Before Shelby Foote under took his epic history of the Civil War, he wrote this fictional chronicle -- "a landscape in narrative" -- of Jordan County, Mississippi, a place where the traumas of slavery, war, and Reconstruction are as tangible as rock formations. The seven stories in Jordan County move backward in time, from 1950 to 1797, and through the lives of characters as diverse as a black horn player doomed by tuberculosis and convulsive jealousy, a tormented and ineffectual fin-de-siecle aristocrat, and a half-wild frontiersman who builds a plantation in Choctaw territory only to watch it burn at the close of the Civil War. In prose of almost Biblical gravity; and with a deep knowledge of the ways in which history shapes human lives -- and sometimes warps them beyond repair -- Foote gives us an ambitious, troubling work of fiction that builds on the traditions of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor but that is resolutely unique. Views: 792
Frustrated musician Jamie finally gets some luck: a beautiful girl who understands him and an amazing record contract. But is the song that haunts his memory really his own creation, or did something whisper it to him long ago... the sinister something that haunts the windswept monument?A lonely, windswept monument stands overlooking the sea, where misunderstood songwriter Jamie escapes to be alone with his doubts. The monument proves lucky when he meets a beautiful girl there, who reminds him of a brilliant song he composed years before... but no sooner does he find love and success than a sinister figure begins to haunt him, demanding retribution. Views: 792
"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean. A gifted storyteller and consummate historian, Winchester sets the great blue sea's epic narrative against the backdrop of mankind's intellectual evolution, telling not only the story of an ocean, but the story of civilization. Fans of Winchester's Krakatoa, The Man Who Loved China, and The Professor and the Madman will love this masterful, penetrating, and resonant tale of humanity finding its way across the ocean of history. Views: 791
Robert Lucas is a up and coming poet new to the scene, but wow do his words speak truth! In this compilation Robert Lucas takes on many themes of the human experience including love, death and perseverance.Robert Lucas is a up and coming poet new to the scene, but wow do his words speak truth! In this compilation Robert Lucas takes on many themes of the human experience including love, death and perseverance. Buy now to see more from him in the future! Views: 791
BONUS: This edition contains a reader's guide and excerpts from Allison Weir's The Lady in the Tower and Mary Boleyn.
Acclaimed author Alison Weir brings to life the extraordinary tale of Katherine Swynford, a royal mistress who became one of the most crucial figures in the history of Great Britain. Born in the mid-fourteenth century, Katherine de Roët was only twelve when she married Hugh Swynford, an impoverished knight. But her story had truly begun two years earlier, when she was appointed governess to the household of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and fourth son of King Edward III. Widowed at twenty-one, Katherine became John's mistress and then, after many twists of fortune, his bride in a scandalous marriage. Mistress of the Monarchy reveals a woman ahead of her time—making her own choices, flouting convention, and taking control of her own destiny. Indeed, without Katherine Swynford, the course of English history, perhaps even the world, would have been very different.
NOTE: This edition does not contain illustrations. Views: 791
All that stands between Earth and multiplanar invasion is one pissed-off redneck protecting his pot crop.When the unearthly intelligences that rule the Higher Planes have their attention drawn to Earth, all that stands between them and total annihilation is a pissed-off redneck protecting his marijuana crop. Views: 791
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them. Views: 789
The Newbery Award winning author of Up a Road Slowly presents the unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton—a brave boy who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War. Views: 788
A Daughter of the Sioux - A Tale of the Indian frontier is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Charles King is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Charles King then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 787
In 1935, the Spokane police regularly extorted sex, food, and money from the reluctant hobos (many of them displaced farmers who had fled the midwestern dust bowls), robbed dairies, and engaged in all manner of nefarious crimes, including murder. This history was suppressed until 1989, when former logger, Vietnam vet, and Spokane cop Tony Bamonte discovered a strange 1955 deathbed confession while researching a thesis on local law enforcement history. Bamonte began to probe what had every appearance of widespread police crime and a massive cover-up whose highlight was the unsolved murder of Town Marshall George Conff. The fact that many of those involved, now in their 80s and 90s, were still alive made it imperative that Bamonte unravel this mystery. The result is Breaking Blue, a white-knuckle ride through institutional corruption and cover-up that vividly documents Depression-era Spokane and an extraordinary case that few believed would ever be brought to light. Views: 785
Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Tuchman has brought to life again the people and events that led up to World War I. With attention to fascinating detail, and an intense knowledge of her subject and its characters, Ms. Tuchman reveals, for the first time, just how the war started, why, and how it could have been stopped but wasn't. A classic historical survey of a time and a people we all need to know more about, THE GUNS OF AUGUST will not be forgotten. Views: 784
Charlotte is on the run. The Empire is hunting her. The Revolution wants her back. And Charlotte has allied herself with pirates, just to stay safe.
But things are not what they seem. There’s a traitor in the revolutionaries’ midst pulling unseen strings, and surprises lurk around every corner. As Charlotte is left to sort out what she truly thinks about the revolution she’s spent her whole life fighting for, she must also battle to keep herself and her friends alive. Views: 784
Larvik is a sorcerer's apprentice with a problem: his former master has cursed him with a rotting disease and set him begging in the squalid streets of the capital. But a chance encounter with the queen's favorite spy has presented the beggar with a choice. Will he grasp redemption? Or will he settle for revenge?Larvik is a sorcerer's apprentice with a problem: his former master has cursed him with a rotting disease and set him begging in the squalid streets of the capital. But a chance encounter with the queen's favorite spy has presented the beggar with a choice. Will he grasp redemption? Or will he settle for revenge?"Beggar's Choice" is a short story set in the world of the Little Kingdoms. It is said that here women pay for magic with their bodies, but men pay for it with their souls. And while every power has a cost, there are always those who will pay, no matter the price. Views: 783
*"I look up now into the oval mirror and see barely a trace of the mud-splattered girl tearing through the woodland on her horse, or the barefoot girl wading at Schonbrunn... I have become what Mama set out for me to be. Majestic. A Dauphine and eventually a Queen." *
So writes the headstrong 13-year-old Maria Antonia--future Queen of France--in her diary on October 23, 1769. In this engrossing addition to the Royal Diaries series (Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile), Kathryn Lasky invents a diary of the young Marie Antoinette in 1769--the year she is to be married off to Dauphin Louis Auguste, eldest grandson of the French king Louis XV. Arranged marriages were common in that day and age--as the Empress Theresa (of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nations) sought to consolidate power among nations by marrying off her children. Thus, the future of Austria and France falls upon Maria Antonia's young shoulders.
To prepare her for this awesome responsibility, she must be trained to write, read, speak French, dress, act... even breathe. Things get even more grim as she is shipped off to the court of Versailles and introduced to her puffy, awkward future husband and confronted with the court's ridiculous customs. Marie--an opinionated and insightful young woman--mocks the court of "impeccable etiquette and manners" that makes up nasty rhymes about those they hate, but panics when her hair is mussed. Lasky has done an excellent job of creating a very human character in the young Marie Antoinette--one whom young readers will want to learn more about. Fortunately, her story is given plenty of context with an epilogue describing the history of the young Queen after 1769, a historical note offering an 18th-century context, a Habsburg-Bourbon family tree, and various portraits of the royal family. (Ages 9 to 13) --Karin Snelson Views: 783
