Established less than 200 years ago, Chicago has seen a lot of living in that short span of time. Burned to the ground early on, it’s been frozen and just recently flooded. Tucked away in the Midwest, it still rivals both coasts with its food, entertainment, and cultural venues. Chicago’s Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of Murderous Mobsters, Midway Monsters, and Windy City Oddities takes you on a tour of that toddlin’ town with dozens of top-ten lists containing memorable minutiae and delightful details. Laura L. Enright will blow you away with this collection of amusing and amazing facts about the Windy City. One would be hard-pressed to decide what Chicago is most famous for. Is it disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire? Or perhaps gangsters are its calling card, with Al Capone at the head? Maybe it’s the politics, with “Hizzoner, da Mayor” and stories of votes coming from the dead. Or do sports come to mind first, like the Cubs’ dismal failures—some say due to a decades-old curse—and the glory days of da Bulls and da Bears? Whatever it is that makes Chicago, it’s in Chicago’s Most Wanted™. The famous and the infamous, festivals and food, blues and jazz, and so much more are all included in this collection of fascinating and often humorous trivia tidbits. Frank Sinatra rhapsodized that Chicago “won’t let you down,” and neither will Laura L. Enright’s Chicago’s Most Wanted™!
Although the word "vampire" was not introduced until the eighteenth century, variations of this hemo-craving creature have existed since long before the Christian era. Almost every civilization had a demon or spirit—often a god or goddess—whose bloodlust complicated things for the general populace. But sometimes it’s not all about the blood. Modern vampire tales have stronger-willed and less traditional beings at their core: beings who strive to coexist with mortals by drinking synthetic blood, like True Blood’s Bill Compton, or who sparkle in the daylight instead of disintegrating, like Twilight’s Edward Cullen. Plus, these guys are way easier on the eyes than the more old-school vampires out there, especially filmmaker F. W. Murnau’s infamous Nosferatu, a terrifying vampire in dire need of a manicure. Regardless of time, place, and blood type, Laura Enright cordially invites you into the dark underworld of the vampire. She sheds light (but not too much) on this captivating, age-defying creature by exploring topics ranging from the powers it can possess to what will kill it—for good. With close to thirty top-ten lists brimming with gore and fang-tastic facts, Vampires’ Most Wanted™ is sure to provide the reader with a biting good time.
Business's Most WantedOao chronicles the best and worst of American business, explores the quirks of commerce, and provides an informative and sometimes amusing look at Wall Street. For an industry devoted to the serious matter of money management, this book provides a lighter look at business history, offering readers an entertaining guide to fascinating trivia about such topics as the ten largest family-owned businesses, former presidents with a business background, and unusual sales strategies, both successful and not, employed by eager store managers. Which Wall Street wizards were avid card players? Which great business leaders were adopted? What are the most socially responsible corporate cultures? ItOCOs all here, from the oldest corporation in America, J.E. Rhodes & Sons (est. 1702), to the dot-com corporations that exploded on the scene in the 1990s. History buffs, businessmen and businesswomen, and anyone with an interest in the lighter side of the corporate world will enjoy this irreverent look at the icons and goats of American business history."
New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner follows up her breathtaking Stark Trilogy with three sizzling standalone novels featuring unforgettable alpha males—and the seductive games they play. This is the series that led RT Book Reviews to proclaim, “Kenner may very well have cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” Now all three installments are available in one addictive ebook bundle: WANTED He is everything I crave, all I desperately want—and he is everything I can’t have. Evan Black embodies my every fantasy. He is brilliant, fierce, and devastatingly handsome. But he is also headstrong, dangerous, and burdened with secrets. My family warned me to stay away, that I could never handle Evan’s dark dealings or scarred past. Maybe I should have listened. Maybe I should have run. But our desire is undeniable, and some temptations you just can’t fight. And from the moment we touch—the passion between us consuming us both—I know that I will never be the same. HEATED I knew better than to risk my heart. But fierce passion comes at a high price. I grew up believing in right and wrong, good and evil, black and white. I knew better than to trust. And then I met Tyler Sharp. Bold, charming, and dangerously sexy, Tyler always gets what he wants. But his smile can be deceiving, his dealings sordid, his ambitions ruthless. I thought I was the one woman strong enough to resist him, but our need for each other was too urgent to deny. One look and I was in trouble. One touch and I was hooked. One night and I became his. And now that I’ve fallen, there’s no going back. IGNITED He promised to take me as far as I could go—and I wanted to go to the edge. My whole life has been a cover, a con, a lie. I was born into the grift, raised on the thrill of playing someone I’m not. As a rule, I never let anyone get too close—until Cole August makes it impossible for me to stay away. Cole is tough, sexy, and intensely loyal, yet his secrets are dark and his scars run deep. Not many women can handle his past, or the truth behind his fierce demands. But something about him beckons me—and our desire is a game I must play. I know he’s dangerous, that even his touch is trouble, but what is passion without a little risk? Praise for the Most Wanted series “Wanted is another J. Kenner masterpiece. . . . This was an intriguing look at self-discovery and forbidden love all wrapped into a neat little action suspense package. There was plenty of sexual tension and eventually action. Evan was hot, hot, hot! Together, they were combustible. But can we expect anything less from J. Kenner?”—Reading Haven “A steamy story with a dark edge. Recommended for those seeking crime drama with spice.”—Library Journal, on Heated “[Kenner’s] characters’ scorching, scandalous affair explores the very nature of attraction and desire, redeeming and changing them beyond measure.”—RT Book Reviews, on Heated “Ignited delivers both scorching hot scenes along with the evolution and unpeeling of emotional barriers built by past dark secrets. Moreover, the characters are complex, the passion is intense and the ultimate message that love can heal all is inspiring.”—The Romance Reviews (five stars) The Most Wanted series is intended for mature audiences.
Torture is an open secret in Chicago. Nobody in power wants to acknowledge this grim reality, but everyone knows it happens—and that the torturers are the police. Three to five new claims are submitted to the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission of Illinois each week. Four hundred cases are currently pending investigation. Between 1972 and 1991, at least 125 black suspects were tortured by Chicago police officers working under former Police Commander Jon Burge. As the more recent revelations from the Homan Square “black site” show, that brutal period is far from a historical anomaly. For more than fifty years, police officers who took an oath to protect and serve have instead beaten, electrocuted, suffocated, and raped hundreds—perhaps thousands—of Chicago residents. In The Torture Letters, Laurence Ralph chronicles the history of torture in Chicago, the burgeoning activist movement against police violence, and the American public’s complicity in perpetuating torture at home and abroad. Engaging with a long tradition of epistolary meditations on racism in the United States, from James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me, Ralph offers in this book a collection of open letters written to protesters, victims, students, and others. Through these moving, questing, enraged letters, Ralph bears witness to police violence that began in Burge’s Area Two and follows the city’s networks of torture to the global War on Terror. From Vietnam to Geneva to Guantanamo Bay—Ralph’s story extends as far as the legacy of American imperialism. Combining insights from fourteen years of research on torture with testimonies of victims of police violence, retired officers, lawyers, and protesters, this is a powerful indictment of police violence and a fierce challenge to all Americans to demand an end to the systems that support it. With compassion and careful skill, Ralph uncovers the tangled connections among law enforcement, the political machine, and the courts in Chicago, amplifying the voices of torture victims who are still with us—and lending a voice to those long deceased.
Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984–1997 is an expansive new volume of the longtime Chicago news legend’s work. Encompassing thousands of his columns, all of which originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune, this is the first collection of Royko work to solely cover his time at the Tribune. Covering politics, culture, sports, and more, Royko brings his trademark sarcasm and cantankerous wit to a complete compendium of his last 14 years as a newspaper man. Organized chronologically, these columns display Royko's talent for crafting fictional conversations that reveal the truth of the small-minded in our society. From cagey political points to hysterical take-downs of "meatball" sports fans, Royko's writing was beloved and anticipated anxiously by his fans. In plain language, he "tells it like it is" on subjects relevant to modern society. In addition to his columns, the book features Royko's obituary and articles written about him after his death, telling the tale of his life and success. This ultimate collection is a must-read for Royko fans, longtime Chicago Tribune readers, and Chicagoans who love the city's rich history of dedicated and insightful journalism.
REVENGE STRIKE Within hours, several of Chicago’s finest police officers are dead in a violent killing spree. But Mack Bolan is certain these murders aren’t random—or anywhere near finished. It doesn’t take long for him to hone in on Shalib Grec, a terrorist smuggler whose brother died at the hands of police. Grec has vowed revenge, and only The Executioner stands in his way. Now Bolan must turn Grec’s empire against him and evade the terrorist’s expert assassins to deliver final, merciless justice.
