"The Bridge on the River Kwai" tells the story of three POWs who endure the hell of the Japanese camps on the Burma-Siam railway - Colonel Nicholson, a man prepared to sacrifice his life but not his dignity; Major Warden, a modest hero, saboteur and deadly killer; Commander Shears, who escaped from hell but was sent back.
Ordered by the Japanese to build a bridge, the Colonel refuses, as it is against regulations for officers to work with other ranks. The Japanese give way but, to prove a point of British superiority, construction of the bridge goes ahead - at great cost to the men under Nicholson's command. Views: 157
In a tight, dramatic, two-character, two-act play Ted Allan, one of Canada's best-known playwrights, challenges us to think again about love and guilt, about madness and normalcy. Views: 157
At thirteen, Ben O'Neal is about to begin his lifelong dream--to go to sea. But before Ben sails, he receives an urgent message from Teetoncey, saying she's in trouble. Views: 156
Raven is an ugly man dedicated to ugly deeds. His cold-blooded killing of a European Minister of War is an act of violence with chilling repercussions, not just for Raven himself but for the nation as a whole. The money he receives in payment for the murder is made up of stolen notes and when the first of these is traced, Raven becomes a man on the run. As he tracks down the agent who has been double-crossing him and attempts to elude the police, he becomes both hunter and hunted: an unwitting weapon of a strange kind of social justice. In doing so, he sets the stage for Greene’s next novel, Brighton Rock. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by Samuel Hynes.
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: 156
The Gray Death: It struck the proudest ship of Patanga's fleet, and left its picked crew dead or howling in their madness. And swift on the heels of this horror came news that a renegade wizard and a pirate king were moving against Patanga, armed with mastery of the invincible Gray Death! Patanga's warrior-king, Thongor the mighty, set out on a desperate mission to counter the deadly sorcery that doomed his realm - and vanished from the sight of men! Views: 156
A dystopian thriller of "twisty intrigue" by the award-winning author of the Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries (Publishers Weekly). Best known for his Dalziel and Pascoe novels, which were adapted into a hit BBC series, Reginald Hill proves himself to be a "master of . . . cerebral puzzle mysteries" in his stand-alone thrillers as well—now available as ebooks (The New York Times). A national Expectation of Life seemed liked a good idea at the time. Nearly half a century ago, Britain's overpopulation resulted in a collapsing economy that foretold certain doom. The visionary solution was left to then–Prime Minister Matthew Matlock. The Age Bill was his brainchild. It also became mandatory. To control the population, every English citizen was fitted with a clock heart. Expectation of Life: seventy-five. Matlock was the first. The country followed. But now that he's reaching his golden years, Matlock wants only to abolish his... Views: 156
SNEAK PREVIEW
Long shot: The domed city of Holywood, self-contained, functioning perfectly—as it has since it was sealed off against fallout generations ago. The camera moves in, follows a man in priestly white through the doors of Twenty-First-Century-Vox and, into a conference room. He is joined by others—some clad in Technobility blue, some in the khaki of the Brass.
The man in the archaic business suit at the head of the table is ARCHER, His MGMinence. The camera tightens on his face. As he opens his mouth, his face dissolves to that of a young man, GRAHAM, who says:
“Space Operas are important to social conditioning. The hero must be dark; the heroine, blonde; the monster, green; and the plot . . .” Views: 155
Of all the great Japanese novelists, Kobe Abe was indubitably the most versatile. With The Ruined Map, he crafted a mesmerizing literary crime novel that combines the narrative suspense of Chandler with the psychological depth of Dostoevsky.
Mr. Nemuro, a respected salesman, disappeared over half a year ago, but only now does his alluring yet alcoholic wife hire a private eye. The nameless detective has but two clues: a photo and a matchbook. With these he embarks upon an ever more puzzling pursuit that leads him into the depths of Tokyo's dangerous underworld, where he begins to lose the boundaries of his own identity. Surreal, fast-paced, and hauntingly dreamlike, Abe’s masterly novel delves into the unknowable mysteries of the human mind.
Translated from the Japanese by E. Dale Saunders.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 155
The Boys who couldn’t go home ruled the air-conditioned oasis called Las Palmas. They’d built a beautiful new city there on the Nevada desert. It had the latest model of a roulette wheel, double-duty strippers and a modern police force that couldn’t locate a fat man in a phone booth. Las Palmas could also point with pride to the fact that, next to New York and Chicago, it sent the syndicate the biggest take of all.But there was trouble in paradise—a killer was on the loose and he’d neglected to get permission from the syndicate to move in. So the Boys called in Johnny Liddell to teach a murderer manners—for ten thousand dollars a lesson.Money isn’t everything: cold cash won’t keep you warm in the morgue. Johnny Liddell was learning that as he realized he was being set up for the next kill... Views: 154
James Varne is a very ordinary sailor without any kind of pretence; a frequenter of the red-light districts and drinking dens of Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Varne gets caught up in the Korean War and there is a first rate account of action during the battle at Pearl River. But the main part of the story concerns his involvement with a refugee girl from Communist China and in illegal gold-running. Very frank, tongue-in-the-cheek and persuasive, The Red Sailor captures the real spirit of the Royal Navy below decks. Patrick O'Hara was at Borstal and in the Royal Navy. Views: 153
