The bestselling author of the Secret of the Rose series turns to the Holy Land, where the supposed discovery of Noah’s Ark challenges a new world order. Arabia, 1898. A sole pilgrim embarks on a quest to verify the truths of the Old Testament—and is murdered ever so close to the proof he seeks. A revelation that will remain undiscovered for decades . . . Turkey, present day. Scientists, historians, and preachers have dreamed of this moment for centuries. Now archaeologist Adam Livingstone is minutes away from a discovery that will catapult him into worldwide fame—and prove that Noah’s flood was no fairy tale. But as Adam begins the tedious work of unearthing the artifact, a secret cabal of financial and media giants cannot allow their diabolical plans to be destroyed—by letting the truth see the light of day . . . “[An] exciting thriller.” —Library Journal

An engrossing family memoir that shines a light on Palestine’s history, offering a wise, sobering view of how radically conditions there have changed since the late Ottoman Empire, from the award-winning author of We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I. Raja Shehadeh’s great-great-uncle Najib Nassar, a journalist born in 1865, spent the first 4 decades of his life under the Ottoman Empire. Ruled by a Muslim Sultan, the region nevertheless saw the coexistence of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and a freedom of movement unthinkable in the present-day Middle East. On a 2-year quest to discover Najib’s fascinating story, Shehadeh follows his footsteps through what are now Lebanon and Israel, tracing the fall of the Empire after World War I and the disastrous British Mandate. A family memoir written in luminescent prose, A Rift in Time also reflects on how Palestine—in particular the disputed Jordan Rift Valley—has been transformed. Most of Palestine’s history and that of its people is buried deep in the ground: whole villages have disappeared, and names have been erased from the map. Yet by seeing the bigger picture of the landscape and the unending struggle for freedom as Shehadeh does, it is still possible to look toward a better future.

"First published by Profile Books, London, 2010"--Title page verso.

“In a rift of time the corner of the universe appears to consciousness.” —Ernst Meister

Rift in the Races (Book 2 of The Galactic Mage series) follows the continuing story of powerful Prosperion sorcerer Altin Meade and feisty Earth-fleet officer Orli Pewter in the fight against the mysterious alien Hostiles. The Earth fleet is now moving to take advantage of its recent victory. With better combat strategies and Prosperion wizards only a blink away, the time has come to finish the job they set out to do: destroying the Hostiles. But complications arise. Altin's discovery of space-traveling humans from distant Earth has threatened ancient and foundational beliefs for the people of his world. The shockwaves from this revelation begin to unravel a long-standing but precarious balance of power. With her eyes to the sky and all its galactic possibilities, Prosperion's War Queen soon finds her realm on the brink of chaos. Together, Altin and Orli must once again find a way to mediate the forces of pride, frustration and fear between their two peoples, or both planets will be destroyed. What ensues is an action-packed, laser-blasting magic ride through space, war, romance and conspiracy--a thrilling tale of alliances and alien hostility. Unfortunately, sometimes "alien hostility" is a matter of perspective. *** Rift in the Races is the second book in The Galactic Mage series. Book 1, The Galactic Mage, and Book 3, Hostiles, are now available. Book 4, Alien Arrivals, is underway and expected in summer 2014 and a prequel, Ilbei Spadebreaker and the Harpy's Wild, is expected in March 2014.

A Distinguished and Bestselling Historian and Army Veteran Revisits the Culture War that Raged around the Selection of Maya Lin's Design for the Vietnam Memorial A Rift in the Earth tells the remarkable story of the ferocious “art war” that raged between 1979 and 1984 over what kind of memorial should be built to honor the men and women who died in the Vietnam War. The story intertwines art, politics, historical memory, patriotism, racism, and a fascinating set of characters, from those who fought in the conflict and those who resisted it to politicians at the highest level. At its center are two enduring figures: Maya Lin, a young, Asian-American architecture student at Yale whose abstract design won the international competition but triggered a fierce backlash among powerful figures; and Frederick Hart, an innovative sculptor of humble origins on the cusp of stardom. James Reston, Jr., a veteran who lost a close friend in the war and has written incisively about the conflict's bitter aftermath, explores how the debate reignited passions around Vietnam long after the war’s end and raised questions about how best to honor those who fought and sacrificed in an ill-advised war. Richly illustrated with photographs from the era and design entries from the memorial competition, A Rift in the Earth is timed to appear alongside Ken Burns's eagerly anticipated PBS documentary, The Vietnam War. “The memorial appears as a rift in the earth, a long polished black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth."—Maya Lin "I see the wall as a kind of ocean, a sea of sacrifice. . . . I place these figures upon the shore of that sea." —Frederick Hart

Nell Ingram and her team face a dire, supernatural evil in this newest thrilling paranormal procedural in the New York Times bestselling Soulwood series. Nell Ingram draws her powers from deep in the earth, and uses them to help Psy-LED, the Psychometric Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. When a local vampire calls to report a dead body on her compound, Nell knows she and her team have to be ready for anything. But the dead body is just the beginning of a mystery that involves supernaturals of all kinds, including some of the most powerful vampires in the country. As Nell gets closer to the truth, she begins to understand that the perpetrator is tracking her too—and that there is something personal about this crime. Something with roots that go almost as deep as those in Soulwood.

Autumn 1840. It seemed as if the American people had gone mad. Across the land, bonfires and torch­light parades lighted the night skies. Mobs chanted silly ditties to express their purpose—'Tippecanoe and Tyler, too,' or 'Van, Van is a used up man.' The wildest election in the sixty some years of the history of the Republic was inspiring citizens to new heights of humbuggery." So writes James Paul in the lucid manner of modern scholarship that aims as much to communicate as to authenticate. Developed rapidly and logically, abounding in color, Rift in the Democracy tells the story of how a handful of politicians used the question of the annexation of Texas as campaign capital and consequently set the stage for the major tragedy of the Civil War. By sheer power of leadership Jackson had welded a coalition of factions into a disciplined party. But for all his forcefulness Old Hickory had never fully confronted and settled the more difficult and challenging problems of his time. As a result, his successors found themselves in deep disagreement over the matter of public finance, the tariff issue, and the ominous question of slavery. When President Tyler was purged from the Whig Party in 1841 and left politically impotent, a few ambitious politicos used this situation to effectuate a scheme of territorial expansion. It was this scheme—materialized as the cry for annexation of Texas—which fell like a "terrible swift sword" into the midst of the Democratic Party's trembling unity. The time of Jackson was intensely one of vivid personalities. With a keen sense of the dramatic James Paul writes intimately and at length of the leaders­-great and small—whose hopes, fears, successes, and failures were both the inspiration for and the result of intraparty strife and political intrigue. More than other studies which have been made of this momentous period, Rift in the Democracy emphasizes political realities and shows exactly how there occurred a schism within the Democratic Party during the year 1844 which altered the political history of America. Coming almost entirely from primary sources, newspapers, letters, and government documents, this is a revisionist work. But in a larger sense, it provides a fuller understanding of the American two-party system. In order to write this significant study, the author examined the records and papers of not only the leading politicians of the period but also those of the lesser party figures whose names today are nearly forgotten. "It is this latter group," says James C. N. Paul, "that particularly interested me. I feel that I came to know some quite intimately, to sympathize with their problems. That type of experience makes the historian's the most fascinating of all professions.