Simon & Schuster

Erotic Novellas by William Harrison, Greg Boyd, and Tsaurah Litzky Pull down the shades and settle in for pleasure with this trio of erotic novellas handpicked by Susie Bright, showcasing stories that are hot and masterful. Susie Bright, hailed by The New York Times as «the avatar of American erotica», is the undisputed grandmaster of the genre. Now she has handpicked three rising stars, new masters, whose stories will delight, arouse, and captivate you. Connected by a central theme, the idea that one sexual moment can change a person forever, each story is wildly different from anything you have read before. Tsaurah Litzky's undaunted story about a woman's coming-of-age from her adolescence in the 1960s In «Shadow of a Man», Emmy Award-winning writer William Harrison takes us to South Africa, where a photographer who thinks he's seen and done it all begins an intense affair with the daughter of a famous general. «The Motion of the Ocean» is to the over-the-top sexuality of the 1990s. Greg Boyd's «The Widow» is about the consequences that transpire when a husband reads an erotic novel that his wife has been writing in secret. In it, she has fantasized the outrageous sexual experiences of a widow. Sensual, provocative, funny, and profound, Three the Hard Way is a pleasure trove of great finds discovered by America's most trusted name in erotica.

When Avram became King of Detina, he announced his intention to liberate the blond serfs from their ties to the land. This noble assertion immediately plunged the kingdom into a civil war that would prove long and bloody, and set brother against brother. The northern provinces, dependent on the labour of their serfs, seceded, choosing Avram's cousin, Grand Duke Geoffrey, as their king. To save the kingdom, Avram sent armies clad in grey against the north, battling Geoffrey's army, arrayed in blue. Though King Avram held more land and wealth than Geoffrey, Geoffrey's men were better soldiers and the north had better and more powerful wizards. Still, as the war raged on, the tide turned against the north. Even so, the war is far from over. Earlier, the north had held an almost impregnable position — but was overrun when an overconfident sorcerer's spell went awry. Use of sorcery was often unpredictable, and in the more mundane aspects of the war, battle plans could also go awry. The south seemed to be winning, but the outcome was far from certain...

Porter`s value chain enables managers to isolate the underlying sources of buyer value that will command a premium price, and the reasons why one product or service substitutes for another. He shows how competitive advantage lies in activities and in the way they relate to each other, to supplier activities, and to customer activities.

Forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme is called in to work the high-profile investigation of a killer who seemingly disappeared into thin air just as the NYPD closed in. As the homicidal illusionist baits him with grisly murders that grow more diabolical with each victim, Rhyme and his protegee, Amelia Sachs, must go behind the smoke and mirrors to prevent a horrific act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all.

Beneath the Arctic Polar Ice Cap, deep underground, is a bustling community with one mission and one mission only: to make Christmas happen. Have you ever wondered how Santa can pop out of a chimney without a soot stain on his red velvet? Elves, of course — fully trained at the Elf Academy in chimney sweeping! And does Santa REALLY have time to check if every single child's been naughty or nice? Of course not — that's why he created the CIA (Christmas Intelligence Agency) to train elves to spy on children. And where do all those Santas in department store grottoes come from? The Santa Academy, of course. HOW SANTA REALLY WORKS is a true scoop on how Santa does what he does so well, brilliantly conceived by Alan Snow.

Enjoy studying Shakespeare using the New Folger study edition, which offers newly edited texts, commentary in a friendly facing-page format, and illustrations drawn from the Folger archives to illuminate the plays and poems. Find the best of modern textual scholarship, up-to-date critical essays, and a handy mass-market paperback format make this a top choice for serious students of Shakespeare. Ages 12 to adult. This affordable mass-market edition is slightly smaller than a standard paperback, with pages that are glued directly into the binding.

Ah, another glorious day in Bikini Bottom and SpongeBob is ready to bring it around town. Watch him spring out of bed, bound off to work, juggle Krabby Patties, chase jellyfish, and more in this eye-popping story about a day in the life of one sailorific sponge!

Pearls Before Swine is an impressive comic strip success story. In syndication for less than two years, it currently appears in more than 150 newspapers worldwide, was nominated as Best Newspaper Comic Strip by the National Cartoonists Society in its debut year-an unprecedented achievement-and its first book collection, BLTs Taste So Darn Good, has sold through four printings. This Little Piggy Stayed Home continues the adventures of Rat and Pig, who couldn't be more different-or more surprising. Rat is your typical Everyrodent: scheming, self-centered, and more than occasionally manipulative. By contrast, Pig is sensitive, kindly, and-even on his best days-just plain stupid. Together with Zebra and Goat, they confront the strange and wonderful world around them, a place that looks suspiciously like our own. By turns thoughtful and subversive, silly and sophisticated, This Little Piggy Stayed Home is one of the funniest comic collections of the year.

In her most scandalously titillating novel since the #1 bestselling Hollywood Wives, internationally renowned author Jackie Collins once again takes her readers behind the scenes and into the bedrooms of Hollywood's glamorous world of superstardom, where narcissism is a virtue, and fidelity means not sleeping with anyone less attractive than your spouse. Leaving her readers to guess which real celebrities she has used as models for her fabulous characters, Collins uses her insider's knowledge of the Hollywood scene to bring life to their stories of lust, scandal, and sweet revenge. Principal among the characters that make Hollywood Divorces so compulsively readable are three strong, unforgettable women who find themselves walking the treacherous pathway that inevitably leads to divorce. These are classic Jackie Collins women beautiful, sexy, and determined to get things done their way succeeding in spite of the odds. Shelby Cheney, 32. The raven-haired beautiful Shelby, a talented film actress is married to Linc Blackwood, a macho movie star with a yen for hard booze, nights out with the guys, and plenty of other women. Shelby continues to put up with his infidelities, because only she knows the tragic secrets of his past. Lola Sanchez, 24. A sexy Latina superstar, Lola climbed to the top the hard way. As an unknown, Lola encountered Linc Blackwood at a party and spent the night with him. Now that she is a superstar, he fails to remember their long and steamy night together, infuriating Lola, who has revenge on her mind. Currently she is married to Matt Seel, a tennis pro who she wed on the recommendation of her advisers in an effort to distance herself from the real love of her life, Tony Alvarez, a brilliant Latino movie director with a drug habit he can't seem to break. Cat Harrison, 19. Blond, independent, a hot writer/director with a wild-child past, she has a hit movie, a rock star husband, and an amorous and powerful studio mogul determined to make her do things his way or not at all. But Cat is not a girl to be pushed around, and Cat has big plans of her own — plans that will surprise and shock everyone. Divorce — Hollywood style — has never been more fascinating, for no one has ever before offered so revealing a look. The result is delicious fun.

As the Charmed Ones know, it's difficult to adjust to the ideas of having powers and saving innocents — that's one of the reasons that their Grams bound their powers until the sisters were ready to receive them. In fact, many witch clans keep the powers of their young dormant until the recipient of the power reaches a certain age. In Juliana O'Farrell's clan, that age is thirteen — the exact age of her daughter, Lily. By the day after her thirteenth birthday, though, Lily's powers haven't manifested, and Juliana's worried that a demon may have stripped her daughter's magic. Enter the Halliwell sisters. But Lily's too much of a typical teen to welcome witch chaperones. She'd much rather sneak out to hang with her rebellious friend, Drew. Could Drew's bad behavior be related to Lily's missing magic? It's going to take the Power of Three to get to the bottom of this adolescent angst!

Phoebe Halliwell may be ready to turn over a new leaf as a single gal, but her newly redemonized ex-husband, Cole, isn't ready to let her go. Aware of a supernatural plot against the Charmed Ones, Cole keeps watch over Phoebe, and intercedes at the moment of battle, only to accidentally create a rip in time. Cole disappears to WWII-era Hollywood — and brings the sisters with him! While the Charmed Ones are no strangers to extreme circumstances, what they didn't anticipate was a demonic stronghold shaking down local businesses. To infiltrate the evil underground, Paige poses as a young starlet, working an entirely different kind of magic before the camera. Meanwhile, Piper is tempted to seek out Leo — in this world, he's still human — and Phoebe is at her wits' end contending with Cole. But a demon henchman is working the black magic mojo on Paige, and if the sisters don't focus, before long they'll find themselves completely out of luck!

At first Piper thinks it's just a coincidence that she's seeing kids everywhere; since she and Leo have been talking about starting a family, she thinks she's just noticing them more. But then the kids start showing up on the Charmed Ones' front porch and coming into the house uninvited. No matter where Piper dispatches them, they're right back at Halliwell Manor minutes later. And they seem to be forming an orchestra. No one will listen to Piper, or obey her, or even give her a moment alone. Piper starts to wonder if she and Leo can handle starting a family. While Piper's contemplating diaper rash, Phoebe finds out about a rash of disappearances in San Francisco. Musicians have vanished all over the city, and they were all candidates to conduct a youth symphony. So how has Paige's new love managed to stick around long enough to be the symphony leader? And how does band practice at the Manor fit in with all of this? The Charmed Ones smell a rat, but can they lead all of their Innocents out of danger before the final note is played?

In Living History, Hillary Rodham Clinton writes with candor, humor and passion about coming-of-age during a time of tumultuous social and political change in America and about the White House years. She tells the story of her thirty-year adventure in love and politics with Bill Clinton, during which she survived personal betrayal, relentless partisan investigations, and constant public scrutiny. And she provides a clear reflection of her views and opinions on the most current political topics—health care, international relations, human rights, women's rights and much more. Intimate, powerful and inspiring, Living History captures the essence of this remarkable woman and the challenging process through which she came to define herself and find her own voice—as a wife, a mother and as one of the most formidable figures in the history of American politics.

As compelling and disturbing as when it was first published in the midst of the Cold War, The Manchurian Candidate continues to enthrall readers with its electrifying action and shocking climax.... Sgt. Raymond Shaw is a hero of the first order. He's an ex-prisoner of war who saved the life of his entire outfit, a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the stepson of an influential senator...and the perfect assassin. Brainwashed during his time as a P.O.W., he is a «sleeper» — a living weapon to be triggered by a secret signal. He will act without question, no matter what order he is made to carry out. To stop Shaw and those who now control him, his former commanding officer, Bennett Marco, must uncover the truth behind a twisted conspiracy of torture, betrayal, and power that will lead him to the highest levels of the government — and into the darkest recesses of his own mind....

Can a parent love too much? Or is too much never enough? Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate — a life and role she has never challenged ... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister — and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle at all human costs and a stunning parable for all time.

In a brief period of explosive, top-secret innovation during the 1950s, a small group of scientists, engineers, businessmen, and government officials rewrote the book on airplane design and led the nation into outer space. Led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, they invented the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes and the first reconnaissance satellites that revolutionized spying, proved that the missile gap was a myth, and protected the United States from Soviet surprise nuclear attack. They also made possible the space-based mapping, communications, and targeting systems used in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Veteran New York Times reporter and editor Philip Taubman interviewed dozens of participants and mined thousands of previously classified documents to tell this hidden, far-reaching story. He reconstructs the crucial meetings, conversations, and decisions that inspired and guided the development of the spy plane and satellite projects during one of the most perilous periods in our history, a time when, as President Eisenhower said, the world seemed to be «racing toward catastrophe». This is the story of these secret heroes, told in full for the first time.

After six wildly successful and critically acclaimed season, HBO's Sex and the City lowered its curtain with an extraordinary finale befitting its remarkable run. Now Sex and the City, the first true comedy about sex and love from a female point of view (and the show that made cosmopolitans and designer shoes part of every single woman's night out), lives on in this luscious, uniquely entertaining, and one-of-a-kind book. Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell, the official companion book, celebrates the show with behind-the-scenes stories on all six seasons and original interview with each of the primary actors. Ever wonder which designer made that outrageous outfit of Carrie's? What real-life stories inspired those shocking episodes? How many dates the fabulous foursome have really been on? Packed with over 750 full-color photographs, this stunning volume will answer all these questions and more with information not available anywhere eels. Topped off with a introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell will excite anyone who has experienced even the slightest flirtation with the sexiest, funniest show on television.

Returning to the magnificent setting of Australia's open frontiers, the #1 «New York Times» bestselling author weaves her most powerful novel since «The Thorn Birds» — a new saga of an Australian family that spans from the 1870s to the turn of the 20th century.

Kit Kincade, American, with diamond-studded ears and friends in low places, believes women are little more than a life support system to an ovary. Shelly Green, pinstripe-underpanted, cultured, classical guitarist, thinks optimism is an eye disease and hates all men. The perfect pair? Yes, according to a 'Desperate and Dateless' reality TV competition. A computer has matched them — physically and emotionally — with huge financial rewards if they can survive their five-star honeymoon on a paradise island. Kit and Shelly meet the day they are to be married... and it's hate at first sight Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye opener.

SHELBY, LOLA AND CAT. THREE WOMEN. THREE DAZZLING CAREERS. THREE IMMINENT DIVORCES. HOLLYWOOD DIVORCES takes you behind the scenes of the Hollywood divorce wars with stories ripped from the headlines. Sex, scandal, drugs and power — HOLLYWOOD DIVORCES covers every decadent minute. SHELBY, LOLA and CAT. Three unforgettable, strong women making their way along the treacherous trails of divorce and coming out on top. Three beautiful and sexy women, determined to get things done their way, and succeeding against all odds.

The world-class forensic anthropologist and «New York Times» bestselling author explores the shocking story behind a puzzling cache of bones in this powerful Temperance Brennan thriller. Includes a new bonus Epilogue.

Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta investigates the murder of Beryl Madison, a reclusive author, and discovers that forensic pathology has become much more than laboratory work when she becomes involved in a dangerous criminal investigation. Reissue.

Celebrity magazine writer Madison Castelli digs into her mob hitman father's past in order to discover the truth about her mother's death and encounters a vortex of greed, lust, and deception that threatens her life.

Mark Twain's darkly comic short classic set in the antebellum South stands as a literary condemnation of slavery and racial inequality. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: — A concise introduction that gives readers important background information — A chronology of the author's life and work — A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context — An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations — Detailed explanatory notes — Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work — Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction — A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.