Monday, January 31, 2022

Canterberry Tales by C. P. Hoff, 280 pages

 Pull up your knee socks and buckle your pinchy shoes, your childhood is calling. Celia Canterberry, a precocious seven-year-old, hell bent on saving earthworms, is about to drag you down memory lane and remind you what it was like to look at a careworn world with wide-eyed bemusement. Now take a deep breath. Smell that? Nostalgia.


Celia flits through the streets of Happy Valley to her Nan's chagrin, causing havoc wherever she goes. She's so infamous, she's got her own comic strip in the local paper, and Old Lady Griggs, her babysitter, is only too happy to read it with her. But what Celia secretly wants to know is where she came from. You see, Celia was abandoned at the hospital by her should-have-been parents, and her Nan won't explain how or why...




Be My Ghost by Carol J. Perry, 280 pages

 Maureen's career as a sportswear buyer hits a snag just before Halloween, when the department store declares bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Finn's lost his way as a guide dog after flunking his test for being too friendly and easily distracted. Sadly, only one of them can earn unemployment, so Maureen's facing a winter of discontent in Boston--when she realizes she can't afford her apartment.


Salvation comes when she receives a mysterious inheritance: an inn in Haven, Florida. A quaint, scenic town on the Gulf of Mexico hidden away from the theme parks, Maureen believes it's a good place to make a fresh start with a new business venture. But she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a dead body on her property--and meets some of the inn's everlasting tenants in the form of ghosts who offer their otherworldly talents in order to help her solve the mystery...



Sunday, January 30, 2022

Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary, 192 pages

 Seven-year-old Ramona world is turned upside-down when her father unexpectedly loses his job. Things grow tense in the Quimby house, but Ramona resolves to help in any way she can—even downsizing her Christmas list. But with bills piling up and her parents constantly stressed, Ramona wonders if life will ever go back to normal.




Saturday, January 29, 2022

A Revolution in Three Acts: The Radical Vaudeville of Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay & Julian Eltinge by Dabid Hajdu & John Carey, 166 pages

 Bert Williams--a Black man forced to perform in blackface who challenged the stereotypes of minstrelsy. Eva Tanguay--an entertainer with the signature song "I Don't Care" who flouted the rules of propriety to redefine womanhood for the modern age. Julian Eltinge--a female impersonator who entranced and unnerved audiences by embodying the feminine ideal Tanguay rejected. At the turn of the twentieth century, they became three of the most provocative and popular performers in vaudeville, the form in which American mass entertainment first took shape.

A Revolution in Three Acts explores how these vaudeville stars defied the standards of their time to change how their audiences thought about what it meant to be American, to be Black, to be a woman or a man. The writer David Hajdu and the artist John Carey collaborate in this work of graphic nonfiction, crafting powerful portrayals of Williams, Tanguay, and Eltinge to show how they transformed American culture. Hand-drawn images give vivid visual form to the lives and work of the book's subjects and their world.

This book is at once a deft telling of three intricately entwined stories, a lush evocation of a performance milieu with unabashed entertainment value, and an eye-opening account of a key moment in American cultural history with striking parallels to present-day questions of race, gender, and sexual identity.



Walkin Preacher of the Ozarks by Guy Howard, 273 pages

 This is the modern saga of a country preacher who has, literally, walked into the lives of countless Ozark backhills people. It is of necessity (and in truth) the intimate revelation of their physical and spiritual existence. Many were good lives; some were bad.


Therefore, in deference to those lives which are revealed where all may see, in the crisp black type of these pages, the actual names and places are not always given. The records of some have already been entered in the Great Book, but lest the living fear identification, it isnot presumed that this narrative could prejudice the text on their final Record.

Guy Howard, long-time resident of Branson, honored by University of Missouri School of Journalism as "notable Missouri author." Walkin' Preacher was featured in Life and Time Magazines.



Friday, January 28, 2022

The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene, 176 pages

 Nancy, Bess and George visit an old inn and meet Asa Sidney, a distant relative of the cousins, on the day of his 100th birthday. Nancy generously arranges an impromptu celebration for Mr. Sidney through the innkeeper and his wife. During the party, she befriends the foster daughter of these caretakers and discovers Mr. Sidney is virtually a prisoner in his own mansion. The young detective is further puzzled upon learning of the elderly man's disappearing fortune. Following Mr. Sidney's sudden demise, Nancy searches the old inn for answers, but this quest and her new friendship with the young girl nearly cause her to lose Bess and George. With only the sign of the twisted candles to guide her, Nancy uncovers hidden treasures, an amazing letter and ends a long-standing family feud.



Thursday, January 27, 2022

Tied Up in Knotts: My Dad and Me by Karen Knotts, 256 pages

 Much has been written about Don Knotts’s career, especially about his iconic role as Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, but personal views into the man himself are few and far between. In Tied Up in Knotts, a loving daughter provides a full-life narrative of her father: Don’s difficult childhood in an abusive home, his escape into comedic performance, becoming a household name, his growth as a feature film actor, his failing health, and his family life throughout, leading to touching and hilarious moments that will make the reader laugh and cry.

 
Those looking for a behind-the-scenes peek at the show, from the nuts and bolts of production to the hilarious pranks and heartfelt moments between the cast and crew, will see it all through the eyes of the little girl who grew up on the set. Knotts will delight readers with the memories of celebrities touched by Don’s life, including Ron Howard, Tim Conway, Andy Griffith, Elinor Donahue, John Waters, Barbara Eden, Katt Williams, and Jim Carrey.



Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner, 243 pages

 From Brent Spiner, who played the beloved Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, comes an explosive and hilarious autobiographical novel.


Brent Spiner’s explosive and hilarious novel is a personal look at the slightly askew relationship between a celebrity and his fans. If the Coen Brothers were to make a Star Trek movie, involving the complexity of fan obsession and sci-fi, this noir comedy might just be the one.

Set in 1991, just as Star Trek: The Next Generation has rocketed the cast to global fame, the young and impressionable actor Brent Spiner receives a mysterious package and a series of disturbing letters, that take him on a terrifying and bizarre journey that enlists Paramount Security, the LAPD, and even the FBI in putting a stop to the danger that has his life and career hanging in the balance.

Featuring a cast of characters from Patrick Stewart to Levar Burton to Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, to some completely imagined, this is the fictional autobiography that takes readers into the life of Brent Spiner and tells an amazing tale about the trappings of celebrity and the fear he has carried with him his entire life.



Monday, January 24, 2022

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, 324 pages

 As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever . . . but will the Cuthberts send her back to to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. If only she can convince them to let her stay, she'll try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes and blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. Anne is not like anyone else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables.




Sunday, January 23, 2022

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy, 449 pages

 The Ministry of Utmost Happiness takes us on a journey of many years – the story spooling outwards from the cramped neighbourhoods of Old Delhi into the burgeoning new metropolis and beyond, to the Valley of Kashmir and the forests of Central India, where war is peace and peace is war, and where, from time to time, ‘normalcy’ is declared.


Anjum, who used to be Aftab, unrolls a threadbare carpet in a city graveyard that she calls home. A baby appears quite suddenly on a pavement, a little after midnight, in a crib of litter. The enigmatic S. Tilottama is as much of a presence as she is an absence in the lives of the three men who love her.



Scrum Bums by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 Bucky, Satchel, and Rob are back for more madness and mayhem in Scrum Bums. And the world couldn't be happier! Darby Conley's previous titles include two New York Times best-sellers.Bucky Katt is a rather obstinate Siamese who constantly battles his "owner" Rob for control of their home. Satchel Pooch, the Labrador-Shar-pei mix who's sweet and lovable, makes a nice lackey for Bucky. Bucky knows he's smarter than everyone else; it's just a matter of convincing the rest of the world. Satchel always tries to do the right thing but very often ends up the brunt of Bucky's antics. Rob Wilco is a bachelor trying to regain household domesticity. Together, this seemingly typical threesome gets into some less-than-typical but hilarious situations. There's never a dull moment at the Wilco residence.




Thursday, January 20, 2022

The Joy and Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith, 227 pages

 In this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe is tempted to put the brakes on a business venture before it even gets rolling.


Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni attends a course hosted by the local chamber of commerce entitled “Where Is Your Business Going?” But rather than feeling energized, he comes back in low spirits, unsure how to grow the already venerable and successful Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Then an old friend from school approaches him about a new business venture that could be just the ticket. When it turns out he will need to mortgage his property in order to pursue this endeavor, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi wonder what this will mean for his current business―as well as their own.

Even as she puzzles over mysteries on the domestic front, Mma Ramotswe’s professional duties must take precedence. When a concerned son learns that his aging father’s nurse now stands to inherit the family home, he begins to doubt her intentions and takes his case to Botswana’s premier detective agency. Fortunately, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are committed agents of justice and agree to investigate.

Tricky as these matters may be, Mma Ramotswe knows that the most creative solutions are often found with the support of loving friends and family. Working together over a cup of red bush tea, she and Mma Makutsi will rely on their tact, humor, and goodwill to ensure that all involved find the happiness that they deserve.



Wednesday, January 19, 2022

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, 1007 pages

 The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind.


In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn.....
 



Monday, January 17, 2022

"Say Cheesy" by Darby Conley, 127 pages

 Dogs and cats can be cute, cuddly, and faithful companions. They also can be ornery, unpredictable, and hilarious. Get Fuzzy is all about the latter. In his latest collection, New York Times best-selling author Darby Conley has found uncommon humor and insight in our common, everyday pets.Get Fuzzy has fast become one of the premier comics on the funny pages. Readers of 400 newspapers worldwide enjoy the antics of this award-winning strip. The Wilco household includes Rob the bachelor, Bucky, the cantankerous cat with an attitude, and Satchel, the loveable-but-clueless dog. If animals really could talk, one would expect them to sound like Bucky and Fuzzy. Often, it's the subtle nuances of the strip-from Bucky's hilarious facial expressions to Satchel's dopey innocence-that pack the biggest laughs.The strip's dry wit and razor-sharp reality earned it the National Cartoonists Society's prestigious Best Newspaper Comic Strip in 2002. Get Fuzzy captures the non-glamorous essence of being a pet owner in a way people who own and operate dogs and cats are sure to love.




Sunday, January 16, 2022

Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun by Darby Conley, 252 pages

 Behold the world of Get Fuzzy. Meet Bucky Katt, the Siamese smart-ass who coexists under protest with Satchel Pooch, the sweet-tempered shar-pei/Lab mix, and Rob Wilco, the human who keeps the refrigerator stocked.




The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser, 575 pages

 Thea Mottram is having a bad month. Her husband of nearly twenty years has just left her for one of her friends, and she is let go from her office job--on Valentine's Day, of all days. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn't know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.


Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and shaggy, tulip-covered lawn. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can't seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle's antique novel collection. His gruff attitude--fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord--tests Thea's patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn't felt in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.



Saturday, January 15, 2022

The Get Fuzzy Experience: Are You Bucksperienced by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 When he was a child, Darby Conley used to wonder what his beloved pooch was thinking. That curiosity led to his creation of the hilarious strip Get Fuzzy in 1999, which has rapidly become one of the most popular cartoons in newspaper syndication. Showcasing the relationship between Bucky, a temperamental cat with an attitude; the sweet and sensitive dog Satchel; and their mild-mannered human companion, Rob Wilco, Get Fuzzy has cornered the market on anthropomorphic antics. Anyone who finds animals both amazing and amusing will find this new Get Fuzzy collection one of the most bitingly funny books ever printed.




The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters, 429 pages

 A new year, 1917, is dawning, and the Great War that ravages the world shows no sign of abating. In these perilous times, archaeologist Amelia Peabody and her extended family must confront shocking dangers. But it is son Ramses who faces the most dire threat, answering a call that will carry him to the fabled seaport of Gaza on a mission as personal as it is perilous -- where death will be the certain consequence of exposure. While far away, Ramses's beautiful wife, Nefret, guards a secret of her own ...




Get Fuzzy 2: Fuzzy Logic by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 Cats are famous for being aloof, but "cat-titude" reaches new heights in "Get Fuzzy," the bitingly funny comic strip from cartoonist Darby Conley. Wry and witty, "Get Fuzzy" is a hilarious portrait of single life with pets. Rob Wilco is the human who heads the household, but it's really Bucky the cat who's in charge. Satchel, the gentle pooch with a sensitive soul who tries to remain neutral, frequently ends up on the receiving end of Bucky's mischief. Together, this trio makes it through the trials and tribulations of daily life as an unlikely team. Darby Conley's "Fuzzy Logic" will hit the funny bone of everyone who enjoys their pets with an attitude.




Friday, January 14, 2022

Get Fuzzy: The Dog is Not a Toy (House Rule #4) by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 Get Fuzzy makes the fur fly. This freshly amusing strip is a darling among readers who enjoy pets with an attitude. This wry cartoon features Rob Wilco, a mild-mannered ad guy who's guardian to two rambunctious pets: Bucky, a temperamental cat who carries a boom box and goes on spending sprees, and Satchel, a gentle canine who tries to remain neutral even when he bears the brunt of Bucky's mischief. Together, this unlikely trio hangs out together, watching TV, cooking for friends, and attempting the occasional adventure outside. Anyone who has a pet or even knows one will find this Get Fuzzy collection, The Dog is Not a Toy, an astutely witty take on relationships between the species.




Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa De La Cruz, 322 pages

 Nothing ever happens in Filomena Jefferson-Cho's sleepy little suburban town of North Pasadena. The sun shines every day, the grass is always a perfect green, and while her progressive school swears there's no such thing as bullying, she still feels bummed out. But one day, when Filomena is walking home on her own, something strange happens.


Filomena is being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the Thirteenth Fairy, a series of books she loves about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends who save their world from an evil enchantress. She must be dreaming, or still reading a book. But Jack is insistent--he's real, the stories are real, and Filomena must come with him at once!

Soon, Filomena is thrust into the world of evil fairies and beautiful princesses, sorcerers and slayers, where an evil queen drives her ruthless armies to destroy what is left of the Fairy tribes. To save herself and the kingdom of Westphalia, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairytales and set the world back to rights before the cycle of sleep and destruction begins once more.



Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Plucked: A History of Hair Removal by Rebecca Herzig, 286 pages

 From the clamshell razors and homemade lye depilatories used in colonial America to the diode lasers and prescription pharmaceuticals available today, Americans have used a staggering array of tools to remove hair deemed unsightly, unnatural, or excessive. This is true especially for women and girls; conservative estimates indicate that 99% of American women have tried hair removal, and at least 85% regularly remove hair from their faces, armpits, legs, and bikini lines. How and when does hair become a problem--what makes some growth "excessive"? Who or what separates the necessary from the superfluous?


In Plucked, historian Rebecca Herzig addresses these questions about hair removal. She shows how, over time, dominant American beliefs about visible hair changed: where once elective hair removal was considered a "mutilation" practiced primarily by "savage" men, by the turn of the twentieth century, hair-free faces and limbs were expected for women. Visible hair growth--particularly on young, white women--came to be perceived as a sign of political extremism, sexual deviance, or mental illness. By the turn of the twenty-first century, more and more Americans were waxing, threading, shaving, or lasering themselves smooth. Herzig's extraordinary account also reveals some of the collateral damages of the intensifying pursuit of hair-free skin. Moving beyond the experiences of particular patients or clients, Herzig describes the surprising histories of race, science, industry, and medicine behind today's hair-removing tools. Plucked is an unsettling, gripping, and original tale of the lengths to which Americans will go to remove hair.



Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Good, the Bad, and the Mad: Some Weird People in American History by E. Randall Floyd, 176 pages

 The quiet spinster who erupted one day in a blinding flash of violence, the brilliant scientist that was terrified of women wearing pearl earrings, the inexperienced pilot who took off from New York bound for Los Angeles and landed 27 hours later—in Dublin! These are just a few of the many saints, sinners, hucksters, and oddballs you'll meet in The Good, The Bad & The Mad.


In this compellingly off-beat peek into America's past, E. Randall Floyd examines a fascinating array of men and women who achieved fame, fortune, or notoriety because (or in spite of) their glaring peculiarities. Did you know that: Stonewall Jackson was as renowned for his odd personal habits as for his daring flank attacks? Conan the Barbarian author Robert Howard lived all his life with his mother and committed suicide immediately after she died? All of General Custer's Indian scouts survived the Battle of Little Bighorn because he'd fired them just hours before?

Discover why financier Jay Gould was known as "the most hated man in America," who called social activist Jane Addams "the most dangerous woman in America," and how shy photographer's assistant Edgar Cayce achieved the title of "America's most mysterious man."



The Book Class by Louis Auchincloss, 212 pages

 Christopher Gates, cynical homosexual son of a member of a ladies' book club, narrates this tale of upper-class women who struggle to find meaning within the strict confines of New York society in the first decade of the twentieth century.




Shelf Check: A Library Comic Collection, 141 pages

 At the public library, staff often find themselves caught between those with nowhere else to turn and those with nowhere they'd rather be. Their goal: to enjoy the chaos, to maintain a semblance of order, and to get someone to read a book once in a while.




Friday, January 7, 2022

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson, 427 pages

 June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.


Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer's feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won't believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she's determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.



Thursday, January 6, 2022

Femme Fatale by Carole Nelson Douglas, 444 pages

 Irene Adler is the only woman to ever have outwitted Sherlock Holmes... and the one who has come closest to stealing his heart.


She has competed (and sometimes cooperated) with the famous fictional detective over six popular and acclaimed novels, featuring her daring investigations across the Continent. All along, the beautiful and brilliant American diva-turned-detective has managed to conceal her background and history, even from her dashing barrister husband Godfrey Norton and her devoted friend and biographer, English spinster Nell Huxleigh.

Irene's past is shrouded in secrecy-but a series of bizarre killings in New York City draws her reluctantly back to her native country, where she must race with a murderer to find her mother, a woman of mystery who may turn out to be the most notorious woman of the nineteenth century.

As Irene forges a trail into her own hidden past, Nellie Bly draws another ace investigator across the Atlantic to join in the hunt for a serial killer, the last man on earth Irene Adler wants to discover anything about her shocking past... Sherlock Holmes.



Monday, January 3, 2022

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C. McKissack, 122 pages

 When it is neither day nor night, when shadows lurk and folks scurry home before the ghosts come out, storytelling takes on a spectral cast. During that special half-hour of twilight--the dark-thirty--pick one of these spine-tingling tales and savor it...


-A white bus driver who refuses a ride to a penniless black woman later encounters her ghost.

-Phantom pictures etched on the windowpanes of a man's house proclaim his guilt in a lynching.

-A retired Pullman porter hears a ghostly whistle and knows it's the last train he'll ever ride.

Mesmerizing and breathtakingly original, these tales are inspired by African American history and range from the time of slavery to the civil rights era of the twentieth century. With her extraordinary gift for suspense and her sure sense of storytelling, Patricia C. McKissack has created a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten.



Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Sabina Hall by L. B. Greenwood, 190 pages

 Written with the full approval of The Conan Doyle Estate, this new mystery uses the same elegant style as that of the original Holmes stories. Holmes and Watson arrive at Sabina Hall to find their former acquaintance dead. Suspecting foulplay, they begin to investigate. When one of their suspects is killed, the mystery gets even tougher.




Sunday, January 2, 2022

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, 307 pages

 It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.


But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.



A Dark History of Tea by Seren Charrington Hollins, 176 pages

 A Dark History of Tea looks at our long relationship with this most revered of hot beverages. Renowned food historian Seren Charrington-Hollins digs into the history of one of the world's oldest beverages, tracing tea's significance on the tables of the high and mighty as well as providing relief for workers who had to contend with the ardours of manual labour.


This humble herbal infusion has been used in burial rituals, as a dowry payment for aristocrats; it has fuelled wars and spelled fortunes as it built empires and sipped itself into being an integral part of the cultural fabric of British life. This book delves into the less tasteful history of a drink now considered quintessentially British. It tells the story of how, carried on the backs of the cruelty of slavery and illicit opium smuggling, it flowed into the cups of British society as an enchanting beverage.

Chart the exportation of spices, silks and other goods like opium in exchange for tea, and explain how the array of good fortunes - a huge demand in Britain, a marriage with sugar, naval trade and the existence of the huge trading firms - all spurred the first impulses of modern capitalism and floated countries.

The story of tea takes the reader on a fascinating journey from myth, fable and folklore to murky stories of swindling, adulteration, greed, waging of wars, boosting of trade in hard drugs and slavery and the great, albeit dark engines that drove the globalisation of the world economy. All of this is spattered with interesting facts about tea etiquette, tradition and illicit liaisons making it an enjoyable rollercoaster of dark discoveries that will cast away any thoughts of tea as something that merely accompanies breaks, sit downs and biscuits.