In the annals of American firefighting, the early 1800s were a dark time. Volunteer fire companies operated less as public servants and more as rival gangs: defying city regulations, extorting money from victims, sabotaging other companies to put out fires first, or letting them burn out of pure spite. Willard Sears, a Boston builder and abolitionist, set out to change all that, with a vision for a fire company that would bring professionalism to a field laced with corruption and violence—and gathered a ragtag group to follow him under the banner of Company Eight. Ultimately, Sears’ quest would pit him against the most powerful forces in the city, in a battle that would shape the future of firefighting in America. Writer Matthew Pearl delves into historical archives to bring to life, for the first time, a true story of courage and persistence. Views: 71
In this poignant and witty debut, a bohemian and a Gucci-clad socialite form an unlikely friendship after leaving the city. Views: 71
'We're the rubbish kids, losers and orphans. Everyday we go out on to the Tip to sort rubbish for Mother Shelly.' For Sham, Fly Pie and his sister Jane, this is the grim reality of their lives. Then one day everything changes when they find a baby on the Tip - a baby worth seventeen million pounds . . . This discovery takes them into a savage, lonely city and so begins an endless fight for survival. Views: 71
"This roller-coaster tale takes you on a spiritual ride." —RT Book ReviewsWhen a good woman goes astray, what will it take to get right with her family—and God?The one thing Shari McCray is feeling most about her marriage is what it's missing, but her husband Dillon's frustrations with his career as a Christian college football coach leave her complaints falling on deaf ears. So when a book she's written is adapted into a play, Shari jumps at the chance to get away—even if it leads her straight to temptation.Bryce Maddox, the famous gospel singer who's starring in the play, has a lot in common with Shari, including a troubled marriage. As their attraction deepens, Shari's fear that her relationship with God is in trouble comes true. To get right, she'll have to set things straight with her husband—and the Lord. But the road to redemption has its share of surprises, and it will take all the love and faith Shari and Dillon can muster to... Views: 71
The Book of Proper Names is set in contemporary Paris, its main character an orphan named Plectrude. Before the child's birth her nineteen-year-old mother shoots and kills her nineteen-year-old (and somewhat feckless) father because she hates the names he's devised for their child—she fears they will doom their unborn child to mediocrity. The mother confesses openly to what she has done, and why. She is arrested and thrown into prison, where she gives birth to the child, names her, to everyone's bafflement, Plectrude—an obscure saint, and an albatross of a name—and then hangs herself. The novel therefore begins on the borderline between tragedy and absurdity, but as Plectrude grows—raised by a loving, indulgent, and eccentric aunt—it becomes a deeply moving and simultaneously chilling portrait of girlhood. Plectrude's great gift turns out to be for ballet, and she throws herself into dance as if her life depended upon it. Few novels... Views: 71
Welcome to Paradise!Freshly laid-off Wisconsinites Patrick and Barbara McDougall are going to sunny Florida for a modest romantic vacation. But the motel they picked isn't quite a pastel paradise, and they have to be midwesterners and make the best of a bad situation. Except bad goes to worse, and a string of misfortunes renders them unable to leave the state. Meanwhile, the next Mexican-American War is being fought, this time in Fort Lauderdale, between the Kentucky mafia and the Oxy cartel over control of the lucrative pain clinic market. Latinos are turning up dead, hillbillies are wandering the beach trampling sand castles, and cops continue arresting doctors wriggling out of office windows.But it's never really a party until Serge and Coleman arrive. Cruising down U.S. 1, Captain Florida and his perpetually altered sidekick are on a mission to film the best reality show ever! Back at their motel, the McDougalls are peeking out... Views: 71
