Herodotus wrote the first history book. It stated that Europe was full of cyclops. Steve Jobs never wrote a single line of programming code in his life. Joseph Stalin wasn’t Russian. Michael Jackson used to be a Jehovah’s Witness. Gandhi spoke English with an Irish accent. Leonardo Da Vinci was the first person who could explain why the sky is blue. Beethoven could only drink coffee if it was made of exactly 60 beans. It was only discovered in 2012 that Vincent Van Gogh was color-blind. The last film that Walt Disney worked on was The Jungle Book. Saint Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. Martin Luther King Jr. attempted suicide as a teenager. Isaac Newton believed Hercules was a real person. John F. Kennedy smoked weed in the White House. Charles Darwin ate every animal that he discovered. Christopher Columbus believed the Earth was pear-shaped. The only film that Nelson Mandela appeared in is Malcolm X. George Washington owned 30 dogs simultaneously. Napoleon was attacked by a herd of rabbits so badly, he had to hide in his carriage. The first person online to publically declare Osama Bin Laden’s death was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

    Twelve year-old Biddy has survived an intolerable life of indenture by remembering two things: adults can’t be trusted, and it’s best to be invisible. Due to an early trauma, she’s mute with no memory of her past. The man who holds her contract for indenture has evil plans for her, and he will stop at nothing to ensure his schemes come to fruition. Things look hopeless for Biddy until she meets two school teachers, Brenna and Emily. From that moment on, these three lives become intricately entwined. Biddy’s new champions take desperate measures to ensure her safety. Life and death choices are made and these accelerate into an unanticipated conclusion. As is often the case in life, what was wished for is granted in a most unexpected way. Victoria Murata has again embraced history to tell an enduring story of love and loss in our country’s not too distant past.

    

    Literature GuidesCreated by Harvard students for students everywhere, SparkNotes is a new breed of study guide: smarter, better, faster.Geared to what today's students need to know, SparkNotes provides:chapter-by-chapter analysisexplanations of key themes, motifs, and symbolsa review quiz and essay topicsLively and accessible, these guides are perfect for late-night studying and writing papers.

    Everyone but him.Life for bonny and kind-hearted Kenna Gordon can't get much worse after her home, the Castle Inverness, is sieged and her beloved father is executed for treason.A hostage in Queen Mary's court, Kenna's life is forfeit and she must obey the monarch or risk death. Thus, when she is commanded to marry a stranger named Robert Fraser, a loyal countryman and the son of a Laird, Kenna is powerless to resist.Renowned warrior Robert is astonished by Kenna's beauty and his primal desires are soon unleashed. He doesn't care where she came from--he desires her regardless.Sadly, the court is not very fond of her. Suspicion follows her wherever she goes. Kenna's past continues to plague her and a mysterious enemy is resolute in their mission to ensure that Kenna's family's treachery is never forgotten.Will Robert succumb to the rumours too? Or will he be the only person standing in the way of Kenna and the gallows?Highlander's Haunted Past, has over 80,000 words packed with romance, treachery, and emotion set on the beautiful backdrop of the Scottish Highlands. Get your copy TODAY for 99c OR FREE With Kindle Unlimited! Enjoy!

    The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing." – Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon (from Amazon)

    These stories have been around since the dawn of human civilization. They were tales that were passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition that spanned hundreds of years. They have since been written down, translated and have traveled the world, encompassing many languages and cultures over the millennia.These 60 stories can be read and enjoyed by all ages, all religions and all cultures.

    It focuses on the tumultuous lives of two Afghan women and how their lives cross each other, spanning from the 1960s to 2003. The book was released on May 22, 2007, and received favorable prepublication reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, as well as reaching #2 on Amazon.com's bestseller list before its release. Time magazine's Lev Grossman placed it at number three in the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, and praised it as a "dense, rich, pressure-packed guide to enduring the unendurable." Jonathan Yardley said in the Washington Post "Book World": "Just in case you're wondering whether Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns is as good as The Kite Runner, here's the answer: No. It's better."

    R. R. Tolkien... Free BONUS Inside! J. R. R. Tolkien, an orphan in love with words, spent most of his life as an unassuming Professor of Literature at Oxford studying and teaching old languages. During his time there, he created his very own languages and a mythological world, Middle-earth. Middle-earth was inhabited by Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and other fascinating creatures. It was a world that became almost more real to Tolkien than the one he lived in. Tolkien’s two masterpieces, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, have set the standard in mythological literature. Translated into more than 70 languages, the books and their battles of good and evil are as relevant today as they were when Tolkien first wrote them. Discover a plethora of topics such as From South Africa to the English Countryside Tolkien’s Forbidden Love Tolkien during World War I Years at Oxford The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Late Life and Death And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on J. R. R. Tolkien, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

    It features a biography of the author, a full-length analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. If you're studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you'll find this guide informative and helpful. Part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

    Pages: 48. Chapters: Altheda, Altheda's potion, Altheda's wand, Amata, Amata's lover, Antioch Peverell, Antioch Peverell's first wand, Antioch Peverell's killer, Asha, Babbitty, Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump, Brigade of Witch-Hunters, Cadmus Peverell, Cadmus Peverell's girlfriend, Cadmus Peverell's wand, Captain of the Brigade of Witch-Hunters, Charlatan, Cloak of Invisibility, Crystal casket, Death, Elder Wand, Enchanted garden, Evil sorcerer, Fountain, Gold statue of Babbitty, Grumble the Grubby Goat, Hairy Heart, Ignotus Peverell, Ignotus Peverell's son, Ignotus Peverell's wand, King, Kinsfolk, Maiden, Never-Ending Hill, Old man's donkey, Old man's family, Old man, Peasant woman's granddaughter, Peasant woman, Poisonous toadstool, Poultice for warts, Resurrection Stone, Sabre, Silver chalice, Sir Luckless, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Hopping Pot, The Tale of the Three Brothers, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, The Warlock's friends, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, Warlock, Wizard's father, Wizard, Young woman's child, Young woman. Excerpt: Altheda was one of the three female protagonists in The Fountain of Fair Fortune, written by Beedle the Bard. Altheda was a witch who came to the Fountain in the hope of finding relief from poverty and despair, as her home, money, and wand had all been stolen by a Dark Wizard. After completing three trials, Altheda arrived at the Fountain with her companions Asha, Amata, and Sir Luckless. Before the four could decide who would get to bathe in the Fountain, however, Asha collapsed from exhaustion. Altheda quickly gathered some of the herbs that grew around the Fountain and prepared a potion for Asha. The potion not only saved Asha's life, but also cured her of the malady she suffered, which she had believed only the Fountain could heal. In curing Asha's sickness, Altheda realized that she had the means to earn a living, and thus had no need to...

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, Plain Truth, Salem Falls, My Sister's Keeper, Second Glance, Perfect Match, the Pact, Keeping Faith, Songs of the Humpback Whale, Harvesting the Heart, the Tenth Circle, Picture Perfect, Vanishing Acts. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Change of Heart is a novel by Jodi Picoult published in 2008. Shay Bourne is the first New Hampshire death row prisoner in 69 years. He wants to donate his heart after his execution to the half sister/daughter of his victims who is in need of a heart transplant. Shay Bourne killed June Nealon's daughter and husband. Soon after June had another child named Claire. Claire needed a heart and Shay was put on deathrow and wanted to give his heart to Claire. The jury convicts Shay of two counts of capital murder. The jury then deliberates on the death penalty. After much time, they all agree, with Michael Wright being the last juror to agree on the death penalty. Shay Bourne is transferred to the I-tier at the Concord state prison. Shay is in the cell next to Lucius DuFresne, an artist with HIV who killed his gay lover. During the night Shay tells Lucius the he wants to donate his heart to a little girl that he saw on TV. Michael the juror has become the junior priest at a parish in Concord, New Hampshire. June has long since given birth to her daughter Claire, who is in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant. Although she has had a defibrillator transplanted in her heart prior, it is wearing her out and without a new heart, she is sure to die. Back in the I-tier there is a strange incident with wine flowing through the toilet pipes. Shay's final appeal is denied and his execution date is set, two and a half months away. He fights with Maggie, his lawye...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=1662218

    Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book contains chapters focused on Don Quixote, Works inspired by Don Quixote, and Characters in Don Quixote. More info: (;, see spelling and pronunciation below), fully titled The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, is a novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes created a fictional origin for the story by inventing a Moorish chronicler for Don Quixote named Cide Hamete Benengeli. Published in two volumes a decade apart (in 1605 and 1615), Don Quixote is the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age in the Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published.

    Whereas Caesar Triumphant covers Caesar's invasion of the Isle of Wa, now known as Japan, Caesar Ascending is set in 44 BC and tells the story of his planned invasion of Parthia, and includes the characters of the internationally bestselling Marching With Caesar series, featuring Titus Pullus. Determined not to repeat the mistakes made by Caesar's friend and fellow Triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus, the Dictator has trained his Legions in tactics specifically designed to thwart the famed Parthian cataphracts and horse archers, but as Caesar and his army learns, the Parthians have been working on their own surprises, all in an attempt to destroy another Roman army and send a message to Rome that they are not the only world power.