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 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.

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.

Run away from God. Get swallowed by a whale. Preach the Gospel to those you hate. Sleep under a gourd. Go with Jonah down the path to darkness, sink with him into the depth of darkness, know the darkness of the heart and finally see light in the darkness. Travel with Jonah on his dark journey to Nineveh. Be warned for what you find hiding there in Jonah's darkness you may find hiding in you own.This is a fictional account of how Jonah may have felt as he disobeyed God. As you read it you may be surprised to find that often we may have had some of the same feelings. Each of us at some time or the other has had our Jonah moments. As you read ask God to let you see yourself. We all can learn a little about our walk with God from Jonah.

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.

Caleb and Nina Byrnes, long married and struggling financially, travel from Texas to California, following the route Caleb's grandmother took when her family migrated from the Dust Bowl. As Nina chronicles the journey, they discover a secret in Grandma's past. Learning about Vera's hardships offers perspective into their own lives. And tracking down old friends may help Vera in her waning years.Caleb and Nina Byrnes, long married and struggling financially, travel from Texas to California, following the route Caleb's grandmother took when her family migrated from the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. As Nina, an amateur photographer, chronicles the journey, they discover a secret in Grandma Vera's past. Learning about Vera's hardships and perseverance offers perspective into their own lives. And tracking down old friends may just help Vera in her waning years.

The blood of the Moon God runs through Chandi's veins. Her king has sent her to the underwater palace of the Solars, to spy on them during the uneasy alliance. Chandi wants nothing more than proof of Solar treachery so she can go home. But as the Solar Naresh shows her the wonders of his underwater world, she finds herself forced to choose between her people and her heart.The Lunar King bargained his daughter away in marriage to end generations of war between the two dynasties of the Skyfall Isles. The King sends his niece Chandi along as handmaid to his daughter. Chandi has two tasks: watch over her cousin, and spy on the Solars. The Solars cost her everything she cares about, and now she wants nothing more than proof of their treachery so she can go home.She knows little of spying, but the blood of the Moon God running through her veins gives her powers mortals can’t match, powers that let her slip into places she’s not supposed to be. Of course, the more she uses her powers, the faster she becomes a lunatic.When she discovers a Solar soldier, Naresh, watching her, she decides to return the favor and stick close to him. But as he shows her the wonders of the domed underwater city, she begins to realize the Solars are not what she thought. Soon, she’ll have to choose between loyalty to her people and her own heart.

Waiting out his last days, an aged cowman relives his life as a carefree ranch hand.

An ordinary girl has to face with the fact that He not only left her, but cheated on her...When Robert and Richard Johansson, III explore new surroundings in the Rocky Mountains they meet a Mountain Troll in the hills above their home. Armed with the troll queen's own machinations to infiltrate and learn whether the human race of the 21st century is ready to interact with faerie folk again after centuries apart, the little troll becomes an adopted brother to the Johansson family, and discovers more than he expected about what it is to be human.During the course of their interaction, Robert realizes that someone from an entirely different culture, even a non-human one, can be as close as a brother. But in the end, when it is time to return Kile to his troll family and to collect the real Little Ricky, they face a serious threat from the goblins of the high peaks of the Rockies. With the help of family and friends from the small town of Maple Springs, the two Troll Brothers make their way back to the troll city and reunite both families.Troll Brother includes a cameo by the Institution for the Preservation of Magical Artifacts (IPMA). The IPMA was first introduced in the short story, "The Old Silk Hat: A Frosty the Snowman Prequel", which is offered for free.

Four pieces of Flash fiction about romance, love, mystery and being betrayed.Great for a quick read!Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Wood's life is turned upside down when her boyfriend kills himself the day after she dumps him.Blamed by the townsfolk of Broadwater and ostracized by her friends is bad enough. But the fallout from dealing with her mom's increasingly frequent psychotic episodes sends her fleeing to New York City to live with her aunt, a Wicca High Priestess.Alyssa doesn't believe in magic, not any more.She has a new life to lead: a new BFF in Seth and a major crush on Ronan, the sexy geek saxophonist who tutors music at her high school.Can she leave her old life behind or will the ghosts of the past continue to haunt her?

Hereford Bolton was just happy to finally get a job. I mean, he had a bunch of school loans to pay, not to mention a basement to escape. (Probably never heard that one before!)The realities of not holding out for a better employment deal have been sinking in with a vengeance lately. Something's gotta give...Ever gotten to the point where you've had-enough-and-just-aren't-going-to-take-it-any-more? Well, meet Hereford Bolton. He's over-worked, under-appreciated, and paid a lot less than nearby school districts' head-honcho computer geeks are. Oh, and to top it off, his boss has been lying to him about not having the budget to hire any relief "hitters" for "Hef's" one-man IT team.He's nearly ready to tell the Big Boss what she can do with her non-stop demands. Won't you come along for the ride? You can ride shotgun.

The typical soapbox comes with strings attached: an agenda to be pushed, an ego to be stroked, a donation box to be filled. This book, on the other hand, attempts to fulfill the soapbox’s original ideal, as a fount of goodwill and ideas.So step right up, folks!The typical soapbox comes with strings attached: an agenda to be pushed, an ego to be stroked, a donation box to be filled. This book, on the other hand, attempts to fulfill the soapbox’s original ideal, as a fount of goodwill and ideas.Aaron Garrison, author of 'Learn Yourself: A Manual for the Mind' and 'Synchronicity: One Man’s Experience,' has taken the soapbox, and the speech has begun. In these collected essays, Garrison explores the ideological, the sociological, and the philosophical, with a healthy spoonful of psychology for good measure. Written from the laymen’s no-nonsense perspective, The Anti-Soapbox takes a practical, real-world approach to some big issues, yet does so with a gentle touch, refraining from the bruising tone characteristic of soapbox oratory.So step right up, folks! On the anti-soapbox, there’s no shouting, accusation, or ecstatic gestures, just a good old-fashioned reality check.

"Conversion Rites and Wrongs" won the author the "Best Director" award when performed in Sydney's "Crash Test Drama" in 2012. It is a short play for a man and a woman, in which they discuss the pros and cons of converting to Islam. It is meanty to be comedic, not didactic. There are no fees for performance as long as the author is correctly attributed.In this deeply sardonic debut collection of short stories, Jarod Powell masterfully intertwines the bitter traumas and sweet victories of humanity with a hypnotic style, subversive wit, and a powerful, concrete narrative. A hopelessly dysfunctional family holds a formal debate and fights through the cliché, an agoraphobic teenager finds the gumption to enter the world he observes in a single moment of guttural rage, a homeless man harasses a stranger with his visions of the San Fernando Valley as The Garden of Eden, and in the title story, a high school turns into a Biblical village square when a drug overdose turns a nobody into a mythical being.

“Sitting on a small rock, watching the river of my emotions; afraid to drown, afraid to miss out, I just sit and watch.”These are poems that came to me and urged me to move my pen. Sometimes in the middle of sleep they would come, and they would not relent, till I gave them their due …… “Expression”!-- Vivek MehtaThe Poems---------1] Beauty Is Found Everywhere!2] The Pleasures Of Uncertainty3] Life At The Hilltop4] The Gist5] One And The Same6] Pursuing The Gods7] Alchemy8] Gratitude9] Unperturbed, Undisturbed10] The Oils Of Diversity11] A Different Wakefulness12] Resurrection13] A New World 14] If God Asked Me?15] A Day From My Life16] The Dust From The Gold17] A Night Full Of Questions18] Had I Not Stepped Out19] Dear Diary20] Strange It Is 21] You Gotta Go Slow Sometimes