#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER • One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University “Extraordinary . . . an act of courage and self-invention.”—The New York Times NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR • BILL GATES’S HOLIDAY READING LIST • FINALIST: National Book Critics Circle’s Award In Autobiography and John Leonard Prize For Best First Book • PEN/Jean Stein Book Award • Los Angeles Times Book Prize Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home. “Beautiful and propulsive . . . Despite the singularity of [Westover’s] childhood, the questions her book poses are universal: How much of ourselves should we give to those we love? And how much must we betray them to grow up?”—Vogue NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • O: The Oprah Magazine • Time • NPR • Good Morning America • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • The Economist • Financial Times • Newsday • New York Post • theSkimm • Refinery29 • Bloomberg • Self • Real Simple • Town & Country • Bustle • Paste • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • LibraryReads • Book Riot • Pamela Paul, KQED • New York Public Library

Taras Bulba is Gogol's longest short story. The work is non-fictional in nature with characters that are not exaggerated or grotesque as was common in Gogol's later work, though his characterizations of Cossacks are said by some scholars to be a bit exaggerated. This story can be understood in the context of the romantic nationalism movement in literature, which developed around a historical ethnic culture which meets the romantic ideal.

She’s blind, yet he’s the one who cannot see. Snow might be blind, but it doesn’t stop her from seeing the powerful and fierce Lord of Fire’s true nature. He’s pigheaded, domineering, demanding, and completely frustrating. The few encounters she’s had with him when he’s visited the Clan Macardle did not go well, especially when he threatened her pup, Thaw. She intends to avoid the fiery Lord of Fire as much as possible. Unfortunately, there’s not much she can do when an unexpected snowstorm throws them together along with an unwanted stay at his keep. Tarass, the Lord of Fire, has never met such a willful, disobedient, unpredictable woman as Snow, and her protective, snarling little pup doesn’t help matters. She infuriates him at every turn and when he’s forced to save her from freezing to death in a raging snowstorm, he makes it known to her that under no circumstance will he allow the compromising situation to force him to wed a blind woman. There is more brewing then the love they both try to avoid. Tarass is on a mission. He intends to seek revenge against the person responsible for his parents’ brutal deaths, while also faced with two murders that must be solved, a myth that has woken and frightened his clan and must be put to rest, and a man who is intent on taking Snow away from him. In the end, the truth that is discovered is far different than what Tarass could have ever imagined and the only thing that matters to him is Snow. There isn’t anything he won’t do to save her.

Excerpt from Taras Bulba Historical writings, legends, folk ballads and songs - all these helped Gogol to paint a realistic picture of the life of the Ukrainian people and their heroic struggle, which was particularly intensified after the year 1569. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

He awoke from a dream into a nightmare… Every morning for the past three months, Cree has risen to the heart-wrenching reality that Dawn is dead, drowned in a horrible accident. Neither his begging to nor railing at God has brought back his beloved soulmate until… When a crumpled body found in the wooded area beside the keep turns out to be Dawn, Cree is left with more questions than answers. Now Cree is on a mission fired by rage and hell-bent on revenge against those who would harm his wife. As information comes to light, it sparks a murder and leaves Cree asking, who in the clan knows more than they’re saying? If that isn’t enough for Cree to deal with, there is unrest between two clans, Clan Macardle and Clan MacLoon, one of which is under his protection, and he must see it settled or a battle could ensue. Cree and Dawn work together as tensions mount, relying on their love and trust to help them uncover the truth, expose secrets, and find the strength to face a situation they fear could cost them more dearly than they ever imagined.

In a time of madness, is love worth the risk? As a maid in the Kremlin Palace, Inga is mostly invisible. Courtiers are likely to use and discard her if she lets them. A lesson she learns when her best friend is brutally attacked. Inga steers clear of romance, intrigue, and men in general afterwards. It makes for a lonely life but invisibility is the key to safety. As a boy in the Kremlin, Taras lost his mother to mysterious circumstances. He returns as a man to discover what really happened. Closed-mouthed courtiers make his task difficult. Dangers mount as Tsar Ivan IV, called Terrible, slides toward insanity. The opulence of Ivan’s court hides deadly secrets, and Taras must turn to the muddy streets of Moscow to learn the truth. When a brutal courtier sets his eyes on Inga, she turns to Taras for help. He pretends to take her as his mistress to save her from Sergei’s dangerous bed. It’s a compromising situation, but before long, true sparks ignite between them. Inga must decide if happiness with Taras is worth forfeiting her invisibility and breaking down the walls built up so carefully around her heart. If Inga and Taras don’t successfully traverse the dangers of the imperial court of Russia, they may be swept up in the blood bath of Ivan Grozny. Two more forgotten victims in a time of love and madness…. A sweeping historical epic full of wars, intrigues, death, and love. "Definitely ranks among the best of epic sagas!” –S. Wright