Roundworld is in trouble again, and this time it looks fatal. Having created it in the first place, the wizards of Unseen Univeristy feel vaguely responsible for its safety. They know the creatures who lived there escaped the impending Big Freeze by inventing the space elevator - they even intervened to rid the planet of a plague of elves, who attempted to divert humanity onto a different time track. But now it's all gone wrong - Victorian England has stagnated and the pace of progress would embarrass a limping snail. Unless something drastic is done, there won't be time for anyone to invent spaceflight and the human race will be turned into ice-pops.Why, though, did history come adrift? Was it Sir Arthur Nightingale's dismal book about natural selection? Or was it the devastating response by an obscure country vicar called Charles Darwin, whose bestselling Theology of Species made it impossible to refute the divine design of living creatures? Either way, it's no easy task to... Views: 25
1677, on a late summer’s evening two ships lurk off the coast of southwest Ireland. They are Barbary corsairs from North Africa, slave catchers. As soon as it is dark, their landing parties row ashore to raid a small fishing village - on the hunt for fresh prey . . . In the village, seventeen-year-old Hector Lynch wakes to the sound of a pistol shot. Moments later he and his sister Elizabeth are taken prisoner. From then on Hector’s life plunges into a turbulent and lawless world that is full of surprises. Separated from Elizabeth, he is sold to the slave market of Algiers, where he survives with the help of his newfound friend Dan, a Miskito Indian from the Caribbean. The two men convert to Islam to escape the horrors of the slave pens, only to become victims of the deadly warfare of the Mediterranean. Serving aboard a Turkish corsair ship, their vessel is sunk at sea and they find themselves condemned to the oar as galley slaves for France. Driven by his quest to find his sister, Hector finally stumbles on the chilling truth of her fate when he and Dan are shipwrecked on the coast of Morocco . . . Views: 25
In February 1940, the Nazis established what would become the second-largest Jewish ghetto in the Polish city of Lodz. Its chosen leader: Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, is a Jewish businessman and orphanage director -- and the elusive, authoritarian power sustaining the ghetto's very existence. From one of Sweden's most critically acclaimed and bestselling authors, The Emperor of Lies chronicles the tale of Rumkowski's monarchical rule over a quarter-million Jews for the next four years. Driven by a titanic ambition, he sought to transform the ghetto into a productive industrial complex and strove to make it -- and himself -- indispensable to the Nazi regime. Drawing on the detailed records of life in the Lodz ghetto, Steve Sem-Sandberg asks the most difficult questions: Was Rumkowski a ruthless opportunist, an accessory to the Nazi regime driven by a lust for power? Or was he a pragmatic strategist who saved Jewish lives through his collaboration policies? Views: 25
When he inherits a racing car, sixteen-year-old Ken determines to become a drag racer. Views: 25
Tabby Freeman and Lora Froggett go to the same school, but they live in totally opposite worlds. Tabby is rich, pretty, and the most popular girl in her class. But behind closed doors, her rfectife is rapidly coming apart at the seams.On the other side, Lora is smart, timid, and the constant target of bullies. While struggling to survive the piranha-infested halls of her school, she becomes increasingly nervous that somebody might discover the unbearable truth about whats been happening to her family.Despite their differences, Tabby and Lora have something in common They're both harbouring dark secrets and a lot of pain. Although theyve never been friends, a series of strange events causes their lives to crash together in ways neither could have ever imagined. And when the dust finally settles and all their secrets are forced out into the light, will the girls be saved or destroyed? Views: 25
Owen Marston could never forget the passionate Vegas weekend that ended at the altar with Isabella Cavaletti. Or the way his new bride walked out on him the morning after. The footloose librarian obviously wasn't cut out for married life. So what was she doing at the injured firefighter's bedside?Marrying a man she'd known for only three days in the Elvis Luvs U Wedding Chapel definitely rated up there with one of Izzy's wilder and crazier moments. But now her "impulse" groom needed her back at his side. Except the longer she stayed with her too-arousing temporary husband, the more permanent she wanted the arrangement to be... Views: 25
The bestselling author of "Little League Confidential" goes on a hilarious investigative excursion to find out what's behind America's growing obsession with golf. The humorist's unique approach to the game provides uproarious insight into the nuances of golf that will ring true with any lover of the sport. Views: 25
