A black eye patch and jagged scar do not make for the perfect undercover spy or a perfect husband. So in the middle of the game, Orson Platt decides that he needs to change the parameters. He hatches a plan to find the perfect mate, someone who could not only tolerate his behavior, but also provide the incentive to create the perfect spy, a practical spy for all seasons.Much feared and never married, disfigured by unsightly scars, Orson Platt sometimes thought he had the soul of a butterfly masked by a rough exterior and ruthless behavior. Midlife found him thinking about his legacy and thinking about how he might change his destiny. He decides he will create a perfect spy. Not in his own image, but in a more perfect image. He finds a woman who will accept him for who he is and who will help him create his legacy. He then becomes the unofficial right-hand man of the female President of the U.S. and runs overseas “errands” for her that can’t be accomplished through official channels. Along the way he encounters resistance and disappointments, but he is determined to follow through on his quest.

Henry Wright is a retired Chief of Police from tiny Eagle Lake, Wisconsin. He retired several months after his beloved wife's unexpected death and moved to California. He settled in Palm Springs at the request of his old friend Wayne Johnson, who is a captain in the Palm Springs police department. Henry spends a lot of his time at his computer helping the FBI profile victims of violent crimes. Wayne, and some of his other law enforcement colleagues request his assistance solving the most difficult times. Henry lives with his roommate, retired high school teacher Charles Knightly III. (Please don't call him Chuck.) Henry is getting his home in Palm Springs ready for a visit from an important out-of-town friend when his regular weekly breakfast with his friend Wayne results in a request to assist with an investigation. The world famous Palm Springs Tramway's last ride of the day arrives with a dead body in the gondola and no signs of a weapon or a murderer. Henry solves this bizarre crime with the help of his friend Gloria, who adds her women's intuition and interviewing skills to Henry's unique crime solving abilities.

A sparkling translation that gives new life in English to Dante’s Vita Nuova, his transcendent love poems and influential statement on the art and power of poetry, and the most widely read of his works after the Inferno A Penguin ClassicDante was only nine years old when he first met young Beatrice in Florence. Loving her for the rest of his life with a devotion undiminished by even her untimely death, he would dedicate himself to transfiguring her, through poetry, into something far more than a muse—she would become the very proof of love as transcendent spiritual power, and the adoration of her a radiant path into a “new life.” Censored by the Church, written in the Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin, exploding the courtly love tradition of the medieval troubadours, and employing an unprecedented hybrid form to link the thirty-one poems with prose commentary, Vita Nuova, first published in...

Its a story about Nimmu, a sixth grade student in India, who moves to a village and struggles to settle there. As the days progresses, he wins new friends and establishes equations among them, and starting to enjoy his school life. Gopu Joins school in the middle of the year and he becomes Nimmu's best friend. How he earned Gopu as his best friend and why he is missing the friend is the story.WARNING! This is a Zed Lab Experiment! "Cursed chocolate" description:Samir is eight years old and he has left India with his family and he must make the accounts with the grayness in the Milan winter. Difficulty to integrate... if it were for the chocolate, that his classmates have passed of hand in hand during the interval, but as all the sweetest temptations, difficult to withstand this new intoxicating world, so much to be forgotten his own earth and his own origins. Integration, multiculture and loss of identity. The migration told by a child that it moves him with the family to Italy and that a new world must face, rich of temptations, that, just as the chocolate, they can make to forget his own origin and his own cultural baggage.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Red Tent and Day After Night, comes an unforgettable coming-of-age novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century. Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can't imagine - a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love. Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her "How did you get to be the woman you are today?" She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she was and a wicked sense of humor. Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Anita Diamant's previous novels bestsellers, The Boston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman’s complicated life in twentieth-century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world.

A tale about redemption, forgiveness, unforgivness, the Guinness Book of World Records, the Bible, God, and sex.We were told that this is a good story. Fight Club is a good story, Catch-22 is a good story, War and Peace is a descent story, this is nothing. But it does have the following: the very first murder; sex; coffee shops; witty banter; sex; humor; cleverness; conquers-all love; a hipster; an unreliable narrator; sprinkled references to historical events; brilliance; human sacrifice; profound philosophical revelations; a Metallica song; and eye-opening ideas.

Find work you love. On your own terms. From the New York Times bestselling author of Life Is in the Transitions comes a bold new road map for finding meaning and purpose in what you do, based on insights drawn from hundreds of life stories of Americans of all backgrounds.   America is at a once-in-a-generation turning point around work: unprecedented numbers are quitting their jobs, rethinking their routines, breaking away from stifling expectations. The most suffocating iron cage of all is the idea that each of us must follow a linear career—lock into a dream early, always climb higher, never stop until you reach the top. Few ideas have squandered more human potential.   Employing his signature, immersive approach, Bruce Feiler is known for taking complex challenges and converting them into actionable steps that can help each of us live with more fulfillment and joy. From thousands of hours of...

The Institution of Faith is a powerful government that dictates life according to the Ordus, a set of religious dogma with which every mortal must comply. But some people don't agree with it, secretly. They're called umbriferos and they only come out at night. Now they're after my son. They will do everything they can to get to him. And I have to find out why.The Institution of Faith runs the world. They're a powerful and religious government who dictates life according to the Ordus, a set of religious dogma with which every mortal must comply. But some people don't agree with it, secretly. They're called umbriferos and they only come out at night. They're divided into seven groups: the intellectuals, mystics, ancient believers, festives, feminists, redemptors and peaceful. The Institution doesn't recognize their existence and no one can even mention them. "For the good of the Faith." But now they're after my son. They will do everything they can to get to him. And I have to find out why.

In 1900 a new writer took England by a storm. Writing intelligently and well on a wide variety of topics, G. K. Chesterton defied categorization. Although deeply patriotic, he was one of the few to oppose the Boer War. A gifted literary critic, he nevertheless defended 'penny dreadfuls' read by young boys and condemned by almost everyone else. And in an era of unbridled capitalism and fashionable socialism, he unleashed telling broadsides against both. In 1908 his brother Cecil wrote this biography. That book is now back in print in an enhanced and enlarged 'Centennial Edition' with numerous notes explaining the context and appendices with both sides of G. K. Chesterton's famous 1908 debate about socialism with H. G. Wells and Bernard Shaw, including Chesterton's marvelous "On Wells and a Glass of Beer."

The Age of Voltaire (Volume 9): A biography of a great man and the period he embodied. We witness Voltaire's satiric work in the salons and the theater as well as his banishment to England. With him we view the complex relationships between nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and peasantry in the France of Louis XV. We explore the music of Bach and the struggle between Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa of Austria. And finally we hear an imaginary discussion between Voltaire and Pope Benedict XIV on the significance and value of religion.

Short story about a teen and how he became the leader of his gang.How do you catch a killer who is already dead?One year ago, the Bluebell Killer killed his last victim. He was shot and killed, leaving behind a legacy of twenty corpses and a name that people will fear for years to come…A year later, a man is shot in the back of the head and left in a field of bluebells. Is it a mugging gone wrong? A copycat killer? Or is the Bluebell Killer still out there, waiting to pounce on his next victim?For DS Evelyn Giles the solution is simple – it’s just another dirty politician caught committing an unforgiveable crime. But with the evidence stacking up against him, Giles’ suspect has one more surprise in store for her…And his words will throw everything she knows into question…‘It’s not over yet.’The past is coming back to haunt DS Giles. She’s already sacrificed much for the lie. The only question is how much more will she suffer for the truth?An ingeniously, gripping thriller, The Bluebell Informant is a dark, unexpected and emotionally charged debut.

A young American on holiday in Rome attends a mass at the Vatican. When a crippled woman experiences a miraculous cure at his hands, he is elected pope. He then sets out to liberalize the church -- a dangerous course of action considering the Vatican intrigue swirling around him.A young American man named Justin is on holiday in Rome where he attends a mass at the Vatican. He picks up a crippled woman who has fallen in the aisle near his pew, and she seems to undergo a miraculous cure. Is it a sign from above? With the help of a powerful cardinal, Justin is elected pope. Renamed Pope Leo XIV, he sets out to liberalize the church -- a dangerous course of action considering that cardinals, bishops, tradition and even murderers are arrayed against him and his helpmate, an attractive nun.

What do an 82-year-old war veteran and an 11-year-old Ninja wannabe have in common? They are related but they don’t find out about it until the tenth chapter. Tom’s Treasure is a heart-warming story of how God brings a faithful servant’s life full circle. Have you ever made a decision you knew was right but something went terribly wrong and you wondered why? Tom did. But, God worked it all out.When World War II broke out, Tom Dandridge joined the Army and eventually became a part of the newly formed U.S. Army Rangers. On their first assignment, a premature explosion crippled Tom and gave him amnesia. A band of local natives carted him away to the safety of their village until they could find the outcome of the skirmish. He stayed there for several years until his memory came back.The explosion was so fierce, that the Army thought he was dead. His widow, Ellen, and his young son, Billy, were devastated. After several years, Ellen married the associate pastor of her church to help her raise Billy. When Tom's memory came back, the Army went about the arduous task of mending his crippled legs. It was during his transport to a another Army hospital that he prevailed upon his superiors to allow him to just ride by his old home. He knew that Ellen had remarried and he didn't want her and Billy to know he was still alive just yet. When he got to his home, the three of them were outside. His son and the stepfather were playing catch with the football while Ellen cheered him on. Billy was pretty doggone good. They were happy and Billy wanted to be a tight end just like his dad. With a heavy heart, Tom made the decision not to come back into their lives. He couldn't bear the thought of forcing his sweet Ellen to make a tough decision. Then again, he didn't know if the Army doctors could ever straighten out his legs. Would Billy stick with football or give it up to be with him?Years and operations went by and Tom was eventually as good as new. He busied himself with helping troubled teens find their way to Jesus. One by one, God would bring them into his life. One by one, he would walk with them through their turmoil. He said it was like helping them find buried treasure. Life was fairly satisfying but a part of his life was still empty.Years later, God began to tug on his heart to go back to his old home town to see if he had any relatives there. Was Billy still alive? Did he have any grandchildren? The most haunting question was, if he did find anyone there, what would they think? Would they be mad because he never came back? Could they accept him for who he was? As hesitant as he was, God wouldn't leave him alone. Tom knew that there must be someone there God needed him to talk to.The town had changed a lot in fifty years, and there were no Dandridges to be found. He figured his search was over and he headed back to the hotel. He may as well go back home and live out the last few years of his life.As he took a short walk through the park, he happened to meet an eleven-year-old boy who was showing the middle school football team some Ninja moves. Now that was quite odd. But, more peculiar than that, God would not let him leave until he spoke to the young man. As they struck up a conversation, Tom realized that this kid was rambunctious and energetic. He didn't seem to have any deep-seated problems at all.That's where he was wrong. This young man need a great-grandfather to speak into his life. Yes, he didn't find out for ten more chapters but Tom had just met one of his only great-grandson.A Soldier Finds His Treasure is funny and very heart warming. God is faithful to honor the love and dedication of His faithful servant, Tom. He has sown good seed for fifty years and God brings him an abundant harvest of happiness. Also, we find out that God put Tom through his journey because of the plans that He had for Tom's great-grandson, Arthur. In the end, all things do work together for good to those that love the Lord.I trust that you will laugh, cry and enjoy this testimony to God's goodness.

Ferris and his friend, Earl, hitch a ride outside of Mesquite, Nevada to Las Vegas. The driver, Tryg, and his girlfriend, Labelle, are looking for some fun on their way to L.A., and they choose Ferris and Earl. Ferris sits next to Labelle on the front seat and fantasizes while Tryg talks smack. On the Strip in Vegas, Ferris and Earl asked to be dropped off and that's where the fun begins.Have you ever considered what YOU would do if there ever was a Zombie Apocalypse? Would it be to hunker down with your family and wait it out with whatever supplies you could scavenge together and pray that it doesn't turn out like a popular TV show? Or maybe you would...well for Nick and Drake, two best friends, their concern is what happens when you get bored. Follow the movie loving duo as they travel across the United States as they attempt to reach California to make a gangster film they co-wrote in the midst of an ongoing zombie infestation.

The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting. This volume presents the works of world poet Dante Alighieri, with beautiful illustrations, the original Italian texts and bonus material. (8MB Version 1) Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Dante's life and works Concise introductions to the poetry Excellent formatting of the poems Both verse and prose translations of THE DIVINE COMEDY, with glossed footnotes – ideal for students Also includes Gustave Doré’s celebrated illustrations of THE DIVINE COMEDY – over a hundred stunning images Easily locate the cantos you want to read with detailed contents tables Includes Dante’s complete works in Italian – ideal for students exploring the original texts Features a bonus biography - discover Dante's literary life Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres CONTENTS: The Poetry Collections THE NEW LIFE THE DIVINE COMEDY (VERSE) THE DIVINE COMEDY (PROSE) The Italian Texts LIST OF WORKS The Biography DANTE: HIS TIMES AND HIS WORK BY ARTHUR JOHN BUTLER