Nancy’s going to the White House, where George is interning as a photographer’s assistant. On the day of her arrival, a photo session of a priceless solid-gold statue is under way. But something is wrong with this picture—Nancy gets knocked out cold and now the statue is missing.

An NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2018! A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called "one helluva page-turner" and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as "riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a fantastic read." Pick up the book everyone is talking about. In 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical of Gawker Media, outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker, its bankruptcy and with Nick Denton, Gawker's CEO and founder, out of a job. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental--it had been masterminded by Thiel. For years, Thiel had searched endlessly for a solution to what he'd come to call the "Gawker Problem." When an unmarked envelope delivered an illegally recorded sex tape of Hogan with his best friend's wife, Gawker had seen the chance for millions of pageviews and to say the things that others were afraid to say. Thiel saw their publication of the tape as the opportunity he was looking for. He would come to pit Hogan against Gawker in a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, while Gawker remained confidently convinced they would prevail as they had over so many other lawsuit--until it was too late. The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean--for the First Amendment? For privacy? For culture? In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious--and successful--secret plots in recent memory. Some will cheer Gawker's destruction and others will lament it, but after reading these pages--and seeing the access the author was given--no one will deny that there is something ruthless and brilliant about Peter Thiel's shocking attempt to shake up the world.

'Intrigue' examines the tradition of the spy narrative in the 20th century, setting the historical contexts for the main themes of the genre, such as the Cambridge spy ring & the Profumo Affair. Hepburn offers a systematic theory of the conventions & attractions of espionage fiction.

A priceless gold hummingbird statue is stolen during a White House photo-shoot where George is working as a photographer's intern.

CIA analyst Layla Karam is thrust into a dangerous DEA field operation against a cartel that puts a target on her back. Though Layla never wanted to be a field agent, Langley had other ideas. After one of her team members is murdered because of fallout from the op, Layla is left scrambling to find safety. At the same time, the CIA opens up an internal investigation against her. Out of options, Layla turns to ex-boyfriend and private investigator Hunter McCoy for help finding out who might want to ruin her career. Layla and Hunter soon discover a mole inside the DEA has sold out the team's identity to the cartel. She must clear her name with the Agency and protect herself and her teammates from cartel retaliation. With threats on all sides, Layla must put her trust in Hunter--the man who broke her heart--and hope they both come out of it alive. For those who are content sensitive: this book contains non-graphic scenes and descriptions of physical and sexual assault.

Will Lee, the courageous and uncompromising senator from Georgia, is back—now as President of the United States—in the fifth book in the New York Times bestselling series that began with Chiefs. When a prominent conservative politician is killed inside his lakeside cabin, authorities have no suspect in sight. And two more deaths—seemingly isolated incidents, achieved by very different means—might be linked to the same murderer. With the help of his CIA director wife, Kate Rule Lee, Will is facing a perilous challenge: catch the most clever and professional of killers before he can strike again. From a quiet D.C. suburb to the corridors of power to a deserted island hideaway in Maine, Will, Kate, and the FBI will track their man and set a trap with extreme caution and care—and await the most dangerous kind of quarry, a killer with a cause to die for...

When the curtain goes down, the real drama begins… The American Grand Opera has come to River Heights to perform Tosca, Aida, and The Marriage of Figaro, and Nancy’s friend Bess is going to be a chorus extra. It’s all so exciting for the girls; the costumes, the music, the glamor! Little do they expect, though, the drama that will take place backstage. When a falling sandbag from the scenery catwalk nearly misses the two female stars of the opera during a dress rehearsal, Nancy begins to suspect foul play. As it turns out, the falling sandbag isn’t the first incident of the tour. In the dressing room, Nancy finds out that rival singers Rosacrucia Alba, the hot new soprano, and Marta Willentz, an older member of the company, have been involved in a few scary situations. As rehearsals continue and the threat to these singers increases, Nancy scrambles to determine why someone is trying to ensure that only one singer will be the star of these shows.

Writer, consultant and speaker Chris Rabb coined the term invisible capital to represent the unseen forces that dramatically impact entrepreneurial viability when a good attitude, a great idea, and hard work simply aren't enough. In his book, Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity, Rabb puts forth concrete and...

A fascinating story of a legendary dealmaker who masterminded an unprecedented merger Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill orchestrated many deals over his legendary forty-five year career—none bigger than the 1998 epic merger of Travelers and Citibank to create the international conglomerate, Citigroup. King of Capital tells the compelling story of how this complex man revolutionized the banking world and transformed Citigroup through a combination of mergers and powerplays. Throughout his entire career Weill has created successful businesses out of smaller, seemingly unworkable pieces; filled product vacuums no one else even realized were void; and forced issues that no one else had the gumption to tackle. His daring dealmaking tactics were never more evident than while forming Citigroup, as he lobbied Congress to deregulate the financial services industry and ousted his co-CEO in a public power struggle. Through an engaging narrative by financial writers Amey Stone and Mike Brewster, King of Capital chronicles the legacy of Sandy Weill that began taking shape in 1970 with the creation of Shearson, was honed during his tenure at American Express, and continues as he leads one of the world's largest banks. Along with probing Weill's signature business deals, King of Capital traces the path this feared, envied, and admired man took to get to the top. Readers will gain valuable insight into the strategies and tactics of this admired dealmaker-including his ability to turn a workforce into a family, with all the love, loyalty, battles and heartbreaks. What distinguishes Weill from the run-of-the mill executive is a laser-like focus on what he wants, trust in his lieutenants, and incredible belief in himself-conviction that he did not always possess. Weill, cowed by Bensonhurst bullies as a child, hazed as a military school plebe, intimidated by the strong personalities of some his early partners, has defied all expectations to become a CEO whose deals have had lasting impact on global finance and the economy. Amey Stone (New York, NY) has more than ten years of experience as a financial writer. Currently, she is an Associate Editor at BusinessWeek Online, where she cowrites the daily "Street Wise" column, and is responsible for writing many of the site's lead stories on business trends, technology, and the economy, including several articles covering Citigroup and Sandy Weill. Mike Brewster (New York, NY) is an accomplished writer, editor and financial services professional. He recently launched a career magazine called Leaders Online.