In 1929, a small group of men and women threw off their clothes and began to exercise in a New York City gymnasium, marking the start of the American nudist movement. While countless Americans had long enjoyed the pleasures of skinny dipping or nude sunbathing, nudists were the first to organize a movement around the idea that exposing the body corrected the ills of modern society and produced profound benefits for the body as well as the mind. Despite hostility and skepticism, American nudists enlisted the support of health enthusiasts, homemakers, sex radicals, and even ministers, and in the process, redefined what could be seen, experienced, and consumed in twentieth-century America.Naked gives a vibrant, detailed account of the American nudist movement and the larger cultural phenomenon of public nudity in the United States. Brian S. Hoffman reflects on the idea of nakedness itself in the context of a culture that wrestles with an inherent sense of shame and... Views: 35
Experience a heart-pumping and thrilling tale of suspense!Originally published in THRILLER (2006), edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson.Two New York Times bestselling writers merge their characters and worlds in "The Portal." John Lescroart revisits the chaos of his legal thriller, Guilt, while M. J. Rose investigates Dr. Morgan Snow from The Halo Effect for a combination that highlights the best of both of their works.Dr. Snow learns during her latest therapy session with Lucy Delrey that Lucy feels no emotion whatsoever when she destroys someone. Snow does not know whether to believe her or not, since this seems dramatically out of character for her client. She knows that Lucy is searching for someone from her childhood and wonders if finding him will help her patient...or make things much worse. When Lucy finally tracks him down, she has a plan that he clearly is not expecting.Don't... Views: 35
SPRING BREAKDOWNIt's springtime again, and all P.I. Maggie Skerritt and her charmingly levelheaded business partner and fiancé, Bill Malcolm, can do is hope that rite of passage infamously known as spring break is quiet and painless. Luckily, as the week progresses, Maggie and Bill find the influx of college kids committing only minor offenses, albeit they're piling up like empty kegs at a frat party.If only life could remain that simple...While the tourists wreak mostly harmless havoc, the murder of a woman and her possible connection to a local politician grabs all Maggie's attention. And when that same connection leads her and Bill back to the unsolved case that changed--and still haunts--both their lives, Maggie suddenly wishes party patrol was all she had to worry about. Views: 35
The Moth Catcher is the seventh book in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series - now the major ITV detective drama Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn.'This case was different from anything Vera had ever worked before. Two bodies, connected but not lying together. And nothing made her feel as alive as murder.' Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet community in Northumberland. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter, a young ecologist named Patrick, to look after the place while they're away. But Patrick is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley - a beautiful, lonely place to die. DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene, with her detectives Holly and Joe. When they look round the attic of the big house - where Patrick has a flat - she finds the body of a second man. All the two victims have in common is a fascination with moths -... Views: 35
SUMMARY:Steve Cash created “an absorbing [and] intriguing saga” (The San Diego Union-Tribune) in his debut novel, The Meq. Outwardly indistinguishable from human beings, but with abilities no human can claim, the Meq search for their lost history and face a mysterious prophesied reckoning. . . .It has been thirty-eight years since Zianno–known as Z–turned twelve. In appearance, he has not aged a day. Like all Meq, Z has become accustomed to a near immortal existence, possessing an uncanny ability to recuperate from injury and resist disease. Like only four others of his kind, he holds one of the fabled Stones, the Stone of Dreams. These bearers believe it is their destiny to guide the Meq toward and through the Remembering, where it is said that they will recall their long-forgotten origins and purpose.But the rogue Meq assassin called the Fleur-du-Mal threatens their efforts and their lives. Pursuing rumors of a lost Sixth Stone, he is intent on finding the legendary talisman and eliminating anyone, Meq or human, who stands in the way. Z and his allies–Opari, Sailor, Geaxi, Nova, Ray, Mowsel, Carolina, Jack, and others–embark on a desperate quest spanning decades and continents to track down the stone before their lethal adversary gets to it first. Along the way, every belief they have about themselves will be challenged and shaken–and a new, even deadlier enemy will arise. SUMMARY:Steve Cash created “an absorbing [and] intriguing saga” (The San Diego Union-Tribune) in his debut novel, The Meq. Outwardly indistinguishable from human beings, but with abilities no human can claim, the Meq search for their lost history and face a mysterious prophesied reckoning. . . .It has been thirty-eight years since Zianno–known as Z–turned twelve. In appearance, he has not aged a day. Like all Meq, Z has become accustomed to a near immortal existence, possessing an uncanny ability to recuperate from injury and resist disease. Like only four others of his kind, he holds one of the fabled Stones, the Stone of Dreams. These bearers believe it is their destiny to guide the Meq toward and through the Remembering, where it is said that they will recall their long-forgotten origins and purpose.But the rogue Meq assassin called the Fleur-du-Mal threatens their efforts and their lives. Pursuing rumors of a lost Sixth Stone, he is intent on finding the legendary talisman and eliminating anyone, Meq or human, who stands in the way. Z and his allies–Opari, Sailor, Geaxi, Nova, Ray, Mowsel, Carolina, Jack, and others–embark on a desperate quest spanning decades and continents to track down the stone before their lethal adversary gets to it first. Along the way, every belief they have about themselves will be challenged and shaken–and a new, even deadlier enemy will arise. Views: 35
You are cordially invited. . . . Don't miss amateur detective Carnegie Kincaid, expert in all things matrimony and murder, in the Hallmark original movie Wedding Planner Mystery on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries! If anyone can make a bride happy, it's wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid. There's only one problem: this time she's the planner and the bride. The nightmare begins at a party for Carnegie's client, a sexy Goth rocker marrying a Seattle home run king. When murder strikes and Boris the Mad Russian Florist is charged with the crime, Carnegie steps up to the plate to clear him--despite the objections of fiancé Aaron Gold, who has suddenly become a full-time sports nut. With baseball, bimbos, and one explosive secret threatening Carnegie's safety, this wedding planner needs a new plan. Or else the bride could be next up--to die.From the Paperback edition. Views: 35
A groundbreaking theory of personality.The author of the controversial book The Nurture Assumption tackles the biggest mystery in all of psychology: What makes people differ so much in personality and behavior? It can't just be "nature and nurture," because even identical twins who grow up together—same genes, same parents—have different personalities. And if psychologists can't explain why identical twins are different, they also can't explain why each of us differs from everyone else. Why no two people are alike.Harris turns out to be well suited for the role of detective—it isn't easy to pull the wool over her eyes. She rounds up the usual suspects and shows why none of the currently popular explanations for human differences—birth order effects, for example, or interactions between genes and environment—can be the perpetrator she is looking for. None of these theories can solve the mystery of human individuality.The... Views: 35
Violence and tensions along the U.S.-Mexican border have never been higher, sparked by battles between rival drug lords and an increased flow of illegal migrants. To combat the threat, the United States has executed Operation Rampart: a controversial test base in Southern California run by Major Richter and TALON, his high-tech special operations unit.Their success is threatened by a drug kingpin and migrant smuggler named Ernesto Fuerza. In the guise of Mexican nationalist "Commander Veracruz," he causes a storm of controversy on both sides of the border, calling for a revolution to take back the northernmost "Mexican states" — the southwestern United States. His real intention is to make it easier to import illegal drugs across the border. This sets off a storm of controversy that's being stirred to a fever pitch by a popular right-wing radio talk-show host who calls for the complete militarization of the border. Views: 35
In this daring and provocative literary parody which has captured the interest and imagination of a nation, Alice Randall explodes the world created in GONE WITH THE WIND, a work that more than any other has defined our image of the antebellum South. Taking sharp aim at the romanticized, whitewashed mythology perpetrated by this southern classic, Randall has ingeniously conceived a multilayered, emotionally complex tale of her own - that of Cynara, the mulatto half-sister, who, beautiful and brown and born into slavery, manages to break away from the damaging world of the Old South to emerge into full life as a daughter, a lover, a mother, a victor. THE WIND DONE GONE is a passionate love story, a wrenching portrait of a tangled mother-daughter relationship, and a book that "celebrates a people's emancipation not only from bondage but also from history and myth, custom and stereotype" (San Antonio Express-News). Views: 35
Prostitution has been legal in Rhode Island for more than a decade; Liam Mulligan, an old-school investigative reporter at dying Providence newspaper, suspects the governor has been taking payoffs to keep it that way. But this isn't the only story making headlines...a child's severed arm is discovered in a pile of garbage at a pig farm. Then the body of an internet pornographer is found sprawled on the rocks at the base of Newport's famous Cliff Walk. At first, the killings seem random, but as Mulligan keeps digging into the state's thriving sex business, strange connections emerge. Promised free sex with hookers if he minds his own business—and a beating if he doesn't—Mulligan enlists Thanks-Dad, the newspaper publisher's son, and Attila the Nun, the state's colorful Attorney General, in his quest for the truth. What Mulligan learns will lead him to question his beliefs about sexual morality, shake his tenuous religious faith, and leave him... Views: 35
During a fateful summer, 13-year-old Jake Weber witnesses the brutal murder of a Native American woman by the town banker. Jake's parents forbid him to speak of the killing or name its perpetrator, even as the woman's African American lover stands falsely accused. The crime and what follows it forever alter Jake's view of his parents and the world around him. Faraway Places won widespread praise for its vivid narrative and incantatory style, and Spanbauer displays singular skill in inhabiting the mind of a troubled adolescent boy. Views: 35
Geek Girl meets Fame meets New Girl in this brilliantly funny new series! When Elektra is discovered by an acting agent, she imagines Oscar glory can't be far away, but instead lurches from one cringe-worthy moment to the next! Just how many times can you be rejected for the part of 'Dead Girl Number Three' without losing hope? And who knew that actors were actually supposed to be multi-lingual, play seven instruments and be trained in a variety of circus skills?Off-stage things aren't going well either - she's fallen out with her best friend, remains firmly in the friend-zone with her crush and her parents are driving her crazy. One way or another, Elektra's life is now spent waiting for the phone to ring - waiting for callback. Can an average girl-next-door like Elektra really make it in the world of luvvies and starlets? Views: 35
