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An uproarious, eye-opening history of Europe's notorious royal houses that leaves no throne unturned and will make you glad you live in a democracy

Do you want to know which queen has the unique distinction of being the only known royal kleptomaniac? Or which empress kept her dirty underwear under lock and key? Or which czar, upon discovering his wife's infidelity, had her lover decapitated and the head, pickled in a jar, placed at her bedside?

Royally dishing on hundreds of years of dubious behavior, Royal Babylon chronicles the manifold appalling antics of Europe's famous families, behavior that rivals the characters in an Aaron Spelling television series. Here, then, are the insane kings of Spain, one of whom liked to wear sixteen pairs of gloves at one time; the psychopathic Prussian soverigns who included Frederick William and his 102-inch waist; sex-fixated French rulers such as Philip Duke D'Oreleans cavorting with more than a hundred mistresses; and, of course, the delightfully drunken and debauched Russian czars - Czar Paul, for example, who to make his soldiers goose-step without bending their legs had steel plates strapped to their knees. But whether Romanov or Windsor, Habsburg or Hanover, these extravagant lifestyles, financed as they were by the royals' badgered subjects, bred the most wonderfully offbeat and disturbingly unbelievable tales - and Karl Shaw has collected them all in this hysterically funny and compulsively readable book.

Royal Babylon is history, but not as they teach it in school, and it underlines in side-splitting fashion Queen Victoria's famous warning that it is unwise to look too deeply into the royal houses of Europe..
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Theodore Taylor was one of the most brilliant engineers of the nuclear age, but in his later years he became concerned with the possibility of an individual being able to construct a weapon of mass destruction on their own. McPhee tours American nuclear institutions with Taylor and shows us how close we are to terrorist attacks employing homemade nuclear weaponry.
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There is no other contemporary artist who is so famously difficult, so seemingly enigmatic, and so passionately loved by his fans as Morrissey From the moment he caught the public's eye in the early 1980s as the iconic front man of the Smiths, and through his subsequent solo career, the patron saint of misfits has fascinated and baffled in equal measure.

Yet, as Mark Simpson argues in this wickedly funny and deeply sacrilegious "psycho-bio" -- told through the lens of his own obsession as a lifelong fan -- Morrissey isn't quite so enigmatic as he might appear. To understand this most private (and sexually ambivalent) of stars, one need only uncover the countless clues to his personality in his startlingly candid song lyrics and his innumerable provocative interviews.

Simpson deftly explores why Morrissey bewitched a generation -- and why he remains as intriguing as ever. Both an insightful look at the singer's career and a personal story of a boy's first love for his music idol, Saint Morrissey is, like its subject, shrewd, sharp-witted, charming, and utterly original.

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Misreading an order for bridles, a New England farmer sends his four sisters-in-law as mail-order brides to Lickwind, Wyoming When the four women step off the train, astonishment turns to mayhem as the men of the town suddenly spruce up and make time for courting Since James Collingswood - still without tack for his horses - can't afford train tickets to send the women back, they'll have to stay. But what future is there in Lickwind for: Matty, the sociable sister who irritates James' very soul with her unending friendliness to the eager men of Lickwind. Corrine, the mom-to-be still so pained over her young husband's death that she barely knows Luke Collingswood is alive. Bess, who insists that the town must have a church, reform the brothel women, and straighten up the saloon keeper, Gideon Rikers. Bertie, who can outperform any man she ever meets...until the mysterious Thomas Hardin becomes her personal protection agency. Under such absurd circumstances, the sisters will certainly find laughter in Lickwind...but will they also find love? One thing's for sure - the town will never be the same again!.
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In the violent world of radical extremists, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." In this provocative study, George Michael reveals how that precept plays out in the unexpected bonding between militant Islam and the extreme right in America and Europe.

At first glance these two groups would seem to share little if any common ground. Why would various neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, white separatists, and antigovernment radicals find themselves attracted to movements such as Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Egyptian Islamic Jihad? After all, the extreme right's racist and radical Christian segments tend to deride and exclude all nonwhites and non-Christians, while Islamic fundamentalists angrily denounce all non-Muslims, especially Americans, as infidels. Nevertheless, as Michael shows, they have developed strikingly similar critiques on such issues as American foreign policy, the media, modernity, and the New World Order.

The first book to focus on the growing linkage between these two movements, The Enemy of My Enemy analyzes the histories and ideologies guiding these disparate groups, clarifies the nature of their mutual appeal, and shows how the Internet and globalization have made increased interaction possible. Michael notes that one particularly dominant thread running throughout both camps is a fervent anti-Semitism, accompanied by strong pro-Palestinian views, anger over Israel's influence on American policymakers, and opposition to the Iraq War and the U.S. presence in the Middle East.

Michael also speculates on how the so-called War on Terror might unfold if this unexpected and alarming convergence grows stronger. While the thought of Americans assisting or fighting alongside Islamic militants-in America-sounds utterly far-fetched, Michael points out that some members of the extreme right have publicly expressed admiration for Al Qaeda's audacious attacks on 9/11.

Daring to consider the unthinkable, Michael provides an insightful and sane look at the possibilities for collaboration between these groups and raises a quiet but clear alarm for anyone concerned about America's future..
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Jesus offers grace and mercy, but he's also ratcheted up all the rules.

Nice as it would be to frame Jesus as fun-loving, or a mercy-dispensing friend, the stories we have about him are a lot more disturbing than that.

We hear about celebrations that began as a wake, and about people who didn't use their talents well being bounced clear out of the club. Jesus clearly thought that following the way of truth involved a lot more than simply avoiding things like murder, stealing, committing adultery or telling lies.

When Jesus truly makes you nervous, he is worth living and dying for, and becomes the greatest source of meaning and purpose in life imaginable.

"Holiness. Abundance. Forgiveness. Hope. In these musings about `ten stained-glass words of faith,' Joy Jordan-Lake strips away the clichés and church-bulletin nostrums and exposes the honest, challenging, comforting, and yes, sometimes alarming claims that are at the center of Jesus' life and teaching. This book is downright restorative.
--Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath.
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The best and brightest in America are returning to their homelands in record numbers-and with them is going U.S. technological and economic preeminence. In Flight Capital, we explore this exodus through the personal stories of dozens of successful, foreign-born professionals who are leaving America for opportunities in their native lands. Drawing on their experiences, Heenan analyzes the economic, cultural, and political factors that are driving this flight, as well as the initiatives that countries are using to attract top talent..
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