You won't be familiar with every one of the huge array of women featured in these pages, but all, familiar or not, leave unanswered questions behind them. The range is extensive, as was the research, with its insight into the lives and minds of women in different centuries, different countries, with diverse cultures and backgrounds, from the poverty stricken to royalty. Mistresses, murderers, smugglers, pirates, prostitutes and fanatics with hearts...

"In this haunting, lyrical fantasy set in 1930s Chicago, a talented ballerina finds herself torn between her dreams and her desires when she's pursued by a secretive patron who may be more than he seems. Grace Dragotta has always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since she first peeped through the windows of the Near North Ballet Company. So when Grace is orphaned, she chooses the ballet as her home, imagining herself forever ensconced in a transcendent...

An iconoclastic look at America's past: overlooked episodes that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, these narratives bring to light little-known but fascinating, myth-busting facts. Read the story of the first real Pilgrims in America, who were wine-making French Huguenots, not dour English Separatists; the coming-of-age story of Queen Isabella,...

"A journey into the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, as experienced by explorers, scientists, and artists The Great Barrier Reef is the most spectacular marine environment on earth, a true wonder of the world. Yet the history of our encounters with it has long been elusive. In The Reef, the acclaimed historian and explorer Iain McCalman recounts in full the dramatic story of the reef and the people who have been captivated by it for two centuries....

"A twenty-first-century reckoning with the legendary Texas Rangers that does justice to their heroic moments while also documenting atrocities, brutality, and corruption The Texas Rangers rode into existence in 1823, when Texas was still part of Mexico, and continue today as one of the most famous of all law enforcement agencies. In Cult of Glory, Doug J. Swanson offers a sweeping account of the Rangers that chronicles both their epic, daring escapades...

There are few subjects that fascinate people as much as New Mexico and a good mystery. New Mexico has always been an enigmatic place, filled with rich history. This book explores and examines forty-four of New Mexico's most baffling mysteries, which lure the curious and beg for investigation even though their solutions have eluded experts, many for decades. Many relate to the death or disappearance of some of the best-known lawmen and outlaws in history...

Alistair Durant was a young Confederate soldier, captured by the Yankees, and released when he took an oath never again to bear arms against the Union. He had a long walk back to his home in Clay County, Missouri. It is on this trek that he meets another youngster, Beans Kimbrough. The two become companions and then friends on the way to Clay County. It is there that Beans will introduce Alistair to a man calling himself Charley Hart. Hart has a fantastic...

"Obscure and addictive true tales from history told by one of our most entertaining historians, Giles Milton. The first installment in Giles Milton's outrageously entertaining series, History's Unknown Chapters: colorful and accessible, intelligent and illuminating, Milton shows his customary historical flair as he delves into the little-known stories from the past. There's the cook aboard the Titanic, who pickled himself with whiskey and survived...

Baseball has an image problem. The chorus of nonbelievers gets louder every year, and the Major Leagues have made an art of tuning them out. Enter Joe Kelly: a walking talking, fast-ball-throwing embodiment of why baseball matters. He and his All-Star team of athletes and celebrities have some things to say about what's gone wrong with our once great game and how to fix it. A Damn Near Perfect Game is the loudest insider's exposé of the laws and...

"Best-selling author David McCullough tells the story of the settlers who began America's migration west, overcoming almost-unimaginable hardships to build in the Ohio wilderness a town and a government that incorporated America's highest ideals. As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of...