The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of a Map That Gave America Its Name
In 2003, the Library of Congress paid $10 million for the only existing copy of a world map that first used the name “America” to describe the New World. Atlantic magazine contributor Toby Lester traces the map’s history from its creation in 1507 by two humanist scholars working in France, to its discovery by a Jesuit priest in a small German castle in 1901, to its journey to America over the next century. The Fourth Part of the World is a fascinating debut and a detailed account of a rare and important piece of cartographic history.
The Lacuna
Kingsolver’s (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, 2007) first novel in nine years (after Prodigal Summer, 2000) spans 20 years in the life of novelist Harrison William Shepherd, as told through letters, newspaper articles, and diary entries. Born to a Mexican mother and an American father who eventually divorce, Harrison spends his formative years in 1930's Mexico with artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, becomes the secretary to their houseguest, Leon Trotsky, and returns to an anti-Communist America with disastrous results. The Lacuna is “about the small mistakes--the lacunas--that change history,” writes Kirkus Reviews.
Mariposa: A Quantico Novel
Science fiction veteran Greg Bear (City at the End of Time, 2008) returns with this futuristic, techno-thriller sequel to Quantico (2007). The United States is on the brink of bankruptcy, and the Talos Corporation, helmed by CEO Axel Price, is planning to use thinking machines to destroy the federal government. FBI agent Rebecca Rose and her colleagues must stop the plan at all costs, but a powerful mind-altering drug called Mariposa could change everything. “Bear keeps the plot whizzing right along to the slam-bang conclusion,” says Publishers Weekly.
The Paris Vendetta
In Steve Berry’s fifth page-turner to feature former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone (after The Charlemagne Pursuit, 2008), Danish billionaire Henrik Thorvaldsen enlists Cotton’s help in tracking down his son’s killer, who has ties to a secret organization called The Paris Club. This ruthless group of financial experts is planning to take down the global economy by unleashing the power of an ancient Coptic manuscript discovered in Egypt by Napoleon, and Cotton soon finds himself solving historical riddles in a desperate race against time. Fans of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (2009) will enjoy this fast-paced conspiracy thriller.
U is for Undertow
It’s April 1988 and the disappearance of a four-year-old girl 21 years ago is making news once again. College dropout Michael Sutton enters Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone’s office unannounced, claiming he stumbled on the girl’s makeshift grave when he was only six years old. He’s willing to pay cash to find out who killed her, but as Kinsey’s investigation unfolds, she discovers he just might not be telling the truth. Bestseller Sue Grafton’s latest alphabetical mystery (after T is for Trespass, 2007) is a twisting and surprising thriller.
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