Anne Milano Appel

Naples, March 1931. A bitter wind stalks the city streets, and murder lies at its chilled heart. As one of the world's greatest tenors, Maestro Vezzi, is found brutally murdered in his dressing room at Naples's famous San Carlo Theatre, the enigmatic and aloof Commissario Ricciardi is called in to investigate. Arrogant and bad-tempered, Vezzi was hated by many, but with the livelihoods of the opera at stake, who would have committed this callous act?...

The strange circumstances surrounding the death of the world chess champion and alleged Nazi collaborator Alexander Alekhine, as investigated by a literary grand master On the morning of March 24, 1946, the world chess champion Alexander Alekhine-"sadist of the chess world," renowned for his eccentric behavior as well as the ruthlessness of his playing style-was found dead in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal. He was fully dressed and wearing an...

Claudio Magris's searing new novel ruthlessly confronts the human obsession with war and its savagery in every age and every country. His tale centers on a man whose maniacal devotion to the creation of a Museum of War involves both a horrible secret and the hope of redemption. Luisa Brooks, his museum's curator, a descendant of victims of Jewish exile and of black slavery, has a complex dilemma: will the collections she exhibits save humanity from...

Based on a remarkable true story, an unforgettable Somali girl risks her life on the migrant journey to Europe to run in the Olympic Games At eight years of age, Samia lives to run. She shares her dream with her best friend and neighbor, Ali, who appoints himself her "professional coach." Eight-year-old Ali trains her, times her, and pushes her to achieve her goals. For both children, Samia's running is the bright spot in their tumultuous life in...

A writer for whom the journey has always mattered reinvents the very form itself in this inviting collection of in-the-moment impressions of his journeys.

Pope Francis examines the role of millennials in the future of the Catholic Church in this urgent call to believers of all generations to work together to build a better world. Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has reinvigorated the Catholic Church and become one of the most popular global leaders. Now, in this extraordinary interview with journalist Thomas Leoncini, His Holiness reminds Catholics of all ages that "God is young; He is always...

"In this prophetic allegory about artificial intelligence by a renowned figure of twentieth-century Italian literature, a modest university professor becomes involved in a remote and enigmatic project in the middle of the Cold War. At the beginning of Dino Buzzati's The Singularity, Ermanno Ismani, an unassuming university professor, is summoned by the minister of defense to accept a two-year, top-secret mission at a mysterious research center, isolated...