This volume contains eleven essays on the American concept of individualism.

Discusses the anatomy, life cycle, behavior, and care of the American chameleon.

Discusses the anatomy, life cycle, behavior, and care of the American chameleon.

Félix Ventura trades in an unusual commodity; he is a dealer in memories, clandestinely selling new pasts to people whose futures are secure and who lack only a good lineage to complete their lives. In this completely original murder mystery, where people are not who they seem and the briefest of connections leads to the forging of entirely new histories, a bookish albino, a beautiful woman, a mysterious foreigner, and a witty talking lizard come together to discover the truth of their lives. Set in Angola, Agualusa's tale darts from tormented past to dream-filled present with a lightness that belies the savage history of a country in which many have something to forget -- and to hide. A brilliant American debut by one of the most lauded writers in the Portuguese-speaking world, this is a beautifully written and always surprising tale of race, truth, and the transformative power of creativity.

Jon Phillips is head bond trader at one of Wall Street's largest investment banks and lives the American dream in the heart of New York's decadent banking community. But, after years of selfishness and extravagance, he plans his exit through an unprecedented and ultimately fraudulent deal in the US government bond market. A high-ranking colleague, who sits on the bank's main board, has teamed up with a Russian financier in order to provide Jon with one of the key elements vital to the success of his ingenious scheme. The deal goes spectacularly wrong and Jon's world collapses. As the Russians desperately attempt to recover their lost millions, Jon is thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse. From the seedy nightspots of downtown NYC to the plush yacht clubs of the Hamptons, pastoral aristocratic England, and Southern Australia's endless beaches, past lovers, new menaces, and numerous apparently accidental deaths line his trail. Jon's survival now depends on putting the past behind him and becoming a calculated predator instead of the vulnerable prey.

Vivid, up-close photographs and lively, informative text brilliantly capture the many moods and colors of chameleons as they hunt for food, search for a new home, brave dangerous strangers, and even make friends.

“Moves beyond a compelling personal story to shed radiant light on history itself . . . an essential chronicle of midcentury American idealism.” —Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day In 1964, at the age of three, Tim Bascom is thrust into a world of eucalyptus trees and stampeding baboons when his family moves from the Midwest to Ethiopia. The unflinchingly observant narrator of this memoir reveals his missionary parents’ struggles in a sometimes hostile country. Sent reluctantly to boarding school in the capital, young Tim finds that beyond the gates enclosing that peculiar, isolated world, conflict roils Ethiopian society. When secret riot drills at school are followed with an attack by rampaging students near his parents’ mission station, Tim witnesses the disintegration of his family’s African idyll as Haile Selassie’s empire begins to crumble. Like Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Chameleon Days chronicles social upheaval through the keen yet naive eyes of a child. Bascom offers readers a fascinating glimpse of missionary life, much as Barbara Kingsolver did in The Poisonwood Bible. “Such precision in voice earned Bascom the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference Bakeless Prize, and his smartly naïve observations grow more sophisticated as the country succumbs to political unrest in the 1970s and missionary life becomes uncertain. Nostalgic but not overwrought, Bascom’s memoir is accented with casual family snapshots like ribbons on the gift of a gently captured place in time.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Bascom, son of missionaries, illuminates the Ethiopia of his childhood in this Bakeless Prize–winning memoir . . . A stirring tribute to a turbulent, beautifully evoked era.” —Kirkus Reviews

Piers Anthony’s bestselling Xanth series is one of the cornerstones of fantasy, a lively and whimsical interpretation of a genre often criticized for taking itself too seriously. Anthony’s first Xanth novel, A Spell for Chameleon, was initially edited to target a more traditional audience. Now, in an eBook exclusive, A Spell for Chameleon has been reworked line by line—its language matching the simpler, playful way with words that made Piers Anthony an enduring fan favorite. Xanth is an enchanted land where magic rules, a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks where every citizen has a unique spell to call their own. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth is no fairy tale. He alone has no magic. And unless he gets some—and fast!—he will be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey is convinced that Bink does indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insist that Bink has magic as powerful as any possessed by the King, the Good Magician Humfrey, or even the Evil Magician Trent. Be that as it may, no one can fathom the nature of Bink’s very special magic. This is even worse than having no magic at all . . . and he still faces exile!

A popular beginner’s lizard, the green anole is the perfect introduction to the world of reptiles and continues to be popular among new herp lovers. These tiny, neat little lizards with the intense black eyes have suffered the fate of goldfish, as they’ve been marketed by pet shops as cheap, easy care, insect-eating reptiles. In order to keep green anoles thriving in their vivaria, pet owners must approach their husbandry with care and respect: Philippe de Vosjoli’s Green Anoles provides the precise information necessary to reach that goal. The book begins with a chapter about the characteristics and behavior, natural history, and anatomy of green anoles, all of which is critical information for a keep to better understand the needs of his or her pet. As pets, green anoles are best kept in their vivaria and not handled, so the setup of a beautifully landscaped vivarium with proper lighting, heat, humidity, ventilation, and substrate is key. This Advanced Vivarium Systems title offers complete information about housing, feeding and nutrition, diseases and disorders, and breeding as well as how to set up naturalistic vivaria for one or more anoles or a community of anoles and compatible species. The chapter on other anoles recommends some very attractive species for the beginning lizard keeper to expand his anole family, such as the brown anole, big-headed anole, Cuban (or knight) anole, and Jamaican anole. The finale chapter on compatible species includes descriptions and photographs of a half dozen interesting options, such as the flying gecko, pigmy skink, and green tree frog. Resources and index included.