When John Cave, a mortician by trade, appears on television to declare that death is infinitely preferable to life, he sparks a religious movement that quickly leaves Christianity and most of Islam in the dust. Aided by a relentless public-relations campaign and supported by a "theology" whipped into existence by a historian besotted with love for one of Cave's alluring disciples, Cave's message proves irresistible. Things really start to get out of hand, however, when the notion of "voluntary death" creeps into the doctrine and the world's population is invited to depart from life in "pleasant establishments". A deft and daring blend of satire and prophecy first published in 1954, Messiah eerily anticipates the excesses of Jim Jones, David Koresh, and "Do", the guru of Heaven's Gate.

The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold remains one of Eveyln Waugh's most remarkable and self-revealing works. Three years before he wrote it, Waugh suffered "a brief bout of hallucination" similar to the one that besets Mr. Pinfold in this wildly witty and occasionally frightening novel. A successful, middle-aged novelist with a case of "bad nerves," Gilbert Pinfold embarks on a recuperative trip to Ceylon. Almost as soon as the gagnplank lifts, Mr. Pinfold hears sounds coming out of the ceiling of his cabin: wild jazz bands, barking dogs, loud revival meetings. He can only infer that somewhere concealed in his room an erratic public-address system is letting him hear everything that goes on aboard ship. And then, instead of just sounds, he hears voices. But they are not just any voices. These voices are talking, in the most frightening intimate way, about him!

The exhilarating novel of an elegant woman’s subversive new chapter in life At forty, Madame Wu is beautiful and much respected as the wife of one of China’s oldest upper-class houses. Her birthday wish is to find a young concubine for her husband and to move to separate quarters, starting a new chapter of her life. When her wish is granted, she finds herself at leisure, no longer consumed by running a sixty-person household. Now she’s free to read books previously forbidden her, to learn English, and to discover her own mind. The family in the compound are shocked at the results, especially when she begins learning from a progressive, excommunicated Catholic priest. In its depiction of life in the compound, Pavilion of Women includes some of Buck’s most enchanting writing about the seasons, daily rhythms, and customs of women in China. It is a delightful parable about the sexes, and of the profound and transformative effects of free thought. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate.

The once lost work of Jack Kerouac is published in full for the first time.

The formidable Miss Deborah Jenkyns and the kindly Miss Matty live in a village where women rule and men usually tend to get in the way. Their days revolve around card games, tea, thriftiness, friendship and an endless appetite for scandal (from the alarming sight of a cow in flannel pyjamas to the shocking news of the titled lady who marries a surgeon). But, like it or not, change is coming into their world – whether it is the new ideas of Captain Brown, a bank collapse, rumours of burglars or the unexpected return of someone from the past.

TWO HOURS TO VANISH.ONE CHANCE TO ESCAPE.ZERO ALTERNATIVES.Ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test a ground-breaking piece of spyware. FUSION can track anyone on earth. But does it work?For one contestant, an unassuming Boston librarian named Kaitlyn Day, the stakes are far higher than money, and her reasons for entering the test more personal than anyone imagines. When the timer hits zero, there will only be one winner...From four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten comes a breakneck, wickedly entertaining thriller for our times, a twisty, action-packed novel reminiscent of the best Michael Crichton technothrillers.

An 18 month-old biracial girl named Ciara, lives with a young single white foster father, Jim. He is afraid to take her in at first but over the next eight months the two become an unlikely family until time carries both of them away. The story is told through as a dream where Ciara sees her past from safe inside a tornado, looking out windows that float all around her, showing life with Jim.INSIDE — Exclusive Interview With the One and Only Kim Zimmer: On GUIDING LIGHT’s 75th Anniversary; ONE LIFE’s Untimely Death; Echo’s Disappearance; How Ilene Kristen Rocked FRAT ROW’s Storyline; Whether She'd Join GH; and Why Brad Bell Wanted Reva on B&B! Plus: Her New AIDS-Themed Role! Spoiler: Princess Gina and The Pawn Return to DAYS! Y&R’s Adam Goes Blind; Patty Shoots Jack! Is Anita Victor’s New Love Interest on Y&R? GH’s Jason is the Father of Sam’s Baby! Also: The End of Franco! Details on B&B’S 25th Anniversary Book and Celebratory Bash! REVENGE Coverage: Interview with Madeleine Stowe! Plus: Is Emily Van Camp Dating Her Co-Star Joshua Bowman? Jill Farren Phelps Lands New TV Gig! Van Hughes Hits GH! Lesley-Anne Down Dropped To Recurring: Is This The End of Jowen? Y&R’s Casting Carmine! Brandon Barash Makes GH Watchable Again! ONE LIFE’s Ellen Holly Praises Disney! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!

"Sometimes, it's not the people who change; it's the mask that falls off."A short story from the prize winning author of "Resolution"."Drive carefully, there’s a frost again tonight.”A teenager asks his domineering father if he can borrow the car with dramatic consequences."Drive is an edgy flash fiction contemporary family life story with a dash of mystery and a conclusion that lingers in your thoughts long after you’ve read ‘The End’." MDG

Master storyteller Gore Vidal's 1947 classic.Robert Holton has returned from Europe and settled into a solitary existence working for a New York stockbroker. He suppresses memories of nights of love in Florence as he tries to succeed in the city, but when Carla turns up he has to choose between conventionality and the fraught path of love.

"Alexis Coe energetically dusts off an old-boys genre to present a life in full, without sentiment or whitewashing. It's a public service, and it's also a lot of fun." —Irin Carmon, New York Times bestselling co-author of Notorious RBGAlexis Coe takes a closer look at our first—and finds he is not quite the man we rememberYoung George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother, demanded military promotions, caused an international incident, and never backed down—even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride with a cushion on his saddle. But after he married Martha, everything changed. Washington became the kind of man who named his dog Sweetlips and hated to leave home. He took up arms against the British only when there was no other way, though he lost more battles than he won. After an unlikely victory in the Revolutionary War cast him as the nation's hero, he was desperate to retire, but the founders pressured him...