Star Of Light

Hamid rubbed the light from his eyes and looked again. He was not dreaming; it was his stepfather! The man watched Kinza as a snake might watch a baby rabbit at play, waiting for the moment to strike. And for one breathless moment Hamid was sure that he would reach out and snatch her away. Hamid does not want his little blind sister, Kinza, to be sold to a beggar by their stepfather, so he decides to rescue her. Together they escape from their mountain village to a town where there may be a new home for Kinza. But this is only the start of their adventures. Will Kinza be safe? What will happen to Hamid, who dares not go back home? Set in North Africa, readers will be delighted by yet another of Patricia St. John's exciting, freshly edited novels.

The return of Barlennan Dhrawn was a giant rockball, more than 3,000 times the mass of Earth. Perhaps a planet, perhaps a nearly dead star, the 17 billion square miles of mystery cried out for investigation. But its corrosive atmosphere and crushing gravity assured that no human would ever set foot on its surface. Those hardy, caterpillar-like Mesklinites, on the other hand, were ideally suited to explore Dhrawn, and their leader certainly knew a good deal when he saw one. So Barlennan, a shrewd sea captain if ever there was one, struck a sharp bargain with the Earthmen for his services in leading the expedition. But the humans might not have been so pleased with their side of the bargain, if they had known that Barlennan had plans of his own for Dhrawn . . . The stunning sequel to the classic SF novel Mission of Gravity.

Available for the first time as a traditional paperback, this revised and updated edition contains new and archival interviews with those closest to Chris Bell and the Big Star circle: their friends, family, former bandmates—even fans, exes, classmates, and coworkers. “Bell’s and Big Star’s existence was short, but the wealth of stories and quotes here provides a healthy sustenance for the truth seekers. A top-notch biography.” —San Francisco Book Review The varied cast of voices—many from the band’s hometown of Memphis—comprises all the members of Big Star, including Chris Bell, the iconic Alex Chilton, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens. In the following decades after its 1975 breakup, the obscure group somehow reached and inspired some of rock’s most important bands, including R.E.M., the Replacements, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, Beck, and Wilco. With Chris Bell at the center of the Big Star universe, this book carefully reveals the production of the band’s masterful 1972 debut LP, #1 Record, for Ardent/Stax Records. Despite stellar reviews, the record suffered abysmal sales. Soon after, toxic personality conflicts and turmoil tore the band apart while Bell battled drug abuse and depression. There Was A Light then delves into Big Star’s second and third albums, while recounting Bell’s second act as a struggling solo musician and born-again Christian. During several trips to Europe, he produced ambitious recordings and pitched himself to record labels—even crossing paths with Paul McCartney. From this fertile era arose Bell’s lone solo album, the posthumously released I Am the Cosmos—his swan song and masterpiece. There Was A Light details the pop culture phenomenon that made Big Star legendary and divulges how its staunch fanbase saved the band from obscurity. “... an encyclopedic compendium…illuminating Bell’s life from a thousand angles.” —Memphis Flyer

Light from a Distant Star is a gripping coming-of-age story with a brutal murder at its heart and a heroine as unforgettable as Harper Lee’s "Scout." It is early summer and Nellie Peck is on the cusp of adolescence--gangly, awkward, full of questions, but keenly observant and wiser than many of the adults in her life. The person she most admires is her father, Benjamin, a man of great integrity. His family’s century old hardware store is failing and Nellie’s mother has had to go back to work. Nellie’s older half-sister has launched a disturbing search for her birth father. Often saddled through the long, hot days with her timid younger brother, Henry, Nellie is determined to toughen him up. And herself as well. Three strangers enter Nellie’s protected life. Brooding Max Devaney is an ex-con who works in her surly grandfather’s junkyard. Reckless Bucky Saltonstall has just arrived from New York City to live with his elderly grandparents. And pretty Dolly Bedelia is a young stripper who rents the family’s small, rear apartment and becomes the titillating focus of Nellie’s eavesdropping. When violence erupts in the lovely Peck house, the prime suspect seems obvious. Nellie knows who the real murderer is, but is soon silenced by fear and the threat of scandal. The truth, as she sees it, is shocking and unthinkable, and with everyone’s eyes riveted on her in the courtroom, Nellie finds herself seized with doubt. No one will listen. No one believes her, and a man’s life hangs in the balance. A stunning evocation of innocence lost, Light from a Distant Star stands as an incredibly moving and powerful novel from one of America's finest writers.

Real twinkle lights make this bedtime board book of a classic lullaby the perfect read for any sleepy child. Adapted from the classic lullaby, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star captures the gentle magic of bedtime. With a brand new ending, the song encourages children to fall asleep peacefully beneath the stars. Florence Weiser's soft, soothing illustrations depict an array of animal babies at their bedtimes, inspiring a calming nighttime atmosphere. This board book is complete with twinkling lights that make each page glow while parents and children settle in for their nightly routine. Families will delight in this adorable new take on a familiar lullaby and enjoy the tranquility of its sleepy, rhyming verse.

Visit the author's website at www.thelightonthestar.com Six months before he is murdered, President John F. Kennedy looks into the eyes of the graduating cadets of the Class of 1963 at the U. S. Air Force Academy. He speaks of the singular burden America shoulders in protecting freedom around the globe. He says, "This is the role which history and our own determination has placed upon a country which lived most of its history in isolation and neutrality, and yet in the last 18 years has carried the burden f or free people everywhere. I think that this is a burden which we accept willingly, recognizing that if this country does not accept it, no people will, recognizing that in the most difficult time in the whole life of freedom, the United States is called upon to play its greatest role." the graduates rise, vigorously applauding their young warrior-president, answering his call to serve their country, having no inkling of the turbulent decade about to break over them.The Light on the Star is about a time of upheaval in America, as a war in Asia fans the flames of incendiary turmoil at home. Through it all, idealistic young men from the Class of '63 struggle with duty, hon or and bonds forged with classmates as their once-proud, once-victorious Air Force staggers to defeat, trying to fight a new kind of air war. Unlike earlier air battles in World War II where civilian casualties mattered little, they become central in political debates as Americans grapple with the realities of a war televised nightly.The Light on the Star is also about the end of one era in the American way of aerial warfare and the emerging of another dimly. the consequences reverberate through the lives of fighter pilots caught in the crosshairs, battered by forces they can't comprehend. Their long, tumultuous journey through the sixties is an inspiring story of service to country under adversity, marked by the breadth of emotions of the cockpit - ranging from the pure thrill of flying jet airplanes to the stark terr or of things going desperately wrong under fire.Steve Dotson's novel, The Light on the Star, is well-written, gritty and intelligent. Combining drama with history, it captures the turmoil of the sixties at a gut level. Its authentic flying scenes, especially its vivid combat missions, make the joys and fears of the cockpit real. It's a great read.-- General Ronald R. Fogleman, U. S. Air Force (Retired)-- Fighter pilot and former Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceContact the auth or -- [email protected] Visit the author's website at www.thelightonthestar.com

An immensely pleasurable biography of two interwoven, tragic figures: John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald In this radiant dual biography, Jonathan Bate explores the fascinating parallel lives of John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald, writers who worked separately—on different continents, a century apart, in distinct genres—but whose lives uncannily echoed. Not only was Fitzgerald profoundly influenced by Keats, titling Tender is the Night and other works from the poet’s lines, but the two shared similar fates: both died young, loved to drink, were plagued by tuberculosis, were haunted by their first love, and wrote into a new decade of release, experimentation, and decadence. Both were outsiders and Romantics, longing for the past as they sped blazingly into the future. Using Plutarch’s ancient model of “parallel lives,” Jonathan Bate recasts the inspired lives of two of the greatest and best-known Romantic writers. Commemorating both the bicentenary of Keats’ death and the centenary of the Roaring Twenties, this is a moving exploration of literary influence.

VERSE & RHYMES. Children and adults will fall in love with the adorable illustrations and sweet verse in these charming versions of the classic children's rhymes. Ages 0+