This glittering, "wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told" (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the darkly intertwined fates of infamous socialite Ann Woodward and literary icon Truman Capote, sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattan's high society-where falls from grace are all the more shocking. When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann's turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece-a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society "swans"-never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann's suicide and his own scandalous downfall. "A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination" (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours, Empty Mansions, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Exploring the frightful milieu in which Frankenstein was written, Roseanne Montillo recounts how Mary Shelley's Victor Frankenstein mirrored actual scientists of the period. Montillo paints a rich portrait of Shelley and her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their contemporaries, as well as their friend Lord Byron. Intellectually curious, they were artists, poets, and philosophers, united in captivation with the occultists and the daring scientists risking their reputations and their immortal souls to advance our understanding of human anatomy and medicine.

Juxtaposing monstrous mechanization and rising industrialism with the sublime beauty and decadence of the legendary Romantics who defined the age, Montillo takes us into a world where poets become legends in salons and boudoirs; where fame-hungry "doctors" conduct shocking performances for rabid, wide-eyed audiences; and where maniacal body snatchers secretly toil in castle dungeons.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 36.0px; font: 13.0px Times} The Atomic Women is a portrait of the World War II female scientists who worked in laboratories and secrets sites of the Manhattan Project, and whose contributions have been left unstudied. Recruited not only from labs and universities from across the country, but also from countries abroad, these women scientists helped, and often initiated the development of the atomic bomb, taking a starring role in the Manhattan Project; in fact, their involvement was critical to its success. This book explores not just the critical steps towards the creation of a successful nuclear bomb, but also the moral implications of such an invention.Centering The Atomic Women are the groundbreaking leading female scientists of the atomic era, who gave rise to the project: Lise Meitner and Irene Joliot-Curie (daughter of Marie Curie), who from Europe led the groundwork for the Manhattan Project, though they were not fully aware of the consequences. Elizabeth Rona, the foremost expert in plutonium, whose expertise gave rise to 'The Fat Man' and 'Little Boy,' the bombs dropped over Japan. As well as Leona Marshall, Elizabeth Graves, and Joan Hinton, who looked upon the European scientific ideals for inspiration, but went ahead and carved their own path. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}

The Atomic Women is a portrait of the World War II female scientists who worked in laboratories and secrets sites of the Manhattan Project, and whose contributions have been left unstudied. Recruited not only from labs and universities from across the country, but also from countries abroad, these women scientists helped, and often initiated the development of the atomic bomb, taking a starring role in the Manhattan Project; in fact, their involvement was critical to its success. This book explores not just the critical steps towards the creation of a successful nuclear bomb, but also the moral implications of such an invention. Centering The Atomic Women are the groundbreaking leading female scientists of the atomic era, who gave rise to the project: Lise Meitner and Irene Joliot-Curie (daughter of Marie Curie), who from Europe led the groundwork for the Manhattan Project, though they were not fully aware of the consequences. Elizabeth Rona, the foremost expert in plutonium, whose expertise gave rise to "The Fat Man" and "Little Boy," the bombs dropped over Japan. As well as Leona Marshall, Elizabeth Graves, and Joan Hinton, who looked upon the European scientific ideals for inspiration, but went ahead and carved their own path.

This glittering, "wild romp of a story, boldly and beautifully told" (Neal Thompson, author of The First Kennedys) explores the darkly intertwined fates of infamous socialite Ann Woodward and literary icon Truman Capote, sweeping us to the upper echelons of Manhattan's high society-where falls from grace are all the more shocking. When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. Acclaimed for his bestselling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him. He decided the story of Ann's turbulent marriage would be the basis of his masterpiece-a novel about the dysfunction and sordid secrets revealed to him by his high society "swans"-never thinking that it would eventually lead to Ann's suicide and his own scandalous downfall. "A 20th-century morality tale of enduring fascination" (Laura Thompson, author of The Heiresses), Deliberate Cruelty is a haunting cross between true crime and literary history that is perfect for fans of Furious Hours, Empty Mansions, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Almost all cultures around the world have days during which they honor those who have died and pray for those souls that have not yet reached heaven. Although many of these holidays have assumed a secular attitude, the original, supernatural tone of these days still colors the celebrations. Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve as it was once known, has become a day for children to don costumes, trick-or-treat for candy, and play pranks. Outside the United States, however, people in many countries still set aside a day to honor and pray for the deceased. Halloween and Commemorations of the Dead looks at the different customs from around the world, including Halloween, All Souls' Day, Day of the Dead, Tomb Sweeping Day, and the Ghost Festival.