With The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history.

A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching for not only Neveu's grandfather's murderer but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England, and history itself. Brown (Angels and Demons) has created a page-turning thriller that also provides an amazing interpretation of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of Western culture's greatest mysteries—from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail. Though some will quibble with the veracity of Brown's conjectures, therein lies the fun. The Da Vinci Code is an enthralling read that provides rich food for thought. —Jeremy Pugh

A shocking scientific discovery.
A conspiracy of staggering brilliance.
A thriller unlike any you've ever read....

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory — a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery — a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a deadly team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

Penzler Pick, December 2001: In the world of page-turning thrillers, Dan Brown holds a special place in the hearts of many of us. After his first book, Digital Fortress, almost passed me by, he wrote Angels and Demons, which was probably one of the half-dozen most exciting thrillers of last year. It is a pleasure to report that his new book lives up to his reputation as a writer whose research and talent make his stories exciting, believable, and just plain unputdownable.

The time is now and President Zachary Herney is facing a very tough reelection. His opponent, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, is a powerful man with powerful friends and a mission: to reduce NASA's spending and move space exploration into the private sector. He has numerous supporters, including many beyond the businesses who will profit from this because of the embarrassment of 1996, when the Clinton administration was informed by NASA that proof existed of life on other planets. That information turned out to be premature, if not incorrect. (This story is true; I repeat, Dan Brown's research is very, very good.) The embattled president is assured that a rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice will prove to have far-reaching implications on America's space program. The find, however, needs to be verified.

Enter Rachel Sexton, a gister for the National Reconnaissance Office. Gisters reduce complex reports into single-page briefs, and in this case the president needs that confirmation before he broadcasts to the nation, probably ensuring his reelection. It's tricky because Rachel is the daughter of his opponent. Rachel is thrilled to be on the team traveling to the Arctic circle. She is a realist about her father's politics and has little respect for his stand on NASA, but Senator Sexton cannot help but have a problem with her involvement.

Adventure, romance, murder, skullduggery, and nail-biting tension ensue. By the end of Deception Point, the reader will be much better informed about how our space program works and how our politicians react to new information. Bring on the next Dan Brown thriller! —Otto Penzler

In most thrillers, "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden—they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is.

In this case, the secret formula is a new means of encryption, capable of changing the balance of international power. Part of the fun is that the book takes the reader along into an understanding of encryption technologies. You'll find yourself better understanding the political battles over such real-life technologies as the Clipper Chip and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software even though the book looks at the issues through the eyes of fiction.

Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper—you may want to read this one straight through.

One of the last great refuges for romantics, Venice sparkles in this new edition. Lively accounts of all the museums and monuments complement entertaining background on the city's rich history and current efforts to preserve its cultural legacy. A brand-new color map section helps you find your way around — though we'll also show you how to get lost in hidden cafes, quiet churches, and area villages.

Norman E. Haighton (reader) Northumberland, UK: "I have read most of the guides to Tuscany and Umbria and used several. None of them come anywhere near the Rough Guide for comprehensive cover. Where the others describe only the big attractions, the Rough Guide gives ample detail on those plus a wealth of information on smaller, out-of-the-way and less visited places of interest. I have used it for three visits and it has never let me down." Vogue: "A down-to-earth guide with reliable recommendations." Sunday Telegraph, London: "The best guidebook."

It is the day after tomorrow. The lines have been redrawn and crossed over. And the world is at war again.

The cataclysm that began with coordinated reactionary coups in South Africa and Germany caught America completely unprepared. Overnight, new enemies have emerged and joined forces to attack U.S. and European shipping lanes, setting off a global conflagration raging in deadly earnest. And this time the devastating weapons of choice used by the Berlin-Boer Axis will be tactical nuclear weapons.

The enemy boat Voortrekker prowls beneath the ocean's surface, carrying more onboard firepower than that of many of the world's nations. A deepdiving state-of-the-art German ceramic-hulled submarine, Voortrekker has the ability to evade all Allied sensors and can fire torpedoes from any angle, further masking its location. There is only one weapon in America's arsenal that can match the silent killer: the crippled sub USS Challenger, presently in dry dock in Connecticut. It will take three weeks to get the U.S. ceramic-hulled sub back into fighting shape and by then it will be too late. The Axis powers have already proven they can get past America's frontline seapower defenses. And the Voortrekker is moving into position for the ultimate strike.

Brash, brilliant, and battle-tested, Captain Jeffrey Fuller is the driven naval officer who must oversee the miracle that will put Challenger back into action in an improbable forty-eight hours.

Then Fuller himself will have to do the impossible, piloting his damaged sub toward a life-and-death confrontation with the Axis leviathan. Fuller has already faced the Voortrekker's ruthless, ingenious commander head-to-head — and unlike so many others, he survived. But this time the fight will take place in waters far too deep for a normal sub to withstand — in the terrifying blackness at the ultimate submarine's crush depth. And this time the prize will be America.

An electrifying new voice in military fiction, Joe Buff has written a riveting and totally realistic tale of military adventure-a spectacular novel that is sure to establish this outstanding author as the new master of the genre. Vividly authentic and impeccably researched, it takes readers into the not-too-distant future, when the United States is embroiled in a tactical nuclear war that will mark a new era of weapons and tactics, geopolitical alignments, and human courage....

Deep Sound Channel

The year is 2011, and in South Africa a reactionary coup has established a military government that has begun sinking U.S. and British merchant ships. NATO quickly responds, with only Germany holding back-until Germany starts nuking Poland and eviscerating the French. Now the South Atlantic is a battleground where nuclear-tipped missiles rule-and the only gun worth using is one that seeks and fires from deep beneath the sea.

In response, Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Fuller and the crew of the nuclear submarine USS Challenger are called in to help. Ceramic-hulled and designed for maximum stealth, the Challenger is being sent to South Africa for a mission critical to stopping the war. Together with a team of Navy SEALs and assisted by Boer freedom fighter Ilse Reebeck, Commander Fuller must infiltrate the enemy coast and attack a compound where scientists are putting together the ultimate biological weapon-a violent, deadly microbe that has the potential to wreak global devastation.

For Jeffrey Fuller, the operation will take him back to his former life as a SEAL. It's his job to steer the team of operatives to shore; penetrate concentric arcs of armaments, minefields, and sensors; and destroy the death lab. If the mission works, the
bioweapon will be destroyed and shock waves will cripple the South African government. If it goes wrong, fallout will kill thousands of innocent people.

Deep Sound Channel provides a rare and telling look into the future of our military's weapons-and into the horrific violence of tactical nuclear war. It is a cutting-edge masterpiece that takes readers on a wild and unforgettable ride of suspense, nuclear warfare, and underwater adventure

The Allied Powers continue their uncertain and deadly war against the Fascist Berlin–Boer Axis. The Russians remain ostensibly neutral––but their actions hint at something far more dangerous. When the U.S. discovers that the Russians are providing the Axis powers with weapons technology that could shift the balance of power, Captain Jeffrey Fuller, one of the most decorated heroes in the U.S. Navy, is called in to put an end to this potentially catastrophic Russian involvement.

The plan to punish Russia is audacious. It is bold. And it is potentially suicidal. Jeffrey Fuller's orders are to clandestinely transport commandos to Russia, where they will infiltrate a nuclear missile facility, and fire one of their weapons––at the United States. If the plan is successful, the commandos, posing as German forces, will destroy the missile at it reaches the atmosphere, creating a dramatic shift in global politics and forcing Russia to ally with the United States against Germany.

In his latest mission, Commander Jeffrey Fuller will go head–to–head against his most dangerous adversary yet – his own allies.

Jeffrey Fuller has a new mission – use his cutting–edge submarine Challenger to recover a German spy claiming to have key information about the Berlin–Boer Axis, information that could be crucial to winning the war. Fuller will have to navigate his super–silent sub through some of the most densely patrolled waters in Europe if he hopes to accomplish his mission.

But Fuller knows he can't trust the spy, code–named Zeno, an expert in electronic and information warfare. The man could be a double agent sent by the enemy to compromise Challenger. And when they finally recover the mysterious spy, he reveals that only by helping him infiltrate Israel can he hope to prevent an imminent Axis attack. Fuller is caught in a terrible dilemma – if the man is a double agent, he could be dooming Israel, but if he does nothing, the country could fall to the German assault. To go ahead with the plan would pitch Fuller against the best defences of his own allies, placing his crew in danger and possibly shattering bonds between nations. It is a battle that, if fought, Fuller will have to fight entirely on his own.

In his electrifying first novel Joe Buff instantly established himself as the ultimate chronicler of 21st-century warfare by taking military fiction and submarine combat to a new level of authenticity, vision, and power.

Thunder in the Deep picks up where Deep Sound Channel left off, bringing to life a frightening seascape where technology pushes warriors to new extremes, and warriors push technology to the max. This time the difference between victory and defeat hinges on the two most advanced nuclear attack submarines in the world.

The Challenger is the weapon of the future, a ceramic-hulled nuclear attack submarine whose electronic eyes and ears are the most advanced ever created. It is commanded by acting captain Jeffrey Fuller, a former SEAL turned submariner whose aggressiveness has made him a rising star — and sometimes scares the hell out of his crew. Fuller’s mission is to rescue the Virginia-class fast attack sub Texas, now lying on the bottom of the Atlantic just off the Azores.

But the enemy — a newly resurrected and fanatically militaristic Germany — knows where the Texas is, too, and knows the Challenger is coming. It is Challenger the Germans want, dispatching their own high-tech supersub, the Deutschland, to destroy her.

In this war your enemy is a blip on a console hardwired into an integrated nuclear weapons system. Ships are vaporized off the surface of the sea, nuclear shock waves unleash deadly tsunami waves, and smart submarines do battle with smart aircraft sent to hunt them down.

For Jeffrey Fuller and the Challenger, for the men on board the Deutschland, the race beneath the ocean’s surface across a horrific underwater war zone will demand every bit of courage and skill they can muster just to survive.

Before it’s over, the Challenger’s mission is radically redefined: Fuller, his SEALs, and freedom fighter Ilse Reebeck are sent into Germany itself — to plant a nuke right in the gut of the enemy’s power structure.

Thunder in the Deep plunges the reader into the middle of some of the fiercest and most thrilling depictions of underwater warfare ever written. It is an electrifying novel of military strategy and action, a powerful tale of technology and humanity that will have you breathlessly turning pages until the explosive climax.

A new world war has begun. It is the year 2012, and extremists in Germany and South Africa have succeeded in staging simultaneous coups to forge the Berlin-Boer Axis, a cabal determined to take over the world. The key instrument of this war is tactical nuclear weaponry, where a single torpedo or cruise missile can destroy an entire ship or city. And while the war will be fought with high-tech weapons, it will be won or lost by the men who command them...

Commander Jeffrey Fuller is America's newest hero. Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his victories in battle as captain of America's most sophisticated and deadly fast-attack nuclear submarine, the USS Challenger, Fuller takes grim satisfaction in the honor, knowing at what cost it came.

But he has barely enough time to receive the decoration before he is tasked with a new mission. An Allied convoy is steaming toward Africa, hoping to establish a beachhead on the continent that would enable a D-day type of invasion. The enemy has dispatched its most lethal submarine, the SMS Admiral von Scheer, a ceramic-hulled sub virtually undetectable by even the most advanced sonar technology, to ensure that the convoy never reaches its destination. Fuller's mission is to protect the convoy at all costs, even if it means battling the phantom sub to do it.

Then a nearly impossible mission gets even more difficult. Fuller discovers from intelligence sources that agents of the Berlin-Boer Axis are attempting to gain a foothold in South America, a development that would force the United States to fight the war on yet another front, an escalating conflict they can't possibly win. Now Fuller must make a no-win decision: deploy his team of Navy SEALs to South America to destroy the nuclear-armed enemy insurgents or patrol the depths of the Atlantic, seeking threats to the convoy? Even Fuller cannot be in two places at once, and the failure of either mission will mean defeat for the Allied cause.

Fuller's opponents have every technological advantage of modern warfare: nuclear-tipped torpedoes, high-velocity flechette projectiles, and hyper-accurate targeting computers. But a weapon is only as powerful as the man who wields it, and Fuller possesses the intellect, the nerve, and the guts that earned him victories over the most dangerous warriors in the Axis Navy. Stalking his prey beneath the waves where the pressure alone can kill, Commander Jeffrey Fuller knows that while one man's life may be meaningless, one man's death could change the course of the war.

If you no longer care to pay the consequences of being honest, direct, and forthright, psychologist Perry Buffington offers 75 inside secrets, all based in scientific research, to enhance your odds of being successful in everyday situations as well as stickier ones. This entertaining book is sure to provoke conversation as you discover how to:

*Talk Your Way Out Of a Speeding Ticket

*Avoid Overeating

*Write a Winning Personal Ad

*Wake Up Rested in the Morning

*Use Flattery to Your Advantage

*Make Excuses Others Will Believe

*Learn a Secret from Another Person