She was not tempted to change her fate until she met an American marquis - and temptation took on a new, solidly male form.

    Find out ancient secrets: How are mummies made? Where does Chinese silk come from? Learn forgotten rituals: Leap over a Minoan bull, vote in an ancient Greek election, and become a jaguar warrior. And finally, bring forgotten skills to life: Pass notes in your own form of Sumerian writing, dine on ancient Roman delicacies, and play Mayan football in your backyard.

    Still traumatized by the tragic loss of her assistant on her last expedition, Whitney can only watch from a distance when her husband and daughter agree to join a NASA-sponsored caving trip. When the expedition is seized by a band of criminals—effectively holding her family hostage—Whitney must surmount her all-consuming fear and put everything on the line for her family. Battling her own terror and the paralyzing elements of the subterranean atmosphere will take all the knowledge and strength Whitney has in this high-stakes tale of adventure. “Expertly crafted, [LABYRINTH] is one of the most exciting yarns of this millennium. Brilliantly told and realized. A great read.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    Here, first published in 1984, is an unforgettable story of a woman who must discover who she is before she can give herself to the man she loves.Although he'd already heard a great deal about Rachel Busek, nothing prepared Jim Guthrie for the beautiful flutist's gentle grace. A rough-hewn private investigator, Jim is nearly overwhelmed with the urge to love and protect her. And Rachel is both amazed and delighted at the ease with which Jim slips into her life. Yet as quick passion gives way to leisurely love, Rachel finds herself holding back. Troubling pieces of her past remain a mystery even to her, and keep her from trusting her heart. Now, she must either discover the truth about her past or risk losing the first man in her life worth keeping.

    He remains a sincere lover of God’s church and people as he directs weary pilgrims to safer lodging.”—John Lynch, coauthor of TrueFaced and Bo’s Café Have you been betrayed by a Christian friend?Are you disillusioned with the church? If you have been hurt by Christians, you know all about anger and resentment. But what about a workable solution? How can the words and actions of “bad Christians” be addressed so the mistakes are not repeated?  When Bad Christians Happen to Good People offers a workable response and, ultimately, a new way of living. In this revised and updated edition, you will find healing for hurts infl icted by others. At the same time, you will discover ways to help Christians and church leaders recognize the damage that is done by unexamined assumptions, words, and actions. After dealing with his own hurt, Dave Burchett now shows believers how to:■ Live as Jesus followers, not rule enforcers■ Stop using religious performance as the standard for accepting others■ Let go of moralism, legalism, and an allegiance to trying harder■ Discover God’s grace as a daily reality, not just a word to use in evangelism Working toward a solution will benefi t your own life at the same time it helpsothers. Whether you have been a bad Christian in the past, or have been hurt by one,there is a better way to live.Discussion Guide Included for Individual and Small-Group Use

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    A wired-in thrill ride into the here and now of tripping, raving, net-surfing...and beyond."An eerie tale of 20-somethings caught up in an increasingly trippy world of homegrown religion. Set in an abandoned piano factory in Oakland, CA., Rushkoff's novel drops several characters--hackster, hipster, hustler, hippie--into a pop-culture Cuisinart along with a nice Jewish boy, and then spins them off into an intricate plot that leads to a showdown with the leader of a rival cultlike group." --New York Times

    Filled with helpful information that was essential for safe travel west as well as a fascinating view of the strenuous life faced by prairie travelers before the era of the railroad.

    With over 150 illustrations and text told entirely in dialogue, Briggs' original and provocative story tells what happens when a seven-inch man appears at the home of a young boy, and the boy is compelled to become a father to the man. Full color.

    In A Closed Eye, Anita Brookner explores, with compassionate insight and stylistic brilliance, the self-inflicted paradoxes in the life of Harriet Lytton, a woman whose powers of submissiveness and self-denial are suddenly tested by the dizzying prospect of sexual awakening.In Harriers gallant struggle with the single great temptation that comes her way, Brookner creates a hauntingly flawed heroine and a study in the evasions and disappointments that make up all our lives.

    Something crazy… For one night I gave my submission to a stranger. I let him dominate me. Claim me. Own me. But that night rocked my world in more ways than one… I’m pregnant. Now he’s back and won’t stop until I’m calling him Master. Lysa Leo was a mistake. A beautiful, toe-curling, scorching-hot mistake. He was a stranger, but I let him take me in ways I never dreamed of. He showed me the pleasure of submission and the thrill of being dominated. He shook my world to the foundation, and then he was gone. I told myself it was for the best, that girls like me and guys like him are like oil and water, but it still hurts just as much. The worst part? I’m pregnant, and he has no idea. Leo Walking away from her was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She was my temptress. My seductress. My perfect little temple of purity just begging to be corrupted. But I couldn’t do it. Every moment I spent with her sullied her sweet innocence, and no matter how unbearably hungry I was to taste her again, I couldn’t ruin her, so I left. But when I run into her two months later at the hospital and she’s pregnant? Well, every man has limits to his restraint, and there’s no f**king way I’m going to be able to keep away from my pet if she could be carrying my baby. I don’t just want to be the father of her baby. I want to be her Master. *As always, this is a totally SAFE, full length book with a happily ever after, no cheating, and plenty of steam. Bonus content included.*

    Wounded severely in both body and spirit, Stromsoe gave up the last thing that held any meaning for him—his job on the police force—and proceeded to hit rock bottom, hard.That was a lifetime ago, and finally the spiral of personal destruction and despair seems to have come to an end. The man responsible for the murders—Stromsoe's best friend from childhood and his wife's old lover—is behind bars and Stromsoe has put the past behind him, rescued from the abyss by a former colleague who offers him a job at his private security firm. Stromsoe's first assignment is to protect local television personality Frankie Hatfield from a stalker. But the further Stromsoe is drawn into this case, the more he finds that the net of intrigue is wide and ultimately leads back to the man who killed his family. As events conspire against him, Stromsoe learns that prison is no safeguard against revenge.T. Jefferson Parker has been hailed as belonging "in the first rank of American crime novelists" (Washington Post Book World) and praised for "some of the finest writing you'll ever read" (Chicago Sun-Times). Superbly crafted, emotionally complex, and filled with heart-stopping action, Storm Runners proves why the novels of T. Jefferson Parker are impossible to resist.

    Few read of the trials & tribulations of those who risked their "lives, fortunes & sacred honor" for the liberty we dearly cherish. LIVES OF THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, originally published in 1848, provides a brief biography of each of these men. These biographies, accompanied by fifty engravings, illuminate "the chief events in the lives of the men who stood sponsors at the baptism of blood of our infant republic." Children will rediscover the private & public virtues of America's most venerated fathers; they will relive the creation of the most stable & enviable nation in the world. LIVES OF THE SIGNERS also offers an instructive survey of the causes of Independence, simplifying the Declaration with discussion & analysis for each grievance. An excellent tool for the promising young scholar, & a worthy addition to any library.

    All traits she trained hard to enhance when she discovered the world of Dominance and submission in college. In an attempt to start fresh after the unexpected death of her last Dom, Catherine moves to Dallas, TX to escape the shroud of darkness he left behind in her life. She has tried to fight the need that resides deep within her to submit, but finally has to admit she can’t for it is not a choice, but part of who she truly is. After months of mental preparation, she ventures back into the lifestyle by attending a coveted open-night event at Dungeons and Dreams, an exclusive BDSM club.Is it fate or coincidence that Catherine garners the attention of one of the club’s board members who happens to be on the hunt for the perfect sub – a partner who enjoys receiving pain and pleasure as much as he enjoys doling it out?Jayden Masterson is many things: a firm Dom, a shrewd businessman, and a gentleman. What he isn’t, is someone who partakes in relationships outside of contractual ones with his multiple, un-collared, regular submissives. While he likes rough sex, he is not an animal, and can find pleasure only if it is consensual. What his harem is missing is a pain slut; could there be one in his future?Upon meeting Catherine, Jayden feels an instantaneous spark inside him that has him wanting to know not just her body, but her mind. He wants to unravel her mysteries and discover her secrets. Through pain can they find the pleasure they seek? Can part-time pain lovers find full-time fulfillment when it’s not in their contract?

    His colleagues resist her argument that human reason is overrated and that the inability to reason does not diminish the value of life; his wife denounces his mother's vegetarianism as a form of moral superiority.At the dinner that follows her first lecture, the guests confront Costello with a range of sympathetic and skeptical reactions to issues of animal rights, touching on broad philosophical, anthropological, and religious perspectives. Painfully for her son, Elizabeth Costello seems offensive and flaky, but—dare he admit it?—strangely on target.Here the internationally renowned writer J. M. Coetzee uses fiction to present a powerfully moving discussion of animal rights in all their complexity. He draws us into Elizabeth Costello's own sense of mortality, her compassion for animals, and her alienation from humans, even from her own family. In his fable, presented as a Tanner Lecture sponsored by the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, Coetzee immerses us in a drama reflecting the real-life situation at hand: a writer delivering a lecture on an emotionally charged issue at a prestigious university. Literature, philosophy, performance, and deep human conviction—Coetzee brings all these elements into play.As in the story of Elizabeth Costello, the Tanner Lecture is followed by responses treating the reader to a variety of perspectives, delivered by leading thinkers in different fields. Coetzee's text is accompanied by an introduction by political philosopher Amy Gutmann and responsive essays by religion scholar Wendy Doniger, primatologist Barbara Smuts, literary theorist Marjorie Garber, and moral philosopher Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation. Together the lecture-fable and the essays explore the palpable social consequences of uncompromising moral conflict and confrontation.