At sunset, when their work is done for the day, a crane truck, a cement mixer, and other pieces of construction equipment make their way to their resting places and go to sleep.

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year
One of NPR's 10 Best Novels of 2011
From the National Book Award-winning author Denis Johnson (Tree of Smoke) comes Train Dreams, an epic in miniature, and one of Johnson's most evocative works of fiction.
Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly

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In this account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage, Stephen E. Ambrose offers a historical successor to his universally acclaimed Undaunted Courage, which recounted the explorations of the West by Lewis and Clark. Nothing Like It in the World is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad -- the investors who risked their businesses and money; the enlightened politicians who understood its importance; the...

Jake Entwhistle is smart and handsome, but he lives with the shadow of his deceased girlfriend, who died on 9/11. Janet is a bright, witty aide to the governor of Massachusetts who suffers from cystic fibrosis, an illness that makes her, as she puts it, "not exactly a good long-term investment." After meeting by accident late one night, they begin a love affair filled with humor, startling intimacy, and a deep abiding connection.--From book jacket....

Sam Acquillo can hide in his windswept waterfront cottage all he wants. The demons of his past are going to find him. Worse, they've teamed up with some pretty nasty demons of the present, including a very determined Chief of Police whose top detective has Sam caught in the cross hairs.Part-time carpenter, full-time drinker and co-conspirator with an existential mutt named Eddie Van Halen, Sam tries to lead the simple life. But as always, fate

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Set in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, this story reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown, and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.--

"In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer--Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life--dramatically...

"When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that's been sealed off for decades, Julia's baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body--and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room--the pressure's on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she'll...

Today more women are tending to their homes, and they're not just sewing curtains and arranging flowers. They're installing new toilets, adding ceramic floors to the kitchen, and drywalling the den. A survey by Home Depot found that 73 percent of women would like to learn more about tackling home improvements. But who has the brains, brawn, and beauty to really understand a woman's perspective and give her the confidence to conquer what had traditionally...

"As she starts over in a new city, Lee Walker falls head over heels for her new boss and must choose between protecting her bruised and battered heart or trusting it to a man whose quiet strength just might heal it." --