Once a captive of merciless desert slave traders, Lazar fought his way to freedom—and to an exalted role as Spur of Percheron, guardian of his adopted city, and confidant and protector of the Zar, Joreb. But now the Zar is dead and his fifteen-year-old heir, Boaz, must assume the mantle of leadership—guided by trusted advisor Lazar, the "mad" dwarf jester Pez . . . and Boaz's cruel, ambitious mother, who truly holds the reins of power. In the midst of roiling court intrigue, a young girl arrives to fill a space in Boaz's harem—and inflames unexpectedly strong feelings in both Boaz and Lazar. But the odalisque, Ana, will not be satisfied by the closeted, stifling world of the harem. And, unbeknownst to all, the gods themselves are rising up in cyclical battle—as the struggle begins within and beyond the palace walls for the imperiled soul of Percheron.

In her debut poetry collection, Carmen GimŽnez Smith illuminates Latina identity in the prismatic light of postcolonial history, feminism, myth, and the fragmentation of modernity. From these disparate elements she fashions a female personaÑÒclairvoyant with great shoesÓÑwho is both bracingly modern and movingly vulnerable. Through her poems we traverse the landscape of a womanÕs life (girl, mother, lover), navigating a terrain tinted with mythology and relic yet still fresh and uncharted. The poems revolve around issues of identityÑand the ways in which identity is both inherited and constructed/reconstructed. Or, as one poem puts it, ÒThe planet floating backwards / whirling some of us older than the stars, some of us nascent and bare.Ó Although she employs techniques of avant-garde poetry, GimŽnez Smith shades and deepens the New World landscape into a territory of rare lyric intensity and energy. Humorous, sly, sexy, sophisticated, these poems are animated by passion and hard-won knowledge. In these poems we encounter such strange beauties as a girl assembling and disassembling, a moth trapped in a glass of water, new-age fairy godmothers, and a lark who sings for the milkman. Yet we are also made aware of how these beauties reflect the speakerÕs troublesÑher effort to employ, in the words of one of her most memorable poems, ÒOnly the invisible post where she writes the encounters / with airÕs lusters. Only the imagined hour / with which sheÕs made a fragile craft.Ó Vivid and charged with an inner light, these are poems that linger and expand in the mind and memory.

Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox. And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance. A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time. And it's just the beginning ...

A memoir by a member of the Incredible String Band that charts a journey from hippie utopia to post-Woodstock implosion. Between 1967 and 1971 Rose Simpson lived with the Incredible String Band (Mike Heron, Robin Williamson and Licorice McKechnie), morphing from English student to West Coast hippie and, finally, bassist in leathers. The band's image adorned psychedelic posters and its music was the theme song for an alternative lifestyle. Rose and partner Mike Heron believed in, and lived, a naive vision of utopia in Scotland. But they were also a band on tour, enjoying the thrills of that life. They were at the center of "Swinging London" and at the Chelsea Hotel with Andy Warhol's superstars. They shared stages with rock idols and played at Woodstock in 1969. Rose and fellow ISB member Licorice were hippie pin-ups, while Heron and Robin Williamson the seers and prophets of a new world.

While enemy ships threaten Percheron's harbor, heroic Lazar lies afflicted with the drezden illness and cannot rise. And Zaradine Ana has been taken prisoner by the mysterious Arafanz and his warriors, and is believed to be with child—carrying the heir to the throne, the unborn son of Zar Boaz. Torn by an inner conflict raging between heart and head, Zar Boaz can think only of Ana, even as his land sits poised on the brink of devastating war. Launching a daring, desperate plan, he calls for his country's strongest to make one more foray into the desert . . . even as the Goddess reaches the crest of her ascent, throwing mortal and divine alike into chaotic battle for the soul of Percheron.

Ken Jacobson shows that the history of Orientalist photography begins weeks after the invention of photography itself. Jacobson is not an academic, but has conducted a great deal of scholarly research on the often obscure careers of photographers and the intertwined histories of the Levantine studios. He demonstrates that many of the past criticisms of Orientalist photography are based on ignorance either of chronology or technology.

Hürrem is the third part in a saga that became the inspiration for the creators of the 'Magnificent Century' television series. The story, full of love, power, and intrigues, follows the lives of the Sultan's court, where behind every man, even the most powerful one, stands a woman who knows how to steer him. Set at the beginning of 16th century, Aleksandra, the small daughter of Russian clergyman, is kidnapped during a barbaric attack on the village. In a remarkable twist of trust, the young girl's kidnapper becomes her savior, and they quickly establish a father-daughter bond. However, life at the Tatar giant's side isn't a good solution for a growing beauty. Soon, Aleksandra finds herself at the Crimean Khan's palace, and immediately wins Sultana Güldane's heart. The old woman predicts a great future for the Russian girl and eventually sets her out on a journey to meet her destiny. Aleksandra, sent as a gift from the Crimean Khan to the Ottoman Empire's Khan, Sultan Sulieman, ends up in the powerful ruler's harem. There, the Russian odalisque takes on the name Ruslana, and waits weeks to meet the Sultan. Her dream is not only to win Sulieman's heart but also for power and to rule. Suleiman eventually becomes infatuated with the red-headed odalisque, and renames her Hürrem - and so begins the story of a woman who refused to be stopped in her desire for power, and to be remembered forever.