Summer Reading and Viewing: Cool Summer Reads

A Spellbinding Thriller about a Science History Professor on the Run for his Life and an Unpublished Einstein Theory that Could Change the World Debut novelist Mark Alpert brings one of the most explosive books of 2008, seamlessly weaving current issues of science, history, and politics with white-knuckle chases. David Swift, a professor at Columbia University, is called to the hospital to comfort his mentor, a physicist who's been brutally tortured. Before dying, the old man wheezes "Einheitliche Feldtheorie." The Theory of Everything. The Destroyer of Worlds. Could this be Einstein's proposed Unified Theory--a set of equations that combines the physics of galaxies with the laws of atoms? Einstein never succeeded in discovering it. Or did he? Within hours of hearing his mentor's last words, David is running for his life. The FBI and a ruthless mercenary are vying to get their hands on the long-hidden theory. Teaming up with his old girlfriend, a brilliant Princeton scientist, David frantically works out Einstein's final theory to reveal the staggering scope of its consequences. With publishers around the world snapping up rights in twenty-two countries, the book has already become a global phenomenon, and the dynamic characters and gripping plot will keep readers compulsively turning the pages until the very end.

Kasper Wise has a goal of running the 1600 meters in the low four twenties, to gain an athletic college scholarship that will pay for his college-but he attends a small country school, with his two brothers and cousin, that has no history of developing outstanding distance runners. Then Kasper finds he can gain admittance to a major university, if he can excel on a physics examination the school offers. He devotes much of his time studying for this very difficult test and then he must push his body to its physical limits in running everyday. Examining their training regimen and methods to solve physics problems gets detailed attention. The community, confronted by some adverse activities and a stalker following the team's one girl distance runner, leads Kasper into situations that threatens and interferes with his running and studies. Kasper must use his knowledge of the German language to confront a situation and brute intelligence to solve a coded message for an English assignment. Kasper is constantly being pushed to his limits to complete his goals and juggle his limited resources available.

-- A sweeping, comprehensive epic, Hopeful Monsters tells the story of the love affair between Max, an English student of physics and biology, and Eleanor, a German Jewess and political radical. Together and apart, Max and Eleanor participate in the great political and intellectual movements which shape the twentieth century, taking them from Cambridge and Berlin to the Spanish Civil War, Russia, the Sahara, and finally to Los Alamos to witness the first nuclear test. -- Hopeful Monsters received Britain's prestigious Whitbread Award in 1990. -- Praising Mosley's ability to distill complex modes of thought, the New York Times called Hopeful Monsters a virtual encyclopedia of twentieth century thought, in fictional form. -- First U.S. edition by Dalkey Archive ('90), most recent paperback by Vintage ('93).

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Mind-bending ... A novel full of life-affirming ideas." - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) "The cutting edge of science tipping into something new and marvelous ... a startling, fascinating novel." - KIM STANLEY ROBINSON, New York Times bestselling author "Real science and limitless imagination combine in a thrilling story you won't soon forget." - ROBIN COOK, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Coma (and 37 other international bestsellers) "Brilliant ... A riveting and moving story." - RHONDA BYRNE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Secret. Caro Soames-Watkins, a talented neurosurgeon whose career has been upended by controversy, is jobless, broke, and the sole supporter of her sister, a single mother with a severely disabled child. When she receives a strange job offer from Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sam Watkins, a great uncle she barely knows, desperation forces her to take it in spite of serious suspicions. Watkins has built a mysterious medical facility in the Caribbean to conduct research into the nature of consciousness, reality, and life after death. Helped in his mission by his old friend, eminent physicist George Weigert, and young tech entrepreneur Julian Dey, Sam has gone far beyond curing the body to develop a technology that could solve the riddle of mortality. Two obstacles stand in their way: someone on the inside is leaking intel and Watkins' failing body must last long enough for the technology to be ready. As danger mounts, Caro finds more than she bargained for, including murder, love, and a deeper understanding into the nature of reality. A mind-expanding journey to the very edges of science, Observer will thrill you, inspire you, and lead you to think about life and the power of the imagination in startling new ways.

No one solves crimes like Skeleton Detective Gideon Oliver. Gideon and his wife are on vacation in Mexico when a local police chief requests his assistance on a case. A mummified corpse was discovered in the desert and the coroner believed the victim was shot. But Gideon's examination reveals the victim was stabbed with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Then Gideon is asked to examine the skeleton of a murder victim found a year earlier-only to discover another error. The coroner misidentified the remains as belonging to a twelve to fifteen-year-old girl, when in fact the remains were that of a young woman of twenty. Gideon knows these two "mistakenly" identified bodies aren't a coincidence. But finding the connection between them will prove more dangerous than he could possibly imagine- and place him into the crosshairs of the killer he's hunting.

The Way We Never Were examines two centuries of American family life and shatters a series of myths and half-truths that burden modern families. Placing current family dilemmas in the context of far-reaching economic, political, and demographic changes, Coontz sheds new light on such contemporary concerns as parenting, privacy, love, the division of labor along gender lines, the black family, feminism, and sexual practice.

A beguiling novel that does for contemporary Kenya and its 1,000 species of birds what Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies Detective series does for Botswana For the past three years, the widower Mr. Malik has been secretly in love with Rose Mbikwa, a woman who leads the weekly bird walks sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society. Reserved and honorable, Malik wouldn't be noticed by a bystander in a Nairobi street--except perhaps to comment on his carefully sculpted combover. But beneath that unprepossessing exterior lies a warm heart and a secret passion. But just as Malik is getting up the nerve to invite Rose to the Nairobi Hunt Club Ball (the premier social occasion of the Kenyan calendar), who should pop up but his nemesis from his school days. The jokester Harry Khan, good-looking in a flashy way and quick of foot, has also become enraptured with the object of Malik's affection. So begins the competition cooked up by fellow members of the Asadi club: whoever can identify the most species of birds in one week's time gets the privilege of asking Ms. Mbikwa to the ball. Set against the lush Kenyan landscape rich with wildlife and political intrigue, this irresistible novel has been sold in eight countries and is winning fans worldwide.

"A smart, taut, mind-blowing thriller full of heartbreak and betrayal that moves along at breakneck speed. Readers will be obsessed!" --Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Just The Nicest Couple Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .   Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can't be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately  wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she's at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.   DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park's son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don't have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold--or how many children he has sired.   As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?   This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together--or break each other apart . . .