Alfred Wegener aimed to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of Nicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwin. After completing his doctoral studies in astronomy at the University of Berlin, Wegener found himself drawn not to observatory science but to rugged fieldwork, which allowed him to cross into a variety of disciplines. The author of the theory of continental drift—the direct ancestor of the modern theory of plate tectonics and one of the key scientific concepts of the past century—Wegener also made major contributions to geology, geophysics, astronomy, geodesy, atmospheric physics, meteorology, and glaciology. Remarkably, he completed this pathbreaking work while grappling variously with financial difficulty, war, economic depression, scientific isolation, illness, and injury. He ultimately died of overexertion on a journey to probe the Greenland icecap and calculate its rate of drift. This landmark biography—the only complete account of the...

Abby's imagination hadn't been playing tricks with her memory. Glen Plankey is still so attractive he makes her toes curl, even fifteen years after first meeting him in a court room. And that voice! Deep and authoritative, she practically melts into a puddle at the sound of it. She can't wait to see more of him. Glen can't get away fast enough. Everything about Abby reminds him of a terrible day in his life, yet his brain turns to adolescent mush at her curves and his heart skips a beat every time she smiles. Soon undeniable attraction leads to scorching passion and grows into a true love affair. But is it strong enough to survive when he thinks she has played him for a fool?

'I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories'One morning in February 1952, a journalist called Ian Fleming sat down at his desk and set about creating a fictional secret agent. James Bond was born and would go on to become one of the most successful, enduring and lucrative creations in literature. But Bond's world of glamour and romance, gadgets and cocktails, espionage and villainy wasn't entirely drawn from imagination: Fleming's background and his experiences as an intelligence officer during the Second World War were all formative parts in the creation of the world's most famous spy.Packed with astonishing detail and written in Macintyre's inimitable style, For Your Eyes Only is the most enlightening, enlivening book on the creator of the spy who not only lived twice, but proved to be immortal.

Fourteen-year-old Ben Tracy goes to Pakistan with his environmental-activist mother, who then travels across the border into Afghanistan, leaving Ben behind, where it’s safe. But Ben and his new friend, Aarya, are kidnapped and find themselves caught up in a terrifying planned Taliban attack that could destroy Southern Afghanistan killing thousands. And when Ben sees their kidnappers are carrying some sort of weapon that looks like a suitcase, he realizes that their lives are in serious danger.

In this lively and colorful book of popular history, journalist Betsy Israel shines a light on the old stereotypes that have stigmatized single women for years and celebrates their resourceful sense of spirit, enterprise, and unlimited success in a world where it is no longer unusual or unlikely to be unwed. Drawing extensively on primary sources, including private journals, newspaper stories, magazine articles, advertisements, films, and other materials from popular media, Israel paints remarkably vivid portraits of single women—and the way they were perceived—throughout the decades. From the nineteenth-century spinsters, of New England to the Bowery girls of New York City, from the 1920s flappers to the 1940s working women of the war years and the career girls of the 1950s and 1960s, single women have fought to find and feel comfortable in that room of their own. One need only look at Bridget Jones and the Sex and the City gang to see that single women still maintain an uneasy relationship with the rest of society—and yet they radiate an aura of glamour and mystery in popular culture. As witty as it is well researched, as thoughtful as it is lively, Bachelor Girl is a must-read for women everywhere.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS / EGYPT "The Classic work which redefines the timeframe of the Exodus and places it firmly in the age of Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Essential reading for all Bible historians."—(Andrew Collins, author of "From the Ashes of Angels" and "Gateway to Atlantis") During his reign, the Pharaoh Akhenaten was able to abolish the complex pantheon of the ancient Egyptian religion and replace it with a single god, Aten, who had no image or form. Seizing on the striking similarities between the religious vision of this "heretic" pharaoh and the teachings of Moses, Sigmund Freud was the first to argue that Moses was in fact an Egyptian. Now Ahmed Osman, using recent archaeological discoveries and historical documents, contends that Akhenaten and Moses were one and the same...

SAS Sergeant Geordie Sharp is required to undertake two top-secret missions, in the full knowledge that, if things go wrong, the authorities will deny all involvement. In the first mission he is to serve as a commander of a hit team on a Black, or 100 per cent non-attributable operation assigned to the SAW, the Regiment's ultra-secret Subversive Action Wing. His target is an Iraqi who defected to Libya after the Gulf War. The aim is to kill him and leave no clue to the identity or origin of the assassins. Returning to base, Sharp finds he must also carry out a high-level political assassination on mainland Britain. If he fails, his four-year-old son will die at the hands of the IRA. Trapped between opposing forces in a fight to the death, he twists and turns through a nightmare maze, desperately seeking some way of averting tragedy. Who will be hit the hardest — Geordie Sharp or the British government?

In A Killing in the Hills, a powerful, intricate debut from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller, a mother and a daughter try to do right by a town and each other before it's too late.What's happening in Acker's Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter.  Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?Review"A Killing in the Hills superbly evokes the hard times and wooded beauty of a poverty-stricken county in West Virginia. . .A finely written and engrossing debut."—*Houston Chronicle“A Killing In The Hills* is a gripping, beautifully-crafted murder mystery that shows that small-town West Virginia is no longer Mayberry. Great reading.”—SCOTT TUROW“Julia Keller is that rare talent who combines gripping suspense, a fabulous sense of place and nuanced characters you can't wait to come back to. A must read.”—KARIN SLAUGHTER“A Killing in the Hills is a remarkably written and remarkably tense debut. I loved it.”—DENNIS LEHANE"Julia Keller's A Killing in the Hills is a terrific debut—atmospheric, suspenseful, assured. I hope there's more to come in the story of Bell Elkins and Acker's Gap."—LAURA LIPPMAN"Be careful opening this book because once you do you won't be able to close it. Instead, clear the weekend, silence the phone and settle into Acker's Gap, a place as fascinating and fraught with violence and beauty as Daniel Woodrell's Ozarks or William Gay's Tennessee. A killer novel."—TOM FRANKLIN“Outstanding. . .Keller does a superb job showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there in poverty. . .Unforgettable.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)"A page-turner with substance and depth, this is as suspenseful and entertaining as it is accomplished."—Booklist (starred review)“A fictional debut for a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, born and raised in West Virginia, whose love for the state, filled with natural beauty and deep poverty, pervades a mystery that has plenty of twists and turns and a shocking conclusion.”—Kirkus (starred review) About the AuthorJULIA KELLER was born and raised in West Virginia, and now lives in Chicago and Ohio.  In her career as a journalist, she won the Pulitzer Prize for a three-part series she wrote for the Chicago Tribune about a small town in Illinois rocked by a deadly tornado. A Killing in the Hills is her first mystery.

Bell Elkins, prosecuting attorney for Raythune county, West Virginia, had always believed what she'd been told: Her mother abandoned the family when Bell and her sister, Shirley, were children. Later, Teresa Dolan died somewhere out West.And then comes a shattering discovery.During an excavation in a remote area of the county, a skeleton is found. DNA testing proves it is related to DNA already on file: that of a convicted felon named Shirley Dolan. Along with the age and approximate time of death, the DNA link leads to a chilling conclusion: These are the remains of Bell's mother, Teresa Dolan. She didn't run away. She was here all along. And further examination reveals that she was a homicide victim.Bell automatically pins the blame on her late father, Donnie Dolan. But evidence emerges that it could not have been him. And so Bell must solve the most agonizingly personal case of her career: Who murdered her mother?A Haunting of the Bones is another...

When Dead Detective Seamus is asked to investigate the death of wealthy businessman William Dunbar, he agrees, but there is an additional request. Will he take a detective-in-training along? Reluctantly, Seamus agrees and meets Mildred, who seems charming if a little headstrong.Suspects include Dunbar's family and staff, notably his beloved grandson Bud, who was with him when he fell from a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. There's chemistry between Bud and a member of the household staff, Scarlet. Seamus wonders why they work so hard to keep it hidden. As they try to learn what happened, Mildred decides she must help Dunbar's adopted granddaughter Brodie, a problem child devastated by "Gramps" death. Brodie feels that no one on earth cares about her now, and Mildred becomes determined to convince her otherwise.Disgusted by the fact that Mildred ignores the rules of non-interference with the Living, Seamus works on without her. Events soon spin out of control. A kidnapping...