For the Sake of All Living Things


Book Description

John M. Del Vecchio’s searing bestseller The 13th Valley was praised as one of the most powerful works of literature to emerge from the Viet Nam experience. Now back in print comes an even more stunning achievement: For the Sake of All Living Things. In this unflinching and unforgettable epic saga, Del Vecchio re-creates the violence and horror of Viet Nam’s parallel tragedy—the Cambodian holocaust—as seen through the eyes of a Cambodian family and the American adviser whose fate becomes irrevocable linked with theirs. A sweeping tale of savagery and survival that pits parents and children against both the North Vietnamese invaders and the unprecedented ferocity of the Khmer Rouge, For the Sake of All Living Things is an unrelenting, ultimately inspiring chronicle of conflict and redemption in the killing fields. “Harrowing....[Del Vecchio] has added another memorable book to the literature of the Southeast Asian conflict.” —The New York Times Book Review “Nothing can prepare the reader for the experience of this book.” —The Dallas Morning News “Exhaustive, emotionally powerful....Del Vecchio brilliantly portrays the labyrinthine tragedies that led to the 1970s cataclysm in Cambodia.” —Publishers Weekly




The 13th Valley


Book Description

A work that has served as a literary cornerstone for the Vietnam generation, The 13th Valley follows the strange and terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in territory controlled by the North Vietnamese Army. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account of Chelini's plunge and immersion into jungle warfare traces his evolution from a semipacifist to an all-out warmonger. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book.




Every Living Thing


Book Description

The #1 New York Times–bestselling author of All Creatures Great and Small reflects on the rewards of training the next generation of veterinarians. As an aging James Herriot begins to see more house pets than livestock, the challenge of treating animals—and reassuring their owners—provides plenty of excitement, mystery, and moments of sheer delight. After building up his own practice, the renowned country vet begins to teach a new generation about a business both old-fashioned and very modern. He watches with pride as his own children show a knack for medicine, and remarks on the talents and quirks of a string of assistants. There is no perfecting the craft, since people and their animals are all remarkably different, but Herriot proves that the best healers are also the most compassionate.




A Little Life


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.




The Vietnam War Trilogy


Book Description

Three classic novels by John M. Del Vecchio about Vietnam, Cambodia, and the aftermath of war. A classic combat novel and National Book Award finalist, The 13th Valley follows the terrifying Vietnam combat experiences of James Chelini, a telephone-systems installer who finds himself an infantryman in the North Vietnamese Army–infested mountains of the I Corps Tactical Zone. Spiraling deeper and deeper into a world of conflict and darkness, this harrowing account plunges Chelini into jungle warfare and traces his evolution from semi-pacifist to all-out, combat-crazed soldier. The seminal novel on the Vietnam experience, The 13th Valley is a classic that illuminates the war in Southeast Asia like no other book. Some reviewers have called For the Sake of All Living Things the most terrifying book they have ever read. This saga follows a rural Cambodian family—father Chhoun; his beautiful daughter, Vathana; and his young son, Samnang, who becomes the Khmer Rouge yothea Met Nang—from the mid-sixties through the escalation of the civil war, into the horrors of the holocaust, and finally to the country’s quest for rebirth. Documenting their story is American Special Forces Captain John Sullivan who served with the Military Equipment Delivery Team, and who has fallen in love with Vathana. Carry Me Home brings the troops back to America—a nation confused and divided by the wars in Southeast Asia. In this poignant epic, Del Vecchio transports a group of soldiers to their final battlefield: the home front. High Meadow Farm, in the fertile hill country of central Pennsylvania, becomes their salvation. In Vietnam they had been brothers in arms. Now, in the face of personal tragedy and bureaucratic deception, they create an even deeper allegiance—one of the spirit and of the land. This is the remarkable story of the veterans’ struggle to find one another and themselves. In its scope, breadth, and brilliance, Carry Me Home is much more than a novel about Vietnam vets; it is a testament to history and hope, to hometowns and homecomings, to love and loss, and to faith and family. It is an inspiring and unforgettable novel about America itself.




Carry Me Home


Book Description

In this powerful and poignant epic, Del Vecchio transports the soldiers of the Viet Nam experience to their final battlefield—the home front. High Meadow Farm, in the fertile hill country of central Pennsylvania, would be their salvation. In Viet Nam they had fought side by side, brothers in arms. Now in the face of personal tragedy and bureaucratic deception, they would create a more enduring allegiance, an alliance of the spirit and the soil. Carry Me Home is the remarkable story of their struggle to find each other and themselves, a saga spanning fifteen years—fifteen years lost in a wilderness called America. In its scope, breadth, and brilliance, Carry Me Home is much more than a novel about Viet Nam and Viet Nam veterans. It is a testament to history and hope, to hometowns and homecomings, to love and loss, to faith and family. It is a novel about two decades in our collective lives and the cleansing of our spirit—an inspiring and unforgettable novel about America itself. “In this...final installment of his trilogy about America's war in Southeast Asia (The 13th Valley; For the Sake of All Living Things), Del Vecchio focuses on veterans who returned home in the late '60s only to find themselves viewed largely as lepers...the overall purpose of his powerful proletarian art demands such detail to underscore his characters' pain and, for a few, uplifting recovery.” —Publishers Weekly “Carry Me Home completes a trilogy begun by The 13th Valley, and deals, much like James Jones' Some Came Running, with veterans trying to adapt to civilian life....in the end they gain a frightening power from Del Vecchio's accretion of utterly authentic detail. And Wapinski, at least, comes to a hard-earned redemption through the example of one fine old man and a beautiful, communitarian idea.” —Booklist “Arresting, searing and shattering...the most eloquent novel ever to examine the American Viet Nam veteran and his return home to a nation that had failed him.” —International Review




A Desperate Plan


Book Description

A Desperate Plan is a wonderful romp through the worlds of government, the military and medical care. You'll enjoy it! -Lesley Visser, sportscaster/writer, ABC/ESPN A Desperate Plan is a fast paced, exciting political action thriller. It chronicles a sinister government "cover-up" at its worst. All power, no ethics. -Barry Kutin, former speaker pro tempore, House of Representatives, State of Florida legislature A Desperate Plan provides an accurate glimpse of prison life, a world few people know or want to know about. This plot is frightening, but believable! It will keep you constantly guessing as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Once you start it, you won't put it down. -Jim Brigham, correctional medical professional




For the Sake of a Single Verse ...


Book Description

More than twenty stories from the Alaskan Tlingit tradition are accompanied by information on its culture, history and art.




'I Follow Aristotle': How William Harvey Discovered the Circulation of the Blood


Book Description

This book presents a new interpretation of how and why the discovery of the circulation of the blood in animals was made. It has long been known that the English physician William Harvey (1578–1657) was a follower of Aristotle, but his most strikingly ‘modern’ and original discovery – of the circulation of the blood – resulted from Harvey following Aristotle’s ancient programme of investigation into animals. This is a new reading of the most important discovery ever made in anatomy by one man and produces not only a radical re-reading of Harvey as anatomist, but also of Aristotle and his investigations of animals.




The Lotus Sutra


Book Description

The Lotus Sutra is regarded as one of the world's great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It's a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension, in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down distinctions between the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone salvation until all beings may share it, and especially on each and every being's innate capacity to become a buddha. Gene Reeves's new translation appeals to readers with little or no familiarity with technical Buddhist vocabulary, as well as long-time practitioners and students. In addition, this remarkable volume includes the full "threefold" text of this classic.