The Fastback Chronicles


Book Description

Meet Tommy Sherwin. Hes just been out of high school a few months and has no clear direction where his life is going as he starts junior college and works at a restaurant. Soon after his friend Chris gets his first car, they set out on lots of late-night antics. Here he tells the story of their various misadventures, the trouble they flirt with, the toils of fast-food work and the young ladies who break his heart. Ah, the first years of adulthood.




The Drug Chronicles


Book Description

A wide range of bestselling and acclaimed writers—from masters of noir to literary lights—explore the milieu of drug culture in this “eye-opening series” (New York Journal of Books). From Lee Child to William T. Vollmann, Joyce Carol Oates to Sherman Alexie, Eric Bogosian to actor James Franco, many of the finest contemporary writers of fiction weigh in on the lure and destruction of drug use, society’s ambiguous relationship to drug culture, and criminal behavior with short stories that are alternately harrowing, funny, sad, or scary—but always original and gripping. The Cocaine Chronicles edited by Gary Phillips and Jervey Tervalon Contributors include Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Ken Bruen, and Susan Straight “Urban, gritty, and raw noir.” —Harlan Coben The Speed Chronicles edited by Joseph Mattson Contributors include William T. Vollmann, Sherman Alexie, James Franco, and Megan Abbott “Deserves great praise for the audacity of the topic, the depth of the discussion, the diversity of voices, and plain, old, good storytelling.” —New York Journal of Books The Heroin Chronicles edited by Jerry Stahl Contributors include Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch, Ava Stander, and Gary Phillips “[An] impressive array of writers . . . these tales of chasing the dragon, with corollaries often violent and savage, will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider are alike.” —Publishers Weekly The Marijuana Chronicles edited by Jonathan Santlofer Contributors include Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, Raymond Mungo, and Rachel Shteir “Joyce Carol Oates is in a rare class of her own . . . So, too, are other contributors to this collection, including Lee Child and the always enjoyable Raymond Mungo.” —Kirkus Reviews




The Heroin Chronicles


Book Description

This collection of heroin stories from Eric Bogosian, Jerry Stahl, Lydia Lunch, and more “will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider art alike” (Publishers Weekly). On the heels of The Speed Chronicles (Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Franco, Beth Lisick, etc.) and The Cocaine Chronicles (Lee Child, Laura Lippman, etc.) comes The Heroin Chronicles, a volume sure to frighten and delight. The literary styles of these stories are as diverse as the moral quandaries they explore. From the groundbreaking novels of William S. Burroughs to the mind-altering music of The Velvet Underground, heroin—in all its ecstasy and tragedy—has been the subject of many an underground masterpiece. Collected here are all-new short stories about the infamous drug by some of today’s most celebrated and provocative writers, including Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch, Jerry Stahl, Nathan Larson, Ava Stander, Antonia Crane, Gary Phillips, Jervey Tervalon, John Albert, Michael Albo, Sophia Langdon, Tony O’Neill, and L.Z. Hansen.




The Mustang Chronicles Volume 1


Book Description

THE MUSTANG CHRONICLES, VOL. 1: ROCKETT '68 is a literary, lyrical action novel written in the Picaresque tradition. The story unfolds from the perspective of the hero, or villain depending on your opinion about such matters, in the first-person present tense. Gripping, taut prose intertwines with more lyrical passages like a singular wine perfectly paired with its course. For connoisseurs and casual readers alike, this novel serves up a savory, stimulating read. TMC Vol. 1 takes place at the zenith of 1960's America and explores the zeitgeist, counterculture, cars, and music that defined a generation and indelibly influenced American culture. TMC Vol. 1 pays homage to 1960's pop Americana in fascinating detail, all the while moving readers inexorably toward the novel's fantastical conclusion. Keep your eyes peeled and intellect at the ready—deeper meaning, subtlety, and nuance abound. The novel's episodic style eschews linear constraints, along with the well-worn flat trajectory from introduction to conclusion whence all tangents are neatly tied together and presented dutifully at the end—not unlike a dog presenting a ball to his master for a routine game of fetch. You will find no such mundanity in The Mustang Chronicles, Vol. 1: Rockett '68. Just read it. You'll be glad you did. www.themustangchronicles.com




The Redaction Chronicles - Books 3-4


Book Description

Books 3-4 in James Quinn's 'The Redaction Chronicles', a series of cold war espionage novels, now available in one volume! Rogue Wolves: He is known as The Master. Spy, double agent, freelance assassin. He has been at the top of his game for the past thirty years. No one knows his true identity, and the intelligence networks of several countries want him captured, interrogated and “Redacted”. Jack “Gorilla” Grant, now a contract agent for the French Secret Service, is assigned to track the Master down. Hot on his heels is a deadly and beautiful CIA bounty hunter, who is more than capable of hunting down both assassins. From France to the heartland of America and finally to a death island off the coast of Mexico, Rogue Wolves takes the anti-hero Gorilla Grant into the deepest heart of espionage darkness. Berlin Reload: When Jack “Gorilla” Grant's daughter is kidnapped in Rome, it is just the opening gambit in a series of events that pushes him back into the business that he once walked away from. Unseen forces are moving against Gorilla and dangerous enemies from his past are threatening his future, intent on turning a cold war into a hot war. But Gorilla has one rule; don’t mess with my family. And he’s willing to kill to enforce it. From the streets of 1960’s Berlin to a hit contract in Austria, and finally to a race against time in East Germany, Berlin Reload is an epic cold war spy story that spans the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, and throws James Quinn’s anti-hero Gorilla Grant into a mission where he may have to decide between the life of his daughter and the dawning of a new conflict between East and West.




Hawai'i Chronicles II


Book Description

The first volume of Hawaii Chronicles presented little known, yet highly interesting historical facts about Hawaii that originally appeared in the pages of Honolulu magazine, the successor to Paradise of the Pacific and the oldest continuously published regional magazine in the United States. Articles in the first volume ranged from the Islands' volcanic beginnings to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the first days of World War II. In this new volume, Hawaii Chronicles II looks at the people that have made a difference in the Islands since World War II, including artists and writers, politicians, local heroes, and leaders in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Through interviews and biographical profiles, this new collection provides a historical context for the events that have shaped Hawaii's recent past.




Memoirs of a French Village Ð Chronicles of Prairie du Rocher, Kaskaskia and the French Triangle


Book Description

Memoirs tell the story of early French exploration into the New World which included villages and ports from New Orleans north to Canada. The characters and their families are dealt with in detail, the genealogists and historian will not be disappointed in this tale with early French coureur-des-bois and voyageurs many with Indian wives as well as major characters in mid-American history. Treason, treachery, counterfeiting, kidnapping, murder and intrigue fill the book. Relationships, courting and early marriages with related families who were the first settlers in the Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher area and the early Louisiana and Illinois territory are woven throughout the narrative. Expect surprise visits by George Washington, LaSalle, Mccarty, Big Harpe, Little Harpe who are infamous as the first serial killers of North America, John Duff the Counterfeiter, John Law, John Dodge, George Rogers Clark, Sam Mason the River Pirate, and the Cave-in-the-Rock Gang, all play unexpected roles in this book.




The Icy Planet


Book Description

For most people, planet Earth's icy parts remain out of sight and out of mind. Yet it is the melting of ice that will both raise sea level and warm the climate further by reducing the white surfaces that reflect solar energy back into space. In effect, our icy places act as the world's refrigerator, helping to keep our climate relatively cool. The Icy Planet lays out carbon dioxide's role as the control knob of our climate over the past 1000 million years, then explores what is happening to ice and snow in Antarctica, the Arctic and the high mountains. Colin P. Summerhayes takes readers to the world's icy places to see what is happening to its ice, snow, and permafrost. He recounts tales from his own visits to these frozen landscapes, shining a light on some of the wonders he has encountered in his travels. He also brings together pieces of the climate story from different scientific disciplines, and from the past and the present, to illustrate how Earth's climate system works. Utilizing geological records of climate change alongside new technologies in ice coring, Summerhayes crafts a detailed and compelling record of Earth's climate history and examines how that can be used as a window into our future.




Get Those Guys Reading!


Book Description

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.




Library Journal


Book Description