Nick Carter didn't believe in an abominable snowman — that is, until high in the heart of the Himalayas, in the face of monstrous evidence, he was forced to… Nick Carter didn't believe there was a woman who could shake his cool — that is, until he met the beautiful Khaleen and she made him want to… Nick Carter didn't believe it was possible for one man to stop the Chinese from taking over a country — that is, until he got the assignment in Nepal and realized he had to! Killmaster's logic is no match for ancient superstition in this electrifying espionage adventure that plunges AXE's top operative into brutal Red Chinese intrigue deep in the Himalayas!

The Medici are famous as the rulers of Florence at the high point of the Renaissance. Their power derived from the family bank, and this book tells the fascinating, frequently bloody story of the family and the dramatic development and collapse of their bank (from Cosimo who took it over in 1419 to his grandson Lorenzo the Magnificent who presided over its precipitous decline). The Medici faced two apparently insuperable problems: how did a banker deal with the fact that the Church regarded interest as a sin and had made it illegal? How in a small republic like Florence could he avoid having his wealth taken away by taxation? But the bank became indispensable to the Church. And the family completely subverted Florence's claims to being democratic. They ran the city. Medici Money explores a crucial moment in the passage from the Middle Ages to the Modern world, a moment when our own attitudes to money and morals were being formed.To read this book is to understand how much the...

A startling and revelatory examination of Nabokov's life and works—notably Pale Fire and Lolita—bringing new insight into one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic authorsNovelist Vladimir Nabokov witnessed the horrors of his century, escaping Revolutionary Russia then Germany under Hitler, and fleeing France with his Jewish wife and son just weeks before Paris fell to the Nazis. He repeatedly faced accusations of turning a blind eye to human suffering to write artful tales of depravity. But does one of the greatest writers in the English language really deserve the label of amoral aesthete bestowed on him by so many critics?Using information from newly-declassified intelligence files and recovered military history, journalist Andrea Pitzer argues that far from being a proponent of art for art's sake, Vladimir Nabokov managed to hide disturbing history in his fiction—history that has gone unnoticed for decades. Nabokov emerges as a kind of documentary...

Dramatic, bold and racy, Daddy Long Stroke uncovers the shocking and painful reality of some men's belief systems about women and sex. Cairo offers readers a voyeuristic look into the mind of a womanizer who manipulates and seduces women by using what he's got--good looks, chiseled physique, charisma, and sexual prowess--to get what he wants without remorse, or regret. Sexy and thuggish, Alexander Maples, aka Daddy Long Stroke, is a womanizer. Arrogant and self-indulged, he is what every woman secretly craves in the bedroom--rough, rugged, and ravenous. And he is always happy to deliver. Alexander knows no boundaries when it comes to pleasing a woman, leaving no area untouched, not even her heart--or her wallet. But love is the last thing on his mind. Getting paid, and whetting his sexual appetite are the only things that motivate this salacious gigolo. And any woman trying to claim him finds herself on the receiving end of heartache, tears, and drama. Written...

After the death of his brilliant, eccentric father, Adam Dudding went in search of the stories and secrets of a man who had been a loving parent and husband, but was also a tormented, controlling and at times cruel man.Robin Dudding was the greatest New Zealand literary editor of his generation – friend and mentor of many of our best-known writers. At his peak he published the country's finest literary journal on the smell of an oily rag from a falling-down house overflowing with books, long-haired children and chickens – an island of nonconformity in the heart of 1970s Auckland suburbia. Yet when Robin's uncompromising integrity tipped into something much more self-destructive, a dark shadow fell over his career and personal life.In My Father's Island, Adam Dudding writes frankly about the rise and fall of an unconventional cultural figure. But this is also a moving, funny and deeply personal story of a family, of a marriage, of feuds and secret loves...

A SCIENTIST’S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.

Snow before Halloween shocks the residents of tiny Park County, Tennessee. While dealing with a multitude of minor issues, Sheriff Tony Abernathy is contacted by a charter pilot who claims his passenger jumped, without a parachute, into the most remote spot in the county. After riding mules into the wilderness to collect the body, Tony and his deputy must travel to North Carolina, in a blizzard, to notify the widow. Problems multiply. Tony's wife, Theo, is shocked to see a woman at the grocery store with a knife embedded in her back. Then a priceless quilt is stolen. As the sheriff, Tony hates Halloween. Even so, he never expected a valuable coffin, and the body inside, to go missing.

From the world of Dirty Bertie comes a new star! A brand new series from David Roberts, creator of Dirty Bertie, Angela Nicely is already well known to Bertie's fans. Angela might look like she's made of sugar and spice and all things nice, but nothing could be further from the truth! Angela knows best! Whether it's trying to succeed as a top model, proving that her head teacher wears a wig, or finding herself out of her depth on a spa weekend, she's determined to make a splash! Angela Nicely is the first book in this fantastically mischievous series. Perfect for little girls who are fans of Dirty Bertie.

February 1806: Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho carries the news of Trafalgar to southern Africa, where he is to aid British ground forces in any way he can to retake Cape Town from the Dutch. Impatient to be home, Bolitho decides yet again that the boldest measures are best, and proves to the army that brave men do not die in vain.

The best-selling author of Girl Waits with Gun returns with another adventure featuring the fascinating, feisty, and unforgettable Kopp sisters. After besting (and arresting) a ruthless silk factory owner and his gang of thugs in Girl Waits with Gun, Constance Kopp became one of the nation's first deputy sheriffs. She's proven that she can't be deterred, evaded, or outrun. But when the wiles of a German-speaking con man threaten her position and her hopes for this new life, and endanger the honorable Sheriff Heath, Constance may not be able to make things right. Lady Cop Makes Trouble sets Constance loose on the streets of New York City and New Jersey—tracking down victims, trailing leads, and making friends with girl reporters and lawyers at a hotel for women. Cheering her on, and goading her, are her sisters Norma and Fleurette—that is, when they aren't training pigeons for the war effort or fanning dreams of a life on the...

Would-be superhero Charlotte Powers leaves the safety of her family's secret volcano base in order to find and subsequently fight the forces of evil.