William Shakespeare grew up in a small town in England during the Elizabethan era. As a young man his father's business suffered financial difficulties, and Shakespeare was unable to continue his Latin studies and was forced to help his father support his brother and sister. After he married and had three children he worked hard to support his extended family. Feeling unfulfilled, he decided to seek his fortune in London. In this beautifully illustrated book, learn how Shakespeare persevered through plagues, limited education, and family tragedy to become one of the most revered playwrights and poets in history, whose works continue to entertain audiences more than 400 years after his birth.

On Mars, the harsh climate could make any colonist turn to drugs to escape a dead-end existence — especially when the drug is Can-D, which translates its users into the idyllic world of a Barbie-esque character named Perky Pat. When the mysterious Palmer Eldritch arrives with a new drug called Chew-Z, he offers a more addictive experience, one that might bring the user closer to God. But in a world where everyone is tripping, no promises can be taken at face value. This 1965 book is one of Philip K. Dick's enduring classics, at once a deep character study, a dark mystery, and a tightrope walk along the edge of reality and illusion. A visionary, Hugo Award — winning author, Philip K. Dick was inducted posthumously into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. His stories have been made into such blockbuster films as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report, and he was the first science fiction writer to be included in the Library of America series.

«At the heart of this panoramic, multidimensional narrative is the compelling struggle of a young woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Faber leads us back to 1870s London, where Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for escape to a better life. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society offers us intimacy with a host of lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters. They begin with William Rackham, an egotistical perfume magnate whose ambition is fueled by his lust for Sugar, and whose patronage brings her into proximity to his extended family and milieu: his unhinged, childlike wife, Agnes, who manages to overcome her chronic hysteria to make her appearances during «the Season»; his mysteriously hidden-away daughter, Sophie, left to the care of minions; his pious brother, Henry, foiled in his devotional calling by a persistently less-than-chaste love for the Widow Fox, whose efforts on behalf of The Rescue Society lead Henry into ever-more disturbing confrontations with flesh; all this overseen by assorted preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes and persuasions. Twenty years in its conception, research, and writing, «The Crimson Petal and the White» is teeming with life, rich in texture and incident, with characters breathtakingly real. In a class by itself, it's a big, juicy, must-read of a novel that will delight, enthrall, provoke, and entertain young and old, male and female.»

As kitty gift books go, this is the best, funniest, most inspiring of them all, according to the Village Voice and tens of thousands of dedicated readers. Now out on the prowl with a new cover that's the cat's meow, it's ready to inspire a second wave of cats and their owners to relax into a catnap. Author and illustrator Alice M. Brock (of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant fame) counsels cat owners to approach the cat quietly with palms up and open. Beginning at the rear, the masseur works all the way around the cat using a vigorous kneading motion, then rubs, presses, twists, and tugs the cat into a state of complete relaxation. We are assured that a well-massaged cat may remain in a state of prolonged calm for some time. Brock's instructions are accompanied by charming illustrations sure to inspire a mischievous chuckle in both friends and foes of felines everywhere.

«Welcome back to a Wonderland that is as astonishingly new as it is joyously familiar. Helen Oxenbury, one of the world’s most acclaimed illustrators, brings her special brand of magic to the Lewis Carroll classic in a handsome volume boasting more illustrations than any other edition — called a «masterpiece» by Parents’ Choice. Her Wonderland is exuberant, contemporary, and lovingly created, with all the warmth, depth of emotion, humor, and acute observations of people and animals for which the artist’s work is so highly regarded. An elegant, textured cover with flaps makes this a beautiful gift book.»

From Doris Lessing, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, one of her finest collections of short stories. Doris Lessing is unrivalled in her ability to capture the truth from the complexities of relationships and the stories in this wonderful collection have lost none of their original power. Two marriages, both middle class, liberal and 'rather literary', share a shocking flaw, a secret 'cancer'. A young, beautiful woman from a working class family is courted by a very eligible, very upmarket man. An ageing actress falls in love for the first time but can only express her feelings through her stage performances because her happily married lover is unobtainable. A dedicated, lifelong rationalist is tempted, after the death of his father, by the comforts of religious belief. In this magnificent collection of stories, which spans four decades, Doris Lessing's unique gift for observation, her wit, her compassion and remarkable ability to illuminate the complexities of human life are all remarkably displayed.

Twenty selections include humorous, touching tales about life in the shtetl, lovingly translated from the Yiddish with all the warmth and spirit of the originals. Features Progress in Kasrilevke, Summer Romances, Birth, There's No Dead, Someone to Envy, Three Widows, Homesick, On America, A Home Away from Home, and more.

In the imaginary South American republic of Costaguana, Charles Gould's San Tomé silver mine is besieged by rebels, in this 1904 novel by the author of Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim. Gould recruits the allegedly incorruptible hero Nostromo to oppose the marauders, but Nostromo's own mistakes may have disastrous repercussions. Conrad's novel portrays in shocking detail the corrupting influence of money, the devious effects of greed, and the lure of silver and its power over men — destroying some and revealing the strengths of others.

Detailed with loving accuracy in the photography of Melba Levick and in the lucid prose of Karen Dardick, Estate Gardens of California showcases fifteen magnificent estate gardens that are uniquely, exuberantly Californian. Included within are the classically inspired, 654-acre gardens of Filoli near San Francisco, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation-an estate with grounds of such alluring beauty that many times the cameras of Hollywood have come here to film; the Huntington Library Gardens in San Marino, one of the most important botanical gardens in the world; and the opulent and strange but wildly popular Lotusland in Montecito, a fantasy world of exquisite beauty created by Madam Ganna Walska with famed designer Lockwood de Forest. Other gardens featured are in Pebble Beach, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and Rancho Palos Verdes. It is the plant palette of almost endless possibilities that makes California's great gardens so breathtaking. In Estate Gardens a rare and privileged glimpse of these possibilities is given. Cohen Estate, Newport Beach (owner of Four Seasons Hotel, Los Angeles) Collins Estate, Beverly Hills Hacienda Mar Monte, Pebble Beach Descanso Gardens, La Canada (open to public) Filoli, Woodside (open to public) Lotusland, Montecito (open to public) Rancho Los Alamitos, Long Beach (open to public) Stathatos Estate, San Marino Beaulieu Residence, Napa Valley (private residence of owner of Beaulieu winery) Villa Fiore, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County Huntington Library, San Marino (open to public) Val Verde, Montecito (open for limited public viewing) Villa Narcissa, Rancho Palos Verdes Virginia Robinson Estate and Gardens, Beverly Hills (open for limited public viewing) Alden Estate, Santa Monica Canyon.

Perhaps the greatest of all English artists, Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) was born in the small town of Sudbury on the river Stour in Suffolk. His house is now both a museum and a research center for Gainsborough studies. It holds an outstanding collection of paintings, drawings, prints, books, and memorabilia relating to the artist and his time. This book presents both the highlights of this collection, which has not hitherto been published, and significant new research and insights relating to Gainsborough’s art, character, and career. Works in the collection include fine examples by Gainsborough himself at all stages of his career, along with paintings and engravings by the artist’s mentors, Francis Hayman and Hubert-Francois Gravelot, and by his followers, notably his nephew Gainsborough Dupont and Thomas Rowlandson, and by other East Anglian artists, including John Constable. Hugh Belsey is curator of Gainsborough’s House. He has published widely on Gainsborough and other 18th-century artists, most recently Gainsborough: A Country Life.

Hollywood icon, German dissident, lover, war heroine, distant mother, and eventual recluse. These are just some of the sobriquets attached to Marlene Dietrich. Ean Wood seeks to show the true Marlene Dietrich, the girl from Berlin who would find herself at the centre of world events, a supporter of the Allied cause and movie icon, meeting, working with and loving some of the most powerful and influential men of the 20th century.

Have you ever wondered where rainbows come from, or why we don't fall off the earth? A young boy named Isaac Newton asked these same questions more than 300 years ago. His search for answers unlocked secrets that gave us the world we know today. Automobiles, television, lasers, and many things that are common-place today were made possible by ideas that began inside Isaac Newton's mind. Where others took the world around them at face value, Isaac always looked deeper. He constantly searched for answers to the question, 'Why?'. His questioning mind helped us to understand the universe. It helped him to grow from a sad, lonely boy into one of the most famous scientists of all time.

These seventeen stories first published in book form stunningly present the Celtic legends and myths of the Arthurian quest for the Grail.

Vincent van Gogh was a Western painter who lived at the end of the 19th century. His work as an artist continues to inspire today because it is fresh and unique. The paintings van Gogh created are full of movement and life, although the subjects are often simple. This is because the artist tried to paint the energy behind what he was seeing. As a result, people and flowers — even the houses and furniture in his pictures — seem to be alive. In the end, he suffered much loneliness and despair. During his life, his art never sold well and he thought he was a failure. Yet today his work is some of the most famous in the world.

Time is running out for the passengers and crew of the tourist cruiser Selene, incarcerated in a sea of choking lunar dust. On the surface, her rescuers find their resources stretched to the limit by the mercilessly unpredictable conditions of a totally alien environment.

Born in Salzburg Austria in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was recognized as a musical prodigy when he was three years old. He was 35 years old when he died. During his life, he completed 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos, 23 string quartets, 17 piano sonatas, 7 major operas, and numerous works for voice and other instruments. But his road to fame was not easy. It was littered with loss and disappointment. He died in 1791.

Newsday called it the most authoritative and candid look yet at the personal lives... of the oft-scrutinized group. In The Love You Make, Peter Brown, a close friend and business manager of the band-and the best man at John and Yoko's wedding-looks at the four lads from Liverpool who established the greatest music phenomenon of the twentieth century. Written with the full cooperation of each of the group's members and their intimates, this book goes beyond the glitter to tell the inside story of the music, the marriages, the drugs, disagreements, and divorces-everything that made the Fab Four the phenomenon they are.

The ever-brilliant Barnes concocts a mordant sexual comedy for his latest novel, taking over the later lives of three characters he introduced in the earlier Talking It Over. Straight, rather stuffy organic-food kingpin Stuart; his former best friend, the ebulliently witty layabout Oliver; and Gillian, whom Oliver stole from Stuart, address the reader in turns about just what happened (or in Oliver's case, show off for the reader in a dazzling display of verbal pyrotechnics that would bring down the house if this were a play). There's no doubt that in most ways Stuart deserves Gillian more than Oliver does, and the latter's attraction for her seems odd. On the other hand, Oliver is, unexpectedly, quite a good father, and there are hints of obtuseness and brutality about Stuart's bluff self-satisfaction. Poor Gillian, whose French-born mother also comments on the proceedings from a cynical distance, seems quite unable to decide between the two men when Stuart forcibly reenters her life. Out of their often self-serving, sometimes touchingly self-aware accounts of a handful of encounters emerges a funny, occasionally poignant look at the strange confusion between friendship and love--as well as more than a hint that nobody truly knows just who they really are and what they are capable of. It's slight but telling and, except for Oliver's wonderful and witty set pieces, oddly subdued for Barnes, but it would make an excellent play, in the Tom Stoppard vein. (Feb. 13) Forecast: Although Barnes's succession of clever novels have won him a following here, the strongly English domesticity portrayed in Love, Etc. seems unlikely to gather him many new adherents. For connoisseurs of brilliant invective, however, it's a treat, and Knopf is anticipating that interest with a 40,000 first printing.

As good a rifle company as any in the world, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, kept getting the tough assignments — responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. In Band of Brothers, Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.

Philip Callow AIs splendidly readable biography of Robert Louis Stevenson recounts the life of Scotland. AIs finest writer of English prose and the author of such classics as Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A sickly child, Louis became in turn a bohemian dandy, a literary gypsy traipsing through the mountains of France with a donkey, and at twenty-eight the lover of an American woman ten years his senior, the fabulous Fanny. His feelings are always his reasons, said O. Henry James, and caught in a sentence the secret of Stevenson AIs popularity as one of the last of the classic storytellers. Stevenson was destined to be a modern man.O-James Campbell, New York Times Book Review. Illustrated.