The hotel was old, run-down. But to Swiss-born hotelier Hugues Martin, it is a rough diamond tucked away on a quiet New York City street. So Hugues scrapes together everything he has to purchase the building — and transforms it into one of the world’s finest luxury hotels. Under Hugues’s exacting supervision, the Hotel Vendôme is soon renowned for its unparalleled service and discretion — the ideal refuge for the rich and famous — and a perfect home for Hugues’s family, until his young wife abandons him, leaving Hugues the single parent to their four-year-old daughter. Still, Heloise grows up happily amid a colorful milieu of celebrities, socialites, politicians, world travelers, and the countless hotel employees who all adore her. As the years pass and unexpected challenges arise, Hugues and the hotel are the center of Heloise’s life. She longs to follow in her father’s footsteps and one day run the Hotel Vendôme. The lessons she learns at his side will carry her through it all, illuminating a story no reader will forget.

Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to A.D. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave, new, and totally different human race. In this inimitable novel, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.

Eliot Rosewater — drunk, volunteer fireman, and President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation — is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature . . . with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is Kurt Vonnegut’s funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.

Jailbird takes us into a fractured and comic, pure Vonnegut world of high crimes and misdemeanors in government — and in the heart. This wry tale follows bumbling bureaucrat Walter F. Starbuck from Harvard to the Nixon White House to the penitentiary as Watergate’s least known co-conspirator. But the humor turns dark when Vonnegut shines his spotlight on the cold hearts and calculated greed of the mighty, giving a razor-sharp edge to an unforgettable portrait of power and politics in our times.

Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all.

These previously unpublished, beautifully rendered works of fiction are a testament to Kurt Vonnegut’s unique blend of observation and imagination. Here are stories of men and machines, art and artifice, and how ideals of fortune, fame, and love take curious twists in ordinary lives. An ambitious builder of roads fritters away his free time with miniature trains — until the women in his life crash his fantasy land. Trapped in a stenography pool, a young dreamer receives a call from a robber on the run, who presents her with a strange proposition. A crusty newspaperman is forced onto a committee to judge Christmas displays — a job that leads him to a suspiciously ostentatious ex-con and then a miracle. Featuring a Foreword by Dave Eggers, While Mortals Sleep is a poignant reflection of our world as it is and as it could be.

Primed for a battle between good and evil, Raistlin, the corrupted mage, returns to the Dragonlance series along with a new generation of characters, the inheritors of the fabled Heroes of the Lance.

Expanded Coverage: New hotel and restaurant reviews in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, plus farther-flung cities and towns. Australia 21st edition has 65 newly updated maps and 260 color photos. Illustrated Features: Look for richly illustrated guides of the best dive sites in the Barrier Reef, understanding aboriginal art, dining on mod-oz cuisine, hiking in the Blue Mountains, driving the Convict Trail in Tasmania, and exploring Australia’s renowned wine regions. Indispensable Trip Planning Tools: Easy-to-scan recommendations run the gamut from alfresco dining to exploring Sydney’s top sights; how to plan outdoor adventures in Victoria, Tasmania, Daintree National Park; where to find the best beaches and coastal and wilderness walks in Queensland; and the top amusement parks in Brisbane. Discerning Recommendations: Fodor’s Australia offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their visit. Fodor’s Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. “Word of Mouth” quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights.

Barcelona is a top European destination for American travelers, and this stunning eguide features the city's biggest draws, from the cutting-edge cuisine to the dizzying heights of Gaudí's architecture. The city springs to life, covering quintessential experiences from the famous Boqueria market to the sunny beaches. Expanded Coverage: New shopping coverage highlights the top neighborhoods to boutique-hop, complete with illustrations, maps, and spots for refueling. Craft studios, jewelry shop, and pastry emporiums are covered in addition to Barcelona’s cutting-edge design. Nightlife is revamped to include a lively mix of tapas bars and clubs that tempt readers to keep Spain’s late-night hours. Indispensable Trip Planning Tools: Tips on when to visit each neighborhood and the city’s major monuments, how and where to order the best Spanish wine, and which beaches are best for sunbathing versus surfing all help our readers navigate the city. And our city walk leads readers from the well-trafficked Rambla to the little gourmet counter of Quim de la Boqueria. Discerning Recommendations: Fodor’s Barcelona offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their time. Fodor’s Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. “Word of Mouth” quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights.

California is one of America’s most popular vacation destinations, and for good reason — the state is so diverse that it draws every type of traveler. Fodor’s 2013 California ebook covers all corners of the state, from the northern coast to wine country to Los Angeles to the Mojave Desert. Expanded Coverage: New hotels and restaurants are covered around the state, from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to the Southern Sierra. A revised “What’s New in California” section keeps travelers up to speed with exciting new developments. Discerning Recommendations: Fodor’s California offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their time. Fodor’s Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. “Word of Mouth” quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights. TripAdvisor Reviews: Our experts’ hotel selections are reinforced by the latest customer feedback from TripAdvisor. Travelers can book their California stay with confidence, as only the best properties make the cut.

Creating a great trip to England and Wales is easy using Top Attractions and Great Itineraries. Convenient overviews show each region and its highlights, and detail-rich chapter planning sections have on-target advice and tips for planning your time and for getting around the country by car, bus, and train. Color city and regional maps, and a map of travel times by train, help travelers get around.

The Emperor's ruthless Order 66 has all but exterminated the Jedi. The few remaining who still wield the Force for good have been driven into exile or hiding. But not Jax Pavan, who's been steadily striking blows against the Empire — as a lone guerrilla fighter and a valued partner of Whiplash, a secret Coruscant-based resistance group. Now he's taking on his most critical mission: transporting a valued Whiplash leader, targeted for assassination, from Coruscant to safety on a distant world. It's a risky move under any circumstances, but Jax and his trusted crew aboard the Far Ranger, including the irrepressible droid I-Five, are prepared to pit their combat skills and their vessel's firepower against all Imperial threats — except the one Jax fears most. Reports have raced across the galaxy that the dark lord of the Sith has fallen in a duel to the death with a Rebel freedom fighter. But Jax discovers the chilling truth when he reaches out with the Force... only to touch the dark, unmistakable, and malignantly alive presence that is Darth Vader. And Jax knows that Vader will stop at nothing until the last Jedi has fallen.

In the fully painted psychological thriller and horror story HOUSE OF SECRETS, teenage runaway Rain Harper becomes part of a supernatural justice system when she takes up residence in a haunted mansion. Holding court within the abandoned house, five otherworldly ghostly spirits known as the Juris hypnotically summon people to their location and judge them for the secrets that they keep. Acting as a witness that binds the Juris' trials to this plane of existence, Rain is forced to validate their decisions as she simultaneously tries to save the defendants from their sentences.

There's nothing unusual about the Brockets. Normal, respectable, and proud of it, they turn up their noses at anyone strange or different. But from the moment Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it's clear he's anything but ordinary. To his parents' horror, Barnaby defies the laws of gravity — and floats. Desperate to please his parents, Barnaby does his best to keep both feet on the ground — but he just can't do it. One fateful day, the Brockets decide enough is enough. They never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. Barnaby has to go... Betrayed, frightened and alone, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon — and so begins a magical journey around the world, with a cast of extraordinary new friends.

You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed... Julian Barnes' new book is about ballooning, photography, love and grief; about putting two things, and two people, together, and about tearing them apart. One of the judges who awarded him the 2011 Man Booker Prize described him as an unparalleled magus of the heart. This book confirms that opinion.

Marjorie Daw is a librarian, and takes her job — and indeed the truth of words — very seriously. She doesn't know it, but her world and ours — Roundworld — is in big trouble. On Discworld, a colossal row is brewing. The Wizards of Unseen University feel responsible for Roundworld (as one would for a pet gerbil).

With unfinished business to attend to, the Seventh Doctor returns to where it all began: Coal Hill School in London in 1963. Last time he was here, the Doctor left something behind — a powerful Time Lord artefact that could unlock the secrets of time travel. Can the Doctor retrieve it before two rival factions of Daleks track it down? And even if he can, how will the Doctor prevent the whole of London becoming a war zone as the Daleks meet in explosive confrontation?

Reports of a time disturbance lead the Ninth Doctor to modern-day London, where he discovers a Neanderthal Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. A trip back to the dawn of humanity only deepens the mystery: who are these strange humans from the far future now living in the distant past? The Doctor must learn the truth about the Osterberg experiment before history is changed forever. An adventure featuring the Ninth Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston and his companion Rose.

Wilfred Mott is very happy: his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens — something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry. An adventure featuring the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant and his companion Donna.

Sunlight 349 is one of countless Dalek Foundation worlds, planets created to house billions suffering from economic hardship. The Doctor arrives at Sunlight 349, suspicious of any world where the Daleks are apparently a force for good — and determined to find out the truth. The Doctor knows they have a far more sinister plan — but how can he convince those who have lived under the benevolence of the Daleks for a generation? But convince them he must, and soon. For on another Foundation planet, archaeologists have unearthed the most dangerous technology in the universe...This is a thrilling, all-new adventure featuring the Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.