A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race. If the United States couldn’t catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War—a perilous time when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival—and America was losing. On February 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America’s sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising reveals how the astronaut’s heroics lifted the nation’s hopes in what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger."

Now a major motion picture from Universal Pictures starring Bruce Willis. Sixteen-year-old autistic savant Simon Lynch is a genius with numbers, capable of unraveling any mathematical problem placed before him. Distant and solitary, he lives in a private world that no one can understand or enter--until he solves the wrong puzzle. Now the brilliant, damaged boy has broken an unbreakable code, and rogue FBI Special Agent Art Jefferson is his only protection against a pathological government security apparatus and the world's most beautiful, deranged killer. For Simon knows secrets that no one must know--and for that he must die.

Fresh off their successful quest to thwart not one, but two diabolical plots to destroy the world, jaded reporter Christine Temetri and rogue cherub Mercury find that mysterious powers outranking even the Heavenly bureaucracy seem intent on keeping the Apocalypse on track. While the world is plagued by natural disasters and nations prepare for war, crazed billionaire Horace Finch plots to use a secret device hidden beneath the African desert to discover the deepest secrets of the Universe-even if he has to destroy the Universe to do it. Meanwhile, unassuming FBI investigator Jacob Slater tries to find a rational explanation for the mysterious destruction of downtown Anaheim- a quest that ultimately brings him face to face with the unhinged Horace Finch. Together, Christine, Jacob and Mercury must stop Finch from activating the device and tearing reality to pieces.--From back cover.

"Parker's deft evocation of a lost era in Western American history—the life of the mining boom town—and her complex characterization make Leaden Skies an absorbing read."—Stephanie Barron, national bestselling author It is summer 1880, and Inez Stannert, one of the partners in the Silver Queen Saloon in Leadville, Colorado, travels with her photographer friend Susan to the fashionable summer retreat of Manitou for a reunion with her son, now a toddler in the care of her sister. On the way, fellow stagecoach passenger Edward Pace suddenly grows faint, swigs some medicine, and dies under their horrified gaze. Pace's widow rejects a weak heart theory and begs Inez to investigate. As Inez digs deeper, she uncovers the shady side of spa tourism including spurious claims, profiteering from the coming bonanza in medicinal waters and miracle cures, and medical practitioners who kindle false hopes in the desperate and the dying. Then Inez's husband Mark reappears after a year and a half's unexplained absence. Now she must fight to hold on to her child and the life she has built for herself in an era where "independent woman" is an oxymoron. Silver Rush Mysteries: Silver Lies (Book 1) Iron Ties (Book 2) Leaden Skies (Book 3) Mercury's Rise (Book 4) What Gold Buys (Book 5) A Dying Note (Book 6) Mortal Music (Book 7) Praise for the Silver Rush Mysteries: "Plenty of convincing action bodes well for a long and successful series."—Publishers Weekly STARRED review for Iron Ties "Meticulously researched and full of rich period details...her characters will stay will you long after you've finished the last page. Highly recommended."—TASHA ALEXANDER, New York Times bestselling author for Mortal Music "One of the most authentic and evocative historical series around. Long live Inez!"—RHYS BOWEN, New York Times bestselling author for What Gold Buys Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award Winner Macavity Historical Novel Award Finalist Colorado Book Award Finalist WILLA Literary Award Finalist Agatha Best Historical Mystery Award Finalist

"This novel was originally published in a slightly different form from St. Culain Press in 2009"--T.p. verso.

Alternative history with aliens, an immortal misanthrope and SF tropes aplenty The year is 1975 – Robert Oppenheimer has invented the Atomic Engine, the first human has walked on the moon, and Jet Carson and the Eagle Seven have sacrificed their lives to stop alien invaders. Brooklyn, however, just wants to keep his head down, pay his mother’s rent, earn a little scratch of his own, and maybe get laid sometime. Simple pleasures! But life is about to get real complicated when a killer with a baseball bat and a mysterious box of 8-track tapes sets him up for murder. So, his choices are limited – rot away in prison or sign up to defend the planet from the assholes who dropped a meteorite on Cleveland. Brooklyn crosses his fingers and picks the Earth Orbital Forces, believing that after a few years in the trenches – assuming he survives – he can get his life back. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans. Brooklyn is launched into a quest to save humanity, find his true family, and grow as a person – while simultaneously coping with high-stakes space battles, mystery science experiments and the realisation that the true enemies perhaps aren’t the tentacled monsters on the recruitment poster… Or are they? File Under: Science Fiction [ Little Green Men | Injection | Below the Crust | The Truth is out There ]