The Reader's Shelf

From Library Journal

Hard Times, Come Again No More

The Whiskey Rebels By Liss, David 2009-06 - Ballantine Books 9780812974539 Check Our Catalog America, 1787. Ethan Saunders, once among General Washington's most valued spies, is living in disgrace after an accusation of treason cost him his reputation. But an opportunity for redemption comes calling when Saunders's old enemy, Alexander Hamilton, draws him into a struggle with bitter rival Thomas Jefferson over the creation of the Bank of the United States. Meanwhile, on the western Pennsylvania frontier, Joan Maycott and her husband, a Revolutionary War veteran, hope for a better life and a chance for prosperity. But the Maycotts' success on an isolated frontier attracts the brutal attention of men who threaten to destroy them. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders-both patriots in their own way-find themselves on opposing sides of a plot that could tear apart a fragile new nation. …More

The Financier By Dreiser, Theodore Introduction by Ziff, Larzer 2008-11 - Penguin Books 9780143105541 Check Our Catalog A defiant critique of American capitalism A MASTER OF GRITTY NATURALISM, Theodore Dreiser explores the corruption of the American dream in "The Financier." Frank Cowperwood, a fiercely ambitious businessman, emerges as the very embodiment of greed as he relentlessly seeks satisfaction in wealth, women, and power. As Cowperwood deals and double-deals, betrays and is in turn betrayed, his rise and fall come to represent the American success story stripped down to brutal realities?a struggle for spoils without conscience or pity. Dreiser's 1912 classic remains an unsparing social critique as well as a devastating character study of one of the most unforgettable American businessmen in twentieth-century literature. …More

A Lost Lady By Cather, Willa Introduction by Byatt, A. S. 2006-09 - Virago Press (UK) 9781844083732 Check Our Catalog Marian Forrester is the symbolic flower of the Old American West. She draws her strength from that solid foundation, bringing delight and beauty to her elderly husband, to the small town of Sweet Water where they live, to the prairie land itself, and to the young narrator of her story, Neil Herbert. All are bewitched by her brilliance and grace, and all are ultimately betrayed. For Marian longs for "life on any terms," and in fulfilling herself, she loses all she loved and all who loved her. This, Willa Cather's most perfect novel, is not only a portrait of a troubling beauty, but also a haunting evocation of a noble age slipping irrevocably into the past. …More

Streets of Fire By Soos, Troy 2008-05 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9780758206251 Check Our Catalog An anarchy during one of the most contentious labor conflicts in America's history brings the snow-clad city of Brooklyn to its knees in 1895, hiding a ruthless killer. Original. …More

The Wrecker By Cussler, Clive Author Scott, Justin 2010-10 - Berkley 9780425237700 Check Our Catalog Detective Isaac Bell travels early-20th-century America pursuing thieves and killers. When train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line, Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur is at work. Available in a tall Premium Edition. …More

North River By Hamill, Pete 2008-06 - Back Bay Books 9780316007993 Check Our Catalog Recreating 1930s New York with the vibrancy and rich detail that are his trademarks, Hamill weaves a story of honor, family, and one man's simple courage. …More