A definitive account of World War II by America's preeminent military historian

World War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. Never before had a war been fought on so many diverse landscapes and in so many different ways, from rocket attacks in London to jungle fighting in Burma to armor strikes in Libya.

The Second World Wars examines how combat unfolded in the air, at sea, and on land to show how distinct conflicts among disparate combatants coalesced into one interconnected global war. Drawing on 3,000 years of military history, Victor Davis Hanson argues that despite its novel industrial barbarity, neither the war's origins nor its geography were unusual. Nor was its ultimate outcome surprising. The Axis powers were well prepared to win limited border conflicts, but once they blundered into global war, they had no hope of victory.

An authoritative new history of astonishing breadth, The Second World Wars offers a stunning reinterpretation of history's deadliest conflict.

The True Story Behind the Events on 9/11 that Inspired Broadway’s Smash Hit Musical Come from Away

When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill.

As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.

Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Ginny Carter was once a rising star in TV news, married to a top anchorman, with a three-year-old son and a full and happy life in Beverly Hills—until her whole world dissolved in a single instant on the freeway two days before Christmas. In the aftermath, she pieces her life back together and tries to find meaning in her existence as a human rights worker in the worst areas around the globe.
 
Then, on the anniversary of the fateful accident—and wrestling with the lure of death herself—she meets a boy who will cause her life to change forever yet again. Thirteen-year-old Blue Williams has been living on the streets, abandoned by his family, rarely attending school, and utterly alone. Following her instincts, Ginny reaches out to him. Leery of everyone, he runs from her again and again. But he always returns, and each time, their friendship grows.
 
Blue glows with outsized spirit and an irresistible mix of innocence and wisdom beyond his years. Ginny offers him respect as they form an unusual bond and become the family they each lost. But just as Blue is truly beginning to trust her, she learns of a shocking betrayal that he has been hiding. Is it a wound too deep to heal, or will she be able to fight the battle that will make them both whole again?
 
Blue is #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel at her finest, a probing and emotionally gripping story of dark secrets revealed, second chances, and the power of love and courage to overcome life’s greatest challenges.

He’s the seventh son of a seventh son. She's the daughter of a wise woman. They're both trying to avoid their fates.

Diarmuid is not a typical bard. His tales aren't about hope and heroism, but instead they reflect the darkness he feels inside. When he inadvertently brings his imaginary muse to life, everything she knows comes from Diarmuid's melancholic tales. Desiring her own life, she leaves Diarmuid and sets out to live in the only way she knows how.

Brigit tries to be a good wise woman like her mother, but feels like she’s wasting her life dispensing charms and cures. She spends her days longing for danger and adventure. When she encounters a fey and becomes the victim of a cruel curse, she gets more adventure than she ever wanted.

As the pair cross paths, they soon realise that the only way to succeed in their quests is to join forces. Together, they discover the true nature of Diarmuid’s bond with his muse. While the world will never be safe with the creature on the prowl, destroying her could have fatal consequences…

Muse is the first book in a series of Celtic-inspired historical fantasy novels with a fairytale feeling. If you like lush historical backdrops, complex characters, and new spins on Celtic mythology, then you’ll love Kylie Quillinan’s engaging series starter.

Pick up a copy of Muse to begin the unforgettable journey today!

Curious about her birth mother, Jenna Caldwell leaves Chicago and sets off to find the woman who gave her up for adoption. But her life is turned upside down one fateful night. After surviving an automobile accident, which leaves one woman dead, Jenna realizes her life has been stripped away. She’s trapped in the body of another woman.

Jack Bolinger finds it hard to believe his wife doesn’t remember him, their daughter, or their rocky marriage. He finds it even harder to believe he’s falling in love with this woman. But something is different about her since the accident, which left her with amnesia, or so he thinks. In fact, he swears she isn’t the same person at all. However, when he suspects that prior to the accident she may have hired someone to kill him, he soon realizes the mistake he’s made by trusting her.

Jenna must try to stop a vicious killer from harming Jack. At the same time she must try to prove her love for her newfound husband, along with proving her innocence. Starting over with so many lies standing between them, and a killer on the loose, could be the biggest challenge of their lives. But these two people have no choice but to forget about their pasts and let love save them.

CHANCES ARE is the first book in the Chance At Love series.

As a new century approaches, Edinburgh is a city divided. The wealthy residents of New Town live in comfort, while Old Town’s cobblestone streets are clotted with criminals, prostitution, and poverty.

Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton is no stranger to Edinburgh’s darkest crimes. Scarred by the mysterious fire that killed his parents, he faces his toughest case yet when a young man is found strangled in Holyrood Park.

With little evidence aside from a strange playing card found on the body, Hamilton engages the help of his aunt, a gifted photographer, and George Pearson, a librarian with a shared interest in the criminal mind. But the body count is rising. As newspapers spin tales of the “Holyrood Strangler,” panic sets in across the city. And with each victim, the murderer is getting closer to Hamilton, the one man who dares to stop him.

Twin sisters separated by the past are reunited by unspeakable crimes in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s throat-clutching novel of suspense…

Trauma victims are not new to medical examiner Faith McIntyre, but this one is different. The unconscious woman clinging to life after a hit and run is FBI agent Macy Crow. What the woman from Quantico was doing in a dark alley after midnight is just one mystery. The other is more unsettling: Macy is Faith’s mirror image—the twin sister she never knew she had.

Faith knew that she was adopted, but now she’s finding that her childhood concealed other secrets. Following the trail of clues Macy left behind, Faith and Texas Ranger Mitchell Hayden make a shocking discovery on an isolated country ranch—a burial ground for three women who disappeared thirty years before.

They weren’t the only victims in a killer’s twisted plot. And they won’t be the last.

As the missing pieces of Faith’s and Macy’s dark lives snap into place, Faith is becoming more terrified by what she sees—and by what she must do to save her sister and herself from the past.

THE BESTSELLING CLASSIC ON 'FLOW' – THE KEY TO UNLOCKING MEANING, CREATIVITY, PEAK PERFORMANCE, AND TRUE HAPPINESS

Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi ("the leading researcher into ‘flow states’" —Newsweek) demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

"Explores a happy state of mind called flow, the feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity." —Time

A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead "checking out" impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he's embarked on a complex analysis of the customers' behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what's going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that's rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.

He does the government’s dirty work. When he’s double-crossed by one of his own, he’ll stop at nothing to take out the trash.

Korea, 22nd Century. Surrender isn’t in Stefan Mendoza’s DNA. So when a traitor betrays his black-ops team, he alone pushes through the torture and escapes with revenge burning in his mind. On the verge of a systems failure, he taps into his underground network for a set of cybernetic limbs. But his high-tech recovery comes at a heavy price—an assassination hit on a rising political star.

Filled with resentment for the cutthroat world of contract killers, he uses the hit job as a cover to track down the traitor. When he discovers he’s competing with other assassins for the same political target, he starts to piece together a sinister conspiracy that could lead him straight to the shadowy figure behind his betrayal.

Trapped within a hotbed of corruption, can Mendoza exact his revenge and win his freedom or will he spiral deeper into the twisted game of brokered death?

Into Twilight is the first book in The Stefan Mendoza Trilogy of high-octane cyberpunk techno-thrillers. If you like street-smart soldiers, complex conspiracies, and immersive sci-fi settings, then you'll love P.R. Adams's noir-style page-turner.

Buy Into Twilight to take a walk on the dark side of justice today!

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood, the first book in the Holly Lin series.

"Excellent—memorable and something I’ll read more than once." —Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of An Untamed State

MEET HOLLY LIN. NANNY BY DAY. ASSASSIN BY NIGHT.

Holly Lin is living two lives. To her friends and family, she's a pleasant, hardworking nanny. To her boss and colleagues, she's one of the best non-sanctioned government assassins in the world.

But when a recent mission goes wrong causing one of her team members to die, she realizes she might no longer be cut out for the work — except the mission, as it turns out, is only half over, and to complete it will take her halfway across the world and bring her face to face with a ghost from her past.

Things are about to get personal. And as Holly Lin's enemies are about to find out, she is not a nanny they want to piss off.

Life, death, and rebirth, Isis’s and Osiris’s future hinges on all three.

A century ago, the Dragon Kingdom of Nebty was lost to darkness. Invaded by demon hordes hellbent on stealing two powerful scepters, the Demon King claimed the preternatural realm as his own. To survive, the dragons fled their beloved home and sought refuge in the human realm.

Having lived most of their lives in human form, Queen Isis and Rock Dragon Osiris, mere children during the Great Exodus, find themselves clinging to their culture and the ties that bind what’s left of Dragonkind. Safe and assured that they are free from the threat of demons, their love flourishes. Yet, on one horrific night, their lives are shattered by tragedy and betrayal. They learn that no realm is beyond the brutal reach of the Demon King.

Scores must be settled.
Love must be remembered.
And a lost nation must be reclaimed.

Still reeling from the unexpected sale of the land she and her horses live on, horse rescuer Kelsey Blaine is frantic when she comes home to find her possessions already boxed up and her house being bulldozed without any notice. Normally calm and kind, Kelsey becomes furious and impulsively cuts a privacy fence to confront the culprit–her mysterious neighbor, Joe.

Joe Kilcoyne is in a desperate place. He guards his secrets and hides from the world for a reason. He's the hottest topic of speculation around Whiskey River, but no one has ever dared to get close to him. That is, until fiery Kelsey comes barging straight into his life.

The last thing Joe needs is for Kelsey to breach his defenses and make him confront his past. But when her sunny, open, and determined personality collide with a haunted man with no idea how to reconnect with the world, the sparks that ignite shock them both.

Readers who have enjoyed the emotional, heartfelt stories of authors like Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks may enjoy "this great read about life, love, and the consequences of choices and actions."

A contemporary romance for anyone who's ever believed that true love never leaves our hearts. . .
People say you can’t ever go back. That some of the things that happen to us simply cannot be redone.

But the paths of a life journey are rarely straight. They twist and turn and wind back across those once visited and long thought to have faded from existence.

Becca Miller has lived her life trying to do the right thing, even when its cost has been giving up the boy she loved and wanted to marry. The sacrifice she made for her sister isn’t one she regrets because there was no other choice for her to make. And for eighteen years, she lives this choice with full commitment and as little looking back as she can manage.

When Matt Griffith returns to Ballard County for the funeral of his grandmother, the path that had seemed so straight begins to loop back and take her across feelings she thought she had put away for good. As it turns out, those roads we’ve traveled do not fade at all. They simply wait to be retraveled, leaving us with the decision to follow them exactly as we did before, or make a different choice and find out where it will lead us. (Previously titled Crossing Tinker's Knob.)

"I don’t want to do an “actual” book review for this because it doesn’t need spoilers, it doesn’t need me to tell you what’s going to happen; YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK! It’s the epitome of women’s fiction. I’ve never read a women’s fiction book that I was so consumed by. Please take a few hours, a few days, whatever you need and read this book. It’s one my most favorites for 2014." - Shannon Daniel - Amazon Review

"This book moved me in ways that I find hard to explain in this review. The only thing I can compare it to is another book I read that also moved me in ways I couldn't explain - Night Road by Kristin Hannah. Ms. Cooper's writing is rich and descriptive; you can see and feel what the characters see and feel." - Amazon.com Reviewer ButtonsMom2003

"Oh wow...I just finished and am sitting here stunned by the depth of this story...I have had so many emotions rung out of me by these characters. Ms. Cooper's ability to capture so many characters individuality is storytelling at its best and says much about her talent as a writer!" - Amazon.com Reviewer S. Schwartz

"Crossing Tinker's Knob is one of those sit down and read it until it's done kind of books that takes you through the life of a young woman who gave up her true love to help her sister through a tragedy. You will be pulled into the story and find yourself rooting for the characters as they all face the consequences of decisions made 18 years ago. Life and love always find a way." - Amazon.com Reviewer K. White

“Remarkable.… Gaiman has provided an enchanting contemporary interpretation of the Viking ethos.”—Lisa L. Hannett, Atlantic

Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok.

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

Cade MacKenzie is prepared to give his life to destroy the cartel that killed his lover, but the only way to draw them out is to present them with the perfect bait.

Bayleigh Scott has no idea who her new neighbor is, only that her body is drawn to him in ways she can’t explain, and the danger that surrounds him isn’t the deterrent she knows it should be.

More than fireworks explode between Cade and Bayleigh when she discovers the real reason he relentlessly pursued her, but by then it’s too late, because she’s already been drawn into a deadly game of desire, deception and revenge.

THE MACKENZIE SERIES:
Dane
Thomas
Riley
Cooper
A MacKenzie Christmas (All I Want for Christmas Anthology)

This title was previously released with a different cover.

A Hail Mary play for the heart.

Bridal designer, Julianne Marchione knows better than to lose her head at a client’s wedding. But, much to her embarrassment, a mix of migraine medication and a smoking hot football player lead to a steamy one-night stand resulting in a surprise pregnancy. Julianne has every intention of leaving her NFL hookup far in the past until her son, Owen, is born with a life-threatening blood disorder that requires a transfusion—and Julianne is not a match.

Will “William the Conqueror” Connelly grew up tough shouldering the stigma of being a bastard child born on the wrong side of the tracks He refuses to let any child face the same discrimination. When he finds out about Owen, he’s furious that Julianne kept his son a secret. But when he sees her again at the hospital, he realizes that his feelings for her go far beyond anger.

Will insists that Owen recuperate at his home in North Carolina, and he’s adamant that Julianne become his wife—even if it’s only a temporary marriage in name only. But will their simmering attraction ever lead to a real connection? Or are they just playing foolish games?

This title was previously released with a different cover.

Embrace the call of destiny with the Award-Winning Gryphon Series written by Stacey Rourke. Fate and sacred calling have landed nineteen-year-old Celeste Garrett in the middle of a demonic war, with nowhere to run. Journey through the chronicles of this Young Adult adventure which includes four full length books, and two bonus novellas.

The Conduit
Embrace
The Sidekick Chronicles, Vol I
Sacrifice
The Sidekick Chronicles, Vol II
Ascension

RONE Award Winner Young Adult Fantasy 2012
YATR Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Best Teen Read 2013

“Another fantastic, awesome, laugh-out-loud funny addition to the library of ‘falling in love’ with Stacey Rourke books! It’s different, and a great example of some pre-Twilight era YA Paranormal books, where angst was minimal, family was important and adventures were up front and center.” -InD’Tale Magazine

“Celeste is a well-rounded character and a spunky, sassy protagonist. Though she is a superhero, she commands compassion because she is so human and vulnerable, flawed and weak in spite of super powers. She has the demands of a job, sibling feuds, family issues and the weight of the world on her shoulders.” -IndieReader

After being left at the altar, Jade Roberts seeks solace at her best friend’s ranch on the Colorado western slope. Her humiliation still ripe, she doesn't expect to be attracted to her friend’s reticent brother, but when the gorgeous cowboy kisses her, all bets are off.

Talon Steel is broken. Having never fully healed from a horrific childhood trauma, he simply exists, taking from women what is offered and giving nothing in return...until Jade Roberts catapults into his life. She is beautiful, sweet, and giving, and his desire for her becomes a craving he fears he'll never be able to satisfy.

Passion sizzles between the two lovers...but long-buried secrets haunt them both and may eventually tear them apart.

The Nightwalkers have been forced underground by humanity's treachery. The Oasis, their haven beneath the city of Chicago, has become infected with a fatal fever that is wiping out the last remaining species of Nightwalkers. The dream of a future is crumbling.

Someone must find the Drayada Stone and bring it back to restore life to the dying underground community. It is a perilous journey, and those who take it will be forced to go where no Nightwalker has been in ages: Topside.

The Underground Council appoints this task to a young witch, Zora, who will be accompanied by three unlikely companions she has grown up with in The Oasis. An angel, a vampire, and a werewolf.

There is an ancient evil that stands between the Drayada Stone and the four companions. Zora must look deep within herself to find the power to destroy the biggest enemy of the Nightwalkers, and in so doing, she might just destroy herself.

Will four young Nightwalkers be enough to save a dying species, or will they be buried beneath the rock and rubble of history and forgotten by humanity?