A skeptical portrait of American business life and its perils, celebrating not the rise but the loss of fortune that makes possible the hero's recovery of his earlier integrity and happiness.

When a middle-aged Muslim businessman in Senegal with two wives and eleven children decides to take a third wife who is the same age as his oldest children, everything in his life starts to fall apart. On the night of their wedding, he can't perform and he soon embarks on a wild journey to find a cure for his sexual impotence.

First published in 1873, The Gilded Age is both a biting satire and a revealing portrait of post-Civil War America-an age of corruption when crooked land speculators, ruthless bankers, and dishonest politicians voraciously took advantage of the nation's peacetime optimism. With his characteristic wit and perception, Mark Twain and his collaborator, Charles Dudley Warner, attack the greed, lust, and naivete of their own time in a work which endures...

A successful insurance company owner whose two lazy sons want him permanently out of the way crosses paths with a blackmail victim in Peru. "The Discreet Hero, follows two fascinating characters whose lives are destined to intersect: neat, endearing Felícito Yanaqué, a small businessman in Piura, Peru, who finds himself the victim of blackmail; and Ismael Carrera, a successful owner of an insurance company in Lima, who cooks up a plan to avenge...

"The life and times of the wealthiest man who ever lived--Jacob Fugger--the Renaissance banker who revolutionized the art of making money and established the radical idea of pursuing wealth for its own sake. Jacob Fugger lived in Germany at the turn of the sixteenth century, the grandson of a peasant. By the time he died, his fortune amounted to nearly two percent of European GDP. Not even John D. Rockefeller had that kind of wealth. Most people become...

In this title, unwrap the life of talented Coca-Cola Inventor John Pemberton! Readers will enjoy getting the scoop on this Food Dude, beginning with his childhood in Georgia. Students can follow Pemberton's success story from his early days in the Confederate Army to his work in medicine after the Civil War and his invention of Coca-Cola. Pemberton's family life and the sale of his secret recipe are also highlighted. Engaging text familiarizes readers...

"In this title, unwrap the life of talented Dominos Pizza innovator Tom Monaghan! Readers will enjoy getting the scoop on this Food Dude, beginning with his childhood in a Michigan orphanage and foster care. Students can follow Monaghans success story from college dropout to US Marine Corps to successful pizza chain businessman. Monaghans family and retirement years are also highlighted. Engaging text familiarizes readers with topics of interest including...