An ambitious American pope makes powerful enemies—from the Italian Mafia to the US President—in this fascinating thriller that “could be next week’s news” (Daily Mail). What if the unused riches of the Catholic Church were called upon to combat global poverty? Following a tragic earthquake in Italy, Pope Thomas—the first American pontiff and a transformative leader—auctions off one of the Vatican’s Renaissance masterpieces to aid in the recovery. The sale is such a success that he decides to go even further: organizing the greatest art auction ever held, with the proceeds going to help the poor. But as the pope’s charitable designs acquire political overtones, he encounters resistance from world leaders, including the president of the United States. And closer to the Vatican, the Mafia have as much interest in the poor as do popes and presidents . . . “Master of the art-world thriller” (Publishers Weekly), Peter Watson turns his attention to a different kind of political thriller, as Vatican Vendetta—previously published as Crusade—delivers “nonstop action” (The Guardian).

The Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita is a document, originally published in Italian in the 19th century, purportedly produced by the highest lodge of the Italian Carbonari and written by "Piccolo Tigre," codename for Giuseppe Mazzini. The document details an alleged Masonic plan to infiltrate the Catholic Church and spread liberal ideas within it. The Carbonari had strong similarities to Freemasonry and so the document is seen by some as a Masonic document. In the 19th century, Pope Pius IX[3] and Pope Leo XIII both asked for it to be published.

A deeply reported, New York Times bestselling exposé of the money and the clerics-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican—the world’s biggest, most powerful religious institution—from an acclaimed journalist with “exhaustive research techniques” (The New York Times). From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, God’s Bankers traces the political intrigue of the Catholic Church in “a meticulous work that cracks wide open the Vatican’s legendary, enabling secrecy” (Kirkus Reviews). Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this book is about the church’s accumulation of wealth and its byzantine financial entanglements across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in one of the world’s most influential organizations. God’s Bankers has it all: a revelatory and astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, and mysterious deaths written off as suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church’s aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger tensions of more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican’s Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. “As exciting as a mystery thriller” (Providence Journal), this book reveals with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.

Steve Berry offers his twistiest thriller yet, in a new adventure starring Cotton Malone and a secret conspiracy dating back to Napoleon. A Cotton Malone adventure involving a sinister conspiracy, a quest for vengeance, and a secret treasure linked to Napoleon... 12.40 a.m. Copenhagen. Cotton Malone wakes up to find a stranger in his house, bearing bad news: Malone's closest and most dangerous friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen, is in serious trouble - and the men who want to kill Thorvaldsen are on Malone's doorstep. Thorvaldsen has been tracking a shadowy group called the Paris Club. Not only does he believe that they are about to trigger a global financial meltdown, but also that one of the club's members murdered his son, Cai, two years ago. Thorvaldsen won't rest until he has avenged his boy's death. Dragged into his friend's schemes and secretly under pressure from the US government to stop both Thorvaldsen and the Paris Club, Malone soon discovers that the key to defeating the conspiracy and saving his friend's life - and his own - lies in the past, and an astounding treasure that Napoleon took to his grave.

Drawing on more than four decades of experience studying Christian communities in Egypt, Otto Meinardus offers here a sweeping overview of the principal Christian churches and organizations in Egypt today. For the first time, this wealth of information has been gathered into one volume, making it an ideal introduction to the contemporary scene of the various Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant denominations that have a presence in Egypt. Looking at Maronite churches in Alexandria, Greek Orthodox congregations in Cairo, and new evangelical communities in Upper Egypt, among others, this book serves as an important reference work for anyone interested in the broad variety of Christian groups in Egypt, including the majority Coptic Orthodox Church. As one of the foremost scholars of the Christian history of Egypt and the wider Middle East, Dr. Meinardus brings an unparalleled wealth of expertise to this subject, while placing Christianity in the historical perspective of its relationship to the ancient pharaonic religion and medieval and modern Islam. Included as well is an up-to-date index of individual churches. A first of its kind, Christians in Egypt is an indispensable resource for both scholars and interested general readers.

A personal examination of the Catholic faith, its leaders, and its complicated history by a National Book Award–winning, New York Times-bestselling author. James Carroll turns to the notion of practice—both as a way to learn and a means of improvement—as a lens for this thoughtful and frank look at what it means to be Catholic. He acknowledges the slow and steady transformation of the Church from its darker medieval roots to a more pluralist and inclusive institution, charting along the way stories of powerful Catholic leaders (Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, John F. Kennedy) and historical milestones like Vatican II. These individuals and events represent progress for Carroll, a former priest, and as he considers the new meaning of belief in a world that is increasingly as secular as it is fundamentalist, he shows why the world needs a Church that is committed to faith and renewal. “Carroll, a former Catholic priest who wrote of his conflict with his father over the Vietnam War in An American Requiem, revisits and expands on that tension in this spiritual memoir infused with church history . . . Readers who, like Carroll, remain Catholic but wrestle with their church’s positions on moral issues will most appreciate his story.” —Publishers Weekly “Thought-provoking.” —San Francisco Chronicle “[An] engrossing faith memoir . . . a page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews

Rough justice has often been served in the pages of serial novels, notably beginning with Don Pendleton's The Executioner in 1969. This is the first overview of the serial vigilante genre, which featured such hard-boiled protagonists as Nick Carter, Mark Stone, Jake Brand and Able Team among the 130 series that followed Pendleton's novel. Serial vigilantes repeatedly take the law into their own hands, establishing and imposing their own moral standards, usually by force. The book examines the connections between the serial vigilante and the pulp hero that preceded him and how the serial vigilante has influenced a variety of tough guys, private eyes, spies and cops in different media. A complete bibliography for each series is featured.

From Cushman motor scooters to four-cylinder Hondas, Roar and Thunder is a personal lifetime journey of owning and riding motorcycles. Solo or two-up it tells of riding adventure through five Western states and Mexico, what was going on in the world at the time, and the changes in motorcycles and attitudes about them. There are twisty open roads, mud trails, quick boring freeways, traffic jams, high desert winds, pouring rain and blinding blizzards. The big motorcycle rides of the past are there - Death Valley Run, Indio, Lone Pine, Yuma Prison Run, Sunday poker runs, and just rides for burger and beers. Absent are Harley Davidson only events. If motorcycles are part of your life, come along for the ride