The Last Cuckoo

A seventy-five-year old widow, Sarah finds new meaning in her life after her home becomes a kind of refuge for her restless granddaughter, an Israeli pacifist, a homeless mother and son, and a victim of domestic violence.

Sarah Lucas imagined the rest of her days would be spent living peacefully in her rural Vermont home in the steadfast company of her husband. But now, with Charles's sudden passing, seventy-five-year-old Sarah is left inconsolably alone. As grief settles in, Sarah's mind lingers on her past: her imperfect but devoted fifty-year marriage to Charles; the years they spent raising their three very different children; and her childhood during the Great Depression, when her parents opened their home to countless relatives and neighbors. So, when a variety of wayward souls come seeking shelter in Sarah's own big, empty home, her past comes full circle. As this unruly flock forms a family of sorts, they—with Sarah—nurture and protect one another, all the while discovering their unsuspected strengths and courage. In the tradition of Jane Smiley and Sue Miller, Kate Maloy has crafted a wise and gratifying novel about a woman who gracefully accepts a surprising new role just when she though her best years were behind her.

A gifted biologist's careful and beguiling study of why cuckoos have got away with tricking other birds into hatching and raising their young for thousands of years. The familiar call of the common cuckoo, "cuck-oo,†? has been a harbinger of spring ever since our ancestors walked out of Africa many thousands of years ago. However, for naturalist and scientist Nick Davies, the call is an invitation to solve an enduring puzzle: how does the cuckoo get away with laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking them into raising young cuckoos rather than their own offspring? Early observers who noticed a little warbler feeding a monstrously large cuckoo chick concluded the cuckoo's lack of parental care was the result of faulty design by the Creator, and that the hosts chose to help the poor cuckoo. These quaint views of bad design and benevolence were banished after Charles Darwin proposed that the cuckoo tricks the hosts in an evolutionary battle, where hosts evolve better defenses against cuckoos and cuckoos, in turn, evolve better trickery to outwit the hosts. For the last three decades, Davies has employed observation and field experiments to unravel the details of this evolutionary "arms race†? between cuckoos and their hosts. Like a detective, Davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. For birding and evolution aficionados, The Cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of nature's most astonishing and beautiful adaptations.

Terror outfits in Asia are looking beyond the 9/11 episode to terrorize the world with nuclear devices. Rogue nuclear scientists involved in smuggling and dissemination of WMD technologies are eager to help Al Qaeda and similar groups in achieving their objectives. Russian mafia groups are arranging sale of nuclear scrap retrieved from ICBM's dismantled under SALT Treaty agreements to whoever is willing to pay in bullion and US Dollars. Indian Intelligence agencies discover a major money laundering operation in Mumbai. A British hydrocarbon specialist working at a major drilling site is kidnapped and taken to Myanmar as hostage. The Tamil Tiger guerillas of Sri Lanka demand the British Government release a Lankan rogue scientist undergoing prison term for smuggling contraband nuclear material, in exchange of the hostage in Myanmar. The murder of a senior executive involved in the money laundering operations in Mumbai sends Indian sleuths on tracing money trails to Sri Lanka, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The daring rescue of a Bangladesh nuclear scientist held captive for three decades and blackmailed to work on a project of WMD's by the ISI, exposes the conspiracy to arm Qaeda with nuclear devices.

Finding Baba Yaga is a mythic yet timely novel-in-verse by the beloved and prolific New York Times bestselling author and poet Jane Yolen, “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” (Newsweek). A young woman discovers the power to speak up and take control of her fate—a theme that has never been more timely than it is now... You think you know this story. You do not. A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself.... "Jane Yolen is a phenomenon: a poet and a mythmaker, who understands how old stories can tell us new things. We are lucky to have her."—Neil Gaiman At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Telling stories of growing up in postwar Britain, starting a new life in Canada, raising a family, working in a major corporation, experiencing an active retirement, and enjoying the pleasure of grandchildren, Cuckoo's Nest tells the life story of author Chris Chorlton. With a dash of humour, a touch of sadness, a pinch of whimsy, and a little dose of reality, Chorlton describes his escapades with doctors, his attempts to outfox squirrels, his experiment with hypnotism, and how he met his wife. His memoir also recalls his last day at the office, the challenges of carrying a piano down stairs, the memories of an emotional Remembrance Day ceremony, the illness of his newborn grandson, the loss of some schoolboy heroes and older friends, and his commitment to Rotary. Chorlton shares real stories of a real life. Praise for Cuckoo's Nest "Chris Chorlton puts a fresh face on old truths. He has a knack for placing the reader at the heart of his very charming personal stories--which gently unfold to reveal the common bonds we all share." --John Stewart, Mississauga News "Please read these tales told by my friend and former colleague Chris Chorlton. Like me, I believe you may recognize a little of yourself, you will have a good laugh and, yes, perhaps shed a tear." --Sir Graham Day "Stories I can relate to. Cuckoo's nest brings people in everyday situations to life, with some surprises. Read it--you'll enjoy it. Buy it--you'll help The Rotary Foundation." --Wilf Wilkinson C.M., President, Rotary International 2007-08 Chair, The Rotary Foundation 2012-13 All royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to The Rotary Foundation