The rise and rise of the Bin Laden family is one of the great stories of the twentieth century; its repercussions have already deeply marked the twenty-first. Until now, however, it is a story that has never been fully told, as the Bin Ladens have successfully fended off attempts to understand the family circles from which Osama sprang. In this the family has been abetted by the kingdom it calls home, Saudi Arabia, one of the most closed societies on earth. Steve Coll’s The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century is the groundbreaking history of a family and its fortune. It chronicles a young illiterate Yemeni bricklayer, Mohamed Bin Laden, who went to the new, oil-rich country of Saudi Arabia and quickly became a vital figure in its development, building great mosques and highways and making himself and many of his children millionaires. It is also a story of the Saudi royal family, whom the Bin Ladens served loyally and without whose capricious favor they would have been nothing. And it is a story of tensions and contradictions in a country founded on extreme religious purity, which then became awash in oil money and dazzled by the temptations of the West. In only two generations the Bin Ladens moved from a famine- stricken desert canyon to luxury jets, yachts, and private compounds around the world, even going into business with Hollywood celebrities. These religious and cultural gyrations resulted in everything from enthusiasm for America—exemplified by Osama’s free-living pilot brother Salem—to an overwhelming determination to destroy it. The Bin Ladens is a meticulously researched, colorful, shocking, entertaining, and disturbing narrative of global integration and its limitations. It encapsulates the unsettling contradictions of globalization in the story of a single family who has used money, mobility, and technology to dramatically varied ends. Views: 67
Few historical figures are as inextricably linked as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. But less than two decades before they faced each other as enemies at Appomattox , they had been brothers--both West Point graduates, both wearing blue, and both fighting in the same cadre in the Mexican War. They were not alone: Sherman, Davis, Jackson -nearly all of the Civil War's greatest soldiers had been forged in the heat of Vera Cruz and Monterrey .The Mexican War has faded from our national memory, but it was a struggle of enormous significance: the first U.S. war waged on foreign soil; and it nearly doubled our nation. At this fascinating juncture of American history, a group of young men came together to fight as friends, only years later to fight as enemies. This is their story. Full of dramatic battles, da... Views: 66
In glittering 18th-century Venice, music and love are prized above all else--and for two sisters coming of age, the city's passions blend in intoxicating ways. Chiaretta and Maddalena are as different as night and day. The two sisters were abandoned as babies on the steps of the Ospedale della Pietß, Venice's world-famous foundling hospital and musical academy. High-spirited and rebellious, Chiaretta marries into a great aristocratic Venetian family and eventually becomes one of the most powerful women in Venice. Maddalena becomes a violin virtuoso and Antonio Vivaldi's muse. The Four Seasons is a rich, literary imagination of the world of 18th-century Venice and the lives and loves of two extraordinary women.** Views: 66
The domino effect was dominating my novice mind in such a way that I was feeling un-alcoholic delirium tremens while looking at her bosom bumping out of her cleavage. I put my mouth there and started licking. I supported her with my hand to lay down there. Her figure was so appealing to me that I was slipping down to the bottom. My mirage-burnt heart desired more and more to kiss her entire body. Views: 66
Sometimes Ian Furchess hated being the duke of Wolffhampton. Like when he had no idea how to pay for his ancestral castle, which costs more to run than some small countries. Or when his grandmother pressured him to marry—preferably someone rich and titled. Ian hadn't even wanted to be a duke.So when a beautiful American tourist landed on his doorstep, Ian was caught between his duty and his desire. He knew Daisy Wexler had her own agenda, one that could be the ruin of a duke. And yet, Ian had had his fill of duty. It was time to indulge his desires… Views: 66
Christine Morris is awakened early on a chill November morning by a phone call from one of her colleagues, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Leo Forgach. His daughter, Deirdre, is missing. Despite the fact that she and the doctor have never seen eye to eye, Christine agrees to help int he search for Deirdre -- only to discover her brutally strangled body in the lake. Heartbroken, Leo tells Christine that his daughter was deaf and had recently given birth to a child she had deliberately ensured would be deaf. As a militant suporter of the Deaf Culture, Deirdre wanted a deaf child to make a political statement. Although some people supported her stand, many did not -- including Deirdre's own father. Christine must use her new kills as a forensic profiler to discover the killer. Views: 66
Archeologist and former Earth Military Force officer Luke Parillo finds thousand-year-old wreckage all the time. But this ancient ship came from hundreds of years in the future Views: 66
For university professor Mia Rose Curry, it was all academic: her course in alternative sexuality was a safe, socially acceptable way for her to talk about the things she desired most—but had never let herself experience. And while students crammed into her class to learn about fetishes, bondage, voyeurism, and much more, Mia kept her own raging desires, and her most private fantasies, carefully under wraps . . . until one man dared to make her secret passions a brazen reality.Jagger James is everything Mia wants, and everything taboo: he’s gorgeous, daring—and a student. Yet Mia can’t help imagining his hands, his lips, his skin . . . all the while drawing closer and closer to this forbidden fruit. She soon discovers how much Jagger wants her, demanding that she abandon every inhibition with him. Now they are about to take a dangerous step, tempting each other’s flesh, savoring every touch and breaking every rule—knowing that this dazzling sensual feast is only a taste of something more to come. . . . Views: 66
Cemetery Lake begins in a cold and rainy graveyard, where Private Detective Theodore Tate is overseeing an exhumation—a routine job for the weathered former cop. But when doubts are raised about the identity of the body found in the coffin, the case takes a sinister turn. Tate knows he should walk away and let his former colleagues on the police force deal with it, but his strong sense of justice intervenes. Complicating matters are a few loose ends from Tate’s past. Even good guys have secrets, and Tate thought his were dead and buried for good. With time running out and a violent killer lurking, will he manage to stay one step ahead of the police, or will his truth be unearthed? Originally published in Paul Cleave’s native New Zealand in 2008, Cemetery Lake is the first novel to feature Theodore Tate, the “quintessential flawed hero” (Kirkus Reviews) from Collecting Cooper and The Laughterhouse. Full of the clever plot twists and sardonic humor for which Cleave has become known, it is at once a totally entertaining crime novel and an unforgettable drama about the universal battle against the darkness within.Review“Cleave is a powerful writer, conjuring a malevolent atmosphere, creating a relentless momentum propelling Tate deeper into a moral swamp.... Contemporary crime noir at its best, mined from the dark pit of the human psyche.”(Kirkus Reviews)“Tate is hardly the first dark, brooding detective with a tragic past in crime fiction, but he brings a fresh twist to the familiar type, as does the setting of Christchurch, New Zealand, which Cleave evokes with masterful precision.”(Booklist)“Reminiscent of James Ellroy… [an] uncompromising portrayal of a man in torment…fully absorbing.”(Publishers Weekly (starred review)) About the AuthorPaul Cleave is the author of six internationally bestselling thrillers, including Blood Men, Collecting Cooper, and The Laughterhouse. He lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. Visit his website at PaulCleave.com. Views: 66
Cindy Toland knows that her sister's violent death was no accident. She knows her abusive brother-in-law too well... knows the dark, brutal things he's capable of doing. That's why she took her niece and nephew away into the night—away from a dangerous and twisted madness called home. But ten-year-old Billy and his kid sister Krissy know something their Aunt Cindy doesn't. It's about the blue lady who comes late at night and whispers strange things. Billy and Krissy aren't scared of the lady. Even though she lives beyond the grave. But there's something else out there. Something much more terrifying. It's daddy. And he's coming to get them. Views: 66
In a country of junk-filled attics, yard sales, and flea markets frequented by millions of Antiques Roadshow viewers hoping to uncover a grungy chest of drawers worth millions, the Keno twins have become the Siskel and Ebert of antiques. Dapper, witty, and in their early forties (with nearly 60 years of combined experience between them), they symbolize the union of amateur enthusiasm and acute professionalism that has made their television program a cultural phenomenon. Now, in this fascinating collection of tales of their personal adventures hunting -- and discovering -- priceless "junk" (including some notable Roadshow success stories), readers will learn how to see the extraordinary in the mundane. "Hidden Treasures" is part history lesson and part treasure map for finding valuable antiques where they would be least expected. Views: 66
