For some it is an "honor cottage." For United States Senator Desmond Gardner it's a minimum security federal prison that he and Sweet Tony Martinelli now call home. Unlike Gardner, Martinelli's rap sheet smacks more of crime in the streets than crime in the suites...which is why it makes no sense that when Martinelli is killed in a locked room in the honor cottage, it is Gardner who is implicated. Is this a case of prison misdirection or are Washington politics at play? Gardner's daughter, Wendy can't believe her father is responsible and enlists Richard Michaelson to uncover the real criminal. It doesn't take Michaelson long to figure out that the worst criminals aren't in the honor cottage...

A novel set within the Zombie Apocalypse! mythos created by Stephen Jones for his bestselling trilogy, Washington DC is sent during the second half of Zombie Apocalypse! Fightback, when the zombies’ intelligence is increasing and they have formed themselves into a society, and an army. New York and Los Angeles have fallen to the walking dead and there has been no news out of Chicago, but Washington DC is still holding out and the South is still free. Time is running out, though, for the battalions defending Capitol Hill . . . As the most powerful symbols of American democracy begin to fall, the President and her advisors must be protected at all costs. But what if there are people in her own government who are prepared to do a deal with the living-dead invaders to retain power at any cost? Meanwhile, ‘Zombie King’ Thomas Moreby is making his own plans to rule the United States as his control increases across the country. Moreby claims to have ‘foreseen’ his victory, but there are emerging factions in his own ranks who are starting to question their role in the war between zombies and humans. And how does the mysterious New World Pharmaceuticals fit into the New Zombie Order?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AN NPR CONCIERGE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “In her form-shattering and myth-crushing book….Coe examines myths with mirth, and writes history with humor… [You Never Forget Your First] is an accessible look at a president who always finishes in the first ranks of our leaders.” —Boston Globe Alexis Coe takes a closer look at our first--and finds he is not quite the man we remember Young George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother, demanded military promotions, caused an international incident, and never backed down--even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride with a cushion on his saddle. But after he married Martha, everything changed. Washington became the kind of man who named his dog Sweetlips and hated to leave home. He took up arms against the British only when there was no other way, though he lost more battles than he won. After an unlikely victory in the Revolutionary War cast him as the nation's hero, he was desperate to retire, but the founders pressured him into the presidency--twice. When he retired years later, no one talked him out of it. He left the highest office heartbroken over the partisan nightmare his backstabbing cabinet had created. Back on his plantation, the man who fought for liberty must confront his greatest hypocrisy--what to do with the men, women, and children he owns--before he succumbs to death. With irresistible style and warm humor, You Never Forget Your First combines rigorous research and lively storytelling that will have readers--including those who thought presidential biographies were just for dads--inhaling every page.

On Mount Washington, it’s lack of preparation, not the mountain, that kills. The weather is highly changeable with wind gusts of 140 mph and -35 degree temps. Then there are the avalanches and icefalls. Combine this with inexperienced hikers in t-shirts and flip flops and things can get ugly fast. Death on Mount Washington describes the circumstances behind the tragic tales of those who have lost their lives on the mountain. No one--not even the most experienced mountaineer or pilot--is safe from the mountain's mercurial weather conditions. Learn from the mistakes of others in the comfort and safety of your armchair and remember to respect Mount Washington on your next ski trip.

For readers of Being Mortal and When Breath Becomes Air, the acclaimed founder of Death over Dinner offers a practical, inspiring guide to life's most difficult yet important conversation. Of the many critical conversations we will all have throughout our lifetime, few are as important as the ones discussing death—and not just the practical considerations, such as DNRs and wills, but what we fear, what we hope, and how we want to be remembered. Yet few of these conversations are actually happening. Inspired by his experience with his own father and countless stories from others who regret not having these conversations, Michael Hebb cofounded Death Over Dinner—an organization that encourages people to pull up a chair, break bread, and really talk about the one thing we all have in common. Death Over Dinner has been one of the most effective end-of-life awareness campaigns to date; in just three years, it has provided the framework and inspiration for more than a hundred thousand dinners focused on having these end-of-life conversations. As Arianna Huffington said, "We are such a fast-food culture, I love the idea of making the dinner last for hours. These are the conversations that will help us to evolve." Let's Talk About Death (over Dinner) offers keen practical advice on how to have these same conversations—not just at the dinner table, but anywhere. There's no one right way to talk about death, but Hebb shares time—and dinner—tested prompts to use as conversation starters, ranging from the spiritual to the practical, from analytical to downright funny and surprising. By transforming the most difficult conversations into an opportunity, they become celebratory and meaningful—ways that not only can change the way we die, but the way we live.

Final words and heartfelt remembrances from bestselling author Pat Conroy take center stage in this winning nonfiction collection, supplemented by touching pieces from Conroy’s many friends. This new volume of Pat Conroy’s nonfiction brings together some of the most charming interviews, magazine articles, speeches, and letters from his long literary career, many of them addressed directly to his readers with his habitual greeting, “Hey, out there.” Ranging across diverse subjects, such as favorite recent reads, the challenge of staying motivated to exercise, and processing the loss of dear friends, Conroy’s eminently memorable pieces offer a unique window into the life of a true titan of Southern writing. With a beautiful introduction from his widow, novelist Cassandra King, A Lowcountry Heart also honors Conroy’s legacy and the innumerable lives he touched. Finally, the collection turns to remembrances of “The Great Conroy,” as he is lovingly titled by friends, and concludes with a eulogy. The inarguable power of Conroy’s work resonates throughout A Lowcountry Heart, and his influence promises to endure. This moving tribute is sure to be a cherished keepsake for any true Conroy fan and remain a lasting monument to one of the best-loved masters of contemporary American letters. Praise for A Lowcountry Heart “A fascinating look into the mind of one of the South’s greatest authors . . . something to remember him by and cherish for years to come.”—The Clarion-Ledger “Fans of Conroy . . . will relish the chance to spend more time with him in this glowing valedictory to his life and writing . . . Eloquent, folksy, and sometimes brutally honest.”—Publishers Weekly “A moving and proper tribute to a true Southern icon.”—The Florida Times-Union “Elegant essays [that] will not disappoint.”—The Washington Post “Resplendent . . . As always, his storytelling, word choice and rhythm are gorgeous, almost lyrical.”—USA Today

The news of the death of George Washington at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799, was reported to have been "felt as an electric shock throughout the union." Martha Washington gave permission for Congress to have her husband's body reinterred under a marble monument to be constructed in the new capital in Washington, D.C. Grieving Americans organized and participated in over four hundred funeral processions and memorial services during the sixty-nine-day mourning period that culminated on February 22, 1800, the National Day of Mourning. Washington's death came in a highly contentious period in American political history, and a variety of groups and individuals tried to take advantage of the occasion to advance their own agendas. Federalist officials, including President John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, themselves at odds on a number of issues, took a leading role in ceremonies that included mock funerals with empty caskets orchestrated by Hamilton, who also used the occasion to advocate for a large standing army. Although Jefferson and his Democratic Republicans were about to knock the Federalists out of political contention, in what Jefferson termed the "Revolution of 1800," in 1799 Federalists predominated in ceremonial and print commemorations of Washington. Religious leaders, whose moral authority was on the wane, tried to Christianize Washington, while Masons used the most illustrious member of their secret brotherhood to rehabilitate an image tarnished by charges of religious infidelity and association with the excesses of the French Revolution. Women of various stations and political stripes also took advantage of the occasion to help legitimize their participation in public life. The biographical sketches included in over three hundred eulogies provide a unique historical perspective on who George Washington was in the eyes of his contemporaries.