Free Download | Weapons of Choice | John Birmingham

Birmingham commits this cardinal sin, gaining a cheap victory by presenting WWII era characters as just knuckle-dragging racists, and 21st century characters--no matter how "messed-up"--as paragons of virtue, neglecting to take into account the vast differences between the times and environments that produced each group. The people from WWII represent that era's mind-sets, beliefs and actions; the 21st century crowd represents theirs, but fundamental human nature does not change and certainly not in a couple of generations. Birmingham mistakes changes in technology, clothes, slang and convention for fundamental change and writes from a perspective that just assumes that the "more advanced," more "Liberal" 21st century crowd is right on all issues, but are they?

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Free Download | Bayou Moon (The Edge, Book 2) | Ilona Andrews

There are problems with this book--I think the pacing is off, almost as if the story needs to be a hundred pages shorter or a hundred pages longer (I'd prefer longer). Also, the title could be more memorable; I'm not sure they ever mention bayou...it just seems kind of generic. And this is picky, but I frequently have to spend time analyzing the punctuation around the dialogue to determine who's talking and if that character is speaking out loud. Finally, I always have a little trouble with their verb tenses. The authors often go from past perfect to past and it throws me off my groove. Still, those are picky things that could be caught by an editor.

With all that said, I still really like this world and these characters. I love the male lead, William. They do a wonderful job with giving him a definite otherness without turning him into a freak. I just REALLY like this book. I just really like Ilona Andrews and will be waiting for more Edge stories and more Kate Daniels.

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Free Download | Alpha and Omega: A Companion Novella to Cry Wolf | Patricia Briggs

In Cry Wolf, New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs started a new urban fantasy series set in the world of Mercy Thompson but with rules of it’s own. Now, read the eSpecial, Alpha and Omega, the novella that inspired the new series, and see how it all began.Anna Latham never knew werewolves existed, until the night she survived a violent attack and became one herself. After three years at the bottom of the Chicago pack, she's learned to keep her head down and never, ever trust dominant males. But when she discovers wrongdoing in her pack, she has to go above her Alpha's head to ask for help.Charles Cornick is the son and enforcer of the leader of the North American werewolves. Now his father has sent him to Chicago to clean up a problem there. Charles never expected to find Anna, a rare Omega wolf and he certainly never expected to recognize her as his mate

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Free Download | Rabenzauber (Roman) | Patricia Briggs

Raben – geheimnisvoll und dunkel, Wesen voller Magie und Zauber. Überbringer mysteriöser Botschaften, gefürchtete Begleiter von Hexen und Magiern. In Patricia Briggs’ phantastischem Epos werden diese Geschöpfe auf atemberaubende Weise lebendig und zum Schlüssel in einem uralten Rätsel. Am Fuße des Schattengebirges wohnt die junge Seraph, eine jener geheimnisvollen Zauberinnen des Raben, die einst von Dorf zu Dorf und von Kontinent zu Kontinent zogen, um die Welt mit ihrer Magie vor bösen Kräften zu bewahren. Als eine Verschwörung das Geheimnis des Rabenordens bedroht, muss Seraph endlich dem Ruf ihrer Ahnen folgen

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Free Download | Mercedes Thompson 5 Silver Borne | Patricia Briggs

All-new action in the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series When mechanic and shapeshifter Mercy Thompson attempts to return a powerful Fae book she'd previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down. It seems the book contains secret knowledge-and the Fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn't take enough of Mercy's attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side-leaving Mercy to cover for him, lest his own father declare Sam's life forfeit. All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn't careful, she might not have many more to live.

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Free Download | Mercedes Thompson 4 Bone Crossed | Patricia Briggs

Briggs makes a well-deserved move into hardcover with the rousing fourth adventure for kick-ass were-coyote auto mechanic Mercedes Thompson. Healing in body and spirit after the events of 2008's Iron Kissed, Mercy is preparing to marry alpha werewolf Adam Hauptman when an old friend asks her to help fend off a nasty ghost. It's a good time for Mercy to leave Portland, Ore.: vampire queen Marsilia is after her and her vampire friend Stefan for successfully hunting down a monster that should have killed them. Mercy leaves Adam to negotiate peace with Marsilia and heads to Spokane, Wash., to investigate the ghost, an unexpectedly complicated task. Though action supersedes characterization, the preternatural culture of vampire seethes and wolf pack politics is deeply intriguing. Briggs provides plenty of detail about Mercy's complex world without boring info-dumps, satisfying both new and longtime readers.

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Free Download | Mercedes Thompson 2 Blood Bound | Patricia Briggs

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places-and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind. But this new vampire is hardly ordinary-and neither is the demon inside of The second installment of Patricia Briggs's paranormal fantasy saga to feature feisty heroine Mercedes "Mercy" Thompson, Blood Bound (sequel to 2006's Moon Called), pits the butt-kicking mechanic/coyote shape-shifter against a foe that is as rare as he is ruthless -- a demon-possessed sorcerer who is also a vampire!

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Free Download | Mercedes Thompson 3 Iron Kissed | Patricia Briggs

The lighter moments of Mercedes Thompson's days are spent tinkering with VWs. When she's not workings, this attractive, shape-shifting auto mechanic is busy fighting wrongdoers and attempting to sort out her somewhat messy love life. In this, the third Mercy Thompson novel, Ms. Fix-It must work overtime to save her former boss and mentor from a homicide charge.When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life-whether she wants to or not.

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Free Download | Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1) | Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

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Free Download | The Gathering | Kelley Armstrong

Strange things are happening in Maya's tiny Vancouver Island town. First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya's home—and her reactions to them are somewhat . . . unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret, and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy—her paw-print birthmark.

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Free Download | Bitten | Kelley Armstrong

Ever since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was five, Elena Michaels has longed for a normal family life. Smart, beautiful, and engaged to be married, Elena hopes to fulfill that dream when disaster strikes. Not only has her fiancé lied about his secret life as a werewolf, but he's made her one, too. She has no choice but to join him at Stonehaven, the upstate New York home of an elite pack of werewolves.

In an attempt to break away, she moves to Toronto to lead a normal life. Working as a journalist, Elena now lives with her new architect boyfriend, works out in the basement gym of their high-rise apartment, lunches with girlfriends from the office, and—once a week, at four in the morning—runs naked and furred through a downtown Toronto ravine, ripping out the throats of her animal prey. But when a band of outlaw werewolves threatens the Stonehaven pack, Elena's feral instincts drive her back there to join the defense. What follows is a war for territory, for pride, and ultimately for Elena herself.

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Free Download | Haunted | Kelley Armstrong

"Haunted" marks a departure of sorts in the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong in that the central character is a spirit/ghost. Eve Levine, who in her lifetime was a half-demon, half-witch, is also the mother of teen witch Savannah. Though Eve is now a ghost residing in the afterlife, she is very much still a fixture in her daughter's life, watching over her scrupulously. Eve is given the excruciating task of apprehending the Nix, a demonic figure that feeds off chaos and pain. The Nix has escaped the confines of hell and is now unleashing chaos in the world by possessing those who have the urge to kill and egging them on to indulge in their blood lust. Well, Eve's reservations about tackling this assignment is put aside when her beloved daughter Savannah becomes a target.

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Free Download | Industrial Magic | Kelley Armstrong

In the aftermath of her mother’s murder, Paige broke with the elite, ultraconservative American Coven of Witches. Now her goal is to start a new Coven for a new generation. But while Paige pitches her vision to uptight thirty-something witches in business suits, a more urgent matter commands her attention.

Someone is murdering the teenage offspring of the underworld’s most influential Cabals — a circle of families that makes the mob look like amateurs. And none is more powerful than the Cortez Cabal, a faction Paige is intimately acquainted with. Lucas Cortez, the rebel son and unwilling heir, is none other than her boyfriend. But love isn’t blind, and Paige has her eyes wide open as she is drawn into a hunt for an unnatural-born killer. Pitted against shamans, demons, and goons, it’s a battle chilling enough to make a wild young woman grow up in a hurry. If she gets the chance.

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Free Download | The Witches of Eileanan | Kate Forsyth

Now, to the most aggravating facet of these books - the characters. I am torn here, because the author has talent and develops her characters from book to book, showing some growth in some of them. Unfortunately, her characers are so largely obnoxious and annoying that it is difficult to wish anything but the worst to happen to them all, especially the impetuous, self-involved, and brainless main character, Isabeau. Her continuing selfish, impulsive IDIOCY set my teeth on edge and had me grinding them by the time I reached the end of book 4. Nothing that happened to that unspeakable MORON taught her anything, and frankly, I soon got to the point of writing alternate (and satisfyingly bloody) endings to all of her adventures, and really, if I'm going to be driven to THAT extreme, I might as well write my own books.

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Free Download | The Last Juror | John Grisham

Soon afterward, his new business receives the readership boost it needs thanks to his editorial efforts and coverage of a particularly brutal rape and murder committed by the scion of the town's reclusive bootlegger family. Rather than shy from reporting on the subsequent open-and-shut trial (those who oppose the Padgitt family tend to turn up dead in the area's swampland), Traynor launches a crusade to ensure the unrepentant murderer is brought to justice. When a guilty verdict is returned, the town is relieved to find the Padgitt family's grip on the town did not sway the jury, though Danny Padgitt is sentenced to life in prison rather than death. But, when Padgitt is released after serving less than a decade in jail and members of the jury are murdered, Clanton once again finds itself at the mercy of its renegade family. When it comes, the dénouement is no surprise; The Last Juror is less a story of suspense than a study of the often idyllic southern town of Clanton, Mississippi (the setting for Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill). Throughout the nine years between Padgitt's trial and release, Traynor finds acceptance in Clanton, where the people "don't really trust you unless they trusted your grandfather.

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Free Download | The Pelican Brief | John Grisham

In suburban Georgetown a killer's Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home... In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly garroted to death... The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief... To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it was political dynamite. Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder -- a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds there is only one person she can trust -- an ambitious reporter after a newsbreak hotter than Watergate -- to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House's inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For someone has read Darby's brief. Someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime.

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Free Download | The Testament | John Grisham

Our hero, Nate O'Riley--a washed-up, alcoholic litigator with two ruined marriages in his wake and the IRS on his tail--is dispatched to the Brazilian wetlands in search of a mysterious heir named in the will. After a harrowing trip upriver to a remote settlement in the Pantanal, he encounters Rachel Lane, a pure-hearted missionary living with an indigenous tribe and carrying out "God's work." Rachel's grave dedication and kindness impress the jaded lawyer, so much that a nasty bout of dengue fever leads him to a vision that could change his life.

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Free Download | Bleachers | John Grisham

With Bleachers John Grisham departs again from the legal thriller to experiment with a character-driven tale of reunion, broken high school dreams, and missed chances. While the book falls short of the compelling storytelling that has made Grisham a bestselling author, it is nonetheless a diverting novella that succeeds as light fiction. The story centers on the impending death of the Messina Spartans' football coach Eddie Rake. One of the most victorious coaches in high school football history, Rake is a man both loved and feared by his players and by a town that relishes his 13 state titles. The hero of the novel is Neely Crenshaw, a former Rake All-American whose NFL prospects ended abruptly after a cheap shot to the knees. Neely has returned home for the first time in years to join a nightly vigil for Rake at the Messina stadium. Having wandered through life with little focus since his college days, he struggles to reconcile his conflicted feelings towards his former coach, and he assays to rekindle love in the ex-girlfriend he abandoned long ago.

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Free Download | Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer | John Grisham

A perfect murder A faceless witness A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he’s only thirteen years old Meet Theodore Boone In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served. Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.

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Free Download | Skipping Christmas | John Grisham

That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences–and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined. A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

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Free Download | Das Testament | John Grisham

Ein milliardenschwerer, lebensmüder Geschäftsmann, eine gierig lauernde Erbengemeinschaft, eine im brasilianischen Regenwald arbeitende Missionarin und ein ehemaliger Staranwalt, der es noch einmal wissen will - das sind die Akteure im Testament. Es geht um Geld, Macht und Ehre, und es geht um Leben und Tod.

John Grisham wurde am 8. Februar 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, geboren, studierte in Mississippi und ließ sich 1981 als Anwalt nieder. Der Aufsehen erregende Fall einer vergewaltigten Minderjährigen beeindruckte ihn nachhaltig und brachte ihm zum Schreiben. In Früh- und Nachtschichten wurde daraus sein erster Thriller, "Die Jury", der in einem kleinen, unabhängigen Verlag erschien - der Beginn einer beispiellosen Erfolgsgeschichte. Alle seine Romane sind bei Heyne erschienen, zuletzt: "Die Begnadigung".

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Free Download | Der Regenmacher | John Grisham

Rudy Baylor, ein Jurastudent im letzten Semester, gewinnt seine ersten "Mandanten", ein Ehepaar, dessen Sohn an Leukämie erkrankt ist. Die Krankenversicherung weigert sich, für die wahrscheinlich lebensrettende Therapie zu zahlen. Rudy erkennt bald, daß er es mit einem riesigen Versicherungsskandal zu tun hat. Er nimmt den Kampf gegen eines der mächtigsten, korruptesten und skrupellosesten Unternehmen Amerikas auf.

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Free Download | Uncommon Sense: Out of the Box Thinking for An In the Box World | Peter Cochrane

"Peter Cochrane is one of our most far-sighted visionaries, and brings brilliant clarity and focus to our understanding of ourselves and our technologies, and of how profoundly each is transforming the other." -Douglas Adams, Author, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy In Uncommon Sense, Peter Cochrane's follow up to the radical 108 Tips for Time Traveller, Peter explains how very simple analysis allows the prediction of such debacles as the 3G auction and the subsequent collapse of an industry, whilst simple-minded thinking is dangerous in the context of a world that is predominantly chaotic and out of control. People balked when Peter suggested a wholesale move to eWorking, the rise of email and text messaging, and the dotcom regime mirroring the boom and bust cycle of the industrial revolution

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Free Download | Mutant | Peter Clement

Former ER doctor Peter Clement blends electrifying human drama with the suspense of top-notch medical thrillers. With Mutant he has written one of his most gripping, utterly chilling novels to date.On an isolated stretch of highway in Oahu, a woman cradles her dying son in her arms. In the days that follow, an autopsy draws a shocking conclusion: the boy, his lungs filled with blood, died of a disease previously found only in birds. On the other side of the globe, Dr. Richard Steele, a burned-out ER doctor is being recruited into a movement to examine the hazards of genetically modified foods, a job that takes him to an explosive conference in Hawaii.Spearheaded by a charismatic female doctor, the anti-bioengineering movement is gathering steam. While a powerful company is using genetic breakthroughs to create disease-resistant super crops, activists warn that new DNA strains will wreak havoc on the environment. But no one suspects that the controversy is masking a far more frightening human threat–one that could lead to the deadliest weapon of mass destruction ever unleashed upon the world.

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Free Download | Critical Condition | Peter Clement

In the heat of a passionate encounter, ecstasy suddenly turns to terror for renowned geneticist and TV personality Dr. Kathleen Sullivan. Stricken by a brain hemorrhage, she is rendered completely paralyzed and speechless . . . but still utterly aware; a prisoner inside her own body.Kathleen is rushed to a Manhattan hospital, her chances of survival slim. Even if she pulls through, the likelihood that she’ll sustain permanent brain damage is near one hundred percent. But neither outcome can compare to the insidious fate in store for her masterminded by the very people entrusted with saving her life. As her lover, ER chief Richard Steele, watches and waits for a miracle, Kathleen becomes a pawn in a clandestine plot that runs deeper than medical politics–and reaches into the highest echelons of power at New York City Hospital. 

Placed in the hands, and at the mercy, of revered Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Tony Hamlin, Kathleen descends into a waking nightmare. Powerless to resist the sinister experiments she is subjected to, and unable to cry out for help, she must fight desperately to communicate her tortured, trapped thoughts to Steele–before her tormentors can carry their bizarre and potentially lethal work to its completion. Ruthlessly determined to achieve their goals, the secret cabal of ambitious physicians will go to any length to avoid discovery, defy the law, and make medical history at all costs . . . even the human life they are sworn to preserve.

For anyone who has ever had a mortal fear of hospitals, and the sense of powerlessness that often transpires within their cold, sterile corridors, Peter Clement’s Critical Condition will provide chilling new nightmares–along with infectious suspense.From the Hardcover edition.

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Free Download | Death Rounds | Peter Clement

When a nurse in Buffalo dies at St. Paul's Hospital of a once-treatable bacteria, Dr. Earl Garnet and his colleagues try to remain calm. They track the origin of the sickness to University Hospital. But as the infection rages out of control there and more people fall gravely ill--including Garnet's own wife--Earl uncovers a shocking connection between the victims. KILLING GROUNDThroughout the community, panic and paranoia spread as wildly as the outbreak itself, and the entire University Hospital staff is quarantined. Yet the mastermind who created this deadly superresistant strain may be someone they know, someone locked within the barricades. Now the sociopath has threatened to infect fifty more people. And that will be only the beginning. . . .DEATH ROUNDSNo one captures the complex workings of an urban hospital like former ER physician Dr. Peter Clement. His new medical thriller ranges from the realm of microbiology to raw, human rage--in a plot so chillingly authentic it could be happening right now.

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Free Download | The Winner's Way | Pamela Brill

Create personal best performance at will-and revel in the achievement! If you have ever watched athletes performing at their best, you have witnessed the power of "the Zone"-that state where everything clicks and personal and team bests are the norm. In The Winner's Way, Dr. Pam Brill tells readers how they, too, can achieve the Zone of top performance, turning goals ndash; whether in the wide world of sports, work or daily life-into positive, results-driving action. With her 3 A's ndash; activation, attention and attitude-Dr. Brill supercedes previous wisdom by systematically bringing together these three crucial elements to hurdle personal obstacles and finish-again and again-always the winner. 

Out of her years of research on peak performance in sport and work, coaching to elite athletes and top corporations, and teaching at Dartmouth Medical School, Brill, a psychologist, has put together, and field tested, her unique Winner's Waytrade; system. The Winner's Way offers readers a proven, user-friendly method to identify, engage, and drive strategic change for continual achievement in the face of never-ending challenge. That racing heart and those white knuckles? They're the result of the chemical deluge that ramps activation to high speed-but without proper 3A alignment, this power within can derail attention and attitude. Tunnel vision is no accident. Negative beliefs about self and potential will always get in the way. Plagued instead by listlessness, wandering attention, an apathetic attitude? These are all due to another chemical reaction-with symptoms readers learn to identify and then re-ramp to their best strengths. Throughout The Winner's Way, Dr. Brill provides example after example so readers can adapt, according to their personal make-up, the steps to winning achievement that become second nature. 

On command, our readers will learn to: Change a poor attitude Pull out of a downspin Use language as an arsenal, fortress, and medic "Debrief" from experiences by identifying what was done well-and what should be done differently next time Examine and challenge habitual assumptions . . . plus deploy strategies for dealing with performance anxiety, fear of rejection, technology overload, and more to help recapture their love for the game of life. The Winner's Way is straight forward, makes sense-and it works! Let the game of life begin! On your marks, get set, go!

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Free Download | Evel: The High Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend | Leigh Montville

From New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville, this riveting and definitive new biography pulls back the red, white, and blue cape on a cultural iconand reveals the unknown, complex, and controversial man known to millions around the world as Evel Knievel. Evel Knievel was a high-flying daredevil, the father of extreme sports, the personification of excitement and danger and showmanship. and in the 1970s Knievel represented a unique slice of American culture and patriotism. His jump over the fountains at Caesars Palace led to a crash unlike anything ever seen on television, and his attempt to rocket over Snake River Canyon in Idaho was something only P. T. Barnum could have orchestrated. The dazzling motorcycles and red-white-and-blue outfits became an integral part of an American decade. Knievel looked like Elvis . . . but on any given Saturday afternoon millions tuned in to the small screen to see this real-life action hero tempt death. But behind the flash and the frenzy, who was the man? Bestselling author Leigh Montville masterfully explores the life of the complicated man from the small town of Butte, Montana.

He delves into Knievels amazing place in pop culture, as well as his notorious dark sideand his complex and often contradictory relationships with his image, the media, his own family, and his many demons. Evel Knievels story is an all-American saga, and one that is largely untold. Leigh Montville once again delivers a definitive biography of a one-of-a-kind sports legend.

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Free Download | Mormon in the White House? | Hugh Hewit

According to author and radio personality Hewitt, Mitt Romney-billionaire venture capitalist, consummate family man, gifted and media-savvy politician-would be unstoppable in the coming presidential race were it not for one niggling line on his resumé: he's a Mormon. In this unashamedly partisan volume, Hewitt attempts to refute the claim that no Mormon could get elected President (along with any other claim that might be made against Romney) while analyzing the former Massachusetts governor's biography and burnishing his conservative and leadership credentials. Hewitt is an agreeable, if inelegant, writer, wise enough to take detours (such as an edifying primer on Mormon history and thought) that stave off tedium. He spends far more time extolling Romney than excoriating his Republican and Democratic opponents. This is an efficient and effective exercise in political hagiography.

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Free Download | The Kingdom of the Cults | Walter Martin

The authoritative reference work on major cult systems for nearly forty years. Working closely together, Ravi Zacharias and Managing Editors Jill and Kevin Rische (daughter of Dr. Martin) have updated and augmented the work with new material. This book will continue as a crucial tool in countercult ministry and in evangelism for years to come. Among cults and religions included are: Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, New Age Cults, the Unification Church, Baha'i Faith, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and more.

I recently attended a Bible study group who use a weekly outline for study published by a Lutheran (LCMS) source. One weekly outline made the almost astounding statement that 'the Trinity doctrine confuses more than it explains and needs to be rethought for the 21st century.' Nevertheless, this comment displays a willingness to re-examine an historic, theological concept in the present era. And even more astounding when you consider Lutheranism would probably be grouped by Dr. Martin with traditional, mainstream Christianity. Personally, I don't see that the Trinity doctrine, as formulated, is explicitly taught in the New Testament.

Dr. Martin's tome sets out to prove that all other religions are simply wrong . . . worse, malicious and demoniacal in intent. He sets aside some space in which he counsels that true Christians need to approach cult members in a loving, caring manner. It mystifies me that after one has been exposed to (and possibly absorbed) so much of his evangelical bile, and blatant contempt, that such one could be expected to approach a cult member in a Christian spirit. His approach more resembles that of the "sons of Zebedee" who are referred to in the New Testament as the 'sons of thunder,' according to one translation. But then, their ancient example seems to have more to do with judgmentalism, denunciation and condemnation rather than Christian love.

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Free Download | The Shadows of God (Age of Unreason, Book 4) | J. Gregory Keyes

Ben Franklin has finally made it to the French court in the New Orleans area, where the former Duke of Orleans is now the only remaining French king. He's trying desperately to set up an alliance among all of the former colonies. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to hem the colonies in on the west while English troops come from the east. The demon-like Malekim, are making their final play for dominion on the Earth, and if humans manage to even come close to stopping them, they will unleash a horror that has never been seen before.

The key to everything could end up being Adrienne de Montchevreuil, a French sorceress who may know more science than Franklin and more magic than Red Shoes, the Choctaw shaman who may or may not be on the side of good. Will they all be able to stop the Malekim while there is still enough left of the colonies to celebrate the victory?

As the ruthless forces of Russia lay waste to the New World, English troops make landfall in the east, determined to reconquer the colonies. Trapped in between are the Native Americans, ex-slaves, and European refugees, led by Benjamin Franklin and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes. But the balance of power rests with the French woman Adrienne de Montchevreuil, whose grasp of science is the equal of Franklin’s, whose magic may be stronger than the Choctaw, and whose shocking secret may call into question where her true allegiances lie

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Free Download | Babylon 5 - Final Reckoning - The Fate of Bester | J. Gregory Keyes

Under the ruthless command of Alfred Bester, Psi Corps's reign of terror reached unspeakable new heights--and touched off a civil war among the telepaths. Corps minions fought renegade defectors--a new resistance movement determined to overthrow Bester's monstrous regime. But the tide was destined to turn . . . Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan intervenes to stop the bloodshed as a new Psi Corps rises from the ashes. Its first mission: to hunt down and neutralize war criminals, individuals such as Bester himself. Once feared across the galaxy, the dreaded hunter becomes the fleeing prey--with Michael Garibaldi in hot pursuit. Underground and on the run, Bester builds a new life on the ruins of his secret, sinister past. But as the forces of justice--and vengeance--close in, he must confront the hell he created, choose between surrender or survival at any cost, and prepare to make his final stand . . . There is nothing as dangerous as a predator who has been cornered and has nothing left to lose. The stunning finale to the new epic trilogy that uncovers the secret history of the Psi Corps.

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Free Download | Faerie Winter | Janni Lee Simner

The long-awaited sequel to Janni Lee Simner's breathtaking YA fantasy debut, Bones of Faerie.Liza is a summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie.Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. But now the forests have fallen silent. Even the evergreens' branches are bare. Winter crops won't grow, and the threat of starvation looms. And deep in the forest a dark, malevolent will is at work. To face it, Liza will have to find within herself something more powerful than magic alone.Here at last is the sequel to Bones of Faerie, for all those fans of dark fantasy and dystopian adventure who thrilled to Janni Lee Simner's unique vision of a postapocalyptic world infused with magic.

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Free Download | Newton's Cannon | J. Gregory Keyes

A dazzling quest whose outcome will raise humanity to unparalleled heights of glory--or ring down a curtain of endless night .1681: When Sir Isaac Newton turns his restless mind to the ancient art of alchemy, he unleashes Philosopher's Mercury, a primal source of matter and a key to manipulating the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Now, as France and England battle for its control, Louis XIV calls for a new weapon--a mysterious device known only as Newton's Cannon.

Half a world away, a young apprentice named Benjamin Franklin stumbles across a dangerous secret. Pursued by a deadly enemy--half scientist, half sorcerer--Ben makes his fugitive way to England. Only Newton himself can help him now. But who will help Sir Isaac? For he was not the first to unleash the Philosopher's Mercury. Others were there before him. Creatures as scornful of science as they are of mankind. And burning to be rid of both . . .

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Free Download | The Impact of Napoleon: Prussian High Politics, Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Executive, 1797-1806 | Brendan Simms

This book examines Prussia's response to Napoleon and Napoleonic expansionism in the years before the crushing defeats of Auerstadt and Jena, a period of German history as untypical as it was dramatic. Events are analyzed at the level of high politics, foreign policy and the reform of the executive. The book also addresses matters of general theoretical concern such as high politics, geopolitics and the "primacy of foreign policy". In doing so it goes beyond anything that has been attempted before, and presents a comprehensive and nuanced picture of Prussia before 1806. Brendan Simms' "The Impact of Napoleon" is one of the best historical texts I have ever read. The author presents a cogent and persuasive argument that Prussian foreign policy from 1797-1806 was not influenced in any major way by domestic politics, correcting a mistake that German historians have been making since they began writing on the subject. He shows that there was no "Pro-French" lobby in the court, and that the ministers changed policies to suit the wishes of the king. Simms shows how foreign policy was firmly in the hands of the King, Frederick William III, and the ultimate decision rested with him. Simms shows how the Prussian system of government (put in place by Frederick the Great) led to disaster in the hands of a weak and timid king, when confronted by Napoleon.

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Free Download | Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail | W. Jeffrey Bolster

Few Americans recognize the degree to which early African American history is a maritime history. Seafaring was one of the most significant occupations among both enslaved and free black men between 1740 and 1865. W. Jeffrey Bolster, master mariner and historian, presents here an extraordinary chapter in the formation of black America. In Black Jacks, he shows that sailors were the eyes and ears to worlds beyond the horizon of black communities ashore, and examines how the meaning of race aboard ship changed with time. Rescuing African American seamen from obscurity, this stirring account reveals the critical role sailors played in helping forge new identities for black people in America.

Among the more intriguing facts that this fascinating book contains is this statistic: by 1803, nearly 20 percent of seamen's jobs were filled by black men, most of them freemen. Historian Jeffrey Bolster, himself a sailor for a decade, covers the story of black sailors from Africa through mid-1800s America. Working as seamen helped blacks support families and helped facilitate communication among widely dispersed people. There were dangers--free blacks could be kidnapped and sold into slavery, and all black sailors were subject to vicious racism. Yet for all the drawbacks, sailing was a profession black men saw as "an occupation of opportunity."

The is an excellent well-written book about the role African Americans sailors played in our country's history. My major criticism, however, is that the author included only 6 pages on pirates. More should have been written, because few people are aware that many fugitive slaves joined pirate ships. And before our country gained their independence pirate ships were democratic. Pirates elected their captains and voted on what ship they would take and where they would sail. And most pirate ships treated their fugitive slave hands as equals. In other words they ate the same food, performed the same tasks, and received the same amount of plunder as the white hands. Blackbeard had several fugitive slaves sailing on his ships. Read about one fugitive slave joining Blackbeard's crew in The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo. Other than not giving more information about BLACK PIRATES, I think this book is very informative and should be on every library shelf. I plan to reread it!

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Free Download | The Crusades | Michael Paine

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. This Pocket Essential traces the chronology of the Crusades between 1095 and 1291 and highlights the most important figures on all sides of the conflict. It covers the creation of the kingdom of Jerusalem and the other crusader states and their struggle to survive. It looks at the successes and failures of the Third Crusade and at the legendary figures of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. The book provides essential information about one of the great unifying, and disunifying, forces of medieval Christendom.

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Free Download | Sun Kissed | Catherine Anderson

Samantha Harrigan's quarter horses are falling ill due to poison, and as the insurance beneficiary, she's the prime suspect. Unswayed by the rumors around town, handsome veterinarian Tucker Coulter offers to help prove her innocence, even though Sam is uneasy about accepting his assistance-and about the way he makes her feel... This bonus book includes Beautiful Gifts, a historical novella featuring a Coulter family ancestor, and an exclusive preview of the upcoming Harrigan family novel Here to Stay.

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