“Beautifully lyric . . . [Lawrence Thornton’s] prose is finely honed and his touch sure.”—Chicago Tribune The year is 1936. The tide of fascism is overwhelming Europe. In Spain the Guardia Civil wages war on the citizens. Spanish-German novelist Joaquín Wolf leaves his adopted home in Paris for a short visit to Spain, where he will spend an evening that will change his life. For there he meets the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and in two brief hours they forge a close friendship. Within days Lorca is dead, executed by the civil guard, an event that sets Wolf on an irrevocable course as he joins the struggle against Franco. Wounded, Wolf returns to France to find German fascism threatening the city he loves. Banding together with a fiercely political group of writers named the Lorca Club, he again becomes a soldier of the resistance—this time using his most potent ammunition: words. Through the Lorca Club he meets Ursula Krieger, another exiled Berliner living in Paris, a survivor not only of war but of the bloodless horrors of postwar life. Though the scars of her past keep her from reaching out to him, Wolf’s quiet, steadfast love vanquishes shame and pain. And while Lorca taught Wolf what must be fought against, even to the death, it is Ursula who teaches him what is worth fighting—and living—for.

“Under the Moon’s Shadow - Richard Wise’s Chronicles” recounts the life and adventures of Richard Wise from his early years until adulthood. It all started during a family vacation when Richard Wise’s life took an unexpected turn. Orphaned by tragedy, he contends with grief and the weight of newfound abilities—gifts that defy the laws of nature. Richard’s intelligence, physical strength, and speed surpass human limits, yet his temper remains a tempest he cannot control. Expelled from school because of his aggressive behavior, Richard’s adoptive parents seek solace in a quiet Florida town, hoping for a fresh start. But fate has other plans. When Richard crosses paths with Master Chan, a mysterious Martial artist and philosopher, his destiny shifts. Under the old master’s watchful eye, Richard immerses himself in a world of combat techniques—the fluid grace of Kung Fu, the precision of Karate, and the stealth of Ninjutsu. Yet it is not just physical prowess that Master Chan imparts; he teaches Richard the delicate balance between strength and restraint, the essence of true power. However, Master Chan has a dark secret of his own. His life story is a recounting tale of bloodshed, vengeance, clandestine killings, and savage murder. Richard's desire to adventure into the world has him joining the Navy. Richard’s abilities propel him into the skies as a fighter pilot. In a desperate dogfight, he risks everything to save his best friend, narrowly escaping death. But the aftermath leaves him scarred both physically and emotionally. Disobeying orders, he faces expulsion from the military, a path that leads him into the shadowy world of the Yakuza. Within the criminal underworld, Richard discovered that a killer assassin known only as “The Dark Shadow.” killed a dear person in his life. His journey becomes a high-stakes game of survival, where every move could be his last. Richard’s disagreement with the Yakuza's business causes him to fight for his life. In the middle of the action and adventure, temptation arrives as a beautiful woman enters his life. Would he stay loyal to the love of his life or succumb to desire? In the world Richard navigates, tangling shadows bring about a constant blend of danger and trust, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Will he have the skills to survive a duel to death with the Dark Shadow? The answers to this and many others lie in the pages of “Under the Moon’s Shadow - Richard Wise’s Chronicles”

“Highly recommended” (Library Journal): The only full-length biography of legendary film director Ernst Lubitsch, the director of such Hollywood classics as Trouble in Paradise, Ninotchka, and The Shop Around the Corner. In this groundbreaking biography of Ernst Lubitsch, undeniably one of the most important and influential film directors and artists of all time, critic and biographer Scott Eyman, author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller John Wayne, examines not just the films Lubitsch created, but explores as well the life of the man, a life full of both great successes and overwhelming insecurities. The result is a fascinating look at a man and an era—Hollywood’s Golden Age. Born in Berlin and transported to Hollywood in the 1920s with the help of Mary Pickford, Lubitsch brought with him a level of sophistication and subtlety previously unknown to American movie audiences. He was quickly established as a director of unique quality and distinction. He captivated audiences with his unique “touch,” creating a world of fantasy in which men are tall and handsome (unlike Lubitsch himself) and humorously adept at getting women into bed, and where all the women are beautiful and charming and capable of giving as well as receiving love. He revived the flagging career of Marlene Dietrich and, in Ninotchka, created Greta Garbo’s most successful film. When movie buffs speak of “the Lubitsch touch,” they refer to a sense of style and taste, humor and humanity that defined the films of one of Hollywood’s all-time great directors. In the history of the medium, no one has ever quite equaled his unique talent. Written with the cooperation of an extraordinary ensemble of eyewitnesses, and unprecedented access to the files of Paramount Pictures, this is an enthralling biography as rich and diverse as its subject—sure to please film buffs of all types, especially those who champion Lubitsch as one of the greatest filmmakers ever.

In 100 memorable essays, the National Society of Film Critics lists the 100 essential films of all time (a list which may surprise some movie fans). 16 photos.

This Excellent Collection brings together Jules Verne's longer, major books and a fine selection of shorter pieces and Science-Fiction Books. These Books created and collected in Jules Verne's Most important Works illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of the XX century - a man who elevated political writing to an art. Jules Verne (1828Ŕ1905) was a French writer. He was one of the first authors to write science fiction. Some of his books include Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Jules Verne has earned a place in the history of literature as one of the most important writers of adventure novels of recent history. But his novels contain more than just entertainment. Their pages contain hidden scientific data, descriptions of inventions and, above all, a love of technological innovations and the progress of humanity. From his perspective as a nineteenth-century man, Verne shocked the world will tales of gadgets and vehicles that, years later, would eventually take shape outside fiction, just as Isaac Asimov did years later. His influence has been such that it has come to serve as an inspiration to an entire cultural and aesthetic movement. This Collection included: 1. Five Weeks in a Balloon 2. The Adventures of Captain Hatteras 3. A Journey into the Center of the Earth 4. From the Earth to the Moon 5. Around the Moon 6. In Search of the Castaways 7. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 8. A Floating City 9. The Fur Country 10. Around the World in Eighty Days 11. The Mysterious Island 12. The Survivors of the Chancellor 13. Michael Strogoff, or the Courier of the Czar 14. Off on a Comet 15. The Underground City, or the Child of the Cavern 16. Dick Sand, a Captain at Fifteen 17. The Begum's Millions 18. Tribulations of a Chinaman in China 19. The Steam House 20. Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon 21. Godfrey Morgan 22. The Green Ray 23. Kéraban the Inflexible 24. The Vanished Diamond 25. The Archipelago on Fire 26. Mathias Sandorf 27. The Lottery Ticket 28. Robur the Conqueror 29. Texar's Revenge, or, North Against South 30. The Flight to France 31. Two Years' Vacation 32. Family Without a Name 33. The Purchase of the North Pole, or Topsy-Turvy 34. César Cascabel 35. Mistress Branican 36. Carpathian Castle 37. Claudius Bombarnac 38. Foundling Mick 39. Captain Antifer 40. Propeller Island 41. Facing the Flag 42. Clovis Dardentor 43. An Antarctic Mystery 44. The Will of an Eccentric 45. Master of the World