Chloe has a devil of a time unraveling the mysteries of Norway's fiddle and dance traditions After her mother's unexpected death, curator Chloe Ellefson discovers hidden antiques that hint at family secrets. Determined to find answers, Chloe accepts a consultant job in Norway, her ancestors' homeland. She's thrilled with the opportunity to explore Hardanger fiddle and dance traditions . . . and her own heritage. Once their plane lands, however, Chloe and her fiancé, cop Roelke McKenna, encounter only disharmony. Chloe's research reveals strong women and the importance of fiddle music in their lives. But folklore warns against "the devil's instrument" and old evils may yet linger among the fjords and mountains. As Chloe fine-tunes her search for the truth, a killer's desire to stop her builds to a deadly crescendo. Views: 69
From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes a longawaited memoir about coming of age with a fragile new nation, then watching it torn asunder in a tragic civil warThe defining experience of Chinua Achebe’s life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe’s people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. By then, Chinua Achebe was already a world-renowned novelist, with a young family to protect. He took the Biafran side in the conflict and served his government as a roving cultural ambassador, from which vantage he absorbed the war’s full horror. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than forty years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa’s most fateful events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature.Achebe masterfully relates his experience, bothas he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria’s birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country’s promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers—they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people.Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and forty years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe’s place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age.From BookforumAchebe's story is broken into four parts that cover, roughly, the personal and political arc of his life story. [He] is addressing his people, his country, the world; he's taking on the role of statesman rather than storyteller. —Victor Lavalle Review"Achebe writes in a characteristically modest fashion. It is without restraint but not without tact that his body of work has protested mediocrity in its various forms, from the British colonial apparatus, to the world’s ignorance of African literatures, to the corrosive mismanagement that has plagued Nigeria. Like much of Achebe’s other work, this book about the progress of war and the presence of violence has a universal quality. In a world where sectarian hatreds augmented by political mediocrity have fractured Syria and threaten to bring Israel and Iran to blows, There Was a Country is a valuable account of how the suffering caused by war is both unnecessary and formative."—*Newsweek*"Memoir and history are brought together by a master storyteller."—The GuardianAdvance Praise:"Chinua Achebe's history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer's brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature in which politico-historical evidence, the power of storytelling, and revelations from the depths of the human subconscious are one. The event of a new work by Chinua Achebe is always extraordinary; this one exceeds all expectation."—Nadine Gordimer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Views: 69
DEADLY HOMECOMING Someone wants Maggie Morgan dead and her wildlife sanctuary destroyed. Someone connected to the generations-old family feud that's been revived now that her first love, Flint Crawford, has returned to town. And not only is her life in jeopardy, but Flint has discovered the secret she's kept since he left - their five-year-old son. Assailed by memories of their forbidden love and bowled over by the sight of the son he never knew, Flint has a job to do as the new game warden. But now the stakes are raised. Not only must he protect the woman he once loved, but he also has to save his son...or die trying. Views: 69
A reckless lady. A reluctant viscount. What will they risk for love?Spencer Campbell, Viscount Rutland, keeps the world at arm’s length by using his analytical skills for British Intelligence. But when he takes his first field mission to stop one of London’s worst criminals, he realizes the work is far from black and white. Especially when he comes upon a lady he knows far too well in the middle of his assignment.Dalia Fairchild is appalled to discover her maid is being lured into a life of prostitution. She does all in her power to stop her, even if that means putting herself at risk. The more Dalia learns about the lives of fallen women, the more determined she is to aid them. Crossing paths with Viscount Rutland during her quest causes her to see him in a new light. The maddening boy she used to know is now a handsome man with a dry wit and heated kisses that make her heart stutter.Dalia’s recklessness drives Spencer crazed, but her genuine concern for the less fortunate has him taking a second look at the lady, as do her big blue eyes and lithe curves. She is not who he thought, and her passion for life–for him–nearly undoes him.Dalia knows falling for the viscount would be a terrible mistake. Spencer lives by rules she rarely considers. But when the villain they fight puts their lives in jeopardy, both must decide what they’re willing to risk for love. Views: 69
Hank Beveridge and Lieutenant Newton Shapiro are a couple of nice guys whose worlds just happen to collide. Hank's getting up in years and Newton has his first independent field command. On Third World, women of marrying age are scarce as hen's teeth. Hank's still looking though. Newton has a job to do, no matter who gets hurt. The Empire is a long ways away, but the locals are at least peaceable. Views: 69
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERMary, Katherine, and Jane Grey--sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation's destiny--are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle's new book. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today. Born into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by greedy men and uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry's son, the young Edward I. Dubbed "the Nine Days Queen" after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of... Views: 68
"Now featuring a new Afterword by the author, this handy paperback edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom is without question the definitive one-volume history of the Civil War.James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War including the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. From there it moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering by each side, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s... Views: 68
You think it's easy being a moose? Think again! Even though I'm big, I'm just a baby. I love my mother and my friends. Like Dudley, the beaver, who named me. And Snow, the little wolf, who loves to play tag. His family's another matter. What really scares me is people. Mother said they're the most dangerous creatures in the forest. I certainly didn't want to meet them.... Snow and I are young, so naturally we're curious. One day we were playing tag...and ran into a schoolyard by mistake! (Okay...we didn't run — we fell!) Right smack in the middle of all these strange animals, weird buildings, and terrifying machines. Yoweeee! Did we ever learn a lesson there.... Views: 68
The orderly life of Jo Spence is seldom disturbed, except when she is dreaming. As a Juvenile Probation Supervisor in Duluth, Jo loves her work overseeing a staff of highly dedicated professionals. They guide the youth of the city out of trouble while protecting the safety of the community. When a murderer strikes, Jo's job suddenly becomes unpredictably threatening. She is forced to abandon her home in the country to take refuge with close friend Kathy and her partner Donna. Set against a backdrop of the idyllic life led by the women of the Valley, this suspenseful story reveals the inside world of the courthouse, jails, and the criminal justice system. Multiple murders, an attempt to break a gang leader out of a local detention facility, raids, and drug busts contribute to an action-oriented plot. In the middle of this turbulent time in Jo's life, her friends set her up with Zoey, a new faculty member at the local university. Their first date turns into a three-day encounter during a record-setting snowstorm. Jo tries unsuccessfully to resist the strong attraction she feels for Zoey, but she is drawn into the most intense affair of her life.Review"Who would think a probation officer's life would be so exciting? Jo Spence, head of Juvenile Probation in Killer Storm, would be quick to point out that it isn't, usually. But on those times that it is...Well, read this book, peopled with throughly likeable characters!" - --Joan M. Drury, author of Silent WordsAbout the AuthorJen Wright lives in Clover Valley, a small community located northeast of Duluth near the north shore of Lake Superior.Jen has worked in probation and corrections for the past twenty years. She is currently a Court and Field Supervisor for a corrections agency, supervising probation officers and overseeing programs. Views: 68
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the acclaimed author of Citizens of London comes the definitive account of the debate over American intervention in World War II—a bitter, sometimes violent clash of personalities and ideas that divided the nation and ultimately determined the fate of the free world. At the center of this controversy stood the two most famous men in America: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who championed the interventionist cause, and aviator Charles Lindbergh, who as unofficial leader and spokesman for America’s isolationists emerged as the president’s most formidable adversary. Their contest of wills personified the divisions within the country at large, and Lynne Olson makes masterly use of their dramatic personal stories to create a poignant and riveting narrative. While FDR, buffeted by political pressures on all sides, struggled to marshal public support for aid to Winston Churchill’s Britain, Lindbergh saw his heroic reputation besmirched—and his marriage thrown into turmoil—by allegations that he was a Nazi sympathizer.Spanning the years 1939 to 1941, Those Angry Days vividly re-creates the rancorous internal squabbles that gripped the United States in the period leading up to Pearl Harbor. After Germany vanquished most of Europe, America found itself torn between its traditional isolationism and the urgent need to come to the aid of Britain, the only country still battling Hitler. The conflict over intervention was, as FDR noted, “a dirty fight,” rife with chicanery and intrigue, and Those Angry Days recounts every bruising detail. In Washington, a group of high-ranking military officers, including the Air Force chief of staff, worked to sabotage FDR’s pro-British policies. Roosevelt, meanwhile, authorized FBI wiretaps of Lindbergh and other opponents of intervention. At the same time, a covert British operation, approved by the president, spied on antiwar groups, dug up dirt on congressional isolationists, and planted propaganda in U.S. newspapers.The stakes could not have been higher. The combatants were larger than life. With the immediacy of a great novel, Those Angry Days brilliantly recalls a time fraught with danger when the future of democracy and America’s role in the world hung in the balance.Advance praise for *Those Angry Days “With this stirring book, Lynne Olson confirms her status as our era’s foremost chronicler of World War II politics and diplomacy. Those Angry Days tells the extraordinary tale of America’s internal debate about whether and how to stop Hitler. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and surprising twists, the text raises moral and practical questions that we still struggle with today. Compelling for students of history and casual readers alike.”—Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State“Lynne Olson has done it again. Those Angry Days is a riveting account of the political tensions and cast of historic figures engaged in an epic battle over the role of the United States in the early years of World War II. It’s all here: FDR, Lindbergh, Churchill, Hitler, war in Europe and the Pacific. The stakes could not have been higher and the outcome was never certain. Modern leaders and citizens alike can learn so much from Those Angry Days.”—Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation*ReviewAdvance praise for *Those Angry Days “With this stirring book, Lynne Olson confirms her status as our era’s foremost chronicler of World War II politics and diplomacy. Those Angry Days tells the extraordinary tale of America’s internal debate about whether and how to stop Hitler. Filled with fascinating anecdotes and surprising twists, the text raises moral and practical questions that we still struggle with today. Compelling for students of history and casual readers alike.”—Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State“Lynne Olson has done it again. Those Angry Days is a riveting account of the political tensions and cast of historic figures engaged in an epic battle over the role of the United States in the early years of World War II. It’s all here: FDR, Lindbergh, Churchill, Hitler, war in Europe and the Pacific. The stakes could not have been higher and the outcome was never certain. Modern leaders and citizens alike can learn so much from Those Angry Days.”—Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation“Deeply researched and scrupulously evenhanded, Lynne Olson’s groundbreaking history vividly captures a previously unexplored period of twentieth-century America. At its heart, Those Angry Days is a gripping tale of the brutal battle between two larger-than-life antagonists, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh, but Olson’s compelling cast of characters includes numerous unsung heroes such as Britain’s Lord Lothian and defeated Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. With fresh insights and riveting new details, Olson examines the shifting alliances and intrigues, the passions that divided families, and the compromises and campaigns that galvanized America to give vital assistance to Britain when it was threatened with massive defeat by Nazi Germany.”—Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen*“An exhilarating portrait of America’s growing pains in the years leading to World War II, Lynne Olson’s Those Angry Days makes a fine bookend to her Citizens of London. It shows a great democracy rallying to a great debate, one truly worthy of the stakes.”—Chris Matthews, anchor, MSNBC’s Hardball, and author of Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero“I have been hugely impressed by Lynne Olson’s last two books, both of which were concerned more with Britain than America. With Those Angry Days she is back on home ground, and has once again held me spellbound with her account of the terrifying days when the future of the free world depended on the U.S.A. She is incapable of writing a boring sentence; I would follow her anywhere.”—John Julius Norwich, author of Absolute MonarchsAbout the AuthorLynne Olson is the author of Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour; Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England; and Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830 to 1970, and co-author of two other books. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C. 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