Editorial Content for Lincoln and the Jews: A History
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In this year that marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, distinguished American Jewish historian Jonathan D. Sarna and collector Benjamin Shapell have produced a gorgeous book on an unlikely subject: the relationship between our 16th president and the Jewish people. The subject is unlikely because, as the authors note, Lincoln probably never met a Jewish person until he had reached early adulthood. Yet, as his career progressed from his first days in Illinois politics until he reached the White House, it intertwined, at key points, with significant numbers of them. Read More
Teaser
One hundred and fifty years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, the full story of his extraordinary relationship with Jews is told here for the first time. LINCOLN AND THE JEWS provides readers both with a captivating narrative of his interactions with Jews, and with the opportunity to immerse themselves in rare manuscripts and images --- many from the Shapell Lincoln Collection --- that show Lincoln in a way he has never been seen before.
Promo
One hundred and fifty years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, the full story of his extraordinary relationship with Jews is told here for the first time. LINCOLN AND THE JEWS provides readers both with a captivating narrative of his interactions with Jews, and with the opportunity to immerse themselves in rare manuscripts and images --- many from the Shapell Lincoln Collection --- that show Lincoln in a way he has never been seen before.
About the Book
One hundred and fifty years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, the full story of his extraordinary relationship with Jews is told here for the first time. LINCOLN AND THE JEWS: A History provides readers both with a captivating narrative of his interactions with Jews, and with the opportunity to immerse themselves in rare manuscripts and images, many from the Shapell Lincoln Collection, that show Lincoln in a way he has never been seen before.
Lincoln’s lifetime coincided with the emergence of Jews on the national scene in the United States. When he was born, in 1809, scarcely 3,000 Jews lived in the entire country. By the time of his assassination in 1865, large-scale immigration, principally from central Europe, had brought that number up to more than 150,000. Many Americans, including members of Lincoln’s cabinet and many of his top generals during the Civil War, were alarmed by this development and treated Jews as second-class citizens and religious outsiders. Lincoln, this book shows, exhibited precisely the opposite tendency. He also expressed a uniquely deep knowledge of the Old Testament, employing its language and concepts in some of his most important writings. He befriended Jews from a young age, promoted Jewish equality, appointed numerous Jews to public office, had Jewish advisors and supporters starting already from the early 1850s, as well as later during his two presidential campaigns, and in response to Jewish sensitivities, even changed the way he thought and spoke about America. Through his actions and his rhetoric --- replacing “Christian nation,” for example, with “this nation under God” --- he embraced Jews as insiders.
In this groundbreaking work, the product of meticulous research, historian Jonathan D. Sarna and collector Benjamin Shapell reveal how Lincoln’s remarkable relationship with American Jews impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions as president. The volume uncovers a new and previously unknown feature of Abraham Lincoln’s life, one that broadened him, and, as a result, broadened America.
Editorial Content for There Is Simply Too Much to Think About: Collected Nonfiction
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Geoff Dyer once said that when choosing a book review to reprint in a collection of essays, it is important for the piece to have “something that transforms it from being a review to a sort of essay in its own right. People either are or are not interested in Denis Johnson, say, but there are a few things in that essay that are worth raising about people other than Denis Johnson. Read More
Teaser
The year 2015 marks several literary milestones: the centennial of Saul Bellow’s birth, the 10th anniversary of his death, and the publication of Zachary Leader’s much anticipated biography. Bellow, a Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner and the only novelist to receive three National Book Awards, has long been regarded as one of America’s most cherished authors. Here, Benjamin Taylor, editor of the acclaimed SAUL BELLOW: LETTERS, presents lesser-known aspects of the iconic writer.
Promo
The year 2015 marks several literary milestones: the centennial of Saul Bellow’s birth, the 10th anniversary of his death, and the publication of Zachary Leader’s much anticipated biography. Bellow, a Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner and the only novelist to receive three National Book Awards, has long been regarded as one of America’s most cherished authors. Here, Benjamin Taylor, editor of the acclaimed SAUL BELLOW: LETTERS, presents lesser-known aspects of the iconic writer.
About the Book
A sweeping collection and a tribute to one of the most influential, daring, and visionary minds of the twentieth century.
The year 2015 marks several literary milestones: the centennial of Saul Bellow’s birth, the 10th anniversary of his death, and the publication of Zachary Leader’s much anticipated biography. Bellow, a Nobel Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner, and the only novelist to receive three National Book awards, has long been regarded as one of America’s most cherished authors. Here, Benjamin Taylor, editor of the acclaimed SAUL BELLOW: LETTERS, presents lesser-known aspects of the iconic writer.
Arranged chronologically, this literary time capsule displays the full extent of Bellow’s nonfiction, including criticism, interviews, speeches and other reflections, tracing his career from his initial success as a novelist until the end of his life. Bringing together six classic pieces with an abundance of previously uncollected material, THERE IS SIMPLY TOO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT is a powerful reminder not only of Bellow’s genius but also of his enduring place in the western canon and is sure to be widely reviewed and talked about for years to come.
Editorial Content for The Unraveling of Mercy Louis
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
There was an actual person named Mercy Lewis from Falmouth, Maine, born in 1675. She lost both her parents and became an orphan while very young. Separated from her family, like so many girls in Salem, Massachusetts, Mercy lived with Reverend George Burroughs as a maid and then later with the family of Thomas Putnam, a distant relative. With Ann Putnam and the others, Mercy herself became a very vocal accuser during the 1692 witchcraft trials. Read More
Teaser
Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls’ basketball team, seems destined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. At the periphery of her world floats team manager Illa Stark, who is spellbound by Mercy’s beauty and talent. But a note discovered in Mercy’s gym locker reveals that her life may not be as perfect as it appears. The last day of school brings the disturbing discovery, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect.
Promo
Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls’ basketball team, seems destined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. At the periphery of her world floats team manager Illa Stark, who is spellbound by Mercy’s beauty and talent. But a note discovered in Mercy’s gym locker reveals that her life may not be as perfect as it appears. The last day of school brings the disturbing discovery, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect.
About the Book
In this intricate novel of psychological suspense, a fatal discovery near the high school ignites a witch-hunt in a Southeast Texas refinery town, unearthing communal and family secrets that threaten the lives of the town’s girls.
In Port Sabine, the air is thick with oil, superstition reigns, and dreams hang on making a winning play. All eyes are on Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls’ basketball team. Mercy seems destined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. There is her grandmother, Evelia, a strict evangelical who has visions of an imminent Rapture and sees herself as the keeper of Mercy’s virtue. There are the cryptic letters from Charmaine, the mother who abandoned Mercy at birth. And then there’s Travis, the boy who shakes the foundation of her faith.
At the periphery of Mercy’s world floats team manager Illa Stark, a lonely wallflower whose days are spent caring for a depressed mother crippled in a refinery accident. Like the rest of the town, Illa is spellbound by Mercy’s beauty and talent, but a note discovered in Mercy’s gym locker reveals that her life may not be as perfect as it appears.
The last day of school brings the disturbing discovery, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect. When Mercy collapses on the opening night of the season, Evelia prophesies that she is only the first to fall, and soon, other girls are afflicted by the mysterious condition, sending the town into a tailspin, and bringing Illa and Mercy together in an unexpected way.
Evocative and unsettling, THE UNRAVELING OF MERCY LOUIS charts the downfall of one town’s golden girl while exploring the brutality and anxieties of girlhood in America.
Editorial Content for The Stranger She Loved: A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and an Almost Perfect Murder
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
When 20-year-old Michele Somers met Martin MacNeill at a singles event at her Mormon church in Mission Viejo, California, in 1977, she was drawn in by his confident manner and stunning good looks. Little did she know that she'd just taken the first step on the path that would lead to her death some 30 years later. Read More
Teaser
In 2007, Dr. Martin MacNeill --- a doctor, lawyer and Mormon bishop --- discovered his wife of 30 years dead in the bathtub of their Pleasant Grove, Utah home. At first the death of 50-year-old Michele MacNeill appeared natural. But days after the funeral when Dr. MacNeill moved his much younger mistress into the family home, his children grew suspicious. New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan delves into the high-profile case, unmasking the monster beneath the doctor’s carefully concocted façade.
Promo
In 2007, Dr. Martin MacNeill --- a doctor, lawyer and Mormon bishop --- discovered his wife of 30 years dead in the bathtub of their Pleasant Grove, Utah home. At first the death of 50-year-old Michele MacNeill appeared natural. But days after the funeral when Dr. MacNeill moved his much younger mistress into the family home, his children grew suspicious. New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan delves into the high-profile case, unmasking the monster beneath the doctor’s carefully concocted façade.
About the Book
In 2007, Dr. Martin MacNeill --- a doctor, lawyer and Mormon bishop --- discovered his wife of 30 years dead in the bathtub of their Pleasant Grove, Utah home, her face bearing the scars of a facelift he persuaded her to undergo just a week prior.
At first the death of 50-year-old Michele MacNeill, a former beauty queen and mother of eight, appeared natural. But days after the funeral when Dr. MacNeill moved his much younger mistress into the family home, his children grew suspicious. Conducting their own investigation into their mother's death, the MacNeill's daughters uncovered their father's multiple marital affairs, past criminal record, and falsified college transcripts he used to con his way into medical school.
It would take six long years to solve the mystery of Michele's murder and secure a first-degree murder conviction against the once prominent doctor. New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan delves into the high-profile case, unmasking the monster beneath the doctor's carefully concocted façade.
Editorial Content for Behind Closed Doors
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
I’ve been waiting for this one. BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is the follow-up to last year’s UNDER A SILENT MOON. It was with that book that Elizabeth Haynes broke form after a series of stand-alone crime thrillers and began what is now known as the Briarstone crime series. Briarstone is the patch, if you will, of Louisa Smith, who heads up the town’s Major Crime squad. It is evident within the first few pages that this is a book worth waiting for and one that, impossible as it may seem, surpasses its predecessor, which was one of the best mystery novels of 2014. Read More
Teaser
Ten years ago, 15-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone. What happened to her? How did she end up back here? And why is her family (with the exception of her emotionally fragile younger sister) less than enthusiastic about her return?
Promo
Ten years ago, 15-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone. What happened to her? How did she end up back here? And why is her family (with the exception of her emotionally fragile younger sister) less than enthusiastic about her return?
About the Book
Ten years ago, 15-year-old Scarlett Rainsford vanished while on a family holiday in Greece. Was she abducted, or did she run away? Lou Smith worked the case as a police constable, and failing to find Scarlett has been one of the biggest regrets of her career. No one is more shocked than Lou to learn that Scarlett has unexpectedly been found during a Special Branch raid of a brothel in Briarstone.
Lou and her Major Crimes team are already stretched working two troubling cases: 19-year-old Ian Palmer was found badly beaten; soon after, bar owner Carl McVey was found half-buried in the woods, his Rolex and money gone. While Lou tries to establish the links between the two cases, DS Sam Hollands works with Special Branch to question Scarlett. What happened to her? Where has she been until now? And why is her family --- with the exception of her emotionally fragile younger sister, Juliette --- less than enthusiastic about her return?
When another brutal assault and homicide are linked to the McVey murder, Lou's cases collide, and the clues all point in one terrifying direction. As the pressure and the danger mount, it becomes clear that the silent, secretive Scarlett holds the key to everything.
Editorial Content for Signature Kill
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
I like Indianapolis for all the wrong reasons. It is one of those cities that has a shiny veneer that, if you look closely, is very thin and at any given point seems a week or two from slipping posterior over teakettle into a Mad Max scenario. Indeed, some parts of the city, where the buses don’t run and the conventioneers don’t flock, are there already. David Levien captures the mood of the city perfectly in his Frank Behr series, which is why he has been on my must-read list since CITY OF THE SUN, which kicked things off. Read More
Teaser
A young woman's body is found on a side street in Indianapolis, horrifyingly arranged. Meanwhile, Frank Behr takes on a no-win case to locate a single mother's wayward daughter who's been missing for months. Suddenly Behr feels the two cases may be connected, but he is years removed from his life as a legitimate police officer and has few friends left on the force. His pursuit of a potential serial killer ultimately will lead him to a devastating decision from which he will not be able to turn back.
Promo
A young woman's body is found on a side street in Indianapolis, horrifyingly arranged. Meanwhile, Frank Behr takes on a no-win case to locate a single mother's wayward daughter who's been missing for months. Suddenly Behr feels the two cases may be connected, but he is years removed from his life as a legitimate police officer and has few friends left on the force. His pursuit of a potential serial killer ultimately will lead him to a devastating decision from which he will not be able to turn back.
About the Book
An unidentifiable body is found in an Indianapolis park, deliberately arranged so that police know it's not just a random crime. Former cop Frank Behr, now a P.I. with no cases, no money and no options, finds himself chasing down the disappearance of a wayward young woman who's been missing for months in a futile attempt to collect a reward. With assistance from his few remaining contacts on the force, Behr follows the tenuous thread of his case into the world of small-time prostitution-and discovers a possible connection to the body in the park. When another murder victim turns up, it's clear there's a serial killer at work, but this predator seems to be invisible, camouflaged by his perfectly normal-looking life.
Behr's relentless quest for the missing girl and his parallel pursuit of the killer become entangled with the official police investigation. Ultimately, Behr's obsession with the truth will lead him into the darkest places, and force him to make an unavoidable and devastating decision.
Editorial Content for Old Venus
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
There are many folks who pick up collections of stories on the run, with the expectation of escaping briefly into a fast read while someone else moves them from place to place --- I’ve been there, done that a lot. Read More
Teaser
This new anthology of 16 original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers --- edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois --- turns back the clock to a more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.
Promo
This new anthology of 16 original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers --- edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois --- turns back the clock to a more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination. Travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.
About the Book
Sixteen all-new stories by science fiction’s top talents, collected by bestselling author George R. R. Martin and multiple-award-winning editor Gardner Dozois
From pulp adventures such as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ CARSON OF VENUS to classic short stories such as Ray Bradbury’s “The Long Rain” to visionary novels such as C. S. Lewis’ PERELANDRA, the planet Venus has loomed almost as large in the imaginations of science fiction writers as Earth’s next-nearest neighbor, Mars. But while the Red Planet conjured up in Golden Age science fiction stories was a place of vast deserts and ruined cities, bright blue Venus was its polar opposite: a steamy, swampy jungle world with strange creatures lurking amidst the dripping vegetation. Alas, just as the last century’s space probes exploded our dreams of Mars, so, too, did they shatter our romantic visions of Venus, revealing, instead of a lush paradise, a hellish world inimical to all life.
But don’t despair! This new anthology of 16 original stories by some of science fiction’s best writers --- edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois --- turns back the clock to that more innocent time, before the hard-won knowledge of science vanquished the infinite possibilities of the imagination.
Join our cast of award-winning contributors --- including Elizabeth Bear, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Mike Resnick, Eleanor Arnason, Allen M. Steele and more --- as we travel back in time to a planet that never was but should have been: a young, rain-drenched world of fabulous monsters and seductive mysteries.
Editorial Content for The Last Days of George Armstrong Custer: The True Story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
“Custer’s military career from Bull Run to the Little Bighorn was by any measurement one of the finest in American history…yet his image has been sullied…especially in classrooms and textbooks where social and political agendas have supplanted truth.” This is the persistent theme of historical writer Thom Hatch’s new examination of the losing commander at one of America's most storied battles, against the warring Sioux at Little Bighorn. Read More
Teaser
George Armstrong Custer’s death and the defeat of the 7th Calvary by the Sioux was a shock to a nation that had come to believe that its westward expansion was a matter of destiny. While the first reports defended Custer, many have come to judge him by this single event. By reexamining the facts and putting Custer within the context of his time and his career as a soldier, Thom Hatch’s latest work reveals the untold and controversial truth of what really happened in the valley of the Little Bighorn.
Promo
George Armstrong Custer’s death and the defeat of the 7th Calvary by the Sioux was a shock to a nation that had come to believe that its westward expansion was a matter of destiny. While the first reports defended Custer, many have come to judge him by this single event. By reexamining the facts and putting Custer within the context of his time and his career as a soldier, Thom Hatch’s latest work reveals the untold and controversial truth of what really happened in the valley of the Little Bighorn.
About the Book
In this thrilling narrative history of George Armstrong Custer’s death at the Little Bighorn, award-winning historian Thom Hatch puts to rest the questions and conspiracies that have made Custer's last stand one of the most misunderstood events in American history. While numerous historians have investigated the battle, what happened on those plains hundreds of miles from even a whisper of civilization has been obscured by intrigue and deception starting with the very first shots fired.
Custer’s death and the defeat of the 7th Calvary by the Sioux was a shock to a nation that had come to believe that its westward expansion was a matter of destiny. While the first reports defended Custer, many have come to judge him by this single event, leveling claims of racism, disobedience, and incompetence. These false claims unjustly color Custer’s otherwise extraordinary life and fall far short of encompassing his service to his country.
By reexamining the facts and putting Custer within the context of his time and his career as a soldier, Hatch’s THE LAST DAYS OF GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER reveals the untold and controversial truth of what really happened in the valley of the Little Bighorn, making it the definitive history of Custer’s last stand. This history of charging cavalry, desperate defenses and malicious intrigue finally sets the record straight for one of history’s most dynamic and misunderstood figures.
Editorial Content for Don't Forget Me, Bro
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Families: they love us, they hate us, they confuse us, they support us, they believe in us, they hurt us, they forgive us, they never forget our mistakes… Read More
Teaser
Stunned by the death of his mentally ill brother, Mark Barr returns to his hometown in West Virginia for Steve's funeral, only to find out that his estranged family has no such plans. He discovers that his family’s memory (as well as his own) of his brother as a broken, hopeless schizophrenic is belied by mounting evidence that Steve had lived a much fuller and more complicated life. Armed with this new knowledge, Mark tears off on a mission to honor his brother’s memory with justice and compassion.
Promo
Stunned by the death of his mentally ill brother, Mark Barr returns to his hometown in West Virginia for Steve's funeral, only to find out that his estranged family has no such plans. He discovers that his family’s memory (as well as his own) of his brother as a broken, hopeless schizophrenic is belied by mounting evidence that Steve had lived a much fuller and more complicated life. Armed with this new knowledge, Mark tears off on a mission to honor his brother’s memory with justice and compassion.
About the Book
Stunned by the death of his mentally ill brother, 42-year-old Mark Barr returns to his hometown in West Virginia for his brother’s funeral only to find out that his estranged family has no such plans. Once back home, he discovers that his family’s memory, as well as his own, of his brother as a broken, hopeless schizophrenic is belied by mounting evidence that Steve Barr had lived a much fuller and more complicated life.
Armed with this new knowledge, Mark tears off on a mission to honor his brother’s memory with justice and compassion. As he fights to change the hearts of his father, mother and middle brother, all of whom are fractured by anger, blame and dysfunction, his own stability is rocked apart.
In tough, spare, beautiful language that pulls the reader into the peeling, gothic world of southern West Virginia, DON'T FORGET ME, BRO shows us that at the heart of every human existence is the ultimate fear of being forgotten, of simply being gone.
Editorial Content for The Lost Track of Time
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Penelope longs for some free time, some time to just sit, think, write or do whatever else she wants. But her mom, who is so concerned about the future and keeping things on track and being on time, has Penelope’s days scheduled from beginning to end. Every minute of every day is accounted for. Read More
Teaser
She dreams of being a writer, but how can she pursue her passion when her mother schedules every minute of her life? Then one day, Penelope discovers a hole in her schedule --- an entire day completely unplanned! --- and she mysteriously falls into it. What follows is a mesmerizing journey through the Realm of Possibility where Penelope sets out to find and free the Great Moodler, the one person who may have the answers she seeks. Along the way, she must face an army of Clockworkers, battle the evil Chronos, take a daring Flight of Fancy, and save herself from the grip of time.
Promo
She dreams of being a writer, but how can she pursue her passion when her mother schedules every minute of her life? Then one day, Penelope discovers a hole in her schedule --- an entire day completely unplanned! --- and she mysteriously falls into it. What follows is a mesmerizing journey through the Realm of Possibility where Penelope sets out to find and free the Great Moodler, the one person who may have the answers she seeks. Along the way, she must face an army of Clockworkers, battle the evil Chronos, take a daring Flight of Fancy, and save herself from the grip of time.
About the Book
A magical fantasy, an allegorical cautionary tale, a feast of language, a celebration of creativity --- this dazzling debut novel is poised to become a story for the ages!
Penelope is running out of time!
She dreams of being a writer, but how can she pursue her passion when her mother schedules every minute of her life? And how will she ever prove that writing is worthwhile if her mother keeps telling her to "get busy!" and "be more productive"?
Then one day, Penelope discovers a hole in her schedule --- an entire day completely unplanned! --- and she mysteriously falls into it. What follows is a mesmerizing journey through the Realm of Possibility where Penelope sets out to find and free the Great Moodler, the one person who may have the answers she seeks. Along the way, she must face an army of Clockworkers, battle the evil Chronos, take a daring Flight of Fancy, and save herself from the grip of time.
Brimming with clever language and masterful wordplay, THE LOST TRACK OF TIME is a high-stakes adventure that will take you to a place where nothing is impossible and every minute doesn't count --- people do!
