Featured Books: December 2009

Versus: Warriors By Steve Stone

$19.99 / 0753419165 / Kingfisher

Ten of the greatest warriors of history meet for the first time. From Viking vs. Aztec Warrior and Samurai v. Gladiator to Medieval Knight vs. Zulu, Versus explores who would triuimph and why, if these fiercest warriors were to engage in deadly battle against one another. Data files compare and contrast weaponry, armor, tactics and codes of honor, while eye-catching background scenes of arenas provide historical and cultureal context. With the computer-gamer in mind, designs brings history's warriors into the 21st century and readers will be treated to large, gate folded pages that enhance the expereience of each battle In the end, only one can be crowned history's ultimate warrior. Who will it be?

Eve: The Burning Life By Hjalti Danielsson

$14.99 / 0765325292 / Tor Books

Eve is a universe that is comprised of an Interglactic Empire of immortal pilots. The main characters, Drem and Ralea, seek revenge and redemption from these pilots. But how do you revenge yourself against an immortal? Where can you find redemption if you have killed thousands? Drem and Ralea will find that their quests are intertwined and that they will lead to an unexpected place.

100 Heartbeats: The Race to Save Earth's Most Endangered Species By Jeff Corwin

$24.99 / 1605298476 / Rodale Books

It’s no secret that our planet—and the delicate web of ecosystems that comprise it—is in crisis. In 100 Heartbeats, conservationist and television host Jeff Corwin provides an urgent, palpable portrait of the wildlife that is suffering in silence and teetering on the brink of extinction.  Along the way, he shares inspiring stories of battles being waged and won in defense of the earth’s most threatened creatures by the conservationists on the front lines. These stories of hope and progress underscore an important message: Our own survival, as well as that of the world’s wildlife, is in our hands. The race to save the planet’s most endangered wildlife is under way. Every heartbeat matters.

Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis By Al Gore

$26.99 / 1594867348 / Rodale Books

Our Choice gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that, together, will solve this crisis. It is meant to depoliticize the issue as much as possible and inspire readers to take action—not only on an individual basis but as participants in the political processes by which every country, and the world as a whole, makes the choice that now confronts us. There is an old African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." —AL GORE, from the introduction 

The Lacuna By Barbara Kingsolver

$26.99 / 0060852577 / Harper

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities. Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence. 

Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story By Wally Lamb

$19.99 / 006194100X / Harper

Back in his beloved fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, with a new cast of endearing characters, Wally Lamb takes his readers straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School—where Mother Filomina's word is law and goody-two-shoes Rosalie Twerski is sure to be minding everyone's business. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette, straight from QuÉbec, and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin' and Hopin' barrels toward one outrageous Christmas.

More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: A Drop-Top Culinary Cruise Through America's Finest and Funkiest Joints By Guy Fieri, Ann Volkwein

$19.99 / 0061894567 / William Morrow Cookbooks

Join New York Times bestselling author and Food Network star Guy Fieri for a second helping of the best diners, drive-ins, and dives across America! Guy Fieri strikes again with More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, giving you a road map to road food that's earned its culinary citizenship in "Flavortown." Join Guy on a cross-country noshing parade, mapping out the best places you've never heard of—more than fifty establishments off the beaten path. Compete in a (no hands) apple-pie-eating contest at Bobo Drive-In in Topeka, Kansas, dip your taste buds in Sweet Spicy Love sauce at Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken in Memphis, Tennessee, and get a load of the killer four-cheese mac-and-cheese at Gorilla Barbeque in Pacifica, California. Filled with Guy's hilarious voice and rampant enthusiasm for these hidden culinary gems, More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is the perfect book for lovers of the American food scene and fans of Triple D.

The Greatest Science Stories Never Told: 100 tales of invention and discovery to astonish, bewilder, and stupefy By Rick Beyer

$19.99 / 0061626961 / Harper

100 tales of invention and discovery to astonish, bewilder, & stupefy
* Meet the angry undertaker who gave us the push-button phone.
* Discover how modesty led to the invention of the stethoscope.
* Find out why Albert Einstein patented a refrigerator.
* Learn how a train full of trumpeters made science history.
Did you know about:
* The frustrated fashion designer who created the space suit?
* The gun-toting newspaperman who invented the parking meter?
* The midnight dreams that led to a Nobel Prize?
They're so good, you can't read just one!

The Gift By Cecelia Ahern

$19.99 / 0061706264 / Harper

New York Times bestselling author Cecelia Ahern spins a witty, warm, and wise modern-day fable of love, regret, hope, and second chances. Extremely successful executive, Lou Suffern is always overstretched, immune to the holiday spirit that delights everyone around him. One frigid morning in an uncharacteristic burst of generosity, he buys a cup of coffee for Gabe, a homeless man huddled outside his office building. Inspired by his own unexpected act of kindness, Lou decides to prolong his charitable streak and contrives to get Gabe a job in his company's mailroom. But when Gabe begins to meddle in Lou's life, the helping hand appears to be a serious mistake. But can he help him fix what's broken before it's too late?