The Empress of Weehawken


Book Description

At the end of what is (she cannot help observing) an extraordinary life, Elisabeth Rother has decided to write her memoirs. She brushes aside her narrow escape with her Jewish husband from the Nazis, and the perilous voyage to the New World of New Jersey. The subject that really consumes her is the waywardness of her impossible daughter, Renate, and her granddaughter, Irene. Renate performs autopsies on the bodies of politicians whom death has harvested in the nighttime arms of their mistresses. Worse, she sleeps on unironed sheets. Irene drops out of school to roam the world, refuses to correct her nose with plastic surgery, and shows alarming signs of enjoying sex. What is to be done with such women? A curiously touching love letter to the difficult but sustaining love of mothers and daughters, The Empress of Weehawken is a masterpiece of comedy with an unexpected lilt of redemption at its close.




The Empress of Weehawken


Book Description

At the end of what is (she cannot help observing) an extraordinary life, Elisabeth Rother has decided to write her memoirs. She recounts her narrow escape with her Jewish husband from the Nazis, and the perilous voyage to the New World of New Jersey, but those, for her, are mere facts of life. For Elisabeth, bighearted and obstinate, the most bothersome and consuming subjects are the unconventional paths and waywardness of her daughter, Renate, and her granddaughter, Irene. The Empress of Weehawken is a curiously touching love letter to the difficult but sustaining love of mothers and daughters. Written in the voice of the author's very real grandmother, it is "superb . . . razor-sharp, desert-dry, and luxuriantly ironic" (The San Diego Union-Tribune).




Empress


Book Description

Such is the voice of Shan Sa's unforgettable heroine in her latest literary masterpiece, Empress. Empress Wu, one of China's most controversial figures, was its first and only female emperor, who emerged in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted by those taking vengeance on a woman who dared to become emperor. But now, for the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu (or Heavenlight, as we come to know her) flings open the gates of the Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale—revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day. Writing with epic assurance, poetry, and vivid historic detail, Shan Sa plumbs the psychological and philosophical depths of what it means to be a striving mortal in a tumultuous, power-hungry world. Empress is a great literary feat and a revelation for the ages.




The Empress of Bright Moon


Book Description

"The author's talent for dramatic, well-timed dialogue, and portrayal of women's friendships and emotions-especially dislikes, jealousy, and fear - intensifies the reader's understanding of palace intrigue."—Booklist, STARRED Review The time for taking hold of her destiny is now At the moment of the Emperor's death, everything changes in the palace. Mei, his former concubine, is free, and Pheasant, the heir and Mei's lover, is proclaimed as the new Emperor, heralding a new era in China. But just when Mei believes she's closer to her dream, Pheasant's chief wife, Lady Wang, powerful and unpredictable, turns against Mei and takes unthinkable measures to stop her. The power struggle that ensues will determine Mei's fate–and that of China. Surrounded by enemies within the palace that she calls home, Mei continues her journey to the throne in The Empress of Bright Moon, the second book in Weina Dai Randel's acclaimed duology. Only by fighting back against those who wish her harm will Mei be able to realize her destiny as the most powerful woman in China.




Living My Life


Book Description

The autobiography of the early radical leader and her participation in communist, anarchist, and feminist activities




Unconventional Warfare (Special Forces, Book 1)


Book Description

"All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus Reviews for the World War II series Discover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists. Sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army.Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.National Book Award finalist Chris Lynch begins a new, explosive fiction series based on the real-life, top-secret history of US black ops.




Esterhazy


Book Description

Chronicles the adventures of Prince Esterhazy, a rabbit who goes to Berlin to find a bride and witnesses the destruction of the Berlin Wall.







The Green Phoenix


Book Description

With the fate of East Asia hanging in the balance, one Mongolian woman manipulated her lovers, sons and grandsons through war and upheaval to create an empire that lasted for 250 years. The Green Phoenix tells the story of the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, born a Mongolian princess who became a consort in the Manchu court and then the Qing Dynasty's first matriarch. She lived through harrowing threats, endless political crises, personal heartaches and painful losses to lead a shaky Empire out of a dead end. The story is set against a turbulent canvas as the Chinese Ming Dynasty is replaced by the Qing. Xiaozhuang guides her husband, her lover, her son and her grandson - all emperors and supreme leaders of the Qing Empire - to success against the odds.




Life Lessons from the Lottery


Book Description

The world is an increasingly complicated place, but one rule has held true for centuries: People who have financial security control the destiny of people who don't. People who are financially secure live longer and healthier lives. They have the freedom and independence to pick what they want to do for a living, where they want to live and to create a financial legacy for their families and causes they support. So why do so many people who "have it made" run through their money and wind up broke? Why do the majority of lottery winners, injury victims, professional athletes and people who receive an inheritance run through it all so quickly? A better question: How do you keep it from happening to you? How do you protect your retirement, injury settlement or inheritance in a way that will keep you financially secure for life? In his fourth book, best-selling author and financial guru Don McNay offers concrete solutions to those questions. McNay draws upon his internationally recognized expertise on what to do when you win the lottery and his 30 years experience as a structured settlement consultant to show people how money can provide them with happiness, security and peace of mind. Although McNay has a strong academic background with two master's degrees and four financial professional designations, the book is written in a style that everyone can grasp and understand. He breaks the book into five sections, based on the five rules of thumb that he gave to lottery winners in his 2008 bestseller, Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery. McNay said that his book is about financial freedom. "Real freedom means stability, security and independence," he said. "It means never running out of money. It means never having to work at a job you hate, because you can't afford to quit. It means never becoming a slave to your creditors. It means having control and stability in your life." Life Lessons from the Lottery: Protecting Your Money in a Scary World is the road map to finding that kind of freedom.