How It All Began

A vibrant new novel from Penelope Lively—a wry, wise story about the surprising ways lives intersect Look out for Penelope Lively’s new book, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories. When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends. Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet. Brought to life in her hallmark graceful prose and full of keen insights into human nature, How It All Began is an engaging, contemporary tale that is sure to strike a chord with her legion of loyal fans as well as new readers. A writer of rare wisdom, elegance, and humor, Lively is a consummate storyteller whose gifts are on full display in this masterful work.

On a London street, a retired schoolteacher is mugged and unexpected repercussions occur for her friends and neighbors.

How It All Began is based on Miguel "Mike" Cisneros Jr.'s life experiences growing up as a child dealing with family conflicts, domestic violence, bullying and child abuse, homelessness, and short periods of happiness. At times there were moments of hopelessness, despair, and desperation until he had to make a life-changing commitment to leave all that was negative and begin a new life, hoping something positive would come from it. That life-changing commitment was with the United States Navy. From the very beginning upon joining the Navy, many in leadership positions seemed to try blocking his desire to move forward, including people in leadership positions during a period when the Vietnam War was ending and the military was experiencing racial tension. Even though he didn't like it and knew it wasn't right, he kept going. There were also those in leadership positions that saw the potential in him and provided the mentoring and guidance for him to advance. After serving in the Navy for over thirty years, through many years of sea duty, deployments, family separations, adversity, and at times humiliations, he found ways to achieve his goals and succeed. At the same time, he provides insights of the chain of command and their leadership style. As with all organizations, there are good leaders and bad leaders; and from that, he learned and tried emulating the best from each. This personal story was written in the hopes that someone may learn from these experiences and perhaps inspire them to believe in themselves, to use their abilities, to have a positive attitude, and most importantly, to never give up.

Here at last in English is Nikolai Bukharin's autobiographical novel and final work. Many dissident texts of the Stalin era were saved by chance, by bravery, or by cunning; others were systematically destroyed. Bukharin's work, however, was simultaneously preserved and suppressed within Stalin's personal archives. At once novel, memoir, political apology, and historical document, How It All Began, known in Russia as "the prison novel," adds deeply to our understanding of this vital intellectual and maligned historical figure. The panoramic story, composed under the worst of circumstances, traces the transformation of a sensitive young man into a fiery agitator, and presents a revealing new perspective on the background and causes of the revolution that transformed the face of the twentieth century. Among the millions of victims of the reign of terror in the Soviet Union of the 1930's, Bukharin stands out as a special case. Not yet 30 when the Bolsheviks took power, he was one of the youngest, most popular, and most intellectual members of the Communist Party. In the 1920's and 30's, he defended Lenin's liberal New Economic Policy, claiming that Stalin's policies of forced industrialization constituted a "military-feudal exploitation" of the masses. He also warned of the approaching tide of European fascism and its threat to the new Bolshevik revolution. For his opposition, Bukharin paid with his freedom and his life. He was arrested and spent a year in prison. In what was one of the most infamous "show trials" of the time, Bukharin confessed to being a "counterrevolutionary" while denying any particular crime and was executed in his prison cell on March 15, 1938. While in prison, Bukharin wrote four books, of which this unfinished novel was the last. It traces the development of Nikolai "Kolya" Petrov (closely modeled on Nikolai "Kolya" Bukharin) from his early childhood though to age fifteen. In lyrical and poetic terms it paints a picture of Nikolai's growing political consciousness and ends with his activism on the eve of the failed 1905 revolution. The novel is presented here along with the only surviving letter from Bukharin to his wife during his time in prison, an epistle filled with fear, longing, and hope for his family and his nation. The introduction by Stephen F. Cohen articulates Bukharin's significance in Soviet history and reveals the troubled journey of this novel from Stalin's archives into the light of day.

We apologize for not properly crediting Fun World, Div., Easter Unlimited, Inc. for their ownership of the Ghost face mask on the cover of It All Began With A Scream. This is being rectified with a legal note added to the book going forward. In 1996, a movie came along that changed the face of horror films forever. Initial signs indicated Scream being a flop upon its release in theaters, but it quickly became a word-of-mouth phenomenon spawning multiple sequels, a television series, and countless imitators. Twenty-five years later, the impact of Scream is still being felt in films and pop culture. For the first time, get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it took to make the beloved films–from the people who were there. With 30 interviews from cast and crew members, It All Began with a Scream provides readers with an unauthorized look at the franchise. From a bidding war for the original script and studio meddling to on-set romances, script leaks, lawsuits, and a beloved director who created a family atmosphere for everyone on his set, find out the story behind Scream. It All Began with a Scream is a must-read for horror aficionados, film buffs, and anyone fascinated by Hollywood.

First published in 1975, this book traces the origins of our modern economy, showing the routes by which nations have either achieved wealth or have been impoverished. W. W. Rostow brings together issues of public policy, international trade and the world of science and technology, arguing that conventional economic thought has failed to relate scientific innovation to the economic process. Chapters consider the politics of modernization, the Commercial Revolution and the development of the world economy between 1783 and 1820.

Avid reading and a vivid imagination get Franny Dillman into hot water when she turns from the classics to modern teenage novels.

When the going gets tough... Private investigator, Jill Gooder, has been hired to find a serial killer because, as usual, the police can't buy a clue. Jill, the not so proud owner of a crazy, one-eyed cat, probably can't expect too much help from her PA/Secretary, Mrs V, who spends all day knitting. And just in case all of that wasn't bad enough, Jill's just about to discover she's a witch. ...break out the custard creams.