A handsome new edition of Sir Walter Scott's classic.

The End-No it isn't During the fall of 1969 Daniel Dyer stands alone at a still point between the disappointments of his childhood and an incredibly uncertain future. He is a boy from Yorkshire, living in America who has been abandoned by his father and then his mother and has signed up to fi ght with the US army in Vietnam. The Far Out Cafe is full of characters and events: a blues singer, a Cuban called Guerrero and another called Compay, with his head full of conspiracy theories, 'Birdmen, ' a chapel dating back to the 2nd century, an isolated island, a pack of marauding sharks; one of mythical proportions, a psychotic Soviet called the Generali, a barbaric guard called Rusanov and his syphilitic assistant, Yefrem. This is not merely a story about the atrocities of war. It's a story about who Daniel meets when he has been left for dead; a boy called Angel and a girl called Beth. It's about the way we live our lives and what happens when we place our Faith in God when things go horribly wrong. It's a savage yet tenderly lyrical story about an unforgiving time and indestructible love. 'I sat down, cleared my mind, and 'The Far Out Cafe' blew it apart. It's a really great story and it's told in such a surreal way, it messes with your head so much, delightfully so, but what really caught me is the sense of magic and mysticism that is woven into the story. A huge story that has roots in an even greater and deeper meaning. The spiritual clashed against the brutality of men is incredibly powerful. Good to fi nally be challenged by a modern book that gives the mind a great workout. In fi lm terms, very Stanley Kubrick' - David Popescu - Hooligan Filmworks, Canada

Kim Jon Il holds an iron grip over North Korea, and the world can only wonder what the secretive leader is doing within his borders.

The deputy director of the CIA, Bob Wells, intends to discover the truth. He knows that if he doesn't, the world could see an attack similar to 9/11, or even worse. With the country's security at stake, and confidence in the intelligence agency shaken, he can't allow such a disaster.

The only person qualified to find out what the North Koreans are doing is Dr. Jon London, but the former operative turned his back on clandestine assignments two years ago. Now, he shares a quiet life as a university professor with the love of his life, Dr. Kim Lake, who knows nothing about his connection to the CIA.

Suddenly, London finds himself enmeshed in a life he thought he'd left behind. He'll journey all over the world and enter a land that hardly anyone knows anything about in his efforts to thwart disaster in Broken Border.

"The Lanzis: The Boundless Shades of Life," is the story of the Lanzi family, bursting with reality; painful, beautiful and remorseless. The author, Giancarlo Gabbrielli, takes you to Tuscany and into the period that followed the Great War, during the time of the rise of Fascism and finally into the specter of World War II.

Well-known events are seen through new eyes, in an original and refreshingly appealing way. The story portrays 'real' people as they are seldom characterized in American literature; real, raw and full of emotion. "The Lanzis: The Boundless Shades of Life" chronicles a proud family who resist the pressures of an autocratic Regime. They find love amidst the hatred of a savage world while they endeavor to maintain a healthy, balanced perspective on their friends and their enemies. 'Hold your friends close and your enemies closer' becomes their way of life. This is also the poignant story of a young boy, sexually coming of age, and his innocence set against the backdrop of the war.

Though little more than a boy, Private Josh Simmons is no green recruit of the Confederate Army. Now seventeen years old, he participated in the Battle of Gettysburg last year. Like most of his fellow soldiers, he doesn't truly understand the underpinnings of the battle, but he has faith in his commanders, especially General Robert E. Lee. Simmons fights on the premise the blue bellies are down here threatening his home and his family. He also knows death waits for him up some road, trail, field, or grade.

Now, a century and a half after the most momentous struggle in American history, Soldiers and Ghosts tells the story of the American Civil War from ground level through the eyes of Simmons, a Confederate infantryman. It narrates the experiences of young adolescents during one of the most dramatic and chaotic moments of that Wilderness Campaign of 1864.

The first book in a trilogy, Soldiers and Ghosts tells a tale of valor amid the horror of unceasing battle and struggle as the Ghost Army gained recruits at feverish pitch during the darkest days of the Civil War.