The Homesman

The Homesman is a devastating, humane story of early pioneers to America's West in the 1850's. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of-the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by that life of bitter hardship. When a nineteen-year-old mother loses her three children to diphtheria in three days, or a woman left alone for two nights has to shoot wolves as they crash through the window, it is no wonder they should lose their minds. After a dreadful winter, the Rev. Dowd finds there are four such cases in his parish and, as yet, no asylum in this frontier town. A 'homesman' must be found to escort the women East to civilization. Not a job anyone would volunteer for, it falls to Mary Bee Cuddy, ex-teacher, spinster-indomitable, resourceful, "plain as an old tin pail." Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she cannot succeed alone, and the only companion available is the low-life and untrustworthy "George Briggs," a claim-jumper.Thus begins a trek East, against the tide of colonization, against hardship, Indian attacks, ice storms, loneliness, and the unceasing aggravation of a disparate group of mad women, which provides a series of tough, fast-paced adventures and introduces two wonderful, idiosyncratic characters. Coming to cinemas in 2014 with an incredible cast - featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank and John Lithgow. Not to be missed!

In his only collection of short fiction, Glendon Swarthout, author of The Shootist, Where the Boys Are, and Bless the Beasts and the Children, reveals in microcosm the heroic and gritty themes that characterized both his novels and films. Stories such as "Mulligans" and "A Glass of Blessings" explore the seedy underbelly of human desire, while "A Horse for Mrs. Custer" quietly celebrates the dedication of men and women who act above and beyond their capabilities during war and upheaval. Although these stories were written over a span of three decades, their themes of generational conflict, hypocrisy, loss, sacrifice, love, and war remain fresh and startling. Alternately funny and uncomfortable, Swarthout captures the postwar tensions of twentieth-century Americans. This collection reveals the versatility, range, and skill of one of America's great storytellers. Easterns and Westerns includes one unpublished novella and thirteen stories, some of which have appeared in national magazines such as Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and the Saturday Evening Post. One of these, "A Glass of Blessings," was an O'Henry Prize Short Story in 1960. Another, "A Horse for Mrs. Custer," became a 1956 Western film for Columbia Pictures; 7th Cavalry, starring Randolph Scott and Barbara Hale. A third story, "Mulligans," has been made into a short comedy film.

This essay collection covers more than forty years of history, fandom, and insider analysis from “the best baseball writer of our time—maybe ever” (Newsweek) The celebrated baseball chronicler has selected his favorite pieces from the last forty years to create Once More Around the Park, a definitive volume of his most memorable work. Here are the extraordinary games Roger Angell has witnessed and written about, as well as compelling insights that deepen our love and understanding of the sport. This book includes such timeless essays as “The Interior Stadium,” on the complex attractions of baseball; “In the Country,” on a friendship that began with a fan letter and took Angell far from the big stadiums and big money; “The Arms Talks,” on contemporary pitching strategy and the arrival of the split-finger delivery; and many others. Angell’s conversations with past and present players and managers, scouts and coaches, rookies and Hall of Famers enhance his expertise and critical appreciation, defining him as “baseball’s most eloquent analyst” (The New York Times Book Review).

Annie Ryan is running a second-rate brothel in 1890s Denver with an eye toward expansion -- until murder stalks the good-time girls. This rollicking tale of blurred lines, flowing booze, played-out miners and upstairs girls delivers a compelling look at the Wild West, where women were enterprising and a price was paid for justice.

"Welcome fledging Social Climbers! Allow us to show you the way. Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, so what's the big deal? You shouldn't be punished for wanting to improve your lot in life! This is America, after all. In the grand tradition of True Prep and The Hipster Handbook, The Social Climber's Bible will teach you everything you need to know to become a pro Mountaineer: The Art of Social Climbing at gallery openings, cocktail parties, and funerals Social Climbing as a family How to handle sex, dating, marriage, and love Your social climbing IQ and how to improve it How to spot a Big Fish, Whale, Turtle or Unicorn, and what they can do for you Johnson & Johnson heiress Jazz Johnson is a lifelong insider in that rarefied world that fans of both Downton Abbey and Gossip Girl dream about. Raconteur Dirk Wittenborn is old enough to remember when sex was safe and cocaine wasn't addictive. In short, Jazz belongs to some of the most exclusive clubs in the world, whereas Dirk has been kicked out of them. Who better to guide you? "--

The secret to good government is a question no one in Washington is asking: “What’s the right thing to do?” What’s wrong in Washington is deeper than you think. Yes, there’s gridlock, polarization, and self-dealing. But hidden underneath is something bigger and more destructive. It’s a broken governing system. From that comes wasteful government, rising debt, failing schools, expensive health care, and economic hardship. Rules have replaced leadership in America. Bureaucracy, regulation, and outmoded law tie our hands and confine policy choices. Nobody asks, “What’s the right thing to do here?” Instead, they wonder, “What does the rule book say?” There’s a fatal flaw in America’s governing system—trying to decree correctness through rigid laws will never work. Public paralysis is the inevitable result of the steady accretion of detailed rules. America is now run by dead people—by political leaders from the past who enacted mandatory programs that churn ahead regardless of waste, irrelevance, or new priorities. America needs to radically simplify its operating system and give people—officials and citizens alike—the freedom to be practical. Rules can’t accomplish our goals. Only humans can get things done. In The Rule of Nobody Philip K. Howard argues for a return to the framers’ vision of public law—setting goals and boundaries, not dictating daily choices. This incendiary book explains how America went wrong and offers a guide for how to liberate human ingenuity to meet the challenges of this century.

In an alternate universe light-years away from our own is a planet called Earth. It looks a lot like our Earth, except it’s slightly different. And living on this other Earth is a woman named Hillary. Hillary is trying to become the president of a country called the United States of America. It’s 2008 and she’s campaigning in a state called New Hampshire. She’s not doing very well in the polls. She needs more money to keep the campaign going, so she calls her husband for help. He offers her a deal, a tough deal, but when she gets his help, she gets more than she bargained for. You may think you know where this story is going, but you don’t. After all, the play takes place in an alternate universe where anything can happen.

Chosen by the Western Writers of America as one of the best western novels ever written, this novel was also the inspiration for John Wayne's last great starring role in the acclaimed 1976 film by the same name. This special commemorative edition includes a new Introduction by the author's son, Miles Swarthout, in which he talks about his father's work and the making of the legendary film.

American frontiersman Hugh Glass, left to die in the hostile mountain wilderness, journeys two hundred miles in search of revenge

Mark Helprin’s powerful, rapturous new novel is set in a present-day Paris caught between violent unrest and its well-known, inescapable glories. Seventy-four-year-old Jules Lacour—a maître at Paris-Sorbonne, cellist, widower, veteran of the war in Algeria, and child of the Holocaust—must find a balance between his strong obligations to the past and the attractions and beauties of life and love in the present. In the midst of what should be an effulgent time of life—days bright with music, family, rowing on the Seine—Jules is confronted headlong and all at once by a series of challenges to his principles, livelihood, and home, forcing him to grapple with his complex past and find a way forward. He risks fraud to save his terminally ill infant grandson, matches wits with a renegade insurance investigator, is drawn into an act of savage violence, and falls deeply, excitingly in love with a young cellist a third his age. Against the backdrop of an exquisite and knowing vision of Paris and the way it can uniquely shape a life, he forges a denouement that is staggering in its humanity, elegance, and truth.In the intoxicating beauty of its prose and emotional amplitude of its storytelling, Mark Helprin’s Paris in the Present Tense is a soaring achievement, a deep, dizzying look at a life through the purifying lenses of art and memory.