The definitive biography, now updated to include the tragic death of Maurice Gibb in February 2003. The Bee Gee's journey from Fifties child act to musical institution is one of pop's most turbulent legends. Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb somehow managed to survive changing musical fashions and bitter personal feuds to create musical partnership that has already lasted four times as long as The Beatles. Described by the authors as their objective tribute, this unflinching biography chronicles everything - the good, the bad... and the bushed-up. Youthful delinquency, disastrous marriages, bitter lawsuits, gay sex scandals, serious drug problems and the death of younger brother Andy have sometimes made the personal lives of the Brothers Gibb look as bleak as the low spots of a career that once reduced them to playing the Batley Variety Club. Yet every time the Bee Gees roller coaster seemed derailed for good, they recorded and went on to even greater triumphs. Today they are among... Views: 63
Gan (geese) evokes Meiji-era Tokyo: its alleyways, rivers, mansions, poverty, and occasionally tense class interactions. Okada, a student at the most prestigious university in Japan becomes entangled in the romance of a disenfranchised woman and an ethically suspect merchant. At a time of rapid social change, Mori examines the social and economic pressures that continue to bind it's characters, who yearn for freedom. Circumstance, rigid social structure, and the familial and financial obligations drive the characters forward to Gan's powerful ending. Notable for it's deep exploration of character motivation, as well as its wonderfully elaborate female characters, Gan is an exceptional example of early 20th century Japanese Literature. It looks on a changing world, explores its faults and glimmers of hope, and lingers for a moment, bittersweet, at the thought of it's passing. Views: 63
The true story of John Duval Gluck, Jr., who in 1913 founded the Santa Claus Association, which had the sole authority to answer Santa's mail in New York City. He ran the organization for 15 years, gaining fame for making the myth of Santa a reality to poor children by arranging for donors to deliver the toys they requested, until a crusading charity commissioner exposed Gluck as a fraud. The story is wide in scope, interweaving a phony Boy Scout group, kidnapping, stolen artwork, and appearances by the era's biggest stars and New York City's most famous landmarks. The book is both a personal story and a far-reaching historical one, tracing the history of Christmas celebration in America and the invention of Santa Claus. Views: 63
The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general - some would say prophet - who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth …or is it? Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons - a spear and a crown - that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind - whether they like it or not. But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries. Once the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons - or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent - and deadly - than any that have come before. Views: 63
Be it spring cleaning in a see-through apron while two wealthy women have sex or performing with 'Tinker Bell' while 'Peter Pan' whips her, the life of a teenage prostitute in Beverly Hills was never dull. Often dark, sometimes hilarious, but never dull. Arriving in LA to attend college, but desperate for money, Sterry met a pimp who established him as a male prostitute serving a wild variety of well-off women (and occasionally men). This is his unflinching account of the twisted Wonderland of post-Sixities excess he encountered: peppered with frank descriptions of the work of a 'sex technician'. Views: 63
'You be going to live in the city, Hannah?' Farmer Price asked, pushing his battered hat up over his forehead. 'Wouldn''t think you'd want to go there . . . Times like this, I would have thought your sister would try and keep you away.' Hannah is oblivious to Farmer Price's dark words, excited as she is about her first ever trip to London to help her sister in her shop 'The Sugared Plum', making sweetmeats for the gentry. Hannah does not however get the reception she expected from her sister Sarah. Instead of giving Hannah a hearty welcome, Sarah is horrified that Hannah did not get her message to stay away - the Plague is taking hold of London. Based on much research, Mary Hooper tellingly conveys how the atmosphere in London changes from a disbelief that the Plague is anything serious, to the full-blown horror of the death carts and being locked up - in effect to die - if your house is suspected of infection. Views: 63
Families are made up in all sorts of way, and it takes a holiday for Jack and his stepbrother Leo to work out their differences. Ages: 9+ Instead of having to contend with bullies, Jack must contend with his family in this sequel to the bestselling I AM JACK. It's the school holidays and Mum announces to Jack and his annoying younger sister Samantha, that they are all going on a family holiday to the Gold Coast. And family means Nanna, sort-of-stepdad Rob and his son Leo, as well as Jack's friend Anna. Families are made up in all sorts of ways nowadays, and it takes this holiday for Jack and Leo to work out their differences and for Jack to realise just how lucky he is to have such a great family. Ages 9+ Views: 63
A creature of Night and a ruined prince: one called and the other came. What happened next would change their worlds forever. Views: 63
The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing increasingly restive in the alliance because the new High Ridge regime ignores its needs. Added to the longstanding problem of a slave labor planet controlled by hostile Mesans in Erewhon's stellar backyard, which High Ridge refuses to deal with, the recent assassination of the Solarian League's most prominent voice of public conscience indicates the growing danger of political instability in the Solarian League-which is also close to Erewhon.In desperation, Queen Elizabeth tries to defuse the situation by sending a private mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwicki, accompanied by one of her nieces. When they arrive on Erewhon, however, Manticore's envoys find themselves in a mess. Not only do they encounter one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents-Victor Cachat-but they also discover that the Solarian League's military delegation seems up to its neck in skullduggery.And, just to put the icing on the cake, the radical freed slave organization, the Audubon Ballroom, is also on the scene-led by its notorious and ruthless assassin, Jeremy X. Views: 63
The tragic story of how ignorance, fear and lack of caring led to the extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger.Is it still out there?Thousands of Australians, including dedicated and serious scientists, claim to keep seeing it still.The world's largest marsupial predator was deliberately hunted to extinction through fear, ignorance and greed. But was it a savage sheep killer or a shy, fussy, nocturnal feeder? And did it really drink its victims' blood?Once reviled, feared and slaughtered by government decree, the myth of the Tasmanian Tiger continues to grow. So treasured is it now, the Tasmanian Tiger has become the official logo of the island that wiped it out and a symbol of the conservation movement world-wide.A number of Australian species have miraculously reappeared after being labelled as extinct. Perhaps the Tiger is still with us. And if it's not, can it be brought back by cloning? Views: 63
Alec Hasting whisks Ruby Williams-Chan, the young woman he convinced is standing in the way between his sister and her ex-fiancé, to his isolated country estate. Making the beauty stay put and out of trouble is harder than Alec imagined. Worst of all, he’s falling in love with her. Views: 63
1204 A.D. The Fools’ Guild is on the run from an increasingly intolerant Church. Arriving too late at the Guildhall to join them, the jester couple Theophilos and Claudia and their newborn daughter Portia must now flee the Papal army, having first risked their lives to steal, of all things, a tavern sign. As they journey across the Alps, Theophilos recounts to his wife a story from the Third Crusade, of the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and her dwarf jester, Scarlet. In 1191, as Richard the Lionhearted leads his forces in an attempt to recapture Jerusalem from the army of Saladin, Theophilos and Scarlet are quietly manipulating events to bring about an end to the bloodshed. Their mission leads them to Tyre, the only city in the Kingdom of Jerusalem to withstand Saladin. Governed by a rogue general, the city is aswarm with refugees, spies, and splintered factions vying for power and position, and even success may only prove fatal. The key chesspiece amidst the swirling intrigues remains Isabelle, the Queen of Jerusalem, desired by many but married against her will to a man decades her senior. But there are forces at work that will stop at nothing, and it is up to Scarlet to protect the interests of the Guild, the lives of the people, and the future of Isabelle. Drawn from actual events, The Widow of Jerusalem is a tale of intrigue and ambition, love fulfilled and love unrequited, and a trio of historical deaths that have never been fully explained. Until now. ** Views: 63
