Professor Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous and remarkable scientists of our age and author of the scientific bestseller "A Brief History of Time", which sold over 25 million copies across the world and will be adapted as a children's book in the Autumn of next year. In this compelling memoir his first wife, Jane Hawking, relates the inside story of their extraordinary marriage. As Stephen's academic renown soared, his body was collapsing under the assaults of motor neurone disease, and Jane's candid account of trying to balance his 24-hour care with the needs of their growing family will be inspirational to anyone dealing with family illness. The inner-strength of the author, and the self-evident character and achievements of her husband, make for an incredible tale that is always presented with unflinching honesty; the author's candour is no less evident when the marriage finally ends in a high-profile meltdown, with Stephen leaving Jane for one of his nurses... Views: 54
From Publishers WeeklyRejecting as myth that Henry VIII, desirous of a son and a new queen, asked his principal adviser Thomas Cromwell to find criminal grounds for executing Anne Boleyn, the prolific British historian Weir (_The Six Wives of Henry VIII_) concludes that Cromwell himself, seeing Anne as a political rival, instigated one of the most astonishing and brutal coups in English history, skillfully framing her and destroying her faction. Ably weighing the reliability of contemporary sources and theories of other historians, Weir also claims that though perhaps sexually experienced, Anne was technically a virgin before sleeping with Henry. Anne was also, Weir posits, a passionate radical evangelical, with considerable influence over Henry regarding Church reform. Weir wonders if Anne's childbearing history points to her being Rh negative and thus incapable of bearing a second living child. Dissecting four of the most momentous months in world history and providing an eminently judicious, thorough and absorbing popular history, Weir nimbly sifts through a mountain of historical research, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions about Henry's doomed second queen. 15 pages of color photos. (Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistAcclaimed novelist and historian Weir continues to successfully mine the Tudor era, once again excavating literary gold. This time around, Anne Boleyn falls under her historical microscope. Though Boleyn’s life has already been dissected by a bevy of distinguished scholars, novelists, and filmmakers, Weir nevertheless manages to introduce a fresh slant on the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII. Focusing almost exclusively on Anne’s final months, she paints a portrait of an impassioned religious reformer who aroused the suspicions and the animus of a number of court insiders, including the influential Thomas Cromwell. Although it cannot be disputed King Henry desperately desired a male heir, it appears there were more politically complex motives behind the plot to derail the unpopular queen. Caught in an inescapable web of royal intrigue and maneuvering, Anne steadfastly maintained her innocence against a host of trumped-up charges. Weir’s many fans and anyone with an interest in this time period will snap up this well-researched and compulsively readable biography. --Margaret Flanagan Views: 54
Fatty Patty is the cruel nickname that followed Pepper to high school graduation. Five years later, she's back at her reunion to prove it hasn't defined her. In her slim Kate Spades, she'll show them all - her underachieving classmates and especially the boy who broke her heart. San Juan Island Stories are light sweet romances perfect for a Pacific Northwest summer day. [Lunch-sized story] Views: 54
From Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author Elaine Viets—the thrilling mystery series about one woman trying to make a living... while other people are making a killing.Miguel Angel's chic salon is where Fort Lauderdale's high society hairdos get done. Even though Helen Hawthorne is just a gofer at the upscale salon, she has to admit the fabulous Miguel Angel is a master at the craft of coif.But with great heads of hair come great headaches. Especially when Miguel Angel and Helen try to prepare the pregnant fiancée of Kingman "King" Oden for her nuptials. King is a bloated, loudmouth bully with a gossip blog, a TV show, and a lousy attitude. When King tries to throw his weight around the shop, Miguel Angel delivers a vicious dressing down—along with a killer threat.Unfortunately, that's why Miguel Angel is named the prime suspect when King's body is found drowned in a pool at his own wedding. Helen knows her boss might have a temper, but murder? That's just not... Views: 54
Marrying her runaway sister's bridegroom is not quite the fairy-tale wedding Miss Alexandra Packard has always dreamed of! Once the ink is dry on the marriage certificate, the sensible, logical part of her urges her to reveal her identity. The other part—the romantic, womanly, lonely part—keeps her silent.In truth, she does not want the fantasy to end. Indeed, she longs to find out what it would be like to truly be Captain Reid Bowen's wife in every sense of the word.... Views: 54
This piercing, sly debut novel tells the story of one unforgettable month in a Kentucky girl's thirteenth year. Charmaine Peake's prophet father has been committed to a psychiatric institution. Her mother, forced to rent out their house and move them down to a trailer on the river, won't stop telling Charmaine things she doesn't want to hear—from marital details and middle-aged doubts to uncomfortable preoccupations with Charmaine's changing body. A sanctimonious missionary kid has taken over her real bedroom, where Charmaine discovers his stash of strange and questionable photos. She is being tested at every turn: Where will her choices take her? And her faith? She tries to pray ceaselessly as her father taught, but with so much upheaval, even God seems to have changed. Like the beloved Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Lay It on My Heart unleashes Southern humor on the effects of a parent's mental illness. It brings us into the heart of a family weathering the... Views: 54
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dianne Emley's Love Kills.Back from the dead. That's how it feels for Nan Vining, a Pasadena homicide cop determined to find the brutal madman who attacked her a year ago. Nan's daughter calls the unknown assailant T. B. Mann--The Bad Man. On the job, Nan breaks rules and steals evidence, building a case file based on the certainty that T. B. Mann is obsessed with women who wear uniforms, that he hunts them, kills them, then adorns them with a pearl necklace. At the crime scene of her official assignment, the murder of an ex-con, Nan spots a graffiti tag and is sure, against all reason, that T. B. Mann was there, too. Further complicating matters is Nan's developing relationship with Detective Jim Kissick, but she knows that opening her heart means losing control. Then T. B. Mann reemerges from the shadows for a final confrontation, bringing Nan to the sudden, horrifying realization that her killer has baited... Views: 54
Off the Indonesian coast, a 747 plunges into the Pacific Ocean, leaving a handful of survivors that wash ashore onto a deserted island. Unbeknownst to them, the island is home to a secret genetics lab where Dr. Peter Carlson has attempted to resurrect a long-extinct mammal. But something has gone horribly wrong and soon they realize that surviving the plane crash was the easy part. Something more sinister than anything they could have imagined is stalking them. And it is determined to see that no one makes it off the island alive. Views: 54
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction: Volume Three continues the series of eclectic science fiction short stories from some of the foremost luminaries in the genre.Featuring tales of alternative realities, future crime-noir, hi-tech industrial espionage and genetic engineering, from popular award-winning authors.Rescue Mission by Jack SkillingsteadThe Fixation by Alastair ReynoldsArtifacts by Stephen BaxterNecroflux Day by John Meaney Providence by Paul Di FilippoCarnival Night by Warren HammondThe Assistant by Ian WhatesGlitch by Scott EdelmanOne of our Bastards is Missing by Paul CornellWoodpunk by Adam RobertsMinya’s Astral Angels by Jennifer PellandThe Best Monkey by Daniel AbrahamLong Stay by Ian WatsonA Soul Stitched to Iron by Tim AkersiThink, therefore I am by Ken MacLeod Views: 54
Following the events Jerry Mitchell encountered in Dangerous Ground , the pilot-turned-submarine officer is now a department head, the navigator, aboard USS Seawolf . Now on a mission deep in the Barents Sea, north of Russia, Seawolf explores the sea floor, part of a sophisticated reconnaissance plan that will watch the Russian navy as it trains for battle. Although well outside Russia’s territorial waters, Seawolf is ambushed by Russia’s newest submarine, Severodvinsk . Although it doesn’t fire any weapons, its aggressive new captain, Alexi Petrov, harasses the intruder with dangerously fast, insanely close passes by the American boat. The two subs collide, with the Russian boat crippled and trapped on the bottom. Only Seawolf knows where she is, and the rest of the Russian fleet is too angry to listen. Mitchell and his shipmates have to keep their own damaged boat afloat, figure out a way to make the Russians listen, and keep the trapped Russian submariners alive until they can be saved — if that is even possible. Views: 54
