Best of
21st-Century

2010

Message from a Mistress


Niobia Bryant - 2010
    Bryant will have readers on the edge of their seats with this sexy and provocative novel about a group of women who have one thing in common--their husbands' betrayal.

Foster


Claire Keegan - 2010
    In the strangers’ house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is.Winner of the Davy Byrnes Memorial Prize, Foster is now published in a revised and expanded version. Beautiful, sad and eerie, it is a story of astonishing emotional depth, showcasing Claire Keegan’s great accomplishment and talent.

And the Land Lay Still


James Robertson - 2010
    James Robertson's breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle and hope - epic in every sense.The winner of the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award 2010, And the Land Lay Still is a masterful insight into Scotland's history in the twentieth century and a moving, beautifully written novel of intertwined stories.

Selected Poems


Mary Ruefle - 2010
    Her work combines the spiritual desperation of Dickinson with the rhetorical virtuosity of Wallace Stevens. The result is a poetry at once ornate and intense; linguistically marvelous, yes, but also as visceral as anything you are likely to encounter."—Tony Hoagland"In poems striking for their vivid, playful, and original use of the imagination, [Mary Ruefle] brings us an often unnerving, but always fresh and exhilarating view of our common experience of the world."—Charles SimicSelected Poems brings together the finest work from Mary Ruefle's distinguished and inimitable poetic career, showcasing the arc of her development as one of the most expert, surprising, and hilarious practitioners of the art. Anyone who wishes for poetry to be both richly challenging and thoroughly entertaining need look no further than this monolithic retrospective by a contemporary master.Mary Ruefle, winner of the 2011 William Carlos Williams Award for Selected Poems, has published ten books of poetry, a book of prose (The Most of It, Wave Books, 2008), and a comic book; she is also an erasure artist whose treatments of nineteenth-century texts have been exhibited in museums and galleries, and published in A Little White Shadow (Wave Books, 2006). Mary is the recipient of numerous honors, including an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a Whiting Award. She lives in Bennington, Vermont, and teaches in the MFA program at Vermont College.

The Art of Jaime Hernández: The Secrets of Life and Death


Todd Hignite - 2010
    Over twenty-five years later it is still being published to critical and commercial success.Jaime Hernández’s moving stories chronicle the lives of some of the most memorable and fully formed characters the comics form has ever seen. His female protagonists, masterfully delineated with humor, candor, and breathtaking realism, come to life within California’s Mexican-American culture and punk milieu.In April 2006 Hernández began serializing his work with the New York Times Magazine—all of which will be collected here in full color. The notoriously private artist has opened his archives for the first time, revealing never-before-seen sketches, childhood drawings, and unpublished work, alongside his most famous Love and Rockets material.Praise for The Art of Jaime Hernández:"The Art of Jaime Hernández is proof of what I've been trying to convince comics artists to do for thirty years. FEWER lines and less technique with more 'human interest' was, and should still be, the way to approach our craft. Bravo, Jaime, for your body of work! Continue to be yourself." J-- ohn Romita Sr., artist, The Amazing Spider-Man

Igifu


Scholastique Mukasonga - 2010
    From the National Book Award finalist who Zadie Smith says, "rescues a million souls from the collective noun genocide."Scholastique Mukasonga's autobiographical stories rend a glorious Rwanda from the obliterating force of recent history, conjuring the noble cows of her home or the dew-swollen grass they graze on. In the title story, five-year-old Colomba tells of a merciless overlord, hunger or igifu, gnawing away at her belly. She searches for sap at the bud of a flower, scraps of sweet potato at the foot of her parent's bed, or a few grains of sorghum in the floor sweepings. Igifu becomes a dizzying hole in her stomach, a plunging abyss into which she falls. In a desperate act of preservation, Colomba's mother gathers enough sorghum to whip up a nourishing porridge, bringing Colomba back to life. This elixir courses through each story, a balm to soothe the pains of those so ferociously fighting for survival.Her writing eclipses the great gaps of time and memory; in one scene she is a child sitting squat with a jug of sweet, frothy milk and in another she is an exiled teacher, writing down lists of her dead. As in all her work, Scholastique sits up with them, her witty and beaming beloved.

A Taste of Irrationality: Sample chapters from Predictably Irrational and Upside of Irrationality


Dan Ariely - 2010
     Predictably Irrational Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational. Upside of Irrationality The provocative follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Predictably Irrational Why can large bonuses make CEOs less productive? How can confusing directions actually help us? Why is revenge so important to us? Why is there such a big difference between what we think will make us happy and what really makes us happy? In his groundbreaking book Predictably Irrational, social scientist Dan Ariely revealed the multiple biases that lead us into making unwise decisions. Now, in The Upside of Irrationality, he exposes the surprising negative and positive effects irrationality can have on our lives. Focusing on our behaviors at work and in relationships, he offers new insights and eye-opening truths about what really motivates us on the job, how one unwise action can become a long-term habit, how we learn to love the ones we're with, and more. Drawing on the same experimental methods that made Predictably Irrational one of the most talked-about bestsellers of the past few years, Ariely uses data from his own original and entertaining experiments to draw arresting conclusions about how—and why—we behave the way we do. From our office attitudes, to our romantic relationships, to our search for purpose in life, Ariely explains how to break through our negative patterns of thought and behavior to make better decisions. The Upside of Irrationality will change the way we see ourselves at work and at home—and cast our irrational behaviors in a more nuanced light.

Alice in Wonderland: A Visual Companion


Mark Salisbury - 2010
    Tim Burton's reimagining finds a teenage Alice in a place called Underland. It is a realm to which she has visited before, with the familiar characters. The film is story about discovery, that of Alice, finding herself, and this book presents the concept artwork, set and costume designs, and other visual developments that makes Burton's take on the classic tale unique.

Rose West: The Making of a Monster


Jane Carter Woodrow - 2010
    Strangers would stop and stare at her in the street and she could entrance people from a very early age. But looking back at photos of Rose as a child, you struggle to accept that she grew up to one of the country's most notorious female criminals.In ROSE, Jane Carter Woodrow goes right back to the start in her life to try and piece together what happened to turn Rose West into the violent monster she became. Jane has gained unprecedented access to the family and has revealed a fascinating story of how there was always something 'not quite right' about Rose...And perhaps that's not too surprising... Rose's childhood reads like one of the most grim misery memoirs. Her father was a violent schizophrenic and her mother received electric shock therapy for severe clinical depression, the whole way through her pregnancy with Rose. Jane has uncovered a horrific hidden story of a twisted family and how her upbringing made her a perfect partner for Fred West when they met when Rose had just turned 16. She was to kill for the first time a few months later.This is a gripping, unputdownable read that sheds light for the first time on the story behind what turned Rose West into one of the country's most vicious and deadly serial killers.

No One Lives Twice


Julie Moffett - 2010
    I spend my days stopping computer hackers at the National Security Agency. My nights? Those I spend avoiding my mother and eating cereal for dinner. Even though I work for a top-secret agency, I've never been in an exciting car chase, sipped a stirred (not shaken) martini, or shot a poison dart from an umbrella.Until today, that is, when two gun-toting thugs popped up in my life and my best friend disappeared. So, I've enlisted the help of the Zimmerman twins—the reclusive architects of America's most sensitive electronic networks—to help me navigate a bewildering maze of leads to find her.Along the way, my path collides with a sexy government agent and a rich, handsome lawyer, both of whom seem to have the hots for me. Hacking, espionage, sexy spy-men—it's a geek girl's dream come true. If it weren't for those gun-toting thugs... Previously published.

To Love and to Cherish


Lyn Andrews - 2010
    Elder sister Gloria finds romance with the boy next door, until her wealthy, but snobbish and interfering Aunt Sybil steps in, offering her the opportunity of a lifetime. A trip to New York gives Gloria everything she desires - including a wealthy husband. Meanwhile, Betty chooses a career at sea, which offers challenges, personal danger and romance. But with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 tragedy strikes for one of the sisters and through these trials they come to value the bonds of family more than ever. Will they eventually achieve the happiness they desire?

Many Miles: Mary Oliver reads Mary Oliver


Mary Oliver - 2010
    Oliver recites from the full range of her poetry-from her classic nature writing, to her verses for her mischievous bichon Percy, to her ever-deepening spiritual poems. The CD comes in a handsome full-cloth package that includes a booklet with an introductory essay by the poet on the magical dynamic between speaker and listener, a table of contents, text of the title poem, and a photo of the poet. Many Miles will be a most welcome addition to the collections of her readers.

India: Cookbook


Pushpesh Pant - 2010
    Unlike many other Indian cookbooks, it is written by an Indian culinary academic and cookbook author who lives and works in Delhi, and the recipes are a true reflection of how traditional dishes are really cooked all over India. They have been carefully edited to ensure that they are simple to follow and achievable in western kitchens, with detailed information about authentic cooking utensils and ingredients.Indian food has been hugely popular in the UK for many years, and the appetite for Indian food shows no sign of diminishing. Now, for the first time, a definitive, wide-ranging and authoritative book on authentic Indian food is available, making it simple to prepare your favourite Indian dishes at home, alongside less well-known dishes such as bataer masalydaar (marinated quails cooked with almonds, chillies and green cardamom), or sambharachi kodi (Goan prawn curry with coconut and tamarind). The comprehensive chapters on breads, pickles, spice pastes and chutneys contain a wide variety of recipes rarely seen in Indian cookbooks, such as bagarkhani roti (a rich sweet bread with raisins, cardamom and poppy seeds) and tamatar ka achar (tomato and mustard-seed pickle).India: The Cookbook is the only book on Indian food you'll ever need.

The Art of Recklessness: Poetry as Assertive Force and Contradiction


Dean Young - 2010
    How can recklessness guide the poet, the artist, and the reader into art, and how can it excite in us a sort of wild receptivity, beyond craft? "Poetry is not a discipline," Young writes. "It is a hunger, a revolt, a drive, a mash note, a fright, a tantrum, a grief, a hoax, a debacle, an application, an affect . . ."

Condoleezza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me


Condoleezza Rice - 2010
    She grew up during the violent and shocking 1960s, when bloodshed became a part of daily life in the South. Rice’s portrait of her parents, John and Angelena, highlights their ambitions and frustrations and shows how much they sacrificed to give their beloved only child the best chance for success. Rice also discusses the challenges of being a precocious child who was passionate about music, ice skating, history, and current affairs. Her memoir reveals with vivid clarity how her early experiences sowed the seeds of her political beliefs and helped her become a vibrant, successful woman.Condoleezza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Parents and Me is a fascinating and inspirational story for young people. Includes a 16-page photo insert.

....Și la sfârșit a mai rămas coșmarul (...And Then The Nightmare Came At Last)


Oliviu Crâznic - 2010
    While the guests are brutally murdered by an inhuman enemy, the hero discovers in terror the target may be his love interest, the beautiful Adrianna de Valois, young daughter of the dark chief of Police. Panicked and desperate, Arthur is forced to make an ellusive pact with the most powerful survivers: the viscount of Vincennes, his friend, also a logician an intrigue expert; the beautiful and imoral italian countess Giulianna Sellini, a supposed poisoner and a necromancer; Huguet de Castlenove, an ex-priest, now a dangerous killer and swordsman manipulated by his mysterious lover; the handsome, cruel and violent master of the land, Duke of Chalais; and many other, including the man who is feared by them all - Albert de Guy, from the Holy Inquisition.But who is the mysterious assaillant? A vampire? A werewolf? A serial killer? A mad incubus? Or... maybe all of them?Violence, savagery, beauty, love and passion, logic and mystery - an inquiry in the dark.

Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25¢ at a Time


Jane F. Knuth - 2010
    Reluctantly, she decided to give it a try.Thrift Store Saints is a collection of true stories based on Jane's unexpected, soul-stirring experiences at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Rather than viewing society's poor as problems to be solved, Jane begins to see them, one at a time, in a completely different light-as saints who can lead us straight to the heart of Christ.Jane's transformation is rooted in the prevailing message of the book: When we serve the poor, they end up giving us much more than we could ever give them. Each chapter introduces readers to new "saints," as Jane thoughtfully, at times humorously, describes how her frequent encounters with the poorest people were really opportunities to meet Jesus-25o at a time.

A Wicked Company: The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment


Philipp Blom - 2010
    Holbach’s house was an international epicenter of revolutionary ideas and intellectual daring, bringing together such original minds as Denis Diderot, Laurence Sterne, David Hume, Adam Smith, Ferdinando Galiani, Horace Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, Guillaume Raynal, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.In A Wicked Company, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom retraces the fortunes of this exceptional group of friends. All brilliant minds, full of wit, courage, and insight, their thinking created a different and radical French Enlightenment based on atheism, passion, reason, and truly humanist thinking. A startlingly relevant work of narrative history, A Wicked Company forces us to confront with new eyes the foundational debates about modern society and its future.

Beswitched


Kate Saunders - 2010
    On the journey Flora has a strange dream. She wakes up without her laptop or her phone, wearing a hideous uniform with ridiculous bloomers underneath. Slowly, she realizes she has gone back in time! But why?

Coppermine


Keith Ross Leckie - 2010
    North West Mounted Police officer Jack Creed and Angituk, a young Copper Inuit interpreter, are sent on a year-long odyssey to investigate the fate of the lost priests. On the shores of the Arctic Ocean near the mouth of the Coppermine River, they discover their dismembered remains. Two Inuit hunters are tracked and apprehended, and the four begin an arduous journey to Edmonton, to bring the accused to justice.

Horses of God


Mahi Binebine - 2010
    It was the deadliest attack in Morocco’s history. The bombers came from the shantytowns of Sidi Moumen, a poor suburb on the edge of a dump whose impoverished residents rarely if ever set foot in the cosmopolitan city at their doorstep. Mahi Binebine’s novel Horses of God follows four childhood friends growing up in Sidi Moumen as they make the life-changing decisions that will lead them to become Islamist martyrs.The seeds of fundamentalist martyrdom are sown in the dirt-poor lives of Yachine, Nabil, Fuad, and Ali, all raised in Sidi Moumen. The boys’ soccer team, The Stars of Sidi Moumen, is their main escape from the poverty, violence, and absence of hope that pervade their lives. When Yachine’s older brother Hamid falls under the spell of fundamentalist leader Abu Zoubeir, the attraction of a religion that offers discipline, purpose, and guidance to young men who have none of these things becomes too seductive to ignore.Narrated by Yachine from the afterlife, Horses of God portrays the sweet innocence of childhood and friendship as well as the challenges facing those with few opportunities for a better life. Binebine navigates the controversial situation with compassion, creating empathy for the boys, who believe they have no choice but to follow the path offered them.Winner of the 2010 Prix du Roman Arabe and Prix Littéraire Mamounia"The novel provides context and perspective to often little-explored issues, offering incredible insight into the complex lives of poor boys who are groomed to kill themselves for a cause and commit violent acts in the name of religion. Binebine portrays these young men as supremely human, victims of powers much larger than themselves, and like any Kafkaesque anti-hero, cogs in an incomprehensible and monstrous machine."--Starred Publishers Weekly"Moroccan painter, novelist, and former math teacher Binebine (Welcome to Paradise) writes with humor and pathos amid the novel’s grinding tragedy but never allows the narrative to veer into self-pity or cheap sentimentality. The book is based on the 2004 suicide bombings in Casablanca, and Binebine’s unblinking eye for detail makes this a haunting tale." --Library Journal

Adonis: Selected Poems


Adonis - 2010
    His poems have earned international acclaim, and his influence on Arabic literature has been likened to that of T. S. Eliot’s on English-language verse. This volume serves as the first comprehensive survey of Adonis’s work, allowing English readers to admire the arc of a remarkable literary career through the labors of the poet’s own handpicked translator, Khaled Mattawa.Experimental in form and prophetic in tone, Adonis’s poetry sings exultantly of both the sweet promise of eros and the lingering problems of the self. Steeped in the anguish of exile and the uncertainty of existence, Adonis demonstrates the poet’s profound affection for Arabic and European lyrical traditions even as his poems work to destabilize those very aesthetic and moral sensibilities. This collection positions the work of Adonis within the pantheon of the great poets of exile, including César Vallejo, Joseph Brodsky, and Paul Celan, providing for English readers the most complete vision yet of the work of the man whom the cultural critic Edward Said called “today’s most daring and provocative Arab poet.”

The Return


Roberto Bolaño - 2010
    Wide-ranging, suggestive, and daring, a Bolano story might concern the unexpected fate of a beautiful ex-girlfriend, or a dream of meeting Enrique Lihn: his plots go anywhere and everywhere and they always surprise. Consider the title piece: a young party animal collapses in a Parisian disco and dies on the dance floor; just as his soul is departing his body, it realizes strange doings are afoot—and what follows next defies the imagination (except Bolano’s own).Although a few have been serialized in The New Yorker and Playboy, most of the stories of The Return have never before appeared in English, and to Bolano’s many readers will be like catnip to the cats.

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry


Gal Beckerman - 2010
    They lived a paradox--unwanted by a repressive Stalinist state, yet forbidden to leave. "When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone" is the astonishing and inspiring story of their rescue.Journalist Gal Beckerman draws on newly released Soviet government documents as well as hundreds of oral interviews with refuseniks, activists, Zionist "hooligans," and Congressional staffers. He shows not only how the movement led to a mass exodus in 1989, but also how it shaped the American Jewish community, giving it a renewed sense of spiritual purpose and teaching it to flex its political muscle. He also makes a convincing case that the movement put human rights at the center of American foreign policy for the very first time, helping to end the Cold War.In cinematic detail, the book introduces us to all the major players, from the flamboyant Meir Kahane, head of the paramilitary Jewish Defense League, to Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, who labored in a Siberian prison camp for over a decade, to Lynn Singer, the small, fiery Long Island housewife who went from organizing local rallies to strong-arming Soviet diplomats. This multi-generational saga, filled with suspense and packed with revelations, provides an essential missing piece of Cold War and Jewish history.

Person


Sam Pink - 2010
    You see him at the bus stop, trying to look at you without being seen. Who is he? He is a person. In this debut novel, a person walks around Chicago contemplating the possibility of starving to death on purpose. He has sex with his neighbor. He goes out to look for a job but just buys little plastic dogs from homeless people instead. Who is the person? The person is you. The person is me. The person is sitting in his room shooting an empty pellet gun at his face, feeling the slow exhaustion of a Co2 cartridge. The person sits in a bathtub reading his roommate's yearbook. He wants to create a contract mandating worldwide friendship. Person invents new and splendid ways of not getting along. You will read this book and remember why you mainly read books that have sex in them. You will become . . . a person.

The Ruins Of Detroit


Yves Marchand - 2010
    city. Its buildings were monuments to its success and vitality in the first half of the twentieth century. At the start of the twenty-first century, those same monuments are now ruins: the United Artists Theater, the Whitney Building, the Farwell Building and the once ravishing Michigan Central Station (unused since 1988) today look as if a bomb had dropped on Motor City, leaving behind the ruins of a once great civilization. In a series of weekly photographic bulletins for Time magazine called "Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline," photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have been revealing to an astonished America the scale of decay in Detroit. "The state of ruin is essentially a temporary situation that happens at some point, the volatile result of change of era and the fall of empires," write Marchand and Meffre. "Photography appeared to us as a modest way to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state." As Detroit's white middle class continues to abandon the city center for its dispersed suburbs, and its downtown high-rises empty out, these astounding images, which convey both the imperious grandeur of the city's architecture and its genuinely shocking decline, preserve a moment that warns us all of the transience of great epochs.

The Thick of It: The Missing DoSAC Files


Armando Iannucci - 2010
    Based around the idea that King of Spin Malcolm Tucker has lost a confidential and highly-damaging file on a train, this book presents a collection of sensitive documents: personnel files, policy drafts, letters and emails, election campaign documents and top secret papers on the government's media strategy for wars and recessions.

Animalinside


László Krasznahorkai - 2010
    . . ." To create this work that strains against all constraints, László Krasznahorkai began from one of Max Neumann’s paintings; Neumann, spurred into action, created 14 more images, which unleashed an additional 13 texts from the author. Animalinside is the rare case of two matchless artists meeting across disciplines, and New Directions is very proud to publish a limited edition of this powerful novella, exquisitely produced by Sylph Editions and the Cahiers Series of the American University of Paris with a deluxe seven-stage printing process for the amazing Neumann images.

Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush


Graeme Thomson - 2010
    The first ever in-depth study of Kate Bush's life and career, Under The Ivy features over 70 unique and revealing new interviews with those who have viewed from up close both the public artist and the private woman: old school friends, early band members, long-term studio collaborators, former managers, producers, musicians, video directors, dance instructors and record company executives.

Lutheranism 101


Scot A. Kinnaman - 2010
    If you are a lifelong Lutheran searching for more information or new to Lutheranism looking to understand what we believe, this book will be your guide.

The Beach Hut


Veronica Henry - 2010
    “The Shack” has been in the family for fifty years, and was the first to be built on this renowned stretch of golden sand…’ Jane Milton doesn’t want to sell her beloved beach hut, which has been the heart of so many family holidays and holds so many happy memories. But when her husband dies, leaving her with an overwhelming string of debts, she has no choice but to sell. THE BEACH HUT follows the stories of the people who own the beach huts, families who come to Everdene each year, people who fall in – or out of – love, remembering their pasts, or trying to forget them… Veronica Henry has brilliantly drawn together the comings and goings of life at the beach huts over one long, hot, lazy summer…

Fucking Trans Women (Issue #0)


Mira Bellwether - 2010
    Sex is a very important part of my life, a very important part of all our lives, but so very little writing has been done on the sex lives of trans women that doesn’t write us off in one way or another. I found myself looking for a guide, an instruction manual, anything beyond essays on gender and problems. Fucking Trans Women is that guide." "Includes:-How-to guides-Sex stories-Instructions for various kinds of sex acts-The diversity of trans women's bodies-Trashy art & comic strips-Moments of triumph & tender anecdotes-Passionate explorations of our lusty bodies-Diagrams, and so much more!"

Secret Affairs: Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam


Mark Curtis - 2010
    Exploring how the bombings of 7/7 can be traced back to groups and individuals trained and supported by Britain, Curtis draws on formerly classified government files to unravel a long history of the British government's secret collusion with and direct involvement in Islamic terrorism, from 1945 to the present day.From the overthrow of Iran's popular government during the 1950s and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, to Libya, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia's ruthless internal oppression, Secret Affairs shows Britain's hidden hand in the rise of global terrorism. At a time when British forces are being sent to wage war in Afghanistan in increasing numbers, Mark Curtis' book shows how the seeds of today's lose-lose situation were sown a long time ago in a hidden politics as ineffective as it was immoral.

The Ruling Class: How They Corrupted America and What We Can Do About It


Angelo M. Codevilla - 2010
    Codevilla introduces readers to the Ruling Class, the group of bipartisan political elites who run America. This Ruling Class, educated at prestigious universities and convinced of its own superiority, has everything to gain by raising taxes and expanding the reach of government. This class maintains that it knows what is best and continually increases its power over every facet of American life, from family and marriage to the environment, guns, and God.It is becoming increasingly apparent that this Ruling Class does not represent the interests of the majority of Americans, who value self-rule and the freedom on whose promise America was founded. Millions of Americans are now reasserting our right to obey the Constitution, not the Ruling Class. This desire transcends all organizations and joins independents, Republicans, and Democrats into The Country Party, whose members embody the ideas and habits that made America great. The majority of Americans feel that the Ruling Class is demeaning us, impoverishing us, demoralizing us, and want to be rid of it.

The Peanuts Collection: Treasures from the World's Most Beloved Comic Strip


Nat Gertler - 2010
    A compendium of rare materials from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and family archives, "The Peanuts Collection" comes in a sturdy slipcase and features high-quality reproductions of original sketches, comics, and photographs from the world of Peanuts. Removable film cels, stickers, and booklets are included, as well as reproduction prints of Peanuts artwork ready for framing. Written by Peanuts aficionado Nat Gertler, with quotes from Schulz family members and a foreword by daughter Amy Schulz Johnson, the text offers insight into the making of the comic strip and its impact beyond the realms of newspapers and books to film, television, and popular culture. "The Peanuts Collection" is a must-own keepsake for anyone who loves Snoopy and the gang.

Missing You, Metropolis


Gary Jackson - 2010
    I’m not as black as you dream.                      —from “Luke Cage Tells It Like It Is With humor and the serious collector’s delight, Gary Jackson imagines the comic-book worlds of Superman, Batman, and the X-Men alongside the veritable worlds of Kansas, racial isolation, and the gravesides of a sister and a friend.

The Cook's Herb Garden


Jeff Cox - 2010
    Most recipe books recommend fresh herbs, which can be expensive and difficult to find. Store-bought herbs never seem to last very long either - wilted, blackened leaves in the bottom of the fridge is a familiar sight to many cooks. The Cook's Herb Garden shows you how to grow your own supply of herbs close to hand on a window ledge, balcony, in pots just outside the backdoor, or in a vegetable garden.The book begins with eight planted-up window boxes with different culinary themes so you can choose a selection that best matches your culinary habits. A photographic catalog of around 150 herbs and varieties describes the culinary components of the plant and how best to use them in cooking. Follow the expert gardening advice in the Plant, Nurture, and Harvest sections to guarantee a full haul every time you pick. Learn the best way to store herbs - home-grown and store-bought - so that they last, and when you are ready for a treat, choose from more than 30 recipes in which herbs take center stage. Finally, discover herbal teas and tisanes - a world of infusions.Cooking with fresh herbs is a joy every cook knows. With The Cook's Herb Garden you can enjoy an unlimited resource at your fingertips. Why should your cooking ingredients be limited to your kitchen?The Contents:Seven chapters guide you through the practicalities of choosing, planting and growing to the pleasures of feasting and brewing: Window boxes/Herb Catalog, Plant, Nurture, Harvest, Keep, Cook, Brew.

The Greatest Prayer: A Revolutionary Manifesto and Hymn of Hope


John Dominic Crossan - 2010
    It is the way Jesus taught his followers to pray and distills the most essential beliefs required of every one of the world's 2.5 billion Christians. In "The Greatest Prayer," our foremost Jesus scholar explores this foundational prayer line by line for the richest and fullest understanding of a prayer every Christian knows by heart.An expert on the historical Jesus, Crossan provides just the right amount of history, scholarship, and detail for us to rediscover why this seemingly simple prayer sparked a revolution. Addressing issues of God's will for us and our response, our responsibilities to one another and to the earth, the theology of our daily bread, the moral responsibilities that come with money, our nation-states, and God's kingdom, Crossan reveals the enduring meaning and universal significance of the only prayer Jesus ever taught.

Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred


Jeffrey J. Kripal - 2010
    Even historians of religion, whose work naturally attends to events beyond the realm of empirical science, have shown scant interest in the subject. But the history of psychical phenomena, Kripal contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred. By tracing that history thru the last two centuries of Western thought we can see its potential centrality to the critical study of religion. Kripal grounds his study in the work of four major figures in the history of paranormal research: psychical researcher Frederic Myers; writer Charles Fort; astronomer, computer scientist & ufologist Jacques Vallee; & philosopher & sociologist Bertrand Mheust. Thru incisive analyses of these thinkers, Kripal ushers readers into a beguiling world somewhere between fact, fiction & fraud. The cultural history of telepathy, teleportation & UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of sf; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; & the intimate relationship between consciousness & culture all come together in Authors of the Impossible, a look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred & the scientific.

Mr. New Orleans: The Life of a Big Easy Underworld Legend


Frenchy Brouillette - 2010
    but you can just call him MR. NEW ORLEANS. Mr. New Orleans tells the incredible story of Frenchy Brouillette, a redneck Cajun teenager who stole his big brother's motorcycle and embarked on a 60-year vacation to New Orleans, where he became a legendary gangster and the underworld political fixer for his cousin, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. Written by Crescent City native Matthew Randazzo V, the wickedly funny Mr. New Orleans is the first book to ever break the code of secrecy of the New Orleans Mafia Family, the oldest and most mysterious criminal secret society in America. "Mr. New Orleans is a rollicking, disturbing ride through the underbelly of a bygone New Orleans, lined with moments of dark, side-splitting hilarity. If you're a fan of James Lee Burke, drop what you're reading and pick this one up. In an era when popular wisdom tells us T.V. has stolen all depth from the literary true-crime narrative, Matthew Randazzo has found a way to beat that trend mightily; he's gone straight to the source and captured the singular, confounding voice of the New Orleans' mafia's top political fixer with fast-paced, riveting prose and a fine journalist's eye for detail." Chris Rice, New York Times Bestselling Author "Mr. New Orleans is a total knockout: Take everything you ever imagined about the sleazy good times to be had in New Orleans -- the sleazy good times capital of America -- and quadruple it, and you have a hint of what's inside these sticky pages." Bill Tonelli, Author of The Italian American Reader and Editor for Esquire and Rolling Stone

The Best Contemporary Women's Fiction: Six Novels


Elizabeth Benedict - 2010
    The collection includes the following titles: Almost by Elizabeth Benedict, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss, The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, and The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back


Christopher R. Weingarten - 2010
    Weingarten provides a thrilling account of how the Bomb Squad produced such a singular-sounding record: engineering, sampling, scratching, constructing, deconstructing, reconstructing - even occasionally stomping on vinyl that sounded too clean. Using production techniques that have never been duplicated, the Bomb Squad plundered and reconfigured their own compositions to make frenetic splatter collages; they played samples by hand together in a room like a rock band to create a "not quite right" tension; they hand-picked their samples from only the ugliest squawks and sirens.Weingarten treats the samples used on Nation Of Millions as molecules of a greater whole, slivers of music that retain their own secret histories and folk traditions. Can the essence of a hip-hop record be found in the motives, emotions and energies of the artists it samples? Is it likely that something an artist intended 20 years ago would re-emerge anew? This is a compelling and thoroughly researched investigation that tells the story of one of hip-hop's landmark albums.

Beauty in Decay


RomanyWG - 2010
    Although these urban explorers usually work solo or in small teams, they collectively put forth a ground cry against a modern culture that embraces the new, polished, uniform, and mundane. Urban explorers find the beautylayers of graffiti by years worth of writers, multi-hued peeling paint, antique objects, someone's initials left in the dust on a broken stained glass windowand physical manifestations of memory that abandoned, impermanent urban spaces can hold. Beauty in Decay features the best in full-color, panoramic photographs from urban explorationor Urbexaround the world.

The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind


Carl R. Trueman - 2010
    . . and has he lost his mind? Carl Trueman wrestles with those two provocative questions and concludes that modern evangelicals emphasize experience and activism at the expense of theology. Their minds go fuzzy as they downplay doctrine. The result is "a world in which everyone from Joel Osteen to Brian McLaren to John MacArthur may be called an evangelical."Fifteen years ago in The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, historian Mark Noll warned that evangelical Christians had abandoned the intellectual aspects of their faith. Christians were neither prepared nor inclined to enter the intellectual debate, and had become marginalized. Today Trueman argues, "Religious beliefs are more scandalous than they have been for many years"-but for different reasons than Noll foresaw. In fact, the real problem now is exactly the opposite of what Noll diagnosed―evangelicals don't lack a mind, but rather an agreed upon evangel. Although known as gospel people, evangelicals no longer share any consensus on the gospel's meaning. Provocative and persuasive, Trueman's indictment of evangelicalism also suggests a better way forward for those theologically conservative Protestants once and formerly known as evangelicals.

Phantom Noise


Brian Turner - 2010
    These prophetic, osmotic poems wage a daily battle for normalcy, seeking structure in the quotidian while grappling with the absence of forgetting.

Where the Dog Star Never Glows


Tara Lynn Masih - 2010
    Ghosts dance, butterflies swarm, men crystallize, the sun disappears, and water plays a role in both destruction and repair of the soul. With an unflinching eye, a mythical awareness of the natural world, and poetic, crafted prose, Masih examines the dark recesses of the mind and heart, which often leads to a small or great triumph or illumination that will resonate long after the last page is turned.

Human Chain


Seamus Heaney - 2010
    Human Chain also broaches larger questions of transmission, of lifelines to the inherited past. There are newly minted versions of anonymous early Irish lyrics, poems that stand at the crossroads of oral and written, and other "hermit songs" that weigh equally in their balance the craft of scribe and the poet's early calling as scholar. A remarkable sequence entitled "Route 101" plots the descent into the underworld in the Aeneid against single moments in the arc of a life, from a 1950s childhood to the birth of a first grandchild. Other poems display a Virgilian pietas for the dead--friends, neighbors, family--that is yet wholly and movingly vernacular.Human Chain also includes a poetic "herbal" adapted from the Breton poet Guillevic--lyrics as delicate as ferns, which puzzle briefly over the world of things and landscapes that exclude human speech, while affirming the interconnectedness of phenomena, as of a self-sufficiency in which we too are included

The Best American Short Stories 2010


Richard RussoLauren Groff - 2010
    Edited by the award-winning, best-selling author Richard Russo, this year’s collection boasts a satisfying “chorus of twenty stories that are by turns playful, ironic, somber, and meditative” (Wall Street Journal). With the masterful Russo picking the best of the best, America’s oldest and best-selling story anthology is sure to be of “enduring quality” (Chicago Tribune) this year.

Mega Man Megamix, Volume 1


Hitoshi Ariga - 2010
    Wily and the evil the Robot Masters, plus appearances from Dr. Light, Roll, Proto Man, Rush, and many more Mega Man favorites! Also included in each volume are character profiles, sketches, and creator interviews.

The Human Faces of God: What Scripture Reveals When It Gets God Wrong (and Why Inerrancy Tries To Hide It)


Thom Stark - 2010
    Readers looking for an academically informed yet accessible discussion of the Bible's thorniest texts will find a thought-provoking and indispensible resource in The Human Faces of God. --Christians can ignore the facts that Stark brings into the light of day only if they want to be wrong.-- --Dale C. Allison, Jr. author of Constructing Jesus --The Human Faces of God is one of the most challenging and well-argued cases against the doctrine of biblical inerrancy I have ever read.-- --Greg A. Boyd author of The Myth of a Christian Nation --I learned so much from this book that I can strongly encourage anyone who is seeking to move from simplistic proof-texting to a comprehensive understanding of the Bible to read this book carefully.-- --Tony Campolo author of Red Letter Christians --This is must reading for Christians who have agonized over their own private doubts about Scripture--and for others who have given up hope that evangelical Christians can practice intelligent, moral interpretation of the Bible.-- --Neil Elliot author of Liberating Paul --[W]ith the help of this book, we may discover that the Bible--when we read it in all its diversity and vulnerability--does bring healing words to those who keep listening.-- --Ted Grimsrud author of Embodying the Way of Jesus --Stark's book effectively demonstrates how the Bible, in practice, is the most dangerous enemy of fundamentalists.-- --James F. McGrath author of The Only True God --Stark provides a model for theology that is committed to hearing the voice of the victims of history, especially the victims of our own religious traditions.-- --Michael J. Iafrate PhD Cadidate, University of Toronto --This book is the most powerful antidote to fundamentalism that I've ever read.-- --Frank Schaeffer author of Crazy for God Thom Stark was a Fig Tree and Ledbetter scholar at Emmanuel School of Religion. His academic interests include second temple apocalyptic Judaism and Christian origins, as well as modern Christian and Islamic theologies of liberation.

Harry Potter Smart Talk


James W. Thomas - 2010
    the three literary mavens on the wildly popular PotterCast of The Leaky Cauldron. Four transcripts of Harry Potter fandom's favorite podcasts along with two talks each from James Thomas, Travis Prinzi, and John Granger make this a reading experience that will delight the casual Hogwarts reader and 'wow' even the most serious Potter maniac. From the secret code of Harry Potter names - why all those doubled letters and initials - to the real world Muggles and Seekers of the English Civil War that are the historical backdrop to Harry's adventures, with sidetrips to discuss Christmas at Hogwarts and the esoteric meaning of Luna Lovegood's lovable lunancy, 'Harry Potter Smart Talk' is a must-have guide to the world's best selling books by three geeks who love to laugh almost as much as they love a great book. The Perfect Gift for your favorite Potter-phile! As Melissa Anelli, author of 'Harry, A History, ' wrote in the Foreword to 'Smart Talk, ' "here is the Ivory Tower in Hagrid's Hut

Cut Through the Bone


Ethel Rohan - 2010
    Through tight language and searing scenarios, Rohan brings to life a plethora of characters--exposed, vulnerable souls who are achingly human.

The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist


Orhan Pamuk - 2010
    Harking back to the beloved novels of his youth and ranging through the work of such writers as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Stendhal, Flaubert, Proust, Mann, and Naipaul, he explores the oscillation between the naive and the reflective, and the search for an equilibrium, that lie at the center of the novelist's craft. He ponders the novel's visual and sensual power--its ability to conjure landscapes so vivid they can make the here-and-now fade away. In the course of this exploration, he considers the elements of character, plot, time, and setting that compose the "sweet illusion" of the fictional world.Anyone who has known the pleasure of becoming immersed in a novel will enjoy, and learn from, this perceptive book by one of the modern masters of the art.

Do Nothing and Do Everything: An Illustrated New Taoism


Qiguang Zhao - 2010
    In Do Nothing and Do Everything he applies the ideas of Wu Wei (do nothing) and Wu Bu Wei (do everything) to modern life. Do Nothing and Do Everything is supplemented by observations of American and Chinese life. Rich and humorous illustrations convey the subtle ideas that go beyond language and are re-created in the same style as the ones the author draws impromptu on the blackboard in his classes. This introduction to ancient Taoism is conveyed in a lighthearted and humorous manner. This illustrated new Taoism will answer the widespread thirst for an alternative approach to life, and a longing for health, tranquility, and spiritual liberation.

The Boys of the Dark: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption in the Deep South


Robin Gaby Fisher - 2010
    Straley were teens when they were termed incorrigible youth by authorities and ordered to attend the Florida School for Boys. They discovered in Marianna, the City of Southern Charm, an immaculately groomed campus that looked more like an idyllic university than a reform school. But hidden behind the gates of the Florida School for Boys was a hell unlike any they could have imagined. The school's guards and administrators acted as their jailers and tormentors. The boys allegedly bore witness to assault, rape, and possibly even murder. For fifty years, both men---and countless others like them---carried their torment in silence. But a series of unlikely events brought O'McCarthy, now a successful rights activist, and Straley together, and they became determined to expose the Florida School for Boys for what they believed it to be: a youth prison with a century-long history of abuse. They embarked upon a campaign that would change their lives and inspire others. Robin Gaby Fisher, a Pulitzer Prize--winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling After the Fire, collaborates with Straley and O'McCarthy to offer a riveting account of their harrowing ordeal. The book goes beyond the story of the two men to expose the truth about a century-old institution and a town that adopted a Nuremberg-like code of secrecy and a government that failed to address its own wrongdoing. What emerges is a tale of strength, resolve, and vindication in the face of the kinds of terror few can imagine.

Harriet Tubman


Kem Knapp Sawyer - 2010
    DK Biography: Harriet Tubman tells the story of the famous abolitionist, from her childhood as a slave on a Maryland plantation, to her dramatic escape, to her tireless work as an organizer of the Underground Railroad.Supports the Common Core State Standards.

Celebrate People's History!: The Poster Book of Resistance and Revolution


Josh MacPhee - 2010
    Celebrate People's History presents these essential works as a visual tour through decades and across continents, from the perspective of some of the most socially engaged artists working today.This beautifully rendered book includes artwork by Cristy Road, Swoon, Nicole Schulman, Christopher Cardinale, Sabrina Jones, Eric Drooker, Klutch, Carrie Moyer, Laura Whitehorn, Dan Berger, Ricardo Levins Morales, Chris Stain, and more. Celebrate People's History is a treasure trove of images and stories that will inspire anyone looking to better understand the history and legacy of activism.

In Praise of Reading and Fiction: The Nobel Lecture


Mario Vargas Llosa - 2010
    His Nobel Lecture is a resounding tribute to fiction’s power to inspire readers to greater ambition, to dissent, and to political action. “We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical spirit, the engine of progress, would not even exist,” Vargas Llosa writes. “Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life. When we look in fiction for what is missing in life, we are saying, with no need to say it or even to know it, that life as it is does not satisfy our thirst for the absolute—the foundation of the human condition—and should be better.” Vargas Llosa’s lecture is a powerful argument for the necessity of literature in our lives today. For, as he eloquently writes, “literature not only submerges us in the dream of beauty and happiness but alerts us to every kind of oppression.”

Posh


Laura Wade - 2010
    Members of an elite student dining society, the boys are bunkering down for a wild night of debauchery, decadence and good wine. Welcome to the Riot Club.

Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking


Vikram Vij - 2010
    The easily adaptable, versatile recipes in Vij's at Home are tailored for busy households like theirs. Meeru and Vikram share how to prepare flavorful vegetarian dishes that go from stove to plate in less than 45 minutes as well as easy Indian seafood, poultry and meat dishes that come together in 20 minutes then simmer while the home chef sits down with a glass of wine, or helps the kids with their homework. Interspersed throughout, the endearing couple share aspects of the home life of busy restaurateurs, who still manage to cook with their daughters, eat at the dining room table and throw parties for friends.Pull up a chair—Meeru and Vikram invite you to dinner.

The Narrator


Michael Cisco - 2010
    Cisco's prose, by turns phantasmagorical and exhilarating (reminiscent one moment of Robbe-Grillet, the next of Artaud, with a tinge of Thomas Ligotti, the imaginative virtuosity of Gene Wolfe or M. John Harrison), is like a stark sequence of strong iron bars, brimming with dark ambiance. Combining unmatched craft with masterful storytelling, this is literate fantasy unlike any other, intricate as the most elaborate dream, in which the narrator himself is the most ambiguous thing of all.

National Geographic Answer Book: Fast Facts About Our World


National Geographic Society - 2010
    From earth sciences to astronomy, from climate and habitats to human arts and cultures, from ancient history to cutting-edge technology, and including brief descriptions, flags, and statistics of all the countries of the world, it delivers exactly the kind of quick-dip information that modern readers crave. Maps, charts, diagrams, graphs, photographs, illustrations—some 600 pictures in all—combine with hundreds of fast facts and short pieces on the people, places, wildlife, weather, history, and current events that matter in our world today. National Geographic Answer Book is a vital reference for school, a handy resource at the office, and a fabulous pick-up-and browse companion at home.

What Is Marxism All About?: A Street Guide for Revolutionaries on a Move


LeiLani Dowell - 2010
    The Marxist definitions of these words will sharpen an understanding of society from a working-class perspective and the concepts will help 21st-century activists organize for radical and transformative change.

The Tragedy of the Euro


Philipp Bagus - 2010
    In some ways it is much worse because it has cartelized the management of European monetary regimes and created a terrible moral hazard. With this book, Professor Bagus brings his scholarship to English readers, explaining the background to the idea of European unity and its heritage of sound money. He explains that the Euro is not what the older classical liberals had hoped for but instead is a politically managed money that is destined for failure. He writes with a keen sense for economic analytics and empirical detail, offering one of the most accessible and yet rigorous accounts of the emergence of the Euro. He predicts its downfall due to political pressures, bad banking practices, and exploding public-sector liabilities. The analogies with the dollar are indeed close, but with welfare states at a more advanced stage, it will be a race to see which paper currency will crumble first. Professor Bagus brings theoretical power to investigating one of the most important topics in economics today. His arguments and evidence convinced even Jesus Huerta de Soto to withdraw support for the Euro.

Stilettos and Steel


Jeri Estes - 2010
    The counter culture revolution front lines have overrun the city. Golden Gate Park littered with nude, flower crowned hippies burning draft cards in a psychedelic haze. North Beach rocks with the San Francisco sound of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix while Otis Redding bemoans Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. Free love seduces tourists and soldiers, as topless club barkers pack ‘em in under Carol Doda’s flashing neon tits. Jessica Rawlson, an attractive middle class young lady joins the migration to the city on an adventure of sexual self-discovery and personal independence.Fate leads Jessica to the infamous red light district where a gangster/lesbian subculture thrives. The Tenderloin District is alive with sultry femme fatales, corrupt cops, hustlers and homos. Love, lust and murder share the sidewalks with queens in high heels and high hair as suburban perverts cruise on a safari of lust. Jessica embarks on a riveting journey from street prostitute to mastermind of her own empire. Her walk on the wild side offers intoxicating freedom and power. Straddling moral boundaries, shuffling lovers, appeasing mob bosses and the heat, while keeping vicious territorial predators at bay, is the price to survive at the top.

Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding


Judith Martin - 2010
    Couples wishing to resist such pressure see elopement or a slapdash wedding as the only alternatives to a gaudy blowout. But none of these choices appealed to a bride who happened to have been brought up by Miss Manners. Judith Martin and her newlywed daughter, Jacobina, explain how to have a dignified ceremony and delightful celebration without succumbing to the now-prevalent pattern of the vulgar, money-draining wedding that exhausts families and exploits friends.

His Face All Red


Emily Carroll - 2010
    When a mysterious creature begins terrorizing their village and killing its livestock, the two volunteer to venture out into the woods and kill it. The beast is slain, but only the younger brother comes back.A week later the narrator's brother walks out of the woods. But how can it be his brother, when his brother is dead?He should know.He killed his brother.(taken from TVTropes.com)

Science & the Near-death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death


Christopher David Carter - 2010
    By the mid-19th century, however, spurred by science's progress, many began to question the existence of an afterlife. Materialist doctrine--which sees consciousness as a creation of the brain--began to spread. Now, armed with scientific evidence, Chris Carter challenges materialist arguments against consciousness surviving death & shows how near-death experiences (NDEs) may provide glimpses of an afterlife. Using evidence from scientific studies, quantum mechanics & consciousness research, he reveals how consciousness doesn't depend on the brain & may survive bodily death. Examining ancient & modern accounts of NDEs from sources including China, India & tribal societies such as the Native American & the Maori, he explains how NDEs provide evidence of consciousness surviving death. He looks at many psychological & physiological explanations for NDEs raised by skeptics--such as stress, birth memories or oxygen starvation--& shows why each of them fails to explain the NDE. Exploring the similarities between NDEs & visions experienced during actual death & the intersection of physics & consciousness, he uncovers truths about mind, matter & life after death.

The Return of the Word Spy: A Funny and Fantastic Voyage into Language, Grammar and Beyond


Ursula Dubosarsky - 2010
    In her first book, The Word Spy, she shared with us the secrets she'd learnt about English, from the first alphabet in 4000 BC right up to the tricks of modern texting. In The Return of the Word Spy she continues the fascinating journey through language, with chapters on language families, how we learn to speak, grammar and written forms of communication. In an accessible, engaging style, the WORD SPY explains the meaning of nouns, verbs, pronouns, 'dead' languages, word origins and other wordy wonders.Packed with cartoons, games, facts and puzzles, The Return of the Word Spy continues the WORD SPY's fascinating journey through the English language.

The Novel: An Alternative History: Beginnings to 1600


Steven Moore - 2010
    Encyclopedic in scope and heroically audacious, "The Novel: An Alternative History" is the first attempt in over a century to tell the complete story of our most popular literary form. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the novel did not originate in 18th-century England, nor even with Don Quixote, but is coeval with civilization itself. After a pugnacious introduction, in which Moore defends innovative, demanding novelists against their conservative critics, the book relaxes into a world tour of the premodern novel, beginning in ancient Egypt and ending in 16th-century China, with many exotic ports-of-call: Greek romances; Roman satires; medieval Sanskrit novels narrated by parrots; Byzantine erotic thrillers; 5000-page Arabian adventure novels; Icelandic sagas; delicate Persian novels in verse; Japanese war stories; even Mayan graphic novels. Throughout, Moore celebrates the innovators in fiction, tracing a continuum between these premodern experimentalists and their postmodern progeny. Irreverent, iconoclastic, informative, entertaining - "The Novel: An Alternative History" is a landmark in literary criticism that will encourage readers to rethink the novel.

The Memory of Love


Aminatta Forna - 2010
    In the capital hospital, a gifted young surgeon is plagued by demons that are beginning to threaten his livelihood. Elsewhere in the hospital lies a dying man who was young during the country’s turbulent postcolonial years and has stories to tell that are far from heroic. As past and present intersect in the buzzing city, these men are drawn unwittingly closer by a British psychologist with good intentions, and into the path of one woman at the center of their stories. A work of breathtaking writing and rare wisdom, The Memory of Love seamlessly weaves together two generations of African life to create a story of loss, absolution, and the indelible effects of the past—and, in the end, the very nature of love.

The Freelancer's Survival Guide


Kristine Kathryn Rusch - 2010
    They learn in the school of hard knocks. Kristine Kathryn Rusch has taken the school of hard knocks and made it into one of the most useful business books written in years. Included are these indispensable topics:•How To Negotiate Anything: Freelancers must negotiate everything from the rent they pay to the contracts they sign. Here’s how to negotiate on your own—and when to hire someone to negotiate for you.•Online Networking: In addition to tricks and strategies for online networking from Rusch herself, this Guide also includes advice from such online networking experts as Neil Gaiman, Michael A. Stackpole, and Mitch Wagner.•The Importance of—and the Difference between—Goals And Dreams: Freelancers often confuse their goals with their dreams. Rusch offers practical advice on how to meet your goals, and the importance of dreaming big•How To Survive Failure—and Success: Success, more than failure, derails many freelancers. Rusch explains how to turn your failures into successes—and how to optimize the success when it finally happens....and so much more...“For anyone who has been cast adrift by the recent financial crisis, this book is your life raft. Rusch takes you step-by-step through the process of owning and running your own business. A great guide for new and long-time freelancers alike.”—Pati Nagle, owner of Mandala Graphic Design“The Freelancer’s Survival Guide is packed with all the practical info they don’t teach in business school. I’m recommending this guide to all my small business clients.”—Tonya Price, Internet consultant, Cornell MBA"I wish this guide had been around when I started freelancing 13 years ago! Kris has a way of boiling down complicated issues and serving them up like simple treats."—Cindie Geddes, owner, Flying Hand Writing Services"Rusch does an excellent job of breaking down and summing up all of the pitfalls and pleasures of freelancing. If you’re thinking about freelancing, invest in this book and save yourself a bundle."—Matt Forbeck, freelance author and game designer"People often ask me for tips on how to make it as a freelancer. Now there’s a book I believe in that I can recommend."—Kelly Cairo, owner, Cairo Communications"The bible for the self-employed."—John Ottinger III, teacher and editor of Grasping for the Wind"A soup-to-nuts guide for business. Don’t be without it."—Virginia Baker, President, Indigo Ink Communications

A Girl's Guide to Guys: Meeting Them, Managing Them and All That Love Stuff


Rachel Hill - 2010
    see book trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIuDrS... What do you say to them? Which ones should you avoid? And what is going on in that little brain of theirs when they look at you? If only they came with a manual or something...Well now they do! A lovely step by step guide that's split into easy stages, taking you from finding the right kind of boy for you right up to ending a relationship and starting all over again. Wave goodbye to worrying about what kind of shoes to wear for a date or how to make the first move; it has all been covered. But how do you use this brilliant little tool? Well, if you want you can read through each chapter and follow the advice you find in it step by step. But there's also a handy content list at the beginning of each stage so you can skip to any section you want to read about. Keep a look out for sections called friends; these bits are dedicated to how to keep the balance between boyfriends and girlfriends. Also included is Outfits for all occasions, your very own boutique complete with personal stylist to make sure you get your right look every time. To begin with it would help if we found out a little bit more about those strange creatures we call boys. They can be a bit tricky to understand so it's best to liken them to something most girls know a little bit more about. Like shoes. Yes, boys are a little like shoes. Why? Well...They can be useful. But mainly...They are nice to look at. Getting the right one can be a lovely accessory to an outfit. There are times when you couldn't do without them. And there are times when you'd rather do without them. Get the wrong ones and they can hurt. There are many types and often the ones that look the nicest are completely unpractical. Like shoe shopping, you need to get to know what's out there before you make your final purchase. Your first task, should you choose to accept it, is one of girl kind's most notable hobbies...with a twist...boy shopping! To make things even easier, included here is the very first boy catalogue giving you an extensive look into all the boys on the market. Good luck and happy shopping!

Spinoza's Ethics


Beth Lord - 2010
    Upon its release, Spinoza's Ethics was banned; today it is the quintessential example of philosophical method. Although acknowledged as difficult, the book is widely taught in philosophy, literature, history, and politics. This introduction is designed to be read side by side with Spinoza's work. As a guide to the style, vocabulary, and arguments of the Ethics, it offers a range of interpretive possibilities to prepare students to become conversant with Spinoza's philosophical method and his challenge to conventional thinking.

Remnants of Another Age


Nikola Madžirov - 2010
    Their linguistic 'making' is informed by vivid evidence of a serious self-making, soul-making, and heart-making. We are lucky to have these English incarnations of Nikola Madzirov."—Li-Young LeeBorn 1973 in a family of Balkan Wars refugees, Nikola Madzirov's poetry has already been translated into thirty languages and published in collections and anthologies in the United States, Europe, and Asia. A regular participant in international literary festivals, he has received several international awards including an International Writing Program fellowship at the University of Iowa. Remnants of Another Age is his first full-length American collection and carries a foreword by Carolyn Forché who writes, "Nikola Madzirov's Remnants of Another Age is aptly titled, as these poems seem to spring from elsewhere in time, reflective of a preternaturally wise and attentive sensibility. As we read these poems, they begin to inhabit us, and we are the better for having opened ourselves to them. Madzirov is a rare soul and a true poet.""I SAW DREAMS"I saw dreams that no one remembersand people wailing at the wrong graves.I saw embraces in a falling airplaneand streets with open arteries.I saw volcanoes asleep longer thanthe roots of the family treeand a child who's not afraid of the rain.Only it was me no one saw,only it was me no one saw.

The Sunset Cookbook: Over 1,000 Fresh, Flavorful Recipes for the Way You Cook Today


Pam Hoenig - 2010
    With over 1,000 recipes from the more than 110 years of the magazine's history, this book represents the best of American cooking, both its traditional cookery and its culinary inventiveness. Fueled by local ingredients, the creativity of its cooks, and diverse ethnic influences, from Native American to Mexican to Polynesian to Asian, American cooking has come into its own, and Sunset has been there from the beginning. The Sunset Cookbook covers everything from appetizers to preserves and pickles as well as Sunset's unique approach to fresh eating, which can be found in dishes like vegetarian main courses-such as stews, salads, pastas, stir-fries, and casseroles. Included are more than 100 recipes for the grill, like Grilled Oysters with Chipotle Glaze, Hoppin' Wine-Smoked Turkey, and classic Santa Maria Barbecue, made with beef tri-tip; recipes based on fresh local ingredients such as Pan-fried Trout with Smoked Salmon, Baby Artichoke Antipasto, Soy Mustard-Glazed Buffalo; and favorite dishes that found their start in the West such as Cedar-Planked Salmon, Baja Fish Tacos, and Baked Chiles Rellenos, just to name a few. Long-awaited by Sunset readers and packed with signature recipes, The Sunset Cookbook is sure to take its place among the classics and appeal to the new generation of home cooks across the country who have grown up on fresh flavors that are the hallmark of new American cooking.

When I Was Joe


Keren David - 2010
    Ty has a new name, a new look and a cool new image - life as Joe is good, especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star, special training from an attractive local celebrity and a lot of female attention. But his mum can't cope with her new life, and the gangsters will stop at nothing to flush them from hiding. Joe's cracking under extreme pressure, and then he meets a girl with dark secrets of her own. This wonderfully gripping and intelligent novel depicts Ty/Joe's confused sense of identity in a moving and funny story that teenage boys and girls will identify with - a remarkable debut from a great new writing talent.

In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits


National Geographic Society - 2010
    This magnificent collection of 280 photographs by many of the world's greatest photographers tells the tale of portrait photography over time in page after page of arresting images. Each photograph stands proudly on its own, yet taken together, they tell a much more complex and subtle story of the ever-evolving art form in constant creative response to new ideas, new eras, and new technologies.

The Really Funny Thing About Apathy


Chelsea Martin - 2010
    In THE REALLY FUNNY THING ABOUT APATHY, Chelsea Martin's charming but merciless prose employs mathematical paradoxes and theories of infinity to examine the inner workings of the bored and culturally over-stimulated while they idly consider the meaning of life. Overwhelmed and assaulted by their own inner monologues, these characters stumble through a series of external events, obsessing over the possible connections and ultimately assigning deep meaning to them.

The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1000 Best Albums


Brian Morton - 2010
    This is something rather different: Brian Morton (who taught American history at UEA) has picked out the 1000 best recordings that all jazz fans should have and shows how they tell the history of the music and with it the history of the twentieth century. He has completely revised his and Richard Cook's entries and reassessed each artist's entry for this book. The result is an endlessly browsable companion that will prove required reading for aficionados and jazz novices alike. 'It's the kind of book that you'll yank off the shelf to look up a quick fact and still be reading two hours later' Fortune 'Part jazz history, part jazz Karma Sutra with Cook and Morton as the knowledgeable, urbane, wise and witty guides ... This is one of the great books of recorded jazz; the other guides don't come close' Irish Times

Couch Fiction: A Graphic Tale of Psychotherapy


Philippa Perry - 2010
    Beautifully illustrated and accompanied by succinct and illuminating footnotes, this book offers a witty and thought-provoking exploration of the therapeutic journey, considering a range of skills, insights and techniques along the way.

Mourning Sickness: Hegel and the French Revolution


Rebecca Comay - 2010
    Like many of his contemporaries, Hegel was struck by the seeming parallel between the political upheaval in France and the upheaval in German philosophy inaugurated by the Protestant Reformation and brought to a climax by German Idealism. Many thinkers reasoned that a political revolution would be unnecessary in Germany, because this intellectual "revolution" had preempted it. Having already been through its own cataclysm, Germany would be able to extract the energy of the Revolution and channel its radicalism into thought. Hegel comes close to making such an argument too. But he also offers a powerful analysis of how this kind of secondhand history gets generated in the first place, and shows what is stake. This is what makes him uniquely interesting among his contemporaries: he demonstrates how a fantasy can be simultaneously deconstructed and enjoyed.Mourning Sickness provides a new reading of Hegel in the light of contemporary theories of historical trauma. It explores the ways in which major historical events are experienced vicariously, and the fantasies we use to make sense of them. Comay brings Hegel into relation with the most burning contemporary discussions around catastrophe, witness, memory, and the role of culture in shaping political experience.

The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons


Jerry Beck - 2010
    Evaluated on their comedic brilliance, innovative animation, historical significance, and creative merit, cartoon historian Jerry Beck and the Cartoon Brew team of animation experts reveal the amusing anecdotes and secret origins behind such classics as “What’s Opera, Doc?,” “One Froggy Evening,” and “Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.” Featuring more than 300 pieces of original art from private collectors and the Warner Bros. archives, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons settles the debate on the best of the best, and poses a new question: Is your favorite one of the greatest?

The Conductor


Laëtitia Devernay - 2010
    Her spare yet intricate illustrations truly appear to take flight before our eyes, and her wordless narrative nearly roars with sound as the conductor prompts the leaves to rustle, then whirl, then swirl to unexpected life with each turn of the page. It is a celebration of creativity, imagination, storytelling, and the renewing power of nature that will entrance readers of every age.

The Beast and the Sovereign, Volume II


Jacques Derrida - 2010
    As he moves back and forth between the two works, Derrida pursuesthe relations between solitude, insularity, world, violence, boredom and death as they supposedly affect humans and animals in different ways. Hitherto unnoticed or underappreciated aspects of Robinson Crusoe are brought out in strikingly original readings of questions such as Crusoe’s belief in ghosts, his learning to pray, his parrot Poll, and his reinvention of the wheel. Crusoe’s terror of being buried alive or swallowed alive by beasts or cannibals gives rise to a rich and provocative reflection on death, burial, and cremation, in part provoked by a meditation on the death of Derrida’s friend Maurice Blanchot.  Throughout, these readings are juxtaposed with interpretations of Heidegger's concepts of world and finitude to produce a distinctively Derridean account that will continue to surprise his readers.

A Boy Called M.O.U.S.E.


Penny Dolan - 2010
    Mr Button takes Mouse to grim Murkstone Hall, a school that lives and breathes terror and fear. Can Mouse escape and find his way to his true family again?

The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)


Adam Schrager - 2010
    Four years ago, the GOP dominated politics at every level in Colorado. Republicans held both Senate seats, five of seven congressional seats, the governor’s mansion, the offices of secretary of state and treasurer, and both houses of the state legislature. After the 2008 election, the exact opposite was true: replace the word Republicans with Democrats in the previous sentence, and you have of one the most stunning reversals of political fortune in American history.This is also the story of how it will happen—indeed, is happening—in other states across the country. In Colorado, progressives believe they have found a blueprint for creating permanent Democratic majorities across the nation. With discipline and focus, they have pioneered a legal architecture designed to take advantage of new campaign finance laws and an emerging breed of progressive donors who are willing to commit unprecedented resources to local races. It’s simple, brilliant, and very effective.Rob Witwer is a former member of the Colorado House of Representatives and practices law in Denver.Emmy award–winning journalist Adam Schrager covers politics for KUSA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Denver. Schrager and his family live in the Denver area. He is the author of The Principled Politician: Governor Ralph Carr and the Fight against Japanese Internment

Where We Know: New Orleans As Home


David Rutledge - 2010
    Designed as though Chin Music Press/Broken Levee Books intends to singlehandedly resurrect the art of bookmaking, Where We Know is a book you'll want at your bedside and on your coffee table." —Lucia Silva, NPR"Rutledge (English, Univ. of New Orleans) shows himself, in an introduction both touching and sincere, to understand fully the city and its struggles, to love New Orleans for what it is and what it can be, what it means both to those who decided to stay and those who left." —Library Journal"Where We Know is a must for anyone who wants a more excellent understanding of the tenacity of the people of New Orleans." —The Midwest Book ReviewFive years after Katrina, New Orleans is still limping. This second book of a planned trilogy looks at both those who stayed on and rebuilt their lives in New Orleans and those who had to say goodbye. It also weaves in historical references and quotes from Louis Armstrong, Lafcadio Hearn, and many others. What emerges is a book that shows how lovers of New Orleans have always battled with its darker side, and how the people's knack for celebrating an impromptu second line goes hand in hand with their acknowledgment of the ghosts in their midst.

An Optimist's Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer "What's Next?"


Mark Stevenson - 2010
    "The past is a foreign country," writes Stevenson. "By my analysis it's a bit like France-in that I've been to parts of it and eaten some nice food there. But the future? The future is an unknown territory-and there isn't a guidebook." Thus, his ambition was born. Stevenson set out simply, asking, "What's next?" and then traveled the globe in pursuit of the answers. Along the way, he visited the Australian outback to visit the farmers who can save us from climate change, met a robot with mood swings, and talked to the Spaniard who's putting a hotel in space. While some might be overwhelmed, or even dismayed by the looming realities of genome sequencing, synthetic biology, a nuclear renaissance, and carbon scrubbing, Stevenson remains, well, optimistic. Drawing on his singular humor and storytelling to break down these sometimes complicated discoveries, "An Optimist's Tour of the Future" paints a wonderfully readable, and completely enthralling portrait of where we'll be when we grow up- and why it's not so scary. Watch a Video

A Tabloid Love


T.A. Chase - 2010
    Working three jobs, however, makes it hard to connect with anyone. One man, though, is too much temptation to resist. A steamy encounter in a back alley leads to an explosive night of sex in Josh's bed--a bed he isn't surprised to find empty the next morning.   What does surprise him, though, is the front page of a tabloid. Apparently his one-night stand isn't as anonymous as he thought it was.   Ryan Kellar's career is taking off. Advance buzz about his movie says it's a blockbuster, and going home with the gorgeous bartender is the perfect way to celebrate. And he thought he'd gotten away clean—until the picture in the paper shocks him into reality. Was Josh really just playing…or playing him for a fool?  Trust isn't big on their list right now, but as their worlds fall apart, it's all they have. At least until they figure out who took the picture. And why…  With This Ring Josh Bauer and Ryan Kellar sweated through a turbulent start to their relationship. Now that they've embarked on a life together, filled with family friends—and each other—Ryan's suffering sweaty palms again. For an entirely different reason.   It's not the heat they generate every time they're alone together. It's not even the crush of people at Josh's jam-packed birthday party. It's the birthday present Ryan's carrying in his jeans pocket. The one that could make him the happiest man in the world, come New Year's Eve.   If Josh says “yes”…

Expressive Figure Drawing: New Materials, Concepts, and Techniques


Bill Buchman - 2010
    Bill Buchman's Expressive Figure Drawing presents the classic fundamentals of this genre, but with a distinctly contemporary twist--celebrating freedom, expressiveness, and creativity. This unique method incorporates more than 30 essential exercises, empowering you to draw the figure dramatically and with confidence, no matter your current level of skill. Filled with step-by-step demonstrations, inspiring images, and insightful text revealing a wide range of techniques and concepts, this book presents new ways to think about the figure and use your materials to free the artist within.

Talking to the Enemy: Faith, Brotherhood, and the (Un)Making of Terrorists


Scott Atran - 2010
    Based on the author’s unprecedented access to and in-depth interviews with terrorists and jihadis—including Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Taliban extremists, as well as members of other radical Islamic terror organizations—Talking to the Enemy provides fresh insight and unexpected answers to why there are people in this world willing to kill and die for a cause. A riveting, compelling work in the tradition of The Looming Tower and Terror in the Name of God, Talking to the Enemy is required reading for anyone interested in making the world a safer, more secure place for everyone.

The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway


Jennifer L. Knox - 2010
    Knox expands on her inimitable cast of characters, in hilariously poignant poems. In poems like "Marriage" and "One Ton of Dirt," Knox ventures further into autobiographical territory than she's ever gone before, in ways that will startle those familiar with her previous books, exploring relationships with her exes, her parents, and her younger self. Like the best comedians (to whom she's often compared), Knox is never merely funny. Each of her speakers, even the bedraggled coyote that walks into a Quizno's, has something important to say. Bob Hicock describes the effect of her trademark dark humor perfectly when he says, "The oddities of her work create a space in which it's possible to be oddly sincere. Knox is asking what really matters, in poems that move powerfully toward an answer." www.jenniferlknox.com.

The 1000 Hour Day: Two Adventurers Take On The World's Harshest Island


Chris Bray - 2010
    Ice-hopping out to deeper water, I started jigging the lure up and down in the crystal-clear water, expecting at any moment a silvery char to flash past and grab it. Glancing along the shoreline, I spotted a bunch of white rocks – or perhaps hunks of ice – scattered across the mudflats some 300 metres back along where we’d just hauled less than an hour earlier. I continued fishing.Scanning around as I idly flicked the rod tip up and down, I fixed my gaze once more on these white objects. I stopped jerking the rod. Were there more of them now? Were they closer? I stared at the motionless forms for some time before shaking my head, laughing at my own paranoia. However, just as I turned away, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. Whipping around to stare, I watched transfixed as more and more white objects seemed to appear from nowhere and fan out across the mud. They must be caribou, I thought – they looked about the right size. There was something odd about the way they were walking though, they weren’t prancing or trotting as deer do, they were more ... loping along ... like huge dogs! My blood ran cold as I suddenly realised what was happening – I was standing there, with nothing but a fishing rod between me, and a pack of six, seven, eight arctic wolves, all pacing closer, and closer!'CLARK!' I shouted. 'WOLVES!' Over 100 metres away, there was no movement from the tent, my yell snatched away on the bitterly cold wind streaming over the pack ice. The wolves heard me though, and stopped dead, all eyes on me, their ears as upright as the hairs on the back of my neck.Deciding I’d better get back to camp, I frantically reeled in my fishing line and moved to ice-hop back to shore. The moment I took a step, the whole pack started advancing as one. 'CLARK!' I shouted loudly every few paces, staring mesmerized at the multitude of wolves – clearly visible now – steadily closing the gap. 'CLARK!!' Finally reaching the shore, there was now nothing but 150 metres of mud separating me from the advancing pack, and panic lurched into my stomach.Various thoughts started flashing through my head. Don’t run from dogs. Keep walking. They can run a lot faster than you can, don't give them an excuse. I shot a terrified glance over my shoulder – they weren't running, just swiftly gliding towards me, but gaining fast. I'm actually going to be torn apart. Don’t think that – dogs can sense fear. How could I do this to Clark? 'CLARK!?' There was a hint of pleading in my voice now, and it scared me. Another glance back. Shit. They're going to get to me before I get to the tent. Don't run. Okay – run. Run! With one last wild glance over my shoulder, I saw – as I knew I would – the whole pack shift into high gear, their broad paws digging into the soft ground as they accelerated, now bounding after me as I sprinted up the embankment towards camp. 'CLARK! GET THE GUN!'

The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life


Michael Masterson - 2010
    They don't need absolute assurance, because they realize life doesn't provide any. To get what they want out of life, they set specific goals and put together a formal plan to achieve those goals, one step at a time. Successful people know that the cost of failure is modest compared to that of inaction. Failure means they are smarter the next time. Inaction means there is no next time-there's only a lifetime of regret. In The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life, author Michael Masterson reveals how to become successful-and not just financially, but in every area of life. The bookOffers simple tips to making immediate changes and to establishing long-term goals Details strategies on becoming more productive at the office and defeating depression Explains why simplifying goals into four major ones makes them much easier to achieve The Pledge teaches readers how to start and finish projects they have been dreaming about for years, boost confidence, strengthen skills, build wealth, and enjoy life.

Derrida: A Biography


Benoît Peeters - 2010
    We are plunged into the different worlds in which Derrida lived and worked: pre-independence Algeria, the microcosm of the École Normale Supérieure, the cluster of structuralist thinkers, and the turbulent events of 1968 and after. We meet the remarkable series of leading writers and philosophers with whom Derrida struck up a friendship: Louis Althusser, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean Genet, and Hélène Cixous, among others. We also witness an equally long series of often brutal polemics fought over crucial issues with thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, John R. Searle, and Jürgen Habermas, as well as several controversies that went far beyond academia, the best known of which concerned Heidegger and Paul de Man. We follow a series of courageous political commitments in support of Nelson Mandela, illegal immigrants, and gay marriage. And we watch as a concept – deconstruction – takes wing and exerts an extraordinary influence way beyond the philosophical world, on literary studies, architecture, law, theology, feminism, queer theory, and postcolonial studies.In writing this compelling and authoritative biography, Benoît Peeters talked to over a hundred individuals who knew and worked with Derrida. He is also the first person to make use of the huge personal archive built up by Derrida throughout his life and of his extensive correspondence. Peeters’ book gives us a new and deeper understanding of the man who will perhaps be seen as the major philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century.

Wolf: The Lives of Jack London


James L. Haley - 2010
    In his youth he was a boundlessly energetic adventurer on the bustling West Coast—by turns playing the role of hobo, sailor, prospector, and oyster pirate. He spent his brief life rapidly accumulating the experiences that would inform his acclaimed, best-selling books: The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf. London was plagued by contradictions. He chronicled nature at its most savage, but wept helplessly at the deaths of his favorite animals. At his peak the highest-paid writer in America, he was nevertheless constantly broke. An irrepressibly optimistic crusader for social justice, he burned himself out at forty: sick, angry, and disillusioned, but leaving behind a voluminous literary legacy, much of it ripe for rediscovery.In Wolf, award-winning author James L. Haley explores the forgotten Jack London—at once a hard-living globetrotter and a man alive with ideas, whose passion for social justice roared until the day he died. Returning London to his proper place in the American pantheon, Wolf resurrects a major American novelist in his full fire and glory.

The Rest is Propaganda


Steve Ignorant - 2010
    

The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity


Douglas H. Erwin - 2010
    Beginning as simple sponges more than 635 million years ago, the earliest animals evolved into a diverse marine fauna over the course of 100 million years. In The Cambrian Explosion, Erwin and Valentine synthesize research from many fields to explain why there was such remarkable novelty of animal forms. This is an integrative work of the highest quality, covering one of the most fascinating and transformative periods in life’s history.

Letters to Emma Bowlcut


Bill Callahan - 2010
    He writes them to Emma, a woman he sees at a party. Each entry captures the loose, disparate details of daily life, including desires, frustrations, joys, social observations, anecdotes, advice, and the self, as depicted through emotional weather updates. Emma’s replies are not revealed, but the narrator’s persona is as he philosophizes and courts the object of his affection. He is a fan of boxing, a scientist by trade, and a student of the “vortex”—an entity he uses to describe his self-deterioration and the emptiness in his life. Together, the letters reveal the internal dialog of a conflicted protagonist who shadowboxes Emma, himself, and even the reader.