As he magnificently combines meticulous scholarship with irresistible narrative appeal, Richardson draws on his close friendship with Picasso, his own diaries, the collaboration of Picasso's widow Jacqueline, and unprecedented access to Picasso's studio and papers to arrive at a profound understanding of the artist and his work. 800 photos.From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 60
Trixie is a fun and fiesty free-thinker who never seems to hear the word 'NO'! Trixie has a heart of gold and a love of animals so big it even includes nits! She's passionate about vegetarianism, music and Building a Better World. All Trixie has ever wanted is her very own horse -- and when her gran wins money in a competition, Trixie's dream finally comes true. But the pony turns out to be more of a nightmare than a dream come true -- after all, where DO you keep a pony in a suburban house? In the bedroom? Worth a try, maybe. Trixie's brain will have to work overtime to solve this one! With fun and quirky illustrations throughout and laughs on every page, the Trixie stories are guaranteed to entertain. Views: 60
PREQUELOn a spring morning in 1925 Sunny Palmer disappears from her baby carriage in Picardy's restaurant in downtown Winnipeg. It happens in seconds when big sister Violet and her mother wander up to choose their treats from the dessert display. As those first minutes turn to days, months, then years, the Palmer family collapses and gradually glues itself back together in a new form.The Dirty Thirties are in full swing. On a hot summer day in June of 1936 two drifters looking for work turn up in the Palmers' back yard. They are among the legions of men criss-crossing the country looking for work. Violet's father, Will Palmer, a local attorney with few construction skills, invites the men to pitch their tent and stay on to build a garage for his new Buick. But he's on his guard. One of the men, Jackson Shirt, seems a little too well-educated and much too handsome to ring entirely true. He's just Violet's age, 17, but Will senses he has more than his share of secrets.A wayfaring friend of the drifters drops by occasionally to watch them work. If anything blameworthy occurs in the neighborhood—theft, noise, even illness—these three outsiders come under close scrutiny. When polio strikes that August, suspicion turns to savagery. And Jackson Shirt's secrets are revealed. Views: 60
The Music Fairies: A collection of all seven books in one! Views: 60
Emily von Plotz barely eked out a living giving advice to readers of the San Francisco Call as “Aunt Emily.” Then she chanced to meet the man who had signed himself “Texas Lonesome.” Suddenly, she knew who would be perfect for him: Emily. But “Aunt Emily” had yet to learn that while Will Tate might be a Texan, he had never in his life been lonesome, lovelorn, or lacking an any way. Views: 60
Short-listed for the 2008 Victoria Prize for Young Adult Fiction Justin D'Ath's Pool is a beautifully modulated novel that explores adolescent transitions and discoveries in seamless prose. Sixteen-year-old Wolfgang Mulqueen works at the public swimming pool in New Lourdes, Victoria, where pilgrims from across the world travel to test the waters curative powers. In the course of a long hot summer, Wolfgang is forced to confront his own strengths and limitations. D'Ath juxtaposes intriguing characters, metaphors and events - a blind girl, a black butterfly, a tragic 18-year-old mystery - to create a truly original work. Pool is a powerful and moving novel about love, death, faith and family.** Views: 60
From Publishers WeeklyThe pseudonymous Napier continues his excellent portrayal of Attila's turbulent life in this second installment to his trilogy (after Attila). The colorful story is told by a Roman scribe, Priscus of Panium, and begins in 441 A.D. as Attila returns to claim the Hun throne after 30 years in exile. Attila, bitter and full of hatred for Rome (and pretty much everybody else), is determined to destroy the Roman and Chinese empires, and the book is rife with Attila's bloody machinations as he murders his rivals, slaughters enemy armies, and uses guile and deception to amass allies. Napier also smartly tells of events on the Roman side as conspiracies and rivalries split the Roman empire, and Aëtius, an out-of-favor Roman general, is tasked with saving Rome from the Hun invaders. The hitch: Aëtius and Attila are old friends from their exile days. Alliances, betrayal, assassination, gory battles, torture, and cruelty mark this blood-soaked historical, and Napier describes it all vividly and with sword-pounding impact. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Alliances, betrayal, assassination, gory battles, torture and cruelty mark this blood-soaked historical, and Napier describes it all vividly and with sword-pounding impact." -- Publishers Weekly "If you think you don't like historical fiction, you haven't read William Napier." --_The Times _(UK)"A rattling good yarn...Napier tells a great story...I couldn't put it down." --_Big Issue _(UK)"A gripping novel." --_Daily Mail_ (UK) Views: 60
In the last opulent days of the eighteenth century, a friendly wager turns into a heated feud that spans decades...and a love affair like none other.What does it take to tempt a lady... London, 1792. The Duke of Blackbern and the Marquess of Norgrave are boyhood friends who will still compete at anything. Racing, drinking, gambling, even seduction—until Lady Imogen Sunter crosses their path. Achingly beautiful, and innocent, she has no understanding of the jaded gentlemen who are courting her for favors—of how far they are willing to go to get what they want...In this game of seduce and destroy?Fighting for Imogen's affection should have been no more than their usual spirited rivalry. But when Blackbern discovers his feelings for Imogen have deepened, all bets are off. Norgrave, driven by his own demons, won't forsake his pride—and with one shocking act of betrayal that threatens Imogen and Blackbern's newfound desire,... Views: 60
“American Visa is beautifully written, atmospheric, and stylish in the manner of Chandler . . . a smart, exotic crime fiction offering.”—George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardener"American Visa is a stunning literary achievement. It is insightful and poignant, a book every thoughtful American should read, and once read, read again."—William Heffernan, Edgar Award-winning author of The Corsican"In his search for an American visa, the high school teacher in this novel embodies the dreams and aspirations of many would-be immigrants south of the border. This is a thriller with a social conscience, a contemporary noir with lots of humor and flair. The streets of La Paz have never looked so alive. This is one of the best Latin American novels of the last fifteen years." —Edmundo Paz-Soldan, author of Turing's Delirium"Mario Alvarez is tremendous, an everyman desperate to escape Bolivia's despair who can't elude his own tricks of self-sabotage. At a time when the debate around U.S. immigration reduces many people around the world to caricatures, this singular and provocative portrait of the issue will connect with readers of all political stripes." —Arthur Nersesian, author of Suicide CasanovaArmed with fake papers, a handful of gold nuggets, and a snazzy custom-made suit, an unemployed schoolteacher with a singular passion for detective fiction sets out from small-town Bolivia on a desperate quest for an American visa, his best hope for escaping his painful past and reuniting with his grown son in Miami.Mario Alvarez's dream of emigration takes a tragicomic twist on the rough streets of La Paz, Bolivia's seat of government. Alvarez embarks on a series of Kafkaesque adventures, crossing paths with a colorful cast of hustlers, social outcasts, and crooked politicians—and initiating a romance with a straight-shooting prostitute named Blanca. Spurred on by his detective fantasies and his own tribulations, he hatches a plan to rob a wealthy gold dealer, a decision that draws him into a web of high-society corruption but also brings him closer than ever to obtaining his ticket to paradise.Juan de Recacoechea was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and worked as a journalist in Europe for almost twenty years. After returning to his native country, he helped found Bolivia's first state-run television network, served as its general manager, and dedicated himself to fiction writing. Recacoechea is the author of seven novels. American Visa is his first novel to be translated into English. Views: 60
By popular demand, master storyteller Peter Watt returns to this much-loved series following on from the bestselling Cry of the Curlew, Shadow of the Osprey and Flight of the Eagle.Major Patrick Duffy is torn by conflicting duties: his oath to the Queen is unwavering as she gathers her armies together to march on the Boers of southern Africa, but his duty to his family is equally clear. But when his beautiful wife Catherine leaves him for another, returning to her native Ireland, Patrick's broken heart propels him out of the Sydney Macintosh home and into yet another bloody war. However the battlefields of Africa hold more than nightmarish terrors and unspeakable conditions for Patrick – they bring him in contact with one he thought long dead and lost to him. Back in Australia, the mysterious Michael O'Flynn mentors Patrick's youngest son, Alex, and at his grandmother's request takes him on a journey to their Queensland property, Glen View. But will the terrible curse that has inextricably linked the Duffys and Macintoshes for generations ensure that no true happiness can ever come to them? So much seems to depend on Wallarie, the last warrior of the Nerambura tribe, whose mere name evokes a legend approaching myth.Through the dawn of a new century in a now federated nation, To Chase the Storm charts an explosive tale of love and loss, from South Africa to Palestine, from Townsville to the green hills of Ireland, and to the more sinister politics that lurk behind them. Views: 60
Kinky Friedman, the original Texas Jewboy, takes us on a rollicking, rock-and-rolling tour of his favorite city: Austin.Maybe you want to know which restaurant President Bush rates as his favorite Austin burger joint. Or maybe you want a glimpse of Willie Nelson's home life (hint: Willie plays a lot of golf). Perhaps you want to get the best view of the Mexican free-tail bats as they make their nightly flights to and from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Or maybe you're itching to learn the history of a city that birthed Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless other music legends. It's all here in The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the slightly insane, amazingly practical, and totally kick-ass guide to the coolest city in Texas by none other than Kinky Friedman.This ain't no ordinary travel guide, neither. "Like most other busy cities these days, Austin is not very effectively traversed by foot," Kinky explains. "You must understand that 'a walk... Views: 60
Erotica. 12889 words long. First published in 2009 Views: 60
Beckford's Gothic novel Vathek, an Arabian tale, was originally written in French when the author was twenty-one. Published in English in 1786, it was one of the most successful of the oriental tales then in fashion. This edition makes available to a new generation of scholars and general readers, the originality of Beckford's ideas, and the excellence of his prose.About the AuthorWilliam Beckford (1760-1844) inherited a large fortune and, at the age of nineteen, went on a tour of Holland, Germany, Belgium, France and Italy. He was a Member of Parliament and a traveller who spent large sums of money collecting rare books, curiosities and paintings for the embellishment of his Gothic Extravaganza, Fonthill Abbey, where he lived in opulent seclusion until forced by bankruptcy to sell it in 1822. Views: 60
