The definitive story of one American family at the center of a single, shocking act of international terrorism that "manages to capture the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" (Dan Ephron). On October 3, 1985, Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled Jewish New Yorker, and his wife boarded the Achille Lauro to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary with a Mediterranean cruise. Four days later, four Palestinian fedayeen hijacked the Italian luxury liner and took the passengers and crew hostage. Leon Klinghoffer was shot in the head, his body and wheelchair thrown overboard. His murder became a flashpoint in the intractable struggle between Israelis and Arabs and gave Americans a horrifying preview of what it means when terrorism hits home. In this richly reported book, drawing on multiple perspectives, Julie Salamon dispels the mythology that has grown around that shattering moment. What transpired on the Achille Lauro left the Klinghoffer family in the grip of irredeemable sorrow, while precipitating tragic reverberations for the wives and sons of Abu al-Abbas, the Palestinian mastermind behind the hijacking, and the family of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian-American murdered in Los Angeles in a brutal act of retaliation. Through intimate interviews with almost all living participants, including one of the hijackers, Julie Salamon brings alive the moment-by-moment saga of the hijacking and the ensuing U.S.-led international manhunt; the diplomatic wrangling between the United States, Egypt, Italy, and Israel; the long agonizing search for justice; and the inside story of the controversial opera about the Klinghoffer tragedy that provoked a culture war. An Innocent Bystander is a masterful work of journalism that moves between the personal and the global with the pace of a geopolitical thriller and the depth of a psychological drama. Throughout lies the tension wrought by terrorism and its repercussions today.

Hostage. Nine-year-old Freda trapped in a restaurant with a fanatic and his gun. Survivor. No parents to protect her, two men dead. Ten years later. Live by the rules: keep yourself small, don't let them ask you questions. A dead man's words... 'Are you living a good life, Freda?' The answer lies in hunting down the ghosts of the past. Gripping and moving, The Song of an Innocent Bystander is a novel you won't easily forget.

The first collection of Fonseca's short stories to appear in English, ranging across his oeuvre, exploring the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro. Fonseca's Rio is a city at war, where vast disparities, in wealth, social standing and prestige are untenable. Rich and poor live in an uneasy equilibrium, where only overwhelming force can maintain order and violence and deception are the essential tools of survival. From the tale of the businessman who rans over pedestrians to let off steam to a serial killer being pushed to kill more by his lover, this collection is a true gem.

This book is a start-up guide for spiritual or religious people who are interested in working for social justice but don't know how or where to begin, drawing on the lessons of history, the framework of Christian ideas, and the insights of contemporary activists.

The book Chain and Other Stories contains nine stories. The first story, Chain, is about two federal agents who go undercover in Anchorage, Alaska, with two NYC detectives to investigate whether or not an oil mogul is using kidnapped kids to make weapons sold throughout the United States if so stop him. The next story, Gradill, is about an FBI agent who is investigating a case in Chicago where a bioterrorist is using SARS and Anthrax to poison or sicken CEOs of biochemical companies and local politicians who are giving them leeway to get funding and do research. The last of the first stories is Shatter Blue Magica story dealing with a young man who is an assassin who leaves a person alive he was supposed to kill, now he is only having to kill the person before he kills him and the lady he loves. The second batch of stories starts with Shatter Blue Magic 2, which is about the assassin from the first story having to kill his younger brother and sister-in-law, who have both been assigned to kill him, his wife, son, and employers. Web is the sequel to Chain where the two federal agents from the first story go undercover in Phoenix, Arizona, with two Phoenix detectives to investigate and stop two nightclub owners in Phoenix from kidnapping teenage girls and selling them to the adult entertainment industry to work as adult film stars. Gradill 2 is where the FBI agent from the first story is going undercover in Chicago to investigate a local domestic terrorist group and stop them from wrecking havoc in Chicago. The third batch of stories is Gradill 3 where the FBI agent from the two previous stories goes undercover with her sister to investigate a growing local domestic terrorist group who is causing trouble in Chicago and to stop them. The Last Call for Shatter Blue Magic picks up where the second story left off, healing his wounds from his encounter with his brother and sister-in-law, the assassin takes one last job where he must go around the world killing criminal organizations, corrupt policemen, crooked politicians, and terrorists, or he and his family and employers will be killed. Link is the last story in the Chain series where the two federal agents must go to Honolulu, Hawaii, with two Honolulu detectives to go undercover at a local sweatshop to investigate and stop a local rich woman and her friends from using children from Asia and America to work in her sweatshop making clothes that end up in department stores.

A gritty collection of 35 stories, written with raw emotion and cool melancholy, told in a compelling narrative voice that will make you smile as it breaks your heart, FUNERALS FOR FRIENDS explores the extraordinary details of ordinary lives. A sobering downhill ride throughlove and loss, these exciting stories take place in the home, in the office, on the street corner, and within the often disturbing relationships between men and women. But more important, these stories come from a place within the heart that is familiar to all. From the author of Burning In The Heat and Other Stories.

A remarkably candid biography of the remarkably candid—and brilliant—Carrie Fisher In her 2008 bestseller, Girls Like Us, Sheila Weller—with heart and a profound feeling for the times—gave us a surprisingly intimate portrait of three icons: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. Now she turns her focus to one of the most loved, brilliant, and iconoclastic women of our time: the actress, writer, daughter, and mother Carrie Fisher. Weller traces Fisher’s life from her Hollywood royalty roots to her untimely and shattering death after Christmas 2016. Her mother was the spunky and adorable Debbie Reynolds; her father, the heartthrob crooner Eddie Fisher. When Eddie ran off with Elizabeth Taylor, the scandal thrust little Carrie Frances into a bizarre spotlight, gifting her with an irony and an aplomb that would resonate throughout her life. We follow Fisher’s acting career, from her debut in Shampoo, the hit movie that defined mid-1970s Hollywood, to her seizing of the plum female role in Star Wars, which catapulted her to instant fame. We explore her long, complex relationship with Paul Simon and her relatively peaceful years with the talent agent Bryan Lourd. We witness her startling leap—on the heels of a near-fatal overdose—from actress to highly praised, bestselling author, the Dorothy Parker of her place and time. Weller sympathetically reveals the conditions that Fisher lived with: serious bipolar disorder and an inherited drug addiction. Still, despite crises and overdoses, her life’s work—as an actor, a novelist and memoirist, a script doctor, a hostess, and a friend—was prodigious and unique. As one of her best friends said, “I almost wish the expression ‘one of a kind’ didn’t exist, because it applies to Carrie in a deeper way than it applies to others.” Sourced by friends, colleagues, and witnesses to all stages of Fisher’s life, Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge is an empathic and even-handed portrayal of a woman who—as Princess Leia, but mostly as herself—was a feminist heroine, one who died at a time when we need her blazing, healing honesty more than ever.

The Glitter and Other Stories serves up an offering of ten stories showcasing life's broad palette—from friendships to frustrations, healings, loves, memories, sorrows, and sensitivities. From the interior of a bar to the majesty of a trip to India, author Curt Maury has created a fictional collection ripe with setting and sensory detail. The title story, "The Glitter," finds social services worker Emily Robinson in the lavish home of Trixie Trent, the leading lady of musicals. Here Emily discovers more than she wants to know about this celebrated star. In "The Great Hollow," Greg and Petra, husband and wife, meet in a bar and attempt to come to terms with their childlessness. In Tel Aviv, American David Glick tries to soothe the dying soul of Luigi Roselli, a fellow American injured in a bomb blast in the story "The Blessed." This purposeful collection, with poems included, provides a unique insight into the human condition and its powerful emotions.