However, when Peter falls hopelessly in love with an attractive WAAF officer—one who insists that wartime duties should take precedence over emotions—his concentration begins to suffer. Soon it looks as though his perfect run of successful missions may be at risk—along with the lives of Peter and his men—unless she can be persuaded to relent.

    Clare manages, by using her wits, beauty, and courage, to climb to the highest position a woman could achieve in Restoration England—that of favorite mistress of the Merry Monarch, Charles II. From whores and highwaymen to courtiers and noblemen, from events such as the Great Plague and the Fire of London to the intimate passions of ordinary—and extraordinary—men and women, Amber experiences it all. But throughout her trials and escapades, she remains, in her heart, true to the one man she really loves, the one man she can never have. Frequently compared to Gone with the Wind, Forever Amber is the other great historical romance, outselling every other American novel of the 1940s—despite being banned in Boston for its sheer sexiness. A book to read and reread, this edition brings back to print an unforgettable romance and a timeless masterpiece.

    Included are many of the stories that have made him famous. There are "Little Miss Marker," "The Hottest Guy in the World," and "Madame La Gimp," who went Hollywood and became the celebrated Lady for a Day.You'll enjoy meeting some of Mr. Runyon's friends, socially. You'll like Harry the Horse and Spanish John and Little Isadore - hard characters, perhaps, but they would be hurt if you called them kidnapers. Then there's Big False Face, the Beer Baron. The police sent him to college at a place called Auburn, N.Y., and he also did post-graduate work at Ossining and Dannemora. And you'll meet Princess O'Hara and Goldberg, her horse, named after a guy who runs a delicatessen store on Tenth Avenue, and Last Card Louie, and The Brain himself. A veritable banquet in these pages for all those who like their Runyon straight.

    Three doctors came to Opportunity Moscow, Idaho, in the 1890s, drawn by the town's promise. All attained their private objectives and financial success, symbolized by owning a great buffalo coat to wear through the bitter winters. And yet, for these men there was irony in the name Opportunity--each of their lives ended in tragedy.

    

    It made such an impression that years later I created a mathematics problem based on the quipu, knotted strings that was used by the Incas to create, store & transmit messages. Roca is a message runner. His role is to physically transport quipu from one point in the Inca Empire to another. This particular night the task is even more critical. A foreign army marches against the empire. The message he carries is a warning. Ordinarily, he would only run a short leg of the journey & transfer the message to the next runner in the sequence. However, spies are trying to intercept the message & a puma attacks him. The next runner is attacked by the spies & injured, so he's unable to run his section of the route, which is the one that would take the message to the Emperor. Realizing the significance of his mission, Roca persists & is able to deliver the quipu to the court. A catastrophe is averted. This short story combines a tale of heroism with a history lesson. A short section on using quipu to store messages in the Inca language would be an excellent contribution to multicultural studies.--C. Ashbacher (edited)

    Rebellious young Sherry could not gain his inheritance until he married, he leaves his mother's house and on a passionate impulse, he vowed to marry the next woman he saw. But the very first woman he sees is his life-long friend Hero Wantage, a young and charmingly unsophisticated girl. To orphaned, pixie-ish Hero, who has secretly loved him since childhood, it seemed like a star-studded dream when dashing Lord Sheringham asked her to be his bride--for although she knew it was a marriage of convenience (his convenience), it eliminated the depressing prospect of life as a governess. It seems that this marriage might solve all their problems.Back in London, Hero soon discovers the glamorous social scene and strives to make a name for herself among the right circles. But their marriage soon became a frenetic comedy of errors, as Hero tried to keep up with the fashionable and very unfamiliar society in which she now found herself. From chariot races to gambling tables to exclusive drawing rooms, an exasperated Sherry followed in his wife's wake, trying to clear the air after her well-intentioned but scatterbrained escapades. But when Sherry intervenes, fearing she’ll embarrass them both, misunderstandings pile up, friendships are tested and hearts are pushed to breaking point. And it was with great surprise that both Hero and Sherry discovered that even a marriage of convenience can turn into a love affair, under certain circumstances....

    This piece of classic literature relates the tale ofa young doctor setting up a practice in the canal town.

    A must-read for all those interested in military history.