At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention.In this deeply reported book, Jason Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it. He depicts village pastors who survived massacres, the child soldier assassin of President Kabila, a female Hutu activist who relives the hunting and methodical extermination of fellow refugees, and key architects of the war that became as great a disaster as—and was a direct consequence of—the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Through their stories, he tries to understand why such mass violence made sense, and why stability has been so elusive.Through their voices, and an astonishing wealth of knowledge and research,... Views: 15
Having her own family is not too much to ask! Although it's been tough, sixteen-year-old Sierra Lind has assembled some good candidates. First there's the most perfect foster mom ever - Lucy Malone. And now Sierra has found her bio dad, Jonathan Brenner. With the way Lucy and her dad are making eyes at each other... Well, Sierra will have her family unit any day now.But things go south when her dad and Lucy take opposite sides on a deal-breaker issue. And guess who's in the middle? Yeah, that's so not where Sierra wants to be. She has to fix this so that everything goes back to normal - meaning her dad and Lucy acting like they can't get enough of each other! Views: 15
Molly McQueen needs a new challenge. Her move to Australia hasn't worked out and now she's back home and ready to start her new venture, McQueen's Agency. But Molly soon finds that hiring temps out to local businesses is tough going, until the day a lucrative job comes in which seems almost too good to be true. On her first day at the new job, Molly senses that something isn't quite right - but the Agency desperately needs the work. And when Molly begins to discover more about her employers and what they're really up to, she suddenly finds herself in grave danger. Meantime, for Detective Sergeant Charlie Johns, the mysterious discovery of a sailor's body in the harbour is about to get a whole lot stranger as more and more clues start to point straight to Molly McQueen. Views: 15
As an aspiring author Bronwyn never dreamed she would be writing trite, sappy love stories for a traveling drama troupe. She longs to write a compelling novel, a story striving to emerge from deep inside of her as far back as she can remember. However, she is suffering from a lack of inspiration, resulting in the most severe writer’s block ever. The reason -- her fiancé, Ryan Reese, the fastest rising star in Hollywood, broke off their engagement, leaving her cynical, bitter and not at all thrilled about scripting any more love stories. To add to the wreckage of her life, her touring bus breaks down on the way to one of the biggest venues of the summer leaving her stranded in the peculiar town of Moonshine and at the mercy of the town’s most prominent resident, the mysterious Travis Colton. During her stay Bronwyn discovers a shroud of secrecy surrounding the small town and the eerie similarity of the people living in Moonshine to characters she created in a tragic story years ago. What she wrote in the past, is now reality that exist far beyond her imagination. As the days pass, she discovers that there is something quite disturbing at play in this peculiar town; something secretive and mystifying lurking beyond the borders of the woods. Secrets the town has kept hidden for over two-hundred years. Thus, her true adventure begins, as she sets out to uncover The Secrets of Moonshine realizing that forbidden Travis is the guardian of the town’s secrets and the only key that can unlock the mystery.About the AuthorDenise Daisy is described as one of the purest story tellers of all time. She has the knack for pulling off romance, suspense and a touch of fantasy all in the same piece. Her descriptive passages transport you to the setting making you feel as if you are walking alongside the characters. Her dialogue is engaging and the intrigue will keep you turning the pages. Denise says her whole life is one great adventure full of comedy, some tragedy, a ton of suspense, thrills and thanks to God, a touch of romance. When she is not creating a story you will find her hanging out with her four daughters, sailing the seas with her true life Travis or just giving thanks to God who she believes is brilliant at doing life. Denise is also the author of The Haret Views: 15
MOST LIKELY TO ROCK THE WORLD...Sinfully attractive bad boy Cort Dimitri had his own agenda. He'd make it good no matter what, no matter how. Not even when things with Laura Merritt became hot and heavy did he alter his path...Sweet Laura Merritt had never wanted for anything--until Cort woke in her a wild dark sexual need. After he left she convinced herself that she didn't need erotic pleasure, enticing heat...because she wasn't going to find it with anyone else.Now she wanted a baby--no strings attached. Her friend Fletcher would make the perfect donor...er...daddy. Announcing her plans at the fifteenth reunion of the old gang seemed like a good idea, until Cort decided that he wanted to father her child--the old-fashioned way. Views: 15
Is a book the same book-or a reader the same reader-the second time around? The seventeen authors in this witty and poignant collection of essays all agree on the answer: Never. The editor of Rereadings is Anne Fadiman, and readers of her bestselling book Ex Libris (FSG, 1998) will find this volume especially satisfying. Her chosen authors include Sven Birkerts, Allegra Goodman, Vivian Gornick, Patricia Hampl, Phillip Lopate, and Luc Sante; the objects of their literary affections range from Pride and Prejudice to Sue Barton, Student Nurse. Each has selected a book or a story or a poem--or even, in one case, the lyrics on the back of the Sgt. Pepper album--that made a deep impression in his or her youth, and reread it to see how it has changed in the interim. (Of course, what has really changed is the reader.) These essays are not conventional literary criticism; they are about relationships. The relationship between reader and book... Views: 15
In this stunning novel, Darin Strauss combines fiction with astonishing fact to tell the story of history's most famous twins. Born in Siam in 1811—on a squalid houseboat on the Mekong River—Chang and Eng Bunker were international celebrities before the age of twenty. Touring the world's stages as a circus act, they settled in the American South just prior to the Civil War. They eventually married two sisters from North Carolina, fathering twenty-one children between them, and lived for more than six decades never more than seven inches apart, attached at the chest by a small band of skin and cartilage.Woven from the fabric of fact, myth, and imagination, Strauss's narrative gives poignant, articulate voice to these legendary brothers, and humanizes the freakish legend that grew up around them. Sweeping from the Far East and the court of the King of Siam to the shared intimacy of their lives in America, Chang and Eng rescues one of the nineteenth century's most... Views: 15
How does a cookie-baking Rat named Bob save his tail from being gobbled by two hungry cats? By serving them cookies and telling themfantastic fairy tales about his family, of course. There's the story about great-grand uncle Mustard who upgrades his family to a lovely three-bedroom brick house. (All's well until some wolves with snout-warts show up.) And there's the one about how starving Grandma Lois was forced to take a job spinning straw into gold. (Impossible to do . . . until a hairy chimney troll comes along.)With allusions to classic fairy tales, plus a storytelling rat to rival Scheherazade, this book--which also includes black-and-white illustrations, a family tree, and a map of Bob's neighborhood--is sure to hold both cats and kids captive.From the Hardcover edition. Views: 15
Thomas Cromwell rose from very humble beginnings to become Henry VIII's chief minister, his right-hand man during the English Reformation. He wielded enormous power while he retained the king's favour, but the failure of Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which Cromwell had arranged, led to his swift downfall and execution. John Schofield's biography reveals that the popular image of him as a blood-stained henchman is largely fictional. Detailed research into contemporary sources illuminates his brilliant mind and his love for and patronage of the arts and humanities, while short case studies shed new light on his relations with, and his reputation among, Henry VIII's subjects. The final part narrates the drama of his downfall, and the king's posthumous exoneration of the 'most faithful servant he ever had.' Views: 15
"A magnificent book...a nonfiction masterpiece." —New York Times Book Review Views: 15
