They employed a brutality which is staggering by today's standards. A fresh look at some of the world's most fascinating, iconic, and truly ruthless leaders, how they came to power and stayed in power, how they treated their subjects, friends and family, demonstrated battlefield leadership and achieved transformations at home.

In the third hilarious, unforgettable installment in internationally bestselling author Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg's League of Pensioners series, Martha and the League's latest escapade has them headed for the French Riviera in what is sure to be the most daring caper of the summer. Martha and her friends are sitting comfortably in Sweden ... a little too comfortably. Determined to do more for their fellow pensioners--and jazz things up for themselves--they're...

Archibald Salisbury, son of a viscount, war hero, and proficient in the proper ways of aristocratic society, has received orders for his most challenging mission: Genevieve, Duchess of Blakesley. How she inherited a duchy isn't his problem. Turning her into a perfect duchess is. But how can he keep his mind on business when her beauty entices him toward pleasure? It was impossible, unprecedented . . . and undeniably true. Genevieve is now a "duke,"...

Michael, the Duke of Hadlow, has the liberty of enjoying an indiscretion...or several. But when it comes time for him to take a proper bride, he ultimately realizes he wants only one woman: Edwina Cheltam. He'd hired her as his secretary, only to quickly discover she was sensuous and intelligent. They embark on a passionate affair, and when she breaks it off, he accepts her decision as the logical one...but only at first. Then he decides to pursue...

what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas. Wendy Liu should be delighted to be her best friend's maid of honor. But after years spent avoiding the bride's brother - aka the boy who once broke her heart - she's now trapped with him during an endless amount of wedding festivities. Luckily she's had time to perfect her poker face, and engaging Noah Denning in a little friendly competition might just prove that she's over him for good. Noah is...

The scandalously unmarried Lady Margaret Sawford is looking for adventure--and is always up for a challenge. Her curiosity is aroused by a dangerous-looking stranger with an eye patch, an ideal companion for the life she longs for, no matter what Society might say. So when the piratical gentleman turns out to be a duke and just as boringly proper as any other nobleman she can't help but incite him to walk on the wild side. Well-heeled, well-mannered,...

A hands-on guide to the rich history and modern practice of Buddhism. Explains key concepts, and explores the origins of this fascinating ancient practice, along with daily observances, celebrations, meditation, and more.

A team of aliens is sent to Earth in order to learn all about humans.

"Pitfall is the compelling story of the quest to exploit the metals our civilization needs--and at what cost to local people and their environments. Beginning with the first waves of big, foreign-owned mines in the 1960s, investigative journalist Christopher Pollon shows how transnational companies rose to dominate copper, precious metals, and lithium in Latin America, made inroads into war-torn countries in Africa, and exploited nickel, industrial...