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万本电子书0元读

Holding Back the Sea
Holding Back the Sea
Hallowell, Christopher
¥85.05
Katrina's arrival on the Gulf Coast was a long time in coming. But it was assured. Since 1965, when Hurricane Betsy struck New Orleans, breached a levee, and flooded part of the city, everyone was waiting and talking about when the Big One would strike and do even more damage. Katrina was that hurricane, predictedand imagined before she struck, but so much worse in her reality.Holding Back the Sea is about the consequences of ignoring the warning signs that nature provides and the struggle to convince the rest of the country that South Louisiana lay in the path of destruction. The signs were not subtle; there were Hurricanes Andrew in 1992, George and Mitch in 1998, and Ivan in 2004, among others. At one time or another in their journeys north, they all threatened New Orleans. Some had headed right for the city before veering to the east and west, sparing the Big Easy and reinforcing the nickname. But the Big Easy ended -- at least in reputation -- on August 29, 2005, when the Big One came ashore as Katrina.
This is a Soul
This is a Soul
Berger, Marilyn
¥85.05
"Whoever Saves a Life, It Is Considered as If He Saved an Entire World" Dr. Rick Hodes arrived in Africa more than two decades ago to help the victims of a famine, but he never expected to call this extremely poor continent his home. Twenty-eight years later, he is still there.This Is a Soul tells the remarkable story of Rick Hodes's journey from suburban America to Mother Teresa's clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As a boy, Rick was devoted to helping those in need, and eventually he determined that becoming a doctor would allow him to do the most good. When he heard about famine in Africa, that's where he went, and when genocide convulsed Rwanda, he went into the refugee camps to minister to the victims. When he was told that Ethiopia was allowing its Jews to emigrate to Israel, he went to help. While there, he was drawn to Mother Teresa's mission in Addis Ababa. It was there that Rick found his calling when he began caring for the sickest children in one of the world's poorest countries. But he did more than that he began taking them into his home and officially adopted five of them. This Is a Soul is also a book filled with great joy and triumph. When Rick's kids return from surgery or life-saving treatments, he is exultant. "Seeing these people after surgery is like going to heaven," he says.Marilyn Berger went to Africa to write about Dr. Hodes, but while there, she became involved with the story. When she came upon a small, deformed, and malnourished boy begging on the street, she recognized immediately that he had the exact disease Rick could cure. She took him to Rick, who eventually arranged for the boy to have a complicated and risky surgery, which turned out to be incredibly successful. The boy's story intertwined with Rick's, and Marilyn's as well is unforgettable in its pathos and subtle humor. This Is a Soul is not just a story of the savior and the saved, it is a celebration of love and wisdom, and an exploration of how charity and devotion can actually change lives in an overcrowded, unjust, and often harsh world.
The Hunger
The Hunger
DeLucie, John
¥85.05
A page-turning memoir from the chef of The Waverly Inn, New York City's vaunted celebrity gathering spot The Hunger is an insider's romp through the crazy life of the restaurant business, told by a journeyman chef who fought his way to the top. Trapped in a dead-end job, John DeLucie called it quits and invested his meager savings in a ten-week cooking class. Upon completion, armed with no professional experience and the barest of basic skills, he walked into the renowned gourmet shop Dean & DeLuca and asked for a job. The next day he found himself chopping forty pounds of onions in the prep-kitchen basement. A glamorous new chapter had begun. DeLucie worked his way up the bumpy NYC food chain, from executive chef at La Bottega to Nick & Toni's in East Hampton, eventually finding his way to The Waverly Inn, which he opened with publishing magnate Graydon Carter and several partners. It was here that John married his mastery of simple but unique flavors with Carter's A+ list of glitterati to create downtown's hottest eatery.The Hunger tracks John though the pitfalls of cooking for a living, as well as the roller-coaster ride that became his personal life. Woven into the grit are the stories behind some of DeLucie's signature recipes, including New York's "Best High-End Burger" and the now famous truffled mac and cheese. Here is John's tale about food, desire, and appetite and how one person overcame all odds to make it in the fiercely competitive world of food.
Lost Girls and Love Hotels
Lost Girls and Love Hotels
Hanrahan, Catherine
¥85.05
Margaret is doing everything in her power to forget home. And Tokyo's exotic nightlife -- teeming with intoxicants, pornography, and three-hour love hotels -- enables her to keep her demons at bay. Working as an English specialist at Air-Pro Stewardess Training Institute by day, and losing herself in a sex- and drug-addled oblivion by night, Margaret represses memories of her painful childhood and her older brother Frank's descent into madness.But Margaret's deliberate nihilism is thrown off balance as she becomes increasingly haunted by images of a Western girl missing in Tokyo. And when she becomes enamored of Kazu, a mysterious gangster, their affair sparks a chain of events that could spell tragedy for Margaret, in a city where it's all too easy to disappear.
Heart of Deception
Heart of Deception
Malcolm, M.L.
¥85.05
From M. L. Malcolm, the acclaimed author of Heart of Lies, comes a powerful sequel that spans the years from World War II to the turbulent 1960s—the riveting story of a family struggling with choices forced upon them by war . . . and the consequences that will take a generation to unfold.Aman of many contradictions, Leo Hoffman is a Hungarian national with a French passport, a wealthy businessman with no visible means of support, and a devoted father who hasn't seen his daughter in years. He is also a spy.Recruited by the Allies to help lay the groundwork for their invasion of North Africa, Leo intends to engage in as little espionage as possible—just enough to earn his American citizenship so he can get to New York and reunite with his daughter, Maddy. But while Leo dodges death in France and Morocco, Maddy is learning shocking truths about her father's mysterious past—haunting knowledge that will compel her down her own dangerous path of deception and discovery.
The River Road
The River Road
Osborn, Karen
¥85.05
David and Michael Sanderson are brothers, inseparable since childhood from each other and from their neighbor Kay Richards, a complicated young woman involved in a passionate and obsessive love affair with David. One spring night, while at home on a break from college, the threesome embarks on a night of adventure and experimentation, driving recklessly through the Connecticut Valley. Stopping at the French King Bridge, David -- full of hubris and hallucinogens -- dares to jump, mistakenly believing he'll be able to swim ashore. With this one act, he sets in motion an inexorable chain of events that indelibly alters the lives of everyone involved.Told through the alternating voices of Kay, Michael, and David's father, Kevin, The River Road is a closely observed and psychologically penetrating narrative of the accusations, murder investigation, and courtroom battle that follow.
Síla v kordech rodu Wellnsburg?:Knihy osud?
Síla v kordech rodu Wellnsburg?:Knihy osud?
Erika P. Hamlet
¥85.05
P?íběh se odehrává na konci 17. století v době, která jakoby se zastavila u mocného kardinála Richelieua, kterému t?i mu?ket??i p?ipravili mnoho bezesn?ch nocí. Tě?k? je ?ivot chudého lidu, kde honby na ?arodějnice a udava?ství jsou na denním po?ádku a moc církve a bohaté ?lechty je naprosto nep?emo?itelná. Knihy osud? otvírají vyprávění o těch, kte?í se narodili do slavn?ch, nebo chud?ch rodin v?této nelehké době. Katarine a Martrek, kte?í ?ijí sv?j ?ivot v?anonymitě a stranou od prot?elé aristokracie jsou obda?eni dvoj?aty, chlape?kem Christopherem a p?vabnou hol?i?kou Elizabeth. Rána osudu v?ak zp?etrhá v?echny rodinné pouta a to krátce po jejich narození. Elizabeth je p?esvěd?ena, ?e její bratr zem?el a Christopher, pohledn? mlad? ?lechtic je zase p?esvěd?en o tom, ?e Elizabeth je dívkou jeho srdce i p?esto v?echno, ?e nemá modrou krev. P?i narození těchto dvoj?at jim jejich sudi?ky p?edur?ily osud, na kterém je budou doprovázet bez toho, aby jim daly najevo, kdo jsou a pro? jsou s?nimi. T?i veselé sestry, podobné těm z?klá?tera, jen? zasvětily sv?j ?ivot Bohu, budou bravurně, se v?í grácii a humorem plnit sv?j úkol na kter? byly vyslány.
Jurnal
Jurnal
Rilke Rainer Maria
¥85.05
Un roman splendid de aventuri africane. Suspence. Intrig? erotic?. Speciali?ti de ?nalt? clas? angrena?i ?ntr-o textura epic? de o densitate surprinz?toare.?Jerome a fost ?oferul agen?iei noastre ONU din Abidjan, Coasta de Filde?. ?ofer, am zis? Cred c? am exagerat. El nu ?tia s? conduc?. Volanul, ambreiajul, fr?nele, acceleratorul, dar mai ales schimb?torul de viteze erau instrumente care-l ?ngrozeau. Nu ?tiu cum a ob?inut permisul de conducere. Nu ?tiu cum s-a strecurat pe lista personalului auxiliar al Programului Na?iunilor Unite pentru Dezvoltare – PNUD, local. ?n mod normal, dup? c?teva zile, ar fi trebuit s?-l schimb cu un adevarat ?ofer. Dar era prea t?rziu. M? ata?asem de el, de r?sul lui nechezat, de optimismul lui absurd, de povestirile lui tipic africane, ?n care realitatea se confund? cu imagina?ia ?i ?n care el juc? rolul fiec?rui erou, cel mai ?nzestrat fiind el ?nsu?i, bine?n?eles. El ne-a ajutat, cu riscul libert??ii ?i, uneori, chiar al vie?ii lui, s? aflam cine ?i pentru ce exper?ii Na?iunilor Unite din Coasta de Filde? erau lua?i ca ostateci, dac? nu pur ?i simplu asasina?i. Pentru toate acestea ?i pentru ?nc? altele, am considerat c? Jerome merit? s? fie cunoscut de un cerc mai larg dec?t cel al nostru, al exper?ilor, ?i am scris acest roman, povestit a?a cum m-a ?nv??at el, cu o realitate ce se confund? adesea cu imagina?ia.“ (Alcaz)
Matters of Chance
Matters of Chance
Haien, Jeannette
¥85.05
Matters of Chance is a glorious, aptivating novel about Morgan and Maude Shurtliff, who fall in love and marry in the years before World WarII. Unable to have children of their own, Morgan and Maude adopt twin girls. The four go home to their beautiful house in the country outside ofNew York City and begin to settle into what they hope will be a long and happy life. When the twins are still young, Morgan is called to serve inWorld War II, leaving Maude to raise her daughters alone. Jeannette Haien has rendered Morgan's war experiences with astonishing detail, just as she has captured the American post-war era with a precision that is unrivaled in recent fiction.
The Fine Wisdom and Perfect Teachings of the Kings of Rock and Roll
The Fine Wisdom and Perfect Teachings of the Kings of Rock and Roll
Edmundson, Mark
¥85.05
"I was at a point of crossing in my life then a liminal moment, as the anthropologists like to say. I was trying to figure out what the world was about and what my place in it was going to be. And somehow I got the idea that these characters, these kings, could help me along." After graduating from college in 1974, Mark Edmundson leaves his small Vermont campus determined to fulfill his destiny a quest he knows involves rock and roll and America's high court of mischief and ambition, New York City. Under the wing of a carousing, Marx-quoting friend, Edmundson moves into a grungy uptown apartment and embarks on a career lugging amps in a New Jersey arena for rock's biggest acts: the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and the Allman Brothers.But as his first year after college wears on, Edmundson finds himself increasingly at odds with life in his adopted city and drifts through a regimen of late-night cab driving and radical politics that leaves him cold and neglectful of the hopes he nursed back in school. Prodded and enlightened along the way by a cast of rogue mentors his "Kings (and Queens) of Rock and Roll" Edmundson checks out of New York, detouring through the Colorado mountains (in a hapless attempt to reconnect with nature), and tending the front door of a Northampton disco (witnessing the death throes of the sexual revolution), before landing in Vermont to teach English at a progressive boarding school.It's here that Edmundson begins to grasp, with the help of the charismatic headmaster and the dazed student body, the inkling of a valuable lesson. It's here, rather surprisingly, that he finds his "it": the perfect vocation his slightly crazy, ideal way of life.A coming-of-age memoir that asks enduring questions about the world and our role in it, The Fine Wisdom and Perfect Teachings of the Kings of Rock and Roll is a soulful, whip-smart, and resonant testament of the postcollege years and the challenges of navigating one's own dreams.
She's Having a Baby
She's Having a Baby
Barron, James D.
¥85.05
A Man's Survival Guide to PregnancyIt's easy for a man to feel like a bystander during pregnancy. Finally, from one man to another, here is a pregnancy book with funny, down-to-earth, and practical advice on: figuring out what you wife's obstetrician is saying keeping your sex life alive staying on top of insurance forms and other paperwork and much, much more This book will help make pregnancy the experience of a lifetime.
The Portland Vase
The Portland Vase
Brooks, Robin
¥85.05
For thousands of years an enigmatic and astonishingly beautiful piece of Roman art has captivated those who have come in contact with it.Made before the birth of Christ, the Portland Vase, as it is called, is renowned for both its beauty and its mystery.In The Portland Vase, Robin Brooks takes us on a vivid journey across Europe and through the centuries, as this delicate piece of glass, less than ten inches in height, passes through the hands of a stunning cast of characters, including the first Roman emperor, Augustus; a notorious tomb raider; a reckless cardinal; a princess with a nasty gambling habit; the ceramics genius Josiah Wedgwood; the secretive Duchess of Portland; and a host of politicians, dilettantes, and scam artists.Rich with passion, inspiration, jealousy, and endless speculation, the story of The Portland Vase spans more than two thousand years and remains one of the art world's greatest enigmas.
Queen of the Oddballs
Queen of the Oddballs
Carlip, Hillary
¥85.05
A hilariously offbeat memoir about an adventurous young woman's escapades as she defies conventions and transforms an ordinary Los Angeles life into a star-studded, extraordinary miracle of self-discovery.Queen of the Oddballs forms a chronology of Hillary Carlip's habitual straying from roads more traveled -- from a wisecracking third-grader suspended from school for smoking (while imitating Holly Golightly) to a headline-making teen activist, juggler and fire eater, friend (NOT "fan") of Carly Simon and Carole King, grand prize-winning Gong Show contestant, cult rock star, and seeker of spiritual and romantic truths that definitely defy expectations.Illustrated with ephemera -- from diary entries and photographs to a handwritten letter from Carly Simon -- Queen of the Oddballs presents a virtual time capsule of pop culture's last four decades and celebrates a creative life lived to the hilt.
The End of Anger
The End of Anger
Cose, Ellis
¥85.05
From a venerated and bestselling voice on American life comes a contemporary look at the decline of black rage; the demise of white guilt; and the intergenerational shifts in how blacks and whites view, and interact with, each otherIn the heady aftermath of President Obama's election, conventional wisdom suggested that the bitter, angry, and destructive elements of discrimination were ebbing at last and America was becoming a postracial nation. But with this dawning age that promised so much came shifting demographics and a newfound seat of rage in the polarizing Tea Party movement, even as black optimism gained ground, giving rise to questions about assumed truths concerning race in America.Combining the talents earned from a lifetime in journalism with the insights and thoughtfulness of a close observer of the American experience, renowned author Ellis Cose offers a fresh, original appraisal of our nation at this extraordinary time, tracking the diminishment of black anger and investigating the "generational shifting of the American mind." Weaving material from myriad interviews as well as two large and ambitious surveys that he conducted one of black Harvard MBAs and the other of graduates of A Better Chance, a program offering elite educational opportunities to thousands of young people of color since 1963 Cose offers an invaluable portrait of contemporary America that attempts to make sense of what a people do when the dream, for some, is finally within reach as one historical era ends and another begins. In short, The End of Anger is not just about blacks but about America its past and its hoped-for future and may well be the most important book dealing with race to be published in recent decades.
Nothing
Nothing
Butler, Blake
¥85.05
One of the most acclaimed young voices of his generation, Blake Butler now offers his first work of nonfiction: a deeply candid and wildly original look at the phenomenon of insomnia.Invoking scientific data, historical anecdote, Internet obsession, and figures as diverse as Andy Warhol, Gilles Deleuze, John Cage, Anton LaVey, Jorge Luis Borges, Brian Eno, and Stephen King, Butler traces the tension between sleeping and conscious life. And he reaches deep into his own experience from disturbing waking dreams, to his father's struggles with dementia, to his own epic 129-hour bout of insomnia to reveal the effect of sleeplessness on his imaginative landscape. The result is an exhilarating exploration of dream and awareness, desperation and relief, consciousness and conscience a fascinating maze-map of the borders between sleep and the waking world by one of today's most talked-about writers.
The Gospel of Food
The Gospel of Food
Glassner, Barry
¥85.05
For many Americans, eating is a religion. We worship at the temples of celebrity chefs. We raise our children to believe that certain foods are good and others are bad. We believe that if we eat the right foods, we will live longer, and if we eat in the right places, we will raise our social status. Yet what we believe to be true about food is, in fact, quite contradictory.Part expose, part social commentary, The Gospel of Food is a rallying cry to abandon the fads and fallacies in favor of calmer, more pleasurable eating. By interviewing chefs, food chemists, nutritionists, and restaurant critics about the way we eat, sociologist Barry Glassner helps us recognize the myths, half-truths, and guilt trips they promulgate, and liberates us for greater joy at the table.
A Broom of One's Own
A Broom of One's Own
Peacock, Nancy
¥85.05
For the twice-published novelist, reading an article about herself in the National Enquirer under the headline "Here's One for the Books: Cleaning Lady Is an Acclaimed Author" was more than a shock. It was an inspiration. In A Broom of One's Own, Nancy Peacock, whose first novel was selected by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year, explores with warmth, wit, and candor what it means to be a writer. An encouragement to all hard-working artists, no matter how they make a living, Peacock's book provides valuable insights and advice on motivation, craft, and criticism while offering hilarious anecdotes about the houses she cleans.
The Best Seat in the House
The Best Seat in the House
Rucker, Allen
¥85.05
Like the day Elvis died or O.J. was acquitted, the Tuesday you wake up paralyzed is not a day you soon forget. For writer Allen Rucker baby boomer, husband, father of two, aging Hollywood also-ran life started over that Tuesday when, at the age of fifty-one, he was struck by a rare disorder transverse myelitis that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Why himWas he being punishedWas it his stressful lifeHis frustrating careerTelling too many Christopher Reeve jokesDazed and paralyzed, he was forced to reevaluate everything, from the simplest bodily functions to the mysteries of the universe. In a style that is at once funny and moving, The Best Seat in the House offers an unpretentious and unapologetic account of learning to live with paralysis. Without trivializing his situation, and without sermons or clichs, Rucker invites all readers, whether disabled or not, to identify with him for better or for worse. This remarkably comic and heartfelt book speaks to the fragility of life and to the resilience and adaptability of a single, ordinary human being. Lucky for us, this human being has a sense of humor. At first, it may not look like the best seat in the house, but read on. You might be surprised.
Casa Nostra
Casa Nostra
Manzo, Caroline Seller
¥85.05
Englishwoman Caroline Seller met Marcello Manzo at a Halloween party in London in the mid-seventies. Although she spoke little Italian and he spoke practically no English, the chemistry between them was undeniable, and it wasn't long before Caroline was invited to visit Marcello's family in Mazara del Vallo, Sicily. A large, eccentric, and loving clan living in a magnificent, crumbling villa, Santa Maria, the Manzos welcomed Caroline warmly, and soon she and Marcello were married. Together they traveled the world and started a family, but through it all, Santa Maria was never far from their thoughts. So when the Manzo brothers united to save the family's deteriorating estate, Marcello and Caroline eagerly signed on to the project not entirely prepared for what they were getting into!As seen through the eyes of Caroline Seller Manzo an outsider who is often surprised and always delighted by her Italian family and adopted hometown Casa Nostra is the captivating story of a villa's difficult, glorious rebirth and a celebration of the unique beauty and history of western Sicily and its people.
Dark Cosmos
Dark Cosmos
Hooper, Dan
¥85.05
The twentieth century was astonishing in all regards, shaking the foundations of practically every aspect of human life and thought, physics not least of all. Beginning with the publication of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, through the wild revolution of quantum mechanics, and up until the physics of the modern day (including the astonishing revelation, in 1998, that the Universe is not only expanding, but doing so at an ever-quickening pace), much of what physicists have seen in our Universe suggests that much of our Universe is unseen that we live in a dark cosmos.Everyone knows that there are things no one can see the air you're breathing, for example, or, to be more exotic, a black hole. But what everyone does not know is that what we can see a book, a cat, or our planet makes up only 5 percent of the Universe. The rest fully 95 percent is totally invisible to us; its presence discernible only by the weak effects it has on visible matter around it.This invisible stuff comes in two varieties dark matter and dark energy. One holds the Universe together, while the other tears it apart. What these forces really are has been a mystery for as long as anyone has suspected they were there, but the latest discoveries of experimental physics have brought us closer to that knowledge. Particle physicist Dan Hooper takes his readers, with wit, grace, and a keen knack for explaining the toughest ideas science has to offer, on a quest few would have ever expected: to discover what makes up our dark cosmos.
Latin Love Lessons
Latin Love Lessons
Higgins, Charlotte
¥85.05
It wasn't just heated floors, hot baths, aqueducts, and paved roads that the Romans did first and best they were also experts at the art of love. From the most effective pickup lines to percipient advice on getting over a breakup, from grooming tips to sex tips, the Romans had time-proof solutions. Charlotte Higgins brings them together in this indispensable guide to love a collection of the richest, most illuminating, and sensuous writing about this mysterious emotion that can move us to joy or despair.Filled with the sage advice of Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus, this witty, smart, and laugh-out-loud-funny handbook offers a fresh, new take on romance based on some of civilization's oldest adages.