In Chase Your Shadow, journalist and author John Carlin tells the gripping story of Oscar Pistorius's tragic journey from sporting icon to accused murderer. Before Valentine's Day of 2013, Pistorius was best known as an extraordinary athlete, the 'Blade Runner' who became the first amputee in history to compete in the Olympics. Everything changed after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead in the early hours of 14 February. Overnight, the Olympian's status as a role model was replaced by tales of erratic behaviour and a violent dark side. His seven-month trial was broadcast live around the globe, its twists and turns captivating millions. Carlin, who followed the drama inside the courtroom, provides a vivid first-hand account of Pistorius's wrenching emotional breakdowns, the merciless interrogation to which he was submitted by the prosecutor, and the highly controversial judgment. Carlin paints a portrait of a complex... Views: 84
"A feverishly paced action adventure" (The New York Times) about a long-lost Shakespeare work and a killer who reenacts the Bard's most bloody murdersJennifer Lee Carrell's highly acclaimed debut novel is a brilliant, breathlessly paced literary adventure. The action begins on the eve of the Globe's production of Hamlet when Shakespeare scholar and theater director Kate Stanley's eccentric mentor Rosalind Howard gives her a mysterious box, claiming to have made a groundbreaking discovery. Before she can reveal it to Kate, the Globe is burned to the ground and Roz is found dead...murdered precisely in the manner of Hamlet's father.Inside the box Kate finds the first piece in a Shakespearean puzzle, setting her on a deadly, highstakes treasure hunt. From London to Harvard to the American West, Kate races to evade a killer and solve a tantalizing string of clues hidden in the words of Shakespeare, which may unlock one of history's greatest secrets. Views: 84
The story of the love that ended an empireIn this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story of the Romanovs’ lives: Nicholas’s political naïveté, Alexandra’s obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis’s brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history—the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.Review“A larger-than-life drama.”—Saturday Review“A moving, rich book . . . [This] revealing, densely documented account of the last Romanovs focuses not on the great events . . . but on the royal family and their evil nemesis. . . . The tale is so bizarre, no melodrama is equal to it.”—Newsweek“A wonderfully rich tapestry, the colors fresh and clear, every strand sewn in with a sure hand. Mr. Massie describes those strange and terrible years with sympathy and understanding. . . . They come vividly before our eyes.”—The New York Times“An all-too-human picture . . . Both Nicholas and Alexandra with all their failings come truly alive, as does their almost storybook romance.”—Newsday“A magnificent and intimate picture . . . Not only the main characters but a whole era become alive and comprehensible.”—Harper’sAbout the AuthorRobert K. Massie was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and studied American history at Yale and European history at Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He was president of the Authors Guild from 1987 to 1991. His books include Nicholas and Alexandra, Peter the Great: His Life and World (for which he won a Pulitzer Prize for biography), The Romanovs: The Final Chapter, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, and Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. Views: 84
New from Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson, the moving story of a Japanese-American girl who is separated from her dog upon being sent to an incarceration camp during WWII.Although Mitsi Kashino and her family are swept up in the wave of anti-Japanese sentiment following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mitsi never expects to lose her home — or her beloved dog, Dash. But, as World War II rages and people of Japanese descent are forced into incarceration camps, Mitsi is separated from Dash, her classmates, and life as she knows it. The camp is a crowded and unfamiliar place, whose dusty floors, seemingly endless lines, and barbed wire fences begin to unravel the strong Kashino family ties. With the help of a friendly neighbor back home, Mitsi remains connected to Dash in spite of the hard times, holding on to the hope that the war will end soon and life will return to normal. Though they've lost their home, will the Kashino family also lose their sense of family? And will... Views: 83
When a palace maid is attacked, Josie and the captain of the guards investigate together. Since one of the suspects is a foreign diplomat and magic expert, they use the opportunity to learn more about sorcery. But it soon becomes clear that he is using them to get to the truth about the palace and the servants' origins.With unrest in the village, and servants growing impatient for answers, an undercurrent of danger pervades the air. But the most dangerous man of all may prove to be the king himself, because every clue points to him knowing more than he lets on.As tensions both in and out of the glittering Glancian court rise, the heat between the captain and Josie is a distraction. But is it a welcome one? Views: 83
In the Swiss Alps a teenage girl is thrown from a helicopter and her boyfriend is brutally abducted to Trieste, a city filled with undercurrents of past hatreds. Ruari, son of Irish media owner J J Breslin, is in desperate danger, at the mercy of ruthless kidnappers making impossible demands. His terrified mother contacts the only person she knows can help her son: Harry Jones, her former lover, who she walked out on many years ago. Now memories of their passionate affair, the guilt, hurt, anger and humiliation, come flooding back. Time is running out for Ruari and Harry, torn between his loyalties, is quickly drawn into a political game played for high stakes. Far higher than he realizes...Review"A thriller that is both nightmare vision and timely warning . . . Think Die Hard with a stiff upper lip." —Financial Times"Explosive in every sense." —Daily Mail"Shamelessly page-turning." —Daily ExpressReview"Explosive in every sense." --"Daily Mail" Views: 82
In the fourth volume of the acclaimed Hinges of History series, Thomas Cahill brings his characteristic wit and style to a fascinating tour of ancient Greece. The Greeks invented everything from Western warfare to mystical prayer, from logic to statecraft. Many of their achievements, particularly in art and philosophy, are widely celebrated; other important innovations and accomplishments, however, are unknown or underappreciated. In Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Thomas Cahill explores the legacy, good and bad, of the ancient Greeks. From the origins of Greek culture in the migrations of armed Indo-European tribes into Attica and the Peloponnesian peninsula, to the formation of the city-states, to the birth of Western literature, poetry, drama, philosophy, art, and architecture, Cahill makes the distant past relevant to the present. Greek society is one of the two primeval influences on the Western world: While Jews gave us our value system, the Greeks set... Views: 81
A powerful and true story of warfare and human survival that exposes a side of World War II that is unknown by many-- this is the story of Wolfram Aïchele, a boy whose childhood was stolen by a war in which he had no choice but to fight.Giles Milton has been a writer and historian for many years, writing about people and places that history has forgotten. But it took his young daughter's depiction of a swastika on an imaginary family shield - the swastika representing Germany - for Giles to uncover the incredible, dark story of his own family and his father-in-law's life under Hitler's regime.As German citizens during World War II, Wolfram and his Bohemian, artist parents survived one of the most brutal eras of history. Wolfram, who was only nine years old when Hitler came to power, lived through the rise and fall of the Third Reich, from the earliest street marches to the final defeat of the Nazi regime. Conscripted into Hitler's army, he witnessed... Views: 81
SUMMARY:In 1616, an English adventurer, Nathaniel Courthope, stepped ashore on a remote island in the East Indies on a secret mission - to persuade the islanders of Run to grant a monopoly to England over their nutmeg, a fabulously valuable spice in Europe. This infuriated the Dutch, who were determined to control the world's nutmeg supply. For five years Courthope and his band of thirty men were besieged by a force one hundred times greater - and his heroism set in motion the events that led to the founding of the greatest city on earth. A beautifully told adventure story and a fascinating depiction of exploration in the seventeenth century, NATHANIEL'S NUTMEG sheds a remarkable light on history. Views: 81
Scanned, converted, re-formatted, proofed and eBook creation by Jerry. Views: 80
The nightmares began for William Manchester 23 years after WW II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of a battle-weary youth (himself), "angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms." To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese, and in this book examines his experiences in the line with his fellow soldiers (his "brothers"). He gives us an honest and unabashedly emotional account of his part in the war in the Pacific. "The most moving memoir of combat on WW II that I have ever read. A testimony to the fortitude of man...a gripping, haunting, book." --William L. Shirer Views: 80
An emotional and heartwarming novel about forgiveness, motherhood, and how a home is nothing without the people you love inside of it.Divorced single-mom Daphne likes her life just the way it is. Her organic farm is booming. Her daughter is sassy and happy, she's got two good friends in Delia and Alice at The Riverview, and yes, her mother is trying to convince her to get back in the dating pool—but Daphne is not interested.Daphne is done with drama.But when all the people she loves are affected by the bombshell that gets dropped at The Riverview Inn, she can't help but get involved.The Mitchell brothers have been torn apart by the surprise arrival of Jonah, a brother they didn't know they had.A man Daphne feels an impossible attraction for.Jonah, she realizes, isn't what he seems. But can she convince everyone at The Riverview Inn of that before everything they've all worked for is ruined? Views: 78
From the day Layani Cherise Bell fell from between her mother's legs, the world was betting against her. Born four months premature, the doctors didn't expect her to make it, but she did. At the age of six, Layani was diagnosed with leukemia. Again, the doctors gave her a death sentence, but she survived. As if that weren't enough, at the ripe age of thirteen, she lost mother and father in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. With no family willing to step up and care for her, she was put into foster care. Alone and afraid, Layani befriends and later falls in love with Micah Jones, another kid forced into the system after tragedy strikes his family. Not one to cry over spilled milk, Micah passes his time away in foster care by making beats for local artists and daydreaming about becoming a super producer. After hearing Layani sing better than some of the greats, he devotes all his time and energy into making her a star. With hard work, dedication, and his... Views: 78
