Thousands of pages have been written about Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Everyone from experts to amateur historians has expressed their opinions on the matter. But in the larger context, there is often one piece that is forgotten or not allowed to be heard: the story of the normal little person. This is her story.

Coffee, comforters, king-sized beds, gel toothpaste, razors, underwear, the morning shower-all activities and objects we have tended to pay no attention to-until the publication of this book. In a series of short vignettes endearingly illustrated by the author, Arthur Asa Berger gives Americans a profound way to understand their morning rituals. Have you ever considered, for instance, that the digital clock, by producing free-floating liquid numerals disconnecting us from both time past and time future, could be interpreted as a metaphor for the alienation many people feel in contemporary society? Or consider our nightclothes: The pajama is the most immediate witness to our sexual activities; thus, we cover our pajamas with a bathrobe to guard against the anxiety of being revealed to other family members. The pajama is intricately connected to human shame. Bloom's Morning, with thirty-six short chapters bracketed by brief essays on the nature of semiotic analysis, is a perfect book for the inquisitive mind. It is chock-full of valuable and quirky nuggets from this most interesting of social commentators-items that, taken together, give us a new vision through which to understand ourselves.

When our nation called, Tom Ridge answered. Appointed by the President to head up domestic security, Ridge established the Department of Homeland Security. In this probing and surefooted memoir, Ridge takes us through the challenges he and his new department faced, including Anthrax scares and reports (both real and false alarms) of new Al-Qaeda operations sprouting up in the United States. A "law and order" Republican who was on the shortlist to be John McCain's running mate in 2008, Ridge writes with refreshing candor on both the successes and missteps of the DHS. He details the obstacles faced in his new post—often within the administration itself—as well as the failures of Congress to provide for critical homeland security needs, and the irresponsible use of terrorism by both parties to curry favors with voters. Ridge also reveals: • How the DHS was pressured to connect homeland security to the international "war on terror" • How Ridge effectively thwarted a plan to raise the national security alert just before the 2004 Election • How Ridge had pushed for a plan (defeated because of turf wars) to integrate DHS and FEMA disaster management in New Orleans and other areas before Hurricane Katrina Finally, Ridge offers a prescriptive look to the future, advocating ways that America may reaffirm its safety—including his provocative support for a national ID card program and for comprehensive immigration reform—without sacrificing personal liberty. Television captures every word and every expression. I was reasonable to think that our enemies would look for any sign of weakness in the person who in a few days would be responsible for protecting America against them. At that moment, I experienced a royal flush of emotion—after all, I was leaving the state I loved, a loyal staff, many friendships developed over a lifetime, the frustration of work unfinished, to head into the unknown and the undoable. In normal times, I might have shed a tear at such thoughts. But I was determined not to do so as I said my farewell. If I needed any reminding, I glanced down at the note I had written for counsel. "The bastards are watching." We can never guarantee we will be free from another attack. We must also understand that every day thousands and thousands of our fellow citizens work here and abroad to take us to a new level of readiness and security. For in the end, Americans do not live in fear. We live in freedom. And we will let no one take that freedom away. —Tom Ridge, from THE TEST OF OUR TIMES

BONUS: This eBook edition includes a thrilling sneak peek of Dianne Emley’s upcoming Nan Vining thriller, Killing Secrets! For two minutes she was dead. The assailant was vicious, the attack brutal—and it left her lifeless . . . until her pulse fluttered and she jolted awake. Now, a year later, detective Nan Vining is still questioning her strength, her safety, even her sanity: Can she ever again be the cop—and mother—she was before? And will her attacker someday return to finish the job, before she can track him down herself? Shaky but determined, Vining rejoins the Pasadena PD, only to confront a murder case that strikes close to home: A slain policewoman has been discovered beneath the Colorado Street Bridge, her body bruised, her throat slit. Even as Vining struggles to recover her standing within the department, she can’t help but feel profoundly drawn to the murdered officer, Frankie Lynde—and she is deeply troubled by the baffling otherworldly visions that haunt her waking hours. Are these mere fever dreams? Or could they be, as Vining’s daughter insists, messages from beyond the grave? Digging deeper into Lynde’s past, Vining discovers clues that set her on the twisted trail of a killer as ruthless as he is depraved—a predator whose methods and madness recall those of her own attacker. Amid a rising tide of danger, she pushes herself to bold new limits, desperate to avenge the murder of a fellow police officer . . . and to reclaim the life she lost a year ago. Packed with suspense and action, this pulse-pounding novel will hold you breathless from the first cut to the last. Praise for The First Cut “The First Cut should immediately establish Dianne Emley in the front ranks of thriller writers. . . . A great read.”—Michael Connelly “Gritty, intense, and hard-edged, The First Cut is first-rate.”—Tess Gerritsen “Action-packed, with plenty of suspense and enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing long into the night.”—Lisa Jackson “An edge-of-your-seat plot . . . nicely developed characters and genuine suspense elevate this impressive crime debut.”—Kirkus Reviews

In Earth Works, award-winning columnist Nancy R. Hugo presents a month-by-month, season-by-season exploration of the pleasures and pains of gardening in the mid-Atlantic. Readers familiar with her columns in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Virginia Wildlife will welcome this collection of her most popular essays, written in the characteristic conversational style that has made her a regional favorite. Earth Works has a wealth of helpful hints and seasonal advice for both experienced and beginning gardeners, from how to attract butterflies and discourage Japanese beetles to when to prune; from how to move big tress to how to propagate a legacy rose. This book offers something for every backyard gardener and will be treasured year-round by enthusiasts looking for much-needed seasonal tips, as well as by snowbound readers longing for a reminder of the warmer days to come.

This large, finely balanced biography offers an astonishingly honest portrayal of one of the most successful American artists of the 20th century--known for her arresting paintings of enormous, intimately rendered flowers, desert landscapes, and stark white cow skulls.