A renowned authority on the secret world of opium recounts his descent into ruinous obsession with one of the world’s oldest and most seductive drugs, in this harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery. A natural-born collector with a nose for exotic adventure, San Diego–born Steven Martin followed his bliss to Southeast Asia, where he found work as a freelance journalist. While researching an article about the vanishing culture of opium smoking, he was inspired to begin collecting rare nineteenth-century opium-smoking equipment. Over time, he amassed a valuable assortment of exquisite pipes, antique lamps, and other opium-related accessories—and began putting it all to use by smoking an extremely potent form of the drug called chandu. But what started out as recreational use grew into a thirty-pipe-a-day habit that consumed Martin’s every waking hour, left him incapable of work, and exacted a frightful physical and financial toll. In passages that will send a chill up the spine of anyone who has ever lived in the shadow of substance abuse, Martin chronicles his efforts to control and then conquer his addiction—from quitting cold turkey to taking “the cure” at a Buddhist monastery in the Thai countryside. At once a powerful personal story and a fascinating historical survey, Opium Fiend brims with anecdotes and lore surrounding the drug that some have called the methamphetamine of the nineteenth-century. It recalls the heyday of opium smoking in the United States and Europe and takes us inside the befogged opium dens of China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The drug’s beguiling effects are described in vivid detail—as are the excruciating pains of withdrawal—and there are intoxicating tales of pipes shared with an eclectic collection of opium aficionados, from Dutch dilettantes to hard-core addicts to world-weary foreign correspondents. A compelling tale of one man’s transformation from respected scholar to hapless drug slave, Opium Fiend puts us under opium’s spell alongside its protagonist, allowing contemporary readers to experience anew the insidious allure of a diabolical vice that the world has all but forgotten.

192 pages, inner pocket

192 pages, inner pocket

Like most dogs, Jake loves playing fetch. Unlike most dogs, Jake loves music even more. He loves to wag his tail to the beat of an ordinary day and "sing" with the birds. When his friend Richie, the principal stagehand at the Philharmonic, brings Jake to work one day, Jake is treated to a lesson in real music. He "woofs!" to the tweeting woodwinds and "ruffs!" to the deep horns, but when he hears the entire symphony orchestra practice, he knows to be quiet and listen. And when a crisis develops at that night's performance, Jake steps onstage and steals the show.

Bella is an indoor cat who lives inside a lighthouse and who has always imagined exploring the high seas. One day, Bella hops onto a sailboat and drifts away. . . . In this whimsical picture book, author-illustrator Ryan O'Rourke introduces lovable Bella, whose travels bring her to new friends and magical under-the-sea adventures and, ultimately, return her home. O'Rourke's distinctive artwork conveys the humor and curiosity of Bella and her friends, including a friendly whale and a wise octopus. Sea dogs and landlubbers alike will delight in the beautiful seascapes inspired by O'Rourke's summers on Cape Cod.

Maggi and her dog Milo work as partners in perfecting the art of froghunting.

Taking her very smart, very big dog on a frog-hunting venture after reading a book about frogs, little Maggi discovers that hunting frogs is harder than anticipated and welcomes Milo's help. A first book.