What is the difference between writing a novel about the Holocaust and fabricating a memoir? Do narratives about the Holocaust have a special obligation to be 'truthful'--that is, faithful to the facts of history? Or is it okay to lie in such works? In her provocative study A Thousand Darknesses, Ruth Franklin investigates these questions as they arise in the most significant works of Holocaust fiction, from Tadeusz Borowski's Auschwitz stories to Jonathan Safran Foer's postmodernist family history. Franklin argues that the memory-obsessed culture of the last few decades has led us to mistakenly focus on testimony as the only valid form of Holocaust writing. As even the most canonical texts have come under scrutiny for their fidelity to the facts, we have lost sight of the essential role that imagination plays in the creation of any literary work, including the memoir. Taking a fresh look at memoirs by Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi, and examining novels by writers such as Piotr Rawicz, Jerzy Kosinski, W.G. Sebald, and Wolfgang Koeppen, Franklin makes a persuasive case for literature as an equally vital vehicle for understanding the Holocaust (and for memoir as an equally ambiguous form). The result is a study of immense depth and range that offers a lucid view of an often cloudy field.

From National Book Award Finalist Albert Marrin comes the moving story of Janusz Korczak, the heroic Polish Jewish doctor who devoted his life to children, perishing with them in the Holocaust. Janusz Korczak was more than a good doctor. He was a hero. The Dr. Spock of his day, he established orphanages run on his principle of honoring children and shared his ideas with the public in books and on the radio. He famously said that "children are not the people of tomorrow, but people today." Korczak was a man ahead of his time, whose work ultimately became the basis for the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Korczak was also a Polish Jew on the eve of World War II. He turned down multiple opportunities for escape, standing by the children in his orphanage as they became confined to the Warsaw Ghetto. Dressing them in their Sabbath finest, he led their march to the trains and ultimately perished with his children in Treblinka. But this book is much more than a biography. In it, renowned nonfiction master Albert Marrin examines not just Janusz Korczak's life but his ideology of children: that children are valuable in and of themselves, as individuals. He contrasts this with Adolf Hitler's life and his ideology of children: that children are nothing more than tools of the state. And throughout, Marrin draws readers into the Warsaw Ghetto. What it was like. How it was run. How Jews within and Poles without responded. Who worked to save lives and who tried to enrich themselves on other people's suffering. And how one man came to represent the conscience and the soul of humanity. Filled with black-and-white photographs, this is an unforgettable portrait of a man whose compassion in even the darkest hours reminds us what is possible.

For almost twenty-one years, Queen Aetheria has been ruling over the kingdom of Asinia. Since the king's death, she has been terrorizing the citizens of Asinia with her cruelty. Three years into her reign, the First Tree's light shone on the kingdom, announcing the birth of a new royal child. But Aetheria had not given birth. The citizens of Asinia felt a flicker of hope that this new royal child might bring peace to Asinia. That child, Leora Hallewell, is now eighteen and is ready to end Aetheria's reign of terror. A new day is dawning for Asinia. Will Leora's light be enough to banish the darkness of the queen's reign?

One woman's heartbreaking story of a marriage destroyed by her husband's addiction to alcohol. The dynamics of codependency are illuminated in this gripping tale. Author and widow Frances Simone describes her husband's attempts at treatment and subsequent relapse, his suicide, and her own recovery through a twelve-step program for families. Frances Simone, PhD, is a recently retired professor emeritus from the graduate college of Marshall University in South Charleston, West Virginia. Her essays have appeared in The Voice and The Quarterly of the National Writing Project, the Charleston Gazette, Writers Digest, and The Forum.

Examining the controversies that have accompanied the publication of novels representing the Holocaust, this compelling book explores such literature to analyze their violently mixed receptions and what this says about the ethics and practice of millennial Holocaust literature. The novels examined, including some for the first time, are: * Time's Arrow by Martin Amis * The White Hotel by D.M. Thomas * The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski * Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally * Sophie's Choice by William Styron * The Hand that Signed the Paper by Helen Darville. Taking issue with the idea that the Holocaust should only be represented factually, this compelling book argues that Holocaust fiction is not only legitimate, but an important genre that it is essential to accept. In a growing area of interest, Sue Vice adds a new, intelligent and contentious voice to the key debates within Holocaust studies.

From the author of previous military and action adventure novels like "THE 100TH KILL," "DETACHMENT DELTA" series and "THE RETURN" comes Charles W. Sasser's latest speculative political action-adventure thriller ripped from today's headlines and based on actual current events. Police Detective James Nail is wounded and his daughter murdered in an attack that also kills "right-wing" TV personality Jerry Baer. As Nail and Baer's producer, Sharon Lowenthal, team up to track down the shooters, they discover a conspiracy that leads to an international cartel of "One Worlders" and may implicate the President of the United States. Falsely accused of terrorism, they must keep one step ahead of Homeland Security to stay alive, bring down the traitors, and save the nation. What they're saying about Charles W. Sasser "As for the writing, it's near perfect, flows smoothly and has that certain flair that all of us who type for a living seek to achieve..." PACIFIC FLYER on "Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan." "The most gripping scenes in the book document...emotion in the seconds just before the Hellfire missile arrives on target..." THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS (NEW YORK TIMES) on "Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan." "A gripping combat memoir...honest and exciting...a roving tale, full of sharp detail and told in the harsh language of soldiers baptized in fire..." KIRKUS REVIEWS on "Taking Fire." "Bustles with danger, intrigue, and surprise. Rapid-fire action from beginning to end." Clive Cussler on "First Seal." "Tough, raunchy, gritty, but surprisingly tender... If you never made it to 'Nam, this book will take you there... unbeatable " MILITARY HISTORY Magazine on "The 100th Kill." "Outstanding Exciting Gut-grabbing... " LEATHERNECK Magazine on "One Shot-One Kill." "A grim, authentic window to a world of horrors only hinted at in the tabloid headlines..." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY on "Homicide " "A powerful emotion-packed mystery..." CONCISE BOOK REVIEWS on "No Gentle Streets." "A model of good historical writing..." LEATHERNECK on "Hill 488." "Abundant action, a fast pace and an unusual ethical dilemma..." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY on "Dark Planet."

The acclaimed author of Conquistador and Labyrinth of Ice charts one of history’s greatest expeditions, a legendary 16th-century adventurer’s death-defying navigation of the Amazon River. In 1541, Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his lieutenant Francisco Orellana searched for La Canela, South America’s rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, “the golden man.” Quickly, the enormous expedition of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, and hunting dogs were decimated through disease, starvation, and attacks in the jungle. Hopelessly lost in the swampy labyrinth, Pizarro and Orellana made the fateful decision to separate. While Pizarro eventually returned home in rags, Orellana and fifty-seven men continued into the unknown reaches of the mighty Amazon jungle and river. Theirs would be the greater glory. Interweaving historical accounts with newly uncovered details, Levy reconstructs Orellana’s journey as the first European to navigate the world’s largest river. Every twist and turn of the powerful Amazon holds new wonders and the risk of death. Levy gives a long-overdue account of the Amazon’s people—some offering sustenance and guidance, others hostile, subjecting the invaders to gauntlets of unremitting attacks and signs of terrifying rituals. Violent and beautiful, noble and tragic, River of Darkness is riveting history and breathtaking adventure that will sweep readers on a voyage unlike any other.