China Witness is the personal testimony of a generation whose stories have not yet been told. Here the grandparents and great-grandparents of today sum up in their own words - for the first and perhaps the last time - the vast changes that have overtaken China's people over a century. The book is at once a journey by the author through time and place, and a memorial to those who have lived through war and civil war, persecution, invasion, revolution, famine, modernization, Westernization - and have survived into the 21st century. We meet everyday heroes, now in their seventies, eighties and nineties, from across this vast country - a herb woman at a market, retired teachers, a legendary 'double-gun woman', Red Guards, oil pioneers, an acrobat, a female general, a lantern maker, taxi drivers, and more- those whose voices, as Xinran says, 'will help our future understand our past'. Views: 332
In Vienna in 1770 Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils his astonishing invention: the Mechanical Turk, an unbeatable chess-playing machine. But von Kempelen is no mechanical genius. Rather, he's a conman, as Tibor, the dwarf locked inside the device, will attest.As the pair tour Europe and become involved in a host of picaresque adventures, barely keeping the secret as they beat all comers, they at last come unstuck when a beautiful countess dies in the presence of the Turk.Suddenly von Kempelen, Tibor and his Turk are the objects of suspicion and the targets of persecution and espionage. And that is before more unexplained deaths further complicate matters ... Views: 331
Hildegarde\'s Holiday - a story for girls is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 330
Randall Garrett was a popular 20th century science fiction and fantasy writer whose works continue to be widely read today. This is one of his most famous works. Views: 328
All private security agent Lucie Evans wanted was a fresh start--and the chance to show Sawyer McNamara, her ex-boss, that she no longer craved his absolution for a crime she didn't commit. So when the offer of a trip to South America as the personal bodyguard to a billionaire heiress came up, Lucie jumped at the prospect of leaving the Dundee Agency behind. Then the nightmare began. Kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity, suddenly Lucie's only hope of survival rested with the one man she never wanted to see again....Sawyer had spent years convincing himself that all he felt for Lucie was contempt--but with her life at stake, he was forced to face his true feelings. Though it may be a case of too little, too late. Because Lucie's captor wouldn't rest until she was silenced...once and for all. Views: 328
Angry 16 year-old misfit Mikal Fanon has just joined a gang of Neo-Nazi skinheads for reasons that are not entirely clear to him. He is taken in by the leader of the gang, Richard, and the two become fast (and best) friends. Emboldened by his new-found sense of belonging Mikal finds himself committing horrible acts of violence without a second thought. But two women threaten to tear his world apart - a gorgeous and passionate young Black activist on campus named Niani Shange, to whom Mikal finds himself hopelessly attracted, and Sherry Nicolas, Richard's new girlfriend who seems to be driving a wedge between the two young skinheads . . .Sherry Nicolas, awkward, shy, and away from home for the first time in her life, finds comfort in a brand new circle of friends and a handsome new boyfriend - the charming and charismatic Richard Lovecraft. Richard leads Sherry into a wild, thrilling, fast-paced lifestyle that is also dangerous and troubling . . . the violent ''white power''... Views: 327
The weird and whimsical short stories in Strange Tales from Liaozhai show their author, Pu Songling (1640-1715), to be both an explorer of the macabre, like Edgar Allan Poe, and a moralist, like Aesop. In this first complete translation of the collection's 494 stories into English, readers will encounter supernatural creatures, natural disasters, magical aspects of Buddhist and Daoist spirituality, and a wide range of Chinese folklore. Annotations are provided to clarify unfamiliar references or cultural allusions, and introductory essays have been included to explain facets of Pu Songling's work and to provide context for some of the unique qualities of his uncanny tales. This is volume 2 of 6. Views: 327
Green Peyton wrote this popular book that continues to be widely read today despite its age. Views: 327
National Bestseller
A New York Times Notable Book
An O, The Oprah Magazine Terrific Read of the Year
A Huffington Post Best Book of the Year
A New Yorker Favorite Book of the Year
A Chicago Tribune Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year
A Kansas City Star Best Book of the Year
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Decade
The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, Zeitoun is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 327
An ancient malevolence that will threaten the very existence of the great tree has been loosed from the past. With his dying breath, Ezylryb tells Soren and Coryn to read the legends of Ga'Hoole hidden in his private library. There, they find a world of treachery and magic in which a young king and queen struggle to keep peace while Grank, their most loyal friend and supporter, studies embers and flames in a distant land. Then a desperate plea comes from the king, and Grank rushes to the aid of his noble friends. Views: 326
Hugo Nominee\'s Most Dazzling Novellas! Rog Philips\' "Unthinkable" and "Incomprehensible," which have never been reprinted since their original publication in Amazing Stories half a century ago, are two outstanding examples of the thought variant story designed to open new ways of seeing and thinking about the universe in its readers. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction hailed Phillips\' work as "ingenious exercises in paradoxes of perception." None more so than this pair of short novels. As the author himself wrote in his Afterword to "Unthinkable," "In this story, an attempt has been made to depict [laws of nature that] conflict with human mentality. It is not the ordinary science fiction attempt. It is not new laws working in harmony with old, or new discoveries that fit into the old pattern. It is, if you please, an utterly alien bit of reality in conflict with the old. You won\'t like it at all--unless you have the type of mind that can reach a little way beyond experience. And though what you may \'see\' may have no counterpart in all reality, if this story serves to expand your mental horizons, it has at least found an excuse for being written." No wonder the Encyclopedia says Rog Phillips stories "did much to raise the standards" of the sf of his time, and Multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner Robert Silverberg, who as a young man admired Phillips work very much, wrote that Philips is "the master of a new type of sf writing." Put your own brain to the test with "Unthinkable" and "Incomprehensible," two unforgettable classics from the golden age of the science fiction pulps. Views: 326
I’ve waited all these years, expecting some one or another would give a full and true account of it all; but little thinking it would ever come to be my task. For it’s not in my way; but seeing how much has been said about other parts and other people’s sufferings; while ours never so much as came in for a line of newspaper, I can’t think it’s fair; and as fairness is what I always did like, I set to, very much against my will; while, on account of my empty sleeve, the paper keeps slipping and sliding about, so that I can only hold it quiet by putting the lead inkstand on one corner, and my tobacco-jar on the other. You see, I’m not much at home at this sort of thing; and though, if you put a pipe and a glass of something before me, I could tell you all about it, taking my time, like, it seems that won’t do. I said, “Why don’t you write it down as I tell it, so as other people could read all about it?” But “No,” he says; “I could do it in my fashion, but I want it to be in your simple unadorned style; so set to and do it.” Views: 325
Star quarterback Bobby Framingham, one of the most talented high school football players in California, knows he's different from his teammates. They're like brothers, but they don't know one essential thing: Bobby is gay. Can he still be one of the guys and be honest about who he is? When he's outed against his will by a student reporter, Bobby must find a way to earn back his teammates' trust and accept that his path to success might be more public, and more difficult, than he'd hoped. An affecting novel about identity that also delivers great sportswriting. Views: 325
Arthur Scott Bailey (November 15, 1877 – October 17, 1949) was an American writer. He was the author of more than forty children\'s books. He was born in St. Albans, Vermont, United States, the second child of Winfield Scott Bailey and Harriet Sarah Goodhue (a girl, Ellen was born in 1876). Bailey\'s writing has been thus described by the Newark Evening News: "Mr. Bailey centered all his plots in the animal, bird and insect worlds, weaving natural history into the stories in a way that won educator\'s approval without arousing the suspicions of his young readers. He made it a habit to never \'write down\' to children and frequently used words beyond the average juvenile vocabulary, believing that youngsters respond to the stimulus of the unfamiliar." Views: 325
All Day September is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Roger Kuykendall is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Roger Kuykendall then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 324
