A hardboiled mystery featuring a Nigerian detective turned New York City taxi driver who must prove his son's innocence in a grisly murder case. Forced from Nigeria after investigating one too many corruption cases, former detective Joseph Soyinka and his son, Yomi, have settled into a quieter life in the Bronx, with Joseph finding a new career as a taxi driver. After a teacher at Yomi's school is found brutally stabbed in his locked classroom, suspicions immediately fall on troubled student Jermaine Letts. But when the investigation links the murder weapon to Yomi, Joseph is driven to take up the case on his own to save his son. Views: 174
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 - To the Close of the 19th Century is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by George Saintsbury is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of George Saintsbury then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 169
A powerful memoir from Natalie Golderg—the woman who changed the way writing is taught in this country—sharing her experience with cancer grounded in her practice of writing and Zen.Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home begins at the grave of Katagiri Roshi, Natalie's Zen teacher, in Japan. Twenty years after Katagiri's death and Natalie's return to New Mexico, she is permanently settled in Santa Fe with her partner, Yukwan. Except that, as Buddhism teaches us, nothing is permanent. Natalie learns that she has CLL, a potentially fatal form of blood cancer.For two years, Natalie dances with her cancer—visiting doctor after doctor, attempting treatment after treatment. Nothing helps; in fact, one of the treatments only feeds the cancer and encourages its growth. Then Natalie's partner, Yukwan discovers that she, too, has cancer—breast cancer—as well as an off-the-charts oncotype score that requires her to have surgery... Views: 157
From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winningThe History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of readingWhen her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large. Views: 151
Amazon.com ReviewWith his actor's ear for dialogue, his dead-on pacing, and his talent for social comedy, British playwright Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George) is hardly lacking in literary gifts. The three stories in The Laying On of Hands, two of which have been filmed by the BBC, are funny in different ways. The title piece is a slow-to-ripen satire set at the Anglican funeral service of a handsome young masseur, whose clients turn out to include cabinet ministers, soap opera stars, and the presiding clergyman. The second story, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," describes the odd relationship a pure-minded middle-aged woman develops with her charming chiropodist (podiatrist). And the final story, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," follows a mousy schoolteacher named Midgley through the self-searching and nurse-hunting days preceding his father's death in Intensive Care. The range and subtle coloration of Bennett's humor will appeal, especially, to readers of Robertson Davies and Muriel Spark. --Regina MarlerFrom Publishers WeeklyBennett hits the mark in the title novella of this brief collection, which also features a second, shorter novella as well as a single short story. The funeral of a masseur who serviced British celebrities in a variety of ways becomes the setting for a cheeky comedy of manners in the title yarn, as a young gay priest fails his first big test when he lets the final testimonials turn into an outrageous debate over whether the masseur died of AIDS or contracted an obscure disease while traveling in South America. The punch line falls flat in the second effort, "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," when a woman finds a mutual outlet for her unusual sexual fetish in her ongoing appointments with her podiatrist. The final novella, "Father! Father! Burning Bright," gets off to a murky start as a married, middle-aged schoolteacher struggles to sort through his mixed emotions when a stroke leaves his father at death's door, but the ending, involving the teacher's strange attraction to his father's comely nurse, closes the narrative with a nice satiric twist. Bennett's multileveled approach makes the title story work, as he slowly layers his conceit with observations on the celebrity scene in Britain and the priest's recollections of his romantic interaction with the deceased. Unfortunately, the quality of craft drops significantly in the other two efforts, with the second novella in particular focusing more on manners than comedy.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Views: 146
FOUR MITCH TURNER LEGAL THRILLER SHORT STORIES IN ONE BOOK! Meet Mitch Turner, the fast talking criminal defense attorney who takes risks others do not! THE MUGGER Criminal defense attorney Mitch Turner has just left the courthouse after a long day when he hears a commotion coming from a nearby alley. He follows it and sees a woman getting mugged. He immediately heads down the alley to see what he can do to defuse the situation. The woman is cooperating, giving everything to the mugger except for her wedding ring. The thief is unsatisfied and demands the ring while escalating his threats. Just when Mitch Turner is about to make a move, the situation changes completely and he is back to square one. If you like legal thrillers, the short story is for you. Mitch Turner is a fast-talking lawyer who looks at the world differently than most and takes risks where others might not. Fans of John Grisham and Scott Turrow will enjoy this story. Pick up your copy today! THE HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR Criminal defense attorney Mitch Turner is sitting at his desk working on a pressing deadline when a man walks in and points a gun at him, saying he needs a lawyer. Mitch tells the man he doesn't work under the gun, and the man becomes more threatening. Mitch starts prodding to figure out what could have brought the man to such a low point, and just when Mitch thinks he has a handle on the situation, the police show up. Thinking fast, Mitch starts a negotiation between his new client and the police officer, trying to come up with a solution to deescalate the situation so he can get back to working on his fast-approaching deadline. THE PROSECUTION'S WITNESS It comes down to the trial. Everything criminal defense attorney Mitch Turner has done to resolve the murder charge against his client has failed, so now he must fight it out in court. He has no viable alternative suspect. All evidence points to his client. The courtroom is in shock when Mitch declines to question the prosecution's expert witness, frustrating his own client who wants Mitch to fight tooth and nail. The prosecution calls its next witness. Mitch gears up for his cross-examination. Everything hinges on this. THE GHOST SUSPECT Mitch Turner's client is going to jail for murder. It is now just a matter of negotiating a plea bargain, something his client refuses to do. As a final request for his client, he agrees to interview one last potential witness. The moment he steps into the witness's home, he begins to suspect that the man is insane. Then the witness claims that a ghost murdered the victim. Going against his better judgment, Mitch Turner investigates the only real-world possibility, thinking it will go nowhere but knowing he must first satisfy his client before they can work on a plea bargain. Buy your copy today! Views: 139
George III's behaviour has often been odd, but now he is deranged, with rumours circulating that he has even addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia. Doctors are brought in, the government wavers and the Prince Regent manoeuvres himself into power. Alan Bennett's play explores the court of a mad king, and the fearful treatments he was forced to undergo. It is about the nature of kingship itself, showing how by subtle degrees the ruler's delirium erodes his authority and status. Views: 137
Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience. Views: 131
Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live". Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton Views: 120
The Laying on of Hands, the painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up In, the comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning Bright, the savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the Van, the true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit, starring Maggie Smith.Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics. Views: 117
In Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In 1994, Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world's most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native Amer-ican activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious. New Yorker writer Susan Orlean followed Laroche through swamps and into the eccentric world of Florida's orchid collectors, a subculture of aristocrats,... Views: 110
