Grover Gardner
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A thrilling art heist escapade that evokes a world of European high culture and luxury, while plumbing the vicissitudes of less exalted human foibles and obsessions.Johann Friedrich von Allmen, a bon vivant of dandified refinement, has exhausted his family fortune. Forced to downscale, Allmen inhabits the garden house of his former Zurich estate, attended by his Guatemalan butler, Carlos. When not reading novels by Balzac and Somerset Maugham, he...
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For centuries we've believed that work was where you learned discipline, initiative, honesty, self-reliance-in a word, character. A job was also, and not incidentally, the source of your income: if you didn't work, you didn't eat, or else you were stealing from someone. If only you worked hard, you could earn your way and maybe even make something of yourself. In recent decades, through everyday experience, these beliefs have proven spectacularly...
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Nick Cominskys spiritual life is running on empty. With his passion diluted by religious routine and the sapping circumstances of everyday life, he longs to reconnect with God, but following the standard spiritual prescriptions just isnt working. Since when did loving God become such an overwhelming, tedious task? After meeting Jesus in person under amazing circumstances six years ago, Nick figured life would be smooth sailing, not coasting downhill....
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Missionary biographies often inspire enthusiasm, zeal, and urgency for missions among God's people. But how do Christians give their lives to missions if they feel called to remain in their homeland? In 1792, British pastor Andrew Fuller formed the Baptist Missionary Society, an organization dedicated to the promotion of mission work both at home and overseas. In this concise biography, best-selling author John Piper introduces readers to this incredible...
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From internationally bestselling author Andrea Camilleri comes a brilliant, bawdy comedy that will surprise even the most die-hard Montalbano fans.In 1880s Vigàta, a stranger comes to town to open a pharmacy. Fofò turns out to be the son of a man made legendary for having a magic garden stocked with plants, fruits, and vegetables that could cure any ailment-a man who was found murdered years ago. Fofò escaped but has now reappeared looking to make...
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In his illustrious forty-five-year career as a novelist and author of short fiction, Robert Silverberg has belonged in the company of the best writers of the twentieth century. In this extraordinary Nebula Award-winning story, Silverberg builds on a literary allusion from Yeats to create a complex science fiction scenario of worlds lost and dreams fulfilled. It is the fiftieth century on Earth, and ancient historical cities such as Byzantine Constantinople...
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A Middle East scholar writes in a clear straightforward manner, carefully explaining who the terrorists are, where they come from, how they justify killing civilians in the name of God, and why the United States has become the latest target. "Grover Gardner is flawless in some difficult pronunciations, measured in his speed as if listeners were taking notes, and clearly committed to explanations of complex issues."
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Over the past several decades, Islamic terrorists have transformed themselves into a sophisticated global network of self-proclaimed holy warriors. These fighters no longer confine themselves to local battles against incumbent Muslim regimes in a bid to establish theocratic states. The Jihadi Salafis (a name they would use to describe themselves) have instead turned their fury toward the United States. The Name of the Enemy weaves complex political,...
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In this novella set in the World of the Five Gods and four years after the events in Penric's Demon, Penric is a divine of the Bastard's Order as well as a sorcerer and scholar, living in the palace where the Princess-Archdivine holds court. His scholarly work is interrupted when the Archdivine agrees to send Penric, in his role as sorcerer, to accompany a "Locator" of the Father's Order, assigned to capture Inglis, a runaway shaman charged with the...
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When a mysterious plague breaks out in the army fort guarding Vilnoc, the port capital of the duchy of Orbas, Temple sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona are called upon by General Arisaydia to resurrect Penric's medical skills and solve its lethal riddle. In the grueling days that follow, Pen will find that even his magic is not enough to meet the challenges without help from dedicated new colleagues-and the god of mischance.
11) California Fever
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SoCal surfer Dolphin Smoote just wanted to earn quick dough for a date with the brown-eyed beauty... what he got was G-men (and G-women), ghosts, and a Colt 45.
John Jacobson's California Fever is the compelling fusion of mystery, crime, and Southern California beach charm. Top surfer Dolphin Smoote gets more than he bargains for when he works up the nerve to ask out the brown-eyed beauty on a date. The search of quick coin without having to work...
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A delightful collection of Lois McMaster Bujold's early stories and a comprehensive introduction by this New York Times best selling author. 'Protozoa' is a word from biology via the Greek meaning 'first animals.' These short stories were indeed among the first life spontaneously generated in Lois McMaster Bujold's nascent writing career. Along with an introduction by the author, this collection features the short stories 'Barter,' 'Garage Sale,'...
13) Endless Ambition
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A flash of inspiration ignites a spark. 'I can do it!' you think to yourself---clean the house, lose weight, become a concert pianist, change jobs, eliminate a bad habit, move to a new city---nothing can stop me! But that feeling that you can do anything begins to dissipate. Your conviction waivers and all of the reasons why it can't happen begin to pop up one-by-one. Then in a flood of self-doubt, it's gone. Reality sets in, robbing you of the opportunity...
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We all say things we shouldn't. What is important is how we deal with the gaffe. If a slip-of-the-tongue at a family gathering, office meeting, or social setting causes you to inadvertently embarrass or offend someone, the strategy presented here, will help you to smooth things over as quickly as possible. But what about when you really mess up? When one person has clearly violated the respect, trust, and rights of another, be it personal or professional,...
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When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.
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The world is filled with people who indulge their every whim, but suffer greatly with anxiety and depression. Why can't they just live their lives, and enjoy themselves? Something else other than freedom of choice and the means to indulge our desires must govern our emotional health and wellbeing. Indeed, research confirms that human beings make consistently inaccurate prediction about what will make them happy. New York Times bestselling author...
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American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a war correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany, having a front-row seat to Hitler's rise in influence and power. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account of life in the tyrannical state, a country transformed by war and dictatorship.
The author was originally commissioned to write The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler for a young adult...
18) Allora
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Until the Confederation created Allora, it had produced SADEs (self-aware digital entities) for hundreds of years with enormous consistency and harnessed their capabilities to power the society. But this particular young SADE was disturbed by her confinement. Trapped in metal-alloy housing on the bridge of a luxury passenger liner, Allora sought to possess the same freedom enjoyed by humans, who came and went from her starship with abandon. Allora's...
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In this sequel to the novella Penric's Mission, the injured Penric, a Temple sorcerer and learned divine, tries to guide the betrayed General Arisaydia and his widowed sister Nikys across the last hundred miles of hostile Cedonia to safety in the Duchy of Orbas. In the town of Sosie, the fugitive party encounters unexpected delays, and even more unexpected opportunities and hazards, as the courtesan Mira of Adria, one of the ten dead women whose imprints...
20) Knot of Shadows
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When a corpse found floating face-down in Vilnoc harbor is not quite as dead as it seems, Temple sorcerer Penric and his chaos demon Desdemona are drawn into the uncanny investigation. Pen's keen questions will take him across the city of Vilnoc, and into far more profound mysteries, as his search for truths interlaces with tragedy.