This exciting graphic novel presents a series of puzzling mystical Jewish stories weaving together a daring adventure tale, following siblings Rose and Ben as they search for their missing grandparents, aided only by a mysterious book, a lantern, and their wits. Anticipating danger, the kids' grandmother, Bubbe, appears to the twins in a cloud of flour and tells them to find a package that contains a book. The midrash stories they find—about the flying Ziz, the giant Og, the gatekeeper at a maze, and a treasure-seeker who lives in a mushroom hut—provide insights into defeating the creepy sorceress scheming to take the book. As the mystery deepens, the siblings must follow the Lamplighter's wise advice, slip past a guard into a maze, reunite with their grandparents, and learn why they have inherited the responsibility to protect the book—and the Jewish people.

A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch—and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of—a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people's deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow's job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: The Black Book of Secrets. Ludlow yearns to trust his mentor, who refuses to disclose any information on his past experiences or future intentions. What the pawnbroker does not know is, in a town brimming with secrets, the most troubling may be held by his new apprentice.

In 1988, a retired schoolteacher named Pius Fernandes receives an old diary found in the back room of an East African shop. Written in 1913 by a British colonial administrator, the diary captivates Fernandes, who begins to research the coded history he encounters in its terse, laconic entries. What he uncovers is a story of forbidden liaisons and simmering vengeances, family secrets and cultural exiles--a story that leads him on an investigative journey through his own past and Africa's.

Every president has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power. Since John F. Kennedy's presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top-secret document is known as the President's Daily Brief, or, within national security circles, simply "the Book." Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief. The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels. David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president's book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character-rich stories revealed here for the first time.

At once a captivating mystery, a love letter to classic literature, and a sharp-eyed examination of marriage, The Book of Secrets is a gripping novel of family, friendship, and the undeniable pull of the past. After more than twenty years of marriage, Chloe Sinclair comes home one night to find that her husband, Nate, is gone. All he has left behind is a cryptic note explaining that he’s returned to their childhood town of Redbridge, California—a place Chloe never wants to see again. Tending to their small bookstore while trying to reach Nate, Chloe stumbles upon a notebook tucked inside his antique copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Written in a code that Nate and his sisters created as kids, the pages contain long-buried secrets from her and Nate’s past, and clues to why he went back to Redbridge after all these years. As Chloe struggles to decipher the notebook’s hidden messages, she revisits the seminal moments of their youth: the day she met the enigmatic Sinclair children, their increasingly dangerous games a magical escape from their troubled childhoods; the first time Nate kissed her, camped out on the beach like Robinson Crusoe; the elaborate plan she and Nate devised, inspired by Romeo and Juliet, to break away from from his oppressive father, and how the thwarted attempt upended their lives forever. As the reason for Nate’s absence comes to light, the truth will shatter everything Chloe knows—about her husband, his family, and herself. Praise for The Book of Secrets “An exquisite novel . . . The Book of Secrets is one of those reasons some of us live to read.”—The Star-Ledger “Tender and transcendent, The Book of Secrets is about the truths we hide, the consequences we face, and the particular comfort we can only find in a good book. Elizabeth Joy Arnold has written a beautiful and haunting ode to the power of words, and how they shape our lives.”—Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author of The Peach Keeper “The Book of Secrets plunges the reader into the strange and intense world of the Sinclairs, a family bound and pulled apart by the forces of imagination and religious belief. Through the eyes of Chloe Tyler, trapped in this world since childhood, Arnold paints a fascinating picture of obsession and loss. The Book of Secrets offers a complex meditation on the elusive nature of truth and on the power of secrets.”—Henriette Lazaridis Power, author of The Clover House “This is the beautiful and heart-wrenching story about the secrets that can both hold a marriage together, and drive two people apart. Reading The Book of Secrets is like walking through a dark labyrinth: just when all hope is lost, you step out into sunshine.”—Carla Buckley, author of Invisible This eBook edition includes two complete classic works of literature that are referenced in The Book of Secrets: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe! Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.

Drawing on Derren's own experiences, this is a profound and practical guide to finding value in sadness and strength from difficult times - it is from the friction in life that we find meaning and can grow. In this book, Derren Brown considers the value of difficulty in our lives. As he navigates middle age, love and small talk, he dispenses with self-help platitudes and wonders if perhaps we need to more comfortably embrace uncertainty. Is anxiety in fact a pointer for growth? In chapters that take us back to the scene of childhood humiliation, to lonely evenings on tour, to the high stress of a house move, Derren explores that when we feel most alone we are often most connected to others and the flow of life. Guiding us through the ideas of some of humanity's greatest thinkers, he asks if, rather than focusing on self-improvement, we might instead prioritise a better interaction with the people around us? Learn how to gather ourselves up when we need to and make sure we fully appear in our own lives, rather than watching from the sidelines? In a book that is both profound and deeply personal, Derren reveals his own moments of anger and frustration, loneliness and loss, and finds surprising sources of consolation and compassion.