Books published by Open Road Media

Valonga Price takes a three-year sabbatical from the grime of owning her own company to try to discover her true self. Armed with questions that have been whirling around in her head, she travels to places like Brazil, San Salvador, Bahia, Nigeria, Cuba, and Japan.

Chicago, the center of America's heartland, from its founding in the late 1700s by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a French-educated black man, to the modern day Gypsies who live on Maxwell Street. It's a city steeped in Black History. This is the story of a city where a unique African American history has grown, a center for the emergence of jazz, blues, dance, art, and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

An enchanting intro to a collection of unforgettable charactersElizabeth, ';Queen of the Projects'; the girl ';Billie' who sings like Lady Day; young Randolph who, to his family's embarrassment, grows a second head for a while; Dean Dale Jackson, talented writer, sculptor, auto mechanic, and dedicated to the underbelly of a bottle; the Vernon family upwardly mobile but required by a will to grow cotton in their suburban backyard; and Marlene and James, who find happiness in an unexpected way, in marriage.

Tradition demands that King Sharn Am Zor conduct himself with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a king of Chameln, but underneath the fine jewelry and the beautifully embroidered tunic he secretly hates, Sharn remains an impulsive, restless young man. After the suggestion of marriage provokes an angry outburst from Sharn during a formal ceremony, his beloved cousin and co-ruler, Queen Aidris Am Firn, promises to draw up a list of suitable maidens. To everyone's surprise, Sharn not only listens to her counsel; he proceeds to confidently select a princess from the land of the Eildon to be his wife. But courtship is far more complicated than Sharn had originally imagined, for in Eildon, neither the land nor the people are as they appear. While Sharn must compete against other suitors for the hand of the princess, the loyal companions who accompany him are faced with a series of magical attacks that begin as petty pranks but soon escalate into outright hostility with potentially fatal consequences. As Sharn nears the end of his quest, however, he learns that this predation may be the least of his problems.

Anyone who has ever held a babyor observed a nesting birdwill find much to inform and entertain in this enchantingly written and thoroughly researched book. Allport revels in the marvelous diversity of care in the animal world. She shows us our place in that world with great humor, knowledge, and common sense.

Food makes the world go around, according to this absorbing account of how the search for food has shaped human nature. It is more important than love or sex for the simple reason that food is harder to find than a mate. Think of it this way, says Allport, who draws on the research of anthropologists and biologists in presenting her fascinating and provocative theories: Mates are often willing accomplices in the act of mating; food is never a willing accomplice in the act of eating.

Investigating a murder in a family too much like his own, El Paso Homicide Detective Devon Gray walks a tightrope between protecting his kin and upholding the law. When his ex-con brother is implicated in the case, Devon strives to keep silent about his brother’s complicity while seeking the truth. Award-winning author Elizabeth Fackler deftly portrays the two families opposed across the field of one detective’s love and honor.

For women who believe that childbirth is a normal event, and that hospitals are places to treat illness, home birth with a licensed professional midwife is a safe and viable option. Unlike the rest of the world where home birth and midwifery are the norm, Western society has captured the traditional childbirth model and recreated it as a high-tech pathological event fraught with dangerous interventions. Yet, the United States continues to rank 20th or worse in United Nations statistics of maternal and infant mortality. When this book was first published in 1978, the convergence of the back-to-nature and feminist movementsand the rise of consumer advocacy in health carecontributed to a growing home birth movement. Today, a 40% cesarean rate and the universal acceptance of stay-in-bed electronic fetal monitoring, an unproven technology, are just two of the common hospital occurrences that keep some women at home for childbirth. Midwife comes from the German word that translates as ';with woman.' Research has shown that the close observation of an educated and caring woman makes birth complications predictable or preventable. Studies published in medical literature have documented that the care of educated, professional midwives is equal to or better than that of medical doctors, whether the birth takes place in the home or hospital. Home Birth reports on this research, as well as personal, practical stories of real childbearing families. The book reviews typical birth practices and gives advice on preparing both the family and the home for the event. There is also a chapter on preparing for hospital birth, should a transport in labor become necessary.

The twelve-year rampage of "Missoula Mauler" Wayne Nance—and the shocking end to his murder spree.To his neighbors, Wayne Nance, a furniture mover from Missoula, Montana, appeared to be an affable, considerate, and trustworthy guy. No one knew that Nance was the "Missoula Mauler," a psychopath responsible for a series of sadistic sex slayings that rocked the idyllic town between 1974 and 1986.Nance's only requirement for murder was accessibility--a preacher's wife, a teenage runaway, a female acquaintance, a married couple. Putting on a friendly facade, he could easily gain his victims' trust. Then, one September night, thirty-year-old Nance pushed his luck, preying on a couple who lived to tell the tale.A true story with an incredible twist, written by former Wall Street Journal editor John Coston and complete with photos, To Kill and Kill Again reveals the disturbing compulsions of a charming serial killer who fooled everyone he knew, stumped the authorities, terrified a community, and nearly got away with it.

Two Americans, a naval petty officer and a shipping agent, are drawn into the undercurrents of early 20th-century Yokohama, Inchon, Manilla, and Shanghai as they investigate four grisly beheadings and a missing sailing ship. Smoldering insurgencies in Korea and the Philippines backlight USS Pluto’s course between violence, betrayal, and hope. Blending the historical authenticity of Patrick O’Brian with the crackling dialogue of Raymond Chandler, Crossland establishes himself as a unique voice in nautical fiction. 

So much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Thank You for Your Service tells you what you need to know--before or after you read David Finkel's book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Thank You for Your Service includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel: Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Finkel's Thank You for Your Service is an intimate and powerful account of the lives of Iraq veterans after they return home. Having depicted life on the front lines in Baghdad in his first book, Finkel follows the struggle of the same soldiers' return to civilian life. He exposes the hidden costs of war: the reality of living with post-traumatic stress disorder, the physical wounds and financial struggles of military personnel, and the spiraling suicide rate amongst veterans. Soldiers are plagued by nightmares, memory loss, violent impulses, and guilt over their dead comrades. Spouses and children are bewildered by the return of their loved ones, whose personalities have changed beyond all recognition. Finkel humanizes the aftermath of military life and makes a strong case for increased investment in veteran mental healthcare. Thank You for Your Service has received great critical acclaim and was among the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Economist's top 10 Books of the Year in 2013.the The summary and analysis in this book are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

When a woman is shot in a cannabis patch, Arly Hanks must restore order to her Ozarks community, in this sharp-witted mystery by an Agatha Award–winning author.When small-town police chief Arly Hanks returns to Maggody, Arkansas, after vacation, she finds the population has risen to a booming 802. Among the newbies: Madame Celeste, the psychic who’s holding locals in thrall with her predictions of doom; a handsome new high school guidance counselor; and a gaggle of mantra-chanting hippies who have turned the old general store into the source for cosmic harmony. Unfortunately, life in Maggody is anything but harmonious.Robin Buchanon—a member of Maggody’s most abundant family—has been murdered. The moonshiner, prostitute, and mother of four foul-mouthed little bad seeds was found shot to death in a booby-trapped marijuana field. Assuming the weed harvesters are sending a message to trespassers, Arly decides to hold vigil and set her own trap. But when another, seemingly unrelated, murder catches Arly off-guard, even Madame Celeste can’t predict where this case is headed.

Saucy, brash, irreverentThe Book Of Phoebe is an extraordinary novel about a young woman's six-month sojourn in Paris, where she has a baby, falls madly in love, and discovers a great deal about the capacities of the human heart.

Tom Miller's On the Border frames the land between the United States and Mexico as a Third Country, one 2,000 miles long and twenty miles wide. This Third Country has its own laws and its own outlaws. Its music, language, and food are unique. On the Border, a first-person travel narrative, portrays this bi-national culture, "unforgettable to every reader lucky enough to discover this gem of southwestern Americana." (San Diego Union-Tribune) It's a "deftly written book," said the New Times Book Review. "Mr. Miller has drawn a lively sketch of this unruly, unpredictable place." Traveling from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, Miller offers "cultural history and fine journalism." (Dallas Times Herald) Among his stops is Rosa's Cantina in El Paso, the Arizona site where a rancher sadistically tortured three Mexican campesinos, and the 100,000-watt XERF radio station where Wolfman Jack broadcasts nightly. He interviews children in both countries, all of whom insist that the candy on the other side is superior. On the Border, translated into Spanish, French, and Japanese, was the first book to identify and describe this land as a Third Country. Miller "knows this country," says Newsday, "feels its joys and sorrows, hears its music and loves its soul."

“Leslie Ullman traces through her speaker one woman’s attempt to find herself and then to live that discovered self within an alien wilderness that ranges from the indifferent to the frankly dangerous. This volume edges toward the growing certainty to plain chance and lucky or unlucky coincidence. Perhaps in response to the uncertain nature of the external world in Dreams by No One’s Daughter, Ullman’s are very much poems of metamorphosis, of becoming rather than static being.” —Stephen C. Behrendt

The Stuff of a Lifetime is a book to help people understand what they are doing with their lives. Addressing its readers directly and as individuals, this book allows them to move through it in their own way. It takes them on a wide-ranging expedition into their lives, so that they may be better guided by their own uniqueness. It seeks to enkindle within people the desire to reclaim their bodies, recover their souls, and re-enter the world.

When John Gabriel Stedman’s Narrative of Five Years Expedition was first published in 1796—a bowdlerized edition “full of lies and nonsense”—Stedman claimed to have burned two thousand copies. It nevertheless became an immediate popular success. A first-hand account of an eighteenth-century slave society, including graphic accounts of the worlds of both masters and slaves, it also contained vivid descriptions of exotic plants and animals, of military campaigns, and of romantic adventures. Illustrated by William Blake, Francesco Bartolozzi, and others, Stedman’s work was quickly translated into a half-dozen languages and was eventually published in over twenty-five different editions.   The Prices’ acclaimed critical edition is based on Stedman’s original, handwritten manuscript, which offers a portrait at considerable variance with the 1796 classic. The unexpurgated text, presented here with extensive notes and commentary, constitutes one of the richest and most evocative accounts ever written of a flourishing slave society. The Prices restore early omissions involving Stedman’s horror at the Dutch planters’ use of casual torture to discipline their slaves; his love and admiration for Joanna, his mulatto mistress; his strong belief in racial equality; and his outrage that “in 20 Years two millions of People are murdered to Provide us with Coffee & Sugar.” Freed from its original publisher’s censorship, Stedman’s Narrative stands as one of the strongest indictments ever to appear against New World slavery.

';The Art of Dying speaks to modern readers with refreshing frankness and wit. It covers the subject thoroughly, from how to inform relatives of impending death, to coping with pain and fear, to death rituals, to preparing for a possible afterlife or, depending on one's viewpoint, the end of it all.' Publishers Weekly ';Along with our caring presence, this book may be the finest gift we can give someone facing the last stage of life.' Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People ';Dr. Weenolsen... doesn't duck the tough questions.' M. Brewster Smith, PhD, former president, American Psychological Association ';This book gives the same things a good support group doescompassionate sympathy and practical advice for people sharing pain. It will be a godsend.' Rebecca Brown, author of Gifts of the Body ';Begins with ';the day you receive the diagnosis' and the sudden realization that ';never again will you be as you were. Even if by some miracle you heal, it will be only temporary.' Weenolsen takes the panic and paralysis out of such news through wise, aggressive, no-holds-barred approaches.' Patricia Holt, San Francisco Chronicle ';A book everyone can benefit from reading.' Nancy Pearl, author of More Book Lust ';Also for family and friends of dying persons, for professionals in the health-care fields, and for those who train them.' Hannelore Wass, PhD, founding editor, Death Studies

An acclaimed exploration of the ways in which success within our career culture can produce hidden emotional and value conflicts for men and women. Sheds new light on the path to success and personal fulfillment in today's workplace.

First published in 2001, Barren Lands is the classic true story of the men who soughtand founda great diamond mine on the last frontier of the far north. From a bloody 18th-century trek across the Canadian tundra to the daunting natural forces facing protagonists Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson as they struggle against the mighty DeBeers cartel, this is the definitive account of one of the world's great mineral discoveries. Combining geology, science history, raw nature, and high intrigue, it is also a tale of supreme adventure, taking the reader into a magicaland now fast-vanishingwild landscape. Now in a newly revised and updated edition.

It is an astonishing discovery: a bloodstained burial shroud entombed in the crumbling walls of a historic French Monastery. Carbon dating concludes the fabric is from the time of Christ. A molecular biologist conducts a daring experiment: the cloning of genetic material recovered from the cloth. Now two menFather Laurent Carriere and scientist Josh Francisare plunged into the center of a worldwide religious and political power struggle. But even as Washington and the Vatican vie for control of the relic, members of a secret society take steps to reclaim the holy artifact they have sworn to protectby any means necessary. Selected by the Literary Guild(R) and the Doubleday Book Club(R).

';The title poem, ';Entering Another Country,' is dedicated to a male friend who has died. There are exuberant, rich landscapes of imagined travel, journeys into the visual worlds of Grandma Moses and Rousseau, and the painful realization that what the poet means by travel is change and growth, the raw experience of self-birthing, a process into a place as unknown as the death place of her friend. Here Ortner connects with her female heritage. It is a courageous poem of breaking out, and the unfamiliar terrain into which this takes her almost robs the poet of speech.' Helen Cooper, Motheroot Journal

“The chapbook is about the experience of being in a mental hospital although it could have been about being in any kind of prison. The specifics are here, and it is well written.” —Judy Hogan, Motheroot Journal

Dream in Pienza was originally published by the Timberline Press in a hand-set and hand-printed limited edition. The title poem, written in Rome, sings of the passion of unrequited love in another century. From birth through resurrection, we sweep our separate shores for sight of stars. Although the angels may have left us to our devices, we become the measure of what we believe. This is God's gift to each of us.

In a flash, Valerie's world comes tumbling down. She and Peter were sharing their dreams. Now she and Peter share a problem... Except it turns out to be Val's problem. Peter says he loves her, but he has to get on with his life. Valerie wishes she could get on with her life. But she lives each day with the reality Peter wants to forgetand it is she who must make the impossible choices... when love has no answers.

Fortunes is the story of one woman’s rise through the world of corporate intrigue. By the use of her charms—physical and intellectual—she makes it to the top—and then some!

Beverly Hills, an enclave of the super-rich, where passion has its price. Rodeo Drive, a street where lives are bought and sold.

Barney Leason's sizzling tales of intrigue and desire among the rich and beautiful have sold over three million copies and won him spots on the New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists. Now Leason exposes what really goes on in the sexy milieu of world-class winemakers! Clara Morelli's small Sonoma Valley vineyard produces a luscious cabernet. Bertram Hill, a corporation of dubious reputation, wants to take over Morelli Vineyards, making juicy offers almost too good to refuse. But something smells a little "off" about the pushy Bertram Hill people-especially when they will not take "no" for an answer . . .

"Was fiction ever so true? . . . Here is divorce rendered by an emotional naturalist. And pass it on: She's funny." -Sandra Scofield "Susan Dundon captures the nuances of relationships so skillfully that anyone who is-or hopes to be, or has been, or never wants to be-married will find some points of identification with Emily's homespun wisdom." -Cleveland Plain Dealer "Rich and funny stuff." -Ellen Goodman "Full of those little moments that leave one thinking, Yes! It was exactly that way for me." -Alain De Botton

"Barr's imaginative, humorous story celebrates the sweetness of literary life, the freshness and promise of the newly printed page." -Publishers Weekly "A sweet-tempered, low-key story that has been justly compared to 84 Charing Cross Road." -Kirkus Reviews