Random House, Inc.

A historical tale marking a new turn in Doyle's writing. Born in the slums of Dublin in 1902, his father a one-legged whorehouse bouncer, Henry Smart has to grow up fast. He eventually becomes a Fenian, a rebel, a republican legend — one of Michael Collins's boys, an assassin on a stolen bike.

Written in 1944 but first published in 1985, The Tenth Man is set in a prison in occupied France during World War II and concerns Lewis Chavel, a captured rich lawyer who is probably going to be shot in a German act of reprisal. In a prison in Occupied France one in every ten men is to be shot. The prisoners draw lots among themselves — and for lawyer Louis Chavel it seems that his whole life has been leading up to an agonizing failure of nerve. Hysterical with panic, fear, and a sense of injustice, he offers to barter everything he owns for someone to take his place.

A celebrated writer by the time the war broke out in 1914, Somerset Maugham was dispatched by the Secret Service to Lucerne — under the guise of completing a play. An assignment whose danger and drama appealed both to his sense of romance and of the ridiculous. The stories collected in ASHENDEN are rooted in Maugham's own experiences as an agent, reflecting the ruthlessness and brutality of espionage, its intrigue and treachery, as well as absurdity.

Far Eastern Tales is a collection of short stories born of Maugham's experiences in Malaya, Singapore and other outposts of the former British Empire. Whether portraying a ship-borne flight from a lover's curse, murder in the jungle, or a marriage shattered by a past indiscretion, they all reveal Maugham at his best — sometimes caustic, sometimes gently comic, but always the shrewd and human judge of character and soul.

Set in the bohemian cafe society of Paris at the turn of the nineteenth century, Maugham's exploration of hypnotism and the occult was inspired by the sinister black magician Aleister Crowley. At the start of this compulsive gothic horror story, Arthur and his beautiful, innocent fiancee Margaret look forward to an idyllic life together, until they encounter the mesmerising and repulsive Oliver Haddo...

From the love affair between a missionary and a drunkard to the mystery surrounding a death at sea, this collection gives a warm and humourous insight into life and history of life in the colonies and stands as a superbly entertaining and compelling testament to Maugham's skill and power as a short story writer.

Called the greatest of short story writer, Anton Chekhov changed the genre itself with his spare, impressionistic depictions of Russian life and the human condition. Now, thirty of his best tales from the major periods of his creative life are available in this outstanding one volume edition. Included are Chekhov's characteristically brief, evocative early pieces such as «The Huntsman» from 1885, which brilliantly conveys the complex texture of two lives during a meeting on a summer's day. Four years later, Chekhov produced the tour de force «A Boring Story» (1889), the penetrating and caustic self-analysis of a dying professor of medicine. Dark irony, social commentary, and symbolism mark the stories that follow, particularly «Ward No. 6» (1892), where the tables turn on the director of a mental hospital and make him an inmate. Here, too, is one of Chekhov's best-known stories. «The Lady with the Little Dog» (1899), a look at illicit love, as well as his own favorite among his stories, «The Student» a moving piece about the importance of religious tradition. Atmospheric, compassionate, and uncannily wise, Chekhov's short fiction possesses the transcendent power of art to awe and change the reader. This monumental edition, expertly translated, is especially faithful to the meaning of Chekhov's prose and the unique rhythms of his writing, giving readers an authentic sense of his style-and, in doing so, a true understanding of his greatness.

A guide to returning depth, meaning and spirituality to personal relationships, showing how a rich, meaningful love can be rediscovered by restoring the missing element of spirituality. Chopra presents the timeless laws of love, together with suggestions for bringing them into daily use.

One of Time magazine's 100 all-time best English-language novels. Only once in a great while does a writer come along who defies comparison-a writer so original he redefines the way we look at the world. Neal Stephenson is such a writer and Snow Crash is such a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring us the gigathriller of the information age. In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo's CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he's a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that's striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous... you'll recognize it immediately.

In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson took science fiction to dazzling new levels. Now, in The Diamond Age, he delivers another stunning tale. Set in twenty-first century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when a state-of-the-art interactive device falls in the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life — and the entire future of humanity — is about to be decoded and reprogrammed...

Every year on his birthday, Ned Dunstan is cursed with visions of horror committed by a savage figure he calls Mr. X. This year, Ned's visions will become flesh and blood — as a journey into his family's past brings him face-to-face with his darkest nightmares.

A catastrophic, unexplainable plane crash leaves three hundred and thirty dead — no survivors. Among the victims are the wife and two daughters of Joe Carpenter, a Los Angeles Post crime reporter. A year after the crash, still gripped by an almost paralyzing grief, Joe encounters a woman named Rose, who claims to have survived the crash. She holds out the possibility of a secret that will bring Joe peace of mind. But before he can ask any questions, she slips away. Driven now by rage (have the authorities withheld information?) and a hope almost as unbearable as his grief (if there is one survivor, are there others?), Joe sets out to find the mysterious woman. His search immediately leads him into the path of a powerful and shadowy organization hell-bent on stopping Rose before she can reveal what she knows about the crash. Sole Survivor unfolds at a heart-stopping pace, as a desperate chase and a shattering emotional odyssey lead Joe to a truth that will force him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life and death — a truth that, given the chance, will rock the world and redefine the destiny of humanity. From the Trade Paperback edition.

The photographs by Annie Leibovitz in Women, taken especially for the book, encompass a broad spectrum of subjects: a rap artist, an astronaut, two Supreme Court justices, farmers, coal miners, movie stars, showgirls, rodeo riders, socialites, reporters, dancers, a maid, a general, a surgeon, the First Lady of the United States, the secretary of state, a senator, rock stars, prostitutes, teachers, singers, athletes, poets, writers, painters, musicians, theater directors, political activists, performance artists, and business women. Each of these pictures must stand on its own, Susan Sontag writes in the essay that accompanies the portraits. But the ensemble says, So this is what women are now — as different, as varied, as heroic, as forlorn, as conventional, as unconventional as this.

These two renowned writers have invented a world not unlike our own — a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the stubborn denial of scientists. Only a handful of people on the planet Lagash are prepared to face the truth — that their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in 2,000 years, signaling the end of civilization!

Blast off for educational fun! Beginning readers and budding astronomers are launched via Seussian sorcery on a wild trip to visit the nine planets in our solar system along with the Cat in the Hat, Thing One, Thing Two, and Dick and Sally.

The Cat in the Hat Learning Library is a new series of super simple non-fiction books, written expressly for beginning readers. An offshoot of the phenomenally successful Beginner Book Series (which has combined sales of over 53 million copies sold since 1957), each hardcover features the Cat and cast from the original Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back — Sally, Dick, Thing One, Thing Two, Mother, Norval, Little Cats A through Z — in a funny, irreverent, rhyming, fact-filled (but scientifically sound) introduction to such concepts as birds, animals, dinosaurs, space, weather, and ocean life. Developed in cooperation with a leading children's reading authority, and thoroughly vetted by experts for accuracy, the books are classically Seussian in sound, spirit, and look. Each book includes a simple glossary and index.

The Return Journey — a spellbinding trip into the human heart... In these powerful, poignant tales, the «New York Times» bestselling author of Evening Class and Tara Road once again reveals her unrivaled understanding of matters of the heart. Here are sons and lovers, daughters and strangers, husbands and wives in their infinite variety — powerfully compelling stories of love and loss, revelation and reconciliation. A secretary's silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip. An insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house sitter who opens the wrong doors. A pair of star-crossed travelers take each other's bags, and then learn that when you unlock a stranger's suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. In their company are many more journeys of hope and discovery — unforgettable slices of life from the incomparable Maeve Binchy.

Slapstick presents an apocalyptic vision as seen through the eyes of the current King of Manhattan (and last President of the United States), a wickedly irreverent look at the all-too-possible results of today's follies. But even the end of life-as-we-know-it is transformed by Kurt Vonnegut's pen into hilarious farce — a final slapstick that may be the Almighty's joke on us all.

Deadeye Dick is Kurt Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look at the death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors — a double murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, an annihilation of a city by a neutron bomb — Rudy Waltz, aka Deadeye Dick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness. Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink what we believe... and who we say we are.

Vonnegut's spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a supercomputer and run completely by machines.

Four different voices tell their own versions of the same walk in the park. The radically different perspectives give a fascinating depth to this simple story which explores many of the author's key themes, such as alienation, friendship and the bizarre amid the mundane.

In If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules, Cherie shares that there are no mistakes in life, only lessons that are repeated. In thoughtful, inspirational essays illustrated with encouraging personal anecdotes, she includes the lessons that can be learned from each of the Rules and offers insights on self-esteem, respect, acceptance, forgiveness, ethics, compassion, humility, gratitude, and courage. Best of all, Cherie shows that wisdom lies inside each one of us and that by putting the Ten Rules for Being Human into action we can create a more fulfilling life. Chicken Soup for the Soul, they instantly became a favorite section of that wildly successful book. Now Carter-Scott, an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, brings the rules to life by applying them to anecdotes drawn from her own encounters, as well as stories from her family, close friends, and workshop participants. Presented in a personal format, these steps to becoming a satisfied and well-adjusted person are sure to garner an even wider following.

In her #1 New York Times bestseller If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules, Chrie Carter-Scott gave us ten rules for conquering life's challenges and managing its unpredictable ups and downs. Now, in If Love Is a Game, These Are the Rules, she presents ten simple rules to help us find true love and create long-lasting, authentic relationships. After twenty-five years of conducting workshops and seminars, Chrie has discovered that the most important-and often the most difficult-part of the human experience is partnership. Everyone is either looking for love or trying to find a way to sustain and feed the love that they already have. Chrie's ten rules are universal truths that we inherently know but often lose sight of in the confusing game of romance-rules as simple as «You Must Love Yourself First», «Communication Is Essential» and «You Must Nurture the Relationship for It to Thrive.» Once understood and embraced, her rules help us learn more about our true selves and our needs-and make us better able to meet the needs of others. As the ten rules show, building and sustaining authentic love is a delicate process that requires negotiation and communication, and while love is often challenged by change, it provides a variety of opportunities for us to grow as individuals. In her inimitably warm and inviting style, Chrie shares her own insights into love's journey, from building intimacy and taking the risk of commitment to rekindling the faded flame by bringing back the «sizzle factor.» Her inspirational stories, coupled with practical exercises — such as creating a criteria list for a potential mate or making an outline for a formal relationship «check-in»-will bring out the authentic lover in each of us. Fresh and inspiring, If Love Is a Game, These Are the Rules is a perfect guide to living a real-life «happily ever after».

On a chilly February day, two old friends meet in the throng outside a London crematorium to pay their last respects to Molly Lane. Both Clive Linley and Vernon Halliday had been Molly's lovers in the days before they reached their current eminence: Clive is Britain's most successful modern composer, and Vernon is editor of the newspaper «The Judge.» Gorgeous, feisty Molly had other lovers, too, notably Julian Garmony, Foreign Secretary, a notorious right-winger tipped to be the next prime minister. In the days that follow Molly's funeral, Clive and Vernon will make a pact with consequences that neither could have foreseen. Each will make a disastrous moral decision, their friendship will be tested to its limits, and Julian Garmony will be fighting for his political life.