Random House Inc.

'I don't know what people expect when they meet me. They seem to be afraid that I'm going to piss in the potted palm and slap them on the ass' — Marlon Brando. 'I should have been dead ten times over. I believe in miracles. It's an absolute miracle that I'm still around' — Dennis Hopper. 'The best time to get married is noon. That way, if things don't work out, you haven't blown the whole day' — Warren Beatty. 'You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police' — Jack Nicholson. They're the baddest bad asses Hollywood has ever seen: Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. These are men for whom rules did not apply, men for whom normal standards of behaviour were simply too wearisome to worry about. These are men who brawled, boozed, snorted and shagged their way into legend-hood — but along the way they changed acting and the way movies were made forever. «Bad Boy Drive» is a whistle-stop tour of jaw-dropping sexual activity, misbehaviour of an Olympic standard, all-out excess and genuine madness. It's a wonder Hollywood survived.

The second book in the stunning Roman Empire trilogy by Robert Harris, author of the acclaimed bestsellers Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium and The Ghost. It is 63 BC, the year when Cicero is consul. Most of his time in office is devoted to uncovering and thwarting a violent conspiracy to overthrow the state, ostensibly led by Crassus and a group of disaffected senators. Underlying it all is the great rivalry between Cicero and Caesar who represent two different types of ambition: one orthodox, the other revolutionary. As Caesar's power grows, Cicero must face the inevitable compromises that come with power; is it justifiable to use illegal methods in order to save the Republic? Robert Harris yet again proves himself a master of historical fiction as he takes the reader to the heart of republican Rome with a novel that is at once brilliantly researched and utterly gripping.

This is a seductive and evocative epic on an intimate scale, which tells the extraordinary story of a geisha girl. Summoning up more than twenty years of Japan's most dramatic history, it uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation. From a small fishing village in 1929, the tale moves to the glamorous and decadent heart of Kyoto in the 1930s, where a young peasant girl is sold as servant and apprentice to a renowned geisha house. She tells her story many years later from the Waldorf Astoria in New York; it exquisitely evokes another culture, a different time and the details of an extraordinary way of life. It conjures up the perfection and the ugliness of life behind rice-paper screens, where young girls learn the arts of geisha — dancing and singing, how to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea, and how to beguile the most powerful men.

When Arthur kills a unicorn, Merlin knows that terrible consequences lie in store for Camelot and its people. And things are set to get worse. After a hunting trip in the forest, Arthur is fatally attacked by a savage beast. As the Crown Prince lies dying, Gauis knows that dark magic is at work and Merlin is the only one who can save him — but at what cost... With a graphic novel element to really bring the text to life, each book covers two TV episodes.

Whilst out on a routine hunting trip, Arthur and his men encounter a huge and terrifying monster — the Questing Beast. Uther ignores Gaius' warning, that the creature's bite is always fatal, and sends Arthur and his knights out to kill it. The beast knocks Arthur unconscious and bites his shoulder. As Arthur's life hangs in the balance, Merlin must travel to the Isle of the Blessed and there strike a potentially fatal bargain with the sorceress, Nimueh. The young warlock is the only one who can save Arthur — but at what cost?

Out on a hunting trip, Arthur kills a unicorn. Merlin rushes to the animal's side, obviously upset, as the knights cheer Arthur for killing this most highly-prized of beasts. But, it seems that by killing the magical creature Arthur has cursed Camelot and until he makes amends for his actions the great city will be damned. Could this be the end of Camelot and her people?

A treasure trove is discovered deep beneath Camelot but when the spirit of an evil sorcerer is unwittingly unleashed, Merlin quickly discovers that all that glitters is not gold. Meanwhile, a deadly assassin has arrived in Camelot. His aim? To kill Arthur. Will Merlin be able to save the prince from the killer's lethal blade...

»Moonwalk» is the only book about his life that Michael Jackson ever wrote. It chronicles his humble beginnings in the Midwest, his early days with the Jackson 5, and his unprecedented solo success. Giving absolutely unrivalled insight into the King of Pop's life, it details his songwriting process for hits like «Beat It, Rock With You», «Billie Jean», and «We Are the World»; and describes how he developed his signature dance style, including the «Moon Walk». It also opens the door to his very private personal relationships with his family, including sister Janet, and stars like Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Marlon Brando, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, and Brooke Shields. At the time of its original publication in 1988, «Moonwalk» broke the fiercely guarded barrier of silence that surrounded Michael Jackson. Candidly and courageously, Jackson talks openly about his wholly exceptional career and the crushing isolation of his fame, as well as the unfair rumors that have surrounded it. «Moonwalk» is illustrated with rare photographs from Jackson family albums and Michael's personal photographic archives, as well as a drawing done by Michael exclusively for the book. It reveals and celebrates, as no other book can, the life of this exceptional and beloved musician.

What do the Volkswagen T2a Bus, the contraceptive pill and Jimi Hendrix have in common? Why does a cold and dry environment make people more likely to speak to strangers? What can World of Warcraft teach us about the world we live in today? In this brilliantly original, provocative and witty book, Geoffrey Miller — acclaimed author of «The Mating Mind» — takes us on a journey through the surreal wonderlands of marketing, advertising, and media to explore the hidden instincts behind our choices. Combining this with the latest developments in evolutionary psychology, genetics and consumer research, he explains why we buy, what we buy, and how we can escape the excesses of twenty-first century consumerism.

Quintessential Tyler, yet full of surprises a perfectly pitched, enchanting and affecting novel about a man adrift in his own life, Noah's Compass chimes gently, heartbreakingly with our times. With the humour and poignancy of her classic The Accidental Tourist (though with a protagonist who doesn't venture far from home) Anne Tyler's new novel tells the story of a year in the life of Liam Pennywell, a man in his sixty-first year. A classical pedant, he's just been let go from his schoolteaching job and downsizes to a tiny out-of-town apartment, where he goes to bed early and alone on his first night. Widowed, re-married, divorced and the father of three daughters, Liam is a man who is proud of his recall but has learned to dodge issues and skirt adventure. An unpleasant event occurs, though, to jolt him out of his certainty. Obsessed with a frightening gap in his memory, he sets out to uncover what happened, and finds instead an unusual woman with secrets of her own, and a late-flowering love that brings its own thorny problems. His ex-wife (sensible Barbara) and daughters worry about him but Liam blunders on, His teenage daughter Kitty is sent to stay — though its not clear who is minding whom. His middle daughter, Louise, is a born-again Christian with a son called Jonah, but her certainties leave Liam still more perplexed. Noahs Compass is about memory and its loss, about incidents and relationships which open up sight lines into a painful past long dead for a man who becomes aware that merely trying to stay afloat may not be enough.

Welcome to the village of Notwithstanding where a lady dresses in plus fours and shoots squirrels, a retired general gives up wearing clothes altogether, a spiritualist lives in a cottage with the ghost of her husband, and people think it quite natural to confide in a spider that lives in a potting shed. Based on de Bernieres' recollections of the village he grew up in, «Notwithstanding» is a funny and moving depiction of a charming vanished England.

In these pages you can enjoy Christmas dinner with Begbie, and see how warmly Franco greets his sister's boyfriend and the news of their engagement. You will discover, in «The Rosewell Incident», how aliens addicted to Embassy Regal have Midlothian under surveillance, and plan to install the local casuals as the new governors of Planet Earth. You will not be surprised to read that a televised Hibs v. Hearts game might matter more to one character than the life of his wife, or that two guys fighting over a beautiful girl might agree — on reflection, and after a few pills and many pints of lager — that their friendship is actually more important. And you will be delighted to welcome back 'Juice' Terry Lawson, and to watch what happens when he meets his old nemesis, retired schoolmaster Albert Black, under the strobe-lights of a Miami Beach nightclub.

Can you tell Farkle from Fergus? Do you know why Puss In Boots piled on the pounds? This official handbook is packed with fun facts, character lowdowns, and awesome activities from all Shrek's adventures, including the awesome new movie, «Shrek Forever After»! This is the ultimate book for every Shrek fan, young or old! If you love Shrek then you'll love this book.

A breathtakingly beautiful supermodel disappears from a swimsuit photo shoot at the most glamorous hotel in Hawaii. Only hours after she goes missing, Kim McDaniels' parents receive a terrifying phone call. Fearing the worst, they board the first flight to Maui and begin the hunt for their daughter. Ex-cop Ben Hawkins, now a reporter for the LA Times, gets the McDaniels assignment. The ineptitude of the local police force defies belief — Ben has to start his own investigation for Kim McDaniels to have a prayer. And for Ben to have the story of his life. All the while, the killer sets the stage for his next production. His audience expects the best — and they won't be disappointed. Swimsuit is a heart-pounding story of fear and desire, transporting you to a place where beauty and murder collide and unspeakable horrors are hidden within paradise.

Tom Ripley is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors, and the law, when an unexpected acquaintance offers him a free trip to Europe and a chance to start over. Ripley wants money, success and the good life and he's willing to kill for it. When his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking. The psychopathic Ripley has been portrayed on screen by actors as diverse as John Malkovich, Alain Delon and Dennis Hopper. But in the recent stylish film adaptation of «The Talented Mr Ripley», Matt Damon took the title role, alongside Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Tell-All is many things: a Sunset Boulevard-inflected homage to Old Hollywood when grand dames like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford ruled the roost. A Douglas Sirk-inspired melodrama full of big gestures and muted psychic torment. A veritable Tourettes Syndrome of rat-tat-tat name-dropping, from the A-list to the Z-list. A merciless send-up of Lillian Hellmans habit of butchering the truth that will have Mary McCarthy cheering from the beyond. Our narrator is Hazie Coogan, who for decades has tended to the outsized needs of Katherine Miss Kathie Kenton, a star of the wattage of Elizabeth Taylor and the emotional torments of Judy Garland. The survivor of multiple marriages, career comebacks and cosmetic surgeries, Miss Kathie lives the way legends should. But danger lurks when gentleman caller Webster Carlton Westward III arrives and worms his way into Miss Kathies heart and boudoir. Hazie discovers that this bounder has already written his celebrity tell-all memoir and that it foretells her death in a forthcoming Lillian Hellman-penned World War II musical extravaganza Unconditional Surrender, in which Miss Kathie portrays Lily defeating Japanese forces from Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki. As the body count mounts, Hazie must execute a plan to save Katherine Kenton for her fans and for posterity. A dark reimagining of All About Eve and an hilarious assault on celebrity, Tell-All is vintage Palahniuk.

Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting on a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away, pishing and shiteing yersel in a home, a total fucking embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you've produced. Choose life.

Sooner or later, everybody pays — and the dead will set the price... Gerry Fegan, a former paramilitary contract killer, is haunted by the ghosts of the 12 people he has slaughtered. Every night he drowns their screams in drink, on the point of losing his mind. Then one of the ghosts offers Fegan a solution: kill those who engineered their deaths. From the greedy politicians to the corrupt security forces, the street thugs to the complacent bystanders who let it happen, all must pay the price. But when Fegan's vendetta threatens to derail Northern Ireland's peace process and destabilise its fledgling government, old comrades and enemies alike want him gone. The secrets of a dirty war should stay buried: even if its ghosts do not.

»You Are Here» is a dazzling exploration of the universe and our relationship to it. It is the story of how something evolved from nothing, and how something became everything. It is the story of science: the greatest story ever told. Here, for the first time in a single span, is the life of the universe, from quarks to galaxy super-clusters, and from slime to Homosapiens. The universe was once a moment of perfect symmetry, and is now 13.7 billion years of history. Clouds of gas were woven into whatever complexity we find in the universe today: the hierarchies of stars, or the brains of mammals. With wit and erudition, Christopher Potter takes us on a voyage beyond even time and space, to present the state of scientific knowledge at its most up-to-date and exhilarating.

Part noir, part psychedelic romp — private eye Doc Sportello comes, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era as free love slips away and paranoia creeps in with the L A fog. In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the sixties, you weren`t there...

War has changed. In the past, states clashed and battles were fought between armies. Superpowers are pitted against warlords. The author takes readers into the guts of modern conflict. He visits the bombed and abandoned home of Mullah Omar and discovers a deserted Al Qaeda camp where he finds documents describing a plan to attack London.

Angela Hathall is found strangled in her bed but shockingly the death of this meek and solitary woman sparks little emotion from her husband. Called in to investigate, Wexford's curiosity only deepens when he discovers that the Hathall household has been meticulously cleaned but for a single distinctive palm print.

The leader of the vampire coven, the Theatre des Vampires in Paris was snatched from the steppes of Russia as a child, and sold as a slave in Renaissance Venice. From there Armand's story spans several hundred years, culminating in a visit to New Orleans at the end of the twentieth century. Here his victims await either death or immortality.

An unlikely duo teams up in a charade of love, never expecting that they'll find happily-ever-after, in this Loveswept debut by award-winning Jennifer Crusie, who has earned high praise for her fast-paced and hilarious Harlequin romances.