Orphaned at an early age, Artie Kipps is stunned to discover upon reading a newspaper that he is the grandson of a wealthy gentleman—and the inheritor of his fortune. Thrown dramatically into the upper classes, he struggles to learn the etiquette and rules of polite society. But, as he soon discovers, becoming a "true gentleman" is neither as easy nor as desirable as it first appears. Kipps is a hilarious tale of one man's struggle for selfimprovement and a witty satire of pretension. Views: 87
The latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. Beth is a sweet-natured child who appears to have been well looked after. But it isn’t long before Cathy begins to have concerns that the relationship between Beth and her father is not as it should be. Little Beth, aged 7, has been brought up by her father Derek after her mother left when she was a toddler. When Derek is suddenly admitted to hospital with psychiatric problems Beth is taken into care and arrives at Cathy’s. Beth and her father clearly love each other very much and Derek spoils his daughter, treating her like a princess, but there is something bothering Cathy, something she can’t quite put her finger on. Meanwhile Cathy’s husband is working away a lot and coming home less at weekends. Then, suddenly, everything changes. Events take a dramatic turn for both Beth and Cathy and her family; as Cathy strives to pick up the pieces all their lives are changed forever. Views: 87
In Bodies and Souls, Rechy paints a portrait of modern Los Angeles, "the most spiritual and physical of cities," where we meet characters like Amber, a porn superstar; Manny Gomez, a Chicano caught up in the punk-rock scene; and Dave Clinton, an aging male stripper. Epic in scope and vision, Bodies and Souls is classic Rechy. Views: 87
A private crisis becomes front-page news when terrorists target a TV anchorman and his family in #1 New York Times–bestselling author Arthur Hailey's riveting novel set in the high-pressure network news industry Anchorman Crawford Sloane, a respected reporter who made his name as a Vietnam War correspondent, thrives on the unpredictability of life in the newsroom. Whether he's covering the imminent crash of an airliner in distress, terror in South America, or riots in Eastern Europe, or dealing with the cold-blooded politics of one of America's premier news organizations, he never loses his cool. With terrorism dominating the evening news, Sloane takes precautions because he knows that as the face of American democracy, he's a prime target for radicals. But when terrorists kidnap his family, he's no longer reporting the news; he's living it. Unwilling to rely on the help of ruthless network executives or the intrepid reporter who was once... Views: 87
The second novel from the author of the bestselling Loaded and The Slap The Jesus Man tells the story of three brothers, Dominic, Tommy and Louie, who come from a Greek-Italian family haunted by its history. When Tommy is made redundant from work and can't find another job, he finds the voices in his head becoming louder and louder as he sinks inexorably into pornography, violence and madness. Tommy snaps and murders someone who may or may not be a serial sex killer of children, and then castrates and kills himself, leaving his family numb with grief and incomprehension and at the mercy of the ensuing media feeding frenzy. The Jesus Man is told from the point of view of Louie, the youngest brother, who is struggling to make sense of Tommy's death and the kind of world in which such tragedies are commonplace. Written with the remorseless, page-turning urgency of a thriller, The Jesus Man is an uncompromising and timely examination of the hell that is life for many people; a... Views: 87
From Publishers WeeklyRussian historian and author Montefiore presents an exciting, exemplary biography of the nondescript peasant boy who would become the most ruthless leader in Soviet history, a prequel of sorts to his Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. Born in 1878 in the Caucasus of Georgia to an overprotective mother (who had already lost two sons) and a father opposed to education ("I'm a shoemaker and my son will be one too"), Stalin possessed a talent for poetry and mischief. Amidst his mom's trysts (with men she hoped would further Stalin's education), his father's alcohol-fueled violence and the powder-keg environment of the Caucasus, Stalin turned from priesthood training to gang life and petty crime. As he grew, so did his hatred of Tsarist Russia, leading him to meet the initial Bolsheviks, and to more spectacular and violent capers. From the start, Stalin proved a remarkable talent for meticulous planning, a skill that would become vital to the revolutionaries and, later, to his iron-fisted reign. Using recently opened records, Montefiore turns up intriguing new information (like the "Fagin-like" role he played among "a prepubescent revolutionary street intelligence" network), Montefiore captures in an absorbing narrative both Stalin's conflicted character-marked by powerful charisma and deep paranoia-and the revolution's early years with stunning clarity. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review“Brilliantly researched. . . . The portrait of Stalin that emerges from these pages is more complete, more colorful, more chilling, and far more convincing than any we have had before.” —The New York Review of Books“Young Stalin is brilliantly readable, as intricately plotted and full of detail as a good novel, scrupulously researched, and full of hitherto unknown (or unreported) facts about Stalin's life.” —Men's Vogue“A meticulously researched, authoritative biography. . . . Mr. Montefiore has found the devil in the details, working his way with a fine-tooth comb through previously unread archival material.” —The New York Times“The most complete, accurate account of the tyrant's early years-a fascinating tale of life in the revolutionary underground, drenched in violence, fear and deceit, filled with a rogue's gallery of bandits, double-agents and terrorists.” —The Seattle TimesFrom the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 87
Two shattering autobiographical novels offer a vision of alienated youth at its most raw and uncensored. Views: 87
After Robert Aickman's death in 1981 the manuscript of The Model, a wintry rococo fable set in Czarist Russia, was located among his papers. Aickman had told a friend he considered this novella to be 'one of the best things I have ever written, if not the very best.' It was duly published for the first time in 1987.The Model tells of Elena, a grave girl inclined to losing herself in dreams of becoming a student ballerina orcoryphée. Her dolour darkens further when she learns she is to be sold into marital slavery by her father so as to settle the family's debts. Refusing an unendurable future she sets out to the city of Smorevsk to pursue her dream. First, however, she must traverse a landscape crowded by highly curious characters and creatures.'A must for Aickman fans... A model of eloquent elegant enchantment.' Robert Bloch (Psycho) Views: 87
An electrifying debut from a provocative new voice in fiction that will remind readers of the best of VonnegutRon Currie's gutsy, funny book is instantly gripping: If God takes human form and dies, what would become of life as we know it? Effortlessly combining outlandish humor with big questions about mortality, ethics, and human weakness, Ron Currie, Jr., holds a funhouse mirror to our present-day world. God has inhabited the mortal body of a young Dinka woman in the Sudan. When she is killed in the Darfur desert, he dies along with her, and word of his death soon begins to spread. Faced with the hard proof that there is no supreme being in charge, the world is irrevocably transformed, yet remains oddly recognizable. Views: 87
On a winter night on a remote Nebraska road, 27-year-old Mark Schluter flips his truck in a near-fatal accident. His older sister Karin, his only near kin, returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse Mark back from a traumatic head injury. But when he emerges from a protracted coma, Mark believes that this woman–who looks, acts, and sounds just like his sister–is really an identical impostor. Shattered by her brother’s refusal to recognize her, Karin contacts the cognitive neurologist Gerald Weber, famous for his case histories describing the infinitely bizarre worlds of brain disorder. Weber recognizes Mark as a rare case of Capgras Syndrome, a doubling delusion, and eagerly investigates. What he discovers in Mark slowly undermines even his own sense of being. Meanwhile, Mark, armed only with a note left by an anonymous witness, attempts to learn what happened the night of his inexplicable accident. The truth of that evening will change the lives of all three beyond recognition.Set against the Platte River’s massive spring migrations–one of the greatest spectacles in nature–The Echo Maker is a gripping mystery that explores the improvised human self and the even more precarious brain that splits us from and joins us to the rest of creation.Winner of the 2006 National Book Award Views: 87
Soon to be a 2016 SundanceTV miniseries starring Michael K. Williams (The Wire), James Purefoy (Rome), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).Hap and Leonard don't fit the profile. Hap Collins looks like a good 'ol boy, but his liberal politics don't match. After a number of failed careers, Hap has discovered that what he's best at: kicking ass. Vietnam veteran Leonard Pine is even more complicated: black, conservative, gay . . . and an occasional arsonist.Join in on Hap and Leonard's gritty Texan crime-fighting adventures, including four pieces of bonus material only found in this edition. The Dixie Mafia and small-time crooks alike had best be extremely nervous. Views: 87
This fine eBook was co-created by Meatisgood and Flyboy707.A scan of the 1986 paperback was used as the source for the final eBook you now have.In no way has the author's original text (i.e. the words) ben altered in any way.Certain format and layout/designs changes of the original book had to be made to ensure the best possible reading experience for your eReader device/epub & mobi reading software.Enjoy this eBook and read more Lansdale! Views: 87
Fury 161 is a wretched planet -- a penal colony and industrial complex manned by violent prisoners. When an escape pod from the USS Sulaco crash-lands there, Ellen Ripley appears to be the only passenger left alive. Then inmates begin to die, all at the hands of another survivor. A creature which encounters Ripley, and spares her life! Desperate to know why, she seeks out an answer -- and discovers terror unlike any she's ever known. Science fiction master Alan Dean Foster returns to the Alien universe to reveal the ultimate destinies of Ellen Ripley and her eternal foe, the xenomorph known as the Alien. Views: 87
Coco Butternut marks the always-welcome return of Joe R. Lansdale’s dysfunctional duo: Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Views: 87
