Mineral Wells, Stoval Hot Wells, Marlin, Glen Rose, Sour Lake, Indian Hot Springs, Wizard Wells -- there were dozens of places all over the state where heavily mineralized water lay beneath the soil. In pioneer days, the news often set off a land rush, with wagons flocking to the medicinal founts of "miracle" healing. Before the discovery of antibiotics -- and sometimes afterward - drinking and bathing in mineral waters were an important part of health care for many Texans. In a lively look at resorts large and small and the men who ran them, from quack doctors and elixir pitchmen to legitimate businessmen and physicians, Crazy Water takes readers from one end of the state to the other, listening to testimonials, reading amazing descriptions, marveling at the gulibility of the afflicted and the inventiveness of the healers.

Crazy Water - is he Comanche, half-breed, or white? The four men who find him with a head injury on the riverbank, name him Crazy Water. He doesn’t know his true name or where he comes from. He is dressed in Comanche garb, speaks the Comanche tongue fluently, and has more knowledge of hunting and tracking than most boys his age. He remembers nothing of his life before he was found at the riverbank. For nearly ten years he lives as a Comanche. When the Jerome Agreement is put into effect, giving each Comanche 160 acres of his own land, thereby breaking up the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache reservation, Crazy Water and his friends decide to take advantage of this and return to the reservation for their share of the land. When he meets beautiful Kyah and they fall in love, he concentrates on building a life without ever learning the answers to his questions. Will he ever learn who he is? If he has parents or other family? Or will his past remain a mystery forever?

It began in the 1800s. In the Texas town of Mineral Wells, people drinking the strange-tasting water claimed to be cured of insanity, rheumatism, and terminal illness. Discovery of the phenomenon beguiled thousands of tourists, curiosity seekers, and the afflicted who desperately sought cures. Yet, the town that promoted its “crazy water” attracted eccentric citizens, including wealthy Will and Anna Johnson, who, unable to cope with the deaths of their children, spared no expense in preserving the bodies for entombment in a mausoleum; paperclip inventor David Galbraith, the builder of a house in the shape of a honeycomb; and influential mortician Bob Beetham, who gained power by keeping the town’s secrets. In Texas Gothic, author James Pylant also uncovers the mysterious life of beautiful and ambitious Mineral Wells resident Corinne Griffith. After becoming a famous star of the silent screen and one of America’s richest women, she made a shocking courtroom claim that she was not the “real” Corinne Griffith. Under the looming 14-story Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells thrived with visits from movie stars; yet, the “crazy water” beckoned exploiters and predators. Texas Gothic reveals true tales of the town’s forgotten past: murder, white slavery, prostitution, and mysterious deaths.

A culinary tour of Italy offers regional specialties and includes a guide to shopping for ingredients.

A “miraculous” (Newsweek) human drama, based on a true story, from the renowned author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini The island is nearly deserted, haunting, beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw Island, America is a world away. For years the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe. Waste from industry threatens their very existence unless, somehow, they can learn a new way. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher—until one man gives a year of his life to the island and its people. Praise for The Water Is Wide “Miraculous . . . an experience of joy.”—Newsweek “A powerfully moving book . . . You will laugh, you will weep, you will be proud and you will rail . . . and you will learn to love the man.”—Charleston News and Courier “A hell of a good story.”—The New York Times “Few novelists write as well, and none as beautifully.”—Lexington Herald-Leader “[Pat] Conroy cuts through his experiences with a sharp edge of irony. . . . He brings emotion, writing talent and anger to his story.”—Baltimore Sun

USA TODAY Bestseller | ECPA Bestseller A riveting story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds by New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin that combines the intrigue of John Grisham with the heart-wrenching emotion of Nicholas Sparks. Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he's dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes. When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida's Intracoastal Waterway, Murph's mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery. With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past--and the ghosts who tried to bury them. With Charles Martin's trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it show up regardless of the cost. "Martin excels at writing characters who exist in the margins of life . . . Readers who enjoy flawed yet likable characters created by authors such as John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks will want to start reading Martin's fiction." --Library Journal, starred review "The Water Keeper is a wonderfully satisfying book with a plot driven by both action and love, and characters who will stay in readers' heads long after the last page." --Southern Literary Review "Charles Martin fans rejoice, because he's done it again . . . a multilayered story woven together with grace and redemption, and packed tight with tension and achingly real characters." --Lauren Denton The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1: The Water Keeper, Book 2: The Letter Keeper, Book 3: The Record Keeper, Book 4: The Keeper (coming April 2025!)

This hard-hitting, beautiful short story collection from one of America's preeminent literary voices “reflect[s] both sides of his Mexican-American heritage while stretching the reader's understanding of human boundaries” (Kirkus). Examining the borders between one nation and another, between one person and another, Urrea reveals his mastery of the short form. This collection includes the Edgar-award winning "Amapola" and his now-classic "Bid Farewell to Her Many Horses," which had the honor of being chosen for NPR's "Selected Shorts" not once but twice. Suffused with wanderlust, compassion, and no small amount of rock and roll, The Water Museum is a collection that confirms Luis Alberto Urrea as an American master.

Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously' How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion' The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend. Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.

'An all-time classic. The book I'm happy to return to, over and over again. It's an utter joy to cook from, as it is to dig deep into the stories' - Yotam Ottolenghi 'This book has a special place in my heart' - Claudia Roden A glorious new edition of the original gem at the heart of bestselling food writer Diana Henry's much-loved repertoire Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons gathers together dishes that combine colourful, aromatic and perfumed ingredients - from leathery pomegranates with their insides bursting with ruby seeds to flower waters that allow you to drink in the scent of a garden - to bring pleasure to your kitchen and an intoxicating whiff of warmer climes to your table. CONTENTS INCLUDE: Fragrance of the Earth Thyme, oregano & citrus roasted poussins; Lemon & rosemary cake A Bowl of Fresh Herbs Chermoula tuna with pomegranate couscous; Chilled avocado & coriander soup Sweet Cloves & Liquid Gold Catalan black rice; Salt-baked potatoes with crème fraîche & new season's garlic The Sweet & the Sour Pearl divers' rice; Adam's Café's North African pickles Plundering the Stores Lamb & mint pilaf with Turkish cherry hosaf; Raisin & sherry ice cream Curds & Whey Sweet potatoes with marinated feta & black olives; Ricotta ice cream with pomegranate Food from the Hearth Lamb pizza with preserved lemons; Piadina with caramelized onions, walnuts & taleggio Pith & Skin Pork with feta & spinach stuffing & cardamom-spiced oranges; Amalfi lemon & honey jam Heaven Scent Meringue & rose cake with summer berries; Mangoes with orange blossom & sweet labneh