Nicholas van Hoogstraten is a super-rich business man whose ruthless exploits have kept his name in the headlines for 30 years. Most recently, he was found guilty of the manslaughter of business associate Mohammed Sabir Raja, who was stabbed five times and shot at point-blank range by hitmen sent by Hoogstraten. This was the culmination of a career of wreaking vengeance on anyone who dared get in his way. In building a vast fortune, he secretly linked up with one of the most frightening gangsters in Britain, with a vicious regime in Africa and, according to some, collusions with the Mafia. He employed thugs to bomb the home of a man who owed him money. He sent a gang to terrorise an old people's home. He was suspected of involvement in an arson attack which killed five party-goers. He threatened friends and rivals - even judges - with death. This book reveals the real Van Hoogstraten: his life, his women, his riches and what exactly has made one man so feared. Views: 26
A fan from the moment the Doors' first album took over KMPX, the revolutionary FM rock & roll station in San Francisco, Greil Marcus saw the band many times at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium and the Avalon Ballroom in 1967. Five years later it was all over. Forty years after the singer Jim Morrison was found dead in Paris and the group disbanded, one could drive from here to there, changing from one FM pop station to another, and be all but guaranteed to hear two, three, four Doors songs in an hour—every hour. Whatever the demands in the music, they remained unsatisfied, in the largest sense unfinished, and absolutely alive. There have been many books on the Doors. This is the first to bypass their myth, their mystique, and the death cult of both Jim Morrison and the era he was made to personify, and focus solely on the music. It is a story untold; all these years later, it is a new story. Views: 26
Ravyn's parents are trapped in a magic mirror; her evil Aunt Zelera seized the crown, unleashing the Darkness to ravage the land of Aigerach. Now...the witch wants her dead.What's a girl green in the ways of magic going to do?She'll bring the Light back to Aigerach and return the crown to its rightful place on her father's brow or she'll die trying.Anxious and alone, sixteen year-old Princess Ravyn sets out on a quest fraught with danger. Armed with nothing but her newfound ability to manipulate the Light, a travel pack of supplies, a snippet of courage and the clothes on her back she sets out to eradicate the Darkness.A beacon of hope in a dreary world, she draws others to her like a moth to a flame. Connor, a Master of the Light, aims to steer Ravyn clear of the pitfalls of magic. Blade, her best friend from childhood helps her escape Zelera's clutches. But has he stolen her heart? Ravyn meets many colorful characters along the way – dragons, and harpies, and unicorns. Oh my! Be... Views: 26
In the United States Marine Corps, the most dangerous job in combat is that of the sniper. With no backup and little communication with the outside world, these men disappeared for weeks on end in the wilderness with nothing but intellect and iron will to protect them—as they would watch, wait, and finally strike. But of all of the snipers who ever hunted human prey, one man stands above and beyond as one of the most legendary fighting men ever to pull a trigger... That man was Carlos Hathcock. In Marine Sniper, the true-life missions of United States Marine Corps sniper Carlos Hathcock were revealed in explosive detail. Now, the incredible story of a remarkable Marine continues—with harrowing, never-before-published accounts of courage and perseverance. These are the powerful stories of a man who rose to greatness not for personal gain or glory, but for duty and honor. A rare inside look at the U.S. Marine's most... Views: 26
A mystery involving a popular boy actor coincides with the arrival of many dubious people to Greenfield. Views: 26
He isn’t made of brass…but that won’t stop him from steaming up her nights. Flouting convention and raising eyebrows from aristocratic drawing rooms to Whitehall, Lady Minnie Dalrymple takes men to her bed as she pleases. She doesn’t do favors outside the boudoir, particularly for politically powerful men whose motives are rarely pure. Yet when her lover asks her to visit the mysterious Dr. Pierce Lowell, she’s intrigued. Why should she be asked to essentially spy on the reclusive scientist? Pierce has several projects under development, none of which he cares to share with the public. The arrival of any unexpected guest rouses suspicion, but the wealthier-than-God, eccentric young widow certainly isn’t threatening…not to his experiments, anyway. To his heart? That’s another matter entirely. Their lighthearted, mutual exploration is interrupted by the discovery of a woman’s body found strangled just offshore. When Minnie learns this is the fourth such crime, it isn’t difficult to convince Pierce that working at his side to uncover the plot is the safest place to be. Until she is kidnapped. To save the woman he has come to love, Pierce must call on every ounce of ingenuity and brilliance—and reveal his most closely guarded secret. Warning: Contains scientific references, unlaced Victorian desire and some really nasty villains at war with fascinating machines. Author is not responsible for any consequent urge to dismantle a vacuum cleaner and build a mechanical man. Views: 26
Sergei Dovlatov’s subtle, dark-edged humor and wry observations are in full force in The Suitcase as he examines eight objects—the items he brought with him in his luggage upon his emigration from the U.S.S.R. These seemingly undistinguished possessions, stuffed into a worn-out suitcase, take on a riotously funny life of their own as Dovlatov inventories the circumstances under which he acquired them, occasioning a brilliant series of interconnected tales: A poplin shirt evokes the bittersweet story of a courtship and marriage, while a pair of boots (of the kind only the Nomenklatura can afford) calls up the hilarious conclusion to an official banquet. Some driving gloves—remnants of Dovlatov’s short-lived acting career—share space with neon-green crepe socks, reminders of a failed black-market scam. And in curious juxtaposition, the belt from a prison guard’s uniform lies next to a stained jacket that once belonged to Fernand... Views: 26
Elena Tighe has moved to Chemainus, BC and opened up a coffee shop/gallery in the small tourist town in an effort to make a new life for herself. The last thing she needs is Brad Phillips telling her it won’t last six months unless she makes some changes. So what if he’s gorgeous? So what if he makes her heart beat erratically on sight? The best thing she could do is send him packing. But he just might be right. And as a gift ... he’s better than chocolate! Views: 26
Issue Two of Volume Fifteen of the Review of Australian Fiction. This issue contains new short fiction by Susan Midalia and Josephine Clarke. Views: 26
Exceeding the promise of her New York Times Notable Book debut, Kate Walbert brings her prizewinning "painter's eye and poet's voice" (The Hartford Courant) to a mesmerizing story of war, romance, and grief.I had a cousin, Randall, killed on Iwo Jima. Have I told you?So begins Kate Walbert's beautiful and heart-breaking novel about a young woman, Ellen, coming of age in the long shadow of World War II. Forty years later she relates the events of this period, beginning with the death of her favorite cousin, Randall, with whom she had shared Easter Sundays, secrets, and, perhaps, love. In an isolated, aging Maryland farmhouse that once was a stop on the Underground Railroad, Randall had grown up among ghosts: his father, Sterling, present only in body; his mother, dead at a young age; and the apparitions of a slave family. When Ellen receives a package after Randall's death, containing his diary and a book called The Gardens of Kyoto, her bond to ... Views: 26
