Knihobot

Jim Thompson

    27. září 1906 – 7. duben 1977
    POP. 1280
    The Rip-Off
    Positive Coaching
    Trénink² : výchova k úspěchu ve sportu i v životě
    Vrah ve mně
    Trénink²
    • Praktická kniha, kterou mohou trenéři využít, aby se svými sportovci dosahovali lepších výsledků nejen na hřišti. Kniha vysvětluje, proč je důležité napřít úsilí k dosahování mistrovství a jak mohou být samotné sportovní výsledky u dětí zrádné. Trenéři, rodiče i hráči dostávají do rukou doporučení, jak vybudovat zájem a vztah ke sportu na celý život. Budou-li trenéři tuto pozitivní motivaci pravidelně využívat, budou mít ve svých týmech zapálené a nadšené sportovce. Za knihou stojí i hvězdný basketbalový trenér Phil Jackson, který ji i opatřil předmluvou.

      Trénink²
      3,8
    • Vrah ve mně

      • 158 stránek
      • 6 hodin čtení

      Lou Ford je šerifem na americkém maloměstě a vedle stálé přítelkyně udržuje sadomasochistický vztah s prostitutkou Joyce Lakelandovou. Když ji prakticky utluče k smrti a zabije jednoho z jejích zákazníků, syna místního magnáta, probouzí se v něm spící a roky umlčovaná bestie. Dlouho se mu daří unikat a svalovat vinu za vraždy na nevinné občany městečka, až na něj místní magnát nakonec vytáhne nečekaný trumf.

      Vrah ve mně
      3,7
    • Positive Coaching

      Building Character and Self-esteem Through Sports

      • 400 stránek
      • 14 hodin čtení

      Positive Coaching is jam packed with information for coaches in any sport. The book includes over 200 coaching recommendations on specific psychological, motivational, and behavioral situations. There is a special focus on the coach as storyteller -- 50 motivational stories can be used to develop strong communication with athletes.

      Positive Coaching
      4,5
    • In his characteristic style, Jim Thompson creates a world in which nothing is as it seems. With her stunning beauty and overwhelming charm, Manuela Aloe seemed like perfect girlfriend material, but when many strange things occur, Britt Rainstar begins to have second thoughts about his angelic--or demonic--love. If he can survive the attacks of a devil-possessed dog, a trigger-happy skeleton, and a mystery person who pushes his wheelchair down the stairs, then maybe Britt can escape Manuela and the evil that followers her.

      The Rip-Off
      3,0
    • POP. 1280

      • 208 stránek
      • 8 hodin čtení

      A classic crime novel from 'the best suspense writer going, bar none' NEW YORK TIMESWith a new introduction by Charlie Higson

      POP. 1280
      4,1
    • A Hell of a Woman

      • 208 stránek
      • 8 hodin čtení

      Frank "Dolly" Dillon has a job he hates, working sales and collections for Pay-E-Zee Stores, a wife named Joyce he can't stand, and an account balance that barely allows him to pay the bills each month. Working door-to-door one day, trying to eke money out of folk with even less of it than he has, Dolly crosses paths with a beautiful young woman named Mona Farrell. Mona's being forced by her aunt to do things she doesn't like, with men she doesn't know -- she wants out, any way she can get it. And to a man who wants nothing of what he has, Mona sure looks like something he actually does. Soon Dolly and Mona find themselves involved in a scheme of robbery, murder and mayhem that makes Dolly's blood run cold. As Dolly's plans begin to unravel, his mind soon follows. In A Hell of a Woman , Jim Thompson offers another arresting portrait of a deviant mind, in an ambitious crime novel that ranks among his best work.

      A Hell of a Woman
      4,0
    • After Dark, My Sweet

      • 152 stránek
      • 6 hodin čtení

      William Collins is very handsome, very polite, and very friendly. He is also dangerous when aroused. Now Collins, a one-time boxer with a lethal "accident" in his past, has broken out of his fourth mental institution and met up with an affable con man and a highly arousing woman, whose plans for him include kidnapping, murder, and much, much worse.

      After Dark, My Sweet
      3,9
    • Savage Night

      • 256 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      Jake Winroy had no looks, no education, and little else before he'd worked his way to the top of a million-dollar-a-month horse-betting ring. But when the state's latched onto his game, the feds take a bite and the lawyer fees eat away at the rest, all Jake's got left is the bottle and a beautiful wife whose every word is ugly. Jake's to be the top witness in a major case against organized crime--if he hasn't already kicked the bucket before the trial has its day in court. But an enigmatic mafioso known only as The Man has a plan to make dead certain Jake never gets the chance to testify. The Man's hired Charlie "Little" Bigger, a hit man barely five feet tall, to infiltrate the Winroy residence as a tenant and murder Winroy in cold blood. To Little, it seems like the easiest job on Earth. Until he lays eyes on the beautiful and dangerous Fay and the Winroy's young housemaid Ruth, a woman as sensual as she is vulnerable. SAVAGE NIGHT is Jim Thompson at his most unpredictable and deeply suspenseful, in a claustrophobic thriller of one man's fractured mind.

      Savage Night
      3,9
    • The Nothing Man

      • 256 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      War changed Clinton Brown. Permanently disfigured by a tragic military accident, he's struggling to find satisfaction from life as a rewrite man for Pacific City's Courier. Shame has led him to isolate himself from closest friends and even his estranged, still faithfully devoted wife, Ellen. Only the bottle keeps him company. But now Ellen has returned to Pacific City, and she's ready to do whatever it takes to get Brown back. Even if it means exposing his deepest secret -- a painful truth Brown would do anything to stop from coming to light. He'd kill a whole lot of people just to keep this one thing quiet -- and soon enough, the bodies just happen to start piling up around him

      The Nothing Man
      3,8
    • Wild Town

      • 189 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      "When David 'Bugs' McKenna is hired as the house detective for his hotel by Mike Hanlon, the town's crippled millionaire, McKenna has hopes that he can leave his violent past behind. But the death of Dudley, the hotel auditor, the disapperace of $5,000 and the unwanted attentions of Lou Ford, the town's deputy sheriff, and Joyce, Hanlon's beautiful, young wife, means that McKenna is looking at more trouble than he can handle. And either a long, long, stretch in the State Pen or a longer stay in the town cemetery..." -- From back cover

      Wild Town
      3,8
    • The Manton looks like a respectable hotel. Dusty Rhodes looks like a selfless young man working as a bellhop. And the woman in 1004 looks like an angel. But sometimes looks can kill, as Jim Thompson demonstrates in this vision of the crime novel as gothic.

      A Swell-looking Babe
      3,8
    • Heed the Thunder

      • 324 stránek
      • 12 hodin čtení

      Old Lincoln Fargo has spent his life engaging in almost every vice imaginable--and his only regret is that he once stole a horse. His son Grant, a shiftless dandy with a resemblance to Edgar Allan Poe, is conducting an affair with his voluptuous and volatile cousin. And behind everyone's back, Grandmother Pearl has just signed the family property over to the Almighty.In the literature of the American prairie, few families are as brawling, as benighted, or as outrageously vital as the Fargos of Verdon, Nebraska. And when Jim Thompson chronicles their life and times, the result suggest Willa Cather steeped in rotguut--and armed with a .45.

      Heed the Thunder
      3,7
    • "I was going to catch hell whatever I did. I might as well try to enjoy myself."--Jim ThompsonAt thirteen Jim Thompson was learning how to smoke cigars and ogle burlesque girls under the tutelage of his profane grandfather. A few years later, he was bellhopping at a hotel in Fort Worth, where he supplemented his income peddling bootleg out of the package room. He shuddered out the DTs as a watchman on a West Texas oil pipeline. He outraged teachers, cheated mobsters, and almost got himself beaten to death by a homicidal sheriff's deputy. And somewhere along the way, Thompson became one of the greatest crime writers America has ever known.In this uproarious autobiographical tale, the author of After Dark, My Sweet and Pop. 1280 tells the story of his chaotic coming of age and reveals just where he acquired his encyclopedic knowledge of human misbehavior. Bad Boy is a bawdy, brawling book of reprobates--and an unfettered portrait of a writer growing up in the Southwest of the Roaring Twenties.

      Bad Boy
      3,8
    • The Getaway

      • 176 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      The story of a bank robbery and its aftermath, of cross and double-cross, told with the unflinching eye of America's greatest crime writer. When it comes to pulling off the perfect bank job, Doc McCoy wrote the book. But with a partner like Rudy Torrento, who is not only treacherous but insane, and a wife who is still an amateur, McCoy has forgotten something: when the crime is big and bloody enough, there is no such thing as a clean getaway.

      The Getaway
      3,7
    • The Grifters

      • 192 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      Reissue of a true classic - 'One of the toughest crime novels ever' (Newsweek).

      The Grifters
      3,7
    • The Kill-Off

      • 201 stránek
      • 8 hodin čtení

      Luane Devore's days are numbered. All her neighbors in the declining seaside resort town of Manduwoc want her dead. Some, like her young husband Ralph and his girlfriend Danny, want the thousands of dollars she keeps hidden under the mattress she spends her days resting on. Others want her to stop her malicious gossip--some of which could ruin lives.

      The Kill-Off
      3,7
    • Roughneck

      • 185 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      This fictionalized account retraces the author's zigzag path across the prairie states in the 1930s and 1940s as he consorts with corpses and con men, outruns railroad bulls, shakes down debtors, and writes labor history for the W.P.A.

      Roughneck
      3,7
    • South of Heaven

      • 229 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      In the 1920s the worst place you could be was in that part of Texas that some people call "South of Heaven," and the worst thing you could be doing there was laying a gas pipeline, along with six-hundred other hoboes, juice-heads, and jailbirds. But that's exactly what Tommy Burwell was doing, even though he wasn't smart enough to know better. Even though "South of Heaven" is another term for hell.Combining a tale of escalating savagery with a dead-eyed group portrait of men at the edge, Jim Thompson has produced a masterpiece of the American dissolute.

      South of Heaven
      3,7
    • The Criminal

      • 120 stránek
      • 5 hodin čtení

      A teenage girl is raped and murdered. A father turns his back on his son. A vicious press lord turns justice into a carnival. A terrified boy is railroaded. In the twisted world of Jim Thompson, everyone is guilty, and the worst crimes are unpunishable.

      The Criminal
      3,7
    • Recoil

      • 178 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      Pat Cosgrove was a convict in the state's vilest prison, and Doc Luther gave him his freedom. Cosgrove had never been loved, and Luther gave him two mistresses--one of them the beautiful Mrs. Luther. Cosgrove owed Luther his life . . . and now Luther was going to collect.

      Recoil
      3,7
    • Cropper's Cabin

      • 146 stránek
      • 6 hodin čtení

      For Tommy Carver, a short-tempered Okie sharecropper penned up in a sweltering cabin with a brutal father and a stepmother whose affection is anything but maternal, the question isn't when he'll explode, but who he'll take with him when he does. "My favorite crime novelist--often imitated but never duplicated."--Stephen King.

      Cropper's Cabin
      3,6
    • Texas by the Tail

      • 256 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      Mitch Corley seems like the luckiest guy around. But in truth, Corley's fast hands are the only gift fate's ever given him. He has a girlfriend with expensive tastes and a ruthless wife who refuses to become an "ex" without major compensation. He needs big money and he needs it fast. Because if his girlfriend finds out about the wife Corley neglected to mention, there's a good chance that Corley might not survive the night

      Texas by the Tail
      3,6
    • The Golden Gizmo

      • 185 stránek
      • 7 hodin čtení

      Toddy Kent was born with a "gizmo" in his head--talent for finding easy money--but when Toddy's gift deserts him and he finds his wife murdered, he goes on the run from a sinister man and his hymn-singing doberman

      The Golden Gizmo
      3,5
    • When Tom Lord, a sheriff's deputy, accidentally kills Aaron McBride, he realizes that either the law or McBride's partners will be after him

      The Transgressors
      3,4
    • King Blood

      • 224 stránek
      • 8 hodin čtení

      Ike King, a man who built his empire with blood and violence, faces a career change when his sons threaten to take that empire away from him.

      King Blood
      2,8
    • Now and on Earth

      • 334 stránek
      • 12 hodin čtení

      "San Diego in the years before World War II. James Dillon is barely scraping by working a menial job in manufacturing, trying to raise a family and support his elderly mother and sister Frankie at the same time. He drinks too hard--just like his father and nearly everyone in his extended family. With so many people crammed into one home, sometimes there's so much fighting he can barely stand it. But if James can survive the chaos of everyday life long enough, maybe--just maybe--there's a chance it'll all get better. NOW AND ON EARTH, Jim Thompson's first novel, draws on personal experience to depict a hardscrabble life in the sun-soaked streets of mid-20th century California. Chronicling the birth of a writer and the plight of the working man, it prefigures the American classics that followed, in a deeply-felt, autobiographical tale that shows a writer just coming into his own"-- ?c Provided by publisher.

      Now and on Earth
    • Nothing More Than Murder

      • 234 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      Sometimes a man and woman love and hate each other in equal measure that they can neither stay together nor break apart. Some marriages can only end in murder and some murders only make the ties of love and hatred stronger. This book proves just that.

      Nothing More Than Murder
    • At the Table of Jim Thompson

      • 105 stránek
      • 4 hodiny čtení

      The three Jim Thompson restaurants in Bangkok were established to preserve the atmosphere that prevailed at dinner parties thrown by the legendary host. Dishes which used to grace these memorable parties can now be recreated in your own kitchen.

      At the Table of Jim Thompson
    • Revised and Updated for 2023. This book is intended as a complete guide for the project, process or software engineer in heavy industries, with emphasis on the pulp and paper industry. Read it from cover to cover, follow its precepts, and you should be able to execute successful projects, if your manager leave you alone!

      The Lazy Project Engineer's Path to Excellence
    • Ezekiel: The Watchman

      • 344 stránek
      • 13 hodin čtení

      Jim Thompson's commentary on Ezekiel will strengthen, encourage, and fortify the faith of its readers. It is written from a dispensational perspective with a reverent view of Scripture as God's Word. It contains many sound, practical insights and applications, and it is written in an easy-to-understand style with a shepherd's heart that is concerned for his readers' sanctification and the glory of God. This commentary is suitable either for daily devotional reading, personal study, or interactive group study.

      Ezekiel: The Watchman
    • Pulp Rats: an unpleasant tale

      • 128 stránek
      • 5 hodin čtení

      An update on the original 2019 edition. Jim Thompson is back, interpreting for Fos the Rat as he further relates the malevolent tales of the Big Things as reported at the annual pulp and paper mill rat conventions. And, as usual, the Rats are appalled by the Big Things behavior.

      Pulp Rats: an unpleasant tale
    • The Enoch Generation

      The Generation of the Convergence of Bible Prophecy with Signs of the Times That Point to the Last Days and the End Times

      • 258 stránek
      • 10 hodin čtení

      Set in a world where the Enoch generation grapples with profound spiritual and existential questions, the narrative explores themes of faith, redemption, and the search for truth. Characters navigate a society marked by moral ambiguity and the struggle between light and darkness. As they confront their destinies, the story delves into the complexities of belief and the impact of choices on their lives and the world around them. The journey is both personal and collective, reflecting the challenges faced by a generation in search of meaning.

      The Enoch Generation
    • Maxy Quinn

      In big Trouble

      • 86 stránek
      • 4 hodiny čtení

      Maxy Quinn navigates a whirlwind of misfortune after discovering a reverse four-leaf clover that amplifies his bad luck. He faces a series of comedic challenges, from having his principal as a neighbor to dealing with a psychic lizard and turning his sister's teeth blue. Each outrageous event adds to the hilarity of Maxy's life, making for a funny and engaging read.

      Maxy Quinn
    • Get the job!

      • 64 stránek
      • 3 hodiny čtení

      Focus on mastering essential job-seeking skills with a comprehensive guide that covers resume crafting, interview techniques, and test preparation. It offers valuable insights and strategies to impress potential employers and secure your desired position. Ideal for anyone looking to enhance their job search, this resource promises to equip you with the necessary tools to stand out in a competitive job market.

      Get the job!
    • Barf is a dog

      • 38 stránek
      • 2 hodiny čtení

      The story features a not-so-bright dog named Barf, who finds himself in a series of hilarious and chaotic situations. Accompanied by a man in a big hat and a little boy dressed in yellow, Barf embarks on wild adventures filled with laughter and unexpected challenges. Readers will enjoy Barf's antics and the lighthearted tone of this entertaining tale.

      Barf is a dog
    • In Pottsville, einem verlassenen Ort im amerikanischen Süden, leben 1280 Einwohner unter einem grausamen Sheriff, der Lynchjustiz und Erpressung praktiziert. Das Gesetz wird missbraucht und dient nur den eigenen Interessen der Mächtigen.

      Zwölfhundertachtzig schwarze Seelen. Krimi
      4,9
    • Zwölfhundertachtzig schwarze Seelen, nicht mehr und nicht weniger Einwohner zählt das gottverlassene Pottsville im amerikanischen Süden. Ein ödes und schmutziges Kaff. Was nicht zuletzt dem Sheriff zu verdanken ist, der ein Regime von Grausamkeit, Lynchjustiz und Erpressung errichtet hat. Denn die Vorgesetzten sind weit weg, und das Gesetz dient dem, der es für seine Zwecke gebraucht.

      Zwölfhundert-achtzig schwarze Seelen
      4,5
    • Lincoln Fargo ist der Patriarch einer dekadenten Familie, die auf ihrem Landsitz in einer selbst geschaffenen Welt des Abgründigen lebt. Während Lincoln von Gewalt regiert wird, steigert sich seine gottesfürchtige Frau Pearl zunehmend in einen religiösen Wahn. Doch dies ist nur die Oberfläche der Verkommenheit. Der Fargo-Clan verbirgt ein finsteres Geheimnis – ein Geheimnis, das die Familie schließlich in eine Katastrophe reißt ...

      Fürchte den Donner
      4,5
    • Ein Satansweib. Roman

      • 224 stránek
      • 8 hodin čtení

      Dolly Dillon, ein erfolgloser Vertreter und unglücklicher Ehemann, trifft bei einem Hausbesuch auf Mona, die von ihrer Tante unterdrückt wird. Als er von einem Vermögen im Keller erfährt, schmieden die beiden einen Plan, um an das Geld zu gelangen.

      Ein Satansweib. Roman
      4,3
    • Es war bloss Mord

      • 245 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      Joe Wilmot hat es geschafft. Sein Kleinstadtkino ist eines der angesehensten im ganzen Staat. Doch dann begeht er eine Dummheit und gerät in große Schwierigkeiten. Und plötzlich erinnern sie sich - all die unliebsamen Konkurrenten, die Joe damals mit höchst fragwürdigen Methoden kaltgestellt hat.

      Es war bloss Mord
      4,0
    • Pat Cosgrove hat als Jugendlicher mal einen Fehler begangen - er hat eine Bank ausgeraubt. Fünfzehn Jahre später sitzt Pat immer noch im Zuchthaus Sandstone. Gäbe es nicht den hilfsbereiten Dr. Luther, müßte er den Rest seines Lebens hinter Gittern verbringen. Doch nach seiner Entlassung entdeckt Pat, daß sich hinter Luthers Hilfsbereitschaft noch ein anderes Motiv verbirgt.

      Revanche
      3,8
    • Jetzt und auf Erden

      Roman - Deutsche Erstausgabe

      • 333 stránek
      • 12 hodin čtení

      Wie viel kann ein Mensch einstecken? Ein Roman wie kein zweiter! Thompsons frühe autobiografische Tour de Force durch das Leben einer Unterschichtfamilie während der 1940er Jahre ist ein knallharter Trip durch die höllischen Abgründe der Armut. Sein Held, der Autor James "Dilly" Dillon, kämpft mit dem Alkohol, einer Schreibblockade und einem frustrierenden Job in der Flugzeugfabrik. Ein tödlicher Kreislauf, aus dem es kein Entrinnen gibt.

      Jetzt und auf Erden
      3,8
    • Inspector Kari Vaara of Helsinki is thrown into a case that sees a beautiful young woman murdered in an apparent sadomasochistic attack... But his investigation leads to him coming up against a wall of silence that implicates the very highest levels of power.

      Lucifer's Tears
      3,7
    • Ich liebe euren Hass! Seine Mutter ist eine weisse Prostituierte. Er ist Mulatte - weder schwarz noch weiss. Der achtzehnjährige Allen fühlt sich als Fremder in einer feindlichen Welt. Er weiss nicht, wo er hingehört, er weiss nur eins: Um seine Würde zu behalten, muss er bis zum Letzten kämpfen. Gegen seine Mutter, die ihn missbraucht, gegen seine Mitschüler, die ihn verachten. Nur die intelligente Josie steht auf Allens Seite. Doch Allen beschliesst, alle zu Fall zu bringen: vor allem die, die ihn lieben ... Jim Thompson wurde 1906 in Anadarko, Oklahoma, als James Myers Thompson geboren. Er begann früh zu trinken und schlug sich als Glücksspieler, Sprengstoffexperte, Ölarbeiter und Alkoholschmuggler durch. Obwohl er mit bereits 15 Jahren seine erste Kriminalgeschichte verkauft hatte, konnte er erst seit Beginn der fünfziger Jahre vom Schreiben leben. Für Hollywood verfasste er zahlreiche Drehbücher, u.a. für so namhafte Regisseure wie Stanley Kubrick. Thompson gilt als zentraler Vertreter des Noir-Genres. Er starb 1977 in Los Angeles, seine Asche wurde im Pazifischen Ozean verstreut.

      Blind vor Wut
    • Gefährliche Stadt

      • 240 stránek
      • 9 hodin čtení

      David McKenna, von Jugend an herumgestossen und mit der Justiz auf Kollisionskurs (vgl. hierzu Thompsons autobiographischen Bericht "Bad Boy": ID 22/87) scheint endlich Glück zu haben; er wird als Hoteldetektiv engagiert, gerät aber sogleich in einen lebensgefährlichen Schlamassel. Der etwas naive Held hat Mühe, ein feingesponnenes Komplott zu durchschauen, folgt ständig falschen Spuren, und mit ihm plagt sich der Leser, bis am Schluss die komplizierte und konstruierte Lösung der Geschichte langatmig aufgedröselt wird. Der Roman (2 weitere Titel in dieser Nr.) erschien bereits 1984 bei Ullstein und kommt quasi als Anhängsel zu "Getaway" (in dieser Nr.) für grosse Krimibestände in Frage

      Gefährliche Stadt