The world has long been fascinated with the compelling characters and cataclysmic events surrounding the end of the 300-year Romanov dynasty of Russia: ?the mystical (and some say mythical) Rasputin and his influence on the teenaged Alexei, the heir ?the passionate love affair between Tsar...  more

The world has long been fascinated with the compelling characters and cataclysmic events surrounding the end of the 300-year Romanov dynasty of Russia: ?the mystical (and some say mythical) Rasputin and his influence on the teenaged Alexei, the heir ?the passionate love affair between Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra ?the four lovely Romanov daughter (OTMA): Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia ?World War I and the Communist Revolution of 1917 Few books have touched on what was the greatest secret of the age; tsarevich Alexei?s curse of hemophilia, ?The Royal Disease.? Entwined in this tale of incalculable wealth and global dominance is enigmatic and magnetic Rasputin ? peasant and holy man. Medical doctors could not help Alexei. Only Rasputin had the power to stop the flow of blood. Was he a saint or sinner? Alexei & Me gives a face, a personality and a soul?to the boy who carried on his small frame two impossible burdens ? heir and hemophiliac. Taken from first person historical accounts, Alexei & Me is a novel about the boy whose murder changed the course of the world.

"I don't know how long before i shall have to go into the field of battle. For my part i don't care. I don't feel afraid to go. I don't believe there are any Rebel's bullet made for me yet." --Pvt. Lyons Wakeman Similar sentiments were expressed by tens of thousands of Civil War soldiers in...  more

"I don't know how long before i shall have to go into the field of battle. For my part i don't care. I don't feel afraid to go. I don't believe there are any Rebel's bullet made for me yet." --Pvt. Lyons Wakeman Similar sentiments were expressed by tens of thousands of Civil War soldiers in their diaries and in their letters to loved ones at home. What transforms the letters of Pvt. Lyons Wakeman from merely interesting reading into a unique and fascinating addition to Civil War literature is who wrote them--for Private Wakeman was not what "he" seemed to be. The five-foot tall soldier's true identity was that of a simple young farm girl from central New York state named Sarah Rosetta Wakeman. Her letters, the only such correspondence known to exist, provide a rare glimpse of what life was like for a woman fighting as a common soldier in the Civil War under the guise of a man. Written shortly after she left home to pursue her fortune in 1862, Rosetta's letters over the next two years tell of army life in the defences of Washington, D.C. and on the march and in battle during the 1864 Louisiana Red River Campaign. She wrote frequently to her family in Afton, NY, and her letters contain feelings and observations like those expressed by the majority of her fellow soldiers. We read of her determination to perform honorably the duty required of a soldier, the trials of hard marching and combat, her pride in being able to "drill just as well as any man" in her regiment, and her eventual fatalistic attitude toward military service, and her frequent expressions of faith in God and the afterlife. Although Rosetta did not survive the war, her letters remain as an singular record of female military life in the ranks, a phenomenon largely ignored by historians and researchers. Private Wakeman was not alone in embarking on her strange adventure. Hundreds of women, from both the North and South, disguised themselves as men and enlisted in the armies of our nation's bloodiest war. The experiences of these women during the Civil War are just beginning to be recognized as elemental to understanding the life of this country during those turbulent times. Little is known about these women precisely because they enlisted and served in constant secrecy, fearful of revealing their true identities. This unique collection of letters offers a firsthand look at the personality and character of a woman who defied convention to take a man's place in the Union army.

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel?s hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that?s consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda to...  more

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel?s hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that?s consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda to raw camel kidneys in Ethiopia, putrefied shark in blood pudding in Iceland and Wolfgang Puck's Hunan style rooster balls in Los Angeles. For Zimmern, local cuisine ? bizarre, gross or downright stomach turning as it may be to us -- is not simply what?s served at mealtime. It is a primary avenue to discovering what is most authentic ? the bizarre truth ? about cultures everywhere. Having eaten his way around the world over the course of four seasons of Bizarre Foods, Zimmern has now launched Bizarre Worlds, a new series on the Travel Channel, and this, his first book, a chronicle of his journeys as he not only tastes the ?taboo treats? of the world, but delves deep into the cultures and lifestyles of far-flung locales and seeks the most prized of the modern traveler?s goals: The Authentic Experience. Written in the smart, often hilarious voice he uses to narrate his TV shows, Zimmern uses his adventures in ?culinary anthropology? to illustrate such themes as:  why visiting local markets can reveal more about destinations than museums; the importance of going to ?the last stop on the subway? ? the most remote area of a place where its essence is most often revealed; the need to seek out and catalog ?the last bottle of coca-cola in the desert,? i.e. disappearing foods and cultures; the profound differences between dining and eating; and the pleasures of snout to tail, local, fresh and organic food. Zimmern takes readers into the back of a souk in Morocco where locals are eating a whole roasted lamb; along with a conch fisherman in Tobago, who may be the last of his kind; to Mississippi, where he dines on raccoon and possum. There, he writes, "People said, 'That's roadkill!' ?No it's not,? I said. ?It's a cultural story.??Whether it?s a session with an Incan witch doctor in Ecuador who blows fire on him, spits on him, thrashes him with poisonous branches and beats him with a live guinea pig or drinking blood in Uganda and cow urine tonic in India or eating roasted bats on an uninhabited island in Samoa, Zimmern cheerfully celebrates the undiscovered destinations and weird wonders still remaining in our increasingly globalized world.From the Hardcover edition.

ONE TASTE IS ALL IT TAKES For those who feast on blood, Jillian Conrad is a fatal attraction. After being injected with a serum that made her blood both irresistible and deadly to vampires, she was used as a pawn to assassinate the vampire king. Now, the vampires want her...  more

ONE TASTE IS ALL IT TAKES For those who feast on blood, Jillian Conrad is a fatal attraction. After being injected with a serum that made her blood both irresistible and deadly to vampires, she was used as a pawn to assassinate the vampire king. Now, the vampires want her eliminated. Hunted and unable to return to her old life, Jillian desperately seeks to prevent the poison in her veins from killing her. And she must find a way to help her dhampyr protector, Declan, whose exposure to the serum has split his personality into one part uncontrolled desire, and one part stone cold killer. But an even greater danger is rising. The Amarantos -- a secret society of vampires -- is seeking the infant daughter of the slain king to complete their quest for true immortality. And if they succeed, no one, living or undead, will escape the darkness.

A unique book on Britain?s royal families by this well established popular historian. Britain?s Royal Families is a unique reference book providing, for the first time in one volume, complete genealogical details of all members of the royal houses of England, Scotland and Great Britain from...  more

A unique book on Britain?s royal families by this well established popular historian. Britain?s Royal Families is a unique reference book providing, for the first time in one volume, complete genealogical details of all members of the royal houses of England, Scotland and Great Britain from 800AD to the present. Drawing on countless authorities, both ancient and modern, Alison Weir explores the royal family tree in unprecedented depth and provides a comprehensive guide to the heritage of today?s royal family.

The murderous force of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 brings the winds of change to a pampered young girl. When Darcy survives the savage storm, she learns to appreciate her own strength and stands by the man she loves.

Ingrid Betancourt tells the story of her captivity in the Colombian jungle, sharing powerful teachings of resilience, resistance, and faith. Born in Bogotá, raised in France, Ingrid Betancourt at the age of thirty-two gave up a life of comfort and safety to return to Colombia to become a...  more

Ingrid Betancourt tells the story of her captivity in the Colombian jungle, sharing powerful teachings of resilience, resistance, and faith. Born in Bogotá, raised in France, Ingrid Betancourt at the age of thirty-two gave up a life of comfort and safety to return to Colombia to become a political leader in a country that was being slowly destroyed by terrorism, violence, fear, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness. In 2002, while campaigning as a candidate in the Colombian presidential elections, she was abducted by the FARC. Nothing could have prepared her for what came next. She would spend the next six and a half years in the depths of the jungle as a prisoner of the FARC. Even Silence Has an End is her deeply personal and moving account of that time. Chained day and night for much of her captivity, she never stopped dreaming of escape and, in fact, succeeded in getting away several times, always to be recaptured. In her most successful effort she and a fellow captive survived a week away, but were caught when her companion became desperately ill; she learned later that they had been mere miles from freedom. The facts of her story are astounding, but it is Betancourt's indomitable spirit that drives this very special account, bringing life, nuance, and profundity to the narrative. Attending as intimately to the landscape of her mind as she does to the events of her capture and captivity, Even Silence Has an End is a meditation on the very stuff of life-fear and freedom, hope and what inspires it. Betancourt tracks her metamorphosis, sharing how in the routines she established for herself-listening to her mother and two children broadcast to her over the radio, daily prayer-she was able to do the unthinkable: to move through the pain of the moment and find a place of serenity. Freed in 2008 by the Colombian army, today Betancourt is determined to draw attention to the plight of hostages and victims of terrorism throughout the world and it is that passion that motivates Even Silence Has an End. The lessons she offers here-in courage, resilience, and humanity-are gifts to treasure.

Queen Tania of the Faeries is tired of waiting for Hugh, the Earl of Bellemare, to come back to her. A year has passed since his commitments pulled him from her side and she’s begun to suspect he never intended to return. Disheartened, the queen’s mood darkens until she finds she has...  more

Queen Tania of the Faeries is tired of waiting for Hugh, the Earl of Bellemare, to come back to her. A year has passed since his commitments pulled him from her side and she’s begun to suspect he never intended to return. Disheartened, the queen’s mood darkens until she finds she has no choice but to teach the earl a lesson he will never forget—that no human should dare lie to a faery queen. Hugh’s hatred of the magical world is well known and he wishes to live out the rest of his life in the mortal realm, doing his noble duty. Too bad his heart hasn’t caught up to his head. Thoughts of a tenaciously seductive queen haunt him, even as he knows the woman only wanted him as a plaything for her bed. But it would seem he can’t run far enough, for the teasing nymph won’t back down and Hugh finds himself at the mercy of a vengeful faery. Warning: This book contains hot sex, violence, a castle full of amorous faeries, a vengeful queen succumbing to her darker thoughts and the human she would make her plaything.    

Growing up in the west Michigan resort town of Sandy Shores in the early 1900s, Hannah Grace, the eldest of Jacob Kane's three daughters, is feisty and strong-willed, yet practical. Between working at her father's general store and courting the town's physician, Ralston Van Huff,...  more

Growing up in the west Michigan resort town of Sandy Shores in the early 1900s, Hannah Grace, the eldest of Jacob Kane's three daughters, is feisty and strong-willed, yet practical. Between working at her father's general store and courting the town's physician, Ralston Van Huff, Hannah has her life planned out in an orderly, meaningful way. Or so she thinks. Hannah's world turns upside down when the new sheriff comes to town. Gabriel Devlin is strong, outspoken, and a Christian, to boot-but he's sworn off women, having met ones mostly interested in money and apathetic about God. Determined to ignore the newcomer's handsome looks, Hannah is drawn to him nonetheless by a shy, runaway orphan boy named Jesse. While Hannah works to befriend the shy vagabond, who's living with Gabriel until other arrangements can be made, God works in her heart. What plans does he have in store for this young woman who thought she had it all together?

"This is the way the world ends -- not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way -- not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star,...  more

"This is the way the world ends -- not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way -- not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance. To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two...  more

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance. To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever. The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo's highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance

Mrs. Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune, lost her one month old daughter to a rare disease. Fourteen years later her husband passed away from tuberculosis. Seeking a psychic for answers, she was told a curse was put on her family by those killed with the...  more

Mrs. Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune, lost her one month old daughter to a rare disease. Fourteen years later her husband passed away from tuberculosis. Seeking a psychic for answers, she was told a curse was put on her family by those killed with the Winchester repeating rifle. The psychic told her to move west and build continuously on a house to appease the spirits. She would do as the psychic instructed, and over the 38 years she lived in San Jose, California, she built a 160-room Victorian mansion. It is said she held nightly seances in which the good spirits would tell her how to build her house. This is the reason given for the oddities of the house. There are stairs that lead nowhere, a door that opens onto a 15-foot drop into the garden, and skylights in the floor to view the rooms below. The number 13 was used throughout the house: 13 lights in a chandelier, 13 hooks in the seance room, 13 bathrooms, etc. Music was heard coming from the house in the middle of the night, and the bell in the tower supposedly rang to call the spirits to her seances. It was said Mrs. Winchester was a recluse who wore a veil everywhere, even inside her home. This biography starts with Oliver F. Winchester and the history of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. It then follows Sarah Winchester from her marriage to her death. It explores the myths surrounding her, as well as the facts that rarely come to light, in an attempt to find the truth behind the legend.

From the author of the runaway bestseller Math Doesn?t Suck, the next step in the math curriculum-- pre-Algebra. Last year, actress and math genius Danica McKellar made waves nationwide, challenging the ?math nerd? stereotype?and giving girls the tools to ace tests and homework in her unique...  more

From the author of the runaway bestseller Math Doesn?t Suck, the next step in the math curriculum-- pre-Algebra. Last year, actress and math genius Danica McKellar made waves nationwide, challenging the ?math nerd? stereotype?and giving girls the tools to ace tests and homework in her unique just-us-girls style. Now, in Kiss My Math, McKellar empowers a new crop of girls?7th to 9th graders?taking on the next level of mathematics: pre-Algebra. Stepping up not only the math, but also the sass and style, Kiss My Math will help math-phobic teenagers everywhere chill out about math, and finally ?get? negative numbers, variables, absolute values, exponents, and more. Each chapter features: ? Step-by-step instruction ? Time-saving tips and tricks ? Illuminating practice problems with detailed solutions ? Real-world examples ? True stories from Danica?s own life as a student and actress Kiss My Math also includes more fun extras--including personality quizzes, reader polls, and real-life testimonials-- ultimately revealing why pre-Algebra is easier, more relevant, and more glamorous than girls think.

For this killer, murder is child's play. The president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia, Nell Pratt, is jolted into action when someone is electrocuted at a colleague's children's museum. When Nell Pratt is invited to the beloved Philadelphia...  more

For this killer, murder is child's play. The president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia, Nell Pratt, is jolted into action when someone is electrocuted at a colleague's children's museum. When Nell Pratt is invited to the beloved Philadelphia children's museum, Let's Play, for a sneak preview of a newly installed exhibit based on the Harriet the Hedgehog book series, she's in for quite a shock. In the middle of her visit, one of the installers gets a severe jolt from working on an electrically animated forest creature. He recovers, but when a second man gets zapped -- this time fatally -- it sparks a homicide investigation, with Nell right in the middle of things. Is someone out to sabotage the exhibition, or to discredit the museum president, Arabella Heffernan? Even with the help of Nell's potential beau, FBI agent James Morrison, it's ultimately up to Nell to channel her energy into finding the killer -- before she gets burned herself.

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances?and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a...  more

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances?and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a fairy tale?until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince. Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.

How did Berlin's Jewish Hospital, in the middle of the Nazi capital, survive as an institution where Jewish doctors and nurses cared for Jewish patients throughout World War II? How could it happen that when Soviet troops liberated the hospital in April 1945, they found some eight hundred Jews...  more

How did Berlin's Jewish Hospital, in the middle of the Nazi capital, survive as an institution where Jewish doctors and nurses cared for Jewish patients throughout World War II? How could it happen that when Soviet troops liberated the hospital in April 1945, they found some eight hundred Jews still on the premises? Daniel Silver carefully uncovers the often surprising answers to these questions and, through the skillful use of primary source materials and the vivid voices of survivors, reveals the underlying complexities of human conscience. The story centers on the intricate machinations of the hospital's director, Herr Dr. Lustig, a German-born Jew whose life-and-death power over medical staff and patients and finely honed relationship with his own boss, the infamous Adolf Eichmann, provide vital pieces to the puzzle -- some have said the miracle -- of the hospital's survival. Silver illuminates how the tortured shifts in Nazi policy toward intermarriage and so-called racial segregation provided a further, if hugely counterintuitive, shelter from the storm for the hospital's resident Jews. Scenes of daily life in the hospital paint an often heroic and always provocative picture of triage at its most chillingly existential. Not since Schindler's List have we had such a haunting story of the costs and mysteries of individual survival in the midst of a human-created hell.

Throughout her life, Melissa Jesperson Moore had to hide her true identity. She had pretended that life was perfect after her parents divorced and she was suddenly uprooted from everything familiar and loving. She had to be silent, and to pretend not to be disturbed or upset by her father's...  more

Throughout her life, Melissa Jesperson Moore had to hide her true identity. She had pretended that life was perfect after her parents divorced and she was suddenly uprooted from everything familiar and loving. She had to be silent, and to pretend not to be disturbed or upset by her father's actions. Those experiences prepared Melissa to hide the deepest, darkest secret of all. As she began making different choices, building a successful and loving life on her own, her heart began to fill with rays of hope, though she could never quite rid herself of the dark shadow of secrecy and shame. Then one day, her beautiful, innocent daughter looked into her eyes and said, "Mommy, everybody's got a daddy. Where's your daddy?" Shattered Silence is an astonishing, true narrative of personal and spiritual transformation. From her secret life as "the daughter of The Happy Face Serial Murderer" to a woman that bared her soul and inspired millions, Melissa leads the reader on the vulnerable, compelling, and sometimes very raw journey of what it took to shatter the silence, and claim her own life.

An uplifting and enlightening account of the largely untold story of German resistance to the Third Reich. With details of Scholl's arrest and trial before Hitler's Hanging Judge, Roland Freisler, and including the leaflets that the White Rose circulated throughout the German population, this...  more

An uplifting and enlightening account of the largely untold story of German resistance to the Third Reich. With details of Scholl's arrest and trial before Hitler's Hanging Judge, Roland Freisler, and including the leaflets that the White Rose circulated throughout the German population, this volume is an invaluable addition to World War II literature. And it is a fascinating window into human spirit.

"The Luxe" meets the ancient world in the extraordinary story of Cleopatra's daughter.Selene has grown up in a palace on the Nile with her parents, Cleopatra & Mark Antony--the most brilliant, powerful rulers on earth. But the jealous Roman Emperor Octavianus wants Egypt for himself, & when war...  more

"The Luxe" meets the ancient world in the extraordinary story of Cleopatra's daughter.Selene has grown up in a palace on the Nile with her parents, Cleopatra & Mark Antony--the most brilliant, powerful rulers on earth. But the jealous Roman Emperor Octavianus wants Egypt for himself, & when war finally comes, Selene faces the loss of all she's ever loved. Forced to build a new life in Octavianus's household in Rome, she finds herself torn between two young men and two possible destinies--until she reaches out to claim her own.This stunning novel brings to life the personalities & passions of one of the greatest dramas in history, & offers a wonderful new heroine in Selene.

A compelling, often hilarious, and unfailingly compassionate portrait of life inside a women’s prison When Piper Kerman was sent to prison for a ten-year-old crime, she barely resembled the reckless young woman she’d been when, shortly after graduating Smith College, she’d...  more

A compelling, often hilarious, and unfailingly compassionate portrait of life inside a women’s prison When Piper Kerman was sent to prison for a ten-year-old crime, she barely resembled the reckless young woman she’d been when, shortly after graduating Smith College, she’d committed the misdeeds that would eventually catch up with her.Happily ensconced in a New York City apartment, with a promising career and an attentive boyfriend, she was suddenly forced to reckon with the consequences of her very brief, very careless dalliance in the world of drug trafficking.  Kerman spent thirteen months in prison, eleven of them at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, where she met a surprising and varied community of women living under exceptional circumstances. In Orange Is the New Black, Kerman tells the story of those long months locked up in a place with its own codes of behavior and arbitrary hierarchies, where a practical joke is as common as an unprovoked fight, and where the uneasy relationship between prisoner and jailer is constantly and unpredictably recalibrated. Revealing, moving, and enraging, Orange Is the New Black offers a unique perspective on the criminal justice system, the reasons we send so many people to prison, and what happens to them when they’re there.From the Hardcover edition.