Book Review: The Missing Hours

One moment, Dr. Selena Cole, a consultant on kidnap and rescue operations, is at the playground with her children . . . the next, she has vanished without a trace.

The body of Dominic Newell, a well-respected lawyer, is found on a remote mountain road, blood oozing from the stab wound in his neck.

In the sleepy borderland between England and Wales, serious crimes are rare. Which makes this Tuesday morning, with two calls coming in to the local police station, even more remarkable. Detective Constable Leah Mackay and her brother, Detective Sergeant Finn Hale, soon find their respective investigations inextricably linked. And when Selena reappears alive and unhurt twenty hours later, the mystery deepens.

Book Review: Into the Groove

In Into the Groove, vinyl collector and music buff Jonathan Scott dissects a mind-blowing feat that we all take for granted today--the domestication of sound. Thomas Edison's phonograph, the first device that could both record and reproduce sound, represented an important turning point in the story of recorded sound, but it was only the tip of the iceberg, and came after decades of invention, tinkering and experimentation. Scott traces the birth of sound back to the earliest serious attempts in the 1850s, celebrating the ingenuity, rivalries and science of the modulated groove.

He examines the first attempts to record and reproduce sounds, the origins of the phonograph, and the development of commercial shellac discs. Then he divulges the fascinating story of the LP record, from the rise of electric recording to the fall of 7-inch vinyl, the competing speed and format wars, and an epilogue that takes the story up to the present-day return of vinyl to vogue.

Book Review: Silver Sable - Payback

Doctor Victor von Doom holds Symkaria in his despotic grip, selling its treasures to pay off the country’s exorbitant debt. Yet patriotic heroine Silver Sable desires its freedom. Doom doesn’t do favors, so he offers her a deal: track down the Clairvoyant – a device for seeing the future – and he’ll erase her homeland’s deficit. Sable soon discovers she can’t outwit someone who can predict her every move. She needs the help of someone wild and unpredictable. Someone like Black Cat… Together they must chase down the Clairvoyant’s creator, pull off the ultimate Vegas heist, survive backstabbing exes, and outsmart one of the most powerful people on the planet. All they need now is a little bit of luck.

Book Review: All the Knowledge in the World

The encyclopedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, a good set conveyed a sense of absolute wisdom on its reader. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Curie and Indira Gandhi helped millions of children with their homework. Adults cleared their shelves in the belief that everything that was explainable was now effortlessly accessible in their living rooms.

Now these huge books gather dust and sell for almost nothing on eBay. Instead, we get our information from our phones and computers, apparently for free. What have we lost in this transition? And how did we tell the progress of our lives in the past?

Book Review: The Connection Game

Benny Basilworth makes connections. A rare intellect, he sees things that others don't see and draws conclusions that others completely fail to grasp. He has the kind of mind that can make a person a national sensation on the television gameshow "The Connection Game"– and the kind of mind that can be the target of predators.

Despite his brilliance, Benny and his family find themselves destitute, living in a basement apartment with one tiny window that affords them only the view of the feet of passersby on the street above. It is from this vantagepoint that Benny once again starts making connections. Mad, inconceivable connections. Connections that can change lives . . . and turn the entire world upside down.

Book Review: Nothing But Beginner Vocab - Spanish Edition

Specially written for beginner and intermediate Spanish students, Nothing But Beginner Vocab is your ultimate handbook for mastering 90% of the vital Spanish words that you’ll need for fluency. With a practical mix of quizzes, exercises, and exams to test your memory, inside you’ll discover a comprehensive path that makes learning Spanish fun.

Even if you’ve never spoken a syllable of Spanish before, or if you’re stuck at the A1-B2 level, this workbook provides you with all the must-know words that you’ll need to learn, develop, train, and test your Spanish vocab, so you can build your confidence and deepen your understanding of this amazing language.

Book Review: Oscar Wars

America does not have royalty. It has the Academy Awards. For nine decades, perfectly coiffed starlets, debonair leading men, and producers with gold in their eyes have chased the elusive Oscar. What began as an industry banquet in 1929 has now exploded into a hallowed ceremony, complete with red carpets, envelopes, and little gold men. But don’t be fooled by the pomp: the Oscars, more than anything, are a battlefield, where the history of Hollywood—and of America itself—unfolds in dramas large and small. The road to the Oscars may be golden, but it’s paved in blood, sweat, and broken hearts.