dusty Indian villages, <strong>The Mystic Masseur</strong> is Naipaul at his most expansive and evocative. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>There's quite a bit of intelligent analysis and thought-provoking insight packed into the pages of Chuck Klosterman's <em>Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs</em>, which is a little surprising considering how darn stupid most of Klosterman's subject matter actually is. Klosterman, one of the few members of the so-called "Generation X" to proudly embrace that label and the stereotypical image of disaffected slackers that often accompanies it, takes the reader on a witty and highly entertaining tour through portions of pop culture not usually subjected to analysis and presents his thoughts on <em>Saved by the Bell</em>, Billy Joel, amateur porn, MTV's <em>The Real World</em>, and much more. It would be easy in dealing with such subject matter to simply pile on some undergraduate level deconstruction, make a few jokes, and have yourself a clever little book. But Klosterman goes deeper than that, often employing his own life spent as a member of the lowbrow target demographic to measure the cultural impact of his subjects. While the book never quite lives up to the use of the word "manifesto" in the title (it's really more of a survey mixed with elements of memoir), there is much here to entertain and illuminate, particularly passages on the psychoses and motivations of breakfast cereal mascots, the difference between Celtic fans and Laker fans, and <em>The Empire Strikes Back</em>. Sections on a Guns n' Roses tribute band, <em>The Sims</em>, and soccer feel more like magazine pieces included to fill space than part of a cohesive whole. But when you're talking about a book based on a section of cultural history so reliant on a lack of attention span, even the incongruities feel somehow appropriate. <em>--John Moe</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>There's a lot more cold cereal than sex or drugs in Klosterman's nostalgic, patchy collection of pop cultural essays, which, despite sparks of brilliance, fails to cohere. Having graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1994, Klosterman (Fargo Rock City) seems never to have left that time or place behind. He is an ironically self-aware, trivia-theorizing, unreconstructed slacker: "I'm a <code>Gen Xer,' okay? And I buy shit marketed to</code>Gen Xers.' And I use air quotes when I talk.... Get over it." The essay topics speak for themselves: the Sims, The Real World, Say Anything, Pamela Anderson, Billy Joel, the Lakers/Celtics rivalry, etc. The closest Klosterman gets to the 21st century is Internet porn and the Dixie Chicks. This is a shame, because he's is a skilled prose stylist with a witty, twisted brain, a photo-perfect memory for entertainment trivia and has real chops as a memoirist. The book's best moments arrive when he eschews argumentation for personal history. In "George Will vs. Nick Hornby," a tired screed against soccer suddenly comes to life when Klosterman tells the story of how he was fired from his high school summer job as a Little League baseball coach. The mothers wanted their sons to have equal playing time; Klosterman wanted "a run-manufacturing offensive philosophy modeled after Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals." In a chapter on relationships, Klosterman semi-jokes that he only has "three and a half dates worth of material." Remove all the dated pop culture analyses, and Klosterman's book has enough material for about half a really great memoir.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Casey, O magazine editor-in-chief, travels across the world and into the past to confront the largest waves the oceans have to offer. This dangerous water includes rogue waves south of Africa, storm-born giants near Hawaii, and the biggest wave ever recorded, a 1,740 foot-high wall of wave (taller than one and a third Empire State Buildings) that blasted the Alaska coastline in 1958. Casey follows big-wave surfers in their often suicidal attempts to tackle monsters made of H2O, and also interviews scientists exploring the danger that global warning will bring us more and larger waves. Casey writes compellingly of the threat and beauty of the ocean at its most dangerous. We get vivid historical reconstructions and her firsthand account of being on a jet-ski watching surfers risk their lives. Casey also smoothly translates the science of her subject into engaging prose. This book will fascinate anyone who has even the slightest interest in the oceans that surround us. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Part science lesson and part adrenaline rush, <em>The Wave</em> is an intense thrill ride that manages to take a broad look at oversized, potentially devastating waves. The critics praised Casey's eloquent writing and jaw-droppingly vivid descriptions of chasing--or trying desperately to steer clear of--these aquatic behemoths. Although the <em>Los Angeles Times</em> craved more technical information, and the <em>New York Times Book Review</em> considered the combination of science and surfing a bit odd, most critics brushed such concerns aside. Casey's entertaining and enlightening exploration of the world's giant waves will leave readers with "a healthy respect for the power of these waves" (_Los Angeles Times_) and a chilling sense of how little we truly know about the oceans that surround us. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Nine thoughtful, unfussy essays by the author of the collection <em>I Was Told There'd Be Cake</em> navigate around illusions of youth in the hope that by young adulthood they'll all add up to happiness. The account of Crosley's footloose adventure to Lisbon on the eve of her 30th birthday starts things off in rollicking fashion in Show Me on the Doll: without proficient language skills, getting hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of Bairro Alto, and panicking in front of the myriad QVC channels offered by her hotel, Crosley recognizes that Lisbon was a place with a painfully disproportionate self-reflection-to-experience ratio. There is the requisite essay about moving to New York and replacing her anorexic-kleptomaniac roommate with a more acceptable living arrangement: in Crosley's case, delineated in Take a Stab at It, she is interviewed by the creepily disembodied current occupier of a famous former brothel on the Bowery, McGurk's Suicide Hall. As well, Crosley delivers witty, syncopated takes on visiting Alaska and Paris, and finding much consolation from a two-timing heartbreak in New York by buying stolen items from her upholstery guy, Daryl, who found them fallen Off the Back of a Truck, as the delightful last selection is titled. These essays are fresh, funny, and eager to be loved. <em>(June)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>No doubt about it, Crosley is funny. A Thurber Award finalist, Crosley earned her stripes as a comic writer and a keen observer of the sometimes absurd in life in her debut collection, <em>I Was Told There'd Be Cake</em> (an HBO series based on the essays may be in the works). Despite a few overlong pieces and an occasional dud, Crosley avoids the sophomore slump in her new collection, offering wry--and often downright hilarious--takes on all kinds of experiences. What about Crosley's writing continues to appeal to a wide audience, despite the seemingly narrow scope of her adventures? "Crosley is a kind of anti-adult, refusing to buckle down," notes the <em>Boston Globe</em>, "refusing to accept the way of the world, refusing to stop her bold mockery, from which she herself is not exempt." </p>


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You're going to wish you never picked up this book. Some facts are too terrifying to teach in school. Unfortunately, Cracked.com is more than happy to fill you in: * A zombie apocalypse? It could happen. 50% of humans are infected with a parasite that can take over your brain. * The FDA wouldn't let you eat bugs, right? Actually, you might want to put down those jelly beans. And that apple. And that strawberry yogurt. * Think dolphins are our friends? Then these sex-crazed thrill killers of the sea have you right where they want you. * The most important discovery in the history of genetics? Francis Crick came up with it while on LSD. * Think you're going to choosewhether or not to buy this book? Scientists say your brain secretly makes all your decisions10 seconds before you even know what they are.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Journalist Rivlin (_Fire on the Prairie_) offers a superb exposé of the poverty business—the flock of companies that cater to (and prey on) the working poor. For people living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes falling behind with rent, car payments, and grocery bills, fringe financing and the ubiquitous Rent-A-Centers, Jackson Hewitt, payday lenders, pawnshops, and check cashers—may seem like their only safety net. These businesses may tout themselves as a necessary service and force for economic development in low-income communities, but Rivlin reveals their dark underbelly: punishing rates of interest and customer service reps explicitly trained to mislead customers who appear gullible. He delves into the effect of financial deregulation on fringe financing, predatory subprime lending, and the major players in this unsavory world, including Allan Jones, a debt collector, worth $200 million, and the activists and advocates like Bill Brennan who've faced them down in the courts. A timely, important, and deeply disturbing look at the cycle of debt of the nation's most vulnerable. <em>(June) </em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> Long before subprime lending and its role in the near-collapse of the U.S. financial system, a critical mass of businesses aimed at the working poor had been growing across the nation and exerting power in Washington. Award-winning reporter Rivlin chronicles the boom in the “fringe financial sector” as pawnshops, pay-day lenders, and rent-to-own stores have blossomed, gone public, and gained a measure of respectability, all by targeting their overpriced services to the working poor. Whether they have been exploiting their customers or merely providing them with desperately needed services is a matter of perspective to the gallery of characters Rivlin interviewed: borrowers who lost their homes, small-town debt collectors who moved into the cash-advance business, and consumer advocates fighting to curb the abuses of Poverty Inc., which has generated an economy of at least $100 billion a year compared to $60 billion for casinos. This is a powerful analysis, detailing how the financial sector has come to its current state of crisis and including personal stories of some among the millions of working Americans who have been exploited along the way. --Vanessa Bush </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Tough-as-nails Morn Hyland, pirate-turned-cyborg Angus Thermopyle, and the whole crew from the United Mining Company Police are back in the final book of the Gap series, <em>This Day All Gods Die</em>. The Gap plot has raced through the galaxy at breakneck speeds, and the conclusion is no exception. </p><p>Morn, her alien-grown son Davies, geneticist/engineer Vector Sheed, competent Mikka, and her cabin-boy brother Ciro wait aboard <em>Trumpet</em>. Angus lies unconscious, possibly in permanent stasis. Ciro plots to destroy the ship, driven insane by the knowledge that alien mutagens have been shot into him by Nick Succorso's sworn enemy, Sorus Chatelaine. Following nearby, Min Donner, faithful head of the UMCP Executive Division, watches the action and grits her teeth aboard Captain Dolph's battle-fatigued <em>Punisher</em>. Will Morn trust her? Will her voice commands over Angus's programming prevail? Who has survived the strange journey and battles since leaving the Lab? Back at United Mining headquarters, the Dragon and UMCP Chief Warden Dios's strange, twisted duel of manipulation, assassination, and corruption comes to a head when an Amnion warship sets course for Earth... and that's just the first few pages.</p><p>Get set for more of the action, betrayal, characterizataion, intrigue, corruption, and adventure you've enjoyed in the previous Gap books. If it has been a few years since you read the last installment, you may have trouble remembering some names and particularly insidious points of plot and government intrigue; you may even be tempted to reread the preceding books. Also troubling is Angus's continual rumination of a couple phrases, including "We've committed a crime against your soul" and "It's got to stop." However, you may be reading so fast you won't notice. </p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Drawing on a rich vein of science fiction, Donaldson brings to a resounding, though not triumphant, conclusion his Gap series, begun with The Gap into Conflict (1992) and continued through The Gap into Madness (1994). The struggle between Warden Dios, director of the United Mining Companies Police, and Horst Fasner, CEO of United Mining Companies itself, reaches a climax here. So does the tension between the human race and the alien Amnion, exacerbated by human development of a drug that prevents people from being mutated into the aliens. Meanwhile, much-victimized Morn Hyland and her motley crew are heading for Earth and arrive at the same time as an Amnion warship. The first third of the novel wins no marks for pacing, but later portions pick up speed, with the final battles near Earth satisfying all requirements for logic, excitement and catharsis. Donaldson's usual weaknesses are in evidence: substitution of scenery-chewing and angst for characterization, and an abundance of prolix passages. Too, this volume may confound those new to the series. But it's a crowd-pleasing story told on a grand scale, SF adventure with a genuinely galactic feel. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>“Your only job is to help your players be better.” That single idea had a huge impact on Tony Dungy when he heard it from one of his earliest mentors, and it led him to develop the successful leadership style so admired by players and coaches throughout the NFL. Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In <em>The Mentor Leader</em>, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life. In the process, you’ll learn the seven keys of mentoring leadership—and why they’re so effective; why mentor leadership brings out the best in people; how a mentor leader recovers from mistakes and handles team discipline; and the secret to getting people to follow you and do their best for you without intimidation tactics. As a son, a football player, and a winning coach, Tony has always learned from others on his path to success. Now you can learn to succeed for your team, family, or organization while living out your values—by becoming a mentor leader. </p>


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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Have you noticed that things aren't as civil as they once were? Or that rudeness is no longer an exception but a lifestyle? Sure you have. All you need to do is set foot outside your door to see that bad manners are taking over everywhere. People are yakking on cell phones in restaurants, even at church. Folks in carpools wear enough cologne to make our eyes bleed. Complete strangers think it's OK to rub a pregnant lady's belly. Passengers abuse flight attendants, family outings to the ball park are ruined by rowdy drunks . . . a congressman heckled the President of the United States.</p><p>Well, Whoopi Goldberg has noticed all this and more and asked herself, "Is it just me?" Unleashing her trademark irreverence and humor, her new book of observations takes a funny and excruciatingly honest look at how a loss of civility is messing with the quality of life for all of us.</p><p>So if your pet peeve is folks who talk in movie theaters like it was their living room, or if you get bugged by people clipping their nails and performing other personal hygiene next to you on the bus, or if you cringe when "please" and "thank you" get replaced by "gimme" and "huh?" . . . you have found a kindred spirit. Because Whoopi has witnessed the growing disrespect and rudeness in our lives and realized she is not alone. And, as you'll discover in these pages, neither are you.</p><h3>About the Author</h3><p><strong>Whoopi Goldberg</strong> is the premier comedic actress of our day. She has won a Tony, an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Grammy, as well as two Golden Globes. In 2001 she was awarded the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Whoopi Goldberg has appeared in scores of films, and is a host on ABC's <em>The View</em>. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>"_Son of Hamas_, written by Mosab Hassan Yousef and journalist Ron Brackin, is . . .  a must-read book and one can only hope it becomes the basis of a major Hollywood motion picture. - <strong>Joel Rosenberg</strong></p><p><strong>__</strong></p><p>--Amazon  </p><p>" . . . a fascinating book. I couldn't put it down." - <strong>Sean Hannity</strong> --Fox News' Hannity  </p><p>". . . a book more incendiary than any roadside IED . . ." --GQ Magazine  </p><p>" . . . intriguingly detailed . . ." --Newsweek  </p><p>" . . . one of the most extraordinary spy stories in history . . ." <strong>David Asman</strong>, America's Nightly Scoreboard, Fox Business Network  </p><p>“. . . a Le Carréesque thriller wrapped in a spiritual coming-of-age story . . .” (Matthew Kaminski )  </p><p>“reads with the page-turning ease of a great thriller.” (Claudia Rosett ) </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status . . . and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader. In <em>Son of Hamas</em>, Mosab Yousef--now called "Joseph"--reveals new information about the world's most dangerous terrorist organization and unveils the truth about his own role, his agonizing separation from family and homeland, the dangerous decision to make his newfound faith public, and his belief that the Christian mandate to "love your enemies" is the only way to peace in the Middle East. </p>


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Ever the resourceful young criminal mastermind, Artemis has found a way to construct a supercomputer from stolen fairy technology. Called the "C Cube," it will render all existing human technology obsolete. Artemis then arranges a meeting with a Chicago businessman, Jon Spiro, to offer to suppress the Cube for one year in return for gold, his favorite substance. But the meeting is a trap, and Spiro steals the Cube and mortally injures Butler. Artemis knows his only hope to save Butler lies in fairy magic, so once again he is forced to contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrepcon fairy police. Miraculously, Butler is healed, but there is a catch: he has aged fifteen years. Thus, Butler's infamously ditzy sister, Juliet, is called in as Artemis's bodyguard. Together, they travel to Chicago to steal back the Cube and ensure that Jon Spiro is put out of business-permanently.


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear to the fairy families that they could never win, they decided to move their civilization underground and keep themselves hidden from the humans. All the fairy families agreed on this, except the 8th family, the demons.    

The demons planned to lift their small island out of time until they had regrouped and were ready to wage war on the humans once more. However the time spell went wrong, and the island of Hybras was catapulted into Limbo, where it has remained for ten thousand years.    

Now, the tainted time spell is deteriorating and demons are being sucked back into the present space and time. The fairy Council is naturally concerned about this and is monitoring any materializations. When the spell's deterioration accelerates, the materializations become unpredictable. Even the fairy scientists cannot figure out where the next demon will pop up.     

But someone can. Artemis Fowl, teenage criminal mastermind has solved temporal equations that no normal human should be intelligent enough to understand. So when a confused and frightened demon pops up in a Sicilian theatre, Artemis Fowl is there to meet him. Unfortunately, he is not the only one. A second, mysterious party has also solved the temporal equations, and has managed to abduct the demon before Artemis can secure him.    

This is a disaster for the fairy people, as this demon was no ordinary fairy. He was the last demon warlock, the one who held the key to the survival of the entire demon race.    

It is up to Artemis and his old comrade, Captain Holly Short, to track down the missing demon and rescue him, before the time spell dissolves completely and the lost demon colony returns violently to Earth.


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Artemis's mother has contracted a deadly disease--and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of  African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save the lemur. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet: his younger self.


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In the middle of the night, a controversial U.S. senator is found murdered in bed in his Georgetown pied-a-terre. The police turn up only one clue: a mysterious rhyme signed "Jack and Jill" promising that this is just the beginning. Jack and Jill are out to get the rich and famous, and they will stop at nothing until their fiendish plan is carried out. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., homicide detective Alex Cross is called to a murder scene only blocks from his house, far from the corridors of power where he spends his days. The victim: a beautiful little girl, savagely beaten - and deposited in front of the elementary school Cross's son, Damon, attends. Could there be a connection between the two murders? As Cross tries to put the pieces together, the killer - or killers - strike again. And again. No one in Washington is safe - not children, not politicians, not even the President of the United States. Only Alex Cross has the skills and the courage to crack the case - but will he discover the truth in time?


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Alex Cross is back-and so is a raging and suicidal Gary Soneji. Out of prison and dying from the AIDS virus he contracted there, he will get revenge on Cross before he dies. In addition, we are introduced to a new pair of rivals whose paths cross that of Alex and Soneji. Thomas Augustine Pierce has been chasing his demon, Mr. Smith, since the savage murder of his fiancee. Mr. Smith is a unique monster, with actions toward his victims so insane-so unimaginable-that he is thought of as "not of the earth." Pierce, known in the business as St. Augustine because of his track record for catching killers and his invaluable status to the FBI and Interpol, may even be better than Cross.When things heat up and Alex is in a near-death coma following an attack in his own home, Pierce goes to Washington to help with the investigation. But just as he begins to piece together the mystery of how Gary Soneji could have mortally wounded Cross after he was believed to be dead, he is summoned to Paris with a postcard from Mr. Smith inviting him to a very special killing.The body count is high, the tension the highest, and the two killers on the loose are watching every move their pursuers make. Who is the cat, and who is the mouse? What and where is the final trap? And who survives?


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<h3>Review</h3><p>'Together these ten volumes make an attractive and reasonably priced (the volumes vary between L3.99 and L4.99) working edition of Virginia Woolf's best-known writing. One can only hope that their success will prompt World's Classics to add her other essays to the series in due course.' Elisabeth Jay, Westminster College, Oxford, Review of English Studies, Vol. XLV, No. 178, May '94 </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>Katharine Hilbery is beautiful and privileged but uncertain of her future. She must choose between becoming engaged to the oddly prosaic poet William, and her dangerous attraction to the lower-class Ralph. As she struggles to decide, the lives of two other women - women's rights activist Mary Datchet and Katharine's mother, struggling to weave together the documents, events and memories of her father's life into a biography - impinge on hers with unexpected and intriguing consequences. Virginia Woolf's light, delicate second novel is both a love story and a social comedy, yet it also subtly undermines these traditions, questioning a woman's role and the very nature of experience. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>"Textually, these editions of Mrs Dalloway and The Voyage Out are the most immaculate available." (_David Bradshaw, Worcester College_ )  </p><p>'Together these ten volumes make an attractive and reasonably priced (the volumes vary between L3.99 and L4.99) working edition of Virginia Woolf's best-known writing. One can only hope that their success will prompt World's Classics to add her other essays to the series in due course.' Elisabeth Jay, Westminster College, Oxford, (_Review of English Studies, Vol. XLV, No. 178, May '94_ ) </p><h3>Review</h3><p>"Textually, these editions of _ Mrs Dalloway_ and <em>The Voyage Out</em> are the most immaculate available." <em>David Bradshaw, Worcester College</em></p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3>
<p>For history buffs or gardeners who enjoy more than just digging in the dirt, <em>Tulipomania</em> presents a fascinating look at the tulip frenzy that took place in Holland in the mid-1600s. Beginning as gifts given among the wealthy and educated folk of Europe and Asia, the tulip rapidly became a source of incredible financial gain--similar to today's Internet start-up companies or Beanie Baby collections. Stories of craftsmen discontinuing their trade and focusing on raising tulips for public auction, where they sold for prices comparable to that of a manor house, are astonishing. Poets, moralists, businessmen--it seems everyone was involved at some level. 
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<p>Lack of regulation and poor quality control were just a couple of the details that led to the abrupt crash in February 1637. Tulipomania was the original market bust--people were ruined, debts went unpaid. It was a disaster similar to the stock-market crash of 1929. A brief resurrection of the mania occurred 65 years later in Istanbul, and while it was not the financial obsession Holland experienced, it led to the creation of standards in flower shape and increased the development of new types. You don't need to be obsessed to enjoy this book--an interest in tulips, history, and the futures market ensures that this will be a remarkable read. <em>--Jill Lightner</em>
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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3>
<p>The centerpiece of this story is a stunning two months, December 1636 and January 1637, when fortunes were made and lost in the Netherlands--in tulip bulb futures trading. Stripped to its basics, this would be a dry case study in an economics textbook. But Dash adds depth to the tale by including relevant bits of botany, sociology and history, as well as glimpses of the personalities involved in the creation of the tulip market, such as the orphans who made a fortune selling their late father's tulip bulbs and the man who owned a dozen extremely rare bulbs and wouldn't part with them at any price. Occasionally, he provides too much detail--his descriptions of how many guilders changed hands in particular transactions become repetitive, as do his physical descriptions of specific tulip varieties. Dash is fascinated by the contrast between the aesthetic sense of the Ottoman sultans (reflected in their love of tulip-laden gardens) and the ferocity of their rule (evidenced by fratricide, garroting and torture), but his musings on this interesting paradox are too unfocused to be enlightening. Overall, however, Dash (The Limit; Borderlands) effectively brings together a diverse mix of disciplines to illuminate the cultural, financial and psychological elements of an economic bubble--a subject that should be of great interest today. Readers interested in the technical aspects of economic speculation and those attuned to human folly will find this a worthwhile read. (Mar.) <br />
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. 
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<h3>Product Description</h3><p>The resort of Boleta Bay is not the carefree place it used to be. A series of unexplained disappearances, and holiday-makers threatened by an army of leering bums, casts a shadow over summer pleasures. But now Boleda Bay is fighting back and their campaign leads them to the abandoned Funhouse. </p>


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Written from Wilde's prison cell at Reading Gaol to his friend and lover Lord Alfred Douglas, "De Profundis" explodes the conventions of the traditional love letter and offers a scathing indictment of Douglas's behavior, a mournful elegy for Wilde's own lost greatness, and an impassioned plea for reconciliation. At once a bracingly honest account of ruinous attachment and a profound meditation on human suffering, "De Profundis" is a classic of gay literature. Richard Ellmann calls "De Profundis" "a love letter...One of the greatest, and the longest, ever written." This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition contains newly commissioned notes. "From the Trade Paperback edition."


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**Wicked**

Audra Walker's old crowd thought she'd turned her back on them and what they liked best-namely hot sex and available men. But they were so wrong….

**Wanton**

And Audra was in the mood to prove it. How? By taking their dare. The challenge? To seduce the very next man through the club door—regardless of who he was…

**Wanted**

What the classy chick at the bar saw in his suspect was anybody's guess. But undercover cop Jesse Martinez would make it his business to find out. Because no guy—unless he was dead from the neck down—would miss the chance to investigate the curvy brunette, too….


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There's not a man Rachel Westover can't tame. Or at least transform from a sloppy, sports-loving, self-absorbed male into the perfect mate. Then she meets Garret Kelly, aka The Wild Man. Talk about a challenge-- in a gorgeous package, no less. Can her behavior-modification techniques take on a guy this set in his rumpled-- and surprisingly irresistible-- ways? Rachel's hormones, er, "ambitions," are jumping at the chance. If she succeeds in domesticating Garret, she gets her own TV show. If she fails... Well, failure isn't an option. Sure, he's more resistant than she expected. And withholding pleasure as punishment affects "her" so much, she's abandoned that strategy. But she's determined one of them is going to their knees. She just hopes it isn't her!


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>The video game industry has always drawn upon works of fiction for inspiration--sooner or later, the process had to reverse itself. <em>Krondor the Betrayal</em> began its life as the bestselling role-playing video game of all time, written by Raymond E. Feist for Dynamix Inc. Feist, whose <em>Serpentwar Saga</em> has sold millions of copies and established him as one of the most popular fantasy authors of modern times, also wrote this novelization which places the action of the game in the context of his fully-realized fantasy setting, Midkemia. </p><p>Feist's fans are legion. Longtime readers will be delighted at the return of popular characters Pug the Wizard, Squire Locklear, and others, as they face the menace of a marauding elf war-chieftain and a mysterious cabal of wizards. But first-time Feist readers may find <em>Krondor the Betrayal</em> baffling and tiresome--without the momentum of the larger series, much of the story's effect is diminished. The video game influence in this book is unmistakable--as evidenced by an encumbrance of sword fights, multilevel conspiracy, and two-dimensional characters. Anyone who enjoys reading about Midkemia will be thrilled to play the demonstration version of the CD-ROM game (included with the book). <em>--Brendan J. LaSalle</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Based on the award-winning Betrayal at Krondor computer game, this launch of a new series set in Feist's popular Riftwar world (Magician, etc.) lacks originality but offers plenty of action and enough familiar and new characters to keep loyal fans of Feist and that computer game happy. Squire Locklear has been sent to the Northlands after some trouble with a married man's wife. There, he captures Groath, a renegade Dark Elf who warns him that the Dark Elves are again rising up in a plot against the humans. The dream name "Murmandamus" has been revived and all manner of folk are flocking to his banner, even though those few in the know are aware that Murmandamus was simply a ruse in the last war, an illusion in which the Dark Elves were forced to believe and for which they were made to give their lives. Together, the Squire and the Elf travel to give this dire news to the Prince of Krondor, meeting along the way young Owyn, a magician with more desire than skill. Also joining in the deeds of derring-do are Jimmy the Hand, a former thief now promoted to King's Man, and Patrus, a field magician who was Owyn's first mentor. As disasters pile up, these valiant hunks struggle to foil the various evil plots that surround them before the Riftworld is embroiled in yet another messy interdimensional battle. Women barely make an appearance in this book, and the writing can be sloppy, but because in SF familiarity so often breeds content, those who played the game and now want to read the story may not care. <br />Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Something is rotten in the state of Krondor: the Mockers, the gang of goons and bullyboys that were James's colleagues back when he was known as Jimmy the Hand, have been decimated in vicious fighting on the rooftops and in the sewers. That, and a seemingly random slew of murders, tips off the Crown that some outside concern is attempting an underworld power-grab right under the Prince's nose. Raymond E. Feist's second Riftwar book, <em>Krondor the Assassins</em>, continues the action of __ with Prince Arutha and Squire James back in the Midkemian capital, returning triumphantly from their campaign against the Tsurani magician Makala and moredhel headman Delekhan. But Arutha quickly sends James, née Jimmy, back into the city's seedy underbelly to investigate, and in the process he forms a sort of Krondorian secret service. Could the assassins of the Nighthawks be responsible, or perhaps some Keshian interest? James, naturally, begins to suss the situation out, which becomes even more complicated when a hunting party including the visiting Crown Prince of Olasko is beset by shape-shifting magicians.</p><p>James and Arutha, both classic feel-good-fantasy heroes--the type of guys with a twinkle in their eye who seem virtually indestructible--eventually track their enemies down to a deserted Keshian fortress, facing assorted assassins, demons, and evil priests in the process. Not the most imaginative or compelling fantasy around, but <em>The Assassins</em> is still a fun romp for fans of the Krondor band. <em>--Paul Hughes</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Squire James, formerly known to the Guild of Thieves as Jimmy the Hand, is looking forward to some rest when he returns home from battle against the Morhedel and the Tsurani. But Prince Arutha gives him a new assignment: James must learn the cause of a spate of murders spreading across the city of Krondor. No one is safeAthieves and honest men alike are turning up dead. Who is the Crawler, the mysterious man who is wiping out the Thieves' Guild? What are Prince Vladic of Olasco and his uncle Radswil doing in Krondor? Whence the mysterious threat to their lives? And what do these matters have to do with the NighthawksAthe dreaded Guild of Assassins? James's knowledge of the sewers and his underworld contacts make him the man to find out. But as James forms his fledgling spy ring, the panic in the sewers continues, and the threat against Krondor itself steadily grows. Now, together with his friend William conDoin and the gruff veteran Knight-Captain Treggar, James must find the Nighthawks in their desert lair and prevent whatever it is that they're planning. This tale of shape-shifting magicians, human sacrifice, man-eating demons and a little young love, a sequel to Krondor: The Betrayal (1998), will satisfy Feist's fans, and its ending will leave them waiting for another volume. Author tour. (Nov.) <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Book Three of the Riftwar Legacy gets off to a fast start, as pirates attack the ship Ishap's Dawn in order to steal the Tear of the Gods, a sacred magical gem being transported in the ship's hold. Bestseller Feist's latest action-adventure fantasy focuses on renewed trouble in Krondor, ruled by Prince Arutha, who's assisted by his loyal squires, William and James, and the new court mage, a Keshian sorceress named Jazhara. News of the Tear's disappearance comes on the heels of a seeming jailbreak, the destruction of the city's orphanage and the razing of a tavern connected with the Mockers, the city's official thieves guild. All seem linked to Bear, a crazed former pirate bent on recovering the Tear for himself and getting revenge on the partner who left him to drown in the wreck of Ishap's Dawn. Meanwhile Arutha's nemesis, the Crawler, is once again at work seeding the land with unrest and fear. James and Jazhara lead the investigation, moving from Krondor's sewers to the bleak cliffs of distant Haldon Head, overlooking the place where the Tear was lost and more than one ship has met its end. There they face an ancient evil with plans of its own for the Tear, and more than enough power to accomplish its desires. The latest chapter in the Krondor saga is sure to please Feist fans and win new ones among readers who crave Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy adventure. Agent, Jonathan Matson. (Mar. 10) Forecast: As the creator of the computer games Return to Krondor and Betrayal at Krondor and winner of Computer magazine's Best Game of the Year Award, Feist will bring out the gaming crowd in addition to his already huge fan base on his 10-city author tour for this novel; expect hefty sales. <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>When Krondor's enemies gain possession of the powerful stone known as the Tear of the Gods, Prince Arutha sends his loyal followers to recover it, knowing that he may be sending his friends to their deaths or worse. Based on the popular computer game set in his fantasy universe, Feist's latest tale of swords and sorcery features scenes of magical mayhem and swashbuckling battles and should appeal to the author's considerable readership. For most fantasy collections. <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>Further praise for the <strong>Riftwar</strong> saga:  </p><p>"Most exciting...a very worthy and absorbing addition to the fantasy field." <br />-- Andre Norton on <strong>Magician</strong>  </p><p>"As exciting and absorbing as Magician in every way. The excellent characterization wedded to a tight and well-turned plot makes it one of the outstanding fantasy offerings of the season." <br />-- Andre Norton on <strong>Silverthorn</strong>  </p><p>"A lively tale where engaging characters inhabit a well-rounded fantasy land." -- Publishers Weekly on Prince of the Blood<br />"Has humor and tears and romance...just about everything a fantasy fan could ask for...This is a book to read whether or not you have read the earlier trilogy." <br />-- <em>UPI</em> on <strong>Prince of the Blood</strong>  </p><p>"A superior, rousing adventure." <br />-- <em>Publishers Weekly</em> on <strong>The King's Buccaneer</strong>  </p><p>"An entertaining tale of high-seas adventure and exotic fantasy." <br />-- <em>Locus</em> on <strong>The King's Buccaneer</strong><br />? </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>An evil wind blows through Midkemia. Dark legions have risen up to crush the Kingdom of the Isles and enslave it to dire magics. The final battle between Order and Chaos is abotu to begin in the ruins of the city called Sethanon.  </p><p>Now Pug, the master magician sometimes known as Milamber, must undertake an awesome and perilous quest to the dawn of time to grapple with an ancient and terrible Enemy for the fate of a thousand worlds. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>A dark and alien peril casts an lengthening shadow over Midkemia as another Riftworld saga begins almost a generation after the events in The King's Buccaneer . Erik von Darkmoor, bastard son of the local baron, flees to the city of Krondor after accidentally killing his legitimate and sadistic half-brother. Condemned to death, Eric and his childhood friend, Rupert (Roo) Avery, are provisionally spared to serve in a desperate mission against the reptilian Pantathians, who plan to conquer Midkemia and bring back their goddess, Alma-Lodaka, one of the ancient Dragon Lords. The boys undergo brutal training and join others of their kind under the half-elf Calis, known as the Eagle of Krondor, in a bid to pass as mercenaries in the continent of Novindus, current battle center for the Pantathians and their reluctant allies, the also-reptilian Saaur. A sensitive coming-of-age tale in which brutality and camaraderie are equally present, Feist's newest saga has a freshness of vision that suggests it will avoid the staleness that often eats away at multivolume epics. Author tour. <br />Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>In the first volume of the "Serpent War Saga," the best-selling author of the "Riftwar Saga" introduces a new twist to an old setting. The planets Kelewan and Midkemia, central to the Riftwar novels, are home to a pair of unlikely heroes who must fight an evil race of serpents.<br />Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>Shards of a Broken Crown</em> is the final installment in Feist's hugely popular Serpentwar Saga--the first three books are </p><h3>From</h3><p>The fourth and concluding volume of the Serpentwar Saga is notably better than its immediate predecessor, <em>Rage of a Demon King</em>. This time, Feist puts much more emphasis on the diplomatic and military aspects of the kingdom of Krondor's struggle to survive, and Jimmy and Dash, the late Duke James' grandsons, take center stage away from <em>Rage</em> protagonist Erik von Darkmoor. They help persuade the late Emerald Queen's General Duko to change sides and enlist the thieves of Krondor in the resistance to the magically assisted Keshites. Their transformation from green if good-hearted youths to warriors much older than their years is the core of the book and a development Feist works out in some of his best writing ever. Meanwhile, the reptilian Saaur also become neutral, which leaves only the Keshites to be defeated in a series of grim, well-depicted battles employing both magic and steel. The major complaint to make about <em>Shards</em> will likely come from fans of Pug, Miranda, and the saga's other purveyors of potent magic, who are given less consideration herein than their importance to the plot merits. But the book is undeniably riveting, a respectable conclusion to a most readable fantasy saga. <em>Roland Green</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Bestseller Feist (Prince of the Blood) does an impressive job of developing numerous characters and elaborate social structures while holding true to established history in this fantasy page-turner set in Midkemia, the backdrop for his venerable Riftwar and Serpentwar sagas. As we follow Talon of the Silver Hawk through his adoption and training by members of the Conclave of Shadows (many of whom will be familiar to readers of earlier Midkemia books) and his quest for revenge after the slaughter of his tribe, places and people are fleshed out with neat thoroughness. The transformation of Talon, an innocent and untrained country mouse, into Talwin, an expert sword fighter, smooth seducer and faux nobleman, is extraordinary but completely believable, despite the compression or omission of a few years here and there, while the hints at the power and extent of the Conclave and its mission will leave readers hungry for more. Feist specializes in the careful and accurate portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of young men going through tumultuous life changes, and this effort is one of his best yet.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>Only young Talon of the Silver Hawk survives the destruction of his nation, and in this series opener, he's out for revenge. <br />Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>


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<h3>Review</h3><p>'Feist's plot races along at break-neck speed... distressingly addictive.' The Guardian </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>EXILE'S RETURN is the penultimate volume in the CONCLAVE OF SHADOWS from worldwide bestselling author Raymond E Feist. Featuring one of the most fascinating characters and scenarios ever created in the genre. The series promises to become one of the great all-time classics in the field. EXILE'S RETURN concludes the sweeping new epic fantasy series from worldwide bestselling author Raymond E Feist. Featuring one of the most fascinating characters and scenarios ever created in the genre, THE CONCLAVE OF SHADOWS promises to become one of the great all-time classics in the field. Once absolute ruler of his nation Kaspar, former Duke of Olasko, has been cast into exile. Abandoned in the wilds of a continent on the other side of the world and left with nothing but his wits and determination, he must fight merely to survive. Armed with guile, cunning and an iron will, he starts his odyssey with a single goal: to return to his home and revenge himself upon the man who cast him down, Talwin Hawkins. But fate has other plans for Kaspar, and as he struggles against adversity, he encounters dangers greater than any he had imagined. More is at stake than he realised and Kaspar is but a single player in a far greater game than he imagined, for pitted against the Conclave of Shadows are the agents of the Dark Empire, a looming menace that threatens not only Kaspar's homeland, but the entire world of Midkemia. </p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>This first of a new fantasy trilogy from bestseller Feist (_Exile's Return_) reintroduces a now ancient but well-preserved Pug (the juvenile hero of <em>Magician</em>) plus numerous generic situations, not the least of which is the return of Pug's old nemesis, the evil wizard Sidi, and a further menace that threatens the land of Midkemia. All the characters talk in completely 21st-century vocabulary, and while some of the inhabitants of the imaginary setting have unusual names suggestive of alien language and culture, we also meet folks named Miranda, Tomas, Magnus, Caleb and Zane. The result does not add up to any sense of a real, other place like Middle Earth or Earthsea, in which mythic events might plausibly occur. Those looking for the numinous wonder of Tolkien or the beautiful language of Ursula Le Guin will have to look elsewhere, but readers seeking to move one step up from adventure-gaming tie-in novels will find this a good starting place. <em>(Apr.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Feist expands the _ uber_ -saga of Midkemia again with a new trilogy, The Darkwar Saga. In it eventual arch-mage Pug (see _ Exile's Return,_ 2005) is much younger, his vast powers are still forming, and he hasn't yet acquired the array of family ties that will make him so wonderfully human later on. Right now he is trying to contend with evil sorcery and win the tolerance, if not allegiance, of the emperor. Reinforcing him are two fugitive farm boys, Tad and Zane, and their mentor, Caleb, whose aid proves invaluable as all three youngsters mature, the farm boys with the additional help of another mage's daughters. The boys' growth entails some of Feist's most notable feats of characterization, feats that testify to the substantial improvement he has made as a writer during a career now approaching the 20-year mark. He leaves us curious, even eager, to see what the succeeding two books will reveal about Midkemia's history and what parts Tad and Zane play in it, though perhaps under new and different names. <em>Roland Green</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Feist's competent but uninventive second installment to his Darkwar Saga (after 2006's <em>Flight of the Nighthawks</em>) follows Pug the wizard and his grandsons—Jommy, Tad and Zane, now of military age—on their various magic-enhanced and bloody military quests to defy evil. Pug's search for the renegade sorcerer Leso Varen takes him from the land of Midkemia into the realm of the bloodthirsty Dasati, who are planning a war on behalf of their Dark God. Feist's narrative also follows the coming-of-age of the young Dasati warrior Valko, whose eventual enlightenment makes him an ally for Pug. Meanwhile, Pug's grandsons go to the University of Roldem, take commissions in its embattled army and prove themselves formidable soldiers. The author's depictions of battles, torture and the Social Darwinism of the ruthless Dasati society may not be suited to fantasy readers of all ages, but Feist's fans will look forward to the saga's final episode. <em>(Apr.)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>Product Description</h3><p>The dread plot to destroy the Empire of Great Kesh has failed. The Conclave of Shadows has ended the murderous Nighthawk brotherhood's horrific reign of terror and death. But the mad sorcerer, Leso Varen, has fled, taking refuge among the most powerful men and women on Kelewan—a world now threatened, along with Midkemia, by hordes of the most vicious warriors in the known universe. The great sorcerer Pug knows of no power that will vanquish these invaders. And now he, brave Magnus and Nakor, and a disturbing young stranger named Bek must venture into the poisonous heart of the Dasati realm—the most terrible place they have ever encountered—in a valiant, impossible attempt to turn the tides against the encroaching doom that would swallow their world. </p>


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SUMMARY:
In 1978, the first group of space shuttle astronauts was introduced to the world -- twenty-nine men and six women who would carry NASA through the most tumultuous years of the space shuttle program. Among them was USAF Colonel Mike Mullane, who, in his memoir Riding Rockets, strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are -- human.Mullane's tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often comical, and always entertaining. He vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience, from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. He is also brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster -- killing four members of his group. A hilarious, heartfelt story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, Riding Rockets will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop."


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SUMMARY:
In 2004, Kevin Malarkey and his six-year-old son, Alex, suffered a horrific car accident. The impact from the crash paralyzed Alex-and medically speaking, it was unlikely that he could survive. "I think Alex has gone to be with Jesus," a friend told the stricken dad. But two months later, Alex awoke from a coma with an incredible story to share - of events at the accident scene and in the hospital while he was unconscious, of the angels that took him through the gates of heaven itself, of the unearthly music that sounded just terrible to a six-year-old. But, most amazing of all . . . of meeting and talking to Jesus. The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven is the true story of an ordinary boy's most extraordinary journey. As you see heaven and earth through Alex's eyes, you'll come away with new insights on miracles, life beyond this world, and the power of a father's love.


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SUMMARY:
The dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect, and one woman’s courageous flight to freedom with her eight children.When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger: a man thirty-two years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn’s heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church that had settled in small communities along the Arizona-Utah border. Over the next fifteen years, Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband’s psychological abuse and the watchful eyes of his other wives who were locked in a constant battle for supremacy.Carolyn’s every move was dictated by her husband’s whims. He decided where she lived and how her children would be treated. He controlled the money she earned as a school teacher. He chose when they had sex; Carolyn could only refuse—at her peril. For in the FLDS, a wife’s compliance with her husband determined how much status both she and her children held in the family. Carolyn was miserable for years and wanted out, but she knew that if she tried to leave and got caught, her children would be taken away from her. No woman in the country had ever escaped from the FLDS and managed to get her children out, too. But in 2003, Carolyn chose freedom over fear and fled her home with her eight children. She had $20 to her name.Escape exposes a world tantamount to a prison camp, created by religious fanatics who, in the name of God, deprive their followers the right to make choices, force women to be totally subservient to men, and brainwash children in church-run schools. Against this background, Carolyn Jessop’s flight takes on an extraordinary, inspiring power. Not only did she manage a daring escape from a brutal environment, she became the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a contested suit involving the FLDS. And in 2006, her reports to the Utah attorney general on church abuses formed a crucial part of the case that led to the arrest of their notorious leader, Warren Jeffs.


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SUMMARY:
When Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked, he washes up on an island called Lilliput, where the people are only six inches tall. This is just the beginning of many amazing adventures in which Gulliver meets giants and kings, a dangerous pet monkey and a cat the size of an ox.BLJames Riordan's first novel, Sweet Clarinet, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Novel Award in 1998


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EDITORIAL REVIEW:

In her great historical epic *Kristin Lavransdatter*, set in fourteenth-century   Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and   headstrong woman. Painting a richly detailed backdrop, Undset immerses readers in the   day-to-day life, social conventions, and political and religious undercurrents of the   period. Now in one volume, Tiina Nunnally’s award-winning definitive translation brings   this remarkable work to life with clarity and lyrical beauty.  

  As a young girl, Kristin is deeply devoted to her father, a kind and courageous man. But   when as a student in a convent school she meets the charming and impetuous Erlend   Nikulaussøn, she defies her parents in pursuit of her own desires. Her saga continues   through her marriage to Erlend, their tumultuous life together raising seven sons as   Erlend seeks to strengthen his political influence, and finally their estrangement as the   world around them tumbles into uncertainty.   

  With its captivating heroine and emotional potency, *Kristin Lavransdatter* is the   masterwork of Norway’s most beloved author—one of the twentieth century’s most   prodigious and engaged literary minds—and, in Nunnally’s exquisite translation, a story   that continues to enthrall.


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<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Starred Review. At the end of <em>Half a Life</em>, Naipaul's previous novel, Willie, a young Indian in late 1950s London, travels to Africa. At the beginning of his new novel, Willie is in Berlin with his bossy sister, Sarojini. It is 18 years later. Revolution has uprooted Willie's African existence. Sarojini hooks him up with a guerrilla group in India, and Willie, always ready to be molded to some cause, returns to India. The guerrillas, Willie soon learns, are "absolute maniacs." But caught up, as ever, in the energy of others, Willie stays with them for seven years. He then surrenders and is tossed into the relative comfort of jail. When an old London friend (a lawyer named Roger) gets Willie's book of short stories republished, Willie's imprisonment becomes an embarrassment to the authorities. He is now seen as a forerunner of "postcolonial writing." He returns to London, where he alternates between making love to Perdita, Roger's wife, and looking for a job. One opens up on the staff of an architecture magazine funded by a rich banker (who is also cuckolding Roger). Willie's continual betweenness—a state that makes him, to the guerrillas, a man "who looks at home everywhere"—is the core theme of this novel, and the story is merely the shadow projected by that theme. Sometimes, especially toward the end of the book, as Willie's story becomes more suburban, there is a penumbral sketchiness to the incidents. At one point, Willie, remarking on the rich London set into which he has been flung, thinks: "These people here don't understand nullity." Naipaul does—he is a modern master of the multiple ironies of resentment, the claustrophobia of the margins. In a world in which terrorism continually haunts the headlines, Naipaul's work is indispensable. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Half A Life</em> (2001) might have been better been left without this sequel, which ruffles reviewers’ feathers as only a grand old man of literature can. Though his trophy shelf holds a Nobel Prize, his past accomplishments buy him little sympathy. In fact, it’s often difficult to tell if critics are more put off by <em>Magic Seeds</em> or their appraisal of Willie Chandran as a mouthpiece for Naipaul’s politics. For an author whose greatest works have a heavy dose of autobiography, this reaction is not surprising, though it makes one wonder whether critics are reading the novel or dissecting the author. In the end, one hopes the unlikable characters, implausible plotting, and general fog of pessimism are what doom this book, not critical disappointment in Naipaul.</p><p><em>Copyright © 2004 Phillips &amp; Nelson Media, Inc.</em></p>


# books

timestamp: 2010-07-06 01:26:40.279000+00:00
pubdate: 2009-03-18 07:00:00+00:00
author_sort: Austen, Jane & Grahame-Smith, Seth
isbn: 9781594743344
path: Jane Austen/Pride and prejudice and zombies_ the cla (37)
uuid: b0a9e73a-ddf9-4ab0-8f69-acb793731e36
title:
Pride and prejudice and zombies: the classic Regency romance -- now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem!

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Pride and prejudice and zombies: the classic Regency romance -- now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem!


timestamp: 2010-03-21 03:19:37.937000+00:00
pubdate: 2009-11-02 08:00:00+00:00
author_sort: Zuckerman, Gregory
isbn: 9780385529914
path: Gregory Zuckerman/The Greatest Trade Ever_ The Behind-the- (255)
uuid: cf9f5118-2a87-42ba-bf11-9a58f6c8d04d
title:
The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History

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Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History, The


timestamp: 2009-06-15 04:00:00+00:00
pubdate: 1991-09-01 04:00:00+00:00
author_sort: Peters, Ellis
isbn: 9780446400589
path: Ellis Peters/The Potters Field_ The Seventeenth Chron (256)
uuid: c8104adc-f6f8-4797-bfe0-b36d0ba02490
title:
The Potters Field: The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Paul at Shrewsbury

sort:
Potters Field: The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Paul at Shrewsbury, The


timestamp: 2010-06-03 17:39:09.095000+00:00
pubdate: 2007-05-17 17:15:09.210000+00:00
author_sort: Reingold, Daniel & Reingold, Jennifer
isbn: 9780060747701
path: Daniel Reingold/Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst_ A (315)
uuid: a30dc7e0-0be9-44ca-a5ec-832135abb995
title:
Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst: A True Story of Inside Information and Corruption in the Stock Market

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Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst: A True Story of Inside Information and Corruption in the Stock Market


timestamp: 2010-06-03 17:07:01.101000+00:00
pubdate: 2009-10-07 17:24:35.047000+00:00
author_sort: Levitt, Steven D. & Dubner, Stephen J.
isbn: 9780060889579
path: Steven D. Levitt/Superfreakonomics_ global cooling, patri (696)
uuid: c702eb7c-e2ef-43c9-b7ee-8d94ce19f65b
title:
Superfreakonomics: global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life insurance

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Superfreakonomics: global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life insurance


timestamp: 2010-02-15 02:10:43+00:00
pubdate: 2004-05-20 07:00:00+00:00
author_sort: Dick, Philip K.
isbn: 9780575075818
path: Philip K. Dick/Five great novels. The three stigmata of (890)
uuid: 014f101f-1eda-4da2-b6a1-ce2ec620f3ea
title:
Five great novels. The three stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Martian time-slip. Do Androids dream of electric sheep?. Ubik. A scanner darkly

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timestamp: 2010-08-04 21:31:06.856000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-08 20:26:07.655000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-08 20:46:13.409000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-08 22:18:16.622000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-13 22:52:06.607000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-13 22:52:28.622000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-13 22:52:02.684000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-13 22:52:20.329000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-15 06:42:52.627000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-15 19:59:44.794000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-21 03:53:39.284000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-12 15:47:52.656000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-08-31 19:43:24.916000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-01 00:22:04.256000+00:00
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author_sort: Mindell, Earl & Hopkins, Virginia
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timestamp: 2010-02-22 05:12:33.047266+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-05 01:11:12.999000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-08 23:51:10.586000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-02 01:55:09.253721+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-12 21:46:26.240000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-14 21:19:24.645000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-06-16 00:52:36.146804+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-09-26 04:39:00.478000+00:00
pubdate: 2009-08-25 04:40:11.993000+00:00
author_sort: Cooper, Gwen
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timestamp: 2010-09-26 04:52:54.562000+00:00
pubdate: 2008-09-02 07:00:00+00:00
author_sort: Freeman, Gregory A.
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timestamp: 2010-09-28 19:35:14.994000+00:00
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author_sort: Thomsett, Michael C.
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timestamp: 2010-09-29 08:27:53.644000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-10-02 03:04:41.843000+00:00
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author_sort: Cullen, Heidi
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timestamp: 2010-10-15 19:25:22.017000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-10-25 15:43:56.275000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-10-25 15:43:58.322000+00:00
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title: The Ones Who Hit the Hardest: The Steelers, the Cowboys, the '70s, and the Fight for America's Soul
timestamp: 2010-10-26 03:17:14.466000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-11-22 17:35:27.975000+00:00
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timestamp: 2010-11-12 03:28:29.682000+00:00
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    "is_multiple": null, 
    "table": "custom_column_3", 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": true, 
    "name": "Formats", 
    "datatype": "composite", 
    "rec_index": 23, 
    "link_column": "value", 
    "label": "formats", 
    "colnum": 3, 
    "column": "value", 
    "category_sort": "value", 
    "display": {
      "composite_template": "{formats}"
    }
  }, 
  "sort": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Title Sort", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 11, 
    "search_terms": [
      "title_sort"
    ], 
    "label": "sort", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "tags": {
    "is_category": true, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Tags", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 6, 
    "search_terms": [
      "tags", 
      "tag"
    ], 
    "link_column": "tag", 
    "label": "tags", 
    "is_multiple": ",", 
    "column": "name", 
    "category_sort": "name", 
    "table": "tags", 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "timestamp": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Date", 
    "datatype": "datetime", 
    "rec_index": 3, 
    "search_terms": [
      "date"
    ], 
    "label": "timestamp", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {
      "date_format": "dd MMM yyyy"
    }
  }, 
  "authors": {
    "is_category": true, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Authors", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 2, 
    "search_terms": [
      "authors", 
      "author"
    ], 
    "link_column": "author", 
    "label": "authors", 
    "is_multiple": ",", 
    "column": "name", 
    "category_sort": "sort", 
    "table": "authors", 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "news": {
    "is_category": true, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "category", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "News", 
    "datatype": null, 
    "search_terms": [], 
    "label": "news", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": "name", 
    "category_sort": "name", 
    "table": "news", 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "publisher": {
    "is_category": true, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Publishers", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 9, 
    "search_terms": [
      "publisher"
    ], 
    "link_column": "publisher", 
    "label": "publisher", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": "name", 
    "category_sort": "name", 
    "table": "publishers", 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "series_index": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": null, 
    "datatype": "float", 
    "rec_index": 10, 
    "search_terms": [
      "series_index"
    ], 
    "label": "series_index", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "lccn": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": null, 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 16, 
    "search_terms": [], 
    "label": "lccn", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "author_sort": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": null, 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 12, 
    "search_terms": [
      "author_sort"
    ], 
    "label": "author_sort", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "cover": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": null, 
    "datatype": "int", 
    "rec_index": 20, 
    "search_terms": [
      "cover"
    ], 
    "label": "cover", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "flags": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": null, 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 18, 
    "search_terms": [], 
    "label": "flags", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "ondevice": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "On Device", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 24, 
    "search_terms": [
      "ondevice"
    ], 
    "label": "ondevice", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "formats": {
    "is_category": true, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Formats", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 13, 
    "search_terms": [
      "formats", 
      "format"
    ], 
    "label": "formats", 
    "is_multiple": ",", 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }, 
  "title": {
    "is_category": false, 
    "is_editable": true, 
    "kind": "field", 
    "is_custom": false, 
    "name": "Title", 
    "datatype": "text", 
    "rec_index": 1, 
    "search_terms": [
      "title"
    ], 
    "label": "title", 
    "is_multiple": null, 
    "column": null, 
    "table": null, 
    "display": {}
  }
}


key: library_view books view state
val:
{
  "column_alignment": {
    "timestamp": "center", 
    "pubdate": "center", 
    "size": "center"
  }, 
  "column_sizes": {
    "rating": 0, 
    "#quality": 131, 
    "pubdate": 0, 
    "tags": 252, 
    "series": 258, 
    "timestamp": 0, 
    "title": 254, 
    "publisher": 0, 
    "#genre": 0, 
    "authors": 163, 
    "#formats": 0, 
    "size": 0
  }, 
  "sort_history": [
    [
      "tags", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "authors", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "authors", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      1
    ], 
    [
      "#genre", 
      1
    ], 
    [
      "series", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "series", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "series", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "series", 
      0
    ], 
    [
      "timestamp", 
      1
    ]
  ], 
  "hidden_columns": [
    "timestamp", 
    "size", 
    "rating", 
    "publisher", 
    "pubdate", 
    "#genre", 
    "#formats"
  ], 
  "column_positions": {
    "rating": 11, 
    "#quality": 10, 
    "pubdate": 9, 
    "title": 1, 
    "series": 5, 
    "timestamp": 2, 
    "tags": 7, 
    "publisher": 8, 
    "#genre": 3, 
    "ondevice": 0, 
    "authors": 4, 
    "#formats": 12, 
    "size": 6
  }
}


