women's studies, travel writings

A memorable coming-of-age story and love story, laced with suspense, which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community . . . with dark and unexpected consequences.The war has taken a toll on the Christiansen...  more

A memorable coming-of-age story and love story, laced with suspense, which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community . . . with dark and unexpected consequences.The war has taken a toll on the Christiansen family. With food rationed and money scarce, Charlotte struggles to keep her family well fed. Her teenage daughter, Kate, raises rabbits to earn money for college and dreams of becoming a writer. Her husband, Thomas, struggles to keep the farm going while their son, and most of the other local men, are fighting in Europe.When their upcoming cherry harvest is threatened, strong-willed Charlotte helps persuade local authorities to allow German war prisoners from a nearby camp to pick the fruit.But when Thomas befriends one of the prisoners, a teacher named Karl, and invites him to tutor Kate, the implications of Charlotte?s decision become apparent?especially when she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Karl. So busy are they with the prisoners that Charlotte and Thomas fail to see that Kate is becoming a young woman, with dreams and temptations of her own?including a secret romance with the son of a wealthy, war-profiteering senator. And when their beloved Ben returns home, bitter and injured, bearing an intense hatred of Germans, Charlotte?s secrets threaten to explode their world.

At the end of her life, Frances Osborne’s one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother Lilla was as elegant as ever–all fitted black lace and sparkling-white diamonds. To her great-grandchildren, Lilla was both an ally and a mysterious wonder. Her bedroom was filled with treasures from...  more

At the end of her life, Frances Osborne’s one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother Lilla was as elegant as ever–all fitted black lace and sparkling-white diamonds. To her great-grandchildren, Lilla was both an ally and a mysterious wonder. Her bedroom was filled with treasures from every exotic corner of the world. But she rarely mentioned the Japanese prison camps in which she spent much of World War II, or the elaborate cookbook she wrote to help her survive behind the barbed wire. Beneath its polished surface, Lilla’s life had been anything but effortless. Born in 1882 to English parents in the beautiful North China port city of Chefoo, Lilla was an identical twin. Growing up, she knew both great privilege and deprivation, love and its absence. But the one constant was a deep appreciation for the power of food and place. From the noodles of Shanghai to the chutney of British India and the roasts of England, good food and sensuous surroundings, Lilla was raised to believe, could carry one a long way toward happiness. Her story is brimming with the stuff of good fiction: distant locales, an improvident marriage, an evil mother-in-law, a dramatic suicide, and two world wars.Lilla’s remarkable cookbook, which she composed while on the brink of starvation, makes no mention of wartime rations, of rotten vegetables and donkey meat. In the world this magical food journal, now housed in the Imperial War Museum in London, everyone is warm and safe in their homes, and the pages are filled with cream puffs, butterscotch, and comforting soup. In its writing, Lilla was able to transform the darkest moments into scrumptious escape.Lilla’s Feast is a rich evocation of a bygone world, the inspiring story of an ordinary woman who tackled the challenges life threw in her path with an extraordinary determination.From the Hardcover edition.

The true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless, and his friendship with Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles columnist who discovers and writes about him in the newspaper.

Venice,  1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists,...  more

Venice,  1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists, Corradino  Manin, sells his methods and his soul to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his secret daughter. In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with that of her ancestor - and the treacherous secrets of his life begin to come to light.

An aspiring chef's moving account of finding her way—in the kitchen and beyond—after a tragic accident destroys her sense of smell At twenty-two, just out of college, Molly Birnbaum spent her nights reading cookbooks and her days working at a Boston bistro, preparing to start training at the...  more

An aspiring chef's moving account of finding her way—in the kitchen and beyond—after a tragic accident destroys her sense of smell At twenty-two, just out of college, Molly Birnbaum spent her nights reading cookbooks and her days working at a Boston bistro, preparing to start training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. She knew exactly where she wanted the life ahead to lead: She wanted to be a chef. But shortly before she was due to matriculate, she was hit by a car while out for a run in Boston. The accident fractured her skull, broke her pelvis, tore her knee to shreds—and destroyed her sense of smell. The flesh and bones would heal...but her sense of smell?And not being able to smell meant not being able to cook. She dropped her cooking school plans, quit her restaurant job, and sank into a depression. Season to Taste is the story of what came next: how she picked herself up and set off on a grand, entertaining quest in the hopes of learning to smell again. Writing with the good cheer and great charm of Laurie Colwin or Ruth Reichl, she explores the science of olfaction, pheromones, and Proust's madeleine; she meets leading experts, including the writer Oliver Sacks, scientist Stuart Firestein, and perfumer Christophe Laudamiel; and she visits a pioneering New Jersey flavor lab, eats at Grant Achatz's legendary Chicago restaurant Alinea, and enrolls at a renowned perfume school in the South of France, all in an effort to understand and overcome her condition. A moving personal story packed with surprising facts about our senses, Season to Taste is filled with unforgettable descriptions of the smells Birnbaum rediscovers—from cinnamon, cedarwood, and fresh bagels to rosemary chicken, lavender, and apple pie—as she falls in love, learns to smell from scratch, and starts, once again, to cook.

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an...  more

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes. Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others -- including the gallant Midwestern tycoon -- are not so lucky. On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love. 

This delicious new volume of Ruth Reichl's acclaimed memoirs recounts her "adventures in deception," as she goes undercover in the world's finest restaurants. Reichl knows that "to be a good restaurant critic, you have to be anonymous," but when she signs up to be the...  more

This delicious new volume of Ruth Reichl's acclaimed memoirs recounts her "adventures in deception," as she goes undercover in the world's finest restaurants. Reichl knows that "to be a good restaurant critic, you have to be anonymous," but when she signs up to be the most important restaurant critic in the country, at The New York Times, her picture is posted in every four-star, low-star, and no-star kitchen in town. Managers offer cash bonuses for advance notice of her visits. They roll out the red carpet whether she likes it or not. What's a critic in search of the truth to do? Reichl dons a frumpy blond wig and an off-season beige Armani suit. Then on the advice of a friend, an acting coach with a Pygmalion complex, she begins assembling her new character's backstory. She takes to the assignment with astonishing ardor - and thus Molly Hollis, the retired high school teacher from Birmingham, Michigan, nouveau riche from her husband's real estate speculation, is born. And duly ignored, mishandled, and condescended to by the high-power staff at Le Cirque. The result: Reichl's famous double review, first as she ate there as Molly and then as she was coddled and pampered on her visit there as Ruth, The New York Times food critic. When restaurateurs learn to watch for Molly, Reichl buys another wig and becomes someone else, and then someone else again, from a chic interior decorator to an eccentric redhead on whom her husband -both disconcertingly and reassuringly- develops a terrible crush. As she puts on her disguises, she finds herself changed not just superficially, but in character. She becomes Molly the schoolmarm, Chloe the seductress, and Brenda the downtown earth mother - and imagine the complexities when she dines out as Miriam, her own mother. As Reichl metes out her critical stars, she gives a remarkable account of how one's outer appearance can influence one's inner character, expectations, and appetites. Reichl writes, "Every restaurant is a theater...even the modest restaurants offer the opportunity to become someone else, at least for a little while."

An intoxicating memoir of an American who discovers a passion for French wine, and gambles everything to chase a dream of owning a vineyard in Burgundy Ray Walker had a secure career in finance until a wine-tasting vacation ignited a passion that he couldn?t stifle. Ray neglected his work,...  more

An intoxicating memoir of an American who discovers a passion for French wine, and gambles everything to chase a dream of owning a vineyard in Burgundy Ray Walker had a secure career in finance until a wine-tasting vacation ignited a passion that he couldn?t stifle. Ray neglected his work, spending hours poring over ancient French winemaking texts, learning the techniques and the language, and daydreaming about vineyards. After Ray experienced his first taste of wine from Burgundy, he could wait no longer. He quit his job and went to France to start a winery?with little money, a limited command of French, and virtually no winemaking experience. Fueled by determination and joie de vivre, he immersed himself in the extraordinary history of Burgundy?s vineyards and began honing his skills. Ray became a pioneer in his use of ancient techniques in modern times and founded Maison Ilan. In 2009, Ray became the first non-French winemaker to purchase grapes and produce a wine from Le Chambertin, long considered to be one of the most revered and singular vineyards in the world. Along with his struggle to capture his wine?s distinct terroir, Ray shares enthralling stories of late-night tastings, flying down the Route National on a vintage Peugeot bicycle with no brakes, and his journey to secure both the trust of his insular Burgundian neighbors and the region?s most coveted grapes. Capturing the sunlight, the smell of the damp soil, and the taste of superlative wine, The Road to Burgundy is a glorious celebration of finding one?s true path in life, and taking a chance?whatever the odds.

Warm, funny episodes, each complete with the perfect recipe from the life of America’s favorite mother-in-law from the hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond In Are You Hungry, Dear?, Doris takes her signature line from the show and makes it her own in a program that pairs hilarious...  more

Warm, funny episodes, each complete with the perfect recipe from the life of America’s favorite mother-in-law from the hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond In Are You Hungry, Dear?, Doris takes her signature line from the show and makes it her own in a program that pairs hilarious stories and dramatic turning points from her fascinating life with delicious recipes from her kitchen. She shares the lessons learned in two marriages and numerous love affairs, her struggles with her own family, and her heroic efforts to build a career and raise a son on her own. Those who love feisty, judgmental, opinionated Marie Barone will see how Doris is all that and more: tough, sweet, brave, direct, and vibrant. Listeners will embrace the unforgettable life of this very open star, and relate to the issues--like ageism in Hollywood, sex in the senior years, and her daughter-in-law’s imperfect meat sauce--that Doris cares about passionately. Are You Hungry, Dear? is for everyone who loves a laugh, a great recipe, and a true inside glimpse of a very approachable star.

"A beautifully written novel about living with our many selves." - Nicola Keegan, author of Swimming Clare Moorhouse, the American wife of a high-ranking diplomat in Paris, is arranging an official dinner crucial to her husband's career. As she shops for fresh stalks of asparagus and works...  more

"A beautifully written novel about living with our many selves." - Nicola Keegan, author of Swimming Clare Moorhouse, the American wife of a high-ranking diplomat in Paris, is arranging an official dinner crucial to her husband's career. As she shops for fresh stalks of asparagus and works out the menu and seating arrangements, her day is complicated by the unexpected arrival of her son and a random encounter with a Turkish man, whom she discovers is a suspected terrorist. More unnerving is a recurring face in the crowd, one that belonged to another, darker era of her life. One she never expected to see again. Like Virginia Woolf did in Mrs. Dalloway, Anne Korkeakivi brilliantly weaves the complexities of an age into an act as deceptively simple as hosting a dinner party.

There's something truly magical about Christmas. Filled with remarkable true stories of the kindness of strangers and the blessings of answered prayers, this collection with its small miracles truly captures the spirit of the season.These stories of hope, faith and joy are a moving tribute to...  more

There's something truly magical about Christmas. Filled with remarkable true stories of the kindness of strangers and the blessings of answered prayers, this collection with its small miracles truly captures the spirit of the season.These stories of hope, faith and joy are a moving tribute to the true meaning of Christmas and remind us all that the greatest gifts in life can't be gift wrapped.

This astonishing autobiography tells the gripping, heroic story of the early life of Jacques Lusseyran, an inspiring individual who overcame the limitations of physical blindness by attending -- literally -- to the light within his own mind. Through faith in the connection between vivid inner...  more

This astonishing autobiography tells the gripping, heroic story of the early life of Jacques Lusseyran, an inspiring individual who overcame the limitations of physical blindness by attending -- literally -- to the light within his own mind. Through faith in the connection between vivid inner sight and outer events, he became a leader in the French Resistance and survived the horrors at Buchenwald. Born in Paris in 1924, Jacques Lusseyran was fifteen at the time of the German occupation and at sixteen had formed and was heading an underground resistance movement of six hundred youth. In less urgent times this would seem remarkable, but add to it the fact that from the age of eight Lusseyran had been totally blind. Yet because he was blind he was able to "see: men, avoiding many potential dangers. "Somehow I became invulnerable," he says, "then too I became infallible, or nearly..." Nearly. Lusseyran's exceptional autobiography shares a life for whom blindness and eventual betrayal, leading to imprisonment at Buchenwald, were gateways, a testament to an inner joy that no conditions, not even the worst, can kill.

Michel has a story to tell. It's about his father, an exquisitely common man whose very ordinariness is a source of grave embarrassment for the boy. It's also the story told to him by his uncle, who shared a family secret with the child in the flickering black and white images of a...  more

Michel has a story to tell. It's about his father, an exquisitely common man whose very ordinariness is a source of grave embarrassment for the boy. It's also the story told to him by his uncle, who shared a family secret with the child in the flickering black and white images of a Sunday matinee. Years before, in the bitter years of World War II, during the Nazi occupation of France, two brothers found themselves at the mercy of a German guard following an explosive act of resistance. Thrown into a deep pit with a small group of terrified prisoners, the men are told that one of them will die by dawn to serve as an example for the others. It's up to the prisoners to propose who will be sacrificed. But in the middle of the night, the guard returns with an extraordinary proposition of his own.

In 1804, when Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband, Napoleon, to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets hidden behind the imperial façade. To her subjects, she appeared to vet hew most favored woman in France: alluring,...  more

In 1804, when Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband, Napoleon, to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets hidden behind the imperial façade. To her subjects, she appeared to vet hew most favored woman in France: alluring, wealthy, and with the devoted love of a remarkable husband who was the conqueror of Europe. In actuality, Josephine's life was far darker, for her celebrated allure was fading, her wealth was compromised by massive debt, and her marriage was corroded by infidelity and abuse.Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age—an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine, and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever-resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader along every twist and turn of the empress's often thorny path, from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.

Patriarch Miss Kay, Korie, Missy, Jessica, and Lisa Robertson speak out in this insightful book about their roles in the crazy Robertson family and the core values that make this family work. Fans of Duck Dynasty already know that the women behind the men with the beards know their own minds...  more

Patriarch Miss Kay, Korie, Missy, Jessica, and Lisa Robertson speak out in this insightful book about their roles in the crazy Robertson family and the core values that make this family work. Fans of Duck Dynasty already know that the women behind the men with the beards know their own minds and know how and when to speak out to their men. But this insightful book will give readers a look into what goes on behind the scenes and the real character and spunk of the women who love these bearded men. In this delightful book, readers will find that the Duck Commander women have real depth and character and, in addition to being the perfect companions for the Duckmen, are strong women of substance in their own rights. In each section of this book, our leading ladies share their hearts and their thoughts on the spiritual foundation that guides their lives as well as some of the difficulties and challenges they have faced in a chapter titled ??Happily Ever After? Sometimes Takes a While.? They share about how each one became a Robertson and challenge myths about their motives for marriage into this family. The wives of these beloved men share precious stories about their love for Phil and Kay?with chapters titled ?Oh, Kay!? and ?Getting Our Phil??as well as the core values that govern their lives. You?ll learn about all their children, their own parents and grandparents and what made them the women they are today.

Emily Hinton needs out. She comes from a small town in California where the church handbell choir concert passes for a decent way to spend a Saturday and she's known all the boys since kindergarten. She dreams of sophisticated people, love, and Louis Vuitton. When she lands a job at the...  more

Emily Hinton needs out. She comes from a small town in California where the church handbell choir concert passes for a decent way to spend a Saturday and she's known all the boys since kindergarten. She dreams of sophisticated people, love, and Louis Vuitton. When she lands a job at the world-famous publishing house Morrow & Sons in New York, she knows that she is finally on her way. She packs her bags, says good-bye, and sets out for Manhattan, where she will fit in even if it kills her. In spite if her na?vet?, she quickly becomes friends with the girls at work and begins to learn a thing or two about how things are done in Manhattan. She soon attracts the attention of the handsome Bennett, who, according to her friends, is a goody-goody who attends church every Sunday. What her friends regard as a "tragic waste" is just what Emily has been looking for, and she is soon swept into a whirlwind romance. An overnight visit to his parents' home at Thanksgiving and his seemingly idle flirtation with one of her colleagues, however, give her second thoughts about what Bennett really wants. Her uncertainty about her feelings escalates even more when one of the hometown boys she left behind reappears in her life. Emily's life at the office is also becoming complicated: an ambitious editor is breaking all the rules to publish a controversial book that demeans everything Emily believes in. The crisis comes to a head when she has to stand up for what she knows is right and risk losing it all. Balancing her passion for the glitz and glamour of New York with her determination to live by her morals in the challenging world of a young Manhattanite turns out to be much moredifficult than Emily ever imagined. Her roundabout quest for happiness will endear her to readers ready to move beyond the clich?s and easy answers of most chick-lit novels.

Dominic Corde is thrilled to "fill the robe" as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham, while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. Glad to escape his dreary London flat and a less-than-satisfying job as church curate, Dominic and his beloved wife,...  more

Dominic Corde is thrilled to "fill the robe" as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham, while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. Glad to escape his dreary London flat and a less-than-satisfying job as church curate, Dominic and his beloved wife, Clarice, set off for what they hope will be a lovely winter getaway. Upon arrival, in the midst of a frigid, exceptionally snowy season, Dominic and Clarice are welcomed by warm, hospitable neighbors and enchanted by the cozy, inviting vicarage. Everything seems almost too perfect. Dominic's only concern is how he will be received by the congregation, who hold the Reverend Wynter in such high regard. But as Clarice soon discovers, she and Dominic have much more dire matters to worry about. It turns out that the Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday at all -- and that something very sinister has transpired. As a blizzard leaves Cottisham treacherously snowbound and the isolated village swirls with unsavory secrets, Dominic and Clarice suddenly find themselves in deadly danger.

Allison Troyer is of marriageable age and needs to learn how to manage an Amish household. Can a girl who feels as faceless, purposeless, and neglected as her tattered Amish doll, find her way among strangers? James Esh likes what he sees when Allison Troyer walks into the barn. Will anything...  more

Allison Troyer is of marriageable age and needs to learn how to manage an Amish household. Can a girl who feels as faceless, purposeless, and neglected as her tattered Amish doll, find her way among strangers? James Esh likes what he sees when Allison Troyer walks into the barn. Will anything keep this brash young Amish man from stealing her affections? Aaron Zook has vowed never to lose his heart to another. Yet when James makes advances on Allison, Aaron can't help but intercede. Can threads of faith and love unite tattered hearts?

For Rebecca Macklin, an ordinary summer brings about an extraordinary change of heart when she discovers that her aging father has been wandering the Dallas streets alone, and his wife, Hanna Beth, has landed in a nursing home. Now Rebecca must put aside old resentments and return to her...  more

For Rebecca Macklin, an ordinary summer brings about an extraordinary change of heart when she discovers that her aging father has been wandering the Dallas streets alone, and his wife, Hanna Beth, has landed in a nursing home. Now Rebecca must put aside old resentments and return to her childhood home. In this moving story of separation and forgiveness, two women will unravel the betrayals of the past and discover the true meaning of family.

Step into Amish country for this bittersweet holiday romance. Here you?ll meet Will Henderson, a young man tortured by his past, and Karen Yoder, a young woman looking for answers. Add a desperate father searching for his son, and you have all the ingredients for a first-class romance that will...  more

Step into Amish country for this bittersweet holiday romance. Here you?ll meet Will Henderson, a young man tortured by his past, and Karen Yoder, a young woman looking for answers. Add a desperate father searching for his son, and you have all the ingredients for a first-class romance that will inspire and enthrall.

Laura has it all. A gorgeous husband, two beautiful children, and an idyllic lady-of-leisure Parisian lifestyle. She spends her mornings sharing croissants and a grand creme with her friends, her afternoons in the Louvre and her evenings attending sophisticated soirees. It's the perfect life,...  more

Laura has it all. A gorgeous husband, two beautiful children, and an idyllic lady-of-leisure Parisian lifestyle. She spends her mornings sharing croissants and a grand creme with her friends, her afternoons in the Louvre and her evenings attending sophisticated soirees. It's the perfect life, isn't it? But hard as Laura's trying to enjoy her perfect life, it just doesn't seem to feel as perfect as it should. It's hard to stretch 'meeting for coffee' to last the entire morning, the Scandinavian au pair is driving her to distraction, her husband's hardly ever in their beautiful home, and Parisian society doesn't exactly embrace the femme inactive. So when her husband embarks on an affair with the irritatingly petite Flavia, Laura decides it's time to review her life...

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress,...  more

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot -- searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier. What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion -- along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

Eight years have passed since Ave Maria Mulligan married Jack Mac, moved up into the hills, and dug her roots in even deeper. But Ave Maria soon discovers that the mountains cannot shelter her from the painful lessons of the heart. As her life reaches a crossroads, almost everybody in town has...  more

Eight years have passed since Ave Maria Mulligan married Jack Mac, moved up into the hills, and dug her roots in even deeper. But Ave Maria soon discovers that the mountains cannot shelter her from the painful lessons of the heart. As her life reaches a crossroads, almost everybody in town has advice to offer -- including the Bookmobile’s self-appointed sexpert Iva Lou Wade, savvy pharmacy owner Pearl Grimes (“a very mature twenty-four”), crusty chain-smoking cashier Fleeta, and of course, the always-wise band director Theodore Tipton, now unofficially “out” and about. But when Ave Maria takes her daughter to Italy for the summer, her passion for a seductive stranger will test her marriage -- and push her to choose the man who is truly her destiny.

Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store...  more

Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America, she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind. Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader?s Circle for author chats and more. The author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls has garnered international acclaim for her great skill at rendering the intricate...  more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader?s Circle for author chats and more. The author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls has garnered international acclaim for her great skill at rendering the intricate relationships of women and the complex meeting of history and fate. Now comes Lisa See?s highly anticipated new novel, China Dolls.   It?s 1938 in San Francisco: a world?s fair is preparing to open on Treasure Island, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities. Grace, Helen, and Ruby, three young women from very different backgrounds, meet by chance at the exclusive and glamorous Forbidden City nightclub. Grace Lee, an American-born Chinese girl, has fled the Midwest with nothing but heartache, talent, and a pair of dancing shoes. Helen Fong lives with her extended family in Chinatown, where her traditional parents insist that she guard her reputation like a piece of jade. The stunning Ruby Tom challenges the boundaries of convention at every turn with her defiant attitude and no-holds-barred ambition.   The girls become fast friends, relying on one another through unexpected challenges and shifting fortunes. When their dark secrets are exposed and the invisible thread of fate binds them even tighter, they find the strength and resilience to reach for their dreams. But after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, paranoia and suspicion threaten to destroy their lives, and a shocking act of betrayal changes everything. Praise for China Dolls   ?Superb . . . This emotional, informative and brilliant page-turner resonates with resilience and humanity.??The Washington Post   ?This is one of those stories I?ve always wanted to tell, but Lisa See beat me to it, and she did it better than I ever could. Bravo! Here?s a roaring standing ovation for this heartwarming journey into the glittering golden age of Chinese nightclubs.??Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet   ?A fascinating portrait of life as a Chinese-American woman in the 1930s and ?40s.??The New York Times Book Review   ?A sweeping, turbulent tale of passion, friendship, good fortune, bad fortune, perfidy and the hope of reconciliation.??Los Angeles Times   ?Lisa See masterfully creates unforgettable characters that linger in your memory long after you close the pages.??Bookreporter   ?Stellar . . . The depth of See?s characters and her winning prose makes this book a wonderful journey through love and loss.??Publishers Weekly (starred review)   ?China Dolls plunges us into a fascinating history and offers an accessible meditation on themes that are still urgent in our contemporary world. The women?s story explores burning questions about the possibilities of friendship, the profound effects of betrayal, the horrors of prejudice and the nature of ambition?especially female ambition. . . . These Asian artists were true pioneers, breaking ground, chasing vast dreams, subverting stereotypes simply by appearing onstage against the odds. Here, in China Dolls, they have found another stage of sorts, another place to rightfully shine.??San Francisco Chronicle   ?China Dolls is [Lisa See?s] most penetrating since Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.??The Seattle Times

Faith Andrews Bedford, a favorite with Country Living's readers, captures the magic of summer, childhood, and home in a moving collection of essays. For years, the readers of Country Living have adored Faith Andrews Bedford's evocative stories, featured in her beloved bi-monthly column, "Kids in...  more

Faith Andrews Bedford, a favorite with Country Living's readers, captures the magic of summer, childhood, and home in a moving collection of essays. For years, the readers of Country Living have adored Faith Andrews Bedford's evocative stories, featured in her beloved bi-monthly column, "Kids in the Country." This enchanting collection invites everyone to join Bedford as she movingly recaptures the modest triumphs of children, the importance of family traditions, and the simple pleasures of country life. In "Sister Dresses," Faith's mother finds three special Easter outfits "all exactly the same," delighting her daughters. "Time & a Bottle" tells of Faith's girlhood walks along the beach, where she hoped that the sea glass she collected "had come from a perfume bottle thrown into the water a century ago by an elegant lady in France." Every one of these essays explores the beauty in the ordinary and the meaning in the everyday.Faith Andrews Bedford is a frequent contributor to Country Living, where she writes the Kids in the Country column. Her essays have appeared in Reader's Digest and several of the Chicken Soup books, as well as many other magazines and newspapers. She lives in Ivy, Virginia.

Love, food, and Italy make this a rich and satisfying debut novel.Maria Carozza should be happy living in the lovely Italian village of San Giulio. Ensconced in her mother’s kitchen, she bakes bread every morning, the way the Carozza women always have. But at sixteen, Maria is eager for...  more

Love, food, and Italy make this a rich and satisfying debut novel.Maria Carozza should be happy living in the lovely Italian village of San Giulio. Ensconced in her mother’s kitchen, she bakes bread every morning, the way the Carozza women always have. But at sixteen, Maria is eager for adventure, so she escapes to Rome, where she has a passionate love affair. One year later, she returns to San Giulio in disgrace—eight months pregnant, with the identity of the baby’s father a mystery. Hastily, shamefully, she is married off to a neighbor’s son. Maria soon escapes again, this time to England, where she searches once more for a new life for herself and her daughter, Chiara. An irresistible saga of three very different generations of Italian women and the old kitchen in Campania that binds them.

Based on the recorded memories, diary and love letters of Saartje Wijnberg (Selma Wijnberg Engel) and Chaim Engel, Dancing Through Darkness is a true story that exists only because of the strength of love and the power of dreams. From Poland and Holland, and with no common...  more

Based on the recorded memories, diary and love letters of Saartje Wijnberg (Selma Wijnberg Engel) and Chaim Engel, Dancing Through Darkness is a true story that exists only because of the strength of love and the power of dreams. From Poland and Holland, and with no common language, Saartje and Chaim met and fell in love when forced to dance together for the entertainment of the Nazi SS guards at Sobibor Death Camp in Poland in April, 1943. As their love grew, in defiance of the brutality that surrounded them, they promised each other they would survive. Their dream of living to share a normal life was simple, but it gave them the strength and the courage to survive the unspeakable atrocities of Sobibor, one of Hitler's most efficient Death Camps. On October 14, 1943, the largest escape from over 300 concentration camps took place at Sobibor. Chaim Engel's involvement included killing an SS guard and holding Saartje's hand as they ran from the camp and kept running and hiding for ten days in a hostile country. A Polish farmer and his wife, Adam and Stefka Nowak, agreed to hide them in the hayloft over their cows for the money Chaim had risked his life to smuggle from the camp. Life in the camp, the escape, nine months of unspeakable deprivation in hiding and the birth, and the death of their son are written in Saartje's diary and reflected in Dancing Through Darkness.  Saartje and Chaim never knew why they survived and others who tried just as hard did not, but they vowed to speak for the 250,000 who died at Sobibor and could no longer speak for themselves. As they lived the American dream with a successful business and an active family, they made their story a priority. Refusing any compensation, they spoke to schools, businesses, civic groups, churches, synagogues, at the war trials in Haagen, Germany--anywhere a group would listen to their story of the horrors created by prejudice and hatred when good people remain silent. Their voices were temporarily silenced when Chaim died on July 4, 2003. At 89, Saartje is no longer able to travel and speak as much as she would like, but by sharing her memories, her diary and their love letters in Dancing Through Darkness, she continues to honor Chaim and their love of 60 years. She also speaks for those whose voices were silenced forever.

Atlit is a holding camp for "illegal" immigrants in Israel in 1945. There, about 270 men and women await their future and try to recover from their past. Diamant, with infinite compassion and understanding, tells the stories of the women gathered in this place. Shayndel is a Polish...  more

Atlit is a holding camp for "illegal" immigrants in Israel in 1945. There, about 270 men and women await their future and try to recover from their past. Diamant, with infinite compassion and understanding, tells the stories of the women gathered in this place. Shayndel is a Polish Zionist who fought the Germans with a band of partisans. Leonie is a Parisian beauty. Tedi is Dutch, a strapping blond who wants only to forget. Zorah survived Auschwitz. Haunted by unspeakable memories and too many losses to bear, these young women, along with a stunning cast of supporting characters who work in or pass through Atlit, begin to find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience, as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves and discovering a way to live again.

16 pages of photos. From the back of the book: During his lifetime, Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel, was honored with three Academy Awards, numerous degrees, and a Pulitzer--but the man himself remained an enigma. With the publication of this definitive biography, Judith and Neil...  more

16 pages of photos. From the back of the book: During his lifetime, Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel, was honored with three Academy Awards, numerous degrees, and a Pulitzer--but the man himself remained an enigma. With the publication of this definitive biography, Judith and Neil Morgan draw an illuminating and revelatory portrait of the beloved author. Creator of such magical characters as the Grinch, the Lorax, and Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss quite simply revolutionized children's literature. More than his biographers--they were his friends for over thirty years--the Morgans not only had access to Dr. Seuss' voluminous papers (hundreds of letters, sketch pads. and interviews), but also brought years of first-hand insights to their depiction. In the words of James Michener, "They have written a biography that will stand as a classic in its field." California journalists who shared Ted Geisel's hometown of La Jolla for 30 years, Judith and Neil Morgan collaborate on writing books and articles for National Geographic and other magazines. Neil's eleven books include Westward Tilt; Judith's book, California. was written with Dewitt Jones.

It was truly a white Christmas in the Ardennes Forest in 1944, but that was cold comfort to the Allied soldiers trying to stop the Nazis from retaking Belgium in one of the most decisive battles of World War II. While a German loudspeaker taunted, "How would you like to die for...  more

It was truly a white Christmas in the Ardennes Forest in 1944, but that was cold comfort to the Allied soldiers trying to stop the Nazis from retaking Belgium in one of the most decisive battles of World War II. While a German loudspeaker taunted, "How would you like to die for Christmas?" the Allied forces dug in, despite freezing conditions. They needed a miracle. In a medieval chapel, General Patton, who needed clear skies to allow airborne reinforcements to reach his trapped men, uttered what would become a famous prayer: "Sir, whose side are you on?" His soldiers wouldn't be home for Christmas, but as the skies cleared, they went on to win a battle and a war.

"Regardless of how much money you have, your race, where you live, what religion you follow, you are going through something. Or you already have or you will. As momma always said, "Everybody's got something." So begins beloved Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts's new memoir in which...  more

"Regardless of how much money you have, your race, where you live, what religion you follow, you are going through something. Or you already have or you will. As momma always said, "Everybody's got something." So begins beloved Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts's new memoir in which she recounts the incredible journey that's been her life so far, and the lessons she's learned along the way. With grace, heart, and humor, she writes about overcoming breast cancer only to learn five years later that she will need a bone marrow transplant to combat a rare blood disorder, the grief and heartbreak she suffered when her mother passed away, her triumphant return to GMA after her medical leave, and the tremendous support and love of her family and friends that saw her through her difficult times. Following her mother's advice to "make your mess your message," Robin taught a nation of viewers that while it is true that we've all got something -- a medical crisis to face, aging parents to care for, heartbreak in all its many forms --- we've also all got something to give: hope, encouragement, a life-saving transplant or a spirit-saving embrace. As Robin has learned, and what readers of her remarkable story will come to believe as well, it's all about faith, family and friends. And finding out that you are stronger, much stronger, than you think.

Memoir of a small boy who was separated from his family at the age of three or four-years-old after his father was killed during a round-up of Jews in Latvia, and was sent to the Majdanek death camp where he was discovered by Allied soliders in 1945.  

Paris, the storybook capital of romance?of strolls down cobblestone streets and kisses by the Seine?may not be the ideal location to mend a wounded heart. But pragmatic professional writer Anna, who has been unlucky in love in L.A., has come here with keys to her aunt's empty apartment....  more

Paris, the storybook capital of romance?of strolls down cobblestone streets and kisses by the Seine?may not be the ideal location to mend a wounded heart. But pragmatic professional writer Anna, who has been unlucky in love in L.A., has come here with keys to her aunt's empty apartment. Bilingual and blessed with dual citizenship, she seeks solace in the delectable pastries, in the company of old friends, and in her exciting new job: translating a mysterious, erotic French novel by an anonymous author. Intrigued by the story, and drawn in by the mystery behind the book, Anna soon finds herself among the city's literati?and in the arms of an alluring Parisian?as she resolves to explore who she is . . . in both cultures.

How do the French manage to raise well-behaved children and have a life! Who hasn't noticed how well-behaved French children are - compared to our own? - How come French babies sleep through the night? - Why do French children happily eat what is put in front of them? - How can...  more

How do the French manage to raise well-behaved children and have a life! Who hasn't noticed how well-behaved French children are - compared to our own? - How come French babies sleep through the night? - Why do French children happily eat what is put in front of them? - How can French mums chat to their friends while their children play quietly? - Why are French mums more likely to be seen in skinny jeans than tracksuit bottoms? Pamela Druckerman, who lives in Paris with three young children, has had years of observing her French friends and neighbours, and with wit and style, has written a memoir that is ideally placed to teach us the basics of parenting a la francaise.

Now that the war is over, Piri wants to go home... but where is home? In the aftermath of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, fifteen-year-old Piri wants to return to her home in Hungary. But the Swedish Red Cross has taken in Piri and her sister, and they must travel from place to place,...  more

Now that the war is over, Piri wants to go home... but where is home? In the aftermath of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, fifteen-year-old Piri wants to return to her home in Hungary. But the Swedish Red Cross has taken in Piri and her sister, and they must travel from place to place, staying wherever they can. Then a kind Swedish couple asks Piri to come live with them. The Rantzows are generous and loving, but they will never replace the family she has lost. And though she makes friends and falls in love, it is all bittersweet -- for Piri and her sister are determined to travel to America...

After Paul Stutzman lost his wife to breast cancer, he sensed a tug on his heart--the call to a challenge, the call to pursue a dream. Paul left his stable career, traveled to Georgia, and took his first steps on the Appalachian Trail. What he learned during the next four and a half months...  more

After Paul Stutzman lost his wife to breast cancer, he sensed a tug on his heart--the call to a challenge, the call to pursue a dream. Paul left his stable career, traveled to Georgia, and took his first steps on the Appalachian Trail. What he learned during the next four and a half months changed his life--and will change readers' lives as well. In Hiking Through, readers will join Paul on his remarkable 2,176-mile hike through fourteen states in search of peace and a renewed sense of purpose, meeting fascinating and funny people along the way. They'll discover that every choice we make along the path has consequences for the journey and will come away with a new understanding of God's grace and guidance. Nature-lovers, armchair adventurers, and those grieving a loss may not be able to hike the AT themselves, but they can go on this spiritual pilgrimage with a truly humble and sympathetic guide.

FROM A GREAT WAR, SPRINGS A GREAT LOVE In France at the height of World War I, American nurse Evelyn Gray is no stranger to suffering. She's helped save the life of many a soldier, but when she learns her betrothed has been killed, her own heart may be broken beyond repair. Summoning all...  more

FROM A GREAT WAR, SPRINGS A GREAT LOVE In France at the height of World War I, American nurse Evelyn Gray is no stranger to suffering. She's helped save the life of many a soldier, but when she learns her betrothed has been killed, her own heart may be broken beyond repair. Summoning all her strength, Evelyn is determined to carry on- -- not just for herself and her country, but for her unborn child. Corporal Joel Campbell dreams of the day the war is over and he can return home and start a family. When a brutal battle injury puts that hope in jeopardy, Joel is lost to despair . . . until he meets Evelyn. Beautiful, compassionate, and in need of help, she makes an unconventional proposal that could save their lives--or ruin them irrevocably. Now, amidst the terror and turmoil of the Western Front, these two lost souls will have to put their faith in love to find the miracle they've been looking for.

''Is Paris burning?'' is the question Hitler asked over and over as the French Second and American Fourth Divisions battered their way into the city. Few moments in history are as stirring as the Allied liberation of Paris, yet few people are aware of how narrowly -- and how...  more

''Is Paris burning?'' is the question Hitler asked over and over as the French Second and American Fourth Divisions battered their way into the city. Few moments in history are as stirring as the Allied liberation of Paris, yet few people are aware of how narrowly -- and how miraculously -- the city escaped Hitler's secret plan to reduce it to ashes. Is Paris Burning? reconstructs, in meticulous and riveting detail, the network of fateful events -- day by day, moment by moment -- that saved the City of Light. Bestselling authors and renowned journalists Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre spent three years researching this book, drawing on French Resistance radio messages, German military records, countless interviews, and secret correspondence between de Gaulle, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower. Here they re-create the drama, the fervor, and the triumph that heralded one of the most dramatic events of our time.

One woman's discovery---and the incredible, unexpected journey it takes her on---of how her grandparent's small village of Campagna, Italy, helped save Jews during the Holocaust. Take a journey with Elizabeth Bettina as she discovers much to her surprise, that her grandparent's small village,...  more

One woman's discovery---and the incredible, unexpected journey it takes her on---of how her grandparent's small village of Campagna, Italy, helped save Jews during the Holocaust. Take a journey with Elizabeth Bettina as she discovers much to her surprise, that her grandparent's small village, nestled in the heart of southern Italy, housed an internment camp for Jews during the Holocaust, and that it was far from the only one. Follow her discovery of survivors and their stories of gratitude to Italy and its people. Explore the little known details of how members of the Catholic church assisted and helped shelter Jews in Italy during World War II.

A delightful collection of stories on the joys and frustrations of being a mom.

The memoir of a young diplomat?s wife who must reinvent her dream of living in Paris—one dish at a time When journalist Ann Mah?s diplomat husband is given a three-year assignment in Paris, Ann is overjoyed. A lifelong foodie and Francophile, she immediately begins plotting gastronomic...  more

The memoir of a young diplomat?s wife who must reinvent her dream of living in Paris—one dish at a time When journalist Ann Mah?s diplomat husband is given a three-year assignment in Paris, Ann is overjoyed. A lifelong foodie and Francophile, she immediately begins plotting gastronomic adventures à deux. Then her husband is called away to Iraq on a year-long post—alone. Suddenly, Ann?s vision of a romantic sojourn in the City of Light is turned upside down. So, not unlike another diplomatic wife, Julia Child, Ann must find a life for herself in a new city.  Journeying through Paris and the surrounding regions of France, Ann combats her loneliness by seeking out the perfect pain au chocolat and learning the way the andouillette sausage is really made. She explores the history and taste of everything from boeuf Bourguignon to soupe au pistou to the crispiest of buckwheat crepes. And somewhere between Paris and the south of France, she uncovers a few of life?s truths. Like Sarah Turnbull?s Almost French and Julie Powell?s New York Times bestseller Julie and Julia, Mastering the Art of French Eating is interwoven with the lively characters Ann meets and the traditional recipes she samples. Both funny and intelligent, this is a story about love—of food, family, and France.

From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is...  more

From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a fifty-five-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.

By February of 1991, when Amicus Shoemacher is assigned to correspond with Nada, who lives in Rijeka in the Republic of Croatia, Yugoslavia, her life has already begun to unravel. The only bright spot in her life is her favorite baby cousin, Emily. Ami's life further unravels on March 25 of that...  more

By February of 1991, when Amicus Shoemacher is assigned to correspond with Nada, who lives in Rijeka in the Republic of Croatia, Yugoslavia, her life has already begun to unravel. The only bright spot in her life is her favorite baby cousin, Emily. Ami's life further unravels on March 25 of that year when Emily is hit by a car and dies. Ami doesn't respond to Nada's letters at first, but when she does, she learns having a friend so far away comforts her. Through her own letters, Nada shares insights into life in a country at war, including nights spent awake fearing that her home will be broken into and that she will be killed. Ami, while dealing with her own depression, tries to comprehend what it would be like to live in the middle of a real war. Things start to look up for Ami as she develops a romantic relationship with a new boy in class, Andy, and she renews her friendship with Krissa. Meanwhile, the war in Yugoslavia deepens. By the beginning of 1992, although Nada begins to adapt to her normal in the newly recognized country of Croatia, Ami finds her happiness was short-lived. Holidays without Emily were devastating and Andy breaks his promise to keep in touch. Will Ami, unable to adapt like Nada, decide to take her own life?

Nora loves everything about Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to chocolat chaud. Of course, she's never actually been there -- she's only visited through her Grandma Sylvia's stories. And just when they've finally planned a trip together, Grandma Sylvia is suddenly gone, taking Nora's dreams with...  more

Nora loves everything about Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to chocolat chaud. Of course, she's never actually been there -- she's only visited through her Grandma Sylvia's stories. And just when they've finally planned a trip together, Grandma Sylvia is suddenly gone, taking Nora's dreams with her. Nora is crushed. She misses her grandmother terribly, but she still wants to see the city they both loved. So when Nora finds letters and a Paris treasure map among her Grandma Sylvia's things, she dares to dream again... She's not sure what her grandma wants her to find, but Nora knows there are wonderful surprises waiting for her in Paris. And maybe, amongst the croissants and macarons, she'll even find a way to heal her broken heart.

From Alan Forrest, a preeminent British scholar, comes an exceedingly readable account of the man and his legend  On a cold December day in 1840 Parisians turned out in force to watch as the body of Napoleon was solemnly carried on a riverboat from Courbevoie on its final journey to the...  more

From Alan Forrest, a preeminent British scholar, comes an exceedingly readable account of the man and his legend  On a cold December day in 1840 Parisians turned out in force to watch as the body of Napoleon was solemnly carried on a riverboat from Courbevoie on its final journey to the Invalides. The return of their long-dead emperor?s corpse from the island of St. Helena was a moment that Paris had eagerly awaited, though many feared that the memories stirred would serve to further destabilize a country that had struggled for order and direction since he had been sent into exile.In this book Alan Forrest tells the remarkable story of how the son of a Corsican attorney became the most powerful man in Europe, a man whose charisma and legacy endured after his lonely death many thousands of miles from the country whose fate had become so entwined with his own.Along the way, Forrest also cuts away the many layers of myth and counter myth that have grown up around Napoleon, a man who mixed history and legend promiscuously. Drawing on original research and his own distinguished background in French history, Forrest demonstrates that Napoleon was as much a product of his times as their creator.

Merlin sends Jack and Annie on a mysterious mission to Paris, France, over a 100 years ago. There they must find four magicians and give them an urgent message from Merlin himself. When Jack and Annie land in Paris, they make their way to the 1889 World’s Fair. Below the Eiffel Tower,...  more

Merlin sends Jack and Annie on a mysterious mission to Paris, France, over a 100 years ago. There they must find four magicians and give them an urgent message from Merlin himself. When Jack and Annie land in Paris, they make their way to the 1889 World’s Fair. Below the Eiffel Tower, built especially for the fair, there are thousands of exhibits from all over the world. But how will Jack and Annie find the magicians in the crowds of people? And who are the magicians anyway? Jack and Annie are about to find out in another adventure filled with history, magic, and amazing surprises!

Over eight visits to Paris, Deirdre Kelly has found herself ? first as a 19-year-old and then later as a budding writer, a dance critic, and a fashion reporter. Subsequent visits ? with her mother, her future husband, and later as a mother herself ? have shown her that while some parts of Paris...  more

Over eight visits to Paris, Deirdre Kelly has found herself ? first as a 19-year-old and then later as a budding writer, a dance critic, and a fashion reporter. Subsequent visits ? with her mother, her future husband, and later as a mother herself ? have shown her that while some parts of Paris remain constant, her life is always evolving. More than just a beautiful and romantic backdrop for her self-discovery, Paris itself contributes to that discovery, emerging as a principal character in Kelly?s life, an influence that inspires, guides, and teaches as she ages. A terrific gift for budding travelers, Francophiles, and women on their own path toward growth, this book reminds readers of their own favorite place.

This family memoir of life in the shadow of "The Sun"-the twentieth century's greatest painter-who towered over the lives of his wives, children, and grandchildren, is told by Marina Picasso, the granddaughter of Picasso and his first wife, Olga Kokhlova, a former Russian ballerina who remained...  more

This family memoir of life in the shadow of "The Sun"-the twentieth century's greatest painter-who towered over the lives of his wives, children, and grandchildren, is told by Marina Picasso, the granddaughter of Picasso and his first wife, Olga Kokhlova, a former Russian ballerina who remained married to him until her death. Writers, artists, and film stars installed themselves in Picasso's orbit, even as his family lived in impoverished conditions, in terror of provoking his displeasure, unable to carve lives and identities of their own for the control he exerted over their every move. After years of humiliation, her father drank himself to death. Then, the day after Picasso's death, her brother poisoned himself. Marina's own estrangement and subsequent breakdown followed, until at last, through grief and awakening, she found herself and came to terms with the blessings and curses of the Picasso legacy. The result is this fascinating and operatic account of her grandfather's first family. Fame, tragedy, glamour, excess, passion, betrayal, and redemption: All the essential ingredients for a compelling family drama are in full force in this story of the private world of one of the great iconic figures of the last century.

On the eve of the Second World War, the last surviving specimen of a camellia plant known as the Middlebury Pink lies secreted away on an English country estate. Flora, an amateur American botanist, is contracted by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire...  more

On the eve of the Second World War, the last surviving specimen of a camellia plant known as the Middlebury Pink lies secreted away on an English country estate. Flora, an amateur American botanist, is contracted by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire the coveted bloom. Her search is at once brightened by new love and threatened by her discovery of a series of ghastly crimes. More than half a century later, garden designer Addison takes up residence at the manor, now owned by the family of her husband, Rex. The couple’s shared passion for mysteries is fueled by the enchanting camellia orchard and an old gardener’s notebook. Yet its pages hint at dark acts ingeniously concealed. If the danger that Flora once faced remains very much alive, will Addison share her fate?

This tale of impossible love unfolds in a Nazi-occupied Belgian village where the wife of a resistance worker shelters a wounded American bomber pilot in a secret hideaway. As she nurses him back to health, Claire is drawn into a passionate love affair that seems capable of conquering all --...  more

This tale of impossible love unfolds in a Nazi-occupied Belgian village where the wife of a resistance worker shelters a wounded American bomber pilot in a secret hideaway. As she nurses him back to health, Claire is drawn into a passionate love affair that seems capable of conquering all -- until the brutal realities of war shatter every idea she ever held about love, trust and betrayal.

Paris, 1947: Colette Rossant returns to Paris after waiting out World War II in Cairo among her father's Egyptian-Jewish relatives. Initially, the City of Light seems gray and forbidding to the teenage Colette, especially after her thrill-seeking mother leaves her in the care of her bitter,...  more

Paris, 1947: Colette Rossant returns to Paris after waiting out World War II in Cairo among her father's Egyptian-Jewish relatives. Initially, the City of Light seems gray and forbidding to the teenage Colette, especially after her thrill-seeking mother leaves her in the care of her bitter, malaisé grandmother. Yet Paris will prove the place where Colette awakens to her senses. Taken under the wing of Mademoiselle Georgette, the family chef, she develops a taste and talent for French cooking. The streets of Paris soon become Colette's own as she navigates the outdoor markets and café menus and emerges into her new, gastronomical self. Return to Paris is an extraordinary coming-of-age story that charts the course of Colette's culinary adventures -- replete with expertly crafted recipes and family photographs. An exploration of passion in all its flavor and texture, Colette's memoir will live in the hearts and palates of readers for years to come.

As you read this book, there are a few things you have to understand: 95 percent of my stories are truthful. Every member of the Robertson family has the God- given gift of storytelling. Hey, when you’ve sat in a duck blind for more than half of your life, you have to figure out some way...  more

As you read this book, there are a few things you have to understand: 95 percent of my stories are truthful. Every member of the Robertson family has the God- given gift of storytelling. Hey, when you’ve sat in a duck blind for more than half of your life, you have to figure out some way to pass the time! It’s better than looking at Willie and Jase for six hours! Many of the stories I like to tell happened when I was a young boy or when I was in Vietnam. At my age, a few of the details are cloudy, but I’ll recollect the coming stories as best I can. Hey, just remember it isn’t a lie if you think it’s true! It’s up to you, the reader, to figure out what’s truth and what’s fiction. Best of luck with that, Jack! May the force be with you. Hey, another thing you have to know: my stories are kind of like my vocabulary. You might have noticed I like to say “hey” quite a bit. “Hey” can mean anything. It can mean “yes,” it can mean “maybe,” and it can mean “no.” Hey, it could mean “next week.” The bottom line is, you have to understand “hey” to understand me. And if you know anything about Silas Merritt Robertson, you know I’m a hard rascal to figure out. —From the Prologue

This Louisiana bayou family operates Duck Commander, a booming family business that has made them millions. Get to know all the members of the Robertson clan: learn what it was like growing up in the Robertson household; sample some of Willie's favorite family recipes from Phil, Kay, and...  more

This Louisiana bayou family operates Duck Commander, a booming family business that has made them millions. Get to know all the members of the Robertson clan: learn what it was like growing up in the Robertson household; sample some of Willie's favorite family recipes from Phil, Kay, and even Willie; get to know the beautiful Robertson women including beauty tips from Korie. Discover more about the family dynamics between brothers Willie, Jase, Jephthah, and parents Phil and Kay. You'll even meet a fourth brother who isn't in the show. The popularity of Duck Dynasty is skyrocketing, garnering a Wednesday-night top two finish in all of cable.

In winning a medal she is no longer there to receive, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson.

While the Civil War raged in America, another very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the...  more

While the Civil War raged in America, another very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been, at its inception, quite so controversial. The drama of its birth, played out on canvas, would at times resemble a battlefield; and, as Ross King reveals, Impressionism would reorder both history and culture as it resonated around the world.The Judgment of Paris chronicles the dramatic decade between two famous exhibitions—the scandalous Salon des Refuses in 1863 and the first Impressionist showing in 1874—set against the rise and dramatic fall of Napoleon III and the Second Empire after the Franco-Prussian War. A tale of many artists, it revolves around the lives of two, described as “the two poles of art”—Ernest Meissonier, the most famous and successful painter of the 19th century, hailed for his precision and devotion to history; and Edouard Manet, reviled in his time, who nonetheless heralded the most radical change in the history of art since the Renaissance. Out of the fascinating story of their parallel lives, illuminated by their legendary supporters and critics—Zola, Delacroix, Courbet, Baudelaire, Whistler, Monet, Hugo, Degas, and many more—Ross King shows that their contest was not just about Art, it was about competing visions of a rapidly changing world. With a novelist’s skill and the insight of an historian, King recalls a seminal period when Paris was the artistic center of the world, and a revolutionary movement had the power to electrify and divide a nation.

The Letter, the final book of the Christmas Box collection is, most simply stated, the love story of David and MaryAnne Parkin. But it is also everyone's love story, for it is about the storms that all relationships must face when the blissful state of romance vanishes into one of real-life...  more

The Letter, the final book of the Christmas Box collection is, most simply stated, the love story of David and MaryAnne Parkin. But it is also everyone's love story, for it is about the storms that all relationships must face when the blissful state of romance vanishes into one of real-life challenges and difficulties. We often forget that it is in the hard times that we truly see what is best in love as well as in life. Though love may be temporarily darkened, true love never gives in, or up, but holds tight to noble ideas, which transcend this earth and all time. The Letter is also about our pasts and our individual quests to discover who we are. In The Letter, David Parkin sets out on a journey to find his mother, a woman who abandoned him when he was a child. In truth, however, David is searching for himself as he seeks to free himself from the pain of her rejection and his fear that he was somehow unworthy of her love. In a sense, David's search is the same journey we are all pursuing. We are all seeking love. My hope is that you will feel what I felt as I wrote this book -- the divine nature of loyalty and the understanding of why we must share love whenever and wherever. One final note. I am saddened to finish the Christmas Box trilogy and to bid good-bye to the Parkin family. I do not know if I shall ever visit them again, but I am glad for this last story -- a story which I think is a fitting sendoff for the characters I've grown to love. I hope that the message you find in their lives is meaningful to your own. And, most of all, that in reading the Christmas Box collection, you, and those with whom you share my books, will never be the same. With my love, Richard Paul Evans

Winner of the 2008 AWP Award for the Novel From 1941 to 1947, eighteen thousand Italian prisoners of war were sent to Australia. The Italian surrender that followed the downfall of Mussolini had created a novel circumstance: prisoners who theoretically were no longer enemies. Many of these...  more

Winner of the 2008 AWP Award for the Novel From 1941 to 1947, eighteen thousand Italian prisoners of war were sent to Australia. The Italian surrender that followed the downfall of Mussolini had created a novel circumstance: prisoners who theoretically were no longer enemies. Many of these exiles were sent to work on isolated farms, unguarded. The Paperbark Shoe is the unforgettable story of Gin Boyle?an albino, a classically trained pianist, and a woman with a painful past. Disavowed by her wealthy stepfather, her unlikely savior is the farmer Mr. Toad?a little man with a taste for women's corsets. Together with their two children, they weather the hardship of rural life and the mockery of their neighbors. But with the arrival of two Italian prisoners of war, their lives are turned upside down. Thousands of miles from home, Antonio and John find themselves on Mr. and Mrs. Toad's farm, exiles in the company of exiles. The Paperbark Shoe is a remarkable novel about the far-reaching repercussions of war, the subtle violence of displacement, and what it means to live as a captive?in enemy country, and in one's own skin.

This journal offers a loving and poignant portrait of L'Engle's mother in old age that is more about living than dying.

A Life in Hiding When the German army occupied Holland, Annie de Leeuw was eight years old. Because she was Jewish, the occupation put her in grave danger-she knew that to stay alive she would have to hide. Fortunately, a Gentile family, the Oostervelds, offered to help. For two years they...  more

A Life in Hiding When the German army occupied Holland, Annie de Leeuw was eight years old. Because she was Jewish, the occupation put her in grave danger-she knew that to stay alive she would have to hide. Fortunately, a Gentile family, the Oostervelds, offered to help. For two years they hid Annie and her sister, Sini, in the cramped upstairs room of their farmhouse. Most people thought the war wouldn't last long. But for Annie and Sini -- separated from their family and confined to one tiny room -- the war seemed to go on forever. In the part of the marketplace where flowers had been sold twice a week-tulips in the spring, roses in the summer-stood German tanks and German soldiers. Annie de Leeuw was eight years old in 1940 when the Germans attacked Holland and marched into the town of Winterswijk where she lived. Annie was ten when, because she was Jewish and in great danger of being cap-tured by the invaders, she and her sister Sini had to leave their father, mother, and older sister Rachel to go into hiding in the upstairs room of a remote farmhouse. Johanna de Leeuw Reiss has written a remarkably fresh and moving account of her own experiences as a young girl during World War II. Like many adults she was innocent of the German plans for Jews, and she might have gone to a labor camp as scores of families did. "It won't be for long and the Germans have told us we'll be treated well," those families said. "What can happen?" They did not know, and they could not imagine.... But millions of Jews found out. Mrs. Reiss's picture of the Oosterveld family with whom she lived, and of Annie and Sini, reflects a deep spirit of optimism, a faith in the ingenuity, backbone, and even humor with which ordinary human beings meet extraordinary challenges. In the steady, matter-of-fact, day-by-day courage they all showed lies a profound strength that transcends the horrors of the long and frightening war. Here is a memorable book, one that will be read and reread for years to come. 1973 Newbery Honor Book Notable Children's Books of 1971?1975 (ALA) Best Books of 1972 (SLJ) Outstanding Children's Books of 1972 (NYT) 1973 Jane Addams Award Honor Book Children's Books of 1972 (Library of Congress) The Buxtehude Bulla Prize 1976 (German Award for Outstanding Children's Book Promoting Peace) 1972 Jewish Book Council Children's Book Award

With gangsters on his tail and his meager savings in hand, crime reporter Jeremy Mercer fled Canada in 1999 and ended up in Paris. Broke and almost homeless, he found himself invited to a tea party amongst the riffraff of the timeless Left Bank fantasy known as Shakespeare & Co. In its...  more

With gangsters on his tail and his meager savings in hand, crime reporter Jeremy Mercer fled Canada in 1999 and ended up in Paris. Broke and almost homeless, he found himself invited to a tea party amongst the riffraff of the timeless Left Bank fantasy known as Shakespeare & Co. In its present incarnation, Shakespeare & Co. has become a destination for writers and readers the world over, trying to reclaim the lost world of literary Paris in the 1920s. Having been inspired by Sylvia Beach’s original store, the present owner, George Whitman, invites writers who are down and out in Paris to live and dream amid the bookshelves in return for work. Jeremy Mercer tumbled into this literary rabbit hole and found a life of camaraderie with the other eccentric residents, and became, for a time, George Whitman’s confidante and right-hand man. Time Was Soft There is one of the great stories of bohemian Paris and recalls the work of many writers who were bewitched by the City of Light in their youth. Jeremy’s comrades include Simon, the eccentric British poet who refuses to give up his bed in the antiquarian book room, beautiful blonde Pia, who contributes the elegant spirit of Parisian couture to the store, the handsome American Kurt, who flirts with beautiful women looking for copies of Tropic of Cancer, and George himself, the man who holds the key to it all. As Time Was Soft There winds in and around the streets of Paris, the staff fall in and out of love, straighten bookshelves, host tea parties, drink in the more down-at-the-heels cafés, sell a few books, and help George find a way to keep his endangered bookstore open. Spend a few days with Jeremy Mercer at 37 Rue de la Bucherie, and discover the bohemian world of Paris that still bustles in the shadow of Notre Dame. “Jeremy Mercer has captured Shakespeare & Co. and its complicated owner, George Whitman, with remarkable insight. Time Was Soft There is a charming memoir about living in Whitman’s Shakespeare & Co. and the strange, broken, lost, and occasionally talented, eccentrics and residents of this Tumblewood Hotel.” ---Noel Riley Fitch, author of Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties & Thirties  

An epic tale of impossible love, of families torn apart and a whole world of hidden secrets -- "And to my daughter in France, I bequeath the remainder of my Estate." These words, read from the will of Irish academic Richard Kirwan, come as a complete surprise to his grieving family....  more

An epic tale of impossible love, of families torn apart and a whole world of hidden secrets -- "And to my daughter in France, I bequeath the remainder of my Estate." These words, read from the will of Irish academic Richard Kirwan, come as a complete surprise to his grieving family. Solange de Valnay's perfectly ordered world is shattered when she discovers the identity of her true father for the first time. But the truth of Richard Kirwan's liaison with her mother cannot remain buried, and the Kirwan children and their half-sister must overcome their differences and confront the past that unites them. What emerges is an extraordinary tale of an impossible but irresistible love affair, of passion and blind heroism, of sacrifices made for love and honor, and of four families whose resistance to the German forces, occupying France during the Second World War, binds them across borders and cultures and through war and peace.

Flush those boring old gifts and give your friends and family something they can really sit down and digest! The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series is one of the longest-running, most popular humor collections in the publishing industry. It taps into a vast resource of forgotten readers -- the...  more

Flush those boring old gifts and give your friends and family something they can really sit down and digest! The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series is one of the longest-running, most popular humor collections in the publishing industry. It taps into a vast resource of forgotten readers -- the 66 percent of North Americans who admit to reading in the bathroom. It's our 15th year and we're still going strong!

Get ready for another rollicking reading ride -- when you can't tell if the tears you suddenly find on your cheeks are from laughing or from crying.Dorcas Smucker once again writes so vividly about life with her six kids that you'll be convinced you have a place at their table, your own seat in...  more

Get ready for another rollicking reading ride -- when you can't tell if the tears you suddenly find on your cheeks are from laughing or from crying.Dorcas Smucker once again writes so vividly about life with her six kids that you'll be convinced you have a place at their table, your own seat in their van, a list of chores with your name at the top, and a small hankering for trouble -- just like one of the family.She and her kids are innocently funny and usually well-meaning, trying hard to manage all their energy and their peculiar points of view.Jenny asks questions endlessly like, "What's inside your lips?" Matt has serial obsessions -- animals to astronomy. Ben drops caterpillars down the gaps in the porch floor and has a 12-year collection of scars. Emily moves effortlessly from being a whirling Queen of the Smuckers to posing as a pompous science lecturer. Amy phones home to report that, "New York City is not dangerous," and "We girls walk outside at night." And 9-year-old Steven from Kenya joins the family, soon demonstrating the same compulsion as his new brothers by throwing balls in the living room. What makes this collection a stand-out is Dorcas' "Mother voice." With each new development, she's clear about the outcome she's hoping for, less certain about how she'll accomplish it, willing to confess the way things unfold.

Ruth and her family live in the south of France. When the Naziz invade Paris during World War II, many Jews in France must go into hiding. Ruth's family changes identity. Her cousin tells Ruth that her name is now Renee, so that she blends in with other French children. When the Nazis move into...  more

Ruth and her family live in the south of France. When the Naziz invade Paris during World War II, many Jews in France must go into hiding. Ruth's family changes identity. Her cousin tells Ruth that her name is now Renee, so that she blends in with other French children. When the Nazis move into southern France the situation becomes desperate....

When a blue-eyed bombshell with fabulous legs bursts into his backyard in search of a pair of runaway dogs, Michael Groover has no idea his life is about to change forever. Sure, he knows about Paula Deen, the Food Network star who's won hearts across the country, but when she appears at his...  more

When a blue-eyed bombshell with fabulous legs bursts into his backyard in search of a pair of runaway dogs, Michael Groover has no idea his life is about to change forever. Sure, he knows about Paula Deen, the Food Network star who's won hearts across the country, but when she appears at his fence one day, he is more concerned with what the dogs are doing to his lawn than he is with the silver-haired owner giving chase. Still, even in an apron and a baseball cap, she is real attractive, and though Groover has pretty much given up on the idea of love, he asks her out.Paula's legions of fans know that this chance encounter begins a courtship that will end in a fairy-tale romance and wedding, but they've never heard Michael's side of the story. Here, for the first time, the Savannah native tells all, from his quintessential Southern childhood on the banks of the river to his career as a docking pilot to his international travels with his bride. Along the way, he speaks frankly about the children he adores, the challenges and rewards of blending families, and the pleasures and difficulties of fame.Michael loves food and is a pretty good cook himself, and each chapter is accompanied by one of his trademark recipes, such as Bayou Banana Puddin' or Captain's Deviled Crabs. He's not out to compete with Paula, but if they were to go head-to-head on chicken and dumplings, he's pretty sure his recipe would come out on top.It's all here: shopping with Paula, eating with Paula, traveling with Paula, romance with Paula, and, of course, cooking with Paula. So if you've ever wondered how delicious it is to live and love with Paula Deen, climb on board. There's interesting sailing ahead!

Not since Anne Frank?s The Diary of a Young Girl has such an intimately candid, deeply affecting account of a childhood compromised by Nazi tyranny come to light. As a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy living in Prague in the early 1940s, Petr Ginz dutifully kept a diary that captured the...  more

Not since Anne Frank?s The Diary of a Young Girl has such an intimately candid, deeply affecting account of a childhood compromised by Nazi tyranny come to light. As a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy living in Prague in the early 1940s, Petr Ginz dutifully kept a diary that captured the increasingly precarious texture of daily life.  His stunningly mature paintings, drawings, and writings reflect his insatiable appetite for learning and experience and openly display his growing artistic and literary genius. Petr was killed in a gas chamber at Auschwitz at the age of sixteen. His diaries?recently discovered in a Prague attic under extraordinary circumstances?are an invaluable historical document and a testament to one remarkable child?s insuppressible hunger for life.

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an...  more

In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children. Combining classic themes of fairy tales and war literature, this haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children, and tells a resonant, riveting story.

Aime Leduc, the intrepid young French-American detective, is hired to investigate the grisly murder of an old Jewish woman in the Marais district of Paris. Her undercover search leads to a neo-Nazi group and requires that she play a dangerous game involving current politics and old war crimes.