Tracy Waterhouse leads a quiet, ordered life as a retired police detective-a life that takes a surprising turn when she encounters Kelly Cross, a habitual offender, dragging a young child through town. Both appear miserable and better off without each other-or so decides Tracy, in a snap decision that surprises herself as much as Kelly. Suddenly burdened with a small child, Tracy soon learns her parental inexperience is actually the least of her problems, as much larger ones loom for her and her young charge. Meanwhile, Jackson Brodie, the beloved detective of novels such as Case Histories, is embarking on a different sort of rescue-that of an abused dog. Dog in tow, Jackson is about to learn, along with Tracy, that no good deed goes unpunished.

From one of the most remarkable novelists of her generation (People) comes a psychologically thrilling novel about the eccentric inhabitants of a London apartment building, the secrets they keep, and how knowing too much about one's neighbors might be deadly.

Of course, no one in their right mind travels across Siberia without an axe. No one in their right mind travels across Siberia in the middle of winter in a modified Russian jeep, with only a CD player (which breaks on the first day) for company. But Hugo-Bader is no ordinary traveler. As a fiftieth birthday present to himself, he sets out to drive from Moscow to Vladivostok, traversing a continent that is two and a half times bigger than America, awash with bandits, and not always fully equipped with roads. But if his mission sounds deranged it is in keeping with the land he is visiting. For Siberia is slowly dying — or, more accurately, killing itself. This is a traumatized post-Communist landscape peopled by the homeless and the hopeless: alcoholism is endemic, as are suicides, murders and deaths from AIDS. As he gets to know these communities and speaks to the people, Hugo-Bader discovers a great deal of tragedy, but there's also dark humour to be found amongst the reindeer shepherds, the former hippies, the modern-day rappers, the homeless and the sick, the shamans, and the followers of 'one of the six Russian Christs', just one of the many arcane religions that flourish in this isolated, impossible region.

Summer, 1545. England is at war, and Matthew Shardlake is about to encounter the most politically dangerous case of his career. While a massive French fleet prepares to attack, every able-bodied man is being pressed into military service. Meanwhile, an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr asks Shardlake to investigate claims of monstrous wrongs committed against a young ward of the court. Shardlake's inquiries take him and his loyal assistant, Jack Barak, to Hoyland Priory and Portsmouth, where the English fleet is gathering. There they uncover a startling link between the ward and a woman incarcerated in Bedlam. With a fantastic backdrop of wartime intrigue and a dramatic finale onboard one of Henry VIII's great warships, Heartstone is certain to catapult this internationally bestselling series to greater prominence.

For language buffs and lexicographers, copy editors and proofreaders, and anyone who appreciates the connection between language and culture — the illuminating story of proper English. In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers — those who have tried to regulate, or otherwise organize, the way we speak. The Lexicographer's Dilemma offers the first narrative history of these endeavors, showing clearly that what we now regard as the only correct way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As literary historian Jack Lynch has discovered, every rule has a human history, and the characters peopling his narrative are as interesting for their obsession as for their erudition. The struggle between prescriptivists, who prescribe a correct approach, and descriptivists, who analyze how language works, is at the heart of Lynch's story. From the sharp-tongued satirist Jonathan Swift, who called for a government sponsored academy to issue rulings on the language, and the polymath Samuel Johnson, who put dictionaries on a new footing, to John Horne Tooke, the crackpot linguist whose bizarre theories continue to baffle scholars; Joseph Priestley, whose political radicalism prompted riots; and the ever-crotchety Noah Webster, whose goal was to Americanize the English language — Lynch brings to life a varied cast as illuminating as it is entertaining. Grammatical rules or laws are not like the law of gravity, or laws against theft or murder — they're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change. Charting the evolution of English, Jack Lynch puts today's debates — whether about Ebonics in the schools or split infinitives in the New York Times -in a rich historical context, and makes us appreciate anew the hard-won standards we now enjoy.

Its not Christmas or even her birthday, but the Little Princess wants a party! She sets out to organize the best party ever, with invitations, cake, games, and goodie bags. But when she forgets one little detail, it has big consequences.

In the history of the modern world, there have been few characters more sinister, sadistic, and deeply demented than Baron Ungern-Sternberg. An anti-Semitic fanatic whose penchant for Eastern mysticism and hatred of communists foreshadowed the Nazi scourge that would soon overtake Europe, Ungern-Sternberg conquered Mongolia in 1919 with a ragtag force of White Russians, Siberians, Japanese, and native Mongolians. In The Bloody White Baron, historian and travel writer James Palmer vividly re-creates Ungern-Sternbergs spiral into ever-darker obsessions, while also providing a rare look at the religion and culture of the unfortunate Mongolians he briefly ruled.

The second volume of Michael Palins diaries covers the bulk of the 1980s, a decade in which the ties binding the Pythons loosened — they made their last film Monty Pytons Meaning of Life in 1983. For Michael, writing and acting took over much of his life, culminating in his appearances in A Fish Called Wanda, in which he played the hapless, stuttering Ken, and won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. Halfway to Hollywood follows Palins torturous trail through seven movies and ends with his final preparations for the documentary that was to change his life. Around the World in 80 Days.During these years he co-wrote and acted in Terry Gilliams Time Bandits as well as spearing in Gilliams follow-up success Brazil. Palin co-produced, wrote and played the lead in The Missionary opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A Private Function, written by Alan Bennett. In television the decade was memorable for East of Ipswich, inspired his links with Suffolk. Such was his fame in the US, he was enticed into once again hosting the enormously popular show Saturday Night Live. He filmed one of the BBCs Great Railway Journeys as well as becoming chairman of the pressure group Transport 2000. His life with Helen and the family remains a constant, as the children enter their teens. Palins joy of writing is evident once more in Halfway to Hollywood as he demonstrates his continuing sense of wonder at the world in which he finds himself. A world of screens large and small.

Grammy award-winning singer Judy Collins and illustrator Eric Puybaret, who together created the New York Times best-selling version of Over the Rainbow, are collaborating once again to bring a classic song to life. Written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington in 1940, the Academy Award-winning When You Wish Upon a Star is beloved by listeners from 2 to 92 for its sweet hopefulness, poignant melody, and simple yet profound lyrics. No singer can capture the haunting beauty of this classic like Judy Collins, with her clear, pure, and emotionally resonant voice. Eric Puybaret's captivating art, with its graceful lines, stunning use of color, and strong sense of fantasy, is the perfect complement to Collins' lovely interpretation. Like Over the Rainbow, this deluxe picture book features the highest-quality production values, making it a volume to treasure forever.

Sister to Queen Anne Boleyn, she was seduced by two kings and was an intimate player in one of history's most gripping dramas. Yet much of what we know about Mary Boleyn has been fostered through garbled gossip, romantic fiction, and the misconceptions repeated by historians. Now, in her latest book, New York Times bestselling author and noted British historian Alison Weir gives us the first ever full-scale, in-depth biography of Henry VIII's famous mistress, in which Weir explodes much of the mythology that surrounds Mary Boleyn and uncovers the truth about one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age. With the same brand of extensive forensic research she brought to her acclaimed book The Lady in the Tower, Weir facilitates here a new portrayal of her subjects, revealing how Mary was treated by her ambitious family and the likely nature of the relationship between the Boleyn sisters. She also posits new evidence regarding the reputation of Mary's mother, Elizabeth Howard, who was rumored to have been an early mistress of Henry VIII. Weir unravels the truth about Mary's much-vaunted notoriety at the French court and her relations with King Francois I. She offers plausible theories as to what happened to Mary during the undocumented years of her life, and shows that, far from marrying an insignificant and complacent nonentity, she made a brilliant match with a young man who was the King's cousin and a rising star at court. Weir also explores Mary's own position and role at the English court, and how she became Henry VIII's mistress. She tracks the probable course of their affair and investigates Mary's real reputation. With new and compelling evidence, Weir presents the most conclusive answer to date on the paternity of Mary's children, long speculated to have been Henry VIII's progeny. Alison Weir has drawn fascinating information from the original sources of the period to piece together a life steeped in mystery and misfortune, debunking centuries-old myths and disproving accepted assertions, to give us the truth about Mary Boleyn, the so-called great and infamous whore.

In the year of the Great Conjunction, the streets of London are abuzz with predictions of horrific events to come, possibly even the death of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the mystery behind the deaths of several of her maids as rumors of black magic abound.

This is a Peabody Award-winning guide to what's happening in pop culture and the arts, Studio 360 is produced by Public Radio International and WNYC. Hosted by novelist and journalist Kurt Andersen, the show is broadcast on 140 stations, and is heard by 500,000 listeners each week. For ten years, Studio 360 has probed the depths of creativity with influential figures from diverse fields who are shaping contemporary culture. Now, Studio 360 creator Julie Burstein takes the experience further, tracing the roots of the creative process with some the inventive thinkers and creative talents who have appeared on Studio 360 over the past 10 years-novelists Joyce Carol Oates and Isabel Allende; directors Ang Lee, David Milch and Mira Nair; musicians Rosanne Cash, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Plant, and Joshua Redman; artists Chuck Close and Richard Serra-and others. In Spark, Burstein pulls back the curtain to reveal sources of inspiration for these creators, and explores the strategies they employ to bring their work into being. Each chapter considers a particularly resonant facet of life from which creative minds draw: childhood adventures, a spouse's deathbed, conflicts with parents, the streets of a beloved hometown, seductive materials, a learning disability, and the natural world. Through Spark's stories about these contemporary alchemists, we, too, can learn how to bring creativity into our lives. These artists may not change lead into gold, Burstein writes, but they lift materials from their familiar contexts, combining, reshaping, transforming them into works of art that change the way we see the world.

«From «chips» and «crumbs» to «spending a penny,» «The Queen's English» is your indispensable guide to surviving and thriving in the tricky byways of the English language, which has shown many a poor soul the way out for little more than twanging a vowel, splitting an infinitive or, crime of all crimes, saying dinner instead of tea. With «The Queen's English» there's no need to become «flummoxed» ever again. This must-have A to Z guide uncovers the quintessential meanings behind more than 100 familiar words and phrases of the distinctively British lexicon, including: By hook or by crook (adv. phrase): It is good to find a phrase in common use that goes back as far as this one, and which appears (though not entirely proven) to link back to England's feudal past. In medieval times when the peasantry were not allowed to cut down trees, they were permitted nonetheless to gather firewood from loose or dead branches which could be obtained using «hook» (bill hook, a traditional cutting tool) or «crook,» a staff with a curved end. No doubt the desperate peasant often exceeded the strict use of these tools, and so the sense is to achieve something by whatever means possible. The first recorded use of the phrase is from the fourteenth century. Gazump (vt.): Usually so proud of their reputation for playing fair, the English have a curious blind spot when it comes to buying and selling houses. To «gazump» is to raise the price of a piece of real estate after the sale has been agreed but before the contract is signed, usually on the pretext that the owner has received a higher offer elsewhere. The original buyer is then forced to raise their offer or the property goes to the higher bidder. This unethical but not illegal practice appeared first with the spelling «gazoomph» and was derived from an older and more general term «gazumph» (or gezumph) for the various kinds of swindling that go on at dishonest auctions.In a nutshell (adv. phrase): «Oh God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a King of infinite space...» cries Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragic play. But the meaning of the expression, namely, to put much into a small space, goes way back to classical times, to Pliny's «Natural History» where he writes: «Cicero records that a parchment copy of Homer's poem «The Iliad» was enclosed in a nutshell («in nuce»).» In Shakespeare's own time, a Bible is said to have been produced that could fit into a nutshell, and that curiosity may have come to the playwright's notice.People like us (np.): Often abbreviated to PLU, this phrase is used by those of a certain social class to approve of others as acceptable by birth and station, and originates in the 1940s milieu typified by the artistic, wayward, and eccentric Mitford sisters, daughters of the second Baron Redesdale. We get a flavor of the attitude where Nancy Mitford, in a letter to her sister Jessica (August 28, 1957), declared that «People Like Us are never killed in earthquakes...» Nancy refined the art of social class distinctions in her book «Noblesse Oblige» with a list of subtle differences in vocabulary first defined as U (upper class) and non-U (aspriring middle class) by the sociolinguist Alan Ross in 1954. So if you ever wanted to know what it means to be a «meat-and-potatoes man», a «lame duck,» or to be in a «pretty pickle», stop «umming and erring» and read this fascinating collection «straightaway.»

Nearly twenty years ago, when a conductor was poisoned and the Questura sent a man to investigate, readers first met Commissario Guido Brunetti. Since 1992's Death at La Fenice, Donna Leon and her shrewd, sophisticated, and compassionate investigator have been delighting readers around the world. For her millions of fans, Leon's novels have opened a window into the private Venice of her citizens, a world of incomparable beauty, family intimacy, shocking crime, and insidious corruption. This internationally acclaimed, bestselling series is widely considered one of the best ever written, and Atlantic Monthly Press is thrilled to be publishing the twentieth installment, Drawing Conclusions, this spring. Late one night, Brunetti is called away from dinner to investigate the death of a widow in her modest apartment. Though there are some signs of a struggle, the medical examiner rules that she died of a heart attack. It seems there is nothing for Brunetti to investigate. But he can't shake the feeling that something or someone may have triggered her heart attack, that perhaps the woman was threatened. Conversations with the woman's son, her upstairs neighbor, and the nun in charge of the old-age home where she volunteered, do little to satisfy Brunetti's nagging curiosity. With the help of Inspector Vianello and the ever-resourceful Signorina Elettra, perhaps Brunetti can get to the truth and find some measure of justice. Insightful and emotionally powerful, Drawing Conclusions reaffirms Donna Leon's status as one of the masters of literary crime fiction.

«Capturing the unbelievable scope of Shakespeare's influence, this book covers the little-known details of Shakespeare's life along with the surprising legacy of the language and phrases inherited from his works. Organized for easy reference, sections include: Shakespeare's Life Who was this man — the playwright, the lover, the family man? Words and Phrases Owed to Shakespeare Did you know we have Shakespeare to thank for words such as «bandit,» «fashionable,» and «moonbeam» and the phrases «in my mind's eye,» «in my heart of hearts,» and «to thine own self be true»? His Theater and Plays Synopses of the most famous of his plays Character Glossary All the most memorable, infamous, and beloved characters from Shakespeare's collective works, including Beatrice, Julius Caesar, Ariel, Falstaff, Cleopatra, Othello, and Horatio Index of Famous Lines «Better a witty fool than a foolish wit» from «Twelfth Night» and «Tempt not a desperate man» from «Romeo and Juliet» Whether you're planning an appearance on Jeopardy or simply want to become a more interesting conversationalist, «I Used to Know That: Shakespeare» will provide you with hours of entertainment.»

We know that little girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice, but there are many reasons why having a baby girl is so special. In The Little Book of Girls parents find out why it's great to have a daughter. Complete with the best poems, movies, songs, books, interesting tidbits and facts about girls, The Little Book of Girls helps parents celebrate their little bundle of joy.

Ever since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle delighted readers with the fictional genius detective, Sherlock Holmes, crime fiction has been plumbed by mystery writers everywhere. This volume of 12 stories spans crime from the Bronze Age to World War II, and will appeal to the current readers of The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures and Best British Mysteries.

The definitive collection of the king of gonzo journalism’s finest work for ROLLING STONE “Buy the ticket, take the ride,” was a favorite slogan of Hunter S. Thompson, and it pretty much defined both his work and his life. Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone showcases the roller-coaster of a career at the magazine that was his literary home. Jann S. Wenner, the outlaw journalist’s friend and editor for nearly thirty-five years, has assembled articles that begin with Thompson’s infamous run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Party ticket in 1970 and end with his final piece on the Bush-Kerry showdown of 2004. In between is Thompson’s remarkable coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign—a miracle of journalism under pressure—and plenty of attention paid to Richard Nixon, his bête noire; encounters with Muhammad Ali, Bill Clinton, and the Super Bowl; and a lengthy excerpt from his acknowledged masterpiece, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Woven throughout is selected correspondence between Wenner and Thompson, most of it never before published. It traces the evolution of a personal and professional relationship that helped redefine modern American journalism, and also presents Thompson through a new prism as he pursued his lifelong obsession: The life and death of the American Dream.

«From the preeminent Hitler biographer, a fascinating and original exploration of how the Third Reich was willing and able to fight to the bitter end of World War II. Countless books have been written about why Nazi Germany lost World War II, yet remarkably little attention has been paid to the equally vital question of how and why it was able to hold out as long as it did. The Third Reich did not surrender until Germany had been left in ruins and almost completely occupied. Even in the near-apocalyptic final months, when the war was plainly lost, the Nazis refused to sue for peace. Historically, this is extremely rare. Drawing on original testimony from ordinary Germans and arch-Nazis alike, award-winning historian Ian Kershaw explores this fascinating question in a gripping and focused narrative that begins with the failed bomb plot in July 1944 and ends with the German capitulation in May 1945. Hitler, desperate to avoid a repeat of the «disgraceful» German surrender in 1918, was of course critical to the Third Reich's fanatical determination, but his power was sustained only because those below him were unable, or unwilling, to challenge it. Even as the military situation grew increasingly hopeless, Wehrmacht generals fought on, their orders largely obeyed, and the regime continued its ruthless persecution of Jews, prisoners, and foreign workers. Beneath the hail of allied bombing, German society maintained some semblance of normalcy in the very last months of the war. The Berlin Philharmonic even performed on April 12, 1945, less than three weeks before Hitler's suicide. As Kershaw shows, the structure of Hitler's «charismatic rule» created a powerful negative bond between him and the Nazi leadership- they had no future without him, and so their fates were inextricably tied. Terror also helped the Third Reich maintain its grip on power as the regime began to wage war not only on its ideologically defined enemies but also on the German people themselves. Yet even as each month brought fresh horrors for civilians, popular support for the regime remained linked to a patriotic support of Germany and a terrible fear of the enemy closing in.Based on prodigious new research, Kershaw's «The End» is a harrowing yet enthralling portrait of the Third Reich in its last desperate gasps.»