Ocean State Libraries

"Agatha Christie was not only the most successful author of detective stories the world has ever known, she was also a mystery in herself, giving only the rarest interviews--declining absolutely to become any sort of public figure. Distinguished crime novelist H. R. F. Keating brings together a dozen noted writers to throw light on the ever-intriguing Dame Agatha. Some essays analyse Christie's art itself; some explain the reasons for her success....

"No one does glamour, severity, girlish charm or tight-lipped witticism better than Dame Maggie Smith, one of Britain's best-loved actors. This new biography shines the stage lights on the life and work of a truly remarkable performer, one whose career spans six decades. From her days as a star of West End comedy and revue, Dame Maggie would cross paths with those of the greatest actors, playwrights, and directors of the era. Whether stealing scenes...

"We can hardly imagine a Britain without Elizabeth II. Yet for much of her early life, the young princess did not know what her future would hold. Kate Williams reveals how the 25-year-old accidental queen carved out a lasting role for herself amid the changes of the 20th century." --

"When Isabel meets Edward, both are at a crossroads: he wants to follow his late wife to the grave, and she is ready to give up on love. While helping Edward's faraway daughter by checking on her nonagenarian dad, Isabel has no idea that he will end up changing her life." --

"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of William and Kate and The Day Diana Died takes a compulsively readable look into the relationships and rivalries of Queen Elizabeth, Camilla Parker Bowles, and Kate Middleton. One has been famous longer than anyone on the planet--a wily stateswoman and an enduring symbol of a fading institution. One is the great-granddaughter of a king's mistress and a celebrated homewrecker who survived a firestorm of scorn...

"An illuminating debut memoir of a woman in science; a moving portrait of a longtime friendship; and a stunningly fresh look at plants that will forever change how you see the natural world"--Amazon.com.

"A gripping first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona's disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which took the lives of 19 "hotshots"--firefighters trained specifically to battle wildfires. Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters based in Prescott,...

"A family history of surpassing beauty and power: Ian Buruma's account of his grandparents' enduring love through the terror and separation of two world wars. During the almost six years England was at war with Nazi Germany, Winifred and Bernard Schlesinger, Ian Buruma's grandparents, and the film director John Schlesinger's parents, were, like so many others, thoroughly sundered from each other. Their only recourse was to write letters back and forth....

"It has been four and a half decades since Alice Waters opened the doors of Chez Panisse, the 'little French restaurant' in Berkeley, California, that has been at the leading edge of the American culinary revolution ever since. Fueled in equal parts by naïveté and a relentless pursuit of beauty and pure flavor, Alice transformed our relationship with food, fine dining, and what it means to eat well. In [this book], Alice reflects on the desultory...

This is the story of Napal, who brought Jason Morgan back from the brink. It is the story of a funny, lovable dog's power to heal a family and teach a wounded man how to be a true father. Humorous, intensely moving, and uplifting, this tale will lift every heart.