On the planet Azureblue on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Zenda finds the final three musings from her broken gazing ball and is able to attend the harana ceremony that will reveal her personal gifts and guide her life's work.

At the dawn of the Cold War, the world’s most important intelligence agencies—the Soviet KGB, the American CIA, and the British MI6—appeared to have clear-cut roles and a sense of rising importance in their respective countries. But when Kim Philby, head of MI6’s Russian division and arguably the twenty-first century’s greatest spy, was revealed to be a Russian mole along with British government heavyweights Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess, everything in the Western intelligence world turned upside down. Here is the true story of how the American James Bond—the colorful, foulmouthed, pistol-packing, alcoholic ex-FBI agent William “King” Harvey—put the finger on Philby; how James Jesus Angleton, the chain-smoking poet of Yale University and the CIA’s supposed “master spy” in charge of counterintelligence, began his descent into a paranoid wilderness of mirrors upon learning of family friend Kim Philby’s ultimate betrayal; and the devastating consequences of the loss of MI6 prestige and the CIA’s subsequent self-defeating witch hunts. Every revelation, every stranger-than-fiction twist and turn is all the more intriguing as truths become lies and unlikely scenarios are revealed as reality. With impeccable sourcing and the use of thousands of pages of declassified research, David C. Martin’s Wilderness of Mirrors is widely recognized as a masterpiece of intelligence literature.

When the line between fiction and reality bleeds, there is no end to the lies or a truth to be found. It was never supposed to happen. He was supposed to remain a porn star-the source of my fantasies-in my expansive collection of torture porn. But he found me, and he only wants one thing from me. He calls it the ultimate orgasm; death. He gives me the illusion of choice-my life or his. I thought my choice would be the end of my troubles, but it followed me to a town known for its close-minded, small population and hypocritical way of thinking. My madness lurks in the shadows. It watches me and seduces me with pretty smiles and dirty degradation. It assures me that my fantasies aren't wrong. It tells me that they will star in all of my nightmares...and I want nothing more. Content contains strong violence, coarse language, graphic sex, scenes of horror, and situations that most readers would find objectionable. Reader discretion is highly advised.

An unbelievably believable story about the afterlife, with documenting photographs from the former publisher of a major metropolitan newspaper. An unbelievably believable story about the afterlife, with documenting photographs from the former publisher of a major metropolitan newspaper. In 2004, Janis Heaphy Durham's husband, Max Besler, died of cancer at age 56. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she practiced her faith as she struggled with her loss. Soon she began encountering phenomena unlike anything she'd ever experienced: lights flickering, doors opening and closing, clocks stopping at 12:44, the exact time of Max's death. But then something startling happened that changed Heaphy Durham's life forever. A powdery handprint appeared on her bathroom mirror on the first anniversary of Max's death. This launched Heaphy Durham on a journey that transformed her spiritually and altered her view of reality forever. She interviewed scientists and spiritual practitioners along the way, as she discovered that the veil between this world and the next is thin and it's love that bridges the two worlds.

It's been almost a year since the Trials of Unyielding Steel.When Lydia gets a lead on the whereabouts of Jonathan Sterling, she concludes her training with a legendary immortal sorcerer and puts a plan in motion for his capture.Near Selyr, Taelien reunites with an old friend - Wrynn Jaden, the legendary Witch of a Thousand Shadows - and meets with Jonan to make a deal.Jonan, of course, has other concerns. His master, the legendary Lady of Thieves herself, has given him a new assignment - one that hints at world-shaping events, if he can survive the mission. He'll partner with Velas, but she has her own problems to deal with, including a revelation that will test where her loyalties truly lie.

Sciolino goes behind the headlines for an intriguing, in-depth look at Iran's complex people and culture. photos. 1 map.