Were you confused but entertained by a certain recent best seller? Want to be confused but entertained some more? Welcome to the world of The Da Vinci Barcode! An alternate uni- verse in which cash registers ring up Pi million, the Louvre Pyramide is upside down, and Catholic priests have been kneeling before the bones of Mary Magdalen for over a thousand years! Robert Longone, Professor of Symbology at Harvard Business School, is drawn into a mystical web with international implications when he receives an invisible two-dimensional bull's-eye barcode from the recently deceased former Director of the Louvre Shopping Mall. His task is complicated by the fact that the former Director had not one but two gorgeous granddaughters, Marie and Madeleine Navet, who join him in deciphering the coded messages. Robert calls upon the expertise of his friend the revered medical symbologist Linden Teabag. At long last, in the very land of the Goddess, he confronts the one-eyed hunchback Fibonacci and everybody learns way too much about themselves and about Mary Magdalen.

The Da Vinci Barcode: A Parody

Literature & Fiction

Shoaf, Judith P.

Humor & Satire

NAP/SCARITH

Love and Samsara

Love and Samsara is an epic diorama of the world in the early 16th century, stretching from Europe to Asia, taking in Brazil, Africa, the Middle East, India, and then the lands below the wind, the monsoon countries of South East Asia. The story marks a time when the modern world becomes linked with power-gunpowder for cannon, printing for the spread of knowledge, and astronomy for a new understanding of the heavens. Here is a samsara crowded with adventure, history, tragic love, philosophical speculation, religious confrontation, suspense and mystery, that reaches its climax in 1510 with the Portuguese conquest of Goa. Praise "Eusebio L. Rodrigues uses subtle metaphors of haunting memory to dramatize the Portuguese penetration of the Arab trading world of the sixteenth century, transforming it completely, an event more traumatic than the discovery of America." -Jaysinh Birjepatil, author of Chinnery's Hotel. "The most epic novel written about Goa." -José Pereira, author of Suárez: Between Scholasticism and Modernity. "This is fiction at its best, a masterful multi-layered epic novel, compelling and lyrical at the same time that will challenge and delight any devotee of the genre and of the English language." -Roberto Severino, Professor Emeritus of Italian, Georgetown University.

Rodrigues, Eusebio L.

Literary

Love and Samsara is a novel set in 16th-century India, blending history, adventure, love, and spirituality on the background of the arrival of the Portuguese, which caused a clash of civilizations. Love and Samsara is an epic diorama of the world in the early 16th century, stretching from Europe to Asia, taking in Brazil, Africa, the Middle East, India, and then the lands below the wind, the monsoon countries of South East Asia. The hero, a renowned Arab ship pilot, hunted down for eloping with a Iain girl, escapes from their assassins by guiding Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese ships to Calicut, the major emporium of the spice trade. Only later does he realize the tremendous significance of his innocent betrayal, for it leads to the Portuguese imperial domination of the oceansea. This marks a turning point in history, a time when the modern world becomes inexorably linked with power-gunpowder for cannon, printing for the spread of knowledge, and astronomy for a new understanding of the heavens. A time also of significant encounter among the world's major religions, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, with their complex languages, philosophies and theologies. Here is a samsara crowded with adventure, history, tragic love, philosophical speculation, religious confrontation, suspense and mystery, that reaches its climax in 1510 with the Portuguese conquest of Goa.

Genre Fiction

The author provides a personal, eye-witness account of the period from the mid 1960's through the turn of the 21st century, starting as a graduate student at Moscow State University and ending as the wife of the American Ambassador to Russia. This book is a set of reflections and impressions of an American woman living in Moscow for a number of years spread over four decades. It's about experiencing the place as a foreigner through living there daily, from life as a graduate student to life as the wife of the American Ambassador to Russia. "The reason I chose to focus on everyday life is because most works don't. They tend to focus on academic fields in politics, economics, law, and sociology, rather than on what it is like to be an ordinary person. The book is also distinctive because it is not an anecdotal snapshot of a moment or a year, but a story told over decades of the Soviet Union's evolution from awesome super power to disintegrating empire and through a roller-coaster rebirth of Russia." -Naomi Collins. "This book is like a script for a documentary spanning four decades when an especially astute and literate observer watched Russia emerge from stagnation and enter a period of dramatic economic, social, and political change and, on many fronts, upheaval." -Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution. "Naomi Collins takes the reader on a fascinating ride through the last forty years of Russia's turbulent history, beginning as a graduate student and ending as the wife of the American Ambassador. Because she writes so well, the ride is always fun, informative and insightful. Read, enjoy, learn!" -Marvin Kalb, Murrow Professor Emeritus, Harvard University. "Naomi Collins's book conveys the atmosphere and feel of these changing times, describing settings and scenes, and the people in them, in a pointillist style." -William Taubman, Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science, Amherst College

Through Dark Days and White Nights: Four Decades Observing a Changing Russia (Russian History and Culture)

Biographies & Memoirs

Collins, Naomi F.

Historical

A novel based on the lives of the brothers Mann has allowed the author to portray both the powerful story of their personal drama and the tragedy of a horrific era.  Two of Germany's literary lions, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, are the central characters of Selig Kainer's novel, Brothers in Exile.  Their rivalry is set against the background of Hitler's rise to power, and the novel opens in 1932 as Hitler becomes Chancellor. In real danger from the Nazi, Heinrich has already fled, while Thomas briefly nurtures the hope that his stature as a Noble Prize winner could be a balancing force against Hitler. The novel then takes the reader back to the powerful sturm und drang of Thomas and Heinrich's outwardly comfortable early family life. Their story is rife with love, rivalry, artistic strivings, and forbidden longings. With his deep affinity for the work of these two great writers, Selig Kainer has written an intimate account of them that reveals their rivalry and innermost conflicts, and illuminates the foreboding landscape of the demonic forces unleashed in Germany during their time.   "It is a wonderful novel... One need not be a reader of either Mann brother to appreciate Brothers in Exile, for here the curious interplay between life and literature, between imagination and reality, is played out to the full."   Jeffery Paine, former Literary Editor of the Wilson Quarterly, a judge of the Pulitzer Prize, author of Father India, Adventures with the Buddha, and Editor of Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism comes to the West.    "Thomas and Heinrich Mann grew up in Germany, portrayed Germany, then finally fled Germany, ending their lives in American and Swiss exile. Now, Selig Kainer has explored their early lives, not as an historian or biographer, but as a creative novelist, using the bones of their youth to X-ray their evolution as sons of imperial Germany, as nascent artists, and as siblings. Kainer's intricate fictional journey is a Bildungsroman at once tender, profound, epic and original. Enjoy!" Nigel Hamilton, author of JFK: Reckless Youth and The Brothers Mann.    "Selig Kainer dives into the complex relationship between Thomas and Heinrich Mann and comes back up with a pearl of a book. He transports us into the imagined landscape of their inner lives, their rivalries, discontents, desires and dreams. The vivid detail he brings to his story is gripping; his obsession with his characters thoroughly contagious." Andrea Weiss, author of In the Shadow of Magic Mountain: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story.

Brothers in Exile: A Novel of the Lives and Loves of Thomas and Heinrich Mann

Kainer, Selig

Most of the action taking place in this story occurred in the mid-1980s, when the threat of industrial pollution was already well known. The narrator was perhaps one of the first to realize that industrial pollution was interconnected with a vast international conspiracy of brain surgeons. He found evidence of this conspiracy not only in the proliferation of brain surgery clinics and in their activities, but in coded messages embedded in bus schedules, in syringe marks on fruit, even in television commercials. Although he played only a minor role in the struggle against the brain surgeons, he felt it was his duty as a living being to record these strange events exactly as they occurred, so that the truth could be known. "Hilariously zany, brisk, and suspenseful, and so strange in an otherworldly sense that you cannot stop turning the pages - I kept muttering "what the.!" to myself - Café Bombshell is a Montypythonesque rendition of the incredible adventures of two stuffed rabbits and their wards. Reading the novel was a lot of fun, and it lifted my spirits in some unexpected ways. This is a genuinely unique piece of writing." - Gordana P. Crnkovic, University of Washington "Ramet's first novel takes us on a surrealistic rollercoaster ride blending in psychedelic adaptations of events from the author's life into a hilarious, wacky adventure that takes the reader from one side of the Pacific to the other and back, with a short jaunt into outer space, culminating in a world-saving song-and-dance-routine climax in Las Vegas, in which two stuffed eco-terrorist rabbits and an assortment of robotized weasels play the decisive role. Filled with a menagerie of unforgettable animal characters and told through the eyes of an apparently paranoid character worried about brain surgery, this story also incorporates a serious critique of environmental destruction, as well as swipes at corporations and their aggressive marketing campaigns." - Vjeran Pavlakovic, NCEEER Research Scholar in Zagreb.

Caf Bombshell: The International Brain Surgery Conspiracy

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Ramet, Professor Sabrina P

Fantasy

The book describes the author's experiences in China during the 1989 "Beijing Spring." It moves to India, and then Kenya at the time of the American Embassy bombing in Nairobi. "From the Chinese army's crackdown in Tiananmen Square to Al Qaeda's terror attacks on the American Embassy in Nairobi, Joanne and Jim Huskey have been on the front lines of some of the most dramatic moments in recent historyJim as a U.S. Foreign Service officer, Joanne as his intrepid partner. A compelling political thriller, colorful adventure story, and well-written travel-ogue, The Unofficial Diplomat provides a revealing behind-the-scenes glimpse of what life is really like for our diplomats and their families as they face the challenges of representing the United States while seeking to carve out a semblance of normal existence in a tumultuous world. A wonderful read." MIKE CHINOY, former CNN Senior Asia Corrrespondent "This book provides a wonderful insight into the highs and lows, the exuberance and terrors, of a life well lived in the Foreign Service. Read the part about the al Qaeda bombing of the Nairobi embassy in 1998 and you will understand how the mindset and personal leadership of community members like Joanne helped us accomplish extraordinary things against great odds. The Unofficial Diplomat makes clear why Foreign Service spouses and family members deserve such respect and affection." PRUDENCE BUSHNELL, former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and Guatemala "The Huskeys brought enthusiasm and exuberance to their two China postings, backed by a profound interest in the history and culture of China. And when faced with the tragedy of Tiananmen in June 1989, while Jim Huskey performed brilliantly, applying his creativity and adventurous spirit to get the account right, Joanne was with him all the way. Her diverse talents and humanity brought two worlds closer together. Both understand the importance and appeal of Taiwan and yet clearly know the power of China in our future. A very good bookread it!" JAMES R. LILLEY, former U.S. Ambassador to China and former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan

The Unofficial Diplomat: A Memoir

Huskey, Joanne Grady

Community & Culture

The book tells the story of a graduate of the University of Istanbul who decides to move to the United States. There he discovers his true economic and political outlook: free market economy and moderate conservatism. "Turkey is currently a topic of many debates--on issues of its EU admission, its role in NATO, the Armenian question, secularism, the scarf issue, and others. 
Without any apparent intention to do so the author provides a historical context for many of the above issues, and he does it in a personalized manner that many can relate to." -Arnold Reisman, author of Turkey¿s Modernization: Refugees from Nazism and Atatürk¿s Vision.

Broken Frame: Memoirs of a Turkish Immigrant

Andic, Fuat M

A volume of humorous verse, from epic poems on American and global history to the role of bunnies and kitties in high affairs. "Joining acute analysis of world affairs with rhyme (and often song), Sabrina Ramet's Cheese Pirates is simultaneously uproarious, surprising, and insightful. From epic poems on American and global history to musings on the role of bunnies and kitties in high affairs, Cheese Pirates both amuses and forces you to ponder deeply the role of government and personality. A fine sequel to Ramet's earlier compendium, Pets of Great Dictators, Cheese Pirates teases as it stimulates reflection on the absurdities and the verities of politics, culture and everyday life. Cheese Pirates is a singular read, and it will be a unique addition to any library-readers will turn to it again and again for inspiration." -Jerry Pankhurst, Wittenberg University "This book embarrassed me. It caused me to laugh loudly and uncontrollably while using Norwegian public transportation." -Torbjørn Knutsen, The Norwegian University of Science & Technology "This is an absolutely hilarious collection of rhymes, many of them set to well-known melodies. There are joyful verses celebrating life here, as well as bitingly satirical rhymes which provoke laughter at some of the absurdities of political life. I laughed so hard reading these verses that it hurt." -Danica Fink-Hafner, The University of Ljubljana

Cheese Pirates: Humorous Rhymes for Adult Children

Bitterness/Seven Stories

Romance

Orsini, David

Collections & Anthologies

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the NAP/SCARITH publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by NAP/SCARITH

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the NAP/SCARITH publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Da Vinci Barcode: A Parody

Love and Samsara

Love and Samsara

Through Dark Days and White Nights: Four Decades Observing a Changing Russia (Russian History and Culture)

Brothers in Exile: A Novel of the Lives and Loves of Thomas and Heinrich Mann

Caf Bombshell: The International Brain Surgery Conspiracy

The Unofficial Diplomat: A Memoir

Broken Frame: Memoirs of a Turkish Immigrant

Cheese Pirates: Humorous Rhymes for Adult Children

Bitterness/Seven Stories