Reveals the life of the medieval knight whose accounts of journeys to Jerusalem, India, China, Tibet, and Sumatra inspired explorers and writers, but who was later discredited and ignored Views: 401
Wings in the Night collects Robert E. Howard's fiction and prose published in Weird Tales Magazine from July 1932 to May 1933. These works represent literary stepping-stones to Howard's infamous Cthulhu mythos stories and his most famous character of all -- Conan the Cimmerian -- and ably demonstrate that each of Howard's stories improved and added to his formidable skills as a master of fantasy and adventure. Views: 401
On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno that jumped from treetop to ridge as it raged, destroying towns and timber in the blink of an eye. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men — college boys, day workers, immigrants from mining camps — to fight the fire. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them.
Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen. The robber barons fought Roosevelt and Pinchot’s rangers, but the Big Burn saved the forests even as it destroyed them: the heroism shown by the rangers turned public opinion permanently in their favor and became the creation myth that drove the Forest Service, with consequences still felt in the way our national lands are protected — or not — today. Views: 400
A modern folk tale of love, deceit and murder... with a supernatural twist.In the middle of a quaint Cornish folk festival, Davey sees the beautiful Artemisia Parnell and immediately falls in love ...but her bullying husband stands between them. Davey defies his rival's violent threats to try to rescue his beloved, but soon discovers that rash oaths of love and revenge are more binding and dangerous than he expects. Views: 400
Acclaimed author and historian Alison Weir continues her epic Six Tudor Queens series with this third captivating novel, which brings to life Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII’s most cherished bride and mother of his only male heir.
Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for a cloistered life as a nun. But her large noble family has other plans, and, as an adult, Jane is invited to the King’s court to serve as lady-in-waiting for Queen Katherine of Aragon. The devout Katherine shows kindness to all her ladies, almost like a second mother, which makes rumors of Henry’s lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn—who is also lady-in-waiting to the queen—all the more shocking. For Jane, the betrayal triggers memories of a painful incident that shaped her beliefs about marriage.
But once Henry disavows Katherine and secures his new queen—altering the religious landscape of England—he turns his eye to another: Jane herself. Urged to return the King’s affection and earn favor for her family, Jane is drawn into a dangerous political game that pits her conscience against her desires. Can Jane be the one to give the King his long-sought-after son or will she meet a fate similar to the women who came before her?
Bringing new insight to this compelling story, Weir marries meticulous research with gripping historical fiction to re-create the dramas and intrigues of the most renown court in English history. At its center is a loving and compassionate woman who captures the heart of a king, and whose life will hang in the balance for it. Views: 399
Inspector Alan Grant searches for the identity of a man killed in the line at a theater and for the identity of the killer—whom no one saw.
A long line had formed for the standing-room-only section of the Woffington Theatre. London’s favorite musical comedy of the past two years was finishing its run at the end of the week. Suddenly, the line began to move, forming a wedge before the open doors as hopeful theatergoers nudged their way forward. But one man, his head sunk down upon his chest, slowly sank to his knees and then, still more slowly, keeled over on his face. Thinking he had fainted, a spectator moved to help, but recoiled in horror from what lay before him: the man in the queue had a small silver dagger neatly plunged into his back. With the wit and guile that have made Inspector Grant a favorite of mystery fans, the inspector sets about discovering just how a murder occurred among so many witnesses, none of whom saw a thing. Views: 399
Astronauts on Pluto is the story of a boy, his two best friends, and the adventures they have in their dreams. After studying the solar system in school, Mark decided he wants to become an astronaut. That night after falling asleep, he wakes up to see Pluto out the window of a space ship. After hours of exploration, the children wake to find it was all just a dream, or was it...?Astronauts on Pluto is the story of a boy, his two best friends, and the adventures they have in their dreams. After studying the solar system in school, Mark decided he wants to become an astronaut. That night after falling asleep, he wakes up to see his two best friends staring out the window of a space ship. They were looking at Pluto. After hours of exploration, the children wake to find it was all just a dream, or was it...? Join Mark, Madison, and Nina as they have the adventures of a lifetime while they sleep. Views: 399
In the first book of the Star Crusades Uprising series, the bloody struggle is told through the eyes of an illegal pit fighter named Spartan, who is forced to choose between incarceration or military service. Choosing the Confederate Marine Corps over servitude he begins his thirty long weeks of training. Together with his group of marines, they are honed into a force ready for the war.Siege of Titan is the first book in the epic science fiction series that chronicles humanity's first interstellar confederation that is torn apart by religious strife and extremism.In the first book of the Star Crusades Uprising series, the bloody struggle is told through the eyes of an illegal pit fighter named Spartan, who is forced to choose between incarceration or military service. Choosing the Confederate Marine Corps over servitude he begins his thirty long weeks of training. Together with his group of marines, they are honed into a force ready to be thrown into the meat grinder on the newest and greatest planet in the Confederacy, Proxima Prime. His term of service will soon become one of violence and carnage, as the entire sector is ripped apart by a brutal and virulent religious movement and its shocking plans.What starts as a series of suicide bombings and hijackings through the Confederacy quickly turns into a full-scale revolution on Prime that threatens the entire planet and quickly spreads to its orbital Naval Station and beyond. As every warship and military transport in the area is rushed to its defence, the fate of the planet and the entire sector lie in the hands of a small number of rookie marines.Siege of Titan is a classic work of realistic military science fiction set against the background of the first interstellar human empire. Views: 399
Ms. Monahan's AP Literature Class compilied a book or college entrance essays and tips for the college application process.Jeremy Chikalto claimed for years he can look behind the air. When an angel delivers a cryptic message about the Apocalypse, a series of strange events draws Jeremy closer and closer to the core of things. What if a third entity was vying for power with God and the Devil? Why are Earth and the distant planet Watico so similar? When Jeremy crosses over to the Haze, the line between light and dark blurs. Who is he? What is he? Can a crude prince become a cosmic martyr? Enter a world where angels, demons, ghosts, aliens, and volcanoes are bound together by prophesy. Views: 398
In 1863, when John McElroy (1846-1929) was just 16 years old, he joined the Union Army, becoming a private in Company L of the 16th Illinois Cavalry regiment, but he had already served with local Union troops in operations near St. Louis. In January 1864, he was among dozens of men captured in a skirmish near Jonesville, Virginia, by Confederate cavalrymen under William E. Jones. McElroy was sent to a variety of camps before being assigned to Andersonville prison, where he remained for the rest of the war.By war’s end, Andersonville was synonymous with horror. The prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia suffered terrible death rates as the Confederacy neared its end. Unable to supply its own armies, the Confederates inadequately supplied the prison and its thousands of Union prisoners, leaving over 12,000, or over 25% of the prisoners, to die of starvation and disease. Henry Wirz, the man in charge of Andersonville, was the only Confederate executed after the war. After the war ended, McElroy was released from captivity and transported back to the North. He became a local reporter and newspaperman before moving to Toledo, Ohio, to become an editor of the Toledo Blade. In 1879, he wrote Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons, a non-fiction work based on his experiences during his 15 month incarceration. It quickly became a bestseller and remained popular for the next 20 years. Views: 398
On the evening of July 25, 1967, on the third night of the 12th Street Riot, Detroit police raided the Algiers Motel. Acting on a report of gunfire, officers rounded up the occupants of the motel's annex—several black men and two white women—and proceeded to beat them and repeatedly threaten to kill them. By the end of the night, three of the men were dead. Three police officers and a private security guard were tried for their deaths; none were convicted. In The Algiers Motel Incident, first published in 1968, Pulitzer Prize–winning author John Hersey strings together interviews, police reports, court testimony, and news stories to recount the terrible events of that night. The result is chaotic and sometimes confusing; facts remain elusive. But, Hersey concludes, the truth is clear: three young black men were murdered "for being, all in all, black young men and part of the black rage of the time."With a new foreword by award-winning author Danielle L.... Views: 398
There is no telling where a scandal might lead...
She lives for passion.
Bold, impulsive, and a magnet for trouble, Juliana Fiori is no simpering English miss. She refuses to play by society’s rules: she speaks her mind, cares nothing for the approval of the ton, and can throw a punch with remarkable accuracy. Her scandalous nature makes her a favorite subject of London’s most practiced gossips... and precisely the kind of woman the Duke of Leighton wants far far away from him.
He swears by reputation.
Scandal is the last thing Simon Pearson has room for in his well-ordered world. The Duke of Disdain is too focused on keeping his title untainted and his secrets unknown. But when he discovers Juliana hiding in his carriage late one evening—risking everything he holds dear—he swears to teach the reckless beauty a lesson in propriety.
She has other plans, however; she wants two weeks to prove that even an unflappable duke is not above passion. Views: 396
'There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.' - Phillip Franklin, White Star Line Vice-President
On April 15th, 1912, Titanic, the world's largest passenger ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg, claiming more than 1,500 lives. Walter Lord's classic bestselling history of the voyage, the wreck and the aftermath is a tour de force of detailed investigation and the upstairs/downstairs divide. A Night to Remember provides a vivid, gripping and deeply personal account of the 'unsinkable' Titanic's descent.
WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY JULIAN FELLOWES Views: 396