Sometimes solving a crime takes a hard guy who's not afraid to work outside the law, and PI Nick Valentine swerves through the underbelly of St. Louis looking for answers. With every law he breaks, every drink he takes, and every Oxycontin he snorts, Valentine lurches closer to finding the truth. Or floating facedown in the Missouri River. Brutally funny, wild, this no-holds- barred crime novel reads like Elmore Leonard on meth. Crazy and addictive, you'll want more.

“Rough and ready suspense, encompassing a wide array of characters from the sour side of life” from the author of Frank Sinatra in a Blender (Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter’s Bone). In Gasconade County, Missouri—once called the meth capital of the world—Deputy Sheriff Dale Banks discovers $52,000 hidden in the broken-down trailer that Jerry Dean Skaggs uses for cooking crystal. And he takes it. Banks knows what he did was wrong, but he did it for all the right reasons. At least, he thinks so. But for every wrong, there is a consequence. Jerry Dean can’t afford to lose that $52,000—he owes it to his partners and to a crooked cop. He also can’t afford to disappoint the crazed and fearsome Reverend Butch Pogue, who is expecting Jerry Dean to deliver the chemicals the reverend needs for his next batch of meth. To avoid the holy man’s wrath, Jerry Dean sets in motion a series of events that will threaten Banks’s family, his life, and everything he thinks he knows about the world.

An embarrassment of pandas, a galaxy of starfish, a shiver of sharks...these are all collective nouns used to describe their groups. Woop Studios, acclaimed for their work on the Harry Potter movies, has illustrated these quirky phrases, creating a series of extraordinarily beautiful art that has been collected here for the first time. The colorful introduction to animals and the alphabet is accessible for young children, while the gorgeous, whimsical art and clever wordplay make it perfect for design-savvy parents and inspired gift givers. Longer than the standard picture book, with high design and production values, this is a volume readers will want on their coffee tables in addition to their child's bookshelf.

From the author of the popular cult classics Frank Sinatra in a Blender and A Swollen Red Sun comes a riveting novel of redemption and suspense that asks the question: just how far are you willing to go for love? Would you give up everything you’ve ever known? Risk your freedom? Risk your life? When newly divorced Sage arrives in Bali, his only plan is to drink on the beach until his money runs out and then return home to start over. So he’s caught by surprise when he falls in love with the country and its people, particularly the attractive and considerate Ratri. Soon Sage can no longer see himself living anywhere else, even as his funds dwindle and his visa’s expiration date nears. Increasingly desperate to stay with Ratri, Sage finds himself being recruited by a drug-smuggling ring—in a country where drug trafficking is punishable by death. The promised pay-out would be enough to set Sage and Ratri up for life, but only if Sage isn’t caught. Will Sage go home and risk the life he envisions with Ratri, or risk everything to stay and make that life possible? Both lyrical and suspenseful, intimate and ambitious, END OF THE OCEAN is an unforgettable look at a brutal business in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

“Diners and readers alike will be struck by the accessibility of classic dishes . . . but it’s the family recipes that are the real jewels here.” —Publishers Weekly Foreword by Ben Stiller Patsy’s Restaurant, so famous for its classic Neapolitan Italian food that Frank Sinatra used to fly his favorite dishes from its kitchen to his gigs, has had three chefs since it was founded in 1944: Patsy, his son Joe, and his grandson Sal Scognamillo. The three passed down family recipes, invented great new twists on beloved classics, and emphasized giving their diners—many of them celebrities—exactly what they wanted to eat. Patsy’s Italian Family Cookbook features recipes we really want to eat—and can easily make at home, including: Meatballs! Pasta with Lentils Penne alla Vodka with Shrimp Pork Scaloppine alla Vodka Chicken Pizzaola Chicken Liver Cacciatore Bass Puttanesca Stuffed Veal Chop Patsy’s Famous Onion Relish Stuffed Zeppole Tiramisu Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake A big, warm, beautiful Italian cookbook with full color throughout, Patsy’s Italian Family Cookbook is a great book for those who know the restaurant, and the nationally distributed sauce and pasta line, but also for those who love classic Italian. “Sal is one of New York’s most familiar restaurant chefs and his food is beloved by many. I have had the good fortune to have Sal on my show where he cooked his tasty clams oreganata and baccala salad, demonstrating why Patsy’s is one of New York’s favorite eateries. I look forward to trying all of the recipes in his new book.” —Martha Stewart

That's how Vanity Fair described the record business turmoil of the 1990s, which moved the Warner Music Group -- the world's number one record company -- from the entertainment pages to the front pages. Suddenly, decades of riotous fun and booming business went splat. Top music executives got evicted from their offices, some escorted by company guards. Why? The answers are in Exploding -- the most insightful and delightful book about the record business ever written. In the rock explosion of the Sixties and Seventies, Warner Bros., Atlantic, and Elektra Records dominated the business as the Warner Music Group. But by the Nineties, the success of WMG was shaken by egos and corporate politics that left the company struggling for identity in a dramatically changing industry. This is the story of that long, strange trip. Your host is the ultimate insider: Stan Cornyn, a key creative force behind the Warner Music Group's stunning rise. During more than thirty years at the company, Cornyn went through what the news media could never uncover. In a freewheeling, vastly entertaining narrative, Cornyn takes us behind the scenes, seats us in the conference rooms, and shows us the interactions between the stars and the suits -- using the same irreverent wit that produced the marketing campaigns that helped put Warner on the map. Exploding is populated by music stars like Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Lil' Kim, Dr. Dre, the Grateful Dead, Queen, Madonna, Ice-T, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Neil Young, Alice Cooper, and dozens more, even the legendary supergroup Scorpio. (Never heard of Scorpio? You'll find out why.) And it introduces you to the most colorful businesspeople ever: hyperintense record sellers who shave their heads; throw doves off a roof; send pig heads through the mail; provide the money, meds, and mammaries -- anything -- to get their records on the air. Here is the music business as you've never seen it: at its wildest, in its wackiest fifty years, bursting with hits and cash, until, by the end, it's just plain Exploding.

New edition shows you how to get the very most out of the latest version of Blender Blender, the open-source 3D software, is more popular than ever and continues to add functionality. If you're an intermediate or advanced user, this new edition of Tony Mullen's expert guide is what you need to get up to speed on Blender and expand your skills. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book covers it all. It also highlights Blender's very latest features, including new camera tracking tools and a new renderer. Provides intermediate to advanced coverage of Blender and its modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects tools Covers advanced topics such as cloth, fur and fluids, Python scripting, and the Blender game engine Brings you up to speed on Blender's new camera tracking tools and new renderer Showcases techniques used in real-world 3D animation and visual effects Create realistic animation and visual effects with Blender and this expert guide that shows you step by step how to do it.