The author traces the Big Bang through the rise of civilization, documenting his work with a host of the world's most advanced scientists and mathematicians to explain why things are the way they are.

From the author of EMBERS comes another masterpiece: an erotically charged novel about Casanova and the woman who finally defeated him. Sandor Marai, one of the leading Hungarian novelists, begins his story in 1756 when Giacomo Casanova, after having escaped from one of Venice's infamous jails, stops at the Italian village of Bolzano to rest, secure a loan to rebuild his life, and resume his art of seduction. But he's come to this village remembering...

On a spring day in April--sometime in the waning years of the 14th century--29 travelers set out for Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Among them is a knight, a monk, a prioress, a plowman, a miller, a merchant, a clerk, and an oft-widowed wife from Bath. Travel is arduous and wearing; to maintain their spirits, this band of pilgrims entertains each other with a series of tall tales that span the spectrum of literary...