Random House Inc.

“Power Failure” is the electrifying behind-the-scenes story of the collapse of Enron, the high-flying gas and energy company touted as the poster child of the New Economy that, in its hubris, had aspired to be “The World’s Leading Company”, and had briefly been the seventh largest corporation in America. Written by prizewinning journalist Mimi Swartz, and substantially based on the never-before-published revelations of former Enron vice-president Sherron Watkins, as well as hundreds of other interviews, “Power Failure” shows the human face beyond the greed, arrogance, and raw ambition that fueled the company’s meteoric rise in the late 1990s. At the dawn of the new century, Ken Lay’s and Jeff Skilling's faces graced the covers of business magazines, and Enron’s money oiled the political machinery behind George W. Bush’s election campaign. But as Wall Street analysts sang Enron’s praises, and its stock spiraled dizzyingly into the stratosphere, the company’s leaders were madly scrambling to manufacture illusory profits, hide its ballooning debt, and bully Wall Street into buying its fictional accounting and off-balance-sheet investment vehicles. The story of Enron’s fall is a morality tale writ large, performed on a stage with an unforgettable array of props and side plots, from parking lots overflowing with Boxsters and BMWs to hot-house office affairs and executive tantrums. Among the cast of characters Mimi Swartz and Sherron Watkins observe with shrewd Texas eyes and an insider’s perspective are: CEO Ken Lay, Enron’s “outside face”, who was more interested in playing diplomat and paving the road to a political career than in managing Enron’s high-testosterone, anything-goes culture; Jeff Skilling, the mastermind behind Enron’s mercenary trading culture, who transformed himself from a nerdy executive into the personification of millennial cool; Rebecca Mark, the savvy and seductive head of Enron’s international division, who was Skilling’s sole rival to take over the company; and Andy Fastow, whose childish pranks early in his career gave way to something far more destructive. Desperate to be a player in Enron’s deal-making, trader-oriented culture, Fastow transformed Enron’s finance department into a “profit center”, creating a honeycomb of financial entities to bolster Enron’s “profits”, while diverting tens of millions of dollars into his own pockets An unprecedented chronicle of Enron’s shocking collapse, “Power Failure” should take its place alongside the classics of previous decades – “Barbarians at the Gate” and “Liar’s Poker” – as one of the cautionary tales of our times.

Now reorganized into an easy-to-follow, six step approach to effective writing for every business communication format.

The first girl had a bite mark on her neck. When the tabloids got hold of the story, they immediately called the killer 'The Rottweiler', and the name stuck. The latest body was discovered very near Inez Ferry's antique shop in Marylebone. Someone spotted a shadowy figure running away past the station, but couldn't say for sure if it was a man or a woman. There were only two other clues. The murderer seemed to have a preference for strangling his victims and then removing something personal — like a cigarette lighter or a necklace... Since her actor husband died, too early into their marriage, Inez supplemented her modest income by taking in tenants above the shop. The unpredictably obsessive activities of 'The Rottweiler' would exert a profound influence on this heterogeneous little community, especially when the suspicion began to emerge that one of them might be a homicidal maniac.

After two nuns are brutally attacked leaving one dead and the other critically injured, medical examiner Maura Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an ancient horror in the chapel of nuns' convent that leads them toward the killer's identity.

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’s sixty-mile main line — somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Attilius — decent, practical, and incorruptible — promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work — both natural and man-made — threatening to destroy him. With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, bestselling author of «Archangel» and «Fatherland», re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.

Rarely, if ever, does a new writer dazzle us with such a vivid imagination and storytelling, flawlessly capturing the essence of a land, a people, a legend. Conn Iggulden is just such a writer, bringing to vivid life one of the most fascinating eras in human history. In a true masterpiece of historical fiction, Iggulden takes us on a breathtaking journey through ancient Rome, sweeping us into a realm of tyrants and slaves, of dark intrigues and seething passions. What emerges is both a grand romantic tale of coming-of-age in the Roman Empire and a vibrant portrait of the early years of a man who would become the most powerful ruler on earth: Julius Caesar. On the lush Italian peninsula, a new empire is taking shape. At its heart is the city of Rome, a place of glory and decadence, beauty and bloodshed. Against this vivid backdrop, two boys are growing to manhood, dreaming of battles, fame, and glory in service of the mightiest empire the world has ever known. One is the son of a senator, a boy of privilege and ambition to whom much has been given and from whom much is expected. The other is a bastard child, a boy of strength and cunning, whose love for his adoptive family–and his adoptive brother–will be the most powerful force in his life. As young Gaius and Marcus are trained in the art of combat–under the tutelage of one of Rome’s most fearsome gladiators–Rome itself is being rocked by the art of treachery and ambition, caught in a tug-of-war as two rival generals, Marius and Sulla, push the empire toward civil war. For Marcus, a bloody campaign in Greece will become a young soldier’s proving ground. For Gaius, the equally deadly infighting of the Roman Senate will be the battlefield where he hones his courage and skill. And for both, the love of an extraordinary slave girl will be an honor each will covet but only one will win. The two friends are forced to walk different paths, and by the time they meet again everything will have changed. Both will have known love, loss, and violence. And the land where they were once innocent will be thrust into the grip of bitter conflict–a conflict that will set Roman against Roman...and put their friendship to the ultimate test. Brilliantly interweaving history and adventure, Conn Iggulden conjures a stunning array of contrasts–from the bloody stench of a battlefield to the opulence of the greatest city in history, from the tenderness of a lover to the treachery of an assassin. Superbly rendered, grippingly told, «Emperor, The Gates of Rome» is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction.

The latest «New York Times» bestseller by «America's most popular suspense novelist» («Rolling Stone») is the story of Hollywood's most dazzling star whose perfectly ordered life is under siege by an insidious killer.

Every morning Baby Bear asks, 'Is it Christmas?'And Grandbear replies, 'Just a few more sleeps and it will be.'But there's lots to be done, from tidying the house to digging up the tree and decorating. Each page is filled with the wonderment and anticipation of Christmas, and at the end there's a special surprise — the whole family have come to share Baby Bear's Christmas! Prater's wonderfully atmospheric pre-school Christmas story is filled with all the anticipation of getting ready for the big day.

Want to know where Chuck Palahniuk's tonsils currently reside? Been looking for a naked mannequin to hide in your kitchen cabinets? Curious about Chuck's debut in an MTV music video? What goes on at the Scum Center? How do you get to the Apocalypse Caf-? In the closest thing he may ever write to an autobiography, Chuck Palahniuk provides answers to all these questions and more as he takes you through the streets, sewers, and local haunts of Portland, Oregon. According to Katherine Dunn, author of the cult classic Geek Love, Portland is the home of America's 'fugitives and refugees.' Get to know these folks, the 'most cracked of the crackpots', as Palahniuk calls them, and come along with him on an adventure through the parts of Portland you might not otherwise believe actually exist. No other travel guide will give you this kind of access to 'a little history, a little legend, and a lot of friendly, sincere, fascinating people who maybe should've kept their mouths shut.'Here are strange personal museums, weird annual events, and ghost stories. Tour the tunnels under downtown Portland. Visit swingers' sex clubs, gay and straight. See Frances Gabe's famous 1940s Self-Cleaning House. Look into strange local customs like the I-Tit-a-Rod Race and the Santa Rampage. Learn how to talk like a local in a quick vocabulary lesson. Get to know, I mean really get to know, the animals at the Portland zoo. Oh, the list goes on and on.

A condensed, board book version of the classic bestseller, perfect for babies and toddlers. Introduces the youngest readers to the wonderful world of Seussian word play.

Frederick Forsyth, master of the international thriller, retums with an electrifying story of a man of immense power and a conspiracy to crush the President of the United States. Only one man — Forsyth's most unforgettable hero yet — can prevent the plan from succeeding. His name is Quinn. He is the Negotiator.President Cormack is bent on a signing a sweeping U.S.-Soviet disarmament treaty, and the master conspirator is determined to stop him. The kidnapping of a young man on a country road in Oxfordshire is but the first brutal step in the explosive plot engineer the president's destruction. Enter Quinn. Quinn plays the kidnappers like a master musician... until, in a shocking tumabout, he discovers that ransom was not their objection after all — and that he has been lured into a cunningly woven web. Now he must draw upon his deepest strengths — to save not only the victim but the entire free world.

Ramses the Great has reawakened in opulent Edwardian London. Having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied. He becomes the close companion of a voluptuous heiress, Julie Stratford, but his cursed past again propels him toward disaster. He is tormented by searing memories of his last reawakening, at the behest of Cleopatra, his beloved queen of Egypt. And his intense longing for her, undiminished over the centuries, will force him to commit an act that will place everyone around him in the gravest danger...

One of America's most cherished novelists takes readers on the roller-coaster ride of dating the second time around. Poignant and wickedly funny, «Dating Game» is about tackling life and love with both courage and laughter — told as only Steel can tell it.

From Canada's new queen of suspense comes the latest in her Women of the Otherworld series — a mesmerizing tale of an exceptional young woman caught up in an otherworldly realm where some will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Wiccan heroine Paige Winterbourne returns in this sequel to «Dime Store Magic.» After her mother's murder, Paige breaks away from her coven and tries to start a new one. But someone soon begins murdering the teenage offspring of some of the underworld's most powerful families.

When the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus is summoned by Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, he expects to have to do nothing more taxing than a little levitation or a few simple illusions. But Nathaniel is a precocious talent and has something rather more dangerous in mind: revenge. Against his will, Bartimaeus is packed off to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivaled ruthlessness and ambition. Before long, both djinni and apprentice are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, murder and rebellion. Set in a modern-day London controlled by magicians, this hilarious, electrifying thriller will enthrall readers of all ages.

When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from an elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise.

Neely was once star quarterback for Messina High School's football team but his playing days ended with an injury. For 15 years he's been trying to forget his past as sporting hero but hasn't been able to move on. That is until the man who moulded him, Coach Eddie Rake is dying and Neely returns to Messina.

The love affair between Maurice Bendix and Sarah, flourishing in the turbulent times of the London Blitz, ends when she suddenly and without explanation breaks it off. After a chance meeting rekindles his love and jealousy two years later, Bendix hires a private detective to follow Sarah, and slowly his love for her turns into an obsession.

As the mighty alien fleet from the very latest computer game thunders across the computer screen, Johnny prepares to blow them into the usual million pieces. And they send him a message: We surrender. They're not supposed to do that! They're supposed to die. And computer joysticks don't have 'Don't Fire' buttons-But it's only a game, isn't it. Isn't it?

A high government official is shot on the street, and the hunt for the ki ller begins. The search leads all over the world, netting a series of suspects whose only connection is their innocence — at least of this crime. But «The Case of Comrade Tulayev, the best novel about the Stalinist purges, is also a classic tale of risk and adventure that stands beside» For Whom the Bell Tolls.

It is Christmas of 1183, and Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine are, for once, together in the drafty castle at Chinon. For all their regal status, they are much like any long-estranged but inseparably married couple: Henry flaunts his new mistress; Eleanor plots against him with their sons. They will do anything they can to hurt each other and they love each other to distraction.

Matt Mandrell, unsuspecting graduate student, never imagined his research would lead him to a strange scrap of parchment that would change his life forever... Crossing the void of time and space, Matt is whisked away to an enchanted world where speaking in rhymes works the most dazzling magic. There he wins not only fame and power as the Lord High Wizard, but the heart of the beautiful Queen Alisande. His dreams are shattered, though, when he learns that he can't marry his true love; wizard or not, Matt is just a commoner in this bizarre land. So Matt makes a foolish vow: to conquer a kingdom, any kingdom, if that's what it takes to claim his bride. But, as Matt discovers, in this world of enchantment, such an oath cannot be broken. He has truly committed himself to win a crown or die trying. In search of lands to conquer, Matt sets his sights on neighboring Ibile, where the evil Gordorgrosso rules with an iron fist and sinister magic. Matt marches off against the tyrant, gathering a small band of unlikely allies, including a surly dracogriff, a well-spoken cyclop, and a damsel in distress. But against Gordogrosso's foul genius, Matt is going to need much more than a few stout-hearted companions and some clever rhymes. Oathbound Wizard is the newest addition to the Del Rey Imagine program, which offers the best in fantasy and science fiction for readers twelve and up.

John D. Rockefeller, Sr. — history's first billionaire and the patriarch of America's most famous dynasty — is an icon whose true nature has eluded three generations of historians. Now Ron Chernow, the National Book Award-winning biographer of the Morgan and Warburg banking families, gives us a history of the mogul «etched with uncommon objectivity and literary grace... as detailed, balanced, and psychologically insightful a portrait of the tycoon as we may ever have» (Kirkus Reviews). Titan is the first full-length biography based on unrestricted access to Rockefeller's exceptionally rich trove of papers. A landmark publication full of startling revelations, the book will indelibly alter our image of this most enigmatic capitalist. Born the son of a flamboyant, bigamous snake-oil salesman and a pious, straitlaced mother, Rockefeller rose from rustic origins to become the world's richest man by creating America's most powerful and feared monopoly, Standard Oil. Branded «the Octopus» by legions of muckrakers, the trust refined and marketed nearly 90 percent of the oil produced in America. Rockefeller was likely the most controversial businessman in our nation's history. Critics charged that his empire was built on unscrupulous tactics: grand-scale collusion with the railroads, predatory pricing, industrial espionage, and wholesale bribery of political officials. The titan spent more than thirty years dodging investigations until Teddy Roosevelt and his trustbusters embarked on a marathon crusade to bring Standard Oil to bay. While providing abundant new evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously — his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University — than anyone.