Up the Agency: The Funny Business of Advertising

In Up the Agency , originally published in 1990, Peter Mayle turns his mind back to what drove him to the south of France in the first place: the advertising business, where he lost thirteen perfectly good years of his life. Once known as "the greatest copywriter alive," Mayle's uproarious and telling retrospective of the foibles of the ad man's life wittily dissects this odd and fascinating industry, where clients are "pigs with checkbooks" and the speed of a new talent's ascent can be matched only by his shocking fall months later. A sharp-edged look at an industry that brings both pleasure and pain to millions (and millions to a few), Up the Agency will bring certain pleasure to devoted readers of Mayle, Ad Age , and fans of the hit television series Mad Men . Digital and audio editions include a new foreword by the author. Two Brothers: Heritage In the second book in the Ramtalan Trilogy, Argus Dachel, a far-from-ordinary half-alien teen, finds himself mixed up in the battle between a hostile faction of Invaders and the peaceful Ramtalans he's come to know as his friends. With his brother Tai held captive at the Citadel and disturbing news about his father, Argus has to come to grips with the truth about who he really is. Not only is the government agency, the Astronomical Urgent Recovery Administration, AURA, hot on his tail, but his relationship with his girlfriend Lola is in jeopardy. As his special abilities increase and become stronger, he risks exposure and capture. When the enemy closes in and the Citadel is attacked, it seems victory is impossible, but losing means certain death. He must find some way to protect everyone around him, but winning is impossible. Or is it? Tranquility belies its name. Behind the nursing home's serene exterior hides a sinister secret, and support worker Sarah Scott believes she knows what it is. But blowing the whistle would surely mean losing her job, and unemployment is not an option for a young, single mom who is struggling to find balance in her own life while caring for an ailing grandmother. Things come to a head when Edie is admitted to the locked unit. The feisty, Scottish woman does not act as though she has dementia, so why is she there? With the beginnings of a possible romantic relationship and her grandmother's health in rapid decline, Sarah is determined to have Edie released, but her plans are thwarted when Edie risks her freedom and her life to expose Tranquility's dark truth Sometimes theres a price to pay for doing the right thing. Support worker Sarah Scott learns this the hard way when, soon after being transferred to Tranquility's dementia unit, she uncovers a sinister secret. Doing the right thing could mean losing her job, and unemployment is not an option for the young, single mom. Meanwhile, Sarah begins to question whether her newest resident, Edie, belongs in the nursing home's locked unit. The feisty, Scottish woman certainly doesnt act as though she has dementia. Sarah is determined to have her released, but her plans may be thwarted when Edie risks her own freedom to help uncover the secret. Mayle, a former executive in advertising in New York and London, describes the perfect ad man, the frenzy and desperation of putting together a new campaign, the treachery of the fickle product-buying public, and other aspects of "the agency."