Crace’s second novel confirmed his status as a writer of great imagination and skill. Set at the twilight of the Stone Age, a young man elects himself the village storyteller, and hunts restlessly, far and wide, for inspiration. But the information he finds and the people he meets warn of the advent of a new age and the coming of a metal that will change their community’s life irrevocably.

Set before the advent of the Bronze Age, The Gift of Stones centers around a community of stoneworkers who live in a village near the sea. Wealthy and complacent, they survive by the trade of their unrivaled skills, secure in the supremacy of their craftsmenship. A small boy, outcast by misfortune, ventures from the confines of the enclave to explore the unknown. He returns with enchanting tales of ships and the seashore, of new vistas and horizons, that beguile and disturb the villagers. In spite of his words and intuitive wisodm, the stoneworkers remain oblivious to the winds of change beginning to blow in the outside world. Until, that is, the storyteller brings back to the village a strange and angry woman whose presence foretells the coming of metal, the end of stone, and the demise of their way of life.

“Suspense, mystery, and love” fill a multigenerational “moving drama of women in a Japanese American family. . . . The shocking revelation is unforgettable” (Booklist). In the dark days of World War II, a mother makes the ultimate sacrifice Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up—along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans—and taken to the Manzanar prison camp. Buffeted by blistering heat and choking dust, Lucy and Miyako must endure the harsh living conditions of the camp. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring beautiful, vulnerable Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever . . . and spur her to sins of her own. Bestselling author Sophie Littlefield weaves a powerful tale of stolen innocence and survival that echoes through generations, reverberating between mothers and daughters. It is a moving chronicle of injustice, triumph and the unspeakable acts we commit in the name of love. “Littlefield . . . makes her tale resonant and universal . . . gripping.” —Publishers Weekly “Littlefield shows considerable skills for delving into the depths of her characters and complex plotting as she disarms the reader.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Wisdom of Stones combines fine photography and inspirational text intended to provoke thought, promote reflection, and engender connections between people and their environment. The book was born of psychologist/ photographer Brian Flynn's observation of people's fascination and connection with beach stones on the shores of Campobello Island, Canada. Many of the island's visitors spend time walking silently on the beaches, seldom looking up from the stones underfoot. Periodically, beachcombers stoop down, pick up stones, examine them, and place them in their pockets. This often goes on for hours. At the end of the day, they proudly display their treasures for whomever will look. Seldom has a vistor left without a bag full of stones to display or add to their collection. Brain Flynn's work has been focused primarily on large-scale trauma--disasters and terrorism. These experiences have fueled his passion to find beauty where others do not (or cannot) see it, to find order in what others see as randomness and chaos, and to nurture hope and meaning where and when he can.

Published in association with North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California.

Brann must recover the six talismans of power in order to free herself and her friends from the spell of the Chained God

Iselin, author of "Beach Stones," has put together a magical collection of 100 heart stones, each one expressing a universal feeling such as love, passion, admiration, obsession, reassurance, joy, intrigue, comfort, wonder, and many other emotions.