Synopses & Reviews
New York Times-bestselling author of The Last Gunfight, Jeff Guinn turns his eye for evocative detail and history to a sweeping novel of the Old West, weaving a compelling tale of life in the Arizona Territory in 1872. Weve all got mistakes in our past wed rather forget.
Cash McLendon has always had an instinct for self-preservation, one that was honed by an impoverished childhood and life with an alcoholic father barely scraping by on the streets of Saint Louis in 1872. Hes always had a knack for finding and capitalizing on the slightest opportunities, choosing the path of financial security over happiness or real friends. He eventually builds himself up from a Saint Louis street urchin to the son-in-law and heir apparent to industrial mogul Rupert Douglass. Though it lacks passion, his life seems securely set: a wife, a career, property, standing.
But when tragedy strikes, all of his plans and his entire future dissolve in an instant. McLendons instinct for survival kicks in; he flees Saint Louis, and Douglas assigns his enforcer, an ominous skull-cracker with steel-toed boots, to track him down.
With nothing to lose, McLendon attempts to reconcile with an old flamea woman he was nearly engaged to but put aside in exchange for the life now in shambles. He heard through the grapevine that she and her father moved their dry-goods store out west, to a speck-on-the-map mining town named Glorious, in the Arizona Territory. There, McLendon tries to win her back, and in the process discovers a new way of life at the edge of the final American frontier. But he cant outrun his past forever. . . .
Review
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SANTA CLAUS:
"A book that deserves classic status."
--The Dallas Morning News
"Delightful."
--Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Charming."
--The Kansas City Star
"The Autobiography of Santa Claus is a great tale with an intriguing premise. It is a heartwarming and fun Christmas read."
--Squeaky-Clean Reviews
"This Christmas tale combines solid historical fact with a fun, enchanting story that will make anyone a believer in Santa Claus. It's a great book for children who are questioning the existing of Santa Claus and teaches all readers, big and small, the real meaning of Christmas."
--The Examiner
THE GREAT SANTA SEARCH:
"Guinn's clever premise draws on the historical roots of the commercialization of Christmas, and his Santa, who narrates, is sanguine when faced with the prospect of facing off against street corner Santas."
--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"I've read the two earlier books by Mr. Guinn (THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SANTA CLAUS and HOW MRS. CLAUS SAVED CHRISTMAS), but I felt this one was the best. This was such a fun book to read. While the earlier books were based more on events in history, this one is set in the present. There were so many references to things common to us now - PlayStation 3, CD burners, MP3 players and iPods. Oprah and Randy, Paula and Simon from American Idol made guest appearances. It was fun to see Santa adapt to the 21st century!"
--Lynne's Little Corner of the World
HOW MRS. CLAUS SAVED CHRISTMAS:
"A humorous, well-written historical romp."
--Atlanta Women
"Rich in Christmas-y detail."
--Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Both educational and amusing."
--Library Journal
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES (all three novels in one volume):
"This elegant paperback volume makes for a delightful holiday gift for just about anyone on your Christmas shopping list. Whether its reading through 17 centuries of Santas autobiography peppered with Christmas magic, discovering how Mrs. Claus and a group of people saved Christmas from being extinct or hopping onto a sleigh ride ‘through the history of Christmas in America, reading the book will bring Santas infectious good cheer into your Yuletide festivities."
--Time Out
"All three books are excellent volumes and well worth sharing with your children. In fact, Guinn cleverly separates each book into 24 chapters, allowing parents who are so inclined to read them to their children one chapter at a time, beginning on December 1 and finishing on Christmas Eve. I dearly love these books."
--Evertime Realms
Review
Fantastic advance praise for GLORIOUS by Jeff Guinn
“Delightful...Wonderfully appealing. Glorious is an oldfashioned western with likable characters who, because Gunn projects a trilogy, will return shortly.”
—Booklist
“This first installment in a trilogy will delight historical fiction fans longing for the return of classic Westerns. This entertaining outing is sure to keep the saloon doors swinging for more entries in the genre.”
—Library Journal
“The Wild West comes alive in this novel of prospectors, desolate cavalry posts, rotgut saloons and Apache raiders.... The plot is classic...Good fun.” —Kirkus
“A trip to Glorious, Arizona, in Jeff Guinns new western novel is like a cool draft beer after a long, hot day on a dusty trail. Glorious is old-fashioned in the very best way: Its good-hearted, optimistic, compelling, comfortable, and extremely well-told. Its wonderful when an author clearly has affection for his characters, and readers will feel the same way.”
— C. J. Box, New York Times-bestselling author of The Highway and Stone Cold
“If, like me, youve been waiting for the next Louis LAmour or Zane Grey, the good news is his name is Jeff Guinn. His newest novel, Glorious, has all the elements of a fabulous western: compelling characters, breath-taking scenery, and something more—an unblinking take on the western frontier.”
—Craig Johnson, New York Times-bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mysteries, the basis of A&Es hit series Longmire
Praise for Jeff Guinn
“A gripping revisionist account of the famed 1881 showdown. . . . Exhaustively researched, stylishly written. . . . As grimly compelling as a Greek tragedy.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on The Last Gunfight “Jeff Guinn took readers down the back roads of Louisiana in his book Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Hes back in The Last Gunfight, displaying the impeccable research that is his trademark. . . . Guinns story is what really happened. . . . A terrific read.”—USA TODAY on The Last Gunfight
“Jeff Guinn has come up with a new angle and approach to the events of that bloody day in Tombstone. Without that gunfight, Wyatt Earp would have never become a household name a hundred years later. Guinn delves into the myth and separates it from the facts. A terrific read about the Wests most famous lawman.”—Clive Cussler on The Last Gunfight
“Manson is not simply a biography of a killer and a cultist. It's a history of American culture from the Great Depression to the close of the 20th century. It's the dirty boogie in four-four time, a fascinating study of greed, mind control, celebriphilia, sex, narcotics, racism, and the misuse of power. I lived in South Los Angeles when many of the events in this book took place. No one has told the story as accurately as Jeff Guinn. It's the story of Nixon and Johnson, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, the SDS, the Black Panthers, the acid culture, and a nation coming apart at the seams. From the first page to the last, I could hardly put it down. Hang on, reader. This is a rip-roaring ride you won't forget.”—James Lee Burke on Manson "A striking, full-length portrait of one of American historys most notorious sociopaths. . . . Guinn takes readers on a head-spinning ride through Mansons deeply disturbed childhood, his criminal career and his brief tenure as satanic guru to the damaged disciples, mostly women, he held in thrall. . . . A compulsively readable account of a murderer who continues to fascinate."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Manson
Synopsis
It all started when Jeff Guinn was assigned to write a piece full of little-known facts about Christmas for his paper, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A few months later, he received a call from a gentleman who told him that he showed the story to an important friend who didn’t think much of it. And who might that be? asked Jeff. The next thing he knew, he was whisked off to the North Pole to meet with this “very important friend,” and the rest is, well, as they say, history.
An enchanting holiday treasure, The Autobiography of Santa Claus combines solid historical fact with legend to deliver the definitive story of Santa Claus. And who better to lead us through seventeen centuries of Christmas magic than good ol’ Saint Nick himself? Families will delight in each chapter of this new Christmas classic—one per each cold December night leading up to Christmas!
Synopsis
An enchanting holiday treasure, "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" combines solid historical fact with legend to deliver the definitive story of Santa Claus.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [285]-287).
Synopsis
This enchanting Christmas classic returns for a new holiday season, combining historical fact with glorious legend as St. Nicholas himself reveals the definitive story of Santa Claus.
With seven centuries of holiday magic all rolled into twenty-four chapters-one for each cold December night leading up to Christmas-The Autobiography of Santa Claus is a great gift for the whole family!
Synopsis
Classic Christmas Recipes from Saint Nicholas Himself and#160;Special delivery from the North Pole: Santa's favorite Christmas recipes from around the world!and#160;In this one-of-a-kind Christmas cookbook, Saint Nicholas himself invites readers to pull up their chairs to his dining table at the North Pole and enjoy more than seventy of his most-cherished holiday recipes. Featuring classic American holiday dishes as well as mouthwatering Christmas fare from all over the worldandmdash;Santa's favorite finds from his gift-giving travelsandmdash;Santa's North Pole Cookbook guides readers in creating holiday meals that are as delicious as they are rich in Christmas tradition.and#160;With classic Christmas recipes from Weihnachtsgans mit Rotund Grunkohl und Kartoffelklossen (German Christmas Goose with Green and Red Cabbage and Potato Dumplings) and Santa's Favorite Rosemary Turkey to Christopsomo, the ancient Greek holiday bread that families traditionally decorate with sketches of their everyday lives, and traditional Christmas Plum Pudding, Santa's North Pole Cookbook is a must-have for anyone who delights in preparing delectable holiday food for the family.and#160;Throughout history, winter solstice and later Christmas have been occasions for special celebration. In this book, Santa also illuminates the fascinating history and lore that surround these popular Christmas dishes and shares with readers the wonderful stories of how and where he personally encountered them in his Christmas travels.
Synopsis
A delightful sequel to Dickensand#8217;s beloved A Christmas Carol by the bestselling author of First Impressions and The Bookmanand#8217;s Tale and#160;
On a hot summer day some twenty years after he was famously converted to kindness, Ebenezer Scrooge still roams the streets of London, spreading Christmas cheer, much to the annoyance of his creditors, nephew, and his employee Bob Cratchit. However, when Scrooge decides to help his old friend and former partner Jacob Marley, as well as other inhabitants of the city, he will need the assistance of the very people heand#8217;s annoyed. Heand#8217;ll also have to call on the three ghosts that visited him two decades earlier. By the time theyand#8217;re done, theyand#8217;ve convinced everyone to celebrate Christmas all year long by opening their wallets, arms, and hearts to those around them.
Written in uncannily Dickensian prose, Charlie Lovettand#8217;s The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge is both a loving and winking tribute to the Victorian classic, perfect for readers of A Christmas Carol and other timeless holiday tales.
About the Author
JEFF GUINN is the author of the bestselling Christmas Chronicles series, which includes The Autobiography of Santa Claus, How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas, and The Great Santa Search. He is also the author of Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde and The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shoot-Out at the O.K. Corralandmdash;And How It Changed the American West. Guinn has served as books editor as well as senior writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and has appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation, CNN's Headline News, CBS Sunday Morning, and Fox and Friends. He currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas.
Jeff Guinn on PowellsBooks.Blog
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