In his previous career, Murrell had the privilege of working with some very fine writers. Here are some:
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The Widow of the South
by Robert Hicks (Warner Books) The National Bestseller: The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Booksense "A thunderous, action-rich first novel of the Civil War -- based on historical fact -- worthy of a place alongside THE KILLER ANGELS and SHILOH." -- Kirkus Reviews "It is a wonderful novel about what war does to its participants -- not only the soldiers, but the families pulled from the periphery onto the battlefield. Hicks has perfected the art of mixing fact and fiction, and turned the book into a sustained, profound meditation on what it means to live, to love and to die. Congratulations to Robert Hicks -- he has written a moving and magnificent novel." --Tracy Chevalier, author of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING "Widow of the South is a poignant, evocative account of one of the last bursts of fury in our terrible Civil War, and what came after. It is a fine story of love, war, regret, and reconciliation." --Kevin Baker, author of DREAMLAND and PARADISE ALLEY |
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The Last Child in the Woods
by Richard Louv "Our children are part of a truly vast experiment -- the first generations to be raised without meaningful contact with the natural world... Richard Louv provides insight on what it's doing to our children, and savvy advice about how to bring it to an end and restore the age-old relationship between people and the rest of the planet." -- Bill McKibben, author of THE END OF NATURE. "There is no better time to read 'Last Child in the Woods' than summer..." -- Wall Street Journal |
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Gap Creek
by Robert Morgan "At their finest, his stripped-down and almost primitive sentences burn with the raw, lonesome pathos of Hank Williams's best songs....You begin to feel, as you sometimes do when reading Cormac McCarthy's or Harry Crews's early novels, that the author has been typing with blood on his hands and a good deal of it has rubbed off onto your shirtsleeves." -- The New York Times Book Review "Gap Creek is the work of a master." -- Fred Chappell, author of FAREWELL, I'M BOUND TO LEAVE YOU "In examining the hard, honest lives of his people, Robert Morgan gives voice to a time and place rarely imagined. GAP CREEK speaks of things both intimate and eternal." -- Stewart O'Nan, author of THE NAMES OF THE DEAD and SNOW ANGELS |
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This Rock
by Robert Morgan "Reminiscent of James Dickey -- bearing the same naturalistic marks of clear, clean prose and often disturbing imagery... Morgan casts a stark story peopled with real, believable, and honest characters." -- The Baltimore Sun "Gripping story-telling, indelible sense of time and place . . . Morgan turns the stories of prosaic lives into page-turners." -- The News and Observer "Morgan writes "with an authority usually associated with the great novelists of the last century." -- The Boston Book Review |
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Brave Enemies
by Robert Morgan "Tremendous narrative pace, a meticulous eye for colorful detail and a tight grasp of historical setting and military action...a rousing and affecting tale of the American Revolution." -- Publishers Weekly "Morgan's background as a poet is evident in the graceful language and luminous description of the countryside and in the introspectiveness and humanity of his characters." -- Library Journal "Robert Morgan's lyric mountain language is equal to the epic sweep of history, to the grandeur of the land itself." -- Lee Smith, author of THE LAST GIRLS and FAIR AND TENDER LADIES |
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Godforsaken Sea
by Derek Lundy "One of the best books ever written about sailing -- Lundy's knowledge of sea lore and history is rich, his pace perfect, his intelligence full of energy." -- Time "Eloquent -- Lundy not only makes stirring narrative drama but also draws the lineaments of an archetypal hero, a human driven by fear, addicted to adrenaline, in need of the edge." -- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times "A mixture of history, gripping narrative, and provocative meditation." -- The New Yorker "The best book ever written about the terrifying business of single-handed sailing. Lundy tells a harrowing tale, as tight and gripping as The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air." -- San Francisco Chronicle |
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Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland
by Patricia L. Bryan and Thomas Wolf "Historical whodunit devotees...will delight in this stirring and evocative account of an obscure turn-of-the-century Iowa murder." -- Publishers Weekly "Aficionados of the unsolved case may find a delectable example in this retelling." -- Kirkus Reviews "Midnight Assassin, meticulously researched and written by Patricia Bryan and Thomas Wolf, offers an absorbing look at a 1900 murder in an Iowa farmhouse and, as a subtext, how the roles of women in America were beginning to change....[an] engrossing real-life whodunit." -- USA Today |
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Smartbomb: Inside the Videogame Explosion
by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby Smartbomb goes into the epicenter of the videogame explosion, where computer technology is fused with artistic creativity. From the hackers at MIT in the 1960s to the Ferrari-driving developers of the modern-day industry to professional "cyberathletes," we meet the celebrities of the gaming world. It's a dizzying trip through the trade conventions, gaming competitions, and design labs of the men who are the Spielbergs of their field. Startling and revelatory, this is an up-close and personal look at the egos, the battles, the one-upmanship, and the love of the chase fueling these innovators who are creating the worlds in which we're going to live and play for the next century. (Coming November 2005) |
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The Medic
by Leo Litwak "A terse, vivid, occasionally funny, quietly ironic, often brutal narrative ... An unflinching portrait of the times." -- Kirkus Reviews "A book for the generations. In lean, quick, and ultimately eloquent prose Leo Litwak tells the truth about WWII. He speaks with a young man's toughness about events as they were." -- Earl Shorris, author of LATINOS and NEW AMERICAN BLUES "Litwak's timing is compelling, his characters are vivid, memorable, and real, and his story is laced with humor and insight." -- Molly Giles, author of IRON SHOES and ROUGH TRANSLATIONS A "brutal and yet frequently uplifting saga of war... There are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys' here, although the presence of both good and evil is constant. Instead, we witness ordinary men, most of them quite young, striving to survive a conflict that few of them understand... A disturbing, revealing, and very important glimpse of warfare." -- Booklist |
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At Sea in the City
by William Kornblum "Mr. Kornblum has helped me see a piece of New York with fresh eyes....On page after page, I've learned something new." -- Pete Hamill (from the foreword), author of DOWNTOWN: MY MANHATTAN "By circumnavigating New York City from the edge, the author finds a way of grappling afresh with the history and complexity of the metropolis. Through it all, Kornblum comes across as a wonderfully likeable, knowledgeable guide, and a mensch." -- Phillip Lopate, author of PORTRAIT OF MY BODY "Sailing through the archipelago of New York City -- what a wonderful and original perspective. Kornblum writes as only a true sailor can. A classic of a book which should become an enduring part of the literature of New York and of all cities on the sea." -- Derek Lundy, author of GODFORSAKEN SEA "The glorious anachronisms of sailing stand out in high relief against the backdrop of New York City in these vignettes of sailing around Manhattan." -- Publishers Weekly |
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Waiting for April
by Scott Morris "In the tradition of his southern predecessors, Morris is an elegant, self-assured writer. His characters are authentic and overflowing with humanity. A genuinely evocative novel." -- Booklist "This is a book that worms into the brain. You may linger in it for days after you've finished it.... a novel that will last. And if it doesn't, that will be the public's fault, not his." -- The National Review |
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Wooden Churches: A Celebration
Introduction by Rick Bragg "[There] is plenty good about this new book, filled with stunning black and white photographs of West Virginia churches, Georgia churches, Ohio churches, Nebraska churches, photographs by anonymous cameramen culled from state historical archives, and photographs from the fingers of famous artists: Tom Rankin, whose shots of the Mississippi Delta demonstrate that at least some pictures are worth a thousand words, as well as Walker Evans and other chroniclers of the Depression. Sit with Wooden Churches a while, and be stirred." -- Beliefnet "The delicately designed book supplies mean moments of humor, reflection and artistic enjoyment." -- Foreword Magazine "Evocative." -- Style Weekly |
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A Dark Place in the Jungle
by Linda Spalding "A sophisticated mixture of memoir, science writing and travel essay; a disturbing expose of complex, sometimes counterproductive, attempts to protect an endangered species; and a knowing self-portrait of a perceptive, sympathetic woman trying to make sense of the ambitions and disappointments around her." -- Publishers Weekly "A fascinating story." -- Entertainment Weekly "A deeply moving literary experience." -- The Globe and Mail |
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The Essential Klezmer
by Seth Rogovoy "The music of my childhood memories came flooding back through the decades as I read. Maybe, as Seth Rogovoy suggests, it's time for our music to awaken once more to an entirely new generation." -- Arlo Guthrie "An informative and entertaining guide to the most unlikely musical trend of recent years. [Rogovoy] lucidly explains what is culturally significant about klezmer; better yet, he captures the music's fun." -- Francis Davis, author of BEBOP AND NOTHINGNESS and THE HISTORY OF THE BLUES "Invaluable." -- The New York Times "Indispensable." -- Jewish Week |
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A Frozen Hell
by William Trotter "We will not often find a book written with such authority as this one ... we are fortunate to have it." -- The New York Times "Masterfully recreates all the heroism, tragedy and drama of a campaign whose lessons deserve far more attention." -- General James R. Galvin, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe "Trotter's account is the best one yet of this unique war." -- The Virginian-Pilot |
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See How She Runs: Marion Jones and the Making of a Champion
by Ron Rapoport "A wonderful, insightful story of the making of a superstar... by one of America's very best sportswriters." -- David Halberstam, author of SUMMER OF '49 "An invaluable, inspirational, contemporary biography of a positive role model." -- School Library Journal |
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Running North
by Ann Mariah Cook "Cook is a natural writer, the very best. To put it simply, I love everything about this book." -- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of THE HIDDEN LIFE OF DOGS "An explorer's tale with a feminine slant." -- Caroline Knapp, The New York Times Book Review |
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Saving Molly
by James Mahoney "There are a number of compassionate people who never come to terms with the laboratory conditions, but stay because they feel that they can then try to make things better for the chimps. One such is Dr. James Mahoney .... Jim is one of the most gentle and compassionate people I know." -- Jane Goodall, author of IN THE SHADOW OF MAN and REASON FOR HOPE "His memoir begins with Molly, a runt puppy afflicted with most of the ills known to dog .... This story leads to reflections on the use of animals for research, which Dr. Mahoney regrets but would not abandon if he could. It is to be hoped that this charming, kindly, gentle book will not inspire any animal-rights fanatics to blow up research centers. That is not at all what the author has in mind." -- Phoebe-Lou Adams, The Atlantic Monthly |
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A Golfer's Education
by Darren Kilfara "Darren Kilfara journeys to Scotland, makes an ace, breaks par on the Old Course, finds Heather off it, and lives out a golfing dream. For the rest of us, anyway, there's his enchanting book." -- Michael Bamberger, author of TO THE LINKSLAND "Kilfara spent four happy years at Harvard, learning the many useful things that Harvard has to offer. Then he went to St. Andrews and learned about life. A Golfer's Education is a graceful, insightful and often funny account of that journey." -- Don Wade, author of TALKING ON TOUR "He writes about golf passionately and perceptively; he captures the lure of the links vividly; and his analysis of his tendency to be a 'score-obsessed golfer' is as wise as it is painful.... A fine golf memoir." -- Booklist |
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Southern Dogs
by Roberta Gamble and P.S. Davis "A double treat for dog lovers! Southern Dogs and Their People is a witty, tender and eye-catching exploration of Southern dogs and their human companions .... Sure to make you sit up and beg." -- BookPage |
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Zero to Fifty: A Life in Cars
by Kate Lake "Every page of this book is revelatory; reading it is as delicious as driving a stolen car." -- Haven Kimmel, author of A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY "I don't know how to drive -- never learned -- but reading Kate Lake's love letters to her cars made me want to go out and buy a car. I feel like I missed out on some great romances." -- Dan Savage, author of SKIPPING TOWARDS GOMORRAH |
