Lawrence Shaw is known as the fastest gun alive. But after recovering a fortune in stolen gold, being fast may not be enough. Garris ?The Cat? Cantro and his Border Dogs are remnants of the Confederacy who will fight, steal, and kill to the last man. And with all that gold, they can declare war on all who stand against them. Which is why Shaw is going to make his stand right now.
Thirteen-year-old Nikki Roberts tries to help two children trapped by a forest fire but finds her efforts blocked by poachers who want her to become one of the fire's victims.
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • In this magisterial study of the relationship between illness and art, the best-selling author of An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison, brings an entirely fresh understanding to the work and life of Robert Lowell (1917-1977), whose intense, complex, and personal verse left a lasting mark on the English language and changed the public discourse about private matters. In his poetry, Lowell put his manic-depressive illness (now known as bipolar disorder) into the public domain, and in the process created a new and arresting language for madness. Here Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison brings her expertise in mood disorders to bear on Lowell’s story, illuminating not only the relationships between mania, depression, and creativity but also how Lowell’s illness and treatment influenced his work (and often became its subject). A bold, sympathetic account of a poet who was—both despite and because of mental illness—a passionate, original observer of the human condition.
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner: “The terrifying story of the worst disaster in the history of the US Forest Service’s elite Smokejumpers.” —Kirkus Reviews A devastating and lyrical work of nonfiction, Young Men and Fire describes the events of August 5, 1949, when a crew of fifteen of the US Forest Service’s elite airborne firefighters, the Smokejumpers, stepped into the sky above a remote forest fire in the Montana wilderness. Two hours after their jump, all but three of the men were dead or mortally burned. Haunted by these deaths for forty years, Norman Maclean puts together the scattered pieces of the Mann Gulch tragedy in this extraordinary book. Alongside Maclean’s now-canonical A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, Young Men and Fire is recognized today as a classic of the American West. This edition of Maclean’s later triumph—the last book he would write—includes a powerful new foreword by Timothy Egan, author of The Big Burn and The Worst Hard Time. As moving and profound as when it was first published, Young Men and Fire honors the literary legacy of a man who gave voice to an essential corner of the American soul. “A moving account of humanity, nature, and the perseverance of the human spirit.” —Library Journal “Haunting.” —The Wall Street Journal “Engrossing.” —Publishers Weekly
Spanning a decade (1992-2002), these speeches echo the theme that our health care system needs fundamental change and a revolutionary new design. Throughout the book, Berwick identifies innovations and ideas from a number of surprising sources—a girls' soccer team, a sinking ship, and the safety standards at NASA. Escape Fire takes its title from the 1949 Mann Gulch tragedy in which thirteen young firefighters were trapped in a wildfire on a Montana hillside. The firefighter's leader, Wag Dodge, devised a creative solution for avoiding the encroaching fire. He burned a patch of grass and lay down in the middle of the scorched earth. His team refused to join him, and most perished in the fire. Dodge survived. Berwick applies the lessons learned from the catastrophe to our ailing health care system—we must not let ingrained processes obstruct life-saving innovation. Not content to simply define the problems with our flawed system, Berwick outlines new designs and suggests practical tools for change: name the problem, build on success, take leaps of faith, look outside of the medical field, set aims, understand systems, make action lists, and—the most fundamental of all—never lose sight of the patient as the central figure.
When a fire cuts off a popular trail in the Oregon forest, a small group trapped by the flames must find another way out—or die—in Playing with Fire, an unrelenting teen-vs-nature YA thriller by New York Times bestselling author April Henry. Natalia is not the kind of girl who takes risks. Six years ago, she barely survived the house fire that killed her baby brother. Now she is cautious and always plays it safe. For months, her co-worker Wyatt has begged her to come hiking with him, and Natalia finally agrees. But when a wildfire breaks out, blocking the trail back, a perfect sunny day quickly morphs into a nightmare. With no cell service, few supplies, and no clear way out of the burning forest, a group of strangers will have to become allies if they’re going to survive. Hiking in the dark, they must deal with injuries, wild animals and even a criminal on the lam—before the fire catches them. Christy Ottaviano Books
Where does a fire escape lead? Can it really save lives? Is it, in fact, a way out of danger? These questions are at the heart of the 17 episodes in The Fire Escape Stories, Volume II, a coming-of-age collection set in the early 1960s that builds upon the nine tales in The Fire Escape Stories, Volume I, which are set in the 1950s. In Volume I, cousins Sally-Boy Boccanera and Mike Burns, are born one-minute apart on the same day in the same Brooklyn Hospital in 1948. The fire escape is the safe shared space where the two youths talk, play, and try to understand the world that is emerging. In Volume II, the fire escape transforms into a different space. It is where teenagers Sally-Boy and Mike share stolen beers, swap stories, take girls, and confront one another. In Volume II, life starts to change significantly for the boys. Decisions become more difficult and potentially serious consequences loom over every choice. Though the fire escape remains a sanctuary of sorts, as the boys grow and their paths threaten to diverge, the question begins to loom: Can the fire escape provide all the safety and answers they need? Slowly, the boys see distinctly different worlds emerging. Sometimes together, and at other times on their own, they confront the emotional confusion of adolescence and grapple with their choices, decisions, and directions. Other people enter the boys' lives, impacting their closeness to one another and posing challenges for them to consider...for better or for worse. Along the way, the boys experience laughter, sorrow, and change...and each realizes he must make a life-altering decision: Does he take the fire escape? Or does he choose a different route?
Previously published in Japan in 2000. Translated from Japanese by Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown. First published in English by AmazonCrossing in 2017.
