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The magnificent lives of Marjorie Post : a novel / by Pataki, Allison,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. Such is Marjorie Merriweather Post's average evening. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Covered in diamonds and deemed American royalty, Marjorie nevertheless remains the product of her hardscrabble Midwestern roots and an insatiable drive to live, love, and give. A woman who has crawled through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar's treasures, who has outrun the Nazis in London, and who has sat down to dinner with everyone from the homeless during the Great Depression to Kremlin leaders, from European royalty to Hollywood stars, Marjorie lived a grand life that defies imagination. Marjorie's was a journey that began on the Great Plains, where she glued cereal boxes in her father's barn as a young girl. None could have predicted that C. W. Post's homegrown Postum Cereal Company would fundamentally reshape the American way of life and grow into the vast General Foods empire, with Marjorie as its glittering heiress and leading lady. Not content to stay in her prescribed roles of coddled wife, mother, and hostess, Marjorie dared to demand more, making history as a leader in her family's business and a trailblazer in philanthropy and high society. Marjorie lived like an empress, worked like a titan of industry, and shaped a century. And yet Marjorie's story, though full of beauty and lived in her palatial homes like Mar-a-Lago, was equally marked by heartbreak. A wife four times over in vastly different, dramatic marriages, Marjorie sought her happily-ever-after with the blue-blooded playboy who could not outrun his demons, the charismatic financier whose charm could not conceal his betrayal, the diplomat with a dark side, and the bon vivant whose shocking secrets would shake their circles. Marjorie did everything on a grand scale, especially when it came to love"--
Subjects: Biographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Post, Marjorie Merriweather; Heiresses;

Kills Well with Others [electronic resource] : by Raybourn, Deanna.aut; CloudLibrary;
“Much like fine wine, battle-hardened assassins grow better with age.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age. After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone...literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers. Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next. Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Espionage; Contemporary Women; Suspense;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,

The war widow : a novel / by Moss, Tara,author.;
"The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker's search for a missing young German immigrant plunges her right back into the danger and drama she thought she'd left behind in Europe. A thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous post-war Sydney. Sydney, Australia, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, the heady post-war days are tarnished by the death of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she's determined to take control of her own future. She reopens her late father's business, a private investigation agency, and slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking. At first, Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead to the highest levels of Sydney society as well as the city's underworld. What is the young man's connection to an exclusive dance club and a high-class auction house? When the people she questions start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or just get in her way? As the danger mounts and Billie realizes how much is at stake, it becomes clear that although the war was won, it is far from over."--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Historical fiction.; Women private investigators; Missing persons; Gangsters; Criminals; Criminal investigation;

Maze [videorecording] / by Burke, Stephen,film director,screenwriter.; Doolan, Jane,film producer.; McCann, Martin,1983-actor.; Vaughan-Lawlor, Tom,actor.; Ward, Barry,actor.; Lightyear Entertainment (Firm),film distributor.; Bord Scannán na hÉireann,production company.;
Director of photography, David Grennan ; production designer, Owen Power ; original music, Stephen Rennicks.Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Barry Ward, Martin Mccann, Eileen Walsh.Based on the incredible true story of the 1983 mass breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from a high-security prison, the film charts how inmate Larry Marley engineered the largest European prison escape since World War II. Up against the most state-of-the-art and secure prison in the whole of Europe (a prison within a prison), Larry must coordinate with inmates across several cellblocks. While scheming his way towards pulling off this feat, Larry forms a close bond with prison warden Gordon Close.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0.
Subjects: Action and adventure films.; Feature films.; Crime films.; Marley, Larry; Maze Prison (Lisburn, Northern Ireland); Provisional IRA; Escaped prisoners; Prisons;
For private home use only.

River of the gods : genius, courage, and betrayal in the search for the source of the Nile / by Millard, Candice,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the New York Times bestselling author of RIVER OF DOUBT and DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC, the stirring story of one of the great feats of exploration of all time, and its complicated legacy The Nile River is the longest in the world. Its fertile floodplain allowed for rise to the great civilization of ancient Egypt, but for millennia the location of its headwaters was shrouded in mystery. Pharaonic and Roman attempts to find it were stymied by a giant labyrinthine swamp, and subsequent expeditions got nofurther. In the 19th century, the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone set off a frenzy of interest in ancient Egypt. At the same time, European powers sent off waves of explorations intended to map the unknown corners of the globe - and extendtheir colonial empires. Two British men - Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke - were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England. Burton was already famous for being the first non-Muslim to travel to Mecca, disguised as an Arab chieftain. He spoke twenty-nine languages, was a decorated soldier, and literally wrote the book on sword-fighting techniques for the British Army. He was also mercurial, subtle, and an iconoclastic atheist. Speke was a young aristocrat and Army officerdetermined to make his mark, passionate about hunting, Burton's opposite in temperament and beliefs. From the start the two men clashed, Speke chafing under Burton's command and Burton disapproving of Speke's ignorance of the people whose lands through which they traveled. They would endure tremendous hardships, illness, and constant setbacks. Two years in, deep in the African interior, Burton became too sick to press on, but Speke did, and claimed he found the source in a great lake that he christened Lake Victoria. When they returned to England, Speke rushed to take credit, disparaging Burton. Burton disputed his claim, and Speke launched another expedition to Africa to prove it. The two became venomous enemies, with the public siding with the more charismatic Burton, to Speke's great envy. The day before they were to publicly debate, Speke shot himself. Yet there was a third man on both expeditions, his name obscured by imperial annals, whose exploits were even more extraordinary. This was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, who was enslaved and shipped from his home village in East Africa to India. When the man who purchased him died, he made his way into the local Sultan's army, and eventually traveled back to Africa, where he used his resourcefulness, linguisticprowess and raw courage to forge a living as a guide. Without his talents, it is likely that neither Englishman would have come close to the headwaters of the Nile, or perhaps even survived. In RIVER OF THE GODS Candice Millard has written another peerless story of courage and adventure, set against the backdrop of the race to exploit Africa by the colonial powers"--
Subjects: Bombay, Sidi Mubarak; Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890; Speke, John Hanning, 1827-1864; Explorers;

The metaverse : and how it will revolutionize everything / by Ball, Matthew,author.;
The term "Metaverse" is suddenly everywhere, from the front pages of national newspapers and the latest fashion trends to the plans of the most powerful companies in history. It is already shaping the policy platforms of the US government, the European Union, and the Chinese Communist Party. But what, exactly, is the Metaverse? As pioneering theorist and venture capitalist Matthew Ball explains, it is a persistent and interconnected network of 3D virtual worlds that will eventually serve as the gateway to most online experiences, and also underpin much of the physical world. For decades, these ideas have been limited to science fiction and video games, but they are now poised to revolutionize every industry and function, from finance and healthcare to education, consumer products, city planning, dating, and well beyond. Taking us on an expansive tour of the "next internet," Ball demonstrates that many proto-Metaverses are already here, such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. Yet these offer only a glimpse of what is to come. Ball presents a comprehensive definition of the Metaverse before explaining the technologies that will power it and the breakthroughs that will be necessary to fully realize it. He addresses the governance challenges the Metaverse entails; investigates the role of Web3, blockchains, and NFTs; and predicts Metaverse winners and losers. Most importantly, he examines many of the Metaverse's almost unlimited applications. The internet will no longer be at arm's length; instead, it will surround us, with much of our lives, labor, and leisure taking place inside the Metaverse. Bringing clarity and authority to a frequently misunderstood concept, Ball foresees trillions of dollars in new value and the radical reshaping of society.
Subjects: Computers and civilization.; Human-computer interaction.; Mixed reality.; Science; Shared virtual environments.; Virtual reality.; Internet;

Pathogenesis : a history of the world in eight plagues / by Kennedy, Jonathan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A sweeping look at how the major transformations in history--from the rise of Homo sapiens to the birth of capitalism--have been shaped not by humans but by germs. According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, Pathogenesis takes us through 60,000 years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower. Even Christianity rose to prominence in the wake of a series of deadly pandemics that swept through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries: Caring for the sick turned what was a tiny sect into one of the world's major religions. By placing disease at the center of his wide-ranging history of humankind, Kennedy challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about our collective past--and urges us to view this moment as another disease-driven inflection point that will change the course of history. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story"--
Subjects: Diseases and history.; Epidemics; Plague;

The order : a novel / by Silva, Daniel,1960-author.;
"Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much-needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father's loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the papal apartments the night of the pope's death is missing. So, too, is the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life. A letter that was addressed to Gabriel. "While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book ... " The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into question the accuracy of the New Testament's depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel's hands. A shadowy Catholic society with ties to the European far right, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning. As the cardinals gather in Rome for the start of the conclave, Gabriel sets out on a desperate search for proof of the Order's conspiracy, and for a long-lost gospel with the power to put an end to two thousand years of murderous hatred. His quest will take him from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, to a monastery in Assisi, to the hidden depths of the Secret Archives, and finally to the Sistine Chapel, where he will witness an event no outsider has ever before seen--the sacred passing of the Keys of St. Peter to a newly elected pope.--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Spy fiction.; Allon, Gabriel (Fictitious character); Catholic Church; Popes; Murder;

The wide wide sea : imperial ambition, first contact and the fateful final voyage of Captain James Cook / by Sides, Hampton,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook's death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides' bravura account of Cook's last journey both wrestles with Cook's legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science--the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain's imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook's intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook's overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Cook, James, 1728-1779; Cook, James, 1728-1779; Scientific expeditions; Voyages around the world;

Canada's place names and how to change them / by Beck, Lauren,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The first book to demonstrate how inadequately place names and visual emblems represent the presence of women, people of colour, and people living with disabilities, Canada's Place Names and How to Change Them provides an illuminating overview of where these names came from and what they reflect. This book disentangles the distinct cultural, religious, and historical naming practices and visual emblems in Canada's First Nations, provinces, territories, municipalities, and federal lands. Starting with a discussion of Indigenous place knowledge and naming practices from several Indigenous and Inuit groups spanning the country, it foregrounds the breadth of possible ways to name places. Lauren Beck then illustrates the naming practices introduced by Europeans and how they misunderstood, mis-rendered, and appropriated Indigenous place names, while scrutinizing the histories of Columbian names, missionary names, and the secular and commemorative names of the last two centuries. She studies key symbols and emblems such as maps, flags, and coats of arms as visual equivalents of place names to show whose identities powerfully inform Canada's place nomenclature. This book also documents the policies and authorities that have traditionally governed the creation and modification of names and examines case studies of institutions and communities who have changed their names to demonstrate pathways to change."--
Subjects: Emblems; Names, Geographical; Names, Geographical; Names, Geographical;