Empire City

When Santo’s father left their tiny town in Italy for America, he made Santo promise to keep their family together until he has enough money to bring the rest of them to the US. It takes a few years, but Mama finally gets word that their family can join Papa. Santo couldn’t be more excited to go to America—and to see his father again. However, Santo gets separated from his mother and siblings at Ellis Island, and he is left to fend for himself on the mean streets of Manhattan. Santo doesn’t speak English, he doesn’t know anyone, and he has nowhere to go. He has no money and no help.

Assassin Hawes Madigan wants to do right - by his family, his organization, his city, and the man he's falling for, ATF agent Christopher Perri. But Hawes's rules are being challenged by someone willing to kill for the old ways. To save his soul and his empire, Hawes must make an impossible decision: fight from the outside or bend the knee to win back his throne from within. Chris is used to being the inside man, the one undercover. Now, he's on the outside marshaling forces in support of the man and the ring of assassins he was supposed to take down.

A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black-and-gold army, a hidden threat is working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium's harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing.

Pompeii was destroyed by the horrific eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, which buried at least 2,000 unlucky people. Pompeii became a mysterious tomb, hiding secrets of Rome and other civilizations that influenced the life and culture of the city and its people. Who were the Pompeiians, and how did they live before that dreadful day? What did the last days of Pompeii look like, and did the Pompeiians know that the fate of their city would be sealed that day, not to be uncovered for centuries to come?

Beneath the waves, darkness stirs… Most know stories of Atlantis; the downfall of a superior civilization that sank into the ocean. Join these characters on the adventures of a lifetime as they navigate the dangerous depths. From exploring sunken cities where hungry monsters lurk to sanguine sirens that leave bloody trails in their wakes. From selkies stumbling across love to the discovery of elusive creatures like Nessie. Featuring stories from Jo Niederhoff, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Ella Rose, Charles Kyffhausen, M.R. Parsons, and J.E. Feldman.

Come take a dive. From sirens, mermaids, selkies, and more, these tales of the deep will tug at your heartstrings. Love can warm the iciest waters, but revenge is best served cold. Watery graves await for those who push boundaries or stray too far. Features stories by J.M. Rhineheart, Emma K. Leadley, K. Parr, Andria Kennedy, Fred Phillips, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Claire Davon, Nicholas Nethery, A.D. Watts, Toni Mobley, D.L. Lewellyn, Rienne French, Seth Taylor, Derek Kho, Anwen Redlake, and D.R. Birdsall.

Those dark and terrible things from your nightmares are very real. They walk among us, masquerading as your neighbor, your lover, even your friend. You see, Empire City is full of them...if you only know where to look. How do I know this? Well, for starters the name is Detective Tom Holliday. I work homicide for Special Crimes. My friends, what few I have, call me Doc. And the other reason? I’ve got magic of my own. Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel.

Whether we realize it or not, stories and characters from Timbuktu are everywhere in our modern-day lives. The great Mansa Musa was the most iconic king of the Mali Empire. Considered to be one of the richest men ever, Mansa Musa is not only the right answer to a commonly asked trivia question but also one of the inspirations behind Marvel’s Black Panther. Although the other kings who reigned over Timbuktu may not be known quite as well as Mansa Musa, their lives have also inspired stories we are quite familiar with today.

Empire of Water explores the history of New York City’s water system - from the late 19th century to the early 21st century - focusing on the geographical, environmental, and political repercussions of the city’s search for more water. By tracing the evolution of the city’s water conservation efforts and watershed management regime, Soll reveals the tremendous shifts in environmental practices and consciousness that occurred during the 20th century.

Seldom has the netherworld of the Mafia been revealed with such fascinating detail and sheer suspense. Featuring eccentric, larger-than-life New York characters and an undercover cop on the brink of being discovered - and murdered - at every step, Takedown is a riveting real-life procedural and one of the most important investigative books of its time.

A killer leaves a masterpiece at every murder scene—and Detective John Keegan must decipher the art before it claims more lives. Hollywood superstar Patrick Dillons is found brutally murdered, his crime scene transformed into a macabre tribute to his most famous films. At first glance, Dillons seemed perfect: adored by audiences, hounded by paparazzi, and envied by rivals. But as Keegan peels back the layers of this manufactured persona, he’s forced to confront the truth—Dillons cultivated an immaculate image while keeping dangerous secrets under wraps. Now working with his new ...

Was there an empire older and more important than mighty Egypt? There were a few, but the Akkadian Empire, born out of the cradle of civilization, is thought to be the first. And it was a game-changer. Its creation inspired conquerors and other empire-builders throughout history and spawned two world powers. Its epics, legends, and beliefs influence religions and cultures even today—and make for some darn good listening.

Two-time New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly opens up about his remarkable life, taking us inside 50 years of law enforcement leadership, offering chilling stories of terrorist plots after 9/11 and sharing his candid insights into the challenges and controversies cops face today.

Theodore Roosevelt is best remembered as America's prototypical "cowboy" president - a Rough Rider who derived his political wisdom from a youth spent in the untamed American West. During his early political career, Roosevelt took on local Republican factions and Tammany Hall Democrats alike, proving his commitment to reform at all costs.

Any travel guide to Rome will urge visitors to go the Colosseum, but none answers a simple question: Why is it called the Colosseum? The History of Rome in 12 Buildings: A Travel Companion to the Hidden Secrets of the Eternal City is compelling, concise, and fun, and takes you behind the iconic buildings to reveal the hidden stories of the people that forged the Roman Empire.

Very few of the ancient empires and nations were able to challenge the Romans, who were famous for their military might. Even fewer were able to make them shiver just by mentioning their name. In fact, only one enemy of Rome managed to engrave such fear into their bones. That was Carthage, sometimes called the Carthaginian Empire. It was a formidable state that stretched across northern Africa, from Algeria and Tunisia to the shores of Morocco and southern Spain.

The Greco-Persian Wars are often portrayed as a battle between good and evil. This is simultaneously an exaggeration and an oversimplification, but there is no doubt that this war, or series of wars, fought between some of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient era helped to plot the course of human history that we have been following up until this very day.

On his deathbed, some historians claim that when he was pressed to name a successor, Alexander the Great muttered that his empire should go "to the strongest". Other sources claim that he passed his signet ring to his general Perdiccas, thereby naming him successor, but whatever his choices were or may have been, they were ignored.

Dive into the captivating world of "The Last Romans: A Brief History of the Byzantine Empire," where the echoes of ancient Rome blend seamlessly with the dawn of the modern world. This enthralling book invites readers on a journey through the corridors of history to explore an empire that stood resiliently at the crossroads of civilizations for over a thousand years. "The Last Romans" presents a distilled narrative that captures the essence of Byzantine history—from its inception in 330 AD, when Constantine the Great christened Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire, to its...

Within a generation of Christopher Columbus’ historic voyage to the Americas in 1492, a regional rivalry had developed between Spain and its closest neighbor as the Portuguese began to establish a colony in Brazil and push its boundaries southwards. However, while the Portuguese and Spanish grappled over South America, the Spanish began colonizing the Yucatan in the 16th century after defeating various Mesoamerican groups, most notably Hernan Cortés’ conquest of the Aztec Empire.