Her lifelong friend, Ingrid, has asked her to do the impossible -- authenticate the painting from a photograph. The photograph in question was passed down to Ingrid by her grandfather, Klaus Rettke a key member of the German Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, the Nazi organization appointed to confiscate art from the Jews. Obscure references in Klaus Rettke's diary convince Maggie that Rettke stole the painting from the Nazis. Now she must use science to verify that the painting in the photo is genuine, something that has never been done before. From the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to the Musee du Jeu de Paume in Paris, Maggie searches for answers. Finally, she confronts the possibility that there is not one painting, but the original and several forgeries. With tens of millions of dollars at stake and a killer at large, she is determined to find the authentic Van Gogh. To do so, Maggie must stay alive . . . something that's proving difficult to do.

    It was to be an age of post-Impressionistic color, form and wonderment that the art world discovered only after the master's death. Bouts of anxiety, mental illness and epilepsy may have tormented him and brought about his suicide at the age of 37. But they may also have been catalysts for emotionality and vibrance in his art that reveal a turbulent search for grace.The compilation of Vincent Van Gogh's 500 finest color paintings in this online volume comes to you in a digitally restored state: the eye-popping brilliance and vitality are just as on the day Van Gogh finished them. Unless noted otherwise, all of them were originally oil paintings on canvas or wood (the few exceptions are watercolors). The arrangement is by genre (see the list below) and is chronological within each genre section. There are a few duplicates, that is, some paintings from one genre are also shown within the scope of another genre in order to emphasize their "dual nature." This is especially true for the images in "Skyscapes," many of which are reprised from "Landscapes" or other relevant genres to afford you, the viewer, with a fresh perspective on a different aspect of the composition.Technical Note: All 500 images are in color -- they render beautifully in optimized gray-scale tones for black-and-white e-book readers, but exhibit even more stunningly in full color with color readers and inside Kindle apps for color-enabled computers and portable or hand-held devices.The masterpieces are organized into the following genres (with the tally of images in each):PORTRAITS (24)SELF-PORTRAITS (18)CHARACTER AND ACTION STUDIES (31)LABORERS (37)TOWNSCAPES: FROM A DISTANCE (17)TOWNSCAPES: FROM INSIDE THE TOWN (30)BUILDINGS: FROM AN EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE (35)BUILDINGS: INTERIOR DESIGN (17)BIRDS (2)ANIMALS (7)FLOWERS AND GARDENS: LIVING AND GROWING (20)FLOWERS: FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS (29)STILL LIFE (45)TREES (50)LANDSCAPES (50)WATERSCAPES: THE SEA (6)WATERSCAPES: RIVERS, CANALS AND BRIDGES (23)SKYSCAPES (38)NIGHTSCAPES: AT SUNSET (14)NIGHTSCAPES: BY MOONLIGHT (3)NIGHTSCAPES: STARRY NIGHTS (5)NIGHTSCAPES: AT SUNRISE (1)

    

    King Alfred has been forced to flee from his winter court in Cippinhamm by Guthrum, self-styled King of the Danelaw and East Anglia, part of the great invasion force by the horde that will become known as the Vikings. Driven into the swamps of Somersetshire, Alfred spends a miserable winter at Athelney before finally feeling that the time is right to call the fyrd, the Saxon call to arms summoning the men of Westseaxe to rally to their King to drive the Danish invaders from their lands. Answering that call is young Titus of Cissanbyrig, a youth with an unusual name to go along with his unusual size and strength. Despite only being fourteen and that his village is under the control of Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire who has sided with Guthrum, Titus decides to leave the only home he’s ever known, joining the call issued by the Lord of Wilton more than a dozen miles away, one of the nobles of Wiltshire who has remained faithful to the King. What drives Titus from his home is the enmity of his father, who blames him for Titus’ mother’s death in childbirth because of his size, but while he will never know it, the truth is more complex. Ultimately what sends young Titus on his first steps towards his destiny is his deep-seated, insistent belief that he’s not meant for a life behind the plow but for the sword, a conviction that has been passed to him across almost a millennium of time and distance, to a dusty Roman province in Spain, passed down by the man who was the first of his line, Titus Pomponius Pullus, Centurion of Rome. The Titus Chronicles-Eagle and Wyvern is the first of a new series by the author of the international bestselling Marching With Caesar series.

    As soon as I reached the doors for the west wing ICU, I looked around for the family visitation room. I entered the doors with my adrenaline on overload. The first face I spotted was Ma Lique. She stood over Rah as he sat in a chair with his arms draped over his knees and his head lowered slightly above them. Ma Lique was stroking his back and I feared the worst. My steps seemed to fail me as it felt like forever to make it next to where they sat. Feeling my presence, Ma Lique looked my way with a tear-stained face. “What the fuck is going on?” I asked worry etched in every word I spoke. Ma Lique spoke first. “Calm down, baby. Deena was in an accident. She’s in surgery. We’re waiting to hear from the doctor,” she uttered through muffled tears. “It wasn’t no fucking accident!” Rah shrieked rising to his feet and moving toward the window. “The bitch ran her off the road and tried to kill her and my unborn seed.” “Man, what the fuck happened?” I asked as I followed him. “Man, I don’t know all the details. All I know is the highway patrolman said witness statements indicate her truck was clipped and rammed by another vehicle. By the time both cars came to a standstill, a tractor trailer slammed the other vehicle pushing it into her car before both cars went spiraling down an embankment.” “Do they have any idea who did this shit?” I asked Rah as I huffed and puffed. “Yeah, man. It was that bitch, Cashmere. She’s in this mothafucka somewhere. When I get my hands on her she’s a dead bitch,” Rah seethed, teeth clenched and his right fist hitting the palm of his left hand. “Nah, my nigga. I got that bitch. I’ll tell you about the bullshit as soon as Pimp is out of the woods,” I sneered attempting to rein in my anger towards Cashmere. I patted Rah on the back. “Pimp is going to be alright, man. She’s strong and a damn fighter. There’s no way in hell she’ll let a bitch like Cashmere take her out. Plus, she’s going to fight tooth and nail to hang on for CaLi and RJ. Trust me, man. She’s gonna make it.” “I keep telling myself that, man. I love her so much. Man, if I lose her I don’t know what I’ll do.” A few minutes later, we heard a little commotion and turned to see CaLi and her grandparents coming through the doors. Rah turned and CaLi ran straight into his arms. He hugged her tightly. “She’s going to be alright, CaLi. Your momma isn’t going to leave you.” CaLi cried uncontrollably. “I can’t lose her, Rah. I just can’t. What about my baby brother? I can’t lose him either. Who would be so mean to do this to my mother?” Ma Lique walked over and pulled CaLi into her arms. “Baby, your momma is a fighter. She’ll fight for you and your brother. Come with me and your grandparents to the chapel to pray.” She gave CaLi a few tissues to wipe her face and the four of them walked away. A few minutes later, CoCo appeared carrying a take-out tray with four cups with lids on it. “Hey Monty,” she spoke, as she handed Rah a cup first and then passed one to me. I gave her the “What’s up,” head nod and then lifted the cup to my lips. When the liquid slid down my throat and the taste of Cognac hit my taste buds, a smile formed on my face.

    Without help from her daughters dad she picks up a fast and easy job which turns out to be stripping at Hot Lips Night Club. Luckily while working at the club she meets a smooth, good looking, stand up guy by the name of Midnight. Midnight is a businessman and all he wants is a real woman by his side through it all. He admires An'yah and is willing to give her the good life she's been looking for and wanting, but by then An'yah only wanted to focus on what was important in her life. An'yah figured it was absolutely nothing wrong with having Midnight as a friend, especially if he was willing to break her off and help her when she needed it the most. But after a while she couldn't hide the feelings she had for him. He made it very hard to not want him as a soulmate, but after finding out that he's the plug, she questions if a relationship with him is a risk she was willing to take.

    When the change struck, a quarter of the world’s population simultaneously, and without warning, perished. Seven minutes later the corpses reanimated and promptly began to attack the living. At zero hour well over one billion zombies walked the Earth. A day later, more than half the world’s population had turned. Escaping the city, Jacob Thornton and a group of survivors began work on a settlement deep in the wilderness where they hoped to rebuild their shattered lives. Isolated and far from the chaos, it seemed they were indeed safe, that is, until the raiders appeared. Forced to flee, Jacob led his people north to the Black Hills. They built fortifications, gathered supplies, and waited for the inevitable. It did not come. Time passed. Homes were constructed, crops planted, and contact made with others around the globe. So few remained, but efforts were underway to rid the world of zombies. There was a very real chance civilization would bloom once more. Then the enemy returned, determined to complete the genocide they began two years earlier.

     Yet Foreman is both unelected and unpopular. Some say he and his cronies are almost communist – Russian sympathisers, perhaps? Almost everybody around him believes him to be a repellent human being and fundamentally unfit for office. But can Foreman be stopped and should he be stopped? In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, few Americans have an appetite for conflict, but there is an exception: The Destruction Committee. Forged in the theatre of war, the Destruction Committee comprises top-grade soldiers, men who know how to kill quickly, efficiently, ruthlessly and without being caught. Operating well outside the law, the Destruction Committee nonetheless declares itself dedicated to the greater good and minimal damage. When it comes to those it deems a threat to society, however, The Destruction Committee kills without mercy. And The Destruction Committee believes that Carlyn Foreman is a threat. The Destruction Committee is a classic thriller that touches upon the nature of American politics, the psychological effects of war and death, and the allocation of political power. Praise for William J. Coughlin ‘Good storytelling … jackhammer drive … the climax is gripping.’ — Detroit News ‘Satisfying and right on target … Among Coughlin’s best.’— Detroit News ‘Coughlin keeps you burning the midnight oil to the very end.’ — Kirkus Reviews ‘First-rate entertainment.’ — Booklist William J. Coughlin has combined a career as a United States administrative judge in Detroit with that of a best-selling novelist. His four previous highly acclaimed and successful novels are The Twelve Apostles, His Father’s Daughter, In the Presence of Enemies and Shadow of a Doubt .

    It focuses on critical analysis of the subject through a workbook section and self-quizzes along with prompts to explore the chapter's images and topics through the ArtStudy 2.0 CD-ROM, Web Site, and WebTutor? supplements.

    But Gregor Muir knew them at the start; his unique memoir chronicles the birth of Young British Art. Muir, YBA’s ‘embedded journalist’, happened to be in Shoreditch and Hoxton before Jay Jopling arrived with his White Cube Gallery, when this was still a semi-derelict landscape of grotty pubs and squats. There he witnessed, amid a whirl of drunkenness, scrapes and riotous hedonism, the coming-together of a remarkable array of young artists – Hirst, the Chapman brothers, Rachel Whiteread, Sam Taylor-Wood, Angus Fairhurst - who went on to produce a fresh, irreverent, often notorious form of art - Hirst’s shark, Sarah Lucas’s two fried eggs and a kebab. By the time of the seminal Sensation show at the Royal Academy YBA had changed the art world for ever.

     Napoleon Bonaparte These prophetic words are the beginning of an adventure. When two intrepid Aussies decide to buy a house in France after living on a boat for 11 years, they get more than baguettes and stinky cheese. Wonderful neighbours, horrible drains, fabulous wine, French taxes. Boat to Baguette is a humorous rollercoaster ride as Hettie and Boomie make France their new home.

    Laine gave up her job as a nurse, sold her home and gave away most of her belongings. She has three desires bubbling at the heart of her choice: to write a book, paint a picture and climb a mountain before she died. A man with a van took most of her remaining belongings, along with her basset hound Basil, down to the heel of Italy over 1,500 miles away, where she would spend the next four years. If it all seemed like a folly, then she was willing to take the risk. She moved to a house that she had only spent a week in the year before. She knew no one and yet she had surety in her resolve. She wanted to feel fully present in feeling unsafe and comfortable with the not knowing. And so the journey began, a new language, a new life laced with humour and laughter under the warm southern Italian sun. Come and join her...

    When Midnight became involved with Yah and the girls everyone saw it coming but they didn’t know that he would change so drastically. Midnight is madly in love with Yah and he’s also dying to know if Yah would become his wife someday. With Yah finally being able to break free from her baby’s father Jaheim everyone is dying to know if she’ll go back to him or if she truly have her mind set on working things out with Midnight. In Falling For The Plug Two, the crew is back and the drama continues.

    A chance to set things right. Mike Humber, an ex-detective sacked for beating a child molester is offered an opportunity to make amends for the failures of his past but once that path is chosen it leads to an event that changes everything he has ever known.From the mind of the best-selling author RR Haywood comes a violent gut-wrenching tale of revenge.RECRUITED was first published in RR Haywood's The Book of Shorts Volume One to great critical acclaim

    Genevieve Lenard, a brilliant investigator with high-functioning autism, faces her life's greatest challenge when a murder probe uncovers a web of unimaginable corruption. With great reluctance, she becomes part of a team in a race to stop more artists from being murdered.#2 The Dante Connection Despite her initial disbelief, Doctor Genevieve Lenard discovers that she is the key that connects stolen works of art, ciphers and sinister threats. Little does she know that she's about to embark on a journey through not one, but two twisted minds to discover the true target of their mysterious messages. It will take all her personal strength and knowledge as a nonverbal communications expert to overcome fears that could cost not only her life, but the lives of many others.#3 The Braque ConnectionDrugged and kidnapped, Doctor Genevieve wakes up to find that a psychopath has been framing one of her team members for senseless acts of violence. Something has triggered his unpredictable behaviour, something that might result in many more deaths, including those she cares for.