In her most dramatic and ambitious novel yet, bestselling author Beth Powning re-imagines the life of Mary Dyer, a Quaker who defied death to champion religious freedom during America's earliest years. Set in 1600s New England, A Measure of Light tells the story of Mary Dyer, a Puritan who flees persecution in Elizabethan England only to find the Puritan establishment in Massachusetts every bit as vicious as the one she has left behind. One of America's first Quakers, and among the last to face the gallows for her convictions, Mary Dyer receives here in fiction the full-blooded treatment too long denied a figure of her stature: a woman caught between faith, family and the driving sense that she alone will put right a deep and cruel wrong in the world. This is gripping historical fiction about a courageous woman who chafed at the power of theocracies and the boundaries of her era, struggling against a backdrop of imminent apocalypse for women's rights,... Views: 56
In the tenth book of the acclaimed DI Christy Kennedy series, a successful investment banker is found dead under unusual circumstances. While it looks like the case of an auto-erotic escapade gone wrong, Kennedy has other suspicions. After working through a battery of interviews, and uncovering a potential political scandal, Kennedy follows the trail to California. Kennedy’s long time love has gone for good, which leaves the inspector in a contemplative mood. But in the quiet American hamlet of Half Moon Bay, Kennedy is intrigued by an attractive police officer investigating her husband’s murder. As he aids in the search for this new killer, Kennedy finds the line between professional and personal relationships blurred. Despite distractions, the redoubtable DI still finds time to solve his crime. Views: 55
Translated by Audie E. Bock."A first rate book and a joy to read.... It's doubtful that a complete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtained without reading this book.... Also indispensable for budding directors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefs on the primacy of a good script, on scriptwriting as an essential tool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, and on the value of steeping oneself in literature, from great novels to detective fiction."--Variety"For the lover of Kurosawa's movies...this is nothing short of must reading...a fitting companion piece to his many dynamic and absorbing screen entertainments."--Washington Post Book WorldFrom the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 54
Brendy McCusker had it made when he took early retirement from the Ulster police force with a handsome pay-out. That is until his wife ran off to America with their nest egg, forcing him back to work in Belfast. On his first major case, McCusker partners with DI Lily O'Carroll to locate the two missing sons of a wealthy businessman. But before the brothers can be found, McCusker is reassigned to the brutal murder of an American banker staying on Cyprus Avenue. As the detectives delve into their subjects' pasts, McCusker finds himself juggling his move to Belfast, O'Carroll's frequent blind dates, his status as a hired-back rent-a-cop, and trying not to be distracted by Belfast's beautiful women, especially one mysterious woman in particular. McCusker and O'Carroll eventually find a person of interest with an air-tight alibi, but only one of the detectives believes it is genuine... Views: 49
It’s rare for someone to emerge in America who can change our attitudes, our beliefs, and our very culture. It’s even rarer when that someone is a middle-aged, six-foot three-inch woman whose first exposure to an unsuspecting public is cooking an omelet on a hot plate on a local TV station. And yet, that’s exactly what Julia Child did. The warble-voiced doyenne of television cookery became an iconic cult figure and joyous rule-breaker as she touched off the food revolution that has gripped America for more than fifty years.Now, in Bob Spitz’s definitive, wonderfully affectionate biography, the Julia we know and love comes vividly — and surprisingly — to life. In Dearie, Spitz employs the same skill he brought to his best-selling, critically acclaimed book The Beatles, providing a clear-eyed portrait of one of the most fascinating and influential Americans of our time — a woman known to all, yet known by only a few.At its heart, Dearie is a story about a woman’s search for her own unique expression. Julia Child was a directionless, gawky young woman who ran off halfway around the world to join a spy agency during World War II. She eventually settled in Paris, where she learned to cook and collaborated on the writing of what would become Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a book that changed the food culture of America. She was already fifty when The French Chef went on the air — at a time in our history when women weren’t making those leaps. Julia became the first educational TV star, virtually launching PBS as we know it today; her marriage to Paul Child formed a decades-long love story that was romantic, touching, and quite extraordinary. A fearless, ambitious, supremely confident woman, Julia took on all the pretensions that embellished tony French cuisine and fricasseed them to a fare-thee-well, paving the way for everything that has happened since in American cooking, from TV dinners and Big Macs to sea urchin foam and the Food Channel. Julia Child’s story, however, is more than the tale of a talented woman and her sumptuous craft. It is also a saga of America’s coming of age and growing sophistication, from the Depression Era to the turbulent sixties and the excesses of the eighties to the greening of the American kitchen. Julia had an effect on and was equally affected by the baby boom, the sexual revolution, and the start of the women’s liberation movement. On the centenary of her birth, Julia finally gets the biography she richly deserves. An in-depth, intimate narrative, full of fresh information and insights, Dearie is an entertaining, all-out adventure story of one of our most fascinating and beloved figures.From the Hardcover edition.Review "A biography perfectly suited to its subject -- as lively, fascinating, and singular as Julia Child herself." –Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition“It’s a revelation.”– Lev Grossman, Time Magazine “Spitz captures another side of [Julia’s] complex personality: her fierce diligence in mastering the science as well as the art of cooking through detailed experimentation and her concern to translate the preparation of complex French recipes for readers in America . . . An engrossing biography of a woman worthy of iconic status.”– Kirkus Review (starred) “A rollicking biography that captures the vision, pluck and contagious exuberance that were the essence of Julia Child”– People Magazine “In this affectionate and entertaining tribute to the witty, down-to-earth, bumptious, and passionate host of The French Chef, Spitz (The Beatles) exhaustively chronicles Child’s life and career from her childhood in California through her social butterfly flitting at Smith and her work for a Pasadena department store to her stint in government service, her marriage to Paul Child, and her rise to become America’s food darling with the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her many television shows. . . Released to coincide with Child’s centenary, Spitz’s delightful biography succeeds in being as big as its subject.”–Publishers Weekly (starred) About the AuthorBob Spitz is the award-winning author of The Beatles, a New York Times best seller, as well as seven other nonfiction books and a screenplay. He has represented Bruce Springsteen and Elton John in several capacities. His articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times Magazine; The Washington Post; Rolling Stone; and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others. He can be reached at [email protected]. Views: 46
It's rare for someone to emerge in America who can change our attitudes, our beliefs, and our very culture. It's even rarer when that someone is a middle-aged, six-foot three-inch woman whose first exposure to an unsuspecting public is cooking an omelet on a hot plate on a local TV station. And yet, that's exactly what Julia Child did. The warble-voiced doyenne of television cookery became an iconic cult figure and joyous rule-breaker as she touched off the food revolution that has gripped America for more than fifty years. Now, in Bob Spitz's definitive, wonderfully affectionate biography, the Julia we know and love comes vividly -- and surprisingly -- to life. In Dearie, Spitz employs the same skill he brought to his best-selling, critically acclaimed book The Beatles, providing a clear-eyed portrait of one of the most fascinating and influential Americans of our time -- a woman known to all, yet known by only a few.At its heart,... Views: 44
This expertly written, hands-on guide demonstrates something that more and more watercolorists are discovering for themselves — that acrylics can do everything watercolor paints can do, and much more!Beginning painters will find in this clearly written, profusely illustrated text expert advice on painting and equipment, along with step-by-step coverage of papers and other painting surfaces, colors and mediums; and descriptions of all the basic watercolor techniques: washes, wet-in-wet, drybrush, scumbling, opaque painting, and more. Professionals unfamiliar with this medium will discover that acrylic paints introduce a new level of excitement, flexibility, and color to their work. To demonstrate the extraordinary variety of watercolor techniques possible with acrylic paints, this book includes 75 paintings by leading American watercolorists. In addition, five special, step-by-step demonstrations reveal the rich potential of acrylic colors and color combinations,... Views: 44
There are some places you must return to.In the bestselling tradition of Barbara Delinsky, Jean Stone weaves an enthralling, emotionally charged novel of friendship and betrayal, forgiveness and love. Jill McPhearson leads a charmed life--with a hugely successful TV show, two beautiful children, and a fiancé who just happens to be her sexy prime-time co-host. Just when all Jill's dreams seem to be coming true, her past beckons her back to her childhood home on Martha's Vineyard and to a life she wants only to forget. But returning to the island will also give this savvy reporter her biggest break--the chance to go after the story of a lifetime: her own. For a dark family secret is about to be revealed, one that could help Jill face painful memories or destroy everything she's hoped to become.From the Paperback edition. Views: 44
