This eBook includes the full text of the novel plus the following additional content:
• An exclusive preview chapter from Jean M. Auel’s The Land of Painted Caves, on sale in hardcover March 29, 2011
• An Earth’s Children® series sampler including free chapters from the other books in Jean M. Auel’s bestselling series
• A Q&A with the author about the Earth’s Children® series
The Valley of Horses is the second in the great Earth's Children® series. In The Valley of Horses, Jean Auel uses her thorough understanding of human nature and her powerful gift of storytelling to continue the saga of Ayla and to once again, with exquisite and accurate detail, re-create the world as it truly might have been. Views: 549
In this debut work by New York Times-bestselling author Paul Auster (The New York Trilogy), The Invention of Solitude, a memoir, established Auster’s reputation as a major new voice in American writing. His moving and personal meditation on fatherhood is split into two stylistically separate sections. In the first, Auster reflects on the memories of his father who was a distant, undemonstrative, and cold man who died an untimely death. As he sifts through his Father’s things, Auster uncovers a sixty-year-old murder mystery that sheds light on his father’s elusive character. In the second section, the perspective shifts and Auster begins to reflect on his own identity as a father by adopting the voice of a narrator, “A.” Through a mosaic of images, coincidences, and associations “A,” contemplates his separation from his son, his dying grandfather, turning the story into a self-conscious reflection on the process of writing. Views: 546
An Ellison potpourri: rewrites of tales 1st appearing in 50s pulp magazines (one a Joe L. Hensley collaboration), recent tales & four excellent nonfiction items. The nonfiction: some witty autobiographical sketches: an in-person account of events at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as data from Voyager I's Saturn fly-by arrives; the full story behind his acrimonious battle with Hollywood over the short-lived TV series The Starlost; & the story of how he ran away from home at age 13 to join a carnival, learning "more about the darker side of human nature than any kid should ever know." The fiction, alas, pales by comparison. There are several dressed-up variations on the Quest for the Grail. The sf tales offer so-so variations on familiar notions (Earthlings discovering their roots on an alien planet; robot megalomania; Adam & Eve; teeny weeny alien invaders). An Ellisonian satire is aimed at a TV show devoted to humiliating its guests--plus two other, more effectively humorous pieces on Aladdin's lamp & the Nativity. Less vivid than Ellison's best, with too many tired old variations & flabby retreads--but sparkling in spots.--Kirkus (edited) Views: 543
A young high school student is so dedicated to her music that she has no time for the romance she secretly craves—until she meets someone who seems to like her just the way she is
He loves me . . .
Fifteen-year-old Alison Holland dreams of becoming a professional musician. No sacrifice is too great when it comes to her music—even if it means giving up extracurricular activities like dating and hanging out with friends.
Alison is overjoyed when she gets her first professional gig. Soon, she’s playing at events all over town. But lately, she’s starting to wonder how it would feel to go to a party as someone’s girlfriend instead of the keyboard player. She’s feeling lonely and left out, especially when the night of the big dance arrives—and she doesn’t have a date.
Then, at a wedding, Alison meets Ted Mollison, a photographer. He seems to really get her—to understand her dreams and ambitions. But is he more interested in his camera than in romance?
A book for anyone who has ever felt like they’re different, He Loves Me Not is about fitting in and branching out . . . and being loved for who you are. Views: 542
Kurland has made Moriarty more interesting than Doyle ever made Holmes." Isaac Asimov London, 1887, and a vicious killer stalks the gas-lit streets of the capital. With a particular penchant for the blue-blooded aristocracy, he is leaving lordly corpses behind locked doors, and high society is in uproar. Scotland Yard call in the great Sherlock Holmes to hunt down the murderer, but even he is unable to bring the monster to justice. Several more noble throats are slit before the Yard turn to the one man who might be able to solve the bloody crimes: the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, ably assisted by American journalist Benjamin Barker, and the redoubtable Miss Cecily Perrine. However, Moriarty has his own unique methods of fighting evil, and he and Sherlock Holmes make for the most reluctant of allies... PRAISE FOR THE MORIARTY NOVELS A deliciously complex and abundantly rewarding novel... Uncommon are the pleasures such writing affords." Publishers... Views: 541
In The Angels Weep by Wilbur Smith, on a continent of breathtaking beauty and bitter suffering, two vastly different cultures clashed, mingled, and recoiled. Here, amidst mist-shrouded mountains and gold-studded plateaus, ancient tribesmen lived close to the earth, as white men dug fortunes out from beneath them and laid plans for a new civilization.
Out of Southern Africa the enigmatic Cecil Rhodes built an empire in the late 1800s and attracted the brightest and bravest of a generation--including a remarkable far-flung family named Ballantyne. But for the natives, another day was dawning: a day of retribution...
From a courageous woman doctor to a fierce, one-eyed slave trader turned soldier, the whites of Africa were buffeted by two horrific waves of war. And just when a bloody peace seemed possible, the seeds of future turmoil were sown … Views: 532
In searching through his recently deceased grandfather's effects, Pierre finds a letter from Louise Duval. Louise died only a short while after writing the letter, so Nancy tries to reconstruct what she had discovered. Views: 531
One talks to the dead. The other heals the living. Both must make the . . . "Mystery Walk" From deep within the empty house of a murdered family, Billy Creekmore hears his name whispered. . . and is drawn inside. At a revival meeting in Alabama, Wayne Falconer demonstrates his miraculous healing powers. . . while demons feast and grow in his soul. On separate journeys through the Deep South to Chicago, from a world of innocence to a world of evil, greed and lust, the two young men discover their manhood - and fuel a deadly rivalry. On a scorched slab of desert they will meet in fear and unite their extraordinary powers against a raging, unshackled spirit - the walking, hungry corpse of the Shape Changer. Views: 528
Durrell's remarkable memoir of his spiritual journey with famed Taoist philosopher Jolan ChangBeginning with their first meeting over lunch at Lawrence Durrell's Provencal home, Durrell and Jolan Chang—renowned Taoist philosopher and expert on Eastern sexuality—developed an enduring relationship based on mutual spiritual exploration. Durrell's autobiographical rumination on their friendship and on Taoism recounts the author's existential ponderings, starting with his introduction to the mystical and enigmatic "smile in the mind's eye." From parsimony, cooking, and yoga to poetry, Petrarch, and Nietzche, A Smile in the Mind's Eye is a charming tale of a writer's spiritual and philosophical awakening. Views: 524
In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their ways, married one of their leaders, and became, in every way, a Comanche woman. It is also the story of a proud and innocent people whose lives pulsed with the very heartbeat of the land. It is the story of a way of life that is gone forever.... Views: 523
Growing up in Detroit in the 1950s, and going to college when the first seeds of sexual freedom are being sown, Jill and Donna are coming of age in an exciting, turbulent time. Wry, independent Jill thrives in the new free-spirited world, while her beautiful cousin Donna desperately searches for a man to make her life whole. As each cousin is driven by different demons and desires, they eventually realize that they cannot overcome fundamental differences in each others' lives. Still, as their futures assume contrary paths, Jill and Donna realize that they may be separated, but they'll never be truly divided from one another.
"Rings with passionate awareness...honest and impressive."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
From the Paperback edition. Views: 522
On an island in the Gulf of California, an intrepid young woman named Paloma carries a special legacy from her father—a deep understanding of the sea and a sixth sense about the need to protect it.
Every day, Paloma paddles her tiny boat into the ocean and anchors over a seamount—a submerged volcanic peak sixty feet underwater that is clustered with spectacular sea animals and a wondrous web of marine life.
It is there that an astonishing event takes place, when on one of her dives Paloma is shadowed by a manta ray—an animal so large it blocks the sun. She develops an extraordinary relationship with this luminous, gentle creature, but instinctively knows its existence is a secret she must fiercely protect.
Benchley’s novel paints a poignant picture of humanity’s precarious relationship with the ocean, which unfolds alongside a heartrending story of familial bonds, often revealing that the ignorance of man is far more dangerous than the sea. Full of beauty, danger, and adventure, The Girl of the Sea of Cortez is triumphant—a novel to fall in love with. Views: 518
A powerful and haunting story about the seductive allure of fairy tales and the freedom that comes with waking up to reality
When Teresa sleeps—sometimes for days at a time, the scent of roses surrounding her—she dreams of the Arias, outlaw riders on white steeds, who roam the desert at night. She was told about the dark-eyed horsemen by her mother, Dina, who left her own bedroom window open at night in the hopes that one would take her away from her parents’ house in Santa Fe.
Teresa, who cannot find a cure for her mysterious sleeping sickness, has one true ally: her brother, Silver. Wild and handsome, Silver exerts an irresistible force over everyone he meets—women especially. He pursues a life of crime and danger, and the older he grows, the more reckless he becomes. Teresa wants to break free but is drawn back to her brother again and again, pulled by the belief that he is the night rider of her dreams. Only when she realizes that she has the strength to save herself will she finally be able to open her eyes and walk away.
A lyrical blend of the mythical and the real, White Horses has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as a book that “will reverberate in readers’ imaginations for a long time.” Views: 518
An extraordinary story of love and exile, from one of the great masters of the Latin American novel, translated into English for the first time
Santiago is trapped. Taken political prisoner in Montevideo after a brutal military coup, he can do nothing but write letters to his family, and try to stay sane.
Far away, his nine-year-old daughter Beatrice wonders at the marvels of 1970s Buenos Aires, but her grandpa and mother - Santiago's beautiful, careworn wife, Graciela - struggle to adjust to a life in exile. Graciela fights to retain the fiery passion that suffused her marriage, her politics, her whole life, as day by day Santiago edges closer to freedom. But Santiago's rakish, reckless best friend is a constant, brooding presence in the exiles' lives, and Graciela finds herself drawn irresistibly towards him.
A lucid, heart-wrenching saga of a family torn apart by the forces of history, Spring with a Broken Corner tells with tenderness and fury of the indelible imprint politics leaves on individual lives. Generous and unflinching, it asks whether the broken bonds of family and history can ever truly be mended. Views: 518
“Cat Chaser is just what one would expect from Elmore Leonard—quirky, peopled with oddball characters…and more twists and turns than a roller coaster.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A superior example of gritty writing and violent action.”
—*New York Times *
There are numerous reasons why Grand Master Elmore Leonard is considered “the coolest, hottest thriller writer in America” (Chicago Tribune) and “the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever” (New York Times Book Review). Cat Chaser is one of them. A gripping, lightning-paced tale of an ex-soldier-turned Florida motel owner whose dangerous affair with the mistress of a Dominican general in exile—a former death squad leader—threatens to have lethal consequences…especially when drugs, double-cross, and murderous mob thugs are added into the mix. A classic thriller from crime fiction master who first brought us U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, currently of TV’s Justified, Cat Chaser proves once more that when the true greats of mystery and suspense are mentioned—John D. MacDonald, Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, Robert Parker, et al—Elmore Leonard tops the list. Views: 517
