"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. ...[An] account of the chaotic...

"Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master's degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter's retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues--and rightly so. Stymied by writer's block, Summer hasn't finished her thesis, and she can't...

Nella Larsen's first novel tells the story of Helga Crane, a fictional character loosely based on Larsen's own early life. Crane is the lovely and refined daughter of a Danish mother and a West Indian black father who abandons Helga and her mother soon after Helga is born. Unable to feel comfortable with any of her white-skinned relatives, Helga lives in various places in America and visits Denmark in search of people among whom she feels at home.

...

One of our nation's most prominent writers discovers the truth about how to live a long and happy life from the centenarian next door in this "original and highly readable account of a splendid American life" (The Wall Street Journal).
When a veteran Washington journalist moved to Kansas, he met a new neighbor who was more than a century old. Little did he know that he was beginning a long friendship—and a profound lesson in...

The award-winning story of Britain, from the arrival of Julius Caesar in 55BC to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. 'Wonderful…This Sceptred Isle has provided one of the greatest treats for listeners in recent years.' Paul Donovan, Sunday Times.

Britain was at the egde of the known world when, under the Emperor Claudius, the Romans brought to the island of Britainnia a peaceful civilisation that was to last four hundred years. But when they

...

The bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics illuminates the nature of science through the revolutionary ideas of the Greek philosopher Anaximander
Over two millennia ago, the prescient insights of Anaximander paved the way for cosmology, physics, geography, meteorology, and biology, setting in motion a new way of seeing the world. His legacy includes the revolutionary ideas that the...

"This spirited retelling brings us Shakespeare's cast of immortal characters with excerpts from the original dialogue told in a way that young listeners can grasp. This recording will nurture a passion for Shakespeare and an understanding of why these people and historical events still shape our world today."--Publisher's website