The king of Armania believes the volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, and ground shakers are due to the gods being angry because his citizens commit wrongful deeds and worship the evil horned god Barthos. His son Prince Wilek, the ever dutiful First Arm of Armania, thinks his father's superstitions are nonsense. Prince Wilek is sent by the king to investigate when a messenger arrives and claims that the town of Farway has been swallowed by the earth. The...

A startling new analysis of one of America's most glorious battles . . . Contrary to movie and legend, we now know that the defenders of the Alamo in the war for Texan independence-including Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William B. Travis-did not die under brilliant sunlight, defending their positions against hordes of Mexican infantry. Instead the Mexicans launched a predawn attack, surmounting the walls in darkness, forcing a wild melee inside the...

Ehrenreich's second work of satirical commentary reflects on one of the cruelest decades in memory--the 2000's--in which she finds a nation scarred by deepening inequality, corroded by distrust, and shamed by its official cruelty.

Auction house appraiser Jude leaves London for her dream job at Starbrough Hall, an estate in the countryside, examining and pricing the manuscripts and instruments of an eighteenth-century astronomer. She is welcomed by Chantal Wickham and Jude feels close to the old woman at once: they have both lost their husbands. Hard times have forced the Wickham family to sell the astronomer's work, their land and with it, the timeworn tower that lies nearby....

In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by midwestern farmers to Oregon and California in the years 1840-49. Seeking the promised land, these travelers trekked two thousand miles by covered wagon from Missouri to their destinations on the Pacific coast. Although they used mountain men as guides, they went almost literally into the unknown, braving dangers from hunger, thirst, disease, drowning, and Native Americans....

Off the easternmost coast of India lies the immense archipelago of tiny islands known as the Sundarbans. Life here is precarious, ruled by the unforgiving tides and the constant threat of attacks by Bengal tigers. Into this place of vengeful beauty come two seekers from different worlds, whose lives collide with tragic consequences. The settlers of the remote Sundarbans believe that anyone without a pure heart who ventures into the watery island labyrinth...

A collection of poems on such important events in the history of the United States as the Pilgrims' landing in Massachusetts, the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, Seward's Folly, the San Francisco earthquake, and more.

The sixteen stories within these pages will take you to the realms of the fairies, to desert lands far away, to war-torn places weary characters just try to survive, to forests, to windswept seascapes, to London and New York City, and into the far reaches of the galaxy.

"Areas of the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and Montana are some of the most important remaining examples of American wilderness. These areas have been preserved because of citizens who stood against private and government plans to build roads and dams for timber and hydropower projects and to diminish wildlife habitat. Where Roads Will Never Reach tells the stories of hunters, anglers, outfitters, scientists, and other concerned citizens who devoted themselves...