Bøger udgivet af Harper Perennial

Beautiful and charismatic, nineteen-year-old Checker Secretti is the most gifted and original drummer that the club-goers of Astoria, Queens, have ever heard. When he plays, conundrums seem to solve themselves, brilliant thoughts spring to mind, and couples fall in love. The members of his band, The Derailleurs, are passionately devoted to their guiding spirit, as are all who fall under Checker's spell. But when another drummer, Eaton Striker, hears the prodigy play, he is pulled inexorably into Checker's orbit by a powerful combination of envy and admiration. Soon The Derailleurs, too, are torn apart by latent jealousies that Eaton does his utmost to bring alive.

Since ancient times their name has been spoken only in hushed tones. Cloaked in anonymity, they guard history's greatest and most devastating secret. In the early twentieth century, when Barcelona was celebrated as the center of modernist art and design, the grand master of an ancient religious brotherhood prepares to die--passing the care of a sacred relic to a prominent member of his order, the revered artist and architect Antonio Gaudí. The relic, an artifact dating back to the early Christian era, could prove disastrous if it were to fall into inappropriate hands--and many secret societies, some driven by purest evil, inhabit the dark underworld that exists beneath the city's brilliant creative glow. Nearly a century later, María, the granddaughter of the great architect's apprentice, unwittingly finds herself entrusted with a desperate mission. Following clues, with the help of her mathematician boyfriend, that are embedded in a cryptic message left by her grandfather and in the intricate symbolism of Gaudí's designs, María must race against time to unearth the fabled lost object and discover its true meaning . . . with violence, catastrophe, and death in terrifyingly close pursuit.

What if the man you'd loved for years transformed into a ruthless and relentless tormentor, stealing your freedom, threatening your sanity and your safety? This is not a fictional scenario. It is Kate Brennan's life. A well-respected writer and scholar, Kate was wary of getting involved when she met Paul, a wealthy, charismatic businessman with a great deal of free time, but his charm and determination eventually won her over. Once they moved in together, however, Kate discovered the sordid secrets lurking beneath the Mr. Right facade: the serial infidelities, the unbalanced psyche. When she ended their relationship, Paul dedicated himself to stalking her--using his limitless resources to track her movements, interfering with her work, arranging for people to break into her home--in a campaign of cruel harassment that has been Kate's unending nightmare for more than a decade . . . and which continues to this day.A shocking and visceral memoir that lays bare the twisted mind of a stalker, In His Sights is a gripping tale of one woman's descent into the dark side of love and her ongoing struggle to free herself.

Award-winning Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau has written a gripping, definitive account that will stand as the last word on General William Tecumseh Sherman's epic march?a targeted strategy aimed to break not only the Confederate army but an entire society as well. Sherman's swath of destruction spanned more than sixty miles in width and virtually cut Georgia in two. He led more than 60,000 Union troops to blaze a path from Atlanta to Savannah, ordering his men to burn crops, kill livestock, and lay waste to everything that fed the Rebel war machine.Told through the intimate and engrossing writings of Sherman's soldiers and the civilians who suffered in their wake, Southern Storm paints a vibrant picture of an event that would forever change America's course.

Winner of the Friends of American Writers Award for FictionAs seamstresses, the young sisters Emília and Luzia dos Santos know how to cut, mend, and conceal--useful skills in the lawless backcountry of Brazil, where ruthless land barons feud with bands of outlaw cangaceiros, trapping innocent residents in the crossfire. Emília, a naive romantic, dreams of falling in love with a gentleman and escaping to a big city. Quick-tempered Luzia also longs for escape, finding it in her craft and secret prayers to the saints she believes once saved her life. But when Luzia is abducted by cangaceiros led by the infamous Hawk and Emília stumbles into a marriage with the son of a wealthy and politically powerful doctor, the sisters' quiet lives diverge in ways they never would have imagined.

Alaa Al Aswany has won resounding critical acclaim for his deft and moving portrayals of the lives of contemporary Egyptians who constantly examine their relationship with Egypt's history, religion, class, and gender distinctions. In Friendly Fire he once again demonstrates an extraordinary empathy for lost and searching souls as he focuses on the exquisite emotions of everyday life.In "The Kitchen Boy" and "Dearest Sister Makarim," Al Aswany explores the hypocrisy of the class divide. The brief and tender "Izzat Amin Iskandar" is a heartrending view of youthful hope. And in the unforgettable novella "The Isam Abd el-Ati Papers," the narrator carries us along a troubling journey through his painful relationships with his artist father and his self-centered mother, en route to a devastating collision of temptation and morality.Here are stories of generational conflict, love, repression, and the clash of Western and Arab ideals, all beautifully rendered by a true modern master.

"The finest single-volume introduction to Kant's ethics available in English." --PHILOSOPHICAL REVIEW, on the H. J. Paton translationConsidered one of the most profound, influential, and important works of world philosophy, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals introduces his famous Categorical Imperative and lays down a foundation for all of Immanuel Kant's writings. In it, Kant illuminates the basic concept that is central to his moral philosophy and, in fact, to the entire field of modern ethical thought: the Categorical Imperative, the supreme principle of morality, stating that all decisions should be made based on what is universally acceptable. Featuring the renowned translation and commentary of Oxford's H. J. Paton, this volume has long been considered the definitive English edition of Kant's classic text. "Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals," Paton writes in his preface, "is one of the small books which is truly great: it has exercised on human thought an influence almost ludicrously disproportionate to its size."

Mitchell, widely known for his original and definitive translations of spiritual writings and poetry, has taken the work of Neruda (1904-1973), whose poems are passionate, humorous and exceptionally accessible, and brought them to life for a whole new generation of readers. Mitchell has selected nearly 50 poems for this collection, which focuses on Neruda's mature period, beginning with Elemental Odes, published when he was 50 years old, and ending with "Full Powers, " published when he was 58. The volume is bilingual, with Neruda's original Spanish text facing Mitchell's English translation. Excerpt from "Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon": Full woman, fleshly apple, hot moon, thick smell of seaweed, crushed mud and light, what obscure brilliance opens between your columns? What ancient night does a man touch with his senses? Loving is a journey with water and with stars, with smothered air and abrupt storms of flour: Loving is a clash of lightning-bolts and two bodies defeated by a single drop of honey.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year"Riveting. . . . Without ever taking the easy way out, the book explores the battle of good vs. evil on very human terms." --Washington Post Book WorldDark in mood and rich in character, Over Tumbled Graves by #1 New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter is that rare thriller that manages to be at once viscerally gripping and deeply provocativeDuring a routine drug bust, on a narrow bridge over white-water falls in the center of town, Spokane detective Caroline Mabry finds herself face-to-face with a brutal murderer. Within hours, the body of a young prostitute is found on the riverbank nearby. What follows confronts our fascination with pathology and murder and stares it down, as Caroline and her cynical partner, Alan Dupree--thrown headlong into the search for a serial murderer who communicates by killing women--uncover some hard truths about their profession . . . and each other.Rich with the darkly muted colors of the Pacific Northwest skies, Over Tumbled Graves established Jess Walter as a novelist of extraordinary emotional depth and dimension.

While working the weekend night shift, Caroline Mabry, a weary Spokane police detective, encounters a seemingly unstable but charming derelict who tells her, "I'd like to confess." But he insists on writing out his statement in longhand. In the forty-eight hours that follow, the stranger confesses to not just a crime but an entire life?spinning a wry and haunting tale of youth and adulthood, of obsession and revenge, and of two men's intertwined lives.Fiendishly clever and darkly funny, Land of the Blind speaks to the bonds and compromises we make as children?and to the fatal errors we can make at any time.

Shortly before his death at a tragically young age, author Thomas Wolfe presented his editor with an epic masterwork that was subsequently published as three separate novels: You Can't Go Home Again, The Hills Beyond, and The Web and the Rock.The Web and the Root features the three initial sections of the The Web and the Rock, widely considered to be the book's strongest material. A prequel to You Can't Go Home Again, it is the story of George Webber's momentous journey from Libya Falls, North Carolina, to the Golden City of the North--offering vivid, sometimes cutting depictions of rural pleasures and small-town clannishness while exploring boundless urban possibility and the complex, violent undercurrents of the metropolis.

Colm Tóibín on Joni Mitchell - James Wood on The Who - Stacey D'Erasmo on Kate Bush - Daniel Handler on Eurythmics - Lisa Dierbeck on the Pretenders - Clifford Chase on the B-52s . . . and other writers on the soundtracks of their livesIn Heavy Rotation, twenty of our most acclaimed contemporary writers pay homage to the record albums that inspired them. Benjamin Kunkel remembers how the Smiths' Queen Is Dead transformed him into an adolescent Anglophile. Pankaj Mishra describes how a bootleg cassette of ABBA's Super Trouper evoked a world far from his small Indian village. Kate Christensen relives her years as an aspiring novelist in Brooklyn listening to Rickie Lee Jones's Flying Cowboys. And Joshua Ferris recalls his head-banging passion for Pearl Jam's Ten.Exploring music from the Talking Heads to the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack, this extraordinary anthology is a moving, funny, uplifting, and unforgettable celebration of the unique and essential relationship between life and music.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind comes an astonishing investigation of how America lost its way and the nation's daily struggle to reclaim the moral authority upon which its survival depends. Tracking down historic revelations and improbable hope from the Beltway to the farthest corners of the globe, Suskind delivers a stirring and strikingly original portrait of the post-9/11 world.

In the summer of 1976, during their annual retreat on Cape Cod, the McKotch family came apart. Now, twenty years after daughter Gwen was diagnosed with Turner's syndrome--a rare genetic condition that keeps her trapped forever in the body of a child--eminent scientist Frank McKotch is divorced from his pedigreed wife, Paulette. Eldest son Billy, a successful cardiologist, lives a life built on secrets and compromise. His brother Scott awakened from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job and a regrettable marriage. And Gwen--bright and accomplished but hermetic and emotionally aloof--spurns all social interaction until, well into her thirties, she falls in love for the first time. With compassion and almost painful astuteness, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies--the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings.

From the author of Blues Dancing and Tumbling--a writer who "ought to be classified among the best of all contemporary fiction writers period" (Detroit Free Press)--comes a riveting novel about the desire for redemption and rebirthMoving across moments in time, Trading Dreams tells the story of a woman and the grandmother she is deeply connected by love and terrible pain. For years, 33-year-old Neena has waged a relentless search for Freeda, the mother who abandoned her 20 years ago. Neena supports herself by blackmailing married men, but when a stong goes wrong, she finds herself on the run, back to her younger sister, Tish, in Philadelphia. But returning brings terrible grief--and unexpected hope as Neena learns to face the past, her grandmother, and herself. A settled church lady and gifted seamstress, Nan is devoted to her granddaughter, Tish, who is soon to become a mother herself. A vibrant, passionate woman, Nan worries that in some way she caused her daughter Freeda's instability. Neena's returning holds unexpected consequences for Nan, too, and eventually she must confront her denial and fears--about the past and the future. In a style that has been characterized as "accessible Toni Morrison," and "literary Terry McMillan," Diane McKinney-Whetstone has crafted another powerful story of love, loss, community, and healing that captures what it means to be human.

The cruel fate of the Princes in the Tower is one of the most fascinating--and most troubling--of all England's historical murder mysteries. But what was the truth behind the deaths of the young Edward V and his brother, Dickon, taken from their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, King Edward IV's beautiful widow, and their guardian, Anthony Woodville? And what about the man who would become King Richard III?In a brilliant feat of historical daring, the acclaimed author of The Mathematics of Love reimagines the tragedy of the youngest victims of the Wars of the Roses. Through the voices of Elizabeth, Anthony, and Una--a historian who herself knows grief, betrayal, and secret love--Emma Darwin re-creates the lethal power struggles into which the boys were born, their heart-wrenching imprisonment, and the ultimate betrayal of their innocence.

"[A] brilliant, triumphantly lurid writer as well as a supremely talented, elegant stylist whose prose is smart and nervy. He might also be the last literary outlaw in mainstream American fiction." --Bret Easton EllisInternationally acclaimed writer Dennis Cooper continues to study the material he's always explored honestly, but does so now--in stories--with a sense of awareness and a satirical touch that exploits and winks at his mastery of this world. As it has done for decades, Cooper's taut, controlled prose lays bare the compulsions and troubling emptiness of the human soul.

Henry Bay has his own America going. If there's an offbeat interest or extreme sport that's poised to sweep the nation, chances are there's a magazine for its enthusiasts, and chances are also good that Henry has worked there. He's a modern nomad, associate-editing his way from state to state, exploring the small worlds that make up modern America from Spelunk to Ice Climbing, to Cozy, The Magazine of Tea.But those are other people's interests--Henry's still looking for his own enthusiasm. He ends up finding more than he ever imagined in this energetic, hilarious debut novel from a surprising and promising new voice.

Anna David turns her reporter's eye for detail toward Tinseltown's seedy underbelly yet again and "eloquently and humorously unveil[s] what could be a new subgenre: Chick Lit with a Message" (New York Post).Tired of gathering banal quotes from the B-list on the sidelines of the red carpet, Emma Swanson publicly yearns for a more substantial career but privately dreams of a hotshot boyfriend to transport her into the beating heart of the Hollywood scene. Instead, she meets Jessica--beautiful, cavalier, manipulative--who shamelessly trades sex for the gifts it can bring. Convinced that writing a story about Jessica and her ilk would seriously boost her journalistic cred, Emma soon finds herself sucked into a world where the luxuries of prettied-up prostitution may cost more than she ever expected.

March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride--and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works. Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.

What would you do if your eighty-year-old father dragged you into his hell-bent hunt for new love?A few months after the death of his wife, Joe Morris, an affable, eccentric octogenarian, needs a replacement. If he can get a new hip, he figures, why not a new wife? At first, his skeptical son Bob (whose own love life is a disaster) is appalled. But suspicion quickly turns to enthusiasm as he finds himself trolling the personals, screening prospects, chaperoning, and offering etiquette tips to his needy father. Assisted Loving is a warm, witty, and wacky chronicle of a father, a son, and their year of dating dangerously.

At the height of the Vietnam War protests, twenty-eight-year-old Judith Nies and her husband lived a seemingly idyllic life. Both were building their respective careers in Washington--Nies as the speechwriter and chief staffer to a core group of antiwar congressmen, her husband as a Treasury department economist. But when her husband brought home a list of questions from an FBI file with Judith's name on the front, Nies soon realized that her life was about to take a radical turn. Shocked to find herself the focus of an FBI investigation into her political activities, Nies began to reevaluate her role as grateful employee and dutiful wife.A heartfelt memoir and a piercing social commentary, The Girl I Left Behind offers a fresh, candid look at the 1960s. Recounting Nies's courageous journey toward independence and equality, it evaluates the consequences of the feminist movement on the same women who made it happen--and on the daughters born in their wake.

New York Times Bestseller"Dolnick brilliantly re-creates the circumstances that made possible one of the most audacious frauds of the 20th century. And in doing so Dolnick plumbs the nature of fraud itself . . . an incomparable page turner." --Boston GlobeAs riveting as a World War II thriller, The Forger's Spell is the true story of Johannes Vermeer and the small-time Dutch painter who dared to impersonate him centuries later. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of one of the most beloved and admired artists who ever lived. As Edward Dolnick reveals, his true genius lay in psychological manipulation, and he came within inches of fooling the world. Instead, he landed in an Amsterdam court on trial for his life. The Forger's Spell is the gripping, true tale of this almost perfect crime.

On October 6, 1948, a U.S. Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashed soon after takeoff, killing three civilian engineers and six crew members. In June 1949, the engineers' widows filed suit against the government, determined to find out what exactly had happened to their husbands and why the three civilians had been on board the airplane in the first place. But it was the dawn of the Cold War and the Air Force refused to hand over any documents, claiming they contained classified information. The legal battle ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which in 1953 handed down a landmark decision that would, in later years, enable the government to conceal gross negligence and misconduct, block troublesome litigation, and detain criminal suspects without due-process protections.Claim of Privilege is a mesmerizing true account of a shameful incident and its lasting impact on our nation--the gripping story of a courageous fight to right a past wrong and a powerful indictment of governmental abuse in the name of national security.

Days before Felicia Sullivan graduated from college, her mother disappeared; she hasn't been heard from in more than twelve years. It was possibly the last betrayal her mother, a beautiful, volatile, deceitful drug addict, would add to those that built their relationship, which subjected Felicia to a nightmare childhood on the toughest streets of 1980s Brooklyn. Growing up in the close company of dealers, users, and a host of unsavory characters, Felicia became her mother's keeper at a shockingly young age--getting her to the hospital after her overdoses, enduring her cruelty and narcissistic rages, and accepting the abuse or indifference of numerous so-called stepfathers. Years later, damaged and ashamed of her past, Felicia invented a new, brutally hard-partying persona to show to the world: she became her mother.Affecting, honest, and utterly extraordinary, The Sky Isn't Visible from Here is a book about secrets and forgiveness--the story of a young woman unraveling . . . and then putting her life back together again.

Shattered by his wife's death, and by his own role in it, successful cardiologist Charles Anderson volunteers to assist with earthquake relief in an impoverished Islamic country in a constant state of conflict with its neighbor. But when the refugees he's come to help do not appear and artillery begins to fall in the distance along the border, the story takes an unexpected turn.This haunting, resonant tour de force about one man's desire to live a moral life offers a moving exploration of the tensions between poverty and wealth, the ethics of intervention, the deep cultural differences that divide the world, and the essential human similarities that unite it.

One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers an extraordinary novel?a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original. Dozens of characters pass through the reader's sight lines?some never to be seen again?but James Frey lingers on a handful of LA's lost souls and captures the dramatic narrative of their lives. A dazzling tour de force, Bright Shiny Morning illuminates the joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles.

It seems like mutual good luck for Abigail Taylor and Dara MacLeod when they meet at university and, despite their differences, become fast friends. Years later they remain inseparable: Abigail, the actress, allegedly immune to romance, and Dara, a therapist, throwing herself into relationships with frightening intensity. Now both believe they've found "true love." But luck seems to run out when Dara moves into Abigail's downstairs apartment. Suddenly both their friendship and their relationships are in peril, for tragedy is waiting to strike the house on Fortune Street.Told through four ingeniously interlocking narratives, Margot Livesey's The House on Fortune Street is a provocative tale of lives shaped equally by chance and choice.