- Table View
- List View
The Vacationers
by Emma StraubTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTwo weeks in a remote island villa with America's most dysfunctional family - what could possibly go wrong?It was set to be the family vacation of a lifetime.From Manhattan to Majorca, two weeks in a remote island villa, with the sort of relaxation, culture and cuisine that only Europe can offer. At least, that was Franny's plan. She wasn't counting on the extra baggage . . .Warm, wry and glowing with life, The Vacationers is a glorious novel of marriage, friendship, secrets, lies - and love.
Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers--and Why GI's Are Only the First Victim
by Gary MatsumotoIn this provocative look at the US military from the Persian Gulf War through the 2003 invasion of Iraq, investigative journalist Gary Matsumoto contends that an anthrax vaccine dispensed by the Department of Defense was the cause of Gulf War Syndrome and the origins of a massive cover-up. Matsumoto calls it the worst friendly-fire incident in military history. A skillfully-woven narrative that serves as a warning about this man-made epidemic, Vaccine A is a much needed account of just what went wrong, and why.
Valhalla Rising: Dirk Pitt #16 (The Dirk Pitt Adventures #16)
by Clive CusslerValhalla Rising is Clive Cussler's thrilling sixteenth Dirk Pitt adventure. Sabotage, conspiracy and piracy in the air, and below the waves, finds Dirk Pitt plunged into his most dangerous adventure yet.When the luxury cruise lined Emerald Dolphin - powered by a revolutionary new propulsion system - becomes a raging inferno and sinks mysteriously, it is lucky that NUMA special projects director Dirk Pitt is on hand to rescue the passengers and investigate the tragedy.Sifting through the undersea wreckage for signs of foul play, Pitt is unaware of powerful, dark forces player their hand against him. Forced to fight for his life - and those of friends and colleagues - against evermore ruthless enemies from a shadowy organisation, Pitt finds himself caught between the secrets of the past and the intrigues of the future. A future that will hold the world to ransom...Filled with breathtaking suspense and dazzling action, Valhalla Rising sees Clive Cussler at the height of his storytelling powers. Valhalla Rising is the sixteenth of Clive Cussler's bestselling Dirk Pitt novels - the series that also includes Atlantis Found and, his first novel, Mayday - in which our hero finds himself caught up in a web of shipwrecks and dark secrets. Praise for Clive Cussler:'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail'The guy I read' Tom Clancy
Valley Boy: Adventures of the Renowned Venture Capitalist, Sillicon Valley Entrepreneur and One of the World's Most Successful Businessmen
by Tom PerkinsKnown for his idiosyncratic ideas and Midas touch, Tom Perkins, described by Newsweek as a titan of American business, is one of the business world s most intriguing figures. In Valley Boy he presents The truth as I see it, unvarnished, and as beautiful or ugly as you may find it and offers a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most exciting and dynamic periods of technological and corporate development, revealing his involvement in the creation of American industries no one could have dreamed of a century ago.
Valley of Secrets
by Charmian HusseyAbandoned as a baby, Stephen had nearly given up hope of ever finding his family. This epic adventure follows his change in fortunes as he receives an unexpected letter from a strange source and sets off on an unforgettable journey. From a drab room in London, where the rain comfirms the greyness of his life, Stephen travels to a Cornish Valley; remote, exquisitely beautiful and heavy with secrets.
Valley Of Silence: Number 3 in series (Circle Trilogy #Bk. 3)
by Nora RobertsThe six members of the Circle are united at last - and prepared for the final battle. Led by sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith, they stand shoulder to shoulder with the local people of Geall. Together they must defeat the vampire queen Lilith and her army: or lose the world to her dark embrace.But one of the Circle is hiding a troubling secret. To lead her people into battle, Geall's scholar-princess Moira must follow her destiny and become their queen. But she must also deal with her growing feelings for Cian, the vampire - and a love as impossible and fraught with danger as the war they must face together . . .
Valour: The History of the Gurkhas (Joe And Henny Heisel Ser.)
by E D SmithSince the short and bloody war between Nepal and Britain in 1814-15, Gurkha volunteers, ever mindful of the their motto, 'It is better to die than be a coward', have fought and died for Britain, including in recent years in the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. In the Second World War an astonishing quarter of a million Gurkhas fought aginst Germany and Japan. They have been awarded thirteen Victoria Crosses. Includes detailed appendices include all regimental changes and battle honours.
The Vampire Diaries: Book 4 (Vampire Diaries #4)
by L J SmithElena summons the vampire trio once more to unite and challenge their fate. Together they will be called to face the most terrifying evil Fell's Church has ever known.
The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning
by James LovelockThe global temperature is rising, the ice caps are melting, and levels of pollution across the world have reached unprecedented heights. According to eminent scientist James Lovelock, in order to survive an assault from her dependents, the Earth is lurching ever closer to a permanent "hot state.” Within the next century, we will almost certainly be forced to give up many of the comforts of western living as supplies are threatened. Only the fittest-and the smartest-will survive.A reluctant jeremiad from one of the environmental movement's elder statesmen, The Vanishing Face of Gaia offers an essential wake-up call for the human race.
The Vanishing Game
by Kate Kae MyersJocelyn's twin brother Jack was everything she had growingup in a world of foster homes - and now he's dead, and she has nothing. Then she gets a cryptic letter from "JasonDecember" - the code name her brother used to use when he made up elaboratepuzzles to fill the unhappy hours at Seale House, a terrifying foster home from their childhood. Only one other personknows about Jason December: Noah, Jocelyn's childhood crush, and their onlyreal friend among the troubled children at Seale House.But when Jocelyn sneaks off to return to Seale House and thecity where she last saw Noah, she gets more than she bargained for. Turns out Seale House's dark powers weren'tjust the figment of a childish information. And someone is following Jocelyn. Is Jack still alive? And if heis, what kind of trouble is he in - and how can Jocelyn and Noah help him?
The Vanishing Throne: Book Two Of The Falconer Trilogy (The\falconer Ser. #2)
by Elizabeth MayMy name is Lady Aileana Kameron. First the fae murdered my mother. Then they destroyed my world.Now I'm fighting for more than revenge.Aileana took a stand against the Wild Hunt, and she lost everything: her home, her family and her friends. Held captive by her enemy, and tormenting herself over her failure, escape seems like only the faintest possibility. But when she gets her chance, she seizes it . . . to rejoin a world devastated by war.The future is bleak. Hunted by the fae, running for her life, Aileana has only a few options left. Trying to become part of a society scarred by - and hiding from - the Wild Hunt; trusting that a fragile alliance with the fae will save her; or walking the most dangerous path at all: coming in to her own powers as the last of the Falconers . . .
The Various Haunts of Men: Discover book 1 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series (Simon Serrailler #1)
by Susan Hill'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALLPEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. ONLY ONE THING LINKS THEIR CASES.THEY ALL DISAPPEAR ON THE HILL.A woman vanishes in the fog up on the Hill in Lafferton. The police have one lead - a pair of expensive cuff-links found in her flat, with a mysterious note attached to them.Then a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear in quick succession in exactly the same place.Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler are given the task of unravelling the mystery. But can they find the Hill killer before he strikes again?'A gripping whodunnit and a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath' Daily MailDiscover the first edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.
The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church
by John ThavisThe Vatican Diaries is an inside look at one of the world's most powerful and mysterious institutions, by John Thavis.'A humane and realistic and (yes) humorous picture of a mortal institution. To an old Prot like me, it's a tour of alien terrain and a bridge to old and dear friends' Garrison KeillorFor thirty years John Thavis worked for the Catholic News Service in Rome and reported on the inner workings of the Vatican. The Vatican Diaries is his insightful and often very funny account of exactly what goes on in this unique and secretive institution. It's a place where cardinals fight private wars, scandals are constantly threatening to undermine papal authority, and reverence for the past comes up painfully against the considerations of modern life. He describes the politics surrounding the election of a new pope and the beatification of an old one, the angst of dealing with the international issue of sexual abuse, the intricacies of arranging a Papal visit to India, the conflicts involved in trying to build a car park over an ancient Roman burial site - and above all the unfathomable personality of the conservative Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign for 600 years. At this extraordinary moment of crisis in the Church, Thavis's account of its inner workings is invaluable.'One closes John Thavis' perceptive study reflecting on the Vatican's challenge: to persist in a secularizing world sometimes fascinated by the pomp and pageantry of St. Peter's-but often hostile or increasingly indifferent to the Church's determined mission to harmonize warring factions and bickering enemies, even if both are on the same Catholic side' New York Journal of BooksJohn Thavis recently retired as the prizewinning chief of the Rome bureau of Catholic News Service, where he had covered the Vatican since 1983. He is the past president of the International Association of Journalists Accredited to the Vatican, and in 2007 the Catholic Press Association awarded him the Saint Francis de Sales Award, the highest honour given by the Catholic press. He divides his time between Minnesota and Rome.
Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras To Peter Singer (Guides for the Perplexed)
by Kerry WaltersThe choice of whether or not to consume animals is more than merely a dietary one. It frequently reflects deep ethical commitments or religious convictions that serve as the bedrock of an entire lifestyle. Proponents of vegetarianism frequently infuriate nonvegetarians, who feel that they're being morally condemned because of what they choose to eat. Vegetarians are frequently infuriated by what they consider to be the nonvegetarians' disregard for the environment and animal-suffering. Vegetarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed offers a much needed survey of the different arguments offered by ethical vegetarians and their critics. In a rigorous but accessible manner, the author scrutinizes the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in defense of vegetarianism based on compassion, rights, interests, eco-feminism, environmentalism, anthrocentrism, and religion. Authors examined include Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Carol J. Adams, and Kathryn Paxton George.As the global climate crisis worsens, population increases, and fossil fuels disappear, ethical and public policy questions about the ethics of diet will become ever more urgent. This book is a useful resource for thinking through the questions.
A Vengeful Longing (A\porfiry Petrovich Novel Ser. #2)
by R. N. Morris'Satisfies on more than one level - as a story of investigation and also as a historical novel crammed with sharply individual characters.' Andrew Taylor, author of The American BoyIn the heat of the St Petersburg summer of 1868, a doctor's wife and son are found dead, victims of a suspected poisoning. The doctor is arrested, but when further bodies are discovered it sets investigator Porfiry Petrovich on a thrilling and dangerous chase through the dark heart of the city, encountering aristocrats, soldiers, beggars and prostitutes as he hunts down a ruthless and elusive killer.'Teems with tsarist spies, would-be revolutionaries and a stifling bureaucracy that frustrates ordinary Russians at every turn.' Sunday Times'Morris's St Petersburg comes alive in intense imagery.' Financial Times
The Verneys: Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England
by Adrian TinniswoodShortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.In this extraordinary saga, Adrian Tinniswood draws on tens of thousands of letters, which survived by chance in an attic, to reveal the remarkable world of the Verneys, a family of Buckinghamshire gentry in the seventeenth century. Here is Edmund Verney, Charles I's standard bearer at Edgehill, who died still clutching the King's standard, and his children: Ralph, whose support of the Parliamentarian cause during the Civil War forced him into exile; Mun, a professional soldier who survived Cromwell's attack on Drogheda in 1649, only to be stabbed to death two days later; Mall, who fell pregnant out of wedlock, and Bess, who ran off with a clergyman. There was also Henry, who was obsessed with horse-racing; Cary, who gambled away a fortune, and Tom, a devout Christian and a petty crook. The next generation led equally exciting lives. Ralph's son Jack went to Syria and made a fortune. Cousin Pen stayed at home and slept with her sister's fiancé. Cousin Dick was hanged at Tyburn. Jack's brother Edmund married a girl who was rich, beautiful and deeply in love with him and within months of the marriage, she lost her mind.The Verneys is narrative history at its very best - fascinating, surprising, enthralling.
The Vertigo Years: Europe, 1900-1914
by Philipp BlomEurope, 1900-1914: a world adrift, a pulsating era of creativity and contradictions. The major topics of the day: terrorism, globalization, immigration, consumerism, the collapse of moral values, and the rivalry of superpowers. The twentieth century was not born in the trenches of the Somme or Passchendaele-but rather in the fifteen vertiginous years preceding World War I.In this short span of time, a new world order was emerging in ultimately tragic contradiction to the old. These were the years in which the political and personal repercussions of the Industrial Revolution were felt worldwide: Cities grew like never before as people fled the countryside and their traditional identities; science created new possibilities as well as nightmares; education changed the outlook of millions of people; mass-produced items transformed daily life; industrial laborers demanded a share of political power; and women sought to change their place in society-as well as the very fabric of sexual relations.From the tremendous hope for a new century embodied in the 1900 World's Fair in Paris to the shattering assassination of a Habsburg archduke in Sarajevo in 1914, historian Philipp Blom chronicles this extraordinary epoch year by year. Prime Ministers and peasants, anarchists and actresses, scientists and psychopaths intermingle on the stage of a new century in this portrait of an opulent, unstable age on the brink of disaster.Beautifully written and replete with deftly told anecdotes, The Vertigo Years brings the wonders, horrors, and fears of the early twentieth century vividly to life.
The Victim: Novels, 1944-1953 - Dangling Man; The Victim; The Adventures Of Augie March (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Saul BellowLeventhal is a natural victim; a man uncertain of himself, never free from the nagging suspicion that the other guy may be right. So when he meets a down-at-heel stranger in the park one day and finds himself being accused of ruining the man's life, he half believes it. He can't shake the man loose, can't stop himself becoming trapped in a mire of self doubt, can't help becoming ... a victim.
Victoria: A Life
by A. N. Wilson'Writing about Queen Victoria has been one of the most joyous experiences of my life. I have read thousands (literally) of letters never before published, and grown used to her as to a friend. Maddening? Egomaniac? Hysterical? A bad mother? Some have said so. What emerged for me was a brave, original woman who was at the very epicentre of Britain's changing place in the world: a solitary woman in an all-male world who understood politics and foreign policy much better than some of her ministers; a person possessed by demons, but demons which she was brave enough to conquer. Above all, I became aware, when considering her eccentric friendships and deep passions, of what a loveable person she was.' A. N. Wilson
The Victorian Novel (PDF)
by Barbara Dennis Adrian BarlowCritical introductions to a range of literary topics and genres. This book invites readers to reflect on the whole phenomenon of the Victorian novel and its role in dissecting and informing the society which produced it. The reasons for the growth of the novel and its spectacular success is also examined and discussed. Texts and extracts from a selection of Victorian novels and essays, including some material that readers will be unfamiliar with, help to provide a broader understanding of the range of Victorian fiction. Authors include: Thomas Carlyle, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope and Max Beerbohm.
The Vig: A gripping crime thriller full of twists (Dismas Hardy #2)
by John LescroartThe later you pay, the steeper the price... Dismas Hardy returns in The Vig, the second instalment in John Lescroart's stirring series. Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and Scott Turow.'The plot twists and turns...Hardy is one of the more real and engaging characters in... crime solving' - Los Angeles Times Payback is murder.A beautiful woman paid it with her body. A seedy lawyer used somebody else's money. It's the vig - the exorbitant interest mob loan sharks take on their money. Now everyone has to pay... Down-and-out lawyer Rusty Ingraham left behind a murdered woman and a houseboat splattered with blood. All the evidence said Ingraham was in San Francisco Bay. Dead. But a friend of Ingraham's, former cop and prosecutor Dismas Hardy, isn't so sure. And Hardy has to find out, because a stone-cold killer, now paroled, once threatened to kill Ingraham and Dismas Hardy both. To save his own skin, Hardy must face down liars and killers on both sides of the law. From mob foot soldiers to broken-hearted lovers to renegade cops, a dozen lives are tied to the fate of Rusty Ingraham - and the payback has only just begun.What readers are saying about John Lescroart:'[John Lescroart] develops characters and storylines like no other author I have read''Lescroart is a very talented and imaginative crime writer''I am never disappointed by any books from John Lescroart'
Viking Gods and Heroes (Dover Children's Classics)
by E. M. Wilmot-BuxtonThis captivating collection of stories handed down centuries ago from the hardy people of the Far North tells of handsome gods, lovely goddesses, giants, and dwarfs who lived in a land dominated by fire and ice. Twenty-five astonishing tales for young readers recall the dramatic creation of earth, sea, and sky and the chilling struggles between titans, trolls, and mighty heroes.Here are enticing narratives of gifts from the Queen of the Sky and a fortress built by a giant, along with thrilling accounts of a magic sword, Thor's mighty hammer, a golden treasure that has been cursed, and the slaying of a dreaded dragon. Offering hours of enchanted reading, these exciting exploits of legendary Nordic folk figures will delight anyone captivated by ancient myths and legends.
The Vikings and All That (The\and All That Ser.)
by Allan BurnettVikings and All That is a skull-splitting saga about the wild, seafaring warriors who burst into history in the 8th century and looted, plundered, pillaged and burned their way from their native Scandinavia to the British Isles and much of Europe. Packed with fantastic, fun illustrations of everything from the Vikings' warships to their favourite board games, this is the book that answers all the key questions you might have. If you want sensible answers, packed with historical facts and thoughtful revelations about the Vikings' civilised side then this is the book for you. But if you want boatloads of bearded, shield-biting maniacs bearing down on defenceless, sandal-wearing villagers, then this is DEFINITELY the book for you!
Vikram And The vampire: Or, Tales Of Hindu Devilry
by Sir Richard F. Burton‘O King Vikram, listen to the true story which I am about to tell thee…’ Thus begins Vikram and the Vampire, British Orientalist Richard F. Burton’s classic retelling of the Sanskrit Vetala Panchavimshati (Twenty-five Tales of the Betal), the ever-popular tales about the legendary king Vikramaditya and the vampire, or Betal, who vexes the king with stories that pose searching questions about the morals of life in ancient India. Although based on earlier oral traditions, one of the stories’ first retelling is found in the eleventh-century Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Stream of Stories). Gods and demons, ghouls and kings, abound in these stories that capture mythic India at its best and bring to life an ancient world. An intrepid explorer and traveller, and an anthropologist with avid curiosity about far-flung cultures and peoples, Burton travelled to India in 1842, just as the first Afghan war came to an end. His interest in the region took him on journeys across the Indian subcontinent, often disguised as a Muslim man. An Indophile, he was at home with the Indian classics, and this retelling provided some of the first insights into these texts to Westerners. This new reissue of Burton’s adaptation of the classic tales, along with the 34 original black-and-white illustrations by Ernest Griset that accompanied the first edition, includes his original notes on the text and his introduction to the volume.
The Villa (Bride Series)
by Nora RobertsSophia is the pride of the Giambelli clan and a vital player in the family's celebrated winery. But things are about to change at Villa Giambelli.Family matriarch Tereza has announced a surprise merger with the MacMillan family's winery. As a savvy businesswoman, Sophia knows she must be ready for anything - but she isn't prepared for Tyler MacMillan. They've been ordered to work closely together to ensure the merger goes through smoothly. But as they toil together, both in and out of the fields, Sophia finds herself increasingly torn between professional rivalry and a powerful attraction. And when the business and the family are threatened by disturbing acts of sabotage, Sophia realises her quest isn't just for dominance, but survival...'Nora Roberts is a superstar'New York Times'The most successful novelist on Planet Earth'Washington Post