An age-old family curse fuels this National Book Critics Circle Award winner: “Elkin’s imagination should be declared a national landmark” (Paul Auster). Since the time of the First Crusade, every generation of the Mills family has been consigned by fate to an unfulfilling, servile existence. And each successive Mills has had a son, George, to perpetuate the family plight through history. Whether a stable hand in feudal Europe or a prisoner in an Ottoman harem, each George Mills falls prey to his hereditary misfortune—until the modern George Mills threatens to reverse this fate once and for all. Written with penetrating insight and wit, George Mills is an engrossing story of one man’s salvation, and an unforgettable defense of free will in even the most overwhelming of circumstances. This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate and from the Stanley Elkin archives at Washington University in St. Louis.

“In the world of black-op thrillers, Mitch Rapp continues to be among the best of the best” (Booklist, starred review), and he returns in the #1 New York Times bestselling series alone and targeted by a country that is supposed to be one of America’s closest allies. After 9/11, the United States made one of the most secretive and dangerous deals in its history—the evidence against the powerful Saudis who coordinated the attack would be buried and in return, King Faisal would promise to keep the oil flowing and deal with the conspirators in his midst. But when the king’s own nephew is discovered funding ISIS, the furious President gives Rapp his next mission: he must find out more about the high-level Saudis involved in the scheme and kill them. The catch? Rapp will get no support from the United States. Forced to make a decision that will change his life forever, Rapp quits the CIA and assembles a group of independent contractors to help him complete the mission. They’ve barely begun unraveling the connections between the Saudi government and ISIS when the brilliant new head of the intelligence directorate discovers their efforts. With Rapp getting too close, he threatens to go public with the details of the post-9/11 agreement between the two countries. Facing an international incident that could end his political career, the President orders America’s intelligence agencies to join the Saudis’ effort to hunt the former CIA man down. Rapp, supported only by a team of mercenaries with dubious allegiances, finds himself at the center of the most elaborate manhunt in history. With white-knuckled twists and turns leading to “an explosive climax” (Publishers Weekly), Enemy of the State is an unputdownable thrill ride that will keep you guessing until the final page.

A nostalgic look at a symbol of earlier, simpler times Until the early twentieth century, water mills were the center of the economic and social life of many small communities throughout the nation’s calm rural backwaters, including the Missouri Ozarks. In this book, first published in 1990, George G. Suggs, Jr., presents the stories of twenty Ozark water mills, and Jake Wells illustrates these vignettes with drawings and beautiful watercolors. In introducing his historical sketches, Suggs traces the transatlantic origins and development of water mills, describing their spread throughout Western Europe to North America and noting early American contributions to water mill technology. In an epilogue he emphasizes the economic and social roles of the mills in the early life of the Missouri Ozarks.

This book enhances our understanding of biological control, integrating historical analysis, theoretical models and case studies in an ecological framework.

The author provides advice and information on gold prospecting, including equipment, mining around various geological formations and locations, safety tips, and personal experiences.

The first biography in over sixty years of a great American artist whose paintings are more famous than the man who made them. George Catlin has been called the “first artist of the West,” as none before him lived among and painted the Native American tribes of the Northern Plains. After a false start as a painter of miniatures, Catlin found his calling: to fix the image of a “vanishing race” before their “extermination”—his word—by a government greedy for their lands. In the first six years of the 1830s, he created over six hundred portraits—unforgettable likenesses of individual chiefs, warriors, braves, squaws, and children belonging to more than thirty tribes living along the upper Missouri River. Political forces thwarted Catlin’s ambition to sell what he called his “Indian Gallery” as a national collection, and in 1840 the artist began three decades of self-imposed exile abroad. For a time, his exhibitions and writings made him the most celebrated American expatriate in London and Paris. He was toasted by Queen Victoria and breakfasted with King Louis-Philippe, who created a special gallery in the Louvre to show his pictures. But when he started to tour “live” troupes of Ojibbewa and Iowa, Catlin and his fortunes declined: He changed from artist to showman, and from advocate to exploiter of his native performers. Tragedy and loss engulfed both. This brilliant and humane portrait brings to life George Catlin and his Indian subjects for our own time. An American original, he still personifies the artist as a figure of controversy, torn by conflicting demands of art and success.

In a house near a beautiful forest, a new prince is born, living close to the mansion of his grandfather, the King. The prince moves to the city as a very young child, and there he learns how to use magic and how to play many different games. When he returned to the mansion that he had visited as a baby, he soon realizes something wonderful: his crayons have magically become rainbows! Using magic, he sets out to make the world a perfect place. In this children’s book, a young prince discovers that the reward of magic can make him as great as he wants to be and allows him to work to make the world a perfect place.

“Feathers—no matter what size or shape or color—are all the same, if you think about them. They’re soft. Delicate. But the secret thing about feathers is . . . they are very strong.” In the pre-Katrina glow of New Orleans, Amanda Salassi is anxious about chaperoning her daughter’s sixth-grade field trip to the Big Easy during Halloween. And then her worst fears come true. Her daughter’s best friend, Sarah, disappears amid the magic and revelry—gone, without a trace. Unable to cope with her guilt, Amanda’s daughter sinks into depression. And Amanda’s husband turns destructive as he watches his family succumb to grief. Before long, Amanda’s whole world has collapsed. Amanda knows she has to save herself before it’s too late. As she continues to search for Sarah, she embarks on a personal journey, seeking hope and purpose in the wake of so much tragedy and loss. Set amidst the murky parishes of rural Louisiana and told through the eyes of two women who confront the darkest corners of humanity with quiet and unbreakable faith, The Feathered Bone is Julie Cantrell’s master portrait of love in a fallen world.

Politicians of every stripe frequently invoke the Marshall Plan in support of programs aimed at using American wealth to extend the nation's power and influence, solve intractable third-world economic problems, and combat world hunger and disease. Do any of these impassioned advocates understand why the Marshall Plan succeeded where so many subsequent aid plans have not? Historian Nicolaus Mills explores the Marshall Plan in all its dimensions to provide valuable lessons from the past about what America can and cannot do as a superpower.

Doucet and Weaver begin this empirical, analytical, and narrative study with an analysis of the evolution of land development as an enterprise and continue with an examination of house design and construction practices, the development of the apartment building, and an account of class and age as they relate to housing tenure. They also relate developments in Hamilton to the current state of urban historiography, using their case study to resolve discrepancies and contradictions in the literature. Among the major themes the authors deal with is a controversial exploration of what they see as a central North American urge: the desire to own a home. Other themes include the social allocation of urban space, the quality and affordability of housing, the increased interest of large corporations in the land development and financial service industries, and a comparative analysis of housing in Canada and the United States. The authors have drawn on civic and business records dating from the early nineteenth century to the latest planning data. Combining this information with their comprehensive analysis, Doucet and Weaver show that current housing problems and potential solutions are better understood when seen as part of a historical process. They provide a critical assessment of the ways in which contemporary society produces shelter and question the use of technical innovations alone to resolve housing crises.