Bob Slocum was a promising executive. He had an attractive wife, three children, a nice house, and as many mistresses as he desired. His life was settled and ordered; he had conformed and society demanded he be happy — or at least pretend to be, But the pretence was becoming more and more difficult, as Slocum's discontent grew into an overwhelming sense of desolation, frustration and fear. And then something happened...

«By the author of «The Name of the Rose», these essays, written over the last 20 years and culled from newspapers and magazines, explore the rag-bag of modern consciousness. Eco considers a wide range of topics, from «Superman» and «Casablanca», Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, Jim Jones and mass suicide, and Woody Allen, to holography and waxworks, pop festivals and football, and not least the social and personal implications of tight jeans.»

They were the castrati-male sopranos whose glorious voices brought them adulation throughout Europe even as they were despised as monsters. For Tonio Treschi, the child of Venetian nobility, kidnapped and castrated in a murderous family conspiracy, only one thing would soothe his soul-revenge!

Alternate History is historical fiction that examines the ramifications of a change or changes in known history. Alternate History can use science-fiction devices — such as time-travel — to change history, or it can simply pick a point where, had things merely happened differently (for example: Abraham Lincoln decided not to go to the theater that night, or Henry VIII stayed married to his first wife), history might have taken another path altogether. The series takes place during WWII and the warring Allied and Axis powers are forced to combine resources in order to combat an invading alien species that threatens to conquer the entire planet.

Honoring a family pact that compels him to return to Transylvania to take part in a secret ceremony, young Arkady Tsepesh of the family Dracul learns a devastating truth about his ancestor, Prince Vlad.

The story of a British earthling plucked from his planet, and his subsequent adventures elsewhere in the universe.

Farmer Hogget's old sheepdog, Fly, adopts a piglet she names Babe and is astonished at how quickly he learns all she has to teach him. But plucky little Babe has even more surprises in store — and the farm will never be the same again.

«Accident» is a powerful and ultimately triumphant novel of lives shattered and changed by one devastating moment. Although frequent business meetings keep her husband, Brad, away from home, Page Clarke feels blessed with her happy family and comfortable marriage. They have a house near San Francisco and she keeps busy looking after their seven-year-old son, Andy, and their teenage daughter, Allyson. Allyson, at fifteen, is trying her wings and one weekend, instead of an evening with her friend Chloe, the girls lie and go out with two older high school boys. But a Saturday night that was supposed to be fun ends in tragedy when their car collides head-on with another. At the hospital, Page finds Chloe's divorced father, Trygve, and, unable to locate Brad, she leans on his strength throughout the long hours of tormenting questions. Will Allyson live? Will any of them? Were the teenagers drinking? Using drugs? Who was at fault? And where is her husband? Without Brad by her side Page feels her life start to come apart as she is forced to confront the fact that Allyson may not live, and if she does, she may never be the same again. In an inspiring novel that explores how many people are affected by one tragic accident and how they survive it, Danielle Steel brings us close to the characters whose lives are as familiar as our own... and who live, as we all do, in a world where everything can change in a single moment.»

This omnibus of Belloc's stories is a feast of delightful tales told in rhyme — all with a dramatic moral twist in the tail. Are you prone to pulling faces, telling tales or bouts of extravagance? Yes? Then ignore these stories at your peril. If not, you might suffer a fate similar to those described in these cautionary tales.

Joining Bantam's successful republications of Rex Stout's classic Nero Wolfe novels comes this amazing triple-play, including a deadly dinner party where five femmes fatales come under suspicion; a wandering cabbie with a comely corpse as a passenger; and a rodeo complete with cowboys, cowgirls and a dead millionaire with a fancy lariat for a necktie.

When Earth is destroyed to make way for a Hyperspatial express route, Arthur Dent discovers that space is big, as he is taken on a hair-raising tour of the Galaxy and its very strange inhabitants, by his friend Ford Perfect. This is a new edition which incorporates the fifth part of the trilogy.

An entirely new edition of Herbert's collected poems with nots, chronology and introduction by the distinguised scholar Anne Pasternak Slater, this volume is designed to complement the editions of Marvell, Donne and Milton already published by the Everyman's Library. This volume is ideal for students and offers the best text available.

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. The classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef. She shares special points of her favorite preparations with listeners throughout the story. The Spanish language edition of the best-selling Like Water For Chocolate is a remarkable success in its own right. Now, in this mass market edition, thousands of new readers will be able to partake in the sumptuous, romantic, and hilarious tale of Tita, the terrific cook with an extra special something in her sauce.

Nora Roberts, the bestselling author of Hidden Riches and Born In Fire, continues the romantic Irish saga--the story of the Concannon sisters, three modern women bound by the timeless spirit of their land. When the harsh storms of winter descended upon western Ireland, the locals stayed indoors — and visitors stayed away. Brianna Concannon's bed-and-breakfast became a cold and empty place. But that was fine with Brianna. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, even when the icy winds howled at her window. But this year she's expecting an unusual guest — mystery writer Grayson Thane from America. A restless wanderer with a painful past, he plans to spend the cold winter alone. But sometimes fate has a plan of its own. Sometimes a fire can be born in ice...

Adam Hill is 26 years old and in his first year at a top Chicago law firm. He volunteers for the toughest assignment any lawyer could ask for. His prospective client doesn't want Adam or his law firm. He is an unrepentant and outspoken racist with a violent past. He is on Death Row for the murder of two Jewish children in a horrific bombing in 1967. Why would he take on Adam, a complete novice, to defend him? And why would Adam want his case so desperately? The answer lies in the past, in a twenty-year-old secret buried in the madness of another time...

A US State Senator is dead, and Mark Sway is the only one who knows where the body is hidden. The FBI want him to tell them where it is at whatever cost to Mark and his family. The killer wants him silenced forever. Reggie Love has been practising law for less than five years. Only she can save Mark from these twin threats.

«Once in a generation a book, a vision, a writer, capture the imagination and emotions of millions. «Jonathan Livingston Seagull» was such a book. Richard Bach's unique vision again shines forth, touching with magic the drama of life in all its limitless horizons. Once again Richard Bach has written a masterpiece to help you touch that part of your home that is the sky.»

In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders... until he meets Donald Shimoda — former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches fly and Richard's imagination soar... In Illusions, the unforgettable follow-up to his phenomenal bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them... and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places — like hay fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep within ourselves.

A millennium into the future two advances have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the Galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partner¬ship between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Detective Elijah Baley is called to the Spacer world Aurora to solve a bizarre case of roboticide. The prime suspect is a gifted roboticist who had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to commit the crime. There's only one catch: Baley and his positronic partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, must prove the man innocent. For in a case of political intrigue and love between woman and robot gone tragically wrong, there's more at stake than sim¬ple justice. This time Baley's career, his life, and Earth's right to pioneer the Galaxy lie in the delicate balance.