M H Major’s memoir and personal letters offer an insightful account of an ordinary man’s resilience, fear, hope, and mortality as he struggled to succeed as a wildcatter in South Texas during the fifties. One of four brothers ordered by their Depression-era father to become doctors, Millard was the only son to strike out as a geologist in a business he’d been taught to distrust. As World War II raged, finding new production was easy enough. But an oilman must discover new drilling prospects year after year. A long-time consultant geologist for the King Ranch, Major details his challenges to stay in the game long after production in South Texas began to play out and other geologists had left the field.
ruce McNall became obsessed with coin collecting at the age of 10. At 16, his collection was worth $60,000. During college, he traveled the world buying coins stolen from ancient sites and tombs. McNall's first major sale was to Sy Weintraub, the head of Panavision, who bought $500,000 worth of coins in one sitting. Soon, McNall branched out into horse racing, movie making (The Fabulous Baker Boys), and owning the L.A. Kings hockey team.
A scientist known for unraveling the complexities of the universe over millions of years, Sir Martin Rees now warns that humankind is potentially the maker of its own demise -- and that of the cosmos. Though the twenty-first century could be the critical era in which life on Earth spreads beyond our solar system, it is just as likely that we have endangered the future of the entire universe. With clarity and precision, Rees maps out the ways technology could destroy our species and thereby foreclose the potential of a living universe whose evolution has just begun. Rees boldly forecasts the startling risks that stem from our accelerating rate of technological advances. We could be wiped out by lethal "engineered" airborne viruses, or by rogue nano-machines that replicate catastrophically. Experiments that crash together atomic nuclei could start a chain reaction that erodes all atoms of Earth, or could even tear the fabric of space itself. Through malign intent or by mistake, a single event could trigger global disaster. Though we can never completely safeguard our future, increased regulation and inspection can help us to prevent catastrophe. Rees's vision of the infinite future that we have put at risk -- a cosmos more vast and diverse than any of us has ever imagined -- is both a work of stunning scientific originality and a humanistic clarion call on behalf of the future of life.
Still scarred from a break up the previous year, Daniel reluctantly accepts an invitation to a night out with old friends. Little did he know that it would be the night that would change everything, the night that would shape his future, the night that would test his emotions, his tolerance, his acceptance. Little did he know it would be the night that he would meet 'Another Girl'.
Have you ever wondered if you could survive a six-week, barebones trek through Africa? With your partner?!? And a truckload of annoying strangers?!? Experience Africa through the eyes of Paul DuPree, who, with his future wife at his side, quit his job to participate in a humor-filled 'overland' journey across Africa with some of the strangest fellow travelers you'll ever meet. The wild animals? Dangerous. Life on the road? Rugged. You'd sell your soul for the taste of a cheeseburger. And the South Africa to Kenya itinerary? Brutal. Like your tour guides. Yet no hardship tests your sanity nearly as much as your irritating travel companions do... Overland is your hilarious ticket to a pain, hunger and mosquito free visit to Africa. And best of all, unlike Paul, you have the luxury of being able to get away from your traveling companions before that burning desire creeps in to strangle them.....
Read James King's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community. A magnificent debut about a man's odyssey toward family redemption- with his granddaughter along for the ride Bill Warrington realizes he has Alzheimer's and his lucid days are numbered. Determined to repair a lifetime of damage to his estranged adult children, Bill takes off with his fifteen-year-old granddaughter April on a cross-country drive, bound for San Francisco, where she dreams of becoming a rock star. As the unlikely pair heads west, Bill leaves clues intended to force his three children-including April's frantic mother-to overcome their mutual distrust and long-held grievances to work together to find them. In this dazzling road trip novel, James King masterfully explores themes of aging, sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, and coming of age, against a backdrop of the American heartland. Unflinching, funny, and poignant, Bill Warrington's Last Chance speaks to that universal longing for familial reconciliation, love, and forgiveness.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Five children meet on the first day of kindergarten. In the years that follow, they become friends and more than friends. Together, they will find strength, meet challenges, face life’s adventures, endure loss, face stark realities, and open their hearts. In this moving novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel traces their unforgettable journey—full of tests and trials—as three boys and two girls discover the vital bonds that will last a lifetime. FRIENDS FOREVER Gabby, Billy, Izzie, Andy, and Sean—each bursting with their own personality, strikingly different looks and talents, in sports, science, and the arts. Each drawn by the magical spark of connection that happens to the young. At the exclusive Atwood School, on a bright September day, starting in kindergarten they become an inseparable group known to outsiders as the Big Five. In this rarefied world, five families grow closer, and five children bloom beside one another, unaware of the storms gathering around them. As they turn from grade-schoolers to teenagers, seemingly perfect lives are buffeted by unraveling families, unfortunate missteps, and losses and victories great and small. And, one by one, they turn back to the Big Five to regain their footing and their steady course. But as they emerge from Atwood and enter the college years, the way forward is neither safe nor clear. As their lives separate and diverge, the challenges and risks become greater, the losses sharper, and the right paths harder to choose, in a journey of friendship, survival, and love. In what may be her most intricate and emotionally powerful novel yet, Danielle Steel tells a heart-wrenching, ultimately triumphant story that spans decades, weaves together a vivid cast of characters, and captures the challenges we face in life—sometimes, if we’re lucky, with a friend forever by our side. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Danielle Steel's First Sight.
The eight crazy cousins needed to decide where they were going on vacation this year. After finally making up their mind, it was decided to go to Olive’s house. Since they would be there on Halloween, they thought some fun activities might be just what they needed. A couple of the ladies have been experiencing some problems, so it was unanimous with the others to do some fun activities to boost their spirits. They did have fun, but everything comes with a price. The cousins went to a large house that was rumored to be haunted. Instead of seeing ghosts, the house was inhabited with boys who had medical problems. Everything was a bed of roses until one of the cousins were taken away by the boys who had weapons.
Memoir, 1965-2015, with no names, but with abundant thoughtful reflections on navigating the changing cultures of the Sixties. A young man's journey through landscapes of his yearnings, mistakes, self-assessments, triumphs and failures, and points of satisfaction. Jones moves our thinking to new perceptions of realities that have been right in front of us--clear authenticity without fictions. His artistic and scholarly visions combine for a unique sociocultural history of the Austin scene in the Sixties & Seventies. It is a good adventure with good analysis, a good biographical presentation. Poignant and hillarious.
