College Road Trip

• COLLEGE ROAD TRIP (DVD MOVIE)

COLLEGE ROAD TRIP stars Martin Lawrence as Chicago cop James Porter, an overprotective father who wants to keep his college-bound daughter, Melanie (Raven-Symone), close to home. When the smart, assertive Melanie declares her intention to attend Georgetown instead of Northwestern, James insistently sets out with her on a cross-country car journey to Washington D.C., hoping to dissuade her along the way. En route, of course, plenty of hijinks ensue, including scenarios involving a precocious pig and, oddly enough, Donny Osmond, who turns up as an eeriely cheery dad also on a college-touring campaign.Choosing a college and striking out on one's own is an exciting time that requires a big adjustment by both child and parent, but few parents will have as much difficulty relinquishing control over their daughter's life as Chicago police chief James Porter (Martin Lawr! ence). The ultimate in loving but overprotective fathers, James wants his daughter Melanie (Raven-Symoné) to attend nearby Northwestern College, so when she's waitlisted and called for an interview at Georgetown in Washington, D.C., James gets more than a little nervous. Squashing her plans for a road trip to D.C. with her girlfriends, James insists on a father-daughter expedition which he envisions being full of reminiscing, heart-to-heart conversations, and a healthy dose of persuasive promotion of Northwestern. The car trip definitely doesn't turn out as planned--instead it’s a trip rife with strained silences and festering conflict in which the police vehicle rolls down a wooded embankment, Melanie's little brother (Eshaya Draper) and pet pig stow away in the back of the truck, and the Porters inexplicably keep running into a syrupy sweet father (Donny Osmond) and college-bound-daughter (Molly Ephraim) whose close relationship, clean-cut enthusiasm, and willingness t! o befriend and help the Porters is downright unsettling. Absu! rdly fun ny scenes include the family pig crashing and demolishing a fancy outdoor wedding; James' party-loving mother (Arnetia Walker) scrambling to live up to her son's uptight image of her as a fragile, elderly woman; James breaking into a local sorority house and hiding under a bed in hopes of protecting Melanie's innocence, and James' and Melanie's unexpected skydive into Washington, D.C., in order to keep Melanie's interview appointment at Georgetown. In the end, James and Melanie both mature as a result of their road trip and are finally able to forge an emotionally healthy relationship with one another. (Ages 8 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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California Costumes Men's Abominable Snowman Costume,White,One Size

• Velcro

It has been sighted 42,000 times in 68 countries, a vicious creature of myth and legend called Sasquatch, Yeti, and perhaps most infamously, Bigfoot. We ve hunted it for years. But what happens when it decides to hunt us? For newly paraplegic mountain climber Preston Rogers (Matt McCoy), the horror hits home when this ravenous beast attacks a remote forest community. Will its next hot meal be a group of knucklehead hunters (including Lance Henriksen of ALIENS & Jeffrey Combs of RE-ANIMATOR), a skeptical police chief (Paul Gleason of DIE HARD), a cabin full of nubile co-eds (including Ashley Hartman of THE O.C.), or a trapped Preston himself? Rex Linn (CSI: MIAMI) and Dee Wallace-Stone (CUJO) co-star in this wild and gruesome horror shocker that Fangoria calls the best serious fright film ever made about Bigfoot!The Abominable Snowman is here to prove he's not just a myth! Abominable Sn! owman costume features furry bodysuit, inflatable shoulder pieces, snowman mask, hands and feet.

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Before Sunrise

• BEFORE SUNRISE (DVD MOVIE)

BEFORE SUNSET - DVD MovieIn 1994, director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life) made Before Sunrise, a gorgeous poem of a movie about two strangers (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) wandering around Vienna, talking, and falling in love. Ten years later, Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy have returned with Before Sunset, which reunites the same characters after Hawke has written a book about that night. Delpy appears at the final book reading of his European tour; they have less than two hours before Hawke has to catch a flight to New York...and in that time, they walk around Paris, talk, and fall in love all over again. It sounds simple, perhaps dull, but it's written with such skill and care and acted with such richness that it's a miracle of filmmaking. On its own, Before Sunset is moving and wonderful; seen right ! after Before Sunrise, it will break your heart. --Bret FetzerA heartbroken young Texas journalist meets a beautiful French student on a train bound for Paris, and invites her to share his last night in Vienna.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 6-NOV-2001
Media Type: DVDThis romantic, witty, and ultimately poignant glimpse at two strangers (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who share thoughts, affections, and past experiences during one 14-hour tryst in Vienna somehow remains writer/director Richard Linklater's (Dazed and Confused, Slacker) most overlooked gem. Delpy, a stunning, low-key Parisian, meets the stammering American Hawke, as the two share a Eurorail seat--she's starting school in Paris, he's finishing a vacation. Their mutual attraction leads to an awkward meeting (beautifully played by each performer), and Hawke suggests that Delpy spend his remaining 14 hours in Vienna with him.

! Typically, this skeleton is as much plot as Linklater provide! s; as us ual, he's more interested in concentrating his talents on observing the casual, playful conversations between his leads. His tight time frame allows the characters to say anything to one another, and topics ranging from politics to past romances to fears of the future flow with subtle finesse. The short time frame is also cruel, however, because beneath this love affair lies the painful reality that the two most likely will never see each other again and will be left only with memories--an idea Linklater drives home with an effective snapshot conclusion.

Hardly the trite Gen-X bitch session that many '90s films using this approach become, the film feels more like a Bresson or Rohmer piece, containing sharp perceptions--and flawed humans rather than stereotypes. The protagonists' frank revelations and heated exchanges flow in a stream-of-consciousness style, and its no accident that Linklater set the film in Vienna, where Freud invented and practiced psychotherapy. --! Dave McCoyStudio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/09/2010This romantic, witty, and ultimately poignant glimpse at two strangers (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who share thoughts, affections, and past experiences during one 14-hour tryst in Vienna somehow remains writer/director Richard Linklater's (Dazed and Confused, Slacker) most overlooked gem. Delpy, a stunning, low-key Parisian, meets the stammering American Hawke, as the two share a Eurorail seat--she's starting school in Paris, he's finishing a vacation. Their mutual attraction leads to an awkward meeting (beautifully played by each performer), and Hawke suggests that Delpy spend his remaining 14 hours in Vienna with him.

Typically, this skeleton is as much plot as Linklater provides; as usual, he's more interested in concentrating his talents on observing the casual, playful conversations between his leads. His tight time frame allows the characters to say anything to one another, and topic! s ranging from politics to past romances to fears of the futur! e flow w ith subtle finesse. The short time frame is also cruel, however, because beneath this love affair lies the painful reality that the two most likely will never see each other again and will be left only with memories--an idea Linklater drives home with an effective snapshot conclusion.

Hardly the trite Gen-X bitch session that many '90s films using this approach become, the film feels more like a Bresson or Rohmer piece, containing sharp perceptions--and flawed humans rather than stereotypes. The protagonists' frank revelations and heated exchanges flow in a stream-of-consciousness style, and its no accident that Linklater set the film in Vienna, where Freud invented and practiced psychotherapy. --Dave McCoy

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Faber-Castell Getting Started Watercolor Pencil Art Set

• 800094
• 092633801215
• Brand New Item / Unopened Product
• Faber-Castell

The Art Of Getting By: Music From The Motion Picture

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Discover the magic of watercolor pencils. The paint is in the pencils! This kit was designed for beginners and teaches the basic techniques of working with watercolor pencils. Create color drawings just as you would with regular colored pencils and then blend the colors with a wet brush to magically create a watercolor painting. This kit contains eight Faber-Castell watercolor pencils (red, yellow, blue, orange, violet, green, magenta and black), (1) 8" x 5-1/2" 15-page watercolor pencil art pad, one watercolor paintbrush, one pencil sharpener and a twenty-four page illustrated instruction booklet. All contents conform to AS! TM D4236.

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Transcend 16 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC10E

• Compatible with all SDHC-labeled host devices (not compatible with standard SD)
• RoHS compliant
• Easy to use, plug-and-play operation
• Fully compatible with SD 3.0 Standards
• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging

Now in the trade paperback edition:
New Bonus Chapter and Reading Group Guide, including Stephenie Meyer's Annotated Playlist for the book.

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off! to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human. (2008)Amazon Best of the Month, May 2008: Stephenie Meyer, creator of the phenomenal teen-vamp Twilight series, takes paranormal romance into alien territory in her first adult novel. Those wary of sci-fi or teen angst will be pleasantly surprised by this mature and imaginative thriller, propelled by equal parts action and emotion. A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won't surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body's longing and sets off into the desert to find him. Likely the first love triangle involving just two bodies, it's unabashedl! y romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely end! earing. Readers intrigued by this familiar-yet-alien world will gleefully note that the story's end leaves the door open for a sequel--or another series. --Mari MalcolmPart 2 of the Touchstone trilogy:

In the months since Cassandra Devlin walked off Earth onto another planet, she has grappled with everything from making blankets to helping psychics battle the memories of monsters. Not able to find a way home, she has instead gained friends and a purpose. Unfortunately, that purpose brings with it the pressure of being more than a little valuable, and those she has befriended are also her guards, ordered to explore and control her abilities to find out just what it is a touchstone can do.

Test subject was not the career path Cass had been planning.

With no privacy, too-frequent injuries, and the painful knowledge that she must always be an assignment to her Setari companions, Cass can only wish for some semblance of normality and control.
!
And as her abilities become more and more dangerous, tests and training may be the only thing capable of protecting Cass from herself.
Part 2 of the Touchstone trilogy:

In the months since Cassandra Devlin walked off Earth onto another planet, she has grappled with everything from making blankets to helping psychics battle the memories of monsters. Not able to find a way home, she has instead gained friends and a purpose. Unfortunately, that purpose brings with it the pressure of being more than a little valuable, and those she has befriended are also her guards, ordered to explore and control her abilities to find out just what it is a touchstone can do.

Test subject was not the career path Cass had been planning.

With no privacy, too-frequent injuries, and the painful knowledge that she must always be an assignment to her Setari companions, Cass can only wish for some semblance of normality and control.

And as her abilities become mo! re and more dangerous, tests and training may be the only thin! g capabl e of protecting Cass from herself.
Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card (TS16GSDHC10E) - Frustration Free Package Certified Frustration-Free Packaging Amazon.com has certified this product's packaging is Frustration-Free. A Frustration-Free Package is easy-to-open and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic "clamshell" casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It is exactly the same as a traditionally packaged product--we've just streamlined the packaging to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging during shipping. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without the need for an additional shipping box.Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card (TS16GSDHC10E) - Frustration Free Package

Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
Amazon.com has certified this product's packaging is Frustration-Free.! A Frustration-Free Package is easy-to-open and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic "clamshell" casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It is exactly the same as a traditionally packaged product--we've just streamlined the packaging to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging during shipping. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without the need for an additional shipping box. Learn more.

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Femme Fatale

• Femme Fatale is a contemporary film noir about an alluring seductress (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) suddenly exposed to the world -- and her enemies -- by a voyeuristic photographer (Antonio Banderas) who becomes ensnared in her surreal quest for revenge.Running Time: 115 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R Age: 085392446124 UPC: 085392446124 Manufac

Britney Spears announces her seventh studio album is titled Femme Fatale. The iconic global superstar’s title Femme Fatale is a tribute to bold, empowered, confident, elusive, fun, flirty women and men. It’s not a conceptual album, Spears is letting the music speak for itself. She’s worked hard on it for two years and she considers it to be her “best album to date,” true to where she is now personally and professionally. Femme Fatale (Jive Records) is executive produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Few artists ha! ve earned the distinction of having five No.1 debut albums, and 24 Top 40 hits. She most recently set a new one-day precedent for single sales with her current No. 1 hit song, “Hold It Against Me.”. Jonas Åkerlaund shot the video for the song. Spears is peerless among her contemporaries. Throughout the years, Britney has consistently released hit after hit for over a decade, selling close to 70 million albums cumulatively worldwide. During her 12-year career, Britney has had five albums debut in the No. 1 position on Billboard 's Top 200 Albums chart and she's had 24 Top 40 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart. Globally, Britney Spears is one of the top-selling artists of the past decade, dominating charts with her albums, selling an astonishing 67 million albums worldwide. Her previous albums include: …Baby One More Time (1999); Oops!... I Did It Again (2000); Britney (2001); In The Zone (2003); Blackout (2007); Circus (2008); and The Singles! Collection (2009). Britney Spears announces her seventh s! tudio al bum is titled Femme Fatale. The iconic global superstar’s title Femme Fatale is a tribute to bold, empowered, confident, elusive, fun, flirty women and men. It’s not a conceptual album, Spears is letting the music speak for itself. She’s worked hard on it for two years and she considers it to be her “best album to date,” true to where she is now personally and professionally. Femme Fatale (Jive Records) is executive produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Few artists have earned the distinction of having five No.1 debut albums, and 24 Top 40 hits. She most recently set a new one-day precedent for single sales with her current No. 1 hit song, “Hold It Against Me.”. Jonas Åkerlaund shot the video for the song. Spears is peerless among her contemporaries. Throughout the years, Britney has consistently released hit after hit for over a decade, selling close to 70 million albums cumulatively worldwide. During her 12-year career, Britney has had five alb! ums debut in the No. 1 position on Billboard 's Top 200 Albums chart and she's had 24 Top 40 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart. Globally, Britney Spears is one of the top-selling artists of the past decade, dominating charts with her albums, selling an astonishing 67 million albums worldwide. Her previous albums include: …Baby One More Time (1999); Oops!... I Did It Again (2000); Britney (2001); In The Zone (2003); Blackout (2007); Circus (2008); and The Singles Collection (2009). Femme Fatale is a contemporary film noir about an alluring seductress (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) suddenly exposed to the world -- and her enemies -- by a voyeuristic photographer (Antonio Banderas) who becomes ensnared in her surreal quest for revenge. The sheer pleasure of watching movies is celebrated in Brian De Palma's dazzling Femme Fatale. Working from his own intricate screenplay, De Palma indulges all of his trademark obsessions, upping the ante on Hitchcock (ag! ain) with a Vertigo-like plot that begins with an audac! ious hei st at the Cannes film festival (another sexy, violent tour de force for De Palma). From there, the stunning thief Laure (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) assumes a new identity, marries a U.S. senator (Peter Coyote), and returns to Paris where a tenacious paparazzo (Antonio Banderas) becomes a patsy in her multilayered scheme. De Palma's weaving a web of nonsense, but his plotting is so exuberantly absurd--and his frame so full of visual clues and relevant detail--that Femme Fatale becomes a joyous thrill ride at first encounter, and a crazily logical (and grandly rewarding) movie on subsequent viewings. In her best role to date, Romijn-Stamos is everything you'd want a femme fatale to be, in a thriller that constantly challenges you to question what you're seeing. --Jeff Shannon

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The Bang-Bang Club, movie tie-in: Snapshots From a Hidden War

• ISBN13: 9780465019786
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Laura discovers the exciting world filled with sexual exploration and fulfillment after being introduced to the Tramp Stamp Club by her best friend Karen.

Hesitant at first, but more than excited to change her mundane sex life and learn what it really means to be a Slut Wife.

Follow Laura as she completes her Slut Wife Training in an effort to obtain her own Tramp Stamp.

Filled with sexual activities that only the bravest women would commit to, Laura finds the secret power and seduction known only by the Tramp Stamp Club members.

-----

Warning: 18+ ONLY This title contains erotic situations, graphic language, slut wife training, oral, bisexual, thr! eesomes, foursomes, light bondage, anal, lesbian, dildo, and public sex.

-----

EXCERPT:

“Oh baby,” Tina said, “that cock looks so wonderful against your skin. Let me have a taste.”

There it was. She was pulling my head off his cock and pushing me down to her tits. “Lick me clean while I suck his dick,” she said.

I know I was pouting, but I did as instructed. I ran my tongue over the side of her left breast as I pressed my face into her come cover tits. The come was cool to the touch, but the fire burning in my pussy was more than enough to offset it. I lovingly licked her clean as I felt her hands on my back.

“Lay down, bitch,” Tina said. “Let’s see you take this huge dick.”

More than eager to please, I clamored to the low bench and instinctively spread my legs. My black friend positioned himself between my legs and slapped my clit with his dick. That shot tingles down my legs! as I pulled my feet up to his thighs. He wasted no time shovi! ng his f at black cock in my tight little pussy, stretching it for all it was worth. A sharp burning pain seared through my flesh as his first powerful stroke nearly went right through me. Tina pinched my nipple as she bent down to taste the come off my lips. He began fucking me even harder as the pain subsided and turned into extreme pleasure.

Tina then positioned herself over my face. “Eat the cum out of my pussy!” she said as she climbed over my face again.

I lovingly licked her cunt as she leaned forward and pressed her firm breasts against my black lover’s chest.

“Mmm… you’re little whore has a tight pussy.” My dark lover spoke to Tina. I knew he was pinching her nipples, each time he did her pussy lips tightened and pulsated.

“Why don’t you get down there and lick her clit and my cock while I’m fucking her narrow hole?” His voice was deep and full of desire.

I was really enjoying my new found bisexual! side as she lowered her tongue onto my clit. That sent me straight into orgasm, and the pleasure of her tongue on my clit, and the thick black cock in my pussy took me to new heights of arousal.

He continued to pound that cock into me, fucking me at depths that I never knew were possible. My toes curled as I experienced what may have been the longest orgasm in my life. The pleasure was almost indescribable; he’d found a spot that sent me into complete submission to him and concentrated on it with unrelenting accuracy. I could fuck this cock all day long I thought as my orgasm reeled throughout my body.
Laura discovers the exciting world filled with sexual exploration and fulfillment after being introduced to the Tramp Stamp Club by her best friend Karen.

Hesitant at first, but more than excited to change her mundane sex life and learn what it really means to be a Slut Wife.

Follow Laura as she completes her Slut Wife Training in an effort to! obtain her own Tramp Stamp.

Filled with sexual activit! ies that only the bravest women would commit to, Laura finds the secret power and seduction known only by the Tramp Stamp Club members.

-----

Warning: 18+ ONLY This title contains erotic situations, graphic language, slut wife training, oral, bisexual, threesomes, foursomes, light bondage, anal, lesbian, dildo, and public sex.

-----

EXCERPT:

“Oh baby,” Tina said, “that cock looks so wonderful against your skin. Let me have a taste.”

There it was. She was pulling my head off his cock and pushing me down to her tits. “Lick me clean while I suck his dick,” she said.

I know I was pouting, but I did as instructed. I ran my tongue over the side of her left breast as I pressed my face into her come cover tits. The come was cool to the touch, but the fire burning in my pussy was more than enough to offset it. I lovingly licked her clean as I felt her hands on my back.

“Lay down, bitch,” Tina said. “Let’s see you tak! e this huge dick.”

More than eager to please, I clamored to the low bench and instinctively spread my legs. My black friend positioned himself between my legs and slapped my clit with his dick. That shot tingles down my legs as I pulled my feet up to his thighs. He wasted no time shoving his fat black cock in my tight little pussy, stretching it for all it was worth. A sharp burning pain seared through my flesh as his first powerful stroke nearly went right through me. Tina pinched my nipple as she bent down to taste the come off my lips. He began fucking me even harder as the pain subsided and turned into extreme pleasure.

Tina then positioned herself over my face. “Eat the cum out of my pussy!” she said as she climbed over my face again.

I lovingly licked her cunt as she leaned forward and pressed her firm breasts against my black lover’s chest.

“Mmm… you’re little whore has a tight pussy.” My dark lover spoke to Tina. I knew he! was pinching her nipples, each time he did her pussy lips tig! htened a nd pulsated.

“Why don’t you get down there and lick her clit and my cock while I’m fucking her narrow hole?” His voice was deep and full of desire.

I was really enjoying my new found bisexual side as she lowered her tongue onto my clit. That sent me straight into orgasm, and the pleasure of her tongue on my clit, and the thick black cock in my pussy took me to new heights of arousal.

He continued to pound that cock into me, fucking me at depths that I never knew were possible. My toes curled as I experienced what may have been the longest orgasm in my life. The pleasure was almost indescribable; he’d found a spot that sent me into complete submission to him and concentrated on it with unrelenting accuracy. I could fuck this cock all day long I thought as my orgasm reeled throughout my body.

A gripping story of four remarkable young menâ€"photographers, friends and rivalsâ€"who band together for protection in the final, violent days ! of white rule in South Africa.

Most people, upon hearing gunfire, would run away and hide. Conflict photojournalists have the opposite reaction: they actually look for trouble, and when they find it, get as close as possible and stand up to get the best shot. This thirst for the shot and the seeming nonchalance to the risks entailed earned Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Ken Oosterbroek, and Kevin Carter the moniker of the Bang-Bang Club. Oosterbroek was killed in township violence just days before South Africa's historic panracial elections. Carter, whose picture of a Sudanese child apparently being stalked by a vulture won him a Pulitzer Prize, killed himself shortly afterwards. Another of their posse, Gary Bernard, who had held Oosterbroek as he died, also committed suicide.

The Bang-Bang Club is a memoir of a time of rivalry, comradeship, machismo, and exhilaration experienced by a band of young South African photographers as they documented their cou! ntry's transition to democracy. We forget too easily the polit! ical and ethnic violence that wracked South Africa as apartheid died a slow, spasmodic death. Supporters of the ANC and Inkatha fought bloody battles every day. The white security forces were complicit in fomenting and enabling some of the worst violence. All the while, the Bang-Bang Club took pictures. And while they did, they were faced with the moral dilemma of how far they should go in pursuit of an image, and whether there was a point at which they should stop their shooting and try to intervene.

This is a riveting and appalling book. It is simply written--these guys are photographers, not writers--but extremely engaging. They were adrenaline junkies who partied hard and prized the shot above all else. None of them was a hero; these men come across as overweeningly ambitious, egotistical, reckless, and selfish, though also brave and even principled. As South Africans, they were all invested in their country's future, even though, as whites, they were strangers in their o! wn land as they covered the Hostel wars in the black townships. The mixture of the romantic appeal of the war correspondent with honest assessments of their personal failings is part of what makes this account so compelling and so singular among books of its ilk. --J. Riches

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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

• ISBN13: 9780375725609
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Trapped in an elevator high above Philadelphia, five people discover that the Devil is among them â€" and no one can escape their fate. This chilling, supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to a heart-stopping ending with a truly wicked twist.Five people trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the Devil--it's an intriguing launch pad for a movie, and in the hands of producer M. Night Shyamalan, it has all the makings of a first-class supernatural thriller. Unfortunately, Shyamalan's concern is more with the mechanics of the story--how to pull off that celebrated final-act switcheroo--than in presenting flesh-an! d-blood characters or dialogue that reeks of pulp. There's a moral high-handedness to the proceedings that's also off-putting--there's a reason why these five strangers are trapped in the lift, and why Detective Messina (the very likable Chris Messina from Julie & Julia) is summoned to rescue them, and why every character is set in motion in Shyamalan's Skinner box of a plot, but it hinges on very well-worn territory, which bites deeply into the story's novel conceit. The cast is uniformly fine--in addition to Messina, there are fine turns by such underrated actors as Bokeem Woodbine, Jenny O'Hara, Geoffrey Arend (in the elevator), and Matt Craven and Caroline Dhavernas (outside)--and the direction by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine), who coproduced with brother Drew and Shyamalan, does an impressive job of keeping the action fluid in the confines of the setting. But the central conceit of Devil is comic book material tarted up as an event picture, which ! doesn't elicit much hope for the rest of Shyamalan's Night ! Chronicl es trilogy, of which this is the first entry. --Paul GaitaTrapped in an elevator high above Philadelphia, five people discover that the Devil is among them â€" and no one can escape their fate. This chilling, supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Signs) will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to a heart-stopping ending with a truly wicked twist.Five people trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the Devil--it's an intriguing launch pad for a movie, and in the hands of producer M. Night Shyamalan, it has all the makings of a first-class supernatural thriller. Unfortunately, Shyamalan's concern is more with the mechanics of the story--how to pull off that celebrated final-act switcheroo--than in presenting flesh-and-blood characters or dialogue that reeks of pulp. There's a moral high-handedness to the proceedings that's also off-putting--there's a reason why these five strangers are trapped in the lift, and why Detecti! ve Messina (the very likable Chris Messina from Julie & Julia) is summoned to rescue them, and why every character is set in motion in Shyamalan's Skinner box of a plot, but it hinges on very well-worn territory, which bites deeply into the story's novel conceit. The cast is uniformly fine--in addition to Messina, there are fine turns by such underrated actors as Bokeem Woodbine, Jenny O'Hara, Geoffrey Arend (in the elevator), and Matt Craven and Caroline Dhavernas (outside)--and the direction by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine), who coproduced with brother Drew and Shyamalan, does an impressive job of keeping the action fluid in the confines of the setting. But the central conceit of Devil is comic book material tarted up as an event picture, which doesn't elicit much hope for the rest of Shyamalan's Night Chronicles trilogy, of which this is the first entry. --Paul Gaita

Erik Larsonâ€"author of #1 bestseller In the Garden of Beastsâ€"intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair and t! he cunni ng serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, ar! e skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe
!

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