Gem Ball

Hughart's ( Bridge of Birds ) third novel is another gem, continuing the adventures of the aging sage Master Li and his youthful sidekick, Number Ten Ox, a delightful pair of ancient Chinese sleuths. When a respected mandarin is murdered by a ch'ih-mei , a vampire ghoul, in broad daylight, the Celestial Master, the most revered Taoist priest in the realm, gives his old friend Master Li the case. The Celestial Master himself, however, seems to be the main suspect after he reports the murder, which he claims was committed with a ball of fire by a man who was then transformed into a crane.

Film portraits of the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 inauguration marked a rebirth of hope among Americans and began an unprecedented era of government activity and social experiment. The non-fiction films included on this DVD mirror the 1930s new social consciousness that was helping to pull America out it's economic and societal depression.

Historian Dan Cruickshank is invited through the closed doors of six of Britain’s greatest private houses in an illuminating and surprising journey through our architectural history. hese fascinating buildings remain private homes and closed to the public, but their owners have allowed Dan Cruickshank to roam the corridors, tease out each home’s story – who built them, lived in them and lost them – and uncover tales of excess and profligacy, power and ambition.

“Packed with excellent photos and tips, deeply relatable anecdotes, and a palpable sense of joy, this gem of a book will make you a better birder.”—Rosemary Mosco, author of A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching