Philip Ziegler follows the course of the black plague as it swept from Asia into Italy and then into the rest of Europe. When first published in 1969, this study was described by the Guardian as ‘ …as exciting and readable an account as you could wish .’ This new edition of the major study on the subject is illustrated by over seventy contemporary black and white illustrations and eight pages of color. A series of natural disasters in the furthest reaches of the Orient during the third of the fourteenth century heralded what was, for the population of Europe, the most devastating period of death and destruction in its history. By the autumn of 1347 the Black Death had reached the shores of the eastern Mediterranean, and the years that followed were to witness a horrifying and apparently relentless epidemic. One third of England’s population died between the years 1347 and 1350, and over one thousand villages were deserted, never to be repopulated. In towns and cities the cemeteries were unable to provide space for all the dead, and violence and crime spiraled. Travel became dangerous and interruption of food and other supplies across the country added hunger and deprivation to the problems of people already overwhelmed by the threat of the vilest of deaths. In the countryside the population was halved in places, and as land became plentiful, landowners’ profits fell and the government tried in vain to fix labourers’ wages and prices, peasant unrest accelerated and the manorial system disintegrated, culminating eventually in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Throughout Europe whole societies were disrupted; racial tensions built as a direct result of the plague, and persecution of Jews began in earnest throughout the continent. The social and economic consequences of the period were to reach far into the following century. Views: 17
Simon Proctor isn't sure what the future will be, but it doesn't look ood. His once soaring career as a musician and performer has plunged to rock bottom. He's running out of money, ideas, and hope...until two stunning women enter his life - mysterious Gwendolyn and her bewitching friend, Adrienne. With their unique help, his career skyrockets. Now, the future couldn't look brighter...until Simon disocvers who these enticing women really are. Now he isn't concerned with the future - he's terrified of the dark and distant past...a past that has suddenly reached across four generations of lust and betrayal to clutch Simon Proctor by the soul and wrench from him a terrifying price. Views: 17
Tom, a successful businessman in Chicago has gone to Northern Michigan on a hunt. His childhood friend has gone missing and Tom is determined to find him. The search for the lost man begins as a mystery and evolves into an act of redemption. Tom will stop at nothing to find his friend and discover the truth behind his disappearance. Views: 17
As a youth, Qasim leaves his tribal village in the remote Himalayas for the plains. Caught up in the strife surrounding the creation of Pakistan, he takes an orphaned girl for his daughter and brings her to the bustling, decadent city of Lahore. Amid the pungent bazaars and crowded streets, Qasim makes his fortune and a home for the two of them. As the years pass, Qasim grows nostalgic about his life in the mountains while his hopelessly romantic teenage daughter, Zaitoon, imagines Qasim's homeland as a region of tall, kindly men who roam the Himalayas like gods. Impulsively, Qasim promises his daughter in marriage to a tribesman, but Zaitoon's fantasy soon becomes a grim reality of unquestioning obedience and unending labor. Bapsi Sidhwa’s acclaimed first novel is a robust, richly plotted story of colliding worlds straddled by a spirited girl for whom escape may not be an option. Views: 17
The New Madrid Seismic Zone is 140 miles, stretching across five states. In 1811 and 1812 enormous earthquakes erupted along this zone, affecting 24 states, creating lakes in Tennessee and causing the Mississippi River to run backward. In Peter Hernon’s 8.4 the New Madrid awakens, threatening the country with systematic collapse in a chillingly plausible case of history repeating itself. It’s up to a team of scientists to stop the impending destruction, working against nature, time and a horrifying, human-made conspiracy.From Publishers WeeklyA cataclysmic moment in American history is about to repeat itself in this white-knuckle disaster thriller. Signs point to a contemporary recurrence of the devastating earthquakes that, in 1811 and 1812, ripped through the New Madrid Fault Zone, 140 miles of American heartland along the Mississippi River. Marina owner Lauren Mitchell discovers huge cracks in the Kentucky Lake Dam. Seismologist John Atkins, haunted by the tragic loss of his lover during the 1985 Mexico quake, witnesses abnormal animal activity on a visit to the University of Memphis. When beautiful West Coast seismologist Elizabeth Halloran supplies evidence that upcoming sunspots will trigger the New Madrid Fault, Atkins is still a little skeptical?until the first quake hits at Richter 8.4. After that, amid the chaos that engulfs the ruins of Memphis, the race is on to prevent the next quake in the sequence?if there is a sequence?with a daring and dangerous plan. No tale about science's dash to save civilization from nature would be complete without a contingent of pigheaded and skeptical bureaucrats foiling the protagonists' heroics; in this case a sycophantic group of earthquake experts naysay the probability of another big shake-up. Hernon (Earthly Remains) heightens the scuffle with a believable turf conflict between state authorities and the federal government. The scenes of devastation are both horrifying and awe-inspiring, and although at times Atkins is surprisingly naive about the impending quakes' telltale signs (hibernating frogs evacuating their winter habitats, for example), the characters are, for the most part, believable. The end result is a combination of science and thrills that compares favorably with the best of Michael Crichton, but with a decidedly warmer touch. Hernon's saga, with its meticulous seismic details and galvanizing descriptive immediacy, brings a human angle to the technology of natural disaster. Agent, Richard Pine. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; miniseries rights to NBC; foreign rights sold in Germany, Holland and Japan; audio rights to Simon & Schuster. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalYA-When the New Madrid Fault Zone, which has produced three of the largest earthquakes on record in North America, begins to show signs of reawakening, geologist John Atkins and seismologist Elizabeth Holleran join forces with other experts to try to prevent another series of disasters. After two major earthquakes devastate the Midwest along the Mississippi riverbed, the team of specialists battles major fires, looting, aftershocks, and frenzied survivors in a breakneck race to prevent a third, even larger quake. Their answer is to detonate an atomic bomb in an old mine shaft, which will set off 5.0-6.0 quakes, but hopefully dissipate the stress building into a quake even larger than 8.4. In the frantic rush to vacate the mine tunnel, the team members battle not only mine fires, deadly gases, and falling shafts, but also one another. Afterward, what remains of the middle part of the United States begins the arduous task of cleaning up. The story is filled with facts about geology, tectonics, and physics, but the information never gets in the way of the action. The characters scurry through the endless challenges and serve more to join sequences of the novel together than to provide any meaningful relationship, although the two scientists fall in love during the melee. Offering lots of excitement and the inherent thrill typical of a survival story, the book will appeal to YAs who enjoy authors such as Michael Crichton and the team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 17
Product DescriptionAs a writer, Katianna hovers at the alluring edge of bringing what she creates with exquisite eroticism into her very concealed life. Her books seduce her readers with stories taking them into extremes of erotic pleasure that have never been her own experience. That is until one night unbeknownst to herself, she confessed a secret desire she’d kept under lock and key to Trenton Leos, who’s now intent to bring her into his world of Dominance and Submission where he’s not just any Dom, he’s the Dominus. The Master of all Doms. Life with the Dominus promises to surround her with rich, somatic passions, but it also comes with danger, and she’s not sure she’s strong enough to hang on. Especially when being with him means submitting her life to Becoming His Slave. GENRA: BDSM /MF/some MMWORD COUNT: 263,925 (approx. equivalence of 535 pages)WarningThis e-book is classified as Fiction with Erotic content: contains sexually explicit scenes, BDSM, a M/F relationship, M/F as well as some M/M sexual contact, Violent Dangers and adult language which may be considered offensive to some readers. It is intended for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. It contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable. Certain side effects are bound to happen should you decide to continue reading. Symptoms may include, but not limited to: Heavy Breathing, warm sensations in chest and lower regions of the body and sudden urges to wrangle your partner toward the bedroom. (with intentions to gain a deep feeling of satediness only great sexy can bring—your partner will thank me later).05/14/12 This Book has been revised to address a few format and editing errors that were discovered - Thank you and I hope you enjoy it. Views: 17
I am everything forbidden. I am vampire. Haunted by betrayal, Saint hides in the human world, giving his heart to no one and finding the only solace from his past in the arms of human women. Now as the Archons begin their takeover of the vampire world, this Son of Navarus has been marked for death. Summoned to defeat the Archons by the world that shunned him, Saint must face his past and Solenne, the woman he loved and lost a century ago, for only in accepting her will his body and soul finally find salvation. Book #2 in the Sons of Navarus series. Look for Blood Avenged, Book #1 in the series, too! Views: 17
Creator of the modern female private eye story, Marcia Muller has been writing novels and short stories about Sharon McCone for decades. Now McCone's colleagues get a chance to offer their viewpoints on some cases. McCone and Friends contains three stories told by McCone herself, as well as two stories narrated by the agency's investigator Rae Kelleher; a story from the viewpoint of its office manager Ted Smalley; an investigation conducted by McCone's nephew Mick Savage; and one by her long-term lover Hy Ripinsky. The settings range from small planes to a sweatshop which puts Asian women into virtual slavery, and the mysteries surround a 1950's jukebox in a rundown hotel, a sculpture welded together by a long-missing and now very-dead artist. In perhaps the most moving story of all, a teenage girl has vanished leaving as a clue only a collage on her wall. Views: 17
