Still Life with Woodpecker is a sort of a love story that takes place inside a pack of Camel cigarettes. It reveals the purpose of the moon, explains the difference between criminals and outlaws, examines the conflict between social activism and romantic individualism, and paints a portrait of contemporary society that includes powerful Arabs, exiled royalty, and pregnant cheerleaders. It also deals with the problem of redheads.

A minor road accident landed county prosecutor Katie DeMaio in Westlake Hospital. That night, from her window, she thought she saw a man load a woman's body into the trunk of a car... or was it just a sleeping pill-induced nightmare?

At work the next day, Katie began investigating a suicide that looked more like murder. Initial evidence pointed elsewhere, but medical examiner Richard Carroll saw a trail leading to Dr. Edgar Highley. He suspected that the famous doctor's work "curing" infertile women was more than controversial—that it was deceitful, depraved, and often deadly.

But before Richard could tell Katie his fears, she left the office for the weekend and an appointment for routine surgery... in Dr. Highley's operating room.

Unfinished Tales is a fascinating collection of stories that continues the tales of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. This classic edition features Tolkien’s own painting of the dragon Glaurung on the cover.

The book is a collection of narratives ranging from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring. It provides readers with a wealth of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

The tales concentrate on the realm of Middle-earth and include elements such as Gandalf’s lively account of how he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan.

Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Númenor before its downfall, as well as insights into the Five Wizards, the Palantiri, and the legend of Amroth.

The tales were collated and edited by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping readers to fill in the gaps and place each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings.

كتاب «الإسلام بين الشرق والغرب»، هو نتيجة لدراسة واسعة متعددة الجوانب لأبرز الأفكار العالمية في تاريخ البشرية المعاصر. إن ظاهرة نسيان الذات التي تميز بها التاريخ الحديث للعالم الإسلامي، تضع المفكر الشرقي والغربي على السواء في موقف مماثل من هذا الكتاب.

فمن خلال الدراسة المقارنة للمقدمات الأساسية والنتائج المترتبة عليها في المجالات الاجتماعية والقانونية والسياسية والثقافية والنفسية، وغيرها من المجالات للأيديولوجيتين اللتين حددتا أقدار الجنس البشري على مدى القرون الأخيرة. من خلال هذه الدراسة يكشف لنا المؤلف عن أعراض المشهد المأساوي المتزايد للتنصير والإلحاد في هذا العالم.

فالمسيحية كمثال لظاهرة دينية حضارية ـ أعني دينًا بمعناه الغربي معزولاً عن قانون الوحي ـ هي فكرة شاملة للإبداع والحضارة والفن والأخلاق، وبهذا حلقت المسيحية في روحانية التاريخ. أما الإلحاد الذي يستند إلى مدخل مادي ـ الاشتراكية منظوره العملي والتاريخي ـ هذا الإلحاد هو العامل المشترك للعناصر التطورية والحضارية والسياسية والطوباوية التي تُعنى بالطبيعة المادية للإنسان وتاريخه.

In 1936, George Orwell travelled to Spain to report on the Civil War and instead joined the fight against the Fascists. This famous account describes the war and Orwell's own experiences. Introduction by Lionel Trilling.

Shakespeare's Sonnets are a collection of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare that explore themes of love, beauty, politics, mortality, and the passage of time. Known for their exquisite language and profound insight into human nature, these sonnets have captivated readers and scholars alike for centuries.

The sonnets are considered one of the greatest achievements in English literature and continue to be widely read and studied today. Shakespeare's mastery of the sonnet form and his ability to express complex emotions and thoughts in just fourteen lines remain unparalleled.

Roman Tetralogi Buru mengambil latar belakang dan cikal bakal nation Indonesia di awal abad ke-20. Dengan membacanya waktu kita dibalikkan sedemikian rupa dan hidup di era membibitnya pergerakan nasional mula-mula, juga pertautan rasa, kegamangan jiwa, percintaan, dan pertarungan kekuatan anonim para srikandi yang mengawal penyemaian bangunan nasional yang kemudian kelak melahirkan Indonesia modern.

Roman bagian pertama; Bumi Manusia, sebagai periode penyemaian dan kegelisahan dimana Minke sebagai aktor sekaligus kreator adalah manusia berdarah priyayi yang semampu mungkin keluar dari kepompong kejawaannya menuju manusia yang bebas dan merdeka, di sudut lain membelah jiwa ke-Eropa-an yang menjadi simbol dan kiblat dari ketinggian pengetahuan dan peradaban.

Pram menggambarkan sebuah adegan antara Minke dengan ayahnya yang sangat sentimentil: Aku mengangkat sembah sebagaimana biasa aku lihat dilakukan punggawa terhadap kakekku dan nenekku dan orangtuaku, waktu lebaran. Dan yang sekarang tak juga kuturunkan sebelum Bupati itu duduk enak di tempatnya. Dalam mengangkat sembah serasa hilang seluruh ilmu dan pengetahuan yang kupelajari tahun demi tahun belakangan ini. Hilang indahnya dunia sebagaimana dijanjikan oleh kemajuan ilmu .... Sembah pengagungan pada leluhur dan pembesar melalui perendahan dan penghinaan diri! Sampai sedatar tanah kalau mungkin! Uh, anak-cucuku tak kurelakan menjalani kehinaan ini. Kita kalah, Ma, bisikku. Kita telah melawan, Nak, Nyo, sebaik-baiknya, sehormat-hormatnya.

Taran is bored with his Assistant Pig-Keeper duties, even though his charge is none other than Hen Wen, Prydain's only oracular pig. He'd rather be doing something more heroic, like making swords and learning to use them. When Hen Wen escapes and Taran goes after her, he finds himself farther from home than he's ever been. Soon he begins to realize that heroism is no easy task. With the dreaded Horn King on the loose and King Arawn gathering the forces of evil, Taran must look past his own dreams to warn the population of Prydain before it's too late.

The Clan of the Cave Bear is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love. Through Jean M. Auel's magnificent storytelling, we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans. With a girl named Ayla, we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear.

A natural disaster leaves the young girl wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly—she is one of The Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland. However, Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them.

Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza's way of healing, most come to accept her. But the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst and is determined to get his revenge.

A Confederacy of Dunces is a tragicomic tale featuring the unforgettable Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30-year-old medievalist who lives with his mother in New Orleans. Ignatius' life of leisure is disrupted by a series of misadventures, beginning with a near-arrest and a car accident involving his inebriated mother. As Ignatius is thrust into the working world, he turns his employers at the Levy Pants Company upside down.

The narrative is populated by a cast of marvelous secondary characters, including a stripper with a talented cockatoo, a septuagenarian secretary, a gay blade, a sinister nightclub owner, and Myrna Minkoff, the girl Ignatius loves to loathe. Ignatius' journey is a modern-day quixotic quest against the forces of modernity and ignorance, making him a giant of comedic proportions in a world that seems too small to contain him.

Author John Kennedy Toole showcases a New Orleans that teems with life and energy, crafting a story that is as complex and vibrant as anything found in Dickens. Despite its comic surface, the novel reveals a deep melancholy beneath its hero's bluster, making Ignatius not just a figure of fun but a character with whom readers can sympathize.

Stone Fox is a classic action-packed adventure story by John Reynolds Gardiner that has captivated readers for decades. This middle-grade novel is perfect for tween readers, particularly those in grades 5 to 6.

Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, the story follows Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When his grandfather falls ill, the farm is in danger of foreclosure. Determined to save the farm, Little Willy enters the National Dogsled Race, hoping to win the prize money that could change everything.

With his brave dog Searchlight by his side, Willy faces fierce competition, including the legendary Native American racer, Stone Fox, who has never lost a race. The novel is both exciting and heartwarming, with unexpected drama at the finish line.

Meet Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, Roald Dahl's most disgraceful and extraordinary character. Aside from being thoroughly debauched, strikingly attractive, and astonishingly wealthy, Uncle Oswald was the greatest bounder, bon vivant, and fornicator of all time.

In this installment of his scorchingly frank memoirs, he tells of his early career and erotic education at the hands of a number of enthusiastic teachers, of discovering the invigorating properties of the Sudanese Blister Beetle, and of the gorgeous Yasmin Howcomely, his electrifying partner in a most unusual series of thefts.

Join Uncle Oswald on his audacious adventures as he seduces the most famous men in Europe for his own wicked, irreverent reasons. It's a delightful and cheeky tale that combines historical figures with outrageous escapades.

Catch-22 is set during World War II, from 1942 to 1944, and follows the life of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier. The narrative primarily takes place while the fictional 256th Squadron is based on the island of Pianosa, in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy.

The book delves into Yossarian's experiences and those of his fellow airmen as they strive to maintain their sanity amidst the chaos of war, with the overarching goal of fulfilling their service requirements to return home.

Catch-22 is renowned for its unique blend of hilarity and horror, its originality, and its powerful vitality. It presents a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as perceived by someone dangerously sane, offering both outrageous humor and a poignant reflection on the human condition.

Who is Jason Bourne? Is he an assassin, a terrorist, a thief? Why has he got four million dollars in a Swiss bank account? Why has someone tried to murder him? Jason Bourne does not know the answer to any of these questions. Suffering from amnesia, he does not even know that he is Jason Bourne. What manner of man is he? What are his secrets? Who has he killed?

High School is Heaven! It's Betsy Ray's freshman year at Deep Valley High School, and she and her best childhood chum, Tacy Kelly, are loving every minute. Betsy and Tacy find themselves in the midst of a new crowd of friends, with studies aplenty (including Latin and—ugh—algebra), parties and picnics galore, Sunday night lunches at home—and boys!

There's Cab Edwards, the jolly boy next door; handsome Herbert Humphreys; and the mysteriously unfriendly, but maddeningly attractive, Joe Willard. Betsy likes them all, but no boy in particular catches her fancy until she meets the new boy in town, Tony Markham... the one she and Tacy call the Tall Dark Handsome Stranger. He's sophisticated, funny, and dashing—and treats Betsy just like a sister. Can Betsy turn him into a beau?

An entertaining picture of school clubs, fudge parties, sings around the piano, and Sunday-night suppers in Betsy's hospitable home.

When two immortals meet in the long-ago past, the destiny of mankind is changed forever.

For a thousand years, Doro has cultivated a small African village, carefully breeding its people in search of seemingly unattainable perfection. He survives through the centuries by stealing the bodies of others, a technique he has so thoroughly mastered that nothing on Earth can kill him. But when a gang of New World slavers destroys his village, ruining his grand experiment, Doro is forced to go west and begin anew.

He meets Anyanwu, a centuries-old woman whose means of immortality are as kind as his are cruel. She is a shapeshifter, capable of healing with a kiss, and she recognizes Doro as a tyrant. Though many humans have tried to kill them, these two demi-gods have never before met a rival. Now they begin a struggle that will last centuries and permanently alter the nature of humanity.

A celebration of an indomitable spirit, here is New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford's dazzling saga of a woman who dared to dream--and to triumph against all odds...

In the brooding moors above a humble Yorkshire village stood Fairley Hall. There, Emma Harte, its oppressed but resourceful servant girl, acquired a shrewd determination. There, she honed her skills, discovered the meaning of treachery, learned to survive, to become a woman, and vowed to make her mark on the world.

In the wake of tragedy she rose from poverty to magnificent wealth as the iron-willed force behind a thriving international enterprise. As one of the richest women in the world Emma Harte has almost everything she fought so hard to achieve--save for the dream of love, and for the passion of the one man she could never have. Through two marriages, two devastating wars, and generations of secrets, Emma's unparalleled success has come with a price. As greed, envy, and revenge consume those closest to her, the brilliant matriarch now finds herself poised to outwit her enemies, and to face the betrayals of the past with the same ingenious resolve that forged her empire.

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration—when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to have exploded. Italo Calvino's novel is in one sense a comedy in which the two protagonists, the Reader and the Other Reader, ultimately end up married, having almost finished If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. In another, it is a tragedy, a reflection on the difficulties of writing and the solitary nature of reading.

The Reader buys a fashionable new book, which opens with an exhortation: "Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade." Alas, after 30 or so pages, he discovers that his copy is corrupted, and consists of nothing but the first section, over and over. Returning to the bookshop, he discovers the volume, which he thought was by Calvino, is actually by the Polish writer Bazakbal. Given the choice between the two, he goes for the Pole, as does the Other Reader, Ludmilla. But this copy turns out to be by yet another writer, as does the next, and the next.

The real Calvino intersperses 10 different pastiches—stories of menace, spies, mystery, premonition—with explorations of how and why we choose to read, make meanings, and get our bearings or fail to. Meanwhile, the Reader and Ludmilla try to reach, and read, each other. If on a Winter's Night is dazzling, vertiginous, and deeply romantic. "What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from measurable time and space."

The Drama of the Gifted Child is a bestselling book that delves into childhood trauma and the enduring effects of repressed anger and pain. Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? This wise and profound book has provided millions of readers with an answer and has helped them to apply it to their own lives.

Far too many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs, and memories skillfully in order to meet our parents' expectations and win their love. Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted' in the title, I had in mind neither children who receive high grades in school nor children talented in a special way. I simply meant all of us who have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt even to unspeakable cruelty by becoming numb."

But merely surviving is not enough. The Drama of the Gifted Child helps us to reclaim our life by discovering our own crucial needs and our own truth.

الشيطان يعظ هي مجموعة قصصية رائعة من تأليف الكاتب الكبير نجيب محفوظ, الذي حصل على جائزة نوبل في الأدب. هذه المجموعة تقدم لنا قصصًا مثيرة ومشوقة، تبحر في أعماق النفس البشرية وتتناول موضوعات الخير والشر، الفضيلة والرذيلة.

يستخدم محفوظ أسلوبه الفريد في السرد ليقدم لنا صورًا حية وواقعية من المجتمع المصري، ويطرح أسئلة فلسفية عميقة حول الحياة والمصير. هذه القصص ليست مجرد حكايات، بل هي دعوة للتفكير والتأمل في جوهر الوجود الإنساني.

Despite the enormous success of her novel Ship of Fools, Katherine Anne Porter's reputation as one of America's most distinguished writers rests chiefly on her superb short stories.

This volume brings together the collections Flowering Judas; Pale Horse, Pale Rider; and The Leaning Tower as well as four stories not available elsewhere in book form.

Johnny, the small boy who skated at breakneck speed into an accident that for one horrifying moment plunged him into The Dead Zone. Johnny Smith, the small-town schoolteacher who spun the wheel of fortune and won a four-and-a-half-year trip into The Dead Zone. John Smith, who awakened from an interminable coma with an accursed power—the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in The Dead Zone.

On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as The Long Walk. If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying.

First published in 1979, The White Album is a journalistic mosaic of American life in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. It includes, among other bizarre artifacts and personalities, reportage on the dark journeys and impulses of the Manson family, a visit to a Black Panther Party press conference, the story of John Paul Getty's museum, a meditation on the romance of water in an arid landscape, and reflections on the swirl and confusion that marked this era.

With commanding sureness of mood and language, Didion exposes the realities and dreams of an age of self-discovery whose spiritual center was California.

The book is organized into sections:

• I. THE WHITE ALBUM - "The White Album"
• II. CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC - "James Pike, American", "Holy Water", "Many Mansions", "The Getty", "Bureaucrats", "Good Citizens", "Notes Toward a Dreampolitik"
• III. WOMEN - "The Women's Movement", "Doris Lessing", "Georgia O'Keeffe"
• IV. SOJOURNS - "In the Islands", "In Hollywood", "In Bed", "On the Road", "On the Mall", "In Bogota", "At the Dam"
• V. ON THE MORNING AFTER THE SIXTIES - "On the Morning After the Sixties", "Quiet Days in Malibu"

A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul is a captivating narrative set in post-colonial Africa during the time of Independence. This novel offers a vivid exploration of a continent in transition.

The story follows Salim, a young Indian man, who embarks on a journey to establish a small business in Central Africa. As he navigates the complexities of a newly-dependent state, he becomes intricately involved with the fluid and dangerous political landscape.

Set against a backdrop of chaos, violent change, and social breakdown, Salim's journey is one of personal growth and survival amidst historical upheaval. This novel serves as a microcosm of a changing world, characterized by warring tribes, ignorance, isolation, and poverty.

Naipaul's work emerges as a truly moving story that reflects on the cultural and political transformations of the time.

The Great Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert is a monumental science fiction epic, set on the desert planet Arrakis. This harsh world is the focal point of a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions.

This volume includes the captivating tales: 'Dune', 'Dune Messiah', and 'Children of Dune'. The story revolves around the valuable spice, a mind-enhancing drug that makes interstellar travel possible, and is the most sought-after substance in the galaxy.

When Duke Atreides and his family arrive on Arrakis, they become ensnared in a deadly trap set by the Duke's rival, Baron Harkonnen. After the Duke's poisoning, his wife and son, Paul, escape to the vast deserts, joining the native Fremen to survive. Paul's journey is one of destiny and prophecy, intertwined with the ecosystem and culture of Arrakis.

This trilogy is renowned for its intricate blend of ecology, religion, consciousness, feudalism, and space travel. It challenges readers to reflect on the impact of their choices and the world around them. An enduring classic, it continues to inspire and provoke thought in its readers.

In life, not every sin goes unpunished.

GHOST STORY

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder.

The Poetry of Robert Frost represents the only comprehensive gathering of Frost's published poetry. This affordable volume offers the entire contents of his eleven books of verse, ranging from A Boy's Will (1913) to In the Clearing (1962). As a close friend and a Frost scholar, Lathem has scrupulously annotated the 350-plus poems in this collection. Since its first appearance in 1969, this edition has been the standard edition of Frost's work, cherished by readers and scholars alike.

Harriet the Spy has a secret notebook that she fills with utterly honest jottings about her parents, her classmates, and her neighbors. Every day on her spy route she "observes" and notes down anything of interest to her:

I BET THAT LADY WITH THE CROSS-EYE LOOKS IN THE MIRROR AND JUST FEELS TERRIBLE.

PINKY WHITEHEAD WILL NEVER CHANGE. DOES HIS MOTHER HATE HIM? IF I HAD HIM I'D HATE HIM.

IF MARION HAWTHORNE DOESN'T WATCH OUT SHE'S GOING TO GROW UP INTO A LADY HITLER.

But when Harriet's notebook is found by her schoolmates, their anger and retaliation and Harriet's unexpected responses explode in a hilarious way.

Petersburg takes place over a short, turbulent period in 1905, offering a colorful evocation of Russia's capital. This novel is a kaleidoscope of images and impressions, an eastern window on the west, symbolizing the ambiguities and paradoxes of the Russian character.

History, culture, and politics are blended and juxtaposed; weather reports, current news, fashions, and psychology jostle together with people from Petersburg society in an exhilarating search for the identity of a city and, ultimately, Russia itself.

Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber—which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan’s 1984 movie The Company of Wolves—she spins subversively dark and sensual versions of familiar fairy tales and legends like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Bluebeard,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” giving them exhilarating new life in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition.

Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself — shadow worlds, which can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the patriarch Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs.

In a hospital on the Shadow Earth, a young man is recovering from a freak car accident; amnesia has robbed him of all his memory, even the fact that he is Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber, rightful heir to the throne — and he is in deadly peril...

The five books, Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, and The Courts of Chaos, together make up The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny's finest work of fantasy and an undisputed classic of the genre.

When the future began...The men had it. Yeager. Conrad. Grissom. Glenn. Heroes ... the first Americans in space ... battling the Russians for control of the heavens ... putting their lives on the line.

The women had it. While Mr. Wonderful was aloft, it tore your heart out that the Hero's Wife, down on the ground, had to perform with the whole world watching ... the TV Press Conference: "What's in your heart? Do you feel with him while he's in orbit?"

The Right Stuff. It's the quality beyond bravery, beyond courage. It's men like Chuck Yeager, the greatest test pilot of all and the fastest man on earth. Pete Conrad, who almost laughed himself out of the running. Gus Grissom, who almost lost it when his capsule sank. John Glenn, the only space traveler whose apple-pie image wasn't a lie.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is more than just a self-improvement book; it's a guide to creating meaningful and fruitful relationships. Dale Carnegie's timeless advice has carried countless individuals up the ladder of success in both business and personal realms.

Since its release in 1936, this book has sold more than 30 million copies and remains as relevant as ever. Carnegie's principles endure through changing times, helping readers achieve their maximum potential in today's complex and competitive world.

Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment. This book is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to improve their social skills, enhance their leadership abilities, or simply get better at navigating the intricacies of human relationships.

The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft brings together the weird fiction short stories written by H.P. Lovecraft from 1917 to 1935. This collection excludes collaborations and focuses solely on Lovecraft's unique storytelling style.

This comprehensive anthology includes such notable tales as The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth, among many others. Each story is a journey into the unknown, filled with cosmic horrors and eerie atmospheres.

Immerse yourself in Lovecraft's world, where the boundaries of reality are blurred and the unimaginable lurks just beyond the veil. This collection is a must-read for fans of horror and speculative fiction.

San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cutthroat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts dance contests. The saga that ensues is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, and outrageous—unmistakably the handiwork of Armistead Maupin.

They were the mri - tall, secretive, bound by honor and the rigid dictates of their society. For aeons, this golden-skinned, golden-eyed race had provided the universe with mercenary soldiers of almost unimaginable ability. But now, the mri have faced an enemy unlike any other - an enemy whose only way of war is widespread destruction. These humans are mass fighters, creatures of the herd, and the mri have been slaughtered like animals.

Now, in the aftermath of war, the mri face extinction. It will be up to three individuals to save whatever remains of this devastated race: a warrior - one of the last survivors of his kind; a priestess of this honorable people; and a lone human - a man sworn to aid the enemy of his own kind. Can they retrace the galaxy-wide path of this nomadic race back through millennia to reclaim the ancient world which first gave them life?

Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo tells the harrowing story of Christiane F., a young girl who, at the age of twelve, was introduced to hashish in a youth home and by thirteen had fallen into heroin addiction. She and her heroin-addicted friends resorted to prostitution in the area around Bahnhof Zoo to fund their addiction. For nearly two years, her mother was unaware of her daughter's double life.

Christiane F. recounts her experiences with precise memory and unreserved openness, sharing the fates of children who are only acknowledged by the public in their deaths due to drugs. This story, repeating itself in Berlin, small towns, and villages, reflects the lives of thousands of children caught in the grip of substance abuse.

A strange imprisonment... Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"

Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.

Be Here Now tells the story of Ram Dass's spiritual awakening and provides powerful guidance on yoga, meditation, and finding your true self. The book is a modern restatement of the importance of the spiritual side of human nature.

The book is divided into four sections:

• Journey: The Transformation: Dr. Richard Alpert, PhD into Baba Ram Dass
• From Bindu to Ojas: The Core Book
• Cookbook for a Sacred Life: A Manual for Conscious Being
• Painted Cakes (Do Not Satisfy Hunger): Books

Originally published in 1971, Be Here Now filled a deep spiritual emptiness and launched the ongoing mindfulness revolution. It established Ram Dass as a preeminent seeker of the twentieth century. The book shares the true message and serves as a guide to self-determination.

A whisperjewel has summoned Dirk t’Larien to Worlorn, and a love he thinks he lost. But Worlorn isn’t the world Dirk imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight. Gwen needs Dirk’s protection, and he will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means challenging the barbaric man who has claimed her. But an impenetrable veil of secrecy surrounds them all, and it’s becoming impossible for Dirk to distinguish between his allies and his enemies. In this dangerous triangle, one is hurtling toward escape, another toward revenge, and the last toward a brutal, untimely demise.

For centuries, people have been tormented by one question above all: If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain? And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it?

The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungry for a true understanding of human nature.

In A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle, a companion to the Newbery Award winner A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door, the Murry and O'Keefe Families enlist the help of the unicorn, Gaudior, to save the world from imminent nuclear war. Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace and the unicorn Gaudior undertake a perilous journey through time in a desperate attempt to stop the destruction of the world by the mad dictator Madog Branzillo. They are not alone in their quest. Charles Wallace's sister, Meg--grown and expecting her first child, but still able to enter her brother's thoughts and emotions by "kything"--goes with him in spirit.

Charles Wallace must face the ultimate test of his faith and his will as he is sent within four people from another time, there to search for a way to avert the tragedy threatening them all.

Borstal Boy is a miracle of autobiography and prison literature that begins with a gripping scene:

"Friday, in the evening, the landlady shouted up the stairs: 'Oh God, oh Jesus, oh Sacred Heart, Boy, there's two gentlemen here to see you.' I knew by the screeches of her that the gentlemen were not calling to inquire after my health . . . I grabbed my suitcase, containing Pot. Chlor., Sulph Ac, gelignite, detonators, electrical and ignition, and the rest of my Sinn Fein conjurer's outfit, and carried it to the window . . ."

The men were, of course, the police, and seventeen-year-old Behan. He spent three years as a prisoner in England, primarily in Borstal (reform school), and was then expelled to his homeland, a changed but hardly defeated rebel.

Once banned in the Irish Republic, Borstal Boy is both a riveting self-portrait and a clear look into the problems, passions, and heartbreak of Ireland.

Of Mice and Men is a poignant story of two displaced migrant ranch workers who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in the United States. The novel explores themes of friendship, dreams, and the harsh realities of life.

Cannery Row is set in Monterey, California, during the Great Depression and revolves around the people living there, highlighting their quirky personalities and the sense of community that binds them. The book beautifully captures the essence of a bygone era with humor and heart.

In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities. As Marco Polo unspools his tales, the emperor detects these fantastic places are more than they appear.

The World According to Garp is a novel that chronicles the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields—a feminist leader ahead of her times. This story delves into the world of sexual extremes and even sexual assassinations. Despite the dark and violent events that unfold, the tale maintains a comedic tone that is both ribald and robust.

Translated into more than thirty languages and available in over forty countries, this novel has sold more than ten million copies worldwide. It offers almost cheerful, even hilarious evidence of its famous last line: "In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases."

Tayo, a young Native American, has been a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and the horrors of captivity have almost eroded his will to survive. His return to the Laguna Pueblo reservation only increases his feeling of estrangement and alienation. While other returning soldiers find easy refuge in alcohol and senseless violence, Tayo searches for another kind of comfort and resolution.

Tayo's quest leads him back to the Indian past and its traditions, to beliefs about witchcraft and evil, and to the ancient stories of his people. The search itself becomes a ritual, a curative ceremony that defeats the most virulent of afflictions—despair.