Llama for Lunch

Llama for Lunch

Lydia Laube

Lydia Laube

Featuring appalling rock overhangs, horrifying chasms, and waterfalls flanked by near-vertical precipices, this tale of travel through the wildest regions of the Andes is no Caribbean cruise story. The Panama Canal and the coasts of Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia are all described in a fast, furious fashion by a seasoned travel writer who survives a car ride along a mountain pass that claims an average of one vehicle a week. Also included are adventures to the last hideaway of the Incas, Machu Picchu, and a sail down the Amazon to the center of Brazil.About the AuthorLydia Laube is a travel writer and the author of Behind the Veil: An Australian Nurse in Saudi Arabia.
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Storm Over Saturn s-5

Storm Over Saturn s-5

Mack Maloney

Mack Maloney

7205 A.D. Hawk Hunter's most perilous mission ever is to find the one man who can stop the Solar Guards from seizing the source of all power in the Milky Way-and plunging the galaxy into a catastrophic Dark Age.
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The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek, Volume 1

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek, Volume 1

Edward Gross

Edward Gross

This is the unauthorized, uncensored and unbelievable true story behind the making of a pop culture phenomenon. The original Star Trek series debuted in 1966 and has spawned five TV series spin-offs and a dozen feature films, with an upcoming one from Paramount arriving in 2016. The Fifty-Year Mission is a no-holds-barred oral history of five decades of Star Trek, told by the people who were there. Hear from the hundreds of television and film executives, programmers, writers, creators and cast as they unveil the oftentimes shocking story of Star Trek's ongoing fifty-year mission -a mission that has spanned from the classic series to the animated show, the many attempts at a relaunch through the beloved feature films. Make no mistake, this isn't just a book for Star Trek fans. Here is a volume for all fans of pop culture and anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of a television touchstone.
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The Lawson Boys: Alex

The Lawson Boys: Alex

Angela Verdenius

Romance

The secret… On leave from the Australian Army, Alex Lawson has arrived in the little country town seeking answers from generously-curved Harly Bentley. She’s kept a secret from him for years, but he’s here now, he’s furious, and nothing is going to stop him from getting the truth. But will the results be what he expected?
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The Burning Land sc-5

The Burning Land sc-5

Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction / Mystery & Thrillers

In a clash of heroes, the kingdom is born. At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred's reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats. For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by tragedy. Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings, swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar—and his old foe Haesten—he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself. Yet fate has different plans. The Danes of East Anglia and the Vikings of Northumbria are plotting the conquest of all Britain. When Alfred's daughter pleads with Uhtred for help, he cannot refuse her request. In a desperate gamble, he takes command of a demoralized Mercian army, leading them in an unforgettable battle on a blood-soaked field beside the Thames. In *The Burning Land*, Bernard Cornwell, "the reigning king of historical fiction" (*USA Today*), delivers a rousing saga of Anglo-Saxon England—an irresistible new chapter in his thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of England and the legendary king who made it possible.
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Wanted

Wanted

Ruth Langan

Ruth Langan

After his wife's mysterious death, Ethan Harrison was a man living under suspicion. With two young sons to shield from gossip and lies, Ethan decided to move to the town of Devil's Cove, where no one knew about his past. But he never planned on opening his heart to love again -- till he met the indomitable Hannah Brennan. Hannah's job was to turn the grounds of Ethan's new home into lush gardens, but she soon found herself falling for the handsome yet enigmatic widower. When Hannah's life was suddenly in danger, could she trust him to tell her the truth about his past -- and their future?
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The Circus in Winter

The Circus in Winter

Cathy Day

Cathy Day

From 1884 to 1939, the Great Porter Circus makes the unlikely choice to winter in an Indiana town called Lima, a place that feels as classic as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and as wondrous as a first trip to the Big Top. In Lima an elephant can change the course of a man's life-or the manner of his death. Jennie Dixianna entices men with her dazzling Spin of Death and keeps them in line with secrets locked in a cedar box. The lonely wife of the show's manager has each room of her house painted like a sideshow banner, indulging her desperate passion for a young painter. And a former clown seeks consolation from his loveless marriage in his post-circus job at Clown Alley Cleaners.In her astonishing debut, Cathy Day follows the circus people into their everyday lives, bringing the greatest show on earth to the page.From Publishers WeeklyDay's debut collection spins graceful, elegant circles around the inhabitants of Lima, Ind.—especially the acrobats, clowns and circus folk of the Great Porter Circus who spent their winters there from 1884 to 1939. The poignant opening tale reveals how Wallace Porter, distraught by the death of his beloved wife, came to own his eponymous menagerie. The second, "Jennie Dixianna," introduces the dazzling, tricky Jennie, who wears her wound from her Spin of Death act "like a talisman bracelet, a secret treasure" and plots her way into Wallace's heart. Other stories tell of the young black man who plays at being an African pinhead; the son of a trainer killed by his circus elephant; the flood that devastated the circus. Thanks to finely observed details and lovely prose, each of these stories is a convincing world in miniature, filled with longing and fueled by doubt. Day, who grew up in a town like Lima and descends from circus folk herself, uses family stories, historical research and archival photographs to weave these enchantments. Though her stories often contain tragedy and violence—death in childbirth or from floodwater, cancer, circus mishap—they're also full of beauty. In "The Bullhook," Ollie, a retired clown, spends long decades with his frigid wife, waiting, armed with his father's bullhook, for death to come for him. In "Circus People," Ollie's granddaughter reflects on her fellow itinerant academics, "my latest circus family," and muses about people all over America who leave the place they grew up: "when the weather and the frequency are just right, we can all hear our hometowns talking softly to us in the back of our dreams." B&w illus. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistThe secret lives and loves of circus people and their descendants are revealed in these 11 linked short stories. From 1884 to 1939, the small town of Lima, Indiana, hosts the Great Porter Circus during the winter months. Wallace Porter buys the circus on the eve of his beloved wife's death, claiming he has "seen the elephant." He never remarries but has a secret affair with Jennie Dixianna, the erotic acrobat who seduces men and keeps their secrets locked in a cedar box. Bascomb Bowles and his wife, Pearly, recount their sideshow adventures as "pinheads," and the tales are handed down to their son, Gordon. Gordon becomes an expert on elephants and witnesses a horrific accident involving his favorite elephant and the trainer. Ollie Hofstadter, son of the elephant trainer, leaves a career as a clown after the murder of his best friend. Years later Gordon tells Ollie the true story of his father's death. A fascinating period in American history inhabited by colorful characters and told in a lively manner. Kaite MediatoreCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Secret Justice

Secret Justice

Diane Capri

Diane Capri

Jim Harper resurfaced from years of silence seeking a relationship with his daughter, Willa. But is he worth it? Willa is about to find out when secret justice is finally revealed and she has no choice. Or does she?
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Against All Odds: My Story

Against All Odds: My Story

Norris, Chuck

Norris, Chuck

From Publishers WeeklyIn this autobiography, Norris and Abraham catalogue in a mostly chronological fashion the major events of Norris's Horatio Alger–like life. After a tumultuous and impoverished childhood marred by an alcoholic father, Norris turned his life around by joining the military and learning a martial art, tang soo do, while stationed in Korea. Having achieved a black belt, he returned to the United States and built a career as a karate instructor, winning six world championships. Norris counted many celebrities among his students, including Steve McQueen, who, along with Bruce Lee, encouraged Norris to pursue a film and television career. Even though Norris and Abraham employ a bland style of reportage, often bereft of smooth transitions and replete with empty phrases such as "I've always had a special place in my heart for children," the facts of Norris's life make this book compelling. Not only has he succeeded in martial arts and acting, but he has a long, eclectic list of additional achievements and experiences, such as breaking a world record in boat racing and being a close friend of the Bush family. While this book is being promoted as a Christian autobiography, Norris did not fully embrace a Christian lifestyle until the mid-1990s. Despite its limited spiritual content, this memoir will please those who admire Norris's achievements and conservative activism. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Veretti’s Dark Vengeance

Veretti’s Dark Vengeance

Lucy Gordon

Romance / Contemporary / Fiction

Arrogant Italian nobleman Salvatore Veretti is furious to hear that a young, beautiful model has inherited the company that was rightfully his. Clearly she's after the family gold! Salvatore will heartlessly reclaim what he's owed – and he'll show this impudent female just how out of her depth she is. But after meeting naively determined Helena, Salvatore changes tactics… No longer satisfied with throwing her out of the business, he'll take his vengeance between the sheets!
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Wildfire!

Wildfire!

Elizabeth Starr Hill

Elizabeth Starr Hill

A rivalry, a rescue Big-mouth Elliott, who has recently arrived from a city up north, considers Ben a "backwoods boy" and looks down his nose at folks in their rural Florida town. To make matters worse, Elliott is the one who gets the dog that Ben's neighbor puts up for adoption -- the one Ben had his heart set on. In spite of being jealous and resentful, Ben can't stop himself from trying to win Elliott's approval, and he does something very stupid, very dangerous, on a bone-dry Fourth of July evening, when fireworks have been banned because of the fire risk. Illustrated with vivid wash-and-line drawings, this dramatic small-town story builds to a gripping conclusion as a boy races against time to make up for his own big mistake.
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