an excerpt from: CHAPTER I. THE COMING OF HAGAR. JACOB DIX was a pawnbroker, but not a Jew, notwithstanding his occupation and the Hebraic sound of his baptismal name. He was so old that no one knew his real age; so grotesque in looks that children jeered at him in the streets; so avaricious that throughout the neighborhood he was called "Skinflint." If he possessed any hidden good qualities to counterbalance his known bad ones, no person had ever discovered them, or even had taken the trouble to look for them. Certainly Jacob, surly and uncommunicative, was not an individual inclined to encourage uninvited curiosity. In his pawn-shop he lived like an ogre in a fairy-tale castle, and no one ever came near him save to transact business, to wrangle during the transaction thereof, and to curse him at its conclusion. Thus it may be guessed that Jacob drove hard bargains. The pawn-shop--situated in Carby's Crescent, Lambeth--furthermore resembled an ogre's castle inasmuch as, though not filled with dead men's bones, it contained the relics and wreckage, the flotsam and jetsam, of many lives, of many households. Placed in the center of the dingy crescent, it faced a small open space, and the entrance of the narrow lane which led therefrom to the adjacent thoroughfare. In its windows--begrimed with the dust of years--a heterogeneous mixture of articles was displayed, ranging from silver teapots to well-worn saucepans; from gold watches to rusty flatirons; from the chisel of a carpenter to the ivory framed mirror of a fashionable beauty. The contents of Dix's window typified in little the luxury, the meanness, the triviality and the decadence of latter-day civilization. Views: 85
When the elderly head of the Tingley Titbits catering service meets a sudden end, a beautiful young detective becomes the main suspect, until Tecumseh Fox arrives on the scene to sort out the ingredients in the case. Views: 85
"The Solarian was a hundred metres high and, at
its broadest point, twenty metres in diameter. It was designed to carry
an initial crew of ten people---five men and five women---with
provisions for children. For the ship was a self-contained world,
required to support human life independently for centuries. This is the story of these men and women, and the incredible generations who followed them". Views: 85
A dazzling work of American history from the author of the U.S.A. trilogy.Beginning with the assassination of McKinley and ending with the defeat of the League of Nations by the United States Senate, the twenty-year period covered by John Dos Passos in this lucid and fascinating narrative changed the whole destiny of America. This is the story of the war we won and the peace we lost, told with a clear historical perspective and a warm interest in the remarkable people who guided the United States through one of the most crucial periods.Foremost in the cast of characters is Woodrow Wilson, the shy, brilliant, revered, and misunderstood "schoolmaster," whose administration was a complex of apparent contradictions. Wilson had almost no interest in foreign affairs when he was first elected, yet later, in proposing the League of Nations, he was to play a major role in international politics. During his first summer in office, without any... Views: 84
In the year 2140 helicopters were a common means of transportation, visiphones were installed in every home, beltways replaced subways, and atomic energy had long been harnessed into the service of mankind. But in this world of otherwise Utopian progress there was an element of jarring discord—nine-tenths of the population chose to remain Illiterate!And if you were brave enough to become a member of the minority wearing the white smock designating Literacy, your life was in constant danger from the Illiterates, whose popular political slogan was: “Put the Literates in their placel Our servants, not our masters!” For in this world Literacy was held directly responsible for war—and the populace was taking no chances on a repeat performance!But even the most progressive audio-visual methods of education cant subdue a natural desire to learn ... as witnessed by the panic, terror and swift changing of sides when there arises a CRISIS IN 2140! Views: 84
ON APRIL 15, 1960 A PLANE CRASHED IN THE UNTAMED AFRICAN JUNGLETHE SURVIVOR—A YOUNG GIRL Raised by fierce cats, Luana grows up to be as savage as her jungle habitat. And now she watches the winding overgrown paths for hapless humans on safari . . . Views: 84
The story of the love that ended an empireIn this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs’ lives: Nicholas’s political naïveté, Alexandra’s obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis’s brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history—the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.Review“A larger-than-life drama.”—Saturday Review“A moving, rich book . . . [This] revealing, densely documented account of the last Romanovs focuses not on the great events . . . but on the royal family and their evil nemesis. . . . The tale is so bizarre, no melodrama is equal to it.”—Newsweek“A wonderfully rich tapestry, the colors fresh and clear, every strand sewn in with a sure hand. Mr. Massie describes those strange and terrible years with sympathy and understanding. . . . They come vividly before our eyes.”—The New York Times“An all-too-human picture . . . Both Nicholas and Alexandra with all their failings come truly alive, as does their almost storybook romance.”—Newsday“A magnificent and intimate picture . . . Not only the main characters but a whole era become alive and comprehensible.”—Harper’sAbout the AuthorRobert K. Massie was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and studied American history at Yale and European history at Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was president of the Authors Guild from 1987 to 1991. His books include Nicholas and Alexandra, Peter the Great: His Life and World (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize for biography), The Romanovs: The Final Chapter, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, and Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. Views: 84
One of Amos Oz's earliest and most famous novels, My Michael created a sensation upon its initial publication in 1968 and established Oz as a writer of international acclaim. Like all great books, it has an enduring power to surprise and mesmerize.Set in 1950s Jerusalem, My Michael tells the story of a remote and intense woman named Hannah Gonen and her marriage to a decent but unremarkable man named Michael. As the years pass and Hannah's tempestuous fantasy life encroaches upon reality, she feels increasingly estranged from him and the marriage gradually disintegrates.Gorgeously written and profoundly moving, this extraordinary novel is at once a haunting love story and a rich, reflective portrait of place. Views: 83
