No catches, no fine print just unadulterated book loving, with your favourite books saved to your own digital bookshelf.
New members get entered into our monthly draw to win £100 to spend in your local bookshop Plus lots lots more…
Find out moreStephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Emperor of Ocean Park and seven works of non-fiction. He and his family live near New Haven, Connecticut.
Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 27 May 2009. A complex and rewarding political thriller. Spanning 1952 – 1974 the novel has a brilliant perspective on being a black American during these tumultuous years. The life of Eddie, a self centered up and coming black author, is changed forever with the disappearance of his politically active sister. Layer upon layer of intrigue surround this and its links to a mysterious group called the twenty. Not a novel you can dip in an out of but perfect to be savoured at length on holiday.
Wenn der schwarze Konig fallt ... Als der geachtete Richter Oliver Garland berraschend stirbt, ist sein Sohn Talcott berzeugt, dass ein schwaches Herz die Ursache war. Doch warum wird Talcott stndig nach den "e;Vorkehrungen"e; gefragt, die sein Vater fr den Todesfall getroffen habe? Warum wird er verfolgt? Und warum fehlen zwei Schachfiguren auf dem sonst so sorgsam gehteten Schachbrett des Richters? Bald darauf wird ein zweiter Toter aus dem Umfeld Oliver Garlands aufgefunden. Und Talcott sieht sich hineingezogen in die dunkle Vergangenheit seines Vaters. Er muss alles aufs Spiel setzen: seine Ehre, seinen Ruf - und sein Leben. "e;Seit Tom Wolfe habe ich keinen so vielschichtigen, mitreienden und bereichernden Roman gelesen wie Schachmatt (USA Today)"e;Ein prall erzhltes, anekdoten- und facettenreiches Werk."e; (Der Spiegel)"e;Dieses Buch kann man einfach nicht aus der Hand legen."e; (New York Times Book Review)"e;Wunderbar erzhlt und clever konstruiert. Schachmatt ist eine lebendige und vielschichtige Familiensaga, die geschickt verbunden ist mit der Spannung eines Thrillers ... Ein wirklicher Genuss!"e; (John Grisham)"e;Man kann dieses Buch einfach nicht aus der Hand legen ... Ein ebenso auergewhnlicher wie berzeugender Roman."e; (New York Times)"e;Ein unterhaltsamer, eleganter und ideenreicher Roman mit einem wunderbaren Kosmos von Figuren."e; (The New York Review of Books)"e;Scharfsichtige Beobachtungen, gepaart mit einem ernsthaften sozialen Gewissen, das den meisten Bchern dieser Art fehlt ... Ein sprachliches Meisterwerk."e; (Time)
When The Emperor of Ocean Park was published, the Observer declared: 'The book is superb, both as a thriller and as a novel of social observation.' Now, with that same astute social observation, narrative drive, and richness of plot and character, Stephen Carter returns us to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where the murder of a renowned African-American economist opens a door on the racial complications of the town's past, on one family's secrets, and on the most hidden and powerful bastions of African-American political influence. At the centre are Lemaster and Julia Carlyle. He is president of the university, she is a dean at the divinity school - African-Americans living in 'the heart of whiteness'. Lemaster's connections lead to the President of the United States, his old college room-mate. Julia is connected to the dead man, Kellen Zant, her lover before she met Lemaster. The meeting point of these connections - a murder committed and covered up in Elm Harbor thirty years ago, and the shocking plans carried out by a fraternity of the 'darker nation' - forms the core of a mystery that deepens even as Julia, guided by clues left her by Zant, closes in on the politically earth-shattering motive behind his murder. Suspenseful from first to last, galvanising in its exploration of the profound difference between allegiance to ideas and to people, New England White is a resounding confirmation of Stephen Carter's gifts as a writer of fiction.
From the best-selling author of The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, a daring reimagining of one of the most tumultuous moments in our nation's past Stephen L. Carter's thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . . Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln's defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that ';whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.' And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself. But when Lincoln's lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government. Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of postCivil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense.
"e;The man who many considered the peace candidate in the last election was transformed into a war president,"e; writes bestselling author and leading academic Stephen l. Carter in The Violence of Peace, his new book decoding what President Barack Obama's views on war mean for America and its role in military conflict, now and going forward. As America winds down a war in Iraq, ratchets up another in Afghanistan, and continues a global war on terrorism, Carter delves into the implications of the military philosophy Obama has adopted through his first two years in office. Responding to the invitation that Obama himself issued in his Nobel address, Carter uses the tools of the Western tradition of just and unjust war to evaluate Obama's actions and words about military conflict, offering insight into how the president will handle existing and future wars, and into how his judgment will shape America's fate. Carter also explores war as a way to defend others from tyrannical regimes, which Obama has endorsed but not yet tested, and reveals the surprising ways in which some of the tactics Obama has used or authorized are more extreme than those of his predecessor, George W. Bush. "e;Keeping the nation at peace,"e; Carter writes, "e;often requires battle,"e; and this book lays bare exactly how America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are shaping the way Obama views the country's role in conflict and peace, ultimately determining the fate of the nation.
Sein letzter Wunsch ist ihr Verhangnis. Wall Street und CIA: Jahrzehntelang war Jericho Ainsley einer der mchtigsten Mnner Amerikas. Nun liegt er im Sterben. Sein letzter Wunsch: Einmal noch mchte er Rebecca sehen. Vor vielen Jahren hatten sie eine leidenschaftliche Affre, fr die er Ehe und Job opfern musste. Rebecca glaubt, es gehe um ein Abschiedstreffen. Doch kaum betritt sie das Anwesen ihres ehemaligen Geliebten, wird sie in einen Kampf um ein brisantes CIA-Geheimnis hineingezogen, das auslndische Regierungen und mchtige Firmen Jericho gleichermaen entlocken wollen. Bald fragt sie sich zu Recht, wem in diesem Vexierspiel sie eigentlich noch trauen kann Der beste Spionageroman, den ich in den letzten zwanzig Jahren gelesen habe."e; (Lincoln Child)"e;Ein Meisterwerk!"e; (Steve Berry)"e;Carter hat die glckliche Hand fr einen guten Thriller: Spannung, Tempo und ein spektakulres Ende."e; (Library Journal)"e;Ein Thriller mit Nonstop-Action und voller berraschender Wendungen."e; (Bookpage)"e;Ein absoluter Knller!"e; (Christopher Reich)
Stephen L. Carters brilliant debut, The Emperor of Ocean Park, spent eleven week son the New York Times best-seller list. Now, in Jerichos Fall, Carter turns his formidable talents to the shadowy world of spies, official secrecy, and financial fraud in a thriller that rivets the readers attention until the very last page.In an imposing house in the Colorado Rockies, Jericho Ainsley, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency and a Wall Street titan, lies dying. He summons to his beside Beck DeForde, the younger woman for whom he threw away his career years ago, miring them both in scandal. Beck believes she is visiting to say farewell. Instead, she is drawn into a battle over an explosive secret that foreign governments and powerful corporations alike want to wrest from Jericho before he dies.An intricate and timely thriller that plumbs the emotional depths of a failed love affair and a family torn apart by mistrust, Jerichos Fall takes us on a fast-moving journey through the secretive world of intelligence operations and the meltdown of the financial markets. And it creates, in Beck DeForde, an unforgettable heroine for our turbulent age.From the Hardcover edition.
Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 27 May 2009. A complex and rewarding political thriller. Spanning 1952 – 1974 the novel has a brilliant perspective on being a black American during these tumultuous years. The life of Eddie, a self centered up and coming black author, is changed forever with the disappearance of his politically active sister. Layer upon layer of intrigue surround this and its links to a mysterious group called the twenty. Not a novel you can dip in an out of but perfect to be savoured at length on holiday.
@In the summer of 1952, twenty prominent men gather at a secret meeting on Marthas Vineyard and devise a plot to manipulate the President of the United States. Soon after, the body of one of these men is found by Eddie Wesley, Harlems rising literary star. When Eddies younger sister mysteriously disappears, Eddie and the woman he loves, Aurelia Treene, are pulled into what becomes a twenty-year search for the truth. As Eddie and Aurelia uncover layer upon layer of intrigue, their odyssey takes them from the wealthy drawing rooms of New York through the shady corners of radical politics, all the way to the Oval Office. Stephen Carters novel is as complex as it is suspenseful, and with his unique ability to turn stereotypes inside out, Palace Council is certain to enthrall listeners to the very last moment.From the Compact Disc edition.
In his triumphant fictional debut, Stephen Carter combines a large-scale, riveting novel of suspense with the saga of a unique family. The Emperor of Ocean Park is set in two privileged worlds: the upper crust African American society of the Eastern seabordfamilies who summer at Marthas Vineyardand the inner circle of an Ivy League law school. Talcott Garland is a successful law professor, devoted father, and husband of a beautiful and ambitious woman, whose future desires may threaten the family he holds so dear. When Talcotts father, Judge Oliver Garland, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicioius circumstances, Talcott wonders if he may have been murdered. Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage, his career and even his life in his quest for justice. Superbly written and filled with memorable characters, The Emperor of Ocean Park is both a stunning literary achievement and a grand literary entertainment.From the Trade Paperback edition.
With the powers of observation and richness of plot and character, the author of The Emperor of Ocean Park returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the towns past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence. And at the center: Lemaster Carlyle, the university president, and his wife, Julia Carlyle, a deputy dean at the divinity schoolAfrican Americans living in the heart of whiteness. Lemaster is an old friend of the president of the United States. Julia was the murdered mans lover years ago. The meeting point of these connections forms the core of a mystery that deepens even as Julia closes in on the politically earth-shattering motive behind the murder.Relentlessly suspenseful, galvanizing in its exploration of the profound difference between allegiance to ideas and to people, NEW ENGLAND WHITE is a resounding confirmation of Stephen Carters gifts as a writer of fiction.
Between loyalty and disobedience; between recognition of the law's authority and realization that the law is not always right: In America, this conflict is historic, with results as glorious as the mass protests of the civil rights movement and as inglorious as the armed violence of the militia movement. In an impassioned defense of dissent, Stephen L. Carter argues for the dialogue that negotiates this conflict and keeps democracy alive. His book portrays an America dying from a refusal to engage in such a dialogue, a polity where everybody speaks, but nobody listens. The Dissent of the Governed is an eloquent diagnosis of what ails the American body politic--the unwillingness of people in power to hear disagreement unless forced to--and a prescription for a new process of response. Carter examines the divided American political character on dissent, with special reference to religion, identifying it in unexpected places, with an eye toward amending it before it destroys our democracy. At the heart of this work is a rereading of the Declaration of Independence that puts dissent, not consent, at the center of the question of the legitimacy of democratic government. Carter warns that our liberal constitutional ethos--the tendency to assume that the nation must everywhere be morally the same--pressures citizens to be other than themselves when being themselves would lead to disobedience. This tendency, he argues, is particularly hard on religious citizens, whose notion of community may be quite different from that of the sovereign majority of citizens. His book makes a powerful case for the autonomy of communities--especially but not exclusively religious--into which democratic citizens organize themselves as a condition for dissent, dialogue, and independence. With reference to a number of cases, Carter shows how disobedience is sometimes necessary to the heartbeat of our democracy--and how the distinction between challenging accepted norms and challenging the sovereign itself, a distinction crucial to the Declaration of Independence, must be kept alive if Americans are to progress and prosper as a nation.
In a climate where whites who criticize affirmative action risk being termed racist and blacks who do the same risk charges of treason and self hatred, a frank and open discussion of racial preference is difficult to achieve. But, in the first book on racial preference written from personal experience, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby, Stephen L. Carter, Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University and self-described beneficiary (and, at times, victim) of affirmative action, does it.Using his own story of success and frustration as an affirmative action baby as a point of departure, Carter, who has risen to the top of his profession, provides an incisive analysis of one of the most incendiary topics of our day,as well as an honest critique of the pressures on black professionals and intellectuals to conform to the politically correct way of being black.Affirmative action as it is practiced today not only does little to promote racial equality, Carter argues, but also allows the nation to escape rather cheaply from its moral obligation to undo the legacy of slavery. Affirmative action, particularly in hiring often reinforces racist stereotypes by promoting the idea that the black professional cannot aspire to anything more than being the best black. Has the time come to abandon these programs? No- but affirmative action must return to its simpler roots, Carter argues: to provide educational opportunities for those who might not otherwise have them. Then the beneficiaries should demand to be held to the same standards as anyone else.
If this is your author page then you can share your Twitter updates with your readers right here on LoveReading
Find out more