The Westerners

The Westerners

Stewart Edward White

Travel / Science Fiction & Fantasy

"Mr. White had \'arrived.\' He had arrived in the full flush of a glorious, strong young manhood, and the story he had to tell was a tale of life as it is lived by honest, loving, lovable, hard-working, hard-drinking, and hard-riding men - the men who carry civilization, a gun, and a flask into the unknown lands. Strong as such men are, strong is this story of their lives. It is an open, frank, piece of work; a picture such as Zola might have made had he been born an American. That a book of so much vitality....If you have not read the story you should, and at once. Read it for its beautiful use of beautiful words, beautiful in their simplicity and their strength; for its skillful construction, for the characters, genuine men and women of the frontier; human beings whose souls are open to the light of the sun above the Hills; whose emotions are primitive, and being so, are worn upon their sleeves, not left behind in a satin box upon the dressing table." -The Michigan Alumnus "One of the best books of the kind we have lately come across." - Outlook "Stewart Edward White...has gained a wide reputation for his stirring and vivid tales of American life in the West." -The Rotarian
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The Long Corner

The Long Corner

Alexander Maksik

Literature & Fiction / Travel / Nonfiction

A bold novel about ambition, grief, creativity, beauty, and existential emptiness that retraces the arc of American life and culture in the first decades of the 21st century. It is early 2017 in New York City, Donald Trump is President, and Solomon Fields, a young Jewish journalist-turned-advertising hack, finds himself disillusioned by the hollowness and conformity of American life and language. Once brimming with dreams and ideals instilled in him by his eternally bohemian grandmother, a survivor of the Holocaust who has dedicated her life to passion and pleasure, Sol now finds the senseless jargon he produces at work seeping into all aspects of the world around him—and most disturbingly, into the art that his beloved grandmother taught him to revere. A personal tragedy drives Sol to leave New York and accept an invitation to The Coded Garden, an artists' colony on a tropical island, whose mysterious patron, Sebastian Light, seems...
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The Red Thumb Mark

The Red Thumb Mark

R. Austin Freeman

Mystery & Thrillers / Travel / Fiction

The Red Thumb Mark is the novel that introduces to the world one of the greatest "scientific" detectives in all literature: Dr. John Thorndyke. It is rightly regarded as one of the all-time classics in mystery fiction. Raymond Chandler, for example, who typically hated British detective fiction for its consistent implausibilities, found Austin Freeman\'s work and The Red Thumb Mark highly entertaining and readable. The novel concerns Thorndyke\'s attempts to clear the name of a young man accused of stealing diamonds from a safe. A thumb mark (finger print) near the scene of the crime is the only evidence against the young man, but it is decidedly damning. Add a little romance, a sinister villian lurking in the background, and you have the ingredients that make up this story. I found the work to be wonderfully exciting. Watching Thorndyke break down the evidence against the young man is a fascinating expereince. Though a person could argue that too much detail is given to the "science" aspect, you have to understand that these scenes are the backbone of this type of detective story.
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Martin Rattler

Martin Rattler

R. M. Ballantyne

Fiction / Children's / Travel

The story of Martin Rattler, a mischievous boy with a good heart who mistakenly ends up on the ship Firefly, headed to the South Seas. With his friend Barney O\'Flannagan, Martin escape pirates, survives a shipwreck, and explores South America in one adventure after another.
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The Mystery of 31 New Inn

The Mystery of 31 New Inn

R. Austin Freeman

Mystery & Thrillers / Travel / Fiction

R. Austin Freeman is known as the creator of Dr. John Thorndyke, one of the best and most successful fictional detectives in English literature and The Mystery of 31 New Inn is known as one of Freeman\'s best stories.The Mystery of 31 New Inn is an old-fashioned, classic detective story. It starts with a doctor being called to visit one of his patients. He is taken to his patient in a strangely closed carriage and is sworn to secrecy prior to entering the room of the patient. He manages to help his patient, but there have been so many suspicious things that surrounded the night call that he goes home and contacts Thorndyke.Soon, another mystery comes into the picture as well, this time concerning the death of a man who seems to have left two, seemingly very similar, but in fact very different wills. Thorndyke and the doctor, his helper now have two cases to investigate and it is anyone\'s guess whether they are able to elucidate both. The Mystery of 31 New Inn is R. Austin Freeman\'s second novel, but it already reveals the mature storytelling and the captivating style that make Freeman\'s works so popular. Thorndyke always uses logic and rational thinking to solve the mysteries he is facing and he is trying to make his sidekick use the same method, too. They eventually solve the mysteries, but not before wasting a bit of time following red herrings and getting into all sorts of adventures.What makes Freeman\'s stories, including this one, even more interesting is the scientific background described in so much detail - the reader learns not only about the benefits of using logic to disentangle difficult situations, but also about optics, medicine and other sciences related to the investigations, so Freeman\'s books are not only entertaining, but educative as well.
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Silver Lake

Silver Lake

R. M. Ballantyne

Fiction / Children's / Travel

The Scottish juvenile fiction writer R. M. Ballantyne was born into a famous family of publishers. Leaving home at age 16 he went to work for the Hudson\'s Bay Company; after returning home to Scotland R. M. Ballantyne published his first book "Hudson\'s Bay" detailing his experiences in Canada. Later Ballantyne would write about more of his experiences with Native Americans and the Fur trappers he met in the most remote regions of Canada. With his success as a writer he withdrew from the business world to become a full time writer for the rest of his life. With over a hundred different books he has become one of the most cherished juvenile fiction writers today. Along with his other exploits throughout his life he also was tremendously successful with his artwork as his water color paintings were displayed at the Royal Scottish Academy.
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Christmas Miracle at the Castle

Christmas Miracle at the Castle

Alison Roberts

History / Travel

A Christmas angel......to transform his world!For GP Euan McKendry, Christmas is not the most wonderful time of the year—it conjures up too many painful memories. But his home, Ravenswood Castle, is hosting its annual Christmas camp for sick children...and when perky pediatrician Abby Hawkins arrives to help, Euan knows he's in trouble. Not only does Abby adore the festive season, but she sees beyond Euan's impenetrable facade: to a man in need of a miracle! "I loved everything about Falling for the Secret Prince. Alison has written great characters and managed to put in fun moments that leave you laughing. She's managed to pull at my heartstrings and make me sigh. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books from her."-Goodreads "A beautiful romance. There were many interesting medical emergencies.... This was a very lovely and emotionally uplifting story."-Goodreads on Awakening the Shy Nurse
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A Bear Grylls Adventure 1

A Bear Grylls Adventure 1

Bear Grylls

Outdoors & Nature / Travel / Nonfiction

The first thrilling adventure in the brand-new collectible series for young readers from survival expert and Chief Scout BEAR GRYLLS.Olly isn't enjoying activity camp. Why should he bother building a shelter or foraging for food with his teammates - he'd rather be at home in the warm and dry, where the sofa and the video games are.But then Olly gets given a compass with a mysterious fifth direction. When he follows it, he's magically transported to a high mountain range where he meets survival expert Bear Grylls. With his help, Olly must learn to survive in sub-zero temperatures, including what to do if the ice cracks when you're crossing a frozen lake, or a blizzard sets in . . .But can his adventure with Bear Grylls change Olly's mind about teamwork and perseverance? And who will Olly give the compass to next?Each book in this fun new 12-book series from BEAR GRYLLS follows a different child on the outdoor activity camp. Once they are given the magical...
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What Emma Left Behind

What Emma Left Behind

Anne Spackman

Nonfiction / Travel

A story of twins Caera and Claudia Campbell who solve an age-old mystery in New England. Written by Anne and Carolyne Spackman.Spunky identical twins Caera and Claudia Campbell will argue about a lot of things, like who forgot to screw the lid back on the toothpaste tube and whose socks are the ones with holes in the toes or who finished off the absolute last of the peanut butter, but they agree on how it all happened. What was "it?" How they, with the help of their best friend, Ana, solved the age-old mystery of Emma Campbell's murder. Neither of the girls expected to have the scary dreams that took them back in time, or to find Emma Campbells' diary. Emma Campbell had been dead for two hundred years, and the Campbell treasure had been missing for just as long. And neither of the girls ever expected to let the Davenport twins in on their adventure. After all, Alex and Andrew had been their greatest enemies since pre-school! But a lot happened that year to change everything!
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What Am I Doing Here?

What Am I Doing Here?

Bruce Chatwin

Travel / Literature & Fiction

In this collection of profiles, essays and travel stories, Chatwin takes us to Benin, where he is arrested as a mercenary during a coup; to Boston to meet an LSD guru who believes he is Christ; to India with Indira Ghandi when she attempted a political comeback in 1978; and to Nepal where he reminds us that 'Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and that life itself is a journey to be walked on foot'
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