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  The Master of Mystery

  Jack London

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  Jack London's "The Master of Mystery" is set in a Native American fishing village in Alaska. A woman has lost her most valuable possession: the blankets of a deceased Englishman. The culprit must be found, but what makes matters more complicated is that the local shaman has fallen out of favor, forcing a feared shaman from outside the village to come to their aid. Can he help them, and will the culprit be found? The short story is one of London's stories inspired by the period the writer spent at the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 19th century and was published in the early 20th century.

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  If I Get to Five - What Children...

  Fred Epstein, Josh Horwitz

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  A world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon shares the lessons of courage, compassion, and resilience that he's learned from his exceptional young patientsIf I Get to Five is a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the "miracle man" who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart. "I simply can't accept the idea of kids dying," is how Epstein explains his commitment to saving patients. As a child, he had to overcome severe learning disabilities to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. Later, as the world's leading pediatric neurosurgeon, he did whatever it took to rescue children that other doctors had given up on. Epstein credits his young patients as his most important teachers. "We tend to think of children as fragile, little people," he writes. "To me, they're giants." If I Get to Five relates the unforgettable experiences he's shared with children-lessons in courage, compassion, love, and hope-that we can all draw on to overcome adversity at any stage of life. In If I Get to Five, Epstein meditates on these lessons at a time when they parallel his own experiences, as he recovers from a near-fatal head injury.If I Get to Five is a riveting profile of courage and compassion. No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at children-or adversity-in the same way.

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  Warriors - Life and death among...

  Gerald Hanley

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  Somalia is one of the world's most desolate, sun-scorched lands, inhabited by fierce and independent-minded tribesmen. It was here that Gerald Hanley spent the Second World War, charged with preventing bloodshed between feuding tribes at a remote outstation. Rations were scarce, pay infrequent and his detachment of native soldiers near-mutinous. In these extreme conditions seven British officers committed suicide, but Hanley describes the period as the 'most valuable time' of his life. With intense curiosity and openmindedness, he explores the effects of loneliness. He comes to understand the Somalis' love of fighting and to admire their contempt for death. 'Of all the races of Africa,' he says, 'there cannot be one better to live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest: the Somalis.'

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  If It's Not One Thing It's Your...

  Julia Sweeney

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  “Riotously candid essays” on topics from international adoption to late-night bonding with customer service reps by the beloved comedian (Booklist). 
   
  Julia Sweeney, famous for her one-woman shows, NPR appearances, and four-season stint on Saturday Night Live, spent some time out of the spotlight when she adopted a Chinese girl named Mulan (“After the movie?”) and then, a few years later, married and moved from Los Angeles to Chicago, where she lived the suburban domestic life. In this delightful collection, she writes about the decision to become a mother, strollers, nannies (including the Chinese Pat), knitting, being adopted by a dog, The Food Network, and meeting Mr. Right through an email from a complete stranger who wrote, “Desperately Seeking Sweeney-in-Law.” She recounts how she explained the facts of life to nine-year-old Mulan, a story that became a wildly popular TED talk and YouTube video. 
   
  Also revealed in these essays is Julia’s ability to find that essential thread of human connection, whether it’s with her mother-in-law, who candidly reveals a story most people would keep a secret, or an anonymous customer service rep during a late-night phone call. But no matter what the topic, she always writes with elegant precision, pinning her jokes with razor-sharp observations while articulating feelings that we all share. Poignant, provocative, and wise, this is a funny, powerful memoir by a woman living her life with originality and intelligence. 
   
  “Julia Sweeney can you make you laugh about anything. . . . Wry and honest.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune 
   
  “Intimate and humorous . . . Sweeney’s devilish sense of humor successfully makes the transition to the page, linking the scenes of her life as daughter, sister, wife, and mother into a delightful whole.” —Publishers Weekly 
   
  “Outlandishly funny . . . For every mother who could use a laugh—in other words, every mother.” —Tampa Bay Times

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  Seagulls in My Soup

  Tristan Jones

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  Join Tristan Jones as he tells tales of the humorous and fascinating adventures that his Saga of a Wayward Sailor began. Discover more anecdotes and unexpected adventures aboard a converted lifeboat ketch cruising the coasts of the Balearic region with Tristan, his one-eyed, three-legged dog, Nelson and the prim Bishop's sister, Sissie St. John. It's a prolific prose journey of surprising arrivals, machine gun-thwarting and ship-saving escapades of a wayward sailor and his motley crew.

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  Dancing with the Devil - Sex...

  Rodney Barker

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  In 1986, newspapers across America called it "the espionage case of the century." While serving as a security guard at the American Embassy, Sgt. Clayton Lonetree, a Native American marine, fell in love with a beautiful Russian woman. Then, a KGB officer posing as the woman'             s "Uncle Sasha" recruited Lonetree to become a spy for the Soviet Union. The "sex-for-secrets Marine spy scandal"—             as it was called by the press—             had all the elements of a great novel. As the investigation proceeded, more marines were implicated, but after a witch-hunt that ruined many reputations and careers, only Lonetree was brought to trial. In this account, journalist Rodney Barker reveals information he obtained from KGB officers—             as well as U.S. military and intelligence personnel—             which raises questions about whether justice was served in Lonetree's trial.

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