Dirty Russian: Everyday Slang from "What's Up?" to "F*%# Off!" (Dirty Everyday Slang)

• ISBN13: 9781569757062
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

In the tradition of Training Day and Man on Fire, Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Jerry Maguire) stars in this hard-edged story of a gangbanger turned cop who is forced to choose between his conscience and his loyalty to the code of blue all in the course of one day.

Having been a gangbanger at only 10 years old, Armando Sancho (Clifton Collins, Jr., Capote) always found acceptance in being a part of a group. The only thing better than king of the street? ' a gangster with a badge. Recruited into an undercover, rogue anti-gang unit of the LAPD at only 28 years old, Sancho brings his street smarts into the force that he swore to protect.

But the line between loyalty and protection becomes! blurred when one night on a routine investigation, Sancho's partner Salim (Gooding) kills an innocent man. Unable to deal with his partner's actions and haunted by his conscience, Sancho agrees to testify against his superiors regarding the ongoing criminal enterprises of his squad in exchange for immunity for the murder.

As the hours wear on, Sancho's resolve begins to fade. The IA agents inform him his deal is off unless he can also bring in his partner to corroborate his testimony. Faced with a seemingly impossible task, Sancho realizes for the first time the enormity of the decision he has made.This is what happenedÂ…

I met him at the candy store.

He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children's candy store, mind youâ€"this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss's wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Mil! waukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

I'v! e been h it on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears.

Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake.

The problem with wanting is that it's like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else. I don't apologize for who I am or what I've done inâ€"or outâ€"of bed.

I have my job, my house and my life, and for a long time I haven't wanted anything else.

Until Dan. Until now."Smart, savvy, sexy and a slammin' great read. I LOVE Jackie Mercer!" ~Cindy Gerard, NYT bestselling author DECEPTION Jackie Mercer can’t abide deception. Hey, a woman who single-handedly built the Mercer Detective Agency from the ground up has a right to expect honesty in a relationship. Tell that to the creep who, only this morning, she thought migh! t be Mr. Right. Wrong! DANGER Her day only gets worse from there. An ominous message arrives accompanied by the photo of a man she hasn’t seen in ten years: You were the last one to see him alive. DESIRE Jackie's own first rule is simple: never mix business with pleasure. Unfortunately the only applicant for the investigator position she badly needs filled is a hunky younger man. Derrick Dawson has pleasure written all over his rock-hard body and soon both her business and her world quickly spin way out of control. Time for chocolate and a shot of Old No. 7â€"not necessarily in that order. DISASTER She’s in real trouble when a second message, this one including a dead body, drops into the mix. Jackie does what any smart Texas woman would do: she kicks butt and takes names, while the mystery spiraling around her long lost lover and her attraction to Derrick Dawson plunge her into a tangled web of shocking secrets and deadly deceptions. Jackie has her h! ands full and her heart on the lineâ€"time to play DIRTY.This ! is what happened…
I met him at the candy store.
He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children's candy store, mind youâ€"this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss's wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

I've been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears.

Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake.

The problem with wanting is that it's like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else. I don't apologize for who I am or what I've done inâ€"or outâ€"of bed.

I have my job, my house and my life, and for a long! time I haven't wanted anything else.

Until Dan. Until now.

This is what happened…
I met him at the candy store.
He turned and smiled at me and I was surprised enough to smile back. This was not a children's candy store, mind youâ€"this was the kind of place you went to buy expensive imported chocolate truffles for your boss's wife because you felt guilty for having sex with him when you were both at a conference in Milwaukee.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

I've been hit on plenty of times, mostly by men with little finesse who thought what was between their legs made up for what they lacked between their ears.

Sometimes I went home with them anyway, just because it felt good to want and be wanted, even if it was mostly fake.

The problem with wanting is that it's like pouring water into a vase full of stones. It fills you up before you know it, leaving no room for anything else. I don't apologize for who I am or what I've ! done inâ€"or outâ€"of bed.

I have my job, my house and ! my life, and for a long time I haven't wanted anything else.

Until Dan. Until now.

In the summer of 1963, innocent 17-year-old Baby (Grey) vacations with her parents at a Catskill's resort. One evening, she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.
Stills from Dirty Dancing: Limited Keepsake Edition (Click for larger image)

!

Shy girls need to talk dirty too... The first in the Coffee House Chronicles

Commitment-shy Claudia has found the perfect man. He never leaves his dirty socks in the living room floor, eats all the cookies, or leaves the toilet seat up. In fact, he's just a voice on the other end of the phone. And, as Trixie, she's been talking dirty to him every night for the last week.

"Jack" calls the Talk Dirty To Me phone sex line nightly just to talk to Trixie. She loves his silky voice and he has a way with words that lights her fire, leaving her hungry for more.

Then C! laudia meets the tall, striking Dr. Blake Marsh, a man with a ! familiar voice she can't quite place. After spending time with Blake (and her nightly calls suspiciously stop), she begins to suspect he is Jack.

Now that she's falling for the sexy doctor, can she prove he really is the bad boy on the other end of the phone?

Warning: This title contains explicit sex and graphic language.

Shy girls need to talk dirty too... The first in the Coffee House Chronicles

Commitment-shy Claudia has found the perfect man. He never leaves his dirty socks in the living room floor, eats all the cookies, or leaves the toilet seat up. In fact, he's just a voice on the other end of the phone. And, as Trixie, she's been talking dirty to him every night for the last week.

"Jack" calls the Talk Dirty To Me phone sex line nightly just to talk to Trixie. She loves his silky voice and he has a way with words that lights her fire, leaving her hungry for more.

Then Claudia meets the tall, striking Dr. Blake Marsh, a man with a familiar v! oice she can't quite place. After spending time with Blake (and her nightly calls suspiciously stop), she begins to suspect he is Jack.

Now that she's falling for the sexy doctor, can she prove he really is the bad boy on the other end of the phone?

Warning: This title contains explicit sex and graphic language.

SYNOPSIS

Alexander Sasha Shulgin is the scientist behind more than 200 psychedelic compounds including MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy. Considered to be one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century, Sasha s vast array of discoveries have had a profound impact in the field of psychedelic research, making him a subject of fascination and controversy among fellow scientists and a folk hero to recreational users of psychedelics. Dirty Pictures uncovers the lifework of Dr. Shulgin and takes viewers inside his Northern California home where he lives with his wife of 40 years and continues to carry out experiments in a ! makeshift laboratory. Director Étienne Sauret likewise delves! into th e broader world of psychedelic research where the fields of chemistry, neuroscience and philosophy intersect and investigates whether or not this particular field could aid in solving the deepest mysteries of the human mind."Smart, savvy, sexy and a slammin' great read. I LOVE Jackie Mercer!" ~Cindy Gerard, NYT bestselling author

DECEPTION
Jackie Mercer can’t abide deception. Hey, a woman who single-handedly built the Mercer Detective Agency from the ground up has a right to expect honesty in a relationship. Tell that to the creep who, only this morning, she thought might be Mr. Right. Wrong!

DANGER
Her day only gets worse from there. An ominous message arrives accompanied by the photo of a man she hasn’t seen in ten years: You were the last one to see him alive.

DESIRE
Jackie's own first rule is simple: never mix business with pleasure. Unfortunately the only applicant for the investigator position she badly needs f! illed is a hunky younger man. Derrick Dawson has pleasure written all over his rock-hard body and soon both her business and her world quickly spin way out of control. Time for chocolate and a shot of Old No. 7â€"not necessarily in that order.

DISASTER
She’s in real trouble when a second message, this one including a dead body, drops into the mix. Jackie does what any smart Texas woman would do: she kicks butt and takes names, while the mystery spiraling around her long lost lover and her attraction to Derrick Dawson plunge her into a tangled web of shocking secrets and deadly deceptions.

Jackie has her hands full and her heart on the lineâ€"time to play DIRTY.

"Smart, savvy, sexy and a slammin' great read. I LOVE Jackie Mercer!" ~Cindy Gerard, NYT bestselling author

DECEPTION
Jackie Mercer can’t abide deception. Hey, a woman who single-handedly built the Mercer Detective Agency from the ground up has a right to expec! t honesty in a relationship. Tell that to the creep who, only ! this mor ning, she thought might be Mr. Right. Wrong!

DANGER
Her day only gets worse from there. An ominous message arrives accompanied by the photo of a man she hasn’t seen in ten years: You were the last one to see him alive.

DESIRE
Jackie's own first rule is simple: never mix business with pleasure. Unfortunately the only applicant for the investigator position she badly needs filled is a hunky younger man. Derrick Dawson has pleasure written all over his rock-hard body and soon both her business and her world quickly spin way out of control. Time for chocolate and a shot of Old No. 7â€"not necessarily in that order.

DISASTER
She’s in real trouble when a second message, this one including a dead body, drops into the mix. Jackie does what any smart Texas woman would do: she kicks butt and takes names, while the mystery spiraling around her long lost lover and her attraction to Derrick Dawson plunge her into a tangled web of shocking secret! s and deadly deceptions.

Jackie has her hands full and her heart on the lineâ€"time to play DIRTY.

GET D!RTY

Next time you’re traveling or just chattin’ in Russia with your friends, drop the textbook formality and bust out with expressions they never teach you in school, including:

• Cool slang
• Funny insults
• Explicit sex terms
• Raw swear words

Dirty Russian teaches the casual expressions heard every day on the streets of Russia:

What's up?
kak de-LA?

I really gotta piss.
mnye O-chen NA-do pos-SAT.

Damn, you fine!
blin, nu ti i shi-KAR-nii!

Let's have an orgy.
da-VAI u-STRO-im OR-gi-yu.

This is crappy vodka.
d-ta VOD-ka khre-NO-va-ya.

Let's go get hammered.
poi-DYOM bukh-NYOM.

I'm gonna own you, bitch!
ya te-BYA VI-ye-blyu!

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy Poster - 2011 Movie Teaser Flyer - Jason Sudeikis

• Teaser Flyer to promote the 2011 Movie A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
• A Good Old Fashioned Orgy Teaser Flyer
• Size 11 x 17 inches approx (28 x 43 cm)
• Window display/ Telephone Pole Flyer sized Poster

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy Flyer

The Devil's Miner Spanish Dvd Activity Packet

• A perfect companion to The Devil's Miner DVD!
• Increases vocabulary
• ©2010. English with Spanish.
• Reproducible. Beginning level.

In this classic book, Michael Taussig explores the social significance of the devil in the folklore of contemporary plantation workers and miners in South America. Grounding his analysis in Marxist theory, Taussig finds that the fetishization of evil, in the image of the devil, mediates the conflict between precapitalist and capitalist modes of objectifying the human condition. He links traditional narratives of the devil-pact, in which the soul is bartered for illusory or transitory power, with the way in which production in capitalist economies causes workers to become alienated from the commodities they produce. A new chapter for this anniversary edition features a discussion of Walter Benjamin and Georges Bataille that extends Taussig’s ! ideas about the devil-pact metaphor.
In this classic book, Taussig explores the social significance of the devil in the folklore of contemporary plantation workers and miners in South America. A new chapter for this anniversary edition features a discussion of Walter Benjamin and Georges Bataille that extends some of the ideas discussed in the original text.In this classic book, Taussig explores the social significance of the devil in the folklore of contemporary plantation workers and miners in South America. A new chapter for this anniversary edition features a discussion of Walter Benjamin and Georges Bataille that extends some of the ideas discussed in the original text.Directed by long-time collaborators Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, THE DEVIL'S MINER is a moving portrait of two brothers--14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino--who work deep inside the Cerro Rico silver mines of Bolivia. Through the children's eyes, we encounter the world of devout Cath! olic miners who sever their ties with God upon entering the mo! untain, where it is an ancient belief that the devil, as represented by statues constructed in the tunnels, determines the fate of all who work within the mines, which date back to the sixteenth century.

As we come to know the brothers, we learn their fears and hopes for their future, and occasionally glimpse their childlike souls peeking through their stoic faces. Raised without a father, Basilio must work to support their family and to go to school and study, so that he and his family can one day leave the mines. Working 24 hour shifts, eating cocoa leaves to ward off hunger and drowsiness, Basilio then walks to the city to attend a school, where he is ostracized because he is a working miner. Yet, through it all, Basilio and his family retain a dignity and courage that is inspiring.

The filmmakers bring alive the depths of this mining community and the beauty of the many customs and traditions of the mining town filled with superstition. Each day as they enter the! shafts, the Catholic miners bring offerings to carved statues called "Tio", the devil who determines the fate of all who work there. They stage large-scale rituals and sacrifices at the entrance to the mine, and carnivals where they parade through the streets. All of this is their effort to appease the "mountain that eats men alive" where millions of men have died in accidents and of disease and the life expectancy of workers is only 35-40 years old.

A prime example of how social issue films can make a difference, THE DEVIL'S MINER has brought attention to this situation and has encouraged educational and community programs in the US, Europe and Bolivia that are helping to get children out of the mines and into schools.Basilio Vargas is a veteran mine worker. He's been employed by La Cumbre silver mine for four years. It's one of hundreds in Bolivia's Cerro Rico, known locally as "the mountain that eats men." Basilio is 14. He's often joined by 12-year-old brother ! Bernardino. It isn't unusual for the boys to work 12-hour shif! ts--even double shifts of 24 hours. His father died when he was two and Basilio is the primary breadwinner (his younger sister even calls him "papa"). Outside the mine, Basilio is Catholic. Inside, however, he puts his faith in the Devil, AKA "Tio." Basilio, boss Saturnino, and the other miners believe Tio controls their fate. Basilio's dream is to earn enough money to get an education and to leave the mines for good. Directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani and narrated by the subject himself, The Devil's Miner doesn't look at child labor from several points of view, but almost exclusively from that of the child. While it may lack context, the film brings Basilio's world--both above and below ground--into stark relief. He's a well-spoken guide. Basilio is also a realist who knows what will happen if he doesn't escape: he'll be dead by 40 from lung disease or a mine collapse, just like an estimated eight million Cerro Rico workers before him. As Saturnino says about his ! young charges, "It's an incredible sadness." He would know--Saturnino was once a kid just like Basilio. --Kathleen C. FennessyA historical romance by best-selling novelist Catrin Collier which is set during the Tonypandy riots of 1911 in South Wales. One look was enough. Amy Watkins and miner 'Big' Tom Kelly were in love. But can they keep their feelings secret or face the threat of death in a community torn apart by the miner's strike? Tonypandy, South Wales, 1911.A historical romance by best-selling novelist Catrin Collier which is set during the Tonypandy riots of 1911 in South Wales. One look was enough. Amy Watkins and miner 'Big' Tom Kelly were in love. But can they keep their feelings secret or face the threat of death in a community torn apart by the miner's strike? Tonypandy, South Wales, 1911.THE DEVILS MINER ACTIVITY PACKET A perfect companion to the video with 15 or more reproducible activities. Each activity supports vocabulary reinforcement, vocabulary usage, and cultural understanding. Reproducible, beginning level

Fujifilm Instax Wide Instant Film Twin Pack

• High-speed ISO 801
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EXPIRED - DVD MovieWhen ex-hero David Corbin receives an unexpected wedding invitation from the girl he once loved, he sets out on a journey to South Ryshard to crash the event and proclaim his true feelings to her. With help from his close friend, Veronica, and a girl named Kimberly, David battles his way through crooked agents, a crazed farmer and a demon hybrid to reach the wedding on time. Only when he runs into Turquoise, a mysterious woman on her own mission to stop the wedding and procure an enchanted timepiece, does he realize that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

Carrie Green is days away from marrying Jerad Montlier, one of the richest men in the world. Lacking any memory of her past, and displaying a peculiar spiral birthmark on her shoulder blade, Carrie is spun int! o further confusion when a diary with her name on it falls into her possession. Reading the entries inside sparks a recollection of her past and reveals the horrifying trap that’s been set.

As heroes’ paths collide, the beginning of the end launches in this epic first volume of the Expired Reality series.
When ex-hero David Corbin receives an unexpected wedding invitation from the girl he once loved, he sets out on a journey to South Ryshard to crash the event and proclaim his true feelings to her. With help from his close friend, Veronica, and a girl named Kimberly, David battles his way through crooked agents, a crazed farmer and a demon hybrid to reach the wedding on time. Only when he runs into Turquoise, a mysterious woman on her own mission to stop the wedding and procure an enchanted timepiece, does he realize that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

Carrie Green is days away from marrying Jerad Montlier, one of the richest men in th! e world. Lacking any memory of her past, and displaying a pecu! liar spi ral birthmark on her shoulder blade, Carrie is spun into further confusion when a diary with her name on it falls into her possession. Reading the entries inside sparks a recollection of her past and reveals the horrifying trap that’s been set.

As heroes’ paths collide, the beginning of the end launches in this epic first volume of the Expired Reality series.
Fujifilm Instax Instant Color Film is professional grade and provides superior performance.

Empire (Tor Science Fiction)

• ISBN13: 9780765355225
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Imperialism as we knew it may be no more, but Empire is alive and well. It is, as Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri demonstrate in this bold work, the new political order of globalization. It is easy to recognize the contemporary economic, cultural, and legal transformations taking place across the globe but difficult to understand them. Hardt and Negri contend that they should be seen in line with our historical understanding of Empire as a universal order that accepts no boundaries or limits. Their book shows how this emerging Empire is fundamentally different from the imperialism of European dominance and capitalist expansion in previous eras. Rather, today's Empire draws on elements of U.S. cons! titutionalism, with its tradition of hybrid identities and expanding frontiers.

Empire identifies a radical shift in concepts that form the philosophical basis of modern politics, concepts such as sovereignty, nation, and people. Hardt and Negri link this philosophical transformation to cultural and economic changes in postmodern society--to new forms of racism, new conceptions of identity and difference, new networks of communication and control, and new paths of migration. They also show how the power of transnational corporations and the increasing predominance of postindustrial forms of labor and production help to define the new imperial global order.

More than analysis, Empire is also an unabashedly utopian work of political philosophy, a new Communist Manifesto. Looking beyond the regimes of exploitation and control that characterize today's world order, it seeks an alternative political paradigm--the basis for a truly democra! tic global society.

(20010723)Empire is a sweepin! g book w ith a big-picture vision. Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri argue that while classical imperialism has largely disappeared, a new empire is emerging in a diffuse blend of technology, economics, and globalization. The book brings together unlikely bedfellows: Hardt, associate professor in Duke University's literature program, and Negri, among other things a writer and inmate at Rebibbia Prison in Rome. Empire aspires to the same scale of grand political philosophy as Locke or Marx or Fukuyama, but whether Hardt and Negri accomplish this daunting task is debatable. It is, however, an exciting book that is especially timely following the emergence of terrorism as a geopolitical force.

Hardt and Negri maintain that empire--traditionally understood as military or capitalist might--has embarked upon a new stage of historical development and is now better understood as a complex web of sociopolitical forces. They argue, with a neo-Marxist bent, that "the multitude" will ! transcend and defeat the new empire on its own terms. The authors address everything from the works of Deleuze to Jefferson's constitutional democracy to the Chiapas revolution in a far-ranging analysis of our contemporary situation. Unfortunately, their penchant for references and academese sometimes renders the prose unwieldy. But if Hardt and Negri's vision of the world materializes, they will undoubtedly be remembered as prophetic. --Eric de Place In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most ! remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the ep! ic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon spec! ifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.

The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroadsâ€"a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.

Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a lovely nine-year-old girl with cornflower-blue eyes who was kidnapped by Comanches from the far Texas frontier in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860. More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose guerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.

S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is metic! ulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all! , thrill ingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

This powerful, gripping action-thriller features John Leguizamo in a riveting performance the Los Angeles Times hails as "superb." "One of the best performances of the year!" The gritty streets of the South Bronx meet the white-collar world of Wall Street in Empire, a hard-hitting story about the pursuit of fast money and the high price of greed. Featuring Denise Richards, Isabella Rossellini and rap superstars Fat Joe and Treach, Empire is a high-intensity, urban thrill-ride!John Leguizamo is, in his own words, "young, Latin, and good looking" as the ambitious minimogul of the South Bronx drug trade in Franc Reyes' Latino twist on the urban crime saga. Reigning in his hyperactive energy, Leguizamo is like a coiled spring as the street-smart player who tries to leave the violence of his trade behind in an upwardly mobile odyssey, and Peter Sarsgaard brings a discom! forting confidence to the smooth-talking investment banker trusted with his millions. Few of the other characters even register in the familiar underworld tale (though Denise Richards has fun as a bubbly, skin-deep seductress) and Reyes's flashy style is as distracting as it is energizing. It's the smoldering presence of Leguizamo that keeps the film centered through the betrayals, the bullet-riddled battles, and the slow realization that this cunning shark has just become bait in the deep seas of high finance. --Sean Axmaker

The British Empire was the largest in all history: the nearest thing to world domination ever achieved. By the eve of World War II, around a quarter of the world's land surface was under some form of British rule. Yet for today's generation, the British Empire seems a Victorian irrelevance. The time is ripe for a reappraisal, and in Empire, Niall Ferguson boldly recasts the British Empire as one of the world's greatest moderniz! ing forces.An important new work of synthesis and revision, Empire< /I> argues that the world we know today is in large measure the product of Britain's Age of Empire. The spread of capitalism, the communications revolution, the notion of humanitarianism, and the institutions of parliamentary democracy-all these can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth. On a vast and vividly colored canvas, Empire shows how the British Empire acted as midwife to modernity.Displaying the originality and rigor that have made him the brightest light among British historians, Ferguson shows that the story of the Empire is pregnant with lessons for today-in particular for the United States as it stands on the brink of a new era of imperial power, based once again on economic and military supremacy. A dazzling tour de force, Empire is a remarkable reappraisal of the prizes and pitfalls of global empire.

At its peak in the nineteenth centur! y, the British Empire was the largest empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the world's population. In Empire, Niall Ferguson explains how "an archipelago of rainy islands... came to rule the world," and examines the costs and consequences, both good and bad, of British imperialism. Though the book's breadth is impressive, it is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the British Empire; rather, Ferguson seeks to glean lessons from this history for future, or present, empires--namely America. Pointing out that the U.S. is both a product of the British Empire as well as an heir to it, he asks whether America--an "empire in denial"--should "seek to shed or to shoulder the imperial load it has inherited." As he points out in this fascinating book, there is compelling evidence for both.

Observing that "the difficulty with the achievements of empire is that they are much more likely to be taken for granted than the sins of empire," Ferguson stresse! s that the British did do much good for humanity in their ques! t for do mination: promotion of the free movement of goods, capital, and labor and a common rule of law and governance chief among them. "The question is not whether British imperialism was without blemish. It was not. The question is whether there could have been a less bloody path to modernity," he writes. The challenge for the U.S., he argues, is for it to use its undisputed power as a force for positive change in the world and not to fall into some of the same traps as the British before them.

Covering a wide range of topics, including the rise of consumerism (initially fueled by a desire for coffee, tea, tobacco, and sugar), the biggest mass migration in history (20 million emigrants between the early 1600s and the 1950s), the impact of missionaries, the triumph of capitalism, the spread of the English language, and globalization, this is a brilliant synthesis of various topics and an extremely entertaining read. --Shawn Carkonen

In the tradition of Bury My! Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who eve! r rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with the! ir arrow s and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.

The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroadsâ€"a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.

Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a lovely nin! e-year-old girl with cornflower-blue eyes who was kidnapped by Comanches from the far Texas frontier in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860. More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose guerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.

S. C. Gwynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

In the tradition of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a stunningly vivid historical account of the forty-year battle between Comanche Indians and white settlers for control of the American West, centering on Quanah, the greatest Comanche chief of them all.

S. C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first ! traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful I! ndian tr ibe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.

Although readers may be more familiar with the tribal names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. Comanche boys became adept bareback riders by age six; full Comanche braves were considered the best horsemen who ever rode. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effect! ive were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.

The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne’s exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroadsâ€"a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.

Against this backdrop Gwynne presents the compelling drama of Cynthia Ann Parker, a lovely nine-year-old girl with cornflower-blue eyes who was kidnapped by Comanches from the far Texas frontier in 1836. She grew to love her captors and became infamous as the "White Squaw" who refused to return until her tragic capture by Texas Rangers in 1860. More famous still was her son Quanah, a warrior who was never defeated and whose g! uerrilla wars in the Texas Panhandle made him a legend.

! S. C. Gw ynne’s account of these events is meticulously researched, intellectually provocative, and, above all, thrillingly told. Empire of the Summer Moon announces him as a major new writer of American history.

The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.

The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side, and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities, and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop, and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons and strategic geniuses of their own.

When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on?

Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller, who has earne! d millions of fans and reams of praise for his previous science fiction and fantasy novels. Now he steps a little closer to the present day with this chilling look at a near future scenario of a new American Civil War.