Not all governments have been run by men. Lives of Extraordinary Women turns the spotlight on women who have wielded power, revealing their feats-and flaws-for all the world to see. Here you'll find twenty of the most influential women in history: queens, warriors, prime ministers, first ladies, revolutionary leaders. Some are revered. Others are notorious. What were they really like? In this grand addition to their highly praised series, Kathleen...

"When Maggie Devereux is served an unexpected eviction notice, everything falls apart. Out of options, the nearly divorced forty-something stumbles across an unopened letter regarding her late aunt's estate: a ramshackle farmhouse on the outskirts of town. It could be the perfect solution, if it weren't on the verge of collapse and teeming with complicated family secrets. Property investor Rhett Houston needs a fresh start. So when he bumps into his...

"The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history's deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story. In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle...

While Hannah speeds through a lengthy holiday checklist, drama in town grows like Santa's waistline on Christmas Eve. Her sister Andrea wants to stave off the blues by helping out at The Cookie Jar, Michele's love life is becoming complicated, Lisa needs Hannah's advice, and Delores has a Christmas secret she's not willing to share. But nothing dampens the holiday mood more than the chilling mystery surrounding the man found near death in an abandoned...

"Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag." In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure...

The story of the Bergson family and their friends and neighbors. Describes the pioneers' struggle for survival in the barren, underdeveloped Nebraska tableland.

In the crosshairs of a political bribery investigation, Dempsey Jo Killebrew suddenly finds herself unemployed and the victim of a sleazy smear campaign by her former boss. Dempsey decides to take up her father's offer of flipping a recently inherited family home in Guthrie, Ga., where she quickly slides into the renovation groove, fits in with the locals, and embarks on a romance.

Sunset, Kentucky. After putting the brakes on her dead-end relationship, local veterinarian Ivey Anders is ready to soak up this summer on her own terms. The way she sees it, no dating means no disappointment. But when she meets Corbin Meyer-- and his troubled young son, Justin-- Ivey's no-strings strategy threatens to unravel before she can put it into practice. Trust doesn't come easy for Ivey's best friend, Hope Mage, a veterinary-clinic assistant...

How did marriage, considered a religious duty in medieval Europe, become a venue for personal fulfillment in contemporary America? How did the notion of romantic love, a novelty in the Middle Ages, become a prerequisite for marriage today? And, if the original purpose of marriage was procreation, what exactly is the purpose of marriage for women now? Combining "a scholar's rigor and a storyteller's craft"(San Jose Mercury News), distinguished cultural...

"Bestselling novelist Sara Medlar is skilled at sharing stories about other people, but she hoped the truth about her own family would never surface. Her home in Lachlan, Florida, is her refuge and she loves having her niece Kate and dear friend Jack Wyatt together under her roof. The Medlar Three, as they are known around town, have sworn off getting involved in any more murder investigations. When the sheriff unexpectedly leaves on vacation, Jack...