The Face

Acknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist”(Rolling Stone ) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human. Now he delivers the page-turner of the season, an unforgettable journey to the heart of darkness and to the pinnacle of grace, at once chilling and wickedly funny, a brilliantly observed chronicle of good and evil in our time, of illusion and everlasting truth. He’s Hollywood’s most dazzling star, whose flawless countenance inspires the worship of millions and fires the hatred of one twisted soul. His perfectly ordered existence is under siege as a series of terrifying, enigmatic “messages” breaches the exquisitely calibrated security systems of his legendary Bel Air estate. The boxes arrive mysteriously, one by one, at Channing Manheim’s fortified compound. The threat implicit in their bizarre, disturbing contents seems to escalate with each new delivery. Manheim’s security chief, ex-cop Ethan Truman, is used to looking beneath the surface of things. But until he entered the orbit of a Hollywood icon, he had no idea just how slippery reality could be. Now this good man is all that stands in the way of an insidious killer—and forces that eclipse the most fevered fantasies of a city where dreams and nightmares are the stuff of daily life. As a seemingly endless and ominous rain falls over southern California, Ethan will test the limits of perception and endurance in a world where the truth is as thin as celluloid and answers can be found only in the illusory intersection of shadow and light. Enter a world of marvelous invention, enchantment, and implacable intent, populated by murderous actors and the walking dead, hit men and heroes, long-buried dreams and never-dying hope. Here a magnificent mansion is presided over by a Scottish force of nature known as Mrs. McBee, before whom all men tremble. A mad French chef concocts feasts for the mighty and the malicious. Ming du Lac, spiritual adviser to the stars, has a direct line to the dead. An aptly named cop called Hazard will become Ethan’s ally, an anarchist will sow discord and despair, and a young boy named Fric, imprisoned by celebrity and loneliness, will hear a voice telling him of the approach of something unimaginably evil. Traversing this extraordinary landscape, Ethan will face the secrets of his own tragic past and the unmistakable premonition of his impending violent death as he races against time to solve the macabre riddles of a modern-day beast. A riveting tour de force of suspense, mystery, and miraculous revelation, The Face is that rare novel that entertains, provokes, and uplifts at the same time. It will make you laugh. It will give you chills. It will fill you with hope. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Dean Koontz's The City.

A revelatory short memoir from the author and Zen Buddhist priest Ruth Ozeki about how her face has shaped and been shaped by her life

The world's preeminent word-of-mouth marketing experts demonstrate how in-person social networking, not online marketing, is the secret to soaring revenues.

Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian is the most ambitious photographic and ethnographic record of Native American cultures ever produced. Published between 1907 and 1930 as a series of twenty volumes and portfolios, the work contains more than two thousand photographs intended to document the traditional culture of every Native American tribe west of the Mississippi. Many critics have claimed that Curtis's images present Native peoples as a "vanishing race," hiding both their engagement with modernity and the history of colonial violence. But in this major reappraisal of Curtis's work, Shamoon Zamir argues instead that Curtis's photography engages meaningfully with the crisis of culture and selfhood brought on by the dramatic transformations of Native societies. This crisis is captured profoundly, and with remarkable empathy, in Curtis's images of the human face. Zamir also contends that we can fully understand this achievement only if we think of Curtis's Native subjects as coauthors of his project. This radical reassessment is presented as a series of close readings that explore the relationship of aesthetics and ethics in photography. Zamir's richly illustrated study resituates Curtis's work in Native American studies and in the histories of photography and visual anthropology.

A hilarious guessing game of facial reactions created by the author of bestselling This Is Not A Book Jean Jullien tickles the funnybone once again with a book of facial overreactions. Faces are presented first, allowing the reader to wager predictions of what may have prompted such an expression, before the dramatic answer is revealed. Why the face? reads the text alongside an agitated boy with eyes and nose scrunched up. Pick up the full-page flap to reveal a whole mess of smelly items, from stinky socks to an oozing trash can, and the text, Whoa, that stinks. Jullien masterfully provides enough clues for the reader to piece together the narrative, including both predictable and surprising scenarios. Based on young children's natural fascination with faces, this book encourages readers to practice empathy and build emotional intelligence, with cleverly simplified and humorously satisfying vignettes. A brilliant addition to Phaidon's growing Jean Jullien board book library. Ages 2-4

Argues for a new kind of criticism, one that mediates between literal and allegorical modes of interpretation.

From the author of In Farleigh Field comes Rhys Bowen's short story "The Face in the Mirror"; it offers just the taste of mystery and mayhem fans will need to tide them over until the next Molly Murphy novel. Molly Murphy—Molly Sullivan, now that she and Daniel are finally married—is bored. Having given up her detective agency when she married, she now finds that her life is much less exciting, her days an endless stretch of housekeeping and chores. But when Molly secretly attends a suffragist meeting with her friends Sid and Gus and meets a shy, distracted woman who claims to live in a haunted house, everything is about to change.

LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF TERRORISM is a collection of five books under a new title making the works affordable and a bargain for teachers and students of literature, culture, diversity seekers and the general public. The search for harmony is a main theme in Tejani's work and here he speaks of it in words destined to be classic: Music has the sweetness of the September sun, the tenderness of a bird call in the woods, the depth of unknown oceans and the serenity of the earth's swift strong glide across space. You will marvel at the incredibly comic mission of the new Indian immigrant in America to teach Americans how to speak English properly. Or rejoice in the friendship between Washington, America's First President and a Muslim boy on Mount Rushmore. Even wonder at Shakespeare committing suicide on the stage. For variety, Tejani teases the women of the world by comparing their scent to the aroma of rain on earth; and exposes the vulnerability of men with satire on their pre-occupation with the 'thermostat between their legs'. In this collection Ba Tejani has set out with mischief in his heart, irreverent wisdom in his hands and a tickling, teasing imagination which carries you on with a smile and a large question. Just what is he upto? What gifts of humanist synthesis does he have in his heart that we emerge refined and delighted and not peeved after reading one of his stories or watching his play? 451 Pages

An inspiring in-depth look at the nineteenth-century Godman of India and Prophet of Harmony. Sri Ramakrishna, one of the greatest spiritual personalities of our time, is widely recognized as the Prophet of the Harmony of Religions. After perfecting the practice of several religions—including Christianity, Islam and various traditions of Hinduism—he declared, “As many faiths, so many paths.” For the first time, two classic biographies—Dhan Gopal Mukerji’s The Face of Silence (1926) and Swami Nikhilananda’s Sri Ramakrishna (1942)—are brought together to provide a fuller understanding of the life and spiritual significance of Sri Ramakrishna as well as the systems of Indian religious thought intimately connected with him. Pairing legend with fact, memory with history, this unique volume—including an Introduction to Sri Ramakrishna’s God-consciousness by Swami Adiswarananda—succeeds in intimately examining the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and conveying the true story of this great mystic, whose leaping flame of spiritual realization continues to influence the modern spiritual search.

Proven principles of leadership from a veteran fighter pilot and military leader In Flying in the Face of Fear: Lessons on Leading with Courage, former fighter pilot and retired Air Force Colonel Kim Campbell delivers an inspiring and practical discussion of leadership and decision-making. In the book, you’ll follow the author’s journey through the principles that got her through her 24-year career in the high-stakes and high-risk world of aerial combat. You’ll discover lessons and stories that will serve as a resource for you as you lead your students, employees, and others through the challenges of life and work, learning to create a positive impact and make a big difference in the lives of the people who follow you. You’ll also find: Specific strategies and techniques for leading in situations of extreme stress and risk Methods for female leaders to overcome the challenges of working in male-dominated environments Ways to act in critical moments by recognizing that being brave and afraid at the same time is both normal and necessary An essential leadership blueprint for business and military professionals seeking to improve their ability to inspire others to greater achievements, Flying in the Face of Fear will also earn a place in the libraries of young and mid-career professionals looking for mentorship and sound, proven advice.