Just as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing fiction at the age of 70, Maclean produced what is now recognized as one of the classic American stories of the twentieth century. Originally published in 1976, A River Runs through It and Other Stories now celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary, marked by this new edition that includes a foreword by Annie Proulx. Maclean grew up in the western Rocky Mountains in the first decades of the twentieth century. As a young man he worked many summers in logging camps and for the United States Forest Service. The two novellas and short story in this collection are based on his own experiences—the experiences of a young man who found that life was only a step from art in its structures and beauty. The beauty he found was in reality, and so he leaves a careful record of what it was like to work in the woods when it was still a world of horse and hand and foot, without power saws, "cats," or four-wheel drives. Populated with drunks, loggers, card sharks, and whores, and set in the small towns and surrounding trout streams and mountains of western Montana, the stories concern themselves with the complexities of fly fishing, logging, fighting forest fires, playing cribbage, and being a husband, a son, and a father. By turns raunchy, poignant, caustic, and elegiac, these are superb tales which express, in Maclean's own words, "a little of the love I have for the earth as it goes by." A first offering from a 70-year-old writer, the basis of a top-grossing movie, and the first original fiction published by the University of Chicago Press, A River Runs through It and Other Stories has sold more than a million copies. As Proulx writes in her foreword to this new edition, "In 1990 Norman Maclean died in body, but for hundreds of thousands of readers he will live as long as fish swim and books are made."

The computer and the internet are among the most important innovations of our era, but few people know who created them. They were not conjured up in a garret or garage by solo inventors suitable to be singled out on magazine covers or put into a pantheon with Edison, Bell, and Morse. Instead, most of the innovations of the digital age were done collaboratively. There were a lot of fascinating people involved, some ingenious and a few even geniuses. This is the story of these pioneers, hackers, inventors, and entrepreneurs—who they were, how their minds worked, and what made them so creative. It’s also a narrative of how they collaborated and why their ability to work as teams made them even more creative.”

Astonishing, a masterpiece, Paul Auster’s greatest, most satisfying, most vivid and heartbreaking novel -- a sweeping and surprising story of inheritance, family, love and life itself. Nearly two weeks early, on March 3, 1947, in the maternity ward of Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, Archibald Isaac Ferguson, the one and only child of Rose and Stanley Ferguson, is born. From that single beginning, Ferguson’s life will take four simultaneous and independent fictional paths. Four identical Fergusons made of the same DNA, four boys who are the same boy, go on to lead four parallel and entirely different lives. Family fortunes diverge. Athletic skills and sex lives and friendships and intellectual passions contrast. Each Ferguson falls under the spell of the magnificent Amy Schneiderman, yet each Amy and each Ferguson have a relationship like no other. Meanwhile, readers will take in each Ferguson’s pleasures and ache from each Ferguson’s pains, as the mortal plot of each Ferguson’s life rushes on. As inventive and dexterously constructed as anything Paul Auster has ever written, yet with a passion for realism and a great tenderness and fierce attachment to history and to life itself that readers have never seen from Auster before. 4 3 2 1 is a marvelous and unforgettably affecting tour de force.

New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow thrilled legions of fans with her dark paranormal series Strange Angels. Now she has created a stirringly romantic, deliciously spooky update of Cinderella, the alluring second volume in her trilogy Tales of Beauty and Madness. Ellie Sinder is a Charmer—the most powerful of her age that St. Juno’s Academy has ever seen. But Ellie’s stepmother, Laurissa, wields manipulation and abuse to force Ellie to work her spells ever more intensely, for Laurissa’s profit. Then a train from over the Wastelands arrives in New Haven, bearing on it golden boy Avery Fletcher, newly returned from prep school, wearing a sweater Ellie’d love to bury her face in and a smile as bright as his blond hair. Avery’s arrival sets Laurissa off on a dark and dangerous scheme—and this time the soul up for grabs is Ellie’s. New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow has created a stirringly romantic, deliciously spooky update of Cinderella, the alluring second volume in her trilogy Tales of Beauty and Madness.

Hitler boasted that The Third Reich would last a thousand years. It lasted only 12. But those 12 years contained some of the most catastrophic events Western civilization has ever known. No other powerful empire ever bequeathed such mountains of evidence about its birth and destruction as the Third Reich. When the bitter war was over, and before the Nazis could destroy their files, the Allied demand for unconditional surrender produced an almost hour-by-hour record of the nightmare empire built by Adolph Hitler. This record included the testimony of Nazi leaders and of concentration camp inmates, the diaries of officials, transcripts of secret conferences, army orders, private letters—all the vast paperwork behind Hitler's drive to conquer the world. The famed foreign correspondent and historian William L. Shirer, who had watched and reported on the Nazis since 1925, spent five and a half years sifting through this massive documentation. The result is a monumental study that has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in the history of mankind. This worldwide bestseller has been acclaimed as the definitive book on Nazi Germany; it is a classic work. The accounts of how the United States got involved and how Hitler used Mussolini and Japan are astonishing, and the coverage of the war-from Germany's early successes to her eventual defeat-is must reading

The vangels are back in Vampire in Paradise, the latest in Sandra Hill's bestselling Deadly Angels series... It's been centuries since the Norseman Sigurd Sigurdsson was turned into a Vangel—a Viking Vampire Angel—as punishment for his sin of envy, but he's still getting the hang of having fangs that get in the way when seducing women. Slaying demon vampires known as Lucipires and using his healing gifts as a cancer research doctor, Sigurd is sent to Florida's Grand Keys Island as a resident physician . . . where he encounters a sinfully beautiful woman. The only hope Marisa Lopez has of curing her five-year-old daughter is a pricey experimental procedure. When she meets the good-looking doctor, Marisa is speechless. Then Sigurd tells her he believes he can help her daughter. Could this too-hot-to-resist Viking doctor be an angel of some sort sent to bring a miracle for her daughter? Or is he just a vampire bent on breaking Marisa's heart?

"Pure magic. The mystery turns on the convoluted history of an old master toy maker will makes his toys with such skill that they have lives of their own. It would be advisable to sit down while reading what the toys finally do." --Playboy At the fashionable salon of Ric Lazare you can have your fortune told by an amazing machine of unerring accuracy. But the Paris police think Lazare is a con man and send Inspector Picard to investigate. Inspector Picard prefers lemon tarts and prostitutes to high society; and he is unprepared for the string of murders that pulls him across the continent until he is tangled in the killer's last seductive knot. A landmark in the history of detective fiction, mystery is taken to the level of enchantment in this lyrical thriller set in the glitter of nineteenth century Paris. "Alternately dark and glittering...a first rate vaudeville turn, a comedic mask lightly stretched over enigmatic questions...a witty sendup of the detective story, an intriguing meditation on illusion and the conjurer's art, an antic fantasy done with a richness of invention that doffs a hat to Dickens... Inspector Picard's quest takes him across a vividly imagined Europe, a continent of the mind, peopled with wonderfully baroque characters. The illusion, in all its myriad forms abounds. Everywhere there are magical happenings...and everywhere, there is the magic wrought by Kotzwinkle himself." --Chicago Tribune

The first book by the author of the New York Times bestseller The Paris Wife is a powerful and haunting memoir of the years she and her two sisters spent as foster children. In the early 70s, after being abandoned by both parents, the girls were made wards of the Fresno County, California court and spent the next 14 years-in a series of adoptive homes. The dislocations, confusions, and odd pleasures of an unrooted life form the basis of one of the most compelling memoirs in recent years--a book the tradition of Jo Ann Beard's Boys of My Youth and Mary Karr'sThe Liar's Club. McLain's beautiful writing and limber voice capture the intense loneliness, sadness, and determination of a young girl both on her own and responsible, with her siblings, for staying together as a family.

Piper Perez has always wanted to be a superhero. Always wanted to wear a cool costume, have amazing abilities, and save the day. There’s just one problem—Piper doesn’t have any superpowers. So she focuses on other things. Facts, figures, memorabilia. Piper knows and collects it all, about both the superheroes and the ubervillains who roam the streets of Bigtime, N.Y. Piper’s friends jokingly call her a fandemic—someone who is a superfan of all things superhero. The nickname is truer than anyone knows, especially since Piper can’t stop thinking about Swifte, the speedy hero who broke her heart months ago. But someone has been killing off Bigtime’s heroes and villains. When one of Piper’s friends is murdered, she vows to do whatever she can to help bring the killer to justice, superpowers or not. All the clues and information she gathers lead her to believe that Swifte is the killer’s next target. Piper has always wanted to be a hero, and now she’ll have to use all of her fandemic knowledge to save the man she loves—or die trying…. *Note: Fandemic is around 43,000 words. It is Book 5 in the Bigtime superhero series. *

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..." Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound. Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price. After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

With these magic words, I begin my spell. Hear me, first star, hear me well. Send me dragon's gold, from the days of old. The spell has been cast, let the magic last. Ben wants to get a dog. Badly. But his mum says they'll have to move to a bigger house first, and they can't afford it. So Ben, his brother Tim and their friend James decide to find some dragon's gold. They have to meddle with magic to do it, though, and that is always a dangerous thing to do. Next thing they know a fire-breathing dragon has kidnapped James sister Sarah and they have to find some way of rescuing her without getting fried! They're in for a marvellous magical misadventure.

A man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts. It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest. Her latest customer, a bearded stranger, drains his cup and heads to his car, his mind on a boat he's restoring at a nearby lake. The stranger understands more about the scar than he wants to admit. And the beat-up bread truck careening around the corner with its radio blaring is about to change the trajectory of both their lives. Before it's over, they'll both know there are painful reasons why crickets cry . . . and that miracles lurk around unexpected corners.

Never a dull night in the ER for Dr. Jared Dean, especially when he sees the woman of his fantasies beating the crap out of the largest man he has ever seen, only to have her escape before he even gets to ask her name. Kara realizes the gorgeous doc is now in danger of retribution from the Godfather wannabe, so she immediately assigns herself the arduous task of guarding the hard body of Dr. Dean until she can figure a way out of the mess. Jared is only too happy to accommodate the woman of his dreams, even if he doesn't take her seriously. Anything to have her close at hand. . . and in his bed.

Single dad and Thunder Point's deputy sheriff "Mac" McCain has worked hard to keep everyone safe and happy. Now he's found his own happiness with Gina James. The longtime friends have always shared the challenges and rewards of raising their adolescent daughters. With an unexpected romance growing between them, they're feeling like teenagers themselves-suddenly they can't get enough of one another. And just when things are really taking off, their lives are suddenly thrown into chaos. When Mac's long-lost-and not missed-ex-wife shows up in town, drama takes on a whole new meaning. They're wondering if their new feelings for each other can withstand the pressure. . . but they are not going down without a fight.

Michaela Stevens has just died but, she wonders, can a gay lady get to heaven and if so, should it be like this? Should the heavenly host be that way? And is there a place in heaven for so many baked beans? Short story at about 4,500 words - no adult content but some light swearing so I'd rate it at a PG.British humour and spelling.When Tammy Miller is forced to live in Ashville Manor, she quickly learns that nothing is quite as it seems. “A vampire?” Tammy said slowly, not really sure how to make sense of it. He didn't look like anything she had read about. His skin was a little too pale, but so was hers. He didn't have weird looking eyes or fangs. She reached out and pressed her hand on his chest. His heart was beating just like hers. Dante watched her reaction, he knew she was checking him out. Trying to figure out if he was about to jump her and suck her body dry. He wasn't like that, that was just fiction written in books by people who had no idea about real vampires.Her hand moved from his chest and gently touched his hand; his skin wasn't cold. He was definitely living and not dead. Weren't vampires Immortal?? She leaned a little closer. “You're not dead!”

Revelations on a train journey....An Intriguing short story & satire.One day, everything Tom Sharpe knew was turned upside down when his wife inexplicably disappeared. As he digs a little deeper, more and more secrets emerge and soon he finds himself in a world he knows nothing about. Nothing makes any sense. With all evidence pointing to their relationship being a lie, Tom puts his faith in the love they shared and pushes himself to his limits in pursuit of Emma. He will stop at nothing, even if the journey will end up changing him forever.

In the definitive biography of John Fante, English and film studies professor Stephen Cooper explores the life of a man whose muse was Los Angeles.

A romance writer decides to take some time to seclude herself in a cabin, so she can finish up her latest masterpiece. But when a publisher dressed as Santa Claus ends up arriving during a snowstorm, she experiences something that she has only experienced through the characters in her novels.

Melissa is a successful career woman who escaped the small town she grew up in. That is, until she is laid off and forced to move back in with her overbearing parents. Desperate to escape Melissa takes a job as a flight attendant on a billionaire’s private jet. Follow her journey as she searches to find herself and her long repressed sexual desires.~ Flown By The Billionaire ~Melissa is a successful career woman who escaped the small town she grew up in. That is, until she is laid off and forced to move back in with her overbearing parents. Desperate to escape Melissa takes a job as a flight attendant on a billionaire’s private jet. Follow her journey as she searches to find herself and her long repressed sexual desires.~ Sex With The Lawyer ~Brooke Addison is a successful lawyer in her early thirties. She’s driven, ambitious and determined to prove herself in a male-dominated business. In fact, so determined to be made partner in her firm, she has spent the first ten years of her career so consumed by work that nothing else has seemed important. She’s had no social life and precious few romantic relationships. One day everything changed for Brooke, as she gets the worst news of her life. She decides it is time to take control of her life and start living in the moment. At a whim she jets off to Europe to see the sights and sounds. Unbeknownst to her the trip begins her journey of sexual self-discovery.~ Escape to Vegas ~Hollie is a loving mother and wife who has been living a simple life since high school. She gave up her early twenties to have a family and support her husband with his new business. Hollie has no regrets until her seemingly simple life is shattered when her husband ask for a divorce, citing his love for another women. With her world shattered she reaches out to her best friends. Her friends are just as heartbroken at the news and in a bid to cheer her up, they decide to take her to Las Vegas to decompress. Hollie reluctantly agrees to go but doesn’t plan to go to wild on the trip. While on the trip Hollie eventually starts to let go of her deep seeded inhibitions and lives in the moment. The group of friends quickly find themselves in the midst of sex, parties and a good time. The journey turns into a saga of self-discovery for Hollie, as she questions her life choices and starts to regain the lost vigor of her early women hood. Upon Hollie’s return home from the trip she learns that not all things that happen in Vegas stay in Vegas.