High Priest of California, first published in 1953, is a gritty noir thriller by Charles Willeford. The book, Willeford’s first novel, centers on San Francisco used-car salesman Russell Haxby, a highly unpleasant character, who, motivated perhaps by sheer boredom, engages in small time cons and seduces a married woman. Willeford (1919-1988) is best known for his books featuring hardboiled detective Hoke Moseley. A roaring saga of the male animal on the prowl—The world was his oyster—and women his pearls!

Jake Blake is a private detective short on cash when he meets a rich and beautiful young woman looking to escape her father’s smothering influence. Unfortunately for Jake, the smothering influence includes two thugs hired to protect her—and the woman is in fact not the daughter of the man she wants to escape, but his wife. Now Jake has two angry thugs and one jealous husband on his case. As Jake becomes more deeply involved with this glamorous and possibly crazy woman, he becomes entangled in a web of deceit, intrigue—and multiple murders. Brilliant, sardonic, and full of surprises, Wild Wives is one wild ride.

A driven art critic’s plan to steal a painting leads to murder in this classic neo-noir novel by the author of the Hoke Moseley series. Fast-talking, backstabbing, womanizing, and fiercely ambitious art critic James Figueras will do anything—blackmail, burglary, and beyond—to make a name for himself. When an unscrupulous collector offers Figueras a career-making chance to interview Jacques Debierue, the greatest living—and most reclusive—artist, the critic must decide how far he will go to become the art-world celebrity he hungers to be. Will Figueras stop at the opportunity to skim some cream for himself or push beyond morality’s limits to a bigger payoff? Crossing the art world with the underworld, Willeford creates a novel of dark hue and high aesthetic polish. The Burnt Orange Heresy—the 1970s crime classic now back in print—has lost none of its savage delights as it re-creates the making of a murderer, calmly and with exquisite tension, while satirizing the workings of the art world as the ultimate con. Now a major motion picture starring Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger Praise for The Burnt Orange Heresy “Stunning . . . A novel full of genuine fun that also manages to make a level statement about the art world and its hermetic credulities.” —New Yorker

This Ace-Double combines two of Willeford's classics of hard-boiled fiction into one volume. 'Hight Priest of California' recounts the story of Russell Haxby, a ruthless used car saleman obsessed with manipulating and cavorting with married women. A wry, sardonic tale of lust, hypocrisy and intrigue, it deserves its reputation as one of the ballsiest hard-boiled tales ever written. 'Wild Wives' is equally as amoral, sexy and brutal. A tale of deception featuring the crooked detective Jacob Blake, it's packed with intrigue, deceit and multiple murders.

In post-World War II Los Angeles, a disillusioned used car salesman seeks revenge after his attempt to make the great American film fails miserably. Richard Hudson, woman chaser and used car salesman, has a pimp’s awareness of the ways women (and men) are most vulnerable. One day Richard decides to make an ambitious film, which turns into a fiasco. Enraged, he exacts revenge on all who have crossed him. Praise for The Woman Chaser “A pitilessly hilarious dissection of the American male psyche.” —Chicago Tribune “The most eloquently brainy and exacting pulp-fiction ever fabricated!”—Village Voice

'No one writes a better crime novel than Charles Willeford' Elmore Leonard In this riveting novel of psychological suspense, Charles Willeford charts a duel trajectory of alcoholic desire and destruction that is at once poignant, terrifying and utterly authentic. Prowling the grimy streets of San Francisco, Helen is a beautiful, sensuous drunk - and a pathetically easy pick-up. Harry just wants to help, but before long they are both adrift in a sea of alcohol - until Harry conceives the ultimate crime.

The book of Hebrews was written to magnify the greatness of our Savior and the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In nineteen sermons, late pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones unfolds the riches and beauties of the gospel message found throughout this unique book of the Bible. Using examples and illustrations that remain relevant today, he seamlessly connects the truths found in the book of Hebrews to the whole scope of God's Word as he exhorts us to hold fast to our salvation and live according to the truth of the gospel.

Book 1 in the 5-book biblical historical fiction series by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind. His courage covered his brother’s fear. His sacrifices atoned for the people’s sin. His voice carried the words of God. Moses parted the Red Sea. But in his shadow stood Aaron, a man who symbolizes forever our great High Priest. Be challenged by this faithful man whose story we must never forget. The Priest is the story of Aaron and book one in the popular Sons of Encouragement series about five men who quietly changed eternity. “Rivers convincingly envisions the emotions and intrigue that surely permeated the biblical events.” —Publishers Weekly “Rivers delivers. Those two words say it all. Rich characterization and gripping plot are contained between the hard covers of this neatly crafted novella.” —RT Book Reviews This novella includes an in-depth Bible study perfect for personal reflection or group discussion.

A “sublime” and “radically original” exploration of the Sierra Nevadas, the best mountains on Earth for hiking and camping, from New York Times bestselling novelist Kim Stanley Robinson (Bill McKibben, Gary Snyder). Kim Stanley Robinson first ventured into the Sierra Nevada mountains during the summer of 1973. He returned from that encounter a changed man, awed by a landscape that made him feel as if he were simultaneously strolling through an art museum and scrambling on a jungle gym like an energized child. He has returned to the mountains throughout his life—more than a hundred trips—and has gathered a vast store of knowledge about them. The High Sierra is his lavish celebration of this exceptional place and an exploration of what makes this span of mountains one of the most compelling places on Earth. Over the course of a vivid and dramatic narrative, Robinson describes the geological forces that shaped the Sierras and the history of its exploration, going back to the indigenous peoples who made it home and whose traces can still be found today. He celebrates the people whose ideas and actions protected the High Sierra for future generations. He describes uniquely beautiful hikes and the trails to be avoided. Robinson’s own life-altering events, defining relationships, and unforgettable adventures form the narrative’s spine. And he illuminates the human communion with the wild and with the sublime, including the personal growth that only seems to come from time spent outdoors. The High Sierra is a gorgeous, absorbing immersion in a place, born out of a desire to understand and share one of the greatest rapture-inducing experiences our planet offers. Packed with maps, gear advice, more than 100 breathtaking photos, and much more, it will inspire veteran hikers, casual walkers, and travel readers to prepare for a magnificent adventure.

In the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the ancient world of the Bible—the ancient Near East—came under Greek rule, and in the land of Israel, time-old traditions met Greek culture. But with the accession of King Antiochos IV, the soft power of culture was replaced with armed conflict, and soon the Jews rebelled against their imperial masters, as recorded in the Biblical books of the Maccabees. Whereas most scholars have dismissed the biblical accounts of religious persecution and cultural clash, Sylvie Honigman combines subtle literary analysis with deep historical insight to show how their testimony can be reconciled with modern historical analysis by conversing with the biblical authors, so to speak, in their own language to understand the ways they described their experiences. Honigman contends that these stories are not mere fantasies but genuine attempts to cope with the massacre that followed the rebellion by giving it new meaning. This reading also discloses fresh political and economic factors.