When his father returns from military service in the Afghan war zone, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become The Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden.Six year old Neville the Less is lord of the small things in a safe and familiar Australian neighbourhood. He knows the ‘countries’ of which it’s comprised, he knows the people who conduct its business and the places from which to observe its doings. He knows it to be a place in which all the roles are established, all the problems are small and all the solutions the responsibility of adults. When his father returns, heroically, from military service in the Afghan war zone, however, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become a Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden. What that secret could be is a question that draws Neville to ponder what it takes to ‘make’ both a hero and a war. “Nothing for you to worry about,” his mother tells him. “War could never happen here and you will never be a soldier.” The half-memories of Neville’s best friend and back-door neighbour say otherwise. Afsoon is the only surviving child of Hazaran refugees, newly resettled in Australia. Like the Quiet Man, she displays full-blown symptoms of post traumatic stress, in her case, presenting as a consuming obsession with the threat of violence. Imagining that her family’s persecutors have followed them to Australia and are masquerading as ordinary neighbours (one of whom may be the Quiet Man), she develops a fixated need to expose those who are enemies and, if need be, eliminate them. Neville finds himself torn. Should he believe his determinedly hopeful mother or his much abused friend? And which of those is most likely to rescue his almost catatonic father from whatever nightmare assails him? ‘Neville the Less’ is firstly a tale about the pervasiveness of casual prejudice, obstinate insensitivity and the initiatives that arise from fear. It’s also about the alacrity with which violence is introduced into our society and it is a reminder that post traumatic stress is a condition that can claim victims far beyond its primary sufferers. It’s also an entertaining glimpse into the ways children might imagine themselves the protectors of their adults.

"My Own Book of Poetry" is a collection of poems written over six decades of my experiences in life. This little book contains the first set of these poems, with more to come later. I began writing poems when I was 17 or 18. Many of my poems were inspired by my own experiences, but many were also inspired by what I saw and heard from others and from studies from the Bible."My Own Book of Poetry" is a collection of poems written over six decades of my experiences in life. This little book contains the first set of these poems, with more to come later. I began writing poems when I was 17 or 18. Many of my poems were inspired by my own experiences, but many were also inspired by what I saw and heard from others and from studies from the Bible. I didn’t consider them seriously until I was about 30 and then decided to compile them and keep them as a collection for myself. As I wrote and collected, I began to see attitudes changing from selfishness more to selflessness, and growth as a Christian. Many of my later poems have double meaning; thoughts from a physical standpoint, and thoughts from a spiritual standpoint. I sincerely hope that as the reader goes through this small collection of my poems, that he can draw comfort both physically and spiritually, as I did.

A collection of short stories that give a sense of suspense with a hint of truth. These short stories that could happen to you or someone you may know.A collection of short stories. Start off your journey with a jogger in Central Park. Go on the hunt to see who the stranger is that performs a weird routine. Continue on your journey through the mind of a young lady that suffered a devastating lost. Your journey moves toward a happy couple. Well that is what they want you to think. A couple has just bought a house together but this magical moment only ends to guns being aimed at each other’s head with one having to die. End this amazing journey off in the home of the mafia. See what happens when a member of the Mafia family works with the FBI. This could only end with blood.

It is 15 years after the end of the Starvation War and Farrel has become a powerful wizard. He was on a secret quest with his best friend Solomon until he finds himself pulled back to his homelands as an army from across the Great Sea has invaded and subjugated the orcs and is now determined to invade Risandea. Can Farrel and Solomon defeat the invaders and their mysterious masters the Azdaha?It is 15 years after the end of the Starvation War and Farrel is now a powerful wizard. He has been on a secret quest with his best friend Solomon that has taken well beyond to borders of Risandea. However, he finds himself pulled back to his homelands as an army from across the Great Sea has invaded and subjugated the orcs and is now determined to invade Risandea. Follow Farrel and Solomon as they fight against the invaders and their mysterious masters the Azdaha. Can Farrel save Risandea and overcome a new dark magic that could make him a mindless slave?

After experience the demise of her aunt, Kate mysteriously developed the second sight.No more hiding.Jey and Elle have joined forces with the tattered remains of the Tessilari. Vastly outnumbered, unequipped, and bearing the scars of decades of strife, the small group is determined to see justice delivered. They head for Deramor with a plan to seize control of the academy and see those in charge held responsible for their crimes.The Tessilari hope to accomplish their goals through diplomacy. As Elle infiltrates the court, Jey finds herself feeling impatient. She was made for fighting, not talking. As events begin to unfold around her, she’ll have to decide which is more important – her newfound loyalty to the Tessilari, or her thirst for revenge.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROMANTIC NOVELISTS' ASSOCIATION HISTORICAL ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARDA gripping and poignant love story set in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands at the end of the Second World War.'the only fault I can find with this book is that I've already finished it' Jodi Picoult'truly enthralling' Scotsman'breathtaking' Harper's Bazaar1945. After disgracing themselves at a high society party, spoilt young Philadelphia socialites Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off from the family without a penny. Ellis decides their salvation will be to hunt down the Loch Ness Monster, a venture his father very publicly failed at. So, oblivious to WW2 raging around them, they make their way to the Scottish Highlands, where Maddie has to face reality and decide just who the real monsters are.

This new edition combines Tolstoy’s most famous short tale, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, with a less well known but equally brilliant gem, Master and Man, both newly translated by Ann Pasternak Slater. Both stories confront death and the process of dying: In Ivan Ilyich, a bureaucrat looks back over his life, which suddenly seems meaningless and wasteful, while in Master and Man, a landowner and servant must each confront the value of the other as they brave a devastating snowstorm. The quintessential Tolstoyan themes of mortality, spiritual redemption, and life’s meaning are nowhere more movingly and deftly explored than in these two tales. This unique edition also includes a critical Introduction and extensive notes by Ann Pasternak Slater, a Fellow at St. Anne’s College, Oxford. From the Hardcover edition.

This is the novel of four who defied the powers of the matrix guardians - fanatics who protected those powers so that the planet of the ruddy sun might never fall beneath the influence of materialistic Terrans. The four who found themselves fused into a terrifying unity in that defiance were two men and two women. The men were Damon Ridenow, a Comyn of the ruling caste, and Andrew Carr, the Earthman who had won for himself the right of clan-entry.

Wealth has its dangers... There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters flock to her, acquaintances lie and pander, and lately, someone is engineering "accidents" to propel her to the altar. But Eliza will not be bullied, and she will get to the bottom of this plot. All she needs is a man to infiltrate her assemblage of suitors and find the culprit. Someone not easily noticed; a proficient dancer, quiet, and even-tempered. ...so do certain men Thief-taker Jasper Bond is entirely too large, too handsome, and too dangerous. Who would believe that an intellectual like Eliza would be seduced by a man of action? But the combination of her stubbornness and the mystery makes the case one Jasper can't resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it's his pleasure to prove he's just the man she needs after all... "The undisputed mistress of tender, erotic romance." --Teresa Medeiros

In 1994, the Marines test a new missile. After launch it mysteriously disappears. If it reaches civilian areas they'll be in big trouble. Carol Dawson, a journalist, is alerted by an unusual sight of whales in the Miami area & decides to write about it. Armed with equipment provided by her friend, Dr. Dale Michaels from the Miami Oceanographic Institute, she goes to investigate the rumors of a missing missile that could be behind the mysterious whale behavior. She hires the services of Nick Williams & Jefferson Troy, boat owners, so she can get to the Mexican Gulf to investigate. They find an unknown artifact. They have doubts about its nature, hoping it's part of a lost treasure. Old friends of Williams & Troy notice their discovery & want to steal it. In the story's background, the authors describe a submarine snake civilization on a planet called Canthor, & how they struggled to stay alive despite threats to their ecosystem. It's revealed that the artifact is actually a cradle that contains seeds with altered superhumans extracted from Earth millions of years ago & altered so they could live with other species--including the submarine snakes--on Earth. The spaceship that carries the cradle is manned by robots/cyborgs & has hidden itself on the ocean floor to make repairs. Dawson, Williams & Troy are asked to gather materials so the ship can be repaired & return to its mission. The ship...

When the sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon inthe kingdom of Prydain, falls into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord, Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Prince Gwydion raise an army to march against Arawn's terrible cohorts. After a winter expedition filled with danger, Taran's army arrives at Mount Dragon, Arawn's stronghold. There, in a thrilling confrontation with Arawn and the evil enchantress Achren, Taran is forced to make the most crucial decision of his life.

The book that marked the first appearance in the United States of Robertson Davies’ mischievous alter ego, Samuel Marchbanks, is now available as an eBook for the first time. In 1942, two years after returning to Canada from Britain, Robertson Davies took up the role of editor of the Peterborough Examiner. During his tenure as editor at the Examiner, a post he held until 1955, and later as publisher of the newspaper (1955–65), Davies published witty, curmudgeonly, mischievous, and fiercely individualistic editorials under the name of his alter ego, Samuel Marchbanks, “one of the choice and master spirits of his age.” In this single volume, first published in 1985, the “gentle headwaiter to Marchbanks’ splendid banquet” has edited and selected from his alter ego’s observations to bring together previous titles in the Marchbanks bibliography: The Diary (1947), The Table Talk (1949), and Samuel Marchbanks’ Almanack (1967).  Here is treasure! Marchbanks on politics, on his furnace, on theatre, on the taxman, on trains, on Christmas, on book-banners, on manners, indeed on everything under the sun! Not only this, but Davies’ copious and quite delectable Notes are “calculated to remove all Difficulties caused by the passage of Time and to offer the Wisdom, not to speak of Whimsicality, of this astonishing man to the Modern Public, in the most convenient form.” Reviewing the first edition of Papers for the New York Times in 1986, Davies’ longtime friend John Kenneth Galbraith said: “Not many journalists would wish to risk having their daily efflux dug out and published after a lapse of 40 years. . . . This writing of four decades ago is consistently incisive, insulting, funny, relevant and altogether interesting.” The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks, best savoured at leisure, and returned to time and again, “offers a humourous and insightful picture of postwar Canadian life as seen through the eyes of a delightful eccentric who reminds . . . of a boozeless W.C. Fields.” Charles Bishop, English Dept., University of New Orleans.

It all begins with an ad in the newspaper. When Jean Sasson, a young Southern woman, answers a call to work in the royal hospital in Saudi Arabia, what should have been a two-year stay turns into a life-changing adventure spanning over a decade. Jean is plunged into the hidden lives of the veiled women in Riyadh, where women are locked in luxurious homes and fundamentalist mutawas terrorize the streets. Jean meets women from all walks of life--a feisty bedouin, an educated mother, and a conservative wife of a high-ranking Saudi--all who open a window into Saudi culture and help to reshape Jean's worldviews. What follows is a heartfelt, inspiring memoir about Jean's new-found conviction to fight for women's rights in a country of limited personal freedom. PRAISE FOR JEAN SASSON'S BOOKS: “Fascinating...an intimate account of a family life that became steadily more dangerous and bizarre...in forced pursuit of Osama’s jihadist dreams.” --Washington Post "The startling truth behind veiled lives...frank and vivid" Sunday Express "Anyone with the slightest interest in human rights will find this book heart-wrenching." --Betty Mahmoody, bestselling author of NOT WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER "A fascinating narrative...devasting" Robert Harris, Sunday Times "Absolutely riveting and profoundly sad..." --People "A chilling story...a vivid account of an air-conditioned nightmare..." --Entertainment Weekly "Must-reading for anyone interested in human rights." --USA Today "Shocking...candid...sad, sobering, and compassionate..." --San Francisco Chronicle Jean's first book THE RAPE OF KUWAIT, based on her eye witness reporting on the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops, was an immediate bestseller. Shortly thereafter she became a full-time writer. Her next three books, PRINCESS, PRINCESS SULTANA'S DAUGHTERS, and PRINCESS SULTANA'S CIRCLE, became international sensations as they were the first books to bring to the western world the shocking stories about life for women in Saudi Arabia. Jean is also the author of MAYADA, DAUGHTER OF IRAQ, about the prison experiences of an Iraqi journalist praised by Saddam Hussein; LOVE IN A TORN LAND: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance which tells the story of a beautiful Kurdish woman; GROWING UP BIN LADEN: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us into Their Secret World; and FOR THE LOVE OF A SON: One Afghan Woman's Quest for Her Stolen Child. Her work has been featured in People, Vanity Fair,The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The New York Post, The Sunday London Times, The Guardian, CNN, FOX, NBC, and many other news organizations. Still traveling the world, Jean has made her homebase in Atlanta, Georgia where she is a passionate animal rights and women's rights supporter. You can learn more by visiting her website at http://www.jeansasson.com

Table of Contents List of Works by Genre and Title List of Works in Alphabetical Order Honore de Balzac Biography La Com?die Humaine: Scenes From Private Life: The Ball at Sceaux The Purse Madame Firmiani A Second Home Domestic Peace Paz or The Imaginary Mistress Study of a Woman Another Study of Woman La Grand Breteche (Sequel to "Another Study of Woman") Albert Savarus Letters of Two Brides A Daughter of Eve A Woman of Thirty The Deserted Woman La Grenadiere The Message Gobseck The Marriage Contract A Start in Life Modeste Mignon Beatrix Honorine Colonel Chabert The Atheist's Mass The Commission in Lunacy Pierre Grassou Scenes From Provincial Life: Ursule Mirouet or Ursula Eugenie Grandet The Celibates: - Pierrette - The Vicar of Tours - The Two Brothers or A Bachelor's Establishment Parisians in the Country: - The Illustrious Gaudissart - The Muse of the Department The Jealousies of a Country Town - An Old Maid - The Collection of Antiquities The Lily of the Valley Lost Illusions (Les Illusions perdues) *- The Two Poets - A Distinguished Provincial at Paris - Eve and David * Scenes From Parisian Life Scenes from a Courtesan's Life - Esther Happy - What Love Costs an Old Man - The End of Evil Ways - Vautrin's Last Avatar A Prince of Bohemia A Man of Business Gaudissart II Unconscious Comedians The Thirteen - Ferragus - The Duchesse de Langeais - The Girl with the Golden Eyes Father Goriot The Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau The Firm of Nucingen The Secrets of a Princess Bureaucracy or The Government Clerks Sarrasine Facino Cane Poor Relations - Cousin Betty - Cousin Pons The Lesser Bourgeoisie or The Middle Classes Scenes From Political Life An Historical Mystery or The Gondreville Mystery An Episode Under the Terror The Brotherhood of Consolation or The Seamy Side of History - Madame de la Chanterie - Initiated or The Initiate Z. Marcas The Deputy of Arcis or The Member for Arcis Scenes From Military Life The Chouans A Passion in the Desert Scenes From Country Life The Country Doctor The Village Rector or The Country Parson Sons of the Soil or The Peasantry Philosophical Studies The Magic Skin (La Peau de chagrin) The Alkahest or The Quest of the Absolute Christ in Flanders Melmoth Reconciled The Hidden Masterpiece The Hated Son Gambara Massimilla Doni Juana or The Maranas Farewell The Recruit or The Conscript El Verdugo A Drama on the Seashore or A Seaside Tragedy The Red Inn The Elixir of Life Maitre Cornelius Catherine De Medici - The Calvinist Martyr - The Ruggieri's Secret - The Two Dreams Louis Lambert The Exiles Seraphita Analytical Studies The Physiology of Marriage Novels: Adieu Beatrix The Country Doctor Petty Troubles of Married Life Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan Vendetta Short Stories: At the Sign of the Cat & Racket Domestic Peace Droll Stories Volume 1 Droll Stories Volume 2 Droll Stories Volume 3 Folk-Tales of Napoleon, The Napoleon of the People; Napoleonder A Street of Paris and Its Inhabitant Plays: Mercadet: A Comedy In Three Acts Pamela Giraud: A Play In Five Acts The Resources of Quinola The Stepmother, A Drama in Five Acts Vautrin: A Drama in Five Acts

It came to me then, like a chilly draught from an unseen gap, that I had always known in my deepest heart that it would be like this, a slipping away from a life full of people I had come to love, in a place I had helped to shape, in a land I had helped to free. The time has come at last for Elspeth Gordie to leave the Land on her quest to find and stop the computermachine Sentinel from unleashing the deadly Balance of Terror arsenal. But before she can embark on her journey, she must find a lost key. And although she has long prepared for this day, nothing is as she anticipated. Elspeth's search will take her where she never thought to go, and bestow upon her stranger companions than any she ever imagined. It will lead her far from her destination to those she believed lost forever. And it will test her, as she has never been tested before . . .

El Borak, otherwise known as Francis Xavier Gordon, is a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard. Gordon was a Texan gunfighter from El Paso who had travelled the world and settled in Afghanistan. He is famous across Asia for his exploits in that continent.The character was originally created when Howard was only ten years old but he did not see print until The Daughter of Erlik Khan in the December 1934 issue of Top-Notch. Borak is Arabic for "The Swift". It is the name given to him in Afghanistan due to his speed and quickness. This is most often represented as his speed in drawing his pistol or attacks with another weapon but can also represent his mental agility as well. Both are the defining traits of the character. This edition contains the five stories of El Borak written by Robert E. Howard and published during his lifetime, including: The Daughter of Erlik Khan Hawk of the Hills Blood of The Gods Son of the White Wolf The Country of The Knife

Bestselling author Susan Vreeland returns with a vivid exploration of one of the most beloved Renoir paintings in the world Instantly recognizable, Auguste Renoir's masterpiece depicts a gathering of his real friends enjoying a summer Sunday on a café terrace along the Seine near Paris. A wealthy painter, an art collector, an Italian journalist, a war hero, a celebrated actress, and Renoir's future wife, among others, share this moment of la vie moderne, a time when social constraints were loosening and Paris was healing after the Franco-Prussian War. Parisians were bursting with a desire for pleasure and a yearning to create something extraordinary out of life. Renoir shared these urges and took on this most challenging project at a time of personal crises in art and love, all the while facing issues of loyalty and the diverging styles that were tearing apart the Impressionist group. Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models and using settings in Paris and on the Seine, Vreeland illuminates the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era. With a gorgeous palette of vibrant, captivating characters, she paints their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs in a brilliant portrait of her own.

In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs’ career goes in an exciting new direction when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities “not in the interests of His Majesty’s Government.” When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote’s death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance. To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain’s conduct during the war, and face off against the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei—the Nazi Party—in Britain. A pivotal chapter in the life of Maisie Dobbs, A Lesson In Secrets marks the beginning of her intelligence work for the Crown. As the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon, Maisie will confront new challenges and new enemies—and will engage new readers and loyal fans of this bestselling mystery series.

With over 15 million sold, this modern-day classic is now available in a new edition for young readers ages 9 to 12, complete with illustrations that bring the story to life. Inspire the young people in your life with this the real-life tale of a young country preacher who risks his life to bring the Good News to the most dangerous street gangs in New York.

Twelve tales of the unknown from a master of science fiction Clifford D. Simak had a sublime ability to evoke a lost way of life. He spent his youth in rural Wisconsin, a landscape filled with mysterious hollows, cliffs, dark forests, and the Wisconsin River flowing in its deep-cut valley. As Simak wandered the countryside and the ridges, he peopled them with imaginary characters who later came to life in his stories. One such individual is Johnny, the orphaned farm boy of “The Contraption,” who stumbles upon a wrecked starship and receives a priceless gift from its owners. Another is the old prospector Eli, whose surprising discoveries on Mercury get him killed in “Spaceship in a Flask.” In “Huddling Place,” a man with paralyzing agoraphobia is the only one who can save the life of a dear friend on Mars—if he can bear to make the trip. And in the title story, aliens slowly take over Earth while humans leave it behind and head for the Homestead Planets. Each story includes an introduction by David W. Wixon, literary executor of the Clifford D. Simak estate and editor of this ebook.

He's your perfect date. You're his next victim.When the tortured body of a young woman is found in a dumpster, her eyes swollen shut and her clothes soaked with blood, Detective Erika Foster is one of the first at the crime scene. The trouble is, this time, it's not her case. While she fights to secure her place on the investigation team, Erika can't help but get involved and quickly finds a link to the unsolved murder of a woman four months earlier. Dumped in a similar location, both women have identical wounds – a fatal incision to their femoral artery. Stalking his victims online, the killer is preying on young pretty women using a fake identity. How will Erika catch a murderer who doesn't seem to exist? Then another girl is abducted while waiting for a date. Erika and her team must get to her before she becomes another dead victim, and, come face to face with a terrifyingly sadistic individual.Gripping, tense and impossible to put down, Last Breath will have you on...