The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they've stood the test of time What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals-all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this informative...

Four years ago, fifteen-year-old Ellen Vicksburg went missing in the quiet town of River Remez, New Mexico. Ellen was kind, studious, and universally liked. Her younger brother, Ben, could imagine nothing worse than never knowing what happened to her until, on the first anniversary of her death, he found her body in a shallow grave by the river's edge. Ben, now sixteen, is committed to finding the monster who abducted and strangled Ellen. Police believe...

"One chance at forever Ben Baldwin likes his women sexy, wild, and as uninhibited as his desires. Nothing like brash, dirt-covered, wholesomely cute woman who just strutted into his diner. But something about Sierra Murphy's independent attitude makes Ben's fantasies run wild...Sierra doesn't need a man in her life, not even one as tempting as Ben. But the more she keeps her distance, the more he wants her, and the harder it is for Sierra to steer...

"Luka Kane has spent 736 days wrongfully imprisoned inside the Loop awaiting his execution. Each day is the same. Each day is torturous. But things are starting to change. Whispers of war are circulating. Strange things are happening to the prisoners. And the warden delivers a message: Luka, you have to get out ... Now Luka must decide whether breaking out of the Loop is his only way to survive, especially if there's any chance of saving the ones...

"Alix Phillips dodges bullets and breaks rules to bring the most important news to the world--from riots in America to protests on the streets of Tehran. With her daughter in college, and working alongside cameraman Ben Chapman, a deeply private ex-Navy SEAL, Alix revels in the risks and whirlwind pace of her work. But her latest assignment puts her at the center of an explosive story that will reshape many lives, including her own: investigating...

"Sela Gordon, the shy owner of a Tennessee general store, finds safety in solitude. But if anyone can pierce her protective shell it's the handsome, mysterious ex-military man living alone in the wilds of Cove Mountain. For two years, he's kept his distance--until the day he appears to warn her that a catastrophic solar storm capable of taking down the power grid is coming. Now, Sela must find the courage to become the leader Wears Valley needs. Bitter...

"Superspy middle schooler Ben Ripley races against time and across state lines - traveling by car, train, boat and plane - to track Murray Hill down before Ben's cyber enemies can find him"--

"Ben survived freshman year of college, but he's feeling more stuck than ever. His classes are a slog, his part-time job working with his father is even worse, and his best friend Dylan's been acting weird for weeks. Ben's only real bright spot is his writing partner Mario, who's been giving him a lot of Spanish lessons and even more kisses. Mario's big Hollywood dreams make Ben start to dream bigger--and the choices he makes now could be the key...

"North Korea, increasingly isolated from most of the rest of the world, is led by an absolute dictator and a madman with a major goal--he's determined to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. While they have built, and continue to successfully test nuclear bombs, North Korea has yet to develop a ballistic missile with the range necessary to attack America. But their missiles are improving, reaching a point where the U.S. absolutely must respond....

Ben Bova continues his hard SF Star Quest series which began with Death Wave and Apes and Angels. In Surivival, a human team sent to scout a few hundred lightyears in front of the death wave encounters a civilization far in advance of our own, a civilization of machine intelligences. The sentient, intelligent machines have existed for eons, and have survived earlier "death waves," gamma ray bursts from the core of the galaxy. They are totally self-sufficient,...