When this true-crime story first appeared in 1980, it made the New York Times bestseller list within weeks. Two decades later, it's being rereleased in conjunction with a film version produced by DreamWorks. In the space of five years, Frank Abagnale passed $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. He did it by pioneering implausible and brazen scams, such as impersonating a Pan Am pilot (puddle jumping around the world in the cockpit, even taking over the controls). He also played the role of a pediatrician and faked his way into the position of temporary resident supervisor at a hospital in Georgia. Posing as a lawyer, he conned his way into a position in a state attorney general's office, and he taught a semester of college-level sociology with a purloined degree from Columbia University. The kicker is, he was actually a teenage high school dropout. Now an authority on counterfeiting and secure documents, Abagnale tells of his years of impersonations, swindles, and felonies with humor and the kind of confidence that enabled him to pull off his poseur performances. "Modesty is not one of my virtues. At the time, virtue was not one of my virtues," he writes. In fact, he did it all for his overactive libido-he needed money and status to woo the girls. He also loved a challenge and the ego boost that came with playing important men. What's not disclosed in this highly engaging tale is that Abagnale was released from prison after five years on the condition that he help the government write fraud-prevention programs. So, if you're planning to pick up some tips from this highly detailed manifesto on paperhanging, be warned: this master has already foiled you. -Lesley Reed *** "A book that captivates from first page to last." – West Coast Review of Books "Whatever the reader may think of his crimes, the reader will wind up chortling with and cheering along the criminal." – Charlottesville Progress "Zingingly told… richly detailed and winning as the devil." – Kirkus Reviews – Review Views: 40
Owen Deathstalkers rebellion continues to strike out against Imperial tyranny, taking the battle straight to the Empires heart on the planet of Golgothabut the cunning Empress isn't about to surrender without a fight... Views: 40
'We walk in the footprints of great women,women who lived through hard times on farms,in villages, towns and cities.The lives of these women are an untold story.This book is a celebration of the often forgotten"ordinary" women who gave so much to our society.' Alice Taylor In her eagerly-awaited new book, Alice salutes the women whose energy and generositymade such a valuable contribution to all our lives. '[It] warmed my heart and reminded me of the value of family, friendship and community... I was enthralled... wonderful.' Irish Independent on And Time Stood Still Views: 40
No TV reporter today is more respected than NBC's Andrea Mitchell. She's covered stories from Jonestown to the fall of the Berlin Wall, gotten unexpected answers from such interviewees as Fidel Castro and Hillary Clinton, and balanced her high-wire career with a very public marriage to former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Dr. Alan Greenspan. Mitchell's candid, funny, and riveting memoir is filled with unprecedented behind-the-scenes views of the television news industry and official Washington. A classic of contemporary journalism by a woman who has taken on her profession's entire old-boy network, Talking Back deserves a place on the shelf alongside the memoirs of Hillary Clinton and Katherine Graham. Views: 40
Seventeen delightfully unexpected stories from Simon R. Green—including a brand-new adventure of the Droods—take us deep into the Darkside, embroil us in the Secret Histories, and lead us into the shadowy places where monsters and demons roam Welcome to the worlds of Simon R. Green. In this wide-ranging collection, the New York Times–bestselling urban fantasist opens doors into hidden places: strange realms bordering our own mundane existence and prowled by creatures of fancy and nightmare. Here are the strange, frequently deadly—and sometimes even dead—things that lurk in garbage-strewn city alleyways and grimy subway stations after midnight, visible only to the most perceptive human or inhuman eye. In these tales, Green revisits the ingenious worlds within worlds that he created for his wildly popular novels. Take a stroll on the Darkside with a jaded street wizard, an underpaid government functionary responsible for keeping demons, vamps, and aliens in line. Enter the hidden recesses of Drood Hall, where the aging family member who creates powerful weapons that protect humankind recalls his long and bloody career. Join a squad of no-longer-human soldiers dispatched to combat the all-consuming jungle on a distant planet. Visit a house at the intesection of two realities that serves as a sanctuary from the evil of all worlds. Confront the unstoppable zombie army of General Kurtz in a brilliant homage to Apocalypse Now. And whatever you do, never forget that there are monsters out there. Really. Each story includes a new afterword by the author. **Review“[In] a Simon R. Green book, everything is larger than life—the heroes extremely heroic, the villains astonishingly villainous, the choices between good and evil very clear-cut. Still, if the ultimate outcome is never really in doubt, there’s plenty of entertainment in the journey, and the engagingly-drawn characters.” —SFF.net “If they’re making fantasy adventure much better than this, I don’t know about it.” —Science Fiction Chronicle on Beyond the Blue MoonAbout the AuthorSimon R. Green is the New York Times–bestselling author of Blue Moon Rising, Beyond the Blue Moon, the Adventures of Hawk & Fisher, the Novels of the Nightside, the Secret Histories Novels, and the Ghost Finders Novels. He is a resident of Bradford-on-Avon in England. Views: 39
The inspirational tale of a boy in wartorn Africa who fell in love with America through movies and escaped his country's turmoil to move here—a story of remarkable courage, determination, and triumph.Born in Somalia shortly before the country descended into years of brutal civil war, Abdi Nor Iftin learned to speak English by watching Schwarzenegger movies and listening to American pop songs. His first direct experience with an American was when he cheered the arrival of the Marines to take on the warlords in Mogadishu. When Somalia emerged from war only to succumb to the radical Islamist al Shabaab, Abdi used his language skills to post secret dispatches to National Public Radio and the Internet. Astoundingly, several Western listeners were able to get desperately needed cash to Abdi until the untenable situation in Somalia forced him to flee to Kenya as a refugee. In a near miraculous stroke of luck, he won entrance to the U.S. in the annual visa... Views: 39
From the National Book Award-winning author of classics like THE WOMAN WARRIOR comes a stirring collection of essays, celebrating memory, history, and island tradition.In these eleven thought-provoking pieces, originally gathered in a limited, hand-printed edition, acclaimed writer and feminist Maxine Hong Kingston tells stories of Hawai'i "piece by piece, and hope that the sum praises her." The essays provide readers with a generous sampling of Kingston's signature: her exquisite angle of vision, her balanced and clear-sighted prose, and her stunning insight that awakens one to a wealth of knowledge. Views: 39
Inspired by the ongoing international success of the city-based Akashic Noir Series (Brooklyn Noir, Boston Noir, Paris Noir, etc.), last year Akashic created the new Drug Chronicles series. On the heels of The Speed Chronicles (Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Franco, Beth Lisick, etc.) and The Cocaine Chronicles (Lee Child, Laura Lippman, etc.) comes The Heroin Chronicles, a volume sure to frighten and delight. The literary styles are varied, as are the moral quandaries herein.Heroin has long been understood as the most "literary" of narcotics, and this collection will, for better and worse, have tremendous pop cultural appeal.Featuring brand-new stories by Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch, Jerry Stahl, Nathan Larson, Ava Stander, Antonia Crane, Gary Phillips, Jervey Tervalon, John Albert, Michael Albo, Sophia Langdon, Tony O'Neill, and L.Z. Hansen. Views: 38
There's a new sheriff in town, and he's got the Nightside's rich and powerful quaking in their boots. He's The Walking Man, and it's his mission to exorcise sinners — with extreme prejudice. Problem is, the Nightside was built on sin and corruption, and The Walking Man makes no distinction between evildoers and those simply indulging themselves. He'll leave the place a wasteland unless someone stops him, and P.I. John Taylor has been handed the job. No known magic or science can affect The Walking Man, and if John can't discover his weakness, he'll be facing the very Wrath of God. Views: 38
Wealth and family privilege are no match for the brutal forward march of two armies intent on eliminating each other. As a teenager, Anastasia Saporito discovered just that truth as she and her family found themselves exiled, vulnerable, and no longer able to call on their societal standing and accumulated riches as the Soviet and German armies converged during World War II.Saporito recounts in vivid detail the difficulties of her childhood as the daughter of White Russian aristocrats forced to flee their native Russia for refuge in Yugoslavia. In Ancient Furies, Saporito skillfully depicts her family, her own struggles as a girl coming of age in war-torn central Europe, and the devastation incurred as a result of Nazi actions toward civilian populations of occupied countries. Personal recollections form the basis of this memoir, but the trials and tribulations faced by this young woman shed light on the often-hidden experiences of the once-wealthy elite of central... Views: 38
