Focusing on a richly significant time in our recent past, Sebastian Faulks, the bestselling author of Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, has written his first novel set in America. The year is 1960—a fascinating moment of transition in our country, when the comfortable Eisenhower years were drawing to a close and the ruthlessly competitive Nixon/Kennedy presidential campaign signaled the beginning of a starkly different decade.
Mary van der Linden has recently moved from London to Washington, D.C., with her two children and her loving, admired husband, Charlie, who is posted to the British Embassy. Nearly forty, Mary has spent a lifetime as a loyal daughter, wife and mother. But in this year of so much change, she feels compelled to break away from her familiar world and is drawn to the freedom of New York City, which is effervescent with parties, jazz, three- martini lunches, girls in their summer dresses and men in their Sinatra hats and big ties. Greenwich Village is still charmingly bohemian, and Miles Davis’s hit tune “On Green Dolphin Street” is playing everywhere. Mary finds a hotel room in New York and then finds a lover, while back in Washington her husband drinks to forget the demands of his job, the absence of his wife and the Cold War paranoia that has overtaken the capital.
Faulks breaks new ground with this novel: It is a love story, not a war story, and it is set in America rather than France. Yet readers of his two previous bestselling novels will recognize the close focus of the historical setting, the unforgettable characters and the gathering emotional power of the narrative. On Green Dolphin Street is a dramatic, tremendously moving novel that is certain to extend the American audience for this prodigiously talented author’s work. Views: 532
From the land of fantastical castles, vast lakes and deep forests, the Brothers Grimm collected a treasury of enchanting folk and fairy stories full of giants and dwarfs, witches and princesses, magical beasts and cunning children. From classics such as 'The Frog-Prince' and 'Hansel and Grettel' to the delights of 'Ashputtel' or 'Old Sultan', all hold a timeless magic which has enthralled children for centuries. Views: 530
The definitive Mexican-American immigrant story, a sprawling and deeply felt portrait of a Mexican-American family occasioned by the impending loss of its patriarch, from one of the country's most beloved authors.
Prizewinning and bestselling writer Luis Urrea has written his Mexican coming-to-America story and his masterpiece. Destined to sit alongside other classic immigrant novels, The House of Broken Angels is a sprawling and epic family saga helmed by patriarch Big Angel. The novel gathers together the entire De La Cruz clan, as they meet for the final birthday party Big Angel is throwing for himself, at home in San Diego, as he nears the end of his struggle with cancer and reflects on his long and full life.
But when Big Angel's mother, Mama America, approaching one hundred, dies herself as the party nears, he must plan her funeral as well. There will be two family affairs in one weekend: a farewell double-header. Among the attendants is his half-brother and namesake, Little Angel, who comes face to face with the siblings with whom he shared a father but not, as the weekend proceeds to remind him, a life.
This story of the De La Cruzes is the story of what it means to be a Mexican in America, to have lived two lives across one border. It is a tale of the ravaging power of death to shore up the bits of life you have forgotten, whether by choice or not. Above all, this finely wrought portrait of a deeply complex family and the America they have come to call home is Urrea at his purest and best. Teeming with brilliance and humor, authentic at every turn, The House of Broken Angels cements his reputation as a storyteller of the first rank. Views: 529
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume II. (of X.) By Marshall Pinckney Wilder Views: 529
Very short stories. Bite sized fiction to entertain, thrill, amuse, or perhaps scare you in a small package. Stories that attempt to really go places in only a few sentences.This is the second in the series of five novelette eBooks providing stories relating directly to the New Voyages: Phase II series of fan-films, True To His Oath is a short story based on a concept developed by Charles Root (who played Scotty in the series) and used with permission. The events take place after the live-action episode “Enemy: Starfleet” and before the live-action episode “The Child.”Captain’s log, stardate 7254.3: With repairs to the Enterprise having been completed ahead of schedule—fortunately, the Peshan lasers were barely powerful enough to scratch our hull, and although the Eagle was once as formidable as the Enterprise, neither Alersa herself nor any of her crew knew where to hit us to inflict maximum damage—we were barely two hours out of Starbase Four when we were diverted to the Federation planetoid Memory Alpha. Our mission is to deploy a team of computer specialists to troubleshoot and then repair a major malfunction that has crippled much of the equipment we delivered here last year, rendering the facility all but useless. Commander Spock has completed a preliminary examination of the system and has identified the root cause of the problem. He informs me that repairs and reprogramming should take about three days, so I’ve authorized rotating shore leave for all personnel. On a personal note, Chief Engineer Scott has, not surprisingly, decided to take leave and spend all three days down there in hopes of reacquainting himself with a friend. Views: 527
African American character, high school students, government interference, Bible in Public Schools, Persecution, Artifact Views: 527
The fact of the Lost Ark of the Covenant is one of the grant historical mysteries of all time. To believers, the Ark is the legendary vesel holding the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Bible contains hundreds of references to the Ark's power to level mountains, destroy armies, and lay waste to cities. The Ark itself, however, mysteriously disappears from recorded history sometime after the building of the Temple of Solomon. After ten years of searching through the dusty archives of Europe and the Middle East, as well as braving the real-life dangers of a bloody civil war in Ethiopia, Graham Hancock has succeeded where scores of others have failed. This intrepid journalist has tracked down the true story behind the myths and legends -- revealing where the Ark is today, how it got there, and why it remains hidden. Part fascinating scholarship and part entertaining adventure yarn, tying together some of the most intriguing tales of all time -- from the... Views: 526
An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge\' is a short story by American author Ambrose Bierce. It is one of the best classic tales filled with detail and vision. This story inspires the imagination, then provides one of the best twists ever invented. The story is set in the time of the Civil War. It is famous for its irregular time sequence and twisted end. Bierce\'s abandonment of strict linear narration in favor of the internal mind of the protagonist is considered an early example of experimentation with stream of consciousness. It is one of Bierce\'s most anthologized stories. Views: 526
Natasha works as an investigative assistant for a private investigator. She knows that her employer is a werewolf. But during the course of a gruesome murder investigation she discovers something about her self that will change her life forever.Suitcase Tales is a collection a quirky poetic tales inspired by people watching and drinking coffee at an airport. It is amazing what people can really get up to inside an airport. A dark, disturbing but sensuous surrealistic read. A reality check. Split into two parts this collection will have you either laughing or crying. It is evocative to say the least. Part One contains five tales about five different people – all fictional and all quite strange in their own little ways. Part Two contains two surreal tales. They are all poetic and darkly humorous, at times touching on absurd, but they do have an underlying serious tone. They poke beneath the surface of humanity. We are all real people with real feelings and at times those feelings are strange and human behaviour can sometimes become irrational. Going to the airport to catch a flight for your holiday is great and it is good fun, but sometimes the inside of an airport can act as a refuge for some, and sometimes people around you can wonder off into their own madness. The Woman With The Bottle Of Wine tells a quirky sad story. What if a person from another country has nowhere to hide and the only option is to jump on a plane to England? Why has she come? What does she do when she gets here? How do the airport employees in this tale react to this when they find her intoxicated with alcohol inside Weatherspoons? Exemption - explores the theme of control and how authoritative members of society try to use their power at times. Is there a time when all humans should be treated as equal and why do some think they are better than others? This quirky tale relies heavily on characterisation of its main character and how he sees himself as opposed to others whilst going through airport security. How will he react when he is asked to be searched?Now Everybody Knows - is a quirky story that pokes well beneath the surface of humanity and explores the real life issue of paranoia. A man who lives alone hears knocking on his front door and realises when peeping through the spy hole that his neighbours have a letter for him. What does he do after the letter flies through his letter box and he hears his neighbours shuffling around next door? Too Late - is a quirky tale which explores madness and loneliness. When security manager, Edward takes a break from duty to go and find his friend in Burger King, his behaviour becomes irrational due to his friend not turning up. Touches on the absurd. Gifts - is a beautiful descriptive tale about a man who has taken up residence at the airport. People pass. People stop. Some stare at the bandages he is wearing. Others pass him pretty parcels wrapped in delicate ribbons. What are these gifts? What does he do with them? The City - will take you on a curious ride through Liverpool and the Amazon Jungle. This is a surreal tale written in a stream of consciousness style. It is vibrant with senses and colour and explores one of the downsides of life. Crossroads - is a heart wrenching story of a young woman who crosses the railway lines to find her lost lover. When she discovers his presence in a Doffidil beside her she takes desperate measure to join him. Full of poetry and wonderful images. Views: 525
Remarkable, hilarious and unsettling re-imaginations of reality by "a dynamic writer of extraordinary talent " (Jenifer Levin, New York Times Book Review).
Girl with Curious Hair is replete with David Foster Wallace's remarkable and unsettling reimaginations of reality. From the eerily "real," almost holographic evocations of historical figures like Lyndon Johnson and overtelevised game-show hosts and late-night comedians to the title story, where terminal punk nihilism meets Young Republicanism, Wallace renders the incredible comprehensible, the bizarre normal, the absurd hilarious, and the familiar strange.
This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN: 0393313964/9780393313963 Views: 525
An avid hunter and wildlife preservationist, the Field & Stream contributor explores these seemingly opposed passions in this "beautifully written" memoir (The Bloomsbury Review). After traveling the globe on expeditions with world-class sportsmen, Guy de la Valdéne purchased an eight hundred–acre farm outside Tallahassee and set out to raise and hunt his favorite game bird, bobwhite quail. But de la Valdéne is also a naturalist at heart, and as he planted trees and divided fields, he found that running the farm compelled him to operate as both hunter and protector. Along the way, de la Valdéne gets pulled into some eye-opening adventures: to a masterpiece of controlled burning performed by a Vietnam veteran in a helicopter with three hundred gallons of napalm, and to his own experiences building a dam to fill his pond. For a Handful of Feathers reconciles a passion for hunting with... Views: 525
Dora: A Headcase is a contemporary coming-of-age story based on Freud’s famous case study-retold and revamped through Dora's point of view, with shotgun blasts of dark humor and sexual play.
Ida needs a shrink . . . or so her philandering father thinks, and he sends her to a Seattle psychiatrist. Immediately wise to the head games of her new shrink, whom she nicknames Siggy, Ida begins a coming-of-age journey. At the beginning of her therapy, Ida, whose alter ego is Dora, and her small posse of pals engage in "art attacks." Ida’s in love with her friend Obsidian, but when she gets close to intimacy, she faints or loses her voice. Ida and her friends hatch a plan to secretly film Siggy and make an experimental art film. But something goes wrong at a crucial moment-at a nearby hospital Ida finds her father suffering a heart attack. While Ida loses her voice, a rough cut of her experimental film has gone viral, and unethical media agents are hunting her down. A chase ensues in which everyone wants what Ida has. Views: 524
Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries—panic, exhaustion, heat, noise—and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the U.S. Marine Corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of U.S. Army Natick Labs and learns why a zipper is a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where amputee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. Roach samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again. Views: 524
Lightning Shell marks the dramatic conclusion to the People of Cahokia sub-series by bestselling authors W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear.Spotted Wrist's squadrons are about to launch an assault on Evening Star Town. Meanwhile, the new Keeper's loyal squadrons have taken control of central Cahokia.Blue Heron's enemies have declared her dead, a supposed victim of the fire that consumed her palace. She's alive and in the end it will be her wits, Seven Skull Shield's licentious cunning, and a desperate gamble that determine who lives and who dies in Cahokia.Meanwhile, in the distant east, a desperate three-way race is underway. Walking Smoke—the Lightning Shell witch—hastens to make his way back to Cahokia, understanding that the cure for his impotence lies atop Morning Star's Mound.Night Shadow Star means to stop him before he can get to Morning Star. Following in her wake, Fire Cat is merciless. He will stop at nothing to ensure that... Views: 524
A companion to the Wizard of Ends fantasy adventure series - learn more about the characters and author, and read two free chapters of Wizard of Ends.This companion to the Wizard of Ends fantasy adventure series includes character interviews, a guest post written by the series’ main character, Lashlor Leaflin, insights into the series, its characters and the author, and the first chapter of Books 1 and 2. Views: 523
