Tricia Ashe

Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.

Davis Reed is plagued by the three A's: anger, alcohol, and anxiety. A former Charleston police officer turned private detective, Davis hopes to gain some respect, self and otherwise, by writing a book. His subject? The true story of a B-25 bomber that crashed on Cold Mountain in western North Carolina just after the end of World War II. From the comfort of a mountain cabin in Cruso, North Carolina, Davis spends his days popping anti-anxiety pills, drinking copious amounts of home-brewed beer, and not writing.