Billy And The Applegates

At the start of World War II, the British government determined the railway in East London would be vulnerable to heavy bombing by Germany. Children in the area were evacuated into the countryside to save their lives. Among the children sent to the West Country for the duration of the war were Tom and Billy Hedge. Their train journey to Cornwall was long and tiring. When the brothers finally arrived at the Applegate Farm in Netherton, where they were to be fostered, Billy stated, “I don’t like it here, Tom,” and that night, they silently cried themselves to sleep. The Applegates had two children: a son, Joshua, who at thirteen was a year older than Tom, and a daughter, Queenie, aged nine and a half, just six months younger than Billy. Tom found farm work to be hard and tedious, while Billy relished looking after the chickens, and later, the horses. Billy and Queenie bonded right from the start and became inseparable. They shared numerous adventures in the small village, including meeting a local ghost and helping an army deserter. After the war, and just before Christmas 1949, the two married.

The inheritance of an antique cameo brooch, the discovery of her great grandmothers memoirs, and a time-capsule filled with antique furnishings all conspire to change Grace Winthrops life. Haunting secrets and a bittersweet love story were destined to spend eternity inside the memoirs. Grace breathes life back into them with her book, The Cameo. In 1882, Graces great grandmother Sofia Stewart began chronicling her life and love for Billy Ryan. Love flourished in the beautiful Hudson Valley, but their plans to marry were abruptly interrupted. Circumstance enters to keep their lives entwined. Hudson Valley was home to the brickmaking industry and the immigrants who labored there. There were contrasts: great wealth, abject poverty, Saratoga horse racing, child labor, the Womens Suffrage Movement, and social mores to cover all that was offensive. World War I took the world by surprise, ushering in a time of sorrow and change. The human spirit survives while the ever present cameo symbolizes the love between Sofia and Billy.

THE IDEA OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT has always been rooted inexpansion and abundance— at great cost to the environment. Withthe world burning up, one can' t help but wonder: how did we gethere? Wilderness and the American Spirit traces hundreds ofyears of The United States' relationship to the environment starting fromthe initial colonization of Native American land, to the developmentof land use policies, and the creation of resource based economies.Using a lesser known alternative to the Oregon Trail— Ruby McConnelluses the Applegate Trail as a vehicle to weave exposition, history, andscience to show us how we got to where we are now and what wecan do about it.

From Greek drama through vaudeville and modern cinema, nothing in the theatrical experience has ever guaranteed a laugh like a man in a dress. This spectacular pictorial history examines the grand tradition of male cross-dressing in the movies through more than 700 photos, more than half of which are previously unpublished. The screen's greatest stars, from comedians like Buster Keaton and Peter Sellers to "serious" actors like Marlon Brando and Max von Sydow, are pictured in everything from bustiers to ball gowns. Just as in real life, the cinematic motives for cross-dressing are complex, ranging from plot device (I Was a Male War Bride) and social commentary (Tootsie) to the simple sight gags of Laurel and Hardy. The book explores these and myriad other reasons actors are coaxed out of dress suits and into dresses. By turns provocative, serious, and silly, Ladies or Gentlemen is a delightful study of a seldom-explored facet of cinema history.

When a true-crime podcaster is killed at a Chautauqua book club meeting, reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman is certain of just one thing—the book club members can't be judged by their covers! The tenth book in the Mimi Goldman Chautauqua Mystery series is "another enjoyable beach read from an author who knows her turf." (Kirkus Reviews)

Certain lines define a movie. Marlene Dietrich in Morocco: “Anyone who has faith in me is a sucker.” Too, there are lines that fit actor and character. Mae West in I’m No Angel: “I’m very quick in a slow way.” Jane Fonda in California Suite: “Fit? You think I look fit? What an awful shit you are. I look gorgeous.” From the classics to the grade–B slasher movies, over 11,000 quotes are arranged by over 900 subjects, like accidents, double entendres, eyes (and other body parts!), ice cream, luggage, parasites, and ugliness. Each quote gives the movie title, production company, year of release, speaker of the line, and, when appropriate, a comment putting the quote in context.

From the best-selling author of "Animorphs" and "Everworld" comes a dark and powerful new series that begins in 2011 when the Earth is about to be destroyed. In a desperate attempt to survive, a handful of people aboard a revamped space shuttle are placed into suspended animation. Light years from home and all alone some 500 years later, they awake to find that the very future of the human race is in their hands