Alexander Masters tripped over his first book subject on a Cambridge sidewalk, and the result was the multi-award-winning bestseller Stuart: A Life Backwards. His second, he's found under his floorboards. One of the greatest mathematical prodigies of the twentieth century, Simon Norton stomps around Alexander's basement in semidarkness, dodging between stalagmites of bus timetables and engorged plastic bags, eating tinned kippers stirred into packets of Bombay mix. Simon is exploring a theoretical puzzle so complex and critical to our understanding of the universe that it is known as the Monster. It looks like a sudoku table--except a sudoku table has nine columns of numbers. The Monster has 808017424794512875886459904961710757005754368000000000 columns. But that's not the whole story. What's inside the decaying sports bag he never lets out of his clutches? Why does he hurtle out of the house in the middle of the night? And--good God!--what... Views: 64
The Black Alchemist is a real account of terrifying true events. The nightmare begins when Collins and his friend Bernard G. visit a secluded churchyard on the Sussex Downs of southern England as part of a psychic quest. They are looking for an ancient Egyptian treasure, a golden staff known as the Stave of Nizar, brought to England at the time of the Crusades. Yet instead of finding a long lost Egyptian relic they uncover a stone spearhead, inscribed with magical symbols. Through further investigation they discover it has been concealed as part of a dark occult ritual by a character they dub the Black Alchemist. Collins and Bernard are then thrust into a series of horrifying confrontations as this sinister figure attempts to put a stop to their unwanted interference. Then, in the aftermath of Britain’s first hurricane in nearly 300 years, the Black Alchemist initiates the next phase of his great work—the creation of an antichrist, a second Adam, taking the form of an unholy child of unspeakable power. Even though Bernard now wants out of this dangerous affair, Collins convinces him it is something they cannot ignore, setting up a final psychic confrontation on the Sussex Downs. During the course of his investigations the author uncovers the true extent of the Black Alchemist’s obsession with Graeco-Egyptian magic and alchemy, as well as his use of the angelic invocations of Elizabethan magus Dr John Dee. Plus he learns the final fate of the historical object known as the Stave of Nizar.
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When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, many proclaimed the start of a new Elizabethan Age. Few had any inkling, however, of the stupendous changes that would occur over the next fifty years, both in Britain and around the world. In Our Times, A. N. Wilson takes the reader on an exhilarating journey through postwar Britain. With his acute eye not just for the broad social and cultural sweep but also for the telling detail, he brilliantly distills half a century of unprecedented social and political change. Here are the defining events and characters of the modern age, from the Suez crisis to Vietnam, from the Beatles to Princess Diana. Here are the Angry Young Men, the rise of pop culture and celebrity, industrial unrest and the Winter of Discontent, the Thatcher era and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. This book propels the reader from postwar austerity, to the end of the British Empire and the emergence of America as a superpower, to the... Views: 64
A modern take on the classic coming-of-age novel, inspired by Anne of Green Gables In the grand tradition of Anne of Green Gables, Bridget Jones's Diary, and The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Andi Teran's captivating debut novel offers a contemporary twist on a beloved classic. Fifteen-year-old orphan Ana Cortez has just blown her last chance with a foster family. It's a group home next—unless she agrees to leave East Los Angeles for a farm trainee program in Northern California. When she first arrives, Ana can't tell a tomato plant from a blackberry bush, and Emmett Garber is skeptical that this slight city girl can be any help on his farm. His sister Abbie, however, thinks Ana might be just what they need. Ana comes to love Garber Farm, and even Emmett has to admit that her hard work is an asset. But when she inadvertently stirs up trouble in town, Ana is afraid she might have ruined her last chance at finding a place to... Views: 64
In Dante in Love, A N Wilson presents a glittering study of an artist and his world, arguing that without an understanding of medieval Florence, it is impossible to comprehend the meaning of Dante's great poem. He explains how the Italian States were at that time locked into violent feuds, mirrored in the ferocious competition between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy. He explores Dante's preoccupations with classical mythology, numerology and the great Christian philosophers which inform every line of the Comedy. Dante in Love also lays bare the enigma of the man who never wrote about the mother of his children, yet immortalized the mysterious Beatrice, whom he barely knew. Views: 64
SynopsisFrom rural rags to brief riches and back to ruin, this is a moving saga of hard work, bad luck and finally hope for a family's future. Gloria Sullivan can't quite believe where she has ended up. Growing up with no money worries, she fell head over heels in love with the handsome, hardworking Irishman employed by her father. They were the golden couple - until the Wall Street crash, when everything was lost. Finally she agreed to start again in London with husband Joe and their small son. World War Two was raging, and Joe laboured on the docks by day and fighting fires by night. He was a hero - but one dreadful fire left him terribly injured. Once more Gloria resolved to leave everything behind and to take Joe home to his family farm in Ireland, his only hope of recovery. Gloria now dutifully nurses her husband, but she can't settle in the countryside. Then a nearby American base begins recruiting civilians. Gloria tells everyone it's her chance to do her bit - but will she be... Views: 64
To restore peace in the Borders between Scotland and England, two kings have betrothed Lady Hilaire Eliot to a cursed, thrice-widowed knight known as The Dire Dragan. Headstrong Hilaire will do anything to escape that fate, even confront her fear of the dark by fleeing her besieged castle through an ancient tunnel. Her bridegroom, Giric mac Leod, is just as determined to claim his rightful bride. But when he storms her fortress, his reckless actions trap him in an underground rockslide. The dispirited knight welcomes death's embrace...until he hears the one sound he can't ignore—the call of a maiden in distress. Views: 64
Everyone is looking for it on St. Michel in the Caribbean. Here the president is a raving lunatic, the "Black Police" have the run of the capital, guerilla forces mass in the hills, an organized crime syndicate plans its own takeover, and U.S. agents brutally battle for a document filled with hot political secrets, the lost notebook of Ernest Hemingway. And here one of America's toughest spies, the man they call November, will need all his courage and cunning if the coveted prize is to be his. On St. Michel in the Caribbean, U.S. agents brutally battle for a document filled with hot political secrets, the last notebook of Ernest Hemingway. Views: 64
THE FIRST MAN knew too much. So they shattered his body in a thousand pieces before he could give a shred of information.
THE SECOND MAN lived in terror. Death had pursued him through a lifetime devoted to espionage; when they pumped a bullet through his throat, he was not even surprised.
THE THIRD MAN was a lot tougher to knock off. His name was Nick Carter and he was ordered to pursue the assignment that had killed the other two.
This time around, Nick has to destroy the fanatic leader of Germany's neo-Nazi underground; a man wearing a known and trusted face — and hell-bent on becoming the next Fuehrer.
For Nick, the assignment begins with a blonde doing a strip-tease in a bedroom of an ancient castle on the Rhine… Views: 64
For anyone who?s ever thought January 1st would be the first day of their new life? Three-Two-One?. Happy New Year! The champagne corks popped, streamers fell, the music blared, lovers embraced and hearts overflowed with joy as they welcomed in 2009?But unfortunately all that happened on the TV.In Leni Lomond?s living room three twenty-something friends sat shrouded in dejection, each clutching a sparkler in one hand and a drink in the other.Eventually Leni spoke up. "I'm making a resolution."?This is it - this is the year I find the perfect job, the perfect man and the perfect life." Three Weeks Later? Leni is now PA to Zara Delta, spiritual guru, author, television celebrity and founder of the web's most popular astrology site www.itsinthestars.net. So what if she doesn't know her rising moon from Uranus, she'll wing it somehow. Less than a month into the New Year and she?s already on her way to fulfilling one of her resolutions. But she hasn?t counted on her first assignment -... Views: 64
An enchanting and fascinating insight into Japanese landscape, culture, history and future. Originally written in Japanese, this passionate, vividly personal book draws on the author's experiences in Japan over thirty years. Alex Kerr brings to life the ritualized world of Kabuki, retraces his initiation into Tokyo's boardrooms during the heady Bubble Years, and tells the story of the hidden valley that became his home.But the book is not just a love letter. Haunted throughout by nostalgia for the Japan of old, Kerr's book is part paean to that great country and culture, part epitaph in the face of contemporary Japan's environmental and cultural destruction.Winner of Japan's 1994 Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize.Alex Kerr is an American writer, antiques collector and Japanologist. Lost Japan is his most famous work. He was the first foreigner to be awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best... Views: 64
