Empire Express


Book Description

After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century's most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary's dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity. From self--made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific's Thomas Durant and era--defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history.




Alfred's premier piano course


Book Description

The appealing repertoire with charming lyrics further reinforces and enhances the learning of new musical concepts introduced in the Lesson Book. Includes attractive music created by internationally acclaimed composers in a variety of styles, plus tips on how to perform more musically. Each piece on the CD was recorded at a performance tempo and a slower practice tempo The audio for this book is also available for download here The music from this book is available in the Piano Maestro app that's downloadable here. Learn more About JoyTunes, the maker of Piano Maestro here.




The Polar Express


Book Description

Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to sleep, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring. "Magical glowing double spread pictures . . . an original and memorable book." - Guardian "Evocative, realist pastels and atmospheric text." - Sunday Times "A thrilling tale." - Independent




Grammar Express


Book Description

Grammar Express is an intermediate to high-intermediate text that features four-page units that present and practice key grammar points. The text's concise, easy-to-follow format is organized into 76 thematic units featuring: A cartoon or piece of realia presenting the target grammar in a meaningful context to raise student interest and involvement. Clear grammar charts presenting the target grammar in all its forms. Quick, self-access activities allowing students to discover the target grammar and manipulate its forms before they start studying its uses. Concise grammar explanations and multiple examples focusing on the meaning and uses of the target grammar. Two full pages of controlled practice exercises, including fill-ins, matching, multiple choice, and writing/editing skill builders. In addition, the text features: Fifteen SelfTests (one at the end of each part) offering additional opportunities for review and practice. A complete Answer Key to all self-check activities, practice exercises, and SelfTests. A dual platform CD-ROM (for PC and Macintosh) contains additional editing practice for in-class or self-study. The exercises include sentence-level and paragraph-level error correction correlated to every grammar point in the Student Book. Grammar Express has self-contained units that may be used in any order with any grammar course. It may be used as a classroom text or as a self-study handbook. This two-volume series combines a concise, easy-to-follow format- two pages of presentation followed by two pages to practice - to quickly bring English language learners up to speed.




Sunset Express


Book Description

When a wealthy entrepreneur is accused of murder in Los Angeles, wisecracking private eye Elvis Cole is hired to prove that the evidence was corrupted and becomes suspicious about the defense attorney's motivations. Prominent restaurateur Teddy Martin is facing charges in his wife's brutal murder. But he's not going down without spending a bundle of cash on his defense. So his hotshot attorney hires P.I. Elvis Cole to find proof that Detective Angela Rossi tampered with the evidence. Detective Rossi needs a way back to the fast track after falling hard during an internal investigation five years ago. But Cole needs to know if she's desperate enough to falsify the case against Martin in order to secure her own position. As Cole and his partner Joe Pike work their way through a tangle of witnesses and an even greater tangle of media, they begin to suspect that it's not the police who are behind the setup. The sixth book in the Elvis Cole series, Sunset Express is marked by Robert Crais's dark humor and edge-of-your-seat suspense.




Andean Express


Book Description

This moody murder mystery set during an overnight train journey in 1950s South America “delights like strong coffee savored in a cosmopolitan cafe” (Publishers Weekly). In 1952, a train makes its way from La Paz, Bolivia, to the Chilean seaport of Arica. Among the passengers are: a businessman with his much-younger wife, a man in priest’s garb hiding a secret, Irish and Russian expatriates, a miner, and a student. Before the trip is over, there will be many revelations—including the identity of a killer. From the author of American Visa, a winner of Bolivia’s National Book Prize, this atmospheric novel is “part social commentary, part mystery thriller . . . A chilling, tragic tale” (MultiCultural Review).




Mini Wheels: The Mini-Express


Book Description

All aboard! The Mini-Express takes readers on a fun-filled ride aboard a chunky and colorful die-cut steam engine. With the hiss of steam and clackity-clack of wheels on the track, the rhyming verse tells the story of Engineer Hoot and his crew of hardworking mice. Peter Lippman's energetic illustrations bring the characters and text to life on every page. Die-cut in the shape of a train, The Mini-Express is both a book and a toy; whether being read aloud or moving across the floor in play, it sparks a curious child's imagination.




Nigella Express


Book Description

The Domestic Goddess is back -- and this time it's instant. Nigella and her style of cooking have earned a special place in our lives, symbolizing all that is best, most pleasurable, most hands-on, and least fussy about good food. But that doesn't mean she wants us to spend hours in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove. Featuring fabulous fast foods, ingenious shortcuts, terrific time-saving ideas, effortless entertaining tips, and simple, scrumptious meals, Nigella Express is her solution to eating well when time is short. Here are mouthwatering meals, quick to prepare and easy to follow, that you can conjure up after a day in the office or on a busy weekend for family or unexpected guests. This is food you can make as you hit the kitchen running, with vital advice on how to keep your pantry stocked and your freezer and fridge stacked. When time is precious, you can't spend hours shopping, so you need to make life easier by being prepared. Not that these recipes are basic -- though they are always simple -- but it's important to make every ingredient earn its place, minimizing effort by maximizing taste. Here too is great food that can be prepared quickly but cooked slowly in the oven, leaving you time to have a bath, a drink, talk to friends, or help the children with their homework--minimum stress for maximum enjoyment . . . Nigella Express features a new generation of fast food--never basic, never dull, always doable, quick, and delicious. Featuring recipes seen on Food Network's Nigella Express series.




The Socrates Express


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss embarks on a rollicking intellectual journey, following in the footsteps of history’s greatest thinkers and showing us how each—from Epicurus to Gandhi, Thoreau to Beauvoir—offers practical and spiritual lessons for today’s unsettled times. We turn to philosophy for the same reasons we travel: to see the world from a dif­ferent perspective, to unearth hidden beauty, and to find new ways of being. We want to learn how to embrace wonder. Face regrets. Sustain hope. Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and travel in a globe-trotting pil­grimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train (the most thoughtful mode of transport), he journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between to recon­nect with philosophy’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives. From Socrates and ancient Athens to Beauvoir and 20th-century Paris, Weiner’s chosen philosophers and places provide important practical and spiritual lessons as we navigate today’s chaotic times. In a “delightful” odyssey that “will take you places intellectually and humorously” (San Francisco Book Review), Weiner invites us to voyage alongside him on his life-changing pursuit of wisdom and discovery as he attempts to find answers to our most vital questions. The Socrates Express is “full of valuable lessons…a fun, sharp book that draws readers in with its apparent simplicity and bubble-gum philosophy approach and gradually pulls them in deeper and deeper” (NPR).




The Lunatic Express


Book Description

In 1895, George Whitehouse arrived at the east African post of Mombasa to perform an engineering miracle: the building of the Mombasa-Nairobi-Lake Victoria Railway – a 600-mile route that was largely unmapped and barely explored. Behind Mombasa lay a scorched, waterless desert. Beyond, a horizonless scrub country climbed toward a jagged volcanic region bisected by the Great Rift Valley. A hundred miles of sponge-like quagmire marked the railway's last lap. The entire right of way bristled with hostile tribes, teemed with lions and breathed malaria. What was the purpose of this 'giant folly' and whom would it benefit? Was it to exploit the rumoured wealth of little-known central African kingdoms? Was it to destroy the slave trade? To encourage commerce and settlement? THE LUNATIC EXPRESS explores the building of this great railway in an earlier Africa of slave and ivory empires, of tribal monarchs and the vast lands that they ruled. Above all, it is the story of the white intruders whose combination of avarice, honour and tenacious courage made them a breed apart.