____________________________________________________________________A husband and wife, mourning the loss of their child...A revered genius, murdered inside his own creation...A centuries-old invention, with the key to ultimate enlightenment.Step onto the grounds of a secluded estate... and fall into the extraordinary.____________________________________________________________________After the death of his son in a car wreck two years ago, Alex ...

In this startling and original work, best-selling author Charles Higham ( Howard Hughes: The Secret Life) addresses one of the greatest historical mysteries: Did John Wilkes Booth act alone on the night of Good Friday, 1865, or was he part of a wide conspiracy? Drawing from letters, diaries, previously unstudied records of official hearings, railway timetables, and obscure shipping manifests, Higham weaves a spellbinding account of intrigue. He proves that Lincoln unwittingly seal...

Howard Hughes (1905-1976) was a true American original: legendary lover, record-setting aviator, idiosyncratic film producer, talented inventor, ultimate eccentric—and, for much of his lifetime, the richest man in the United States. His desire for privacy was so fierce and his isolation so complete that even several decades after his death, inaccurate stories continue to circulate about him. Richard Hack explodes the illusion of Hughes' life and exposes the man behind the myth--a playboy w...

A dual biography of two media titans— Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner.When Ted Turner started out in business, he owned a small billboard company in rural Georgia. Over the decades, he built a multi-billion empire that included CNN, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), MGM studios, and the Atlanta Braves. Risk-taking, careful planning, and steely determination are the hallmarks of this brash, outspoken, and wildly successful media mogul. On the other side of the world, his c...

Though he was a great statesman, one of America's founding fathers, and the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson suffered from depression. In Jefferson's Demons, Michael Knox Beran examines episodes of melancholia in Jefferson's life. In particular, he focuses on the journey Jefferson made to Europe in 1787 to escape the depression that set in due to his tumultuous experience as governor of Virginia following the Revolution and his wife Martha's death. Beran's re...

For over fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover was the most powerful lawman in America. He was also the country's most controversial and feared public servant. His career as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation spanned nine different presidential administrations and survived a dozen attempts to sweep him from office. During that time, Hoover completely reshaped domestic law enforcement as he expanded the reach of the FBI and transformed his G-men into an elite national crime fighting div...

In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Widely recognized as the classic in the field, the book has sold more than a million copies. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our understanding of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder—all are changing radically. And doctors are realizing that millions of adults suffer from this condi...

Here’s some of what just happened: Millions of ordinary, sensible people came into possession of computers. These machines had wondrous powers, yet made unexpected demands on their owners. Telephones broke free of the chains that had shackled them to bedside tables and office desks. No one was out of touch, or wanted to be out of touch. Instant communication became a birthright.A new world, located no one knew exactly where, came into being, called “virtual” or “online,” named “cyb...

Reflections on America and the American experience as he has lived and observed it, by the bestselling author of The Greatest Generation.In this beautiful memoir, Tom Brokaw writes of America and of the American experience. From his parents’ life in the 1930s, on to his boyhood along the Missouri River and on the prairies of South Dakota in the ‘40s, into his early journalism career in the ‘50s and the tumultuous ‘60s, up to the present, this personal story is a reflection...

E=mc2 was born in 1905, the brainchild of Albert Einstein.In this lucid and brilliant book, one of the best popularizers of science illuminates one of science's most complex concepts. Ranging widely from Exit signs in theatres to the future fate of the earth, from smoke detectors to black holes and the structure of the atom, David Bodanis delivers a scintillating and colourful account of the real meaning of E=mc2.

Thad Carhart never realized there was a gap in his life until he happened upon Desforges Pianos, a demure little shopfront in his Pairs neighborhood that seemed to want to hide rather than advertise its wares. Like Alice in Wonderland, he found his attempts to gain entry rebuffed at every turn. An accidental introduction finally opened the door to the quartier’s oddest hangout, where locals — from university professors to pipefitters — gather on Friday evenings to discuss music, love, and ...

Find over a thousand of astounding fun facts in this combination audiobook -- a treasure chest for trivia buffs.Want to be surprised with the truth? Discover how you've been misled for years? Get a kick out of coincidences? Learn about the U.S. state that no longer exists -- the man who was present when THREE U.S. Presidents were assassinated -- why hamburgers are called hamburgers even though they have no ham in them!And do you know about the big league batter who caught h...