David Hagberg

#2

SHE WAS A PROPER LADY Lady Charlotte Drake fled London for the Las Vegas Territory after her bitter divorce, desperate to escape the taint of scandal. A lady banker had to be above reproach, she knew, for most men would find any excuse to avoid trusting a woman with their money. Except for a darkly handsome gambler named Max Grant, who offered Charlotte her first business opportunity. She wanted more than that from him though, far more. The heat in his smoldering gaze rivaled the power of the desert sun--and Charlotte soon found herself yearning to surrender wantonly to his promises of wild fiery loving... HE WAS A DASHING ROGUE Max Grant had returned to his hometown determined to repay the man responsible for his father's death--and to clear up the question of a missing fortune in gold. But first he had to learn more about the town's most beautiful --and suspicious--new arrival. Setting her up in business with him was an excellent way to keep an eye on her. Charlotte Drake gave the impression she was all prim and proper, but judging from her long silken tresses and pouting lips, Max would wager she had a nature every bit as wild and passionate as his own... and he intended to run his hands all over her luscious curves to find out just how hot the desert nights could get!

#3

2009

A powerful investigation into the chances for humanity's future from the author of the bestseller The World Without Us. In his bestselling book The World Without Us, Alan Weisman considered how the Earth could heal and even refill empty niches if relieved of humanity's constant pressures. Behind that groundbreaking thought experiment was his hope that we would be inspired to find a way to add humans back to this vision of a restored, healthy planet-only in harmony, not mortal combat, with the rest of nature. But with a million more of us every 4 1/2 days on a planet that's not getting any bigger, and with our exhaust overheating the atmosphere and altering the chemistry of the oceans, prospects for a sustainable human future seem ever more in doubt. For this long awaited follow-up book, Weisman traveled to more than 20 countries to ask what experts agreed were probably the most important questions on Earth--and also the hardest: How many humans can the planet hold without capsizing? How robust must the Earth's ecosystem be to assure our continued existence? Can we know which other species are essential to our survival? And, how might we actually arrive at a stable, optimum population, and design an economy to allow genuine prosperity without endless growth? Weisman visits an extraordinary range of the world's cultures, religions, nationalities, tribes, and political systems to learn what in their beliefs, histories, liturgies, or current circumstances might suggest that sometimes it's in their own best interest to limit their growth. The result is a landmark work of reporting: devastating, urgent, and, ultimately, deeply hopeful. By vividly detailing the burgeoning effects of our cumulative presence, Countdown reveals what may be the fastest, most acceptable, practical, and affordable way of returning our planet and our presence on it to balance. Weisman again shows that he is one of the most provocative journalists at work today, with a book whose message is so compelling that it will change how we see our lives and our destiny.