In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command - "Fire!" - as England's peace keeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred. The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies.

Despite recent corporate scandals, the United States is among the world’s least corrupt nations. But in the nineteenth century, the degree of fraud and corruption in America approached that of today’s most corrupt developing nations, as municipal governments and robber barons alike found new ways to steal from taxpayers and swindle investors. In Corruption and Reform, contributors explore this shadowy period of United States history in search of better methods to fight corruption worldwide today.

Gr. 4-6. The second volume in the Edge Chronicles series, Stormchaser is a rousing adventure tale with a story that's more complex and satisfying than its predecessor, Beyond the Deepwoods. Sanctophrax, a city of academics that floats in the air above Undertown, threatens to break from its mooring and drift away because the corrupt Most High Academe has been selling off the rare, valuable, and strangely heavy substance called stormphrax.

The appearance of a new police series set in Italy is guaranteed to whet the thirst of international crime-fiction fans, especially when a few sips evoke that heady Italian brew that comes from the smooth blending of a corrupt bureaucracy and a flawed, world-weary hero. Fitzgerald mixes the ingredients skillfully, adding a few flavors of his own.

Pompeii - City on Fire

Pompeii, a city that's many things to many people. For Cato, it's the perfect escape from a failed political career in Rome. A place to start again, become a winemaker. But when a corrupt politician wrongfully jails Cato's sister, he must oust the man from power to save her.