Blazing Ice is a graphic portrayal of show business. It tells what really goes on behind the scenes of a multi-million dollar production. This is the true story of a young man who dreams of being an ice show star despite his lack of training and experience. He has a gimmick that he thinks will help him achieve his goal: he can juggle fires while he skates. He goes by himself to Europe to prove he can succeed in becoming a star with Holiday on Ice. During his climb up the ladder, he finds himself in the middle of all sorts of scandals: the casting couch, drug smuggling, prostitution, backstage accidents, suicide, wife beating, a police raid, sex of every imaginable description, and a constant stream of back stabbing. The old-timers in the show, most of whom have never risen above the rank of chorus kid, resent seeing someone new pass them by. Our skater has never encountered gays before, and he finds the gay world to be quite shocking. Dealing with these people forces him to cope with his own sexual insecurities. By the time his first year with the show is over, his whole life is turned upside-down. Blazing Ice also describes what it is like to tour Europe. The show performs in Paris, Rome, Zurich, Amsterdam, Prague, and many other great European capitals. Our skater swims in the beautiful blue Mediterranean, wins money in Monte Carlo, explores the catacombs beneath the Vatican, climbs the Eiffel Tower, investigates nearly every major art museum in Europe, and does all sorts of wonderful and fantastic things. Does our skater find glamour and excitement? Yes. Does he find heartache? Definitely. Is stardom worth the sacrifice? The reader will just have to read Blazing Ice to find out!

Antarctica like you've never seen it before

The Antarctic is the last vast terrestrial frontier. Just over a century ago, no one had ever seen the South Pole. Today odd machines and adventure skiers from many nations converge there every summer, arriving from numerous starting points on the Antarctic coast and returning some other way. But not until very recently has anyone completed a roundtrip from McMurdo Station, the U.S. support hub on the continental coast. The last man to try that perished in 1912. The valuable surface route from McMurdo remained elusive until John H. Wright and his crew finished the job in 2006. Blazing Ice is the story of the team of Americans who forged a thousand-mile transcontinental ôhaul routeö across Antarctica. For decades airplanes from McMurdo Station supplied the South Pole. A safe and repeatable surface haul route would have been cheaper and more environmentally benign than airlift, but the technology was not available until 2000. As Wright reveals in this gripping narrative, the hazards of Antarctic terrain and weather were as daunting for twenty-firstcentury pioneers as they were for NorwayÆs Roald Amundsen and EnglandÆs Robert Falcon Scott when they raced to be first to the South Pole in 1911û1912. Wright and his team faced deadly hidden crevasses, vast snow swamps, the Transantarctic Mountains, badlands of weird windsculpted ice, and the high Polar Plateau. Blazing Ice will appeal to Antarctic aficionados, conservationists, and adventure readers of all stripes.

An all-new winter-themed Step 2 deluxe Step into Reading leveled reader featuring Nickelodeon’s Blaze and the Monster Machines! Blaze and his Monster Machine friends transform into race cars for a chance to win a wintry race! But troublesome Crusher will do anything to win—even cheat! Can Nickelodeon’s Blaze and the Monster Machines stay cool under pressure as Crusher tries to knock the friends off course? Boys and girls ages 4 to 6 will thrill to this Step 2 Step into Reading leveled reader. Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help. Race into action with Blaze and the Monster Machines! Preschoolers will learn about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) as they help Axle City’s greatest hero overcome Crusher’s cheating ways and save the day with Blazing Speed, spectacular stunts, and awesome transformations!