Caesar's Last Breath

Author: Sam Kean
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316381632
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Book Description
The Guardian's Best Science Book of 2017: the fascinating science and history of the air we breathe. It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell. In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the story of earth and our existence on it. With every breath, you literally inhale the history of the world. On the ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Caesar died of stab wounds on the Senate floor, but the story of his last breath is still unfolding; in fact, you're probably inhaling some of it now. Of the sextillions of molecules entering or leaving your lungs at this moment, some might well bear traces of Cleopatra's perfumes, German mustard gas, particles exhaled by dinosaurs or emitted by atomic bombs, even remnants of stardust from the universe's creation. Tracing the origins and ingredients of our atmosphere, Kean reveals how the alchemy of air reshaped our continents, steered human progress, powered revolutions, and continues to influence everything we do. Along the way, we'll swim with radioactive pigs, witness the most important chemical reactions humans have discovered, and join the crowd at the Moulin Rouge for some of the crudest performance art of all time. Lively, witty, and filled with the astounding science of ordinary life, Caesar's Last Breath illuminates the science stories swirling around us every second.

Last Breath

Author: Peter Stark
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345449525
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 323

Book Description
Sudden, extreme deaths have always fascinated us-- and now more than ever as athletes and travelers rise to the challenges of high-risk sports and journeys on the edge. In this spellbinding book, veteran travel and outdoor sports writer Peter Stark reenacts the dramas of what happens inside our bodies, our minds, and our souls when we push ourselves to the absolute limits of human endurance. Combining the adrenaline high of extreme sports with the startling facts of physiological reality, Stark narrates a series of outdoor adventure stories in which thrill can cross the line to mortal peril. Each death or brush with death is at once a suspense story, a cautionary tale, and a medical thriller. Stark describes in unforgettable detail exactly what goes through the mind of a cross-country skier as his body temperature plummets-- apathy at ninety-one degrees, stupor at ninety. He puts us inside the body of a doomed kayaker tumbling helplessly underwater for two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes. He conjures up the physiology of a snowboarder frantically trying not to panic as he consumes the tiny pocket of air trapped around his face under thousands of pounds of snow. These are among the dire situations that Stark transforms into harrowing accounts of how our bodies react to trauma, how reflexes and instinct compel us to fight back, and how, why, and when we let go of our will to live. In an increasingly tamed and homogenized world, risk is not only a means of escape but a path to spirituality. As Peter Stark writes, "You must try to understand death intimately and prepare yourself for death in order to live a full and satisfying life." In this fascinating, informative book, Stark reveals exactly what we’re getting ourselves into when we choose to live-- and die-- at the extremes of endurance.

Last Breath

Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062742159
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 126

Book Description
Protecting someone always comes at a cost. At the age of thirteen, Charlie Quinn’s childhood came to an abrupt and devastating end. Two men, with a grudge against her lawyer father, broke into her home—and after that shocking night, Charlie’s world was never the same. Now a lawyer herself, Charlie has made it her mission to defend those with no one else to turn to. So when Flora Faulkner, a motherless teen, begs for help, Charlie is reminded of her own past, and is powerless to say no. But honor-student Flora is in far deeper trouble than Charlie could ever have anticipated. Soon she must ask herself: How far should she go to protect her client? And can she truly believe everything she is being told? Razor-sharp and lightning-fast, this electrifying story from the #1 international bestselling author will leave you breathless. And be sure to read Karin Slaughter’s extraordinary new novel The Good Daughter—available August 22, 2017.

The Last Breath

Author: Kimberly Belle
Publisher: MIRA
ISBN: 0778317226
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Book Description
From the internationally bestselling author of The Marriage Lie comes an emotionally searing drama about a woman who risks her life to discover the devastating truth about her family. Humanitarian aid worker Gia Andrews chases disasters around the globe for a living. It's the perfect lifestyle to keep her far away from her own personal ground zero. Sixteen years ago, Gia's father was imprisoned for brutally killing her stepmother. Now he's come home to die of cancer, and she's responsible for his care--and coming to terms with his guilt. Gia reluctantly resumes the role of daughter to the town's most infamous murderer, a part complete with protesters on the lawn and death threats that are turning tragedy into front-page news. Returning to life in small-town Tennessee involves rebuilding relationships that distance and turmoil have strained, though finding an emotional anchor in the attractive hometown bartender is certainly helping Gia cope. As the past unravels before her, Gia will find herself torn between the stories that her family, their friends and neighbors, and even her long-departed stepmother have believed to be real all these years. But in the end, the truth--and all the lies that came before--may have deadlier consequences than she could have ever anticipated....

The Good Daughter

Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062430262
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 590

Book Description
Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! SOON TO BE A PEACOCK LIMITED SERIES STARRING JESSICA BIEL “The Good Daughter is like Law and Order meets The Good Wife.” —theSkimm The stunning new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her— a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense. Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind… Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville's notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night. Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a case that unleashes the terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried forever… Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.

Memory's Last Breath

Author: Gerda Saunders
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316502634
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
A "courageous and singular book" (Andrew Solomon), Memory's Last Breath is an unsparing, beautifully written memoir -- "an intimate, revealing account of living with dementia" (Shelf Awareness). Based on the "field notes" she keeps in her journal, Memory's Last Breath is Gerda Saunders' astonishing window into a life distorted by dementia. She writes about shopping trips cut short by unintentional shoplifting, car journeys derailed when she loses her bearings, and the embarrassment of forgetting what she has just said to a room of colleagues. Coping with the complications of losing short-term memory, Saunders, a former university professor, nonetheless embarks on a personal investigation of the brain and its mysteries, examining science and literature, and immersing herself in vivid memories of her childhood in South Africa. "For anyone facing dementia, [Saunders'] words are truly enlightening . . . Inspiring lessons about living and thriving with dementia." -- Maria Shriver, NBC's Today Show

TILL THE LAST BREATH

Author: Durjoy Datta
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 9351182959
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Book Description
When death is that close, will your heart skip a beat? Two patients are admitted to room no. 509. One is a brilliant nineteen-year-old medical student, suffering from an incurable, fatal disease. She counts every extra breath as a blessing. The other is a twenty-five-year-old drug addict whose organs are slowly giving up. He can’t wait to get rid of his body. To him, the sooner the better. Two reputed doctors, fighting their own demons from the past, are trying everything to keep these two patients alive, even putting their medical licences at risk. These last days in the hospital change the two patients, their doctors and all the other people around them in ways they had never imagined. Till the Last Breath is a deeply sensitive story that reminds us what it means to be alive.

Last Breath

Author: Brandilyn Collins
Publisher: Zonderkidz
ISBN: 0310578477
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
The suspenseful and emotion-filled second book in the Rayne series begins where the first book ended...with a dying man whispering four stunning words into Shaley O’Connor’s ear. Should she believe him? After two murders on the Rayne concert tour, Shaley is reeling. But she has no time to rest. If the dying man’s claim is right, the danger is far from over. Shaley’s quest for the truth leads to the mysterious and wrenching past of her mother and father. Could what happened to them so many years ago threaten Shaley’s life now?

One Last Breath (A Tara Mills Mystery—Book Two)

Author: Sarah Sutton
Publisher: Sarah Sutton
ISBN: 1094313068
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Book Description
ONE LAST BREATH is book two in the new FBI mystery series by debut author Sarah Sutton. A popular beach town was torn apart when a teenage girl went missing. Now, one year later, after a storm rips through the area, her body is found—strangled and buried deep under the brush of a local beach. But, as the cops uncover her body, another is found—a more recent victim—and they quickly realize it’s the work of a serial killer. FBI Agent Tara Mills, still recovering from her last case, is pulled into her second. With no leads, the FBI needs Tara’s brilliant mind to crack it. But as she delves into the depths of the popular vacation beach town, she soon realizes that no one can be trusted––and that this killer may be far more brilliant than her. Meanwhile, Tara has decided to uncover the truth of her own past. As she battles the darkness surrounding her childhood, more victims go missing, and with her career on the line, she races against time to stop the killer before she loses it all. Book #3 in the series—ONE LAST UNVEIL—is also now available! “First read by this new upcoming author and she has a winner with this series. Suspenseful from beginning to end.” --Goodreads Reviewer (One Last Step) “I was pulled in from the very start…in my mind it played out just like a movie.” --Goodreads Reviewer (One Last Step) “Absolutely loved this first in the series from start to finish. Fast paced and easy to follow with a storyline that was tense and exciting, I found it hard to put down.” --Goodreads Reviewer (One Last Step) “One Last Breath took my breath away.” --Goodreads Reviewer (One Last Breath) “Oh wow! What a book. I loved it and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Tara and Warren are so believable.” --Goodreads Reviewer (One Last Breath)

Last Breath

Author: Michael Prescott
Publisher: Michael Prescott
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
From New York Times and USA Today bestseller Michael Prescott, author of Final Sins and Cold Around the Heart, comes an electrifying novel of terror and suspense. C.J. Osborn was ten years old when the boogeyman came for her. Ever since, she has feared his return. Now an LAPD cop, C.J. faces danger every day on the streets of Newton Division — "Shootin' Newton," the city's roughest territory. But the greatest danger lies in C.J.'s own home, where a stranger's eyes are watching her — a stranger who plans to finish what he started sixteen years ago ...