At an age when most babies are cooing "Mama, " Popo was speaking in complete sentences. He was reading college textbooks when he was still too young for nursery school. Popo may just be the smartest human being on Earth. And he spends all his time listening to the radio . . . to white noise that comes drifting down from the sky like stardust. Chill Bent is a two-time loser with a hair-trigger temper. After the death of Popo's mother, the ex-con assumes responsibility for his nephew, vowing to protect the boy from a government eager to strip away his African-American heritage and exploit his genius like a natural resource. Together, Popo and Chill are about to embark on an extraordinary journey into the farthest reaches of the mind and the soul . . . a journey you will never forget. In this stunning new speculative fiction short story by the bestselling author of Blue Light, part of an interconnected collection of stories called Futureland, a young African-American genius searches for God with the tools of cutting-edge science. Look for the complete volume of Futureland, available now.

    The first volume in this annual series of the best writing by Americans, meticulously selected by bestselling author James Gleick, one of the foremost chronicles of scientific social history, debuts with a stellar collection of writers and thinkers.  Many of these cutting-edge essays offer glimpses of new realms of discovery and thought, exploring territory that is unfamiliar to most of us, or finding the unexpected in the midst of the familiar.  Nobel Laureate physicist Steven Weinberg challenges the idea of whether the universe has a designer; Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Angier reassesses caveman (and-woman) couture; bestselling author and Darwinian theorist Stephen Jay Gould makes a claim for the man whose ideas Darwin discredited; Timothy Ferris proposes a realistic alternative to wrap-speed interseller travel; neurologist and bestselling author Oliver Sacks reminisces about his first loves-chemistry and math.  This diverse, stimulating and accessible collection is required reading for anyone who wants to travel to the frontier of knowledge.

    On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it.

    This new edition, prepared by an acclaimed translator and scholar of Kant's practical philosophy, presents the first new translation of the work to appear for many years, together with a substantial and lucid introduction.

    He is so desperate that when the peculiar Mr Rinyo-Clacton offers him one million pounds but only one year to live, he agrees to the proposal. But what happened next was even more shocking.

    From 1836 to 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at Boston's Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately but many of Emerson's thoughts were later used in Self-reliance. In this book, first published in 1841, Emerson clearly illustrates the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and to follow his or her own instincts and ideas. Here, Andrew Holmes' interpretation of Self-reliance illustrates the timeless nature of Emerson's insights by bringing them to life through 52 modern case studies. This brilliant interpretation of Self-reliance is an entertaining accompaniment to one of the most famous books on strategy ever written.

    So when a body is found face-down in the city’s farmlands, head crushed, split in two, Jake jumps at the opportunity. The victim is soon identified as Zeke Harrison. A successful businessman and philanthropist. A man who had it all. But, as the investigation into his death develops, it becomes clear that Zeke had more secrets than success. And he had his debts - debts that got him killed.But now they've been passed on to someone else. And Jake must find out to whom before history repeats itself.

    Here you discover that an ancient Peruvian manuscript has disappeared. Although few Westerners know of its existence and a government wants to suppress it, this precious document contains an important secret: the nine Insights the human race is predicted to grasp as we enter an era of true spiritual awareness. To find the manuscript, you will journey high into the Andes mountains and into the deepest places of the self. When the last of the nine Insights is revealed to you, you will have an exciting new image of human life, and a positive vision of how we will save this planet, its creatures and its beauty. But one Insight will still be missing...

    Alone in this knowledge, he comes of age in rural Maine grappling with the question: Does anything I do matter? While the voice that has accompanied him since conception appraises his choices, Junior's loved ones emerge with parallel stories-his anxious mother; his brother, a cocaine addict turned pro-baseball phenomenon; his exalted father, whose own mortality summons Junior's best and worst instincts; and Amy, the love of Junior's life and a North Star to his journey through romance and heartbreak, drug-addled despair, and superheroic feats that could save humanity. While our recognizable world is transformed into a bizarre nation at endgame, where government agents conspire in subterranean bunkers, preparing citizens for emigration from a doomed planet, Junior's final triumph confounds all expectation, building to an astonishing and deeply moving resolution. Ron Currie, Jr., gets to the heart of character, and the voices who narrate this uniquely American tour de force leave an indelible, exhilarating impression.

    Cooper led thirty-six high school seniors on a spring vacation jaunt from Los Angeles to the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona. No student could earn the privilege of going on the Quartzsite Trip; it was given, and P.J. Cooper gave it. No activities were planned; they happened, and P.J. Cooper made them happen. What few rules there were were also P.J.'s and he enforced them with a whim of iron. In William Hogan's utterly delightful novel, the Quartzsite Trip turns out to be an utterly memorable experience.Here, the lion lies down with the lamb, the merciful find mercy, and the meek inherit the earth. Here, the tables are turned, and as they turn we meet a riotous and endearing cast of characters -- among them Deeter Moss, secret cowboy and closet Dodgers expert, who never talked to anybody before he went on the Quartzsite Trip; Margaret Ball, whose moonlit face displayed what pimples hid; Mary Allbright, who had a very secret fear and who, on the Quartzsite Trip, came up with a very secret plan to resolve it; and P.J. Cooper himself, the best teacher anyone ever had, who gave extra credit for Winnie the Pooh and The Catcher in the Rye and who discovered, in 1962, that the Great Equalizer makes rules too.[From the book jacket]

    In this brief, gloriously bold novel, Brian Kiteley lays bare the unquiet soul of an amateur entomologist, giving voice to our own deepest intimations of immortality.

    Mary Ruefle is of their number. Her poems discover the full beauty and anguish of life that most of us dare not see, much less depict in luminous detail for the ages.

    Their seafront business is failing with the loss of Genie’s grandmother and her legendary ice cream flavours. Genie is determined to be the one to save her family’s heritage, but suddenly her mother wants to sell to developers and leave their shared history behind.Buying the business and taking on a sixty-eight year old business partner, Ada, with a mysterious past and a gorgeous but distracting grandson, Genie sets out to prove her parents wrong.Ada’s grandson, Cal, wants to protect his gran from ‘pensioner persuader’, Genie, but soon realises that living in a little seaside town and away from the paparazzi in Hollywood can actually give him time to heal. Hiding in a seafront business with its fiery owner and working as kitchen staff, is the only way he can think of to keep his ex-Hollywood glamour-puss, gran from harm. But his meddling might also ruin Ada's second chance at love. Hiring a private detective and learning about Genie’s parent’s past makes Cal regret his own impulsiveness. The information he has unearthed could destroy their blossoming romance and turn Genie’s world upside down.Genie soon discovers that friends can become enemies and your closest family can have lied to you for your whole life.

    Japs Eye Fontanelle, an 88-year-old overweight, retired Japanese kamikaze pilot, insists that he is the rightful king of the Holy Channel Island of Jersey. He also claims to be the Creator of the Universe. This is his autobiography, written while under armed guard inside the gold vault at Fort Knox. Fontanelle recounts his truly remarkable life: from his birth in the city of Kyoto and his involvement in World War II, to his study of the ancient science of astrology, the historic discovery of his own divinity, and the founding of the first Astrological Kingdom on Earth. Occasionally, when he isn't busy creating galaxies, he takes a break to watch "Star Trek".Structured in twelve meticulously-researched, hilariously funny zodiacal chapters-and padded with photo inserts revealing such delights as God returning from his ninth suicide mission, Shinto monks, and God's genitals- The Astrological Diary of God is a savage and irreverent take on modern belief.

    Meanwhile, her older sister Peggy works as an apprentice at the Girls' School, hoping for a more prosperous future as a schoolteacher.Jennet and Titus Eastwood have always made decisions for their daughters' futures. But as the sisters near adulthood they are determined to make their own choices. And with temptation in the way, will the girls find love - or infatuation - leads them astray?Then an unexpected but familiar face arrives in town, and the family's future is threatened. For Bessie and Jennet, a difficult choice must be made - love or family . . .