They built lavish villas designed by the best Beaux Arts–style architects of the time, including Richard Morris Hunt, Charles McKim and Robert Swain Peabody. America’s elite delighted in referring to these grand retreats as “summer cottages,” where they would play tennis and polo and sail their yachts along the shores of the Ocean State. The coachman had an important role as the discreet outdoor butler for Gilded Age gentlemen—not only was he in charge of the horses, but he also acted as a travel advisor and connoisseur of entertainment venues. From the driver’s seat, author and guide Edward Morris provides a diverse collection of biographical sketches that reveal the outrageous and opulent lives of some of America’s leading entrepreneurs.

    Historical novel that explodes all the myths that surround Mastani who was the second wife of Peshwa Baji Rao I in Central India in the 1700s.

    Will Rising had dragged himself from humble beginnings to his own small tailoring business in Gloucester - and on the way he'd fallen violently in love with Florence, refined, delicate, and wanting something better for her children. March was the eldest girl, the least loved, the plain, unattractive one who, as the family grew, became more and more the household drudge. But March, a strange, intelligent, unhappy child, had inherited some of her mother's dreams. March Rising was determined to break out of the round of poverty and hard work, to find wealth, and love, and happiness.

    They are unique to the individual and no two persons can ever experience the same dream. Or so Doctor Charlotte Henson thought when she started treating the enigmatic and charming Michael. From the best-selling author of The Undead Series comes a gut wrenching tale of twisted and brutal imaginings, a sickening exploration of the depravity the mind can force on a person...The Second Reality.... "He has created a whole new world" "It has some fantastic battle scenes, up there with the Undead ones" "Haywood paints such a clear picture of the scenes and characters in your mind and the relationships between them is brilliantly done." "the story and eloquence in its telling are inspirational." "absolutely loved the story had me hooked from chapter one it has a maturity which I was surprised at" Warning: This book contains graphic scenes of both a violent and sexual nature and is intended for adults.

    As far as his eyes could see, he was the only one left alive. You might think he was pretty upset about the whole situation and he was, for awhile. There were dead bodies and nothing but desolation and it's true that he sat around a lot and wished that he was dead, too. For a long time he wondered why he remained and all the others were taken. Then he thought, it doesn't matter. It just is. Anyway, sitting around just got boring. So he equipped himself with tools and weapons and set out with his faithful sidekick so see what there was left to see and do what there was left to do. He wasn't disappointed, because since the fall of Humanity, the world had changed in a thousand different ways too small to notice at first and some so fantastic he couldn't believe it. As the days passed into weeks, he discovered something amazing: there really are monsters in the dark." What if a pandemic plague struck the planet and when you woke up one morning, everyone else was dead? What if you were a fourteen year old boy with an excellent imagination and the will to survive? What if you found that something else was out there, hunting you? This is the story of Brady, a teenager who quickly discovers that although people may be scarce in the world of the Abandonment, other things are arising to take their place. He is master of all he surveys but discovers that the world has changed and that he has gained some new exciting abilities. With no adults to tell him what to do and no peers to judge him, Brady discovers that he is capable of great deeds and this is a good thing, because things long quiet are waking up from the sleep of ages. With his faithful dog, Max, and a host of non-human assistants, Brady discovers that there are monsters in the dark and that deep within his own heart, a hero dwells. This post-apocalyptic novel straddles the line between fantasy and magic surrealism and is intended for teenage audiences and beyond. Half survival tale and half magical odyssey, this is a hero's journey into the darkness of the monster's lair and back out again. Action, horror, and mystery blend together with a sense of wonder and loss at a world gone forever. If the world ended tomorrow and you were still alive, then what? In this novel, the main character decides to survive and finds that, aside from food, water and a safe place to sleep, his most necessary tool for survival is imagination and a good, sharp sword! This novel is lavishly illustrated with 50 beautifully crafted drawings by Brian Estes. The story is set in the present-day cities of Bangor and Brewer in central Maine after the advent of an airborne virus has destroyed all but a few humans on earth. Unless these people can find each other, the species is doomed to extinction. This reconnection of the few straggling survivors becomes one of the central themes of the story. Perfect for readers looking for adventure, ghosts, werewolves, and things coming to life that were never meant to do so. A ripping good tale!

    publication of Women of Sand and Myrrh--which has now sold more than 35,000 copies and was selected as one of the Fifty Best Books of 1992 by Publishers Weekly--Hanan al-Shaykh has attracted an ever larger following for her dazzling tales of contemporary Arab women. In these seventeen short stories--eleven of which are appearing in English for the first time--al-Shaykh expands her horizons beyond the boundaries of Lebanon, taking us throughout the Middle East, to Africa, and finally to London. Stylistically diverse, her stories are often about the shifting and ambiguous power relationships between different cultures--as well as between men and women. Often compared to both Margaret Atwood and Margaret Drabble, Hanan al-Shaykh is "a gifted and courageous writer" (Middle Eastern International).

    Her American husband, Peter, has certainty only in her. They thought that they were used to the upheavals in Lebanon, but as the war in neighbouring Syria enters its fifth year, the region’s increasingly fragile state begins to impact on their lives in wholly different ways.An incident in a busy street brings them into direct contact with a Syrian refugee and her son. As they work to reunite Fatima with her family, her story forces Hannah to face the crisis of the expanding refugee camps, and to question the very future of her homeland.And when their close friend Anas, an artist, arrives to open his exhibition, shocking news from his home in Damascus raises uncomfortable questions about his loyalty to his family and his country.Heartrending and beautifully written, An Unsafe Haven is a universal story of people whose lives are tested and transformed, as they wrestle with the anguish of war, displacement and loss, but also with the vital need for hope.

    But when he sees the brutality and disrespect to Mauryavansh by the Pashtun rebels, he cannot stay silent. His sword is as quick as his temper, and the result is swift and bloody justice. Taxila is saved—but the Emperor is furious. Emperor Bindusara, egged on by his favorite queen, Noor Khorasan, becomes convinced that Ashoka’s show of initiative is an act of treason. Even the wise words of nonagenarian Kautilya, emerging from retirement, fall on deaf ears. Queen Khorasan’s well-mounted plot to control the empire sweeps up everyone who opposes her. Suddenly, Ashoka is forced to choose between his mother’s life and his own. What will the young prince do?India’s epic storyteller brings alive the battles, brutality, lust and politics of ancient India in vivid detail with thrilling action, and no-holds-barred storytelling. Relive the extraordinary life story of India’s greatest emperor as a young man in Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila.

    Los Angeles has Joan Didion and Raymond Chandler, and Istanbul, Orhan Pamuk. The beautiful, resilient city of Beirut belongs to Khoury.”—Laila Lalami, Los Angeles Times“Because the world is the way it is, because whole groups of people can be maligned, neglected, ignored, for too many years, we need the voice of Elias Khoury—detailed, exquisite, humane—more than ever. Read him. Without fail, read him.”—Naomi Shihab NyeWhy was the corpse of Khalil Ahmed Jâber found in the municipal garbage dump? Why had this civil servant disappeared weeks before his horrific death? Who was this man? A journalist begins to piece together an answer by speaking with his widow, a local engineer, the concierge, the garbage man who discovered him, the doctor who performed the autopsy, and a young soldier. Their stories emerge, along with the horrors of the bloody civil war and ravaging effects on the human psyche. With empathy and pain, Elias Khoury reveals the havoc the war has wreaked on Beirut and its inhabitants, as well as the resilience of a people.Born in Beirut in 1948, Elias Khoury is the author of over a dozen novels, four volumes of literary criticism, and three plays. His Gate of the Sun—deemed “a genuine masterwork” by The New York Times Book Review—was a 2006 New York Times Notable Book and was named Best Book of the Year by both The Christian Science Monitor and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is a Global Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University.Maia Tabet was born in Lebanon and is a sometime literary translator and a professional cook, now living in the U.S. She is the translator of Khoury’s first novel to be published in English, Little Mountain, and has also translated the poetry of Adonis.

     And the support of the Vault became increasingly important as Van Horn realised that his company was in dire straits and in danger of sinking fast… When Van Horn is killed in a plane crash, everyone assumes that control of his mighty but ailing empire and his seat on the Vault will pass to his feckless son, Junior. But even in death Van Horn still has a few tricks up his sleeve — it is not his son, but his daughter Victoria, from whom he had been estranged for years, who is his true heir. Victoria Van Horn, beautiful and rich in her own right, has reservations about taking on her father’s role in the business. Especially as she has just gambled everything she possesses on a new and risky venture of her own... As for the all-male bastion of the Vault, she holds no illusions. Yet she cannot shirk her duties as her father’s heir and soon discovers her father’s enemies are now set on destroying her… Her brother, Junior, is furious at having been slighted and with his scheming wife Cecelia, he launches a suit to discredit Victoria and throw her out of Van Horn Enterprises for good. In this endeavour he is seemingly helped by Chilton Vance, Hunter Van Horn’s trusted right-hand man whose treachery hides beneath an easy smile and a determination to ruthlessly bring down the entire Van Horn family… Her Father’s Daughter explores the deception and corruption that can tear a family apart. 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 with that of a bestselling novelist. A former defence attorney and judge in Detroit for twenty years, he authored sixteen novels, and his experience living and working provided some of the inspiration for his law- and courtroom-themed thrillers.

    He's in his element when he's outside in the country air, not stuck in a classroom wasting his youth and the beauty of Yorkshire. When he starts as an apprentice farrier, his first few days are a baptism of fire. His fellow apprentice is a wind-up merchant and his gruff boss, Stanley, ribs him mercilessly about his tea drinking habit. But in this chaotic environment, the three of them form a brotherhood, and soon, Will realises that the coming year is going to teach him a lot more than how to shoe a horse properly...

    He’s investing heavily in so-called “death bonds,” which allow investors to purchase cut-rate life insurance policies from the living, collecting the full amount when they die. Rory, a true entrepreneur, takes matters—and lives—into his own hands, ensuring a faster payout and sending him down a rabbit hole of sociopathic amusements. But even murderous madmen want love, and Rory has his heart set on impressive public-relations expert Dawn Knight. There’s just one problem: Clay Harbor, a Navy SEAL turned doctor who has been carrying a torch for Dawn, is back in town. Clay has chosen to put his energies toward saving lives for the moment, but deep down, he is as skilled and ruthless a killer as Rory.The acclaimed author of Odd Jobs returns with a twisted romp through the dark side of Wall Street.

    

    Amari Soul's "Reflections Of A Man" series (following the release of the inspirational best seller "Reflections Of A Man") will help you to get past your pain, get rid of the self-doubt and help you to see yourself in a new light... a light which illuminates through all of the darkness and shines through to the Beautiful, Strong Woman inside of you.

    Kodigehalli Mune Gowda was crowned the city's first 'don' back in the 1960s, but it was in the '80s and the '90s that powerhouses like Muthappa Rai, Sreedhar, 'Boot House' Kumar aka Oil Kumar, Bekkina Kannu Rajendra and Srirampura Kitty emerged. In Bhais of Bengaluru, Jyoti Shelar, a print journalist with ten years of work experience as a field reporter, explores this mysterious and fascinating underbelly of India's Garden City.