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Amazon-Reviews-2023-Books-Meta

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[ "Andrew Coverdale and Dan Robinson give good insight into the building blocks of a successful quick passing game. They draw on coaching methods that describe the fundamentals that many NFL teams are currently using to combat an attacking style of defene. For any coach interested in gaining insightful knowledge of the game, this book gives an excellent set of principles - Jim Fassel" ]

[ "About the Author", "Andrew Coverdale has coached football for ten years, now in his second year as the Head Coach of Castle High School (IN). Prior to that, he served as Offensive Coordinator at Trinity High School in Louisville from 1999-2002, during which time the Shamrocks set school scoring records each year, won state championships twice and were runners-up once. They finished the 2002 season ranked #4 in the nation in USA Today's final poll, and boasted the Student Sports' National Junior of the Year in Quarterback Brian Brohm, who threw for 3,777 yards and 47 touchdowns versus only 1 interception. Before joining Trinity, Coverdale's stops included stints as Head Coach at Brown County High School (1997-98), QB/TE Coach at Taylor University in Upland, IN (1996), Receivers Coach at Noblesville High School (1995) and Northwestern (1994), and Offensive Line assistant at Harrison High School in West Lafayette (1993).", "Dan Robinson is in his 20th coaching year at Northwestern High School (IN). Robinson has had two undefeated regular seasons, four Mid-Indian Conference titles, and a trip to the Indiana AAA State Championship. He’s coached several all-state quarterbacks." ]

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[ "Books", "Sports & Outdoors", "Football (American)" ]

[ "This treasure chest holds 350 years of Viking adventures to unlock and discover. Among the contents is a book detailing Viking life, dress and how they sailed to America. There is a ship to assemble, a poster, a map of the Viking world and rune stones to interpret." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books" ]

[ "This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher." ]

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[ "Books", "History", "Europe" ]

[ "No Longer Bound is about the intersection of reading comprehension and interpretation that leads to the development of a powerful and transformative sermon. Reading facilitates the interpretive process, which is the essence of any sermon. The sermon is an interpretation of an interpretation and as such presents itself as a new gospel message. The ability to write and preach a sermon is an exercise in freedom. The book is grounded in a narrative theological form that begins with the author's experience and filters that experience through the lens of hermeneutic philosophy and theology. Reading and preaching constitute the thread that runs throughout the book. The book suggests that the sermon is the philosophic theology of Black practical religion inasmuch as the Black church is central to religion and culture. This is a fresh and new understanding of homiletics, philosophical theology, and interpretation theory that is intended to produce better preachers and more powerful and life-changing sermons by all who endeavor to preach." ]

[ "Review", "''James Henry Harris is the only preacher and professor I know who can so easily blend together in one book the plaintive messages of American slave songs of the nineteenth century, the rigorous inquiry of European philosophy of the twentieth century, and the challenges confronting black preachers in the twenty-first century. . . . All preachers would do well to read this challenging and insightful book and apply its lessons to their pulpit ministry!''--Marvin A. McMickle, President and Professor of Church Leadership, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School''So much more than a great book on the art of the sermon--and it is that!--James Henry Harris has given us a fully realized theology of dialogue and liberation. In astonishingly deft and astute ways, he juxtaposes his own autobiography with commentaries on philosophical theology, literature, postmodern society, and life in diverse African American communities. A fine, critical work of narrative art in its own right,", "No Longer Bound", "guides us--issue by issue, question by question--into the passion of 'preaching as an act of love.'''--Larry D. Bouchard, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia''Here is a compelling, multi-leveled account of preaching in the Black church, integrating biography, Scripture study, homiletics, philosophy, and theology. Harris tells the story of his dual African American legacies: of slavery and racism on one side, and redemptive preaching on the other. He gleans a theology of preaching from his years as a professor of homiletics, as a pulpit preacher, and as an activist for civil rights and religious freedom. . . . It is an intellectually spicy and soulful account of how preaching the word can liberate the spirit.''--Peter W. Ochs, Professor of Modern Judaic Studies, University of Virginia''This is a deeply personal book. James Henry Harris weaves threads from his rich life of ministry and learning, all lived out against the backdrop of a racially charged land, into a beautiful tapestry of faithful and courageous preaching. Harris manages to bring a host of strong thinkers helpfully into the conversation--Cone and Ricoeur, Derrida and Dubois, and many others--without ever losing the clear and confident sound of his own voice.''--Thomas G. Long, Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory University --Wipf and Stock Publishers", "About the Author", "James Henry Harris is Professor and Chair of Preaching and Pastoral Theology at Virginia Union University and Senior Minister at the Second Baptist Church, both in Richmond, Virginia. He is the author of The Word Made Plain (2004) and Preaching Liberation (1996). He is a recipient of the Henry Luce III Fellowship in Theology and a past president of the Academy of Homiletics." ]

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[ "Books", "Christian Books & Bibles", "Ministry & Evangelism" ]

[ "With the Soviet Union crumbling under internal pressures and a new Japanese empire causing trouble around the globe, the world is in chaos, and the Americans find themselves joining forces with their old enemies in Moscow" ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "A plague sweeps out of Africa to decimate the world's population. An American expeditionary force is humiliated by South Africans armed with a new generation of Japanese weapons. Israel is destroyed in a nuclear exchange. These apocalyptic events are only background in Peters's ( Red Army ) latest page-turner. To aid a disintegrating Soviet Union being overrun by a Japanese-supported Islamic army, America intervenes with the Seventh Cavalry, commanded by living legend Col. George Taylor and equipped with the top-secret M-100 super helicopter. Japan responds with the Scrambler, a neurological weapon so horrible it frightens even its users. But the Seventh has an electronic surprise of its own in this high-tech thriller that verges on science fiction. Although Peters risks offense with his portrayal of Muslims as bloodthirsty savages, he keeps firm control of the story as it speeds from Africa to Mexico to the steppes of Russia, and his understated style effectively conveys the grim nature of soldiering in \"twilight wars.\" Military Book Club dual main selection; Literary Guild, Doubleday and Science Fiction Book Clubs alternate; major ad promo. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "From Library Journal", "Peters's latest futuristic war novel (after Red Army, LJ 4/1/89) eerily has some of the same circumstances and certainly some similar \"characters\" as the war in the Persian Gulf, even though it is fiction. The war in this novel is being fought by an Islamic-Japanese axis, which has attacked a post-Gorbachev Soviet Union weakened by a devastating civil war. Enter the Americans on the side of the Soviets; enter, too, the larger-than-life heroic figure of Colonel George Taylor, who commands a computerized aerial strike force called the U.S. 7th Cavalry. It should be noted that by 2020 the \"final\" Mideast War has been fought and surviving Israelis have been resettled in \"homelands located in the least promising area of the Far West.\" Peters, an Army intelligence officer, writes believably of high-tech warfare, but the fighters are real people. Recommended. Military Book Club main selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.", "- Chet Ha gan, Berks Cty. P.L. System, Pa.", "Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc." ]

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[ "Books", "Mystery, Thriller & Suspense", "Thrillers & Suspense" ]

[ "Clean. Southern. Cuisine.Yes, you read that correctly! Southern food", "can", "be indulgent and pack some nutrition, too. Whether you’ve been on the Paleo diet for years, are trying to eliminate gluten for health reasons, or you are new to the world of nutrition, the recipes in this book will help you reduce the inflammation in your body and increase your intake of healing nutrients without sacrificing Southern authenticity or flavor!", "Many people are afraid that a clean diet may mean boiled chicken and steamed vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fear not! Amanda’s passion for culinary excellence stems from her Southern heritage and the flavor robust foods of that culinary region.", "-- Dr. Izabella Wentz, PharmD, FASCP #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Hashimoto’s ProtocolDrawing from her roots in Cajun Country, South Louisiana-native Amanda Gipson Nowosadzki weaves personal stories into her recipes as she takes us on a mouthwatering journey with dishes that your loved ones will never guess are gluten-free and yes... even good for you!Are you looking for", "rich", ", soul-satisfying gumbo? Biscuits that elicit", "oohs", "and", "ahhs", "from all around?", "Luscious", "orange cake?Then pull up a chair and bon appetit y'all!In this book you'll find:", "Recipes that are always Gluten Free and often times Paleo, AIP, and Keto-friendly", "Recipes that are always Gluten Free and often times Paleo, AIP, and Keto-friendly", "Numerous recipes based off of authentic Cajun dishes", "Numerous recipes based off of authentic Cajun dishes", "Useful tips and tricks for getting started with clean eating", "Useful tips and tricks for getting started with clean eating", "What foods to enjoy, what to avoid, and what to enjoy in moderation", "What foods to enjoy, what to avoid, and what to enjoy in moderation", "Grocery lists and ingredient recommendations that take the guesswork out", "Grocery lists and ingredient recommendations that take the guesswork out", "… and more!", "… and more!" ]

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[ "Books", "Cookbooks, Food & Wine", "Regional & International" ]

[ "Marlo Morgan no tenia edad ni talante de aventurera, pero la realidad se le impuso con la fuerza y el poder que suelen trasmitirnos las grandes experiencias. Así fue como vivió una odisea fascinante: un viaje a pie por el desierto australiano en compañía de una tribu de aborígenes cuyas leyes de convivencia nada tienen en común con las nuestras. El aprendizaje fue duro, pues a lo largo de esa extraña peregrinación tuvo que desprenderse de sus antiguos hábitos y aprender distintas formas de comer, de caminar y de comunicarse para poder gozar de una autentica comunión con la naturaleza y con esa parte de su cuerpo y su mente que ella misma desconocía.", "ENGLISH DESCRIPTION", "Summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aborigines to accompany them on walkabout, the protagonist of this fictional account makes a four-month-long journey through the Australian outback. Over the course of the challenging journey, Morgan learns how the Aborigines thrive in natural harmony with the plants and animals in the rugged lands of Australia's bush. By traveling with this extraordinary community, she discovers a world based on the ancient wisdom and philosophy of a culture that is more than 5, years old." ]

[ "From the Back Cover", "Mutant Message Down Under is the fictional account of an American woman's spiritual odyssey through outback Australia. An underground bestseller in its original self-published edition, Marlo Morgan's powerful tale of challenge and endurance has a message for us all. Summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aborigines to accompany them on walkabout, the woman makes a four-month-long journey and learns how they thrive in natural harmony with the plants and animals that exist in the rugged lands of Australia's bush. From the first day of her adventure, Morgan is challenged by the physical requirements of the journey—she faces daily tests of her endurance, challenges that ultimately contribute to her personal transformation. By traveling with this extraordinary community, Morgan becomes a witness to their essential way of being in a world based on the ancient wisdom and philosophy of a culture that is more than 50,000 years old.", "About the Author", "Marlo Morgan", "(1937) es una escritora y médico estadounidense conocida, sobre todo, por", "Las voces del desierto", ", publicado por Ediciones B." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]

[ "Metacomet (aka Philip), King and Sachem of the Wampanoag Indians, fought a bloody war against the Puritans (circa 1676). King Philip burned many towns and won every major battle, only to see his people destroyed by hunger, disease, and genocide." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]

[ "A minimalistic, well-designed notebook that is perfect for writing down notes, jotting down thoughts, or keeping track of your ideas!Click on the \"Look Inside\" feature to take a look at the inside pages.Specifications:Layout: College Ruled LinedSize: 8.5\" x 11\" - US Letter Size (with margins)Paper: white paperPages: 120 pages (60 sheets)Cover: Soft, matte paperback coverPerfect BindingMade in the USAPerfect for gel pen, ink, pencils, or colored leadPerfect to give out as a gift or for personal use!" ]

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[ "Books", "Self-Help", "Journal Writing" ]

[ "Vivid photographs help take readers on a virtual field study to observe the life cycle and behaviors of each featured mammal, bird, or reptile. Each book also looks at past and present scientific research and includes a unique storytelling element in the form of an animal tale drawn from mythology or folklore. Progressively complex text draws readers into this interdisciplinary life science series. A look at sloths, including their habitats, physical characteristics such as their long claws, behaviors, relationships with humans, and their growing popularity in the world today." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Animals" ]

[ "Daring escapes, touching moments, fun characters, suspense, fantasy creatures, and more. The Whispers of The Worlds is a compelling book series following an 18-year-old girl from a fantasy world on an adventure to help a 17-year-old named Jason find his way home." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]

[ "Innovative abdominal exercises to help tone the abdomen, improve posture, and build a strong back using the Swiss exercise ball.", "Offers a 10-minute and 20-minute workout for all levels of fitness.", "Offers a 10-minute and 20-minute workout for all levels of fitness.", "Shows how the mobility of the ball targets underutilized muscles.", "Shows how the mobility of the ball targets underutilized muscles.", "Shows how traditional sit-ups and \"ab\" machines limit how much abdominal muscles can be trained and also aggravate lower back pain and neck tension.", "Shows how traditional sit-ups and \"ab\" machines limit how much abdominal muscles can be trained and also aggravate lower back pain and neck tension.", "The exercise ball has long been recommended by doctors, physical therapists, and Olympic coaches for people suffering from back pain. Now Colleen Craig, author of the bestselling book", "Pilates on the Ball", ", reveals why the exercise ball is unmatched as a tool for building superb abdominal strength. She presents a selection of over 80 innovative exercises, including some of the key powerhouse-builders from the Pilates Method, all of which she has adapted specifically to the ball. Craig shows how traditional sit-ups and \"ab\" machines actually limit the degree to which abdominal muscles can be trained and can even aggravate lower back pain and neck tension. In contrast, the very mobility of the ball targets underutilized muscles, recruiting both deep and superficial abdominal muscle fibers to enhance results.", "Abs on the Ball", "includes exercises for all ability levels that show how to properly use the breath and how to activate the correct muscles during a workout--from the core exercises of the Waterfall, Oblique Curls, and Full Abdominal Curls to the more advanced Side Twist Plank, the Teaser, and Backward Crunch. The author also offers a 10- and 20-minute workout designed not only to build the abdominal core, but also to strengthen and train deep muscles in the back and hip in order to soothe lower back pain and increase overall body strength, balance, and coordination." ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "Craig preempts reader doubts about the need for her latest fitness-on-the-ball book with a first chapter called \"Why Another Book on Abdominal Conditioning?\" Here, she explains the drawbacks of some traditional abdominal conditioning methods, the implications of recent research, the benefits of the Joseph H. Pilates method of core strengthening and the ways that an exercise ball enhances an abdominal workout. Then Craig takes the reader from the fundamentals of Pilates-based abdominal work on a ball (from breathing to body parts) and on to basic, intermediate and advanced exercises. The book concludes with a series of 15 and 30-minute workouts incorporating moves described in previous chapters. Black-and-white photos clearly illustrate how each exercise should be done, making this book appropriate even for those with a limited fitness vocabulary. 150 b&w illustrations. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "Review", "\" . . . brings a fresh element to fitness training that will complement basic exercise collections in both public and academic libraries.\" ―", "Deborah Anne Broocker, Library Journal, May 1, 2003", "\"", "Abs on the Ball", "gives the fitness world an easy-to-follow program to strengthen abdomnal muscles effectively and safely.\" ―", "R. John Allcorn, New Age Retailer, September 2003, Vol. 17 No. 5", "\"Ms. Craig offers a refreshing approach to abdominal training while using some of the very effective and popular Pilates techniques.\" ―", "Susannah Kent, Vitality Magazine, June 2003", "From the Back Cover", "HEALTH / BODYWORK In", "Abs on the Ball", "Colleen Craig, author of the bestselling", "Pilates on the Ball", ", reveals why the exercise ball is unmatched as a tool for building superb abdominal strength.", "Abs on the Ball", "uses a Pilates approach: a unique exercise method famous for building long, sculpted muscles and a strong back and abdominal core. In this groundbreaking book Craig shows how traditional sit-ups and “ab” machines actually limit the degree to which abdominal muscles can be trained and can even aggravate lower back pain and neck tension. In contrast, the very mobility of the exercise ball targets underutilized muscles, recruiting both deep and superficial abdominal muscle fibers to give rapid results.", "Abs on the Ball", "presents a selection of over 100 innovative exercises, including many of the key powerhouse-builders from the Pilates Method adapted specifically to large and small exercise balls, to enhance the Pilates matwork for the beginner or the seasoned athlete. Step-by-step instructions are detailed in more than 250 photographs. The author also offers 15- and 30-minute workouts for all ability levels. These workouts not only build the abdominal core but also strengthen and train deep muscles in order to soothe low-back pain and increase overall body strength, balance, and coordination. Whether you are looking to tighten your abdominals, improve your sports performance, support your lower back, or simply feel strong and toned in your body, the innovative and complete system presented in", "Abs on the Ball", "will guide you in reaching your goals--in less time than you imagined. COLLEEN CRAIG is a Certified Stott Pilates Trainer and a writer who developed a unique body conditioning technique by adapting the Pilates Method to the exercise ball. She lives in Toronto and teaches workshops throughout the world.", "About the Author", "Colleen Craig is a Certified Stott Pilates Trainer and a writer who developed a unique body conditioning technique by adapting the Pilates Method to the exercise ball. She lives in Toronto and teaches workshops throughout the world.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "Abs on the Ball Introduction Our Center, Our Powerhouse When I first told people I was writing a new book called Abs on the Ball, numerous responses and reactions found me. I was reminded that for many our abdomens are an emotionally charged part of the body, a barometer of strength and vulnerability. One man, hiding behind a deep laugh that made his own belly quiver, joked about being 'ruled by his stomach.' A woman spoke about her pitch-perfect intuition, inherited from her grandmother, allowing her to discern a situation 'from her guts.' Even pronouncing the word 'abs' caused people to physically adjust their bodies, shift forward in their chairs, or stand taller. Others grabbed their bellies, folding the flesh this way and that; or hid their midsection behind grim, folded arms. One woman wryly expressed interest in if I would be baring my own belly for the book's cover. Joseph Pilates, the founder of the famous Pilates Method of body conditioning, saw the abdominal area as the center, or powerhouse, of the body. He perceived the powerhouse or 'girdle of strength' as the area between the bottom rib and the pelvis, the region that connects the abdomen with the lower back and buttocks. This circular belt of supporting abdominal and spinal muscles was for Pilates, who studied yoga and zen meditation, a mental and spiritual center as well as a physical, gravitational one. This is why there is talk in a Pilates class, as well as in other mind-body disciplines, of the importance of being emotionally, not just physically supported. To lose one's center is to become unhinged and unfocused, susceptible to the chaos of the world around you. 'Strengthening the powerhouse' is not simply about toning the waist or sculpting the perfect six-pack. It is about finding balance and serenity to live in the world as it is. Why have I chosen a Pilates approach to Abs on the Ball even though some of the exercises presented here are not Pilates in origin? Notwithstanding the power of having a strong emotional center, the answer is a physical one. One of the key principles of the Pilates Method is that movement should be initiated from the Powerhouse. So before each Pilates exercise one braces the core by pulling in the navel and engaging the deep centering muscles. The goal is to keep the mid-section still while precise movements of the arms and legs are added. Each and every time! No wonder that participants new to Pilates first notice changes in their waistbands or that many in the fitness and rehabilitation world believe that the Pilates approach is the most effective and safe way to strong abdominals. Tummies flatten, pants hang loose, and low backs resist pain. But there is more going on here than meets the eye. Magic, As Long as the Correct Muscles are Targeted The Pilates approach will work its magic on your abdominal center as long as the proper muscles are taught to work. If the correct muscles are not targeted, and the exercises are not performed properly, the benefits of a secure back and optimal posture will not be guaranteed. Later, we will see how traditional sit-ups and ab machines actually limit the degree to which abdominal muscles can be trained. We will also understand how important it is that the body, specifically the pelvis, is in the correct position and the role that quality of movement plays in abdominal training. Experts in the field of rehabilitation have known for a while that a strong abdominal core protects the spine but they were never completely sure how. In Rick Jernmett's excellent book Spinal Stabilization: The New Science of Back Pain, the role of the abdominals, especially the role that the deepest abdominal muscles have on the stabilization of the spine, is spelt out. He explains that the deep transversus abdominis attaches directly onto the spinal column and is thus able to 'stabilize individual vertebrae of the lower back, preventing excess sliding, bending, and rotation motions.' Jemmett, a physical therapist, lecturer, as well as golfer, runner and skier, reviews the latest research from Canada, the United States, Japan, and Australia on the role of the spinal column and its muscles. He concludes that various muscles of the spine have different functions. The deepest muscles and ligaments steady the spine and act as 'position sensors' supplying the brain with critical information on the position of the joints of the vertebrae. The next layer is the 'stabilizers', the deep muscles of the abdominals and back. These are the key players in the Powerhouse and their function is to stabilize the low back and spine and keep it free from pain. Finally, the outer layer consists of large superficial muscles, sometimes called the Prime Movers. The Prime Movers create powerful, one-off movements like extending the spine or lifting a leg or arm. The superficial muscles should be added into the picture only when the stabilizers provide a strong foundation for them. As this important new information spreads into the fitness world more trainers and instructors are teaching the technique of 'bracing the abs' or 'moving from the core'. But before students and trainers alike can do this properly they need to make doubly sure they are targeting the correct muscles. How can the average person or athlete distinguish between a deep or superficial muscle? What will they feel if the correct connection is made? And once a deep muscle is located and trained how can it be integrated back into a healthy movement pattern?", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Health, Fitness & Dieting", "Exercise & Fitness" ]

[ "Touched by tragedy and harboring a paralyzing secret, Mickey O'Neil is the kind of boy who feels things others don't seem to notice. Especially adults. And this embodies him with a unique gift. Empathy. Still, when a traffic detour forces his family's car through a black Bronx neighborhood, Mickey, like his mother and older brother, is afraid. The year is 1969. Whites and blacks still live in different worlds; and when Mickey and his brother run from home they find themselves lost in the world they've never known. Harlem. Alone, frightened, and without a cent, the brothers are at the mercy of the streets. But salvation comes in the form of the first black man they've ever met. A widower and former Negro League ballplayer, Jack Hutchins has demons all his own, born of a lifetime of discrimination. Reluctantly, he agrees to shepherd the troublesome boys across Harlem to his workplace, Yankee Stadium. But along the way their truths and secrets bubble to the surface and bring with them a danger all their own. Touching on themes of innocence, guilt, forgiveness and ultimately love, \"In Harlem's Way\" tells the inspiring story of the unlikely relationship forged between Mickey and Jack, and the bond that heals and forever changes them both." ]

[ "About the Author", "After graduating with distinction from Gettysburg College and the American University Washington College of Law, Robert Pucci passed the bar exams for both New York and New Jersey, then promptly moved to Los Angeles to become an actor. (On quiet nights you can still hear his mother screaming.) While playing a recurring role on \"The Young & The Restless,\" he realized that at heart, he is a writer. Robert has sold over twenty-five screenplays to such studios as Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers, Fox, Universal and Miramax, and has worked with, among others, Oliver Stone, Jan Debont, James Foley, Mark Wahlberg, Roland Joffee and Diane Keaton. People Magazine said that his script for the television movie \"The Spider & The Fly,\" \"...contains more twists and turns than an old, knotted phone cord.\" The New York Times wrote regarding his script for the feature film \"The Corruptor,\" \"Robert Pucci has managed to turn a meat-and-potatoes action flick into a cunning meditation on personal loyalty and situational morality.\" With \"In Harlem's Way,\" his first novel, Robert continues telling stories and creating characters that examine the complexities of the human heart." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]

[ "The present volume, which is the third and final of the three-volume-series, consists of five chapters containing the elucidated translation of 508 sutras and 69 varttikas which lay down the meaning conditions for the use of case-endings and explain the derivational process of primary (krdanta) and secondary (taddhitanta) derivates, compounds (samasa) and feminine forms. The scheme and method of exposition adopted in the preceding two volumes have been followed here also. In the first chapter, the krt-affixes are expounded. The affixes, which are prescribed after verbal roots in the governing domain of dhatoh (763) and are other than tin-affixes, are designated as krt in accordance with the aphorism krdatin (301). These primary affixes are employed to form nominal bases like karta, pacaka, etc. and other primary derivatives such as pitva, gacchan, etc. These affixes have been treated under four heads in the Laghu: (1) krtya affixes, (2) purvakrdanta, (3) unadisutras and (4) uttarakrdanta. The second chapter entitled vibhaktyartha-prakarana discusses the karaka and upapada case-endings very briefly. The third chapter is devoted to compounds (samasa). The words for the sake of brevity. The purpose of the grammatical function of compounding words is to bring about a unique single word which is to have one main accent (aikapadyam aikasvaryan ca samasatvad bhavati, Kasika on Pa 2.1.27). To explain, the syntactically and semantically connected words rajnah and purusah occurring in the string rajnah purusah, are combined into a single compound word rajapurusah by sasthi (927). Since it is treated as a single word, it has one main accent, that is, the last vowel a, following the cerebral sibilant s, is marked with the udatta accent by samasasya Pa. 6.1.223. The fourth chapter explains the derivational process after the introduction of taddhita affixes which are introduced after a finished word ending in a sup-affix which is deleted as the derivatives formed with these affixes are assigned the pratipadika designation by krttaddhitasamasasca (116). The last chapter contains the elucidation of the sutras which prescribe feminine affixes to form feminine derivates." ]

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[ "Delta Force operator Kolt Raynor must thwart a deadly terrorist plot in this globe-hopping special operations thriller in the", "New York Times", "bestselling series", "When SEAL Team Six killed Osama bin Laden, they pulled a treasure trove of intelligence on planned attacks on U.S. soil. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's new leader, is activating his most trusted (and deadliest) terrorists to carry out his newest plot: to detonate a bomb inside one of the sixty-four commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. in an attack ten times worse than 9/11, causing radiological fallout that would kill hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans. The President wants answers quickly, and after Kolt Raynor saved his life a few months earlier, he knows Delta Force is fully capable. But Kolt is on the verge of getting forced out of JSOC for disobeying orders in Pakistan―and when he's offered a slot in Tungsten, an ultra-secret deep-cover organization, he jumps at the chance. Now his task is to infiltrate al Qaeda and prevent this deep-cover terror cell from making their plot a reality before it's too late. In", "Full Assault Mode", ", former Delta Force commander Dalton Fury takes readers inside the world of undercover special operations―where every wrong step costs lives, and one minute might just be one minute too late . . ." ]

[ "From", "Booklist", "Delta Force member Kolt Raynor can always be relied on to save the day while ticking off his superiors. He pulls off a miracle in Pakistan, but his boss wants to fire him for disobeying an abort order. When the SEALs ask him to help on a mission involving a terrorist who has access to a nuclear weapon, Raynor jumps at the chance. But can he take orders willingly when he’s not in charge? Fans of larger-than-life military-thriller characters like Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan should enjoy Raynor as well, even if he occasionally comes across as a bit too gruff. Fury has the knowledge to make special ops feel authentic, and it works. --Jeff Ayers", "Review", "“Step aside, Jack Ryan--Kolt Raynor is the true hero of the new millennium. Written with an authentic voice, the debut novel by Dalton Fury,", "Black Site", ", left me breathless and awed by its battlefield-hardened reality. I kept having to remind myself this was fiction.” ―", "James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Devil Colony", "“A thriller that crackles with gut-wrenching action and authenticity.” ―", "Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Black Site", "“Fury is retired Delta Force, giving the action a rapid-fire, realistic air...Racer is locked and loaded for a series of adventures.” ―", "Kirkus Reviews", "“", "Black Site", "is an amazing thriller from a new allstar in the genre. Packed with speed, surprise, and overwhelming violence of action, this is one book you will not be able to put down! Want to know what Spec Ops really look like? Read Dalton Fury. Simply put--nobody does it better.” ―", "Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Black", "About the Author", "DALTON FURY was the senior ranking military officer at the Battle of Tora Bora. As a Delta troop commander, he helped author the operation to hunt and kill Bin Laden. He told his tale of that mission in the book", "Kill Bin Laden", ", which went on to become a national bestseller.", "Full Assault Mode", "is the third novel in his", "New York Times", "bestselling Delta Force series. Dalton Fury passed away in 2016.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Action & Adventure" ]

[ "Does Fate Grant Wishes?", "Ryan O’Shaughnessy, owner of the Top o’ the Morning Coffeehouse, is convinced of it. Besides brewing the best coffee in Rothcote and baking delicious pastries and cakes, he helps Fate with her errands, never minding that it's always someone else’s turn to catch a bit of happiness. Not until he meets a man who takes his breath away.", "Detective Sergeant Ben Hobart has made a career of helping others. He never asks help for himself. Not even when a bad breakup leaves him with only his cat for company. Until he sets foot into Ryan’s coffeehouse to investigate a break-in and finds what’s missing from his life.", "Fate may grant wishes, but she doesn't hand them out for free. Can Ben let go of the past? And will Ryan find the courage to make a wish of his own?", "A sweet, sexy mm coffeeshop romance with a touch of magic and a cat." ]

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[ "Books", "Science Fiction & Fantasy", "Fantasy" ]

[ "Italy, 1944: A squad of American soldiers on a dangerous secret mission is ambushed and slaughtered . . . and a fortune in gold vanishes.Hong Kong, 1959: An aging American colonel, haunted by his wartime past, is brutally murdered in a luxurious brothel.Atlanta, 1975: The last survivor of the fatal World War II ambush in Italy is executed at point blank range in a parking lot.Blowing away a crazed, gun-wielding drug dealer on a crowded city bus gets police detective Sharky bounced from the narc squad into the dreaded dregs of the department--vice. That's where he stumbles on a high-priced call girl and her pimp who are fleecing rich johns in an even higher-priced blackmail scam. Together with his \"machine\" of hard-bitten vice squad veterans, Sharky closes in for a big sting. He doesn't count on falling for Domino, his alluring target. Or falling into the middle of the murderous design she's a part of--involving a hot presidential candidate, the shadowy multimillionaire who's backing him, and the ice-cold assassin they're using to wipe out the past . . . before it blows their future to hell.\"Every chapter crackles with sex, violence, and corruption.\"--The Washington Post\"Fast-paced, attention-holding, hard-hitting.\"--Chicago Tribune\"A slam-bang ending that should shock the most jaded thriller reader.\"--The Associated Press" ]

[ "About the Author", "William Diehl died in November 2006.", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.", "From the Inside Flap", "Italy, 1944: A squad of American soldiers on a dangerous secret mission is ambushed and slaughtered . . . and a fortune in gold vanishes.Hong Kong, 1959: An aging American colonel, haunted by his wartime past, is brutally murdered in a luxurious brothel.Atlanta, 1975: The last survivor of the fatal World War II ambush in Italy is executed at point blank range in a parking lot.Blowing away a crazed, gun-wielding drug dealer on a crowded city bus gets police detective Sharky bounced from the narc squad into the dreaded dregs of the department--vice. That's where he stumbles on a high-priced call girl and her pimp who are fleecing rich johns in an even higher-priced blackmail scam. Together with his \"machine\" of hard-bitten vice squad veterans, Sharky closes in for a big sting. He doesn't count on falling for Domino, his alluring target. Or falling into the middle of the murderous design she's a part of--involving a hot presidential candidate, the shadowy multimillionaire who's backing him, and the ice-cold assassin they're using to wipe out the past . . . before it blows their future to hell.\"Every chapter crackles with sex, violence, and corruption.\"--The Washington Post\"Fast-paced, attention-holding, hard-hitting.\"--Chicago Tribune\"A slam-bang ending that should shock the most jaded thriller reader.\"--The Associated Press", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title." ]

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[ "Books", "Mystery, Thriller & Suspense", "Thrillers & Suspense" ]

[ "Art restorer, assassin, spy—Gabriel Allon returns in", "The Fallen Angel", ", another blockbuster espionage thriller from #1", "New York Times", "bestselling author Daniel Silva. The acclaimed author of", "Portrait of a Spy", ", Silva (“a world class practitioner of spy fiction” —", "Washington Post", ") is an undisputed master of the genre who has brought “new life to the international thriller” (", "Newsday", ").", "A breathtaking adventure that races around the globe,", "The Fallen Angel", "begins in Rome, where Allon is called upon to investigate a murder at the Vatican, one with disastrous repercussions that could plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions. If you haven’t yet been drawn into Daniel Silva’s thrilling universe of intrigue, danger, and exceptional spycraft, start here—and see why the", "Philadelphia Inqurer", "declares that, “The enigmatic Gabriel Allon remains one of the most intriguing heroes of any thriller series.”" ]

[ "Review", "“It’s become almost obligatory for lovers of high level thrillers to read each new Daniel Silva novel as soon as it appears. With his by now trademark character, Gabriel Allon...Silva just about guarantees a couple of days of terrific entertainment.” —", "NPR", ", All Things Considered", "“Daniel Silva’s", "The Fallen Angel", "soars with authenticity….", "The Fallen Angel", "delivers the goods….Riveting espionage adventures that have timely, real-world relevance.” —", "Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram", "“Meticulously researched....", "The Fallen Angel", "is a first-class spy mystery painted on a grand scale.” —", "Columbus Dispatch", "“His past 12 books, all featuring enigmatic spy/art restorer Gabriel Allon, have kept Silva’s name high in the ranks; the latest, the Vatican-set", "The Fallen Angel", ", seems unlikely to reverse the trend.” —", "Arizona Republic", "“Another heart-pounding escapade of art restorer and Israeli intelligence legend Gabriel Allon gets masterful treatment.” —", "AudioFile Magazine", "From the Back Cover", "After narrowly surviving his last operation, Gabriel Allon, the wayward son of Israeli intelligence, has taken refuge behind the walls of the Vatican, where he is restoring one of Caravaggio's greatest masterpieces. But early one morning he is summoned to St. Peter's Basilica by Monsignor Luigi Donati, the all-powerful private secretary to His Holiness Pope Paul VII. The body of a beautiful woman lies broken beneath Michelangelo's magnificent dome. The Vatican police suspect suicide, though Gabriel believes otherwise. So, it seems, does Donati. But the monsignor is fearful that a public inquiry might inflict another scandal on the Church, and so he calls upon Gabriel to quietly pursue the truth—with one caveat.", "\"Rule number one at the Vatican,\" Donati said. \"Don't ask too many questions.\"", "Gabriel learns that the dead woman had uncovered a dangerous secret—a secret that threatens a global criminal enterprise that is looting timeless treasures of antiquity and selling them to the highest bidder. But there is more to this network than just greed. A mysterious operative is plotting an act of sabotage that will plunge the world into a conflict of apocalyptic proportions. . . .", "An intoxicating blend of art, intrigue, and history,", "The Fallen Angel", "moves swiftly from the cloistered chambers of the Vatican to the glamorous ski slopes of St. Moritz to the graceful avenues of Berlin and Vienna—and, finally, to a shocking climax beneath the world's most sacred and contested parcel of land. Each setting in this extraordinary novel is rendered with the care of an Old Master, as are the spies, lovers, priests, and thieves who inhabit its pages. It is a story of faith and of the destructive power of secrets—and an all too timely reminder that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.", "About the Author", "Daniel Silva is the award-winning, #1", "New York Times", "bestselling author of", "The Unlikely Spy", ",", "The Mark of the Assassin", ",", "The Marching Season", ",", "The Kill Artist", ",", "The English Assassin", ",", "The Confessor", ",", "A Death in Vienna", ",", "Prince of Fire", ",", "The Messenger", ",", "The Secret Servant", ",", "Moscow Rules", ",", "The Defector", ",", "The Rembrandt Affair", ",", "Portrait of a Spy", ",", "The Fallen Angel", ",", "The English Girl", ",", "The Heist, The English Spy, The Black Widow, House of Spies, The Other Woman, The New Girl,", "and", "The Order.", "He is best known for his long-running thriller series starring spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. Silva’s books are critically acclaimed bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages. He resides in Florida with his wife, television journalist Jamie Gangel, and their twins, Lily and Nicholas. For more information visit www.danielsilvabooks.com", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Action & Adventure" ]

[ "Hardback publication" ]

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[ "Books", "Science & Math", "Environment" ]

[ "Unabridged, 4 CDs, 5 hours", "Read by TBA By turns thrilling, poignant, and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]

[ "A maniac murders with ancient technology", "One young Native stands in his way", "Clifford Gustafson is a young Native man on a mission while pursuing a degree in anthropology in 1970s Minnesota. His best friend and love interest is brutally murdered in cold blood. Clifford is adamant not to be denied justice in this Michael McCoy Native fiction thriller.", "The stakes are personal for Clifford. His hot pursuit takes him on a trip across the wilderness of Wyoming and the fields of the American heartland. He heads straight down the throat of an adventurous, suspenseful journey. Clifford will have to face his Native American roots which come back to haunt him in an unexpected way.", "“The crowning event of the previous evening had only magnified his feelings.”", "Time is of the essence for Clifford. Local law enforcement channels drag the investigation along too slowly for his liking. Each passing hour means that the murderer has more time to escape.", "Will Clifford catch the killer of his beloved friend? How will the journey change him? Find out in this compelling and riveting Native fiction adventure story.", "Get your copy of this breakout thriller today." ]

[ "Review", "\"Building on his thirty-year foundation of writing about travel and the outdoors, McCoy deftly makes the move to fiction. Through vivid, evocative descriptions of land and sky, weather and wildlife, Mike takes the reader along with the protagonist on his many foot treks and road trips.\"", "--Kim Grant, Founder and Editorial Director at BinduTrips.com", "\"A high-energy romp of a story peopled with memorable and original characters and a lively dose of murder and mystery. Michael McCoy's debut novel begs for an encore.\"", "--Anne Hillerman, author of the award-winning Leaphorn-Chee-Manuelito mysteries" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "United States" ]

[ "Remarkable photographs celebrate the wild places and the exquisite animals of the country called “the roof of the world.”", "Here is the most comprehensive photography to date of a little-known and seldom-visited land whose area equals western Europe. The beauty and diversity of Tibet is staggering: from Mount Everest to the world’s deepest gorge, from tropical jungles to arctic-like tundra, from trees twenty feet in diameter to vast herds and solitary specimens of some of the least-known animals on the planet. Certain photographs, such as those of a newborn Tibetan antelope or the elusive red ghoral, are among the first ever taken of these subjects. The book brings American, Tibetan, and Chinese scholarship to bear on the natural history of Tibet, and it also describes an extraordinary conservation accomplishment that has gone virtually unnoticed by the outside world. Where else has 40 percent of the land been set aside in nature preserves in twenty years? As a result of this effort, the animals and landscapes shown here will be saved for future generations." ]

[ "About the Author", "Robert L. Fleming Jr.", "is professor of equity and empowerment at Future Generations and a leading Himalayan natural historian.", "Dorje Tsering", "is a scholar and the senior leader of the Tibet Autonomous Region Department of Science and Technology.", "Liu Wulin", "grew up in Tibet and has been conducting research and fieldwork there for twenty years.", "Jimmy Carter", "was the thirty-ninth president of the United States (1977–1981) and was the 2002 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He lives in Plains, Georgia." ]

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[ "Books", "Arts & Photography", "Photography & Video" ]

[ "This lively and surprising book illuminates a \"Victorian sensibility\" that flourishes within contemporary British and American art. Stressing the Victorian period's intellectual curiosity rather than its prim morality,", "Secret Victorians", "features diverse works by twenty artists, including Helen Chadwick, Mat Collishaw, Douglas Gordon, Sally Mann, Steven Pippin, Lari Pittman, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Kara Walker. Among the themes explored are ornament and sexuality, photography and death, collections and colonialism, and science and crime. The book challenges prevailing notions of modernity by suggesting continuities, rather than breaks, with nineteenth-century cultural precepts.The exhibit,", "Secret Victorians", ", will be at the", "Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, University of California, Los Angeles", ", from September 20, 1999 to January 2, 2000." ]

[ "About the Author", "Melissa E. Feldman", "is an independent curator based in London and is a contributor to", "Art in America", "and", "Art Monthly", ". Ingrid Schaffner is an independent curator based in New York and is a contributor to", "Artforum", "." ]

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[ "Books", "Arts & Photography", "History & Criticism" ]

[ "Traces the history of the world's first atomic detonation" ]

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[ "Books", "History", "World" ]

[ "Kira a curious young girl wants to know what makes her beautiful. Her mother gives reasons why and so much more!" ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Growing Up & Facts of Life" ]

[ "One Kick [Paperback] Cain, Chelsea" ]

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[ "In this delightful picture book, a little gray mouse goes on a journey to find a new home, encountering all of the great fairytale houses―from Old Mother Hubbard’s shoe to Sleeping Beauty’s castle―along the way.", "In a faraway land, a little gray mouse leaves his tiny hole in search of a new home. On his journey, he unwittingly encounters some of the biggest stars in the fairytale genre. He discovers a house shaped like a shoe (belonging to Old Mother Hubbard), which he concludes would be too noisy; he dines with a little pig in a house made of straw (awfully breezy); is flummoxed by a tower with no door (Rapunzel’s); and dares to take a nibble from a most remarkable house made of gingerbread (narrowly missing Hansel and Gretel).", "The little gray mouse is about to give up when he comes face to face with the most spectacular house of all: a glorious castle (Sleeping Beauty’s). Its ballrooms, turrets, and drawbridge win him over, but he finds himself feeling alone, until― surprise!―his friends from the forest and all those he has met along the way come to the castle, where they feast and dance, and the little gray mouse learns that it is family and friends that turn a house into a home.", "Children will delight in this fun, rhyming story with all of its rich references to well-known fairy tales.", "Illustrated in color throughout" ]

[ "Review", "\"A mouse ventures out in search of a new home and finds several abodes from well-known fairy tales aren't exactly to his liking in this rhyming picture book… The crayon drawings are whimsically Grimm while the text keeps things bright.\" ―", "Kirkus Reviews", "\"The very first thing that strikes you about", "A House for Mouse", "is the beautifully illustrated cover and the quality of the book jacket...A perfect story to read aloud.\" ―", "New York Journal of Books", "About the Author", "Gabby Dawnay", "is a writer and poet. She contributes to OKIDO magazine and is a scriptwriter for children’s television. She is the author of several children’s books, including", "A Song for Bear", ",", "A House for Mouse", ", and", "If I Had a Dinosaur", ".", "Alex Barrow", "is a London-based illustrator. He is the art director for and a regular contributor to", "OKIDO", "magazine. Alex and Gabby are also the duo behind", "A House for Mouse", "and", "A Song for Bear", "." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Animals" ]

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[ "In a refreshing change, along comes a children's book that does not rely on magic to explain the unexplainable. The Krybosian Stairpath puts forth the notion that just because you don't understand something, it doesn't mean there must be magic behind it. Knowledge and perspective can make all the difference. Enter a world of wonder deep inside the earth as 11-year-old geologist Madison Terrence follows her pet gopher down a stairpath portal she discovers in her family's cavern. When she descends the Krybosian Stairpath, a mystery from her family's past begins to unravel. She soon realizes her arrival in the interior world of Krybos is no accident. Madison discovers that she's been pulled into a sinister plot to destroy the most beautiful place she has ever seen." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books" ]

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{ "title": [ "LOVE LOVE LOVE IT ." ], "url": [ "https://www.amazon.com/vdp/5be95681b81746ee8af214a80ce9d813?ref=dp_vse_rvc_0" ], "user_id": [ "AGFO2P6NZWTY6HPB7SOERGTRJXVA" ] }

[ "Books", "Arts & Photography", "Other Media" ]

[ "Annie Dawson's discovery of a diary in the attic of Gray Gables has set her on a mission. The diary reveals a poignant love story from World War II, a story cut short when young Peter Lambert goes off to the European Theater, leaving his young girlfriend, Lilly Pryce, with a promise. He will come back to her. But that promise is shattered when Peter's mother receives notice from the War Department that Peter is missing and presumed dead while on a mission behind enemy lines.But Annie wants to know more. Did Lilly find love after the loss of Peter? Where is she now? How did her diary, love letters and photographs end up in Annie's grandmother's attic? And, most important of all, can love once lost become love found again?" ]

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[ "\"Heartfelt, raw and relatable poems. Five solid stars for this amazing, unique poetry book.\"", "Booktube Mania (@booktubemania)", "\"Heartbreakingly beautiful and powerful poems that capture the life of a beautiful soul.\"", "Our Book Corner (@ourbook.corner)", "\"So deep that I gaped at the words for minutes to absorb the gripping imagery of this moving and personal poetry collection. I loved it.\"", "Avid Reader Speaks (@avidreaderspeaks)", "Writing a romancewithout using the word", "love", "is akin to growing a relationshipwhile being unfaithful,heartless and brute.", "You tried to do itand it went dead wrong.", "This little bookis the undeniable proof.Billie ♥" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Poetry" ]

[ "“Stephen Baxter has been heralded, with some merit, as Arthur C. Clarke’s literary heir, and", "Proxima", "certainly reinforces this accolade in spades.”", "—", "Concatenation", "Mankind’s future in this galaxy could be all but infinite.There are hundreds of billions of red dwarf stars, lasting trillions of years—and their planets can be habitable for humans. Such is the world of Proxima Centauri. And its promise could mean the never-ending existence of humanity.But first it must be colonized, and no one wants to be a settler. There is no glamor that accompanies it, nor is there the ease of becoming a citizen of an already-tamed world. There is only hardship...loneliness...emptiness, even as war brews in the solar system.But that’s where Yuri comes in. Because sometimes exploration isn’t voluntary. It must be coerced." ]

[ "Review", "“Monumental.”—National Space Society“An epic of interstellar pioneering and solar-system expansion.”—", "Locus", "“[", "Proxima", "] is quite simply breathtaking.”—SFBook.com“Riveting.”—", "Fantasy Book Review", "“Terrifically imagined and addictively compelling.”—", "Daily Mail", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.", "About the Author", "Stephen Baxter", "is the national bestselling author of", "Ark", "and", "Flood", ". He is a winner of the British Science Fiction Award and the", "Locus", "Award, as well as a nominee for several Arthur C. Clarke and Hugo awards. His novel", "Voyage", "won the Sidewise Award for the best alternate history novel of the year, and he won the Philip K. Dick Award twice, for", "The Time Ships", "and for", "Vacuum Diagrams", ". He was also a recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for", "The Time Ships", ".", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "2166", "I’m back on Earth.", "That was Yuri’s very first thought, on waking in a bed: a hard bed, stiff mattress and lightweight sheets and blankets, but a bed nonetheless, not a barrack bunk stacked four high in a dome on Mars.", "He opened his eyes to bright light, from fluorescent bars on the walls. A clean-looking ceiling. People moving around him wearing green shirts and hygiene caps and masks, a low murmur of competent voices, machines that bleeped and chimed. Other beds, other patients. A classic hospital setup. He saw all this in his peripheral vision; he hadn’t turned his head yet, he felt so heavy.", "The last thing he remembered was the needle jabbed into his neck by that asshole Peacekeeper Tollemache. He had no idea how long he’d been out—months, if he’d been shipped back to Earth—and he remembered from his recovery after his decades in the cryo that it paid to take care on waking.", "But he knew he was on Earth. He could feel it in his bones. Yuri had been born on Earth in the year 2067, nearly a hundred years ago, and, dozing in a cryo tank, had missed mankind’s heroic expansion out into the solar system. He had woken up in a colony on what he had learned, gradually, was Mars. But now, after another compulsory sleep, this was different again. He risked lifting his hand. The muscles in his arm ached, just doing that, and he felt tubes dragging at him as he moved, and the hand fell back with a satisfyingly heavy thump. Beautiful Earth gravity, not that neither-one-thing-nor-the-other floaty stuff on Mars. It could only be Earth, home.", "He had a million questions. Such as", "where", "on Earth? Why had he been sent back instead of being left to rot on Mars? And what kind of institution was he in now, what kind of prison this time? But not having answers didn’t bother him. He’d had very few answers about anything since waking up on Mars, and besides, he hadn’t cared enough to ask. The worst kind of cage on Earth, and no matter how much the place had changed since he’d gone into the cryo tank, was better than the finest luxury you could find on Mars. Because on Earth you could always just open the door and breathe the air, even if it was an overheated polluted soup, and just keep on walking, forever . . .", "He closed his eyes.", "“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”", "There was a face looming over him, a woman, black, wearing a green shirt with a name tag he couldn’t read, her hair tucked into a green cloth cap. She wasn’t wearing a mask, and she smiled at him. She looked tired.", "He tried to speak. His mouth was dry, and his tongue stuck painfully to the roof of his mouth. “I . . . I . . .”", "“Here. Have a sip of water.” She held a nippled bottle, like a baby’s, for him. The water was warm and stale. She seemed to be having trouble holding up the bottle, like she was weak herself. “Do you know your name?” She glanced at the foot of the bed. “Yuri Eden. That’s all we have for you. No recorded next of kin. Is that right?”", "He just shrugged, a tentative movement, flat on his back.", "She looked him over, peered into his eyes, checked some kind of monitor beside the bed. “My name is Dr. Poinar. I’m ISF. I have a crew rank but you can call me Doctor. You’ve taken your time coming out of the induced coma the Peacekeepers put you into. Still, it was easier to ship you through the launch that way. More than half the crew dreamed it all away, in fact. I’m going to see if I can sit you up. OK?” She pressed a button.", "With a whir of servos the back of his bed began to tip up, lifting him, bending him at the waist. He felt weak, and his head was like a tub of sloshing liquid. The ward grayed around him. He felt a crawling sensation in his right arm, some kind of fluid being pumped into him.", "Dr. Poinar watched him carefully. “You OK? All right. Here’s the five-second briefing—you’ll be put through a proper induction process later, everybody’s going through that in stages, classroom stuff and data access first while you get your strength back, then physical work later, including your share of maintenance chores.” She glanced at his notes. “More of that if you end up on a punishment detail, and looking at your record that seems more than likely. But the priority for you is reconditioning. Your body needs to relearn how to handle full gravity. The nerve receptors that handle your posture, positioning and movement are all baffled right now. Your inner ear doesn’t know what the hell’s going on. Your fluid balance is all wrong, and you’re going to have low blood pressure symptoms for a while. Here, drink this.”", "She handed him another flask, and this time he took it for himself. It was a briny fluid that made him splutter.", "“You’ll get courses of injections to rectify your bone calcium loss and such. And physio to build up your muscle strength and bone mass. Do", "not", "skip those. Oh, and your immune system will be hit. Every virus everybody brought into this hull has been running around like crazy; you’ll have a few weeks of fun with that. Later on there will be further medical programs, pre-adaptation for Prox, preventive surgery of various kinds.” She grinned, faintly cruelly. “How are your teeth? But that won’t be for another year or more.”", "Prox?", "A", "baby started to cry, not far away.", "Dr. Poinar asked, “Any questions? Oh, I’m sure there are masses. Just use your common sense. For now just sit there and let the dizziness pass.", "Don’t", "lie down again. I’ll come by later and see if you can take some solid food. And watch out for the catheter. The nurse will remove that later. Take it easy, Yuri Eden.” She walked out of his view.", "Still that baby cried, not far to his left.", "Very cautiously he turned his head that way; the graying returned, and a ringing in his ears, but he waited until it passed. He saw more beds crowded into a room that couldn’t have been more than seven, eight meters across, smaller than he had expected. Some of the beds had cloth partitions around them. More medical types and a couple of servo-robots glided through the narrow spaces between the beds. Equipment dangled from the ceiling, including what looked like a teleoperated surgical kit, all manipulator arms and laser nozzles and knives.", "In the bed closest to Yuri, to his left, lay a young woman, a girl really, pale, blond hair, fragile-looking. Intensely beautiful. She cradled a baby, a bundle of blankets; as she rocked it, the crying slowly subsided. She saw Yuri looking. He turned his head away, making his vision spin again. At Eden he’d developed the habit of avoiding eye contact, of giving people their own bubbles of privacy.", "“It’s OK.” Her accent was soft, maybe eastern European.", "He looked back. “Didn’t mean to stare.” His voice was a husk.", "“Well, little Cole was crying, disturbing everybody.” She smiled. “Sorry if he woke you up.”", "That puzzled him. Then he realized she was joking. He tried to smile, but he had no idea what kind of grimace his numb face was pulling.", "“My name is Anna Vigil.”", "“I’m Yuri.”", "“Yuri Eden. I heard the doctor say.” Little Cole wriggled and gurgled softly. “He’s fine. I’m the one who had to come in here. A cold virus laid me out; I’m still weak from nursing. Of course we shouldn’t be here at all. I was heavily pregnant when the sweep came. There was a mix-up. Cole’s the only child in here.”", "“Cole, huh. Nice name.”", "She seemed to think that over, as if his responses were a little off. “I named him for Dexter Cole, of course. The first guy to Proxima.”", "Of course.", "Who? Where? He backed away from the puzzling little conversation, retreated into himself.", "“Hey, buddy.”", "He turned his head to the right.", "In the bed on that side was a man, around thirty, Asiatic. His scalp was swathed in bandages, and the left side of his face was puffed up with bruising that almost closed one eye. Even so, he smiled. “You OK?”", "Yuri shrugged stiffly.", "“Listen. It’s just the go-to-sleep stuff the cops give you. They don’t use it sparingly. I took a couple of doses of that myself, while I tried to explain in a calm manner that as a foreign national I did not belong in their sweep for the", "Ad Astra.", "Takes you time to wake up from that. Don’t worry, the fog will clear.” His accent sounded American, west coast maybe, but Yuri’s ear was a hundred years out-of-date.", "Yuri said, “Thanks. But I’m guessing that’s not why you’re in here. The sleep thing.”", "“You ought to be a doctor. No, the big guy put me in here this time. Although the time before it was a couple of Peacekeepers—they managed to break a rib while persuading me—”", "“The big guy?”", "“Gustave Klein, he’s called. I guess you wouldn’t know that. King of the Hull, or thinks he is. Watch out for him. So, Yuri Eden, huh? I never came across you on Mars. My name is Liu Tao.” He spelled it out.", "“You American?”", "“Me? No. But I learned English in a school for USNA expats in New Beijing. That’s why my accent is kind of old-fashioned; everybody picks up on that. I’m Chinese. I’m actually an officer in the People’s space fleet. Yuri Eden? Is that really your name? You lived in Eden, right?”", "“Yeah.”", "“What was it like?”", "Lacking any kind of common reference with this guy, Yuri tried to describe it. Eden had been the UN’s largest outpost on Mars, and one of the oldest. People lived in cylindrical bulks like Nissen huts that were the remains of the first ships to land, tipped over and heaped with dirt and turned into shelters, and in prefabricated domes, and even in a few buildings of red Martian sandstone blocks. The whole place had had the feel of a prison to Yuri, or a labor camp. And all this was just a pinprick, a hold-out; the scuttlebutt was that a colony like this would be dwarfed by the giant cities the Chinese were building on the rest of the planet, like their capital, Obelisk, in Terra Cimmeria.", "Liu Tao listened, his face neutral.", "Yuri asked, “So how did you end up here?”", "“Bad luck. I was piloting a shuttle down from Red Two, that’s one of our orbital stations, heading for our supply depots and manufactories in the Phaethontis quadrangle, when we had an auxiliary power-unit failure. We had to bail out at high altitude, my buddy and I, which is no joke on Mars. He got down safely—well, I guess so; I was never told. My clamshell, my heat shield, had a crack. I was lucky to live through it. But I came down near Eden, and a couple of your Peacekeepers were the first to get to me.", "“They held on to me, in defiance of various treaties. I was put through a lot of ‘questioning.’” He let that word hang. “They wanted me to tell them the inner secrets of the Triangle. You know about that? The big trade loop we’re developing, Earth to asteroids and Mars and back. But I’m a Mars-orbit shuttle jock, that’s all. By Mao’s balls, it’s not as if we’re spying on you guys at Eden!” He laughed at that idea. “Well, they kept me in there, and I started to think they were never going to let me go—I mean maybe they’d told my chain of command they’d found me dead or something. What were they going to do to me, kill me? I guess it’s no surprise that they threw me into the sweep and locked me up in this hull, right? Out of sight, out of mind. But we’re all prisoners here . . .”", "“Nobody’s a prisoner,” said Dr. Poinar, bustling down the ward with a tray of colorful pills. “That’s what the policy says, so it must be true, right? Now take this, Yuri Eden. You need more sleep.”", "Confused, as weak as Anna’s baby, yet still elated at the basic fact that", "he’d come home", ",", "even if he was stuck in this “hull,” Yuri obediently took his tablet and subsided into a deep dreamless sleep.", "After a day of cautious bending, stretching, walking, and using a lavatory unaided, Yuri was told by Dr. Poinar that his time was up. “We need your bed. Sorry, buddy. You’ll be assigned a bunk later. Any possessions you had—”", "Yuri shrugged.", "“Right now you’re late for a class.”", "“What class?”", "“Orientation 101,” Liu Tao said. “Some astronaut showing us pretty pictures.” He laughed, though he winced when he opened his bruised mouth wide.", "“You’re in the same class, Liu. Why don’t you show your new best friend the way?” Poinar dumped heaps of basic clothing on their beds, bright orange, and walked away.", "Yuri had thought the medical ward was crowded, noisy. But once Liu led him outside, into a space that struck Yuri at first glance as like the inside of a big metal tower, he realized that the ward had been a haven of peace and harmony. Looking up he saw that the tower wasn’t that tall, maybe forty, forty-five meters, and was capped off by a big metal dome. It was split into stories by mesh-partition flooring; there were ladders and a kind of spiral staircase around the wall, and a fireman’s pole arrangement that threaded through gaps in the partitions along the tower’s axis. The walls were crusted with equipment boxes and stores, but in some places he saw tables and chairs, lightweight fold-out affairs, and enclosures, partitions inside which he could see bunk beds, more fold-outs. There were folk in there evidently trying to sleep; he had no idea how they’d manage that. It looked like sleep was going to be a luxury here, just like on Mars.", "And in this tank, people swarmed everywhere, most of them dressed like Yuri and Liu in bright orange jumpsuits, a few others in Peacekeeper blue, or a more exotic black and silver. They were all adults that he could see, no kids, no infants. Their voices echoed from the metal surfaces in a jangling racket. And over all that there was a whir of pumps and fans, of air-conditioning and plumbing of some kind, just like in Eden. Like he was in another sealed unit.", "Liu, moving cautiously himself—evidently it hadn’t been just his face that had taken the beating—took Yuri to that outer staircase, steps fixed to the curving wall with a safety rail, and led him up.", "At least, just like on Mars, Yuri didn’t find the", "stuff", "here", "hard. Since his first waking, he’d found twenty-second-century technology easy to work. User interfaces seemed to have settled down to common standards some time before he’d been frozen. Even the language had stabilized, more or less, if not the accents; English was spoken across several worlds now and had to stay comprehensible to everybody, and there was a huge mass of recorded culture, all of which tended to keep the language static. The vehicles and vocabularies of the year 2166 were easy. It was the people he couldn’t figure out. And now Yuri climbed through a blizzard of faces, none of them familiar.", "He looked for a window. He still had no idea where on Earth he was. And why the enclosure? Maybe he was in some mid-latitude climate refuge; he’d heard that since his day the whole middle belt of the Earth had heated up, dried out and been abandoned. He could be anywhere. But that steady pull of gravity was reassuring, even as he labored up the stairs with his Mars-softened muscles. He wondered when his first physio was going to be.", "They reached a space enclosed by movable partition panels, with fold-out chairs set in rows like a lecture theater. Some guy in a uniform of black and silver stood at the front, facing away from the dozen or so people in the room, talking through a series of images, star fields and space satellites.", "A woman in a similar uniform, standing at the door with a slate, stopped Liu and Yuri as they entered. Yuri read her name tag: ISF LT MARDINA JONES. Maybe thirty, she was very dark, with tightly curled black hair. “You’re late,” she said.", "“Sorry. Just out of medical.” Liu gave their names.", "“Name tags?”", "Liu dug his out of a pocket and showed it to her; she scanned it with her slate. She turned to Yuri. “You?”", "Yuri just shrugged.", "Liu said, “Like I said, just out of medical.”", "“Just awake, huh.” Jones shook her head and made a note on her slate. “Typical. Make sure you sort it out later.” She had a thick Australian accent. “Sit, you’re late.”", "Finding a seat in the semidarkened little theater turned out to be a problem. Three guys sat together on a row of a dozen otherwise empty seats. When Yuri went to sit down in the row, Liu prodded him in the back. “Move on,” he whispered.", "Yuri had been quick to anger ever since he’d first woken up on Mars. “Why should I?”", "“Because that middle guy is Gustave Klein. Wait until you’re beefed up before you take him on.”", "But it was already too late, Yuri realized. Klein was white, maybe fifty years old, hefty if not overweight, head elaborately shaven. His fists, resting on his knees, were like steam hammers. And Yuri had made eye contact with him. He barely noticed the two guys with Klein, typical attack dogs. Klein leered at Liu, taking in his injuries, and looked away, dismissive.", "They moved on, cautious in the dark. “What’s so special about him?”", "“He was the best Sabatier-furnace engineer in his colony,” Liu whispered. “That’s part of the recycling system—you know that, right? And he fixed it so that nobody else could touch those systems. He was a damn water king. No wonder they shipped him out. And it looks like he’s fixing to get the same hold here.”", "“A water king.” Yuri grinned. “Until it rains, right?”", "Liu looked at him strangely.", "Somebody hissed. “Yuri! Hey, Yuri! Over here!” A skinny, shambling form hustled along a row, clearing two spaces, to muttered complaints from the people behind.", "“Lemmy?” It was the first familiar voice he’d heard since waking in the can. Yuri sat beside him, followed by Liu.", "“Awake at last, huh?” Lemmy’s whisper was soft, practiced. “That bastard Tollemache really shot you up, didn’t he? Well, he got what he deserved.”", "Yuri tried to figure it out. Lemmy Pink, nineteen years old, had been the nearest thing to a friend Yuri had made on Mars. Even if Lemmy was only looking for protection.", "The last Yuri remembered of Mars was that he and Lemmy had busted out of their dome. Yuri had had to get out. Every atom in his body longed to be out there on the Martian ground, frozen, ultraviolet-blasted desert though it might be. He’d been taken through spacesuit and airlock drills for the sake of emergency training, but he’d never been outside. Mostly he never even got to look through a window. So they’d stolen a rover, made a run for the hills, a local feature called the Chaos—flipped the truck, been picked up by the Peacekeepers. He remembered Tollemache.", "You’re the ice boy, right? Nothing but a pain in the butt since they defrosted you. Well, you won’t be my problem much longer.", "And with a gloved fist he had jammed a needle into Yuri’s neck, and the red-brown Martian light had folded away . . .", "And he’d woken up in this tank.", "“What do you mean, he got what he deserved?”", "“He’s here too. In the hull. Ha! He got what was coming to him, all right. But it was because he didn’t stop us pinching that rover in the first place, rather than what he did to you.”", "Yuri mock-punched his arm. “Good to see they brought you home too, man.”", "Lemmy flinched back. “Don’t touch me. I’m full of the fucking sniffles that are going around this coffin, typical of me to get them all.”", "“What about Krafft?” Lemmy’s pet rat, back in the dome.", "Lemmy’s face fell. “Well, they took him off me. What would you expect?”", "“I’m sorry.”", "They were disturbing the astronaut type giving his lecture. Mardina Jones was right behind them, her voice a severe murmur. “If you two buttheads don’t shut up and listen to Major McGregor I’ll put you on a charge.”", "They shut up. But when she withdrew, Lemmy was staring at Yuri, in the shadowy dark. “What was that you just said?”", "“What? About the rat?”", "“No. Something about them bringing us home.”", "“I don’t know, man. I don’t know if I’m asleep or awake.” But Lemmy kept staring at him.", "Yuri, disoriented, confused, distracted by the noise of the crowds just half a meter beyond the partition, looked up at the astronaut at the lectern in his glittering black-as-night uniform. On Mars everybody had hated the astronauts, because they were rotated, they got to go home. Yuri tried to concentrate on what he was saying.", "“Even a single pixel from these very early images of the new world told the astronomers a great deal. Spectral analysis revealed an atmosphere with free oxygen, methane, nitrous oxide.”", "Major McGregor, maybe late twenties, was tall, upright, whip-thin but athletic, with a healthy glow to his cheeks in the light of the images he showed. He had a slick Angleterre accent, and his hair, blond, brushed, oiled, looked like it got more care than most of the people in this facility.", "“Oxygen, think of that! Suddenly we had a habitable world, right on our doorstep. All of you have had experience of the colonies on Mars and the moon—bleak, inhospitable worlds, and yet the best the solar system has to offer. And now, suddenly,", "this.", "“With time, variations of brightness and spectral content told us something about the distribution of continents and oceans. More subtle variations had to reflect changing weather. Not only that, the presence of oxygen is a strong indicator of life, I mean native life, because something has to be putting all that oxygen in the air.” He displayed graphs, wriggling lines. “This prominent feature in the red part of the spectrum indicated the presence of something like our own chlorophyll, some kind of light-harvesting pigment. All deduced from watching a single point of light . . .”", "Yuri had no idea what he was talking about. But he had spent a great deal of his time since being woken on Mars not knowing what the hell was going on around him, and it didn’t seem to make any material difference.", "He was aware that that caveman Klein was watching him. He started to think of how he was going to deal with that, as the astronaut’s voice droned on and on.", "But Lemmy was still staring at him, as if he was working something out. “Nobody told you. My God.”", "“Told me what?”", "Gustave Klein seemed to have an instinct for trouble. He leaned forward. “What’s this?”", "Lemmy ignored him. “You said something about being sent home. I just figured it out.", "You think this is home", ",", "don’t you? You think this is—”", "“Earth?” Liu Tao asked now, wondering, staring at Yuri.", "Klein stood up. “He thinks", "what", "?", "What kind of asshole—”", "The class was breaking up, the “students” turning in their seats to see what the commotion was. Major McGregor shut up at last, frowning in annoyance before his spectrograms.", "Mardina Jones hurried up again from the back, tapping an epaulette on her shoulder. “Peacekeeper to Level 3, lecture room . . . What’s going on here? Is this something to do with you, Eden?”", "Yuri stood, hands spread, but he didn’t reply. He’d long since learned that replying was usually pointless, it made no difference to the treatment he got. But he felt surrounded, by the astronauts, the students grinning to see someone else in trouble. Even Lemmy was staring at him.", "And Gustave Klein was like a malevolent puppet master. “He doesn’t know! You’re right, you little runt,” he said to Lemmy. His accent was thick Hispanic, despite his Germanic-sounding name. “He doesn’t have a fucking clue. What a laugh.”", "Now Peacekeeper Tollemache came bustling in, fully uniformed, flanked by two junior officers. They all had nightsticks at the ready—no guns, though, Yuri noticed in those first moments.", "“You,” Tollemache said. “Ice boy. I should have known. Out of the med bay for five minutes and trouble already.” He flexed his nightstick.", "Yuri tensed, preparing to rush him.", "Mardina Jones stood between them. “Stop this! That’s an order, Peacekeeper.”", "“You don’t outrank me.”", "“Oh, yes I do,” she said coldly. “You know the policy. Take it up with the captain if you like. I wanted you down here to keep order, not break more heads. And you—whatever else you are, Yuri Eden, you’re good at making enemies.”", "Tollemache glowered at Yuri, but backed off. “You’re the reason I’m in this toilet, you little prick.”", "Yuri grinned. “Good to hear it, Peacekeeper.”", "Tollemache held his gaze for one more second. In the background Gustave Klein leered, drinking up the conflict.", "Mardina Jones turned on Lemmy. “You. What do you mean, he thinks this is home?”", "“Think about it. The Peacekeeper there knocked him out while he was still on Mars! He never saw a thing, the sweep, the loading, he didn’t get any of the briefings we got. Such as they were. Also, he’s out of his time. You must know that. He hasn’t got the background to understand.”", "Mardina frowned, and glanced down at her slate; maybe she hadn’t known that, Yuri thought.", "“We all supposed he’d know what was going on. I guess. That he’d be able to figure it. But—”", "“But maybe not.” Major McGregor came up to the little group now, and studied Yuri with amused interest. “I heard about you. I knew we had one of you lot aboard, a corpsicle. A survivor of the Heroic Generation, eh? And now, here you are, and so confused. How funny.” Apparently on impulse he said, “Follow me, Mr. Eden. Bring your little bed warmer if you like. You’d better come too, Lieutenant. And you, Peacekeeper, if you can control yourself. Just in case it all kicks off.”", "Mardina asked, “Where are you taking him?”", "McGregor grinned and pointed upward. “Where do you think? It will be a fascinating experiment. Come along.”", "McGregor led a procession out of the lecture space to the spiral stair that wound its way up the wall of the tower. McGregor glanced over his shoulder at Yuri, who followed directly behind him. “We have two of these habitat modules, strapped together side by side, for redundancy, you see . . . You’ll have to tell me what you think of the design. For size, it was modeled on the first stage of the old Saturn V moon booster, for nostalgic reasons, I suppose. Of course much of what we are doing is of symbolic as well as practical value.”", "At the top of the tower was a domed roof. They climbed up through that into what was evidently some kind of control room, with a central command chair, vacant just now, arrays of bright screens, and another dome, midnight dark, over their heads. Operatives in astronaut uniforms sat at terminals around the periphery. One or two looked back at McGregor and his party, frowning, disapproving of an incursion into this sanctum of control.", "McGregor was studying Yuri, amused. “Where do you think you are now?”", "Yuri shrugged carelessly, though a kind of deep anxiety was gnawing in his stomach.", "Mardina murmured, “Lex, go easy—”", "“No, really. Tell me. Come on, man, speak up.”", "“Top of the tower.”", "McGregor thought that over. “Well, yes. That’s correct, sort of. Perceptually speaking anyhow, given the vector of the thrust-induced gravity. But there’s rather more to it than that.” He clapped his hands. “Lights off.” The wall lamps died, fading quickly. “Just look up. Give your eyes a minute to adjust.”", "Yuri obeyed. Slowly, the stars came out across the dome, a brilliant field, like night in the Martian desert. There was a particularly prominent cluster directly overhead.", "“What do you see?”", "“Stars. So what? So it’s a clear night.”", "“A ‘clear night.’ Where do you think you are?”", "Yuri shrugged. “Somewhere with a good sky. Arizona.” He vaguely remembered a high-altitude site with big astronomical telescopes. “Chile?”", "“Chile. You understand that what you see is simulated, a live feed from cameras mounted on the ISM shield.”", "“ISM?”", "“Interstellar medium.” McGregor clapped his hands again. “Wraparound VR star field.”", "The walls and floor of this deck shimmered and melted away. It was as if Yuri, with McGregor, Lemmy, Mardina Jones, Tollemache, Liu Tao, and the handful of operators with their screens, were standing on a floor of glass. And all around him, above and below, he saw stars, with one particularly brilliant specimen directly under his feet.", "McGregor grinned by the light of the stars and the display screens. “Now what do you see? Where is the Earth? Where’s the planet you thought you were standing on?", "Where’s the Earth", ",", "Yuri Eden?”", "Yuri felt his head swim, the universe close up around him, as if he was fainting from fluid imbalance again.", "McGregor pointed downward. “", "There.", "Down in that puddle of light. That’s the sun. We’ve been traveling from Mars’s orbit for a month. We are now”—he glanced at a screen—“two hundred and thirty astronomical units from the sun. That’s two hundred and thirty times as far as Earth is from the sun—about eight times as far out as Neptune—about a light-day, if I’m not mistaken. You are a long, long way from Earth, my friend.”", "“A ship.” It didn’t sound like his own voice. “This is some kind of ship.”", "“Not just any old ship. This is the", "Ad Astra.", "And we are going”—he pointed straight up, at the cluster of stars at the zenith—“there.”", "“You’re on a starship,” Mardina Jones said, levelly, steadily, looking Yuri in the eye. “Heading to Proxima Centauri.”", "“Proxima Centauri,” Yuri said dully. The very name was meaningless to him.", "“Yuri Eden, this is the UN International Space Fleet vessel", "Ad Astra.", "Two hundred colonists, in two hulls like this one. We’re driven at a constant acceleration, at one gravity, by a kernel engine. This ship is like the hulk that brought you to Mars. But of course you don’t remember that. It’s a bit more than four light years to Proxima. Given time dilation it will take us three years, seven months subjective to get there, of which we’ve already served a month . . .”", "McGregor peered at him, searching for a reaction. “What are you thinking, man from the past?”", "Peacekeeper Tollemache was more direct. “Ha! He’s thinking what a prick I am. You thought you were on Earth, didn’t you? Why, you fucking—”", "Yuri couldn’t punch a star, but he could punch Tollemache. He got in one good blow before Mardina Jones, this time, knocked him out.", "It was going to be a long three years, seven months.", "2155", "When Yuri Eden discovered he was on a starship, it was only a little more than a decade after the maiden flight from planet Mercury of a ship called the", "International-One", ",", "the first demonstrator of the new kernel-drive technology that propelled the", "Ad Astra.", "Lex McGregor, then seventeen years old and an International Space Fleet cadet, had taken part in that flight.", "And it was thanks to McGregor that Stephanie Penelope Kalinski, then eleven years old, had first gotten to", "meet", "her father’s starship, created from another technology entirely.", "• • •", "It seemed strange to Stef, as she and her father took the long, slow, unpowered orbit from Earth in toward the sun aboard a UN-UEI liner, that there were to be not one but", "two", "new kinds of ships, the", "International-One", "and the", "Angelia", ",", "launched from such an unpromising place as Mercury at the same time.", "Her father just rolled his eyes. “Just my luck. Or humanity’s luck. If I was a conspiracy theorist I would suspect that those damn kernels have been planted under Mercury’s crust", "in order that", "we would find them now, just when we are recovering from the follies of the Heroic Generation, and reaching out, with our own efforts, to the stars . . .”", "Stef wasn’t too clear what a “kernel” was. But she was interested in it", "all", ",", "the different kinds of ships, the experimental engineering she’d glimpsed at her father’s laboratories back home on the outskirts of Seattle, the rumors of these energy-rich kernels being brought up from deep mines on Mercury . . . She understood that the", "International-One", "was just some kind of interplanetary-capable technology demonstrator, while her own father’s ship, though uncrewed, was going to the stars, the first true interstellar jaunt since the extraordinary journey of Dexter Cole, decades before. But she’d heard hints that these kernels they’d found on Mercury, and which were going to power the", "I-One", ",", "were actually much more exotic than anything her father was working on.", "This was the kind of thing that always snagged her attention. She was doing well with her schooling, scoring high in mathematics, sciences and deductive abilities, as well as in physical prowess and leadership skills. Her father had been paradoxically pleased when she had been flagged up with a warning about having introvert tendencies. “All great scientists are introverts,” he’d said. “All great engineers too, come to that. The sign of a strong, independent mind.” But Stef was always less interested in herself than in all the stuff going on outside her own head. The", "I-One’", "s", "interplanetary mission was a lot less ambitious than the", "Angelia’", "s,", "but it was the", "I-One", "that had the hot technology. She was more than interested in it. She was fascinated.", "She didn’t much enjoy the cruise from Earth, though. She had followed the mission profile as their ship descended ever deeper into the heart of the solar system, ever closer to the central fire, and Stef had come to feel oddly claustrophobic. Apparently the UN-led countries and China, who had carved Earth up between them, had shared out the solar system too, but China dominated everything from Earth orbit outward, from Mars and the asteroids to Jupiter’s moons. Looking out from the cramped center of the system, China seemed to Stef to have the better half of it, with those roomy outer reaches, families of cold worlds hanging like lanterns in the dark.", "• • •", "On Mercury they landed at a big engineering complex in a crater called Yeats. This was not far from the equator, so that during the planet’s day the big looming sun was high in the sky, pouring down the light and energy that fed the square kilometers of solar-cell arrays that carpeted much of the crater’s floor.", "The gravity was lower than home, about a third, and in the high domes, built big so they could house the industrial complexes expected to sprout here in the future, you could go running and leaping and break all kinds of long-jump records.", "That", "was interesting, and fun.", "But for Stef the charms of Mercury quickly palled. It was hot enough to melt lead outside, at local noon anyhow. They had come here in the morning on this part of Mercury, and since the “day” here lasted a hundred and seventy-six Earth days (a number that was a peculiar product of the planet’s slow rotation on its axis and its short year, that had taken Stef a while to figure out), the big sun just hung there, low in the sky, dome-day after dome-day, and the long shadows barely moved across the crater’s flat, lava-choked floor. There was, in the end, nothing on Mercury but rock, and there was only so much interest she could feign in solar-cell farms, or even the monumental pipeline systems they had built to bring water from the caches of ice in the permanent shadows at the planet’s poles.", "And she had to spend a lot of time alone.", "Her father was immersed in final tests and simulations for his starship, and Stef knew from long experience when to get out of his way. He’d been just the same when her mother was alive. The trouble was, unlike home, there was nobody else here much less than three times Stef’s age. Mercury was like a huge mine, drifting in the generous energy-giving light of the sun, and not a place to raise kids, it seemed; it was a place you came to work for a few years, made your money, and went back home to spend it. For all that the virtual facilities were just as good as back in Seattle, it got kind of boring, and lonely, quickly.", "Things got a bit better as more people started to show up, shuttling in from Earth and moon for the launches.", "There were actually two crowds arriving here, Stef quickly realized, for the two separate projects, the", "Angelia", "and the", "International-One.", "Her father’s project, the", "Angelia", ",", "was basically scientific: a one-shot uncrewed mission to Proxima Centauri intended to deliver a probe to study the habitable world the astronomers had found fifty years earlier orbiting that remote star. Since that discovery, of course, a human had actually been sent to Proxima, a man called Dexter Cole, who, launched decades before Stef had even been born, had yet to complete his one-way mission; the", "Angelia", ",", "representing a new technology generation, would almost overtake him. The throng gathering to watch the", "Angelia", "launch were mostly scientists and experimental engineers, along with the bureaucrats from state and UN levels who were backing the project. They were men and women in drab suits who spent more time staring into each other’s faces over glasses of champagne than looking out of the window at Mercury, a whole alien world, it seemed to Stef.", "The", "International-One", ",", "meanwhile, was a project of a huge industrial combine called Universal Engineering, Inc.—UEI. Its chief executive was a squat, blustering, forty-year-old Australian called Michael King, and he came out here with a much more exotic entourage of the rich and famous. “Trillionaire-adventurers,” her father called them dismissively.", "There were even a few Chinese, “guests” of the UN and the UEI, to “observe” the great events taking place here on UN-dominated Mercury, although it seemed to Stef that it was a funny kind of “observing” where you weren’t allowed to have close-up views of anything important at all.", "Stef did have to show up at drinks parties and other functions at her father’s side. Of the trillionaires’ club Michael King was the only one who displayed any kind of interest in her personally, as opposed to treating her as some kind of appendage of her father. When she was introduced by her father, King, avuncular, a glass of champagne low-gravity sloshing in his hand, leaned down and looked her in the face. “Good clear eyes. Unflinching gaze. Curiosity. I like that. You’ll go far. You keeping up at school, Stephanie?”", "“It’s Stef. Yes, I think so. I like—”", "“What are you missing here?”", "“Missing?”", "“You’re an Earth kid, stuck on Mercury. What’s the one thing I could sell you, right now, that you miss the most from home?”", "She thought that over. “Soda,” she said. “Decent soda. Here it’s cold enough, but it’s always flat. Same on the moon.”", "“Yeah. This champagne’s kind of flat too.” King glanced at her father. “Something to do with the low gravity, George? The low air pressure in the domes, maybe, messing with the carbonation?", "Soda.", "I’ll make a note of that and follow it up. Could be you just earned me another million, kid. So what do you make of all this?” He waved his glass at the people milling around, the conversations going on high above Stef’s head.", "“I feel like I’m lost in some kind of forest of talking trees.”", "King barked laughter. “Good for you. Honest answer, and a clear impression. Witty too. Listen to me. I know you’re only a kid—no offense. But you should watch and learn, as much as you can. Textbooks are one thing, people in the wild are another, and it’s the people you have to work with if you want to get on.” His accent was broad Australian, his enunciation crisp, precise, easy to follow. “Look at me. I started out from a poor background. Well, everybody was poor in Oz in those days because of the Desiccation. I made my first living as a coastal scavenger, I was no older than you, we’d go down into the wrecks of oil tankers and seawater-processing factories that had been deliberately beached on the shore, retrieving what materials we could haul out, all for a few UN dollars a day.", "“But then age twenty I joined UEI as an apprentice programmer, and after ten years I was on the board. A lot of our early work was deconstruction, taking apart filthy old nuclear reactors. Of course by then we’d relocated to Canada, I mean the northern USNA region as it is nowadays, because Australia, along with Japan, the Far East countries, chunks of Siberia, had become part of the Framework, the Chinese economic empire . . . Well, the details don’t matter. Now here I am about to launch a new breed of spaceship. How much more success could you want? And you know how I got this far?”", "“People,” she said brightly.", "He grinned at her father. “George, you got yourself a smart one here. That’s it—people. I had contacts. I knew who to approach in the finance and governance community at national, zonal, and UN levels, as well as the technical people, to get it done. Because I’d cultivated those contacts at events like this over years and years. Now it’s your chance, and it’s never too early to start.”", "Her father snorted. “Don’t give me all that, Michael. Your most important contact isn’t human at all.”", "“Earthshine, you mean.”", "“Or one of his Core AI rivals. Everybody knows they’re your ultimate paymasters.” Her father looked around the crowd, almost playfully. “Got an avatar or two here, has he? Should we be watching what we say?”", "“Funny, George, very funny. But I don’t think—oh, excuse me. Sanjai! Over here!”", "And that was it, as he hurried away to another encounter.", "Stef liked Michael King, she decided, whether or not he really was backed by the sinister old Core AIs, entities she found hard even to imagine. Her father sneered about King’s lack of academic or technical qualifications, but Stef was drawn by his energy, his focus, his vigor, and she stored away his advice.", "But she forgot all about Michael King a couple of dome-days later, when the astronauts showed up.", "• • •", "They were the human crew of King’s new ship, the", "International-One.", "When they walked through a room all the faces turned to the astronauts, like iron filings in a magnetic field. It was like royalty, like King Harold of North Britain, or some media star, or maybe like the Heroic Generation engineers back in their heyday, her father said. They were authentic space pioneers, and all of them were dressed in the uniform of the UN’s International Space Fleet, an eye-popping jet-black spangled with glittering stars.", "And what drew her attention most was the only member of the", "I-One", "crew who wasn’t in his fifth decade. Lex McGregor was from Angleterre, the south of Britain—the independent north had not contributed to the ISF—Lex was blond, as tall as the rest, and he was just seventeen. He wasn’t quite part of the crew, it seemed; he was a Space Fleet cadet, still in the early stages of his training. But he’d shown enough promise to win some kind of internal competition to serve as the one cadet on board the", "I-One", "for its maiden flight.", "“And the fact that he is as photogenic as hell,” Stef said to her father, “probably didn’t harm his chances.”", "He laughed. “Much too cynical for your age. Probably right, though. Don’t say ‘hell.’”", "“Sorry, Dad.”", "Just as Lex was the closest person here to Stef’s age, so she was the closest to his, and they kind of gravitated together. She was relieved when he didn’t treat her like some bratty kid. He called her “Kalinski,” like she was a cadet herself.", "They would play dumb games and make up athletic competitions in the domes; he was good at figuring out rules so he was handicapped and she had at least a chance of winning. One of her favorites was the roof run, where you ran at a curving dome wall and", "up", "it, overcoming the low gravity, sticking to the wall by sheer centrifugal force until you fell back, and then (in theory) executed a slow one-third-G somersault to land on your feet on the cushioned floor. A space cadet’s training regime was pretty intense, and she suspected there was still enough of the kid in Lex to relish the chance to blow off some steam, even to bend the rules a little.", "Which was probably why it was Lex who introduced her to her father’s starship.", "It was a dome-morning, only a few days before the launch of the", "I-One.", "The", "Angelia", "’s launch was scheduled a couple of dome-days after that. Paradoxically Lex had more free time just now, as the ISF controllers were trying to get their crew to relax before the stress of the mission.", "So Lex invited Stef to “take an EVA,” by which he meant go for a walk on Mercury’s surface.", "He met her at a suit locker built into the dome wall. He grinned when she showed up. “Thought you weren’t coming, Kalinski. You didn’t seem keen.”", "“I’ve been out on the moon. What’s so special about a bunch of rocks?”", "He winked at her. “This is different. Take a look at your suit.” He palmed a control.", "A section of the wall swept back, to reveal a row of suits that looked like nothing so much as discarded insect carcasses. Each had a hard silvered shell to cover torso, legs and arms, a featureless helmet with a gold-tinted visor, and wings, extraordinary filmy affairs that sprouted from joints behind the shoulders. All the suits had markings of various kinds, colored stripes and hoops, no doubt to identify who was wearing them.", "Lex asked, “What do you think?”", "“Ugly.”", "“It’s not so bad. Believe me, you won’t even notice it once you’re out there on the surface. I bet you can’t guess what the wings are for.”", "“It’s obvious. To radiate heat.”", "“Very good,” he said, sounding genuinely impressed. “Most of the folk in this dome say, ‘For flying.’ Then they catch themselves and say, ‘But there’s no air here so . . .’”", "“I know.” Stef sighed the way her father did. “It gets so wearying.”", "He laughed. “OK, Kalinski, quit showing off. Look, putting it on is easy, the suit will seal itself up around you and adapt to fit. Just slip your shoes off . . .”", "The astonishing thing was, once she was in the suit and out through a heavy-duty airlock, she really", "didn’t", "notice the suit, not visually anyhow. The suit contained some kind of immersive VR system, so when she looked down it was as if she was standing beside Lex, in their everyday clothes, on a ground of pitted rock, under Mercury’s black sky. The sun, more than twice the size it was as seen from Earth, cast long shadows across a moonlike plain. Experimentally she bent down; she felt a little stiff, and couldn’t fold quite as she was used to. She touched her toes, though, and picked up a loose bit of rock.", "“How’s the suit?”", "“Fine.” She explored the rock; her fingers, in her vision, didn’t quite close around it. “It feels kind of . . . soapy.” She threw the rock with a skimming motion. The rock whizzed away, falling, not as fast as it would on Earth, faster than on the moon. It made no sound when it fell; that wasn’t part of the sim.", "“Let’s walk.” Lex strode easily across the surface of Mercury, his shadow long beside him. His voice sounded as if it was coming from", "him", ",", "not from plugs in her ears. “The suit will stop you from coming to any harm.”", "“I know it will.” It was only older people who needed reassuring about stuff like that; people of Stef’s age just assumed technology would", "work.", "She followed him, watching where she was stepping. In this crater basin the surface was smoother than she had expected, with dust overlying a rocky surface pitted by lesser impacts. She moved easily enough, but felt a little heavy, as if she were overmuscled, like she’d beefed up in a gym. The suit must have exoskeletal multipliers.", "The domes of the Yeats base were big blisters piled high with dirt, for protection from meteorite falls and from the sun’s radiation. Farther out there were storage facilities, backup plants for air and water processing, dusty rovers on tracks that led off across the crater’s dirt floor. Not far from the inhabited facilities was the edge of the area of the crater floor paneled by solar cells, a glimmering reflective surface like a pool of molten silver that stretched away for kilometers.", "And farther out still she glimpsed some of the mountains that ringed this walled plain, like broken, eroded teeth. Out there stood bigger facilities, marked out by winking warning lights, all far enough from the inhabited domes to allow for safety margins. There was the broad, hardened pad where ships like her own ferry from orbit had come in to land, and fuel and energy stores, and a long shining needle that was the mass driver, which used sun-powered electromagnetism to hurl caches of material out of Mercury’s gravity well and across the solar system. In the shadow of the mountains themselves she saw the big gantries of the UEI’s drilling project, sinking shafts hundreds of kilometers deep through layers of lava and impact-pummeled bedrock to the edge of Mercury’s iron mantle, where the mysterious kernels were to be found.", "And there too, huddling in the shadow, stood a taller gantry, a slim rocket: a strange sight for Stef, like something out of a history book. That was mankind’s newest spacecraft, the", "International-One", ",", "waiting to take Lex and his crew off into space.", "Lex took a step and stamped on the ground, sending up little sprays of dust that sank quickly back down. “It’s an interesting little world.”", "“So you say.”", "He laughed. “I mean it. It’s only superficially like the moon. Look at those drill rigs over there. Here, you only have to drill down a few hundred kilometers before you reach the mantle. You’d have to go ten times deeper into the Earth, say. You know why that is?”", "“Of course I know—”", "Like her father, he didn’t always listen before lecturing her. “Because, we think, some big explosion on young Mercury, or maybe a big impact, blew off most of the rocky crust.”", "She tried to imagine standing here when that big impact happened. Tried and failed. “What I want to know is, has all that got anything to do with the formation of the kernels they found here?”", "Another voice replied, “Good question. Well, nobody knows. But I can see why", "you", "would ask it. You are Stephanie Kalinski, aren’t you?”", "A woman was walking toward them from the direction of the domes, tall, a little heavyset perhaps, yet graceful. Evidently projecting a virtual image, she appeared to be in regular clothes; she wore a trim blue jacket and trousers, almost uniform-like, but not as showy as Lex’s ISF suit. She looked about thirty, but was oddly ageless, as if heavily cosmeticized. Her accent was neutral, perhaps east coast American.", "“The name’s Stef,” she replied automatically. “Not Stephanie. I know your face. I’ve seen your picture in my dad’s dossiers.”", "“Of course you have,” Lex said, grinning. “Which is why I thought you two ought to meet. Dr. Kalinski’s two daughters, so to speak. Because he never would have thought of bringing you together himself, right?”", "“I am Angelia,” said the woman.", "That puzzled Stef. “That’s the name of the starship. The", "Angelia.", "”", "“I know. I", "am", "Angelia. I know what you’re thinking. That I am a PR stunt. A model, hired by your father to personify—”", "“I don’t actually care,” Stef said abruptly.", "That surprised Lex. “You’ve got an impatient streak, haven’t you, Kalinski?”", "“If somebody’s being deliberately obscure, yes.”", "“I’m sorry,” Angelia said. “I don’t intend to be. If your father had explained to you the mission concept—”", "“You know about me. How come?”", "“Well, I have got to know your father as we’ve worked together. And he speaks of you, Stef, a great deal. He’s very proud of you.”", "“I know,” Stef snapped, feeling obscurely jealous.", "Lex said, “Be nice, Kalinski. Now it’s your cue to ask, ‘What mission concept?’”", "“Oh, Lex, I don’t care. It’s obvious this woman is some kind of projection.” On impulse she bent, picked up a pebble, an impact-loosened bit of Mercury rock, and threw it at Angelia.", "Angelia caught the pebble easily. “Not a projection. Not quite an android either.” She looked at the rock, then popped it into her mouth and swallowed it. “I’m not in a suit like yours.”", "“You’re programmable matter.”", "“That’s right.” Angelia held up her left hand, and watched as it morphed into a clutch of miniature sunflowers, which swiveled their heads to the low sun.", "“Ugh,” Lex said. “Creepy.”", "“Sorry.” She turned her hand back into a hand, and pointed up at the empty sky. “I’m to be fired off into interstellar space, by the microwave beam from your father’s defunct solar-power satellite, up there.", "I’m", "the payload. But there is a me in here. In fact, a million mes, in a sense. A whole sisterhood, all sentient to a degree. Stef, I’m sure your father will walk you through the mission design—”", "“But it makes no difference.” Lex walked around Angelia, studying her. “Whether you’re sentient or not, I mean. You’re not", "human.", "And it’s an authentic, physical human presence that counts when it comes to touching a new world. Sending some AI like you doesn’t count. That’s why the kernel ships are the important breakthrough here, because they can carry humans. Maybe even all the way to the stars—and back, unlike poor old Dexter Cole.”", "“That’s very post–Heroic Generation thinking,” Angelia said, and she smiled indulgently. “A backlash against the philosophical horrors of that age. And typical of what they teach you at the ISF academies, from what I understand. Human experience is primal, yes? In fact this modern incarnate-humanism is the reason why Stef’s father programmed me into this form, so I could attend the prelaunch ceremonies in person, so to speak. It’s expected, these days.”", "Lex shook his head. “No offense, Angelia, but nothing you will ever do could match the achievement of Dexter Cole, no matter how his mission pans out.”", "Stef knew Cole’s story; every kid grew up hearing about it. When a habitable planet of Proxima Centauri was discovered, nations in what had since become the western UN federation had banded together, and within a couple of decades had scraped together a crewed mission. Cole had launched from Mercury for access to its energy-rich solar flux, just like Angelia would. A tremendous laser beam, powered by that flux, had blasted into a lightsail, sending Cole’s thousand-ton ship to Proxima. Dexter Cole was flying alone to the stars on a forty-year, one-way mission—and, in some sense Stef had not been allowed to discover, he would somehow become the “godfather” of a human colony when he got there. All this had been launched from an Earth still reeling from the aftermath of the climate Jolts and the Kashmir War of the previous decades, an Earth where the huge recovery projects of the Heroic Generation were still working through their lifecycles—all this as mankind was only just making its first footfalls on the worlds of its own solar system. Incredibly, having been launched decades before Stef was born, Cole was still en route; right now he was in cryo, dreaming his way between the stars, before a pulse-fusion rocket would slow him at the target.", "Lex said, “Cole is a hero, and I intend to follow in his footsteps, some day.”", "Angelia smiled again. “Hey, it’s a big universe. There’s room in it for both of us, I figure.”", "Lex grinned. “Fair enough. Good luck, Angelia.” He stuck out a hand.", "She approached him and took his hand. And as Stef watched, the bit of stone Angelia had swallowed popped out of the back of her neck and dropped slowly to the ground.", "On the day the", "I-One", "was to be launched, Stef stood with her father at the window of the UN-UEI command bunker. This stout building, constructed of blocks of Mercurian basalt, was set high in the walls of Yeats’s rim mountains, and looked down on the crater-floor plain. The big room was filled with the mutter of voices and the glow of monitor screens, teams of engineers tracking the countdown as it proceeded. Through the bunker windows, in the low light of the sun, Stef could see the domes, lights, and tracks of the main Yeats settlement, and in the foreground the complex activity around the", "International-One", "at its launch stand, bathed in floodlights. The slim prow of the ship itself just caught the sun as it rose, agonizingly slowly, above the rim mountains. The ship was so far away it looked like a toy, a model layout; the VIPs in here were using binoculars to see better, ostentatiously demonstrating that they lacked Heroic Generation–type ocular augmentation, now deeply unfashionable.", "Supposedly, the launch pad was far enough away for them to be safe here in this bunker if worse came to worst. But Stef had learned by now that although the engineers had figured out how to manipulate the kernels, which were evidently some kind of caches of high-density energy, nobody understood them. And if something went wrong,", "nobody knew", "what the consequences might be. This robust bunker might turn out to be no more protection than the paper walls of a traditional Japanese house before the fury of the Hiroshima bomb.", "And somewhere in the middle of all the potentially lethal activity down there was Lex McGregor, just seventeen years old. Stef saw his face on a monitor screen. He lay on his back like his older companions, calm, apparently relaxed, contributing to the final countdown checks.", "“He looks like John Glenn on the pad,” her father said, looking over her shoulder. “Heroic images from the best part of two hundred years ago. Some things don’t change. My word, he’s brave.”", "Maybe, Stef thought. She did admire Lex, but there was something slightly odd about him. Off-key. Sometimes she suspected he’d had some kind of augmentation himself, so his reactions weren’t quite the human norm. Or maybe it was just that he was too young to be scared, even if he was six years older than she was.", "Her father said now, “This landscape has been sleeping for billions of years, since the last of the great planet-shaping impacts. If that damn ship works this crater is going to be witness to fires fiercer than any that created it. And if it fails—”", "“It should not fail,” Angelia said. The strange ship-woman stood on her father’s other side—one ship watching the launch of another, Stef reflected. “The testing has been thorough.”", "Stef’s father grunted, sounding moody. He was in his fifties, a thickset, graying man, with old-fashioned spectacles and a ragged mustache; he had always been an", "old", "father to Stef, though her French mother had been much younger. Now the low light cast by the display screens in the bunker deepened the lines of his face. He said, “Somewhere up there, you know, is my SPS. An old solar-power station hauled out from Earth, a brute of an engine left over from the Heroic days and now refitted and put to good use . . . Oh, they sent Dexter Cole to the stars, but what a cockamamie way to do it, a lightsail to get him out of one system and a fusion rocket to slow him down in the next. Like those old Greek ships, rowing boats with sails attached. Still, they did it, they got him away. Now you, Angelia, you represent the next generation, the next phase of human ingenuity.", "“And, just at this exquisite moment—", "this.", "The discovery of the kernels. A source of tremendous power that, it seems, we can just turn on like a tap. Everything we mere humans can manage is suddenly put in the shade. It’s as if we’re somehow being allowed to cheat. Does that seem", "right", "?”", "Stef was puzzled. “You’ve talked about this before. I’m not sure who you’re blaming, Dad.”", "“Your father has always been an agnostic,” Angelia said. “Not God.”", "“Not God, no. I just keep thinking it’s a damn odd coincidence that we find these things just when we need them . . .”", "The murmuring voices around them seemed to synchronize, and Stef realized that, suddenly, the countdown was nearly done, the", "I-One", "almost ready to go. She glanced once more at Lex McGregor, on his back, apparently utterly calm.", "Flaring light flooded the bunker.", "Stef looked through the window. The light was coming from the base of the ship, a glare like a droplet of Mercury sunlight. As she watched, that point of light lifted slowly from the ground.", "The bunker erupted in whoops and cheering.", "“Watch it go, Stef,” said her father, and he took her hand in his. “It’s on a trial run out to Jupiter, at a constant one-G acceleration all the way. If it works that damn drive should be visible all the way out, like a fading star. This is history in the making, love. Who knows? It might unite us as humans, at long last. Or it might trigger some terrible conflict with the Chinese, who are denied this marvelous technology. But it’s certainly a bonfire of my own ambition.”", "Angelia put a comforting arm around his shoulders.", "Stef barely paid any attention. Staring into that ascending fire, she had only one question.", "The kernels. How do they work?", "2169", "Day one thousand, two hundred and ninety-seven.", "That was Yuri’s count, by the tally he had kept running in his head, recording the eight-hour shift changes since he’d woken up in the hull. Over three and a half years. There were no calendars on the", "Ad Astra", ",", "not that the passengers saw. And of course he had slept through the early weeks of the flight from Mars, an uncountable time. But he knew roughly that the journey was due to end about now. Day one thousand, two hundred and ninety-seven.", "When the end did come, there was some warning: a siren that wailed, for a few seconds.", "At the time Yuri had no idea what it meant; he paid no attention to the sporadic briefings on shipboard events. He was on another punishment duty, scooping out muck from the interstices of a mesh floor partition, a grimy, demeaning job that you had to do on your hands and knees, working with a little cleanser the size of a toothbrush and a handheld vacuum hose. A make-work job a machine could have done in a fraction of the time.", "Then the gravity failed.", "It felt like the whole hull had suddenly dropped, like an elevator car whose cable had broken. Yuri found himself drifting up in the air, the little brush and the vacuum cleaner and his sack of dirt floating up around him. It was an extraordinary feeling, a mix of existential shock and a punch to the gut.", "The Peacekeeper supervising him, a fat man called Mattock, threw up, and the chunky vomit sprayed over Yuri’s back and drifted up into the air, a stinking, noxious, stringy cloud.", "Yuri knew what had happened, of course. After three and a half years of a steady one-gravity thrust, save for a brief turnaround at the journey’s midpoint, the crew had shut down the drive. During the cruise, for long periods you could have forgotten you were in a starship. Now here was the reality of the situation suddenly intruding. His latest prison really was a battered tin can light years from Earth.", "And then, not five seconds after the acceleration cut out, the riot started.", "It erupted all at once, along the length of the hull. The yelling was the first thing Yuri noticed, shouted commands, whoops, screams of defiance and fear.", "The big fluorescent light fittings were put out immediately. The crimson emergency lighting system soon came on, shining from behind toughened glass, but the hull was plunged into a flickering, shadowy half-light. And people moved through the shadows, grabbing handrails and slamming at the partition flooring with booted feet, so that broken panels started hailing down through the crowded air. Others used whatever tools they had at hand, spanners, broom handles, they even wrenched rails off the wall, to smash up equipment.", "The Peacekeepers were an early target too. Near Yuri, from nowhere, three, four, five people, men and women, came hurtling out of the air like missiles and slammed straight into Mattock. Struggling, his head surrounded by a mist of vomit and blood, the Peacekeeper had no chance of reaching his weapons. He looked to Yuri, who was clinging to the wall. “Help me, you bastard—” A booted foot slammed into his mouth, silencing him.", "Yuri turned away. He pulled himself around the walls, working his way across rails and equipment banks, trying to keep out of trouble, trying not to be noticed. He had a rendezvous of his own to make.", "As he moved he observed that the hull’s population was split. Maybe a third of them were working in a coordinated way, savaging the Peacekeepers and, he saw, one or two astronaut crew members they’d got hold of, or systematically wrecking the internal equipment. Obviously they’d planned this, coordinated it for the onset of zero gravity. Most of the rest, scared, nauseated, were swarming around trying to keep out of the way of the violence. They were almost all adults, of course; the few kids, two- or three-year-olds born during the voyage, clung to their mothers in terror.", "And up at the top of the hull Yuri saw a party gathering around the central fireman’s pole, preparing to climb up to the hull’s apex, up to the bridge. A woman he recognized, called Delga, was at their head. That was no surprise. He’d known her on Mars, where they’d called her the snow queen of Eden. On the ship she had quickly built a power base in the early days when, without alcohol, drugs, tobacco, the whole hulk had been like a huge rehab facility as everybody worked through cold turkey of one kind or another—and Delga, who somehow got her hands on various narcotics, had acquired a lot of customers. Yuri had kept out of her way on Mars, and on the ship, and he did so now. He dropped his head and concentrated on his own progress.", "He got to his meeting point. It was just a kind of alcove on a central deck, a warren of thick pipes and ducts and power cables between two hefty air-scrubbing boxes. But it was tucked out of the way of trouble. He and his buddies hadn’t anticipated this scenario exactly, but they’d made contingency plans to meet here, in case.", "And now, here he found Lemmy, and Anna Vigil, and Cole, nearly four years old, a timid little boy who clung to his mother’s legs, all waiting for him.", "Wordlessly Yuri backed into the space, opened a maintenance panel on one of the scrubber boxes, took out a wrench and a screwdriver, and thus armed wedged himself in position before the others. After three and a half years he had a reputation on this hull. A loner he might be but he’d fight back, and was best left alone if there were easier targets. This had been the plan they’d cooked up, the three of them, when they’d thought ahead to bad times; this was the best Yuri could think of to protect them.", "He heard a scream. In the shadowy chaos, he saw that three men had got hold of a woman. Yuri knew them all; he’d thought one of the men at least was a friend of the woman, who’d paired off with another guy. Yuri knew the woman too; called Abbey Brandenstein, she was an ex-cop and she could look after herself, but she was being overwhelmed. Now they were dragging her into a corner, though she was still fighting back. As the screaming got worse Anna Vigil covered little Cole’s eyes and ears, and hugged him close.", "The noise was still ferocious, a clamor of yells and screams. More alarm sirens were sounding off, adding to the racket. There was no sign yet of the Peacekeepers taking any kind of coordinated action. Yuri saw Gustave Klein on the other side of the hull, flanked by a couple of his heavies, watching the action with a grin on his face. Maybe it was Klein who was really in control.", "Lemmy peered cautiously up into the apex of the hull. “Delga’s reached the bridge, it looks like.”", "“What do you think they want?”", "Lemmy shrugged. “To take the ship. Force the astronauts to whiz us all back to Earth. I bet there’s a similar breakout going on in the other hull; they’ll have timed it. I guess it’s the last chance we’ll get. There’ll be no hope once we’re on the ground, on a planet of Proxima.”", "“But they could smash up the ship before they win that argument.”", "“True.”", "“You think it’s going to work?”", "Lemmy grinned. “Nah. Look.” He pointed to the far wall of the hull.", "An airlock hatch opened and a dozen astronauts tumbled out of the lock and into the hull’s cluttered spaces. They wore hard, carapacelike pressure suits of brilliant white, marked with arm stripes in gaudy recognition colors, red, blue, green. They had their helmets sealed, their faces hidden behind golden visors, and their movements were jerky, too rapid, over-definite—a product of military-class enhancements, Yuri had learned, exoskeletons, drugs, boosters from the cellular level up. They carried weapons of some kind, not guns, not in a pressure hull, but what might be tasers, even whips.", "Some of the rebelling inmates went for them immediately. The astronauts fought back with clean, hard moves, and snaps of their tasers, rasps of the whips. They were like insects with their superfast movements and hard outer shells, like space-monster cockroaches in this chaotic human environment. Before them the inmates looked grubby and unevolved. People fell back howling, blood spraying into the air.", "Meanwhile one group of astronauts, three, four of them, broke away and made for a big locked control panel a couple of decks higher up toward the bridge. More rebels tried to get in their way, but the astronauts were too fast, too definite, and their opponents were brushed aside. The astronauts unlocked the panel with brisk taps of gloved fingers, and plugged pull-out leads into sockets in their suits, perhaps for identity verification.", "Then, not a minute after the airlock had first opened, a yellowish gas began to vent from outlets all around the hull, and people began coughing, panicking.", "Lemmy grinned. “Sweet dreams. See you on Prox c . . .”", "But Yuri was already falling away down a long dark tunnel, and could hear no more.", "The ship’s population—what survived of it after the riots—was split up into small groups, held in isolated chambers in a newly partitioned hull.", "On being woken from his latest bout of unconsciousness, Yuri found himself cuffed with plastic strips to a metal-frame chair, itself locked to a mesh floor. He was in a small partition-walled cabin with ten others, four women, six men. They were all dressed identically, in orange jumpsuits, with no boots, just socks. This was his assigned “drop group,” he was told. The only one in here that Yuri knew well was Lemmy. He did soon learn that the passengers had already been assigned to these drop groups, nominally fourteen each, long before the insurrection, and now the groups had been used as the basis for the lockdown.", "They were supervised by Peacekeepers, never fewer than two at a time, with astronauts overseeing them, in the case of Yuri’s group Lex McGregor and Mardina Jones. As the days passed the passengers were released one at a time in a cycle, to use a bathroom modified for zero gravity, to wash, to feed. When they were out of their cuffs Lex McGregor insisted they stretch and bend, to keep from stiffening up. They were spoken to, but not encouraged to speak back, or to have conversations with one another.", "The thrust was never restored, the gravity never came back on. But occasionally you would hear bangs and knocks, as if some huge fist was hammering on the hull, and jolts this way and that, brief periods of acceleration. Lemmy murmured that having reached the Proxima system under its kernel drive, the ship must be using some secondary propulsion system to insert itself into a final orbit, presumably around the target, the supposedly Earthlike third planet of Proxima. This was guesswork, however. They had no view out of the hull.", "The crew processed them bureaucratically, forever ticking off names on the piss and feed rotas on their slates. There seemed to be no formal comeback after the insurrection. No hearings, no disciplinary measures. Yuri guessed the crew didn’t care, they just wanted to dump their unruly passengers down on this Proxima planet and have done with them.", "But it was evident there had been some punishment beatings. One man in Yuri’s group, called Joseph Mullane, some kind of dispossessed farmer type originally from Ireland, had been worked over particularly hard, and Dr. Poinar had to spend some time treating his wounds. But even he was kept cuffed to his chair.", "Mullane had been one of the men Yuri had seen attacking Abbey Brandenstein, the ex-cop, at the height of the trouble—and Abbey herself was in this drop group too. Yuri had no idea if their pairing up like this had been deliberate. Maybe not, if it was true that the groupings had been defined long before the insurrection. Abbey Brandenstein spent all her waking hours glaring at Mullane.", "In the hours and days that followed, Yuri never heard what had become of Anna Vigil and her kid; he didn’t ask, wasn’t told. Occasionally you heard voices from beyond the partition, a murmur of movement, a snatch of a baby’s crying. Otherwise, as the shifts wore on, there was nothing to do but sit there, cuffed to your chair. It was possible to sleep; Yuri found that if he relaxed, just let himself float in the zero gravity, he could find a position where the cuffs at his wrists and ankles didn’t chafe, and he could almost forget he was pinned down. He was bothered by the fact of his lengthy unconsciousness, however. Another gap in his memory. It irritated him to have three years of counting disrupted like that.", "A few days after the last of those attitude-engine thumps and bangs had died away, there was a heavier shudder, as if some huge mass had joined the hull.", "Lemmy winked at Yuri. “Shuttle. Orbit to ground. This ship has two, one of the crew told me that—”", "“Shut the fuck up,” said a Peacekeeper. It was Mattock, the cuts and bruises on his face yet to heal, his broken nose twisted—Mattock, who took out his suffering on Yuri in sly kicks and punches, because Yuri had refused to help him before the fury of the mob.", "Now Lex McGregor, with another Peacekeeper at his side, came swimming into the cabin. McGregor was in his sparkling astronaut uniform, as usual, and Yuri felt oddly ashamed at his own shabbiness.", "McGregor smiled.", "“Ladies and gentlemen. Time for us all to take a little ride. We’ll be boarding you one at a time. I do apologize, we’ll have to keep the cuffs on, you do understand how things are following recent incidents. But I’m sure we’ll have no trouble. You first, Ms. Amsler . . .”", "Jenny Amsler, a small, timid woman who had once been a jeweler, looked terrified as she was bundled out.", "The loading proceeded efficiently. When it was Yuri’s turn, the hefty Peacekeepers to either side of him propelled him through the weightlessness with a gloved hand under each armpit. His last glimpse of the interior of the hull that had transported him across interstellar space was of blank-walled partitions, bits of equipment damaged by fire and vandalism. There was a smell of smoke, vomit, blood, of shit and piss, and a tang that made his throat itch, maybe a remnant of the gassing.", "He was taken to a shower room where he had to strip, was sprayed with some hot, disinfectant-smelling liquid, and made to clean his teeth with a plastic brush. Then he was dressed in a kind of undersuit with a fresh jumpsuit on top. There was a diaper, he found, built into the undersuit, heavy pants around his crotch.", "Then he was shoved out through a tight hatchway, and after a swivel of his vertical perspective found himself dropping into a craft laid out like a small, cramped airplane. There were couches in rows of four, cushioned seats on which you could lie back as if in a dentist’s chair. Room enough for twenty passengers, he counted quickly. An open door to the front of the cabin led to the cockpit, a cave of glowing lights where two astronauts worked, side by side, their backs to him.", "The shuttle at least seemed clean. It had a new-carpet smell Yuri suddenly realized he hadn’t come across since he had been slotted into that cryo drawer back on Earth; nothing on Mars had been", "new", ",", "or on the starship.", "And through the cockpit window, over the shoulders of the crew, he glimpsed a slice of blue, like the sky of Earth.", "All this in a glance before he was bundled down into a couch. Mattock and another Peacekeeper worked him over quickly, strapping him in with a heavy safety harness, but also cuffing him to the frame at wrists and ankles with more plastic ties.", "He was the fifth person to be loaded in, with not a word being spoken. Looking forward, he saw that among the other four already loaded, Abbey Brandenstein had been seated right next to Joseph Mullane, one of her rapists.", "Yuri looked up at the battered face of Mattock, who hovered over him as he labored over the ties. “Hey, Peacekeeper. Bad idea,” he ventured. “Mullane and Brandenstein together—”", "His reward was a knee in the stomach. Mattock had become proficient at bracing himself in the lack of gravity to make such blows effective. Yuri couldn’t help but grunt, but he tried to show no other reaction.", "“Mind your own business, you little prick.”", "The rest of the loading went ahead briskly, and almost in silence, save for muttered exchanges between the Peacekeepers. The passengers were all from the group in the confinement cell, eleven in total. Lemmy was lodged just behind Yuri. Two comparative strangers were loaded into Yuri’s left and right, a big-framed Asiatic who Yuri knew only as Onizuka, who had once been some kind of businessman, and a woman called Pearl Hanks, small, dark, old eyes in a young face, who had been a prostitute on Earth and on Mars, and, in the hull, had been again. Onizuka ignored Yuri, but he looked past him at Pearl Hanks with a kind of calculation.", "The hatch above their heads was slammed down with finality. And that, Yuri thought, was the last he was going to see of the", "Ad Astra.", "With all aboard and tied down tightly, the two Peacekeepers settled in couches at the rear of the cabin. Lex McGregor came floating back from the forward cockpit, as usual immaculate in his uniform. Beyond him, in the pilots’ cabin, Yuri glimpsed Mardina Jones pulling on a pressure suit.", "McGregor faced the passengers. “Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome aboard the prosaically named", "Ad Astra", "shuttle number two. In this brave little ship we will soon be descending to the planet of another star . . .”", "The passenger cabin had no windows. But now, over McGregor’s shoulder, through that pilots’ window, as the shuttle drifted, Yuri could see more of the planet: the gray shield of what looked like an ocean, floating masses of ice, a terminator separating night from day, a diorama shifting by.", "“Our descent will be straightforward. We will be landing at a predesignated site in the northeast quadrant of the planet’s substellar face. We’ll come down on what looks like a dry lake bed, just like the salt flats at Edwards Air Force Base in California where I completed my own flight training some years ago. Perfectly safe, a natural runway.", "“Our landing routine will take two hours. I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave your chairs until we’re safely down and the wheels have stopped rolling. If you have any biological requirements during the flight just let yourself go, you’ll notice you are wearing underwear adapted for the purpose. You will hardly be comfortable but it won’t be for long. Also there are sick bags. I do hope there will be no monkey business from any of you during the flight,” he said, sadly, gravely. “Obviously it would be futile; you could achieve nothing but damage the craft and endanger yourself and your colleagues. We, the crew, incidentally, will be wearing pressure suits and parachutes, so you need not fear for our safety, whatever you do.” He glanced at his watch. “Soon we’ll decouple, and then the deorbit burn will follow a few minutes later. Any questions? No? Enjoy the flight. After all,” he mused, as if an interesting thought had just struck him, “it will, I suppose, be the last flight any of you ever take.” He retreated to his cabin.", "Soon there were more bangs and jolts, a sound that Yuri had come to recognize as the firing of small attitude rockets. As the shuttle swung about, turning on its axis to the right, he could sense that he was in a much less massive vessel than the reassuring bulk of the starship. There was silence in the passenger cabin, save for ragged, nervous breathing, and the usual space-travel hiss of pumps and fans, a noise that had followed Yuri all the way from Mars—and, incredibly, the drone of somebody snoring. Yuri glanced around to see; it was Harry Thorne, from a Canadian UNSA state, once an urban farmer, a heavyset, imperturbable man.", "Beyond the pilots’ window a second planet hung in the black now, more distant, a perfect sphere of silver-gray.", "Lemmy leaned forward again. “Yuri. Listen. Watch everything. Observe. Remember. I mean, are they going to give us maps? Remember everything you can of this new world we’re heading for—”", "Yuri heard rather than saw Mattock’s fist hitting Lemmy’s jaw. “One more word, shithead, and I’ll lay you out for the duration.”", "Now there was a roar, a gentle shove that pressed Yuri back into his seat.", "It was a strange thing that Yuri had crossed interplanetary space, and then", "interstellar", "space, but he knew nothing about the mechanics of space flight. In his day the whole business of flying in space had seemed unethical, just another sin committed in a previous energy-bloated age, and nobody even talked about it. He could only guess at what was going on.", "The burn was soon over. Now the attitude rockets slammed again, once more the ship swiveled—he glimpsed that ocean, half-submerged in night, slide past the pilots’ window—and then, nothing.", "The seconds piled up into minutes. To Yuri it felt as if he was still in freefall. Behind him he heard somebody humming—it was the other Peacekeeper, not Mattock—and the rustle of a paper bag. Those guys had done this run several times before, he guessed; they knew the routine. There was a fumble. “Damn.” A couple of candy fragments came sailing over Yuri’s head, from behind. Yuri stared, fascinated; he’d seen no candy since he’d gone into cryo on Earth. But the bright blue capsules were falling, he saw, a long slow curving glide down to the floor. Acceleration building up.", "There was a glow outside that forward window now, a dull crimson, then orange, and then, suddenly a dazzling white, like he was flying down some huge fluorescent tube. Yet there was no noise, no shuddering or buffeting, no great sense of weight, not yet.", "The glow quickly cleared to reveal a seascape, white ice floes on a steely ocean that faded into night. Then this panorama", "tilted up", ",", "sideways. No, of course, it was the shuttle that was tipped up, almost standing on its right wing. And then, Yuri could feel it in his gut, the craft tipped the other way, and the landscape slid out of his view.", "“Holy shit,” murmured someone else now, a woman ahead of Yuri, another businessperson called Martha Pearson, staring out of the forward window.", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.", "Read more" ]

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[ "The 2017 Gun Dog Calendar features spectacular images of dogs in action from the fine photographers you see month after month in Gun Dog Magazine." ]

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[ "Books", "Sports & Outdoors", "Hunting & Fishing" ]

[ "The wholly original story of a woman's life told from her wardrobe's point of view, in the wardrobe's own savvy, vibrant voice--a feat of the imagination as emotionally subtle and stirring as it is dazzlingly particular.We first meet B., the wardrobe's owner, as a child in the buttoned-up Midwest of the 1950s, when \"a vision of a saddle shoe\" comes into her head and she discovers the urgency of all clothing dreams. We follow B. through her awkward, pudgy stage (\"Here I must write about the stomach\"); the indignity of camp shorts; her \"adult figure arriv[ing] suddenly in 1963.\" The 1960s bring even bigger changes when B. goes off to Harvard, discards her girdle, and discovers... Marimekko! Miniskirts! Bell-bottoms!Elizabeth Kendall's native intelligence and gift for storytelling entrance the reader, as the wardrobe charts the most important events in B.'s life and the outfits she assembles for each. We watch as B. copes with the untimely death of her mother; makes a go of magazine work--and glamour--in New York; and, after the inevitable false starts and wrong moves (including, of course, in her choice of clothing), finally comes into her own.Part memoir, part fashion and cultural history of the last five decades,", "Autobiography of a Wardrobe", "is an exploration of the clothes each generation has embraced, the smallest details in which we are able to seek comfort and meaning, and the places and things--sometimes odd or unexpected--in which we store our memories." ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "Having written a family memoir (", "American Daughter", ") and a study of women in screwball comedy (", "The Runaway Bride", "), Kendall now retells her own life—from the perspective of her omniscient wardrobe. Soundless and mute, but extremely expressive, the wardrobe calls the author B, for body: I am B.'s wardrobe, her ever-evolving second-skin. Wardrobe opens by remembering a pair of red corduroy overalls B. loved as a toddler and continues with descriptions of B.'s Midwestern-girlhood clothes, followed by the outfits B. chose when she left home for Radcliffe. Finally, B. comes to know her place in the world and breaks through into self-confident dressing. Women of a certain age will recognize B.'s brand names (Lanz, Marimekko, Charivari) and styles (saddle shoes, bell bottoms, ponchos). Wardrobe's musings reveal how changing attitudes toward women's roles (needing makeup and heels to use the Harvard Library, the shunning of seductive clothing in feminist circles) kept women's closets bulging with outfits, while its asides on fashion history are often quite insightful. Still, this first-person narration by a collection of clothing can be annoying and affected. Ilene Beckerman's", "Love, Loss, and What I Wore", ", with its sparer prose and fetching illustrations, is a more successful memoir-through-clothing.", "(May)", "Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.", "Review", "\"This is a book to devour with great pleasure, as it brings back our own reactions to youth's wardrobe: saddle shoe lust and, for me, in Brooklyn rather than in the Midwest, a decade earlier, bobby socks and penny loafers. But the passion is the same in every period: no one has gotten at the intense importance of these issues in the feminine bildungsroman. Kendall has given us something wonderful.\"--Linda Nochlin, author of", "Bather, Bodies, Beauty", "\"A writer of deep and delicious gifts, Elizabeth Kendall now gives us a subtle, original riff on the clothes we wear. Clothes may not make the man or woman, but they certainly make this book. It is at once whimsical and profound.\"--Catharine Stimpson, University Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University", "About the Author", "Elizabeth Kendall is the author of", "Where She Dances, The Runaway Bride,", "and", "American Daughter,", "and her work has appeared in", "The New Yorker", "and", "The New York TImes,", "among other periodicals. In 2004-2005 she was a fellow at the Cullman Center of the New York Public Library, and in 2006 she received a Fulbright grant to do research in St. Petersburg, Russia. She lives in New York City.", "From The Washington Post", "Reviewed by Robin Givhan", "A wardrobe assembled over the course of a lifetime is more than just a musty collection of out-of-date dresses, worn-out trousers and shoes that have been resoled more times than one can remember. A tormenting old bathing suit conveys the emotional truth about a coming-of-age summer when puberty struck and the body rebelled. A leotard and a slip of chiffon may instantly recount that triumphant moment when the body -- with its wide hips and narrow shoulders -- ceased to be the enemy, and its strength and flexibility became a source of pride. And a beloved Marimekko dress can speak eloquently about making one's way as a young adult, about burying a parent and realizing that adult responsibility is unavoidable.", "Elizabeth Kendall, author of previous books on American dance and Hollywood romantic comedy, explores the emotional connection we have to our clothes in Autobiography of a Wardrobe. But instead of allowing the wearer to share how sophisticated she felt in her first pair of Italian shoes, it's the shoes that speak. The narrator in this tale is the wardrobe itself.", "Kendall lets the clothes describe for themselves how they tried to reassure the body -- B., for short -- and give it confidence. But the wardrobe has its own insecurities. Will it, for instance, be able to pass muster at a job interview at a fancy New York fashion magazine? \"Here began a strange time when B. served almost as a fashion arbiter herself, just when I, her wardrobe, was in My sorriest state.\"", "The wardrobe speaks in simple, brisk sentences. It is not prone to flowery or emotional language. It does not indulge in prolonged self-analysis. Here, it writes of its own inception:", "\"Five-year-old B. in a daffodil-yellow pinafore and a white blouse with puffed sleeves stands at the end of a chintz couch, in the midst of grandparents, aunts, and parents. The pinafore has embroidery on the skirt and a wide yellow sash tied at the back of the waist. B. is leaning into the mother, who is sitting on the couch holding a baby brother. On B.'s feet are red 'party shoes' with ankle straps and white socks. At her right temple, a white barrette holds back straight, fine dishwater-blond hair. This dress can stand as well as any for My birth. Wardrobes start out like children, without conscious identity.\"", "The details of the wardrobe -- its hopes for B., its concern about the way B. is developing into a pear shape -- trickle out. While it would be an exaggeration to say that the wardrobe is an unreliable narrator, it is not an especially forthcoming one.", "It's hard to fault Kendall for being drawn to such a tantalizing device for examining the connection of fashion to cultural and personal history. As her story moves from the buttoned-up 1950s, through the mod 1960s and on into the 1970s and '80s, styles shift dramatically and, for women, ultimately settle into what seems to be an eternal debate focusing on sex, power and status. When typical fashion histories try to investigate those topics, they tend to fall into one of two categories: academic pontificating and self-indulgent navel-gazing. Scholars have taken readers step by excruciating step through rising hemlines and widening shoulders, pondering it all through the lens of Freudian analysis, Marxist theory and the ever versatile debate about gender politics. It can be provocative stuff but most often, it's merely tiresome. And then there are the personal histories that take readers on a tour through what seems like an endless photo album: And here's what I wore for my Sweet Sixteen! Oh look, there I am at my prom! Shall we deconstruct the meaning of this sweetheart neckline?", "Kendall wisely realizes that while each of those approaches has its advantages, it is the tension between group-think and personal expression that explains the irresistible appeal of fashion: We dress for ourselves and for the times in which we live. Autobiography of a Wardrobe ambitiously attempts to explore fashion in both contexts.", "But Kendall has left the telling of that tale in the hands of an inarticulate storyteller. The wardrobe-as-narrator is awkward and unfulfilling. It begins as a cute conceit and quickly becomes an aggravation. There are hints of an eating disorder, but the wardrobe never explores the way in which clothing is complicit in both hiding a starving body and prodding a healthy one into becoming thinner and thinner.", "The death of B.'s mother requires a black dress. She is advised to buy something that she likes. But what does that mean? What sort of dress would a woman like to wear to bury her mother? How do you choose that dress? Ultimately, would you be dressing to please your mother one last time or to soothe yourself?", "The wardrobe is neither eloquent nor insightful. It isn't particularly funny or wry. Instead, it muddles along, offering up glib comments that one wishes were more fully fleshed out, colored in with greater detail and endowed with more from-the-gut truthfulness. We are left not knowing much about B. -- other than that she managed to accumulate a closet full of rather unremarkable clothes.", "Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "Chapter 1:  Sash/How I Was Born   Five-year-old B. in a daffodil-yellow pinafore and a white blouse with puffed sleeves stands at the end of a chintz couch, in the midst of grandparents, aunts, and parents. The pinafore has embroidery on the skirt and a wide yellow sash tied at the back of the waist. B. is leaning into the mother, who is sitting on the couch holding a baby brother. On B.'s feet are red \"party shoes\" with ankle straps and white socks. At her right temple, a white barrette holds back straight, fine dishwater-blond hair.   This dress can stand as well as any for My birth. Wardrobes start out like children, without conscious identity. I was the emanation of the family at the Country Club on a spring day, in a large midwestern city, just after midcentury. Technically, I suppose I'd been born earlier, in a downtown cathedral, as a long, white, lace-trimmed christening gown (overly long, because that's how the Middle Ages phrased its wish for babies to live and grow). Or else in the preverbal moment when the very small B. took out the red corduroy overalls.   But that day at the Club was when I first knew Myself, when I suddenly heard what B. was saying to Me: \"You smell clean. You are the color of lemon pie. You have a story on your skirt.\"   Adults had bent down to read the embroidery on the skirt, then patted B.'s head. What they'd seen were red-thread birds and brown-thread squiggles among green-thread sprinkles, and underneath, the sewn red words \"The early bird gets the worm.\"   Only Americans had put words on clothes-then. At that moment (it was the 1950s), words on clothes were a new idea. In this case they were a message from the business community that had bought the dress.   The rest of Me that day matched the style of the little girls' clothes in books read to B. at home:", "Peter Pan", ",", "The Little Princess", ", the ubiquitous", "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", ". B. was sashed, buttoned, and hairbrushed into an immaculate Edwardian wrapping, missing only Alice's horizontally striped stockings.   How did I, a wardrobe, know I was antique at birth? That's what I do. I pick up intimations of sartorial history.  Other family members in that tableau were not thinking \"history,\" but merely checking", "off the right thing", "on each other: cinch belts on the young aunts; tweed suits on the older ladies; red bow ties on the older men; spectator pumps on the young mother. And for a small female like B., it was de rigueur to wear a crisp sashed cotton dress and these exact red shoes with a thin strap around the ankle and a red grosgrain bow (like a bow tie) on the toe. This dress code had come from the young mother. Astonished, like so many postwar brides, at having been promoted from ingenue to matron, she couldn't yet imagine a new era. She dressed B. as if she were not her child, but a version of herself as a child, before the war.   So: I came into being in the last moments of that two-centuries-old institution called Childhood, in which everything was", "ironed", ": collars, sashes, sailor suits. Nowadays it's different. The other day B. saw a mother and small daughter in a New York café. (This is how we communicate: B. sees something and I breathe it in, and catalogue it.) The little girl was wearing a small wrinkled jeans cargo skirt and a miniature cardigan sweater; her", "mother", "had on a large cotton pinafore.   When I was born, old persons' garments and young persons' garments belonged to very separate spheres. In My childhood I was more like the 1835 wardrobe of young Toni Buddenbrooks than like today's American child wardrobes. On the first page of that wonderful capitalist saga by Thomas Mann, eight-year-old Toni, \"in a dress of shimmering silk,\" reads aloud to her extended family, the catechism about the Lord having made man and all he owns. And everyone laughs at a", "little girl", "spouting the capitalist creed.   It was the same a hundred-odd years later at the country club. B., through Me, reflected back what the family wanted to see.   But she herself was not convinced. What she did most of that day was stare at the words on her skirt and think, \"Does the early bird really get the worm? What if another bird came later? Maybe another worm would be emerging and the late bird would get", "that", "worm.\"   B. looked properly docile on the outside; on the inside she was full of questions. And her first questions were about Me. Chapter 2:  Ancestors   Behind the yellow-pinafored B., the mother, seated on the couch, holding the little brother, wears a light blue shirtwaist dress with a full skirt, a thin white belt, and navy-and-white spectator pumps. And behind the couch the father paces, wearing white shirtsleeves and a blue plaid bow tie, holding an amber-colored drink in his hand.   The wardrobes of the mother and father were My immediate ancestors. The problem was: they were such young wardrobes (because of the war) that they didn't know themselves. Back home on a living room side table stood a head shot in a silver frame: the black-haired father as a full-dress marine. Uniforms had delayed his coming of age and his wardrobe's. Uniforms had crowded out all the other clothes until the end of the war, when he was twenty-four. But by then he was married and a father.   Now, at any rate, his wardrobe was in search of a self. For the Country Club lunch the father had put on the same dark gray suit as the family elders, but he'd taken off the jacket-that was daring. And his bow tie was not red like the elders' bow ties but made of faded blue plaid Madras (cotton cloth transplanted from southern India to the golf course). The blue Madras tie was attempting insouciance. Also if you got close to the father's white shirt you could see the slightly rough weave of Egyptian cotton. He liked the feel of that cotton and bought the finest shirts even on a young family's tight budget. At ankle level, his black socks were smooth: garters under his pants kept them up.   War had retarded the mother's wardrobe, too, but her clothes weren't even looking for a coherent self. The spectator pumps on her feet said \"haute couture\"; her dress said", "Oklahoma!", "She didn't see the contradiction. Besides, even holding her toddler-son and resting a hand on daughter-B.'s shoulder, she looked too young to be a mother.   She was not exactly invested in her relations with her wardrobe. She was so full of ideals, so thrilled by the new United Nations and the prospect of raising bright little tolerant children that she failed to pay it much attention.   The father was almost a dandy. The mother was not. She always looked slim and neat but liked shortcuts, such as dispensing with \"rollers\" to curl her hair. Instead she just flipped the ends up by tying a scarf around her head at night. Goodness mattered to her, not clothes. Clothes mattered to the father, not goodness.   B. was close to the mother and wary of the father. But I got more of My deep-down core identity from that father's wardrobe. I was imbued early on with the feel of those Egyptian cotton shirts and the pungent scent of Bay Rum that wafted from the bathroom in the mornings.   Maybe that's why I was interested, from the beginning, in the borderline where male and female clothes met but didn't fraternize-at least not in My early years (they would later).   Here's what My admiration of the father's wardrobe gave the young Me: a taste for rebellion. Or at least a strong impulse to resist the demure, the nice, the \"girly.\"     Chapter 3:  Grandmother   But you mustn't think Me an orphan without female elders. I had a splendid mentor: the wardrobe of the paternal grandmother.   In this Country Club tableau of My birth, this tall grandmother dominates, sitting in an armchair beside the chintz couch containing B. and mother and brother. A tweed suit jacket hangs like a cape on her shoulders. A double strand of pearls circles her neck, which rises to a long wrinkled face with marceled gray hair. Large pearl drops grace her ears. Removed and returned to her mouth in the flow of talk is a black cigarette holder containing a Benson and Hedges. Long legs with too-thin calves, encased in seamed stockings, end in fine-shaped walking shoes.   The paternal grandfather reclines in an adjacent armchair: bristle-mustached, a soft green-heather tweed jacket sheathing his portly form. Wardrobe-wise, he almost holds his own next to her.   Side by side on a couch opposite sit the", "other", "grandparents, the maternal ones, who, though richer, pale beside the paternal. He, small, Buddha-bald, drained of color in a beige three-piece suit; she, dark-haired, with slanting-down dark eyes, in a drooping knockoff of a Chanel suit.   At the end of the lunch the tall paternal grandmother leads the way out, heels clicking on the red tiled floor. She is helped into a long, pale beige, double-breasted polo coat with three close-together pairs of big, round mother-of-pearl buttons down the front.   This grandmother liked coats. People do, I think, who have itinerant childhoods. She had had a father trying to shake TB at a string of sanatoriums, trailed by his young family. Her polo coat from that faraway Country Club day is now hanging in the back of B.'s closet, a part of Me. B. wears it sometimes, but doesn't quite have the height to pull it off. Two other coats of the paternal grandmother hang there, too: a nut-brown fur cape (squirrel) that drips off B.'s back, and a long caramel brown suede coat with a red plaid lining and a tab collar.   This latter coat, My favorite, was made by Bonnie Cashin. It serves as proof that this grandmother loved her wardrobe enough to notice what Ca...", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Biographies & Memoirs", "Community & Culture" ]

[ "The Christmas Coat Miracle", "is a story about a compassionate young boy whose opportunity to help a poor young girl was missed. He bought her a coat for Christmas and learned she suddenly moved away. The coat was donated to a local charitable organization. However, the coat somehow made it to her, and they both uncovered the coat's journey many years later. What the boy placed in the coat's pocket seemed to work its magic through the spirit of Christmas." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Growing Up & Facts of Life" ]

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[ "Books", "Foreign Language Books", "French" ]

[ "There's going to be a massacre at Edo Castle! While the bitter Kagimura believes that he's sending his forces chasing after Anotsu and the entire Itto-ryu crew, Anotsu fakes them all out and risks his life in one mad dash back to Edo Castle grounds! What is his strange mission? Hiroaki Samura's widely acclaimed Blade of the Immortal manga series has won awards across the globe, including the Eisner Award in America, the prestigious Media Arts Award of Japan, and multiple British Eagle Awards." ]

[ "About the Author", "Hiroaki Samura", "is a Japanese writer/illustrator and creator of", "Blade of the Immortal", ", as well as several other short works. He has also done various illustrations for magazines." ]

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[ "Books", "Comics & Graphic Novels", "Manga" ]

[ "The Midnight Air, a historical romance novel, is a sublime and sexually seductive reading experience, brilliantly conceived and written by D.M. Miraglia to engage the adult reader. While visiting her grandparents for the summer, young Sarah Marie is intrigued by the book her grandmother continually reads and conceals from her. She locates a book by the same author and her summer vacation becomes enticing and educational for this innocent ten-year-old girl. As she reads forbidden words and tries to understand the adult world of romance, sexual pleasure, anguish and deception, she becomes captivated by the sensuous love story between two 18th century aristocrats. Colonel James, a talented and worldly military man is torn between duty and his passion for Mistress Sophia, a beautiful woman, and the daughter of his commanding officer, General Cartwright. Throughout their passionate relationship, Sophia discovers sensuous bliss and endures the agony of being apart from her stimulating lover, perhaps forever. Her challenges include becoming the lady of the house, dealing with a dangerous intruder, and growing stronger as a woman. Sophia is fortunate to find solace through friendship with the recently widowed Lady Stephens, an older, aristocratic woman. All of these events befall against a backdrop of sipping tea, admiring gardens, consuming books and dealing with treachery and treason." ]

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[ "Books", "Romance", "Historical" ]

[ "Nearly 6 million riders use the New York City subway every day. How do you make a map that helps all of them get to where they are going?", "The Great New York Subway Map", ", written and illustrated by Emiliano Ponzi and published by The Museum of Modern Art, in association with the New York Transit Museum, tells the fascinating story of the map’s creation in 1972 by the great Italian designer Massimo Vignelli and his team, and introduces young readers to the idea of graphic design as a way to solve problems and shape our world." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Geography & Cultures" ]

[ "Surf Clowns: Seven Mental Missions is about four friends magically metamorphosied into Clowns one day while surfing. They go on seven missions where they make the waves safe for surfers everywhere. With over 450 full color illustrations, Surf Clowns will capture the hearts of surfing enthusiasts everywhere. For Young Adults." ]

[ "Review", "\"Bright cartoonish drawings capture the high jinks of the clowns...don't be surprised if the Surf Clowns become the next Pokemon.\" --", "Transworld Surf, two number three", "\"Charlie's life-long experience watching, drawing, and riding waves has culminated into a unique yet familiar illustration style.\" --", "Manic Magazine, issue 9 Feb 2000", "\"Follow the lead of other beleaguered parents intent on forcing education on their teen: sneak them reading material they'll like, such as Surf Clowns: Seven Mental Missions.\" --", "Florida Today, February 28, 2000", "\"Surf Clowns: Seven Mental Missions is definately a visual experience. Concepts like respect, loyalty, and helpfullness are among the virtues the Surf Clowns promote...\" --", "The Maui News, March 12, 2000", "\"The book's imagination and overall lighthearted spirit is engaging...It's likely the 8 to 13-year-olds...will probably key in to Surf Clowns' weird infectious energy.\" --", "Surfer Magazine, July'00 Vol.41 No. 7", "A children's tale accompanied by multitudes of kid-pleasing color, surf-action illustrations. --", "The Surfers' Journal", "A refreshing respite for younger surfers. The awesome animation are screaming for a spot on Saturday morning cartoons. --", "Eastern Surf Magazine", "The book's lighthearted spirit is engaging. Young surfers will key in to Surf Clowns' infectious energy. --", "Surfer Magazine", "From the Publisher", "Surf Clowns is an illustrated novel designed to excite children who are reluctant readers. The illustrations of Charles Lyon capture their attention with flat planes of bright color. His bold lines create an expressive, fluid movement, and his crisp blacks and whites create a fascinating play with positive and negative space, light, and form.", "The authors combine these colorful illustrations with a fast paced narrative to build a unique story telling structure. This structure is designed for children in a critical phase of reading development: the transition from childrens picture books to the conventional novel. The illustrations in Surf Clowns aid young readers growing visualization skills while the text expands their vocabulary. The story is revealed by the continual interaction of words and pictures which increases the readers comprehension.", "The novel is filled with alliteration and poetry, making it perfect for shared readings and developing skills in pronunciation. Footnotes help readers with unfamilar terms by explaining the surf-subcultures vernacular, the Hawaiian words, and the expressions the authors had the pleasure of inventing. The husband and wife team use humor and action to convey serious themes such as respect for others and for the environment. The book is a multi-sensory reading expe! rience designed to capture the attention of todays visually oriented youth. The matte finish makes it feel substantial while the soft cover makes the 8.5 x 12* book comfortable to hold. The bright colors stimulate and entice the readers, while the fun, fast story line whisks them along.", "From the Author", "Surf Clowns: Seven Mental Missions is the authors second self-published book. Their first was the best selling coffee table book Jaws Maui. After its success, the Lyons fulfilled their dream of combining Charlies talent and Leslies experience as an educator with their shared love of surfing.", "Charles Lyons life-long experience watching, drawing, and riding waves has culminated into a unique yet familiar illustration style that appeals to surfers of all ages. He first drew the Surf Clowns in 1994 and toyed with the idea of a graphic novel. I wanted a vehicle for my satirical commentary on the surf culture. With the Surf Clowns I can deliver the message under the radar of the surf media by disguising it as a childrens book.", "As an elementary school teacher, the author Leslie Connell Lyon was often frustrated with her students who were having trouble making the transition from childrens picture books to the traditional novel. I had a hard time findi! ng transition novels as there are very few on the market. Many students had trouble with visualization or the sustained attention required for comprehension of the novel form. I wanted something that would challenge their growing vocabulary and increase their ability to attend without frustrating them. It is their hope that the books structure will be copied by other publishing houses to help fill the niche of transitional novels in childrens literature. But, in any case, as the magical bauble Boo states in his closing poem; The Surf Clowns Saga will resume in Book Two, in Clown Wars youll find out how I became Boo. But now I must leave you, theres surf on the way, so master your talents and take time to play.", "From the Inside Flap", "E Komo Mai", "Welcome to our tale, as silly as it sounds, Of four hot surfers who became the Surf Clowns. I am their guru, their guardian and guide, I will be on their journey always by their side.", "Throughout all of history I've been known as Boo By queens, chiefs, and presidents (I've known a few). I've trained great performers in far away towns, But none quite as thrilling as wave riding clowns.", "They're Lippy and Posing Dude, My Wave and Flame, Victims of Circumstance who'll never be the same. Going nowhere in life until that one day When two trains collided and made them that way.", "Our heroes' adventures take them globe-trotting, Breathtaking thrills on the course that they're plotting. The Great Surf Clown legend has grown all the while Of surfing through life in epic clown style.", "Their story unfolds here, and all of it's true, Of ninjas and Nazis and tidal waves too. Our sub-culture saga starts just off shore, A Maui adventure with action galore.", "E Komo Mai: Hawaiian for Welcome", "About the Author", "Leslie & Charlie Lyon are the writing team that brought the world the bestseller \"Jaws Maui\". Their insight into the world of surfing has expanded with Surf Clowns, highlighting Charlie Lyon's exceptional illustration skills.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Comics & Graphic Novels", "Graphic Novels" ]

[ "Women golfers will find the ideal teacher in Kathy Whitworth, winner of eighty-eight professional tournaments--more than any woman or man in golf history. In", "Golf for Women", ", she shares her theories, skills, and experiences derived from over 30 years of playing and teaching.Illustrated with 120 instructional photographs,", "Golf for Women", "is simple enough for a beginner, but offers advice and techniques that advanced players can use. Each chapter cover a specific fundamental or shot, taking the reader from tee to green in an orderly fashion. Topics include:The fundamentals of the Golf Swing: Grip, alignment, stance hand positions and moreDriving: how to add distance without slicing the ballThe mystery of Long Iron Play: tips on a difficult shot\"Trouble shots\" and how to play themChipping, Bunker Shots and Putting" ]

[ "Review", "\"Kathy Whitworth is one of the greatest women golfers to have ever played the game. I am sure that all golfers will benefit from the experiences she shares about her knowledge in", "Golf for Women", ".\" --Jack Nicklaus\"", "Golf for Women", "is not only an excellent 'how-to' book but a wonderful personal history of the early days on the LPGA tour.\" --Mickey Wright", "About the Author", "Kathy Whitworth, a Texas native, is past president of the LPGA and has been elected to the LPGA and the World Golf Hall of Fame. She has been the LPGA Player of the Year seven times, and in 1981 she became the first woman to win more than $1 million in career earnings. In addition to competing, she continues to conduct golf clinics for amateur players around the country.Rhonda Glenn has been an ABC Sports expert commentator on women's golf for over twelve years. She is a correspondent for Golf World Magazine, a regular contributer to Golf Journal, and has published dozens of articles in America's leading golf magazines. She is also the author of", "The Illustrated History of Women's Golf", "and (with Robert McCord)", "The Whole Golf Catalog.", "She lives in Roanoke, Texas." ]

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[ "Books", "Sports & Outdoors", "Golf" ]

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[ "Starts with very simple Oracle SQL concepts and slowly builds into more complex query development and PL/SQL. Covers SQL as it is invoked via SQL Plus, a command-line system to launch interactive queries. Provides an appendix for UNIX users of Oracle. Softcover." ]

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[ "Books", "Computers & Technology", "Databases & Big Data" ]

[ "This important book, the first published collection of papers by Claude E. Shannon, is a fascinating guide to all of the published articles from this world-renowned inventor, tinkerer, puzzle-solver, prankster, and father of information theory. Includes his seminal article THE MATHEMATICAL THEORY OF COMMUNICATION." ]

[ "From the Inside Flap", "Claude E. Shannon is one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He is the creator of modern information and communication theory, and an early and important contributor to the theory of computing. His pioneering work on computer chess and on \"mice\" that learn the path through a maze are among the earliest contributions to the field of artificial intelligence.", "From the Back Cover", "Claude Elwood Shannon: Collected Papers", "This collection contains all of Claude Elwood Shannon’s published works, as well as many that have never before been published. The published papers include his classic papers on information theory and switching theory. Among the unpublished works are his once-secret war-time reports, his Ph.D. thesis on population genetics, unpublished Bell Labs memoranda, and a paper on the theory of juggling. Also of Interest… Multiple Access Communications Foundations for Emerging Technologies Edited by Norman Abramson, University of Hawaii The first book to explain the connection between spread spectrum and ALOHA channels in a coherent fashion. Multiple Access Communications provides a collection of key developments in the theory and practice of multiple user communication channels. Of particular interest to engineers working with packet radio networks, local networks, personal communication networks, and very small aperture terminal satellite networks, this book offers authoritative information on the theory of multiple access which is involved in techniques including: spread spectrum, ALOHA, and spread ALOHA. 1993 Hardcover; 528 pp; IEEE Order No. PC0287-3; ISBN 0-87942-292-0", "Contemporary Cryptology: The Science of Information Integrity", "Edited by Gustavus J. Simmons, Sandia National Laboratories Written by those at the very forefront of the field, Contemporary Cryptology offers all aspects of the science of information integrity ― from the simplest concepts to the latest research. It provides a practical guide to the algorithms, protocols, applications, and essential literature on information integrity for engineers and scientists in need of a coherent view of the most recent developments. 1992; Hardcover; 656 pp; IEEE Order No. PC0271-7; ISBN 0-87942-277-7", "Key Papers in the Development of Coding Theory Edited by E. R. Berlekamp, Cyclotomics Composed of key papers in the field, this book delivers concrete information from foremost experts on the beginnings of coding theory straight through important developments which have led this technology to its thriving state. This indispensable reference tool offers a variety of significant applications of coding theory in deep space communication systems including: military communication systems, data communication systems, information retrieval systems, and large secondary memories for computer systems. 1974; Hardcover; 296 pp; IEEE Order No. PC0032-3; ISBN 0-87942-031-6", "Key Papers in the Development of Information Theory Edited by David Slepian Together with its companion, Key Papers in the Development of Coding Theory, this volume provides the reader with a detailed reference guide to the many developments that followed C. E. Shannon’s profound observations on communication systems. Written by those at the forefront of the field, Key Papers in the Development of Information Theory guides the reader through a chronological discussion of 25 years of active research in the classical source and channel, rate distortion theory, and many terminal channels. 1974; Hardcover; 472 pp; IEEE Order No. PC0029-9; ISBN 0-87942-027-8", "About the Author", "N. J. A. Sloane", "and", "Aaron D. Wyner", "have been in the Mathematical Science Research Center at Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974, for a total of 52 years. They have written a total of 2?8 papers and books on information theory and related topics. They have both served as Editors-in-Chief of the", "IEEE Transactions on Information Theory", ".", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Computers & Technology", "Computer Science" ]

[ "Drowning in Addiction: Sink or Swim is a book about saving lives and giving hope to addicts and loved ones of addicts. We, the authors, believe this book is a lifeline for those affected by addiction to find their path to recovery. We believe recovery is possible, regardless of background or situation. It begins with a choice!To the addict/alcoholic reading this book, we love you and respect you. We get you, we see you. We know you. We have been you. We want to help you. We, the authors, have faith these stories will speak to you and inspire you to change and lead a better life. Your addiction is not shameful. Your addiction is the chapter of struggle in your book of life before your story turns into a success.To family and friends of addicts that will read this book, we want to bring awareness to the fact that you do not need to feel guilt or shame for your loved one’s challenges through addiction. The goal of this book and the stories within is to help you, the loved one of an addict or alcoholic, to realize your actions are not in vain; however, being present for your loved one may be the best course of action. Your loved one must make the decision to be the change for themselves.This book is about us, for others." ]

[ "From the Author", "It has been my greatest honor to co-author our book", "Drowning in Addiction: Sink or Swim!", "To sum up what it was like to write this book, I would call it an emotional roller coaster ride.  There were days when we had feelings of elation and other days where we had a hard time writing through the tears - tears of harsh memories, tears of gratitude for how far we have come, and tears of honor knowing that our stories will impact many lives, be it the addict or the loved one!We are filled with so much gratitude for the support that we have received on this journey of writing this book and now the support and feedback of how this book has impacted so many people!  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support!A note we want to share:  We found a misprint on page 93 of the first few copies of the book, when Joni Mitchell is included in a list of celebrities who passed from drug and alcohol abuse.  We immediately corrected the mistake and the correct list will be printed on all future copies.  We sincerely apologize for the misprint!", "About the Author", "Scott Leeper is a Mindset Coach, speaker and author based out of Mishawaka, IN with his wife, Ashley, and son, Jaxson. In 2012, Scott made the decision to remove his father from life-support and watched him take his last breath, as a result of a life of alcohol abuse. After 13 years of service to his country, Scott was forced out of the Marine Corps, at which time he decided to serve others in a different manner. Today, Scott is an author, inspirational speaker, and Mindset Coach for executives, entrepreneurs and business owners that want to gain mental strength and clarity in their confidence, profession, and personal lives. He also is an inspirational speaker and author.Michael Arnold is a hurricane of happiness. She went through her own personal transformation with brutal alcohol addiction that was partnered with fear of judgment, acceptance, no self-love and identity loss. Michael captivates her clients with her own vulnerability by being raw and real about highs and lows of evolving and transforming in sobriety. Michael now lives a beautiful, healthy life in sobriety. Michael can truly say she now knows what it is like to feel alive, free, and to be unapologetically herself from the inside out. It is Michael's passion to inspire and support people to Make Shift Happen in peoples lives.Once Andrea Carr attained sobriety, she decided to become a sober coach. Andrea realized her own journey to sobriety would have been much easier if she had worked with a Sober Coach from the beginning. Andrea has been in recovery for over six years. In November of 2018, Andrea celebrated three years of relapse-free sobriety, and almost two years free from disordered eating. Andrea realized she had to reinvent herself starting from the inside. Andrea wanted to be healthy, confident, fulfilled, happy, and free. These are traits so far from who she was when she was in active addiction. What clicked for Andrea on her journey is that her mindset needed to change. Andrea has made the commitment to choose life-long recovery and helps her clients do the same." ]

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[ "Books", "Health, Fitness & Dieting", "Addiction & Recovery" ]

[ "In today's era, we are forced to realize that outbreaks can occur at any moment. From anthrax to the avian flu, potential outbreaks can spread rapidly through air, water, and other means. Hospital personnel are now being trained to understand and monitor outbreaks in health care facilities. Professionals both in the private health care sector and the public health system now need to recognize, investigate, control and prevent these outbreaks. Outbreak Investigation, Prevention, and Control in Health Care Settings is a timely resource for health care professionals inside and outside of the hospital covering topics such as: Epidemiology Surveillance Programs in Hospital Settings Organisms and Diseases Associated with Outbreaks Ambulatory Care Acute Care Long-Term Care Pseudo-Outbreaks Investigation Control The Second Edition has been completely updated with current information, tables, statistics and suggested readings." ]

[ "About the Author", "Kathleen Meehan Arias has worked in the infection prevention and control field since 1980 and is currently the director of Arias Infection Control Consulting, LLC. Kathy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia), a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Microbiology from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and is Certified in Infection Control (CIC) by the Certification Board of Infection Control. Kathy has managed the infection prevention and control programs in a variety of health care settings, including acute care, long-term care, ambulatory care, and behavioral health. She has taught epidemiology classes at Thomas Jefferson University and the Medical College of Philadelphia and has served on the faculties of Penn State University and Hahnemann University College of Allied Health Sciences. Kathy is an active member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), serves on the faculty for several APIC courses, and was honored to serve as APIC President in 2006. Kathy has written and edited journal articles, books and book chapters on various infection prevention topics and is the author of a tool kit on surveillance programs in health care settings. She is a frequent speaker at local, national, and international conferences. Kathy first became interested in outbreaks and responding to emerging infectious diseases in 1976 when the hospital laboratory where she was working received specimens related to an atypical pneumonia that had developed in attendees of an American Legion conference held in a nearby hotel. The pneumonia was given the name “Legionnaire’s disease” and was found to be caused by a previously unidentified bacterium subsequently named Legionella. In 2001 Kathy developed the bioterrorism response program in a large Baltimore hospital when anthrax spores were intentionally released less than 40 miles away. She also served on the Baltimore Mayor’s Bioterrorism Response Task Force and worked with the local and state health departments and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems to prepare a regional response plan for bioterrorism. Kathy has worked on several research grant teams to identify and implement effective means for disseminating critical information to health care providers who play an essential role in identifying and responding to infectious disease threats." ]

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[ "Books", "New, Used & Rental Textbooks", "Medicine & Health Sciences" ]

[ "From the", "USA Today", "bestselling author who is a \"master of witty banter\" (", "Entertainment Weekly", ") come a \"perfect rom-com\" (Refinery29) that proves when opposites attract, sparks fly.", "With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the \"cake\" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits. Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real? \"Delightfully sexy and sweet.\" -- Lauren Layne,", "New York Times", "bestselling author \"Fantastic! Compelling characters, tons of heat, loads of heart. I highly recommend!\" -- M. O'Keefe,", "USA Today", "bestselling author \"When it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.\" --", "Booklist \"Satisfying.\" --", "The New York Times Book Review", "What readers are saying about", "One and Only:", "\"A", "fun, fast-paced, satisfying", "read.\" \"Cam is my new book boyfriend....This book is going on my keeper shelf.\" \"This book was SO ENJOYABLE. Every single page gave me all the feels. I loved the characters, the plot, the writing - everything.\" \"A sweet, hilarious and powerful romance story that will warm your heart.\"" ]

[ "Review", "\"The book's addictive combination of memorable characters, polished writing seasoned with deliciously acerbic wit, and some off-the-charts hot love scenes aptly demonstrates that when it comes to creating unputdownable contemporary romances, Holiday is in it to win it.\"-", "Booklist,", "starred review on", "One and Only", "\"Get ready to laugh, swoon and fall in love.... A sweet and spicy read that kicks off a new series in style!\"- RT Book Reviews", "on", "One and Only", "\"Delightfully sexy and sweet, Holiday knows how to deliver the perfect combination of sexual tension and happily-ever-after.\"- Lauren Layne,", "New York Times", "bestselling author on", "One and Only", "\"", "One and Only", "is FANTASTIC! A great start to a new series. Compelling characters, tons of heat, loads of heart. I highly recommend!\"- M. O'Keefe,", "USA Today", "bestselling author", "\"Holiday's books are on my favorites shelf with Jennifer Crusie, Julie James and Rachel Gibson. Funny, light, romantic reading. Absolute perfection from meet cute to epilogue.\"- Rachel Cross, author of", "Rock Him", "\"The second addition to the 49th Floor trilogy will produce more than a few belly laughs.... (The heroine) is an extremely likable character who comes through loud and clear thanks to Holiday's skill.\"-", "RT Book Reviews", "on", "Sleeping with Her Enemy", "\"The perfect blend of sweet and sexy, all presented with Holiday's fantastically funny wit and spot-on profound observations about human behavior, social expectation, and the way we fall in love.\"- Heroes and Heartbreakers on", "Sleeping with Her Enemy", "\"Jenny Holiday has written the perfect sweet & sexy holiday miracle. A truly enjoyable read.\"- Jessica Scott,", "USA Today", "bestselling author on", "Saving the CEO", "About the Author", "Jenny Holiday", "is a", "USA Today", "bestselling author who started writing at age nine when her awesome fourth grade teacher gave her a notebook and told her to start writing some stories. That first batch featured mass murderers on the loose, alien invasions, and hauntings. (Looking back, she's amazed no one sent her to a shrink.) She's been writing ever since. After a detour to get a PhD in geography, she worked as a professional writer, producing everything from speeches to magazine articles. Later, her tastes having evolved from alien invasions to happily-ever-afters, she tried her hand at romance. She lives in London, Ontario, with her family. Learn more at: Jennyholiday.com Twitter @jennyholi Facebook.com/jennyholidaybooks" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Women's Fiction" ]

[ "From Punky to parenting, Soleil Moon Frye shares insightful, realistic, in-the-trenches parenting advice, inspiration, and fun.", "Enthusiastic, spunky, and positive, Punky Brewster was the quintessential eighties kid. Nearly thirty years later, Soleil Moon Frye-the adorable girl who played her on TV-is all grown up. Now she's a married mom of two, an entrepreneur who parlayed her successful kids' clothing line into a partnership with Target, and a social media whiz with millions of followers. Many of the same girls who watched Soleil on television are now grown up with children of their own, too, and they look to her as a go-to source for realistic, in-the-trenches parenting advice, inspiration, and fun.", "Happy Chaos", "invites those women into Soleil's world, and makes them revel in the chaos of their own lives, too. Soleil believes that \"happy chaos\" is the sign of a family operating at its best-when parents accept that they'll make mistakes, that there will be messes, tears and skinned knees. She learned to love a jumbled life during her own childhood, when her own mom created an atmosphere that was thoroughly unconventional. Their house in Los Angeles was a haven for many young stars of Soleil's generation, often far from home and looking for a safe place to hang out. In this book, she shows how her happy but chaotic childhood informed her parenting: Each chapter begins with a telling reminiscence before moving into insightful advice and fun stories about life with her husband and two adorable daughters." ]

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[ "Books", "Biographies & Memoirs", "Arts & Literature" ]

[ "Identifies and describes species of plants commonly cultivated in North America" ]

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[ "Books", "New, Used & Rental Textbooks", "Science & Mathematics" ]

[ "Under the cover of night, three armed soldiers from the City of Torsch secretly enter the deep valley of Feuterdale. They are urgently looking for Jorin Dulin, the one man whose fate is marked to change the world. The young Jorin soon learns from the strangers that his life is intricately tied to the powerful leaders of Torsch. Hearing tales of insidious evil, dark sorcery, impending war, and a shocking revelation about his own identity, Jorin's peaceful world is suddenly turned upside down. Time is running out as the powers of black magic gather strength under the control of Salairis, the Dark Queen sorceress, who seeks to destroy Jorin, or even worse-claim him as her own! With his loyal friend, Oland, the reluctant Jorin leaves behind everything he had ever known and embarks on a dangerous mission to fulfill his destiny. At stake are his life, his identity, and the lives of thousands of people who face death, destruction, and enslavement from the greatest evil ever to threaten the land!Follow Jorin, and witness the immortal struggle of good against evil in a magical world of courage, mystery, friendship, danger, and power." ]

[ "About the Author", "Robert L. Vitelli was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Bishop Kenrick High School in 1978, and then attended Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1984 with a Master of Science degree. He lives with his wife and daughter in eastern Pennsylvania." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Action & Adventure" ]

[ "Meet Sergeant Stubby: World War I dog veteran, decorated war hero, American icon, and above all, man's best friend. Stubby's story begins in 1917 when America is about to enter the war. A stowaway dog befriends Private James Robert \"Bob\" Conroy at the Connecticut National Guard camp at Yale University and the two become inseparable. Stubby also wins over the commanding officer and is soon made an official member of the 102nd Infantry of the 26th division. What follows is an epic tale of how man's best friend becomes an invaluable soldier on the front lines and in the trenches, a decorated war hero and an inspiration to a country long after the troops returned home." ]

[ "Review", "\"Is the appeal of this book greater for dog lovers or military-history buffs? It’s a toss-up, because the book’s charm simply radiates off the page in all directions.\"", "--Booklist", "About the Author", "ANN BAUSUM has written nine National Geographic books for young readers during the past 12 years. Her publication list features six works of social justice history, two presidential history reference books, and a photobiography. She has won numerous awards, including a Sibert Honor Award from the American Library Association and three other national awards for literature." ]

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[ "Books", "Biographies & Memoirs", "Leaders & Notable People" ]

[ "Why Should I Care is poetic pictorial book about issues that we face globally. And although we all have asked ourselves the question Why Should Care? Ultimately we should always be mindful, that we should care about others and the things around us because we have a God that cares for each of us. Saved or unsaved." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Literary" ]

[ "For decades Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) designed parks and park systems across the United States, leaving an enduring legacy of designed public space that is enjoyed, studied, and protected today. His plans and professional correspondence offer a rich source for understanding his remarkable contribution to the quality of urban life in this country and the development of the profession of landscape architecture. Olmsted's writings also provide a unique record of society and politics in post–Civil War America. Historians, landscape architects, conservationists, city planners, and citizens' groups continue to turn to Olmsted for inspiration in their planning and protection of public open space in our cities.", "The seventh volume of the", "Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted", "presents the record of his last years of residence in New York City. It includes reports on the design of Riverside and Morningside parks and Tompkins Square in Manhattan, as well as his comprehensive plan for the street system and rapid transit routes of the Bronx. It records his continuing work on Central Park and presents his final retrospective statement, \"The Spoils of the Park.\" In addition, volume seven contains an annotated version of the journal in which Olmsted recorded instances of political maneuvering and patronage politics in the years before his dismissal from the New York parks department in 1878. Later documents chronicle the early stages of his planning of the Boston park system―the Back Bay Fens, Arnold Arboretum, and Riverway. Other major commissions, each with its own political complications, were the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the completion of the new state capitol in Albany, the designing of a park on Mount Royal in Montreal, and construction of the park system of Buffalo, New York. The volume also presents Olmsted's commentary on issues of the times including federal Reconstruction policy and civil-service reform.", "The Olmsted Papers project is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the National Trust for the Humanities, the National Association for Olmsted Parks, as well as private foundations and individuals." ]

[ "Review", "Olmsted the man belongs to his own time, but his work and words continue to have meaning today . . . The editors are preserving a life and work instructive for the future as well as the past.―", "Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography", "As always in this series, the letters are carefully annotated.―", "Eden", "No other landscape designer ever wrote and published so much, just as none enjoys the prestige of a complete modern edition of his works . . . The volume maintains the high standards of editing we have come to expect of this series.―John Dixon Hunt,", "Harvard Design Magazine", "About the Author", "Frederick Law Olmsted", "(1822-1903) is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. He was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator.", "Charles E. Beveridge", "(ALEXANDRIA, VA) is the leading Olmsted authority in the country and the series editor of", "The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted", "." ]

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[ "Books", "Engineering & Transportation", "Engineering" ]

[ "Romance between \"swordsmen,\" based on a true-life adventure of a young girl determined to be a part of history.In the 1860s in Japan, a new era is dawning. During this time fraught with violent social upheaval, samurai of all walks of life flock to Kyoto in the hope of joining a band of warriors united around their undying loyalty to the shogunate system. This group becames one of the greatest (and most infamous) movements in Japanese history…the Shinsengumi!Sei, who has disguised herself as a man in order to fight with the Shinsengumi, is badly injured in a surprise attack. Her secret love, Soji, is haunted by the incident and Sei’s role in saving his life. As he starts to fall hard for Sei, his behavior becomes so unreasonable that Saito says he is unfit to serve as vice captain! Meanwhile, Captain Kondo returns from a disappointing trip to Hiroshima while some of his closest colleagues conspire against him…" ]

[ "About the Author", "Taeko Watanabe debuted as a manga artist in 1979 with her story", "Waka-chan no Netsuai Jidai", "(Love Struck Days of Waka).", "Kaze Hikaru", "is her longest-running series, but she has created a number of other popular series. Watanabe is a two-time winner of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award in the girls’ category—her manga", "Hajime-chan go Ichiban!", "(Hajime-chan Is Number One!) claimed the award in 1991, and", "Kaze Hikaru", "took it in 2003. Watanabe read hundreds of historical sources to create", "Kaze Hikaru", ". She is from Tokyo." ]

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[ "Books", "Comics & Graphic Novels", "Manga" ]

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[ "Books", "Crafts, Hobbies & Home", "Home Improvement & Design" ]

[ "Simple and stylish, this college (wide ruled) composition book is the perfect place to write down and take notes in the office, at college or school or just about anywhere! Fits perfectly inside most backpacks, satchels, cases and handbags. Makes an excellent gift or stocking stuffer.", "Go back to school in style!", "Go back to school in style!", "Perfect for students of all ages", "Perfect for students of all ages", "Standard college ruled lined paper", "Standard college ruled lined paper", "Classic composition book sizing", "Classic composition book sizing", "110 sheets", "110 sheets", "Soft matte paperback cover", "Soft matte paperback cover", "Several different designs available!", "Several different designs available!" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Essays & Correspondence" ]

[ "Written by successful and respected industry professionals,", "How to Launch Your Wine Career", "gives practical, real-world advice on how to land, develop, and succeed in a career in wine making and production, vineyard management, marketing and sales, public relations, writing, education, winery management and administration, direct-to-consumer sales, and more. Featuring interviews with some of wine's most prominent figures—including winemaker Heidi Barrett and wine writer James Laube of", "Wine Spectator", "—the book builds a career from the ground up, explaining job descriptions, educational and skill requirements, the career ladder, how to get started, and job hunting strategies. Each chapter ends with a helpful resource guide of available conferences, books, and websites. The appendix provides a detailed action plan worksheet to help the prospective applicant plan, plot progress, and nail that killer wine industry job." ]

[ "Review", "How to Launch Your Wine Career, by Lia Thach and Brian D Emilio, did not, as I started to read, engage me. My interest in, liking of, and knowledge about wine center around the stuff in the bottle, and how it got that way. I am also repelled by too-cute adjectival modifiers I quickly encountered: the ilk of wickedly cool and awesome -teeny bopper talk. But as I got into the book, I realized it was written by and for grown-ups, and that it had been done well. Thach, now on the faculty of Sonoma State University in its Wine Business Center, had had experience in business and in wine writing and education. D Emilio, now working in human resources for Foster s Wine Estates Americas, has similar experience in and out of the wine trade, including a spell with the Clorox Company (which amuses me for some reason) Both are wine-aware and enamored.The book reads easily and is very well organized. It realistically considers every detail and alerts the reader to pitsfalls. It includes useful and interesting vignettes describing the livers of wine careerists in various roles. It is weighted toward California, and exclusively American in its purview. It is graced by a good index and by amusing cartoons by Doug Pike. --Harvey Finkle, New England Wine Journal", "About the Author", "Liz Thach, PhD", ", is a management and wine business professor at Sonoma State University in the Wine Business Institute where she teaches undergraduate and wine MBA programs. She is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 articles and five wine textbooks, including", "Wine: A Global Business", "and", "Wine Marketing & Sales", "and she obtained the distinction of Master of Wine in 2011.", "Brian D’Emilio", "is the director of sales capability at Treasury Wine Estates.", "Michael Mondavi", "is a winemaker and the son of Robert Mondavi." ]

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[ "Books", "Cookbooks, Food & Wine", "Beverages & Wine" ]

[ "¡Mantenga vivas las tradiciones de Puerto Rico para esta y futuras generaciones de niños boricuas!", "¿Qué pasa con los coquíes que son adoptados fuera de Puerto Rico?", "¿Pueden cantar como cuando están en su amada isla? Un coquí muy curioso se hizo esas preguntas y nos aventuramos con él a descubrir qué nos hace cantar, a los coquíes y a los boricuas, en cualquier parte del mundo.", "“Un Coquí de Boriquén Canta Aquí y Allá También\" es la secuela al clásico navideño, \"Un Coquí de Boriquén con los Reyes a Belén\".", "En esta segunda entrega, los niños conocerán sobre los valores y la cultura de su país, y cómo al llevarlas por dentro, siempre podrán cantarle a Puerto Rico desde aquí y desde allá.", "Dirigido a todos los niños puertorriqueños, y en particular a los de la diáspora", ", el libro les abrirá los ojos a los más chicos, con un cuento divertido en rimas, sobre lo que nos hace únicos.", "El libro contiene el texto de la historia en español y la traducción al inglés", "en las últimas cuatro páginas.", "Keep Puerto Rico’s traditions alive for present and future generations!", "What happens to coquís when they’re adopted far way from their beloved island?", "Can they still sing? A very curious coquí asked himself these questions and together we explore what makes us sing - coquí and Puerto Rican alike - wherever we may live in the world.", "“A Coquí from Boriquén Near and Far Sings Once Again” is the sequel to the Christmas classic, \"From Boriquén to Bethlehem: A Coquí and the Three Wise Men”", ". In this second book, kids learn about the shared Puerto Rican values and culture that we all carry with us.", "Geared toward Puerto Rican children, particularly those living stateside in the U.S.", ", the book will open their eyes with a fun rhyming story to what makes them unique.", "Book contains the text of the story in Spanish and in English translation in the final four pages." ]

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[ "Books", "Libros en español" ]

[ "In the cursed Las Vegas wastelands where fallen angels enslave humans and witches hide in the shadows, a young witch will break the Sanctuary's cardinal rules to protect her home and a forbidden love. Some laws were made to be broken.", "The Sanctuary is the only place protected from the covet curse, and life there is all Senna knows. When a mysterious light outside of the boundary compels her to cross and investigate, she meets the stunning Archangel Cade and soon finds herself on the path of breaking the angelic rules governing the Sanctuary. Cade warns her that the spell protecting the Sanctuary is breaking and that the key to fixing it is in an ancient book hidden in the Las Vegas wastelands. She sets off with him determined to do whatever it takes to save her home. But along their journey, Senna learns that Cade’s true motive could place her cherished home in danger. The choice is hers. Save the Sanctuary, or give into what she covets the most—him. Archangel’s Fire is a standalone contribution to the Charmed Legacy Cursed Angel Watchtowers collection. Stories can be read in any order." ]

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[ "Books", "Science Fiction & Fantasy", "Fantasy" ]

[ "This textbook is designed for graduate students in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science. Its purpose is to guide the reader in exploring contemporary approximation theory. The emphasis is on multi-variable approximation theory, i.e., the approximation of functions in several variables, as opposed to the classical theory of functions in one variable. Most of the topics in the book, heretofore accessible only through research papers, are treated here from the basics to the currently active research, often motivated by practical problems arising in diverse applications such as science, engineering, geophysics, and business and economics. Among these topics are projections, interpolation paradigms, positive definite functions, interpolation theorems of Schoenberg and Micchelli, tomography, artificial neural networks, wavelets, thin-plate splines, box splines, ridge functions, and convolutions. An important and valuable feature of the book is the bibliography of almost 600 items directing the reader to important books and research papers. There are 438 problems and exercises scattered through the book allowing the student reader to get a better understanding of the subject." ]

[ "Review", "Working through this book provides an opportunity to review and apply areas of mathematics learned elsewhere, as well as to learn entirely new topics. ----MAA ReviewsThe textbook, a clear and concise work written by world-renowned experts in the field of approximation theory, will probe useful not only as a reference for professional mathematicians but also as a text for graduate students. ---- Mathematical Reviews", "About the Author", "Ward Cheney is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include approximation theory, numerical analysis, and extremum problems." ]

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[ "Books", "New, Used & Rental Textbooks", "Science & Mathematics" ]

[ "From", "USA Today", "bestselling author Willow Winters comes a HOT mafia, standalone romance.I was innocent before him, and he wanted nothing more than to ruin me.And if I’m honest, I wanted him too, even knowing I shouldn’t.I knew he was a bad man, it doesn’t take more than a single look to know it.Dark eyes and a charming smile that’s made to fool girls like me.Still, I caved; I gave into temptation.And then I saw something I shouldn’t have.Wrong place, wrong time. The mafia doesn’t let witnesses simply walk away.Regret has a name, and it’s Vincent Valetti.He won’t let them kill me, but he’s not going to let me go either." ]

[ "About the Author", "Willow Winters is so happy to be a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and #1 Contemporary Bestselling Romance Author. She likes her action hot and her bad boys hotter. She certainly doesn't hold back on either one in her writing!", "--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title." ]

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[ "Books", "Mystery, Thriller & Suspense", "Thrillers & Suspense" ]

[ "“Dialogues of the Dead", "is a bridge that spans the classic English whodunit and the dark heart of contemporary crime fiction, the serial-killer novel....The fertility of Hill's imagination, the range of his power, the sheer quality of his literary style never cease to delight.” (Val McDermid)", "Normally, there would be nothing sinister about a death by drowning and a motorcycle fatality—had these tragic occurrences not been predicted before the fact in a pair of macabre \"Dialogues\" submitted to a Yorkshire short story competition. Yet the local police department is slow to act—until the arrival of a third Dialogue...and another corpse.", "A darkness is settling over a terrorized community, brought on by a genius fiend who hides clues to his horrific acts in complex riddles and brilliant wordplay. Now two seasoned CID investigators, Peter Pascoe and \"Fat Andy\" Dalziel, are racing against a clock whose every tick signals more blood and outrage, caught in the twisted game of a diabolical killer who is turning their jurisdiction into a slaughterhouse." ]

[ "Review", "“No one writes a more civilized British police procedural than Reginald Hill. His intricately constructed plots are studded with challenging puzzle components like coded messages and locked-room crime scenes.” —", "New York Times Book Review", "“Hill, a graceful sylist, reveals only enough at a time to keep the reader hooked.” —", "Wall Street Journal", "“Known for complex plotting, deep characterization and sly humor, Hill here adds to his string of brilliant psychological thrillers.” —", "Publishers Weekly (", "starred review", ")", "“Brilliantly conceived and skillfully executed,", "Dialogues of the Dead", "is a duel of wits.” —", "Dallas Morning News", "“Witty, sharp, and marvelously clever. . . .Hill never loses control of his material, and the suspense builds until the book’s brilliant, surprising last scenes.” —", "Cleveland Plain Dealer", "“Lethal fun. . . . filled with one surprise after another. Hill is never predictable. . . . The incredible ending of this book is unlike any other mystery I have read.” —", "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel", "“", "Dialogues of the Dead", "is a bridge that spans the classic English whodunnit and the dark heart of contemporary crime fiction, the serial killer novel….The fertility of Hill’s imagination, the range of his power, the sheer quality of his literary style never cease to delight.” —", "Val McDermid", "“Reginald Hill delivers literate, complex, and immensely satisfying thrillers.", "Dialogues of the Dead", "is Hill at his best. . . . [with a] totally unexpected outcome in the final pages.” —", "Orlando Sentinel", "“By turns convoluted and laugh-out-loud funny,", "Dialogues", "is a brilliant example of a crime novel icon at the top of his form.” —", "BookPage", "“Filled with clever wordplay; complex, articulate suspects; and an intricate, suspenseful plot.” —", "Library Journal", "From the Back Cover", "Normally, there would be nothing sinister about a death by drowning and a motorcycle fatality -- had these tragic occurrences not been predicted before the fact in a pair of macabre \"Dialogues\" submitted to a Yorkshire short story competition. Yet the local police department is slow to act -- until the arrival of a third Dialogue ... and another corpse. A darkness is settling over a terrorized community, brought on by a genius fiend who hides clues to his horrific acts in complex riddles and brilliant wordplay. Now two seasoned CID investigators, Peter Pascoe and \"Fat Andy\" Dalziel, are racing against a clock whose every tick signals more blood and outrage, caught in the twisted game of a diabolical killer who is turning their jurisdiction into a slaughterhouse.", "About the Author", "Reginald Hill, acclaimed English crime writer, was a native of Cumbria and a former resident of Yorkshire, the setting for his novels featuring Superintendent Andy Dalziel and DCI Peter Pascoe. Their appearances won Hill numerous awards, including a CWA Golden Dagger and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award. The Dalziel and Pascoe stories were also adapted into a hugely popular BBC TV series. Hill died in 2012.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Mystery, Thriller & Suspense", "Mystery" ]

[ "book" ]

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[ "Books", "Religion & Spirituality", "Literature & Fiction" ]

[ "Boys love their toys - and Benjamin Oliver Flanagan has way more than most - but Speedy the red wagon is his favorite. Life is a great adventure for both of them until one day tragedy strikes! Join Benjamin and Speedy in this fully illustrated, heartwarming tale of loss, trust and a Father's love. A perfect bedtime story for hearts big and little." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Literature & Fiction" ]

[ "The Gentle Giants board book provides the perfect way to introduce reading in your home.", "Children will discover the world of gentle giants as they learn about one of their favorite animals to visit at the zoo. This book engages early learners by using short, simple language and detailed photographs. Designed to be child-friendly, this 24-page early learning resource features round corners, board book binding, and a UV varnish finish for easy clean up.", "Each board book measures 6\" x 6\"." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Animals" ]

[ "When Germany invaded Poland, bombers devastated Warsaw, and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into the empty cages. Another dozen \"guests\" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants and refusing to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, even as Europe crumbled around her." ]

[ "Review", "''It is no stretch to say that this is the book Ackerman was meant to write.'' --", "Los Angeles Times", "''A true story -- of human empathy and its opposite -- that is simultaneously grave and exuberant, wise and playful.'' --", "Washington Post Book World", "''Ackerman . . . makes beautiful work of harrowing tales of [her characters'] determination to keep souls alive, in the actual and metaphorical sense both.'' --", "New York Daily News", "''An inspiring read . . . may join Schindler's List and Hotel Rwanda as popular accounts of heroism in the face of genocide.'' --", "Salt Lake Tribune", "''Fresh and compelling…Ackerman has succeeded in a vivid, cinematically written book that's bound to find its way to the screen.'' --", "San Francisco Chronicle", "''This suspenseful, beautifully crafted story deserves a wide readership.'' --", "Publishers Weekly", "(starred review) ''An exemplary work of scholarship and an 'ecstasy of imagining', Ackerman's affecting telling of the heroic Zabinskis' dramatic story illuminates the profound connection between humankind and nature, and celebrates life's beauty, mystery, and tenacity.'' --", "Booklist", "(starred review) ''Diane Ackerman has surpassed even herself in her latest book, which is alternatingly funny, moving, and terrifying. This powerful thriller would be a great novel -- except that it is true.'' --Jared Diamond, author", "About the Author", "Diane Ackerman", "is the author of many highly acclaimed works of nonfiction and poetry, including", "A Natural History of the Senses", ",", "a book beloved by millions of readers all over the world, and", "The Zookeeper's Wife", ", which received the Orion Book Award. She has taught at Columbia and Cornell and has been published in the", "New York Times", ",", "Smithsonian", ",", "Parade", ", the", "New Yorker", ", and", "National Geographic", "." ]

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[ "Books", "Biographies & Memoirs", "Historical" ]

[ "When Curva Peligrosa arrives in Weed, Alberta, after a twenty-year trek on the Old North Trail from southern Mexico, she stops its residents in their tracks. With a parrot on each shoulder, a glittering gold tooth, and a wicked trigger finger, she is unlike anything they have ever seen before. Curva is ready to settle down, but are the inhabitants of Weed ready for her? Possessed of an insatiable appetite for life and love, Curva’s infectious energy galvanizes the townspeople, turning their staid world upside down with her exotic elixirs and unbridled ways. Toss in an unscrupulous americano developer and a one-eyed Blackfoot chief, stir them all together in the tumult of a tempestuous tornado, and the town of Weed will never be the same again. A lyrical account of one woman’s journey and the unexpected effects it has on the people around her, Curva Peligrosa pulses with the magic at the heart and soul of life." ]

[ "Review", "\"", "Curva Peligrosa", "takes you on an entertaining, raucous, even bawdy ride.\"", "—Nina Schuyler, award-winning author of", "The Painting", "and", "The Translator", "“", "Curva Peligrosa", "is a wildly inventive, consistently engaging, and amusing novel, but under its bright exterior lurk darker undertones and truths; it’s a book which attempts to say serious and important things about language, story-telling, mortality, indigenous cultures, love, and sex.”", "—Steven Bauer, author of", "The Strange and Wonderful Tale of Robert McDoodle", "and", "A Cat of a Different Color", "\"Readers will find themselves spellbound by this novel’s enchanted events. From the opening page when a tornado picks up a purple outhouse and deposits it intact in the middle of the Canadian prairie town of Weed with seductive Curva Peligrosa still inside, magical events occur. A visitor all the way from Mexico, Curva, six feet tall, lusty, mysterious, and irresistibly attractive, enthralls the townspeople. After her arrival, miraculous events envelop her and the town. Curva’s dead twin brother appears. Ancient bones speak and come to life. A geyser bursts spontaneously from the earth, gushing water even in winter. In prose lush and poetic, Lily Iona MacKenzie’s novel explores the inscrutable connection between life and art, fiction and fact. I found myself captivated from first page to last.\"", "—Hugh Cook, author of", "The Homecoming Man", "and", "Heron River", "About the Author", "A Canadian by birth, a high school dropout, and a mother at 17, in her early years,", "Lily Iona Mackenzie", "supported herself as a stock girl in the Hudson’s Bay Company, as a long distance operator for the former Alberta Government Telephones, and as a secretary (Bechtel Corp sponsored her segue into the States). She also was a cocktail waitress at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, briefly broke into the male-dominated world of the docks as a longshoreman (she was the first woman to work on the SF docks and almost got her legs broken), founded and managed a homeless shelter in Marin County, and eventually earned two Master’s degrees (one in Creative writing and one in the Humanities). She has published reviews, interviews, short fiction, poetry, travel pieces, essays, and memoir in over 150 American and Canadian venues. Her novel Fling! was published in July 2015 by Pen-L Publishing. Her upcoming novel, Freefall: A Divine Comedy will be released in 2018. Her poetry collection All This was published in 2011. She also has taught writing at the University of San Francisco for 30 years and was vice-president of USF’s part-time faculty union. When she’s not writing, she paints and travels widely with her husband." ]

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[ "Books", "Science Fiction & Fantasy", "Fantasy" ]

[ "Weary of the social rounds, Theodore, Duke of Eaglefield, returns on foot to his ancestral home, Eagle Hall, and falls in love with lovely Alysia, a young woman fleeing from an unhappy marriage" ]

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[ "Books", "Romance", "Historical" ]

[ "Alex Keener has lived all of his sixteen years underground in U.S. Bunker 108. When he goes on his first recon into the Wasteland, he will find out exactly why.Outside, Alex discovers a harsh landscape twisted by the impact of the meteor Ragnarok in 2030. Besides Raiders, dust storms, and cold, a new threat is evolving -- the xenovirus, which twists men and animals into deadly monsters.When the xenovirus invades Bunker 108, Alex must fight for survival. Joined by a beautiful ex-Raider and an idealistic scientist, Alex discovers that he and his friends might be the only ones standing between the world and a second apocalypse." ]

[ "Review", "\"I've been inhaling Post Apocalyptic fiction for decades... It's not easy to either please or surprise me but Kyle West has managed to do both.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"The best science fiction series I have read in 40 + years! This series is like all great sci-fi, has a terrific story and wonderful characters to root for.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"Well written, characters you believe in, suspends disbelief effortlessly and keeps you wondering what comes next.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"I have read so many books that I can usually predict what will be coming next. Not with this author! Such an amazing journey this has been.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"I couldn't put the books down. My wife even got mad at me for not paying any attention to her.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer \"It truly is a very unique take on aliens overtaking the world.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"This is an awesome post-apocalyptic book series. It mixes aliens, zombies, and your average end-of-the-world stuff perfectly!\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"If you like post apocalyptic adventures filled with alien zombies and bloodthirsty raiders then check out this series!\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"If you love post apocalyptic, action packed, drama filled reads this series is for you!\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"I would recommend these books to anyone who likes games like the Fallout series or just science fiction in general.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer\"I read a lot of \"zombie\" or apocalyptic books and stories and a lot of them.are pretty much the same....infection, deaths, struggle for survival, loss...etc. This particular book I thought had a refreshing take on an apocalyptic world.\" ★★★★★ Amazon Reviewer" ]

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[ "Books", "Science Fiction & Fantasy", "Science Fiction" ]

[ "'Will surely rank as one of the foremost literary biographies of our time.'John Carey, Sunday Times In his lifetime Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) published just a single poem - only a few close friends were aware he wrote. Much of his work was burnt by fellow Jesuits on his death. And yet Hopkins is today a huge figure in English literature. Homosexual but terribly repressed, he channeled his emotions toward nature and God, with profound results. Princeton emeritus professor Martin, the only biographer to have unrestricted use of Hopkins' private papers, tells this extraordinary story from Hopkins' early life and studies at Oxford, through his tortuous conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism, to his struggle in later years to retain his very sanity. 'In Martin, the unhappy and tormented genius has found the most sympathetic and intelligent interpreter... [The book] goes to the heart of Hopkins, and plants him firmly before us as a Victorian, and a great one.' Allan Massie, Sunday Telegraph 'Martin follows Hopkins through his toils with sympathy and a great unshowy command of the facts. In this magnificently solicitous biography he has re-established the contours of the story definitively and made the homosexual drama integral to the better-known drama of conversion and poetics.' Seamus Heaney, Independent on Sunday 'The triumph of this learned, scrupulously detailed and persuasive biography is that it brings the reader as near as it is perhaps possible to come to living Hopkins' life, to sensing the mysterious crushing pressures that were for him intimately bound up with the richness and complexity of his writing.'Hilary Spurling, Daily Telegraph" ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "Hopkins (1844-1889), the gentle, scholarly poet-priest, greatly admired soldiers and harbored a propensity for militaristic jingoism. Neurotically obsessed with death, which he simultaneously feared and welcomed, he channeled this obsession into a \"pattern of identification with female saints and martyrs.\" Wracked by guilt over his homosexual impulses, he repeatedly called himself a \"eunuch\" in his poems, and expressed his deepest religious emotions in sexual metaphors. Mentally unbalanced in his later years, he wrote sonnets and pagan hymns to physical beauty as a means to hold onto his sanity, according to Princeton emeritus professor Martin, the only biographer to gain unrestricted access to Hopkins's notebooks and jottings. This superlative, often astonishing portrait of Hopkins provides the fullest account to date of his agonized conversion from the Anglican faith to Roman Catholicism, and of the inner forces that drove him to create phenomenally observant poetry. Photos. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "--This text refers to the", "paperback", "edition.", "From Kirkus Reviews", "Martin (English/Princeton) brings his ranging knowledge of English Victorian life and his understanding of the poetic sensibility (Tennyson, 1980; With Friends Possessed: A Life of Edward Fitzgerald, 1985) to the subtle, obscure, introverted, and spare life and works of Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89), the Jesuit priest whose work, published first in 1918, 29 years after his death, is considered as influential as T.S. Eliot's in initiating the modern movement in poetry. Chapter one, ``The Importance of Being Manley,'' introduces the major struggle in Hopkins's life--a strong sexuality conflicted between what his family expected of him in giving him a name he seldom used and his own homoerotic impulses, suppressed, dislocated, and ultimately projected on nature and God, producing his religiously charged sensual poetry. Educated at Oxford, Hopkins later discovered in the discipline, intellectuality, and fellowship of the Jesuit order a refuge for his quirky personality, querulous nature, and personal style of piety. His subtle and unique philosophy of ``inscape,'' a highly complex sense of identity, and ``instress,'' the thrust of energy that allows one to apprehend the unique identity of each individual, found expression in a cryptic, dense, evocative experimental poetry, manipulating syntax, diction, and rhythm to reflect his sense of himself, his world, and his very personal relationship with God. Beset by melancholy, fears of his own unworthiness, and guilt at his lack of accomplishment, he published only one, nearly inscrutable, poem during his lifetime: The Wreck of the Deutschland (1875), describing the drowning of five nuns in a shipwreck. Along with sympathy, tact, appreciation, and humor, Martin brings new information from previously unpublished sources to elucidate the shadows in which Hopkins's life and poetry had been enfolded by well-meaning friends, scholars, and the critics who have made an industry of him. --", "Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.", "--This text refers to the", "paperback", "edition.", "About the Author", "Robert Bernard Martin (1918-1999) was born in Illinois. He had a distinguished academic career and was Professor Emeritus of English at Princeton University, USA, from 1951 to 1975, before retiring to Oxford, where he became a writer. He published ten books about the Victorian era, including biographies such as", "Tennyson, the Unquiet Heart", "in 1980 and", "A Very Private Life", "in 1991.", "--This text refers to the", "paperback", "edition.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Poetry" ]

[ "In their new Fourth Edition, McShane and Von Glinow continue the trailblazing innovations that made previous editions of Organizational Behavior recognized and adopted by the new generation of organizational behavior (OB) instructors." ]

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[ "Books", "Business & Money", "Business Culture" ]

[ "A perfect package of indulgence, this delicious fourth installment in the Magic cooking series is filled with tasty treats to feed the whole family", "Filled with irresistible home-baking recipes, this beautifully designed package is bursting with color and ideal for novice cooks.", "From cupcakes to muffins, breads to biscuits, and chocolate cakes to fruit tarts, these easy recipes are written in Kate Shirazi's characteristically fun and irreverent style and are perfect for fans of", "Chocolate Magic", ",", "Cookie Magic", ", or", "Muffin Magic", ". This endearing compendium of cakes, muffins, and cookies combines a no-nonsense approach with an insatiable appetite for all things baked, and will have you dashing to the kitchen to fill it with the heady aromas of home-baked goodies in no time." ]

[ "Review", "\"This is a must have cookbook for anyone who loves to bake.\" — Inspired by Savannah.com", "About the Author", "Kate Shirazi", "is the author of", "Chocolate Magic", ",", "Cookie Magic", ", and", "Cupcake Magic.", "She founded the Cakeadoodledo mail-order cupcake business from her farmhouse kitchen.", "Susannah Blake", "is the author of", "Cupcake Heaven", ",", "Muffin Magic", ", and", "Say It with a Cupcake." ]

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[ "Books", "Cookbooks, Food & Wine", "Baking" ]

[ "A", "New York Times", "Notable Book of the Year “A rich symphony of humanity . . . If Oz’s eye for detail is enviable, it is his magnanimity which raises him to the first rank of world authors.” —", "Sunday Telegraph", "(UK) At Tel-Kedar, a settlement in the Negev desert, the longtime love affair between Theo, a sixty-year-old civil engineer, and Noa, a young schoolteacher, is slowly disintegrating. When a pupil dies under difficult circumstances, the couple and the entire town are thrown into turmoil. Amos Oz explores with brilliant insight the possibilities—and limits—of love and tolerance. “Vivid, convincing, and haunting.” —", "New York Times Book Review" ]

[ "Review", "\"Rich, allusive ingenuity..Panther In The basement is an insightful, inventive and lyrical expression of this writer's forbearing vision of life under the aspect of mortality.\" --", "The New York Times Book Review", "About the Author", "AMOS OZ (1939–2018) was born in Jerusalem. He was the recipient of the Prix Femina, the Frankfurt Peace Prize, the Goethe Prize, the Primo Levi Prize, and the National Jewish Book Award, among other international honors. His work, including", "A Tale of Love and Darkness", "and", "In the Land of Israel", ", has been translated into forty-four languages." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "World Literature" ]

[ "‘See No Evil’ Counted Cross Stitch Chart15.6 x 11.3 when stitched over 1 square, 18 count cloth219 x 159 @ 35.6 p/cmB & W Symbol ChartDMC Floss Chart© 2013 Noelle TibedeauPlease visit www.willowby.com for custom charts/graphs in printable PDF format Thank you!Noellesj69@yahoo.com" ]

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[ "Books", "Crafts, Hobbies & Home", "Crafts & Hobbies" ]

[ "In the final pages of Valhalla Rising, Dirk Pitt discovered, to his shock, that he had two grown children he had never known-twenty-three-year-old fraternal twins born to a woman he thought had died in an underwater earthquake. Both have inherited his love of the sea: the girl, Summer, is a marine biologist, the boy, himsel" ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Action & Adventure" ]

[ "Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined―this is a tale of horror and beauty, tenderness and sacrifice by a three-time Printz Award Honoree.", "“", "Reminiscent of David Mitchell's", "Cloud Atlas", ". . . stark, suspenseful writing.", "” ―", "School Library Journal", "An archaeologist who unearths a mysterious artifact, an airman who finds himself far from home, a painter, a ghost, a vampire, and a Viking: the seven stories in this compelling novel all take place on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed where a curiously powerful plant that resembles a dragon grows. What binds these stories together? What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this idyllic countryside? And what might be powerful enough to break the cycle of midwinterblood? From award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick comes a book about passion and preservation and ultimately an exploration of the bounds of love.This title has Common Core connections.A", "Publishers Weekly", "Best Children's Book of 2013A", "Kirkus Reviews", "Best Teen Book of 2013", "Praise for Midwinterblood:", "“A story that's simultaneously romantic, tragic, horrifying, and transcendental is more than enough to hold readers' attention, no matter their age.” ―", "Publishers Weekly, starred review", "“Part love story, part mystery, part horror, this is as much about the twisting hand of fate as it is about the mutability of folk tales. Its strange spell will capture you.” ―", "Booklist, starred review", "“", "The Time Traveler's Wife", "meets", "Lost", "in this chilling exploration of love and memory . . . Haunting, sophisticated and ultimately exquisite.” ―", "Kirkus, starred review", "“Sedgwick's prose is unadorned yet melancholic. . .” ―", "Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books", ", starred review", "“Sedgwick's prose is taut, careful, and chilling.” ―", "The Horn Book, starred review", "“Reminiscent of David Mitchell's", "Cloud Atlas", ". . . stark, suspenseful writing.” ―", "School Library Journal", "Novels by Marcus Sedgwick:Saint Death:", "A propulsive, compelling, and unsparing novel set in the grimly violent world of the human and drug trade on the US-Mexican border.", "Blood Red Snow White:", "A gripping, romantic adventure novel based on the true story of Arthur Ransome's experiences with love and betrayal in war-torn Russia.", "The Ghosts of Heaven:", "A Printz Honor Book! Timeless, beautiful, and haunting, spirals connect four episodes, from prehistory through the far future.", "She Is Not Invisible:", "When her father goes missing, a blind girl talented in identifying patterns and her brother are thrust into a mystery.", "Midwinterblood:", "A Printz Medal Winner! Seven stories of passion and love separated by centuries but mysteriously intertwined.", "White Crow:", "A scary, thought provoking novel about secrets that are better left buried.", "Revolver:", "A Printz Honor Book! A taut frontier survivor story, set at the time of the Alaska gold rush.", "Graphic novel by Marcus Sedgwick, art by Thomas Taylor:Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter:", "A rip-roaring romp full of hairy horrors, villainous villains, and introducing the world’s toughest monster hunter―Scarlett Hart!" ]

[ "Review", "“...a story that's simultaneously romantic, tragic, horrifying, and transcendental is more than enough to hold readers' attention, no matter their age.” ―", "Publishers Weekly, starred review", "“Part love story, part mystery, part horror, this is as much about the twisting hand of fate as it is about the mutability of folk tales. Its strange spell will capture you.” ―", "Booklist, starred review", "“", "The Time Traveler's Wife", "meets", "Lost", "in this chilling exploration of love and memory . . . Haunting, sophisticated and ultimately exquisite.” ―", "Kirkus, starred review", "“Sedgwick's prose is unadorned yet melancholic. . .” ―", "Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books", ", starred review", "“Sedgwick's prose is taut, careful, and chilling.” ―", "The Horn Book, starred review", "“Reminiscent of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas . . . stark, suspenseful writing.” ―", "School Library Journal", "About the Author", "Marcus Sedgwick", "was born and raised in Kent in South East England, but now lives in the French Alps. His books have won and been shortlisted for many awards; most notably, he has been shortlisted for Britain’s Carnegie Medal six times, has received two Printz Honors, for", "Revolver", "and", "Ghosts of Heaven", ", and in 2013", "won the Printz Award for", "Midwinterblood", ".", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "Midwinterblood", "By Marcus Sedgwick", "Roaring Brook Press", "Copyright © 2013 Marcus SedgwickAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-250-04007-7", "CHAPTER 1", "The sun does not go down.", "This is the first thing that Eric Seven notices about Blessed Island. There will be many other strange things that he will notice, before the forgetting takes hold of him, but that will come later.", "For now, he checks his watch as he stands at the top of the island's solitary hill, gazing to where the sun should set. It is midnight, but the sun still shines, barely dipping its heavy rim into the sea on the far horizon.", "The island is so far north.", "He shakes his head.", "He's thinking about Merle. How something seems to wait in her eyes. How he felt calm, just standing next to her.", "\"Well, so it is,\" he says, smiling with wonder.", "He's tired. His journey has been a long one.", "The strangeness began on the plane.", "The flight to Skarpness was not full, maybe half the seats were empty, but there were nevertheless a good number of people. Mining company folk mostly, heading to the northern interior, Eric guessed.", "He took his seat by the window and did what everyone does before the instruction to switch off communications; he selected OneDegree on his device, and bumped.", "And then ... nothing.", "He rebooted the app, and bumped again.", "Nothing.", "He shook his head, unable to understand it.", "The OneDegree app is based on the principle of six degrees of separation. Eric knows all about it. As a journalist, it is his job to know about communication in its many forms. Since its invention, when some clever soul realized that it often takes not six, but merely one step to connect you to most other people in the world, the app, or its current version, sits in the palm of everyone's hand. When going on a journey, or arriving in a new place, the easiest way to make friends quickly is to bump the air around you with OneDegree. Maybe no one you know is on the same plane, but someone who knows someone you know is likely to be. Or someone who went to school with a friend of yours. Or who works where you worked ten years ago. And so on and so on. Then you have someone to pass the journey with, at the least, and maybe a new friend for life. And although that's never happened to Eric, in all his years of using OneDegree on so many solitary journeys around the world, he has never failed to find some kind of link among a group of a hundred or more who would otherwise have remained total strangers.", "So that is why he stared a moment longer at his device, wondering if the new version had a bug.", "As if something sinister had happened, he leaned out of his seat and a little furtively studied his fellow passengers.", "They were a tough lot.", "Miners, he thought. Tough.", "Work and worry were drawn on their faces, in skin aged by the cold. They were silent, merely nodding at the smiling attendants who floated down the aisle, proffering drinks.", "\"You'll have to switch that off now, Mr. Seven,\" said a voice, and he turned to see one of them looking down at him. She checked her device, making sure she'd gotten his name right.", "He scratched the back of his head, pushed a badly behaved strand of dark brown hair out of his eyes.", "\"Yes. Sorry, right. Only ...\"", "He looked at his device.", "\"Yes, Mr. Seven?\"", "He shook his head. How could he have managed not to bump anyone on the flight? Not even at the weakest level of connection.", "\"Nothing.\"", "The attendant smiled.", "\"Very good. Have a nice flight, Mr. Seven.\"", "He did have a nice flight.", "The plane arrowed due north, clinging to the coast almost the whole way. It was spectacularly beautiful.", "The coastline was a broken fractal, the sea was deep blue, the rocks of the shore gentle mottled grays and browns. Inland, the ground climbed steadily into forests, which eventually gave way to treeless mountaintops.", "About noon the plane landed at Skarpness, and as Eric predicted, most of the passengers picked up transport heading for the big mine.", "For the hundredth time, he pulled out the instructions the desk editor's assistant had given him, and then made his way on foot to the ferry terminal, where he boarded the steamboat for the short trip to Blessed Island.", "He knows little about the place.", "Just the rumors. But then, that's all anyone knows, and that, after all, is the whole point of his trip, to find out something about the island.", "There is nothing much about it on the Net. Nothing beyond the times of the steamboat, the hours of sun-fall and moon-up, a brief history of the old fishing trade, now gone.", "As for the rumors ...", "No firsthand accounts, no original source material. The pages that do mention them are simply rehashes of each other, leaving very few original hits to glean anything from.", "So little to be read on the Net; that's another strange thing about the place.", "All he's heard are the rumors, stories, the speculation, and the swiftly lost words of whispered secrets, about the island where people have started to live forever.", "CHAPTER 2", "Eric Seven does not believe in love at first sight.", "He corrects himself.", "Even in that moment, the moment that it happens, he feels his journalist's brain make a correction, rubbing out a long-held belief, writing a new one in its place.", "He did not believe in love at first sight. He thinks he might do so now.", "\"I'm Merle,\" she says. Her light hair falls across one eye as she shakes his hand; she flicks it aside. And smiles.", "\"Of course you are,\" he says. Inside, he makes a note to punish himself later for such a lame reply, and yet, he had not said it with arrogance, or even an attempt at being funny. He said it as if someone else was saying it for him.", "He was standing on the quayside, his single large backpack by his feet. Behind him, the steamboat pulled away, heading back to the mainland. The few other passengers have already disappeared, vanishing into the narrow lanes of the island.", "Everything is quiet.", "The young woman called Merle half turns and gestures, and now Eric notices a small group of people with her.", "They smile at him, too.", "One of them, an old man, steps forward.", "\"I'm Tor,\" he says, and holds out his hand.", "Eric shakes it, feeling a little uneasy again.", "\"How did you know I was coming?\" he asks.", "\"Well, we didn't,\" Tor says. \"But we don't get many visitors. Word of your arrival reached us, and we have come to meet you, Mr. ... Seven?\"", "\"Yes. Yes, that's right. Eric Seven.\"", "Tor raises a whiskery eyebrow. His face is long and so weather-beaten it is hard to guess how old he is, and Eric notices that there is something wrong with one of his eyes. It's milky, and doesn't seem to focus. Maybe he's even blind in that eye. Eric tries not to stare.", "\"Well, so it is,\" he says under his breath.", "\"Seven?\" asks Tor. \"One of the True Modern Church?\"", "Eric shakes his head.", "\"My parents were. They were first generation converts, back in the twenty-twenties.", "\"I ...\" He stops, wonders what to say. \"I disappointed them. It means nothing to me.\"", "\"So why keep the name?\" Tor smiles. \"If I may ask.\"", "Eric pauses.", "\"Many reasons, I suppose. Respect, perhaps. And even though I'm not religious, I do like the idea that the renaming represents.\"", "Merle, who's been watching this exchange, tilts her head just a fraction more. Her hair falls across her eyes again. Eric notices it, and feels himself fall even faster for her. He feels ridiculous. He's wondering what to say, what to do, but she's asking him something.", "\"What's that?\" she asks. \"The idea behind it?\"", "\"The founders of the True Modern Church had many strongly held principles and beliefs, but much of their teaching is more practical, to do with how people relate to one another, to society, and so on. They believed that names were shackles, and badges, and that they were full of meaning, and history, and were therefore weapons of prejudice and of snobbery. Anyone who joins the Church is invited to select a new name, one without meaning, without history, without prejudice. Numbers are common in the Church; they seemed neutral. Devoid of meaning.\"", "Merle tilts her head some more. Eric wants to shout with joy, and pictures himself throwing his arms around her. He does neither, but wonders what it would feel like to touch her.", "\"But Mr. Seven,\" Tor says, \"all words have meaning. Especially names. Even new ones. And as for numbers ...\"", "Eric shrugs again.", "\"What was your parents' name before they joined the Church?\"", "Eric is thrown, as he realizes that he doesn't want to talk about his parents. He changes the subject. He looks at Tor and Merle, and the two women and another man who are with them. They are all smiling at him.", "\"So, are you always this friendly to visitors?\"", "\"We don't get many visitors,\" Tor repeats.", "Eric notices that his question has not been answered directly, but lets it drop.", "\"And why have you come to Blessed Island?\" Tor continues.", "He smiles, and just as Eric is about to tell him, something makes him stop short. But it's best not to lie, and in these circumstances he usually falls back on the simple method of giving just enough of the truth.", "\"I'm a journalist,\" he explains. \"My editor wants a feature about your island. She's heard it's a beautiful place. A special place.\"", "Eric can already see that this much is true.", "Behind the welcoming party, a little lane splits into two, one path running off around the shoreline, the other up over a gentle rise. He can see modest, beautifully designed wooden houses, most painted in rich colors: deep reds, light blues, earthy yellows. They have small rose bushes and tall birches. Bees hum in the air.", "Behind him the blue sea slaps at the stones of the quay and gulls cry overhead.", "\"And will you be staying long?\" asks Tor, looking at Eric's single bag.", "\"I don't know yet,\" Eric says.", "He looks at Merle. She smiles.", "CHAPTER 3", "Eric Seven sat in the Cross House with Tor and the others who had met him at the ferry. Except Merle.", "\"Where were you thinking of staying, Mr. Seven?\" Tor had asked, as they walked down the island, south from the quay.", "\"Please. Call me Eric.\"", "\"Where were you thinking of staying, Eric?\"", "\"I don't know.\"", "Tor smiled.", "\"We don't have a hotel. As I said, we —\"", "\"— don't get many visitors,\" Eric finished for him. \"But there must be some kind of guest house, perhaps?\"", "\"No,\" Tor had said. \"There is nothing of that sort. But don't worry. We will make some arrangements for you. In the meantime, you are welcome at my house. We can take tea while the arrangements are made.\"", "They'd walked along the narrow lane, called Homeway, gently curving from time to time, but always heading south down the island, with pretty gardens and sweet houses on either side, some right on the track, some set back on little rocky cliffs among the trees. Now and again, side roads head off; even smaller, twistier paths. The paths have tiny white-on- blue signs: The Bend, The Backbend, The Green, The Crook.", "All very, very beautiful.", "As they'd walked, Eric saw people sitting out at tables in their gardens, enjoying the evening sunshine, taking a glass of wine, or even supper. Everyone had waved and called to Tor, who'd nodded back, smiling.", "After ten minutes they'd arrived at a crossroads, where Homeway crossed another track of the same size, called Crossway.", "\"My home,\" Tor had said, indicating the largest house on the island that Eric had so far seen. Set back on a low hill of its own, Eric saw a big black wooden house dominating the crossroads. It was a slightly different style from the others, less pretty, more ... Eric searched for the word. More", "serious.", "\"This is the center of the island, Eric. Welcome.\"", "Eric sat in Tor's house, his hands around a pottery mug of black tea.", "The two women were introduced as Maya and Jane.", "Younger than Tor, older than Merle. Both were quiet, but seemed friendly enough as they'd made the tea in Tor's large kitchen. The other man is called Henrik, again younger than Tor, though it's hard to be sure. Eric guessed they get a lot of weather living on an island like Blessed.", "Maybe the rumors are true, he thought. Maybe these people", "are", "living forever, maybe Tor is a hundred and twenty, the others spring chickens of ninety-eight.", "\"If there's any way we can help you with your article, anything you require,\" said Henrik, \"you only need ask. We are the Wards of Blessed, and ...\"", "Tor coughed, so quietly it was hard to believe that it was a signal, but Henrik stopped and corrected himself.", "\"Tor is", "the", "Ward of Blessed. We\" — he nodded at Maya and Jane, and pointed to himself — \"are the other wards of the island. So you only need to speak to one of us and it will be arranged.\"", "\"Thank you,\" Eric said. \"You are all very kind.\"", "He wondered where Merle had gone.", "It's not even as if she is beautiful, not in the way people usually mean. She's more than pretty, that's what he can say, but it's not that that has caught him. It is simply her face, her eyes. The moment he saw them something clicked. He suddenly realized what it was. He recognized her face. As if seeing an old friend, long forgotten, and that triggered something else inside him. A thought that bothered him.", "His head swam.", "\"I'm tired,\" he said. \"Excuse me. I'm tired, but I think I could do with some air before bed. Could I ...?\"", "\"But of course,\" Tor replied. \"Why don't you explore the lanes and we'll come and get you when your house is ready. Don't go far.\"", "Eric stands at the top of a small but steep hill known as the Outlook, looking to the west, watching the sun fail to set, thinking about Merle. The path he has taken is an odd one — it is well made, as well made as any he has seen so far, but it stops at the top of the hill by a thicket of bushes, and goes no farther. He has taken a few steps off the path on to a rocky outcrop, from where he can see over the treetops of the woods, to the west.", "Tor's questions about his parents come back to him, and he realizes that it's been many years since he thought about them. Almost as if they were dead. And though they're not dead, they may as well be. He hasn't seen them or spoken to them in years. Not really since he was old enough to leave home, and go out into the world by himself.", "Tor. What is it about the man? His eye is a little unsettling, maybe, but Eric knows there's something else. The man has been nothing but helpful, so what is it that makes Eric feel wary of him?", "He brings back to mind the thought that bothered him at Tor's house. He recognized Merle's face.", "Recognized.", "But that's not possible, because he has never seen her before.", "As if to check, he pulls out his device, and is about to tap on OneDegree again, when he notices another oddity; he has no reception.", "Of course, he's heard of places that have no signal, but he's never been to one.", "A quiver runs through him as he realizes that the device that runs his whole life has just turned into an expensive little box of plastic, silicon, and glass.", "He thinks about OneDegree, how it finds other lives, across the ether, and wonders if that can be done without a machine.", "He looks out at the horizon again.", "He has never been here, yet he feels he has met Merle before, and then, there is that other feeling, that somehow disturbs him even more.", "Why,", "he thinks,", "do I have the feeling that I have come home?", "\"I don't think you'll find that works.\"", "He jumps, and spins around to see Merle approaching from the path.", "He puts it away, feeling stupid. He takes the chance to look at her as she approaches, wishing he had more than these few moments to work out what it is about her. He fails.", "\"I think you're right,\" he says as she comes up to him. \"But how do you get by? Without devices?\"", "\"We get by just fine,\" says Merle, laughing. \"We simply do things differently here.\"", "\"Like having no cars?\"", "\"I believe we are not the only place that has no need for cars,\" she says.", "\"I don't know about need,\" Eric says, \"but yes, since gas became so scarce, there are many places that use alternatives.\"", "He wonders why he can't find anything better to talk to her about than gas. Cars. Devices. They are alone now, for the first time. He can almost feel her body heat, she's standing so close.", "\"You came here by our steamboat, of course.\"", "Eric nods.", "And before that, he thinks, I flew in a good old-fashioned plane, chewing thousands of gallons of aviation fuel. And a ticket with a price that proved it.", "(Continues...)", "Excerpted from", "Midwinterblood", "by", "Marcus Sedgwick", ". Copyright © 2013 Marcus Sedgwick. Excerpted by permission of Roaring Brook Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Teen & Young Adult", "Science Fiction & Fantasy" ]

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[ "Books", "Science & Math", "Nature & Ecology" ]

[ "Examines the history, characteristics, and uses of the Miniature horse." ]

[ "From School Library Journal", "Grade 3-5-Lovely color photographs mark these compact titles. Double-page spreads feature a photograph or colored illustration on the right, with large-print text on the left. Each book discusses a particular breed and its distinguishing features, such as gait, coloring, body style, etc. The authors talk about how the type of horse came into being and its primary use. Each book features illustrious members of the group such as racers; sires; television, book, and movie stars; or rodeo performers. Sometimes a specific breeder or trainer is also discussed. All of the titles include a diagram of a horse with the parts identified and a scale by which the animals are measured. Horse-crazy kids will enjoy these offerings.", "Sally Bates Goodroe, formerly at Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX", "Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc." ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Animals" ]

[ "Two brothers who created one of the world's largest and most productive wineries detail their turbulent early lives and their struggle from poverty and tragedy to wealth and success" ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "The first autobiography, narrated in alternating sections by the sons of Italian immigrants who founded the 62-year-old California Gallo Winery, is both an engrossing business success story and an account of strong fraternal bonding, strengthened by family tragedy. Ably assisted by Henderson (The Sea Will Tell), 85-year-old Ernest (who heads the firm) and younger brother Julio (who died in 1993) recall their early struggles and, following the repeal of Prohibition, the fierce competition they faced-including that of large distillers. The Gallos conducted a publicity campaign to make people \"wine conscious\" that featured their blended and fortified wines used to make sherry, brandy, Thunderbird, sparkling wine and other drinks. They attribute their position as top-selling vintners to their long-term view, innovative research and sales and marketing savvy-so successful that even Coca-Cola \"tried to take us on.\" Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "From Library Journal", "This is the story of the largest winery in the world by the two men who built it. The well-written text alternates between Ernest, who handled the marketing, and Julio, who managed the vineyards. One gradually learns a great deal about the wine business, as did the Gallo brothers, who claim to have known little at the beginning; a government pamphlet in the Modesto Public Library showed them the rudiments of winemaking. Their rags-to-riches story takes us from the Depression to the present day, when wine consumption has increased. No matter what new wine product the Gallos produced, they planned carefully and thoroughly, seldom failing. They refused all mergers and anything that would cause them to lose control of their operations. This is indeed their story, so the reader may not be learning all their foibles and failures. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [For another perspective on the Gallos, see Ellen Hawkes's Blood and Wine, LJ 3/15/93.-Ed.]-George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.", "--George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.", "Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "From", "Booklist", "Given the publication last year of an unflattering and unauthorized portrait of the Brothers Gallo entitled", "Blood and Wine", ", by Ellen Hawkes, and a string of controversies surrounding Ernest's and Julio's treatment of their younger brother, Joseph, this book might better be subtitled \"Our Side of the Story.\" At issue is whether their original winery was part of the business established by their father, making Joseph Jr. a partner, or whether Ernest and Julio built their empire from scratch, learning--as they tell it--to make wine after reading a library book! The two older brothers have also been to court to prevent Joseph from using the Gallo name on the cheese he now sells. Additionally, the Gallos attempt to clarify stories behind their introduction of low-priced, fortified Thunderbird wine, their treatment of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, and their sometimes stormy relations with marketers, distributors, and advertising agencies. Told simply and disarmingly, with the brothers taking turns in commenting on each topic, the Gallos' story proves an interesting one.", "David Rouse", "From Kirkus Reviews", "Though the Gallos' wines might repulse you and their reputation give you the willies, their autobiography is worth a look, if only to get another side of the picture. Without too much pain, the brothers Gallo (with Henderson, And The Sea Will Tell, not reviewed) get past their aw-shucks-work- hard-and-get-anywhere drapery to their nuts-and-bolts shtick: control and marketing (with a nod to hard work, like 120-hour weeks and an annual six months on the road). Marketing: Gallo wine is where it is today--the number-one seller in America--because the brothers got their goods into the hands of savvy distributors, folks who got the wine at eye-level in supermarkets across the land and fused Bartles & James wine coolers into the national retina via television. Control: Need a decent glass supplier? Build a glassworks. Having competition trouble? Slash your prices and crush the buggers. Certain problems are tactfully ignored, like those surrounding Thunderbird, a Gallo-produced down-and-outer's wine rumored to have been marketed by strewing the bottles along skid rows to give the fortified concoction a high profile. Other problems are glossed over: The Gallos' controversial (some might say fascistic) treatment of labor is couched in terms of conflicts between unions (the Teamsters vs. the United Farm Workers). But there is a wealth of background material: family travails, like the murder/suicide of the brothers' parents; Depression days when they sold bulk lots of grapes at railroad sidings; the formation of trade organizations; Julio's obituary for his son Phillip, another suicide, which is enough to break your heart; children spurning the family business; and a vision of Gallo in the 21st century. Whether or not you buy into this version of the Gallo story, it's a family saga with all the makings of a television miniseries: adversity, intrigue, tragedy, manipulation, greed, and a slick presentation. (60 b&w photos, not seen) --", "Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Make this your next book club selection and everyone saves.", "Get 15% off when you order 5 or more of this title for your book club.", "Simply enter the coupon code MORTENSONTHREE at checkout.", "This offer does not apply to eBook purchases. This offer applies to only one downloadable audio per purchase.", "This young readers edition of the worldwide bestseller", "Three Cups of Tea", "has been specially adapted for younger readers and updated by Greg Mortenson to bring his remarkable story of humanitarianism up to date for the present. Includes new photos and illustrations, as well as a special interview by Greg’s twelve-year-old daughter, Amira, who has traveled with her father as an advocate for the Pennies for Peace program for children." ]

[ "About the Author", "Greg Mortenson is the director of the Central Asia Institute. A resident of Montana, he spends several months of the year in Pakistan and Afghanistan.", "David Oliver Relin is a contributing editor for", "Parade", "magazine and", "Skiing", "magazine. He has won more than forty national awards for his work as a writer and editor.", "From", "AudioFile", "Young adult listeners will hear the author's story of becoming lost while on a climbing expedition and finding himself in a Pakistani village. His promise to build a school becomes reality but not without considerable effort. Through Atossa Leoni's clear and deliberate pacing, the listener will follow Mortenson through a myriad of challenges, including a kidnapping. Through Leoni's patient narration, the genesis and importance of the title becomes clear: In Pakistan the first time you are invited in for tea it is as a stranger, the second as an honored guest, the third as family. Through hard work and devotion, Mortenson becomes family to the people he continues to help. M.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine" ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Geography & Cultures" ]

[ "The highly anticipated paperback of the smash new blockbuster original fantasy work from Nebula, Hugo and Clarke award nominated author Yoon Ha Lee!", "Dragons. Art. Revolution.", "Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter, or a subversive. They just want to paint.One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.What they", "can", "do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…" ]

[ "Review", "“A powerful, deeply moving book that is a wonderful read, without question one of the best of the year.” --", "Every Book a Doorway", "―", "Every Book a Doorway", "\"This is a story about the intersection between art and culture; it's about how art isn't frivolous but vital, especially in times of turmoil. A thought-provoking and very timely book.\" ―", "SciFiNow", "\"", "Phoenix Extravagant", "is a book containing ruminations on imperialism, the function and sanctity of art, acculturation, and the morality of love. It also contains a bloody big and unexpectedly adorable mechanical dragon.\" -- Jonathan L. Howard‘A story of art, love, human connection, the power of creation, colonialism, and the roles we all have to play in fighting oppression.’“An arresting tale of loyalty, identity, and the power of art... Lee’s masterful storytelling is sure to wow.” ―", "Publishers Weekly", "‘A fiercely original and enchanting new fantasy.’‘Powerful. Unforgettable. This is another amazing piece of work, and I have the feeling I need to read it again to get it fully!’", "About the Author", "Yoon Ha Lee", "'s novel", "Ninefox Gambit", "came out from Solaris in 2016 to massive critical acclaim and was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo and Nebula Awards. It won the Best First Novel Award in the Locus Awards and the Reddit Fantasy Award. His story collection", "Conservation of Shadows", "was released by Prime Books in 2013. He lives in Louisiana with his family and an extremely lazy cat, and has not yet been eaten by gators." ]

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[ "Books", "Science Fiction & Fantasy", "Fantasy" ]

[ "A comprehensive, neurally based theory of language function that draws on principles of neuroanatomy, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and parallel distributed processing.", "Linguists have mapped the topography of language behavior in many languages in intricate detail. To understand how the brain supports language function, however, we must take into account the principles and regularities of neural function. Mechanisms of neurolinguistic function cannot be inferred solely from observations of normal and impaired language. In", "The Neural Architecture of Grammar", ", Stephen Nadeau develops a neurologically plausible theory of grammatic function. He brings together principles of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and parallel distributed processing and draws on literature on language function from cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, psycholinguistics, and functional imaging to develop a comprehensive neurally based theory of language function.", "Nadeau reviews the aphasia literature, including cross-linguistic aphasia research, to test the model's ability to account for the findings of these empirical studies. Nadeau finds that the model readily accounts for a crucial finding in cross-linguistic studies―that the most powerful determinant of patterns of language breakdown in aphasia is the predisorder language spoken by the subject―and that it does so by conceptualizing grammatic function in terms of the statistical regularities of particular languages that are encoded in network connectivity. He shows that the model provides a surprisingly good account for many findings and offers solutions for a number of controversial problems. Moreover, aphasia studies provide the basis for elaborating the model in interesting and important ways." ]

[ "Review", "Based on data from Competition Model and PDP analyses of aphasia, Nadeau shows how we can construct a new understanding of the neural bases of language processing. This refreshing analysis, based on the idea that computation involves interactive cooperation between classic areas, represents a serious alternative to the earlier account grounded on isolated computational modules. The new approach matches up much more closely to recent results regarding connection pathways, emergent localization, embodied representations, timing of activation, and disorders in aphasia.", "―", "Brian MacWhinney", ", Professor of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University", "About the Author", "Stephen E. Nadeau is Professor of Neurology and Clinical Health and Psychology at the University of Florida and Medical Director of the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center at the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center." ]

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[ "Books", "Reference", "Words, Language & Grammar" ]

[ "[MP3-CD audiobook format in Vinyl case. NOTE: The MP3-CD format requires a compatible audio CD player.]", "[Read by Barrett Whitener] Everything -- well, almost everything -- you know about American history is wrong because most textbooks and popular history books are written by left-wing academic historians who treat their biases as fact. But fear not; Professor Thomas Woods refutes the popular myths in", "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History", ". Professor Woods' book reveals facts that you won't be, or never were, taught in school. It tells you about the ''Books You're Not Supposed to Read'' and takes you on a fast paced, politically incorrect tour of American history that will give you all the information you need to battle and confound left-wing professors, neighbors, and friends." ]

[ "Review", "''It is not surprising that a history guide written by a professor with an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a doctorate from Columbia made it onto the", "New York Times", "bestseller list. What is surprising -- refreshingly so -- is that a text that challenges the liberal canon has so resonated with the American public . . . Provides a compelling rebuttal to the liberal sentiment encrusted upon current history texts. . .", "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History", "is ultimately about truth . . . This is a book everyone interested in American history should have in his library.'' --", "Weekly Standard", "''His take on American history is bold, brilliant, thought-provoking, and what is even better, entertaining.'' --Clyde N. Wilson, professor of history, University of South Carolina''Knowing our past is essential if we are to preserve our freedoms. Professor Woods' work heroically rescues real history from the politically correct memory hole. Every American should read this book.'' --The Honorable Ron Paul, MD, US House of Representatives''An important work that refutes the misrepresentations of American history that have misinformed generations about their country, its origins, purposes, successes, and failures. Riveting, highly readable.'' --Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant secretary of the US Treasury", "About the Author", "Professor THOMAS E. WOODS, JR. (PhD) is the author of the", "New York Times", "bestseller", "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History", ", as well as", "The Church Confronts Modernity: Catholic Intellectuals and the Progressive Era", "and", "The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy", ". He holds four Ivy League degrees, including an AB from Harvard and a PhD from Columbia. He teaches courses in Western civilization, is the associate editor of", "The Latin Mass", "magazine, and is a prolific essayist on historical subjects. He lives with his family in Coram, New York." ]

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[ "Books", "Politics & Social Sciences", "Politics & Government" ]

[ "A call for the scattered spiritual-but-not-religious community to join together under a common identity, this book covers all the aspects of the former New Age movement—from its spirituality and philosophy to its art and politics. Exploring the rise and fall of the movement in popular culture, the study examines what spiritual progressives lost when the movement receded and asks them to consider what they could gain personally and collectively by reviving it. This guide encourages solitary spiritual seekers to reach out to one another and create a revitalized New Age community with the power to help everyone grow in their unfinished spiritual evolution." ]

[ "Review", "“In case you thought the dream of a ‘new age’ of consciousness was dead, think—and read—again. This book, wise, intimate, and deeply informative, is a clarion call about the greatest of conversations: about the future of humanity.”  —Michael Grosso, Ph.D., author,", "The Millennium Myth", "and", "Experiencing the Next World Now", "About the Author", "Teena Booth", "is the founder of the New Age community website www.newagepride.org, the screenwriter for", "The Natalee Holloway Story", ", and the author of", "Falling from Fire", ". She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.", "David Spangler", "has been a teacher of spirituality since 1964 and is the author of", "Everyday Miracles", ",", "Manifestation: Creating the Life You Love", ", and", "Reimagination", ". He lives in Issaquah, Washington." ]

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[ "Books", "Religion & Spirituality" ]

[ "NEW YORK TIMES", "BESTSELLER •", "From the first woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court comes this fascinating book about the history and evolution of the highest court in the land.", "“[A] succinct, snappy account of how today’s court—so powerful, so controversial and so frequently dissected by the media—evolved from such startlingly humble and uncertain beginnings.”—", "The New York Times", "Out of Order", "sheds light on the centuries of change and upheaval that transformed the Supreme Court from its uncertain beginnings into the remarkable institution that thrives and endures today. From the early days of circuit-riding, when justices who also served as trial judges traveled thousands of miles per year on horseback to hear cases, to the changes in civil rights ushered in by Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall; from foundational decisions such as", "Marbury v. Madison", "to modern-day cases such as", "Hamdi v. Rumsfeld,", "Justice O’Connor weaves together stories and lessons from the history of the Court, charting turning points and pivotal moments that have helped define our nation’s progress.   With unparalleled insight and her unique perspective as a history-making figure, Justice O’Connor takes us on a personal exploration, painting vivid pictures of Justices in history, including Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of the greatest jurists of all time; Thurgood Marshall, whose understated and succinct style would come to transform oral argument; William O. Douglas, called “The Lone Ranger” because of his impassioned and frequent dissents; and John Roberts, whom Justice O’Connor considers to be the finest practitioner of oral argument she has ever witnessed in Court. We get a rare glimpse into the Supreme Court’s inner workings: how cases are chosen for hearing; the personal relationships that exist among the Justices; and the customs and traditions, both public and private, that bind one generation of jurists to the next—from the seating arrangements at Court lunches to the fiercely competitive basketball games played in the Court Building’s top-floor gymnasium, the so-called “highest court in the land.”   Wise, candid, and assured,", "Out of Order", "is a rich offering of inspiring stories of one of our country’s most important institutions, from one of our country’s most respected pioneers." ]

[ "Review", "“A brief and accessible history of the nation’s highest court, narrated by a true historical figure and a jurisprudential giant.”", "—The Boston Globe", "“A vibrantly personal book [that] displays O’Connor’s uncommon common sense, her dry wit and her reverence for the nation’s institutions.”", "—", "Richmond Times-Dispatch", "“Full of riveting anecdotes . . . a compact history . . . albeit a more lighthearted, personality-filled one than you might find in a high school classroom.”", "—Associated Press", "“Candid, opinionated and even entertaining throughout . . . a well-considered, lively survey of what the Supreme Court does, how it’s constituted and, bonus round, how to argue before it.”", "—", "Kirkus Reviews", "“In this delightful collection of tales, Sandra Day O’Connor shows us the personal side of the Supreme Court while reminding us of the critical role the Court plays. It’s a lovely book—and a valuable treasure for all Americans.”", "—Walter Isaacson, author of", "Steve Jobs", "“A maker of history, Sandra Day O’Connor proves herself an engaging historian in this fine book, taking us inside perhaps the most important and least understood institution in American life: the Supreme Court. With her characteristic clear-eyed common sense and a natural talent for storytelling, Justice O’Connor has given us a valuable and entertaining gift.”", "—Jon Meacham, author of", "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power", "“We have always known that Sandra Day O’Connor was a wise and thoughtful Justice of the Supreme Court. But we haven’t always appreciated what a talented storyteller and historian she is as well. This, her most recent book, contains succinct and readable stories from the history of the Supreme Court, and it nicely demonstrates that remarkable talent.”", "—Gordon S. Wood, author of", "The Idea of America", "“Justice O’Connor has written an insightful and charming insider’s take on the workings of the Supreme Court of the United States throughout history. A historical figure herself—the first woman to sit on the Court—O’Connor is the perfect guide through the twists and turns that have made the Court such a powerful force in shaping American society from the Founding to present times.”", "—Annette Gordon-Reed, author of", "The Hemingses of Monticello", "“Justice O’Connor has written a brief  history of the Supreme Court that is lively, informative, and often inspiring. Drawing on her own experience and wisdom, she is giving us a civics lesson, but it’s like nothing you remember from high school.”", "—Evan Thomas, author of", "Ike’s Bluff", "About the Author", "Sandra Day O’Connor", "was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised on the Lazy B Ranch. She attended Stanford University, where she took Wallace Stegner’s writing course. She began her public service in Phoenix, and was majority leader of the Arizona Senate before becoming a judge. She is the author of", "Lazy B,", "a memoir about growing up in the Southwest, and", "The Majesty of the Law,", "a reflection on American law and life. President Reagan nominated her as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and she served from 1981 to 2006. She serves as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary, and is on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "Looming LargeHistoric Intersections of the Presidentand the Supreme CourtThe role of the judicial branch in our system of government differs markedly from that of the executive branch. Each shoulders substantial powers and obligations under the Constitution. Whereas the Executive enforces the law, however, the Supreme Court interprets the law and has no power to command obedience or appropriate funds to enforce its orders. Whereas the President is elected by the people and serves for limited terms, federal judges are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and serve for life. Whereas the Executive reflects the political will of the majority, the judiciary is designed to check assertions of power by the political branches. It thus comes as little surprise that throughout history, the Executive and the Supreme Court have intersected, overlapped, and even clashed.A story is told that William Howard Taft once found himself stranded at a small country railroad station. Informed that the express train would stop only for a large group of passengers, Taft wired the conductor: “Stop at Hicksville. Large party waiting to catch train.” When the train stopped, Taft boarded, alone. He then turned to the confused conductor. “You can go on ahead,” he declared. “I am the large party.”We laugh at that story because we remember that Mr. Taft, at his heaviest, tipped the scales at over three hundred pounds. But as the twenty-seventh President of the United States and the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, he also was the only person ever to have tipped the scales by holding both of those incredibly “large” offices—experiencing firsthand the responsibility of heading two of the most significant institutions in the free world. His time in these two roles put him on two different sides of the same constitutional coin.Indeed, our remarkable Constitution recognizes the individual “largeness” of these governmental bodies while acknowledging that their relative strengths will at times coexist, at times collide, and nearly always manage to carry out the will of the majority while safeguarding the rights of the minority. A look at the dynamic between these two institutions speaks volumes about the genius of our Constitution.To find an example of the judiciary and the presidency surviving the collision of two larger-than-life personalities, we need not travel very far into the early days of our republic. Second cousins John Marshall and Thomas Jefferson were anything but the kissing kind. Indeed, their relationship was privately nasty and publicly only slightly better. Their exchanges—well documented, but not well-mannered—planted the seeds for an all-out war over the proper role of the judiciary vis-à-vis the other branches of government, and set the trajectory of constitutional law as we know it today.Jefferson almost was not our third president, coming to the post only after the House of Representatives broke an electoral tie vote in his race with Aaron Burr. Marshall almost was not our fourth Chief Justice, receiving the nomination from John Adams only after first choice John Jay declined reappointment. But once fate brought them to their respective positions of authority in 1801, Jefferson and Marshall came to blows in ways that put even today’s climate of political acrimony to shame.Early in his administration, Jefferson attempted to have Marshall impeached. He accused him of “irregular and censurable” behavior.1 In Marshall’s hands, Jefferson lamented, “the law is nothing more than an ambiguous text, to be explained by his sophistry into any meaning which may subserve his personal malice.”2 He spoke vehemently of his bitter disappointment in his own appointees to the Supreme Court, calling them “lazy” and weak for not standing up to the “crafty chief judge.”3Marshall, in turn, labeled Jefferson “totally unfit” for the presidency.4Jefferson called the Chief Justice a man “of lax lounging manners . . . and a profound hypocrisy.”5 Over time, these two actors played out a rather hateful drama, rooted in personal animus and fundamental disagreement as to the proper role of government and the appropriate balance between the judicial and executive branches.History teaches us that it was Marshall’s decision in Marbury v. Madison that permanently legitimated and strengthened the Supreme Court and that gave the Chief Justice his least obvious but perhaps greatest victory over the President. Many say that that case, which came to stand for the authority of the Court to review the acts of the political branches, might as well have been captioned Marshall v. Jefferson.Here is what happened. In the watershed 1800 election, Marshall’s Federalist Party lost control of the executive and the legislative branches to Jefferson’s Republicans, and in an effort to retain some presence in government, the Federalists decided to pack the Court before they left office. President Adams appointed Marshall, then the secretary of state, as Chief Justice, and Congress passed a number of pieces of legislation to restructure the court system and provide the lame-duck Senate and outgoing President Adams with many new positions to fill. Adams filled them—or thought he did—through a series of midnight appointments.But Jefferson fought back. When he took office as President, he refused to deliver the commissions of some of the Adams appointees. When William Marbury, an appointed judge who didn’t get his commission, sought a court order compelling the administration to deliver his commission, the case made its way to the Supreme Court.Chief Justice Marshall, to the surprise of many, denied the order that would have forced his nemesis Jefferson to issue the judicial commissions. That might have seemed like a victory for the new President.But the “victory” that Marshall handed to Jefferson came with a silver lining for the Court and for himself. Marshall and the Court denied the order to grant Marbury’s commission on the grounds that the part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that had given the Supreme Court the power to issue such orders was contrary to the Constitution.Writing for a unanimous Court in 1803, Marshall declared “that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by [the Constitution]” and, more important, that it is “emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department” to say what the Constitution means.6In one fell swoop, Marshall gave up a small power that Congress had conferred upon the Court and took in exchange an even larger, overarching power—to examine and decide the ultimate constitutionality of all acts of Congress that one challenged in Court. Despite the vehement disagreement of his cousin Thomas Jefferson, this bold assertion by John Marshall about the power of the Court has survived as the final and official answer to this day. Today, portraits of Marbury and Madison hang in the Justices’ private dining room in the Supreme Court—an ongoing reminder of how the Court established its role as a coequal branch.The lessons to be learned from the story of Jefferson and Marshall are many. It is the story of a government that develops and evolves, that grows and changes, over time. It is the story of large institutions competing and accommodating and evolving in ways that may both amaze and alarm us. Perhaps even more significant, it is a story that begins a distinctively human thread that is woven throughout all of the Court’s history: The judiciary and the presidency are inhabited by real people, with real emotions, real foibles, and a very real—if sometimes conflicting—commitment to doing what is right.A second historic moment of interaction between the presidency and the judiciary stars President Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney. It represents one of the only times a sitting president has deliberately defied a direct court order.In the early days of the Civil War, the fragile American nation faced serious threats from within. The Southern states had broken away, and European powers were poised to intervene, to divide the young nation permanently into Union and Confederacy. The war posed another sort of danger—a danger less obvious, perhaps, than columns of soldiers marching through the countryside but far more insidious to a nation “conceived in Liberty.” It was the danger that a government at war might use its extraordinary powers to stamp out political opposition. In April 1861, a trainload of Union soldiers passed through Baltimore en route to Washington, summoned to man the defensive fortifications around the capital. They were greeted by an angry mob of Southern sympathizers and had to fight their way across Baltimore to reach the station where their train to Washington was waiting. Later that night, local authorities who favored the South sabotaged the bridges and telegraph lines connecting Baltimore and Washington. Their story was that they feared the soldiers might return and seek revenge for the riot, but their actions endangered the Union by cutting off the two critical cities.With Congress out of session, President Lincoln found himself alone in the capital with the rebel army closing in from the south and an apparent insurrection brewing to the north. Taking action as commander in chief, he directed local military leaders to secure the railroad line from Washington to Philadelphia, and allowed them to suspend “habeas corpus” in that pursuit. Sometimes called the “Great Writ,” habeas corpus is the relief that a prisoner requests from a court when they are seeking release from unlawful detention. Thus, by suspending the writ, Lincoln was effectively permitting the Union army to arrest civilians without a warrant, without probable cause, without a speedy jury trial—indeed, without any process at all. Mr. John Merryman, a member of the Maryland legislature who had been recruiting rebel soldiers, was arrested by a Union general under this scheme, and hauled off to Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.In those days, Justices of the Supreme Court were still “riding circuit”—literally riding their horses in circles around the country to sit as federal judges on lower courts in addition to their service on the Supreme Court. Accordingly, Merryman’s plea for relief from detention was directed at his local circuit judge, who happened to be Chief Justice Taney. Taney was no friend of Lincoln’s administration. Upon receiving Merryman’s plea, he ordered Merryman’s jailer at Fort McHenry to bring Merryman to the court, a command that is the essence of habeas corpus relief. (Habeas corpus literally translates as something like “present the body.”) The commander refused, sending Taney an aide instead with the message that the President had authorized the colonel to suspend the Great Writ.Taney was livid. He wrote an incendiary decision, holding that it was for Congress, and only Congress, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. The President’s job was only to see that the laws be “faithfully executed.”7 He could not change the nation’s laws to suit his interests, even in times of war.Lincoln gave Taney no response until Congress reconvened a month later, on July 4. At that point, he let loose his own barrage of heated rhetoric, some of which still echoes to this day. Lincoln noted that the Confederacy had renounced the Constitution under which Taney had purported to invalidate the President’s actions and argued that, had he not acted when he did, Washington would have fallen into Southern hands and there would have been no Congress to respond to the rebellion. He famously asked: “Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?”8In any event, Congress retroactively approved Lincoln’s decision to suspend the writ and Merryman was never released. Scholars remain divided on the question whether Lincoln had the power to act as he did under the Constitution’s “Suspension Clause,” which says only that habeas corpus shall not be suspended “except when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.” Because it appears in the part of the Constitution that deals with Congress’s powers, some say suspension is for Congress alone. On the other hand, because it appears to permit suspension “in cases of rebellion” and it is the President who never takes a recess and must always safeguard the nation as commander in chief, others say that Lincoln did only what the Constitution permits. This is not the place for me to offer my own views in that debate. Suffice it to say that Lincoln won the debate in his own day, especially because Congress itself eventually sided with him in March 1863. And to his immense credit, Lincoln did not use this express authorization from Congress to trample on the civil liberties that the writ of habeas corpus was meant to protect.Recent historical studies have made clear that Lincoln never tried to suppress political dissent, and always understood that a democracy grows stronger by allowing the people to voice their opposition to government, even in the midst of war. He appreciated that the strength of the Union lay not only in force of arms but in the liberties that were guaranteed by the open, and sometimes heated, exchange of ideas. And he no doubt would have been pleased to know that, soon after his assassination and the conclusion of the war, his predictions that habeas corpus would quickly be reinstated came to pass. In his words, “what constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence” is “not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength of our gallant and disciplined army,” but rather “the love of liberty” and “the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of men, in all lands, everywhere.”9In this way, what might otherwise be remembered as a clash between these two “large” historic figures can be seen as a moment of large respect for the rule of law by both the President and the Chief Justice. The constitutional debate sparked by Lincoln and Taney rages on even now. But we would do well to look beyond the conflict and to appreciate the character of the men behind the story. Their sincere, even if conflicting, examples of dedication to principle—and to the people of a struggling nation—loom large to this day.A third, well-known account of the intersection between the large scopes of influence of the judiciary and the presidency is found in the story of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937. Roosevelt’s bill, more commonly known as the “court-packing plan,” would have increased the number of Supreme Court Justices from nine to fifteen. Indeed, the current head count of nine is engraved neither in stone nor in the Constitution, and could very well have turned out differently had Roosevelt had his way.President Roosevelt cited the heavy workload and advancing age of many of the Supreme Court’s then-sitting Justices to justify his proposed increase in ranks. However, historians have long focused on what is widely believed to be the real reason for his plan: According to accepted wisdom, Roosevelt was more than a little annoyed at the current Justices. The Court had been giving a thumbs-down to so much of his “New Deal” legislation—various economic programs targeted at redressing the aftermath of the Great Depression.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Politics & Social Sciences", "Politics & Government" ]

[ "For the past half century, John Keegan, the greatest military historian of our time, has been returning to the scenes of America’s most bloody and wrenching war to ponder its lingering conundrums: the continuation of fighting for four years between such vastly mismatched sides; the dogged persistence of ill-trained, ill-equipped, and often malnourished combatants; the effective absence of decisive battles among some two to three hundred known to us by name. Now Keegan examines these and other puzzles with a peerless understanding of warfare, uncovering dimensions of the conflict that have eluded earlier historiography.While offering original and perceptive insights into psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics, Keegan reveals the war’s hidden shape—a consequence of leadership, the evolution of strategic logic, and, above all, geography, the Rosetta Stone of his legendary decipherments of all great battles. The American topography, Keegan argues, presented a battle space of complexity and challenges virtually unmatched before or since. Out of a succession of mythic but chaotic engagements, he weaves an irresistible narrative illuminated with comparisons to the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and other conflicts.", "The American Civil War", "is sure to be hailed as a definitive account of its eternally fascinating subject." ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "American scholars tend to write the Civil War as a great national epic, but Keegan (", "The First World War", "), an Englishman with a matchless knowledge of comparative military history, approaches it as a choice specimen with fascinating oddities. His more thematic treatment has its shortcomings—his campaign and battle narratives can be cursory and ill-paced—but it pays off in far-ranging discussions of broader features: the North's strategic challenge in trying to subdue a vast Confederacy ringed by formidable natural obstacles and lacking in significant military targets; the importance of generalship; the unusual frequency of bloody yet indecisive battles; and the fierceness with which soldiers fought their countrymen for largely ideological motives. Keegan soars above the conflict to delineate its contours, occasionally swooping low to expand on a telling detail or a moment of valor or pathos. Some of his thoughts, as on the unique femininity of Southern women and how the Civil War stymied socialism in America, are less than cogent. Still, Keegan's elegant prose and breadth of learning make this a stimulating, if idiosyncratic, interpretation of the war. 16 pages of photos, 12 maps.", "(Oct. 21)", "Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.", "From", "Bookmarks Magazine", "In his broad, single-volume history, Keegan offers an outsider's view of the American Civil War, providing fresh insights from a bracingly impartial perspective. However, though critics were quick to voice their admiration for Keegan's previous works, they were deeply disappointed by", "The American Civil War", ". His narrative is lamentably riddled with inaccuracies, including the dates, locations, and events of major battles. He incorrectly attributes well-known quotes, presents disproved myths as facts, and repeatedly contradicts himself. Critics also bemoaned the brevity of the book, which muddled the repetitive descriptions of battles and troop movements, and Keegan's obscure asides. \"He's loath to leave any of his erudition off the table,\" opines the", "New York Times", ". Critics expected more from this eminent historian, and readers may be similarly disappointed.", "Review", "Acclaim for John Keegan's THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR“Keegan excels at explaining the events and circumstances leading up to the Civil War, and explores how it might not have happened. He depicts with great clarity the haphazard nature in which both governments and armies entered the war. Keegan describes President Abraham Lincoln’s frustrations with his generals with such realism that you almost have a sense of being there with Lincoln….an intimate description of Robert E. Lee’s surrender [is] one of the best I have read. Here, Keegan shows his talents as a historian as he states that Americans recognize the Civil War as ‘the struggle which completed the Revolution and made possible the realism of the ideals on which the Founding Fathers launched the Republic in the 1770s.’ Amen….This British historian has thereby nailed the American psyche’s captivation with its Civil War.”            James T. Course,", "Times Higher Education", "“Written in crisp prose [with] a confident, distinctive voice…insightful [and] amusing….On matters of grand strategy Keegan is at his best. He comprehends the Civil War as a whole, as a war won or lost in the vast western theater, and one in which the winners were those few generals, along with Abraham Lincoln, who developed a ‘geostrategic appreciation,’ a national rather than local understanding, of the conflict….Keegan’s own geographic range inspires comparative insights that will prod….Keegan’s exploration of how and why the war was fought the way it was fought leaves us much to ponder.”            David W. Blight,", "Slate", "“an impressive body of ideas for specialists and general readers alike to ponder.”            Dennis Showalter,", "American History Magazine", "“Even buffs steeped in the subject will find value in Keegan’s observations and conclusions, especially about the nature of battle….The one-volume approach is refreshing and, these days, unusual.”            Joe Mysak,", "Bloomberg News", "“an intelligent survey of the conflict….Keegan offers many trenchant asides….is shrewd about Ulysses Grant’s ability to leverage ‘evolving technologies’ [and] draws an interesting parallel between the approaches of Stonewall Jackson and the German World War II leader, Erwin Rommel….Keegan is fresh, stimulating and even provocative.”            Alan Cate,", "Cleveland Plain Dealer", "“[A]ssiduously researched and comprehensive…Keegan gives us a vivid, panoramic overview of dynamic, mid-19th century America…. Besides providing an insightful description of the more urban, industrial North and the slaveholding, agricultural South, Keegan takes us on an authoritative grand tour of Civil War battles…. He has walked these killing grounds [which] he clearly and knowingly describes…. Keegan pays close attention to the geography and logistics of battles and how they related to grand military strategy….Aside from the cinematic battle descriptions, Keegan delves deeply into the psychological makeup of the leading generals…. he is able to examine American history more objectively and with insights that might elude an American historian.…Written for the general reader,", "The American Civil War", "is a wonderfully concise, comprehensive and insightful work. It is also heartfelt history.”            Chris Patsilelis,", "Philadelphia Inquirer", "“Keegan takes the long view of [the Civil War], putting it into broad historical context amid history’s great conflicts, from the Napoleonic wars and World War I to Vietnam.”            Dwight Garner,", "New York Times", "“[Keegan] applies his outstanding grasp on the nature of human conflict to offer a fresh evaluation of the American Civil War….Among the numerous areas he explores are psychology, ideology, and demographics, but most tellingly, the role of geography in the unfolding course of the war.”            Nicholas Basbanes,", "Fine Books Magazine", "“[T]houghtful, incisive, and so much more than repetitious accounts of which regiment went where…. From the first paragraph it is evident that this is a thoughtful work…. [Keegan] breaks down the elements of battle in the war, noting the unusual fact that they were so frequent compared to other wars of the time, and so intense, and ponders how a single democratic society could produce such a ferocious intensity of war against itself….cogent, well-argued and insightful book, which approaches so much of the story from a vantage different than that of most of our Civil War scholarship.”            William C. Davis,", "The Military Book Club", "“[In t]his sophisticated survey….Keegan places battle strategy at the core of his narrative but does not get mired in the sandbox of the mechanics of war. His balanced interpretation illuminates changes shaped by combat, but his analysis moves beyond battlefield outcomes….With fluid assurance Keegan distils the challenging literature that has made the Civil War one of the 19th century’s most popular subjects [and] weaves together America’s rebirth of freedom with the transformative powers of a war that turned home guards into warriors when citizen soldiers replaced professional combatants…. Keegan’s encyclopaedic knowledge pays rich dividends, as he invokes examples, from Waterloo to the Somme, from Sherlock Holmes to Churchill [while his] asides offer fresh insight…. The precision and punch of Keegan’s narrative will please a broad audience.”            Catherine Clinton,", "BBC History Magazine", "“Keegan’s observations on the human and logistic factors are fascinating [and] contain the essence of what made the war different. Keegan’s lifelong study of war and engagement with American history from his earliest years endow his prose with a majesty of judgment….it is hard to see how Keegan’s masterful and thought-provoking book could be beaten.”           Allan Mallinson,", "The Times", "(London)“Instead of adding to the pile of chronicles of the American Civil War, [Keegan] has written a critique of them, from the point of view of a deep-thinking, distinguished military historian [with] penetrating insight, a trenchant style and unexpected angles of approach….a delightful conceit, elegantly executed….The emphasis on geography is…most original….full of unexpected treasures….All Civil War buffs will enjoy this study and learn something from it.”            Hugh Brogan,", "Telegraph", "(London)“One of our finest military historians, Keegan brings a shrewd and discerning eye to [the Civil War]…. [Keegan’s] grasp of how the generals wrested to formulate grand strategy in a context of evolving resources, an uncertain appreciation of topography in the absence of good maps, and definitive developments on the battlefield [exemplify his] commanding grasp of warfare in the modern era.", "The American Civil War", "derives much of its freshness from the author’s broad perspective across time and place.”            Richard Carwardine,", "Literary Review", "“Sir John’s achievement is to bring an international perspective….As well as looking back at European influences, Sir John looks forward to how the civil war changed European warfare.”", "Economist", "“one of the world’s most eminent military historians….[presents] a new overview of what can truly be regarded as the first modern war….In its range and sweep, this book is difficult to better and promises to become the definitive account of the conflict from this side of the Atlantic.”            John Crossland,", "Daily Mail", "“[The] leading military historian of the English-speaking world….has now turned this hand to writing a comprehensive military history of the American Civil War….rich and nutritious book….fascinating….excellent portraits of all the principal commanders on both sides….every page of this book is incisive and readable. Even American experts on this terrible and absorbing conflict will learn much from Keegan’s account of it.”            Paul Johnson,", "Standpoint", "“a captivating narrative, huge in scope.”            Elizabeth Grice,", "Telegraph", "“engaging….The master of military history [writes] a highly readable overview of the war that goes far beyond merely describing who fought where. Through Keegan’s book, one gains an understanding of why the battles happened as they did, where they did, and how they fit into the whole story of the war and its resulting influe...", "About the Author", "John Keegan", "was for many years senior lecturer in military history at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and has been a fellow at Princeton University and a visiting professor of history at Vassar College. He is the author of twenty books, including the acclaimed", "The Face of Battle", "and", "The Second World War", ". He is the defense editor of", "The Daily Telegraph", "(London). He lives in Wiltshire, England.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "North and South Divide AMERICA IS DIFFERENT. Today, when American \"exceptionalism,\" as it is called, has become the subject of academic study, the United States, except in wealth and military power, is less exceptional than it was in the years when it was to be reached only by sailing ship across the Atlantic. Then, before American culture had been universalised by Hollywood, the technology of television, and the international music industry, America really was a different place and society from the Old World, which had given it birth. Europeans who made the voyage noted differences of every sort, not only political and economic, but human and social as well. Americans were bigger than Europeans—even their slaves were bigger than their African forebears—thanks to the superabundance of food that American farms produced. American parents allowed their children a freedom not known in Europe; they shrank from punishing their sons and daughters in the ways European fathers and mothers did. Ulysses S. Grant, the future general in chief of the Union armies and president of the United States, recalled in his memoirs that there was \"never any scolding or punishment by my parents, no objection to rational enjoyments such as fishing, going to the creek a mile away to swim in summer, taking a horse and visiting my grandparents in the adjoining county, fifteen miles off, skating on the ice in winter, taking a horse and sleigh when there was snow on the ground.\" It was a description of childhood as experienced in most prosperous country-dwelling families of the period. The Grants were modestly well-to-do, Jesse Grant, the future president's father, having a tanning business and also working an extensive property of arable land and forest. But then most established American families, and the Grants had come to the New World in 1630, were prosperous. It was prosperity that underlay their easy way with their offspring, since they were not obliged to please neighbours by constraining their children. The children of the prosperous were nevertheless well-behaved because they were schooled and churchgoing. The two went together, though not in lockstep. Lincoln was a notably indulgent father though he was not a doctrinal Christian. Churchgoing America, overwhelmingly Protestant before 1850, needed to read the Bible, and north of the Mason-Dixon line, which informally divided North from South, four-fifths of Americans could read and write. Almost all American children in the North, and effectively all in New England, went to school, a far higher proportion than in Europe, where literacy even in Britain, France, and Germany lay around two-thirds. America was also becoming college-going, with the seats of higher education, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, the College of William and Mary, established and flourishing. America could afford to fund and run colleges because it was already visibly richer than Europe, rich agriculturally, though it was not yet a food-exporting economy, and increasingly rich industrially. It was a newspaper country with a vast newspaper-reading public and a large number of local and some widely distributed city newspapers. Its medical profession was large and skilful, and the inventiveness and mechanical aptitude of its population was remarked upon by all visitors. So too was the vibrant and passionate nature of its politics. America was already a country of ideas and movements, highly conscious of its birth in freedom and its legacy of revolution; anti-imperialism had been its founding principle. During the decades before the Civil War, America was experiencing an industrial boom and its own distinctive industrial revolution. England's industrial revolution had taken its impetus from the development of steam power, fuelled by the island's abundant deposits of coal and directed to the exploitation of its large deposits of metal ores. Early-nineteenth-century America was also beginning to dig coal and iron ore, of which its soil contained enormous quantities, but at the outset it was two other sources of power which drove its proliferating factories and workshops: waterpower and wood. The rivers of New England, New York, and Pennsylvania were harnessed to turn waterwheels and its extensive forests to supply timber for burning. In Europe the days were long gone when forests could be cut down to supply heat. The Continent, outside Scandinavia and the Russian interior, was highly deforested. In America, trees were still an encumbrance which had to be felled to provide land for farming, but which also, when sawn, provided the raw material for every sort of building and manufactured item. America needed deforestation if its soils were to be farmed in the future, and in that process industrialisation and land clearing went hand in hand. During the 1830s and later, New York City consumed several million loads of wood every year, cut and stripped from Maine and New Jersey. It was only gradually that mines were dug and extended, originally by immigrants from the English coalfields and Welsh valleys, but by 1860 production in the Pennsylvanian anthracite fields had increased fortyfold in thirty years. By that date a distinctive economic geography of the United States could be discerned, with expanding industrial regions centred on New York and Philadelphia, exploited coalfields in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Allegheny region of the Appalachians, a developing industrial region around Pittsburgh, and a thriving textile and engineering zone in southern New England. In the North the proportion of farmworkers in the labour force had fallen below 40 percent, while it remained above 80 percent in the South. An economic map would show that there was no industrial centre south of a line drawn from St. Louis to Louisville to Baltimore; in the South nine-tenths of the population lived in the countryside, but in the North only a quarter. Timber also provided the steam power for paddleboats, which by 1850 were to be seen on every navigable waterway, and the railway locomotives, which were becoming familiar on the tracks which were stretching out to link all the more important cities to one another and to the seaboard ports. By 1850 there were 9,000 miles of track in the United States; by 1860, 30,000. Rivers and then canals had been the means of transportation and distribution in the early stages of the boom. Canal boats and river steamers were rapidly overtaken in importance by the railroad. By 1850, America had surpassed Britain, home of the railroad revolution, in miles of operating track; indeed, American track mileage exceeded that of the rest of the world put together.The United States was still an industrial client of Europe, particularly Britain, from which most manufactured goods came, but that was due to Britain's head start in the industrial revolution. By the end of the century this would no longer be the case. In the meantime, America was ceasing to be a predominately rural country and becoming an urban one. At the outbreak of the Civil War, America had more country-dwellers than town-dwellers, many more in the South, but the trend was for town-dwellers to outnumber country-dwellers. Cities were being founded at a breakneck rate and growing at exponential speed. The old cities of colonial settlement, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, retained their importance, but new cities were appearing and expanding, particularly beyond the Appalachian chain and even beyond the Mississippi; for a time Cincinnati promised to be the most important of the new metropolises, but it was rapidly overtaken by Chicago, which grew from a population of 5,000 in 1840 to 109,000 in 1860. It might be said that Chicago was only keeping pace with the United States itself, whose population increased from 5,306,000 in 1800 to 23,192,000 in 1850. Part of the increase came from migration, though the decades of mass immigration lay in the future; most of it was the result of a high birthrate. The astonishing productivity of the United States furnished work for all who chose to stay in the towns, while the abundant availability of land for settlement in the new states beyond the Appalachians and the Mississippi attracted would-be farmers, or employed farmers seeking better land, in large numbers. In whichever direction a visitor to the United States looked, the country was growing. It was not that America was giving up the land. On the contrary: in the twenty years before 1860 enormous areas of the subcontinent were put under the plough; but the work was done by internal migrants who abandoned their homes on the thin, worked-out soils of New England, Virginia, and the Carolinas to trek westward into the new land in and beyond the Mississippi and Missouri valleys. Federal land policy encouraged the migrants. In 1800 public land was sold at $2 an acre, with a quarter to be paid down and four years to pay off the residue. By 1820 the price had gone down to $1.25 an acre. Land was sold in subdivisions of a section of 640 acres. By 1832 the government accepted bids for a quarter of a quarter section, 40 acres. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act, which allowed a settler free possession of 160 acres if farmed for five years. The legislation effectively transferred eighty million acres of public land into private hands, and accommodated half a million people. American land policy was the making of such states as Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the Middle West proper. As settlement moved on to the more distant lands of the prairies in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, the first comers got the best of the deal. The prairies were settled during an uncharacteristic era of moist climate, which conferred bountiful crops on the hardworking. By the twentieth century, desiccation had set in and many farms joined the dust bowl.Settlement was not exclusively by free men. Cotton profits pulled plantation owners westward into new lands during the period 1830–50, particularly onto the dark, rich soils of the \"black belt\" of Alabama and Mississippi, but even as far away as the river lands of Texas. It is calculated that 800,000 slaves were mo...", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "History", "Americas" ]

[ "This innovative political history provides a new perspective on the enduring question of the origins and nature of the Indian revolts against the Spanish that exploded in the southern Andean highlands in the 1780s.", "Subverting Colonial Authority", "focuses on one of the main—but least studied—centers of rebel activity during the age of the Túpac Amaru revolution: the overwhelmingly indigenous Northern Potosí region of present-day Bolivia. Tracing how routine political conflict developed into large-scale violent upheaval, Sergio Serulnikov explores the changing forms of colonial domination and peasant politics in the area from the 1740s (the starting point of large political and economic transformations) through the early 1780s, when a massive insurrection of the highland communities shook the foundations of Spanish rule.", "Drawing on court records, government papers, personal letters, census documents, and other testimonies from Bolivian and Argentine archives,", "Subverting Colonial Authority", "addresses issues that illuminate key aspects of indigenous rebellion, European colonialism, and Andean cultural history. Serulnikov analyzes long-term patterns of social conflict rooted in local political cultures and regionally based power relations. He examines the day-to-day operations of the colonial system of justice within the rural villages as well as the sharp ideological and political strife among colonial ruling groups. Highlighting the emergence of radical modes of anticolonial thought and ethnic cooperation, he argues that Andean peasants were able to overcome entrenched tendencies toward internal dissension and fragmentation in the very process of marshaling both law and force to assert their rights and hold colonial authorities accountable. Along the way, Serulnikov shows, they not only widened the scope of their collective identities but also contradicted colonial ideas of indigenous societies as either secluded cultures or pliant objects of European rule." ]

[ "Review", "“", "Subverting Colonial Authority", "is a major contribution to the ongoing revision of the history of colonial Latin America and of the development of the modern world in general. It should be read by scholars not only of Latin America but also of world and even European history.”—Karen Spalding, author of", "Huarochirí: An Andean Society under Inca and Spanish Rule", ""Sergio Serulnikov analyzes the root causes, key moments, and bloody consequences of the massive indigenous revolt that nearly toppled Spanish rule in the southern Andes in the early 1780s. Exhaustively researched and cogently argued, this is a major work on the connection between everyday resistance to colonialism and revolutionary upheaval to end it forever. Essential reading for students and scholars of colonial rule everywhere."—John H. Coatsworth, Harvard University", "From the Back Cover", "\"Sergio Serulnikov analyzes the root causes, key moments, and bloody consequences of the massive indigenous revolt that nearly toppled Spanish rule in the southern Andes in the early 1780s. Exhaustively researched and cogently argued, this is a major work on the connection between everyday resistance to colonialism and revolutionary upheaval to end it forever. Essential reading for students and scholars of colonial rule everywhere.\"--John H. Coatsworth, Harvard University", "About the Author", "Sergio Serulnikov is Assistant Professor of History at Boston College.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "History", "Americas" ]

[ "150 color photos/illus. 8 11/16 x 11 5/8." ]

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[ "Whose Money is it Anyway?", "He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. \"I tell you the truth,\" he said, \"this poor widow has put in more than all the others.\" Luke 21:2–3", "By the world's standards, two small coins don't amount to much. But the widow in Luke's story didn't just give two small coins—she gave everything she had.", "Everything we have is our Creator's.", "In", "Faithful with Much", ", authors Tony and Carin Amaradio share their compelling journey from simply seeking wealth to understanding God's heart about money and possessions. Drawing from their vast experience in the financial services industry and wisdom born out of some difficult life lessons, Tony and Carin offer practical, biblical advice on how to think about the challenges of being faithful with our wealth. and, most important, how to give it away.", "Faithful with Much", "is a book about how to be wise stewards of God's money. It's a handbook for charitable giving. And more than that, it's a book about radical trust.", "Are you ready to trust God with your wealth for the good of His kingdom?" ]

[ "About the Author", "Tony Amaradio is the president and chief strategist of Select Portfolio Management, Inc. He has devoted much of his time to nonprofit organizations, helping major donors become more effective and efficient with their stewardship responsibilities. Tony's wife, Carin, is the chief compliance officer for Select Portfolio Management, Inc. and its broker dealer, Securities Equity Group. She shares Tony's passion to empower and encourage others in the area of faithful living and faithful giving. Tony and Carin frequently speak at conferences around the country, sharing personal experiences as well as technical advice regarding charitable giving techniques. They have called Southern California home since 1987. Tony and Carin are blessed with three beautiful daughters and eight adorable grandchildren. Tony and Carin have also developed a certified teaching curriculum in the area of financial stewardship called “Faithful with Finances” which is available to Christian schools, churches, leaders, and even to the general public." ]

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[ "Books", "Christian Books & Bibles", "Christian Living" ]

[ "A series of anecdotes and vignettes chronicles a year in the life of the members of a family as they struggle through the grieving and healing process after the death of one of the children." ]

[ "From Publishers Weekly", "Twelve-year-old Cliff, the eldest of the six Abernathy children, looks back on a year that feels like \"five years crammed into one. With plenty of stuff I want to remember forever. And stuff I wish I could forget.\" In a style reminiscent of Cheaper by the Dozen, this warm story (unobtrusively set in what seems to be the '70s) neatly blends the humor and frustrations of growing up in a large family headed by two sanguine parents. Each chapter, while centering around a particular child, subtly weaves together household events, large and small. In the first vignette, the youngest child is hospitalized just before Christmas and asks only for a \"yidda yadda\" from Santa; the family eventually interprets the demand as a \"little ladder\" and everyone works all night to build one. The episodes smoothly move forward to the family's ultimate crisis: Brad, the gentlest of the children, is killed while riding his bicycle. With remarkable restraint and understatement, Fletcher (I Am Wings: Poems About Love) conveys the bewilderment and grief as each of the Abernathys reacts to this loss. A hopeful ending implies that Brad's memory will live on in the family's exchanges. Ages 8-12. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.", "From", "Booklist", "Gr. 5^-7. Twelve-year-old Cliff, the oldest of six children (\"Abernathys always overdo everything\" ), recalls the past year in episodes focusing on his brothers and his sister. The year was bittersweet. There were good times, but there were also ones he'd like to forget--among them, the death of one brother, an event that will move readers to tears. Fletcher captures perfectly the humor, irritations, and sadness of life in a large, close-knit family and makes Cliff a sympathetic and thoughtful narrator, occasionally bewildered by his siblings' antics but always a completely believable older brother. The comedy in the final chapter will leave readers recalling hilarious family disasters of their own.", "Chris Sherman", "Review", "\"In a fresh, exuberant voice, eleven-year-old Cliff Abernathy III narrates a rollercoaster year in his family's life, beginning with Christmas and Grandma's visit. Chapters are colorful vignettes of celebrations, crises, and day-to-day events.\" --", "Review", "About the Author", "Ralph Fletcher", "is the author of many well-received books for children, including the novels", "Fig Pudding", "and", "Flying Solo", ", and the picture books", "Twilight Comes Twice", ",", "Grandpa Never Lies", ", and", "Circus Surprise", ". He lives with his family in New Hampshire. Visit him online at ralphfletcher.com.", "Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.", "1.", "Clifford Allyn Abernathy III", "My full name is Clifford Allyn Abernathy III, after my father and grandfather, but I leave off the III, the", "Allyn", ", and the", "ord", ". Call me Cliff. I’m in Mr. Beck’s class at the Bradford Bridges Elementary School in Ballingsford. I’ve noticed lately that lots of my favorite things seem to start with “B”: baseball (Baltimore is my favorite team), basketball, bacon, bluefishing, blue slush cones. Brad.   I’m the oldest of six kids. And that makes me different from the other kids. Dad and Mom sure treat me different. The other kids can whoop and scream and holler like a bunch of savages. They can sneak into Mrs. Montgomery’s vegetable garden and pick all her cherry tomatoes—no big deal. They can climb trees and get sticky pine pitch smeared all over their shirts and hair—what do you expect?   Dad and Mom expect more from me. I have to be Mr. Responsibility, Mr. Set-a-Good-Example. On certain days keeping the other kids out of trouble makes me feel more like a policeman than a brother. Some days it drives me nuts.   Take the time when a water pipe burst down the street and made a huge mud puddle on the Mcllreavys’ front lawn. Before I could say Baby Beluga the other kids had kicked off their shoes (Teddy kept his socks on) and waded deep into the mud-brown water. I stood at the edge yelling at them to get out, secretly wishing I could go in. When we got home it didn’t matter to Mom that my own clothes didn’t have a speck of mud on them. She took one look at the other kids, sat me down as if it was my fault, and demanded, “How could you let this happen?”   Don’t get me wrong, being the oldest has its advantages. I don’t have to wear a baseball glove somebody else stunk up with years of their old sweat. I don’t have any Monster Big Brother or Evil Big Sister to boss me around. I get to stay up later than anyone else. And I get to hear lots of grown-up stuff the younger kids never hear, like about why Uncle Ray doesn’t come to visit anymore (he’s drinking again).   “Being the oldest is special,” Mom is forever saying. But when you balance out the advantages with having to act like Mr. Almost-Perfect and all the rest, take it from me, being the oldest is not all it’s cracked up to be.   Living in a family with so many people can be pretty weird, too. Ever go to bed on a cold winter night with the heat turned down and your room so cold you have to pile a bunch of blankets on top of you? While you lie there you mostly feel the flannel sheet and quilt right next to you. With the other blankets, the ones added last, your body doesn’t notice whether those blankets are made of wool or cotton. All you know is that they’re helping keep you warm.   In a crazy way it feels like that, living in a family with so many kids: Nate, Cyn (short for Cynthia), Teddy, Brad, Josh. Nate is like my closest blanket. We’re less than a year apart. We share a bedroom. The other kids are my sister and brothers, but Nate is my best friend. And then there’s the baby, Josh. I was almost ten when he was born. He’s okay, as babies go, but most of the time I don’t pay all that much attention to him. He’s like that last blanket piled on my bed just before I fall asleep.   “We Abernathys always overdo everything,” Mom likes to say. True enough. I hate going with Mom to the supermarket—it’s embarrassing. We end up with two shopping carts overflowing with food. Mom buys the jumbo size of everything. When she cooks, she always doubles the recipe, but after supper it’s a miracle if there’s any food left on the table.   We Abernathys always overdo everything, but even for us this past year has been like nothing I’d ever thought possible. Like five years crammed into one. With plenty of stuff I want to remember forever. And stuff I wish I could forget.   I only know one way to start telling about a year like this: take a deep breath, begin at the beginning, and push right on through until the end.", "2.", "A Yidda Yadda", "It started a few days before Christmas. I was sitting in the kitchen, getting ready to dig into a steaming plate of French toast Mom had just handed me, when she asked: “Would you cut up Josh’s French toast first?”   “C’mon, Mom, I’m", "starved!", "” I told her.   “It’ll just take a minute,” she said. “I don’t have four arms.’’   “Oh, all right,” I grumbled. Josh wasn’t quite two. I cut a piece of French toast, and he popped it into his mouth. I cut another, and he gobbled down that piece, too.   “Don’t just swallow it,” I told him. “You gotta chew or you’ll get a bellyache.”   Josh started coughing hard. He had a bad cold: two fat jets of greenish snot were slowly making their way down his face from nose to mouth. He grinned up, but I tried not to look at him—it was too disgusting. Finally I got his toast cut up and his nose wiped, and had just drowned my own French toast in syrup when all of a sudden I heard something at the front door.   “Watch your step, Grandma,” a voice said. Dad! Grandma! A mad scramble for the front door. I jumped up first, but Teddy swerved in front of me, nearly knocked me over, and made it to the front door ahead of everyone else.   “GRANDMA!” he screamed.   Grandma Annie stood there waiting for us, a little stooped over, holding a small shopping bag. Dad stood behind her carrying two suitcases. “Grandma! Grandma!”   All six kids wrapped Grandma in a big bear hug.   “Grandma! Grandma!”   “Well, hullo! Hullo!” she cried. Her face was lit up, blue eyes sparkling behind her glasses. “Hullo! Look at you all! Just look at you! How tall you all are! Cliff, you’ve grown half a foot since last summer!”   “Just broke five feet,” I told her. I was the second-tallest kid in my class, three inches behind Melody Swift, a dorky blond-haired girl who had just moved from Tallahassee.   “Can’t keep food in the refrigerator,” Mom said.   “Just as it should be,” Grandma told Mom. “Better to spend your money on food than on doctors’ bills.”   “I’m getting big, too!” Brad put in.   “Yeah, but I’m BIGGER!” Teddy yelled.   “You’re all simply enormous!’’ Grandma said, tousling their hair.   Josh tried to climb her leg like a squirrel. She reached down and picked him up. “Well, hello there, little monkey! Just look at that runny nose! That’s quite a cold you’ve got, young man.’’   “He’s been sick all week,” Mom sighed.   “Sick,” Josh said.   “I’ll make some chicken soup,” Grandma said. She reached down and touched Cyn on the back of her neck. “And how are you, darling?”   “I’m good.”   “Santa Claus going to bring you a special present this year?” Grandma asked her.   “PRESENTS! PRESENTS!” Teddy yelled. Mom shushed him.   “I wish he’d bring me a little sister,” Cyn said quietly.   “I know, I know.” Grandma stroked her cheek.   “Five brothers,” Cyn said. “And me.”   “It must take a mountain of patience,” Grandma said.   “Buttuh goo,” Josh said. Everyone laughed, but Grandma looked confused.   “He’s saying: butter good,” Nate explained. “Josh loves butter, don’t you? Hey, Josh! Tell Grandma what you want Santa Claus to bring you.”   “A yidda yadda,” Josh said seriously. He sniffled and tried to wipe his runny nose, but only smeared the stuff all over his face.   “Here,” Grandma Annie said, wiping his face with a tissue. “Now what did you say?”   “I wanna yidda yadda,” Josh said. Grandma looked confused again.   “What’s that?” she asked.   That’s the thing—no one knows,” I told her. “It’s a mystery. Everybody’s trying to figure it out.”   “Hey, Cyn, you speak baby talk, don’t you?” Nate asked. “What’s he saying?”   “Very funny,” Cyn replied. She shrugged. “It could be almost anything. Sounds a little like", "yellow water", ". Or maybe", "little spider", ".”   Grandma asked Josh, “Do you want yellow water?”   He shook his head.   “Do you want a little spider?”   “No.”   “Can you use some other words to tell us what you want?”   “I wanna yidda yadda,” Josh repeated patiently. Then he pinched a fold of Grandma’s loose neck skin and sort of stretched it out from her neck, let go, and pulled the skin out again, all the while grinning and saying, “Squishy, squishy, squishy . . .”   “Josh!” Mom said. She looked horrified.   “Oh, now that’s all right.” Grandma was laughing. “Guess I am pretty squishy in certain places.” She grabbed a hunk of Josh’s cheek. “Squishy, squishy yourself!”   Dad sent me outside to fetch the rest of Grandma’s stuff. I gobbled down my French toast, threw on my coat, and went outside. In the far backseat of Dad’s car I found two shopping bags filled to bursting with presents, already wrapped. Grandma didn’t have much money but somehow she always showed up with a ton of presents for everybody. It was clothes, mostly, but comfortable stuff you wanted to wear right away.   I carried the presents into the den where Grandma would be sleeping. Everyone was in the living room, crowded around the Christmas cactus.   “Look at all the buds!” Grandma said, bending forward to get a close look. She had given us the cactus a few years before. It looked like an ordinary plant with thick green leaves. In mid-December the leaves started budding up with bright pink balls. And by Christmas it was always full of beautiful pink blossoms.   “LOOK! THEY’RE OPENING UP!” Teddy shouted.   “Hey, we can hear you,” Dad told Teddy. “We’re right here.”   “Must be that time of year,” Grandma said. “The whole house looks beautiful! Say, where’s the tree?”   “I’m going to buy it this afternoon,” Dad told her. “Now, how about a nice hot cup of coffee?”   “I’d love some!” She rubbed her hands together. Dad took her black coat and got her seated on the couch. Cyn and Brad snuggled next to her. “Oh, thank you! It’s just so good to be here! And there’s so much to do! I’d like to start my holiday baking today, if that’s all right.”   “I don’t see why not,” Mom said.   “Thought I’d start by making my stollen.”   “Naughty Grandma, Grandma", "stole", "something,” Cyn said with a shy smile. I stared over at Cyn—she hardly ever cracked a joke. Grandma laughed out loud and gave her a quick tickle. Just then Teddy dragged the two bags of Grandma’s presents into the living room. Teddy was the family maniac; Christmas made him worse than ever.   “Hey, let’s open these presents!” Teddy yelled. “CAN WE, GRANDMA?”   “Teddy, put those down!” Mom said. She took the bags away from him.   “Teddy, come over here and help me make this shopping list,” Grandma said. She patted the cushion next to her.   “What’re you gonna buy, Grandma?”   “Let’s see,” Grandma said. “I’ll need some flour, yeast, brown sugar, regular sugar, confectioners’ sugar—”   “SUGAR!” Teddy yelled.   “Yes, and nuts, and cherries.”   “CHERRIES!” Teddy again.   “Teddy, we’re right here,” Mom reminded him. “You don’t have to yell.”   “I’ll need lots of butter.”   “Buttuh goo!” Josh put in.   “Oh, almost forgot,” Grandma said. “Suet for the birds.”   “Suet?” I said. “What’s that?”   “Fat. The birds need extra fat when it’s this cold. We’ve got to keep feeding them or they’ll freeze.”   “You won’t start baking without us, will you?” I asked. It just killed me that Grandma Annie was visiting but I still had to go to school. It wasn’t fair.   “Heavens, no!” Grandma retorted. “How could I? I’ve got a ton of baking—I’m going to need all the helpers I can get.”   “Can I come to the store with you?” Cyn asked. “Please?”   “You have to go to school, young lady,” Mom said. “You all do. Look at the clock. Get a move on! The bus will be here in five minutes.”   “But I want to go shopping with Grandma!”   “I’m not going shopping,” Grandma said. “Your father said he’d be nice enough to go shopping for me. I’m going to take off my shoes and put these old feet up. All this travel and excitement has worn me out!”           We went off to school. I was in fifth grade, Nate in fourth, Cyn in third, Teddy in second, Brad in first. I sat next to Nate on the bus and the whole way I thought about Grandma.   Grandma Annie needed plenty of rest because she was really old: seventy-nine years old. When she was eighteen she got a job working at Filene’s department store in Boston; she played on the Filene’s women’s basketball team. Now she had a slow and stooped-over kind of walk, and I couldn’t imagine her dribbling or shooting or guarding another player. But she had been one of the best players on the team. Dad showed me an old newspaper clipping that said, “Anne Sullivan plays the toughest defense in the league.”   Back in the 1920s only men could vote—no women allowed. Grandma had marched on the Boston Common with thousands of other women who were mad about that. They wanted women to have the same right to vote. Grandma was proud: she had helped to change that law.   Annie Sullivan got married and had eight children; Mom was the youngest. Annie’s husband, James, had died on Mom’s thirteenth birthday. “My mother has always had a backbone like a rod of Bethlehem steel,” Mom liked to say about Grandma. I guess she needed that strong backbone being a widow when her four sons (my uncles) went overseas to fight in World War II.   Now Grandma Annie lived alone. She had lots of people who loved her, tons of relatives begging her to spend the holiday with them. I always thought it was amazing, almost a miracle, that most years she chose to come to our house.", "Read more" ]

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[ "Books", "Children's Books", "Growing Up & Facts of Life" ]

[ "Ask around your local VFW about what a military police soldier does for a living. The answers will make you laugh, cringe, and sometimes simply lean back at the nonsensical tales we evoke from our comrades in arms. Even to the standard military police soldier, their experiences from one to the next are largely different depending on any number of influences. Whether that is duty station, deployments, specific type of military police. In this book, you will see the far edge of the combat spectrum for a military police soldier. Every so often, military police get training that enables them to be attached to units conducting missions well outside the purview of a standard military police soldier. For those soldiers, their story goes largely untold. Whether due to the incredulity of the story, or because some stories are hard to talk about. The events in this book are told exactly as they happened. Some have been modified due to security concerns and for the privacy of comrades. Ghosts of the Valley gives a full spectrum recount of the incidents that took place in Afghanistan, and the recovery process that became necessary upon return to the peace of home. The book itself will hopefully serve as a benefit to soldiers who have not yet deployed, civilians who struggle to understand the average combat veteran, and the soldiers who have redeployed that still struggle in their recovery process. The book is not meant to glorify war, but to expose the horrors of it. Ghosts of the Valley also provides a comprehensive, and up-to-date as of the publication, list of resources for those struggling with PTSD, or those who simply need help." ]

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[ "Gift-Poems For Everyone On Your List!", "A unique and original coloring book, created from the popular gift-poems of Poet/Designer Niki Alling. This book has a combination of gift-poem coloring pages and mandalas, 33 coloring pages in all. Relax, unwind and Color-A-Gift. Add your own unique coloring touch, to these touching poems. Happy Coloring!", "Gift-Poems included in this book:", "MomDadGrandmotherGrandfatherHusband (Husband & Wife – Same verse adapted for each)WifeSisterSoon You’ll Be A Mother – Daughter (Daughter expecting first baby)New Driver – (For Son or Daughter)Coach – (Thank You)Teacher (appreciation)Secretary – (any type)Librarian – (appreciation)GraduateGet Well (open message)Happy Birthday (open message)Thank You (open message)" ]

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[ "Books", "Crafts, Hobbies & Home", "Crafts & Hobbies" ]

[ "When seven-year-old Fern’s divorced mother starts acting strangely, family secrets come to light. Soon, Fern ends up in the hospital due to her mother’s actions. Angry and frightened, Fern must find the will to survive. Through a missing diary, a mysterious older sister, and a manipulative mother, Fern embarks on an odd and frightening journey to uncover the truth about her mother’s past." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction" ]

[ "Goddess of Yesterday (02) by Cooney, Caroline B [Mass Market Paperback (2003)]" ]

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[ "From #1", "New York Times", "bestselling author P. C. Cast comes INTO THE MIST, the first book in a pulse-pounding dystopian duology for our times.", "Practical Magic", "meets", "Station Eleven", "in this gripping take on female power and the inevitable, destructive path of violent patriarchies.", "As men fall to the mist, the age of womankind begins to rise.", "The world as we know it ends when an attack on the U.S. unleashes bombs that deliver fire and biological destruction. Along with sonic detonations and devastating earthquakes, the bombs have also brought the green mist. If breathed in, it is deadly to all men—but alters the body chemistry of many women, imbuing them with superhuman abilities.   A group of high school teachers heading home from a conference experiences firsthand the strength of these new powers. Mercury Rhodes is the Warrior, possessing heightened physical powers. Stella Carver is the Seer, with a sixth sense about the future. Imani Andrews is the Watcher, with a rare connection to the earth. Karen Gay is the Priestess, demonstrating a special connection with Spirits. And Gemma Jenkins is the Healer, a sixteen-year-old student who joins the group after losing her parents. As they cross the Pacific Northwest, trying to find a safe place to ride out the apocalypse, the women soon learn they can't trust anyone, and with fresh danger around every corner, it will take all their powers to save themselves—and possibly the world.   With timely commentary on power and community,", "Into the Mist", "delivers a thrilling and fantastical future that is equal parts a feminist commentary and an amazing, witty adventure filled with wine and women– as only P.C. Cast’s brilliant storytelling can bring to life." ]

[ "Review", "Praise for", "Into the Mist", ":", "“", "Into the Mist", "is an exciting apocalypse story full of danger and courage. More than that, it's a story about friendship, community, and the discovery of abilities that can rise from the ashes of the old world in order to create something hopeful and new. I look forward to reading the next part of the story.”—Anne Bishop,", "New York Times", "bestselling author of", "Crowbones", "“P.C. Cast is a stellar talent, I’ve been a huge fan since the beginning!”—Karen Marie Moning,", "New York Times", "bestselling author", "Praise for P. C. Cast:", "“[A] true master of her craft.”—Gena Showalter,", "New York Times", "bestselling author“P. C. Cast is a stellar talent, I’ve been a huge fan since the beginning!”—Karen Marie Moning,", "New York Times", "bestselling author“Cast's imagination knows no bounds and it will be interesting to see what new ideas arise.”—", "Romantic Times", "About the Author", "P. C. Cast", "is a #1", "New York Times", "and #1", "USA Today", "bestselling author who has more than twenty million books in print in over forty countries. She is a proud member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame and is the author of the wildly popular HOUSE OF NIGHT series, as well as many other YA, fantasy and paranormal romance books. P.C. splits her time between her beloved Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Pacific NW." ]

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[ "Books", "Mystery, Thriller & Suspense", "Thrillers & Suspense" ]

[ "On August 25,1945, seven young German POW submariners were hanged at Fort Leavenworth. It was the largest single execution in the United States in the twentieth century and the country's last mass execution. Their crime was the murder of a fellow German prisoner, a man they called a traitor because he helped interrogate other German prisoners. But why was their execution carried out four months after the end of the war for conduct many Americans would have expected of their own POWs in an enemy camp? And why was this \"traitor\" sent to the very camp where the men he had interrogated were imprisoned? Why did President Harry S. Truman, who signed the orders of execution, decline to be interviewed by the author, and why did all documents relating to the case vanish from the Truman Library after the author requested a research permit? Richard Whittingham probes the events that led to the murder, its perpetration, the brutal interrogation, the court-martial, and the execution, and he reveals how the seven were used as pawns by the U.S. government for the return of American prisoners in German hands before the war's end - then executed once Germany surrendered. The author also raises questions about military justice and the treatment of prisoners of war that are as controversial today as they were when this book was written more than two decades ago." ]

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[ "Books", "Law", "Specialties" ]

[ "Secrets kill. Not just those you choose to keep from others, or even those that others guard from you. There remains those secrets that you so desparately hide from yourself. They all catch up with Lempi Makinen Lahti.When Lempi’s teenage son Danny discovers her suicide, he seeks to solve the mysteries that defined her life and death. A pack of letters and clippings hidden in an old family trunk may be the only keys to understanding both his mother’s past and his own future.\"The Finnish Girl\" is a richly told tapestry of interwoven characters—the family patriarch who emigrates from Finland to the United States to create his own future, a son who turns his back on his home as part of an ill-fated mission to Russia during the Depression, the elderly mother who faces deportation in an America driven by fear during the Red Scare, and the young Finnish girl who cares too much about the injustices she sees. Decisions in one generation propel another on unexpected paths, until one family’s hopes for the American dream threaten to become its nightmare.“Melancholic, brooding, and cut-to-the-bone incisive, this is a tale to remember.” – Publishers Weekly" ]

[ "Review", "\"A multilayered story about family, identity, remorse, and thefracturing effects of long-held secrets told mostly in flashback, thisexcellent manuscript revolves around Lempi Makinen Lahti, the Finnishgirl of the book's title, and the ways her existence has influenced thelives of the novel's fully realized cast of characters . . . a crush ofrevealed secrets weave a web of deceit in this accomplished and poignant novel. Melancholic, brooding, and cut-to-the-bone incisive, this is atale to remember.\"--Publishers Weekly\"Against the dramatic backdrop of McCarthyism and the civil rights movement, a young Finnish woman living in the Midwest discovers the truth about her family while hiding her own secrets . . . Frahmann's story is an ambitious one, and his characters - especially Pauline - are intriguing.\" -- Kirkus Reviews", "About the Author", "Dennis Frahmann is a former journalist, marketer and author of the novel, Tales From the Loon Town Cafe. He resides in Cambria, California.", "--This text refers to the", "paperback", "edition." ]

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[ "Books", "Literature & Fiction", "Genre Fiction" ]