Doc McCoy is the most skilled criminal alive. But when for the first time in Doc's long criminal career, his shot doesn't hit the mark, everything begins to fall apart. And Doc begins to realize that the perfect bank robbery isn't complete without the perfect getaway to back it up.
THE GETAWAY is the classic story of a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, where the smallest mistakes have catastrophic consequences, and shifting loyalties lead to betrayals and chaos. The basis for the classic Steve McQueen film of the same name, as well as a 1994 remake with Alec Baldwin, Thompson's novel set the bar for every heist story that followed--but as Thompson's proved time and again, nobody's ever done it better than the master. Views: 364
R.K. Narayan (1906-2001) is unusual among Indian authors writing in English in that he has stayed contentedly in his home country, venturing abroad only rarely. He rarely addresses political issues or tries to explore the cutting edge of fiction. He is a traditional teller of tales, a creator of realist fiction which is often gentle, humorous, and warm rather than hard-hitting or profound. Almost all of his writings are set in the fictional city of Malgudi, and are narrowly focused on the lives of relatively humble individuals, neither extremely poor nor very rich.
The Guide is one of his most interesting books, which begins as a comic look at the life of a rogue, but evolves into something quite different. It should be noted that Narayan is not a devout Hindu, and has accused Westerners of wrongly supposing that all Indians are deeply spiritual beings; but it is also true that he was deeply impressed by some experiences he had with a medium after the sudden death of his young wife (described movingly in The English Teacher (1945).
Narayan has stated that the incident of the reluctant holy man was based on a real event which he read about in the newspaper.
Formerly India's most corrupt tourist guide, Raju--just released from prison--seeks refuge in an abandoned temple. Mistaken for a holy man, he plays the part and succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Raju's newfound sanctity to the test.
Narayan's most celebrated novel, The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor. Views: 364
His mind crowded with vivid images of Africa, Graham Greene set off in 1935 to discover Liberia, a remote and unfamiliar republic founded for released slaves. Now with a new introduction by Paul Theroux, Journey Without Maps is the spellbinding record of Greene's journey. Crossing the red-clay terrain from Sierra Leone to the coast of Grand Bassa with a chain of porters, he came to know one of the few areas of Africa untouched by colonization. Western civilization had not yet impinged on either the human psyche or the social structure, and neither poverty, disease, nor hunger seemed able to quell the native spirit.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Views: 364
WITHOUT ARMOR was published in America six months after LOST HORIZON, yet before LOST HORIZON began to win popularity--thus it missed the wider appeal it might otherwise have had. Set in Russia, it is the story of Ainsely Fothergill, an Englishman who served as a British spy and was exiled to Siberia for eight years. The book reminds us that James Hilton was one of the best storytellers of our era, and that a good story never loses its appeal. Views: 364
The complete Patternist series:
Butler’s acclaimed vision of a world transformed by a secret race of telepaths and the violence, intolerance, and plague that follow their rise to power.
In the late seventeenth century, two immortals meet in an African forest. Anyanwu is a healer, a three-hundred-year-old woman who uses her wisdom to help those around her. The other is Doro, a malevolent despot who has mastered the power of stealing the bodies of others when his wears out. Together they will change the world. Over the next three centuries, Doro mounts a colossal selective breeding project, attempting to create a master race of telepaths. He succeeds beyond his wildest dreams, splitting the human race down the middle and establishing a new world order dominated by the most manipulative minds on Earth. In these four novels, Butler tells the story that began her legendary career: a mythic tale of the transformation of civilization.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate. Views: 363
This book contains 16 short stories of which three have to do with elephants. The book title is taken from the eighth story in the collection and is based on a newspaper headline which reads, "Elephant Bangs Train, Reuters News Service, Nairobi, Kenya, May 25, 1969".
In the Kotzwinkle version, we are more or less inside the elephant's mind as he attacks and overturns a train in revenge for its having humiliated him on a previous occasion.
All these stories are extraordinarily well written and are quite surreal and evocative. Adult content in some stories. Really excellent writing. Views: 363
Recently made captain, a young ship’s officer comes quickly to maturity when faced with a crisis that tests his ability to lead his crew.
Based in part upon author Joseph Conrad’s experience in the British merchant marine, The Shadow-Line is considered to be one of his masterpieces, revealing Conrad’s skill at conveying complex themes and characters within a deceptively simple story.
HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library. Views: 362
'Nothing That Meets the Eye' confirms Patricia Highsmith as a great American writer.
If only Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) had been alive to see the thunderous critical response to the publication of the best-selling 'The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith' in 2001. Now the Highsmith renaissance continues with this brilliant collection of 28 short stories, a great majority of which have never been seen before. The stories assembled in 'Nothing That Meets the Eye', written between 1938 and 1982, are vintage Highsmith: a gigolo-like psychopath preys on unfulfilled career women; a lonely spinster's fragile hold on reality is tethered to the bottle; an estranged postal worker invents homicidal fantasies about his coworkers.
While some stories anticipate the diabolical narratives of the Ripley novels, others possess a Capra-like sweetness that forces us to see the author in a new light. From this new collection, a remarkable portrait of the American psyche at mid-century emerges, unforgettably distilled by the inimitable eye of Patricia Highsmith.
Patricia Highsmith is the author of such classics as 'Strangers on a Train' and 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she died in 1995 in Locarno, Switzerland. Views: 362
Nancy Drew is visiting Deer Mountain Lodge to help her father with a case involving jewel thieves and while there, comes across another mystery involving a haunted bridge! How Nancy solves both mysteries and competes in a golf tournament despite her injurred arm is exciting and fun reading. l Views: 362
I have sat and listened to too manywords of the collaborating muse,and plotted perhaps too freely with my life,not avoiding injury to others,not avoiding injury to myself—to ask compassion . . . this book, half fiction,an eelnet made by man for the eel fightingmy eyes have seen what my hand did.Winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, The Dolphin was controversial from the beginning: many of the poems include the letters that Robert Lowell's wife, the celebrated writer and critic Elizabeth Hardwick, wrote to him after he left her for the English socialite and writer Caroline Blackwood. He was warned by many, among them Elizabeth Bishop, that "art just isn't worth that much." Nevertheless, these poems are a powerful document of an impulsive love, and a moving record of Lowell's change from one life and marriage in America to a new life on new terms with a new family in... Views: 362
Here, set in the primeval beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains, is a memorable novel about a very old woman who could accept pain and hardship, but not defeat. At ninety, Grandma Weller was still a midwife and herb healer to the mountain people. Her words had been law until that year in the early thirties when the Government men came to buy all of the land for a new national park. After that, no one would listen to her. The lure of money, of an easy existance in the valley, outweighed the harsh freedom of the wilderness. Only Grandma and young Homer Simmons tried to save their way of life. When winter came, they were alone in a desperate struggle for survival.Woven into the novel are folk tales of the mountain people, some of them sad and cruel, some filled with gusty humor. Then there is the realistic drama of childbirth and of death; the romance of Home and high spirited Jurie Biggers; the clash between the old and the new. But it's Grandma, earth-worn and sky-weathered, with he guile and salty wit, her wisdom and compassion and love, who dominates the story. Views: 362
The Sittaford Mystery * is Dame Agatha at her most intriguing, as a séance in a snowbound house predicts a particularly grisly murder.
In a remote house in the middle of Dartmoor, six shadowy figures huddle around a table for a seance. Tension rises as the spirits spell out a chilling message: "Captain Trevelyan . . . dead . . . murder."
Is this black magic or simply a macabre joke? The only way to be certain is to locate Captain Trevelyan. Unfortunately, his home is six miles away and, with snowdrifts blocking the roads, someone will have to make the journey on foot. . . . Views: 361
Poems rising from and returning to Bukowski's personal experiences reflect people, objects, places, and events of the external world, and reflects on them, on their way out and back. Views: 361
