Creepers


Book Description

CREEPERS, David Morrell's gripping joyride of a thriller, depicts every harrowing second in eight hours of relentless terror. A New York Times bestseller, it received the prestigious Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association. On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the New Jersey shore and begin preparations to break in to the Paragon Hotel. Built in the glory days of Asbury Park by a reclusive millionaire, the magnificent structure—which foreshadowed the beauties of art-deco architecture—is now boarded up and marked for demolition. The five people are "creepers," the slang term for urban explorers: city archeologists with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. On this evening, they are joined by a reporter who wants to profile them—anonymously, as this is a highly illegal activity—for a New York Times article. Frank Balenger isn't looking for just a story, however. And after the group enters the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, it becomes clear that he will get much more than he bargained for. Danger, terror, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil. The darkest secrets live in places you’re not supposed to be. “Chilling.” —Stephen King, New York Times bestselling author of Doctor Sleep “Crack this novel, and it’s like an alien abduction of your brain—forget resuming your normal life until it’s finished. This will be a classic.”—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling co-author (with Lincoln Child) of White Fire “With its nonstop cascade of ingeniously contrived dangers and assaults, culminating in an apocalyptic finale, Creepers provides the essence of all thrillers, an intense emotional effect that will leave readers drained.”—Washington Post




The Ancestry of Daniel Morrell of Hartford


Book Description

Thomas Morrell was in Newtown, Long Island by 1666. He was married to Hannah and later died at Newtown about 1704. Descendants lived in New York and elsewhere. One descendants, Daniel (born 1836), son of John D. Morrell and Mary Burns, married Cornelia Josephine Silver. Includes information on other early Morrell families.




Ancestral Passions


Book Description

This biography of the "First Family" of anthropology reveals how their discoveries, collaborations, and rivalries contributed to our own knowledge of the origins of humankind. In this fascinating and authoritative work, acclaimed science writer Virginia Morell brings to vivid life the famous and infamous Leakey family, pioneers in the field of paleoanthropology: Louis Leakey, the patriarch, who persisted through initial scientific failures and scandal-ridden divorce to achieve spectacular success in digs throughout East Africa; Mary, his second wife, who worked alongside Louis as they made their outstanding discoveries at Olduvai Gorge and elsewhere; and Richard, their son, who ascended to the top of the field in his parents’ wake, only to be threatened with both near-fatal illness and fierce professional rivalry. Morell transports us into the world of these compelling personalities, demonstrating how a small clan of highly talented and fiercely competitive people came to dominate an entire field of science and to contribute immeasurably to our understanding of the origins of humanity.




The Inner Life of Empires


Book Description

The birth of the modern world as told through the remarkable story of one eighteenth-century family They were abolitionists, speculators, slave owners, government officials, and occasional politicians. They were observers of the anxieties and dramas of empire. And they were from one family. The Inner Life of Empires tells the intimate history of the Johnstones--four sisters and seven brothers who lived in Scotland and around the globe in the fast-changing eighteenth century. Piecing together their voyages, marriages, debts, and lawsuits, and examining their ideas, sentiments, and values, renowned historian Emma Rothschild illuminates a tumultuous period that created the modern economy, the British Empire, and the philosophical Enlightenment. One of the sisters joined a rebel army, was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, and escaped in disguise in 1746. Her younger brother was a close friend of Adam Smith and David Hume. Another brother was fluent in Persian and Bengali, and married to a celebrated poet. He was the owner of a slave known only as "Bell or Belinda," who journeyed from Calcutta to Virginia, was accused in Scotland of infanticide, and was the last person judged to be a slave by a court in the British isles. In Grenada, India, Jamaica, and Florida, the Johnstones embodied the connections between European, American, and Asian empires. Their family history offers insights into a time when distinctions between the public and private, home and overseas, and slavery and servitude were in constant flux. Based on multiple archives, documents, and letters, The Inner Life of Empires looks at one family's complex story to describe the origins of the modern political, economic, and intellectual world.




Fireflies


Book Description

In the bestselling novels of suspense master David Morrell, fear is the main subject. But Morrell himself had never known genuine terror until he watched his 15-year-old son wage a heroic but doomed struggle with cancer. This is one father's powerful and unforgettable story of fierce love, impenetrable loss, and an unexpected, breathtaking encounter with the miraculous. Ultimately, Fireflies is a tribute to the undying human spirit that has already given new hope to enthralled and grateful readers around the world. David wrote this account for himself, but to his surprise, his candid portrait of grief turned out to help other people in grief or else the friends of those in grief. His discussions about panic attacks as well as the "could have, should have" syndrome and the stress within marriages after a child's death are some of the reasons that David was asked to deliver several keynote speeches to national conferences of The Compassionate Friends, the world's largest grief organization-for the parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends of children who have died. "I found myself almost speechless....It left me feeling shaken, uplifted, and terribly moved." -Stephen King, New York Times bestselling author of Doctor Sleep "A powerful experience I shall remember for a long, long time. Thank you, Mr. Morrell, for sharing so much love so electrifyingly." -Robert Ludlum, New York Times bestselling author of The Bourne Identity "I was enormously impressed....One of the most poignant and passionate religious quests you will ever read....Don't miss this story of how good people respond to bad things." -Father Andrew M. Greeley, New York Times bestselling author of Angel Light "A story that should have meaning and truth for every parent." -Los Angeles Daily News "A heartbreaking and inspiring account of devotion in the face of death." -Detroit Free Press







Library of Congress Subject Headings


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The Morrell Magazine


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Kingdom of Secrets


Book Description

When her father is arrested for a crime she committed, Prismena will do anything to save him, taking her on a high-flying and shadowy adventure in this middle-grade fantasy debut. In the kingdom of Oren, Prismena longs to fly hot-air balloons, but her father insists she keep her feet on the ground. When he's arrested for a crime he didn't commit--and one that Prismena did--she must decide between following the rules and following her heart. Her decision will catapult her on an adventure that challenges everything she knows about her identity, her kingdom, and even her beloved balloons.




Parenting Across the Autism Spectrum


Book Description

Maureen F. Morrell and Ann Palmer are raising two very different children: Justin, a whirlwind of activity and mood swings, who is supervised in a residential farm community, and Eric, quiet and passive, who lives independently at college. The authors give an account of the striking similarities as well as the stark differences in their experiences of parenting children at opposite extremes of the autism spectrum. The two mothers speak openly about their children's diagnosis and early childhood through to adolescence, young adulthood and the day they leave home. They give a moving account of the challenges they faced and the surprising consolations they found along their sons' very different paths in life. Through their friendship and two decades of shared experiences of parenting an ASD child, each has gained a clear understanding of her own strengths and limitations, as well as those of her child. Parenting Across the Autism Spectrum offers a personal perspective and practical guidance for parents at the start of their journey with autism, especially those whose children are newly diagnosed. It also provides useful insights for professionals working with individuals across the autism spectrum and their families. The book was elected the 2007 Autism Society of America's Outstanding Literary Work of the Year.