Seth Shulman closely examines the race to build the first telephone and uncovers potential bombshells with The Telephone Gambit. Although Alexander Graham Bell is widely accepted as the father of the telephone (despite the fact that rival inventor Elisha Gray submitted a similar claim the same day Bell filed his patent), Schulman provides intriguing evidence questioning if the scales were deliberately tipped in Alexander's favor. Was the venerable inventor party to theft from Gray's own research? Or are such accusations merely sour grapes from a bitterly contested legal battle? Fraught with controversy, conspiracy, and possible chicanery, Shulman spins real-life Da Vinci Code drama around one of the most influential inventions of the modern era.From Bookmarks MagazineIn Unlocking the Sky (2003), Seth Shulman showed his knack for historical detection by making credible claims that aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss deserves the same accolades for his work as the Wright brothers for theirs. In The Telephone Gambit, Shulman, who researched the book while a resident scholar in MIT’s Dibner Institute, sets his sights on Alexander Graham Bell. He comes away with a stunning and plausible conclusion as he discredits Bell’s claim to the world’s most valuable patent. Drawing on research from Bell’s own notebooks and other sources, Shulman combines deft sleuthing and a nose for a good story with what every critic except the reviewer for the Los Angeles Times deems lively, compact prose. The Telephone Gambit is a necessary addendum to textbook history. Views: 12
A pampered Long Island princess hits the road in a converted bus with her wilderness-loving husband, travels the country for one year, and brings it all hilariously to life in this offbeat and romantic memoir.Doreen and Tim are married psychiatrists with a twist: She's a self-proclaimed Long Island princess, grouchy couch potato, and shoe addict. He's an affable, though driven, outdoorsman. When Tim suggests "chucking it all" to travel cross-country in a converted bus, Doreen asks, "Why can't you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?" But she soon shocks them both, agreeing to set forth with their sixty-pound dog, two querulous cats--and no agenda--in a 340-square-foot bus.Queen of the Road is Doreen's offbeat and romantic tale about refusing to settle; about choosing the unconventional road with all the misadventures it brings (fire, flood, armed robbery, and finding themselves in a nudist RV park, to name... Views: 12
With his mother missing and his father dead, twelve-year-old Flip's new home is a remote Dutch island. Menaced by the local bullies and followed everywhere by a mysterious girl, he wonders how he'll ever adapt to life on his uncle's farm. But everything changes the day a sinking ship leaves a horse drowning in the waves. Risking his life to rescue it, Flip is told he may keep the horse — but only if he can teach it how to work for its keep. From that moment on a friendship grows. But can a boy and a horse really save each other? And what other dark storm threaten their hard-won happiness? Storm Horse is a thrilling, heartfelt tale of a boy, a horse, and their journey together towards a new life. Views: 12
Horror lies waiting. A sinister Countess is driven mad by a dark secret. An innocent woman is made the instrument of retribution. A murdered man’s fury reaches beyond the grave. When Countess Narona marries Agnes Lockwood’s fiancé and takes him to live in a rundown Venetian palace, strange things start happening, a servant mysteriously vanishes and the husband dies a recluse. But the dead won’t rest. When the palace is transformed into a hotel the two women are drawn to its chambers, where a force stronger than death is waiting to wreak its vengeance ...About the AuthorBritish author whose writings paved the way for suspense and detective fiction. Collins’ pen also produced insightful observations on various social issues of his times. Views: 12
Nov 2008
With a captivating mix of fact and fiction, Braver (Mr. Lincoln's Wars) chronicles the events surrounding JFK's assassination to moving effect. The event is no stranger to the literary world, but Braver's recreation, owing to small and often previously off-camera details, remains hauntingly original. Some of these details, like the ones that open the book and dwell on Jackie's fashion preferences, present a factual backdrop against which later scenes--e.g., where Jackie refuses to remove her blood-splattered pink suit--tragically play out. Others, like the way JFK's eyes keep popping open during the autopsy, underscore the grisly reality of his death. While the accumulation of small moments gives the book its weightiness, the stories of people peripherally associated with the assassination make the book sing; through the experiences of the Texan who sold the government Kennedy's casket, the mechanic in charge of the limousine in which Kennedy was shot and numerous others, Braver reveals the tragedy of a national story that decades later can still be acutely felt. Views: 12
Weariness and fear cause Julianne Maxwell to flee her Uncle's home in New York and travel to the far shores of Seattle, Washington as a mail order bride, only to discover the man she planned to marry has married another and is demanding Julianne repay her travel fees. Caleb Hansen has problems of his own. He needs a mother for his infant nephew, and good women are few and far between in the logging community. Unaware that Julianne's present predicament resulted from her unwillingness to remain a nanny to her uncle's twins, Caleb offers her his home and name in exchange for the care of his child. On the run with no viable options, Julianne accepts Caleb's offer--but only until she can earn enough money washing clothes to repay her debt. But God has other plans for these newlyweds. Will they both be able to put aside their fears and find shelter and guidance from the Lord? Views: 12
Feather-flapping fun by one of the best-loved storytellers of our time.A talking chicken! Josh knows it sounds ridiculous, but that's just what Semolina is. And she's not just a talking chicken ... she's a spirited, sarcastic, sassytalking chicken. And with Josh's mom in the hospital about to give birth to his sister, Josh needs Semolina more than ever, even if she will only talk in front of him. But when Semolina tells him that a fox is sneaking into the hen house at night, can Josh get his dad to believe in Semolina before it's too late?Chicken Feathers introduces one of children's literature's most original, endearing new characters to peck her way onto the page. In the tradition of Charlotte's Web, here is a book full of tender moments, sparkling humor, and classic black-and-white illustrations. Views: 12
After two years in jail, a cowboy searches for his sweetheartIt's bold for a cowhand to woo his boss's daughter, but John Tanner can't help loving Becky Canasta. Their courtship is upended by Matt Doyle, a spurned admirer who considers Becky to be his property—and is willing to kill to keep it that way. He is about to have his revenge when Becky draws a small pistol and shoots him through the heart. To save her from the gallows, John takes the blame. He receives only two years in prison for his gallantry. Once freed, he returns to the ranch to see if he still holds Becky's favor, but the place is ransacked—and Becky is nowhere to be found. Desperate to save the woman for whom he sacrificed his freedom, John sets off in pursuit of the kidnappers, who are on the trail of a legendary treasure. He must find it first if he ever wants to see Becky alive again. Views: 12
