Clint (EDT) Willis

Wise Guys takes readers into the heart of Sopranos territory, with a collection featuring the work of best-selling writers from E. L. Doctorow (with an account of mobster Dutch Schultz that includes one of the great execution scenes in the literature of the Mob) to Nicholas Pileggi (on Henry Hill's first prison term, overflowing with good pasta and booze). Other pieces include Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain reconstruction of the vicious hit on "Big Paulie" Castellano outside of Spark's Steakhouse (which catapulted John Gotti to leadership of the Gambino family), Mario Puzo's riveting account of a don's ascent (a tale of deceit, murder and, above all, cunning), and Norman Lewis on where it all began: the Sicilian Mafia's battle against Mussolini and its return to greater strength than ever.

It's been a half century since Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing made the first ascent of Everest. Their success capped a thirty-year struggle that cost more than a dozen livesand touched off a new era in the history of the mountain. The past fifty years have seen Everest become an even greater magnet for adventurersboth foolish and heroic. Some of the world's best climbers have carved out incredibly dangerous new routes on the peak, and many have died trying. Meanwhile, hundreds of nonclimbers have taken on Everest, with mixed results. This history has created an entire literature in itselfa story of triumph and tragedy of epic proportions. Whether it's Peter Boardman on being forced to leave a friend to die near the summit, Stephen Venables on spending a night out near the summitan experience only a handful of men have survivedor Chris Bonington on the death of Boardman and Joe Tasker on the Northeast Ridge, almost every great climbing writer has tackled some aspect of the mountain, and Epics on Everest includes their best work.

A study on the culture of gangs as presented in works of fiction, non-fiction, and journalism includes excerpts from The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, A Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, and other publications. Original.

Readers who want to appreciate and understand the scope and depth of the Dalai Lama's wisdom must currently select from a variety of books. Now, A Lifetime of Wisdom brings together those writings that, taken together, constitute an essential account of the Dalai Lama's teaching legacy. A thoughtful, inspirational, and beautifully designed and packaged collection of the most essential writings by the Dalai Lama, A Lifetime of Wisdom includes accounts of the Dalai Lama's early days as a child plucked from obscurity to rule over Tibet, his struggles with the Chinese who invaded his country, and his tireless efforts on behalf of human rights and world peace. Readers will come away with a comprehensive sense of the Dalai Lama's fundamental themes, from personal happiness to world peace.

Shark picks up where previous Adrenaline titles such as Rough Water and Deep Blue left off, with a collection focusing on man's terrifying interactions with one of the planet's most frightening beastsan animal that arouses our most primal fearsfears that were recently brought to the surface by an outbreak of fatal attacks on this country's beaches. From novelists to sailors to oceanographers to divers, man's encounters with sharks have produced a diverse body of gripping, often inspired writing by great names in adventure literature. Along with 16 black-and-white photos, selections feature a wide range of work with an emphasis on thrills and chills, including Peter Matthiessen on the great white shark, Edward Marriott on hunting man-eaters off Nicaragua, Richard Fernicola's account of the 1916 shark attacks that inspired Peter Benchley's Jaws, and Jacques Cousteau's studies of the creatures.

Following up on the success of the Adrenaline title Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime, Adrenaline Classics brings back the New York Times bestseller (originally published as Killer) that helped pave the way for the latest generation of nouveau-mob stories, from Donnie Brasco to The Sopranos. "Joey"--a journeyman Jewish hitman, numbers king, and loan shark--collaborated with David Fisher (co-editor of the hit Adrenaline title Wild Blue) to lay out the rackets in gripping detail. His story includes detailed accounts of his chillingly "professional" murders of thirty-eight victims. The strong sales of Mob are further evidence that the best mafia stories--and this is one of the best--capture the public's interest. Joey the Hitman's original best-seller status reflects the quality of the writing, the frank intelligence of the subject/writer, and Joey's convincingly matter-of-fact, regular-guy tone. When he writes, debunking The Godfather, "... Actually very few mob members even have Bronx-Italian accents ...a lot of mob people are not very tough, the people we meet and deal with are very ordinary, most of us stay home at night and watch TV, and we only shoot each other when absolutely necessary," you know you're listening to the original Soprano. This edition includes a new afterword from David Fisher, who for the first time reveals Joey's identity and the incredible story of how Joey finally died.

Adrenaline Books' search for the world's best and most exciting stories has taken readers from the peaks of Everest to the jungles of Papua, New Guinea to the battlefields of World War II. Now, the editor of publishing's most successful adventure literature series takes readers into the heart of organized crime. Some of our culture's greatest literary talent has been drawn to this topic, which taps into our culture's deepest preoccupations -- greed, violence, desire. Mob features work from best-selling writers such as Peter Maas, William Kennedy, Martin Cruz Smith, and Mario Puzo; from acknowledged masters of the genre such as Nicolas Pileggi (Wiseguy, Casino) and Joseph Pistone (Donnie Brasco); and from law enforcement insiders and mobsters such as Sammy Giancana and Joseph O'Brien.

Stephen Venables and three companions made the first ascent of Panchu Chuli Va remote Himalayan peak on the borders of India, Nepal and Tibet. A rappel anchor failed on the descent, pitching Venables into a 300-foot fall. Crashing through the black night, flung from rock to rock, he assumed that he was plunging to his death. Against all odds he survived, but was left stranded 19,000 feet above a labyrinth of glaciers and snow slopes with two broken legs, the threat of gangrene, and scant food or medical supplies. If he was to return to his wife and son waiting at home some 5000 miles away, Venables knew he had to draw on his reserve of courage and determination. The third Adrenaline Classic, A Slender Thread is a spellbinding account of Venables' survivaland his intense personal struggle to understand the risks he takes for the sake of his insatiable passion for climbing. He comes as close to anyone to answering the unanswerable question: Why do they do it?

Climb focuses on the most exciting descriptions of climbing in the world, from the cliffs of Yosemite to the windswept towers of Patagonia to the high peaks of Alaska and the Himalayas. Stories include Jon Krakauer's first-person look at the risks of climbing Mt. McKinley's West Buttress route, which has killed scores of climbers in recent years; Chris Bonington's classic account of the Annapurna expedition, which introduced technical rock climbing at high altitude; Tom Patey's hilarious profile of the great climber and even greater misanthrope Don Whilans, describing an attempt the two made on the Eiger North Face; and Rob Taylor's experience breaking a leg high on Africa's Mount Kenya.

Wild brings together the best writing about men and women fighting for their lives in the wilderness, from Jon Krakauer's article on which he based his bestseller Into the Wild, to Carl R. Raswan's account of surviving raids, droughts, and sandstorms in the desert with the Bedouins, to Joe Kane's description of terrifying adventures on the Amazon. Other accounts include: Philipe Descola telling of life with an isolated tribe of headhunters; Bill Bryson describing his life-threatening but hilarious adventures along the Appalachian Trail; and Eric Newby finding himself lost in some of the world's most daunting terrain, the unmapped Hindu Kush.

In this pioneering anthology, Clint Willis presents 75 years of great writing -- from Neil O'Dell to Jon Krakauer -- on the fabled peaks. Here are stories of two British expeditions to Everest in the 1920s; a piece on the 1939 K2 attempt that claimed four climbers' lives; a firsthand account by the Sherpa who reached the summit of Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary; the story of the first successful American assault on K2 in 1978; a British photographer's view of the calamitous 1996 storm on Everest; and many more -- a cornucopia of mountaineering thrills for adventurous readers.