Macmillan Publishers USA

The much-loved classic Christmas poem is brought beautifully to life in this gorgeous new picture book and CD set, sure to bring visions of sugarplums to everyone's head. With dreamy, magical artwork by Eric Puybaret and an audio CD recorded by the iconic folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, this is the perfect Christmas present for any child.

Step into a London ravaged by unearthly creatures at once utterly alien and chillingly familiar. In China Mieville's award-winning novella 'The Tain', we learn the reason for the invaders' terrible revenge. One survivor must trek through the ruins of the city with a desperate plan to stand against their assault. In addition to 'The Tain', this superb collection contains thirteen short stories, of visionary cityscapes and urban paranoia, ghosts, monsters and impossible diseases. Several of the stories are published here for the first time: these include one set in New Crobuzon, the location of the award-winning series of novels that began with Perdido Street Station; and one in comic-strip form, illustrated by top graphic artist Liam Sharp. This collection displays the sheer imaginative scope of China Mieville's work.

Something is stirring in London's dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime. But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into his prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat. In the night-land behind London's facade, in sewers and slums and rotting dead spaces, Saul must learn his true nature. Grotesque murders rock the city like a curse. Mysterious forces prepare for a showdown. With Drum and Bass pounding the backstreets, Saul confronts his bizarre inheritance in the badlands of South London, in the heart of darkness, at the gathering of the Junglist Massive. Like the DJ says: 'Time for the Badman.' 'Tackles his theme with a dark assurance... with its original blend of twisted urban fairytale and modern gothic horror, King Rat marks out China Mieville as an author to be watched' The Times 'Brings together elements of fantasy, fairytale and the detective story... I greatly enjoyed Mieville's weird and engaging myth-making' Daily Telegraph.

It is a time of revolts and revolutions, conflict and intrigue. New Crobuzon is being ripped apart from without and within. War with the shadowy city-state of Tesh and rioting on the streets at home are pushing the teeming metropolis to the brink. In the midst of this turmoil, a mysterious masked figure spurs strange rebellion, while treachery and violence incubate in unexpected places. In desperation, a small group of renegades escapes from the city and crosses strange and alien continents in the search for a lost hope, an undying legend. In the blood and violence of New Crobuzon's most dangerous hour, there are whispers. It is the time of the Iron Council.

This is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history. In March 1996, «Outside» magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, «Into Thin Air» clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.

Having written enthralling biographies of London and of its great river, the Thames, Peter Ackroyd now turns to England itself. This first volume of six takes us from the time that England was first settled, more than 15,000 years ago, to the death in 1509 of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. In it, Ackroyd takes us from Neolithic England, which we can only see in the most tantalising glimpses a stirrup found in a grave, some seeds at the bottom of a bowl to the long period of Roman rule; from the Dark Ages when England was invaded by a ceaseless tide of Angles, Saxons and Jutes, to the twin glories of medieval England its great churches and monasteries and its common law. With his extraordinary skill for evoking time and place, he tells the familiar story of king succeeding king in rich prose, with profound insight and some surprising details. The food we ate, the clothes we wore, the punishments we endured, even the jokes we told are all found here, too.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cancer cells — taken without her knowledge — became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first 'immortal' human tissue grown in culture, HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and, have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta herself remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey in search of Henrietta's story, from the 'coloured' ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live, and struggle with the legacy of her cells. Full of warmth and questing intelligence, astonishing in scope and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences. 'A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book' — Hilary Mantel, Guardian. 'A fine book...a gripping read... The book has deservedly been a huge bestseller in the US. It should be here, too' — Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times.

Heddy Partridge was never my friend. I have to start with that. Heddy Partridge was never my friend because I was pretty, popular, clever and blonde and my friends were pretty, popular, clever and generally blonde, too. Heddy Partridge was none of these things. Laura Hamley is the woman who has everything: a loving and successful husband, two beautiful children, an expensive home and a set of equally fortunate friends. But Laura's perfect world is suddenly threatened when she receives an unwelcome phone call from Mrs Partridge, mother of Heddy — the girl Laura and her friends bullied mercilessly at school. Heddy has been hospitalized following a mental breakdown, and Mrs Partridge wants Laura's help to get her released. As Laura reluctantly gets drawn back into the past, she is forced to face the terrible consequences of her cruelty. But, as her secrets are revealed, so too is another even more devastating truth, and the perfect world Laura has so carefully constructed for herself begins to fall apart. This Perfect World is the debut novel from a brilliant dark new voice.

»PARP!» Pssst! Do you know the story about Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and the — er — farting courtier? One day, when bowing low to Her Majesty, the Earl of Oxford couldn't help but break wind. The poor man felt SO embarrassed, that he left the court — and some say the country — for SEVEN years. Upon his return, after such a long absence, the first thing Good Queen Bess said on seeing him was, «Lord, I had forgot the fart!»

Oliver Stone and the Camel Club are back in their most dangerous adventure yet — a war on two fronts. Casino king Jerry Bagger from The Collectors is hunting Annabelle Conroy, the beautiful woman who conned him out of millions. Stone and his colleagues Reuben, Milton, and Caleb marshal all their resources to protect Annabelle. Yet all their skills may not be enough when a deadly new opponent rips off the veneer of Stone’s own mysterious past: Bagger’s menace pales next to newcomer Harry Finn’s lethality. Passing as a normal family man, Finn has already killed three men, with more targets to come. When Finn sets his bull’s-eye on Stone, his reason will be the greatest shock of all, causing readers to reconsider their views of good and evil. As bodies and institutions topple, the story rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors of this explosive tale changed forever.

This is a huge novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family, is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution. In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, «Fall of Giants» moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.

A California Book Award Finalist One of Oprah's Book Club's Ten Fantastic Books for Fall 2010 «Historical Novel Review» Editors' Choice Exiled in Paris, the frail, elderly Mathilde Kschessinska sits down to write her memoirs. A lifetime ago, she was the vain, ambitious, impossibly charming «prima ballerina assoluta» of the tsar's Russian Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg. Kschessinska's riveting storytelling soon thrusts us into a world lost to time: that great intersection of the Russian court and the Russian theater. Through Kschessinska's memories of her own triumphs and defeats, we witness the stories that changed history, from the seething beginnings of revolution to the end of a grand, decadent way of life that belonged to the nineteenth century. Based on fact, «The True Memoirs of Little K» is «an engrossing tale of love, loss, and history» («The Wichita Eagle»).

The dynamite blockbuster that started it all — now a major motion picture starring Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum! ONE FINE MESS Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a department store). Stephanie needs cash fast but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family... ONE FALSE MOVE Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy cousin Vinnie's bail bonding company. She's got no experience. But that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumper in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli. From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants, to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i has spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e. And now the hot guy is in hot water — wanted for murder... «ONE FOR THE MONEY» Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't. Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand. All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man...

With this inaugural volume at Tor, the annual Nebula Award collection is reborn as a fiction-only anthology. This collection of nominees for 2010's Nebula Awards includes all of the prior year's most celebrated stories, and will be published in time for the 2011 Nebula Awards in May, 2011. 2009's award winners, announced in May 2010, include Kage Baker's novella «The Women of Nell Gwynne's», Eugie Foster's novelette «Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast», Kij Johnson's short story «Spar», plus Paolo Bacigalupi's novelette, «The Gambler».

In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. FREEDOM comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of FREEDOM's intensely realized characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.

After a ten-year absence, the return of one of the most enduring series characters in modern SF James Bolivar «Slippery Jim» DiGriz, Special Corps agent, master con man, interstellar criminal (retired), is living high on the hog on the planet of Moolaplenty when a long-lost cousin and a shipful of swine arrive to drain his bank account and send him and his lovely wife, Angelina, wandering the stars on the wildest journey since «Gulliver's Travels.» In this darkly satiric work, Harry Harrison bring his most famous character out of retirement for a grand tour of the galaxy. The Stainless Steel Rat rides again: a cocktail in his hand, a smile on his lips, and larceny in his heart, in search of adventure, gravitons, and a way to get rid of the pigs.

It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace — a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife — is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancee, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain — more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune... Dead simple... «James has got the gift for turning mind-stretching subjects into novels that are irresistibly readable as well as utterly believable». (Robert Goddard). «A brilliant idea, superbly crafted. A terrific page-turner». (James Herbert).

This is a collection of three volumes of Jeffrey Archer's masterful short stories. This edition of short stories, bringing together the short stories from three collections by Jeffrey Archer, showcases the master storyteller's skill like never before. Every reader will have their own favourites: the choices run from love at first sight across the train tracks to the cleverest of confidence tricks, from the quirks of the legal profession — and those who are able to manipulate both sides of the Bar — to the creative financial talents of a member of Her Majesty's diplomatic service — but for a good cause. In «Caste-Off», Jamwal and Nisha fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green in Delhi, and in «Don't Drink The Water», a company chairman tries to poison his wife while on a trip to St Petersburg — with unexpected consequences... The stories held in these pages are irresistible: ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters and deliciously unexpected conclusions. Some will make you laugh. Others will bring you to tears. And, as always, every one of them will keep you spellbound.

Freddie found a fairy, tangled in a tree. Freddie is desperate for a pet, so when he rescues Bessie-Belle and she offers to grant his wishes he knows just what to ask for. The only problem is that Bessie-Belle can't hear very well, and Freddie tends to mumble. Whatever can they do? Luckily the Fairy Queen is on hand to explain... A delightful tale full of Julia Donaldson's trademark rhyme and wit, with a subtle message about hearing impairments.

Teenage Sherlock has come up against some challenges in his time, but what confronts him now is baffling. His friend and her father have vanished. Their house looks as if nobody has ever lived in it. Sherlock begins to doubt his sanity, until a clever clue points him to Scotland. Following that clue leads him into a mystery that involves kidnapping, bodysnatchers and a man who claims he can raise the dead. Before he knows it, Sherlock is fighting for his life as he begins to work out out what has happened to his his friends. Will he be fast enough to save them? Sherlock Holmes. Think you know him? Think again.

Who were the pharaohs? When were the pyramids built? Why did Egyptians make mummies? Read and discover the facts in Macmillan Factual Readers, a six-level series which allows young English language learners to explore a variety of fascinating real-world topics. Each reader has been carefully graded to reinforce the main structures and vocabulary covered in most major language courses. All readers include a glossary with explanations of key vocabulary. Beautifully designed in full colour with striking images, the Macmillan Factual Readers help learners build confidence and fluency in their reading ability as well as enhancing their knowledge of other subjects. Free Teaching Notes, audio and exercises are available to download.

What do butterflies eat? How do caterpillars grow? What is the biggest butterfly? Read and discover the facts in Macmillan Factual Readers, a six-level series which allows young English language learners to explore a variety of fascinating real-world topics. Each reader has been carefully graded to reinforce the main structures and vocabulary covered in most major language courses. All readers include a glossary with explanations of key vocabulary. Beautifully designed in full colour with striking images, the Macmillan Factual Readers help learners build confidence and fluency in their reading ability as well as enhancing their knowledge of other subjects. Free Teaching Notes, audio and exercises are available to download.

Why does a bee buzz? Who built the first plane with an engine? How do space rockets take off? Read and discover the facts in Macmillan Factual Readers, a six-level series which allows young English language learners to explore a variety of fascinating real-world topics. Each reader has been carefully graded to reinforce the main structures and vocabulary covered in most major language courses. All readers include a glossary with explanations of key vocabulary. Beautifully designed in full colour with striking images, the Macmillan Factual Readers help learners build confidence and fluency in their reading ability as well as enhancing their knowledge of other subjects. Free Teaching Notes, audio and exercises are available to download.

How do ducks stay dry? What is sheep's hair called? Why do peacocks have long feathers? read and discover the facts in Macmillan Factual Readers, a six-level series which allows young English language learners to explore a variety of fascinating real-world topics. Each reader has been carefully graded to reinforce the main structures and vocabulary covered in most major language courses. All readers include a glossary with explanations of key vocabulary. Beautifully designed in full colour with striking images, the Macmillan Factual Readers help learners build confidence and fluency in their reading ability as well as enhancing their knowledge of other subjects. Free Teaching Notes, audio and exercises are available to download.