No Place To Fall

No Place to Fall is Victor Saunder's follow up to his Boardman Tasker Prize winning debut book Elusive Summits. Covering three expeditions to familiar and unfamiliar ranges in Nepal, the Karakoram and the Kumaon, each shares the exhilaration of attempting new alpine-style routes on terrifyingly committing mountains. In 1989 Victor Saunders and Steve Sustad completed a difficult route on the West Face of Makalu II, only to be brought to a storm-bound halt above 7000 metres while descending. Without food or bivouac gear, they endured a tortuous descent after a night in the open. Two years later the pair were with a small team in the Hunza valley exploring elusive access to a giant hidden pillar on the unvisited South-East Face of Ultar, one of the highest and most shapely of the world's unclimbed peaks. Climbing at night to avoid being caught out by the torture of sun on ice, they were a few pitches from the summit ridge on soft snow and rotten ice before equipment failure committed them to a dire descent. In 1992 Victor Saunders was part of a joint Indian-British team climbing various peaks in the Panch Chuli range and exploring its approaches from the west. A happy and successful expedition narrowly avoided ending in tragedy when Stephen Venables broke both legs in a fall on the descent from Panch Chuli V and Chris Bonington survived another fall going to his aid. The dramatic evacuation of Venables, in which the author took a major part, forms an exciting climax to a book which describes at first hand what it is like on the cutting edge of contemporary alpine-style climbing in the world's highest mountains. As well as exciting climbing action, No Place to Fall offers enviable mountain exploration, enriched by sharing the lives of the mountain peoples along the way. Victor Saunders also casts a perceptive, if bemused, eye over his fellow climbers and reflects on the calculation of risk that drives them back year after year to chance their lives in high places.

“Southern charm oozes off the page”* of this sexy and poignant novel about family, friendships, and first romance—from Jaye Robin Brown, the critically acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit. It's Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere meets Sarah Dessen’s This Lullaby. Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends Friday nights hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. But when she learns about an audition at a prestigious arts school, Amber decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out. The more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all. Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between right and wrong, there’s a whole world of possibilities. *Kirkus

A story of resilience and hopethe life of a simple Palestinian girl who survived five wars, countless refugee camps, raised thirteen children, and now shares both her suffering and wisdom.

Children were not supposed to have anxiety disorders in the 1980s, when this story took place, and treatment in Canada consisted mainly of trying to track down the non-existent trauma that was causing the problem. Today, while we are, fortunately, more enlightened, misconceptions are still major hurdles when a child is referred for professional help. Whether you live in Canada or elsewhere, if you are a parent trying to understand your child's avoidance behaviour, KIRSTIN'S STORY: no place to stand will give you the answers you need in order to move on and find help.

Historians of the First World War have often dismissed the important role of poison gas in the battles of the Western Front. Tim Cook shows that the serious threat of gas did not disappear with the introduction of gas masks. By 1918, gas shells were used by all armies to deluge the battlefield, and those not instructed with a sound anti-gas doctrine left themselves exposed to this new chemical plague.This book provides a challenging re-examination of the function of gas warfare in the First World War, including its important role in delivering victory in the campaign of 1918 and its curious postwar legacy.

He climbed, only to let goand now she must follow Shockwaves had already reached the rock-climbing community when Carol was awakened in the night with the news of her sons death. Chris Hampsona well-known climber whose grace, warmth, commitment, and Zen-like focus inspired many friendshad fallen to his death in Yosemite National Park. This moving memoir tells how a mother, seeking to understand her sons passion and confronting deep questions of mortal life, learns to climb up from despair. She had always believed that to encourage her childrens freedom was the greatest gift she could give. But now that belief is shaken. Grasping for ground, struggling to accept his passing, she discovers a remarkable truth: love transcends time and space. You never really lose who you love. The first anniversary of Chriss death is marked by Carols pilgrimage to Yosemite where, among perennial climbers and granite gods, she scatters his ashes and begins to release him.

No Place to Hide: Alpha Company at Nui Ba Den puts into words what few can imagine and even fewer have experiencedthe harrowing and life-altering experience of facing deadly assaults from snipers. The U.S. Armys Alpha Company, deployed in Vietnam in 1969, followed orders sending it toward a mountain, Nui Ba Den. There they encountered North Vietnamese snipers, secure on higher ground, who subjected the company to two days of unremitting attack. In the end, nine members of the company and two of Charlie Company who came to their aid lost their lives. The author, Bill Sly, survived both the battle at Nui Ba Den and the Vietnam War. A college degree in history education and his military duties writing narratives to support awards of the Medal of Honor provided him with the background and expertise to bring to life his first-hand experience with the war and this particular engagement. In the pages of No Place to Hide, he tells the story of this company and its men who served, fought, and died and those who survived to remember and to remind others of the sacrifices of their comrades. No Place to Hide: Alpha Company at Nui Ba Den honors the men who fought together, remembers the sacrifices of those who died, and preserves the history of the events it depicts.

Perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Heather Gudenkauf, No Place to Hide is an intimate and deeply moving story of one woman’s desperate attempt to escape a troubled past—and the haunting mystery she’s forced to confront. Fleeing her native England with her three-year-old daughter, Justine Cantrell gives herself a new name and a new life in America. In a quiet midwestern town on the shores of glittering Lake Maxinkuckee, Justine hopes to recapture the fleeting days of happiness in the long-ago summers she spent with her grandmother. And though her memories of that time are scant, Justine knows they must have shared a special bond. After all, the power of her grandmother’s love has pulled her back to this haven in search of a new beginning. But fate has other plans. The more Justine gets to know the small town and its people, the more she realizes that her grandmother had her own devastating secrets—secrets that will soon threaten Justine just as surely as her own dark memories. Praise for Susan Lewis “A master storyteller.”—Diane Chamberlain “This emotionally charged story keeps you at the edge of your seat.”—RT Book Reviews, on Behind Closed Doors “[A] moving and piquantly beautiful novel of friendship, family and the power of love.”—The Gazette (Blackpool, UK), on Never Say Goodbye Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.