Bøger udgivet af Random House Publishing Group

"American public schools have been called "the great equalizer." If all children could just get an education, the logic goes, they would have the same opportunities later in life. But this historical tour-de-force makes it clear that the opposite is true: the educational system has played an instrumental role in creating racial hierarchies, preparing children to expect unequal treatment throughout their lives. In Original Sins, Ewing demonstrates that schools were designed to propagate the idea of white intellectual superiority, to "civilize" Native students and to prepare Black students for menial labor. Schools were not an afterthought for the "founding fathers"; they were envisioned by Thomas Jefferson to fortify the country's racial hierarchy. And while those dynamics are less overt now than they were in centuries past, Ewing shows that they persist in a curriculum that continues to minimize the horrors of American history. Ewing argues that the most insidious aspects of the system are under the radar: standardized testing, tracking, school discipline, and access to resources. By demonstrating that it's in the DNA of American schools to serve as an effective, and under-acknowledged, mechanism maintaining inequality in this country today, Ewing makes the case that there should be a profound re-evaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom. This book will change the way people understand the place they send their children for eight hours a day"--

A top crime journalist reveals precisely how the world-shattering murder of John Lennon happened-and why In Let Me Take You Down, Jack Jones penetrates the borderline world of dangerous fantasy in which Mark David Chapman stalked and killed Lennon: Mark David Chapman rose early on the morning of December 8 to make final preparations. . . . Chapman had neatly arranged and left behind a curious assortment of personal items on top of the hotel dresser. In an orderly semicircle, he had laid out his passport, an eight-track tape of the music of Todd Rundgren, his little Bible, open to The Gospel According to John (Lennon). He left a letter from a former YMCA supervisor at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, where five years earlier, he had worked with refugees from the Vietnam War. Beside the letter were two photographs of himself surrounded by laughing Vietnamese children. At the center of the arrangement of personal effects, he had placed the small Wizard of Oz poster of Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. "I woke up knowing, somehow, that when I left that room, that was the last time I would see the room again," Chapman recalled. "I truly felt it in my bones. I don't know how. I had never seen John Lennon up to that point. I only knew that he was in the Dakota. But I somehow knew that it was it, this was the day. So I laid out on the dresser at the hotel room . . . just a tableau of everything that was important in my life. So it would say, 'Look, this is me. Probably, this is the real me. This is my past and I'm going, gone to another place.' "I practiced what it was going to look like when police officers came into the room. It was like I was going through a door and I knew I was going to go through a door, the poet's door, William Blake's door, Jim Morrison's door. . . . I was leaving what I was, going into a future of uncertainty." Praise for Let Me Take You Down "Jack Jones has written a beautiful book, rare in its attention to the social context giving rise to stalkers and assassins of celebrities . . . celebrity worship is ambivalent-admiration shares the altar with envy. When the worshipped disappoints, a 'nobody' can become a 'somebody' by killing the pop culture idol. Let Me Take You Down is both fascinating and brilliant."-Ladd Wheeler, Professor of Psychology, University of Rochester, Former President of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology

A thought-provoking look at the world of the supernatural that shows how many paranormal events can be explained by what we already know-or don't know-about the natural world.Scientist and rationalist Lyall Watson, the author of the million-copy bestseller Supernature, reveals the inconsistencies, blank spots, and "soft edges" in current scientific theory that make the existence of the supernatural not only an intriguing possibility-but a necessary and perfectly logical part of our explanation of the workings of the universe. Examining breakthroughs in science from biology to biofeedback, from quantum physics to paraphysics, the author proposes a revolutionary synthesis of nature and supernature. He offers surprising insights into such "unexplainable" phenomena as telepathy, reincarnation, synchronicity, poltergeists, evolutionary intelligence, and other mind-bending questions challenging science today. Beyond Supernature is a groundbreaking new chapter in the never-ending search for reality. It is a book for anyone who can still look at the world with both common sense and a sense of wonder.

"Bernie is a talented young photographer who has quit taking photographs in favor of drinking and drifting around Philadelphia. Leah is an ambitious yet flailing grad student and journalist who must know the answer to every question. When Bernie replies to Leah's ad for a new housemate, they tentatively begin the kind of uncategorizable, queer relationship that can only flourish between two people who deeply understand each others' dreams and dissatisfactions. When Bernie's college professor dies in rural Pennsylvania and leaves her a complicated inheritance, Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie, turning the jaunt into a road trip with an ambitious mission: to document 2018 America in words and photographs"--

"An extraordinary panorama of women's lives today."-The New York Times Book Review In detailed, revealing portraits of women from their teens through their sixties, Maggie Scarf explores the core experiences of women's lives and discovers what can happen when the days and years scurry by, leaving unfinished the tasks that transform us from child to girl to woman.Praise for Unfinished Business"Real-life problems are thoughtfully and sympathetically analyzed in Unfinished Business. . . . Love and loss, deprivation and fulfillment, the pangs of growing up and, worse, the plight of those who never do-these are Scarf's subjects, and she gives them the attention and respect rightly due such integral threads in the fabric of our lives."-Cosmopolitan"No woman or man will be untouhed by Maggie Scarf's brilliant research. There is a gift for all of us in these pages-that freeing, exhilarating emotion: thank God I read this book-I thought I was the only one."-Nancy Friday

"All will be revealed in the no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer - and possible double agent - Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany's nuclear program. Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who's long held her heart. British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany: she's shaken by the assignment. An assassination is unlike anything she's ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture. At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel has requested a meeting with the undercover agent. Chanel, a spy in her own right, with ambiguous loyalties, is meeting with the British Ambassador in Madrid - and has requested Maggie join them. And Chanel provides the perfect cover for Maggie's trip to Spain. The two play cat and mouse as Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg. But the most shocking curveball is from the most intimate player: Maggie's own mother has kept a hand in the war - and has secrets of her own to share. Maggie desperately wants to find her 'happily-ever-after,' but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves - with fateful implications for the future of the free world"

What are these graceful visitors to our skies? We now know that they bring both life and death and teach us about our origins.Comet begins with a breathtaking journey through space astride a comet. Pulitzer Prize-winning astronomer Carl Sagan, author of Cosmos and Contact, and writer Ann Druyan explore the origin, nature, and future of comets, and the exotic myths and portents attached to them. The authors show how comets have spurred some of the great discoveries in the history of science and raise intriguing questions about these brilliant visitors from the interstellar dark.Were the fates of the dinosaurs and the origins of humans tied to the wanderings of a comet? Are comets the building blocks from which worlds are formed?Lavishly illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned full-color paintings, Comet is an enthralling adventure, indispensable for anyone who has ever gazed up at the heavens and wondered why.Praise for Comet"Simply the best." -The Times of London"Fascinating, evocative, inspiring." -The Washington Post"Comet humanizes science. A beautiful, interesting book." -United Press International"Masterful . . . science, poetry, and imagination." -The Atlanta Journal & Constitution

"When Miami residents are ordered to evacuate before a hurricane, everyone in Luciana's family complies, except for her beloved yet batty grandmother, Abue. But it turns out the storm isn't the real crisis: Abue, normally glamorous and full of energy, is given a devastating medical diagnosis once danger passes. Luciana, and the rest of the family, are heartbroken, but Abue is about as interested in getting treatment as she was in evacuating. She'd rather charm the hospital staff, and then turn around and torture her family by threatening suicide if they let any more relatives come see her. Soon, Abue moves into Luciana's bedroom to recuperate, and though their approaches to life couldn't be more different, their complicated bond intensifies. Luciana would rather be roller skating, getting high, or sneaking out to Ladies Night to meet girls, but her grandmother's wild stories and unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction from her mother's conservative beliefs and obsession with appearances, or her sister Mari pulling away from the family in favor of a wealthier, whiter collegiate social circle. Forced to step into the role of caretaker, translator, and keeper of the generational secrets Abue starts to share, Luciana finds herself reluctantly facing down adulthood and rising to the occasion in her own unique way"--

"Once upon a time, the Peacock sisters were little girls who combed each other's tangled hair. But decades of secrets have led them to separate lives - and to telling lies, to themselves and to one another. Sylvie is getting married. Again. A librarian and widow who soothes her grief by escaping into books (and shelving them perfectly), Sylvie has caught the attention of an unlikely match: Simon Rampling, a mysterious, wealthy man from Northern England. Sylvie allows herself to imagine a life beside him-one filled with the written word, kindness, and companionship. She's ready to love again ... or is she? Cleo is the golden child. A successful criminal defense lawyer with the perfect boyfriend, she is immediately suspicious of Simon. Is he really who he says he is? Cleo heads to Mumberton Castle with a case of investigative files, telling herself she will expose Simon and save her sister from more heartbreak ... but who is she really trying to save? Emma is living a lie. She can't afford this fancy trip - and she definitely can't tell her husband and sons why. She once dreamt of a line of her own perfumes. Fragrances allowed her to speak in silence. Now, that tendency for silence only worsens her situation. Will she emerge with her dignity and family intact? When their toxic mother shows up, the sisters assume the roles they fell into to survive their childhood ... but they just might find the courage to make new choices. Set over a spectacularly dramatic weekend, in the grand halls of a sprawling castle estate-amidst floor-to-ceiling libraries, falconry lessons, and medieval meals-Lovers and Liars is the unforgettable story of a family's ability to forgive and to find joy in one another once again"--

"Stephen Hawking guides readers through some of the biggest questions in the universe"--

"When ... Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods fell in love with a trained service dog named Congo, they wanted to understand what made him such a great companion. Given that there hadn't been a large-scale study of puppy development since 1950, they decided to start one. ... Using the same kinds of cognitive tests and games that have become standard for understanding human infant development, they initially wanted to know if they could predict which qualities would make puppies grow up to be great assistance dogs. But they quickly realized that these special dogs have a lot to tell us about how all dogs navigate the world, solve problems, and learn from the people around them. ... Introducing us to the many puppies who contributed to this research and synthesizing findings from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this ... book will teach readers how puppies begin to develop abilities that allow them to succeed as adults and flexibly solve problems"--

"Two sisters reconnect and pursue their dreams on the beautiful island of Nantucket, overcoming life's challenges and finding new love, in this heartwarming and hopeful novel ... Eddie Grant is happy with her life and her work as a personal assistant to Dinah Lavender, one of the most famous and renowned romance authors in the business. But being a spectator to notoriety and glamour isn't as fulfilling as she once thought. Thankfully, Eddie has the perfect excuse for a vacation: Her hardworking younger sister, Barrett, is opening her gift shop on Memorial Day weekend, and could use all the help she can get. But going home to the beautiful island of Nantucket means facing the family's difficult past. Shortly after the death of Eddie and Barrett's brother, their mother left them and their father made the spontaneous decision to buy a small farm. Eddie stayed there for only a year before her family's grief threatened to consume her as well, and had been living in Manhattan ever since. Now that she is back, Eddie must face all she left behind: her father's increased eccentricities, which has led to a house bursting at the seams with books; her sister's resentment over Eddie's escape; and a past love connection, one that is still undeniable and complicated, all these years later. But the Grant sisters are nothing if not resilient and capable, opening a used bookstore in their father's abandoned barn to manage his hoarding, and navigating the discovery of a long-buried family secret that will change all of them forever"--

"Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds: Lainey, a California party girl with a flair for drama; Tyson, a brilliant scholar and law school hopeful from D.C.; Summer, a recruited athlete and perfectionist from the Midwest; and Hannah, a mild-mannered southerner who is content to quietly round out the circle of big personalities. Soon after moving into their shared dorm, they strike up a conversation in a study lounge, and the seeds of friendship are planted. As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, a pact is made to be there for each other in their time of need, no matter how separated they are by circumstances or distance. Ten years later, Hannah is anticipating what should be one of the happiest moments of her life when everything is suddenly turned upside down. Calling on her closest friends, it soon becomes clear that they are facing their own crossroads. True to their promise, they agree to take a time out from lives headed in wrong directions and embark on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance. In this tender portrayal of grief, love, and hope, Emily Giffin asks: When things fall apart, who will be at our sides to help pick up the pieces?"--

"Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring. When she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something--and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes. As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them"--

"As Nonna Maria's longtime friend and sometimes colleague, Captain Murino of the Ischian caribineri, never wanted to see harm brought to the doorstep of everyone's favorite espresso-brewing, counseling-giving amateur sleuth. But when you live a long life, you're bound to make a few enemies. And when those enemies come calling, you have to rely on friends. Faced with an assassin seeking revenge for a decades-old grudge, Captain Murino has no choice but to turn to Maria, who will have to use all her neighborly resources, clever faculties, and lifelong friends to save him from his perilous predicament. On the other side of the island, another mystery begins to unfold from the deathbed of another of Maria's old friends, a fruit peddler with a simple life, a man of modest means. Alone with his granddaughter, the man hands her a yellowed letter and tells her of a treasure to be found in one of Ischia's secret caverns, known as the Magician's Cave. There are traps and pits. There will be others with sinister motives who will do all they can in their malicious power to make the unspoken treasure their own. But this letter is a guide, a secret-the only gift he has to give. When the granddaughter needs help cracking the code, she turns to her grandfather's trusted friend, Nonna Maria. From battling foes in medieval castles to exploring the notorious caverns where smugglers hid their goods, Nonna Maria and her friends--some old, some new--embark on their most swashbuckling adventure yet."--