St Martin's Press strana 3 z 8

Cory Booker captivated Americans across the political spectrum in early 2025 with his remarkable 25-hour speech on the Senate floor, when he spoke out forcefully against the Trump administration's relentless challenges to civil liberties, government institutions, the rule of law, and our nation's international standing. In the process, he outlasted the record for longest continuous Senate floor speech set by segregationist Strom Thurmond during a filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was delivered at another time of great uncertainty when it felt like the odds were hopelessly stacked against justice and unity. Stand expands on that message and offers a compelling vision for the future to readers who are eager to make a difference. It focuses on the virtues that are vital to our success as a nation and the lessons we can draw from past generations of Americans who fought for them. Now is not the time to surrender to cynicism or abandon our most noble ideals. Now is the time to defiantly declare, like our ancestors before us: 'I, too, stand for America."Stand is a celebration of the Americans who chose to get up in the face of injustice, who championed the uniquely American values central to making our nation a more perfect union, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It is also a guide for today: leadership is not derived from position or title, it comes from action and example.

All it takes to ruin someone’s life is the stroke of a key. Just ask Iris Henley. Her life is destroyed when someone posts an anonymous message on her high school’s subreddit thread: “Iris Henley is a killer. I’ve been too scared to come forward until now, but I saw her murder Rocky and Lynette last summer.”Just like that, Iris loses everything. Her reputation. Her friends. Her hope of getting into college on scholarship. Even, possibly, her freedom, once the police start to investigate. After all, she’s the perfect suspect: Rocky was her boyfriend, and Lynette was her ex-best friend—and the girl he was cheating on her with. But Iris didn’t do it, and now it’s up to her to clear her name by finding out who did—before it’s too late. Propulsive, sharp, and absolutely twisty from the New York Times bestselling author who brought readers the Veronica Mars duology, Jennifer Graham's YA thriller is unputdownable.

Staying is his dream. Leaving is hers. One secret threatens them both. In the farm country outside Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan—a border town where life moves slow and dreams run fast—most kids want out. Not Everett Lindt. He’s set on staying put, rebuilding his family’s sheep farm, and carving a future from the land he loves. Then he meets Mary, a new girl in town with restless energy and bigger plans. When their relationship reaches a crossroads, Everett sees a life together. Mary, however, is desperate to find a way out. Together, they make an impulsive choice—one that could change everything. Tense, lyrical, and deeply felt, Sara Maurer's unforgettable debut breathtakingly captures the ache of first love, the beauty and brutality of rural life, and how one decision can echo through generations and shape who we become.

Janae Sanders is a dedicated single mother who lives for her son, James. But when she runs into her secret HS crush, Adam, at her 20-year reunion, they spend the night making up for lost time, and she remembers the part of herself she?s forgotten since her divorce. Too bad the new superintendent of her son?s school district decides now is the best time to slash all the arts programs which serve as feeder programs into a prestigious and very expensive arts college. Instead of getting to know Adam like she wants, she?s rallying her fellow PTA members to get him and the district to change their minds.Adam Henderson, the new superintendent?unbeknowst to Janae? has always had a thing for Janae Sanders. So, when he returns home after twenty years and a friend mentions she?s single, Adam jumps at the chance to reacquaint himself with the one who got away. As far as he?s concerned, their night together after their reunion is proof that the second time around is better than the first. But if he can?t get the head of the PTA off his back after cutting programs that were costing the district money, he may not have as much time to devote to rekindling his attraction to Janae as he planned.When a school board meeting is called, and Janae and Adam discover they?ve been dating the enemy, Janae gives Adam two choices: A: Restore the programs, or B: Lose her. Adam decides he likes a third option better, C: They can take the long upcoming weekend to get away at his family?s cabin, and figure out how to keep the arts program, plug the financial drain they?ve become on the school district, and still keep seeing each other at the same time.Janae is ticked off enough to tell him where to get off, but when her Savvy, Sexy, and Single Club members remind her you catch more flies with honey, she wonders if Adam isn?t right. Maybe there is a way for them to both get what they want.

In Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, Martha Ackmann chronicles the life of an American Original. From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Dolly Parton has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. When Dolly finally got her foot in the door, her talent and focus catapulted her to the top of country charts, the pop world, and movie stardom. Yet her success came at a price. Shunned by many in Nashville who saw her ambition as a betrayal of her country music roots, Dolly became the target of death threats, lawsuits, and a judge who threatened to throw her in jail. She nearly collapsed on-stage and later succumbed to depression that pushed her to the brink, but she refused to be counted out and came back stronger than ever developing Dollywood, the amusement park that became the economic engine of East Tennessee, and founding the Imagination Library that provides free books to children around the world. Her philanthropy to health organizations led to creation of the Moderna COVID vaccine. And, finally, she returned to her roots, recording bluegrass albums that became the most celebrated of her unparalleled 60-year career. Ain't Nobody's Fool is a deep dive into the social, historical, and personal forces that made Dolly Parton one of the most beloved and unifying figures in public life and includes interviews with friends, family members, school mates, Nashville neighbors, members of her band, studio musicians, producers, and many others. It also features never before seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hardscrabble life. More than anything, Martha Ackmann's fresh and animated new book proves Dolly Parton knows just who she is and she ain't nobody's fool.

By the close of World War II, six million Jews had been erased from the face of the earth. Those who eluded death had lost their homes, families, and entire way of life. Their response was quintessentially Jewish. From a people with a long-history of self-narration, survivors gathered in groups and wrote books, yizkor books, remembering all that had been destroyed. Jane Ziegelman’s Once There Was a Town takes readers on a journey through this largely uncharted body of writing and the vanished world it depicts. Once There Was a Town resounds with the voices of rich and poor, shopkeepers and tradespeople, scholars and peddlers, Zionists and Communists, men and women telling stories of the towns that were their homes. Stops are made in the bustling market squares where Jewish merchants catered to local farmers; study houses where men recited Torah; kitchens where homemakers baked 20-pound loaves of bread; cemeteries where mourners conversed with departed loved ones and wooded groves where young couples met for the occasional moonlit tryst. Of the many towns on Ziegelman’s itinerary, she always circles back to Luboml, her family’s ancestral shtetl and the point of departure for her own journey of discovery. In conversation with classics by IB Singer and Roman Vishniac, Once There Was a Town is a landmark of rediscovery, and a love song to a vanished world.

A group of high school alumnae reunite years later and reserve rooms at Pixie Inn for an extended retreat. As part of their pampering package, Felicity delivers a scrumptious assortment of enchanted pastries, including her new almond cookies. But the queen bee of the group is soon found dead in her bathroom, drowned in the tub, and she recently sampled the delicious baked goods. Could Felicity’s almond cookies have set off a fatal nut allergy? The enchanted pastries are supposed to bring joy, not sorrow - and certainly not death. Boyfriend, Kelvin Love, is eager to assist, although odd things have been happening to his senses ever since he baked with Felicity. Will his extra sensitivity help or hinder the investigation? Plus, special bunny Whiskers lends a magical paw to the detecting since Felicity can’t and won’t relax until she restores both order and magic to her world.

Anti-science, anti-vaccine, anti-reason beliefs seem to be triumphing over common sense today. How did we get here? The Great Shadow brings a huge missing piece to this puzzle - the experience of actually being ill. What did it feel like to be a woman or man struggling with illness in ancient times, in the Middle Ages, in the seventeenth century, or in 1920? And how did that shape our thoughts and conviction? he Great Shadow uses extensive historical research and first-person accounts to tell a vivid story about sickness and our responses to it, from very ancient times until the last decade. In the process of writing, historian Susan Wise Bauer reveals just how many of our current fads and causes are rooted in the moment-by-moment experience of sickness - from the search for a balanced lifestyle to plug-in air fresheners and bare hardwood floors. We can’t simply shout facts at people who refuse vaccinations, believe that immigrants carry diseases, or insist that God will look out for them during a pandemic. We have to enter with imagination, historical perspective, and empathy into their world. The Great Shadow does just that with page-turning flair.

It’s December in Vermont - and Mercy is determined to give her baby Felicity the very best first Christmas ever. Starting with a visit to see Santa on the Northshire town common, home to all of the village's holiday celebrations. But when Santa abandons his post and runs into the woods, Mercy and Elvis go after him - and the shepherd finds the jolly old elf flat on his back in a small clearing, dead, a Yule log ablaze on his belly. Mercy wants nothing more than to stay at home at Grackle Tree Farm taking care of Felicity, but as this St. Nick is really “Uncle” Lazlo, her family presses her to help solve their old friend’s murder and save the Solstice Soirée. She demures, but when another Santa ends up dead and the bones of a long-missing trapper turn up in the woods, Mercy and Troy and the dogs team up with Captain Thrasher and Detective Harrington to rid Northshire of the bad elements ruining the holidays for their town and their family. Together they chase down clues leading to poachers and endangered lynx, evangelical zealots and Russian emigrés, and the terrible secrets of the past haunting the village, past, present, and future. It’s not just Santa at risk, it’s everyone in town - including baby Felicity. It’s up to Mercy and Troy and the dogs capture The Yuletide Killer before he strikes again, this time far closer to home.

When Delaney wins a special Hidden Door Festival invitation to artist Ryory Bennigan's studio, she isn’t sure quite what to expect. What she finds is an elusive fellow obsessed with the Picts - complete with his own versions of their blue tattoos and vibrant red hair - recreating the stones they left behind. She also meets a visiting paleontologist, Dr. Adam Pace, from the University of Kansas attempting to sell an artifact that might just explain what the Picts' language really sounded like. Or at least that’s what he claimed the artifact was for. Before the deal can close and Ryory can get a closer look at it, Dr. Pace is found dead. With the police dragging their feet in the investigation, Delaney takes it upon herself to dig into Dr. Pace's past. Her research goes murky as she quickly discovers Pace’s shady background - selling fake dinosaur bones and running into some 3D-printing trouble back in Kansas. Could his past have come back to bite him in Edinburgh? And what does his questionable background mean for the mysterious Pictish artifact he was trying to sell to Ryory? Delaney will have to dust off her magnifying glass to uncover the truth behind this case… or risk becoming a pile of bones herself.

Despite decades of treaties, military missions, and covert actions devoted to preventing it, Iran has finally assembled its first nuclear bomb and the U.S., with UN backing, has decided it’s time to take direct action. The first move is to blockade the Persian Gulf with a carrier strike group, but Iran strikes back quickly. With Russia’s backing, Iran launches a devastating attack and now the U.S. forces are in a race against the clock to survive until reinforcements arrive and a counter-strike launched. While events grow desperate in the Middle East, a plot to kill the President is unfolding. Jake Harrison, a now AWOL Navy SEAL, is lured back into action by his former partner Christine O’Connor to find and stop the freelance assassin, a man who has long been Harrison’s nemesis. With a deadly war brewing on two fronts—both overt and covert—the uneasy allies of Jake and Christine must use all their resources to circumvent the coming war. And as tensions threaten to boil over, Jake will be faced with the ultimate question: what is he willing to sacrifice for the revenge he wants?

Haiti is a nation near-collapse: criminal gangs have overrun the country, nearly all government officials have fled after the 2021 assassination of President Moise, refugees desperately set out on boats to reach the United States and Latin America, and the economy reels from the cascading after-effects of natural disasters that destroyed much of Haiti’s infrastructure. How did this happen? How did a nation founded on liberation - a people that revolted against their colonizers and enslavers - come to such rui? n Aid State, journalist and Haiti expert Jake Johnston reveals how longstanding United States and European capitalist goals ensnared and re-enslaved Haiti under the guise of helping it. To the global West, Haiti is and always has been “open for business”: a place where labor is cheap, politicians are compliant, and profits are to be made. Over the course of nearly 100 years, the United States has sought to control Haiti and its people with occupying police, military, and 'peacekeeping' forces, as well as hand-picked leaders, meant to quell uprisings and protect corporate interests. Earthquakes and hurricanes only further devastated a nation left helpless by the aid industrial complex. Based on years of on-the-ground reporting in Haiti, Jake Johnston’s Aid State is a compelling, conscience searing book of witness.

Cindy Kwan, owner of Asia Village’s bookshop, The Modern Scroll, is privileged to host best-selling author, Charlene Chan for a signing in honor of the writer’s latest book, The Mystery of General Tso. Lana Lee is equally excited for the appearance of her favorite author and even more so when Cindy asks her to be Charlene’s “handler” for the event. Taking her duties very seriously, Lana stays by the side of the prominent author to assist in anything that she might need. With a line out the door and stretched through the plaza, Cindy is overjoyed at what a success this is for her shop. But, unfortunately for Cindy, her success comes with a price: the author is found dead in the mystery aisle, clutching a copy of her own book. Coincidentally the book’s plot matches the details of the murder. Lana’s boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau, is charged with leading the case investigation, but finds himself overwhelmed when he realises just how much of the book series is mimicked in reality. For the first time in their relationship, Adam calls on Lana to partner up with him to help solve the case. The couple must work through the novel to outwit the murderer, stay one step ahead, and beat the die-hard fan to the last chapter.

Arctic explorer and American visionary Walter Wellman pioneered both polar and trans-Atlantic airship aviation, making history’s first attempts at each. Wellman has been cast as a self-promoting egomaniac known mostly for his catastrophic failures. Instead he was a courageous innovator who pushed the boundaries of polar exploration and paved the way for the ultimate conquest of the North Pole - which would be achieved not by dogsled or airplane, but by airship. American explorer Dr. Frederick Cook was the first to claim he made it to the North Pole in 1908. A year later, so did American Robert Peary, but both Cook’s and Peary’s claims had been seriously questioned. There was enough doubt that Norwegian explorer extraordinaire Roald Amundsen - who’d made history and a name for himself by being first to sail through the Northwest Passage and first man to the South Pole - picked up where Walter Wellman left off, attempting to fly to the North Pole by airship. He would go in the Norge, designed by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile. The 350-foot Norge flew over the North Pole on May 12, 1926, and Amundsen was able to accurately record and verify their exact location. However, the engineer Nobile felt slighted by Amundsen. Two years later, Nobile returned, this time in the Italia, backed by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. This was an Italian enterprise, and Nobile intended to win back the global accolades and reputation he believed Amundsen had stripped from him. The journey ended in disaster, death, and accusations of cannibalism, launching one of the great rescue operations the world had ever seen. Realm of Ice and Sky is the riveting tale of the men who first flew the most advanced technological airships of their time to the top of the world, risking and even giving their lives for science, country, and polar immortality.

Hereford, England 1881. The adventure continues! After the fire and the tumultuous events in the cathedral library, Hecate is determined never again to come so close to losing the beloved mappa mundi. She has shown herself to be the greatest threat to the Essedenes and their plans and they will stop at nothing to be rid of her. With the help of her archeologist father, and the support of the redoubtable and loyal Inspector Winter, she must take the fight to her enemies. But the numbers of Embodied Spirits are growing with terrifying speed, and an atmosphere of violence and danger has taken hold of the ancient city of Hereford. Hecate dare not trust anyone beyond her inner circle, no matter how benevolent they might seem. Nor will she risk the lives of those she loves ever again. The goddess Hekate has called her to action. She must draw upon all her gifts, and the assistance of her family of ghostly allies, if the city is not to be lost to darkness forever.

Vows and Villainy is the fifth book in Elizabeth Penney''s delightful Cambridge Bookshop series set in Cambridge, England, where celebrations are about to commence.It?s wedding season in Cambridge, and Molly Kimball is thrilled that it''s almost time for her best friend''s special day. With the help of her boyfriend Kieran Scott, she is determined to be the best maid of honor for Daisy and Tim. Daisy?s heart is set upon a Shakespeare-themed wedding to be held at Hazelhurst House, Kieran?s family?s home. The Scotts are also hosting a Shakespeare troupe for the summer, and the actors have kindly agreed to be part of the festivities.But all goes awry with the discovery of Sir Jordan Peck, a famous actor with a checkered past and present-day misdeeds, floating dead in the moat with flowers strewn around him, a la Ophelia. When Kieran?s brother Alan becomes a top suspect, Molly and company must investigate to uncover the ugly truth behind this picturesque scene . . . before more bodies keep piling up.Can Molly solve the murders before Daisy and Tim say ?I do??