A book perfectly timed for the re-setting of the Maya calendar in 2012.... Part history, popular science, armchair travel, and real-life treasure hunt, this is the story of pre-Columbian jade—the precious stone revered by ancient Aztecs, Incans, and Maya—and the scientists, collectors, explorers and entrepreneurs who have been searching for the mythical jade mines for more than a century. “A compelling tale.... This well-focused and well-told account brings America’s most mythologized gemstone into sharp relief.” —Wall Street Journal “[T]he story of the search for the long-vanished mines of the Mayas . . . [with] engaging digressions into plate tectonics, the technology of jade carving and the brutal history of the regimes of a succession of Guatemalan generals. . . . [Prospectors] Ridinger and Johnson endured earthquakes, coups, kidnapping, even civil war. But eventually they stumbled upon huge blocks of the alluring, elusive stone.” —New York Times Book Review Selected as an Indie Next List “Great Read” “The search for the sources of this mysterious rock reads like detective fiction, and involves geologists, archaeologists, entrepreneurs, poachers, and a host of other characters, but it’s all true. A wonderful read!” —Michael D. Coe, author of Breaking the Maya Code

The definitive modern take on the timeless tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table. The legends of King Arthur date back to medieval Europe, and have become some of the dominant myths of Western culture. In The Once & Future King, T. H. White reinvents the story for a modern audience. The novel starts by introducing the reader to a young Arthur – just a child, and far from the King he will become – as he is raised by the wizard Merlyn, and moves on to chronicle his rise to Kingship, the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot, and the eventual destruction of the round table. The first section, released independently as The Sword in the Stone, was adapted into an animated film by Walt Disney Pictures. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

This book is about three emotions (that we all experience in our lives) inherited by three identical princesses from their father, King Pubot. They are: 1. Rage – Princess Ruby. 2. Jealousy – Princess Jade. 3. Serenity – Princess Sapphire. King Pubot was obsessed with power and wealth and treated his jewels better than he treated human beings until…the three princesses were born. But still obsessed with precious stones, he called the princesses his ‘jewels of life’. After naming the princesses after his precious stones, he made the mistake of treating his daughters like his jewels and thought he could do what he liked with them. He found out to his peril that his daughters were living beings and not items of his wealth. The final chapter has a twist which makes the king finally change his ways.

A Scottish national hero tells the story of a daring exploit that rocked Great Britain—and the love of country that inspired it. Ian Robertson Hamilton was an unknown law student at Glasgow University—until Christmas Eve 1950. On that night, assisted by Alan Stuart, Gavin Vernon, and Kay Matheson, he took the Stone of Destiny from beneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. The stone, once used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs, had been taken nearly seven centuries earlier by Edward I, and its recovery was a major symbolic victory, making Hamilton a Scottish national hero. In England, however, the act had the opposite effect, and a manhunt for the “vulgar vandals” was launched to satisfy the outrage of the English establishment and bring the perpetrators to justice. In the end, the Stone was given up, but the gang was not charged. This solitary act set Hamilton on a path for the rest of his life—from which he has not diverged. Decades after that fateful night, the story still holds people spellbound when Hamilton recounts it. In this book, Ian Hamilton sets down the chain of events that led to his decision to go to London and remove the Stone and provides a minute-by-minute account of the act and the aftermath. The basis of a major Hollywood film starring Robert Carlyle and Billy Boyd, The Stone of Destiny is not simply a retelling of a stunt that made nationwide news. It is a book about how a nation’s conscience was stirred by a symbolic act that changed the lives of many.

The year is 2319. Lt. Comm Roy O'Hara leads his squadron against the enemy's latest Super Destroyer and is shot down over an unexplored planet. The planet holds secrets to a long lost alien weapon and the key to Roy's own destiny. Near death Roy is found by Katreena, a beautiful and mysterious woman. When she finds Roy, he's broken and battered, and saves his life with the Boto Stone. Yet she is unaware that by doing so she will create a deep bond and awaken an affect not seen for hundreds of years; the ability to communicate to each other in dreams. An unguarded moment leads to a forbidden night of intimacy; an act of betrayal to the crown, an act that will put both their lives in jeopardy. Katreena flees to save them both. Danger increases as their secret may be discovered and war erupts on their planet.

Power can lead to a crown or a cage. Passion can give you wings? or a grave.The Coroner raised her scythe, but the forces of the Dalis razed her people to the ground. Keres' chains are now in the hands of her enemy and he's bringing her to heel. Twists of fate and warfare are entangling her. She must learn to play the strings or become the spell-bound puppet.