作者简介： J. K. (Jo) Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury in the UK in 1965. Such a funny-sounding name for a birthplace may have contributed to her talent for collecting odd names. She was quiet, freckly, short-sighted and not very good at sports. She even broke her arm playing netball. Her favourite subject by far was English, but she also liked languages. Jo always loved writing more than anything. 'The first story that I ever wrote down, when I was five or six, was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee. And ever since Rabbit and Miss Bee, I have wanted to be a writer, though I rarely told anyone so. I was afraid they'd tell me I didn't have a hope.' As she got older, Jo kept writing but she never showed what she had written to anyone, except for some of her funny stories that featured her friends as heroines. Jo attended the University of Exeter in Devon where she studied French. When she was 25,

Myths Legends retells the stories central toevery culture that have been passed down from generation togeneration for thousands of years. Coverage extends from thewell-known tales of the Ancient Greeks, which hold the key to theorigin of such phrases as "Achille's heel," to the lesser-known,but richly colorful, myths of the Americas and the East. Topicspreads explore characters and stories in terms of their cultural,psychological, and religious meanings and show their power,purpose, and influence both in their own time and in today's world.Feature spreads visit the sacred sites that can still be seentoday, and underline the importance of themes that appear acrosscultures and through the centuries. In looking at such universalthemes as creation, heroic trials, tricksters' lessons, and deathand the afterlife, Myths Legends investigates howdifferent cultures have addressed questions such as How was theworld created? How did man learn to use fire? and Why do we growold?

Jane Austen is without question, one of England's most enduring and skilled novelists. With her wit, social precision, and unerring ability to create some of literature's most charismatic and believable heroines, she mesmerises her readers as much today as when her novels were first published. Whether it is her sharp, ironic gaze at the Gothic genre invoked by the adventures of Catherine Morland in "Northanger Abbey"; the diffident and much put-upon Fanny Price struggling to cope with her emotions in "Mansfield Park"; her delightfully paced comedy of manners and the machinations of the sisters Elinor and Marianne in "Sense and Sensibility"; the quiet strength of Anne Elliot in "Persuasion" succeeding in a world designed to subjugate her very existence; and Emma - 'a heroine whom no one but myself will like' teased Austen - yet another irresistible character on fire with imagination and foresight.Indeed not unlike her renowned creator, Jane Austen is as sure-footed in her steps through society's whirlpools of

The first three books in von Ziegesar's Gossip Girls series are packaged together in this paperback boxed set. Includes "Gossip Girl, You Know You Love Me," and "All I Want Is Everything."

#1 Worldwide Bestseller—More Than 80 Million Copies Sold As millions of readers around the globe have already discovered, The Da Vinci Code is a reading experience unlike any other. Simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail, Dan Brown's novel is a thrilling masterpiece—from its opening pages to its stunning conclusion.

After having lost her family and the luxurious life she livedin beautiful Napa, California, Ava Winters finds herself on RebunIsland, Japan, the site of Satoshi Takeda's Revenge School. There,Ava meets Reena, Jon, Cruz, and Jane. At Revenge School, Ava alsomeets Emily Thorne who has recently returned to her training withTakeda. Emily shares her wisdom about Revenge and the importance oflooking for justice in a world where their enemies have thrived.Jon finds a file in Takeda's office detailing the connective tissuelinking the group currently at Revenge School. He presents Ava andthe others with the information, highlighting the looming May 1stdate of an annual gala in Napa where they will all have theopportunity to address their respective "revengendas." Althoughtheir training is not finished, the group feels the time is rightto set out on their mission. Assuming the delicious melodramatictone of the show, the book will reveal twists, turns, murder,collusion and deception. SCHOOLED IN REVENGE will also

"Many say I was the best geisha of my generation," writes Mineko Iwasaki. "And yet, it was a life that I found too constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave." Trained to become a geisha from the age of five, Iwasaki would live among the other "women of art" in Kyoto's Gion Kobu district and practice the ancient customs of Japanese entertainment. She was loved by kings, princes, military heroes, and wealthy statesmen alike. But even though she became one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, Iwasaki wanted more: her own life. And by the time she retired at age twenty-nine, Iwasaki was finally on her way toward a new beginning. Geisha, a Life is her story -- at times heartbreaking, always awe-inspiring, and totally true.

The best-known and most autobiographical of George Eliot’s novels is now available as a Norton Critical Edition. The text of The Mill on the Floss, that of the 1862 third edition for which Eliot made her last revisions, has been annotated in order to assist the reader with obscure references and allusions Backgrounds includes fifteen letters from the 1859-69 period centering on the novel’s content and composition; "Brother and Sister" (1869), a little-known sonnet sequence; and eight Victorian reviews and responses, both published and unpublished, on the novel, including those by Henry James, Algernon Charles Swinurne, and John Ruskin. Judiciously chosen from the wealth of essays on The Mill on the Floss published in this century, Criticism includes ten of the best studies of the novel, providing the reader with historical and critical perspective. The contributors are Leslie Stephen, Virginia Woolf, F. R. Leavis, George Levine, Ulrich Knoepflmacher, Philip Fisher, Mary Jacobus, John Kuci

Robert Langdon, professeur en symbologie, estconvoqué d'urgence par son ami Peter Solomon, philanthrope et ma?onde haut grade, pour une conférence à donner le soir même. Enrejoignant la rotonde du Capitole, il fait une macabre découverte.Ce sera le premier indice d'une quête haletante, des sous-sols dela Bibliothèque du Congrès aux temples ma?onniques, à la recherchedu secret le mieux gardé de la franc-ma?onnerie. Une aventure oùs'affrontent les traditions ésotériques et la formidableintelligence de Robert Langdon.

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world’s most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling--a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown’s most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale. As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object--artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom. When Langdon’s beloved men

Jack Welch knows how to win. During his forty-year career at General Electric, he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe, in multiple 1markets, against brutal competition. His honest, be-the-best style of management became the gold standard in business, with his relentless focus on people, teamwork,and profits. Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE, he has traveled the world,speaking to more than 250,000 people and answering their questions on dozens of wide-ranging topics. Inspired by his audiences and their hunger for straightforward guidance, Welch has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which is destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. It clearly lays out the answers to the most difficult questions people face both on and offthe job. Welch's objective is to speak to people at every level of an organization, in companies large and small. His audience is everyone from line workers to MBAs, from pro

As good a rifle company as any in the world, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, kept getting the tough assignments -- responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. In Band of Brothers, Ambrose tells of the men in this brave unit who fought, went hungry, froze, and died, a company that took 150 percent casualties and considered the Purple Heart a badge of office. Drawing on hours of interviews with survivors as well as the soldiers' journals and letters, Stephen Ambrose recounts the stories, often in the men's own words, of these American heroes.

The Valley of Fear The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes The Return of Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet The Memoirs of Sherlock HolmesThe Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Hound of the Baskervilles The Sign of Four His Last Bow。

A stunning noves based on the true story of how German war profiteer and factory direktor Oskar Schindler came to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other single persoin during World War Ⅱ. In this milestone of Holocaust literature, Thomas Keneally uses the actual testimony of the Schindlerjuden-Schindler's jews-to brilliantly portray the courage and cunning of a good man in the midst of unspeakable veil.

This remarkable and beautiful book documents the period ofexploration and enlightenment when the Old World began to open itsmind to the wonders and mysteries of the New World. Five centuriesof eyewitness accounts, drawings, and notes, taken straight fromthe log books of such famous explorers as Christopher Columbus,Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco de Gama, James Cook, and many others whonames have been lost, appear in these glowing pages. For the sakeof gold and God, these explorers ventured into the Sea of Darknessfeared for centuries; the detailed documents they compiled are aremarkable testament to their journeys and discoveries. Fran?ois Bellec, a world famous expert in the field of maritimeexploration and history, has assembled a unique document filledwith extraordinary maps drawn by the explorers and theircartographers; fabulous depictions of newly encountered plants,animals, and native people; and detailed illustrations of theadventurers' own vessels and instruments, as well as the boats andinstr

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it. In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You'll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that's within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers -- men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.

THE CASUAL VACANCY J.K. Rowling Book De*ion： When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties,the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled marketsquare and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty fa?adeis a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wivesat war with their husbands, teachers at war with theirpupils…Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soonbecomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yetseen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicityand unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought‐provoking and constantly surprising, TheCasual Vacancy is J.K.Rowling’s first novel for adults. Author Profile: J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter seriesof seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have soldmore tha

DIV Onitsha tells the story of Fintan, a youth whotravels to Africa in 1948 with his Italian mother to join theEnglish father he has never met. Fintan is initially enchanted bythe exotic world he discovers in Onitsha, a bustling cityprominently situated on the eastern bank of the Niger River. Butgradually he comes to recognize the intolerance and brutality ofthe colonial system. His youthful point of view provides the novelwith a notably direct, horrified perspective on racism andcolonialism. /DIV DIV /DIV DIV Inthe words of translator Alison Anderson, Onitsha isremarkable for its almost mythological evocation of local historyand beliefs. It is full of atmosphere sights, sounds, smells and attimes the author s sentences seem to flow with the dreamy languorof the river itself. But J. M. G. Le Cl??zio never lets us forgetthe harsh realities of life nor the subsequent tragedy of war. Astartling account and indictment of colonialism, Onitsha isalso a work of clear, forthright prose that ably portrays

A novel of family, myth, and memory set during the fratricidal barbarity of 1930s China follows the Chinese as they battle the Japanese and each other 作者简介： Mo Yan was born in 1956 in Shandong, northeastern China. The author of over forty short stories and three novels, he is the most critically acclaimed Chinese writer of his generation, in both China and the West. The film version of the novel, Red Sorghum, won first prize in the Golden Bear Awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988.