Staff Picks

The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia By Wood, Frances 2003-10 - University of California Press 9780520237865 Check Our Catalog This gorgeously illustrated oversized book brings the history and cultures of the Silk Road alive -- from its beginnings to the present day -- covering more than 5000 years. …More

Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics By Ewans, Martin 2002-03 - HarperCollins 9780060505073 Check Our Catalog A fascinating chronicle of a nation's turbulent history and a must read for anyone interested in the historical evolution of one of today's most dangerous breeding grounds of global terrorism. Starting in seventh century AD, Martin Ewans shows Afghanistan's early days - of powerful dynasties, fierce tribal rivalries and stunning architectural feats. In Ewans߬ucid and dispassionate …More

Games Without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan By Ansary, Tamim Author Ansary, Mir Tamim 2012-11 - PublicAffairs 9781610390941 Check Our Catalog By the author of "Destiny Disrupted" an enlightening, accessible history of modern Afghanistan from the Afghan point of view, showing how Great Power conflicts have interrupted its ongoing, internal struggle to take form as a nation. …More

The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life By Lane, Nick 2015-07 - W. W. Norton & Company 9780393088816 Check Our Catalog The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies and cities. Yet there's a black hole at the heart of biology. We do not know why complex life is the way it is, or, for that matter, how life first began. In The Vital Question, award-winning author and biochemist Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a solution to conundrums that have puzzled generations of …More

Too Many Cooks & Champagne for One By Stout, Rex Introduction by Horne, Lena 2009-04 - Bantam 9780553386295 Check Our Catalog A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America's greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction's greatest detectives. In this pair of classic Nero Wolfe mysteries, Stout is at his unparalleled best as the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man-about-town, Archie Goodwin, are served two lethally appetizing cases. …More

Hemingway in Love: His Own Story By Hotchner, A. E. 2015-10 - St. Martin's Press 9781250077486 Check Our Catalog In June of 1961, A. E. Hotchner visited a close friend in the psychiatric ward of St. Mary's Hospital. It would be the last time they spoke - three weeks later, Ernest Hemingway returned home, where he took his own life. Their final conversation was also the final installment in a saga that Hemingway had unraveled for Hotchner over years of world travel. Ernest always kept a few of his …More

Les Miserables: (Movie Tie-In) By Hugo, Victor Translator Donougher, Christine Translator Denny, Norman 2012-12 - Penguin Books 9780143123590 Check Our Catalog Now a major motion picure, adapted from the acclaimed Broadway musical, starring Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, and Sacha BaronCohen Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are …More

Baker Towers By Haigh, Jennifer 2006-02 - Harper Perennial 9780060509422 Check Our Catalog The author of "Mrs. Kimble" returns with an emotionally rich and evocative exploration of community, love, and family set in a western Pennsylvania coal town in the years following World War II. …More

Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children By Riggs, Ransom 2015-09 - Quirk Books 9781594747588 Check Our Catalog A New York Times #1 best seller A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom. The adventure that began with "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and continued in "Hollow City" comes to a thrilling conclusion with "Library of Souls." As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new …More