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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers. Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and the result--quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Haddon's novel is a startling performance. This is the sort of book that could turn condescending, or exploitative, or overly sentimental, or grossly tasteless very easily, but Haddon navigates those dangers with a sureness of touch that is extremely rare among first-time novelists. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is original, clever, and genuinely moving: this one is a must-read. --Jack Illingworth, Amazon.ca.
Price: $3.49
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Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11
On the azure blue morning of 9/11 the skies were pronounced "severe clear," in the parlance of airline pilots; a gorgeous day for flying. Nearly 5,000 flights were cruising the skies over America when FAA Operations Manager Ben Sliney arrived at the Command Center for his first day on that job. He could never have anticipated the historic drama that was about to unfold as Americans who found themselves on the front lines of a totally unprecedented attack on our homeland sprang into action to defend our country and save lives. In this gripping moment-to-moment narrative, based on groundbreaking reporting, Lynn Spencer brings the inspiring true drama of their unflinching and heroic response vividly to life for the first time, taking us right inside the airliner cockpits and control towers, the fighter jets and the military battle cabs. She makes vital corrections to the findings of the 9/11 Commission Report, and reveals many startling, utterly unknown elements of the story. As a commercial pilot herself, for whom the attacks hit terribly close to home, she knew that the true scope and nature of the response so brilliantly improvised that morning by those in the thick of the action -- with so little guidance from those at the highest levels -- had not at all been captured by the news coverage or the 9/11 Commission. To get to the truth, she went on a three-year quest, interviewing hundreds of key players, listening to untold hours of tapes and pouring through voluminous transcripts to re-create each heart-stopping moment as it happened through their eyes and in their words as the drama unfolded. From the shocking moment at 7:59 a.m. that American 11 fails to respond to a controller's call, until the last commercial flight has safely landed and military jets rule the skies, all Americans will find themselves deeply moved and amazed by the grace and fierce determination of these steely men and women as they draw on all of their exquisite training to grasp, through the fog of war, what is happening, put their lives on the line, and mount an astonishing response. This beautifully crafted and deeply affecting account of the full story of their courageous actions is a vital addition to the country's understanding of a day that has forever changed our nation..
Price: $15.96
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Dover Thrift Editions)
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The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book 2)
Eoin Colfer's bestselling antihero is back in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident--the superb sequel to the hyper-hyped Artemis Fowl, shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother's ailing mind to full health. But there is still much unfinished business: Artemis Fowl Sr. disappeared when a daring escapade designed to free his family from their criminal--not to mention deeply lucrative--past and move the family's assets into legitimate enterprises went horribly wrong. Held captive by the Mafiya (the Russian organized crime syndicate) for over two years, he has been declared officially dead, but Artemis Jr. knows in his heart (yes, he does have one) that his beloved father is still alive, and he is determined to find him. Meanwhile Captain Short is temporarily on assignment to Customs and Excise as punishment for letting Fowl separate her and her People from their gold and is finding her stakeout duties a little dull. It soon becomes obvious that the pair have need of each other's considerable skills, and before long they are on track for an adventure that will ultimately have far-reaching consequences for both of them. If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be disappointed by the second. Initially the pace is a little slower, and the slightly more mellow Artemis is certainly a tad unnerving at first (particularly as one of the things that made him such an unusual character was the fact that there was something distinctly unlikable about him), but once the sparks between Holly and Artemis begin to fly, and the adventure that tests their endurance to their emotional, physical, and intellectual limits begins, the pages just keep on turning. The high-tech hocus pocus, the complex underworld, and the James Bond-style storyline will keep even the most reluctant reader enthralled. Add to the mix a fair dollop of humor, the occasional sprinkling of right-on commentary about the state of the planet, and enough hooks in the story to ensure you will be clamoring for the next book. This chilling, thrilling adventure is a seriously cool (in more ways than one!) must-read for anyone age 9 and older. --Susan Harrison.
Price: $2.63
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1635: The Dreeson Incident (The Ring of Fire)
The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, but a new force is gathering power and influence: the Confederated Principalities of Europe, an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident. While the old entrenched rulers and manipulators continue to plot against this new upstart nation, everyday life goes on in Grantville, the town lost in time, with librarians, firefighters, and garbage collectors trying to make do under unusual circumstances. And what better place for an undercover spy from France than working with the garbage collectors, examining 20th century machines that others throw out and copying the technology (though he wishes one devicethe paper shredderhad been left behind in the future). There are more sinister agents at work, however. One of them, Ducos, almost succeeded in assassinating the Pope, but his plan was ruined by quick action by a few Americans. Now, the would-be assassin not only has a score to settle, but has also decided on two excellent targets: Grantville's leader Mike Stearns and his wife Rebecca. . . ..
Price: $17.16
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The Confused Photographer's Guide to Photographic Exposure and the Simplified Zone System
Contrary to popular belief, when you buy an expensive camera the exposure skills DO NOT COME with it! When you buy an expensive GUITAR, you KNOW that playing skills DO NOT COME with it! When you buy an expensive CAR, you KNOW that driving skills DO NOT COME with it! When you buy an expensive CAMERA, why, then, do you NOT KNOW that exposure skills DO NOT COME with it? This book teaches the beginning Digital/35mm photographer (9th grade level) the simple and practical methods of correctly exposing a subject. This is also the world's first Digital Zone System book that addresses the application of the Zone System of exposure using current manual digital cameras including many of today's D-Slrs. The book covers in detail the applications of a camera's meter, an off-camera spot meter, an off-camera incident meter, and easy-to-remember techniques for exposing sunlit to moonlit subjects without a meter. The book uses Farzad's simplified 5-stop technique using 100 ISO color slide or Digital Film as its base, but the same techniques can be applied to Black and White, as well as color negative film with different ISOs. Since all the thinking is done before the photographer takes the picture, the book is ideal for this millennium's 35mm photographers that use one-hour processing labs. Since all the exposure decisions are made ahead of time (before the picture is taken), the technique saves the digital photographer many hours that he or she would waste behind the computer trying to figure out what he/she wanted to capture in the first place. The highest level of math required from the reader to understand this book, is to be able to multiply and divide a number by two. Also in the fourth edition (with the Lotus flower on the cover), a special calibration section is added to the end of the book for all those photographers who have spent a few thousand dollars on their D-Slr and are consistently getting underexposed and unacceptable images. The fourth edition also includes Digital footnotes and assignments for photographers using manual digital cameras. The book also includes Digital as well as 35mm exposure cheat sheets for Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS 10D, Canon EOS 20D, Canon EOS 30D, Canon EOS A2/A2e, Canon EOS Rebel TI, Canon EOS Rebel XT, Canon EOS Rebel Xti, Canon PowerShot G5, FujiFilm FinePix S7000, Minolta Maxxum 5, Minolta Maxxum 7, Minolta Maxxum 9, Minolta Maxxum STSi, Nikon Coolpix 990, Nikon Coolpix 5700, Nikon Coolpix 8700, Nikon D50, Nikon D70, Nikon D80, Nikon D200, Nikon F4, Nikon F5, Nikon F100, Nikon N70, Nikon N90, Nikon N6006, Nikon N8008s, Pentax *ist-D, Pentax 645N, Pentax MZS, Pentax PZ1P, and Sony DSC-F717..
Price: $14.50
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The Second Plane: September 11: Terror and Boredom
A master not only of fiction but also of fiercely controversial political engagement, Martin Amis here gathers fourteen pieces that constitute an evolving, provocative, and insightful examination of the most momentous event of our time.
At the heart of this collection is the long essay “Terror and Boredom,” an unsparing analysis of Islamic fundamentalism and the West’s flummoxed response to it, while other pieces address the invasion of Iraq, the realities of Iran, and Tony Blair’s lingering departure from Downing Street (and also his trips to Washington and Iraq). Amis’s reviews of pertinent books and films, from The Looming Tower to United 93, provide a far-ranging survey of other responses to these calamitous issues, which are further explored in two short stories: “The Last Days of Muhammed Atta,” its subject self-evident, and “In the Palace of the End,” narrated by a Middle Eastern tyrant’s double whose duties include epic lovemaking, grotesque torture, and the duplication on his own body of the injuries sustained by his alter ego in constant assassination attempts.
Whether lambasted for his refusal to kowtow to Muslim pieties or hailed for his common sense, wide reading, and astute perspective, Amis is indisputably a great pleasure to read—informed, elegant, surprising—and this collection a resounding contemplation of the relentless, manifold dangers we suddenly find ourselves living with. .
Price: $12.99
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Safety 24/7: Building an Incident-Free Culture
SAFETY 24/7 Building an Incident Free Safety Culture By Gregory M. Anderson & Robert L. Lorber, Ph.D. Book Summary.
Price: $14.95
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