Life Sketches

Life Sketches

John Hersey

History / Literature & Fiction / Nonfiction

This collection—harvest of a lifetime of brilliant reportage and reflection—brings together the most memorable biographical pieces John Hersey has written over the past fifty years. His subjects range from Sinclair Lewis, for whom the twenty-three-year-old Hersey was secretary, and the young John F. Kennedy as he related to Hersey the dramatic story of PT 109, to Private John Daniel Ramey and his efforts to overcome illiteracy with the help of the U.S. Army, and Jessica Kelley, an elderly widow trapped in a buckling tenement as the 1955 Connecticut floods raged outside. Whether describing a brisk morning stroll with President Truman or hours spent fishing for blues with Lillian Hellman, recounting Benjamin Weintraub's harrowing escape from a Nazi death camp or Varsell Pleas's dangerous struggle for voting rights in the Mississippi of 1964, Hersey brings us face to face with some of the extraordinary events and people of the past half century. And it is with his...
Read online
  • 350
The Way Things Were

The Way Things Were

Aatish Taseer

Memoir / History / Nonfiction

"A formidable mix of the personal and the political . . . The Way Things Were is a substantive contribution to new writing from the subcontinent." IndependentWhen Skanda's father Toby dies, estranged from Skanda's mother and from the India he once loved, it falls to Skanda to return his body to his birthplace. This is a journey that takes him halfway around the world and deep within three generations of his family, whose fractures, frailties and toxic legacies he has always sought to elude.Both an intimate portrait of a marriage and its aftershocks, and a panoramic vision of India's half-century - in which a rapacious new energy supplants an ineffectual elite - The Way Things Were is an epic novel about the pressures of history upon the present moment. It is also a meditation on the stories we tell and the stories we forget; their tenderness and violence in forging bonds and in breaking them apart. Set in modern Delhi and at flashpoints from...
Read online
  • 349
The Hollow

The Hollow

Andrew Day

Politics / Nonfiction / Sociology

When Serrel Hawthorne joined the Imperial Legion, the last thing he was expecting was to be selected for battlemage training. Now he and seven other misfits are going to have to learn how to weave the magical ether, and preferably not kill each other in the process. Of course, their gruff sergeant might just do that anyway, if they keep annoying him.Everyone has their reasons for joining the Imperial Legion. Some seek fame. Some are just running from something. You sign the scroll, take the Legion bronze, then you learn to hit things with a sword. But when Serrel Hawthorne joined the Imperial Legion, the last thing he was expecting was to be selected for battlemage training. Now he and seven other misfits are going to have to learn how to weave the magical ether, and preferably not kill each other in the process. Of course, their gruff sergeant might just do that anyway, if they keep annoying him.And the biggest threat any of them will have to face, is always going to be the one within themselves. Mages call it the Hollow. It is there, inside everyone, waiting to swallow them whole. It will kill you if you let it. But you have to climb out of it yourself.
Read online
  • 349
The Paramedic's Witch

The Paramedic's Witch

Jamie Davis

Paranormal / Fantasy / Nonfiction

A Teen Witch, Parents, and a Demon Hunt Joanna Errington-Flynn is a normal fifteen-year-old, well, except that she's a witch from the future. Since she was sent back from her parents' future, she has saved their lives and saved the world. Now she wants nothing more than to return home to her own time. Jo's parents, paramedic to the supernatural Dean Flynn, and Demon Hunter Jaz Errington, contend with raising a teenager they never knew they had. When a pair of demon-summoning idols goes missing, Jaz needs Jo's help to recover them. If the demon lord succeeds in his plans to complete the set, Elk City is doomed. Dean, Jaz, and Jo have to work together to solve this mystery, and become a family, before it's too late. Trust is key if they are to defeat the demon, and find a way to send Jo back home, back to the future. Buy "The Paramedic's Witch" now. It's a gripping thrill ride and book 5 in the "Extreme Medical Services" urban paranormal series. Dean,...
Read online
  • 349
Zero 22

Zero 22

Chris Ryan

Nonfiction / Science / History

An SAS unit codenamed Zero 22, operating covertly in the war-torn badlands of northern Syria, is ambushed and massacred by a small army of mercenaries dressed like Hell's Angels. Danny Black survives the massacre and back in London learns that his unit was betrayed by a mole feeding high-level military intelligence to the Russians. Like any SAS man worthy of the name, his first thought is to avenge the men who lost their lives on the Zero 22 op. He has no hesitation in accepting the mission to assassinate the man responsible for the death of his mates. Danny finds himself operating with an MI6 officer and together they embark on a high-risk, deniable mission that will require all Danny's Regiment. As the mission unfolds, however, Danny learns that darker forces are at play. He realises that what started out as a simple act of revenge is just single play in a conspiracy that will take him across continents and pit him against the insidious machinations of the most powerful men in the world.
Read online
  • 349
His Christmas Wish

His Christmas Wish

Allie Pleiter

Romance / Religion & Spirituality / Nonfiction

All he wants for Christmas is a family...To make his little nephew happy,this bachelor will need help...After his nephew, Cole, is orphaned, Jake Sanders vows to give the little boy the best Christmas possible...except Jake doesn't know the first thing about kids! So when Cole's preschool teacher, Emma Mullins, offers to pitch in, Jake's grateful for her guidance. But while Jake and Emma share an immediate connection, their blossoming love must first survive the secret she's hiding...From Harlequin Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.Wander CanyonBook 1: Their Wander Canyon WishBook 2: Winning Back Her HeartBook 3: His Christmas Wish
Read online
  • 348


The Forgotten Nomad

The Forgotten Nomad

Andreas Ingo

Nonfiction

In a world of opposing heroes, where rebellion turned into slavery, and the fight for survival left no clear options. There was a man of legend. A man in search for a better life: A freedom fighter on Europa. Who left the rebels in search for his own identity. Who journeyed into the unknown, to find his alter ego.In a world of opposing heroes, where rebellion turned into slavery, and the fight for survival left no clear options. There was a man of legend. A man in search for a better life: A freedom fighter on Europa. Who left the rebels in search for his own identity. Who journeyed into the unknown, to find his alter ego.The Forgotten Nomad is a novella by Andreas Ingo. It's an epic story about the fight for freedom, on Jupiter's moon Europa, a misdirected fight leading nowhere.The hero has to overcome his illusions and meet the world on his own terms.He has to find the spirit and embark on an epic adventure, where right and wrong exchange roles.Leaving him completely alone.
Read online
  • 348
Isaac Bell 12 - The Saboteurs

Isaac Bell 12 - The Saboteurs

Clive Cussler

Literature & Fiction / Adventure / Nonfiction

Detective Isaac Bell's investigation into an attempted assassination brings him to the site of the Panama Canal—and straight into a nest of vipers—in the latest adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Clive Cussler.Detective Isaac Bell's wife has said that he is always in the wrong place at the right time. This is certainly the case when Bell thwarts the attempted assassination of a United States Senator shortly after meeting the man. This heroic rescue is just the start of the mystery for Bell, who suspects that the would-be assassins have a much larger and more dangerous agenda—one involving the nearly-constructed Panama Canal. While the Senator supports the building of the canal, there are many, including a local Panamanian insurgency known as the Red Vipers, who never want to see the its completion. With millions of dollars and the fates of two nations at stake, Bell heads to Panama to find answers. After a deadly...
Read online
  • 346
Faith

Faith

Mark Elswick

Sports / Humor and Comedy / Nonfiction

The suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat short story, "Faith", by Mark Elswick-mostly known for his LOL humor-is available 9-5-13.. While outlet sparks ignite their house, Mom and sister run out; Ty, unknowingly, is stranded upstairs. Will the 6 y/o escape?Will he jump?Brace yourself to become passionately attached.This is a fictional, heart-wrenching story of love and anticipation.Mark Elswick, author of the side-splitting Padman: A Dad's Guide to Buying...Those and other tales, begins his quest to dominate the eBook world. "Faith" is an extremely suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat short story. When an elderly neighbor calls 911 because she sees flames shooting from the Scott house, the story begins dripping with adrenaline and anticipation. But, did she notice too late? Danni (mom) and Pammy (18-mo. old sister) escape. Unfortunately, 6 y/o Ty is left upstairs, accidentally. Read as the panic-stricken mother and community, which has gathered around the house, beg God for mercy, asking for some sort-of miracle. Also, the fire crew's sense of urgency is nearly unprecedented as the firefighters frantically fight to save Ty.This is not religious nor political. It's just a passionate, fictional story about everyday life, detailing how a small word like "Faith," is so important to everything we do.Undoubtedly, Ty will work his way into the souls of readers as the approaching flames and his cries for help thrust him into your heart.Don't be surprised when you're reading the story and cheering for the little guy to get out, somehow.But, will he?And, how will he?The fire is quickly closing in. His screams are softly heard, but deafening. . . . Hurry!
Read online
  • 346
Sag Harbor

Sag Harbor

Colson Whitehead

Literature & Fiction / Nonfiction

From the award-winning author of John Henry Days and The Intuitionist: a tender, hilarious, and supremely original novel about coming-of-age in the 80s. Benji Cooper is one of the few black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. But every summer, Benji escapes to the Hamptons, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals have built a world of their own. The summer of ’85 won’t be without its usual trials and tribulations, of course. There will be complicated new handshakes to fumble through and state-of-the-art profanity to master. Benji will be tested by contests big and small, by his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), by the New Coke Tragedy, and by his secret Lite FM addiction. But maybe, just maybe, this summer might be one for the ages. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Read online
  • 346
The Lost Tribe of Saturn

The Lost Tribe of Saturn

Richards Hall

Nonfiction / Sports

An introduction to the ongoing adventures of the ghost of SATURN trying to marry the ghost of EARTH. One problem, a biggie, the EARTH isn't dead yet. And what about SATURN's mother, the queen of comets? Antagonistic, child-like science fiction asking why, and why not.Eliza Gallagher is a girl who could never seem to fit or belong, apparent by her lifelike dreams of a strange yet familiar land. Despite her loving father and attentive best friend MJ she could never quench the feeling that something was wrong, that she wasn't supposed to live the life she'd been borne to. Then, leading up to a terrible accident, her long dead Uncle reappears in her life, in a mysterious form that follows her at every turn. With madmen and crazed beasts on their tail Eliza is ripped into her not so dream, dream world and confronted by not only the truth of her past, but a achingly familiar pair of dark eyes that have haunted her thoughts both awake and asleep. Filled with demons, mysterious mythological creatures and more, Astèri Calling follows Eliza through the onset of a war long foretold and choice of where and with who she truly belongs.
Read online
  • 346
Cold Water

Cold Water

Dave Hutchinson

Science Fiction / Fantasy / Nonfiction

To uncover the truth, you must risk everythingWhen Carey Tews retired from Les Coureurs - the clandestine organisation of high-risk smugglers - she swore she'd never go back. Her cover in Hungary was blown, and even if she could have returned, she wouldn't. That is, until an old friend and lover is found dead in mysterious circumstances.Back for one last job in a Europe fractured into a hundred tiny principalities, with civil unrest and political instability the norm, she must navigate local authorities, rogue operatives and Russian spies. What she doesn't know is that the investigation will take her to places she couldn't even imagine.
Read online
  • 345
The Secret Garden: Annotated with Reading Strategies

The Secret Garden: Annotated with Reading Strategies

Terence Cavanaugh

Science / Technology / Nonfiction

This book contains Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic "the Secret Garden" but has been enhanced with over 125 reading strategy experiences from over 45 areas to help guide readers with BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER reading strategies that students can practice with. Each chapter has multiple strategies embedded in the chapter to assist readers to read with purpose and become and active reader.This book contains Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic "the Secret Garden" but has been enhanced with over 125 reading strategy experiences from over 45 areas to help guide readers with BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER reading strategies that students can practice with. Each chapter has multiple strategies embedded in the chapter to assist readers to read with purpose and become and active reader. Additional resources such as links to free audio versions and online tools are also provided along with suggestions on how to use your electronic book reader to improve your reading experience and access to information. This public domain story, first published as a book in 1911, is on many reading lists for elementary and middle schools. Students and teachers can use this text to assist students needing extra guidance with their purposeful reading strategies or just as an instructional or practice resource.
Read online
  • 345
183