Stefano Viviani Boeken

Rome, 63 BC. In a city on the brink of acquiring a vast empire, seven men are struggling for power. Cicero is consul, Caesar his ruthless young rival, Pompey the republic's greatest general, Crassus its richest man, Cato a political fanatic, Catilina a psychopath, Clodius an ambitious playboy. The stories of these real historical figures - their alliances and betrayals, their cruelties and seductions, their brilliance and their crimes - are all interleaved to form this epic novel. Its narrator is Tiro, a slave who serves as confidential secretary to the wily, humane, complex Cicero. He knows all his master's secrets - a dangerous position to be in. From the discovery of a child's mutilated body, through judicial execution and a scandalous trial, to the brutal unleashing of the Roman mob, Lustrum is a study in the timeless enticements and horrors of power.

Edward Rutherfurd narrates the vibrant history of a great city, from its origins as a small Indian fishing village to the towering skyscrapers of the modern era. The tale begins with Dutch traders who ventured into the wilderness, followed by British settlers whose governance sparked rebellion and ultimately the birth of a nation. The narrative captures the turmoil of a country divided over slavery, with the Civil War igniting deadly riots within the city. Themes of hope, greed, and corruption intertwine as waves of immigrants—Germans, Irish, Italians, and Jews—arrive at Ellis Island, enriching the city's cultural tapestry. Amidst political corruption and financial speculation on Wall Street, fortunes rise and fall, epitomized by the Roaring Twenties and the Great Crash. Iconic structures like the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers symbolize the city’s ambitions. Rutherfurd weaves this compelling saga through a blend of fictional and historical characters, illustrating the city's evolution over four centuries. Through the lens of this city, he vividly brings to life the broader narrative of America, creating an unforgettable epic.

Written by a mountaineer who in 1993, after a terrifying and disastrous attempt to climb K2, drifted cold and dehydrated, into an impoverished Pakistan village in the Karakoram Mountains. It tells how moved by the inhabitants' kindness, he promised to return and build a school. It tells the story of that promise and its outcome.

Nothing spreads like fear . . . In the secretive inner circle of the ultra- rich, Alex Hoffmann is a legend. He has developed an algorithm for playing the financial markets that generates billions of pounds - and feeds on panic. When one day his system is threatened by a terrifying intruder who breaches the elaborate security of his lakeside home, his life becomes a waking nightmare of violence and paranoia. But who is trying to destroy him? And is it already too late?

According to her own complex moral calculations, Katie Carr has earned her affair. She's a doctor, after all, and doctors are decent people and on top of that, her husband David is the self-styled Angriest Man in Holloway. When David suddenly becomes good however, properly, maddeningly, give-away-all-his-money-good, Katie's sums no longer add up and she is forced to ask herself some very hard questions

Nel 1993, lo scalatore americano Greg Mortenson, dopo un tentativo fallito di raggiungere la vetta del K2 e una difficile discesa che mette a repentaglio la sua vita, giunge nello sperduto villaggio di Korphe, nel Karakorum pakistano. Gli abitanti lo curano per sette settimane, e per sdebitarsi Greg promette loro che tornerà a costruire una scuola. "Tre tazze di tè" è la storia di quella promessa, delle difficoltà incontrate per mantenerla - in California, Greg rinuncia alla casa e vive in macchina per non sprecare i soldi dell'affitto - e della spettacolare riuscita dell'impresa: in una dozzina di anni Mortenson ha costruito non una ma cinquantacinque scuole, ha promosso in particolare l'istruzione delle bambine, da sempre escluse, e ha portato avanti la sua opera nelle zone dominate dai Talebani, anche dopo l'11 settembre e le guerre che hanno insanguinato una terra già martoriata.