Part 1. The making of a bonanza king, 1840-1909 -- The remarkable Murray boys-a tall tale -- Trail to the Rockies -- Pirate in the wilderness -- Killing the competition -- Riding the rails -- The liveliest town in America -- Part 2. Wealth and leisure -- The richest men in the west -- Irish rebel -- John Maguire's opera house -- Hot springs and grand resorts -- Murray's Monterey -- End games, 1910-1921 -- Betting on San Diego -- Trouble in Butte -- The final push to free Ireland -- Ring down the drop -- Dead man's chest -- Epilogue -- Appendix -- Pioneer tributes (Murray, Maguire, Fat Jack) -- Private loans uncollected by James A. Murray -- Why the humming birds nest at Monterey -- The passing of an oak -- Comparing wealth and economic power -- Murray family tree
This unique and celebrated biography describes how a largely self-educated boy from a small village in Scotland entered the world of scholarship and became the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and a great lexicographer. It also provides an absorbing account of how the dictionary was written, the personalities of the people working on it, and the endless difficulties that nearly led to the whole enterprise being abandoned. "It is a magnificent story of a magnificent man, one of the finest biographies of the twentieth century, as its subject was one of the finest human beings of the nineteenth." --Anthony Burgess "A moving and dramatic story . . . sometimes tragic, often comic, ultimately triumphant." --Times (London) "A biography that possesses many of the virtues of James Murray himself--grace, humor, intelligence, curiosity, and scholarship." --Time "In her vivid biography, Murray's granddaughter brings his remarkable personality to life, and provides an unexpectedly fascinating account of the OED's long and difficult birth." --Times Literary Supplement "A gripping, engaging story; endearing, too. The daily round of a big Victorian family, with its jokes, games, and treasured seaside holidays, is entrancingly evoked." --Sunday Times (London)
*** #1 The Sunday Times bestseller *** Publishers Weekly bestseller "This book is no joke. Get ready to not sleep tonight. Awakened does exactly what it advertises. Scary amazing fun." -- Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The Escape Artist. “Awakened hits the high notes of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s Relic and Scott Snyder’s The Wake [...] but its scope actually extends much further.” -- Kirkus *** The star of truTV’s hit show Impractical Jokers—alongside veteran sci-fi and horror writer Darren Wearmouth—delivers a chilling and wickedly fun supernatural novel in the vein of The Strain, in which a beautiful new subway line in New York City unearths an ancient dark horror that threatens the city’s utter destruction and the balance of civilization itself. After years of waiting, New York's newest subway line is finally ready, an express train that connects the city with the burgeoning communities across the Hudson River. The shining jewel of this state-of-the-art line is a breathtaking visitors’ pavilion beneath the river. Major dignitaries, including New York City’s Mayor and the President of the United States, are in attendance for the inaugural run, as the first train slowly pulls in. Under the station’s bright ceiling lights, the shiny silver cars gleam. But as the train comes closer into view, a far different scene becomes visible. All the train’s cars are empty. All the cars’ interiors are drenched in blood. As chaos descends, all those in the pavilion scramble to get out. But the horror is only beginning. High levels of deadly methane fill the tunnels. The structure begins to flood. For those who don’t drown, choke or spark an explosion, another terrifying danger awaits—the thing that killed all those people on the train. It’s out there…and it’s coming. There's something living beneath New York City, and it's not happy we've woken it up.
New York in 2040 is a city of the lost. A good place to work in Missing Persons. But business is not quite good enough for Hal Halliday to forget his sister, burned alive when only child all those years ago. And now VR offers the chance of bringing her back, the future may yet allow Hal to live in the past. If he can survive the next job ...
“Scary amazing fun.”—Brad Meltzer Evils both above and below ground arise once again, threatening the world and all its inhabitants with extinction in this electrifying science fiction thriller—the final novel set in the Awakened universe—from the #1 internationally bestselling author and star of television’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction writer. Thanks to the heroics of former New York City Mayor Tom Cafferty and his team, the world is once again safe. The villainous Foundation for Human Advancement has been dismantled, the cities of the world are safe from nuclear annihilation, and Cafferty is now on a hunt to decimate every nest of creatures on the planet. When Cafferty enters a nest underneath the Nevada desert, he is horrified to find it completely empty. It can only mean one thing: the battle for survival is not over. Across the planet, creatures are emerging from their subterranean homes. Now, the all-out war against humanity has begun—a war in which only one apex species will survive. Humankind has finally met its match. Cafferty knows that only one man can help him stop the onslaught. A man who is despised by the world. A man who has already caused the death of millions. A man who is a sworn enemy hell-bent on taking Tom Cafferty down forever: Albert Van Ness. But even this desperate move may not be enough to stop the creatures and save humanity . . .
"An exciting series opener."—Kirkus From the mind of Murr from the Impractical Jokers comes a new hilarious, action-packed series about a world of bizarre creatures, wacky gadgets, and four kid interns at the most interesting place on Earth: Area 51! It's the first day of summer vacation, and Viv Harlow just wants to relax with her friends at the beach before they all go to different high schools next year. She is definitely not interested in visiting her mom's office, even if Director Harlow works at the famous Area 51. But when an alarm sounds beneath the secret base and a whole race of aliens escape, she's about to get much more than she bargained for. Viv, Charlotte, Ray, and Elijah (who Viv is totally NOT crushing on) will have to work together, gear up with gadgets, and even protect a baby alien to save the day and defend Area 51. The debut middle-grade series from Murr of the Impractical Jokers, Area 51 Interns is filled with enough high-tech hijinks, bizarre creatures, and laugh-out-loud humor (plus an extra color insert full of gadgets) to make even alien skeptics hooked for more!
Finally, in chronicling Mason's disappointment in the face of the Confederacy's defeat, Young evokes the enormous sense of loss that accompanied the passing of the Old South's way of life.
From writer, producer, and actor best known as "Murr" on the hit television shows Impractical Jokers and The Misery Index, James S. Murray, and co-writer Darren Wearmouth, comes The Stowaway, a suspenseful masterpiece that leaves a cruise ship stranded at sea with a serial killer hiding aboard. Two years ago, Maria Fontana, the head of the Psychology Department at Columbia University, sat on a jury for one of the most depraved cases ever to pass through the hallowed halls of City Hall. Wyatt Butler, an antique watch restorer and alleged serial killer, was portrayed in the courtroom as a brutal monster. But Maria had to make the tough choice. In good conscience, she couldn't convict him based purely on circumstantial evidence, and her deciding vote set Wyatt Butler free. The media soon outed her as the lone juror and her successful and quaint life was turned upside down. The victims of Wyatt's ritualistic killings never forgave her either. Now, she and her family have decided to take a vacation to get away from everything: a two-week-long transatlantic cruise. Nothing, and nobody should be able to bother her there. With her two twins and her fiancé Steve, she is set to put the past behind her as soon as the ship leaves port. But when a passenger mysteriously disappears, Maria is left to wonder if maybe this was no coincidence. When another passenger is discovered brutally murdered in a similar way to Butler’s ritualistic MO, the ship goes on lockdown. Maria, one of only twelve people in the world with intimate knowledge of the case, faces a perilous ticking clock. Is it a copycat? Or is she trapped on board with the bloodthirsty maniac she chose to set free?
From the authors of the bestselling Awakened trilogy Megan Forrester has barely survived the unthinkable. Six months ago, she witnessed a horrific accident that killed her husband and son, and lives with the guilt of knowing she could have done more to save them. Now, Megan hopes to mend the pieces of her broken spirit by attending a local church group’s annual camping trip. But the church group members—riddled with dark secrets of their own—make a catastrophic navigational mistake, leaving them stranded in an untouched canyon in the West Virginian national forest. Isolated from any chance of help or rescue, Megan and the others quickly realize why this side of the canyon has never been surveyed by humankind: it’s home to a terrifying prehistoric arachnid that patiently stalks its prey through even the slightest movement or vibration in the forest. And it’s desperate for a meal. Grief-stricken and haunted by her tragic loss, Megan now faces her ultimate test of endurance. Can she outwit a bloodthirsty creature hellbent on ensuring that no one gets out alive? When a single wrong turn can mean death, she only has one option: DON’T MOVE.
"We visit the ugly corrugated iron structure that Murray grandly dubbed the Scriptorium -- the Scrippy or the Shed, as locals called it -- and meet some of the legion of volunteers, from Fitzedward Hall, a bitter hermit obsessively devoted to the OED, to W.C. Minor, whose story is one of dangerous madness, ineluctable sadness, and ultimate redemption. The Meaning of Everything is a scintillating account of the creation of the greatest monument ever erected to a living language. Simon Winchester's supple, vigorous prose illuminates this dauntingly ambitious project -- a seventy-year odyssey to create the grandfather of all word-books, the world's unrivaled uber-dictionary. Book jacket."--Jacket.
