"I didn't like Willie Groves, but I didn't hate him enough to want someone to kidnap him." Famous last words. Joey Bishop soon finds himself face-to-face with the kidnappers himself (as well as his archenemy) in this fast-paced, urban story that will leave you panting for your next breath.

Winner of a 2020-2021 New York City Book Award In a rapidly changing New York, two forces battled for the city's soul: the pro-slavery New Yorkers who kept the illegal slave trade alive and well, and the abolitionists fighting for freedom. We often think of slavery as a southern phenomenon, far removed from the booming cities of the North. But even though slavery had been outlawed in Gotham by the 1830s, Black New Yorkers were not safe. Not only was the city built on the backs of slaves; it was essential in keeping slavery and the slave trade alive. In The Kidnapping Club, historian Jonathan Daniel Wells tells the story of the powerful network of judges, lawyers, and police officers who circumvented anti-slavery laws by sanctioning the kidnapping of free and fugitive African Americans. Nicknamed "The New York Kidnapping Club," the group had the tacit support of institutions from Wall Street to Tammany Hall whose wealth depended on the Southern slave and cotton trade. But a small cohort of abolitionists, including Black journalist David Ruggles, organized tirelessly for the rights of Black New Yorkers, often risking their lives in the process. Taking readers into the bustling streets and ports of America's great Northern metropolis, The Kidnapping Club is a dramatic account of the ties between slavery and capitalism, the deeply corrupt roots of policing, and the strength of Black activism.

Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg. A National Book Award Finalist The extraordinary story of how the vatican's imprisonment of a six-year-old Jewish boy in 1858 helped to bring about the collapse of the popes' worldly power in Italy. Bologna: nightfall, June 1858. A knock sounds at the door of the Jewish merchant Momolo Mortara. Two officers of the Inquisition bust inside and seize Mortara's six-year-old son, Edgardo. As the boy is wrenched from his father's arms, his mother collapses. The reason for his abduction: the boy had been secretly "baptized" by a family servant. According to papal law, the child is therefore a Catholic who can be taken from his family and delivered to a special monastery where his conversion will be completed. With this terrifying scene, prize-winning historian David I. Kertzer begins the true story of how one boy's kidnapping became a pivotal event in the collapse of the Vatican as a secular power. The book evokes the anguish of a modest merchant's family, the rhythms of daily life in a Jewish ghetto, and also explores, through the revolutionary campaigns of Mazzini and Garibaldi and such personages as Napoleon III, the emergence of Italy as a modern national state. Moving and informative, the Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara reads as both a historical thriller and an authoritative analysis of how a single human tragedy changed the course of history.

USA Today Bestseller To investigate the source of gossip about Cyclops, Willie does the unthinkable – she dons a dress. However her plan goes awry when she’s kidnapped by a disgruntled magician with the power to detonate gunpowder at will. The magician forces India and Matt to race all over London in the hunt for her before the bombs go off. Meanwhile, powerful members of the Collectors Club are trying to find out what new spell India has created with Fabian, and with India’s attention focused elsewhere, they might just succeed.

Can the kidnapper be caught? Charles Lindbergh was a very famous public figure whose son was kidnapped from his crib. Much of the investigation was based on a series of ransom notes which ultimately led to the conviction of a suspect. High-interest topics, real stories, engaging design, and astonishing photos are the building blocks of the XBooks, a new series of books designed to engage and motivate reluctant and enthusiastic readers alike. How can DNA help a convicted person prove their innocence? How did a burglar steal from a store without leaving any fingerprints? Why was the tiny town in Hardin, Missouri, awash with skeletons after a huge flood? With topics based in science, these action-packed books will help students unlock the power and pleasure of reading... and always ask for more!

In the second book in the Dreamville series, thirteen-year-old Simon Dreamlees life has returned to normal Dreamvillian standards after he and his friends Jilla MusiDream, Almont Alldream, and Rino DreamScifi finally manage to restore Dreamvilles deep dark secrets and save Dreamvillians dreams. Life is peaceful once again in the small town of Dreamville, where artistic, scientific, and imaginative people dressed in colorful clothing roam the streets and their dreams always come true. As Simon and his friends receive their royal invitations to King Rgimand DreamRoyal and Miss LossDreams wedding nuptials, Simon is still observing the house on the hill through his telescope and notices bizarre changes in the gargoyle statues that surround the home. When he notes the statues are shifting ever so slightly with each of his observations, Simon suspects something odd is about to occur. After Jilla MusiDream is kidnapped and cannot be found, Simons dreams begin again and convince him that the gargoyle statues kidnapped his friend. Simons quest to save Jilla leads him and his friends out of the comfort of Dreamville into the forbidden outsiders world of Newville, where Miss DreamNot makes another appearance to ensure Simon never saves Dreamville again.