Abigail Bukula was fifteen years old when her parents were killed in a massacre of antiapartheid activists by white apartheid security forces. Because a young soldier spoke up in her defense, she was spared. Now she's a lawyer with a promising career in the new government, and while she has done her best to put the tragedy behind her, she's never forgotten Leon Lourens, the soldier who saved her life. So when he walks into her office almost twenty years later, needing her help, she vows to do whatever she can. Someone is slowly killing off members of the team who raided the house where her parents were murdered, and now Leon and an imprisoned colonel are the only targets left. Abigail turns to Yudel Gordon, an eccentric, nearly retired white prison psychologist for help. To save Leon's life they must untangle the web of politics, identity, and history before the anniversary of the raid—only days away.The October... Views: 45
At the age of twenty-two, Dan Brown came to P.S. 85 as an eager, fresh-faced teacher. He was even as-signed his own class: 4-217. Unbeknownst to him, 4-217 was the designated "dumping ground" for all fourth-grade problem cases, and his students would prove to be more challenging than he could have ever anticipated. Intent on being a caring, dedicated teacher but confronted with unruly children, absent parents, and a failing administration, Dan was pushed to the limit time and again: he found himself screaming with rage, punching his fist through a blackboard out of sheer frustration, often just wanting to give up and walk away. Yet, in this seeming chaos, he slowly learned—from the more seasoned teachers at the school and from his own mistakes—how to discipline, teach, and make a difference. The Great Expectations School is the touching story of Class 4-217 and their teacher, Mr. Brown. But more than that, it is the revealing story of a broken educational system and... Views: 45
Nine loosely connected, hypnotic stories about memory and desire showcase one of fiction's bright new voices.In the Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning author Johanna Skibsrud’s new book, nine loosely connected and hypnotic stories introduce an unforgettable cast of characters. A young maid at a hotel in France encounters a man who asks to paint her portrait, only later discovering that the man is someone other than who she thinks. A divorced father, fearing estrangement from his thirteen-year-old daughter, allows her to take the wheel of his car, realizing too late that he’s made a grave mistake. A Canadian girl and her French host stumble on the one story that transcends their language barrier. Youth confronted with the mutterings of old age, restlessness bounded by the muddy confines of a backyard garden, callow hope coming up against the exigencies of everyday life—these are life-defining moments that weave throughout the everyday lives of the remarkable characters in this book. Time and again they find themselves confronted with what they didn’t know they didn’t know, at the exact point of intersection between impossibility and desire. In This Will Be Difficult to Explain Skibsrud has created a series of masterful, perceptive tales.Review“[Johanna Skibsrud’s] prose is as taut as Alice Munro’s, her plots as spare as Mavis Gallant’s. Her characters have startlingly vivid inner lives…Skibsrud’s new book is just as assured [as her novel], and it has the same emotional punch.” (Toronto Life ) About the AuthorJohanna Skibsrud is the author of two collections of poetry. The Sentimentalists, her first novel, won the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. Views: 45
Life can get complicated for a single father working undercover. No one knows that better than Caige Dawson, currently posing as an employee of the Texas Forest Service. He's there to investigate a fellow forester with a missing husband, and to determine whether she's a suspect. Five years ago, Blaire Farley's world imploded. But ever since she met Caige and his sweet, lovable eight-year-old son -- the survivor of a tragic accident -- she's ready to start reclaiming her life. And the first order of business is giving Josh the best Christmas any little boy ever had. Blaire may be a person of interest, but Caige believes in her innocence. His code of honor prevents him from getting too close until he can come clean about his identity. But he needs Blaire's help to solve the case. He only hopes it will give her the closure she needs -- and the future all three of them deserve. Views: 45
Reveals for the first time Heinrich Himmler's master plan for Europe: an SS empire that would have no place for either the Nazi Party or Adolf Hitler. His astonishingly ambitious plan depended on the recruitment of tens of thousands of 'Germanic' peoples to build an 'SS Europa'. Himmler fervently believed that over many centuries, 'Germanic' blood had been 'seeded' in every corner of Europe and even parts of Asia. This book, researched in archives all over Europe and using first-hand testimony, exposes Europe's dirty secret: that nearly half a million Europeans and more than a million Soviet citizens enlisted in the armed forces of the Third Reich - to fight a crusade against 'Jewish-Bolshevism'. No other historian has examined the connections between these SS 'foreign legions' (both police and Waffen-SS) and the Holocaust. Even today, some apologists claim that the foreign volunteers were merely soldiers 'like any other' and fought a decent war against Stalin's Red Army.... Views: 45
