More than twenty-five years after the groundbreaking movie "StarWars: A New Hope" first hit the silver screen, "Star Wars" remainsone of the most beloved sagas ever told. Together, the threeoriginal "Star Wars" movies-"A New Hope," "The Empire StrikesBack," and "Return of the Jedi"-told one epic: a heroic tale ofinnocence lost and wisdom gained, of downfall and redemption, ofthe never-ending fight between the forces of good and evil. Readthe story of the movies-all three in one trade paperback volume-andrediscover the wonder of the legend that begins: "A long time ago,in a galaxy far, far away . . ."Luke Skywalker lived and worked onhis uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine, but he yearnedto travel beyond the farthest reaches of the universe to distant,alien worlds. Then Luke intercepted a cryptic message from abeautiful, captive princess . . . and found himself catapulted intothe adventure of a lifetime. Luke Skywalker, proud Princess Leia,and headstrong Han Solo . . . merciless Darth Vader, wise Ob
Marlowe is hired by an influential lawyer he's never herd of totail a gorgeous redhead, but decides he prefers to help out theredhead. She's been acquitted of her alcoholic husband's murder,but her father-in-law prefers not to take the court's word for it.andquot; Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested thesun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence:andquot; -- Ross Macdonald
When the last honest citizen of Poisonville was murdered, theContinental Op stayed on to punish the guilty--even if that meanttaking on an entire town. Red Harvest is more than a superb crimenovel: it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence inthe American grain.
In the four long stories in this collection, Marlowe is hiredto protect a rich old guy from a gold digger, runs afoul of crookedpoliticos, gets a line on some stolen jewels with a rewardattached, and stumbles across a murder victim who may have been anextortionist.
It is the most famous military installation in the world. Andit doesn't exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of LasVegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged bythe U.S. government-but Area 51 has captivated imaginations fordecades. Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks tothe intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens,underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believethat the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence ofthese rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has everdivulged the truth about his time inside the base. Until now. Annie Jacobsen had exclusive access to nineteen men who servedthe base proudly and secretly for decades and are now aged 75-92,and unprecedented access to fifty-five additional military andintelligence personnel, scientists, pilots, and engineers linked tothe secret base, thirty-two of whom lived and worked there forextended periods. In Area 51, Jac
From the author of "On The Road" comes this story of two menenganged in a passionate search for Dharma or truth. Their majoradventure is the pursuit of the Zen Way, which takes them climbinginto the high sierras to seek the lesson of solitude.
Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with thescars to prove it. Then he finds out that Terry Lennox has a verywealthy nymphomaniac wife, who he's divorced and re-married and whoends up dead. and now Lennox is on the lam and the cops and a crazygangster are after Marlowe.
Look at the Birdie is a collection of fourteen short storiesfrom one of the most original writers in American fiction. Thisseries of perfectly rendered vignettes, never before published inKurt Vonnegut’s lifetime, reveals a warm, wise, and funny portraitof life in post–World War II America—a world where squabblingcouples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, andsmall-town lotharios struggle to adapt to changing technology,moral ambiguity, and unprecedented affluence. Featuring a Forewordby author and longtime Vonnegut confidant Sidney Offit, Look at theBirdie is an unexpected gift for readers who thought thatVonnegut’s voice had been stilled forever—and serves as a terrificintroduction to his short fiction for anyone who has yet toexperience his genius.
Together in one extraordinary boxed set- "Naked in Death,""Glory in Death," and "Immortal in Death"-the first three In Deathnovels featuring New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas. Naked inDeath Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant using herinstincts to hunt for a ruthless killer. Breaking every rule, Evegets involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire-and a suspect inEve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rulesall their own. Glory in Death Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has noproblem finding connections between two violent crimes. Bothvictims were beautiful and highly successful women whose intimaterelations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with along list of suspects-including her own lover, Roarke. Immortal inDeath A top model is dead, the victim of a brutal murder. PoliceLieutenant Eve Dallas puts her professional life on the line totake the case when suspicion falls on her best friend, the otherwoman in a fatal love triangle. And beneath the facade of glamour,Ev
From the early Soviet period, the impassioned short fictionof the great Russian-Jewish writer One of the most powerful short-story writers of the twentiethcentury, Isaac Babel expressed his sense of inner conflict throughdisturbing tales that explored the contradictions of Russiansociety. Whether reflecting on anti-Semitism in stories such as“Story of My Dovecote” and “First Love,” or depicting Jewishgangsters in his native Odessa, Babel’s eye for the comical laidbare the ironies of history. His masterpiece, “Red Cavalry,” set inthe Soviet-Polish war, is one of the classics of modern fiction. Byturns flamboyant and restrained, this collection of Babel’sbest-known stories vividly expresses the horrors of his age. “Amazing not only as literature but as biography.” —RichardBernstein, The New York Times “Marvelously subtle, tragic, and often comic.” —James Wood, The New Republic
"The Tin Drum," one of the great novels of the twentiethcentury, was published in Ralph Manheim's outstanding translationin 1959. It became a runaway bestseller and catapulted its youngauthor to the forefront of world literature.To mark the fiftiethanniversary of the original publication, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,along with Grass's publishers all over the world, is bringing out anew translation of this classic novel. Breon Mitchell, an acclaimedtranslator and scholar, has drawn from many sources: a wealth ofdetailed scholarship, a wide range of newly available referenceworks, and the author himself. The result is a translation that ismore faithful to Grass's style and rhythm, restores omissions, andreflects more fully the complexity of the original work.After fiftyyears, "The Tin Drum" has, if anything, gained in power andrelevance. All of Grass's amazing evocations are still there, andstill amazing: Oskar Matzerath, the indomitable drummer; hisgrandmother, Anna Koljaiczek; his mother, Agnes; Alfred M
Deadeye Dick is Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look atthe death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors-adouble murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, anannihilation of a city by a neutron bomb-Rudy Waltz, a.k.a. DeadeyeDick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness.Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink whatwe believe...and who we say we are.
The timeless classic of a journey through the horrors of hellThe action adventure blockbuster that's rocking the video gameworld All hell is breaking loose. Electronic Arts' thrilling videogame Dante's Inferno has exploded on the scene and this bookprovides unique insight into its creation. Go back to the sourcewith Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's celebrated translation of Dante'sepic poem. Presented here in its entirety, the poem provides theoriginal foundation and inspiration for the game. Then learn thegame's creators turned the Dante's notorious Nine Circles of Hellinto the hottest game around. In sixteen pages of stunning art,you'll discover how the monsters and characters--from King Minosand Cerberus to Lucifer himself--evolved from their classic imagesto the darkest creatures in damnation, and witness how theenvironments fashioned by the game's creators bring the torturednetherworld of absolute evil to hideous life. In addition,Executive Producer Jonathan Knight shares intriguing details aboutthe p
Raymond Chandler's fifth novel has Philip Marlowe going toHollywood as he explores the underworld of the glitter capital,trying to find a sweet young thing's missing brother. Along the wayhe uncovers a little blackmail, a lot of drugs, and more thanenough murder.
This superb Pulitzer Prize-winning collection gives voice tofailure with a wry, deft touch from one of this country's mostengaging and uncompromising poets. In "Failure, "Philip Schultzevokes the pleasures of family, marriage, beaches, and dogs; NewYork City in the 1970s; revolutions both interior and exterior; andthe terrors of 9/11 with a compassion that demonstrates he is amaster of the bittersweet and fierce, the wondrous and direct, andthe brilliantly provocative. Filled with poems of "heartbreakingtenderness that go] beyond mere pity" (Gerald Stern), "Failure "isa collection to savor from this major American poet.
Meet Sugar, a nineteen-year-old prostitute innineteenth-century London who yearns for escape to a better life.From the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, she begins herascent through society, meeting a host of lovable, maddening,unforgettable characters on the way. They begin with WilliamRackham, an egotistical perfume magnate whose empire is fueled byhis lust for Sugar; his unhinged, child-like wife Agnes; hismysteriously hidden-away daughter, Sophie; and his pious brotherHenry, foiled in his devotional calling by a persistentlyless-than-chaste love for the Widow Fox. All this is overseen byassorted preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthyservants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes andpersuasions. Teeming with life, this is a big, juicy must-read of a novel thathas enthralled hundreds of thousands of readers-and will continueto do so for years to come.
Hailed as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, TheValleys of the Assassins firmly established Freya Stark as oneof her generation's most intrepid explorers. The book chroniclesher travels into Luristan, the mountainous terrain nestled betweenIraq and present-day Iran, often with only a single guide and on ashoestring budget. Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic peoples who inhabit theregion's valleys and brings to life the stories of the ancientkingdoms of the Middle East, including that of the Lords of Alamut,a band of hashish-eating terrorists whose stronghold in the ElburzMountains Stark was the first to document for the RoyalGeographical Society. Her account is at once a highly readabletravel narrative and a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait of apeople told from their own compelling point of view. This edition includes a new Introduction by Jane FletcherGeniesse, Stark's biographer.
Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse isperfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love ormarriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering inthe romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings ofher good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitablematch for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soonunravel and have consequences that she never expected. With itsimperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle explorationof relationships, "Emma" is often seen as Jane Austen's mostflawless work.
The inspiration for the major motion picture starring BradPitt and Cate Blanchettaplus eighteen other stories by the belovedauthor of "The Great Gatsby" IN THE TITLE STORY, a baby born in1860 begins life as an old man and proceeds to age backward. F.Scott Fizgerald hinted at this kind of inversion when he called hisera aa generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought,all faiths in man shaken.a Perhaps nowhere in American fiction hasthis aLost Generationa been more vividly preserved than inFitzgeraldas short fiction. Spanning the early twentieth-centuryAmerican landscape, this original collection captures, withFitzgeraldas signature blend of enchantment and disillusionment,America during the Jazz Age.
